What’s Up, Wednesday? Oh, Wait… #readysetwrite

June 14, 2013 By 8 Comments

Thanks to @NicoleMojan (the West Coast me – I mean, really, her name is even NICOLE), I was introduced to “Ready. Set. Write!”

RSW (that’s what the cool kids – er, lazy kids? – are calling it these days) was put together by a group of writers for the purpose of getting their writing butts in gear this summer. They set weekly (or monthly or overall) goals — whatever works for each individual. Then, they update weekly in What’s Up Wednesday? posts, sharing what they’ve accomplished, setting new goals, and maybe even sharing some tasty bits from what they’re working on.

I could use the extra kick in the pants, what with all the writing projects I have simmering, the day job, the soon-to-be 4 year old, etc… so I decided that it only made sense that if Nicole was doing it, I would join in.

But…I came to this decision yesterday. And today is not so much Wednesday.

I know.

Rather than wait until next Wednesday to get started and lose the “OH THIS IS SHINY” excitement, I’m just calling this Wednesday. Or maybe second Wednesday.

Which, if that’s anything like second breakfast, you know it’s going to be awesome.

Sooo…here it goes…

What I’m Reading

briefhistory

This week I blogged a bit about my thoughts on the next Doctor and, boy, did my blog stats explode. Only goes to show I should let the geek flag fly a bit more often, eh?

In this explosion, I had the chance to meet some like-minded nerds and was introduced to this book. I JUST started it, but I love John’s voice thus far.

I’m looking forward to turning down invites to leave my house and diving back in shortly.

 

What I’m Writing

I am attempting to stay focused on the follow-up to The Ruth Valley Missing. I just had the novel FREE on Amazon for two days and it hit #6! That’s awesome, but it also means more readers – and potentially even more people asking “so when do we get more Jameson?”

So, I need to get moving. I’m about a third of the way into it (I think) but have some plot things to work out. And, you know, the rest of it to write. I’m not really a plotter, but I think I may have to make this week’s goal sitting with a notebook and working some things out the old-fashioned way.

With doodling and pens and such.

Next week, maybe I’ll be ready to dabble in word count goals.

I also have two other novels that I’m well into, but I’m trying to focus on this one for the moment – which is also why I’ve taken a break from fiction on the blog. Although I really want to get back to that as well – I need to live on a planet that has MUCH longer days. And a livable environment.

 

What Inspires Me

The aforementioned Nicole at the beginning of this post (seriously, I wasn’t making her up). If you are a twitter person, our conversations keep my creative juices flowin’…and keep random people I’ve never met entertained. It’s nice to be laughed at…er…that doesn’t sound right. YOUKNOWWHATIMEAN!

Also, this week has been pretty awesome. The success of my book promo (for which I did little promotion) was a great boost and a huge surprise. Even cooler was the success of the Doctor Who post. It’s given me ideas for future topics here on the blog.

Huzzah.

numbah6

What Else Am I Up To

There honestly isn’t time for a whole lot more, aside from the responsiblilites of grown-up life. I’m starting to research schooling options (home, private, public, lions, tigers, BEARS, OH MY) for the little man, as he turns 4 in August. In the meantime, he continues to use my iPad to write stories (I may have to share some) and email my friends and family.

I’d like to find a little time to spend with my camera. I miss the taking of the pictures of things.

Although it’s more likely that I’ll use that found time to hide in the bottom of my kid’s loft bed reading.

Either way, it’ll be a good day.

utopia

To writers I haven’t met yet from #readysetwrite, welcome! I look forward to cheering you all on. And not in the “rah, rah, siss-boom-bah” way. More of a slow golf-clap. See you in the comments.

To my regular readers, this is going to happen on Wednesdays, so it’s just more of me being me – not really a BIG change. 

 

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The Doctor is a HE?? And Why I Don’t Care…

June 11, 2013 By 51 Comments

WARNING: The following post is sort of stream of conscious and not meant to be a brilliant essay on anything. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. I might even agree with them.

 

As you all know, I enjoy Doctor Who.

(If you didn’t know this, see that dude in the picture with me in the sidebar? That’s David Tennant. Among other things, he is the 10th Doctor.)

Now, if you know nothing about Doctor Who, let me drop a quick bit of knowledge – Time Lords (which is the species of alien the Doctor is) can regenerate. That’s  why you’ll hear people refer to the Doctor according to number. Thus far, they’ve all been men.*

The Eleventh Doctor (played brilliantly by Matt Smith) will be leaving us during the 50th anniversary episode in November. Which means a new Doctor will be gracing our screens.

A lot of people are voicing their hopes that the Twelfth Doctor will be a woman.

And I get it.

The Doctor is awesome. Why can’t his awesomeness be encapsulated in a female?

With this point I agree.

And yet, rumor has it, the actor that’s been selected is male. (There is talk of which specific actor, but for those of you who don’t appreciate spoilers, I’ll keep that detail out of this.)

Am I upset? Up in arms about this injustice?

I’ll be honest.

No.

But, Amber, you are a woman! How could you?!?!

Sigh.

Here’s the thing. From what I can recall (and it is a small detail) there is only one reference in the Doctor Who canon that let us know that gender switching in regeneration is possible. So, from a story standpoint, I don’t find it that far-fetched that the Doctor would keep the same gender. (There is talk of red hair even being something only particular Time Lords have, which might explain the Doctor’s interest in being a “ginger”.) Not to mention that for a man that travels not only through space but time, being a male would make his life easier. (You can’t deny it. You try getting anything done as a female pre-suffragette era. Heck, it’s hard enough now.)

It’s not that I don’t want to see the Doctor as a woman. I’m totally on board with the idea of Emma Thompson or Helen Mirren or another talented actress stepping into the role. But just as I don’t think that their presence would hurt the story, I don’t think that continuing to have the character be male would hurt the story, either.

TV is seriously lacking in great female roles. But does that mean that we should get angry when a role that has not only traditionally been male, but from a story standpoint works as a male, is not awarded to a female?

I mean, seriously...

I mean, seriously…

I’m not saying the Doctor can’t be female. I’m not saying I wouldn’t enjoy a female Doctor. I mean, seriously, if they trotted out Maggie Smith as Matt Smith faded away, I would probably wet my pants in glee.

But, from the stories – from the 50 years of Doctor Who – we are led to believe that crossing genders is rare**.

So, strictly from the story standpoint, why is everyone so upset?

Women are often not treated/reflected well, particularly in geek culture, even though we make up a large part of it. The way female superheroes are depicted in comics, the way real life female geeks are treated at conventions (don’t get me started on the the whole grope tag that recently took place); these are real issues that should be addressed. To rail against the BBC for choosing a dude for the Doctor seems to be a smaller issue in the grand scheme of things.

If the Doctor is a dude again, I DON’T think it hurts the story.

More importantly, I don’t think it hurts women.

What I do think is hurtful is to think that the role of the companion – who is often a woman – is a position of weakness.

Being a companion, a helper, an assistant, shouldn’t be viewed as weak. How often would the Doctor fail without the strength of his companions?

I’d rather yell to the rooftops the importance of making the companions strong, whether they are men or women.

Some strong ladies...

Some strong ladies…

And for those of you who think the companion is a role of weakness? Go back and watch Donna in “Turn Left”. Without Donna, what would have happened to the amazing Doctor? I know there is a lot of Martha hatred out there, but she kicked some serious tail, y’all. Stop hating her for falling for a charming, amazing man and remember what she accomplished. Remember when he was Mister Smith?

Yeah. She deserves props.

Even those that weren’t officially companions, those who only helped the Doctor momentarily, look at the bravery in those characters, the sacrifices.

(And don’t even get me started on River.)

Give us more companions who call the Doctor out when he isn’t being reasonable, who push him and pull him back. Remind us who the Doctor would be without a companion.

The Doctor is wonderful, sure. But let’s stop making it seem like only he can be amazing, and therefore, we must see a woman in his role. Let’s remember that the companions are amazing, without the fancy screwdriver, without the ability to regenerate, without the amazing Time Lord brain. And more often than not, that AMAZING companion is a human WOMAN.

Without that woman, where would the Doctor be?

 

Hit the comments with your thoughts – I know this topic is one that has a LOT of strong opinions, so just remember, respectful disagreements are always welcome. (And if they aren’t respectful, well, I reserve the right to do with them as I please.)

 

 

*more specifically a white male – which honestly, I’ve seen more “make him a woman” than “make him not white”, which seems to be a more reasonable shift

** as I recall, there is a reference to a Time Lord who changes gender in one ep, and in the books, there is a Time Lord who makes the shift, but only after committing suicide, so take that FWIW

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Sippin’ On Juice and Juice

June 7, 2013 By 25 Comments

Laaaiiiid back…

Ahem.

Now that I got the oddly placed Snoop Dog reference out of the way (the brain wants what it wants, people) I thought I’d do a bit of a return today to Fitness Friday.

Specifically, two weeks ago I did something called a Juice Cleanse.

[But, Amber, there is no scientific evidence that juice cleanses will do anything but make you pee like a racehorse, blah, blah, ad infinitum, ad nasueam, ::HEADASPLODE::]

I got it, ya’ll. There are nutrition experts who seem to think this “juice and nothing but the juice” craze is pointless. But then there are some experts that like it.

In my experience, there are “experts” for every side of the argument, particularly when it comes to health, so if it’s something that won’t bring me great harm in trying, then I like to make my own conclusions. Boo-yah.

Enter BluePrint juices. My sister introduced me to them, telling me how much she loved drinking the spendy bottles of lemon, agave, and cayenne or pineapple, apple, and mint. She was absolutely hooked on a daily bottle.

I promptly purchased a few bottles at the local Whole Foods to give them a taste and ended up having an involved conversation with one of the employees about their experience with the juice, in the way of a cleanse. By the end of our chat, I was interested.

More energy? Clear skin? Happy hair and nails? Oh, and you just might drop a couple of pounds while you’re at it?

Sounds good to me.

When I hit their website, I was a bit taken aback by the price for three days of juice. (It’s steep.) BUT, I thought about the fact that I wouldn’t be eating anything else for those three days, the cost of the amount of organic fruit and vegetable matter I would be consuming, took a deep breath and clicked on the Renovation Cleanse.

A day of "eating".

A day of “eating”.

[The Renovation Cleanse is the middle of the three offered. The major difference between the three? The number of green juices you drink in a day. Beginners get two, middle of the road guys like me get three, and the hard core peeps get four.]

THREE days, ya'll.

THREE days, ya’ll.

The juices arrived on my doorstep in the window I requested – you have to be specific about delivery, as it is imperative that your juices remain cold. They pack them to ensure their chilled freshness (free ice packs, anyone?) and even throw in a little travel bag so you can take these babies to work with you.

I started my cleanse on a Wednesday morning*. And I’ll be honest, I wasn’t hungry all day. I even felt…good.

Until the evening, of course, when the hubs was frying eggs for his own dinner. Or when I was getting the kid to eat his spinach bites and greek yogurt dip. At that point, I wanted to lick everyone’s dinner.

But I refrained and pressed on.

Thursday – still good. By 8 PM, I was tired though. My brain was confused about all this juice. And I may have been exhausted from traveling back and forth to the bathroom so many times. I really should have kept a tally sheet.

The final day, I had to go grocery shopping, which was a special kind of torture when you aren’t allowed to consume anything but juice.

The first two days I still loved all the juices, even the green one. By the last day, I was pretty sure I was going to throat-punch anyone wearing green.

By Friday night, I allowed myself the remainder of the kid’s lunch – a wrap filled with veggies – because, well, because it sounded delicious.

Post-cleanse, you are supposed to give yourself several days to wean yourself back into the eating world.

But it was my anniversary. And we had dinner reservations.

I ordered much wiser than I would normally. An heirloom tomato salad. Lightly fried squash blossoms with the creamiest of goat cheese. (Although, beer made from peaches isn’t exactly easing your way back in.)

But, here I sit, two weeks past the juice madness, and you know what? It DID do some good things.

I did find that I was more energetic in the mornings post-juice, much more so than post-coffee. I lost six pounds. I don’t crave sugar, bread, and other things that aren’t exactly my food friends. (I’m not saying I don’t eat them, but I can easily turn them down.) I DO crave veggies and fruit.

Did my body detox during those three days? Did it dump out a bunch of bad stuff? I don’t really know. (TBH, there was far more peeing than dumping.) But I do know there’s been a marked difference in how I want to eat since those three days, and to me, that made it well worth the time spent.

Will I do it again? Perhaps. The price tag still makes me cringe a bit, but so does the work that goes into creating that much juice to live on.

Have you ever done a juice cleanse? Are you a fan? Share some of your “odd” dietary adjustments!

 

*you really should have a three day “build-up” to the cleanse, which the site helpfully explains. I did not do this – if I had, it’s likely the results would have been even better

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Getting to Know Me…Another Interview

June 5, 2013 By 21 Comments

It’s been a long while since I held a proper interview here at Without Sushi. A lot has happened since the last time we chatted with today’s guest, so let’s get into it!

Ladies and gentles, welcome Amber West!

::light cheering and scattered clapping:

Hello. Hi. Thanks for having me.

It’s been nearly two years since our last interview. Can you believe it? What took so long for you to get back here? Think you’re too good for us now?

Uh, no. I’m here all the time.

Whatever. Just because you’re employed and an author now, you think you’re better than us, don’t you?

That’s ridiculous. Are you this rude to everyone you interview?

Possibly. I don’t really know. You’re the only person I’ve interviewed since…um…ever.

::looks around:: Who booked this interview? Seriously? This is the best we could do?

See?? You DO think you’re too good for this.

Whatever. Let’s get on with this.

Fine. What is your name?

You should know this one. Everybody here does, as a matter of fact. Amber West. Although I went through a phase in the first grade where I only wanted to be called by my middle name, Nicole.

What is your quest?

To boldly go where no man has gone before. Or, you know, get my kid to poop every day.

What is the velocity of an unladen swallow?

Well, airspeed can be predicted using an established formula. By inverting the midpoint Strouhal ratio of 0.3 (fA/U ≈ 0.3) you’ll find the speed of a flying animal is roughly 3 times frequency times amplitude. Of course, for true accuracy, I’d need to know…

African or European! Man, you really know how to kill a joke. So, as I mentioned, you’re employed now. What is it you do? Probably something dorky.

It does involve its fair share of spreadsheets. Did you ever watch Friends?

::nods::

We're alike in a lot of ways, really.

We’re alike in a lot of ways, really.

You know how no one ever understands what it is Chandler does, even when he tries to explain it? That’s me. Unless I am talking to someone who works in the same business I do, I’ve found I get blank looks if I try to explain my job. So I don’t anymore. I just state that I am the Chandler in my group of friends.

Okay, so you have a job so boring you don’t even dare explain it to people.

That’s not what I…

Let’s skip talking anymore about your job. The best part of that answer is when it ended.

Another change since our last chat – you are a published author now. Congratulations, I guess.

Thanks.

I mean, you didn’t publish traditionally, so I don’t know how much I really need to be congratulating you. I wrote some lovely haiku on the toilet paper roll last time I had the squirts. I’m considering loading that on Amazon. BAM. Published.

It’s not really that easy. I mean, technically, I guess it is. But if you want to put something out that people will actually read, it takes more than that.

So, you’re saying people actually read your book? Aside from family and friends?

Yes. It was an Amazon best seller and has over 100 reviews there, so, yeah. People read it.

Some of those people did not like your book.

That is correct. It’s part of being an author. Bad reviews are pretty much the battle scars that show you made it.

Or something.

I heard that The Ruth Valley Mising is up for a RONE award. Is that like those Paper Plate awards they give out in high school? I totally got the Slacker of the Year award.

I know. I was there.

It’s a legitimate award. And yeah, I just found out this week it’s a finalist in the mystery category. I doubt I’ll be taking the award home as the other two finalists are seasoned authors with a lot of novels behind them, but I’m pretty thrilled to be a first time author in the finals with them.

How’d you react when you heard the news?

That's fairly accurate.

That’s fairly accurate.

I’m fairly sure I smiled. I’m excited to be included with other great indie authors, but honestly, it hasn’t really sunk in. It’s really weird. Every little bit of success TRVM has felt weird. I just wrote something to entertain myself, so to have anything more come of it is awesome. And strange.

When is the next book coming out?

I’m not sure yet. I didn’t originally intend for TRVM to be part of a series. It was written as a standalone, but with an open ending. The feedback from readers led me to start work on a second book featuring Jameson Quinn, so I am working on it.

I have two other books I am working on as well, unrelated to TRVM, and the day job and the kid, so I am trying to be reasonable and pace myself.

Who was your favorite character in TRVM to write?

Hands down, Father Mike. He’s a pain in the butt in a lot of ways, which made him really fun to write.

Let’s back up a bit. How did you get into writing in the first place?

I’ve always loved to write. I don’t know what age it started, but I know that I wrote little short stories in grade school. In fifth grade, I had a story published in a children’s anthology. I used to write up reports and stories for extra credit in middle school, I wrote a fake Spanish soap opera version of Julius Caesar for my high school English class, and in my first grown up job, I’d trade emails with my boss and the head of sales in haiku form.

Blogging was something I started just to entertain my friends and give me another writing outlet.

I never really gave much thought to being published. I loved writing. I didn’t want to spoil it by turning it into a job. (The same reason I would never want to be a chef.)

But in the publishing world as it is now, I started to see where you could put your work out there without turning it into a career.

I know, shocking. I don’t view writing as my career. But that’s what keeps it enjoyable. I do it because I love it, and I share it because I enjoy entertaining others.

::snore:: What? Sorry? You went on for a bit there.

Haha.

Do you have a writing routine? Based on your last answer, I’m going to guess no.

Correct. And I know that there are a lot of writers that think that’s a terrible thing. But it works for me. I write when and where it works for me.

That’s not to say that I don’t sit down and try to write when I’m not inspired. Being a mom and having a full time job and other responsibilities means I can’t turn my nose up at free time when it comes.

Aside from these novels you claim to be working on, you’ve done some fiction on your blog as well. The Tell Me a Story series went on for quite some time. Did you enjoy that?

I did. It was a really great exercise. I usually wrote the newest installment the morning it had to be posted, so the story wasn’t planned at all. I looked forward to seeing what would happen each week as much as the readers.

Speaking of things readers enjoy, the character Red seemed to have her own fan club. Can we expect a story about Red in the future? OR will Red have a cameo in any future stories?

I can’t think too much about other stories right now, given I already have too many on my plate, but yeah, I think a story featuring Red would be fun.

For those that didn’t read the series, Red was very interested in mind control, and secret government programs like MK-Ultra. She’s a conspiracy theorist type…but it would be fun to throw her in a story where she isn’t quite the nut job she seems to be. (Oh, see there, now I want to write that.)

Then let’s switch things up and talk about other people’s writing. If you could be a character in Shakespeare, who would you be?

Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing has always been my favorite. No contest. I used to have a whole stretch of her lines memorized.

Just in case.

Just in case what?

You know, some random person asked me to play her. (Joss Whedon, why u no call?!)

How about Jane Austen: yay or nay?

I actually really enjoy Jane Austen. I don’t love every movie interpretation, but I think she wrote great stories and characters.

(For watching purposes, BBC’s Emma with Jonny Lee Miller is a fave.)

That’s awfully girly of you.

I know. But being that I am a girl, I’ll be okay with that.

I also enjoy tea and knitting, but I’m not particularly into pink and glitter.

How about a character that you hate and would never ever talk to?

In books, I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head. I had the privilege of reading some yet-to-be published fiction of a certain person and she has a character in her story that could definitely qualify.

I have to give major kudos to writers that can make you hate a character that much without making you hate the story. A hate-worthy character is really different than one that’s just unlikable.

You know, like every character in Glee. Unlikable enough for me to change the channel, but not worth my emotional energy to stick with the story.

Is there a book character that you’d date?

Well, there ARE Doctor Who books…

That’s cheating!

I didn’t know there were rules to imaginary book boyfriends. And if you don’t like that answer, I could choose someone from one of my yet to be written books – and then where would you be?

Fine. How about famous actor you’d date?

I’m assuming the answer to this question takes place in an alternate universe, where existing relationships don’t exist.

Yes. Sure. Nerd.

As is apparent to anyone who has visited my blog, I think David Tennant is lovely. He is funny, has a great accent, and is a bit of a dork.

dtsmug

Nathan Fillion would probably rank pretty high up there, too. Somehow I don’t imagine he’d mind an evening at home playing video games.

(In the non-alternate universe, my hubs enjoys video game date nights and is a bit of a dork, too.)

Speaking of fairy tale scenarios, who is your favorite Disney character?

I always loved Belle. She was my first brown-haired, brown-eyed heroine. And she was brave – she risked her life and stayed with a scary beast to save her Dad. She didn’t fit in, she loved books, and didn’t like the hot dude who was after her.

How can you not love her?

I also like the little Chameleon in Tangled.

::scans Twitter feed:: We’re running out of questions.

Is that a bad thing? We’ve been talking for forever already.

True. You probably lost most people about 1000 words ago. You know, those TL;DR people. They’re annoying, AMIRITE?

To each their own.

Oh, come on, you can be honest here. No one’s listening. ::inches closer:: Tell us, what’s your pet peeve?

Hypocrites are topping the list lately. I can’t stand someone who is two-faced. And man, I see a lot of lately.

Ooo…sounds like there is a story there.

I’m not getting into it. Just remember people, what you say on the internet is public. It will catch up with you.

How about a guilty pleasure?

I kinda hate that expression. I think it would be nice to just enjoy something because you enjoy it without feeling like you’ll be judged for it.

Having said that, I’ve totally used the expression to describe my enjoyment of shows like “SMASH” and “Nashville”.

HAHAHAHA – you like those shows? You’re so not cool.

That’s never been up for debate, to be honest.

Favorite curse word?

You should know better. I don’t curse.

No one is going to believe that.

And yet, it’s true.  Having said that, I won’t pretend there aren’t fairly rude expressions that have creeped into my vocabulary.

Like?

Nope.

Fine. Jerkface.

Does that mean we’re done here?

Your face is done here.

Ah, yes. I remember this. ::takes off mic, walks out::

Thanks for joining us for another installment of self-interviews! And a big thank you to the Twitterverse for providing all the questions. As always, if you didn’t enjoy this interview, you only have yourself to blame.

Stop that.

Shhh…you’re supposed to be gone.

I’m sitting right here.

You’re spoiling the illusion!

Feel free to leave new questions and we’ll be sure to answer them in the comments. Would you like to subject yourself to an interview? Who knows, I may consider expanding my repertoire. 

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