Out my bedroom window

So I finally made it back home and have eased myself back into normal life. It has not been easy. I will have much more available concerning my trip soon, but for now it will suffice to say that it was a wonderful, magical experience. I got to see some of my best friends get married and live in a truly unique place for a while. The most difficult thing to let go of was the fact that the picture to the left was taken five minutes after I woke up, and stepped out of the bedroom and onto the balcony.

Be sure to keep checking back for stories about my time there.

Regarding Hawaii, well, it’s Hawaii. Is it ever bad? My wife and I are going for our friends’ wedding. The couple is from Hilo so the wedding, as well as our lodging, will be in that area. We don’t have much of a budget for the trip, but it’s Hawaii. I could do nothing but attend the wedding and spend the rest of the week sitting on the beach and reading. My only goals for the trip are:

• Read through the books I’m bringing (Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck and Slipknot by Linda Greenlaw)
• Attend a beautiful wedding
• Avoid wearing closed toe shoes at all costs

Other than that, I am just looking forward to spending a week in paradise with my wife. I hope to come back rested, tan, tattooed and ultimately, more clear headed.

Which brings me to the other thing that has been keeping me busy. Launching a business is no mean feat. I have been doing this type work for a while now, more as a hobby than anything else. But times have changed. I love writing, in all it’s forms and I might as well make some decent money while I’m at it. So far I have designed my stationary (business cards, letter head and envelopes) and had a ton of ideas. Right now I am in the process of reigning those ideas in and focusing them into a viable business model, which brings my business plan. I’ve never written one before, but it seems straight forward enough. I’ll probably get to work on the actual writing of it tonight. I’ve spent the last couple days researching how to do such things. That, and my marketing plan. I can’t really write my business plan until I have a marketing plan in place. Again, lots of research. Writing is not a problem for me, it’s the business part of things I am need to learn. I am, however, not deterred. There are few things you can’t learn through a combination of book knowledge and old fashioned trial and error. I just hope this trial and error has a more positive outcome than my adolescent experiments with firecrackers. Poor dog.

Anyhow, things around here next week will be spotty to a possible shade of non-existent. Not that I’m neglecting things when I need to be most on top of them, but I’ll be in freekin Hawaii. On Vacation.

See you there.

Linda’s latest book, Seaworthy, is a recounting of her return to deep-water fishing after a ten year absence. Still holding the distinction of being the only female swordfish boat captain in America, Greenlaw shows that anything she lost in the last ten years because of age, she has more than made up for in experience. Her writing style matches her personality: straight forward, conversational and matter of fact. Sometimes you have to look up from the page to remind yourself that you are not sitting on a bar stool next to her.

In person Linda was easy going and easy to relate to. I found myself getting lost in her talk and the Q&A session was filled with great information and showed just how good she is at dealing with people, even the difficult ones. I love her no nonsense style. When asked about the trip chronicled in Seaworthy she said, “Was this trip a bust, yes. But I’ve been in the business long enough to know that some trips are like that.” Greenlaw was obviously un-phased by the financial calamity and went on to say that she is looking forward to getting back out on the water again. Her matter-of-fact reasoning is clear when the subject of her arrest for fishing in Canadian waters, which is covered in Seaworthy, came up. Her response was simply, “I was there and I was fishing.”  One very telling question asked by an attendee was, “Have you ever felt any pressure from you publisher to neutralize gender specific terms?” “No.” was the answer, “I’m a fisherman. That’s what I do.” She is the kind of person I would love to work for, just maybe not on a sword-boat.

Greenlaw splits her time between writing and fishing. I am looking forward to the next season of Swords – Life on the Line and delving into her first foray into fiction, Slipknot. She is someone I look up to a great deal. She has had more success as a writer than I can hope for and is more man than I’ll ever be.

Why Starbucks, why?

I don’t know if the promotion is cut, or if my local baristas just dropped the ball. I sincerely hope for the later. Hopefully they were just too busy this morning to get them set out. I guess I will have to subject myself to another soy latte tomorrow and see. Here’s hoping.

Anybody out there running a ‘zine or know of any good ones? I’d be happy to post them here.

Also, I am open for business as far as my freelance business goes. So, if your in need of a writer, don’t hesitate to let me know.

Prepared for more of Meyer’s acceptance, nay, encouragement of co-dependent, over protective relationships, I was pleasantly surprised. Bree, the main character, is a strong, uh. . ., vampire and is on her way to developing her independence before . . . well, I don’t want to spoil anything. I found myself liking Bree, even rooting for her, though I knew what the eventual outcome would be. The lessons that Meyer’s learned about incorporating a plot line into her stories in Eclipse have apparently taken hold.  I often found myself anxious to turn pages for more reasons than just finishing the book.

The most endearing part of the book, for me, was the fact that Bree actually has some traits to be admired. Other than the aforementioned strength, she has the drive and desire to better he situation. In Bree, I find a female character in the Twilight saga that might have served as a halfway decent role model. Though sad, there is even a moral to be found in Bree’s story.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner has nudged my following of Meyer’s from a stagnant professional curiosity and guided it in the direction of possibly becoming a real fan. If Breaking Dawn is in even close to being as enjoyable as The Short Second Life…, I may find myself looking  forward to her next book.

What do you have to say?

Today’s post by Meredith Blake is especially encouraging of my unhealthy habit of devouring books. In her post Rethinking the Beach Read, she explores the idea that certain types of books are better read in certain situations. I can’t agree more. I love her explanation of just what a beach read is, “The beach read is sometimes a happy accident, but it’s just as often a strategic decision: you’ve got time off, and you want to spend it reading just the right book.” Or, the pity she feels for an airport book, “There’s a whiff of loneliness and desperation to the airport book, like reading the back of the cereal box when you’re stuck without the morning paper.”

I know “beach read” is a subjective term; it means different things to different people. I know folks for whom the latest HTML5 book is their ideal beach read. Those poor souls. Some of us have never considered that a book might be more enjoyable in a certain situation. Though any book would be more enjoyable when read on the beach, I think my trip to Hawaii is going to be accompanied by a re-read of Cannery Row.

What’s your next Beach Read?

This weeks Pick of the Week is Is there Nothing We Could Do? by Badly Drawn Boy. Damon Gough’s voice is raw and honest. He tells the story of someone trying to help a woman escape her self-imposed prison. The lyrics are little disjointed, but they add a discomfort to the song which helps to identify with the woman. The music is both basic and monotonous. The strings, piano and guitar are subtly blended, which allows the listener to absorb the heart felt lyrics. An easy, repeated chord progression conveys the trapped feelings of the woman in the song; day after day, fighting futility and never moving to break free. The singer longs the help the woman, but can not make her see that there is a life beyond the one in which she feels so trapped.

Is There Nothing We Can Do? is a heart-wrenching song. Gough’s honest voice makes you want weep for the person trying to help. He bares his soul and brings you into his world. This is one freebee I would gladly pay for.

Has anyone else picked this one up? Any thoughts to share?

Hope to see you there.