Friday, September 24, 2010

Remember Hero London?

 old picture. very old and very posed but it's of me writing so it works.

Okay folks, I'm going to go out on a bit of a limb here. I'm not averse to sharing my writing with people--not by a long shot. But for some reason, I'm a little shy about this one.

Earlier this year, I decided I wanted to do a modern re-write of Phantom of the Opera. Yeah, I know... like we need another "retelling" in this world of remakes.  Hawaii 5-O? seriously? But I liked this idea. And so did my friend Marie T who is the most gifted proofreader I've ever met... at least the most gifted unbiased proofreader I've ever met.

So I decided to work on this untitled piece today. I'd like to share a little snippet with you. If you have any constructive criticism, I appreciate it. Just don't tell me it stinks worse than Arizona armpits. Please.
Let me give you a bit of background first: Our main character is 17-year-old Ellie. Her mom died when she was two and her dad died just weeks before the beginning of the story. In his will, he left money and a wish for Ellie to attend the prestigious Eastmond Academy boarding school after he was gone. This excerpt takes place the night Ellie was brought to the school. The semester hasn't started yet, so she hasn't seen any other students.
Okay.... here we go.

     What time was it? Early or late? I didn’t have a watch. Even if it was close enough to dawn to get up, what was I going to do? I didn’t know where anything was, not even the bathroom… a detail that my body was beginning to remind me.
     Maybe I could go back to sleep. I put the picture of my parents on my night stand and lied down looking at it. But the growing gnaw in my bladder refused to let me relax. There had to be a bathroom somewhere in this infernal place.
     I got out of bed and tip-toed to the door. Peeking out into the hallway, I was again greeted by the spooky, claustrophobic hallway softly lit by dim night-lights. The hallway was deserted, the silence sleepy and absolute.
     Should I start opening doors until I found one with a toilet? It was worth a try. I doubted any other students were here yet. I tried the knob on room 16B. It was locked. Down the hall I continued, attempting locked doors and biting my lower lip. The first door at the entrance to the west wing didn’t have numbers on it. Maybe this was the one. I reached for the handle, but paused.
     At first I thought I was imagining things. I had to be… it was the middle of the night. Wasn’t it? I suppose it could have been early in the morning… I took a step closer to the hallway leading to the stairwell in my stocking feet and listened harder. The sound became unmistakable.
     Singing. A soft voice… tenor if my guess was right. Like my dad. But more beautiful; like someone had taken his voice and added brown sugar. I didn’t know the song. The words were too far away to be perceptible. The unfamiliar tune was rich and melancholy. It sounded like a melody my heart would make drifting around the cold corridors of Eastmond Academy. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would be singing at this time of night; perhaps one of the gifted students who was getting in some early rehearsal time. But I continued to listen, my steps taking me closer to the stairwell to hear it better.
     I ran my hand along the banister of the landing. There were no more stairs going up, but the voice was coming from above. I stared at the ceiling as I moved along the landing, all need for the restroom forgotten. I didn’t know who was singing and I couldn’t seem to figure out where they were. All I wanted was to keep listening.
    Just as I was about to sink to the floor to sit and soak up the sound of the voice, I heard a door close. I gasped, jolted out of the sweet, dream-like peace I had been wandering in.


That's all I'm going to share today. I hope you like it. I hope it's not too weird or cheesy. Or dumb.
Who was the voice Ellie heard? Who was the person that interrupted this nocturnal excursion?
You'll have to wonder.
 

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

When do I get a wife?

Ok I know that sounds weird. But after

working a 9 hour day
coming home
taking a moment to sit for 20 mins.
cooking dinner
doing dishes in the sink while dinner is cooking
cleaning up dinner
THEN getting a shower
all with my back killing me and my belling expanding by the second, causing my ligaments to painfully protest as they pull and stretch to accommodate our little Ladybug.

I can't help but think....
Must be nice to have a wife.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Omen? Heck freaking no

I was browsing blogs a second ago. One of the many I follow is called Writing on the Wall. It's a blog for weirdos like me who love writing.

So here I was, sitting, reading this post by Julie Wright ha ha, I typed out 'write' before correcting it to 'wright' which was this super inspirational post about how being a writer is not just what you do, it's who you are.

And in the middle of my reading, without any warning at all, the computer logs off. All by itself. Just turns off. Then turns back on.

Weird.

For a second, only a second mind you, I thought... does this really mean I'm not supposed to be a writer? I mean, seriously! The computer just blanked! Could it be a sign? OMGosh! What does it meeeeaaaan? if any of you have seen the video of the crazy double rainbow guy on youtube, you'll get that joke. If you haven't you gotta see it. Ridiculously psychotically hilarious.

Answer:

I say again: heck freaking no.

I AM a writer. A few months of morning sickness, hormones, and self-esteem issues isn't going to change that. Turning my heart to my new full-time job of being a mother isn't going to change that. Writer's block, even this sticky, hairy, monstrously ugly, crud-stuck-in-the-shower-drain kind of creative constipation isn't going to change it either.

I'm still me. I'm still going to be a Mom and a wife, first and foremost. But the great thing about womanhood is that there is never an end to the many hats we can wear.

And the writer hat isn't ever coming off.

So as soon as the Man gets his own laptop from the dental school and I get mine back for good...

Guess what, people. Hero London is back.

P.S. Hero London is my pen name for those of you who don't know, which is probably about 97% of you.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Things I don't heart so much

~aching back
~yucky tummy
~feeling hiiiiiideous
~Hobby Lobby not having the right kind of coupon so I don't have to pay full price for that super cool scrapbook paper holder thingy.

Okay, now I'm just whining.


On the other hand...


Good things about today that make me happy:
~I had a really fun day with the Man running errands!
~I very much love my new bloggy layout that I spent forever on.
~I'm watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarves on tv.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Things I heart today:

~days off
~brownies
~mod podge
~the squirming in my uterus

Friday, September 3, 2010

An update or two on this crazy, awesome week!




Sorry I've been so silent this week! After work, I'm so tired and grouchy, the last thing I want to do is blog even if I have a ton to blog about.

But on to the updates!

Here's the Man on his first day of dental school!! Looking very smart and strapping in his shirt and tie.  The picture was taken on Monday. He wanted to make a good first impression and I'm sure he did. Until he was able to get some scrubs, which is what all the dental students wear, he could stick to a collared shirt and slacks.

And yes, I'm totally channeling my mom's DNA by taking this first-day-of-school picture. He was a good sport about it! usually he hates getting his picture taken.


This next picture I took this morning because it was his first day wearing scrubs.

I had gone to the grocery store early this morning while the air is below "oven" degrees and he was helping me unload them. This time I had to sneak in the picture. He didn't want it taken. You can tell what a considerate wife I am. isn't he cuuute?


And here's me! 20 weeks and all is well!

Half way there!
Got to hear her heartbeat this morning and it sounded good and healthy.


And the fact that my head is in none of these shots is entirely on purpose. I think I've gained ten pounds in  just my face alone.


And... I now present to you....
the very first thing me and the Daddy-to-be bought for our little girl.

We went to the ASU store today. He wanted to buy himself some game shirts. And we found this! and it's piiink!

We've recieved lots of things already; hand-me-downs and borrowed stuff. But this is the first thing we've actually purchased for her. Since she'll be born in January, I think it'll really come in handy! We'll put this on her the day we bring her home from the hospital.


And that's it for our updates. Thank you.