The Best Way to Manage the To-do List, Fun Fact, and ROW80

This week served as a reminder of something I’ve blogged about before, but tend to forget on occasion: the best way to manage my to-do list is to not put too much on it in the first place!

This was one of those “took on too much” weeks. Not horrendously so, but there were things I simply did not get to. There are only so many hours in a day, and when a fixed amount of them must be spent on the paycheck job, and a necessary amount spent doing things like sleeping, and eating, that’s an even more limited time for the “other stuff,” which in my case includes writing, book cover designs, promotion of my writing (which I do next to none of anyway), projects and gifts for family and friends, spending time with those family and friends…

I read a business/productivity book not too long ago that suggested dividing the to-do list into an A-list, B-list, and C-list. The A-list are things that must be done that day, and should contain no more than three or four things. The B and C lists are nice-to-haves, with the B being the higher priority of the two, and both of these should ideally only contain one thing.

I have my three lists, but they’d grown longer than they should have. So this week, it’s back to basics.

One of those basics for me, of course, is writing, and my writing often necessitates research. I ran across an interesting tidbit a while back that I considered using, but decided wouldn’t fit. Still, it’s interesting enough to share here:

My Town Monday Fun Fact: Dayton’s First Murder and First Unsolved Death

Dayton was settled in 1796, but the frontier town managed to avoid the most heinous of crimes for its first ten  years. That changed on November 20, 1806, settler/farmer John Aiken beat his wife to death. No one had seen it coming–the Aikens had been good, upstanding citizens who paid their bills and got along with everyone, including, at least to all outward appearances, each other.

Aiken went to trial only five days later, speedy even for those days. He was a blubbering mess and couldn’t even speak for himself, so an associate (who’d also been charged with helping to cover up the crime) helped him hire an attorney. The men posted bail, and the trial was rescheduled.

John Aiken never made it out of the courthouse–he literally collapsed and died on the spot. There are no records to indicate why or how. The case against his associate was later dropped due to lack of evidence.

For more on this and other tales of historical bad-assery in Dayton, check out Spilt Blood by Curt Dalton, who operates Dayton History Books Online, one of my Best. Research. Sources. Ever. Mr. Dalton has published Spilt Blood, and several of his other wonderful books in their entirety on the site.

ROW80 Update:

ROW80Logo175Here’s how last week shook out. Not bad considering how much I’d loaded on:

  • 12,000 words on WIP – I actually only got 10,700, but I’m still on track for NaNoWriMo since I banked some words early in the month, so I’m going to count this as Done!
  • Keep up with lessons and homework for Promotions workshop – Done!
  • Refine layout of Shopping Cart page for family member’s web site – This was the one I just. Didn’t. Get to.
  • Fitness 4 times, no matter how short – Done!
  • Book cover design – still have to make a few tweaks, but I’ll consider this one Done!

This week’s goals are a little different, since the workshop wrapped up. Also, I’m spending the day Saturday with some out of town friends, so I really need to bank the words for that, as I don’t have any more banked for NaNoWriMo. We’ll see how it goes!

  • 12,000 words on WIP
  • Review video lessons for Promotions workshop first three weeks and take notes
  • Refine layout of Shopping Cart page for family member’s web site
  • Fitness 4 times, no matter how short

What about you–have you found yourself taking on too much lately? Are you afraid you will next month, with the holidays on the way? If you’re doing NaNoWriMo and/or ROW80, how are you doing? Or if you’re not, how are you doing on whatever goals you might have? Do you know anything about the first murder to have happened where you live? Please share–I’d love to hear from you!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

Scale Back for a Win! and Down in a Hole in Dayton, plus ROW80

Scaling down my fitness goals this week totally worked for me! I’m still dealing with some lingering health issues–again, nothing major, just enough that I don’t feel up to much of a workout. But telling myself “just five or ten minutes” did the trick, and I was able to do just that! It’s true, you really can do anything for five or ten minutes.

I also did well in getting the middle of my book mapped out, and feel good about the direction it’s going. I did a lot of research reading, which leads me to this week’s My Town Monday Fun Fact:

My Town Monday Fun Fact: Dayton’s First Jail

Newcom Tavern

Newcom’s Tavern today, in Carillon Historical Park

The first substantial building constructed in early Dayton was Newcom’s Tavern, built in 1798-99. The two-story log cabin was unique at the time, the first in the budding town to use mortar as log chinking. In addition to being the general gathering place for the small community, Newcom’s was also the sheriffs’s office, courthouse, church, school, and general store. Its proprietor, George Newcom, served as the county Sheriff until 1809.

But the town didn’t have a real jail until December of 1804, when a sturdy log structure featuring iron-barred windows was completed. And while there were only a couple dozen families living in Dayton (if that), there were enough people there that disagreements happened, and someone occasionally decided to solve a dispute with his fists, or by taking it upon himself to collect payment in the form of livestock, etc. Natives also lived in the area, and while they adhered to the 1795 Treaty of Greenville and no longer attacked settlers, they occasionally helped themselves to someone’s chickens.

Native American offenders were locked up in the corncrib behind Newcom’s until they were brought to trial (which was a much speedier process back then than today). But white offenders were lowered into Newcom’s well! (It was dry; Newcom must’ve dug another one). Today, “the hole” refers to being in solitary confinement, a practice decried by some prisoners’ rights advocates. Imagine what they would have thought of Dayton’s first jail!

ROW80Logo175So now back to my ROW80 Goals. Last week’s were:

  • Finish sketching out/outlining middle of WIP – Done!
  • Keep up with lessons and homework for Promotions workshop – Done!
  • Refine layout of Shopping Cart page and individual product page for family member’s web site – No
  • Fitness 4 times, no matter how short – Done!

I didn’t get to the web site, so that stays on the list for this week. Things are going to change a little bit too, because I’m participating in NaNoWriMo, and that starts November 1! Yes, I’m planning to get that 50,000 words written this month. I’ve done it twice before, so I know I can, even though it’s ambitious. I’m not even shoving other stuff off to do it–it really doesn’t take that long to get the words written, once you sit down and do it. I am, however, going to stick to the shorter workouts, though I’ll spend longer times on the treadmill if/when I feel up to it. So here are this week’s goals:

  • 4500 words on WIP
  • Keep up with lessons and homework for Promotions workshop
  • Refine layout of Shopping Cart page and individual product page for family member’s web site
  • Fitness 4 times, no matter how short

What about you–if you’re a writer, are you, or have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo? (If you are, I’d love to be your buddy – I’m jennettemariepowell over there.) If you’re not a writer, or not doing NaNo, have you taken on any super-ambitious goals lately with something else?  Can you imagine being jailed by being tossed into a well? Please share–I’d love to hear from you!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

 

When is it Time to Push Back on our Goals? and the Man who Saved Dayton, plus ROW80

The best thing about ROW80, the writing challenge that knows you have a life, is the fact that we’re encouraged to be flexible. That’s good, because a couple of my goals are already presenting challenges for me.

One of those is fitness. I try to do a good half-hour interval workout on my treadmill three times a week, plus a shorter workout of weight-bearing exercises a couple times between them. It doesn’t sound like much, but it works for me and I can tell a difference when I keep up with it. But lately, I’ve had some health issues – nothing major, just enough that I don’t feel up to doing that half-hour on the treadmill, or doing push-ups, etc. So it’s time to cut back. Lately, I’ve read that three ten-minute sessions is just as good or better than one half-hour long one anyway. Even five minutes is better than nothing, so I’m going to try doing something–anything–for those four workout sessions this week.

I’ve also had some challenges  with the writing, as in I’ve been doing more procrastinating than writing (or even outlining). I know that procrastination is usually a symptom of something else. Sometimes it can happen because we don’t physically feel well, but it often happens when we don’t have the proper tools, information, or preparation to do a job. In my case, I need to do some more research. So I’m going to leave my goal the same there, but focus more on the research, which I already started on last week. Which leads me to something interesting I learned:

Daniel C. Cooper (1773-1818)

Daniel C. Cooper (1773-1818) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My Town Monday Fun Fact: The Man Who Saved Dayton

In 1787, John Cleves Symmes claimed the land between the Great and Little Miami rivers without waiting for approval from Congress. The first settlers moved into the area in 1796, only to learn two years later they might have no legal right to the land they’d paid for and worked to clear and build on. In 1799, congress set a price of $2.00 an acre–$1.17 more than they’d paid. Many didn’t have the cash, and left. Most of the rest would have, until Daniel C. Cooper, one of the original surveyors, bought the land that included the town–around 3,000 acres–for the government’s asking price, then sold it to the settlers for whatever they could afford, offering payment plans to many. He also gave the town land for churches, the courthouse, jail and other civic buildings, a park, marketplaces, and a graveyard. The park is still called Cooper Park today, and is includes the main branch of the Dayton Metro Library.

ROW80Logo175So now back to my ROW80 Goals. Last week’s were:

  • Finish sketching out/outlining first quarter of WIP – No
  • Keep up with lessons and homework for Promotions workshop – Done!
  • Refine layout of product listing page and individual product page for web site – Done!
  • Fitness 4 times – No

This week, I’m going to keep the same list, but with “fitness” referring to smaller workouts if necessary and the outlining focusing on research. For the website, it’s time to develop the Shopping Cart page.

What about you–whether or not you’re doing ROW80, have you needed to adjust your goals or expectations lately? Do you have trouble with procrastination–and if so, do you know why? Have you learned anything interesting about your hometown lately? Please share–I’d love to hear from you!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

How to Tell if Something is Worth Your Time, Fun Fact, and Goals Update

It’s been said many times (including by me) that we don’t find time to write (or do whatever it is that we want to do), we make time. But how can we make time when so often, our days are so full?

One way is to eliminate activities that don’t contribute to the things that are important to us, and when faced with a particular activity, ask whether–and how much–it does contribute.  I might ask myself, does this enhance a relationship? Am I learning something? Is it getting my novel written, or giving me a new/more practiced skill I can use in my day job? If not, I think of how I can eliminate that task, or at least reduce the amount of time I spend there. You can guess where housework falls on that continuum. 😀 Same with much of what’s on TV, or playing level after level of computer games. But taking a break to play Candy Crush for five minutes can be some much-needed downtime. So if you’re trying to eke out a few more minutes here and there for something that’s important to you, see where you can eliminate time spent on something that’s not!

My Town Monday Fun Fact

Wright Flyer IIIEven though I’m posting this on Sunday, many people don’t read until Monday, so I figured why not keep up the My Town Monday Fun Fact? Here’s this week’s: Many people think that the only mobile National Historic Landmark is the San Francisco Cable Cars. Not true! There are others, and one of those is right here in Dayton. It’s the Wright Flyer III, the world’s first practical airplane. Built by Wilbur and Orville Wright in 1905, it’s the first Flyer that could turn, make circles, and fly in the more variable winds we have here in Ohio. And even though it’s a National Historic Landmark, and part of the National Park System, you can see it today: it’s housed at Dayton’s Carillon Historical Park, which is operated by Dayton History, and unaffected by the government shutdown.

ROW80 Goals Update

ROW80Logo175My goals for this past week were:

  • Finish sketching out/outlining first quarter of WIP – Done!
  • Keep up with lessons and homework for Promotions workshop – Done!
  • Refine layout of product listing page and individual product page for web site – Partial
  • Fitness 4 times – No

I am going to keep those same goals this week, and try to outline/sketch out the second quarter of the WIP.

What about you – do you sometimes struggle to find–I mean, make–time for the things that are important to you? Which activities would you like to eliminate? Did you know the Wright Flyer III is a mobile National Historic Landmark? How are you doing on your goals, whatever they may be? Please share–I’d love to hear from you!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

ROW80 Round 4 Goals, Productivity Tip, and My Town Monday Fun Fact!

ROW80Logo175It’s time to ROW again! And that means it’s time for new writing goals. But first, it occurred to me that a lot of people might not know what ROW80 is, and I write this assuming everyone does know. ROW80 stands for “A Round of Words in 80 Days” and is “the writing challenge that knows you have a life.” What this means, is that unlike other well-known writing challenges like National Novel Writing Month for example, ROW80 is not a one-size-fits-all goal. It’s whatever goal(s) the participant wants to set. The goals don’t need to be words written–they can be revision, planning, promotion… anything! Some participants throw other life goals in as well, like fitness, home organizing, or spending time with family. It’s also perfectly acceptable–encouraged, even–to change our goals as needed. Every Sunday and Wednesday, we post links at the ROW80 Blog and go to each others’ blogs to offer encouragement and support. But even this is flexible–many participants check in only once a week (I just do Sundays), and others only when they have something to report. So if you’re a writer and would like to get in on a great goals group that’s flexible enough to work for your goals, why not check it out?

ROW80 participants have different ways of defining and measuring goals, too. Most will define a set of goals for the whole 80 day Round and just measure progress toward those, but some of us break it down further. I do week-by-week goals. Here are mine for the overall Round:

  • I want to have my Work-in-Progress completely outlined by the end of October, preferably sooner.
  • I’m going to do NaNoWriMo, and I want to get 50,000 more words written on my WIP by the end of November.
  • I’m also taking an online workshop on Promotions that goes for six weeks, and I plan to keep up with that and all the associated homework.
  • I’m going easy in December, because I usually don’t get much done then, but I’d like to get an additional 10,000 words on the WIP.
  • In non-writing goals, I’m adding a product catalog to my family member’s website, so I want to get that done, too.
  • I also want to keep up with fitness activity each week.

My goals for this week:

  • Finish sketching out/outlining first quarter of WIP
  • Keep up with lessons and homework for Promotions workshop, which begins tomorrow
  • Refine layout of product listing page and individual product page for web site
  • Fitness 4 times

Productivity Tip

Something I found that helped immensely in my book planning was timed writing. This will be obvious to some, and it’s something I’ve done before, but I’d forgotten how effective it was. Simply set a timer for as little as five minutes (I’m doing ten minutes) and just write notes. It doesn’t matter what it is, just write. This frees us up from perfectionism and worrying about getting it “just right.” When the timer goes off, stop. Congratulate yourself for getting it done, then go do something else. If you feel like it, do another session later, but no beating yourself up if you don’t! Do sessions of the amount of time you picked for at least a week before increasing the time–and then, increase only by five minutes per week. This has pulled out some great stuff for the scenes I’m sketching out, and I now have a much more interesting beginning planned for my WIP.

Fun My Town Monday Fact

Dayton has its own Walk of Fame! It’s located on the near West Side, right in front of the restored Wright Bros. Cycle Shop, which is part of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park. There are over a hundred people recognized there–inventors (of course!), authors, artists, entertainers, business people, educators, musicians, athletes, and others who contributed to society. There’s a great Flickr gallery of it here.

What about you? If you’re participating in ROW80, what are your goals this Round? If you’re not, (even if you’re not a writer), do you have any goals you’re working toward? Have you ever tried the timer for writing, or anything else? (I’ve found it’s great for housework, too.) Have you ever visited a Walk of Fame? Please share–I’d love to hear from you!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

My Town Monday: A Useful Tool from Dayton

You probably have one in your home, and think nothing of it. I know I don’t, and being a short person, I probably use them more than most people! This ordinary, everyday object I’m talking about is the folding stepladder.

US34100-0

Original patent application

Similar devices existed before Dayton carpenter John H. Balsley developed his folding stepladder in January, 1862, but his had a couple of new twists. One of these was his use of flat boards for the ladder slats, as opposed to rounded pieces, hence the “step” in stepladder. His other innovation was hinging the ladder at the top, making it easy to fold and store.

He applied for a renewal patent in 1865, and patented an improved version in 1870, although I wasn’t able to determine what was different about the latter, as I couldn’t find any pictures of that model specifically. Over the next fifteen years, Mr. Balsley went on to develop and patent an adjustable table leg, a tobacco drying machine, and a paper bag machine. His inventions made him a wealthy businessman, and he sold his stepladder company in 1882 to go into real estate investment.

Newspaper ad from 1861 via Dayton Metro Library

Newspaper ad from 1861 via Dayton Metro Library

This is one example of those “huh, that’s cool” things I run across while doing research. I don’t see using it in my books, but you never know, and it’s fun anyway.

So there’s your little bit of My Town Monday. A shout-out to Karen McFarland for letting me know that people besides my family read and enjoyed these posts – thanks, Karen! Knowing that, I’ll probably bring one in to my regular ROW80 update once a month or so.

As for my goals and writing progress, I got a good bit of outlining done this week, and that will continue. ROW80 resumes on October 7, so if you’re a writer and want some camaraderie and motivation, why not check it out and join us?

Have you encountered any fun facts lately? In either case, what have you been up to this week? Please share – I’d love to hear from you!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

My Town Monday: Are you afraid to look like Chicken Little?

One hundred years ago, the sky fell in Dayton. Or to be more precise, rain. A lot of it.

We’re coming up on the anniversary of the worst natural disaster in Ohio’s history, the Great Flood of 1913.  By far, the hardest hit community was Dayton, and plenty of people lost their lives.

It could have been a lot worse, which was well-shown in 1913, a wonderful play my family attended last week, performed by Wright State University’s theater department. The play was based on an equally-fantastic narrative nonfiction book, A Time of Terror by Allan W. Eckert (which is, sadly, out of print).

As in the actual event, the play showed some people who died, and many who didn’t, but it was quickly clear that the death toll would have been much higher had it not been for one man who took a great risk: John H. Patterson, the president of NCR (the National Cash Register Company).

John H. Patterson surveys the flood (in derby hat, third from right)

John H. Patterson (in derby hat, third from right) surveys the flood (Photo via Dayton Metro Library)

In the play, Patterson is first shown meeting with his executive staff at NCR. He wants to survey the city–in particular, the levees. It had been raining since the weekend, after the ground was already saturated from snowmelt, and Patterson had a bad feeling.

His staff questioned this. Yes, Dayton was prone to flooding, lying in an S-curve where four rivers came together, but the levees had held up just fine for over a decade. Patterson was being alarmist, and was worried over nothing.

But Patterson was a wealthy and powerful individual, so the executives went, and reported back that the river was close, but they were sure it would crest before it reached the top of the levees.

However, the rain showed no sign of abating, and this was not a risk Patterson was willing to take. Dayton was going to be flooded, and it was going to be much, much worse than the last time it had suffered a major flood, he was certain. Fires would break out when gas lines beneath the city ruptured. Hundreds, if not thousands, would be displaced from their homes. Lives would be lost–unless they acted fast.

NCR was located on the south side of town, on high ground. At the time, it was one of the biggest corporate complexes in the world, and boasted its own cafeteria, gym, barber shop, and other amenities for the employees. It also had its own wells and power plant, and was perfectly suited to handle the influx of refugees that were sure to come. So Patterson decreed on the morning of March 23, 1913, that NCR was now the Citizens’ Relief Association until further notice. He ordered employees to procure all the food, blankets, clothing, and medicine they could find. He set the factory workers to stop making cash registers, and to instead use the wood to manufacture hundreds of flat-bottomed boats. He commanded people to work in the kitchens and start baking bread, and making soup, sandwiches and coffee–as much as they could.

While Patterson did a lot for the community–he engineered many benefits such as a night school for employees and well-lit factories–he was also a control freak and a tyrannical boss who fired people seemingly at whim. He eliminated competitors with ruthless precision; in fact, he’d been convicted of antitrust violations just a few weeks before and had been sentenced to spend a year in prison, which he was at the time appealing. When Patterson handed out orders to deal with the flood he expected, people thought he was nuts, but since he controlled their paychecks, they did what he told them to do.

This photo, used on the cover of Time's Enemy, gives a glimpse of how bad it was

This photo, used on the cover of Time’s Enemy, gives a glimpse of how bad it was – look at the streetlights (Photo via Dayton Metro Library)

An hour later, the first levee broke on the north side of town, and it wasn’t long before refugees began to arrive. Within hours, other levees had broken, and the city was inundated with over 12 feet of water in places. People were trapped in the upper floors of their homes and workplaces, in attics, and on roofs. Workers in the flat-bottomed boats made with mahogany wood intended for cash registers trawled the city for survivors, and brought thousands back to NCR for food, dry clothing, and a place to sleep. In my novel Time’s Enemy, my characters Tony and Charlotte are trapped in a freezing-cold attic, then must flee when fire encroaches. An NCR boat picks them up. Later, Tony helps rescue others.

Depending on which estimates you read, the death toll ranges anywhere from a hundred-sixty-some to over four hundred people. But how much worse would it have been if John H. Patterson hadn’t risked looking like a fool, and risked a great deal of money proactively turning his manufacturing operation into one focused on rescue and relief?

Have you ever seen something coming, but kept quiet for fear of being thought a Chicken Little? Or have you spoken up, and been glad you took the risk? Have you heard about the 1913 flood, and the role played by NCR boss John H. Patterson? I’d love to hear from you!

As a side note, I’m going to be appearing at the Wilmington-Stroop branch of the Dayton Metro Library this Saturday, Feb. 16th, at 10:00 AM to talk about writing romance with readers and fellow authors Macy Beckett/Melissa Landers, Lorie Langdon, Jess Granger/Kristin Bailey, and Stacy McKitrick. There will be coffee and chocolate! If you’re in the area, we’d love to see you there!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

Would you buy a car from this guy?

Yesterday was that great American holiday known as Superbowl Sunday, where the NFL’s top two teams duke it out… AND we get to see the year’s best commercials! I will have to admit I didn’t watch much yesterday–too much else to do, and I didn’t really care who won–but when I do watch. it’s mostly for the commercials!

We have some good–well, depending on how you define “good”–local commercials, too. Take these car commercials for instance. The guy in the commercials is the sales manager for Dayton area dealership group, and whether or not you’re in the market for new car, if you live in Dayton and ever turn on the TV, you’ve seen them–and probably have an opinion on them. Love ’em or hate ’em, they’re certainly memorable!

You see, this guy pops up whenever anyone mentions buying a new car… and in some of the weirdest places! It goes something like this: a husband and wife, or maybe a couple of friends, are talking and one of them mentions something like “yeah, and after this, I need to go shop for a new car.” Then this sales manager guy pops into the middle of everything (and I mean everything!) and says, “Did someone say something about BUYING A CAR??!!”

He has shown up in a ladies’ aerobics class:

 

…in the middle of a wedding:

 

…in someone’s hot tub!

 

…even in the delivery room! O.o

 

He’s shown up in the ladies’ room at a night club (in a separate stall!). He’s even shown up in bed with a husband and wife! (In the middle!) Everyone was clothed, but… ewww!

 

In case you’re wondering, I did not buy my Camaro from these guys, but about a year later, they bought the dealership I bought from! When we were thinking about placing an order (this was before production began), my husband said, “I don’t want that guy showing up in my hot tub!” LOL!

What about you? Would you buy a car from this guy? Do you think these commercials are funny? Creepy? Or just dumb? If you watched the Superbowl last night, which commercial was your favorite? Mine was the one for milk, with the Rock. 🙂 I’d love to hear from you!


On another note, I’m at the ROW80 blog today, talking about how to Set a Goal You Can’t Miss. Stop by and let me know what you think!

Is your hometown diverse? What about your books?

I’m in the final stages of preparing my new novel, Hangar 18: Legacy, for release. And here in the U.S., it’s Dr. Martin Luther King Day, where we celebrate the life of Dr. King and his fight for civil rights–equality for all people regardless of race or gender. As I worked through the final proofread and formatting of my book, I noticed it had a fairly diverse cast.

Teenagers JumpingDid I do this intentionally? Yes and no. It was something I thought about, for my book takes place in Dayton, specifically at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. And neither would be accurate if it wasn’t racially diverse.

Lisa Stark, the heroine of Hangar 18, is Asian.This was intentional: as a child adopted by white Americans, in an all-white small town, she looked different, but really wasn’t–she’s as American as I am. In contrast, my hero looks like a typical military guy, but he has unique, psychic abilities. But with other characters, I didn’t necessarily plan them to be black or Hispanic, I just imagined them that way. And no, they aren’t all in stereotypical, subservient roles, but do a variety of jobs–just like in real life. I’d like to think that I imagined a diverse cast of characters because this mimics real life.

My Saturn Society books are similar. Some characters just appeared to me as non-white. For example, the head of the Dayton Saturn Society House, Chad Everly, is Hispanic. Since the time-travel ability originated in Latin America, this leads into some interesting backstory for him, which isn’t in any of the books (yet). Theodore Pippin, who ran the Dayton Saturn Society House in the 1930s, is black, and that was done for a reason. At first he wasn’t, but I had a problem: he was in pursuit of Tony, the main character, but I needed a reason he couldn’t just walk into the restaurant where Tony was eating and apprehend him.

TimesEnemy211The solution was perfect, as it fit into the time period. It also emphasized how monumental a thing Tony had done by going into the past. Here’s a brief excerpt:

Tony hesitated as he reached for the door handle of Irving’s Restaurant. The narrow, old frame structure and its hand-lettered front window reminded him of the tobacco shop where he and Charlotte had found refuge during the flood.

But it was the sign above the door that made the enormity of what he’d done hit him like a sucker punch to the gut: Whites Only.

He’d gone back a century in time by will alone. A time where men still tipped their hats to women—ladies—and offered them their seats on the bus, and no one got offended. A time before civil rights, when it was acceptable to deny someone entrance to a public establishment solely on the basis of race. Even an honest, respectable businessman like his friend Bernie.

Thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of people like Dr. King, it’s hard for me to imagine this kind of discrimination, as I can’t remember a time when it was allowed. As Dr. King said, we’ve come a long way, but there’s still a long way to go. Discrimination was real (and unfortunately still is, albeit to a lesser extent), it was historically accurate, and giving my book a diverse cast helped me to lend this extra little bit of historical authenticity to Time’s Enemy.

What about you–have you read books where everyone was white-bread American, or were they diverse? If they didn’t reflect reality, did you notice? Have you read any good, racially-diverse books lately–or any where the historical lack of civil rights was a key part of the story? I’d love to hear from you!

Merry Christmas!

…to those who celebrate it, and to those who don’t… well, if you get a day off of work, enjoy it! Otherwise, have a good day! Because here in My Town, it’s Christmas Eve and I’m busy, busy, busy…

And with that, I’ll leave you with my favorite Christmas song ever, Bob & Doug McKenzie’s “12 Days of Christmas.” I’ll take my beer on the table, please. 😀