Mechelle Morrison's Blog: in a world where ...., page 6

Or, “The Time of Brutal Honesty”

If you’ve raised a teen, you know: the drama is Broadway-worthy. The emotional highs and lows rival a shaky stock market. There is never anything to wear. Never good food in the house. Boredom is as common as worms after rain. Money should spew from an ATM like water from an open spigot. Cleaning is for servants (meaning ME). Homework can only be done after ten p.m.

I blame refrigeration. Seriously. Until there were fridges, most people worked on farms. There wasn’t time to ‘hang out.’ There was no TV, no Internet, no iTunes, no Apps. No time for vanity or too many shoes. A lot of people didn’t even have electricity. Let alone a spare car. Shopping was not a placebo for therapy. Christmas didn’t require a third income. Birthdays were not ‘events.’ You got a cake and you were happy and the next day you were back in the fields with everyone else.

But alack. It’s 2016. I have a fridge. And I have a teenager. Which is not that different from having a toddler. I mean, both see the world through honest eyes. Toddlers see the wonder—I will always remember the first time my daughter experienced snow. Teenagers see the hypocrisy. When my daughter watches the news she informs me that ADULTS SUCK. “Adults are ruining the world,” she says. “Thanks a lot.”

Strong opinions don’t bother me—in fact, a secret part of me hopes my daughter never loses the ability to let it rip. Her honesty inspires me! More on that next time ….

The phrase "It's Always Something" has taken on a whole new meaning in my household this year. And I'm only 74 days in .....

Today, for example, I gracefully spilled a cup of olive oil all over my favorite shoes. (You wouldn't think something like this was possible but I'm here to tell you. It is.) A few weeks ago, my husband went out of town and--no lie--the very next morning I found myself running my daughter to the emergency room. Four hours and four hundred dollars later, the diagnosis was cramps. On Saturday I went for a fabulous spring walk with a friend and a CRAZY WOMAN tried to run us down as we crossed the road IN A CROSSWALK. As she sped away she honked and kindly flipped the bird.

If only she'd taken the time to chat. I could have recommended my neighbor. She's a certified therapist.

Life goes on like this daily ... the proof is in the olive oil. My 2016 planets have aligned oddly and all I can do is roll with them. BUT. When meteors have come my way, like they do at times for all of us, they have been golden. Which brings me to my favorite meteor so far. For years and years and years I've written and written and written. Every day. To the detriment of my housework and my connection with other human beings and my sad, sad garden. What can I say? I love to write. Then, in February, I received my first request for a full manuscript. It happened at a writing conference. It was unexpected. Out of the blue. Which come to think of it, is exactly how meteors strike. Anyway, I had to wait hours until I could throw myself on my bed and cry with joy. Small moments of validation are, after all, what keep me keepin' on.

Difficult years are always interesting years, and in my world, interesting equals busy. So across 2016, I may not be able to post on my blog as regularly as I like. I have teenaged cramps to deal with, a house that could be quarantined for biological anomalies (I'm cleaning today, I think), and hosts of daily minions that add up to Life Happens.

Still, I wanted to take a moment and thank the wonderful Goodreads community for reading my self-published stories. There will be more. I promise. I have two in the works beyond the one that MAY find itself with a publisher. It's fabulous sci-fi, and it's my fav.

I'll keep you posted ....

Read on, Goodreaders.
M

Please stand by . . . .

new BOW:
My current BOW comes from the library: 'What they do in the Dark,' by Amanda Coe. I know NOTHING of this book, so I'll keep you posted! Is it awesome? Creepy? Wildly creative? Inquisitive minds want to know....

new STUFF:
I actually made it through the first week of writing and illustrating 'Five-Fifteen' on Instagram. I didn't miss a day but mercy! It's consuming to paint and write at the same time.

My favorite illustration of the week? The owl and moon posted four days ago. I love the owl's style, his shifty little eyes, the moon's grandeur. It all came together better than I thought. (to view said owl, check out my Instagram feed: mech.morris)

I must say, Goodreaders, that it's strange to write a story day-by-day and include pictures! It's like making a story-board for a movie, not penning a novel. Next week: the alien world awakes ....

If you want to come up-to-date with 'Five-Fifteen,' the first chapter (at least the first chapter so far) is posted on my blog (along with a really cool picture of a tree):
[email protected]

Read on!
M

THE BOW:
I'm currently reading 'Burr,' by Gore Vidal. Though I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction, I have to say, this book is brilliant. Awesome. Fabulous. So well written I often find my mouth hanging open in sheer wonder. Such incredible wit. Such amazing grasp of the English language! Based on the life and times of Aaron Burr, Mr. Vidal's impeccably researched tome is not only history-from-a-different-point-of-view, it's also funny. Here's a sample:

"Senator Brown had the expansive manner peculiar to the frontier where one is always offered the world while settling for a mug of home-made whiskey."

I can hardly wait to read on.

THE STUFF:
For those of you following 'Five-Fifteen' on my Instagram (or catching up on the story-so-far by reading it on my blog), next week brings a new layer of challenge. Cheyenne, our heroine, has just arrived in a strange new world. Do I subject my Instagram audience to my illustrative capabilities for the duration of the story, or do I continue on with photographs--even though the photos come from the world we know and love.

*sigh and a drum roll* I think I'll be drawing for you.

Read on, Goodreaders,
M

Hello,
I'm sure most of you have read, or seen, Julie & Julia. You know ... the woman who decides to cook every one of Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" recipes in a year. (I have Julia Child's cookbook, BTW. Cooking all of that in a lifetime would be a feat. Let alone in a year. And I swear, you'd gain a lot of weight.)

Anyway.

I'm ten days into posting "Five-Fifteen" on my Instagram account. (I post on Instagram M-F.) I bring up Julie & Julia because so far I've cried, moped around the house, freaked out at my husband and fretted through a sleepless night. What was I thinking??? It's already hair-rippingly difficult to write. And now I've added pictures....

So. I give myself a little cheer-leading session after each Instagram posting. I go to my blogspot and add the line(s) debuted for the day. It's kind of cool to see the story build, but it's also good to read what I've done so far. I think about where this story is going and why. I tell myself I can do this. I can post my book across 2016 on Instagram. I pat myself on the head like the Grinch did for Miss Cindy Lou Who.

Then, my personal rah-ray complete, I spend an hour or so preparing for the next few lines.

Sometimes it's the ant and the rubber tree plant, Goodreaders. But mostly it's just line upon line.
Read on.
M

I've been working on a new story called 'Five-fifteen.' It's become my current favorite. Here's the summary:

'Cheyenne Livingston-Long mistakenly wanders into another dimension, only to fall in love with her dangerous new world ... and the boy fated to fight for its survival.'

The format of this story is unusual ... so much so that I decided to tell the story via instagram. The first few sentences posted tonight on: mech.morris

(How lovely, to shorten my excruciatingly long name to a mere few syllables!)

If you'd like to follow the story, please do! The first post was today (December 30). The next post is January 1. After that I'll post a few lines Monday-Friday, about 5:15 MST every evening.

I'll also post each chapter (as it completes) on my blog.

Enjoy, Goodreaders!
M

Everything on Goodreads has changed! I love it!

So my latest WIP is basically consuming all of my time. But! Stay tuned. Though writing and the Holidays keep me busy at the moment, come the break .... something fun & new!

Merry Merry to all,
M

I love historical non-fiction. Especially when it's written like an adventure. So if you know anything about "The River of Doubt," by Candice Millard, then you'll know why it's an easy book to adore and a very hard one to put down.

The book tells the story of Theodore Roosevelt's (yes, President Theodore Roosevelt) journey down the then-unexplored-by-white-people tributary of the Amazon known as (you guessed it) The River of Doubt.

I, for one, have never been tempted to wander through bug-infested, hostile-native-hosting, wild-animal-housing rain forests. But I actually know people who do go to these places. And let me tell you, biological researchers are a hardy lot.

My biologist friends come home with parasites (sometimes just under the skin, sometimes popping out to greet them unexpectedly in places like grocery stores or movie theaters), bug bites, the occasional life-threatening illness and great stories.

Yet in many ways, "The River of Doubt" puts contemporary stories of Amazon adventure to shame--only because it chronicles the first journey down the river, and arguably, the most dangerous.

Ms. Millard tells the story well. It's worth the read, gentle Goodreaders!
M

I'm on some kind of crazy, off-the-beaten-trail tangent with this one. But 'The Monkey Wrench Gang' is outrageous, scandalous and funny -- and I'm loving every word.

The writing style reminds me of 'Catch-22.' Only better. Lots of language, irreverence, alcohol, authority-thumbing and bravado. And that's just for starters. My favorite character? Seldom Seen Smith--he's a perfectly written inside joke.

So! Take a wild ride on the Colorado Plateau courtesy of Edward Abbey's 'The Monkey Wrench Gang.' No way will it disappoint.

Read on, Goodreaders,
M