Bit of Ivory

I’m in.
I don’t know how soon it will be posted, as I haven’t officially heard
from my beta-reader (Carleton97) yet. But I am a Sugar Quill author!
Oh, and I just can’t help but pass on this
little tidbit, as I practically hyperventilated when I read it.
The relevant quote?
The latest Harry Potter adventure may be published in time for
Christmas, best-selling British author J K Rowling hinted in an
interview in The Times newspaper yesterday.
“Probably”, replied the writer, when asked if her millions of fans
could expect a Christmas present from her.
Oh, if only. . .

Ohmigosh, oh my gosh, OH MY GOSH!!!
I am SOOO excited. No, I didn’t get into SQ (at least not that I know
of, yet– I’ll keep you posted). No, it’s this
wonderful, beautiful interview with J.K. Rowling in which we get
snippets such as this:
There’s a lot of book done – that’s all I want to say because if I
give a date and then I pass it everyone will be upset. I will say that
I have a beginning, a middle and an end – you could read it all the way
through and I know a lot of Harry Potter fans will say just give it to
us but I’m perfectionist and I want a bit more time to tweak. I really
am getting there and I have to laugh when I read the bits about writers
block because I don’t think I’ve ever been blocked in my life! I’m
loving the writing and now the revising and I’m getting on really well.

And this:
Well, we’ve obviously got a new Defence Against The Dark Arts
teacher because Professor Moody wouldn’t want the job again having been
locked in a trunk for a year! It’s a woman this time. You may see a
little more of Mundungus and there’s a new sorting hat song.
AND THIS!!!!:
Is the book going to be as long as book four was? JK: Yes, it is
looking that way – it’s already passed Azkaban, so I think yes, we are
looking at Goblet of Fire length.

And especially THIS!!!:

Lizo: Finally, what’s your message to children who’ve been waiting
for the next book for a two and half years? JK: It’s coming and it’s a
lot nearer than you’d think if you read some newspapers – just trust
me.
Oh, I trust you. Really I do. Squee!! (Cap’n Kathy doesn’t read
this blog so I can say that ) Oh, I’m so happy! Actual news! Female
DADA teacher, a beginning, middle, and end, GoF length (which means
it’ll last me at least a day ), and “a lot nearer than you’d think.”
Canon comin’ our way!

I’m just trying to convince myself that not hearing from Sugar Quill
yet is a good thing. I know that’s what everyone keeps telling me, but
I can’t help but feel nervous. I just want to know, one way or
the other. Every time I think “I got in, no problem,” I say, “but what
if they’re just REALLY busy, and haven’t gotten around to notifying us
losers yet?” Then of course, there’s the nervousness of what’s going to
happen if I do get in. What if no one reads it? What if people
read it and flame me? What if people read it and love it and beg for
more (which of course I can’t give them, because the plot bunnies just
don’t visit me )? I’ve decided that being a pessimist is definitely
a good plan. That way, if things turn out badly, you were right, and if
they turn out well, you’re pleasantly surprised.
Here’s hoping for a pleasant surprise.

So, haven’t heard from SQ yet. Here’s what it said on the “Ask Madam
Pince” page:
September 14, 2002. We received stories form 87 new authors! Is this
an omen?
Unfortunately, the Sugar Quill beta-reading team is ill-equipped to
actually handle 87 submissions in one month. We’ve added three new
beta-readers (welcome Juliane, Arianrhod, and Night Zephyr!), and we
can take fifty new authors this month. We will do whatever we can to
accomodate as many people as possible.
Please stay tuned. We’ll be Sorting tomorrow, and if your story is NOT
Sorted, you will hear fairly soon. If your story IS Sorted, then you
will receive an email from your beta-reader sometime this week.
Thanks everyone, and stay tuned for our October submission date!
So, basically, I have a little better than a 50/50 chance of getting
in. It really all depends on how they Sort. If they simply take the
first 50 stories, then I probably won’t make it, as they were accepting
stories all week and I sent mine in on Friday. If they take 50 random
stories, than my odds are about sixes. But if they actually read them,
and take the ones they liked, then I have a pretty good chance of
getting in. Because my story’s pretty darn good. (I’m not really stuck
up. Promise.)
But now I just have to wait and see what shows up in my inbox. But
whether I get in or no, I’m going to submit to TSTMNBN and Fiction
Alley. I’m just waiting to find out if I made it so I can submit the SQ
beta-ed version to the other sites. If I don’t, I’ll upload as-is.
*sigh* I hate waiting.

I. Can’t. Believe. It.
My dad let me drive the Prius.
From Murray. To Provo.
By myself.
Of course, it took a little bit of finagling (promising to park far
away where at least one side of the car is unexposed to another car to
minimize the possibility of dings, explaining how soon I’d be back,
putting the key and keyless-entry remote on my mega-big key ring—with
my Golden Snitch—so that I wouldn’t lose it, etc.), but he actually
let me do it!
It was way fun. I got about 45 MPG on the way down, which is quite good
considering its mostly freeway. It’s so WEIRD to sit at a light and
have NO SOUND. But it’s fun to watch the display, telling you where the
energy is coming from or how many MPG you’re getting. I wanted to put
on the Cruise Control, but it’s the first car I’ve ever driven that has
it, so I didn’t really know how to do it. I tried it, but it didn’t
seem to work. Oh, well.
And I get to drive it back too! *grin*

I just submitted Look to Your Dreams to the Sugar Quill.
They’re sorting on Sunday.
Wish me luck.

At about this time last year, I was watching my TV in the living room
of my apartment, gaping in horror as the second tower fell. My roommate
had woken me up about a half-hour before, saying, “Emily, I think World
War Three just started.” I wanted to believe it was all a horrible
joke; but of course, it was undeniably real. I watched CNN, MSNBC, and
all the other news channels continually that morning, as I didn’t have
class until noon. We were supposed to be have our first devotional of
the year; instead, it turned into a prayer service. I almost couldn’t
bring myself to go to class; but I went anyway. None of us felt much
like talking about our assigned reading, but we made the most of it; we
were reading Emily Dickinson, and many of the poems we had studied
related to death and tragedy anyway, so there were some eerie
parallels. Class got out early, and I spent the rest of the afternoon
glued to the television.
Now, a year later, have I really changed? I think I have; the stories
my grandfathers tell me about their experiences in World War II (one
was a tailgunner in a B-24 liberator–life expectancy in battle 30
seconds, the other was a Seaman first class on the U.S.S. Saratoga, the
third aircraft carrier ever built) have a lot more meaning now. My best
friends’ husband just joined the Army ROTC, to study as a nurse. He’ll
be serving for four years after his schooling is over; who knows where
he’ll end up? I think I have a better focus now; the things that were
always important to me, like family and relationships, are that much
more important, and the things that aren’t so important, like a lot of
money or a spectacular career, have faded into the background.
Yesterday President Bateman gave the first devotional of the year. He
said that we, the younger generation, now knows what it’s like to live
in a world of terror and war and tyranny, and why it is necessary, and
has always been necessary, to fight against it. I think he’s right. I
think we finally learned for ourselves what everyone’s been telling us
for years– that freedom isn’t free, and we’ve got to win it again in
each generation. Well, my fellow generation-Y members, now’s our turn.
What are we going to do with it?

So I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when a guy from
Provo contacted me on Yahoo! Messenger. I’ve only just recently begun
logging on the Y!M, because Trillian supports it. Anyway, he asked for
a pic, and I told him I don’t have any online. Then I remembered–
there’s pic of me on the department website over at the library. I
saved it and uploaded it to Yahoo. So here it is, people– this is me.
A
very bad pic of me
Have fun.

Sarah Ann Birkinshaw

Sarah Ann
Birkinshaw, a lifelong sufferer of Wolfram Syndrome, has the unique
ability to lift people. She was recognized as the Most Inspirational
volunteer at a Jordan Valley School where she assisted in the care of
severely handi-capped children. She is also a recipient of the Young
Womanhood award. She was a popular public inspirational speaker to
youth and professional groups in the area. She was a member of the
Acapella Choir. She was selected by her peers as the recipient of the
Crest Award , presented annually by the Senior class to their classmate
whom they find most outstanding. There are many who cherish the afghan
blanket made especially for them by Sarah with her constantly busy
hands. She was also selected to speak at the graduation ceremonies of
her Senior class at Murray High wherein she was greeted by a standing
ovation both prior to and following her remarks. Blessed with many
friends her days following graduation are filled with visits, cards and
letters. Her severe complications with blindness, and other physical
ailments only served as a lever to bless and strengthen others. She
bore her burdens with grace and courage. She was born on April 3, 1980
in Idaho Falls, Idaho and died on September 2, 2002 at 1:46 p.m. at her
home in Murray, Utah. She is survived by her grandparents, Clyde and
Louise Larsen, Murray, parents, Robert and Lonnie Birkinshaw, her
sisters Jennie Towery (Jason), Park City, Rebecca Allen (Robert),
Logan, Julia, Cedar City, her brothers: Bradley, Daniel and Andrew. She
also has many aunts, uncles and cousins who have been an important part
of her life. A viewing will be held in her honor at the Jenkins Soffe
Mortuary on 4760 South State Street in Murray from 6 until 8 p.m. on
Thursday, September 5th. An additional viewing will be held at 10:00
a.m. followed by the funeral at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 6,
2002. The funeral will be held at 932 West Greenoaks Drive, Murray,
Utah. Interment will be in the Elysian Gardens Cemetery.
Sarah was my classmate, and she will be missed greatly. She was born
with a genetic disease called Wolfram’s Syndrome, which is always
fatal, usually in the early twenties. Of the eight children in her
family, 5 have been diagnosed with the disease, and her older brother
Robbie died before her. It causes the body to develop both Type I and
Type II diabetes, as well as deafness and blindness. When I first met
her at the age of 15, she was already legally blind, and could only see
light and dark. Later on she had an insulin pump, but with both types
of diabetes, her body couldn’t metabolize even the extra insulin very
well, so her energy levels were very low. Sarah also developed
epillepsy as a result of her seizures. Despite all this, she was one of
the most happy and optimistic people I knew. She was a wonderful
inspiration to me, and she will be very much missed.
Good-bye, Sarah. I’ll see you in heaven.

I’ve found myself gritting my teeth lately.
This is not a good thing.
It means I’m stressed. I hate being stressed. Hopefully it’s just a
beginning-of-school-I’m-going-to-be-really-busy kind of a thing. I
usually feel this way at the beginning of a semester; I look that my
course load and all my syllabi and think “I am never going to be able
to do this.” But then as the semester goes on, I realize that I really
do have time to get things done, and that I don’t have to do all that
work in two days (although I usually end up doing it in two days
anyway; that’s why I’m a CQoP). That’s what usually happens.
But I’ve never gritted my teeth before.
And now my jaw hurts.