Michelle Perin’s Blog

I didn’t do too badly this week with picking out 3 things to accomplish from Da Book. I’ve been working on the 2001 things since 2005. Sometimes I’m really into it and it seems I’m reading the things over and over again trying to figure out how to get some done. Other times, I just don’t feel like doing anything or they all just seem so IMPOSSIBLE. Guess that’s part of my personality. Everything is black or white. There is no gray area. As a Libra no one ever said the scales had to be balanced; they’re just there on either side bouncing up and down. Anyway, I’m going off on tangents again. Hmmmmm, I wonder why I never seem to get anything done.

So, the first task was to leave some cookies in the mailbox for the mailman. I made a big batch of oatmeal raison cookies. Definitely not a bad thing since I was going through my eat everything in sight and then some week. (For the other week, I don’t feel like eating at all…there’s that balance thing again). I put three or four into a cute plastic baggie. It had hearts on it and must have been left over from Valentine’s Day, some year. I wrote out a card with a cute beagle on it. I’m not sure why everything had to be cute, but it just did. Before work, I took them out and put them into the box. When I got home, they were gone and my mail was there. I was hoping I would get some good karma, i.e. lots of checks in the mail but that doesn’t seem to be how it works. It didn’t seem to keep the bills from coming either. Maybe I need to send cookies to them instead.

My second task was to swallow my pride. Now for me, this is tough because it feels like weakness and I abhor weakness especially in myself. I wasn’t sure how this was going to manifest itself in my life this week but I had a feeling I would somehow be given the opportunity to accomplish this task. I did. I was at my weekly women’s meeting and was discussing some issues with the ladies when our group leader asked me if I was riding my motorcycle illegally. I had to concur I was. I had all kinds of reasons. I just got it back after 2 years up north. I just got the money to buy a new battery. To get legal, I would have to get it registered and tagged and also get my motorcycle endorsement. All those things had bureaucratic red tap attached. Registration and tags are expensive and my bike was going to be paid off in one month and if I register now it would be with a lien. Then I would have to turn around and wait for the lien to be lifted and a title sent to me in my name and go back to the DMV and re-pay to register and re-title again. Double money for the state (who incidentally I’m not too happy with about some assessed taxes and their lack of fiscal responsibility but that’s for a whole other blog). Then I would also have to get my endorsement either by going and paying the state and taking the test or paying to take a motorcycle class. I don’t mind taking the class, but when I moved to Oregon I had a valid Arizona endorsement. At the DMV, they couldn’t figure out the endorsement and I ended up having to sign a waiver relinquishing it just to not have to come back and do my license application all over again after I got a letter from the Arizona MVD stating the endorsement was valid. I’m sure it would have been very difficult for the Oregon DMV to call the Arizona MVD and have them look up the endorsement or to run it in the computer to see it existed. Either way, I just conceded. So, basically what I was saying was I didn’t feel like I shouldn’t ride my bike. My group leader saw it differently. She stated I was not doing what was right, was being a bad example to my children, as well as, setting myself up for consequences I didn’t need and couldn’t afford. Man, was I bent when she told me all that. After leaving my meeting, I thought about what she said, realized it would be the right thing to do to follow her advice, swallowed my pride and now my bike is parked awaiting legality and a new riding season.

The last thing was scream as loud as you can. This was a difficult one because I couldn’t figure out a good place to do this. I considered at home, but realized I would scare my kids, the ferrets and probably my neighbor. Besides it felt too silly. So, yesterday on the way to work I decided to try it in the car. I screamed a bit, but not too loudly. It was weird just driving down the road screaming. I did it a little louder and then really, really loud. It was great. The way it echoed enclosed in the steel of my 1980’s muscle car was great. It was tinny and sounded straight out of a horror movie. It felt awesome although I think I almost shattered my eardrums. I did stop to check that I hadn’t accidentally dialed anyone on the phone and left an open line. It could happen. After all, I’ve heard the man singing the 2001 Space Odyssey song for on the open 9-1-1 line.

As for the In Progress, I’m still working on the abs. I go to the gym 3-4 times a week and work out my arms and abs. Then, I try and run most days. Gotta get the fat off the abs to see them ya’ know. Anyway I’m still working on the tasks and now I have to pick three more, but I’m having a hard time typing with a ferret on my lap trying to add his own thoughts.

I haven’t written anything or worked on my fiction for several months now. It seems funny I would try to get “back to work” by typing random thoughts onto a blog, but I feel I need to get the juices flowing before I can get serious. I have to be able to look at the things that were keeping me from moving forward on Desert Ice. Put down on paper, I might get a sense that it’s time to move on:

Work: I work full time as a Program Administrative Assistant/Residential Intake Liaison for a small psychiatric residential treatment facility with a holistic, mind/body/spirit philosophy that I appreciate and enjoy being a part of. This does take 40 hours of my time per week plus 3.3 hours for commuting.

School: I just completed my M.S. in Criminology including my thesis proposal: Drink til you Drop: Implications of Alcohol Use in Chick Lit.

Family: I’m raising two sons, just shy of 10 y/o and 15 y/o. With them, comes all the driving, instructing, home work helping, school conferences and sports events.

Writing: I have a monthly column on Officer.com and will soon have a second. I want to start writing feature articles more regularly.

Volunteer: I am the fundraising coordinator for the Lane Area Ferret Lovers Shelter & Rescue. We are currently down to the last few days before our major fundraising event of the year, the Ferret Agility Trials. I have also taken over the Adult Restorative Justice research project for Community Mediations, Inc.

All the other little things, such as work out, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking and networking on FaceBook.

So, now that I have all those things down, I realize I need to do better time management if I expect to finish my novel. After work, I do have a certain amount of down time that could be better spent. I need to set certain parameters and boundaries around my volunteer work and non-fiction writing. School is done. My goal is to spend 1 hour per day and 4 hours on the weekend working on my fiction. Since I get off at 4pm that should be doable and I will still have time to spend with my children in the evening. I’ll also need to make sure I leave time to nurture my new romance as well.

Tonight I have succeeded in putting aside the hour in writing this blog and I will pull out my novel and figure out where I left off and where I need to get started. Wish me luck, my friends, I’m jumping back in.

Woke up and headed to the conference. I’m always amazed at how a casino looks the same all the time. The only variable is the amount of people milling around and I guess the manner of dress. The closer you are to the strip and the ritzier the casino this matters a lot more. I liked the Orleans because it seemed pretty kicked back but not old. After all, I like the idea of perpetual Mardi Gras.

Walking into the conference room, I got to greet all my friends. Whether I’ve known them since my first conference 5 years ago or if I was just meeting them, PSWA members are the friendliest people I’ve met in a group. I think it has something to do with a lot of them being retired (or active) police officers or fire fighters. Being in these occupations, you spend most of your time in very concrete, solution-oriented thinking. To move to the other side of that and put out something creative, seems very vulnerable. I think that’s why there is a humbleness in our members that draws me to them.

The Queen, aka Marilyn Olsen greeted us. She stood in for our usual DJ A.J. Farrar who had to stay home due to an infection from a spider bite. How random is that? He and his wife, our Treasurer, Nancy were sorry missed. Marilyn did a great job saying howdy in her majestic way and off we went into a weekend of learning, networking and having a great time. The first panel, “What I Wish I’d Known in the Beginning” was populated by Sue McGinty, with panelists, W.S. Gager (my roomy), Michael Black, and Bette and J.J. Lamb. All novelists, they shared tips on hind-sight. This is always nice, especially since I am delving into the realm of novel writing. I may know quite a bit about the industry around trade magazines, but as far as what’s necessary for writing, editing, publishing and marketing fiction, I’m lost.

Michael Black led our next topic with “How to Outline Your Noel in an Hour.” I loved the poster board and all the colored sticky-notes. Everything should involve multi-colored sticky-edged pieces of paper. As a group, we outlined an outrageous story about a female arson investigator who was investigating casino fires while dealing with an annoying city manager, who ended up dead in a fire, an exotic dancer boyfriend, an ex-husband who had a gambling problem, lived on her couch and was using her credit cards, AND a boa constrictor. I couldn’t quite follow whether her boyfriend or ex-husband had a past which included a conviction for arson, but I believe it should have been the boyfriend. More sexual tension is always good in any story. Ah, the perpetual drama of men and women. Michael’s assistant was lovely as well. I don’t think women have the monopoly on being cougars.

Next up, my panel. We talked about “Writing for Trade Publications (Paper and the Net). Keith Bettinger moderated and alongside me were Kathleen Ryan and Kregg Jorgenson who stepped in at the last minute because member Ed Nowicki was ill and couldn’t make it. We talked about on-line vs. print, how to be professional, cultivate sources, big vs. little magazines and a myriad of other topics. It was great although it never matters how many times I’m up there, I always feel like, “OMG, they are going to realize I’m not a REAL writer.” I guess 10 years of writing still doesn’t qualify me in my own mind. Regardless, they all let me talk anyway.

The next topic, “Pleasing Editors and Agents: What are the Worst Mistakes?” was populated by publishers Billie Johnson, Becca Buckley and Lee Emory, as well as, agents Verna Driesbach and Holly Sullivan McClure. Half-way through, I was thinking, “Why are these people so negative? I don’t think I care for many of them.” Then, I relooked at what the topic was and realized they were supposed to be talking about the negatives. Once in context, I settled in and learned all the things I should never do when approaching a publisher/agent. Ok, no long winded spiels and go away when you’re done. These are BUSY people.
Next, Steve Scarborough taught us about “Detectives, Then and Now.” He had a great slideshow and it was neat to learn Edgar Allen Poe was an original detective writer. The covers at the end of the show were awesome too. Nothing has changed much over the last 50 years, scantily clad women still sell.

Madeline Gornell, Marilyn Meredith, Sunny Frazier, Michael Orenduff and Morgan St. James gave the next topic, “Promotion: Old and New, In Person and On the Net.” Great panel, but I just have to say Marilyn Meredith and Sunny Frazier are my idols when it comes to marketing and promotion. Both have prolific presence on the net and in person and seem tireless. They make me tired and I’m considerable younger than either of them. I want to be just like them.

The last panel of the day, “How to Spot a Lie,” was given by Mark Bouton. Here I have to admit my restlessness. I love going to Las Vegas for the conference, but I hate sitting in a conference room all day. I don’t get away from parental responsibilities very often and I hate losing all that time. So, because I had the privilege of reading Mark’s book on this top, I figured I knew pretty much what he was going to talk about. So, I went to the gym, and then sat around the pool until dinner time. After grabbing some pizza at Sbaro’s, I wandered around the hotel just watching people. I played my $20 daily allotment on the slot machines. I was trying to win a 2010 Camaro so I figured each time I pushed the button, it was another chance at the car. I was up past $200 at one point, but thanks to my compulsive nature (and I’m not alone, that’s how casinos make their money) I kept playing and lost it all. After that, I headed to the lounge where I heard as show. Keith and Bert were entertaining the sparse crowd with requests from Bruce Springsteen to Kid Rock to Toby Keith. It was cheesy and a perfect Vegas show. About midnight, a class reunion (Mojave High School classes 1977-1986) came in. That’s when the fun and dancing began. I joined in, had a great time and headed back to my room at 2am. I tried to sneak in so I wouldn’t disturb Wendy, but she woke up. We talked a bit, and then I was asleep before I hit my pillow.

I flew into Las Vegas on Thursday night. I actually had a pretty good flight with only a few minor panic attacks. I was able to get a window seat on the wing (seat 23F to be exact) on my Allegiant flight. I like, actually I have to sit on the wing. For some reason, it makes me feel safer. Does this make sense? NO! But, I don’t care. I liked this particular seat because I had 1 1/2 windows and could look through the front one and see the ground and the sky and stuff and then look back and do my assessment of the functionality of the wing. Flaps in place? Check! Lights working? Check! Creepy, hairy monsters not standing there? Check!!

Flying into Vegas at night is amazing. That is a beautiful city when you’re above all the lights. I had paid for a Gray Line Shuttle to the Orleans and went to stand in the appropriate line behind the sign when I got in. Two shuttles pulled up. The drivers talked to people in both lines and everyone split into the buses. My sign was right in the middle of them and I went to ask one driver if it went to the Orleans. He said no, the other shuttle would. I turned and asked the other driver the same question. He said no too. What? He asked who said it was the right shuttle and I told him the other driver. He told me to sit tight. Then the drivers had a conference in the street before one of the drivers came back and said, “Since no one else wants to take you, I guess I will.” Nice. Of course, I got on the shuttle.

I was the last person on the shuttle and the driver asked me something. I yelled from the back of the bus and he said I should come up closer. I did. Then, we talked a bit about what I was there for. Then the questions started. Why is it when you tell someone you’re a writer, they want to ask advice? It doesn’t matter what the topic is. So, I ended up discussing the difference between men and women and the way they communicate. I explained what I knew about style and common male/female motivation. I noticed the ring on the driver’s finger and realized he was asking for advice on how to relate to his wife. I shared what I new and when we got to the Orleans he said he felt he knew how to be a better communicator and was glad he picked me up. Glad I could help.

I ran into some friends and fellow conference attendees in the lobby and then checked into my room. I was sharing with Wendy who writes under the name W.S. Gager. She has two books in print, The Case of Infatuation and The Case of the Accidental Intersection (Both excellent I should add). I chatted with her a while then fell happily into slumber.