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Announcement: Someone interviewed me for a change.

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No blogging for me until the new year (except for in the comments section, where you can always reach and distract me). But I do want to point you to an interview I did with the lovely and talented Jordan Rosenfeld. She asked about the courage and stamina required of writers, and I’d love to hear how you‘d respond to her questions.

The interview is here.

Jordan very generously made this interview available via the link because I asked her to, but truthfully, her interviews are part of a newsletter, and it would be a nice gesture to Jordan if you subscribed to that FREE newsletter by clicking right here. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

For kicks, I’m posting this photo that those of you who have access to my MySpace pictures may have already seen. The cute one is my good friend and soccer teammate, Kenny. Part of what cracks me up about this photo is my rained-on hair and the cerebral palsy pose – one more reminder not to take myself too seriously. The cool thing about the photo, though, is the other reminder – that my best friends accept me, flaws and all.

Oh! Almost forgot. The same Jordan who interviewed me is also a fabulous freelance editor, and she’s seeking new clients who need developmental editing for fiction and non-fiction projects. Her strengths are in helping clients with narrative structure, pacing, plot-development, and the big picture issues of character development and overall dramatic tension. I highly recommend her!

Some news about past guests at LitPark: AN ILLUSTRATED LIFE just went on sale. Gorgeous and fascinating, and it features Danny Gregory and Tommy Kane. Hope I get it for Christmas. And Greg Logsted (Lauren‘s husband) has launched his debut YA novel, SOMETHING HAPPENED. If you buy either of these books and like them, tell people! Word of mouth is everything in the life of a book.

Okay, that’s it for today.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by. And thanks to everyone who linked to LitPark this month: Innovo Publishing, Blogging For Apples, Huffington Post, Enrico Casarosa, Italian Woman at the Table, largeheartedboy, Elevate the Ordinary, Brad Listi . Com, Bliggidy Blog, The Debutante Ball, The Nervous Breakdown, Inside-Out China, Notes From the Handbasket, Emerging Writers Network, Perpetual Folly, Upstate Girl, Jordan’s Muse, Kelley Bell’s FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS, Endless Knots, Making it up, In Her Own Write, Satin Black, Biscuit Cream, Twilight Spy, Daryl Ebneezra Kadabra, Read by Myfanwy, Side Dish, and Annette Hyder’s Ad Libitum (new blog alert for poets and feminists). I appreciate those links!

I’m heading to Virginia on Wednesday to spend Thanksgiving with my folks. Enjoy the holidays!

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89 Comments
  • mlakers
    November 23, 2008

    I *heart* Susan Henderson.

    Happy Thanksgiving. I’m thankful you offer this space for us. (And I *heart* Virginia, too.)

  • DConaway
    November 24, 2008

    I 2 ♥ Sue. What’s not to ♥?

  • SusanHenderson
    November 24, 2008

    You two just made me cry.

  • billiehinton
    November 24, 2008

    What a wonderful interview! You just made my writing week! Happy Thanksgiving. I am so looking forward to reading your novel!

  • SusanHenderson
    November 24, 2008

    That’s so nice of you to say that.

    Hey, you don’t have your blog linked. Want me to link it here so folks can visit you?

  • SusanHenderson
    November 24, 2008

    Just passing on some links about Bridgett Davis’ news:

    http://www.boldaslove.us/2008/11/naked-acts-10th-anniversary-screening.html

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLlc9-RvXZ4

    And if you missed Bridgett’s interview on LitPark, it’s here: https://www.litpark.com/2008/02/13/bridgett-davis/

  • Joe
    November 24, 2008

    That was an amazing interview Susan. I love reading about the paths writers follow – how they got here from there and your path is certainly an interesting one and you give great advice. You must have discovered a time dilation device along the way because I don’t know how one person can pack so much into so little time. I can’t even find the time for the basics. Teach me Obi Wan. 🙂

    Happy Thanksgiving!

  • SusanHenderson
    November 24, 2008

    Not so much Obi Wan as a mouse that got stuck in the maze longer than most.

    Thanks for reading, Joe. Thanksgiving will never quite be the same after watching the Sarah Palin – turkey slaughter footage… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/20/sarah-palin-holds-news-co_n_145375.html

  • jessicaK
    November 24, 2008

    Courage and passion and a big heart. You have them all. Wonderful interview, Susan!

    Jessica Keener

  • kategray
    November 24, 2008

    Well, it’s what I suspected – that you’ve got tons of guts. Litpark has kept me going this past year, even though I felt like dropping out at times too, so yes, I’m thankful for it, and all the people who visit, but especially for you, who has given this place such a wonderfully quirky, loving, and homey touch. Thanks for doing all this.

    erebusetnox.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/courage-in-what-form-and-of-what-function/

  • SusanHenderson
    November 24, 2008

    Kate. Kate, wow. I have chills. That is so powerful what you wrote over on your blog, and I’m going to relink it: http://erebusetnox.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/courage-in-what-form-and-of-what-function/

    It’s interesting you bring up bullies. I’ve been on both sides of that fence. One of my friends (since first grade) told me that when I’m in Virginia over Thanksgiving, she’s set up a night out with the two of us, plus the girl who once invited me to a movie with her, only to drive off with other friends, all of them laughing out the window at me. I had to call my mom to pick me up. I’ll tell you guys how it goes.

  • SusanHenderson
    November 24, 2008

    Right back atcha, cutie. xo

  • kategray
    November 24, 2008

    That’s certainly one of those moments when you’d like to crawl in a hole. But as an adult, you tend to laugh off those things, or at least we’re able to, where kids can’t.

    The funniest thing about being picked on and bullied was in middle school for me – I’d become a pariah for various reasons – but when a cheating “scandal” hit our class, I had one of my usual tormenters come to me, of all people, to ask what I thought he should do. Naturally, I was stunned, but I told him what I believed, and still believe, to come clean, and take the hit for it. I know I’ve failed on that from time to time, particularly with myself, but I’ve always wanted to ask him why he came to me at that moment.

  • billiehinton
    November 24, 2008

    Sure – you can find me at:

    camera-obscura-billie.blogspot.com

    and

    mystic-lit.blogspot.com

    I need to get this thing set up so it links via my name. Will work on that.

  • SusanHenderson
    November 25, 2008

    Thanks, Billie. I don’t want anyone to miss out on your beautiful websites.

  • SusanHenderson
    November 25, 2008

    Yeah, I figure it’s easier for me to meet someone who used to bully me than someone I used to bully. I’m sure we’ll be laughing about all of it when we meet over Thanksgiving.

    (Great story.)

  • billiehinton
    November 25, 2008

    Susan, thank you – I appreciate that!!

  • Nathalie
    November 25, 2008

    Why should you feel shame? Writing full time might not bring in much money but it is hard work and demanding. Not sure I could do something like that. It probably takes more guts that I would ever have.

  • marilynpeake
    November 25, 2008

    Hi, Susan,

    Thank you so much for posting a link to your interview and for just being you. Reading your interview, I welled up with tears, being reminded of what it is to be a writer. It was so inspiring to read about your journey. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

  • SusanHenderson
    November 25, 2008

    Interesting. The Holt Uncensored blog started up again, and I left a comment this morning, and now my comment’s been taken down. Hmmm.

    The blog is here, but if the dialogue is limited to the usual suspects, I’ll lose interest fast: http://www.holtuncensored.com/ I think the publishing folks who engage most with the writers (HarperPerennial, for example) are the ones who have the brightest future, just as the newspapers that utiilize bloggers and engage their readers are fast gaining ground over papers like the New York Times that are trying to play old-school. Just saying.

  • SusanHenderson
    November 25, 2008

    Aww. So sweet, Marilyn. Have a great holiday!

  • SusanHenderson
    November 25, 2008

    It does take guts and hard work, but it’s hard to measure. I mean, if a freelance housebuilder worked day after day, building, taking down again, sitting, kicking what he’s built, and so forth, and when he was in a hopeful mood, thought he might finish and get paid poorly for his work after two years, someone would have a talk with that man. So when writers do something very similar (I know, art and house-building are different), but… well, you know.

  • DConaway
    November 25, 2008

    To take your analogy at its face? I guess we might wonder about the short-run business acumen of that builder, yeah–but in the end? What a fascinating house she’ll have built. And when all is said and done, sooner or later, somebody is gonna fall in love with the space she created in such a personal, peculiar, unorthodox way, is going to find–in its careful craftsmanship and strangely-turned staircases and unexpected uses of blue on its doors and windowsills–all the things that, for one particular individual, are going to make that house a home. THEIR dream of a home, the home they’ve always been looking for, without knowing exactly what it is they’ve been looking for, until that day when they find themselves standing on that front porch and it just clicks. And when that happens? They likely won’t know anything about the builder’s roundabout methods, it won’t occur to them how hard it may have been to build this particular house, because, to them, it was meant to be, and is–and what it is is, perfect.

    And then she, our builder, will indeed be rewarded for her labors.

  • DConaway
    November 25, 2008

    Now THAT’s special… A blog that advertises itself as uncensored, deleting comments? Just saying….

  • SusanHenderson
    November 26, 2008

    You know, there probably isn’t a nicer thing you can say to a writer. I’m going to re-read this whenever I need a boost.

  • billiehinton
    November 26, 2008

    Ditto, that’s a wonderful way of looking at it!

    Sometime back, two different writing mentors told me to “dig deep” and “dive deep.”

    I often think of writing/editing as archaeology, chipping away at the layers, finding the “real story” that’s whole and complete. This makes me feel better when I go off on a tangent editing – because often enough, the tangent uncovered something real and true, and wasn’t a waste of time at all from that perspective.

    Thanks for all the good stuff in these comments!

  • jodyreale
    November 26, 2008

    My photo album is jam packed with accidental cerebral palsy poses. I keep them all, mostly because I like to fantasize about some random stranger finding them, and thinking, “Look at her, that brave woman. Refusing to let her disfigurements–or those crazy teeth!–dissuade her from getting out there on karaoke night.” Inspiration is still inspiration, right?

  • Carolyn_Burns_Bass
    November 27, 2008

    Wow, Susan. That’s such a great interview. Jordan, thanks for making it happen. I’m taking a few moments to myself this Thanksgiving morning to catch up on things after a huge couple of weeks behind me. Now I see more links here that I’ll need to get back to later tonight when BassMan goes off to work and JonDude goes off with the guys. (ElleBelle is at school in England, cooking a turkey for her university friends.)

    So anyway, Thanksgiving good wishes to everyone at the park. If you have a moment, take a look at my Thanksgiving greeting in my blog–it’s a scene cut from my novel. It’s Grandma Preps Matilda for the Thanksgiving Feast

    Enjoy!

  • Aurelio
    November 28, 2008

    Sorry I’ve been so late in commenting, I’ve been VERY busy.

    Loved the interview, Susan! You humanized the process of writing so well — the inspiration mixed with perspiration. Being in that Neverland of not really knowing if our words are getting through, or if they do, whether they’ll really matter to anyone else. Scary, inspiring stuff.

  • SusanHenderson
    November 29, 2008

    Still in Virginia, and I see I have all kinds of mail to catch up on. Will do that later today or tomorrow. Last night was very funny. My brother, our good friend( http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0816375/ ), and my first love and I all crammed into a car, drove past our high school and then hung out at the first love’s mom’s house. Was a funny flashback.

    I’ll catch up with notes, etc, as soon as I can, but I think my brother and I are going out for Thai food first because we’ve had it with turkey.

  • SusanHenderson
    November 29, 2008

    That’s a great metaphor to keep things in perspective and to help you see the progress. Writing, for me, anyway, is certainly not a linear process.

  • SusanHenderson
    November 29, 2008

    You better be working away at that book! Did you contact that person I mentioned?

  • SusanHenderson
    November 29, 2008

    Isn’t Jordan a great interviewer? Thanks so much for reading it, and for your Thanksgiving story.

  • SusanHenderson
    November 29, 2008

    Yeah, that’s it, wondering if you’ll ever get through to your audience – either in the way you’ve told the story or in that big dice-throwing game of trying to get it published.

  • Kimberly
    November 30, 2008

    Just back from places Dutch and Germanic.

    Exhausted and sick, but not enough to stay away from that wonderful interview!

    This was my favorite part : I want to gain enough stature to be able to pull people up the ladder with me.

    It says so much about you – ego and talent, yes, but also overwhelming non-ego and largesse.

    (I didn’t mean for that to rhyme.)

  • SusanHenderson
    November 30, 2008

    Can’t wait to hear the details from your trip. (Yes on the tree trimming, btw.)

  • jodyreale
    December 1, 2008

    Um, not yet. I’ve been busy finishing leftovers. (I haven’t had it with turkey yet.) And also, I’m doing that thing I do when I’m too concerned about getting everything right, which means I’m freezing up, then eating turkey. But today, in the words of Chicken Little, is a new day. (This refers to the movie character, voiced by Zach Braff.)

  • SusanHenderson
    December 2, 2008

    Okay, but when the turkey runs out, you should drop her a note. It’s a perfect fit.

  • SusanHenderson
    December 3, 2008

    Over at Twitter, those closest to the publishing news are freaking out. My mother in law likes to call me “pathologically relaxed,” but let me tell you why I’m not freaking out. The first is that change is almost always necessary, even if that makes for a messy transition. The publishing world has been a mess for a very long time, and like the American car industry, maybe it takes a crisis to instigate that change. But my other reasons for not freaking out… One of the first real connections I made in my life was to a family I babysat for for years. Some of you know this about me and some of you don’t, but the little girl was four when I started working for the family, and that’s the same year she developed a brain tumor. I was eleven or twelve. I have, from a very early age, learned the difference between what to freak out about and what not to freak out about. And even talking about little girls with brain tumors, pretty soon you have to stop freaking out about that, too, and just live. Because if you’re busy feaking out, you might overlook the hugs and the giggling and the things kids care about a whole lot more than brain tumors. And when the parents aren’t looking, you can totally change the day by pouring a bowl full of Oreos and covering them in milk and calling that cereal.

    So, anyway, over here, I’m not freaking out. Because I still believe in my writing. And you guys are still here. And I let my son stay home today even though he didn’t really qualify as sick. And I just took a scorching hot shower, and I don’t know if things get much better than that.

  • jodyreale
    December 3, 2008

    Amen, sister. Amen.

  • terrybain
    December 3, 2008

    Two lessons I’m taking away from this. One. If you pay too much attention to twitter, someone will get trampled. Two. If sh is freaking out, you may not be overreacting this time.

  • jodyreale
    December 3, 2008

    “Twitter?” Never heard of it.

  • jonclinch
    December 3, 2008

    Well said, Susan.

  • SusanHenderson
    December 4, 2008

    Thanks for stopping in, you guys. ‘Preciate it.

    Mr. H just sent me this High School Musical Proposition 8 link. It’s pretty great: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c0cf508ff8/prop-8-the-musical-starring-jack-black-john-c-reilly-and-many-more-from-fod-team-jack-black-craig-robinson-john-c-reilly-and-rashida-jones

  • kategray
    December 4, 2008

    Did you watch the one on the same site that proposes a ban on divorce for straight couples? Reminds me of Swift and his Modest Proposal.

    I keep meaning to ask, where in VA did you live? Hubby and I both lived there, Quantico, Stafford, Woodbridge (him Manassas and Alexandria as well – the life of the wanderer), before I went back to CT and New England, vowing never to leave again (although, I would live in Vermont, if I had to).
    And what’s this Twitter fuss? I am so not into paying attention to the news….

    totally off topic: erebusetnox.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/parenting-is-an-extreme-sport/

  • SusanHenderson
    December 5, 2008

    Oh yeah, that divorce ban piece is brilliant. And how funny that you brought up Swift’s politics because my son and I were just talking about that the other day.

    I grew up in Arlington. Mostly. Took me a long time to lose the accent.

    Here, let me give you a proper link: http://erebusetnox.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/parenting-is-an-extreme-sport/

    And if you decide to do Twitter, you can friend me over here: http://twitter.com/LitPark

  • patry
    December 6, 2008

    Amazing interview. I’m going to come back and read it every time I feel stuck or disheartened or till I completely absorb your COURAGE. And as far as your goal to change the world, you’re already doing it. Every single day. Much love to you, Sue.

  • SusanHenderson
    December 6, 2008

    Love you, Patry. xo

  • SusanHenderson
    December 7, 2008

    This has been a near-perfect day, and I’ll soon have the YouTube to prove it. And now snow!!!! In the last hour, the whole yard went white. And then… I found out I’ve been included in PUSHCART-NOMINEE Annette Hyder’s Literary Bling post: http://blog.annettehyder.com/2008/12/06/literary-bling.aspx

    I suppose now I’m tagged, and I’m terrible about following rules, but let’s see if I can do this right…

    RULE ONE, for anyone who is tagged, is to grab one of the books closest to me, go to page 56, type the fifth line and the next two to five lines that follow. What does that mean, I wonder? Oh, wait, I get it.

    There happens to be a book (and my greyhound’s head) in my lap right now, so grabbing the book is easy. The book is BACK ROADS by Tawni O’Dell. I’m well past page 56, so I don’t mind seeing what the fifth line says: “We would if we were on welfare. Or if I disappeared and the girls were put in foster care then they’d have insurance. Social Services had made this very clear to me. (New Paragraph.) I could try digging out the cement plug but that would take forever. I could dynamite it but that might collapse our well.”

    RULE TWO, I have to pick five people who love books and who could receive the Bookworm award with honor. My five picks (in alphabetical order) are:

    Alexander Chee, http://alexanderchee.net/
    Myfanwy Collins, http://myfanwy.blogspot.com/
    Elizabeth Crane, http://www.elizabethcrane.com/
    Kate Gray, http://erebusetnox.wordpress.com/
    Jim Hanas, http://www.hanasiana.com/

    If anyone else would like to consider themselves tagged, just be sure to leave your link here so we can see how you answered the questions.

  • SusanHenderson
    December 7, 2008

    Oy. I typed a huge comment yesterday and now it’s gone so I’ll have to re-do. I’ll skip all the yay-it’s-snowing and other things and get right to the tagging.

    The newly-Pushcart-nominated Annette Hyder (http://blog.annettehyder.com/2008/12/06/literary-bling.aspx) tagged me as part of her Literary Bling post, and my response is here….

    RULE ONE, I have to grab one of the books closest to me, go to page 56, type the fifth line and the next two to five lines that follow.

    Closest book is Tawni O’Dell’s Back Roads. Here’s p. 56: “We would if we were on welfare. Or if I disappeared and the girls were put in foster care then they’d have insurance. Social Services had made this very clear to me. (new paragraph) I could try digging out the cement plug but that would take forever. I could dynamite it but that might collapse our well.”

    RULE TWO, I have to pick five people who love books and who could receive the Bookworm award with honor. My five picks (in alphabetical order) are:

    Alexander Chee, http://alexanderchee.net/
    Myfanwy Collins, http://myfanwy.blogspot.com/
    Elizabeth Crane, http://www.elizabethcrane.com/blog/index.html
    Kate Gray, http://erebusetnox.wordpress.com
    Jim Hanas, http://www.hanasiana.com/

    If anyone else would like to consider themselves tagged, just be sure to include your link so we can see how you answered.

  • MyfanwyC
    December 7, 2008

    Hiya!! I am in the processing of posting a fascinating quote from my page 56. 😉

    Thanks for the tag, dear Susan! xo

  • AnnetteMarieHyder
    December 7, 2008

    Great post Susan!

    xo

  • EllenMeister
    December 7, 2008

    Myf tagged me so here I go …

    RULE ONE, I have to grab one of the books closest to me, go to page 56, type the fifth line and the next two to five lines that follow.

    I’m not going to tell you which book I grabbed, as I’m pretty sure everyone on planet Earth can figure it out. It’s on my desk because I needed to refer to it for my work-in progress (my protag is reading it to her son.) Here goes:

    “Well,” said Charlotte, “you and I lead different lives. You don’t have to spin a web. That takes real leg work.”

    “I could spin a web if I tried,” said Wilbur, boasting. “I’ve just never tried.”

    “Let’s see you do it,” said Charlotte. Fern chuckled softly, and her eyes grew wide with love for the pig.

    RULE TWO, I have to pick five people who love books. My five picks are:

    Kelly Flanigan (http://stephenkingsgirl.blogspot.com/)
    Dennis Mahagin (http://fourhourhardon.blogspot.com/)
    Sandra Novack (http://blahblahblahwriter.blogspot.com/)
    Jordan Rosenfeld (http://www.jordansmuse.blogspot.com/)
    Robin Slick (http://www.inherownwrite.blogspot.com/)

  • SusanHenderson
    December 7, 2008

    Mary, look what I found in Publishers Marketplace today!

    Mary Akers’ WOMEN UP ON BLOCKS, a collection of short stories that answers the question, “What do women do when driven to the brink?”, to Kevin Watson at Press 53, for publication in March 2009 (US).

  • mlakers
    December 7, 2008

    Isn’t it amazing?? Whee! I’m so frickin excited I can hardly stand it. Got tired of waiting for an agent to take a shine to me and finally just contacted Press 53 directly. We had a deal signed in a week, a cover roughed out, a publication date (for three months away) and we’ve been off and running since. It’s amazing what can be accomplished with a motivated small press. 🙂

  • SusanHenderson
    December 8, 2008

    What a wonderfully quick and normal process to go through. I can’t wait to read the collection!

  • SusanHenderson
    December 8, 2008

    Your quote is very funny. You need a new book.

  • SusanHenderson
    December 8, 2008

    Aw, I love that book. I’m reading The Graveyard Book to my boys right now. Really fun and ghoulish.

    Checking out those links…

  • SusanHenderson
    December 8, 2008

    Hey, congratulations again on the Pushcart nomination!

  • troutbum70
    December 8, 2008

    I just read your interview and am ready to read your book. I understand the part about being a storyteller. I love to tell stories, to sit around and swap tales over drinks or around a campfire is what life is to me. I wish I had more confidence in my writting and throw it out there for others to see but I am not satisfied with it. Maybe someday…

  • AnnetteMarieHyder
    December 8, 2008

    Thanks!

  • SusanHenderson
    December 8, 2008

    I think a number of bestselling authors might share that characteristic with you of not being satisfied with their work. Try sending it out anyway. Let it be human.

  • SusanHenderson
    December 8, 2008

    http://laurabenedict.blogspot.com/2008/12/lauras-new-website-soiree.html

    Make sure you click on that link and head over to Laura Benedict’s today or tomorrow!

  • sandranovack
    December 9, 2008

    Okay, here goes: The houses were dark inside, even on a bright day. Those with shutters kept them pulled to. Those with curtains kept them drawn. The houses smelled strangely, thought not uncleanly, of cooking and animals and of people who worked.

  • SusanHenderson
    December 9, 2008

    Hi Sandra! COLD MOUNTAIN??

  • robinslick
    December 9, 2008

    (Note from me: I can’t believe I’m this lucky but I’d rather have typed line 4, page 52, which says “I’ll f*ck her anytime she likes, if that’s her problem.”)

    However, I follow rules…ahem..right..and if you believe that..

    Oh, alright. Page 56 is great, too, and it’s a good thing it’s not a higher up page as I’m in the middle of reading this, only at page 103, and I’m savoring this one. But I just know Ellen, my tagger at large, is going to recognize this right away if she hasn’t already:

    To that question, he had no ready response. Still, Noonan was surprised to hear himself respond honestly. “Right this minute? Every little thing.”

    (This was in response to the question: What are you really afraid of?)

    Every person I know who loves books is already here. Tag yourselves if you haven’t been tagged already!

  • zett
    December 9, 2008

    About high time I comment on your interview, because I loved it very much. Have had a rough time of things as of late (the novel!) and the resonance of your experiences has helped so, hey, you. Good job. And cheers to Jordan, as well. XXX

  • EllenMeister
    December 9, 2008

    Be still my heart! I LOVE Bridge of Sighs. Enjoy it, Rob!!

  • SusanHenderson
    December 9, 2008

    How do I not know of Bridge of Sighs? Here’s the link: http://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Sighs-Richard-Russo/dp/0375414959

  • SusanHenderson
    December 9, 2008

    Yeah, I’m reading the best book, but page 56 didn’t show it off. If I had quoted 5 lines of another page, about 20 of you would have bought the book on that alone.

    So, tell me, Robin, is the Pink Floyd bassist totally freaking out that he got to meet Eric and Julie Slick?

  • SusanHenderson
    December 9, 2008

    I know it’s hard. Bless you for going there to write such an important story. xoxo

  • robinslick
    December 10, 2008

    Ha ha – he’s in love with Julie, but who isn’t? As soon as he got back to his hotel room after the first night of meeting them, he fired off this email to Eric and since then has been following them all over the place, even letting Julie play a bass he purchased from The Who’s late great bassist, John Entwistle. He’s already lined Eric up for some future work and since he plays with David Gilmour, this is more than a “little” exciting.

    Eric
    Just a note to say how delightful it was to meet and hang with you and your sis..
    You’re both superlative musicians and splendid company. More and soon please.
    Stay in touch.
    xx

    In other news, I realize I did not make any comment as to the fabbo interview with Jordan – two fantastic women/writers – how could it be bad but it was absolutely amazing and I read it twice.

    Best wishes to everyone here for a happy, healthy holiday season and Sue, if you are sending out a Christmas letter this year, please make sure to use my new address and not my office address from five years ago as my former boss sent me the last one in June of 2008, the bastard. And um, the Slick Christmas cookies are going out shortly….

  • SusanHenderson
    December 10, 2008

    Your lives are too cool. I’ll double check with you about the address I have. And tell me Julie’s making non-fat cookies this year because last year (maybe I shouldn’t have hidden them from the kids), I got totally fat on them.

  • robinslick
    December 10, 2008

    Ha ha – no, they are loaded with butter but actually I make no fat meringues. Are you interested? Tho’ I do put chocolate in some to make them more appealing.

    Listen, not to be a total douche but oddly enough, some of you here are Facebook friends with Julie and/or Eric and please do not repeat anything you see here on Facebook…especially any comments I’ve made. This is my “writer life” site/place to hang and not intended to be shared anywhere else.

  • SusanHenderson
    December 10, 2008

    Maybe I better have plain, no-fat, no-chocolate meringues.

  • troutbum70
    December 13, 2008

    Started reading Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried today. It sucked me in half way through the first page.

  • SusanHenderson
    December 13, 2008

    That’s my #1 all-time favorite book. http://www.amazon.com/Things-They-Carried-Tim-OBrien/dp/0767902890

  • troutbum70
    December 13, 2008

    I remembered you saying that and have just now gotten to it. I love it so far.

  • kategray
    December 16, 2008

    Closest book was Heather Pringle’s The Mummy Congress. “Middle class families kept bodies until putrefication clearly set in; no self-respecting Resurrectionist wanted such spoiled goods. Eventually, European and American legislators came to their senses, relaxing laws governing the dissection of cadavers.” Taken out of context, it sounds quite gruesome. I just have a fascination with the forensics side of archaeology, and my library reflects it.
    The only bookworms I really know and love don’t have blogs, but my sister has a deviantart page:
    Ruth Bushnell, http://willowambereyes.deviantart.com/
    my mother Kathryn
    my cousin Lindsay
    her sister Rochelle
    my neighbor Kristen

    I should add that my kids are driving me crazy right now. My younger son is arguing that the word in the song is “Cradle, cradle, cradle, I made it out of clay…” and I can’t convince him otherwise. The two boys also managed to tip the Christmas tree over last night, while I was doing laundry downstairs. Only my ornaments managed to get broken, and I briefly contemplated putting everything away and having a Festivus pole instead. Or maybe just celebrate Saturnalia. I hate stressing out about the holidays! Oh, and my favorite cousins are abandoning us this year for a trip to Mexico. I can’t even begin to describe how much I’d like to run away with them.

  • SusanHenderson
    December 17, 2008

    I can see why you have the fascination. We went on a dinosaur dig a few years ago, and all the diggers were missing fingers. I really want to do a dig in Mongolia… next 5 years or so.

    Hope the kids and the house aren’t so crazy today. Checked out your sister’s link. She and I both love the movie, Princess Bride, I see.

  • kategray
    December 17, 2008

    Ha! Actually all my digs were in Virginia. Lots of fun in some of the more rural areas out there, but also very discouraging; we were usually the last people through the area before developers came in. The most poignant one for me was finding an old family graveyard, and realizing that while all the family were buried in the “Christian” fashion, east to west, with markers, all the slaves were buried the opposite direction, with no marker to tell us who they were. The only reason we knew there were graves was because of the tell-tale “depression”. I miss it anyway. I’d rather do digs in England, though!

    And yes, my sister is obsessed with the Princess Bride (we all kind of are) – but she was the one who wore out our brother’s VHS copy of it.

    Kids are brined in the holiday madness, I think. I’m a little distressed, because our older son hit his paraprofessional two days ago. He’s never done anything of the sort before, but he hits a high of frustration around this time of year, so all we can do is make sure he doesn’t do it again!

  • SusanHenderson
    December 19, 2008

    Two links I find interesting. First, Mr. Henderson has, for as long as I’ve known him, said that It’s a Wonderful Life is the most depressing movie he’s ever seen. And this article here explains his reasons to a T: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/movies/19wond.html?pagewanted=1&8dpc&_r=1

    And over at SwampLand, Joe Klein’s surprising commentary on the disappointing Pastor Warren pick has kicked off quite the conversation in the comments section: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/12/18/the-not-so-right-reverend-rick/

  • SusanHenderson
    December 19, 2008

    That graveyard story is great material for a book – fiction or non-fiction!

  • SusanHenderson
    December 23, 2008

    Interesting story about the state of publishing by Janet Reid: http://heydeadguy.typepad.com/heydeadguy/2008/12/may-you-live-in-interesting-times.html

    Thanks to Colleen Lindsay (http://theswivet.blogspot.com/) for the link!

  • Nathalie
    December 24, 2008

    Wishing you all the best for the holiday season.

  • SusanHenderson
    December 24, 2008

    Thank you, Nathalie! xo

  • celebralpalsy
    August 3, 2009

    Part of what cracks me up about this photo is my rained-on hair and the cerebral palsy pose!!!@!@!@!
    Ha Ha real funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    :(((((((((((((((
    from alex

  • […] after pushing the snow off my car and drinking some excellent coffee, I got to the office where Susan Henderson from Litpark notified me via Twitter message that she was tagging me in a blog meme—the ‘56th page, […]

Susan Henderson