Notes from a Sci-Fi Mom

What I'm Writing:

I got about 40,000 words written on my sci-fi Young Adult novel Our Four Mothers during NaNoWriMo, which I considered a great success given the as-usual level of my #&*$ migraines! This month I've added more scenes, revised considerably, and am almost ready for querying.

Here's a brief excerpt from the potential query. (I can't post the whole thing; it gives too much of the plot away!)

The domed village of New Plymouth, on the planet Zuriel, was colonized by a group of futuristic Puritans in search of their own utopia. Seven generations later, sixteen-year-old CADY has never known life outside this patriarchal theonomy, in which women are honored while having no rights. That is until the day she saves one of the indentured servants outside the dome from a vicious animal -- breaking the sanctity of the community by letting the young man in.

As Cady's idyllic life begins to unravel...she must transform not only her vision of the world, but her image of herself and her worth as a woman.
The Handmaid's Tale moves into The Village, and takes off for another planet in OUR FOUR MOTHERS...

I've had invaluable input from my critique group and the ladies at True Womanhood in the New Millenium, some of whom have experienced life in heavily patriarchal families and churches.

What I'm Reading:

I'm late to the Jasper Fforde game, but I'm loving The Eyre Affair, his time travel/literary detective novel in an alternate reality 1985 Britain. The front cover bills it as a mix of Monty Python, Harry Potter, Stephen Hawking, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- but I believe they forgot the queen of time travel and literary allusion, Connie Willis!

I'm also reading Quiverfull: Inside

the Christian Patriarchy Movement, Kathryn Joyce's illuminating investigation of uber-conservative evangelicals who believe that a woman's place is in the home -- PERIOD. College is a no-go for daughters, who should remain at home under their father's authority and "protection" until they are passed directly to their husband's authority at marriage. (A husband, by the way, who was at least heavily vetted, if not chosen directly, by the father.) Patriarchy is alive and well in the American church.

What I'm Knitting:

Yes, I'm still working on Doug's Fibonacci cube afghan. He didn't get it in time for high school graduation or to move in to his college dorm, and he didn't get it for Christmas. Easter, maybe? A prize for finishing the first year of college? What can I say, it's BIG! And I've been busy writing, and migraining!

I did, however, take the time to knit him his very own Jayne hat, including a facsimile of the note Ma Cobb sent to her "little boy". Here's a clip of Jayne Cobb receiving his present in Firefly:

And of course a pic of my "little boy" wearing his.

And speaking of Doug, he was day-dreaming one day about a steampunk Christmas tree in his dorm room, so we gathered a group of willing friends and relations and made his dream come true! I ordered lots of clock and watch parts from e-bay, scoured craft stores for appropriate miscellany, and had ourselves a steampunk ornament party! He came away with some really shiny ornaments, as you can plainly see. :D

How I'm Feeling:

Still pretty much the same, unfortunately. I used my periodic "rainy day" dosepack of steroids at Thanksgiving, since that was when the majority of relatives were going to be visiting. I can usually get at least a few good days out of them. This meant I was on my own for Christmas, and ended up missing out on a lot of the festivities with the usual horrid migraines. My pain doc shot some steroids into my forehead on the 18th and told me I'd probably get a couple of weeks of relief out of them, but I got a grand total of a day and a half. I still sleep two or three days a week, have a pretty good day once or twice a week, and muddle through the rest of the time with usually at least a couple of productive hours a day for writing. I'm extremely thankful for my wonderful daughter Carrie, who has been doing most of the grocery shopping and cooking. I truly don't know what I'd do without her, or David who has pretty much taken over the laundry.

In Other News:

Doug and Carrie both made it through their first semesters of college, and now have the month of January to kick back and ... work. Doug is home for the month, and is hoping to do a lot of fill-in work lifeguarding at indoor pools. AFTER he finishes recovering from getting his wisdom teeth out today.

Carrie is astounding, as usual. She's had some significant health problems of her own the last few months, but still managed to pull a 3.5 as a 16yo college freshman. She's been working at TCBY, and is skilled at both swirling AND scooping frozen yoghurt.

Amy has been in planning mode the last few weeks. She has completely planned her wedding, down to drawings of the dress and the cake. She has designed her baby's nursery, making detailed lists of the exact products she's going to need and how much they'll cost. And she's determined her children's names, her future career (middle school counselor), and begun designing her house, including an apartment for David and me. Yes, she is totally ready for adulthood ... at ten.

Both girls sang in the Peabody Children's Chorus winter concert...Amy's first, and, sadly, Carrie's last.