Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The Little Things

First off, we have some unfinished business to take care of from last week. The winner of a signed copy of my book, A BUMP IN THE ROAD, is cait045! Congrats! Please shoot us an email at thenovelgirls@gmail.com with your address and how you would like your book personalized and I'll send it out!

Thanks to everyone who entered our contest last week--and don't worry, you're all still entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card. Keep the comments up and we'll announce the winner at the end of the month!

Be sure to leave a comment this week to win a signed ARC of Jillian's new book: THE LIFE OF GLASS. I cajoled and begged Jill until she was basically forced to send me a copy of this book, and let me just say, it's brilliant. Beautiful and lyrical, it kind of made me hate her since it was so freakin' good. So, folks, you want this one.

OK, so, onto this week's topic: beauty. At first, Jill had me stumped with this topic--should I write about beauty in literary characters? Real-life beauty? The beauty of paying off my car last week? But then, as I took my son for a walk to the park yesterday morning, I realized I can talk about a different kind of beauty: nature.

See, I've never been a nature-girl. It's always been strictly city-living for me. When my mother-in-law would suggest a family camping trip, I'd recoil in horror. Because, you know, bugs and wild animals and stuff. Yet, I've been writing at home full-time since June, so I've had lots of opportunities lately to go outside and let my toddler run around while I enjoy the weather.

Before this summer, I was always working full-time in an office environment, so I barely noticed the change of seasons. All that summer meant to me was that I had to crank up the air-conditioning in my car a bit and winter meant scraping off my car in the wee morning hours.

Just last week, I called my mom and asked her why there are so many bees outside right now. It seems like we can't go to the park, grocery store or on a walk without being attacked by yellow jackets searching for a morsel of food. (And of course it results in some hysterical shrieking, arm flailing and running. It's quite possible my neighbors think I have some kind of disorder.) My mom reminded me that late August/early September is bee season, and that it's totally normal.

I was somewhat struck by this, since I realized that I'd never had the opportunity to be outside much in the past, oh, twenty years, so I didn't even notice the living creatures all around me. Now, mostly thanks to a rambunctious toddler, I'm outside every day. And I not only notice the little things, but look for them.

In honor of the impending change of seasons, what's your favorite time of year?

8 comments:

Juli D. Revezzo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Juli D. Revezzo said...

Hey again, Maureen, and the Novel Girls! First, congrats on achieving all your dreams of publication. I know how hard that is, so big kudos to you all! To answer your question: I live in the south, and like you, I've never been a big outdoors girl, personally. I'm a city girl and yet, perfer the *indoors* to the outdoors. In terms of seasons? My favorite time of year is after November 30-June 1st. It's not quite as hot, and we don't have to contend with pesky little things like hurricane watches, threats and warnings. :) Nice, calm weather is my favorite. hehe. Have a good one, all.

Anonymous said...

{Snags fist full of hair} ACK!Man oh man,I did it again.I forgot all about this.LOL.{Sobbs} I'm sorry.My brain is currently focused on hot monkey sex with a draygon {shape shifter} and my blog so everything is just a jumbled mess.LOL.Now onto my answer.

I LOVE FALL...no I don't like to fall I love the season Fall.It's not too cold and not too cold,just perfect.The leaves are crunchy when you step on them,pumpkins are everywhere,vampires lurk in the shadows...ugh,I mean the smell of pumpkin pie is drifting in the air.And I get to dress up and get free candy on Halloween. :D

Anonymous said...

Talk about a Jessica Simpson moment I meant to say...I like Fall because it's not too HOT and not too cold.LOL.I'm such a dork.

Brodie said...

Funny how many of the times it's children who are the ones who inspire us or in some way manage to show us the beauty of the simple things in life!

My favourite time of the year is Spring. As Winter begins to ebb away and the sun comes out to play (okay I wrote that intentionally because I felt like rhyming LOL), it's just beautiful to see everything begin to come alive again. Flowers blossom, trees are greener than ever... everything just breathes life and is so warm and green!

Lexie said...

I kind of love Fall the best, but only in october cause that's when it smells like cinnamon and apples and pumpkins around my house and its just cool enough for me to bust out a duster, but not the full on heavy coats. Its just a little windy and crisp out and everyone has their decorations out. I kind of like the end of Fall, cause then its the beginning of being able to smell everyone having their fireplaces going and the smell of burning wood if so...I don't know, cozy to me.

Lexie

Anonymous said...

Fall for sure. I love the crisp air, wearing jeans, being able to be outside without sweating. I love watching the bright colors and the crunching of leaves. The excitement of starting a new school year full of hope. I love that the time for being cozy is here. I'm a home-body, so cozying in at home is my favorite thing. Fall lets that happen.

Kristen said...

Absolutely love the fall and spring. I like the rainy season in the spring where things are warming up, but I love the colors and the cool weather of the fall as well. :)