Writing Update

WRITING UPDATE!

As if one looming deadline wasn't enough, I just picked up another one at the post office.

You're looking at the page proofs for ALL OF ME, due in a week. Whenever I get page proofs, I make a trip to the drug store and pick up some kids' colored pencils. I wear one to a stub making corrections, then I always manage to lose the box before the next page proofs arrive. Anyway, I have my red pencil and I'm ready to rock. As soon as I meet my other deadline, which happens to be one day earlier.

That, my friends, is the first draft of book 2 in the Love Between the Bases series, CAUGHT BY YOU. Due this Monday. Not that I'm panicking or anything. You know what, though? I enjoy a good challenge. I can do this thing. But if you do feel inspired to send chocolate, hunky massage therapists, or other assistance, I wouldn't say no.

Report from Lava Zone 1

*Lava Zone 1 is a real estate term for those places on the Big Island with the highest risk of being covered by lava.*

*We live in Lava Zone 1.*

*There's a chance we're completely out of our minds. But it's really, really pretty here.*

Since June 27th, lava has been oozing in molten swaths down the slopes of Kilauea volcano toward the little town of Pahoa. Despite the constant, unnerving threat of destruction, so far only one home has been lost, a few businesses closed, and two people arrested for sticking golf clubs in the lava. Lately I've been wondering if Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of the volcano, has a wicked sense of humor.

Who else could get throngs of tourists to come to a tropical paradise and visit ... a dump?

The Pahoa "Transfer Station" -- aka "the dump" -- came within one drainage ditch of being buried under lava. It was shut down and evacuated, and the whole town mourned the loss of our brand-new, $5 million eco-friendly waste facility. Then, in October, the lava just ... stopped. Right at the edge of the dump. We held our breath for about a week, until a new lobe of lava took off, heading for a different part of town.

The dump survived, but County officials jumped at the opportunity to offer visitors a way to view the lava flow. Here are a few pictures from Pahoa's newest tourist attraction. It's well worth a visit to see how breathtakingly close the lava came, to admire its elegant, primal swirls, and see the steam still leaking from the newest rock on earth.

Locals have left tributes to Pele, which is understandable since we're really happy to still have our dump. But tributes would be left no matter what; to live in Hawaii's Lava Zone 1 is to know that things could change at any moment. It's best to honor the mighty forces at work here.

 


In fact, another change is coming March 1. The dump will be reopened for business. We'll still get to view Pele's handiwork as we drop off our recycling. :-)

Have you ever seen the lava flowing here in Hawaii? Do you think we're nuts to live here (only part-time, but still?) 
 

New Look

Hey, I have a new look for the New Year! Or at least my website and blog do. (Me -- I'm pretty much the same.)

The big changes are the inclusion of baseball in the design, some brighter colors, and more sexiness, all in anticipation of the new series. Love Between the Bases will start hitting shelves on May 26, with the first book, ALL OF ME. I love the new design, and I hope you do too.

Another change is this blog. I debated changing the name to Jen's Un-Blog because I have a mental block about blogging. I want something more free-form, more relaxed, more spontaneous than a "blog." I'd like to be able to chat with people here, hang out, connect more. Jen's Space fits that concept better, so I'm trying that name out, see how it fits. I'll be visiting this space often -- at least a couple times a week -- and I hope you do too!

So here's to new beginnings, new looks, and new books. Are you making any big changes this year?