Christine Amsden

 One of the greatest life lessons I’ve learned is that change comes slowly, one tiny step at a time. This is true on a grand scale, but it is also true on a personal scale. If you want to change yourself, don’t go for the overhaul or you’re likely to crash and burn. Find one manageable thing you can do and then, when you’ve mastered it, find something else. This is a life lesson that I’ve come to accept gradually,  one piece at a time.

You know it’s a good idea to save the earth. Recycle, conserve energy, use cloth diapers, carpool….there are dozens of ways you can make a difference, but when the well-meaning environmental gurus out there pelt them at you one right after another, it feels like too much. You’d have to turn your entire life upside down and everything would be different.

That’s true. If you want to do your part to help protect our Earth, then you will have to change, but slow down, take a deep breath, and relax. You don’t have to do it all right now. Just do one thing. Your “green” thing.

I have selected a new “green” thing each year for the past four years, making it a sort of New Year’s Resolution. First, I changed all my light bulbs to compact fluorescents.  Then, I switched to cloth diapers (mommies, that’s a huge one — read my blog entry on cloth, it’s not as bad as you think). Last year, we started using cloth bags (”green” bags) at the grocery store and this year, we’ve got a recycling bin. Plus, my husband is riding his bicycle to work about 3-4 times a week. Not only is he saving gas, but he’s getting in great shape!

But the best thing about my yearly “green” thing is that I’m not just making these changes for me. They will filter down through the generations because my children will think of them as normal. My 4-year-old loves to put things in the “‘cycle” bin. “Mommy, can I ‘cycle this?” is a common question around here.

So if you want to be environmentally conscious, don’t let it get overwhelming. Just choose one thing, master it, and move on.

What’s your green thing this year?

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to hear Yann Martel, author of “Life of Pi,” speak at the Kansas City Public Library. The book was one of the reasons that I have been so grateful for my book club, because once a month, I break free from my genre comfort zone and find joy in literary, non-fiction, or other works that I would not have chosen on my own. No, I don’t love everything I read, but books like “Life of Pi” make it all worth the effort.

I come from a speculative fiction tradition. The authors from whom I have learned my craft were almost entirely science fiction and fantasy authors. Since this is what I write, it makes sense, but listening to Yann Martel helped me to solidify something that I’ve been toying with for some time — the idea that we need to learn from one another.

But let me rewind just a bit. Lately, I have been reading a lot of books outside of science fiction and fantasy. In fact, in the past six months, I have read only about half a dozen speculative fiction novels. (For the record, I read several books a week.) I have been filling my time with mystery, suspense, mainstream, and romance, plus the odd non-fiction or literary piece that has so far been entirely at the prompting of my book club.

I learned the rules of science fiction and fantasy by heart, but it quickly became clear to me that other genres don’t necesssarily follow our rules. The romance genre, for example, love to withhold tidbits of personal information that the point of view characters know, bringing it out only when the author feels it is the most poingnant. At first, I thought my displeasure with this tactic was due to the fact that I’d learned differently, but even after reading dozens of books and coming to accept it (not the same thing as liking it), I still feel that the stories would improve without this tactic.

Not that the science fiction and fantasy genre is pristene. Afte r reading in these other genres, I feel that we could learn a great deal about how to fashion a satisfying suspense or mystery from those writers, or about how to make love interests meaningful rather than token by considering romance authors.

Fast forward to Yann Martel’s talk last week: For those of you who are unaware, there is something of a rift between literary and genre writers. Please, don’t ask me to take sides, because for pure group survival if nothing else, I’d have to take up arms with my fellow genre writers, but I don’t want there to be a fight. The basic thrust of the conflict is that literary writers sometimes accuse genre writers of being frivolous and genre writers sometimes accuse literary writers of being unjustified snobs. As with almost any conflict, there are truths behind both points of view.

Listening to Yann Martel speak reminded me that there is something of a paradigm shift between the literary world and the genre world. It’s hard to describe, but I think it has a lot to do with the purpose behind the written word. In the literary camp, books are inherently meaningful, serve a purpose, and add something to the growing body of literature that shapes and defines our world. In the genre camp, books serve no greater purpose than to tell a good story.

Yes, I’m sure you see what I’ve seen for a long time — they can do both. But there’s still the question of which comes first: the story or the meaning?  This is the paradigm gulf that separates thetwo worlds. And it’s ok. There is a need for all kinds of written works to suit the needs of a diverse populace.

For the record, Yann Martel did not strike me as being a snob of any kind, justified or not. He expertly fielded a question about about reading for enjoyment vs. reading for meaning in a way that made it clear he understood that it didn’t have to be one way or the other, though at some point you can’t escape the tragedy of certain topics.

No, what all this is really coming down to is me — There was a question asked about the meaning of the island in “Life of Pi” that made me realize how deeply engrained my personal biases are. “What’s up with the living island?” Probably, if I were more literary-minded, I would have asked the question myself, but to be perfectly honest with you, it didn’t even phase me. The whole story was fantastic, just like so many stories I’ve loved since I was a child, and the island was just one more fantastic element. Even reaching the blatantly allegorical conclusion didn’t make me stop to reconsider my first impression. But what he was trying to accomplish with that island (which doesn’t mean that I have to agree since I am allowed to take whatever meaning I will from a book), was a leap of faith. He was stretching our credulity with each successive event in his parallel of religion. (By the way, I also had a subtly different take on this aspect — I saw the ending not as religion vs. no religion, but rather as the idea that it’s possible to believe more than one thing at the exact same time, just as the main character had followed Christianity, Islam, and Buddism…in other words, I didn’t choose my favorite of the two stories; I believed both.). Yet as a long-time readre and lover of fantasy, I have been trained to accept just about anything in a book. This doesn’t mean I would do so in the real world, but in books, I’m pretty gullible. I don’t accept the real world as my starting point.

It’s always interesting to have our assumptions thrown in our faces. The older I get, the more I realize that there are a lot of things I don’t question, I just take them for granted.

For example, I’ve always taken for granted that my primary purpose in telling a story is to entertain and hopefully my books do that, but each one has subtle meaning that, coming from a speculative fiction background, I have religated to the background.

Perhaps it is normal for an author, but I’ve always wanted my books to push the envelope in some way. I don’t want them to just be enjoyed, I want them to be remembered. This can be done in any style or genre, as I have loved and remembered a great many books, but somehow I want to find that thing that sets what I do apart.

On the way home, my friend asked how I wanted my own writing to be different, for I had just complained that so many stories are echoes of what has come before. Thinking about what I had just heard, my best answer was that I wanted my stories to represent a true blending of genres — the best of each — to tell a more complete and less linear story.

Laster, I came up with a more complete answer. Yes, I want to learn from other genres and incorporate all of that learning into a truly cross-genre effort that captivates the minds and imaginations of various readers. (Though I know I will anger just as mny readres of each genr, so don’t think I’m after universal popularity.) There’s something more that I want to do, though, and it’s going to take me quite a bit of time to explore the idea — I want to break free of unconscious bias; to take nothing for granted. When someone gives me a rule, I want to ask why and if they can’t give me a good enough reason, I want to feel free to break it.

I’ve decided to do a new series of blog posts on creativity. So far, it’s a work in progress, but I thought I’d share something I have learned recently to get the ball rolling.

In November of 2008, I finished “The Immortality Virus” and had no idea what I wanted to do next. I had pushed myself to write every day, using the old BIC (butt in chair) advice as I trudged through three different revisions and subsequent editing. At the same time, “Touch of Fate” had been out for a year and promotional opportunities were dwindling.  Basically, I was burned out. (You may have noticeda huge gap in blog entries.) I wasn’t even sure I wanted to be a writer anymore.

So I made a momentous decision. I would quit writing for a year, with te alternate goal of reading one book each week (on average) in 2009.

For three months, I followed this plan to the letter, but then something strange happened. I began to miss writing.

It started as a little niggling in the back of my mind, but the more I pushed writing away, the more insistent it became. Finally, one day, lying on the floor of the nursey playing with my then 9-month-old daughter, I had an idea.

I sat bolt upright, startling Celeste, as the details began to fill in. It was a character — the heroine (for a few minutes, she was a he) was a paranormal investigator who didn’t have any magical powers. Who was she? Where did she live? Did she have any romantic interests? The ideas began to snowball until Celeste finally went down for her nap and I could type them out properly.

Over the next two months, with no goals, no BIC requirements, and no pressure, I outlined my entire 4-book series. Then, again without any pressure, I began to write.

Book one literally spilled from my fingertips. I have never in my life been so actively engaged in a book. It drove me. I wrote thousands of words a day and had a draft of it in less than a month, a draft worth of critique a month after that.

Then do you know what I did? I sent it off to my readres and went back to reading books. At least one a week (usually more to make up for my 4-month gap).

By the end of 2009, not only had I read more than 50 books, but I had a complete, marketable novel and an early draft of its sequel. (The sequel is currently out with critiquers.)

Do I have a point? Yes — I’m getting there!

Creativity stiffles when you try to force it. If you’re meant to be a writer, then you’re going to write. The story won’t let you do anything else. That’s not to say that BIC doesn’t have its place (especially in the editing and marketing phases), but there has to be a balcne. Writing a novel is not a fully quantitative process. Word count goals are meaningless if the worrds coming out are crap.

One of the 50+ books I read was “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. I love the ideas she had for learning to enjoy life and to reignite that creative spark. I intend to use some of her suggestions as I put together some ideas on creativity — what it is, where it comes from, and how to unlock it.

Stay tuned!

So, do you know who you’re going to vote for yet? Before you answer, don’t forget that there are probably half a dozen or more positions up for grabs in your area. In my neck of the woods, I will be helping to select a sheriff, county commissioner, state senator, state representative, national senator, and national representative. I will also be deciding whether or not to approve over a dozen judges and there are three ballot issues which directly impact my life.

Once every four years, people swarm to the polls to select our next president of the United States, but most of the time when I visit the polls they are fairly empty. When it comes to selecting the president ot the Unitd States, a single person albeit the most powerful in the country, we are but one of a great many tiny voices. When it comes to selecting city council members and imposing local property/sales taxes, we have a much larger voice. Since many of you won’t join me at the polls outside of a presidential race, I often get to scream my opinion. :=)

So when you go to the polls this year, make sure you are informed about all the races and consider going more often. There are usually 2-3 elections each year. We pick the people who run our schools, our public services, our police departments, who plan for local road construction, new schools, public safety, local economic growth, and much, much more.

Do a google search for the election office in your area.  You can find out who will be on the ballot and often find links to their web pages.

And now, for my opinions on the issues effecting my life:

Johnson County Question No. 1:

“Shall the following be adopted?

The present method of nonpartisan selection of judges of the district court in this judicial district by the governor upon nominations by a district nominating commission and subject to retention in office by a vote of the voters shall be discontinued and there is hereby adopted in this judicial district the election of judges of the district court by the voters.”

NO! Politics needs to stay out of our courtrooms. Judges should be chosen based on experience and qualifications, not based on political party nor who has the most money to launch a campaign. If we feel that bad judges are going to the bench, we already have recourse: We can fail to reaffirm them when the question comes up and/or we can fail to reelect the people who appointed them. Meanwhile, the average voter (and I include myself) are not qualified to determine who would make a good judge. I feel that going to elected judges would be a disaster for our county.

Johnson County Question No. 2:

Shall the following be adopted?

Shall the Johnson County Education Research Triangle Authority be created and, for its purposes, shall a one-eighth of a cent (0.125%) retailers’ sales tax be imposed in Johnson County, pursuant to KSA 19-5002, for the purpose of supporting projects and programs related to (1) medical education and life sciences and cancer research programs at the Johnson County locations of the University of Kansas Medical Center; (2) research and education programs in animal health and food safety and security at the City of Olathe location of Kansas State University; and (3) undergraduate and graduate programs at the Edwards campus of the University of Kansas in the City of Overland Park, with the revenue from the tax being distributed in equal shares to the three institutions, consistent with the statute, and used for building construction, academic and research program development and growth, faculty and staff recruitment and retention, and operation and maintenance?
NO! I am not interested in paying a higher sales tax rate, especially not during these diminishing economic times. They make it sound so innocent — 1/8 cent. Well, how does the song goes:  “A penny for a spool of thread, a penny for a needle….” Our sales tax rate is already over 7.5%, largely due to fraction of a cent tax hikes. This is real money, and they don’t even cut you a break on groceries in this area.

Olathe U.S.D. #233 Proposition:

“Shall the following be adopted?

Shall Unified School District No 233, Johnson County, Kansas (Olathe), issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $68,000,000 to purchase and improve sites, to acquire, construct, equip, furnish, repair, remodel and make additions to district senior high schools associated with the district grade reconfiguration plan that addresses program and space needs, including new and upgraded computer and communications technology and all other necessary and related appurtenances and improvements, and to pay fees and expenses related thereto; all pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 10-101 et seq.; K.S.A. 25-2018(f); K.S.A. 75-2315 et seq.; and K.S.A. 72-6761?”

YES! As much as I hate to approve tax increases, our school district is in desperate need of some new buildings. This is also not a permanent tax increase.

Sheriff:

Well, we’ve only got one choice this year, so I guess Frank Denning is it!

County Commissioner, 6th District:

Calvin Hayden vs.  John M. Topikar(incumbent)

CALVIN HAYDEN — Well, it doesn’t hurt that he is the only one of the two with a web site and that the Kansas City Star has endorsed him, but what really cinched it for me, was their responses to a series of questions by VoteOlathe. Hayden presents himself as much more knowledgeable and approachable. He even offers his phone number. Topikar, on the other hand, when asked how he differed from his opponent, said: “I do not very well know him.”

State Representative, 15th District:

Sean Tevis vs Arlen H. Siegfreid (incumbent)

SEAN TEVIS:I decided this race purely on the issues. Sean Tevis reeled me in with the idea that groceries should not be taxed. I also like his ideas on energy and open government. He’s new to public office, but that is also something that is appealing to me, especially at this level of government. It also helped that he had a nice web page with good information. I could not find one for his opponent.

State Senator, 9th District

Ron Wimmer vs. Julia Lynn (incumbent)

RON WIMMER: After a lot of thought, I went with Ron Wimmer. Julia Lynn has been a very approachable representative. She regularly sends out surveys to find out what her constituents are thinking and on one occasion, she personally responded to an e-mail I sent her. However, I disagree with her on too many issues. Meanwhile, Ron Wimmer’s positions more closely match my own and he has the endorsement of many notable places, including the Kansas City Star. This was my toughest call.

US Representative, 3rd Congressional District:

Dennis Moore (incumbent) vs Nick Jordan

DENNIS MOORE

You can view a debate between Dennis Moore and Nick Jordan here.

Also of note, Joe Bellis is running for the libertarian party and Roger D Tucker is running for the reform party. I have occasionally voted third party, though I choose not to in this election. Neither of these two struck me as strong candidates.

In the matter of Moore vs. Jordan, I felt that Jordan won the debate and was more eloquent than Moore. Nevertheless, while he said a lot of things that people want to hear about taxes and the expensive Wall Street bailout, I am not ready to see us go back to a Republican congress. They have made some destructive decisions during their reign. Jordan wanted us to blame Moore for all that has gone wrong, including the economic crisis, but I wasn’t buying it. Also, while Moore has been in office, his party has only been in power for 2 years. And I like Moore’s position on energy. (I like the Democratic position on energy, and as this is at the top of my personal priority list right now, it has tipped my ballot to the left.) At any rate, he gets two years and then I get to reevaluate.

US Senator:

Jim Slattery vs. Pat Roberts (incumbent)

Of note: Randall L. Hodgkinson is running for the Libertarian party and Joseph L. Martin for the Reform party.

JIM SLATTERY

I hate to say this, and I try not to, but my support for Jim Slattery is really a vote against Pat Roberts. Jim Slattery seems to pretty much tow the party line and that’s fine, especially since I currently agree with the Democratic Party on a number of issues ranging from energy to fiscal concerns to social policies. Pat Roberts, on the other hand, is a staunchly conservative Republican who helped pass the Patriot Act and would like to “protect” marriage by denying rights to homoseual couples (as evidenced by his support of the 2005 state constitutional ammendment which even went so far as to outlaw civil unions).

Judges:

Conveniently, there is a web site that reviews judicial performance to help us decide which ones we should retain and which we should not. The Kansas Commission on Judicial Performance suggests that every judge on the ballot should be retained this election cycle. They have specific performance reports on each one.

President of the United States:

I’m guessing you don’t need any extra help on this one. There is news and information about this everywhere you go. For the record, I support BARACK OBAMA. You may also be interested in knowing that three third party candidates are on the Kansas ballot (and probably others as well): Bob Barr (Libertarian), Ralph Nader (Independent), and Chuck Baldwin (Reform).

So if you’ve been conscious for the last year, you must have noticed that grocery prices are going up…and up….and up. I noticed too. In 2007, we spent about $500 a month on food and consumables (hygiene, cleaners, paper towels, etc.) and in the first part of 2008, it was almost $600 a month. We had even tried to anticipate the inflation by budgeting $50 extra dollars a month starting in January, but it turned out not to be enough. We had two choices: Find more money or figure out how to cut costs.

Then a few months ago, Austin stumbled across an article in Money Magazine about the benefits of using cash rather than debit or credit cards, even if you plan to pay the credit card off at the end of each month. The article discussed a study, in which people either bought everything with cash or bought everything with a debit card. Those who used cash, spent less money, even though those using debit cards were not running up debt.

I was skeptical. I mean, I don’t feel like I buy unnecessary things, I look for deals, and I always pay off my credit card at the end of every month. Plus, I get 1% cash back on a credit card, so that has to count for something, right?

Maybe, but in July we decided to do a cash experiment. We took our monthly grocery and entertainment allowances out of the bank in cash. Since we had overspent during the first 6 months of the year, I took out $520 a month instead of the budgeted $550, in hopes that we would even things out by the end of the year.

Here’s the thing about deciding to take $520 a month out of the bank and not allow yourself any more money to spend on groceries — that’s all you get. You can’t spend $550 because you don’t have $550, let alone close to $600!

So have we saved money? Yes! Almost $80 a month.

What are we eating? For the most part, what we were eating before. Here’s the snag. Towards the end of the month, when all that’s left in the grocery envelope are a few coins rattling around, we have to get a little creative. It’s amazing what we’ve found sitting in our own pantry, gathering dust, and in our own freezer, about to get bitten. I long onto www.allrecipes.com, type the ingredients I have on hand, and get recipe ideas. Or, if nothing seems to be coming up, I get creative. Last night, for example, I had (leftover from previous recipes),  half a pound of ground beef, a couple slices of bacon, half a head of cabbage, half a pepper, and half an onion. I couldn’t find a recipe that included all of that, but it didn’t sound half bad all thrown together in a skillet with a bit of rice and some spices. And it wasn’t half bad.

The last week in September, I had $10 left. Basically, I could buy milk. So I dug through the freezer for bags of frozen veggies, into the pantry for rice, pasta, and sauces, and hit the internet to figure out how to put it all together. It doesn’t hurt to be willing to bake your own bread products either. It even tastes better.

They say necessity is the mother of all invention, so why not get creative and get inventing? Force yourself to spend a little less money next month by taking it out in cash and see what you can figure out in order to continue putting dinner on the table.

I’m even considering cutting the budget down to $500. If I can figure out Coupon Mom’s secret, I’ll make it even less!

A while back I mentioned that I was looking for new home made bread recipes to completely replace store bought sandwich bread. Well, my search isn’t quite over, although I’m making good progress, but I did make a discovery I wanted to share that really makes home made bread possible for almost anyone:

You can freeze the dough!

That’s right. You mix it up. Let it rise once. Divide it into loaves and either let it rise a second time OR put it into ziploc freezer bags and save it for another day. When you’re ready to bake your bread you take it out of the freezer, let it rise in a loaf pan for many hours (It’s taken me about 7 or 8 when I’ve done this.), and then bake it in the oven. It comes out great.

Which means that I can whip up a huge batch of bread dough, bake one loaf, and put another 4 or 5 loaves in the freezer for another day.

When I was a kid, I used to love when my mom would bake homemade bread. There just wasn’t anything like it…from the smells that filled the house as it baked to that first slice, fresh from the oven, with a light coating of melted butter.

Then one year, my mom got a bread machine for Christmas and it just wasn’t the same. It still smelled pretty good while baking, but the tastes and textures of the squarish loaf were just not as good. A slice of fresh bread from that machine was ok but I missed the real thing. The contrast was noticeable. I can’t honestly say if she did something wrong or not — I never used the bread machine myself — but she is usually a very good cook and she did try a dozen or more bread recipes before she finally gave up. By that time, I had left the house.

I am now making my own bread, but I am neither using a bread machine nor am I hand kneading (although my arms could probably use the toning). I am using a Kitchen Aid with a dough hook. It is the best of both worlds — the yummy homemade bread I remember with much less work. Not quite as little work as a bread machine, but still something I manage to do with a newborn and a toddler so it can’t be that bad.

I’ve been making my own wheat bread for a couple of years now, using it for a hearty side dish for many of my dinners. I have now decided to expand to making my own sandwich bread so I can finally eliminate the store-bought bread with its artificial sugars. (I’m trying to get the high fructose corn syrup out of my diet.) I purchased a counter top bread slicer so I could get even 1/2″ slices and record the points honestly on Weigh Watchers. (Hey, I’ve got a ton of baby weight to lose!)

I haven’t found my white bread recipe. It was hard to find one because most of the recipes out there are for the bread machine, but I finally came across three recipes that seemed worth trying. I will let you know when I find the perfect white bread for sandwiches.

I’ll also let all recipes know — they seem heavy on the bread machine recipes!

In the meantime, here is my homemade wheat bread recipes, complete with Kitchen Aid instructions:

1/2 cup honey

3 tbsp shortening

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1 tbsp salt

2 packages active dry yeast

1 egg

2_1/2 cups wheat flour

5 cups all purpose flower

1. In small saucepan, mix honey, shortening, milk, and water. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until about 120 degrees. I don’t use a thermometer…when the shortening is just starting to melt and it feels good and hot, then it’s done. I used a thermometer for a while but then got used to how it was supposed to feel.

2. Meanwhile, mix yeast, salt, wheat flour, and 1 cup of the white flower in the kitchen aid bowl.

3. Add egg and the saucepan mixture. Mix on medium high speed for about 3 minutes.

4. Change to the dough hook, add the remaining 4 cups of all purpose flour, and kneed on the lowest setting until smooth and consistent.

5. Grease bowl, put the dough in, turn it to coat the dough with the grease, cover with towel, and let rise until double — about an hour. (I actually use the kitchen aid bowl. This isn’t a very sticky dough so the bowl comes out pretty clean. I set the dough on the counter, grease the bowl, and put it back in.)

6. Punch dough. Divide in half. Form into loaves and place in 2 greased loaf pans. Cover with towel and let rise for about another 45 minutes to an hour.

7. Put in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.

8. Let it stand for about 15 minutes before cutting into it or the middle will be doughy and raw. The middle continues to cook for a while on the counter.

Now that the new baby is here and we’re getting past the most tiring parts of having a newborn, my husband is helping me to launch a new marketing campaign for “Touch of Fate.” He’s been doing a great job. I should have hired him as my marketing manager months ago. I guess we all have our strengths. I’m a writer, an artist. I’m a little shy by nature and find myself getting tongue-twisted when asked to talk about my work. Austin has no such trouble. I’ve heard him on the phone with several people, talking them into putting my book on store shelves and having me for author events even when they initially said no.

The book is now available at several independent bookstores. I’ll have a complete list up on my front page soon. I also have a number of events coming up, including a second appearance at both Borders and Hastings. Look for specifics on my calendar in the next few days.

A short story I wrote many, many years ago has finally seen print this month! “Betrayal” was the audition story I wrote for Orson Scott Card’s Boot Camp in 2003. Since Boot Camp was such an awesome experience for me, this story has some sentimental value for me and I am thrilled to finally see it in print.

Beginning authors, take note: Perseverance pays off. At least half a dozen magazines returned this story to me with a note saying, “Very good, but not for us.” I took them at their word and kept on trying until I figured out who it was for.

In “Betrayal,” a college freshman discovers that her roommate is an alien and vows to keep that secret — at least until aliens attack Earth.

You can purchase a copy of the magazine here.

I want to announce the birth of my new baby, Celeste Abigail Morgan. She came a week ago Saturday, May 17th, and weighed in at 5 lb 14 oz. She’s perfectly healthy and we’re doing great, if a bit tired.

My apologies for not posting much here in recent months. Things have been busy. I don’t expect that to change soon, but hopefully I’ll have a chance to make some posts.