Pineapples

Judging by the date of my last entry here,
and despite the title of this blog,
I am apparently not actually staying afloat.

Bite me.

Okay, fine, don't.

Where water metaphors are concerned, though, I should not be sinking.


If there's one thing I do know how to do, it is swim.

See? This is me, swimming.

And, yet. . . 

In fairness to me, these last 8-week-(gulp)-throes of trying to market my own book -- yes, unless we are JK Rowling or Stephanie Meyer, these days we mostly do it all on our own -- are starting to weigh me down. Everything from booking my own events (and those of Class of 2K11) and arranging the "food and entertainment" there, to my release party, to designing my own bookmarks and "swag" (with the help of my dear friend and fab graphic designer [you should use him if you need graphics designed...] Jeff Fielder), to writing endless blog posts, tweeting and fb'ing, to mailing out packages of swag . . . well, you get the gist. Add to it, my part-time real paid work and my kids whose spring sports and school lives are heating up, and really are the thrill of my life but demanding of my motherly attention. . . well, there's only so many hours in a day.

Which leaves me with this:

the last few times I've signed onto facebook (oh, love of my life, you facebook!) or Twitter (ringing silence), the only thing I want to type is the word pineapple.

Pineapple.

Pineapples. (Sure, the plural works nicely).

I mean, sometimes, a single word like that seems to sum things up nicely, right?

Pineapple. 

see?

Gae Polisner is pineapple.

That tells you everything you need to know.

- gae

Repeat Imagery

As I work on my 4th or 5th manuscript (maybe 6th or 7th, depending), it always amuses me to see the "repeats" of imagery that find their way into my stories. You know, those certain fascinating objects or images that suddenly pop up in our scenes without us knowing how, exactly, they found their way in.

I have a few favorites, and I must say, to this day, I am never tired of them when they appear: pools and water, of course, being the obvious to those who know me, but less obviously, tunafish and mayonnaise, kitchen tables (interesting side note, I do not own, nor have I ever owned a kitchen table, nor lived in a house where there was a traditional kitchen table), and today's blog-triggering image, those little brightly-colored paper umbrellas you used to get in your drinks at chinese restaurants.

God, I love those. Welcome little paper umbrella. :)

So, i'm curious: what objects/imagery finds itself repeatedly into your character's lives and stories?

some days you wreak havoc...