Melanie Marttila

Workshop alert: Lauren Carter Oct 6, 2013

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

You may remember that I’ve become a member of the Program Committee for the Canadian Authors Association.

The committee is responsible for the annual conference, the Literary Awards, professional development of the membership, and something called the Roving Writers program.

I volunteered to be on the sub-committee for the Roving Writers and our first event will be in a scant week!

Author Lauren Carter will be coming to Sudbury as part of her book tour.  So on Sunday, Oct 6, from 1-4 pm at the Parkside Older Adult Centre in the YMCA building, she will be delivering a workshop on Deep Character.

Here’s the poster with the deets (including how to sign up):

RWTP_Carter Poster

The CAA office will be sending me a copy of the participant list and I will be taking payment (cash or cheque only, please) at the door. The discounted fee of $25 applies to members of the CAA only.

Light refreshments (fruit, muffins, water, and juice) will be provided.

I can’t thank the Sudbury Writers’ Guild enough for their assistance in getting this event off the ground.

Following that, on Monday, Oct 7, Lauren will be at the south end branch of the Greater Sudbury Public Library as part of the first LUminaries reading series.  This has nothing to do with the CAA or the Roving Writers, but I thought I’d spread the word.

She will, of course, have copies of her dystopian literary novel, Swarm, available for sale and signing.

Have a lovely evening!

Caturday Quickies: The launch of Spooky Sudbury

/ Melanie Marttila / 3 Comments
Spooked authors :)

Spooked authors 🙂

Barnaby

Barnaby

What was I up to today?

Between 11 am and 1 pm, I went to Chapters to celebrate the launch of Mark Leslie and Jenny Jelen’s Spooky Sudbury: True tales of the eerie and unexplained, which just happens to feature a wee tale from yours truly as well as a number of my friends: Kim Fahner, Mat Del Papa, Charlie Smith, Rob Sacchetto, and a pile of other local contributors.

Upon my arrival, the gracious Mr. Leslie brought me my contributor’s copy and my Spooky

My Spooky Sudbury swag

My Spooky Sudbury swag

Sudbury Swag Bag.  I met Jenny, and hung out with Scott Overton, Kevin Closs, and a crowd of other people.  Really.  It was a crowd.

An hour into their three-hour stint at Chapters, Mark and Jenny were sold out.  Fans were heading down to Costco to buy copies and bring them back for Mark and Jenny to sign.

This afternoon, Mark and Jenny were at Coles in the New Sudbury Centre, and tomorrow morning, from 10 am to 12 pm, they will be at Costco.  This will be your last chance, Sudbury, get your copy of Spooky Sudbury before they’re all sold out and read the true tales of the unexplained through the month of October.

Getting interviewed-yes, the media was there too!

Mind you, you can always go online and order a copy.

Either way, it’s scary stuff, kids (in my best, Count Floyd voice)!

What writerly fun have you been up to this weekend?

Caturday Quickies: Brian Henry workshop Sept 22, 2013

/ Melanie Marttila

Last Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013, I attended a Brian Henry workshop here in Sudbury.  The Brian HenrySudbury Writers’ Guild brought him up for a visit.  This will have been my fifth of Brian’s workshops, I’m thinking?

I used to attend the workshops he delivered in North Bay, take the drive over in the morning with my mom, drop her off at the mall for a day of shopping, and pick her up at the end of the workshop.

Brian Henry is an experienced editor who now teaches at Ryerson University.  He also conducts workshops on a regular basis across southern Ontario.

If you don’t know about it, you should really visit Quick Brown Fox, Brian’s blog.  He blogs about agents and editors and publishing opportunities for Canadian writers (here and in the States).  Sign up for his newsletter.  It’s full of great information.

Brian has also been instrumental in developing the talent of some well-known authors – anyone heard of this woman named Kelly Armstrong?

This workshop was about plotting short fiction and novels, the differences, and markets.  If you have access to one of Brian’s workshops in your area, I would recommend attending.

As a fellow member of the Sudbury Writers’ Guild says, you have to be open to learning about your craft, even if you’ve already been published.  It’s a lifetime commitment.

Oh yeah, he set us an assignment to write a short story (preferably one of the ones we worked on in the workshop and submit it to CommuterLit.com.  We were supposed to do it before the week was out.  I don’t have much time to get cracking on my submission 🙂

Have you attended any workshops recently where you learned something new about your art or craft?  Maybe it reminded you of something you already knew, but temporarily forgot?  Please share 🙂

All’s quiet on the work front

/ Melanie Marttila / 10 Comments

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about the day job.  The reason: I’m burnt.

Crispy critters.  Toasty-oats.  Done like the proverbial dinner.

I’ve been burned out since April or thereabouts.  It was about the same time that two things occurred to me:

  1. Regardless how well I plan and how hard I work, someone will inevitably ask me to throw everything out the window and do something completely different.
  2. Regardless how well I do, I will never be a regional consultant on a permanent basis.

I was just coming down off the high of achieving my training certification and eager to begin the next phase of my development as a certified trainer.  First, I’d have to assess a few other candidates, and then I could begin to coach.

In the next breath, I was told that the certification program was on hold.  Our internal college was in transition and it was unknown when the program would resume.  To date, I have heard nothing.

Though my performance and learning agreement (PLA) was fairly glowing, I knew I would not remain with the team.

I knew this to begin with.  My assignment was part of a deal and was never intended to be permanent.  It was difficult to hang onto this reality when everyone on my old team was telling me that I wouldn’t be returning.  My star was ascending.

Everyone on my new team was eager to keep me.  To his credit, my  new manager never so much as implied there was a possibility.  Fair enough.

I applied for two other positions, both of which I was screened out of because I lacked the requisite experience.  The only way to gain said experience?  At-level assignments, staffed through unofficial expressions of interest.

By the time summer arrived, I didn’t really want to remain a consultant, at least not in the position of regional training coordinator.  The landscape of the program I administered was ever-changing, and, as I mentioned above, all my hard work was largely disregarded.

Then I had to work even harder, and those efforts, too, ended up going to waste.

I began to hope that I would return to my substantive position, despite the reduction in salary.

Unexpectedly, the consultant pool I was in was extended to the end of August, incidentally the end of my acting assignment.  A couple of consultants had retired, and I felt that I might obtain one of those positions.

Until I learned that regionally, consultants were being centralized.  Now, if I wanted to be a consultant, I’d have to move, disrupting Phil and his job, and leaving both of our mothers (still independent, but aging) without a significant part of their support systems.

I’d already made it clear when I made the pool that I would not be moving.

So now, due to geography (ridiculous because most of our work is virtual) I am out of the running, even though my pool has been extended again, to the end of September.  It’s sad, because I have skills that are in demand.

Despite fishing my wish and getting back on the training team, it’s not the same.  I can’t help but feel that it’s a kind of failure.  I know that this is not the case, but my feelings are what they are.  I also feel bitter.

There was a time when I thought I would never be able to rise very far in the ranks.  Though my office is a hub, there weren’t very many opportunities for advancement.

That changed and I moved up two pay grades in as many years.  Now I feel that again, I’m “stuck.”

Don’t get me wrong, the training team is great and our manager is awesome.  The phrase “force of nature” comes to mind when I think of her.  I used to be so happy.  I thought I’d found my work “home” and was content to stay there.

It’s hard to go back when you’ve had your world expanded, though.

I’m just totally burnt out.  Most days I wake up asking myself if I can, in fact, go to work.  I’m so disappointed when I can’t find a reason to stay home.

So I’m going to be taking some time away from work starting October 15.  I’m hoping that the time off will allow me to address some of the negative feelings I have and return to work in a positive and productive frame of mind.

Priorities.  While I have debt, I need to keep them straight.

Does your day job get you down?  Do you have any options that can help you to recapture your love for your job?

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Sundog snippets: The shape of things to come

/ Melanie Marttila

The gazebo is finally up.

It’s been a bit of an odyssey.

Last year, Phil thought he’d like to put a permanent gazebo up on our patio.  He set about drawing up plans and figuring things out.

This spring, rather than building the wooden gazebo with roof and shingles, Phil opted to purchase a metal gazebo.

It was supposed to be 10’ by 12’ and our patio was only about 10’ by 10’.  After we got the birches and the poplar removed in the spring, Phil determined that he would dig down and pour sono-tubes full of concrete to serve as footings for the new gazebo.

Then it rained.  Then it got super hot.  Then it rained again.  Then Phil bought Bucket.

It wasn’t until August that he got those footings poured, 10’ by 12’, on centre, levelled.  They should have been as perfect as Phil could have made them.

Then Phil opened the boxes (there were several) and located the instructions.  The first issue was the manner in which the directions suggested the gazebo be assembled: put the roof together, and have 6 people on ladders hold it up while 2 more people assemble the structure beneath it.

We both had a hoot about that.

Phil chose to put together the part of the frame that should have confirmed the proper placement of the footings.  The gazebo turned out not to be 10’ by 12’, even though every measurement in the instructions and on the boxes indicated that it was those exact dimensions.

It was 9’ 7” by 11’ 7”.

So Phil went out and got even bigger sono-tubes, excavated the ones he’d poured, stripped off the cardboard so that the new cement would adhere to what he’d already poured, and positioned the tubes so that the expanded diameters should have supported the posts.  Even then, the posts rested on the very edges of the footings.  He’d have to start over.

Phil was not a happy camper.

So more sono-tubes and more quick-crete later, and the gazebo is finally up.

Phil putting the roof on and Nu in the shade

Phil putting the roof on and Nu in the shade

It's up!

It’s up!

As I was helping Phil out yesterday (handing him roof struts and bolts), I found this lovely little heart-shaped stone.  I think that says it all.  He still loves me 🙂

The random, heart-shaped rock I found

The random, heart-shaped rock I found

I’ll show you what the finished, finished gazebo looks like next week with the curtains and the patio set.  I’ll have my outdoor office for fall.

Any reno-misadventures to share?

Sundog snippet

Sundog snippets: Two things I’ve figured out about myself

/ Melanie Marttila / 11 Comments

This is just a quickie to let you know I remain smoke free, and that so far, I’ve not suffered too much in the withdrawal department.  Spending the week out of town did help significantly.

Phil is not doing so well, but he smoked for 34 years.  And, his motivation is monetary.  Mine is too, but I’ve only been smoking, off and on, for about 20 years, with stretches of intermittent quittage mixed in.

In the process I’ve discovered something.  I’ve started dreaming again.  This may only be a withdrawal issue and therefore transitory, but I’ve been dreaming like crazy this week.  Wild, creative dreams that seem to last all night, so I’m not sleeping well, but I’ll take the dreams over sleep any day.

My dreams are where a lot of my story ideas come from.

The dreams of Saint John Bosco

The dreams of Saint John Bosco (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I thought I’d just stopped dreaming as much because I was getting older.  This gives me hope that my brain is just as messed up as it ever was 😀

It’s also another motivation for me to stay off the devil weed (as one friend calls it).

The other thing I figured out earlier in the summer, but I didn’t want to write about it so soon on the heels of my “Life Sentence with Mortal Punctuation” series.  It just seemed too serious.

I’m fortunate.  Phil cooks for us.  I don’t like to cook and my efforts in that area have dwindled to nothing in the last few years.

I now have a good idea why: my ideation.  Even though I know how to address and subdue the beast, it doesn’t mean I want to think about cutting myself, or anyone else, every time I pick up a knife.  So I’m really very grateful that Phil cooks.

I’m also grateful for take-out, ‘cause every man has his limits.

Have you learned anything interesting about yourself lately?

Sundog snippets: The other thing

/ Melanie Marttila / 11 Comments

Sundog snippet

Real quickie here.

Just posting to let everyone know (and hope that you all keep me accountable): I’m quitting smoking.

Phil is too, and already this morning, we did the circle and snarl.  This evening he snapped at the dog.

Day one is almost over though.  It can only get easier.

Other than feeling a little “floaty,” I think I’m doing well.

Come Tuesday, I’m heading out of town, training for the day job.  My hope is that by the time I get back, we’ll be done our initial and respective detoxes, and things will be looking up.

Our motivation?  Phil added up what we spend on cigarettes between the two of us for the year: over $8,000.  That could have covered all our contingencies this year (Nuala’s ALC repair, the gazebo, Bucket).  Instead, we put everything on credit cards and then transferred it to the line of credit after.

We really couldn’t afford all this.

With the elimination of smoking, though, that $8k can go toward the line of credit and/or the credit cards to keep our debt down and eventually reduce it to $0.

The goal is lofty, but we’re going to do our best.

Wish us luck!!!!!

Stop Smoking - Quit Smoking

Stop Smoking – Quit Smoking (Photo credit: Free Photo Fun)

Great Big Sea in Sudbury Aug 25, 2013

/ Melanie Marttila

If you’ve followed Writerly Goodness for any length of time, you may have heard me refer to Great Big Sea (GBS).  There was a time, in my years at Laurentian University, that me and my friends, Kim and Yana, were GBS groupies.

The first time I saw them was in the Great Hall during frosh week of my first year.  The Great Hall was also the cafeteria, and was converted for the concert.  Kim and I didn’t use the chairs after the band hit the stage and spent the evening dancing our wee hearts out 🙂

The next year, GBS was one of the headliners at Northern Lights Festival Boreal.  Natalie McMaster opened up for them.  At that time, the Bell Park Amphitheatre was an old wooden structure and the seating was all concrete (and rough on the bum).  Not that I sat for long that time either.

The next year, Yana, Kim, and I went on a road trip to Oakville, where GBS was playing the waterfront music festival there.  We met up with one of her cousins, and after hitting the festival, spent the night wandering Oakville, hit a bar or two, and then ended up at Kim’s cousin’s apartment.

GBS returned to Northern Lights a few years later, but I had just had an operation and couldn’t go.  Yana went, though, and got me a t-shirt 🙂

So yes, we were, and continue to be fans.

Last year, GBS played the Sudbury Arena, and Kim and I caught the show there.  This year, when it was announced that GBS would be playing Summerfest, Kim, now a member of the GBS fan club, got herself, Yana, and I tickets.

They played on Sunday, August 25, which was, incidentally, Yana’s birthday, so I suggested we hit the local Fionn MacCool’s for supper before the performance.

Kim had just returned from her 2 and a half week Pacific odyssey (Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand) on the Friday immediately before and was still heavily jet-lagged.  The weather was stormy and the concert was going to be at Bell Park again, at the recently reconstructed Grace Hartman Amphitheatre.  While the band shell was much improved and equipped to deliver fabulous acoustics, the seating was still in the open.

We were understandably concerned.

Kim was watching the website and Twitter accounts for news, and Alan Doyle posted that the concert would proceed, as scheduled.

At supper, Kim was feeling poorly and Yana and I convinced her to come anyway.  A short stop at the pharmacy for pain relief, and another to pick up the tickets, and we continued out visit until GBS was scheduled to hit the stage.

The rain stopped.

The impromptu book signing

The impromptu book signing

At the concert, two of Kim’s friends from her recent trip, came over and Kim conducted an impromptu book signing for them.

Then, when GBS hit the stage, we were up, dancing and screaming for all we were worth.  A contingent from Newfoundland moved up to the stage and among some of the other fans, forming a Celtic mosh pit.

GBS

Alan Doyle announced that Newfoundlanders have magickal powers and that the band put a stop to the rain.  This was part of their 20th anniversary tour, and the last day of this portion.  On the Monday, they’d be heading back home for a break, and so they were going to leave it all on the stage.

The chief among Kim's secret husbands ;)

The chief among Kim’s secret husbands 😉

Over the next hour and a half, they played many favourites, old, and new, and let us bring them back on stage for an encore.

Sean McCann

Sean McCann

‘Twas a wonderful night spent with old friends, and we were sorry to see it end.

Have you been to any great concerts this summer?  Were you ever a groupie?  How about a concert road trips story?

Share your stories in the comments below.

kthxbye for tonight 🙂

Six questions with Jennifer J. Chow

/ Melanie Marttila / 8 Comments

Jennifer is one of many online friends I’ve made through Wordsmith Studio.  I’m happy that her novel, The 228 Legacy, is published and that she’s agreed to this interview.

Jennifer J. Chow

Jennifer J. Chow
photo credit Julie Daniels

Jennifer J. Chow, a Chinese-American, married into the Taiwanese culture. The 228 Legacy was inspired by the family stories she heard after viewing photos of a two-million-person human chain commemorating 228. She has traveled multiple times to Taiwan and visited places dedicated to the incident. Her experience with the elderly comes from a gerontology specialization at Cornell University and her geriatric social work experience. You can visit her online at www.jenniferjchow.com, or follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

________________________________________________________________________

WG: Welcome, Jennifer!

Your new website’s tagline is “Asian-American fiction with a geriatric twist.” Your old blog’s was “Fortune cookie wisdom meets an Asian American writer’s life.” How does this change in tagline reflect your evolution as a writer?

JJC: The blog continues to reflect my fortune cookie life and how I’m twisted into the dual selves of my Asian-American identity. Plus, my posts still start off with a Chinese proverb, and the saying is woven into the content. When I evaluated my fiction writing, though, I discovered certain themes coming through. I enjoyed exploring various aspects of the Asian-American experience. Also, many of my stories contained older adult characters as key figures and examined the interplay between different generations, so I added in the “geriatric twist” to my tagline.

WG: How has your work in the geriatric field influenced your writing?

JJC: I’ve heard so many unique and interesting tales from my previous clients. They shared with me their life journeys and provided a lot of inspiration in my own stories. Additionally, I have a strong desire to shed light on the inner workings of people as they age. I also wanted to highlight older characters, individuals who are often caricatured in the arts—or not mentioned at all.

WG: When did the writing bug first bite you? Tell us the origin story of Jennifer J. Chow, author 🙂

JJC: I always wrote as a child, starting with a pencil on lined paper. During a field trip to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, I dropped a journal entry without realizing it. Later on, one of my schoolmates picked it up, asking, “What’s this? It reads like a story.” When I grew older, I borrowed my father’s typewriter for writing. I even remember him taking my childhood manuscripts and showing them to his colleagues at work.

WG: When I saw your book, I immediately thought of Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club). Not that it’s a poor comparison to beg, but how is The 228 Legacy different?

JJC: I would be ecstatic to have my work compared to Amy Tan’s amazing novel. I’d like to defer this answer to a Goodreads member who summed it very well: “When I first described this book to someone (it spanning several generations, the historical context, mother/daughter relationships, immigrant and second-generation Asian American experience) I realized it sounded like I was describing an Amy Tan novel but in fact this book has a unique, American voice – It doesn’t indulge in magical realism of ancient lore or fortune cookie wisdom. Rather, the voice of the characters are immediately recognizable – maybe not extraordinary but are surviving the sometimes extraordinary circumstances surrounding them (whether it be a suffering spouse or parent, or a teenager witnessing abuse, or a military massacre). I learned about some Taiwanese history which as far as I know has never been touched upon in American fiction. But to me this book is fundamentally about caring – our innate need to care and be cared for. There was so much that resonated and that I recognized in these character’s stories. Just a wonderful book that I enjoyed very much.”

WG: How did your experience in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition contribute to your success as a novelist?

JJC: I think entering the competition gave me more confidence. When I realized that I had made it to the second round, I understood that other people might really be interested in this story. When the contest passed and I started submitting the manuscript to publishers, it also didn’t hurt to mention my experience with the ABNA competition.

WG: What’s next for you and The 228 Legacy?

JJC: I’m hoping that more people will become aware of my book and that readers of all cultural backgrounds will be able to relate to and learn from the book. A specific event I’m looking forward to is my book launch party on Sunday, September 15 at 4pm at Pages bookstore in Manhattan Beach, California. It’ll be a fun celebration of the book’s release, complete with an excerpt, reader testimonials, a raffle, and delicious Taiwanese snacks!

Thanks for a great interview, Jennifer! All the best with your future writing endeavours.

_______________________________________________________________________

The 228 Legacy

The 228 Legacy

Three generations in an all-female Taiwanese family living near Los Angeles in 1980 are each guarding personal secrets. Grandmother Silk finds out that she has breast cancer, as daughter Lisa loses her job, while pre-teen granddaughter Abbey struggles with a school bully. When Silk’s mysterious past comes out—revealing a shocking historical event that left her widowed—the truth forces the family to reconnect emotionally and battle their problems together.

A novel of cultural identity and long-standing secrets, The 228 Legacy weaves together multigenerational viewpoints, showing how heritage and history can influence individual behavior and family bonds.

“An impressive debut!  Moving, hopeful and triumphant.  A compelling read.” -Jane Porter, national bestselling author of The Good Daughter

Introvert is me

/ Melanie Marttila / 14 Comments

quite-bookI just finished reading Susan Cain’s Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking, and I have to say that it’s changed my life.

I “knew” I was introverted.  I’d seen my results on various Myers-Briggs (and derivative) tests.  I knew I liked to be alone and that I felt really awkward in social settings.  I knew that while I’m a good trainer, that I always felt exhausted afterward.  I just didn’t feel the truth of what being an introvert meant, for me anyway, until I read Cain’s book.

Cain opened my eyes to who and what and introvert is and can be.

When I was a kid, my mom had to stop sending me to my room as a punishment.  I liked it too much 🙂  I’d just get a book, or start playing on my own.  When I was a kid, I compensated for my introversion by being giggly and obnoxious.  Friendships tended to wound rather than comfort.

Now I totally get where I feel my power, why I’m so happy with Phil, and why I’ve been writing since I was seven years old.

Even if you’re not an introvert, if you love someone who is, I’d encourage reading Quiet.  It really is an incredible book.

Writing is the ideal calling for an introvert

A couple of articles for you:

http://theintrinsicwriter.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/are-all-writers-introverts/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/katelee/2012/11/02/susan-cain-on-writing-as-an-introvert/

Just this past week, Porter Anderson posted on Writer Unboxed about the myth of the lonely writer.

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/08/16/are-you-lonesome-tonight-the-dreaded-solitude-of-writing/

Not that all writers have to be introverts.  I’m sure there are many who are not (and I know several of them).  I just think that the writing part of the writing life is easier on us.  It’s the promotional work that’s going to be the killer 😛

In the past few months, I’ve also started following Space 2 Live, a blog on introversion by Brenda Knowles.

Here’s her lovely video: The space we need.

Are you an introvert? An extrovert? Is your partner the same or the opposite?  Do you have introverted children?  The dynamics are potentially endless and every relationship is unique.

I’d love to hear from you.

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