wishing
for ok
aching
for light
it's better
than you dreamed
open arms
happiness
of the variety
that makes
you cry
in a moment
you've glimpsed it--
physical,
real,
touchable--

hope.


_____
copyright Miss Erin, 2009
Poetry Friday roundup at Adventures in Daily Living

I can hear Merrisa yelling for me, like she yells everyday. I can't remember one time she's lost her voice, or gotten a sore throat, or anything. I wish she would. I don't care if it's a bad thing to wish bad things for other people, because Merrisa deserves badness.

"All of this MUST GO!" she's yelling. She's probably talking about my room. She had this idea, the other day, that we should all empty out our rooms. Completely. No, really, I don't think you understand - she wants our beds gone, the shades off our windows gone, EVERYTHING. "I've decided," she began. We hate when she begins like that. I suppose if I don't go up there soon, she'll start putting everything that'll fit into those big black tacky garbage bags. When I first heard what the word tacky meant, I instantly thought of those bags, no kidding.

So we'll clear out all our pieces - the fat pink panda that Rainy gave me when he won that throwing-game at the fair, marm's old wedding trousseau, my collection of cameras. With Merrisa, you know you probably won't see any of it again, so it'll take awhile to say goodbye. I'll have to be sneaky about that, though; I've a feeling goodbyes would be going against the whole purpose of Merrisa's plan.

So I go up to my room, and I look around, and I decide - because Merrisa's not the only one capable of doing that - maybe not to say goodbye. Maybe I should just do as the Romans, stuff it all into the tackiness.

By tomorrow night, the room's lifeless, just like she wanted it. Everyone else's is, too, but I don't much care about them. It's mine I mean to mourn, although part of me says not to. Part of me is like Merrisa, even though I could kill myself for saying that, there.

I rub the fabric of my pajamas; the only thing that's left of what used to be. My nose starts bleeding, just like it always does when the dust is churned up, and goodness knows the dust has never been as churned as during the past 36 hours. I start to cry, which makes it worse, because I figure out there's not going to be any kleenexes in the house anymore. Oh, well, the carpet's going to be stripped out tomorrow anyway. A little red never hurt any about-to-be-ripped-away carpet.

But man, it hurts me.


_____
copyright Miss Erin, 2009

In which I scream several times

This is me, watching the video feed for today's ALA awards:

William C. Morris Award: Aaaahhhh A Curse Dark As Gold! YAY!

Printz: Aw man I was part-way through Jellicoe Road at the beginning of this month when I had to return it because of Cybils (plus it was due at the library)--but so far I'd thought it was fantastic.

Newbery,
Honors first: (thinking to myself, I will probably have read none of these this year) Aaaahhhh Savvy! YAY!
Winner: AAAHHH THE GRAVEYARD BOOK! AAAHHHH! AAAHHH! (jaw drops and stays dropped for quite some time as I yell my ecstasies...I honestly didn't expect to have read any of the honor books this year, much less the WINNER. I'm so astonished/excited! Yay me!
*edit: read Mr. Gaiman's reaction to winning.

Final thoughts: Man, with my reading of the Cybils Sci-Fi/Fantasy shortlists as a judge (which I'm loving), I'm reading some of the top, best recently pubbed children's/YA fiction out there. Sweet.

Most Wanted Books: 2009

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

So...it's by Shannon Hale. Do I really need to say anything else?



Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

Shakespeare + faeries + theatre = can. not. wait.



Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder

I really like the author's writing; both fiction and poetry.



Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee

Just look at that cover. Yum. Also, I so enjoy Lisa's middle grade fiction, thus I'm eager to see what I think of her foray into YA.



Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian

I really truly loved the author's first novel, A Little Friendly Advice, and so am very eager for her second.



Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Sequel to The Hunger Games. 'Nuff said. (Adored that book to death. Pun not intended.)



Book I couldn't find the cover for: Forest Born by Shannon Hale

The fourth Bayern book! Squee!

Top Favorites of 2008

This is all going to have to be by memory, since I seem to have lost the calendar on which I wrote all the books I read this year.

The toppity-est of the top:

The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty
The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt
Genius Squad by Catherine Jinks
Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
A Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian

Others that didn't quite make that list but still deserve a star and a mention for their outstandingness:

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
A Bottle in the Gaza Sea by Valerie Zenatti
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter
Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey
The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty

poetry friday...

growing up

is when
you fall
and scab your knee
and you can't cry
because
nobody
cares


---
by Miss Erin McIntosh, 2008
please do not reprint without permission

thank you

Oh, wow. I have received so many beautiful comments on my last two entries - congratulations for my six-word memoir, and wishes for my birthday. I wish I could find a way to express how very, very grateful I am for each and every one of you. I am honestly floored at how blessed I am to know you all and count you as friends.

Thank you.

Some people are lucky enough to share a birthday with the likes of Jane Austen, but I suppose I am a little lucky too . . . not everyone can say they share one with a King.

Happy Birthday to us...

In which I am a published author before I turn 18 (!)

Today is the release date for Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak: by Writers Famous and Obscure, edited by Smith Magazine. Not quite a whole year ago, I read Smith Mag's first collection, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs. I really enjoyed that, so afterward I visited the website, www.smithmag.net. They were accepting submissions for their next anthology (this one), so I submitted six words and then kind of forgot about the whole thing. A little over a month ago, I received an email letting me know that my six words had been selected to appear in this book! Now, this might not seem like it would be a huge deal, but it is. Words of mine are in a book that you can order from places like Amazon or B&N or Powell's, and when it arrives it will be a real book, with real pages, that you can place on a shelf next to other real books. It is a monumental thought, and the moment of finding out was an indescribable one.

I haven't actually seen a hard copy of the book yet, although I'm supposed to be getting my author copy (squee!) in the mail one of these days. And mum just ordered one, too.

My words will mean different things to different people, I suppose. (And no, I'm not going to tell you what mine are or what they mean to me.) That's the lovely thing about sharing words with people; it touches them in unique ways.

Readergirlz presents: Jennifer Donnelly!

This month, readergirlz are discussing the fantastic A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly.

Read the January issue of readergirlz. There's a playlist for the book, plus book guide questions and party ideas.

Drop by the readergirlz forum and discuss the book with other readers, ALL MONTH LONG!

Download this month's poster. (PDF)

LIVE CHAT:
Join our hour-long chat with Jennifer Donnelly on Thursday, January 15th at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST at the readergirlz forum.

Roundtable Discussion
Seven of the readergirlz divas and postergirlz had a great time talking together about A Northern Light. Read our roundtable discussion.

chromatic aberration

Jocelyn (of Teen Book Review) and I have started a daily photo blog. Over the course of 2009, we will each take one picture every day, documenting one tiny slice of our lives. Why? Because it’s an experience. Follow us through 2009 at chromatic aberration.

new year's haiku

Mid-winter evening
alone at the sushi bar--
just me and this eel.


--Billy Collins


poetry friday roundup at a year of reading

Cybils finalists announced!

The finalists for the Cybils awards were announced today! I'm a judge in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category, so I was especially excited to see the shortlist of books I'll be reading.

In Middle Grade Sci-Fi/Fantasy:

Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski
Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Lamplighter by D.M. Cornish
Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas
Savvy by Ingrid Law

And in YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy:

Airman by Eoin Colfer
A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Explosionist by Jenny Davidson
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Wake by Lisa McMann

This is my third year as a Cybils panelist, but my first year as a judge. I can't wait to read all these delicious-sounding books, and pick a winner!