Suzanne Macpherson's Blondie Blogs

England Swings

2010-02-11T14:30:00.001-08:00

Have I mentioned my never-ending love affair with England? As I was brewing up my very special young adult book concept, I armchair traveled all over the U.K.. The minute my book is picked up I am booking my flight to London and catching the train to Salisbury to follow in my heroine's footsteps!

The first picture was painted by John Atkinson and captures some of the feeling I've come to treasure about England. In some ways my northwest area is very similar to the U.K.. I certainly know that damp, gray rainy feeling! But I also love it. The gratitude one feels for the return of the sun is quite striking. The memory of spring, the beauty of the countryside, the houses and people, all weave a special spell for me. Perfect setting for a book about~~ reincarnation.

I've been so pleased to receive so many fan letters from the U.K. and beyond as Little Black Dress continues to release all my books, repackaged and spruced up. We had to go through each one and tweak some of my very American language. The editors at L.B.D. were just the kindest most lovely people to work with. Hopefully when my Y.A. comes out it will be a big hit in the U.K. too!

My young adult book is about my heroine's strong pull to return to England, and Salisbury in particular. There is a choral arts school there- The Salisbury Choral School, that delighted me every time I read about it. The cathedral at Salisbury is equally amazing to study.

Here's to Spring in Salisbury~

NEXT UP, SPRING! The Abundance of Nature

2010-02-09T08:22:00.000-08:00

Anonymous 17th-century watercolor of the Semper Augustus, the most famous tulip bulb, which sold for a record price. (Source: Wikipedia)

I love the whole idea of tulips being insanely expensive and used for cash is fabulous. At one point 12 acres (5 ha) of land were offered for a Semper Augustus bulb. Thus we are treated to the amazing abundance that is SPRING! Yes, I swear it is coming. I've planted some amazing bulbs and they are starting to peak out. Of course there is the pile in the garage i forgot to plant so i put them in a pot and we'll see what unfolds. Also out my office window is a very old cherry tree that is starting to bloom! LOVE IT! We call it Pinky and it has been with us for probably thirty years or more. Thank you Pinky, for sharing your beauty with the birds and my cat who climbs up there to visit the birds, and me and the family.

In the meantime I have used the winter to write write write and I am positive there will be good news to share soon. THERE WILL BE BOOKS!

2010-01-21T06:18:00.001-08:00

I am so grateful for so many things in my life. My family is amazing. I've been blessed with four children of extraordinary character. And this April we are expecting our first grandchild. How awesome is that! We live in a beautiful area. Here is a photograph my daughter took at Bloedel reserve this fall. The northwest is a never ending blooming abundant green garden. My husband is an amusing, intelligent Scotsman that keeps us lively. My cat Milo is the never ending clown. I am surrounded with love and support. The people I work with in my writing adventures are enthusiastic, positive visionaries! Thank you, Universe!

Summer in the Country

2009-07-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

My affirmation today is that everywhere I go I am surrounded with coolness. So far so good, despite our record heat!

I am amazed at my 16 year old son's ability to create beautiful friends and their beautiful waterfront homes to hang out in. I consider it a sign of things to come. Way to go son!

I am immersed in the writing of Kathryn's story, which is truly the most fun I've had in years. I love hanging out in the forties, then back to present time, and--beyond! Some of the best research I've done has to do with trains and architecture, where my design background rises up. In design school I fell in love with the history of art and architecture. I had a great teacher who was filled with passion toward the subject. And isn't that just always the case, when someone is filled with passion about a subject, it lights our fire!

The photo is Queen Elizabeth in her debutante, pre-queen days. Life is just a sparkling gown full of possibilities right now!

Once Upon a Time~

2009-06-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

I tried to quit, really I did. I tried to become a gardener, but my soil is just so unforgiving. I tried to become a housewife but I’m very, very bad at it. Just when you get everything cleaned up it all goes to hell in a hand basket again. What kind of a job is that? Where is the THE END part? Hey, I was taking a self-soothing break from the relentless deadlines and crazy market trends, and maybe a permanent one! I thought about getting a secretarial job. The part where I can type 2000 words a minute with the UPS man standing in the hallway waiting for my manuscript was a big asset. I’m a cheery person, I’m computer hardwired, I could learn Microsoft Access! But hmm would I be able to steal some writing time? I considered a job at a storage facility. Lots of down time and maybe even some story lines from the contents of abandon storage units?

One day I said to myself, what if I just wrote whatever came out of me instead of manually twisting and forcing my muse into the current "Hunt for High Concept” shape?
So I sat down and just let her rip. I even sat down at a computer that wasn’t my normal computer. Change of scenery. I got eight pages of really amazing stuff. Every time I shared those eight pages with industry friends and agents, they'd get very very excited. But the story hadn't evolved yet! So I went on a long adventure into the past, into Celtic culture, into Kathryn's story.

The Summer of 2009 will go down as the summer I packed my virtual suitcase full of research and inspiration and moved into the hotel Kathryn. Kathryn is the main character in the young adult trilogy I have been crafting for two years. By sheer chance (ha ha) I connected with a wonderful woman last fall. Sometimes you need an expert like the Amazing Maggie to get the flint to ignite all the way. There is nothing that woman does not know about Scottish/English/Roman history. Turns out we were on a bigger journey than just books, and we’ve opened up our lives to all kinds of amazing adventures. Scotland and England here we come!

Birthing the full concepts for these three books was like well, birthing another kid, and I’ve had four already. If you count my seven other books, that makes eleven! I can honestly say it was a c-section too, because I had to cut all the self-doubt and old negatives out of my head to get this train on its track. (talk about your mixed metaphors!) Yes, it does mean that my contemporary work is on hiatus, coming soon to a new publisher near you, once Kathryn has had her way.

So. I admit it. I’m a writer. Well, we all knew that, didn’t we. I watched Wonder Boys yesterday. (I love Toby Maguire btw) There was a line from the crusty old writer/ professor where they asked him why he wrote the book he wrote (the one that flew into the river) and he said. . .
“Because I couldn’t stop.”

A Snowy Evening

2008-12-18T21:03:00.000-08:00

I've been in a river of Swiftly Moving Inspiration lately. All winter and druids and things that go bump in time. ooh pretty good trailer there!

Things that fascinate me today ( I have a sort of kaleidoscope of fascinations) are my daughter’s new interest in poetry. I used to write poetry from third grade to about age 25 when children and life knocked the stuffings out of me—mostly in a good way.

I met the most famous poets alive at the time- Richard Hugo, David Wagoner, Robert Bly, Gary Snyder, even William Stafford. I was completely blessed to be in the midst of greatness during my early twenties. It had a profound effect on me.

Poetry is a gateway drug that leads to fiction. It also leads to the love of language and tight imagery if you really sink your teeth into it.

Then fiction will lead you back to poetry because as we all know Fiction eats you alive and spits you out like a hairball and then you crawl back to poetry to make you broth and tea and cinnamon toast and soothe your soul.

So here is an old poem about winter many of us read in school. It has always been one of my favorites.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! Suzanne

2008-11-17T12:59:00.000-08:00

NOVEMBER 2008

2008-11-17T12:57:00.000-08:00

THINGS are HAPPENING. Oh yes, things are happening. Sometimes after a very long dry spell the wind comes and pushes you right off your chair and up into the air, and then you are flying.

Repeat after me: THINGS ARE HAPPENING--GOOD THINGS--CREATIVE THINGS! PASSIONATE THINGS!

November is wild. Edward Hopper is at the Seattle Art Museum. I'm out flying. When I land I'll tell you all about it.

November is GRATITUDE for being in the zone.

November is a strawberry mango smoothie and raw words blended together.

oh and for... new writing companions who will rustle up the papers and change the energy in the office. Two new kittens. I'll post their picture tomorrow after we pick them up-- post post.

MEOW.... suz

Try To Remember the Kind of September . .

2008-09-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

..When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a tender and callow fellow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.

Nothing in the world moves me like Autumn. I'm revived and joyful, ready to work hard, ready to learn. I guess that comes from my love of school all through my life, which lingers on as I read and write books and revel in research, (a mouthful there.)

And well, the joy of seeing my lovely children get on the school bus once again. BYE NOW!! Air kisses blown on the breeze in extreme gratitude to the teachers who will now take over their days and leave me free to write!

Autumn is for blondes. Remember when we used to get our colors done? Guess what? I'm an Autumn. I can even wear ORANGE!

One of my favorite scenes from one of my own books is a pumpkin carving scene with all the women in Talk of the Town. I seem to use fall often in my books come to think of it. There was a fall wedding in Hysterical Blondeness, and after the wild, romantic antics of The Forever Summer came the hero and heroine reuniting in September.

So here's to Autumn and my new adventures, whatever they will be. If you have September stories to tell, be my guest~!

2008-08-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

Answer: Reinvention, Resurrection, Resurgence! Question: What do Romantic Comedy writers do to insure their survival!

Wow I think I'm going to resurrect my Blog while I'm at it!

Lets talk about Flamingos. Have you noticed how flamingos are everywhere? Born in the Fifties, those creative pink creatures of plastic lawn fame? I mean hello, what's not to like about flamingos? Just keep that in mind, because flamingos are my new theme.

I just returned from San Francisco. My son Evan lives there and he knows all the best Chinese hole- in -the- wall places where we indulged in our mutual love of food in all forms. Seems like it was a whole Chinese/Italian flip flop thing every day of the week. The great news is Evan has decided to surrender to the fact he is a born novelist. He's soaking in technique and getting his groove as we speak. Its not much of a stretch, he's been a journalist for the last five years working for the Onion and San Fran Weekly, to name but a few. Evan is an iceberg of talent and I told him it was time to flip upside down and let his light shine!

And now back to our regularly scheduled life. Ta Ta for today!

Spring Blonde

2007-03-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring everyone, I figured it was time for a face lift on the blondie blogs. I'm not one for blogging away the day but I like playing with my paint box so we're beachy now! That's to go with my new beachy cover for The Forever Summer. Lately all I want to do is read and write and read some more. What are y'all reading anyway?

Suzanne Macpherson's Blondie Blogs!

2006-06-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

Of all the Blondes in all the cities, she has to show up here. Suzanne Macpherson here, blonde or blonde-like author of upcoming book Hysterical Blondeness! This book will be uprooted and land on bookshelves everywhere by Sept 1st! ~ www.suzmac.com

Well lets see what we can dig up for a little bloggyblondeness here.

How about a series of very interesting Blonde and Talented people. We'll just play in the Blonde Box ~ that's Miz Clairol to you, honey.

Just to display our intellectual side, we'll invite the author of Blonde Like Me: The Roots of the Blonde Myth in Our Culture ~ Natalia Ilyin

But first, Be Blonde, Be Bold- Be the first to BlondieBlog!