Gin from the Cat Dish

SO, I think I've mentioned I'm writing a book. Right now I'm in the editing process. The biggest part of the editing process has been to go over each chapter and wade through all the stories and just pick one or two. And then take those stories and really make them sing. Some parts are really great but they just don't quite fit. Here is one of them. Jacquie's little brother, Tyler, was four years younger than we were. He was a cutie with the signature pubescent boy BO. I loved Tyler. He cracked Jac and I up and we loved to pick on him in a good-natured sort of way. One evening while I was over at Jacquie's, I was in the throws of a dramatic event involving a boy I had once dated. It hadn't ended all that well between us, mostly because we were dumb fourteen year olds. Well ok, mostly because I was a dumb fourteen year old. But we went to the same tiny school and he had started saying mean things about me even though we had broken up over a year ago. A year...

When I first started writing my book of personal essays, I was a little nervous about reading too many other books that were similar. I didn't want to get discouraged that what I was trying to do had already been done.   But when I read a couple, instead of feeling discouraged, I felt inspired and excited about my own stories. So this year, my goal is to read 50 books. I'm trying to mix as many genres as I can and January was an excellent start! Fall on Your Knees by Anne Marie MacDonald *** This is a doozy of a book. I started it last year but didn't think I was quite up for something so heavy. And heavy it is! The characters are generously developed but lack likability. You sympathize and feel deeply invested in them, but I would hardly say I liked any of them. But I also felt like I had accomplished something by the time I finished and was genuinely glad I had read it. But be warned, it is gruesome, tense, and a little bleak. That said, it will move right along. Cla...