“Who first coined the term, Fiscal Cliff?”

So, have I mentioned before that words matter? Maybe a time of two, huh? Well, this is a perfect example. When the committee for budget reform couldn’t come up with a solution, they put in place severe consequences if a
deal was not reached by January 1, 2013. Bernanke said it created a “Fiscal Cliff” and thus the term was born.

In reality it is more like a Fiscal Slope… but as I learned in grad school, perception is everything. And so, while the result of the Fiscal Cliff will take a long long time to be felt, certainly long enough to have created a deal, my guess is that this won’t matter. January 1st, the market will crash and throw the economy into a tailspin even though no one, technically, at that point will feel the pain.

What if Ben Bernanke had called it a Fiscal Slope? What would have happened then? Would the public understand that there was still some time to get things fixed before the spending cuts and tax hikes hit our wallets? Probably. And this is why every news organization is now trying to clarify this point.

But, the damage has been done. Ask almost anyone why lawmakers are working to create a deal, and the words they will use are, “Fiscal Cliff”. 

As writers we work hard to create the right images for our story. Why? Because we know that these images, like a picture book in people’s brains, add depth to the story. A friend and I recently got into a debate about whether I used the “F” word in my story, BETTING JESSICA. I assured her I never would. But she swore I had. After a thorough
search I confirmed that the closest I had gotten was “what the…” Did any other readers fill in the blank there with the “F” word? Presumably so. Had I used the term, “huh?” would readers have done the same thing? No way!

It’s too late now to revise “Fiscal Cliff” in the public’s mind. The picture is drawn and January 1st we will fall off of it, even if it originally only looked like a slope. I am fairly sure, through the power of words, it has transformed into a cliff now anyway.

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Don't forget.... Tomorrow, Novemeber 30th, I'll be posting my Free Read on - Free Reads for the Genre-istas. It's a super fun Holiday story so go check it out!

Charlie Brown: I guess you were right, Linus. I shouldn't have picked this little tree. Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I really don't know what Christmas is all about.
Charlie Brown: [shouting in desperation] Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?

A young child was watching A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS while her mom tried to get some work done at Starbucks. I tuned out most of the movie, but was struck by this very memorable line (can’t you just hear Charlie Browns low voice shouting it?)

Holiday lights are going up around our neighborhood already; we put ours up on Sunday. Holiday cheer seems to be bright this year. And if it weren’t for the fiscal cliff, we would probably be having an amazing commercial holiday. But as I talked with friends this last weekend who were shaking their heads at how early everyone was decorating I thought back on three years ago. Deep in the recession our neighborhood looked bleak during that holiday season. Some half-hearted lights up here or there, but mainly all was quiet.

I am trying to remember if this was also the year we got piles of snow here in the Northwest. So much, in fact, that no one could drive anywhere… even to the store for holiday groceries. Trudging through the snow with my backpack on, I grabbed what I could at our local Safeway. Some iceberg lettuce, frozen peas, some meat and potatoes. It wasn’t the best holiday meal I had ever prepared, but it was by far the nicest Christmas I’d had in a long time. Without the rushing around (since it was impossible to leave home) we hung out as a family. Things became
quiet… calm and bright.

Charlie Brown may have felt like his pathetic tree couldn’t stand up to the tinselly glamour of a commercial holiday, but ultimately, like us, the true spirit of Christmas shone through.

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Don’t forget to check out my FREE read from the Genre-istas coming out this Friday. Told by one of the BETTING JESSICA side characters, Cynthia, it is a fun story about how crazy family holidays can sometimes be.

"I'm thankful for...."

I love a day dedicated to gratitude! And last night, as I lay cuddled under my cozy covers in bed I thought how very grateful I am for my bed... my place where I can go to relax and escape and dream. And, I suddenly realized how very awful it would be to not have a bed or not know where I was going to sleep. It would be the culmination of every insecure feeling in me.

It is easy, during crazy family holidays, to forget that I am so blessed. So today, while I am grateful for my friends and family, and opportunity to write and readers who read what I write, I am even more grateful for my bed and what it represents... and I pledge this coming year to use part of what I have been given to let others find the security that comes from knowing where they will be sleeping every night.

On November 30th I will be sharing a new story of a crazy Family Thanksgiving at Free Reads from the Genre-istas. I think Jessica (from BETTING JESSICA) would be surprised that her nemesis, Cynthia, doesn't have the perfect life she imagines. Here is a preview to kick off your own Thanksgiving celebration!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours and thank you for making my year so wonderful!
Deanne

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A Family Thanksgiving Menu
by Deanne Wilsted

Starter –Toasted Family Topped with Disappointment Tapenade

As Boston blew its icy November wind through the double paned windows in Cynthia Madison’s downtown apartment, she wrapped her faux cheetah throw around her shoulders and snuggled deeper into the soft suede sofa by her fireplace. The crackling flame threw off heat, but not enough to offset the chill of panic that had come to rest in Cynthia’s body. She stared with unseeing eyes at the calendar in her lap and wondered how Thanksgiving had snuck up on her this year.

Glancing at the nearby phone, she considered her choices. Was there anyone available who might invite her to join them for the holiday? Her mind was empty of options. All of her friends were travelling, and she was currently between boyfriends; something that was unusual for her in general and absolutely so during the holidays. Usually she depended on using her boyfriend as an excuse to avoid the very dilemma she now found herself in. Annoyed with herself for having forgotten to plan better, she contemplated her only option other than staying home alone: This year she would have to accept her sister Erin’s invitation to their family Thanksgiving.

“Perfect. I was looking for the right person for this extra hot cocoa.”

We were visiting the Ritz Carlton for a behind the scenes tour of their kitchens but ended up with a once in a lifetime experience of service; and we weren’t even guests of the hotel.

Let me step back and explain how we arrived there. Spending Thanksgiving week in Tahoe we were looking for fun things to do around the area when we stumbled across this, free, kitchen tour. No questions asked the Ritz put us down for the visit at 3:00.

Located on the hillside above the Northstar Resort, the only parking optionwas through the valet at $20. Yikes… did we have a choice? Not really, but after expressing our concern, the valet offered to park our car, with our dog inside, in the heated garage at a much reduced parking rate.

Having arrived early we wandered around the lobby and were ultimately drawn by the huge windows which looked out over a massive fire pit, and in the distance, the ski slopes. I ordered a warm drink and while my husband and daughter had a quick snowball fight, sat at the fire pit enjoying the warmth and the view.

When it was time for our kitchen tour we went to their Flagship restaurant, Manzanita, created by famed chef, Tracy des Jardins. “Do not touch anything,” I warned my daughter, who immediately reached out to see if the huge, wooden bowl sitting at the bar was real. No problem… as I scolded her, the bartender, Tamaniqua, came over and told us that there was a ton of wood all over the hotel and everyone loved touching it. What did my daughter think  of how it felt?

Moments later, Anthony, the Executive Sous Chef came over and began our tour, which covered much more than I had imagined. Vats of soup and homemade stock simmering in the catering kitchen, two huge walk in fridges,
  thousands of square feet of prepping area, introductions to many of the chefs preparing for meals coming out of two restaurants and the catering area; the tour took 45 minutes and had us all entranced. At one point my daughter noticed a big bin of pre-wrapped s’more bundles. Anthony told us that every day at 4:00 the marshmallogists showed people how to create the perfect s’more out at the fire pit. Then he handed my daughter her own bundle so she could be prepared.

It wasn’t only Anthony who gave us his full attention. Along the way, any staff who ran into us greeted us warmly and asked what we thought, as though we were professional food critics. It was one of these staff members who
handed over this extra hot chocolate referred to in the overhear. My daughter was dazed, it was like magic to her. And at the end of the tour, after being shown the perfect cut from a huge halibut and the crackling duck fat in the open Manzanita kitchen, we met the managers of the restaurant who greeted my husband by name and reiterated the invitation to the marshmallogy.

Later, after we had roasted our marshmallows and picked up our car with our nice warm dog inside, we talked about our experience with each other. I explained that there are many hotels out there that will treat you well if you are dressed in designer clothes or have the last name Kardashian, but only a truly great hotel knows how to make every single guest, even the smallest among them, feel like a star.

This had hit home for me while we were roasting marshmallows. The marshmallogist had asked the kids there what they liked best about the hotel. There were the normal answers of the skiing, the pool, the game-room, but when a seven year old answered the bed, and another child said the food, I knew this was a hotel I would save my pennies to return to… as a guest.

Impressing adults is one thing but impressing a child is practically holy.

“Mo-o-m, why can’t I get a cookie too? It’s not fair.”

No… it’s not fair; a lesson that I struggle to learn even as I try to teach my daughter. Being an only child, this is a particularly difficult concept for her to understand. We have worked hard to expose her, from an early age, to as many social sharing situations as we can. But still…when she walks into her playroom she picks the toy she plays
with.

Life isn’t fair! How often have we heard our own parents tell us this? In a general way we can relate to it, but when faced with the supreme unfairness of life it is hard to swallow… existential even.

My world has recently been shaken by a number of unfair situations imposed on those I care about. A sister-in-law with breast cancer and two friends fighting other forms of cancer. Another friend who unexpectedly lost her husband probably threw me for the biggest loop. 
 
And this doesn’t even consider the multitudes of people still struggling to find shelter after Hurricane Sandy.

In the midst of so much chaotic unfairness, it is easy for me to lose true North. It is only when I see the amazing courage on my friend’s face at the funeral, or read the daily log of gratitude my sister-in-law posts to Facebook, that I am reminded that while life isn’t fair and frequently isn’t fun, it can still be beautiful.

Donate to the NFL's -
A CRUCIAL CATCH

Right... I know it is not an overhear, at least not until you start telling all your friends. Please share this link and let everyone know. 

http://amzn.com/B005YF05CO

I've spent the last three months revising and updating BETTING JESSICA and am offering it FREE today on Kindle - just in case those of you who already downloaded it would like the updated version for your Kindle library.

Thanks to everyone for the support. I'll do my usual Overheard at.... Blog tomorrow, Friday, and let you know how the promo went.

Deanne

“Wrapping each other up in towels and cramming themselves into the laundry baskets may be fun, but it’s not really sustainable fun.”

My sister and I were talking about our Thanksgiving dinner but I found I had to keep raising my voice to be heard over the mayhem occurring in the background of her house. As usual, with a family of six, there was a stack of laundry that needed sorting and folding. However from what I could hear on my end of the phone it sounded like every time she made a pile, one of the kids or family pets would ruin it. Definitely not sustainable fun!

I was intrigued by this phrase though, wondering if it might capture a whole new parenting vocabulary. Not just sustainable fun but also sustainable work or schedule or communication or friendship. At my daughter’s age of eight few ideas stay sustainable.

For example, she recently decided to help feed our dog. In concept, fantastic. In reality, one forgotten meal and the plan was dumped. Definitely not sustainable.

Or we decided at one point that rather than argue about things that made her unhappy we would pay attention when she raised her hand and discuss it logically, reaching a decision after hearing from her. I think it was the conversation that went something like; “It’s time to,” hand raised and discussion. “I was not going to say homework, I was going to say brush hair,” hand raised and discussion. “If you are willing to go out like that,”hand raised and discussion. “Yes, we still have to go to church.” Hand raised and discussion. … You get the idea. After half an hour of this I had completely forgotten my original request, we were late to church, and she still didn’t have her hair brushed or know what the consequence would be. Definitely not a sustainable plan.

Sustainability, whether in our energy plans or in our families, takes a future view that is not always easy to see through the murk of our everyday lives. We want what we want when we want it. Still, it is a goal worth pursuing. A sustainable goal, if you will.  

My sister eventually did make it out of her house, ready for an activity that wouldn’t leave her house in shambles or one of her children in tears. The laundry, however, is still sitting there.

“He looks weird.”

Three boys were using their library time to goof off, so I asked if I could help them find a book to read. One of the boys answered, cockily, “Sure, how about a book about Obama’s economic policies.” Given that he was probably eight, maybe nine years old, I sincerely doubted he even knew what an economic policy was. But, information is power, so I took all of the boys over and showed them the biography section of the library.

After a quick tutorial on how to find, alphabetically, biographies on the President, I asked the boys if any of them would want to be President someday. Not surprisingly, the cocky one said yes, but the other two shook their head. One of them, tellingly, explained that he wouldn’t want so many people to dislike him.

They looked at pictures of the President in the books, and again, the cocky one laughed and said the above overhear about our President. It was finally at this point that I lost it.

“You do not disrespect the President of the United States, ever!” I told them. “You can absolutely disagree with his, or her perhaps someday, policies or choices, but no matter what, it is a difficult job that they have taken on and they deserve our respect for that.”

It hit home…. And the boy was finally quiet. At least until after I walked away.

I will reiterate this truth I believe in, our words have power, even more so when we are speaking them as adults around children. What we say and how we say it goes right into their head and without the context to understand our emotions, they none the less pick up on our beliefs. And I am not talking about our policy beliefs… I am talking about our moral beliefs. For example, how we treat people even when we disagree with them.

To riff an old jazz song; It ain’t what you say it’s the way that you say it! That’s what gets results.

BTW - I think Obama looked very cute in the picture.
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Reader news - BETTING JESSICA readers please note – 
 
Next week I am re-releasing an updated version of BETTING JESSICA. On Thursday November 15th (a week from today) I will have a one day free promotion so that you can grab the revised version if you want it for your
Kindle library.

Also, if you liked reading about Jessica’s foil, Cynthia, in BETTING JESSICA then you might like to read a free story about her coming out November 30th on Free Reads from the Genre-istas. Check it out at: http://freereadsfromthegenre-istas.blogspot.com/

Finally, we are looking at the end of February for the release of my next novel, UNTANGLING THE KNOT. I’ll keep everyone updated here and on my home page.

Thanks so much for sharing the journey.

“This election is a joke.”

It is election day, and around the country people (who haven’t already) are attempting to cast their ballots. It isn’t only the federal election that demands participation. On a state and local level the battles are just as serious and ferocious. I suppose that is why, though it might be a joke, no one is laughing.

So I thought I would add a little bi-partisan humor to your day; something to make you smile as you waited in line to vote or, anxiously, for the results to be tallied. 

You might be a….

Republican if:
- You’ve named your kids, deduction one and deduction two.
- The only union you support is the baseball players, because heck, they’re richer than you are.
- You don’t think “The Simpsons” is all that funny but you watch it because that Flanders fellow makes a lot of sense.
- When people say Marx, you think Groucho.

Democrat if:
- You own something that says, “Dukakis for President,” and still display it.
- You’ve never been mugged; you give it away.
- You got teary-eyed during the film, “The American President.”
- Your house smells like a garbage dump because of your commitment to recycling.

The Secret of Success… is sincerity. Once you can fake that you’ve got it made.

All I ask… is the chance to show that money won’t make me happy. (Ashleigh Brilliant)

I wanted to go to… the paranoids anonymous meeting; but they wouldn’t tell me where it was.
(For all you conspiracy theorists out there.)

If all the world is… a stage, then where is the audience sitting?

Everything should be made…as simple as possible, but no simpler.

Why isn’t there a tax… on stuff I don’t like?

And finally…
Everything is controlled by…a small, evil group to which, unfortunately, no one we know belongs.

Voting is not a joke… it is a right and a privilege. So GO! Appreciate this gift of democracy.

(This blog is dedicated to my brother, Michael Sprinkle, for getting involved. Good Luck, Michael!)

Children’s laughter, parent's chatter.

Oh that every day could be Halloween. There is something so special about a night where everyone is out on the street, bumping into friends, talking with neighbors.

The night was dry (amazingly). Somehow the rain had closed shop for that brief amount of time it took to wander from house to house. The kids were excited, running from one front door to the next. So much so that it took a
Halloween buckets spilling its contents to slow them down. Our group grew and receded as new friends joined and younger children slowed. Jack-o-lanterns directed us to the houses ready for visitors, and spooky houses were worth the visit for the extra-large candy they gave out if only you could find courage.

This, to me, was what Halloween was all about; the candy was simply a byproduct. And not even a good one at that. Still, as I discussed with another mom earlier in the day, holidays would not be the same without treats. The knowledge that this one special time we get buckets of candy is part of what makes it thrilling. Even without the candy, though, I would look forward to Halloween night for the pure enjoyment of seeing the neighborhood alive.

Having recently finished re-reading ANNE OF GREEN GABLES I have found the roots of my longing for just this sort of community. I remember that I loved this book as a child. There is nothing as heartwarming as a story of an adopted child, without any sense of belonging, finding a home; meaning not simply the house, but the whole town and the people in it who accepted her. 
 
While we may not all be orphans, perhaps on some level we too are searching for this sense of belonging. I don’t know. I only know it resonates with me and, I hope, in my writing. The next holiday, Thanksgiving, is about
family. This too has attachments to home. It has also inspired many cartoons illustrating why we don’t always find our sense of belonging in this space. http://newyorker.tumblr.com/post/12898464600/a-thanksgiving-cartoon-to-get-you-ready-dont

Next month I will be offering a free-read at: Free reads from the Genre-istas

If you have enjoyed  BETTING JESSICA, you may appreciate that the story is about one of the side characters, Cynthia, and her own family Thanksgiving. But even if you have never read BETTING JESSICA, I think the idea that Thanksgiving can be crazy, stressful, and yet still offer that sense of home will resonate with everyone.

Happy Halloween!