L M Harmon

“Like a mechanic who forgets to wipe his hands on a shop rag and then goes home, hugs his wife, and gets a grease stain on her favorite sweater — love touches you, and marks you forever.”

I really, really love that.

More here.

I know the posts have been thin and irregular, a bit like monastery oatmeal. Oh, I am missing Gethsemani this week. I really could use a visit to my old cell. What, was I monk or something? I’m losing my mind. No, it was the character from This Brilliant Darkness who was a monk there, that’s right. *Le sigh*

Speaking of writing fiction and losing my mind, I am on a bit of a workaholic spree in other areas of my life, and right now I’m trying to decide what to do, fiction-writing-wise. I really feel like NOW is the time to establish a new work pattern and prioritize. If I don’t push through and do it, it won’t get done.

To that end, I’ve got a stack of novels to indulge in, and once I’m through them…maybe before I’m through them…it’s ON.

Even after someone gets hurt.

I’m still recovering from Vegas–more soon.

How to get it.

Robert R from Dreamhost’s tech support saved my site.

You’re the the man, Robert! <3

At least this time was faster than last.

I went out this morning, and once I’d made all the requisite phone calls and emails, got to transcribing. Transcribing is an interesting term in this case, since I pretty much changed the last third of chapter one. Rewriting as you transcribe seems like the most natural thing in the world, though, you know? Especially when I was going in knowing I was merging two characters and needed to put some details into chapter one that I hadn’t fully fleshed out when I started this biz.

Regardless, did you catch that I have actually typed an entire chapter into Word now? That means if I put my mind to it, I can have the whole draft on the computer in a matter of weeks–maybe days or even hours.

My regimented brain has reserved mornings for working, and evenings for exercise, blowing off steam, and screwing around online doing pointless things that have little reward in either the short or the long term. I also save mindless work for nighttime, when I can sneak it in, in between IM conversations. You know, copy and paste stuff, fluffy copywriting and la di da stuff.

The thing is, during the school year last year, I had several days per week when I could write for 3-5 hours at a stretch, and still cover all my phone calls and things like that. Now…

Ain’t no cure for the summertime blues, I guess.

My mother is blaming my lack of time on the fact that I’m skating. (insert eye roll here). I contend that the six hours per week I spend skating (in my evening exercise time, mostly) isn’t enough to throw me off writing in the mornings–but to be fair, it’s probably a part of it.

Dealing w/ the boys being home means no daily routine M-F. No waking up with the alarm clock, no dragging a boy out of bed, no lunch packing, no scrounging for clothes, etc.

Instead, I wake up a leisurely two hours later than during the school year, and if I’m sore from skating, believe me, I take advantage of the extra time to rest.

So, has skating gotten in the way of my novel? I’m sure of it.

But ask me which I want more.

I believe my writing has only improved through the years, particularly the last couple. I believe it’s good enough right now to be published in book-length form and appreciated by others. As far as growth goes, I feel like I’ve found my groove and things will just follow a natural conclusion, depending on how much effort I sink in there, and how much luck I have meeting the right people.

But as far as skating goes–I have a long way to go in that regard.

And I am going after skating right now sorta like I once went after writing.

The only diff is that I want to be a writer in the long-term. I don’t want to skate forever. I love skating, but I have no intention of doing it when I’m 45. Don’t get me wrong, if I’m loving it then like I am now, then great, I’ll be skating in ten years. But I don’t expect it. I expect skating to be a season.

I expect summer to be a season.

I even expect running kids to school for half-day kindergarten to be a season.

But being a novelist isn’t something I only want to do for a season. It’s a lifetime thing.

I’m not sure that skating gets in the way of being a novelist. Especially since there’s roller derby in my novel. It doesn’t seem to be getting in the way of my relationships. Overall, it’s made me a lot happier person.

But I would be lying if I said it wasn’t slowing me down.

I wonder if I can get my draft transcribed before I get to RollerCon. That would definitely be a relief.

In other book news, I’m still casually looking for a co-author or partner of some kind to work on the allergy book with me.

Okay, so my rookie bootcamp diary ran today, in the Evening News and the New Albany Tribune. It’s hard seeing my photos in the story–I look so fat and awkward! But, oh, well…the price we pay for our art. Hopefully I’ve toned up some since then, what, with 6 hours of skating a week! The photos were taken before my rookie assessment, so it’s been a few weeks.

Anyway, if you’re in Clark or Floyd Counties in Indiana, pick up a paper copy–there is a beautiful sidebar featuring other Southern Indiana ladies who skate with the Derby City Rollergirls.

I do have one correction: “Don’t mess with this L-raiser” is Da’Ville’Ann’s tagline. Mine is “If this is your first night, you HAVE to fight,” a la Fight Club.

Anywho…read it!

I got a neat letter today from Mercy Less, one of the founders of Charm City Rollergirls, and WFTDA board member:

Thanks for such a well-written article! The story you skillfully conveyed is that of hundreds of women in this country and around the world! It was so nice to see it so clearly captured, and took me back to my beginnings in derby, even though I was a league founder and didn’t come into an already formed league. I am a mother of 2, and had just stopped breast-feeding my youngest when we began creating Charm City Roller Girls, and after almost 2 years of staying at home with my 2nd, derby saved my life and my brain! You’re so lucky to have such a supportive family (many a relationship has ended because of derby, as I’m sure you know…), and be assured you’re teaching your boys life lessons they won’t comprehend until they’re adults. I’ve always been inspired by all the women on our league who bring their sons to practices and games, thinking about this amazing community of women we’re raising these boys in, and how that will influence the kind of partners they choose as adults. I think all the derby Moms of boys are doing the future women of our world a huge service by expanding their idea of what a woman can be. Congratulations on your progress, and the article! I will definitely be including it in my usual repertoire of articles and media that I point the press and potential sponsors to when they need more background about who we are! (Hope you don’t mind…) If you can find it in your budget to make it out to RollerCon this year, please sign up to play on Team MILF in the challenge scrimmages! - xxxoooMercy Less, Marketing/PR Chair, Board of Directors, WFTDA

That made me feel somewhat like a super star, after coming home from practice all sweaty and sitting down at the computer to see how many hundreds of emails I need to delete. Wasn’t expecting to find that gem!

And, yes, I plan on skating on team MILF at RollerCon.

For more of my derby adventures, read this.

I’m off now to hop in the shower and wash off my derbygirl grime. Rollergirls Stink So Good, you know!

Thank you for reading Guerilla Mothering. Writing that column has given me the opportunity to really sort through so many important issues, as they pertain to mothering and family life. It hasn’t always been easy, but it has always been rewarding. Writing about how roller derby affects my family, and affects me as a mother, has been a wonderful experience. It is such a pleasure to have a vehicle for that work.

I just emailed a 6 page audition to The Onion. I’ve always wanted to write for them. They always make me laugh, and I think I’m pretty good at coming up with Onion-esque material. I mean, so does everyone else in the world, I know.

But I feel pretty good about my submission. I tore up everything from pop culture to cancer to politics to sports to the Middle East, so I feel like I probably gave them a good sample of my all-around brilliant sarcasm.

When I am a famous humor writer, you can say you knew me when.

Even if you didn’t.

In other writing stuff, I feel like I need deadlines and assignments to get anything done. Only about 10 more days to finish my TTB draft.

And I feel really *blah*. It’s so hard to write when you feel like this, but I always have to, otherwise nothing will get done–and I gots to get paid, right? Still, it’s an uphill climb.

I’ve semi-joked about it in my column, now we’re ready to make it come true: if you know of a gently-used, good-running motor scooter for sale in the Louisville area, please get in touch. The Harmon family would like to acquire a 150cc scooter capable of hauling a small cart.

Please email me at leslea.harmon@gmail.com or leave a comment below if you have a lead!

Thanks!

You have no idea how hard I tried not to use that headline for this week’s column. I love song lyrics the MOST, but for some reason I didn’t want to use Wild World by Cat Stevens. Still, it was the only thing that really came to mind, so I put it on there, crossed my fingers, and waited to see what the editors at the News & Tribune would do.

Here’s the column in question, on manners and civility.

In other writerly news, I have passed on working with a publisher that hasn’t been sufficiently communicative. I’ve been contacted by a different publisher about a different project. I’m really, really close to finishing up TTB. I’m under deadline, as we speak, and scurrying out the door to do some writing before my family wakes up. AND, I’m auditioning for a humor site that I’ve pretty much always wanted to write for…which is too cool. Hopefully more on that later.

A few days ago I posted a call for submissions, and it has gotten some response, already. If you’re into roller derby, check it out.

I’m nearly done with the handwritten mss of the Troll Book, and it’s turning into a melee, which I love.

This is my first time hand-writing a novel, and it’s really been illuminating. My handwriting sucks, and initially I was afraid I’d lose the thing, but as it turned out, it was really convenient, carrying it in my purse nearly all the time, and pulling it out whenever I had a few minutes. Sometimes I literally had only five minutes, but I’d pull it out, read the page I’d just written, and think about what came next.

The past several days, I’ve devoted an hour or more at a time to writing, and the plot has really gelled. It is amazing. I’d made a major change half-way through (merging the best friend and the sister characters together), and it’s really coming together much better this way. I’ve got an endgame now, and I’m excited about finishing.

The difference between my first novel and this novel is just night and day. I said I wanted to write a rebound book, and I really got what I wanted. Unlike a rebound relationship, though, I don’t feel burdened by a hasty decision to act out against a formerly oppressive lover. Actually, I feel like I am free to write ANYthing now. Maybe it was my first novel’s super-mega-importance that drove me to write something frivolous, exciting, and fun, but I’m not even disappointed that my first book couldn’t be described that way.

I worked really hard to pour everything inside me into that first book. I had so many ideas and my writing was just bleak. My skills were awful. Draft after draft after draft, it was painful to go back and make better. I finally ended up with a book I liked, but still isn’t done. And, like I said, the book is so Important and Meaningful that picking it up to work on takes me to a different headspace entirely.

The Troll Book is my delight. Thank God for it. Thank God for second novels. I have been saved by a troll and a runaway teen.

In other book news, I’m still looking for the ultimate partnership for my food allergy book. That’s slow going. I don’t feel any rush right now–this relationship is too important to rush. I feel confident the right person will come along when the time is right. And whether or not things work out with this agent, time will tell, as well.