I made it through the cave! The whole experience was weird and challenging and I’d recommend it to anyone who thinks that being surrounded by millions of pounds of rock sounds kind of fun. And if you think caving sounds horrible and maybe the worst idea ever because you don’t like confined spaces, two of the people in my group claimed that they were claustrophobic at the beginning, and then said they totally got over it by the end. Yay for overcoming fear!
Cave Opening: Just as creepy as it appears.
I’ve never really had issues with being claustrophobic, but I did manage to have one small-ish personal crisis as I was going through a spot called “the keyhole”. The opening was about as big as an average-sized computer monitor and, you know, not exactly designed for a human body to fit through comfortably. I got stuck and panicked for a minute, considered bursting into tears and demanding that someone come get me (how? With dynamite of course!), but then managed to talk myself through and squeeze out. The below picture was taken moments after I realized I probably wouldn’t be stuck down in the cave forever:
I was somewhat relieved. Also, extremely dirty.
The only other really hard part was fighting off the 60-pound mutant albino cave bat that attacked our group as we were leaving and…oh, wait. That was just a story idea. Whew.
Tonight I’m going caving (like, legally…with a local outdoors group. I’m not sneaking in anywhere and getting lost, Tom Sawyer-style, though that would be all sorts of awesome. For, um, a little while at least).
While I am excited about this trip, it could potentially lead to a few different things:
A) One or several claustrophobic mini-panic attacks and a sudden desire for a pet canary,
B) The discovery of a fantastic new life-long hobby or at least a cool, adventurous evening that doesn’t involve staring down a computer,
C) Me getting very muddy and sore and possibly covered in bat droppings,
D) The formulation of an epic new story idea involving hidden treasure, skeletons, falling stalactites, and miniature cave-dwelling Cloverfield monsters, or,
E) All of the above (likely).
I’ll try and take pictures…don’t worry. Well, maybe worry about me in a cave, but don’t worry about the chance I won’t take pictures. If I get a good one, I’ll post it later this week!
Sluggish Sales Reported for “Sousaphone Hero” (from The Onion)
Well, I for one would be all over Trumpet Hero if they ever created that…I played a lot of Rock Band and Guitar Hero this past weekend, and while they were fun, I think the market is totally ripe for a similar game for marching band. You know, like some sort of combination of Dance Dance Revolution and plastic marching band instruments…it would be awesome! Right? Hello? Is this thing on?
Little Willow said nice things about Band Geek Love!
She also interviewed me last week with some of the most fun questions I’d ever hope to be asked. Thanks, Little Willow!
One of the coolest parts about this whole process has been meeting all sorts of people for whom band (even if not marching band) was or still is an incredibly important, formative experience. That’s pretty much the reason I wanted to write Band Geek Love…and there are so many more stories there to be told!
Every once in a while I take a stroll down memory lane and go through some of my old notebooks. The other day I found some fiction I wrote in middle school. The story in which the whole country (except for a very special few, including the resourceful main character who was definitely not at all based on me) is killed off by a plague entitled “Destruction OF A CITY” (…cringe), um, I’ll just not comment on. Except to say I was obviously ahead of my time with the massive natural disaster stories (if only I had incorporated zombies! Or a wizarding school!). And that my mild obsession with such topics has continued to this day.
But overall, I think that if I you told middle school me that I’d be drawn toward writing realistic young adult fiction involving marching band and cute boys, I’d probably have rolled my eyes and maybe kicked you in the shins, because at that point I was clearly convinced that I was headed directly into Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi territory.
Plagues in Chicago necessitating dramatic rescues by helicopter from the top of the Sears Tower! Earthling settlements on desert-like planets with natives who teach the colonists Very Special Lessons about acceptance! (That story actually got me an award in 8th grade). An alternate reality in which the South won the Civil War! Main characters wandering through the woods and into fantastical medieval-ish kingdoms where they are obliged to become chambermaids and also made to save the WORLD!
Sigh.
I found a story-beginning that I’d forgotten about, which is totally surprising considering I wrote it out single-spaced on blue-lined notebook paper in number 2 pencil approximately 14 years ago, probably during pre-algebra. Not surprisingly, it’s a bit wince-worthy, but I did find one section that made me giggle appropriately. This is after our intrepid modern-day heroine is lost in the woods, walks into another dimension, and gets picked up by the kindly armored man who is going to transfer her into indentured servitude at eeevil Lord Alistair’s manor house of eeevil.
“Um, excuse me,” she politely asked the man. “Where are we?”
“Don’t you know, girl? We’re in Salistian, land of knights, kings, queens, dragons, war and HAPPINESS!”
“Oh.”
Heh. I was trying to be funny, at least. And I remember it was often pretty hard to maintain a sense of humor as a middle school girl. Also, sometimes I think I’d give up all the fun parts of being a grown-up for just one liquid ounce of my middle school imagination. Salistian…seriously.
Band Geek Love was reviewed by The Edge of the Forest, a monthly online journal devoted to children’s literature. I’m still getting used to the fact that people, like, out in the world who I don’t know are going to be reading and having opinions about my book, so after I finished freaking out about that, I read the review and thought it was fair and insightful.
My favorite part:
“…when four years worth of drama catches up with her, Ellie’s insecurities as she negotiates the new world of emotions are pathetic and realistic. Anyone who has tried to control what other people think of them will recognize the flailing and freaking out that Ellie does as she realizes that the world is what it is, and she’s not in control of anything.”
And also, of course:
“…this is a bumbling, geeky little love story that may make you smile.”
Can’t argue with making people smile…it might be my favorite thing to do. Well, next to karaoke and taking naps.
Little Willow listed Band Geek Love as one of the best books of March 2008!
Such coolness…thank you thank you, Little Willow!
This is making me all exclamation pointy!
