But the pic and story have nothing to do with one another beyond sharing space on this rambling blog.

First the picture.  After coming home from church this afternoon I stayed in my dress, since it’s comfortable, but quickly transformed to stocking feet, since I’ve never had much success curling up in almost knee-length boots even if they don’t have heels.  Of course, that meant I had to slip something on when it was time to go outside and call the cats and close up the barn.

No problem, I have a pair of rubber boots I keep by the door for just such an occasion.

What do you think of my outfit?  For some reason the family found it amusing, but blue works with blue, right?

So now for the story, completly unrelated to the above.

Whenever I’m not writing lately I’m checking out agent info, et al, so that, in the eventuality of this book arriving at a polished place, I have a list of agents to which I will send a query.  It’s actually rather difficult to come up with a list of reputable, accessable, compatible agents, and it requires a deal of research, I’m finding.

However, Kristen Nelson has been on the list for some time, by dint of the good things I hear about her via the writer grapevine, plus her doing a fabulous job at WorldCon on her panels and also having the good humor to be graceful and chat with me for a minute in the hall.  I also enjoy her blog, and whilst hanging around there came across this top 25 oft-repeated inclusions in YA list.

I was gratified to see that I have done none of them, nor has it occurred to me to do these things.  Perhaps my unique background is good for one thing–I’ve never been in danger of thinking like everyone else.  However, number 22, ‘a tiny scar through the eyebrow, sometimes accompanied by an embarrassing story’ caught my eye because I have such a scar!  And the story was kind of embarrassing at the time…

[this is the part where I tell the unrelated story stories]

I grew up in a moderately rough-and-tumble neighborhood, where we had a reasonable degree of freedom.  So when the neighbors began digging an addition to their basement, all of us kids had a great time climbing and capering about the site whenever the construction vehicles had pulled out for the day.  One of our favorite games was to play, uhm, ‘booty’ ball by climbing down the small pegs which stuck out of the concrete walls at regular intervals to the floor, where the basement would one day be, and then hammer each other with a small rubber ball.  I can’t remember all the rules, but I know that there was a lot of dodging going on and if one was caught, that individual had to face the far wall while everyone else took a couple of hard-swinging throws at their backside.  Of course, it was while climbing down into this pit one day that I slipped and gave myself the long scar which runs along my knee…

But I digress.  Another favorite game was to throw a golf ball back and forth across the construction site.  Don’t ask me why this was better than simply playing catch in our backyards, but it was.  The problem?  It was summertime so we often played late and my night-vision wasn’t great.  So it came that one night I had tilted my face up, watching for an incoming ball.  Watching very carefully, searching the darkening sky–

Only to have it impact on my eyebrow.  It was coming down from pretty high and split the brow all down that side.  Now, of course, my friends were infinitely supportive and understanding and did the only thing they could do.

Fell on the ground laughing.  After all, I must have looked a bit daft, staring up at the sky, hands ready, while this ball bounced off my head.

The scar healed fairly clean, though it does make my brow part a little funny on that side.  I’ve grown accustomed to it, of course, and added it to my list of interesting wounds/scars and life experiences that I can draw from when I’m writing.

Though apparently not in a YA unless I wish to be cliche.  I stand forewarned!

Share, share away: