Dita Parker

Monday, June 28, 2010

Girl, interrupted

Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius

Eating: mango sorbet

Drinking: iced tea

Watching: bumblebees returning from work

Reading: The Adventures of Sally by P. G. Wodehouse

Writing: or trying to write A Desire for Life (WT), a paranormal erotic romance that started out with a (fictional) sighting of a woman at a party and the thought that came with it/her that nothing takes the life out of a girl like two hundred years of living, and no, there is absolutely not a single vampire in that story and never will be, so could I have a moment's peace, please, and make that iced tea the Long Island variety, thank you.

Listening: or trying not to listen to Brett Anderson wail Animal Nitrate in my head. I have no idea where that came from but whatever he's trying to say, it's not coming through.

Feeling: like Invisible Woman since I'm still not doing Facebook or Twitter and therefore do not actually exist as an author and never will and whose fault is that but mine and if I want to come in from the cold I know what to do now don't I but in between all the eating and drinking and reading and writing and listening and observing and look at the time a mere hour until Brazil hits the pitch again and I still haven't exercised today I will freely admit that my fellow wordsmiths are better women and men or at least eminently more organized and efficient and business savvy than yours truly madly deeply so welcome to The Adventures of Invisible Woman because everyone loves saying that I hate to say that I told you so but I told you so.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Downturns for dummies

Saving love doesn't bring any interest.
~Mae West

Monday, June 14, 2010

Running up that hill

There's a hill in our neighborhood perfect for some instant no-nonsense exercise: long, steep and always there. When I don't have much time for a workout but I need a quick intense fix, that's where I head, and voilà, butt, thighs and lungs on fire in no time with endorphins galore.

I have a feeling I'll be running up that hill a lot this summer for exercise and that working will feel a lot as if I were. School's out, kids are in and Hubby will be in and out on an erratic schedule that will make mine, hmm, interesting.

So what do you do? You do what you can. My babies aren't babies anymore, which helps. It's no hardship staying up late or waking up early since the sun will be up too. The Land of the Midnight Sun, indeed. I'm working on a project with goals and deadlines but no fixed hours. Brilliant. My mind is always working on some manuscript or other pretty much disregarding the time of year or day, and I can't shut it out or turn it off, I don't even want to.

What I need to do is learn to focus in a ruckus. Not one of my strengths, but this summer I get to work on it. An honest look at your limitations is the only way to find your way through, so with limited time on my hands, if I get a moment's peace I'm doing what I do when I get a moment alone with that hill. I'm going to go like fuck.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Fever pitch

In two days, the greatest show on earth kicks off. I'm talking about the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, a month's worth of football. 

I spent my childhood in Brazil where football is not just a sport, it's a religion. You haven't been to a match until you've attended one in Brazil. All those threatening me with a Liverpool kiss: I'm sorry but you really haven't. And I can't use the word soccer. When it's always been futebol, soccer sounds like a foreign word to me. (Besides, it's played with your feet, as opposed to some other forms of "football" around.) So I'm deamericanizing this blog, Brazilianizing it and calling the game what it is, football. Okay? Okay.

I rarely watch sports on TV, but when Brazil plays, don't bother trying to reach me, okay? Okay. You don't watch any, either? Can't get excited about football, don't understand what's all the commotion, or the game? 

Crash course à la Dita: the anatomy of a football dream(boat) team, courtesy of talented players from all over the world (give me an A for effort, there's only one Brazilian in there...), men you can catch on your sports channel starting this Friday.

What you need to get your game on:

A coach. This sharp dressed gentleman is Germany's Joachim Löw.



A goalkeeper. Meet England's David James.



You need defenders. I'm going with 

Rafael Marquez from Mexico.



An American, Carlos Bocanegra.



and Italy's Fabio Cannavaro.



You also need midfielders. Would these do, do you think?



That's Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal.



Freddie's Swedish.



Brazil's own Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, better known as Kaká.



The Wizard of Oz, Australian Harry Kewell.


You will also need strikers/forwards. I'm thinking


Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), the king of African football.




Spain's David Villa.



And a classic, French Thierry Henry.



And now you have yourself a team. Game on!



Yes, I know he won't be playing. Yes, that is only there to add to the shameless display of gratuitous nudity and to make a point you may have already caught on. Football is obviously not gainful employment. Many a fine player has found himself in the glossy pages of some magazine or other modeling this or that and sometimes not much at all. Q.E.D.

Vai Brasil!!!

See you all there in 2014?

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Big Huge Reader Contest!

What is pink, inconspicuous, and provides endless hours of pleasure?

It's the Sony Digital Reader Pocket Edition up for grabs on Tilly Greene’s Hot Thoughts Blog along with three boxes packed full of RT Booklovers Convention goodies!

Five years ago Tilly submitted her first manuscript and the rest is history, and it's an impressive track record, believe you me. Better yet, go check it out, congratulate her on a job well done and wish her many happy sales.

You have thirty days to celebrate Tilly, meet new authors and old favorites, and thirty chances to enter the giveaway to win a prize on July 1st. I'll be there this Saturday with Alex Rising. You should be there every day.

It's June. It's on. What are you waiting for? Go go go!