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Stacey

Stacey Klemstein


Last Updated: 3/27/2009

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Gender: Female
Status: Married
Age: 34
Sign: Libra

City: Chicago
State: Illinois
Country: US
Signup Date: 12/7/2005

Blog Archive
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Wednesday, May 28, 2008 

Current mood:  bouncy
Category: Writing and Poetry

Awesome new review quote for Bitter Pill!

"Stacey Klemstein writes in a charming 'you are there' way, such that you feel as if you are traveling with Rennie…tasting, smelling, and touching. You are no longer just reading a book, you are transported…Excellent! I give it a 5!"
–Cynthia Lea Clark, Psy.D., FMAM Review Coordinator

Also, I posted Chapters Two and Three of Bitter Pill. Jake Bristol, the former bad boy turned very hot (and married) sheriff, makes an appearance in these new chapters. So go check them out! : )

Currently listening:
Like a Prayer
By Madonna
Release date: 1990-10-25
1:08 PM 
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Tuesday, February 05, 2008 

Category: Writing and Poetry
I did something last night I haven't done since college: I fell asleep while writing.
 
Not typing, mind you. Oh, no, I've done the head bobbing downward toward sleep at the keyboard plenty of times over the years since then. But last night, I was writing with a pen and notebook--yeah, I'm old fashioned that way sometimes.
 
I was sitting in the big comfy chair in my office (mistake one) with my feet up (mistake two), taking notes on some revisions I'm going to make. I'd been at a conference all weekend, getting up early and staying up late (not a mistake, but a contributing factor for sure). And it was 11:30 at night and I was in my new flannel pajama pants and fleece shirt (exactly how was I planning to stay awake is now my question).
 
Anyway, I was doing the head bob thing and feeling that momentary blast of adrenaline that comes when you wake yourself up after those little micro naps, so I convinced myself I was still awake enough to keep going. Until, during one lucid moment, I looked down and saw that I'd written words that made no sense in the context of what I was doing. I was dream writing or something.
 
In my notes on a story, I'd written "Creating RWA..." without any recollection of doing so. Unlike college, however, where notes I took in an 8 a.m. history class often resembled a failing EKG readout, these were perfectly legible and normal words. RWA was even all caps as it's supposed to be.
 
RWA is Romance Writers of America, an organization I belong to. I'd spent some time talking with various other members over the course of the weekend. No idea what the "creating" was all about. The weirdest part was, like I said, I had no memory of writing the words or even what bizarre dream thoughts triggered such words.
 
Anybody else ever dream write? Is that even a real thing? I'm just making up terms now. : )
 
Should have Florida post(s) and pictures up soon. This weekend at the latest. I really want to go over my Donald Maass notes and post the relevant thoughts/points. Not just because it might be helpful to someone else out there, but also because it'll make it easier for me to find them later when I inevitably misplace the notebook I wrote them in. : )
 
Hope you all are surviving your February so far. We've got about eight inches of snow on the ground. Actually, it's less now that it's started to rain, thunder and lightning. My mom says their forecaster called this "thundersnow." I told her I felt pretty certain "thundersnow" was a sign of the coming apocalypse. But we're under a winter storm watch tomorrow evening for another 6 inches or more of snow. I'm awfully darn sick of this.
2:44 AM 
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Saturday, February 02, 2008 

Current mood:  blissful
Hey guys, just a quick note to let you know we're back safe and sound from Florida. I personally would have preferred to be marooned there for several years, but alas, that was not the case. : )

I'm working on a full trip report. We had so much fun! I've got about half of it written, but I want to include pictures and I haven't even written yet about the Donald Maass seminar. We did a lot last week!

Anyway, at the moment, I'm attending Love Is Murder, having a blast and meeting lots of new people. Tonight I met a bunch of members from RWA (Romance Writers of America) Chicago North chapter. Thanks everyone, Deb Gross in particular, for being so friendly and welcoming and just plain great.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Barbara Vey who writes a great blog over at Publishers Weekly. Be sure to watch this weekend as she'll be posting pictures of the conference, and there are some terrific ones, particularly from the crime scene panel tonight. I'm also in one with two other authors, so keep an eye out! : ) Barbara also had a very interesting entry on reviews, which turned out to be a very hot topic with a lot of people. I've only recently come to the notion of not reading reviews before going to see a movie. I suspect, otherwise, I might not have enjoyed 27 Dresses as much as I did. I thought it was cute, fun and funny, but boy, the critics did not agree. And you know what? I respect their right to have an opinion, as much as I respect my right to make up my mind for myself without first being tainted. So, no more pre-movie reviews for me.

Anyway, check out Barbara's blog and contribute to the conversation, if you like. : )

More later...I met Tess Gerritsen and Lee Child this weekend as well. It's a star-studded conference all around!
7:12 AM 
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Wednesday, January 23, 2008 

Current mood:  silly
Category: Writing and Poetry

I swear, I'm not saying this to rub it in but...I'm leaving for a few days to attend a seminar. In FLORIDA! Woohoo!!!!

I'm going to be hanging out with Linnea, and we'll be attending a seminar taught by the great and powerful literary agent Donald Maass. : ) I'm very excited! Writers speak his name in a hushed and reverant whisper, so it'll be interesting to see what he has to say. I've taken classes from people who've taken classes from him and use his techniques and found them to be helpful when it comes to viewing common writing problems in a different way. So, that's great. I'm really hoping to come away with some new methods to try and new ways of thinking, and I'm grateful to Linnea for getting me in to the class. However, I fear I will be fighting back a case of the giggles as well as the urge to whisper, "the man, the myth, the legend" when he's introduced. : )

Anyway, this is my long and roundabout way of saying that I'll be gone for the next few days. Don't know how often I'll be able to post from the road, especially because I have another round of EOB edits that must get done. But I didn't want you to think I'd forgotten about you, and I'll be full of details and photos when I get back!

If I do get a chance to update while I'm gone, it will most likely be to my main blog, which is on my website. 

2:21 PM 
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Saturday, January 19, 2008 

Current mood:  jubilant

Eye of the Beholder is now available on Amazon.com! Look, isn't it beautiful!!!! : ) I'm SO excited.

You can also read the first three chapters on my website:

http://www.staceyklemstein.com/EOBExcerpt.html

10:02 PM 
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Saturday, January 19, 2008 

Current mood:  blessed

Thank you to everyone who voted for The Silver Spoon in the P&E poll. It was at 6 when the polls closed! Nothing will be official until February, but how awesome would it be to finish in the top ten?

Again, thank you!!!!

9:43 PM 
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008 

Current mood:  tired
In the meantime, though, please check this out: The Green Bee Buzz. Most of you know the Green Bee as the oft-mentioned Stacy G. here in this lovely blog locale. I have been after her for years--literally years! (though not every day because she probably would have killed me by now)--to start her own blog. She is one of the funniest people I know and an incredibly sharp writer. She has a gift for taking an everyday kind of circumstance and turning it into something that will make you laugh (read the thing about the soap and lotion mix-up and you'll see what I mean).
 
So, please go read and leave a comment to encourage her. Most of us out here in blog-land are, to quote another friend, "attention whores." We love seeing that you're out there and our words are reaching you in some way.
 
Okay, other stuff...watched the Sarah Connor Chronicles (SCC) last night and--how do the kids put it these days?--it rocked my face off! I loved it. : ) I am so looking forward to the continuation of the premiere tonight. The actor playing John Connor may have a tendency later in the show to go all whiney, but I'm hoping the writers resist. The actress playing Sarah is awesome, tough, but in a different way than Linda Hamilton. Harder around the edges somehow, I think. And what can I say about Summer Glau? Oh, that girl can play creepy-tough like nobody's business. I am intrigued by her character, by the hints they have given that she's different than the others. And yet, she can't be too different. We saw her take multiple bullets last night. Perfect example of her awesomeness...John, Sarah and the good Terminator (Summer Glau) are closed in a bank vault. The good Terminator (gT) is assembling a weapon while Sarah and John watch. A loud noise sounds outside and John steps closer to the door to check out.
 
gT without looking up from her weapon: "Get away from the door."
 
John, backs up maybe a little but mostly just looks over at her with a frown: "Why?"
 
Glass inside the door shatters and everyone flinches except gT who doesn't even look up from what she's doing. "That's why."
 
One weird thing...I saw Nick Wechsler's name on the credits, but I didn't see him. He played Kyle on Roswell. It says on IMDB he played Deputy Ridge in the Pilot of SCC, but if he did, man, I missed it. Anybody else see him?
 
I did watch Persuasion as well, but I fell asleep about halfway through. I liked the actor playing Captain Wentworth better, but I preferred the actress from the BBC version for Anne Elliot. The read on the character was just slightly different. She was more visibly emotional and not as resilient, in my opinion. The whole point of Anne is that even while she may cry in private, she holds herself together in public. She knows the choice she made and that he'll never forgive her for it. And she suffers in silence. I don't know...I can't even put my finger on what's so different. I'll have to watch what I missed and see if my opinion changes, but right now, the better version is the older BBC one.
1:23 AM 
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Thursday, January 10, 2008 

Category: Writing and Poetry

Eye of the Beholder edits are in, and I'm (MUCH) farther behind on incorporating them than I'd like to be. So there will be less original content this week, but I'm still hoping to maintain my regular updates. Hence, much linkage to follow in the coming days...
 
I've been reading John August's blog to keep up on the latest strike information. It's work-safe and he has some really cool and informative posts about scriptwriting and writing in general. The article I'm sending you to this time is full of good advice, not just for writing, but for life in general. I've never played World of Warcraft (heck, I'm still trying to master my serve in Wii Tennis), but I can imagine it based on his description and I really like how it works as a metaphor for life. So, check it out... Seven Things [John August] Learned from World of Warcraft.

12:27 AM 
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Tuesday, January 08, 2008 

Category: School, College, Greek

We took Susan back to Valpo last night. I know it's ridiculous, but even after ten years, I get just a bit homesick for it and kind of weepy when have to leave. Some of it was dropping Susan off, who I miss and don't get to see as often as I'd like. Some of it was the weather. We're in this very weird warm streak. 65 degrees in January! So, when we got to campus, all of the snow had melted, and it was that damp warm feeling of spring. The ground smelled wet and well, earthy. You know, that "plants are going to start growing soon" smell. Plus, the pine trees had lost a lot of their needles during the rain, so you could really smell them and I always find that scent comforting, familiar.  It reminded me of those spring semester days when you were so desperate for the sun to shine and the weather to warm that people stopped wearing jackets and donned shorts in 55 degree weather. 
 
But most of it was just memories. Susan lives in a dorm that I used to live in, and despite all the other changes on campus, it remains virtually the same as when I was living there in 1994-1995. I walked past the exact spot in the grass where Julie, Becky, Debbie, Jill and I (and others) took our Sophomore year floor picture. The Chapel still looms in the sky as the tallest building on campus, but now with the Center for the Arts (which was built between my sophomore and junior year, I think. Someone know for sure?) and the new union in the way, you can just see the top of the roof. The back doors/maintanence entrance for the science center are right there too, near the front of the dorm, and it's there that a nail punctured my foot, through my boot, thanks to the VUCA construction, probably. Fortunately, Julie has a much steadier hand and stronger stomach than me, and she patched me up. 
 
The dorm still smells the same too. Girly lotions and shampoos on the girls floor, plus that stale old building scent. Made me feel like I could go up another two flights of stairs and find my friends waiting for me.
 
Not to mention the fact, after we dropped off all of Susan's bags, I walked back to the car--on the same sidewalks I'd walked countless times before at eighteen and nineteen years old--holding hands with my college boyfriend. Who knows me well enough (these days as my husband) to look at me as we were leaving and say, "You okay?"
 
And yeah, I'm fine. : ) Don't miss being nineteen and full of angst. But I do love to remember it!

1:54 AM 
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Friday, January 04, 2008 

Category: Writing and Poetry

I'm so excited--The Silver Spoon has been nominated for a Preditors and Editors Reader Award! I've never been nominated for anything before. : )

Please go and vote today. Voting ends January 14, I believe. The only requirement is that you give your email address (which will not be saved or distributed--it's only to make sure voting is legit) and vote just the once.

http://www.critters.org/predpoll/novelsf.shtml

Just scroll down until you see The Silver Spoon.

2:59 AM 
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