Who knows? Maybe other real-live-Candors are lurking out there too...

UPDATE: Thanks to Super Girl Reader Reviews, I now know these are called "Time Out Dolls" and you can find plenty of them online. Like this whole fleet of them hanging out on someone's deck. An army of freaky dolls just watching for their next victim.

***

In my continuing series on Things That Freak Me Out, I want to share my horror of something that may strike you as mild. Harmless, even.

Those weird statues of kids' (usually overalled) backsides, set up as if the kids are peeking into something.

Sure, at first you might think they're cute. Look! A little kid, adorably attired, perhaps with braids or a baseball cap. What are they looking at? Aw. Child curiosity.

But take a closer look at these sinister creations. They have no faces. They have no fronts, period. It is as if they got a bit too close to a wormhole and their front half has been sucked off to another dimension. Or maybe they're evil creatures from the bowels of the earth, doing their best to wear a "human" disguise but only getting it half right. Or... maybe the Blair Witch sent them to the corner and they've been there so long, they're half rotted.

If you ever see me in a Cracker Barrel gift shop, frozen in horror, staring at the "cute garden stuff" section, you'll know what happened. I spotted one of those overalled evil statues.

And maybe it even turned and stared back.

PS: I could NOT find a picture of these babies anywhere online. If you find one, e-mail me the link at author AT pambachorz.com and I'll post it to this entry!

This week's "Behind The Tweet" is about a tweet I posted last night.

Just bought a necklace for the main character in my work in progress. Iron chains on silver. Think Ruby will let me wear it?

I was shopping with girlfriends at Shecky's, a traveling shopping event for women. The moment I saw this necklace, I knew it was meant for Ruby (the main character in the book I am working on right now). She would desire the bright, modern silver--but the dark chains are her reality.

Yes, I bought something for someone who only exists in my imagination! It sounds a little strange, but I'm in good company. About six years ago, I was lucky enough to hear Paula Danziger speak at a Florida SCBWI conference. She talked about going to inexpensive accessory stores and buying baubles for her characters. She'd wear them as she wrote, or keep them near (or above) her writing area for inspiration. Paula said it helped her to connect to the characters, to make them three dimensional. As anyone who's read her books knows, she was expert at making unique and vibrant characters. So I don't mind trying one of her tricks!

I'll wear this necklace the next time I write, and when I'm not wearing it I think I'll hang it on the bulletin board above my desk--maybe next to the little chain of paper Tibetan prayer flags that I strung up there a few weeks ago. I know that's what Ruby would want me to do!

PS - If this necklace speaks to you, too, you can buy it from the designer (KT Collection) online.

This is the first of an experimental weekly series called... (drumrolls, cowbell clangs...) Behind The Tweet.

Each week I will not-so-randomly-select one of my tweets (my username is pambachorz, if you care to stop by twitter). I'll tell you a little more about it--what it was about, or what was going on, or.... well, we'll see. I'm not entirely sure. But it seems like a cool idea, no? I hope so.

So here's the tweet-of-the-week:

Alarm rings at 6:00 to go write. 6:05, Little Dude finds me. OK, maybe I'll try that again later!

So, this one is obviously about a big part of my life: finding time to write. I, like so many other kidlit authors, have another job. It's a full-time job, and on top of that I'm a parent and a spouse. That means if I want time to write, I've got to carve it--no, WRENCH it--from my day. If I don't get up and grab that time, it won't be there for me to do my writing work.

And then I get all cranky and grouchy and generally unpleasant in all parts of my life. Besides not getting to write, the only other thing that makes me that cranky is a lack of food. Seriously. If I don't eat every three hours, put on your defensive shields. I carry food with me for all business and writing trips: if you see me on one, check my bag. You'll find a stash of vitamuffins and almonds. If I've already eaten them up? Back away slowly and sling me a Fiber One bar before turning to run for your life.

So, our Little Dude's latest routine change has made for a discombobulated writerly me--but I think it's actually turning out for the better. For whatever reason, he's decided to wake at 6, which used to be the time I'd crawl out of bed and write for an hour before waking him. No more: he wants up, he wants food, and he wants to get to preschool now. (Why? I would like to know. I notice a whole gang of little boys showing up earlier lately, so obviously Something Is Afoot. Maybe I don't want to know). 

So on most mornings, Little Dude is racing into his preschool classroom at the same time I used to hit the save button and shake him awake. That means I'm at home by 7:15, staring a big chunk of time in the face. If I want to, I can write for nearly two hours before I clock into my dayjob. That's more time than I used to get in the mornings. So... it's good, I think.

I'm finding, too, that my writing is a lot looser and creative if I've had time to wake up and eat breakfast. I wouldn't have believed that--who hasn't read the pile of books and articles that say your best work comes out in those waking moments when your brain hasn't gotten bogged down by reality yet? Not for me. Apparently Froot Loops (don't knock them! they're whole grain now, I swear it!) or peanut butter bagels (c'mon, PROTEIN!) are key to my creative success. Of course Pop-Tarts would probably turn me into a writing genius, especially the chocolate fudge variety, but I am trying to be all responsible and nutritious in my morning meal selections. Little Dude is watching, after all.

Of course all of this means that I'm exhausted by ten at night... killing that writing time I used to grab once Little Dude was asleep. So that will be another adjustment. But for now, I'm hitting my writing goal of 3 chapters a week, and they're not horrific either. 

So, for this "Behind The Tweet", things are pretty good... until Little Dude starts waking up at 5:30. Watch my twitter and facebook updates... you WILL know if that happens.

For then? I will Draw The Line. 

Ever wonder what writers stare at when they aren't being good little writers and staring at their manuscript? In other words, what DO we look at 90% of the time when we sit at our desks?

My desk sits against a big white wall that has corkboard bits nailed to it. On top of the corkboard are photos that help me to connect to the characters in my current project (actors and actresses, plus some news photos). I won't tell them all to you because I don't want to prejudice future readers of this book but I'll share one... Jesse James. Yes, the motorcycle shop/Apprentice contestant/married-to-Sandra Bullock dude! 

There are also funny cards that friends have sent to me, and a beautiful photo/haiga from my talented author friend Marnie Brooks. Below all of that, right at eye level, hang my monthly and yearly goals (inspired by a talk I heard at Kindling Words East). As I reach each goal, I color the box green with a highlighter. I loovvvvvvve coloring the boxes, more than anyone should. I think I'll start making goals for easy stuff, like eating chocolate for the first food of the day.

Then, above the corkboard, there's my story wire that I hang index cards from when I'm outlining. Finally, at the very top, I've just added some printouts of teens holding CANDOR. I got the  pics from a library bookclub, The Big House Book Club, run by Ms. Koval. They eat pizza (smart readers) and talk about books, and they're discussing CANDOR this month. I just loved these pictures. They remind me of my audience, and how diverse and cool they are. The next time I start to feel my energy flag, I'll take a gander at the top of my wall and remember why I write.