The Storm Scene

So, I decided to jump back into working on my novel by skipping ahead to the rather sketchy storm scene I'd written at about page 109. The storm and ensuing cleanup is a "turning point" for my FMC, and is the main crisis in the story line. It is after this that the FMC and MMC come together, and it is when the FMC realizes she is never going to leave circus, that she is thoroughly hooked.

The scene centers around a horrendous thunderstorm and tornado that strike the circus as it is setting up for several weeks of shows. There is the death of a main character (not a human character) and the temporary loss of at least one act due to injury. During this scene, which plays out over several hours, the FMC has her mettle completely tested, and comes out bruised and scarred, but knowing her true self and her true place.

I had sketched out the scene with some detail, but not the hours leading up to it, and this is the part I have been working on the last few days. After not having written on the story for quite some weeks, I'm feeling a bit "behind" and "lost" in trying to catch up to where I was. I do tend to write in "scenes," putting them where they belong and then filling in the connecting threads after the scenes are done. This works well for me but does sometimes require a bit of a heavier hand in editing to make sure I've not lost my flow somehow.

I think once the storm scene is settled, I can write more threads. I did talk the other day to Jeremiah, a model for one of my book's characters. He is doing well, it seems but is the same polite young man I made friends with in Baraboo, Wisconsin. He kept calling me "ma'am." Makes me feel old! It reminded me that I needed to develop that character more; there is much the FMC can do with this young man.

I have also realized that I am going to have three men vying for the FMC's attention. Originally I was only going to have one, but the characters tend to develop themselves and I have at least two other men who will be potential beau's for my FMC. I still know who I want her to end up with, but the ride getting there should be plenty fun.

Less Circus, More Writing

Okay, I know my blog has been pretty heavy circus and very light on writing. Now that Flora is leaving town, I promise to spend more time blogging about (and actually doing) writing than talking about circus. Sometimes my passion for it all starts overrunning my mouth. LOL

I do have much to write about now that I've spent the time with Flora. More of my characters will become three-dimensional. Many of them are still rather flat. I really do need to get back to business here and see if I can at least get this story completely written this year, and spend next year with serious editing.

Not to mention that I will definitely be participating in Nano in November this year, with a completely different story. I will likely stick to romance for that one, I can write those in my sleep.

Some Flora pictures

Anthony and Willy Pages. Hard to believe but Anthony is Willy's son. They look like brothers.


Tater with Tino and Olinka Wallenda. When Tater was less than two months old, Olinka saw me with her, and kissed her little fuzzy head. That's better than being blessed by the Pope, in a circus family. Tino and Nino are half-brothers.


Me with Nino, after he'd signed this year's dolly. He is extremely gracious and I am glad to have gotten a chance to spend time with him.

More Circus Flora

As promised, I have more Circus Flora comments. I wish I'd gotten to these earlier this week, but between travel on Monday and Tuesday to Arizona for the final round of interviews for the potential new job, then coming back to my regular stuff plus everything I missed, I didn't have time to catch up. I'd originally intended to take care of the blogs while I was in Arizona, but my internet connection was almost non-existent while I was there, so nothing got done in the little bit of spare time I had.

After the performance last week, while I was talking with Giovanni Zoppe, I said I was going to try to get out to another performance before it closed. He said, "good, hopefully it will be better next time." I told him I thought the show had been wonderful. He made a very disgusted look and waved his hand as if to say "the whole thing was awful."

I can sort of see his point. Having had a week to "think on it," there were definite flaws in the show. My first disappointment was how little Nino got to interact with the audience. Most of his roles were completely ancillary, he was there in appearance only but had no role in what was going on. The few times he was actually there and could have done something, he was given literally only a few seconds to do it. What could have been a rather promising trampoline act lasted about 20 seconds. He performed with his sister Tosca in a bareback presentation, but that was limited, as well. And in fact that did not appear where it was slated for in the first act, but in the second. I found that odd, and the shortened nature of it was strange. Both Nino and Tosca are well-trained bareback performers (it is what Nino first learned as a child and his father is probably the best bareback rider in the world).

There were some amazing acts, no doubt about that. Andrew Adams and Erika Gilfether, who performed an amazing aerial ballet on straps and crimson silk, took my breath away. I have never seen a circus act so deeply moving. The St. Louis Arches, long-time Flora performers, were top-notch this year, relying less and less on the "cute kid factor" and instead relying on their impressive acrobatic skills. Sacha Nevidonski's combined equestrian and aerial act was breathtaking. And the Flying Pages never disappoint; Willy Pages' 8 year old daughter was in this year's act, and she shows great promise. And there's nothing bad to say about the Flying Wallendas, either. The new elephant, Dondi (trainer Phil Schacht), performed quite well in the tiny ring. Joshua Schacht, son of Phil, leapt around on top of Dondi as if she were a platform stage; his steadiness was a wonder to behold. So there was plenty of good.

But there was plenty of lame, too. Pino was billed as a "physical comedienne," but I didn't see much comedic in her performance. Hard to believe she was with Pickle Family Circus for 10 years, and Cirque's "Mystere." Her act lasted maybe four minutes, and consisted of her bending over so her dog could hop on her back and she could walk with the dog perched on her shoulders while she fed it treats. I was not impressed, and if there was "physical comedy" in that act, I sure didn't see it. My husband's tried-and-true clown stage show has more physical comedy in the first minute than I saw in the entirety of Pino's presentation. And as far as Katja Schumann, if you've seen her act once, you've seen it enough. Her liberty horse act (horses without harness or bridle led by voice command only) are pretty, but lethargic, as if swimming rather than running. I've never been impressed with liberty acts. And if I add in how I feel about Nino's "under-use" in this show, well, then this show was half good and half lame.

But it's still Flora, and I still enjoyed it. I am going to try to squeeze in one more attendance tomorrow; the last show is at 5:00. Have to see if hubby is interested in going after my gig in the early afternoon.

Intimate and astonishing.

"Intimate and astonishing. The way a circus should be."

These are the first words on the cover of the program for Circus Flora Marrakesh.

And I would have to agree. This is my sixth Circus Flora; of the six, this one by far outshines the others I have seen. The music was lush, the costuming absolutely stunning. The story line was easy to follow, unlike some of the other Circus Flora plotlines from the past. Tucked in between the opening scene and the conclusatory Flying Pages, were some of the most incredible acts I've ever seen. While much of Circus Flora is the same from year to year (the Flying Wallendas, the Flying Pages, the St. Louis Arches, Cossack Riders, and Katya's Liberty Horse Act), these acts morph from year to year, and in one case, reached new heights in maturity and depth of performance.

There were two performers new to this year's show. One was Alesya Goulevich, who did amazing things with hula hoops, and Andrew Adams and Erika Gilfether who did an aerial act that will be burned into my mind for many years to come. Using rich music and simple costumes, these two shared space on a pair of woven cotton straps, in a dance that outshone anything I could have seen at the ballet. The audience was enthralled and enamored, and many of us had to resist the urge to present these two with a standing ovation at the conclusion of their act. They were simply spectacular.

A third new performing duo, "Pino and Bonzer," pretty much bored me and it's good they came in a lull between the aerial act and the Flying Wallendas. This rather short woman was, I think, supposed to be a clown, although she didn't act or dress the part, and she had one shaggy dog whose only three tricks included stealing Pino's hat, closing the lid to Pino's accordian case, and jumping on Pino's back and riding around the ring with her. I'm not a fan of dog acts to begin with, but when they are this lame they shouldn't be in the ring.

I was disappointed in Nino's much smaller role this year. He appeared in the ring approximately 15 minutes before the show started and provided his usual schtick involving audience members and the loss of his hat. He also performed a bareback act with his sister Tosca in the second half, and had a very short trampoline act in the first half. In general, however, he was hardly in the ring, and when he was, he was almost completely ancillary to the story and the circus acts. It made me sad; he has always been a huge part of what made Flora so much fun for me. Every time he entered the ring, the children screamed "Nino!" over and over again, showing how much he is loved in this community. I hope they will rethink his role next year and give him a bigger part of the meat of the show.

One act that truly deserves mention is the St. Louis Arches. This troupe of children have been training for literally years in acrobatics, and each year they get better and better. This year's group, about 16 strong, did the usual tricks, but with much more maturity and confidence than ever before. There were few bobbles of landings and joint tosses, and plenty of activity without the "aw" factor I'd seen so many years before by them adding the tiniest tumbler to their routine (even though he is not much of a tumbler). So their act was really good.

Sasha and the Cossack riders did not appear in that usual form this year. This year it was simply Sasha, with his horse Mammut. Their performance was breathtaking, as I knew it would be. I'd seen them rehearsing a couple of weeks ago when I was hanging out on the grounds. Mammut is wild and free, and Sasha created an act that combined an aerialist act with two long white scarves strung from the top of the tent, with the speed and wildness of Mammut.

Afterwards, we waited until the tent had mostly cleared before we left, catching up with many of the performers outside. The first was one of the Arches, who I complimented personally on his performance. These kids are used to seeing me at their home base in the City Museum, so I am semi-familiar with them. Second were Anthony and Willie Pages, spectacular in turquoise costumes. I teased Willie about his hair; during rehearsals he didn't want me to take his picture because his hair "was a mess." I couldn't tell the difference. He looked good either way. This year along with his wife, son Anthony and daughter Mercedes (who is about 8 years old) their act was better than ever. Then we talked to Tino and Olinka Wallenda, then Jessica Henthoff, and waited in line to see Nino (Giovanni Zoppe).

I know I sound like I'm gushing or someone paid me to say this. But truly, this was the best performance I've seen to date. I truly enjoyed it, and knowing what I know about the behind-the-scenes work of Circus, I now have a greater respect and understanding of the process that is circus. I will have more to say over the ensuing days, and of course I'll have pictures, too!

A really good review of Circus Flora

Not having seen the show yet, I can't comment, but here's a review in the local paper.

Circus Flora offers entertaining show

Where I've Been

Well, it's been a weird two weeks. Amongst my time spent at Circus Flora watching rehearsals and trying to pin down performers for interviews, plus dealing with tech issues at home (DSL gone down, print server bit the dust, home network gone wonky), I also interviewed for job in Flagstaff, Arizona. I had not felt exceedingly confident about the phone interview, and pretty much wrote off getting the job at all.

Then they called me back. They are flying me out to a second interview in about a week. I am the only candidate they are talking to after the first round. I cannot tell you the kinds of nervous this makes me. This would mean a 1400 mile move from my comfort zone in Missouri to something completely new and different. Not bad different, just different. It means uprooting my whole family, it means lots and lots of changes. The advantages are that Flagstaff is a spectacular place to live, I'd be going from working at a two-year college to working at a four-year college, that I'd get to do what I love most (adaptive technology) full-time (right now I am doing that with two other jobs tacked on). It means a "fresh start" and a new adventure. It means a great virtually free education for my kids, it means a big pay raise (almost $10K more), it means lower health care insurance costs. Lots and lots of advantages and I can think of very few disadvantages.

My stomach has been in knots all week and I can't sleep without dreaming about all sorts of weird scenarios. Not much writing or even thinking about writing has been done.

Circus Flora opened tonight and I had thought I would go, but I worked too late, then met a friend at Barnes and Noble to encourage her as she's writing for Script Frenzy, then got home and had to nap in the chair for a bit before I could cook dinner. So maybe I'll go one night next week, that looks like my best chance. I do have tickets for the 2 p.m. show on the 16th, with my husband and the little one. The big ones don't want to go. Too bad for them.

There was a cute article in the paper today about the show, which made me giggle. I'm sure you'd enjoy it to. Be sure to check out the sidebar on the right-hand side for the funny little bios they wrote about some of the performers (both animal and human).

Connecticut Elephant Legislation killed

As the legislative session in Connecticut neared its close, the legislation intended to outlaw the use of the Bullhook was never brought to a vote. The sponsor of the bill admitted that she didn't have the needed votes to even consider asking for the floor to hear her issues. She has promised to renew the bill next year.

We'll see. But for now, many in the circus community are thrilled that the legislation did not pass; no circus with animals would have been able to perform in Connecticut if this measure had passed. If the bill is revived, then another round of letter-writing and public education about the use of the bullhook will ensue, I'm sure.

Interview with Nino Part II

I had the chance to sit down and talk with Nino for about a half-hour on Wednesday before he had to dash off to Home Depot for more parts for the leaking trailer, and then there was a group rehearsal of the opening act of the circus. He is so understated and so quiet, yet underneath runs an intensity that you can literally feel. He is also always in motion; a leg shaking, running his hands through his hair, twiddling with something on the table, etc. Always in motion. He said several things that stuck with me, one is "circus is family" and "I'm passionate about circus."

While I was waiting to talk to him, I stood and looked around, observing the small details I might have missed if I'd been sitting in the interview. Nino's trailer is erected in a small corner of the Circus Flora lot, a bit of an enclave if you will, like a small Italian piazza in the shape of a U. One arm of the U is Nino's trailer, the lower part of the U is a large shiny horse trailer with an awning and portable stalls set up alongside it for the three horses Nino's sister Tosca rides in the show. The other side of the U is Tosca and her husband Jay's trailer, a large 5th-wheel. The top of the U is a portable picket fence, painted a brilliant white, which then forms the courtyard of their piazza. As I stood inside the picket fence, I could see through Tosca's trailer, and in one window was an elaborate candle holder, with 8 candles on spindles of wrought iron, each platform decorated with tiny windchimes. The trailer was "home" and she had it made up to be the home she needed it to be.

I mentioned the "homey" atmosphere of their area and Nino informed me that he lives in his trailer 12 months out of the year, so it is his only "home." The Klown often teases me, saying I'd never make it on a show full time, that I could never live in a trailer. I suspect he is right...staying in that tiny trailer in Wisconsin for a mere week with Klown and three kids nearly drove me insane. I felt like I had nowhere to sit, or get away from the noise, or from people. I can't imagine living like that full-time, no matter how big the trailer.

I will write later about other things I observed during the rehearsal. It was an interesting hour.

Nino Interview, Part I

I dragged my hubby, The Klown, with me to the Circus Flora grounds for my Nino interview. When we got there Nino immediately introduced himself to me although we'd never formally met. But he knew my name so that was cool. Things were crazy, though, one of the trailers he'd brought up was having a major leaking problem that needed to be fixed, and his sister needed to rehearse and he is part of their act. So we did get to talk, for like five minutes, then we watched them rehearse for a bit. It was after 8, we needed to get home, so I scheduled to come back on Wednesday while he was between rehearsals. We'll see what I get. It will be neat to see the rehearsals, though, as I've never gotten to experience anything like that before.

Nino apologized over and over about not really being able to spend much time with me, but I reassured him...the truth is I NEED to see everything. Even if it's just down time or waiting time or initial rehearsals or seeing how they all live. It's all stuff I can use.

And let me tell you, he shook my hand about three or four times, and it's like getting squeezed in a vice! I'm going to remember not to wear rings on my right hand. OW!

Well, so much for THAT.

Stupid me. I left the flash drive with my novel on it on my desk at work when I left Friday. And the office is closed the entire weekend. No chance in hell to go get it so I can work on my novel.

I would use the backup copy but it's about a week old and 5,000 words less and I don't want to have two versions going at once. I even saw it there and told myself not to forget it. Honestly, I couldn't wait to get out of there, so of course I left it behind.

It's not that I don't have other things to do. I do. I just didn't want to do them. Now I have no excuse. At least I have my interview with Nino to look forward to on Monday night.

My new logo

This should be my new logo.

This ball of net was rolled up near a trailer that presumably housed the flying trapeze equipment and rigging. Since it was outside, and the trap was being set up under the tent...then the trap act was Without A Net.

Okay, I thought it was funny.

Circus Flora

I spent two hours at lunchtime today at the Circus Flora grounds. The roof of the tent was up and day laborers were putting in the floorboards of the bleachers. The Fabick tractor people were setting up the giant external air conditioners. There were miles and miles of electrical cables stacked up on a pallet, and miles and miles of coiled vent hoses flattened out like old Chinese lanterns, waiting for placement.

I got the chance to talk with the General Manager, Holly Harris. She was in and out and back and forth and around and not around for the two hours I was there. I probably got ten minutes with her all-told. But what I got from her was good, and I'm going to go back and get more from her at some point. I spent a lot of time just watching and looking around and especially looking for small details. I found spray-painted marks on the ground marking where trailers were to be put up, and who those trailers belong to.

I think this paint was from last year, because I watched Nino pull in his Airstream, and he parked it nowhere near these markings. But still, it was cool, and I walked around looking at all the trailer marks.

Inside the tent, while the day laborers worked on the bleachers, Willy Page of the Flying Pages was setting up the rigging for the flying trapeze act. Willy is the catcher, probably the most important role in trapeze work. I introduced myself to him and asked a few questions. Yes, I said something dumb, too, but it wouldn't be me if I hadn't said something dumb. There was a giant outdoor thermometer at the top of the tent, and it read somewhere around 90 degrees.



Outside it as gusty windy, about 83 degrees, with a hazy sun. I asked Willy if it was hot working up there but he said the air conditioned tent was easy to work in. He also said he liked working in the warmth, that all performers did, it kept their muscles loose and warm. I mentioned sweaty palms and he said "plenty of chalk."

I know I'd sweat to death at the top of the tent, with the lighting and all the heat rising, and the sun having beat down all day long on the dark-colored tent.

I hope to go back tomorrow and watch some more. The bleachers will probably be done tomorrow, and more rigging will go into place. Most of the performers will be arriving in the next two days so that rehearsals can start. Watching the rehearsals would be incredible, if I can get to do it. We'll see.

Circus Flora Tent going up!

Circus Flora opens in about three weeks. Today I checked with one of my contacts and found out the tent was going up TODAY. Dang it. Not a day I could just take off and go down there to watch it go up. Fooey. I did call the general manager, whose name and number I got from my contact, and she said to come on down tomorrow or the next day, that things would be progressing slowly. The tent is up but the ring needs to be built and the floor boards put in and the bleachers erected. She also agreed to an interview. whoo!

Of course, work is pretty bothersome right now, we've had problems with our emergency cell phone that is our on-call phone. The bright minds at our main office decided to change our cell phone service from one company to another, without taking time to check if the new provider had service on our campus. They don't. The only place the damned phone works is in MY office, so therefore I've been on call for 9 days straight while the main office gets our service switched back to the old provider. I've been promised the phone will arrive via overnight and I will get it tomorrow. I am hoping it comes in the morning so I can bug out for the afternoon and spend some time on the grounds with my camera watching the goings on. Might even be able to catch a rehearsal, that would be really cool.

And my long-awaited interview with Nino the Clown is happening on Monday night at 6 p.m. My stomach is already in knots. What do I wear? What questions do I ask? Ohmygosh what if I make a fool of myself? LOL

It'll all be fine, I know it. I've spoken in front of thousands of people at once, surely I can interview one little ole clown at a time. Right?

Long Weekends

We're coming up on a nice long weekend here in the U.S. Any time I look at a weekend I hope against hope that I'll be able to get some writing done. It's spring, and I'm in one of my insomniac cycles, and all I can think about at night when I might have time to write is that I want to go to bed. I can sleep in the dark, but I can't sleep in the light, which means that at 4:00 a.m. when the birds start getting restless outside and the first pale light of dawn shows over the hill outside my bedroom window, I'm awake.

Not dozy awake.

Wide awake. I try to go back to sleep, but suddenly my body is restless, aches and pains roll through my joints, and I just have to get up. But my brain is exhausted, and I can sit in front of my computer and try to write for two hours but it's mostly incoherent gibberish, or simply no words at all, I just sit and stare at my screen.

And I really do want to sit and write. But if I can't get an hour all at once, without distractions, when I'm awake and don't have other things hanging over my head, it is just hard to get anything truly worthy done. I guess I'm in a bit of a funk.

So, this is a long weekend. We have plans for Sunday, going to the RenFaire, which is always fun. But Saturday is just laundry day, and Monday I have no plans. My husband is working, so maybe I will get a few words tapped out.

More Female Characters

I've been stuck on a scene in my book lately, actually two scenes. The first is the Fiesta scene, where I have to get my female main character onto the dance floor dancing a group dance with the other women, and an earlier scene where she accompanies some of the circus people to a bar on payday.

I realized that as I was writing the Fiesta scene, I had no women friends attached to my FMC who could drag her onto the dance floor at the appropriate time. All of the connections she's made at this point, about a week into her Circus journey, have been men. The majority of women on circuses are in performance art; my FMC is not a performer and therefore wouldn't be interacting too directly with most of the performers, especially at this early stage of the story.

So I created a female character to fill this role, and my FMC meets her at the bar night. I am so happy with the dynamic I've set up between the FMC, the wardrobe guy, and the public relations guy, that inserting this fourth character still feels odd. Square peg in round hole. I'm sure I'll grow to like it later.

Writing Frenzy

I am getting a considerable amount of writing done these last few days. I could have done more, it's been really slow at work, but I have a hard time writing anything consistently at work. Too many distractions between the phone ringing and email coming in and the students chattering away. It probably didn't help that it is finals week, as well, which means the overall energy on campus is testy.

I had a day off today but I'm just now sitting down to write, and it's going on 3 p.m.! I've gotten distracted going shopping, then making capuccino, then eating some lunch, then doing a load of wash... I can find all kinds of reasons not to write.

But now I can't put it off any more. Time to get down to busness.

Good Writing Time

My weekend went way too fast with me not really finishing everything I wanted to finish. But on the plus side, I did get to put in some great hours writing. I got a couple good hours at a Breadco on Sunday while my kid was doing some LARP stuff. And last night I got a good couple hours in after supper when the house was relatively quiet.

I have just found out that I will be at work tonight until 10, and that means I will have time to write tonight, too. Of course, it means I get nothing done at home tonight, and that part bugs me. But, what can you do. Work is work, right?

Animal Trainer Interview

I had the pleasure of interviewing another animal trainer this morning. Linda Roberson is currently working at Kay Rosair's animal preserve near Sarasota, Florida. She came to animal training late in her life, at age 40. She worked with animals in various circuses and expositions over the last 15 or so years. Linda is an animal activist of the positive kind; she believes strongly that if the United States, the richest country in the world, doesn't work hard to breed and replenish the elephant population, that our grandchildren may not ever even see a real elephant.

I think there is some value in what she says. Currently, the U.S. allows no importing of elephants for any purpose, and the gene pool of elephants being bred in the U.S. is quite limited at this point. We can continue to breed the ones we have, but that gene pool is going to become tainted at some point with so few to share around.

In addition to talking about animals, Linda was also forthcoming with other information. She strongly recommended my interviewing Alberto Zoppe, who is living currently in Arkansas. I know Alberto was inducted into the International Ring of Fame just this last month in Sarasota, Florida.

Linda spends time working as a paralegal when she isn't working with animals. It was her profession before she started working with elephants. She offered to hook me up with a lawyer she has worked for that works with writers and might be able to get me a publisher when my book is done. That is a very promising lead!

Exotic Animals

Over the last few months, I've been made aware of several instances across the country where a city, town, county, or even a state has tried to ban exotic animals. In some cases they are banning the owning of exotic animals. In others, they are banning the performance of/by exotic animals. Almost all of these actions focus on elephants, although some are broad enough to cover other exotic animals like cats and primates.

Many times, local SPCA or PETA groups are behind this action. Currently there is state legislative action in Connecticut (the home to many a circus winter quarters) and California, as well as Kaufman County, Texas, and Prince George City in British Columbia, Canada. There are, I'm sure, many others, but these are the biggies on radar at the moment.

I am so saddened by these actions on the part of our governments. I have met elephants, and there is no smarter, kinder, or gentler creature on the planet than them. A well-cared-for elephant in captivity lives generally twice as long as his or her wild counterpart, in a safe environment where there are no predators and there is good veterinary care and excellent food. In circuses, elephants (and other exotic animals) are fed better than the human performers. They receive regular medical care, have comfortable living quarters, and their trainers are like mother hens to them. Anyone who's been truly close to circus has seen this. I know I have, and I cannot imagine any trainer abusing an animal that has the strength to strike him or her dead in a heartbeat. It makes no sense at all for a trainer to abuse an animal; that animal is their livelihood.

I have to wonder about these groups who want to ban the exotic animals. It is as if they don't see the other animals in the circus, who are performing and who are kept in captivity and cages. What about all those horses? The Percherons and Belgian Mares and Shetland Ponies? What about the llamas and camels? And let's not forget the trained performing dogs, cats, and birds, too. There are a lot of animals performing in circus, not just elephants. Why are we not concerned with them?

If you're going to try to keep animals off the circus, then you'd better spend time getting all of them banned. It isn't fair to the elephants if we don't make the doggies go too.

I just wish a bit of reason would enter into these people's heads when it comes to how animals are treated in circuses. In truth, the animals are usually treated better than the humans!!