Do you have a favorite writing instrument you use for signing important documents? I do — and like Robyn Schneider’s thrift shop, I think of my fountain pen as a lucky talisman.

Here it is, a gift from my husband, from Mont Blanc’s “Hommage a Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart” collection — a symbol of my decision to become a full-time writer. (Is it any wonder that I love that man?)

I signed all my query letters with this pen, and I used it again today for something really fun: signing my Writers House contract! 

Contest lovers, lookie here! I need a new title for my work in progress, so I thought it’d be fun to have a naming contest. There’s a small reward for the winning entry, but if the prize doesn’t suit you, maybe your altruistic sensibilities will win you over. Please, oh please, help me rename my book!

File this next bit of good news under the category of “Ladies Who Lunch.” A West Hollywood trophy wife has agreed to come out from the pages of my book and appear in a photo for our publisher submissions — and most likely for any eventual book tour, as well. We’re getting together for lunch next week at the Ivy (“Where the Hollywood elite meet to eat”). If her photographer friend isn’t able to join us, I’ll bring my camera and we’ll find someone there to be our personal paparazzo. Heh.

I’m too young to recall their 1956 debut on the “The Howdy Doody Show,” but I have fond memories of Gumby and Pokey, Art Clokey’s loveable claymation figures.

A 50th-anniversary tribute to these icons of my childhood captured my imagination. Here, the author draws distinctions between Gumby’s personality and Pokey’s:

Gumby, though sometimes haplessly impulsive, is too good a person (or whatever he is) to ever need much correction, and Pokey is by nature cautious and conservative, although he did eat the super-powered chicken food after Gumby told him not to and grew twice as tall as a house.

Pokey has horse sense, but no practical knowledge. Gumby knows a thing or two about this and that — that “morph” is a Greek word meaning “change,” that a raindrop starts as a speck of dust — and he can hatch a plot to save a princess or to get his money back from the Blockheads. But he runs on guileless enthusiasm, lacks foresight, and is easy to trick.

I go back and forth about which character’s personality best matches my own. I’ve definitely got some Pokey attributes, especially when it comes to making high-stakes decisions. But an informal poll of friends and family lands me squarely in Gumby territory. I’d have to agree with those who know me best: I’m adventurous, intrepid, and optimistic. To quote Eddie Murphy in that SNL parody, “I’m Gumby, dammit!”

What about you: Are you Pokey or Gumby?

Here, a gold nugget of timely advice sent to me yesterday by a writer friend:

“A screenwriter told me he’d been misled by so many different Hollywood types who wanted to change his story that he finally decided, “Screw it, I’m just going to nail my colors to the fucking mast.”

Maybe you go down with the ship, or maybe you sail off with riches, but you do it your way.”

He also included another apt metaphor:

“Use the Force, Luke. Trust your feelings.” Obi-wan Kenobi

I’m no fan of censorship, but when it comes to this, please register me as a conscientious objector.

“Parents and teachers are complaining that the latest issue of a popular magazine for preteens amounts to little more than an early recruitment pitch for the Army … Most controversial has been a set of classroom guides that accompany [Cobblestone Magazine], which suggest teachers invite a soldier, Army recruiter or veteran to speak to their classes and ask students whether they might want to join the Army someday … [T]he guides looked exactly like the official recruiting material distributed at high schools.”

At the risk of sounding unpatriotic on a 4th of July weekend or being accused of not supporting our troops, I have to agree with those who’ve already spoken out in opposition. This definitely crosses over the line.

To paraphrase Reading Rainbow’s LaVar Burton, “You don’t have to take my word for it;” you can read it for yourself. Click here for a description of Duty, Honor, Country, the magazine issue in question. Then link here and here to see the accompanying lesson plans that fanned the flames of this recent controversy.

ADIOS TO MY OLD LIFE is generating some sizzling heat from book reviewers:

“This brilliant debut resonates with the sparkling rhythm of Ali’s talent. Her path to independence via reality show madness makes us cheer for her every step of the way . . . because all a girl really needs is love, laughter, and a rocking guitar.” — Alesia Holliday, author of American Idle

“Ferrer weaves an electrifying tale about fame, fortune, and friends that will leave you demanding an encore.” — Soleil, Story Connection Express.

Congratulations fashionista_35

(We all know how difficult it is to write, much less get a book published. And so, along with the positive press she’s getting, I’m thinking it would be nice for Barb to receive congratulatory messages and/or reviews from us on her blog.)