Writing Goal Rewards

This week's Road Trip Wednesday is almost freakishly timed. YA Highway asked:

How do you reward yourself when you meet your writing goals? Answer for big goals and/or small goals.

       The reason why I say this is so freakily timed, is because I finally wrote The Big Ending today! Once I was done I thought, "Time to celebrate!" But found myself not really knowing how. I suppose that it's wasn't such a HUGE deal because I still have those damn 2-3 chapters in the middle to write that I initially skipped over to begin the ending not too long ago. 
       I'm sure I've said this before. I think it's important to let yourself write things that keep coming back to you, even if it's not in order. I believe that you keep thinking about That Scene for a reason! So you should get it out! This idea/personal writing rule of mine has sort of come back to bite me in the ass however, because today I wanted very much to cheer "I'M DONE! MY FIRST DRAFT IS DONE!" as I took a lap around my house, pumping my fists in the air while the Rocky soundtrack played in the background -- but I could not. Because of the rule I let myself follow, I am still not yet done. It's a strange thing to write THE END when you still feel that it is not, in fact, the end. So strange.
       However, how I feel right now still doesn't make me want to change my standpoint on that rule. I still think it's important to let yourself write scenes that really jump out at you.
       Anywho, back to the topic at hand. The weirdness I'm feeling right now should not detract from celebrating achievement of my goal to push through that 5k today to get those final two chapters DONE. My WIP class is going to be very proud of me this weekend. *beams* *clears space on paper for gold star* I've had a bit of a writing drought these past few weeks so even a few hundred a day has been good (when my norm used to be 2.5k a day). I thought setting a goal this week to finish those chapters was maybe even a bit too ambitious of me, but I was feeling pretty determined. :)
       So, how did I celebrate the accomplishment of meeting this weeks goal? I ate a cookie. What can I say? Positive reinforcement, it works!
       Oh, and I logged on here to write this. Celebratory blog writing! Wahoo!
       To celebrate my long term goal of actually publishing a damn novel (which may never happen, but hey, that's the dream) I'll most likely get the ISBN numbers tattooed on me somewhere. I'd thought a lot about maybe getting "scribo ut vivam" tattooed at some point, so I could possibly get the two done together. Maybe put the numbers right under the phrase? That'd be kind of nice. Maybe on my left wrist? We'll see. Someday. Hopefully.
       Normally this is the point of the post in which I quickly update on how the writing went this week, but it seems as though I have already done that!
       In my WIP class news I read a Very Important Scene this past Sunday and was more relieved than you can imagine when it got all the positive feedback it did. I didn't read an action scene for once! I read a conversational scene in which a lot of important information is divulged and the main driving force behind the trilogy is revealed. I was ecstatic to hear how much they loved what I'd come up with! If they didn't like the ideas/information in that particular scene, the whole trilogy would have been shot. *whew!*
       In other random news, (but not so random because I just talked about tattoos) I promised to post a picture of the Shakespeare tattoo I got last week once it healed a bit more. Here it is! If you missed the post last week, I got this quote in particular because I read it when I was just starting out high school and it really stuck with me. It's probably the one thing I live by more than anything else. Always be true to yourself. Don't ever let anyone change you into something you're not. As everyone knows, high school is That Time that shapes you very much into the person you will be in life. This is something I repeated to myself time and time again throughout those four years. You're always going to have people coming at you from all sides in life (especially in school during those detrimental years) and the most important thing to remember is to just stick to your guns and not let anybody sway you! Oh, and if you were wondering, this quote is from Hamlet, said by Polonius to his son, Laertes, before he heads off to school.
       
I guess that's all for now. :)


Happy writing,

Who Should Narrate the Audio Book?

       It's Road Trip Wednesday again, and this week on the YA Highway blog the question is: if you got to choose a celebrity narrator for the audio book of your WIP or your favorite novel, who would it be and why?
       What's funny, is that I've totally thought about this question before. I've even celebrity casted my MCs in my head, ha, maybe I'll post those ideas sometime. :) 
       Iona in particular has a smoky voice, but it's never really commented on throughout the book since it's all from her POV -- & it's not really a natural thing to comment on someone else's voice -- so I don't think anyone would pick up on that fact unless I went out of my way to make sure they hired a smoky-sounding actress to read the audiobook! Ideally, I imagine Sophia Bush's voice <-- that link is to a YouTube clip of her interview on Chelsea Lately! Someone similar sounding would be absolutely perfect, as I imagine Sophia Bush would be a tad bit too busy to read for an audiobook recording..
       Okay, now that that is done with, here's the update on the past two weeks of my writing since I skipped out on last week:
       To be completely honest, I haven't gotten much done at all. I've managed to edit the scenes I had to bring in for my WIP class to critique.. and that's about it. 
       It's still taking a lot of effort on my part to really focus in on something because of everything that's been going on in the past few weeks since my grandmother's passing. I'm trying my best and I think I've been doing better these past couple days, so hopefully I'll be able to get back into my groove sometime soon. The most I've written in the past few weeks is a scene that actually doesn't have any place in the book at all. It's just of something I knew happened in their world a year or two prior to Prophetess that I felt like writing out. It was nice to write something for fun, just for myself, for once. I think I've also been feeling pressure lately when I sit down to write because I'm so close to finishing the first draft. I'm ridiculously scared to finish it, I think, because when I do everything will suddenly get very real.
       It also didn't help my writing any that I had a minor surgery done on my back at the beginning of this week, and all of last week I had to work since one of the girls at the bank had the week off. I haven't really had the time to sit down and force myself to get back into it! These are also the reasons for the sudden influx of book reviews because that's all I can really do at work, ha! :)
       I'd like to write a bit more today, but again I have to edit the hell out of these few pages I have to read for my class on Sunday. It's a very important scene with a lot of information, so I really want to do it right! Plus, I want to keep my good streak going.. They seem to have really enjoyed everything I've brought in so far! Well, I wouldn't actually say they enjoyed last week's piece because a few of the girls said they were actually scared to walk home alone after I was through reading.. I guess I write a good serial killer POV, lol. Not too sure what that says about me.. I think I've just watched one too many murder mystery/cop shows.
       In completely random news, I got my third tattoo this week! It's a Shakespeare quote that I've wanted to get since I read Hamlet in my sophomore year of high school. For those of you that don't know, I'm something of a Shakespeare groupie. I'd post a picture of it for you all to see, but I think I'm going to wait on doing such because I hate the way fresh tattoos photograph. They look all red and puffy in some spots! Yuck. This tattoo actually hurt, which completely surprised me. My first two honestly didn't hurt much at all, so I figured no tattoo would ever really bother me! Especially since I've heard a lot of people claim that the top of your foot is the most painful spot (other than the backs of your knees & elbows) to get a tattoo and that was my first one! My second one was on my wrist and that honestly didn't hurt much either. This third one is definitely bigger than the other two combined and it's placed on my shoulder blade. It hurt like hell and I was totally shocked. It actually still hurts. It's sore and I can't move around much.. Also, I have to walk around in racerback tank-tops because it needs to heal without having anything touch it and I'm absolutely freezing. :( On the bright side though, I really love the way it came out. :)


I suppose that's all for now! 
Happy writing,



Edit: As I'm sure most of you know, everyone had their super awesome comments erased on their most recent post due to the crazy Blogger meltdown earlier this week. For me, it was this post. I'm sorry if you took the time to comment & now have had it deleted! :(

Review: Divergent

       This will be an entirely spoiler-free post, because I mainly just want everyone to read my gushing about the amazing-ness that is this novel, & then go out and read it ASAP.
       Okay, so, Veronica Roth's Divergent was absolutely amazing. Amazing might even be an understatement. On a scale of One to Hunger Games, I'd say this was pretty damn close to the very, very top.
       Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
       In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
       During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
       Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance. 
       Sounds amazing, right? I wish I could really tell you all more about this book, but I'm afraid of saying something that might be a spoiler, and I don't want to ruin a single thing for any of you because I want everyone to experience this book the same way I did. It was just amazing. Everything was perfect, the characters, the world, the plot.. literally everything. I read it for the first time on Sunday, and since then I have actually read it twice more. I know I've read an exceptionally great novel when I'm left with the urge to go back and reread my favorite scenes once I'm done with the book, and at the end of Divergent I set out to do just this. I ended up rereading the entire thing, because every scene was my favorite scene.
       I want to gush on about all of my favoritefavorite scenes here, but I promised I wouldn't ruin anything, so I'm just going to insist that you all go out and read the book right now, and then come back here to discuss it with me.. Ha! :)
       500 stars to Divergent. :D


Happy reading,



       P.S. Did I mention that there is actually a character named Shauna in it too? She even spells it the same way! AND she's a totally kick-ass character, whom I loved. It was very cool.

Review: Bite Club

       I feel as though I am a terrible book reviewer. And for this, I apologize to any and all of you suffering through my reviews. I will get better at it.. I swear!
       Anyway, the book I'm reviewing today is Rachel Caine's Bite Club, the tenth book in her Morganville Vampire series. Here is the synopsis* from Goodreads: 

       After discovering that vampires populate her town, college student Claire Danvers knows that the undead just want to live their lives. But someone else wants them to get ready to rumble. 

       There's a new extreme sport getting picked up on the Internet: bare- knuckle fights pitting captured vampires against each other-or humans. Tracking the remote signal leads Claire- accompanied by her friends and frenemies-to discover that what started as an online brawl will soon threaten everyone in Morganville.

       A vamp vs human fight-club sounds totally intense, right? Rachel Caine delivers an action-packed story once again that left me wanting more. I'm always wanting more after one her books. I can't help but long for the Shane/Clare Michael/Eve happiness that will it never come! And yes, I know that happiness equals boring, but a girl can dream, right? Rachel, if you're by some miracle reading this, I beg you to consider writing just a short story of pure joy for the four of them. Maybe even a novella. No? Okay, fine. [insert pouty face here]
       Some would think, after a certain amount of books in a series, that plot-lines would run thin. I've read a few series that kept pushing their expiration date -- you know the ones. Where the story just keeps getting crazier and crazier? When you find yourself wishing, even though you love the characters too much to really part with them, that the storyline stopped about two or three books back? Yeah, those ones -- but this series, is definitely not amongst those. I think Rachel could write fifty** books and I still wouldn't tire of the world, or any of the characters in it.
       I don't suggest anyone actually read Bite Club without reading it's predecessors first, because, even though the world is throughly explained as it is in each novel, the conflict won't really affect anyone not already attached to the characters. I was hurting the entire time for Shane and Clare, but someone who hasn't gotten to know them throughout the last nine books, definitely would not. So please, if you haven't already started the series, get on that! 
       I personally am not a huge fan of vampire books/series, but this and Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries are two that I fully enjoy. I actually planned on simultaneously reviewing the latest novel in that series, Dead Reckoning, which also came out today. After much deliberation I decided not to review any book on here that did not fall in the young adult category -- and any of Charlaine's books, my friends, definitely do not fall in the YA category. Trust me on this. If you're not ready to watch the popular HBO series based off her books, then you are not ready for the actual written series. I think, in many ways, that books can actually be far more graphic than any visual representation could show. Does anyone else feel that way?
       Sorry, back to the review at hand!***
       The conflict in this book pretty much hits us right away. Sometimes we get an entire chapter of joking and happiness between the foursome. In this book, we get less than five pages. So, so sad. But riveting none-the-less.
       A flyer comes to the Glass House promoting a new self-defense (against vampires) gym, and Shane, of course, is all over it. Clare is alerted that something is rotten in the state of Morganville once again, when Michael, Eve and herself find her lab partner murdered in his dorm room. But really, when could a town infested with people looking at you like you were a walking blood-bag not have something rotten going on? Yes, I called the vampires people. I couldn't not call them that when I thought of Michael. Of course they're people! Just, less emotionless people. I think. Maybe.
       There's a newcomer to the town as well, and she is B.A.D. news for Clare/Shane and everyone else involved. She is way, way worse than Ysandre ever was. Her name is Gloriana, Glory for short, and she's one of the only vampires alive that can compel others the way she does. When she's really turns on the juice, there's no way to stand a chance against her. Not even Shane can resist her charming ways. Of course it is she that's behind the new underground fight club that forms.
       Oh, and did I mention that Bishop is back and ready for some serious revenge? And that MIT keeps calling Clare wanting a decision made about leaving Morganville and attending class there the upcoming January? And that Clare still hasn't told Shane about his father being the brains of the town and all that? Yeah, that all happens too. Also, a completely unexpected character I never thought I'd see again returns to thicken the plot as well. And Gina is crazier than ever.
       I quite liked the ending. Everything wrapped up nicely, yet still left some questions unanswered, just the way I like it. ;) Who wouldn't enjoy watching Clare & Myrnin kick some major vamp ass? I obviously have to comment on the fact that there were quite a few shifts to Shane's POV in this book, first person, and I believe (if I haven't lost my mind) that this is the first time it's happened in the entire series. I loved getting inside his head, even if it was just to read his sad/damaged/snarled thoughts.
       Overall I loved it and recommend the entire series to anyone who has not already started on it. I will admit that I had some issues with the first book or so because of the weakness of the main character, but Clare is a completely different person now. Sometimes I even forget the person she was when everything began, she's come such a long way. So, if she is one of the things that is putting you off from reading more, suck it up and push through because I promise it doesn't last long!


       Bite Club. Rachel Caine. Out May 3rd. Go buy it, people.


Happy reading!





* Am I the only one that can never spell synopsis correctly on her own?
** Fifty might be an exaggeration. Or not.
*** See, I only went off on a tangent for just a few mere sentences. I am getting better at this reviewing thing!

Review: The Last Little Blue Envelope

       Book review number two goes to Little Blue Envelope #2! Maureen Johnson's, The Last Little Blue Envelope. Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

Ginny Blackstone thought that the biggest adventure of her life was behind her. She spent last summer traveling around Europe, following the tasks her aunt Peg laid out in a series of letters before she died. When someone stole Ginny's backpack—and the last little blue envelope inside—she resigned herself to never knowing how it was supposed to end.

Months later, a mysterious boy contacts Ginny from London, saying he's found her bag. Finally, Ginny can finish what she started. But instead of ending her journey, the last letter starts a new adventure—one filled with old friends, new loves, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Ginny finds she must hold on to her wits . . . and her heart. This time, there are no instructions.

       It's no secret that YA urban fantasy is, by far, my favorite genre. I love feeling like there could so easily be a layer of magic underneath the world I currently live in. That, in so many of the cases, the story-lines could be real. Who is to say that there is no Hogwarts out there off the map? Well, scientists are to say, and I know that they're right when I really think about it. No matter how much I secretly like to think that Jo Rowling is actually a squib chronicling a major piece of wizarding history for us muggles, I know I'm just being silly. It doesn't hurt to dream though, right? If so, I wouldn't have any ambition to write.

       What I love about YA contemporary novels, is the sense of adventure, of love and loss. The same themes of fantasy novels, only it's all real. You could, scientifically speaking, have an adventure just like the ones you read in contemporary novels. That's the point of them. That's what I love about them. It is also what I hate about them.

       I enjoyed reading about Ginny's adventures in London and Paris and Amsterdam and Ireland just as much, if not more, than last time. It's exhilarating to think I could actually do just what she did. I can go buy a plane ticket and fly on over to London to start having my very own adventure overseas. I can't, however, go tap on a brick wall with an umbrella/wand out back of The Leaky Cauldron to get to Diagon Alley. I think this is why I always have a real sense of disappointment in myself when I'm finished with a contemporary novel. It's not my fault that I can't go kick some death eater butt, but it is my fault that I live contentedly in a little safe bubble. 

       The only time I travel outside of New England is when I visit Orlando, FL to go to Disney World or Universal Studios. This is my extent of adventure. When I was still enrolled in college I had planned 100% on studying abroad in England or a similar English-speaking country (I felt as though I'd be really out of place at a college I didn't speak the primary language.) Now that I'm withdrawn from school and have no idea when I will go back, I don't know when I'll actually get the chance to go anywhere out of my comfort-zone. 

       Best Friend and I planned on visiting her relatives in Greece this summer for a few weeks, and I was very excited by the prospect. I had it all planned out. We'd even take trips to the countries close-by. We dubbed it, the Best Summer Ever. Sadly, Best Summer Ever needs funding. Funding requires having a job. I do have a job, but my 95% of my paycheck goes to my car payments. The only reason why I really have a car, is to get me to my job. It's a truly miserable cycle. The job also has limited days off. So, technically speaking, I need the job for money that will take me ages to actually build up, and even when I save up enough, I still won't be allowed to take more than a week off. A week is definitely not enough time to spend overseas if it is your first time visiting! The very thought of being stuck where I am makes me itch. I'm nineteen. Isn't this the prime time for traveling and experiencing life?

       So, in short, this is why I have a love/hate relationship with contemporary novels. I really do love any genre, really, because they take me away from my life. They let me live as someone else, if even for just a little while. The problem is that fantasy/dystopia/paranormal/scifi/steampunk/etc. leaves me feeling fulfilled, and contemporary leaves me feeling disappointed with my life. It's a love/hate relationship. I love them when I'm reading them, but I hate myself after them. *sigh*

       I apologize for the contemporary genre rant. I will now actually review the book for y'all.. seeing as though that is the point of a book review. Right? Right.

       As I briefly mentioned before, I think I might have loved The Last Little Blue Envelope even more than 13 Little Blue Envelopes. Seeing as though I gave 13LBE 5/5 stars, it only makes sense to give LLB 5/5 as well! :D 

       I think this review in particular will be quite spoilery, so you might want to look away if you have not yet read it! Please though, go out and buy it. Read it.

       The book starts out with Ginny trying to finish her college application essay:

       Describe a life experience. Well, how about this? How about coming back to England to find the guy you love dating someone else and some other random guy holding your dearly-departed aunt's letters and her art hostage. How about that, admissions committee?

       They would never believe her. They would think she was a fantasist. They would put her picture on the corkboard with a note under it that just read: PSYCO. DO NOT ADMIT.

       That small except alone pretty much describes the premise for the entire story. 

       I enjoyed all of the characters Ginny briefly spent time with in the first book, but I liked that there were constant companions for her throughout the entire second. I really loved the two new characters specifically, Oliver and Ellis, and I loved that we got to spend more time with Richard. 

       From the moment I met Oliver, I knew I was going to end up liking him for some reason, even though his entrance to the storyline was very much the opposite of Keith's, the other potential love-interest. When we first met Keith, he was instantly likable. He was funny and goofy, passionate about his art, etc. Ginny liked him right off the bat, and we, as the readers, did too. From there though, it was all downhill for me with Keith. He definitely had some redeeming moments, but his personality and actions rubbed me the wrong way more than once. At the end of book one, when they were labeled as "sort of together" and I was happy because Ginny was happy, even though I would have liked it to end differently.        

       Oliver, on the other hand, we instantly dislike. He's pretty much blackmailing Ginny. He wants half the money from the art she is going to collect. Once this settled in though, I realized a few things. Oliver was kind enough to do a ridiculous amount of tracking down when he found her letters. He didn't have to contact her at all, but he knew they had sentimental value. That was kind of him. It really is only fair that he gets a bit of money for it, and he's not just being greedy. He desperately needs the money. That knowledge, paired with the moments throughout the book that show the redeeming qualities that made me (and Ginny) like him more and more, is what really put me solidly on Team Oliver. Oh, and when Ginny comes back to London to retrieve the thirteenth envelope from Oliver she pops on over to her sort-of-something's house, and discovers that he has a girlfriend now. It was kind of Keith to let her in on this little fact, right? Yeah, solidly Team Oliver.

       I liked Keith's girlfriend though, very much. Ellis is just so sweet and kind. I, like Ginny, had a hard time hating her for taking Keith away. The two end up being pretty good friends, I think. If there is a #3 (and I certainly hope that there will be) I'd like Ellis to stick around. I'd like to see Ellis and Ginny's friendship develop now that they can have a legitimate relationship. They were uncomfortable around each other at first, because of Keith, but at the very end they have a nice moment. Ellis is the reason why Ginny ends up sorting things out with Keith once and for all.

       This book, as you might have noticed, focuses a lot less on learning from Ginny's aunt and a lot more on the relationships she develops with others. Not surprisingly, the end of the last letter gives some very sound advice, comparing art to love. Due to her aunts last words, Ginny ends the book making all the right decisions. She ends up with Oliver. She ends up figuring out what to write in her essay. She ends up realizing where she wants to go to school. 

       It was overall a good read. I love Maureen Johnson's characters, and I've always been a big fan of character driven novels. It was hard for me to get through at times because Ginny spends the book trying to get over her aunt's losing battle with cancer, and I just lost my grandmother this past weekend. Some scenes touched on a soft spot, but it was almost good to have that in a way.

       In short, once again, I give 5/5 stars to The Last Little Blue Envelope!


Happy reading!

Manuscript Music.. and Princesses

       This post is brought to you by Princess Maker.
       No, seriously. It is.


       Thanks to Steph Perkins and her blogpost, hours of my life have gone to this website. When I was younger I used to enjoy making little dolls, designing their outfits and what they looked like. That's what this website basically is.. only better. You get to make princesses!
       Needlesstosay, I had to make each of my (female) characters princesses. From left to right/top to bottom: Iona, Addy, Rosie and Nata. Technically Rosie and Nata, although important characters in the trilogy, don't show up physically until book two (but they are spoken about!). Aren't they all so pretty?! I especially love that Addy is so pink and that Rosie looks like a badass-version of Giselle from Enchanted. I even went one further and made the characters of my other WIP into princesses as well. I'm not going to post those princesses because I have yet to write a damn word of it (other than just plotting points/an outline) so it feels a bit premature to put anything out there about Terasunda.*
       I'm glad I did this. In doing such, I actually learned something about my characters for both series. No two are alike. When I was making up each of the nine girls, choosing their features and putting them in what they would wear for clothing, I didn't realize that they were all so different from one another. When I was done I found every one of them with a different color dress on and a different hairstyle (except for two, because there are only so many ways one can wear a bob haircut. Sorry, Addy and Mairin!). Not only that, but their nationalities and their personalities/style vary greatly. I did all this without realizing it, but I'm so, so happy it turned out as it did. I like diversity. I like that there is a character in each series someone can hopefully relate to in that way. They're all different. This revelation made me extremely happy.
       I appreciated the task of designing them all. It was very distracting, and a distraction at this time is very much needed. A grieving house is not a happy house. It was nice to have something to do that didn't require much concentration to take my mind off other things. This brings me to my next point.
       I have gotten zero writing done since I posted last, due to everything going on -- If you have no idea what I'm talking about, click here -- As I'm sure you can imagine, everything I would try to write right now would be absolute crap, and I don't want that. I think it would just frustrate me even more. I really need to start editing the piece I'm supposed to bring in and read to my class on Sunday, but I just can't do that right now. I also need to get working on some critiques, but I can't seem to focus on those either. I always want to give the text my critters send me my utmost attention, so I'm thinking that those are, unfortunately, going to have to sit on the back-burner for now too. Hopefully when this week is through I'll be able to get my head back into things.

       On a less depressing note, this weeks YA Highway Road Trip Wednesday question is: If your WIP (work-in-progress) or favorite book were music, what song(s) would it be?
      I was actually just discussing this, albeit briefly, in the comments section a blogpost by one of my crit partners, Marisa. Every single time I try to write an Iona/Nathair scene, I have to listen to Drumming Song by Florence + the Machine. It just helps in such a strange way that I never expected. It really gets me into the scene, makes me feel more of what their feeling as I'm writing. I hope that shows! The entire album, Lungs, is absolutely amazing, I love every single song, and I thought I was on my way to a world record with the amount of song plays I had goin' on until I read on Marisa's post. She has listened to Rabbit Heart over four-hundred times since she started writing. I'm definitely not that far, but we'll see how many plays I have once I'm actually done! Another song off that album that has inspired me completely is Blinding. I think it inspired my entire idea for Terasunda, actually. I try to not listen to it so often because it just makes me want to ditch my current WIP to go write that, but I can't! I love The Eternal Gifts too much to just leave it in the cold. :)

Florence Welch

       The thing with music and me is, I love it, and it inspires me to no end, but I can't actually listen to it while writing. I know a lot of writers that need to have it on in the background as they go along, but I have never been able to do that. I know a lot of writers that need commotion to some degree going on around them (hence writing in coffee shops being so popular) but I have never been able to do that either. I need complete silence when I write. Like, pin-drop quiet. If anything is going on around me I can't concentrate and I get extremely frustrated. That's why I usually get my most writing in when I'm home alone. Since I don't have an office/a desk somewhere away from the noisy first floor, I usually can't write if anyone is home. The TV going and people talking just aggravates me! I wish I could write with noise the way Baby Bro does. Baby Bro needs lots of noise while he's doing homework and such or else he can't concentrate. It's so strange how we all have our different little quirks.


       Okay, well I suppose that is all for now. Go make princesses and listen to Florence + the Machine! Hopefully I will have a better writing report for you all next week..


Happy writing,



I am working on my footnote problem because of a comment Baby Bro** made about another post of mine.. I'm trying my best to have less of them! Of course, less footnotes means more sentences in parentheses, but whatever. I think he will be proud of me this time since there are only two! And one of them is totally his fault. :D


* I'm not 100% positive about the name of that other WIP, but just go with me on this one.
** When I say Baby Bro, I don't actually mean Baby Bro. Baby Bro is sixteen. :)

always in my heart

       It's not Wednesday, and this is not a book review. This is a special post.

       Last night at 10:45 PM, my grandmother passed away. She was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer last September. Small-cell is a very rapid moving form of cancer, we knew chances were slim. Still, my grandmother has always been a survivor, I had no doubt that she would get through this okay. She made it through a horrific car accident years back. She had the doctors tell her that she would never walk again. She most certainly proved them wrong then, and I thought she'd prove them wrong now. 

       The thing is, she did prove them wrong. Two weeks ago she was cleared. She beat the cancer. Everything was good. Two weeks ago we were trying on funny hats and sunglasses in Target. Eating jellybeans and other sweets she wasn't supposed to be having. Laughing and joking. Painting her nails. Discussing our reality TV shows. Everything was good until she started coughing. We thought she had a cold. My brother had bronchitis so we thought it best to bring her in to the doctors, just to be safe.

       They couldn't figure out what was wrong for a while, but they assured us she was okay. Then she got worse. She couldn't breathe. They told us they were going to medically induce a coma and it scared the hell out of me. When my uncle passed away a few years ago they medically induced a coma and we never got to speak to him again. That was it. We rushed into the hospital to say goodbye without really saying goodbye, just in case. She ended up waking up. Being asleep allowed them to do more testing on her. She had some rare strand of pneumonia. 

       She was getting better again. They moved her out of the ICU. Everything was okay. We could all breathe easy. Then, just as fast as the first time, they had to move her back into the ICU. The doctors assured us that she would be okay this time too. They had just moved her out too soon. She needed to be in a place where people could keep a better eye on her, that was all.

       When I went in to see her last Sunday I had no idea it would be the last time I'd get to speak to her. We thought things were going good again. She was joking around and laughing as usual. She was very much herself. Monday night the doctors called us and told us they medically induced her into a coma again. There was no time for us to come in and say goodbye this time.

       For some reason, I wasn't as worried this time as I was the last. I thought this would be the same. No big deal. I was wrong to feel that way. Her kidneys started to fail and her lungs were beginning to harden. She expressed to my mother that she in no way wanted to be kept alive by a machine. Last night my mother and father went to the hospital to shut them off because the doctors said there wasn't anything else they could do. She died in about thirty seconds.

       This is why I'm more upset than I think I would normally be. These past seven months I have been so depressed with her being sick. I was expecting it to end badly the entire time. I know I should be more hopeful in those kinds of situations, but my track record with sickness hasn't led me to believe such. I finally felt relieved two weeks ago. I was happier than I have been in quite some time. That's why this is hitting me so hard. It's just not fair. Out of the blue.

       She was an amazing woman, my grandmother. She had been through a lot but still remained the happy, spirited woman I knew her to be. Her entire life was a struggle, since the moment her biological mother threw her away when she was a newborn. She was the kind of woman that would buy a card just to say I'm thinking about you, and I love you. I've got all those cards put away in a safe place.

       I've come to realize that she actually had more people waiting for her Up There, than she did here. My aunt, two uncles, my grandfather, all of her best friends (save for two), her mother, her few fathers, her cousins, two nephews, her dog and her cat. Here she just had me, my brother and my parents.

       I assume there's a big party going on Up There at the moment. She always did like to dance.

       I hope there's a Barnes & Noble Up There, too. She wanted me to publish my book more than anything. She asked me about it every single day. Just for you, Nan, I'm not going to stop until I get there.

Review: 13 Little Blue Envelopes

       So, I've decided I'm going to do a review blog post after I read a book! Woo! Aren't you all excited? I know I am. :) 
       I can't decide whether or not I should be spoilery in my reviews.. I'm thinking I might, but I promise if I ever do get spoilery, I will give you a heads up & make it the last thing in the post! Sound good? Okay!

       My very first book review will go to the book that kept me up until 2:30 yesterday morning, Maureen Johnson's, 13 Little Blue Envelopes. Here's the synopsis from Barnes and Noble:*
       "When Ginny receives thirteen little blue envelopes and instructions to buy a plane ticket to London, she knows something exciting is going to happen. What Ginny doesn't know is that she will have the adventure of her life and it will change her in more ways than one. Life and love are waiting for her across the Atlantic, and the thirteen little blue envelopes are the key to finding them in this funny, romantic, heartbreaking novel."
       I'm just going to go right out there and say it. I love Maureen Johnson. She's freakin' awesome. Not just as a writer, but as a person. I know what you're thinking, you know Maureen Johnson? No, I don't.** But I feel like I do! Without purposely trying to sound stalker-esque, I feel like following authors I really enjoy on Twitter give me a better idea of who they are. And if Maureen is anything like she is on Twitter***, she's truly one of a kind. Funny as hell. Quirky. Smart. Opinionated (in the good way). I just love her, alright? So sue me.†


       *Ahem* Maybe I should actually review the book now.


       13 Little Blue Envelopes was perfectly timed for me, I think. It's been in my TBR†† pile for far too long, so I finally picked it up on Thursday night at 10 PM. I wanted to read the first chapter (seeing as though I just downloaded it for free on my eReader†††) to help me decide which book I was going to bring to work Friday. Big mistake. It's always a bad idea when I pick up a book thinking I'm going to put it down and be able to walk away from it. I don't think I've ever really done this before. It causes me physical pain to separate myself from a book once I've started it.‡ And if there's sequels? Psh, I'm in trouble.‡‡ The thing is, I know better. I did this not too long ago with Kimberly Derting's, The Body Finder. One chapter and I'm hooked. It's so sad.


       ANYWAY-- BACK TO THE REVIEW!


       I needed this book because I've been reading a lot of urban fantasy lately, to keep myself in the right mindset for my own book, but I needed a break desperately. I wanted to read a fun, light book that would distract me from my current writer's woes. Something that I would read and enjoy, not read and dissect, as I've been doing. Maureen's book was just the thing. 
       Ginny is a great MC‡‡‡. She made a lot of decisions and said a lot of things I wouldn't have, and that's what I loved so much about her. It wasn't easy for me to lay my personality onto her, she wasn't flat. I'm sick of reading flat characters. They bore me.§
       I also quite enjoy novels that take me to new and unknown places, and this was definitely one. So many places! The book starts off in New York, where Ginny has gone to complete her first task of thirteen. From there she takes us to London, briefly to Scotland and back, then Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Greece and then back again to London for the finish of the novel. It was quite the ride! Don't get me wrong, though. This book was not just a story of a girl bopping from place to place in exploration on a treasure hunt of sorts. The whole story was tinged with a great sadness. The 13 letters instructing her what to do were from her aunt Peg who had died very recently. Someone whom she had always looked up to. Even from the afterlife, her aunt seems to be able to teach her a great lesson. In just the few short weeks Ginny grows so much. She learns how to live without her aunt, the woman who she had always accounted for any fun or cool times she had in her life. Ginny learns she can actually be the person she wants to be on her own.
       All throughout her journey she meets all sorts of amazing characters. We first meet Richard, a kind man we learn a lot more about towards the end of the book. I won't say much else here, to save this whole review from being spoilery! Next, we meet Keith, a klepto-theater performer/writer/director of sorts, whom I totally love, as well as his flatmate David. Keith wasn't the average, run-of-the-mill love interest. I found it quite refreshing! Upon her arrival in Amsterdam she ends up falling in with a strange family called the Knapps, who scheduled everything about their trip right down to their Knapptime§§-- and in Copenhagen, a lovely danish man named Knud and later a group of students from Australia that follow her to Greece.


       I'm still getting the hang of this review thing -- to spoil or not to spoil, that 'tis the question -- so forgive me if I did a terrible job!


       In short: I loved it. Buy it. Read it. 5/5 stars. §§§


       I can't wait to get my hands on The Last Little Blue Envelope this Tuesday! The first two chapters (or was it the prologue and chapter one?) were placed at the end of the free 13 Little Blue electronic copy, and I am just dying to see how it all plays out! You see, at the end of the first book the thirteenth envelope gets stolen, and you're left thinking that all is good and that she actually figured out exactly what it said. As it turns out, I might have been completely wrong in that assumption. I'm very excited to see what the rest of the letter says!#


       So, it's safe to expect another book review from me on Tuesday night. :)


Happy writing!







       I blame the amazing Robin McKinley for my footnote addiction:


* I know, I know. Holy links, Batman! I'm nothing, if not helpful. :)
** Psh. I WISH.
*** Click that link!
† Please don't.
††TBR= To Be Read list, for the acronymically challenged.
††† Yes, I said FREE! The book is free this week to promote the new release on Tuesday
‡ Don't even get me started about the time I was forcibly removed from my copy of DEATHLY HALLOWS. On the day it came out. At the end. I can't even think about it.
‡‡The week I picked up the first Sookie Stackhouse book was a grim one, folks. There's about 10 of 'em now, but there were about 8 at the time. My family thought I had died in my room. I almost did. You see, I forget to eat when I'm reading...
‡‡‡ MC= Main Character, again, for the acronymically challenged.
§ Dear lord, please do not ever let me slip up and actually create one of these. I hate looking like a hypocritical ass.
§§ Maureen's joke, not mine. See? I told you she was funny!
§§§ Hell, you don't even have to buy it! It's FREE right now! Therefore, you have no excuse as to why you're not downloading it as we speak (or as you read this, rather).
# In the chapter they included, the letter is stopped right in the middle. Before all of the interesting stuff! Can you imagine? The nerve!

Spin On First-Kiss

       Since I have decided to update on Wednesdays, it only makes sense to start or end each post with an answer to YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesday question. Road Trip Wednesday is, as described on their blog, "a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered." This week, the topic is: Compare your first kiss to your favorite characters first kiss.

       I have many favorite characters, but I'd have to say that one of my all-time favorite first novel kisses would be between Clary and Jace of Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments* series. If you haven't read City of Bones, this is somewhat of a spoiler, but nothing too bad. :)

       The moon, directly overhead now, lit everything nearly to daylight brightness. In between one step and another she saw a white spark struck off something on the floor: It was the knife Jace had been using to cut apples, lying on its side. She jerked hastily back to avoid stepping on it, and her shoulder bumped his--he put a hand out to steady her, just as she turned to apologize, and then she was somehow in the circle of his arm and he was kissing her.

       Oh Clary & Jace, the first kiss of many. They are, quite possibly, my favorite couple ever. The pictures above and below are of two actors/models from the book trailer** filming that very scene! I also adore Tessa and Will's first kiss from Cassandra's Infernal Devices trilogy.. The woman has quite the knack for tortured romance. Which is my favorite kind, of course. I'm looking forward to Tessa and Jem's first kiss, because we all know it's coming! These first kisses make mine pale in comparison, but I will discuss it nonetheless, because I have dedicated myself to answering all the Wednesday questions fully.. *sigh*

       I was in the second grade, and I had this love-hate relationship with a boy who is now the father of one of my best friend's children (that's Winthrop for ya.. this place is too damn small). We were playing kickball, of which I was amazing at because we played every day (I was QUITE the tomboy when I was younger), and I recall him chasing me down and pecking me on the mound. Nothing big or special, just some cute eight-year-olds pretending they know what a "real-relationship" is, i.e. Will you be my girlfriend? Check yes or no. It's funny the things we remember so vividly. I would write about my first real kiss, but I feel as though that'd be too embarrassing. 

Okay, now that the kissing portion of the post is done with, here's the weekly update:

       I think the good-critique fairy has blessed this week, because I have had so many amazingly nice things said to me about my work these past few days, that I'm concerned about the size of my head. I checked it again in the mirror this morning and it still seems to look normal, but I'm going to keep tabs on it.. 

       Seriously though, there is nothing better than hearing from people that have no good reason to lie to you about how they feel, tell you that they love what you've been slaving over the past few months of your life for every waking moment. The best thing about critique partners is just that. You know they're not sugar-coating anything for your benefit. Family members and good friends may read your work and not like it, therefore feeling the need to lie to you because they don't have the heart to break yours, or they may simply read everything you write with rose-colored glasses. There is never any way to really know if it's as good as they're saying. Critique partners on the other hand, are people you don't really know. People halfway around the world (my partners are in Canada, Texas and Australia) that don't have any real reason to lie to you about what they think. So when they tell you they think you're really on to something great, or have natural talent that shines through to them, you best better believe it, because it's actually true.

       There's a lot of uncertainty in the life of a writer, a lot of insecurity, so getting an uplifting comment every once in a while is important. It gives you the confidence to continue on. I can't tell you how many times I've tortured myself with a "why do I think I can really do this?" kind of thought. I wonder what makes me think I have anything worth writing. Anything worth reading. And then I get notes back from critique partners and their comments completely wash those ideas away. I can write. My story is worth reading. It's the most amazing feeling in the world.

       On the topic of feedback, I've been attending a Novel-in-Progress class for the past few weeks now and I read my second excerpt for them tonight. Normally class is on Sunday nights, but because of Palm Sunday and Easter, this past Sunday and the upcoming one have been rescheduled to weekdays. I had the joy of looking for my class tonight in some Boston University building, because my instructor teaches a class there and had us relocate on account of our normal space on Sunday's being taken up on Wednesday nights. For those of you that don't know, BU is huge and my natural sense of direction is so terrible that I've been known to get lost in a closet. That is not an exaggeration.*** After I finally found my way, I read the rest of the first chapter for them (I read the first 500 words during the first class) and they seemed to really be on board with my concept! They told me to erase some of my information dumping (which is like, my worse habit ever) and other than that it was perfect. It made me excited to come home and get right to work but it's 10:30 now, so I know if I start I won't stop.. and sleep is necessary for humans to function. I know, lame. I always hate reading my work aloud because I have terrible, terrible anxiety, so getting good feedback is always good. I wish there was something I could do to make it go away, but it just won't. I've tried everything. Medication. Meditation. Nothing works. Not even soothing images of the beach. *sigh* I wish I didn't get worried so easily. Just thinking about the anxiety now, is actually making me anxious. Ridiculous, right? It's so sad.

In other news:

       I died my hair blue today! Not completely blue, just the underneath part of my hair.. Truly I don't know how else to describe it, so hopefully y'all know what I mean (I included a picture, but I honestly think it looks much better in person). Most suggested me against it because my hair is a strawberry color†, but I get bored with my hair so easily that I couldn't help myself. I quite like it. It's different and funky.. and I've died my hair every natural-looking color, so the only reasonable thing to do now is to start dying it colors of the rainbow, right? :)

That's all for now, I guess.

Happy writing!

*Get used to me gushing over the amazing Ms. Clare, because she is a HUGE inspiration to me and I will probably never stop admiring her to almost a stalker-that-needs-to-be-handed-a-restraining-order extent.

**Are book trailers not the coolest thing EVER?! The fact that they're slowly making their way onto television (for example: James Patterson's Angel & Carrie Ryan's The Dark and Hollow Places) is just beyond awesome.

***Okay, maybe it is.

†Not naturally. Naturally my hair is this very strange, ashy, mousy-looking blonde. It sounds absolutely terrible, but it is the ideal color for someone who likes to dye their hair a lot. It's very versatile! Whatever color my hair is at the time, people are always shocked to hear it's not natural. Your hair isn't naturally black you say? Your hair isn't normally bright red? Nope. Just lame 'ole ash.