Random Thoughts

The Great Experiment

2012-01-18T06:43:00.001-06:00

After some early morning pondering, I've decided to lower the price of BY THE PALE MOONLIGHT to 99 cents. Yep, you read that right.

It's my hope that this will help get my book into the hands of more readers. It may have no affect whatsoever, but we shall see. At this particular point in time, I'm planning on leaving it at this price for 30 days--test the waters, see how it goes.

Some of you may be wondering why I've decided to do this. Well, I always told myself prior to publishing that price point is something I would experiment with--and I haven't. Sales are steady, but slow...and really, doing this now isn't going to have any sort of financial impact. Can't worry about the few dollars that are trickling in when they're...well, trickling. (g) And really, that wasn't why I did this in the first place. What I'm on the hunt for is readers.

So far, BTPM hasn't sold in record breaking numbers, but those who are reading it, are really loving it. It's been a huge success on that level, which was my ultimate goal. i.e. To put out a quality book that people love...that they'll want more of... and basically, to create a readership for the series, etc. It is gaining slow momentum, and perhaps this pricing change will be the boost that it needs. I definitely want to go into book 2 with the added benefit of there being actual readers who are anticipating its release.

So...yeah, that's my reasoning in a nutshell. It may flop, I may go right back to my "high price" of 2.99... We shall see.

Go forth and spread the word. :)

Oh and P.S. I just made the changes this morning, so the new price may not be listed for another day or two.

Whoot!

2012-01-13T10:02:00.002-06:00

I have a four day weekend without a single "have-to" on my agenda. You know what that means, right?

Four uninterrupted days of face time with WALKING IN SHADOW.

Book two, y'all. It's on its way!!

Changes Are Afoot.

2011-11-20T13:36:00.004-06:00

Now, bear with me because I haven't been to a brick & mortar bookstore in quite some time. Some of this may be old hat.

First thing I noticed when I walked into my local B&N was that the young adult/teen section was no longer located where I last saw it. R'uh? I did a double take at the section..after all, the children's section is right where it's always been, and shouldn't the teen section be right there, skirting around it? Umm, nope. It was gone.

*Moment of panic and feeling lost in this unfamiliar world*

Then I spotted one of those middle of the aisle tables loaded down with YA books. Whew. There they are!

I headed over, and the first thing that caught my attention was that the young adult section is now located dead center of the bookstore. WHOOT! How awesome is that? Clearly bookstores are finally realizing how very powerful young adult books are in today's market. Heck, to get to the adult section, you have to bypass the teen section, so yeah, chances are some people may be dazzled by all of the kickass YA covers and stop to browse. GOOD THINKING Barnes & Noble.

Second thing I noticed? Umm, there are now Young Adult category headings at the top of the display cases. R'uuuuuhhhh? *double double TRIPLE take*

Yep. My bookstore has three categories listed for teens. "Young adult fiction" "Young adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy" and "Young adult Paranormal ROMANCE."

Pardon me, but what the FRENCH?!

I don't know how others feel about this...and maybe I'm seriously in the minority, but one of the things I absolutely loved best about the way young adult novels had previously been shelved was that all novels by a particular author were housed together in the same place. I know it's sort of an antiquated way of doing things, and perhaps the fact they're separating them into categories is a GOOD thing, but I really liked this practice. For one, it allowed young adult authors to really mix things up, not only with the types of books they chose to write, but with the amount of genre-bending they could do.

What do I mean by that? Well, previously, a young adult author could choose to write a thriller one year, a contemporary the next, and maybe a paranormal the year after that. And with the way things were, all of those books would be shelved right next to each other. Now, apparently, they will be split up amongst these three, IMO, limiting subject headings. Is this just the beginning? Will more categories emerge? Dystopian is hotter than hot right now... I could see that one making an appearance. Is this a slipperly slope we're walking? Will this make books that don't nicely fit into one specific category harder to shelve, and therefore, harder sells to bookstores?

Oh the worry this conjured.

I had to stop and think about BY THE PALE MOONLIGHT. Where would it be shelved? Would they shelve it under Paranormal Romance and call it good? Yes, there are paranormal elements, and there's romance... but there's also a fair amount of mystery/suspense...and just some good old-fashioned teen angst that has nothing to do with being a werewolf. Would this limit the number of people who would be willing to look at it if it was shelved right next to TWILIGHT? (Not saying that would be a BAD thing, mind. I'd do a number of things, most them legal, to get a little bit of Meyers' mojo). But do you see what I'm saying? Everyone in adult complains about branding, and won't this create the same issue for young adult authors? All conjecture, of course...but something to definitely think about. Of course, most people say brick & mortars are on their way out, so perhaps it's all moot anyway.

The final thing I noticed is in respect to my purchases today. I went in with these four books in mind--knowing I wanted to read them. There was a fifth book on my list that had to get nixed *sad face* because, holy crap, batman!! All of these books (with the exception of the Ness novel) were offered in hardback versions only. Not only that, but the prices ranged from 16-19 dollars a piece. Ugh. I'm on to you booksellers. You get us all worked up to read these books, then charge us up the wazoo, knowing in advance that we have absolutely no taste for delayed gratification. The worst part is that you open the books, and the type is humungous and you know they could've packaged it up in a book half the size, at half the price. UGH. I'm on to your Tomfoolery, booksellers. You're reminding me of how great my Kindle is right about now. Ugh, but I wanted these books--bad--and you got me. Next time, though... next time, I'll be smarter!

Any thoughts?

The Take!

2011-11-20T13:22:00.004-06:00

It was a gooooood day at church! (But more on that later!) Here's what I brought home with me.

Frankly, Johnson had me at Jack the Ripper. Need I say more? Can't wait to read this one!

I've heard so many good things about this that I just had to see what all the hooplah was about.

Again, I've heard so many great things about this novel. Seems everywhere I turn, someone is blogging about it. Yep, I knew I had to read it.

This was recommended by several different people, and after reading a sample of it, I just had to know more. I loved Manchee... absolutely cracked me up. "Owww, Todd?" LOLOL. (If you don't get that, it's utterly ridiculous, but so funny. Trust me.) "Good poo, Todd." LOL. (Okay, I'll stop.)

That's my take, and I'm super excited to read them! Whoot. I'll be blogging about my church experience in a moment. I was a little blown away by a couple of things.

NaNo!

2011-11-01T00:37:00.002-05:00

Uh, so yeah... NaNo has officially begun. I'm shooting right out of the gate...and going to bed. :)

But tomorrow night! Tomorrow night, I write!

Good luck to all the Nano'ers!

And We Have Some Winners!!

2011-10-31T21:22:00.005-05:00

Happy Halloween!!!

Sorry I'm running late tonight. My family decided to give out dollar bills to the trick-or-treaters and you wouldn't believe how stressful that can become. We had parents claiming they had children using the restroom (not sure how that works when you're out in a strange neighborhood)...then sending these restroom children to the door again.. Seriously. It's a dollar bill. You're not going to get rich. I was so glad when we closed the door. Next year, the kids are getting Nerds. I'm putting my foot down. lol

Anyway--Halloween has been a blast for the most part. I got wild and crazy and decided NOT to wear a "Slutty ------" costume. No, I got all kinds o' nerdy and dressed up as Where's Waldo? Hey, I won first place in the costume contest at work. It rocked, even if it is nerdy. :) I'd post a pic...but yeah, no. LOL.

Other than that, I'm trying to get caught up on a few random things before NaNo officially kicks off tomorrow. My local writing group is having a write-in tonight at midnight, but I'm thinking I'm going to have to pass. That's just too late, and I'm already exhausted. Oh but I do miss the days when I wouldn't have blinked an eye at the idea of starting a social event at midnight. These days, not so much. :)

ON TO THE GOOD NEWS!!! We officially have some winners of the paperback editions of BY THE PALE MOONLIGHT!! And they are:

BETH and BRIDGET!!! Whooot whooo!!! Congratulations, ladies!

You win this:

If you email me at

jnhendren @ yahoo dot com with your snail addys, I'll get them sent out to you asap.

Happy Halloween everyone! Thanks for playing along. :)

A Little Help From My Friends

2011-10-23T23:25:00.003-05:00

Well, the good news I have to report is that I've officially submitted the paperback edition of BY THE PALE MOONLIGHT for acceptance. At this point, it will take another day or two for the publisher to review it...then, if everything is on the up and up, I'll receive a sample copy to make sure there aren't any snafus in the final hard copy...and then BAM. I give the approval, and it will go on sale.

So YAY. I'm so close to finishing up the "logistics" for book 1. And you know what that means... I can go full blast on book 2. Which I'm SO excited about.

These past few weeks have been so unbelievably crazy. There are so many little things that you have to think about when you self-publish. Covers...book jackets...cover copy...author bios, blah blah blah. It's just so much. I've felt overwhelmed more times than I can count. And that's where my friends have really stepped in to help. I can't begin to explain how thankful I am.

For each and every person who took the time to read my book and offer suggestions--be it big picture issues or simple copy edits.. THANK YOU.

For my friends who have taken on things like book covers, and book trailers, and the latest...my website (YES--I'm going to have a website!)...THANK YOU. You've gone above and beyond and it truly touches me that you believe in me so much that you're willing to put up with my.. Can you move the title down a smidge?...What if we tried it this way?... and all of my other zany demands...THANK YOU.

For those of you who have simply said to me, "Jen, what can I do to help?" Thank you.

It's a scary/exciting process to put myself out there. Just knowing I have support--that I'm not alone--means the world.

There are some exciting things coming up soon--I'll keep y'all in the loop. When I know, you will too. :)

And the Winners Are...

2011-10-18T19:22:00.000-05:00

Gretchen!!!

and

Coleen Patrick!!!

YAY, congrats, Ladies!

Please email me at jnhendren at yahoo dot com, letting me know which digital format you would like. Nook, Kindle, or any of those listed on Smashwords.

Didn't win? That's okay. All entries roll over to the paperback editions I'll give away on Halloween night! Just as a reminder, here are the contest rules:

There are many, many ways you can enter:

1. Blog/Facebook/Tweet, etc. about the contest, providing a link to this post (or the twin post over at Random Thoughts). You can earn yourself one entry for every time you do this. Go wild. :)

2. Embed my book trailer, found HERE, in on your blog/Facebook/Twitter.

3. Post a comment here, telling me what YOU love about young adult books. If you've never read one, that's okay--it's never too late to start. :)

4. This pertains more to the second leg of the contest, but if you post a book review of By the Pale Moonlight before Halloween, you will be entered into the drawing for a paperback.

5. And this one is just for fun. The full moon is this Wednesday, the 12th. If you snap a photo of it from wherever in the world you are and send me the link, you can be entered yet again. (The full moon has passed, but feel free to snap a picture of the moon any night from now until Halloween...it all counts.)

Last step is posting here or at RT, telling me what you've done to enter. Please post links--I promise to check out each and every one. :)

Again, congrats Gretchen and Coleen! :)

By the Pale Moonlight Is Now Available!

2011-10-18T11:46:00.003-05:00

It's here! It's here! :)

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords

If you don't have an eReader and would like to purchase a copy, never fear. All of these sites have free eReaders that you can download to your PC or smart phone. If you have any trouble, just let me know. Thanks!

I'll be announcing other distributors as they come available. And soon, very soon..the paperback editions will be available!

Go forth and spread the word. :)

And it's not too late to enter into the CONTEST to win one of two free digital copies. You have until 6PM TONIGHT. At that time, I'll announce the winners... Never fear, though. All entries roll over into the next leg--winners to be announced on Halloween night. At that time, I'll be giving away two copies of the paperback edition. So JOIN NOW. Enter as many times as you can. :)

WHOOT!!! :)

By the Pale Moonlight Giveaway!!

2011-10-11T00:05:00.000-05:00

It's here. IT'S REALLY HERE!!

By The Pale Moonlight has finally arrived!

The official release date: October 18th, 2011!

Digital downloads will be available from Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and Amazon, with print copies to follow soon after. (I will post all necessary links once things go live.)

I can't tell you how excited I am for this moment. To give you a little history, I wrote this book back in my law school days. In fact, I believe I started it when I should have been studying for mid-terms... OOPS. (Don't tell my old profs.)

At the time, I had my first novel, FAKING IT, out on submission with agents, and BTPM was a way of taking my mind off the process. As they say, when you're worried about one project, throw yourself into another. And that's exactly what I did. I pounded out a major chunk of the book in November and completed it that spring. All in all, I finished the first draft of the book in about three weeks (total). What can I say? It came to me fast and furious when I actually had time to work on it. :)

To put it simply: Writing Young Adult had me at hello.

There's something so compelling and immediate about the world of teenagers. While I love writing for adults, there will always be a special place in my heart for YA. It's my first love.

So, there I was with a finished book...that was what...four years ago? Longer? (Where does the time go?) Yes, it's been a long time between the finished first draft and today. What can I say? Real life has a way of throwing a lot of obstacles in the road, and for one reason or another, BTPM kept being put on the back burner.

It was always there, though...and I knew without a doubt that it should be shared with the world. And earlier this year, I decided to do exactly that. So, to help celebrate this moment, I've decided to do a GIVEAWAY!!

*You get a book, you get a book, and YOU get a book!!*

Here's how it works:

There are two legs to this contest:

On the official release date, October 18th, I will giveaway TWO digital copies of By the Pale Moonlight--your choice of format. If you don't win, NEVER fear.. all entries will roll over to the next drawing, which will take place on:

Halloween, when I will giveaway TWO paperback editions.

There are many, many ways you can enter:

1. Blog/Facebook/Tweet, etc. about the contest, providing a link to this post (or the twin post over at All the World's Our Page. You can earn yourself one entry for every time you do this. Go wild. :)

2. Embed my book trailer, found HERE, in on your blog/Facebook/Twitter.

3. Post a comment here, telling me what YOU love about young adult books. If you've never read one, that's okay--it's never too late to start. :)

4. This pertains more to the second leg of the contest, but if you post a book review of By the Pale Moonlight before Halloween, you will be entered into the drawing for a paperback.

5. And this one is just for fun. The full moon is this Wednesday, the 12th. If you snap a photo of it from wherever in the world you are and send me the link, you can be entered yet again.

Last step is posting here or at RT, telling me what you've done to enter. Please post links--I promise to check out each and every one. :)

I can't tell you how excited I am for Tuesday to get here. And nervous. I really hope you love my characters and story as much I do. :)

Thank you all, and good luck!!

And if you have no clue what book I've been going on about, check out the trailer...

Balancing Critiques

2011-10-09T19:16:00.002-05:00

One necessary part of the writing process is sending out your manuscript to beta readers. No matter how good a story may be in your mind, there's no real way of knowing how it will be received until you put it to the test with real live readers. Plus, no matter how many times you go over your manuscript, there's simply a point when you become blinded to its flaws. I've referred to this as living inside the monkey house. It's always best to find out if that manuscript you believe is the complete shiznit...well, isn't in reality just a big pile o' shit.

In the best case scenario, you'll find a well-balanced group of peeps to send it out to. People that have different pet peeves, ensuring they will come back with unique perspectives--point out a myriad of different things that will help round out your manuscript. Worse case scenario--you send it out to a group of people who fail to come back with any kind of constructive criticism. Let's face it. No work is ever perfect--no matter how good. If you receive nothing but positive accolades -- well, first off -- CONGRATULATIONS!! I'm jealous beyond measure. (I can't even begin to tell you how jealous that actually is. LOL.) But most of us are pretty human, and if nothing else, typos will be caught--awkward sentences squashed out of existence, plot holes filled.

Critiques can be a double-edged sword at times, tho. What one reader determines as a problem area, another will take no issue with. In the end, you may be left wondering who's right. Perhaps you see the merits of both sides--so you don't know what the heck you should do.

Well, I wish there was an easy answer to this dilemma. There isn't. Sometimes you simply have to take a step away from the manuscript for a while--come back to it with the two opposing opinions in the back of your mind. A quick read through may highlight one as the better way for you to take your work... then again, it may not. Sometimes, whether or not we have the confidence to make the determination--it simply comes down to a matter of opinion.

When in doubt, I say, TRUST YOURSELF.

It's a scary thing, that. Trusting yourself. No one wants to admit out loud that they've ignored someone's advice because they believe HIS/HER way is better. It sort of comes off as asshole-ish, doesn't it? You've asked your readers for opinions, they gave them, and in the end, you decided to disregard what they had to say on a particular point. I know we all send out critiques with the caveat that the writer can take or leave our comments... but do we really want to be ignored? NO. WE are right.

Well, the truth is...no one is really right or wrong in this situation. Reading is a subjective experience. What may rub one reader the wrong way will totally tickle the fancy of another. This is a NO WIN game. You're never going to be able to please everyone. The only thing you CAN control is satisfying yourself and feeling confident that you've analyzed and broken down each and every comment and taken or discarded all of them in the vein of trying to make your book the best it can be.

It's a hard line to draw, but it's one we all need to make.

Just remember that if you send out calls for beta readers that you should and need to give each and every comment due respect. A person took a lot of time out of their schedule to read for you--and the comments they made are important enough for them to include them in a critique. You may feel the urge to immediately dismiss a particular point as outright WRONG for your book, but I would recommend taking a step back and coming back to it later. Maybe it will hold more water after you've taken a break. Then again, maybe not.

Again, TRUST YOURSELF.

Happy writing, everyone.

BY THE PALE MOONLIGHT is going to go up for sale on October 18th!!! That's only --9-- days from now!!! WHOOT WHOO!!!

Self vs. Traditional Publishing -- It's All A The Roll Of The Dice

2011-10-05T22:25:00.007-05:00

My peep, Kristen Callihan tweeted a link to this article by Chuck Wendig today. View the full article, HERE. In it, he discusses the idea that rather than focusing on the sales/money that can and is being made in self-publication, we, as storytellers need to focus more on telling good stories. That's why we're all in this business to begin with, right?

I know the whole traditional vs. self-publishing thing is a hot button right now. There are people on both sides who are completely convinced that choosing one path over the other may equate to writer-cide. (Erm, read: death of your writing career by way of foolhardy decision making.) When one does well in traditional, THAT is the path you should take... when a bestseller comes from the independent side, THAT is the path you should choose.

What Wendig said is correct--it's a crap shoot either way. Some stories will rise to the top, others won't. Ever read a reeeeeeeally crap bestseller? Yeah, me too. Lots of them. There are certainly lesser known books that were much better in my opinion. There is no rhyme or reason to how these things work.

I'll admit, I've hemmed and hawed over what to do with BTPM. I wrote this book...gah. Nearly four years ago... or longer? Yeah, it's probably coming up on five years, actually. (eeeeikes) And it's sat in my drawer most of that time while I worked on other *cough* projects that shall not be named--erm, right now. (grin) I've never queried it--though I did submit one partial to an agent I pitched at a conference. I always assumed I would go traditional with it. It's just what you do, you know? It's only since this past winter that I started thinking of self-publishing.

Yeah, watching other self-published authors do well played into it. Amanda Hocking, anyone? But in the end, it wasn't the possibility of money that cinched the deal. I know it sounds sanctimonious and like complete bullshit when I say the money doesn't factor into things--it DOES, of course... but honestly, for some reason I can't compute self-publishing with making money.

When I look down the road--two weeks from now when my book goes on sale--what I hope is that people will read my book. Lots of people. I'm hoping, hoping, hoping that it will catch on--that I'll rise in the ranks and word of mouth will spread about this little known YA author and her debut novel. I hope it does well--I believe it CAN do well. However, no matter how hard I try, I can't look down that road and see a fat paycheck in my future. Nope. It just isn't there for me. Perhaps that will change in time...maybe I will eventually focus on the sales/non-sales and the duckets they're earning me. For now, I'm just totally friggin' jazzed about the idea of people reading MY book. For me to gain an audience that just might want to read another.

Why? Because I LOVE to tell stories. It's who I am. If my book sells well, great. If only ten people read it--and some of those people LOVE it--BETTER.

A friend recently asked me what I would do if BTPM doesn't sell. Would I continue on with the series--write the next book?

My answer was a flat-out HELL YES. My reason is simple. I have to know what happens to my characters and story. Whether or not BTPM sells, it's only part I of a larger arc. I have to continue writing because _I_ don't know how it ends.

Yes, I'm self-publishing because I hope to do well. I hope BTPM sells--I hope it sells A LOT. But in the end, I'm more concerned about putting out a good story. I'm not in this to turn a quick buck. The chances of doing that are pretty low, even in the best of circumstances, so it CAN'T be about that in my mind. The only thing I can control is the quality of the story I put before readers. If it takes me three months--or three years--to finish the second book, I WILL NOT publish before I think it's the best story I can possibly produce. It has to be that way. It's MY name on that cover--those are MY characters and story. I want to do them justice. I won't put them out there when they're not ready--even if it means I may miss out on money-making opportunities.

Do I think it's important to talk about sales/money? Well, yeah. I think it's important to let authors know that self-publication IS a viable choice in today's market. Do I think that's the ONLY thing we should focus on? NO.

We're storytellers. Story must come first. Just because you can put your first draft manuscript up for sale tomorrow doesn't mean you SHOULD.

Just my two cents. :)

Cover Talk!

2011-10-01T14:37:00.006-05:00

Here it is! (Okay, if you've watched the trailer, you've already seen it. But still. HERE IT IS!!) Front and center like. (g)

As I go through the next few weeks, I thought I would discuss different aspects of the process. First up, covers!

There’s actually a remarkable amount of work that goes into a cover. I didn’t want to slap something together quickly and regret things when my book failed to garner any kind of attention. Like it or not, the first thing readers notice about a book is its cover. It seems fairly simplistic–you want your book to sell, you make sure it has a kickass cover. (Of course, there are a lot of other factors that need to be considered, but on a simplistic level, you need a damn good cover.) That being said, I can’t tell you the number of self-published (or traditionally published, for that matter) books that have really crap cover art.

I had a few objectives when I set out to design one.

1. I wanted it to be as inexpensive as possible. The idea of paying someone hundreds of dollars I really didn’t have did not appeal to me in the slightest. That said, I wanted it to look good so I knew I would have to spend some money to make it happen. But the cheaper, the better.

2. I wanted it to be pretty and create a mood. I think the most important thing you have to consider is your audience. You need to do your research to see what kind of covers are being used in your particular genre–what’s selling–what’s gaining attention. Then you need to try to emulate it as best you can. (Within reason. If I see a YA cover with a girl holding an orange or a banana, I might just die laughing.) I wanted a pretty cover because my target audience is young adults. Let’s face it, pretty snares attention with that group. It did for me at any rate. Heck, it still does. I like pretty. My book is about werewolves, so in addition to being pretty, I wanted it to have a certain creep factor going on. Hard balance to strike, that.

3. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I needed outside help. I’m not visual. I like to pretend I am at times, but I’m just not. I would never be able to put together a decent cover because I’m completely incapable of thinking outside of the box when it comes to repositioning the title, author name, etc. to their best advantage. I needed someone creative who could do my thinking for me. And, when necessary, tell me I’m making a very bad mistake by thinking I can put my title in Wingdings because wouldn’t it be oh so much fun if my readers had to solve a visual puzzle in order to know my title? (I still think it could work with the right title. Just sayin’.)

First thing on the agenda: I recruited one of my work peeps to help with the cover. I’ve seen other things he’s done, and I knew he could work with the various Photoshop, etc. programs. Best of all? He was willing to help with my cover if I would be willing to help with his wedding announcement. Hey, nothing says cheap like an even trade. (Though I do believe he got the tough end of the bargain.)

Next, I needed to find cover art. Again, being as I am not visual, I didn’t even attempt to photograph something myself. Instead, I started scouring the internet looking for something interesting. I didn’t want to go for the way overt (and way overdone, if you ask me) picture of a moon. Yeah, I get it…werewolves. There should probably be a moon involved. But no, I didn’t want to go with the standard. I wanted subtle and the all-important PRETTY.

I looked at a ton of pictures at various sites, finally settling on one from www.rtf123.com. Yes, you do have to pay for the photos. Downloading the photos is actually rather cheap, but I went for the extended comprehensive license, which gives me rights to both digital and print publications. There are free pictures out there, though. For me, however, this was the best option. In the end, the photo cost me one hundred duckets. Not exactly a small chunk o’ change, but not likely to break the bank either. I was willing to spend the money for this picture.

If, however, cash is an issue, you could try taking some pictures on your own… or you might try www.morguefile.com, a site photographers post various photos they aren't using. You can download them for free, use them for free, etc. It’s a great alternative if you’re a little tight on money.

Next came fonts. Oh, the hell that is deciding on a font. I can’t tell you the number of sites I went through. There are A LOT of fonts out there, and it’s hard to know what will work with your picture. Something that looks great in a word doc may get washed out when you apply it to your cover art. BIG IMPORTANT TIP FROM JEN: DO NOT, and I mean DO NOT, purchase a font without testing it against your cover art first. I would hate to see someone pay fifty dollars for a really awesome font only to find out that it gets sucked up by his/her cover art. My designer bud was able to clip fonts from their testing pages and overlay them onto my picture before we made a final decision. Trust me, you WANT to do this. I was completely set on one particular font only to find out it wouldn’t work. I ended up using a font from www.searchfreefonts.com. Yes, FREE. Free is a glorious thing. ANOTHER IMPORTANT TIP FROM JEN: Do not be afraid to mix fonts. I ended up using the capital letters from one font, and the lowercase letters from another. I never would’ve thought of it myself (hence the need for a designer).

So… once I had a picture, a font, and (thank the heavens) a designer, I was ready to roll.

The actual design of the cover went a lot smoother than I anticipated. Turns out my eye isn’t quite as whacked out as I thought. My picture turned out to look fantastic, and after a few misfires on the font, we actually settled on one of the very first ones I found (a freebie that was already in my Word library of fonts). Combined with the one I found on the internet, we were ready to roll.

My designer did a great job. We sat down for about three hours and knocked it out. I’ve had some small tweaks after the fact, and thankfully my friend has shown a lot of patience with me. He even managed to do a name swap (I originally planned to use a pen name) at the 11th hour. He's a wonder. :)

What else?

Oh, remember when I said ‘know your audience?’ Well, before I even moved forward with the cover, I did a rough (believe me, it was VERY rough) mock up of the cover and showed it around to people in my target age range. I knew I was on to something when one young friend actually squealed and said, “That is bad ass! I would totally buy that!” This without knowing what the book was about. (grin) Hey, I’ll take it.

And that, folks, is how you go about designing a cover. All in all, I spent a hundred dollars..and a few hours of my time (along with Designer Extraordinaire).

How'd I do?

More on the trailer later... boy was that an adventure. (g)

I'm Legits, Yo!

2011-09-30T23:47:00.003-05:00

So, self-publishing. Be honest. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear someone is self-published? I'll tell you what I thought just a year ago. I thought:

1. The person couldn't make it the traditional way. They obviously tried and failed to gain a publishing contract and now they're doing the only thing they can do. They're putting out their book themselves. It may be okay, but if NYC rejected it, how good could it really be?

2. The person thinks they're above the "establishment" of traditional publishing. You know the type--I think we all do. (g) The one who has a book that they don't think NYC will "get." So rather than waste their time trying to edumacate the populace at large about how really ahead of their time they are, they're going to bypass NYC altogether and do it themselves.

3. With the number of epublished books on the market today, obviously people aren't taking the time to really perfect their books. They're putting out mediocre work as fast as they can in order to turn a buck.

And the big one:

4. If you self-publish, you're not LEGITS.

This is the point I want to focus on in this post. I know that I've felt this way--still do, to some degree--because there is a reigning opinion out there that you have to get the proverbial nod from NYC in order to MAKE IT. You may never sell well--you may wallow at the bottom of your house's list for the rest of your life--but you got 'the nod'... validation that you're talented because an agent plucked you out of the riff-raff and by God, your book has actually sat on a shelf in a brick and mortar. You made it...you're the cream that's floated to the top of the publishing world.

True story. I once heard a well-known young adult author refer to a self-published author as "another wannabe" who was giving young adult a bad name. (Something about the storyline, which sounded spot-on for a little known book named LOLITA.) Therefore, reducing this author to a second rate hack who obviously couldn't contain one iota of talent in his/her body. I don't believe this author had actually READ this person's work, mind, but because he/she was self-published, obviously this had to be true. Sort of makes you want to grind your teeth, doesn't it? This author was confronted and later apologized. I might have had something to do with it.... (vbg)

My point being--there's a stigma when you self-publish.

Is it changing? Yes. But I think it will always be there to some degree. Mostly because we've all dreamed of the big publishing contract--I know I have. And if the house of my dreams extended a huge offer tomorrow, it would be DANG hard to pass it up. I want, I want... but that does not mean I NEED. So yeah, my own attitude is part of the problem. OUR attitude is part of the problem.

A friend put it so well the other day. We've stopped caring about the work--we only think about how that work is being delivered to the world.

NYC Contract = GOOD.

Self-published = NOT QUITE AS GOOD...likely mediocre, at best... probably terrible.

Excuse me, but I call BULLSHIT.

In both worlds, you're going to find a hodge podge of work. Some good, some bad...some total crap. That doesn't mean that we can judge either group as better than the other. So, let's not, okay? Judge a book after you've actually read it. Whether it's on a shelf at B&N or if you downloaded it for a buck from Amazon.

Me? I'm still trying to work through my own bias. People have urged me to do a round of queries..just to see. But ultimately, I decided not to go down that road. I realized--after MUCH heming and hawing--that I don't have to have a nod from NYC. I don't.

I don't think I'm better than them... I think I'm just as good.

Some people may not agree, but ultimately I'm putting it into readers' hands. The proof will or will not be in the pudding. I just hope that people will look beyond what channels my book went through to get into their hands, and judge the book by what's actually between the covers.

Simple enough, right? Riiiight. :)

But Yo, I'm LEGITS! I am! (g)

The Countdown Begins!

2011-09-30T00:02:00.002-05:00

Hey All --

Well, it's been a busy few weeks. I finally managed to finish my final revisions of BY THE PALE MOONLIGHT, and if you follow me over at ATWOP, you know I've decided to self-publish it. It's a big decision, I know...but I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be taking this step.

So, the plan: digital publication by October 15th. At all major retailers where ebooks are sold. If you don't have an eReader, never fear. You can now download reader apps for your PC or smart phone -- if you want to read it, there IS a way.

After I get the digital versions up and running, I fully plan on putting out a paperback version. If you're a stickler and must have an actual paper copy, a version will be available--though you'll have to wait a little while longer. Trust me, I want one, too. Bad. :) Can't wait to hold that puppy in my hands. lol

It's my goal to blog on a much more regular basis. I plan on discussing the process of self-publication--and I hope you come along for this wild ride. I can't wait for October 15th to get here!!

For now, here's a little teaser of the book... my first official book trailer, put together by my good friend, Jenna Nichols. (Thanks, Jenna!)

It's Alive!

2011-06-09T22:56:00.003-05:00

Hey All!

*waves*

Uh yeah, so I've been quiet for a very long time. Real life, as we all know, can really get in the way of internet related things. Mine has pretty much taken over. I can hardly manage my ONE post a week over at ATWOP, but I'm TRYING. This week I'm on vacation so you've probably seen me around a bit more. In fact, I even sent out a tweet tonight! LOL. (Oh gawd, I'm awful at the whole Twitter thing. I'm trying, I really am, but I just don't get it yet.) If you're over there and we're not "friends", add me.. JenHendren. Maybe that would help force me to get the hang of things. :)

Anyway, I just wanted to say hello to my peeps. I'm at home this week working on BTPM. I'm just a couple of scenes away from a new SFD. A SSD, maybe? Gah, hope I don't need to do a third because that's just gross. (g) It's been a scary week of ups and downs, but I'm feeling good about the progress I've made. It's exciting to think I may soon be able to read it from beginning to end and have it match the vision I've been seeing for a while now. Making major changes to a completed manuscript, as a lot of you know, is so, so difficult. It's hard to let go of scenes that you love but which no longer fit into the new version. It's hard, as I'm finding out this week, to integrate an entirely new character into a story that seemed so set in your mind. It's just a crazy emotional journey and you begin to doubt yourself every step of the way. My self-confidence has run the entire spectrum this week.

Regardless, it's awesome to be working on something again. I know there's a long way to go -- trust me, this manuscript is going to need MUCH MORE than just a mere spit shine once I get the big picture items all tackled. The language needs major clean up, and there will definitely be issues with transitions and stuff. All the things I HATE working on. But I have to say it's exciting to be here. YAY.

1300 new words today and counting. Whoot!

Hope everyone is well. I know I've promised to blog more before, so I won't make that promise now. But I REALLY hope to. :)

The Cutest Thing I've Seen In A Long Time!

2011-03-06T13:46:00.000-06:00

I had tears at the end. (g)

Josh Groban Sings Kanye West Tweets

2011-01-04T23:15:00.000-06:00

Please Don't Ask

2011-01-02T08:19:00.004-06:00

So, I know in the past I've always done a wrap-up post for the year -- talking about what books I've read/loved... what I accomplished/didn't accomplish with my own writing..., possibly followed by a post talking about what I hope to accomplish during the new year.

Well, I'm not doing that this year.

I'm just not.

There are a few more things I won't be talking about, and I hope you'll indulge me in this request.

I started working earnestly on FI again yesterday. (Okay, so I'm sort of a sucker for the romantic idea of starting afresh with the new year. I also have two full days to do whatever I want, which is rare... and they just so happen to fall on New Year's. Interpret this however you like. (g))

It was weird... working on this book again. But at the same time, it felt like home. I know these characters, I know this story and where I want to take it. It really just boils down to sitting my butt down in a damn chair and doing the work necessary to get it there. Only thing is, I've been in this very same spot for a veeeeeeery long time now. So what's different now?

You could say I have the eye of the tiger this go 'round, but no, I don't think that's it.

You could say I'm giving myself a big ole' kick in the ass to finish -- for whatever reason you could possibly imagine. Hopes of publication, need of moolah that comes with said publication, dreams of moving on to the next story...blah blah blah yada yada yada.

I'll tell you what. I don't think it's any of those things.

It's just time. Time to finish this story. If for nothing else, but for ME to be able to read it from start to finish...to know how the hell it ends. It deserves that opportunity. And I deserve to know that I can get it onto the page in the best way I know how.

The past couple of years, I haven't allowed myself to do that. I've hit roadblock after roadblock that I've allowed--yes allowed--to stop me. And I've figured out why that is..

A very well meaning friend and I were chatting on IM last night. I was talking about FI, how it felt so good to get back on the horse...how I really hoped to just put my head down and finish this time. We chit chatted about this and that and then whammo, she hit me with a question I wasn't prepared to answer:

What do you plan to do with it once you finish?

I'll tell you what, folks. Two days ago this question wouldn't have given me the slightest pause. I would've rattled off the same ole' spiel I've been telling people forever. i.e. Well, of course I have to send it to DA... maybe that other agent who showed interest... but yeah, I'll have to give DA first crack... blah blah blah yada yada yada.

And I sort of did just that. The only thing is that as I was typing my response, I could literally--and I do mean literally--feel panic start to set in. I physically started tensing up, and the joy of having written over 2500 words that day slowly started seeping out of me as I contemplated the answer.

Hello, epiphany!

What I realized is that my answer should've been a very polite, "I'm not going to talk about that."

And I won't from here on out. Not to anyone--not to myself.

So, new ground rules:

1. I will not be talking about what I plan to do with this book when it's finished. Period.

2. I will not be talking about when I think it will be finished.

3. And finally, I will not be talking about when I think I'll have it ready for betas or what project I plan to work on next...

Please. Don't. Ask.

I promise that this is nothing personal against you. This time it's ALL about me and what I need at this particular point in time. And that's a stress-free writing experience during which I'm NOT thinking about the end game. All I want to think about is this story -- how to make it the best story that I possibly can -- without all of that other baggage attached at the end, weighing me down into immobility. I've done that for far too long. And last night's experience is the perfect testimony to it.

And really...if you boil it down, I don't NEED to think about any of that stuff now because none of it matters until I have a completed manuscript in hand. So why do it?? Yes, easier said than done, but this time... I'm making every effort.

Please indulge me in this request. Thank you. :)

My Current Mood

2010-12-31T15:28:00.000-06:00

Plumb -- Better

My New Musical Crush

2010-12-28T20:11:00.002-06:00

Holy bejeeps! I wish I had a voice like that. :)

Check her out... PLUMB. She's awesome.

I'm Not Ready For Christmas!

2010-12-20T23:33:00.002-06:00

Where did the time go? Seriously, where did it go? It seems like just yesterday it was Thanksgiving and now I'm staring down Christmas in just a few short days. I am SO not ready for it this year. In the worst kind of way.

1. I have a ton of shopping to do. I went out the other day for like three hours and only managed to get one gift for my family exchange here in town. ACK. I have to buy for my entire immediate family, not to mention not one, but TWO dirty Santa gifts for my extended family gift exchange. (I buy for my grandpa, too.) Jen+shopping do not a happy girl make.

2. I have a ton of cooking to do. THANK GOD I'm not responsible for anything major. But I do have to make my grandpa a double batch of what we call matza balls -- those yummy rice crispies/peanut butter/chocolate balls that are SO DANG good. They take FOREVER, but there's no getting out of the them. He's expecting them. (g) I also have to make an appetizer and dessert for my family party... and luckily, I've got the company party dish in the oven as I'm typing this.

3. I haven't watched enough Christmas movies... Nor have I listened to enough Christmas music!! BAH!! I feel like I'm skimping on both this year and it makes me very much unhappy.

4. Christmas means a new year is coming. YIKES. I look back at 2010 and realize I haven't accomplished anything I set out to do. LOL. NOT GOOD...but perhaps a new year isn't such a bad thing... hmmm.

Anyway -- I must squeeze in a few more movies. I've been on the hunt for It's a Wonderful Life and everywhere I go is sold out. Really want to add that one to my collection this year, but it doesn't seem it's going to happen.

Ohh...and the Kindle arrives tomorrow. Not that I'm opening it. Nope.. not gonna. :D

Jen Comes Into This Century

2010-12-19T10:50:00.002-06:00

Hey All!

*waves*

Well, I know I've been quiet. Busybusybusy. Nano turned out to be a really great experience, but I didn't even come close to that 50K. Oh well. I did my best and still produced about 16000 words for WALKING IN SHADOW. It gave me some great direction on just where I think the book will go, and for that I'm very pleased. It was great getting back in the trenches and digging for those words. They hurt, yes, but there's nothing like coming out the other end with some actual pages to show for all that frustration. Some of them are even good. :)

A couple of very big things on my horizon:

1. I've officially started to move all of my FAKING IT files into Scrivener. Yes, that means it is officially back on the front burner. YAY. It's proving a little difficult because my filing system is a complete mess, but along the way I'm looking at bits here and there, thinking about things I might like to change, etc. I feel like this is a really good thing--using Scrivener. It isn't so much that I want to use it for its plotting capabilities, etc... it's that it will help keep me organized. (I hope) Having all of my scenes, etc in one centralized place where I won't get various versions confused (again, I hope) will be one huge step in the right direction.

2. My sister has sent me a Kindle for Christmas. It's winging its way toward me as we speak; should be here on Tuesday. I have to admit I was a bit hesitant about the idea at first, but then I thought...OMG, I'll be able to download like a bazillion free classics that I want to reread or have never read, and dude...they're FREE. lol. I actually went on Amazon today, picking through the titles to see what I might want to peruse first. Dude. DUDE. There's a book called THE BOOK OF WERE-WOLVES. (Has anyone read it??) It's supposed to have some really interesting stories about various werewolf myths and what not. I am SO getting it. I can't believe I didn't know about it before, actually. But yeah, I want, I want, I want!!

Another great thing is that I'll be able to do beta reads, or readthroughs of my own MS's with it. OMG. I can't wait. My sister said I couldn't open it until Christmas day. Cough. Yeah, I won't. *big wink*

This year has been a HUGE year for me on the techy front. Last May I got a Droid, which introduced me to the exciting world of texting. I used to say I would NEVER be a texter... uh yeah, I was wrong. Granted, I still think it's _extremely_ rude...as in the _UMPTEENTH_ degree kind of rude, to be whip out your phone and text while in the middle of a conversation with someone (or dinner, or in a movie theatre), so I try to never do that. SO RUDE, YO. Also, what's up with the texting while driving?? Dangerous, people! At least wait for a light. LOLOL.

So yeah, I'm all kinds of tech.

I'm really hoping to keep up with this blog a lot better than I have. I know I keep saying that and disappearing for months at a time, but I DO have the best of intentions. :) I miss all of my long lost peeps!! If you see this, drop in and let me know how you're doing, okay?

Jen

Nano -- Week 1 Wrap-Up

2010-11-07T23:40:00.002-06:00

Well, I've officially survived my first week of Nano. And, thanks to a little thing called a Nano Write-In today, I managed to keep on track with the ole' word count. I can't remember the exact number of what you should have today -- 11K and some change -- but I'm sitting pretty at just below 12K. WHOOT!

I can't tell you how mega-excited I am to be writing again -- to feel the keys beneath my fingers -- to see the pages ratcheting up.. SIGH. It makes me very happy. :) And it gives me hope that I CAN do this. I feel revived -- yet exhausted. LOL!

I've heard tale that week 2 is the real toughie. I don't doubt it. I'm already exhausted -- but hopefully I'll be able to gut this one out. I will say that I plan to attend as many write-ins as I possibly can. Especially because I need to stack up some words before my family arrives. Yes, they're incoming again and I'm mega-stressed. Not sure I'll get ANY time to myself, let alone time to write, while they're here so I really need to be on the ball and push ahead of the game. We'll see how it goes. A handful of write-ins like today's and I'll be set, I tell ya! (Oh, I produced 4800 words -- and this with no clear idea of what I would write even 10 minutes before the event began. lol. Whew...talk about flying by the seat of your pants.)

At any rate, a good week! :)

How are my Nano peeps doing so far?? Care to share a snip?? :)

Day 4 -- CHECK!

2010-11-05T00:45:00.003-05:00

I'm on my way to bed in a few minutes, but thought I'd drop in to say I've survived my fourth day of Nano. Even met my goal -- for FOUR nights in a row. That puts me over the 7K mark. WHOOT!

I very nearly called tonight a no-go. Didn't start writing until after 11 -- but I said, gut it out, Jen. Don't get behind. And so, I did.

The scene is fairly pivotal, and pretty much sets up the ending of the book--whatever that will be. LOL. This without a real beginning or middle of the book written. Go figure. Welcome to the world of a chunk writer. LOL. I LOVE IT, though. For me, knowing the end helps me to figure out a way to get there. I know, weird...assbackwards, but in my opinion, you do what you have to do to get the job done. For me, this works.

That said, I'm excited to see what happens next!! Whoo!!! :)

Booyah!

2010-11-04T00:54:00.002-05:00

So tonight was tough. I came home, utterly exhausted. I didn't sleep well last night, was late getting to work, had a fairly stressful day. Bah. It was no good, I tell ya. (Well, a few highlights...*big wink*...but nothing I can talk about here.)

At any rate--the thought of churning out 1700 words tonight was not a good one. I also made the mistake of staying at my aunt's house to watch the women's volleyball game (go Huskers!), which set me even further behind schedule. In short, I wound up falling asleep at 9...and waking up around 11 to write. Uh...does anyone else see the stupidity of this plan??

Well, I very nearly said forget it. That I'd try to make up the words this weekend. But then the guilt set in. The ladies at ATWOP are doing such an amazing job...in fact, they're kicking some major BOOTAY, and I didn't want to be the one to drag the group down with lame excuses. I would hate saying I didn't get anything written, if you must know. So, I told myself to write 500 words. It's something at least, and helps move the word counter up, even if it's only a little bit.

I set to work -- head and body and soul, bone-tired.

I got a few hundred words in fairly quickly... hmmm, maybe I could do the full 1700... So I kept going...and lo and behold, I ended up with 1822 words in a little over an hour! This when I didn't think I would be able to get the 500. BOOYAH, I say! Sometimes you just have to show up to work and count on yourself to get the job done.

YAY. Happy Dance.

Now I'm going to bed, yo. Night.

Direction

2010-11-02T19:16:00.006-05:00

Well, I will give my friend, Jenna, a lot of credit for calling this one. I was sharing with her the fact that I had NO idea...absolutely NO idea what this book was going to be about. I mean, I knew general/big picture stuff...but had no clue what kind of story arc would take place to get the job done.

She told me -- as did others -- JUST WRITE. It will come to you eventually.

I think it's a truth universal that every panster freaks out a bit when beginning a new book. I've completed two novels, parts of several others, and each and every time I begin, I feel like there's NO WAY in hell I'm going to be able to do it again. It probably seems pretty crazy to outliners/planners when they hear about someone like me who says... eh, I think I'll write a book. (What's it about?) Oh..no clue. I know there are werewolves... and well, yeah.. that's about it. (What happens?) Eh.. I think there will be a scene where this happens... but I'm not really sure what leads into it... or what will happen after it. No clue if it's in the middle, beginning, or end... Yeah, but I THINK it's going to play a part.

Yeah, people don't usually understand that way of thinking.

At any rate, I dug in last night with the one scene I KNEW for sure I wanted in the book. It really has no major impact on the plot -- just a cool scene idea I've had knocking around in my brain for a long time. Of course it plays into the book...but I'm not sure when it will take place, how it will impact the story as a whole... yeah, I just wrote it.

It's definitely not great... I'm sure it will change drastically at the "meld" point. (When I take all of my random scenes and try to figure out how they go together to form a story). But it was a start and it led to a couple of little brain firings. All in all, I got 1702 words... not a stellar night, certainly not on par with the ladies over at ATWOP, but a nice start.

NO CLUE what I would write next, and I finished slightly freaked out about the thought of having to produce another 1700 words today.

Well, the good news is that Jenna was right. By golly, as I was walking into work today, I had a mini-epiphany. Nothing major, mind...but definitely a beginning to a story arc... a reason for my MC to move forward in search of the answer to a particular question. It gives her purpose... and well, something for me to write! LOL. PHEW. I'm off to do that now... wish me luck.

Let The Fun Begin!

2010-11-01T20:08:00.002-05:00

Well, I've officially taken the NaNoWriMo plunge. And I do mean PLUNGE.

I'm thinking about my schedule this month and have told myself MORE than once that I must be out of my mind to even attempt this. Attempting it I am, however. I may need to recuperate in the hospital afterwards, but oh well... I'll worry about that in December! :)

That said... I've decided to give myself a "break" and work on something for fun. I will be working on the sequel to BY THE PALE MOONLIGHT -- working title, WALKING IN SHADOW. And folks, I can't tell you how excited I am to begin. That said, I have NO CLUE what this book is about. Oh, I have some vague ideas...but that's just what they are. Vague. I've had a couple of scenes knocking around in my head...some ideas of how it MIGHT go...but yeah, I'm starting pretty much in the dark here. Sort of like the first time I started writing FAKING IT... NO CLUE. None whatsoever. And well, that turned out okay...so maybe I'll be okay.

Do you hear the fear in my voice?? You should. I'm scared to death and feel like I'll never be able to accomplish this. Hmmm...rings a few bells for me. Fear, I know. Fear I am familiar with on all kinds o'levels. :)

That said...I'm getting a late start...it's 815PM and I have VOWED to get my 1700 words in tonight. Not sure what I'm going to write....where to begin... bah, this is really flying by the seat of your pants at it's very finest. It will be very interesting to see what happens.

I've been offline all week -- so if I haven't buddied you yet, please buddy me... and if you have, please be patient with me. I haven't forgotten! My system is running really slow. :) I'm buddy-ing as I type.

Good luck to all my Nano peeps!! Let the games begin.

Squeee!!

2010-08-20T12:10:00.004-05:00

Coming to churches near you on August 24th!!

Notecards...Post-It's...Flowcharts...OH MY!

2010-08-20T02:05:00.002-05:00

Well, I haven't been successful at the blogging every day thing, but I will give myself props for blogging three times in the past week. That's like...a record for me these days. (g) Especially given that I haven't blogged since MAY. :)

The title of this post says it all. I am in...outlining...flowchart...don't know what you call it exactly...hell. I realized very quickly this week that the problems I've often complained about in the middle of FI were NEVER fixed, and that essentially I had to address them now or I'd be forever rowing in circles with this book. It's so funny! I can't tell you the number of times I've looked at this section, the number of times I thought I had it JUST RIGHT...and yeah, it was NEVER right. I simply kept skating over the issue. In essence, hoping the dang book would fix itself as I went through pass after pass.

Uh yeah...not quite.

So instead of the writing I was hoping to get in, I've had to put the brakes on and head back to the basics.

But but but...I think I've finally had a breakthrough! Sadly, it means cutting a couple of scenes I absolutely love. :( The good news is that with the changes I'm making -- some basic reordering of scenes -- the tension level should get a nice little boost.

I'm trying to see the positives.

1. Essentially the first 1/3rd of the book is set in stone and won't see any of the ripples these changes will send out.

2. I have four scenes on the chopping block right now--and they may not all remain there. If I can salvage them, you bet your bottom I will.

3. Character motivations are much clearer with scenes laid out in this new order. It may cause them to be a bit less sympathetic, but they're definitely true to who they are and what forces drive them to act. And yeah, maybe readers will finish this book a little ambivalent about who they're cheering for, but alas, don't you love a comeback story? Yeah, me too. :)

4. I'm THAT much closer to getting to some actual writing, which I'm now itching to do in a major way.

So yes...progress, though not the kind I had intended to have by now.

That said -- tomorrow I'm going to go back through my proposed changes...write up a chart of just what I want to happen, and basically see if it all still makes sense in the light of day. Cross your fingers for me! Hopefully I'll keep working in my dreams and wake up ready to pound this puppy out. :)

A Rough Re-Entry

2010-08-16T20:54:00.002-05:00

Well, I wish I had a ton to report on the writing front.. but yeah, there isn't much to say. I kinda flubbed it. I think I just got freaked out by the prospect of jumping in again, and let my nerves get the better of me.

I did open up a new scene... toyed with it a for a few, but kept getting distracted. Then I said... better luck tomorrow. *rolls eyes* Sunday I was sick all day... Today I had some obligations I had to take care of (where do they come from, I ask you?).

That said, there is Still Time tonight. I'm vowing to work on it, no matter how much I would rather pick up a book and get lost in the "easy words" (snrk -- don't the really great ones make it look SO easy, tho??) of someone else's world. I'll tell you what.. UNDER THE DOME has been calling my name in a big way, and holy heck, I really shouldn't even think of beginning that monster during this WRITING vacation. Yet... it's voice is So. Loud. Bah!!!

No no no... FI. FI. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!

Okay, I'm off to work. Wish me luck!

Good Morning, All!

2010-08-14T07:52:00.002-05:00

Yes, it is me. I know most of you are probably rubbing your eyes and gawking at the screen in disbelief... but yes, I am back. Hopefully for quite some time, and on a regular basis.

Life... well, yeah, it's been busy. I've barely had time to check email, let alone keep caught up with all of the things I would like to on the net. And writing? Well, it's been on the back burner in a major way.

That said, I have officially taken an entire _two weeks_ vacation and have but one plan for that time... WRITE WRITE WRITE.

As part of that goal, I will also be blogging -- EVERY DAY. I'm doing this for several reasons.
1. I really do want to reconnect with all of my wonderful 'net buddies.
2. It's a way to keep myself accountable. If I know I have to check in every day and report my progress, you can bet your patootie I will have SOMETHING to say for it. There's nothing worse than reporting ZERO progress--trust me, I know.
3. It's a way for y'all to give me a swift kick in the arse if you see I'm lazing around and not doing anything. And trust me, after nearly a year without a vacation (aside from my jaunt out to Colorado last weekend), I WANT...NEED...CRAVE... ack, I'm tired... Yes, I want rest. Major rest. I'm sure I'll get plenty of that in the next... count 'em...SIXTEEN DAYS... but that's a lot of time, and I can get plenty of work done, too. Right? Right. So don't be afraid to throw me a WTF or two if I keep coming back with nothing to show for my time off.
4. I've been quiet for far too long, dontcha think? I have things to say... gripes to lodge, thoughts to share. Blogging is one of my favorite things to do... why have I stayed away so long??
5. It's just FUN. :)

So yeah... even though it was my first day of vacation, I awoke VERY early -- 530 -- and started my day of prep. Yeah, unfortunately that comes with it, too. My fridge and cupboards are a disgrace--full of outdated food that had to be tossed, and just generally bare of all essential eatable items. My first plan of action was to get that in order, and soon I'll be heading out to the store to stock up again. I want to make life as easy and orderly as possible so I don't get the urge to slack off here.

My apartment, sadly... also needs attention, but I'm not going to go overboard just yet. LOL. I MUST WRITE, too. And that's on the agenda right after the grocery store. Quite honestly, I'm not really sure where to begin... it's all a bit overwhelming to think about, but screw it... I'm going to jump in feet first and see where I land. My best option will probably be to take a small scene and see what happens. I have a couple of big scenes that have been in the back of my mind for a very long time, so perhaps I'll just pick one up and see... just see.

Okay... Deep Breath!

Hope everyone is doing well -- I'm good, I'm alive, and I'm ready to bang out this flippin' book!

Jen

I've Turned...

2010-05-04T21:50:00.003-05:00

...a year older since the last time I posted. How the heck did that happen??

Anyway -- just a quick wave. Things ARE slowing down for me...but just when they do, wouldn't you know it, I'm sick AGAIN. Blurgh. It's a miserable, disgusting kinda sick, too. I'm not fit for human consumption.

Too tired to do anything but wallow in my own moroseness.

Hopefully I'll be better soon because I really miss chattin' with y'all.

Dipping A Pinkie Toe In...

2010-04-02T01:15:00.004-05:00

Well, I'll admit my writing has been.....nonexistent. My schedule is hectic as all get out and what little time I have, I'm usually exhausted, a bit cranky, and in the mood to do nothing much other than laze around. Watch TV. Read a book. Sleep. :)

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and took one small step towards that goal tonight. I had a writing date with my friend Jenna. :) We promised each other that we would both hop online and write tonight. On IM so we could poke each other into action if need be.

I didn't want to write tonight. Oh no, Jen did not want to write. First of all, I ran around town doing a bunch of errands, taking so long doing them that I was late for our date! Then I wanted to giggle like a schoolgirl about some girly gossip things...then I wanted to give myself a pedicure and go to bed. Uh, but wait...I promised I would write. Well shit.

I made a load of excuses to myself, but Jenna--bless her--was there to remind me that we were going to write tonight. That said,I vowed I would get at least 200 words before calling it a night.

I still put it off...checking this blog...watching this video... giggling some more about our girly gossip stuff. Eventually I ran out of excuses and dang it...I had promised at least 200 words.

So, I started. And it hurt. It hurt bad, and I stretched muscles I haven't used in a very long time. But dang it...I did it. 217 words.

It ain't much. But it's a start.

Annnnnnd...

We have a date tomorrow night, too. ;)

P.S. For the curious among you, I worked on FAKING IT tonight. 217 brand spankin' new words for one of the scenes I've avoided all this time. The words fall somewhere in the middle (of course) and honestly...even if I'm feeling a little rusty, there was a glimmer of that old feeling. Hmmm. :)

Hey All!

2010-03-24T22:38:00.002-05:00

My apologies and all that. I know I've been super quiet. The truth is that life has just about steam-rolled me for the past couple of months. I'm seeing a pinprick of a light at the end of the tunnel (i.e. someday I hope to take some vacation! lol. I know I will be this summer, and boy am I looking forward to it!), but alas things are busier than ever and it won't be letting up for a while.

I hope everyone is doing well..I wish I had something concrete to blog about today, but I really don't. My big plan for the night is sleep. (g) That said, I'm reading when I can...trying to write...and doing a whole lotta thinkin' about writing in general. And what my next step is. I can't say I have a concrete plan at this point, but I'm thinkin' on it...and I hope you'll send some seriously positive energy my way as I struggle through this rough patch. If only I had another 10 hours in every day, yanno? That said, I'm considering a little vaca...one during which I'll plan to do nothing but write. And I mean nothing. :) It's just a matter of figuring out when...and how to spring it on the boss people. Oh, they'll just love this. (not.) But, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. And trust me, I'm ready for something drastic. :)

What about you guys? Is anyone out there still listening? :)

I Am Alive.

2010-03-18T00:59:00.000-05:00

Yes, yes I am. Tho very busy. More soon. :)

Get Thee To ATWOP!

2010-02-26T07:20:00.003-06:00

Very exciting stuff going on over at All The World's Our Page today! Deanna Raybourn, author of the Lady Julia Grey novels, has graciously allowed us to interview her. Even better, she's taking follow up and random questions. EVEN better...we're giving away some of her books!

GO THEE HERE!!

I was recently introduced to her books by Kristen Callihan and Rachel Walsh -- both fans for quite some time now. I DEVOURED the first in the Julia series -- SILENT IN THE GRAVE. It was soooooooooooooo good. You should definitely check out her books (SILENT IN THE GRAVE, SILENT IN THE SANCTUARY, and SILENT ON THE MOOR) -- both at our contest and your local churches. :) I know I will be.

AND be sure to check out her current release, THE DEAD TRAVEL FAST.

A husband, a family, a comfortable life: Theodora Lestrange lives in terror of it all.

With a modest inheritance and the three gowns that comprise her entire wardrobe, Theodora leaves Edinburgh—and a disappointed suitor—far behind. She is bound for Rumania, where tales of vampires are still whispered, to visit an old friend and write the book that will bring her true independence.

She arrives at a magnificent, decaying castle in the Carpathians, replete with eccentric inhabitants: the ailing dowager; the troubled steward; her own fearful friend, Cosmina. But all are outstripped in dark glamour by the castle's master, Count Andrei Dragulescu.

Bewildering and bewitching in equal measure, the brooding nobleman ignites Theodora's imagination and awakens passions in her that she can neither deny nor conceal. His allure is superlative, his dominion over the superstitious town, absolute—Theodora may simply be one more person under his sway.

Before her sojourn is ended—or her novel completed—Theodora will have encountered things as strange and terrible as they are seductive. For obsession can prove fatal…and she is in danger of falling prey to more than desire.

Ohhh...sounds good to me! LOL. Go forth and buy, people. Her interview was such a blast, and believe you me, I was taking notes. :)

Isn't It Kinda Sad...

2010-02-21T12:43:00.002-06:00

When the only way you can force yourself to take a day off is by getting sick? Yup. SICK as a dog right now. Plus, I got the added bonus of completely losing my voice. LOL. Those of you who know me in person know I'm a TALKER... not being able to speak to people is a punishment of the worst kind. Couldn't even CALL anyone to tell them not to expect to see me today. Thank God for email!

Anyway -- I'm going to take full advantage. I'm about half-way through SILENT IN THE GRAVE and plan to finish that up... and did I mention that my awesome friend, Amanda (who I met at the Rocky Mtn Gold Conference and who LET me read her most awesome book!), sent me GRACELING by Kristin Cashore?? It's totally awesome, too. I'm a ways into it so hopefully I can finish both up today.

Ahhhhh reading. Such a balm to these ick sick germs.

Dishes? They can't wait. Laundry? There's still room to stack the pile a little higher. Work? NOPE, NOPE, NOPE.

Happy reading.

Killer Opening Lines!

2010-02-18T00:50:00.002-06:00

Picked up SILENT IN THE GRAVE by Deanna Raybourn tonight. The opening had me at hello:

To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching on the floor.

*envy pangs* *envy pangs* *envy pangs*

MAN, I wish I wrote that! LOL.

Sorry For The...

2010-01-25T21:04:00.002-06:00

...radio silence!

My internet has been on the blink and getting to a coffee house, etc has been a bit tough with my schedule this past week. Needless to say, the technician is coming tomorrow. I should be back on the air by mid-morning. YIPPEE!! :)

I really don't have all that much to blog about...been working a ton and really just trying to keep my chin above water. Been a tough time, mostly because I've been fighting tooth and nail with a cold that is trying to latch on. I'm not letting it, though. I have no time to be sick. lol *glares at all sick germs*

I do have a book review to do, so hopefully I'll get to that soon. Other than that, I'm trying to get myself into a serious writing routine. It's tough, not gonna lie. But I must, I must... :)

Hope y'all are doing well! Catch ya on the morrow.

SOME GIRLS ARE by Courtney Summers

2010-01-08T11:19:00.004-06:00

Well, my reading journey has officially kicked off this year. I'm proud of myself for actually finding time in my crazy schedule. That said, I may be a little tight on time in the coming weeks. We'll see if I can add another book to my list...may have to wait.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuut!

Let's talk about this book.

Brief Summary: Regina is a MEAN girl. She's been a part of the Fearsome Fivesome for a very long time and being nice just isn't the way they do things. But then one day, Regina finds herself shut out from the group, accused of canoodling with Anna 'the leader's' boyfriend. Even worse, no one else at her school wants to be her friend because she's helped make their lives hell for the past few years. She begrudgingly attaches herself to Michael Hayden, a boy who doesn't fit anywhere,and one whose life Regina has helped ruin. Terrorized by her former friends, Regina begins to face who she has let herself become.

Ummm...so...

Yeah, the new year didn't make me any better at these summaries. LOL.

SOME GIRLS ARE is a disturbing, disturbing book. In a totally good way. At first I was almost overwhelmed by it. It's told in a very in your face approach -- first person, deep deep, DEEP POV. Almost stream of consciousness. I was so inside Regina's head, I felt like I was Regina.

The thing that was really disturbing about this book was that I saw myself in a lot of the characters. Let's face it. High school was rough. I think each of us has probably known the sting of being outside a group at one time or another.. and I think each of us has probably been the one on the inside, watching, almost triumphant over the fact that we're not the one scrabbling to get "in." Feeling sorry for the wannabe's but not really willing to reach out a hand lest we lose our small foothold with whatever group.

I have to admit I spent a good deal of high school and a few years beyond trying to impress people. Stupid the knots I tied myself into at times. It's almost as though I was too afraid to be the person I was--the good and the bad--lest someone I wanted to impress not be impressed. Or find out who I really was and hate me.

Ahhhh, high school. Aren't you glad it's all over?? I will admit I had a fairly good time, tho. Just wish I would've focused a little more on discovering who I was without all the rest of the bullshit that goes along with it.

But yeah, Summers' characters are very real. I've been that mean girl, I've been the meek girl...and everywhere in between. I think that's why this book resonated with me so much. It took me back to those times of insecurity and self-doubt.

And let me tell you...these girls are MEAN. Shockingly mean. But then, so is Regina. So in the end, I wasn't sure who to cheer for at times.

This book really made me think about how perceptions of events can easily become jumbled...distorted or lied about to suit whatever purpose different individuals need filled. What may be innocent to one, may be outright treachery and reason for a complete shut out to another. And it also reminded me of how much I love writing about teenagers. The minute by minute play action that is a friendship and how sides can change SO easily.

It's a good book. Y'all should read it.

Let It Snow...

2010-01-07T07:38:00.003-06:00

...NO MORE.

I'm tired of shoveling grass. (g)

Seriously, tho...most lifetime residents are saying they haven't seen this much snow since they were kids. This winter is a DOOZY.

The forecast? No new snow that I know of (YET)...but BITTER cold. Y'all it is two degrees at the moment according to Yahoo. The windchill factor is supposed to feel like -25...possibly -50. Tell me how much I don't want to go outside right now. Tell me how much my car does NOT want to start in that. LOL.

Gah, I wanna go back to bed. I wanna hide under the blankets until spring.

Let's Hear It For YA!

2010-01-05T22:37:00.010-06:00

I had a bit of a rant about young adult books today over at ATWOP. Here.

And in honor of this rant, I did an impromptu worship session at church..

I got this (Do you remember the debacle with CRACKED UP TO BE?! This time they had Courtney's book In Stock. I love those two little words.)

..and this...

..and this...

..and THIS.

And in the name of getting the whole world to read YA, I'm busy scheming... My YA world domination plan is hush hush right now, but an announcement will be coming soon. :)

A Year Of Books!

2010-01-01T23:49:00.004-06:00

I'm a bit ashamed of my list of books read in 2009. It's VERY short. That said, my list of audio books listened to is MUCH longer. Even though I didn't have a lot of time to read, I at least fed the literary part of my brain on a regular basis. While I didn't love every book on this list, I took something away from all of them.

I had this crazy idea of doing mini book reviews of each of these books..but yeah, too timely. Instead, I'll put *'s by each...1 to 3, 3 being a book that I REALLY loved.

Books read:

A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'Engle***
VAMPIRE ACADEMY by Richelle Mead**
CRACKED UP TO BE by Courtney Summers**
FROSTBITE by Richelle Mead***
A STUDY IN SCARLETT by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle**
AN ICE COLD GRAVE by Charlaine Harris*
FINGER LICKIN' FIFTEEN by Janet Evanovich**
THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins**
THE DEMON'S LEXICON by Sarah Rees Brennan*
SHADOW KISS by Richelle Mead***
PAPER TOWNS by John Green**
THE KEY TO THE GOLDEN FIREBIRD by Maureen Johnson**
BLISS by Lauren Myracle*
THE LOVELY BONES by Alice Sebold**
CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins***+++
CITY OF BONES by Cassandra Clare**

Audio books listened to:

THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova*
THE BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE by Laurie R. King***
DRUMS OF AUTUMN by Diana Gabaldon**
A MONSTROUS REGIMENT OF WOMEN by Laurie R. King**
A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY by Libba Bray**
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS by Thomas Harris**
1ST TO DIE by James Patterson*
THE RUNAWAY JURY by John Grisham*
REBEL ANGELS by Libba Bray***
THE SWEET FAR THING by Libba Bray***
SALEM'S LOT by Stephen King***
DEAD UNTIL DAWN by Charlaine Harris***
ALONG CAME A SPIDER by James Patterson*
DRACULA by Bram Stoker***
GRAVE SIGHT by Charlaine Harris**
LIVING DEAD IN DALLAS by Charlaine Harris***
PHANTOMS by Dean Koontz**
GRAVE SURPRISE by Charlaine Harris**
DEAD TO THE WORLD by Charlaine Harris***
GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell***
KISS THE GIRLS by James Patterson*
DEAD AS A DOORNAIL by Charlaine Harris***
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING by J.R.R. Tolkien*
THE DRAWING OF THE THREE by Stephen King***
ERAGON by Christopher Paolini*
THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW by C.S. Lewis**
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA by Gaston Leroux***
MASTER AND COMMANDER by Patrick O'Brian*
TRICKSTER'S CHOICE by Tamora Pierce***
THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE by C.S. Lewis***
JACK AND JILL by James Patterson*
A LETTER OF MARY by Laurie R. King**
ALL TOGETHER DEAD by Charlaine Harris***
THE TWO TOWERS by J.R.R. Tolkien*
UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld***
PRETTIES by Scott Westerfeld***
SPECIALS by Scott Westerfeld***
THE WASTE LANDS by Stephen King***
BOOK THE FIRST: THE BAD BEGINNING by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler)**
STRANGERS by Dean Koontz*
EXTRAS by Scott Westerfeld**
THE MOOR by Laurie R. King***
BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA by Katherine Paterson**
A TIME TO KILL by John Grisham*
WHISPERS FROM THE DEAD by Joan Lowery Nixon*
ENTER THREE WITCHES by Caroline B. Cooney**
FROM DEAD TO WORSE by Charlaine Harris***
CAT AND MOUSE by James Patterson*
DEAD AND GONE by Charlaine Harris***
TRICKSTER'S QUEEN by Tamora Pierce**
WIZARD AND GLASS by Stephen King***
THE NOTEBOOK by Nicholas Sparks*
O JERUSALEM by Laurie R. King***
ODD THOMAS by Dean Koontz**
BOOK THE SECOND: THE REPTILE ROOM by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler)**
SHOOTER by Walter Dean Myers**
VAMPIRATES: DEMONS OF THE OCEAN by Justin Somper**
THE LANGOLIERS by Stephen King**
JUST LISTEN by Sarah Dessen***
REALITY CHECK by Peter Abrahams*
REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier***
SECRET, SILENT SCREAMS by Joan Lowery Nixon*
THE FACE ON THE MILK CARTON by Caroline B. Cooney**
B IS FOR BURGLAR by Sue Grafton*
THE OTHER SIDE OF DARK by Joan Lowery Nixon*
THE RETURN OF THE KING by J.R.R. Tolkien*
FINGER LICKIN' FIFTEEN by Janet Evanovich***
NAKED IN DEATH by J.D. Robb**
ALONG FOR THE RIDE by Sarah Dessen***
POP GOES THE WEASEL by James Patterson*

A Year In Review

2010-01-01T21:57:00.003-06:00

Well, we're callin' it quits on 2009. It's been quite a year for me. A lot of good stuff happened, but also a lot of bad. As cheesy and cliche as it sounds, I always take a few moments to look back at the previous year and also, look forward, to what's up next. Please humor me while a wax on for a while.

First, it's been a tough year on the writing front. Lots of reasons involved, which I'll touch on in a bit, but the end result is that I still haven't finished revisions of FI. It's frustrating at the best of times, humiliating at the worst. Especially because I keep making these promises to myself that I won't let another month, day, hour go by without doing everything I can to get to The End. The story is there--the end is in sight--but for whatever reason it feels just outside my grasp. Never thought I would be grappling with this problem, so I find myself at a bit of a loss to explain exactly what's going on.

I know I've had a lot of Real Life distractions, but regardless, I hold myself accountable for not pushing through and just...finishing, the rest be damned. Yanno?

That said, I'm making progress...slowly. The reality is that there have been some legitimate limits to my time --and in all honesty, writing took the backseat to other things this year. And while I'm unhappy with this compromise, I really had to make the tough decision to focus on things that were more important. Yes, even more important than writing. This does not make me happy. :)

It's a long story, but let me summarize briefly. I started having an issue with my foot in the latter part of 2008. I thought it was related to a stress fracture I'd had a few years earlier. It wasn't. When I went to the doctor thinking that at worst I'd have to get orthotics, I was surprised to learn I was diabetic. Guess all my late night, Mt. Dew fueled study/writing sessions were a bad idea. Especially with my genes. (g)

That said, I'll be forever grateful to my doctor for making the leap and figuring out what was wrong with me. It's been a bumpy road, but in the end, one of the best things that's happened to me. Why? Because I no longer feel like shit all the time. There's no telling how long I went undiagnosed, but I had always blamed my exhaustion and overall level of ick on stress and work...and well, law school, and writing, and revisions, and blah blah blah blah. Little did I know that I was exhausted because my blood sugars were hitting the proverbial roof...and then some.

Adjusting to life with diabetes is a struggle. I say this in present tense because I'm still adapting. There's a great deal of discomfort involved when you adjust to lower blood sugars -- the descent was, let's just say...HELLISH. LOL. Headaches, nausea, dizziness....it's all just horrible. Of course, as soon as I started hitting good levels, my body just kept on going. I started experiencing extreme lows. At the moment, my doctor is reworking my medications yet again. This is the third time this year. Each time is a period of extremes, when my body doesn't know what the heck to do. I basically have to start over and experiment to see what carbs I can eat, when, how much exercise I can do without feeling faint. Etc. Etc. Unfortunately, this is probably my life from here on out. It isn't going away. I'm okay...mostly. I have a few "why me" moments -- especially in groups when everyone else can chug endless amounts of Dew and gobble down an entire pizza if they choose, and I, well, can't. Sigh. But mostly, I'm okay. Who needs mountains of cheesy pizza anyway?? Sob. (g)

The other issue I've been grappling with is my foot. Yeah. It wasn't magically cured when I began treatment. I'll cut to the chase -- my blood sugars were too high for too long. I have nerve damage in my foot--neuropathy. What does that mean? Well, I have loss of sensation...in my toes mostly. My right foot has pretty much gone back to normal. There's a slight sensation loss, but nothing major. My left--the injured one that started this whole thing--isn't good. Because of the neuropathy, that foot is slow to heal. I suspect that my foot injury (I have something called plantar fasciitis) has exacerbated the problem.

End game is that last April, everything hit at once. On top of the adjustments to my blood sugars (remember--hellish), I was running about going to a gazillion doctors appointments. I had to juggle diabetic training, physical therapy sessions, podiatrist and doctors appts (including the dreaded neurologist who finally said, YES...you have neuropathy)...new meds...low sugars... oh, and a big move to a new apartment. Not an easy patch. Writing just wasn't an option. Nor was it an option when my meds were adjusted again that summer...

Not that I've ever let myself off the hook, mind. This, of course, didn't help the situation one bit.

I don't do well under guilt. It immobilizes me. Instead of doing a little when I could, I fixated on all the time I wasn't able to focus on writing. The time I had to spend in classes...or with the doctors...or the times I wanted to be writing but had to go out for a walk to get my sugar levels back in range.

So yeah...the end is still the same: I haven't finished my book. I blame myself even though I know there's been just cause. Even though I told myself that above all other things, I would focus on my health. In fact, I remember sitting down with family after being diagnosed and saying that my COMPLETE focus would be on my health -- book aside..awaiting agent aside... ME first. Ironic that I would consider 2009 an overall failure when I did exactly what I set out to do.

1. I'm healthier.
2. I've successfully reached and maintained an excellent blood sugar level -- to the point we're now experimenting with LESS medication.
3. While the neuropathy in my foot hasn't really improved, it hasn't gotten any worse either.

So yes...I'll try to focus on the positive for now.

Are you ready for some good stuff? Me too. :)

Some positives for the year:

1. I went to two writing retreats this year and got to meet some truly wonderful writers that I've been conversing with at compuserve for quite some time.

The first was back in March--to Myrtle Beach, SC. It was AWESOME. Jo, Beth, Carrie, Tara, Julie, Donna, and Jenny--y'all are rock stars. I had so much fun...Long live gnomies! :)

The second was to Denver and Evergreen, Colorado. Beth, Tara, Julie, Donna, and Jenny...so fun to spend more time with you. And SO cool to meet Lisa, Dreamer, Kari, Dyann, Julie B, Kari, Kerri, Tricia, Stephanie, and rowdy-girl Rhonddalyn!! Did I leave anyone out?? LOL. Those were a crazy few days, but it was a MUCH needed vacation and I had a total blast.

2. I attended my first writers conference. It was quite the experience. I learned a lot that weekend -- received some great feedback from one seriously stellar agent. (Thank you, Kristin Nelson!) While this year hasn't been the most productive when it comes to *cough* finishing those damn revisions...this conference renewed what fragile belief I had in my writing abilities. It made me realize that while I haven't reached my publication goals yet, I've got something goin' on. And someday...I'll get there. This little light o' mine is gonna shine. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not this year even...but soon.

3. I started a new blog with Rachel Walsh, Claire Gregory, and Kristen Callihan. All The World's Our Page is going strong and I feel blessed to be blogging alongside such three talented ladies. They're damn good people. When I'm not gaping at the fact that they let me come along for the ride, I'm laughing my ass off at our crazy antics. Seriously, our email chains are something else. LOL.

4. I have wonderful friends and family. I've been a bit absent this year, but please know all of you have been in my thoughts.

This year has been a rough one. I'm not going to lie and say it wasn't. But I have a lot to be grateful for. And though I don't want to get all carried away with "resolutions and goals," I know 2010 is going to be fantastic.

I'm ready to make some good things happen. :)

CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins

2009-12-25T22:04:00.002-06:00

I have only one word to describe this book:

Perfection.

Run. Buy it. Enjoy.

I'm riding in my seat, waiting for the next book. O.M.G.

I Love Me Some Christmas Music!

2009-12-14T21:39:00.004-06:00

If I'm completely honest, I could listen to it all year long. I can never understand why people say they get sick and tired of it...*shrug* LOL.

It's become a tradition for me to add to my Christmas music collection every year...one or two CD's. I like listening to the different takes on old favorites. This year I've added The Brian Setzer Orchestra (Rock-a-billy Christmas, anyone?) and MoTown Favorites. Fantastic, both.

That said, here's one of my favorite versions of Merry Christmas, Baby by Bonnie Raitt and Charles Brown. Hope the video turned out okay. This is really my first time fiddling with Movie Maker. (Not sure the random pics are the right size/pixels/whatnot...OH WELL. (g)) It's aaaaallll about the song, anyway. :)

Hehehe!!

2009-12-13T01:32:00.005-06:00

I totally ripped this off from Between Fact and Fiction, but it's so good, I have to share! :)

A Dramatic Reading of a Break-Up Letter

New Moon Parody

2009-12-12T09:45:00.002-06:00

HERE.

--Thanks to Tara for sending me this link!

And yes, I still enjoy the books, yada yada yada. This parody is just really funny. :)

Smacks Forehead

2009-12-11T09:27:00.003-06:00

My adventures continued into yesterday morning. I came outside, carrying my borrowed shovel along with a smaller one for my car. There's this rather attractive fellow standing across the street, car parked in front of the alley entrance that is blocked by a snow drift. I assume he was waiting for someone...a snow plow...someone with shovels perhaps?

Well, I'm sure he noticed the two shovels I was carrying...and well, he tracked me down the walk... Okay...

I get to the curb, step off....and POOOMPH! The snow is a lot deeper than I expected...or perhaps the curb moved overnite.. Either way, my foot found nothing but powdery snow and DOWN Jen went.

O.M.G.

ROFL! Needless to say I turned tail quick and got the hell out of there. If he thought I was his shovel savior, he was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Phew!

2009-12-09T22:36:00.002-06:00

What a night!

Remember that snow I was gushing about? Well, it's wreaking havoc in this town. I just spent the funniest/most tiring evening I've ever had here. First, I had NO problems getting to work this morning. Snow drifts? HA! No match for Jen and her Explorer. I bulldozed my way through them.. and once I was on the main roads, TOTAL cinch getting to work. I wasn't even late, and due to some extra ZZZZ's this morning, I left at right about the usual time. Go figure. But with people afraid to brave the roads, it was smooth sailing for me and my snow wrecker.

Got to work which was running at about 1/4 of a tank -- meaning almost the entire work force stayed home. I thought to myself...what's the big deal? I had no problem getting here. Of course, *ahem* I didn't have a driveway I had to shovel out... and I live pretty close to a main road. (Pretty close being one house away. LOL!) Plus, yanno...my Explorer spells doom to all snow drifts. Again -- what's the big deal??

Management was so dang gobsmacked by the employees who DID make it in, they bought us lunch. Whoot whoo for free lunch.

After work, off to my aunt's house to visit with my cousin and her hubby and her newborn babe, who is a DOLL. She loves her Auntie Jen -- a lot. While she'd fuss for everyone else, she was an absolute angel for me. I have the touch. *shrug* Kids love me at that age. Now when they get older...and yanno, can run away...*cough* That's another story. But no, kids like me. I'm the aunt that gets them in trouble because I let them play all the games their parents tell them not to. Yes, I'm THAT aunt. :)

Nice evening...everything is going great until it's time to go home. My aunt (a different one) takes off in her big ass Ford and decides to go offroading through the snowdrifts. Okay, maybe not...but she did seem to think she was in an all terrain vehicle. She basically high-centered herself on a VERY large snowdrift. You'd think if she saw it coming she would've stopped and turned around. Not MY aunt. LOL. Anyway, took four of us to dig her out and push. Fun times.

Then...then I came home (with borrowed snow shovel) and shoveled my very first sidewalk. LMAO. Yeah, it's suprising I've never done this, eh? Remember, I'm a California girl and a renter to boot. Usually I have a landlord to do this for me. (g) That said...I'm SO embarrassed by my efforts.

I couldn't find the sidewalk. ROFL!

There's a rather large patch of grass that's getting a big gulp of the chilly air, tho..... Heh. Oops. I just know the neighbors--the ones I can't stand--were at their windows watching, laughing at the stupid Cali girl who felt the need to shovel the grass. But hey... there's a path where there wasn't one before. Maybe tomorrow they'll be just this *pinches her fingers together* nicer to me when they don't have to trudge through a foot of snow to get to their car. Maybe.

I'm spent! Time for something hot to drink. Schnapps, anyone?

Madison's Christmas Carol, The Grand Finale!

2009-12-09T00:01:00.001-06:00

Thanks for coming along with me on this walk down memory lane. Umm, is anyone still here?? :)

Where we left off:

“I’m guessing you wanted company that couldn’t run away. Look at that hair! Scary.”

I flipped him off at that and booked it out of the room. “Take me back!”

**

Grumpy grimaced. “Just look at you. What a loser.”

I’d like to say I was offended, and deep down, I guess I was. But even I had to admit he was right.

We stood at the foot of my couch, looking down at my sleeping self. Resigned to spending Christmas alone, I hadn’t bothered to get dressed. I wore old sweats and a t-shirt with an ice cream stain over my right boob. My hair was plastered to my forehead, and with a grunt, I turned onto my side and began to snore.

“You got two men looking like that?” Grumpy gave me a critical survey and shook his head in disbelief. “It’s a fucking Christmas miracle.”

“Stuff it,” I said, smacking him on the back of the head.

“Ouch. Should’ve known you’d be violent, too.”

I ignored him and studied my sleeping form again. What the hell was I doing? Gabe and Drew were both alone that night, and if I weren’t so stubborn, I could be with one of them. But of course, there was the rub. Which one would I choose?

Panic rippled through me. If I didn’t choose, would I end up the poker hound of the retirement world? Bad hair and all?

“You’re right,” I said, sliding to the floor. “I’m a loser. I know I need to choose between them, but I don’t know how to do it.”

I sat there, legs crossed, waiting for the elf to say something. After a few minutes, I stole a peek up at him. He rolled his eyes at my expectant face.

“If you think I’m gonna get all Dr. Phil on your ass, you’re out of your mind. Solve your own damn problems.”

With that, he snagged a couple more beers from the fridge and made for the door. “Later.”

“I thought you were supposed to help me!” I yelled after him.

“Help this,” he said, flipping me off. “They don’t pay me enough to deal with this shit. You’ve seen it all, figure things out for yourself.” The door slammed in his wake and I blinked after him, dumbfounded.

“Jesus. What a grump.”

I stopped. A slight fizzy sensation started at the top of my head and spread down into my body. Then I was falling.

**

I sat up with a start, blinking into the dark room. I flicked on the lamp beside me and let my eyes adjust to the sudden light. I was back in my living room—the sweats, the stained T-shirt, the sad tree in the corner —everything was back to normal. Hand clapped to my forehead, I lay back and closed my eyes, willing the memory of all I had seen to go away. But it wouldn’t.

I knew what I had to do.

I threw back the covers and got dressed.

**

It took a while to find him, but I did. At a corner pub around the corner from his home.

He sat at the bar, his broad back to me. He had changed into jeans and a T-shirt, an untucked flannel shirt finishing the look. He was nursing a beer, and had a couple of empties in front of him.

A pang of guilt hit me in the chest. Would he even want me here? I nearly turned around then, but forced my feet to keep moving forward.

The bar was mostly empty, but there were a few people around the pool tables at his back. One of the women kept throwing him sidelong glances, and I felt a surge of relief that her attentions went unnoticed.

I could do this.

Without a word, I slid onto the stool beside him. He glanced at me, surprise and something else warring for control of his features. But then he smiled, and I took that as a good sign.

“Hey,” he said, motioning to the bartender to bring me a beer. A bottle landed in front of me with a clink, and I took a tentative sip, my throat having gone dry.

He watched me for a long moment, finally breaking the silence with a jerk of his chin toward the item in my other hand. “What’s that?”

I twirled the sprig in my fingers and met his eyes. “Mistletoe.”

His brow quirked up at that, but he said nothing. Waiting.

“It’s for you,” I blurted out, feeling as foolish as a school girl on her first date.

The corner of his mouth turned up, but his eyes were serious on mine. “That’s a serious flower you’ve got there.”

So many things went unspoken in that moment.

Was this what I really wanted? Yes.

What about Him? I’m here with you.

For how long? For as long as you want me.

And just like that, the moment passed. He dropped his eyes and took a long pull from his beer. I felt my heart sink a little and prepared to beat a hasty retreat.

I was such a fool.

“Well, then…” he said smoothly, straightening the collar of his shirt and swiveling our seats so that we faced one another. “I accept.”

I met his eyes and felt some of the pressure in my chest loosen. Hands at my waist, he pulled me toward him as I lifted the sprig above our heads.

“Merry Christmas,” I whispered, a moment before our lips met.

His mouth curled against mine. “It is now.”

Then he kissed me again.

Umm, you didn't really think I'd tell you WHO the guy is, did you? :)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

2009-12-08T20:52:00.002-06:00

It's snowing like crazy here. We're under a severe weather warning, and some have predicted up to a foot of snow. All I know is that we've had NO snow up until now, so in some ways it feels like Mother Nature is finally unleashing her full glory upon us.

Yeah, the roads are crap. I saw a lot of people out there fishtailing and/or stuck in the snow. It's not a night to be out driving.

That said, it's beautiful. Really beautiful. I walked downtown a few blocks to my parking garage and it was so quiet, and the snow was falling straight down with very little wind between the buildings. I felt like I was the only person out there getting to see how wonderful the world is when it's all snow-covered and white.

Ahhhh, snow. :)

Ghosts of Madison's Past...Part Deux!

2009-12-08T00:01:00.000-06:00

And so continues our story..

A brief reminder of where we left off:

When my flaming cheeks cooled at last, I frowned, puzzled. “What the hell was I supposed to learn from that?”

Grumpy smirked. “Nothing. I just thought that shit was funny.”

**

In a flash, the scene shifted and I found myself in an old-fashioned theatre. The kind with an ornate red curtain and upholstered seats. Grumpy sat beside me, a large tub of popcorn in his lap.

“What are we doing here?” I asked.

He groaned at me and pulled out an extra large remote control. “It’s time to look at your Christmas present. This is where your real problems begin.”

I scratched my head. “I don’t mean to be rude—but shouldn’t I get a different ghost for this part?”

“I’m it.” He shrugged. “Blame it on the economy.”

With that, he flicked a button on the remote and the curtains pulled back with a soft rustle. An image filled the screen, out of focus at first, but quickly sharpening into a clear picture.

A lone man sat at a desk, a small lamp creating a circle of light around him. Long past regular work hours, he had loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves to expose muscular forearms. Numerous piles of paper cluttered the desk and he rifled through them quickly, making notations on several pages before moving on to the next stack.

I frowned, surprised to see Drew working so late on Christmas Eve.

There were circles under his eyes and his dark hair stood up at odd angles. As if on cue, he rifled a hand through the strands, muttering something under his breath in the process.

Grumpy leaned forward. “What’d he say?”

My heart thudded against my chest. “My name.”

Grumpy turned up the volume and sat back. “This should be good.”

Drew threw his pen down on the desk and eyed his phone, indecision clear on his features. I suspected he had been doing this for some time now. He picked up the handset, but replaced it without dialing. This process repeated several times, and finally he managed to punch in a number.

Grumpy switched the channel and now the picture changed to a split-screen—Drew, and me, asleep on my couch. The phone rang in the background, but I simply mumbled something in my sleep and turned over onto my stomach.

“Idiot,” Grumpy said.

“You said it,” I agreed, willing myself to wake up. I didn’t and Drew hung-up, flicking off his light to sit in the dark.

I watched his silhouette, my heart inching into my throat. If only I had picked up. What would he have said? What would I have said? I turned away. “I don’t want to watch him anymore.”

Grumpy flipped to another channel and I forced myself to look up.

Gabe was alone in his house. Dressed in running clothes, his forehead still bore a sheen of sweat from a recent workout. Feet propped up on the coffee table, he flipped on his TV and searched for something to watch. After surfing for a couple of minutes, he turned it off and tossed the remote onto the table.

He stood suddenly and roamed his house—first picking up a book, then another, then discarding them both with disinterest. Next he rifled through his fridge looking for something to eat. Nothing seemed to catch his eye and he left the kitchen empty-handed.

He was agitated, restless. I knew the feeling well, and my heart ached to know that I might have played even the smallest part in putting him in such a state. I hadn’t called him as I had intended. I hadn’t been able to make myself do it. Not after everything that had happened between us, and not with Drew’s face looming in the back of my mind. Instead of choosing between them, I had bowed out and hidden myself away in my apartment. Avoidance played a big part in my psyche.

Or cowardice.

Puh-tay-toe, Puh-tah-toe.

Gabe moved into his living room and turned on the Christmas tree he had set up in one corner. The soft lights began to twinkle on and off, throwing patches of color across his face as he stood watching it. His face was unguarded in the quiet, and I could sense a deep sense of loneliness coming off him in waves. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“I’ve seen enough,” I said.

Grumpy flicked another switch and the lights came up in the theatre. He munched on his popcorn, leaving me to my thoughts for a few minutes.

“Okay, so I get it already. I’m making all of our lives miserable.”

“Yaph,” he mumbled around a mouthful of corn. He swallowed and coughed up a couple of unpopped kernels. “Nothing gets past you, does it?”

I threw him a dirty look. “You’re a disgusting pig.”

“Bite me.”

“You’d fit in my oven – I’d be careful what you ask for if I was you.”

He rolled his eyes and tossed his bucket onto the seat beside him. “Come on. We’ve got one more stop.”

“Fantastic.”

This time when the mist cleared, we were in front of a colonial style building. It had two stories and sat in the middle of a packed parking lot. I had a very bad feeling and reluctantly trailed behind the elf as he passed through the front glass doors.

It opened into a lobby, all brass fixtures and wood paneling. Not a hotel from the looks of it, but what it was exactly, I had no idea. There were several bulletin boards lining the walls, and I chanced a peek at them as we passed. There were event sign-up sheets. Notices of various types. Was it a dorm of some sort?

“Where are we?”

As soon as I said it, my eyes landed on an elderly gentleman scuttling past the front desk with his walker.

“Oh hell,” I said. “Is this a retirement home?”

“Assisted living,” Grumpy said, following the man down a long corridor.

I let out a disgusted sound and reluctantly kept pace. “Say it ain’t so.”

Just then I heard the sound of a familiar voice—my own. It was slightly distorted—aged, but it was me.

We turned the corner and entered a large recreational room. I didn’t want to look, but like a person drawn to a train wreck, I couldn’t help myself.

I sat in the middle of a mosh pit of walkers and wheelchairs, my frizzed hair streaked with grey and pulled up behind a green poker visor. I was dealing cards, egging the other residents into a game of Texas Hold ‘em.

I had thought my Barbie outfit bad, but this one took the cake. I wore over-sized polyester stretch pants, with a t-shirt with a large Poinsetta design, complete with glitter and sequins. I groaned and covered my face with my hands. “Make it go away!”

Grumpy chuckled, and I peeked through my fingers at my older self. I looked ridiculous—all red lipstick and tacky clothing.

“What the hell am I doing in this place? I’m not even that old!”

And I wasn’t. I couldn’t have been more than fifty, much too young for this joint.

“I’m guessing you wanted company that couldn’t run away. Look at that hair! Scary.”
I flipped him off at that and booked it out of the room. “Take me back!”

Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of this riveting tale. (snrk) :)

'Tis The Season

2009-12-07T07:35:00.007-06:00

Just Three weeks until Christmas! Wait, scratch that! Make that 18 days! Holy heck. I am quite happy to say that at this particular point in time, most of my Christmas shopping is complete. I just have a couple of small items to buy and a whole heckuvalotta wrapping to do. That I can handle. Thing is, I have to get most of this in the mail this week...so I better get a move on.

So, it's Christmas and I stumbled across a little "story" I wrote last year for an exercise I ran over at compu. The general idea was to write a story of Christmas past, present, future a la' Dickens, in which you show your characters at age 7, present day, and age 50. Ghosts had to be included in some form and there had to be some sort of "lesson" learned... I think. Anyway, think A Christmas Carol and you'll be on the right track.

I thought it might be fun to dust this one off and post it here. I'll do it over probably 2-3 days. It's a long one. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I swear, with all of the exercises I write using my characters from FI, I sometimes feel like I'm writing fanfiction of my own book. LOL. S'okay, tho. It all helps stir the batter...and sometimes I discover things I didn't know about my characters.

So...here we go.

(c) Jennifer Hendren 2009

I jerked awake at the sound of the doorbell. With a grunt in the general direction of the door, I whipped one of the throw pillows over my head, flopped onto my stomach, and tucked back into the couch.

It rang again.

I popped one eye open and studied the grains in the fabric.

Ten beats and nothing happened. I sighed and snuggled my face into the cushion.

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!

This time the person went to town on the ringer. The continuous peal of sound practically made my ears bleed. I let loose a few choice words, shook off the blanket tangled around my legs, and threw the door open. “What?”

I blinked and lowered my gaze a couple of feet. Was the circus in town?

An elf was on my doorstep. I’m talking pointy ears, green hat, lots of little person cuteness.

“Took you long enough,” he said, barreling past me into the apartment. His voice was a complete contradiction to his appearance. He sounded like a well-seasoned smoker.

I bapped my forehead a few times with the heel of my hand, opened my eyes and he was gone. Whew. Must’ve been a dream.

I retrieved my blanket from the floor and that’s when I heard sounds coming from the kitchen.

Oh man!

I crept around the corner and found the elf rifling through my refrigerator. He was half inside the thing, reaching for the beer I kept stored on the top shelf.

“What the hell are you doing?” I yelled. In the scramble to get to my beer, he had managed to wedge his little slipper into the cheesecake I had thawed for dinner. He ignored my protests, kicked off his soiled bootie and clamored off to the living room, beers in tow. Too stunned to react, I followed behind, mute.

“Oh God, not my pillow!” I whined. He had planted himself on my couch and had his toes curled into the thick fabric. Even from a distance I could see the wiry hair sprouting out all over his feet.

“What a day,” he declared on a happy sigh. He downed a beer in one shot and let out a loud belch. Then he opened a second and fixed me in his sights. “I’m not gonna pussyfoot around this. You’re a fucking mess.”

My head snapped backward and I flicked my eyes around the room, looking for the hidden camera. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t get your panties all in a bunch. I’m here to help.”

“But who the hell are you?” I said.

He burped again and pushed off the couch. With a roll of his eyes, he cleared his throat and spoke in a falsetto. “I’m the ghost of Christmas past. I’ve come because you’ve forgotten the true meaning of Christmas.”

He coughed for a full minute after this little performance, whacking himself in the chest with a tiny fist. “Come with me,” he said, finally, eyes bugged out, face red.

“Where are we going?” I said, trying to figure out which would be the safer bet—the door or the bottle of pepper spray in my purse.

He stopped, hands on hips, and glared at me. “Don’t play stupid. You’ve probably seen this goddamn movie a million times. You know how this shit works.”

He had a point. And this was just a dream after all. What did I have to lose?

He disappeared through the door and I followed a few seconds later. Mist surrounded me, and soon I was falling down into a black void.

**

The mist slowly dissipated. When at last I had my senses back, I realized we were standing outside a two-story Victorian I hadn’t stepped foot inside for several years. My parents’ house.

“Aww hell,” I muttered.

The elf made a guttural noise in the back of his throat and motioned for me to follow behind him.

The yard was covered in thick snow drifts, but my stocking-covered feet seemed to hover atop them, impervious to the cold. Patches of light played across the vast whiteness, and in the front picture window, a huge Christmas tree blinked brilliant blues and reds and greens.

The elf was right. I’d seen this movie and I knew how these things worked. The only question was what year we had returned to. And what stupid event from my past would I be forced to relive.

The possibilities were endless.

There had been the time my brothers tied me to the track of their train set, always failing to save the damsel in distress before the engine rammed into my side. I’d been four, and the “whoo-whoo” of a mini chu-chu still made me tense.

Or there was the time when I was six. I’d received one of those dolls that peed when you fed her. My very funny brothers decided to put food coloring in her mouth and the resulting plume of blue dye on my mother’s new area rug had caused an uproar I wouldn’t soon forget.

Okay, if you haven’t guessed by now, my brothers were the bane of my existence when I was a child. A significant problem when I, junior to the youngest by five years, wanted nothing more than to be a boy so I could tag along and be in on all their jokes. It had topped my Christmas list for several years running.

With a sigh, I stepped up beside Grumpy, who stood peeking through the front window. He tugged on my sweats and with a soft whoosh, we walked through the wall together.

“Cool,” I said. “Wish I could do that trick in real life.”

He rolled his eyes, and I glared down at him. “You need to work on your people skills, you little f—.”

Voices from above interrupted my next words, and a moment later two dark-haired boys came pounding down the stairs. They had an “up to no good” aura surrounding them—as they always did—and I grimaced. Wherever they were going, you can bet I wouldn’t be far behind.

Sure enough, not thirty seconds later, I came trouncing down the stairs in full whig-out mode, the idea of being left behind too much for my little self to handle. Mini-Madison practically thrummed with pent up frustration.

I guessed my age to be around seven or eight. It was the Barbie jammies that gave it away. Not to mention the pigtails done up with pink cotton ribbons.

Oh hell. I looked like a girlie-girl. The kind I always felt an irrational need to choke.

Grumpy snorted beside me. “Nice outfit.”

I ignored him and followed behind mini-me. I had a sudden flood of remembrance and saw the rest of this scene play out in my memory. Oh hell.

We passed through the swinging door leading to the kitchen and the boys almost immediately exited, me hot on their heels. They were loaded down with a bunch of random items—some tools, rope, a few pieces of wood from the stockpile in the kitchen.

“What are ya doin?” Small Madison squealed, trying to keep up with their longer strides.

“Shutup, Sonny,” Ian growled, drawing back his fist in warning. My parents were in the living room watching TV, just a few feet away. I flinched backwards, but immediately gathered my wits to follow them upstairs. They slammed their bedroom door behind them, but I squeezed inside and quietly climbed into their bottom bunk.

I sat very still, and they ignored me as they arranged the hodge podge of items before them on the floor.

Grumpy and I stood near the window, watching the boys hard at work.

“Whatcha doin?” I had inched forward on the bed, curiosity finally getting the better of me.

Paul rolled his eyes and exchanged a look with Ian. “Get lost, squirt.”

Being the older of the two, Paul had always shown me a little more patience. But even he had his limits.

I had my finger in my mouth. At first glance it looked like I was sucking on it, but I recognized the gesture at once. Born with a deep dimple in my right cheek, I had been cursed with always being told how cute I was—followed by painful pinches to my cheeks. At an early age, I had determined that my dimple was to blame and had begun a campaign to rid myself of the dang thing. I’d spent hours, finger or tongue planted firmly on the inside of my cheek, hoping I could pop the sucker back out.

I grinned at the memory, and ran my tongue along the familiar spot. I’d been so determined, and sometimes found myself unconsciously repeating the action.

“Stop doing that,” Ian said, glaring at me. “You look like a baby.”

My brows knit together in a frown, but I resolutely kept my finger where it was.

They continued working, and eventually even my younger self figured out what they were making.

“I wanna play!” I squealed, climbing off the bed to stand above them, hands on hips.

“It’s too cold outside, dumbass,” Ian grumbled. “Besides, it’s our swing.”

My face crumbled, tears close to the surface. Paul stole a glance at me and frowned. Seeing this chink in his armor, I stuck out my lower lip a little further.

Ian rolled his eyes at this exchange and threw himself on his back with a groan. “God. Can’t we do anything without the little freak?”

“I’m not a freak,” I moaned, a few real tears squeaking through my lashes.

Ian sat back up, fuming and glaring at Paul. Then his expression changed, a slow smile creeping across his face. “Hey, Sonny. You can play.”

I perked up at his words, my tears drying up quickly. “I can?”

“Sure,” he said, standing and moving over to the window to glance out at the snow. “You wanna test our swing?”

“What are you doing?” Paul began, but then stopped, light dawning. He grinned then.

Boys should never be left to their own devices for too long. Seriously.

I groaned beside Grumpy, and the elf chuckled. “What a dumbass.”

“Hey!” I said. “I was seven!”

He smirked. “Even three year olds are smart enough to see this one coming.”

I ignored him and watched as Paul and Ian tied the swing to the bunk bed they had wheeled over to the window. I stood behind them, a look of self-importance on my face. They were letting me play for a change, and I glowed with excitement.

“Do you think it will hold,” Ian asked Paul, pulling on the ropes, testing their strength.

“Oh yeah.” Paul paused, doubts flickering behind his eyes. “We’re gonna be so busted if Mom catches us.”

“Sonny won’t tell, will you, Sonny?”

I shook my head vehemently and stepped forward to take my place on the swing. They opened their window and hoisted the wood—with me sitting atop it—onto the windowsill. My hands clung to the ends of the swing, scared, but determined to please them.

It was cold outside, and the wind bit at my hands and face. My feet dangled over the edge, the ground looking so far away. I could remember the way my heart had pounded in my chest, racing so fast that I could barely breathe as I looked down at the indistinguishable snow-covered lumps in the yard below. They seemed so menacing, but had been nothing more than the small bushes and flowerbeds that my mother pruned relentlessly during the summer months.

“You ready, Sonny?” Paul shouted above the swirling snow.

“Yes!” I answered, teeth chattering from the cold.

The boys exchanged a glance. “On the count of three, lower her down slowly,” Paul said.

“One…two…”

The door opened behind them. “Madison!”

My parents, probably thinking they would find us playing quietly in our rooms, stood with their mouths agape at the sight before them.

The boys wore matching guilty expressions, their hands wrapped tightly around the rope attached to their makeshift swing. And I—dressed in my Pepto Bismol outfit, teetering stupidly on the window ledge. Gullible to the last.

Poof!

We were back in the mist.

When my flaming cheeks cooled at last, I frowned, puzzled. “What the hell was I supposed to learn from that?”

Grumpy smirked. “Nothing. I just thought that shit was funny.”

Stay tuned for the next installment...Christmas PRESENT. Muhahahaha. :)

And Finished!

2009-12-04T16:55:00.001-06:00

Comments and suggestions on Manuscript #2 are written and sent, flying through the web ethers as I type this message. YAY. Excellent excellent week (or two) of reading.

Now...NOW, I am ready to jump back in the FI fray.

WHOOT.

Too Much Time On My Hands...

2009-12-04T09:35:00.006-06:00

...OBVIOUSLY. But I just can't resist these JibJab numbers. I thought I would make my images of Ty and Makenna dance around with the kids from TWILIGHT. Aren't Makenna and Ty prettier?? Well, maybe not quite as pretty as Edward...but alas, not much you can do there. At least they're not pale.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

P.S. I love how Ty reels in Makenna only to go promenading by (is that the correct term?) with Jacob a couple of shots later.

P.P.S. Does making videos of characters who only exist in my head, with pictures of people I think they look like..make me officially weird? Yeah, I think so too. First step is admitting it...

Getting Close!

2009-12-03T07:44:00.002-06:00

Almost done with manuscript #2! When that's done (and MUM is all I will say about it at this point -- big grin to Amanda!), I will be hitting FI with a vengenance. I'm feeling rather inspired at the moment.

If you haven't heard...Rachel Walsh finished her SFD of her first novel yesterday!!! Go Rachel!! This woman seriously deserves a medal for doing this amidst the chaos that is her life. Makes me realize how poor my excuses are sometimes. (g)

Be sure to stop by and congratulate her!

A Step Behind...Or Two

2009-11-30T22:59:00.002-06:00

Well, I had the best of intentions to finish both MS's from my peeps...not to mention other reading...and plotting out that screenplay, etc. Ummm...yeah.

Didn't quite happen the way I had planned.

Why? Two Words: FOOD COMA.

I was in one for most of the weekend. I swear... Turkey Day is a diabetic nightmare! I'm lucky to have survived not one, not two, but THREE different kinds of pie. My family can eat, y'all. I kid you not. That, coupled with a bit of a family emergency -- well, a rather BIG family emergency that thankfully turned out okay, and my weekend was shot.

That said, I DID manage to finish one of the manuscripts and will hopefully get started on the second tonight. After that, I'm afraid the screenplay will have to wait...as will other books. I will be back at work on FI and hopefully gutting my way to the end. I'm feeling rather energized. :)

Hope you all had a lovely holiday!

Wouldn't You Know It...

2009-11-25T10:24:00.002-06:00

As soon as I decide to take a week off to do some reading, lightning strikes. That's right.

On my way to work...DING DING DING DING.

It hit me. THE idea for a screenplay. The one I've been waiting for. The one that I THINK will work. And man, it's barking...in a MAJOR way. I've already got ideas about the big bad black moment...the stakes...the characters.. even the witty sidekicks. (It's a romantic comedy.)

I've been wanting to try this...now it looks like maybe I'll get the chance.

So, add this to the list for the week -- plotting out the major moments/plot points for this sucker. Yes, I'm pre-planning...sorta. That said, I'm excited to to get started! One good thing? A screenplay is about 90 pages...MAX. And most of that is dialogue. Whoot whoot.

Okay...simmering, simmering.

A Reading Kinda Week...

2009-11-25T08:17:00.002-06:00

Well, it's Thanksgiving week...which means some legit time off for Jen. OMG. I'm really looking forward to it! Even these first few days have been scaled way back...so in a way, I'm already on vacation. :)

At any rate, I've declared this a reading week. I know, I know. I should be working on my book...and part of me feels guilty that I'm not. The other part says to heck with it! Take a dang break and regroup. The latter part won out.

I'm reading two manuscripts for my peeps. For Peep 1, I'm trying to find places for her to cut. It's a different kind of reading because I really just want to get lost in the story. Here I am, analyzing every scene...IS THIS NECESSARY?? LOL. The first day was pretty successful, though who's to say whether Peep 1 will take my advice. The second day, not so much. LOL. Must remember to put my analytical cap firmly in place tonight, when I hope to finish.

For Peep2, I'm doing a cold, first time reading of her manuscript. It's next after the slice and dice, so hopefully I can get back into "broad strokes" mode.

Other things on the agenda....OH EGADS. I have to write our next installment for the serial over at ATWOP. I'm fuh-reaking. No clue what I'm doing yet and I probably need to write it tonight due to the fact I'll be out of town until Friday. And well, my grandpa doesn't really get an internet connection. I HAVE finked from one of his neighbors before -- but who's to say if the connection will come through again. THAT said, yeah...I need to write it tonight. Which of course may push back my entire schedule as I sit here for hours, staring at a blank screen -- wondering wth to write. Dude, it's so gonna happen. LOL.

I'm also part way through a Maureen Johnson book -- THE KEY TO THE GOLDEN FIREBIRD.

I'd also like to get started on Stephen King's new one -- UNDER THE DOME. I hear it's reaaaaaallly good. Not that I have a shot in hell of finishing it this weekend. LOL.

What plans do you all have? Turkey day plans? :)

If I don't have time later....HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!

In Case You Hadn't Heard..

2009-11-19T01:32:00.003-06:00

There's a movie coming out tomorrow that's been kept on the complete DL. In fact, I'd be surprised if any of you have even heard about it. Here's a little sneak peek:

Yes...New Moon. Out tomorrow, well...for those of you willing to trudge out at midnight to see it. Umm, I'm willing. (g) I bought my tickets WELL in advance--about two months ago--and will be jockeying with tweens to get the best seat in the house.

I'm preparing myself now for the squealing and sighing...and the overall teen angst. To be honest, the atmosphere is what I'm going for. The movie may or may not be worth it, but listening to 300 girls go all fangirl over Patterson is going to be well worth my ten duckets.

No, I won't be picking a team cuz I can't back either of these boys. I'm all about:

TEAM TY!!

Whoot...now he's worth backing!

I will be sure to report in on all of the Tweens Gone Wild. Let's see if I can get popcorn thrown at me again for giggling inappropriately (i.e. during the "serious" parts). (g) Anyone else trudging out to see it tomorrow night?

Bwhahaha!

2009-11-17T19:58:00.003-06:00

This Sicilian thing between YA authors MUST end. At least before I crash the YA mansion. :)

Maureen Johnson...facing her fears...no...challenging her...no... It's more like she's dragging her heels and whining all the way to doing something she absolutely does not want to do.

PAPER TOWNS by John Green

2009-11-15T21:21:00.003-06:00

Well, it's been a while since I've done any reviews--mostly because I have very little time to read these days. I DO listen to a ton of audio books, as you all know, but somehow I feel like that's cheating on the whole reading experience. But, you do what you gotta do. Since I can't read, I listen. (Erm, I CAN read, of course...but you know what I mean. lol)

Anywho...I'm back with a quick and dirty review of PAPER TOWNS by John Green.

PAPER TOWNS, Young Adult

Brief Summary: Quentin Jacobson is slightly obsessed with his childhood friend, Margo Roth Spiegelman. They're seniors in high school now, and run in completely different circles. That hasn't stopped his fascination with her--if anything it's made her more untouchable and perfect in his mind. Then one night, she knocks on his window and takes him out for a wild night of pranks--and then, disappears. He sets out to find her. Mayhem ensues.

I'd go further, but I really don't want to spoil it.

What I will say can be summed up in two words:

LOVED IT.

Of course, that's not all I'm going to say! You know me better than that.

Again, John Green has totally delivered. His characters are so well-drawn, his writing spot on and funny, and the premise just so dang good. It kept me turning the pages, wanting to know...no, NEEDING to know what would happen next. Again, my favorite characters were his hilarious sidekicks with their funny repartee. No one, and I mean NO ONE does better sidekicks. I giggled throughout and just really enjoyed everything about this book. He has such a talent for capturing the life of teenagers...gah, I want that!

If I'm 100% honest with you, I didn't _love_ the ending, but yanno...I'm okay with that. LOL. It's only because I wanted things to turn out another way. That said, the journey to get there was so fantastically fun--and tense. Overall, a really great ride.

Buy or Rent? Buy!

Yo!

2009-11-09T23:55:00.002-06:00

Been a LONG week and it's only Monday! I think this happens because I don't really get a weekend. (g)

That said, I'm trying to push through revisions of FI. I got a good chunk written today -- trying to tie some scenes together. Slow and steady wins the race, right? That's my new motto. :)

Exciting things happening over at ATWOP. Namely, it's Rachel's turn to give away a book -- contest ends THIS Friday. And this is it, folks. No more giveaways for now. Next week, we'll see what else we come up with for Friday's posts. :) So get your name in now -- she has three really kickass books to choose from. I kinda want them all. Have a feeling I'll be buying some of the books Kristen, Claire, and Rachel offered up. OH NO. What's a girl to do?

I have a new blogpost going up tomorrow -- on endings. Be sure to check it out. I have a few things I want to touch on over here, namely some book reviews. YES. I'm going to try to actually review some books one of these days. Have ya missed my reviews?? (g) Well, if not, too bad. LOL. I'm bringing them back.

That's all for now...long day. Need sleep.

Random, but....

2009-11-03T21:32:00.001-06:00

...if I could make my books into movies, this would be the "roll credits" song at the end of one of them. Not telling which. :)

Already Gone - Kelly Clarkson

Ahhh...

2009-11-03T20:39:00.005-06:00

Just finished a lovely worship session.

I'll be honest, I told myself I would go into church to get ONE book, and ONE book only. Namely LOOKING FOR ALASKA for Deniz (she won my book giveaway last Friday over at All The World's Our Page). Ummm, so yeah, I DID buy LFA for Deniz...only I picked up a few other books I wasn't planning on buying. Heh.

CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins -- COME ON. I had to get this one. HUNGER GAMES was fab-u-lous. Had to. Moral imperative on this one. I'm surprised it took me this long to pick it up.

SOULLESS by Gail Carriger -- Cool cover and I heard it's really good. Vamps, Weres, and parasols. What's not to love?

THIRST by Christopher Pike -- I HAD to get this one. HAD to. Loved me some CP when I was a teenager. It's about vampires, too. Hopefully they don't sparkle.

THE ITALIAN SECRETARY by Caleb Carr -- O.M.G. I loved THE ALIENEST and THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS. This is a _Sherlock Holmes_ story. Okay, so I'm really into the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King (a series featuring an alternative Sherlock Holmes timeline/story -- after he retires), and I'm definitely in the SH mindframe right now. PLUS -- there's a Sherlock Holmes movie coming out soon. Talk about timing on this one! LOL. Anyway, I'm SO looking forward to this one...I do believe it's actually going ahead of CATCHING FIRE in the TBR pile.

BUT...they all must wait. I'm putting on my writing cap now. Off to work.

A Lightbulb Moment

2009-11-03T07:28:00.004-06:00

I'm doing this and I may regret it later, but...

I'm officially declaring the First Draft of FAKING IT COMPLETE. Yes, yes I am.

Nothing has really changed since yesterday, but I realized I've been thinking of the book in terms of rewrites/revisions for a very long time now. But with the new completed outline/synopsis (YAY), there's been a switch in my head. I'm not rewriting/revising the original book...I'm rewriting/revising THIS draft. My first draft. Dang it, it's a DRAFT*, even if all the little holes aren't neatly filled, or if there are whole scenes that need to be changed. It's 85K (probably more...I'm not really sure anymore) of First Draft.

And to go along with my post over at ATWOP today, it DOESN'T ALL SUCK. Some of it does...some of it will be tossed...but it's DONE.

YAY.

I feel better.

*You must remember that I haven't really been in this place before. I queried my first draft of the original Faking It. And when I "revised" I added....didn't do much of that subtracting business...and polished, polished, polished. Drafts??

Productive Weekend

2009-11-01T23:34:00.002-06:00

So, I'm super busy right now, but I vowed I would keep working as much as I can. And dangit, one of these days, I'm going to announce that FI is finished. Whether that will be SOON is another thing. I'm literally scraping the bottom of the time barrel to get any work accomplished, but it is moving FORWARD. At a glacial pace, yes, but forward nonetheless.

I spent a good chunk of this weekend going through and figuring out any changes I want to make to the MS. Yes, I did a summary of sorts...not really an outline, but a verbatim telling of the story as I see it at this point. It's running close to 10 pages right now, will probably end up with 2-3 more by time I'm finished. It's been a good exercise, though much hair loss has occurred at regular intervals. Especially when I'm at a loss for what should/would come next...or when I realize that a very large chunk of the book doesn't quite make sense with my "new vision." That said, it's all coming together regardless. I may lose a few things if I can't pound them in, but that's okay. Gotta do what's best for the book. The good news is that there are VERY large chunks that will stay pretty much as they are...with minor tweaks. For that I'm very grateful.

So...progress. YAY. Now if I could just find more time... LOL.

Happy writing, all. And good luck to any Nano participants!

One More Thing...

2009-10-29T01:02:00.002-05:00

You -- YES YOU -- need to head over to All The World's Our Page and sign up for MY book giveaway. That's right..MY book giveaway. If you're peeking in and not commenting, be forewarned...I SEE you. I KNOW you're there. Comment. How long does it take? And if you do, you'll be put in the drawing to win one of these fabulous books:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Looking For Alaska by John Green
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
It by Stephen King
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
One For the Money by Janet Evanovich

OR...if none of those tickle your fancy, I'm willing to send you a book I've commented on/reviewed/mentioned in passing anywhere on THIS blog. Dudes and dudettes, that's A LOT of books to choose from.

Hurry! Deadline to comment is THIS Friday at Noon EST. Go HERE...NOW and sign up!

Howdy!

2009-10-29T00:53:00.002-05:00

I don't really have much to blog about right now. Working a lot...sleeping when I can...doing VERY LITTLE writing. It's a huge bummer, but I seriously don't have any energy right now. That said, I'm trying to get into the right frame of mind per Cindy's post tonight. HERE.

Everything she says in this post is right on the money. We're all busy people. We all have a dozen balls we're trying to juggle all at once and whenever we even think we might--or heaven forbid actually DO--drop one of them, we start playing the blame game with ourselves. The "should have" game:

I should've tried harder. I should've slept less. I should've been done with this blasted book By Now. I SUCK!!

Well, folks. We don't suck. We're just letting negativity have a little too much say in our lives. The truth of the matter is...yeah, we could've done a few things differently, but what the heck good is it going to do to keep dwelling on the past? The only thing you can worry about is what you're doing Right Now. That said, I'm with Cindy. BABY steps. Forward motion. That's all I'm going to worry about. The end is there -- someday. I just have to reach out to meet it and stop expecting to jump to the front of the line without working for it.

Okay...who's with us? :)

Bwhahahahahahaha!!!

2009-10-27T14:50:00.003-05:00

I still have tears in my eyes, and I don't think it's because I felt the spirit!

Edited to add: You MUST watch up until the 2...2 min, 15 sec mark. It gets SO good. The big finish, iow.

All's Quiet..

2009-10-22T00:08:00.003-05:00

I know I've been quiet this week -- I apologize! It's been...well....CRAZY. I'm working a ton of hours and have had very little time for anything else. Can't believe I'm even awake at this point. (g)

That said, hope everyone is doing well!

Remember that big news I was gushing about a while ago? Well, it's finally out in the open! Kristen Callihan signed with Kristin Nelson!!!!! WHOOT!!!!! How awesome is that? I expect BIG things to be coming Kristen's way...very very soon! (Wow, too many Kristen's in this paragraph!) I'll admit I'm a wee bit jealous, but honestly, I couldn't be happier for both of them! What a match! :) Now I'm all a' flutter waiting for the day I can hold Kristen's book in my hands!

In other news -- snips, snips, and MORE snips over at All The World's Our Page! Be sure to check 'em out. I'm, as always, humbled by the company I'm keeping over there.

I do promise I will be blogging more over here. I have a few books I want to talk about. Namely, I'm in the middle of the Gunslinger series by Stephen King. I've heard mixed reviews of it -- some love it, some hate it. I have to say that overall, I'm enjoying it. I'm currently on WIZARDS & GLASS. I really dig the narrator and so far I'm really loving the book. Anyone else have any comments on this series? I know it's a little weird in spots, but you have to admit he knows his world building. (g)

Oh...and I just finished Tamora Pierce's TRICKSTER'S QUEEN. I have to admit I walk away from these books a trifle confused by what happened, but knowing that I LOVED what happened. LOL. I think it's the names. I have the first book in paperback -- may have to read it next time 'round. Perhaps all the names, etc. will stick with me a little better. I don't know how you even spell his name, but I ADORE Nawat (I looked it up). He has to be one of the most original love interests I've ever discovered. I'll give you some hints -- he's a crow turned man...and he likes to preen and try to feed bugs/worms to Aly (the MC). Makes me giggle all the time. He's very sweet and oh so different.

I've also started book 4 in the Vampire Academy series. Can't recall the name at the moment, but I'm so excited to get started!

What books are y'all reading? Anything new out that's causing a stir? I haven't been to church in a while, so if you know of anything, let me know! :)

Oh..

2009-10-20T09:02:00.002-05:00

In case you didn't know -- Claire is giving away a free book this week. You can take your pick of three -- Be sure to check it out!

http://alltheworldsourpage.blogspot.com

We're talking about what we write and posting excerpts this week. Intimidating group of ladies to be amongst, let me tell you. :)

My iPod Hates Me

2009-10-20T08:38:00.002-05:00

There's something wrong with it, I'm tellin' ya. And it's reducing me to monkey mentality. All I want to do is pound it on the nearest table and beat it into submission. Beat it until it works properly.

I keep restoring it to factory settings because I can't upload anything on to it by simply...yanno...PLUGGING IT INTO MY FLIPPIN' COMPUTER. NOOOOOOOOO. That would be too easy. Why make it easy on poor Jen?!?

I'm sitting here watching it upload 3300 songs I DID NOT CHOOSE. If it does not let me choose after this little caper, I am going to hurdle it out the nearest window.

I'm LATE FOR WORK, you little machine! I need MUSIC!! I need audio books in their entirety--not random tracks of each!!

BAH!!!!

Have You Read These YA's?

2009-10-18T22:21:00.004-05:00

I stole this from a blog I ran across tonight...Teen Book Review.

The following list of books teens love, books teens should read, and books adults who serve teens should know about was compiled IN ABSOLUTELY NO SCIENTIFIC MANNER and should be taken with a very large grain of salt.

Instructions:
Put an “X” next to the books you’ve read
Put a “+” next to the books you LOVE
Put a “#” next to the books you plan on reading
Tally your “X”s at the bottom
Share with your friends!

1. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy / Douglas Adams #
2. Kit’s Wilderness / David Almond
3. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian / Sherman Alexie #
4. Speak / Laurie Halse Anderson #(Started it but alas...life)
5. Feed / M.T. Anderson
6. Flowers in the Attic / V.C. Andrews X
7. 13 Reasons Why / Jay Asher X
8. Am I Blue? / Marion Dane Bauer (editor)
9. Audrey Wait! / Robin Benway
10. Weetzie Bat / Francesca Lia Block
11. Tangerine / Edward Bloor
12. Forever / Judy Blume
13. What I Saw and How I Lied / Judy Blundell
14. Tyrell / Coe Booth
15. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants / Ann Brashares #
16. A Great and Terrible Beauty / Libba Bray +
17. The Princess Diaries / Meg Cabot #
18. The Stranger / Albert Camus X
19. Ender’s Game / Orson Scott Card #
20. Postcards from No Man’s Land / Aidan Chambers
21. Perks of Being a Wallflower / Stephen Chbosky
22. And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie +
23. Gingerbread / Rachel Cohn
24. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist / Rachel Cohn and David Levithan #
25. Artemis Fowl (series) / Eoin Colfer
26. The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins +
27. The Midwife’s Apprentice / Karen Cushman
28. The Truth About Forever / Sarah Dessen
29. Little Brother / Cory Doctorow
30. A Northern Light / Jennifer Donnelly
31. Tears of a Tiger / Sharon Draper
32. The House of the Scorpion / Nancy Farmer
33. Breathing Underwater / Alex Flinn
34. Stardust / Neil Gaiman
35. Annie on My Mind / Nancy Garden
36. What Happened to Cass McBride / Gail Giles
37. Fat Kid Rules the World / K.L. Going
38. Lord of the Flies / William Golding X
39. Looking for Alaska / John Green +
40. Bronx Masquerade / Nikki Grimes
41. Out of the Dust / Karen Hesse
42. Hoot / Carl Hiaasen
43. The Outsiders / S.E. Hinton
44. Crank / Ellen Hopkins
45 The First Part Last / Angela Johnson
46. Blood and Chocolate / Annette Curtis Klause X
47. Arrow’s Flight / Mercedes Lackey
48. Hattie Big Sky / Kirby Larson
49. To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee # (Again, started it...)
50. Boy Meets Boy / David Levithan
51. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks / E. Lockhart
52. The Giver / Lois Lowry
53. Number the Stars / Lois Lowry
54. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie / David Lubar
55. Inexcusable / Chris Lynch
56. The Earth, My Butt and Other Big, Round Things / Carolyn Mackler
57. Dragonsong / Anne McCaffrey
58. White Darkness / Geraldine McCaughrean
59. Sold / Patricia McCormick
60. Jellicoe Road / Melina Marchetta
61. Wicked Lovely / Melissa Marr X
62. Twilight / Stephenie Meyer X
63. Dairy Queen / Catherine Murdock
64. Fallen Angels / Walter Dean Myers
65. Monster / Walter Dean Myers
66. Step From Heaven / An Na
67. Mama Day / Gloria Naylor
68. The Keys to the Kingdom (series) / Garth Nix
69. Sabriel / Garth Nix
70. Airborn / Kenneth Oppel
71. Eragon / Christopher Paolini X
72. Hatchet / Gary Paulsen
73. Life As We Knew It / Susan Beth Pfeffer
74. The Golden Compass / Phillip Pullman #
75. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging / Louise Rennison
76. The Lightning Thief / Rick Riordan
77. Always Running: La Vida Loca / Luis Rodriguez
78. how i live now / Meg Rosoff
79. Harry Potter (series) / J.K. Rowling +
80. Holes / Louis Sachar #
81. Catcher in the Rye / J. D. Salinger X
82. Push / Sapphire
83. Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi
84. Unwind / Neil Shusterman
85. Coldest Winter Ever / Sister Souljah
86. Stargirl / Jerry Spinelli
87. Chanda’s Secrets / Allan Stratton
88. Tale of One Bad Rat / Brian Talbot
89. Rats Saw God / Rob Thomas
90. Lord of the Rings / J.R.R. Tolkien X
91. Stuck in Neutral / Terry Trueman
92. Gossip Girl / Cecily Von Ziegesar
93. Uglies / Scott Westerfeld +
94. Every Time a Rainbow Dies / Rita Williams-Garcia
95. Pedro and Me / Judd Winick
96. Hard Love / Ellen Wittlinger
97. American Born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang
98. Elsewhere / Gabrielle Zevin
99. I am the Messenger / Markus Zusak #
100. The Book Thief / Markus Zusak +

Wow...apparently I'm reading all the wrong YA's. (g) I only counted 17 on this list. (29 if you count all the books in the series I've read) I need to get crackin'!

How'd you guys fair?

A Very Long Week!

2009-10-15T22:01:00.005-05:00

It's been an unbelieveably busy week. Work is hopping--and I've put in a lot of OT. EXHAUSTING.

And, frankly, I've been paying WAY too much attention to everything going on over at All The World's Our Page. It's been so super exciting to launch, tho...and all of us (Kristen, Rachel, Claire, and I) are SO thrilled to have had so many people turn out to wish us good luck, etc. If you haven't dropped by, what are you waiting for? We're giving away free books for the love of Pete! (g)

You still have time to enter for a chance to win Donald Maass's new book FIRE IN FICTION. I've read a good chunk of it, and trust me, You Want It. All you have to do is leave a comment with your name. The entries close tomorrow (Friday) at 12PM EST.

And in the next few weeks, we'll be giving away some of our personal faves. Can't wait for that, lemme tell you! I still haven't decided which book/s to give away. TOUGH CALL!

Oh, and next week we'll be talking about our various works in progress, etc. WITH excerpts. *eeeee* SCARY! I swear, I've been blogging for close to three years now and I've never been THIS nervous. We all are! Weird. (g)

Hope all of you are having a great week! The weekend is almost upon us! YAY.

More Of Maureen's Reader's Guide to THE LOST SYMBOL

2009-10-13T02:59:00.003-05:00

Bwahahahahaha.

Check it out. Parts four and five.

Beverage alert!

The Grand Opening!

2009-10-12T01:22:00.003-05:00

I can now reveal the Super-Exciting-Secret Project!!!

I--along with Claire Gregory, Rachel Walsh, and Kristen Callihan--will now be group blogging at http://alltheworldsourpage.blogspot.com.

Please stop by and see us!

We will be giving away several books over the coming weeks, and all you have to do to enter the drawings is leave a comment with your name. Easy Peasy, right? We'd also love it if you spread the word, link our blog on your blog, etc. The more who know, the better!

This week, we're giving away FIRE IN FICTION by Donald Maass. (!!!) How cool is that? It's a kick-arse book.

Other giveaways will be announced, so stay tuned!

We'll be blogging about all aspects of writing. The day-to-day's, craft, querying agents, conferences, working with agents, being on submission--anything and everything we go through on our paths to publication. We're also planning some interactive serial stories that will let YOU control where the stories go. It's going to be a lot of fun. I can't wait to get started!

And in case you're wondering, I will still be blogging here. ATWOP will just be a little more...organized. (g)

Come sign up for FIRE IN FICTION -- The drawing is THIS Friday!! Don't wait, do it now! :)

SHADOW KISS by Richelle Mead

2009-10-10T15:53:00.005-05:00

Just finished reading SHADOW KISS by Richelle Mead and boy am I SO glad I waited to read it until the fourth book was out. Let me tell you, it has one of those endings that leaves you screaming for more.

Actually, I think my reaction was something like this:

*Jen reading, knowing the pages are dwindling...two more pages...*aaargh*...one page...oh shiite, only a paragraph..last sentence...*

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!"

Yes, I am a'clamoring for more. In fact, did I not have the fourth novel in my hot little hands, I might've staked out Mead's front yard, refusing to leave until she let me peer over her shoulder while she wrote it. I think all of us should be extremely thankful this is NOT the situation. I do indeed have the book, and I will not go all stalker on anyone. Small miracle.

That said, I have no idea if I should read the next book because I have a gut feeling my reaction to the end of book 4 will only be...more intense. (g)

Okay -- I haven't reviewed any of the books in this series, so let me give you a quick overview of Mead's world.

Rose Hathaway is what's known as a dhamphir. A half-human, half-vampire. This makeup leaves her stronger and more resilient than full-vampires, the Moroi. Because of this difference, dhamphirs pretty much serve two purposes in life. They either go into intense training and become guardians to the physically inferior Moroi, or they become...hmmm, how shall we put this? Blood whores. *heh* Because the ONLY way for Moroi to reproduce is to do it with a dhamphir. (Is this twisted or what?) Dhamphir's are basically the second class citizens of the vampire world. Their motto: They come first. Meaning the Moroi.

But there are evil forces also at work in this world! The Stirgoi. Stirgoi are the BAD vampires. They're sort of a combination of the vampires we all love to lust after, and brainless zombies intent on eating brains. Only they want blood. They're evil, destructive, and hell-bent on taking out all the Moroi. Hence the need for Guardians (the trained arse-kicking dhampirs).

The Moroi DO have one advantage, tho. Magic. Only problem is that they've sort of lost it over the years. And those in power believe all the fighting should be left up to the Guardians.

This is a problem for Lissa Dragomir, who has the power of spirit. Rose and Lissa grew up together, and when in a tragic car accident that wiped out Lissa's entire family, it was Rose she came to the rescue of, saving her with her magic and creating a link between them known as being Shadow Kissed. You with me?

This shadow kiss allows Rose to feel Lissa's emotions--to even "become" her in order to see through her eyes, etc. This link is very strong, and of course, makes Rose the perfect guardian-in-training to protect Lissa. They attend the St. Vladimir's Academy -- a school for vamps and training dhamphirs.

They get into a lot of trouble. They chase after a lot of boys. Most importantly, they, or rather, Rose, chases Dmitri, the guardian assigned to train her for her future guardian role. Still with me?

MAYHEM ENSUES. LOTS OF MAYHEM.

I'm not going to go into the specifics about THIS book. Way too much to explain, and I'd spoil everything for you. What I will say is this:

YOU. NEED. TO. READ. THESE. BOOKS.

Book 1: VAMPIRE ACADEMY
Book 2: FROSTBITE
Book 3: SHADOW KISS
Book 4: BLOOD PROMISE (just released this year)
Book 5: SPIRIT BOUND (Slated to drop May 2010)
Book 6: TBA (sob--I believe it's the final one -- Slated to drop 2010)

If you've read BTPM and enjoyed it -- get these books. They will show what a truly talentless hack I am. But that's okay.

State Of Emergency!

2009-10-10T09:26:00.001-05:00

HOUSTON, WE HAVE SNOW ON THE GROUND!

SNOW ON THE GROUND!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgh.

It's too early. I'm not ready for this!!!

SCARY!

2009-10-10T02:38:00.002-05:00

Just got home from a midnight viewing of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. This movie is very scary. I may have to sleep with a night light for a while. (g) That said, the ending was fairly lame. LOLOL. Not gonna lie to you. But the rest was pretty intense and nail-biting kinda scary. I screamed a lot. My friends laughed at me. I screamed some more cuz it was hella scary.

Oh, and wanna know what's even scarier? It's snowing outside right now. We are barely into October, and It's Snowing. This has to be some sort of cosmic joke. WHERE IS FALL?? It's like we skipped it altogether. Bah. The ground Had Better Not be white when I wake up. I want reds and oranges and yellows and crunching leaves beneath my feet.

Stay back, winter!

Off to "sleep." Not sure I'll be able to. Mwhahaha.

Some Early-Morning Random Thoughts

2009-10-09T07:33:00.004-05:00

It's Friday. TG. But it's cold, and icky, and I don't want to get out of bed and go to work. But alas, that is life. The unfortunate part is that it's an ALL DAY work day for me. I'll be leaving in about 45 min and won't get home until probably 1am. Tell me that doesn't suck? lol

**

To compound the looooonnng day, we had to make a late night emergency vet run with Bailey last night. It's still not clear what's wrong with her. Well, we know it's her throat. The big sign--other than the fact she's had her tail down and is walking around all sick-like--is that when we tried to feed her some soft food last night, she cried the entire time she ate it. One exam and two x-rays later (with many, many high-pitched, squeals--even when no one was touching her. Such a drama queen), and they couldn't really find anything in her soft palate, etc. Prognosis? Possible puppy sore throat. *smacks forehead* Well, it could be something bigger, but it's all a wait and see game at this point. Her cries were horrible, though, so you couldn't have kept us away from the vet. My guess is that she scraped up her throat scarfing down something. Possibly something we gave her. Possibly a stick. Possibly a rock. She's not the brightest bulb, but we love her.

**

I'm still bursting with good news this morning. Yaaaaaay.

**

Did a bit of work on FI between vet and Husker game. (YAY, way to make a comeback, boys!) The thing I always find funny about writing? It's always sooo much easier figuring things out than it is actually executing them (and it's NEVER easy for me to figure things out in advance). LOL. But I'm working on it, and that's the important thing. The new motivational thread I'm weaving into the story will change some things, but suprisingly not as much as I thought. The thing is, the major scenes that involved "the big reveals", etc. were the ones I've been stuck on for so long. So I'm not really losing that much because I couldn't complete them to begin with. LOL. So yay. That said, the more I think about the changes, the more I love them. They add this great layer to the story that was always sort of there, but now is clearly defined. And boy -- it's a doozy. :)

My goal, of course, is to make it as seamless as possible. Natural to the point that when you guys read it someday, you'll wonder to yourself -- what the heck was Jen blathering on about for so long? This COULDN'T have been that hard to write. lololol. Ah, the dream. :) But if it reads that way someday, realize the journey to get it there was NEVER easy. Fun, yes. Easy? No. Ah, nothing else like writing in the whole world.

**

Super-exciting-secret project is still in the works. Big reveal on Monday -- Promise!

**

It's official. I'm in the Halloween mood. I'm busy as all get-out, tired, and more than a little cranky most days. But dang it, those inflatable pumpkins and ghosts I'm seeing everywhere have brought me back around to Happy Jen. I love this season. LOVE IT. I'll even take the cold, dreary weather as part of the package. Can't wait to get to a haunted house or pumpkin patch this year. I'm a screamer, guaranteed to splinter all ear drums within a quarter mile radius. I'm told this makes it quite fun to tour one of these places with me. (g)

That said -- I may have to sneak a few moments to work on BTPM here and there. Or maybe even on WALKING IN SHADOW--the sequel. Werewolvews -- just the thing to put me in a good mood. :)

**

Okay -- I've procrastinated, but it really is time to head to work now.

This Is For...Well, You KNOW Who You Are!!!

2009-10-08T20:01:00.001-05:00

Is It Really Thursday?

2009-10-08T08:09:00.002-05:00

*blinks*

Where did this week go?

Oh yeah, I spent it at work. :P

Which is where I'm heading now.

Can you hear the happiness in my fingers?

It's there -- listen closely.

I miss Evergreen.

Rough Waters

2009-10-05T20:00:00.002-05:00

Okay, after regrouping to work on FI again, I had to face the fact that I had one very serious plot point that was throwing the whole works topsy-turvy. One little piece that could sent my sad little house of cards a tumblin' down. I had to fix it. I had to brainstorm. I had to come up with SOMETHING to explain why certain events go down the way they do. Cuz, frankly, if I couldn't, I wasn't sure I could make the book believable in the end. And let's face it, I've had a hard time doing that to begin with! LOL.

I digress.

Anyway, I've known about this particular issue for a LOOOOOOONG time. And I've switched this or that...tried to look at things from different character POV's...squinted really hard at the screen and jumped up and down like a kangaroo on crack.. I've done it all to try and figure some way around this roadblock. And I've continuously hit the same brick wall. Over and over and over and over again.

Eventually I just kinda said to heck with it. It will work itself out eventually. HA. It never did. :)

But....EUREKA!! I've had a breakthrough. And I owe it all to Tricia and her inquisitive nature. :) Seriously, all it took was for her to ask just the right question at the right time and my little synapses were firing like mad. She seriously solved a problem that has plagued me for months on end! How awesome is that?

Now, I'm not guaranteeing it will be smooth sailing from here on out, but things are definitely going in the right direction.

So, thank you, Tricia! You rock! (And you have MORE than redeemed yourself!) Thanks.

Meh

2009-10-03T09:31:00.003-05:00

It's Saturday. It's cold outside. I have to work all day. MEH.

There isn't even a Husker game on to break up that day o' fun.

In FUN news, tho....and let's face it, we all need a little fun. We're having a snip thread over at compu...HERE.

Stop by and check it out -- or post something for us all to enjoy! Snip threads are my most favoritest things in the whole wide world. :):):)

Hi ho, now...off I go. Have a good day! May it be warm where you are. (g)

Oh Man!

2009-10-02T22:01:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you, but I'm excited to read it!!!

The Attitude I'm Trying To Adopt!

2009-10-02T15:01:00.001-05:00

Man, could they make videos back then, or what??

Changing Of The Hat!

2009-10-02T08:06:00.001-05:00

In Superman fashion, Jen ducks into the closet, emerging a moment later wearing her FI cap.

Shazaam.

Whoot-Whoo!

2009-09-30T18:14:00.002-05:00

One of my peeps has super exciting—super secret news that I can't really share. But I will say this:

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Okay, that is all.

Awww

2009-09-29T11:48:00.001-05:00

I'm gonna have to try this "Stop, Drop & Roll" method the next time I walk Chloe & Bailey!

Rubs Hands Together

2009-09-29T07:04:00.003-05:00

BTPM is coming along! I've decided to keep this really kick arse fight scene I wrote and trashed a while back. It's a little too much at present, but I think with a few tweaks to tone down the tone, I should be good to go. :) I have to say, it reads REALLY well, probably the best stuff in the book, if I'm honest. I just can't let it go! But it can't really work the way it is now, either. Me and my little minions will go to work on it and pound it into something usable.

Oh, and I'm devising a very clever plan with some friends. We shall be revealing it very, very soon. *muhahahaha*

And I'm blogging/emailing at seven in the morning. Someone do an intervention. Quick!

The Funniest Thing I've Read In A Looooong Time

2009-09-27T23:03:00.002-05:00

Maureen Johnson, YA author extraordinaire, is doing a chapter by chapter reader's "guide" to Dan Brown's new novel, THE LOST SYMBOL.

It is seriously...da bomb.

I haven't laughed this hard in quite some time.

You must, must, must, MUST check it out. (Or avoid if you actually WANT to read the book. And admittedly, I kinda do!)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3...

Stay tuned for the next installment.

Oh, Evergreen! How I Miss Thee

2009-09-27T14:54:00.016-05:00

After the Colorado Gold conference, the gnomies got together for a little writer's retreat. We did this last March -- in Myrtle Beach, SC. So beach and the mountains so far... I can't wait to see where we go next time!

(And I just read on an agent's blog that a writer's life DOES NOT consist of spending quiet afternoons in a mountain retreat...or seaside in a cottage. Shame on us. We're doing it ALL wrong.)

Anyway...some pics. (Be forewarned, amateur here!)

Our House. This is what you call roughing it in the wilderness. I'll tell ya. It's a tough job, but we gnomies are up to the challenge!

It was HUGE...had an indoor pool and everything! Yeah, it was pretty much made of awesome, even if the decor was stuck somewhere in the 80's.

Our patio. Check out that blue sky! We had PERFECT weather while we were there. Lucky. A week later, they had snow!

The view FROM our patio. Are you feeling sorry for us now?? I mean, goodness. To wake up that view takes a certain kind of human strength and endurance. We are all very brave women.

More view from the patio -- obviously a different time of day. Did I mention this house was gated on acres and acres of private land? I'll tell you what. If you ever vacation, you WANT Beth Shope booking the rental. She always finds the greatest places to stay!

The view during a hike we took. I can't remember the exact name of the location. Something with bears in it...Beautiful.

A HUGE beaver's dam. Holey moley they've been hard at work!

Cool cloud shapes. I think this is a sign that Beth Shope needs to finish her book. Can't be a coincidence that we saw this. :)

This little guy decided to pop and say hello to me when I was out on a walk on the rental property. We watched each other for a long time, and he/she actually ended up following me for a little while. There was a whole family of deer living under some brush near the property gate.

<<

Our final morning in Evergreen. I didn't want to leave. Sigh. Can you blame me?

Whoa...

2009-09-25T17:16:00.001-05:00

3 chapters down...only about....eh...24 to go.

I can SO do this.

RMFW Workshops – Screenwriting, Presented by Eldon Thompson

2009-09-25T13:38:00.004-05:00

I wanted to post some of my notes from the RMFW conference. You'll have to excuse me if these are a little sparse in certain spots. The only real point that I can criticize Eldon Thompson on as a presenter is that he spoke EXTREMELY fast. I'm a quick note-taker (law school, hello), but even I couldn't keep up at times.

So, you might be wondering – why take a screenwriting class, Jen?

What can I say? I love movies. Love, love, love, LOVE me some movies. You might say I'm slightly obsessed with them, though I haven't seen a new one in ages. And one comment I've heard over the years is that some of my scenes are "very cinematic." I'm not sure that's always a good thing in writing – guess it depends on who you're talking to. That said, I really didn't know much about screenwriting before taking this class. Even now, I'm not sure it's something I could do – well. I definitely want to try, though. Especially after taking this class.

Okay…screenwriting.

Eldon started off by talking about some of the differences between novels and screenwriting.

For one, novels have more freedom while screenwriting is much more structured. For a two hour film, you'll need 120 pages. It's 1 page per minute. Therefore, if you're writing for TV, you'd be shooting for 40 pages, etc. No going crazy on the word counts, people!
Certain events HAVE TO happen on certain page numbers. This all helps to provide a tempo and/or the beats that are expected in films. In novels, we can pretty much do just about anything and get away with it. Within reason, of course.
While writing a novel is a solo venture, writing a screenplay is very collaborative. Eldon made a point of saying you'll get opinions from every direction – the actors, the director, the boys in the office, etc. Actually, he made this part of screenwriting sound very tiresome. In novels, specificity is the key. You can go on and on about using a certain dog breed in a scene, while in screenplays you simply have to say "there's a dog." Why? Because you're not the only one working on the project. Someone else might come along and see a different breed. (Jen's aside: Are you getting the sense that while you're giving a lot of creative input into a project, you're not allowed to go hog wild on details? Cuz I sure am.)
Films/TV shows are dictated by cost. Obviously in novels you can place your characters in the wildest, most extravagant setting you can imagine. In film, things come back to the Benjamins. Can you really afford to shoot at the top of the Eiffel Tower or would the backyard of your mother's house be more reasonable? (I think we all know the answer to that one.)

Eldon finished this section by reminding us of The Golden Rule: Every rule is made to be broken. But, Eldon pointed out, understanding why the rules exist is always a good idea.

So, some tips on writing a screenplay:

You want a major event to occur every ten pages. At the 30 page mark, you want a culmination of the previous two events. AKA – The Payoff.
Conflict (as in novels) is the key element. You want two characters with opposing objectives in every scene.
Avoid dinner scenes!
One of the big mistakes first-time screenwriters make is that they want to add direction. (i.e. try to dictate camera angles, how emphasis should be placed on certain lines of dialogue, etc.) Basically, they want to be the directors. They want their screenplays to play out in their minds just like a novel would. Well, folks, Eldon said to NOT do this. You'll step on peoples' toes. Big time. I mean, just imagine if I wrote a screenplay that eventually starred Jack Nicholson. Do you think Jack would want me to tell him he has to say his line like a little girl? Yeah, don't think so.
There's a lot less time in film, so you need to keep your writing lean and mean. Central character focus is very, very important. You'll want to focus mostly on your primary characters, a little less on your secondary, and leave out your third altogether.
Scenes should build on the previous one. NO tangents.
You don't need to describe setting with a lot of detail. (Goes back to the Benjamins and stepping on peoples' toes again.) You pretty much want to stick with whether the scene takes place indoors or outdoors; whether it's day or night; and the location (once again, bearing in mind that this is subject to change. Ah, you just know most of it will be shot at your mom's house.) Remember Eldon's BIG RULE: SIFYN – SAVE IT FOR YOUR NOVEL.
Everything in a script has to be seen on the screen. You can have someone frown, but you can't say WHY they're frowning. EVERYTHING is visual rather than internal. If it can't be seen on the screen, take it out.
Do not let reality cloud your story. Hollywood could care less if the scene you're describing really happened. A movie has to be the most dramatic version of an event possible.

How can you get started?

Try to adapt an established story. You'll need permission if you want to shop it around (an option from the writer), but it's a good way to get practice.
Eldon warns it's difficult to adapt your own work. In order to adapt a novel to a screenplay, you must be ruthless. You have to yank out entire threads/subplots, delete characters you love, etc. You must be ruthless if you attempt this. Go into it open-minded, and DO NOT be afraid to KILL your darlings!

Software options for screenwriting:

Movie Magic
CeltX (free download)
Final Draft (industry standard)

Okay…now we're going to get into the nitty-gritty of writing a screenplay. The "set-up" so to speak.

Three things you should always keep in mind: Character, Desire, and Conflict. Repeat after me. Character, Desire, and Conflict. Got it? K.

For this section, he used Michael Hauge's Six Stage Plot Structure, seen here: http://www.dramatica.com/theory/articles/hauge-plot.html

I'll go through because Eldon listed some great examples for each stage/turning point, etc.

Stage 1 – Setup. (0-10%)

Basically, you introduce your hero doing what he/she does.
You should draw the reader/viewer into the setting, establish identification with your character, etc.

Examples:

Erin Brockovich – We see Erin is a broke, single mother who has fallen onto hard times.
Castaway – Fedex guy who has to leave the love of his life to go on an impromptu business trip.
Gladiator – What's his bucket – Russell Crow – leads his troops to victory.

Turning Point #1: Opportunity (approx. 10% of the way in)

The new opportunity. A new, visible desire develops that will start a character on his/her new journey.
The character goes in WILLINGLY.

Examples:

The Empire Strikes Back – Luke goes off alone to find Yoda.

Stage 2 – New Situation (10-25%)

Hero reacts to his/her new situation.
Formulates a specific plan to tackle new problem/journey.
Will often see a geographical shift (i.e. the character moves)
The characters go into the situation willingly. They're excited and believe the obstacle can be solved easily.

Examples:

Mrs. Doubtfire – Robin Williams devises a plan to see his children. (Becoming a female housekeeper)

Turning Point #2: Change of Plans (Approx. 25% of the way in)

Something happens that makes it clear things won't be as easy as they first thought.
Audience should be cheering them on.
Character's inner journey may be different, invisible. But you must develop a visible desire that the audience can see on the screen.

Examples:

The Empire Strikes Back – Leia and Han Solo escape Hoth, thinking they are well onto their destination when their light speed doesn't work.
Working Girl – Tess realizes her boss has stolen her idea and is determined to sell it herself.

Stage 3 – Progress (25-50%)

The hero's plan seems to be working.
He/she has avoided all obstacles for now

Examples:

Erin Brockovich – Erin gets Ed to represent the Hinkley residents. She also establishes her relationship with biker boy.
The Empire Strikes Back – Luke finds Yoda and begins his training.

Turning Point #3: Point of No Return (Approx. the 50% mark)

The character must fully commit to his plan
There is no way out but forward

Examples:

The Truman Show – Truman crosses the bridge.
Titanic – Rose sleeps with Jack.
Erin Brockovich – Ed's firm hires the new, bigger firm.

Stage IV – Complications and Higher Stakes (50-75%)

This should be fairly self-explanatory. IOW, I have a hole in my notes. (g) If you need help, read one of Donald Maass's books. J

Turning Point #4: Major Setback (75% point)

Should take place around page 90 in a two hour movie
This is the hero's darkest moment. All hope seems lost.
If the hero is pulling off some great deception, this is when he/she is revealed.
Couples break up.

Examples:

The Matrix – Morpheus is captured.
Titanic – It's clear the ship is going to go down.
Working Girl – Tess is caught by her boss and gets canned.

Stage V – The Final Push (75 to 90-99%)

Hero must gather resources to achieve goals.
The conflict is overwhelming, nothing is working.

Examples: (these are my own – more holes)

Titanic – Jack and Rose try to save themselves; get to a boat.
The Matrix – Keanu Reeves is fighting the matrix guys, but he isn't strong enough.
Gladiator – Crow's escape/coup attempt fails and his men are killed.

Turning Point #5: The Climax (90-99% point)

The hero must determine his/her own fate.
He/she cannot rely on someone else to save them.

Examples:

Gladiator – Final battle scene in the coliseum
The Empire Strikes Back – Luke fights Darth Vader and discovers DV is his father. (Jen's aside: Luuuuke… I am your faaaather. Umm, sorry if I spoiled that for any of you.)

Stage VI – The Aftermath (90-100% point)

The hero's challenge has been overcome.
This gives a look at where the hero is NOW.

Examples:

Erin Brockovich – Erin receives her bonus check and is now working on a new case.
Gladiator – Russell is reunited with his family. I remember there was a lot of wheat.

And that's it, folks. You've just got the lowdown on how to write a screenplay. Anyone dying to give it a try?

Oh…just a few last notes.

Genre standards:

Comedy/Rom. Comedy – 90 min/pages

Action – 120 min – pages will likely be less because of the big action scenes.

Historical Drama/Epic – 120 min/pages

NOTHING goes under 85 minutes.

Eldon's final tips:

Create balance. White space is very important!
Less is more for dialogue.
Flashback/dream sequences: As a rule, don't use them. (But what was it Eldon said earlier…what was THE GOLDEN RULE?? Ah yes, all rules are made to be broken.)

When using a flashback, use headers – end/begin flashback.
Patterns CAN work well, but don't use them as a crutch to get backstory in.
Use them very carefully. Most people consider them a cheat. (Jen's Aside: There must be a lot of people REALLY mad about the show Lost.)

And Eldon's one last piece of advice. This is important. I'm putting it in big bold letters:

YOU CAN'T MOP A FLOOR BY POLISHING ONE TILE AT A TIME.

Jen: Wha? When did floors come into it? I mean, I know there has to BE a floor, but I DIDN'T specify whether it was hardwood, marble, or parquet. SWEAR!!

No, no, no. That's not what he meant.

He simply meant you can't fixate on/polish one section of your screenplay forever. Move on. Push through to the end. Go, team, Go!

Hope this was useful! Thanks Eldon – great class!

Have I Mentioned...

2009-09-23T06:21:00.002-05:00

....I've got my BY THE PALE MOONLIGHT cap on right now?

I do. I love it. I've missed it. I'm so glad to be back with Ty and Mac for a while.

RMFW III -- The Art of Mingle

2009-09-22T22:52:00.007-05:00

Umm, let me preface this with the fact that I SUCK at mingling. The very idea of striking up a conversation with an agent or editor...or even another writer, somewhat frightens me. To put it bluntly, I suck at small talk. My go to conversation piece is writing...my books...and if I'm feeling particularly bold, the fact that I used to do undercover work (upon which I have based one of my books). THAT, of course, is always a crowd favorite which inevitably ends with people insisting (or if I'm on the sauce -- ME insisting) that I show them how to fake snort cocaine. I have done this numerous times over the years, and it's never pretty.

I once bent over and started my hair on fire with the candle sitting in the middle of the table. Clearly, that was one of my saucier moments.

'nuff said?

Is it abundantly clear that I often end up...well, making an arse of myself?

Okay, then.

That said, what's the point of going to a writer's conference if you stay holed up in your room, too afraid to talk to anyone? This, my friends, is when you rely on the people who DO NOT have a problem striking up conversations with random strangers. In fact, you should SURROUND yourself with people who have no problem doing this. They should come armed with cupcakes.

Yes, cupcakes.

I know that sounds weird, but you, like me, have probably underestimated the power of a little sugar and flour. And icing. Don't forget the icing.

The night before the RMFW conference began, I, along with my fellow gnomies, camped out in the bar with three dozen cupcakes...cookies...cheesecakes...and other assorted goodies, including one called Texas Trash. Which was total YUM, btw.

Then we just sat back and waited for everyone to come to us.

It totally worked. (g)

Okay, there was more to it than that. We happen to have gnomies who kick butt at the whole "hello, how are you" thing, and they busted their butts making sure people received invitations, and that everyone who happened by felt welcome. This allowed shy schmucks like myself to pretend for a moment that we're social genuises.

I know what you're thinking -- especially those who have met me. JEN, you are SO not shy.

Well, pssst...I really, really am. I cover it by acting the fool.

Don't believe me? What if I told you it took all of five minutes for Janet Reid* to threaten me with "her people?" I won't go into the specifics, but as you can see, I make an impression. Granted, most people probably wouldn't think a death threat is a GOOD thing. In my world, though, it's just an average day. And well...fun. (g)

Oh...and there was that writer fellow. *cough*James Born*cough* Very, very funny guy. From Florida. Cop. Liked to talk reeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaally slowly to the hick from Nebraska -- afraid she wouldn't understand otherwise. Personally, I think he must have played football down there at some point, and perhaps got knocked senseless by the Huskers a few too many times. For the record, I tried to take HIS cake back. :)

Then there was the lovely Becca Stumpf. So young. So sweet. So STALKED by half my group. She was awesome.

Jenny Rappaport...Mario Acevedo...Margie Lawson (who is totally made of awesome!)...and many, many others fell prey to our sugar bait.

I know it sounds silly, but those goodies were a great way to break the ice. They certainly made my debut into the conference world a whole heckuva lot smoother. So don't be afraid to try something outside the box. You never know who might stop by.

*And just for the record... Janet Reid really isn't as scary as she likes to pretend.

See!

When you speak to her face to face, you actually forget about those teeth. And they're not really as sharp as they look. Promise.

RMFW Gold Conference, Part II

2009-09-18T19:36:00.002-05:00

I know I said I was going to talk about mingling and getting to know agents/editors/writers outside the organized conference, but I want to touch back on the critique circle with Kristin Nelson. There are some points she made that I think were very important.

So, how's this for an issue: What if you have an agent read your pages, tell you she/he loves your writing, thinks the story is fantastic, but there's no way they could sell it.

*blink blink*

You think there's no way in the world this could happen. Well, my friends, it happened in our critique circle.

Without going into specific details, Kristin said pretty much these very same things about one of the submissions. I gotta tell you, that has to be hard to hear as a writer. Sure, there's a lot to love in a situation like this. Namely, the agent loves your writing and thinks your story has a lot of potential.

There's also a lot to really be bummed out about. Because even though the agent is feeling the love, they've told you flat out that your project will never sell.

OUCH.

I mean OUCH.

You've essentially done everything right, but there's one minor problem. You didn't give enough consideration for the market, nor the way your book will be sold.

Kristin made a very good point in our circle. As writers, we're always being told we're artists -- and that as artists, we shouldn't try to write to the market. We should instead write what we love. Write what is speaking to us. Write what makes the angels weep and the birds sing. Oh, yes. This is what we all want to do.

But Kristen pointed out that while all that is great, at the end of the day, your agent still needs to be able to sell your manuscript. And whether or not we want to, we must think about what is selling--what your agent can compare your book to--where it would ultimately be shelved in a bookstore, etc. IOW, you have to give the business side of things due consideration when choosing what to write.

Let's face it. We all want that break out hit. We all think that if we bend genres, come up with some new high concept novel or what not that WE can make it work. That somehow it will make us stand out from the pack. But is that the right attitude to have? In the end, it does work for some people -- but for most, it probably won't. If you're playing the odds, it's something you probably wouldn't want to risk.

But I'm a writer in the end. I would never tell someone not to write what they love. My suggestion would be to keep 90% of yourself trained on your work in progress, and the remainder with one eye on the market. If you're going to go in with something new, know where your book will fit in.

In other words, if you write young adult, you should know what is selling. What books your book would be comparable to. How your agent would go about selling your book -- what you would call it, where it would be shelved. Pssst. That means you actually have to READ YA. (Just a friendly reminder. (G))

I know none of us likes to think about the business side of things. Heck, that's why we have agents, right? But as Kristin said, you have to be there to HELP your agent. Neither the writing nor the selling should be done without direct consideration for the other half of the equation.

Random Thoughts

The Great Experiment

Whoot!

Changes Are Afoot.

The Take!

NaNo!

And We Have Some Winners!!

A Little Help From My Friends

And the Winners Are...

By the Pale Moonlight Is Now Available!

By the Pale Moonlight Giveaway!!

Balancing Critiques

Self vs. Traditional Publishing -- It's All A The Roll Of The Dice

Cover Talk!

I'm Legits, Yo!

The Countdown Begins!

It's Alive!

The Cutest Thing I've Seen In A Long Time!

Josh Groban Sings Kanye West Tweets

Please Don't Ask

My Current Mood

My New Musical Crush

I'm Not Ready For Christmas!

Jen Comes Into This Century

Nano -- Week 1 Wrap-Up

Day 4 -- CHECK!

Booyah!

Direction

Let The Fun Begin!

Squeee!!

Notecards...Post-It's...Flowcharts...OH MY!

A Rough Re-Entry

Good Morning, All!

I've Turned...

Dipping A Pinkie Toe In...

Hey All!

I Am Alive.

Get Thee To ATWOP!

Isn't It Kinda Sad...

Killer Opening Lines!

Sorry For The...

SOME GIRLS ARE by Courtney Summers

Let It Snow...

Let's Hear It For YA!

A Year Of Books!

A Year In Review

CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins

I Love Me Some Christmas Music!

Hehehe!!

New Moon Parody

*Smacks Forehead*

Phew!

Madison's Christmas Carol, The Grand Finale!

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Ghosts of Madison's Past...Part Deux!

'Tis The Season

And Finished!

Too Much Time On My Hands...

Getting Close!

A Step Behind...Or Two

Wouldn't You Know It...

A Reading Kinda Week...

In Case You Hadn't Heard..

Bwhahaha!

PAPER TOWNS by John Green

Yo!

Random, but....

Ahhh...

A Lightbulb Moment

Productive Weekend

One More Thing...

Howdy!

Bwhahahahahahaha!!!

All's Quiet..

Oh..

My iPod Hates Me

Have You Read These YA's?

A Very Long Week!

More Of Maureen's Reader's Guide to THE LOST SYMBOL

The Grand Opening!

Smacks Forehead

Rubs Hands Together