Marjorie Dreams of Blogging

Moving....

2008-12-04T18:18:00.000-08:00

I've decided to make the move to Wordpress.

Find me here.

Catching up!

2008-12-02T13:55:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's December already. Oy vei, where does the time get to?

Actually, I do know where it gets to. It gets everywhere. Messy thing, time.

I spent about half of my October down in a little place called Hitchcock, Texas. My dad owns a mobile home park down there, and we went down to sort out some business things, and take a look at the mess left behind by Hurricane Ike.

I've got to say, it wasn't pretty. I think the nation at large has already kind of forgotten Hurricane Ike, but the repercussions in the area are still visible everywhere you go. Dad and I took an aerial tour of Galveston, where the hurricane did the most damage, and it was unbelievable. Our pilot pointed out huge areas that looked like nothing more than washed-out sandbanks, that used to be covered in homes. They haven't just been beaten up or ripped apart, they're utterly gone.

To give you an idea of what's left...

It really wasn't the hurricane itself, but the surge afterwards that left so much destruction. The water rose up to 22 feet at its height, leaving some enormous ships in ridiculous places. It'll take a lot to get them back in the water where they belong.

More businesses are opening daily, thank heavens, and activity on the island was going up noticeably even between our two trips there, but there are still a lot of boarded up shops...

And shops that need more than boarding up...
'And let's not forget the large piles of trash and debris that can be found along the road everywhere, even higher north than Hitchcock, where we were staying. I didn't get a chance to touch these photos up, but you can just see a weathered American flag in there.

Strangely enough, for me, a California girl, the saddest sight was that of the palm trees. Palm trees tend to be associated with surf and sun, and kind of gain a flippant connotation because of that, I guess, but growing up on a street that has a line of palm trees over a century old visible right from my front window, they start meaning a lot more to you.

Palm trees are tough old things, and they're built to last. That's why they thrive in places where other trees don't have a chance. But these trees in Galveston had been submerged in salt water for days. Their bark was peeling off in big chunks and they were clearly dying. That pretty much broke my heart.

Permutations

2008-11-08T19:45:00.000-08:00

I'm down in Texas at the moment, helping out with family business stuff. I've brought six books with me and already finished three. Problem? Perhaps. As you may have caught from my previous entry, I'm currently working my way through the Jane Austen books, as well as the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde, and just in the last couple of days I started reading The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor. Now, if you've read all of these books, or know enough about them, you might see where I'm going with this. If not... let me enlighten you.

So, we'll begin with Thursday Next. She is currently (I'm reading book 3--The Well of Lost Plots) a Jurisfiction agent, or rather, a member of a team that enforces the law inside of books. Jurisfiction agents have to travel from book to book by means of a great library that has containing in it every version of every book that has ever been written, AND ever will be written. (Obviously they have shelves full of my stuff!) The Librarian is the Unitary Authority of Warrington Cat--formerly known as the Cheshire Cat.

That would of course be the Cat from Alice in Wonderland--which The Looking Glass Wars is deviated from. Here, The Cat, as he is simply called, is a deadly assassin with nine lives--who can, on command, change into a harmless-looking kitten.

Jurisfiction headquarters is also located, by the by, in an unused ballroom at Norland Park--yes, the Norland Park, from Sense and Sensibility. And just which Austen book do you think I'm reading at the moment?

This really isn't as confusing as it sounds, I promise. I'm well able to keep them all straight in my head. But it has raised my attention about the kinds of stories I gravitate towards. While there's always a place for something new that you haven't encountered before, I find myself just as interested (if not moreso) in looking at stories I thought I already knew, examined in a different light. Sometimes radically different.

Despite it's awesome tagline--"Fantasy just declared war on reality"--I didn't think I'd particularly like The Looking Glass Wars, because I'd gotten the impression that it was an adultification of Alice in Wonderland, something like what Wicked did to Wizard of Oz, which I have to confess I just couldn't buy into at all. Extending the Oz metaphor, I'd say this is actually turning out to be something more like the Sci-Fi channel's Tin Man, a just as fantastical reimagining as the original. And while it's very, very different, it also pays a lot of respect to the original work, which is something that, as an author, is very important to me. I'll get more on a full review when I've finished it, which I don't think will be too long. This is one dang good book.

Booking Through Thursday, and a meme

2008-10-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

I've been pointed to a weekly book meme blog, called Booking Through Thursday, by shinyshiny, a Twilight fan/knitter friend of mine, and I thought the meme she did on her blog looked fun, so I'm giving it a whirl! Depending on how their questions, I might make this a weekly ritual.

“What tomes are waiting patiently on your shelves?“

So, so, SO many. I'm attempting to read or reread my entire library at the moment, partially because I can't really afford to buy a whole lot of new books. But the main ones that are definitely in the queue to be read at the moment:

- all of Jane Austen, minus Pride and Prejudice which I just finished, and Northanger Abbey, since I'm reading that one now.
- The rest of the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde (I'm currenlty on 2, there are five).
- Jane Eyre
- The entire Anne of Green Gables series.

And last weeks, cause I can.

What was the last book you bought?
River Secrets by Shannon Hale

Name a book you have read MORE than once
I'm a chronic re-reader. How about I name the most recent? Pride and Prejudice. Well over half of this year's reading list is made up of re-reads, though.

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?
Unquestionably I'd say I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg. It's difficult to explain the how, but when you get to the end of the book, and Deborah's defeating her illness, you feel somehow like you're achieving something, too. It's fantastic.

How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews
Recommendations, what I know of the author, and yes, I do fall for a good cover sometimes.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?
Fiction. I can't help myself. I'm a lover of writing itself, and fiction writers tend to care more about the craft than non-fiction ones, though of course there are all kinds of exceptions to that.

What’s more important in a novel - beautiful writing or a gripping plot?
I sway more towards writing. But I can't read three hundred pages of nothing happening, either.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)
I'm going to be my very nostalgic self and say Anne Shirley here. She's still everything I want to be, smart, sassy, bold, and genuine.

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?
I don't have a nightstand. But you can check out my current reads in the sidebar. :)

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?
The last book I finished was Pride and Prejudice, about a month ago.

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?
Once or twice. Nothing memorable enough for me to give you the title.

This turned out being a little repetitive, but eh, that's okay. :)

A few orders of business...

2008-09-25T19:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been lax in the updating lately. Not that it's anything new, but life is a bit insane. Edits are going pretty well, new scenes are popping up, plus, I'm headed up to Seattle on Sunday, so lots of preparation is needed for that. I really need to finish this outline so I can have a couple of people look it over for me, and yet today was spent mainly in errands and picking my sister up from the airport.

Most importantly of all, though, I could not spend another day without telling you about the release of Isabelle Santiago's double-novella, Cinematic Royalty and Dark Hollywood Nights, now available at Freya's Bower, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble!

Cinematic Royalty

Charles Witmore is used to celebrities. As owner of the grand Winmont Hotel in Los Angeles, he has seen them come and go more times than he can count. But the experience is altogether different when silver screen starlet Bridget Phillips walks into his life and crashes into his heart. He's absolutely starstruck. Her beauty is exactly as majestic as has been rumored, but he wonders about the many claims laid against the woman, who seems to be so shrouded in mystery.

Initially claimed by prejudice, he sees nothing more than the ice princess she presents, beautiful and stone cold. But, the more time she spends at his hotel, the more he begins to see there is more to her facade than meets the eye. Soon, she becomes the object of his affection, and in an amusing ploy, his two best friends, Betty and Eleanor, and his cute assistant Tessa, set up the matchmaking scheme of a lifetime.

But will Bridget's dark secret keep Charles from his happily ever after?

Dark Hollywood Nights

Alexis Grant's only job is to keep the prestigious Winmont Hotel running smoothly while her cousin, Charles Witmore, enjoys his honeymoon. The only problem: things begin to fall apart the moment he leaves. The pompous Chase Branton, who's determined to get access to one of her off limits celebrity clients, doesn't help. Can she keep it together long enough to earn a managerial position of her own, or will a high profile death cause all of her dreams to shatter?

As a personal note, if you've ever wanted to get sucked into a black and white movie with Katherine Hepburn or Cary Grant... here's your chance, ladies and gents. The period is so beautifully recreated in these novellas, and everywhere you look are lively, funny, sexy, smouldery, wonderful characters. Don't miss this one!

What draft am I on again?

2008-09-15T12:16:00.000-07:00

Does it still count as a first if you haven't filled in holes, but are going through and editing? I've always wondered that. I suppose it has to, because it's not in a completed form at all... I'm still working on that.

My edits are nowhere as extensive as Mr. Orwell's up there, but I've been organizing my manuscript so that it's at least fit to be seen by a good friend of mine, and that has brought some deep edits about, especially to the opening chapters. Little moments that I wrote when I first started this thing, that were not quite in character, or that just didn't feel as good as the rest of the writing.

Isabelle reminded me that some distance can be a great thing when it comes to editing, and she's been proven absolutely right. The last time I tried to edit the first chapters I'd been looking at them so much that I didn't know what to do with them at all. Now I'm got a lot more room to pick them apart as they should be, which should help me with some of those gaps I have left anyhow.

Also... the blog has had a bit of a facelift, thanks to some help from thecutestblogontheblock.com. Trying to extend the summer, maybe? Maybe...

Remembrances

2008-09-11T12:20:00.000-07:00

I haven't really done a 9/11 retrospective before, but I kind of feel as if I should today.

I was in my junior year of high school. I went to Seminary—a sort of Bible study class (I'm LDS)—every morning before high school. And I mean every morning. I was that girl with perfect attendance (which I eventually messed up in December of my Senior year, btw, because a friend of mine got on Jeopardy) and so I was up and learning things while most of my friends were still sleeping, lucky them. So it was on the way home from the church, on my mom's car radio that my brother and I first heard about what was going on on the East Coast. It's significant to me, for some reason, that I was coming straight from a church activity when I first heard about this.

The details were fuzzy, though. We'd heard that a plane had gone into one of the Twin Towers, but that was really all we knew up to that point. We went to school surprised, but not particularly shaken. Of course the more details we heard throughout the day, the worse things got.

What I think was interesting was that officially, the teachers weren't supposed to tell us anything. The idea was that they wanted to keep us calm, and somehow in the highest rounds of legislation (AKA the principal—perhaps even the District Leader?) had decided that that would be achieved by giving us no information whatsoever. Thankfully the teachers knew us—and trusted us—better than that, and did their best to keep us informed on the progression of things.

I was fairly numb most of that day. I spent a lot of time holding onto my friend Russ' desk, because he was the most solid thing in close proximity, and he was in most of my classes. Some people had strange and utterly inappropriate reactions to the news, but such is life. There were a lot of whisperings of war and of the draft, and my ever-logical mind was going down a list of my brothers' and guy friends' names, listing off reasons why they might be able to escape the draft—flat feet, bad backs, no depth-perception, too old... It wasn't that I didn't want the country safe... I just wanted my friends safer.

The only person I personally knew who was in the Towers that day, was the older brother of a friend of mine who I'd grown apart from, and that was especially strange. We had a lot of awkward air between us, and I don't think I ever told her to her face that I was sorry for her loss. That her brother, who used to give me rides home from school once in a while and left a legacy of local community work, was an amazing person who won't be forgotten.

9/11 is being pushed around and stretched in every way possible by politics lately, especially thanks to the upcoming elections, but personally, what I'm thinking about today is the community spirit that was everywhere after the fact.

Badly Done, Miss Meyer.

2008-08-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

I have to say, while I thought about 85% of Breaking Dawn was ridiculous at best, by that time I wasn't invested enough in it to be disappointed. My one requirement—that she fix Jacob—was filled, even if it was done in a way I find to be a bit morally reprehensible. But I'm kind of horrified by how she's dealing, or rather, not dealing with her fans.

I understand how much it would have to hurt to have such a large, quickly-growing and strangely-devoted fanbase turn on you practically overnight, over what you considered the final touch to your masterpiece. That doesn't change the fact, though, that thousands of her fans who had trusted her with fictional characters they loved—and I do believe strongly that the author/reader relationship is one dependent on trust—felt disappointed and even betrayed, and that deserves some acknowledgement. Instead, Meyer seems to be doing the equivalent of running to her room, slamming and locking the door, and blasting angry emo music to shut out reality.

I don't mind her response of "it's just fiction, okay?" as much as I mind that it's the only response she seems to be giving. She's ignoring both the concerns of her own fans, and the fact that she has made herself into a sort of icon in the current literary era, however distressing that idea may be. She's also proved to me that she isn't truly a writer in her heart of hearts. Just fiction? How could someone who has reached into the minds and hearts of millions of readers think that fiction is a word that should ever have a word like "just" put in front of it?

I'm also bothered by her assertion that Breaking Dawn is “the story the way it was always meant to be.” Yes, this is a world Meyer created on her own. Yes, these are her characters, to do with as she will. But to imply that fiction can't possibly take a different course is again something that made the writer in me wince. The whole beauty of fiction is possibility, and while it's easy to become slave to your own creation, you can't shirk the responsibility of what you've created, either.

I wasn't particularly among the number that was hanging any part of my peace of mind, or even of my general enjoyment on what transpired in Breaking Dawn, so as a reader, I'm not so distressed by what Stephenie Meyer has done. As a fellow writer, however, I can't deny that I'm disappointed in her. She's acting irresponsibly, and unprofessionally. I can't help but hear Knightley chastising Emma in my mind. "It was badly done, indeed!"

Comic Con 2008

2008-08-01T22:28:00.000-07:00

So it's a quarter to eleven, and as you could possibly guess, I'm not out at a Breaking Dawn release party and/or standing in line outside of some book store. But having just survived the San Diego Comic Con, wrestling crowds doesn't sound very appealing at the moment. Especially rabid fan crowds. I just did that, and believe me, my ears are still buzzing.

Comic Con was utter madness. Fun, but wow, I've never seen it so crowded. The biggest things there were probably Warner Brother's upcoming film Watchmen, Frank Miller's comic-inspired film The Spirit, and of course the Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the animated film coming out this summer, all of which you couldn't turn around without seeing promos for.

There were promos on everything, too. Bags, shirts, busses, semis. Everything. If you ever have a chance, even if you don't actually go to Comic Con, I'd recommend witnessing San Diego during Comic Con. Though really that would be a bad idea, I guess, as hotel rooms (not to mention parking) are impossible to find that time of year. It's definitely a unique experience, though. I went to the World's Fair in Aichi Japan in its closing days in 2005, and Comic Con is a bit more insane than that, so there you go. Though of course there are no cool rides at Comic Con. Long lines, though... those you can find all over.

Getting back to the above point, I'll admit that Twilight came in about fourth so far as hype goes, but it had a very odd feel about it. As you can probably imagine, Twilight is not your average Comic Con fare. The whole thing about Twilight is that it gets people to read books about vampires who otherwise would never read books about vampires. Most Comic Conners... well... probably would read books about vampires, regardless, so to see the two interact was interesting. Twilight fans were visible, and identifiable, in a sea of thousands, little smatterings of oil in a pool of water, never quite blending. For someone who's a bit between (just the edge of my foot in both worlds) it was a bit bizarre, really.

Personally, the reason I was there was that I was volunteering my time at the Lego booth, which was a blast. Most of the day I watched the kids' building tables, picking up fallen Legos (though my sister, the former Master Model Builder would cut in that Lego is never pluralized) deconstructing whatever kids had abandoned so new kids could come and build. I was (and am always) impressed by some of the things kids managed to make with plastic blocks. My sister did make a few great contacts, so good for her, but more on that in another post, since it deserves one to itself.

Something GREAT about Comic-Con? Most of the big publishing houses have a booth there, and they give out FREE BOOKS! ARC's mostly, but no one complains about that, now do they? I got a total of TEN free books this year, three of which were signed by their authors. Fun stuff! Oddly, Scholastic was not there this year, which saddened me a bit, but Penguin, Bantem, Del Ray... all of them spoiled me liberally.

For the most part, though... I'm glad it's over. I'm very, very lucky that I'm able to go most years, and go as an exhibitor, but it wipes you out!

Nothing beats live theater!

2008-07-18T15:32:00.000-07:00

Firstly you have to understand that I was a spoiled child. When I was a kid we'd get season tickets to Moonlight Amphitheater every summer, to the point where I couldn't even name all the musicals I've seen there, probably. Oliver, My Fair Lady, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Phantom (yes, there's another musical about the same thing), The Music Man, Big River... all the Broadway at Moonlight nights where they'd bring in different stars to sing various songs from various things.

And then at Spreckles I've seen Mame, Grease... something else that isn't coming to me. Secret Garden at the Center for the Arts. Annie Warbucks at The Civic. The King and I, Into the Woods, Once Upon a Mattress, and another three or four productions of Joseph done very well locally... And you know, some other things that weren't done so well.

But things have been slow lately. Nearly four years ago I finally, finally got to see Les Miserables, and a couple of springs ago I went to Hairspray with a friend, and both were amazing productions—though of course the Les Mis experience was a zillion times more important for me, because I'd been wanting to see it since I was ten. Moonlight's doing Les Mis this summer, actually, but we can't afford it, unfortunately.

So to recap, I was completely spoiled as a child, and then I've been left fairly wanting the last decade or so, really. I mean, the fact that the movies are starting to be made helps, along with the fact that I have the soundtrack for pretty much any production I'd want... but still.

So to see Phantom of the Opera today, to get hit with that first burst of music after the auction scene... I know saying it felt like coming home is completely pedantic and cliché, but I can't help that.

This was my first time seeing Phantom of the Opera done live, and while it wasn't quite perfect, it was really wonderfully done. The orchestra was amazing. The Phantom had an amazing voice and was definitely sufficiently frightening. Raoul had a particularly beautiful voice. It was almost too strong of a voice to be given to Raoul, who always tends off as a weaker character (I don't even remember his voice from the movie... just that he looked oddly like Brendan Fehr), so that was kind of novel to see. Madame Giry, the two opera house owners... all great.

The Meg was just delightful. I couldn't take my eyes off her, she was this pretty blonde thing and she had these perfect expressions. It was practically comical how exact she'd be as she swept across the stage with this perfectly concerned face to do her "He's here, the Phantom of the Opera!" bits, because it was so exactly the same every time, and she always seemed to pop out of nowhere to do it. I've always been fond of Meg anyhow... she was totally gypped in the film.

I can't say I was totally in love with the Christine. She hit all the high notes, of course, and did them beautifully, which is why, I'm sure, she was given the part, but all the bits in between were a little weak. Which was fine at the beginning, because she's supposed to sound a little weak, but I'd like a little build by the time we get to "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again," thank you.

All in all it was good, though. Good for the soul. I always want to wrap those moments up and keep them in a drawer or something, you know?

Anyone else Broadway fans? What's the best show you've seen, or the one you'd like to see the most?

The Life Murder of Bindy Mackenzie

2008-07-15T11:01:00.001-07:00

Once again, Jaclyn Moriarty has proved that she is smarter than me. It took me about half the book to figure out that one of the secondary characters in this is actually a main character from The Year of Secret Assignments, and then another while to realize another character was from Feeling Sorry for Celia, both of which I read back in '05 or '06.

Bindy is a completely absurd character, but since everyone knew someone like her in high school (I certainly did) you can't help but relate. In a very Emma-like way, she doesn't seem to really have learned much at all at the end, either. At least, not to the point where she's likely to change at all, but you can't help liking her anyway. Once again, Jaclyn Moriarty is probably the only epistolary fiction novelist where I almost never find myself "uh, no one would ever write that," which is great. My only complaint is that once the mystery is solved it always feels like you're being rushed out the door—show's over folks! There's resolution, but no falling action. Just resolution.

They say art reflects life...

2008-07-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

You may remember that my review of Cecelia Ahern's P.S. I Love You was a little so-so... a little ambivalent. I liked the book, but it was really hard to read, as it was just so sad. Love, Rosie is definitely more upbeat in comparison, though I'll admit it can be just as frustrating at points, because things just go wrong again and again and again! But of course that's what the whole book is about, and quite honestly, how life often is.

Bits of this did feel a little contrived, in only that you could feel the epistolary genre being stretched to its absolute limits... and also as (this may be a bit of a spoiler) I've honestly never run into quite so many conveniently inconvenient pregnancies in one novel before, I don't think!

But man, do you want these two to be together by the end. Because this really is a book about two people who are too crazy to be happy with anyone else, and the ending is satisfying, if not (again) a little frustrating that it takes so long to get there!

Ahern continues to impress me with keeping me interested in her characters despite her frustrating storylines, though, so good on her! Her newest novel, If You Could See Me Now is not an epistolary novel, so I'm curious... though the plot sounds a bit odd, again. We'll see, though!

Hey Americans!

2008-07-04T14:04:00.001-07:00

Hope it's a great holiday for everyone! Be safe and stay cool! =)

Meyer Mania!

2008-06-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

Gah, talk about the ultimate of guilty pleasures. I wish I could deny my pull to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, a series that, so far as generalizations go, is in so many ways a story that I would either refuse to read, get sick of and throw away (more like donate... who throws away BOOKS?), or at the very least hide under my bed and never admit to reading.

Why, you ask? Well... do you know what these books are about? Of course you do. Everyone does. But humor me.

- Basically, this is a series about a teenage girl falling in love with a vampire. I do not read books about vampires. Ever. Ever, ever, ever. I don't know how I could be clearer about this.

- Besides that, it's easily one of the most dysfunctional relationships ever imagined. The characters are so co-dependent that several people (including me) are worried about the message the books are sending to their pre-teen/young teen audiences, because honestly, in real life this would be the most unhealthy relationship ever, and generally ultimate co-dependence is a turn-off for me. Because once you get to co-dependence, the choice in the relationship is gone, and I've always believed that love is and should be a choice. What can I say? I'm a Switchfoot fan, and Love is a Movement, baby.

- Also... any character who sets the human experience at naught (as Bella does, in favor of more... permanent options) tends to lose my respect a little bit, because... well, I'm a writer. The human experience is what I do, yes?

THAT SAID.

These books are like crack. Not that I have any experience to back that statement up, but really, I'd much rather have a book addiction than a drug addition. I have to admit that Stephenie herself strikes me as a bit of an odd duck, but there is something to these books, to her minute-to-minute descriptions and her refreshingly old-fashioned love story (surprisingly not an oxymoron) that just captivates... And not just me, obviously, as the power of this series is undeniable. Almost irritatingly so. There is just a hair more than a month's wait until the last and final book in the saga (minus an alternate POV of the original—how often do you get THAT outside of fanfic?), Breaking Dawn, is released, and... it's ridiculous. I'm dying for this book.

It's still not to par with Harry Potter for me... maybe because it's so easy in comparison. Reading Twilight is like drinking water. Before you've realized it, you've swallowed the whole pitcher. Harry Potter in contrast was a seven-course (literally) meal served slowly, European-style, where everything complemented everything and the feast is almost too much to take in. But in a post-Deahthly Hallows world, it's nice to find a new subject of obsession.

The REAL question, though... is what will we all be doing on August THIRD*, when we're all done with Breaking Dawn?

My point, in all of this? If you by some chance haven't read these books, perhaps for one of the reasons I mentioned above, get out from under your rock! And hurry! You have three novels to finish before August 2nd!

*This is such a lie, by the way. No matter how obsessed I can find myself, there's no way I can finish an 800, 900, 1600, whatever page book. The woman really can write tomes. But I'm sure some of you will be done with it by then. I know Isabelle Santiago will be. hahaha

No, you're not imagining it...

2008-06-02T16:48:00.000-07:00

You might have looked at my little widget on the side here and thought that it was just silly, but it's true... I really am reading eight books at once. I have been for a while, in fact, switching some in and out as I go. This all started because back a couple months ago (oy vei, has it been that long?) I kept finding myself in places without my book... but wanting desperately to read something, so... I started something new. It wouldn't have lasted this long, except that half of the books I started were parts of a series, so as I finished one of those books, I'd pop the next one from the series into the circulation and keep going.

And I do mean circulation. I'm a bit Obsessive Compulsive when it comes to my reading, so of course I had to set up a system to finish all of these books in a timely (?) fashion... so I've made a list putting all of my books in order of when I started them, and am proceeding to read a chapter from each, then moving on to the next, so that I'm getting a fair look at all of them. I know, I know. Insane.

Of course, I couldn't just leave it at that. New fancies come along all the time, they can't help themselves. I can't help myself! And the rotation, admittedly, can get a little old. (Not that I can seem to allow myself to end it. Heh) So, what do I do when something like say, The Host by Stephanie Meyer comes out? Well. I give one new book priority over my circulation... just one. But that one book I get to read after every other chapter from any of my other books. Circulation book, The Host, circulation book, The Host, etc.

Just how crazy am I, you may ask? (If you really want to know... do you?) Well, I have a list in an old (practically never used!) day planner that has all the chapters I'm reading, in order. For the next... oh, sixty-some chapters. There is no end! Or at least it feels like that. By the time I'm done with just the books I have in circulation at the moment, I'll be done with at least 30 of my 50 books for the year. If I get there, of course. At least I'm finally getting some use out of this day-planner!

The sad thing is, I miss sitting down and reading a book from cover to cover. Straight in one go. And I could probably stop myself from doing this if I really wanted to. I'm not quite so OCD that stopping myself seems like an impossible idea. And yet... I'm okay with what I'm doing at the moment.

It never rains in California, but girl, don't they warn ya...

2008-05-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

IT POURS!

Yep, the curiosity that is California weather strikes again. Last week we were inching at 100 degrees, and today? Rain. Even thunder and lightning, to a certain extent. Now to be fair, it hasn't exactly been raining all day, or even continuously. No, it's been raining just enough to insure that you don't want to go out even when it's stopped—because chances are it'll start again before you get indoors.

These little cloudbursts (I have a serious crush on that word right now, by the way!) have been coming through almost all day, freshening up the air, making everything smell earthy and clean—I love a summer rain. It's the perfect atmosphere to make you want to bundle in with something warm and write all day long.

Of course there's the teensy problem that I have "Real Work" to do. Bah humbug!

Allow me a brief moment of Linguistic geekery...

2008-05-20T22:20:00.000-07:00

What American accent do you have?
Created by Xavier on Memegen.net

Neutral. Not Northern, Southern, or Western, just American. Your national American identity is more important to you than your local identity, because you don't really have a local identity to begin with.

Take this quiz now - it's easy!

In case you can't read that, it says:

Neutral. Not Northern, Southern, or Western, just American. Your national American identity is more important to you than your local identity, because you don't really have a local identity to begin with.

So I don't have a local identity, huh? Ouch. That's almost harsh. Also kind of odd, considering I've lived in one state (heck one COUNTY) for most of my life. But maybe this is because I have a "Hollywood accent," or something like that?

Or... maybe I took the quiz wrong? Hm...

Then again, I've always been told that I have a good ear for dialects. Maybe that's what accounts for it? I'm curious.

Books vs. Movies

2008-05-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it's the great debate, generally leaning towards books (of course!) But having recently read Neil Gaiman's graphic novel Stardust (after having seen the film), I was really surprised how THIS:

Turned into THIS:

I didn't really know what to expect going into either the film or the novel, despite having attended a Neil Gaiman/Charles Vess (the illustrator) Q&A Sneak Preview of the film last summer. Gaiman has a very C.S. Lewis type of narrative in the book, where he mentions that the characters

It interests me, then, why some movie adaptations are so freely changed and turn out well, whereas in other cases even the slightest deviation from the books can ruin a film version. What is it, I wonder that makes it allowable in some cases and not in others? Is it wholly a personal preference thing?

Already I've been wincing at the harder, more action-packed film version of Stephanie Meyer's smash-hit novel Twilight—but I seem to be the only one. From what I've seen of Neil Gaiman's fans are (though admittedly smaller in number) just as obsessive as say, JK Rowling fans, but I've seen no negative backlash about the film version of Stardust, whereas others cause uproars over minor changes? And I'm not talking about Harry Potter... that and the seven-book story arc is understandable. But I'm sure you can all think of a film you were tempted to walk out on for wreaking havoc on one of your favorite books. So what is it that makes the difference? Any ideas?

And on that note, just for a laugh, 30 Things That Should Never be Adapted to Film. I think my favorite is The Legend of Sisyphus, starring Christian Bale... Or possibly Sleep Hard. Ah, yes...

Book Review!

2008-05-09T14:19:00.000-07:00

Just finished Brandon Mull's newest installment in the fantastic Fablehaven series, a delicious kid's fantasy series about Kendra and Seth, who grudgingly visit their grandparents and find out that actually live on and manage a preserve full of magical creatures called Fablehaven. I picked the first book in the series up on a whim back a few years ago, and I haven't regretted it for one instance.

These books really are magical, and full of all the light and dark magical creatures your heart could hope to draw up, meanwhile Kendra and Seth (and all the friends they make) are just wonderfully full characters and it's a blast to watch them explore and grow and learn things, and overall it's really just one of the best-written high fantasy stories I've even read. Brandon Mull manages to balance the whimsical and the frightening so effortlessly, and his stories teach a lot about courage, loyalty and honesty in the meantime. Plus, every book seems to be getting better and better! While this is marketed as a kid's book, I wholeheartedly recommend this whole series to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy, no matter what their ages. Don't be put off by the slightly-cartoonish looking illustrations, this is hardcore fantasy, ladies and gents, full of fairies and naiads and satyrs and demons galore. Seriously fun stuff.

Book meme!

2008-05-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love one of these, eh? Even one that's bound to make you look unread. ;)

The top 106 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing’s users. As in, they sit on the shelf to make you look smart or well-rounded. Bold the ones you've read, underline the ones you read for school, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Angela’s Ashes : a memoir
Anna Karenina - TBR (at some point)
Beloved
Brave New World
Crime and Punishment x2
Dracula
Emma x2 (Both times was for school and I read all but the last like ten pages. Don't ask me why.)
Frankenstein
Great Expectations X2
Gulliver’s Travels
In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
Jane Eyre x3+
Lolita
Love in the Time of Cholera
Mansfield Park
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlemarch
Moby Dick
Mrs. Dalloway
Northanger Abbey (TBR at some point)
Oliver Twist (TBR at some point)
On the Road
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Persuasion
Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
The Blind Assassin
The Canterbury Tales
The Catcher in the Rye
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The God of Small Things
The Hobbit x2
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Poisonwood Bible : a novel
The Prince
The Silmarillion
The Tale of Two Cities
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
To the Lighthouse
Treasure Island
War and Peace (TBR at some point)
Watership Down
Wuthering Heights
Catch-22
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Life of Pi : a novel
The Brothers Karamazov (But not because I was bored! LOVE that book)
The Iliad
Ulysses
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : an inquiry into values
A Clockwork Orange
A Confederacy of Dunces
A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Short History of Nearly Everything
American Gods
Anansi Boys
Angels & Demons
Atlas Shrugged
Cloud Atlas
Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed
Cryptonomicon
David Copperfield (TBR at some point)
Don Quixote
Dubliners
Dune
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
Foucault’s Pendulum
Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Gravity’s Rainbow
Inferno (TBR at some point)
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (TBR soonly)
Les Misérables (TBR at some point)
Madame Bovary
Middlesex
Neverwhere
Oryx and Crake
Quicksilver
Reading Lolita in Tehran : a memoir in books
Slaughterhouse-five
The Aeneid
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Confusion
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Fountainhead (For that stupid scholarship UGH, Ayn Rand.)
The Grapes of Wrath
The Historian : a novel
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Kite Runner
The Mists of Avalon
The Name of the Rose
The Odyssey
The Once and Future King x2
The Satanic Verses
The Scarlet Letter
The Sound and the Fury
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Vanity Fair
White Teeth
Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West

Movie Review!

2008-04-29T23:05:00.000-07:00

Nim's Island took me by surprise. The ads for it were pretty generic-seeming, and just didn't quite capture my attention, and I had yet to be swayed towards Abigail Breslin, as the only role I'd really seen her in was on Grey's Anatomy, and I got really tired of her saying, "Hit me in the stomach. Right here." But I was dragged along to the movie, anyway and I have to admit that I loved it!

Three guesses as to why I enjoyed it so much. Need a hint?

Gerard Butler, Gerard Butler, and Gerard Butler! Actually, there were only two of him. But that was one more than I was expecting! Gerard plays Nim's American father, and also the imagined hero, Alex Rover. I have to admit, he was much more attractive as Alex Rover, where he was able to use his Scottish accent. haha But still. Two Gerard Butlers! Who could complain?

Also, as odd and crazy (not to mention codependent, now that I think about it) as Jodie Foster's character (Alex[andra] Rover, the writer) made writers out to be, I loved her relationship with Alex Rover, her character. While I can't claim that my characters have ever come to me as corporeal visions (thank heavens!) it did make a good show of the relationship writers have with their characters, both good and bad.

Okay, so there was a whole bit in the middle with fake pirates attacking the island that didn't make much sense at all. But Gerard and the writerly love completely overrule that little blip, which I'm sure makes much more sense in the book.

In tune

2008-04-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

The story I am writing exists, written in absolutely perfect fashion, some place, in the air. All I must do is find it, and copy it. ~Jules Renard

This quote has become one of my absolute favorites about writing, because while at times it's definitely hard work, in the best moments I feel much like this, as if the characters that I'm fleshing out and the story that I'm putting down on paper are already alive somewhere, and maybe they've been waiting a long time for someone to hear their voices and bring them to light. I find that it's those shining moments of clarity that make this worth it, especially when the months pass and your answer of "I'm writing a novel" starts sounding less and less impressive to people, and you start to feel sure that one by one they're becoming convinced that nothing will ever come of it.

Well, writing partners are good saving graces, too, of course. ;)

The greening of America (or at least the Southwest)

2008-03-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

I'm back! At least, I'm deciding I am. I've neglected this blog something horrible, and every time I clicked onto it I'd see how long it'd been since I'd written, get discouraged and close the tab.

BUT NOT ANYMORE!

The simple fact is, as a writer I'm not really allowed to get discouraged about writing, and if I let myself get scared off of something as silly as a blog—something I'm doing entirely out of my own volition (lord, I love that word) then I'll never get anything serious accomplished as a writer.

So. As things stand at the moment in my life, I've just gotten back from a roadtrip to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and Death Valley. Only the last was new to me, the others I'd been to half a dozen times, but I for one love roadtrips. I love travel in general, but there's something to be said about driving hundreds of miles through deserts and mountains and hills, especially this time of year, with everything being as spectacularly green as it is. Perfect refreshment for the mind, and you can bet I came back with some ideas in tow!

It's that time of year again...

2008-01-23T11:20:00.000-08:00

When you grow up in a family with a home business (or multiple home businesses), as I have, then you might expect what I'm about to say—how I'm currently buried in receipts and Excel sheets and checkbook balances, looking at number after number after number trying to get tax stuff right. Has this severely taken away from my writing time? Yes. Unfortunately almost entirely. But you gotta feed the monkey, right? (I have never understood that expression, by the way. I think the plan is to keep using it until I do.)

Inspiration is not far, though. The San Pasqual Valley, which was the main setting of the October San Diego fires is now covered in green grass and parts of it look so entirely like virgin land that I can't help imagining my fantasy pair of characters climbing over those hills and breathing in the rain-clean air.

So, I'd better get back to work... or I'll never get the chance to write about it. ;)

P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

2008-01-12T14:34:00.000-08:00

Since the movie was coming out, I decided I had to finally get my butt in gear and read Cecelia Ahern's PS, I Love You, about an Irish woman named Holly who at a very young age loses the husband that she's been in love with half her life, who she's lived for, half her life. Now that Gerry is gone, Holly doesn't know what she'll do with herself, and then she gets an envelope from her husband, full of ten little envelopes to open at marked times, and each one helps her to live her life once again.

This was the third time I'd attempted to read this book. The reason for that is because, as you may have expected, it starts out rather SAD. The style took some getting used to, as quite often instead of meeting a new character with Holly, you were plopped into the new character's thoughts without warning, and instead met Holly through them. That was a bit disconcerting, but not enough to distract from the fact that the characters are very energetic and life-like.

Holly has a large group of friends and family and she has to almost reacquaint herself with each one of them after her husband's death, and ends up having a heart-to-heart with nearly every side character in the book. This gets to be a little formulaic feeling by the end, but it's so heartwarming you don't really mind much. All in all, I'd give it four out of five stars. I've already picked up Ahern's second book, Love, Rosie, and am really looking forward to reading that one.

50 Books, 2008

2008-01-03T15:43:00.000-08:00

I know it seems like a small number compared to some of you avid readers, but believe it or not last year I tried to read 50 books, and failed. Ended up at 31. It's kind of embarrassing for me to say, since I've been a bookworm my entire life and even majored in Literature in college—but I'm a slow reader. Really slow. Not exactly glacier, but I definitely like taking in every single word and hearing it in my head.

Really I think the reason I fell short in 2007 is because I was reading too much of a slightly less exultant media form, *cough*fanfic*cough* and also because I kind of took a break from reading after I graduated... when books just reminded me of school a little too much.

In 2008 I'm ready to jump-start my reading. I have a giant stack of books to read, including both new books and old favorites that I've left by the wayside for a while. And I really WILL make it to 50 books this year. I'll be keeping tally in a sidebar just like last year, and if you see me lagging, feel free to prod me along, won't you? ;)

Press Restart

2008-01-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

Well, I did it. I let the holidays bulldoze right over me and practically gave up writing for all of December, which was spent decorating, baking, and oh yes, knitting Christmas presents, along with your standard hanging-out-with-friends-and-family deal.

Now it's January 2nd, though, and I have no excuses. Can't pretend to still be wiped out from NaNoWriMo, and the holidays are more or less behind us, it's on to another year!

Not that I'm looking for excuses, really. I'm ready and excited to jump back into my story... so long as I can track down that stupid muse. She seems to have forgotten that vacations have to END at some point.

The tentative goal is to have this fantasy novel done by June... or at least sometime this summer. I have a little more in-depth plotting to do, but my overview is pretty complete now, or so I'd like to believe. I have a feeling there will still be many surprises coming along the way, but I'd be a fool to complain about that!

Hope everyone is having a lovely Wednesday! ♥

Welcome to 2008!

2008-01-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

Wishing everybody a fantabulous 2008! May it be your best year yet!

The day after...

2007-12-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

Take it all down, Christmas is over.
Do not despair, but rather be glad.
We've had a good year, now let's have another,
remembering all the good times
that we had.

Oh no more lights glistening,
no more carols to sing
as Christmas, it makes way for Spring.

The hearts of men are bitter, and weather
is cold as the snow that falls from the ground.
But just for one day, we all came together
We showed the whole world that we know how to love.

Oh no more lights glistening
no more carols to sing
but Christmas, it makes way for Spring.

Oh remember that Christmas, it makes way for Spring.

—"Boxing Day" by Relient K

I love this song, and it's absolutely how I felt about today. Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. Be safe for New Year's.

A week and a half late...

2007-12-10T14:02:00.000-08:00

10 Things I learned from NaNoWriMo:

1.) Timed Word-Wars do work.

2.) Starting to read an obsession-inducing book series the day before NaNo starts really won't help your wordcount.

3.) No matter what anybody says, quality is better than quantity.

4.) Real life will always get in the way. Yes, it will.

5.) It really is possible to miss an entire month's worth of TV and live. So long as you have TiVo.

6.) The people writing allows you to meet will surprise you.

7.) The things your characters will do when you're wholly submerged in their world for long periods of time will surprise (and delight) you even more.

8.) Sometimes having a 10+ hour soundtrack to your WIP really does help.

9.) Even if you don't "win," knowing that you didn't let a single "zero-word-count" day go by is very satisfying.

And last but definitely not least:

10.) Having a CP who knows you and your writing almost as well as you do is priceless.

So yes, as you can probably guess, I did NOT write 50,000 words as was the overall goal. In fact I didn't quite manage to break 30,000, so my average was less than 1000 words per day. I had a couple fantastic days, at 2800 and 3000some words. Most days I was glad to break 1000, though, and a few days (reading Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series) I barely got 300 words down. It was quite an experience, though, and in fact I've decided to sign up for NaNoWriYe, which is a similar, year-long challenge, where you pick your own goal. I've signed up for 200K, which may be a little low, but as I plan on finishing my Fantasy novel, hopefully I'll be needing a big chunk of the year for edits and rewrites. ;)

Feels like fire...

2007-11-26T15:00:00.000-08:00

I spent most of yesterday devouring Enna Burning, by Shannon Hale. It's the second in her Bayern series, which started with The Goose Girl, a beautifully expanded Grimm's Fairy Tale where people can learn the languages of the birds, the wind, even the fire.

I'd heard from a few people that the second in the series isn't as satisfying as the first, because the main character switches from Isi to her friend Enna, but I find myself wanting to emphatically disagree. I loved Isi's tale, with imposters and betrayal and disguise and all these fantastically wonderful things, but with Enna... there's just something a little bit more.

In this edition, Enna spends much of the book fighting herself, fighting the desire to burn everything and everyone—including herself—to the ground, and it just has a little bit more of an edge to it than the first novel did. I loved it whole-heartedly. I'm looking forward to picking up the third edition, River Secrets once it's in paperback, and I'm thrilled to hear that there's a fourth novel in the works. A good series is like magic to me, and I've found myself completely in love with this one.

Escapism vs. Reality Check

2007-11-03T08:17:00.000-07:00

My new YA project is entirely fantasy. Not heavy-duty fantasy with elves and dragons and whatnot (at least, not so far as I know), but fantasy nonetheless. The world is entirely made up, and the characters have certain... abilities which are definitely a little out of the ordinary.

The thing is, this is not a genre I'm used to writing in.

Generally my stories are all pretty straight-laced, this-could-happen-to-you types of things. How many things are more dramatic than high school, after all?

I am and always have been a character-driven writer, which is why my plotting skills are definitely a little weak. But when I suddenly have two characters who I love who are deteminedly from a fantastical world? Well, that leaves me in a bit of a tough spot. These characters are as clear to me as any have ever been, a lonely outsider girl and a fully-accepted boy who happens to love her excessively. But without a plot, without an adventure and a journey and a bad guy (eep!), these two will never get together. That's just the way they are, and I know it.

And even if they did get together without all of that, no one would read it, because the beginning that I've written really sets you up for magic, and if I don't deliver...

Sigh.

Why did I get myself into this boat? Well, because I wanted to write something with—wait for it, here's one of those AP English words—scope. Cinematic scope. There's just not much call to describe the lush green hillsides and roving meadows... behind Baker City High, for example.

So I'm trying my best to immerse myself in fantasy lately. Trying to work up something that fits into the classic examples, but also feels new and fresh and exciting.

For some reason, though, I'm not really afraid of that. I'm not afraid of the work. In fact, I'm excited by it! Writing this story is kind of like freefalling. It's a little scary, and I don't know where I'll land, exactly, but I'm having fun as I go, and the view! The view is spectacular.

November madness...

2007-11-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

When I look a little too closely at some of the people participating in National Novel Writing Month, I have to admit I get a little dubious about them. Sure, some of the ideas sound decent, intriguing, even, when you run across threads all about word-padding and dares of unlikely things to sneak into your novel, you have to tilt your head a little to the side to understand exactly where these people's priorities lie.

The idea, of course, is to write a 50,000 word novel in a month, which balances out to a minimum of 1666 words per day. It's a good concept. The idea is write as much as you can and then edit later. Of course there's obvious hurdles to face. Firstly, most NaNo books are less-than-well-plotted, with authors simply making things up as they go along, and again, with the timeline and word-count pressure, there's a lot of padding going on.

I couldn't help but see this (admittedly with some outside encouragement) as a chance to give myself a kick in the pants in the WIP department.

Since sometime September, I've been working on a huge-scale YA fantasy novel, which I expect will end up around 125,000 words. In the first four weeks, I had 10,000 words written. This story was like a godsend. I felt literally as if it were simply being handed to me out of midair, everything was flowing so beautifully and so easily.

And then... it stopped. That's just how it is with writing, a new project can energize and amaze us in ways that we don't expect, and before we know it words are literally pouring onto the page, but eventually things always plateau.

So there I was, in the middle of October, with business trips and So. California wildfires stressing me out and and consuming RL, and I was sitting there, staring at this plateau. I'd look back at the 10K I'd written, almost misbelieving how easy it was, when there I was, struggling to get 100 words down.

That's when my friend and CP Isabelle encouraged me to join her in NaNoWriMo. Even up until yesterday I was doubting that the mad frenzy that I'd seen in NaNo last year (where I failed utterly to reach 50K, but I blame that on school) could possibly help me the way she was thinking it would.

But today I'm reconsidering. Word-warring with Isabelle, I got a good 2000 words written, and not poor-quality stuff that I hated, just stuff that I knew I needed but was resisting in my mind for one reason or another.

The truth is, I already know my characters so well that they won't let me take them too far off the path the novel should be taking, which I have to admit is a very nice place to be in right now.

Do I think that I can write a whole novel in a month? Definitely not. Not this novel, at least. But would 50,000 words get me a lot closer to finishing this sucker in the time I'm attempting? (Which is by the end of June, btw.) Sure it would. Maybe I'm fooling myself again, but you never know. My naive optimism has saved me as a writer before.

Boo!

2007-10-31T13:22:00.000-07:00

Wishing everybody a great Halloween! Have fun and be safe. =)

~Lisa

Announcing a New Blog

2007-10-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

The blogosphere is a scary place. You fall off the saddle for too long and it's as if you've never even been there in the first place.

This new blog is designed entirely to get me in the habit of... well... blogging. Because, much as the idea kind of irks me (and friends can attest to this) the way the game goes nowadays, serious writers blog. At least serious writers in my genres. Figures, huh?

As you can probably see by my lack of updates here, I need a kick in the behind so far as that goes.

So this new blog. I'll admit the title is pretty lame. Best I could come up with on short notice, and it's basic, which is a good thing. This has nothing to do with writing. It's called Song a Day Musings and that's exactly what it will be. Every day I'll start a post and whatever is on my music player at the moment, that's the song I'll write about.

Inspired a bit by Songbook by Nick Hornby, which is basically a book of essays about songs that he loves. Entries won't be song reviews so much as an examination of the piece or my connections with it. Whatever hits me in that moment.

So if you're interested, come on by. ;-)

http://songadaymusings.blogspot.com/

If the chair fits...

2007-09-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

This girl knows how I feel. My Ikea catalog came the other day. Oh, the love.

I have a weird obsession with Ikea catalogs, and Ikea in general. If you believe it, I've never even been inside an Ikea store... too out-of-the-way, and the only time I ever even see one is halfway up off the highway when I go up to L.A. Is it the promise of Swedish meatballs? Partially. Mostly, though... it's the catalogs.

I don't know what I'd do if I actually went inside an Ikea. I think I'd never be able to leave. To see these funky designer rooms and actually be able to sit on the chairs and touch the curtains and...

I'd be on overload.

Because Ikea catalogs, to me, are pure gold. And by gold, I mean inspiration. If you opened up my imagination, and found the place where all my fictional characters lived, you'd find a lot of Ikea-like furniture in there. I take one look at a picture of a dressing table with costume jewelry and Russian nesting dolls on it, and I'm dying to know who lives in that room. What color is her hair and why is her lamp on in the middle of the day? Obviously she's got money... and she doesn't care about something as silly as energy crises. And I imagine she liked to play dress-up when she was little, and still does, though she keeps it a little quieter... a little more secret.

There's something elegant here, but it's a perfected elegance. Self-maintained. A modicum of control over everything, because she was a little too wild, a little too eccentric as a kid, and probably got a disapproving look or two for it that cut a little bit too deep. A little of that girly eccentricity still shines through... but it's been forcibly subdued.

And that's just one page! (Page 162 if you're wondering.) That was just one random opening of the book. This is proof, if you're wondering, that inspiration can zap you from anywhere. Even Ikea catalogs. Because to me, silly as it may seem, these aren't just pictures of furniture. They're snapshots of rooms that could really belong to people. People full of delicious quirks and gorgeous obsessions who are a little bit messy but a little bit sophisticated, too. People with backgrounds. With stories to tell.

And well, I've got my pen. I'm listening.

An Unveiling...

2007-09-03T11:05:00.001-07:00

The best thing about having other writers for friends is that you get to share in the excitement when something they've worked hard on comes to fruition. My dear friend Isabelle Santiago had been writing for several years when I first met her and has been acting as a sounding board for me for almost four years now, so when I heard that she had won a Freya's Bower Anniversary Submissions Call back in March of this year, I was thrilled beyond compare for her.

Then, last night, she received her very first glimpse of the cover of her new book! It looks a little something like this:

This is the blurb from Isabelle's webpage:

Bridget Phillips is trouble. As Hollywood's hottest leading lady, rumors and bad press follow her wherever she goes. Charles Witmore thinks he knows exactly what she's all about when she steps foot into his hotel. With each new encounter, he finds himself falling in love with the real person he uncovers hidden beneath her layers of perfection. Determined to win her heart, he and his best friends, Betty, Eleanor, and his assistant Tessa, concoct a scheme to give Bridget Phillips a true life fairy tale. But things don't go as smoothly as they hoped. With an overprotective agent and a secret hidden for the sake of her career, Bridget keeps herself closed off, until she realizes that opening up to Charles is inevitable.

I've had the extreme pleasure of reading Cinematic Royalty in a few different stages of its development, and it's just a delight to read. Bridget Phillips is fiesty, and more than a little endearing, and Charles Witmore swept me off my feet. Anybody who has found themselves sighing over an old, black and white movie will adore this book.

I'm just SO proud of you, Isabelle. I can't tell you. You've come so far and done so well.

Now I just need to get my butt in gear, right? ;)

The Year of Re-reads.

2007-08-30T18:21:00.001-07:00

I've decided that this is my year of re-reads. Not only because I don't have money to buy new books—though that certainly is true. Mostly it's because I have a stack of books that I've been dying to re-read for ages, and simply haven't had time to during my reading-full college days.

And the truth is, I just love re-reading books. I always have. The best books can be read over and over again and re-reading them is like visiting old friends. I've started my re-reading frenzy with The Once and Future King, which I read during my freshman year of high school, and was (and still is) probably one of the most difficult books I've ever read, I admit. I read it originally at the insistence of one of my best friends, and I'll admit, it was reluctant then. So... why am I trudging through it again? I can't entirely be sure. There are parts of it I adore, though the majority of it is very slow for me. I've been in the mood for Arthurian legend, though, and for fantasy in general. I've always had a weakness for high fantasy, classic fantasy like this. There's something so appealing about the idea of a world where there are knights and prophecies and magical swords and wizards traveling backwards through time. They say escapism is very in right now, and I guess I've been feeling that. Wanting to escape into a world a little more magical, and maybe a little simpler, than our own.

You Had Me at Halo

2007-07-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

So, a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of winning my very first ARC. I didn't get a chance to read it until after I'd graduated and gotten moved and all of that jazz, though, so here I am to report.

The book is called You Had Me at Halo, by Amanda Ashby. I won the ARC off of a competition at Amanda's Myspace page, which was very simple and fun--recommend a song for her to play on her page, and the best one wins! I pulled out the big guns for this one, recommending the amazing song "Hey Lady" by a band called Thriving Ivory, who originated in Santa Barbara, where I went to school. I've seen these guys live twice, own both their self-produced CD's and their self-titled CD, along with any other tracks available that are out there, and they are one of the true music loves of my life. With lyrics like "She screams for more/More than just some blue-eyed metaphor," and a voice sort of Gavin-Degraw-ish, only more real? How could I not love?

And luckily, Amanda loved it, too! She sent me the ARC... all the way from New Zealand! Which as you can imagine, was exciting enough in itself. :)

The book was adorable. Fun in a totally unexpected way, and constantly making turns that I didn't expect. The tagline is: "She's halfway to heaven... and she's just been pulled over." Basically it's about about a girl who dies mysteriously, then gets kicked out of heaven to deal with her issues on earth, and... to do it, she has to share a body with a computer geek for a couple days. It's a lovely and bizarre story that ends up being sweet and funny and incredibly heartfelt.

Look for this one when it comes to the states, ladies!

A little help from your friends?

2007-06-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

Hi guys. I know I've virtually vanished off the face of the earth for a long while, there. What can I say, graduating, and the stuff that happens after graduation? Well I've been a bit busy.

While the plan now is to be back with a vengence, I have to start out by making a little plea. A wonderful friend of mine, a lady named Stacy, who I call Pooh, whom I met online and have known for a number of years now, has discovered she has cancer, and has a surgery scheduled for a couple of weeks from now.

This friend of mine is an awesome lady, and she has a lovely personality, an awesome sense of humor, and some great writing skills, along with a sweet hubby and the cutest kids, ever. One thing she does not have, unfortunately, is insurance.

As a jobless, just-graduated kid, you can imagine that I can't offer much aid myself, financially, but if anyone sees this and is interested in helping out a very good cause, some good friends of Pooh have started up a collection to help ease the burden of some of these hospital bills.

If you can help in any way, both myself, Pooh, and her circle of friends online and at home will all be eternally grateful to you.

Thank you.

Support Stacie.

Bon Voyage, Rory Gilmore.

2007-05-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

So, I've been busy, but I just watched the finale of Gilmore Girls and I had to had to, had to come over and gush about it. It's all spoilery, though, so don't read if you don't want to know.

I heard it was gonna be good. Really good. I heard it was everything you could want in a series finale.

I didn't believe it.

I actually put off watching it for a couple hours because it's impossible in my head that this show is actually over.

Not to mention the fact that last week's episode was so normal, and this week's episode just started out so normal, and then... I thought maybe I wouldn't even cry that much. I mean, I'd already shed quite a few goodbye-tears over Hay Bale Maze.

But then the credits started. And I started singing along with Carole King just like I always do. And I realized this was the last time I was going to be belting out that song before getting a new glimpse of Stars Hollow et.al. That didn't exactly set me sobbing, but did it prick my eyes and blur my vision? You bet your petutti it did.

I really could not have asked for more from the episode. A simple, elegant moment between Luke and Lorelai, with one perfect line of dialogue. Rory's getting to say thank you and goodbye to Lane, her mom, her grandparents. Lorelai's subtle acknowledgement of being totally at peace with her parents. Every bit of it was perfect. And while the irrational shipper in me still wanted to see Dean Forester pop out of nowhere totally unattached and ready to follow Rory to the ends of the earth? It was just so fitting how they left it, with her ready and willing and excited to face the world on her own. I was worried for half a second that Logan was going to reappear and some bad schmaltz would ensue, but no, my writers wouldn't do that to me.

And the very last scene really was perfect. Exactly to the dot what I wanted to see. I even posted last week on Bev Rosenbaum's myspace that if I were writing the finale it would end exactly the way the first episode did, with the two of them in the diner at dark, talking one on one with Luke in the background, right there, but giving them their space, and I am so, so glad that they did exactly that.

I miss it already, though. I mean, this show was practically all through high school and college for me. Rory was my age. And I've been rooting for Luke and Lorelai since day one. Through Max, through Christopher, through Rachel, through Jason and whoever that woman was who Luke was married to for all of two days...

So yeah, I cried. A lot a lot. Practically through the entire episode I cried. I'm just foreseeing a week-long marathon when I get the DVD's.
Seriously, what am I gonna do for a girl show next year? With Gilmore Girls gone and Veronica Mars as good as gone, I'm seeing the last of my TV obsessions disappear into the mist, and they don't make shows like this anymore. I mean, sure Heroes and Grey's and whatnot for big ensemble entertainment, but I want one character to focus in on, who I love from the start and can get all happy and heartachy and whatnot with.

And as silly as it sounds, with graduating and so many other things in my life changing and ending and transitioning into something new? I would really like to know I had a sweet, silly, sappy girl show to depend on in the Fall. And it really sucks that I don't.

The Importance of Reading Ernest

2007-05-02T01:32:00.000-07:00

I promise I haven't disappeared completely, I've just been a bit lambasted by this Ernest Hemingway class I'm taking. I haven't decided yet whether I "like" his writing or not, some of it I definitely don't, but his description of things is so captivating. The Sun Also Rises I had some trouble with, because there were so many characters and they all seemed to be saying the same things over and over to each other without getting anywhere, which was probably the point, but didn't appeal to me. (I didn't like Great Gatsby, either, so sue me.) Farewell to Arms I really think I enjoyed, though. I'm not sure because I read it so quickly, but I definitely enjoyed it more, at the very least. I like having one character to focus on, and I love something Hemingway does with inner-monologuing and how things get tangled and confused in someone's head.

Now I'm moving on to For Whom the Bell Tolls, which I don't really know anything about, except that most people I've talked to say it's their favorite. Will I agree? Who knows?

I participated in a poetry reading last night, to celebrate the end of April Poetry month, but that's another story for another day. (Meaning I'll be back tomorrow!)

It's not that I'm dependent, I just can't live without it.

2007-04-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

I thought I lost my cell phone today. I was just about to catch the bus home from a little grocery excursion, and suddenly I couldn't find my phone. The pocket of my sidesaddle bag where I usually keep it held nothing but a few old reciepts and a business card or two.

I just about flipped.

I went back into the store and asked if anybody had turned in a phone. No. Then I asked them if they had a phone I could use to call my own phone, and to my great relief it was in my bag after all. It was in that funky under-the-flap-but-not-on-the-inside pocket. Heaven knows how it got there. I'm just glad it did.

But those few moments when I thought it was gone for good I just about died. It's not because it's one of those swanky new phones with a ton of games and a camera and an mp3 player or any of that. Really it's the cheapest phone I could find, and a million other peoplehave it. Actually, most of the time I roll my eyes at people who can't seem to detach themselves from the little techno gadgets. But I admit, the moment I couldn't find mine, I couldn't imagine life without it.

Now, to be fair, this is partially because I just don't have a landline. Or, for that matter, a watch. So most of the time that little bundle of electronics is my only way of being contacted, and my only way of knowing what time it is. And I'll tell ya, the fact that something that didn't even exist twenty years ago is that indispensible to me, worries me just a bit.

But for the moment, I'm just glad I have it back. ;)

It Affects Me.

2007-04-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit busy getting into the swing of Spring quarter, but now I'm back, and just in time for Take Back the Night week on campus. Everywhere you look there's people handing out T-shirts and fliers, taking surveys and generally raising awareness about sexual assault. It's a nation-wide event in April, and I don't think it's by accident that when I turned on the tube today I came upon the TV adaptation of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, a novel about a girl who basically stops speaking after she's been assaulted, and then has to find her voice again, and demand to be heard. I've never read the book myself, but it was the second time I'd seen the movie, and it makes me grateful that books like this exist, that stories like this are told, because I do know girls who've been assaulted, and it's the ones who speak out about it that make a difference in whether or not it'll be allowed to happen again.

Speak handles the situation so deftly, and so respectfully without overdramatizing the situation, which is usually the mistake made with stories about assault. When the situation is already so dramatic, adding to it can make it seem false and actually take away a lot of the power behind the message. I don't know that I could write about issues as important this, especially in a way that would help people, but I am thankful that some people have.

If J.K. can do it, then so can I

2007-04-05T00:46:00.000-07:00

I have it on good authority that during teensy moments of blockage while writing, J.K. Rowling often indulges in the ever-challenging quick game of Minesweeper (ever since she stopped smoking, that is). Minesweeper was usually what I resorted to while writing essays in high school, too.

Now I've moved on, though, to the not-really-harder-but-I-like-to-pretend-it-is Mah Jong. I mean, it's like a game of memory... only all the cards are already face-up! Plus, it's ancient and Chinese, which can't help but be cool, and you can play it for free on about a hundred websites! My usual haunt is Yahoo, but I've visited a ton of them. There's even a Lifesavers (as in the candy) centered version, and my friend who's a Backstreet Boys fan has a site with--yes, you guessed it, Backstreet Boy Mah Jong.

Really it's not just a total waste of time, though. Obviously you can be writing without actually looking at your WIP, typing out the words. And if it works for the highest-paid author in the world (she is, isn't she?) then I'm not about to start to question my own little pick-me-up games.

Mah Jong is really just the beginning, though. Any other guilty-pleasure activities for those finger-tapping moments in between spurts of inspiration?

Stepping Outside the Genre Lines

2007-03-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

I got my copy of Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress on Friday! I've been pretty busy these last couple of days, but what I've read so far has been fun. I think I've guessed the guy already, but that's just because I go out of my way to guess these things! (Don't we all?) Can't wait to see if I'm right!

I haven't had much time for writing, but the ideas have been boiling and building in my brain these last few days, and I think my little break is definitely over, and I'm feeling nice and re-charged. I think a lot of it has had to do with the fact that for the first time in months I'd had time to read books I'd really wanted to read. Not that the classics I generally read for my classes aren't very well-written and inspiring in their own ways, but they're not the simple fun I love most from books. My last two reads have actually been in more of a fantasy-like range than what I'm usually reading (straight, out-and-out YA, and I'm not ashamed to say it!) but I read Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, which is about two kids discovering their grandfather's preserve for magical creatures, and I'm almost to the end of Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, which is a retold Grimm's Fairy Tale, and they've been just the fanciful stuff to get refresh my 19th-century-novel-wearied mind.

Other than YA I usually read either light fantasy like the above (or Harry Potter, that sort) or children's classics, like Anne of Green Gables and Little Women, old favorites like that. Nothing like stepping back from your genre for a minute to pull you back into perspective on it. What about you guys? Second favorite genre to dip into? Does it help? Or does it just get you distracted?

Distracted Muse...

2007-03-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

So I'll admit it, my muse has more loves than writing. Usually (about 95 % of the time) the written word holds domain in my little creative world, but lately I've been doing a lot of handcrafts. Especially knitting (which is strangely and wonderfully addictive). I needed a little non-writing break after another writing-heavy quarter of school (and yes, forced essays sap the muse of her spirit), so playing with pretty yarn for a couple days was rather nice.

I'd put up a picture of what I've been knitting, but it's for a friend's birthday, and I don't know whether or not she has a link to this blog! Now I think I'm ready to dive back into the world of writing, though. I've been missing it, even though all the school writing has gotten a little exhausting for me. Another reason I'm glad I'm pretty much done with school—now I can concentrate on the writing that's really in my heart.

Look what I won!!

2007-03-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

For anyone who didn't know, Tina Ferraro's debut novel, Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress, is now available in stores and on Amazon.com.

There was a little contest on YA Fresh and Tina generously granted four of us signed copies. Thanks Tina! I can't wait to read the book.

Here's the blurb from Amazon, so you know what it's all about:
Sophomore year, Nicolette Antonovich was dumped two days before prom by the hottest guy at school. As a result, she became the proud owner of one unworn, perfectly magical pink vintage dress. But Nic is determined to put that night behind her for good. She's a junior now— older, wiser, and completely overwhelmed by a new set of problems: (1) The bank's ready to foreclose on her childhood home. (2) Her father's too busy with his "replacement" daughter to care. (3) Her best friend's brother is an eternal thorn in her side. (4) Her best friend isn't exactly the rose attached to that thorn. (5) Rumors are flying around school that could get her kicked off the volleyball team, which would (6) ruin all chances of a college scholarship. (7) She still likes the boy who dumped her in the first place. (8) And what in the world do you do with an unworn prom dress, anyway? Strangely, it's getting to the bottom of this last dilemma that just might hold the answer to all Nic's problems.

Book Meme!

2007-03-16T00:36:00.000-07:00

Stolen from Kelly Parra... Thanks Kelly! This was fun!

Instructions: In the list of books below:
Bold the ones you’ve read
Italicize the ones you want to read
Mark in RED the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole (this is kind of drastic, but there are books I probably won't read)
Put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf
Mark an asterisk (*) beside the ones you’ve never heard of
Seen the movie (#)

You're going to think some of my Won't-Read ones are strange, but eh... what can I say? And my multiple #'s are how many different versions of the movie I've seen. I was tempted to count adaptations (like Bridget Jones/Bride & Prejudice for Pride & Prejudice, Clueless for Emma...) but decided that would be a little ridiculous. ;)

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. +###Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. +#Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. #The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. #The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. #The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. +#Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. *Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +#Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. *Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. +Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. +#Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17.*Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. +#Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. +Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. +#The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. +#Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. +The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. +#The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. #Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley) (sort of)
36. *The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. *The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. *I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. *The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. *The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. +Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. +Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy) (again, sort of)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt) (sort of)
49. +The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. +A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. +#Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. +#The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +#Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. *The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. +Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. +#The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. #The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. #Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. +###The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. +#Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. *Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. +Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. #Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. *Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. #Lord of the Flies (Golding) (Ugh.)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. *A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. *The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce) (sort of)

In honor of book-finishing...

2007-03-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

Well, somewhere in the middle of finishing up my assignments I also managed to finish Chicks With Sticks (It's a Purl Thing) by Elizabeth Lehnard. I'm a knitter myself, so liking this book was a given for me. I was linked to this quiz through Lehnard's website, and I couldn't resist...

Which Chick Are You?

You are AMANDA. On the surface, you've got the bright and shiny life we all want. You're rich, gorgeous and your Am Ex will buy you the designer clothes of your dreams. Being the popular party girl comes easily to you. It's getting close to friends (or boyfriends) that's a challenge. Maybe if you unloaded that big secret of yours, you'd feel less need to keep folks at arms length. In your Kate Spade knitting tote is all the fuzzy, novelty yarn you can carry.
Take this quiz!

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At first when I took this quiz I was inclined to disagree. I thought I was definitely more of a Scottie than an Amanda, but I have a bit of a soft spot for Amanda's difficulties, and the free-forming stuff? I want to figure that out.

This was a great read, especially to use as my reward system for Middlemarch (I read two chapters of George Eliot, I got one section of the Chicks), and it's really sparked a lot of yarn-envy in me in the process. The girls figured out knitting a lot faster than I ever did, but it's fun watching them grow together through learning the craft.

Now I'm off to watch Jericho!

The happy sigh of accomplishment.

2007-03-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so technically I still have a quarter left of classes. I don't get my diploma until June. But you know what the lovely thing is? I don't need any of those other classes. Today, my very last day of the Winter 2007 quarter, I officially have all the credits required for graduation.

And that is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to sleep until Friday.

Orange is such an ugly color for a subject line...

2007-03-10T21:29:00.000-08:00

But other than that, lookee! New layout! I finally got around to customizing this thing. Thanks to Final Sense. This is what we call procrastination, ladies and gents.

Dead. Week. Coming soon to dormrooms near you.

2007-03-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

Which unfortunately at my school doesn't mean a week of no classes before finals, no, no, it just means the week everything is due. So I won't be blogging (or writing) much the next couple of days, considering I have a 5-page essay (on Middlemarch, which I still have 400 pages left of to read) and a series of poems due, along with a presentation to prepare. All due Wednesday. Not TOO taxing compared to some of my friends, but definitely enough to keep me busy. Especially with last-minute commitments to the poetry magazine I run, and meetings for Alpha Sigma Pi (that sounds SO much cooler than calling it the Society of Success. Hahaha).

But it's my second to last dead week, EVER! That thought has me all kinds of happy.

Congrats!!!

2007-03-05T21:42:00.000-08:00

My good friend Isabelle Santiago just got word that she won the Freya's Bower Anniversary Submissions Call with her story Cinematic Royalty, which will be published in both e-book and print form! Congrats Belle! I'm so excited for you!

A few thoughts on redemption...

2007-03-05T21:04:00.000-08:00

I'm watching Heroes. I didn't think I'd be a big fan of this show, but the recent softening-down of Daddy Bennett has won me over like none other. I have a real thing for characters that I start out hating but end up loving, especially when I don't see it coming.

My other big example of this is Landen from A Walk to Remember (the movie, not the book). Who really believed the first time they saw that movie that he would be as fully redeemed as he ended up being?

It's quite a feat for writers to create that in a character, and to do it a believable way. I think that's one of the greatest feats an author can manage, and it impresses me every time.

Hardcover vs. Paperback

2007-03-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

Does anyone else have this problem? It's the probably the most annoying example of my OCD-ness. OCD-ocity? Whatever.

I was in the campus Bookstore the other day, and they have The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde there for $7.oo. That's cheaper than you can find it USED on Amazon. BUT, all the rest of my Jasper Fforde books are in paperback. I have them all lined up in a nice little row, four Thursday Nexts and The Big Over Easy. They look so nice in their uniformity. I can't bring myself to break them up. Even though I really want to read the book.

Why do I have this problem, when no one else I know does? I have no idea. Really, I don't. But I think I need help.

Commanding the Character

2007-02-28T15:47:00.000-08:00

So Isabelle Santiago was writing the other day about how after a period of absence from the writing world, she's looking back at her project and her characters are just staring back at her, unmoving, unblinking, unwilling to do much of anything in her favor.

Personally I think it's a bit of a hissy fit. I've had similar experiences with Zoe, where I get caught up in school and papers and things, and she's just standing in the corner of my mind, arms folded, eyes rolling and tapping her foot in this really impatient way that honestly has to be a little exhausting after a while. Yet, she persists. And then when I do find time to sit down and breathe and write? Then? Nada. She's gone off to some undisclosed depth of fiction where I'm not quite allowed to follow yet. She may hear me calling for her, but hey, she's got a life, too. (Er... sort of.)

So how do you pull yourself out of moments like that? Isabelle threatens her characters lives. Hahaha. What would you call that, do you suppose? Fictocide? While I can't say it's an unappealing thought at times, you can't exactly go doing that in a [mostly] lighthearted dramedy like Zoe. That and I'm way too attached to my characters to kill any of them off. So how do you keep a character in line?

This is something that's been coming back to me a lot lately. I keep seeing TV shows I love have to go back and rework things and halt production and whatnot because one of the actors is raising trouble and won't do his/her part, etc, and I'll say to friends, That's why I write fiction! You don't have to deal with any of that stuff.

But don't you? At least a little bit? Writing like anything is a talent that will leave you if you don't practice it often enough, and I've heard many a time that if you don't get out the story your characters want you to, they'll leave you and go to someone else who will. Zoe's been very patient with me. Probably because it would take her far too long to teach her class-schedule and pet names and things like that to someone new, but you know, I'll take what I can get.

Isabelle's post really had me thinking about what I do to get my characters back in line when they aren't participating, though. Sadly enough, I don't have better advice than has been heard through the ages. What I do mostly is I go through and read what I've written, or jump to a scene where I already know how everything is supposed to turn out and write that.

I'm becoming quite a believer in music playlists, too. I use to be pretty skeptical, since a lot of songs I'll try to use will already have other associations for me outside of the story, and the soundtrack aspect doesn't work as well as I'd like to, but as you get more and more involved in a project, sometimes it's hard to not find music suddenly relating to characters and situations in your novel. And that is quite a beautiful thing.

Any other suggestions for keeping the characters in line?

New Book Wants!

2007-02-25T14:11:00.000-08:00

Adding to my list of books I can't wait to buy (which is getting unfortunately long, considering the fact I have no money...) I present to you Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter, a book I came across when I was at Borders the other day, but failed to mention as I was driven to distraction by those Manga kids... But putting that aside, this looks like a hysterical book. A goth/individualist-type girl is abducted and taken to an island where goth is cool and she's the queen of the school, being copied by everyone, and she has to buddy up with the barbie-type previously-popular girl who is now the freak in order to escape. Heehee. Looks like fun.

I also want Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass. It's about a girl who sees colors attached to smells, numbers and letters, a phenomenon I've always been super-fascinated with.

Anyhoo. I have an essay to write. Toodles.

Book Store Pet-Peeves...

2007-02-23T18:47:00.000-08:00

I went into the Borders today. I didn't intend to, in fact I was purposely avoiding the place due to the fact that a) I have no money, b) I have a little stack of books I already need to read, and c) I have Middlemarch to be reading for class on Monday and already have several books here that are sitting temptations (The Goose Girl, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Chicks with Sticks: It's a Purl Thing, just to name a few). It turned out that I missed my bus back to campus, though (literally saw it pulling away while I was stuck waiting for the ok to cross), and so I had an hour to kill before the next bus came.

So I headed to Borders to haunt the stacks, especially my little YA corner, but as always tends to happen in this particular Borders, there sitting in the aisle between the YA and the Graphic Novel shelves, was a Manga reader, sitting on a little stool and looking like he was going to be reading there for hours.

Of course, I don't mind it when people read in the bookstore, but I think it's a bit of a mistake to put two such genres so closely together. Yes, they have similar age demographics, but they represent two completely different extremes of juvenile insecurity, and when you're college-aged or above (as both myself and this young gentleman were) the territorialism over our guilty-pleasures increases exponentially. These two worlds should not be forced to collide so often.

On a completely different subject, the new Thursday Next book, Thursday Next: First Among Sequels, is now available on Amazon.com for pre-order. I am in Jasper-Fforde-induced heaven! Yes, the Nursery Crime series is good, but it can't touch Thursday. Twelve-year-old as it is, I quite simply *heart* her.

Getting Started

2007-02-21T20:23:00.000-08:00

A bit of background, I'm a senior in college, a Literature major with a creative writing emphasis. I'm a Young Adult writer and I've been writing for almost seven years, through which I've grown a lot and had to throw away a lot more.

I've been concentrating on school the last couple years (as I should have been), but now that I'm almost out in the big, bad world, I'm turning my focus to my writing again, and gearing up to actually writing my first novel, the first in a planned series, and this will hopefully be one of those "road to publication" blogs. We'll see, huh?