The Blogger Girlz

Review: Eden

2012-02-18T15:06:00.005-09:00

Eve knew the stories of the Fall, of a time before she wandered into the colony of Eden, unable to recall anything but her name. She’s seen the aftermath of the technology that infused human DNA with cybernetic matter, able to grow new organs and limbs, how it evolved out of control. The machine took over and the soul vanished. A world quickly losing its humanity isn’t just a story to her though. At eighteen, this world is Eve’s reality. In their Fallen world, love feels like a selfish luxury, but not understanding what it is makes it difficult to choose between West, who makes her feel alive but keeps too many secrets, and Avian, who has always been there for her, but is seven years her senior. The technology wants to spread and it won’t stop until there is no new flesh to assimilate. With only two percent of the human population left, mankind is on the brink of extinction. While fighting to keep Eden alive, Eve will discover that being human is about what you will do for those you love, not what your insides may be made of. And even if it gets you killed, love is always what separates them from the Fallen.

Taylor took the popular post-apocalyptic theme and gave it a good spin. It had a bit of a zombie apocalypse vibe... only instead of a zombie virus raising the dead it was nanobots turning people into cyborgs. The bright side of the lack of actual zombies was that the cyborgs weren't so "grr, arg, lets ineffectually eat people." Even though they were a tad slow on the uptake, the cyborgs could actually think and do things other than walk around biting people. They had an understandable directive: turn humans into cyborgs by infecting them. And they could kind of

The plot was well constructed and made Eden hard to put down, but, honestly, it would have been better off without Eve... the main character. She rehashed everything to death, and she flip flopped between West and Avian to the point where I just wanted her to shut up and pick one. Also, she started out as a solid believable lead, but then her character did an instantaneous 180 and even though she was still a solid lead the transformation wasn't buyable and I couldn't get behind it.

Eve was a lot like Cameron from Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles. In the first episode Cameron seemed like a completely normal high school girl, but in all of the subsequent episodes, once we've learned she is in fact a terminator, she's a total cyborg. Like with Cameron, I liked both sides of Eve, but I spent the rest of the book wondering where the first Eve went and why she was ever there in the first place.

The bottom line is that this is one of those books that's perfect for some readers and really not for others, but the only way to know is to try it.

-Aaron

The Day Love Refused to Die

2012-02-14T02:00:00.000-09:00

- Aaron & Ella

TBG Author Interview: Corrine Jackson!

2012-02-04T00:00:00.001-09:00

Hi everyone!

Today I have a special treat for you all, our very first vlog author interview-with the lovely and talented Corrine Jackson, enjoy! :)

Corrine Jackson (pronounced Cor-een) is a young adult author repped by Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency and her young adult novel, If I Lie, will be published by Simon Pulse in September 2012. Touched, the first book of her young adult paranormal romance trilogy, will be published by Kensington in December 2012.

Thanks again, Corrine! I had a blast getting to know you better and I can't WAIT to read your wonderful books! :)

~Ella

Stupid Pineapple Blogfest Entry

2012-02-03T02:00:00.001-09:00

Despite my new year's goal to be more active in the bloggersphere, it's next to impossible for me to keep track of all of the contests, cool posts, blogfests, bloghops, and who knows what else that goes on daily. So, when someone is kind enough to slap me on the back of the head and say "there's an off the wall blogfest you should really check out" I almost always will.

And a version of that statement was exactly what led me to The Stupid Pineapple Blogfest over at Thinking The Lions. After reading about Briane's crazy point tracking system I couldn't resist entering both a picture and an "essay." I would have shot for dressing up like a pineapple and trying Briane's suggested karate-ballet demonstration, but what do you know I forgot my pineapple costume at the cleaners.

And on that note, my story.

“This stupid pineapple is… fucking stupid!” screamed Epsilon throwing the fucking stupid pineapple across the room. Sitting cross-legged on the counter, munching on a stale protein chip, I watched motionless as it splattered against the bulkhead.

“What the hell!” Spinning on the slick surface, I swiveled to where Kale was standing in the doorway, staring at the juicy, pulpy mass that had been his pay check. “Do you have any idea… They don’t grow on trees anymore!”

Knuckles cracking, she grabbed a glass, cracking a powdered milk tablet over it. Shoving it and a spoon across the shiny metal counter, she bared her teeth at Kale, making me hesitate in my grab for the milk. “Then why’d you get the damn thing?”

“You said you’d never had one!” As I stirred, watching the powder turn the water sickly white, she watched him, blank faced. Closing the space between them, he rested his clenched fists on the counter, leaning past me. “I wanted to get you something special for our anniversary!”

Her fists hit the counter, hoping for a dint, and I tensed, ready to spring clear if they lost control. “Then you should have got me a box of goddamn ammo!”

Gulping down half of my milk, for courage, I let the words out, tensing for their reaction even as they slipped out. “Damn straight!”

Sil’s eyes flicked to the door, worried Uncle Bobby had heard, and Kale’s head whipped down. “Don’t swear!”

Pushing one of the hard, tasteless patties around my plate, I gazed up at Kale, jaw set. “But you swear!”

Brushing his stringy dreadlocks behind an ear, Kale loomed over me. “I’m not seven! Nobody gives a damn if I swear!”

Biting my lip, eyes flitting, I stared at him as he turned back to Epsilon. And just as their eyes met, I opened my mouth again. “Why the hell not?”

Epsilon stared at Kale, and Kale stared me, eyebrow arched.

Laughter bounced off the cold walls, crackling like static, as Uncle Bobby called through the door. “I told you not to buy that thing.”

- Aaron

Two Little Words...

2012-01-30T20:51:00.001-09:00

I’ve been called a lot of things by a lot of people, but hands down the worst things I’ve ever been called are smart and stupid.

Growing up I was always the stupid one. How did I know? My teacher told me so, frequently in front of lots of people. So then, all these people get it in their heads that I’m stupid, so they start calling me that too. And, as I’m sure anyone who’s ever been there knows, I felt like crap. By the time I hit jr. high my self-esteem was about as low as it could go.

Then, seemingly overnight, I got smart. How did I know? Everyone told me so, but until this day I still don’t know how it happened. One day I was stupid, and the next day I was smart.

But the kicker was that every time someone called me smart all I could think of was my teacher saying I was stupid, and it made me feel like a fraud. Here I was working my tail off for every grade, staying up until two and getting up at six, editing and reediting papers, and fooling everyone into thinking I was smart when I knew I wasn’t.

Smart was something that came naturally. It wasn’t like superpowers. You couldn’t get it by flying too close to the sun or by being bitten by a radio active spider. It was like perfect pitch. You either had it or you didn’t. There was no half way.

Then, last week after spending my lunch break with a crying little girl who’d just been called stupid by one of the smart kids I finally realized that smart and stupid are a joke. They aren’t real… not really anyway. It’s not something that can be tested or proven. Intelligence can be kind of tested, but smart and stupid is subjective. It’s what the people around you happen to think about you at that moment.

I can be smart today and stupid tomorrow, but I’m intelligent 24/7.

- Aaron

Review: Two for the Dough

2012-01-27T02:00:00.000-09:00

THIS ONE’S DOUBLE THE FUN

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is still learning the ropes at her cousin Vinnie’s bail bond office, so when she sets out on the trail of Kenny Mancuso—a suspiciously wealthy, working-class Trenton boy who has just shot his best friend—the stakes are higher than ever. That Mancuso is distantly related to vice cop Joe Morelli—who is trying to beat Stephanie to the punch—only makes the hunt more thrilling. . . .

Taking pointers from her bounty hunter pal, Ranger, and using her pistol-packing Grandma Mazur as a decoy, Stephanie is soon closing in on her mark. But Morelli and his libido are worthy foes. And a more sinister kind of enemy has made his first move . . . and his next move might be Stephanie’s last.

-Aaron

Review: A Million Suns

2012-01-25T02:00:00.002-09:00

Godspeed was fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos.

It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies.

But when Elder discovers shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a puzzle that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier, unable to fight the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart.

In book two of the Across the Universe trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis mesmerizes us again with a brilliantly crafted mystery filled with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: They have to get off this ship.

Review: Her Dark Baron

2012-01-23T02:00:00.000-09:00

Scottish marauders, incensed at England's King Charles I and emboldened after achieving the upper hand in the Bishop's War of 1640, wreak havoc on the inhabitants of Northumberland, England, and Lady Mariel Hayes finds herself at the mercy of the land hungry Baron Harold Flanders after her father is killed in a border raid. Powerless to save herself from being forced to wed the vile Flanders, Mariel prays for divine intervention. But when her salvation comes, it proves more terrifying than comforting as Mariel learns that by order of the crown, she is to wed the dark and mysterious Baron Gervace Daltry, known far and wide as the Hound of Hell.

Mariel seeks to accept this new life with her dark Baron, a man whose secrets haunt her even as his touch inflames her body. But before her mind can reconcile the sinner she knows him to be with the seductive lover she willingly surrenders to, Mariel must confront the fears that whisper to her, as evidence mounts that her life may soon be forfeit, and decide whether to trust the man she begins to love, or betray the man rumored to be the Devil's instrument of destruction.

Again, my lack of romance oriented experience sent me into the book with a degree of built in bias. I was expecting a long, drawn out, over exaggerated love story. In my mind, on the off chance there would be any plot it would have been lost among all of the mushy sex stuff.

However, I was incredibly wrong in my preconceptions. Her Dark Baron was much more than just mushy sex stuff. Yes, there were sex scenes and yes they were very good (style points for Nadja on execution), but there was also character depth and a visible plot.

The pacing was also a perfect fit. When I first picked up the book I kind of looked at it like "who writes a book this short anymore?" It was like a midget in giant land, but it truly is quality over quantity. Her Dark Baron might have been short compared to other books, but for this story the length was just right. There was plenty of room for detailed explanations, a leisurely pace, and , and any longer and the story would have started to drag, boring the reader.

Yet again, I also enjoyed the little details that Nadja wove into the story. It's those little things that really sold the story for me.

-Aaron

Review: The Chosen (The Nine Lives of Chloe King)

2012-01-21T02:00:00.002-09:00

CHLOE KING MAY BE THE ONE.

Despite a rocky few weeks, Chloe King is starting to get it. She's figured out who she is (a girl with catlike superpowers), where she belongs (at home with Mom), and what she wants to do (chill with her friends).

Yes, she's got funky superpowers, and yes, two rival groups think she's some "chosen" leader. But no, she's not buying all that ancient-warrior crap. And she's definitely not developing a superhero alter ego like in those old comic books. For Chloe, being the One means she can have whatever she wants -- i.e., more goof-off time and fewer "cat people" conventions.

Then she finds her friend bleeding in an alley. All at once Chloe realizes that the years of bloodshed are not over. In fact, they never will be. The Mai and the Tenth Blade are going to persist in their dangerous rivalry. Unless Chloe accepts her destiny -- and takes control.

By far the best book of The Nine Lives of Chloe King series. After dragging the story out through the first two books something, anything, happened. It wasn't exactly ground breaking, but it was something, finally.

Chloe was always a likeable enough character, and her "skill set" was definitely intriguing. However, the execution of her character until now left a lot to be desired. It was two books worth of plodding character development, all leading up to this, but finally Chloe got her chance to shine. And did she.

-Aaron

Review: The Stolen (The Nine Lives of Chloe King)

2012-01-19T02:00:00.002-09:00

She argues with her mother. She occasionally skips class. And she alternately crushes on two totally different boys.
But Chloe King is by no means your typical teenager. The girl can scale buildings and see in the dark. Sometimes, at night, she even likes to leap from rooftop to rooftop. Yes, Chloe has the instincts and ability of a cat. And that makes her unique indeed.
It also makes her a wanted woman.
Because the Order of the Tenth Blade does not deal kindly with people like Chloe. It stalks them. Preys upon them. And wants many of them -- like Chloe, for instance -- dead.

Yet again, I was disappointed. I'd hoped the series would get better, but if anything it got worse.

I hadn't noticed it in the The Fallen, but Thomson has a real issue with continuity. I finished The Fallen and picked up The Stolen in the same motion, so when the first book ended in Chloe's house and the second book make it clear that it picked up right where the first book left off on now she was in some strange bedroom in a mysterious house I was startled. I kept flipping back and forth trying to figure out how she got there until I finally decided that either the author forgot where she left off or she didn't like it, couldn't go back and change it in the last book, so she just "fixed it." Like the reader wouldn't notice. It was insulting.

The ideas were fresh and new, but the story itself was a little dull. Again there were great details, but when it's all details that doesn't always mean a lot. I kept waiting for something to happen, but it never did. There were a few times were something could have happened, but nothing.

The nail in the discontinuity coffin for me was in the second half of the book where all of a sudden Paul smokes. Over 300 pages, and this was the first I ever heard of it. Just kaboom. First he's a regular guy, then a nerd, then a slacker, then a border line goth, and now a smoker? And each time a new aspect of his identity comes into play it's like all of the other aspects vanish, and that's all he is.

Is it possible to get whip lash from a book?

I want to read the third book to follow through on my quest to discover what the TV show got canceled before it could reveal, but I don't know if I can take another book like the first two. And I doubt the world needs another review like this one floating around in cyberspace.

-Aaron

Review: The Fallen (The Nine Lives of Chloe King)

2012-01-17T21:01:00.005-09:00

Chloe King was a normal sixteen-year-old girl.

She did her homework and got good grades, but she wasn't afraid to ditch class sometimes to hang out with her best friends. She slept at home, but otherwise avoided all human contact with her mom. The usual stuff.

Then she fell from San Francisco's highest tower, and her life changed. For starters, she died. And then, she woke up.

Now Chloe's life is anything but normal: Suddenly guys are prowling around her, she's growing claws, and someone's trying to kill her.

Luckily for Chloe, she still has eight lives to go.

Maybe it was because I watched the TV show and then read the books, but whatever the cause I was hugely disappointed with the series. I’ve thought long and hard on whether or not watching the series first was what ruined the books for me, but I honestly don’t think that was it. Yes, I had a general idea of what was going to happen, but since the books and the TV were divergent I was still genuinely surprised by the events of the book.

Or at least I would have been genuinely surprised by the events of the book if anything had actually happened in The Fallen, but nothing did. It was 200 pages of teen angst and treading water with 50 pages of decent action crammed in right at the end. It I didn’t already have an idea where all of this was going I would have been completely lost by the plodding pace of everything.

The girl not only survived but walked away from a (drunken) fall from a really tall tower, and it still took her half the book to realize there was something different about her. I personally found this hard to believe since I grew up with Saturday morning cartoons, X-Men, Smallville (which was even given a nod in this book), so I have a hard time buying that it took Chloe so long to catch on to the fact that she had super powers. To add insult to injury one of her best friends was even a comic book nerd.

Also, Book One of The Nine Lives of Chloe King was one of those books that falls pray to trying too hard to be relevant to “kids today.” Skipping class, punks, gangsta’s, making out in the janitor’s closet, smoking, drinking, double dipping: it was all tossed in there, but what was, I’m sure, intended to give the book a more natural feel just made everything feel staged. The few things that really could have made the book stand out like the no kissing humans thing or Amy making her own clothes was vastly under played in favor of the easy cop out. Chloe could have been a truly unique and likeable character, but instead all she amounted to was a bitchy, rebellious teenager that was a little to much like the teenaged girl stereotype many of us get pigeonholed as.

The one aspect of Celia’s writing that truly impressed me was her use of zoomorphism. I may not have enjoyed the story, but reading The Fallen definitely helped me improve that aspect of my writing. I feel like I’m better equip to write about one of my own characters after reading Celia’s descriptions of Chloe’s traits.

-Aaron

Review: B

2012-01-09T02:04:00.000-09:00

Originally written in 2007, “B” is a thank you note, a love letter, a wish, a promise, a confession, and a secret. With beautiful illustrations by Sophia Janowitz, “B” is finally available in this whimsical, magical book. This book is the perfect gift for every mother and every daughter. Short, touching and lovingly illustrated, it is a family tradition waiting for you to start.

B is a very usual book. As mentioned above it can't be classified as any one thing. It's part picture book, part poem, and part life wisdom. It's written from the point of view of a future mother speaking to her future daughter but also from that of a daughter looking back on the advise give by her own mother.

Going into this after hearing that B had first been presented as a spoken poem gave me certain expectations. I was expecting more fluidity and a lot of rhyming words, so when I started reading and didn't find that I faltered unsure if I wanted to keep reading. Then I reached this passage, which changed everything.

You're just smelling for smoke
so you can follow the trail
back to a burning house,
so you can find the boy
who lost everything in the fire
to see if you can save him.

Or else -

find the boy
who lit the fire
in the first place,
to see if you
can change him.

The words are beautiful, but for me the real poetry lies in the images those words create.

Even though it's illustrated this is not a gentle rhyming book I would choose to read to a young child. So, I don't believe the every mother and every daughter plug. However, this is a book that I would highly recommend to mother (possible favoring recent empty nesters) and girls who are "coming of age."

-Aaron

Review: Notes From the Blender

2012-01-07T02:00:00.003-09:00

Declan loves death metal--particularly from Finland. And video games--violent ones. And internet porn--any kind, really. He goes to school with Neilly Foster and spends most of his classroom time wondering what it might be like to know her, to talk to her, maybe even to graze against her sweater in the hallway. Neilly is an accomplished gymnast, naturally beautiful, and a constant presence at all the best parties (to which Declan is never invited). She's the queen of cool, the princess of poker face, and her rule is uncontested-- or it was until today, when she's dumped by her boyfriend, betrayed by her former BFF Lulu, and then informed she's getting a new brother--of the freaky fellow classmate variety. Declan's dad is marrying Neilly's mom. Soon. Which means they'll be moving in together.

The characters were very enjoyable. I loved all of the little details that really made the characters. They were real people with real problems who were just looking for a break that they couldn't find. Then when they did find it it wasn't what they were looking for.

I am guy illiterate, so the guyness discussed on these pages may or may not be true. If it isn't true then I'm impressed with the honesty and the peak behind enemy lines. It's provided me with lots of information that will eventually worm its way into a book. If it isn't true I'm still impressed, possibly even more so, at the believability of it all.

Also, the dynamics were very diverse. There were same sex couples, blended families, doubly blended families, immigrants, and single parents. I come from a white middle class neighborhood, so maybe there is this much all over the place and I'm just ignorant. However, in this book there was so much diversity it almost felt staged.

For me there's always a certain amount of coincidence involved in every book, but there were a few to many in Notes From the Blender for my taste. How Neilly found out about her mom's relationship. How Neilly and Declan "met." How Neilly and Griffin met. The story was solid, but the way things that would send the story sailing ahead just appeared made me question the quality of the story itself. The curve balls were so soap opera-ish that they became almost predictable, and by the end of the book I was getting a little tired of having my chain yanked.

The problem may be that I'm in my 20s and am not quite the target audience for this story, and there are people I would recommend Notes From the Blender to, such as children going through a blending or families who have a member "coming out." However, this book is not for everyone.

- Aaron

Review: One for the Money

2012-01-05T02:00:00.003-09:00

Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to wiseguys, average Joes, and Stephanie Plum, who sports a big attitude and even bigger money problems (since losing her job as a lingerie buyer for a department store). Stephanie needs cash--fast--but times are tough, and soon she's forced to turn to the last resort of the truly desperate: family.

Stephanie lands a gig at her sleazy cousin Vinnie's bail bonding company. She's got no experience. But that doesn't matter. Neither does the fact that the bail jumper in question is local vice cop Joe Morelli. From the time he first looked up her dress to the time he first got into her pants to the time Steph hit him with her father's Buick, M-o-r-e-l-l-i has spelled t-r-o-u-b-l-e. And now the hot guy is in hot water--wanted for murder.

Abject poverty is a great motivator for learning new skills, but being trained in the school of hard knocks by people like psycho prizefighter Benito Ramirez isn't. Still, if Stephanie can nab Morelli in a week, she'll make a cool ten grand. All she has to do is become an expert bounty hunter overnight--and keep herself from getting killed before she gets her man.

I'd heard great things about this series for years, but as usual that was more of a deterrent for me than a selling point. I hate reading books other rave about because I'm worried they won't live up to the hype. However, after years of refusing to touch One For the Money I finally gave in and am ecstatic about the results.

I don't want to ruin it for any prospective readers, but the thing that sealed the deal for me was the first big confrontation scene of the book between Stephanie and a hulking prize fighter type. Until then I'd been kind of puttering along half thinking about lying when people asked me if I'd finished One for the Money. Stephanie was a decent character, but there was no mettle, no fire just a putz jobless woman. Then this guy ties into it with her, and it was like a completely different woman arrived on the scene. Even though she had no training and was scared witless she didn't freeze up or wait for some guy to come charging in from the wings to rescue her (a failure to many other leading ladies to count are guilty of). She used everything she had, went down swinging, saved her panic for later, and got gun training as soon as she had the opportunity.

That was it for me, by the end of that chapter I knew I'd inhale this book and not rest until the rest of the series was within easy reach.

Another big selling point for me was the humor. It was hiding in all of the most unexpected yet perfect places. Such as when she was so desperate she tried hamster food, or the gradual hawking/ trading of all of Stephanie's possessions to pay for for various and sundry things such as a TV and VCR for a Nova.

The relationship dynamics were both hilarious and believable, but my favorite relationship by far was the one between Stephanie and Rex, her hamster. The stumbling step in many books I've read is the pet/ owner dynamic. Most authors can barely pull off a good dog/ person relationship, but Janet Evanovich managed to deliver in spades with a hamster and a wanna be bounty hunter. So well in fact that I started to fear for Rex's health just in case the relationship was being so flawlessly constructed to elicited an emotional response when some psycho killed him off. I kept expecting Stephanie to come home to find a blood soaked cage and Rex's bloody body nailed to the back of the door. Thankfully despite guns being fired in his vicinity he survived book one unscathed.

My Rating

-Aaron

Best of 2011 and My Goals for 2012!

2012-01-03T12:53:00.000-09:00

This year has just flown by, seriously! December's gotten away from me and I ran out of time to space out my Best of 2011 post and My Goals for 2012 post, (both posted after New Years Day unfortunatly, but better late then never!) so I just decided to write both in one post enjoy!

Best of 2011

Movies
The Help: Best. Line. Ever? "Eat. My. Shit." :)
Lifted: Bring the tissues! So full of hope, yet still so sad.
That's What I Am: Such an amazing movie! Deals with some tough issues, but so inspirational!
New Years Eve: Two words, Zach. Efron. <3
Rabbit Hole: So sad and deep.
Through A Dog's Eyes: Best documentary I've seen about service dogs!

T.V.
Life On Mars (U.S. version): OMg, soooo good! A cop goes back in time-to 1973.
The Nine Lives of Chloe King: Best. Ending. Ever. But sooooo mad there won't be a season two! I need more Brian! :(
Pysch: This one's been around for a while but I just discovered it this year and I'm soooo glad I did, it is hilarious!
Monk: Same goes with this one, just discovered it, so funny!
Glee: Always love this show, rewatched seasons 1 and 2, now I just need to catch up on season 3! Vampire Diaries: Rewatched season 1, now rewatching season 2, cannot get enough of that loveable psychopath Damon! *swoon*
Switched At Birth: Love, love, love! I love the concept and the added element of the deaf culture and sign language, so cool!
Instant Star: "Like American Idol, but with hot dudes!"
Friday Night Lights: Watching this show is the only time I actually enjoy watching football, lol! "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!"
Gilmore Girls: I could watch reruns of this one again and again and still crack up! Now I just need to find time to sit down and watch the complete series in order!
Sherlock: Modern Day (younger, attractive) Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson? Yes, please!
Grimm: So creepy and funny!
Once Upon a Time: I'm addicted to this show, it's so magical and romantic! :)
The Wonder Years: Loved this show as a kid, love it even more as an adult!
Eli Stone: Two words-George. Micheals. :)
Ten Things I Hate About You: So funny and snarky! Ohhh, and Patrick Verona! *swoon*
Veronica Mars: When I first heard the name of this show, I assumed that it was about a girl named Veronica who...lived on Mars. LOL I know, I know, I was totally off, but now I can't enough good things about it. There definitely needs to be more characters like Veronica on T.V.! I miss you Ronny, come back!
Everwood: Adore this show, I love the small town setting and all the romance and drama!

Books
Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard
Slide by Jill Hathaway

My Goals for 2012

Health
Get back in shape: Done! I've joined an awesome health challenge called Change Write Now, should be a blast!

Reading
I barely remember reading anything in 2011 and in 2012, I plan to change that by reading at least one book a month! I just bought a bunch a of new books with gift cards that I got for Christmas, so soon I shall have a plethra of new reading material to devour, I can't wait! :)

Writing
The same goes for writing-I barely did any in 2011. And that definitely needs to change if I want to finally complete a first draft. I usually don't do well with huge goals, I'm more a fan of baby steps or minnie goals. So, in order to reach my huge goal of reaching "The End" on a first draft, I'm going to start small by writing once a week for 25 mins. It's not much, but at least it's a start!

Wish me luck on my goals for the new year and good luck to you with yours! Happy New Year!!!!!!!!! :) <3

~Ella

Review: Claiming the Prize

2012-01-03T02:00:00.001-09:00

Walking a solitary, disciplined path in his pursuit to become the light heavyweight champion of the American-Mixed-Martial-Arts-Organization, Drago Zadrovec leaves the security of his homeland to train in the United States. But once within the exclusive MMA organization, Drago finds himself increasingly drawn to his mentor's daughter, Grace Antolini. Quiet and gentle, yet thoroughly immersed in the world in which he exists, Grace captures his heart as firmly as his quest for the title, igniting a long buried passion inside the fighter. Subjecting his body to the brutality of the cage and opening his heart to the woman he desires to share his life with, Drago comes to understand that his journey is comprised of more than want of victory in the ultimate goal of Claiming The Prize......

I'm not a big romance reader, so I wasn't sure what to expect when I downloaded Claiming The Prize. But I was blown away by how skillfully Notariani weaved together all of the different aspects of Grace and Drago's story.

Grace's dedication, loving nature, and kick ass fighting skills made her someone I could instantly connect with. She was the type of woman I'd totally be friends with if she were real, but since she isn't I wanted to find out more by reading more. I just wish Grace had gotten more fighting time in, maybe in a sequel?

Although the events were well described and believable the pacing was mind bendingly fast. Once Drago and Grace got past the initial "I don't date" stage of their relationship it was like watching a space shuttle launch. "10, 9, 8, ... 3, 2, 1" and it's gone! I was expecting a long and tedious everything, but they were off like a shot.

Thankfully, this was the world-wind variety of true love, so the speed fit perfectly and only served to suck the reader in. Anything slower would have been exactly what I had originally expected: tedious.

My favorite part of Claiming the Prize by far was how fast Nadja switched gears, which she accomplished by altering view points from one character to another. Just when I was starting to settle in for a nice, mellow, chaste love story the focus would pan to another character who was having fast and furious sex in the next room while hopped up on X.

And the skill with which the story changed gear was truly artful. The suspense would start building with a little foreshadowing here and there. Then you get what was going on from the current focuses point of view before hopping inside another character's head and finding out what was really happening.

Even if, like me, you aren't a romance fan I would still say check this one out. It's got enough of everything you'll find yourself getting sucked in before you realize it. If not for the romance then for the action or the scandal or the accents, which admittedly don't sound half as sexy when they're in your head but you make do with what you have.

My Rating

- Aaron

No Kiss Blogfest Entry

2012-01-02T02:00:00.000-09:00

Her blood pounded and her hormones flared as he fingered her hand. “How soon do you get off?”

Her heat rose, cheeks flaring red in the dark. Blushing: must be a new slut. “Not for a couple hours…”

Sliding the clipboard silently onto the table, I turned my back on the spectacle. One hand on the wall for guidance I melted into the gloom, leaving the spectacle behind.

His scent surged toward me and my calves resonated with the vibrations of his pounding combat boots as he rushed to catch up.

“Hey!” Abram called, trailing after me. “Wait up!”

Arms crossed, I slowed as his uneven tread loomed closer.

Breathing heavily, he leaned on me a little as we walked, pushing back a wayward snake. “Why didn’t you wait?”

“I did. That was me waiting.” The words fell flat, as an awkward shiver crept down my spine. My hands curled into fists, waiting.

“So, Brice seemed nice…”

I shrugged, waiting for the other shoe. “Yeah, so?”

“So… it’s a nice town, and you’re their type… strong, intelligent, resilient… fertile.” The door in front of us boasted a little sign reading Coaches’ Office, and he paused in front of it. “You could stay if you wanted, build a good life for yourself. Have a family.”

“Really…” I paused checking the deserted hallway before brushing back my scarf, feeling the mass of snakes rise off the nap of my neck, free. “’Cause I kind of figured I was past that point.”

“Some things…” Leaning in, he ran a hand through my hair. So close I could feel his pulse, see the aura of heat floating into the air, smell the blood. Stepping close, he looked past the tinted lenses, into my eyes. Hooking a finger over the bridge and tugging them down he bore into my eyelids. “are worth the risk.”

The words were on my lips. His heat was mine. His pulse pounded into my bones, and his lips teased mine with phantom kisses. So close I could taste them… so close…

Too close. Flinching, feeling the heat, the pressure, the pulse pressing down suffocating me, I pulled back, pushing him away.

Hand groping at the door handle, I tumbled back as it sprung open. “I need a shower…”

- Aaron

It's 2012 So...

2012-01-01T12:30:00.001-09:00

-Ella & Aaron

Taking Back My Life in 2012

2011-12-29T17:42:00.004-09:00

2011 is in its final stretch, and looking on the year it's hitting me that I really didn't have a life for the past 12 months. I could sum up the entire year as 365 repetitions of get up, teach, grade, study, go to bed. I read maybe a dozen books, viciously shut down any guy foolish enough to approach me, canceled all of my charity work, got may 10,000 words done in NaNoWriMo, and only posted a handful of reviews. Pretty much the only thing I managed to accomplish aside from graduating was getting a tattoo!

Pathetic!

But no more!

All I have on my plate for 2012 is trying to survive as a substitute teacher, so to keep that though from depressing me I'm loading up on extracurricular. My three big ones are "100 Books in 2012" at Book Chick City, "I Dig Reading" at The Insect Collector, and setting up a breast cancer awareness challenge/ dare for October.

100 Books in 2012
Last year I tried my hand at Book Chick City's 100 Books In a Year Reading Challenge, and I have no idea how I did. For all I know I read 100 books in the last 12 months, but I didn't review most of them or even keep track using a list. Epic Fail.

Anyway, I'm going to try again this year and see how I fair. In addition to posting the nifty badge featured below as well as the one to the right I've set up a separate page for the challenge where I'll have a list of my "to read" and "have read" books so I can keep track. I've also done the math and figured out that in order to meet the deadline of 100 books by December I'll need to read 8.33 books a month, which I'm going to round up to 9 for the sake of simplicity.

I Dig Books
Reading and charity how could I not get into that, especially in light of my quest to read 100 books this year. For this specific challenge you pledge to donate a certain amount of money to the charity(s) of your choice for every book (or possibly page) you read in 2012.

I haven't settled on a charity and most likely won't until next December, but I have decided to donate $1 for ever book I read from January 1st through December 31.

Breast Cancer Awareness Something-or-Other
Blogfest, Blog Hop, Challenge, Dare? I'm not entirely sure of the form, but it's definitely going to happen so keep an eye out for updates.

-Aaron

You're One Smart Cookie

2011-12-28T16:21:00.006-09:00

I'm not a big fan of chain anything (with the exception on chainmail for some reason), but this fit the moment so I thought I'd pass it along.

The Rules:
1. Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post
2. Share 4 little known facts.
3. Pass this on to the "Smart Cookies" you know.

The Facts:
1. Elephants can't jump.
2. The ability to roll your tongue is a genetic trait.
3. There is a cheese made using insect larva that can be deadly.
4. A “jiffy” is an actual unit of time. It's 1/100th of a second.

The Smart Cookies:
1. Jess at Jest Kept Secret
2. KO at The Insect Collector
3. Bethany at Aspirations
4. Hayley at Writer's Hollow
5. Nicole at Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight
6. Michael at Michael Offutt
7. Tamara at Tamara Rose Blodgett

-Aaron

Wordless Wednesday: Better Luck Next Year?

2011-12-28T08:19:00.002-09:00

-Aaron

Ending the Year Write

2011-12-27T19:47:00.003-09:00

I've been a very bad writer this past year, but I'm going to be better next year, I swear! No more of this working on college classes instead of writing and lying to my aspiring author students when they ask if I've done any writing over the weekend. No, I'm going to do better in the new year!

And to both end and begin the year on the right foot I've spent the past three days seeing if I've still got it (as if I ever had it) by entering Heather's Holiday Contest over at her blog My Demon Spirits.

Enter a contest, sounds simple, right? Wrong, nothing is ever simple with me. I almost made it this time, but then I stopped by Michael's blog to check out his entry. Big mistake! After being blown away by both his writing and his graphic design abilities I couldn't take the shame of posting my plain text story, so I decided to try something new.

Note: It has to buffer before you can view it.

Holiday Contest Entry on Prezi

-Aaron

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T02:00:00.002-09:00

- Aaron and Ella

I Refuse...

2011-12-23T11:36:00.003-09:00

To let the hype ruin my holidays.
To let others' expectations ruin my holidays.
To let others' depression ruin my holidays.

Regardless of whether you're celebrating Christ's birth, Santa bringing toys to the good children, the festival of lights, Joseph and Mary's journey to Bethlehem, or just making it through another year this is a time to celebrate not a time to get bogged down.

So I'm going to pull out of the annual holiday tailspin I always find myself in and finish the year on a cheerful note (or die trying).

Prepare for the festivities to begin.

- Aaron

The Little Moments

2011-12-20T19:19:00.002-09:00

I had one of those little moments today, and I couldn't resist the urge to share it.

It was one of those moments that blurred the line between real life and fiction. One of those moments where the saying "real life is stranger than fiction" may not apply. It was definitely real life (I know. I was there.), but it would have fit perfectly into a book as well.

I was at a friend's house for a Christmas party, and as I was loading up my plate I caught sight of her little sister. When I say little I mean relatively speaking since the "little sister" in question just turned eighteen and works every year she's got.

She's not what I'd call rebellious, but when I see the strand of Christmas lights inked across her left arm I start to wonder. She's old enough to get a tattoo without out parental consent. Her family rivals mine in the control department, and her siblings have a history of going ballistic once they hit 18.

The odds are 50/50, and I can't resist. With my plate piled high with food I make my way to where she's standing with her sister and boyfriend.

I'm standing there listening to this guy who looks like he should have no less then 10 tattoos bad mouth the practice. Well, to be more specific he was bad mouthing girls having tattoos and making horrid generalizations about girls who have tattoos, so I turn on them tugging back the corner of my tank. "Like me?"

I'm just starting to question the intelligence of my decision when little sister gasps and reaches out to rub at the wing tip that's just barely cleared my top. "Is it real?"

I claim to not be a big fan of the big reaction preferring to keep my tattoo to myself, but there are moments when it's worth the reactionary stereotype. The moment when I turned and saw the look on his face realizing that not only was it real but that he'd been standing there directly insulting me was one of those moments that was not only intensely satisfying but a touch too surreal for my taste.

The saying "real life is stranger than fiction" is there for a reason. Life isn't supposed to be a YA novel.

- Aaron

L-O-V-E Spells Hypocrite

2011-12-19T10:57:00.005-09:00

Last night I was at a party with a friend, and this little thing catches a glimpse of us. The first words out of her mouth are "it's so sweet to see a couple in love."

Smile, nod, lie, get out of there as fast as we can.

Because honestly, I don’t do love.

I tried it once, and it didn’t take. It was amazing (he was amazing), but the thought of a husband, kids, and the whole living for another thing just didn’t do it for me. I smiled and laughed and faked it because I knew he wanted me to want it, but everything he wanted was everything that terrified me. And when he broke it off I cried my eyes out, but behind the pain of loosing him was relief at not having to be that person because honestly…

I don’t do love. Case closed. The verdict is in. The other shoe has dropped. End of story…

The only problem is that it isn’t because in reality it’s the beginning of most stories. Girl meets guy. Guy meets girl. They know it instantly, or they refuse to admit it for half of the book until they finally break down and run into each others arms.

It’s different for everyone and those differences are only amplified in literature. The drama, the passion, the sacrifice: all of it.

And as a writer, the necessity of love is something I struggle with everyday. I have no desire to feel it myself (stay away from it like the plague in fact), but it always finds a way into my writing whether I want it there or not. My characters experience everything I refuse myself.

And sometimes at night when I hit save and turn off my computer I can’t help but feel like a hypocrite. I don’t have it or even want it, but I immerse myself in it every day. Yes, I try to make it as ugly and unpeeling as I can, but I still feel like a snake oil salesman when it’s all said of done.

And can I really do it justice if I don’t believe in it? Does that make everything I write a lie? Or am I writing to the ideal I wish existed?

Then again, as long as I love writing does it matter what I think about the act of love?

-Aaron

One Day This Will End Up In a Book

2011-12-10T11:03:00.005-09:00

Well, I finally did it, and looking back on it a comment Bethany once made about doing strange/ random things and them ending up in books popped into my head. I did it for me and for my grandmother, but I can already tell that somewhere down the road one of my characters is going to walk into a tattoo parlor, take a look a at the woman at the counter with her half dozen visible tattoos, and wonder if they're doing one of those stupid college things they'll regret later.

Because that's exactly how my visit started. Then when she asked why I was there I managed to stammer out that I had an appointment to at 11:00 at which point she said "the tribal hummingbird? Everyone's been talking about that one."

The fact that everyone had been talking about it should have registered, but all I could think was "tribal hummingbird" but I'm not Alaska Native! Is it alright to get a tribal tattoo if you aren't native? No body there seems to mind, so I nod and try a smile even though I'm barely registering the conversation that I'm taking part in by that time.

I can't even manage to explain that my down payment was already made by a friend as a graduation present. All that comes out is "he already has the money." At which point she just stares at me until a skinny guy with a giant beard and tattoos all the was down to his knuckles comes out, hands me the down payment my friend had given him, and tells me he needs a smoke before we get started.

Okay... so I sit down and alternate between reading and checking out the display of colored "Gothic" contacts.

When it was finally time to get started it was a lot different that I thought it would be. Everything was really clean and the guy was really nice. When he saw me looking at all of the equipment he took the time to explain what everything was and how the whole process would work and he also gave me a heads up to breathe normally and not to hold my breath while he was working on my back, which came in handy later. He even did a test line so I'd know how it would feel and could have one last window to change my mind.

The only strange thing in the whole experience, apparently, was me. Although, in my defense how was I supposed to know that reading a book while getting a tattoo was out of the ordinary? It's not like there was a sign! But apparently reading 40 pages of a book while getting a tattoo is "bad ass." At least that's what the tattooed woman at the counter paused to say when she heard me laughing and came to see what was going on: Shane and Rhett had almost been blown up and then Rhett was howling because Shane wouldn't roll down the truck window for him.

Note to self: I'm bad ass. I'll have to remember that the next time I face off with a stuck up 5th grader. Then again considering what it took for someone to call me bad ass it's a fact that'll be hard to forget, and if I ever do all I have to do is look in the mirror.

-Aaron

A Different Kind of Ink

2011-12-01T23:02:00.004-09:00

This month holds the anniversary of the death of one hell of a woman, and since I couldn't make it for the funeral a year ago I'm paying my respects now. In true writer fashion they'll be in ink and, from what I've heard, blood.

And after weeks of back and forth e-mail planning today I finally got my first glimpse of my first tattoo.
What do you think? If my body's a temple is this graffiti or a stain glass window?

-Aaron

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T02:00:00.001-09:00

- Aaron and Ella

Top 10 Things I Loved About BREAKING DAWN: PART 1!

2011-11-19T14:52:00.006-09:00

Last night I FINALLY got to go see BREAKING DAWN: PART 1 in theaters and my reaction can be summed up in just two words: FREAKIN' EPIC! :) <3 I'm not ashamed to admit it, Stephenie Meyer is one of my biggest writing heroes, right up there with J.K. Rowling and Stephen King! She makes me want to steal a piece of her creative brain, to be a better writer, to make my characters bigger, better and able to jump right off the page, to take risks with my writing and not be afraid to "go there", you know? Anywho, here, in no particular order, are 10 things I loved about BREAKING DAWN: PART 1 (WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!):

1. A shirtless Jacob just two seconds into the movie :)

2. As soon as Edward appeared on screen for the first time in Bella's bedroom, a person in the audience of the movie theater shouted, "SPARKLES!" It was awesome. :)

3. A cameo by none other then Stephenie Meyer herself in the audience during the wedding scene.

4. How sad Charlie was as Bella was getting married and right before she left for her honeymoon. You could really see how much he loves his daughter. :)

5. How much more comfortable Kristen Stewart seemed on screen and how much her and everyone else's acting has improved!

6. Jacob and Bella's dance after the wedding. So sweet and romantic!

7. The sex scene, HA!

8. Bella's gradual love of lingerie. At first she snubbed her nose at it, but then it's all she seemed to wear during the honeymoon, lol!

9. The way Bella looked like a perfect example of a drug addict/anorexic/a member of the walking dead throughout most of the movie. Great job special effects and makeup departments!

10. The ending a.k.a. Bella's red eyes, OMG, when will PART 2 be here?!

So, for fans of the series, what were your favorite things about the movie? :)

~Ella

TBG Author Interview: Tori Scott!

2011-11-17T17:52:00.005-09:00

Hi everyone!

Today I'm happy to share an interview with Tori Scott, the author of the short story, FOUR HOUSES (available now!) and her first YA Paranormal novel, THE COLLECTOR, which is currently on submission. Here's the summery for THE COLLECTOR from Tori's website:

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence has made him one of Hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple, weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal opportunity collector and doesn’t want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within 10 days.

Dante doesn’t know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of Hell. But after Dante meets the quirky, Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect—he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector, and uncover emotions long ago buried.

Sounds awesome, no? :) Now, without further ado, on to the interview!

***

1) Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

Meh. I think I always wanted to be a storyteller. The writing just helps me achieve that.

2) How did you come up with the idea for THE COLLECTOR? Did it just come to you, or was it more of a gradual progression?

It started as something I was just thinking about, but when I found the angle I wanted to use the rest came in a rush.

3) Where do you draw your inspiration from while you are writing? For example, do you listen to music while you write or sit outside?

I only listen to music when writing a seriously emotional scene. Otherwise, it distracts me. Inspiration comes from my cat, Gizmo, who knows no limits when dreaming big.

4) How do you stay motivated to write? Even though you’re currently on submission, have you ever wanted to give up? And if so, how did you pull yourself back from the "edge"?

About once a day, I consider giving up. But I treat it like a job, and just keeping doing it. The next day always comes, and I’m thankful I worked through the one before.

5) Tell us about your writing habits: where you write, when you write, how much you write, etc.

I write like a Marine: 2,000 words a day, M-F. I start when I get up in the morning, and stop for the day when I hit my daily word count. It’s not an interesting pattern, but one thing’s for sure—it gets the job done.

6) How do you deal with constructive (or not) criticism? And if it's negative, how do you deal with it?
I thank the person verbally, and kill them mentally. Works like a charm.

7) How many stories did you start writing before you found a "winner" and how did you know you'd found a keeper?
I wrote one book before The Collector and always wondered if it was working. With The Collector, I didn’t wonder. My gut just said it was working. It may not get published, but I’ll always love the story.

8) Do you have any new writing projects in the works? Can you tell us about them?
I just started working on my next project. While I usually keep my stories under wraps until I’m close to finished, I’ll say it’s more YA Fantasy than YA Paranormal. ;)

9) What were the most difficult and best parts of writing THE COLLECTOR?

The difficult part was the half-way mark; it usually is for me. The beginning was the easiest. It just…flew.

10) What did you do to celebrate when you found out that you were getting signed by your agent?

I went to my favorite restaurant and keep texting my mom saying, “Hey, guess what? I have an agent” in between bites. I was beyond giddy.

11) What did your friends and family think when you told them you were writing

THE COLLECTOR?

I didn’t tell many of my family members or friends when I started writing my first book. To be honest, I was afraid they’d laugh. But I had more confidence when starting The Collector, so I told them. They were supportive…to my face, anyway. ;)

12) Now that you're on submission and a more experienced writer, what advice would you give to all the aspiring writers out there?

Pfft. Please. I’m in no position to give advice. Ha! But I will say I read somewhere, “Be the one.” That’s what I think to myself when it seems impossible. Beat the odds. Be the one!

13) How long did it take you to write THE COLLECTOR from concept to outlining to completion to sending if off to agents?
It took me one month to outline, two months to write, one month to edit, and one month to prep for submission. So, five months from start to submission.

14) Can you tell us about your journey to publication for THE COLLECTOR so far?

I pitched my first book to agents for months before getting an offer of representation. I emailed my offer to the other agents who had my MS, and The One, Laurie McLean, said to send her the full (she had my partial), and the first 100 pages of the one I was working on now (The Collector). She actually signed me for the first 100 pages and the synopsis of The Collector, and said she thought she could sell it as soon as I finished it. I worked HARD to get Laurie as an agent (I’d interviewed her on my website, met her at a conference, told her in no uncertain terms that she was my dream agent, etc.). I’m so happy to have her! Now it’s a waiting game being on submission while writing my next book.

15) What kind of atmosphere do you prefer to write in, calm or chaos? Why?
Calm, I can’t think when there’s background noise.

16) What is your writing process like?
Brainstorm, plot, write first draft, edit as I write, edit again, submit to my agent for her edits, edit once more, go on submission. Pray to God for a deal.

17) The main character in THE COLLECTOR is a teenage boy; what was it like being a female and writing from a male’s point of view? Any tips?

Sooooo fun! This was my favorite part. My advice when writing a guy is twofold: Don’t sugarcoat your guys; they aren’t women so don’t pretend they are. Also, ask a guy’s advice on dialogue. Say, “Would a dude really say this?” and get their feedback.

18) Do you have any odd and unusual habits which help you in regards to writing?

Hmm, probably just that everything on my desk has to be clean before I can work. Otherwise I’ll clean instead of write. Dumb, but true!

Thanks for the interview!!!

***

To find out more about Tori and her books, visit her website! No, thank you, Tori! I had so much fun getting to know more about you and THE COLLECTOR and I hope to see it on the shelves SOON so I can pick up a copy! :)

~Ella

Table for 27

2011-11-11T20:03:00.003-09:00

Wow, it's been a while since I got on line. I didn't think student teaching and NaNoWriMo would take so much out of me, but being sane is over rated...

But it could be even more hectic. I could be doing NaNoWriMo with 27 5th graders, which is exactly what my friend Joy is doing. In addition to doing NaNoWriMo herself she has enrolled all 27 of her students in the Young Writers' Program. They write 15 minutes a day in class with her and 30 minutes on their own every weekend, minimum. That's 105 minutes a week, but some of her students are making it to 200 or 300 minutes.

The look on her face when she talks about how her students are doing and the stories she shares are enough to make even my heart melt. One of her students who is a selective mute and normally gets 2-3 sentences down in 15 minutes has been poring out 1-2 pages in every 15 minute in class writing period. Another student whose parents were panicking on October 29 because he hadn't willingly put pen to paper since he was in 2nd grade has been discovered in the dark of night under the sheets with his NaNoWriMo journal, a pencil, and a flashlight at midnight.

Then there's the stories. Horror, historical scifi, action/ adventure, tragedy. You name it and their doing it. Zombie waffles. Vampire Twinkies. Demigods. Monsters. Bob from Canada. Alien involvement in 9/11. 5 year olds with gerbils in their pockets. These kids have got it all.

Some of them are even interested in pursuing publication somewhere down the line, which leads me to my request. Are there any editors/ agents/ publishers, anybody, who would be willing to do a first chapter critique of the kids novels at the end of November. When considering this please remember that these are 10 year olds and need to be handled with care lest they be scared off writing for the rest of their lives, and we don't want to miss out on the amazing books they any one of them may one day write.

-Aaron

NaNoWriMo 2011: IT STARTS TOMORROW!

2011-10-31T02:00:00.005-08:00

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T02:00:00.003-08:00

- Aaron and Ella

NaNoWriMo 2011: T minus 1

2011-10-30T02:00:00.000-08:00

NaNoWriMo 2011: T minus 2

2011-10-29T14:38:00.000-08:00

NaNoWriMo 2011: T minus 3

2011-10-28T13:47:00.000-08:00

NaNoWriMo 2011: T minus 4

2011-10-27T13:47:00.000-08:00

ROW80: Check-In #6!

2011-10-26T23:12:00.002-08:00

Today was a great day!

A few minutes after writing my last check-in post on Monday I decided to browse on my Kindle to see if I could find any useful books on plotting and lo and behold...I found one! It's called PLOTTING SIMPLIFIED: STORY STRUCTURE TIPS FOR THE BREAK-OUT NOVELIST by Eddie Jones and I highly recommend it! It's short and sweet and I was able to read it all in one sitting and most importantly...I understood what it said! In a lot of other books that I've read that include information on plotting they're like an information overload, but after reading this book I just get it, you know? This is the first book where I've gone "Oh, so that's what plotting is and what it's all about!" It was a great feeling! Now, since reading the book I catch myself watching T.V. shows and movies with a fresh eye and thinking things like, "oh, look! There's the 'inciting incident'!" or "Uh-oh, hello 'dark moment'..."

After falling totally in love with this book I decided to take some serious notes and ended up spending all day (while neglecting school, food, personal hygiene :P) writing ten pages worth of notes to use during NaNo and beyond and soon I'm going to use what I've learned about plotting and apply it to my NaNoNovel!

So thanks Eddie Jones, thank you so much for schooling me in the area of plot while making the process short and sweet and easy enough for even me, Ms. Plotting Impaired, to understand! :)

Happy writing!
~Ella

NaNoWriMo 2011: T minus 6

2011-10-25T13:47:00.003-08:00

Character Name: Raisa
Gender: Female
Age: about 18

Hair Color/Style: dark blond buzzed nice and short on all sides
Eye Color: Brown
Skin Color: white and extremely pale
Body Type: (Petite, Stocky, ect.) muscular, tall, gangly, lean
Clothing: Her two main outfits are bioarmor and “undergarments.” The story is set in the future so the bio armor is the stereotypical space suit looking thing only with a tighter fit and a Stargate SG-1 Kull Warrior type helmet. Her alternative outfit is the clothes she wears under the suit which is basically black leggings and a tank top. If she’s not in her suit then she’s wearing a heart necklace with a blood red rose petal incased inside, and regardless of which outfit she’s wearing she has a space age blaster pistol. Which one you draw is up to you because I can’t choose.
General Description: She’s about 5’9” out of the suit and 6’2” in it. She has a very hard facial expression and rarely smiles. She has a black “computer circuitry” type tattoo on her right cheek.

-Aaron

NaNoWriMo 2011: T minus 7

2011-10-24T02:00:00.003-08:00

- Aaron

ROW80: Check-In #5

2011-10-23T23:25:00.003-08:00

Sadly, nothing much to report today, except:

1. I still haven't finished reading WRITE YOUR BOOK NOW! Hope to fix that SOON!
2. I realized that plotting a 50,000 word novel is hella HARD.
3. I'm ashamed (and also a little giddy if I'm being honest!) to say that I was seduced by a NEW SNI earlier tonight. I'm giving myself till October 31st to choose between four WIPs and decide once and for all which one I am going to devote my time to during NaNo...
4. Right after I do some serious plotting...ewww.
5. To get inspired while writing, I made a collage of some of my favorite book covers! :)

Happy writing and wish me luck (also, if you have any advice on plotting I would be forever grateful!)

~Ella

NaNoWriMo 2011: T minus 8

2011-10-23T02:00:00.000-08:00

- Aaron

NaNoWriMo 2011: T minus 9

2011-10-22T13:03:00.004-08:00

The trees are naked, there's frost on the windshields, pumpkin is showing up in the strangest foods, and every child wants to tell me about their Halloween costume. But I'm oblivious to all of this. Yes, sadly, even the children.

The only thing on my mind is NaNoWriMo, which is 9 days away. At this time last year I had 20 days of planning under my belt and was raring to. This year to date I been able to fit in exactly one day of planning.

Don't get me wrong, I know exactly what I'm doing. It's all up here (points at head), which is all well and good. Only I'd feel a lot better if it were somewhere other than in my mind because a) that makes it sound like I'm delusional and b) what if I get a concussion or loose my memory? Forget my memories, I could loose my story!

So, in preparation for any sort of ACME inspired accident I'm declaring the next 8 days my official planing time. Every night after work I'll do some sort of planing related activity and every morning I'll post it here so that I'm motivated to do it.

-Aaron

ROW80: Check-In #4!

2011-10-19T23:57:00.003-08:00

Today's check-in'll be a short one since I don't have much to report. I'm still chugging away at reading WRITE YOUR BOOK NOW! I'm hoping to finish reading it by Sunday and then start applying the book's program to my SNI I'm calling THE MADNESS WITHIN. Dang, November 1st will be here before we know it! Visual inspiration post coming soon! :)

Happy writing!
~Ella

ROW80: Check-In #3!

2011-10-16T23:15:00.004-08:00

So I wasn't sure if I should do this, but I've decided that from now until November 1st (aka the start of NaNoWriMo!) I'm going to temporarily change my goals for ROW80. I've decided to change them because I've become obsessed with reading WRITE YOUR BOOK NOW!: A PROVEN SYSTEM to START AND FINISH THE BOOK YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO WRITE by Gene Perret (the book that I mentioned in my last check-in post) and I really want to finish it soon so that I can apply what I've learned from it to my SNI. Then, once I have a solid outline for my SNI and a flexible writing schedule written up, hopefully in time for the start of NaNo, I'm going to participate in NaNo...but in ROW80 style.

The goal of NaNo is to write a 50, 000 word manuscript in 30 days (November 1-30) by writing 1,167 words everyday. Now I've participated in NaNo three times already and failed miserably each time. This time around though, I'm hoping that by applying what I've learned from WRITE YOUR BOOK NOW and by writing everyday in November like NaNo says but also pulling a ROW80 at the same time and coming up with my own word count goal each day, I can finally be successful and reach THE END while also snagging a WINNER badge at the end of NaNo!

Here are my temporary new goals for ROW80 from now until November 1st:

*Finish reading WRITE YOUR BOOK NOW!
*Apply what I've learned from WYBN to my Shiny New Idea
*Have a plan and be ready to write like a madwoman by November 1st

Sounds easy, right? Ha, I wish! :P

Wish me luck and happy writing!
~Ella

Review: Death Speaks

2011-10-16T09:00:00.001-08:00

Caleb's in high school now and thinks the chaos of last year is behind him. Unfortunately, a serial killer is on the loose and children are his victims. What's a, five-point, Affinity for the Dead teenager supposed to do?

Caleb agrees to help the police apprehend the murderer...until the killer takes notice of Caleb and his paranormal friends. Carson and Brett remain the bullies they always were and their posse continues to grow. How long can the two groups stay out of each others' way before there's a firestorm of retribution... The Government Graysheets continue to keep tabs on Caleb's every move while Jade's family threatens their relationship. Can they still be together even when events threaten to pull them apart?

In the second book of the Death series Tamara does an excellent job of building on the foundation she set in Death Whispers. The relationships between Caleb's group of friends felt straight out of the halls of my high school, but at the same time there was a marked difference between how the characters were in the "Whispers" verses "Speak." They had noticeably grown from one book to the next and that was truly refreshing. To often characters stagnate or grow without actually changing, but I could really see the growth in this case.

Additionally, now that the background was in place there was room for a lot of solid character development to take place. The development of Caleb's power and his evolving relationship with "his" zombies was by far my favorite part. Just when I thought I'd seen everything I could out of his power some knew aspect popped up. It left me constantly wondering what it was going to do next and how it would shake things up.

If Death Speaks has any short comings it’s that the secondary threads are so strong they occasionally overpowered the main story arc. When I read the back cover I was expecting a “catch the killer” centered story, and in a way I got it. However, I found myself caring more about what was going on in Caleb’s life than if they ever caught the killer.

This is not a cut and dry this is the objective, work to the objective, reach the objective book. It’s a complex work of art in which the author is constantly weaving together dozens of different elements in a half dozen arks that deftly mimic real life.

All in all, buy the first book, read it, and then once you're all caught up buy Death Speaks.

- Aaron

ROW80: Check-In #2!

2011-10-12T23:30:00.002-08:00

OK, I'll admit it-I didn't do any writing today.
I was totally planning to though, I swear! I did exactly what I did last time, separated myself from real life distractions, booted up Pandora and...notta.

I just wasn't feeling it, so instead I spent that hour messing around online and daydreaming about my SNI (Shiny New Idea). All I've got so far on it is some notes, some visual inspiration, and the beginnings of a playlist to inspire me while I write.

But this time, before I even write a word, I'm starting with a different battle plan in mind and reading a great book called WRITE YOUR BOOK NOW!: A PROVEN SYSTEM TO START AND FINISH THE BOOK YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO WRITE by Gene Perret. Here's the summery from Goodreads:
Ideal for aspiring authors who only dream of actually finishing their works in progress, this guide features proven, field-tested tools guaranteed to successfully complete that romance, expert guide to business success, or great American novel. The chapters simplify the writing process by breaking it down into a series of discrete tasks, from creating a schedule in order to finish within a reasonable time, brainstorming sections of the book, and organizing ideas into chapters to rewriting, editing, submitting for publication, and even marketing. This reference is tailored to help writers avoid distractions and delays by establishing and maintaining a powerful writing momentum, thereby carrying their projects to completion. The psychological blocks that prevent writers from completing their manuscripts as well as how to combat them are also explored.

So far, the book is really good and is slowly teaching me that instead of just diving right into my story as soon as I get a new idea like I always do, I need to take time to plan, schedule, and not go in blind. I'm enjoying Gene's step-by-step approach to writing am going to finish reading this book and then apply its tools and advice to my current and not-so-current projects in order to have a successful journey toward THE END! I totally recommend this book to any writer whose having trouble reaching the end of thier WIP like me! :)

Happy writing!
~Ella

ROW80: Check-In #1!

2011-10-09T23:07:00.002-08:00

So Wednesday would have been my first official Check-In, but I didn't get around to writing anything that day, so we'll just call today my first official Check-In, K? K. :P

Anywho, today was a good day! After finishing my homework I forced myself to separate from my everyday life and responsibilities for a while and went to my room, turned on Pandora Radio and just wrote! Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy and fun as I hoped it would be. For awhile it felt like pulling teeth and then there were times where I would know what to write next and it would just burst from my fingers and then I would stop...start...stop...start...etc. and it kinda went like that the whole entire time, but in the end I manged to write 407 words (a little over one page) on my Sekrit Project, bringing the total word count up to 1,564 words!

So, all in all, not bad, I'd say, but now I know what happens when I don't write hardly anything for weeks, blah, gotta work on that!

Happy writing!
~Ella

What's in a Name Blogfest October 15-22!

2011-10-08T14:12:00.005-08:00

Welcome to the What's in a Name Blogfest!

This is a blogfest that's close to mine and Aaron's hearts because we wanted to create a blogfest that would bring awareness to hurtful words that are used in the world today and the impact they can have on someone's life. These words can be things like: faggot, dyke, nigger, retarded, etc. All of these words are considered to be what is called hate speech and we need to make an effort to stop that speech in any way we know how.

So, for anyone who wants to spread awareness about a certain kind or several kinds of hate speech, you can do any or all of these things: on your blog, write/vlog a personal story about a time in your life where hate speech was directed at you, a friend or a family member; post videos about hate speech, such as a Public Service Announcement video, post a book review that deals with hate speech, etc. The possibilities are endless! Remember: The goal of this blogfest is to bring awareness to hate speech and the impact that it has on people.

To sign up for the What's in a Name Blogfest, add your blog to the Mr. Linky list!

Tell your friends!
~Ella

P.S. For the duration of this Blogfest, I'll be creating a new page on the blog that includes the Mr. Linky list. That way, any late comers can still sign up!

Medusa: Monster or Misunderstood?

2011-10-05T22:50:00.005-08:00

(image from nienor)

Once upon a time...

There was a woman whose beauty rivaled that of the Goddesses themselves. She could have had any many she wanted, but she rejected them all choosing instead to pledge herself to the service of the virgin Goddess Athena. They all took the hint. Poseidon didn’t. One day when she was serving in Athena’s temple he came for her, and he didn’t take no for an answer.

When Athena discovered Poseidon and the woman had defiled her temple her vengeance was swift. Casting the young priestess out wasn’t enough for the Goddess. Instead Athena stripped her of her beauty and cursed her to live out the rest of her life as a Gorgon. With snakes for hair, skin as rough and cracked as that of a snake, and eyes so hideous gazing into them was enough to turn a man to stone the young woman was banished to a distant island where she would live out her life in solitude.

However, people, being stupid as usual, continued to seek her out, and the result was always the same. They'd look at her, she'd look at them, and they'd turn to stone. Finally, sick of all of the trouble Medusa caused her Athena was compelled to help Perseus end Medusa's life to save the rest of Greece from her uncontrolled wrath.

This unfortunate soul was none other than the legendary Medusa.

But, in truth, Medusa’s story didn’t start with my “once upon a time” and in many cases it didn’t have the tragic ending the Ancient Greeks gave it. In Ancient Europe she was considered the embodiment of girl power with a voice that could charm the snakes themselves, and instead of snakes sprouting from her head they twined all over her, including through her gorgeous locks.

In Africa she was revered as a Goddess herself, and regardless of the medium her face was always covered for a glimpse of her face would show the viewer the moment of their own death. To the Amazons of Libya she was the serpent Goddess, Athene. In other parts she was past, present, and future. She was both the giver and taker of life straddling the gaps between heaven, earth, and the underworld.

The woman who would one day become Medusa started down the path to the dark side when men began to gain power over women. That marked her decent from Goddess to monster, from beautiful to hideous, and from force of nature to victim.

But when good Goddesses go bad someone has to stop them, and in this case it was Perseus. With the help of Athena and Hermes Perseus realized that the, fairly obvious, key to hunting Medusa, or any Gorgon was in not to make eye contact. The minute anyone looked into those baby blues they’d be dead, without Medusa even having to strike a blow. In order to defeat a Gorgon the attacker had to shield their eyes while simultaneously chopping the Gorgon’s head off, but even once the head is detached the eyes of a Gorgon still have the power to turn both the mortal and the immortal to stone in an instant, making a Gorgon head the ultimate weapon.

-Aaron

The World's Creepiest My Little Pony

2011-10-04T20:13:00.008-08:00

I'm so embarrassed... but it was just so darn tempting.

In my WIP, Monstrous, the main character, Tawny, is transformed into a Medusa like Gorgon, and I when I saw this challenge to create a My Little Pony based on your book's main character I couldn't resist. So at long last, drum roll please... a Gorgon My Little Pony (a.k.a. a Tawny Lester My Little Pony). Hold your applause please.

-Aaron

NOTE: Voting is now open, so please stop by and check out all of the entries.

Future Book Cover Giveaway

2011-10-04T19:22:00.003-08:00

In honor of getting 100 followers (and it would seem of Banned Books Week) Caitlin of All About Growing up and Becoming a Famous Author is giving away a copy of Norwegian Wood. There are two things you need to do to enter to win.
1) Create and post a mock book cover on your blog.
2) Sign up for the contest on Caitlin's blog.

Anyway, here a mock cover for a short story I wrote over the summer called Gemini in Ruins. It's the story of an empath who's jacked into the emotions of everyone around her, and the one person she can't relate to: her autistic twin brother.
- Aaron

ROW80 Round 4: Goals!

2011-10-03T23:34:00.003-08:00

The final round of A Round of Words in 80 Days has begun! Now, as some of you may have noticed, I petered out about halfway through Round 3 and I wasn't sure if I wanted to commit to another round, but I loved the camaraderie the participants shared, the twice a week updates, and especially the fact that this challenge is much longer then NaNo AND you can set (and change if need be) your own goals!

So, because of these reasons, here I am! Back again for another round! And now, without further ado, my goals!

*Write 1 page a day (or at least twice a week)
*Make writing a priority in my life again
*Reward myself when writing goals are met
*Try not to be so hard on myself when writing goals are not met, tomorrow is a new day!
*In the wise words of YA author Maureen Johnson, "Dare to suck!" Remind myself that it's ok NOT to be so perfect all the time
*Experiment in my writing, don't be afraid to try new things
*And, of course, don't forget to have FUN, duh! :P

I'm so glad to be back, happy goal setting!
~Ella

Hooked on Monsters

2011-09-30T06:00:00.004-08:00

Here is the "hook" for Monstrous. I know what I'm trying to do, but I'd be interested in hearing what you get from this without knowing the book's back story.

Love is a disgusting, repulsive thing, and I struggled to hold on to that as his words brushed against my neck, overwhelming. “I love you.”

-Aaron

Some New Material

2011-09-28T00:00:00.000-08:00

So, its been a long time since I posted any of my writing here on the blog. That's mostly because I haven't had anything that I thought was worthy of posting and also because I'm kind of terrified of putting my writing out there again. But on Saturday I wrote something that I actually enjoyed writing (I'm not even sure what it is-a poem? Short fiction? And I don't know why I wrote it like a poem, it just felt like the scenes had more impact if they were short and kind of choppy like a poem, you know?) and thought that it was worthy of sharing! This is different then the kind of stuff I usually write-hope you enjoy! :)

***

Its been two hours…
Two hours since I last saw my girlfriend, Maura, alive.
Two hours since we met under our favorite tree in the park.
Two hours since she fell asleep against my shoulder, nestling deeper inside my jacket.
Its been two hours since I awoke to find her cold, lifeless body slumped on the ground next to me, a dark halo of blood pooling around her.
Its been two hours since I discovered her blood on my hands, on my clothes.
On my soul.

I know at that moment, when I found her, I should’ve called for help: her parents, my parents, 911, anyone.
I should have.
But I didn’t.
Instead, I did all I could think of.
I gingerly lifted her body off the ground and carried her back to my car like she was made of glass and not flesh and bone.
I laid her gently across the back seat.
And drove to the cemetery.

I took the shovel I used to shovel snow out of my driveway with from my car and started to dig.
And two hours later, under the cover of dusk and a tempest sky…
I’ve dug a grave.
My love’s final resting place.
I know it sounds cruel, violent even.
But I panicked.
I can’t let anyone know that she's died…
And that I might be the one responsible.

Its been two hours…
And now my girlfriend’s dead.
And I think it’s because of me.

~Ella

The Three Imagoes

2011-09-25T17:46:00.000-08:00

I’ve been told teaching, like motherhood, is all about appearances. If you want to be effective you have to be above reproach, in every sense. However, I’m not a mother, so the analogy only goes so far with me.

For me, teaching is like gambling. You gamble on the lesson, the class… yourself. When inquiring minds want to know your personal life has to be the ultimate trifecta.

1. If it buzzed anti-miasma would be the buzz word. To oscitate in public would be to perish, and if you don’t want a parent to read about it on the front page don’t do it.

2. Even synchronicity can be a sin. Teachers are more like a pride of lionesses than a kangaroo court, but then again lions aren’t known for being meek and forgiving.

3. And lacunas are your friend. Doing what makes you you doesn’t make you a bad teacher, but there are things that don’t belong in the classroom. Sometimes having a personal life with more missing pieces than a broken mirror isn’t a bad thing.

- Aaron

Introducing the Awesomesauce that is...THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER Book Trailer!

2011-09-24T00:39:00.007-08:00

It's here! It's finally here!

The good people at MTV Hollywood Crush just debuted the gorgeous book trailer for THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER by Michelle Hodkin yesterday on their website! If you haven't seen it already (but I'm sure most of you have!) definitely have a looksee:

Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

See, what did I tell you? Isn't it just gorgeous? I love it each time the trailer goes to a black and white shot. Each scene, combined with the music and the voice over by the lovely Christy Carlson Ramono (aka Ren from EVEN STEVENS) makes this whole trailer so hauntingly beautiful and mysterious. When (not if-when!) I get my own book trailer for my book, I want one just like this one! :) <3

Now, my dear readers, go forth and spread the book trailer love! I'm sure Michelle will love you forever if you do! :)

~Ella

Versatile Blogger Award

2011-09-17T17:28:00.003-08:00

After a super long week, I had a very pleasant surprise when I was finally able to get back online. Juliet of Kinetic Writing and Jessica of Imagination to Publication were kind enough to give us "The Versatile Blogger" Award, but before I have the pleasure of passing this little green beauty along there are three things I'm required to do first...

- Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
Juliet and Jessica, thank you so much. You really made our week.

- Share 7 things about yourself.
1. I had to stop watching music videos because they gave me too many story ideas.
2. Baking sweet treats is one of my favorite weekend things, but the catch 22 is that I don't eat sugar.
3. After a comment about needing new blood to answer the questions I ask in class one of my students is convinced I'm a vampire.
4. On the rare occasions I wear lipstick I put slightly different shades on each lip to see if anyone notices.
5. I sketch possible tattoo designs on my skin so I can get a better idea of whether or not I really want them on me for eternity. It's better safe than sorry.
6. I cook a weeks worth of meals every Sunday so I don't have to worry about making lunch or dinner during the week.
7. Even though I don't even apply until March I'm already polishing up the sample piece that I'll turn in along with my application to the Masters of Creative Writing program.

- Pass this Award on to 15 recently discovered blogs and let them know about it!
1. 1000th monkey
2. Run Gwen, Run! Write Gwen, Write!
3. NADJA NOTARIANI : An Author's Adventures
4. Writing and Living by Richard P. Hughes
5. Tamara Rose Blodgett
6. Blissfully Brenna
7. Alex J. Cavanaugh
8. Sam De La Pena
9. Maria Zannini
10. The Collings Zone
11. Jest Kept Secret
12. Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight
13. Scribble and Edit
14. Published In a Year
15. Madeline Bartos

And don't forget to:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass this Award along to 15 recently discovered blogs and let them know about it.

-Aaron

Chasing My Tail and The Judge and Jury Blogfest

2011-09-16T23:50:00.006-08:00

I've been neglecting my blogging (not to mention my writing) this week, so this weekend I'm planning to over compensate by entering all of the blogfests/ contests, and challenges the Third Campaign has to offer. This way I can get two birds with one stone. I can get to know my fellow campaigners better, and I can get some writing in (even if it's only in 300 word increments).

First on this weekend's menu is The Judge and Jury Blogfest hosted by Gwen from Run Gwen, Run! It's Gwen's first blogoversary, and as you'll see if you pay her a visit her blog is blooming. So before you read my entry if you haven't already, click the link and go check out her blog. While you're there you might as well enter the contest because at the very least it's a cool twist on the average.

So without any further ado, my entry/ an exert from my short story "The Purple Punk Cupcake Catastrophe."

Going Good

My black nails dug into my palm as the boho hippy’s snicker graded painfully in my ears. “So what do you think, G?”

That spiking the Christian’s cupcakes with a lust potion is the kind of crap a bunch of freshmen would pull. Instead, folding my hands demurely, I smiled at the cocky bitch. “I have a math test in five minutes. It’d be nice if there wasn’t a couple shagging on the desk next to me while I take it.”

Smirking over confidently Coren squared off against me. “If you don’t like it, stop it.”

Fluffing my multi-colored mane with my fingers, I resisted the urge to turn her into a bug and squish her under my three inch heels. “’Cause that would be against the rules.”

“That’s right; you play by the rules now.” She paused, grinning at her coven, who’d once bent to my will. “Big bad Gina Cardona is a good witch.”

I met her eyes squarely refusing to be ashamed of what I’d become. “Yep.”

Ducking her head she chuckled. “And you came to beg me to let you take a test?”

“No, I came to ask you nicely.”

“Ask me…The old you would have broken the spell with a snap of her fingers.”

Remembering all of the people I’d hurt simply to prove I could, I shook my head slowly. “No, the old me would have made you suffer… and when you begged… I might have considered fixing your mistake.”

Forgetting for a moment that wasn’t me anymore, her eyes grew huge with fear. “And the new you?”

Baring my teeth, I hefted my ginormous Trig book for all to see. “The new me is going to class while she waits for you to come to your senses.”

-Aaron

My Lips Are Not Sealed

2011-09-10T10:51:00.005-08:00

First, I wanted to thank everyone for all of the great comments and questions you posted in reference to"Disconnect," my entry in the first campaign challenge. Reading your comments meant a lot to me, thank you all!

As I mentioned earlier in one of the comments, "Disconnect" is actually a modified exert from a short story I wrote this summer, "Awakening." I thought I could handle just posting the modified exert, but evidently I can't. It's weird knowing there's more to the story but leaving it out. It's kind of like the feeling I used to get as a little kid when I had a secret. Yeah, I'm not good with secrets (too much stress), so I decided to break my own policy about posting short stories and link the whole thing in case anyone wants to find out the real deal behind the story.

Anyway, if you want to find out what happens next please check out "Awakening," and if you don't then you should probably just ignore this post altogether (maybe I should have mentioned that part sooner because if you're reading this it probably came a little late).

-Aaron

First Campaign Challenge

2011-09-05T12:07:00.003-08:00

It's time for the First Campaigner Challenge over at Rach Writes and I've decided to throw one of my many hats into the ring (I think it's going to be the gray flowered paper boy hat this time).

If you're a Campaigner, even if you aren't, and are interested in entering giving this crazy challenge a try here are the rules, verbatim (copy and pasted actually).

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “The door swung open” These four words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), use the same beginning words and end with the words: “the door swung shut.” (also included in the word count)

For those who want an even greater challenge, make your story 200 words EXACTLY!

Disconnect

The door swings open. There is a man in the room. Your gun rises. The bullet plows into him. He falls to the ground without a sound. He convulses fighting to breathe, and you drag him out of sight, leaving him to bleed out.

You climb through a window emerging into a walled garden. The bushes are low. The cover is sparse. Your armor is black. There is no moon. You fade silently into the shadows.

He comes into a garden, flanked by two others. Emerging from the shadows, gun out, you shoot him. He dies. They shoot you. You shoot them. You live. They don’t.

A Doctor examines your bio armor. You watch him, disinterested, not registering the pain as he digs out the bullet. He tells you to stand. He tells you to lift your arm. He tells you to wiggle your fingers. You do it all as he watches. He nods and tells you you’re going home. The war is over. You’ve won. You stare at him blankly, awaiting his orders.

He looks at you, his mouth bent up, baring his teeth. You stare straight ahead, and he tells you to go.

The door swings shut.

-Aaron

Blogger Game - 10 Random Facts About Me

2011-09-01T18:55:00.002-08:00

Here's a blogger game to help Rach's Campaigners get to know each other.

Here's the deal: I post 10 random facts about myself, and if this kind of game interests you/ you want to get to know the other Campaigners you'll post 10 random facts about you on your blog. Oh, and if you decide to play make sure to post a link to your blog in the comments so I pop over and check it out.

1. I spend my lunch break reading in the middle of the teachers' lounge.

2. 98% of people don't have enough room in their mouths for all their teeth. I'm one of the 2% who does.

3. I hate it when experienced teachers call me a "baby teacher." I just want to lean against the wall and say, "My age is a sign of my dedication. I can deal with being the youngest person in the room, why can't you? "

4. I have no problem eating raw fish. It's the funky rice that turns me off sushi.

5. When I have problems sleeping I watch MacGyver on my i-Pod, and I'm out within 10 minutes.

6. People with so much hair spray in their hair that it doesn't move... ever... scare me. There's such a thing as too much perfection.

7. I have two separate wardrobes: one for school and one for anywhere but school.

8. The only makeup I'll wear is eyeshadow and not that skin colored stuff either. Purple, black, yellow, blue: if I'm going to go to the trouble of putting it on I want to make darn sure people know I'm wearing it.

9. I've wanted a tattoo since I was 13, and since I was 13 I've known I'd get it the week I became a teacher.

10. My first tattoo is going to be of a hummingbird even though I think they're the ugliest little critters in the world, like flying mice from the underworld.

-Aaron

TBG Author Interview: Megan Miranda!

2011-08-31T14:14:00.005-08:00

Today we have an interview with the lovely Megan Miranda, whose debut novel FRACTURE hits shelves on January 3, 2012 by Walker Books for Young Readers! Here's FRACTURE's summery from Goodreads:

Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine

-despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

For fans of best-sellers like Before I Fall and If I Stay, this is a fascinating and heart-rending story about love and friendship and the fine line between life and death.

Sounds right up my alley! And now, on to the interview!

1) Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
Not exactly. I always knew I wanted to write, so I wrote. But I did it as a hobby. It seemed like such a dream, to be able to write as a job. I didn’t pursue publication until I was in my late twenties, but I think I was still a writer, to some degree, for most of my adult life.

2) How did you come up with the idea for FRACTURE? Did it just come to you, or was it more of a gradual progression?
It felt like it came to me quickly once I started to write, but I think it was really just a culmination of all the questions I’d been thinking about for years.
How much of us is predetermined by the wiring in our brains, by our DNA? And how much of us is something more? Why do people who are supposed to live, die? Why do people who are supposed to die, live? Writing Fracture was kind of my outlet for all the questions that had been churning away inside of me for years.

3) Where do you draw your inspiration from while you are writing? For example, do you listen to music while you write or sit outside?
Like a lot of people, I’m not able to write during the day (in my case, I have not-quite-school-aged children). So during the hours that I am able to write, it doesn’t really matter whether I’m inspired or not. I try to seize the time that I have. Typically, though, I spend good chunks of the day thinking about writing, so by the time I sit down, I’m itching to get it all out.

4) How do you stay motivated to write? Even though you are a soon-to-be-published author, have you ever wanted to give up? And if so, how did you pull yourself back from the "edge"?
Like I mentioned, writing is the part of the day that I really look forward to. It’s been that way since I started writing seriously, and it hasn’t changed yet. I used to write every day, no exceptions. But now, I’ll take a break for a week or so if something’s not working, and spend that time catching up on reading instead. Usually things work themselves out in my head in the meantime, and then I’m excited to get back to it! I really, really love creating a story, and I would do this regardless of whether I was getting published. So, no, I’ve never wanted to stop.

5) Tell us about your writing habits: where you write, when you write, how much you write, etc.
I write at night after the kids go to bed. I write in my room. I write for a while. I write until I don’t feel like I can write anymore, and then I stop. I don’t know the word count – I actually don’t pay a lot of attention to it. Sometimes I’ll write one scene, sometimes I’ll write one chapter, sometimes I’ll stare at the same sentence for the entire night. Some parts take longer than others, and I’ve grown to be okay with that.

6) How do you deal with constructive (or not) criticism? And if it's negative, how do you deal with it?
Well, I love getting critiques from my agent and my editor and my critique partners. I actually get excited to get something back because I know they’ll see some way for me to take my work to the next level. I know they want this book to be the best it can be, and I really trust them. So in that way, I think I deal with criticism pretty well. Honestly, though, I don’t look much outside that group of people.

7) How many stories did you start writing before you found a "winner" and how did you know you'd found a keeper?
Though I had written previously, Fracture was my first novel. But I wrote it three times, from scratch, before I got it right. Everything was falling into place that last time, like I could see the scenes and the themes stretching out in front of me, falling into place. I felt like I was racing to get there. I guess that’s how I knew!

8) Do you have any new writing projects in the works? Can you tell us about them?
I just turned in the draft of my second contracted book. It’s another stand-alone, psychological thriller. In the meantime, I’m toying around with several new ideas that I’m excited about.

9) What were the most difficult and best parts of writing FRACTURE?
The most difficult part of the process was realizing it wasn’t working. Twice. And opening up a blank document. Again. It was actually kind of terrifying the first time. It got easier the second time. The best part of the process was that third time I was writing Fracture, because I could tell it was all coming together. And it was pretty damn exciting.

10) What was your reaction and what did you do to celebrate when you found out that you were getting signed by your agent and then later when you found out FRACTURE was going to be published?
My reaction, on both occasions, was to stop breathing until I started to get dizzy. When I signed with my agent, I mostly stared off into space thinking HOLY CRAP, because I hadn’t really told anyone I was querying. When I found out Fracture was going to be published, I made my kids jump around the house with me. Yeah.

11) What did your friends and family think when you told them you were writing FRACTURE?
I didn’t tell many people, mostly because I didn’t want the added stress of other people’s expectations. I wanted to do this for me. I think people knew I wrote as a hobby, but it’s not something I talked about a lot. I told my mom because I needed her to critique it for me. Yes, my mother is one of my critiquers…I know that goes against popular advice, but it really works for me. She knows me. And she’s tough.

12) Now that you're a soon-to-be-published author and a more experienced writer, what advice would you give to your unpublished self?
Fear not the delete key.

13) How long did it take you to write FRACTURE from first to final draft?
The first version took 4 months. The rewrites took another 6 months. So I guess that makes 10 months, but it sounds more manageable to me to say 4 months plus 6 months. :)

14) Can you tell us about your journey to publication for FRACTURE?
I think I probably touched upon this in the above questions. Basically, I wrote Fracture frantically from July-October of 2009, signed with my agent in November 2009, had a good talk with her about what wasn’t working (okay, make that several talks), rewrote, twice, from scratch, and went out on sub in May, 2010. Walker/Bloomsbury pre-empted, and I couldn’t be more thrilled!

15) What kind of atmosphere do you prefer to write in, calm or chaos?
CALM. Definitely calm.

16) What is your writing process like?
I fly by the seat of my pants. Generally this results in me plotting myself into a corner. Typically, a really horrible corner. At which point I throw it all out. But by then I have a good handle on my characters, so I do a very broad outline (like beginning, middle, end). Then I write. And I kind of outline a few steps ahead to make sure I’m not making those same mistakes. It typically takes me 2 or 3 drafts for me to find my story, honestly. So by the time I go to write the final version, I actually do have a detailed synopsis based off the drafts I’ve already written. That whole rewriting thing wasn’t an isolated incident. Apparently, it’s just my process. I’ve come to embrace it. Luckily, once I know what I’m doing, the writing comes pretty quickly.

17) What is the best and worst part(s) about being a soon-to-be-published author so far?
The best part is that I get to do my hobby as my JOB. How cool is that? I honestly haven’t experienced a worst part. I’ve had a really fantastic publishing experience so far.

18) Do you have any odd and unusual habits which help you in regards to writing?
I don’t think so….but I’m sure I do. I probably just don’t know they’re odd. Story of my life.

To find out more about Megan and her books, visit her website! Thanks again, Megan! I loved getting to know you better and I can't wait to read your awesome book! :)

~Ella

Review - The Pearl Savage

2011-08-28T13:23:00.001-08:00

Clara Williamson is a reluctant princess and daughter to Queen Ada, lover of wine...who exchanges Clara's liberty for free trade of grapes from another sphere...

Bracus, who as a protector of the Band, must save his clan's people from extinction Outside...

Charles, Clara's long-time companion, keeps his love for Clara tightly veiled...

Prince Frederic, her sadistic betrothed, bent on having her...and she, escaping his grasp...

Suddenly, with both the clan and sphere peoples' destiny in her hands, Clara finds herself torn between love and duty...

I almost left the back cover summary out because it doesn’t do The Pearl Savage justice. Form the pitch The Pearl Savage comes off as a love square with some other stuff possibly going on in the background, and at first I was dubious about reading it. Thankfully, the story was captivating and so much more than the cover lead me to believe.

The backdrop was classic sci fi without being stale. A world in cataclysm saved just in the nick of time but forced to self contained spheres to survive. The only problem: not everyone can fit in the spheres, so some people get left out to die while the rest of the population scuttles off into their hiddy holes. Fast forward a hundred plus years, and it turns out that not all the people who were left for dead actually died, so now there are two societies the one inside the spheres and the one outside the sphere. In a story full of plot twists and secret agendas the two worlds collide.

As someone who likes a little violence in what I read (and what I write) the nitty gritty nature of the relationships was a great. There was a lot of substantial tension between all of the characters, and by the end of the third chapter I'm proud to say I truly hated some of them (always a good sign). An added bonus was that the various types of abuse the characters had to go through were realistically portrayed adding a tragic bite to the story.

The third person narrative was also a refreshing change of pace. Instead of limiting the narrator to focusing on one individual’s experiences the narrator was free to roam. It gave the story a fuller feeling, and allowed the reader to have a better picture of what was really going on. Thankfully, that didn’t mean that The Pearl Savage was transparent, but rather that the plot twists had to be hidden in such a way that they came as a genuine surprise not only to the reader but to the characters as well.

Once it’s all said and done, I’m excited to see where Clara’s story goes and what type of woman she evolves into.

-Aaron

Have You Joined Yet?

2011-08-27T23:54:00.003-08:00

With school starting and Labor Day coming up it's easy to forget that registration for Rachael's Third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign is underway over at Rach Writes. I just popped in and signed Ella and myself up, so if you haven't already but you want to you should head over there and sign up too.

-Aaron

ROW80: Check-In #15

2011-08-25T20:27:00.003-08:00

Well, yesterday I didn't get any writing done, but today I managed to get 112 words written on my Shitty First Draft, which brought me 40% of the way to reaching 5,ooo words total! I was going to work on my Sekrit Project next, but only managed to do a little editing on stuff I had already written before my computer threatened to die, so hopefully I'll be able to get some real writing done on that project this weekend! This will be the last weekend before college classes start and while I'm bummed about having to do homework again and will have to start setting a schedule again to keep it all straight, I'm actually pretty excited about my classes (Psychology of Stress and Coping and Introduction to Philosophy) starting! I think the Psychology class will really improve my poor time management skills! :)

Happy writing!
~Ella

ROW80: Check-In #14!

2011-08-21T09:12:00.004-08:00

I got nothing done on 8/14 (check-in #12) or on 8/17 (check-in #13) but yesterday I sat in my room with the door closed and the volume up on my ipod and ended writing 222 words by hand on Sekrit Project, which brings the total word count up to 809 words! I'm this close to hitting the 1k mark, woot! :) The last few weeks have been blah writing wise, but hopefully I can pick up more speed this week!

Happy writing!
~Ella

ROW80: Check-In #11

2011-08-10T17:52:00.001-08:00

No comment. :(

~Ella

ROW80: Check-In #10

2011-08-07T17:46:00.000-08:00

Two words: Epic. FAIL! Blah. :(

~Ella

ROW80: Check-In #9!

2011-08-04T19:29:00.003-08:00

So I didn't write anything yesterday but TODAY I ended up writing a total of 587 words on my Sekrit Project, which I just started writing today! YAY! It took me a while to get started writing and procrastinated for a while, but once I found some awesome tunes (I'm In Here by Sia and Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People) and listen to them both again and again as I wrote, I got really into it and didn't want to stop! It was thrilling! I love that feeling of not being able to stop, I haven't felt that way in sooo long and I loved it! :))) <333

Happy writing!
~Ella

ROW80: Check-In #8!

2011-07-31T15:29:00.003-08:00

I didn't get any writing done today (I know, I know, FAIL!) but I did make a collage as visual inspiration for my Sekrit Project!Happy writing!

~Ella

ROW80: Check-In #7!

2011-07-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

So, to be totally honest, I didn't do any writing yesterday, but today I manged to get something written. Here are today's stats:

1st 25 Min. Session: Wrote 251 words on Shitty First Draft
2nd 25 Min. Session: Wrote 103 words on Shitty First Draft

Those two writing sessions brought my total wordcount up to 1,824 words!

In other news, I'm getting ready to start work on a side project to keep myself entertained that I'm calling Sekrit Project! I'm pretty excited about it and hopefully it'll do its job and give me something else to have fun with when things with SFD get tough (like they have been practically everyday!) and vise versa!

Happy writing and thank you sooo much to the people that commented on my last check-in post! Your enthusiasm and encouragement are what makes me keep going! :) <3

~Ella

ROW80: Check-In #6!

2011-07-24T18:28:00.003-08:00

Hello, my fellow ROW80er's!

Luckily, things have changed since the last check-in post! Today I was able to get 281
new words written on my Shitty First Draft, making my total wordcount rise to 1,470 words! Getting to this point wasn't easy though, lemme tell you! Each word I wrote felt like pulling teeth-utter torture. And all through my writing session I kept stopping and thinking things like, "Man, this sucks! I really wish I could trash it and work on something else!" I hate getting to this point. With every new story idea I have it starts out as this thing I have, need to write about and it feels all fun and exciting and new...

And then, after a few days of working on Shiny New Idea, the doubts start to creep in that maybe this story isn't as good as I originally thought, and I absolutely hate feeling like that! I wish I could just keep that giddy, "Oooo, I have a shiny new idea and I love it!" feeling all the way to the END of a first draft and then maybe I wouldn't keep having these feelings of wanting to trash my current WIP and work on something else to be able to keep feeling excited and motivated to write. Has anyone else ever felt this way? Any advice?

Happy writing!
~Ella

P.S. I think to keep myself from going insane and trashing yet another WIP, I'm going to have to start a side project, even if it's just short stories. That way, it'll keep things fresh every time I sit down to write!

ROW80: Check-In #5

2011-07-20T23:30:00.000-08:00

I'm sad to report that I got no writing done whatsoever today. Been feeling worn out, physically and mentally, blah. Better luck next time!

Happy writing!
~Ella

TBG Author Interview: Julie Cross!

2011-07-19T23:59:00.004-08:00

Happy hump day, everyone!

Today I've got a fabulous interview with YA author Julie Cross, whose debut novel TEMPEST hits bookstores on January 3rd, 2012 from Thomas Dunne! Here's the summery from Goodreads:

Jackson thought he had all the time in the world with Holly. Until time took him away from her...

Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy . . . who just happens to be able to travel through time. It’s all just harmless fun until the day Jackson witnesses his girlfriend, Holly, get fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years, but it’s not long before the people who shot Holly come looking for him. And these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit (or kill) this powerful young time-traveler. Jackson must decide how far he is willing to go to save Holly . . . and the entire world.

Awesome, right? :) Now, on to the interview!

1) Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
No, I didn’t actually begin writing fiction until May, 2009. I know it’s hard to believe but it really never crossed my mind. I have always loved to read, though.

2) How did you come up with the idea for TEMPEST? Did it just come to you, or was it more of a gradual progression?
It was a gradual process that I actually developed in phases with my editor, Brendan Deneen. He had an old manuscript of mine that he passed on, but really like the premise, “Teen time-traveler gets stuck two years in the past and has to re-meet his future girlfriend and prevent her death.” We started tossing around ideas for a whole new story with this basic premise and eventually, TEMPEST emerged. It was actually a ton of fun to develop. I had zero expectations for anything happening as a result of our brainstorm sessions and I don’t think he did either.

3) Where do you draw your inspiration from while you are writing? For example, do you listen to music while you write or sit outside?
I do listen to music quite often while writing, but really, I’m very good at hyper-focusing when I need to and can pretty much write anywhere and anytime.

4) How do you stay motivated to write? Even though you are a soon-to-be-published author, have you ever wanted to give up? And if so, how did you pull yourself back from the "edge"?
Well, I’m still a fairly new writer so I have yet to get tired of it. Quite the opposite. The only time I’ve been a little bit of a slacker is with editing. Mostly the tedious, tiny details. Even revisions where I’m scrapping a scene and rewriting it don’t bother me at all.

5) Tell us about your writing habits: where you write, when you write, how much you write, etc.
I still work full time and I have three kids, so the writing schedule gets a little tricky sometimes, but I do write nearly everyday. If I’m laying down a first draft I can easily hit 10,000 words in one day, but 3-5K a day is probably my average.

6) How do you deal with constructive (or not) criticism? And if it's negative, how do you deal with it?
Feedback I get from my agent or editor is probably what I have the most experience with. Almost everything they point out I either felt a little off about as I was writing anyway or I’m immediately aware of how right they are. So, I’d say I handle critique very well, but I also have two great people who are gifted at telling me everything I did wrong without destroying my confidence.

7) How many stories did you start writing before you found a "winner" and how did you know you'd found a keeper?
The premise of TEMPEST (though it wasn’t called that) was the first novel that I wrote, but that story was SO different. After that I wrote six other YA novels…one was a ghost story and the others were all contemporary YA, before I started what became Tempest.

8) Do you have any new writing projects in the works? Can you tell us about them?
I have a TON of post TEMPEST ideas (probably too many) but right now I’m just jotting them down and tucking them away and keeping my mind on books 2 and 3.

9) What were the most difficult and best parts of writing TEMPEST?
Most difficult: The time-travel aspect—keeping everything consistent and creating a set of rules and making sure that I follow them to a key without writing myself into a corner that I can’t get out of in the next two books. Writing action type scenes tend to be harder for me as well.

Best Parts: Having those very emotionally heavy scenes unfold after building and waiting until just the right moment to hand them over to the reader. I also love writing the love story aspect.

10) What did you do to celebrate when you found out that you were getting signed by your agent and then later when you found out TEMPEST was going to be published?
Actually, my story is unique. I got the offer for a book deal before I had an agent. I knew my editor was pulling for it with his bosses but I didn’t think it would happen with that first draft and certainly not a three book deal. Initially, I was so shocked and then I said, “Okay, I need an agent.” And I really loved Suzie Townsend in all her interviews and thought my book might be up her ally, so I was elated when I she read it in, like, twelve hours and loved it. I guess my celebration involved agent hunting and a few amazing phone calls that were so surreal at the time.

11) What did your friends and family think when you told them you were writing TEMPEST?
My family and friends have all been so awesome and are my first and best test readers. Most of them were really excited but most people outside of publishing don’t get exactly what a book deal means or how hard and unlikely it is. Most of it, I still don’t understand myself…exactly why I need an agent. :)

12) Now that you're a soon-to-be-published author and a more experienced writer, what advice would you give to your unpublished self?
Would it be weird to say, I wouldn’t change anything about how things went? I know it sounds like an “easy out” but really, I just enjoyed writing and never felt like I had to get published or that it was my one and only dream. I think, if I hadn’t gotten the offer for a book deal for TEMPEST, I’d still be writing and loving it, sending chapters to my sister, friends, and teenage cousins (I have a ton and they are awesome!) And don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely grateful for everything that’s happened. It’s beyond amazing, but I can honestly say, the process of developing TEMPEST was just as fun as the results that have followed. I’m sure I’m going to frustrate those authors really trying everything to get their foot in the door or grab and agent’s attention, but it’s not like I haven’t done the work or put in the same effort as, I just happen to really enjoy it so writing doesn’t really feel like work.

13) How long did it take you to write TEMPEST from concept to outlining to completion to sending if off to agents?
The first draft of TEMPEST was about 100,000 words long (close to 400 pages) and it took me about 3 weeks to write and since I sent chapters to my editor as I wrote them, we had a constant banter of feedback going. The 2nd draft was completed about 4 days after the finishing draft 1. My offer came sometime in the middle of those four days and by the time my agent read TEMPEST, draft 2 was complete and that’s the version she read. The very first draft is the one Summit Entertainment read and pre-empted…none of this is the normal process for most authors. My situation is very unique.

14) Can you tell us about your journey to publication for TEMPEST?
Oops, I think I mostly answered this question above. Like I said, my process is unusual. But really, I’m just a normal person who happened to have a good idea and handed it to the right person at the right time and when I had story changes suggested, I listened and I delivered quickly. What most people don’t realize, even authors currently trying to get published, is that when agents or editors get a manuscript that they like or see potential in but it needs work, they have no idea whether that author took two weeks or twenty years to write that story. So how long will it take to make changes? And how open will the writer be to those changes? It’s a big risk to take on a manuscript that isn’t nearly 100% ready.

With me, my editor literally watched me go through that whole process with him and knew exactly what he was getting into. We really clicked right from the start and working on changes and new directions was so easy and natural. I think he knew I could pull off three books long before I did. Sometimes I’m still not sure. :)

15) What kind of atmosphere do you prefer to write in, calm or chaos?
The only thing that can slow me down or distract me is nagging tasks that I’ve procrastinated or just need to get done asap. Sometimes I feel like I need to earn that writing time by getting everything else done before siting down at my computer.

16) What is your writing process like?
I usually just take off…start drafting with opening chapters and sometime 50-75 pages in, I’ll start plotting a little for the rest of the book. I have trouble doing that before I start.

17) The main character in TEMPEST is a teenage boy; what was it like being a female and writing from a male’s point of view? Any tips?
It’s very, very hard at times. What 31 year old woman actually wants inside the head of a teenage boy? It can get rough in there. But Jackson seems to be loved and adored by nearly everyone who reads TEMPEST (we’ll see what happens when the masses get a hold of him). A couple things that help are the fact that Jackson is 19—older than a typical YA protagonist and beyond a lot of the boy puberty stuff. And it really helps that there’s plenty of life or death stuff in the book to distract him from all the typical guy thoughts, though he does have plenty.

I actually did a Guest post on a friend’s blog giving tips on writing the teen guy point of view. A lot of writers said it was helpful for them.

http://fictiongroupie.blogspot.com/2010/09/creating-authentic-teen-guys-voice.html

18) Do you have any odd and unusual habits which help you in regards to writing?
Instead of writing pages of character descriptions and notes on characters, I write diary entries for my main characters. It’s so much more fun than notes and I get an even better sense of the person by “becoming them” or telling their point of view. For example, Jackson’s love interest in Tempest, Holly, has nearly 300 pages of diary entries. She really came to life once I started this. I have actually posted some on my blog for anyone to read.

To learn more about Julie and her book, visit her blog!

Thank you very much Julie, for such a fun and enlightening interview and I definitely can't wait to read your amazing book! :)
~Ella

ROW80: Check-In #4!

2011-07-17T17:30:00.004-08:00

Today was a GOOD day! After some procrastinating, I finally decided to just force myself to sit down and write for 25 minutes, but by the end of that first 25 minutes I wanted to keep going and so, I ended up writing for two more 25 minute sessions! Here are my stats for today:

1st 25 Min. Session: Wrote 297 new words on Shitty First Draft!
2nd 25 Min. Session: Wrote 271 more new words on SFD!
3rd 25 Min. Session: Wrote 273 more new words on SFD!

So, obviously, timing myself while I write turned out to be very beneficial and I have mytomatoes.com (an online timer), Pandora Radio and the promise of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups as a reward to thank for it! :) I love progress!

How have your writing goals been going? Let me know in the comments!

Happy writing!
~Ella

P.S. Oh, and I almost forgot! Today's progress finally got me to (and past) the 1,000 word mark on SFD, which is now sitting pretty at 1,129 words! YAY! :)

Harry Potter Through the Ages!

2011-07-16T23:30:00.002-08:00

As I'm sure you now know, the final Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 premiered yesterday (and it was absolutely EPIC!) and because of this, the blogosphere has been flooded with blog posts dedicated to Harry and the impact he has made on people's lives. And being the HUGE fan of the HP books and movies that I am, I thought it'd be fitting after such a historic event yesterday to add my own HP post to the mix in the form of the most memorable moments of my life featuring Harry! Enjoy! :D

*I'm 11-years-old, browsing the aisles of my elementary school library, when I spot a book with a boy riding a broomstick on the cover and I think, "Oooo, this looks interesting!" and the rest, as they say, is history.

*For my birthday one year, I have a Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets birthday cake.

*I get to go to the midnight release party for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with one of my best friends and her family. At the event, someone gives me a witch's hat and later that night, when I finally have the book in my hands, I'm the last one awake and still reading it past midnight.

*I get to go to a Harry Potter party at my local library, complete with games, food, prizes, trivia and people dressed as the Harry Potter characters. One of my best friend's wins a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and begins to sob openly with happiness and disbelief in front of everyone. I think it's one of the most amazing and moving things I've ever seen.

*I'm almost finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows for myself and one scene near the end has me feeling so emotional that I break down in loud sobs of happiness and relief. When this happens, my mom begins to laugh at me and I begin to cry and laugh all at the same time.

*During my sophomore year of high school, as an assignment in one my classes, we're required to write a letter to someone we admire. I choose to write to J.K. Rowling (of course!) and when I actually receive a response (to my utter and complete amazement!) along with an author photo, my teacher is so impressed she shows the letter and author photo to the rest of my class.

*I refer to one of my best friends and her family as the real Weasley family.

*From ages 11-17, whenever my birthday rolled around I would think things like, "Ooo, I'm 16 now! If I went to Hogwarts, I'd be in my sixth year already!"

*I have J.K. Rowling to thank for my belief that there really can still be magic in the world and for making me want to be a YA author even more as I read her books over the years.

*I'm seriously considering getting a Harry Potter themed tattoo to permanently declare my love for the series.

*And last but not least, I'm also seriously considering naming one of my future children after a Harry Potter character. (If I had a girl I'd love to name her Hermione, since she's one of my top fav. characters, but I think that would cause her to be constantly teased, so maybe something more modern, like Lilly or Ginny? :))

I hoped you enjoyed this blast from the past (feel free to tell me about some of your own!) and I guess I just have one (or a few) things left to say...

First: THANK YOU, J.K. ROWLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And last: Even though people are saying that the end of Harry Potter also marks the end of their childhoods, I don't really think this is totally true. It'll never really be the end because, in the words of the great J.K., "Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."

~Ella

ROW80: Check-In #3!

2011-07-13T23:00:00.000-08:00

Good news! I reached my first goal for this week! My goal was to finish and submit a short story to a writing challenge called A Love that Overcomes: A Need So Beautiful Writing Challenge and...I did it! It was extremely painful and I almost threw in the towel, I'll admit and I waited until the last second to get it done, but, lo and behold, I did! Now, it's out of my hands and into the judge's (aka Suzanne Young! EEK!) so all I can do now is...wait. Wish me luck! :)

And while I wait, I thought I'd share my contest entry with you!

I knew it was coming, that it was bound to happen sometime, I just didn’t realize how soon.
Sweat pours down my face and my body convulses in quick, jerking movements.
“Hang on baby, it’s going to be ok!”
My mother’s frantic, terrified voice penetrates my muddled thoughts as the thing that lives inside me fights to break free of my weak, useless human body, threatening to destroy me and claim my body as its own.
My mother sets me down on the bed, the scratchy wool of the blanket feeling like a thousand nails raking my skin.
I thrash and moan, the creature inside me becoming more restless as time passes, more deadly.
“Hang on baby, hang on!”
I hear my mother hurry around the room, gathering the supplies. And then I hear her begin the chant, her voice sounding muffled and far away as she recites the Latin phrases that slide off her tongue as effortlessly and as smoothly as water.
I feel droplets of water hit my skin, holy water.
Then my mother rips the wooden cross that hangs above the bed off the wall and the combination of chanting, holy water and the cross begin to work their magic…a demon’s kryptonite.
The demon rages from deep inside me, enraged at being attacked, threatened. My hands grip the sides of the bed until my fingers begin to ache and I scream in agony as the demon becomes more incensed.
“Just kill me…please! Just kill me now!” I scream at my mother, my voice choked with sobs.
“No, I won’t, I can’t! You’re my baby!” My mother is crying now too, pleading with me to be reasonable.
“You did it for Daddy…now-now do it for me, please!” I beg, my insides threatening to explode from the pain, the invasion, the violation.
I hear my mother inhale sharply at the mention of my father. “No, Holly, no, I won’t let you give up!” her chanting becomes louder, more rapid.
I scream and writhe in pain, the convulsions coming in waves. The sound that escapes my throat however is not the sound of my own voice but of its…the demon’s, unearthly and unhinged.
Then, just when the scream becomes so loud and the chanting so rapid that I feel as if I might split in two, the demon is released…and I am free.

Happy writing!
~Ella

ROW80: Check-In #2!

2011-07-10T20:45:00.003-08:00

So, as much as I want to, I won't fib and say that I reached 1,000 words by today. As a matter of fact, I got nowhere close to that number. I've been feeling a lack of motivation and excitement to work on my story and that sucks. Big time. I want to be motivated and excited, but right now I'm just...not.

Hopefully the feeling will pass soon, but until then I've decided to enter a writing challenge called A Love That Overcomes: A Need So Beautiful Writing Challenge (judged by the fabulous YA author Suzanne Young!) and write a short story! That way, I can take my mind off my current story for a while but also keep writing at the same time, even if it's on a different project.

Overall, the rest of the week was kind of a bust, but at least I still have a goal to work toward for this week!

Happy writing!
~Ella

ROW80: Check-In #1!

2011-07-06T23:00:00.002-08:00

"I hate writing, I love having written." — Dorothy Parker

The above quote comes to mind on this, the first official check-in for ROW80. The process of writing is so hard and time-consuming and a lot of times just makes me want to rip my hair out and makes me wonder (not for the first time) whether what I'm doing is a waste of time, if my story really is as good as I want to think it is, and so on.

But after I'm done writing for the day? I feel a total sense of accomplishment and excitement, relief that I got through another session alive. Those feelings (along with a renewed love for my story) are what keeps me coming back to the keyboard everyday (well, not everyday, far from it, actually, but you get the idea, lol)!

Anywho, enough with the dramatics, on to my progress! There's not much to report yet, except for, as of right now, I'm sitting at 289 words total for my Shitty First Draft. Could be better, but it could also be much worse, like 2 words or *shudder* 0. So, all things considered, I'd say it's not completely horrible! It's still progress afterall, no matter how small, and progress is always something to celebrate!

Now I just have to keep plugging away, writing one scene at a time and hopefully get to 1,ooo words total before (or at least by) the next check-in! :)

Happy writing!

~Ella

Let the Madness Begin: ROW80: Round 3 Goals!

2011-07-05T13:02:00.007-08:00

So, A Round of Words in 80 Days (aka ROW80) started yesterday and I've decided to participate! Now, I know what your thinking, "oh no, not another writing challenge we get to watch her fail spectacularly at!" and trust me, I've been thinking the same thing! I was hesitant to sign up for another challenge (still am, actually), but, silly optimist that I am, I'm hopeful that something good will come of this challenge. So, with that in mind, here are my goals for ROW80: Round 3!

1) Write a scene for WIP (aka Shitty First Draft:)) at least twice a week for 30 minutes.

2) Check in on Wednesdays and Sundays at the ROW80 website and this blog.

3) Give myself a reward for every goal that I meet.

4) Celebrate the little things!

5) Have FUN! Try not to stress or put too much pressure on myself!

Well, there you have it, my goals for the next 80 days of literary abandon! Those sound pretty manageable, right? And, if your participating in ROW80, what are your goals?

Write on, friends, write on!

~Ella

P.S. Oh...And did I mention this is my first time participating in RoW80? Should be fun! :P

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T02:00:00.001-08:00

- Aaron and Ella

TBG Author Interview: K.M. Walton!

2011-06-29T18:24:00.008-08:00

Hey everyone!

Today I've got an awesome interview with writer extraordinaire, Ms. K.M. Walton, whose debut YA novel CRACKED comes to a bookstore near you on March 16, 2012 by Simon Pulse! Here's the summery from Goodreads:

Victor hates his life. He's relentlessly bullied at school and his parents ridicule him for not being perfect. He's tired of being weak, so he takes a bottle of his mother's sleeping pills -- only to wake up in the hospital. Bull is angry, and takes all of his rage out on Victor. He's the opposite of weak. And he's tired of his grandfather's drunken beatings, so he tries to defend himself with a loaded gun. When Victor and Bull end up as roommates in the same psych ward, things go from bad to worse. Until they discover they just might have something in common: a reason to live.

Awesome, no? And now, without further ado, on to the interview!

1) Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
No, I always wanted to be a teacher. I used to hold “school” sessions in the basement with my three younger sisters. I actually gave them homework. And they still like me. When I grew up I actually did become a teacher and spent twelve amazing years in the classroom. I honestly floated into school every day, with wings on, that’s how much I loved teaching. But then a funny thing happened. I wrote my first novel. My life has never been the same. I left the classroom and took a part time coaching position in which I coach teachers on how to become highly effective in their instructional practices. I did this to give myself more time to write. By a stroke of what I will call “luck” I will be a full time writer after this school year ends. I am beyond excited.

2) How did you come up with the idea for CRACKED? Did it just come to you, or was it more of a gradual progression?
I was actually toying with writing a novel from alternating perspectives and thought a bully and his victim would make for a compelling story.

3) Where do you draw your inspiration from while you are writing? For example, do you listen to music while you write or sit outside?
I need 100% quiet while I’m writing. However, quiet is a precious commodity with two sons and a husband who like to play his music loud. So I am often forced to drown the noise out with music. I played Radiohead’s In Rainbows over and over again while writing this book. Same with Coldplay and Civil Twilight. I even put those three bands in my acknowledgments ; )

4) How do you stay motivated to write? Even though you are a soon-to-be-published author, have you ever wanted to give up? And if so, how did you pull yourself back from the "edge"?
Oh, the edge and I are intimately acquainted, trust me. I did give up, as in, for real. I couldn’t take the query rejection any more. I was closing in on the 150th rejection and I threw in the towel. And then the Universe did a funny thing, I got a full request from Sarah LaPolla the day after I “quit”. Forward three months and I signed with Sarah. Forward three more months and Sarah sold my first novel. Long story short…NEVER give up.

5) Tell us about your writing habits: where you write, when you write, how much you write, etc.
I have an office that has three walls of windows looking out into my yard – I love my office. I write in the day (I give major props to the nighttime writers out there. I don’t know how you do it.). When I start something it tends to fly out of my like wildfire so I typically don’t start books unless I have long chunks of free day time.

6) How do you deal with constructive (or not) criticism? And if it's negative, how do you deal with it?
After I wrote my first novel back in 2008 I had no idea how to take criticism – constructive or otherwise. I felt the need to constantly defend everything and take “the meanies” on. Not until I realized that people (namely other writers) online don’t know me, which means they’re not criticizing me…they’re criticizing my writing. BIG difference. Once I took my “but my writing is so good” jacket off and slathered up with a thick layer of “I can take this because it’ll make me a better writer” I saw through even the snarkiest comments and got something out of them.

7) How many stories did you start writing before you found a "winner" and how did you know you'd found a keeper?
I thought my first novel was a winner. For sure. I queried it WAY too soon though. Hence my triple digit rejection count. When I finished CRACKED I walked into the living room and announced to my husband, “I just wrote the book that’s going to get me an agent.” And it was. Go figure. I knew it was “the one” because I cried my eyes out while writing it. My two boys from the novel - Victor and Bull - crawled into my heart and set up camp. I just loved letting them tell their stories. They were so incredibly real to me when I finished. That’s how I knew.

8) Do you have any new writing projects in the works? Can you tell us about them?
I am actually in a full blown revision of my very first novel. It’s a middle grade sci-fi and I’m pretty close to saying, “I’m done.” I do love the characters from that novel as well.

9) What were the most difficult and best parts of writing CRACKED?
Difficult? Hmmmm. I’ve honestly been so excited to be out of the query trenches that everything feels like welcome work – even the time consuming parts, like revising and line editing. Best parts? Every part. From finishing that first draft to crafting my query letter for the novel have been great experiences for me. I was definitely a stronger writer by the time I wrote CRACKED.

10) What did you do to celebrate when you found out that you were getting signed by your agent and then later when you found out CRACKED was going to be published?
Both moments produced lots of screaming and jumping and hugging. Face to face, on the phone, inside, outside – nowhere was safe from the excitement (and relief).

11) What did your friends and family think when you told them you were writing CRACKED?
I heard, “That sounds interesting, Kate,” a lot. Still do.

12) Now that you're a soon-to-be-published author and a more experienced writer, what advice would you give to your unpublished self?
I would tell myself to do a few things and not to do a few things. Since I’m a “glass half full” gal let’s start with the do’s.

DO: Spend the insane amounts of time you spent researching agents and the whole industry.
DO: Read FROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL by Elana Johnson. It changed my query for the better and she made the process logical.
DO: Attend writing conferences. Spend the money. Meet the people. Talk, talk, talk. Push yourself to step out of your shell and make connections.
DO: Read as many books on craft as you did. It made you a MUCH better writer.
DO: Read as many books in your writing genre as you did. Again, it made you a MUCH better writer.
DO: Start your blog. Reach out to other bloggers, enter writing contests, make actual writing friends. It’s all so good for you.

DON’T: Query your first novel like a maniac and stare out into space with Stephenie Meyer dollar signs in your eyes. You big dummy. Be realistic. That novel wasn’t even ready yet. Heck, it’s still being worked on.
DON’T: Mistake the genuine, “OMG, this is the best book I’ve ever read,” from your family and friends as legitimate critique. It’s not. It’ll never be. And as great and inspiring as it is to hear, until that manuscript is in actual book form – it means nothing on your journey towards publication. Harsh…but true.
DON’T: Get so riled up with online critique comments on your writing. Relax for love of heaven. Read through the sometimes craptastic snark and find the actual valid critique point. It’ll make you a better writer.

13) How long did it take you to write CRACKED from concept to outlining to completion to sending if off to agents?
I came up with idea at the SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC, January of 2009 but didn’t actually start writing until late August of that same year. I had a finished first draft by September 9th. The book exploded from my head. Then, I got some feedback and revised a few times. I started querying mid September (I like things to move fast. What can I say?). I actually started querying every agent that had requested either a partial or full of my first novel – the middle grade sci fi – and went from there.

14) Can you briefly detail your journey to publication after finishing CRACKED?
I think I was a well seasoned query veteran by the time I sent my first queries for CRACKED (which back then was titled Everything’s Not Lost). By this point in my writing journey I’d had piled up close to one hundred rejections – I knew rejection well.

15) What kind of atmosphere do you prefer to write in, calm or chaos?
Calm all the way. I need complete quiet and no people.

16) What is your writing process like?
I’m a pantser through and through. I typically type out a bullet pointed list of ideas, plot points, character notes, and other stuff. Then I go back and add more to the list. Bull’s first line of his chapter is directly from my original brainstormed list.

17) The main character in CRACKED is a teenage boy; what was it like being a female and writing from a male’s point of view? Any tips?
Actually I have two main characters – and they’re both boys. I don’t know how I did it but I literally got inside the head of two sixteen year old boys. It was an out of body experience. Unfortunately, I don’t have any tips because I seriously don’t know how I did it. It just sort of happened – which I know is kind of lame.

18) Do you have any odd and unusual habits which help you in regards to writing?
Well, I am a cuticle/finger picker. I know, gross. This awful habit started back in eighth grade – and no, I can’t remember a single traumatic event that triggered it – aside from being asked to fight by the resident eighth grade hard ass. I turned her down, of course, but I swear I remember puking a little as I told her no. Okay, back to the unusual writing habit. I can’t say my finger picking, and subsequent band-aid wearing, actually helps me write, but its something I do A LOT of as I write. I’m typing right now with band-aids on my fingers. Since I’ve had this habit for quite a while, I’ve had time to think deeply and analyze why/when I do it. It happens when I’m deep in thought (writing is about as deep in thought as any human being can be, eh?) and when I’m doubting myself (again, when I’m writing I have this annoying voice that whispers, “You can’t do this. Stop. You can’t write a book.”). Stupid voice. My fingers seem to always be at varying degrees of picking – some days I’ve got five band-aids on (no lie) – some days I’ll just get to one finger – some days I don’t seem to focus on my fingers. It’s a horrible habit. I wish I didn’t do it. I wish I could stop doing it. But at least it’s not drugs or alcohol – or some other uber life altering habit. I can handle band-aids.

A very big thank you for asking to interview me, Ella. Your questions were fun to answer! I’d like to invite everyone reading this to stop by my blog and say hi: http://skateorbate.blogspot.com/, or say hi on twitter: kmwalton1, or stop by The Apocalypsies site and say hi (you can also check out tons of 2012 debut authors) http://apocalypsies.blogspot.com/. Thanks again, everyone!

No, thank you, K.M.! It was such a pleasure getting to know you better and I can't wait to read your amazing book! :)

~Ella

Screamin' at the Screen

2011-06-18T07:54:00.004-08:00

I have been lucky enough to be blessed with five amazing critique partners, but not all critique partners are such a good fit.

In my creative writing class we each have to post two short stories on the class webpage for the professor and the other nineteen people in class to critique. Critiquing everyone else's stories is a part of the grade, so you have to get every story regardless of personal preference. In theory this is great. It give us experience with lost of different styles and subjects, and then of course there's the overall experienced gained by doing 40 five to ten page critiques. However, sometimes the results of having everyone critique everything regardless of personal preference are disappointing.

I got one such critique from a classmate yesterday, and it was definitely an eye opener. Like I said I got lucky. We have at least a few things in common in terms of writing, and we know what each other trying to accomplish and are dedicated to helping them perfect their story. Apparently, not all matches are this good say for instance the ones that come from a creative writing class with twenty very different people in it.

Sometimes a situation like that results in critiques like the one I got yesterday. Their overall comments started out something like this "I'm not interested in reading more than 3 pages. Is the rest of the story really necessary? Could you just do another page on the soldier's view of the world instead?" Okay, good to know. Something about page three is apparently turning them off, or is it? It's kind of hard to tell since their comments in the margin are all along the lines of "terrific" and "love this" right up until midway through page 2 when someone gets kicked in the kidney's and the commenter decides that's where the story should end, tells me that, and stops reading.

Her parting comments left me staring at the screen with raised eyebrows half laughing with frustration. I can imply a lot from seeing her reaction to the story like I nailed the theme of "the inhumanity of war," but I need to throw out a few more bread crumbs on page two to keep the reader interested. However, her actual comments weren't very helpful at all. She loved it right up until she stopped reading, and I'm left waving my hands and shouting at the screen if you'd just waited for half a damn page you would have realized that nobody gives a damn if they make it home. Not even me!

But still I learned two very important things. 1) Not all critique partners are a good fit. 2) I can learn a lot even from a vague possibly negative but not quite critique.

- Aaron

JuNoWriMo Day 15: Update

2011-06-16T02:00:00.002-08:00

Ella

Did I meet my daily goal:
How it went:
My biggest obstacle of the day:
My favorite sentence(s) of the day:

Aaron

Did I meet my daily goal: No, writing was yet again called on account of my math test. I spent most of the day wanting to write, but I just couldn't do it. The test was too important.
How it went: Ugghh... not sure (I mean about the test not about the writing. The writing was nonexistent.)
My biggest obstacle of the day: My math test.
My favorite sentence(s) of the day: N/A

~ Ella and Aaron

JuNoWriMo Day 14: Update

2011-06-15T02:00:00.002-08:00

Ella

Did I meet my daily goal:
How it went:
My biggest obstacle of the day:
My favorite sentence(s) of the day:

Aaron

Note: This post has been called on a count of a massive math test. Regularly scheduled updates will return on Thursday.

~ Ella and Aaron

JuNoWriMo Day 13: Update

2011-06-14T02:00:00.003-08:00

Ella

Did I meet my daily goal:
How it went:
My biggest obstacle of the day:
My favorite sentence(s) of the day:

Aaron

Did I meet my daily goal: Yeah, 1,142 words.
How it went: It went pretty well. I'm still working on a different chapter, which is still helping, but I switched back to the computer. Only now I'm using a library computer instead of my laptop which has taken away a lot of the temptation.
My biggest obstacle of the day: Balancing school and writing. If I do one I don't really have time for the other and visa versa. I'll be glad when classes are over for the summer.
My favorite sentence(s) of the day: "As the air rushed over my tongue my picture of the world around me sharpened."

~ Ella and Aaron

JuNoWriMo Day 12: Update

2011-06-13T02:00:00.002-08:00

Ella

Did I meet my daily goal:
How it went:
My biggest obstacle of the day:
My favorite sentence(s) of the day:

Aaron

Did I meet my daily goal: Yep, 3,428 words either written or edited.
How it went: Apparently switching things up was something I needed because as soon as I changed mediums and skipped ahead a couple chapters I didn't have any problems.
My biggest obstacle of the day: For today at least there wasn't one. Once I got out of my sh*t I'm so far behind my word count mindset it was pretty much clear sailing.
My favorite sentence(s) of the day: N/A. That's the down side. At the moment I can't actually remember a word I wrote. It's like jet-lag only with writing.

~ Ella and Aaron

JuNoWriMo Day 11: Update

2011-06-12T02:00:00.002-08:00

Ella

Did I meet my daily goal:
How it went:
My biggest obstacle of the day:
My favorite sentence(s) of the day:

Aaron

Did I meet my daily goal: Nope, 217 words.
How it went: Yet again I spent most of the day writing... homework. However, since I'm refusing to count homework only the half hour I got in before bed counted. What can I say? My goal is 1,000 words a day on Entwined not 1,000 words a day on anything at all. At least I'm sticking to my guns, so that's something.
My biggest obstacle of the day: My computer. At first I thought it was just the internet that was causing the problem, but now I'm pretty sure it's the computer in general. Well, not really the computer itself, but writing on the computer. Tonight, writing on a tablet in on top of my key board got me better results in thirty minutes than three hours of uninterrupted typing yesterday afternoon. So I think I may trying pen and paper for a couple days and see what kind of results I get.
My favorite sentence(s) of the day: "Where had this been an hour ago when she'd killed my mother?"

~ Ella and Aaron

JuNoWriMo Day 9: Update

2011-06-10T02:00:00.002-08:00

Ella

Did I meet my daily goal:
How it went:
My biggest obstacle of the day:
My favorite sentence(s) of the day:

Aaron

Did I meet my daily goal: Yep, 1,003 words, just barely over the line.
How it went: Pretty good, but I'm just not that into it. At the moment I just doing it because I said I would.
My biggest obstacle of the day: Yeah, just being kinda ugggg. I'm not writing a very fun scene at the moment, so it's fight just to make myself sit down and start typing.
My favorite sentence(s) of the day: N/A

~ Ella and Aaron

JuNoWriMo Day 8: Update

2011-06-09T02:00:00.003-08:00

Ella

Did I meet my daily goal:
How it went:
My biggest obstacle of the day:
My favorite sentence(s) of the day:

Aaron

Did I meet my daily goal: Yep, about 4,000 words.
How it went: It went really well. I banged out my homework and got right down to writing.
My biggest obstacle of the day: My downstairs neighbors. Our apartment is the product of shoddy construction, so everybody can hear everything from the upper and lower apartments really well. As a result if we don't literally tiptoe around our downstairs neighbors start banging on the walls and yelling expletives at the ceiling, which really don't loose that much volume on their trip through the floor. Every time my roommate walked down the hall one of the guys downstares would start screaming. It was very distracting and really messed up my flow. However, I have come up with a solution. I'm going to write them into my story and then kill them off. That'll teach them.
My favorite sentence(s) of the day: "Full of joy Gregor beamed at Michael. Silently swearing he wouldn't waist his powers the way Gregor had Michael smiled back through gritted teeth."

~ Ella and Aaron

JuNoWriMo Day 7: Update

2011-06-08T02:00:00.002-08:00

Ella

Did I meet my daily goal:
How it went:
My biggest obstacle of the day:
My favorite sentence:

Aaron

Did I meet my daily goal: Just barely, 1,140 words.
How it went: I don't know exactly what it is, but I'm still out of my grove.
My biggest obstacle of the day: It's the whole time thing again.
My favorite sentence: "That was all that we needed to tip our finally honed control over the edge."

~ Ella and Aaron

WANTED: Science Fiction Picture Books

2011-06-07T08:56:00.007-08:00

The lack of good sci-fi and fantasy books for primary students (K-3rd) is a big talking point among primary teachers. I can tell you from personal experience that trying to get a kid who loves science fiction to reading general fiction book is like trying to take on Darth Vader. It's doable, but it's not pretty and it's not fun.

The problem for me arises from the fact that I am declared writer. As far as I know I have never given any indication of having a burning desire to write children's stories because frankly I have no clue how to do it. However, these are desperate people and it's any port in a storm, so they are currently on a quest to get me to write a science fiction picture book.

I'm not really that into the idea, but I decided to do a little checking just to see if they were being accurate. When I Googled "science fiction picture books" this was the best I could come up with, and they aren't even real!

If this is not an indicator of the grim state of science fiction children's literature then I don't know what it. Bright side when the bar is nonexistent it's kind of hard to do worse, so I just might have to give it a shot.

-Aaron

P.S. If you know of any good science fiction picture books or even science fiction books for primary students please let me know.

JuNoWriMo Day 6: Update

2011-06-07T02:00:00.002-08:00

Ella

Did I meet my daily goal:
How it went:
My biggest obstacle of the day:
My favorite sentence:

Aaron

Did I meet my daily goal: No, 391 words, but I've consistently gone over my word count on every other day so I'm just going to chalk it up to an off day and start with a clean slate tomorrow.
How it went: Like I said it was an off day. I'm taking a five week math class this summer, and I had a test today. I don't know what happened. I'm normally pretty good at math, but I couldn't understand any of the questions and I only had time to do three of the four questions. Best case scenario I got a 75%, and worst case scenario I did a heck of a lot worse than that. Still I have a 68% average so far and one test and a final left to go. I can still pull it up, but either way tanking my writing is definitely not the way to deal with blanking on a test.
My biggest obstacle of the day: Spending the whole day moping about my math test. I had issues, big deal. It's over. It happened. All I can do is study harder for the next test. Letting it get inside my head isn't going to help anything. If anything forcing myself to write for a couple hours probably would have helped me. WOW, I wish I'd thought of that ten hours ago.
My favorite sentence: Skin pressed against skin and the combined heat of a hundred bodies pushed back at the cold.

~ Ella and Aaron

JuNoWriMo Day 5: Update

2011-06-06T02:00:00.002-08:00

Ella

Did I meet my daily goal:
How it went:
My biggest obstacle of the day:
My favorite sentence:

Aaron

Did I meet my daily goal: Yep, 1134 words.
How it went: Pretty good, I'm back on track in terms of actually working on my WIP as opposed to my homework, but I lost part of my word count since counting the homework for my Creative Writing class felt like cheating. If it were a paper for any other class I wouldn't count it, so this shouldn't be any different.
My biggest obstacle of the day: There was this one crucial scene that I just couldn't seem to get right. I have tons of ideas on how to write it, but I'm pretty sure that a reader wouldn't be able to follow any of them. So I'm trying to reach a compromise between what the reader need and what I want.
My favorite sentence: "It made sense that the man who opened the door would own a shop called the Mad Hatter." Unfortunately I may have to cut it as part of the whole compromise thing I mentioned.

~ Ella and Aaron

JuNoWriMo Day 4: Update

2011-06-05T02:00:00.002-08:00

Ella

Did I meet my daily goal:
How it went:
My biggest obstacle of the day:
My favorite sentence:

Aaron

Did I meet my daily goal: Yes.
How it went: It went pretty well, but typing in the morning is definitely not my thing. In general I'm a morning person, but apparently when it comes to writing I'm a night owl. I guess all those years of writing by flashlight under the covers after my parents had gone to sleep left its mark.
My biggest obstacle of the day: I have a horrible case of SNI syndrome, and I blame it on my Creative Writing class. I'm a one project girl. Once I start a project it's all I work on. I flat out refuse to put any other ideas down on paper until I get at least a first draft written on my current project. However, now I'm having to multitask and it is destroying my self control.
My favorite sentence: “Hello… Hello? Are you there or did you hang up on me?” Bram asked incredulously.

~ Ella and Aaron

JuNoWriMo Day 3: Update

2011-06-04T02:00:00.002-08:00

Ella

Did I meet my daily goal:
How it went:
My biggest obstacle of the day:
My favorite sentence(s) of the day:

Aaron

Did I meet my daily goal: In a fashion.
How it went: I spent all day typing and got over 5,000 words written, but it wasn't on my WIP. It was on two short stories that I had to write for a Creative Writing class that I'm taking this summer. However, they're all stories that I'll use as prologues in future stories, so I'm counting them.
My biggest obstacle of the day: The fact that even though I was able to write I wasn't able to work on my story.
My favorite sentence(s) of the day: "The bullet plows into him. He falls to the ground without a sound. He convulses fighting to breath, but you march on leaving him behind."

~ Ella and Aaron

From the Heart

2011-06-03T21:50:00.004-08:00

"Everyone needs a good compliment every once in a while..."

This was the first sentence in an e-mail I got from a dear friend yesterday, and they couldn't be more right. When you're around someone a lot it's easy to forget the truly special things that set them apart from everyone else, but when you care about someone deeply... when you love them... it's important to remind them of these little things.

It may feel awkward. You may think they'll laugh or think you're full of it. But it'll mean the world to them that you care enough about them to tell them what about them stands out to you.

So, if you haven't given someone who matters to you a good, true, heartfelt compliment lately now is the time. Go ahead, don't be scared to tell them what makes them amazing.

-Aaron

JuNoWriMo Day 2: Update

2011-06-03T02:00:00.013-08:00

Ella

Did I meet my daily goal: I'm ashamed to say...No. :(

How it went: I had the best intentions, I swear! I got all the essentials ready (Pandora radio, ear phones, chocolate covered espresso beans, mmmm!), sat down to write and...notta. I just wasn't feeling it. I wanted to write, I did, I just felt totally uninspired and blah (of course, this all probably had something to do with the fact that I slept in until after 11:00 in the morning which messed up my whole day and on top of that, I have a cold). One bright spot to the day though was when I decided not to force myself to sit there and try to write any longer and instead called it a day and went to read the book Story Engineering by Larry Brooks (thanks a ton for the recommendation, Shallee!)- I don't know, I think he may be on to something! I encourage you to check it out! :)

My biggest obstacle of the day: Definitely a lack of motivation and inspiration.

My favorite sentence(s) of the day: N/A

Aaron

Did I meet my daily goal: Yes, but just barely.
How it went: Again the writing flowed really well, but finding time is still a struggle. Tomorrow I'm going to try getting up a little earlier and do some writing before my day starts, see how that goes. If it works I'll try that for a while, and if it doesn't no harm no foul.
My biggest obstacle of the day: I actually had some time to write this afternoon, but I had to work on a short story for my creative writing class instead of working on my WIP. I'm going to be writing up a foreword for my WIP anyway, so may try writing it as a short story so that way I can kill two birds with one stone.
My favorite sentence(s) of the day: "Going back to the cupboard I tried again. This time I came up with the kit after resorting to sticking my head under the sink."

~ Ella and Aaron