“What’s Up Wednesday” is a fun weekly meme started by my friends Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk. From Jaime: It’s similar in some respects to the Currently… post, but it’s been whittled down to only four headings to make it quicker and more manageable on a weekly basis. You’re invited to join us if you’re looking for something to blog about, a way to let your blog friends know what’s been going on with you. If you’re participating, make sure to link your What’s Up Wednesday posts to the list on Jaime’s blog each week. That way, others can visit your post and check out what you’ve been up to.And now, here’s what’s up with me this week…And now, here’s what’s up with me this week…
What I’m Reading: I finished Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything and while I really enjoyed it, I wanted a different ending for the characters. Totally a personal preference thing, but yeah… Have you read it? What did you think of the conclusion? I also read The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black, and I thought it was fantastic. Part of me is surprised because it’s a novel about vampires and that’s not really my thing. But then, I’ve heard awesome things about Holly Black’s writing, and this story totally lives up to the hype. Now I’m reading Leah Raeder’s Unteachable (thanks for the rec, Dahlia!) and I’ve gotta say… I’m loving it. It’s a tough story and it’s making me all kinds of uncomfortable, but the writing is gorgeous and the emotion is raw and so intense. It’s unputdownable, and I cannot wait to see how it wraps up.
What I’m Writing: I’ve started to poke away at my revision. It’s extensive, to be honest, and quite daunting, but I’m finding that my early chapters aren’t nearly as bad as I thought they were. There are even bits of unintentional foreshadowing that really work… Win! I want so badly for this story to be the sort of amazing I envision, and that alone is motivating. I love this stage of the process: the sorting out and the tying together and the prettifying.
Quality control.
What Else I’ve Been Up To: House hunting. We’re looking for a place to rent in Awesome Secret City, and it’s really hard! We’re currently very far away, so we have to take what we can get as far as information available on the Internet. I’m not super comfortable signing a lease sight-unseen, but it looks like that might be what we end up doing. And it’s not just the house we have to take into account — we’ve got to consider schools, shopping, commute times, neighborhoods, and a host of other craziness. I forgot what a challenge moving can be.
So… I’ve been baking and drinking! I’ve posted my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe here before, but it’s worth repeating. These are the perfect cookies, guys. Especially when consumed with an icy cold Bud Light (or milk — pick your poison).
What’s Inspiring Me Now: Contemporary YA Week over at Stacked, which started Monday and is still going strong. From librarian/blogger Kelly Jensen: I have a nice array of guest posts from contemporary YA authors. We’re going to travel across the globe to talk about Australian contemporary YA, we’ll talk about mental illness in contemporary YA, humor in contemporary YA, and much, much more. In fact, I have 7 guest posts lined up, along with a host of book lists. I thought that in addition to new posts, I’d rerun some older content, as well, in order to give a huge range of voices and insights into contemporary YA. Fantastic, yes? As a huge fan of contemporary YA, I’m so enjoying this series.
Additionally, I’m finding this post entitled The Four Types of Character Flaws from Writers Helping Writers to be incredibly timely and very helpful. Tons of awesome character-related advice to consider as I tackle my revision. (Also, I love Writers Helping Writers. If you’re not following this blog, you should be!)
And, finally, the mama in me got all teary paging through photographer Jenny Lewis‘s One Day Young series. She captured images of mamas and their babies within 24 hours of birth, her aim being to express the extraordinary bonding, tenderness and strength between mother and infant. The photographs are beautiful and heartwarming, and I hope you’ll check them out.
Tell me… What’s up with you today?
katyupperman.com 
Hmmmmm cookies *grabby hands* 🙂 Crossing my fingers for your house hunting to be successful!
I love that pic of your daughter checking out your screen and I think you’re doing awesome in your revision. I find that sometimes unlocking a paragraph or even just a sentence is the most rewarding feeling.
And yep UNTEACHABLE – can’t wait to hear more of your thoughts once you finish it (I’m halfway through and as you know, I agree with everything you said 🙂
Have a wonderful Wednesday, Katy ❤
I’m nearly done with UNTEACHABLE, Elodie. I think it’s fantastic. Funny, though, because the actual subject matter and different subplots had the potential to be absolutely ridiculous, but Leah Raeder writes so beautifully, I totally bought into all of it. Hoping you have a great week, lady!
oh those chocolate chip cookies are amazing, thank you for sharing the recipe last time, we all love them here.
I have heard great things about The Coldest Girl in Cold Town. Holly Black and Sarah Rees Brennan were touring here last week, but I couldn’t get up to London to see them 😦
Thanks for the links, I’ll definitely check those out, especially the Writers Helping Writers blog, which I hadn’t heard of.
Glad you’re enjoying the revisions, good luck for the rest of the week!
I’m glad you liked the cookies! They’re always a hit when I make them too. 🙂 Writers Helping Writers is new, but it’s basically The Bookshelf Muse redone and with a facelift. I loved that sight, and I love this new one even more. Awesome resources! Have a great week, Alexa!
Those are beautiful pictures of mothers and babies, and as a name nerd, I was really pleasantly surprised to see so many lovely, non-tryndy names and a lack of kreatyv spylyngz in the set. It also looked to me like there were a lot of homebirths and birth center births, since the setting looked to be like a home and not a hospital.
Good luck with your house hunt. Remember not to rush into the first place you like, and to explore several options before committing. That was part of what got my ex-roommate into trouble, jumping at the first and only place we looked at and then realizing she preferred another place and finding a lot of of issues with every little thing. Moving to the right place is more important than moving immediately just because you want/need to leave the old place.
I love that you pointed out that a lot of those newborn portraits appear to have been taken at home or birth centers. I noticed that too, and I think it’s awesome. Makes me want to consider doing something like that if I ever have another kiddo. Thanks for the moving advice, Carrie-Anne. Hope you have a great week!
Good luck with the house hunting, and I can’t wait to hear where Awesome Secret City is!
Thanks, Rebecca! I can’t wait to be SETTLED in the Awesome Secret City. 🙂
Good luck with all that moving business. It would be really hard to figure all that stuff out when you can’t actually be there. And good luck with your revisions- it sounds like you’re doing great!
Thanks, Melanie! I’m hoping it all goes smoothly. Hope you have a fantastic week!
Oh, Cris dos Santos told me about “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown” yesterday and I’m very tempted to read it mostly because it’s a standalone lol I’m kind of tired of series atm.
Oh, those cookies. Just pinned the recipe. Will have to try it soon 😉
COLDTOWN is a fantastic standalone, Juliana. The world-building is fantastic. Let me know how you like the cookies, and have a great week!
I can totally get into that One Day Young series! How cool! Ahh, moving is never fun, but it is exciting in its own way. I had to rent in CT without being able to visit and look at houses. I actually contacted a realtor who went and checked out a place for me– it was great. She could tell me about the neighborhood etc more honestly than the owner could, if you know what I mean. It helped a lot. :0)
Yes, that’s a great idea, Kat! I need some honest and real opinions about this place. We’ll be there for a few years, and I want to be happy there. 🙂 Glad you liked the One Day Young series. It totally gave me baby fever!
First: baby years feel so far away from me. I was thinking about this last night because I had told a breastfeeding story and realized the woman in the story didn’t even seem like me anymore. Very bittersweet.
Second: Moving to somewhere far away is hard and scary, especially when you have to find an apartment or house without seeing it in person. I hope you find the right place soon!
Third: I hope your revision molds your story into the one you want it to be!
I’m far removed from the baby years too, Rebekah, but that photography series did give me a bad case of baby fever. They’re just so innocent and sweet and snuggly! Thanks for your well wishes as far as moving and my revision. Hope you have a wonderful week as well. 🙂
That picture of your daughter is awesome. Also, I am okay with lots of baking and drinking. Wait. What does that say about me? 🙂
And yay for revisions moving along! Also, UNTEACHABLE sounds right up my alley. I checked out the Good Reads blurb – reminds me of Grey’s Anatomy, but with a student and teacher. Adding to the Christmas list!
Have a great week! Must check out the articles! Thanks for the links!
I think you’ll like UNTEACHABLE, Alison. It’s crazy-graphic (I wouldn’t want my teenage daughter to read it, to be honest), but the writing is gorgeous and the emotions feel so real. I’m a fan! Hope you have a great week too, and congrats again to your husband and his team!
I love Contemporary YA! I’m going to go check out that series right away. Thanks for sharing. Also good luck with all your revisions. It’s always exciting to discover something isn’t as bad as you originally though.
Hope you like the contemporary YA series, Kate. I’m finding it really informative, and I’m getting lots of great book recs from it. Just what I need. 😉 Hope you have a great week!
I’ve had to do a sight unseen move before (from one province to another), and all in all, it turned out far better than I expected. I hope you guys have the same experience! Also, I’m itching to find out where Secret City is. Can’t wait until your big reveal. 🙂 Sounds like you’re making great progress with your revisions. It’s awesome when you discover things are in a better state than you anticipated. Here’s hoping the prettifying continues to come along nicely. Have a wonderful week, Katy!
Thank you, Jaime. The revision is moving along. There’s lots to do yet, but I’ve got high hopes. Here’s to a wonderful week for you as well. 🙂
Hey Katy! Good luck with the move. My fingers are crossed that everything goes smoothly. We’ll have to discuss THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING sometime – especially what you thought about the ending. (Shoot me an email!)
I’m unfortunately sick this week but managed to post a blog interview with a Harpercollins editor. I’m also trying to keep up my writing but it’s even slower than normal. Blegh. Hate taking off work but what can you do? 😦
I read your interview, Rachel, and it was fantastic. So sorry you’re sick this week. Feel better soon so you can hang with us on Twitter again!
UNTEACHABLE – another book to add to my growing pile! Good luck with the house hunting 🙂
Thanks, Jennifer! I’m already tired of house hunting, and I’ve barely started. Boo. Hoping to find an awesome place, though! Hope you have a great week, lady. 🙂
I know how you feel about Coldtown–I’ve been staring down the Wolves of Mercy Falls series for a while now. I know I’ll love it because MAGGIE but man, I’m really not into werewolves. I’m glad to hear you liked Coldtown, though–that makes me think I might too.
Good luck with the house hunt–I’ll send good home vibes your way 🙂 Just try to stay focused on the exciting parts, especially when the stressful parts seem overwhelming (not that I need to tell you that!)
The Shiver series is not my favorite of Maggie’s work. The writing is beautiful and the romance is fantastic, but the whole wolf thing… eh. I bought into the bloodthirsty horses more. 🙂 Thanks for the good house hunting vibes, Jess. We’re going to need them!
…Your cookies are inspiring me to bake RIGHT NOW and I’m still at work 😛 I wonder if my bosses will mind me taking over their kitchen…
Don’t you love it when some part of your writing brain puts in foreshadowing without you even realising? I’m always like I AM A WRITING GENIUS when I notice it during a revision 😉
Those mama and baby photos are so amazing. Thank you so much for such a beautiful link.
Best of luck with the house hunting. That sounds like a big stress.
Have a lovely week!
I have those same WRITING GENIUS thoughts! And then I read a sentence/scene that sucks and fall into a dismal hole. 😉 Hope you enjoy those cookies, and have a wonderful week!
I haven’t read any of the books that you recently read, but I’m intrigued by them all! Good luck with your revisions this week. I’m super excited to read your MS eventually. 🙂
House hunting is fun but I can only imagine how stressful it is from afar! I hope it all works out and you find the right home and neighborhood. I can’t wait to hear where you’re moving.
I’ve been enjoying Stacked’s Contemp YA week, and I also saw that photography series. Such cute babies!
Thanks for the house hunting well wishes, Ghenet. We can use all the positivity we can get! I suspect you’d enjoy UNTEACHABLE. The writing is gorgeous, but it’s SUPER graphic. Don’t read it while you’re sitting right beside someone in a cafe. 🙂 Have a great week, Ghenet!
Wahoo! I LOVE unintentional foreshadowing. It’s like our brains are trying to make everything work without us realizing it. (Ah the power of the subconscious mind!)
I totally empathize with your move worries. When we came to Florida, we rented sight unseen. It was rather freaky, but as it turns out, we ended up in a really good house with a pretty decent school system–as long as you didn’t let your kids ride the bus. (Not that that mattered because we home school.) Anyhow, here’s hoping you find the perfect place!
I am an anti-bus mama! I know that probably seems silly to some moms, but I just cannot fathom putting my only child on a bus full of kids, with a stranger for a driver, where she’ll be wearing no seatbelt. Craziness. Anyway… We’re actually moving to Florida, and hoping to have the same awesome luck you did. Have a great week, Cyrstal!
Katy! We are DONE having kids, but then you share that link and I’m all I NEED ANOTHER ONE. (Even though Emmett is still NOT sleeping at night) I have birth photos by a pro photographer with both kids and those photos are truly my most treasured momentos. Ever.
Good luck on the revisions. YOU CAN DO THIS!
I know, I know! That newborn link gave me baby fever too! 🙂 Thanks for the well wishes as far as revisions go. I hope you’re still rocking your NaNo momentum! Have a great week, Jennie!
I miss house hunting. Every now and then I go get the urge and will look up homes near ours on mls websites. Editing can be sooo daunting at times, but you can do it! I read Unteachable and the writing was wonderful and the story had me on the edge of my seat.
Yes, to UNTEACHABLE! I’ve been getting up extra early so I can go to the gym and read it. It’s a fantastic story! Hope you have a wonderful week, Prerna!
Glad that post on flaws was timely and helpful! And man, those cookies looked so good I just made dough for a batch. Monkey see, monkey do, lol!
Yay for cookies! I hope you love them, Angela! They’re always a hit when I make them. 🙂
Ah, I’m so glad you liked COLDEST GIRL! I thought you might like it because the story is kind of more literary than what you’d normally expect these days from a vampire or urban fantasy book. I loved the thematic exploration and the world-building!
Thanks for all the linkage, and good luck on revisions (it’s the best when you read your writing and think it’s not terrible!) and finding a place for your move!!!
I loved COLDTOWN’s world-building as well. I envy writers who have the ability to create new and fully realized worlds. I write contemporary for a reason. 😉 And the fact that it was a more literary slant on vampires definitely contributed to my enjoyment of it. Holly Black writes beautifully!
Hope you’re having a great week, Alice!
Best of luck with the house hunting!
As I’ve mentioned in other comments, I met Holly Black at Odyssey this summer, and read the short story “Coldest Girl in Coldtown” (which inspired the novel.) I loved the story and have to check out the novel. The ending always gives me chills!
Come by if you want to see what’s up with me.
We need all the house-hunting luck we can get! Lucky you getting to meet Holly Black. She’s so prolific; I bet she had tons of awesome advice and insight. Hope you have a great week!
I’ve got to try that chocolate chip cookie recipe. Those look delicious! Good luck with your house hunt.
Thanks, Kirsten! Let me know how you like those cookies. 🙂
That’s the same reaction I had to THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING. I still enjoyed the book, but I would definitely have liked it more (and actually felt happy after closing the book) had they gotten together. Maybe I just like happier endings in contemp YA.
Three cheers for pushing through these revisions, even if they’re threatening to turn your mind to mush. YOU CAN DO IT!!
Good luck on the house hunt. I don’t envy you that. But I’m crossing my fingers the perfect place (in a great school district) falls into your lap.
Thanks so much, Tracey! Glad I’m not alone in my THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING thoughts. It was great, but yeah… too melancholy at the end for my taste. Of course, some people might like that — the realism of the conclusion. How are your revisions coming?
I hadn’t heard of the Contemporary YA week but that sounds very interesting! I also haven’t read Holly Black’s newest book yet, but I’m glad to hear that you liked it. It makes me want to read it even more 🙂
Good luck with your revision! It always seems daunting at first.
Thanks, Kim! I hope you like COLDTOWN. I thought it was very cool. 🙂
I think I will read Coldest Girl in Coldtown after I finish Daughter of Smoke & Bone. I’ve read some of Holly Black’s other books and have enjoyed them. I’ll have to check out contemporary YA Week. Sounds interesting.
Good luck with the move!
Mmmm…cookies…I haven’t done a cookie recipe in years. I cheat and get the premade dough. =) Unteachable is on my TBR list, so I’m glad you are enjoying it. I hope everything goes well with the move!