“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 Sarah Ockler’s The Book of Broken Hearts and, dare I say, it might be tied with Twenty Boy Summer as my favorite of her novels. I enjoyed JuJu’s voice (so spirited and perfectly teen), I adored Emilio (especially the sweet way he treated JuJu and her father), I loved the family dynamics (Holy Trinity FTW. Also, Pancake!), and there were several Friday Night Lights references. Pretty much an ideal Katy Book. Now, I’m reading Stephanie Kuehn’s Complicit (out in June), which is totally blowing my mind with it’s twisty awesomeness. If you’re a fan of Stephanie’s debut, Charm & Strange, I think you’ll be all over her sophomore novel. So incredible, guys!
What I’m Writing: Nothing! I finished my revision on Sunday, and now I’m taking a bit of a writing break. It’s kind of nice to wake up in the morning and know that I don’t have a big fat goal hanging over my head. That said, I’m already missing my characters, so I’m sure I’ll end up tinkering soon. Since I’m not writing right now, I’m using my time to read for my CP Alison Miller, who’s written this really amazing story called Those Magic Changes. It’s a clever spin on Freaky Friday that includes musical theater and baseball and Star Wars references, plus Alison’s incredibly funny voice. Let’s just say… I’m a lucky CP.
What Else I’ve Been Up To: Still watching Friday Night Lights. I’m over halfway through Season 4, and while I had my doubts (lots of changes between Seasons 3 and 4), I’m loving it. Episodes 5 and 6 (The Son and Stay) particularly got me (Tim and Lyla… *sigh*). Also, I’m totally digging farmboy Luke and his dynamic with Becky and inner-city Vince. Such a fantastically complex show.
My girlie and I drove to Tallahassee on Saturday, where we met my brother (who lives in Jacksonville). We visited The Museum of Florida State History, had a tasty lunch al fresco, and walked around the city. We accidentally wandered onto FSU’s Greek Row, which my brother very accurately described as smelling of Axe Body Spray and cheap beer. It was nothing like my days on WSU’s Greek Row. 😉
What’s Inspiring Me Now: Author Claire Legrand‘s article entitled The Importance of the Unlikeable Heroine, which very eloquently states everything I feel about “unlikeable” female characters, inculding why they fascinate me. A must read. Also, my friend Christa Desir‘s post about Consent and Sensitivity: “Good Sex” in YA Literature, which comes with a lot of thoughtful commentary and some really fabulous book recommendations.
Tell me… What’s up with you today?
katyupperman.com 
Axe Body Spray and cheap beer. Nice. Also, thank you so much for the shout out and for being such an awesome CP. I bet you are missing your characters! But I’m glad I can finally spend time with them. 🙂
Oh, and I’ve begged my library to order Charm and Strange so I can finally read it. Hopefully that will happen before Complicit comes out. I’ve heard so many good things! Love the quote! And C is adorable as always! 🙂
Enjoy your time off, Katy! And your FNL love is inspiring me to want to watch all the seasons! Maybe I’ll reward myself with that in the afternoons next week – you know – an episode every time I write a sentence in my query. Ugh.
Oh, I hope you get to read CHARM & STRANGE soon — it’s so good! I’m 85% done with COMPLICIT, and I think I might like it even more. Such twisty, brain-bendy books. And YES, please watch FNL. I am confident you will love it!
So I love the entire blog post as always :-): Those pictures are gorgeous, The Book of Broken Hearts broke my heart and then put it back together (I was sobbing while reading, I’m a Daddy’s girl…and gosh that was hard to read), Alison’s manuscript? I got so engrossed in the story I didn’t take notes for a few chapters (love it!), that quote at the end (love it too :-))
And…looking forward to a little email in my inbox with your MS 🙂
THE BOOK OF BROKEN HEARTS broke my heart a little bit too, Elodie. I love how Sarah Ockler writes books that are incredibly sad, yet full of home. And I’m having the same “problem” with Alison’s MS. I’m getting so sucked in, I’m forgetting that I’m supposed to be offering thoughtful feedback. Loving it!
Okay, I’ve added Friday Night Lights to my Netflix queue – I can’t resist the pull any longer! Although it’ll have to wait until I’m done watching Buffy. Only one cult show at a time for me 🙂
Thanks for the link to the Consent and Sensitivity post – great read.
I’ve never seen an episode of Buffy… Maybe it should be my next? I’m also itching to watch Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars. I’m so behind in my cult TV viewing! Hope you have a great week, Jen!
Stephanie’s novels sound quite different–not the kind of YA I’ve been reading recently, or at all. And I’m always interested in novels that push a genre in an intriguing direction. I’ll have to check them out.
I’ve also been taking a bit of a novel break while my Betas are Beta-ing–but I know I’m not done with this story yet: I’m looking forward to some great Beta feedback! 🙂
Have a great week, Katy! 😀
Colin, Stephanie’s novels are completely unique. I honestly have never read anything quite like them. I often hear people say they want to read a YA version of Gillian Flynn’s novels (for example GONE GIRL) and Stephanie’s novels are as close as I’ve seen to that as far as the psychological thriller/possibly-unreliable-narrator aspects. You’re never quite sure what’s going on until the final pages. I highly recommend them both!
Hope you have a great week as well, and enjoy your revision break. 🙂
Congrats on finishing your revisions! You deserve a break.
Your trip to the museum looks like a ton of fun. You are a very awesome mom.
And I totally agree, fantastic CP’s are worth their weight in gold. Or chocolate. (Their choice) 😉
Hope you have an amazing week!
Thanks, Kris! I feel so lucky and grateful to have the amazing CPs I do. 🙂
Congratulations on your well-deserved writing break, Katy! 🙂 Oooh, and the museum looks fun, I love seeing all the huge skeletons of dinosaurs and mammoths and other things!
Have a great week!
That mammoth skeleton was the highlight of the museum, I think. I’m with you — it’s fascinating to see models life-sized like that. Puts a whole lot into perspective! Hope you have a great week as well, Kaitlin!
My sis-in-law keeps prodding me to watch Friday Night Lights and I have resisted but your endorsement, along with hers, is definitely swaying me.
Loved that post by Christa Desir!
Rebekah, I resisted FNL for years, despite tons of people telling me I’d love it. They were SO right. It’s right up there with Breaking Bad and Dawson’s Creek and Dexter and Friends on my Favorite TV list. You should definitely give it a go!
I really should check out Friday Night Lights. I am badly in need of a new show. Congrats on finishing your revision, and enjoy your writing break!
Thanks, Kirsten! And definitely check out FNL. So good!
Congrats on finishing your revisions!
It sounds like your non-writing week was very enjoyable. Your “smells like Axe Body Spray” comment made me laugh. Have a great week!
Thanks, Kate. Hope you have a great week as well!
Congrats on finishing revisions! I’m seriously considering taking a week-long break when I send this manuscript to my editor in April. I know I’ll miss writing, but I also need to recharge, I think lol
Oh, that quote is awesome!
Have a great week!
Do it, Juliana! I’m kind of enjoying my little break, though it’s hard to ignore my MS. Looking forward to having CP notes so I can jump back into it! Hope you have an awesome week!
The mammoth skeleton reminds me of the skeleton in the front window of the New York State Museum in downtown Albany. It’s a pity I haven’t been there so many times since belatedly learning to drive, since downtown parking is so horrible.
Congratulations on finishing your revisions. I can’t imagine how I’d function without any writing or editing to do, since my queue is always so full.
Thanks, Carrie-Anne. I do have revising/editing I could do on other projects, but my brain is enjoying this little break. I’ll be diving back into writing very soon. Have an awesome week! 🙂
Christa is wonderful! I’ve met her in person and I really admire the work she does.
FNL really weathers its changes; if you don’t know the history, the show was really yanked around and finished its later seasons off of NBC with just a satellite deal or something really wonky. It was almost canceled 3 times and just survived.
I also just read that Sarah Ockler book–loved it! it was my first of her books.
Christa constantly amazes me with her selflessness, Stephanie. She’s such an amazing person! And now that you mention it, I do remember hearing bits about FNL being pulled a few years ago, but I didn’t watch back then so I didn’t really care. Now that I’m so incredibly invested in these characters, I can’t imagine how upset earlier viewers must have been when that all went down! Oh, and you should read Sarah Ockler’s TWENTY BOY SUMMER. I’ve read all of hers now, and it (along with BROKEN HEARTS) is my favorite. Have a great week, lady!
Emilio seriously made me swoon. Motorcycle and a guy who is nice when faced with a situation like Juju’s dad? SOLD. 🙂 So glad you loved it too!
Yes! Emilio is fab. This book was one of those rare instances where I loved the protag and the love interest equally. I almost always end up playing favorites. 🙂
Congrats on finishing your revision!!! Woohoo! A break is well-deserved, and it sounds like you’re spending it in the perfect way. I have an e-ARC of Steph Kuehn’s COMPLICIT too, so I’m excited to get to it. Gotta get some library books out of the way first though…and I really need to finish ALLEGIANT before the Divergent movie is out, haha.
I loved Claire’s article about unlikeable heroines, and it actually really made me rethink my own use of the word as a description for characters when I’m doing reviews. All good food for thought. 🙂
Have a great week!
I bet you’ll love COMPLICIT. I’m going to buy it when it’s released. Too good to pass up! Have a great week, Alice!
Fun fact – Axe is called Lynx in the UK :p
Congratulations on finishing your draft. Enjoy your well-earned break 😀
The weather looks soooooo good in that photo. Aaah, sunshine. Still, I love my English springtime 🙂
Have a lovely week ^_^
Sunday was gorgeous and warm, but we’re mostly have erratic spring weather around her too. Lovely one day, cool and rainy the next. Can’t wait for some Florida summer sunshine! Have a great week, lady!
I had my doubts, too, about the changes in FNL, but I ended up loving them. One thing that kind of confused me was this East and West Dillon thing that just kind of emerged between Seasons 3 and 4. Did you ever get the impression that Dillon had an ‘other side of the tracks’ or an inner city? That felt a bit weird to me. BUT, I loved Vince and all the other awesome additions to the cast.
I didn’t realize you finished your revision! Congrats! I really need to get back into the loop lol. I hope you celebrated with some sort of awesome baking. 😉 Have an awesome week, Katy!
Yeah, the Dillon “inner city” did come as a surprise. I’d always pictured the town as too small for a true wrong side of the tracks (though, did Smash live in Dillon’s seedier part of town?). No matter, because the storylines are working so well for me, I don’t even care. I’m looking forward to seeing how the series wraps up, but I’m super sad to say goodbye! Have a great week, Jaime!
Congrats on finishing revisions! Reading for CP’s is so much fun. It’s great when you get to read fantastic books before they’re published!
Yes! I’m so lucky to have amazing CPs!
Someone (spoiler: me) maaay be watching FNL currently as well. But we just started season 2. But loving it so far!
Yay! We’ll have to compare notes after we’ve both watched the whole series, Sarah. 🙂
Congrats on finishing your revisions! And thanks for posting those articles. Those were very helpful. Have a great weekend!
Thanks, Amy! Enjoy the rest of your week. 🙂
You’re making me want to rewatch FNL. At first I didn’t know what to think about the changes. Talk about a huge switch in gears for a show, and suddenly Dillon has a “wrong side of the tracks?” I didn’t even realize Dillon was big enough for that lol. The changes won me (and the hubby) over pretty quickly though. I think I’d love Coach Taylor in any situation.
Nice job on finishing your revisions! I’m jealous that you’re done! I hope you enjoy your break. You deserve it! 🙂
I wasn’t into the changes at first either, Erin, but I’m totally onboard now. I love Tim and Tami and Coach Taylor and Landry so much… As long as they’re still around, I’m a fan. 🙂 Looking forward to congratulating you on your finished revision soon!
As good as TWENTY BOY SUMMER? Okay, I’m sold. I love that book. Though I hope THE BOOK OF BROKEN HEARTS isn’t as sad because I was crying in TBS before the second half. (I’m a book crier, though. I know you’re not.)
And three cheers for finishing revisions! Also, high kick and pom-pom wave. It’s such an awesome feeling. 🙂
THE BOOK OF BROKEN HEARTS is definitely sad, but I don’t think it’s as sad as TWENTY BOY SUMMER. Sad in different ways, I suppose. (And for the record, I didn’t cry in either because I have ice water in my veins). And yay for finished revisions! Thank goodness for Writer Recharge!
I agree with Jaime — I never got the impression there was a east and a west side until ummm that last few seasons LOL. What ev. I loooved the Becky/Luke storyline (I was writing my own similar storyline in my WIP as I watched), but I do wish we’d gotten to see them hook up before the Big Problem in their lives. *tries to be vague* lol
I Loooooved TWENTY BOY SUMMER but can’t seem to get into much else by Sarah Ockler. Maybe I’ll have to try BOOK OF BROKEN HEARTS…
Congrats on finishing revisions Katy!!!! 😀
I’m aware of Becky and Luke’s Big Problem. I’m beyond that point now, but thank you for not spoiling! I sort of love Luke so far, and I hope he doesn’t go all douchy on me. He seems like such a sweet and sincere farmboy! You should definitely read THE BOOK OF BROKEN HEARTS, Rachel. While I liked FIXING DELILAH and BITTERSWEET, I didn’t love them as TWENTY BOY SUMMER. This one, I did. Have a great week, lady!
Definitely a lot of changes in season 4. I remember being really nervous, but I fell in love with the new characters pretty quickly. Looks like you and your daughter had a blast! Can’t wait to have some adventures with mine 🙂 Keep enjoying your break!
Thanks, Prerna! I’m so thankful that season 4 of FNL is shaping up to be just as good as the first three. I am not ready to say goodbye to these characters yet! Have a great week, lady!