“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 reread Meredith McCardle’s The Eighth Guardian, which was even better the second time around. It’s out May 6th, but I’m posting a Bookanista recommendation tomorrow and giving away a SIGNED copy. Make sure you check back to read my (raving) review and enter to win! I also read Open Road Summer, which is most definitely one of my favorite reads of the year thus far. It’s as if Emery Lord took all of the things I love (romance and road trips and country music and friendship and awesomely rendered characters) and mashed them into one beautiful novel. I’ll do a Bookanista rec of this one next month. Too good not to. 🙂 Last night I finished Brandy Colbert’s debut, Pointe, which was mind-bogglingly amazing. It’s tragically complicated and gorgeously written, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
What I’m Writing: I revisited my YA contemporary All Mixed Up. My agent had a fantastic idea for tweaking a certain plot line, so I revised and sent the story off to two beta readers to assess. I’m also writing bits of a potential sequel, which I discussed in more detail in #3 of last week’s Friday Five post. Who knows if it’ll go anywhere, but I’m feeling inspired and that’s pretty much the best.
What Else I’ve Been Up To: I don’t know… Not a whole lot, with the exception of reading and writing and revising, plus hanging with my girl (we Rocked the Drop together last Thursday, which I recapped HERE — so fun!). The last week seems to have flown by. I feel like I’ve been crazy-busy, but I don’t have much to show for it. Hmm…
I did make Chocolate Chip Cookies on Saturday because my daughter wanted to snack on the cookie dough. (She is so my child.) I’ve shared my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe before, but these babies are so tasty and easy, the very perfect cookie texture, and I think it bears repeating. Find it HERE.
We celebrated Easter with a big brunch, a fun basket, an egg hunt, and a hike around a local lake because it was too cool for the beach. Low key, but really nice.
What’s Inspiring Me Now: An important post by 2014 debut author Alexandra Duncan called The Slutshelf Giveaway. Long story short, someone on Goodreads placed her novel on an invented virtual shelf called “Slut.” Let’s just put aside the fact that the protagonist in Alexandra’s novel, Salvage, (which I haven’t read yet but am very much looking forward to) only has sex once (with a person she apparently loves and intends to marry) and get down to the heart of the matter: A “Slut” shelf? Really? I can’t even… So, I’ll just point you, once again, in the direction of Alexandra’s post. She’s putting a positive spin on the absurdity with a fantastic giveaway that you should definitely check out because for every person who enters, she’ll donate one dollar to the Freedom to Read Foundation (up to $1,000). And her agent, Kate Testerman, has agreed to match all donations. Awesome, right? Please do help spread the word!
Tell me… What’s up with you today?
katyupperman.com 
wow i love the cover of pointe. I am so going to have to read. Choc chip cookies are the best. Have a great week.
POINTE was incredible, Angel. I do hope you get to read it soon. And yay for Chocolate Chip Cookies! 🙂
Hey Katy,
you did forget to mention that you also gave freely of your time to be involved as a Slush Reader in NestPitch (and of course, you were awesome!)
As for a “Slut” shelf” – like you, I read this and thought WTF? I actually read it twice, still struggled to believe it and had to re-read it for a third time.
I really hope people carry on making noise about this absurdity!
I’ve tweeted & will continue to tweet this… & hope others do the same as well as entering the giveaway.
Aww, thanks, Nik! I had a great time participating in Nest Pitch. I learned a lot too! And yeah… I hope tons of people continue to talk about the “Slut” shelf. I’m all for Goodreads being a place for readers to share their honest opinions about books, but this is just about the dumbest thing I’ve hear. I’m so impressed with Alexandra Duncan and the way she’s turning something bad into something good. Have a great week!
The Slut shelf is interesting because the other books listed don’t really have sex in them? So I’m confused? Nevertheless I’m definitely curious to read Alexandra’s book (I love sci fi and other worlds and spaceships and feministas so I think this book was made for me 😉 )!
YAY for revising Katy!!!!! Let me know if you need another pair of eyes. I’m taking a month from writing so I have time to beta read 🙂 I’d love to do it for you, as you did for me. If thats okay!
POINTE has a beautiful cover!
I might have to take you up on your offer to read, Rachel, but it won’t be fore a few weeks. I’ll be in touch. And thank you! 🙂 Definitely, definitely, definitely read POINTE. I think you’ll really like it. Have a great week, lady!
Happy Belated Easter! Cute pictures. Yes, feeling inspired with new ideas is so wonderful – good luck! OPEN ROAD SUMMER is waiting for me at the library – very excited! Have you read Jennifer Echols’ DIRTY LITTLE SECRET? That one’s got the country music thing going for it, too – I really enjoyed it. I also have GUITAR NOTES at the library, which came highly recommended as well.
I haven’t read DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS yet, but I do love Jennifer Echols, so I’ll definitely check it out. Thanks for the rec, Sara! And I think you’re going to love ORS. It’s just totally adorable. 🙂
I am saving that cookie recipe–I’m off dairy for right now since my son has a reaction every time I eat it, but I am soooo holding on to that for as soon as I can get back on the dairy train. I love a good chewy cookie and these look delicious!
They’re the best, Crystal! I did the no dairy thing years ago when I was nursing and it was no fun. I’m happy to be back on ice cream. 🙂 Have a great week, lady!
🙂 You’re awesome, Katy Upperman!!
Totally agree with you about OPEN ROAD SUMMER and POINTE. I loved both of these, for completely different reasons. ORS was a ton of fun and POINTE was, well, mind-blowing, wasn’t it? It was hard for me to read at times but I’m glad I did. It’s one of those books that changes you.
Yes! ORS and POINTE could not be more different, yet I loved them both. Incredible debuts (as is yours!). I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s Bookanista post. 🙂
A slut shelf??? Ew! I’m so glad Alexandra Duncan is bringing attention to this.
I haven’t heard of THE EIGHTH GUARDIAN, so I’m looking forward to your review!
Oh, THE EIGHTH GUARDIAN is fabulous! I think you’ll love it, Jennifer. Have a great week!
Looks like you’ve had some good reading and writing time this week, Katy. It’s awesome that your agent could help inspire your work like that (*takes note of Katy’s agent’s name*).
I think there is a legitimate debate about how YA novels handle topics like premarital sex (especially among teenagers). What doesn’t help foster conversation is name-calling and hurling abuse. We see this kind of ad hominem form of argumentation all over the place these days, and it’s extremely frustrating. If you disagree with someone’s perspective, state it. You don’t trash a person just because you don’t agree with them. If a novel takes a moral perspective to which I object, it might lose a Goodreads star (maybe two if it’s badly-written as well). But I would explain the reason why, and try to underscore elements of the book that earned stars.
And then there’s the whole double-standard. If SALVAGE is a “slut” novel, what’s THE FAULT IN OUR STARS? And if both the male and female are consenting to the act, then is it fair to single out the female? Isn’t the boy just as guilty? Do people even have a male-equivalent word for “slut”? Maybe I’m just not understanding the issue…
Anyway, that’s enough of my soap-boxing. 🙂 Have a lovely week!
Yeah, had I stepped onto my soap box, I would’ve ended up writing paragraphs about how absolutely inappropriate and disrespectful a “Slut” shelf is. And you make a fantastic point about boy “sluts” because there are many, and more often than not, they’re swooned over and celebrated. Ugh. I’m so glad Alexandra Duncan is bringing attention to this nonsense. I love GR for tracking the books I read and finding recommendations, but sometimes it’s just not worth the drama.
Anyway. 🙂 Hope you had a wonderful Easter, Colin. I’m looking forward to the remainder of your A-Z posts. Have a good one!
So, the whole Slutshelf thing is just one more reason Goodreads is a problem. I love sharing book recs and using Goodreads to keep track of my TBR, but it’s not a platform to tear authors and books (and the characters in books) down. And don’t even get me started about the word slut being attributed to a girl who has sex with a boy she loves. What? Nope.
Pointe looks interesting, plus, the cover is dreamy. Hope you have a wonderful week Katy.
I wouldn’t call the story behind POINTE’s cover dreamy (though I see what you mean about that image!). The story itself is pretty disturbing, actually, but so real and compelling and well-written. I’m a huge fan, and I definitely recommend it.
And yeah… GR. Boo. I use it for the same reasons you mentioned, but when stupid things like this happen, I sort of want to delete my account.
Anyway. Have a wonderful week, Rebekah! 🙂
Wow, I can’t believe that whole Slutshelf thing…I will definitely read Alexandra’s post and enter her giveaway. Thanks for letting me know about it!
Remember when you passed on your favorite chocolate chip recipes to me? I haven’t had a chance to bake either of them yet! FAIL. I’ve been so busy lately…but this upcoming weekend is looking more open so I think I’ll bake the chocolate chip cookies then. It’ll also be a great reward for finishing my WIP which I plan to do by early next week!
I’m also planning to read my copies of POINTE and OPEN ROAD SUMMER as soon as I finish my WIP. They are great motivations to finish, since I keep hearing how amazing they are and I want to finally start reading them. I’m so jealous you’ve been able to read THE EIGHTH GUARDIAN already! I look forward to your post tomorrow.
Happy writing this week!
Ghenet, I am 100% confident that you will love both POINTE and ORS. Both totally blew me away with their amazingness. And you’ll have to let me know how your cookies turn out! Best of luck with your revision. I’m rooting for you!
Since I was lucky enough to be one of the beta readers you sent ALL MIXED UP to this week, I’m now very curious about this sequel. Even if it “doesn’t go anywhere”, I’ll read it!
Thanks, Kate! The sequel I’m playing with is actually for a different story, but perhaps you can read that one of these days too. 🙂
A SLUT shelf?! OMG. Must check this out. Also, I need to check out OPEN ROAD SUMMER because you are all making me drool over this book!
Have a great week, friend! And I want to hear about this sequel.SOON. 😉
You will love ORS, Alison. It’s awesome and amazing and adorable. Let me know what you think when you get to it!
Okay, I’m banging my head against my keyboard over that whole Slut Shelf thing. Who in their right mind would do that? Just wrong for so many reasons. Not that there should even be a definition for the word “slut” but that person really needs to reevaluate her opinion. And Goodreads seriously needs to reevaluate what they allow on their site. As a reader, writer, and parent, I take issue with a lot of what I see on Goodreads. Anyway…
Your Easter weekend sounds lovely, and what a great shot of you and your daughter by the lake! I hope the work on your sequel continues to go well this week! 🙂
“As a reader, writer, and parent, I take issue with a lot of what I see on Goodreads.” <– You know, I've thought about letting my daughter use Goodreads to keep track of the books she reads because it seems fun and motivating version of a reading log. But there's so much drama and nonsense, I'm not even sure it's worth the trouble. Maybe when she's 25. 😉 Have a great week, Erin!