Category: Family

WSU and more…

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So, this weekend my husband and I are traveling five hours east to one of my favorite small towns in the country:

PULLMAN, WASHINGTON, home of Washington State University. I spent four of my very best years at WSU, and also met my husband there freshman year. We haven’t been back since we graduated in 2003 (gasp! forever ago, I know!) and we’re so excited visit. We’ll be watching the Apple Cup, which is one of the biggest college football rivalry games in the country.

For the record, I’ll be shamelessly behaving as if I am still in college, and I’m completely okay with that. 🙂

In other news, I’ll be laying off blog posts a bit this month. I’m in the middle of a heavy revision of my WIP, plus the holidays are quickly approaching and I have way too many family commitments to even organize in my head. I’ll still be posting, just not multiple times a week. Looking forward to getting back to my more regular schedule in January.

Friday Five: Thanksgiving Edition

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So, thanksgiving was yesterday, but I’m still celebrating because I have lots to be thankful for! Here are the big Five:

1) My husband! It’s been four years since we spent a Thanksgiving together (thank you, multiple, badly timed deployments!) so I was thrilled to have him home this year.

2) My Cutie Pie, Claire. I found out I was pregnant  Thanksgiving four years ago, so this holiday is always extra special for me. She makes me smile every single day!

3) My pups, Lucy and Daisy. They drive me nuts on a daily basis, but they’re sweet as can be, and they’re fabulous with Claire.

4) The brilliant and supportive writing friends I’ve found over this past year. I’ve learned so much from them!

5) Young Adult Literature. I’ve read some truly amazing books since I rediscovered YA. I’ll never go back!

Seven On Sunday

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Yep, Seven on Sunday… Or maybe just a more organized method of posting all my random thoughts for this last week. 🙂

1) I’m on vacation!!! Well, really, I’m visiting my parents in Phoenix, but it’s in the eighties, sunny and my parents are eager to cook and clean and entertain my daughter. So, yes, it’s just like a vacation. My original goals for this trip were: revising, writing, and reading. I’ve done a fair amount of revising, some great reading and zero writing. Poor WIP. Still, who wants to be cooped up inside with a laptop when this awaits outdoors:

 

2) While flying from Seattle to Phoenix, I sat next to a wriggly and very cute three-year-old (okay, I’ll claim her) and, awesomely enough, an aspiring screenwriter. When I pulled out the paper copy of my MAX manuscript to start a (hopefully) final edit, he asked if I was an editor. Um, no. Not officially, but I am editing my own book for the billionth time, and better yet, I totally do it for free! That’s when he began to tell me about trying to break into screenwriting, and it turns out we had lots in common. Let it be known: I usually like to be left alone during flights, but it was cool to talk to a “real” (read: not online) person who shared similar goals and motivation.

3) I mentioned editing MAX above. I just finished a fairly extensive revision of it, where I converted the whole 74,000 word manuscript from present tense to past tense, and expanded on many of the supporting characters. Why would you do that? you might be wondering. Well, a lovely agent who I greatly respect recently read MAX and suggested that the supporting characters weren’t as well-developed as the main characters, and that (in her opinion) the book would flow better and be more “reflective” in past tense. While she passed on the manuscript, she invited me to revise it with her feedback in mind and resubmit it to her. So yeah, that’s what I’m doing. It’s hard, but you know what? It’s coming along, I appreciate her feedback more than I can express, and I look forward to sending it back to her! 

4) On a similar note, a week or two after receiving the revise and resubmit email I mentioned above, I got an email from another absolutely awesome agent who had read the first three chapters of MAX. She liked the voice of MAX and, surprisingly enough, thought it flowed really well. She requested that I send her the rest of the manuscript. Honestly, I have to say, I kind of agree with her. I love MAX in present tense (though I certainly like it a lot in past tense too, especially now that that’s done!) and I think voice and flow are two of my strong points as a writer. I can’t wait to hear back from her on what she thinks of the rest of the story. Anyway, my point here is: Writing (and reading) are so subjective. What works for one person sometimes doesn’t work for another. More often than not, you have to trust your gut.

5) Just wanted to link to this awesome post by the lovely Hannah Moskowitz who, I’ve decided, is wise beyond her years. Read it. You’ll feel better.

6) I’ve read two really great books recently (well, three actually, but I already raved about Mindi Scott‘s Freefall here). The first, Dirty Little Secrets by CJ Omololu, and the second, The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney. Both are excellent, and both are must reads for anyone who enjoys contemporary young adult fiction.

7) Daylight Savings: Ugh. Hate it! SO unnecessary! I am such a summer person. Such a lover of warm weather and sunshine and a golden tan. I so hate when it gets dark at four-thirty in the afternoon. I hate the cold, rainy Pacific Northwest winters. I hate soggy grass and umbrellas and rain boots. I hate… okay, let’s just say that I’m already looking forward to April. 🙂

Another vacation pic... me and my Cutie Pie at the Phoenix Zoo (which was fabulous, in case you're wondering!). 🙂

Friday Five – Picture Book Addition

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More often than not, I focus my blog posts on young adult literature. It’s what I love most. But, a close second as far as amazing books go, are children’s picture books. I have a three-year-old who LOVES books, so we spend a lot of time in the Borders Kids section and at our public library. Plus, I’m a former elementary school teacher. I used to love using picture books as part of my curriculum, even when I taught fifth graders who pretended to be too old to be read aloud to. Over the years, I’ve adopted some favorites picture books. There are the classics, Goodnight Moon, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, anything Dr. Seuss, Corduroy, the Frances books and Blueberries for Sal.

That being said, my very favorite kids’ books to read aloud all happen to rhyme. There’s something about the rhythm and the sing-song quality they take on that makes picture books in verse hard to pass up. So, for today’s Friday Five I’m sharing some of the best.

 
One) Bear Wants More, by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman – The story of a bear who wakes up from winter hibernation, and  his forest friends who attempt to satisfy his HUGE hunger.

Two) Cha Cha Chimps, by Julia Durango, Illustrated by Eleanor Taylor – Ten little chimps head out to the neighborhood dance hall for a night of counting and fun, until their mama comes looking for them.

Three) Edward the Emu, by Sheena Knowles, illustrated by Rod Clement –  The tale of a lonely emu who searches the zoo for true love.

Four) Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino, illustrated by Steven Kellogg – A little llama explores nature and meets lots of different animals, hoping to find his mother.

Five) The Snail and the Whale, by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler – A snail with an itchy foot hitches a ride with a whale who roams the sea. They forge an unlikely friendship while the little snail learns how big he can be.

What about you? What are your favorite picture books? Are there any you’re happy to read to your child(ren) over and over again?

Friday Five

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It’s a random one today… Five things I’ve been thinking about all week:

1) If You Really Knew Me – MTV’s new reality show (actual reality! not Jersey Shore-like trash!) is so thought-provoking and authentic and heartbreaking. Real teens are featured. Though they’re stereotyped at the opening of the show, as things progress we see that they’re layered and often troubled. Many have had rough childhoods and are carrying more baggage than I am at almost thirty. The show’s message is acceptance and empathy, encouraging teens to “be real,” without the usual preachiness of adult produced “helpful” television. Anyone who writes YA or is considering writing YA should give it a shot for a up-close look at teen issues today.

2) Agents/Querying – Funny how querying can almost be–*gasp*–fun! At least, that is, when you’re getting a decent response to your queries?submissions. My first querying effort with a novel that went nowhere was nothing but discouraging. Though I know the query was well-written and the first pages had voice and conflict, I only got two requests for additional material (both went nowhere) out of about two dozen queries. Yeah… that book, though it still holds a special place in my heart, had a fatal flaw: Lack of compelling hook.

The book I’m querying now (have been since mid-July) has had a much more positive response, for which I’m grateful. Five agents are currently considering it (two of them would be absolute DREAM agents!) and though the waiting game is no fun, I’m in a much more optimistic place.  Even if this particular book doesn’t land me an agent, I know now that I’m moving in the right direction and that makes me think that someday (fingers crossed!) I’m going to get there.

3) Stolen by Lucy Christopher – Oh. My. God. THIS BOOK. So beautiful and genius! Here’s the twisted thing: I read Stolen, about a kidnapping and a crazy, damaged, delusional villain of a man and at the end… I don’t know… I actually wanted the protagonist, Gemma, to end up with him. There was a deeper connection there. A mutual understanding. An intimacy. Yes, it’s so totally wrong, but Lucy Christopher layered these characters so brilliantly that the ending left me just as confused and torn as  Gemma was. I’m passing this one on to my mom and my sister-in-law, just so I’ll have people to talk to about it!

4) Conversely, I read another book this week that I didn’t like much at all. It’s a recent release with an awesome premise that’s gotten all kinds of attention: great blurbs from authors I respect, tons of twitter/blog love, I’ve even seen it in magazine ads. Some of my writing friends have read it and were totally into it. So, yeah, I was all pumped up about buying and reading it. Then I did and I was… disappointed? I found the plot fairly predictable, the dialogue annoying and the voice too snarky. 

I make a point to feature amazing books on this blog (see #3 above!), but when  I read a book I don’t care for, I usually just let it go. I’m not one publicly trash the work of someone else, which is why I don’t do actual book reviews. Still, I’m mentioning this book today because I can’t help but wonder what all of these people are seeing that I’m not. I mean, I know we all have differing tastes, but I was just SO disappointed by this read. Yet, others loved it.

Has this ever happened to you? Do you question the taste of those who thought differently from you? Do you trust their future recommendations?     

5) Preschool – This is writing related… I swear! My beautiful and adorable daughter started preschool last Friday. She cried the first two days when I dropped her off , then (and this is a direct quote from her!) “dried her tears and felt much better.” So, I get four extra quiet hours of writing time a week now! Not much, but I’ll take whatever I can get. I spend those hours at Borders, soaking up the awesomeness of the published books around me. Plus, my daughter is making new friends and coming out of her shell a bit. And that makes me a very happy mama!  

What’s New?

I recently realized that I haven’t done an update post in a while, and thought this might be a good time. But, before we begin, if you haven’t had a chance to take a look at the improvements I’ve made to this little corner of the internet, please do. Above, I’ve added ABOUT ME, LOVING MAX HOLDEN, and WHERE POPPIES BLOOM tabs. Check ’em out!

First, I’m stilling querying and waiting on replies for my YA romance, Loving Max Holden. I’ve had some good responses and have gotten several requests for pages. I’m currently waiting to hear back about two full submissions (both requested from partials) and two partial submissions. My absolute dream agent is currently reading my full. I can’t fully express how much this both terrifies and thrills me. I also have four recent queries still out and am hoping for more requests. Fingers crossed!

Second, I’m beginning a mentorship program through Savvy Authors with romance writer Lori Wilde. During the six month program, my classmates and I will: Learn the nuts and bolts of creating a novel from start to finish, emerge from the class with a completed, revised novel, learn the ins and outs of marketing our fiction, and have fun while developing new writing skills.  I’ll be working on my new paranormal YA romance, Where Poppies Bloom, and I’m so excited to begin. I’m absolutely thrilled about getting feedback from an author with so much experience and success. If you’re interested in learning more, click HERE.  

Finally, I just got home from a mini-vacation with my husband and daughter. We drove about four hours southwest to the Oregon coast where we enjoyed fun in the sun, sandcastle building, kite flying, yummy food, and great shopping. This trip was two-fold. First, we packed in some lovely family time, and second, I saw first hand the small, touristy coastal towns I’ve based the setting of my next book on. Astoria, Seaside, and Cannon Beach were all on my radar when I started building fictional Bell Cove for Where Poppies Bloom. Now that I’ve spent time in each of these cities and absorbed their ambience, I’m certain I’m on the right track. We detoured to Portland on the way home, specifically to visit Powell’s Bookstore, an enormous independent new and used bookstore. One word: AMAZING. Now that I’ve been, I’ll be tempted to drive south for all of my book buying. Anyway, here are some inspirational photos from our trip:

 



And because I can't resist... Me, my fabulous husband and my cutie pie daughter.

So, that’s what’s new with me. Still on the agent hunt, ready to begin a new project, fresh from a wonderful family trip. What have you been up to?

Friday Five!

1 – Savvy Authors (my favorite writing community) is hosting a Summer Symposium. Here’s the basic info: Join us for five days as we talk craft – from plot and character, to dialogue, suspense, theme and story question (with a bunch of stuff in between) in chats, Q&A forums and mini-workshops. Our presenters will be sharing what works – whether it’s world building or setting or layering in back story; or even if it’s a technical detail and the fruits of research, they’ll be exposing the craft that underlies a good story. We’ll also be talking about publishing and promoting, offering pitch opportunities to the attendees and raffling off books on craft from folks like James Scott Bell and Sherrilyn Kenyon, software such as Liquid Story Binder, 3-chapter critiques from published authors and more. Click here for more info! (Make sure to scroll down!)

2 – Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is one of my very favorite books and has been made into a miniseries that will air on Starz beginning July 23. We don’t get Starz, but you’d better believe I’ll be ordering it specifically so I can watch. The trailer is below and looks amazing, and if you haven’t read the book, I highly recommend checking it out.

3 – Had some major revision issues to think through this week, which led to long(er) showers, lengthy car rides and leisurely bike rides. My poor daughter was my little shadow, dutifully following wherever I went, chatting my ear off, cheerfully picking flowers on the long walks we took. Thankfully, I figured some plot stuff out and got plenty of exercise. I live in a small town on a river, surrounded by lots of farms. It is around these farms that I usually take my bike rides. The other day I took pictures. The quality isn’t the greatest (taken with my phone, not my actual camera!) but you’ll get point. I’m lucky!  

 

4 – Read a great article on writing the other day: Janet Fitch’s 10 Rules for Writers. Among them: Write the sentence, not just the story, Smarten up your protagonist, Learn to write dialogue, and Kill the cliché. Definitely worth checking out!

5 – My munchkin’s birthday is coming! She’ll be three on August 3rd (her golden birthday!) and we’re planning a big party for her. The official theme? The Princess and the Frog Mardi Gras Birthday Bash! I bought beads and little Mardi Gras masks for the kids and I’m serving virgin hurricanes and beneits (as well as all the traditional birthday treats). Super excited!

End of June Update

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First, I’m deep in Significant Revision #1 of WIP. My CP messaged me the other day with “Are you busy? We need to talk about your plot.” Uh oh. Turns out, it wasn’t as bad as I initially thought, and her advice was (as usual) excellent. Now that I’m implementing many of the changes she suggested, things are coming together nicely. Plot points are crisper, emotions are clearer, and details that needed expanding are getting their due. I’ve yet to tackle the ending (CP said, “I need more!), but I’ve put a lot of thought into it and I’m looking forward to delving in.

Second, here’s what I’ve been looking at out my back windows for pretty much the entire month of June:

Cool, dull, and gray. Right above that hill, under the threatening clouds, is Mount Rainier. While this weather is annoying and depressing, it has been quite conducive to writing, for which I am thankful. Had it not been for Boot Camp and this never-ending string of crappy weather, I’d probably still be about 20k into WIP instead of knee deep into revisions.   

Finally, my hubby, daughter and I took a ten-hour road trip to Mountain Home, Idaho last weekend to visit my brother and his new baby. Gabriel is about five weeks now, and (of course) adorable. Almost adorable enough for me to want another baby, but not quite. 🙂 Here are a few pictures from our trip:

Baby Gabriel and me!

Baby Gabriel, Claire, Me, Zach (my brother & the new daddy)

Playing at the park! 🙂

This makes me smile!

At the rodeo... Claire wasn't impressed!

Friday Five

A very random Friday Five:

1)      My To-Read shelf is officially out of control again. I’m smack in the middle of Ken Follett’s World Without End, which is nothing short of AMAZING, but I’m looking forward to finishing because I’ve got three YA books I’ve already bought that I’m dying to read:

  

2)      So, I know I’m majorly late in jumping on the Six Feet Under bandwagon, (yes, I’m aware that it’s been off the air for years!) but it’s so amazing that I feel compelled to mention it here. If you like dark, dry, humorous, and thought-provoking (and are not easily offended), you simply must watch this show. I was a huge Michael C. Hall fan going in (Dexter, anyone?!), but I officially worship him now. Six Feet Under is my newest guilty pleasure.

  

3)      Thanks to Savvy Boot Camp and my amazing team, ANGST ARMY, I have finished the first draft of WIP (as I will continue to refer to it until I come up with a title I adore). I have written somewhere around 40,000 words this month and have started into Revisions: Phase One. I know I’m crazy and probably in the minority, but I love revising and editing and polishing! Also in Savvy Authors news—I have discovered that with almost constant camaraderie, writing is even more enjoyable. Loving the Savvy chat rooms! Don’t ever want to write alone again!

   

4)      My husband is coming home from a two-week work trip today! Though I did manage to write more than half of WIP during his absence, I have missed him greatly (as does my Munchkin). As an Army captain, he has deployed to some of the most despicable places on the planet, but this trip was to a tiny tropical island chain in the Indian Ocean. I’m slightly envious and wish I could have gone too, but he definitely deserved this trip. He got to Jet Ski and snorkel with sea turtles and got a wicked sunburn… lucky! Here’s a picture of where he was (emailed to me the other day):

 

5)      I don’t watch a lot of TV, but when I do, it’s almost always Bravo. Their newest show is called Work of Art and it’s very cool. Think the aesthetics of Project Runway mixed with competitiveness of Top Chef, plus paints, eccentric people, screen-printing, “found art,” and Sarah Jessica Parker producing. What’s not to love?

Seven years? Already?!

In celebration of my wedding anniversary, here’s a shot of my husband and I seven years ago today. Excuse the poor photo quality; remember, this was way back before digital wedding photography took off. 🙂

This is how we roll!

Matt is pretty amazing. Soldier, daddy husband, he lets me steal his funny little quirks (ketchup obsession, inability to get ANYWHERE on time, occasional lack of filter in social situations) for my male characters, which is quite possibly the reason I love them almost as much as I love him. So, happy seven years to my husband, and here’s to seventy more!  

 ***Coming later this week: Why YA? The Reason I Write Teenagers