#WriterRecharge {Update Two}

February 17, 2014February 17, 201430 Comments

Writer Recharge is a month-long motivational challenge similar to last summer’s Ready. Set. Write! So many of us benefited from setting goals, connecting with other writers, and social media-based accountability. So, let’s do it again! Whether you’re delighting next to the crackling fireplace of a Shiny New Idea with a warm cup of tea and or spinning out on the ice-covered roads of revisions in an attempt to avoid the snow-packed ditch, we want to write with you! Learn more HERE.

This last week has been weird. I had a lot of Army Wife Stuff to deal with (lawyerly will-drafting meetings, Family Readiness stuff, etc…) which took up more time than I would have liked. I also ended up revisiting an old story that I may or may not be breathing new life into. All things considered, I still made decent progress with my revision of my WiP, Good Girls, and I’m feeling hopeful about my goal of having a reader-ready draft by the end of February.

I mentioned in last week’s WUW post that I really like my story. I know that seems like a given, but there’ve been a few occasions where I’ve reached this point in the revision game and thought, This story is SO BORING, and threw in the towel. Because if *I* think it’s boring, certainly everyone else will too. So far, I’m not finding Good Girls boring, thank goodness, because I’ve been working on it for nearly a year . It’d suck to give up on it now!

Lots of #WriterRecharge friends shared excerpts last week and I love that idea, so I’m going to include one today…

Begrudgingly, Jenna slipped her hand from Tyler’s and shuffled down the row behind Dylan. When their feet hit the stadium steps, Dylan linked their arms and dragged her to the ladies’ room, where she chose the stall adjacent to Jenna’s.

“Spill it,” she demanded, her voice carrying under the aluminum wall that separated them.

Jenna would have preferred to pee in peace, but evasiveness would never fly.

“I’m having fun,” she said. “I like him.”

“No shit. I saw a lot of hushy-hushy conversation on your end—when I wasn’t slapping Brody’s hand away from my thigh, that is. What were you guys talking about?”

“Baseball.” Jenna smoothed her skirt and flushed the toilet with her foot. When the roar of water quieted, she added, “He wants to go out again.”

“I bet he does.” Dylan emerged from her stall and followed Jenna to the sinks.

“I think he might actually like me. But that’s crazy, right?”

“Yeah. Totally crazy.” In the cloudy bathroom mirror, Jenna saw Dylan give her eyes a cynical roll. Dylan liked to say that every guy who possessed a working pair of balls considered Jenna covetable yet unattainable. The preacher’s virgin daughter, the songbird with enviable talent, the shy girl with the fiery hair… The way Dylan described her made Jenna blush—it was ridiculous to think that boys might desire her. She was mousy and jittery, cast away in her first day of life by the person who was supposed to love her most.

“Come on, Jenny,” Dylan said, flicking water at her. “Why else would he have asked you to come tonight?”

Jenna considered. “Maybe because he’s new to town? Or because he’s nice? Or because he doesn’t know you yet?”

Goal for this week: Wrestle my story’s ending into something awesome.

Tell me: How’s #WriterRecharge going for you?
If you’re participating, don’t forget to post about your progress and share your link at Sara’s blog.

What’s Up Wednesday

February 12, 2014February 11, 201441 Comments

“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 Lucy Christopher’s The Killing Woods and found it dark and strange and very compelling. I didn’t love it like I loved her Stolen, but I was certainly entertained. Next, I read Erin Bowman’s Stolen: A Taken Novella, which I adored. It focuses on Bree, my favorite character from Erin’s dystopian debut Taken, and gives all sorts of awesome insight into her history. Her backstory totally broke my heart and made me love her even more. I also read Elizabeth Scott’s Heartbeat, a lovely, romantic contemporary. I’ll talk about it in more detail in tomorrow’s Bookanista post. Now, I’m reading Veronica Rossi’s Into the Still Blue, the final book in her Under the Never Sky series. *sniffle* I’m so bummed that this trilogy is coming to an end!

What I’m Writing: I’m still plugging away at my first revision pass. I’m nearly done, only a few scenes to go, but they’re the scenes that need the most work. Back in October I rushed the ending just to get there and I’m pretty sure I’ll be paying for my hastiness over the next few days while I try to make sense of it all. In brighter news… I kind of love my story. It still needs work and I know my CPs will tear it apart in the most loving of ways, but the bones of it — the characters and the romance and the tragedy of it all — I think it’s working.

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Congratulating my husband, who has managed to become published before me. I’m much more proud than bitter. Promise. 😉 If you’re interested in how HBO’s “The Wire” can be applied to the special operations and intelligence communities, or any organization that’s involved in irregular warfare or unconventional warfare, you can can read his article HERE.

I made Danish Puff! This is another of my favorite treats. It’s great for brunch: almond-y and not too sweet, simple, and very pretty. My little family and I devoured these in a day. (Also, thanks to Juliana for calling me out on my failure to include a treat in last week’s WUW. I’m back up to speed today!)

Over the last few days, I’ve watched almost all of first season of Friday Night Lights. I have no idea how I’ve neglected this show for so long, especially considering my fondness for teen dramas (Dawson’s Creek, Beverly Hills, 90210, The Vampire Diaries, etc), but FNL is SO GOOD. Tim Riggins… Swoon.

What’s Inspiring Me Now: See above. The romance and angst and perfectly imperfect characters of Friday Night Lights have me all kinds of inspired. I can’t wait to watch more! In other (amazing!) news, my friend Elodie has taken control of her magic and decided to self-publish her contemporary YA novel ONE TWO THREE (you can mark it To-Read on Goodreads HERE). Congrats, Elodie! I’m so excited for you! As far as writing inspiration, there’s this article from Writers Helping Writers about Writing Extreme Emotion Without Melodrama. There’s such a fine line between the two, and this post has some awesome tips. Definitely check it out. And, finally my girlie, who drew Daphne in our driveway the other day. She’s so artistic and sweet. She inspires me every day.

Tell me… What’s up with you today?

#WriterRecharge {Update One}

February 7, 2014February 16, 201438 Comments

#WriterRecharge has whipped me into shape!

I’ve gotten tons of revising done this week, about eight scenes worth, so I’m pleased. I’ve done some brainstorming with Alison, one of my CPs, and made some sense of a few muddled aspects of the story. I’ve also trimmed A LOT of cheesiness — yay! My objective for the next week is to cut everything that isn’t moving the story along. I’m making great progress with that already — my draft started at 87K and is now down to about 77K. Then I’ll need to go back and patch up several holes that need attention. The end of my manuscript definitely needs some major work, and I’m looking forward to tackling it.

Goal for the coming week: Finish this read-through and cut everything that needs to be cut (as of now). Eliminate cheesiness. Improve flow. Nail down main characters’ backstory and motivations.

Totally doable. 🙂

How was your first week of #WriterRecharge?
If you’re participating, don’t forget to post about your progress and share your link at Sara’s blog.

What’s Up Wednesday

February 5, 2014February 4, 201440 Comments

What I’m Reading: I finished Jamie Blair’s Leap of Faith and absolutely adored it. My only (tiny) complaint is that I wanted more from the ending. Not a different ending — just more. I fell so in love with the characters and I was left feeling a little uncertain about their futures. Maybe Jamie Blair will write a sequel? That would be awesome! Now I’m reading Lucy Christopher’s The Killing Woods. Her Stolen: A Letter to My Captor is one of my favorite YAs ever, so I’ve got super high expectations. So far I’m intrigued and I like the dual POVs a lot. It took me a little while to warm up to the story itself because there are so many unknowns, but so far so good!

What I’m Writing: Incase you missed it, I’m cohosting a #WriterRecharge with Alison Miller, Liz Parker, Elodie Nowodazkij, & Sara Biren. We’re setting goals for the month of February, posting them, writing/revising together on Twitter, and holding each other accountable. It’s an awesome way to stay motivated and up productivity, plus it’s just fun! If you’d like to sign up, you can do so at Sara’s blog. My main goal for February is to have a readable draft ready for my CPs by the month’s end. It’s a big goal, but one I *think* is doable.

Thanks to #WriterRecharge, I’ve been revising A LOT. It’s crazy how knowing that people will be checking in on my progress motivates me. Whatever it takes, right? I’m about halfway through this major first revision and I’m feeling pretty good about it. Thanks to some help from one of my CPs (you’re the best, Alison!) I’ve got one of my big issues worked out. Now I’m mostly trimming all the fat so I can make room for the awesome new bits I know I need to add.

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Cheering on the Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship, of course. Like most Pacific Northwesterners, we are beyond excited about Sunday’s victory!

I took a break from running over the last several weeks, but now I’m back at it. My endurance has suffered (last spring I could run five miles in under forty minutes), but I’m not too discouraged. I’m taking it slow and building up my stamina, and even though my neighborhood is ridiculously hilly, I’m enjoying it.

My girl turned six-and-a-half on Monday. We don’t celebrate half-birthdays with parties or presents of course, but it’s a big milestone in her little mind so we indulge in a bit of coddling. She got to choose dinner (homemade chicken strips, mashed potatoes, and “build your own” salads), and she got lots of extra hugs and kisses from us and Daphne. ♡

What’s Inspiring Me Now: Seattle Seahawks Changing Future of Football with Yoga and Meditation — yes, this article is football-centric, but there are lots of awesome points about positivity and building players up that can be applied to all aspects of life, including writing and parenting. Clearly, these unconventional methods are working for this year’s Super Bowl Champions. 🙂 Also inspiring: Taylor Swift’s latest release All Too Well. I’ve loved this song since my girl and I bought the Red album last year, but lately its lyrics have really spoken to the tone of my WiP. This bit especially…

And maybe we got lost in translation
Maybe I asked for too much
But maybe this thing was a masterpiece
Till you tore it all up
Running scared, I was there, I remember it all too well

And you call me up again, just to break me like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of being honest
I’m a crumpled up piece of paper lying here
Cause I remember it all all all too well…

Tell me… What’s up with you today?

#WriterRecharge

February 3, 2014February 3, 201419 Comments

January is in the books and you’ve had to deal with:

a) polar vortices

b) ice storms

c) mountains of snow

d) gray skies and general malaise

e) all of the above

We thought our writer friends might be in need of a little boost.
A jump start, if you will.

A recharge.

We’d like to invite you to join us for Writer Recharge 2014, a month-long motivational challenge similar to last summer’s Ready. Set. Write! So many of us benefited from setting goals, connecting with other writers, and social media-based accountability. So, let’s do it again! Whether you’re delighting next to the crackling fireplace of a Shiny New Idea with a warm cup of tea and or spinning out on the ice-covered roads of revisions in an attempt to avoid the snow-packed ditch, we want to write with you! What do you want to accomplish this month? Hit a daily word count? Revise a certain number of pages or chapters each week? Complete a draft by the end of the month? Let’s get this party started!

Writer Recharge 2014

Your hosts and cheerleaders:

Alison Miller, Liz Parker, Elodie Nowodazkij, Sara Biren & me!

Your timeline:

First week of February: Post your goals for the month on your blog, website, or Twitter. Use the hashtag #WriterRecharge. Link your blog post at sarabiren.com.
Every Monday in February: Update your progress via your blog or twitter. Link your blog posts at Sara’s Monday posts.
Throughout the month: Use the hashtag to connect with other writers, have writing parties, and cheer one another on!
February 28: Post your final update via your blog or twitter.
Anyone who uses the hashtag or links their blog posts will be entered to win one of five query or 3-chapter critiques.

My personal goals…

I have a revision to finish, friends!

I completed the first draft of my YA contemporary (working title Good Girls — I suck at titles) back in October, and now I’m trying to make sense of it. I’m about halfway through now, but the hard part’s only beginning. I need to make some Big Decisions for my characters, and nail down their motivations and goals. I’ll also need to read back through and do some texturizing and polishing. My goal is to work at least four hours on weekdays and at least two hours every weekend to have a readable draft ready for my CPs by the end of February.

We hope you’ll join us! Set your goals and link them at Sara’s blog…

We’ll see YOU at #WriterRecharge!

Also… holy crap! The Seahawks won the Super Bowl!!!!

What’s Up Wednesday

January 29, 2014January 28, 201447 Comments

What I’m Reading: Over the weekend I read Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn, which isn’t a book I normally would have picked up because there’s much talk of wolves in the summary. But it is so, so good, guys. The plotting — WOW. And the writing… it’s beautiful. The entire story is visceral and haunting, one of those where you’re never quite sure what’s real and what’s not. The other day it was named the William C. Morris YA Debut Award winner– well deserved! I highly recommend it. (Also, can we talk about Stephanie’s next release, Complicit? It’s one of my most anticipated 2014 books!). Now, I’m reading Leap of Faith by Jamie Blair, which came highly recommended by Tracey Neithercott, a book bestie who has yet to fail me. I’ve only just started, but so far it’s lovely.

What I’m Writing: I’ve been making great strides in my revision. Funny how after several weeks away it is VERY easy to see what’s awesome and what’s embarrassingly cheesy and needs to go. I’ve also made some important decisions regarding my characters’ motivations and the challenges I need to present them with, so I think I’m moving in the right direction. Guess what else I wrote this week? A RESUME! Which was really challenging, considering I haven’t worked outside my home in seven years. Big thanks to my husband for all his help!

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Mostly, I’ve been trying to remain motivated and in my revision zone. I’ve been also spending tons of time with my husband and my girl. We’ve been watching a lot of Modern Family, a show we’ve only recently discovered. As a rule, I hate sitcoms, but this one is laugh-out-loud funny (I love Phil so much!), plus it’s full of heartfelt moments that aren’t totally gag-inducing. Cam cracks my girl up, which in turn cracks my husband and me up.

My daughter has been studying landforms at school and had a take-home volcano project to complete last week. She had a blast (see what I did there?) mixing and molding and painting, and was thrilled when the chemical reaction actually worked. Watching your child get excited about learning is hands-down one of the best parts of parenting.

Sometimes I participate in Photo A Day challenges via Instagram. At the end of each day, Fat Mum Slim (aka Australian blogger Chantelle) chooses a “Fab Four” group out of thousands of entrants. Imagine my surprise when my photo of Daisy on the front porch (for the prompt “My Space”) was selected. It totally made my day to have my simple little image featured with three incredibly lovely photographs. Daisy was also flattered. ♥

We’ve been having a stretch of crappy weather (I’m not impressed with Florida so far) and my daughter’s school has been closed for the last two days. Yesterday we baked Homemade Yeast Bread together and it was so much fun. My girl learned how to knead dough, and then we ate warm bread with butter for a snack. Yum!

What’s Inspiring Me Now: I love author Erin Bowman‘s recent Pub(lishing) Crawl post entitled Making the Most of Social Networks as a Writer. It is everything you need to know about the various social media platforms available today, as well as advice for how to make the most of them as a writer. Definitely check it out. My WiP’s Pinterest board has also been inspiring me lately. Every time I get stuck, I turn to it for a creative boost, and it’s totally working.

Tell me… What’s up with you today?

What’s Up Wednesday

January 22, 2014January 22, 201453 Comments

What I’m Reading: I finished These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner yesterday, and it was glorious. Not at all what I expected, especially since I’ve read in several different reviews that it’s like Titanic on a spaceship. Not much of the novel takes place on a spaceship, actually. In fact, almost all of it takes place on a strange alien planet, and the story is all about survival and acceptance and love, and there’s this chilling mystery running beneath everything else, and it’s just… awesome. Also, Tarver. ♥

What I’m Writing: I’m back to brainstorming ways to fix my manuscript — yay! No, really… that was a non-sarcastic yay. 🙂 I’m thrilled to be back with this story and these characters, and I’m so excited to mold this mess into something compelling and beautiful and tragic and unputdownable. Wish me luck!

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Our house is finally completely unpacked. There are no boxes left in closets or in the garage, everything that’s supposed to be hung up is, in fact, hung up, and I’ve got some pretty stellar organization going on. These are the things that make me happy.

Our new town is what one might call… small. Our nearest “big city” is Destin. That’s where Target and PetSmart and Michaels and all of the chain restaurants and clothing stores are. Conveniently, that’s also where the beach is, and it is beautiful. We drove down the other day to officially adopt Daphne the kitty (!) and made a stop at the water to snap a few photos. It was freezing, but still lovely. Can’t wait until it’s warm enough to swim in the Gulf of Mexico!

Speaking of Daphne… She’s so weird. She’s the most dog-like cat around, which is probably why I like her so much. She hates to be alone, as evident by the fact that she sat on the edge of the tub and batted at suds for the duration of my bubble bath the other day. She’s definitely not one of those anti-social kitties that hides under the bed all day!

My mother-in-law has a pretty impressive dessert catalog, and this Texas Chocolate Cake is in one of my favorites of all the treats she makes. It’s, like, the best breakfast ever. And, it’s super easy as far as cakes go. I made this one in a 9×13 rather than a jelly roll pan and it turned out wonderfully.

What’s Inspiring Me Now: Uh, THE SEAHAWKS! I grew up in Western Washington and come from a family of passionate Seahawks fans. My dad and my brothers worry over the team as if they own it, and my husband does his fair share of screaming/cheering/carrying-on every time they play. There’s talk of lucky hats and lucky seats and lucky beer on game days. Broadcasts are DVRed and picked apart later. It’s sort of nuts, but hard not to get caught up in. Washington’s not exactly known for exceptional professional sports teams, so excuse us if we get a little excited in the face of victory. Anyway. The Seahawks are NFC Champions and they’re going to the Super Bowl!

In related news, in case you missed all of the media coverage regarding Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman’s post game interview with Erin Andrews, let me give you the abbreviated version: he shouted about being the best, about going up against a mediocre player, and basically let tons of adrenaline fly into homes across America. To which I say: Who cares? He’s a grown man. He was crazy-pumped about a huge play, and a huge win. He’s clever, he’s a character, and he’s making a splash. But, across social media people have been calling him “ghetto.” People have referred to him as a “thug.” As “classless.” So what if he got caught up in the moment? So what if he grew up in Compton? So what if he’s a little cocky, louder than most, different than most? Against all odds, Richard Sherman graduated at the top of his high school class, then he graduated from Stanford, one of the most competitive universities in the country. He’s smart, he’s a talented athlete, and he’s a philanthropist. He’s a character, but he also has character. Learn more HERE, HERE, and (written by Sherman himself) HERE. Let’s stop generalizing people based on ten-second media soundbites, shall we?

In other inspiring news, the cover reveal of my friends Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie‘s co-authored debut Creed went live today. See it HERE (spoiler alert: it’s incredible!). Also, a post from The Seekers entitled 10 Reasons Our Heros Need Flaws. Awesome reminders! And, in keeping with my 2014 attempt at stoicism, less worrying, and more appreciation…

Tell me… What’s up with you today?

What’s Up Wednesday

January 15, 2014January 15, 201451 Comments

“What’s Up Wednesday” is a 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 Rebecca Behren‘s middle grade debut When Audrey Met Alice and oh my goodness… It was SO GOOD. One of the best middle grade novels I’ve read. Cute, cute, cute, and it makes me want to read an Alice Roosevelt biography! I’ll rave about it more in next week’s Bookanista post. Up next? These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.

What I’m Writing: I’m taking a break from my revision to beta read my friend Liz Parker‘s incredible YA manuscript. It’s a unique blend of history and fantasy and romance and adventure, and I’m pretty much the worst beta reader ever because almost all of my comments consist of the words awesome and love and wow. I hope at least some of my feedback helps Liz! I feel so lucky to have this opportunity to read for her because I’m learning tons about pacing, characterization, and stakes from her story. After this, I’m back to applying what I learned to my own manuscript. 🙂

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Cheering the Seattle Seahawks on to a win, for starters. Over the weekend, my brother came from Jacksonville to watch the game with us, and we made an event out of it. Beer, pizza, and wings. Good stuff.

He doesn’t have kids and isn’t nearly the Disney freak my girl and I are, but he (sort of) held his own during Head Bandz. 🙂

I finally baked in my new kitchen! Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies… The recipe I linked calls for chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, but I was fresh out of those, so I used Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips. They turned out great!

Daphne the kitty is fitting into the Upperman family quite nicely. She’s super playful and sweet, incredibly patient with her six-year-old master, and (mostly) tolerant of Daisy, who really just wants to scarf down her cat food. We’re technically fostering Daphne to make sure she’s a “good fit” for our household, but on Saturday we get to sign official adoption paperwork!

What’s Inspiring Me Now: Writing-wise, a recent post from my savvy and witty agent Victoria Marini titled On ALMOST Making It. Similarly-themed, a post from brilliant author Courtney Summers about Closed Doors. On the artistic front, I continue to be inspired by an experience we had when we were in New Orleans a few weeks ago. We visited Gallery Burguieres, a French Quarter gallery owned and operated by artist Ally Burguieres. We were only there for a short while, but I left feeling absolutely inspired. Ally’s paintings are gorgeous — cheery and colorful and whimsical — and Ally was charming. She welcomed us into her gallery and answered all of our art-ignorant questions. She even let us pet her sweet pup. If I had thousands of dollars to drop on original art, I’d totally invest in Ally’s. As it is, we’re on a budget, but we did splurge on an Alice in Wonderland print for C’s bedroom. It looks adorable hanging on her wall!

{Original art by Ally Burguieres}

Tell me… What’s up with you today?

What’s Up Wednesday

January 8, 2014January 8, 201447 Comments

What I’m Reading: Oh, gosh. I wish I’d had more time to read so far this month. December was a great reading month (I recapped HERE), but my book time in January has been pretty sporadic, what with all the unpacking and settling in. I did read Butter, by Erin Jade Lange, a book with a unique and compelling concept, and now I’m reading Rebecca Behren‘s middle grade debut When Audrey Met Alice, which is out next month and absolutely adorable. I’m also beta reading a fabulously unique manuscript by my friend Liz Parker. I see such greatness in this story’s future!

What I’m Writing: *sigh* I’ve had to put my WiP revision on hold over the past few weeks, but now that we’re happy in our new house and my girl’s back in school, I’m looking forward to diving back in and polishing this story until it’s shiny. I’m hoping to finish mid-February so I can send it out for feedback.

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Traveling. Settling. Exploring our new town. Want to see pictures from the last few weeks?

My husband graduated with a master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School mid-December. We left Monterey the same afternoon.

First stop: San Diego’s SeaWorld, where we visited Shamu and Santa.

An Arizona sunset and an unbelievably blue New Mexico sky.

New Mexico’s Carlsbad Cavern, which was much cooler than I’d expected.

Christmas Day in San Antonio, a town we absolutely loved. That said, what we saw of The Alamo was slightly underwhelming.

My favorite activity of all… Trail riding in Austin!

Our first visit to New Orleans. Even though it poured rain most of the day, I kind of loved this city. Also, the beignets… Yum!

We got to celebrate New Year’s Eve in our new house, though we were all exhausted after spending the day moving in.

Scenes from our new area. The beaches are indescribably gorgeous.

We adopted a new family member… Meet Daphne Upperman!

What’s Inspiring Me Now: I’m sort of late to the party on this incredible blog post, but 2013: A Learning Year: Managing Expectations by author Jessica Spotswood is too good not to share. It’s a must-read for published and pre-published writers alike. If you’ve yet to check it out, please do! Also, the Goodreads 2014 Debut Author Challenge (YA/MG/NA) list has me all kinds of inspired. It’s so fun to see the names and books of my writing friends officially on Goodreads. Be sure to peruse this list and add the debuts that interest you to your To-Read list!

Tell me… What’s up with you today?

What’s Up Wednesday

December 4, 2013December 4, 201346 Comments

What I’m Reading: I’m still working on Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt, which is truly beautiful literary fiction. Here’s the summary from Goodreads: 1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart. At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he might be the one she needs the most.

What I’m Writing: I’m still plugging away at my revision. It’s slow and tedious, and I’m constantly jumping between being desperately in love with this story, and thinking it’s the most ridiculous bit of fiction ever. #WriterAngst During my revision breaks, I’ve been writing blog posts for the Class of 2013: YA Superlatives Blogfest. I can’t wait to share my favorite 2013 books with you, and read all about the books you’ve fallen in love with this year!

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Packing, packing packing. It’s so dull and physically exhausting. I won’t bore you with the details, but yeah… Stuffing boxes with our worldly possessions is eating up my time and making me a little grouchy.

In more cheerful news, last Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving with a lovely afternoon filled with friends, laughter, and too much food. My favorite culinary venture was a Slab Apple Pie I made, which looked delightful and was very tasty. I used this recipe for the crust, and this recipe for the filling. Recommend!

Also, we saw Frozen! I’m a die-hard Disney fan, but to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t super pumped about this movie, initially. The trailer didn’t do much for me and Olaf, the little snowman, seemed cheesy. But after watching, my opinion changed completely… I loved Frozen! It was absolutely adorable. Heartwarming and beautifully animated, and Olaf turned out to be my favorite character of all.

Finally, we went ice skating. Every year a little ice rink goes up right next to the Monterey Bay and on Sunday we decided to take advantage. I’m a horrible skater (balance is not one of my gifts), but my husband is very good and he managed to teach our girl a thing or two. I love California; it’s fun to skate in t-shirts. 🙂

What’s Inspiring Me Now: The quote below, which makes me think of my husband and my daughter and my parents and my friends, not to mention my immensely talented and supportive CPs and beta readers. ♥