Sometimes Nonsense

Why January rocked my world

2012-01-24T09:10:00.002-05:00

My reading depends on my writing. If I'm deep in a first draft I don't read much, soooo since I'm not in deep first draft mode I've had the great pleasure of reading my little heart out this month. They're three very different books but share one common trait.

They rocked my world.

First up, PANDEMONIUM by Lauren Oliver. I was thrilled to discover this book was every bit as amazing as DELIRIUM. Lauren Oliver continually blows me away with her ability to combine beautiful and magical writing with heart-stopping action.

Where do I even begin? Maybe with the fact that I read this nearly 400 page book in less than 24 hours? While my 4-year-old was home from school? (Yeah, I have no idea how I managed that either)

I was exactly like an "uncured" in the book, crazed and infected with desire. Nothing could stop me from reading! PANDEMONIUM is the kind of story I pray every book I open will be. If you haven't read DELIRIUM then you must must must do it now so you can read this amazing follow up when it releases next month!

Stephen King's ON WRITING is for my fellow writers. I know I'm waaay behind on this one but in case you haven't read it--DO IT. Amazing. Raw and realistic advice and insight. I confess to never reading a single one of Mr. King's books (crazy, right?) so if it weren't for an awesome writing buddy of mine (yay Nisha!) reading excerpts to me at one of our tea/writing/chatting meetups I never would've picked this book up. And I am so very glad I did. I have the dried up highlighter and dozens of yellow flags sticking out of the pages to prove it.

Even though I absolutely loved reading about King's life and method of writing I can't say I'll plan on reading any of his novels (I just don't do horror). Still, I highly reccomend this book to anyone who writes or who is thinking about writing.

I can already tell this is one of those books I'll keep off the bookshelf so I can refresh my writer's brain as needed.

I've been slacking on my Twitter time lately but I was lucky enough to pop on one night and catch a tweet about ANGELFALL by Susan Ee. It caught my attention because this person said they were surprised at how many five star reviews this self-published book was getting and wanted to read it. I did a little googling. Gorgeous cover and 99 cents sale price?

Sold.

I wasn't looking to start a new book. I thought I'd snag it at the sale price and get to it when I had time. Then I read the first page. And the second...and the the third. I couldn't stop.

ANGELFALL takes everything you thought you knew about angels and rips it to shreds. With my massive TBR pile I don't have time to reread books but this is one book I have to reread. It's that good.

I cannot wait for this...

2012-01-11T09:01:00.002-05:00

My favorite books of 2011

2011-12-28T14:25:00.002-05:00

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Boy, do I have a lot of catching up to do here on the blog. But that will have to wait. For now, I'll start by saying that I hope you all are having an awesome holiday season full of friends and family, relaxation, fun and reading. I have a lot of fun stuff to share later (vacations, holidays, writing, working less) but since I'm still in holiday mode and trying to get extra writing time in I'll just share a quick list before 2012 arrives.

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2011!

SHATTERED SOULS by Mary Lindsey

CATHING JORDAN by Miranda Kenneally

LEGEND by Marie Lu

THE SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Steifvater

LIESEL & PO by Lauren Oliver

DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth

SILENCE by Becca Fitzpatrick

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis

WITHER by Lauren DeStefano

DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver

LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Stephanie Perkins

THE THRONE OF FIRE by Rick Riordan

INSIDE OUT by Maria V Snyder

THE GODDESS TEST by Aimee Carter

I can't wait for some of the followups to these books and all the other amazing stories to come in 2012!

A very special day!

2011-12-01T08:33:00.001-05:00

HAPPY RELEASE DAY

to Miranda Kenneally and her incredible debut,

CATCHING JORDAN!

You know how time drags when you're waiting for something really big and really exciting to happen? Well, it seems like forever ago that Miranda shared with me the awesome news that her first book had sold. And here it is December 1st and Jordan is officially out in the world. Party time!

I've already shared this story and gushed about Miranda's critiquing superpowers and kick ass writing talent here before, but I needed to say again just how extremely gifted she is as a writer and what a great friend she has been. There are few people in this world who make a difference in our lives in a measurable way, but thanks to Miranda I can truly say that I am a better writer today because of her. Whether it's brainstorming a new idea or having her suggest I hack off the first 2 or 3 chapters (this has happened several times and has always made the story a billion times better) or urging me to read what have become some of my favorite authors (Sarah Dessen, John Green), Miranda's support and friendship have meant so much to me.

But this isn't about me, it's about Miranda's and Jordan's big day. I'll stop being all emo and get to the fangirling.

CATCHING JORDAN is one of my all time favorite books and one I can now recommend to EVERYONE. It's romantic and fun and full of characters you can't help but love and root for, and sometimes want to shake until they come to their senses. In other words, it's perfect. And you all need to read it! I'm repeating myself again from an earlier post, but how can I not? I hate football (almost as much as birds) but Miranda made me not hate it so much. Some of my favorite scenes take place on the football field. On the football field! *gasp* But since I suck at reviews make sure you check out what other authors and readers had to say about CATCHING JORDAN here.

Way back when (ok, so it was only like a year ago even though it feels way longer) I met Miranda and got to know her and knew this kick ass book was on submission and would sell, I spotted the perfect gift to honor the day it released. Umm, then the time came to buy said shirt and it was nowhere to be found. No sweat. I searched online. And I searched...and I searched some more. Then I finally gave up and looked for something that would be just as perfect to honor Miranda's big day. Yeah, that didn't happen either. Nothing felt right.

Then it hit me.

What does every author wish for when their very first book goes on sale (AKA the biggest day of their life)? TO SELL THOSE BOOKS!

So, in honor of this very special and life-changing, long-awaited, well deserved and magical day, I am purchasing 4 copies of CATCHING JORDAN. 2 will be donated to my local libraries in honor of Miranda and 2 will be given as gifts to 2 very special friends for Christmas. The t-shirt would have been awesome, but I'm pretty thrilled to have the opportunity to help get Jordan and her incredible story out in the world. *for the record, I'm still searching for that shirt*

Enjoy this day Miranda! You are ridiculously talented, beyond dedicated and hard working and your characters should thank their lucky stars that their stories are in your hands. This is your first published book and even though you already have 2 more books coming up next, I'm willing to bet everything I own that there will be piles of books after that.

Congratulations to Miranda, her agent Sara, and her editor Leah!

Cheers to this special day and to all that follows!

I almost forgot!

Please stop by and check out this month's Featured Fiction on FallenArchangel this month for contests, bonus content and an interview. I'll give you a hint...it's a book about a girl who plays football. ; )

Giving thanks everyday

2011-11-23T15:40:00.001-05:00

I'm not big fan of reading, watching, or listening to the news. It's too depressing (but that's a blog post for a different day). But I do like skimming through the newspaper while I eat breakfast. I scan the cover, the Life or Home section and occasionally read my horoscope. I always make time for the comics.

Today, amidst all the scandal and bad news there was a great article, The power of saying 'thanks.' I didn't have time to read it then but I made sure to go back later, and I'm glad I did.

It's not surprising that giving thanks is a good thing. But apparently scientists have evidence of just how good it is for us.

You can read the article here.

It made me realize I needed to take more time each day to be thankful, not just on a day like Thanksgiving. I have so much that I'm grateful for! So I thought I'd share the list of tips they provide for giving thanks on a daily basis.

1. Keep a gratitude journal. Regularly write down at night the good things that happened to you that day or that week. Don't let this become rote; but put a lot of thought into being grateful when you count your blessings. If it gets to be too routine, vary your schedule and do it only a few times a week.

2. Put the "you" in "thank you." The personal part of gratitude works well. So be more thankful for people and how they help instead of things. When thanking someone, emphasize the person instead of the action.

3. Think about how you would be without the people close to you and remember that when you are thankful.

4. Find something that may have gone wrong in your day or your life and think of something good from that time that helped you. Remember how that helped you survive the bad times.

5. Don't minimize the power of "you're welcome." It is important to acknowledge someone thanking you and not slough it off by saying it's nothing. It is something--that's why someone thanked you. (I love this one!)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It has arrived

2011-11-20T20:55:00.001-05:00

My Kindle Fire came earlier this week.

My old books are there, I've purchased a few new books, added my current
manuscript for proofreading, played Angry Birds (way too much),
transferred my must-have music of the moment, watched an episode of the
The Vampire Diaries, and tons of other stuff.

I'm totally in love.

The only problem is that in addition to all my own content I've also got plenty

on there for my 4-year-old son, (books, interactive stories, games, movies)...

so I'm having to do a whole lot of sharing!

Awesome. Awesome. AWESOME.

2011-11-15T20:27:00.001-05:00

As if it's not exciting enough that Miranda's book comes out next month (eek! some have even shipped early), now her fabulous swoon-worthy debut, CATCHING JORDAN, has a book trailer!

And I love it.

GO Miranda and Jordan!

Awesome contest, awesome author, awesome prizes!

2011-10-26T14:46:00.001-04:00

Sarvenaz Tash, author of the upcoming MG book, THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOST, is running a super awesome contest for a chance to win an ARC (advance reader copy) of her book, swag and even an Amazon gift card! All you have to do is leave a comment with your favorite birthday memory. I'm dying to win so I can get my hands on this amazing book! Be sure to check out the summary below and see for yourself.

Click here to enter

How fantastic is this cover?!

From Goodreads:

Goldenrod Moram loves nothing better than a good quest. Intrepid, curious, and full of a well-honed sense of adventure, she decides to start her own exploring team fashioned after her idols, the explorers Lewis and Clark, and to map the forest right behind her home. This task is complicated, however, by a series of unique events—a chance encounter with a mysterious old lady has her searching for a legendary blue rose. Another encounter lands her in the middle of a ragtag gang of brilliant troublemakers. And when she stumbles upon none other than the ghost of Meriwether Lewis himself, Goldenrod knows this will be anything but an ordinary summer . . . or an ordinary quest.

Debut author Sarvenaz Tash combines an edge-of-your-seat adventure, a uniquely clever voice, and an unforgettable cast of characters to prove that sometimes the best adventures of all are waiting right in your own backyard

One of my favorite quotes...

2011-10-25T11:10:00.001-04:00

Sometimes, the things that we can't change

end up changing us.

-Unknown

Inside Scholastic!

2011-10-21T08:43:00.000-04:00

A M A Z I N G.

2011-10-15T21:30:00.001-04:00

I set a goal to finish the current draft of my new project by the end of October so you can see why I'm praying my horoscope for today comes true...

Your chances of achieving one of your ambitions before the month is over are quite good. Much depends on the work you do today and your ability to repeat this work more or less daily.

Clearing the clutter

2011-09-28T14:03:00.001-04:00

I've been feeling a litle "blocked" lately in my writing. I'm still writing every day but some days instead of my free flowing rush of ideas and words it's more like a trickle.

So I tried something new and decided to sacrifice some of my precious quiet/writing time while the boy was at school and listen to a meditation by Deepak Chopra called The Soul of Healing Meditations

It worked!

In fact, it worked so well that I'm trying to incorporate a little more meditation

into my daily routine. And if my son incorporates, a little extra sleep, too.

Our Season 3 Premiere Party for The Vampire Diaries!

2011-09-15T23:08:00.000-04:00

SO. MUCH. FUN. What a way to kick off the new season and this show didn't disappoint. It was epic.
Now I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Reckless Reading

2011-09-11T21:08:00.003-04:00

I'm a one book kind of girl. So the fact that, up until last night, I was reading three books at the same time had been making me a little twitchy.

The stories are just as different as the cover art. As are my reasons for reading them all at once. (If you have time and haven't already read any of these books, please check out the summaries at the bottom. I highly recommend them all!)

1. Dragonfly in Amber is an adult book. I very rarely read adult books but I'm hopelessly addicted to the Outlander series so there wasn't a choice on finishing this one. Even though this book is a beast at over 900 pages it still took my longer to finish it then normal. I'm currently writing a book for ages 9 and up so to go from reading a book like this that is R rated to writing a book that's PG rated can be difficult.

2. The Lost Hero had been sitting on my bookshelf for months, patiently waiting to be read. I planned on finishing the Percy Jackson books first since this is a spinoff series. Then I decided to change my MG adventure book from first person to third person. And The Lost Hero, with its male third person POV, was the perfect example. This one really gets my head in the game.

3. Wonderstruck is an ARC I received at BEA. It's super heavy and full of fascinating illustrations so I've been dying to read it since I brought it home...in May. As usual, too many books and too little time. The other day I asked for suggestions of great MG books and someone suggested this title. How could I not pick it up?!

And this is why I've become a totally reckless reader lately. Now that I've finished the one very adult book I can focus on the two MG books, perfect for what I'm working on. As long as I can avoid the temptation of the last two Vampire Academy books staring at me from across the room...

DRAGONFLY IN AMBER by Diana Gabaldon

From the author of Outlander... a magnificent epic that once again sweeps us back in time to the drama and passion of 18th-century Scotland...

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland's majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones ...about a love that transcends the boundaries of time ...and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his.

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire's spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart ...in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising ...and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves....

THE LOST HERO by Rick Riordan

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently she’s his girlfriend Piper, his best friend is a kid named Leo, and they’re all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids.” What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea—except that everything seems very wrong.

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he’s in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn’t recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on?

Leo has a way with tools. His new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and fine-looking girls. What’s troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about, and that a camper’s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they are all—including Leo—related to a god.

WONDERSTRUCK by Brian Sellznick

A boy named Ben longs for the father he has never known. A girl named Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room, and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing.

Ben's story, set in 1977, is told entirely with words, while Rose's story, set fifty years earlier, is told entirely with pictures. The two stories weave back and forth before ultimately coming together. Rich, complex, affecting, and beautiful—with over 460 pages of original artwork—Wonderstruck is a stunning achievement from a uniquely gifted artist and visionary.

Live Chat with the author of FURY, Elizabeth Miles!

2011-08-21T14:17:00.000-04:00

Please come and join us on FallenArchangel

Thursday September 1st @ 9pm EST for a live chat with the amazing Elizabeth Miles, author of FURY

Sometimes sorry isn't enough....

It's winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems...

Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year's even better--the guy she's been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there's no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em's best friend.

On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that's nothing compared to what's really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it's only a matter of time before he's exposed.

In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay.

Em and Chase have been chosen.

I read FURY this summer and loved it. Part horror, part suspense, part romance, part mythology---FURY is a wild ride where you never know what you'll find on the next page!

FURY releases August 30th.

But in the meantime you can check out the first chapter here, the series website here, and the beautiful book trailer from Simon & Schuster UK.

Making a big commitment

2011-08-11T12:57:00.002-04:00

No, I'm not talking about a relationship or a diet (OK, so maybe I am secretly working on this last one). I'm referring to the all consuming, exclusive, time commitment of reading a book series. In a rather innocent conversation with a friend the other night she asked if I had read the Outlander series.

Long story short, ten minutes later I had the first book, OUTLANDER, loaded on my Kindle.

Later that night I started reading it. As I had been warned it started out a bit slow but then BAM. I was hooked. Nothing wrong with that is there? There are few things in life as rewarding as losing yourself in a great story. I live to read. But I'm also a writer, so when I have an extra 5 minutes in my day I ask myself, read or write?

The answer is easy...when I'm not deeply involved in someone else's book, that is. So this is where that whole commitment thing comes in. I'm VERY deeply involved in OUTLANDER. There's no turning back now. The problem is I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started.

The paperback version of OUTLANDER is 600 pages long and that is the shortest of the bunch. The paperback of book 5 is a staggering 1008 pages! Can you see why I'm in trouble here? And (yes, there's more!) after visiting the author's site I see that there are 8 books. Disclaimer: I'm a total sucker for a series. I'm all about spending more time with characters I already love. But that usually means I get to hang out with them in 2 or 3, maybe 4 books.

I. Am. In. So. Much. Trouble. You see, I'm already committed, and I'm only halfway through book 1.

Becca, I don't know whether I should hug you or cry for telling me how much you loved OUTLANDER. Maybe a tearful hug? I can already tell it's going to be a long (expensive) journey, but I can't wait to see where the story takes me. My writing vs reading battle might have become a little more fierce, but I have a feeling it's going to be totally worth it.

Have you read the Outlander series? What you think? Have you loved a book then later discovered it was part of a long series?

Pottermore Day 2...I'm in!

2011-08-01T10:21:00.001-04:00

I imagine I looked all kinds of crazy this (very early) morning as I sat on my bed clutching my laptop and my (not so gently used) paperback of HARRY POTTER and THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS.

This is why...

It was 5am. My hair was wild, my eyes were glazed over with exhaustion, and I probably had a nervous twitch or two going on. I had slept through my 4am cell phone alarm and woke up at 4:58. Did I miss it? Would they even post the clue at the same time as Day 1? Am I crazy? No. Yes. And YES. Considering my 3-year-old wakes up around 7 everyday, I am definitely crazy for getting up like this just to sign up for a website.

Was it worth it?

Definitely. This is Pottermore we're talking about.

I made it in!
*I'm SeerAuror184*
(the site gives you a small list of names to choose from)

I even managed to secure my 11-year-old niece (and Harry Potter buddy. I read all 7 books aloud to her over the course of 2 years) a spot. I was like a kid on Christmas morning waiting for her to wake up and call so I could give her the good news. I'm still in shock that I was coherent enough to take the clue, find it in the book, do the math, and make it in time. Wow. And all these years I thought I wasn't a morning person.

Then again, I did have some

serious motivation this time around.

CATCHING JORDAN in the flesh!

2011-07-24T21:30:00.002-04:00

I'm a little late posting this BUT...

It came! It came!

Miranda Kenneally's

CATCHING JORDAN

And now for a picture that shows how

beautiful the cover really is

As a writer who is working toward publication I dream of seeing my own name on a book cover.But you know what? Seeing one of your writing buddies name on one is pretty awesome, too. I'm lying. It's REALLY awesome. Go Miranda!

And even though I had already parts of the story and knew a lot of what happened, I devoured CATCHING JORDAN. I read it one day and loved every second of it. (Check out my gushing Goodreads review here ) I'm not just saying this because I think Miranda is a great human being, kick ass critique buddy, and super talented writer. I hate sports. I mean really hate sports. Especially football. And she made me love a story about a girl who plays football who has football player friends and a football loving family. And I loved each and every one of them. Like I said, GO MIRANDA!

But CATCHING JORDAN is about so much more than football. It's about finding your way, chasing your dreams, surviving high school, opening your heart, stading for what you believe in, navigating the craziness that is family and friendships and love. With a few (extremely) hot boys thrown in.

CATCHING JORDAN doesn't release until December so I'm saving the rest of my lovefest for later, but be sure to add this title your To Be Read lists and tell your friends. We're even featuring it on Fallenarchangel in December to celebrate the release. And one last time in my best cheerleader voice, GO MIRANDA!

Good-bye Harry (tissues required)

2011-07-13T22:29:00.000-04:00

I planned on writing a heartfelt good-bye post to Harry tonight but this awesome fanmade

(whoever you are you rock!)

video does a way better job than I ever could.

"...whether you come back by page or by big screen Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."

-JK Rowling

Glutton for Punishment

2011-07-06T13:40:00.000-04:00

I'm just now realizing how much I must enjoy punishing myself. I started watching Veronica Mars (I know, where have I been?) last winter and only now am I allowing myself the treat of watching the last few episodes.

*update: I am NOT happy with the end of a series that was only meant to end a season. But what happens to Veronica and..??!!.*

This isn't my first time delaying the inevitable.

It took me 2 years to read the Harry Potter series aloud to my niece. I vowed I would wait to read the last book until we had caught up (it hadn't been released yet and I read all the other books years before) and I ended up waiting over a year to read THE END of my beloved Harry Potter. How did I survive? Sick! Twisted!

When I have a handful of candy, let's say Sour Patch Kids, I always start with my least favorite and save my favorite for last. This makes me sound like a patient person, but I'm not. I wish! It would come in handy with all the waiting when it comes to critiques and queries I'll be sending out in the world soon.

But back to my love of epic greatness like Veronica Mars and Harry Potter. I thought I'd share a little list of some of my very favorite TV shows and books (some I'm just discovering and some are old friends) right now. You know, in case you want to share your undying love for them too or tell me what thing I need to obsess over next.

My So-Called Life

I'm thrilled to have caught a few episodes on DVR.

I was 15 when this show was on and I was completely obsessed.

And now I'm having just as much fun watching it at the age of 32.

Sigh. Jordan Catalano, how I adore thee.

Veronica Mars

Oh, Veronica. I love you. I love you so much it hurts.

You are the best female character. Ever.

And knowing the show was cut short before they actually made an ending to the story...UGH.

It goes against nature!

The Vampire Diaries

Where do I begin? I love this show. I would have no problem giving up TV as long as I had this show.

Come fall I will be glued to my TV on Thursday nights.

No one does plot twists like TVD.

Anna and the French Kiss

Lola and the Boy Next Door

(and anything else Stephanie Perkins ever writes!)

I'm not a big fan of what I call romantic comedies BUT Stephanie Perkins books are

beyond romantic AND funny. In my review of LOLA I said reading these stories

were like getting a big hug from your best friend while eating chocolate and snuggling a puppy.

I squee like my 12-year-old self every time I read them.

The Vampire Academy series

(yep, saving the last 2 of this series too)

People kept telling me to read this series but I pushed it off. I'm not really a fan of

vampires so Vampire Academy didn't sound like my thing. Oh, was I wrong. These books

are a fresh take on vampires and the main character isn't even a vamp! Rose reminds me

of Veronica Mars a little in her kick ass ways and fiery spirit and loyalty.

Webinars, Feedback and Vampires!

2011-06-19T10:13:00.001-04:00

Summer seems to have finally arrived here in Northeastern Pennsylvania (I think the last of the snow melted in the backyard yesterday!). That means plenty of sunshine, swimming, vacations, farmers markets, thunderstorms, campfires, parties and a million other awesome things. Sigh. It also means my schedule is a lot busier and the boy is out of school for the next few months. Less writing time for me. As much as I love summer and all that it brings I'm anxious to get back into my writing groove. Lucky for me I read about this insanely awesome opportunity on the Guide to Literary Agents Blog...

Cheryl Klein, Editor for Scholastic (and of Harry Potter Fame), Teaches ''How to Plot and Structure Your Novel'' on June 23, 2011 (Includes a Critique)

I can't wait to hear what Ms. Klein has to say and *gasp* have her critique my query and opening of the Middle Grade adventure story I'm currently working on! I adore this book so I'm beyond thrilled to benefit from her knowledge as I continue to work on (and hopefully improve) the plot.

Speaking of feedback and knowledge.

I want to send out a HUGE thank you to the Query Tracker team and Roseanne Wells, literary agent at Marianne Strong Literary Agency, for yet another great contest opportunity. I just received Ms. Wells critique of the first 10 pages of my YA Paranormal, DARKEST LIGHT. And WOW. I'm super grateful that she took the time to read and critique my work. I can't wait to get cracking on revisions. The hardest part will be dividing my time between writing the MG and revising the YA!

And last but not least I'm very excited to report that the last two Vampire Academy series books arrived in the mail yesterday.

I'm dying to get back to Rose and Dimitri. (spoiler alert: er, maybe not so much Dimitri as things stand where Book 4 left off) It's also sad knowing this is the end of the series. I really should listen to all of you next time you tell me I HAVE to read a book.

June's Must Reads: Posession and Blood Red Road

2011-06-07T22:18:00.002-04:00

My life has been rather insane lately (last minute trip to Florida, husband leaving for Iraq for 400 days) so I'm way behind on my BEA post and a long list of other things BUT I had to take a minute to post about 2 fabulous books out this month. Who both just happen to be from the fabulous Simon & Schuster!

POSSESSION by Elana Johnson
We're hosting a live chat with Elana on June 29th 9pm EST at fallenarchangel.com!

BLOOD RED ROAD by Moira Young
Check out on a sneak peek here . You won't want to stop!

I was very lucky to read advanced copies of both of these books so I can assure that they are both spectacular non-stop action with just enough romance and perfect for summer reading. The future looks pretty grim in both of stories but in very different settings with very different conflicts. And both stories will keep you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what will happen for these two kick ass heroines that you can't help but love and cheer for as they go up against all sorts of obstacles to save the people they love. I highly recommend them both!

NYC here we come!

2011-05-22T21:27:00.000-04:00

My sister and I are leaving super early tomorrow morning for NYC so I don't have too much time to write this post, but YAY! We're beyond excited for this mini trip.

Tomorrow is meeting more amazing folks at S&S (if we get there early) and their luncheon for bloggers then our Fallenarchangel fan dinner with the fabulous Sea Lion team that is publishing the HUSH, HUSH Graphic Novel. Tuesday is BEA until we decide to head home. Wooohooo

Two days away with nothing but book involved fun! Can't wait to share the details ; )

Editor Interview, a contest and an epic finale!

2011-05-12T08:28:00.000-04:00

Woops! I meant to share this last week when I posted it on Fallenarchangel but forgot all about it. Better late than never. If you're a writer you really need to check this out. I got the chills reading what Molly had to say about reading Veronica's submission and just her obvious passion for the story and characters and author. I dream of working with an editor like this. Good stuff! Plus, I freaking LOVE this book. And if you happen to read this before May 13th then go enter the contest. We have 5 copies of DIVERGENT to give away this week!

You can find the interview with Molly here.
Enter the contest here. (Ends Friday, May 13 at midnight EST)

And tonight is the big night. The Vampire Diaries season 2 finale. Eeeeee! Last week was huge so it's hard to imagine what they can do tonight that would end the season in a bigger way. I'm part afraid, part excited, part sad to see what will go down.

An A+ for The Goddess Test

2011-04-27T10:20:00.002-04:00

I do my best to stay on top of what books are coming out that I *need* to read, yet somehow, THE GODDESS TEST by Aimee Carter flew under my radar. The second I saw the title and cover on Netgalley I knew I had to read this book. And...

I wasn't disappointed. At all. I loved it!

The Goddess Test

Goddess Test #1 - Harlequin Teen - April 26, 2011

Every girl who has taken the test has failed.

Now it's Kate's turn.

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and now her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

If she fails...

Right from the start I was swept away in the part fairy tale part Greek myth from the start. Like so many books I love, TGT lured me in with a relatable character in a real world setting before bringing on the fantasy. I like a story that challenges me. Give me twists and turns! Well, Aimee Carter certainly did that. At one point I actually became firustrated that a certain aspect of the story was too obvious, too easy. Then BAM. I got my twist.

Of course, now I'm dying to read the next book. And the one after. Yes, there are 2 additional books scheduled in the series. Check out dates and info here. (Umm, and another book in a new series? Squee!) I can't wait to read anything Aimee Carter writes. Love that her bio says she started writing fanfiction at age 11! Awesome.

THE GODDESS TEST is out in stores now so you can go pick up a copy today. I can't wait to get my hands on an actual copy. I'm beyond grateful I had the chance to read the advanced copy on my Kindle, but that cover must be mine.

*A big thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Teen for allowing me to read an advanced copy of THE GODDESS TEST*

Another awesome opportunity for fiction writers looking for feedback

2011-04-18T20:13:00.000-04:00

Do you write YA or adult fiction? Are you looking for feedback on your writing? (who isn't?) Then click the link at the bottom of this post for an awesome contest. I've already entered. ; )

Good Luck! (But not too good of luck because I really want to win!)

http://deareditor.com/2011/04/15/newsflash-a-deareditor-com-free-fiction-edit-giveaway/

INSIDE OUT and OUTSIDE IN

2011-03-31T22:05:00.001-04:00

I'm a huge Maria V Synder fan. Her Poison series rocked my world. (Check out my interview with her here) Ok, I admit that I was late on reading INSIDE OUT, the first book in her latest series. But this is one time when I'm glad I was late. It was one of the first books I ordered on my new Kindle after Christmas, and as soon as I finished I had an advanced copy (thank you Netgalley!) of OUTSIDE IN, ready to go. That is the one advantage to coming into a series late. You get to read the story straight through. (like how awful was it waiting a year for CATCHING FIRE and MOCKINGJAY!)

I loved loved loved both of these books, and even though OUTSIDE IN is the one that was recently released, I'm not going to say too much about that. It would spoil too much! And this is the kind of story that must not be spoiled. If you haven't read INSIDE OUT then I'd suggest you skip reading the summary of OUTSIDE IN. Yes, it's that good. For starters, Maria is a fantastic writer.The world she has created "Inside" is chillingly realistic. It's fast paced and full of the twists and turns I love. I mean that literally, too. Trella works inside a maze of pipes. Creepy.

It's not a typical love story. In fact, its in this way that it reminds me of THE HUNGER GAMES. The story, the plot, the characters, are bigger than that. They would be great books without the love story. Even if you're not a fan of science fiction, you'll love the futuristic world Maria has created. I highly suggest this series and have my fingers crossed that there's at least one more book to continue this amazing story.

Here's a little more info on the books. Go pick them up today!

INSIDE OUT by Maria V Snyder
ISBN 13: 978-0-373-21006-0

Pub date: April 1, 2010, Harlequin Teen
Price: $9.99 Trade-size paperback

Keep Your Head Down. Don't Get Noticed. Or Else.

I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. One of thousands who work in the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. The Trava family who rules our world from their spacious Upper levels wants us to be docile and obedient, like sheep. To insure we behave, they send the Pop Cops to police us.

So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? Not like it's all that dangerous--the only neck at risk is my own.

Until a lower level prophet claims a Gateway to Outside exists. And guess who he wants to steal into the Upper levels to get the proof? You’re right. Me. I alone know every single duct, pipe, corridor, shortcut, hole and ladder of Inside. It’s suicide plain and simple. But guess who can’t let a challenge like that go unanswered? Right again. Me.

I should have just said no...

Visit Maria's site to read an excerpt here.

OUTSIDE IN by Maria V Snyder

ISBN 13: 978-0-373-21011-4

Pub date: March 1, 2011, Harlequin Teen

Price: $9.99 Trade-size paperback

*Spoiler warning*

Me?? A Leader??

Okay, I did prove that there's more to Inside than we knew. That a whole world exists beyond this cube we live in. And finding that led to a major rebellion-between worker scrubs like me and the snobby uppers who rule our world. Make that ruled. Because of me, we're free. I thought that meant I was off the hook, and could go off on my own again-while still touching base with Riley, of course. He's the one upper I think I can trust. But then we learned that there's outside and then there is Outside. And something from Outside wants In.

Visit Maria's site to read an excerpt here.

Honest Balance

2011-03-07T10:51:00.069-05:00

It started innocently enough this morning. I saw a comment about a book that caught my interest. I went to a site to see what people thought of the book. What I was looking for? Intellegent reviews and feedback on what readers did or didn't like so I could get a feel for this book and decide if it was something I wanted to purchase. What I got?

Upset.

Now, I don't mean to get all mommy-minded here but honest and nice are two of the things I'm struggling to teach my toddler at this very moment and it's not easy. It would be way easier to teach him one of these very important life skills. Not both. Here's an example:

Toddler being honest: "Ew! *throws chicken* "This chicken is disgusting. I'm not eating it. I want something different!"

Toddler being nice: *winces and spits out a mouthful of chicken back on plate* "I'm done. My belly is full."

(yes, they are both things son has done or said) See the difference there? One lands him in big trouble and two leaves him hungry. I'm doing my best to teach him to combine them. State his honest opinion in a nice way. To me nice doesn't mean pretending to like something. No one should have to pretend to like something (unless it's a present from Great Aunt Marge that she's watching you open, but that's a whole different subject). I want my son to feel comfortable telling people his honest opinion on things in life. But I want him to stop and think of a way to do it nicely. I don't want him to let people walk all over him but I don't want him to be a bully either. I must tell him 10x a day now to, "Treat others as you want to be treated."

We aren't robots. We all have our own invididual opinions. On everything. That's part of the beauty of this world. We should embrace that. Share it. Honest does not equal nice or mean. Honest is honest. It's how we choose to deliver it. It's a choice. (I struggle with this daily in my personal life!)

I've been involved in creative endeavors in one way or another my entire life. I took art lessons all through school, went to college for art. I had teachers, judges and every one with an opinion, dissect my work. Some were honest, some were nice and some were mean. The only ones I remember are the ones that were a combination of honest and nice. The ones that helped me grow and learn. Become a better artist even if it stung.

Same with my writing now. I seek out the people who take the time to be honest and nice. Not only nice. As great as it would be to hear nothing but complimentary things all day it wouldn't do a thing to help me grow as a person. To me, being nice and honest shows that the person respects me even if what they have to say about my writing isn't all ponies and rainbows. It makes me respect them. Value their opinion.

Awhile back I made a decision not to post negative reviews on my blog or any review type sites. Do I read books I don't like? Definitely. But I'm a writer before I'm a reviewer. I want to spread the love, support authors and help people discover books they'll love. That's my choice. I know a lot of people disagree with this. On the flip side, I'm grateful for those who share thoughts on both books they like and don't like. I resepect that. I just wish we could all remember that no matter where we stand on issues, what kind of lives we live outside the internet, we are all connected by our love of books.

What are your thoughts on this? I know there are some very strong opinions on this subject but
remember honest AND nice, people!

When you know what's ahead

2011-03-02T16:09:00.000-05:00

March is here! The sun is shining and the birds are chirping again. Spring is around the corner. Which got me thinking.

One thing that makes the cold dreary winter days bearable (for me at least) is knowing there's an end. Spring will come and bring with it the warm sun to melt away the snow. We know the grass will turn green and buds will appear all over the trees just like they do every year at this time. With the exception of a cosmic shift or some other freaky change, that's one thing we can count on.

Imagine if we it were that way with everything in life. How much easier would it be to suffer through a diet if you knew without a doubt you'd lose those 15 lbs? Hmm, or what about knowing for certain that the book you're writing would be a NYT bestseller?

As we all know, life doesn't work that way. But faith does.

Faith - firm belief in something for which there is no proof.

Like every other human being who chooes to write, I have bad writing days and I have good writing days. When the words don't flow or I get to page 230 only to discover my main character is a total douche bag that no one connects with, faith is what keeps me going. I have faith that I'll continue to grow as a writer. Faith that writing is part of my future. It may take 6 months from now or 6 years but I have faith that I'll see one of my stories as a published book.

What are your thoughts on faith? Does it play a part in your writing?

George Michael certainly thinks so...

New love interest...

2011-02-17T09:02:00.003-05:00

Ok, so he's not my love interest, just the love interest in my WIP,
but holy mama is this boy hot. I like starting a story and spending some time
with my characters before I go out and look for inspirational images.
He looks exactly the way I picture my character, Reilly.

You can see Shiloh Fernandez next month when Red Riding Hood hits theatres.

He's the love interest...I am so there!

There's no cure for my deliria

2011-01-31T21:51:00.003-05:00

I thought it would be easy to write a review on DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver. Wrong! Where do I even begin? It's so good. So freaking good that I've been staring at a blank screen, trying to come up with the right words. Yes, it's THAT good.

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn't understand that once love--the deliria--blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold.

Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Haloway has always looked forward to the day when she'll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: she falls in love.

I read great books often. Books I rave about, recommend to people. But DELIRIUM is in a whole different league. It's the kind of book you'll see kids reading in a high school English class. A modern day classic. It's brilliant. Mind blowing. Lauren Oliver's writing, characters and concept make me want to curl up in a ball crying and give up on writing, then crawl back to my laptop and write until my fingers cramp up.

I don't remember feeling this inadequate and inspired since my first time reading THE HUNGER GAMES.

There are similarities between the books. (can't sleep until you finish kind of page turners) The crumbled society, the government control, the love. Oh, the love... I've heard people saying DELIRIUM is a modern day (er, would it be future day?) Romeo and Juliet and I agree. The love Lena finds is epic. It's a grand, sweeping romance in the best way possible. It's a story of a girl who finds herself against the worst imaginable odds. I adore Lena. And I adore the boy who steals her heart. And as you may have noticed, a boy who I haven't named. Nope. Won't do it. You need to find that out for yourself. But I adore him too. Swoon.

As if Lauren's books aren't amazing enough, she's just as fantastic. My sister and I had the opportunity to meet Lauren when she visited a nearby town for a very amazing reason. If you've got time please read more about how Lauren paid it forward here. She rocks! Just another reason I'm wishing Lauren and DELIRUM a very very Happy Book Birthday! I have no doubt that they'll dominate the best seller lists of every kind.

I hope you'll join me in picking up a copy of DELIRUM tomorrow! (yes, I know I've already read it but who could resist that gorgeous cover of the finished hardcover?)

Happy Reading! Beware the deliria...

My sister Jenn and I with the signed cover Lauren so generously gave us. *Fangirl moment*

A big thank you to Netgalley and Harper Teen for allowing me

to read an electronic advance copy of DELIRIUM.

Calling all YA and MG writers--A contest you can't miss!

2011-01-24T23:30:00.000-05:00

The amazing editor behind Dear Editor.com is hosting one of the best contests I've ever seen. If you write YA or MG you can't miss this opportunity. This goes beyond paying it forward. Count me in!

To celebrate the completion of her manuscript for Writing Young Adult Fiction for Dummies, the Editor is giving away a FREE Substantive Edit of one YA or MG fiction manuscript. Deadline: January 31, 2011.

Get all the details here! Good luck!

And I thought my diary was interesting...

2011-01-21T09:26:00.001-05:00

I confess. I'm a fan of the Vampire Diaries TV series. A crazed fangirl. I love the sexy boys, the star-crossed love story, the insane plot twists, a female lead I'd be proud to call my BFF. Every bit of the show is brilliant. The funny thing is that I've never read the books. Gasp. I know, I know. I'm always going on and on about how I read so much YA books, especially paranormals. And I don't plan on it anytime soon. For one simple reason. I don't want to spoil the show! (I've heard they are very different but still don't want to risk it)

Now the new books, based on the series AND TV show...I'm all over it. Stefan and his diaries---amazing!

The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries #1: Origins

By L. J. Smith, Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec

Set during the Civil War, against a backdrop of grand estates, unimaginable riches, and deadly secrets, three teenagers in Mystic Falls, Virginia enter a torrid love triangle that will span eternity.

Brothers Stefan and Damon Salvatore are inseparable until they meet Katherine, a stunning, mysterious woman who turns their world upside down. Siblings turned rivals, the Salvatores compete for Katherine's affection, only to discover that her sumptuous silk dresses and glittering gems hide a terrible secret: Katherine is a vampire. And she is intent on turning them into vampires so they can live together-forever.

The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries #2: Bloodlust

By L. J. Smith, Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec

A new beginning . . .

When Stefan Salvatore's first love turned him into a vampire, his world—and his soul—were destroyed. Now he and his brother, Damon, must flee their hometown, where they risk being discovered . . . and killed.

The brothers head to New Orleans, looking for safe haven. But the city is more dangerous than they ever imagined, full of other vampires—and vampire hunters. Will Stefan's eternal life be forever damned?

If you're a fan of the shows then you have no choice but to read them. They show has plenty of flashbacks but these books are different. You get inside Stefan (and sometimes Damon's) head. A very dark place at times but fascinating and eye-opening. All that hostility and dickheadedness Damon flaunts now, totally explained. How one supreme bitch could fool two sexy, intelligent, loyal brothers? Yep, that's covered too.

Pre-vamp Stefan and Damon. Looking mighty fine even with the flashback hair

I love that they used the logo from the TV show and the characters faces on the covers. My only disappointment is that the writing doesn't live up to my 5 out of 5 stars review of the books. More like a 4 out of 5 stars. The plot and content more than make up for that. They're quick reads and packed full of everything you want to know about Damon and Stefan's past. Like I said, if you're already a fan of the TV shows don't wait a second longer to learn more about the sexy Salvatore brothers mysterious past before their return to Mystic Falls. If you haven't watched the show...GO NOW then pick up the books.

I even have a way for you to snag a copy! We're giving away (thanks to the awesome folks at Harper Teen!) 5 copies of Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 over at Fallenarchangel. Check out the awesome TVD feature page, complete with dripping blood and Damon's crow, that my rockstar sister added last night and enter for your chance to win HERE.

Happy Reading!

I'm in love with Anna!

2011-01-11T10:41:00.001-05:00

Take one look at most bloggers favorite books of 2010 lists and you're sure to see ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by the brilliant Stephanie Perkins. And with good reason. It's perfection! No, it's better than perfection. It's brilliant, romantic, funny, sweet, charming, sexy, heartbreaking, honest. And I love it. I mean I really love it. I'd make out with this book if it weren't a book. (OK, maybe just a little lick over the cover since that arm to the left is supposed to be a certain someone. *Swoon* )

The funny thing is that I didn't expect to love ANNA this much. With all the hype and the fact that it was a romantic comedy kind of book instead of my usual gritty paranormal type I didn't have the highest of expectations. I'm SO happy to be wrong. I was like one of those dark and jaded chicks that didn't believe in love and skulked around in black. Then I met ANNA. Now I'm twirling around in my pink dress. Frolicking in the clover and kissing baby bunnies. I fell in love! In love with the characters, the setting (Oh GOD, the setting--Paris!), the writing...

I read this on my Kindle but I plan on purchasing an actual book. It's just too good not to share! I intentionally put the book description below my comments. I've found that skipping the details about the book make the read even better. More surprises! Especially when it comes to love interests. I did it once by accident and haven't gone back. I love going into a story with no clue what's going to happen.

Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where shehas a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boardingschool in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming,beautiful, Étienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss? Stephanie Perkins keeps the romantic tension crackling and the attraction high in a debut guaranteed to make toes tingle and hearts melt.

See how dreamy it all sounds? Now go read it! I guarantee you'll end up joining me to frolick in the clover. ; ) Happy Reading!

Kicking off 2011 with one of my favorite authors!

2011-01-02T23:15:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

Whoa! What a crazy last few weeks it's been. Parties, dinners, family, shopping, reading, enjoying life. I'm sad to see the holidays end but ready to start back in a routine and get these revisions done. I've missed my writing/book friends and can't wait to get back into the swing of things and blog regularly again. Hope you all had a great time with family and friends and made the most of vacation days and celebrating.

To kick off my first post of 2011 I'm redirecting you to the interview I did with Maria V. Snyder on our Fallenarchangel blog with a contest that starts tonight. Which you can find right HERE.

Check out the covers of the Australian Study series books Maria's providing for the contest. So cool! Sigh. If only I was eligible to enter our own contest. Lucky you can! Go check out the interview and enter for you chance to snag this amazing set of books. I just finished 2 more of Maria's books this week. And WOW.

INSIDE OUT and the upcoming OUTSIDE IN. Soooo good! Can't wait to share my thoughts soon.

And now that I've got my Kindle, watch out! I've got

Anna and the French Kiss and The Dark Divine ready to go! I've heard

great things about both books.

I'm reading (actual book) The Vampire Diaries Stefan's Diaries Vol 2: Bloodlust

for the second half of our January feature on Fallenarchangel. Oh how I love

being inside Stefan's head again!

Ohhh and Beth Revis's Across the Universe was out early in our local B&N!

Woohoo Beth! DYING to start this one because the story is so damn awesome but

also because I have followed Beth's blog since I started writing and saw first hand

how she went from aspiring/querying/revising writer to superstar debut author. So happy for her!

Have you read any of these books? Planning to? I'd love to hear what you think!

Closed for the holidays!

2010-12-13T00:13:00.001-05:00

The 2 weeks leading up to Christmas are my favorite. They're also the most hectic! So I'm locking the door and flipping the sign to closed here on the blog (I know, I know. My posting has been pretty lame to begin with) so I can focus on things like reading, wrapping presents, writing, watching reruns of The Vampire Diaries, trying to get my 3 year-old to calm down enough to actually sleep (he's just a tad bit excited about Santa coming) and just soaking up this awesome time of year has to offer. I hope you're all able to do the same!

I plan on popping back in to post some of my favorite books of this year as well as the ones I'm dying to release in 2011. Like WITHER, DELIRIUM, STARCROSSED, Book 3 in the HUSH, HUSH Saga (We can call it TEMPEST no more!)

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

and a Happy New Year!

I need your book suggestions!

2010-12-07T23:35:00.000-05:00

If there's one thing I miss about being a kid (among MANY other things) it's the crazy jump out of your skin joy on Christmas morning. Opening a pile of presents then having a blast playing with all the new fun stuff I'd been dreaming about for months.

This year I'm looking forward to doing just that because I'm getting....

A Kindle!

So I will definitely spend the rest of the day playing with my toy. I thought I had a big list of books I wanted to buy but my mind appears to have lost that precious information. (probably had to make room for all these ideas for my next WIP I'm brainstorming on) I'll post what I have so far and if you wouldn't mind I'd really appreciate suggestions on what books I *need* to add. Thanks!

Anna and the French Kiss

Revolution

Pegasus

Need a good book to read?

2010-12-01T14:29:00.000-05:00

Then come join me in a read along of BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver! Click here for details. This is my second time reading this book and I just purchased 2 copies as Christmas gifts. I think tells you just how much I love it!

Dear Santa,

2010-11-14T21:23:00.001-05:00

Here's a little sampling of what I hope to

find under the tree this Christmas.

Who says you have to grow up?

*Just in case you want any of these lovelies for yourself or any of

my wonderful friends or family stumble upon this post,

I made it so you can click on the images to find out where to purchase!*

I've heard this series is awesome. How could it not be with that box design?

I refuse to give up my real books but a Kindle is awesome

for proofing your own work and for those times when you

need to read a book and can't wait to go to the store.

Wait, that mightbe a bad thing...

*Please provide a very large amout gift card if you purchase this item*

Harry Potter mug set. Need I say more?

So I can proudly display my love of The Hunger Games.

Even at the grocery store.

Of course, I already own all the Harry Potter books but I've drooled

over the complete hardcover box set since the last book came out.

I. Must. Own. This.

Where else would I store my vervain?

Because every mom should have a cool bag to carry around all their

uncool stuff like diaper cream and crushed cheerios in.

What are you hoping to find under your tree?

Stefan's Diaries! What are you reading?

2010-11-11T23:32:00.000-05:00

Here's what I started reading tonight!

(SO excited they used the

Stefan from the show on the cover)

Is anyone else out there enjoying a good book this weekend?

She did it. She really did it! Coming soon to a book store near you...

2010-11-04T10:17:00.002-04:00

One of the best perks of being on Twitter is the personal connections to be made. I've met some truly incredible people there, one of them being Miranda Kenneally. She has to be one of the most dedicated and hard working writers I've ever met. We're talking ninja-like editing skills, people. Thanks to Twitter, Miranda and I swapped pages as we worked on our current projects a few drafts back, and I owe a lot to Miranda for helping me get my book started off with a strong foundation. BUT who cares about me! Today I want to share some super awesome news about Miranda.

She has a book deal!!!!!!

Please visit Miranda's blog for the full scoop on SCORE and to congratulate her and her rockstar agent, Sara Megibow. It's awesome to see something this great happen to someone who has worked so hard to deserve it. And I can promise you this is just the beginning. On top of her fabulous writing Miranda has oodles of ideas waiting in the wings so there are sure to be many more books from Miss Miranda. (There's one more in particular that I hope the world gets to see)

And what celebratory post would be complete without a funny photo?

Yep, that's me on the L and Miranda on the R with the infamous Vordak at ALA back in June

Congratulations Miranda!

What brought such a BIG author to our SMALL town area

2010-11-03T00:09:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was epic.

My sister and I had the opportunity to spend some time with the incredibly talented, super nice, generous and way fun author, Lauren Oliver. To say that I love her books, BEFORE I FALL and the upcoming DELIRIUM (out in Feb 2001) is an understatement. And after meeting her in person I can say she's as fabulous as her writing.

The writing, the concepts, the plot, the characters---all genius. Lauren brings the "why can't I come up with a concept like that?" to a whole new level. Which is why meeting her was such a thrill. I spent a good deal of time this morning writing about this for our Fallenarchangel blog so I thought I'd just share that link. You can find that here. It's inspiring and touching to see an author reach out to a community through her book and to help set forth a positive chain of events that stem from a tragedy.

Here are a few pictures. We had our books signed and were given the BEST treat...If we look all fangirly and delirious with the cover its because we were!

Lauren showing off the amazing cover jacket to DELIRIUM before her lecture

began at the Scranton Cultural Center. We were totally drooling over it!

Tomato face sisters rejoicing over the fact that Lauren GAVE US the amazing
cover jacket. She even signed it with a great little inside joke from earlier in the day.

(Yes, I spelled delirious that way on purpose)

Library Director: Shu Qiu, my sister, Jenn, Lauren and I after the dedication of the

renovated children's room at the Dalton Community Library

If you've read BEFORE I FALL and loved it as much as we have or haven't had the chance to read it yet, we'd love to have you join us later this month when we do a read-along over 2 weeks followed by a live chat with Lauren. More info on that here. There's no doubt we'll do something like this for DELIRIUM as well. I've been fortunate to read it and I have no doubt that it will be one of the biggest books of 2011! Swoon.

Seventh "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest. Count me in!

2010-10-27T21:44:00.002-04:00

As a YA writer I was thrilled to see that the Guide to Literary Agents Blog is focusing on YA in their seventh "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest. I'm getting ready to send off my entry tonight. What about the rest of you YA writers out there? If you haven't heard of it before click here for the details. It's a great (and free) opportunity to have your work read by an agent (Tamar Rydzinski from The Laura Dail Literary Agency) and the chance to win some great prizes. Did I mention you only have to submit 150-200 words and a one sentence pitch? How easy is that?

A big thank you to Tamar for taking the time to judge this one and to Guide to Literary Agents for hosting. Best of luck to all of you who are taking part in this one!

The secret to my success on my latest round of revisions

2010-10-25T22:35:00.006-04:00

This and this

I'm dead serious. lol

Happy Book Birthday to Crescendo!

2010-10-19T14:17:00.005-04:00

Wishing an extra special book birthday to Becca Fitzpatrick

on the release of CRESCENDO today!

Go pick up a copy if you haven't read it yet.

It's a heart racing, twist-turny, sexy, dangerous ride you can't miss.

Since we (my sister, Jenn, and I) can't be with Becca to celebrate (lucky Becca is on her way to to the UK to tour for the next few weeks!) here's my little tribute to the big day. If you follow us at Fallenarchangel you may recognize this picture since we used it for a bday slideshow we made for Becca's birthday. Nothing wrong with a little recycling! haha

Veronica Mars, revisions, my epic fail, and why today rocks

2010-10-12T13:48:00.004-04:00

Since I like to end on a good note let's start with my epic fail.

This blog.

I went from posting several times a week to about once or twice a month. Yikes. Total fail on my part. So a big thank you to those of you have stuck with me and kept reading the few posts I've made lately and especially those of you who have commented. Clearly, I need to get back on track and get posting again. Stick with me!

*rubs hands together* Now for the good stuff.

What the hell took me so long to watch Veronica Mars?

I've heard awesome things about VM for years but it wasn't until an agent made a remark that was about my MC having a Veronica Mars vibe that I finally got with it and started watching. I'm about 7 episodes in (and trying not to weep at the fact that it was ever cancelled) madly in love with Veronica and the show in general. Not only am I having a blast watching it, but I've had all kinds of ideas to improve my WIP. I've woven more mystery into the plot and focused on maintaining that smart and tough, yet relatable vibe my MC had in the beginning. (How dare she go soft on me in the middle like that?)

Geez, if I'd known a TV show could provide that much inspiration and breakthrough I would've watched it along time ago. Better late than never. So glad I'm on top of the pure genius that is The Vampire Diaries TV show. Speaking of Vampire Diaries--if you haven't got yourself a copy of the soundtrack that came out today, go NOW. It's fantastic! I'm plan on listening to it while I work on revisions today.

And a very big Happy Book Birthday to BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the kick-ass sequel to BEAUTIFUL CREATURES. I was lucky enough to read an advance copy and it's amazing. Ethan Wate is one of my all time favorite characters. Ever.

A reader in training

2010-09-30T09:47:00.001-04:00

Yes, he's mine...and there's even a scar drawn on under that hair

(Not) Moving right along

2010-09-28T09:02:00.006-04:00

At first I thought it was summer. Longer days, no school, family around, a later bedtime for the boy to fit in all the swimming and fun of the warm weather and going out, totally cut into my nightly writing time. But here we are a few days until October and I'm still poking along on my WIP. What the heck? At first I thought it was a problem that I needed to correct. Immediately! But the more I thought about it the more I realized my slow and steady pace was a good thing. Not in the long run, of course, but at the time I knew I could use a little balance.

I'm not the most patient person in the world so the fact that I'm not blowing through revisions has helped me sit and digest the changes as I go. But as much as I love learning to be patient and rational about things and will carry that with me going forward, I think it's time I get my ass in gear. October is it!

So I'm hoping some of you can help me ditch this snails pace. I'm sure I'm not alone in the summer writing slump so what do you all plan to do now that fall is here to get focused and motivated? I want to finish these revisions by the end of October so that's my first goal. (more to come!) Any suggestions? I love word count goals but with a hefty revision like this that won't work. Pages per day? Time spent working on it each day? I'd love to know what works for you at each stage.

My very first writing workshop!

2010-09-13T10:17:00.007-04:00

I meant to share this post immediately following the actual workshop last weekend BUT a great thing happened. I was more concerned with actually writing (ok, revising) my actual story than a blog post. Now that's some serious inspiration! I could leave this post at that and you'd know how fabulous I thought the day was but where's the fun in that?

For starters, it was way cool just to be in a room of writers. People who paid actual money and for some drove hours to be there. It was a combined workshop for writers who focus on writing for children and teens. The morning session featured Lindsay Barrett George, an incredible author of award winning children's books. Not only has she written over 16 books but she illustrated them as well. It was incredible to hear about her journey. I was a little uncertain about sitting there for 2 hours and listening to someone talk about picture books. I write gritty YA books so this was way out of my zone but Lindsay was a blast and held my attention every last second she spoke. She had us a do an exercise using only 5 words or so to write a book. Wow. I was blown away by the creativity of the other writers and realized how challenging it is to write a 30 page book. Yeah, I think I'll stick with my 300 pagers.

After a quick lunch they had a critique session for anyone who wanted to bring the first 2 opening pages of their WIP. I think it ended up being about 8 of us. So glad I did! The workshop organizer read the pages and the 2 presenting authors gave feedback. I was thrilled they liked my pages and felt the story started right into the action and made you want to read more. They only had 2 small suggestions---my drunk frat boy's dialogue was a little too wordy for, well, a drunk frat boy and I had a pair of floating eyes (one of Maria's Nitpicks I'll explain next!). And I was way impressed with the other pages that were read. Most of them had me wishing for more. I'm still thinking about one in particular. Now that's a book I want to read!

The afternoon session was all about Maria V. Snyder, author of the amazing Study series, Glass series and Inside Out and soon to be released, Outside In books. And the reason I discovered there was a killer writing workshop in my own backyard. Maria's first book, POISON STUDY, released in 2005 so I'm pretty late in the game reading it but once I read that first one I devoured the next 2 and the companion series in weeks. I'm a HUGE fan of her writing so to have the opportunity to sit and listen to her speak about how she does it was a dream come true. And I wasn't disappointed.

Maria provided us with a handout that listed the common nitpicks she sees even in published books. Awesome tips. Gah, and I was so guilty of many of them! One that stood out (and who hasn't seen this in nearly every book you pick up?) is the floating eyes. Here's something I found in my WIP.

My eyes shot up.

Whoa. Where did those eyeballs shoot up to? Yikes.

I had no idea what to expect and didn't to look all fangirly so I kept my stack of 6 of Maria's books hidden in the car. But when I saw that she brought books to sell/sign I was all over it and got all 6 of them signed. For any of you who have read Poison Study...I met the women who created Valek! haha And if you haven't read Poison Study, do it now. It's one of my favorite books and series.

A big thank you to Katie at Pennwriters for organzing such a great workshop and to both Linsday and Maria for taking the time to share their knowledge and passion.

My love/hate relationship with September

2010-09-07T08:54:00.004-04:00

My biggest issue with September is that it means fall is on its way. As beautiful as the dazzling rainbow of gold, rust, red and purple leaves are, I can't help but remember in two seconds they will all fall off the trees leaving nothing but sad looking tree skeletons in their wake. I love the lush green of summer and the longer warm days. The fireflies and campfires. Swimming. Fireworks. Sigh.

BUT...this year I'm looking forward to poor September and the rest of the fall season a little more than usual.

My son will be going to school 3 mornings a week. (Its only from 9-1130, but still) Which means I get to spend all of that time writing at the library. Summer kicked my ass this year and I got off schedule big time with my writing routine so I'm very excited to have this designated Internet free time to get back to spending regular quality time with my characters. Even the fact that the sun sets earlier and the weather will grow colder doesn't seem bad. It means we'll be stuck in the house and earlier bedtimes which all points to getting back to more writing time for me.

So this year I say, bring it on September! And October, you're mine.

Besides, its sort of hard to hate something that can look this pretty.

My non-review of Mockingjay plus what you MUST read next

2010-08-27T09:19:00.004-04:00

For someone who spends all of her time reading and writing, I suck at writing book reviews. I'm always paranoid I'll give something important away and spoil the story for someone and it takes me FOREVER. So, in honor of that little random fact about myself, I give you my non-review of Suzanne Collin's, Mockingjay, the final book in The Hunger Games trilogy.

A W E S O M E.

Mind-blowing, shocking, non-stop suspense and action, incredible...you get the drift. If you haven't read these book you need to. You MUST read these books. I finished MJ on Tuesday night (ok, Wed morning at 2am if you want to be specific) and haven't stopped thinking about it since. I can't even start a new book yet. I'm consumed with the sheer brilliance of Suzanne Collins and the world she's created. And clearly I run my mouth about these books any chance I get because when my son's pediatrician called to setup his allergy blood work she thanked me. Haha, she thanked me for suggesting she read The Hunger Games back in March. Turns out she took my suggestion and fell madly in love too and got her mom and sister hooked. Awesome.

One thing that has helped me cope with the ending of these books is reading one of, if not, the best opening chapter of any book. Ever. And it comes from the fabulous Beth Revis' debut novel, Across the Universe. Be prepared to freak out and obsess over the need to read the rest of this book after you check out the first chapter. WOW. Check it out here! I guarantee you'll be hooked. Plus, Beth totally rocks...and so does her cover. Swoon.

Right book, Right Time (not mine)

2010-08-17T09:43:00.002-04:00

While there's nothing to report regarding my book (I'm still working on the MG while I wait to hear back on submissions) I seem to have read the right book at the right time.

I've heard great things about POISON STUDY and the other Study books by Maria V Snyder. The first one came out in 2005 so I realize I'm way behind on discovering these fabulous books, but in this case I'm glad. As soon I finished the first book earlier this month, I went to check out Maria's site for more info on her and her books, and got a fantastic surprise. Maria is part of a workshop for childrens/YA writing in a town less than an hour from here!

So on the second Saturday in September I'll be attending my very first writing workshop with one of my new favorite authors. I love when life works out this way. Serendipity, baby! I get to learn from the woman who created Valek? *fangirl giggle*

If you haven't read any of her books I highly recommend them. I'm half way through FIRE STUDY and ordered the companion books STORM GLASS and SEA GLASS. The third book, SPY GLASS, releases Sept 1st.

I'm giving away an ARC of MATCHED by Ally Condie!

2010-08-12T13:48:00.005-04:00

Since I'm a sucker for sharing a good book and I was fortunate enough to score 2 copies of MATCHED by Ally Condie, I'm going to make this a super easy contest. (sorry, I can't part with the personalized signed copy)

All I want is to know a little about you. I have a bunch of new faces in that little followers box and I'd like to know more about you. Are you a writer? A reader? What are you reading? How did you find me? Anything goes. All you need to do is be a follower (new or old) and leave a comment telling me something about you and you're eligible to win MATCHED. How easy is that? I promise that from page one you'll be hooked...

Contest guidelines - Open Internationally

*Contest will close Monday, August 16th at midnight EDT

1.You must be a follower

2. You must leave a comment sharing a little something about you

3. If you're google profile doesn't have contact info then please leave an email address in your comment.

And in case you haven't heard about this awesome book here's some info from Dutton Juvenile (Penguin). It doesn't release until November! How gorgeous is that cover and wait until you see the actual one, it's all shimmery and futuristic-looking.

Society matched them, but love set them free.

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate...until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Whatcha reading?

2010-08-01T22:00:00.004-04:00

I'm reading THE LIGHTNING THIEF by Rick Riordan. Yup, still in middle grade mode to prepare for my own MG boy adventure book I'm starting this month. Love Percy.

But I couldn't resist starting one of the books I've heard so much praise for, POISON STUDY by Maria V. Snyder. I don't love reading more than one book at a time but there are just too many great stories out there and not enough time. ; )

What about you? Reading something good? I'm nosy!

Back with something awesome!

2010-07-26T23:51:00.002-04:00

I may have been MIA the last week or so here, BUT I have something very special to share. Through Fallenarchangel, the site my sister and I run, I was able to do a Q&A with one of my favorite authors, Sarah Rees Brennan--author of THE DEMON'S LEXICON and THE DEMON'S COVENANT. She's a blast! And shared tons of great info (and is hilarious) on her books and writing in general.

Click here to read it.

She even gave us a cookie (teaser) from upcoming Book 3 with some sexy Nick time. Eeee!

And for all of you fellow writers, Sarah has been gracious enough to leave the comment section on that post open for writing questions. She'll stop back in Tues/Wed to answer them and anyone who is a US resident and enters will be eligible to win of 5 sets of both of the first demon books! A big thank you to Simon & Schuster for that.

Free writing advice, sexy demon teasers, free books...doesn't get any better than that!

Is someone playing a joke on me?

2010-07-09T00:01:00.002-04:00

All I can say is THANK YOU, Becca. This is like the coolest thing. Ever.

My Fabulous First Conference Experience

2010-06-28T22:36:00.014-04:00

*Forgive the formatting of this post if it's whacky. I tried for an hour to get the spacing right but Blogger refused to cooperate!*

If there's one thing I've learned in my 31 years its to go into things with low expectations. I did that this past weekend when I went to ALA. (a conference held this year in DC for the American Library Association) It more than made up for not being able to attend BEA. The weekend was awesome. My low expectations were totally blown away.

I started out leaving home at 5am Saturday morning and making the typically 4.5 hour drive in about 3. Yes, I drive rather fast, but at the hour on a weekend the traffic was fantastic. Once I got to the hotel I met up with Krista and Miranda (by the way, Miranda's husband is a seriously bad ass driver! He wove through that crazy downtown graduation traffic like a pro) Thank you for the rides, you two!

Before I let the pictures speak for themselves I have to say how amazing it was to meet and hang with Miranda and Krista. It was incredible to sit and chat in person with such talented and fabulous people. Love you girls! The combination of being with such great fellow writers and experiencing ALA has got me all kinds of motivated to work on my own writing. I didn't get to as many signing as I would've liked, but I got books signed by Melissa Marr, Ally Condie, Andrea Cremer, Carolyn Mackler, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and even two MG authors for my niece. Eeee! Now time for the pics...

An overview of some of the exhibit floor

Krista showing off some of her ARCs and purchases

A few of my books

Vodak with Miranda and I. Mwahaha!

John Green and David Levithan signing. You want to talk about a line!

Simon & Schuster booth. YAY for CRESCENDO love!

Getting my ARC of MATCHED, signed by author Ally Condie. The day after

getting it and I'm already half way through this book and it's AMAZING!

Meeting two of my favorite authors of two of my favorite books!

Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia,

authors of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES and BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS

Miranda, me, and Krista heading to the Stacks

More fun with Krista showing her finds

The only thing that could have made this weekend any better was having my sister be able to come along and seeing them handing out CRESCENDO ARCs. And, of course, having Becca there to sign them! Missed you girls. BEA 2011, baby!

So excited!

2010-06-22T00:04:00.005-04:00

Eeee I'm so excited to hit ALA this weekend! I'll be getting up at like 5am Saturday then driving 4 hours (if I don't have any major issues) but I get to meet Miranda and Krista and more and hopefully a few authors in the exhibit hall. It's so worth the drive and early rise. This is my first writing/book/trip type event on my own. I was lucky enough to go meet Becca Fitzpatrick at a teachers convention with my sister (really wish she could come this time!) last year, but this time I'll actually be going in the exhibit hall and spending the weekend there. Can't wait to share the details next week.

Also, every excited about the way I used my Borders gift card. The last one is for my son, but I have to admit to loving Toy Story 3.

Dare to Risk

2010-06-14T09:06:00.004-04:00

It's been a long time since I shared any quotes so here are a few special ones to kick off your Monday. Take a risk this week and see where it takes you!

"To try is to risk failure. But risk must be taken because the greatest hazard of life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, live, and love."
-- Leo Buscaglia

"A life spent in making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."
-- George Bernard Shaw

"Only those who risk going too far can know how far they can go."
-- Unknown source

*The above quotes are from The Daily Guru/Saturday, June 12th. Check them out here!

Welcoming a dragon to the family

2010-06-09T09:36:00.006-04:00

Writing a novel is one thing, but making up a story as you go and telling it out loud is quite another. I had no idea how difficult it would be until my 2 yr old started asking me to tell him a new story every night before bed. I innocently told him a story about a boy named Nate (of course that's his name) and a dragon we decided would be named, Emma. Well, of course, I had to describe Emma and asked Nate what color he wanted her to be. She ended up being blue/green, with sparkly wings and a very nice dragon who took Nate flying and became his best friend.

I thought the story was pretty lame, I stumbled over words and struggled to come up with new ideas, so I was shocked when I asked Nate what he wanted for his last day of school gift and he said, "an Emma doll!" We went to two toy stores and every dragon I showed to Nate ended with a "No. That's not Emma." I had no idea he had such a clear idea of what Emma looked like and I have to admit I was pretty stinkin' proud of him for it. Maybe my on the spot storytelling abilities aren't so bad after all.

We ended up finding Nate's dragon online and after a week of a very anxious boy bouncing around the mailbox, here's Emma... (ignore the dates, the camera had a little issue)

I want to hear about YOU!

2010-06-02T08:50:00.003-04:00

I was looking through my followers list here the other day and realized how many new faces there are in the little squares. I love it. Thank you for your support! But enough about me. I'm always talking about me.

I want to hear about you!

Please leave a comment below and tell me a little about yourself. Are you a writer? What genre do you write? Do you have a blog you want people to come visit? How did you find my blog? Have a great book suggestion? You don't have to answer any of these questions, just say hi if you want, but I'd love to hear from you.

My first interview and coming up in June...

2010-05-31T11:18:00.003-04:00

The fabulous Dorothy Dreyer asked me to do an interview about my background and writing on a blog she created to support other writers. Seriously, how great is she for taking time to do that? I'm so excited about my WIP that I was thrilled to have the chance to chat a little about it and she asked fabulous questions so if you have a second stop by and check it out here. Thanks!

Hope you're having a wonderful long weekend too. Mine has consisted of writing, hanging with the family, a cook out, cocktails, our own little mini fireworks show in the driveway, and some shopping. So it's been awesome, just wish we could extend it a few extra days.

Stay tuned because coming up in June I'm introducing my new beta reader for my first MG book I'm working on this summer. She's 10! I'll also share my journey of stepping outside my comfort zone to write something that includes no romance, no cursing, and definitely no sexual tension. Gasp. Nothing but adventure, fun and friendship. Which means I'm either out of my mind or brilliant... just please don't let me watch or read any Harry Potter because I'll surely reconsider.

Redemption

2010-05-21T08:40:00.003-04:00

I used to be a Grey's Anatomy fan, but over the last few months it lost its appeal, at least for me it did. (most every other show did once the Vampire Diaries came on)

But I stuck with it.

And after watching the season finale last night I'm glad I did. WOW. Every muscle in my body felt all sore and stiff, my stomach was all tied up in knots and I thought I might have nightmares, but it was all worth it because that was the best episode of Grey's in years. Talk about redemption. I'll be back next year because of that one episode. Which got me thinking about redemption in books.

I'm not talking about characters redeeming themselves, I'm talking about the actual story---the writer. Because as a writer I try to make every word count, every scene count, every chapter count, but we all know that doesn't always happen. I've read books I wasn't so sure about. Maybe the story didn't suck me in or maybe I didn't connect with the MC all that much, but by the time I closed that book, I loved it. Something happened along the way and whether it was page 25 or page 225 the story redeemed itself enough to keep me reading.

The funny thing about redemption (in my opinion) is that can erase all the other "stuff" that made it less appealing, unfavorable, or whatever in the first place. The finale of Grey's kicked such emotional ass (including my own) that I pretty much forgot what it was that I didn't like about the other ten or however many shows were on this season prior. I haven't forgotten that beef---why so many repeats? The important thing is I'll be back and if this was a book I'd without a doubt read the second.

Any one else have thoughts on this? Have you ever read a book you didn't love or even like but kept reading anyway and ended up loving?

If you watched Grey's don't give any spoilers we so don't want to taint it for anyone who recorded it to watch later. *cough, cough* Like my sister, Jenn. Ohh but what did you think? Crazy, right? After the first shot I wasn't sure I could even watch the rest!

The sandbox: An unlikely source of inspiration

2010-05-18T00:03:00.002-04:00

I had no idea when I took my son to the playground, or rather two playgrounds, on Saturday that I'd find inspiration for my writing. I write older YA books so hanging out at the sandbox and sliding board wasn't exactly the place I thought I'd be struck with an idea for one of my stories.

To avoid sounding like a lurker I won't go into too much detail of the conversations I couldn't help but overhear (hey, there was only one toddler swing and it was RIGHT next to a teenage boy and girl sitting on swings and talking and my kid REALLY loves that swing) or tell you how cute and funny I found it when two tween girls were dropped off followed by a tween boy (who was clearly one of their boyfriends) and then proceeded to play on the playground equipment and flirt like crazy. But I'm not ashamed to tell you I snuck a shot in while I was snapping pics of my son and nephew on the swings (YES, the couple or friends or whatever they were moved after we crashed in, followed by two other kids that didn't care that they were totally spoiling the moment)

Anyway I got this shot but it was way better in person but of course I couldn't take the picture normally because that would've made me look like all creepy and stuff. *Gasp* Taken from the proper angle it would've been an awesome book cover image!

How cute are they? My mind started racing with all sorts of ideas of what they were talking about, feeling, why they were there in the park under the tree (well, we know they were forced to retreat to the tree since all the screeching children encroached on their privacy).

Now please tell me I'm not the only crazy "adult" who gets hit with this sort of inspiration from being around real life young adults. Because apparently 8pm is the designated time for teens to overtake the playground near my sister's house. In the span of five minutes, I saw two teenage girls sit on a bench and start some serious conversation (tears and all), a flock of giggling girls attempt to take a photo of themselves on the slide, and one who thought swinging higher than any human being has ever gone would get the attention of the group of boys playing basketball.

In order to avoid being arrested or banned from the park I'll leave my camera at home, but I'm so bringing a notebook next time I take the boy to the playground. Anyone else have fun observations or conversations that have inspired your work?

Is it fall yet?

2010-05-13T23:42:00.002-04:00

We haven't even hit summer yet in Pennsylvania and already I find myself craving the falling leaves and bushels of apples. Do I hate the warm weather? Am I a freak for carving pumpkins and raking leaves? Umm, no. Not at all. In fact, I love summer.

But for the love of God why must we have to wait all summer for The Vampire Diaries to come back on?

I haven't been this smitten with a TV since My So-Called Life! Never have I seen such insane plot twists. As a writer I'm constantly blown away by the sheer genius of the folks who write this stuff. And that says a lot coming from a girl who can spot the killer on like page 1 in most books, or sense a hookup just from reading the summary. Basically, it's super hard to surprise me in a story (TV/movie/book), but just about every week Vampire Diaries shocks me. And more than once each episode.

You've missed out if you didn't watch this season but the good news is you can go back and catch up this summer and be ready to faint with the rest of us come fall. Trust me, you won't be sorry.

Team Stefan or Team Damon...

If I don't get much writing done you'll know why...

2010-05-08T20:49:00.007-04:00

I could kiss whoever it was at Little Brown who agreed to

send us this ARC for Fallenarchangel. I'm jumping out of my skin to read this one!

I loved THE DEMON"S LEXICON and though I'm only

on page 102 of this one I can safely say I'm obsessed...

Gah! S&S even sent the paperback of THE DEMON'S LEXICON with THE DEMON'S COVENANT...love this new cover with bad ass, sword fighting Nick!

The only tough decision was deciding which book to start with. In the end I went with THE DEMON'S COVENANT since it releases in two weeks and BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS comes out in like 6 months! But I know for sure I'll be starting BD by the end of the weekend with

how fast I'm reading Demon's. Sigh. I'm in book heaven right now.

Spreading the Awesome - Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

2010-05-03T07:55:00.005-04:00

*Update: the book giveaway is officially closed. Thank you to all who entered and commented.

When I found out what the fabulous Elana Johnson had planned for the "Spreading the Awesome" blog day today I knew I had to jump in. Hello, a day of love for the books we want to share with the world? I'm all about it. There are dozens of titles I could suggest but I knew right away that I wanted to talk about, BLEEDING VIOLET, a YA Paranormal by Dia Reeves. It's deliciously dark and crazy and one of the most original stories I've read in years. I wanted to slap the main character, Hanna, more than once but you can't help but love her. She's a force to be reckoned with. And Wyatt...just wait until you meet Wyatt. (and how gorgeous is this cover?)

Love can be a dangerous thing....

Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

When I contacted Dia about featuring BV here she was awesome enough to not only answer a few questions but to offer a copy of BLEEDING VIOLET for one lucky person who makes a comment on this post today. Thank you so much, Dia!

How did you come up with the freaky unique creatures in BV? They’re fantastic! Thanks! I get my creature ideas from Discovery Channel. Animals in the real world are so freaky, I just build the pretend animals around them. The hardhead creatures are kind of like scorpions, the lures are like amoebae—it’s all based in reality.

The setting for BV, Portero, TX, is one crazy place. If you found yourself there would you stick around and check things out or run for your life?
I’m the kind of girl who screams if a grasshopper gets into the house, so I don’t see myself handling monsters very well. My characters tend to be a lot braver than I am. One thing I do like about Portero, though, is how close the community is and how they look out for one another.

You have a new book called, A SLICE OF CHERRY coming out by S&S in January of 2011. Can you tell us more about this story?
It’s about two outcast sisters–daughters of a notorious serial killer–who decide to put their murderous genes, and latent powers, to good use by only killing people who deserve it. So a lot of people get killed in really weird ways, but it’s not really about the killing. It just tickles me to use violence as a way to highlight more mundane issues like coming of age and the importance of family and first love and all that stuff. Yes, I’m weird, I know. ;p

I saw in your bio that you’re a librarian. (Awesome career by the way!) Does your job influence your writing? It must have been a blast to see people checking your book out.
I’ve never seen anybody checking my book out. If I did, I wouldn’t say anything. I’m still really shy about being a writer. My librarian job and my writing job are very separate. I never mix the different parts of my life.

As a fellow YA writer I confess to struggling when writing some of the controversial stuff (language, sex, drugs/alcohol) when it comes to how far I can take it so I really admire the way you handled the strong themes in BV. Did struggle or face any criticism on this at any point?
While I was writing it, no. Now that it’s out in the world, yup. A lot of people don’t think it’s appropriate for teens and yadda yadda yadda, but even if BV had been squeaky clean, people would have just found something else to criticize. No one escapes criticism, but I don’t mind being criticized for having written something I’m proud of.

For more fun information on Dia and BLEEDING VIOLET stop by and check out Simon & Schuster's page as well as her personal website.

Don't forget to leave a comment with your email address for your chance to win your very own copy of BLEEDING VIOLET courtesy of the author herself. This is one book you don't want to miss! For another great book recommendation on the Spreading the Awesome tour visit Yamile Mendez's blog to read about SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Zafon. For the complete list of participating blogs (interviews, giveaways and more) click here. A big thank you to Elana and Dia for allowing me to share this incredible book and author!

*Sorry, this giveaway is open only to those with a U.S. mailing address.

Hey ladies, are we too nice to each other?

2010-04-28T08:29:00.005-04:00

There's an article circulating on Twitter this morning (check it out here ) about female bloggers/reviewers, mainly in the YA world, who the author calls "faking nice." It's an interesting look at our little community here online but I'm not so sure I agree with all of her points and I'm actually still processing it all until I form an opinion, but while it's fresh I thought I'd post about it.

Are we too nice to each other? Too protective? Are reviewers not being honest enough in reviews of fellow female writers?

I'm not qualified to answer that but I have a theory. If this is indeed happening then wouldn't it have something to do with the fact that we do get to know a lot of writers on a personal level? Or so we think. Twitter, blogging, Facebook, etc all make it possible to get to know your favorite authors that wasn't possible years ago. Combine that with the huge popularity of both reading and writing YA and it's bound to change things.

As someone who's on two sides of the fence (running a fansite for a popular YA author while I write my own YA books) I can't say that I've only seen niceness happening out there. In fact, there are quite a few blogger/reviewers out there who I've seen become downright mean about books they hated. But what qualifications exist to become a book blogger or reviewer? Can't anyone start up a free blogger account or write a novel? Last time I checked, yes.

Some of us (myself included) intentionally choose not to post negative reviews, meaning I just don't say much about the books I don't like and instead choose to make a fuss over the ones I do. Is that right or wrong? Who knows, but it's my decision and one I'm happy with so I guess if someone were to come check out my blog they might say I'm "faking nice." Can't say the faking part is true but whatever.

I have a lot more I could say here from the writers aspect but that's a whole new conversation. Enough of my opinion! I'd love to hear what you think on this topic. Please take a minute to share your thoughts in the comments section to keep the conversation rolling.

Great Expectations

2010-04-22T07:47:00.003-04:00

As a writer I've learned how crucial it is to start my book with a bang. Heck, even the first line needs to be kick-ass. But the odd thing is that very few books I've read achieve that. Hello, Twilight....love the book overall but the first chapter is a total snore. But the book I started last night, SISTERS RED by Jackson Pearce, is one of the best examples I've ever seen. WOW. I'm only on page 40 something but I cannot wait to read more to see if it can maintain the awesomeness it started with (I'm pretty sure it will after what I've heard about it so far). And this is the very thing I'm working on in my current WIP. Yet again the right book has fallen in my lap at just right the time....

Here's a summary of SISTERS RED from Jackson Pearce's site.

Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris-- the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax-- but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they've worked for.

Twenty-five-year-old Jackson Pearce delivers a dark, taut fairy tale with heart-pounding action, fierce sisterly love, and a romance that will leave readers breathless.

Missing blogger

2010-04-20T09:43:00.002-04:00

Sheesh, I've started about three new blog post drafts and keep getting pulled away to do family stuff or you know, that little thing called writing... Which I'm about to go do now since this morning is a writing morning with Nate being at nursery school for a few hours. I do have some exciting stuff coming up here. A Q&A and giveaway with Dia Reeves, the author of BLEEDING VIOLET. Such am amazing book so I'm super excited to have her here and share this incredible book on May 3rd. Stay tuned for details.

I'm going to post my my new query for feedback with some thoughts on how incredibly different this one was from the one I worked on for SAGE which took a year and still wasn't knocking my socks off. The one for FORTUNE'S TELLER took one night and I'm truly madly deeply in love with it thanks to the assistance from some rockstar writing buddies. I've also had a bit of a breakthrough after flipping back and forth between real-life YA and fantasy YA the last few weeks that I think will really help me get my WIP in a better place. Hopefully! So I've started rotating my reading list by going with fantasy then real-life then fantasy then real life and so on. I really like the perspective it gives me aside from the obvious write your ass off and tell a good story thing.

And lastly, there's no way I'm going to meet my goal of finishing my WIP by the end of this month but the good news is that I've been revising as I go and I feel really great about the changes and the pace in regards to not having to go back and do extensive revisions when I'm finished. And THAT makes me a very happy girl.

Anyone else have some good things to share? Come on, I want to hear the positive things happening out there!

New Books! Help me decide what to read next...

2010-04-14T08:10:00.002-04:00

Check out what I ordered with my Barnes & Noble gift card. I hopped on there right after I got it to check out the Sarah Dessen books (my new obsession thanks to Miranda!) and found two of them in the bargain section under $4 each with the sale buy 2 get 1 free! So I got both of them and the first Blue Bloods books. I loved The Truth About Forever so much I bought my own copy. Have you read any of these books? I'd love to hear what you think. I'm torn with what to start with...Will Grayson, Will Grayson or This Lullaby?

That Summer
Sarah Dessen

Just Listen
Sarah Dessen

Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods Series #1)
Melissa De La Cruz

This Lullaby
Sarah Dessen

The Truth About Forever
Sarah Dessen

Will Grayson, Will Grayson
John Green, David Levithan

Venturing into some real-life YA

2010-04-07T09:08:00.004-04:00

I probably should have said in the title of this post I'm venturing into reading real-life YA not writing it. Not yet. I've had some ideas that won't leave me alone but I tend to shoosh them and push them to the back of the line for fantasy stories. I know, I know, I'm mean for playing favorites. But the more I read contemporary YA stories the more I think I want to take stab at writing one.

Both of the "real-life" YA books that I've read lately were recommendations from my fabulous critique buddies. Jamie suggested Paper Towns by John Green, which I LOVED (I've gushed about this one before), and just last week Miranda suggested The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. Clearly, the know what they're talking about.

They were both dead on with how awesome both of the stories and authors are. So thank you girls for pushing me out of my little fantasy world to check them out. If you haven't read these books GO now. They. Are. Amazing.

I feel so behind on the Sarah Dessen thing. Miranda is SO right about how incredibly she writes character growth. It's easy to stay up late reading a fantasy story with all the action and suspense, but I stayed up until 2 AM (much later than I planned) to finish The Truth About Forever. I just had to know what was going to happen. Wow. So good.

Now if you'll excuse me I need to go hoard all the Sarah Dessen books from the library.

Getting over the hump

2010-04-06T11:00:00.005-04:00

Sweet victory. I crossed over the 30k word hump in my WIP last week. This time around it feels ever sweeter considering I've been revising as I go. (thank you, Miranda!) With how extensive and often I revised the last story I really love the idea of having less at the end. Editing is one thing but revising huge portions of the same story is not my favorite way to spend my time. I can't imagine it is for anyone.

The other thing I'm doing differently now is waiting to have my regular readers read later on when I'm near or completely finished. Even with the reader who's helping me as I go I'm waiting to share larger chunks of chapters. It's been strange to pull back with someone like my sister who is used to reading something from my WIP on a daily basis. A lot of times I want to bring up something about the story but hold my tongue so I don't spoil anything. And I miss chatting with my other critique partners about my characters and plot and all that good stuff, but I know it will be worth it to have them read it start to finish with fresh eyes and give me feedback as a reader in addition to their writing critique.

If it keeps going well I think I may have found my new writing method. But one thing I can't imagine changing is my fabulous readers/critique partners help.

I'm curious to hear what methods you all use while you're writing a first draft?

I've been dying to share this news and not's even about me!

2010-03-31T08:56:00.003-04:00

My sister and I have been dying to share this news...here's what we posted on our site today!

After a lot of planning by the fabulous folks at Simon & Schuster, we are excited to announce that Becca Fitzpatrick will be revealing the cover of CRESCENDO, the highly anticipated follow-up to New York Times Bestselling HUSH HUSH, here on FallenArchangel.com, live from the Denver Teen Lit Festival on Saturday April 10! The cover reveal will take place over the course of several hours as Laurie Maves, a chalk artist from Denver CO, will be drawing the Crescendo cover live!

The streaming video of this event will begin around 11 am EST / 9 am MDT. Plan to stop by throughout the day to see the cover art as it gradually comes to life and for occasional visits from Becca.

We will be posting more exciting stuff about the cover reveal in the coming days!! So you know where I'll be next Saturday. Too much excitement for one weekend...the night before we're heading to Philly to see Blue October!

P.S. Feel free to grab that button up there to help spread the word! I had some technical Blogger issues and couldn't get the html coding in there to grab but you can find that on our site.

Feeding my book addiction

2010-03-22T09:59:00.005-04:00

I bought three new books Friday. One new book is the last thing I need, let alone three new books. But I'm a total book addict so going to the bookstore is about the worst temptation ever. I think I could resist a bakery better than a bookstore! And that's saying something.

Check out these pretties. I started The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan (LOVED The Forest of Hands and Teeth!) and already love this one too. I haven't heard much about Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer but those covers with the giant moon and the whole idea of life getting all insane from a meteor knocking the moon out of orbit got me. And Lament...well, I just needed more of Maggie's enchanting writing after reading Shiver.

I think it's safe to say my TBR pile is about half way to the ceiling now. (Not that I actually stacked them to find out. Hmm, but that could be kind of fun) With the books Simon & Schuster sends us to read before giving away the copies they provide each month on Fallenarchangel and the books I buy I'm nowhere near caught up. Love our friends at S&S for sending us such incredible YA titles (Bleeding Violet, Thirst, Claire de Lune, etc.) so you won't EVER hear me complain about all these fabulous books. The only problem is fighting the reader in me who screams "Feed Me!" every time I look at them so that I can get my own books written.

I guess the fact that there are only two things I want for my birthday--a babysitter so that I can spend the day writing and a gift card to the bookstore--are pretty telling. If only there were a gift that allowed you a few extra hours in a day!

A book deal celebration!

2010-03-17T08:42:00.003-04:00

Beth Revis' blog was one of the first I stared following when I came into the writing/blogging world so it's awesome to share in the MAJOR news of her first book deal. And we're talking MAJOR...Beth signed a 3 book deal for a serious chunk of change. Woohooo, how sweet is that? It's so cool to see such a great thing happen to a great person. Congratulations, Beth!!!! I can't wait to read Across the Universe.

And because Beth rocks she's hosting a MAJOR giveaway in honor of this big news. We're talking two prize packs full of all sorts of cool stuff, one for writers, and one for readers. Love that idea! So be sure to head on over to congratulate Beth and put your name in to win. I'm all about the writer's basket! Of course, I'd snatch up that reader's basket in a heartbeat. That woman knows how to put a prize pack together.

Click here to enter.

A 10-year-old future book reviewer needs your help!

2010-03-15T08:54:00.003-04:00

My niece (she turns 10 this month and is one of my favorite people on the planet) reads just about as much as I do if not more. Of course, I like to think I had something to do with that since I started reading the Harry Potter series aloud to her when she was seven. We just finished this past year! If it weren't for those little distractions like, say...school, sleep, raising my own child...we'd have finished it in half the time.

My sister truly believes in supporting her daughter's love of reading (eeek she thinks she might want to be a writer when she grows up!) so they did a book review together on her blog. We all remember what it was like when you fired up the blog and decided to run your first contest or even your first post. Nerve wracking. Will anyone comment? Will anyone want the book I'm giving away? Does anybody care? Now imagine you're ten and wondering all that.

I'm all about her reviewing more books and hopefully seeing her start her own blog down the road so if any of you have an extra minute please stop by the review and enter the contest to help her start off in a positive way. Trust me, it will make her day. And mine too.

Thanks for your support!

You can find the review here.

Here they are with the book they're giving away.

I don't write long book reviews...

2010-03-12T08:18:00.004-05:00

...and I'm not going to start now. BUT. All of you need to go buy or borrow or download a copy of Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves.

Seriously.

It's that A M A Z I N G.

Might be a little tough on the eyes, but in honor of Hanna I'm writing the rest of this post in violet. If you've already this book you know why. ; )

We received a copy of Bleeding Violet from Simon & Schuster for our feature in April so I was bound to read it, but it was when I saw my writing friend, Lacey, rave about it on Twitter and the review on her blog that I got really excited. She was spot on with how sexy and dark and crazy it is.

Check out the summary below for yourself, but know that it fails to reveal the awesomeness that is this book. Freaky new creatures (eep! no vamps, wolves, demons or faeries! not that there's anything wrong with them), a girl that actually has major issues that aren't the average teen angst. Hanna can be a hot mess but you can't help but love her for the way she doesn't give a shit. She's fearless in a way you don't see in a lot of stories. I could go on and on but you REALLY need to check this one out for yourself. It's just that good.

Love can be a dangerous thing....Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

I'm so putting this one back into my to-be-read pile for a second rotation.

Teens and adults...Calling all my YA fans!

2010-03-10T09:49:00.004-05:00

*This is taken from our Fallenarchangel blog*

Is YA Getting a Bad Rap?

Frankie over at The First Novels Club posted a really super blog yesterday about the bad rap YA has been getting from some folks lately.

Teens are dealing with more crap than ever these days. They know and understand harsh realities that even those of us who were teenagers half a decade ago didn't have to go through. The world is rapidly changing, and teens are rapidly adjusting. They're smart. They're savvy. And they are tough cookies. And if they want to read a book--any book--that is fantastic. Because reading rocks.

Most teens know the difference between a normal relationship and an extremely unhealthy one, which yes- it does often gets glorified and depicted in paranormal romance. And if there are teens or adults reading a book along those lines, believing it's sexy to threaten violence, believing its healthy for a person to want to kill themselves over you, dreaming of a guy who stalks you...I have a hard time believing that those thoughts and desires stemmed from the reading of a book. Unhealthy ideas about relationships stem from a deeper source than that and are often the fault of other factors, not a story.

We want to take this a step further, we want to know what you think....

It’s no secret that YA books have grown in popularity with teens, tweens and adults of all ages. With that popularity comes more scrutiny – it has been said that some YA contains immoral themes that could negatively influence young readers. We want to hear from YOU young and old, YA Lovers, Readers, Writers, Editors (etc). Are you influenced by the storylines and relationships you read about? Join us on Thursday night at 9 pm to discuss this on FallenArchangel.com

A contest you can't miss!

2010-03-08T15:13:00.003-05:00

Suzette Saxton and Bethany Wiggins, the incredible sisters at Shooting Stars, are holding a contest, the Fantabulous Followers Giveaway with Prize from an Agent!

This is one you can't miss.

They've got an agent critique, books, and even candy to give away. Visit their blog for more details and to enter. Good luck! I've got my fingers crossed I can snag that big prize so I can have my current WIP critiqued.

Am I too trusting?

2010-03-03T08:41:00.004-05:00

I'm sure most of the writers out there will agree with me when I say one of the best ways to improve your writing/story is to have other writers read it and provide you with feedback. I learned this simple fact very quickly when I started writing. Forget the vision of a lone writer holed up at home, slouched over their keyboard in a typing frenzy, or more than likely staring at the screen trying to think of what to type next. That's only a fraction of what takes place when it comes to writing a novel. At least it is in my personal experience.

Without the help of the extraordinary writers I've met online I'd NEVER have been able to type the words THE END on my first novel, or revised the hell out of it, or produced a query worthy of requests, or even gotten any requests... I could keep going with examples, but the point is that if I had never trusted in these people, complete strangers, I'd still be struggling and most likely have given up. So thank you to each and every one of you who have inspired and supported me along the way. You rock!

Now comes the tough part of this post.

What about the people out there who don't support you and who aren't thinking of anyone but themselves? I have been very blessed so this isn't something I've dealt with personally, but I've heard stories from people who have. I'm talking about the Story Snatchers. Ick. How anyone could have the nerve to use an idea they know for a fact has been done is beyond me. It's wrong and it's pathetic. Now in my experience the people who have warned me of this danger, asking me questions like "Aren't you afraid they might steal your ideas?" aren't usually fellow writers, they're friends and family.

Which got me thinking. We writers must be a pretty trusting bunch.

How do I know I can trust the people I share my work with? Well, for me, it's pretty simple. I listen to my instincts. I only share when it feels right. I take the risk. How can you post on a forum, find beta readers, enter contests, work with a critique partner, or even submit your work to agents and editors without taking a leap of faith? Any one of those people mentioned could borrow a plot, a character, a setting and there's not too much I can do about it. But if I worried about that and didn't send my work out into the world to be read and critiqued or considered I'd never grow and my stories wouldn't have a chance in hell of becoming published work.

It's not that I think my ideas are so legendary or original that if anyone were to steal them I'd lose all hope of future publication. Because let's face it everything we create is recycled and pieced together from ideas that have lived before. But we work extremely hard and pour a piece of ourselves in every story we bring to life so I pray none of us ever have to experience something as awful as someone intentionally snatching from us.

As usual with this sort of heavy topic rolling around in my head it got me wondering how the rest of you feel. Am I too trusting or do most of you share my philosophy and take the risk and trust? Have you ever been burned? How do you decide who to share your work with? Do you ever worry about Story Snatchers?

Are you the tortoise or the hare?

2010-03-01T08:58:00.004-05:00

Do you like to take your time with a slow but steady pace when you write or are you more about the speed and crossing the finish line as quickly as possible to write THE END?

I SO used to be the hare. (which is not a bad thing at all!)

All I paid attention to was my word count. Words, words, words. I couldn't get enough of them. And that's not necessarily a bad thing but it definitely involves more editing and revising down the road. At least that's what I discovered. I've read quite a few book, blogs, articles, etc that say you should just write. Write what comes to you. Write from the heart. Write without over thinking it. That's what editing is for.

And while that's all great advice that probably works for most people, I'm sort of thinking I do better the opposite way. This is my first experience writing slow and steady, but it's working. Not that I did it intentionally or anything. It's actually an accident I can chalk up to the fact that I'm waiting to hear on the partials and fulls I have out on SAGE. That, and well, who knows what else...distractions, reading, obligations. I could go on and on. But the important thing is that I seem to have stumbled upon a better way for me to personally write. Heck, I even let two writers (who have agents mind you! you ladies rock) read the first few chapters of my first draft, yes, I said first draft, and they had great things to say about it. If anyone had read the first draft of SAGE they would not have been able to type any comments because they'd be laughing too hard.

Now if only I could find a balance between the two! Imagine how many books I'd crank out...

It's your turn. Are you more of a slow and steady tortoise or the speedy hare?

Big. Really BIG inspiration.

2010-02-25T09:55:00.011-05:00

I'm the type of person that likes to take things to the extreme. Go big or go home! So it's no wonder that while researching for my current WIP I went with this particular home as inspiration for the family estate. You may have heard of a little place called Biltmore in Ashville in North Carolina, the largest home in America. 8,000 acres, 250 rooms, a winery...

Anyone have the pleasure of visiting this incredible estate? I'd love to hear details since I'm working only off the the picture and videos and information on their site. I took it down a few notches for the home in my story, knocked off a few rooms and lost a couple thousand acres. I really hope I get to see this place in real life someday but I have the feeling after I'm finished with this WIP I'll feel like I already have.

Have you ever gone really BIG with your inspiration?

P.S. I think I may have found my title for this WIP! Also, you can check out my hook and playlist here. Gee, ya think I'm a tad bit excited about this one?

Before YA was YA

2010-02-22T08:23:00.003-05:00

I didn't do much writing this weekend and I didn't catch up on reading/commenting on blogs, Facebook or Twitter like I planned. BUT I did get a lot of reading done. That's never a bad thing. I finished one book and should finish the other today.

So who's with me on the fond memories of junior high or high school memories of reading Christopher Pike books? Remember Me, Chain Letter? Everyone read them in my school. Among other authors it seems Christopher Pike was making YA hot before it was even YA. These days you can walk into any book store and find a section devoted to nothing but Teen and YA titles. And as anyone who isn't living under a rock knows it isn't just teens who are reading them. I'm thirty years old and I pretty much only read YA these days. I'm not sure I could've said that ten years ago because right now there is a huge, diverse and incredible offering of books out there in this genre. Personally, I love fantasy and the fact that I can go to the bookstore and be totally overwhelmed at the amount of titles to choose from makes me smile.

Back to the books I read. Thanks to our amazing friends at Simon & Schuster who have partnered with us at Fallenarchangel on our featured fiction each month, I read Christopher Pike's Thirst book No. 1 and have book No. 2 ready to go, and thank God because I HAVE to find out what happens next.

Here's the description from Simon & Schuster's site.

Alisa has been in control of her urges for the five thousand years she has been a vampire. She feeds but does not kill, and she lives her life on the fringe to maintain her secret. But when her creator returns to hunt her, she must break her own rules in order to survive.

Her quest leads her to Ray. He is the only person who can help her; he also has every reason to fear her. Alisa must get closer to him to ensure her immortality. But as she begins to fall in love with Ray, suddenly there is more at stake than her own life....

These tiles just came out this year but the stories aren't new, they're separate books that came out starting in 1994. How the heck did I miss them back then? A 5,000 year old vampire? Yes please. She is one bad ass chick. Check out more info here. (And if you like the sounds of it make sure you stop by our site next month when we get to give away five copies of both books.) There's something about knowing this vampire story was written before most other YA vampire books were created. This is not your run of the mill falling in love with a dangerous creature story. The romance is secondary and if they were made into a movie (would die to see that) it would be a skull crushing (I told you she kicks some serious butt), seductive, action blockbuster.

It's great to see authors like Pike and LJ Smith back in popularity with the vampire trend still going. Hello, need I say more then The Vampire Diaries TV show? Amazing.

Anyone else get thrown back to your teenage years when hearing the name Christopher Pike? What were your favorites? Thoughts on the old titles becoming new again?

Fortune cookie wisdom

2010-02-18T13:37:00.003-05:00

I found this little gem in my fortune cookie. It's inspiring any way you look at it--in life, in love, in writing. But it's pretty darn special to me since I'm in the process of writing a book about fortune telling. While my MC doesn't go around writing fortunes that go in actual fortune cookies this one is so fitting for the way I'm writing this particular story.

"You cannot discover new oceans unless you are willing to lose sight of the shore."

One girl's opinion on the first Percy Jackson film

2010-02-15T15:59:00.000-05:00

Well, hello there, Logan Lerman. You may have just turned 18, but you are totally a hottie as Percy Jackson.

OK, now that I got that out of my system...

As you can guess we went to see Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. The adults in our group had a mixed reaction; one of my sisters was disappointed, the other was in between, I loved it, and my 10-year-old niece and 8-year-old nephew really liked it.

It got me thinking about books turned movie and I realized how many movies have turned me into a fan of the story. We're talking the big guys here; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Twilight. As strange as I think it is, I've read quite a few of my all time favorite series because of the news they were being made into feature films. I sort of feel a sell out for doing it backwards, but now that I'm a full time YA reader and writer I doubt that will happen again. I'm dying to see some of my favorite books on the big screen in the next couple years---Shiver, The Hunger Games, Uglies...

How I let Percy Jackson slip by until now is a mystery to me. I've had the paperback for months but have never read it, and as I mentioned in my last post I ordered the Percy Jackson box set. Something I'm even more excited about after seeing the movie. Of course, as usual, many of the book fans seem to be disappointed in the movie translation so I think my having seen the movie first will be a good thing.

It may only be my personal opinion, but I highly suggest checking this movie out. There were a few things that could've been cut out or came off a bit cheesy but overall I loved it. I had fun. I loved being surprised with not knowing the plot and I absolutely enjoyed watching Percy's character come to life. The fact that he was played by an actor he's cute as all heck didn't hurt either. ; )

What do you guys think? Any thoughts on Percy Jackson or any books turned into movies?

Random Friday

2010-02-11T21:39:00.005-05:00

This is random and to the point. (Sort of like me.)

I ordered the Percy Jackson hardcover box set! I've had the paperback of the first one but never got around to reading it. But in honor of seeing the movie Monday, I thought it was time to dive in. Cannot wait to see what Percy Jackson is all about. ; )

My visit to the local Barnes & Noble on Tuesday was a total flop. I went to pick up a copy of Josh Berk's Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin. Not only does the book sound awesome and has received raving early reviews, Josh is a fellow Pennsylvanian and a librarian in a town about an hour from here. Unfortunately, the folks here didn't realize the awesomeness of his debut novel and failed to have a copy waiting for me. The nerve. No worries. I ordered a copy with my Percy Jackson books.

And so I anxiously await the new additions to my library.

In writing related news, I'm pushing along on my fortune teller WIP. Not quite as fast as I'd like but the good news is that I'm in love with this story. Head over heels in love with this story. Wonderful news considering I'm in that whole waiting phase (fulls and partials are out with agents as we speak!) with Sage.

Ohhh, I finally joined Goodreads! If you'd like to connect you can find me here.

One last thing...

We are over 900 members strong on Fallenarchangel.com and closing in on 1000. Not to sound like a shameless plug, but if you've read Hush, Hush and loved it, please come join us and join the forum. Come on, you know you want to.

On that note, have an awesome weekend! I look forwarding to sharing what I think about the Percy Jackson movie. Anyone else planning on seeing it?

A little Monday inspiration

2010-02-08T09:31:00.003-05:00

This is for anyone who has ever experienced writers block, received a harsh critique when you thought your story was finally right, suffered through revisions, had an inbox full of rejections, felt like giving up...

"When we feel stuck, going nowhere -- even starting to slip backward -- we may
actually be backing up to get a running start."
- Dan Millman

Now, get your running start, and go kick that story's ass.

This quote is from The Daily Guru.
www.thedailyguru.com

New Look!

2010-02-08T00:52:00.002-05:00

I've wanted to redo my blog for months now. Finally did it! What do you guys think? I wanted it to be pretty basic with a light background but I'd love to hear suggestions if something seems off or just plain ugly. And, of course, please tell me if there are any typos or anything. This is a writing blog after all.

I want it! I want it. I want it?

2010-02-03T09:17:00.005-05:00

I was like most kids growing up. I wished for things. Wanted them so badly I'd squeeze my eyes shut, twine my little hands together, and pray my ass off for whatever it was I wanted at that moment. Sometimes it was a kitten, to have a sleepover, a second cupcake. You get the idea. Little things that seemed like really big things to me then.

Then I became a teenager. *insert ominous music*

My wants got a lot bigger and way more specific. I didn't want just any boyfriend. I wanted the exact boy I'd met at the mall to be my boyfriend. I didn't want just any ol' car. I wanted the white Honda Prelude on the lot down the road. Yeah, as you can tell I was a real delight to deal with in those days. My poor poor parents. The good news for them, and me, and the rest of the world, is that I've relaxed on wanting specific things with such crazed desire. I still pursue my dreams like there's no tomorrow, but with a more mature open attitude. And thank God for that because if I was still so insanely detailed in my goals I'd have flushed my head down the toilet about ten times since I started writing.

I guess you could chalk it up the learning that whole sometimes-we-don't-know-what's-best-for-ourselves thing. Oddly enough this reminds me of that Garth Brooks song (yup, I was a bit of a country fan back in the day) where he says something about thanking God for not answering his prayers. Amen that to that. If some of my highly detailed prayer requests had been granted I cringe just imagining what would have happened as a result. Let's just say there's some poor judgement on my part when it came to the opposite sex a time or two. Throw in a job and a few major moves and I'd probably be... Not here! Not writing. Not loving the state of my life.

What writer hasn't wished with all of their heart that the book they just finished editing is "the one?" *raises hand* But whether it's due to life experience (becoming a parent, turning 30...) or some cosmic intervention, I've started to see the bigger picture. SAGE is out there in the world being read by agents which means there is a part of me, a VERY big part of me that wants to see this be "the book," but I've come to this sort of eerie peaceful place that has allowed me to be okay if it isn't. Because the next one will be. And if that one isn't...then the one after that will.

Do you set specific goals or aim wide? Are you determined to see that one book be "the one?" Were you a stubborn kid that learned their lesson that hard way like I did?

The reading binge continues...

2010-02-01T08:10:00.007-05:00

My reading has been extremely slow these last few weeks. But I did manage to finish Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater and I'm almost done with Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. (on a side note, I really don't love reading nonfiction, even if I love the actual book it takes me five times the amount of time to finish)

Shiver
Love. Love. Love. This. Book. Maggie Stiefvater has an incredible whimsical quality to her writing that I adored in this story. I haven't read any of her other books (YET) but I'm willing to bet it carries through in all her writing. Her description of places, senses and emotions are magical, yet raw. That, combined with the urgency and mystery of the main plot had me totally immersed in this book. So inspiring! I passed up a nap (I was fighting a cold) a time or two to read and it was one of those times where I wanted so badly to finish but hated leaving Sam and Grace. Dying to read Linger... So if you happen to be lucky enough to have an ARC feel free to send it my way.

Bird by Bird
I've heard people talk about this book a lot so over the course of the past year I've looked for it at the bookstore and even had it in my shopping cart online, but always ended up going for one of my beloved YA fantasies instead. So I'm sort of thinking this was one of those right time, right places things. And this was the right time for me to read it. It's so refreshing to read a book that provides both writing and life advice and inspiration. While I'm all about learning to write better, I love the idea of merging it with everyday life, Because let's face it if you're a serious writer it weaves itself into just about every aspect of your life. *sigh* And I wouldn't have it any other way. Can't wait to see what other gems she has to share in the last section of the book. I would highly recommed this to any writer out there. Go buy it now!

Up next...Graceling by Kristin Cashore and Raven by Allison van Diepen.

Writing what you hate

2010-01-25T20:30:00.002-05:00

If you're anything like me then you've read books and watched movies that have disturbed you. It might've been covering your eyes at a horror flick with a gruesome murder or reading a gritty memoir with a rape scene that had your insides twisted up like a knot. Some people like this sort of thing. I do not. The older I get and the fact that I'm now a mother have really emphasized that opinion. I can't help but think what it would be like if that happened to my child or anyone I loved. Heck, even me. A movie I watched a couple of weeks ago really had me shaken up. It was sick, disturbing, and worse yet, based on a true story. Ugh. I went to bed with a stomach ache.

All of this got the writer part of me thinking: How do people write these sort of stories or scenes? I can see when it's in a way that might be beneficial for the reader or writer to share an experience that can help heal etc. But what about the other stuff?

In my current WIP my main character is going to have to suffer through some pretty harsh situations. Losing people she loves, killing someone with her own hands, and more. This is new ground for me and I'm a little nervous to get so dark and twisty. My first novel has some dark stuff but not at the hands of my MC so I didn't have to get into her head while it was happening. But this new girl is one bad ass chick who's going to land herself in a whole lot of trouble. So I had better get comfortable with the dark side. But even this dark side isn't all that dark. Not compared to some of what I've seen out there. Still, I'm psyched to head in a new direction and learn more about and challenge myself, both as a writer, and as a human being. Just don't expect anything TOO creepy in a real life sort of way.

What about all of you...

Have you ever written something extremely dark or disturbing? Did you find it difficult?

The post about nothing

2010-01-20T11:08:00.002-05:00

We all have those days (lately for me its weeks) where you have nothing to blog about. Well, maybe nothing isn't the best way to phrase it. I have plenty to talk about. I'm a very chatty girl. I've started my new novel and we have all sorts of exciting stuff going on with Fallenarchangel. And as a mom of a two year old there's no shortage of interesting moments. Good and bad. But this is my writing blog so I try to stick to all things writing. It's only lately that this has been difficult.

One of the main reasons is that I'm querying and I'm not too keen on sharing all the details. Ok, maybe one. I had a bunch of requests that are still out there that I'm waiting to hear back on. Maybe the fact that I'm hitting the inbox refresh button every few minutes is to blame for my blog block. I'm not quite that bad, but bad enough...

Does this ever happen to anyone else? You sit down every morning to write a blog post and---nothing. Any tips to overcome my blog block? Hehe I'm loving that phrase by the way.

Maybe you really do need eight hours of sleep

2010-01-15T09:10:00.003-05:00

"You don't have to stay up nights to succeed; you have to stay awake days."
-Source unknown

Ok, it stung reading that little quote up there. Ouch. I'm the exact opposite. I go to bed around 2AM every night (eeek or shall I say morning) and get up five hours later. I wasn't always this way, but since I started writing I've become an extreme night owl, justifying it with the reason that it was all part of me pursuing my dream to become a published author. And most of the time it's all fine and good, but then I read something like that quote or have a week where I'm dog tired all day and still pushing myself to stay awake at night to get things done. Those moments make me wonder why I think getting less sleep will allow me more to be more productive and creative. Sounds like a little backwards, doesn't it?

This brings me to my little light bulb moment. More sleep=Feel better=Write better.

I make my child go to bed early so he can be all refreshed and ready to learn and be happy the next day yet I don't do it for myself. SO I think it's time I give it a whirl. I'm going to get my butt in bed earlier and see what happens. Who knows maybe I'll end up writing a novel in one sitting.
Or not. I'll settle for a few chapters.

Huh?

2010-01-11T08:57:00.009-05:00

Next time you have to do one of those word verification things on a blog comment click on the little wheelchair symbol next to the box...and listen.

Huh? How do you verify that!?

My mom did it with another site (she didn't have her glasses) expecting the same made up word they ask you type to be played for her. Umm, not even close. She played it for us later that night and we were on the floor laughing. There were sound clips from old movies all jumbled together with people screaming "I want milk!" and "I don't understand!"

Again...huh? Oh boy did we get a good laugh at out of it.

Reply comment survey

2010-01-08T08:12:00.005-05:00

I've got a question for you. Yes, you. All of you.

When you leave a comment on someones blog do you return to see if anyone (including the blog's author) have commented in reply?

You can probably guess where I'm going with this. Since I have no set schedule for posting and I tend to forget to come back and reply to comments, I'm hoping to do a little research to see if I should be making a point of coming back in here to reply. Call it research.

Also, those of you that have their reply comments emailed to your commenters, how they heck do you do that? Personally I like that. Anyone have thoughts on that too?

Chalk it up to the whole new year, new leaf thing, but I'm determined to whip this blog into shape. I want a new look, a new schedule and maybe a new commenting system. And I promise not to have super boring posts like this too often.

Thanks for your help. Have a great weekend!

Update on my book binge

2010-01-04T10:49:00.003-05:00

Back in November I shared my list of books I was planning to binge on once I finished my revisions. Here's a little update of what I have read since Christmas.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Left me breathless. Once again, I'm in awe of Suzanne Collins and dying for book three. Ms. Collins you are a L E G E N D.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Soooo good! Such a refreshing take on YA UF with the male POV and the town of Gatlin come to life as character itself. It's no wonder the movie rights were sold before the book was even released.

Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows by JK Rowling (to be fair I only finished this one since my niece and I had been reading it aloud together since June!)
Finishing this series has been eight years in the making, and it didn't disappoint one bit. We sobbed, laughed, held our breath, then cried some more. A lot of tears were knowing this was it.

Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder
Since we are featured fiction for the month of January on Fallenarchangel.com my sister Jenn and I were lucky enough to get a copy early. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about a book written in verse, but I really really liked it. There is such an immediacy in the simple description that worked beautifully for such a haunting tale. I highly recommend checking this one out. Can't wait to read her previous books.

Up next and already in position on my nightstand is Shiver!

I feel like I'm the one starting school...

2010-01-04T08:26:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is the big day. My little guy starts his very first day of any organized activity away from home with strangers! Gah, how did he even get to be two in the first place, and now school?

I caught myself feeling all anxious about tomorrow and realized I pretty much feel like I'm the one starting school for the first time. The irony is that since it's his first time he isn't a bit nervous. Because let's face it, does he even get what's going to happen? And if he does there is not a thing to fear. He gets to go have fun for two and half hours with kids his own age, dancing and singing, having a snack, playing with cool new toys, and making all sorts of messy crafts. Sound good to me. I know he will love school and with his outgoing and happy-go-lucky personality he'll be fine. Better than fine. Heck, even I would love to do that and I'm thirty.

Here's a little idea of what's going on in my head.

Will he cry when I leave? Will he make friends? Will he share? Will he get picked on? Will he be scared? Will the teachers think he's a good kid? Did I teach him his manners well enough? What if he picks his nose and wipes it on the table?

Even if the answer to all of these questions is the opposite of what I hope for, who cares. Most kids do cry and forget to say thank you most of the time. I am by no means an over protective parent yet I'm still super anxious on this whole leaving him with strangers thing. So I keep reminding myself how great this will be for him, for both of us actually. The benefits are obvious for him, the social interaction with kids his own age and adults outside of the family, learning, independence, the list goes on and on.

But even Mommy gains a lot out of this one. For the first time in two years I will have guaranteed free time during the day. By the time I drop him off and head back that leaves me with two full hours. It's not a lot, but it's heaven for me. That's four hours of writing time I didn't have before. I'm so psyched about it that I'm not even going home, I'm heading right to the library to work in a space free of reminders of stuff I should be doing, like cleaning, and better yet, there's no wifi!

I'd ask for your well wishes and positive thoughts and prayers for my son on his first day of school, but he's cool as a cucumber about it all and will be fine. Guess it's me that needs the positive vibes this time. Then again this is the ideal distraction from waiting to hear back on my first round of queries. Always a bright side.

Officially back in the saddle again

2010-01-02T09:30:00.003-05:00

Yep, I sent out my first small batch of queries around 1 o'clock last night (or technically morning). So much has changed since last year when I sent my very first queries. Thankfully, in a very good way.

1. My query is a 1000x better
2. My manuscript is a 1000x better
3. Wait, who even needs a third reason when you have a 1 and 2 like that?

Of course, this is only my opinion, only time will tell if the publishing world agrees. But for now I'm feeling great knowing I've made progress and that my work has improved. Is it perfect? No. Do we ever think our own work is perfection? Rarely. We're our own toughest critics, but the important thing is taking notice in the direction you're headed, and giving yourself a little pat on the back when it's the right way.

Now that I'm riding the query train again I'm bursting at the seams to get started on my new project. Once I get past the first few times of dropping my son off with complete strangers (that would be nursery school) I know I'm going to love the fours hours of uninterrupted writing time I'll gain each week.

Hello, 2010. I knew we were going to get along just fine.

Got my nose back in the books

2009-12-29T15:44:00.003-05:00

Ah, I have pretty much finished my revisions. More final editing will take place this week, but since this I know this story in and out I know it will be ready in time to get those queries out the first week of January. Wooohooo!

Aside from the obvious reasons why I'm thrilled to be finished, I am back to reading again! My parents gave me Beautiful Creatures as one of my gifts(eee and I have two gift cards to use for the bookstore too!), and I LOVED it. I devoured it. If you haven't read it yet, go now! It's that good. Plus you can stroke that beautiful purple metallic title on the cover. I went and joined the fansite before I was even finished. Yep, it's that good. More on this later.

Most of the time it's a bummer to come off of reading a book you lose sleep over. Not when you have Catching Fire waiting for you. I bought CF the day it came out and have been saving it as my reward for finishing a new book I started at the time, which then turned into the revisions on Sage. So as any of you who have read it know, I'm dying to finish my day so I can crawl into bed and lose myself in as many chapters as I can manage tonight.

Feels good to be back! Not only am I reading more again, I'm going to get back into a more regular blogging schedule and doing my best to read and comment out there as well. So much to look forward to even if it is bone chilling cold outside and I'm still suffering from the post Christmas depression.