Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Ever since she killed the Fenris who murdered her grandmother and lost an eye in the fight, Scarlett has been obsessed with hunting the wolves who masquerade as men. Her sister, Rosie, understands Scarlett’s focus, but she can’t help but dream of life outside of hunting. When Scarlett’s partner Silas returns, he and the sisters decide to travel to Atlanta, where Fenris hunt in even larger numbers, and they find themselves caught up in a plot they never expected.

An incredible modern paranormal take on Little Red Riding Hood, this story had me in its hooks from the first few pages. It’s told in the alternating perspectives of Scarlett and Rosie, which was somewhat confusing at first, but I learned quickly how distinct their perspectives were. Scarlett is consumed by the hunt, while Rosie discovers a strong attraction to Silas that she must fight at every turn. The Fenris are terrifying, but these girls can kick some serious butt, and I found myself loving the action scenes. The close but complex relationship between the sisters was probably my favorite part of the novel: they care deeply about each other, even to the point of feeling they have two halves of the same heart, but there are still layers of resentment and jealousy that Pearce explores expertly. And Silas, the woodsman with a deadly ax, was my kind of love interest: encouraging, never controlling or overly protective, and a total sweetheart. I just loved this book, and I highly recommend it.

Source: library
Publisher: Little, Brown

Five Random Thoughts on a Friday

1. I’ve been rereading Shiver in preparation for reading Linger (which I’ve already bought—so pretty!), and I’m remembering why I wanted to write like Maggie Steifvater. Her words are art, and I love savoring them.

2. I love watching the Food Network sometimes. It sometimes inspires me to cook, and it always inspires me to eat good food! And Paula Deen’s accent is the best.

3. I’m late to the party, but I really want to read Eat, Pray, Love! I’ve heard incredible things, and I can’t wait to see the movie. Anything with Julia Roberts is golden in my book, especially if she travels to Italy, and I’m in the mood for an inspiring real life story.

4. I want to go back to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum here in Boston. It’s not much to look like on the outside, but it’s filled with stunning art inside, all of it collected by Isabella Stewart Gardner, a Boston legend. I wrote a paper in college about John Singer Sargent’s portrait of her, and ever since, it’s been one of my favorite art museums of all time.

5. There are so many good, quirky, amazing festivals that I want to go to. I’m making tentative plans to go to South by Southwest in Austin next March to get my fix of great music. I also would love to go to the Food and Wine Festival in Aspen or Miami—how awesome would that be? (Thanks, Katie, for suggesting that I mention this!)

Have a great weekend, everybody!

I'm in somewhat of a writing funk

I’ve been working hard all week revising Broken Mirrors, and my word count so far is about where I wanted it to be. But it’s been more painful than usual. There have been hours where I’ve stared at my computer, absolutely uninspired to write. Or I’ll write, realize everything I’ve written is awful, and delete. And then start staring again.

I want to have this revision finished in about a week, which is looking less and less likely. But I want to have a fully revised, polished, perfect manuscript for WriteOn Con (CLICK HERE to see the website for this awesome free online writer’s conference that’s going to take place on August 10-12), and this week is my last free week to work on it.

So there’s been some stress. And some long walks for made-up errands to combat that stress. And even some silly TV watching. But really, the only thing I think can help me is if I wake up tomorrow and feel more in the writerly mood. I also need to turn off my inner editor and accept that even if what I’m writing is bad, at least I’m writing, and I can revise everything later.

What do you do to get yourself out of a writing funk?

New Followers and Impromptu Dancing

Things that make me happy, even on a Monday:

1. New followers! Thank you all so much for checking out my little blog!

2. Sailboats bobbing on the water. I know nothing about sailing, but they’re beautiful to watch.

3. Thinking about what I would name my boat if I had one. Right now, I’m liking “Chasing the Horizon.”

4. Dancing around the room to a really ridiculous song. Um, “Eenie Meenie” by Justin Bieber, anyone? I swear I’m not a Bieber fanatic or anything, but it’s so catchy!

5. Taking naps by a pool. There’s something about the noise level there that’s so comforting for some reason.

Happy Monday, everyone! Anything making you happy this week?

Goals!

Well, I wrote about 12,000 words this week and cut about 5,000, so my word count is up to 62,000. I didn’t quite meet my goal of 15,000 words (CLICK HERE to see my post from last week), but I’m satisfied with my progress. I tried to write everything all the way through, leaving no holes, but I gave that up pretty quickly. Sometimes I just have no inspiration for certain scenes or passages, especially transitions between big scenes. I didn’t want to stall my writing completely, but at least I tried!

I’m very close to being finished with this revised draft, and I want to keep pushing through this week. So, this week, my goals are:

-Write 15,000 words. I can do it this week! I just have to go into complete recluse mode and ignore all of my laundry.

-Keep an eye on building tension. Y’all had some awesome advice on how to keep conflict in each scene, and I want to make sure that I keep the plot building toward the climax. My poor characters are going to be doing a lot of suffering, but I think they’ll pull through.

Does anyone else have any writing, reading, or personal goals this week?

Forget You by Jennifer Echols

Zoey wakes up from a car crash and can’t remember the entire night before. She had planned to go parking with her new boyfriend, Brandon, but Brandon is now ignoring her, and her nemesis, Doug, is acting strangely. As Zoey deals with her absent father and her mother’s emotional problems, she also tries to figure out what happened that night and why it seemed to change everything.

Oh my goodness, how much do I love this book? I pretty much knew I was going to, because it’s Jennifer Echols and I adored Going Too Far, but Forget You had a magic all its own. Zoey is an immediately compelling character, though some of her decisions made me want to yell at her, and her obsession with Brandon was incredibly annoying. Doug has a complexity that drew me to him, and the sparks between him and Zoey—wow. It’s not just a romance, however. The relationships between family and friends are just as important, and Echols has a lot to say about the real life of a teenager in today’s society. This is a book you won’t dream of putting down.

Source: purchased
Publisher: MTV Books

Five Random Thoughts on a Friday

1. I’m planning on running a half marathon in January. There, if I announce here, then I have to do it. I’ve been a runner since middle school (though I’m more like a jogger now), but I haven’t done many races since high school, and I want to challenge myself a little more this year. Plus, I think it’ll be a fun experience to join a running club and train. I bought these snazzy new shoes to help motivate me!

2. Is anyone else in love with the Old Spice “Smell like a man, man” ad campaign? Pure genius. I think it’s the guy’s voice. I wonder if he talks like that in real life, and if he does, I tip my hat to you, sir.

3. I went and saw Inception last weekend along with about a quarter of the world. I knew nothing about it before going in, but my friends wanted to see it, and I’m never opposed to seeing new movies. I ended up loving it! It’s one of those movies you have to watch frame by frame (well, I did, anyway) to understand what’s going on. And it leaves you with questions long after you’ve seen it. I tend to go for movies that are light, fluffy candy, but every once in a while, a thought-provoking movie is just perfect.

4. I’m utterly addicted to Ocean Spray’s CranGrape juice. Yes, it is much too sweet and not very good for me at all, but I love it to death.

5. It’s about that time of year again. The time of year where I start missing Christmas. I start listening to Christmas music and dreaming of cold nights and hot chocolate and sparkling lights everywhere. Don’t judge me.

Hope everyone has a happy Friday!

Building Tension

One of the things I’ve been struggling with in Broken Mirrors is building tension. I open with the big conflict scene, and the rest of the novel is a buildup toward that. The tension should come from discovering how that conflict could have come about.

I’ve never had to think much about tension before I started writing. But I’ve always loved books that are rife with it, and I’m trying to figure out what makes me love it. I love tension between characters, whether romantic or not, and I think that tense relationship can reveal a lot about people. And when you don’t know someone well, there is always some tension as you try to figure them out.

The tension in the plot is more difficult for me. I want the events to escalate toward one goal, one climax scene, and I want the reader to feel that buildup. The plots that do this well are the plots that keep you reading well into the night, the ones that you wouldn’t dream of putting down until everything was resolved, and that tension often begins very early in the novel. I want to make sure that not only is everything in the proper order, but that the events and revelations build on top of each other.

I’ve been thinking about this issue a lot as I’ve been writing this week. I’m not sure I have any answers yet, but it has made me examine my outline in a much more thorough way. If anyone has any insight, please share!

Polka Dots and Running in the Rain

Things that make me happy, even on a Monday:

1. Walking through the park by my apartment. All the flowers are blooming!



2. Polka dots. They’re just so cheerful.

3. Nutella. I seriously eat it by the spoonful.

4. Self magazine. I just discovered it, but I love the positive, active lifestyle they encourage.

5. Running in the rain. There's something incredibly peaceful about it.

Hope everyone has a great Monday! Anything making you happy this week?

Goals!

I’ve hunkered down and written a lot since I got home this week. Broken Mirrors, my WiP about Snow White, is now up to 55,000 words, and everything else that needs to be written is mapped out. I’m not quite sure how long this draft will be, but I’m thinking around 75,000-80,000 words. My goal is to finish it by the end of this month, so my goals for this week are:

-Write 15,000 words. I’m becoming a recluse this week so that I can get some real work done.

-Try not to skip scenes or transitions. I often leave big blanks in my drafts if I don’t have any inspiration for some part, and I have to go back through and fill them in. Getting characters from one scene to another seems to be the biggest problem I have. I want to try to write something—anything—instead of leaving blanks, just to see if that will help the process. After all, it’s better to write something you have to revise than to write nothing, right? We’ll see if it works.

So I’m hoping for a very productive week. If I can get the draft up to 70,000 words, I’ll be so much closer to being done! Anyone else have any goals this week?

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Reeling from the death of her father, Amy can’t believe her mother wants her to drive with a boy she barely knows from California to their new home in Connecticut. Roger’s on summer break from college and has to visit his dad in Pennsylvania, but he isn’t too excited about the boring route Amy’s mother has planned for them to drive. Amy and Roger decide to set their own route across the country, and Amy learns about Roger’s devastation over being summarily dumped by his girlfriend. She also begins to find her way around the edges of her grief.

I love love LOVED this book. One, I’m always fascinated by road trip novels, because I’ve always wanted to go on a cross-country trip. Two, Amy and Roger were both characters I came to love. Amy is broken by her father’s death and her mother’s abandonment of her (when we meet Amy, she’s been staying at her home in California for a month by herself while her mother sets up the home in Connecticut). Over the course of the novel, she begins learning how to open up and let go. Roger is a total sweetheart, a caring, funny boy who seems to understand Amy more than she understands herself. Quirky characters pop up in different states, and none of them felt stereotypical or cardboard-like. I also loved the different inserts in the novel: playlists, real photographs of various places described, diner menus, etc. Everything about this book was fun. Matson has a way of bringing characters to life, and so I was very happy to join along for the ride.

Five Random Thoughts on a Friday

1. One of my favorite things about Boston is running along the Charles River. There’s a path and a park along most of it, and I can run right by the water. Sometimes I even turn my iPod off and listen to the small waves break along the shore, and mixed with the sound of my feet slapping the ground, there’s nothing more peaceful.

2. I’m somewhat terrified of fish. Not the dead, cooked kind, but the live ones. I didn’t use to be, but recently, the idea of squirmy, slimy fish has made me more and more reluctant to get in a lake. I don’t even like aquariums. And the idea of having an aquarium in your room—having fish swim about while you sleep—seriously creeps me out. Maybe there was some kind of fish trauma in my life that I’m repressing.

3. I want to learn how to cook. Right now, my cooking doesn’t extend far beyond pasta and lemon pepper chicken (though I can prepare a mean salad!) I’m not a foodie or anything, but sometimes I love watching the Food Channel, and it would be nice to stop eating pasta every night.

4. I’ve been watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer season one (free right now on Hulu!), and I realized I had forgotten that David Boreanaz was my first crush. He plays Angel, the original brooding vampire who never, ever sparkles, and when I was ten, I was sure he and I were meant for each other. It’s so much fun to relive that kind of feeling.

5. I miss driving. When I was back home last week, I drove everywhere, including our road trip to Austin. It’s nice to walk around again in heat that’s not so oppressive, but I miss turning on the radio and pressing my foot to the accelerator. Yes, as my family will tell you, I have something of a lead foot.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Why I miss vacation

So I’m back in Boston, settling back down in front of my computer. I actually got a fair amount of typing done on the plane yesterday (I didn’t bring a book so as to force myself to either stare out the window or keep revising Broken Mirrors). I’m ready to read the draft I’ve written again and organize my writing and type up what I wrote over my vacation.

It’s exciting to really dive back into the manuscript, to spend days on end watching that word count go up and up. But part of me misses the two weeks I just had. I was hardly ever in the house, or if I was, there was always something non-work-related to be done. I was out at different restaurants, going to a bachelorette party, meeting new people and connecting with friends I see far too often. I spent a significant portion of time lounging by different pools, scribbling thoughts and notes down if I wanted to, people-watching if I didn’t. I felt like I reconnected with the world for a while.

I think it’s important for writers to have the discipline to sit in front of a computer or notebook and write. Every day, for hours on end, completely focused. But I also think it’s important for us to go outside and be human beings for a little while. I got great story and character ideas from watching people (I tried not to be a creepy stalker, I promise!), and living new experiences always helps me grow as a writer and as a person. I’m so much more refreshed now as I take a new look at Broken Mirrors, and I’m grateful for that.

What do you think? Should there be a balance between writing and going out into the world?

The West Wing and Porch Sitting

Things that make me happy, even on a Monday:

1. Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. I loved this book so much when I read it last week that I’m seriously contemplating reading it again right now. Review to come Saturday!

2. The West Wing. Specifically, Josh Lyman: so funny!

3. WeHeartIt.com (CLICK HERE to go to it). It’s a collection of some of the most fun, amazing pictures.

4. Hearing that song that takes you back. There are songs that remind me so vividly of senior year in high school or the summer after junior year of college and every other period of my life, it seems. I love rediscovering them.

5. Sitting out on a porch with a cup of coffee and a good book for a whole long, lazy morning.

Anything making you happy this week?

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Seventeen-year-old Lennie worships her older sister Bailey and is devastated when Bailey dies suddenly. Everything in her world is suddenly confusing, and she starts snapping at her grandmother who has raised her. She writes poems on scraps of paper or the bark of trees, leaving them out in the world. Worst of all, she has to fight a strange mutual attraction with Bailey’s boyfriend, Toby. When a new boy, Joe, arrives, Lennie is torn between his pure heart and the forceful pull she feels for Toby. She’s also struggling to find herself now that she no longer has a sister.

Lennie is one of the best protagonists that I’ve encountered in a long time. As the official synopsis on the front flap of the book says, she’s a “bookworm and band geek,” and she’s that strange mix of kid and adult that most seventeen-year-olds are. Joe is almost too good to be true, but I fell in love with him and his easy charm. The real star here, though, is the writing. Everything is told through Lennie’s voice or through her poems, and that voice is captivating. The words, the insights into people’s emotions, the little details about people and setting, all were awe-inspiring. I read this book on a plane, and yes, I was trying to hide the fact that I was crying through much of it. The girl next to me must have thought I was crazy, but it was more than worth it. The Sky is Everwhere is heartbreaking, beautiful, and unforgettable. You HAVE to read it.

Publisher: Dial Books
Source: purchased

Five Random Thoughts on a Friday

1. I want to go back to Lake Travis! I spent 4th of July weekend there, outside of Austin, and it’s so very idyllic. The green water sparkles, and oak trees cover the shore. There are also deer everywhere. Sorry my picture of the deer is blurry--it was so humid out that my camera lens fogged up!



2. The sky is just bigger here. Maybe I don’t notice the sky in other places, or something, but it seems to go on forever here in Texas.

3. I’ve found the perfect setting for a novel I haven’t started yet but am hoping to at the end of this summer. Smithville, Texas is where they filmed most of Hope Floats (you have to go see that movie right now if you haven’t yet. Really, I’ll wait.) It’s got the best old Main Street and signs for the local high school football team everywhere and these old houses on tree-lined streets. I think the population is just under 4,000, and it’s beautiful. I can’t wait to go spend a day there and “research.”

4. The Pride and Prejudice soundtrack may be my favorite writing music ever. Or my favorite Saturday morning breakfast music. Or my favorite music full stop.

5. Shopping for cookware is much more fun than I had ever expected. I’ve become more and more enamored of Williams Sonoma (so pretty!), but even spending an hour in the housewares section of Macy’s is pretty darn entertaining.

Have a great weekend, everybody! Any random thoughts out there? :)

A Week of Scribbling

Since I’m back in Texas and have a million and one awesome things to do for the time I’m here, I’ve spent the week mostly away from my computer. Instead of typing out more scenes for Broken Mirrors and being continually tempted to check email or Facebook or EOnline (yes, really), I’ve been scribbling into my notebook. And it’s been wonderful.

I’m doing major revisions this round, so I have a lot of plot points to hammer out and character details to develop. I write out questions, like “Would Brigitta really do that?” or “Why does this character exist again?” I’m my own worst critic. I also have a lot of “What ifs” where I throw out wacky ideas and see if any of them stick. It really is just a free-for-all.

So I’ve been brainstorming those, but I’ve also been writing down snatches of dialogue or anything I want. I feel more liberated when I scribble things down. I actually wrote the first draft of this novel out in long-hand, which is the only time I’ve done that. It took longer, and it was harder to go back and see what I had written, but I felt like the words came more easily. I’ll have to type up these scenes that I’ve written at some point and revise them heavily, but for now, I feel like I’m getting some good work done.

Does anyone else do this?

Yankee Candles and Cherry Coke

Five things that make me happy, even on a Monday:

1. Yankee Candles. They make the entire room smell like peaches or Christmas cookies or some wonderful, transporting scent.

2. My Joshua Radin Pandora channel, which plays all those singer-songwriters I love. It’s the perfect soundtrack for a lazy Sunday morning of coffee and reading and pajamas.

3. Spending a day entirely without my computer. Sometimes I just need to unplug from the world for a while.

4. Cherry coke. Yes, it’s full of empty calories, but they’re such GOOD empty calories.

5. Football movies. They always get me. Rudy is especially awesome.

Anything making you happy this week?

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Will Grayson, a teen from the suburbs of Chicago whose philosophy in life is to keep his head down and stay quiet, develops a distant crush on Jane and tends to hide behind his best (and only) friend Tiny. He meets Will Grayson, a teen from another suburb who struggles with depression and is keeping the secret of his sexuality. Their lives intertwine, mainly through Tiny, a larger-than-life friend who plays football and is planning the staging for his autobiographical musical Tiny Dancer: The Tiny Cooper Story.

I’ve loved John Green ever since I read Looking for Alaska, and I’ve loved David Levithan ever since I read The Realm of Possibility. So, when I heard they’d written a book together, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. And I was so not disappointed. The story is written from the distinct perspectives of the two Will Graysons, and their narrations are shot through with realism and poignancy and a whole lot of humor. I enjoyed both protagonists, but I fell in love with Tiny. Tiny is huge in several senses: he’s bigger than everybody else, and his personality is, too. The writing is what I would have expected from these two authors: amazing. It’s often beautiful, and always raw and real. One of my favorite lines is from the first Will Grayson, who writes: “Not that smart. Not that hot. Not that nice. Not that funny. That’s me: I’m not that.” (p. 192) These characters found their way into my heart, and I couldn’t put the book down. Okay, I’ll stop gushing now. But seriously, read it.

Five Random Thoughts on a Friday

1. I’m back home in Houston for a while, and I’m so very excited. It sure is teaching me how much of a wuss I am in Boston, though. If it hits 80 in Boston, I feel like I’m going to melt. Here, it’s up in the 90s and has more humidity than you can shake a stick at. I’m relying heavily on shorts and tank tops and AIR CONDITIONING.

2. The writing goals may have to go on hiatus this week. It’s going to be busy, what with jury duty (seriously?), dress fittings, doctor’s appointments, and hanging out with friends I hardly ever get to see. Coming home always makes me very happy, but often very tired—is that strange?

3. The Boston Public Library may be my favorite place in Boston. This is the main building on Copley Square, and isn’t it pretty? It’s also full of books, which makes it even more awesome.

4. I have a confession to make. I am a master at Twilight SceneIt. My brother and sister-in-law gave it to me for Christmas last year, and my group of friends has humored me and played it a few times. Of course, because I own the movie and have seen it a fair amount *cough* I always win. And I have this thing about being very competitive at board games, so then I get irrationally excited about beating people who have seen the movie once, if it all. I’m surprised they still hang out with me.

5. I have been terribly behind about adding my books to goodreads.com. I really enjoy that site, and I need to remember to visit it once I’ve finished a book. It’s such a great resource for reviews and to find what’s out there.

Hope everyone has a great Fourth of July weekend! Stay cool :)