Archive for the 'Book Stuff' Category

January 1, 2010 | "Whoa whoa I gotta go...back to schoooool...again",Book Stuff,Draven Atreides, Teenage Informant Series,Life in General,Reading is FUNdamental,School Daze,The 4-1-1 on Me

Resolution Update: I took the initiative with Resolution #2 and got a membership at 24Hour Fitness. Much pain cometh.

It’s that time again. Time to reflect on your life, lament the things you should’ve done, give yourself a pat on the back for things you did. I can’t seem to find the resolutions I’d made for 2009, so I don’t know if I was able to mark anything off or wince and say “Okay, well, maybe next year.” I made it easy this year with a real easy title. So, without further ado, here’s my resolutions for 2010:

~ Write more on the daily – I only seem to do this when I’m in Writing Mode. I think I should be in Writing Mode more often and get into the habit of writing on one or both of my breaks.

~ Take a dance fitness class – I got hooked when I attended a few classes here, but got discouraged because a) it’s so far away. With traffic, it would’ve taken me over an hour and I’d only be there for 45 mins and b) the classes I wanted to take didn’t fit into my schedule. However, in doing research for Book 3, I found a place that’s closer and at a more reasonable time.

~ Find a YA crit partner – I’m so jealous every time Rinda talks about her crit partner. If I could find one person like that, whom I could trust implicitly with my work, I would be golden. So, uh, if you write YA Rom/Coms and/or mysteries and looking for a crit partner…holla

~ Finish writing Book 3 by June and start Book 4 by Sept – I’m not like other writers who put Speedy Gonzales to shame in the writing dept. I know what my limitations are and that gives me a little leeway. What I would like to do is just get through the whole series first–first rough draft–then go back and edit all of them. Just the idea of having them all “in the bag” would be a nice weight off.

~ Read more YA – I mean, hell, it’s the genre I write. So I should read more, right? I’m working on it. Really I am. I have a few in my TBR pile.

~ Try NaNoWriMo again – A fresh new story. No series, no outlining, pantsing all the way.

~ Be more green – I use eco-friendly cleaning products, eco-friendly laundry detergent, feed our cat organic food, use a couple of organic kitchen towels, and use energy-saving lightbulbs. I’m going to try and incorporate more, though. With help from Eco Mama and The Eco Diva, two blogs I read on the regular, I should have no problem doing my share to minimize my carbon footprint.

~ Offer up some Free Reads – I’m going to try my hand at writing flash fiction and/or short stories. I’ll either add another page to this website or create a separate blog space and display them there.

~ Get through this year of school without any breakdowns–mini or otherwise – Ahem….okay, moving on…

~ Travel – If there were rules for writers, one of the requirements should be traveling: “You are not a legitimate writer unless you’ve traveled to at least 3 places.” Or something like that. There are several places I want to visit–both in the US and internationally. I’d like to try and plan two trips a year: a small one in-state and then a big one out of state or country.

So, these are my resolutions. I should probably print this out as a reminder or something. So, what are your resolutions for 2010? Post your answers or link to your blog post in the Comments section.

Technorati Tags: 24Hour Fitness, Eco Mama, The Eco Diva

December 21, 2009 | Book Stuff,Life in General,Movie Queue,Reading is FUNdamental,The 4-1-1 on Me,Weekend Wrap-Up

Here are more pics from my company holiday party

Friday night was date night for Mr. Maul and I. We had dinner at Claim Jumper then went to see AVATAR in 3D. It was long, but I liked it. James Cameron did a really fabulous job. I’m glad he waited as long as he did to do it right. When they were in “Avatar” world, it was so cool. It was so real, right down to the movement of hair. When they did up close shots of Neytiri (Zoe Saldana. I LOVE this name. It’s going on my Girls Name List) and Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), you could hear the beads in her hair when she moved her head. But the planet of Pandora was just…amazing.

They say that humans are connected to Earth and we need to get back to that, but the race of the Na’vi really are connected to their planet. Literally. And I didn’t really understand how tall the avatars were compared to the humans until the very end. Since the two races were always fighting when together in the same frame, you couldn’t really tell. Needless to say, tall is an understatement. They’re more like giants. LOL. James Cameron created a beautiful world and I can totally see why Jake wanted to stay. So cool. I wish I’d seen more behind the scenes on this movie.

Saturday and Sunday, we did a little shopping. Both for Christmas and ourselves. On Friday, we exchanged gifts at my job and I snagged a $15 GC from Barnes and Noble. Woot! I think if anyone tried to take it away from me, they would’ve had to pry it from my dead cold fingers. LOL. So I used it to buy Karen Kelley‘s latest in her Planet Nerak series, Dating Outside Your DNA. LOL. Neat title, eh?

I also bought a Betty Boop 2010 calendar for work, some reasonably priced Cal King sheets for our bed from Ross, and a couple of body butters from The Body Shop (Mr. Maul’s best friend’s wife gave me a GC here for Christmas). I’m trying two new scents: Nutmeg and Vanilla, and Black Velvet Apricot.

I’m not a big fan of the scent of Vanilla. Never have been. But this stuff smelled pretty good and the Vanilla scent was light, not overwhelming.

I also found this kick-ass short-sleeved shirt at Hot Topic (CLICK PIC TO ENLARGE VIEW)

LOL. Barbie is Diggin’ It. And so was I. That’s why I bought it. I won’t be able to wear this until it starts warming up, but I laffed when I saw it. I don’t think they had Barbie’s like this back in the 70′s did they? Wouldn’t that be cool if they had? Hah!

That’s it for me. So…how was your weekend? Are you all ready for the holidays?

Technorati Tags: Claim Jumper, AVATAR, James Cameron, Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Barnes and Noble, Karen Kelley, Dating Outside Your DNA., Betty Boop, Ross, The Body Shop, Nutmeg and Vanilla, Black Velvet Apricot, Hot Topic, Barbie

December 20, 2009 | Book Stuff,Dance Jam Productions,Sunday Scribblings,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment

Today’s word of the day is brought to you by Sunday Scribblings: DARE

The following is an excerpt from my second book, DANCE JAM PRODUCTIONS.

“Look, you have to understand something. I didn’t care about anything. I didn’t want to live with the constant pain. Ty had me on suicide watch the first two years I was with him. He didn’t dare leave me alone for fear I would kill myself. Smart man, cuz I would’ve tried the minute his back was turned. His friends would trade off watching over me. I got so used to the constant company that I started following Ty around the house. I didn’t want to let him out of my sight for fear that I would never see him again. If he ever did leave the room, he made sure I knew where he was at all times by talking. Or making a lot of noise.”

Mattie chuckled at the memory.

“You’ve met Ty. Making a lot of noise and talking a lot goes against his nature, not to mention his training. But he did it for me. He and the guys.”

Technorati Tags: Sunday Scribblings, DANCE JAM PRODUCTIONS

December 13, 2009 | Book Stuff,Secrets and Kisses,Sunday Scribblings,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment

Today’s word of the day is brought to you by Sunday Scribblings: BRAVE

Since I had so much fun doing it last time, I’m going to do it again. Here’s an excerpt from my first book, SECRETS AND KISSES, using the word of the day.

“You look absolutely hot, Skylar. Your dress is totally amazing.” Kedren said the last word as though he’d been running in a marathon.

Blushing, I glanced up at him and flashed him a quick smile.“Thanks.”

Hot. Was that better than gorgeous? I asked myself.

“You look…pretty handsome yourself,” I reciprocated. Handsome was a major understatement, but I wasn’t brave enough to use the word delicious.

Technorati Tags: Sunday Scribblings

December 9, 2009 | Book Stuff,Life in General,Reading is FUNdamental,Road Trip Wednesday,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment

Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival”, where YA Highway‘s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it in on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

You’re more than welcome to participate! Just answer the question on your own blog, and leave a link to it in their comments.

Topic #10

Getting to Know You

1) What are the three best books you’ve read this year? I wouldn’t say these were the best, but I liked them. Just to warn you, none of them are YA. Ask me this question same time, next year, and it’s likely I’ll have a different answer:

Into the Woods by Julie Leto and Once Upon a Mattress by Leslie Kelly – As you all know from one of the previous RTW posts, I’m addicted to this adult romance line. I liked this particular story because these authors created a world that exists in the same time, but another universe….a place called Elatyria where all the fairytales we read about are considered legends. Very cool.

A Taste of Magic and A Stroke of Magic by Tracy Madison (Gypsy Magic Series) – Alice Raymond and Elizabeth Stevens are sisters…with a little special, um, gift. An ancient gypsy magic has been passed down through the females in the family bloodline and it manifests for both of them in different ways. These are the first two in the series, so I’m hoping there’s going to be more.

Viking Heat (Viking Series II) by Sandra Hill. Love. This. Series. I’ve read all 10 books in this particular series. Long story short, this series is about a bunch of hunky Navy SEALs. They either get pulled back during the time of Vikings…and stay there (because they fell in love) or the Vikings are pulled into the current year. And stay, because they fell in love. This particular story focuses on the heroine who joins the WEALs (female version of Navy SEALs) and gets knocked into Viking times. If anything, just check out Sandra’s site and drool over the cover images.

2) If you could meet one author (living or dead), who would it be? I’ve already met her and gushed about her in RTW #9

3) What book are you most looking forward to in 2010? I’m just looking forward to reading Susan Mallery‘s Fools Gold series. Again, ask me this question same time, next year and my answer will probably be different.

Technorati Tags: Road Trip Wednesday, YA Highway, Into the Woods, Julie Leto, Once Upon a Mattress, Leslie Kelly, A Taste of Magic, A Stroke of Magic, Tracy Madison, Viking Heat, Sandra Hill, Susan Mallery