Back Cover Blurb:

A day at the spa can be a “royale” pain.

Sixteen-year-old Draven Atreides has just started a new gig as an FBI informant. Her To Do list includes: adjust to new life, make new friends, and try not to tell said new friends about her secret job.

A French chemist is peddling his “specially formulated” products to high class spas and his latest target is celeb favorite, The Royale Treatment Day Spa. Unfortunately, his products cause some nasty side effects and the results are so not pretty. Just when Draven’s first assignment seems to be heading south, she receives unwanted assistance in the form of Rader Deschanel. What does he want with Draven? Will she be able to solve her first official case without blowing her cover?

WHO I’M LOOKING FOR:

~ YA critique group members
~ YA writers (teens and adults)
~ Book reviewers who review YA novels (teens and adults)

WHAT I NEED:

~ Detailed feedback on what’s not working, what needs improvement, suggestions, etc.

WHAT YOU’LL GET:

~ A complete 42,000 word YA fiction novel to read in MS Word format

~ Your name in the Acknowledgements section

~ A free copy of the book whenever it gets published

~ A chance to beta read the whole series

~ The knowledge that you helped edit a novel

~ Eternal thanks from the author

Contact me at celise[at]celisedowns[dot]com if you’re interested.

Technorati Tags: beta readers

Nice. Not.

I ended up combining Chapter 5 and 6, so now the rest of the chapter headings are off by one.

Which could be a good thing. The Psych Eval section could be a whole chapter by itself, it’s that long. Well, it seems like it on paper. I could be wrong, but we’ll see.

YOU HAVE THREE MORE DAYS TO VOTE! Enter to win either a $50 or $25 gift card to an independent bookstore in your area. Should I change Draven’s last name? Head over to my FUN STUFF page and give your two cents. For teens only, ages 13-18. Deadline is July 31st, MST.

Saturday, I saw THE UGLY TRUTH twice in one day. It wasn’t a hardship, really, seeing Gerard Butler for a couple of hours. It’s interesting to see how well he can hide that Scottish accent of his. In 300 and ROCKNROLLA, he let it all hang out. But in this movie, P.S. I LOVE YOU and NIM’S ISLAND, he Americanized it a little bit, but the accent still slipped through. I didn’t think Mr. Maul would want to see it, but he surprised me by suggesting it.

Sunday, we went to breakfast at U.S. Egg. My co-worker and sometimes go there for lunch. It used to be called the Blue Plate Brunchery, but now they’re under new management. With a completely different menu. That’s one of the places I like to go that serves breakfast all day long. Sometimes, a burger or a sandwich just doesn’t cut it. We weren’t too impressed with the coffee, but the food we ordered was pretty good. Mr. Maul liked their protein pancakes (blueberries, cinnamon and slivers of almonds are baked into the pancake batter).

We also watched QUANTUM OF SOLACE on Blu-Ray later that night. I think he bought the regular version for me, but of course, this one looks a lot better.
Surprisingly, I have yet to finish typing up the revisions, but I had good writing movement last week: 12 new pages in The Lesson segment. Yeah, it had already been written, but when I was going back through it—and trying to find a place in the novel to put it—I realized I needed to add a little more detail. 12 new pages emerged. Yay me.

So, how was weekend?

Technorati Tags: THE UGLY TRUTH, Gerard Butler, 300, ROCKNROLLA, P.S. I LOVE YOU, NIM’S ISLAND, U.S. Egg, QUANTUM OF SOLACE

YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO VOTE! Enter to win either a $50 or $25 gift card to an independent bookstore in your area (yes, I changed my mind. We need to support local bookstores more). Should I change Draven’s last name? Head over to my FUN STUFF page and give your two cents. For teens only, ages 13-18. Deadline is July 31st, MST.

Friday after work, I went to see HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. I liked it. It amazes me how much the characters have grown. Literally and figuratively. I mean, when these kids were tapped to play Harry, Hermione and Ron, they were 10-11. We’ve watched them grow up. Rupert’s 20 yrs old and Emma will be attending Brown University. How wild is that? I’ve never read the books, but I’ve seen all the movies. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. So unlike the extensive review I read over at Horserider’s blog, I can honestly say that I never have any expectations going in when I see these movies. I don’t know what’s missing, what’s been added or how important those deletions/additions are to the story. I just like the movies, so I go see them. Plain and simple. One thing for all you HP fans to keep in mind, and it’s also something Daniel Radcliffe mentioned in an interview, is that they can’t put everything from the books into the movie. It’s just not possible. Just be glad they’re making the movies.

Saturday, I spent the better part of the morning in the heat at the The Arizona Rod & Classic Car Club Annual Backpack Giveaway. My Dad is a member of this car club and this is their second year doing this backpack giveaway for ChildHelp and Keys. It was my second time volunteering as well and this time, I was manning the Book Booth. Not by myself though, because that would’ve been a freakin’ nightmare. Each booth had something different. Backpacks, school supplies (puzzles and notebooks), children’s books, free hot dogs and drinks, raffle tickets, etc. Once kids got their backpacks, they could visit the other booths and pick up stuff.

Last year, I was giving away stuffed animals—this year it was children’s books. Kohl’s donated over 1000 books. Me and 5 other people gave away 9 different titles, one of which was Kung Fu Panda (that one was a big hit, needless to say). The one thing I discovered at this event this year was that a couple of volunteers felt “entitled.” During the course of handing out books, a volunteer from another booth (and I really wish I could remember from what company, because I would’ve called them out in this post) came over and helped herself to two books saying that “her daughter would really like these.”

“Really? That’s nice. How about you wait until the event is over to see if we have any extra copies? Because these books are for the kids here. The ones who are standing in line. Or did you forget who this event was for? You stupid, selfish twit.”

I didn’t say that, but I wanted to. I let it go. It was two books out of 1000+, but it was two less books that other needy children didn’t get. Children who probably hate to read, but would’ve liked one of these books enough to try it more often. That pissed me off a little.

Oh, and of course we can’t forget that one volunteer from SRP who told her grandson to swipe some extra backpacks (probably for her own kids or some co-workers kids). One of the booths had backpacks leftover and were going to give them out to parents whose children couldn’t attend. The boy came over and nearly helped himself to 6 backpacks. I say nearly because the woman who was passing them out stopped him in his tracks. She’s all “Uh, no, you need to put these down.” And he’s all “But my grandmother said—“and she’s all, “I don’t care what your grandmother said, you need to put these down because that’s not how it works around here.” And then she promptly went over to the boy’s grandmother and gave her what-for.

It pissed her off so much, that people could be so greedy when it comes to charity, she said “That’s it. We’re done. We’re only giving away what’s left in these two open boxes and then we’re done.” Despite the fact that there were several more unopened boxes nearby. I didn’t blame her. Really, I didn’t. Her group was in charge of those backpacks. And to have someone come over and just take whatever they wanted? That was wrong. You came to this event with the intent of helping underprivileged children. Just because the stuff you’re passing out is free doesn’t mean you can put aside something for yourself. Get with the program, people. Volunteering means giving back, not taking. Jeez. I know all the future events I’ll volunteer for won’t be like this, so I’m just going to chalk this experience up to the sweltering heat. Despite the fact that I was under a canopy, I still felt like I was going to pass out a couple of times.

Sunday, I cleaned house and did laundry. I never got a chance to finish it, either, because my body was protesting from all the bending and lifting I did on Saturday! Mr. Maul rubbed this foul, strong-smelling Tiger Balm crap on my leg. It smelled stronger than menthol and started to burn after a little bit (I guess it’s supposed to do that). I’ve never experienced that icy-hot stuff before, but I imagine if felt something like that. But 3 times worse. It’s now Tuesday and I’m still feeling a little stiff, but it’s not as bad.

I’m now up to Chapter 4 in typing up revisions. I’ve been slacking a little. Even though I had written a whole new section regarding The Offer, I just ended up taking some words from that and putting them in the first chapter. I think that section will make a good short story, though, so I’ll keep it around. I’m also debating on whether The Psych Eval should be part of the final chapter or make it into an Epilogue. I have something else for the Epilogue, but I was thinking about making the book interactive with the website (when I design it, that is). I dunno, maybe I’ll host another contest and get everyone’s opinion again.

So, how was your weekend?

Technorati Tags: HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE, Brown University, Daniel Radcliffe, The Arizona Rod & Classic Car Club Annual Backpack Giveaway, ChildHelp, Keys, Kohl’s, Kung Fu Panda, SRP, Tiger Balm

Sunday, we ate Ron’s Place (aka The Original Pancake House) as kind of a last minute thing. They serve breakfast until 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays, and we got there a little after 1, I think. And the place was nearly packed. But if you’ve ever eaten there, then you know that the food is ALWAYS worth the wait. Then we checked out Luci’s Healthy Marketplace on the way home. We went just to check it out and ended up buying stuff because we were given a $10 off $50 or more coupon. We plan to go back to try out the omelette bar…and possibly to get cat food. Sweet Pea seemed to like the sample of dry kibble and the canned food we got her. We even met one of the owner’s (Luci is his wife) and talked to him for a few minutes. I think it’s so cool to be able to interact with the owner of a business and know that they’re actually there, running the business, and not leaving it to someone else. He was very nice and thanked us–several times, LOl–for coming in.

Writing Movement – Last week was a good revision week. I started incorporating the sections I wrote into Book One. It’s a good thing I’m reading through the whole thing again because I’m finding typos and having to write additional content. Which is good. The word count was close to 40,000. I’m thinking this might be a little bit over by the time I’m done integrating everything.

THERE’S STILL TIME TO VOTE! Enter for a chance to win a $25 gift card or a $50 gift card to either Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com by voting on whether or not I should change Draven’s last name. Deadline is July 31st, MST. Only teens, ages 13-18, can vote, so hop on over to my FUN STUFF page and give your two cents.

I’ve been kicking around the idea of continuing the series after Draven, by way of using the name of the program she was recruited into; Only because I had planned for 6 books in this series and think that it would be hard to try to write standalones after doing a series for so long. Maybe once the 6 books are done, and I see what the reception has been like for Draven, I’ll pull the idea to the surface again. I also have another idea for a series, but I’m not going to speak on that yet. I dunno.

So, how was your weekend?

Technorati Tags: PUBLIC ENEMIES, Channing Tatum, Billy Crudup, THE WATCHMEN, J. Edgar Hoover, The Original Pancake House, Luci’s Healthy Marketplace

And it’s making me smile.

I like writing movements like this.

Writing Movements #1 and its creative spurt of nearly 20 pages was a section I refer to as “The Offer.” Yesterday, I got 9 handwritten pages of “The Psych Eval.”

Not bad. Not bad at all.

“When I feel successful, I will use it as memory for times that I don’t.” – SARK’s Writer’s Solution Sheet

What makes Draven special?

She’s been recruited by the FBI as an informant, and she doesn’t have any special FBI agent-type skills, so really what’s so special about her?

During lunch, LK and I had a little brainstorming session and we talked about the book some more. I thought I was done with Book One, but it’s apparent that I’m not. Needless to say, when I got home, I was eager to get started on the stuff we had talked about.

A few false starts and several balled up pieces of paper later, my thoughts finally started coming together. I was up til midnight, but I produced nearly 20 new handwritten pages and have the sore fingers to prove it.

As of right now, revisions for Book Two have been put on hold until I revise–again–Book One.

I like it when writing movements flow like that.

“When you write something valuable will occur” – SARK

Technorati Tags: Writing on the Wall, Monday Mania

Sunday was Mother’s Day, as you know. With my family, it’s a ritual to go out to breakfast. Our usual restaurant is Village Inn, but the one we always go to was closed down. So we invaded the Coco’s near Scottsdale Fashion Square. I say invaded because there was 16 of us!!! Me and Mr Maul; my sister, her husband and their 4 kids; my parents; Jackie and Brandon (long-time family friends), their son Mario, and their daughter Nikki, her hubby James, and their 2 daughters. Technically, it was 17, but one of Nikki’s daughter’s is an 18 mo old baby. We had a great time. I hadn’t seen my 15 yr old nephew since his final football game and that was in…Feb? Long time. He’s getting so tall and his voice is getting deep, too. It’s just a trip.

Sunday afternoon, Mr. Maul and I went to see STAR TREK. I was never really a fan of the shows or the movies. I would catch episodes here and there, but never watched them religiously. Unlike my Dad, who was of the old school Star Trek. I think he watched some of the other shows, too, in all their different incarnations. The only actor from the original series was Leonard Nimoy, which was pretty cool. The actor that portrays him in this movie, Zachary Quinto, plays Sylar on the TV show HEROES (one of my fav shows, BTW). And he did a really good job. Odd cameos: Tyler Perry (the guy behind those Madea movies) and Winona Ryder as Spock’s mother. Really weird seeing her. Anyhoo, we liked it. I thought J.J. Abrams did a bang-up job and I hear another movie is already in the works (per Leonard Nimoy). For those that don’t know the background stories about the main characters, this movie kind of did that for you: for instance, I had no idea that Spock was half-human. Nor did I know that Kirk’s father was the captain of a ship….for only 12 mins. Sad story, that. Or that Kirk was named after his grandfathers. And I still have no idea what Uhura’s first name is. It was mentioned real quick in the movie, but when Kirk said it, Spock talked over him (it was a funny moment, really), so I didn’t catch it. But I have a feeling it was unique, I would’ve liked it, and would probably use it as a character name in a future story. LOL.

Writing Movement – Revisions for DA Book 2 are coming along nicely. I’m almost done with Chapter 5. Here’s a funny: we had an hr for lunch on Saturday, so I took the MS along to edit. And I discovered that Chapter 5 contained only 3 pages. 3 pages made up Chapter 5. LOL. I don’t know how that happened. Maybe I got sidetracked and thought I was done, so when I went back in, I created a new chapter and kept on going. Needless to say, Chapter 5 will be combined with Chapter 6. And I can tell, just with the chapters I’ve done so far, I’m not moving the story along too well. I can hear my beta reader saying “There’s too much Poe and Rico.” I may leave it as is for now and just wait for the comments later.

For weeks now, I was making the announcement that Book 1 was going to be released Oct 23rd, during Teen Read Week. Then last month some time (or it might’ve been earlier this month), I rescinded that date. The reason for that, simply put, was that I changed my mind. I thought I was going to go the same route as I did with my first two books and then decided not to. I’ve decided to dip my toe back in the traditional pool—again—but on a smaller scale: small presses, no agent. On Friday, I went to Barnes and Noble on my way home and spent close to $50 on books. I bought three romances (of course) and the 2009 Writer’s Market. So, in between revisions for Book 2 and Book 1 (whenever I decide to send it to an editor again), I’ll be making a list of small presses to submit to.

I also signed up for NaNoWriMo this year. I’m going to try my hardest to write Book 3 during that month. Notice I said ‘try my hardest’. By then, I will have started school—and possibly my 20-week volunteer mentor program—so it’ll be interesting to see how I’ll juggle all that. Within the coming months you’ll be seeing a new blog post title: Writing Thoughts. Unlike my Random Thought posts where I talk about, well, random things, Writing Thoughts will be about writing, in all its forms: from query letters to NaNoWriMo.

This should be interesting.

So, how was your weekend?

Technorati Tags: SARK, Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper, Village Inn, Coco’s, Scottsdale Fashion Square, STAR TREK, Leonard Nimoy, Zachary Quinto, HEROES, Tyler Perry, Winona Ryder, J.J. Abrams, Teen Read Week, Barnes and Noble, 2009 Writer’s Market, NaNoWriMo

Seen a lot of movies over the past couple of weekends:

17 AGAIN – That Zac Efron sure is growing up handsome. Really liked this movie. The guy that plays his best friend is hilarious. The dude was a major Star Wars fan. Major funny: Pod Racer bed. That’s all I’m gonna say.

DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION - I was ready for Mr. Maul to dislike this movie because he was kinda baggin’ on it when he heard it was coming out. Surprisingly, he liked it. I was shocked. He said it was pretty close to the cartoon storyline, so kudos to the director. I wasn’t a big fan of the cartoon, but Mr. Maul was. I watched a few of the episodes with him, actually, so I was familiar with the characters in the movie. James Marsters always seems to play the bad guy. The first nice role I saw him in, and it was more of a supporting-supporting role was P.S. I LOVE YOU. But he made a good Piccolo.

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE – You do know that they had the premiere here in my hometown, right? I don’t live in Tempe–although it’s only about a 15 min ride–but this was our very first movie premiere. So cool. They really need to do that more often. LA and New York always get the premieres. They need to start taking these things to the little people. Mr. Maul and I loved it. We’ve always been fans of the X-Men movies, and I’ve always been a fan of the cartoon. It was good to finally see Logan’s history. I’m wondering if this is going to open the door for other “Origins” type movies for the other characters. I was so happy to see Gambit, too! Taylor Kitsch totally rocked the role, although I would’ve liked more Cajun drawl. And to see more of his powers in action.

A friend and I checked out an Underground Publishers event on the previous Saturday. Just wanted to see what other local, underground stuff was out there. Then went to this Spring Special Event at Dillard’s dept store. They were doing make-overs, had games, food, a DJ and gift basket giveaways. It was $35 for a “ticket”–this ticket was a Dillard’s gift card that you could spend anywhere in the store. So basically, you spent $35 only to spend it again on merchandise. Needless to say, that was the longest time I’ve ever spent at a mall. We were there for 3 frickin’ hours! They didn’t do the drawing for gift baskets until 9. And no, I didn’t win anything. To me, it just seemed like you had to jump thru a lot of hoops to get stuff. If you bought this perfume, then you’d get that free item and a chance to spin a wheel and get another free item. Hoops. But it worked because there was a big turnout.

I’ve had some good writing movement over the past couple of weeks. I’ve started revisions for DA Book Two and the deadline to finish is May 30th. I’ve also decided to jump into the Volunteer Pool. I went to the Volunteer Orientation at Free Arts AZ last night. I’m hoping to get on because they use arts as a way to help at-risk youth. I’m looking forward to serving in my community.

That’s all for now. I’m feeling a little lackluster, so if there was more, I don’t remember it all. So, how was your weekend?

Technorati Tags: 17 AGAIN, Zac Efron, DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION, James Marsters, P.S. I LOVE YOU, X-Men, Gambit, Taylor Kitsch, Dillard’s, Free Arts AZ