Book Suggestions

I was going to do a book suggestion today for just one book, but then I realized there are all these other books that I've read lately, that I haven't suggested. So, I'm going to do a list, and just say a few sentences about why I think you should read them. These are in no particular order.

1.The Girl of Fire and Thorns:

Rae Carson is great at world building, and relationship building, character growth, and one of the love interests is so sweet and yummy. No, it's not a love triangle.

2. Blood Red Road:

I love the MC's name Saba. And I LOVE the way the author allows the crude language and no parenthesis to set the mood of the book. The story was amazing. The dystopia world is like the good old west, instead of high tech. There is cage fighting, and a great sibling relationship that changes and grows during the book. 

3. The Eleventh Plague:

This is another desolate, no government, no high tech stuff-dystopia. It has a GREAT male protag. The writing is amazing, and the romance it fluid and touching. 

4. Harmonic Feedback:

I could just say two words: Justin and Drea. But, I won't. I love the music, LOVE the romance, and Drea is so REAL. Oh, and the author lives in Portland. I'll try not to stalk her. 

5. The Day Before:

Another Portland author. We grow them good here. This is in verse. It's beautiful and I loved experiencing the Oregon coast through Amber's eyes. 

It's your turn. I need a good book suggestion. 

Holiday Movies

I spent my long weekend watching WAY to much TV. I usually only watch a few shows a week. But there is something about holiday movies. I'm such a sucker. And, they don't have to even be that good. I spent a few hours watching Hallmark and Lifetime. Usually, if a love story is corny, I roll my eyes and don't like it. I'm a little bit of a cynic when it comes to love produced by Hollywood.  But, apparently throw a holiday twist to it, and you have me hooked. I kept asking myself why, all weekend long.

I didn't really come up with a concrete answer. But, when I was watching, The Santa Clause, I had an epiphany about wishing I could REALLY believe. I wish I wouldn't be the mom in the situation, asking for all of Scott's (aka Santa) visitation rights to be revoked. But, I would. He thought he was Santa Claus, hello.  I wish I could be a kid again, and believe in Santa, elves, and everything that goes with the North Pole. Well, see that's the thing, I never believed in Santa Claus. We didn't celebrate Christmas like that.
I guess the thing that I like the most of Christmas movies is the Hope. They almost always have a positive message.

After I started this post I got interrupted and didn't come back to it until the next day. At the end of the day, I stopped watching Hallmark and Lifetime and watched New In Town. It's not a holiday movie, and I finally seemed to find what I'd been looking for all weekend. A good story, great acting, and hope that people can change. It was so much more fulfilling then some of the other movies I'd been watching.

So, what I learned over the weekend in bullet points:

• Holiday movies are addictive.
• I wish Santa Claus really existed.
• Even tinsel and Christmas lights can't substitute for a really GREAT story.

Do you like holiday movies? Tomorrow I have a book suggestion: The Girl of Fire and Thorns and Thursday I'll have a little bit of holiday music.

Getting to Know You-Thanksgiving Style

Turkeys everywhere are running to find shelter.
Old ladies are fighting each other for the last can of cranberry sauce. And Uncle Donald is somewhere in Lusiana hoping they are serving up some yummy purple hull peas. Yeah, Thanksgiving is approaching. Everyone's tables look different. Some do not consider it Thanksgiving unless the turkey is golden brown, or the dressing is served.

So, my question: What makes it Thanksgiving for you?

Here are 5 things I need to feel like it's officially Thanksgiving:

(1) My family. The last 8 years it's been my hubby's family, but without any family it would not feel like Thanksgiving at ALL.

(2) The Turkey. It does not have to be golden brown. I actually cook mine in a roaster which doesn't allow for browning at all.

(3) Making the dishes my Mamaw used to make. Broccoli cheese casserole and banana pudding. I've modified her broccoli recipe to make it a little healthier, but I make it every year, and my family loves it.

(4) My hubby grumbling that tomorrow is Black Friday. He works in retail. And people if you go out that day, understand people have put their blood, sweat and lots of MY (OK really his time, but I don't get to see him) time into getting it all ready so you can shop. SO, thank everyone you meet on that day. AND be patient.

(5) Watching, A Christmas Story. It plays on this one channel and repeats all day.

This will be my only post for the week. I am cleaning, cooking, maybe having a little turkey, and staying FAR, FAR away from stores on the day after Thanksgiving. (Oh, and probably revising!!)

Oh, and Matthew Rush @ The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment is critiquing my query tomorrow. He's always nice, and the people that comment on his blog are great. So, it should help me out a ton. Please show Matt some love, and check his blog out.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

WINNERS for the Holiday Blog Hop Giveaway

Megan and I, had tons of fun with the Holiday Blog Hop!! Thanks Megan for your help, and your half of the book donation. 


After reading all the stories, I just want to bind them in a bright shiny little book. We covered quite a few holidays: Halloween, Easter, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Even animals got to have fun. 

Without further ado, here are the winners. 

J.A. Bennett

Jennifer Lee Young

E.R. King

Laila Knight

If you won, please contact me with your mailing information. I will be out of town until Tuesday, so you might not get a response until then. And THANKS again for participating. 

Oh, and if you enjoyed this blog hop, Cassie Mae is doing the Easily Flushed Blog Hop on December 6th. You should do it, I want to hear about all your embarrassing moments. 

Cheers, and have a great weekend.

Help Harry Help Others

Rachael Harrie held a Blog Building Campaign. Hundreds participated and some awesome stories were written. And an eBook has been created and is for sale at Smashwords and Amazon for $2.99.

All proceeds go to Harry Moseley's charity "Help Harry Help Others". Harry single handedly raised over 85,000GBP (roughly 137,000USD) for cancer Research. He died October 8th aged 11. The eBook contains 176 flash fiction stories, poems, and essays from 81 participants of Rachael Harrie's Blog Building Campaign 2011. Everyone donated their stories freely and willingly for this worthy course. 

So, please support cancer research! And go read some awesome stories. 

Holiday Blog Hop

I really want to thank everyone for taking time out of their busy NaNo schedules to participate in this Blog Hop. It has been so much fun, and I can't wait to read all the wonderful stories, just in time to get me in the holiday spirit. If you signed up and you don't see your name on the linky list let me know. We've had a few problems. Also, if you signed up, and haven't let me know which book you want please leave that in the comments below.  Megan and I chose to write a story together. She wrote the 1st part, and I did the second. I tried REALLY hard to keep my half 250 words, but I didn't quite make it. Oh well, it's not a contest. Just having fun.

So click here and read the first part of our story. I will wait while you go read. OK, now look below to read the conclusion. Once you're done, please follow the links below and read all the wonderful holiday stories. I will announce the winners on Friday, November 18th. Once again, thanks you everyone!



Part II of the story:

Sophia dove and began ripping the package open.

 “It’s not Christmas,” Violet scolded.

Sophia stopped. “But if Mummy sees, she’ll take it away.”

“Mum will let us open come Christmas.” Violet crossed her arms.

“You take the fun out of everything,” Sophia pouted.

Violet looked at the package again. “Oh, all right. We’ll take a quick peek.” Violet’s dainty fingers peeled the gold and red shimmering paper back, to find an empty picture frame. Violet was scrolled in ornate letters atop and Sophia beneath. “What are we to do with this?” Violet asked.

 Sophia poked the empty backing, and words appeared.  “A choice you must make. Both sisters agreed. Either to lands untold or a gift given by thee,” Sophia read. A dark room replaced the words.  Two girls sat next to a tiny unadorned Christmas tree. No presents or tinsel. A bright mobile picture replaced the dark scene. “Do you see the cute reindeer and elves? How sweet they look!” Sophia clapped her hands.

The scene went dark replaced by words. “Choose wisely for Christmas is near,” Violet read.

“Oh, the North Pole is our present!” Sophia cried.

“Those girls need our help.” Violet replied.

“But,” Sophia pouted.

Violet left the room and returned arms full of perfectly wrapped gifts. “These are from Mummy’s hiding place.” Violet handed a few packages to Sophia and grabbed her hand. Sophia squeezed Violet’s in return. They stepped into the painting together. 

Twas the best Christmas ever. And each year thereafter, the girls retrieved the frame from its hiding place, loaded their arms with perfectly wrapped gifts, and joined their lovely friends beneath the tiny tree.

Random Monday

Random thing #1:

This last week was amazing. I was able to get so much revising done. Having a group of people cheering me on, is better than I realized it could be. I've seen so many things that I can change and do, to make my story better.  I have quite a few pages of scribbles in my notebook, that I want to start working on. I almost have that shiny new idea feel at the moment. I even took my notebook to church with me. Shh...I've gotten some of my best ideas there.

Random thing #2:

I watched Grimm this weekend, and I really love all the great shots of Portland they have on the show. It gave me a lot of home pride. I live in a really cool, beautiful place. If you need proof, here are pictures of my date at the Japanese Garden, yesterday. 

Random Thing #3: 

I wanted to write off Snow White and the Huntsman, because of one particular actress in the film. But, then I watched the trailer. Now, I can't WAIT. It looks amazing. The people that did Alice in Wonderland are doing this movie. Watch the trailer below and decide for yourself. 

Random Thing #4: 

Is anyone rushing to the theater to watch that particular actress in the other big movie she's in this week? I will wait until it is in the cheaper theater, then take my mother-in-law.

Last Random Thing:

Tomorrow is the Holiday Blog Hop. My critique partner and I are giving away 4 books. Please make sure if you are signed up that you leave a comment on tomorrows blog and let me know which book you want. I'm really excited to read everyones stories.

Inspiration Thursday-CHUCK

I planned on writing a post about Chuck right before the season started, but I got busy. So, I'm doing it now since I'm knee deep in revisions, and I'm already writing a short story for the Holiday Blog Hop. Which by the way only a few people have signed up for. We have FOUR books we're giving away, and all you have to do is write a short little holiday story. Easy Peasy. Click HERE, if you would still like to join us. The Blog Hop will be next week on, November 15th. We've had at least one person say they couldn't get the linky list to work, so please let me know if you enter your name, and it doesn't show up. I will get you entered.

Now, back to Chuck. Five years ago, NBC ran premotions for this new spy show. I LOVE spies. So, my ears perked up. A normal guy who works for the Nerd Herd at your local Buy More, (my hubby worked for Circuit City at the time) downloads all the government's secrets. Oh, and he gets a smoking hot CIA handler to boot. 1 episode and had a new favorite show.

Now, what does this have to do with WRITING??? Well besides the plot lines and characters it's: FUNNY, sexy, action packed, knows how to make you cry, has love stories, tons of secrets, blah, blah, blah. Chuck inspires me as a writer all the time.

•  The lead, Chuck, is a goofy tall guy with the heart of a lion. He loves his family and friends and will do anything to protect them. He happens to save the day, and looks cool doing it. (sometimes)
• His handler Sarah, is a tough as nails chick, who can kick your butt any day of the week. She hides her heart where no one can see it.

I just described my two main characters in the WIP I'm revising. No, they are not exactly the same, but there are a lot of similiarties.

You throw in all the insane characters. Jeffster. Morgan. John Casey. Captain Awesome. Big Mike. Oh, and Scott Bakula played Chuck's dad-

and Linda Hamilton (Yes, Sarah Conner) played Chuck's mom. One of the Bond guys played the baddy last season. Who by the way totally fits with my post on Tuesday about bad guys being human.

Luke Skywalker played a bad guy for this season's opener, and TRINITY is a bad girl/good girl on this weeks episode.

Every geek girls dream comes alive on this show. There are Star Wars references galore. Killer dancing, (when I say killer, I mean people died during the dance) motorcycle chases, girl fights on a cat-walk, bank roberies Bonnie and Clyde style. You name it, it happens.  Reality is only a concept on this show.

I am sad to say, that most of America does not agree with this Geek Girl. Or at least the Neilson families don't. This Friday will be the 3rd episode of the a 13 episode season. Chuck's last season. I promise not to bore you too much about the show, but I can't promise that throughout the season there won't be a post or two about how Chuck inspired me again. 

What is your #1 source of TV Inspiration? 

Another new template because I'm a spaz

OK, I know I just changed my blog template like 2 weeks ago. But the template that I downloaded had some unforeseeable technical difficulties. I promise this will be the last change I make. Well, I can't really promise that but, I'll try. The pic in the background is one my SIL, Rosie took a few years ago. That's my son and his cousin. It's my favorite picture of all time, and when I saw the blog up after my changes, I got a little teary-eyed. Now the blog really is ALL me.

And I love the black and white. Still has a few trees, and the water in the background. That's it. I didn't have anything else to say. Just wanted to acknowledge that I really am a spaz. Happy Hump Day!

I have been informed we are having technical difficulties with the Linky List. Please let me know if you try to sign up for the contest and it won't let you. I am working on it, but if the 15th comes, and I have to manually add a few peoples links to my post I will.

Just a little human, to be truly E-VIL

A few weeks ago I went to the movies with my hubby. He is a very lucky man, and has a wife who is as exited, or sometimes more exited than he is, when it comes to comic book movies. We saw Captain America. If you haven't seen the movie there may be mild spoilers ahead. So, there I was watching Captain America being all superhero dude, and his leading lady being all kick-butt. And I was totally digging it. Then the bad guy comes out. DUDE. It's Mr. Smith.

Well not actually Mr. Smith. Just the actor, but he's got this nifty little German accent. And, he's acting all Hitler on everyone. Then something happens. His face falls off, and he's a red demon.

I laughed. He lost every ounce of his scare appeal for me.

So, I have a theory. The more humanly creepy a bad guys is, the more freaked out I become. Stay with me on this. Let's take another comic book baddy. The Joker. Here we have Jack Nicolson as, The Joker. He truly resembles the comic book cartoon like character. His movements, the way he talked and the dialogue they gave him, I found amusing. Did I have nightmares about his guy? Nope.
Now take this guy: Nightmares for days. They extracted the comic book character from The Joker, and you were left with a very human psychopath.

So, back to Mr. Smith for a minute.

He's a machine, but they had an actor play his character. If a heaping pile of metal taunted Mr. Anderson, would anyone think he was a total bad-A? No. They put him in human form, and gave him a god complex. He's one of my all time favorite bad guys.

So, why am I rambling on about this? I am currently getting ready to revise the bad guys scenes. Do I want him to be creepy, kick-butt, make you have a nightmares when you go home? Duh. So, I must apply my theory. The more human characteristics I give my bad guy, the more believable he will be. Even when my bad guy isn't human.

What do you think? Does your bad guy need to feel human to you? Or do you like them to be all monster?

Thankful for The House of Winslow & Chronicles of Narnia

Beth Revis is doing a gargantuan give away. As the poster says, she is giving away 19 books. All of them signed, and all of them people she is thankful for. How cool is that!! Click on the poster for all the awesome details.

As is tradtion with Thanksgiving, we are tell what we are thankful for. So, I am going to list 2.

First: The House of Winslow book series, written by Gilbert Morris. You may have NO idea what this is. But, when I was growing up, my mom owned a Christain book store for a period of time. I read tons of the books in that store. The Honorable Imposter, which is book 1 of the series, introduced me to history! Oh, how I loved following along as Gilbert Winslow came over on the Mayflower, and docked in Plymouth. Living on the new settlement. The whole time, falling in love with a woman, and finding God. Gilbert Morris took this book series through every major American history event you can think of. The Salem Witch Hunt. Oh, a Winslow was there. George Washington's Army. Yes, a Winslow was part of his regiment. Settling the West. The war between the North and South? Yes, the Winslows had people on both sides.

When you open the cover, there is a family tree in each book. I always thought that was the coolest thing. I read the last book in the series a few months back. The character flys a plane in World War II. It was awesome. I thank Gilbert Morris, and The House of Winslow for creating a spark for reading, and for history.

Second: The Chronicles of Narnia. I actually saw the movie before I ever read the first book. Yes, I know this means I had a huge gap in my childhood education, but there are tons of books my husband will start talking about, and I have never heard of them. I'll blame it on southern education. I bought the The Chronicles as one big book. So, I started with The Magician's Nephew and read the whole series all the way through.

The world of Narnia, Aslan, the Pevencies and every other creature that C.S. Lewis created wormed their way into my heart, and will live there forever. C.S. Lewis showed me I can write something that people will love, even if they don't believe in God. Something that is intrinsically me, and shines with who I am, and what is in my heart. But, doesn't have to be categorized as a Christian book.  So, I thank C.S. Lewis for opening my eyes to breathtaking symbolism. and the amazing characters that represent such wonderful things.

What books are you thankful for?

Thursday Inspiration-NaNoReviMo!

Click here to go to Peggy's Blog

It's November and the whole blogosphere is NaNoing. Which I have never done. I tend to allow things to percolate in my head for days or sometimes week. So cranking out 50,000 words in one month is not so great for me. That and I am thigh knee deep in WIP 2-The Guardian Tribe, and knee deep in WIP 1(rewrite)-Good-bye Avery.

Then, a glorious thing happened. I found out Peggy was putting together NaNoReviMo. Which means we are all revising our arse's off for the month of November. And, get this-everyone is e-mailing daily updates to keep those arse's in line. Day 1 for me was not so great. Day 2 I revised 2 1/2 chapters, and wrote this nifty little blog post. Woohoo! So, Happy ReviMo to you!

Don't forget to sign up for the Holiday Blog Hop. We are giving away 4 books. Click here and it will take you to the page tab, which has the Linky List. The story is to be posted on November 15th, so you have until then to sign up.

I will leave you with this video as inspiration for whatever you are doing on this crisp fall day.  I love it, and Amanda has such a soft and beautiful voice.

I played this song like 50 times while writing a chapter of Good-bye Avery. Here is a line from the chapter I wrote while listening to this song.

Grandpa pulls my face back, and puts his nose on mine. I feel our tears trickle over one another.

Oh, and do you have any amazing Revising tips? I've heard print it out, let your Kindle read it to you, and pretend like each page is the only thing someone is going to read. 

Holiday Blog Hop and Book Giveway

In celebration of Blogging Buddies, Critique Partners and, oh yeah, the fact that I now have over 100 Imaginary Friends, I have teamed up with one of my favorite writing people. Megan Dolan-from This Post Will Self Destruct to host a Blog Hop. Megan is my critique partner and is one of the reasons I started this blog.

Since the holidays are just around the corner, we thought it would be fun to write holiday stories. To participate, just pick your favorite holiday (any will do) and post a story around 250 words. We are going for short and sweet so we can all read each entry. Sign up on the Linky List below and post the blog poster on your blog. Then post your story on your blog on November 15th, and you will be entered to win. There will be four winners chosen by random selection. In the comments, mention wich book you want the most.

This is a signed copy!

Do you want to earn a bonus entry?

Pick a buddy and write the story together =1 extra entry for each blogger. (Story can total 500 words, if separated on two blogs)

Tweet or post on Facebook about the contest =1 extra entry

Follow both of our blogs =1 extra entry


Megan and I are writing a story together, and we are already having tons of fun with it. Please note, we can only accommodate U.S. bloggers as winners, although anyone can participate for fun! (Sorry, the holidays are coming up and postage is expensive.)  ;0)