On My Writing Playlist: CAKE

"Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle" from CAKE is a fun song which is ironically blasted through the speakers at parties thrown by spoiled trust fund teens at their fancy boarding school in my next book.

Enjoy!




"Excess ain't rebellion"

You Betcha, Beta!

If you have been following my blog for the last few months then you are probably tired of reading about me editing my YA Fantasy. Well you are in luck because I am changing my focus to a new story which at the moment is only an outline and a few hundred words of nonsense. The new story is a YA Retelling, there are fantasy elements, of course.

The YA Fantasy will continue to be edited and critiqued two chapters at a time with my super fabulous critique group. But I won't be waxing on and off about here.

I have finally sent copies to a few Beta Readers.

Eek!

It isn't perfect, far from it actually. However, it is time for it to be read. I am tired of keeping it to myself. I keep thinking about what Ursula LeGuin said.

"An unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.”




I want it to come to life, to be a proper story. And then I want to perfect it. I want to know other peoples' thoughts because I am getting lost in the minutiae. For every hundred words I add, I remove just as many. I need to talk to someone who has read the whole thing, so they can ask questions.

It's time to let my sweet betas breathe some life into it and see if it can stand.

Random Facts and an Award

Ashley Nixon bestowed this Sweet Blog Award upon me. I have never received a blog award before, so I am very happy to participate. Ashley writes about pirates & elves so you should probably check out her blog.


Coming up with seven random things about me hitherto unmentioned on this blog was difficult. I brainstormed and this is what I decided on.



1. My favorite color is purple.

2. I am afraid of heights. Mostly, it's the being up high and looking down that scares me. I don't mind airplanes though.

3. I have five tattoos.

4. When I am having a bad day, I will watch this video before writing. I laugh every time.

5. My first concert was Goldfinger, Save Ferris & Sugar Ray at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia in 1998.

6. I am a horrible parallel parker, it was part of my reasoning for getting a Mini Cooper.

7. I spent four months in Perugia, Italy in 2005 and I think about it every day. I've been back to Perugia twice since.

My street in Perugia

I must now pass the award on to five fellow bloggers, who will post seven facts about themselves and pass the award along to five others. You should check them and their Irresistibly Sweet Blogs out!
1. Kelly Powell : She writes, drinks green tea, and listens to good music.

2. Court Ellyn : Get your Fantasy Writer fix.

3. Tammy : YA Writer & dog lover

4. Marjorie: Writer set loose in the US, Taiwan and China too, oh my!

5. Jen & Megan Wiegand : My friends are trying to have a baby and blogging about the process. Stop by and send them positive, fertile thoughts!

I have been busy with editing my WIP. Okay, to be honest I have also been fantasizing about a shiny new idea. I haven't begun writing or outlining it, but my brain does wander in its direction every time I try to sit down and blog. I think after this round of edits to my rough draft I will be able to outline the shiny new idea while my current WIP marinates. Then I will do yet another round of edits, ad infinitum until it's awesomesauce, as they say.

I hope everyone is having a fun summer. I am heading to the beach this weekend!