Summer Reading

Now that B is old enough to really listen and pay attention without pictures, I’ve been reading a chapter book to him. We’re going through OF MICE AND MAGIC by David Farland. I first read the sample chapter online to see if it would be something he’d like. We’re half way through the book now and really enjoying the story. We’ll definitely be checking out the other books in the Ravenspell series when we’re done.

I have good memories of me and my siblings sprawled on the couches and floor, listening to my mom read WATERSHIP DOWN. I wanted to create that same experience for my son.

In addition to our family reading time, we have plenty of incentives to read this summer.

• Our library is having  a Summer Reading program where we can record reading sessions for B and books read for me to earn a book at the end of Summer.
• Barnes and Noble has a challenge for kids to read eight books for a free book
• Borders has their Double-Dog Dare Challenge again to read ten books and earn a free book.
• Scholastic online has a minutes tracker with weekly challenges to spin for prizes and an overall sweepstakes.
• Our state governor is doing Read with a Child. Read 20 hours together over the summer and get a Certificate of Achievement.
• I even have a challenge just for me. The library is also doing an event through Goodreads. Read five books, each set on a different continent, before the end of August. Any suggestions for those?

That’s a guaranteed three free books for B if he completes the challenges, and one for me, with chances to win more prizes.

What are your reading plans this summer?

Pegasus

I recently read Robin McKinley’s PEGASUS. It may be only book one of two, but I wouldn’t let that stop you from getting it. McKinley has long been one of my favorite authors. In fact, THE HERO AND THE CROWN and THE BLUE SWORD were the books that introduced me to fantasy and made me want to write fantasy. I want to create wonderful worlds and real characters that stick in your heart. Her words create an escape.

And PEGASUS is no exception. I love it! The relationships between the pegasi and the humans isn’t a perfect one. Besides the language barrier, their cultures are vastly different. They may coexist peacefully, but how can they ever understand each other? Then one friendship changes everything. Princess Sylvi is bound to her own pegasus, Ebon. This is tradition in noble houses. But it’s different for Sylvi and Ebon, as they can actually speak to each other without the aid of magicians. And it turns out not everyone *wants* to understand the pegasi. Is their ability a threat or a blessing?

I loved flying with the pegasi, and growing with Sylvi. The descriptions are beautiful, the characters memorable, and the story one that will weave its way deep into your heart. I am looking forward to book two.

I got lucky and won an advanced copy, but now PEGASUS is available for everyone to buy. So what are you waiting for?

Tuesday Tally and Moon Drenched Fables

EotF Status

# of queries out: 5

# of fulls out: 0

 

T.C. Status

word count: 8,272

no change

 

FwM Status

word count: 3,028 +

progress in bits and pieces, and in different places. need to get it all typed up and organized so I know how much I wrote.

 

Color Poems

complete: 13

min needed for chapbook: 20

 

Previous goals:

• finish fleshing out chapters 1 and 2 of FwM
• poetry submission
• write new poem

 

Goals for this week:

• finish/revise fairy poem
• finish current chapter of TC and share with critique group
• highlight a few writing sites on blog

 

My poetry submission this week was to Moon Drenched Fables, a fantasy webzine. What a beautiful site, with fascinating poetry and stories to read. So far my favorite (a poem) is “Tower in the Veldt”. Such imagery inviting me into the world. Love it. I will have to read more. I love everything about Moon Drenched Fables: the title, the cover, the content. I foresee myself visiting this webzine often.

QA: Mental Challenges

5,000 Questions... My answers so far...

 

310. Do you like the mental challenge of chess or other games? No. I suck at chess and strategic games. Too much thinking ahead. Fun to play occasionally though, as long as it's against someone who's not an expert. I like riddles and mental puzzles more so than chess and checkers because I don't have to think fast and compete. Just me and the puzzle.

311. Do you ever think of where your atoms were before they were in you? No. But now that the question has been asked, I'm sure I will wonder.

312. Do you ever think about where your atoms will go after they have been in you? Also something I hadn't thought about.

313. If you didn't know that people couldn't fly do you think that you could? Yes. Mental expectations constrain us. And this just gave me an idea for a novel. Fly With Me.

314. Are you someone that others call when they're having a problem and want to talk about it? I only have one person that calls me with that in mind. Not enough to answer yes. I'm a good listener, but I'm rarely top of the list for people to call. Not that I mind terribly. I don't want to always be listening to everyone's problems.

315. When it comes to literature, do you see beyond the writing and into the meaning intended by the author? Sometimes I explore the author's intentions, and sometimes I allow myself to discover the writing's meaning for me. This is why I like reader feedback on my own writing (especially poetry). What an author intends is not always what the reader takes away. That isn't always a bad thing. I've had people find imagery and meaning in my poems that I had not seen for myself. Very enlightening.

316. Is there anything you can take apart completely, and then put back together, and have no left over parts? I don't dare take things apart for this very reason. Same as packing something back in the box it came in – how does it all fit together?

2008 - Looking Ahead

This year's goals...

Ongoing endeavors:

• Read from an inspirational book every day - start by finishing 101 Powerful Promises from Latter-day Prophets by Wayne E. Brickey, then read God wants a Powerful People by Sheri Dew.
• Blog everyday. I've joined Blog365.
• work on Trinity Coven weekly
• continue sending out The Blazing Princess until it sells or the year ends
• exercise 15-30 minutes, 3x week
• do at least two cities in Rock Band solo tour each week (exercise and stress relief all in one!)
• have meal plans and shopping list done before Friday
• try two new recipes each month
• resume 2 hour writing sessions on Wednesday
• read two books a month, one Fantasy and one outside my genre

Goals with Deadlines:

• enter Odyssey Poetry contest (deadline January 15)
• get new contacts by January 31
• write new Dear Me letter and enter into WDC contest (deadline Jan. 31)
• participate in Storycrafter's February Workshop on Plot & Structure
  • get book required by Jan. 31
• Attend Life, the Universe, and Everything SF&F Symposium for at least one day, February 14-16
• throw a theme party for B's fourth birthday (March 8)
  • decide on theme (January 31)
  • ask Mom to make cake and if we can stage event at her house (Feb. 9)
  • send out invites (Feb. 26)
  • buy supplies (March 1)
• polish EotF by March 31
• compile list of 20 agents, write query and synopsis for EotF, and have manuscript in standard format by April 30
• query five agents by June 1
• finish Trinity Coven by Dec. 1 (so nice having December off)

Tuesday Tally and Many Thanks

Status of my novel

total words to date: 86,050

pages: 376

completed chapters: 18

Last week's goals:

• finish chapter 18 - yay! one step closer to The End!
• clean up email inbox of 2nd hotmail account - was fairly uncluttered. 3 more emails to go through

Goals for this week:

• finish first draft 
• clean up excite email inbox
• send out another wave of invites to join my website mailing list

Extra thanks today because I didn't write down my thoughts over the last few days.

 

I am grateful for entertainment. We saw Stardust on Saturday. So glad we did. I could find no flaws - a perfect five star film. Humor, adventure, romance, fantasy. Truly enchanting. It ranks up on the classics with Princess Bride. My type of movie. We will definitely be picking it up on DVD. Yay for movies, books, and games that free us from life's stresses. We finally grew tired of LOTRO and have returned to EverQuest2 after an absence of a year and a half. New expansions have come out, and a lot of other changes have been made - definitely for the better. We did enjoy Lord of the Rings, and stayed there longer after maxing out our characters than we have any other MMO, but we reached a point where we could no longer progress and are tired of running the same instances every week. EQ2 is familiar yet new. When I wasn't writing this last weekend, I was reacquainting myself with the game.

 

I am grateful for pants that fit. Before seeing the movie, I used the early birthday money from my in-laws to go shopping for new pants. I was lucky to actually find two different styles that fit well. It's hard to find pants that work with my big bony hips and long legs, and aren't low-riders (hate those - feel like they are going to fall off). Love the new Wrangler Aura. Would have bought more of those, but only had one pair the right style and size.

 

I am grateful for major appliances: dishwasher, fridge, microwave, stove, washer & dryer. Fairly self-explanatory. Less work for me. More time for other things. Definite benefits to living in this day and age.

 

I am grateful for WRITING. It's the most incredible feeling to get immersed in writing. I love when the rocky struggle finally hits that smooth flow. It reminds me why I love to write and leaves me on a "high" for the rest of the day. I know a lot of my rough draft is just that - rough. But when I reread my work, there are certain scenes where everything shines and it makes me all excited to read more. Hopefully with enough work I can get the whole thing to shine. I need to dig through this chunk of rock to find the gem hinting from within.

Trying to Relax

Been stressed lately. It's the compilation of multiple things, nothing to articulate here. Suffice it to say I'm worn out. (sounding like an echo of another blog I read today...) Too much of a headache to write at the moment. Getting behind. Hopefully I can still hit my goal. Going to listen to some soothing Celtic Moods, and read some Eclipse.  It's the most of an escape I can get right now.

Books, Books, Books

Originally posted on freewebs blog Nov. 1, 2006. updated notes in violet.

 

1. One book that changed your life: The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley. My fifth grade teacher recommended it to me. Before that, I read mostly mysteries. This book really hooked me on fantasy and is one of the reasons I write fantasy today.

2. One book that you've read more than once: The Giver, by Lois Lowry. Every time I read it I'm affected emotionally. It's a reminder to be grateful for memories, diversity, and the beauty of color. The first time I read it was for school, but I got so into it that I finished it way ahead of schedule.

3. One book you'd want on a deserted island: The Book of Mormon. If I'm going to be alone on a deserted island, it would serve me well to grow closer to God.

4. One book that made you laugh: Skipping Christmas, by John Grisham. My husband and I read it together and had to put the book down a few times we were laughing so hard. Though I cried in that one as well.

5. One book that made you cry: Many books have made me cry. Hmm, to name just one – Bridge to Terabithia. There is a good reason that book won a Newberry Award. Tragic, moving, and a book I'd definitely recommend to everyone.

6. One book you wish you'd written: That's easy: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Nearly instantly famous worldwide, if someone hasn't read it then they at least know the name, and they made a movie off it as well. Who wouldn't want all that? updated: okay, I don't really want ALL that. there are downsides to the fame thing. tons of people buying your books, each with their own expectations, and you can't please everyone... and will your next book be as good as the first? fame means pressure! not that I know from experience... but have you seen the movie Misery? definitely represents the worst case scenario of being a famous writer

7. One book you wish had never been written: I can picture a vague scene from a book in mind, but I couldn't get more than a few chapters into it, let alone remember the title.

8. One book you're currently reading: Last night I finished reading Blood Pact by Tanya Huff. I had read one of her short stories in a fantasy anthology and immediately fell in love with her humor and writing style. The Blood Books have lived up to expectations and I have a hard time putting them down. updated: I have since read all the Blood Books. Still recommend them for good vampire stories and character growth throughout a series. Current read: just bought and started Spellbinder by Melanie Rawn. I've loved her other work, so hopefully I'll love this one as well, even though it's different than her previous books.

Books, Books, and more Books

First, a book review:
I finished reading Model Spy by Shannon Greenland. Absolutely love it. Thankfully, the second book in the Specialists series comes out this September. The Specialists are a teen spy organization. They are all children from the system - no parents, shuffled around from one foster home to the next. These delinquents are invited to the team for their unique specialties: computer techie genius, martial arts, electronics, chemistry, et al. Here they find family. Kelly Spree becomes GiGi, girl genius. The book is first person through her perspective. Her teenage attitude brings me back to those days, and she became very real for me. I empathize with her. She may have model looks, but she's a clutz with computer technology on the brain. I rooted for her every step of the way as she grew throughout the book.

The library trip:
I made it to the library on Wednesday. Not a very wide selection of books, but I did pick up a few. Mystic Empire by Tracy & Laura Hickman, book three of The Bronze Canticles. I own the first two so will likely buy this one eventually. Justine Larbalestier's Magic or Madness, which just won the Andre Norton award. I read Justine's blog, and have been wanting to pick this one up for a while. Wolfskin by Juliet Marillier. I love her Sevenwaters Trilogy, so thought this would be a good time to try another of her books. The Dragon's Son by Margaret Weis, sequel to Mistress of Dragons. There were other books I wanted to check out, but 1) that branch didn't have any copies; and 2) as a new patron, for the first month I can only have 5 books out at a time. Next time I'll have to request books sent over from the other libraries in the network, or go to a bigger library.

A tribute:
Lloyd Alexander, author of more than 30 books for children and adults, died yesterday. I remember reading the Chronicles of Prydain. He was one of my favorite authors growing up. I learned about his death on the Endicott Studio blog, where they have a beautiful entry to him. I cannot do him justice, so go read the entry for yourself.

Promoting:
Shannon Aviles, publicist and media specialist, will be guest-blogging for Erica Ridley next week. Head over now to post some questions you'd like her to answer.

Karma? Magic? Mother's Day and an Update

The universe is being good to me! After posting Need to Read, two wonderful things happened. The first, I got a comment from Erica saying she'd send me a book as a RAK (Random Act of Kindness). Isn't she an angel? I look forward to receiving the mystery (referring to the unknown, not the genre) fantasy book

The second thing to happen was a package magically appearing on my doorstep (well, it said FedEx, but no one could be seen when I answered the door, and it was completely unexpected). The label gave no clue as to its origins. I brought it inside and painstakingly peeled open the flap. The only thing in the envelope was ... an AC* of The Specialists: Model Spy, by Shannon Greenland. I should crave books more often! I had to think long and hard to figure out why I might have been sent the book. The only conclusion I came to (with the help that the book is YA) was the monthly contest I entered at TeensReadToo. They must have drawn my name. =) Very rare for me to win something. I started reading the book, and I love it. Great voice, very teenage angst like. I'm five chapters into it already. Seeing as there are only fourteen chapters, I figure it will be a quick, enjoyable read. Adults can read Young Adult books too. ;-)

You can read my most recent fantasy newsletter on the difference between Inns and Taverns at Associated Content. I do a monthly fantasy newsletter on Writing.com, and usually post it somewhere on the web afterward for more public viewing.

I'm not going to post the numbers for the Tuesday Tally, as they are exactly the same as last week... I've done some reading through it, a little bit of editing, notes where I want to do major editing, but haven't written anything new on Emergence. I did work on Mirror some more. My goal for this week is to finish writing Mirror. Once that's done and polished, I'll delve back into seriously working on my novel.

Friday we bought a Wii; they are finally staying on shelves long enough for us to see one! It is now my husband's favorite console. We already have the XBox 360 and the PS3. We only have one Wii game (in addition to Wii Sports which came with the console) - Zelda. The next one we'll be getting is Mario Party 8, which comes out in two weeks.

Mother's Day was wonderful. My sister-in-law had her baby, my husband gave me a new CD - Celtic Lounge II, and I didn't have to worry about meals. After putting our son to bed, we watched a couple movies on Netflix (love their Play Now feature). Not as comfortable sitting in our computer chairs as cuddling on the LoveSac, but very convenient when we don't have any movies.

*AC = Advance Copy. Proofs version of the book, sent to authors for last minute review and to reviewers for, well, advanced reviewing. Though my copy was printed before the first edition, the book is already on the shelves (as of May 10), so you can go buy it!

Need to Read

I think part of my problem writing lately is I haven't been reading much fiction. I've read a little online, but the only books I've been reading are poetry and nonfiction. The last fiction I read was almost a month ago! No wonder I'm feeling out of touch. Unlike lizbit, I don't have an excuse not to go to the library and pick one up. I'm itching for a good fantasy. I'm saving up on MyPoints for a $25 B&N gift card, but can't wait until then to read something.

Next Wednesday I will find the closest library after my son gets on the bus for preschool, get me a library card (hubby has one, but I don't), and check out a big stack of books. In the meantime I can make a list of books to read, and read my WIP.