Thursday Three! For your entertainment...



 

Good morning everyone! I hope you're all having a great week! I was going to do a different blog post, because my dear friend Aubrey gave me a blogging award, but I'm running short on time this morning and it required lots of thought to answer the questions. So I'll do that (hopefully) Monday or Tuesday. Today, it's all about entertainment! Movies, books, and music! 

 

1. Ok, so I saw this trailer forever ago, and completely forgot about it. Then my SIL showed it it to me and I remembered how AWESOME it looks. I loved me some Glee (before they screwed it up) and The Sing-Off was one of my favorite shows, so I'm totally in on this movie. I finally figured out it comes out in October, so I only have to wait a little longer. Check out the trailer below - doesn't it look hilarious?! 

 

 

 

2. Speaking of other things coming out in October, it's the month when ALL THE BOOKS COME OUT. Well, not all of them, but at least 4 (that I know about) are coming out in October that I'm SUPER excited about. The hardest part? From what I can find of the release dates, THEY ALL COME OUT THE SAME DAY. That's right, mark your calenders because on October 23rd, Beautiful Redemption, Finale, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and The Lost Prince come out. The hardest part will be figuring out which one I want to read first. :)

 

 

 

3. Finally, I've been slowly making progress on Secret Story. It was small changes at first, but now I've hit the point where in the first draft I just kind of...skipped over everything to get to the good stuff. Now I'm basically adding in brand new chapters so the characters feel more fleshed out and the intense stuff is more engaging because the reader will actually know the characters and, you know, care what happens to them. It's been hard, trying to fit new stuff into an existing MS, but I just have to keep reminding myself that it's ok to cut the old stuff if the new stuff works better. I write with music on if I can (sometimes it's Disney movies because my kids win). No one song is sticking out at me where I'm at, but when I was finishing the first draft, this song is what inspired the ending and I listened to it on repeat for HOURS. So, for your listening pleasure, I give you Florence + the Machine. (I know this isn't the official music video, but it was kind of weird and distracting, so I went with lyrics instead.)

 

 

Welll, that's it for me this week! How about you guys? Any movies you are supremely excited for or books that have you fangirling for the release date? And if you have any music recommendations, I am always looking for new music to listen to while I write. Sound off in the comments below! Don't be shy, I love to hear from you!

Looking for something to read?

Hello lovelies! Sorry I didn't post my Thursday Three last week. I'll be completely honest, I forgot about it. But I won't this week. And to make up for no post last week, I'm going to tell you about two incredible books I've read lately.

First up is Rift by Andrea Cremer. If you don't know her books, you should really fix that. Her stories are intricate and the worlds she builds are incredible. I fell in love with her when I first read Nightshade, and through the course of the trilogy, her writing left me in awe. It was beautiful and captivating, with characters so complex they felt incredibly real. And best of all, she writes without apology of strong, smart, and fierce female characters. Sure, they have their flaws, as all great characters do, but they aren't afraid to take the reins and put those boys in their place when needed. Rift is a prequel to the Nightshade series, taking place several hundred years beforehand and giving a deeper look at what started the conflict taking place in Nightshade. I loved Ember from the first page, fighting against the standard expectations for girls in that period to follow her heart and carve out her own future. She also discovers love for the first time, and the sexual tension is that slow burning kind that gives you butterflies in your stomach and tingles in your skin until you're practically shouting at the book "Just kiss already!!" and squealing in delight when it finally happens. I devoured it in two days because I just couldn't put it down. But no matter which series you decide to pick up first, you won't be disappointed. She's amazing.

And second is The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. This is the second time I've read it, as I needed to refresh my memory for when the next book comes out in October, and it was just as fantastic as the first time. It's so different and engrossing that I completely lose myself when I read it. Mara is one of those characters that sticks with you even after you've put the book down, so incredibly written with such a strong voice that I am green with character envy. And as for Noah...oh sweet merciful heavens above, I love me some Noah Shaw. And the sarcastic exchanges he has with Mara throughout the whole book left me giggling and a little swoony. But beyond the broken girl and mysteriously hot guy is an intricate plot that keeps you turning the pages until, like the characters, you see everything come together. I am DESPERATE for the next book (The Evolution of Mara Dyer, out October 23), and I'm beyond thrilled that there will be a third.

So, there you go. Two incredibly awesome books for you to go out and find. How about you guys? Have you read anything great lately? Books that you want to make all your friends read too, so they can also enjoy the fabulousness? Sound off in the comments, I'm always looking for great new books to read!  

Thursday Three

Hey everyone! Good morning and Happy Thursday! Sorry I missed last week. I hurt my neck and back in a weird random way and so I was busy being in pain and immobile and running to the chiropracter's and sitting around icing everything so I could move again without crying. Yeah, it was super exciting around here last week. Anyway, I forgot to blog, so I apologize. But I'm here this week! Hooray! *jazz hands*

*coughs awkwardly* Ok, here we go.

1. Sparky and I went to go see The Dark Knight Rises a couple weeks ago. It was actaully really, really good. The villain was sufficiently crazy pants and scary, although his voice over made me nuts. Sometimes it was nice and clear, so he sounded super creepy and evil. Other times it was all garbled and incomprehensible, so that even though I knew he was saying something villain-y, all I wanted to do was yell, "What was that? I didn't catch it the first time!" Anyway, I thought everyone was awesome. JGL is my new pretend boyfriend, and I desperately want Anne Hathaway's Catwoman boots. Did you see those things? So, so cute. (And we'll just pretend I wouldn't fall on my face in them.)

2. I actually got a chance to watch the Olympics! I always say I'm going to watch everything and then I watch next to nothing, so I'm all proud of myself for knowing what everyone is talking about this year. The women's gymnastics team was super adorable,and kicked trash, although I felt super sorry for our men's team. They just couldn't seem to get things to go their way, and their frustration and disappointment was clear. (Did anyone else think Sam Mikulak was super cute?) We watched a lot of swimming and diving, with my kids getting all excited about the huge pool each time they saw it. And the runner from South Africa with the blades? (I forget his name right now.) He was so inspirational. It was awesome to see him go out there like it was no big deal. Not gonna lie, I cried a little. There were so many great moments and it was so nice to see them all.

3. My dear friend Andrea issued me a challenge. When we got together with Aubrey last week, they both called me out on being completely chicken and avoiding Secret Story because I was afraid of the work, and terrified of submitting to agents. It was some tough love, but it's what I needed to hear. So the next day Andrea said if I sent out queries by October, she would take me to Cheesecake Factory. If I didn't, she was going to send out queries for me. Gah! So I'm proud to say I'm back to work on Secret Story, and Shiny Idea is actually cooperating and leaving me alone - for the moment, anyway. Wish me luck, I have a lot of work to do in the next couple months!

That's it for me for this week. How have all of you been? Seen any good movies lately? What were your favorite Olympic moments? Sound off in the comments, I want to hear your thoughts. Don't be shy!

Thursday Three - I Can't Believe it's August Edition

Good morning everyone! How are all of you fine people this morning? Lovely? Excellent! I'm suffering a little from Time Lapse Shock Syndrome. (I totally made that up. But it sounds official, right?) I looked at the calendar and it completely blew my mind that it's August. I can't believe the summer is almost over! Now, if we could just get the heat wave to go away and the heavens burst open with days and days of rain to end the drought, life would be pretty good. Anyway, let's get into this week's three things, shall we?

1. It's ridiculously hard to get back into a decent schedule when it's still technically summer. Dude is naturally an early riser, so I don't really have to worry about him, but Diva and I are night owls who also need lots of sleep, so if we can, we sleep in late. This is not going to work when the school year starts, so all week I've been trying to train myself to wake up at "school time". To say it's not going well is an understatement. Also, no one is dressed until almost noon and there's no structure to our days at all. It's going to be a huge shock when school starts unless I can get us all in a proper groove in the next few weeks.

2. I have rediscovered my appreciation for my local library. I've always enjoyed going and getting books and seeing what they have to offer, but as an adult who has the option of buying my books, the library kind of became my backup. But this summer Dude finally got his own library card and his enthusiasm and awe at being able to go to the library, pick a bunch of books just for himself and take them home is a reminder of how magical the library can be. It's giving me flashbacks to my own first encounters with the library, and the incredible stories just waiting to be found there. It's been so fun seeing what books jump out at him and see his own literary tastes develop.

3. I'm hitting that point in Shiny Idea where it's kind of taking on a life of it's own. I'm definitely a "write without a solid plan" kind of person, so while I start with a decent idea of where it's going, I usually end up having a "well, I didn't see that one coming" moment that changes how my story goes. And it's almost always for the better. I had this moment a few days ago while writing. My MC took the story in a VERY different direction than I had originally planned, but it's actually pretty great. It's adds more layers to the story and the characters, which is always exciting, even though it's going to make the story more challenging to write, which is a little scary. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that as I continue, I'll have the chops to pull it off. :)

Well, that's it for me this week. How have all of you been? Anyone else shocked to see the summer is almost over? Do you remember your first time going to the library? Have you ever had your story veer off in an unexpected direction? Was it a good thing or a bad thing? Feel free to share in the comments, and I'll see you all again next week!