Monday, November 29, 2010

Why do you come?

Gotta kick off this Monday on a very sad note. I'm sorry. Mostly because Leslie Nielsen has passed away. Please, lets honor generations of funny that is no longer lighting up this world with some silence.



“You're excited? You should feel my nipples!”
Leslie Nielsen

 Thank you.

It's a question I have been curious about for a while, why do you frequent? Not necessarily ME specifically, though that would be some useful info to have for writing posts that please you guys, but I mean about blogs in general.

What is it that makes you page through them all? Seeking information on books, movies, TV shows, sports, etc? Connecting with people all around the world? Nosiness(non-offensive nosiness of course)? Entertainment?

What is it that draws you to people you don't know? Is it easier for you to be you without meeting in person? Easier to connect with people without the pressure? I know it is for me anyway.

Why do you become a repeat stalker? The person who writes? Their voice? Or more the information they have that you want?

It interests me to know what you all think.

For me, I don't stalk without a good writery voice behind the blog. Good information is always great but if the person dealing it out doesn't dill my pickle, I can't sustain interest. I like to feel the writer behind it. I like to think I get to know a person by reading their blog. That it's a real life I get to connect with in some small way. Life. That's what it's about to me. If there isn't life I could just be reading a how-to article or information written in that oh-so sterile voice of newspapers. Ba-or-ing.

What is it for you? What do you like to find when you click on a blog title? What are your expectations like for the writers behind them?

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday/or not weekend! Mine was juuuust fine. Could use a few more of those 4 day weekends though. That was nice...ah well.

(the picture has no relevance to the post. I just thought it was funny...) 

Donea, The Queen of Procrastination awarded me the Versatile Blogger award! Hurray! I have already done my duties to this award but needed to share my appreciation for her and the award again anyway! So thanks a million Donea!! Be sure to check her out too. She always has some amazing blogging going on over there (And I love her chosen blog name!)

Brad Jaeger paid me a HUGE compliment last night on his blog, putting me in a list with some amazing bloggers and authors. And I am beyond grateful for that. I can't even put into words how this inflated my ego melted my heart. Thank you so much Brad!

No matter how many commercials they have trying to highlight all the "good" and "funny" things about the Yogi Bear movie, I just...can't...like...it...gah. Nope. Sorry. I did try. But as I am not under the age of 13, I really don't see it being targeted at me anyway, so no spilled milk?

And lastly: Don't forget to click the skeptical kitty head for a chance at winning some $$ from me! Deadline is Midnight Friday. I say midnight but I realize we are in different time zones. And it really doesn't matter either way. I'm not going to pick winners until I wake up Friday afternoon morning anyway so you could theoretically post up until those points and it would be cool. Okay...I got rambling a bit...

Happy Monday!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Unintentional Novel Title Slam!

Saturdays I don't usually post but:

Abby (crit partner shout out!) emailed me and was all "this would be fun" where I was thinking "ugh. I can't do that. I would have to think and stuff" but I totally trusted her and it WAS fun. So...

Friday, Jen Daiker over at Unedited made some lovely poetry with her books, which is apparently crazy fun bit of stuff to do. As I have already said. But it was her that brought this to Abby's idea-full mind who passed the idea on to me. So, thank those two.

I may have taken some drugs. And by drugs I mean medication. I'm a whiner when I'm sick. Even if I know it isn't that bad(this is just a sore throat), I still throw myself a pity party so excuse me if this has been nonsensical thus far. Anyway!

Here is my entry into this TBR Pile Novel Title Poetry Slam Thingy! (Abby is providing the other poetry side to the "slam" on her blog. Random poetry-blogging-show-down going on here...FYI)

So here you go!


 Fade, Beautiful Creatures
The Pillars of the Earth Die for You
The Iron King is
Everlost. 

I bring that poetry stuffs right? You like how they are all artfully arranged, semi-chaotically. I must be a frikkin' genius. (you can totally see haunted lamp gathering dust in the corner. Creepy kitty was there too for a while, but she wouldn't sit still for a picture.)

My TBR pile is bigger than this but there are some in it I am ashamed to have not finished, so they couldn't be included. Ever have a book like that? Just really awesome writing and captured your attention until...something else came along and you just stopped? I have 3. They are like these things just giving me the evil eye all the dang time. 

 Oh well. Anyway. Point is, it's time to head over to Abby's blog and see what she came up with! So Scoot!
Happy weekending!



Friday, November 26, 2010

Funny Friday with Turkey Belly

It's that time again. Funny Friday is back at you after a fairly big break! Anyone else stuffed? Had a good Thanksgiving? Ate tons, had good time with family? I hope so.  Everyone had a great Thursday if you aren't in the states?

Check out this hilarious Dan Radcliffe skit on Funny or Die. Priceless.

OBVIOUSLY I lied about the "no more HP till next year" but really...can you blame me?








Oh you dudes, the food, she was goooood. The hubsters grandparents and brother surprised us by calling from a fast-food joint 45 min before they showed up at our house. There was much, tornado-like cleaning done. It was a nice visit. He missed them and vice versa. So it was nice.

Did you all see the awesome banner Kristal Shaff made??? Awesome!

And lastly: Have you all seen THIS hilarious post? I haven't yet confirmed it, but I assume the whole blog is full of these funnies. I snickered at this one till I couldn't breathe. Ah dogs...

You all have less than 1 week to get in on the contest if you haven't(or have and want another entry). Click the kitty head in the sidebar for a shot at some $$. Ends December 2nd.

Happy weekend you guys!! Will see you back here Monday. Tah!!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thankful Fest, Fools!

You know, I don't post reviews. And this really can't count as a review, but on Saturday night I crawled in bed early(out of boredom). My TBR books, stacked in 2 piles next to my bed called my name. But instead of picking up any of the 3 that I had already started (2 of which are almost finished) I grabbed Wake.

Why? No idea. I just wanted to try out the first chapter. Now, I know I'm behind on picking this one up but the opportunity just never presented itself till recently.

A few hours later and I'm staring at the back of the book plotting out when I could go get Fade. Many times in those hours I told myself: "after this part I'm going to bed", "this is the last section before I need sleep". But the funny thing about this book is, the right place to stop never came. I could never find a good spot to put it down. I was so impressed, maybe because my expectations started out pretty skeptical.

I think I love Cabel...

I have heard mixed reviews about Wake, so it could be and couldn't be for you. Either people have loved it or hated it. I am in the lovin' it category.

In honor of Thanksgiving I joined up with Jeffrey Beesler's Thankful Fest! Head on over there to get in on all his thankful participants!

This year I am thankful for all my many blessings in my life. My house, my hubs, my family, my amazingly awesome mother(yes she deserves to be excluded from the "family" category because she is THAT awesome), my 5 loverly cats, my beautiful crazy fantastic friends, my job, my car, my ever improving attitude-you know, all the normal things. But also...

I'm thankful for/that
  • amazing critique partners
  • triple cheese and bacon roast beef sandwiches at Arby's.
  • I haven't been sitting outside Best Buy since Monday for Black Friday (no joke. They are really out there!)
  • flannel sheets
  • central Heating
  • not being a skeezey butt hole, like certain people. Who...shall remain nameless.
  • being able to read and write!
  • bosses who don't make me work on holidays (hello, department stores...you should be ashamed!)
  • having hope 
  • being able to laugh on a daily basis
  • not being a fork. Cause...really, ew. 
  • cake, cookies, and icecream
  • Christmas lights going up
  • gellyroll pens
  • cats in general
  • it's almost tax season again(one day I will hate this, so all the more reason to enjoy the hell out of it now)
  • Natural Calm supplement that helps me sleep well(no I'm not getting paid to mention it, it's just great stuff)
  • Firefly! (guess what. . . I watched my first full episode ((that wasn't the movie)) last week! And I lurrrv it!!)
  • food in my fridge and cloths on my back
  • finding books I have been wanting on random-sale everywhere
  • 2.5 day work weeks
  • left overs! 
  • hot showers
  • my husband just THINKS he's growing his beard out even longer because "what's wrong with looking like a mountain man" but really...he's wrong. 
                 
I am also thankful for THIS Giveaway! From Sparkling Reviews, you can win a Nook Color!! So be sure to get in on this one. That's Huge!

Also thankful for Ishta Mercurio @ Musings of a Restless Mind said it the best, about this "turd" (her word and it is just PERFECT to describe this...) who wants to buy your books for 250$ so he can rewrite them and sell them under another name and then give you 40% while keeping 60% for himself. Umm... yes. Go read what she has to say.

and HERE is a wonderful auction of AMAZING writery things (first pages critiques, query critiques, full MS critiques ((from real live actual authors!)), signed ARC's, and soo much more!) for a fellow writer fighting colon cancer! Amazing cause to help with!

You guys... Have an amazing Thanksgiving! No matter where you are or what you celebrate, I hope you all can find a bunch to be thankful for this year. And if not:

Monday, November 22, 2010

Get Naked.


I got an awesome award 5x in 1 week! How flipping kick-ass is that?!

Thank you Quinn, Jessica Hill, Lisa Galek, Jennie Bailey and Lettuce Head !!!
 

 

Five very awesome, very friendly, very entertaining blogger/writers whose places I NEED to haunt every day, they are so great. Don't know em? You need to. Them's good people.

I would like to pass this on to:

Matthew Rush @ The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment
Kristal Shaff: Fantasy Author

Alexia Chamberlynn

The rules say I have to share 10 things about myself. Aren't you guys sick of me talking about me yet?

1.I got up to do some work and forgot my first fact I was going to share with you.

2.When I graduated high school my friends and I went to the grocery store, picked out a cake and had the nice bakery woman write "Get Naked" on it. To her credit, she didn't bat an eye. Which was sort of disappointing to a group of giggly girls

3.In my younger days I used to be able to hop a fence one handed without having to stop running.

4.I grew up in a small town . ("the hell" you say.) It was and is a retirement town. Very beautiful but very...old.

5.No matter where I move, I seriously always work out an escape plan for zombie attacks. Judge me not. Always better to be prepared than caught off guard and get eaten.

6.Cold feet are the worst thing about winter.

7.No matter how hard I try, I kill all household plants. I'm terrible with greenery.

8.I always wanted to learn to play an instrument. I have a harp I have had for many years and can't play more than a part of the super mario theme on it. This fact makes me terribly sad.

9.I am terrified, paranoid, and stressed out when it comes to boogies and being in public.

10.My eyes are terribibble. So bad. Awful, no good, and rotten. Can't see anything without my contacts.

11. (This makes up for the forgotten fact) I value manners above most other personality traits in people.


Second Award is from Samantha @ Life, Love, and Living in France! I loved this award when I first saw it. It's ridiculously adorbs.

I want to pass this one on to
Lisa Galek @ Read. Write. Repeat. 
Jennie Bailey @ Garden Full of Lily (this is just too appropriate for her too!)
Abby Minard @ Abover Water
Sara B. Larson 

THIRD AWARD(That's right. You love it...why..? ..what is wrong with you people??) is from an incredible new blogger, Alexia Chamberlynn! She is some good bloggin' stuff wrapped up in a...umm this got weird. But she is totally amazingly awesome!!

Melissa @ Through the Looking Glass
Lydia Kang @ The Word is My Oyster
Lettuce Head
Jessica Hill
 

So there you have it, all. Some of my favorite haunts, writers, and internetty people, all right there for you. You guys all rock my world every day. Lurv!

I had the very awesome pleasure of meeting my crit partner Abby Minard for the first time in person. We communicate all the time through emails and I knew early on that I liked her. She's funny and sympathetic, kind and a good ear. Think she's pretty in pictures? Prettier in person. Makes me sick...

But she really is a fun person to meet! It was like I had already met her before. You know? Not nearly as awkward as meeting people for the first time can be which can be terrifying.

Dudes, I am always lost and running late so if we ever meet in person, lets "plan on" one time and then you guys show up 30 min. later cause it is really embarrassing for me...

I'm super excited to announce that I have INTO in my possession again! Okay...I never didn't have it but I have the copy Abby worked on for me in my hands! Couldn't be any more excited to dig in again.

When I started out writing I hated critiques. I hated that people thought they could tell me how to make my story better because, what the crap did they know?! I took it too personal. I was too attached and too cocky. My first adventure into the critique group world I was awakened pretty harshly to the fact that I knew nothing. And I have been grateful of that ever since. It was hard. I didn't take it well at the time but it did make me realize what I was writing was crap. Big bunch of blabby crap and I needed to work hard to not be crap.

That isn't to say I'm still not crappy writer but I have worked to improve over the past year and I am confident, if nothing else, I have improved.  And now, when I see a page full of marks and notes my world isn't destroyed. I don't tense up and immediately get defensive.

All those notes and marks are there to make it better. Make the story stronger. Make my writing flow more easily. And make my world more clear to see.

So, as you can tell, I can't wait to make my love, my story, my book better.

And thanks to amazing people like Abby, I have the ability to. It isn't always easy to admit you have room to improve. But you always do. So get over yourself and make sure you get some amazing people to have your back and show you how to do it.  


HERE is an amazing article about JK Rowling and writing advice.

HERE is a crazy amazing/sad post about human's, beauty, and missing out on a great experience in life by Laini Taylor.


And to finish out my obsessive Harry Potter fanatical posts until next year:

Friday, November 19, 2010

Mrs. Rowling, how we love thee

Jen Daiker @ unedited, Melissa @ Through the Looking Glass , Lisa Galek @ Read. Write. Repeat, and Renae Mercado @ The Siren's Song, Laurel @ Laurel's Leaves, and I are at it again for the last installment of HP yummy-madness bonanza extravaganza!

Firstly, midnight show was crazy awesome. My bud got there at 7 and it was packed already so he got in line and texted me to hurry up. In my haste I got a few pictures but it was so hectic I didn't take any in line! I'm sorry! But there was a chick dressed up as....wait for it...a Firebolt! It was pretty freakin funny. Some great costumes and some...I didn't get...but whatever.



My mask, I made that thank you. My mark...I scribbled that as quickly as possible...thank you... and ME! If you saw that girl last night, HI! If not. Sucks for you. Apparently I creeped people out. Which was awesome. Sadly I was a lone death eater as far as I saw. There were a few guys in capes with white face paint which we assumed were death eaters but...it was hard to say for sure. LOTS of Dobby ears though and that was crazy awesome.

Some news crews were there as well. I had hoped to link it if there had been something cool to see for you all but I can't find anything on this blasted internet and it's 4 am so...I quit for the night. Hope you all enjoyed the movie who go to go. If not yet, I hope you will enjoy it! I won't say anything more about it than this: I was pleased. I loved it.


Today(you will probably find me snooooozing in after the midnight release) marks the beginning of the end to an amazing series. (which is soo close to being over *pout*!) And so we must honor the woman who made it all possible. Without her, we would have no Harry, Snape, Dumbley-dore, Weasley twins, or any other characters we love. (and love to hate)
J.K. Rowling had a hard start. I think her journey to being published is one every writer clings to these days. Even epic novels like Harry Potter didn't make it easily. Which is something I know I will have to remind myself every day when I set out to query. She worked her ass off for what she has. It is easy to be jealous of her but impossible to think she didn't earn it all, or deserve it all. She did. She does.

I wanted to highlight some facts about her that I thought were interesting and reflect in big and small ways in her writing.
  • Did you know her parents met on a train traveling from Kings Cross? Her father was off to join the Royal Navy. Her mother the WRNS (apparently the woman's equivalent)
  • As a child she lived near a brother and sister who's last name was Potter. The boy claims to be "the" Potter and his mother says they used to dress up as wizards but she says that is not true at all. I believe Mrs. Rowling. 
  • Her favorite grandmother, Kathleen, is whom she took her K in JK in honor of. 
  • When she was 11 she met Sean Harris who Chamber of Secrets is dedicated and owned the original Ford Anglia
  • She was traveling alone on a crowded train when the idea for Harry Potter struck! (he's alone on the train in the beginning? eh? Neat.)
  • Her mother died young in 1990 at only 45. Very sad...
  • Sometimes, as she fought to finish Philosophers Stone before she ran out of time, Mrs. Rowling HATED the book, even when she loved it too. So. Yes that is a real thing, to hate your own amazing work and love it all at once. 
  • Her name is NOT pronounced Row(as in an argument) but Row(as in what you would do in a boat.) Nothing to connect with her stories actually but I thought it was interesting...I didn't know that anyway.  
     And something I read on her site that I just loved, I don't know why exactly but I did:
    "You need to write something that a publisher would want to publish (it only takes one, but it might take a while to find them. If you are turned down by ever single publisher in existence, you will have to consider the possiblity that what you have written is not publishable)." -HA! Yes. Love. 


    So this weekend as you head the theater with your friends and family, spare a moment to marvel at the one mind that dreamed it all up. Because that is what this week was all about, Harry and Imagination. And one imagination has been the cause for all your fond memories that involve waiting in line to see the next HP movie and counting down till midnight to get your hand on the next book just to see what happens in the life of the boy who lived. Amazing, right?

    HERE is JK Rowling's official website, if you don't already know it. And where I collected most all my info on her to guarantee its truthfulness.


    Mrs. Rowling, I salute you and all the strength, imagination, and genius you possess. Thank you.


    (you notice how I had a few pictures to finish out there? Yea...no, my supply was never ending!) 

    JK Rowling texted Daniel Radcliffe and promised no more HP! Boo. But I bet he is relieved. 

    Enjoy your Harry Potter weekend, all. I know I will!

    Saturday I get to meet one of my newest critique partners for the first time in person! Talk about someone being psyched! Abby Minard is amazingly awesome. She is my go to when I have a whine or a question or a concern. So I really am so stoked to get to meet her and get to rave about and discuss her MS in real life!

    Oh, and Christmas is coming up so...you all pitch it, K?

    Finally, Don't forget to get in on my contest before Dec. 2nd.. Click the kitty head!

    Wednesday, November 17, 2010

    Harry Potter Writery Wed. with a Little Something to Celebrate

    Jen Daiker @ unedited, Melissa @ Through the Looking Glass , Lisa Galek @ Read. Write. Repeat, Renae Mercado @ The Siren's Song, Laurel @ Laurel's Leaves, and I are at it again with the HP insanity!

    But before we get on to Harry Potter related things I want to share that today is my and the hubs anniversary! We have been married now for 4 years! And this is the time-line of our relationship up to marriage: You can scroll down the the Harry Pottery things if you like. I really don't mind if you do!
    • September, 4 years ago, I started my job as an Arby's assistant manager(yea I know, right?...) Hubs was a fry cook (my employee. Yowza!) When I saw him for the first time I wanted him. Let me clarify. Ehem. I WANTED HIM. Got it? There was no love at first sight. I'm sorry but I don't believe in L@FS. But it was want at first sight for sure. I wanted to know him. I wanted to talk to him. I wanted to be friends. I wanted to hang out. And yes, I wanted to get all up in his business.
    • Some time at the end of September, or beginning of October we had our first "date" which was actually just us riding around in my car smoking cigarettes and talking.(This is pathetic, but I actually started smoking cigs so I could have an excuse to go out back and chat with him when he went for smoke breaks. *hangs head in shame* It didn't work, either. I don't suggest it. An unhealthy and poorly thought out tactic.)
    • dated through October.
    • November 17th, 4 years ago, we woke up, I looked over at him and said something along the lines of I wanted to keep him (Channeling Casper much?) and he said okay, I could. We went to the store and picked out the cheapest rings we could afford, went to the courthouse and got the paper work, went to the most indifferent Justice of the Peace I have ever met (total buzz kill) got hitched, went back to the courthouse to file paperwork, and sat in the car for a good...5 minutes laughing and just being pleased with ourselves. Then hubs had to get to work.

    And to this day, exactly 4 years later, every time I look at him I want him all over again. I want to talk to him, put my arms around him, hear him laugh. I love him like no other. I have never regretted not having a real wedding either, just for the record. (He is so wonderful, even  though he doesn't like Harry Potter and gives me crap about reading books for 12 year olds, he still entered me in the contest to win tickets to see HP Tuesday night as a surprise! Didn't win but so sweet right?!)

    On to Harry Pottery Imagination Wednesday!

    So Monday I had you all think of how it would feel if Voldy had won.

    Today I want you all to imagine you get THE LETTER! You are suddenly magically delicious and they want YOU. 

    Does jumping up and down and screaming for joy ensue? (I would probably pass out from the one big long squeal) Do you not believe it? (nope. Mean mean joke! Has to be! Not ME! Really!?ME!?)Would your parents be the supportive kind or the Dursley kind?(shoooot. Mom would be down so long as I could get her a dragon egg! She and Hagrid would be a total match made in heaven.)

    Would you call all your friends and rub their noses in it? OH WAIT you can't, it's not legal to let muggles in on the wizardy secret! (Rats... we'll never see that look of loathing and jealousy on the face of that little foursquare biotch down the street...)



    FINE but you can totally rub it in your siblings face right?(can I give her a pig tail? PLEASE!)

    And then your parents take you school SHOPPING!


    What shop do you go into first in Diagonalley?(A wand would be the first on my list for sure!) Do you need to go in them all or just the ones that strike your fancy? Do you go to the bank? Open an account?

    And you're off! You parents come with you to say bye at Kings Cross? Do you rush for an empty compartment or do you hope to find a friendly face in an already occupied one?(I would browse the pickins of occupied comp.'s, hope someone friendly and awesome looking would take pity on me!) What do you do on your first train trip on the Hogwarts Express? What sweets do you buy?(ALL OF THEM! Nom. Nom.)


    What weather have you come to Hogwarts in?(Usually always rainy. I like it!)What is the boat ride like? Nervous yet?!(Bout to pee myself, so nervous!)


    HERE you can take a really amazing quiz to find out your house. I highly suggest it. (Thanks Melissa!)

    (Jen-Hufflepuff!, Melissa-Slytherin! Lisa-Ravenclaw! Renae-Gryffindor! Laurel- Ravenclaw! Me-Gryffindor! WOOT!)

    Are you SUPER nervous, all those magical kids staring at you?!(wth are you staring at? Never seen an 11 year old girl doing the pee-pee dance before!?) Or too hungry to care after this amazing adventure that was your first day in the wizarding world?






    What classes have you always wanted to take? (potions, divination, transfiguration, arithmancy, ancient runes, charms, History of Magic! All of them!) What is the first thing you want to learn? (Transfiguration! Can I be a cat? No! A bird. Yes. Make me a bird! Eagle. NO Hawk! Yeaaaa....Colene the hawk...damn straight.) Would you learn mermish(I totally would! First mermish speaking wizard bird underwater...girl... That's gonna be me!) What teacher would be your favorite? Who would you be besties with, do you think?

    Would you adventure into the Forbidden Forest even though it is so dark and dangerous? Would you hang with Hagrid?(indeedy! Every chance I got. But I'd bring my own snacks.) Want to play Quidditch?(Hells yea I do!) Would you stay for the holidays or go home? Do you think you could handle the exams?(Easy-peasy lemon squeezy! That's my spell. Did it work? Am I a wizard yet!?)

    What happens when it's time to say goodbye to school and hello summer? (I'd cry...Do I have to go?!)

    So, again, I must ask you to let your imagination carry you off today and tell me all about your Hogwarts experience!


    HERE you can find out how to take Harry Potter college courses. No joke.

    Don't forget to get in on my contest and win some $$$! Okay...$$... Click on the cat head in the sidebar to enter! 

    Monday, November 15, 2010

    Harry Potter In Your Face Pretend Week

    So...If you just pulled yourself out of a hole butt first, you may not know that it is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows PART ONE week. And if we are just "meeting" for the first time, you will not know how I feel about this. Nor have realized that my blog will be dedicated to it.

    But what is even better, it isn't just MY blog that is giving a shout out to the big H.P. and JK Rowling this week but Jen Daiker @ unedited, Melissa @ Through the Looking Glass , Lisa Galek @ Read. Write. Repeat, and Renae Mercado @ The Siren's Song , Laurel @ Laurel's Leaves, and I have all teamed up! So if you need a sextuple(sextuplet?) dose of Wizarding Magical Blog-Awesomeness then haunt us all this week!

    I know many many many of you are neck deep in Nano but I ask you all to take a short break and let your imagination run away from you here this week.

    BECAUSE: This week is about imagination as a writer.

    And Harry Potter.

    So lets all channel our 7 year old selves and take this week to pretend!

    One of the best villains of all time is LORD VOLDEMORT! (Oh yes. I said your name. Bring it on Voldy)

    I love him. He's terrible. He has no conscience. He has this sad past but it does nothing to make you sympathize for this guy because he just doesn't care! If he was traumatized or something, yea maybe we could feel bad for that guy but NO. He's just a mean dude!

    So...What would if have been like if he had won? (SPOILER! If I ruined it for anyone, you have my permission to thump me in the forehead but I'm pretty confident everyone in the world, read the books and seen the movies or not, knows he doesn't win.)

    Really, what would the world have been like if he won? Image it and tell me about what you think would have happened. What would daily life have been like? What would the world have become? Laws? Jobs? Schools?
     
    Picture it, my friends. You are still all muggly and wake up this morning to every station playing that horrible disaster noise. They are all blaring a breaking news update: witches and wizards are indeed real and, as of last night, the most evil of all wizards owns the world.

    What would your life be like now? What happens to you? Your neighbors? Family? Friends? Life?

    I have my ideas. I can see it now. But I want to know what your initial response will be without any influence from me!

    So imagine, pretend, and tell me about your new life!

    HERE you will find video highlights from the UK Potter premiere last Thursday in case you missed it.


    (Anyone else notice the Holiday Cokes are back out making the rounds? There is something about Santa on the cans that is the official green light for the holidays in my book)

    Friday, November 12, 2010

    Funny Friday 100 Contest Bonanza! CLOSED

    You guys, I can't even begin to explain how incredibly special you all have made me feel. I have some amazing awards I need to re-award and thank specific people for and I wanted to say a general thanks now and also that I will be passing them all along asap! So thank you and stay tuned.

    (Woman of the night from yesterday's UK Red Carpet.)
     
     I want you all to know there is a lot of buzz and reactions and reviews of Deathly Hallows now that it has been seen in the UK as of yesterday but I WILL NOT be posting anything review like. I will not be reading anyone's reactions or anything like it. I want to be fresh, with my own excitement and not tainted by anyone elses opinions when I see it. I assume a lot of you are the same so, just letting you all know not to worry.  

    ON TO FREE JUNK AND STUFF!

    So...I like being a puppet master and making you people dance for my dollars. I'm not ashamed to say it. I said it. Dance puppets. DANCE.

    In honor of 100 followers I'm giving away stuff. It's not new concept or anything. You all knew it was coming. BUT what you didn't know was the how and the what.

    As it is Friday and we must, yes I say MUST, honor the funny, this contest will be all about how funny you can be.
    (The lovely Emma Watson from the RCarpet)
    So, here it is folks, the rules.

    You must come up with the worst book idea ever. A one-liner. That's all! Now, let's see. We can't just let that be it...nope. For each one-line worst idea you comment with gets you a slip of paper in the hat an entry into the generator! 1 idea=1 name. 3 ideas 3x! Simple. Your chances go up with the creativity you possess!

    Let's give you an example: 15 year old Tabby Fee wakes up with an eye in her knee.

    Need another bad idea?   Brad can't get the girl without proving he has what it takes to fold origami cranes out of queen sized comforters. 
    1 more? Casey must recount her entire life as an accountant to a therapist in a 250,000 word novel comprised entirely of flashbacks in riddle form.

    Does it say something negative about my writing that I can come up with some shiners there? Ah...whatever.

    So. You need motivation to take on this task. Don't do something for nothing, guys. Wait. That is bad advice. Good Samaritans do stuff for nothing and we definitely need more of those...anyway! The prizes:

    1st place is a $25.00 gift card to Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com(ca), or BaM (your choice)

    2nd place $15.00

    3rd place $10.00

    4th place a pat on the head and an "atta boy"

    So hop to it, my friends, for a chance to win $

    This contest will conclude DECEMBER (thanks Jen!)2nd. It is open to all! (we will find a way to get $ to whomever) 


     There is a little learning fun for your Funny Friday!

    Thursday, November 11, 2010

    Suck on this! (Because I lurv you guys)

    HERE HERE HERE is the site to watch the UK red carpet premiere for Deathly Hallows! LIVE RIGHT NOW! Woot. omg. Woot.

    You can watch all the actors arrive and sign autographs and take photos. There are also interviews with the stars as they come down the carpet. It is amazing fun to watch happen.

    Yes...I'm supposed to be working but...instead I'm sneaking peeks at it...

    That is all :)


    Happy Thursday!

    Wednesday, November 10, 2010

    Writer Wednesday Novel Idea's

    Firstly, you all are going to think I am a weirdo-freak for this but I'm so excited I got my first comment spam!! Yes it was immediately deleted when I saw it BUT I'm still on someone's radar in the internet world to get spam!

    On to less nerdy things...not much less but whatever...

    Ever had an idea? Of course you have. Most of you that stop by are writers so that is a silly question. Lets skip ahead a few questions and lemme ask you this:

    Every been writing away and your story take you somewhere you weren't going in the first place?

    This is also a fairly easy question. Yes. Most writers are flexible enough to let the story go where it needs to without trying to strangle it to death. Even plotters know they need a certain amount of leniency for the story to work. Can't control it all the time. (at least I haven't been able to)

    So, while I critique others work this month I'm still trying to keep one toe on my own work. Give myself time to ponder my plots and idea. Give myself time to speculate on the direction I have written already and possible places for improvement.

    My second novel is in desperate need of TLC. It ended at least 20,000 words sooner than I wanted, needs much much much plot/character development and...oh golly...just so much more before I can even hand over to anyone else to read.It's insane how badly  it looks.

    But there is one place I have been stuck on since my best friend/ first reader read it. And so I want to ask you all what you think, though I must be fairly vague.

    There is a place in my novel where my heroine is confronted by someone she wronged in the past. She is dealing with what she did back then and has already "vowed" to make things right.

    But the fella she harmed then doesn't know that. Frankly I doubt he would care if he did. But he surprises her by waking her up one morning with a baseball bat and she and he go head to head. He basically kicks her butt for a good paragraph or so.

    Now, my question to you is: Could she get over the fact that this guy broke into her house and kicked her ass if she needed him to accomplish a task that would set everything right?

    More deeply, could she ever become closer than allies with someone who hated her guts enough to attack her?

    2 things you need to know: SHE is not technically human. (not a vampire or any blah blah like that but she is more than human) And 2. He considers her a demon so none of that "he hit a girl" stuff can really apply. She ISN'T a demon but she isn't human and she wrecked his childhood by what she did.

    If you guys could all weigh in on your opinions for a plausible, believable scenario.

    Should I just not have him come after her in a violent way? But if someone had done what she did I can't say I wouldn't come after them, so that part...I donno. This is why I have a problem.

    Because I believe it is believable to say that because he doesn't feel like my MC is human let alone the girl factor+what she did would cause anyone to become violent when faced with her.

    But I need him to get over it because a. he is the key to the climax. He is the way she can make her life right again. and

    b. Because, while I don't believe they can be romantically involved I need him to be close enough to care what happens to her. I think, saying they could ever become romantically involved is too much of a stretch (or is it?) 

    HERE is an AMAZING post by Nathan Bransford including excellent writing advice AND Harry Potter. SO...yea, I was stoked! It is great stuff.

    Stick it out till Friday and you get a contest sucka's. So drop back by and enter to win some cool stuff!

    Monday, November 8, 2010

    True Story. Help...

    Okay, dudes... I know Halloween is over, and I might should have mentioned this around then, just for atmospheric creepiness, but I honestly forgot until last week! It hadn't bothered me, whatever is going on, since I switched lights. Confused?

    Well, allow me to begin with: I have mentioned this a long time ago but it was when I had, like, 5 followers or something so I will start at the beginning.

    I don't know if I believe in ghosts. I can't say that I DON'T  but I can't say that I do either. It seems possible in some ways and in others, I'm a skeptic through and through. But none of that changes the fact that even my cats think something is up with this corner of my bedroom.

     This is my room, basically. No...not proportional because I am no architect but it will do to show you what corner I mean and give you a good picture in your mind. ANYWAY.

    So when we moved into this house this year I started noticing weird things on my side of the bed. The hubs will go to sleep with a live band in the room, nothing phases him. But I have to get comfy, relax, and drift off which takes time. In the beginning I had one of those touch lamps that had the 3 light settings. Dim, Dimish, Not-as-Dim.

    So one night, I'm drifting and he's zonked out as usual. Then I hear something. It's like a thud on the wall by me, next to the big window. To this day, I still donno what it was or wasn't but I woke Shane up to ask if he heard that, because that's what made sense. He's sleeping, so of course I would need to ask if he heard something. I really do realize the sense that makes...He didn't hear a thing, naturally.

    When I wake up in the morning the lamp is on the second setting. Now, I very well could have touched it in the night. I have no idea if I did or didn't at that point.

    The next time something weird happens I have been asleep for a long while and Shane grumbles to me to turn off my light. Which I know I did before I went to sleep and so I groggily grouch at him to bite me and reach over to turn it off. Then, gosh, minutes or hours(no idea as I am asleep) I see the light flick on. Not the first setting. Not the second. But the third and then the room goes dark again. Then it does it again, going through the whole sequence of settings again and again.

    By this time I'm truly awake and sort of frozen. Childhood fears of things under the bed have flashed back and I'm sure the second I reach over to touch the light something is going to grab me and suck me under (the Whinnie the Pooh episode where they went under the bed was TRAUMATIZING to me as a kid... it was, indeed, the cause of the recurring fever nightmare I always had when I was sick. SO SCARY.)  and Shane will just sleep through it all and no one will ever know what happened to me. (I'm really not at all rational at night when something weird is going on)

    SO I wake Shane up, just so there will be another witness...or victim, to whatever happens next. And all this time the light is still running through the sequences on its own. Shane looks, says "huh"(he's very helpful) and "just unplug it. It might be a short in the wall. Ill check it out tomorrow" FINE. He has successfully burst my paranormal bubble. I unplug it, and we go back to bed. Him immediately. Me, I take some time to calm back down.

    He never checks the outlet. Days go by and I want to read while he's sleeping, so I plug the damn lamp into another wall and read. Then the light goes out. And I wait. and wait. and wait. for it to come back on and start doing its sequential thingy on its own. But this irritating thing just sits. So, I gather my nerve and reach over to turn it back on.

    All is fine. I go to bed and wake up in the morning with the light on. To which the whole corner of the room gets one of those "really?!" looks from me.

    Nothing happens after this that I am aware of for weeks. Then I'm woken up again by the light running through the settings over and over. Frustrated and tired I rip the cord out of the wall and go back to bed after grouching something about inconsiderate a*holes needing to let me sleep before I go Ghostbusters on their asses.

    In the morning I wake up and my cord yanking was actually a cord ripping and flinging the light across the room. So. It's broken. Ha! I say to ghost or gouly. Suck on that. Then realize that I just jeered a ghost...or my imagination for me breaking my own lamp...smart.

    Now. Let me say this, ghost or not, I have no idea. BUT I have NEVER EVER EVER come home from work and the light been just...on. I have never gone on errands and come home to the light on. Never been doing laundry and the light start running though the settings. I have never been watching tv and gone to the bathroom to find that lamp on. Never. Didn't do it unless it's been night and we have been in bed.

    So I replace it with a real clicky lamp from the living room. The kind with the clicky nob you have to turn. (This was...a month ago or less) And nothing. No weird sounds. Nothing turning that light on. Just a bedroom for weeks! Until last week.

    We have our 5 cats that I have mentioned before. A few like to sleep in the bed but mostly always leave at some point in the night and sleep elsewhere. Sometimes, one or two come back in the morning to snuggle with me but not always. Their finicky.

    One of our little girls, Dark Girl(Hubs calls her) or Lily, only comes to get pets before I fall asleep then she scampers off  to wherever. But last week, she did her routine, got scratches and pets and jumped down. I reach over to get my contact case and she's sitting on the floor beside the table. STARING at the wall beside the window. Just...sitting and staring. Not moving a muscle. I reach down to pet her and talk to her and she flinches then a few seconds pass before she looks up at me. Then looks back to that same spot. I watch her for a minute or two and then she just gets up and walks out. Like nothing.

    Now, the hubs is convinced the light had a short. It was a hand-me-down from a friend who didn't need it anymore. Likely. If I had mentioned the cat, he would have just said she's a cat and cats do weird things for no reason. Also likely.

    But...is that all it is, really? Cause I get the willies sometimes over there but it could just be because of my experience and imagination.

    What do you think? Do you believe in spirits that linger? Why wouldn't a lingering soul have anything better to do than screw with a lamp and bug my cats?

    HERE is an AMAZING post  by author Hannah Moskowitz on Things Not To Worry About in the publishing world. Loved it.

    Friday, November 5, 2010

    45 years of absolute beautiful brilliance

    Guess what, dudes....100 followers! WHAT? You heard me. Phyllis Sweetwater @ The Epitome was my hundredth so YEAY!

    Thanks everybody. I can't imagine I'm that interesting but I'm gonna live in my dilusional world of awesome-sauce for today. So whoo! *you can totally picture me doing this>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>*


    Thank you guys.


    It's spring time in Italy, so says my television, and that is where I want to be as the cold weather has begun to settle in around these parts. I can't promise this won't come up again: I HATE COLD



    My love for all things Harry Potter is undeniable if you just scroll through just a few of my postings. I adore Harry Potter because the books woke up a long slumbering adoration for fictional literature that I have since stopped trying to stifle and instead embraced. I am easily immersed in the world of hp and will cherish every character as long as I shall live.

    But This post isn't about literature love. It is about my childhood love I have carried since I was very small. It was a movie I watched every time I went to my grandparents house--something I looked forward to every time we made the drive, popping in those 2 VHS videos. Made me love musicals, theater, etc.

    This movie gives me chills, makes me cry, warms my heart, and makes me smile every time I see it, hear the songs, or see the actors.

    And it is now a 45 year old movie! So Happy Birthday to The Sound of Music!

    Julie Andrews is a hero of mine. I cried for her in 1997 when she had the surgery that would end her wide range of singing. I love and hold very dear her movies and the memories she is associated with in my life.

    I missed the first time the whole 7 children, Julie Andrews, and Christopher Plummer came together again since the movie was filmed on Oprah but someone put the videos online, and so I was able to enjoy every second of that show. I am happy to take a Funny Friday off to post them for you all.











    And because I am incapable of leaving you funny-less: This is probably the funniest thing I have seen all week. "Bieber!"



    Just in case you wanted it, HERE you can buy your very own Harry Potter Snuggie. That's right. HP SNUGGIE. Wow.


    Happy weekend, all!