Ides of March

BROPHYO WON!! Two dudes making yogurt seems to be the favorite word verification definition! So go forth into the world, my lovely bloggy friends, and brophyo till you can't brophyo no mo! 

Hart Johnson is hosting an awesome blogfest I'm looking forward to hopping around to read today. Clicky her name to get the post about the fest and other participants!

I thought about writing a more in depth plot to murder, but I really don't feel comfortable letting you all know exactly how things would play out if I chose to be evil. And, believe me, the thought has crossed my mind...once or twice... It would really be too incriminating to give you all the dets, don't you think?

But, either way, my plans for murder aren't complicated or drawn out. Torture isn't my way. Molotov cocktails are.

Sure, the cops would know it wasn't an accident, but maybe I want people to know not to mess with me. No fingerprints, no evidence of explosive making equipment to be found in my house, on my credit cards, or receipts. It wouldn't be traced back to me. The cops could do nothing to me! And people would just know not to screw with this chick.

I'll burn your house down.

***No one needs to call the cops. I seriously don't know how to make Molotov cocktails IRL. It's just...a dream...***

I hope everyone will have fun checking out the fest and other entries!


Thursday is Alexia and my St. Patties Day blogfest,(Sign up button on your left there) so you have from now until then to sign up and participate! Everyone have their new release picked out in case they win yet? 

Happy...oh! Tuesday! This is weeeeeird!!(As it's Tuesday I am "diligently" working on finishing INTO. It's already middle of March and my plans for querying this month have officially DIED with the fact that I have 10 sections left to finish! *sob* It's like I'm trapped in a clown suit pulling on never ending handkerchief of crit notes! I digress...all that to say, I will be replying to comments via email on my breaks and checking fest entries as it is polite, but unless I finish my notes early, fingers crossed, please don't be offended if I don't make it to you!)

Just A Sec.

So, I signed up for one blogfest and helped make another for this week. Turns out both are on days I don't usually blog! Meh, whoops. So instead of M-W-F, this week will be just a T-Th.

I'll still be bebopping around, but don't feel obligated to comment here today! Tomorrow will do.

Thanks all!

ALSO! Alexia wrote a perfect poem to get you all motivated for the SPD blogfest!

Happy Monday!

FF is...Not So Funny

Michael Di Gesu, (everyone knows that dude right? Super awesome? Writes some of the best posts? YEA! That guy!) gave me a great honor this past Thursday with this beauty:

Which really means a lot to me! Thanks so much Michael!! Pop on over to see him if, by some weird fluke, you don't know him!

Gotta pass it along to Abby Minard, Jennie Bailey, and Melissa Wideen first of all, because I know how hard they are all working on novels too.

Also, in no particular order, just fab people who never fail to bust out some writerage:
Erica & Christy
Mary Vaughn
Donea Lee
Alexia Chamberlynn
Candace Granger
Matthew McNish
Jen Daiker


I'm stock piling my funnies this week for a reason you shall not know. BUT I do bring you some awesome 2011 YA can't wait's!! I hope to PUMP you all up for St Patties day!

You see, if you hadn't heard, Alexia and I have teamed up to bring you goodies! We will each be picking our favorite entry for our SPD blogfest (button is the little dude riding that damn pig over there to your LEFT) And the winner gets to pick their choice of a 2011 new release as a prize! Hazzah!

So here are a few of the MILLIONS of goodies to come this year! Some you can click on to find out more, some have the caption below that will take you there. I was having issues....SHUT UP! ;)

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Happy Weekend!! Go sign up! You're running out of time!!!

Word Verification Wednesday Wants Your Favorite

Short and sweet for today. I wanted to revisit some of your top choices for WVW.  These words won the first voting round and I want you to pick your favorite! It's really that easy and not at all because I am WAY behind this week and haven't had a moment to write a real post.


Seriously, though, I'm sorry dudes. I have been butt deep in the slimy waters of revisions and actual pay-the-bills-and-provide-the-noms work work this week. It's been CRAZY! But because of the list of priorities, (1.Writing ze novel, 2. working ze job, 3. eating ze foods, and 4. being ze semi-decent wifey) blogging has had to take the #5 spot this week.

Please know that this does pain me. I miss you guys something fierce. I hate missing out on all the wonderful things you all say that I have grown accustomed to reading on a regular basis. Egads! Dare I say it? I pine for you...

Okay, serious did take a weird turn there, didn't it?

All that just to say that while I am sorry, and I do miss you guys, what would be the point of a blog about a writer's journey to getting published if that particular writer never actually polished up the novel and got it out there? It's like a boat with no sea. A cloud with no air. A bitchin' shade of nail polish with no nails.

Anyway! Vote away, my fine fizzy friends! And I will be back Friday with the LOLs for you all! Hopefully...

ALSO!  Don't forget to sign up for Alexia and my blogfest! You have a little over a week to participate, write something fun, and try to win a new release of your choice!!

It's A Mystery! Solve it?

This weekend was spent like most. Netflix, something new to love watching thanks to an awesome recommendation, amazing meeting with the crit girls on Skype, and an afternoon hanging with my mom.

Starting with the mom: We went and saw the area's sort of new Philharmonic Orchestra playing classical music that has appeared in a classic cartoon. Then  played clips of the specific cartoon. It was pretty darn cool! They also gave facts about the pieces, cartoons, etc. I had no idea Fantasia was so old! And the sorcerer in it was modeled lightly after Walt Disney himself! Anyway, it was a sweet time.

The new Netflix watch this weekend was Veronica Mars. Oh. My. I love this show!! So much so I tuned out the hub's protest about watching shows about teenagers for 12 year olds. Made him give it a chance, and he soon after stopped fighting it. I'm inclined to say he actually began to get interested by Sunday, but I doubt he would ever admit it ;) And Kristen Bell is just too adorbs.

Lastly leads to a question for you all. My fabulously talented crit ladies are too smart and kind to me. They are really whipping my novel into shape! (and provided more LOLs than I can remember) But Lady M pointed out my love for cliches sayings. I use them because people can understand them easily... And also when I can't think of another way to say something. I have 3 I'm interested in changing. But I have hit a wall. (See there? Another one. There are other ways to say that that I can think of, but it's sometimes easier and less distracting to just use a cliche. It isn't always wrong, but Lady M is right about not doing it too much.)

So, how do you solve the cliche saying problem?


How was everyone else's weekend?

Happy Monday!!

F. F. Brings You A Series Of Motions

Hurray Hurray! It's the weekend! And I have some awesome dancing folks for you! BUT FIRST:

Elena Solodow had a brilliant post that brought all the drafts together for dinner.

This chick is CRAZY good!! 








And, as it's the weekend, you all can just picture me doing this:


Happy Weekend all!!

Writery Wednesday R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Fool

 Bloggers come into the blog world all shiny and stupid, we were all born into it like an ignorant infant in most cases. Not knowing a whole damn lot.

But under the layer of supportive writers, great writing advice, and just great people worth knowing, there is a dark underbelly of etiquette. It's just like every aspect of life - there are some people who do it, and some that don't and really piss you off.

So, my writer friends, do you follow the rules? 

Don't badmouth other bloggers by name or distinguishing characteristics.  You just don't. Whether you like them, don't like them, not friends, not following them, they crap all over things you like, etc, doesn't matter. You can't point out someone and say bad stuff about them. You never know who's reading or who DOES like them. It's rude. And more importantly it makes you look like a turd. And no one likes to read another bloggers hate. (not people you want to know anyway.)

*Don't badmouth publishers, editors, agents either. BAD BAD...oooh that's just bad. Don't do that.  





Don't comment derogatory things on other people's blogs that put's the blogger or any other blogger down.  This one is pretty simple, though hard for people to understand it seems. But the rule goes back to "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all." I'm not sure why that went out of style. If you don't dig on what someone is posting about, just leave. No one is forcing you to read it. No one is making you comment. Just. Leave. (unless they are talking bad about your mother. But, since they negated the very first rule by making fun of your mother, well...they're asking for it.)



If you ask a favor of a blogger be prepared to compensate. We are busy, writers. We work, we have kids,  family,  lives,  books to write, and deadlines to make. You want something, you have to be willing to make it worth our while. Yes, people should do nice things for the pleasure of doing nice things. BUT, if you aren't good friends with a person, that blogger owes you nothing. (take advantage of friends)

So, if you want something, you got to have something up your sleeve to offer. Need someone to read for you? Be prepared to have that favor called on you whenever. Want something posted on someone's blog? Candy will usually do. Want a writer to write something for you? That might take cash...

It doesn't have to be a big something, it doesn't have to be much more than a public thank you, but you have to do something to show your appreciation. (them's the rules)




Give credit where credit is due. Pretty self explanatory. You take something from someone's blog, you give them credit. (Duh.)


White space, White space, White space. It's a favor to your readers to offer this up. If you write posts in one huge paragraph, chances are good that no one is really reading you. Might be hard to hear(read), but from one skimmer  busy writer to a couple hundred others, it happens. (oh come on, we all skim from time to time. I know I have been able to tell, as you probably have from time to time reading your own comments that...make no real sense...oh yea, I said it.) And if reading it isn't easy, your audience gives up and moves on. Attention spans are short. Make life easy with adding some white space.



Answer comments. It's another simple one to read, but not always followed. Readers do you a great honor to stop by and take the time out to say something to you. You do not have opinions made of diamonds. You may have things to write people want to read but there are a bajillion blogs out there to read. No one is beating down your door begging you to post just one more post like you're the freaking crack fairy of south street.

People don't stick around if you never acknowledge them. Be humble, answer comments.


These are just a few, but very important things to remember. If you have more to add, please share away!


DON'T FORGET! You have 13 days to sign up for Alexia and my first blogfest! You could get free stuff, it's easy to enter, and...you could get free stuff! So...DO IT. Thank you!! (see, you must write a short something, but we're giving you a shot at something! Compensation, my friends.)

**Lots of Lolcats!