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Winner and License Plate Interpretation

Third, you may have noticed I took my Blog Roll down. Something to do with a virus on one of the referenced blogs. Easiest thing was to chop the whole kit and kaboodle. I’ll start rebuilding soon. Just wanted to let you know.

Finally, I know I’ve kept you all in suspense for a horrible amount of time, so here are the license plate interpretations from >>this<< post (for the “hard” ones):

1. CRPE DM = Carpe Diem
2. TRNTLA  = Tarantula (Pontiac G5 Spyder)
3. HAF PINT = Half Pint (Cream-colored convertible Mini Cooper)
4. YES OCFR = Yes Ociffer (What a drunk person would say to the cop who pulled him over. Odacious, no?)
5. APRESVU = After you. (How polite!)

P.S. Here is another interesting one: NOT ED’S. It was on a convertible BMW. What’s the story this time?

Speak up:

28 comments

| TAGS:

carpe diem, personalized license plates, The Liar Society, winner

Pay It Forward Blogfest

I know I don’t usually post on Fridays, nor do I often join in the blogfests, but I like the spirit of this one, so I decided to jump in with two feet. Matthew MacNish and Alex J. Cavenaugh are hosting the Pay It Forward Blogfest today. You can click on their names to find the LONG list of blogs participating.

The idea is to share three under-the-radar blogs that I love and then visit all the blogs everyone else mentions. Okay, ALL might be impossible, but there we are.

And before I mention my three, just a quick note to say I would choose you all if I could! *waves and smiles to everyone reading this*

First is my long-time crit partner Victoria Dixon at The Ron Empire Wants You! She focuses on writing with Asian settings, which (even though I don’t use them) I think is very interesting. Plus, she’s a writer of gorgeous prose. Her work always makes me jealous. 😉

Second is Saumya at Left and Write Brained. She is fun and bubbly and I always leave her blog smiling. You should visit her.

And finally, Abby at Something to Write About. I found her through the Platform-building Campaign and just adore her posts. Personality exudes from her writing, plus I learn stuff. Like how to put polls directly in your post. (Yeah, okay, I’m slow.) Point is, she has a great blog!

So who would you recommend?

P.S. Click >>here<< to enter for a chance to win The Liar Society. You have through 16 September!

Speak up:

23 comments

| TAGS:

Alex J. Cavenaugh, Matthew MacNish, Pay It Forward, Show Me the Voice Blogfest, Victoria Dixon

10 Random Facts

Lindsay, over at Adventures in Writing, tagged me last week with a Random Fact post. So it is my privilege to share 10 random things about myself (the trick is to keep you from getting bored).

1. I bite my lip when I’m thinking. (My bottom lip really takes a beating when I’m writing.)
2. I have amazingly high arches. Shoe shopping is very difficult.
3. When I was age 6 or so, I randomly decided I was going to go to Harvard. That lasted until I looked at tuition prices in high school.
4. I learned to play the guitar because my college roommate took a class and I thought it looked fun. I have a reperatoire of about 10 songs I can play (including “My Grandfather’s Clock”). 😉
5. I once slipped a piece of broccoli down my shirt to avoid eating it. I totally got caught because it fell onto the kitchen floor before I could dispose of it.
6. My sister named the car I drove in high school “Calico.” (Bet you can guess why.)
7. The horn on Calico didn’t work. Except when it did. And then it tried to make up for lost time.
8. The passenger door on Calico wouldn’t stay shut in freezing weather. We had a lot of freezing weather my senior year.
9. When I was 15, I travelled to Mexico with my family to witness a total solar eclipse. It turned out to be cloudy.
10. I like coloring in coloring books.

 I am tagging:

Kamille Elahi
Bethany Elizabeth
Maeve Frazier

P.S. This is a low-stress tag. Do with it what you will. 🙂

Speak up:

19 comments

| TAGS:

Adventures in Writing, broccoli, Mexico, Random facts, Solar Eclipse

Rockin’ 2011 Debut Author Spotlight: Lisa and Laura Roecker

When Christina Lee suggested we band together to spotlight some of our favorite 2011 debut authors, I knew right away I wanted to spotlight Lisa and Laura Roecker who debuted in March with The Liar Society.

Fabulous book!

1. The pink hair. This is not just an outward description of Kate (the MC). It’s all part of the mystery of what happened and how it affected her. (I believe this is called Depth.)
2. The mystery. It starts on page 1 and doesn’t let up. I wanted to solve the mystery as much as Kate! And the clues? How cool that they show up in her email.
3. The tension. It is no easy feat to fill every page of a book with just the right balance of tension and believability. Let’s just say that I stayed up late to make sure Kate was okay. Laura and Lisa (just wanted to change things up there) rock at writing page turners.

In short, I can hardly wait for book 2!

To share the love, I’ll be giving a copy away to one lucky commenter. You have until Sunday, 16 October 2011 EST to enter. So comment away (and please make sure I have a way to contact you in case you win)!

P.S. Feel free to stop by Christina’s blog for the list of everyone who’s spotlighting an author today.

Speak up:

33 comments

| TAGS:

2011 Debut Authors, Lisa and Laura Roecker, The Liar Society

The Story of a Story

Today I want to tell you a story:

Once upon a time I wrote a book. It was not my first book, but I loved it like it was. People critiqued it, and I made changes. More people critiqued it, and I made more changes. People started telling my good things about my book. This made me happy.

So I worked on my query letter. People critiqued it, and I made changes. More people critiqued it, and I made more changes. And people told me happy things about my query letter. This made me happy, too.

And I wanted to query.

But one thing bothered me. . . .

. . . the page count.

My book was long. This did not make me happy.

So I started cutting. Little things at first:

• “he said.” 
• “she said.” 
• “he turned and walked.” 
• “lightly” 
• “stupidly” 
• “blindly” 
• “quickly” 
• . . . blah, blah, blah . . . you get the idea. 

But it wasn’t enough.
So I cut more. Bigger things this time:

• “this passage is so funny! but it doesn’t move the plot forward.” 
• “this passage tells us so much about this character! but it’s already shown in other ways.” 
• “this information is so interesting! but it’s all backstory in one big chunk.”
• . . . blah, blah, blah . . . you get the idea. 

But it still wasn’t enough. (Yeah, it was LONG.)
So I cut more. Even bigger things this time:

• “I really like how this plot line twists right there! but it’s a bit long winded, and what if someone asks this question . . . you know, the one that makes all the logic of getting there crumble?”
• “what I said before but for a different part of the story.”
• “I really like what happens here! but a similar thing happens in this other part.”
• . . . blah, blah, blah . . . you get the idea. 

And while this story isn’t finished yet, I will tell you this: My beta re-readers between each cut session couldn’t tell what I’d cut. None of it was missed. None. And while they did notice the plot changes I’d made . . . they thought it was better.

So if you, too, are struggling with the the dreaded thing called word count, are you sure you’ve cut all you can?

Speak up:

18 comments

| TAGS:

personalized license plates

This vs. That: Pooh vs. Tigger

I know you’ve all been dying of anticipation on this one, so without adieu, on to the results:

Total votes: 20

Pooh: 12 votes; 60%
Tigger: 7 votes; 35%
Impossible to choose: 1 vote; 5%

That said, 4 of you who voted would rather have voted for Eeyore (20%); 2 of you mentioned Piglet (10%), and 1 person mentioned Owl (5%). Poor Rabbit didn’t even get a pity mention. (Kanga and Roo have each other, so I don’t worry as much about them.)

This round, I gave my vote to Pooh. Perhaps like Amy, I’m surrounded by so much Tigger, that the calm of Pooh sounded VERY attractive. Tiddely pom indeed!

On a side-note, I find it fascinating to learn everyone’s favorite character. It’s so telling! If you care to indulge us, I’d love to hear which one is your favorite and why.

My favorite has always been Roo. He’s the combination of the sense of adventure of Tigger, the wonder of Winnie the Pooh, and the common sense of Christopher Robin. (In my humble opinion, of course. And wow, I wasn’t even trying for the alliteration!)

Anyhoo, on to the next debate:

Speak up:

38 comments

| TAGS:

Chocolate chip cookies, Sugar cookies, This vs. That, Tigger, Winnie the Pooh

What I’ve Read from the Top 100

Emily V had this on her blog, and I thought it was interesting to see what others have read, so I’m copying.

A couple of disclaimers before I start:

1. I don’t know who originally made this list, so I don’t know who is proclaiming these books to be the “Top YA.” It actually excludes some I really love, and includes others I don’t even consider to be YA.
2. This list is NOT a list of my recommendations. Just because I’ve read it (or own it), doesn’t mean I highly recommend it. And just because I haven’t read something (and don’t own it), doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to. It’s simply a list of what I’ve read.

So, with that in mind, here we go:

Bold = I’ve Read It
Italics = I Own It
Underline = Started, but Didn’t Finish It

1. Alex Finn – Beastly
2. Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones
3. Ally Carter – Gallagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)
4. Ally Condie – Matched
5. Alyson Noel – The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
6. Anastasia Hopcus – Shadow Hills
7. Angie Sage – Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
8. Ann Brashares – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)
9. Anna Godbersen – Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)
10. Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
11. Aprilynne Pike – Wings (1, 2, 3)
12. Becca Fitzpatrick – Hush, Hush (1, 2)
13. Brandon Mull – Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
14. Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret
15. Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)
16. Carrie Jones – Need (1, 2, 3)
17. Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3)
18. Christopher Paolini – Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)
19. Cinda Williams Chima – The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)
20. Colleen Houck – Tigers Saga (1, 2)
21. Cornelia Funke – Inkheart (1, 2, 3)
22. Ellen Hopkins – Impulse
23. Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
24. Faraaz Kazi – Truly, Madly, Deeply
25. Frank Beddor – The Looking Glass Wars (1, 2, 3)
26. Gabrielle Zevin – Elsewhere
27. Gail Carson Levine – Fairest
28. Holly Black – Tithe (1, 2, 3)
29. J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
30. James Dashner – The Maze Runner (1, 2)
31. James Patterson – Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
32. Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why
33. Jeanne DuPrau – Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)
34. Jeff Kinney – Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
35. John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
36. John Green – An Abundance of Katherines
37. John Green – Looking for Alaska
38. John Green – Paper Towns
39. Jonathan Stroud – Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)
40. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – Caster Chronicles (1, 2)
41. Kelley Armstrong – Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3)
42. Kristin Cashore – The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)
43. Lauren Kate – Fallen (1, 2, 3)
44. Lemony Snicket – Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
45. Libba Bray – Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)
46. Lisa McMann – Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)
47. Louise Rennison – Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
48. M.T. Anderson – Feed
49. Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)
50. Margaret Peterson Haddix – Shadow Children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
51. Maria V. Snyder – Study (1, 2, 3)
52. Markus Zusak – The Book Thief
53. Markus Zusak – I am the Messenger
54. Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
55. Mary Ting – Crossroads
56. Maureen Johnson – Little Blue Envelope (1, 2)
57. Meg Cabot – All-American Girl (1, 2)
58. Meg Cabot – The Mediator (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
59. Meg Cabot – The Princess Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
60. Meg Rosoff – How I live now
61. Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
62. Megan Whalen Turner – The Queen’s Thief (1, 2, 3, 4)
63. Melina Marchetta – On the Jellicoe Road
64. Melissa de la Cruz – Blue Bloods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
65. Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
66. Michael Grant – Gone (1, 2, 3, 4)
67. Nancy Farmer – The House of the Scorpion
68. Neal Shusterman – Unwind
69. Neil Gaiman – Coraline
70. Neil Gaiman – Stardust
71. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
72. P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast – House of Night (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 )
73. Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (1, 2, 3)
74. Rachel Caine – The Morganville Vampires (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
75. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
76. Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
77. Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
78. Rom LcO’Feer – Somewhere carnal over 40 winks
79. S.L. Naeole – Grace (1, 2, 3, 4)
80. Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers – Princess of Gossip
81. Sarah Dessen – Along for the Ride
82. Sarah Dessen – Lock and Key
83. Sarah Dessen – The Truth about Forever
84. Sara Shepard – Pretty Little Liars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
85. Scott Westerfeld – Leviathan (1, 2)
86. Scott Westerfeld – Uglies (1, 2, 3, 4)
87. Shannon Hale – Books of a Thousand Days
88. Shannon Hale – Princess Academy
89. Shannon Hale – The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)
90. Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
91. Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)
92. Stephanie Meyer – The Host
93. Stephanie Meyer – Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)
94. Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees
95. Susan Beth Pfeffer – Last Survivors (1, 2, 3)
96. Suzanne Collins – Hunger Games (1, 2, 3)
97. Suzanne Collins – Underland Chronicles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
98. Terry Pratchett – Tiffany Aching (1, 2, 3, 4)
99. Tonya Hurley – Ghost Girl (1, 2, 3)
100. Wendelin Van Draanen – Flipped

So what have I missed that is a MUST READ in your book?

And P.S. This is your last weekend to vote on the THIS big debate before I tally the votes.

Speak up:

19 comments

| TAGS:

Top YA books

National Book Festival Gushings

Shortly after I moved to the DC area 2.5 years ago, I learned about the National Book Festival. I made it a point to go that first year (me and 3 kids, including a newborn), and boy am I glad I did.

Who knew that the Library of Congress threw a huge celebration of books and authors on a yearly basis? And this year they expanded the festival to 2 days to allow for even more awesomeness.

The invited authors (and all the sponsors) converged upon the Mall. Sarah Dessen spoke this year, along with Tomie DePaola (this is the end of the amazingly long line of people hoping to get his signature), . . . 
 

. . . Lisa Yee, Michael Buckley, Cassandra Clare, Toni Morrison, and oh so many others I can’t possibly list them all without boring you to tears.

Since I was there with my kids, I participated in the picture book reading of Stagecoach Sal! by Deborah Hopkinson, who then signed copies and gave them to the audience (sponsored by Wells Fargo). We enjoyed the Build Your Own Book craft with Scholastic, the Book Nook provided by Target, and danced to the fun music of Steve Songs in the PBS kids tent. Though we just missed Clifford, and avoided the long line to meet the Cat in the Hat, we did get to meet Martha, from Martha Speaks (though my 2-year-old refused to get anywhere near her).

And after we got home, I tried to explain to my husband why I loved it all so much. Being surrounded by people who love books as much as I do is really something. It’s power. It’s inspiring.

It reminds me why I write. And why I put myself through the grind that is querying.

And do you know what else? It reminds me why I love being part of the blogosphere. How privileged am I to meet all of you amazing people and to share in your adventures as we make our way down this crazy and otherwise lonely road we call WRITING?

So thank you. Thank you for sharing, and visiting, and commenting, and just being you. Thank you.

What has inspired you lately?

Speak up:

19 comments

| TAGS:

Clifford, Lisa Yee, National Book Festival, PBS kids, Sarah Dessen, Tomie DePaola

What’s Your Kryptonite?

Every super hero has one. Something that trumps their amazing abilities. Because if they didn’t, the story would sure get boring fast.

Imagine if there was no such thing as kryptonite. Lex Luthor would stand no chance. Zero. And where’s the fun in that?

• So, for Superman it’s kryptonite. (Duh.)
• For the Green Lantern Corp, it’s anything yellow. (Seriously.)
• For Ironman, it’s magnets. (Build a suit of iron and what do you expect?)
• For Captain America, Batman, and all those superheros who have no actual superpowers, you have your kryptonite of choice: guns, swords, grenades, etc.

Anyway, I’m sure there will be people who argue with me on this, but that’s okay. Debate is good. My point in all this is to ask you:

Speak up:

20 comments

| TAGS:

Batman, Captain America, Cookies, Kryptonite, Superman

Just Chillin’

Today, I am just admiring some license plates.

1. CRPE DM
2. TRNTLA (Bonus points if you guess the model of the car)
3. AWSUM 1
4. HUGGS
5. NO KNTRL
6. HAF PINT (This one’s funnier when you see the car)
7. 2SLFSH
8. YES OCFR (My personal favorite)
9. APRESVU (In FRENCH!)
10. LIV W1LD

Did you get them all? So which of these plates is on your car today?

Speak up:

22 comments

| TAGS:

carpe diem, personalized license plates