…Brrrr…..

Okay, so, in hindsight, New Orleans is looking….awfully warm and toasty right now. It’s 14 degrees here. Fourteen actual degrees. Not with the windchill. It was 8 degrees when I got up this morning. So I found myself wondering why I’d chosen to move back here from the tropics of southeast Louisiana…Well, there are several reasons, but they sort of paled into insignificance when I considered them this morning. All the schools have been shut down the last two days, and they’ll be closed again tomorrow. This means I won’t be taking my scheduled History test just yet, so, yay! More time to study. (Finding the motivation to actually study is another thing….)

This also means more time to read, which is always a good thing. Reading while sipping something hot is even better. I’m actually reading an e-book right now called The Splendor Falls, by Rosemary Clement-Moore. So far….excellent read. I’m enjoying it a lot. It’s the first e-book I’ve actually bought. And by that I mean that I have several e-books that were available for free (not that I’ve actually, ahem, finished reading any of them…). I don’t actually have an e-reader, but I have the free software versions on my PC and my phone. After this, I might decide to buy an e-reader. I like the instant gratification of having the book immediately available. That’s very nice.

I also finished lesson 4 of HTRYN. Started reading lesson 5, and plan to start on it tonight after I do a little bit of homework. (And studying. Yeah. Studying.) I’ve been doing steady daily writing on the 2YN2 story, about 500 words a day. Not much, but steady progress, so I’m happy with it. The Muse is still playing with the other story idea, and I’ve even jotted a few random fragments of ideas down. Hopefully that will be coalescing into something more coherent soon. I’m really in the mood to write a more traditional fantasy, instead of the urban fantasy of late.

I’m off to get some work done. And try not to freeze to death. And drink something warm (and possibly alcoholic)….

Entice, by Carrie Jones

What’s the best thing to do on a snowy day? Curl up with a good book and try to stay warm. With the current weather in North Texas, a good book is just the thing. And if you happen to like the current weather and would like to read more about a winter wonderland…why not try Entice, by Carrie Jones? Set in the winter woods of Maine, it’s bound to make anyone feel better about our paltry two inches of frozen precipitation. The third book in the Need series, it’s about pixies…but not the cute little Tinkerbell-esque creatures most people think of when they see the word “pixie”.

Bedford, Maine isn’t exactly a hotbed of…well, anything. It’s cold. It snows a lot. It’s surrounded by woods. And those woods are full of all sorts of creatures from legend. Pixies. Wolves. Shapeshifters. Even the occasional elf. Despite all that, the inhabitants of Bedford manage to get along. Until a group of evil pixies moves in, and teenagers start disappearing. It’s enough to give pixies a bad name.

As usual, Zara is right in the middle of things. Her friends don’t trust her anymore because she’s been pixie-kissed…and not just by any pixie, but by pixie king, Astley. Her soul mate, Nick, is dead. Well, sort of. He’s been taken to Valhalla, a place for warriors that’s right out of legend, and Zara and her friends don’t know if they can get him back. With the end of the world looming on the horizon, and war imminent, Zara knows she has to find her warrior and bring him home. With Astley at her side, she sets out to find Valhalla and rescue Nick. There’s just one little problem: Nick hates pixies. Will he even want to leave Valhalla when he realizes what she’s done to save him?

P.S. Isn’t this the greatest cover ever?

Where’d the Week Go?

Seriously. How is already Saturday night? The week’s over, and I’m not really sure what I accomplished this week. Let’s see…I remember doing homework. More homework. And yes, MORE homework. That’s an awful lot of school work, especially since I can’t remember what else I did this week. *thinking….thinking*….Hmm. I wrote two book reviews for Examiner.com. Read a few books (the first four books in Michelle Sagara’s Chronicles of Elantra series. Really enjoying them.) Ah….what else? I can’t think of anything else. That’s just…ridiculous. Oh! I did get some writing done. Yes. About 3500 words this week. I know it’s not a lot, but it’s steady writing every day, and that’s my main goal.

My Muse is working on a new story idea. I can feel it! I should probably be writing some of the details she throws at me down. Things are coming together. I have a vague idea of a character, well, two, and the main conflict, so that’s cool. The setting is coming together, too, and it should be something radically different than I’ve ever written before. I’m actually starting to get really excited about the idea, but I’m trying not to rush my Muse. Bad idea, that.

No revisions done this week. Which gives me…two days to finish Lesson 4 of HTRYN. Guess I need to get on that, huh? Okay. I’m off to do more homework. Two exams next week, and some essay questions that are waiting for my attention (Not the kind of writing I enjoy. At all.) And I’ll have another book review up tomorrow.

My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent

Kaylee Cavanaugh finally has the screaming under control. Mostly. As a bean sidhe—a banshee—she’s compelled to scream when anyone around her dies. At least she was, until she met Nick. But she and Nick broke up while she dealt with his addiction, and now she’s on her own. Which is a bad thing to be, especially when chaos erupts at her school. Teachers are dying mysteriously. Kids are fighting in the parking lot and rioting in the halls. Everything is a mess. Right in the middle of it is Sabine, Nick’s ex-girlfriend. She’s new in town, and she’s desperate to get Nick back. And Sabine just so happens to be a Nightmare—able to read people’s deepest fears and bring them to life in their dreams–bringing new meaning to the phrase “scared to death.”

Now, with the fates of her schoolmates at stake, Kaylee doesn’t know where to turn. There’s Tod, Nick’s Grim Reaper brother, but just how much can a dead guy do? And Alec, who she rescued from the Netherworld, and the clutches of his Hellion master, Avari. Avari wants Alec back, and he wants Kaylee, too. And Avari can possess her body—or the bodies of those she cares about—while they’re sleeping and force them to do anything he wants. Now Kaylee has to figure out what’s going on, and who’s behind it. Can she trust Nick to fight his addiction and his history with Sabine, or must she face the Netherworld without him?

Set locally, in Arlington, Texas, My Soul to Steal is the fourth installment in the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent. Kaylee Cavanaugh may be a banshee, and her world may be filled with creatures from legend, but she’s still just a teenager, with a teenager’s dramas and problems. This compelling book will have you desperate to find out how she resolves them—and how she deals with Nick’s nightmarish ex-girlfriend.

Awakened, by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Zoey Redbird has issues. She’s a fledgling vampyre High Priestess, and blessed by the Goddess Nyx. She lost someone she loved, which almost tore her soul apart, and her best friend died–and now possesses unheard-of powers. Zoey is also one of the few who sees the true nature of Neferet, the evil High Priestess intent on destroying Zoey and her friends, and anyone else in the way of her quest for power—and war with humans. With the Vampyre High Council believing in Neferet’s innocence, Zoey is left to combat the evil alone.

Barely healed from the battle for her soul, Zoey returns to Tulsa with her warrior, Stark, at her side, determined to reveal Neferet for who she is: a servant of Darkness. Zoey’s best friend, Stevie Rae, is hiding something that could destroy them all, something that not even Aphrodite, a Prophetess, has foreseen. Now, when Zoey needs her friends the most, Neferet’s evil and Stevie Rae’s secret rips their circle apart forever, and they must stand alone to combat the ancient evil that she has awakened.

Awakened is the eight book in the best-selling House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast. Full of secrets and a desperate battle against evil, the book is a fast-paced tale that drags the reader along for the ride—without giving them a chance to catch their breath.

Yankee Standard Time: Fact or Fiction?

Okay, Random Question for the Day: Do Yankees run on a different time schedule than we Southerners? I’m starting to think so. A certain person who shall remain nameless has apparently been trying to drive me crazy with the differences in our concepts of time.

Example 1: “I’ll call you back in a few minutes.” The callback actually occurs:
a) half an hour later
b) three hours later
c) Still waiting…

(Yes, all of these are correct answers.)

Example 2: “I’ll give you a call when I get up on Sunday, and we’ll spend the whole day together.”
a) The call doesn’t actually take place until, oh, 3 p.m. So, apparently, the day in Yankeeland doesn’t start ’til 3 p.m. Good to know, if you’re ever traveling there….Don’t make plans before mid-afternoon. Nothing will be open. Just a bit of travel advice.

Example 3: “We’ll get together very soon.”
a) “Soon” being…well, I don’t know when. That conversation took place on Friday. It’s Monday, and still nothing. Do you think this definition of “soon” would work for deadlines or school? “So, Professor, I promise I’ll have this final exam turned in soon.”….Like, next week? “Yes, Mr. Very Important Editor, I know I said I’d have the piece turned in soon. That was just last week. I still have plenty of time.”

Somehow, I don’t think the Southern standard of “Bless your heart!” is gonna cover this…at all.

So…on to writing. I did actually make it through the entirety of Lesson 3 in HTRYN last week when I said I would. Yay! I’m even about halfway through with Lesson 4, which is even better. I have plenty of revision ideas, too, I can feel them simmering…

Speaking of simmering, I’m pretty sure my Muse is working on a new story idea. Something that’s more traditional fantasy, instead of the urban fantasy I’ve been writing lately (like, for the past two years…). Something with ghosts, and maybe the Dia del Muerta… It feels like a nice change, and to go along with it, I started reading Michelle Sagara’s Chronicles of Elantra series. Just got started on the first one, but I’m liking the touches of humor so far.

Revision Block

Is there such a thing? If so, I have a raging case of it. It’s worse than staring at a blank page and being unable to think of a single word to write (although that’s pretty bad). A few weeks ago, I started working through HTRYN with Chasing Shadows. Lessons 1 & 2 weren’t bad, but Lesson 3….all I’ve done is read the lesson and punch holes in my index cards. Not exactly a hotbed of revision activity.

I’m not sure why I’m having such trouble getting started on this. Well, I DO tend to have issues with The Sentence, even if it’s The Revision Sentence, so that could be part of it. But that’s the only hazy idea I have for what’s going on mentally. I’d say it’s lack of motivation, but…I’ve been writing every day. Only a bit, but still, daily progress. And I’ve been doing some pre-reading for school. And working out almost every day. So clearly I have some motivation.

I have absolute faith in the HTRYN process. I know what it did for Werewolves for Dummies, and I have every faith it can take Chasing Shadows that much closer to the story I want it to be. Of course, it won’t do that if I don’t actually apply it, so there’s the general problem with that idea. Hmm…Could be fear of failure. Of course, not revising the story at all is even more clearly a failure, so that should be an incentive…

Okay. Tomorrow I intend to work through Lesson 3 of HTRYN. ALL of Lesson 3. And get a few words written, of course. Wish me luck!

Social Media

I don’t understand why some people feel it’s necessary to put every single bit of their personal business on the internet for everyone to see. I’ll admit, sometimes I am a Facebook addict. I like to know what my friends are up to, and it’s interesting to see what some old school friends/acquaintances have been doing as well. However…I don’t understand why some people put every little detail of their lives out there in cyberspace. Who really cares what you’re eating for lunch? Or what you had for breakfast? Do I need to know that you’re having problems with your significant other? No. Do I care? Possibly, but if I do, you’ve probably already told me about it via something slightly more personal, like a phone call, text message, or even an email. And do you really want everyone on the planet to know you’re fighting? Personally, I wouldn’t. I barely want to tell my closest friends/family members, much less a bunch of almost-strangers that I haven’t seen or talked to in person for YEARS. I just don’t get it.

I guess it’s sort of a catch-22 for writers. You want to have an online presence, and you want your readers to feel like they know you…but you don’t want to bore them/disgust them with all the little details of your everyday life. So what is the happy balance? Right now, I have a personal Facebook account, and this blog. That’s it. That’s the extent of my web presence. I will probably get another Facebook account if I ever get published, but I can’t really see myself Tweeting 72 times a day. Heck, I can barely blog once a week (and here lately, it hasn’t even been THAT often!). I guess it’s a fine line to walk between overexposure and getting your name out there. I just wish more people had found the right balance–without TMI.

Another Year’s Goals

I don’t do “resolutions” per se, but I do set goals at the beginning of every year. I don’t always reach them, but I strive to do my best to get there. This year, I didn’t set a lot of goals. I know it’s going to be a busy year, what with finding a new job and continuing my back-to-school journey, so I didn’t want to over-reach myself and get distracted. That being said, here are my goals for the year:

1) Revise Chasing Shadows
2) Revise Witches
3) Complete the 2YN2 story (probably about 40k left to write)
4) Completely re-do and finish the sequel to Werewolves for Dummies
5) Do NaNo

As far as non-writing-related goals, I only have two:

6) Complete a half marathon (“complete” meaning some walking is okay)
7) Carry a 4.0 in school

Of course, “revise the zombie story” will hopefully be added in sometime this year. And I should mention that the NaNo story will probably be something new and completely different…NOT a sequel to anything else. I have some ideas percolating…I can feel them. I’m currently querying Werewolves for Dummies, and I’ll start querying Chasing Shadows when I’m done revising it, as well.

So, yeah, those are all my goals for the years. Anyone else setting any for the year?

I am DONE! Yay! Okay, so the story isn’t actually done. Far from it, actually, but I am done with it for now. Now I need to focus on finals this week, getting everything transferred so I can start school back in Texas in January, the actual move, and, you know, finding a job! But I’m through with NaNo! Done and won five years in a row now. I actually only wrote 17 days out of 28, which averages out to around 3k a day. Not too bad. Now, I’m off to much more mundane writing: my Sociology final.