What's Up Wednesday: 06.26.13

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by my ever-so-lovely YA writer friends, Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk. The idea? Well, it's a great opportunity to touch base once a week with all of our blog friends and let them know what's up. Should you wish to join, head on over to Jaime's blog and sign up with the link widget at the bottom of her post! 

WHAT I'M READING:

I'm still reading LOVE AND OTHER PERISHABLE ITEMS by Laura Buzo, although will say, I haven't had a chance to turn any pages over the past few nights thanks to finally being able to write again! 

While running, I started and finished the short novella, DESTROY ME by Tehereh Mafi (SHATTER ME #1.5) yesterday - which of course, I loved.

Now while on the elliptical, I'm reading a great book written by a friend of mine - and fellow YAwesome Writer - Dorothy Dreyer, called MY SISTER'S REAPER. It just came out at the beginning of June and I'm so, so very happy for Dorothy - and I'm totally excited, because Dorothy actually included me in her acknowledgments at the end of the book! That's a first time for me and I'm thrilled to know I had any part in helping her during her road to publication, however small it was. I wish her much success and can't wait to see her add more books to the bookshelves!

WHAT I'M WRITING:

I am so excited to finally be back at writing!!! Man, that kinda sucked there for a while! But, I decided to give Ready. Set. Write! a shot and see if it would bring the encouragement I needed to get my tail back in the chair - and sure enough, it did!

Because I'm so close to the end of my novel, WHERE THE WATER FALLS - and thanks to my recent bout of writer's block - I wanted to set some somewhat achievable goals last week. And they were:

1. Write at least 1,000 words.
2. Begin revisions, from the beginning, on adding two critical personality elements (AKA, flaws) for my MC - neither of which were small characteristics, and both would require a lot of thought on how to weave them in successfully.

Well? I'm so excited to say I bested both of my goals.

While I still have that very last chapter I need to get down, I have two other chapters that were falling a little short - and Monday night, the inspiration struck! I cranked out 1,100 words in an hour and now feel so much better about both of these chapters.

I also started in on my goal around character revisions, late last week - and by 3am yesterday morning, I made tweaks to my last chapter!

So, goals for this week:

1. Write the last chapter - or at least decide how it ends (I'm toying with just tweaking how it currently ends now or if I want a different version that I've been thinking about).  
2. Start and finish complete revisions from the beginning.

Both are goals I really think I'll hit this week. Well, fingers crossed.  

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW:

Secret Projects: I know I've mentioned it a few times, but I am totally inspired by a secret project that Bridgid Gallaher and I - along with seven other a-mazing women - have been working on lately. 

In case you missed my post the other day, we're so excited to launch this said secret project and it goes live on:

07.01.2013

Yep, that's this coming Monday! As in five days. 5

And because I can't give away any of the details just yet - eh-em, it IS still a secret! - I WILL share this grand tidbit of information: who all is participating!

I'm so excited to announce that aside from Bridgid and myself, the following wonderful ladies have been asked (and accepted!) to join us on these crazy adventures:

Sara Biren 
Erin L. Funk
Kelly Loy Gilbert
Jaime Morrow
Ghenet Myrthil
Kris F. Oliver
Heidi Sinnett

The past several weeks have been filled with some of the most fantastic side-splitting laughs with all of these wonderful women - which may or may not have been induced by some badly placed facial hair, some awkwardly aligned adam's apples, and the repercussions of lightening and toenails (um, ew.).

I have had such a grand time with all of them and I can't wait to venture on this journey we've got planned. So won't you please stop on by on Monday to check it all out? I hope so!

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO:

The husband and I went to see WORLD WAR Z this past weekend, and I ABSOLUTELY loved it! It was chock full of action and suspense and on more than one occasion I actually jumped! And I loved the different spin they put on a few things.

Of course there are also the teeth-snapping zombies, which I am totally infatuated with (and yes, I believe I do have the necessary skills to survie a zombie apocolypse, should one ever happen). And I'll close this summary with two words: Brad Pitt. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Okay, that's three.

Perhaps I should just post pictures of beautiful men every Wednesday, since this now seems to be becoming a trend. :) But seriously, would you just look at him? -------------------->

I also watched the movie PITCH PERFECT for the very first time. And that I also loved!!! Total inspiration for being young again, impressive singing (not sure how much of it was real, but I don't really care!), and lots of great humor, primarily thanks to Rebel Wilson, AKA Fat Amy. 

SO WHAT'S NEW FOR YOU TODAY? WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ALL ABOUT IT, SO WON'T YOU JOIN TODAY'S WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY???

What's Up Wednesday: 06.12.13

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by my ever-so-lovely YA writer friends, Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk. The idea? Well, it's a great opportunity to touch base once a week with all of our blog friends and let them know what's up. Should you wish to join, head on over to Jaime's blog and sign up with the link widget at the bottom of her post! 

WHAT I'M READING:

Holy crow. I chewed through 4 books and 2 companion novellas - just over the weekend!

I finished THE 5TH WAVE by Rick Yancey and the only thing I can say right now, is how irritated I am with how far away August 2014 really is. Write faster, Mr. Yancey, oh please write faster! Because THE 5TH WAVE? Yeah, it was freakin' a-mazing.

I even got my husband to start reading it last night and he actually made it through 5 chapters - which is insane for him, considering he usually falls asleep after only a page!

I also ran out the other day to Barnes & Noble and purchased a handful of new books - and promptly jumped right in to REBOOT by Amy Tintera, a 2013 DAC author. And I managed to devour that book in less than a day! I thought it was a very good read and had some similarities to DIVERGENT, while still managing to hold it's own.

I then immediately cracked open SHADOW AND BONE (The Grisha, #1) by Leigh Bardugo and OH MY FREAKIN' GOD, WHY HAS IT TAKEN ME SO LONG TO READ THIS BOOK???? Seriously. I haven't read anything this good, since I polished off the GRACELING series by Kristen Cashore last year!

I am simply enamoured by Bardugo's ability to fabricate such an amazing world, from the varying terrains of Ravka, to the incredible character arcs of Alina, The Darkling, and Mal. Full review to come, but if you haven't read this one, you must run out now and pick it up. I'll wait for you to go get it. Go on. 

I'm still waiting.

Anywho. I also managed to fly through THE WITCH OF DUVA (The Grisha, #0.5), a short companion folk tale to SHADOW AND BONE, along with THE TAILOR (The Grisha, #1.5), another short companion read, as told through the eyes of Genya. 

And then of course, I dove right into SEIGE AND STORM (The Grisha, #2), which just came out last week. I'm reading this one now, but am almost finished...and damn if this won't be yet another series I'll have to wait until 2014 to read!

I also turned the last page on Abbi Glines CEASELESS - and now, while running, I'm reading BARED TO YOU by Sylvia Day. They say it's for fans that really disliked FIFTY SHADES and wanted so much more, but so far, it's just okay for me. At least it doesn't have the high word count thanks to a repetitive mention of the phrase "inner Goddess", so it does have that going for it.

WHAT I'M NOT WRITING:

Like how I changed the header there?

Yep, I'm still NOT finished with my first draft of WHERE THE WATER FALLS. Aside from being busy with everything else right now, I'm just having a plain ole' hard time writing. 

A hard time as in I open Scrivener and just stare at it. And stare.

O_o Yep, still staring.

But nothing comes to me. I'm thinking maybe a little break might be in order, because I can't force myself to write when I'm not feeling it. And right now, I'm so not feeling it.

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW:

This is going to sound bad, but I'm totally uninspired right now. Ugh. I've been cranky-pants-McGee lately and nothing is snapping me out of it! Of course, this most likely totally relates to my above comment on what I'm NOT writing.

I'm still running, but for the past week or so I've been so sluggish - like I'm running in knee-deep mud - and my pace has been just okay, not stellar. I already mentioned I'm not writing. So there's that pile o' poo. But I guess I am definitely reading...so maybe that's where my inspiration needs to come from right now?

I dunno. Just a funk, I guess. At least I hope so. Any recommendations? I could use a few!

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO:

I mentioned in last week's WuW post that Bridgid Gallagher and I are plotting together on a secret project! And while I can't quite let the cat out of the bag just yet, I can tell you that we're aiming to launch this said secret project on Monday, July 1st!!!

We're so very excited about what it is we're working on and we really hope you'll all check back to see what's up! Stay tuned as we draw closer for hints of the awesomeness that's to come!

WHAT'S NEW FOR YOU THIS FINE WEDNESDAY? WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ALL ABOUT IT, SO WON'T YOU JOIN TODAY'S WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY???

What's Up Wednesday: 06.05.13

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by my ever-so-lovely YA writer friends, Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk. The idea? Well, it's a great opportunity to touch base once a week with all of our blog friends and let them know what's up. Should you wish to join, head on over to Jaime's blog and sign up with the link widget at the bottom of her post! 

WHAT I'M READING:

THE 5TH WAVE by Rick Yancey - and holy @!#$! am I loving this one! Just started it Sunday night and managed to polish off more than half the book in just a few hours!

As well, while I'm on the elliptical, I'm reading Abbi Glines CEASELESS - and so far, it's a great wrap up to a fun to read series!

WHAT I'M WRITING:

Still cracking away at the final pages of my first draft of WHERE THE WATER FALLS. I'm so close to being finished, I can see the light! But...other projects have kept me busy as of late, so I haven't had the chance to finish off that last chapter just yet.

However, I brainstormed around it yesterday and think I know how I want it all to end. I've got two different thoughts in my head, so worst case, I write both two chapter endings and see which one sticks!

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW:

The great friends I've made in the writing community.

And no, I promise, I haven't been drinking.

It honestly amazes me how many wonderful people I've met since I started down the path of this crazy adventure and decided to write seriously - almost six years ago.  

Critique partners that have become more than just a CP, but also fantastic friends: Bridgid Gallagher, Heidi Sinnett, Kris F. Oliver, and more recently, Sara Biren - I'm talking about all of YOU!

There are days when I don't know what I would've done without all of these great people. And considering how this year started out, each one kept me sane, when it would've been so easy to find myself fighting the restraints of one of those fancy white jackets with all the brass buckles.

Thankfully, I know without a doubt, they'd never let me be alone in a cell of any kind - padded or cinder block!

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO:

Speaking of the a-mazing and talented, Bridgid Gallagher - well...

Let's just say I solemnly swear that WE are up to no good!

We're brewing up something spectacular and it's a pleasure to work with such talent. And I can't wait to share all of the goodness with the rest of the world!

Soonish, I promise. 

But I will say, I'm VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO TODAY!!!

SO, HOW'S YOUR WEDNESDAY SHAPING UP? WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ALL ABOUT IT, SO WON'T YOU JOIN TODAY'S WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY???

What's Up Wednesday: 05.29.13

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by my ever-so-lovely YA writer friends, Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk. The idea? Well, it's a great opportunity to touch base once a week with all of our blog friends and let them know what's up. Should you wish to join, head on over to Jaime's blog and sign up with the link widget at the bottom of her post! 

WHAT I'M READING:

I finished reading Sarah Ockler's THE BOOK OF BROKEN HEARTS the other day and will say, it's definitely right up there with TWENTY BOY SUMMER as my favorite Sarah read. My full review to come shortly, but I really loved it and will leave it at that for now. 

I then jumped right in to ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake - who I didn't realize lives about 30 minutes away from me! And if I could talk to her in person, I'd tell her that I absolutely LOVED ANNA.

Maybe I was just in the mood for a good spook, because I couldn't stop turning the pages of ANNA and enjoyed every ounce of creep so much so, I devoured it in one day. And promptly went out that night and bought the sequel, GIRL OF NIGHTMARES, which I'm reading right now. 

Which makes me believe I must be on some sort of death / voodoo kick, because I'm also reading Abbi Glines PREDESTINED while I run. I loved the first book in the series, EXISTENCE - which I finished last week - and so far, I'm really enjoying book #2. There are two more books in this series and once I'm done with those, I have no idea what I'm going to read on the elliptical, because I'll have successfully read all of Abbi's books. Bum-mer.

WHAT I'M WRITING:

I'm almost finished with my first draft of my YA Contemporary WiP, WHERE THE WATER FALLS. I was stuck for a bit there, thought I'd figured it out and wrote, then went back and realized I didn't love what I came up with. 

I decided to take the weekend off and didn't write much, but then I actually managed to polish off a chapter late last night. And now I have one, maybe two more to go and then I'm done!  

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW:

Time.

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed having all this time off. And I realized just the other day, that it's been almost twenty-four years since I've taken this much off from working. Seriously, the last time I had a summer off was when I was thirteen years old before I got my first job at Safeway, bagging groceries! Can you believe that? 

And I find myself more busy now than I was two months ago when I held a job that took more than fifty hours away from me each week.

I really hope the Job Gods work in my favor when I decide it's time to go back. I'm not quite sure when that is, because for now, I'm finally getting to do things I've always wanted to do...and I'm loving every moment of it.

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO:

I had lunch with two writer friends (who happen to be sisters) that I met at the PNWA Writer's Conference back in 2010. It was so great to see them and catch up and I can't believe it's been almost three years! And Cathy, I promise to get to your chapters this week!

My husband and I also went to this amazing dinner at a restaurant called The Herbfarm in Woodinville (about twenty minutes outside of Seattle) - I posted all about it with pictures, in my blog post below. It was amazing.

Memorial weekend was also super fun - we went out with some of our friends (including a few we haven't seen in forever!), had dinner, and went bowling. Another night we went to see The Hangover Part III - while not nearly as funny as the first or second, hey, it's got Bradley Cooper, so I totally won't complain! We also saw Fast and Furious Part 6 - which I have to admit, was pretty entertaining. 

And after all that, I'm still running! For the month of May I'll have racked up more than 150 miles and I can't believe it. I'm also doing this gruesome 30-Day Squat Challenge (yes, Jaime and Katy, I'm cursing YOU!) that's down right insane. The other day I got a cramp in my ass. Yes, you read that right - how that's even possible, I'm still not even sure.  

SO, WHAT ARE YOU UP TO THIS FINE WEDNESDAY? WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ALL ABOUT IT, SO WON'T YOU JOIN TODAY'S WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY???

What's Up Wednesday: 05.15.13

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by my ever-so-lovely YA writer friends, Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk. The idea? Well, it's a great opportunity to touch base once a week with all of our blog friends and let them know what's up. Should you wish to join, head on over to Jaime's blog and sign up with the link widget at the bottom of her post! 

WHAT I'M READING:

I am very fortunate to be writer / Twitter buddies with the ever amazing Sarah Ockler of FIXING DELILAH, TWENTY BOY SUMMER (one of my absolute FAVORITE YA contemp reads!) and BITTERSWEET greatness. Sarah graciously had her editor over at Simon & Schuster send me an ARC of her upcoming newest title THE BOOK OF BROKEN HEARTS which is set to release on 5.21.13! And let me tell you, I already know this one is going to tear at my heart after the first 100 pages I've read so far, but I truly am LOVING it!!! Stay tuned...I hope to have an interview with Sarah if timing permits, and of course, my review of THE BOOK OF BROKEN HEARTS.

Oh, of course, I'm still reading Abbi Glines while running and I'm now on to her new series, EXISTENCE. 

WHAT I'M WRITING:

I'm still working on my YA Contemporary WiP, WHERE THE WATER FALLS and made quite a bit more progess over the past seven days! I only have a few more chapters to go, before diving into revisions of course, and then it's off to my CP's to rip apart!

THE LUCKY FEW is still out with a handful of agents right now, which is ever so exciting! But...I think I'm going to dig back into this one and relook the entire beginning. I know, I know, crazy pants over here just can't stop revising this one, but it's only because I know this story has so much potential. And the beginning has been something that's bothered me for quite some time, it deserves to be written right! 

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW:

Senior Prom with BFF Kristy (May 7, 1994)This is one of my most ABSOLUTE favorite times of the year to write. And why is that? Well because it's prom and graduation time, but of course!!!! I love seeing all the kids dressed up in tuxes and formal dresses out on the town - it brings back so many great memories for me - not to mention all the graduation parties that will no doubt be popping up soon. And all of it definitelyKentridge High School Graduation Class of 1994 (June 9, 1994) makes my creativity soar!!!!

Of course, why wouldn't I share some pics of my own Senior Prom and Graduation??? That's me over there on the left with my BFF Kristy, just before we left for our Senior Prom...man what a night that was! 

And I'm also over there to the right (first one on the left) just before we were about to walk out for graduation. 

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO:

Still running, of course - and loving every minute of it (I'm late to go run as I type this!!). Oh, and something I shared with a few of my wonderful CP's on what happened on Monday:

So I was running on the treadmill. I'm running...and I'm tired - just not really feeling it - and it's pissing rain outside and the wind is howling. Trees are whipping every which way and branches are literally flying around the parking lot. So weird, because it's been sunny and gorgeous here for the past 10 days! And all of the sudden? Yeah, the power goes out and my treadmill just stops. Doesn't gradually slow down, it just plain out STOPS. And I go flying off like nobody's business. And make all kinds of racket in the process, as I swear out loud, loudly. 

There's a guy - probably around early 20's that comes every day and walks on the treadmill and he's blind. I've seen him the past 7 or so weeks I've been going, but haven't ever said anything to him. Yeah, he's surprised because his treadmill stopped, but turns and says, "Are you okay? Did you just fall off the treadmill?" His face shows he's super concerned, when I know most people would totally laugh (cause I sure as hell would!). I told him the power went out and that's what stopped our treadmills and yes, I'd flown right off.

After reassuring him I was okay and that it was okay if he laughed, he smiled and said, "Man, if I could've seen that, I would have laughed!!! But I'm glad you're okay though!" It was so sweet and literally made my day, regardless of the situation! 

So, what are you up to this fine Wednesday? Would love to hear all about it, so won't you join today's What's Up Wednesday???

What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by my ever-so-lovely YA writer friends, Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk. The idea? Well, it's a great opportunity to touch base once a week with all of our blog friends and let them know what's up. Should you wish to join, head on over to Jaime's blog and sign up with the link widget at the bottom of her post! 

What I'm Reading:

Well, I just finished reading Erin Bowman's TAKEN early this morning and then started in on Justina Chen's NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL. And while running on the treadmill in the mornings, I read all things Abbi Glines, and right now I've just started in on her FALLEN TOO FAR series. I love reading Abbi while I'm running - I mentioned in my last post, how I almost flew off the treadmill during one particular section - and that's exactly why I like reading her while I run!

What I'm Writing:

I'm still cranking away on my YA Contemporary WiP, WHERE THE WATER FALLS and I just added the little blurb on what it's about, to my PROJECTS tab. This one has been a lot of fun to write and as of yesterday, I'm about 2/3 done with the first draft. 

Of course, I've still got TLF brewing on one of my burners and last month I dug back in on book #2 in that series. Since I switched over to Scrivener, it's been so much easier to outline, which has kept me more than busy.

What Inspires Me Right Now:

Running.

I know I've mentioned it before, but seriously, running every day has helped so much to clear my mind and allowed me to focus. I never imagined it could be like this, but now, I'm not sure how I'll ever go without it. 

It took one day to for me to decide to lace up my shoes and go. I never thought I had it in me to get back to a place where I loved running so much. But how wrong I was. And I don't like it when I'm wrong. 

What Else I've Been Up To:

Well, at some point I'll need to realize I need to start looking for another job. Technically, I'm okay until September, thanks to the severance package I received, but still. I figure I'll give myself through May before I really start to dig in and get serious. I'm just not sure what I want do, but I know I have a lot of options.

I could stay in Marketing / Merchandising - there are a number of great companies here in Seattle: Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, Expedia. Or I could get back into Apparel Merchandising / Buying: Nordstrom, REI, and Zulily are all right here, too.

Yes, I'm very fortunate to have so many great companies right in my city, and even more so, that I have two separate career paths I can go down. But I'm just not sure what I want to do. Honestly, I wish more than anything I could just write, because this is where my passion is. So...perhaps I might check out what Amazon has open in regards to positions in their publishing side of the business. You never know, right? 

So, what are you up to this Wednesday? I'd love to hear all about it - come on, you know you wanna join us in What's Up Wednesday?