tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7033713554825892542024-03-14T03:49:11.207-07:00Mindy RuizCompletely unedited. Beware of flying commas!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035558055486525794noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-68532191844974177822014-12-06T06:00:00.000-08:002014-12-06T06:00:00.944-08:00Lying, Cheating Heart Cover RevealHere it is! Regina Wamba out did herself with the LYING, CHEATING HEART cover.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhf5FzI48DrHbxJgL563WK5ysAF2NDQMXLvPRDkVdwddrpX0ssG2XXmrvu1CLVzaq_kjcbOIobIYrCO6O_xvbt0In1SCBdeTZiVbAGe-4gEAzlA1d5sDxtpNBUxJqXLPKQb6NXWlgErDV/s1600/LyingCheatingHeart_ebooksm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhf5FzI48DrHbxJgL563WK5ysAF2NDQMXLvPRDkVdwddrpX0ssG2XXmrvu1CLVzaq_kjcbOIobIYrCO6O_xvbt0In1SCBdeTZiVbAGe-4gEAzlA1d5sDxtpNBUxJqXLPKQb6NXWlgErDV/s1600/LyingCheatingHeart_ebooksm.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Synopsis:</span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">No More Lies!</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Cassie Vera thought the biggest threat to her life disappeared the night her boyfriend, A.J. Vasillios, used his one-time-use power and saved her from certain death.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">She was wrong.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">The mythological hit list she was on is nothing compared to her freshman year at the University of Las Vegas. Rooming with Vegas’s future female royalty has pushed her estrogen tolerance to its limit. Worse, Cassie must take place in a time-honored tradition that tests her faith, while her boyfriend’s new job threatens to shatter her heart.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">When age-old traditions change …</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"> Cassie’s school year is interrupted when the future queens are ordered to represent their houses in an annual high-stakes competition. While at her ancestral home in Malaga, Spain, Cassie discovers the Greek gods have gifted her with new abilities. Cassie takes matters of righting an eighteen-year-old wrong into her <a href="" name="149e51563a8e5715_149e4249d92e60ce__GoBack"></a>hands. However, actions have consequences, and Cassie’s may very well end up costing her and the House of Hearts everything.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">With her family’s future at stake and the love of her life choosing sides, Cassie must cheat death one more time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">When duty requires you to do the unthinkable, where will your loyalties lie?</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Only a Cheating Heart Knows.</span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Buy Links:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Amazon <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lying-Cheating-Heart-Game-Book-ebook/dp/B00PSZFLV0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1416861637&sr=8-2&keywords=mindy+ruiz" target="_blank">Lying, Cheating Heart Pre-Order.</a></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/MindyRuizBooks" target="_blank">www.Facebook.com/MindyRuizBooks</a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/MindyRuiz" target="_blank">www.Twit<span lang="EN-US">ter.com/MindyRuiz</span></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Author Goodreads <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8282908.Mindy_Ruiz" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8282908.Mindy_Ruiz</a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">LYING, CHEATING HEART Goodreads <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23609492-lying-cheating-heart" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23609492-lying-cheating-heart</a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035558055486525794noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-87371628869974862002014-11-24T15:14:00.000-08:002014-11-24T15:17:10.844-08:00Game of Hearts Book 2 TeaserHey!<br />
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I know you've all been waiting for the Game of Hearts book two cover and synopsis. Two short days! That's all you have to wait. In the mean time here's a quick teaser to keep you on the edge of your seat.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xdDowKV2DaQ" width="420"></iframe><br />
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The preorder link at Amazon is alive. LCH has already broken into the top 100 ranks in the Mythology category!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23609492-lying-cheating-heart">Pre Order Here! </a></td></tr>
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Also, be sure to add Lying, Cheating Heart to your To Be Read pile at Goodreads. Oooh, If you haven't left a review for Enchanted Heart, you're a click closer to making that happen. :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Gd6gxM-mrfk5Lhtr1bf0Ou96k4elM16l-KSQHgeYbXXbXMPtARwo8EyTiT579jZuFV9XUtKEU4GQlS11AzpYtNfAnm4Ny2KRO8JQcACluLe5lEoYZMm0L6hfOyU8x59QZl2ZqdmreEj1/s1600/goodreads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Gd6gxM-mrfk5Lhtr1bf0Ou96k4elM16l-KSQHgeYbXXbXMPtARwo8EyTiT579jZuFV9XUtKEU4GQlS11AzpYtNfAnm4Ny2KRO8JQcACluLe5lEoYZMm0L6hfOyU8x59QZl2ZqdmreEj1/s1600/goodreads.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23609492-lying-cheating-heart">Add to Goodreads here. </a></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035558055486525794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-61105378240218216282014-10-13T03:30:00.000-07:002014-10-13T03:30:01.112-07:00UNLESS YOU CAN BE A UNICORN RELEASE!<a href="http://delphinareadstoomuch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Unless-You-Can-Be-A-Unicorn-Banner.png"><img alt="Unless You Can Be A Unicorn Banner" class="aligncenter wp-image-3399 size-full" src="http://delphinareadstoomuch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Unless-You-Can-Be-A-Unicorn-Banner.png" height="250" width="500" /></a>
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<span style="color: purple; font-size: 14pt;"><i style="font-style: italic;">Always be yourself</i>... that was the last advice Scout's Grandma Nora gave her before she died. Scout has spent her life trying to be anything but, but she has a chance to start anew as she moves several states away to college. She had always thought the glowing aura she saw around some people was a childhood fancy, but when it starts coming back just as she's starting her new life, she learns there was much hidden about who she truly is.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-size: 14pt;">Thankfully, she has a motley crew to help her along the way: a spunky bookseller, a trustworthy pub owner, a commanding grandmother, a possible best friend, and a hot rocker boy who only has eyes for her.</span></div>
<span style="color: purple; font-size: 14pt;"><em>Unless You Can Be A Unicorn</em> is a New Adult Paranormal Romance with content appropriate for a Young Adult audience.</span>
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<span style="color: purple; font-size: 14pt;">Giveaway: Be sure to enter to win a Ginormous Gift Pack of Awesome including a GC, Books, swag and more :You can check out the prize pack on the <a href="http://on.fb.me/1oUiWdJ">FB Release Day Extravaganza page</a> and join the fun!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035558055486525794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-2676950221129559872014-09-06T10:35:00.002-07:002014-11-24T15:17:39.046-08:00Huge Back To School Sale! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-24292426037537232192013-10-03T05:00:00.000-07:002013-10-03T05:00:06.857-07:00Author Spotlight: Alan Jacobson and NO WAY OUT <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h3>
Book Blurb: </h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSurIBJQ-3lzLUfncW2gy0TqafkZyKR-GEBjbfIj8xBM9FL7PnP4hMLTNfuL34HlqllY-6PcSj60xEwL7Wuh7s-YtELDe_fdlPKcKFeOGTO4dmjJfAV7XbjvMfUzASCVwyz4ZsFTop4A/s1600/No+Way+out_600px_300dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSurIBJQ-3lzLUfncW2gy0TqafkZyKR-GEBjbfIj8xBM9FL7PnP4hMLTNfuL34HlqllY-6PcSj60xEwL7Wuh7s-YtELDe_fdlPKcKFeOGTO4dmjJfAV7XbjvMfUzASCVwyz4ZsFTop4A/s320/No+Way+out_600px_300dpi.jpg" width="212" /></a>When a powerful firebomb destroys part of an art gallery in an exclusive London district, FBI Profiler Karen Vail is dispatched to England to work with Scotland Yard. But Vail soon discovers that at the heart of the bombing lies a 440-year-old manuscript that holds clues to England's pastówith content is so explosive that a group of political radicals is bent on destroying it at all costs.<br />
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The trail leads Vail to a notorious fugitive who appears to be planning a major attack on London and the United States. Soon she finds herself on the run from the British security service, Scotland Yard and a group of internationally trained assassinsóall determined to silence herÖall tightening the net to ensure that sheís got no way out.<br />
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National Bestselling author Alan Jacobson has crafted an intelligent, twisting thriller destined to be talked about long after the last page is turned.<br />
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About Alan Jacobson:</h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Vc_khM_nv0vlPQBFRcSUNNGt5cKYO3pgw7xj92wWyKWN7Hhnj1aTnP31cg5a6yOTgF9oW-4giaa8kjAzRXF9SBhPyPv9VBGl77IorRPjv4xrPcR7nzlVIb65s_-fU11sjCzDtlbzy4c/s1600/Alan+Jacobson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Vc_khM_nv0vlPQBFRcSUNNGt5cKYO3pgw7xj92wWyKWN7Hhnj1aTnP31cg5a6yOTgF9oW-4giaa8kjAzRXF9SBhPyPv9VBGl77IorRPjv4xrPcR7nzlVIb65s_-fU11sjCzDtlbzy4c/s200/Alan+Jacobson.jpg" /></a>Alan Jacobsonís literary career has been marked by a number of events, but none was more significant than an accidental meeting 20 years ago while researching his first novel, "False Accusations," at the California Department of Justice's crime lab. Jacobson struck up a conversation with FBI agent Mark Safarik, a profiler at the FBIís Behavioral Analysis Unit and Agent Safarik subsequently invited Jacobson out to Quantico to tour the Academy. <br />
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With the FBIís help, Jacobson immersed himself in the world of serial killers, rapists, bombers and arsonists. Over the course of seven years, Jacobson made numerous trips to the BAU, had countless hours of conversations with Agent Safarik and his partner, attended FBI training courses, shot submachine guns with the Academyís head firearms instructor, edited four published FBI research papers on serial offenders and parsed serial killer interviews with Agent Safarik. <br />
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Jacobson was finally ready to write his third novel, the first featuring FBI Profiler Karen Vailóthe national bestseller, "The 7th Victim." Oozing sharp wit and sarcasm, Vail means well but is human and makes mistakes. The head of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers association described Karen Vail as ìa cop you'd go through a door with"óa phrase used to describe a colleague with whom officers trust their lives when bullets are flying. <br />
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ìNo Way Outî is the 5th Karen Vail FBI Profiler novel, which takes place after a terrorist attack in England. Vail journeys overseas, unearths a 440 year-old manuscript, a terrorist plot, and a cadre of assassins who would like nothing more than to make Vail ancient history. <br />
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Connect with Alan here: </h3>
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<a href="http://alanjacobson.com/" target="_blank">Website</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/alanjacobson.fans" target="_blank">Facebook</a></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/JacobsonAlan" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/171422.Alan_Jacobson" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ajdc1285" target="_blank">YouTube</a></div>
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A little about the book: </h3>
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Tour Schedule:
<b>October 1- <a href="http://www.chirenjenzie.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Chirenjenzie</a></b><br />
<b>October 2 - <a href="http://elizabethisaacs.com/blog" target="_blank">Elizabeth Isaacs' Blog</a></b><br />
<b>October 3 - <a href="http://mindyruiz.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mindy Ruiz'Blog</a></b><br />
<b>October 4 - <a href="http://www.thelightofasteria.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Asteria's Blog</a></b><br />
<b>October 5 - <a href="http://notesfromme.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Dru's Book Musings</a></b><br />
<b>October 6 -<a href="http://talkabtbooks.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Talk About Books</a></b><br />
<b>October 9 -<a href="http://lilliputianjourney.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> Lilliputian's Journey</a></b><br />
<b>October 10 <a href="http://bookandlatte.com/" target="_blank">-A Book and a Latte</a></b><br />
<b>October 11 - <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Readful Things</a></b><br />
<b>October 12 <span id="goog_178421594"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/">-Geek Goes Rogue<span id="goog_178421595"></span></a></b><br />
<b>October 13 - <a href="http://ethanjonesbooks.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Ethan Jones Books</a></b><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-70235118265316893662013-09-03T06:47:00.000-07:002013-10-01T16:34:29.149-07:00Author Spotlight: Kay Kenyon and A Thousand Perfect Things. <div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMsyPnqAEG4l7ggNqABWlA_GmbMoIYw7bLfuBpuMYec5Gqod_Ep9Wph7xqJw7cAMLLMxw4Qn35AsxqoVahz0e7RnP9C8259Yo32CmjP66X4PCrchM4pIJ-6jeUD6ejjUCgPDvfA31wU7w/s1600/1000+Perfect+Things+banner.jpg"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMsyPnqAEG4l7ggNqABWlA_GmbMoIYw7bLfuBpuMYec5Gqod_Ep9Wph7xqJw7cAMLLMxw4Qn35AsxqoVahz0e7RnP9C8259Yo32CmjP66X4PCrchM4pIJ-6jeUD6ejjUCgPDvfA31wU7w/s400/1000+Perfect+Things+banner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Book Blurb:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiesLFOIa64D5zglSGH40-nhtDVt1WYvfE0m34qLi5CpXJADgd3l9eysGK6yvSBkqVWIAigUCnS33ap9idukFaE6CesYtoLUAXZ3nFWCnL8IenKbDrYclCgKzSUmVJlNTmasgCQZ8p5_SY/s1600/100+perfect+things+600px_300dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiesLFOIa64D5zglSGH40-nhtDVt1WYvfE0m34qLi5CpXJADgd3l9eysGK6yvSBkqVWIAigUCnS33ap9idukFaE6CesYtoLUAXZ3nFWCnL8IenKbDrYclCgKzSUmVJlNTmasgCQZ8p5_SY/s200/100+perfect+things+600px_300dpi.jpg" width="133" /></a>In an alternate 19th century, there are two warring continents on an reimagined earth: the scientific Anglica (England) and magical Bharata (India). Emboldened by her grandfather’s final whispered secret of a magical lotus, Tori Harding, a young Victorian woman and aspiring botanist, must journey to Bharata, with its magics, intrigues and ghosts, to claim her fate. There she will face a choice between two suitors and two irreconcilable realms.<br />
In a magic-infused world of silver tigers, demon birds and enduring gods, as a great native mutiny sweeps over the continent, Tori will find the thing she most desires, less perfect than she had hoped and stranger than she could have dreamed.<br />
<b>Excerpt:</b> At the top of the stairs, a servant girl met her and gestured her toward the ranee, ensconced in an enormous rattan chair draped in silk. A servant moved a punkah back and forth over the ranee's head, but not a hair rippled in her coconut-oiled chignon. Her red sari was shot through with threads of gold. Tori approached and fell into a curtsy. "Ah, then it is Astoria, is it?" the ranee said in heavily accented Anglic. "Ek ucch samman," Tori said. A great honor. The ranee gave a small, surprised look, her face plump and ageless. "Please be sitting. It will please us to do." A chair appeared and Tori sat. "Sukriya, Raniji." Thank you, Highness. The ranee paused, lifting an eyebrow at this Bharati exchange. "Bahut accha." Very good. The ranee continued in Bharati, "Shall we converse in my language, then?" Tori smiled, and said, also in Bharati, "Please, Highness, it would be a great pleasure. But my skill is imperfect." "We must leave perfection to the gods," the ranee said. The porch had gone very quiet. Across the courtyard, the mongoose again, chittering against the faint background of the band. "Your grandsire once came to visit Kathore. He studied very much of growing things at our Gangadhar Mahal." Now was Tori's chance, forward or not, protocol or not. "Highness, he told me so much about the Gangadhar. It's a sight I would love to see for his sake." "The monkeys have it now," the ranee murmured. "They chatter of the old days. Yes, the monkeys remember." Then a whump of a gun came from across the grounds. Everyone on the porch turned to see a golden cascade of fire fall from the sky. The fireworks display had begun. Cheers came from the distant officer's mess as a grand red flower bloomed in the sky and fell earthward in fragments of stars. The assembly on the porch watched in rapt attention as the display continued, the launch guns barking, the sky lit with streamers of green, silver and red. "My people also have a show of color," the ranee said. There was a pause in the fireworks, like a gathering breath. Then a glowing fountain rushed upward from the parade grounds. Coalescing in the sky, it resolved into the head of a golden jaguar. A lovely feat, which Tori assumed--by the claps from around the ranee--was the work of Kathore. Then there was something less lovely about the picture. Was that a frown on the great cat's face? Yes--and now, its eyes slanting deeply into a frown. Hovering overhead, looking down upon them, it held a most unpleasant aspect. Then it began to change even more. The jaguar's mouth exploded into a gaping hole of crimson-drenched teeth. Tori stepped backward, hand on her throat, guessing what came next. And then it did: out of the bloody maw came a roar that shook the garden. From the dance came a woman's scream. Then laughter. It was only a display. The phantom crumbled to fragments, leaving a trace of the mouth. At last, even this, in a drooping grimace, fell to splinters. The ranee turned toward her guest, looking serene and if Tori did not impute more than she should, satisfied. "It was only a jaguar." "If that is what they look like, I hope I may not see a real one." <br />
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<h3>
Kay Kenyon</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSnnN8USi25jsjd65asNQBfOTI9qV85QIP8xVAu7lERLdAZhAd-8HULQ8M4JVtB2tgBWTkZ0ZWxtZ9GJ9IwuFWaROiWL_quS4p5x_nkKPG-uhGtIibR2Ie8J2WtdnDK0DtVrukhLnF5W0r/s1600/390643_532940663418186_1471496892_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSnnN8USi25jsjd65asNQBfOTI9qV85QIP8xVAu7lERLdAZhAd-8HULQ8M4JVtB2tgBWTkZ0ZWxtZ9GJ9IwuFWaROiWL_quS4p5x_nkKPG-uhGtIibR2Ie8J2WtdnDK0DtVrukhLnF5W0r/s1600/390643_532940663418186_1471496892_n.jpg" /></a><b>Bio:</b></div>
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Kay Kenyon is the author of eleven science fiction and fantasy novels, including The Entire and the Rose series that was hailed by The Washington Post as “A splendid fantasy quest as compelling as anything by Stephen R. Donaldson, Philip Jose Farmer or yes, J. R. R. Tolkien”. Kay’s newest work “A Thousand Perfect Things” blends the reason of the Victorian Age and the magics of an alternate Earth.</div>
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<b>Connect with Kay here:</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KayKenyonAuthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/KayKenyon" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<a href="http://www.kaykenyon.com/" target="_blank">Website</a></div>
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<a href="https://pinterest.com/kaykenyon1/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></div>
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/109129521990419982273/posts?tab=XX" target="_blank">Google+</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/73084.Kay_Kenyon" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></div>
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<h3>
Tour Schedule</h3>
<b>August 28 </b>- <a href="http://thelightofasteria.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Asteria's Blog </a>*Review & Giveaway<br />
<b>August 29 </b>- <a href="http://behindamillionandonepages.blogspot.com/">Behind a Million and One Pages</a> *Excerpt & Giveaway<br />
<b>September 1 </b><a href="http://authorjonathanryan.com/blog-2/" target="_blank">Author Jonathan Ryan</a> *excerpt & Giveaway<br />
<b>September 2</b> - <a href="http://www.chirenjenzie.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Chirenjenzie </a> *Favorite Pinterest Pins & Giveaway<br />
<b>September 3 </b>- <a href="http://davebrendon.wordpress.com/">Dave-Brendon's Fantasy and Sci-Fi Weblog</a> *Excerpt & Giveaway<br />
<b>September 4 </b>- <a href="http://mindyruiz.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mindy Ruiz</a> *Excerpt & Giveaway<br />
<b>September 5</b> - <a href="http://elizabethisaacs.com/blog/" target="_blank">Elizabeth Isaacs' Blog</a> *Excerpt & Giveaway<br />
<b>September 6 -</b> <a href="http://hookedinabook.blogspot.com/">Hooked in a Book</a> *Review, Excerpt & Giveaway<br />
<b>September 7 -</b> <a href="http://blkosiner.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">BlKosiner's Book Blog</a> *Interview & Giveaway<br />
<b>September 8 -</b><a href="http://delphinareadstoomuch.com/" target="_blank"> Delphina reads too much</a> *Excerpt & Giveaway<br />
<b>September 9 -</b> <a href="http://aidanmoher.com/blog">A Dribble of Ink</a> *Featured Article<br />
<b>September 10 </b>-<a href="http://lilliputianjourney.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Lilliputian's Journey</a> *Excerpt & Giveaway<br />
<b>September 11 -</b> <a href="http://momwithakindle.blogspot.com/">Mom With A Kindle</a> *Author Interview & Giveaway<br />
<b>September 12 -</b> <a href="http://adragonslove.blogspot.com/">A Dragon's Love</a> *Review & Giveaway</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-35730395999673504122012-11-27T10:18:00.000-08:002012-11-27T10:18:01.165-08:00My Favorite Things ... Yep, It's a Monday!The turkey is masacred. The stuffing ... stuffed and the only thing that remains of the mouth-watering, button-busting, amazeball Pecan Pie is the little tiny flakes of pie crust that even a mouse won't bother with! <br />
Thanksgiving is over and that leads me to the MOST. FAVORITE. Time of the year!!! <br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">CHRISTMAS!!!!!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I love Christmas and I love the holiday spirit. I love that New York is like a giant snow globe waiting to shook. The people are friendly and the Rockefellar Tree is getting ready to be lit! <br />
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I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!<br />
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I have my mom to thank for this passion! <br />
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So the top 10 reasons why I am such a child at Christmas time:<br />
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10. Shrinky Dinks and Easy Bake Ovens!<br />
9. Footed pajamas. <br />
8. Giant Sized Trees inside the house after your parents have told you to, "Please leave nature outside." <br />
7. Fudge and Divinity and Egg Nog and Pecan Pies and endless sugar highs! <br />
6. The need for scarfs with your flip-flops in Los Angeles<br />
5. Christmas Carols that, past the first verse, NO ONE can remember the words to. <br />
4. The awe in a child's eye when they see Santa in a Christmas parade. <br />
3. Perfect Presents. <br />
2. Family and Friends. <br />
and the number 1 reason why I'm such a child at Christmas... <br />
60's and 70's CLAYMATION SPECIALS!!!!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-74692876087433808862012-11-08T09:34:00.003-08:002012-11-08T09:34:50.907-08:00A post 9 years in the making. Today, I'm going back. Not waaaay back, but back 9 years. <br />
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If you follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/mindyruiz">twitter</a>, which I think you TOTALLY should (shameless plug), I’m about to unmask one of the infamous Ruiz mini-mes that grace my feed. <br />
<br />
Twelve years ago, I fought a battle that I wish on no one. <a href="http://mindyruiz.blogspot.com/search/label/10%20days">I fought cancer</a>. And I won (knock on wood, Thank You, God.) Part of my fight was with the help of radical, experimental chemotherapy mixed together into a potent and potentially deadly chemo cocktail. There were no fancy umbrellas with this cocktail and the side effects were potentially devastating. My dream to be a mommy may have been just that … a dream. <br />
<br />
Almost a year after we finished chemo, my oncologist, the ever brilliant and uber amazing Dr. Chawla, said we could start trying to have children. A couple of months later, we got pregnant! The high of being able to get pregnant met with a soul crushing miscarriage on Christmas day. I thought for sure it was because of the chemo. I thought certainly this was going to be how Mark and I spent the next few years. <br />
My brother, Patric, disagreed. <br />
He said, “Mindy, he’s just not perfect yet and he’s stubborn. He’ll get it the second time around.” <br />
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I’m not sure how Patric knew the baby was a he. </div>
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I’m not sure how Patric knew we would try again, because, at the time, I was certain I couldn’t go through the loss again. <br />
<br />
But three months and two pink lines later we were, surprisingly, pregnant. <br />
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I held my breath for ten weeks!<br />
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And then took only short quick breaths for the remaining thirty weeks. </div>
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On November 8th, 2003. Jacob Anthony Ruiz was born.<br />
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And just as his Uncle Patric had promised, he was PERFECT!!! </div>
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He still is. <br />
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He has the tender soul of his Grandpa Doc.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qdjgIQutiG-f4jaiAXOrxRpBrEjuGDbpxyBMKM9klH6fBGfYSqjo2E6Jb2ijl1Tk8JW7amaijWqas9YIiUVW6QTec4qBk6Cs2QnkZHhpgaQRY9w29QTi4yikWQxZHgOSC4P94Ic_rtqh/s1600/christmas+%252824%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qdjgIQutiG-f4jaiAXOrxRpBrEjuGDbpxyBMKM9klH6fBGfYSqjo2E6Jb2ijl1Tk8JW7amaijWqas9YIiUVW6QTec4qBk6Cs2QnkZHhpgaQRY9w29QTi4yikWQxZHgOSC4P94Ic_rtqh/s320/christmas+%252824%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The righteousness of his Daddy. </div>
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The adventurous spirit of his Uncle Patric.</div>
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The best hugs ever like his Granny Bea. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18oricRbMbflUc3dwCUwGudtrigjM08dBiGkaRhQynWEAwSlGJLbigB5x8zV0mJUu1aiLbnu1C_o2VM8OH2RLJqW8z2JIZlxhAEAfMlfeqEOw2UiqgdFHMGQ4I9TEAnvXV4ITyVjioWGz/s1600/Jacob+ruiz+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18oricRbMbflUc3dwCUwGudtrigjM08dBiGkaRhQynWEAwSlGJLbigB5x8zV0mJUu1aiLbnu1C_o2VM8OH2RLJqW8z2JIZlxhAEAfMlfeqEOw2UiqgdFHMGQ4I9TEAnvXV4ITyVjioWGz/s320/Jacob+ruiz+%25281%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The persistence of his Granny Carol.</div>
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The wiliness of his Uncle Daniel and Uncle Maty</div>
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The LOVE for the USC Trojans like his Uncle Josh and Aunt Kat </div>
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And he has my smile and imagination. </div>
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Happy Birthday, Jacob. </div>
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Love, your Momma!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-89986249396569388392012-07-12T12:27:00.000-07:002012-07-12T12:27:33.105-07:00Thursday Throwback.Simple and Sweet this week.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EVG28T4uEu0" width="420"></iframe><br />
(to be continued...)<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-77898856448525602002012-07-10T08:00:00.000-07:002012-07-10T16:27:04.106-07:00"You Can Do It!"This past weekend, Myra McEntire gave a speech at the first annual UtopYA conference. If you weren't there, Myra posted her keynote on her site. Click <a href="http://myramcentire.blogspot.com/2012/07/you-can-do-it-utopya-keynote-address.html" target="_blank">here</a> to read it. Did you read it? Seriously, click <a href="http://myramcentire.blogspot.com/2012/07/you-can-do-it-utopya-keynote-address.html" target="_blank">here</a> and read it ... I'll wait. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Didn't you love the video?! <br />
For those of you who didn't click when I told you to, I'll share it with you. <br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QeMV9Wr4z7Q" width="420"></iframe>
<br />
Love, yes? <br />
Now raise your hand if you didn't dribble a tear or two. In my case, the faucet was open and ready to pour. <br />
You can do it. <br />
So simple. <br />
You can do it. <br />
<br />
Now go read the keynote... You can do it. Just click <a href="http://myramcentire.blogspot.com/2012/07/you-can-do-it-utopya-keynote-address.html" target="_blank">here</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-11172335896331929002012-07-09T21:57:00.000-07:002012-07-09T21:57:03.071-07:00Just another Monday. The kind where I kind of strip naked...Me … naked. <o:p></o:p><br />
It’s not a pretty thing, but that’s what I did today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ripped off all my perfectly plotted clothes
and stood there stark naked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
I hit the send button. <o:p></o:p><br />
And now, I’m standing there … like this. <br />
<br />
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<br />
It’s only been a couple hours and already I’m looking over
my shoulder. <o:p></o:p><br />
Wondering if anybody’s watching?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
Who’s pointing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
Praying no one is laughing. <o:p></o:p><br />
But honestly, I’ve seen myself naked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bad commas, dangling participles … the kind that
could use a good nip there, maybe a tuck over here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know, the Secrets Victoria can’t even
hide. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that modifier!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good lord it’s a good thing I’ve got a
personality to go with that sucker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
Still naked, probably will be so for the next sixty days. <o:p></o:p><br />
That’s what the website said. <o:p></o:p><br />
And I’m okay with that. <o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*gulp*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
I mean what’s the worst that could happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A nice lady hands me back my sub-plot with a “not
my cup of tea” grin?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe I’d get a parting scone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
OH. MY. GOD! <o:p></o:p><br />
Who am I kidding! <o:p></o:p><br />
I’m freakin’ naked! <o:p></o:p><br />
*deep breath*<o:p></o:p><br />
*hums <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I’m Sexy and I
Know It</i>.*<o:p></o:p><br />
Wish me luck… <br />
I’ll be reading this awesome <a href="http://bit.ly/LZD6mw" target="_blank">keynote by MyraMcEntire</a>.<br />
I won’t be hard to miss ...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
the naked one. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-79492108424554680632012-05-17T10:50:00.000-07:002012-05-17T10:52:00.037-07:00The Caterpillar and The Six Year Old. Hankies ready?<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s not very easy explaining Heaven and death to a six-year-old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve been blessed not to have the need for this
conversation for some time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, you can
imagine my surprise yesterday morning when my six-year-old mini-me decided the
ride to school would be the perfect time and place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wanted to confirm his Grandpa Doc and
Grandpa Pete were in Heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both men
solidly believed in the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxB6aQ2_9py5jEX8lL1Ib4WPKSnHi3ZJlRoASNkatbvKy_9Wgo04-GKZMM2t8OYSKapuyyY2uqLEghDpRZiXh8ZqIapqR6QhFWmmisuixxR8CvP9crKyYPZf3f8gQ7EUzygUgjuazyXp9T/s1600/dylann.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxB6aQ2_9py5jEX8lL1Ib4WPKSnHi3ZJlRoASNkatbvKy_9Wgo04-GKZMM2t8OYSKapuyyY2uqLEghDpRZiXh8ZqIapqR6QhFWmmisuixxR8CvP9crKyYPZf3f8gQ7EUzygUgjuazyXp9T/s200/dylann.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, baby.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I eyed
his reaction in the rear view mirror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
brows furrowed up with thought for a moment just before his eyes found mine in
the mirror. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Are they like butterflies?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“How do you mean?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“In my class we are studying butterflies.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, you showed me their cocoons-“<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Chrysalises, mom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They’re called chrysalises.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
quickly corrected me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And yesterday
three butterflies emerged.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I remember!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
proud smile pulled at my heart because yes, this is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">exactly</i> how my six-year-old talks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He loves big words and now big concepts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“So, mom, are our bodies like a chrysalis? “<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“How do you mean.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
searched for the nearest shoulder in the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Things were about to get heavy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Six-year-old
mini-me wears every emotion he has on his sleeve and in his big look-at-the-wonder-of-the-world
eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he wanted to talk death, then
there was no way to steer him around it because he’d been contemplating this
conversation for weeks. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I couldn’t
find a place to pull over.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSCCpJm63Lll0Y6G2EVA8mHLnv5tq7W32of07LgDXX9AXc-aYGgkwVAQI7j0I0AFaS6dcM0BMNJuhwNP2-Hab3_EoTok_7eNdMQDSUgWonUK9wFORd5BxwiSQNbn6ZMbWW1Cjqp7fYO4m/s1600/foam-caterpillar-spring-craft-photo-420-FF0506EFDA01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSCCpJm63Lll0Y6G2EVA8mHLnv5tq7W32of07LgDXX9AXc-aYGgkwVAQI7j0I0AFaS6dcM0BMNJuhwNP2-Hab3_EoTok_7eNdMQDSUgWonUK9wFORd5BxwiSQNbn6ZMbWW1Cjqp7fYO4m/s200/foam-caterpillar-spring-craft-photo-420-FF0506EFDA01.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I think that we are like the caterpillars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we live our lives and then, when we die,
we go into a chrysalis.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I never-“<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Actually, mom. I’m not done.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His dimpled smile made the cut much
easier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You know how the butterfly
emerges?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I nod and get another dimpled grin. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I think that’s how it is.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“How what is?” <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIPaSjGDUU6HHO3CZtzOq2OIOf2di0Ploh_44WDzURTPScys3XErtPcmW9B1UGhWy4VW62Cmtsfk9PsORmk3Mzrxr6UDpozlhekzlRIItsG2FYdnoQrO6y7uKTry9MHJkEa3JtycQx_Ak5/s1600/glass_butterfly_cropjpg_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIPaSjGDUU6HHO3CZtzOq2OIOf2di0Ploh_44WDzURTPScys3XErtPcmW9B1UGhWy4VW62Cmtsfk9PsORmk3Mzrxr6UDpozlhekzlRIItsG2FYdnoQrO6y7uKTry9MHJkEa3JtycQx_Ak5/s200/glass_butterfly_cropjpg_1.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“When we become angels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We leave the chrysalis and the people who are still caterpillars bury
our body, but who we are is now free ... flying like a butterfly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like an angel.” </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I still can’t find a place to pull over and, now, I really
need to because I can’t see the road through the tears in my eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How precious. How simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How utterly right he is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t make death any easier, but to a
six year old, and now his mom… we won’t ever look at a butterfly the same way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He quickly moved on to the newest Lego Ninjago figure he’d
like to “acquire” for his collection, he is still only six and I’ll be
cherishing his pure thoughts for as long he shares them with me. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6x2d1DzCPmxP1TDYDBWVAz5FuCrUGoFMJZu3-1gDkOm9R3rT4-dlwCF60rbccYxRaz2O9TfwCQcLoDMhTmkURHD0QuSLw6wQymBchRDB5v13bBNf3xACJibX7W4r9HGB32_H8Eig7dZJ/s1600/mom+and+dylann.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6x2d1DzCPmxP1TDYDBWVAz5FuCrUGoFMJZu3-1gDkOm9R3rT4-dlwCF60rbccYxRaz2O9TfwCQcLoDMhTmkURHD0QuSLw6wQymBchRDB5v13bBNf3xACJibX7W4r9HGB32_H8Eig7dZJ/s200/mom+and+dylann.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-90507455287294906402012-05-16T09:41:00.000-07:002012-05-16T09:41:37.597-07:00Wordsmith Wednesday #4<em>
</em><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The objective:
</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Show
us a scene from your current project. It can be creepy, adventurous, romantic,
etc. Just a snippet to let readers see what they're in for!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
guidelines:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> * Must be from a current
work-in-progress (WIP). Nothing already published.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> * You may choose from any
section of the manuscript, but be mindful not to include
spoilers.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> * Keep it clean and YA
audience friendly, please. No erotica.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> * Stay under 300 words or
about one page. It can be as little as a few lines if you prefer. We just want
to give readers a chance to see everyone's selection. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> * Link back to <a href="http://chirenjenzie.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #992211;">Chirenjenzie </span></a>so we
can enjoy others' work as well!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> * Include the guidelines
in your post. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I've been polishing up the past few weeks and this is one of <em>those </em>moments that I've been working on to get that roller-coaster wheeeee feeling in your stomach. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I hope you all enjoy this snippet</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><em>“I think he’s
rethinking that error in judgment.” <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em>
</em><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><em>“No,” I looked
over my shoulder and found Crystal stomping her foot while Justin stared at
Alec and me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“He just wants what he
can’t have anymore.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></em></span><br />
<em>
</em><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><em>“Profound.” <o:p></o:p></em></span><br />
<em>
</em><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><em>“Practical.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked back into Alec’s eyes.<o:p></o:p></em></span><br />
<em>
</em><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“So you’re a practical girl?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a long pause and I knew that wasn’t
the question he wanted me to answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Alec leaned forward, his lips a breath of space from ear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And what do you want, Cassandra?”<o:p></o:p></em></span><br />
<em>
</em><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><em>My heart
stuttered again as the double meaning hung in the air, pulsed with bass of the
music…and my faltering heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alec
pulled back, his crystal blue eyes searched for an answer that I didn’t want to
give, because, really, what I wanted at this moment in time was…<o:p></o:p></em></span><br />
<em>
</em><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><em>Him. <o:p></o:p></em></span><br />
<em>
</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-85759254979331167332012-05-07T08:00:00.000-07:002012-05-07T11:03:52.723-07:00Birds, Worms, The Vidalia Chopper and Me.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvYvYD5utYQQXFMVbXkr04FC6u6NP8TOfbRZ0AiQoROKjObB13lth40TjdYGex3N16vz1dgYNJ1ye_SdqSRkJ9DJBi0yeYpvJvSHFrXVBIl28BUIpOyUjNMdHu8uu_0Kn4jZ60P1fFsBw/s1600/bird_worm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvYvYD5utYQQXFMVbXkr04FC6u6NP8TOfbRZ0AiQoROKjObB13lth40TjdYGex3N16vz1dgYNJ1ye_SdqSRkJ9DJBi0yeYpvJvSHFrXVBIl28BUIpOyUjNMdHu8uu_0Kn4jZ60P1fFsBw/s200/bird_worm.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Burning the midnight oil and grabbing that early worm are
really kicking my butt! The purplish smudges under my eyes are my only reward,
right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Flat tush, round belly, jiggly arms, laundry piles, dust
bunnies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just a small list of my “accomplishments,”
right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Imaginary friends, crazy worlds, reality and fantasy living harmoniously.
Rough edges, smoothing; holes, filling; lines, tightening. It’s all coming
together. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eminem, Natasha Bedingfield, and, yes, sometimes Neil
Diamond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Vidalia Chopper, make-ahead meals, Post-It notes,
correction tape, and my iPhone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoR_t2aGoNZ6sMtslJ7z2FMLbnqtXUZ8Rh8QX16YcRngCQJuEDf5iB2epR_ziL8ohzejhss1Mi4d5plHVnbpBKdtOdujpKQNfMoQzOPLdDiKhFmr0E4-8webmec9nwjDe02-UOqHeVxZ3W/s1600/vidalia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoR_t2aGoNZ6sMtslJ7z2FMLbnqtXUZ8Rh8QX16YcRngCQJuEDf5iB2epR_ziL8ohzejhss1Mi4d5plHVnbpBKdtOdujpKQNfMoQzOPLdDiKhFmr0E4-8webmec9nwjDe02-UOqHeVxZ3W/s200/vidalia.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Saucing the taco.” Eldest of five, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>only girl, crazy head shakes and lots of these
!!!!!!!!!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Friends with great news, Friends with amazing sales, Friends
who understand this *head ca-thunk*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
Friends with grown-up girl’s gone crazy alcohol nights (that
just means two drinks), friends with O-type blood, friends who make pictures
and paper fun. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Warm looks, 123’s, proud of my wife comments, “Best. Book.
Ever … I want to play this part.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
Sleepy babies, the snuggle shuffle at two in the morning, I
love you, mommy-ies that are only out shined by the occasional, “I’m proud of
you, mommy”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My favorite things.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And one day, I hope they’re as proud of
me as I am of them.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-85386195533607391562012-04-27T05:49:00.000-07:002012-04-27T14:34:40.706-07:00Interview with Elizabeth Norris, author of UNRAVELING!<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s been a crazy spring break
herding mini-mes and stink-eyeing bathing suits, so I thought I‘d head back to
the writing cave for another edition of WRITING CAVE CAMP OUT!!!!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I want to welcome to the “cave” (aka
my writing room and only clean space in the house) former So Cal, San Diego girl now a NYC pro, Elizabeth Norris!!!!!! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I just finished reading her debut
YA novel, UNRAVELING! And if you haven’t picked up a copy yet, well, the only thing that should have stopped you from snatching up this awesomeness were a pack of mini-mes that got crazy with the duct tape and strapped
you to the dining room chair… not that I know that from personal experience …
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s the low down on UNRAVELING:
<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDM_zPGymESQH2WcvLKlDG9H9ekqgbXdLTmHFVQWMgrEyBXh-QiRq9giCDgadsyDivqdv3TJ2mdU3TfOqcayz5Yoby8hBynI5vs_cbh_8JF8p2XGjobNi8aD7WfCs-Nzb1XAEhBerOTDqQ/s1600/Unraveling+cvr_2%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDM_zPGymESQH2WcvLKlDG9H9ekqgbXdLTmHFVQWMgrEyBXh-QiRq9giCDgadsyDivqdv3TJ2mdU3TfOqcayz5Yoby8hBynI5vs_cbh_8JF8p2XGjobNi8aD7WfCs-Nzb1XAEhBerOTDqQ/s320/Unraveling+cvr_2%5B1%5D.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Two days before the start of her junior year, seventeen-year-old
Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed—as in blinding light, scenes
of her life flashing before her, and then nothing. Except the next thing she
knows, she's opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high
school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it
isn't possible, she knows—with every fiber of her being—that Ben has somehow
brought her back to life. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> But her revival, and Ben's possible role in it, is only the first of
the puzzles that Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI agent father's
files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be
counting down to something—but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is
killed, she can no longer deny what's right in front of her: Everything that's
happened—the accident, the murder, the countdown clock, Ben's sudden appearance
in her life—points to the end of life as she knows it. And as the clock ticks
down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world,
she's going to need to uncover Ben's secrets—and keep from falling in love with
him in the process. <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is a shattering novel of one girl's fight to save herself, her world,
and the boy she never saw coming.<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So without further adieu, please
welcome to the campfire ELIZABETH NORRIS!!!!!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbyNxthTLWG602-6jyBAGch7sOplD7EJsAFOb4TYW2BHFCnfm9uF-piG65NB1ia88dg1leec_hrVDjdyTnrxeKJ9chYcirTQaMSTJgIn3gZqxtNX6e0s0QNdv-uuJZZonkozQxMKYZaslD/s1600/liznorris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbyNxthTLWG602-6jyBAGch7sOplD7EJsAFOb4TYW2BHFCnfm9uF-piG65NB1ia88dg1leec_hrVDjdyTnrxeKJ9chYcirTQaMSTJgIn3gZqxtNX6e0s0QNdv-uuJZZonkozQxMKYZaslD/s1600/liznorris.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m gonna just get the East Coast
vs. West Coast thing out of the way and ask: where is your most favorite place
on earth? *wink-nod* *c’mon So Cal!* <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Elizabeth:</span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That’s tough. There
are so many places that I’ve been and really loved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would say right now that out of anywhere
I’ve ever been, I love Manhattan most. I love that I can walk anywhere I need
to, and that there are so many wonderful people and so many interesting things
to see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s hard to imagine living
anywhere else.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Given the $4.00 a gallon price tag on gas in Mission Beach,
I’ve gotta admit, walking options ... they're a plus. And, you do have Max’s amazing *cash
only* Italian restaurant, Rock ‘n New Year’s Eve and Broadway … okay, Manhattan
is a solid place to live. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Manhattan
is also a lot closer to Bangor, Maine --</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">where one of my all-time favorite author’s,
Stephen King.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Speaking of Mr. King, Stephen, —because once
you've scared someone to the point of being afraid of the dark, you’re on a first name
basis— he once said, “Fiction is a lie. The good fiction is the truth inside the
lie.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In UNRAVELING, is there a
character, a scene, a look that came from a real life moment? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yes. The emotion in
certain scenes comes straight from a few real life moments. Janelle’s feelings
for Ben are almost exactly how I had been feeling about my relationship at the
time, and there are a few conversations between Ben and Janelle that are
strikingly similar to conversations I remember having.<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I like to call it deja vu in print or closure, depending on
which ex-boyfriend you’re vilifying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Was there a scene in UNRAVELING that was the hardest to
write?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Someone close to
Janelle dies in the middle of the book. The scenes after that were incredibly
hard for me to right. She was devastated, and I really wanted to make sure that
showed, but at the same time, I didn’t want it to be too excessive. And the
plot had to keep moving forward. It was also really emotional for me to write.
I teared up a number of times while I was writing it.<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I teared up, nay, sobbed with snot bubbles at the end of UNRAVELING.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m absolutely NOT going to spoil the ending,
but girlfriend, holy blankets!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please,
tell me there’s a book two and, if you don’t want bodily harm by way of gummy
bears, I’ll need a hint about the storyline!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The sequel is called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Unbreakable</i> and it will be out in 2013.
It starts four months after the end of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Unraveling</i>
and Janelle gets swept up in a new case. We get to see more of Ben, Barclay,
Cecily, and Janelle.<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ben *sigh-swoon*!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
gotta be the beach sunsets that get me every time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being from the land of amazing sunsets and
beach blanket bingo, what is the best girly hopeless
romantic scene in a movie that makes you audibly sigh and simultaneously envy tilt
your head? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yes, that sappy. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For me, of course it's a John Hughes movie. The scene in
SIXTEEN CANDLES when Jake shows up at church and points to Samantha and says,
“Yeah, you!” … I just sighed, again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The scene in THE
NOTEBOOK where Allie goes to visit Noah, and she’s wearing that blue dress.
They talk and catch up and take a boat out on the lake, and it starts to rain,
and they argue and then have that wonderful kiss everyone has been waiting for.
<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6WxVWLatMEZqzV7vPag_Sp-VhHrCA2IQ7J3RhhI7Kvwvw5fSCVvQIrK89khDfZ2dqabXbljupuesi7ylIJaogTIlwAhblCanu9XVV7V20ehMpjUgfIpmu14TGlbzYDet7cya_WKVIKePg/s1600/liz+norris+interview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6WxVWLatMEZqzV7vPag_Sp-VhHrCA2IQ7J3RhhI7Kvwvw5fSCVvQIrK89khDfZ2dqabXbljupuesi7ylIJaogTIlwAhblCanu9XVV7V20ehMpjUgfIpmu14TGlbzYDet7cya_WKVIKePg/s320/liz+norris+interview.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Those wonderful kiss moments always get me too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I was a kid, my mom told me to stop
kissing the T.V. every time Danny Zuko from <em>GREASE</em> came on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please don’t let me be the only one to share
an embarrassing childhood/teen celebrity crush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Leonardo DiCaprio,
first from ROMEO AND JULIET and then from TITANIC. I was all about him.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you, Leo!!! Always dying for his woman!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before we embarrass ourselves anyfurther let’s
play the speed round.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ready. Set. Go! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>black or white?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Black<o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>dog or
cat?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dog<o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>cake or
cookies?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Cookies<o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>coffee
or soda?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Coffee<o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>naughty
or nice?</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Nice<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>cup ½
full or ½ empty?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Empty<o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>summer
or winter?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Summer<o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> f</span>avorite
g-rated swear word?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I
hardly ever swore until I became a teacher, and then being around high school
students who swore all the time, I picked up on a lot of it. Now I’m not sure
any of my swear words are g rated.<o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Okay, I’ll give you the last one as a bye and loan you
my<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>HOLY BLANKETS curse word. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m not sure if you could tell, but it’s Friday night camp
out downstairs for the husband and the mini-mes, this means I can totally sneak ANYONE in for the Writing Cave Part-ay! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Who
would come?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The
cast of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i><o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Which
is just perfect. What would they bring?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Stuff
to make s’mores<o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Hold on!
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> T</span>hey’d have to bring the dragons to
roast the s’mores, because that would be Aaaaaa-WESOME!!!! Sorry, what junk food must we have? </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tortilla chips and guacamole<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBEAcGKQQ3KJD2hQ2troP0xwNI-c5d0Fe467KfORiFcpyzC749aXj_ACIa_31ltv7rh-tmJxv6LbTfP3UUDf4WYjPbmTWuzQ1zPknkwK3agV6h2-rdNdoF28y9gwOAQ4g_-TOJKQkKhy9x/s1600/liz+norriss+interview+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBEAcGKQQ3KJD2hQ2troP0xwNI-c5d0Fe467KfORiFcpyzC749aXj_ACIa_31ltv7rh-tmJxv6LbTfP3UUDf4WYjPbmTWuzQ1zPknkwK3agV6h2-rdNdoF28y9gwOAQ4g_-TOJKQkKhy9x/s200/liz+norriss+interview+2.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Game of Thrones</em> cast, with their dragons roasting s’mores
and gorging ourselves on tortilla chips and guacamole?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s my kind of camp out!!!! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We’re about out of time, I hear tiny footsteps climbing the
stairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> L</span>et me ask you two last
questions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is the best advice you
would pass along to up and coming writers?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Write because you
love it and don’t ever stop. There are a lot of highs and lows when you write a
book and a lot more on the road to publication. I had to learn to savor the
highs and let the lows roll off my back. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And finally, once we’ve devoured UNRAVELING, What two books
would you recommend to your readers?</span><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I recently read and
loved BORN WICKED by Jessica Spotswood and SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo.<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Elizabeth, thank you soo much for stopping by the Writing Cave. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
Be sure to follow Elizabeth on <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/liz_norris" target="_blank">Twitter,</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/unravelingseries" target="_blank">Facebook</a><br />
I'm also going to be giving away two, -- YES, TWO!!!!!-- copies of UNRAVELING! <br />
Fill out the rafflecopter questions and away you go. Contest ends May 1, 2012 and US lovelies only. <br />
<br />
<br />
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I'm going to walk Elizabeth out, but in the mean time, I'll leave you with the UNRAVELING trailer. Also, be sure to click the UNRAVELING banner to your right for tomorrow's stop on the tour, <a href="http://www.literaryexploration.com/" target="_blank">Literary Explorations</a>!<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bjRggaPl6OM" width="560"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-59783256860647713352012-04-25T10:34:00.000-07:002012-04-25T12:41:43.874-07:00Wordsmith Wednesday Teaser #2<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2JQVLYImp-4p0pqK3zAsKyDPZpPNowfJVIaZR5hT5VXn2wesXd9vLUXHCnc8cMIFVpClYaGZtuOV_8i1dQSl6G7mKe_CwxV8aIcsMWwSQHCSuM09jq-qZqHP9ma05WVs1cfwuUl_lLhz/s1600/wordsmith+wednesday+icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2JQVLYImp-4p0pqK3zAsKyDPZpPNowfJVIaZR5hT5VXn2wesXd9vLUXHCnc8cMIFVpClYaGZtuOV_8i1dQSl6G7mKe_CwxV8aIcsMWwSQHCSuM09jq-qZqHP9ma05WVs1cfwuUl_lLhz/s200/wordsmith+wednesday+icon.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Welcome one and all to the next greatest meme on the face of the planet! Well, at least to us! :-) It started as the brain child of the great <a href="http://lilliputianjourney.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #992211;">Hope Collier.</span></a> Thanks, Izzie, for such a great idea!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The objective: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Show us a scene from your current project. It can be creepy, adventurous, romantic, etc. Just a snippet to let readers see what they're in for!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The guidelines:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* Must be from a current work-in-progress (WIP). Nothing already published.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* You may choose from any section of the manuscript, but be mindful not to include spoilers.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* Keep it clean and YA audience friendly, please. No erotica.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* Stay under 300 words or about one page. It can be as little as a few lines if you prefer. We just want to give readers a chance to see everyone's selection. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* Link back to <a href="http://chirenjenzie.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #992211;">Chirenjenzie </span></a>so we can enjoy others' work as well!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* Include the guidelines in your post. </span><br /><br /><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Please leave a comment with a link to your Wordsmith Wednesday so we can hop on over to your site! </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>My eyelids flew wide open, searing white rays of sun and betrayal blinded me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The soft lapping sounds of the lake beat up against the side of the boat, drowning out my friend’s giggles of freedom, but only amplifying my boyfriend’s ringing phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alec’s eyes shot to the bow of the pontoon, to me, widening with guilt when he met my glare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></em></span></div>
<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He’d promised me. One day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s all I’d asked. </span></em><br />
<em></em><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>“You brought. Your phone. On the boat?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Olivia</span>’s arms planted firmly on her hips, like she was the girlfriend he’d broken another promise to. </em></span></div>
<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Alec’s expression softened with yet another apology then grew hard when mine didn’t accept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></em><br />
<em></em><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>“Yes,” He said to me, then shot a warning look at Olivia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Some of us still have to work.” Alec snatched his backpack from the back bench, pulled out his phone from the easy access front pocket, and read the screen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not like we didn’t all know who was looking for him …<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>then man who still wanted me dead. </em></span></div>
<em></em><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>His grandfather.</em> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-1851595947330664332012-04-19T06:30:00.000-07:002012-04-19T06:30:25.695-07:00Wednesday Repeat!My friends over at <a href="http://chirenjenzie.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Chirenjenzie</a> are having some fun on Wednesdays with<br />
WORDSMITH WEDNESDAYS! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJeCpxH05LT-r_EhQvGotaeXWUvT_SH7PLSQHy3CzM9mW5VZ_J0mq_2QO7fCdOXh-KEJP1NXS2TVOO3liry0fuAJgsafAL8aRcHNf2FXVUMIWzOPtIOmIiQBJ0NRWGb7Ea8iSPGSfSwD7q/s1600/wordsmith+wednesday+icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJeCpxH05LT-r_EhQvGotaeXWUvT_SH7PLSQHy3CzM9mW5VZ_J0mq_2QO7fCdOXh-KEJP1NXS2TVOO3liry0fuAJgsafAL8aRcHNf2FXVUMIWzOPtIOmIiQBJ0NRWGb7Ea8iSPGSfSwD7q/s320/wordsmith+wednesday+icon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I'm running about a day behind mentally and about two weeks behind physically so, with Beth's permission, I'm posting my WW on Thursday. <br />
Here are the guidelines:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Show us a scene from your current project. It can be creepy, adventurous, romantic, etc. Just a snippet to let readers see what they're in for!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The guidelines:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> * Must be from a current work-in-progress (WIP). Nothing already published.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> * You may choose from any section of the manuscript, but be mindful not to include spoilers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> * Keep it clean and YA audience friendly, please. No erotica.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> * Stay under 300 words or about one page. It can be as little as a few lines if you prefer. We just want to give readers a chance to see everyone's selection. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> * Link back to <a href="http://chirenjenzie.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #992211;">Chirenjenzie </span></a>so we can enjoy others' work as well!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> * Include the guidelines in your post. </span><br />
This is a small somethin'-somethin' snippet from my ENCHANTED HEART series ... book 2. <br />
(it's really, really, really rough so squint a little ... maybe a lot.)<br />
<br />
I knew Alec wouldn’t find me here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Country music and honky-tonk bars seemed to be the only place he wasn’t these days… and that was okay by me. <o:p></o:p><br />
“Want a beer?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a husky voice asked, sending every nerve in my body into spasms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
All of my friends may have been underage, but we were royalty. <o:p></o:p><br />
Alec may have been high enough on the patrol to not have to step foot in a country bar, but Beaux, Beaux was everything Alec wasn’t and tonight … that seemed to be exactly what I needed. <o:p></o:p><br />
“Do you want a beer?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beaux asked again, irritation picked at the edge of his words. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
My nose wrinkled with disgust as I stole a quick glance over my shoulder. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
“Figured.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The newly scabbed cut over his eye pulled as a chuckle died in his throat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
I spun on the stool and stretched my arms across a small portion of bar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some reason, it felt right and that was why it was all so wrong. <o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“They don’t sell umbrella drinks here, so…” his eyes searched mine looking for the balk, “I’ll order you a coke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Diet?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His eyebrows pulled up like he had me all figured out. <o:p></o:p><br />
“What’s that?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pointed to the dark amber liquid he held in a shot glass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A daredevil grin pulled at the corners of his lips. <o:p></o:p><br />
“You can’t handle this.” <o:p></o:p><br />
“Try me.” <o:p></o:p><br />
“Already did.” <o:p></o:p><br />
The double meaning pushed my wannabe bravado into action and I snagged the glass from his hand and tossed it down my throat. My eyes flew wide open, then pinched together as the alcohol seared a path to my stomach. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
“What else you wanna prove me wrong about tonight?”<o:p></o:p><br />
The burning sensation in my belly warmed and it had nothing to do with the toxic liquid. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I handed him back the shot glass and a bring-it-on smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His eyes held mine, tempting, daring, as he pushed the shot glass back to the bar keep.<o:p></o:p><br />
“Well pour us another round.” Beaux dipped his white cowboy hat at me. <o:p></o:p><br />
Challenge accepted. <o:p></o:p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-63663690135733238652012-04-17T11:49:00.000-07:002012-04-17T11:49:27.770-07:00Spring Break...In an attempt to further test my sanity, the minis two separate school districts decided that back-to-back Spring Breaks could just send me over the edge or get me ready for summer break. <br />
I'm going to dive back into the week two of Ruiz Minis Gone Wild and leave you with this latest SNL Skit.<br />
For all those who live in California, THE CALIFORNIANS skit may have hit a little too close to home. Because, I really did know all those short cuts. <br />
For all those who don't live in California, sadly, we could really slip into this skit seamlessly. <br />
ENJOY!!!<br />
<object height="288" width="512"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/embed/954zVvpI_5cJOqAYqgAoOw/0/317"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/embed/954zVvpI_5cJOqAYqgAoOw/0/317" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="512" height="288" allowFullScreen="true"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-35699454006070004842012-04-05T10:38:00.001-07:002012-04-17T10:02:18.077-07:00Lie, Lie, Lie, Lieeees! There gonna getchya!THURSDAY THROW BACK!!!!<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Remember this song?</strong> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/PA43ETEU1Vg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
The Thompson Twins!<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The mini-mes are quite the gifted storytellers! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They must get it from their momma, who started at a VERY young age spinning tales.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="http://mindyruiz.blogspot.com/2010/06/when-did-you-know-you-wanted-to-be.html" target="_blank">(first story or what some may call a lie)</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As the Minis started their journey into storytelling, </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I didn't want to repeat my dad's mistake/doctrine:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"If it's not the truth then it's a lie!" </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If the Minis had a story inside them, I wanted to hear it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the same time, I didn't want them to think it was okay to tell a tale and let someone think it was real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So we came up with a trigger statement. <o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Before any spinning begins, the phrase: THIS IS MY IMAGINATION STORY, must be proclaimed.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Of course, there are times when they forget to use the trigger statement. It usually takes about five or ten minutes or the arrival of a purple dragon to clue me in, but I ask, "Is this an imagination story?" <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And I usually get an impish grin or nod of the head. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I saw this picture online: <o:p></o:p></span>. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBmHDWWSZRLYw-9CgQ_EhrS-Ip8CGWXBnpvJFqVHpPaPbAo2xBwoPs5vSswEYwR-svBh3bOEUqaNphqap9d30AUggQlsSKij0g8PTbumkeDNglGA6CszbqMC5hIw5lkpNFxI6q6Tf-eTyX/s1600/lies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBmHDWWSZRLYw-9CgQ_EhrS-Ip8CGWXBnpvJFqVHpPaPbAo2xBwoPs5vSswEYwR-svBh3bOEUqaNphqap9d30AUggQlsSKij0g8PTbumkeDNglGA6CszbqMC5hIw5lkpNFxI6q6Tf-eTyX/s320/lies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So here's the question: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What was the first/grandest or most believable lie you ever told or were told?<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If it's a doozy, leave it in the comment section! <o:p></o:p></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-77695624755771207562012-04-03T08:11:00.005-07:002012-04-05T09:40:03.521-07:00Eminem, My Mom and Your Characters.<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My mom said, "Mindy, you can do anything you set your mind to." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Funny thing is, she never told me <em>how</em> to set my mind. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know how to set my character's minds. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Music. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Theme songs. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Seems like, these days, before anyone sits down to put their words on paper, they’ve created a playlist for their novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And each character has their own theme song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I’m no different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I’m plotting a new story and one of the first things I did was pay a quick visit to iTunes, YouTube, and Pandora’s shuffle list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I surfed through songs until just the right one smacked me between the eyes!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Why do we do this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My answer is simple: It gets me into character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">All the angst and raw emotion that I need to convey from my brain to my fingers seems to be “juiced up” when I start my writing process with my character's theme song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Of course, it got me thinking:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> If music can get my brain , and countless others, into character mode, h</span>ow many other writers have picked out a theme song for themselves?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And I’m not talking the traditional Natasha Bedingfield: UNWRITTEN.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m talking about the, gut wrenching, this is why I write, theme song that fires you up, brings you to tears and makes you look at the empty page of white and say:</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"> “BRING IT ON, Bitches!!!”</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fired up, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">So why don't we do this for ourselves? </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> My theme song comes from the most unlikely place you could imagine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Me, Mindy Ruiz, mom to four boys, woman whose curse <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">repertoire </span>is filled with gems like: “Son of a Blanket” and “Ah, spoons!”, found her theme song in Eminem’s: LOSE YOURSELF!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RLSkcXDHuMY" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have NOTHING in common with this man. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I grew up in a middle class suburb, clay-tile roof over my head, two dysfunctional parents, no baby-daddy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, in Eminem's words, I find the guttural roar I need every time I sit down and the cursor is flashing: “YOU SUCK, Mindy!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I write with the passion that this is my one shot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve only got one chance to impress my dream agent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is only one moment to seize everything I wanted a</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">nd I’m not going to let it pass through my fingers! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My trailer, my 'hood', is a nine to five job that sucks my very essence from my soul; steals my time from my husband and children, trading it for dollars that won't mean a thing once my gas tank is filled; and leaves me at the end of the day determined to tell the stories clawing at my insides! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And isn’t that how each of should be writing?<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And how would that passion translate to your characters?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And how do you think that <em>need</em> to produce would resonate with a prospective agent/editor/reader? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Don’t you owe it to yourself to start every moment of writing with the passion that this <strong><em>is </em></strong>that moment. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The one second in time that could change the course of your life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dramatic? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But that's what we're writing!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Drama and believable, fantastic moments that make our readers suspend their reality, for just a few more pages, until those pages end and our readers scream: </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I WANT MORE!!!</span></strong> </span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What's your theme song? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">How will it change your day?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">How will it change your writing?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What will you say if that one moment, that one opportunity, slips you by and you <em>weren't</em> ready?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For me, it's not an option ... and I guess I have Eminem and my mom to thank.</span><br />
<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-85763528091881248442012-04-02T08:40:00.007-07:002012-04-02T12:21:42.937-07:00My Favorite Things Monday... COUNTDOWNS TO AWESOMENESS!!!Here are a few of my favorite books that are counting down to HOLY COW CAN'T WAIT TO READ awesomeness!!! <br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">SPECTRAL</span> by Shannon Duffy</strong><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">4/10/12</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">UNRAVELING</span></strong> <strong>by Elizabeth Norris</strong><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">4/24/12</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>INSURGENT</strong></span> <strong>by Veronica Roth</strong> (Book #2)<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">5/1/12</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgsZg1ucxHjiSV5bhGKEfgmZZCXl8wkrS_qU1j-5KrkGjue-ec-EfjL3wR5rKEL1zEoKimde4L6fdOCjzEBf5JK0XAjWHf7Q3S9TQlQabCCuyQL34qi5n3YPNuDAopFvPM92X7kDzIhst/s1600/insurgent.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgsZg1ucxHjiSV5bhGKEfgmZZCXl8wkrS_qU1j-5KrkGjue-ec-EfjL3wR5rKEL1zEoKimde4L6fdOCjzEBf5JK0XAjWHf7Q3S9TQlQabCCuyQL34qi5n3YPNuDAopFvPM92X7kDzIhst/s320/insurgent.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>TIMEPIECE</strong></span> <strong>by Myra McEntire</strong> (Book #2)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">6/12/12</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpky9e9cBuWmifAzYTeKL8g7z6BtIQbxabPXKi3T3qb-I_M-noVvY4TTMzod4if1BaRf4eZELQV9cpBuuDUIukk_7Hhj3VPxcIHZzk1_kZUM8JbZxNQy7dOGiYQQmiW7_I06J1JUMTSmp-/s1600/timepiece.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpky9e9cBuWmifAzYTeKL8g7z6BtIQbxabPXKi3T3qb-I_M-noVvY4TTMzod4if1BaRf4eZELQV9cpBuuDUIukk_7Hhj3VPxcIHZzk1_kZUM8JbZxNQy7dOGiYQQmiW7_I06J1JUMTSmp-/s320/timepiece.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>INBETWEEN</strong></span> <strong>by Tara Fuller</strong> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;">8/14/12</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>DEFIANCE</strong></span> <strong>by C.J. Redwine</strong><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">8/28/12</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6MXwCX1qXB-P178X1etVY5LlQO__eS3hCs22LIGchGdp8XE7xq3r1XJHaxJ_pbgD2aIpN3jGfYzrFExGbY-W6ZI7dcoCFx7trmDqlf3CcPA7EhjEcLLlQ0xs0U2letMhX5dnYYA2OgCne/s1600/defiance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6MXwCX1qXB-P178X1etVY5LlQO__eS3hCs22LIGchGdp8XE7xq3r1XJHaxJ_pbgD2aIpN3jGfYzrFExGbY-W6ZI7dcoCFx7trmDqlf3CcPA7EhjEcLLlQ0xs0U2letMhX5dnYYA2OgCne/s320/defiance.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY</strong></span> <strong>by Rachel Harris</strong><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">9/11/12</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuxCk3UqqzdUS7rJ_KaffQXN_cW9g7KdysKzVgCWLZdYJJw7bVfISU9xIYx3HW19ahT-hWpw_2XsmecLVjngL2mR1XHCz5TvYD1LB22pzeiDdbD1F2JZ0GVFJWih-2UjoQHjixV5YP42E/s1600/Sixteen-cover_FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuxCk3UqqzdUS7rJ_KaffQXN_cW9g7KdysKzVgCWLZdYJJw7bVfISU9xIYx3HW19ahT-hWpw_2XsmecLVjngL2mR1XHCz5TvYD1LB22pzeiDdbD1F2JZ0GVFJWih-2UjoQHjixV5YP42E/s320/Sixteen-cover_FINAL.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br />
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What books are you looking forward to this summer? <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-13651818530120719252012-03-21T06:10:00.005-07:002012-03-21T06:18:15.202-07:00New Meat & Shiny New Project!I find it fitting that I grew up a real estate brat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the things my momma always said when I was a Realtor was, “Go find some new meat to chew on!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
Aside from being crazy cannibalistic because the new meat was code for a new client, she was right! <o:p></o:p><br />
Have you ever had an amazing piece of steak and about the fifteenth chew go round you’re kind of done with that piece and readying another bite on your fork?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*non-meat-eaters insert something like meat*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjwV4wyVPe5Bhyphenhyphen8hA4sXBsjvMTZIWj7DM_orQtqi5ooBXxoixm84RbobJNurN5Q4_A0nRLH6tOBbjGfv1t6oM__1AIXxz7GYDbvwaClxg8c_uS_BAuIWywtvwhlRg-ynD0GklmP1gizE-/s1600/tiny+meat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjwV4wyVPe5Bhyphenhyphen8hA4sXBsjvMTZIWj7DM_orQtqi5ooBXxoixm84RbobJNurN5Q4_A0nRLH6tOBbjGfv1t6oM__1AIXxz7GYDbvwaClxg8c_uS_BAuIWywtvwhlRg-ynD0GklmP1gizE-/s200/tiny+meat.jpg" width="133" /></a>Of course, the next bite up is just as amazing as the bite that’s sliding down your throat until chew fourteen or fifteen.<o:p></o:p><br />
But! <o:p></o:p><br />
What if you went to a restaurant and were served one bite of meat at an extremely outrageous price with some sort of fancy kale to fill in the vast amount of plate real estate?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ya’d chew that sucker till it all but disappeared on your tongue. AND you’d walk away from the experience just kind of deflated, cranky and looking for an In –N-Out burger (no In-N-Outs?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pleeeease haul your toosh to Cali!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
Real Estate is a lot like eating meat and therefore a lot like writing books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
Hold on, bear with me, cuz it sooo is!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
I wasn’t a very patient realtor, mainly because people want to look at more than one house and they kind of act Craaaaazy when they’re in escrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had one client who looked at fifty-two houses before she found one she would consider and then canceled the escrow because of the bird’s flight pattern over said house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kid you not!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mother had a client cancel an escrow because the cat said, ‘No!’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know how the owner figured out that one, but God’s honest truth, the freakin’ feline said NO!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
Chew, chew, chew = get a new client, get a new client, get a new client!<o:p></o:p><br />
I’ve been working on a project for-EVER!!! And it’s a great project but I feel like I’ve been chewing the same piece of meat for two years!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m ready for that cued up bite/shiny new project sitting on my fork/hard drive to start making its way up to my mouth/putting words on paper!!!<o:p></o:p><br />
Chew, chew, chew = start new project, start new project, start new project. <o:p></o:p><br />
So what’s the point to this pretty little post?<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is entirely possible to over chew your WIP. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Trust your beta’s and critique partners.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Make sure you give yourself time to dream about your SNP!<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Don’t procrastinate with your edits!!! It’s like stopping mid-chew and keeping that glob of meat in your cheek!<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next adventure is always as much fun as the one you’re afraid to let go of. <o:p></o:p></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-27325902369186062552012-03-19T11:11:00.002-07:002012-03-19T11:27:17.586-07:00My Favorite Things ... It's a Monday!I have TWO favorite things this week!!!<br />
Yes! Two!<br />
It's my birthday tomorrow and I consider it one of my perks of turning f-f-forty to, ya know, have two. <br />
So, obviously I'm embracing my new decade like any woman would, <strike>kickin' and screaming</strike> gracefully and well poised like two of my most favorite literary characters: Emerson Cole and Sophie Mercer.<br />
If you haven't <strike>eaves dropped</strike> read their hijacked posts over at <a href="http://myramcentire.blogspot.com/2012/03/chat-with-sophie-from-hex-hall-series.html?spref=tw" target="_blank">Myra McEntire's blog</a>, YOU MUST!!! <br />
And you'll see WHY these two girls are helping me ease into my forties! <br />
I may have to say "forty" a few more times this post before the gasp and need to fold into the fetal position subsides. <br />
Forty. <br />
Me. <br />
Inner Never Grow Up Teen. <br />
Back on track. <br />
Emerson & Sophie:<br />
Emerson can time travel. How cool is that! And how freakin' convenient given tomorrow's, um, big day. If you could, would you time travel to change history? What if it would upset the whole space time continuum thing-y.<br />
Sophie is a witch and not the kind that rhymes with 'B'. Sophie also has some pretty amazing parents that reunite in SPELL BOUND. And, she has an Archer. Trust me, you sooooo want an Archer in your life. <br />
My two favorite things this Monday, besides turning forty (one more, I may have one more in me.) are Sophie Mercer witch star extraordinaire of the HEX HALL Series and Emerson Cole, the girl who probably time traveled to the future and already knows what I'm going to be giving away, star of the HOURGLASS Series! <br />
What's a pre-party with out favors? <br />
Enter to win:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAnmFAESZzerAB5cvvQ3fXTNX_ErFRBds3zbOcbB_tx7gAJbeWBO7QZqy6DtRalvcJHSaxkHk57YzJZENf81q-RYvcRK4T2vHQLuS0MVxJeK7ar9vQU1LSCuGeVACczme3BlhwKkvb0CI/s1600/hourglass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAnmFAESZzerAB5cvvQ3fXTNX_ErFRBds3zbOcbB_tx7gAJbeWBO7QZqy6DtRalvcJHSaxkHk57YzJZENf81q-RYvcRK4T2vHQLuS0MVxJeK7ar9vQU1LSCuGeVACczme3BlhwKkvb0CI/s320/hourglass.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">AND</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSpF2l5ksWbETf7VX_sMxgkDblb15uStkkfHNzwjqEL9rWb5SqT48xgigbYcI8N9V_kdDR6irqEni9G3n14rFxu_fQkt8w3Odg1FN-GaNWn70hVH9XumEdhtJDOjByreZ5uPW_znft2BY/s1600/SpellBound.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSpF2l5ksWbETf7VX_sMxgkDblb15uStkkfHNzwjqEL9rWb5SqT48xgigbYcI8N9V_kdDR6irqEni9G3n14rFxu_fQkt8w3Odg1FN-GaNWn70hVH9XumEdhtJDOjByreZ5uPW_znft2BY/s320/SpellBound.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="801" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/embeddedform?formkey=dHEyU1Mzc2dDVGdqOVpPMVpjV2xwOXc6MQ" width="760"><p><p><p>Loading...</p></p></p></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-77902928230010031612012-02-27T05:13:00.000-08:002012-02-27T05:13:00.208-08:00Writing With Reckless Abandon!If you’re like me, always in the back of my head, there is a tiny little voice saying: <o:p></o:p><br />
“Is this like so and so?”<o:p></o:p><br />
“Is this too far over the top?”<o:p></o:p><br />
“Is this publishable?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
What if for one moment we could write like this: <o:p></o:p><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Su1ozG3WPUM?rel=0" width="420"></iframe><br />
Now, in the blocks, this runner looks like everyone else. He starts like everyone else, but after the second hurdle, we<em> KNOW</em> he’s not like everyone else. <o:p></o:p><br />
I’m sure he’s probably having a bad day. <o:p></o:p><br />
I mean, really, hurdles? <o:p></o:p><br />
I can barely walk down the stairs without falling headfirst and bouncing down the suckers. Props to hurdle thrower for even being able to squat in the same blocks with the others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
What I really like is that by hurdle number four, well, we all know he’s <strong>NOT</strong> gonna win this race so why not finish with a bang.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
Queue the hurdle toss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
He finished, he took his teammate out with him, but who needs a medal when you’ve got a gazillion views on YouTube?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
I’m sure hurdle thrower didn’t start the morning saying: “I think I’ll just try running <em>through</em> the hurdles.” <o:p></o:p><br />
He probably woke up thinking he had a decent shot at winning. <o:p></o:p><br />
A great shot at conforming. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just look at those snazzy red shorts if you think different.<o:p></o:p><br />
But come along hurdle number four, when it’s obvious he’s not conforming, he’s not ‘winning’, HT has a choice:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finish his way or don’t finish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
I’m not saying if you know your WIP is a pile of shredded hurdles you should rush out and query it, but what I am saying is don’t be afraid to throw few hurdle rules around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
Write for the passion, not for the commercial success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
Write the story the way it NEEDS to be told, not the way that is gonna be easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
Vampires never sparkled before Stephenie Meyers. <o:p></o:p><br />
Wizards never played cribbage before J.K. Rowling<o:p></o:p><br />
And hurdlers never ran like that before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703371355482589254.post-82967507144900850522012-02-24T05:38:00.001-08:002012-02-24T09:26:26.146-08:00How Plants Can Help Your Writing! They can... I promise...I have a confession:<br />
I’m a plant killer. <o:p></o:p><br />
I don’t wanna be … but I am.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Every spring I buy an ungodly amount of flowers and hope, nay, pray, beg and promise to the flower gods that I will remember to water these new bulbs of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, without fail, I kill them three or four weeks later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I over water them, under water them, forget to water them and ,only once, accidently water them with sudsy water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
ACCIDENT! <br />
I promise.<o:p></o:p><br />
My reign of flower carnage was so epic, the eldest mini-me asked the granny, aka my mom, if she could come over and plant the flowers because, “Mommy’s flowers always die…"<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"> *whisper* </div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">"I think all flowers are afraid of mommy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Fruit of my womb right there!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turned traitor on me for a few petals of pink and chocolate chip cookie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>So why would this spring be any different?<o:p></o:p><br />
Because, the flowers I bought last year for my writing room are still BLOOMING!!!!! <o:p></o:p><br />
I have three plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, THREE PLANTS that have survived the curse of my brown thumb and declared an end to the rein of houseplant terror that has plagued me for YEARS…. <o:p></o:p><br />
I spend soooo much time in my writing room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes there’s just the mad click of fingers on a keyboard, but often—more frequent than I’ll ever admit— there are times where I just need a sounding board,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>an ear if you will, that will just sit there and take whatever I dish out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
Let me introduce you to my cheerleaders: <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEaHhyphenhyphenjfxcN3iTG_HBrJXRolEcFwti7aKL28mtW5eTqewy_JUOFVeMZ6ocoQtQM4nbpeI6OJU1rk5wrjB70lztOGARl-RRKlWAtWHZyVYeet-L_qBNx-XF0x6CFGvK6yOoXV5Pn-oxqKeO/s1600/smell+the+flower+inspration.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEaHhyphenhyphenjfxcN3iTG_HBrJXRolEcFwti7aKL28mtW5eTqewy_JUOFVeMZ6ocoQtQM4nbpeI6OJU1rk5wrjB70lztOGARl-RRKlWAtWHZyVYeet-L_qBNx-XF0x6CFGvK6yOoXV5Pn-oxqKeO/s200/smell+the+flower+inspration.JPG" width="149" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">This is my inspiration plant:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>When I’m feeling full of self-doubt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the plant I turn to:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>It was given to me, not on Mother’s Day, put on an ordinary day by middle-me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>MM came into my room and said, “Momma, Daddy said you weren’t feeling very good so I asked him if we could buy you this.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hands me the plant. I weep and give the petals their initial assault of salt watering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I know this will make you feel better momma.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgerRNSvn9tWdHPaobw0Erw1arOvKaFwiYn8HccMCorqTrK6FjSmDqlKb1lmhdDvrYgxyV0HaI5iUKvRF0Aw9_YJ4ZmocsOrOlB2E7q8HN90NPAnTIRY6GIhQjV8DYoqLuvYaSMBHBesCLL/s1600/smell+the+flower+whipping.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgerRNSvn9tWdHPaobw0Erw1arOvKaFwiYn8HccMCorqTrK6FjSmDqlKb1lmhdDvrYgxyV0HaI5iUKvRF0Aw9_YJ4ZmocsOrOlB2E7q8HN90NPAnTIRY6GIhQjV8DYoqLuvYaSMBHBesCLL/s200/smell+the+flower+whipping.JPG" width="149" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">Now don’t laugh, but this next plant is my whipping plant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s gangly and ugly and really should be shoveled somewhere!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the WIP or revisions aren’t going as planned… well, just look at this thing! Scrawny little thing needs some love, but when I tell those beany barbs how pretty they look … we both know I’m lying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVC_J7NGK05_D0mKTB4op8y3hv_fNQWw1L8jOTKqDwo9xBWRzJ2-_Qb7TIurX193a-Jv_3HT-pmVv4QiEVW3JMqPM_JlzCXUwZ3wNec9CScyqzNyGUmxbdKMgUSOm942D8TFJejM9KlrM/s1600/smell+the+flower+pretty+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVC_J7NGK05_D0mKTB4op8y3hv_fNQWw1L8jOTKqDwo9xBWRzJ2-_Qb7TIurX193a-Jv_3HT-pmVv4QiEVW3JMqPM_JlzCXUwZ3wNec9CScyqzNyGUmxbdKMgUSOm942D8TFJejM9KlrM/s320/smell+the+flower+pretty+1.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">Finally, my OMG-holycow-how is this even existing in the same space as me- plant.<o:p></o:p></div><br />
Take a minute. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
This beauty’s been with me for almost THIRTEEN MONTHS!!!!!! <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I named this plant HR.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This orchid is where I turn to when I think one day, just one day I may sign with the agent of my dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s for every book I read that made my head shake in awe; for every passage I’ve written that could be as awesome as those before me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I talk to THIS plant:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">HR sits right next to the whipping plant to remind me that every line that looked like this…</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgerRNSvn9tWdHPaobw0Erw1arOvKaFwiYn8HccMCorqTrK6FjSmDqlKb1lmhdDvrYgxyV0HaI5iUKvRF0Aw9_YJ4ZmocsOrOlB2E7q8HN90NPAnTIRY6GIhQjV8DYoqLuvYaSMBHBesCLL/s1600/smell+the+flower+whipping.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgerRNSvn9tWdHPaobw0Erw1arOvKaFwiYn8HccMCorqTrK6FjSmDqlKb1lmhdDvrYgxyV0HaI5iUKvRF0Aw9_YJ4ZmocsOrOlB2E7q8HN90NPAnTIRY6GIhQjV8DYoqLuvYaSMBHBesCLL/s200/smell+the+flower+whipping.JPG" width="149" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"> could one day look like THIS! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1RdTKP0bO_2IODBUvmuV1_3Jl4HoiveqiizElyWuaJtBboHODcSkTJXFR9ZdoTZe_u6h34lsVhBDYzZolF9M4L34Giu9KB_5UjoQypNBS7CogyjEqv0xprkCHpgarJZIS-PrMcB6IfTGe/s1600/smell+the+flower+pretty+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1RdTKP0bO_2IODBUvmuV1_3Jl4HoiveqiizElyWuaJtBboHODcSkTJXFR9ZdoTZe_u6h34lsVhBDYzZolF9M4L34Giu9KB_5UjoQypNBS7CogyjEqv0xprkCHpgarJZIS-PrMcB6IfTGe/s200/smell+the+flower+pretty+2.JPG" width="149" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><br />
</div>I really do think every writer should have at least one plant in their writing space. If for no other reason to hold you accountable. It's easy to let an hour slip into a day. A day to slip into a week. A week to... well, you know where I'm going with this. Three very different plants on different watering schedules require my toosh to walk by my computer when I'm in a funk. If those plants are dying... then so are my dreams of being an author and that's just not acceptable. <br />
Now go water your WIP plant!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1