Awards, Oh My

The fabulous Brinda Berry awarded me not one but two awards. Be sure to check out her site and blog where she blogs under the tag: YA Fiction, hang on for a wild ride. If you’re looking for a summer read be sure to check out The Waiting Booth (Whispering Woods) followed by Whisper of Memory (Whispering Woods). I don’t think you’ll regret stepping into Mia’s world.

Brinda, thank you for the awards!

The Sunshine Award

Is You Are My Sunshine playing in your head? Or is that just me?

• Favorite color: I don’t really have a favorite but I do gravitate toward greens for the house and corals for myself.
• Favorite animal: I’m an animal lover in general. In the wild, sea otters, they are so playful. For pets, definitely dogs over cats.
• Favorite number: I’ve got a thing for even numbers but can’t say I have a favorite.
• Favorite drink: As much as I love my coffee, TEA.
• Facebook/Twitter Locations: Facebook / Twitter
• Favorite passion: Reading. I’ll read almost anything and love escaping into other worlds.
• Giving or Receiving: Giving, definitely.
• Favorite pattern: I have to agree with Brinda on this answer…Toile. There’s just something elegant and romantic about it to me.
• Favorite day of the week: Sunday.
• Favorite flower: Tiger Lily. It was my grandmother’s favorite. According to her it meant ‘wealth and pride’ and she always said we were family wealthy and country proud. I don’t know if she was right but it struck a cord that remains today.

Fabulous Blog Ribbon

Five fabulous writing moments:

1. Having the amazing Joely Sue Burkhart take me under her wing and meet me D&E every morning.
2. The spark of a new idea.
3. When it all comes together, like a jigsaw puzzle not missing any pieces.
4. When the right word comes without help from the Thesaurus.
5. Writing “the end” on a first draft.

Five things I love about writing…

1. Brainstorming a new idea.
2. Characters who won’t shut up.
3. Getting in the zone and not being able to stop.
4. The fabulous writers I’ve meet online!
5. Learning something new with each draft.

Five things I hate about writing…

1. Characters who won’t shut up.
2. Revisions.
3. Not finding that missing piece to the jigsaw puzzle.
4. Edits.
5. Oh, and more edits.

I’m going to take a page out of Brinda’s book and award both the Sunshine Award and the Fabulous Blog Ribbon to five writers. And because she says it so wonderfully…

Why? Because these writers certainly spread sunshine with their words. Their blogs are wonderful, and they are Fabulous Blog Ribbon worthy. They are welcome to indulge us with answers to the questions above if they like. Please go visit these bloggers and see why they are so special!

Natalie Hartford
Melanie Macek
Nadja Notariani
August McLaughin
Claire Hennessy

Sunday Summary & #ROW80

It’s a three-day weekend…which used to be so much more exciting when I was in school or worked outside the home, LOL.

Happy Memorial Day!

Sending out a huge Thank You to all military men and women, and their families!

1. The Writing: I continued to lurk in my class this week. Internet was out all day Thursday so I was able to catch up on some of my assignments though the intermittent outages on Friday and Saturday have kept me from loading them to the class forum thus far.
2. The Reading: Currently, I’m reading Nadja Notariani’s The Third Fate. Nadja is kicking off the summer by offering this gem for 99 cents! Come on, you know you want to.
3. Squee! I’m taking part in spreading some cover reveal goodness today. Weighted by Ciara Knight is a young adult post-apocalyptic (with paranormal elements) novelette. With this prequel novelette, releasing August 2012, Knight introduces us to The Neumarian Chronicles. Book I, Escapement, is due for release in 2013.

   Here’s the blurb:

   The Great War of 2185 is over, but my nightmare has just begun. I am being held captive in the Queen’s ship awaiting interrogation. My only possible ally is the princess, but I’m unsure if she is really my friend or a trap set by the Queen to fool me into sharing the secret of my gift. A gift I keep hidden even from myself. It swirls inside my body begging for release, but it is the one thing the Queen can never discover. Will I have the strength to keep the secret? I’ll know the answer soon. If the stories are true about the interrogators, I’ll either be dead or a traitor to my people by morning.

   Here’s the cover:
   
   Love it! You can even add this to your Goodreads list.

4. The Blogging: Again, nothing added to the queue and my cushion is getting smaller…yikes. For the most part, I think I hit my comment/share goals with the exception of Thursday.
5. Following a link in Amy Shojai’s Monday Mention post took me to 7 Keys to Blogging on a Consistent Basis by Kristin Nador. That post in turn led me to 4 Ways to Define Your Audience and The Hollywood Guide to a Better Blog Tagline. Holy smokes! So much fabulous info. Does your blog have a tagline? Does it describe your blog, or what you want your blog to say? I know mine doesn’t. I better get to work
6. The Social Media: I think this went fairly well but like last week I was really bad about tracking things. Lack of internet didn’t help at all…yes, I’m one of those who doesn’t have a phone to help me out in this area. Most of the time, I’m rather glad.
7. The Health: Back on track this week. Yay. The walking of the dog was still a bit hit and miss but we did get out three mornings. I actually met my water goal five of the last seven days. The more I do it the easier it becomes, or so I keep telling myself.
8. To support the awesomeness that is ROW80 you can go HERE

Tuesday Book Talk

Let’s talk books!

Just Read

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne (The Steampunk Chronicles) by Kady Cross

Why I picked it up: Lindsay Buroker mentioned it in her Fantasy-Steampunk E-Books list post and it was free. Win. This is a prequel to the Steampunk Chronicles of which The Girl in the Steel Corset (The Steampunk Chronicles) is the first book.

What I liked: Suspense with some horror, along the lines of Frankenstein, and the steampunk elements were seamlessly woven in. I thoroughly enjoyed the world Kady Cross built. The MC, Finley, was interesting without being over the top. While it stands alone, this freebie did exactly what the author was after…hooking my interest to read the series.

What I disliked: There was no real character arc but, as this is a prequel, I expect there will be more of that in the full-length stories within the series.

Reading

The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life by Noah Lukeman

Why I picked it up: I’d seen it recommended. It sounded worth a try if I could get my hands on a used copy…which I did.

What I like: The way this book is broken down. The Characterization sections have some thought provoking exercises. In fact, all the sections have good exercises. I think the Journey section is my favorite so far with Profound (realization and action) and Surface (recognizable marker of growth) character journeys. I’m looking forward to the Suspense, Conflict, Context, and Transcendency sections. I may even try plotting the shiny via this book.

What I dislike: The Characterization sections are mostly lists and focus on the physical (outer) aspects of character before exploring the inner working of character which I feel is backwards. Overall, I’m finding more I like than dislike about this craft book.

Will Read

That’s a really good question. I’ve been struggling to start Unholy Magic (Downside Ghosts, Book 2) by Stacia Kane. I’m sure the problem is the amount of time since reading the first book and I may need to re-read Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, Book 1).

Perhaps The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women: A Portable Mentor by Gail McMeekin

Why I picked this up: I saw a number of reviews and recommendations online. Words like “Empowering” and “Inspiring” and “Uplifting” peppered everything I saw about this book. One reviewer even said something to the effect of, “I felt I was sitting at the kitchen table getting the best news from a group of friends.” Sounded worth the read.

What I expect to like: The book is divided into three main “gateways” — Engaging Your Creativity, Mastering You Challenges, and Actualizing Creative Results (the Power of Positive Priorities). There are interviews, bit-sized memoirs, and quotes throughout. Each chapter has challenges, questions, that look like they are designed to help unlock creativity.

What I expect to dislike: Can’t think of anything from my glance though the book.

• And I’m looking forward toThe Third Fate from Nadja Notariani.

What are you reading and loving at the moment?