When Life Gives You Crazy

A question.  What do you do when your life goes boom? 

You disappear from twitter and blogger for a few months and go into hiding. 

Oops.  Here is my official apology don’t hate me for leaving for so long blog.  I’m sorry!  This blog was supposed to be my escape, but it’s hard to have time for an escape when the real world is holding you prisoner.  New job, longer hours, hitting a rough patch—not really the best inspiration fodder.  I know it’s a silly excuse, but I think we’ve all been there.  The blog is blinking at you.  You have ten e-mails from work to answer and they’re all asking you to do things you don’t have extra time for.  Your friends want you to go out for a drink but you can’t even bring yourself to do that, because you’re lying on your couch half catatonic and the only thing you want to do is spoon down some ice cream right out of the carton and watch reruns of <EM>The Vampire Diaries</EM>. 

Or maybe that’s just me.  Either way, we’re going to try to avoid that sad lazy feeling and get some good writing done.  <EM>Rebellion</EM> is back underway and I’m excited to get my life back on track.  They say the best cure for feeling down is getting out there and doing things.  Let’s see how that works.  

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher: A Review of an Astounding First Novel

Title:  Thirteen Reasons Why

Author:  Jay Asher

Format:  Paper, Kindle

Rating:  9.5 / 10

Description:  When Clay Jenson plays the casette tapes he received in a mysterious package, he's surprised to hear the voice of dead classmate Hannah Baker. He's one of 13 people who receive Hannah's story, which details the circumstances that led to her suicide. Clay spends the rest of the day and long into the night listening to Hannah's voice and going to the locations she wants him to visit. The text alternates, sometimes quickly, between Hannah's voice (italicized) and Clay's thoughts as he listens to her words, which illuminate betrayals and secrets that demonstrate the consequences of even small actions.

In a market where the loudest voices are the teen girls with their breathtaking romances, the problems of the ordinary teen are often neglected.  There’s nothing wrong with these books.  They’re thrilling and a perfect escape from an ordinary life.  But ordinary life is important too, and there aren’t many teenagers out there whose problems include a vampire-werewolf love triangle or their own budding magical powers.  Friends and family are left to the wayside, and the boy problems become the only problems.  Yet teens go through so much, that every problem should have a voice.  Jay Asher brings us this voice as Hannah Baker in Thirteen Reasons Why. 

From first page to last, the book is a blinding race.  We open on Clay, the narrator, the good boy still reeling over his schoolmate’s death.  Only now he knows her story, and is passing it on to the next listener.  After this prologue, the reader teeters on the top of a peak as we backtrack to Clay first discovering the thirteen tapes and Hannah’s demand:  Listen to them all.  Find out what you did to contribute to my suicide.  Then pass them onto the next person on the list.  Thirteen names, a multitude of little crimes that build on each other.  I started the book at night, planning on reading a little before bed.  I went to sleep at nine in the morning.  Once you start, you’re drawn into Hannah’s tale.  Her voice talks to you as much as Clay; like him, you feel responsible for her.  Indebted.  You can’t stop, because you must know what happened to her, even if you already know how it ended. 

Sometimes I kept skimming Clay’s parts and having to re-read them because I was so engrossed in Hannah’s story; though his voice becomes stronger as time goes on, and it becomes clearer how much he cared for her.  You feel for him too, confused and lost, unsure what he did to drive Hannah to the edge, following her map from place to place and listening to all the little things that sucked the joy from her life.  You can’t give up until he does, and he never does.  Clay and I both sat awake through the night, listening.  And Hannah’s story grabs hold of you and never lets go.  She seems like a sweet, funny, friendly girl in a new place.  Not ever the kind who’d dream of killing herself.  Yet, a single rumor changes her life forever.  Suddenly people see her in a twisted light, and treat her as though the rumors are true.  Each action alone seems unimportant to the actors, but together they weave a tragic story of a teenage girl losing her faith in herself, in people, in life. 

Her voice is remarkably strong, at times tragic, at times funny and irreverent, at times terrified.  So compelling that when I found my paper copy had the last thirty pages misprinted, I bought it on Kindle at eight in the morning just to finish it.  Hannah’s ending is set from the beginning; Clay’s shows hope, and a new understanding of just what little actions can mean, for good or bad.  This is the message that Asher spreads, and it’s something that teens need to hear.  There are thousands of Hannah’s whose voices are never heard.  It’s my hope that people will embrace this book and better understand their suffering classmates.  That the sufferers will draw strength from it and search for help.  Websites along with the book help readers explore Hannah's world, listen to her tapes, and learn more about suicide and how to prevent it.  

Fantasy and romance is fun, but suicide is a crucial issue for young people.  Jay Asher brings it into the open in a way that is accessible, compelling, and above all sensitive to the complicated issues behind it.  A fantastic book that everyone should take a look at.  

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, the people at Hopeline can help.  http://www.hopeline.com/ 

The Fold, Live in Millennium Park

So I happened to be in Chicago yesterday, and I was walking on Michigan Avenue when I heard a ton of noise coming from Millennium park.  Good noise.  Musical noise.  Apparently there was a small show in the skating rink.  Sounds good to me.  I headed in, grabbed a drink and a seat, and watched the guys from The Fold jumping on stage like they were having the time of their lives.  That’s what first got me interested.  None of that stiff, angsty crouching, or flashy posing.  They looked like they were up there jamming in someone’s garage, playing around and bantering with each other and joking with the audience.    

Their sound was anything but garage.  Looking to the old Chicago scene, I’d compare them to a punked up Plain White T’s, or the drastically underappreciated Lucky Boys Confusion.  But that doesn’t really do them justice, because their sound was their own.  A smooth pop punk with energetic melodies and playful lyrics.  Their cover of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” was hysterical and humbly interjected with “I don’t know French,” and they even did a rendition of “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z.  A song I hate passionately.  And guess what?  I loved it. 

Not to mention their own stuff, songs that remind me of the days when the popular radio stations still played Green Day, Third Eye Blind, and Fall Out Boy.  Good pop.  The kind that sticks with you.  The five dollar CD I bought instantly after the concert was a steal.  Best part?  The guys were hanging out signing whatever people would throw at them; not just taking stuff and handing it back with an aloof smile, but actually talking with their fans and taking an interest.  That’s something I can never appreciate enough.  Good music is well and fine, but it’s better when it’s played by good people.  People who don’t forget their roots. 

And guess what?  They had lyrics about real things, like girlfriends and heartbreak and waiting for the future and just having the kind of fun that normal people have.  Something I’ve been missing these days in a radio culture full of club stuff.  Katy Perry and Kesha are fun to dance to, but Katy’s lost her voice in the last few years and Kesha’s songs are fun but very similar.  For both of them, like so many others, it comes down to this:  I don’t go out and get drunk and forget what I did all the time.  So those songs don’t exactly touch me on an emotional level.  The Fold?  Now these are songs I could drive with my best friend to.  Meet a new crush.  Jam to in my pj’s when I’m alone in my apartment feeling down. 

So kudos, guys.  You have something special.  Oh, and the CD is now on permanent rotation in my car.  

Trylle Covers and Cassandra Clare at last!

Just a short post today before I run off to meet my mother for shopping (you’re never too old to shop with your mother!).  First off, I’m extremely excited that I finally found a print copy of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare at Borders.  I’m still sad that Borders is leaving me, but at least I’ve gotten loads and loads of books out of it.  Now I can read the Mortal Instruments series before I crack into Infernal Devices, and see what all this well-deserved hubbub is about.  I’m so jealous of the covers too.  They’re gorgeous. 

Speaking of covers, Amanda Hocking’s new Trylle covers are out.  I’ll admit they make a lot more sense than her original covers, which just seemed pretty but kind of random to me, but I’m still not totally satisfied.  Maybe because I’m getting a little tired of the pretty girl + mysterious object + dark lighting + swirls formula.  Especially pretty girl in dress.  Don’t people ever do scenes from the book as covers anymore?  The cover for Ascend is the prettiest and it makes the throne look appropriately scary and treacherous, which works.  However I think the swirlies around the titles make it look a little amateur Photoshop.  And I don’t get the flowers.  Why is she in fields with flowers?  There’s only one garden mentioned in the books and it hardly comes in.  But ignore all my complaining.  They are very pretty looking. 

I’ve got Firelight by Sophie Jordan now, but I’m still on the lookout for a cheaper copy of Delirium.  I just can’t afford a seventeen dollar hardcover, it seems so expensive even though it’s really pretty.  Maybe I’ll check on Amazon. 

Onward to the stores!  

Kit-in-the-Candlestick by Nixie Turner: A Successful Adventure into Lighthearted Fantasy

Title:  Kit-in-the-Candlestick

Author:  Nixie Turner

Format:  Kindle

Rating:  7 / 10

Description:  When Mopsa discovers the secret that lead to the death of her father, she runs away and finds herself late at night in the doorway of a mysterious shop on one of York’s ancient streets. She tries the door handle and tumbles inside, only to find herself banished to the strange and inhospitable land of Lethe.

Pursued by hidden enemies, and in a desperate race against time, she attempts to discover the whereabouts of a missing girl and unlock the magic within her amethyst necklace. On her journey, she meets Tom, a boy as lost as she is, and together they try and find their way home.

Kit-in-the-Candlestick is a fantasy novel for older children and young adults with magic, mystery and romance. 

Nixie Turner’s Kit-in-the-Candlestick is a refreshing return to traditional fantasy in a market dominated by horror-based romance, with a modern feel that keeps it fresh and a light-hearted tone that allows for danger while still keeping everything fun and exciting.  The general feel of the story reminds me favorably of Diana Wynne Jones (an author I don’t compare to lightly).  I couldn’t quite figure out why the story had to be set in Lethe (her name for Limbo) rather than just a fantasy world beyond the door (ala Gaiman’s Stardust).  One, Lethe is the river in the Greek underworld whose waters caused spirits to forget their past lives, while Mopsa never experienced forgetting.  Two, the world did not seem very much like a Limbo, but more like a medieval landscape.  I don’t think the story would lose anything being set in only a medieval world; however to be Limbo, I think the setting needed darker, more supernatural elements and a much more forbidding environment, whereas Mopsa seemed pretty comfortable most of the time.  (And why “Mopsa”?)  

The plot itself begins a little slowly.  The language can be a little heavy-handed in some places, with too much description and not enough action, or overly repetitious passages.  However the majority of the writing is simple and clear, allowing the reader to move quickly through the story and focus on the characters and plot.  The prologue could be taken out without changing anything; it continues with a ghost tour that is never mentioned again and a tarot card reading that serves only to signify that something will happen, which the reader already knows.  However, it picks up dramatically when Mopsa reaches the inn in Cyanesglade.  Turner uses this seemingly peaceful time very well to sow seeds of the mystery of Janas, Elizabeth, Tilda, and the necklace.  These chapters create a sense of impending danger that pushes the reader forward, eager to learn more.  More scenes with Janas in the very beginning would help establish his villainous ways better than Elizabeth just saying he’s terrible, but his later actions make up for his early absence.  Once they leave Cyanesglade with Wilberfoss and Tom, the plot races forward to the very end and it’s hard to stop reading; you always want one more page. 

Overall, the plot is very original, with an unexpected final twist that made me slap myself in the forehead; Turner sets it up so carefully and so early that you’d never see it coming, but when it does, it makes perfect sense and really adds strength to the story.  The romance between Tom and Mopsa is built on friendship, develops slowly, and has its fair share of snags; a sweet alternative to the whirlwind love affairs that develop in seconds in other books.  Overall, Mopsa’s search for home, the secret of the necklace, and the relation of Lethe to her world are well done.  The combination of old English superstitions with a modern fantasy sensibility makes for an exciting, whimsical adventure that feels new. 

My only criticism on the plot is a certain lack of danger.  There are many places where Mopsa and her friends have the opportunity to be in real trouble, but everyone escapes without a scratch.  Even at the end, how quickly they escape Lethe doesn’t really matter.  As a result, Janas doesn’t feel like a very dangerous villain and Mopsa’s story lacks urgency.  The endearing characters kept me reading because I truly cared for them by the end, but I kept wishing that something really terrible would happen to one of them to add spice to the story.  Even so, Turner makes up for it with an ending that is sweet but not entirely perfect; a great bittersweet ending for a modern fairy tale.  The book is self-contained and satisfying as a single, but I would be pleased to hear more adventures of Lethe. 

As a first effort, Kit-in-the-Candlestick is a successful novel.  It relies on some contrived situations and miraculously easy escapes that might annoy older readers and its language shows room for improvement.  However, its plot is very original and has the rare quality of feeling like a fresh new world with characters you can really care about; even when the plot lags, they’re so endearing and interesting that you can’t help but go on.  The final twist and ending is satisfying and clever, justifying every page.  Turner shows great promise as a writer, with all the positives there, just waiting for a little maturing and a little tightening.  I look forward to her next book!  

What ever happened to 90s music?

What ever happened to 90s music?  Yes, I know, the 90s are over, but is there a reason that all the good stuff vanished?  Don’t mistake me here.  Stuff like Katy Perry and Kesha is fun to dance to, and Adelle has a wonderful voice.  However the sound of today’s popular stuff is very different than what it used to be.  The music of the early 2000s has an electronic feel that looks back to the 80s, but without the really noticeable electric guitar and opera-like vocals.  Pop punk, dance pop, and hip hop has taken center stage.  It’s fun and bouncy, but it leaves me missing something. 

The power pop of the 90s (thanks, Wikipedia, for telling me what it was!) has such a distinctive sound.  All the bands still managed to sound unique and interesting in their own ways, but still.  You hear a song by the Wallflowers, Third Eye Blind, Matchbox 20, Barenaked Ladies, or any of the one hit wonders ... it just screams 90s.  It’s the soft male vocals.  The bouncy power chords.  The really cheery beats hiding really somber, trippy lyrics.  They were fun songs about life, love, and death in the modern landscape, without all the oversexed stuff that’s everywhere nowadays, and doesn’t really have anything to do with me or my life. 

Which is the big issue.  I don’t go to clubs and wear fishnets and have Rihanna-style weird sexcapades.  I can’t really relate to that.  It’s fun to dance to, but at the end of the day it doesn’t really draw an emotional reaction.  I forget about those songs as soon as they’re off the radio.  But I won’t forget about listening to “One Headlight” by the Wallflowers when I was feeling down over my first crush, or “Semicharmed Life” by Third Eye Blind driving and head bopping in the car with my best friend, or “3am” by Matchbox 20 after my first hard breakup.  Dance pop is fun, but 90s songs just get inside your head and heart in a way that Kesha and Gaga can’t. 

So I’m crossing my fingers, hoping that a few new bands will go back and take a look at what we’re all missing.  

Short Excerpt from Rebellion #2

In honor of me having visitors, it's time for excerpt day!

"

I heard them groan and complain loudly.  A breaking news bulletin had just flashed across the screen, interrupting the adorable canine antics.  I wasn’t paying attention until I heard the word “boardwalk.”  

“Sh!” I told them, leaning closer to the television.  

“I repeat, the body of an unidentified girl has just been found at Hargren Pier on the boardwalk.  The police have stated that they will not release full details until the girl has been identified and the family contacted.  They will not confirm a cause of death until the autopsy has been performed, but they have ruled out natural causes.  There are no suspects at this time.  If you have any information, please...”  

My heart was thumping so heavily that I couldn’t hear the rest.  The bowl of cereal went limp in my hand, sloshing milk all over the floor.  

“Whoa, watch out!” dad said, scooting away from the puddle.  

“Sorry...I’ll get that,” I said. My mouth was moving on auto-pilot.  All I could hear was the news story, playing over and over like a scratched CD.  No matter how many times I told myself that it was just coincidence, I couldn’t shake the chill that made my skin permanently goosebumped.  By then, the dancing dog had returned and dad and Jake were chuckling again.  Unable to finish my cereal, I threw it in the sink and ran upstairs to my room, heart pounding like I was being chased.  

Not even twelve hours earlier, I was sitting on that boardwalk next to Tyler. Now the police were investigating a murder.  They hadn’t exactly said “murder”, but the reporter had made it pretty damn obvious.  The question that made my head throb as I sunk onto my bed was, how the hell did Tyler know this was going to happen?  

I hadn’t jumped to that conclusion immediately.  My first thought after hearing the announcement was how if I had just stayed at the boardwalk last night like I wanted, that could have been me.  If mom knew I’d been there, she’d probably never let me out of the house again.  Then slowly it dawned on me.  Last night, when Tyler had demanded we leave, I had been so flustered that I’d assumed he was angry.  However now I remembered him looking at the sky with that odd expression in his eyes, and I realized what it was.  Tyler had been afraid.  Somehow, he’d known this was going to happen.  I had to talk to him.  

I was about to storm out to the car but I stopped dead in my doorway when I realized that one, I was still wearing my duckie pajamas, and two, Tyler could be the murderer.  

"

Teen Actresses in Too-Serious Roles, or I just don't get Seyfried and Stewart

I just don’t quite get the Amanda Seyfried craze.  She was cute and funny in Mean Girls as the ditzy friend, but I never expected to see her in leading roles.  Maybe for something lighthearted and silly like Mamma Mia, but I just finished watching Red Riding Hood and I have to say, I don’t see what all the fuss is about.  She’s pretty.  She’s sweet.  However she still doesn’t have the maturity and depth needed for a dark role.  Her voice is always light and airy even when the mood is very serious.  I couldn’t really feel the burning love she had for Peter, or her fear in front of the wolf, or her anger at her mother or the searchers.  She didn’t seem to take those things seriously, and so I couldn’t take the movie seriously.  I’m sure she’s a lovely girl and she may be a great actress someday, but right now, I think they’re throwing her into roles she’s not ready for. 

It’s the Kristen Stewart effect.  A lot of people like her.  I’m not convinced.  In Adventureland, the character called for someone emotionless and monotone.  She was perfect.  In Twilight and the sequels, I just can’t feel Bella’s obsessive love radiating from her, or her spirit of sacrifice, or her doubt or fear.  Everything she says is flat.  Again, she’s cute, but there’s no fire or spirit in her.  When I learned she was picked to play Snow White too, I was disappointed.  So many feisty young actress like Alexandra Daddarios, Ashley Greene, or Emily Browning who could really be the strong, armor-clad Snow White, and they fold to Twiteen-pressure.  It’ll catch all the Meyer fans, but as far as making a good movie, they could have gone far better with an unknown. 

I don’t mean to be mean.  Acting isn’t exactly my forte.  I just think it’s disappointing that Hollywood seems to be picking its teen actors by the trends, while sidelining a lot of great, talented girls who don’t yet have the Twilight stamp of approval, so to speak.  Girls like Seyfried and Stewart have roles that fit their particular talents, but in the dark, serious roles they’re being given, they just don’t convince me.  

E-Publishing vs. Printing, or You Just Can't Flip Through a Kindle

Don’t misunderstand me.  I really, really love my Kindle.  The convenient purse size.  The light weight.  The smooth screen with its cheery soft glow.  The fact that I can pack 50 books for my flight instead of just one or two. 

At the same time, I feel like a traitor.  With Borders closing, I can’t help but wonder ... is it my Kindle that did it?  Not just mine obviously, but many Kindles owned by people like me.  Booklovers who would normally be buying all those books in paper and shelling out our money to Borders, not Amazon.  Sure, Barnes & Noble is still in business, but how long before they’re just a front website for Nook? 

I stare at my Kindle and I realize that it’s just not the same.  You can’t walk through Amazon.  You can’t stand in the middle of the shelves scanning book spines, looking for a title or cover that interests you.  You can’t pick up a book and flip through it.  Scrolling down a page of tiny book-shaped gifs doesn’t really have the same personal feel.  It’s like shopping for clothes online.  What looks really cute on the skinny gorgeous model just may not work out for you unless you try it on first. 

No matter how many numbers and parameters and excerpts Amazon gives you, it just isn’t the same as picking up the book yourself and taking a look.  The reading experience is all different too.  Kindle books can’t have those uneven edges like in Series of Unfortunate Events that make the book look old.  They all have the same typeface.  And face it, knowing that you’re on location 3457 out of 5086 just isn’t as satisfying as looking at the big hunk of pages you’ve already finished and seeing the little sliver ahead of you. 

However we also live in a time where being global and saving energy is important.  Kindle books do use a lot less paper than real books.  You can also reach an audience of billions instead of just thousands.  So why do authors like Amanda Hocking still want those paper copies?  Because reaching an audience is great, but hardcore booklovers just won’t compromise on the real thing.  Even if I read a book on Kindle and love it, I’m still going to buy a copy to slide onto my shelf. 

Maybe it’s a little wasteful, but look at it on the bright side.  When the dystopian apocalypse comes and the EMPs hit, at least I’ll have something to read.  

Research and the Fiction Writing Process, or Save Your Dignity and Google

Inspired by yesterday’s post, I decided to write a little about research.  I mentioned that research can do a lot to help you get inside the head of a character who is very different from you.  However research is also crucial to making your story realistic.  This may be obvious if you’re writing a story about medieval England or an underdog baseball team.  Yet many authors skip this step even when it’s obviously needed; even fewer authors make an effort to fact-check more minor details.  Even these minor details can be a real pain in the reader’s neck. 

It shows in your work, and makes you look lazy.  Now, I’m going to pick on Stephenie Meyer because she makes enough money that I feel she can take the hit.  In Eclipse, Rosalie explains that she lived in comfort during the Great Depression because her father was a banker.  Can anyone tell me what happened to the banks after the stock market crashed, because I’m pretty sure that they lost thousands upon millions of dollars.  She would have been bankrupt, not on track to marry a rich bachelor.  Not all mistakes are that blatant, but they can still make you look silly.  In Breaking Dawn, Bella and Edward go to Rio and drive west to reach the ocean.  However, Rio is on the east coast.  It may be small, but to someone who knows where Rio is, it’s jarring and makes them wonder why Meyer couldn’t have taken five minutes on Google to look at a map. 

Another famous example that grinds my teeth:  Amanda Hocking’s fictional language, Tryllic.  She claims that it looks like both Arabic and Cyrillic, but not Greek.  First of all, Cyrillic and Arabic look nothing alike.  Cyrillic has separate letters; Arabic’s letters are flowing and they connect in an elaborate cursive.  So maybe Tryllic (Tryllic – Cyrillic, get it?) manages to look like a mix of both.  So how does it not look anything like Greek, when the Cyrillic alphabet is the Greek alphabet with a few minor variations and extra letters?  Again, many readers won’t notice this, but when you do, it rips you out of the action and makes you doubt the authenticity of the fictional world. 

The examples go on, and it’s not only Meyer who’s guilty.  Some amateur fantasy authors think they can get away without doing research because they’re not writing about the real world.  However, the parts that should be the same are problematic.  If your fantasy army is still fighting with medieval-era weapons, then chances are, these weapons aren’t all that different from the Earth versions.  No, I don’t care how big and burly your hero is.  He’s not wielding a 20-pound broadsword.  Even if he could hold it aloft for more than a few minutes, he would be killed in minutes by an opponent with a faster blade.  Even the heaviest swords were only around 5 pounds (Three minutes on Google: http://www.thehaca.com/essays/weights.htm).  So whenever I see someone writing about their hero (or worse, heroine) wielding a sword that weighs a fifth of what they do, I cringe, and it’s harder to take the author seriously.  Another grievous example:  horses.  They’re not cars.  They can’t go a hundred miles a day at a full gallop, or they’ll break a leg or die.  A trained endurance horse can do 100 maximum, at a walk. 

So you see, many authors put these facts in without looking them up.  They either think they know the answer or just don’t want to put in the extra effort.  Many readers will be fooled.  However, to the readers who happen to know something about the real facts, the author will look lazy and the reader will be pulled out of the story--the last thing you ever want to happen.  Now we’ve all been guilty of it.  You think you know the answer, you’re not quite sure, but you just want to get that passage written.  Or maybe you just have the wrong answer stuck in your head and you don’t know it’s wrong.  I’ve done it.  Everyone has.  However, even if you think you’re sure, it’s worth it to take the extra effort and look it up.  Even J.K. Rowling has been guilty, with her infamous math mistakes.  You may still have a fantastic, compelling story.  However if you skip the research step, you’re going to lose any readers who do have a clue, when a little bit of Googling or a couple of books on medieval military practice could have impressed your readers with your story’s authenticity, rather than making them roll their eyes.  

Getting into Character, or How to Write People Nothing Like You

How do you get into character when your mind just won’t wrap around it?  It’s a problem I’ve been having lately.  Writing a teen romance when you’ve just gotten out of a relationship may seem like good therapy, but parts of it are torture.  Staying true to the character of your heroine when you’re down in the dumps and she’s giddy and giggly with the thrill of a new relationship is tortuous.  My teen readers would be a little put off if all Chloe wants to do is mope on Tyler’s shoulder. 

But this isn’t just a problem of moods.  What about a character who’s much older than you, or much younger?  A character who was born in a drastically different tax bracket.  One who lives in a different state, a different country, a different time.  One who’s sadistic, histrionic, affected by a medical condition or psychological disorder.  How do you get into the head of someone whose head is practically another planet? 

The easy answer is not to write about such people, but that’s no fun.  “Write what you know” stops being good advice when you realize that writing about a middle class girl in her twenties with all the same traits you have doesn’t really give your imagination much of a workout. 

The best answer I’ve found is to people watch.  Don’t stalk them.  That’s illegal, and creepy.  However there are plenty of subjects around all the time.  Whenever I’m in a crowded place, I find myself zoning out and watching people interact.  The airport is the best--people at their most stressed, so all the masks tend to slip.  It’s not going to give you much of fifteenth century England or your sadistic alien Glork, but hey, you can pick up a lot of interesting accents and behavior peculiarities.  You may not remember much about being a little kid, but watch a few and you’ll start to see the ways they talk and make up words and move through the world.  Watch your friends.  They probably won’t mind too much, and you know them better than anyone else. 

The other best answer:  read.  Reading nonfiction gives you the details you need, whether it’s history about Victorian manners, a memoir of someone growing up in poverty, or a case study of someone struggling with a mental disorder.  Your imagination can take you far, but there are some situations that are impossible to understand if you don’t have original source material.  So writing a happy, bubbly character when you’re feeling depressed only requires remember how to feel happy, but writing an inner city kid or a soldier will sound flat if you don’t know what you’re talking about, even offensive.  It’s easy to tell when an author hasn’t bothered to fact check; don’t be that guy. 

Another solution:  take it to the extreme.  You may not be a villain, but you’ve definitely been mean to someone before.  Well what if you actually said all those things you keep to yourself, because you know they’d hurt someone?  Bingo.  Evil baddie.  Aren’t one of those happy, bubbly people we talked about earlier, who are outgoing with everyone?  You’ve had outgoing moments though.  Think of those and multiply them by ten. 

It’s not an exhaustive list, just things I’ve been brainstorming while trying to solve my Chloe problem.  Really getting into a character and writing them like they’re part of you takes more than just watching people, reading their stories, or taking your own traits to the next level ... but everyone needs to start somewhere.  Time to go eat some chocolate, watch The Matrix, and borrow some of Neo’s killer confidence.  Next step, write a fun happy Chloe.  

Literature after Harry Potter and the Fate of Fantasy

Looking back over the last two decades, there’s only one book series that has truly defined it.  Harry Potter.  J.K. Rowling captured even the attention of adults with her magical series, but it’s really those of us who were children or adults when the books came out who have felt it the most.  Harry was our idol.  We wanted to befriend him, or be him.  We waited in ridiculous midnight lines to get the books before anyone else could, and when those ended, we had the movies to look forward to.  After going to see the last movie this week, I was left with just one thought: what now? 

Where does children’s and young adult fiction go from here?  It’s a complicated answer.  The big question hinges on the divide between Harry Potter and Twilight.  Now obviously a lot of people really like both series, but looking at bookshelves these days, there’s a clear split.  Twilight and its massive popularity among teen girls sparked a huge flood of vampire books.  As those got saturated, the flood waters turned to angels, sirens, werewolves, even trolls.  High fantasy poked its head out a little, but horror with a big thread of romance won out.  Vampire Diaries.  Mortal Instruments.  Firelight.  Now dystopian is huge, but it just seems to be taking over where horror left off.  Teens are looking for something dark.  Wild.  Adventurous.  They want blood, danger, and obsessive, passionate romance.  Everything has to push the limits of reality and drive every emotion to its painful extreme.  The lead characters are strong heroines surrounded by dark bad boys and broken families and worlds. 

Even Harry Potter got a little dark towards the end, but overall, it was something lighter and more whimsical than the dark YA stuff we’re seeing.  Harry and his friends lived in a world with silly names, crazy creatures, spells that could make you tapdance and grow feathers.  Romance existed, but it never overshadowed the wild magical adventures or epic good-and-evil plot.  So where are all the Potter copycats?  They’ve been left behind in children’s fiction: Spiderwick, Percy Jackson, Eragon.  These heroes are boys with vast destinies in worlds of mythology and legend.  Magic is a force for good but always tinged with the opposing evil. 

So what is it that has made teenage girls in dark worlds the queens of teen lit, and kept high fantasy and its magic and chosen boys back in childhood?  More girls seem to keep reading into their teen years than boys.  Girls are also more willing to read about a male hero than boys are to read about a female one.  There are exceptions obviously.  Many boys devour today’s teen lit.  But the trends are clear.  Perhaps horror is too dark for young readers, and authors choose male heroes to catch the most readers.  However why hasn’t high fantasy made the same impact in the teen world as horror has?  Where are all the wizards?  Why did Harry Potter bridge the child-adult gap while no one else can?  And when did the romantic subplot and female lead become a necessity?  Can high fantasy fit in to this new stormy landscape? 

To the last question: maybe.  High fantasy is just plain hard.  Building a huge new fantasy world, even wrapped up on Earth, takes a lot of imagination and a lot of time.  Not all authors want to tackle that.  It’s much easier to pick a fantasy creature, stick it in human’s clothing in a normal high school, and make it fall in love with a normal girl.  That’s not saying there aren’t a lot of well developed supernaturals out there, but you aren’t seeing the big developed worlds anymore.  As for the wizards, maybe magic is just too easy for today’s teens.  High fantasy lends itself to big epic battles between the forces of good and evil, with plenty of magic thrown in.  However today’s teens are looking for an evil that’s more human.  The supernatural creatures are more like broken people, with their own fears, motivations, and complications.  The dystopian empires are run by real faces with real political goals. 

And maybe that’s one thing Harry Potter really did right.  Voldemort was no faceless evil without a past; he had a name, a history, a broken childhood that we saw more and more with each book.  We met his Death Eaters and knew their stories.  We knew what they fought for, and it wasn’t just power.  There was good and evil, but it wasn’t ever black and white.  If high fantasy has a hope of breaking into the teen market where it’s been dormant for so long, it needs to modernize.  Find a more human evil.  Tap into something darker and more emotional.  Playful, whimsical fantasy will always have its place in children’s lit, but teens need something that makes sense in a real world filled with tragedy and growing pains.  There will never be another Harry Potter, but with Rowling’s example and a new face, wizards, dragons, and magic can still live on.  

What's new on Evie's bookshelf

Well I am back from my vacation!  I guess I probably should have announced it before I went, but a stupid little part of me though, “Oh hey I’ll have my computer. I’ll have plenty of time to blog while I’m gone.”  Yeah clearly that worked out very well.  I have missed you all but it was great having a break.  I got to see a bunch of old friends and new cities and I think I ate enough good food to keep me alive for a week without eating, so I call that a success. 

Since I just went to the bookstore, today will be a New Books day! 

13 Reasons Why – Jay Asher

I had no idea that this book existed when I walked into the bookstore, but the collage-style cover looked so cool on the New Teen Books rack that I just gravitated towards it.  I can’t wait to read.  It’s Asher’s debut novel and it’s already gotten a lot of good buzz.  The story follows teenager Clay who receives a package containing the recorded voice of Hannah, a classmate who recently committed suicide.  The tapes lead him through the story leading up to her death, and the secrets behind it.  It sounds incredibly powerful and according to the reviews, well done.  I’ll have a review up for it soon! 

Vampire Diaries – LJ Smith

Okay so it doesn’t really count since I’ve read them, but I had only borrowed them from a friend before so now I have my very own set!  I think I’m going to read them over.  I like TV Elena better because she’s less perfect and more realistic as a teenager, but I miss the depth you get with each of the characters in the books. 

City of Ashes – Cassandra Clare

I’ve been wanting to read the Mortal Instruments series forever.  What’s not to love about a book that contains demons, demon hunters who may or may not be as scary as the demons, fallen angels, and poor mortals with strange powers trapped in the crossfire?  This isn’t just teen romance; there’s real danger and an epic fantasy plot driving the characters along.  It was on the bargain rack but they were out of the first one, so I’ll have to keep looking. 

Clockwork Prince – Cassandra Clare

First in the Infernal Devices series.  This series explains everything behind the first book: what happened before the Shadowhunters caught up with Clary?  I’m really tempted to read this first since it’s technically the prequel to the other series, but then I’ll just have to wait longer for the rest to come out.  What do you think, fans?  Read the Mortal Instruments first even though they come later chronologically? 

So that’s what’s on my bookshelf right now.  I can’t wait to start reading!  

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi: Cover Review

Yes, if you hadn't noticed, I'm obsessed with covers.  This one struck me as soon as I saw it in a friend's twitter link about Dystopian books.  The two-colored shattered glass effect is astoundingly pretty.  Glitter always catches my eye and the way this sparkle explodes out towards the reader just pulls you in towards the book.  Best part?  Apparently, according to the Hollywood Crush interview, the shatter effect was pulled off with some tricky camera effects that use lights and long exposures to create photos where light is the paint (hence, light painting).  Check out this amazing photo I found for another example.  The idea for the double text on the top tagline is also cool, reminding you of the two-worlds effect.  

However, the text is my least favorite part of the cover.  The strikeout through one of the taglines looks wobbly and strange with the dropshadow; it looks like something a kid would do in Photoshop.  The Shatter Me text is a cool idea, but the stark black text doesn't match the shadowed text at all, and it's SO black against a very light part of the background that it doesn't seem to fit.  The red comes from nowhere; I think it would have looked better in a light color.  On another note, what's with the dress?  This book is about a girl who starts off in prison in a dying world, right?  Is she going to a prison ball?  

Overall, A- for the cover.  Beautiful photography and layout, but the text is a little cheesy.  

Best movie quotes of all time...for now

Today I’m exhausted from writing about two thousand words of Rebellion, so it’s going to be list day!  This is a very capricious list, because it’s only the first ten to come to mind and they’re not really in any good order except for the last two.  So here it goes: 

10.  Fight Club – “His name is Robert Paulsen.”  Many

[Creepy, key point in the movie, where the narrator is sort of trying to take over but the cult is just too far gone.  Always gives me chills.] 

9.  Constantine – “Right, John, you did tell me to move it, but if you would have told me there was a three hundred pound mirror you were dropping with a pissed-off demon, I would have moved it further, John!”  Chas Kramer

[It’s not the most epic of lines, but it’s just so hysterical.  Shia makes a really good spastic sidekick.] 

8. Edward Scissorhands – “You see, before he came down here, it never snowed. And afterwards, it did. If he weren't up there now... I don't think it would be snowing. Sometimes you can still catch me dancing in it.”  Kim  

[So one of the most famous in the movie, but it’s so absolutely pretty with the snow in the background and it makes me cry.]

7. Pride and Prejudice – “As it is I wouldn't dance with him for all of Darbyshire, let alone the miserable half.”  Elizabeth Bennett

[It would be one of Darcy’s if I could add the video with his gorgeous puppy eyes, but this one I like because it’s Lizzie being feisty.] 

6.  Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure – “Deacon, do you realize you have just stranded one of Europe's greatest leaders in San Dimas?” Theodore Logan

[There’s just something so wonderfully ridiculous about the idea of losing Napoleon in a California water park.  Gets me every time.] 

5. The Dark Knight – “You see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!” 

[Just seems kind of insightful.  Plus Heath’s facial expressions make it.] 

4.  Fight Club – “I am Jack’s smirking revenge.” Edward Norton  

[Classic.  More chills.] 

3.  Say Anything – “I gave her my heart.  She gave me a pen.”  Lloyd

[It’s the best romantic movie line ever because the pen part makes it not be sappy, so it’s just really sweet and, well, Lloyd.] 

2.  V for Vendetta -  “He was Edmond Dantes... and he was my father. And my mother... my brother... my friend. He was you... and me. He was all of us.”  Evey Hammond

[Epic.  It’s just such a sweet tribute to V and it takes the whole movie’s theme and manages to make it really short and sweet.] 

1.  The Dark Knight – “Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.”  Lt. Gordon

[More epic.  The narration over Batman escaping with the sad music is just the most heartwrenching scene ever.] 

Now I think I’m going to go watch Princess Bride again…. Which didn’t make the list only because of silly author oversight.  So number 11, “Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line!”  

Trylle's Switched: Okay Start for a Snazzy Trilogy

Title:  Switched

Author:  Amanda Hocking

Format:  Kindle

Rating:  5 / 10

When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy finds out her mother might've been telling the truth. 

With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - and it's one she's not sure if she wants to be a part of.

I’ve been meaning to do this for a while.  I know tons of people have reviewed it, but there are just a few things that I haven’t really seen mentioned that I think need to be addressed.  I’ve read four (about to be five) books by Hocking and of them all, Switched is my least favorite.  The two sequels, Torn and Ascend, really showcase Hocking’s great talent for fast-paced drama, quirky characterization, and guilty-pleasure romance.  Switched just doesn’t seem to fit. 

That isn’t to say that it’s a bad book.  As far as your superstar paranormal romance authors are concerned (yes, we’re talking Stephenie Meyer here) she has a much better grasp on drama.  The psycho-mother prologue yanks you into the story, since (a) what heartless reader wouldn’t feel bad for a six-year-old being attacked by her mother and (b) it’s impossible to read that scene and not long to know what terrible truth made Kim Everly try to kill her daughter.  Then suddenly, we meet Wendy’s potential stalker, who can barely reveal her real past to her before the baddies come to attack.  Hocking doesn’t waste time with long opening expositions; she lets you meet her characters on the fly and make your own impressions, which is always appreciated. 

Unfortunately, the gripping pace that she keeps up through My Blood Approves, Fate, and Flutter is derailed in Switched.  The beginning is frenetic.  Wendy is barely introduced before we learn the mystery of Finn Holmes, her heart is won and broken by Finn, and she finds out her true Trylle heritage.  Her romance with Finn, one of the key elements of Switched and still integral in Torn and Ascend, begins with a few teenage heart flutters, staring contests, and about three minutes of dancing.  Suddenly they’re in love, even though almost every conversation they have throughout the first part of the book reads like a Trylle lesson.  All they’ve got is a well of sexual tension, which is enough for teenage infatuation but doesn’t properly set up the intense love they allegedly share by the second book.  Unfortunately, his hard, excessively dutiful personality makes a genuine emotional relationship between the two difficult to swallow.  (And what’s so “endearing” about being a “damn psychopath”, I want to know?  Let’s nip the trend of stalker-crushes in the bud.) 

She won me back with Rhys, Willa, Elora, and Tove, supporting characters who often steal the show from Wendy with their strong personalities.  Tove, the quirky, distractible son of a rival noble, is probably my favorite character in the whole series (if you don’t count the generic but adorably snarky Loki, introduced in Torn).  Yet, like most of the characters, Tove doesn’t truly shine in Switched, receiving only brief, unsatisfactory cameos.  Wendy is the best developed; her frantic personality kept me reading even when the plot lagged into long Trylle-history lessons.  While often confused and useless, she’s no Bella Swan.  She knows that she’s unprepared.  That doesn’t mean she accepts it.  She’s not afraid to take control of her own destiny, even if it means calling out Finn for his annoying complacence, going against her scary royal mother’s wishes, or doing a bit of her own investigating. 

Unfortunately, even Wendy’s endearing personality isn’t enough to overshadow a plot that reads a lot like a history lesson; you know to be worried when there’s a chapter titled “Further Instruction”.  Wendy spends a really long time learning about Trylle life and not a whole lot of time living it.  The super neat abilities, like mind control and telekinesis, hardly even come into play until the last quarter of the book.  Follow it up with an ending so abrupt that I thought I might be missing pages, and I was left feeling like something was missing.  I will say:  I cared enough about Wendy that I still read the sequel, even though I was ambivalent about the first book.  

But here comes my pet peeve:  Trylle worldbuilding.  Being rather fond of the Swedes, I was disconcerted to see their language appropriated wholesale without a good reason.  “Trylle” is just the plural for trolls.  A quick Google of “mansklig” ruined one plot surprise long before Wendy even thought to ask about it.  However other words like “markis” and “marksinna” just appear to be made up.  Considering the Trylle live so separately from humans, I wonder they didn’t invent their own language.  Also, while not mentioned in the first book, I find it relevant to note that “Tryllic”, the language of Trylle, is written in a script stolen wholesale from Cyrillic (and if you take a couple seconds to Google them, you’ll realize that, contrary to how the script is described in the glossary, it’s impossible for that script to look exactly like both Cyrillic and Arabic, or to look like Cyrillic but not Greek).

The world of the Trylle with their changelings and abilities is fascinating and refreshing in a vampire-dominated market, but propped up by someone else’s haphazardly appropriated culture, it feels sketchily constructed.  As for the trolls, they follow the trend of sapping old world myths of their most basic elements.  Like fangless, sun-walking vampires, they resemble their mythological kin only in name.  They’re basically sexy, brown-haired witches who happen to use changelings (the logic Finn uses to convince Wendy she’s a troll is tragically comical).  The Trylle are interesting creatures in their own right with abilities that, unlike most supernaturals, actually have important consequences.  I’d love to read about them.  But call them trolls, and I just don’t see the connection. 

To end what has become an unintentionally long review, I will say this.  Switched is a mediocre introduction to its two fast-paced, fascinating sequels.  While Torn and Ascend don’t solve all the worldbuilding problems of Switched, and suffer from their predecessor’s sketchy underpinnings, they do shine as gems of indie YA romance, with characters you can care about and page-turning plots.  So yes, read Switched because it’s a gateway to the other two; but don’t expect Hocking’s best, because she’s saved it for the sequels.  

When your characters take over

So much driving!  The next time I go to visit friends, I think I’m going to fly.  Corn.  Corn.  Hills.  Corn.  That’s pretty much been my whole weekend.  It was really fun but unfortunately it took a big chunk of my writing time and made it disappear.  Not so magical now that I’m a couple thousand words behind schedule.  I’m trying not to let it get to me.  Writers have lives too.  I think. 

Other than the set-backs, the book has been going really well.  Every day that I write, I find my characters becoming more and more real to me.  They’re like good old friends who don’t do very much while I’m not there and are always happy to see me.  Well, not always.  I think poor Chloe gets pretty mad at me for all the awkward situations I throw her in.  Do you ever feel like your characters are talking to you?  Not in the kind of way that makes you question your sanity.  I mean like sometimes they’ll start to do things seemingly on their own that you don’t expect them to do.  You’ll try to write them into a scene and they just say No! That’s not who I am!

It’s a magical feeling when you finally figure out who they really are.  I think I’m getting there and I can’t wait to share them with everyone, make them as real for you as they are for me.  For now, I’m going to watch a romantic comedy about a Revolutionary War nerd and try to get my mojo back. 

Also, here’s another teaser!  Just because I’m feeling silly. 

“So...you come to concerts often?”  

More blinking.  I had no idea whether to be flattered or terrified.  He sounded like a bad movie, only there wasn’t enough tone in his voice to hint at whether I was supposed to be taking him seriously or not.  “Not really.  My friend bought the tickets.”  I was so proud of myself.  A full sentence!  It took me almost thirty seconds to think it up, but it was really hard to think clearly when I was sitting next to someone who was absolutely gorgeous and might or might not be thinking about kidnapping me.  Or just insulting me.  I really wasn’t sure anymore.  

What's up with this Twitter thing anyway?

A full week of blogs and things are going great!  I’ve moved my sights to Twitter and what?  Seven followers!  One for every day I’ve been writing these blogs, I guess.  I know I’m a dork but it’s so exciting that people out there want to know what I’m up to.  There are SO many new authors.  I’ll admit I was afraid that I’d just go unnoticed. 

There are just a lot of things I’m still trying to figure out about twitter.  Like, why do some of the trends have hash tags (#) and some don’t?  Also, most importantly, how many tweets is too much?  Some people seem to tweet every single thought they have and tons of links and stories that take more than one tweet to complete, and some barely tweet at all.  When does tweeting stop being entertaining and start getting annoying?  Feel free to share your thoughts. 

I guess it’s something I’ll find out.  I will say though, I had to stop following the Madden brothers because as much as I love them, they tweet way too much!  I may be a twitter newbie, but I’m pretty sure that it’s not good when the home screen feed is only two people tweeting back and forth.  I’ll stick to listening to their music.  ;)  

Reading Teen: Book Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Reading Teen: Book Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver: "Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover: 480 pages Publisher: HarperCollins; Special edition (August 2, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10..."

Not only does the book sound great (super exciting, endearing characters, original plot), but the cover is one of my all time favorites. The peek-through windows make it much more interesting than the usual picture-of-girl cover you see in teen books. It's very simple and elegant, with just the solid color, the pretty curly text, and the picture behind it. Nothing busy, nothing cheesy. Can't wait to get a copy.

First follower happy dance!

Today’s post is going to be short and sweet and exciting.  Welcome and thanks to my first follower, Lili!  I know I’ve only been doing this for a week, so it’s really wonderful and surprising that someone already has an interest in what I’m doing.  That’s always the danger in the blogging world and it’s probably what kept me scared to do it for so long.  There are so many blogs out there, really good blogs, with really good writers who write really good books, that never get any readers. 

I’m not going to be arrogant and assume I’m one of those really good writers, but I think I do have a shot.  I work hard at my writing and I want to see it change someone someday or at least make them smile.  Every follower is so important to me.  It’s one more person who maybe believes as much as I do that my writing can mean something. 

So, thank you Lili, for being my very first follower!  I can’t wait to watch this blog and these books grow.  

Rebellion Teaser Excerpt and Magical Writing

Today was an amazing writing day!  Sometimes I feel like I’m sitting at the computer dragging my feet, typing one word a minute just to keep things going.  However there are those magical, much-sought-after moments when an hour has passed without you realizing it and there are a thousand new words on your screen.  You hardly remember typing them.  It’s a weird trancelike state.  Your brain is whirring too fast for you to consciously notice what you’re saying.  Your characters are coming out of your fingertips on their own. 

If only there were more of these days.  I got a few thousand words done and I don’t even feel drained at all.  Rebellion is coming along faster than I could have hoped.  It really helped having a conversation with my friend Mark this morning.  I was telling him about a plot problem I was having.  He wrinkled his nose and said, “Evie (well, the equivalent), you didn’t explain what Brad was doing that whole week.  Just do that.” 

Of course.  Some of the best plot ideas hit because you totally forgot to explain something earlier in the story, and suddenly when you go back and fix it, everything starts to make sense again.  So Brad got to sneak back into the story and now Chloe and Tyler are actually doing something important instead of just sitting on the dock waiting for me to tell them what to do. 

Just because I feel like it, here’s a little teaser to keep you interested: 

“

The machine stopped with a groan, leaving me dripping yogurt and half-churned berries while Becky and her friends laughed their blonde highlights right out.  I could have crawled under the counter and died.  My entire face and the front of me was dripping with yogurt and berries and to make matters worse, Smoothie Sultan was right in the middle of the food court, which was just a fenced off area in the middle of the mall.  

In other words, every person sitting in the food court and everyone walking by had a full view of my splattered self, including perhaps the hottest guy I had ever seen in my life.  Okay, maybe that’s a little extreme, but seriously.  He may not have been a model, but I bet he could have been.  Maybe for some alternative magazine.  His black hair brushed down across one eye wouldn’t have looked so good in Abercrombie, but the abs outlined by his tight band shirt would have been very fitting.  I didn’t really get a long look, because he looked at me, smirked, and vanished behind a Directory kiosk.  “

There you go.  A quick look at Rebellion.  

A Tale of Many Reviews: Teaser Excerpt & Cover Reveal

A Tale of Many Reviews: Teaser Excerpt & Cover Reveal: "The Willows: Haven, book #1 in The Willows series, is slated to be released the end of August by Soul Fire Press, an imprint of Christoph..."

I love love this cover! It's super classy with the simple dark color scheme and the photograph is just awesome. It's not your typical YA cover with maybe a cool object or a girl's face or something. The inversion of the water and the girl immediately makes you wonder what's going on and it's the perfect hook to draw you in so you can learn more. I'm working on my own cover now, so I've been looking at covers a lot lately. This one gets an A+.

The Truth About Evie

I realize that it’s a little weird, having a penname and being so open about it.  Let’s be honest though.  It wouldn’t take long for you to figure out that Evelyn Connor isn’t a real person.  I don’t want this blog to be about me and all my own drama.  My personality will come out but I don’t want to talk a lot about myself, I want my writing to be the focus.  This is my chance to be someone I’m a bit too scared to be in real life.  Someone who gets to play out her own dreams.  So I can’t tell you everything about me and I won’t.  But it’s still me behind the screen, typing this, talking with you all.  So in the interest of full disclosure and that kind of thing, here are some true facts about me.  And a couple of invented things just to be cheeky.   

- I’m in my twenties.    

- I would marry Keanu Reeves or Ben Gibbard instantly if they asked me.    

- Sometimes I tell people I know how to surf, but really I suck. 

- I’m a little convinced that Bloody Mary is real. 

- I wear the same necklace almost every day. 

- I like chick flicks.  I also like movies with badass heroes who slay demons and machines and take out Parliament.  I would rather admit the second kind. 

- Slasher movies don’t scare me.  Zombies do.  Kind of. 

- My favorite color is not pink. 

- I have a dog about the size of a large football named Theodore Logan.  Or just Theo.  I was kind of embarrassed getting a purse dog, but he was supposed to be hypoallergenic. I love him. 

- I want the 80s back.  The 90s were pretty cool but they didn’t have as much glitter. 

- I like video games but I’m terrible at them these days. 

- I also like shopping.  You can like both. 

- Sometimes I feel like I have multiple personalities. 

- I don’t really like heat.  I could probably live in Alaska and be A-ok. 

- I also don’t like cold, so maybe Alaska is out. 

- I love peanut butter more than any person should.  It’s amazing on pizza. 

- I’ve been writing stories since I was five years old.  My first really long one was with a friend, about a time traveling unicorn.  I don’t plan on revamping that one.  It’s already escaped in a better form.

So there.  Now you know a little about me.  I’m a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in an illusion.  Welcome to my world! 

Updated for clarity and to take out the boring facts because some of them were really boring.  

The Modern Happy Ending

It’s amazing how sometimes heartbreak makes you want to curl up into a little ball in front of 27 Dresses or The Matrix, and sometimes it makes you want to write about fake people until you can’t type straight.  For better or worse, I’ve been in stage two for a couple days.  Five thousand words later, I feel pretty proud of myself.  Maybe I still hurt, but if I can turn it into something beautiful, that’s what matters, right? 

I hate to sound like a greeting card but there is just something so therapeutic about writing fantasy or paranormal books.  It’s not about getting to write a perfect world where everything happens perfectly.  No one wants to read that.  If Cinderella was a rich kid with two cool parents and a steady boyfriend, Hans Christian Andersen would just be another random Swedish guy.  Instead, we have the girl who gets kicked around by the stepmother, hates her life, and then gets a little magic help to make her own happy ending. 

No one cares about the happy ending if it’s easy to get.  You need Victoria hunting down your family ala Twilight.  You need a bunch of demons and a dead twin sister luring your girl into danger--yeah I’m looking at you Constantine, and the oh-so-dreamy Keanu.  Or maybe you’re Molly Ringwald and no one’s figured out how awesome you are yet.  That’s what I love about romance stories, whether that’s the spotlight or they’re wrapped up in an awesome adventure story.  Sometimes it’s hard to believe in truth and destiny and all those bigger-than-you things if you don’t have something just for you to keep you grounded. 

Maybe the ending isn’t even happy.  Maybe it’s just hopeful.  In the very end of a series, you kind of want to see the heroine get what she deserves.  The guy.  The dream house.  The snazzy job.  But modern romance isn’t all about the happy ending.  Maybe for this girl, everything around her is broken but she’s gotten so strong that you just know everything will eventually be okay.  You know she’ll get her happy ending.  She’ll make it happen.  Cinderella was great, but today’s heroines know how to take matters into their own hands.  They get the guy and save the world. 

In all that practical news, the writing really is getting underway pretty far now.  I’ve been working on it a crazy lot because it’s summer and that means real work, you know the kind currently making me money, is really slow.  Thanks to my wonderful friends / editors, it shouldn’t be long before the first book is ready to see the world.  Pretty soon, I’ll give you some excerpts.  For now, I have to go work on giving Chloe her happy ending.  Or just make her happy enough so she’ll stop yelling at me for not writing. ;)