My mom was in town this weekend.
Like most times when she is here, we packed in as much activity as we could. A band concert with A. Shopping. A choir concert with B. Shopping. Church. Shopping. The Melting Pot.
Then Sunday night, I said on a whim, "Let's go to Water for Elephants."
We hesitated. After all, Mom's flight left early on Monday morning.
And we were pretty satiated from the cheese and chocolate fondue.
Sidebar Recommendation: The Bananas Foster White Chocolate dessert fondue.
AMAZING.
But we went to the theater.
If you haven't read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, go get it.
Right now.
From a bookstore. Download it on Kindle.
Read it.
The premise is about a young man, Jakob Yankowski, whose parents are killed in 1931 on the day of his final test to graduate in veterinary science from Cornell. He runs away and joins a circus (sounds cliche, huh?). However, Gruen brings to life the small circus life during The Depression.
The descriptions are amazing. The plot riveting. The conflict stellar.
Read it.
Then go see the movie.
Reece Witherspoon.
Robert Pattinson (I will admit to being back on Team Edward :)).
An elephant.
A controlling ringmaster.
Good stuff!
What's Up with Pearl/Frost/The Book that Must Be Named?
Two agents have the MS (one has a full; one a partial). I haven't heard from either. :( Which begs the question:
Is no news, good news?
or
Is no news, no news?
*sigh*
Monday, May 16, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
I Am Not Shakespeare
Just wanted to put that out there. :)
My eldest had to write an essay on Romeo and Juliet this week. She talked about how hasty every decision in the story was.
Here's the low down:
Romeo and Juliet meet at a party. They talk later that evening, and Juliet asks Romeo to marry her (Do you remember that? I didn't.) They marry the next day. He kills Tybalt. She takes "poison." He kills Paris. Romeo takes poison. He dies. She wakes, sees Romeo dead, and kills herself. All within a week.
Where's the communication here, people?
The whole time, the reader is going, "Just talk to each other, for Pete's (or Romeo's or Juliet's) sake!"
And that's what makes a great story.
Throw in some good fight scenes. Some great language. Some all consuming love.
*sigh*
And you have a classic.
So....
As pointed out before, I am not Shakespeare.
Not in any sense of any illusions. Really, I'm fine with that.
However, my main characters are star-crossed lovers.
She's human.
He's a Norse god.
The Norse world is ending, and they cannot be together.
He has a job to protect the only human girl who survives the end of the world...and it's not her.
He is duty bound, but love struck.
She understands his duty is more important than their love.
What will happen?
Hopefully, readers will find out soon. Hopefully, readers will want to know.
And maybe, just maybe, I have spun a story that warrants reading.
We'll see.
My eldest had to write an essay on Romeo and Juliet this week. She talked about how hasty every decision in the story was.
Here's the low down:
Romeo and Juliet meet at a party. They talk later that evening, and Juliet asks Romeo to marry her (Do you remember that? I didn't.) They marry the next day. He kills Tybalt. She takes "poison." He kills Paris. Romeo takes poison. He dies. She wakes, sees Romeo dead, and kills herself. All within a week.
Where's the communication here, people?
The whole time, the reader is going, "Just talk to each other, for Pete's (or Romeo's or Juliet's) sake!"
And that's what makes a great story.
Throw in some good fight scenes. Some great language. Some all consuming love.
*sigh*
And you have a classic.
So....
As pointed out before, I am not Shakespeare.
Not in any sense of any illusions. Really, I'm fine with that.
However, my main characters are star-crossed lovers.
She's human.
He's a Norse god.
The Norse world is ending, and they cannot be together.
He has a job to protect the only human girl who survives the end of the world...and it's not her.
He is duty bound, but love struck.
She understands his duty is more important than their love.
What will happen?
Hopefully, readers will find out soon. Hopefully, readers will want to know.
And maybe, just maybe, I have spun a story that warrants reading.
We'll see.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Bitter End
Jennifer Brown has done it again!
I received my ARC in the mail last week, but was in the middle of another book, so I didn't get to crack Bitter End open until Sunday.
Here's my review:
Wow!
Okay, :) here's more:
Ms. Brown has taken another challenging subject -- relationship abuse -- and woven a story that is poignant, tragic, and gut-wrenching.
The story revolves around Alex, a senior in high school, who along with her two best friends (one a girl, the other a guy) is planning a graduation trip out to Colorado (the place her mom was headed before being killed in a tragic accident). But then, Cole starts at Alex's school, and she falls for him.
Hard.
Everything seems good about this new relationship at first, but little ugly jealousy heads start popping up and Cole starts to do things that go way beyond acceptable. But by the time Alex realizes she's being abused (physically and emotionally), she is so in love with the guy that she starts making excuses for him.
I read way too long into the night last night just to finish it. Trust me, the ending did not disappoint!
Way to go, again, Ms. Brown!
It was really fun to read the credits and see TS Ferguson's name (the editor who just free-lanced my book) there with a big thanks to him. Good job, TS!
Bitter End comes out in May. Publisher's Weekly gave a great review (and starred it) this week. Here's the link, if you're interested:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-316-08695-0
What's Up with Pearl Edda?
The agent emailed yesterday with a request for the most recent recent recent copy. I sent it last night. Fingers and toes still crossed. Seriously, it is in such a good place right now.
Hope. Hope. Hope.
It still needs a title.
Frost, Edda, and Messing with Fate are the top three choices (at least for me).
I received my ARC in the mail last week, but was in the middle of another book, so I didn't get to crack Bitter End open until Sunday.
Here's my review:
Wow!
Okay, :) here's more:
Ms. Brown has taken another challenging subject -- relationship abuse -- and woven a story that is poignant, tragic, and gut-wrenching.
The story revolves around Alex, a senior in high school, who along with her two best friends (one a girl, the other a guy) is planning a graduation trip out to Colorado (the place her mom was headed before being killed in a tragic accident). But then, Cole starts at Alex's school, and she falls for him.
Hard.
Everything seems good about this new relationship at first, but little ugly jealousy heads start popping up and Cole starts to do things that go way beyond acceptable. But by the time Alex realizes she's being abused (physically and emotionally), she is so in love with the guy that she starts making excuses for him.
I read way too long into the night last night just to finish it. Trust me, the ending did not disappoint!
Way to go, again, Ms. Brown!
It was really fun to read the credits and see TS Ferguson's name (the editor who just free-lanced my book) there with a big thanks to him. Good job, TS!
Bitter End comes out in May. Publisher's Weekly gave a great review (and starred it) this week. Here's the link, if you're interested:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-316-08695-0
What's Up with Pearl Edda?
The agent emailed yesterday with a request for the most recent recent recent copy. I sent it last night. Fingers and toes still crossed. Seriously, it is in such a good place right now.
Hope. Hope. Hope.
It still needs a title.
Frost, Edda, and Messing with Fate are the top three choices (at least for me).
Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Book That Must Be Named
WANTED: One Title
The agent (I can't call her my agent yet...still waiting for that phone call *sigh*) wants me to think about a new title for Pearl Edda.
I agree wholeheartedly.
Pearl Edda worked at one time, but now with all the changes, it doesn't make sense anymore.
Here's my thought on the matter:
Titling is hard.
(Think Russell in the movie UP and his thoughts on tents...)
I've come up with a list of about thirty possibilities. None of which seem to work.
And...
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Giants of the Earth
Eat, Pray, Love
Midsummer's Night Dream
...are all taken.
Right now, my top choice is Edda. I don't know if it will be acceptable or not.
Let me know if you have any good titles just laying around.
Collecting dust.
Needing a good home.
The agent (I can't call her my agent yet...still waiting for that phone call *sigh*) wants me to think about a new title for Pearl Edda.
I agree wholeheartedly.
Pearl Edda worked at one time, but now with all the changes, it doesn't make sense anymore.
Here's my thought on the matter:
Titling is hard.
(Think Russell in the movie UP and his thoughts on tents...)
I've come up with a list of about thirty possibilities. None of which seem to work.
And...
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Giants of the Earth
Eat, Pray, Love
Midsummer's Night Dream
...are all taken.
Right now, my top choice is Edda. I don't know if it will be acceptable or not.
Let me know if you have any good titles just laying around.
Collecting dust.
Needing a good home.
Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Norse Gods
Yellowstone National Park
Most of you know that Pearl (or The Book Whose Name Must Be Changed - more on that later) is set in Montana near Yellowstone.
A premise in the book is that Loki (the evil trickster god in Norse Mythology who is responsible for earthquakes on Earth) is setting up to explode Yellowstone and consequently wreak havoc on the world.
Yellowstone has thousands of mini earthquakes every year, and it also sits on top of a caldera (an active volcano). Which is why we get all the super cool geothermal features there.
Geysers. Fumaroles. Mud pots. Hot springs.
You get the picture.
Scientists are debating when the caldera will erupt next, and here's a little National Geographic video that talks about it:
Most of you know that Pearl (or The Book Whose Name Must Be Changed - more on that later) is set in Montana near Yellowstone.
A premise in the book is that Loki (the evil trickster god in Norse Mythology who is responsible for earthquakes on Earth) is setting up to explode Yellowstone and consequently wreak havoc on the world.
Yellowstone has thousands of mini earthquakes every year, and it also sits on top of a caldera (an active volcano). Which is why we get all the super cool geothermal features there.
Geysers. Fumaroles. Mud pots. Hot springs.
You get the picture.
Scientists are debating when the caldera will erupt next, and here's a little National Geographic video that talks about it:
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Blogging
So, a friend wanted me to send her a message from my blog.
To do that, Blogger Blogspot...made me follow my own blog.
Seems a bit...
what's the word...
I don't know...
ARROGANT
to follow your own blog.
But, there's my mug amidst the followers.
Hmmm....
Quick, ask your friends to join, so my picture isn't so blatantly obvious. :)
To do that, Blogger Blogspot...made me follow my own blog.
Seems a bit...
what's the word...
I don't know...
ARROGANT
to follow your own blog.
But, there's my mug amidst the followers.
Hmmm....
Quick, ask your friends to join, so my picture isn't so blatantly obvious. :)
Friday, March 25, 2011
Hate List and Bitter End
Okay, so I finished Hate List last night.
And I cried several times.
Jennifer Brown tackled the tough issue of a school shooting with sensitivity. But really, the book isn't about the incident, it's about what led up to it and what happened afterward.
The main characters are outcasts at their school. Bullied. Rejected. Losers (in their minds, and in the minds of the other kids).
But in reality, as we all know, or should know, or need to know, they were just two kids looking for acceptance, love, life.
What everybody wants.
What everybody deserves.
Unfortunately, the bullying went too far and the main boy character, Nick, snaps.
The girl, Valerie, is left to pick up the pieces of her life. Her family doesn't trust her. Her friends disappear. Nick, her boyfriend is dead and she feels guilty for still loving him.
What happens throughout the story is a poignant tale of forgiveness, acceptance, and above all a lesson in what bullying can do.
Amazing!
Here's the trailer:
Bravo, Ms. Brown!
I encourage each of you to pick up Hate List.
On another note...
Jennifer's second book, Bitter End, is coming out soon, and I won a copy of the ARC (Advanced Reader Copy)! I am super, super excited! In it, she is tackling relationship abuse. Another sensitive topic and again, I say, "Bravo!"
Look for it on shelves soon!
And finally...
No news from the agent on the MS yet.
I'm kicking around a new title while I wait. But, I'm so not good at waiting -- I was the kid who opened the presents under the tree waayyyy before Christmas and learned how to re-wrap really well.
I know patience is a virtue and fruit of the spirit, but, crap, it is so hard!
*big sigh*
I'll find something to do.
I'm sure....
And I cried several times.
Jennifer Brown tackled the tough issue of a school shooting with sensitivity. But really, the book isn't about the incident, it's about what led up to it and what happened afterward.
The main characters are outcasts at their school. Bullied. Rejected. Losers (in their minds, and in the minds of the other kids).
But in reality, as we all know, or should know, or need to know, they were just two kids looking for acceptance, love, life.
What everybody wants.
What everybody deserves.
Unfortunately, the bullying went too far and the main boy character, Nick, snaps.
The girl, Valerie, is left to pick up the pieces of her life. Her family doesn't trust her. Her friends disappear. Nick, her boyfriend is dead and she feels guilty for still loving him.
What happens throughout the story is a poignant tale of forgiveness, acceptance, and above all a lesson in what bullying can do.
Amazing!
Here's the trailer:
Bravo, Ms. Brown!
I encourage each of you to pick up Hate List.
On another note...
Jennifer's second book, Bitter End, is coming out soon, and I won a copy of the ARC (Advanced Reader Copy)! I am super, super excited! In it, she is tackling relationship abuse. Another sensitive topic and again, I say, "Bravo!"
Look for it on shelves soon!
And finally...
No news from the agent on the MS yet.
I'm kicking around a new title while I wait. But, I'm so not good at waiting -- I was the kid who opened the presents under the tree waayyyy before Christmas and learned how to re-wrap really well.
I know patience is a virtue and fruit of the spirit, but, crap, it is so hard!
*big sigh*
I'll find something to do.
I'm sure....
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