Empty Nest

As of 6:30am (the time this post is set to, well, post), I will have been without children for an entire week. That's 168 hours or 10,080 minutes, or 604,800 seconds. No kids fighting, no messing rooms, and no complaints about dinner. I've also saved five hours of commuting time from not having to run the kids to sitters/daycare/school in the mornings or pick them up in the afternoon (5 hours in one week!)  But there are also no hugs, no kisses, no smiles - only the ones I hear over the phone and picture in my head.

 Some of those 600K seconds of the past week, I've felt like doing this:

Other times, I've felt like doing this:

...course I don't live on a beach, near a beach, nor have skinny legs like they do. but you get the idea.

And truth be known, I've a done a little of each.  Mixed with a bit of this:

But here's what I have learned by this whole "my kids went on vacation for 9 days with their grandparents" thing:

• My lack of cooking has nothing to do with time. I just hate to cook. I have lived on PB sandwiches and brownies this week. 
• No matter how much time I shave off my commute, I will never get to work early. I'm a few minutes late or just barely on time kind of girl.
• My children save me from my TV watching habits. They hog the TV, therefore I can't watch. When I can't watch, I read while they watch. Or write. Or blog. Or simply do something other than lay my ass on the couch everyday after work watching Weeds season marathons on Netflix Streaming.
• Having a constantly clean house is A-MA-ZING! I think I may try to keep this up. Not sure how its going to work, but I'll damn well try it.
• I'm not as social as I thought I was. I've had every opportunity to go out, and I while I have gone out some, I've chosen to stay home just as much. While money is tight, I've simply enjoyed the alone time. Which leads me to believe that I may be a shut-in in the making.
• I feed from my kids - their joy and heartache and anger and frustrations. I use it to propel me. I use it to propel my writing. When I need inspiration, I look to them often. A simple smile or hug can clear my head in an instant. While I had thought that I would get a lot written in this "peace and quiet", I've had a really hard time making words flow. I guess my children were my muse...whooda thunk?
• I talk to myself much more when people are around than when they aren't. Strange, huh.
• I need to date. Seriously. And in this town, there is a nada. Online dating sites, here I come. Woo.

Okay, sure there are other things, but that's enough for now. Can't wait till these guys come home and life gets back to its normal hectic self.  (2 more days!)

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It’s gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie’s estranged father—an elusive European warlock—only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it’s her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

My Opinion:   Highly entertaining and a overall fun read. Well written too. It's hard to find that kind of combination. Quite often, I pick up a book and laugh through it, but looking back, the writing wasn't all that great. This one had best of both worlds: well crafted goods with a quirky kick in dialogue. While I don't love her name, Sophie's character works because she's hard-headed but good-hearted as well and the combination can get her in big problems.  Archer (who isn't even named in the synopsis) was and is one of my favorite male leads. Can't really explain why...but he's definitely in my top five.  There are many characters in this novel, all with a purpose that's clear cut.  Hawkins did well making sure each element was balanced and even though this is the first book in a series, and I'm dying for the next one, she ended it on a good solid stand-alone note.  This one made the 5 star club!

Walking on Sunshine

My brother sent me this the other day. If it doesn't put a smile on your face, I'm not sure what will. Enjoy!

Getting in the mood

In the writing mood that is...

I am now on Day 7 of absolutely ZERO words written. I haven't even thought about my plot line or opened my word document to try to think about it. It started out as a much needed few days break. I actually went to sleep instead of writing two hours before bed. As a result, I got at least 7 hours of sleep each night - it was fabulous! I even watched a few movies and caught up on my TV shows. Then a situation came up where I needed the next two nights to research and review teaching materials. I didn't want my writing to sidetrack me (as I knew it would), so I put it on hold again.  Then before I knew it, the weekend was back full of family time and games and swimming and cleaning and laundry and grocery shopping and...well, you get the drift.  I let life take over my 1K a day commitment and now I'm having trouble getting back to it.

So, how do you get back in the writing mood?  Here's what I know works for me:

1. Listen to my WIP CD. Lots of people use music to write. I can't actually listen to music while I write, but I can listen to it beforehand and think of the scenes as I hear the songs. I listen to songs from scenes I've already written and follow up with an upcoming scene and a song that fits it. As long as I can immediately write some words down (even if they're bad), my mind gets set and ready to write.
2. #1K1hr challenge.   I don't know who started this on twitter, but I've tried it out and it really works. When I'm writing well, 1K in one hour isn't hard to achieve. On the days when I'm stuck (like now) I use this method to make myself put something on the page. I don't always meet the 1K, but I get more than half completed and that's better than nothing!
3. Commit to a challenge.  This summer I joined Kaz's Summer Camp. It's an open forum of writers who get together once a week and talk about their progress. I gave myself a challenge of 30K words in June and July which is huge for me. Big goal that I knew would be hard to achieve. But in June, I wrote almost 20K and in July, I have 14K for the first 10 days only. That leaves me with 16K to write in 13 days. I hope to achieve this by July 31 and since my boys will be on vacation (without me) the last week of July, I'll have lots of free time to catch up (and who knows, maybe even get a leg-up). So basically...big goals can result in higher outcomes. Challenge yourself and surprise yourself with what might happen.

Here's what I hear can work, but have never tried and probably should:

1. Pick an object or spot around you and describe it using the senses. Get your mind out of the gutter of real life and start thinking outside of the box. When its focused, move on to your current project.
2. Poetry. Write a poem. Even if it stinks, poetry specializes in descriptive wording, something we can all use a bit of practice with.
3. Turn off the dryer and your cell phone, light some candles, turn off the lights, and surround yourself in the glow of your computer screen. Become your story, settle in and go for it. 
4. Nanowrimo - Set in November, you commit to writing 50K words in one month. But who says it only has be one month a year?  You can make Nanowrimo whenever you want! Personally, with working full time and two kids, I don't think that's an achievable setting for me, but who knows...I may give it a shot...in November, that is.
5. Write or Die. Basically, its exactly what it sounds like. Haven't written with it, but I did test it out. You basically tell it how long you want to write and how many words. Then you type on the window that pops open. If you pause for 3 seconds, the screen starts going from white to red and once you have paused for more than 13 seconds, it will cry at you or blare a horn so that you will start writing again. Talk about consistent writing without stopping to think!! Not sure I like it yet. And what if you hit the browser back button or your internet connection goes wonky and cuts off? Do you lose all your words? Seems like you'd have to take time to cut and paste into a word document often and that it wasting valuable writing time. There is an offline version you could buy and its only $10. I may try this one out and purchase the offline version if I like it. 

What are some other ways you get in the mood to write?

The Line by Teri Hall

An invisible, uncrossable physical barrier encloses the Unified States. The Line is the part of the border that lopped off part of the country, dooming the inhabitants to an unknown fate when the enemy used a banned weapon. It's said that bizarre creatures and superhumans live on the other side, in Away. Nobody except tough old Ms. Moore would ever live next to the Line.

Nobody but Rachel and her mother, who went to live there after Rachel's dad died in the last war. It's a safe, quiet life. Until Rachel finds a mysterious recorded message that can only have come from Away. The voice is asking for help.

Who sent the message? Why is her mother so protective? And to what lengths is Rachel willing to go in order to do what she thinks is right? 

My Opinion:  Rachel is an interesting character and her motivation to move forward in this story is caused by her mother's need to keep her away from everyone else. They live on a property next to "The Line" and because its next to The Line, no one ventures out there. They are protected and safe - exactly what her mother wants. This of course, would drive any teenager crazy, so she not only wants to go away...she has a fascination with the place, Away.  Really...its a brilliant concept in its simplicity.

Dystopian is one of my favorite genres to read and this one is pretty good. I found it entertaining and different from the others. It has a nice mix of The City of Ember meets The Maze Runner. I'm not sure what I think of these people in Away yet, but I look forward to finding out more.

If I had any qualms about the book it would be two things. Proper names were used in lieu of pronouns a bit much; I found it a bit distracting but not enough to make me put it down.  Second, the ending is abrupt. I thought it was going to end fairly clean, but a new issue is brought up in the last few pages. This made the story feel unfinished and I don't think any book, even if part of a planned series, to should leave anything hanging. Regardless, it's a definite 4 for me and I'd recommend.

Winter's Passage by Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase used to be an ordinary girl...until she discovered that she is really a faery princess. After escaping from the clutches of the deadly Iron fey, Meghan must follow through on her promise to return to the equally dangerous Winter Court with her forbidden love, Prince Ash. But first, Meghan has one request: that they visit Puck--Meghan's best friend and servant of her father, King Oberon--who was gravely injured defending Meghan from the Iron Fey.

Yet Meghan and Ash's detour does not go unnoticed. They have caught the attention of an ancient, powerful hunter--a foe that even Ash may not be able to defeat....

My Opinion:  It's the half novel...novella...so cute, it was named 1.5.  But don't mistake its cuteness...this story kicks major butt! From the first page, we are graced by Ash's presence (which should make any girl giddy) and taken on a wild ride with twists and turns that shouldn't be possible in only sixty-odd pages.  I like to think of this one as Ash's story, and not Meghan's story.  I didn't notice her growth here, but we did get a see a lot of Ash and what is propelling him forward. You see his struggle between his obligations and that of his desires. You see the difference between his need to protect and his want to protect. You see him grow as an individual, struggling to do the right thing.  Meghan goes with him because she must - she made a deal, she has to follow through.  5 star story.


This is a great novella to follow The Iron King and by what I've heard, it leads right into the beginning of The Iron Daughter.  But if you want to read it, you need to hurry!  Its only available for free download until July 31, 2010 right here.  The Iron Daughter is set to come out on August 1st!

A bit of Went is Worth a lot

In case you haven't read any of my posts about my obsession with Wentworth Miller...let me remind you...

I heart Wentworth Miller

A blog post of Went was even dedicated to me today :)   See Hanging with Bells for some delicious photos of my movie boyfriend.

I'm not the fangirl type - but him, I would fangirl over. Completely-make-a-fool-of-myself fangirl. And I'm even more ready for his next movie, the 4th installment of Resident Evil, which also happen to be my favorite zombie-ish movies. I even use the first three for inspiration for fight scenes in my WIP.

Here's the latest trailer! You don't see a whole lot of Went, but Milla is fabulous in this role and I can't wait to see her play it again. The movie looks action packed! Can't wait!

In which I substitute words for songs

I'm being a really bad blogger. I haven't been posting regularly and even though I have 4 book reviews half-written, I can't draw up the nerve to finish them right now.  But I have good reason...I'm really close to finish a WIP (cue internal screams of excitement).

So, once again you will get nothing blog-wise from me, but I can leave you with a few songs that are helping me get through these last few chapters.

First, an oldie from U2 (and Batman):

Second, a bit of Temper Trap

Third, from one of my favorite bands of all that have inspired a good deal of my WIP...30 Seconds to Mars (not the official video, but it'll work :)

Hope you are having productive-ish summers as well!

WW: Luke Mably

I may not have cable anymore, but I was able to watch the first 2 episodes of The Gates via ABC.com the other night. And low and behold...who did I see but my favorite "Prince"!!

Luke Mably hasn't had too many roles since The Prince and Me and I'm really excited to see him again. And I really like the show so far. I hope it gets signed for another season!

Unanswerable Questions

Don't you wish all explanations could be this easy?

My boys are at a tender age. My 8 yr old wants to know everything I know and when I explain things, I get an "Ohhh, okay." and if I wait a few minutes, I'll ask, "Do you understand?" and he'll respond with a simple No. He pretends to get it because he wants to, but hasn't quite met that processing element of knowledge in his brain yet.

My 4 yr old is past the "Why?" stage and now on to the "Why, What, Where, When, and How stage" of questions. He asks and I have to debate how much to tell him. He's extremely perceptive but the questions he asks, I'm not so keen on answering. For sake of TMI, I'll let you guess on the ones I'm referring to.

We have an open household; I've raised my children to always ask and never fear retribution, but as a result, I find myself in situations where I don't know how to answer. I would love for all answers to be as simple as hot or cold, poisoned gases or not - that's just not reality though.

Same holds true for writing my characters. I've had to take some time off from writing the last few weeks of June, only making short progress, so that I could figure out what questions my characters still have, how much of an answer they are going to get, when they are going to get those answers, who they are going to get them from, and how they are going to get them. This is about as hard as answering sex questions from my kids. After a few weeks of slowly and comfortably analyzing each characters' motivations and needs, I believe I have finally cracked those pieces into place.

So, needless to say, July should be a good writing month. That is, IF I can manage to fit in a bit of writing focus in between my work schedule and social activities planned every weekend for the next 6 weekends. It'll be tough, but my goal is an average of 1K a day. I didn't succeed in June with that goal, but I plan to give it another shot.

June Stats:

Goal: 30,000 words

Actual: 19,572 words

July Goal: 30,000 words 

On another note:  My 6 month writing goal from January to June was 15,000 words per month for a total of 90,000 words.  Since I've been working on two different stories, I have two half WIP's to show for it.

WIP #1 - 58,127 words

WIP #2 - 42,100 words

Total = 100,227 words!!

10K more than my goal!

This is exciting even if I haven't finish either story yet. Because I know its coming. And when it does, we will celebrate. Or at least I will. 

And then will come revision, where I will crawl into my black hole and hold my blankie and devour editing books for breakfast.