The Secret Adventures of WriterGirl

Whoa goodness. What happened to my blog? It died in a very major way. Umm... does anyone know of any really good three-columned blogger templates? This one is a temporary fix and looks like a really bad band-aid. Ewww. Me no likey. This is so saddening. That template was so perfect for me and then bam! It just died. Stupid inactive photobucket account. Maybe I shouldn't have messed with Twilight after all. Has my blog been cursed?

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. No theme song right now. This is just terrible.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Africa by Toto.


I did something daring and stupid. And fun. Over at The Last Word, I entered a contest to rewrite Twilight. You know, of the Stephenie Meyer persuasion. :) The contest was to write 500 words of a story using the first line from Twilight as inspiration. How could I pass up this challenge to tackle the mega-super-awesome-all-star of Stephenie Meyer?

But for all the Twi-hards out there, can anyone tell me what the first line of Twilight is? It's rather unextraordinary if taken by itself. Any guesses? Okay, I'll tell you. :)

My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down.

Yep, that's it. The book that started a firestorm of screaming girls out in mass droves started with those humble beginnings. And what an appropriate pre-start to the Halloween season! (besides all my nudges for filling Halloween with literary characters). ;)

There are nine entries in all, but I'm a bit hesitant to tell you which is mine for fear of sounding of tooting my own horn. There are some really good entries (#5 is my favorite - and no, that's not mine). One even tried to literally rewrite Twilight, setting up the same situation and everything. It made for an interesting entry.

You can vote for your three favorites by October 2nd (Friday) at 8:00 PM, central time. If you do want a hint, mine is in the same place where my last name would be. ;) Head over there for some fun entries. I certainly thought it was a fun spur-of-the-moment writing piece to create.

I took on the YA goddess of vampires. You can decide if I won that battle or not. :)

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): King of Lullaby by Eiffel 65.


Between Chelsea of The Page Flipper and I, we are extending an invitation to join us in a literary Halloween. Dress up as your favorite character, author, or heck, your favorite book (good luck getting through doorways though). Chelsea and I are in a competition over who can be the best Katniss of The Hunger Games, but don't limit yourselves there. There are about 1.4 trillion and a half books out there*, and I know there is a perfect character for you.

So to help get some pre-October buzz going, I've scoured the internet and the deepest recesses of my mind (a scary place mind you), to help kick-start the idea engine and help you find the perfect literary figment of your imagination that is dying to break out.


There are the classics: Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes, Elizabeth Bennett (and Mr. Darcy for your lucky boyfriend), Edgar Allen Poe, complete with a raven on your shoulder - quite appropriate for Halloween. For Miss Havisham all you need is a trashed wedding/prom dress and a crazy look in your eye and viola! Ariel/Prospero of The Tempest, Titania/Oberon/Puck of A Midsummer Nights Dream. Shakespeare character's could go on and on, or dress up as the bard himself!

An inflatable globe makes you an instant Atlas (or if you carry it lower you can be Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged) ;)

Want to be tricky? Dress up as one of the seven deadly sins (a fabulous visualization of them can be found on blackeri's Deviant art page).

Pregnant? No worries! Pin an "A" to your dress front, and you are a perfect Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter. (Shannon Hale did this one year and it was fantastic to see pictures of her in it).

Already have a costume planned out, have kids or are on a tight/non-existent budget? Got that covered too. :)
-Baby mouse costume = Hickory Dickory Dock/If You Give a Mouse a Cookie/Tale of Despereux
-Any barnyard costume = Animal Farm
-Roman centurion = Antony and Cleopatra
-Baby bunny/rabbit costume = Peter Rabbit.
-Witch costume = Wicked Witch of the West/Wicked (a scarecrow and tinman costume could be easy to "scare" up). :)
-Indian = Indian in the Cupboard/Last of the Mohicans/take your pick.
-Tons of layered shirts = Mrs. Whatsit from A Wrinkle in Time (this one could easily cost you nothing).
-White pajamas, ears and a tail = Max from Where the Wild Things are (also cool with the movie coming out next month).
-Striped red and white shirt and hat - Where's Waldo (awesome!).
-Shirt with a green ham painted on - Sam I am.



Costume I seriously want to do someday: Scout's ham costume from To Kill a Mockingbird.

You can go as a famous character, like Twilight or Harry Potter, but do your own imagining. Who says you have to follow the movie? From Danielle Dreger-Babbit of The Examiner, here are her ideas for creating your own Twilight characters:

For the character of Edward, the only items you'll need are vampire teeth and some powder to make yourself pale. For Bella, cover your body in band-aids and ace bandages and carry around a copy of a Jane Austen novel. Jacob is a slightly harder look to achieve. My advice is to wear some super tight clothes with tears in them and give your best "werewolf" face."

She totally forgot the rub-on glitter though. And what about Wuthering Heights? This can equally be applied to any popular series/books.


Let your imagination fly and your inner literary figure break free and bust a move. :D

And if you let me know you are participating, I will put in a link to your blog so we can see all of the costumes we have out there and the creative geniuses behind them.



*that is a totally accurate number by the way.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod): Stand by Rascal Flatts


The post I was planning on really isn't working out the way I want it to, so here's a picture of a baby bunny instead! I'll get it by tomorrow. But for now, bask in baby bunny gloriousness. ^_^

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Quixote by Bond.


It's that wonderful time of year again - Banned Books Week starts tomorrow! I would highly recommend that you go out and find a banned or challenged book and read it. I believe this is a very important week, to not only recognize our incalculable freedom we have, but also to increase our understanding - of everything. Some of my absolute favorite books have been banned or challenged. The Giver (for promoting infanticide), To Kill a Mockingbird (for language and it's portrayal of blacks), and most ironically, Fahrenheit 451 (for numerous reasons).

I think books are often banned/challenged because oftentimes they have something to offer, a certain depth to them. They have different ideas, which I think is one of the most important reasons to find a banned book and read it. So here is a very funny video to help kick-off Banned Books Week. It's extremely well done and made me laugh more than once (and my favorite comment to this video on YouTube by far is "I don't like this video. Ban it."). Have a fantastic weekend everyone! Go have an adventure of your own - go read a banned book.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Into the Fire by Thirteen Senses.


Wow, just wow. There is so much to link to that I'm still geeking out about it.

-First: ever hear about a bookhack? Well for all bibliophiles out there like yours truly here are 100 Awesome Bookhacks for Students and Biliophiles. Everything from book care to downloading antique children books for free, this site is made of pure awesome.


-Kristin Cashore, author of Graceling and Fire is taking a new direction with her blog and has mentioned a few of her recent favorite reads (which include Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith and I love her for that). She also wants to know what you are reading.


-Jim C. Hines has done a Seuss tribute to the infamous slush pile (where my officially named BLM now resides). Here is a partial of the poem:


You just hate me ’cause I’m new!
I’m too original for you!

Too original you say?
This book is one absurd cliché!
It should not see the light of day.

I do not like your Mary Sues.
I do not like your crackhead muse.
Eve and Adam, Star Trek slash,
Tolkien ripoffs, pointless trash,
Prologues forty pages long,
Spelling every third word wrong.
I do not want to read this slush.
It’s all too much, my brain is mush!

Just one more story for today.
Soon I’ll clear this slush away.
No more vampires, I pray.

You can read the full poem here (and he apologizes to Seuss in advance). Be warned, it is irreverent and crass at parts (the parts I chose not to take). Just to give you a heads up my linky clickers. I try to keep this a G-rated blog. :)


-And the most exciting news of all? A new publishing company is setting up to take off soon - Tu Publishing (which means "you" in many languages). This one is really exciting because its goal is to publish multicultural science fiction and fantasy for children and YA. I think that is completely the coolest thing ever. But for those of you who don't know, it's really hard to start up a business from scratch. Click here for editor Stacy Whitman's breakdown of the plan (and if you can help out, even $5, you get perks bounced back to you). :D And just so you know, my BLM counts as a multicultural YA fantasy, so there is a quadruple reason for me to want to see this succeed.




And last but not least (from inkygirl, Happy National Punctuation Day. ^_^





-[EDIT]: Oh and here is a really cool article on why YA fantasy and science fiction not only rocks, but is thriving (it's really funny too).

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Battlefield by Jordin Sparks.


I have issued a challenge, and I have been answered. Chelsea from The Page Flipper has generously agreed to meet me out in battle. But tis no ordinary duel. This is a duel of costumes. You heard me right, we are about to battle with needles and thread (and if I know anything about me, duct tape. Lots of duct tape). :)

You see, in a post a while back she mentioned that she was planning on being Katniss for Halloween. Now that got me thinking of what fictional character I would want to be. But it just kept coming back to Katniss. She's so cool, and I actually have the hair for it (she usually wears a braid). So she and I are going to battle it out on a different plane, but we will meet nonetheless. Let the games begin!


And here is where you come in (and this is all her brilliant thinking by the way) - we want you to join us. Not even as Hunger Games compatriots, but as fictional friends. Forget the traditional witches, ghosts, and skanky costumes this Halloween, go for something grander. Let's make this Halloween a fictional one.

I am making this my first official blog challenge. Go. Spread the word. With how connected our blogosphere is, united together, we could rock the literary world with pure awesomeness.


(Photo courtesy of calsidyrose at flickr).

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): River Flows in You by Yiruma.


Totally random, totally fun. Which person can be the first to guess what book this photo is supposed to remind you of? This came to me all of a sudden while I was picking yummy veggies in my garden, and ever since Friday I have been wracking my brain trying to think of other books that I could do this game with. For some reason, most of my ideas revolve around food. *shrug* Go figure. (Food is good, right?). :) Not sure if this will take off into a full-fledged feature here, we'll see how this first one goes. This one is really easy. My mom even got it. ;)

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Don't Stop Believing by Journey.


Here to present another great book trailer, we have Scott Westerfield's Leviathan. Beyond being one of the top ten coolest words I can think of right now, it's steampunk. I love steampunk. It's on my "to-write" list of cool books to write. And it's Scott Westerfield. What's not to love?

This once again shows what a really good trailer can be. I was sucked in (though the music could have been louder). This really makes me want to learn flash now. ^_^ Enjoy and as always, have a great weekend everyone.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): First Time by Lifehouse.


I really can't decide which is my favorite. Enjoy. ^_^

(I think I qualify as a 'geek').

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): The Melody Within by Kurt Bestor [Rigoletto Soundtrack]. - This is an awesome little-known movie. If you can find it, I would definitely suggest giving it a try. It is simple, but amazingly sweet. Here is the song on YouTube (ignore the Phantom of the Opera editing. It's the music you want) :)

I finally figured out the name of my new car and supercool vehicle of awesomeness, with whom I share many of my adventures (eat your heart out Batman. Your batmobile can't touch this. Well, except for rocket launchers. And being able to explode into a really cool motorcycle. And then there is that whole jumping across buildings thing. But except for that).

Now, I'm sure you're wondering why I couldn't name him something nice and normal, like I don't know, Bob. Well, my last loaned-to-me-by-my-parents car was named Squishy, so it can't be that much worse than that, can it? (Yes, from Finding Nemo. You know those jelly fish? Yep. Because he was my Squishy, and I loved him and he was mine and he was my Squishy and I was sixteen). :) But the other part is that I've been steeped in Asian cultures right now (see here for mention of my top secret new writing project), so my brain is naturally geared toward Asian names. This one happens to be Japanese.

We'll take it apart by halves ;)

Haru
陽 "sun, sunlight", 春 "spring" or 晴 "clear up", 遥 "far off, distant"

Tomo
智 "wisdom, intellect" or 朋 "friend"


I chose the last two on both of them, though I love all of the variations. It's supposed to be for "a far traveling friend" - you know, for a car. I want my car to be my friend. Friends don't break down on you in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone reception. There is a Japanese word for traveler. It's tabibito. But I thought Harutabibitotomo was a bit much. ;) See? I'm not as crazy as you think I am. Harutomo doesn't look nearly so bad now, does it? So, fully armed, fully equipped and fully named, we are going to rock it out like superhero hooligans should!

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Soul Meets Body by Death Cab for Cutie.


I'm a curious thing. It's just a part of who I am. If there is a cookie jar, you bet I'm going to look inside, just to be sure there's not a cookie in there. If there is something new to know, I want to know it. I love being curious, it makes everything so new and exciting (and is awesome for being a writer/author). There is never a dull moment in my life. But it can also be really bite. You've heard the saying "curiosity killed the cat," right? Well - kill me. Because you're going to kill me anyway if I don't know. :) I have two comments on my last post when I finally revealed what my story was about. I know there are more of you out there (I'm peeking that little window with all over with your lovely faces. Hello ^_^). Be honest, I can take it. I appreciate honesty more than anything, and I trust you guys. You already rock out my world. So hit me with your best shot.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): What I've Done by Linkin Park.


It looks like you want to see it. That is so thrilling. So here it is. And the cool part is, I can almost make everyone happy. This is an excerpt from my query letter, the actual one I sent out to agents. It comes in at 149 words (so almost everyone is happy). :) And thank you to those who put their trust in me. That was very humbling, truly. (And total props needs to be given to Beth Revis, who not only helped me craft this part of the query letter, but has been invaluable to my story as a whole. Her blog is hilarious and fantastic).

So without further ado, I *very* proudly present MBLM [my brave little manuscript], Ransom the Dawn.

Valkonen has everything: he is the sole inheritor of his father's kingdom, is betrothed to a beautiful princess, and has never wanted for anything in his life.

The problem is, it's not his life. It's Devaki's.

When the king saw that his son, Devaki, had sunk so low in his addiction to a local drug that he was no longer fit to rule, the king used dark magic to create a doppleganger. Valkonen, however, is no mindless puppet--he is, in fact, a better ruler than Devaki could ever be. Devaki--spurned on by rage at his stolen life--cleans his act, drops his addiction, and becomes determined to take his rightful place as prince. But who should be the next ruler--the prince born to rule but whose actions prove him unworthy, or the man-monster made from dark magic who wears the crown as a true prince should?

And for the cheeky one who picked "10 words or less"

Prince meets himself. Must decide who deserves the throne.

9 words baby. I AM WriterGirl! :D

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Only Hope by Switchfoot.


See? I told you I would be here as your friendly end-of-the-week-reminder. ^_^ Today is the last day to vote for Book Blogger Appreciation Week (not to mention to plug some new awesome finds in your reader). So go head over there now. I'm in the midst of voting myself. See you guys Monday.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Pageant by René Dupéré [KÀ soundtrack] - amazing soundtrack.


It was one of my favorite movies growing up. I still love to revisit it to this day. All those references to books! Who could not love The Pagemaster? Here is the official music video to the movie. Makes me want to see it all over again. ^_^

Have a great weekend everyone!

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): The Scientist by Coldplay.


I'm nervous. In fact you can say that I'm positively terrified. Today is the final of prep before it goes out into the world. Yes, I mean my novel.

I haven't talked much about it, because honestly, until I can promise you guys that you will be able to see it as an actual page-and-paper book, it's just stupid. Dangling a carrot in front of you that you can't touch or see is just plain cruel.

But now it has to be ready. Because I'm embarking on the greatest adventure my little book will ever know. I'm sending it out agents. Tomorrow.

Out in the big bad world of publishing, he [my brave little manuscript, hereafter dubbed MBLM] will face countless dangers, including but not limited to: angry machines and postal workers, bad weather, interns with already too heavy a workload, slush piles that could drown any manuscript, coffee cup ring stains, and a slew of others I dare not even think of yet. Talk about the Hero's Cycle/Journey. Okay, we've already got the "call to adventure" but where is MBLM's hero guide? Where is he, Mr Campbell? He has to tough it out all on his own once I send him out into the world. Oh wait... that would make me his guide. Crud. *facepalm*

That makes me even more nervous, because I've really done all I can to get him ready. I've rewritten and edited him eight times, including rewriting half of it at least three times. I've lost count how many new opening chapters I've written. Yesterday, I spent most of the day pouring over that first chapter, wracking my brain, making sure each word is as perfect as I can make it, often deleting a few words and then putting them right back.

But there is a time for every child to grow up. He is ready. I know he is.

So I have ten very lucky agents picked out. All my superpowers as WriterGirl have gone into this. Like all the great battles where heroes triumph, let's hope it is enough.

In the meantime, I am working like crazy on my new novel, both as a sanity tool, and because well, mostly as a sanity tool. But research can be a beast. (Asia is hurting my head). WriterGirl needs chocolate. The Halloween KitKat kind that's all orange and cool. Please wish MBLM luck. A new hero can always use a little luck. :)

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Dry Your Tears, Afrika by John Williams [Amistad soundtrack].


Sometimes blowing on a dandelion puff is the best thing in the world. I've never quite looked at one like I did today. They really are beautiful things, never mind that they are weeds. Sometimes you just have to look at things a little different to make them seem wonderful all over again. I blew on it and in the twilight they danced all around me as the flew away. It was beautiful. So go on, make a wish for yourself. I did.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Kiss From a Rose by Seal.



As I'm sure you all know by now, Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW) is now well under way (no I did not make the finals, but really, the true honor was to be nominated. Thank you so much). Go head over there now, since voting only lasts a week (don't worry, I will be here as your friendly end-of-the-week reminderer) :)

But here I want to do something new again. There are a ton of amazing blogs I have never heard of on BBAW (thank you for nominating them!) but there are many absolutely astounding ones I did not see there. I don't think word has fully spread about them yet. I'm here to help do that. ^_^

I don't know how often I will do these, but rest assured, I am scouring the internet for amazing blogs for you. For the debut, I'm kicking it off with one of my absolute favorites: Tales of Whimsy.

Amazing, funny, thoughtful, extraordinarily thorough, there isn't a single thing I don't love about Tales of Whimsy. And I must say, she has one of the coolest review systems I've ever seen. I am extremely sensitive to violence, gore, sexuality, cruelty, language etc. so her "kiddie-o-meter" has become absolutely invaluable to me. Her other qualifiers are hilarious and equally helpful (here is a sample review of Beastly by Alex Flinn to give you a taste). And at only 100 followers, hers really is not one to be missed, or overlooked. I would highly suggest you take a look over there. Like, right now.


P.S - I love her "share worthy" where she quotes a passage from the book. It's awesome because you get a taste for the style of writing and the story. So cool.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Vision Quest by Tempest.


This is an absolute gem, really. I remember seeing this years ago by chance and stumbled on it again. I was elated, because honestly, it is hilarious. In an age of kindles and microchips the size of your pinkie, we all know the trouble of adjusting to a new technology. But what happened when our beloved "book" was first introduced? Take a look at the "medieval help desk." :D (originally from a Norwegian show). Hope you enjoy and have a fantastic weekend everyone.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Kyrie by Mr. Mister.



I knew it was coming sometime this week, but it came up a little sooner than I expected. I've had my first guest post ever, and it is now posted up over at the awesome Steph of Steph Su Reads (and did I tell you she gave me the sweetest, most awesome intro ever?).

Remember fairy tale month? She let me have free reign on the topic (curse you again for that Steph. That was horrible), and I ended up talking about why we love fairy tales. I even managed to squeeze in a reference to Lilo and Stitch. :) Rock on Disney, and rock on Steph. Thank you again for the opportunity, I loved writing it. The pleasure was mine, truly. ^_^

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Starlight by Muse.


Eee hee. This is just way too fun to not do this. Though desperately trying to keep it in check, you may be able to tell that I like Suzanne Collins/The Hunger Games/Catching Fire just a *tiny* bit. So when I saw the Catching Fire contest for the first time, I was stoked. But by the fifth one, I was laughing.

After seven or so that are already in my blog reader, I decided to see just how many I could find. I do not even know if I get extra "points" for linking (some I know I don't), but I wanted to do this, for pure entertainment value. It looks like I don't need to help promote this small, unknown, out-of-the-way book at all. *rolls eyes* It is catching fire all on its own. :)

The Story Siren

Green Bean Teen Queen

Presenting Lenore

Pop Culture Junkie

Reading Adventures

Booking Mama

The Book Smugglers

Frenetic Reader

Karin's Book Nook

Revolution Science Fiction

SciFiGuy

Library Lounge Lizard

Anna's Book Blog

Luxery Reading

5 Minutes For Books

YA Book Central

Alert Nerd

SciFiChick

Not Enough Books

Book Binge

The Discriminating Fangirl

Book Love Affair

Books For Sale

And of course, none other than the official Scholastic Blog (though I think this one is closed. And it was for a signed book too! *sob*)


Happy Hunting Everyone.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Orzchis by Jocelyn Montgomery


*Gasp* I've only just escaped just now. No, go on without me. I'll hold them off, just go. Save yourselves. I'll stop them, even if I can't make it out. Those paper and stuffed animals will never defeat me!

Yes. Stuffed animals. And paper. You heard right. Don't look at me like that.

I've just escaped a war zone. A terrible frightening place called my sister's room. Talk about an adventure. I'm staying with my mom for a while. But with it comes certain responsibilities. These apparently include going into an active war zone. My mother told my sister that she had to have her room thoroughly clean by yesterday or she would clean it (or should I say, she and I). And when she says "clean," she means gut.

So in I went, laptop charged with rockin' music and chocolate to tide me over, we dove in (that is almost a literal statement, by the way). There was so much stuff we could barely walk. I really wish I had taken pictures. Three garbage bags full of stuffed animals, three more for just paper (filled to the brim, mind you), and boxes and boxes and bags filled for the local thrift store. I did not think it was possible for a room to hold that much junk. I've been in there for almost seven hours, and we still haven't touched her drawers, under her bed, or her closet. I emptied a backpack that hadn't been opened in years (she had some cool flash cards in it on the roots of words. I snagged those before they made the garbage pile). :)

But the worst? ... I can't even say it. Alright - the food.

That? That's not a rock. That's a potato. Kinda cool, but very squishy.



And this? I honestly can't tell you what this is. As you can see, it was once food. It is now a liquid of some kind. We found it in a buried corner of the room in a lunch sack. I can't even guess how long it's been there (nor do I want to. I touched it). My mom almost threw up and had to go out of the room. Any takers on what the mystery liquid is? (This is called a chemical reaction children. See? We're learning all the time). :D



But it is looking so much better now. I even managed to vacuum before she got home. She's going through the rest, deciding what she can keep. Hopefully, a lesson well learned. I'm pooped.


This is the stuff superheroes are made for. (And by the way, every mom is a superhero. They just never say it). :)

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Must Be Dreaming by Frou Frou.


Apparently I'm just not equipped to survive any sort of post apocalyptic cataclysmic event. I thought me working out a few times a week and being relatively healthy would help, but no. I guess that just helps the zombie virus more. 1 hour and 1 minute. That's all it gives me. Yipes. But this does set me into a frenzy on just how I would save myself in that very precious hour... Yes, I'm a nerd. :)

And I know I wouldn't survive ten seconds in the Hunger Games. I just know that. I'd be used for target practice before stepping off the platform, for players on the way to get to the other better players. Peeta is freaking amazing for surviving. Look, I even have a Piece of Flair on my facebook corkboard that says I wouldn't make it (upper right). :) Which reminds me, I have a book to catch. :D