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My reading list grows exponentially. Everytime I read a book, it'll mention three other books I feel I have to read. It's like a particularly relentless series of pop-up ads.
-A.J. Jacobs

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Is It Just Me?

Because it is highly unlikely I will ever keep a blog short, quick, and to the point, I am going to start off with a comic I received from a friend today.
How Dinosaurs Became Extinct:

The reason this is so significant is because yesterday I woke up late for work (not 15 minutes late, but 2 hours and 15 minutes late) and rushed around like a crazy lady with her head cut off screaming at the kids to do what they're told and get in the car and buckle themselves up and quit whining and why are you hitting each other? all the while unsure if I remembered to even put deodorant on or God forbid, brush my teeth.

I flew through the doors of the daycare, ran into my youngest's class only to see them standing there with grins on their faces. What now? Out of nowhere, they burst into song and start singing "Happy Birthday." HOLY !@#*^%#! Did I forget my child's birthday? Forget middle child syndrome. How about third child syndrome where your mom forgets you even exist??? I'm on the verge of bursting into tears when they see the look on my face and stop.

Me: "Are you sure it's Karter's birthday today?"
Them: "Umm. Yes. Look, I even made a crown for her to wear today."
Me (holding back tears that are ready to explode and flood the room): Is today really the 15th?
Them: "Oh. No. It's the 8th."

Needless to say, it would have made a great April Fools' Joke had it been April Fools. The whole incident, however, did make me look at and evaluate my life recently. I've been so wrapped up in ME that I actually thought it was possible that I had missed my own child's birthday. Coupled with the fact that my IPhone has a mind of its own and rebooted in the middle of the night, causing my alarm to be erased, thus me being woken up by my oldest saying, "Mommy, You're boss is going to be mad at you because you're late," made for an interesting start to the day. Note to Self #348: Slow Down. Breathe. And, don't forget Karter's birthday is next Monday.

Last night, I stared at the new YA MS I started, knowing what I wanted to write, but caught up in the post from yesterday about beginnings. And what to name my character. And if I should write in 1st person or 3rd. Let's just say, I was caught up on everything. I think after only one night of working on it, we are already heading into "non-speaking" terms and I've told it that we needed a little time apart. To figure things out.

To keep my mind off of that, I plan on going to buy a book tonight. Lisa McMann's 3rd book, Gone, is being released today. I loved Wake and Fade, so I plan on going out and finding it today. If you haven't read her books, they are a must! They are really quick reads and actually, I randomly found her query letter online for Wake and it said it was only 33,000 words! (Can't find it now after searching for way too long...)Her style of writing is different. But, different in a good way. And I have a crush on one of her characters, which never hurts.

Speaking of which. Is it wrong to have a crush on fictional characters? I mean, I think after reading the Twilight series, I had grown to believe that a sparkly, vampire, Edward was going to come to my front door and bite me, taking me to the dark side. Seriously. I spent a good month in Edward fantasy land and then I tried to snap out of it when my middle child saw Robert Patterson on TV and said, "Mommy! Look it's your boyfriend, Eggward!!" The dreamy look that came over my face led her to say, "Do you wish Daddy was a vampire like Eggward??" Hmmmm...maybe I should put away my Edward bookmark, life size poster, t-shirt I wear to bed, and quit mumbling his name in my sleep, so that my kids don't have a complex when they get older.

Close to how I feel about Edward and his glorious, sparkly goodness and cold-to-the-touch rock hard body, I fell in love with bad boy, Patch, from Hush, Hush. Gah! What is it about the dark, stalker-like, creepy boys that I love?

A close runner up from Patch is Cabe from the Wake series. But Edward is the one I'm still holding out for. Errr...I mean, my favorite fictional, not from real-life, book character.

Why do I fall in love with fictional characters so easily??? I don't know. But, I hope that someday many will fall in love with my new obsession, Reed, from the MS I just finished. He's not so much a bad boy, and he certainly doesn't sparkle or have any out of this world, supernatural abilities, but I love him just the same.

Questions ponder...
What fictional character(s) have you fallen in love with?
What makes you connect to the character (and believe that they might just show up in real life, even though they're a vampire and they don't exist)?
Can I fall in love with your hunk in your WIP? Please??

17 brilliant remarks:

Courtney Reese said...

Oh my God! Is it bad that I'm laughing? Not in a oh! What a crazy person kind of way, but in an oh! That sounds like something I would do kind of way. Electronics are always failing me too, and always when I MOST need them.
Love your blog, Tiffany! It's a new guilty pleasure.
And I fall in love with characters too. Have you read the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon (I blog about it every so often). I'm in love with Jamie. In fact, when my fiance pisses me off, I find myself daydreaming about a lovely Scot with a romantic, hero complex. Och aye.
PS- Feel free to fall in love with my MC. He'd quite hunky, if I do say so myself. AND he's a vampire. What more could you want?!

Roxy said...

I really like Edward, too. I also have a thing for Sidney Carton from Tale of Two Cities since he's the first reluctant, tortured hero and Joe Morelli &/or Ranger from the Stephanie Plum books. Kind of a diverse selection, I know. Oh well, they say the strength of a romantic main character is in how much the reader connects with him...

Katie Ganshert said...

You can most definitely fall in love with my hero! I have to admit, I've had my fair share of fictional crushes. And Edward was one of them.

Glad you didn't actually forget your baby's birthday. What a horrendous start to the day! I'd cry. I'd feel robbed of my morning!

Happy Tuesday,
Katie

Summer Frey said...

This isn't YA, but have you ever read the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward? Talk about some crush-worthy manflesh!!! Don't believe me? Just search for it on YouTube, and don't blame me if you accidentally lose an hour or two drooling...

Guinevere said...

This entry was hilarious. I KNOW it wasn't funny at the time and led to some introspection, but your retelling is too funny. I hope you're writing some comedy, because you definitely have a flair for writing the humor in everyday life situations.

I am a little in love with April's boyfriend Conner in my novel, but he's based on my own husband, so that's understandable. :p I honestly fall a little in love with all my male leads, even though they're never perfect.

Christi Goddard said...

Well, the hunker in my MS is tall, gangly, with purple eyes and snake irises, and talons for fingers, so if you like them a little weird...

Kimberly Franklin said...

OMG... I'm so laughing at you, but I'm really laughing at myself. I'm so in love with Eggward! He's so dreamy. And Patch... sigh. Love him too!

You really know how to pick the good ones! ; )

I have an interview with Becca Fitzpatrick coming up next week (I'm so excited/nervous/wish she could send me Patch in the mail)! And just know I'm going to have a bunch of Patch questions for Becca. : )

Good luck on your new WIP!!!

PS - I have an Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart framed Twilight picture. Feel free to start drooling... now. : )

Anissa said...

I love Patch. Ultimate bad boy!

Erin Kuhns said...

Your post just made me LAUGH!!! I love your style of writing and look forward to more...

And as for being in love with fictional characters...I can't say I recall that having happened, but you've given me food for thought as I strive to add more depth to my own characters; make them more lovable, even if in an evil sort of way...

Unknown said...

YIKES!!! Goodness gracious... just one of those days!!! Your writing made this story hard not to laugh!

Kimberly Franklin said...

Opps... I just realized I left out the most important part... the picture is autographed. LOL. That's kind of the important part.

Feel free to come over and ogle the beauty that is Edward with me any day! ; )

Christi Goddard said...

Heya again. Sure, if you want help on your query, just let me know. Also, check out Nathan Bransford's forums because a group of us are always available to (totally mock and rip to shreds) help you with your query questions :-)

http://forums.nathanbransford.com/viewforum.php?f=1

Elana Johnson said...

At least it wasn't your kid's birthday! Phew. Dodged a bullet there, right? Right.

As for fictional characters I love, I do love Edward. Until the fourth book. Then he turned into an idiot, and I have a hard time thinking of him the same anymore.

The Rejection Queen said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Oh and I cant relate with that comic you posted up. I think I do that a bit too often lol.

ChristaCarol Jones said...

Hah! I'm right there in the trenches with ya, sister! Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Everything will be okay!

It was great meeting you tonight! So glad you enjoyed it. And as for fictional crushes, the most recent are, yes, sparkly Edward, and a character from a series that starts with a book called Poison Study, his name is Varik.

And you can crush on Paul anytime you want, I think he'd like you!

Kristen said...

Omg that is hilarious. Not that what happened to you was funny but just that I can totally relate. Trying to balance school, work, kids and writing has left me pulling my hair out lately. Be easy on yourself Tiffany you sound like a very good mama!!!
It most certainly does help to be able to escape with some yummy fictional men. I have fallen on love with too many to name lol. I tend to get drawn to the dark, "angry at the world" mysterious guys in any story lol.
Speaking of which if that is what floats your boat you might like the guy from my current MS, he is about as angry as they come rawwr lol
I also have this thing where I fall in love with the guy in the MS that I am writing at any given moment. Is it considered a problem to fall in love with the men that you create in your head? lol...

ChristaCarol Jones said...

Oh! Can't believe I forgot Jace from Mortal Instruments series. Total crush.