Build Your Own Book Boyfriend

THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED POST OF THE MONTH - EPIC! (More so because I FINALLY did it!

Jen at Unedited passed this on to me - uh - a while ago. And I've been researching that entire time. Yes! That's why it has taken me so long. Mmmhmmm...

From the Gutter Girls: We all have our favourite book boyfriends and now you have the chance to create one just for yourself and your fantasies! How do you play? Fill out the quiz bellow, post a picture of sexy man and tag five (5) other book addicts to do the same. Don't forget to pop to their blogs as let them know they have been tagged! Once tagged... you have do do the same, grab the button, answer the questions, and keep it rolling! But don't forget the picture of the sexy man! It doesn't have to match your fantasy man, just a little eye candy for the rest of us... heheheee!


1- Hair color and style – Dark hair of any kind. There can be minimal hair – or the bouffant. Whatever works…I have no major preferences.

2 - Eye color and facial features – Green/Blue anything light colored. I have a fascination with those light eyes I can fall into... Love strong jaw lines and chiseled face. Look at these *wipes drool*

3 - Height and body type – Tall and built – not too muscular – not too lean. Hmmm…how about one of these:

4 - Visible age – Okay, so it kind of freaks me out when they look to young, so I’m going with the 5 year rule, plus or minus: 25-33ish would work. But in the case of certain individuals that do not fit in that age range, I will not discrimate…Just sayin’

5 - Human or other – Human. I don’t know why but other makes me think of aliens. Well, he has to be at least partially human. That’d be preferable. For sure…
6 - Paranormal skills – Ya know, I’m thinking it would be great for him to have that crazy paranormal skill of picking up after himself. Nah- that’s probably too far fetched. So, how about he just reads my mind – but only when I want him to…
7 - Interests – I’m thinking he needs to have some Twilight Edward interests. You know, like be well versed in literature, music, art. And of course I should be his number one interest.

8 - Habitat – I’m pretty fond of Earth. But I’m pretty flexible with things like this. If he wants to live somewhere un-earthly, then I’m sure I could manage.

9 - Special skills – Hmmm…the ability to keep me happy at all times. That would be great. Always say the right thing. Look good at all times (wouldn’t be hard to do for these gents…) and OH! He should cook for me! Yes!!! That’s it!

Wow. That was great fun. I should do this more often.

Now to the five blogs to pass it on to. Since I've been Blogger Neglectful recently, I don't know who has and hasn't already done this, and there's probably been tons of you! So, I will pass it on to the 2 that I know haven't done it and then anyone else who wants to hotty search, then take this and run with it. :)

Kristen - Take It As It Comes

ChristaCarol- Shine On

Impromptu Hiatus

Guys! My muse is back!!

*does a little dance*

Hence the blog hiatus. I opened up my GoogleReader and saw there were 342 new blog posts. *Gulp* I think I'll peruse. Do a little stalking. Not a whole lot of commenting. I apologize in advance, but I can't deny the muse. She was missing for so long.

I've been writing like a mad woman, trying to prepare for the DFW Writer's Conference in 2 weeks.I have done total body liposuction and reconstructive surgery on my baby with a ridiculous amount of help from the most awesome critter ever: Kristen Yard. She's a genius. And her writing is amazing. You must check her out if you haven't already.

The changes are hard to swallow at first. And I still struggle with the fixing the scenes that are affected, but it is worth it in the end. I want my MS to be as sparkly as Edward in the sunlight. :)

Speaking of Edward. I still have not posted my Build-Your-Own Book Boyfriend. This will be the most epic post considering I've been searching for a week for the hottest men on this planet.

Bring a napkin to wipe the drool from your mouth.

Even though I've been MIA from the blog scene, I can't seem to stay away from Twitter. I'm officially Twitterdicted. Thankyouverymuch ChristaCarol. So, if you don't see me hanging around here, I'm definitely allowing my ADD to take over on that.

Don't forget: Epic Boook Boyfriend post. This weekend. For real. Here's a teaser for you to prepare yourself:

Useless

I've been a fairly useless blogger recently. Sorry bout that. It is for good reasons! I'm no longer whining and crying over the fact that the Word document is blank. There are words again!! So, I've been focusing on that and I have to say I am pretty pleased with the transformation taking place in both of my WIPs.

Kristen, my awesome-I-think-we-were-separated-at-birth critter, sent me this GREAT video. I love me some Twilight, but I died from terrible fits of laughter watching this video. You should enjoy it! (Buffy meets Edward!)

Also, keeps your eyes peeled for my perfect book boyfriend. Jen at Unedited tagged me to play along, and well, I have never been so excited about building my perfect guy!! :)

Happy Friday!

PG Love Scene Blogfest

So basically, I'm an idiot. I'll just fess up to that right now. I didn't read the directions for this blogfest correctly. I definitely wouldn't have signed up for it had I know what I was supposed to do (sorry guys). When I saw that it had to be MG, I didn't read much further and just assumed that we were talking MG. I know my MG. And I can guarantee you that there is no way that there'd be a llluuuurrrvvveee scene for ages 9-14 to read. *shrugs* I even talked my fabulous crit partner into writing one, of course giving her the wrong impression. Sorry Kristen!! Forgive me!!

So now that I've confessed what an idiot I am, I'm going to break the rules, cause I'm a rebel like that, and post what I thought I was supposed to do. This is a PG MG Kiss Scene from The Post-It Bandits. There is no llluuuurrrvvveee going on here...

***

Cam was hamming it up with the guys when he noticed Jordan leaning up against the lockers, motioning for him to come over. One lone finger beckoned him. He decided it’d be best to ignore her. He was finally in good with the guys; he had no desire for her to ruin that.

However, Jordan wasn’t willing to back down, so she stalked over to the group and stood firm in her demand.

“We need to talk,” Jordan hissed.

Her voice was the exact opposite of calm and quiet. The guys started laughing, slapping Cam on the back.

“Cam’s the man!” someone shouted from behind him.

Jordan rolled her eyes.

“I’m a little busy here. Maybe we can meet up later.” Right as the words escaped Cam’s mouth; he wished he could take them back. She’d never hurt a fly and there he was acting like a complete jerk all in the name of coolness.

So when she grabbed Cam by the collar and dragged him outside, he didn’t protest much.

They stood facing each other, in a standoff. Cam became defensive immediately. He’d been jumpy and on guard since the first break in. Even so, this confrontation was long past due.

“What’s the big deal?” Cam asked, even though he knew exactly what she had yanked him out here for.

“I know that being a part of the brainless Apes over there is a dream come true for you. So congratulations.”

Cam folded his arms across his chest. What was that supposed to mean?

Jordan continued, “Blowing me off is one thing, but it’s a whole different story when I start hearing rumors of what you’ve been doing with the Apes. Or for them, is more like it.” She arched an eyebrow.

Cam’s heart sped up, but he quickly retorted. “You’re just jealous.”

“Oh. That’s bull and you know it.”

Cam unfolded his arms and picked at the skin around his fingernails, but Jordan didn’t change her stance. Her hands were on her hips, determined to get an answer out of him.

She squinted her eyes at him and heaved a deep sigh. Her shoulders dropped and she softened when he was unable to meet her eyes. “You’re better than that, Cam. They’re just using you.”

Her words stung, because he knew deep down that they were true.

Cam met her eyes and the weirdest thing happened. Suddenly he wasn’t looking at ex best friend Jordan, the tomboy he’d grown up with. She was a girl – a pretty one at that, who was standing before him with all the genuine concern in the world.

The Karate Kid practiced a slew of martial arts kicks inside his stomach and his palms began to sweat. Never in a million years did he expect to look at her in any form other than the kid he made mud pies with on rainy days. And yet, there he was struck dumb by the strange new feelings stirring inside of him.

Jordan must have recognized the wordless transition, because she narrowed her eyebrows at him. It was her turn to play dumb. “What?”

Before he could think through what he was about to do, he leaned over and kissed her. Jordan’s face turned bright red as she stumbled back. “Whoa.”

No words could process correctly in his brain and so he just repeated her. “Whoa.”
They stood in an awkward I-can’t-believe-we-just-kissed silence.

PG Love Scene Blogfest

This is K3 with a boy she attacked at a wedding over the summer. They did kiss, but somehow we missed snapping that priceless moment.

Anyway, Simon Larter is hosting the first ever PG Love Scene Blogfest!! I can feel a whole lot of awkward moments coming on. I cannot, I repeat, cannot, wait to read these! So get cracking and go sign up on his blog. Channel middle school hormones and whip out a scene. Stop by tomorrow to see my scene from later on in my current WIP, The Post-It Bandits.

Self Doubt

Damn the dreaded self doubt. It has crept its way into my inner being putting a MAJOR block on all creativeness. I look back on the way my first MS got under way, when I had no clue as to what I was doing, yet the words flowed from the deep recesses of my brain and heart, and my muse had no concept of appropriate times to bombard me with ideas, words, and conversations.

When I started writing VISIONS, it was a pipe dream. It was my first attempt to writing a book. A real book. My husband thought I was crazy (which is partly true), friends and family were like, "Oh, that's so nice - a hobby...", and even though I was DEAD serious about it, I was clueless about the process. About the agents and the proper way to write a hook and how you shouldn't have a prologue. Don't even get me started on how blind I was to queries. I wrote because the story spoke to me. It came effortless. And even though I felt like a zombie pushing through 8 hour workdays and 3 hours sleep, living on nothing but words, I loved the feeling.

Finishing it was bittersweet. And up to that point, I had only had my two personal cheerleaders urging me to keep going and filling me with a sense of accomplishment to have gotten as far as I had. I revised and edited countless times, all on my own, because I was ignorant to the publishing world. I had no idea how to find a critique partner. Where to go for help.

Now, that I am fully immersed into the blogging world and I have found an amazing support system, I've written my query, have devoted critique partners, and I'm a part of a tight knit writing community with DFW Writer's Workshop, I am strangely in a dark place. It makes no sense. But the only way that I can describe it is as Rebecca Stead puts it in the book When You Reach Me. She writes on the topic of lifting, for a moment, the "veil" that generally hides from us "the world as it really is," in all its "beauty, and cruelty, and sadness, and love" (p. 71).

I love this. Because it's so true. The veil was thick on my face, covering my eyes, when I was clueless to the "real" writing world. I wasn't concerned about anything but getting the words down. And they came so naturally and easily.

The blogging world, in all it's fabulous, has lifted a corner of my veil. The agents blogs, the harsh reality of what it is truly like to be a writer, and the holes/major problems in my story are all a part of what it looks like to have my veil lifted.

And while I'm glad to not be naive about the publishing world, I yearn for that deep desire and urgency to write the words that used to be so freely available in my mind -that are now caged by the dos and don'ts that are apparent every where I turn.

The self doubt is taking over, creating a sickening black hole inside me. As excited as I was about making it through the first round of ABNA, I have resolved with myself that I need to be happy with just that because there is A LOT of work that needs to be done on my MS. And it's not just day surgery. It looks like it might need some major reconstructive surgery.

In order to do that, though, I might need to put a thin veil back over my eyes, tune out all of the advice swarming in my brain, and JUST WRITE.

Thankfully, Tina Lynn at Sweet Niblets is crackin' the whip and has offered up a challenge. I am a competetive person by nature, and so when someone says challenge, I'm there. Five hundred words a day. I am doing it. With my veil on - opaque, maybe, instead of my heavy, velvet one I wore before. If you're needing someone to light a fire under your ars, then she might be the person to keep you lit. :)

I got some sad news that my PapPap (Grandpa)passed away yesterday and I've been trying to process through it. You know when you feel like someone is always going to be there and then the one day when they're not anymore, it's a bit of a blow. And then everything you never said or didn't do is stuck on replay in your mind. I'm not able to go to the funeral either, which I'm struggling with. My dad told me that he would tell us to be smart and save our money and not worry over him, but still, I really wanted to be there.

Tough times like these remind me that you only have one family and you never know when your last moment will be spent with them. Cherish every minute you have with the ones you love.

"When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure." - Author Unknown

In other news T minus 1 day until Spring Break officially starts. I actually got an extra day off today after K3 had a fever and was sent home from school on Wednesday afternoon. So today was spent cleaning and disinfecting the house. No germs are allowed to invade my spring break. Or my muse. K3 wasn't completely sick-free, but she had a happy day being an only child for the day! I've decided that I need to do that with each of my kiddos once a month: take them on a one on one date somewhere and spend some more quality time with them. I think they'd really benefit from it, not to mention how good it would be for me.

I've gotten some fabulous awards (in which we all know I like to hoard) from some fabulous fellow writers/bloggers. It's crazy to think that I started blogging only a month ago and how I find all of you to be such close friends on this wild, beautiful, and at times frustrating journey in writing. Thanks for that! (Okay, I'm going to stop being sentimental now, and get on with this!)

Jade at Chasing Empty Pavements gave me this award! Thanks and YOU and your blog are beautiful too! :)

There are some rules that go along with this - post 7 things about me-, but I'm going to cheat, because I never did enough of that in school and I feel that it's good to cheat and change the rules every once in a while. (Disclaimer: If you are or were a previous student of mine and you happen to stumble across this blog, please disregard the previous statement.)
I'm just going to pass it on to some beautiful bloggers!

Anissa Off the Record because I love her blog!
Kristen at Take It As It Comes for being my twin separated at birth and found only a month ago (really?!?)
ChristaCarol for being so welcoming and helpful in this world of writing.
and
Gavin at Insanity's Musings for his beyond beautiful writing that leaves me speechless most times.

I also received this wonderful award from none other than The DL Hammons over at Cruising Altitude. I love reading his posts, and if you haven't checked his blog out, you must!

I will pass this one on to:

Justine Dell
Sarahjayne Smythe at Writing in the Wilderness
See Merissa Write
Crystal Cook at write because you must

Muse is MIA - If Found, Please Return

My mind is blank. So is my blogger post. And my Word Document. BLECH!



On a brighter note, Spring Break is only THREE days away. I. Can. Make. It.



Hopefully my muse will return to me from the Muse Gone Wild side and allow me to WRITE! :)

Contests...

It's Monday. It's raining. And, I don't have much to offer you on my front. So instead I will direct you where you SHOULD go! :)


1. Dear Lucky Agent Contest
If you have a completed YA or adult paranormal or urban fantasy, you can submit your first 250 words of your ms! Joanna Stampfel-Volpe is the judge! You have until March 14 to enter! Good luck!


2. Elana Johnson has 700 followers. Dude? Really? How? Probably cuz she's the greatest thing since sliced bread! And she's doing a contest, giving away 7 books!! Yay! Go check it out!


3. Suzette Saxton and Bethany Wiggins over at Shooting Stars are having a contest because they've reached 500 (wow!) followers, where Suzie Townsend, literary agent extraordinaire with FinePrintLit, has consented to give to the grand prize winner a 40-page partial submission PLUS a critique of those pages! On top of that they have other great prizes!! We all know how invaluable that one is! Contest ends on March 14th!


4. Matt over at Pensive Sarcasm is hosting a 99 followers contest! It ends today! Go and become a follower!


5. Guinevere at This Is Not My Day Job is having a followers contest as well!! Hers ends on March 13th! Hurry over!

6. Victoria Schwab is having a contest to win the newly released Hex Hall! Check out her video from YA Rebel:

I Work In the Ghetto??

The crazy people of Texas have some strange rules when it comes to the state testing better known as TAKS. It starts with covering every wall with butcher paper, covering bookshelves, turning textbooks to face pages out in the cubbies, and removing the globe from the classroom (just in case they put on their binoculars and decide to write about Turkmenistan on their personal narrative). *rolls eyes*

On the actual day of The Test I am stuck "actively monitoring" the students which consists of walking around the room the entire day. No eating, no computer, no Iphone (which is normally attached to me at all times), NO NOTHING. Why bother breathing?

Anyway, a good way to describe this test is this picture, that I stole of off my friend's blog. (One of her students drew this.)



HeeHee! Torture All Keller Students!! Kids are so darn creative!

Oddly enough, after the test was over, three police cars, and ambulance, and a fire truck show up at our school parking lot. What now? Oh, no biggie, just a stabbing out in the playground. Oh. What's that? The stabber's on the loose? Fantastic! Cue helicopter.

Okay really? Walking into my classroom with a shattered window and my cute red and black containter with Post-It Notes inside stolen sucks, but not classified as working in the hood. Second break-in with LOTS stolen: I must work in a thuggish area. Stabbing? When did my school become a part of the ghetto?

It's no joke that I put my life on the line going to work every day to teach the future of America. I should get an award or something. Or at least a bullet proof vest. Because who knows what might happen next...

Confession

Dear Fellow Bloggers/Followers (followers-hehehe - maybe bloggollowers?),

I have a confession. I am cheating on you. You may (or may not) have noticed that I've not been around as often as I was last month. It's because I found a new obsession. Four words: Blue Cherry Frozen Yogurt. I've been known to follow cycles of obsessive behaviors which include but is not limited to reading, writing, blogging, and twittering (?) obsessively and now I must add to the list: eating at the frozen yogurt joint that just opened up and that I can see from my house. Its pink and blue neon lights seem to be flashing, "Tiffany! Come eat me!" every single day.

This new obsession has a wall of scrumptious frozen yogurt flavors complete with pull handle levers that I've thought about sticking my head under numerous times, but have refrained from doing so for fear of being escorted and blacklisted, never being allowed to enter the establishment again.


After filling your bowl to your heart's desire full of scrumptious frozen yogurts, there is a bar overflowing with fresh fruits (which I would never dare include on this "healthy" indulgence) and candies galore.


When I say that this is The Best Place Ever. I'm not kidding. At all.


Um. I do not know this guy. I googled person eating frozen yogurt and this picture along with many other interesting ones came up. Most of which appeared to have NOTHING to do with eating frozen yogurt. But I felt this guy did a great job of portraying how yummy the stuff really is. He just looks so happy about eating his fro-yo. Is it weird that I have a random guy on my blog? Probably so. It would be even weirder if he came across it by accident. (Oh no, I just started rambling...)

Well, I'm glad I had the chance to share. Thank you for allowing me to get that off my chest. Excuse me while I go peer out the window to the frozen yogurt sign luring me over.

Blog Bum

I've been a bit of a Blog Bum. I wish I had an excuse. But I don't.

Last week, I talked to one of the teacher's at K3's school. (K3 just turned 2 for your reference)They told me about how one of her friends in class got in trouble and had to go to time out.

K3 being the motherly figure that she is, walked over to him with her eyebrows furrowed, pointed in his face, and proceeded to say (waggling finger and all),"How sad Mark Jones. How sad, FOR YOU!"

Now, the teachers thought it was quite funny. But I left the daycare wondering why she would say that. I mean, she must have heard it from somewhere. Don't get me wrong. It was hysterical that she was saying such sophisticated things at the age of two, but who did she hear it from?

I told a few of the teachers at work, which they of course laughed as well, and I finished the conversation up with, "But I don't know where she gets that from. I don't say that..."

Famous last words. Over the course of the next three days, either I caught myself or one of my fabulous teacher friends would point out for me that I was saying THOSE. EXACT. SAME. WORDS.

Hmmmm...

Now, I hear myself saying it before it ever leaves my mouth.

Which brings me to my point. Yes. There is a point.

Even after editing my work a trillion times over, my CP's still find overuse of certain words or phrases, using passive voice instead of active, or *GASP* those pesky adverbs. (Does anyone else find those adverbs to be some form of leech? Or like the old witch trying to feed you the poisonous apple? It just happens. I don't know how.)

It's like I'm blind to my own work. I sure am quick, however, to find them in someone else's work. I pull off my writer's vest and underneath is my Superhuman Grammar Woman onsie, complete with spandex and a cape. I don't why know this is so interesting to me. Am I blind when I am being creative, maybe?

Do you guys have the same problem? Are you an open adverb user, or a closet adverb user?? Do your CPs find all of your blantant stupid mistakes that make you want to slam your fist up against your forehead and say, "I really do sort of know what I'm doing. I promise...)