what i'm excited about today

volcano girls

Chicken Wire pointed out that I forgot my favorite. song. ever. by the best. band. ever. I apologize.



Volcano girls. We really can't be beat.

saturday songs

Since I seem to be stuck in the 90s...

where i'm from

It's 1996. I'm wearing ripped jeans and flannel. Bracelets all up and down my arm. Hair color changing every week. Paint my nails black with silver sparkles. Like a different boy every day because I am a feminist and somehow this makes boys playthings. Fall in love for the first time. Get awesome tickets to Bush (aaaah, Gavin Rossdale... so hot) but then get grounded so I can't go. Write terrible poetry in which I name the trees in the backyard. Teachers--hell, anyone over eighteen is from another planet. Shop at Goodwill for the ugliest possible collared shirt that'll fit dress code. Start a chess club just so I can put "president of chess club" on my college applications (secretly read Chess for Dummies late into the night). Design a zine that will make a jock one day say mockingly, "Awwww, why doncha go WRITE ABOUT IT???" Don't live up to my potential. Make people sign my shoes to somehow prove we're all really there, living through it together. Obsess about a boy named Thad Seeman (seriously, that was his name!). Work at a girl scout camp and sing children to sleep. Think it's terribly uncool to care--about anything. Get in trouble for doing things I don't dare mention now that I'm an authority figure.


~~~
This is where I came from.







God, high school doesn't change much, does it? 

exciting day!

I've been looking forward to today for a long time, ever since I first saw the cover for THE REPLACEMENT. That was before I signed with Sarah Davies, Brenna Yovanoff's agent. Now I'm even more excited to read her book, which releases today. I'm home with a sick baby (I think it's just a fever from her one-year shots, but just in case... staying home), so I can't go out and buy it until tomorrow--but, lucky for me, the first chapter is posted online! Go partake in the awesomeness!

Monday MeMe

5 Books I've Read Recently:

1. The Maze Runner
2. Siren
3. All Unquiet Things
4. Doing It
5. Gimme a Call

5 Books I'm Planning to Read (or Finish) in the Near Future:

1. The Duff
2. The Book Thief
3. Paper Towns
4. Beautiful Creatures
5. The Other Side of Blue

5 of My Favorite Books:

1. The Hunger Games
2. The Passage
3. The Secret History
4. Some Girls Are
5. The Time Traveler's Wife

5 of My Least Favorite Books:

Eh... not gonna go there.

5 of My Favorite Book-to-Film Adaptations:

1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Cider House Rules
3. In Her Shoes
4. My Sister's Keeper
5. The Stand

character exercise: natalie

They call me Natalie.

I was born in the water, inhaling it before the air and liking it, kicking and screaming when they yanked me into the cold, bitter nothingness.

My mother wanted a water birth because she felt it’d be more natural.

My father, ever the doctor, was against the home birth scenario at the beginning. But he was (and is still) smitten with my mother, so he gave in. He hired a doula and had the car running the whole time, in case he had to rush my mom to the hospital.

Something happened during my birth, and my mom couldn’t stop bleeding, and it turned out my dad did have to rush her to the hospital. After that, my mom couldn’t have any more kids. Sometimes I like to torture myself, wondering if my dad wished he had a son. He’s never made me feel like I wasn’t enough, though. He’s never made me feel like I wasn’t the whole universe wrapped up in one small girl.

They try to surround me with shiny, pink things, but they can’t keep the dark away.

When I was just a baby, I used to point at things other people couldn’t see. I’d laugh and clap my hands and follow the shadows with my eyes. It’s always been that way. Death is all around us, everywhere, but no one else seems to notice.

I was never afraid of it, though.

Not until I held it within me.  

making the rounds

I've certainly been getting around lately. Wait, that sounds bad. 

On Monday, I guest blogged at GotYA about the similarities between writing and playing World of Warcraft.

And yesterday the lovely Dorothy Dreyer posted an interview with me over at We Do Write, a blog aimed at following the journeys of aspiring novelists.

These blogs are both awesome (uh, and not because they both recently featured yours truly--they rock in spite of that)! Definitely check them out if you haven't already!

alternating POVs... whaddya think?

I've just turned in my second round of edits on SLIDE, and I'm ready to work on something else. Instead of starting something completely new, I've decided to prepare for UNFATHOMABLE revisions. It will involve a lot of the same process that I used for SLIDE--basically, delving a lot deeper into the characters, their histories, their relationships.

UNFATHOMABLE's main character is Evan, a sixteen-year-old boy whose sister disappeared ten years before the story begins. The story is told in first person present from his perspective. But now, as I'm contemplating some of the secondary characters, I'm realizing that Natalie's backstory is so compelling. I really want to explore her life more extensively than I can from Evan's perspective.

So here's the question: what do you think of alternating POVs? I'm thinking of doing a SHIVER type structure, going back and forth between Evan and Natalie. Want to weigh in?

Off topic: This morning, as I was thinking about SLIDE and UNFATHOMABLE, I realized SLIDE is all about the loss of a parent. UNFATHOMABLE is all about the loss of a child. I'm so doom and gloom!

SIREN by Tricia Rayburn

It's a shame I downloaded SIREN on my Nook because the cover is so gorgeous! In person, the girl's eyes are all shiny and seem to follow you around. But it was a whim purchase; one of my friends said the plot sounded similar to a book I wrote over the summer, so I decided to check it out.

Ooooh, this book is creepy! I was reading at night, all alone in the house, and I definitely had the lights on. The story is about Vanessa Sands, a scaredy cat girl whose sister disappears after a day of cliff diving.  She pairs up with nerdy-hot Simon, and the two investigate the strange happenings in Winter Harbor.  That's really all I'll say because I don't want to give too much away. I kind of wish I hadn't read some reviews before devouring the story because they spoiled some of the surprises.

I can see why my friend thought the plot sounded a bit like the book I wrote over the summer, but the only things in common are the missing sister and mysterious drownings.  Mine goes in a COMPLETELY different direction.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book! I finished it in a couple of evenings, and it sated my appetite for a scary, dark paranormal novel. The book is the first in a trilogy; I think the second one is coming out next summer.

SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater

I'm not that into werewolf stories, but Stiefvater's prose sucked me in from the very first page. And it's not really a werewolf story because she's completely reinvented the whole werewolf legend so it makes more sense scientifically. Though it's a big book, SHIVER clips along at a steady, riveting pace and never fails to surprise. Did I mention the beautiful writing? Just gorgeous. Oh, and the end made me sigh. I'll be checking out Linger soon, don't you worry!

ALL UNQUIET THINGS and status update

ALL UNQUIET THINGS by Anna Jarzab

I remember first seeing the cover of ALL UNQUIET THINGS a while back...  It's so eye-catching, haunting, creepy, and yet--beautiful.  Immediately, I filed the book into my TBR list.

The story is a mystery told through the alternating viewpoints of Neally and Audrey. A year before, Neally's ex-girlfriend and Audrey's cousin was found shot to death. Now the two, who are not exactly friends, must work together to find out who killed Carly, the girl they both loved.

Jarzab's prose is mature and literary, yet she captures the main characters' voices authentically. She expertly weaves in backstory to let us get to know Carly and the other characters before the murder. She kept me guessing until the very end, which is smart and satisfying.

I listened to the audio recording of the book, and there's an interview with Jarzab at the end. It was interesting to listen to her process. This book is the result of seven years of work. Wow! And I thought several months of revision was a lot!

~~~

SLIDE update:

You may have seen my post earlier this week, in which I squeee!ed about Sarah approving of my revision. That doesn't mean I don't still have work to do. Sarah is putting together line-edits for me and getting a second opinion from her colleague, Julia Churchill. I have some tweaks to do on the mystery-side of the book. Make sure the killer isn't too obvious and all that.

But I'm getting closer. So much closer. And the book has improved incredibly over the last few months. I'll keep you updated.

~~~

What I'm reading: IF I STAY by Gayle Forman, SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater, and SISTERS RED by Jackson Pearce. Reviews to come soon!

~~~

What I'm listening to (thinking about revisions):

wheeeeeeeee!!!!!

Successful revisions! Yay!

P.S. I shall write a much more dignified post over the weekend, but I just wanted to let you know!

Squee!