What's your OTP?

This article about shipping from wikipedia defines OTP like this:

I think it all started with Mary Poppins and Bert the chimney sweep for me. Or maybe it was Westley and Buttercup? Minnie and Mickey? I can't be sure, but ever since I was little, I've always had those couples who I believed should be together forever and ever. This is something I never grew out of and I never want to grow out of it! There's just something really gratifying about seeing two people who you've been wanting to get together actually get together!

I can't help it, I'm constantly in a state of "Now kiss!"

OTPs don't have to be referring to two particular individuals either, I don't think. Maybe you just really like a certain trope. The duke and the servant girl, the lady cop and the bad boy, the mischievous rake and the debutante, etc... I consider these a form of OTPs, too.

It's a good time to be alive for us shippers. The internet has made it possible to flail and share and find others who "ship" the same pairings, which is basically what I want this new blog series to be about.

I want to hear from writers and readers alike! Who are your OTPs? Why do you like that pairing? Why do you think that pairing is appealing to others? If you're interested in being a part of this series, go here and shoot me a message! Tell me which OTP/s you'd like to discuss. I'd like to make this an on-going series so there are plenty of spots open for anyone who wants to participate!

A Newb on Writing Comics...

I've jumped feet first into figuring out how to write comics. As a person who has loved comics her entire life, this has always been a dream. I always knew it was a tough thing to do, but has that swayed me? Not at all. The past week I've really been actively researching and exploring the world of comics publishing and writing. It's amazing what one can learn in just a week.

I always knew it was a tough field to break into, but I never realized it was *this* hard. Most publishers don't just want your script, they want to see drawn pages, which means hiring an artist. Or that's what it means for me since I couldn't draw if my life depended on it. From what I can tell, a lot of agents are the same way. I could be wrong about that one, though. Still looking into agents who rep graphic novel and comics writers. There aren't as many as you'd think. And if you want to write for one of the Big 2 (DC and Marvel), GOOD FREAKING LUCK! I'm personally not interested really in writing established books so the fact that DC and Marvel are off the table doesn't bug me too much. What does bug me is how closed they seem to be to new ideas and new talent. But, whatever.

And then, there's the actual writing of the thing! Go google "comic book script examples". Go on, I'll wait. (I would have just shown you some here, but I'm paranoid about copyright infringement...)

*waits*

Do you see what I mean? Do you see how intricate that stuff is? Similar to a screenplay and yet different. Instead of shots, you have panels. There are tons of terms to learn, too. And if this book is a series, where do you end the first book? Is it like chapters in a novel or not? I mean, maybe... I guess. Wait, no, not really, but sometimes... *sigh* There's so much, it all just makes my brain hurt. But in a good way, if that's possible.

If you came here looking for advice on how to write comics, I'm sorry, but I'm in the same boat you are. I do, however, have some links and recommendations that I've found extremely useful:

Gail Simone wrote this: A Real Tip Just From Nowhere

Neil Gaiman's FAQ page has some advice and some reading recommendations.

One of the books Gaiman recommends is Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud and, guys, GO FREAKING READ THAT RIGHT NOW! I don't care if you've never had any interest in comics ever! Seriously interesting stuff and so well done. I mean, a comic *about* comics? Genius!

Another rec from Gaiman is Will Eisner's Comics and Sequential Art which I will begin reading in the next couple of days as soon as I get over the book hangover I got from Understanding Comics.

The forums at Digitalwebbing.com look to be informative. I just joined and will be perusing them. I know forums were very important in my journey to becoming a published YA author. I'm a fan of forums.

I'll continue to update this post with more links and things as I find them.

Despite my bitching, I'm really excited about this. I'm a learner, I love to learn, so this endeavor is right up my alley. I'll keep you posted, ya know, if you're interested.

Do you have any recs for me? Have you attempted comics writing? Post in the comments!

Bye bye 2013, Hello 2014!

Listening to: Ray LaMontagne
Reading: Not sure yet. Will pick something today. Suggestions?
Watching: Will be watching the new Sherlock once I write at least one chapter.
Playing: Puzzle and Dragons (SO ADDICTIVE!)

So, 2013 was a fantastic year in some respects and a not-so-fantastic year in others. My debut novel, THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD, released on May 7, 2013 which was as exciting as one could imagine. So much awesomeness there, I can't even. I learned a lot from the whole experience of writing, editing, and waiting on pins and needles for that book to come out.

One of the big things I learned was first drafts are easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy in comparison to editing. With a first draft, it's just you and your imagination and your characters and your lava lamp and a beer. But with editing, it's more like you and your editors and stress eating and the ever looming question of "Will people even like this???"

Since coming to this realization, I've been sort of stuck writing-wise. Because, as I'm sure I've stated here before, I'm a worrier. Worry, worry, worry. I worry about everything. What has happened, what will happen, what won't happen. It's all fair game for my worry habit. And every time I'd sit down to write something, I'd be really excited! At first. Then the worry would set in and "Nope, this is all crap. Better try something else. Or better yet, let's just watch ten episodes of Supernatural in a row. That'll make everything better." (Because, as we all know, Supernatural is the best thing ever.) But, SURPRISE SURPRISE, that strategy didn't work.

So here I am, in the same spot I was a year ago except with a lot more book ideas, a lot more unfinished stories, and a lot less Supernatural to catch up on. That's sounds pretty pitiful, now that I look at it. BUT not to worry! *says the queen of worrying*

Seriously though, there comes a point where I have to get over myself. I have to stand outside myself and take a good look, pretend like I don't know this silly girl in pajamas who never leaves home without her sonic screwdriver. And, as an observer, I need to give that geeky girl some advice:

Shut up with the whining, put on your big girl panties, and boot up, honey. Because things aren't going to get any better on their own. So, buckle down, focus, put on some actual clothes and GET TO WORK!... Okay, maybe keep the PJs because they do look comfortable.

There you have it. That's my main resolution, if you want to call it that, for 2014. To stop worrying so much and get some sh** done!

Are you with me? Bring it on, 2014!

IT'S ALIVE!!!

That's right, folks. THIS BLOG IS NOT DEAD! I know it's been a while since my little blog here has had anything new to say, but do not despair! I plan on bringing this baby back! In fact, there are a lot of things I want to fix in the coming year.

Yes, this is one of those end-of-the-year, reflection, resolutions posts. I know a lot of people do these and you'll probably get tired of them quickly, but I feel like if I say out loud, to the public, what I want to do in the coming year, I might actually feel obligated to DO those things. So here we go.

1. Writing: I need to be more disciplined with my writing. I will stick to a schedule. I will push through the tough times and get those words down because:

I also want to try some different things this coming year. A big goal for me is to write a comic book script. Because, ya know:

*insert gif of Jay yelling, "COMIIIICS!!!" from Mallrats.

I couldn't find one and it makes me sad all day.

Get on that, internet!*

2. Reading: I have been really lazy about reading for a while. Like the last time I finished reading a novel was over the summer, I think. I did go on a comics binge the other day, though. House of Mystery is phenomenal, btw. But King is right. I'm officially setting a goal for myself. I shall read at least 50 books in 2014! It has been said and so it shall be! 

3. Blogging: December 22nd is this blog's THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Holy crap! I'm not sure if 2013 really counts since I barely posted anything at all, but I'm counting it, so there. Three years ago, I set out to blog very consistently about my adventures in writing. And it went well for the first year. Then I got busy and kind of let this blog go unchecked. But this coming year will be different! 

I will blog at least once a week! You heard me, ONCE A WEEK! 

I'm not promising that it will always be about books or writing because I have to save all my good literary talk for The Secret Life of Writers blog (which you should totally check out). But there will be something here at least once a week. 

There are tons of other things I want to accomplish or improve upon in the coming year, but they're the boring ones like losing weight, eating healthier, changing out of my pajamas before 3pm at least twice a week, etc. So, I won't bother you with those, BUT I do want to hear your resolutions for the new year! Tell meeeeeeee because I'm a great listener!

Just keep swimming.

So, it's been about 11 weeks since TSIBaN was released. *cues the happy dance*

And it's been going well, I think. Of course, I have no idea really what is good, passable, or not good at all, but I like to think readers like the book. So, that's awesome! I'm super thankful for all the readers, all the comments, and all the new friends I've made throughout this whole thing! Seriously, I never expected all this awesomeness!

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I want to be kind of candid for a moment. I watched this video from Kelsey Macke, one of those new friends that I met in the Adult Nerdfighter Facebook group:

You should watch it because a lot, alotalotalot, of what she says is how I feel. Especially the part about what her agent mentions about how we constantly compare our personal self to everyone else's public self. This is something I'd never heard before but it has totally struck a cord with me. I try really hard to remind myself that I am me, I am who I am and there's no escaping that, I wouldn't want to escape it! But it's easy, for me at least, to fall into this idea that others are doing things better than I am. And I'll admit that my jealous side does come out every once in a while. Or daily... But I see these prolific writers pumping out 2, 3, 4!!! books a year and I'm still wondering if I'll ever be able to finish another book. Not to mention trying to keep up with all the other stuff that's involved with being a published author, a mother of 2, a wife, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love authors who can write that much awesome stuff, but, damn it, why can't that be meeee?!

(Side note: I realize I might be sounding like the crying prom queen here, but sometimes I just need a venue that's not going to judge me. Somewhere I can be honest and voice my problems.)

There are days when I'm inspired and I want to do ALL THE THINGS! But there seem to be more days where I'd rather just wallow in my incompetency and eat chips and dip and spend hours on Tumblr looking at Sherlock gifs. I guess before I was published I thought, "If can just conquer this hurdle, it'll be smooth sailing." How I got this in my head, I have no idea! Because the sailing is not smooth, my friends. It's freaking choppy. It's tsunamic (not a word but it is now).

I want to end this rambling blog post with some poetic answer as to how to fix this, but the truth is there is no magic, pretty answer. Life is hard, shit happens, there are road blocks, and the only thing we can do is keep on swimming. I know this. And there are good things, too. So many good, wonderful, amazing things! I guess I just need to focus more on those good things rather than allowing doubt, jealousy, and Sherlock gifs get in the way.

If you read this entire, whiny post, thank you. And if you just skimmed over it, that's cool, too. If you want to commiserate, please do! Like Kelsey said in her vlog, there's a ton of support for querying authors (as it should be), but once you get the agent/editor, things can become super lonely.

Pre-Release Jitters

4 days, guys... 4 FREAKING DAYS UNTIL THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD IS RELEASED FOR REAL INTO THE WORLD! ASDFJKL;!!!!!!!!!

FREAK OUT!!!

Deep breath... I'm calm, really...

Now that the freak out is over, I have a question. So, I'm a total noob at this whole thing and I have no idea what to expect. I'm sure there'll be lots of mixed emotions, heck there has already been an infinity of emotions like:

Scared-out-of-my-mind, dear-God-what-have-I-done fear

It'll-be-okay-cuz-I'm-full-of-magic self confidence boost

Which is usually followed by:

The drunken whatevers

And after going through all the craziness up until this point, I'd like to at least try to prepare myself for what's ahead. So here are my questions:

Authors, is there something you wish you would have known before/during your first book release?

And readers, what do you or don't you like to see from debut authors around release time?

Any comments are welcome because I'd rather this not be me in a few days.

Test

Game of Secrets with The S.L.O.W. Ladies!

Maybe you knew this, maybe you didn't, but I'm a contributor to the Secret Life of Writers blog along with the awesome Stefanie Gaither, the adorable Andrea Hannah, the sweet Heather Marie, and the talented Kelsey Sutton. And today begins an event we're doing over on The Mod Podge Bookshelf called Game of Secrets!

My post will happen on 3/15, but I'd like to go ahead and give a little info on my character: Simon Roberts! (I'll probably be adding to this page as I delve deeper into this character and who he is, so maybe pop back later when my post goes up?)

Simon is smart, shy, and can be seen as creepy sometimes due to his awkwardness around people. He's the kind of guy who doesn't say anything unless it's absolutely necessary. He tends to favor black clothing and his eyesight is so bad that without his glasses, everything is a blur. Friendless in every way, Simon is seriously confused as to why he was invited to this masquerade party.

That's a great question, Jennifer Lawrence, thanks for asking!  This will be a murder mystery like Clue, and also kinda like Clue, once we've given you all of our characters' sides of the story, YOU get to write the ending! Sounds fun, right?! So, why do you want to participate in this event? Well, 1. It's going to be fun and awesome and 2. PRIZES!!! All us Lifers will be giving away fun stuff and gift cards!

THIS COULD BE YOU!

Here's the kind of hub for the Game of Secrets stuff so you can check out the other characters and their posts when they're up. Also, we'll be using #GoS on Twitter, so check it!

Buckle up, it's going to be a mysterious ride!

COVER REVEAL: A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris

YAY! It's a cover reveal! Today I get to help the super sweet Rachel Harris (Entangled Pub. sister and all-around awesome person) with the cover reveal for her second novel, A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES!

Let's check out the blurb, shall we?

Alessandra D’Angeli is in need of an adventure. Tired of her sixteenth-century life in Italy and homesick for her time-traveling cousin, Cat, who visited her for a magical week and dazzled her with tales of the future, Alessandra is lost. Until the stars hear her plea.

One mystical spell later, Alessandra appears on Cat’s Beverly Hills doorstep five hundred years in the future. Surrounded by confusing gadgets, scary transportation, and scandalous clothing, Less is hesitant to live the life of a twenty-first century teen…until she meets the infuriating—and infuriatingly handsome—surfer Austin Michaels. Austin challenges everything she believes in…and introduces her to a world filled with possibility.

With the clock ticking, Less knows she must live every moment of her modern life while she still can. But how will she return to the drab life of her past when the future is what holds everything she’s come to love?

*drool* Sounds awesome, right?! Oh and, Austin, HEY BOY HEY!

Now for the COVER!!!

Go on, pet the pretty... You know you want to!

PLUS, there's an excerpt! Squee!

Austin pushes the red and black Jet Ski into the water, past the first few crashing waves, then throws a leg over the side. He turns to me, extending an upturned palm, but as I watch the water pound against his legs, I slowly shake my head and inch away. Forget the confusion of the past few minutes or my concern if riding wrapped around Austin is appropriate…are jet skis even safe? So far, my experience with modern machines has taught me that they travel at terrifying speeds. What if I were to accidently let go and fly off? I don’t know how to swim!

Austin’s face gentles and he curls his fingers, coaxing me closer to the watery death trap. “I’ve got you, Alessandra,” he says. “I promise nothing’s gonna hurt you. You can trust me.”

The sardonic guise he hides behind drops for just a moment, but it is enough.

I say a quick prayer and place my hand in his.

With my legs straddling the seat, my arms wrapped tightly around Austin’s firm stomach, and my chest and face pressed against his back, I do not need the extra layer my wetsuit provides. I am quite warm without it. Under me, the engine rumbles. Austin grabs my clasped hands, ensuring my death grip. And then we are flying.

Fear is left behind me on the beach. My laughter is swallowed by the wind. And I hold onto Austin. The rest of the world falls away as he powers the machine forward. Whistling sound envelops us yet there’s also silence in the midst of the roar. Out here, there’s no room for worrisome thoughts about the future or about the past. No time for concerns over when I will return or how much I miss my family. In this bubble of Austin, wind, and water, all I can do is live and breathe and smile.

Austin spins us in circles and then we fly straight ahead, free as the winged creatures overhead. He bounces us over a swell and a spray of water splashes my face, tickling the skin left exposed from my wetsuit. I squeal, and under my clasped hands, I feel his taut stomach muscles shake with laughter. Then he takes off again in another sharp turn, racing in the opposite direction of which we came. Excitement has me screaming, asking him to go faster. I close my eyes against the sting of the salty air and the lash of my hair and tilt my head back, feeling more uninhibited than I ever have before.

More free, more alive…just more.

As a teen, Rachel Harris threw raging parties that shook her parents’ walls and created embarrassing fodder for future YA novels. As an adult, she reads and writes obsessively, rehashes said embarrassing fodder, and dreams up characters who become her own grown up version of imaginary friends.

When she's not typing furiously or flipping pages in an enthralling romance, you can find her homeschooling her two beautiful princesses, hanging out with her amazing husband, or taking a hot bubble bath…next to a pile of chocolate. A Tale of Two Centuries is her second novel. 

Follower her (cuz she's amaze-balls):  

Twitter 

Facebook

PRE-ORDER: Amazon..... B&N...

There's one more thing. That's right, A GIVEAWAY!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats on the gorgeous cover, Rachel!!! Can't wait to read about Less and Austin! 

OMG! Look at the PRETTY! and a GIVEAWAY!

Notice anything different?? Huh? *waggles eyebrows* That's right, I now have an official website! It was done by the awesome Rachel Silberman. Please, check her out! She did an amazing job!

Now in honor of my shiny, new site I'm giving away ANOTHER Wonder Woman t-shirt AND a promise of an eARC of THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD! As soon as eARCs are ready, the winner will get it in their inbox :)

So, clicky-clicky around on my new site, use the contact form to send me a message, look at the cute animation on the home page, and don't forget to enter to win!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Once again, this is for US only. I know a few who won't be happy about this, but you guys' turn is coming! 

Wonder Woman T-Shirt Giveaway!

GIVEAWAY TIME!

THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD will be releasing on May 7, 2013, which is only *counts fingers* 80 days away!!! So I figured it's time to start doing some awesome giveaways because I'm so freaking excited and I like you guys and I like these shirts and yeah... 

Isn't it pretty?! *pets pretty shirt*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Contest ends Friday, February 22!!! Enter Away!

P.S. This is a US only giveaway :( Sorry everyone else, but fear not, this is the first of many giveaways to come!

 

DEAR CASSIE Cover Reveal

Got a beautiful cover from the awesome Lisa Burstein to show you today!

But first, in addition to the DEAR CASSIE cover reveal, Lisa is hosting an EPIC CONTEST to celebrate DEAR CASSIE’ s cover reveal.  Lisa wants you guys to share diary entries of your favorite fictional characters with her. That’s right, choose ANY character from books, TV, movies, a cereal box and write a 500-750 length diary entry from their point of view.

She'll will choose the top 5 and then let the masses vote on their favorite. The favorite will be published in the final version of DEAR CASSIE. You read that right, published with the author’s name! The additional four will win $20 book buying gift cards.

So get diary-ing! Send your entries to prettyamystories@yahoo.com by January 1st!

Voting for the top 5 will begin January 7th, with the winner being announced January 14th!

Now on to the COVER!!!

Gorgeous, right?!

Blurb: What if the last place you should fall in love is the first place that you do?

You’d think getting sent to Turning Pines Wilderness Camp for a month-long rehabilitation “retreat” and being forced to re-live it in this journal would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.

You’d be wrong.

There’s the reason I was sent to Turning Pines in the first place: I got arrested. On prom night. With my two best friends, who I haven’t talked to since and probably never will again. And then there’s the real reason I was sent here. The thing I can’t talk about with the guy I can’t even think about.

What if the moment you’ve closed yourself off is the moment you start to break open?

                                                                                                                                 

But there’s this guy here. Ben. And the more I swear he won’t—he can’t—the deeper under my skin he’s getting. After the thing that happened, I promised I’d never fall for another boy’s lies.

And yet I can’t help but wonder…what if?

AND there's an excerpt! 

Excerpt: We kept walking on the lake trail, the bullfrogs croaking. There was also a humming in my ears from the nicotine.

 It could only be from the nicotine. It had nothing to do with being outside, at night, alone with Ben. It had nothing to do with Ben coming to the cabin and taking me instead of Nez and it definitely had nothing to do with the stars above us shining like they were the sky’s tiara. 

I stopped on the trail and looked up, taking them in, when all of a sudden bright colored lights exploded in the sky—fireworks, one after another, on top of each other, huge kaleidoscopes of light, like sparkling rainbow spiders.

“How did you know?” I asked, my voice going softer, like if I talked too loudly they would stop. It was so beautiful, after weeks of so much ugly. 

Ben turned to look at me, the colored lights in the sky turning his skin pink, blue, green. “I’m magic.” He shrugged.

I geared up to tell him to fuck off, because that was some corny-ass shit, but then I realized that he really kind of was. In that moment he was able to actually make me forget being me.

 “I would try to kiss you,” he said, “but I’m afraid you’d kick me in the balls.”

“I probably would.” I laughed, the sky filling with noisy color like paint launching from a giant popcorn popper. “But like I said, it wouldn’t be about you.”

“I guess I’ll have to figure out how to make it about me,” he said, taking off his boots and socks and standing. “Come on.”

“There is no way I am getting near that water again,” I said.

“I’ll make sure nothing happens to you,” he said, holding his hand out to help me up.

            I looked at his palm, open, waiting, just wanting to hold mine. For once, I didn’t think about anything except that there was a cute, sweet, smart-ass boy standing in front of me with his hand out.

I pulled off my boots and socks and took it.  

We stood at the lakeshore, our hands still clasped, the water licking our feet, fireworks decorating the sky.

I turned to him. He was looking up, his mouth open in wonder like he was trying to swallow the moment.

It was definitely one worth keeping.

DEAR CASSIE pre-buy links:

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13628374-dear-cassie

The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Dear-Cassie-Lisa-Burstein/9781620612545

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dear-Cassie-Lisa-Burstein/dp/1620612542/

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dear-cassie-lisa-burstein/1113610316

PRETTY AMY Links:

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13375237-pretty-amy

Powells: http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9781620611197-0

The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Pretty-Amy-Lisa-Burstein/9781620611197

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pretty-Amy-Lisa-Burstein/dp/1620611198/

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pretty-amy-lisa-burstein/1108930786

About the Author: Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She received her MFA in Fiction from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University. She lives in Portland, OR, with her very patient husband, a neurotic dog and two cats. Dear Cassie is her second novel.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#%21/LisaBurstein

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LisaBursteinAuthor

Website: http://www.lisaburstein.com

So, what do you guys think? I love it! All the words! And the guy looks cute ;) Let me know in the comments!

Thank You and a Promise

Yesterday was the cover reveal of my book, The Summer I Became a Nerd, which is just well... CRAZY TOWN!

THE cover... Of a book... That was written by ME... I mean, that's just BONKERS!

If you haven't seen it yet, here you go!

It's adorable and I love it and I think it fits the vibe of the book and just.... *faints*

But enough about that, what this blog post is really about is me saying THANK YOU!

Thank you to all you amazing bloggers who took the time to work up posts for the reveal, who were brave enough to put my stupid face on your blogs, who talked about my book and what you thought of the cover and the concept. To all of you who went to Goodreads and added it to your shelves. I was ridiculously happy all day long!!!

And as I clicked on post after post, the love I felt for the book community and all the readers and authors friends just grew to the point where I realized something. And here's where the promise part comes in. I feel a responsibility and want to make this the best book it can be. I want it to make you laugh out loud! I want you to fall in love with these characters as much as I have! I want it to go in your keeper pile and stay there!

So, that's my promise to all of you. I will make this the best book I can. Because you are all wonderful and...

Sign up for TSIBAN Cover Reveal (Jon Stewart Style)

That's right, people! The time has come!

The cover for THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD by yours truly will be revealed on November 30th and I am over the mooooon :D

So, if you'd like to help me reveal this awesomeness on your site, please let me know in the comments and leave your email address so we can send you all the juicy details!

Sign ups will end on Monday, November 26th, so get to commenting!

How to kickstart your muse

I was in a slight slump the other day. I wanted my mind to wander, to imagine all those lovely, awesome new book ideas, but my brain just didn't want to cooperate. So, I asked Twitter and the fantastic ladies over on the WrAHM Facebook group if anyone had tips or tricks for getting the muse into gear. I received tons of great responses, and here they are! (Please click on their tweets to go to their twitters. Then follow these ladies because they're AWESOME!)

(Click on these ladies' names to head over to their blogs, or in some cases, their twitters, for more amazing content!)

Shallee McArthur says, "I have a playlist on YouTube for each book and use it to help me 'get in the mood' before I start writing (when I'm drafting, I can't listen to music while writing). When rewriting, I often have a song on the list for specific scenes, and I listen to that song while I work on the rewrite."

Bethany Crandell has a unique suggestion ;) : "My muse loves it when I blow my hair dry. Must be all the white noise and fumes from the hair product."

Tristina Wright says, "Pinterest inspiration boards! I have a board for each of my books plus generic writing and character boards where I keep ideas for future stories."

Melissa Brady King agrees with Bethany: "The hair dryer has some weird connection to my brain. It blows ideas in my ears or something. Good ideas sometimes occur when I'm folding laundry, but I often get inspired while running and listening to my WIP playlist."

Katherine Ernst recommends asking a lot of "What if?" questions. "Even when I think I know where the plot is going, I like to ask myself questions about whether this plot element or that character choice could be changed or modified. Could this twist be added, or that character be different. Many ideas get thrown away, but sometimes asking those sorts of questions leads to really interesting story choices that wouldn't have been discovered otherwise."

Melissa Blanco also likes listening to her playlist and going for a run. She also says, "Whenever I sit down to write, I read over the last scene I wrote." (I also like doing this. I feel like it gets me back into the story and I might catch a few typos in the process.)

H.E. Gryphus likes Pinterest, as well, and adds, "Staring at a fire... Seriously... I did it this weekend and kept running back to the house to write down notes."

Erica Covey says, "Listening to music or going outside/playing with the kids works best for me. Actually doing anything that prevents me from writing down notes (shower, rocking baby to sleep, baking) is sure to give me a few ideas." (THIS happens to me all the time, too! Which is why I put a voice recorder app on my phone!)

Jessica Opfer has this same thing happen to her, too. "I tend to play scenes in my head while I am swimming laps, walking the dog, or feeding the baby. So yeah, any time I can't actually write things down is pretty much when the best thinking happens. Go figure!"

Robin Lucas goes for a nap. Sometimes our brain just needs to recharge, I think.

Melissa Hurst says, "I use a notepad to write ideas down when I start a scene and I don't know where I'm heading. I include anything that comes to mind no matter how weird it sounds." (I love this suggestion because one never knows what thoughts are going to lead to that AMAZING idea!)

Alexandra O'Connor recommends a shower (I'm on the shower team too!). "Seriously, all my good ideas come to me when I don't have a dang thing to write them on. I have to keep repeating key phrases over and over until I'm done."

Do you have any suggestions for kickstarting the muse??? Please, leave them in the comments!

Keeping Things Fresh

I am definitely a creature of habit. I like a routine. Get up, fix coffee, have coffee while checking internet things, try to write, blah blah blah. But today, I've switched things up. See, normally my husband takes our 6YO to the bus stop in the morning allowing me to sleep a little later which means I'll stay up late. But I've noticed that I write more in the morning, when my mind is fresh. When I stay up, I say that I'll get writing done, but I usually just end up watching a lame movie or youtube videos or playing phone games. Then I'm like:

So, I'm hoping this change will make a difference in my daily word count. We shall see. It's 8:30 now (a good hour before I normally wake up), and I've already done my twittering, facebooking, and now, even a blog post.

Also, there's just something about making a change in one's life. Even though it's just a tiny thing, I feel like I'm moving forward. Like I just leveled up or something!

LEVEL UP DANCE!

Now it's time to spend those experience points and get down to business!

What about you? Are you a morning or night or evening writer? Do you stick to a routine or let things happen as they may?

OPAL by Jennifer L. Armentrout Reveal

No one is like Daemon Black.
When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love. After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Follow this link to an ~~~ EPIC CONTEST ~~~ Announcement. You will want to bookmark this page!

http://jenniferarmentrout.blogspot.com/p/october-1-2012.html

USA TODAY Bestselling author, Jennifer L. Armentrout, lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Lynn.

Find Jennifer on: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website | Blog

5 Animated Movies That Won't Annoy The Crap Out Of You

I'm a stay-at-home mom. My oldest is six and then there's the three year old. We don't have television because we can't afford it. It's not so bad seeing as I don't have America's Top Model or reruns of CSI to distract me, but I also don't have Nick Jr. to distract the monkey-boy. The littlest is pretty good about keeping himself entertained, but sometimes I have to just put on some eye candy to keep him out of trouble (and to retain my sanity). In other words, I've seen a lot, A LOT, of animated movies. And I've narrowed it down to the least annoying, the ones that I actually enjoy and can handle watching multiple times (because as most people know, children can watch the same movie twelve times in one day and still say, "Again, again!"). So, here they are for those of you who might be in the same position as me.

1. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 

Based on the children's book written by Judi Barrett, this is our family's go to movie. We even have a nickname for it: Steve. The voice acting includes Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Andy Samberg, Mr. T, Neil Patrick Harris, and the always brilliant, Bruce Campbell. The animation is fun, the story is great, and my husband and I are constantly repeating some of the hilarious one liners. I'm pretty sure a day doesn't go by that we don't watch this movie, and oddly enough, that's alright with me.

2. TANGLED

Remember when you were a little girl and you had crushes on animated characters? Yeah, apparently I never grew out of that. I just love Flynn Rider played by Zachary Levi in this one. My husband says the horse, Maximus, is the best part of the movie. And my 3yo has "Mother Knows Best" stuck in his head practically day and night. Laugh out loud moments combined with great songs make this one a classic Disney flick.

3. MEGAMIND

You can see all the big names in this one. I'm particularly impressed with the story. There's a great anti-hero thing going on plus a strong female character. And the animation is really quite pretty.

4. GNOMEO & JULIET

All Elton John, all movie long. Emily Blunt and James McAvoy do the main voices in this retelling of Romeo and Juliet. I'm a sucker for retellings and I love Shakespeare so this is a no-brainer for me. Also, there is nothing sweeter than listening to the boys sing along with "Love Builds a Garden." Makes me tear up every time.

5. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

This is a recent addition to our regular viewing list. The 6yo especially loves this one. There are lots of Scottish accents which I could listen to all day. The story reminds me of a boy and his dog kind of story. And who wouldn't want their own Toothless?

So, there you have it! I'm always looking for new kids' movies to add to our list. Do you have any that don't make you want to pull your hair out?

And now that I've finally done a new blog post, I think I deserve a break!

Entangled Teen Blog Launch!

Today, I'm first up on the brand-spanking-new Entangled Teen Author Blog! Head on over to share in my Crush on guys with accents! Mmmmm, accents...

PLUS, there's a huge giveaway going on! YAY FREE BOOKS!

Fangirl Friday

Long time, no FF! I know, I know, but today I'm feeling especially fangirly so let's get right to it.

A little while ago I mentioned that I would start watching Doctor Who. Guess what happened...

Yep... So, I think I'm finally emerging from my Doctor depression (or Tennant-itis, as I like to call it) and I can talk about how awesome this series is. One of the things I think is so great about Doctor Who is the way the writers have taken every day things and worked them into the essence of what Doctor Who is. They've created a fandom like no other. Take this picture above. The 3-D glasses, the bowtie, the TARDIS coffee mug, the thing-a-ma-bob he's holding (that's a sonic screwdriver, btw), and the banana are all references to the show and 3 of those things you could come into contact with often. Now that I'm a fan, I can't go a day without being reminded of The Doctor just by living life. Talk about smart writing.

I could seriously go on and on about the sheer brilliance of Doctor Who, but it would probably involve lots of spoilers and girly squeeing and ugly crying so I'll save that for another day.

Next on the FF agenda is the Nerdist! Go listen! Tons of podcasts featuring only the coolest celebrities and film and TV writers. I must say that my favorites are the ones where Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray, and Matt Mira just have a conversation. The David Tennant interview is, of course, awesome.

Also, listening to these guys is strangely inspiring. I feel the need to find someone to geek out with, to start on that costume I've been wanting to make, and write about all the nerdy things.

Which is what I shall do now!

What are ya'll nerding out about?