Friday Five: oh, the places you’ll go without ever leaving your desk

My cousin does not approve of doing this, but sometimes I set my novels in places I’ve never been. Sometimes I even have my novels take place in cities I don’t ever plan on visiting…for example:

1. Bogota
2. El Paso
3. Florida, NY
4. Unspecified City, Indiana
5. Caracas, Venezuela

Do you guys ever write about places you’ve never been?  Ever write about places you don’t ever plan on visiting?  

What Victor would say this week (Again)

Yes, I’m quoting Victor Ward again.  Apparently my inner voice sometimes speaks in the form of a vapid, morally bankrupt male model. 

“Love your work, man.  Peace.”  Glamorama, pg. 36

I’m reading incredible stuff right now. 

• The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor – wow.
• Triangles By Ellen Hopkins – another homerun.  :)
• And I’m critiquing some stuff that’s blowing me away.   

Writers are seriously impressive.  Man.  

Friday Five: A few things, in picture

1.  This book:

2.  This movie:

3.  This outfit:

4.  This drink:

5.  This book too: 

What's on your mind today? 

Conversation with the cousin: sad books

At the time of this conversation the cousin had just finished reading a sad book that will go unnamed to avoid spoilers.  She was distraught, to say the least.

Cousin:  Why does everyone keep dying?  And always the women! Always!

Me: Oh, I know.

Cousin:  And then we have to read about the men falling apart.  It’s so sad.  Men are weak. But it’s so sad.  Always the women.  Why?

Me: Maybe it’s because women live longer, so when they die, it’s always too soon.

Cousin:  (stops being distraught to laugh, sniffles, goes back to being distraught) Women are more resilient and that’s why they die.  Because it’s just not sad enough to read about a woman getting on with her life. 

Me: Maybe that’s it. 

Cousin:  All the books I’ve been reading lately someone has died, and I have cried.  All of them!

Me:  Didn’t you just finished *title deleted to avoid spoilers*. That wasn’t sad, was it?

Cousin:  The dog dies!  Did you forget? The dog dies – of course I cried!  At least in *mystery-thriller-book—title deleted to avoid spoilers* everyone who died, I wanted to die!

And five hours later:  

Cousin:  The love story in*Sad book* kind of reminds me Big and Carrie’s relationship.  The timing was always wrong and they didn’t get together until later in life.   But at least Carrie never dies!

I will be giving her a pallet cleanser book very soon. 

So, what kind of books have you guys been reading lately? 

Friday Five: Poll Taking

I’m so curious:

1.  Do you prefer first draft writing or revisions?

2.  Peanut M&M’s or regular?

3.  Dark YA or light YA?

4.  Twilight or Harry Potter or The Hunger Games or The Mortal Instruments or You-Can’t-Make-Me-Choose-They-Are-Way-Too-Different?

5.  What stage are you at in this whole publishing process? First draft? Revisions? Querying? Editing? On submission? 

Too vs. ,too

Okay.  This is a debate between my current editor (aka my mother) and me. 

Is there a definite rule about when you’re supposed to put a comma before too when using too at the end of a sentence?

According to Grammar Girl:

Should we write, “He has the ball too” with no comma or “He has the ball, too”? Well, you can write the sentence either way. It’s up to you as the writer. A comma before the “too” gives the sentence just a slightly different meaning than the sentence without one.

So you could say, “I too like reading mysteries” or “I like reading mysteries too.” If, on the other hand, you want to emphasize an abrupt change of thought (1), you do use commas, which, among other things, are used to indicate pauses: “I, too, like reading mysteries” or “I like reading mysteries, too.” In these sentences, you are adding a pause to create emphasis.

There is no right or wrong here. Comma or no comma after “too” is really up to you and the context of the paragraph where the “too” sentence is. If you want to emphasize your thought, you can add the comma to slow the sentence down. If no emphasis is necessary, then no comma is necessary.

Is this what you all have heard too? 

Jordan. Catalano.

Confession:  It’s difficult for me when Jared Leto veers from his former Jordan Catalano archetype.  

Sometimes it's very difficult.  

(But it’s okay because the tank top is YSL.)

And can we agree that Tim Riggins is the Jordan Catalano of the 00's?

Friday Five, except this time it's the Friday Seven

I’ve been given these two amazing awards from the following  bloggers: 

• Peggy Eddleman - Will Write for Cookies
• Christine Murray
• Erin Summerill - The Summerill Surf
• Iain's Iainspiration

(Thanks guys!!!)

Seven facts about myself (as required by all award recipients) :)

1.  I was completely grossed out by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but am a huge Bret Easton Ellis fan.  Paradox.

2.  If my cousin and I are to spend a weekend together we almost always schedule in naptime.  Just like when we were kids.

3.  In college I wrote 30,000 words of a story about a twenty-five year old art broker who has an affair with an eighteen year old artist protégé, and accidently saved it to my Finance group’s thumb drive, but did not realize this until the semester was over.  I was too embarrassed to track down the person with drive, but oh man do I wish I could read that story. 

4.  I have still never been to Paris.   Countdown to 2014 – that will be the year.  Oh, yes it will. 

5.  For me the most anticipated book releases of 2012 are: Fever By Lauren DeStefano, This is Not a Test By Courtney Summers, and Whatever the next Mara Dyer book will be By Michelle Hodkin.  

6.  My dream job growing up was: Fashion Buyer.  According to aptitude tests I was best suited as a Funeral Director.  I currently work in Marketing.  No one told me ‘Writer’ was a job!

7.  The peppermint mocha from Starbucks may be my greatest weakness.   

The best part is, of course, passing along the awards to blogs I adore:

1. Anime's Musings
2. Sophia the Writer
3. Tina Moss
4. Stephanie Reads
5. Novel Confessions
6. The Lady Critics Library
7. E.L. Schneider

Speaking of The Hype: Mara Dyer

Perhaps you’ve heard the hype about Michelle Hodkin.

As in the person responsible for The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer.

As in someone we should be thanking.  

This book is awesome.  

Mara is wonderfully twisted.

The characters are the kind that make you laugh and the kind you grow attached to.  

The boy is dreamy.  He’s broken and witty like a Herondale, with the dark-hero vivacity of Damon Salvatore and the intensity and mindfulness of Edward Cullen.  

He’s the best of all worlds and he’s English.

The story is creepy with Bret Easton Ellis undertones.   (Those are my favorite kind of undertones and after you read this book they will be yours too.)  

Very rarely can an author make a main character be so disoriented without disorienting the reader – but Michelle Hodkin does this flawlessly.

The ending is one that is impossible to guess. 


And yes, the book is just as good as the trailer promises it will be.