The right moment for the right book

One of my favorite books ever written, EVER, is The Adults by Alison Espach. 

I love it so much much I selfishly bought several of the paperbacks to give out as presents so more people will know what I’m talking about when I quote the dinner party line. 


Someone warned me once, “You know, if you keep saying how much you relate to The Adults, people are going to think you did what Emily Vidal did.”  To be clear while still keeping things as vague and un-spoilery as possible: I didn’t do what Emily Vidal did. (Nor did my friend Brie, who also thought The Adults was very relatable. So there.) 

Alain de Botton recently Tweeted: "Most of what makes a book 'good' is that we are reading it at the right moment for us." 

So that must be it. When on page 306 Emily's mother says, "Honey, your late twenties is not the time for playing dumb," she's talking to me. And when Emily says, "the sun made us feel like better people," I know exactly what she means. 

What book did you stumble on at just the right time? 

Friday Five: The words I like too much

There are certain words that take over my manuscript. I need to start using the thesaurus more diligently. Or my character's need to stop so consistently raising their eyebrows. I can't be the only one who suffers from this problem, the problem of using the same word too many times in the same book.  

1.  Raising of the eyebrows. (I wasn't kidding).

2.  Though. (This includes, 'Even though').

3.  Adorable. (Yes, really. I'm a little embarrassed about this one).

4.  Things 'flying open.' (Cabinets, eyes, car doors - this is what they do).

5.  Familiar. (Never recognizable. Never proverbial. Always familiar). 

What words take over your manuscript? 

Friday Five: When you root for the bad guy

I'm currently reading a book and I'm growing impatient waiting for the bad guy to win. Okay, I don't want him to win-win. I would like him to win a few more battles, but not the entire war - if that makes sense.  

You do this too, right? Sometimes you just want the bad guy to get in a good jab so you can see more of him*? No? 

1. If the bad guy happens to hold the MC prisoner in a mansion, then yes, sometimes I root for him simply because I enjoy the mansion. 

2.  If the bad guy is tragic and he's going to learn something about himself or his past that's going to make him better or worse. 

3.  If the bad guy is funny. That's enjoyable, and deserving of a few 'wins.'

4.  If the bad guy is British. Always good to have that accent in a story. 

5.  If the bad guy is actually the good guy, he just hasn't realized it yet. (So, it's the same as number two, but without the tragic part.)

*or her

When famous people come to Seattle and the teenagers go crazy

Last weekend I was at University Village with my BFF when the three main actors of The Hunger Games stopped by for their mall tour. Oh, goodness. It was loud. Teenagers were screaming, crying, hyperventilating – some had camped out, some had posters asking the actors to Prom, some had bow and arrow sets. 

None of this craziness really should have surprised us given we’ve already seen it (ala Pattinson / Lautner Fever). And of course, Seattle teenagers must be expected to be a little more excited than the average teenager about this kind of stuff – after all, our only in-town celebrity is Tom Skeret.  

I wish I could report that the cast had interesting things to say about the book, which they very well may have. We couldn't hear much of anything above the screaming so we didn't stick around for long. The questions we did hear involved Prom invitations and hair coloring though.  The actor playing Peeta said the word 'basketball' (not sure what that had to do with Prom or hair color), but that enlisted the sonic boom of screaming that chased us all the way into Banana Republic. 

I suppose mass-hysteria is alright as long as you can get away from it. :) 

Friday Fun

I didn't have time for five. But I do have a few things to say this morning. 

• I know EVERYONE is just on edge about this, but really. Guys. Dior has no creative director and as soon as they find one, someone else (because fashion brands can be referred to as 'someone' in my book) will be without a creative director. Unless a designer version of Andrew Luck suddenly comes out of the woodwork (see, I do listen when my boyfriend talks about football), it's going to be a never-ending cycle! But really, if you think about it - and I know you are - wouldn't designer Andrew Luck just start his own label anyway? *sigh*

•  Have you seen this #whatshouldwecallme Tumblr page? Oh. So. Funny. 

The Time-Waster Project

That project you have no idea how to query or who the target audience would be or what it’s even really supposed to be about, but you love writing it anyway. 

You have one too, no?