Hey, don't I know you?

I have no excuse for not updating my blog. Or rather, I DO, but my excuses are all ENTIRELY too lame... i.e. Laziness... Procrastination... Lack of interesting thoughts... Take your pick. Or just fill in the blank with your own imaginative lazy adjective. If I had a dog, this is probably how I would have been walking it the past little while:

But I digress. 

I was actually going to save this topic for an Insecure Writer's post, but then I figured... its not quite the end of the month yet... and if I save it for the first Wednesday in June.... well.... in the interest of pushing off my lazy blogging ways, I decided I probably shouldn't wait that long to write a post! 

Recently, Hubbs and I moved to California. Los Angeles to be exact, which is supposed to be the land of milk and honey as far as famous people go. 

BUT I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY YET!

I mean... WHAT is the point of living here if I can't hope to run into all the Chris Hemsworths and Wentworth Millers of the world? Yeah, I know. Lame. 

The super bad part of all of this, though (cause, lets be honest, its TRAGIC), is that I don't think I would recognize a famous person EVEN IF they stood right in front of me in the checkout line! 

Case in point:

I was at a church function the other day, and someone there looked REALLY familiar. I turned to my friend and said, "Hey I feel like I know that person over there, do you know who she is?" Friend: "Oh, she's totally an actor." 

Como say what!??! 

My totally awesome friend proceeds to list off a number of wicked cool projects said actress has been in, but none of which I was a religious follower of. So, of course, I did what any normal, sensible, OBVIOUSLY completely sane person would do:

I Google stalked my mystery actress. 

Don't judge. You know you Facebook stalk too. 

AND GUESS WHAT I FOUND OUT??!?!?!

She was an actress on one of my FAVORITE tv shows ... Um... Criminal Minds anyone?!?! 

"Doh!!!"...[slaps forehead]...

Now granted, said actress was not one of the main characters on the show. Just a guest star. HOWEVER, considering I've seen every episode of that show AT LEAST 2 or 3 times each, this connection SHOULD HAVE BEEN OBVIOUS!! I knew EXACTLY who my mystery actress was and which episodes were hers (once Google told me where to look, of course).

In hindsight, its probably a good thing I didn't know who my actress was a the time of sighting. I probably would have been like "EEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeek!!!!!!!" and mauled her for an autograph. 

I'm classy. What can I say?

But here's the thing...

If I can't even recognize an actress from one of my FAVORITE tv shows... what else in life do I miss? Or more particularly, what kind of obviously crap-tastic stuff in my manuscript am I missing?? Stuff that seem SOOOOO obvious to everyone else, but--like a moron--I totally miss?

I know its there. 

Every once in a while, I catch a whiff of it. Some sentence or phrase or paragraph or--heaven forbid--chapter will smell suspiciously of familiarity, and an inner dialogue will commence... 

"Self," I say.... "Self, that looks eerily familiar... do I recognize that piece of writing as crap?"

Most of the time, I brush it aside. Or when I'm feeling ambitious, I tweak it a little. But not much. When in reality, what I SHOULD be doing is MAULING that piece of crap to the ground!

Not for an autograph.

But for a good hard kick in the pants!

Please tell me I'm not the only one out there that is completely oblivious to the obvious! Otherwise, its quite possible I'm doooooooomed! Or.... at least my writing is.

Writing for a Cause

Heather McCorkle is a talented writer and blogging buddy of mine, who's novel, The Secret of Spruce Knoll, has more than just a compelling story line! Each book sold sends a percentage of the proceeds to a charity to help endangered species. Read below to find out more about Heather, Spruce Knoll and her oh-so-worthy crusade to help save our planet... 

1) So Heather, I recently finished your book, Spruce Knoll (woot, woot!!) and I couldn't help but notice that in-between the totally-kick-butt cultural diversity, hot YA boys and awesome magic powers, that "going green" was a BIG part of your book. Considering your efforts to help endangered spices, were these environmental concerns what inspired the story in the first place?

Heather: They were! This story was born when I was watching a special on the shrinking habitat for polar bears. There was a commercial with a teen girl talking about saving endangered species and Eren’s character sprung up from that.

2) Tell us more about the charity you're helping to support and how Spruce Knoll is helping with the cause!

Heather: Due to legal reasons I can’t say who it is but I can tell you that they are one of the top charities in the world that specializing in protecting endangered species. They’ve made great strides in preserving habitat, stopping poachers, and even helping to bring species back from the brink.

3) I was shocked by your statistics about the rate of decline for animals that I've grown up my whole life learning about. This is very sad. If our readers would like more information on the statistics and ways we can help, where can they go?

Heather: It is terribly sad. Tigers will be extinct in the wild in less than ten years. There are wonderful sites all over the internet but two of my favorites are the World Wildlife Fund and the National Wildlife Federation.

4) And lastly, we all want to know... what's next on the horizon for Spruce Knoll? A sequel, perhaps?! *squee*

Heather: There is! Actually book two, Channeler’s Choice, just came out in paperback! The third book in the trilogy will be out this fall.

Heather is the author of The Secret Of Spruce Knoll, Born Of Fire, Channeler's Choice, and coming in May of 2012, the historical YA fantasy, To Ride A Puca. A short story of Heather's is also available in the free In His Eyes eBook anthology. 

Famous Feet

This little piggy went to the market... this little piggy stayed home... and all MY little piggies are goin' "Weee, weeee, weeee," all the way to the cover of a book, soon to be published by World Castle Publishing! Woot, woot!! YEAH!

You think I'm joking... I can see it your eyes. 

Its okay, it'll be better to show you anyway...

PRESENTING... Saving Gracie, by Terry Lee:

Remember the part when I told you I was going to have famous feet? Yeah... those are MY feet!! Hahahaha! Don't worry young grasshopper, I shall explain... 

I met Terry about a year ago at my first meeting with the Houston Writer's Guild! We hit it off right away, and ESPECIALLY had some rock-awesome-totally-kick-butt times at the writer's conference we all attended together. Later, when we got sick and tired of the drama in the HWG, Terry Lee, Lauren Hennessy (S.L. Hennessy), Jay Jay Takahata, Kristi Pritchett and I started our own group...

...Writer's 2.0!

Holla, peeps!! Love you guys!

Remember these mugs... these awesome writers are gonna be famous someday!!

Anyway, since I'm a photo junky, I offered to make Terry a cover for her book. Ya know... something she could show off whilst in the midst of editing throes. Since her ideas for said cover revolved around beaches and footprints, I snapped a few pics while I was in the Bahamas recently. This was the product I came up with:

When Terry got picked up by World Castle Publishing last month, I was ECSTATIC!! My Mamma Terry is gettin' published! WOOOOOO!!!! I think I jumped around the house with excitement for a full 24 hours! Haha! And then she dropped the bomb on me... "Oh yeah, Jules, I totally submitted YOUR cover to the publishers." 

Gasp!  *drops dead from excitement*

Long story short... they LIKED the cover and after changing the font up a bit, are using it to represent my dear Terry's story for the world to see! Which means, of course, my feet will be famous. 

Eeeeeek!!!! SO. CRAZY. AWESOME!!!

About Terry. And the cover. Not about my famous feet ( : Haha. 

Terry is without a doubt, one of the sweetest, most talented, loving people I've ever met in my life! Her stories are beautifully written, full of quick wit, and jam packed with characters you just wanna pick up, put in your pocket and take home with you! I consider it a GREAT privilege to know Terry, and to have been able to help edit and support this wonderful writer. She's an absolute gem!!! Definitely keep your eye on the horizon for her debut book, Saving Gracie. Terry is one talented woman you won't want to miss out on!

I LOVE YOU, MAMMA TERRY!!!

My, what big eyes you have!

All the better to READ you with, my deliciously good new read recommend! I bet you wanna know what it is, donchya? Du, du, du, du, du, du... [that's my drum roll, don't judge]... 

Sisters Red, by Jackson Pearce:

So besides the ridiculously cool title, which--lets be honest--is ridiculously cool (I'm such a sucker for a good title!) this book was soooooo good! Its kind of a modern day Little-Red-Ridding-Hood-and-big-bad-wolf-meets-twilight-meets-girls-with-awesome-ninja-knife-throwing-skillzzzzz book. (Did you catch all that?) For the life of me, I can't figure out why I've never heard of it til now, because--did I mention?--IT WAS SO GOOD!

And, here's the thing. Most attempts at modernizing traditional fairy tales fall along the "Meh... it was OKAY..." lines for me. Like Red Ridding Hood, for example...

I mean, really. 

LOVED the cloak, Amanda, but that movie was a FLOP. As are most of the modernized fairy tales. (Someone please correct me if there's one out there that ROCKS that I haven't seen/read!)

But unlike most of its contemporary counterparts, I actually REALLY liked this modernization of Little Red and her ridding cloak. It had enough of the traditional story--such as the "All the better to see you with" line at the beginning, and a swoon-worthy huntsman--that I could tell where the inspiration came from. BUT, at the same time, there were NEW elements that were just totally kick-you-in-the-pants awesome! 

Like a sister with an eye patch. 

And ninja knife throwing skillzzzz. 

And totally CREEP-tastic wolveS (plural).

To name a few. 

Forget the damsel-in-distress fairy tell princess version of Red... these sisters will KICK YOUR BOOTY. Literally. For those of you of the red hood, wolf, and ninja-knife-throwing-skillzzzz persuasion, I highly suggest you read this book. 

Come on, you know you need a break from your A-Z blogfest. 

And really? Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, anyway?

BELATED Insecure Writer's Post...

... just like the birthday card I sent my brother. 

But, as they say, BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!! Haha!! How's that for incredibly cliche, my lovely writing, critique buddies?

Anyway, this ol' time around, I'm struggling with the insecurities that arise after a HUGE re-write. Yes, you've all been there... feeling the thrill, chills, and (yes) RELIEF at finally reaching the finish line once again, only to go back, read your first chapter and FREAK OUT because... 

"WHAT IF IT ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH AND I ONLY THOUGHT IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH??!??!" 

...Um.... yeah... 

Okay, so maybe I'm the only one who freaks out like that... [cue awkward music]...

But seriously... what brings on this insecurity? Here I just finished SLAVING over a draft, excited because I'm about ready to send the revisions out to the agenting wolves again, and I'm SCARED?? Why? If memory serves me correctly, I just freakin' busted my butt to make the book BETTER. I pined over every word. Every sentence. And every character flaw. Again and again and again. I didn't move on until I was totally satisfied. So why do I suddenly panic, thinking that while I was making it better it suddenly got worse? 

I have a theory...

Is it because we are CONSTANTLY improving our writing craft? So much so, that as we revise a book, it gets better and better, until finally--at the end--there is a VISIBLE difference between our skill at Chapter 1 and our skill after the final battle?

Maybe.

Okay, THAT, or its just a mental mind freak-out game we play with ourselves. 

Your thoughts? I'd really love to know I'm not the only crazy maniacal writer out there that needs to be tranquilized after every draft round...

Writer's on Strike

I suppose I'm overdue for a new blog post... (ahem)... actually... I suppose I was overdue to be overdue for a post like TWO WEEKS ago! Haha. For those of you actually still checking for updates (hello... anyone out there??), I've been on strike. Just like this:

Haha. Just kidding. If ONLY I was cool enough for that. You know. As a member of the REAL Writer's Guild. Actually, this is the way us wannabe's strike:

Its not so much strike, as it is a complete melt down. YOU know.... the Im-so-sick-of-looking-at-my-manuscript-that-I-refuse-to-write-anything-longer-than-a-facebook-comment-for-three-weeks feeling? Yeah. 

On the bright side, this strike was COMPLETELY warranted because... I FINISHED ANOTHER DRAFT OF MY NOVEL!!! Woot, woot! [happy dance]! Granted, I may have taken a leave of melt down longer than necessary. BUT, look at me... I'm back in the saddle again! 

I'm actually pretty excited because my little sister (who is a read-a-holic... FOR REAL) actually read this draft in--like--LESS than two days. That's like... I dunno... Harry Potter fast. And look, I know she's my sister, so she HAS to like me, regardless, BUT STILL. She wouldn't have read it that fast if she didn't like it.... right?! I'm hoping the "pros" (aka agents) have as much confidence in New Draft as my sissy did. 

Anyway, with New Draft packaged with gusto and sent out into the scary world of agenting, I'm back to the relaxing, I-love-my-writing-job stage again. [sigh].

So what have all of you been up to while I've been away? Anyone else do do a Hunger Games midnight showing? I'm DYING to know what you thought of it!!

Me with my Hunger Games ticket waiting for the movie to start.
Who says I'm too old for midnight showings?! Eeek!

Potter Pilgrimage

There's something magical about seeing a book you grew up reading by flash light under the blanket at night (because you just COULD NOT put it down) brought to life in front of your eyes. I am, without a doubt, a child of the Harry Potter generation! I crossed my fingers for my Hogwarts acceptance letter, pretended Jelly Bellies were Bertie Bots, flew my brook stick around my house like a Firebolt, and stood in lines for hours waiting for the next book and movie installments! Since they opened the HP world at Universal, I've literally been drooling for a chance to make my pilgrimage!

FIIIIIINALLY, Hubbs and I made it happen!!

Is it a cheap-o way for Warner Bros and Universal to get money from Potter addicted fans? Absolutely! Did I totally love it anyway? You bettchya! I was like a little kid in Honeydukes... hehee.

[big cheesy grin]

All aboard the Hogwarts Express!

Like I said... giddy as a little witch in Honeydukes!!

Um... seriously, though? FIFTEEN dollars for a freakin' chocolate frog??? Can anyone say "Harry Potter robbery??"

Hogwarts Castle... Eeeeeek!! SO cool!

Not alcoholic, I discovered, since they were--in fact--serving it to small children (who did not appear to be intoxicated). It was SOOOO good!

Owlery! Wish I could have sent my siblings their post card via owl... but apparently, owls don't really deliver messages. Who knew?

Hubbs has a flare for the dramatics... 

Dumbledore's Office

Olivanders!

Funny story... the girl's bathroom in the Harry Potter world had a recording playing of...

... yes, Moaning Myrtle! *snort* SO funny!!

And before you all go and waste you time with the rest of Universal Studio park rides (pshaw!)... you should know that the best ride (BY FAR) in the whole park, is in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Am I a bit biased? Perhaps. But seriously, this ride? FANTASTIC!!! But I'm not lying when I say Hubbs and I LITTERALLY lost track of how many times we went on it...

And you don't have to take my word for it, but the Chinese Fireball totally kicked the Hungarian Horntail's you-know-what. Just sayin'. 

J.K. Rowling, I tip my hat to you.

P.s. Did I mention it was February 14th? Best. Valentine's. Day. EVER!!