Epic. Failure.

Sooooo.... yeah.... about this NaBloPoMo schtuff...

Apparently committing to write a blog post every day for the month of November is really pushing my "Get 'er Done!" skillzzzzzz. I'd like to say I have a fabulous excuse as to why this didn't get done, like, oh, I don't know... saving the world from an alien invasion... but really? 

I got nothin'. 

Wanna know what I DID get done in the meantime? Here are three things:

1) Contracted a flesh-eating, phlegm-spouting, fungi-spreading, can't-stop-coughing-bacterial-throat-infesting-germs-all-over-everyone plague of death. 

A.K.A.... the common cold. 

I forget how monstrous that disease really is, until it attacks again. 

Pity me, people. Pity me. 

2) Attended Breaking Dawn Part 2 movie of oh-my-gosh-what-the-H-E-double-L-is-happening-with-this-ending?!?!.... [those of you who have seen it, YOU KNOW!]....

Yup, that's me.... the one with the face... Arrrrgh!

Despite the rather annoying, screeching teenie boppers, us "oldies" were still able to enjoy Jacob's ten minutes of shirtless screen time and Edward's froofy hair. 

3)  Did a TOTALLY WICKED Alice in Wonderland photo shoot with my AWESOME SAUCE writing friend, Lauren Hennessy!! She's over at Pensuassion... you know... if you wanna check her out. She's pretty cool. We borrow books. And write. N' stuff. Here are some of the pics we took during my epic weekend of awesome-ness in Houston:

"And what is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversations?"

"In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was going to get out again."

"What a funny watch," she remarked. "It tells the day of the month, and doesn't tell what o'clock it is.""Well why should it?" muttered the Hatter. "Does YOUR watch tell you what year it is?"

"Yes, that's it!" Said the Hatter with a sigh. "Its always tea time."

"You would have to be half mad to dream me up."

""In another moment Alice was through the glass, and had jumped lightly down into the Looking-glass room."

"It was much pleasanter at home," thought poor Alice, "when one wasn't always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and rabbits."

"Who's been painting my roses red? WHO'S BEEN PAINTING MY ROSES RED?"

"I warn you dear child, if I lose my temper, you lose your head. Understood?"

"What a strange world we live in," said Alice to the Queen of Hearts.

"Rule Forty-two. All persons over a mile high to leave the court." 

"Off with their heads!" 

Did I mention it was epic? It was totally epic! Lauren doesn't think she makes a very good Alice, so you should all shower her with compliments so that she'll agree to do more photo shoots with me! Muahahahaha! 

And thus concludes three of my reasons for not blogging more vigorously during this, the sacred month of NaBloPoMo. I whole heartedly apologize to the three of you (Mom, Dad, Hubbs) who were waiting on baited breath for my thirty November blog posts. But alas! It was not meant to be. 

And really? I think we should look at this in light of overall improvement.... after all... AT THE VERY LEAST, I'm writing MORE blog posts than normal!

Baby steps, people. Baby steps. 

P.s. If you're at all curious about my OTHER hobby, see here: Reveal Photography

You know they say...

... a picture is worth a 1,000 words....

... so consider that a 1,000 words worth of "I-just-really-want-to-be-on-a-beach-right-now."

*sigh*

Blog Awesome-ness

Yay! I just received the Super Sweet Blog Award from the lovely Samantha May, over at Writing Through College! Thank you awesome girl! And since I've made it a quest to blog every day for the duration of November (aside form Sunday, cause I believe a girl deserves a rest now n' again!), I decided to pass on the love!

1. Cookies or Cake

Cake. Unless its cookie DOUGH... in which case, is there really even a question??

2. Chocolate or Vanilla

Coco-holic here!

3. What is your favorite sweet treat?

Oreos in milk... mmmmm....

4. When do you crave sweet things most?

At night. Its bad. 

5.If you had a sweet nickname what would it be?

Um... are there any names I could actually come up with that wouldn't sound like a hooker name? Heehee.

Samantha also tagged me in the Next Big Thing Challenge. So here goes nothin'....

1. What is the working title of your book?

Current project: The Sunshine Patriot

2. Where did the idea come from for that book?

The book is a sequel to my first book, Keepers of the Flame. The idea for the series came around because of my fascination with how dystopian societies actually got to their point of "no return," so to speak. I wanted to explore the actual demise of a government. I also love the Revolutionary War time period, and thought it would be kind of cool to write a "second" revolutionary war in the modern day!

3. What genre does your book fall under?

YA Political Thriller

4. What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I rarely think about actors when I'm writing my characters. I DO like seeing what other people come up for me, though! The only character I have a face for is one of my bad guys, who I always picture as Cillian Murphy. Love him!

5. What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

When a murder uncovers her Congressman brother's part in a plotted coup on the United States government, Essie Hall joins the resistance to save the country she loves. 

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Trying for an agency first! But I'm not opposed to self-publishing, if that becomes the best option.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I'm not finished with the The Sunshine Patriot yet. But it took me 'bout a year to write the first draft of Keepers (I was a first year law student at the time, so I'm pretty sure that earns me mad props too... woot, woot! Heehee.) 

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Honestly, I don't really have anything to compare to. I'm not aware of any other YA political thrillers on the market. If you know of any, PLEASE TELL ME!! I would love to read them!

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Errr... this is kinda like question 2, no?

10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

Action. Blackmail. Murder. Political intrigue. And a dab of romance to appease the ladies ( : What's there not to love?!

I hereby pass the baton onto Barbara Kloss, Lauren Hennessy, Mandi Tucker, Kristen VanDyke and D.V. Shepard. Go forth and blog, awesome writers!

Information Super Highway

I've been thinking a bit about writing today. I mean, naturally, right? Its November. So writing is in the air!! 

In particular, I began reminiscing about the time-honored tradition of note passing. 

Its importance--I believe--cannot be overstated. I mean, really. Can you think of ANYTHING else that contains a comparable wealth of information found in a teenager's brain than a surreptitious note passed in class? 

I think not. 

Me and my friends were Jedi ninja note passers. For real. We had color coded ink (GEL PENS!!) Special notebook paper. Secret codes (ahem, Pig Latin). And could time an airplane note's journey across the room down to the millisecond and not get caught. We even had cool folding methods. Remember THESE?!...

Lucky for us, other class go-ers were simply entertained by the amount of notes we could pass without getting caught, and never bothered interfering with said airplane's trajectory. 

Which is good. Cause our notes were a gold mine of info...

...Juicy gossip details. The who-likes-who of the high school jungle. What I ate for lunch. What I didn't eat for lunch. Science project assignments. Gym locker combos. Band rehearsal schedules. What so-n-so's outfit looked like. Who's tongue was down who's throat. Pictures of zombies n' pirates. Stick figure cows (don't ask)...

I mean, my high school sweet heart even dumped me in a note... (A NOTE!!)... so, yeah. 

You get the picture. 

In 9th grade, we got really lucky. Our teacher had (foolishly) lined desks up against a chalk board. Her second foolish move was to place me and my friends in a row along said chalk board. 

Shinny smooth metal surface? A bunch of friends lined up in a row?

Enter.... INFORMATION SUPER HIGHWAY!!!

That proved to be the most note-passing efficient method we ever "invented." Simply write note. Fold. And push note down chalk board tray like a match box car on a race track! 

*sigh*

This new teen texting generation is really missing out, aren't they? Never again will they experience the heart-pounding-sweaty-palm-jolt-of-fear moment when their paper air plane note lands safely on the right desk the split second before the teacher turns back. 

Its tragic, really. What will become of these poor teen souls? 

NaBloPoMo??

Blah blippity bloooo po moo-mooo....

Yeah. I don't know who decided these acronyms were a good idea, but I have strong suspicions they may have been on acid at the time. Just sayin'. 

So I'm assuming many of you writing lovelies have decided to participate in the mad rush of typing n' brain frying that IS the month of November. Also fondly known as NaNoWriMo. 

I... in keeping in line with my strict diet of "Staying Sane"... have decided to (once again) pass on this month of insanity. I considered it briefly. I really did. But I just got done training for AND RUNNING a half marathon.... [see documented proof]:

... which means I've just recently shed the dreary, saturating task of devoting long, unhealthy hours to an activity that really deserves to be implemented in one's life with more balance!

Not that writing is long. Or dreary. Per say. Nothing like my loathe of running, for certain. 

But like training for a half marathon of maddness, NaNoWriMo DOES take up a fair amount of one's time. And when one takes a step back and tries to balance writing a 50,000 word novel in one month WITH menial tasks such as bread winning n' such, well, that task becomes a bit daunting. 

Hence, I pass once again on the epic NaNoWriMo journey. 

HOWEVER, despite my passing, I must admit that I still enjoy a good frolic in the festivities. So, as a way of NOT participating in NaNoWriMo, while still PRETENDING that I am, I thought it might be fun to do NaBloPoMo. 

(Um. Yeah... am I the only one who feels like a small child with a mouth full of mashed potatoes when trythig to say that??)

Apparently in English, this stands for National Blog Post Month. Who knew?

As you can probably guess, this NaBlooooo bitty boppity boo boo schtuff is designed to promote the writing of a blog post every day of November. 

Easier than 1500 words? Methinks yes!! 

This is my NaNoWriMo cop out way of still participating in the madness without actually going mad hatter cray cray! If you'd like to try 'er out, the info is HERE. Also, you can find blog post prompts HERE (you know, if your'e like me and sometimes draw a blank as to what to write).

So good luck with the Nanos my lovely writing dears, be they WriMos or BloPos or something in between! May the force be with you, and all that jazz. I look forward to the end of this epic-ness, when we can gather in our introvert internet world and swap our writing war stories once more!