The Birds

Did Hitchcock get his inspiration from Houston's migratory bird population??...

I think I'm onto something here... Cause seriously? This is so cool its almost FREAKY!

Guest Bloggin'!

Hey, check it out!! I'm guest bloggin' with awesome ninja Ali at the dojo!

http://www.alicross.com/2012/01/narley-ninja-julie-baker-hansen.html

So THIS is what MC's do when you're not supervising....

... they start their own nail polish lines.

Don't worry. I've given her a talkin' to. After all... who can worry about nail polish when the world needs saving?!

Come on, Essie! Work with me!

P.s. This is my main character (MC), Essie. Isn't she cute?!

Another good read...

So maybe you're getting sick of dystopians. And maybe your'e not. I--for one--am NOT. End of the world?  

Oh yeah. Bring it on!

If you're still gobbling up dystopians as fast as I am, you should probably put this one on your victim list:

The flooded coast of former Los Angeles. Two warring nations of North America—the Republic and the Colonies.

Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy. Obedient, passionate, and committed to her country, she is being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles.

Born into the slums of the Republic’s Lake Sector, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother is murdered. And Day becomes the prime suspect. Now, caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival while June tries desperately to avenge her brother’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together and the sinister lengths their country will go to in order to keep its secrets.

I read it in . . . oh . . . like a day. Maybe two. Granted, it was an audio book, and I have an UNEARTHLY long commute to work (according to my backward Idaho standards, that is), so that may have helped. But seriously? It rocked. Check it out!

2011 All Star Team

Hello, my wonderful writing friends!! Its raining, its pouring, the old man is snoring, and I'm writing a blog post to keep my mind off wandering back to my bed to snuggle under the covers. 

Seriously, rain? You're SO not a motivator. Moving on...

So if you're like me--and I'm assuming, you are, lovely writers, like me--you're constantly bombarded by people asking you what books they should read. Writers love books. Writers love to read. Hence, we got books to recommend! (Which, I love by the way... I love it when people ask me what to read... I LOVE sharing the LOVE!!) 

BUT...

If you're like me... when put on the spot, you often forget that oh-so-fabulous list of oh-so-fabulous books to read. On a particularly bad day, your response might be nothing more than: "Errr... yeah, Harry Potter was AWESOME!" 

Don't feel bad. I do it too. 

So THIS year, in order to avoid any embarrassing mind slips, I decided to write down all the books I've read! (Yay!) That way, when some awesome individual asks "Hey Jules, what should I read?" I can say "Oh, funny you should ask, since I have this handy dandy list here." 

Yeah, I'm ahead of the curve. 

Anyway, if you look under my Book Worm tabby thingy, you can see all 69 books I read this year. [And as a total side note, I count double reads as two reads. I know, I'm probably treading all over someone else's carefully thought-out logic on why reading the same book twice should only count as reading it ONCE.... BUT.... I don't like limiting my book count just cause I have a particular book I loved so much I wanted to read it twice. The point is to read, right? So they count. (All complaints will be forwarded to my secretary... when I get one...)] I diligently kept this reading list so peeps like my sis (who is a book addict in constant need of a new "fix"--we've tried finding a cure, promise) and people like... some other friends I have... (who hardly ever read and only sometimes want a good book), can refer to the list and find a good book. 

And since I'm a good friend and all that [pats self on back], and since I've gone through all the trouble of actually keeping this awesome list, I decided to give you my 2011 All Star Team... the list of books I just couldn't get enough of (in no particular order):

Anna and the French Kiss, Stephanie Perkins

SUCH an adorable story. Perkins has a strong voice and kept me laughing--yes actually laughing out loud--through the entire book. I loved her snark and sarcasm. And her love story in Paris sparkled! Oh Entienne, *swoon*!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor

This story was so unique. Its hard to find a fantasy book these days that doesn't reek of Lord of the Rings, but Taylor nailed it. A slow start, but soon you'll find yourself so engulfed in the world of Chimera and Angels you--literally--won't be able to put it down.

Funny side note, this girl knows also Stephanie Perkins.... (I'm a nerd, I actually read the acknowledgments!) Sign me up for that critique group!!

Divergent, Veronica Roth

If I had to--like, if someone put a gun to my head and actually forced me to choose--a favorite book of the year, this might be the first book that popped out of my mouth by default. Veronica Roth's dystopian thriller in run-down Chicago was AMAZING. I loved EVERYTHING about this book (especially Four... I heart tall skinny guys! Woot, woot!) Step aside, Hunger Games, you've got yourself a SERIOUS competitor.

Gaia's Secret, Barbara Kloss 

I did a whole post on this just recently, which you should totally check out for details. Barb is one of my awesome blogging buddies who recently published her first novel, Gaia's Secret. This book was so much fun to read! I loved the story, the magic, the strong female character (oh Daria!) and the smoldering hot guy (even though I kind of wanted to punch him in the face at the end... just saying')

The House at Riverton, Kate Morton

I get made fun of by my critiquing buddies (ahemLAUREN) cause I don't say "T's" very well. Saying Kate Morton with both "T's" enunciated is a bit much for my Idaho accent (where we drop the "T" sound)... but despite my friends' merciless mocking, this book is amazing! I love how it switches time periods back and forth... and I absolutely ached at the end, the love story is heart wrenching. I lost sleep over it, wishing things could have turned out differently, but knowing that it was the best possible ending Morton could have devised!

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

Um, yeah... somehow I missed reading this in high school English. Is the AP reading list different than the regular one? At any rate, this was my first time through Jane Eyre, and I adored it. I shan't waste time telling you about it... since likely, all of you actually read it in high school English (unlike me). But I fell in love! Next up, Withering Heights!

The Power of Six, Pittacus Lore

I actually read I Am Number Four this year too... but it didn't make the top ten. I my opinion, The Power of Six, knocked the socks off the first book. In this book, we get to see all the other characters and their various secret powers emerge, as the other Lorian kids band together to fight the Mogs! Action packed and told from many different points of views, this book was a page turner. Fingers crossed it makes it to the big screen!

The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern 

I absolutely got lost in the beauty and mystery of this book. Its like the Prestige meets Water for Elephants. So magical but incredibly life like. I'm sorry, but no crappy carnival circus will EVER be good enough after reading this book!

The Gargoyle, Andrew Davidson

This book was the first to introduce me to the power of a first line: Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, often violently, just like love. After that? I was hooked. Another one of those books that switches time periods, characters and points of view throughout, but one that all comes together at the end to complete a beautiful story of love and healing. And, if my memory serves correctly, I do believe this book pulled a whopping' 1.5 million for an advance. Um, pick me, please!

The Body Finder, Kimberly Derting

This book is deliciously creepy! Its about a girl who can sense dead bodies, and how she gets tangled up in a case involving a small town serial killer. Eeek! Goosebumps all the way!! Did I mention my favorite TV show is Criminal Minds? Oh yeah. I also loved the characters... Jay is so honest and sweet, and his relationship with the main character, Violet is beautiful and simple. I loved how real it all felt. A fantastic read. 

Note: Even though I counted books I've already read, as well as repeat reads, this list includes only the NEW books I read this year (yes, its true, I'd never read Jane Eyre!) Which is why some obvious favs like Water for Elephants and Harry Potter were left off the list. Also, I only included PUBLISHED books (yes, ePub too!) which is why some of the books by my lovely writer friends were left off. 

The Best for Last...

Friends... its almost that time again, the end of the year... woot, woot!! In just a bit, my 2011 book count will be erased and 2012 will begin anew!! YAY!! New books! New books! 

At some point, I have big plans to do a blog post on my absolute favorite reads of 2011, but tonight is not that night. Tonight, I have to give a big heads up and a whoppin' WHOOO RAW!! to my very dear blogging buddy, Barbara Kloss, for her FABULOUS book, Gaia's Secret.

I'm ashamed to say that this took me MUCH longer to read than it should have. Since getting my new job, I've been flying through audio books (ask me how much I love my commute to work)... BUT, my physical reading is put-putting at a sloooooow crawl. Unfortunately, this means that--try as I might--I couldn't read Barb's book as fast as I wanted. 

I decided, though, that I would absolutely NOT let the holidays pass without finishing it... and I DID IT!! 

Pshaw. Not like it was hard. 

I absolutely FLEW through the last half of the book, and finished it tonight!!

Which is, you know, is actually kind of fitting, since its December 30th, and Gaia's Secret will end my 2011 reading in a smashing finish. I saved one of the best for last! (Even if unintentionally!)

Here's the summary that I nabbed from Barb's blog (cause, lets be honest, I suck at writing my own synopsisessss):

Eighteen-year old Daria Jones feels trapped in the cow-strewn suburbs of Fresno, California. And with a dad so overprotective he’s installed video and thermal surveillance down the street, she doesn’t get out much. Until the night he disappears. Following the trail of notes he left, Daria gathers three things: someone’s after her, her dad’s gone to another world on a cryptic mission, and the only one left to trust is her ex-best friend, Alex.

After a heart-wrenching break and three years of silence, Alex is the last person she wants to see. But the more she learns about her dad’s absence, the more she realizes she must go to that other world to find him. Even if it means trusting the guy she hates. She agrees to follow Alex through the nearest of seven portals—the heart of Yosemite National Park. But finding her dad in a strange world isn’t easy with a brigade of dark sorcerers chasing her trail.

Amidst a world of diabolical creatures, ancient magic, and bizarrely intuitive vegetation, Daria discovers the truth of her past. But unless she conquers the dark force that’s hunting her, Daria will never see her dad again. And if the dark force gets its way, the world as she knows it will never be the same.

I absolutely loved everything about this book! Especially dear, feisty Daria! Oh how I adore strong female characters! And the love angst with Alex? Oh yeah, SO lookin' forward to the sequel there! Barbara captured the essence of Gaia's magical world with ease, while her smart, quirky, fun and dashingly handsome (ahemALEXahem!) characters leave you enraptured for more! 

You can buy Gaia's Secret on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords. Do yourself a favor... click on one of the links and get 'er read! You won't regret it. And don't forget to check out Barbara's blog too--she's fantastic! WAY TO GO, GIRLY!!

'Twas the Night before Christmas...

... when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, dear readers!!

So grateful for this time of year to be with friends and family, and to celebrate the birth of our Savior. May you all have lots of holiday cheer celebrating your respective holidays! Eat (pastries), drink (egg nog) and be MERRY during this festive season!

Lollipop Rejects

In response to my wo-is-me-ing, in my last Insecure Writer's post, my oh-so-fabulous blogging buddy, Mandi, sent me a fantastic article from Writer's Digest. The article was SO freakin' fantastic, that I decided to post the whole thing, verbatim [please don't get your panties in a bunch about copyright, Writer's Digest! I shall tag the link too!] Hopefully, you other struggling, REJECTED, an yet totally AWESOME writers out there will find the same inspiration from the article's amazing-ness that I did!

How to Turn Rejection Letters into a Positive

By, Sue Fliess

I have the somewhat daunting task of organizing the lollipop fundraiser at my children’s school walkathon this year. You could say I represent the Lollipop Guild. So I call the local candy factory and inquire about how I can get my hands on 300 or so lollipops.

My business mind kicks into gear: Can I buy them wholesale? Do I get a discount if I pick them up? A perky woman on the other end of the phone informs me in a singsong voice that buying wholesale is “still pretty expensive.” But it turns out she’s the owner, having inherited the family business, and she kindly offers some insider advice: “Call me the morning you’re ready to make a trip to the factory, and I’ll set aside the day’s rejects for you.”

Yes, she calls them rejects.

Red flag! Are these lollipops unrecognizable as lollipops? Will I be the laughing stock of the Parent Teacher Association? Worried, I ask her, “What’s wrong with them?  Are they misshapen and damaged?” Clearly, there must be some reason these lollies didn’t make the final cut.

“Not at all,” she assures me. “They’re actually perfectly good lollipops. All of them are very pretty and taste great. We reject them for a variety of reasons.”

My heart skips three beats and my hairline tingles with sweat. I’m having post-traumatic rejection disorder as my mind flings me sideways into my writing world. I’m reliving the opening of letter after letter from editors who gingerly (or not so gingerly) explained why my story didn’t make the cut: “We decline manuscripts for a variety of reasons; we’re sorry, but this one just wasn’t right for us.”

Whatever the reason, rejection is rejection. “REJECTED” may not be stamped on the letter, but that’s the only word I see.

Returning my attention to the call, I realize the woman is telling me that some lollipops are too big, too small, too thin or too thick. Some come off the line with insufficient swirls, lackluster colors or slightly skewed designs. Some are too long while others are too short. The list goes on and on.

Overcome with a magnanimity that surprises even me, I proclaim, “I will save your rejects!” And I vow to take these lollipops and give them a home.

My first book was rejected 24 times. My story may not have been too fat or too long, but I heard other reasons, including, but certainly not limited to: too slight; too sweet, not enough guts; we just bought a book like yours. The colors were skewed. It lacked swirl and sparkle. In essence, my story wasn’t right for their palates.

I’d pored over those letters, some personalized, some form, some not even getting the title of my story correct, as if some kind of manuscript rejection wizard might leap from the paper and tell me what I’d been doing wrong, reveal the key to publication. To vent my frustration, I’d punished the letters—sending them straight to the three-hole puncher without dessert, and burying them in my not-so-thin Manuscript Rejection Binder (for which my spouse nearly had me committed).

But the binder had come to serve a deeper purpose. Eventually, instead of clicking my sequined heels together and wishing for home, I decided to view these rejections as poppies in the field, slowing me down but for a brief moment before waking me up and kicking my sorry behind back onto the path. No wizard appeared, but the rejections spoke to me in a way. They gave me the nerve to keep going. And I believed in my story. Even though I may have thought it was perfect the way it was, I sat down and made it better. I continued to submit that manuscript, determined to reach the Oz of the writing world: publication.

Thinking back to that binder makes me even more curious about the rejected lollies. The next morning, I call the factory and make the drive to the outskirts of San Jose to pick up my first batch of rejects. And are they ever glorious! Too long, too short, too swirly, too plain, too blasted with color, too void of color, too thick, too thin. I devour their random sparkle, their irregularity, their courage. I suck in their bravery. These lollies popped off the assembly line screaming, “I am different, and I am beautiful!”

I pay the young woman from the phone and she helps me carry more than 300 lollipops to my car. From the back of the factory, her mother smiles and waves to me. “Take good care of them,” she says. I nod. The kids at my boys’ school will love them.

The lollipops are amazing, each in its own way. Sweet, full of charm, and waiting to be opened by a child with a squeal of delight. They are all dazzling. And each one has a story to tell—they just needed someone to listen.

I Hate Your Stinkin' Guts

Its that time again.... Insecure Writer's Gang, here I am!

And--oh--am I SO all over the insecure thing or WHAT this month...

What happens when the agent you've just received a full ms request from,  declares after reading, that she does not like anything about your ms?

That was not a rhetorical question. 

I really WOULD like to know.

"Excited Julie" face

See, cause I just got sandblasted by this agent I was REALLY excited about the possibility of working with. Lets not even mention the fact that she was a totally like-minded individual that I'd probably be bosom buddies with in another life, and just go strait to the part where she asked for the whole freakin' thing after a COLD CONTACT EMAIL QUERY, THREE FULL CHAPTERS, AND A MEASLY TWO DAY WAIT!!!! I about died when I got her request. 

With happiness, that is. But then...

PSYCH!

Not really, loser. Shoulda known it NEVER works out that easy. 

After another short wait, she contacts me back and--although VERY polite-- pretty much tells me she doesn't like anything about my book. Not my characters. Not my humor. Not my plot line. And not my third person writing style, which she called an "omnipotent narrator." 

Not that she wasn't nice about it, of course. In fact, I almost didn't even realize that she was telling me off, since she was so sugary-sweet-let-me-down-easy kind of nice. 

But then I got to reading... and reading... and REreading that rejection, and I done found out that she didn't really like ANY of it! 

"Sad Julie" face

Talk about crushed hopes and dreams. 

After drowning my sorrows in Diet Coke, taking my angst out on poor Hubbs, then seriously considering scrapping my ENTIRE ms and starting over from scratch (don't worry, my critique group talked me off the ledge), I started wondering if anything she said had merit. And if so, how do I tell?? When an important someone in the publishing industry tells you that some of your favorite (and major plot line) aspects of your book totally sucked.... what do you do?

Oh yeah, did I mention?...

I got to meet HIM....

EEEEEEeeeeeek!!! 

By the way.... "HIM"=Brandon Sanderson... only one of my FAVORITE writers EVER!! If you've never heard of HIM, do yourself a favor, drive to the library pronto and check something out. 

Better yet? 

Save yourself the trouble and hit up Barnes and Noble.... cause you're probably going to want to own his books anyway ( :

As a side note, I should point out my smile in that picture. I think I did a remarkably good job at it (smiling, that is), considering I just finished a nine hour work day PLUS a 4 hour wait in line to get our book signed (without breaks, mind you). I feel I should receive kudos for that ( : Haha. 

And here's the thing about Brandon... I like fantasy... but I'm not like a HUGE fantasy buff... know what I'm saying? I don't own season passes to the local renascence festival, and I won't be crushed if the epic-never-ending-I-didn't-know-where-to-stop-or-how-to-edit-my-plot-line Robert Jordan books never get made into movies. I just won't. 

But Brandon Sanderson takes fantasy to a whole new level. 

Example? Ever notice how most fantasy books bear a striking resemblance to Lord of the Rings? 

Yeah. I love ya Tolkien, but really guys? Lets let Tolkien be Tolkien. Which is EXACTLY what my man B-dawg does! Not a lick of Tolkien ANYWHERE! He is SO creative! The worlds and magic systems he creates are truly unique. And his strong female characters? Love 'em. 

Plus he ALWAYS gets me on who the bad guy is. 

Seriously. EVERY time. 

Needless to say, meeting him was FAN-FREAKIN'-TASTIC! Emphasis on the FAN... because--I'll be honest--despite all my attempts to come across as a calm, cool, collected admirer, I'm quite sure that in all my giddiness, I probably sounded like an excited groupie on steroids. Haha. 

(But so NOT funny when I think about it!!) 

Luckily, Brandon was very kind and looked past all my groupie faults. [relief!] He even spent a handful of minutes discussing agents and book writing techniques with me when I asked.

Now if that isn't a writer dedicated to his fans, I don't know what is!!

Oh... AND we got a signed copy of his new book!

[Bounces up and down in chair!]

Which, of course, I haven't started yet... but I have big plans for Thanksgiving weekend.

Whew! Now you know what I've been doing instead of my own writing: goo-ing and fawning over OTHER writers' work. Bahahahaha! No one said this job was easy ( ;