Title?

I'm working on that Victorian fantasy I talked about forever ago. Well, I guess I can't say I'm working on it so much as I'm toying with it. 

Here's the opening paragraph:

Ellie rubbed the curse mark on the underside of her wrist. It appeared on her thirteenth birthday, a sure sign she’d inherited the curse through family lineage. It wasn’t her fault, but people looked at her like she deserved the curse, like it was a punishment for some terrible deed. When in fact, she had no idea where the curse had come from. Neither did her parents. 

I love the photos I've seen in recent posts. What a great idea,cynthialord!

I have a few photos I'll post from recent bike rides downtown.

Son and I got stuck in the rain two weekends ago. We took shelter under a park pavillion while some kids ran and played in the rain. Son does not like to be wet, however, so we stayed still till the rain let up.



Marina and carferry in the background


Son looking over the harbor


Statue in the park of a little girl holding her mother's hand as they wait for the train

 

 And one more picture to lighten the mood (and because it makes me giggle).

Son eating a lime...

We survived the Great Storm of '08!

Turns out the tornados were really the least of our worries. It hasn't been confirmed yet if any actually touched down. We heard officials from the National Weather something-or-other came up to look at the damage to verify the tornados, but I haven't heard what they found. What caused the most damage was the rain. There's flooding everywhere. They also evacuated the state park fearing that the dam might collapse. It's holding so far, thank God. I'd hate to see the damage that'd cause. 

A lot of people are out of their homes right now. A family just four houses down from my parents have three feet of water inside their house. My mom and dad's living room was flooded. Thankfully, we live at the top of a huge hill, so flooding wasn't a problem here, however, rain DID leak in through our roof! It's a bummer, but really, compared to the other things going on here, it's minor.

Mr. Jen and Son drove around taking pictures today and I have one picture taken from the newspaper. I'll post below.

Here's the bridge just a mile from my parents' house. I've never seen the river so high. Those are trees sticking out of the water!

 We're under a tornado warning here right now. Apparently, two tornados have touched down, one ten miles east of here and another fifteen miles northeast. And my mother is freaking out. She has a tendency to exaggerate everything, for one, and freak out at the slightest problem. 

And I know a tornado warning is something to take seriously, but being where we are, tornados, especially violent tornados like you see in Kansas and wherever else, are not common. It's like issuing a rain warning in the desert. But just when I think it won't happen here, it will and maybe I should take cover? I'm definitely NOT going into the basement, if you can even call it that. It's a tiny room beneath the kitchen where we found a mummified cat corpse when we first moved in. I've never been further then the steps and I'm certainly not going down there right now and hunkering down for an hour until the warning lifts. 

Where else are you supposed to take cover during a tornado? Bathtub? Closet? Mr. Jen told me to go into Son's closet with some pillows. Oh wait, he just called me and told me to go NOW. I guess I'll hunker down.

 I don't know about you guys, but I've been checking Amazon.com obsessively for the new Breaking Dawn cover. It's finally up! I like it. It's a bit different from what the other covers were, but I think it tells a good deal about what the book will be like. Check it out:



I'm considering taking a vacation day from work the day the book comes out just so I can lay in bed all day and read.

From Possession---A conversation between Ashley and Kahne

Ashley wasn’t sure how to phrase her next question. She decided to spit it out before she thought too much on it. “Are you evil then?”

“Evil is a concept, Ashley. It has no measurement.”

“That’s not really an answer.”

“It’s the best I can give.”

“So if you were given a choice between torturing a kitten or saving it, which would you chose?”

“Are we really discussing this?”

She held her ground. “Yes.”

He sighed, scanned the passing traffic. “The answer depends on the kitten. Is the kitten hexed? Perhaps it's a werekitten that's just gone on a killing spree.”

She frowned. “No. It's just a normal kitten.”

“And what am I saving it from?”

She thought for a second. “It’s stuck in a tree.”

“Then no.”

“No, what?”

“No, I wouldn’t torture it and no I wouldn’t save it. Neither. I have better things to do than to go around saving kittens.”

“That wasn’t an option.”
                  His jaw flexed. He set his hands low on his hips. Veins bulged between his knuckles. “This is maddening.”

1. I'm quitting energy drinks tomorrow! I binged all weekend, cut back yesterday, only had one today, and tomorrow I'll have none. Seriously, if I quit smoking, I can quit energy drinks and stick with it!

2. Allow me a moment to be a crabby bank teller: Don't bring eight deposits and two tax payments to the drive-thru thereby holding everyone else up because you couldn't get off your butt and walk inside to the lobby! ESPECIALLY when the business you own is a health club!!!! 

3. I miss The Hills. ;( August cannot come fast enough. 

4. Did anyone see the Supernatural finale on Thursday? What did you think?

5. Has anyone read The Host? I'm having a hard time getting into it. Does it get better?

6. I read Holly Black's Ironside and Melissa Marr's Ink Exchange both within the last week. I loved them and I'm sad there won't be another story with Kaye and Roiben, but at least there will be more Marr books! Yeah!

7. Possession is almost finished! (And I'm afraid it sucks!)

 

Sounds like there's a lot of revising and drafting going on right now! Must be spring and the idea of renewal. I know I've finally got the inspiration back to write. I haven't talked much about it, but I've been revising Possession the last few months and I'm nearing the end. I'm at about 40,000 words revised and a lot of that is completely new. I hadn't meant to completely rewrite most of the book, but I'm glad I did. I think it's better because of it.

Now that I'm nearing the end, I'm thinking once again about querying. This revision was inspired and based on one agent's feedback. She said if I decided to revise to keep her posted. Should I offer her the revised version on an exclusive basis? Like two weeks or something? It seems only fair, but I don't want to box myself in either. Hmm...any advice?

I rememeber a while ago (months maybe?) someone on my LJ list interviewed their characters as a way to get to know them better. Was it britlitfantwin? I remember enjoying the post and had said I'd give it a try but never got around to it until now.

I interviewed Kahne, because he's more interesting and complicated and hardly ever talks about himself. How's a writer to get to know her characters if they won't talk?

So I dragged it out of him...

Good morning, Kahne! I thought we'd start this interview out by playing a game.
Games are for children. Do I look like a child?

...with energy drinks. As in, I'm addicted to them. This I realized the other day when, at work, I decided I needed an energy drink at ten a.m. and walked over to the gas station to acquire one.

One of my co-workers says, before I leave, "Won't you just crash later on? And feel worse?"

And I said, "Well, yeah, but that's why I'll buy two."

I'm getting better though. I can go several weeks without one if I really set my mind to it. But once I buy one, just one, I'm on a fast roller coaster down hill. I'll drink four in a day! And when I wake up the next morning, I feel hung over!

It's terrible. I'm so addicted. Why can't I be addicted to broccoli? Or brussel sprouts? Is that so much to ask? 

I've been working on the Possession revision slowly but surely. I got a lot done this weekend, but yesterday? I rearranged two paragraphs and wrote enough fresh material to fill a teaspoon. 

But maybe that's for the better. Maybe taking my time on this revision instead of speeding through it will make the book a million times better. I can hope, right?

And to celebrate my slow but steady progress, I think I'll post a teaser. This was something I wrote over the weekend. It's a completely new scene to the book. A lot is changing. Even Kahne and Ashley feel different, though I'm having a hard time determining whether or not that change is for the better. 

Enough talking from me!

**I trimmed it down a bit because it was too lenghty! But I wanted to get all the good bits in there. :)

 

Kahne grabbed the TV remote, dropped it on the floor and crushed it beneath a heavy leather boot.

“Hey!” Ashley said.

“Watch.”

Within seconds, the plastic hissed and popped letting loose a cloud of thick, black smoke. She wrinkled her nose, expecting the smoke to smell acrid. Instead, it smelled like vanilla and black berries.

“What was that?” she asked.

“A witch spell.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah right.”

“You believe I’m a damned spirit possessing your best friend, don’t you? A witch is more believable, I would think.”

Well, when he put it that way…

She changed the subject. “How did you know the remote was spelled?”

He went back to the window, pushing it shut. “The smoke you saw? That was magic. And it smells like a witch in here.”

“Why would a witch spell my remote?”

He double-checked the locks on the window, pushing up on the frame testing its purchase. “I wouldn’t know. I’m not a witch, after all.”

There was something wrong with this situation—her taking the spell and the topic of witches with so little reluctance. If Kahne told her Jesus was real and that the Holy Grail existed, would she believe that too? She just might, because if demons and witches were real, maybe everything else was too.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked suddenly. The question stood in the room between them like some unfitting statue.  

Ashley stayed up against the wall farthest from him. “I’m just wondering why you’re here.”

“I came to bring you something.” He nodded at her dresser.

Somehow, she’d missed the small purple box when she first came in the room. Now, she took it in her hands, eyeing Kahne. What if this was another trap?

“Go ahead,” he said. “It’s for your protection.”

For those American Idol fans, do you guys remember Josiah Leming? The 18-year-old kid who lived in his car and traveled the nation playing his music? The one who got booted off before the final 24?

Over a month or so ago, I found his youtube page and discovered his new songs. I fell in love with them. From there I found his Myspace and downloaded about five of his songs. He's amazing. I can't hear his song "One Last Song" enough. I could listen to it a million times a day and never get sick of it.

Anyway, I just read an article that he's reportedly signed a record deal with Warner Bros. I'm so excited. I'll be the first to buy the album! I think he's better off without American Idol.

Have a listen.

Happy Easter!

 

Mr. Jen, Son and I enjoyed a cool, rainy walk at the state park a few weeks ago, but I'm SO ready for spring!

I didn't see many Teaser Tuesday posts today. Where is everybody?!

I posted the opening to this project a while back. I set it aside having no idea what I was going to do with it. Well, I *think* I have it, but that could change. Here's a bit more after that initial opening. 

I was not in my room, but a room the size of an auditorium with three metal walls the color of brass and one wall of blue.

It was just me in that room. Me and the bed.

I threw aside the sheets, put bare feet to the cold metal floor. Standing, a white nightgown unfolded behind me, dragging over the floor.

I went to the wall of blue, pushed my fingers against it. It was entirely glass.

“It’s the Window Sea.”

The voice startled me and I whirled around, the nightgown catching at my calves.

The man standing there was little older than me. Maybe twenty or twenty-one. He was pale, not sickly like, but cold-like. His eyes were like that too, blue and cold in color, but not in character.

“Um…” My voice came out hoarse, shaky. I cleared my throat. “I’ve never heard of the Window Sea,” I said. “And where am I, exactly?”

“You died,” he said. “Don’t you remember?”

 It's been forever since I posted for Teaser Tuesday. I don't really have anything to post though. I haven't written much in the last few months. I'm starting to get depressed about it, though I will admit to enjoying the free time I've had. I've watched A LOT of movies, including ones such as In the Land of Women, Waitress, Alien VS. Predator 2, National Treasure 2 and Resident Evil 3. All very good movies, excluding AVP2, which was a total bore. I was all excited, entering that theater, thinking I'd get a healthy dose of sci-fi and alien on predator awesomeness. But no.

Anyway, did anyone happen to read Kristin Nelson's blog yesterday? About the blogging soldier that died and had a friend post his last entry? Well, it inspired something in me late last night and I started to write. It's not even one page yet and I don't even know what it's about. The important thing is, I wrote and I wrote something I actually like. 

If you’re reading this now, then I’m already dead…

Willa closed her eyes. She didn't want to see the online post anymore. The white text seemed too bright against the black background, like a fluorescent light shining in the darkness.

But instead of finding relief behind her lids, she saw an image of Lincoln, of him three nights ago, staring at her the way he did when he knew he was about to disappoint her.

“I’m leaving for a few days,” he’d said. “Maybe longer.”

“Where are you going?” she’d asked.

He wouldn’t tell her. Instead, he ran his hands through his shoulder-length blond hair, tied it back with a black rubber band. “I’ll call you when I can.”

What she’d gotten instead was an email just an hour ago with a link to an online blog.

The first and only post had a date of April 12^th, a time of thirty minutes past midnight.

If you’re reading this now, then I’m already dead…

It's been a while since I posted on Teaser Tuesday. I've been working full-time since I started at the bank. I'll go to part-time after the holidays. Anyway, I haven't written much either, but I fantasize about it! I've been playing around with a lot of stuff, in particular that project I started on a Sunday afternoon after watching the movie Macbeth. The one about death. Here's some more of what I wrote after that opening scene, condensed so that it's not too long. 

 

I scanned the street beyond the shooter, hoped for someone to saunter past, to save me because I couldn’t save myself.

And then Crowe Santos appeared, suddenly, like an afterthought brought on by the wind. He withdrew a gun from his leather jacket, pulled the trigger. The bullet popped from it's chamber. Blood splattered across my face. I flinched and when I opened my eyes, my would-be attacker was face down on the sidewalk. 
           “Are you all right?” Crowe asked, but it didn’t sound like he truly cared.

I nodded a lie.

I was far from okay.

“Go home, Janie,” he said. “Clean yourself up. Forget this night.”

“Okay,” I answered.

I would never forget that night for as long as I lived.

 

It's been entirely too long since I made a big purchase of books from Amazon.com. But now that I'm working and getting a steady paycheck, yea-ha! I'm buying some books, dang it!

I just hit the submit button on my order.

I bought:

Thirteen Reasons Why
I've been wanting to read this book for months now. I requested it at the library, but it took them like six weeks to get in Story of a Girl and I can't wait that long for Thirteen Reasons Why.

The Luxe
A Victorian era version of Gossip Girl! What's not to love?

Glass
I'm such a huge fan of Ellen Hopkins. I read Crank so long ago. I'm excited to read the sequel. 

I can't wait to get my order in! It's my Christmas present to myself.

In the meantime, I'm reading Son of the Mob, which is really-really good so far. The voice is great. I also have Rebel Angels, Ironside, The Chaos King and The Book Thief.

It feels like it's been so long since I just read book after book after book. I guess I've been focusing too much on writing. Now it's time to take a break and get back into some reading.

The writing break went well! I think I needed it anyway, considering I was starting a new job. After overloading my brain with all these new bank rules, it was nice to come home and just surf the Internet or sit down with a book. I finished Bloom, as I said and started Vampirates and Story of a Girl, which the library FINALLY got in. I was bugging them weekly. They're probably happy to get rid of me!

I also watched lots of TV and some movies. I watched an Australian indie remake of Macbeth. I love Australian indies. Ever seen Somersault? SO GOOD. The guy who played Macbeth in the remake was a main character in Somersault. His name is Sam Worthington and he is so yumm. He's been cast in James Cameron's new sci-fi movie, Avatar, so I think we'll be seeing more of him in the US. 

After watching Macbeth, I was instantly inspired to open a new document in Word and just started writing. The thing with Australian indies, they have this haunting quality, quiet and poetic. I just love them. At least the ones I've watched and perhaps it's true too for US indies, but I haven't seen many to know.

Anyway, here's what I just wrote and I love it. It felt so good to stretch that writing muscle after a week or so! That really isn't long at all, but, whatever. For me it is! 

This is a story of death. Of the literal and figurative sense.

Because I saw them dead and because I am not the same as I was when this story started.

Where did it start, exactly?

Where all stories start.

On a day.

On a day that began like any day.

Perhaps it was a Thursday though I can’t remember clearly. After the beginning, the titles of the day blurred together like lights outside a carousel. They were just a flash of golden smudged against the darkness.

But on that day, I twisted shut the lock on the front door of my father’s chocolate shop and that was where the ordinary ended. It was a distinct end, an audible click in the night.

The next sound that reached me, carried on the crisp cool wind of autumn, was a gunshot.

 

(And since this is technically a teaser, consider it my teaser for Tuesday. I'll be working all day Tuesday, so I won't post.)

I read Bloom (Elizabeth Scott) yesterday and really loved it. Maybe I loved it so much because it reminded me of Dessen's The Truth About Forever. BUT...the similarities also pulled me out of the story a few times. Like that Lauren's boyfriend is perfect in every way. That her father works in land development and has a hard time communicating with Lauren at all. Or that her one parent is never home and her other parent (Mom) is out of the picture. 

(Some spoilers below)

Despite the similarities that stood out to me, the book was awesome. I rarely read a book in a day or two anymore, but I stopped pretty much everything to read this book. I loved Evan, loved the way Elizabeth wrote !!!!!!SPOILER!!!! that first kiss scene between Evan and Lauren. I felt like I was there, I felt like I could see and feel Evan through Lauren. The writing through the entire book was wonderful, smooth and easy to read, easy to get inside Lauren's head.  

Some of Lauren's inner monologue was repetitive and the ending was a bit too easy, but if I had a rating system, like if I used bat-shaped Peeps to rate how much I loved a book because I reallyreallyreally love the bat peeps, then I'd give Bloom 4 Bat Peeps out of 5. 

Next up on the reading pile: Midnighters (Scott Westerfeld)

Still trying to read: A Great and Terrible Beauty