laugh.write.play.

Revision. Are We Making It Worse?

2012-01-26T00:09:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all having fantabulous weeks. Mine's been... not bad. Some good stuff, some annoying, you know, the normal...

Anyhoo.

I'm smack-dab in the middle of a revision right now. *ahem* let's call it what it is -- a rewrite.

GASP.

I know. Awful. But I (and some others) recognized some plot issues. So thus, I had to dive back into the pits of hell--I mean, revision. So here's my issue this time around... we're talking five or six versions now.

I'm thinking these changes I'm making, albeit they are needed, are messing it up more. Seriously. I feel like I'm shredding the cheese (notice I didn't say cutting, 'cause, well... that's just wrong on so many levels. Kind of funny, though. Okay back to the post) but the cheese is already shredded and now it's in like tiny bits of yellowy (oh, no you didn't just add a y to yellow. Oh, yes. I did,) orange mush. Like changing these aspects of this version of the MS is going to take me back to zero.

I hate that feeling. You too?

So I sat down and thought about it, ie wrote this blog post, and I realized that the MS is a living, breathing thing. A creature of our imaginations. A manifestation of our dreams. So, it's going to change. It will bend and curve and twist until it doesn't even look like the same creature. But that's okay.

I'm going to repeat.

That's Okay. Whew. I'm glad I could get that out.

Will my MS be better than it was? YES. Because I'm not going to stop until it is. *fistbump*

How 'bout you all? Have you felt like this before? Do you have to be at the end of the process to see everything for what it is?

That's my Zeuser up there in the pic. He's the best writing accessory I have ;o) Well, Scrivener's pretty awesome too.

<3<3 Don't forget next month is Heart Month!! AND Wear Red Day is Friday, February 3rd, so wear your red and tell everyone you know that heart disease is the #1 killer of women (men too). Why? Because I LOVE you all and want your hearts to be healthy. Want to find out more on the Go Red For Women movement? Check out goredforwomen.org! <3<3

Have a great rest of the week!

<3 Er

This is One of the CUTEST Videos I've Seen... Seriously

2012-01-06T00:52:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone!!

I hope you are all doing well and are recovering from the holidays ;o) Mine was just delightful!

So. My friend shared this video with me on facebook, and I nearly spit my hot chocolate out. It's SO Funny and Cute.

I had to share ;o) Enjoy!!

Oh, and if you get a moment. My friend and writer-bud Brenda Drake is having a contest. The CAN YOU HIT A PERFECT PITCH contest. You could win a request to read more from agent, Ammi-Joan Paquette!! Go on over, I know you want to ;o)

Oh, and of course GOOOOOOOO LIONS!!!!! Yes, my boys made it to the playoffs. As a lifelong LIONS fan, I'm thrilled!! Not so thrilled we're playing New Orleans, but... what can ya do? Drew Brees, we're coming for ya!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

<3 Er

Buy a Book - Save an Endangered Species!

2011-12-15T00:30:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!!

I want to share some exciting news!! A special edition of Heather McCorkle’s The Secret Of Spruce Knoll is releasing from Compass Press this month and she’s doing a special tour to go along with it. The special part, a percentage of the proceeds from every special edition sold (in every format) between its release date and 12-17-2012, will go toward Heather’s favorite charity that protects endangered species. Her goal is to make at least $10,000 for the charity.

How cool is that?! Let's save some animals!

Look at the book. *pets* SO pretty.

Of course there are prizes during the tour which goes from December 1st through the 17th. Prizes include a symbolic endangered species adoption of the winner’s choice (a $50 donation by Heather to the charity for the endangered species of the winner’s choice, and cute stuffed animal for the winner!), signed copies of her novels and great swag. For full details, and to enter, go here. http://heathermccorkle.blogspot.com/

For the tour, Heather has asked each blog host to pick their favorite endangered species and she will tell us a fun or interesting fact about that animal.

I picked the WHITE TIGER. I've had the pleasure of working with a white tiger up close. Some of you may not know but, I had a marketing internship in college at Binder Park Zoo and at the time we had a beautiful white tiger loaned to us from the Nashville Zoo. Her roommate was a puppy named Alex. I actually got to see her out of her habitat, running around. It was magical, I tell you. She was also on the Today show when I was there. So, I have a special place in my heart for these cats of the wild. Here's an article (scroll up on the paper to see the pic) I found online with an actual picture of her at Binder Park and the puppy Alex! Such a sweetie.

Heather: Your choice is near and dear to my heart Erica. White tigers have fascinated me since I was a kid. Contrary to some beliefs, the white tiger isn't actually a sub-species of tiger, it's a recessive mutant gene in the Bengal tiger. Sadly, there are very few in the wild as only one wild Bengal tiger birth in 10,000 is a white tiger. And with less than 3200 (and declining) tigers existing in the wild today, the odds for the white tiger aren't good.

Thanks for visiting, Heather!! Let's get to that $10,000!!

Have a great rest of the week and weekend, Everyone ;o)

<3 Er

Vloggy Vlog - Character Goals & a Little Guitar

2011-12-04T02:07:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!!

I hope you are having a smashing weekend ;o) Since I don't have a lot new to say, I wanted to post a vlog I did on dna writers.

I ramble a little (shocking, I know), but you can hear me play the guitar... albeit not that well... I'm much better now. This was 5 months ago. Okay. I'm done.

Have a great rest of the weekend. LOVE you all!!

<3 Er

Tangled Tides - Underwater Web War. It's ON.

2011-11-25T00:07:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!!!

Are you shopping today? I'm not, in fact, it's my first time in 4 years that I have the day after Thanksgiving off! I can tell you... it's a lot better not having to work.

So.

Welcome to the Underwater Web War. Mua ha ha ha ha ha!

Oh yeah, baby. It's ON.

Confused? I'll elaborate. Fellow blogger and super awesome author Karen Amanda Hooper has a book coming out today!!!!

Guess which book? Psst. I'll give you a hint... it's in the title of this post ;o) AND, here's a picture of the cover.

I know, right? SO exciting. AND what a gorgeous cover. That's it. I want to be a mermaid.

Here's the important stuff!!

First of all...

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO TANGLED TIDES!

Karen Amanda Hooper’s young adult novel, TANGLED TIDES, is officially being released into the world today. I’m joining the celebration by fighting in the war--the underwater web war between the sea creatures!

Karen’s story contains battling merfolk, selkies, sirens and gorgons. She says she loves all of them, but she wants everyone else to choose a side, so…

I CHOOSE SIRENS!

Why?

Sirens are of the sun - hello, who doesn't love the sun?
They need warmth - uh, check. Did someone turn down the heat again?
They're seductive singers - uh... well, we can pretend.
They control the weather - oh yeah, bring on the destruction.
They steal memories from humans - what was that? Oh, you can't remember. Sorry.

How cool is that picture over there? The talented Alexandra Shostak created it!! How awesome, huh?

Wanna learn more or join in on the fun? Go check out the details at Karen’s blog: http://karenamandahooper.blogspot.com/

Karen is giving away a signed copy of her book and some other sea creature themed prizes. To enter, join the underwater web war on Twitter. Tweet which sea creatures you’re rooting for and why. Include the hashtag #TangledTides and you could win. Karen will be on Twitter all day celebrating and answering questions, so stop by and say hello. @Karen_Hooper

Summary of the story:
Yara Jones doesn’t believe in sea monsters—until she becomes one.

When a hurricane hits her island home and she wakes up with fins, Yara finds herself tangled up in an underwater world of mysterious merfolk and secretive selkies. Both sides believe Yara can save them by fulfilling a broken promise and opening the sealed gateway to their realm, but they are battling over how it should be done. The selkies want to take her life. The merfolk want something far more precious.

Treygan, the stormy-eyed merman who turned Yara mer, will stop at nothing and sacrifice everything to protect his people—until he falls for Yara. The tides turn as Yara fights to save herself, hundreds of sea creatures, and the merman who has her heart. She could lose her soul in the process—or she might open the gateway to a love that’s deeper than the oceans.

Linkage:
Amazon:   http://amzn.com/1936850435
Rhemalda Bookstore:   http://tiny.cc/BuyTangledTides
Barnes & Noble:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tangled-tides-karen-amanda-hooper/1035791101?ean=9781936850433&itm=1&usri=tangled%252btides

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12047201-tangled-tides

Sounds like fun, huh?

So go tell Karen CONGRATS! How exciting!!

Hope all my American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Everyone else, I hope you had an awesome Thursday!!

High Concept Ideas: Cool? or Not Worth It.

2011-11-12T18:46:00.006-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Wow. It's been a while. I sure hope you are all doing well! I'm knee-deep in NaNo Feva. So far it's going really well. I just made it over 21K! AND with the help of my uber-awesome CP, Brenda Drake I finally know where this story is going. BONUS!

When plotting for said NaNo idea I started to think about High Concept ideas/premises since my current NaNo and my last year's NaNo are those types of ideas.

So what is a high concept idea?

Wiki says:
High concept narratives are typically characterized by an over-arching "what if?" scenario that acts as a catalyst for the following events. Often, the most popular summer blockbuster movies are built on a high concept idea, such as "what if we could clone dinosaurs?" (Jurassic Park), and so on.

Side note: I love INCEPTION. Still. Yes, I know it's old news, but talk about high concept. Damn.

Personally, I'm drawn to writing these ideas. There's something about taking that what-if scenario and putting your own spin to it. High concept premises make me think, they challenge my beliefs and what I perceive to be true. I have to admit I'm drawn to reading these types of books, too.

That's not to say that I don't enjoy non high-concept books. I LOVE a good contemporary. In fact, many of my favorite books are contemporary romance (Anna and the French Kiss, anyone?). A well-executed idea sells me every time -- high concept or not. That, and hot boys. LOL

Although, high concept ideas are big and exciting, done poorly they can be a nightmare. I've found (in my limited vision of what this is) that a CRAP-TON of research needs to be done in these books. In order to build a new idea/premise or spin-off one, you need to know what you're talking about. You can make up everything you want, but it needs to be believable. There's nothing worse than a high concept idea that fails to execute. What a waste.

Also, there is usually a lot of world-building and action and twists. Not the easiest thing to come up with, but really the only limitation is your imagination.

So, what can stimulate these ideas?

Watch Documentaries - science, history whatever works. You'd be amazed how much you can pick up. Both my NaNo's have come from documentaries. Yeah, for real.

Google the Idea - I usually come up with others from that. For example, if you're writing about something having to do with space. You google space, and you find out there's a moon by Saturn that has characteristics of Earth, or did at some point... hmmm. What if?

Ask Your Friends or Strangers - No, really. My husband knows a lot (too much most of the time, if you know what I mean... LOL) he watches and reads about some interesting stuff. ALSO, last night I was working at a women's expo for work and got in a conversation with a cinematographer about stem cells. I learned a lot. Who knew?

Read Books About the Subject You're Researching - There is always someone who has written some version of your high concept idea. It may not be the exact idea, but rest assured, the world is big and the odds that no one else has written it, is as slim as a hollywood actress.

What do you think of high concepts? Do you write them yourself? Do you like reading them?

Have a great week!!!!

<3 Er

Never Kill a Mockingbird

2011-09-28T15:08:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope life is treating you well ;o) In honor of Banned Books Week, I'm going to re-post my entry from last year! I'm still in revision purgatory, but I can see the light!! I'll be back soon. xxoo

Have a great week ;o) <3<3 Er

Hi Everyone!

I was all set to write in my MS tonight. I had it all planned. But, I can't let banned-books week go by without saying how I feel about it and censorship in general. And to tell a tale of one lowly high school freshman...

If you want to see ALA's list of Top 100 Banned/Challenged books '00-'09 Check it out Here I'll wait... *checks email, facebook, twitter*

Yeah. Unbelievable, right?

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee is on that list. So is THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger, another that changed me.

But. Today I'm going to talk about my love for a mockingbird and a father who shows that man can be brave, even when, alone in his convictions.

Quick blurb in case you haven't read it yet...

"Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman." - Amazon.com Review.

You know, I read To Kill a Mockingbird in high school. I didn't read a lot then. In fact, *gasp* I didn't really like books that much. I wasn't a book person. I know. Awful right?

So when we were assigned to read it my freshman year... my thoughts were, "What the heck is a Mockingbird? and why do I have to read about not killing it."

I know. I was not the quickest fork in the drawer.

So. I read it. Holy shabangawoo. I loved it. I learned something too. Yay!

It was the beginning of me learning about injustice and the heart of man, the bravery of one against many, the wrong in the world. It made me start to ask questions of myself, of the people around me.

I began to understand the Mockingbird and how it's a symbol.

So. When I think about censorship, and of that book in particular. I think. How tragic it would have been if my school didn't have that book to give me. And about the lessons I would have lost, and the wonderful words of Harper Lee's I would have missed out on.

Censorship is about taking the right to choose away from you.

Look at the list. Read them. Learn. Ask questions.

Speak Loudly.

Have a great weekend!

Something Important...

2011-09-13T13:54:00.007-04:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all doing wonderfully and getting lots of writing done. I'm starting my 5th revision on my MS!

So.

I don't usually mix my day job with my writing life, but I think this is SO important. Please take a moment to watch this video by Elizabeth Banks (you know, of Hunger Games - the movie). She's helping Go Red For Women spread awareness about how women believe they aren't at risk of a heart attack, especially young women. This is not true. Anyone can be at risk. It's the number one killer of women (and men).

Sometimes it just takes a few seconds to learn something new. Before I volunteered for the American Heart Association, I didn't know that heart disease was the number one killer of women. I thought it was cancer. But actually, heart disease kills more people than all types of cancers combined. Add in respiratory disease and accidents, and you've got the equivalent.
Crazy huh.

Okay, I'm done. I promise. I just wanted to share this because I love you all and want you to live to write another day ;o)

I'll be back next week. I'm participating in my wonderful friend/CP Brenda Drake's Can You Hook a Teen? Blogfest! Go enter! You can win editing prizes!

Have a wonderful week!

<3 Er

Tour of Secrets - The Secret of Spruce Knoll...

2011-08-25T07:00:00.120-04:00

Hi Everyone!!

We have a special treat today. The uber cool Heather McCorkle released her new novel The Secret of Spruce Knoll!! I know. I'm excited, too. I'm thrilled to be on this blog tour as Heather is one of the sweetest authors I know!

Here's a little about her book *squeee*

Following the tragic death of her parents, Eren Donovan moves to Spruce Knoll to live with her aunt. Little does Eren know the entire town of Spruce Knoll is filled with “channelers”—a magical group of people who immigrated to the small Colorado town when they were driven out of their own lands.

Channelers are tied to the fate of the world. As the world slowly dies, so do they—and they alone have the power to stop the destruction of Earth. Now, Eren learns she not only lives among them, but she is one. When she meets local boy Aiden, his charm convinces her that being a channeler may not be all bad.

OMG. Sounds awesome, right? How gorgeous is that cover?

So, let's get to the fun part... the secret. YAY. I love secrets. I get to ask ONE secret of Heather. I know. So cruel. Hey, if you want more you'll have to check out the next stop on her tour, or... or even better, go buy the book!

Here we go!

So. I'm curious... What is Eren's secret career desire?

Due to her abilities~though she doesn't know it for many years~Eren is an outstanding runner and was a major track star at her school back in L.A. Her parents pushed her to focus on track and her track coach encouraged her to think about the Olympics. Though Eren loves to run, she has no interest in a career in track and field. Her secret desire is to be an artist, to paint. She's remarkably good at it too!

Awesome. Gotta love an artist. Here's a secret of mine. My little sister is an artist and majored in it! We have her paintings all over our house!

So. Where can you buy this fantastic book? Check out the links below!!

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
abbottpress.com

AND there's a contest!! YEP. Check it out!

1st place:

*$50 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble (or the Book Depository if you're over seas).

*Autographed copy of The Secret Of Spruce Knoll

*Special swag bag

2nd place:

*Swag bag filled with:

*Autographed copy of The Secret Of Spruce Knoll

* Spoiled by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

*Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

*Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

* A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young

3rd place:

*Autographed copy of The Secret Of Spruce Knoll

*Swag bag

I know, right. LOOK at it all. So, how can YOU win it?

Follow Heather's blog, Heather's Odyssey and leave a comment on her post saying you'd like to enter to win. But if you want extra points/entries here's how you can get them:

+1 for being a follower of Heather's Odyssey and commenting. (Must follow for the contest.)

+1 for each blog participating in the giveaway that you follow and comment on.

+2 for adding The Secret Of Spruce Knoll to your To-Read shelf on Goodreads or Shelfari.

+3 for tweeting or posting on Facebook about the giveway.

+4 for Blogging about The Secret Of Spruce Knoll giveaway.

+5 for placing a link on the sidebar of your blog about the giveaway.

Contest ends August 31!

GOOD LUCK!

Have a great rest of the week and weekend! I'll be back again soon ;o)

<3 Er

Writing a Series. Is It Neccessary?

2011-08-05T08:00:00.001-04:00

Hi Peeps!

How cute is that puppy. He's perfect for a Friday ;o)

So. Lately I've been guilty of something. I know, moi? Never.

But alas, it happens.

There are a few series' (who shall remain nameless) that I've read recently where the first and second books in the series were perfect, had a great hook, premise. Everything that makes me hug my kindle and never let go.

But.

When I start the third book, it's just not there. Like a bad second date, the chemistry is missing. I'm not sure what happened. Some of those first/second books I truly LOVED and I mean loved with the passion of a thousand hearts dunked in chocolate.

So. I'm wondering as a writer. When is the right time to stop? Do we always need a series in YA? It seems these days (at least with the high concept books) the series option is the only way to go. Or at least the favorable route.

Are we shooting ourselves in the foot? Forgive the cliche. But. It's appropriate, no?
One of my favorite series' added on a fourth book to a trilogy that ended perfectly. All was right with the world, then the author goes on to write more? I'm not sure why, because between you and me, the fourth was the worst so far, IMO. I still love the author and the previous books, but I was shaking my head.

Should the author have stopped at 3? YES.

I love a good series - hate the waiting in-between (who doesn't, right? I get a little obsessed. I'm sure you're shocked by that revelation) but you hook me in book one and I'm there, even through the third, fourth... I will buy them all. But I truly believe not all of the series need to be series. Can't we have 2 books? Do they always have to be 3 or 4? Can they be longer or shorter? I'm just throwing that out there.

What do you think? Do you agree?

Sidenote: Did they really need all the Transformers movies? I'm looking at you, Michael Bay.

Have you had a chance to see this routine from Marko and Caitlynn on So You Think You Can Dance? If not, it's seriously powerful. LOVED it.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

<3 Er

Pic Credit

Friday With A Landslide.

2011-07-01T13:53:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone!

I swear. I'm still alive.

I've been busy revising but wanted to check-in with you! How are you all?

So. I watched the first season of THE VOICE, not sure if you've seen it. It started out really fun and stayed decent. There were a lot of performances that stood out for me. But this duet was one of my favorites. So I wanted to share it with you.

I LOVE that song. Always have. What do you think? If only I could sing like that... ah, one can dream.

Oh, if you want to see more of me. I know. Why would you? Ha. I also posted over on the DNAwriters blog today. And did a Vlog on character goals if you want to see what I look like... and see me playing mediocre guitar.

HAPPY CANADA DAY! HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! I think I got all the holidays, if I missed one, please let me know!

Have a FANTASTIC weekend!

<3 Er

Fun Video Friday

2011-04-15T14:47:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone!
Happy Friday ;o)

Since I don't have a lot of exciting stuff to post (sorry slow news day... month. LOL) I've been in a book coma for about a week. We'll call it homework. Ha... Reading Jennifer Echols books (AWESOME) She writes great YA romance, which is what I need help with in my WIP, so they've been perfect to get those ol' romantic juices flowin' Ew. I mean... nevermind. LOL

So that's what I've been up to... What have y'all been up to?

For fun, since it is Friday, I'm gonna post a video of my favorite dude (besides the hubs) Dave Grohl attempting to play Stairway to Heaven - one of my favorite songs.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!!!

<3<3 Er

140 Characters. One Pitch. Epic Contest.

2011-04-01T00:00:00.006-04:00

Hi Everyone!!

I hope you are warm where you are, unlike here. I know, I know. Erica stop complaining, you chose to live in a state shaped like a mitten. Tis true. I blame my mom for dragging me out here at age 5 from California. I never had a chance. Ha.

Anyhoo, I did it again. I LOVE blogfests and Shelley Watter's Epic 140 Character Twitter Pitch Contest is one made of awesome wrapped in fantastic. It's EPIC I tell you. Don't believe me? Just look what the lucky winner gets....

I'll wait while you read and your jaw drops. I scammed borrowed this from Shelley's blog.

And the grand prize for one lucky follower? A FULL MANUSCRIPT REQUEST. You read that right. For the lucky grand prize winner, Suzie Townsend will request a full!

Yeah. Suzie Townsend. The awesome, the amazing, on everyone's list. Same one.

So head on over to the awesome, super, fantabulous Shelley' Watter's blog and sign up! Oh, and while you're over there, congratulate her for reaching 100+ followers, uh, 200+ now! YAY!

In order to make sure my 140 is as good as it can be, I'm gonna post it here and let you have at it ;o) And I will be heading over to the other participants' blogs and read those too (well, as many as I can)

Here we go...

Title: Anomaly

Genre: YA Science Fiction

Word Count: 72,000

1 mistaken brain scan. An island of future killers, a psychotic roommate, 2 hot boys, a revenge killer and a girl trapped in the middle.

* Revised based on a lot of factors

Sloan's trapped on Killer island w/psycho roomie & 2 guys who help her uncover a plot that turns teens into killers and she’s the only cure.

Final Pitch:
The Desolate: an island full of teens predetermined to murder. Someone is taking advantage of that. Sloan is the only cure. No one is safe.

Exactly 140. Don't want to waste any space! I could SO see Max Irons playing one of the 2 hot boys. How adorable is that smile?

So, what do you think? By the way, this is the hardest one I've had to do yet! Try it.

I CAN'T wait to read the other twitter pitches! SO FUN.

Have a wonderful weekend ;o)

<3 Er

Pic credit: http://redridinghoodmoviefans.blogspot.com/

WINNER of The Liar Society!!

2011-03-29T17:23:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone!

So after a long deliberation the winner of THE LIAR SOCIETY signed by the fabulous and talented Lisa and Laura Roecker has been chosen!!

First of all... THANK YOU so much to everyone who participated and to everyone who stops by to read my weird ramblings. I LOVE you all!! We've got a lot more rockin' to do up in here!

Before I announce the winner, I want to thank the two lovely judges of the contest, my friends, Brenda Drake and C.A. Marshall over at DNA writers! Hard choice! So, here we go!!!

The winner is...

Rachael Harrie

Latin Sentence:

Aut viam inveniam aut faciam.

"I will either find a way

or I will make one."

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Honorable mentions go to:

Corrine O'Flynn - Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero

Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the future.

Nicole Zoltack - Totus scriptor es pictor quisnam poena per lacuna.

All writers are painters who paint with words.

Angela - Enlightenment mus ad those who propatulus their animi ad sophisma of alius

Enlightenment comes to those who open their minds to the wisdom of others

Diana Paz - Dum spiro, spero. While I breathe, I hope.

Rachael, please email me your address and I will send out your copy of THE LIAR SOCIETY!

Thanks again everyone!!!

Keep Rockin' until we meet again <3

VOICE. #FTW

2011-03-20T08:00:00.039-04:00

Greetings Everyone!
I hope you are having a fantastic weekend! Mine is going swimmingly... so far ;o)

Have you had a chance to enter the Show Me The Voice Blogfest over at the uber awesome Brenda Drake's Blog? Don't miss it, 'cause super-awesome agent Natalie Fischer of the Bradford Literary Agency is judging the contest!! What is the contest you may ask? Well, let me share a lil somthin' somthin' I ~~stole~~ borrowed from Brenda's blog!

On March 20 and 21, post the first 250 words of your finished manuscript (any genre) on your blog to get critiques from your followers and then hop around to the other participants' sites and give critiques. Polish those 250 words and email them to me at brenleedrake@gmail.com with CONTEST in the subject line by 12:00AM (EST) on March 22 (This is my birthday, so while you all are scrambling around to get your entry in, I'll be eating a hot Molten Chocolate Cake at Chili's--all diets are off! Woot!).

All entries submitted before the cut off time will be considered. The first round will be judged by a chosen panel of your peers (agented and unagented). We'll pick the best 20 entries and post them on my blog by March 24. The 20 entries we pick will be judged by Natalie. The winners will be announced on or before Monday, March 28.

What you can win...

1st place - a critique of the first 20 pages
2nd place - a critique of the first 10 pages
3rd place - a query critique

How awesome and generous is Natalie? So cool!

Make sure to wish Brenda a Happy Birthday on the 22nd!! 'Cause she's awesome beyond words <3

So here we go! Have at it. I know it needs work... Those of you that stopped by for the Dark and Stormy blogfest may recognize the first line ;o)

Name: erica m. chapman

Title: Anomaly

Genre: YA Science Fiction

Mom always said, “Never fart in front of a boy. They’ll never look at you the same.” She also said, “Make ‘em laugh on the first day or you’ll be the one who’s being laughed at.” Her craptastic advice is what I’m going to miss most.

She straightened my collar and cocked her head to the side, her blonde curls twirling around her shoulder. “Don’t forget to—”

“—eat your green biotics,” I said, mocking her perky voice.

She swallowed me up with her arms, cutting off circulation to my toes.

I grunted out, “Love you, too.” She let me go and cold set into my lungs. I hated that I still needed my mom at seventeen.

As she waved goodbye, a black tear emerged from ten coats of mascara and slid down her sun-tanned face. “I don’t care if it’s the law, V–chat me if you want to escape,” she said, with twist of her toes.

At least a hundred mechanical voices penetrated the airport’s lobby, announcing flight numbers and gates. Two beams of light shot out of the wall and scanned my eyes. A tinny woman’s voice repeated my flight information.

I reached the terminal and a large guy with an evergreen shirt and bald head — similar to Mr. Clean in the old commercials on RetroTV — yanked my arm, practically pulling it out of the socket.

I jerked my arm back. “You tryin’ to get fresh with me, Mr. Clean?”

Guess I’m the only one that thought that was funny.

***

UGH, I keep reading it, and I'll admit it. I'm not really in love with it, so feel free to suggest whatever!

Okay it's 253, but I didn't want to stop it in the middle. I can't WAIT to read everyone else's!!

So, have at it ;o)

In other news... I've extended the 300 follower EPIC road trip contest for the SIGNED The Liar Society book & bookmark from the fantabulous Lisa and Laura Roecker!

So if you want a chance to win, hop on over here! Get that Latin dictionary out too ;o)

Later Gators!

<3 Er

300 Follower Signed THE LIAR SOCIETY Giveaway Contest EXTENDED to March 25th & Now Open Internationally!

2011-03-20T01:28:00.002-04:00

So.

I made a decision. I know. Ca-razy... but I did.

I'm going to extend THE LIAR SOCIETY giveaway until next Friday, MARCH 25th! AND I've also decided to open the contest internationally!

If you haven't heard yet, I got a SIGNED copy of The Liar Society at the wonderful Lisa and Laura Roecker's book signing! The whole EPIC road trip is documented Here ;o)

It was such a blast and Lisa and Laura are absofrickenlutely AMAZING. As is their fantastic group of family and friends <3

Wanna know how to enter to win? Check it----> Since Latin plays a large role in TLS (how awesome is that book? SO GOOD, if you have not read, you are totally missing out) I'm going to ask you to put on that brain cap and write a sentence in Latin (can be from TLS too,) leave it in the comments (with translation please) and a couple of my pals Brenda Drake and C.A. Marshall over at DNA writers are going to judge! So get those Latin Dictionaries/Google Translator's ready and get creative.

Please go Here to ENTER the contest. Just leave a comment with your Latin sentence ;o)

Entries are as follows...

+1 Comment on this post with your Latin sentence!

Good Luck!!!

<3 Er

The Holy-@#$%-300-People-Care-What-I-Say, Liar Society Giveaway!! EXTENDED to March 25 & Open International!!!

2011-03-09T15:17:00.025-05:00

I can't believe this day has come. We've surpassed 300 followers! You are all SO AWESOME! Thank you ;o) We've been riding the crazy train since 12/20/08.

Wow. That's a long time. So much has happened since then. But. Since this post is long, I will spare you the details... LOL

So. I just had to share what happened this past weekend. Because it was superfantastically awesome. My friend Melanie Hoo and I had the pleasure of attending Lisa and Laura Roecker's book launch for THE LIAR SOCIETY!

It was EPIC. I tell you.

And... if you slog through the next few paragraphs you may be able to benefit from our adventurous trip!

The journey over the hill and through the toll booths to Lisa and Laura's launch we go... is quite a story in itself. Grab a chair. Please note: I'm not making any of this up. Well, maybe the lame dialogue.

Day 1- Leave house around 9ish, get on the highway. Excited squeees ensue from Mel and Erica.

An hour or so later - "Dang, this fog is thick."
"I know, right?" I say.
"Oh, hey it started raining too, bonus"
"Ha. I hope it's not a omen." Laughter. Oh Karma, I'm sorry. I will never test you again.

Some hours later. "Wow, it's pretty bad out there," Mel says in between us belting out Bon Jovi. ( Mel was in charge of the iPod. She has exceptional taste.)
"It sure is--" My heart stops beating."*$%^ almost slipped there," I said. "Oh we're getting low on gas..."

Half hour later. "Hey there's a truck stop." Ride in. I think... crap there's two entrances. Naturally, you take the one that DOESN'T say semis and trailers only.
Except we didn't. "Go this way," Mel says."Oh."
"Crap, we can't get to the other side," I said. Semi's are lined up in rows glaring at us like invading parasites.
"Just go back the way you came in, no one's here."
Huh? Does not compute. Ten minutes of driving in circles later, I figure out what she's trying to tell me. Too late. "No way, with my luck it'll be the one time someone comes down it."
And we leave. Still low on gas.

Another amount of time later. Swerve. "Ew. there's so many dead things on the road tonight."
"Did you hit it?" she says, in between belting out Chicago.
"No, my tires were on each side of it."

More time passes. "Toll booth." I see the sign about checking brakes. I check my brakes. They work good. Whew. Rain pelting down, we get to the line. "Cool only one van. This should go fast," I say.
Tick Tock... "What's taking him so long?"
Laughter erupts from us at the guy in the van standing and inserting his ticket into the top slot of the machine. (did I mention it was like ten feet up so the semis could get to it)
"Why is he using the ticket thing for the semis?"
"Not sure?"

You may be thinking here. Well, if he had to use it then... perhaps there is an issue with the lower slot. But sadly, I didn't think that. Not until it was five minutes later and I had shoved my ticket unsuccessfully into the bottom slot.

So I stood my 5'5 1/2 frame and tried to shove the ticket and the coins into the top semi slot. "%$#@ I can't reach it!" I had a choice.

1. Acquire Go Go Gadget arms
2. Become a super hero and fly up (My luck I would be the one that sprouted sonic ears of something that wouldn't help me in the situation)
3. Stand on my SUV

Since I didn't get the gadget arms or become a super hero, I hefted myself up on the rail of my SUV and reached up. Rain pelted me from the side and laughter echoed from the car behind me, I looked over and a car of girls were yelling "What are you doing?"
I laughed back. "You're gonna have to do it too!" And we're off again.
Still running low on fumes, we had to get off I-80, so we leave the highway and get to a toll booth, with a *gasp* real person.
"Oh, do you smell that? Smells like skunk," I said to the nice lady.
"I think it's you." she says turning up her nose.
"What? I don't think so. Must be around here somewhere, you should find someone and get on that."

Minutes later - it's 1 in the morning by now. Mel runs into the gas station and I pump the gas. *sniff* "Oh *&^%*, it is me." I say to myself.

As of today. It still stinks. Yes, and I didn't even hit it directly...

Fast forward to arrival in downtown Cleveland... after a few turn arounds, and a cop car pulling right behind us as I was getting lost, we get to the hotel.
Just as cops pull up behind us.
Now, I didn't say anything, but I was thinking ^%$#, !@#$;^%$. It's 2 in the morning. Instead of giving me a ticket for driving like a tourist, they get out of the car and strole into the hotel. Not a good sign... at least they aren't after me. But knowing they were there for someone IN the hotel had me a bit worried.

Freaking out and tired from white-knuckling it the whole way, I hop out of my seat and hear a crackle against the ground. Unbeknownst to me, my 3 month old 4G Samsung $$$ Epic, lay on the streets of downtown Cleveland, screen cracked but still functioning. Had to make a trip to Best Buy the next day to get a case and screen protector so I wouldn't keep scratching my fingers up when I used it.

Day 2 - Travel to Hudson, OH to The Learned Owl bookstore. (seriously the cutest bookstore EVER) and have the times of our lives hanging with Lisa, Laura their fam and some of the most awesome group writers/authors I've met!!

Lisa and Laura are the sweetest, most generous people I've met. They could not have made us feel more welcome. And, we got to hang with the fantabulous and FUN Scott Tracey, Leah Clifford, Chelsea Swiggett, Loretta Nyhan, her friend Erin (who is equally fantastic) in addition to LiLa's incredibly awesome family. Seriously, I want one just like theirs, if even for just a few days (no, no I still want mine, but I wouldn't mind a trade some days. LOL) The Regulator, regulated (can I tell you how much I loved her!) and the third Roecker sister was just as sweet as her siblings (her smile lights up a room). In fact, the whole town of Hudson was packed full of seriously kind and genuine people. I loved it there.

Day 3 - We rocked it at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. So much stuff to see. Michael Jackson's Thriller jacket, letters and contracts, lyrics written on paper... We Didn't Start The Fire, was written on lined paper! Some lyrics were on folders, whatever they could find apparently. We even saw some of Jimmy Hendrix's drawings he did as a kid. Yeah, who knew he was an artist too? I didn't. SO COOL!

Gah. That was long. Sorry!

So. because you made it through my weekend story. I'm doing a giveaway!! While at the book signing, I just happened to get a signed copy of THE LIAR SOCIETY and I'm giving it away to YOU! Because you are awesome and because I got my own copy... but really you're awesome. I'm also adding a Liar Society bookmark as well! YAY!

Since Latin plays a large role in TLS (how awesome is that book? SO GOOD, if you have not read, you are totally missing out) I'm going to ask you to put on that brain cap and write a sentence in Latin (can be from TLS too,) leave it in the comments (with translation please) and a couple of my pals Brenda Drake and C.A. Marshall over at DNA writers are going to judge! So get those Latin Dictionaries/Google Translator's ready and get creative.

Entries are as follows...

+1 Comment on this post with your Latin sentence!

EXTENDED to Friday MARCH 25th! NOW OPEN INTERNTIONALLY!

Have a fantastic week ;o)

Good luck!!

<;3 Er

Pic credit http://www.graphicshunt.com/

Wow! You guys are awesome ;o)

2011-03-01T09:22:00.000-05:00

Greetings from the Cold Northeast... and boy is it freezing! It's March right? Someone needs to tell the sun that. See, even Zeus is hiding from the cold!

First, Thank You! I've received a lot of new peeps recently! Yay. Welcome all! Also, What up? to my older rockers!

What have y'all been up to?

I'm on my 2nd revision of my NaNo '10 novel and it's going really well so far. So far... good feedback from some fantastic CP's and Betas! All have said this is the one to query. *bites nails* I hope to be complete with this revision in a month or so. Ha.

I also had the chance to attend the book launch of the adorable Courtney A. Moulton a couple weekends ago! If you haven't read ANGELFIRE, you need to get on that, cause it's SOOOOO good. I also had the pleasure of meeting a lot of great writers/authors there, including the awesome Leah Clifford who's equally awesome book A TOUCH MORTAL rocked my world and will yours too. Go buy it!

And... oh yes, more. I'm going with my friend and fellow writer Melanie Hoo to Cleveland to meet the sweet and talented Lisa and Laura Roecker to celebrate their release of THE LIAR SOCIETY which comes out today!!! I haven't read this one yet, but you better believe when I get my signed copy, I'll be all over that!! I love them. Maybe I'll pick up a copy to give away? Hmm.

So, that's what I've been doing... mostly ;o)

Oh, do ya wanna a chance to win some awesomeness over at DNA Writers? You do? Yay!! Well, head on over and enter our EPIC DOUBLE HELIX contest for a chance to win free books, an Amazon gift card, WAKE signed by Lisa McMann, Starbucks GC, a critique of your first 10 pages/4 pg synopsis or a substantial edit of your MG/YA MS! We'll pick 7 winners! Contest ends Midnight EST March 6th!

Whew!! That was a lot more than I thought I'd have to say... LOL. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the winter. Ha. I'm ready for Spring.

Enjoy the rest of the week!

<3 Er

It Was A Dark And Stormy... Blogfest!

2011-02-07T02:28:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!
I hope you had a great weekend! Even though I'm a die-hard Lions fan, I can appreciate our fellow NFC North team winning the Super Bowl!! Go Pack!

My wonderful friend and co-blogger on DNA Writers Brenda Drake is having a fabulous contest! It Was a Dark and Stormy Blogfest!

All who enter are going to post their first lines from their manuscripts! Exciting, huh? I can't wait to read the others'!

So which awesome agent is picking the winners?

The talented and fabulous WERONIKA JANCZUK!!

Weronika (pronounced 'Veronica') Janczuk is a writer and an agent with D4EO Literary. She also writes YA, literary, and historical fiction, and blogs about it here. Brenda will be posting an interview with Weronika on her blog, so make sure to check it out here!

Prizes from Weronika:

1st place -- a critique of the first 50 pages + query

2nd place -- a critique of the first 25 pages + query

3rd place -- a critique of the query

Info Courtesy of Brenda's blog

So. Here we go!

*bites nails* It's only one line, Erica. Just do it.

Genre: YA Thriller

Title: Anomaly

My mom always said, “Never fart in front of a boy.”

Welp. There it is. What do you think? Would you read more? What do you like in a first line?

Make sure to check out the other first lines in the blogfest Here!!

Hope you have a fantastic week!!

<3 Er

Pic courtesy of fantasyliterature.com

Headin' Over To DNA Writers....

2011-01-21T01:16:00.000-05:00

Come over and join me at the new blog I'm a part of DNA Writers, if ya got a sec. Make sure to check out the fantastic posts by my fellow DNA'ers!

I'm discussing Emotion today ;o)

Have a wonderful weekend!!

<3 Er

Do You Know When Not To Query?

2011-01-16T12:00:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all well ;o) I've been thinking a lot lately... I know. Stop me! LOL

Well, this story I'm revising (NaNo '09) isn't good enough to query in my opinion.

But? You may ask. How do you know? And why bother revising it if you're not going to query it?

I'll tell you why. To learn. To make sure I CAN revise a novel. I'm not going to give up on it just because I'm not querying it. I'm a good enough writer to know when I'm looking at something that isn't queryable (word?) I hope. LOL

So what makes me know this for sure? Oh, time for bullet points again! YAY!

The storyline is good, but not good enough. Too many lost thoughts and unfinished plot holes. I've tried to fix them, but alas it's just not flowing
To use a cliche, I've added everything but the kitchen sink to it
The pacing is okay, but not great
I've changed so much, it's a different story than when I started
I realized after NaNo '10, that I didn't know my characters in this story, but know them really well in my 2nd. So I can recognize the difference
As much as I love it. It is my first completed MS and thus, I kinda knew it wouldn't get published
My writing wasn't as sharp as it is now

I'm still going to finish revising it. I've learned so much about the process and that's invaluable.

I may go back to it in the future and see what I can do, but for now... it remains in my hands and those brave Betas that were so kind to read it ;o)

So. What about you? Do you know when not to query? Have you queried too early before? When do you know it's right?

In exciting news! I'm going to be a contributer on a brand spankin' new blog, DNA Writers with some of my favorite writing peeps. I'm excited about this adventure. We all have interesting and unique viewpoints on writing, reading, life in general. If you have a moment, pop on over and check it out ;o) We're still getting it started... but we will be having a contest soon, so make sure to look for that!

Have a great rest of the weekend ;o) For those that have Monday off. Enjoy ;o) I'll leave you with a quote from Dr. King himself. An amazing man with a relevant message.

"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better."
Martin Luther King, Jr.

<3 Er

pic credit: theoutsourcingcompany.com

Back To The Future Part II took place in 2015... Yeah.

2010-12-30T15:06:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!!

Whew, I have been a bad blog mommy... very neglectful. However, I have been reading and revising a lot, so it's all good, right? I sure hope all of you are doing well and enjoying these last couple days of 2010 ;o) I missed ya!

So. Yeah, that pic? A little more action than I'm gonna see in 2011. Looks fun though ;o)

So, onto the reason for this post! To share my fav's of 2010 with you! Do we have any in common? What were your fav's?

2011. Gah. That looks so strange. Like we should be living in space or riding in flying cars... back to Back To The Future II, can you believe it was in 2015?? I'm sorry, I can't get over that. It's in 4 years. Anyhoo... onto my fav's...

*Some* (I could list many more) books I loved this year (in no particular order)

Matched, by Ally Condie, Loved it!! Can't wait for the next. Ky <3
The Sky is Everywhere, by Jandy Nelson, Unbelievable, loved it to the core Fallen, by Lauren Kate, Awesome! Loved the second, too
All of Cassie Clare's (CoB, CoA, CoG, CA) I love her writing, her characters, everything. Ah, Jace.
The DUFF, by Kody Keplinger So real. I was sucked right in. She's a great writer.
Perfect Chemistry, by Simone Elkeles, OMG *swoon* she knows how to write. I also really liked Leaving Paradise.
Some Girls Are, by Courtney Summers, Love her, love her writing. I devour anything she writes.
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, I'll admit to being one of the people that didn't love the last one, but WOW, what a fantastic series. She knows how to get that page turning, even when it's three in the morning and you can't feel your toes anymore. Team Peeta Foreva
Hush, Hush, by Becca Fitzpatrick, I just finished Crescendo and this gal knows how to weave in some mystery. I have a love/hate relationship with Patch... mostly love (who are we kidding). Yeah, she sucks me in too. One thing after another. Good stuff
Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater, her writing is a like music notes, it flows, it's beautiful, it's haunting. Love her stuff
Tempest, by Jamie DeBree, she's a great friend who wrote a HOT book (seriously, on fire). Can't wait to read the next!
A Reaper's Tale: The Undecided, by Adam Slade, such a great story, funny, original. I loved it. Love him too. Great guy.

TV Shows I loved in 2010

Dexter- hands down, my favorite. If you aren't watching, you should be!
Chuck- underestimated, but shouldn't be. Chuck is a fantastic character full of contradictions. (and Zachary Levi is hot) but that's not the reason I watch. Ha
Big Bang Theory- lost a little steam for me this year, but still one of the funniest out there. I love Sheldon.
Criminal Minds- I always get ideas for books watching this show. The writers are excellent, show after show, they come up with new stuff.
Glee - It's losing steam with me, but I love the characters and the singing. Gotta love the singing ;o)

Movies I loved in 2010

Easy A - Top of my list this year. So funny, well acted, writing was fabulous. See it! I <3 Emma Stone.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Pt. 1 - My favorite of the HP movies so far. Loved it!
Inception - Unbelievable. It's right up there with Easy A. Such a glorious mind- uh, rhymes with Chuck.

Writing

Well, NaNo was great this year! I think I've come up with a story I can really start getting behind. It's not great, by any means, not yet, anyway. But I think the potential is there, more so with this one than any other. So *maybe* this will be the year I start querying. For almost three years I've been studying blogs, reading writing books, writing, chatting with authors/writers/pub peeps on twitter, blogs, facebook (all of you <3). I think I may be ready to jump in. Probably not until closer to the middle/end of the year, but *fingers crossed*

It always seems I start every year thinking it's going to be new and fresh and really it's kind of the same, old stuff. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm still me, you're still you. Changes happen. But inside, I usually stay about the same. Thank goodness. So out with the old, in with the old, I say ;o)

So that's my break down. What about you? What did you love in 2010? What are you thinking about for 2011? Have you seen Back to The Future 2?

Have a happy & safe New Year's!

<3
Er

image: funrocker.com

The Fun 'o NaNo & An Anomaly

2010-11-28T12:00:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!
Oh wow, it's been forever! I'm so sorry. I sure did miss you all! I hope all my American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, and I hope everyone else had a fabulous week ;o)

As you can see from the banner to my left over there, I have completed my second NaNoWriMo. It was pretty friggen awesome. In fact, I completed it 8 days early... I know. I couldn't believe it either. Ha.

I have to give super awesome shout outs to my writing buddies on twitter that kept me sane and on task. They are all AWESOME. @ShelleyWaters, @CA_Marshall @brendadrake @jabrockmole @AMWernke @flamingo1325. I could NOT have reached my goal without them, and they made it so very much fun! Also to @lkgg, for her daily words of encouragement. If you're on twitter, follow these awesome peeps!

So. I learned a lot this year, a lot more than last, I think... Wanna know what?

Okay. I'll make a list. I know you like those ;o)

Even with an outline, I will still end up pantsing about 80% of the story.
If I'm not shoving my characters in a closet (as in my first NaNo) I'm having them kidnapped and injured
I will always have a character that doesn't like bugs
Also, at least one character will talk to a spider at some point
No matter how dreary the situation, my characters will find a way to make a joke
I love writing the evil side of a character, sometimes more than the good side
I suck at endings
I try to put too many twists into a story, need to figure out a few and maximize them.
I love NaNo and will always do it
I'm lucky to have such wonderful friends and family who support my dream

So. There ya have it. Oh, you wanna a little taste of ANOMALY? Okay ;o)

Excerpt from CH 3

The ocean’s white tips curled around the blue water with ease. Like it had always been that way, like the world had always had sprawling waters. I felt stupid for worrying about him and what he may do to me in a dark alley.
He crouched down and took some of the small rocks in his hands. He tossed them around in his hand before throwing them into the sea.

“I come up here every time I come to town. It’s so peaceful. I almost forget what my future will hold.” His face looked contemplative, like he was searching for an answer to a question no one knew.

But he did know. So did I. We were stuck here.

Forever.

Living amongst killers and thieves. But that’s what we would have become, right? The scans are supposed to determine who’s going to be bad, who’s going to kill someone someday. And apparently the two of us were destined for that, somehow.

Excerpt from CH. 26

“Are you kidding me?”

“I have a slinky dress in my bag, if you put it on and act lost, we might have a chance.” She paused, tapping her finger on her lip. I’d never noticed how plump they were naturally. “Act drunk too.”

I shook my head. “Nuh uh. I’m not doing this.”

She grabbed a black dress from her bag that looked like underwear and threw it at my face. “Here,” she said.

I grabbed it and held it up. There was nothing to it. “This isn’t a dress. It’s a bra with wings.” I lowered it to glare at her. “Why can’t you do it?”
***

So. All you NaNoers out there! How'd it go? Did you love it, hate it. What did you learn? And for the non-NaNoers, whatcha been up to?

I'll try to get back to a more normal schedule for blogging. I know I've been supremely awful as of late. I hope you are all doing well!

Have a fantastic week ;o)

<3 Er

NaNo Gonna Stop!

2010-11-07T17:38:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all doing great!

I know it has been a while since I posted, but I've been writing!! I know, crazy right? Last night I just passed 20K in my NaNo novel! At least one of my buddies on NaNo has already won! I hope all you NaNoWriMos are getting lots of fabulous words!

I've learned a few things already this year during NaNo! So, I thought I'd share ;o)

Word Wars (#NaNoWordWars on twitter) are da bomb and I wouldn't be nearly as far without them. Which leads me to....
Twitter and Facebook. I have some fantastic friends and they are the best cheering team! In fact, all the NaNo participants/non-NaNo tweeps on twitter and facebook have been highly encouraging!
I like the word, "was," and the word "look," and the characters' eyes. *sigh* that's what revisions for, eh?
My outline is more of a suggestion than anything and when it comes down to it, I write what I feel at the moment. I've used a little of what's in the outline, but this story has taken its own path ;o)
iTunes rocks
I like bad 80's movies running in the background when I write. Every once in a while I can look up and laugh.
SCRIVENER is the BEST thing for my writing EVER. I just downloaded 2.0 and I love it!
I love the friendship and networking that NaNo brings! I just met Melanie from Hoosblog for the first time and we had a great time at the local Write-In and we're meeting again next Saturday!

So. How are you all doing? If you're not NaNoing, how's the writing coming along?

Hope you have a wonderful week ;o)

Photo Credit

From Revision to NaNo Feva... You got it?

2010-10-13T09:00:00.012-04:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope you had a nice weekend. I'm recovering from a frustrating football downer.. sigh. Hope your teams fared better than mine!

So. I've been revising *ahem* rewriting my WIP (the one from last NaNo) almost there, only a few more chapters (sure, Ha). I've come to realize that I may not query this story anytime soon or ever, and that's okay. Maybe I'll come back to it when I'm a better writer so I can give it the attention and good writing it deserves ;o)

I've most certainly found my weaknesses in writing novels. If you're curious, it's movements (he walked, he looked, lifted his hand to...,) descriptions, scenery, world building. I do have some strengths too, dialogue, plot, pacing... so I think I need to read some more books with my weaknesses. I've been reading Cassandra Clare's books (OMG I love her books) and that has helped a bit since she is really great at making me feel like I'm there. If you haven't read any of her books, go now. Seriously. Her characters are totally swoonworthy.

I'm participating in NaNoWriMo again this year (Yay!) since I had a great time doing it last year, and frankly, I need to write something new. I'm kinda goin' wonky over here... LOL

Pss. I'm EriCanWrite over there, in case you wanna buddy up ;o)

I wanted to share my idea for NaNo this year. Keep in mind, this is very rough, as nothing has been written yet ;o)

Anomaly
YA, Sci-Fi.

It’s 2025 and the government has perfected the criminal brain scan system. If you’re brain passes the sociopath test (as it is commonly referred to) you are sent to The Haven, if you don’t, even before you kill or harm anyone you are sent to The Desolate.

Amara and Shane, lifelong friends were born after the system. They both get scanned and one goes to Desolate and the other Haven. Separated by false accusations and lies, Amara sets out to find Shane.

Amara knows there’s a chink in the system’s armor. They made a terrible mistake. And she's going to find out how to fix it. Can they find each other before time runs out and the system takes out one of them forever?

Are you doing NaNo this year? What'cha workin' on? Have a great rest of the week!

Rock on,
Er

Aaaaand the Winner is....

2010-10-04T09:00:00.024-04:00

Hello!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! So, since holding my 200 followers contest I've gained 37 new followers! Holy peeps Batman. That's awesome. *waves hello* THANK YOU everyone for making this blog what it is.

After 65 entries, the wonderful Random.Org picked the #36. Yay!!

Oh wait, you wanna know who that was assigned to? Dang. I gotta say that part too?

Okay.

The winner of the 80's candy, first lines mini book, $10 B & N gift card, 50 books to read before you die bookmark and LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater is....

....

Brooklyn Ann!

Yay! Congrats ;o) Brooklyn please email me your address!

*throws confetti*

I know banned-books week is over, but there are a ton of great posts from bloggers about their favorite banned-book. The wonderful & awesome, Tahereh has a fantastic list of blogs with posts on banned-books. Check it out! If you missed my post on TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee (my favorite banned-book), you can check it out here.

I hope you have a wonderful day! I'll be back soon with revision woes and to talk about my new love - True Blood. *drools over pic of Eric*

Pic credit truebloodnet.com

Never Kill A Mockingbird

2010-10-01T01:12:00.023-04:00

Hi Everyone!
I was all set to write in my MS tonight. I had it all planned. But, I can't let banned-books week go by without saying how I feel about it and censorship in general. And to tell a tale of one lowly high school freshman...

The uber-wonderful and talented Tahereh is organizing a Best Banned Book Bonanza! Many other bloggers are participating in banned-books week by reviewing their favorite banned book. Check them all out!! You can find the list Here!

If you want to see ALA's list of Top 100 Banned/Challenged books '00-'09 Check it out Here I'll wait... *checks email, facebook, twitter*

Yeah. Unbelievable, right?

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee is on that list. So is THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger, another that changed me.

But. Today I'm going to talk about my love for a mockingbird and a father who shows that man can be brave, even when, alone in his convictions.

Quick blurb in case you haven't read it yet...

"Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman." - Amazon.com Review.

You know, I read To Kill a Mockingbird in high school. I didn't read a lot then. In fact, *gasp* I didn't really like books that much. I wasn't a book person. I know. Awful right?

So when we were assigned to read it my freshman year... my thoughts were, "What the heck is a Mockingbird? and why do I have to read about not killing it."

I know. I was not the quickest fork in the drawer.

So. I read it. Holy shabangawoo. I loved it. I learned something too. Yay!

It was the beginning of me learning about injustice and the heart of man, the bravery of one against many, the wrong in the world. It made me start to ask questions of myself, of the people around me.

I began to understand the Mockingbird and how it's a symbol.

So. When I think about censorship, and of that book in particular. I think. How tragic it would have been if my school didn't have that book to give me. And about the lessons I would have lost, and the wonderful words of Harper Lee's I would have missed out on.

Censorship is about taking the right to choose away from you.

Look at the list. Read them. Learn. Ask questions.

Speak Loudly.

Have a great weekend!

Empathy Works!

2010-09-24T08:00:00.005-04:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope you had a nice week! A lot going on today around the blogosphere!

The wonderful and talented Elana Johnson has a fantastic post on what to blog about. Actually, there's a whole week of posts that are fantastic, in fact two other bloggers have also taken on the subject; the uber awesome Jennifer Daiker & Alex Cavanaugh. Check it out, seriously good stuff on all their blogs. Elana also wants to see how different people post about one topic. I signed up.

I know. I almost never do that. But I'm curious...

So. The topic is compelling characters.

Hmm... what does that entail you may ask. Well, truthfully, it's all relative. What is gripping and original to me may not be the same for you. But, we all know when something is fake, or when it seems put there for a reason. So...

How do we get compelling characters?

We use our voice, we make sure we know all the in's and out's of our characters.

We make sure they are Authentic. It's next to impossible to have a compelling character if he/she is not authentic. So how do we make our characters authentic then?

We make sure every decision that our characters make are true to who they are and true to their pasts. This includes the face scrunches, dialogue, actions, internal monologue. The whole shebang, as it were.

This is what I do...

I Empathize. I put myself in my characters' shoes. If I were them in this particular situation, what would I do. I take in account their background, beliefs, ideas and I make a decision based on that. I always make sure it furthers the plot, too.

I write through it. If I don't think the character is right, or something isn't sitting well with me about them, I just keep going until it is.

Or I write a dinner scene with all the characters and see what happens. This way I see who shines, who becomes a raging alcoholic, who starts to hum songs from Glee. Recently, that's how I figured out I had one too many characters. I'm in the process of combining 2 into 1. And you know what? My story is better for it.

That's my take on it ;o) What do you think? How do you get your characters to be compelling?

Wait.. there's more!!

I knew it would happen one day. I'm in two places at once. I know. I bet you didn't think it was possible without some sort of science experiment. The wonderful Dolly over at Writer Revealed invited me to share my writing journey! It's filled with government conspiracies and alien abductions... don't believe me? Check it out! Ha! See what I did there. Dolly, has a fantastic blog. Stay a while, check out the others in the series, too!

I hope I haven't lost you yet. I know this post is long. We're almost done, I promise!

I've made it to 200 followers! THANK YOU ALL! Wanna enter for a chance to win *80's candy, a $10 B & N Gift Card, a 50 books to read before you die bookmark, a book of opening lines and LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater? Check it out Here! Yes, there's a Vlog too, so you can see me make a fool of myself, oh and meet my kitty Zeus, too!

That's about it. Hope you have a great weekend!

-Er

*candy not from actual 1980's.
**photo taken by me of Mackinac Bridge on a beautiful September day

laugh.write.play.win. VLOG - 200 Followers Contest!

2010-09-21T23:24:00.037-04:00

Hi Everyone!

I've reached 200 Followers! Woo Hoo!! Thanks so much, you are all awesome!! As promised, I Vloged again. I know. I know... but I'm sure you'd like to see what you can win ;o)

Please note: I'm an iMovie novice.

And now the deets~

Come join the mosh pit! Be a laugh.write.play.follower, then enter the contest! Yay!

Entries are as follows...
+1 Comment on this post
+1 New Follower
+2 Old Follower
+2 Tweet - must have link, tweet to @EricaMChapman please!
+5 blog about contest

Please add up your totals and put them in the comments. Me < Math = I'll get something wrong. Trust me.

Contest ends Friday, October 1st, midnight EST. I'm not really that much of a stickler, so if you get it in at 12:02 or something, no worries ;o) Better not be 12:03. LOL kidding. Okay moving on...

Stop by Friday! Why?

I will be participating in the Great Blogging Experiment along with a huge group of other bloggers. Don't know what it's all about? Check out Elana Johnson's uber fantastic blog here for details.

Have a great rest of the week!

<3 Er

What I Learned About Writing Emotion: A Tale of One Detroit Lions Fan

2010-09-13T10:00:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone!

See. I've been a Detroit Lions fan since I was little girl. I started watching pro football in high school and loved it. However, it's been an emotional ride to say the least... The following is a story about what I've learned by being a loyal Lions fan all these years. I'll also explain how it helps me with my writing, too.

I'll use this past Sunday as an example.

My hubs and I were sitting quietly (well except if there was a blown call, or holding) on our prospective couches, doggies at our feet. The hum of both our laptops could barely be heard over the Bears fans screaming in the stands on tv.

It's toward the end of the game. The Lions are trailing 14 to 19 to the Bears. It's the last minute and thirty seconds or so, we've lost our starting quaterback to a shoulder injury (thank you, Julius Peppers). My heart's pounding as our star receiver, Calvin Johnson starts running, running... My chest feels like a ton of boulders rolling down a mountain, I rise out of my chair, fists toward the sky... Johnson jumps up, and catches the ball, two feet down, handles it all the way to the ground, then releases it....

Screaming commences by both of us. I'm jumping up and down like a deranged monkey. Doggies are freaking out 'cause of the screaming, so they jump up on me and scratch the crap outta my arms...

Wait. What? "They're *bleepin* reviewing it-- that ref says it's not a catch," I say to him as if he didn't see the screen, or hear the inept announcers tell us for the fourth time.

"What! The process?" I add. Hubs is very aware. Yet I feel the need to say it outloud in between a few swear words.

Heart is still pounding, fists are now tighter, room is quiet, doggies have laid down.

The ref comes back. It's not a catch. Heart gets ripped, swear words fly, stomping resumes, but not light and happy like before... breathing speeds up. Where is that ref? Goes through my head. I'm gonna find him and... Doggies snarling at each other thinking something is wrong. Hubs and I snarling at each other, because it's such a familiar feeling to lose.

Lions lose, but they shouldn't have, cause the call was crap. Wanna see it happen? Check it out Here

So. What did this teach me about writing?

1. Never give up. Lions fans (I believe) are the most loyal in America, well except for Raiders maybe. The 2008 Detroit Lions are the only team in NFL history to lose all 16 regular-season games. They have the 2nd longest losing streak in all NFL history. Yes, we are a loyal breed. I stick with them. I know they will be great someday. As writers, we will face challenges like the losing streaks (rejections) and blown calls (mis-steps) but we will keep writing. Why? Because that's what we love to do ;o)

2. Emotion in its most natural state shows me the type of person I am. It helps me make my emotional scenes more real. Many emotional moments can do this. But when I'm invested in a team, like the Lions. I take the losses personally. I'm with them the whole game. When we lose, it affects me. I may not know what it's like on the field, but I sure as hell know the feeling of loss after all these years.

3. I knew how Calvin Johnson would react to the call. He smiled. He laughed because he knew how rediculous it was. The coach? Schwartz, being the stand-up guy he is, backed up the call the ref's made, because that's what the stand-up guys do. I know what my characters' reactions will be before they make them. This is what matters. It's not fake.

What have you learned from emotional moments in your life? Any of you football fans?

Stay tuned for the 200 followers contest. I've bought some fun stuff for it!! Have a wonderful week ;o)

Yes, I am strange.

2010-09-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone!

So. It's been a while since I just blogged. Which is okay, cause I've been having fun letting some truly awesome people take over ;o)

So. I got this award. You can see it, it's over there on the left. I love it. I'm told by the one who passed it along... Matt from Pensive Sarcasm. that he doesn't find me that strange, but digs my blog and then something about me being friendly.... pss. don't pass that around, it's bad for my rep. LOL

Matt is the coolest. I've said many a thing about him on this blog. All good, of course. But, yeah he's strange.

I'm gonna call him out. He left me a comment on the last blog post and didn't read the post....I thought that was hilarious by the way...

I love his blog, he's always there with some snark and cool pics. He's the very first Featured Blog I ever did on here. Ah, memories... Anyhoo. He's awesome. Go follow his blog if you're not, trust. He's highly entertaining.

I'm going to do something I haven't done in a while. I'm going to actually pick some people for this award. I know. Crazy thought.

First. Rules. Inevitably I'll break them, but in case rules are your thang, here they are ;o)

1. Add the logo of the award to your blog post.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you (the strange ones will come after you if you don't...well, not really, but it sounds good).

3. Nominate seven other blogs telling us why you think the recipient is strange enough to deserve the award.

4. Leave a message for those nominated on their blogs.

5. And, if you email catephoenix(at)gmail(dot)com and tell her you've received the award for your strangeness, she'll enter you in the biggest kick-ass Strange Men competition ever. Details over at strangemeninpinstripesuits.com (click on the award link on the home page)

There ya go. So. this is hard. Strange is relative. We're all a little strange, we live in our books most days. Have two lives, one real the other, well... real too, but with fake characters... so really everyone is eligible. I hate leaving people out. But. I said I was going to link some peeps up there, so here goes. If you love this as much as I, please just take it and pass it along. I'm an equal opportunity blog giver ;o)

Here's some peeps, I don't think I've given any to before... oh and I absolutely adore them & thier blogs. And they're all strange, in different ways. Welcome to the strange club! Love ya ;o)

Carol's Prints - Carol's so sweet and thoughtful. Her blog is full of fun, gotta love it!
Grab a Pen - Tahereh's awesome. No other way to put it. Cool blog, cool posts!
Just Jemi - Jemi's super nice and she always has something interesting to say. Love her blog!
Editing Hat - Adam is witty and fun! His blog is as good as his book ;o) Love both!
A Broken Laptop - Mercedes is an awesome twitter buddy and supporter. Love her, love her blog! She has a pic with a knife you have to see. Seriously, go look.
We Do Write - Dorothy is also a fantastic twitterer, she's always there to say hello. Love the blog. She interviews all types of writers ;o)
Read~Write~Revamp - Shauna is fantastic. Her blog is all about the paranormal, mostly the vamps. Obviously. LOL She's super cool, just like her blog!

Go henceforth and follow!

Whew! Can I tell you. I had all those links done and friggen blogger ate them. Every one, well except for Carol's. It must like her... I know I do ;o) I'm not complaining. Okay maybe I am. Ha! Blogger. I worked hard on those links. Luckily, I had enough energy to do it again.

Have a great week, guys! I'm almost to 200 followers, so keep an eye out for the contest. I'll be giving away books and goodies. And. I'm going to announce the contest with a Vlog! Yay you get to see my ugly mug again. Ha.

<3 Er

Guest Post - Ways To Improve Your Writing ;o)

2010-08-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone!

I've been having fun with the interviews here lately, so I thought it was time for a guest post! My new friends over at My Dog Ate My Blog (how great is that title?) were kind enough to offer up a great post on improving your writing. You may ask... surely, none of us need that, right?

True. You are all fantastic writers. I know. I read your blogs ;o) However, every little tidbit helps us learn, eh? So, I give you a wonderful guest post from Jasmine Jacobs!

Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills

No matter how hard you try, there is no way to avoid writing. Even if you're no longer a student, you might be asked to write up a description of your latest project at work. At home, you might have to write a blurb about a car you plan to sell on craigslist. Although all writing may seem like a struggle at times, the most difficult part of it is arguably, creative writing. With creative writing, there is nothing to reference but that which comes out of your own mind and sometimes these files are more than a challenge to access. No matter who you are, at some point you will be called to put your writing skills to the test. If this idea seems daunting, we'd like to rebalance your qi by providing certain ways that will surely have those words spilling out on paper or a word processor in no time.

1. Read more.

Something enjoyable you can do to improve your writing is to read more often (eHow). Most of the best writers are frequent readers too. By reading a book or article, you will get a sense for that author's own writing style, which you might begin to incorporate into your own. There's something about the free flow of words, even if they are someone else's that might loosen up your own words. Reading also strongly enhances your vocabulary, saving time because you won't have to visit your thesaurus as frequently. If you're at a loss for antonyms to use for "said," we strongly encourage you do some reading outside your normal routine.

Although we said that it's okay to incorporate some pieces of another writer's style into your own, you don't want to completely duplicate another's style. One, because this would be a form of plagiarism, for which you will be held accountable for, and two, because it's difficult and unnatural to write like someone else.

2. Be yourself.

Another important tip to improve your writing is to simply be yourself (Creative Juices Books). When people read your work, they should be able to know that it came from you. What makes for good writing is when the reader gets a sense that the author has lived fully--that certain descriptions about the events in the work have been witnessed by the author during his or her years on earth. Even if you have a similar background, you have lived a completely different life from other authors, so let that resonate in your work.

3. Write everyday.

Another powerful way to improve your writing skills is to write everyday (Ezine articles). Your creativity, especially how it manifests in your writing, is like a muscle that can only be strengthened with exercise. We're not asking you to nix precious hours of sleep so that you're able to produce a chapter a day. You can dramatically improve your writing skills starting with just ten minutes a day spending some quality time with your pen. Once you develop a habit, writing for you, will be like second nature!

4. Get comfortable.

Something all of us have probably dealt with at one point or another is writer's block. If you're lucky enough not to know what it is, writer's block is that cringing feeling that no matter what you do, you can't possibly continue (or start) your work. The main reason for writer's block is a lack of confidence, or the fear that you will be harshly judged for producing poor-quality work (Duke Graduate School). You can overcome your anxieties, and subsequently, your writer's block, by engaging in pre-writing exercises. Go to a comfortable place and brainstorm everything you can possibly do with your work. Doing this will give you a confidence boost similar to that which children receive in training wheels. After all, no one's going to judge you for your rough sketches, but pre-writing exercises may very well get you over the hump.

J. Jacobs is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and a writer on accredited online colleges for Guide to Online Schools.

Thanks so much, Jasmine ;o) Well folks, either hell has frozen over or there are pigs flying out of my butt... beacause I'm nearing the 200 follower mark. I know. I didn't think it could happen either. So, I've decided I'll be doing a contest! *bites nails* So far, I'm going to be giving away LINGER, by Maggie Stiefvater. I might be giving away another book and maybe some yummy treats. Oh and maybe (okay this is for sure) a BEAUTIFUL CREATURES pin too (I have two, but I'm keeping one!) So. Look for that soon!

Have a great weekend everyone. Do something fun!!

An Author's Tale

2010-08-21T12:00:00.003-04:00

Hello there!

I hope everyone is having a fab weekend ;o) I'm hangin' with my sis, so it's a great one for me ;o) Aww. I know. Corny. But she's been in Japan all summer!

We've got a super-awesome-delicious-treat for you today!

Please join me in welcoming author, Adam Slade to the rocker's mosh pit today! Adam is one of the coolest writers on the blog block and he has taken some time to answer some of my questions ;o)

Love his book. Love him. Let's see what he has to say, shall we?

1. Tell us about yourself in 140 characters ;o) Like a tweet!

It all began way back in 1983, when my mother gave birth to me in a hospital near the conurbation of Manchester. It took some time for me t--"

Bah, I ran out. Lemme try that again... "I'm a sarcastic writer and gamer geek, with a penchant for music, reading and wearing hats while I edit."

2. You have some fascinating characters in your book, A REAPER'S TALE, how do you come up with them? Are they like you? Someone you know? We want the deets!

Most of the time I sit down and think, "What kind of character do I want? Serious, silly, kickass, wimpy?" and then start to mold the new character out of brainmatter and double-sided tape. Occasionally, I'll consciously make a character that's an amalgam of other characters from books, TV and other mediums, but most are the brain 'n tape thing. I try to avoid consciously using friends and family, but sometimes they inspire dialogue.

3. You have an awesome blog, "Editing Hat." How long have you been blogging? Have you learned anything in particular?

Thanks! I've been blogging for a few years now, and what I've learned could probably be written on the back of a matchbox. Still, let's have a go...
A - Keep the topics light and short!
B - Be active in your comments section on every post.
C - Be nice and approachable!
D- Don't preach. No one cares.

See? Matchbox.

4. Can you show us a sentence from your very first WIP? Do you still have it?

I'm actually working on editing and rewriting my first WIP as we speak. I overwrote the first draft with the second (I'm now on the third), but I have a print out somewhere... Lemme find...
*Scrabbles about* Aha! Here's the very first line:

"Garett picked himself up off the floor and knocked the dust off his clothing."
(The line is now much revised, and is now the second scene instead of the first.)

Okay, now we get serious...
Oh noes!

4. What do you have in your living room? (What's in a living room tells us a lot about someone...)

A coffee table, a TV, an oversized plaster mantlepiece (with small fire), two sofas, one mismatched chair, two dog beds and two dogs, one daft, one dopey. ;) LOL (me too)

5. What did you wanna be when you grew up?

An archaeologist. Or a geologist. I wasn't fussed as to which.

6. Scary Movie or Romantic Comedy and why.

I dislike both, but I'll go with the romcom, as I love any media that can make me laugh, and I REALLY dislike horror. *shudder*

7. Favorite book, movie, dessert

Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett (hilarious), Payback (Mel Gibson), aaaaaaand... Cake (any)!

Mmm cake.

8. If you met your idol what would you say?

A. What the? You look different in person
B. Bloody Hell, I thought you were dead. Am I dead?
C. I love you, I love you, I love you.
D. 'ello, I'm Adam and you are awesome.
E. Other (Erica doesn't know me as well as she thinks she does, Ha)

Probably D, though if they were dead, it'd be B. ;)

9. What's your next book about? A sequel to A REAPER'S TALE?

I have two drafts that need editing and subbing. One is indeed the sequel to A Reaper's Tale (longer, better, dafter), and the other is my first ever WIP. It's a dark fantasy currently titled Solus.

Cool title!

10. What's an ideal date for you? No not the number.... LOL

Bah, you stole my joke!

An ideal date would be a night curled up on the sofa with my fiancee, just chatting and cuddling. Dull, I know, but it's what I want, durn it!

Not dull at all! Aww. You guys have such a great love story!

11. Any pearls of wisdom to bestow?

"Never sit down with a light bulb in your back pocket." Unless you meant writing related, in which case, "Never sit down to write with a light bulb in your back pocket."

Hit him up at the following:

http://www.editinghat.blogspot.com/

http://adamslade.moonfruit.com/

Lyrical Press, A Reaper's Tale

Find him on Twitter @adamslade

Thanks so much, Adam! I'm reading A REAPER'S TALE right now, and I love it. It's a funny, quick-witted, excellent read!

Have a great weekend everyone ;o)

Jamie DeBree's TEMPEST is Released!!

2010-08-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone!

So. I just had to pop in and tell you about something exciting!!!

My friend and one of my awesome C.P.'s Jamie has just released her first book Tempest! Yay! Congrats to Jamie DeBree!!

Stop on over and say congrats and check out her book at Amazon , Smashwords and Scribd!

*throws confetti*

Have a great rest of the week. Make sure to check back on Saturday when I interview author, Adam Slade ;o)

Over The Hill To Regan's Blog I Go!

2010-08-09T14:55:00.010-04:00

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are enjoying your day!

Just wanted to pop in to tell you about an interview Regan from Regan Leigh.com did all about lil ole me. Can you believe I'm that lucky! She's one of the coolest, sweetest peeps I've met in my writing adventures ;o) She has a fantastic series on writer love over there, check out her interview with Madeleine, too!

Look for an interview here with Author, Adam Slade, coming on August 21st! You can check out his awesome blog Here!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Curse Of The Over-Plot

2010-08-05T00:59:00.024-04:00

Hi Everyone!!

I hope you're having a fabulous week ;o) I also hope you enjoyed the interview with the awesome, newly-agented author, Brooklyn Ann!

Wha? You missed it? It's okay, I just happen to have the link right Here!

So.

I've come across something I may have a problem with... it's in my current WIP. Wanna know what? You may already know... *cough* the title of the post...

I believe I'm on the verge of over-plotting my story. Why's that? You may ask. Isn't plotting a good thing?

It is. But.

If you've been revising your WIP for a few months, as I've been, you begin to add in twists and turns, love triangles, Back to the Future and Scooby Doo references... oh, just me? Some of these ideas will make my WIP fantastic. Some... I'm afraid are going to make it confusing and scattered. So. Here's my dilemma.

Which twists/triangles/surprises do I keep? It's not clear to me at this point, which would make it great and which would make it like that picture up there.

I have to ask.... do you have this problem? What was your solution? Am I being a paranoid freak? Have I been looking at my WIP too long? YES!

Probably all of the above! LOL

Have a wonderful rest of the week ;o)

Rock on!

Awesome pic found here--> http://fineartamerica.com/featured/twists-and-turns-in-life-l-k-hisayasu.html

Interview With The Fabulous Brooklyn Ann!!

2010-08-01T03:02:00.032-04:00

Hi Everyone!

I have a special treat for you today ;o) I had the pleasure of interviewing my friend and fab author, Brooklyn Ann. She blogs, she tweets, she's awesome. Cop a squat and let's find out more about her!

So tell us a little about yourself.

Let's see...Back in my goth days I was an artist, with secret dreams of being a rock star. I wrote stories, but didn't think anything of it. I wrote my first novel and the beginning of my second during my 5 year stint as a caregiver for developmentally disabled adults. I half-heartedly queried the 1st one, but was interrupted by marriage, motherhood, then divorce. Then I met my husband and went to college for a degree in automotive. I worked as a mechanic for a couple years, but it always came back to writing.

Wow. You've had an exciting life! How cool, you were a mechanic!

What's unique about your journey?

The majority of the journey took place in wake of tragedy. I lost my mother and my career in a 5 month period. The loss of my mother taught me that life was not forever and I didn't want to waste it being miserable. So, when I inherited a small sum, I took a gamble. I used the money to take a year off and really get serious about pursuing a writing career. In the last year and a half, I purchased a laptop, learned how use the Internet, researched the industry, built up my platform, made lots of friends and connections, wrote 2 1/2 novels and landed an agent.

You have a great attitude in the midst of a tragedy. Looks like the gamble paid off!

So, you've recently acquired an agent... er two, the awesome Jonathon Clements and the fabulous Cari Hawks Foulk from Tribe Lit/Wheelhouse.*squeee* Congrats!! Tell us the journey to finally sealing the deal? Details... we want details!

I made friends with Cari on twitter back when she was an editor. And when Tribe lit came into being last January, I kept up with her progress, even though at first I didn't think they represented romance. I was also already twitterfriends with most of their authors. I was querying my 2nd novel, but I learned quickly that it had a lot of issues and put it on hold to write a historical paranormal that was floating in my head. After a couple months into querying that one, (much more successfully, I must add) I learned that Tribe did indeed rep romance, so I sent a query. I got the full request while I was on my honeymoon. A little over a month later, Cari and Jonathon offered representation. My full query stats are here: http://brooklynann.blogspot.com

Awesome! Gotta love that Twitter.

Any special talents? Keep it "PG" Miss Brooklyn... ;o)

LOL Well, I'm an excellent cook and a semi-professional dart player. I have a partial photographic memory, and I'm a Karaoke star. I can't sing very well, but I put on a good show and I have fans.

Oh. I'm totally flying out there to see that.

What do you do for fun?

I love to read. Seriously, it's an addiction. I also enjoy hunting, fishing and painting. I'm also a movie buff. My favorites are 80's B horror movies. I dig the cheesiness and the impressive latex gore.

I love 80's movies! They crack me up.

Name one literary character you wish you were in a past life.

Elizabeth Hardwick, from Virginia Henley's A WOMAN OF PASSION. Elizabeth was a poor farmer's daughter who became the richest woman in England and amassed an empire. She was actually based on a real historical figure, but in the novel she gets a happier ending. She is the ancestor to the infamous Duke of Devonshire. She had a thing for older men, just like me :)

She sounds fantastic. I could totally see you as her.

Which would you say is more valuable to you, social media wise? Facebook, Twitter or Blogging?

Twitter, all the way. It's brief and casual and so much easier to make connections. Almost all of my connections, including my awesome beta readers and my agent came from twitter.

Yay Twitter! If you guys are not on twitter, get on there. Seriously!

Favorite book, movie, song?

My favorite book is IT by Stephen King. I've read IT 9 times and will likely read it 9 more. My favorite movie...that's tough. I think it's a tie between Natural Born Killers, Revenge of the Nerds, Kill Bill, Spaceballs, Nightmare on Elm Street and Subspecies. My favorite song(s) are anything by Megadeth, NIN, Tori Amos, and Metal Church.

OMG. IT scared me. I hate clowns. I love Spaceballs though ;o) Nice list.

What would you do if you weren't writing?

Since it's a little late to pursue the rock star dream, I'd probably paint.

Um. It's never too late. Get that voice warmed up. We're going on the road!

Anything you want to add? Pearls of wisdom?

Pursuing your dreams is hard work, but worth it.

Absolutely!

Thanks Brooklyn ;o) Check out her uber informative, entertaining blog Supernatural Smut.

Hope everyone has a lovely week! Until next time...

Packing My Bags And Heading To Dorothy's ;o)

2010-07-29T09:12:00.029-04:00

Hi ya!

Just peeking in for a quick post!

The uber-fab Dorothy interviewed me on her super-fantasmic blog! She's super sweet and a great tweep. We've been twitter pals for a while now.

On her blog, among other awesome things, she interviews aspiring authors, and she picked me! I know. I don't get it either... Kidding. I know. More positivity, Erica. Anyhoo, you can check it out Here ;o) There's lots of great stuff on her blog, so stay a while and make yourself comfortable.

You can find her on twitter too --> @DorothyDreyer

Things are good on my end, got my contacts back! Yay. I'm also starting guitar lessons on Tuesday!

Oh, look for an interview post soon, with an aspiring writer-friend who just landed herself one of them there agents ;o)

Anything new to share? What have I missed? Don't forget to register for the fab online writer's conference writeoncon!

Have a great rest of the week everyone!!

So... that's what your handwriting looks like. eh

2010-07-22T12:00:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone!
Long time no talk ;o) So... Erica, what have you been doing? I'm so glad you asked. I've been revising and reading. Oh and I got a shiny new guitar that I'm beginning to practice on. Still quite the noob, but will be taking lessons soon ;o)

I've sure missed you guys! What have you been up to? I'll try to get back to a more regular posting schedule, summer is very hard to keep up with. Ya know? Golf, beach, work, BBQ's... the normal summer stuff.

I've read some great books since blogging last. BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl. PERFECT CHEMISTRY by Simone Elkeles, LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green. All were excellent.

I'm currently reading LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater. I've been waiting for this one for a while!

I also saw SHUTTER ISLAND and loved it. Wow. I now have the book on hold at the library.

I received the penmanship meme eons ago from the wonderful Medeia Sharif over at Medeia Sharif, YA Author Check out her blog, trust, it's as awesome as she is ;o) Basically, I have to write out the following items then post the paper with my handwriting *bites nails*

Here we go!

1. Name/Blog Name.
2. Right handed, left handed or both?
3. Favorite letters to write?
4. Least favorite letters to write?
5. Write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
6. Write in caps:

CRAB

HUMOR

KALEIDOSCOPE

PAJAMAS

GAZILLION
7. Favorite song lyrics?
8. Tag 7 people.
9. Any special note or drawing?

You can click on the pic to make it larger. I'm not sure you want to, my handwriting is hit! Seriously, this is why I use a computer. But, in the interest of sharing, I'm letting you see it...

Feel free to copy this meme on your own blog ;o)

Well, I hope you are all enjoying your summer. Don't forget to register for the fab online writer's conference writeoncon!

Talk to you soon ;o)

WriteOnCon 2010- YA Writers- check it!

2010-06-15T09:52:00.024-04:00

Hey Everyone!!
Okay, I had to get a new post, for many reasons, to share some exciting news, and frankly I was hella tired (yes I said hella - it fit) of staring at my emotional mug every time I went to the page... gah. Time to move on, eh?

So. In case ya haven't heard... There's going to be an uber awesome FREE online kidlit conference. Wha??

Yes, It's true. The following fab peeps are hosting it and frankly doing much more!

Elana Johnson, Jamie Harrington, Shannon Messenger, Casey McCormick, and Lisa & Laura Roecker (along with Jennifer Stayrook web designer)

Lookie here at this Vlog - Love it, thanks for sharing ;o)

So.

Who can join, you ask? YA Writers

Where can I get more info? Well, just check out the super-cool website! http://writeoncon.com/
Ooo when is it? *drooling already* August 10th-12th, 2010

And. Who's gonna be there?
Um, only the best and superest peeps out there!

So far... Steven Malk, Catherine Drayton, Michelle Andelman, Suzie Townsend, Mark McVeigh, Joanna Stampfel-Volpe, Kathleen Ortiz, Lindsay Eland, Dan Ehrehaft, Mandy Hubbard, Lindsey Leavitt, Josh Berk, Anica Rissi, Jodi Meadows and more.

They're still adding to the list!!

So. Click on the links and check em out. They all have awesome blogs, and many are holding contests! Also, check out the Writeoncon website!

What are ya waiting for? Check 'er out ;o)

I hope you are having a lovely week! I know I've neglected this blog a bit, sorry about that.

But.

I have been getting a lot of writing/revising done! Yay ;o)

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Emotion. How Do You Write the Scene?

2010-06-08T00:14:00.025-04:00

Hi Ya!
I hope you are all doing well ;o)
Yes, that's me there... I took it a while ago, when I was all emotional 'n junk...

So I was writing. Like ya do... and it was one of those scenes where you're like on the verge of crying and you keep pushing repeat on the crazy song that brings out all of those feelings you keep bottled up in the places you don't talk about at parties (A Few Good Men Anyone?)

Whew.

And.

I had a thought. What if I didn't have this song blaring in my ear. What if I just wrote it when I was like really happy... would I be able to tap into that same area of my psyche again? Is it the way the notes blend together that brings it out, or is it what I feel that does the job?

So. Here's what it takes for me... *ahem*

1. Has to be late at night, it's hard for me to conjure emotional scenes during the day.

2. I must have a powerful song playing, usually Decode, by Paramore. I don't know what it is about that song... Metric (acoustic) works too.

3. No one can be in the room, just in case I start bawling like the baby I am. Seriously, it's a sad sight.

4. I need to write the whole scene in one sitting. No coming back to it, unless I'm writing the whole thing again. Strange. I know. That will change, I'm sure.

So...

What about you? Do you have a certain song/place you have to go to write those emotional scenes? What is it you do to get into the emotional state? Or. Is it always on the surface for you.

On a personal note. I've begun the South Beach diet, er the oh-my-god-what-have-I-done-I-miss-cookies-so-much-I-could-eat-my-friggen-hand-with-ketchup-diet. And. it's going well... LOL I'm actually really pumped about changing the way I eat, so you may see some wayward posts about cookies and cakes and how much I want to eat them... hey, I gave you fair warning.

Enjoy the rest of the week!! I'll be stopping by more blogs this week, I've been pretty busy as of late ;o)

~Er

Very Vampire May Giveaway - Oh yeah, baby

2010-06-02T12:11:00.016-04:00

Greetings peeps,
I'm stopping in to tell you about an uber cool contest Sara is having over at Babbling Flow.

Very Vampire Giveaway Contest EXTENDED to June 7th!

Here's what you can win. Oh yeah, pre-pare...

#1 SIGNED Twilight!
(and 4 Keepsake Journals in a Collectible Tin)
Hardcover, authentic signature...

#2 SIGNED Anne Rice: The Vampire Armand
Hardcover, first edition--The sixth novel in The Vampire Chronicles.However, from what I've heard because I haven't read it) graphic nature, winners for this must be 18 or older. (Not that I don't think someone younger can handle it, but I'm not a parent and under 18 means not an adult, legally.)

#3 SIGNED Charlaine Harris:
Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas, Club Dead
The first three in her Sookie Stackhouse series--you know, the ones the show True Blood is based off of!! (ALL three are signed!)

#4 SIGNED Christopher Moore:
Bloodsucking Fiends, You Suck (A Love Story), Bite Me
His Vampire Trilogy! ALL three are signed! (If you haven't read Christopher Moore before, there's a great article about this trilogy here.)

#5 Bram Stoker's Dracula
AND The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead
Unsigned, unfortunately. But still fun!

You DO NOT want to miss out on the chance to win!! Trust. Some great prizes there and.. Sara is all sorts of awesome. In fact, while you're there check out her super-awesome book trailer! Okay, okay I'll link it. You can find it here.

Welp, what are ya waitin' for, go on over ;o) And... have yourself an awesome day!

*why yes I completely jacked the pic from Sara's blog... in fact all of the prize info was, why do you ask? ;o)

Transitions. Love 'em? Hate 'em? Have to have 'em.

2010-06-01T01:01:00.019-04:00

Hi there!
I hope everyone is doing well and writing a lot ;o)

I've been working on the revision of my WIP, Believe, and it's slow going for sure. I've run across some areas that have followed me around like lost kids.

Transitions.

Ugh.

Basically, how you get to where you need to be in order for the story to make sense. Bad ones can kill your story, good ones make it shine. Mediocre ones are forgettable. Right now, in some parts I'm lacking them altogether. I've also realized I need to add in some extra chapters and have been staring at a blank screen all night. If I knew a good transition I could be clicking away at my keys... *thinking* yep. I got nothing.

So. I'm curious. How do you do transitions? Do they come magically (and if they do I envy you) or do you have to work at them?

Over the weekend, I read SOME GIRLS ARE by Courtney Summers on Saturday (yeah in like 4 hours) it was that good. If you're into edgy YA, this is the one for you. I LOVED it. Her voice is brilliant. She has a way of making you really feel empathy for the MC in situations I might not normally. This isn't an official review, I just wanted to tell everyone how great it was. I can't wait to read CRACKED UP TO BE!

Ooo. I bet you thought I was done. See what having NO TRANSITIONS does!

I have some exciting news, (like that transition there?) Sandy Shin Super writer and sketcher has a fantabulous blog! That's not all. I recently won a super awesome contest on her blog where Sandy herself is going to sketch my MC, Snow!! Actually, there were 5 winners, Yay! You have to see the sketch she did already. Just clicky there on that link with her name and visit. It's wonderful. I just want to thank Sandy! I'm excited to see the sketch and with her permission I'll show it to you ;o)

Have a great week! Do something fun ;o) Happy writing!

picture courtesy of www.iusb.edu/~cted/Images/career_transitions.gif

Packing My Bags Once Again ;o)

2010-05-26T11:00:00.001-04:00

I'm heading out again!

This time my hubs and I are both visiting my wonderful Crit Partner Jamie's blog The Variety Pages! Wanna know a little more about my hubs and I? There's even a pic of us! If so, head on over to Jamie's fantabulous blog! While you're there, check out her serial novel Indelibly Inked! Good stuff folks ;o)

I know I've been a bit of an absent blogger lately. I'm truly sorry. It's been a little wackadoodle around these parts. I'm working on getting back to blogging regularly.

I did receive an awesome award while on hiatus. The super-sweet Ashelynn over at World of My Own bestowed upon me the Life is Good Award! It is isn't it? *grin* Thanks so much, Ashelynn. Check out her blog for a glimpse into her wonderful little world! Welp. In order to accept this blog award, I must answer some questions she asked... so here it goes!

1. What's your favorite genre to read? Why? Definitely YA Paranormal, really anything YA. I like Mysteries too, like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series.

2. If you couldn't write in the genre you do, what genre would you write in? I'd love to write a coherent Mystery Novel. (my attempt was futile)

3. Pepsi or Cola? Caffeine Free Coke

4. How do you like to spend your Sundays? Lounging around with hubs and doggies, reading.

5. Penguin or Giraffe? Penguin

6. What type of vehicle do you drive? '05 Ford Escape

7. Would you lick a battery if your life depended on it? Sure.

8. When do you like to write - in the morning, in the afternoon, evening? Definitely late at night, my best thoughts crawl outta my crazy brain after midnight.

9. Which do you like more - Facebook or Twitter? Twitter! I've met so many great people through it. Love facebook too, but for connecting with people I already know ;o)

10. If you get hurt (like a scrape on the knee or break your arm), do you ask for a band aid? Yes, I don't want it gushing onto my clothes. Ew.

This is a bit overdue but I was one of the winners in Shannon's 500 followers contest! Woo hoo! Thank you Shannon! If you haven't already (and I doubt that) check out her super entertaining blog Shannon Whitney Messenger, Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.

Life is good with all of you in it, so feel free to take the "Life is Good" award ;o) Have a great rest of the week!

My bags Are Packed I'm Ready to Go...

2010-05-14T06:00:00.001-04:00

Hey Everyone!

I'm guest posting over at Dolly's fantabulous blog Writer Revealed. She's totally awesome, and so is her blog!

Wanna know why I write YA Paranormal? Wanna know how I got into writing at all? Check it out ;o)

By the time you read this I'll be in Kansas City visiting with the fam!

Have a great weekend everyone. I miss you already ;o)

Two Road Diverged in a Yellow Wood...

2010-05-12T23:00:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone~

I'm feeling poetic tonight and one of my fav's is the thought-provoking poem, The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost, you can find the full version Here.

What got me thinking about it was a YA book I read recently. It was a good book, but something was missing. It's as if the choice I thought the author would make, they didn't.

And.

In my opinion, it would have really made the story that much better. The choice seemed to be screaming at me, so I'm surprised the author didn't take advantage?

This got me thinking. (Hey. It's not always a bad thing peeps. Well, sometimes, but I digress.) What if I'm missing that moment in my story?

Are we exhausting all the angles we can to make our stories shine? Or do we take the easy route? I'm not really sure how to answer that. I'd like to think I'm checking out all the angles, but what if I miss something. I was surprised that this author and CP's etc. didn't catch this moment, But. I didn't write it, so maybe it was left out on purpose. I don't know. It didn't harm the book, it was great without it, but it just got me thinking about choices.

So, my dear peeps, have you exhausted all the angles in your stories? Have you found something you missed and been like *face palm* why didn't I see that? This just made it that much better.

Or maybe, that's what the whole writing process is. Trying to discover the angles you missed in the first draft? You tell me ;o)

I was fortunate enough to win one of the 5 prizes up for grab in Shannon's 500+ follower contest! Woo Hoo!! Thanks so much Shannon ;o) She has a fantastic blog, Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe. It's chocked full of wonderful writerly goodies! Check it ;o)

Welp, I'm going on vacation (Family Trip to Kansas City) for a week and I won't have my baby (macbook) I know. I'm incredibly sad, but I need to leave it for the hubs (he started a new job and can't go) I will have my iPod touch and Blackberry so I'll be checking in, but may not be able to leave any comments, but rest assured I will be reading them ;o)

I'm guest posting this Friday over at Dolly's fantabulous blog Writer Revealed. She's totally awesome, and so is her blog! Wanna know why I write YA Paranormal? And maybe some other stuff. Ha. Check it out ;o) I will be posting a link to her blog in a post that I scheduled for Friday too, in case you miss this one. What am I saying... LOL if you're reading this you didn't miss it, right? Ha.

Well, take care! I'll be back later next week ;o) Don't do anything I wouldn't do *wink*

Pic courtesy of www.ingramsonline.com/January_2006/woods.jpg

Doin' the Write Thing

2010-05-08T02:05:00.010-04:00

Well. I'm sure a lot of you have heard about the devastating floods in Nashville by now. If not, take a moment to view the video above.

It rained here today. Not a ton, but while the buckets were pouring down, as I was going 40 on the highway trying to see out my foggy window, I thought about my family, friends, doggies & kitties. I thought about what more loss would feel like. The people of Nashville, don't have the luxury of just thinking about it, they have to live it.

So. Here's my shout out to an incredible site with awesome people auctioning off amazing items. Go ahead and check it out! Do The Write Thing For Nashville

Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Hug your family ;o)

Friday Featured Blog - Eternal Moonshine of the Daydreaming Mind

2010-05-07T09:00:00.003-04:00

Hi There!
I hope you're all having a great day! I'm soooo glad it's Friday!

We have a wonderful blog feature. I know I always say that... well it's because I haven't met a blog I didn't like ;o)

Karen at Eternal Moonshine of the Daydreaming Mind. (How cool is that title?) has a blog full of awesome goodies!

I mean how do you not love a blog that has posts like this where she promotes the circle of writer love. She also recently did a post on her local indie book store! You can find it Here. Her posts are always so honest and helpful. She loves to share things that she thinks others will love.

Oh and did I mention how jealous I am of her writing space? She devoted a post complete with pics. You can find it Here. I can just imagine the awesome writing that happens there ;o)

I could really just link all her posts, cause they're all that good! I'll leave you with This one How cool is that?

Karen is sweet, generous and her blog is evidence of that. From what I've read, she's lead quite the exciting life... Don't believe me? Okay I couldn't resist - here's another post. You may recognize the format ;o) Check it out Here Did I mention only one of those is a lie... yeah.

You can find her on twitter as @kindrilykaren or visit the website for her novel THE KINDRILY Here

Karen's profile info:

WARNING: This blog may not always contain proper grammar, punctuation, or ideas that you agree with or like. Enter and read at your own risk.
***
Ah, gotta love her! So go ahead, visit and click that follow button!

So I've been struggling with a decision as of late. It pains me to say, I don't think I'm going to be able to keep up the Friday Featured Blogs anymore... I think I need to take some time and focus on my writing a bit, and my life is getting a bit hectic. I know. No excuses.

I promise, I will keep posting! Who knows. You may see one pop up here and there. The Featured Blogs and I have had a great ride ;o) So long. Goodbye. *sniff*

I heart you all. Thank you for continuing to visit and support this blog! I couldn't do it without you ;o) Well that's not true. I could, but it wouldn't be as much fun!

See ya next week ;o)

Where Did That Go Again?

2010-05-06T10:33:00.016-04:00

Hi Everyone!

I'm sorry about being gone so long. I think I'm finally getting back to tip-top shape ;o) Thanks so much for all the kind words. You guys are the best!

I have a confession... I haven't been writing a ton. I know, I know. It's been a little nuts. But. I plan to change that soon ;o) I did read WAKE by Lisa McMann and it was fantabulous. What a great book! I love her style, her short sentence & timeline structure are perfect for an almost ADD, like myself. I'm just about done with FADE, which is also awesome! GONE is next!

Anyhoo. yes, that's Jesse (otherwise known as Jonathan Groff) over there from Glee, one of my fav's on tv right now, and I'm a little obsessed with him. His voice is like Butta.

So. On to writing stuff. I've noticed as I was going over my MS that the sequence is getting a little off. I keep moving the chapters around, and realize. Crap! I can't do that, because this has to happen here, and that can't happen if this happens... etc. You know what I mean. Even though my Scrivener is amazing at helping organize; it can't change the words I have written down. So... this is my current issue with my MS. Certain things have to happen in order for it to make sense. Duh, right? LOL

Any of you have that problem when revising? Ha.

I won the "guess a number" contest over at my dear bestie Tahereh's blog TH.Mafi Call Me Tahereh, Um. If you're not following her. I would change that ;o) She's awesome. Well, she sent me a lot of cool stuff.

Wanna know what?

A pop-up Moby Dick graphic book, a couple a super cool notebooks and a fabulous magnet with a quote from Judy Blume. Yes. all of that, for choosing the number 79. How cool is that? Big, huge THANKS to Tahereh!

I'm going to be guest blogging on a couple of my favorite blogs The Variety Pages & Writer Revealed this month and in early June! Yay. I know. I can barely keep up with my own blog, but it's fun to visit others! I'll be sharing why I write YA on Dolly's and An Everyday Romance story on Jamie's! I'll post links when it's time. No worries!

Welp, that's all I got. I hope you are all having great weeks! I'll be back tomorrow with the featured blog.

Be there or be circle. (why is it always square?) something to ponder whilst you wait.

Sick & Tired of Being Sick & Tired...

2010-04-29T15:17:00.012-04:00

Hi Guys,

I'm so sorry.

There won't be a featured blog tomorrow. I'm still under the weather.

I know. I have surgery then I get sick... welp, what can ya do, right?

In fact, I can't seem to shake this stuff. I also haven't been to hardly any blogs, and I'm very sorry for that as well.

I've been trying to rest and stuff, hoping this will go. I'm hoping by the weekend I should be back to normal strength and blogging regularly next week (well regular for me) LOL ;o)

I hope you're having a great time and writing lots of awesome words!! I will work on getting to your blogs this weekend. In the meantime, I'd like to pose this question to you.

To Freelance or not to Freelance? Any of you do this?

pic courtesy of thenightbirdcalls.wordpress.com/2009/05/

Friday Featured Blog - TH.Mafi, Call Me Tahereh

2010-04-23T09:00:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone!

Sorry about my absence. For those wondering, the surgery went well and I'm recovered for the most part ;o) I haven't done much but watch movies and lay around. I did go back to work on Tuesday, so that was nice... Oh I saw Up in the Air - good movie, somewhat unpredictable at times.

Well we have a fab-u-lous featured blog today. I haven't been following it that long, but I enjoy it immensely and am already hooked. If you haven't been over to TH.Mafi Call Me Tahereh, you are missing something and you can't be one of her besties, and believe me, you wanna be! Her blog is one of the most stylish ones I've ever seen, trust me, stop on over and check it out... so cool. I was sucked in, like a dove to a vortex. Except we all no I'm no dove.... Ahem. I digress.

She recently had a post that was inspiring, sincere and something I think we all need to hear sometimes. You can find it Here. Wanna know a little about her? Check Here and Here.

What can I say, she's spunky, sweet and encouraging. A blog not to be missed ;o) Oh, wondering about the photo? That's Dave Grohl *sigh* at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. . My li'l sis and I went to the Foo Fighter's concert a couple years ago and I took that with my phone. And well, it seemed appropriate cause Tahereh is quite the rock star ;o)

Tahereh's Profile Info:

I'm 22. I'm a girl. I write YA novels and I'm repped by the ever-fabulous Amy Tipton of Signature Literary Agency.

You can find her on Twitter as @thmafi

The super sweet Amy over at That Amy Sia has bestowed onto me the sweet blog award. Okay... all at once. "awwwww." Thank you so much Amy! Her blog is full of awesome. Hop on over and check it out ;o)

I can't pick who's sweet, cause you all are, you know that. I want ALL of you to have this. Now, I know, since I didn't link your blog and such, you won't take it, but please feel free to.

Welp, that is all for today. Sorry I. After being off for a few days it's hard to get back into it, but I'm starting ;o) I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Do something fun!

Er

Here a Quirk, there a Quirk everywhere a Quirk, Quirk...

2010-04-14T00:15:00.018-04:00

Hello there!
Look! Look! It's Maya and her favorite stick! Uh yeah. She likes 'em big! Oh jeez, that sounded um... anyhoo... You guys are so sweet to compliment my mediocre photography skillz in the last post ;o)

So... I thought I'd share another photo I took the other day with my new camera... which brings me to the point of this post... did ya like that transition there... LOL

Quirks.

What information you give about your characters shapes what the reader thinks about them.... duh Erica... I know. I know. But... and stay with me here, what if what we are putting out there is giving out the wrong message?

Oh. *light bulb* you mean not all readers will think the same thing? Uh. No.

So.... how do we as writers make sure that the mother who forgets the MC's friends' names isn't labeled a deranged amnesiac, or the MC who drops a couple things isn't labeled a shallow klutz?

Simple. We can't. Readers will think what they want, however, we can shape what they think by making the character as real as possible and true to what he/she is there to accomplish. In other words - make the quirks work for you ;o)

For example... Someone read the first chapter of my now defunct Mystery novel, and they said, your MC comes off as a klutz. Uh what? That's not how I intended her to be at all. Not that that's a bad thing (yes I used to that's' together, so sue me) *drops cup* So, I had to think... was that what I wanted her to be like? In the end, I didn't really care, cause Klutz worked for her. Or didn't, since it's now defunct.

But.

This can work for you too, maybe something you didn't intend for someone to read into the character, they did. Such as the MC who has a way to calm everyone down, and you didn't know it. Or the one that breeds conflict (gotta love her/him). So it can work both ways.

Question O the day - what have you found out about your characters? What do others think? Was it what you expected?

I'm sorry to say there won't be another Friday Featured Blog this Friday either... I know. I know. Bad Blogger. Truth is. I'm having surgery tomorrow to remove my gall bladder, so I'm thinking I won't feel up to writing one. Don't ya worry about me, ole Erica will be just fine, besides I've already been through a worse one, so this... is doable ;o)

Have a wonderful rest of the week.

See ya back here next week! *hugs*

So Sorry! No Friday Featured Blog

2010-04-09T01:02:00.008-04:00

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are having a good Friday ;o) I feel so guilty for not posting a featured blog, but unfortunately my eyesight is more blurry than it has been. I just don't think I could sustain a long, detailed blog post.

The Dr. says my eye is getting better, but I have an astigmatism that's making it really hard to see, and until it's fully healed, it's blurry city for me.

If you missed it, I did post something yesterday from my WIP, just in case you're hankerin' for a real blog post ;o) You can find it Here.

I took the above pic tonight. Yes, it snowed here today. It's supposed to be nice this weekend, which is good, cause it's my birthday on Saturday and I'm going golfing. Hope I can see the ball... (like that would help...LOL)

So have a wonderful weekend. I'm going to try and visit everyone's blogs, but I may be slower than normal. *hugs* to all of you!

Share Time Thursday - Why? I Was feeling Saucy

2010-04-07T23:55:00.020-04:00

Greetings Everyone!

If you look to your left you will see my pride and joy, Zeus. He helps me with my writing... okay he rubs on my fingers so I can't type, but he thinks he's helping. He also "helps" me read too ;o)

Okay. Truth. I have no idea what to blog about and I didn't want to have a week with just one post. I have to keep trying to be more regular with my posts, so I thought I'd share some writing today, so y'all could get an idea of what I'm about...err, what my writing's about ;o) As if that's hard to figure out... Muh ha ha

So this is what I wrote last night. It's a scene where the MC Snow and Vaughn are on a date, sort of... I'm not looking for critique's unless you want to. Mostly just wanted to have share time today ;o)

So, here ya go.

I grabbed a green crayon out of the miniature ridged plastic glass and tried to draw a flower on the paper tablecloth with our server’s name scrawled across it.

A large sign that said Pizzalicious blinked in neon red. I was convinced the joint was owned by a couple of hillbillies. A fake stained glass ghetto light hung over the table looking like a bug could fall from it at any time.

I shifted in the yellow faux leather booth, making plastic farting noises with my legs. “Where’d you find this place?”

“A friend told me about it.”

I picked up the ratty menu and scanned it. “You know what this place needs?”

He turned his menu over. “What?”

“Boxed Wine. Oh wait.” I pointed to the menu. “Look it’s already here. Yay for us.”

He cocked his head to the side, clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth. "Is there anything you do like here?"

“I like this crayon."

Please keep in mind this is total first draft mode. I'm revising and needed some new scenes. It might get cut, who knows, but thought I would share!

I have 150 followers! Wow - you guys are great!

I'll see you tomorrow for the Friday Featured Blog ;o) Enjoy your Thursday!

Friday Featured Blog - Editing Hat

2010-04-02T09:00:00.006-04:00

Hi Everyone!
It's Friday, Yay! I hope life is treating you well. It was 80 degrees here today *gasp* in fact I had to get the old chainsaw out and trim my winter toenails... LOL (nice image huh?) no, not really, but I did paint them a pretty color so I can wear my sandals ;o)

The eye is doing okay, it got better and I was starting to see better, then I had a relapse and I have no clue why, so we'll see what happens - again excuse any typos ;o)

On to our wonderful featured blog. This is one nice dude. Trust. Author, Adam Slade from Editing Hat! He has a great blog and a lot of cool stuff is going on over there, he's going to be a guest poster at (his wonderful editor Cyn's blog) soon and he's also scheduled to guest post on Dolly's wonderful blog Writer Revealed! in the near future. You may remember Dolly as Lost Wanderer ;o)

He has an additional super cool blog called Gumshoes Casefiles where posts are contributed by fictional Private Eye, Frank Peterson, you can find the mysterious wonderment Here.

Adam is great. His comments are thoughtful and funny. He always seems to be in a good mood, which is awesome ;o) Back in January he had a post about why he writes. It's simple, to the point and if I may say so myself, sweet as can be! You can find it Here.

His first novella, A REAPER'S TALE The Undecided, is coming out May 17th by publisher Lyrical Press Inc. Here's a little excerpt courtesy of the Lyrical Press website:

Even Grim Reapers have bad days on the job.

Mal has managed to stay out of the afterlife for 31 years, despite having been dead for the last three. He's a Grim Reaper, and while he may not be the most enthusiastic, he enjoys his "life" too much to give it up to death. But he's got a problem. A troubled young woman's soul becomes bonded to his, and a vicious demon is hired to retrieve it.

If Mal can't get her soul free in a hurry, he's doomed to share her destination, whether it be heaven or hell.

***

Doesn't that sound like a kick a** story? And how mysterious is that book cover!

He has an great website too. You can find it Here

or Visit his fan page on Facebook, you can find it Here

The wonderful author, blogger and twitterer Medeia Sharif has given me the Picasso award! Thank you so much! Check out her super blog where she discusses books or whatever fancies her at the time!

I'm going to hand this off to Adam (remember him?) - he's got a great blog and he's super nice. So Adam this award is for you - enjoy buddy!

Okay I think I have to tell 7 things about myself for this award... I'll keep 'em short since these posts are typically long!

1. I love to watch Days of Our Lives - I'm addicted really!
2. I've been working out with my Wii and EA Sports - and love it!
3. I've locked my keys in my car countless times and twice while it was running. I've gotten much better, most happened in my teens. I blame my sister for one of the times while it was running, she distracted me... LOL
4. I love animals, but they drive me nuts at night!
5. I'm not good at math.
6. I named my first cat Annie after the movie.
7. My first job at 16 was at a movie theatre. I had to work holidays, but it was so much fun and free popcorn and movies!

That's all I got peeps. I hope you have a great weekend filled with lots of fun activities!! See ya next week ;o)

Fear. It's what's for breakfast.

2010-03-30T10:00:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone!
I hope you are having a good week so far ;o) So, I'm having an issue - surprise right? Ha. What is it, Erica? Well, I'm going to tell you.

Fear.

No not fear in the writing itself, but fear of writing. But, Erica, you're afraid to write, that's absurd.

It is. I agree. Here's the thing. I don't know what I'm afraid of... maybe I do. Here are my theories.

I'm actually afraid to complete a story because then I'll have to entertain the idea of this being real

I'm afraid of finishing it because then I *may* be in a position to find an agent, publish etc. You know the normal paranoia ( by the way I had to spell that word like three times, then still had to look it up - pathetic.) LOL

I'm afraid it's going to suck

I'm afraid I'll find out this isn't what I'm supposed to do

I'll find out I'm a no talent hack

Yeah that about covers it. You know what the crazy thing is though? I love the story, I love writing it and I have no idea why I put it off sometimes, but I'm guessing it's one of those reasons above.

Now, I'm not going to ask you if you feel fear, I mean, come on... we all have those moments. I do know that. What I'd like to know, is how you deal with it. Do you put things off like ole Ms. procrastination over here? Or do you fight those thoughts off and plow through?

So... I couldn't have a post without mentioning the great news buzzing in the blogisphere! The awesome, sweet and talented Shannon Messenger over at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe has acquired an agent!! Not just any agent the fabulous Laura Rennert with Andrea Brown Lit. *Squeeeeeeee* If you haven't already, go on over and congratulate her!!

What fabulous news! *throws confetti*

Well that's my time!

Have a great rest of the week - see you on Friday for the featured blog ;o)

Friday Featured Blog - Elana Johnson

2010-03-26T09:00:00.003-04:00

Hi Everyone!
Thanks so much for all the great comments yesterday on my 100th post! You are all awesomeness personified - don't believe me? Just go look above the followers widget ;o)

Please forgive any typos you see in the next couple weeks' posts - my right eye has a swollen cornea (I think that's what the Dr. said) so I'm reading/typing this in like 20 pt font. Pathetic I know...LOL

We have a wonderful featured blog today! Elana Johnson (how lucky are we that this one is around the blogisphere) over at Young Adult Author Elana Johnson navigating the Publishing World with a splash of Real Life blogs about all kinds of stuff! Lately, she's blogging about - well... blogging. It's good stuff too, one I liked is Where to spend Your blogging Time.

Elana has such a helpful blog. I'm always checking out what she has to say. Her posts are short, witty and to the point. I love that about her blog! Another great post is over on The QueryTracker.net blog of which she is a contributing author. It's all about the voice - something I find fascinating. Go on and visit Don't Use That Voice With Me Great info there.

Elana is so sweet - her comments are always genuine and sincere. If you're not following her blog - what are you waiting for? She knows her stuff about queries too. I mean a lot about queries, this post isn't long enough to list her knowledge on that subject, but trust - she shares it all ;o) You can purchase her ebook From The Query to the Call on her website! See, told ya she knew her stuff ;o)

Elana's Profile Info:

I am a contributing author to the QueryTracker blog. I also teach, watch reality TV and drive too fast.

When I'm not doing that, I write young adult science fiction and fantasy.

I am represented by Michelle Andelman of Lynn C. Franklin Associates, Ltd.
***

Find her on Twitter as elanaj

Her uber cool website is elanajohnson.com

What are you waiting for - go on over and join the fun! That's my time - have a wonderful weekend! Any big plans? I'm finally going to see Alice in Wonderland this weekend!

pic courtesy of www.lovegroveslovemarks.co.uk/tag/friday-feeling/

Welp, We've Reached 100 Posts!

2010-03-25T15:57:00.023-04:00

Hi Everyone I hope you are doing well today ;o) I'd like to take a moment and reflect on the 99 previous posts since this is my 100th post!

Wow, I'd like to thank the acedem-- okay. I know, I'm not that important, but it's fun to pretend *sigh*

We've been through a lot in the past 1 year and 3 months!

Tomorrow will be the 20th Featured Blog!

I've gained 138 magical followers whom I adore

I've gained several new writer friends - also whom I adore ;o)

I found fabulous Beta buddies and a Crit Partner who have helped me tremendously.

I joined Twitter and Teen Fire since starting up this blog

I gained over 900+ followers on Twitter! Yowza. That many people care what I have to say. Scary. Thought.

I've been through 3 drafts - only two are keepers so far

I even signed up for that google analytics thingamabob back in December '09 and know how many hits I have on here - in case you were wondering... I've had 1,038 visits and 1,647 page views! Not too shabby. Of course, about half are mine LOL. Okay maybe a third.

So Thank You! YOU have made this possible! I should do a giveaway or something. Gah - I'm not that organized. I do vow to do one when I hit 200 followers - promise ;o)

Instead, I'd like you all to have the gift of song via YouTube of course. Oh and the wonderful Dido!

Question of the day: So... have you reached 100? How long have you been blogging?

Have a great Thursday! See ya tomorrow for our Friday Featured Blog - you won't want to miss this one - she's an awesome blogger ;o)

Write on,
Er

Idea Bank - Make a Deposit!

2010-03-24T00:44:00.008-04:00

Hi ya!
I know it's been a while since I've posted something other than a featured blog - which is cool with me - cause I LOVE promoting other blogs!

I am sorry, I know you're just dying to hear what I've been doing with my time. [insert sarcastic comment].

Well, the truth?

Not much. I mean not much writing wise. I've started exercising and getting to know our new pooch Freddie, but I've been a bad writer. LOL

Okay, maybe not that bad, I've been Beta-ing for a close friend. Which is great. Her story is fabulous, so it's a nice break from NOT revising. Just call me Ms. Procrastination.

I digress. The point please Ms. Procrastination. Okay, Being away from my WIP has given me some great ideas - new stuff for a new story and new ideas for my current one. So really, it's been a great break.

Wanna hear about my new story idea? Aw, come on... Welp, this idea came because I was watching American Idol - yeah I know- sue me. I was singing a song - Like ya do. And I thought - I want to be in a band. Yeah, I know at my age - I mean I'm *cough* year's old. Then "ding ding," *insert light-bulb - only the good kind that lasts forever - what are they called? Energy Efficient or something.* I don't really have to join a band (even though that would be like the coolest thing ever) I could write about joining one, or about how a daughter deals with a mom that joined one. Then the ideas came flying all the possibilities.

So, that's what I've been doing. Exciting huh? Oh I've been trying to get over this darn pink eye too, and trying to bowl. Key word "trying."

So any new ideas you want to share, have the ideas been spinning for you or are you at a stop? Are you watching AI this year? I have to admit it's not as good as some of the other years, but I do have some favorites... Siobhan rocks. So does Crystal ;o)

See ya on Friday for the featured blog - It's going to be a surprise - in truth - I haven't picked it yet...LOL Remember, Ms. Procrastination...

Anyhoo, have a great rest of the week folks!

image courtesy of eugenecho.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/nyt20ye...

Friday Featured Blog - The Babbling Flow of a Fledgling Scribbler

2010-03-19T09:00:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone ;o) Happy Friday! Now see, that has a much better ring to it than Have a good Monday, which I've always thought was an oxymoron.

I hope you all had a great week! Mine was good, busy at the day job, but that's a good thing ;o) Please forgive any mistakes in this post as I am in my glasses because my right eye is watering like crazy. I think it has a scratch in it.

We have a wonderful blog feature today. Straight from Saradise! Sara over at The Babbling Flow of a Fledgling Scribbler is one of the nicest bloggers I've "met." She's always there with a sweet comment and her blog posts reflect her coolness as well.

I'm so impressed by her book trailer for her story Shattered. Really, she should do them for a living. Just click on that little linky there and check it out!

She's also holding an Awesome Contest! where you can win up to 5 different prizes! Um. yeah. Good odds there. So make sure to check that out! Sara also shared her insight on super agent Jenny Bent, owner and founder of The Bent Agency in a uber helpful post. She shares querying and finding an agent, representation etc. It's a great post. You can find all it's gloriousness Here.

I thought the next post was so cute. Her Nana gave her some Old Books (which I think is awesome - are you reading this Grandma? Oh yeah. No. You don't have a computer...) It's one that I found sincere and entertaining, like all her posts.

Sara's profile info:

I'm a full-time writer in Northern Virginia. Currently, I'm editing my YA urban fantasy, SHATTERED. Oh--and there's a fun new project simmering as well!

I write the stories that I want to read, and when I revise I always use purple ink! I like my chocolate ice cream doused in maple syrup (the real kind) and when I finally grow up I want to be a princess... The sword-wielding kind, of course!

She's also part of another awesome blog The YA5. You can find it Here. What is the YA5 about? Well I'm glad you asked.

In their words...

YA that matters, 5 days a week

The YA-5 is a group of writers with a shared vision for change. Change in the way that information about YA books is shared on the web - with you, the people who read & love YA books. We don't want to tell you which books to buy - we'd rather hear what you think.

Talk to us. Tell us what you think, what you know and how you feel about YA. Comment on our blogs, our vlogs, our ramblings. Tweet us, tag us, call us out when we're full of it. We're The YA-5 and we can take it.

But don't look for us on the weekend, 'cause even superheroes need days off.

How fun does that blog sound too! Yeah, I know you want to - go on and follow that one too ;o)

You can find Sara on Twitter as saramcclung

I got another award! Man you guys are awesome peeps! Super sweet Jen over at Unedited gave me the Silver Lining award! Thank you so much Jen - make sure to check our her stupendous blog when you get a chance!

I'll be in Chicago on Saturday to do some shopping! Yay fun ;o) I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

photo courtesy of i58.photobucket.com/albums/g240/pamipj/tgif.jpg

Monday Featured Blog... Becomes Friday Featured Blog!

2010-03-15T09:00:00.002-04:00

Hello!

Miss me? Yeah, I know. Not really... LOL

I hope you had a nice time last week. I'm sorry I only had a chance to make it to some of your blogs last week ;o)

My time away was good! I got to know my characters a bit - which was the point, but I have to admit, I'm having a hard time with this part. I'm really not sure what else I can do. I've interviewed them, put them in situations, found celebrity photos of them... I think I'll just go back to the rewrite and see where it goes!

Well, as the title to this blog denotes, I am changing the Monday Featured Blogs to Fridays. Basically, I find that I have little time these days on the weekends to write those posts, so instead of eliminating them altogether, I chose to switch the day. So we'll see how this goes. I'm going to try and blog a little more during the week about what's going on with writing and such.

So look for Sara's blog, The Babbling Flow of a Fledgling Scribbler this Friday!

I just learned that my Bowling League's pot is $600! So, time to buckle down and get serious - wish me luck ;o)

Have a wonderful Monday!

No Blogging This Week!

2010-03-08T01:06:00.006-05:00

Hi Everyone,
I was up late watching the Academy Awards and did not write a Monday Featured Blog - so I'm going to use this week to work on my WIP. Or so they say, "Unplug."

I have a lot of work to do on the WIP, and have purchased Scrivener to organize it. I love it! So off I go to get this story in order!

No worries I'll be back in all my insanity next week ;o)

I'll let you view some cute kitty videos in my absence!

This is the version of this video with the human voices - but it's pretty funny!

Have a wonderful week everyone!!

Blogger Buddie - 5 Things you don't know about me...

2010-03-02T23:34:00.016-05:00

Hello there!
I hope everyone is doing well and having a good day!

Revising is going pretty well with my MS. I've gotten about halfway so far, however, there's a lot to change. Surprise... It's funny, after doing the book trailer, I got an idea for where the story should go - guess what? It's somewhere I haven't gone yet, so there's still a bit of work to be done, but I like the new idea ;o)

The fantastic Little Ms. J gave me the blogger buddie award! Isn't it cute? If you're not following her blog you're totally missing out, she has some of the most beautiful, profound posts I've ever seen. She's unique, interesting and funny.

So. I guess with this blogger award I'm supposed to list 5 things ya don't know about me... *thinking*- checks facebook, checks tweetdeck* okay, I'm going to pick some stuff that's not on my blog or website, so it should be all new... *ahem* get on with it you say... okay.

1. I've known 3 of my close friends since 6th grade. We don't see each other that often, but when we do, it's as if we never were apart. I miss them as I'm writing this sentence...

2. I had my marketing internship at a zoo. While there, I was on the radio twice and the "Today" show came to to do a small piece about the white tiger and puppy (how cute is that!). However, I was not featured on screen (intern and all) boy did they ever miss out... Ha.

3. I can't ride on buses. I had to when I was in high school show choir, but I hated it. I hate the movement, makes me feel all yucky in da tummy. I like flying though - short trips are better. I love to drive, but hate being a passenger, I drive everywhere, hubs has to read so he doesn't go all "backseat driver one me" without the reading, we'd be divorced for sure. Sorry got off point there for a sec. Moving on...

4. When any of my co-worker-friends (they're both) do something stupid, they say they "pulled an Erica." Yeah, folks. Believe it.

5. I say what's on my mind all the time. There is a filtering system, but it malfunctions almost every minute of the day - meet me in real life - and you'll see what I mean ;o)

Whew, that was actually harder than normal. I guess I'm running out of "cool" things to say about myself... so sad.

Anyhoo - I'm going to pass this along to a couple of my blogger buddies ;o)

Shauna over at Read~ Write~ Revamp~
Regan over at Regan Leigh
Sara over at The Babbling Flow of a Fledgling Scribbler
Karen over at Eternal Moonshine of the Daydreaming Mind

These are all fabulous blogs, folks. Nice people with a lot of interesting things to say ;o)

Anne over at Anne Riley, Reading.Writing.Querying.Publishing? bestowed upon me - The Creative Writing Award (the one where you get to lie - oh yeah!) Thanks so much Anne - definitely check out her blog - it's stupendous ;o) Since I received this one previously, I'll just link my answers to this post ;o) If you'd like to see my Vlog about my lies and truths you can find it Here.

Hope everyone is having a great week ;o)

Monday Featured Blog - Regan Leigh

2010-03-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hello Folks!
I hope your weekend was great. Mine was subdued, but good. Nothing new to report ;o)

Well, we have another great blog - they all are aren't they? LOL. Regan is a great friend and fabulous Beta! Don't get any ideas - she's all mine ;o) Just kidding...

She has a fantastic blog over at Regan Leigh Her posts are random and quirky...hey sound familiar... We have a lot in common which is why I was so lucky to find her on twitter one day ;o)

She loves to blog about music, writing or whatever fancies her at the time. If you haven't seen her haunting, beautiful book trailer for Mallory's Story you can find it Here She also has a great post on Lay vs. Lie (I know it helped me) You can find all the grammar goodness Here.

She's also having an awesome contest where you can win a copy of The 3 A.M. Epiphany by Brian Kiteley! You can find it Here

Regan is a wonderful person who's willing to help anyone who needs it. I've read her writing and I can tell you, it will be in the stores someday. She knows emotion, and she knows it well. Her story Hayes, actually brought me to tears. Yeah. That. Good.

Her profile Info:

I’m an aspiring author. That’s who I am in a nutshell. :)

I used to write as a kid. Even into high school, I wrote short stories. Something happened when I went to college and grad school. I started to hate reading. Not only did I hate to read because of all the required texts, but I had lost my desire to write.

I didn’t regain my desire until October of 2008. That’s when it hit me. How could I have forgotten? I’m a writer.

I started writing every hour I could spare, and after three weeks of non-stop writing in January of 2009, I had three hundred pages. It was like my muse was pushing me aside and typing it for me. I had no idea how I was writing so much and so quickly, without feeling tired. I lost sleep, but I didn’t even miss it. I wanted to be writing all the time. I still feel that way.

I know that I may be writing for years before anyone actually enjoys my finished product, but that doesn’t really discourage me much. My only real fear is that I’ll stop writing. That can’t happen. I won’t let it. I’m a writer and I don’t want to forget that again. So, no matter how stressful it is to think I may be writing complete crap each day, I’ll keep doing it.

You can find her on Twitter as ReganWrites

I also want to thank some of my peeps for awards I got recently! Anyone who wants them can have them ;o) If I had time I'd pick some people, but instead - take em if you want them - you are all wonderful and deserving ;o)

Ann over at All Write with Coffee gave me the Prolific Blogger Award - thanks so much- check out her uber awesome blog as well ;o)

Medeia over at Medeia Sharif gave me the Creative Writer Award! Thank you so much Medeia - check out her fabulous blog!

And... the super cool Madeleine over at Wordbird has given me the Honest Scrap award! Wow, that makes 4 times!! Thanks so much Madeleine! Check out her awesome blog as well ;o)

If you missed my first attempt at a book trailer - you can find it Here. Welp, that's all I got for today! I hope you all have a wonderful Monday ;o)

pic courtesy of blogs.babycenter.com/.../01/1115855_blog.jpg

My attempt at a Book Trailer

2010-02-26T00:41:00.014-05:00

Yes folks I've found iMovie on my beloved Macbook and I love it. It's like a whole new addiction - ruh roh...

I tried to find the credits for all the images I used, I got most in there, they were found by google images and disclaimer - this is for non-commercial use - basically just for fun! Hope that covers me... oh and I know it's a bit... how do I say this nicely, amateur, maybe you film buffs out there can give me some pointers ;o)

What's really strange about this process is that it ended up being really emotional - with the song and the pics, which is opposite of my voice - it's not that emotional, but the stuff the MC has gone through or will go through is emotional, so that's where this comes from. Rest assured, it's funny too... well the book, not the trailer ;o)

I also knew there was a religious element in the story (the guy's from Purgatory) but it's strange what comes out when you try and piece this together. I'm not particularly religious myself, so I was a bit surprised. Interesting stuff...

Welp, let me know what you think ;o) Have you done one of these? Do you love iMovie as much as I do?

Dang - I've rambled on long enough - here ya go!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Monday Featured Blog - Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent

2010-02-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all had a great weekend ;o) I did, we got a new doggie - he's 1 year old (same age as Maya) He's a Shepard/Retriever Mix. Here's a pic ;o) We love him!

Well, we have a really awesome featured blog today. I expect most of you are following her, but for those who have not had the pleasure, meet Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent - Rants and Ramblings - On Life as a Literary Agent. Her blog is packed full of helpful posts on anything writing. A recent one that I really connected with is Where Rubber Meets Road. The last words in this post are just so eloquent and relevant.

"When your moment of truth comes, remind yourself: They told me it would be hard. This is what hard feels like. I can do this."

Another great one (trust me I'm finding it hard to pick just a couple - all her posts are fantastic!) is Craft - Story - Voice in which she discusses what makes her say "Yes" to a submission. It's great stuff folks!

There are certain literary agent blogs every aspiring author should follow - Rachelle Gardner's is one of them. I learn something in every post - about myself, about writing, about publishing. She has it all. Trust me on that ;o)

Her profile info reads -
I'm a literary agent, a writer and a book editor. I'm the wife of a firefighter, mom of two amazing daughters, and a follower of Christ. I love music, books, Starbucks, American Idol, and everything outdoors.

You can find her on Twitter as RachelleGardner.

Onto another award! Wow, I feel so loved lately - lots of awards ;o) Emily over at The 2010 Numbers Game gave me the Sunshine Award - very cool, thanks so much Emily - make sure to check out her wonderful blog!

I would like to pass this along to all of you - because you all make me smile and bring sunshine to my life ;o) I know I'm cheating, but I can't pick and choose who to give sunshine to. Come on... ya know me ;o)

If you missed my 2nd Vlog - you can check it out Here. I answer the questions to the lies I told on Friday ;o)

I hope you all have a great Monday - Enjoy ;o)

pic courtesy of www.earningguys.com/.../images/start_blog.jpg

Vloggy #2 - You Can't Handle the Truth! Nah, you can ;o)

2010-02-20T17:00:00.003-05:00

Hello!

I hope you are all having a great weekend. I am having a great one. Hubs and I are getting a new doggie tomorrow - Freddie! He's a Shepard, boxer, lab mix, and may have some pit bull, we don't really know, he's a sweetie and Maya (the Rottie) loves him. Will post some pics when he is officially ours ;o)

My buddy Matt - your buddy too probably - is having a 99 followers challenge over at Pensive Sarcasm - if you're not following his blog - you should - he's hilarious, if you are - send some peeps his way and win! Check it out Here.

Welp, I thought it was time for another Vlog - don't ask me why, was feelin' saucy yesterday ;o) I'm afraid to say there are no kitties in this one, and my hair looks like I just pulled a hat off of it, but what can ya do - oh and also - you can see the kitchen in the background! It's a bit long - so sorry.

So... you wanna know which of the 6 lies is true? If you missed yesterday's post, so you know what's going on - you can find it Here.

Check it out Vloggy style...

Lies, Lies, It's All Lies...

2010-02-19T09:00:00.006-05:00

Greetings All!

Jessica over at Girl Meets Word gave me the Creative Writer Award - Yay - thanks Jess! Check out her blog - it's fantabulous, just like she is ;o)

In order to accept this award, I must do some stuff...

Let's see I have to make up 6 lies and 1 truth, that's going to be hard because I don't lie very often, luckily you can't see my face. Ha.

1- I ran a half marathon in Chicago in 2008.
2- I was kidnapped by mutant Zombies and sent to the future to befriend Marty McFly. (okay I *may* have given you one)
3- I am a distant relative of Albert Einstein. Very distant - if you've seen my high school/college transcripts you'd understand.
4- I've sung on stage at Carnegie Hall.
5- I've never left the state of Michigan.
6- I placed third in the Michigan Regional Spelling Bee.

Hmm... which one is true? Can you guess?

Okay, now I'm going to give it away to 7 uber awesome blogs - seriously all of them - check 'em out!

Frankie Writes
Lost Wanderer's Writing Blog
Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe
Random Thoughts
Writing Roller Coasters
Pensive Sarcasm
Natalie Bahm

Can't wait to see what "lies" y'all come up with!

I also received the wonderful Silver Lining award from my twitter pal Ashelynn! Thanks Ashelynn! Check out her awesome blog over at World Of My Own. I'm feelin' so loved this week!

Side note - Today I'm volunteering with the American Heart Association's Go Red for women luncheon. This is an organization near and dear to my... well, heart. I just want to remind all of you to take care of your hearts - because they are special - to me and many people. *hugs*

Enjoy your weekend everyone ;o)

Oh, do "tell" & Awards & LINGER contest

2010-02-17T09:00:00.007-05:00

Hi Everyone! Well this blog made it over 100 followers - unbelievable. Thank you all so much - you are truly wonderful.

I didn't plan to give anything away... I thought about it... I didn't want to half- arse it, so I will wait until I acquire something awesome! Maybe... if I can reach 200 ;o)

I hope everyone is having a great week so far. I'm still working on the revision of my MS. It's going a bit slow...

The Truth?

I can't seem to get back into the groove. It's like when I started revising, it was exciting, I was all set to put some new stuff in and take the rubbish out, and take I did, like 10,000 words so far. I also found out I have a big problem with inner dialogue. Mainly, I'm afraid to "tell" too much, so I don't "tell" at all. I'm trying to figure out how to stop and just let go, but it's hard, I'll admit it.

So, do any of you have that problem? Are you a born "teller?"

On to some awesome awards! Wow, I got quite a few this past week - so cool - thanks everyone! I have another one I was going to post, but I thought this post was getting a little too long... so I will save it for tomorrow ;o)

Lost Wanderer bestowed this most awesome award on me! Thank you so much Lost Wanderer, check out her great blog over at Lost Wanderer's Writing Blog.

Welp, to accept this award, I must answer these few questions with one-word answers, then pass it along. So here I go!

Your Cell Phone? - Blackberry
Your Favorite Food? - Malts (just like the pic above!)
Your Hobby? - Golf
Your TV? - Awesome
What Are You Wearing? - Snuggie
Your Life? - Okay
Your Music? - Best
Where Did You Grow Up? - Michigan
Your Car? - Reliable

And... I'm going to pass this on to a couple blogs I love!

Supernatural Smut
Regan Leigh.com - Regan also gave me the Honest Scrap award for the second time! Thanks Regan ;o)

Also, Jamie over at The Variety Pages gave me the Silver Lining Award. Thanks Jamie! I'm sure you all know how much I love her blog - it's a great one ;o)

Heidi over at Words a Plenty has given me the Honest Scrap Award - it's my third time! I must have you all very fooled ;o) Thanks Heidi - check out her awesome blog as well!

There is an super cool contest going on over at Frankie's blog (also super cool), Frankie Writes Linger ARC Contest You could win the ARC of LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater!! The more people you send over the better your chances - so spread the word :o) Oh and tell them "Large Marge" sent ya... LOL

Have a great Wednesday!

Monday Featured Blog - Natalie Bahm - Wife, Mother, Writer

2010-02-15T09:00:00.003-05:00

Hello Folks,
I hope you had a great weekend. Mine was a bit subdued, but that can be okay ;o)

I hope everyone's V-day was scrumdiliumptious! My hubs and I ate some pizza and stayed in. It was just lovely.

I'm happy to say that our puppy, Maya is without her cone as of Friday. She's thrilled, and so are we!

We have a fabulous blog today. Natalie over at Natalie Bahm, Wife, Mother, Writer blogs about writing and various aspects of her life.

She recently attended the SCBWI conference and posted some stuff she learned. A particular helpful post for me was this one Write what YOU want. It's chocked full of great insight into writing, confidence and not writing for the trends.

One post that touched me a lot was It Takes Time. It's a fabulous installment about how we are all beginners at one time. It's beautifully written (like all her posts.)

If you're not following Natalie's blog - you don't know what you're missing. She is a creative, insightful and kind blogger. You can tell by her posts that she is caring too. I enjoy her blog a lot, and know you will too ;o)

Natalie's profile Info:

I'm a 29-year-old mother of three and I write novels for children and young adults. I am represented by Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency.

You can find her on Twitter as nataliebahm Here

So, last week I read The Hunger Games & Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. I loved both books and I am now eagerly awaiting the third in the series! If you haven't seen the cover yet, here it is ;o)

I can't wait. Any books you can't wait to come out?

Have a great Monday ;o)

Pic courtesy of blog.tamtamy.com/.../uploads/2009/03/blog.jpg

Win ARC of LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater!

2010-02-14T20:02:00.008-05:00

Hey there!
Do you love SHIVER? Yes, I know you do. Welp, Author Maggie Stiefvater is giving away 9 ARC's of LINGER, the sequel I've (and many, many others) been eagerly waiting for!

Squeeeee!

I don't normally Squeeee, but this is seriously cool. So go on over to her blog and enter this awesome contest! Here's a little blurb to get you all excited!

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.

Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.

Enter to win an advanced review copies of LINGER, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie's blog.

I'm excited. Are you?

Guest Post - Jamie on: Establishing a Personal Brand

2010-02-09T09:00:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

We have a special surprise today - my friend and critique partner Jamie over at The Variety Pages is providing the post today - so I can be lazy... LOL - no not really, she's been busy working on her own personal brand, and since she's researched it quite a bit, and is beginning a weekly series called "Writer, Brand Thyself." on her blog. I've asked her to guest post (my very first one!) She is knowledgeable, a great writer and it's just a matter of time before her wonderful books will be on the shelves ;o)

Without further adieu - Jamie! *applause, cheers*

Establishing a Personal Brand

The word “platform” is bandied around the writing community as something mysterious and difficult that writers need to establish at some point. A platform is really just a body of work that establishes someone as a professional in a certain field, and for a fiction writer (like myself), that is something I can only accomplish by writing and publishing good books. Non-fiction writers can do this early through blogs, web sites, etc...but there's really no way I can “prove” that I write good romantic suspense without actually writing and publishing it.

What I can do before publishing though is to start building my personal “brand” - the name recognition that will help market my books when they do start coming out. Social media makes this easier than it's ever been, and all we have to do is participate. The only real problem with that is finding the time to be involved in networking groups and communities – time that we often don't have to spare.

I work full-time (40 hrs per week), and though I don't have kids, I still have dinner to make, household chores to do, a TV addiction, books to read, pounds to lose and my husband and pets to take care of. Add writing time to that (late at night) and my only option for getting it all done is multitasking. When I started thinking about actually selling my novels someday, I knew I had to start getting my name out there, and building up a network of potential readers. I decided to get serious about social media.

I started by re-inventing my blog, then joined Facebook and Twitter. It was hard to keep up with it all, so I started looking for ways to tie everything together and spend less time keeping up. Now I'm adding more networks to my list, and exploring all the ways I can make participating in each community as easily and efficiently as possible. Just recently I've added a personal web site (which is one of the least time-intensive ways you can get information out there after it's set up), and I've also started a weekly newsletter – both of which I'm using to both solidify my personal brand and bring all my social networks together. I created both of those using fairly simple online programs (GoDaddy.com and Mail Chimp), and customizing templates to meet my needs. Planning is the key – everything I've done I've planned ahead to make it as efficient and easy to use as possible.

I know I'm not the only writer out there interested in building a personal brand before my books are on the market, so I've decided to create a series on my blog called “Writer, Brand Thyself”. Every Wednesday I'll be posting about my experiences with social media and how I'm using different networks to make connections and promote my name as a “brand” as efficiently as possible (ie, without cutting into my writing time). I'm going to explore everything from choosing a name and where to start to using RSS feeds to connect networks with current information. If you're interested, please join me, and hopefully we can all learn to “brand ourselves” together.

Thanks so much for inviting me to guest blog, Erica – what an honor!

Links: http://www.mailchimp.com/, GoDaddy.com

***

Aww thanks, Jamie! Thank you for stopping by and for sharing what you've learned ;o) Check out her blog The Variety Pages folks!

What do you think about your personal brand? Have you created one yet?

That is all - happy Tuesday ;o)

Monday Featured Blog - Lost Wanderer's Writing Blog

2010-02-08T09:00:00.001-05:00

What's up?
The weekend went well - nothing out of the ordinary... Puppy's a little perturbed at us - check out the pic at the end of this post - so sad...

I'm so lucky to follow such wonderful blogs! It makes these Monday posts so much easier, and today's another great one! Our Featured Blog today is creative and informative. It belongs to Lost Wanderer over at Lost Wanderer's Writing Blog .

She has a really cool and helpful series of posts on the writing process, you can find the latest installment Here. Her posts are organized and thought out - unlike someone's *cough* You will learn something new each time you visit - I promise you that ;o)

She also recently asked how formal our writing is. She even posted a pic of her super sleek handwriting in her own writing journal. You can take a looksie Here

Another favorite post of mine is the dinner party with fictional characters - ingenious really. Check it out---> Dinner Party with Jane Austen's Heroines

Her Profile Info:

Attempted recording of an aspiring author's journey...well, at least some recording, after all there is such a thing as privacy even in this mad mad world of networking addicts.

Find her on Twitter as lostwanderer5

Go on over and take a gander at what she has to offer ;o)

I'd like to thank Cammie over at My Mental Marathon: Revising a Novel in less than 1 Year for the Superior Scribbler award. Check out her blog when you get a chance - it's fun and insightful! Since I've already received this once, I'm going to skip the rules and such and just say thank you so much Cammie!

Welp, we had to get a cone for Maya (the rottie pup) she was recently spayed and was licking the incision so bad that the sutures were beginning to separate - I know, yuck! She just looks pitiful with her new cone... See for yourself... She did find a ball - but we had to take it away, she was getting too excited.

Can't deny her cuteness even in a cone. She does not like her cone of shame.. LOL (Love "Up," if you haven't seen it - do!)

Well that's all for today - enjoy your Monday! Look for laugh.write.play.'s first guest post with Jamie over at The Variety Pages tomorrow - she's going to discuss branding ourselves LOL - no not actually "branding" ourselves... getting our name out there. Ha

blog pic courtesy of www.ghc.edu/faculty/portmann/

Lack of Emotion... Not anymore!

2010-02-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are having a lovely Tuesday ;o) All is well here. I got a double bowling last night, and didn't play like total crap! Yay, be thankful for the small things in life, right? Ha.

Well, I've been revising my current MS and I've noticed a real lack of something...

What is that, you say?

Emotion.

I didn't even think about it until I started to re-write a particularly emotional scene. I tweeted about it, and of course my Crit partner Jamie over at The Variety Pages, and a few others offered their advice about what to do. I didn't know what the MS was lacking. Duh, right? Well Jamie suggested I think about what I was like as a teenager - scary huh?

So I did.

I went back to the flannel wearing, Pearl Jam & Nirvana listening, drama filled attitude, poetry writer with no outward emotion, but inside was stewing like a wicked brew, teenage me. And you know what?

It worked.

So I went back to the beginning of the MS and I'm re-reading all the scenes to make sure they have some emotion in them. I can't believe I forgot about that. I was so worried about the plot, the story, dialogue, descriptions etc. that I didn't think about the motivation of the characters, their emotion.

Have you ever got caught up in the mechanics and forgot the emotion? Have you forgotten anything in a first draft?

I hope everyone is having a great day! The doggie was spayed and now we have to watch her every minute to make sure she doesn't lick at the incision - Wish us luck :o)

Monday Featured Blog - Personal Accountability Log

2010-02-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

Greetings Everyone!
It's about 20 degrees right now, higher than the 6 degrees it was yesterday, so yay for that ;o)

So, my husband pointed out that I've been spelling Snuggie wrong... LOL Not sure you noticed but I've been putting a "y" at the end. Woops, ya know what's really stupid, the darn sleeve on the thing has it written out... Come on, right?

Well we have a special featured blog today. It's not a writer's blog, but an informational blog that provides insightful questions and sincere answers from the commenters, which makes a great combination.

Tom Bailey over at the Personal Accountability Log asks some great questions. He is a blogger who is out to help people by asking the hard questions. The comments are unique and different. It's a good mix of what people think of each topic. Also, you get to give your opinion on subjects like passion, charity, trust and much more. His latest question looks at what questions we ask to help the unemployed. You can find it Here

One of my favorites was Do Critics Help the World. There's a link to J.K. Rowling's speech to the Harvard grads. It was an excellent speech and made me think.

His blog is thought-provoking, interesting and helpful. Go on over and give your opinion, you may help someone who reads it, and I'm sure Tom would like it too ;o)

Profile Info:

I enjoy being around positive people.

Post that says a little about Tom's blog:
***
I have been told
#1 I will never get high traffic on this blog without posting pictures
#2 philanthropy is boring - you need to blog about something exciting
#3 I hate the colors of your screen they are annoying
#4 You need to have more things going on

I am not sure that I agree.

What do you think?
***

Well he has 208 followers, so I'd say he's doing just fine!

Update: My website ericachapman.com is now up and running. It's been a huge learning experience, but a lot of fun too. I'd like to thank Jamie over at The Variety Pages for all the information she provided regarding the website. I kept asking her questions and she answered every one!

My work's bowling league starts tonight - so wish me luck.... Ha.

Have a wonderful Monday :o)

Websites, Hosts & Networks Oh my...

2010-01-28T00:50:00.020-05:00

Hi Everyone!
I hope you're having a great week. It's almost Friday! Yay :o) You may have noticed I changed the layout - was getting bored with the old one. I like it - it has grass - which I can't see anymore, cause it's covered with snow. *sigh* Oh Spring, wherefore art thou?

Well on the day of the new iPad announcement, I thought it would be appropriate to post about networking... specifically websites. Yeah I know - terrible transition, but I was geeked all day watching the news unfold - I'm going to have to live vicariously through others and wait. I'm loving the price point though - $499 - Whoa, wasn't expecting that - way to go apple :o)

So I've been trying to do this website thing. If you want to see what I have (which isn't much) you can go on over to ericachapman.com Well, it's been a little nuts. I've spent A LOT of time on making it pretty and changing templates, formats, fonts, colors, host issues, logistics etc. and I don't have a lot to show for it. I'm wondering if it's too soon. I mean, I haven't published anything yet, I don't have any awards or special writing accomplishments. Should I wait until/if I get any?

Please understand I'm not begrudging anyone that does this. I will continue to work on it and make it great! I'm just wondering... is it too soon in my non-existent career to be worrying about all this? I should be writing, right? I've neglected the writing a bit because of the website. If I could afford it, I'd just hire someone, but hubs is still unemployed, so unfortunately that isn't an option.

I understand the need for a blog - I mean - I love you guys and I've learned so much on other blogs and the comments from this one. So I think that's a really important part of my career, and it makes me happy :o)

So I ask you - my loyal brood - what do you think? When is a good time to start a website? What the heck do you put on it if you have one? Do you have one?

It's freezing here, even my Snuggy is cold - she asked me for a cup of hot chocolate!

Have a great rest of the week!

Pic courtesy of www.rapprint.co.uk/images/website.jpg

Monday Featured Blog - Frankie Writes

2010-01-25T09:00:00.008-05:00

Hello Folks!
It's that time again... Hopefully we won't have anyone that has a bad case of the "Muundaays."

I've spent the weekend working on my new website and recovering from the WordPress situation. Oh and recording and posting my first Vlog! If you missed it, you can watch it Here .

Well we have another fabulous blog feature today. I enjoy this blog a lot and I'm featuring it not because she made me feel bad for featuring her blog war competitor, but because I love her blog too ;o) Frankie over at Frankie Writes .

Frankie's blog is funny, entertaining and zany - like she is :o) She recently began a series called The Real Writers - kind of a take on the Real World, but with writers - it's really funny and clever. I always look forward to these posts! You can find the first episode Here.

As I eluded to in the introduction. Frankie is smack dab in the middle of a blog war with Shannon over at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe. I've watched this feud - and trust me when I say it's highly entertaining. Frankie is getting ready to post the Shannon dare this week! Look for it. Oh and don't miss out on her reenactment of a scene from Clueless- one of my fav. movies!
While you're over there - check out her latest Vlog !

Frankie is super nice and a fun blogger! She also has gorgeous hair ;o) Hair that I am jealous of. *sigh* someday...

Profile 411 -

Welcome! Thank you for visiting my blog! Here are my Adventures in Writing my First YA Romantic Fantasy, STOLEN. You can also read about Navigating the Publishing Industry, Meeting Famous Authors, Vegan/Raw Food, Belly Dancing and the General Shenanigans that Make Up My Life! ----I also blog with the girls in my critique group at The First Novels Club Blog. You can find my Vampire Diaries Recaps there as well!

Find her on Twitter Here

Seriously folks - her blog is a must read :o)

Author C.L. Beck's blog Write Up My Alley is donating $1 for each comment on the blog found Here in an effort to help out the people of Haiti. Donations will go to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Emergency Response Fund and/or to the Red Cross for every comment. The offer is good from now until Feb 5, for up to a total of $200.

Well, that's all for today! I hope you all have a wonderful Monday. I really enjoyed my first Vlog, so look for more to come! I'm still waiting to see yours... :o)

pic courtesy of indiana.bilerico.com/2009/09/Blog.jpg

First Vlog

2010-01-24T00:02:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone!
I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your weekends :o) I made a decision about whether to stay with blogger or move over to WordPress based on the comments and my own experience with WordPress for a couple days. I made a nice little Vlog to tell you which I decided ;o)

BTW - pay no attention to the kitty in the background - Gracie, she decided she wanted her 15 minutes of fame too. This was my first attempt at this. I really tried to make it short, but there are a few um's and ah's.. couldn't help that, of course.

So... *deep breath* Here you go!

Have a great rest of the weekend :o)

A Change Gon' Come

2010-01-21T13:56:00.004-05:00

Greetings all!

This will be a quick one from me. Not a lot new going on in my life. Revising is slow and sporadic, but I'm working on that!

I've recently purchased a shiny, new domain. ericachapman.com - no don't go there just yet... LOL I have no idea what I'm doing yet...

Well, here's the thing. I do like blogger, but was thinking it didn't offer all the things I wanted, such as tabs for other things, more creativity etc. So I downloaded Wordpress. I'm investigating moving this blog over there - again, have no idea how or if it's possible... but wanted to get your opinion on this potential move before I made it.

I love their themes, very designy (not a word- I know) also it would be my new domain that I would have so - kind of like a one-stop-shop. I really like that!

Anyhoo - I've rambled long enough. Also, I've been a bit MIA from commenting this week - so sorry - real life got in the way :o)

I'm up over 80 followers! 81 to be exact! Thank you all so much - I couldn't even have imagined this many people wanted to see what I have to say - you are truly wonderful :o)

Have a great day folks!

pic courtesy of malaysiasms.files.wordpress.com/.../change1.jpg

Monday Featured Blog - Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe

2010-01-18T09:00:00.001-05:00

'ello there!
I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was too short (as always)... Revising is going a bit slow, but I made some progress over the weekend - every little bit helps!

I saw a comedy act with my parents that was actually funny and we watched, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, how great is that title? It was a very cute movie, creative idea, and one of the strangest plots I've seen on screen :o)

We have a wonderful featured blog today. The stupendous Shannon over at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe - A random collection of thoughts from an aspiring writer. Shannon's blog has, awesome contests, posts about writing, book recommendations and helpful & informative USC lessons which display her film school knowledge. You can find the latest lesson Here.

She recently interviewed YA author Lisa Schroeder! It was an excellent and informative interview, you can find it Here.

When she's not in a blog war with Frankie over at Frankie Writes (highly entertaining I must say and both ladies are fantastic, funny and creative bloggers!), She is sharing little bits of her past in her Shannon Shame posts. You can view a little video she made when she was 19 Here and my personal favorite Earth Had a Snack . You don't want to miss out on either one!

Her Profile Info -

I'm a writer who hopes to someday be a published writer--assuming I can ever finish polishing my current draft. I write and read mostly Middle Grade and Young Adult, because I'm really a big kid at heart. But I also can't think of any job more fulfilling than getting kids to read. Reading was a HUGE part of my childhood, and it makes me sad to think of how many kids miss out on it. So if even one child reads something I write and decides to give reading a chance I'll consider it "Mission Accomplished." Oh, and if you need to reach me, drop me an email: packratx (at) hotmail (dot) com. I love email!

Find Shannon on Twitter as packratx Here

Shannon is a highly energetic blogger. I enjoy every post I've read of hers and I know you will too! She is also a super nice person.

By the way, she has 299 followers - let's make it at least 300 for her! I know I'm not the only one bothered by those dang odd numbers. (Okay, my OCD may be coming out.)

Welp - I hope everyone has a great week! I'll post this week about more things I'm finding out in this revision process :o) I know - can't you wait! Ha.

Did you watch the Golden Globes? Ricky Gervais was hilarious :o)

Have a great Monday :o)

image courtesy of www.smbmarketingguide.com/tag/web/

He gave me a look like I had worms crawling out my eyeballs.

2010-01-11T23:51:00.029-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all enjoying your week! My week back to work has been okay, just trying to catch up. I didn't have nearly the amount of emails I thought I would, so that's good. Revising is going well. It's slow, but the plot holes are being filled one by one!

So, the title of this post ... yeah, I wrote that. Um... what? Tell me that's not true, you might say.

Sorry folks.

I used to think I knew good examples of similes, but now I'm not sure. I can't seem to stop writing the weird ones.

So let's go back to the drawing board... What is a simile? You probably already know, but it never hurts to re-introduce the brain to the actual definition... why not, right?

sim⋅i⋅le

–noun
1. a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared, as in "she is like a rose.

2. an instance of such a figure of speech or a use of words exemplifying it.

source http://dictionary.reference.com

So on to my dilemma, I love similes, but when is too much. I don't want them to distract from the story. Unfortunately, when my critique partner takes notice of the many similes and their collective weirdness, it's time to re-examine their existence in the story.

This is one she liked, "We both looked through our prospective boxes searching for the two kills the Senator ordered like menu items at a restaurant."
I'm not sure if all similes are created equal. Maybe there will be a reader that likes my wacky animal/insect similes, but more often than not, the comparisons will distract from the story, so thus, they must go. *sniff*

So.. I'm curious, what type of similes do you use? Do you have any funny or unique ones you want to share?

Have a great rest of the week!

Pic courtesy of www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/simile.html

Monday Featured Blog - Lisa and Laura Write

2010-01-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone!

I hope you are having a nice day. Sadly, my vacation from my day job has ended.. *sniff* but... the proverbial show must go on... um, cliche much?

Ahem... We have a fabulous blog for today! Well... they're all fabulous, seriously, but these ladies have a witty, random, clever blog over there at Lisa and Laura Write... rant, watch bad tv and read good books

Their debut novel is: A Kate Lowry Mystery: THE HAUNTING OF PEMBERLY BROWN a quick-witted mystery starring a private-school sleuth with attitude and pearls, who receives an email from her dead best friend (Sourcebooks, Spring 2011). (obtained from Lisa and Laura Writes' Blog)

Want to hear about their journey to being published? Click Here

Their blog has it all - fun, wackiness and it's highly interactive. Some fellow writers tried to say they had accents... yeah, they live in Ohio... Thus began the great accent debate... Read about it Here Well... as a mid-westerner myself, I believe we have no accents... However, not everyone believes that - as if? Ha!

The result of the debate is this hilarious Vlog ... feast your eyes and ears folks. It's pretty darn funny, and made me like these gals even more! Click Here for Hilarious Vlog

Profile Info

The Hilton Sisters - spray tans + brains - 4 inches + 20 (ok, fine...30) pounds ÷ Cleveland, OH = Lisa and Laura Roecker

You can find them on Twitter Here

or their super cool website, lisaandlauraroecker.com

So, if you aren't following their blog, which I assume a lot of you are, what are you waiting for?

Well things are going well over on our end. Hubs is looking for jobs outside of Michigan finally... so sit tight, we may be coming near you :o) Still working on revising, it's kinda hard... duh! Will be posting about similes and metaphors this week, as I keep coming up with animal similes in my WIP, not sure why. Can you drive like a Cheetah? Or look at someone like they have worms crawling out of their ears? No? Hmmm.

Happy Monday :o) See ya on the flip side!

Pic courtesy of: www.kaushik.net/avinash/2007/08/market-motive...

My Story Sounds Like That?

2010-01-07T14:00:00.014-05:00

Greetings from the sheet of ice that is Michigan!

Well, I've been off this week and have had time to think a lot... I know - can you believe it? Ha

Well I'm revising my NaNo draft.... fun stuff, I have to tell ya. Well my sis is staying with me here for the week since I'm off. Inevitably, she asked about my story. I told her it was still in first draft mode - so barely unreadable. She didn't care, she wanted to read it. Well she reads kind of slow - gets distracted and such. So I offered to read her a few paragraphs, so she could get an idea of the story...

Before I knew it... I was reading it out-loud to her. Who knew? She loved it. She said it was like hearing a book on tape. It was exhausting for me, but reading it out-loud, which, some twitter friends have suggested, really helped. And although I have some serious revision to do, I think it's on its way. And the good thing, is my sis is an avid reader and a young adult, so I value her opinion.

Who knew my vacation would yield such an epiphany. Reading it out-loud does help, especially with the dialogue.

So, how do you revise? Do you read your drafts out-loud?

pic courtesy of web.gccaz.edu/.../assignment3revising.htm
Copyrights belong to Charles Schulz, but that is the website I found with it.

How Did I Get Here Again?

2010-01-04T19:54:00.021-05:00

Hey Everyone,
I'm going to try and remember what the post said that magically disappeared... If you missed yesterday's post, Blogger somehow lost 2 posts I had scheduled... It might be operator error, but I guess we'll never know...

I hope everyone is over their Holiday Hangovers :o) I'm off of the day job this week and it's great! My lil sis is visiting and we're having a blast playing the new Mario game on the Wii along with Guitar Hero 5 :o)

Well, I'm editing my NaNo draft and I've come across what will surely be the annoying pricker in my well-oiled machine that is my first draft... Okay, maybe not well-oiled, maybe just slightly lubricated ... Oh that sounds nasty - strike that. Let's just say it will be a problem.

So what is this problem you may be asking... Well. How am I going to get the characters from Point A to Point B. And also, what movements are they going to make before they get there.

I mean how many times can one "gaze" at someone, or "walk" around a table or across the room. If I had a character sashay around a table or shimmy around a desk, it *might* sound ridiculous. Ha.

So what do I replace these movements with? I can have them move quickly, or dart across, maybe shuffle their feet? Okay there's a few but I don't want to overuse them either.

So, how do you deal with the transitions? Do you have the same problem? Any more suggestions?

I hope everyone's having a great week :o)

No Monday Featured Blog today - sorry

2010-01-04T17:03:00.007-05:00

Oh man...

I wrote an entire post on the Monday Featured Blog - and for some reason it's completely gone. It was good too.

Sorry folks. I don't have the energy to re-write the post. Look for it next Monday, The WriteRunner will be the next Monday Featured Blog. Sorry Andrew.

I have no idea what happened!! In fact I scheduled (2) Blog posts that are now gone. I remember posting them, but alas they have gone the way of the dodo.

I hope your having a nice Monday. Will post again this week about a problem I've been having while editing.

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