Until we meet again, how about a little game?

I've made it!

It's been a year since I've been on a vacation. I went to Ireland last summer with two friends. Feel free to visit my 'Where in the World' tab if you're interested in what a trip to Ireland looks like.

Anyways... tomorrow I am leaving for two weeks. I will surely miss you all and will most definitely miss writing (as I'm pretty sure the longest I've gone without writing since I claimed myself a 'serious' writer is three days...maybe). I realize I could write on vacation but I really don't like writing by hand and I've decided not to bring my laptop.

Instead of writing, I will gain inspiration for when I return. So what is the game? The game is to try and guess which places I'm visiting over the next to two weeks by looking at the pictures.

Have a great few weeks! See you all when I get back!

City 1

City 2

City 3

City 4

City 5

City 6

City 7

Today, I Saved Seven Lives. And a Fabulous Flash Fiction Contest!

For real, I saved seven lives today.

Well... saved might be slightly over exaggerated. Rescue might suffice.

At my 9 to 5 job, we have a few atriums sprinkled in here and there so sufficient light can shine down on 'cube city'. It is in the atrium next to my cubical that these seven little ducks were born. And were stuck.

So what did we do? Well we spent the whole morning rounding up seven squawking ducklings, putting them in a garbage can and setting them free in the lake behind our building.

That's my good deed for the week.

In writerly news: Candilynn Fite is hosting a monthly flash fiction contest, Follow My Lead. You can go here to check out the full description on her blog and to participate. It looks like a lot of fun. I was recently in New Orleans, which is what the prompt for the flash fiction is, so I think I can come up with a pretty good 300 word or less fiction piece. Or maybe not so fiction :) If you want to see New Orleans through my eyes, you can check out this post.





So, I'm curious. Have you ever saved something's life?? (Again, let's pretend I really did save the ducklings ;) ;))

Awards!! (Which include some pretty funny pictures and inside information on the newest WIP)

First, that's probably the longest post title ever.

Second, don't look at the post below this one. It may be dated last Friday... I'm slipin' guys. I'm slipin'. So sorry. I promise I'll try and do better.

Okay, I've been lucky enough to receive two new awards and it's about time I followed the rules and pass them on.

The first award is the Be Inspired award. Thanks Cassie!!! You probably all know Cassie. But if you DON'T know Cassie, here's her blog, head over there and follow her and no one will ever know you were one of the few that didn't get to laugh at her awesomeness.

For this award, I'm supposed to answer the ten questions and pass it on to five people. I actually have two current WIP (sorta three... ah, man.) but I'll save you all some time to visit other awesome blogs and just tell you about one. (Perhaps I'll do different posts with the others. :))

1. What is the name of your book?

Already There

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

Jen Morris asked me if I would do a collab with her, just for fun. As her CP I knew she was awesome and was totally flattered she asked, so of course I said yes. Then we were like... what should we write about? We knew we wanted to do alternating POV. We went through the usual, boy/girl, best friends and decided on sisters. I'm slightly partial but I think we did good. :) And... this 'just for fun' project has turned into something we're stoked to submit to agents!

3. In what genre would you classify your book?

YA Contemporary

4. If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?

Lucy, my character, looks a lot like AnnaSophia Robb who is quite a good actress IMO.

5. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.

Jen? Help! Haha. Okay, ummm....

When Charlie is forced to bring her younger sister Lucy on a road trip with her best friends, the two confirm they are nothing alike, but realize the confidence they have in each other is the only thing that will give them the courage to face their futures.

6. Is your book already published/represented?

Well, it's just starting to make the beta rounds so, no. :)

7. How long did it take you to write your book?

What did we decide, Jen? Six weeks, I think.

8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours?

To be honest, I don't read a whole lot of YA Contemp, so I really don't know what it's like.

9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?

Jen Morris! :)

10. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.

Hmmm... There's love. There's loss. Yes, the two girls 'find each other' and themselves, but I think you'll find it's not so neatly tied up. There aren't 'ah-ha' moments and clean breaks and happy endings. 

It's life.

And to pass this on to five wonderful bloggers (I'm going with the last five that commented on my blog):

Jay Noel

Crista Desir

Morgan Shamy

Candilynn Fite

Elizabeth Seckman

The second award is the Stylish Blogger Award from my lovely CP, Theresa. You can find her blog here. For this award I'm supposed to share the last time I dressed up.

Well, this wasn't too long ago, actually. Two of my friends from high school got married the first weekend in June and all my friends were there, and their parents. (I love my friend's parents. It was great seeing them.) I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Molly (right) was my date because, well, I didn't have a date and
her husband, Jamie, was in the bridal party. Love this girl!

These are all my high school friends and some of their parents.

The ladies.

My high school friends! (The bride and groom total us as seven but
they were a little busy making the rounds :))

Ummm... yeah. No words for this. Apparently we're the entertainment?

Showin' off the triceps. (Or at least Katie and I are.
Jen's just laughing at us.)

A Moment for Yourself

Us ladies over at FFF just accepted an award and are sharing a bit about ourselves. Feel free to pop on over and check it out here! (Yes, you can find a picture of myself in colonial garb.)

And I finished another Self Magazine during one of my workouts this week. For those of you who've been around awhile, you know that I find the last page inspirational and June's issue is no different.

Dive Deeper
We works so hard to keep our head above water that we often forget to stop and look closely at what's below the surface of everyday life. Today, toss your to-do list, kick up your feet, and enjoy just being. There is greater, more complex beauty in the unexplored parts of all things, especially ourselves.


Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Collaboration Project Reveal - Already There

This sorta looks like Lucy, though she's a little
too 'done up'.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Thank you Jen Morris for reminding me about the post I was supposed to do today. Oh gosh, it's been one of those days already. :)

So, today Jen and I are SUPER excited to share our collaboration, a YA Contemporary called ALREADY THERE. Jen Morris is the voice of eighteen-year-old Charlie and I am the voice of Charlie's younger sister, Lucy.

And since we spent a while on the query, I might as well use that to give you an idea of what it is about. As always, if you have ANY feedback on the query or my first 250 words for Lucy PLEASE feel free to let me know.

And, to check out Charlie's first 250 words, written by Jen, go here.

For eighteen-year-old Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Grace, high school is over and the most exciting road trip with her three best friends is on the horizon. Far more exciting than her parents realize. The real reason to pack everyone into her friend Hope’s BMW and hightail it from Chicago to Los Angeles is for the final round of a singing competition. First place wins a recording contract.

The clothing and body type is right
for Lucy in this pic. Her face is more
like the first one.

No one needs this contract more than Charlie. Every day her father mentions her stupid decisions and abysmal future. When Charlie tells her father about their road trip, he allows it under two conditions. Charlie’s sixteen-year-old, super annoying, uber responsible sister, Lucy, must go along. And they have to stop at their grandparent’s ranch in Sherman, Texas.

Nothing will keep Charlie from the stage, the only thing she’s remotely good at. So she takes Officer Lucy’s accompaniment and the visit to the grandparents in stride. But when the girls lose the competition, Charlie’s world falls flatter than sister Lucy’s chest.

She can’t go home to a life with no future and a father waiting to ground her just-barely-adult ass. So Charlie convinces her parents to let her and her sister spend the summer at their grandparent’s. After all, they used to do this often. Years ago. When they had some things remotely in common.

Though the ranch was chosen as a last resort, it might be exactly what the two need. Amidst the horses, country air, and ranch hands, clarity for Charlie and Lucy’s futures, as well as their relationship, rises to the top. It’s not something they find. It’s something they realize is already there.

And the first 250 words from Lucy:

            I hate when they do this.

            As Charlie would say, ‘Damned if I do. Damned if I don’t.’

            I wouldn’t say that because… well… I don’t really say anything. And if I do say something I most certainly wouldn’t swear. My parents hate it when Charlie uses that kind of language.

            Granted, they do pay attention to her. Even if they are only telling her to behave.

            The only time I come up in conversation is when my parents use me to show Charlie how she should act. Which then makes her despise me even more.

            Mom’s talking to Charlie, though the glazed-over look Charlie has says she’s not listening. And just under the glaze of her eyes is a fire. That fire is meant for me. But it won’t roar to life until we’re out of earshot from the parents.

            I’ve heard rumblings of a road trip to LA for a few weeks now. All closed door stuff. Charlie really doesn’t have an inside voice so when she thinks she’s whispering to her girls over the phone, I can make out about half the words through her bedroom door.

            Not that I eavesdrop on purpose or anything.

            I’m not going to lie. I’d be totally excited to go on this road trip with Charlie if it weren’t for two things. Charlie hates me.

            And Charlie really hates me.