Celebratory Harry Potter Movie Marathon

Today is my 33rd birthday! I've read several surveys and studies that say the 33rd year of life is supposed to be one of the best. And if I must say 2013 has been pretty awesome.

I like to find new and unique ways to celebrate occasions such as birthdays. So I thought about the list of things that I've always wanted to do but never had time to (no, not a bucket list, not old enough for a bucket list) and watching all the Harry Potter movies, all the Star War movies, and all the Lord of the Ring movies chronologically (yes, I'm a nerd) has always been up there.

So I went on Amazon and ordered the 8-disc Harry Potter set, for quite a reasonable price I might add, and we started the festivities last night. The goal was to watch HP1 and HP2 last night, but I had forgotten how long the Sorcerer's Stone really was and we never made it to the second movie. Wish me luck for tackling HP2, HP3, and possibly HP4 today. I hope to finish all 8 by Monday evening, but if it takes a little longer, I'm ok with that too. It's not about how fast you can watch them, but about being immersed in the world of Harry Potter from the beginning to the end.

Have a great weekend!

Landed First Double Loop Since Surgery

The double loop has always been my nemesis jump, even before I tore my ACL. I tried working on it early March 2012 but it just hurt. The double loop is a jump where you take off on your right backward outside edge and land on your right backward outside edge so there's a good bit of torque on the knee.

I started working on it again a few weeks ago and today I finally had success. It only took 2 years 9 months and 21 days to land after surgery, but I finally did it!

Also, please note that my butt really isn't that big--I'm wearing crash pads.

On Writing

I'm so happy to be rejoining the cyber writing community again. For awhile I was so busy that I didn't have time to blog, read, or write. But it's been so much fun this past week working on my new WIP, reading and writing blogs, and reading INSURGENT by Veronica Roth (such a good book!).

I've really enjoyed visiting other people's blogs after such a long hiatus. It's fun to see who has recently gotten an agent, the cover reveals, and of course the book releases. I think while I was querying ANOMALY in the summer and fall, the whole process left me feeling dried out and sour. I didn't really want to hear about anyone else's good news because I was getting so tired of hearing "I think this is good writing but I jut can't sell it" or "I'm going to pass at this time but I'm sure someone else might like it" or "the market is just flooded with super hero stories right now." It was difficult because I had lived and breathed this novel for so many years.

I recently was given the opportunity to revise and resubmit, which I did most happily. But, I think for now it's time to move on from ANOMALY. I've got more novels in me that want to be written and read, so I'm going to focus on that for now. But as Beth Revis said in one of her blog posts last year, for me, ANOMALY will always be the novel of my heart. But unfortunately novels of your heart don't always get published. 

And I think I'm finally ok with that :-).

I'm back! (and why I've been gone)

2012 finished off with a bang and 2013 started off with total awesome-sauce!

There was the show:

I was featured in B-Metro Magazine:

I moderated an epic Dirty Santa game:

I got engaged:

We had an engagement party:

I went skiing with some of my best friends:

We found out Sarcastically Delicious (aka fiance) has been accepted to dental school:

I get to skate a bit for NBC 13 Daytime Alabama that aired on January 8. And I may be on this afternoon as well! Stay tuned! I'm so thankful for so much that has happened this past month!

I Was Painting with the Colors of the Wind

I apologize for my prolonged absence. I have been busy preparing for Pelham Skate School's production of Enchanted Moments Stories Told on Ice.

This was my first solo performance since I had ACL construction back in March 2010. It has been a long journey of healing, and I couldn't have done it without the support of my family, friends, and especially Dedrick Agee, Jorge Bonnet, and Danny Tate.

B Metro magazine wrote an article about me and below is a video of me as Pocahontas.


Anita Saxena Skates in Enchanted Moments on Ice from Saxena Video Productions on Vimeo.

Not What I Had Imagined...

This weekend I am going to be wedding dress shopping in Atlanta. I think it's a girl thing--that from childhood we dream about what that special day of shopping is going to be like. The sun will be shining. The racks of dresses will literally sparkle, beckoning me to try them on, and when I do, the sun will shine extra brighter, and the birds will burst into song, and I'll twirl around the store while the sales lady and my family and friends look on with clasped hands and smiles.

This is what's really going to happen:

The sun is not shining. It is overcast and cold.
I'm going to stumble in with a box of kleenexes pressed to my chest. The dresses will still sparkle, but they'll make my already swollen eyes water, which will then set off a sneezing attack. I'll reach for a tissue, but not be able to grab one in time, and accidentally send mucous flying onto one of the pristine dresses. The store owner will get upset and kick me out.

Oh, and one of the bridesmaids is pretty pregnant, so I'm going to maintain a twenty five foot distance from her the entire weekend, because she and baby do not need this cold. So we'll be at the store, and I'll be modeling the latest dress, and I'll have to yell across the store, "So what do you think?" And she'll just have to give me a thumbs up or thumbs down because if she tried to comment I probably wouldn't be able to hear because I'm so congested and my ears are stopped up.

Yup, that's what's going to happen.

You're probably asking why must I go shopping this weekend?

Well, it's been planned for months. Bridesmaids are flying and driving in. Parents are coming. And this is literally the only weekend between now and the end of the year that I actually have time to do this--what with the ice show and work stuff.

So...yeah...wish me luck!

Up and Down. Up and Down.

Sometimes I'm so excited to be on the Writer Emotional Roller Coaster and sometimes it's so draining. I'll reach a milestone or a goal and get all excited and then the next day it's like it never happened because I'm on to the next great, or not so great, thing.

Oh, I can't wait until I finish researching for my new shiny, exciting novel.

When I finish this first draft, it's going to be epic.

First Draft sucks.

Second draft smells.

Third draft is it.

No. No. Fourth draft is it.

Fifth?

If I could just get this query right I'm going to be in the home stretch. I know it.

Oh my God. Oh my God. I just got picked to be in the top 50 for a pitch contest. Man, if my pitch gets requests. I'll be beyond ecstatic.

Only one agent liked my pitch. I suck.

Holy freaking cow, I have an agent. Agent. I HAVE an agent.

Agent wants exponentially increasing number of revisions.

Revisions are done. Party time!

My book sucks no publisher is ever going to buy it.

OMG. My book sold to Super Duper Publishing House. It can't get better than this.

Sigh. What if no one reads it? What if my books just gather dust at all the stores? What if there's some mega electronic glitch and people can't download it onto their Kindles and Nooks?

What if? What if?

What if I can't write another book? What if I do and it's worse than the first? What if I do and it's better than the first and then nobody will but the first?

Looking forward to seeing what this next week has in store for the Writer Emotional Roller Coaster.