Update

I'm not really sure where I'm going with today's post. I'm posting because I haven't since November 16th. I'm posting because I do feel like I have a few things to say to my oh-so-awesome followers. So here goes, in no particular order:

• Read Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare and loved it. It's a prequel to her Mortal Instruments Series (which if you haven't read and you like YA Fantasy--you should most definitely do). I hadn't actually read a book in a long time. Lately, I've only had time for audio books.This time when I read though, I paid particular interest to punctuation marks and grammar stuff. It was very educational. Reading this book though, did have an interesting negative effect on my creative psyche. I think Cassandra Clare is amazing at describing settings and she has this intuitive way of weaving words together so that it really puts the reader in the thick of things. After finishing this book I thought to myself, I don't think I can ever write like that....sigh....hence commenced a week or so of self-pity, self-doubt, and a bit of writer's block.
• I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Enjoyed every minute of it. Kind of want to go watch it again. Thought the screenwriter did an excellent job. Sure, he cut a lot of stuff out, but he kept what was pertinent to the ultimate story, without making it look like he hacked through the book.
• I haven't written in about 10 days or so. I'm at a really important part of my manuscript. I don't know if I'm just afraid to go forward because I fear poor execution, or if I'm just waiting for some epiphany to make this point in my manuscript just freaking awesome, or if it's just a combination of both. 
• Just read an excellent post at Kiersten White's Blog. It makes me feel better about where I am at with my writing.

Too Many Gadgets....

I'm heading out to San Francisco today for a conference (work not writing related). But, I do hope to get a lot of writing done on the plane. As I was packing late last night, I realized that other than underwear and clothes, I had a good bit of packing to do for my electronic gadgets.

First, I needed to pack my Nook. Then I realized I needed the charger, lest I have what happened to me last Saturday when I arrived at the gym to run the elliptical machine (aka read on the Nook time) and found that my Nook was at a critically low battery level. I was freaking out because I didn't know how I would bear running without something to read. In case, you haven't heard, I hate running. It's soooo boring. Fortunately, The Goblet of Fire was playing on the television so the thirty minute run breezed by.

Next, I realized I needed to pack a real book. You know, the kind made of paper, because you're not allowed to use electronic devices in a plane during take off, landing, or until you've reached cruising altitude.

Following the book, I decided to pack my iPod. I've got the Deathly Hallows in audio format on my iPod and it would be nice to at least listen to half the book in preparation for the release of the movie in just a few short days. Squee!!!!

My cell phone is a permanent fixture of my body, so that was a no-brainer,  but the charger is not. So I threw the charger into the ever growing back pack of gadgets.

Lastly, the laptop was a must pack item. Not only do I need it to work on my manuscript, but the power point presentations for the conference I'm attending are on it.  But, then I realized that I need to pack a journal, you know the kind that doesn't need electricity and is made of paper, because I can't use my laptop during take offs, landings, or until the plane reaches cruising altitude. And even though my Macbook Pro astounds me on a daily basis with its infinite battery life, I knew that the charger was a necessity, so I tossed it into the backpack as well.

Just for safe measure, I tossed in a USB flash drive (never know when you might need it) and a USB cable for my iPod. Whew. I feel like I'm carrying Best Buy in my back pack.

An Emotional Response

I just finished listening to Mockingjay on my way to work this morning. Don't worry I'm not going to give away any spoilers. But,  I have to say I am a ball of emotions of right now. All be it, over something that isn't even real. Part of me wants to burst in tears, part of me wants to isolate myself from the world (perhaps in a wardrobe or storage closet like Katniss) and just reflect on all of it, part of me is happy, but it's all very bittersweet.

Suzanne Collins is an amazing writer and I have no problem throwing her in the J.K. Rowling category. At the end of the audio book, there was a brief recording from Suzanne Collins herself. She explains how the Hunger Games trilogy was based on the story of Theseus and the Minotaur and inspired by a day of channel surfing between reality shows where young people play for money and footage of the war in Iraq where young people are fighting for their lives.

If you haven't read this trilogy. Do it. Now. And if you don't have the time, do what I did. Check out the audio book from your local library.

Fortune Cookie For You

This past Saturday my mom came to visit and we opened up some fortune cookies that had been sitting on the kitchen counter for quite sometime. My fortune was something stupid. You know one of those grammatically incorrect mish-mashes of nonsense. My mom's however, said Keep true to the dreams of your youth. I shrugged off the whole fortune cookie incident and went on with my weekend and my mom didn't say much about her fortune after that.

This morning, I found my Mom's fortune (see picture) sitting on the window sill. My mom and I both have an affinity for windows and sunlight, and when I saw the small white strip of paper sitting there I knew my mom had purposely left this fortune for me. Now, I don't know if a fortune is transferable to a person who didn't actually open the cookie, but I appreciate the sentiment just the same.

My mom is amazing (yes, I know I'm biased). But the thing that amazes me the most about her sometimes is how much understanding she has for my decisions and the way that I chose to live my life. My parents may not completely understand my whole life-long-writing-and-reading addiction, but they know it makes me happy, and that's all that matters. And this was just one her ways to demonstrate her support.

So on that note, I'd like to pass on my fortune to you. Stay true to your dreams. Whether they be about writing or any other endeavor, hope, wish, or dream that you may have. Don't ever never ever never never ever give up. (I hope those extra nevers and evers help make my point clear).

The Zen Effect

Doesn't the title of this post sound like an awesome book title? (Just googled it. There is a book called Zen Effects: The Life of Alan Watts. But there is no book called The Zen Effect. Hmm.... I wonder if anyone has tried writing a book merely around a cool sounding title (even though the title probably wouldn't be used if it ever got published anyway because the publisher chooses the title)). Yes, I know I just did a parentheses within a parentheses. And yes, I know it must be a grammatical tragedy.

Transition.

I'd like to welcome all the new followers that dropped by from Theresa Milstein's Halloween Haunting.

Transition with a twist. (Kind of like a sprite, but not as sweet. Ok. Maybe these early morning posts are not a good idea.)

I had only one day off this past weekend. And other than a fabulous lunch with my cousin and family, I spent most of the day cleaning, doing laundry, running errands, and being woefully sad about not having time to write. One of the errands on my to do list was to drop off the audio books The Supernaturalist and Shadowland (both quite good, but are polar opposites) at the Hoover Public Library.

When I stepped into that library on Sunday my sour-funk-of-a-mood just melted away. The towering shelves of books, cushy chairs, and rows upon rows of audio books made me happy. The feeling only amplified when I found a copy of Clockwork Angel. That book came out just a few months ago and I've been dying to read Cassandra Clare's new series. See that's what I love about the Hoover Public Library- they actually stay up to date with new books. The unnamed library that is actually close to my house is so behind it's pathetic.

Anyway, back to the land of happy. Then I realized that since I won't have time to read Deathly Hallows again, I wanted to pick up the audio book copy (the narrator Jim Dale is AMAZING) because of the impending movie release. Needless to say, I was royally bummed when they were out of copies. But the nice library clerk lady reserved a copy for me and told me not to worry as they had 13 copies and one would surely be in soon. I walked around the library for a few more minutes, soaking up the feeling. Being in a library or bookstore for me is like being in a toy store for a child. As I walked, I was happy, and giddy, already scheduling my next writing session at the library in my mind, and hoping I could schedule a squeeze in a reading session in one of those squishy chairs. Sigh. Bliss.