Liz Fichera

My Dad 1923 - 2012

2012-01-31T08:10:00.000-08:00

It's so hard for me to imagine a world without my Dad but that time has come. Dad passed away this weekend. I miss him so much and my heart is broken. I'm told it gets easier as time passes but right now that doesn't seem possible. Thank you for your kind emails, cards, and messages.

Till then.

xoxo

The New Normal - For Now

2012-01-24T05:34:00.000-08:00

It's funny how your life can change in an instant. A month ago I spent my days writing my next novel in the comfort of my home office. Since December 27, I'm writing my next novel in between visits to the hospital where my dad is (hopefully) recuperating from his stroke and visits to a care facility where my beautiful mom is being treated for Alzheimer's. It's like the sky opened up and started raining down on us in gigantic icy black torrents. Every day is up and down and my sister, brother and I are trying to grab onto stability and anything that feels normal. It's hell watching your parents suffer.

One of my cousins told me, "Take one day at a time" and I'm really trying to follow that mantra. Unfortunately I'm not always successful at the one day at a time thing. It would be nice to go a full day without crying too.

I have managed to read a couple of really good books at the hospital. One in particular brought me to tears: STILL ALICE by Lisa Genova. It's about a woman in her fifties who gets Alzheimer's. Although it's a novel, it was way more fact than fiction for me. I wished I had read it before my mom got sick. If you've got someone you love battling Alzheimer's, I highly recommend it.

One More Time

2012-01-17T18:08:00.000-08:00

Sunday night, the call came from the Rehabilitation Facility where my dad had been recovering since his stroke on December 27. "Your dad's been rushed to the hospital. It doesn't look good. Come quickly." That's the kind of phone call that brings you to your knees and it did me.

All throughout the agonizingly long car ride across Phoenix to the hospital, I kept thinking how I wanted one more moment with my dad, one more time to tell him what a great father he'd been, one more chance to tell him how much I loved him. Fortunately I got my chance but it got me thinking about how there will never be enough moments and seconds when it comes to my Dad. I'll always want one more.

Dad is still hanging on but for how much longer we don't know. There are so many unknowns. Trooper that he is, we fix one medical issue but find another. For now I'm cherishing every moment that I can hold his hand and tell him how much I love him.

I've received so many kind emails and messages. Thank you. Thank you for thinking of my dad.

Jumble

2012-01-13T04:54:00.000-08:00

I'm having a hard time writing complete and coherent sentences so I thought I'd describe the last few weeks with mere words: Nightmare, hospitals, strokes, Medicare, Supplements, therapy, more therapy, assisted living, wheelchairs, Alzheimer's, life, home, memories, happy, sad, tears, more tears, vulnerable, fragile, love, frustration, family. I've seen the best and worst of just about everything since Dad's stroke on December 27.

My parents are stable at the moment and for that I am grateful. My family has experienced every major life decision and raw emotion these law few weeks. You reach a point when you become the parent and your parents become the kids and that is humbling and scary. You think you are prepared for the curve balls but when all is said and done you are not. The important thing is that everyone is together and we are cherishing each moment. My dad continues to be the greatest guy I've ever known. Through it all, despite all the challenges, he remains strong and is even starting to laugh a little again. He is an inspiration to me.

Once again, thanks to all of you who have reached out to me since Dad's stroke. I appreciate it.

xoxo

A Note

2012-01-06T08:01:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to thank those of you that have sent me emails and facebook messages about my Dad. My Dad had a stroke two days after Christmas. He is stable but will most likely remain in the hospital for the next month and my family has been heartbroken. You've got to know my dear dad to understand.

Will post more at a later date.

Lights, Camera, Christmas Tree!

2011-12-19T04:09:00.000-08:00

Here's mine. It's not the biggest, it's not the smallest, it's just right.

I'm going to be taking a little time off the next few weeks to enjoy all the parties, the eggnog, the precious time with family and friends. Hope you get to do the same.

Have a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, Holiday, Holyday--whatever it is that you choose to celebrate. Be happy. Be safe.

Till next year!

xoxo

Liz

Stranger Than Fiction

2011-12-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've observed two very strange things as I've chipped away at my TBR reading pile: (1) An unusual amount of books with "Daisy" as the main character's name; and (2) Lots of Young Adult stories written in third-person.

Has the name Daisy come back in vogue? The last three out of seven books I've read had Daisy as a main character. And I read a lot--usually 2-5 books a week, depending.

Regarding third-person, I'm not a huge fan. For YA, I prefer first-person because I'm an emotional reader (and writer). That's just my style. I have to feel something. I want to get inside the head of the main character. I want a story to make me cry, laugh, throw things across the room. I want to feel butterflies in my stomach. Teenagers exist on emotion alone. And third-person is just too arms-length for me, although I've ready plenty of books written in third-person that I've enjoyed too. It's just a different feel but it does give the writer the advantage of telling more than one point of view.

Any weird trends in anything you've read or watched lately?

Adorable Little Darlings

2011-12-14T04:14:00.000-08:00

Must have: Cake Pops.

I think I'm adding that nonstick pan that's being hawked on the television infomercials to my Christmas list. Seriously, aren't they adorable? They even look like something that I could make. Bake a round cake ball, stick in a stick, and dip it in sprinkles?

How hard could it be?

Yes, Virginia. Some People Still Do Christmas Cards

2011-12-12T04:53:00.000-08:00

In the age of texting and emails, I'm probably in the minority on this one. I still send out Christmas cards. Not a ton, but more than a few.

I still like picking out pretty Christmas cards and penning a short note to family and close friends with some holiday wishes, even if my hand sometimes forgets how to work a pen. (Side note: My grade school teachers would be appalled at how horrible my handwriting has become.)

Do you still mail Christmas cards or has this tradition gone the way of the dinosaur?

To Wear or Not Wear Christmas Sweaters

2011-12-09T04:31:00.000-08:00

You may or may not remember The Carol Burnett Show. I think in many areas, stations still air reruns. The reruns may even run internationally, though I'm not sure. Next to Seinfeld, I think it was one of the funniest TV shows in the History of Ever.

But I believe it's The Carol Burnett Show (and then, Mama's Family), where I got my aversion to Christmas sweaters. Every Christmas, they would do these absolutely hilarious skits about dysfunctional families around the Christmas tree, ripping open presents, screaming at each other over minor things, over-indulging. Carol and clan always wore these over-the-top Christmas sweaters, ornament earrings, Christmas pins--you name it. It was one big green and red gaudy fest.

I know that some people really get into the whole Christmas sweater thing, but I can't. Not without replaying a Carol Burnett episode in my head. A few years ago, when my niece was younger, she wanted my sister, me, and her to wear matching Christmas sweaters. To her credit, they were purple and not red and green. Fortunately she's a teenager now and would probably rather jam toothpicks beneath her fingernails than dress like her Aunt and mother.

Do you have a fave Christmas sweater? Love 'em or not?

Calling Lucy Van Pelt

2011-12-07T04:27:00.000-08:00

I could use Lucy's sage advice this week.

On Monday, I made the mistake of going for an early morning run with my husband. Still half-asleep, freezing (it was in the 40's) and, okay, a little cranky at being up at an ungodly hour, we ran "the loop," a fairly pleasant run near our home, but pleasant mostly when the sun is up. What possessed me to go for a run in the dark? I have no idea. Cause. I. Fell.

Yep. I face-planted mere minutes from the end of our run, landing on my right side. Since I'm right-handed, this makes it even more aggravating. My entire right arm is en fuego. Am hoping that nothing's broken. Fortunately my fingers still work.

What possesses people to run? Stupid, stupid. I'm starting to wonder. I should have stayed in bed.

I Found It!

2011-12-05T04:40:00.000-08:00

It only took me almost a whole year but I finally found the perfect chair for my office. Check out the photo.

Ta da!

It's comfy, I love the colors, and I found this funky green footrest to go with it. The green leather footrest matches my green lava lamp. Together, they fit perfectly.

So here's where you'll find me most evenings with my e-reader or editing a manuscript. Now if I could just find the perfect funkalicious table lamp to go with it...

It Really Is The Little Things

2011-12-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

Kind of a strange/happy/nice thing happened to me yesterday.

I'm in the parking lot of a grocery store by my home. I'd just stopped off at the local coffee shop next to the store. I was on my way to visit my mom. She always likes these frilly pretty coffee drinks so I was picking up one for her.

As I'm in the parking lot opening my car door, this weird blast of wind comes out of nowhere and the temperature drops at least 20 degrees. Okay, slight exaggeration. But still. I zipped up my jacket (yes, we do really wear jackets in the desert when the temperature dips to a chilly 70 degrees). Just as I did so, I turned and this older man and I locked eyes. He was walking hurriedly across the parking lot wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Me, I'm in pants and a jacket. Clearly one of us wasn't from Phoenix, right?

So we smiled at each other. He stops and says, "Hey, who turned the freezer on?"

I smiled again and we talked about these weird Santa Ana winds that we were getting from California. He mentioned that he was visiting from Virginia. Only a minute or two of weather convo, nothing more. Then he says to me, "Your smile made my day."

Which, of course, kind of took me back a little.

Then he says, "I was having a rotten day. Not anymore. Thanks for the smile." And then he turned around and started walking away.

Which got me thinking. Isn't it funny how something as simple as a smile, a few pleasant words, a little human-to-human contact can make a difference in someone's day? And it's free and doesn't hurt one bit!

That's my Zen moment for the week. Have a great weekend!

How the Grinch Wrapped Christmas

2011-11-30T04:09:00.000-08:00

I am not a Christmas grinch. Usually. I can get caught up in the holiday, the lights, the excitement just as much as the next person. But there is one Christmas chore that I totally suck eggs at.

Wrapping presents.

It might have something to do with the fact that I usually wait till the night before. By that time, I'm exhausted so my wrapping handiwork is a little, ahem, lacking. Unlike my sisters. Mary, especially. My sister Mary's packages always have perfect corners, hidden tape (I swear, she must use glue or something), and gorgeous bows and frilly things. Her wrapping paper is usually the expensive, silk-like kind while mine is the stuff that's on sale at the supermarket the day after Christmas. Inevitably, she always hangs something cool and cute in the bow like a shiny bell or that raffia organic-looking stuff. She's the Georgia O'Keefe of wrapped presents while I'm the doodle on the cocktail napkin.

I used to buy those pretty gift bags. That's kind of the cheater's way to Wrapped Present Stardom. But then one day my mom said, "But it's always so nice to rip back paper and open a present." Translation: "I don't like the gift bag thing. Stop it."

Am I alone in needing Wrapping Presents 101?

Hot in the Kitchen: Free Recipes!

2011-11-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to be asked to contribute my favorite Latin recipe to Gabriella Hewitt's Hot in the Kitchen cookbook this year, along with other authors including Caridad Pineiro, Josh Lanyon, M. Jules Aedin, Miranda Baker, and Louisa Bacio.

I contributed my fave sopapilla recipe, which happens to be easy, delish, and full of mouth-watering sugary goodness. Others contributed their favorite appetizer, main course, even fave drink recipes. Gabriella's Aztec Salsa recipe, by the way, is killer. And I mean that in a totally good way. So, if you're needing a few new recipes this month to spice up your holiday table, check it out.

The best part? Gabriella is offering the book free. Click here to get your free download. If you happen to make any of these dishes, please contact me. I'd love to invite you on my blog to talk about it and don't forget to snap a pic or two of your yummy kitchen creation!

To Grandmother's House We Go!

2011-11-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

Well, sort of.

We're spending Thanksgiving at my parents' house. Fortunately, they only live about an hour away from us. Between my brother and me, we're bringing enough food to feed an army. Translation: There will be lots of leftovers so that my parents will not need to get into a car this busy holiday weekend and drive to a grocery store. *Shudders*

To those of you in the States, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a safe weekend!

Beware the Unexpected

2011-11-21T04:10:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of things you might expect to do as your parents age--help them find a home without stairs, help them with the lawn, install grab bars in their shower, buy books with larger print. But one thing I never expected was that my mother would get Alzheimers. I never in a million years would have believed that my mother, who always loved books, crossword puzzles (the crazy hard ones) and discussing politics and current events would one day forget the simplest of things, sometimes even the names and faces of her own children.

This is a week for being thankful, especially with Thanksgiving in the States on Thursday. I'm thankful for lots of things most days but I'm especially thankful that I'll be able to share Thanksgiving with my parents this year, two people who I love more than anything.

To those of you who might have parents or loved ones that are ill or suffering from Alzheimers, I'll be thinking of you too.

Sorry to get all mushy on you with this post. It's going to be that kind of week.

I Can't Quit You

2011-11-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

The very cool Leigh over at That's Write wrote a great post this week about blogging--why we do it, why we should do it and why, when it's all said and done, becomes a hard habit to break.

I'm pretty sure that I've already shared at least a thousand times on my own blog over the last couple of years that I got into blogging, kicking and screaming. I'm rather "old school" in that I prefer the face-to-face relationships. Virtual ones? Seemed kinda sci-fi weird to me, at least early on.

This week, I lost connectivity for a couple of days and I felt like I'd lost an appendage or something. I missed connecting with my online friends. I missed reading the (mostly) funny posts on Facebook. Gah! I even missed Twitter. By the way, I could care less about the amassing of Followers (Jeez, I hate that word). For me, it's all about the relationships and if we can share some laughs along the way, all the better.

So, that's why you're stuck with me. I can't quit you.

Have a great weekend!

I'm in Love

2011-11-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

Remember that post I wrote about a book's lifecycle? Well, I'm in that first stage. I have a new idea. I've started plotting. And my world is raining unicorns and rainbows right now. I had planned to outline through Christmas and then begin writing in January but the story already has its hooks in me and I've written the first two chapters. This time, it's another YA contemporary. I am loving the contemporaries.

Wish us luck in a long and happy relationship together, my book idea and me. By the way, I am registered at every bookstore near you. :-P

Book Recommendation: KOICTO by Amy Jarecki

2011-11-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

It's not often that you find page-turning, well-researched Native American historical fiction. But you'll find that and more in Koicto, Amy Jarecki's debut. Once I started reading this book, I was unable to put it down. Set in 885 AD in what we now know as the Great Basin of Western Utah, it's the story of Koicto and his amazing adventure from boy to chief of the Nahchee. As I said in my Goodreads review, I was unable to put it down. The story had me by the neck. Although it's not specifically stated, I think this is a book that even tweens and teens would love. I know my nephew will love it and I now also know what I'll be sending him for Christmas.

I should also point out that this book has already won a couple of awards: The League of Utah Writers Award for Best Manuscript (2011) and the St. George Book Festival's Spark Book Award (2011).

Amy Jarecki is definitely someone you want to follow. She's even giving away a copy of her debut this week. You can check her blog for the deets.

I look forward to reading more from her. Now, please! :-)

STRING BRIDGE by Jessica Bell

2011-11-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Today I'm very happy to be helping writer blogger buddy Jessica Bell promote her new book, String Bridge, and help get it on the Amazon bestseller list.

In order to get this party started, Jessica--who also happens to be a very talented singer and songwriter, is giving away her all-original soundtrack, Melody Hill: On the Other Side, written and performed by the author herself, for free!

All you have to do is
purchase the book today (paperback, or eBook), November 11th, and then email the receipt to:
jessica.carmen.bell(at)gmail(dot)com

She will then email you a link to download the album at no extra cost!

To purchase the paperback:

Amazon USA

To purchase the eBook:

Amazon USA

Amazon UK

To listen to samples of the soundtrack, visit iTunes.

If you are not familiar with String Bridge, check out the book trailer. This book trailer and Jessica's voice blew me away the first time I listened to it:

Here's where you can connect with Jessica:

String Bridge: http://www.stringbridge.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/jessica_bell
Website: http://www.jessicacbell.com/
Blog: http://thealliterativeallomorph.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/author.jessica.bell
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MsBessieBell
Publisher: http://www.luckypress.com

Keeping It Real

2011-11-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

Nothing gets me more annoyed than overly precocious tween characters in books, movies, and TV shows. Do you know the kind that I'm talking about? The kind that are ten years old but behave like jaded 40 year olds, who always seem way wiser and smarter than their clueless parents. Others may find them cute and endearing but it rarely works for me.

Craig and I went to a matinee on Friday and watched the gorgeous and hunkalishish Hugh Jackman in Real Steel. Side note: Craig wanted to see the robots and special effects; I went for, well, Hugh. ;-) Let's just say it was a win-win. Cute movie to be sure, and while I understand that it was rated PG, by the end of the movie my teeth hurt from the overwhelming cuteness of the little boy in the movie. He just didn't feel authentic and real to me. The robots, on the other hand, totally rocked. Contrast that to Crazy, Stupid, Love which we rented Saturday night. Also a cute movie. Also had a 13-year old kid in it but I found him more endearing and authentic, for some reason. "I love you, Jessica Riley!" (This will only make sense if you've seen it.) I thought he was the best part of the movie.

What kind of character annoys you to the point that you close a book, stop watching a TV show, or walk out of a movie?

The Lifecycle of a Book

2011-11-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the scientific evolution of how a book gets written:

1) A bright, shiny idea pops into your head.  Suddenly your world feels like rainbows and unicorns.
2) With a goofy smile plastered on your face, you start tapping out the first chapter on your laptop.
3) Then the second. You're prose is incredible! Your fingers are one with your keyboard. You're a writing genius!
4) You begin to stock up on chocolate and potato chips at the grocery store.
5) All of a sudden, your bright, shiny has morphed into 10 chapters!
6) You reach for more chocolate.
7) And potato chips.
8) And more chocolate.
9) Wait. You forgot coffee?!
10) You reach the muddled middle and then realize you're pouring an extra glass of wine each night.
11) Suddenly your fascinated by Twitter and Facebook. You google old boyfriends and neighbors.
12) Back to the store you go for more chocolate, potato chips, and celery sticks, just to balance out the guilt. You hope nobody sees you because you forgot to comb your hair.
13) On chapter 12, you're starting to wonder why you started writing this damn book anyway.
14) You begin to snap at anyone who dares get within five feet of you.
15) You forget to call your friends, your mom, the lady who cuts and highlights your hair. You forget to sleep.
16) You slog out another chapter.
17) Then another.
18) All of a sudden, a light burns bright at the end of your tunnel.  For a heartbeat, you see those rainbows and unicorns again. Where have they been?!
19) You're in love with your bright, shiny idea again!  You let yourself wonder if it'll be a bestseller!!
20) The End is definitely in sight.
21) You hug your laptop while your family considers fitting you for a strait jacket.
22) You type your final words into your laptop like you have only one more hour to live.
23) 1000 words.
24) 500 (reasonably good) words.
25) Breathless, you type "The End." You did it! You've got your first draft.
26) Now the real fun begins...

Good luck to everyone participating in NaNoWriMo! May we always love bright, shiny ideas.

Apologies to Jerry Seinfeld

2011-11-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

I did a fair amount of flying the last few weeks and felt a little like Jerry Seinfeld as I sat in airport waiting rooms, snaked my way through long security lines, ate airport food, and just generally did my best to avoid anyone who sneezed or coughed. Remember that Seinfeld episode where Jerry got to fly first-class and Elaine flew coach? One of my all-time fave episodes. Anyway, although my nose is usually stuck in my e-reader whenever I travel, I do have a couple of Jerry Seinfeld-esque observations from my latest trip:

1) Once anyone gets upgraded to First-Class (it happened to me, twice on this trip!), there should be a TSA rule that you can never go back to Coach. Ever.

2) The safety speech before take-off. You know that speech. The mechanical-sounding one where the flight attendants point to the exits and tell you that there's no smoking? Yeah, that one. Could they possibly update the part about how to lock your seatbelt in place?! I mean, seriously. Is there anyone within the sound of my voice who doesn't know how to lock a seatbelt?

3) As soon as the plane lands and the seatbelt sign goes off...does everyone have to all at once behave like a pack of wild animals? I feel sorry for anyone over the age of 80 who has to fly.

4) The security lines for Priority Check-in are way nicer (See #1 above). I think I even saw a few TSA agents smile.

5) I keep waiting for Kramer to come barrelling out of the baggage carousel but, so far, it hasn't happened. :-) (You have to love Seinfeld to understand.)

Glad to be home.

Best Halloween Candy

2011-10-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

I've searched high and low and consulted all the bright minds (and some not so bright) across the country to determine the Best Halloween Candy. Naturally, I've done a fair bit of tasting and sampling too. It's a tough job but someone's gotta do it.

Here are my Top Ten Halloween Candy pics:

10) Sweet tarts
9) Candy corn
8) Red licorice
7) Caramel bites
6) Three Musketeers
5) Lindt chocolates
4) Snickers
3) M&Ms
2) Nestles
1) Kit-Kat

Kudos to anyone who passes out the full-size chocolate bars too! No doubt your home will be mobbed this evening. ;)

Boo! Happy Halloween!

Navajo Code Talkers

2011-10-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Had to share this important piece of history with you.

My local newspaper did an intriguing story on Navajo Code Talker, Chester Nez. I've always been fascinated by the Code Talkers and their critical role during WWII. Mr. Nez is the last remaining code talker of the original 29 men that served. His personal story and sacrifice are an inspiration.

Click here to read the full story.

Talking 'Bout My Generation

2011-10-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

One of the cool things I get to do when I visit my sister is to hang with my niece and nephew. It's been so fun watching them go from babies to teenagers but, please, could somebody slow down the hands of time? Pretty please?
Saturday night my niece had a Halloween Party and invited a bunch of her girlfriends.

What. A. Riot!

Of course, I didn't hang around for much of the festivities because they are teenagers and I certainly wasn't about to cramp my niece's style. But I did get a chance to observe them a little bit in action. It made me realize how the more things change, the more things stay the same. I know. Profound. :)

Unlike parties in my day (which, admittedly, wasn't exactly that long ago), teenagers today are glued to their cell phones like they're some kind of life force or something. No doubt the moment the party ended, photos went up on Facebook faster than you could say Taylor Lautner. In fact, I'm sure there were enough tweets and texts manufactured during the party that, measured in inches, could reach the Space Station.

But here's where things are noticeably similar to the days when my sister and I had our high school parties:

1) Teenage girls still speak without punctuation. Speech at fifteen is really just a stream of random words strung together at lightening speed.

2) Like is still quite popular. It makes its way into every other sentence.

3) Teenage girls are still silly. They laugh at anything. In fact, a lot of times they laugh at nothing. That's one of the beautiful things, I think, about being a teenager.

4) Boys still seem to be a popular topic.

5) Younger brothers still like to crash their older sisters' parties. Bravo, Andrew! My nephew raided his sister's party, wearing a glow-in-the-dark monster mask, after army-crawling across the yard to reach them. I'm pretty sure you could hear the girls' screams in the next town. My sister and I are still laughing about it.

Priceless.

So Close And Yet So Far

2011-10-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

You know how it is when you get to the final couple of chapters of your current WIP and you can taste "The End"? Yeah, I am so there. As long as there are no apocalypses or natural disasters this week, I'll be finishing a first draft of Played, my companion young adult novel to Hooked. Hate to jinx myself, but I'm really liking it!

I can see The End. I just need to get there. It will taste like chocolate and cupcakes and sugar cookies with sprinkles.

The nice thing is I'm visiting my sister this week so she can help me celebrate. There will be pretty pink Cosmos and brie cheese in our future and she happens to live within twenty miles of my most favorite restaurant in the whole world. I'm ready to clink a glass.

What do you do to celebrate your major accomplishments?

Never Say Never

2011-10-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, I thought that people who dressed up their dogs and cats for holidays were right up there with people who stuck plastic pink flamingos on their front lawns.

Meet Bella.

She's my sister Mary's dog and she's a little cutie pie. Yesterday, Mary and I bought Bella a pink chiffon skirt and glittery tiara for Halloween.

Clearly pink flamingos are in my future.

Pay It Forward Blogfest

2011-10-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

I love the idea of this blogfest. Big kudos to Alex Cavanaugh and Matthew at QQQE for hosting. The Universe is smiling down upon them. You can check either of their blogs for the deets, along with the linky link.

While I love the idea of this blogfest, I also think that paying it forward is something that should happen every day in the writing community, and it can be done in big or small ways. But it's usually the small things--the encouraging words from complete strangers, the funny videos and jokes, the writing tips--that can keep you motivated, especially when you're having one of those (many) days when you want to light your manuscript on fire.  Seriously, I don't know what I'd do without my blogger buddies. They make me laugh, cry, smile, pull my hair out, ponder, and sometimes even scream. It's all good.

The blogfest rules state that I'm supposed to highlight three blogs in this blogfest but, sorry, there are 300 that I could mention.  And I'm not one for rules.

Pop on over to Alex or Mathew's blogs and join this blogfest and follow some new writer friends this weekend. Last I checked, over 200 people had already signed up! Don't forget to leave comments at the blogs you visit so that people can follow you back!!

Women Are the Weaker Sex? Au Contraire, Mon Frère

2011-10-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

As someone who's spent an obscene amount of time at gyms and on treadmills, this story blows my mind. A 27-year old woman in Chicago completed the Chicago Marathon last weekend, all 26 miles. Cool, yes?

It gets better.

She was nine months pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful little girl seven hours after FINISHING the freaking marathon!!

Is your jaw hanging open?

Mine was too.

Let me tell you, I can barely motivate myself to run when I have a sniffle. I couldn't imagine doing it at nine months pregnant. This woman is phenomenal.

Click here to read the full story. Prepare to be amazed.

Mind-Meld

2011-10-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

A lot of you know that last May, I sold my first young adult novel to Harlequin Teen in a two-book deal. Since June, I've been writing Book #2 that's part of that two-book deal which I'm tentatively calling Played. It takes up where Hooked (Book #1) left off. Why am I sharing this?

Well, for starters, Played is all I think about these days--when I'm vacuuming my house, shopping for groceries, driving to...well, I forget sometimes where I'm driving because I can't get my brain to stop thinking about Played and where I want the plot to go. Just last week I missed my exit on my way to meet my brother for lunch because I was writing a chapter in my head. Played is also the reason why my blogging has been, and will probably be, sporadic the next couple of months. I'm about 75% done with my first draft and we all know that's the easy part. It's the editing that follows that will keep me up at nights. Knowing me, I will probably rewrite Played at least two times before I'm satisfied.

Hooked is now on Goodreads (Shameless Not-So-Subliminal message: Please add it to your TBR!! :) Please! With sugar on top!) for those of you that like young adult contemporary novels. I'm hoping for a book cover to share in the not too distant future. I think Harlequin Teen has some of the prettiest and most intriguing covers out there (The Iron King, The Juliet Spell, Dancergirl, The Goddess Test) to name just a few that I think rock the house) so I'm beyond excited to see what they have in store for Hooked.

Playtime over. Back to writing!

Girl Power

2011-10-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Feel-good story of the week. Last Friday in Pinckney, Michigan, Brianna Amat kicked a 31-yard winning field goal on her high school boy's varsity football team. How cool is that?!

Amat was already a soccer star at Pinckney High. She told her soccer coach that she wanted to kick footballs as well. Head football coach Dan Burholder was impressed, so he put her on the team. Friday night was Brianna's biggest game against Grand Blanc, who was ranked No. 7 in the state. Pinckney went on to beat Grand Blanc 9-7, thanks to Brianna.

As if written for a made-for-TV movie, Brianna then went on to be crowned Homecoming Queen. Sweet, yes?

I love stories about girls who do amazing things, especially when it comes to sports. And it's refreshing to read stories about teenagers who do good things for a change. We always get too much of the bad, rarely any of the good. Brianna is my hero this week. Click here for the full scoop.

Crock Pot Fever

2011-10-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

I think I've mentioned this before but I would be lost in the kitchen without my crock pot. But for the crock pot, and we'd probably starve. Slice, dice, and throw everything into one pot in the morning and, voila, dinner is served 10-12 hours later? That is so my speed.

Imagine my deliriousness when I discovered a Facebook page run by women who post nothing but crock pot recipes. (Don't worry, guys. You're invited to Like the page too.) My crock pot recipes are pretty simple--throw a bunch of vegetables into the pot, along with seasonings, and meat if you're a meat lover. While I always go for the simple, it's been fun to comb this site for some new twists on old recipes, although I remain steadfast that I have to be able to slice, dice, and throw into one pot. No pre-cooking, no weird or impossible to find ingredients, no bizarre sauces. Just simple, hearty stuff.

If you crock pot as much as I do, you're gonna wanna check out this page. Click here.

Fall T.V. Line-Up

2011-09-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Other than massive amounts of football, my DVR has been working overtime this season which is pretty unusual for my husband and me. Normally there aren't too many new shows that catch our attention as we both prefer to read or watch Seinfeld reruns.

This season, we were most excited about Terra Nova and watched the premiere last night. It's about people from the future who travel back through a time stream to a Jurassic Park-like place to survive. Sadly, the premiere left us feeling pretty ho-hum, a drawback to getting your hopes up too high. We were so hoping it would fill the void left by Lost, the last show which we totally and completely loved and adored. We do plan to give Terra Nova another chance to redeem itself before we decide to follow it or not.

Of course I'm back to watching Hawaii Five-0. I loved that show last season for lots of reasons the biggest, of course, having everything to do with Alex O' Loughlin. Alex O'Loughlin. Alex O'Louglin. Did I say Alex O'Loughlin?? :) I have stopped watching Castle, though. The storyline and romantic angle started to grate on my nerves and don't get me started on Castle's perfect kid.

It looks like zombies and aliens are big this season, dark and scary. I kind of like that.

What's on your radar for this season? Any other shows I should check out?

Navajo-Inspired Fashion

2011-09-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

I am hardly a fashion expert. If I could live out the rest of my life in jeans, t-shirts, flip-flops and, of course, cool scarves, I'd probably be a pretty happy camper. That said, an article in my local newspaper yesterday caught my eye. Apparently Navajo-inspired fashion is quite the trend this year among the big designers and stores. Who knew?

Bright colors, geometric patterns, and feathers. I do love them all. While it's cool that Navajo-inspired fashion is trendy, it would be even cooler if people took the time to understand what the geometric symbols and patterns meant to the Navajo culture. A Navajo interviewed for the article asks the reporter, "Do the New York fashion designers understand that Navajo is a living culture?" In other words, do they understand they still exist? It's also interesting that some of the younger Navajo artists mentioned in the article seem receptive to sharing their culture through art and fashion with the outside world.

Anyway, it's a very interesting article. Click here to read more. If you ever get the chance to visit Navajoland in Northern Arizona, do so. Millions of acres of some of the most beautiful, wide-open space you'll ever see. It's an incredible place.

Dog Days of Summer

2011-09-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

Today I'm participating in Michael Di Gesu's What I Did on My Summer Vacation Blogfest. Too bad summer vacations no longer last three months like they were when we were kids. *Sigh* I miss those days!

This year I traveled back to the Midwest and rented a beach house on Lake Michigan with my sister and her family. My vacation was pretty simple. It went something like this:

Donuts, beach, swim, read, swim, read, swim, walk along the beach, collect shells and rocks, cocktails, barbecue, read, crash. Next day, repeat. Perfection.

Looking forward to doing it again next year, although hopefully I won't return with the plague (which my husband and I lovingly nicknamed "Contagion") that I'm convinced that I picked up at the Chicago O'Hare airport on the trip home when a woman in the airport lounge coughed on my husband's neck. True story. For both of us, recovering from the Contagion has not been fun. At all.

How'd you spend your summer?

Geek Speak

2011-09-21T05:54:00.000-07:00

Enlighten me, please, if you can.

Somebody recently tweeted me and said, "I +Ked you today." I have no idea what +K-ing someone means. Did someone knock me out in a virtual cage match or something? Do I need to hire a bodyguard?

Also, what is the appeal of FourSquare and why should I care? Am I missing out on something fun?

These are just little things that have been niggling at my mind this week. I seriously need to get out more.

Cool Parents: Myth or Reality

2011-09-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

I had a free movie channel this weekend and watched an Emma Stone movie from 2010 called Easy A. Cute movie that had a lot of the common pieces you find in a lot of young adult romantic comedies and contemporary young adult novels: the snarky teenager, romance, fun clothes, fast-pace, a high school with clueless teachers, and the cool parents.

Not sure how I feel about the cool parents, though, both as someone who likes to read and write young adult stories. Anyone who writes and reads a lot of young adult knows that lots of time spent character-building the parents is usually a no-no. Teenagers don't want to read about anyone over the age of 25 (probably over 18, to be safe) and, seriously, do you blame them? That said, there seems to be a constant trend in movies and books for teenagers to always have cool parents, if they even exist at all, as absent and/or dead parents are quite common too in young adult stories.

My question: How believable are the cool parents? The ones who act like they're perpetually in their 20's, act like buddies and peers to their kids, and always seem to understand the latest in kid trends. Do they work because teenagers--the obvious audience for young adult stories--prefer to read about the cool parents or do they actually exist in the real world?

Inquiring minds.

I Second That Emotion

2011-09-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

I came across an interview in Writer's Digest with Donald Maass, James Scott Bell and Christopher Vogler that I wanted to share. They discuss story structure, plot, and character arcs. Very informative. I particularly liked what Vogler had to say about connecting with the emotions of your audience. It made me think about the book that I was currently reading.

That book, which will remain nameless, is a bestseller. It's considered literary fiction. I'm 50 pages into it and I could care less about the main characters. I neither like or dislike the characters or their story. I feel nothing for them, in fact. It's like eating ice-cream that has no taste. I will most likely return this book to my e-library and perhaps try to re-read it at a later date.

I think I've said this before but I'm most engaged with stories that make me feel something emotionally. That's why Vogler's point in this Writer's Digest article rings particularly true for me--not only in what I like to read but what I like to write. Make me laugh and cry; make me upset. Make me sad. Just make me feel something in my heart and in my gut and I'm yours.

To read the complete Writer's Digest article, click here.

If I Could Be Anyone, I Would Be Samantha Stephens

2011-09-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Today I'm participating in the "If I could be anyone, I'd be..." web book release party to help blogger buddy Talli Roland spread the word for her new book, Watching Willow Watts.

It's a fun read about a woman who inadvertently channels Marilyn Monroe and unwittingly becomes the star of a YouTube video set in a small English village that goes viral. And isn't the cover lovely?

Okay, back to business. If I could be anyone, I'd really like to be Samantha Stephens from Bewitched because how cool would it be to twitch your nose and fly wherever you wanted and turn nasty people into toads?! I'm so there.

If Monday Were A Song...

2011-09-12T05:30:00.000-07:00

...It would be Manic Monday by The Bangles. A close second would be Monday, Monday by The Mamas and the Papas. And if it ever rained where I lived, I would even give golf claps to Rainy Days and Mondays by The Carpenters.

When you consider that most of us will (hopefully) see around 4160 Mondays in our lives, a Monday song is pretty important.

This morning, I'm blaring Manic Monday to get my Monday going strong.

Remembering

2011-09-11T06:50:00.000-07:00

Not far from where I live in Phoenix, there is a place called the Tempe Healing Field. It's not far from the Arizona State University campus. Every year two days before September 11, volunteers place 3000 American flags at Tempe, Arizona's, Healing Field. Each flag honors one of the people killed when terrorists flew jetliners into buildings in New York City, Washington D.C. and a Pennsylvania field.

I can't drive by the field without crying. I can't look at the photographs without crying. Walking through row after row of flags, the wind speaks to you in whispers. And like most people, I remember the exact moment when I learned what was happening on September 11, 2001. Those images of planes crashing into buildings and people jumping from skyscrapers will forever be etched in my mind.

Today I will spend a quiet day with family. I will always remember and I will never forget. And I will always be grateful for those people who sacrifice their lives protecting and saving others.

Up Is Down

2011-09-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week has been a mishmash of sorts. I'm still battling a cold that Craig and I have lovingly (insert sarcasm here) called "The Contagion." It's definitely overstayed its welcome and has thrown a serious monkey wrench into the last four weeks of our life.

Instead of writing in the afternoon and late into the night (my preference), I'm writing in the mornings because I start to lose energy around noon. Instead of running, I've taken to watching some seriously fun daytime television. Did you know that there are fabulous reruns of Rawhide and Hogan's Heroes in the middle of the day? Seriously, those are two of my fave shows so that has been kind of fun. Instead of reading 2-3 books a week, I've been reading closer to 5 because my own ~~coughing~~ hacking keeps me up at night. I've been downloading e-books from my local public library like my life depends on it, which it kind of does.

All in all, I'd like life to get back to normal but it appears no amount of modern medicine, chicken broth, and hot tea can battle this cold. It's just gonna leave when it's good and ready. Hope you don't catch what I have. And to those of you participating in Rachael Harrie's First Campaign Challenge, I've had to sit this one out but look forward to getting around and reading some of the entries.

Have a great weekend!

Beauty is (Usually) in the Eye Of The Beholder

2011-09-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

I recently bought a metal sculpture for my office. It was a "love at first site" moment when I saw it.

The sculpture doesn't have a name but I've given it one. Some people might look at it and see goofy metal squares welded together. I see The Grand Canyon. When the sunlight from my office window hits it at various times throughout the day, the squares change like all of the colors you see at the Canyon.

What do you see? (I won't be hurt if you don't like it.) Do you keep any artwork in your office?

BBQ BlogHop

2011-09-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Nothing gets me more motivated to join a bloghop than when there's food involved.

KarenG at Coming Down the Mountain is sponsoring her annual BBQ Bloghop this weekend. I stumbled upon it quite by accident last year as I was surfing the web when it was 105 degrees in the desert where I live. To join and get the deets, click here.

The rules? Share a virtual dish for the barbecue. And I know it's hardly traditional barbecue food, but I'm bringing raspberry scones to the partay. Yes, raspberry scones. Who can say no to powdered sugar and pastry? Grace Mills from Craving Perfect loves raspberry scones and, coincidentally, so do I. Here's the recipe:

GRACE’S RASPBERRY COMFORT SCONES

2 cups flour

1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into small squares
¾ cup raspberries
½ cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Generous amounts of jazz music

Ready your iPod, CD player, record player, or radio dial. Crank the jazz.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place rack in middle of oven.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend the butter into the flour mixture till it looks coarse. Stir in the raspberries. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, vanilla extract, and egg. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until the dough begins to form. Do not overmix. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently no more than six times.

Pat or roll the dough into a circle until it is roughly 7 inches round and 1.5 inches thick. Cut the dough into eight triangles and place the scones on the baking sheet. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and then place them under the broiler for a few seconds, turning the pan as necessary. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 8 scones.

Warning: You will be tempted to eat all of them. Make sure to save one for later.

Getting From Here To There

2011-09-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

I spent a little time this week analyzing how people stumble upon my blog. Remember from Wednesday's post that I've been in full-fledged procrastination mode so this exercise should not come as a surprise. ;-)

I thought maybe some of the most popular keyword searches to my blog would be useful and intelligent things like writing, publishing, books, editors, or maybe even *cough cough* my name?

Um, no such luck.

Here are the top five keyword searches that brought new visitors to my blog this week:

1) A fork in the road
2) Planets
3) Desert wildflowers
4) Native Americans
5) Wife swapping

Wife swapping?!! Seriously?! That one really floored me. What have I ever said on this blog that would attract that kind of keyword search? Very weird.

I don't know if you use the Blogger-issued tools to analyze traffic to your blog. I use StatCounter.com. It's free and it's easy to install as an html gadget into your blog and provides more detail than the Blogger tool does. Maybe the tools on WordPress are more robust but I don't know.

Anyway, if you blog, what are some of the ways people find you? Hopefully you don't get wife swapping as a top keyword search.

Queen of Procrastination

2011-08-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

I've earned the title this week! Me, myself and I.

This week I've managed to clean out closets, dust those little annoying knick-knacks that line my piano, bake scones (yes, moi!), catch up on my Arizona Highways magazines, surf vacation rentals for next summer, play way too long on Twitter and Tumblr, and bring a load of donated books to the library from my bookcases which are now perfectly organized. This can only mean one thing...

I've reached The Murky Middle of my current novel.

Da. Da. Daaa!! *Cue the ominous creepy music*

Yep, The Murky Middle is truly the hard, agonizing, frustrating part of writing, in my opinion. How do you connect that great beginning with that cool ending you've already written in your mind?! The Murky Middle is like a Griswold family car vacation: Everything's great for the first hour. The family is singing and playing the License Plate Game, but then you just want the next ten hours to fly by so that you can reach the dang ocean.

Anyone else procrastinating this week? If yes, what do you do so you'll do anything except what you should be doing? Bonus: The winner gets to wear the crown!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

2011-08-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

There is an article in a recent Writer's Digest that I wanted to share. It's not often that I see a concise, clear explanation of voice but I thought that the writer of this particular piece did it quite well. The writer, Brian Klems, said that "Your voice is how you write, the way you handle language, your style—if you have one."

Voice is one of the most ambiguous writing terms. It gets bounced around in lots of different ways and, I must admit, I struggled with understanding its meaning early on. Someone would say to me, "I like your voice!" and I would only scratch my head. My voice? But, these are my words!! Voice = words? Sacré bleu! I didn't get the connection.

I read two very different books this weekend and thought a lot about voice and its importance. The first, a young adult novel, had a pitch-perfect voice. The prose was written in a way that you believed it came from a teenager's mind and therefore it was easy to get lost inside the story. In the second, another young adult novel, the plot was intriguing but the voice was way too jaded, even too old, so while the story was interesting, it rang a little untrue and it was difficult for me to connect with the story.

When I come across something that explains voice well, I feel compelled to share. To read the complete Writers Digest article, click here.

Writers Just Wanna Have Fun

2011-08-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Rachael Harrie is sponsoring her third writing campaign. It's a great opportunity to meet and connect with other writers of all levels. There will be contests, writing prompts, and fun and frivolity for all. This will be the second time that I've participated.

It's a seriously good time and runs for about a month. And then you get to post this cute shiny badge somewhere on your blog. :) You can sign up and get all the deets here.

Hope to see you there!

A Slice of Heaven: Aliens, Superheroes and Sharks

2011-08-22T05:41:00.000-07:00

It's not often that I go to the movie theater. It's even less likely that I see two movies in a row that I absolutely adore but I did. In the last two weeks, I watched Captain America (in 3D) and then Cowboys and Aliens. I loved them both. LOVED!! Both were larger than life films with lots of action and likable characters. And Daniel Craig and Chris Evans as leading characters? That didn't hurt the screen either. Hollywood? More, please.

Then, on the other side of the movie spectrum, as if life couldn't be any more perfect, it was Shark Night on the SyFy channel. Yes, Shark Night! All Saturday night long, SyFy played some of the cheesiest movies you've ever seen in your life. Giant crocodiles and sharks? They had them! Teenagers with raging hormones and gorgeous women who looked no older than 22 years old with doctorates and medical degrees kicking shark booty?! SyFy had 'em. Some of the worst CGI you'll ever see? SyFy had it covered. Watching the Saturday night SyFy movies is like watching the old Japanese Godzilla monster flicks but in color. The only thing missing were subtitles or bad voiceovers. Don't ask me why, but I love the cheesiness that is SyFy. It's like television comfort food. I'm not sure if those of you outside the US can get the SyFy channel, but if you can Hulu it, treat yourself to a Saturday night movie or two. They're hilarious.

How about you? Watch any good movies this weekend?

P.S. I am a guest today at Chick Lit is the New Black Blog! Come meet Amanda. And learn which rock n' roll celebrity asked me to dance once. :)

Magic Treadmills, Writing Tips, and Whiskers on Kittens

2011-08-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week I wish that I could have jumped on this magic treadmill and catapulted into a different reality a la Craving Perfect-style because this cold bug? It's totally kicking my butt. By the way, that pretty sparkly treadmill came to me courtesy of the lovely Bonnie at Sweet Tidbits.

Despite suffering through the Plague, I did manage to get a fair amount of writing done this week and I wanted to pass along an interesting tip that I got from Susanna Ives, the author of one of my fave 2010 books, Rakes and Radishes. We were dishing on Facebook about our writing projects and she mentioned that she spent the whole day just writing dialogue for her current WIP.

Hmmm....That got me to thinking...

What a great way to focus on show versus tell as you draft your WIP. So I tried it this week. For one whole day I wrote nothing but dialogue. And you know what? It worked! It made me focus on showing versus telling for a critical part of my current WIP. No narrative. No fancy dialogue tags. Try it sometime. I also think this would also be a great way to overcome writer's block because it can really shake up your writing process. Of course, you have to like to write dialogue...

In other news, I was honored this week to be a guest on Amy Jarecki's blog. Had a lot of fun answering her questions. Check out her blog, if you get the chance.

And in the voice of that Dos Equis Guy, stay ~~thirsty~~ healthy, my friends! Have a great weekend!

Reminder: WriteOnCon is Happening This Week

2011-08-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Don't forget that the annual online writer's conference is happening this week. While it's geared for kidlit authors, there's plenty to interest writers in any genre.

Click here for the full schedule and links. The cool thing? You can watch, listen and learn on your own schedule, in your pajamas, if you want. :-)

There was a really excellent vlog yesterday from Holly Root, Molly O’Neill and Martha Mihalick entitled "Myths and Misconceptions." I also watched Sara Zarr in a vlog on pacing that I thought was particularly helpful and interesting. Another by Beth Revis on success versus failure was absolutely inspiring.

Lots of truly great writing advice in one convenient spot. And what cool peeps for putting this together! Definitely worth your time. Check it out!

Reading Round-Up

2011-08-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

I have been on a reading tear, lately. First, there was vacation. Then there was the nasty cold I caught somewhere between Chicago and Phoenix. (Thank you Chicago O'Hare Airport) The only thing I've wanted to do is read. Suffice it to say, I've made a serious dent in my TBR pile. And I've read some really great ones. Any book that tugs at my emotional buttons and makes me feel something--love, sadness, hate, fear, happiness--is usually a homerun with me. Throw in a well-crafted story and I'm yours, hook, line, and sinker. Although I've listed my reviews on Goodreads, here are some of the highlights:

* I read these two books back to back: The First Victim by J.B. Lynn and Creep by Jennifer Hillier. I went out of my comfort zone on these because I usually don't read a lot of thrillers. After reading them, I realized I need to read a lot more mysteries and thrillers. Warning: I recommend that you don't read either book while alone in your house. At the very least, make sure your doors are locked.

* I love stories set in unusual places and/or stories set in places very different from where I live. That's why I chose to read Sometimes It Happens by Pauline Barclay. It was getting such wonderful reviews and comments on Goodreads and Facebook that I knew I had to read it on vacation. It was the perfect vacation read and I enjoyed it very much.

* The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Not sure why, exactly, but I kept putting this book off, even though my sister kept bugging me to read it. Maybe I thought it seemed too predictable? Boy, was I wrong. I loved the voice from the first page and didn't put the book down for two days. I hope the movie does not disappoint.

Two more that I plan to finish this week are Karen Walker's Following the Whispers and Nicki Elson's Three Daves. Both just arrived in the mail. Can't wait to dive into those two!

I also discovered a couple new books releasing later this year. I can't wait to read them:

* String Bridge by Jessica Bell. I discovered Jessica's book trailer by accident last week on Twitter, of all places. If you haven't seen it, I suggest that you watch it. It's gorgeous and haunting. Now I can't wait to read her book.

* Koicto by Amy Jarecki. It's not often you find a well-researched Native American story and these are often my favorite. This one had me from the Author's Note on her blog: "The year is 885 A.D., sixteen years since the last total eclipse of the sun. This is the time when the Fremont Indians dominated the Great Basin of Western Utah..." Want. Now.

In other cool news:

* I got a lovely book review from RT Book Reviews last week for Craving Perfect. I very much respect this publication so getting such a wonderful review from them was an honor, to say the least. If you'd like to see what I'm putting in a silver picture frame in my office, Click here.

* Not sure how/when/or by whom this happened, but my Young Adult debut novel with Harlequin Teen, Hooked, is ALREADY on Goodreads! And people have begun to add it??!!!! *happy dance*

So many books, so little time. What have you been reading? Note to writers: If you've got a current or upcoming release, feel free to mention it in the Comments.

Geeky Goodness: The KindleGraph

2011-08-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

It was bound to happen. The Geek Extraordinaires at Amazon have developed an application that allows authors to digitally autograph e-books. Yep. They really have.

I haven't tried it yet but it looks super easy and I found this article at RT Book Reviews that explains it all. It's the best explanation I've seen on the KindleGraph, complete with links and instructions. I'm sure it won't be long before the Nook, Kobo, and Sony-Reader folks join in the fun and write their own applications, if this one isn't already compatible with all the other e-readers out there.

What do you think about digital autographs? The wave of the future or a passing trend?

On Inspiration

2011-08-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

One of the other things I like to do during August (besides take a vacation) is to re-read Stephen King's On Writing. While I don't read a lot of horror, I am a huge fan of two books written by Mr. King: On Writing and a collection of his short stories called Four Past Midnight. Fantastic read, by the way!

Anyway, back to inspiration. I find King's On Writing to be extremely inspirational. It is a non-fiction book about writing and reads a lot like a memoir. Even though it's filled with a lot of stuff that most writers ~~should~~ know--e.g. avoid adverbs, have a writing space, avoid cliches like the plague, focus on the story, and blah blah blah, I find King's sarcastic advice to be wildly inspirational. He makes me laugh. And I like to laugh. A lot. I also like to read his book at least once a year, if only as a reminder about some of the general things that I should remember whenever I sit down in front of my laptop.

This year, however, I found the final chapter of King's book to be more inspirational than in previous years. He calls it "On Living." This year, that chapter made me ~~cry~~ sob. Yeah, big time. Crocodile tears. In it King details the almost fatal accident he had over 10 years ago. I think it hit me hard because this year I got body-slammed with equal parts wonderful and sad news in my personal life, and this moving chapter was an excellent reminder to take time to smell the roses and appreciate the people in your life who make sacrifices so that you can follow your dreams. Maybe next year, when I read On Writing on a quiet beach somewhere like I'm prone to do, I'll have a different perspective. Who knows...

Do you have any books that you read over and over for inspiration or guidance?

Brilliantly Lame Vacay Observations

2011-08-08T05:34:00.000-07:00

I'm back from vacation and I'm still basking in that vacation glow where you really don't believe you'll have to return to Reality until finally you do.

I tried to unplug and I was (mostly) successful. It only took me three days to stop obsessively checking email and Twitter.

I had a blast with The Fam. And while I was on the plane returning home reflecting on the Awesome Vacation, I jotted these down:

10. No matter what amazing things you do or where you go, teenagers will check for text messages the minute something ends (many times, during).

9. There's no better place to read a book than on the beach. (And I read a bunch of great ones!)

8. Ice cream at midnight should be a world-wide vacation requirement.

7. Removing all traces of sand from a suitcase is impossible.

6. I can't play enough Scrabble.

5. I always forget Kleenex on the airplane, despite reminding myself repeatedly to bring some the last time I flew.

4. Once anyone has been upgraded to First-Class, there should be a constitutional amendment that you can never fly Coach again. Ever.

3. All adult beverages on any vacation should come with tiny pink happy umbrellas.

2. Somehow waiting for a table for a restaurant while on vacation is never painful.

1. Time spent with family? Priceless.

And I miss my sister already.

Anyone else on vacation last week? Bonus question: Did I miss anything cool?

My Week In Two-Word Sentences

2011-07-29T21:47:00.000-07:00

Book published. Blogged everywhere. Met readers. Drank coffee. Flew home. Hello, Chicago! Fought storms. Visited family. Ate scones. Wrote little. Shopped lots. Exhausted, yes! More, please.

No Matter Where You Go, There You Are

2011-07-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am seriously needing a raspberry scone at the moment but I'll settle for one of the pretty cupcakes to my left. Help yourself! There's plenty for everyone.

Anyway, it's been a busy book release week. Topics on the blogs have been all over the place from genre bending to publishing journeys to sugar cravings. Here's where I've been, if you're interested in checking out cool new places for readers and authors:

* PK Hrezo's blog.
* Linda Mooney's radio program. (This was fun too! If you click the link, you can listen to the playback. If you've never experienced blog talk radio, I encourage you to check it out. Very cool.)
* Lisa Sanchez's blog.
* Manic Readers.
* Killer Chicks.

Today, I'm the featured author on the Carina Press blog, Facebook and Twitter pages. In addition to some trivia about Craving Perfect, I'll be sharing a few odd tidbits about me on Twitter. For those of you who know me, really really know me, you know that getting me to share the really personal stuff is like pulling teeth. That said, I did manage to come up with a few anecdotal tidbits for all the world to see on Twitter. Hope you find them amusing.

If you're on Twitter, let me know what you crave today with a #CravingPerfect hastag! I'm dying to start a Twitter Trending Topic. Why should Justin Bieber and Rebecca Black have all the fun?! Come play!

Me? I'll be tweeting: I'm still craving that raspberry scone. Bad. #CravingPerfect among other things.

Warning: My tweets may get more bizarre as the day goes on as I will be meeting my sister later and we will undoubtedly be ordering a couple of those colorful drinks with the pretty umbrellas. Be very afraid. ;-)

Look forward to seeing you around the web!

My First Vlog! And Why I Am CRAVING the PERFECT Day

2011-07-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the pun! Couldn't help myself. But welcome to my first-ever shiny Vlog and the book birthday for CRAVING PERFECT. Oh, jeez, it's been a long time coming. I wrote this book five years ago and I'm thrilled that it's finally seeing the light of day. Thanks to those of you who've been so supportive and kind to me along the way. I really and truly appreciate it. Karma, it will find you.

And now without further ado, I present to you my first Vlog. Hollywood, here I come! (Or, maybe I'll just stick to writing.)

On my schedule today:

* PK Hrezo is interviewing me on her cool blog.

* Tonight, I'll be interviewed (11 pm EST) on Linda Mooney's Blog Talk Radio channel, where I'll be reading and discussing an excerpt from Craving Perfect. I've promised to keep my Midwestern twang to a minimum. Click here for the deets.

Hope to see you there!

What Not To Wear

2011-07-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

Full confession. I am not a good shopper, especially when it comes to clothes. Truthfully, I would be quite happy living the rest of my life in bluejeans and a t-shirt. Whenever I'm clothes shopping, I'm always mindful that there are about 1,976,243 things I'd rather be doing and those things usually center around writing or reading.  But even though I don't really like clothes shopping, I make an exception when it comes to the following: purses, shoes, and scarves.

Yes, scarves.

And I am not a 90-year old lady but for some weird reason I'm drawn to scarves--all colors, materials, textures. In fact, the brighter the colors, the better. And I don't wear them on my head either, not like a dorky rain cap or anything.  I like them around my neck and around my shoulders. I figure I must have some unresolved textile issues from a prior life.

Anyway, I'm planning my first Vlog for Monday! *and the crowd goes wild* (That is, if I can figure out how to work my new super cool video camera). And I'll be wearing one of my fave scarves. It's one of the ones in that picture in the corner. Can you guess which one? By the way, that's only a photo of one drawer of scarves.  There are more. Lots more.

Monday, Craving Perfect releases, in case you didn't hear me the last 1001 times I said it. As you can tell, I'm not the least bit excited.

Have a great weekend!

Comfort Foods

2011-07-20T05:15:00.000-07:00

I am all about food this week. It started with National Ice Cream Day on Monday. Turned into National Raspberry Scone Day yesterday and it's pretty much gone downhill, calories-wise, from there. It will only mean an extra mile or two on the treadmill each day this week, but I digress.

I came across a wonderful book entitled Grilled Cheese, Please: 50 Scrumptiously Cheesy Recipes by Laura Werlin. Doesn't that sound TDF?! Once it gets cooler, I vow to make each and every one of the sandwiches in this cookbook because for me nothing says comfort food like a perfectly grilled cheese sandwich that is lightly salted and buttered on each side. With tomato soup, of course.

When I was a kid, nothing was better than a grilled cheese sandwich, although it had to be cheddar cheese and it could only be made by Mom. Not Swiss cheese either or anything with stuff in it like blue cheese. Just cheddar, only cheddar, thank you very much.

Home from school with a cold or flu as a kid? Mom made grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.
A snow day? Grilled cheese and tomato soup. Sub-zero temps and snow that crept up the side of the house? Grilled cheese and tomato soup. I think grilled cheese was the chicken soup for the kid's soul.

Why am I thinking of winter when it's 110 degrees outside? Wishful thinking? I have no idea.

Anyway, good memories. I absolutely must order this book. I hope there is an e-book version.

A Smile For Your Monday

2011-07-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a YouTube video that went viral last week. It's sure to put a smile on your face and may give you a reason to fall in love with Michael Bublé.

I love the fun that the people in this video are having. It also reminds me of something my Dad always said: "Age is just a number."

***Click here.***

A big thank you to all the friends (and new friends) who've said such nice things about Craving Perfect on Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other equally cool places across the Web. I can't believe that it releases a week from today! Needless to say, there will be plenty of cupcakes, chocolate, and champagne to go around next week. :-)

Leaving On A Jet Plane

2011-07-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

I'm flying across The Pond today to visit Talli Roland's glam blog.

Today we're talking chick lit, lit chick, and everything in between. My guess is that the discussion will also drift to coffee, chocolate, and wine, especially since it's Friday. Come join us!

Click here.

Believe

2011-07-13T06:04:00.000-07:00

If ever you've had doubts about your writing or pursuing a writing career, read Sherrilyn Kenyon's keynote speech from a couple of weeks ago in New York City at RWA. It's that powerful. Read every word. You'll be glad you did.

Click here.

Google Plus: The New Facebook?

2011-07-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

Look out Facebook. There's another sheriff social media player in town: Google+. Perhaps you've heard of it?

I've only recently begun to investigate Google+ and here's what I know which, admittedly, isn't much. Yet:

1) It is similar to Facebook in that you connect with family and friends and friends of friends by creating Circles.
2) A user is able to share posts, videos, and pictures.
3) There are more privacy controls (for now).
4) The name Google+ sounds like a name for a household cleaner. (Seriously, Google Guys, isn't there a name that's more appealing and creative than Google+ for your new baby?!)
5) Saying, "I facebooked him" has become commonplace. I can't imagine saying "I googleplussed him" just yet.

Like with Tumblr, I'm dipping my toe into Google+ with reservation. I have not yet created a profile page and unsure whether I will. Unless people become really angry and frustrated with Facebook, I'm not certain people will be flocking to Google+ in droves either. But there's always that possibility, especially the more Facebook's privacy controls turn into a Sudoku puzzle.

Facebook still is a little flashier than Google+ and has more features like the recent Skyping capability, which is kind of cool. Although one of the things I like about Facebook is that I can chat with friends in my pajamas and not worry that I haven't combed my hair.

How about you? Are you a Google+ user yet?

It's 5 o'clock Somewhere!

2011-07-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

The bar is open. Come on in and help yourself to an appetizer and the drink of your choice. Don't forget to add the pretty tiny umbrella or a garlic-stuffed olive. Of course, there's chocolate in all of the bowls you see scattered around my blog. ;-)

Shorter weeks are killer, yes? Combine that with the Great Dust Storm of 2011 in Phoenix on Tuesday which you may have heard about and I definitely need to get started on Happy Hour today. Stat. My backyard had about two inches of dirt and dust. It looked like a volcano exploded over our house. Nothing that a broom and rake couldn't fix but it was not fun doing massive amounts of cleanup in 115 degree temps. Things can always be worse, I know.

Time to concentrate on the weekend.

I'm looking forward to finishing up a couple of books that I have been totally enjoying. One on my nook is Elizabeth Bass's latest novel Wherever Grace is Needed. I wanted to save it for my vacation next month but ended up peeking at it earlier this week. Not smart. I kept reading and have been unable to put it down in between bouts of editing that I've been trying to finish this week. Great story.

So how was your week? What are you reading? Any fun plans for the weekend?

Book Cover Trivia

2011-07-06T05:28:00.000-07:00

Last week I promised a little book cover trivia, something I hadn't really shared with anyone about my latest book cover.

So, two things happened when the cool people at Carina Press showed me the book cover for Craving Perfect:

1) I absolutely loved it.
2) I couldn't stop looking at the cover model. Because she looked very familiar.

Hmmmm.

About sixty seconds after receiving the book cover, I emailed it to my sister Mary like I do with most anything when it comes to my books. I wanted to get her take on the whole concept. I also wanted to see if it hit some of the same emotional buttons for her as it did for me.
The first thing Mary said about the cover was, "Is that Kathy?!"

Kathy is our sister. And the model on the cover looks freakishly like her. No kidding. It's kind of spooky. Someone (Probably someone who writes lots of paranormal) once said that everyone in the Universe has a twin somewhere. Like that Twilight Zone episode with a young Martin Milner who starts running after his twin who's in the other dimension outside the bus depot.

Well, I'm here to tell you that the model on Craving Perfect could be my sister's twin. And if her name happens to be Kathy, I would be seriously freaked out.
What are the chances of that?! Weird, huh? Maybe the model will friend me on Facebook like the model for Captive Spirit did. That would be totally cool.

I suppose if you have a twin in the Universe, seeing him or her on a book cover isn't so bad.

July 4th Traditions (And Things to Do When It's 115 Degrees)

2011-07-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Fourth of July traditions at my house are a little different than the norm.

Sure, we have a barbecue, watch fireworks from a distance, display the Flag, and we take a few moments to be thankful for all of our freedoms. Growing up outside of Chicago, we always went to a parade in the center of town. Now living in the Arizona desert, there's not much of a town center, per se, and did I mention it's usually around 115 degrees this time of year? Sitting outside for any length of time is not that much fun unless you're sitting in the middle of a pool. Which we do quite a lot too.

To keep cool, one of my Fourth of July traditions is watching The Twilight Zone marathon on the SyFy channel. If the SyFy geniuses decide not to air the marathon (like they did last year) then we break out our DVD collection. Not sure why, but there's something about watching Rod Serling and old Twilight Zone episodes on the Fourth of July weekend. I've seen every episode dozens of time. Still love each one. And Craig and I have been doing it for years so it's become one of our traditions, albeit a strange one.

Do you have any traditions outside the norm? And to those in the States, hope you've had a wonderful and safe Fourth of July!

Wanted: Weird Pet

2011-07-01T05:44:00.000-07:00

You know those author bios on book jackets, web sites, and blogs? The kind that roll so easily off the tongue and go something like this:

Author X lives in [Insert cool city, state, country, here] with her husband, three adorable children, two cats, one dog and [Insert exotic pet here].

Well, I'm cursed. Mostly because I'm allergic to anything with fur or feathers. I don't have the cat or dog or even the kids. So I'm going for the exotic pet.

When you consider that the first thing I ever wanted to be when I was a kid was a veterinarian, it's a cruel twist of fate. Most authors have the standard dogs and cats but now, it seems from reading so many author bios, that there is an unwritten cool author rule afoot that we must also have an exotic pet of some sort. I've seen author bios with eels, owls, monkeys, ferrets and even a scorpion. Um, side note: Who wants to play Frisbee with a scorpion?!

So, help me, please. I need an exotic pet--preferably one that won't make me sneeze. With a cool name. Any suggestions?

Reaching the Book Finish Line (Sort of)

2011-06-29T06:07:00.000-07:00

I promised to share a few (reasonably) fun tidbits this week about Craving Perfect. Here goes:

1) It took me six months to write the first draft. I then rewrote it, top to bottom, three times over the next two years.

2) It was the novel that my agent Holly Root first fell in love with. I queried her the old-fashioned way--with a query that I wrote and rewrote probably 100 times. Craving Perfect was not my first book to sell, however.

3) I got the idea for the book while jogging on a treadmill at my local gym. The story is in no way autobiographical, although all of the characters are based on people I observed over time at my gym.  At the time I wrote it, I had this crazy idea that I was going to run in a triathlon so I spent LOTS of time working out. To those of you who've already read ARCs, I'm here to tell you that Carlos really does exist, as does Grace and Alexandra, although their names have been changed to protect the innocent (and not so innocent). Yes, Virginia, there really is a girl out there who looks, breathes, and behaves like Alexandra Summers. Be very afraid.

In less than 30 days, Craving Perfect will be released! Carina Press now has it up on their web site, along with an excerpt. Click here if you'd like to read the excerpt and learn more.

It's been a long time coming and I realize this is only the beginning of the race, not the end although I will take a moment on July 25 to toast a glass of champagne with my husband and family. :-)

A couple more lovely reviews were left on Goodreads and I wanted to thank Shirley Wells and J.L. Campbell for taking the time to read my novel.  In a world where lots of books compete for our time, I am grateful.  Thank you, ladies!!

P.S. Next week, I'll share something about the model on the book cover that no one knows... ;-)

Is Tumblr the New Facebook?

2011-06-27T05:30:00.000-07:00

Last week, Blogger pal Roni Loren wrote a great post about a social media site that is growing in popularity. It's called Tumblr. Have you heard of it? Until her post, I had been cautiously dipping my toe in the Tumblr dark waters because, seriously, I need to spend more time on the Internet like I need a hole in the head.

But I'm fairly computer geeky and was intrigued. Tumblr is like blogging and Facebook on steroids. When you view people's pages, it's short snippets of a lot of stuff all at once. It's the virtual visual equivalent of Vegas.

Not sure how I feel about Tumblr at the moment. If I had to give it a temperature, I'd say I'm lukewarm. I kind of like Blogger for more in-depth posts and Facebook for (sometimes) more detailed conversations with friends and family. Twitter, of course, is fun for quick bites of mostly nothingness. Can Tumblr be all three? Not sure yet.

I do think Roni is absolutely right though that Tumblr is good for people who want to blog but who don't want to spend a lot of time blogging because it's not really blogging. It's more like tweeting but with visuals.

Naturally, I started a Tumblr page. Click here if you'd like to see my page. I haven't figured out yet how to allow comments (or if I want them), additional pages, and other bloggy-type stuff. A work in progress. For now, Tumblr is a new playground for me and time will tell if I grow tired of the new shiny. And, if I spend more than an hour a week on Tumblr please, somebody, take away my computer privileges and lock me in a room because I've got one book to finish and another to write before the end of next year.

In other news this weekend, Talli Roland, Gabriella Hewitt, and Tara Chevrestt left lovely reviews of Craving Perfect on Goodreads. Thank you, wonderful ladies!

So, with that, do you Tumblr yet?

Standing in the Middle of a Crowded Room, Naked

2011-06-24T07:10:00.000-07:00

Well, it's started again. It's simultaneously exciting and traumatizing. I'm talking about book reviews.

Carina Press has released Craving Perfect to NetGalley and I've given away a bunch of advanced review copies too. The reviews have started coming in for my baby.

And just like when Captive Spirit was released into the big, wide Universe, it still feels a lot like standing in the middle of a crowded room, naked. You wonder: Will people point and laugh? Will they say nice things? Will they make jokes behind their hands, whispering and chuckling?! And please, dear gawd, will they get my story?!! The anticipation alone of waiting for reviews makes your heart feel like it could beat its way through your ribcage and out of your chest.

So far, so good.

And so far, I'd like to give a shout-out to the following cool peeps for their support and kind words about Craving Perfect on Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, the blogosphere in general. In no particular order but with plenty of hugs and love, they are:

Deniz Bevan
Kittie Howard
Nas Dean
Talli Roland
Heather Gardner
Judy Kobrzycki
Dorthy Neumiller
Susanna Ives
Darci Lenker
Angelina Rain
Sherri Meyer
Trisha Kiefer
Jo Kenrick
Monica VanBeekum
Shirley Wells
JB Lynn

Next week the 30-day countdown for Craving Perfect begins. This book has been such a long time coming and I'm so ready to party. Like most books, there's a story behind the story and I'll share more in the weeks that follow. Some of it may surprise you but one thing is for certain: Getting this puppy published wasn't easy.

Thanks for another great week in the blogosphere. Have a wonderful weekend, all!

What Came First: The Chicken or a Box of Sugar Cookies?

2011-06-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

Deep thought: Sometimes I don't know whether I'm inspired to write just for the sake of writing. Or if it's the cute box of sugar cookie chippers (with pink sprinkles) that I'm hooked on from my local Paradise Bakery. All I know is that every time my car finds its way to Paradise Bakery, my daily word count shoots straight up. Like by at least 1500 words.

Is it the sugar that motivates me to write? Or is it the writing itself? Hmmmm. Inquiring minds...

What's your fave writing and reading snack food? (Please don't say something healthy like celery sticks dipped in organic yogurt because I feel guilty already.)

FLOAT by Sterling Rose

2011-06-20T03:08:00.000-07:00

I'd like to welcome young adult author PK Hrezo to the blog today. Most of us know her from her cool blog. But did you also know she wrote an intriguing book called FLOAT under the pen name Sterling Rose? Yep, she sure did. And the journey she took in developing, writing, and then finally publishing her baby is quite intriguing. Talk about kicking in a window when the front door didn't open! I love this story.

Here's more about PK:

How long have you been writing young adult novels? Why young adult?

The first novel I wrote was YA, and I wrote its sequel directly after. I had a great concept, but little did I know at the time, I had a lot to learn about craft. So I set those stories aside and wrote a short YA / NA romance. Once I realized I could put a story together pretty quickly, I set out learning all I could about the craft. During that time I wrote a thriller (that I'm reworking this year) and then about a year and a half later I wrote FLOAT. I've since written another contemp YA and just finished a sci-fi MG.

Why? I love writing for teens and young readers. It's such a vulnerable time in a person's life, and at the same time so full of possibilities. My teen years were filled with so much emotion, and I think remembering those intense kinds of emotion provoked me to capture its essence in stories. That's my goal anyway.

What was the inspiration behind FLOAT?

I'd been wanting to write a story about a waitress for a long time. I wanted a main character who was learning about life through customer contact, and Sterling (my MC) has just finished high school and has no idea what to do with herself yet. She's running away from her hometown, basically, and struggling with self-esteem issues. I wanted a character that young readers could identify with and kind of learn along with her throughout Sterling's journey. So, in a sense, FLOAT is kind of my if-I-knew-then-what-I-knew-now legacy for teens. It's purely fiction, but Sterling goes through a lot before she discovers her self-worth. It's my greatest hope that in some small way, FLOAT can help teens learn to find their own self-worth through Sterling's struggles.

PK Hrezo

The acronym FLOAT stands for FOR LOVE OF ALL TEENS. It came to me a few years ago in a dream (and yes I know that sounds terribly cliche) but it did, and the message and feeling behind it in my dream was so powerful that I knew I couldn't let the idea fade. Sterling's character was perfect for the FLOAT concept. So after about a year of character building and plotting, I wrote the first draft of FLOAT in three months. Then spent the following year revising.

FLOAT is also a campaign that's available for schools and communities. You can learn more at the FLOAT website http://floatforteens.org/ and learn how you can promote teen self-esteem and anti bullying locally. That's what Sterling's story is all about.

Why did you decide to self-publish FLOAT?

I set out seeking traditional pubbing. There was some agent interest, but in the end, the vision for FLOAT did not meet my own. Plus, it takes about a year and a half before traditional pubbing can get the book out there and in the hands of readers. So after much deliberation and many many beta readers and CPs, I decided the best thing for FLOAT was to get it out there now. I'm still seeking traditional pubbing for my other stories, and plan to query later this fall. But FLOAT isn't about me as an author trying to sell books. FLOAT is about the message of self-esteem. And ALL proceeds of eBook sales go to fund the FLOAT campaign. Try finding a traditional pubber who's on board with that... um, nope. Not gonna happen. So I took matters into my own hands and did what I thought best for the book. This is why it's not my name as the author on the book. It's Sterling Rose's story, not mine. And it's out there so readers can connect and discover.

Regarding self-publishing in general, what have been some of the most valuable lessons learned?

I'm still pretty new to the whole thing. This is the first month FLOAT's been on sale so I'm sure I'll have plenty more lessons to learn. But as advice, I'd say authors need to read and research everything they can on self-pubbing before deciding if it's right. There's a wealth of info out there, and you have to do it right. I paid to have FLOAT formatted for eBook and had a cover made. I followed all the guidelines from other self-pubbers and learned from their experiences. I knew I needed careful editing, proper formatting, and a catchy cover above anything else--other than a great story, of course. So now it's up to me to do all the promotions, but FLOAT is something I strongly believe in, so I'm okay with that.

What’s next for you after FLOAT?

I'm still writing away. Like I said, I'm seeking an agent and traditional pubbing for my other stories, so nothing's changed there. Who knows, though?! I don't rule anything out at this point. Publishing is changing faster than anyone ever realized and I love the idea of running the show myself. Still, I'd love to find an agent who I can consult with professionally. I'll be doing what I've been doing: writing new stories and learning more about the craft. I blog regularly too, and I love new visitors.

FLOAT:

The past is in the past ... except when it haunts your present.

Sterling Rose has been bullied by her high school’s resident mean girls for the past four years. Right before graduation, a devastating encounter in the girls’ locker room, makes life in her small hometown a living hell. So Sterling runs away to Houston in hopes of anonymity in a big city. There, she finds work in the airport coffee shop, and enjoys real friendship in a cast of quirky characters. But Sterling can’t help but feel she never stood up for herself back home, and the cycle of bullying will never end. The more she thinks about it, the more she wants to go back home and give those girls a piece of her mind, expose them for what they are, put an end to their reign. Only problem is, Sterling has never had real self-esteem and they’d see right through all the grandstanding. So she retreats to her life in Houston until she can get up enough courage to return home. A happenstance meeting with a super cute Australian during an airport lockdown boosts her confidence for a while, but when he returns to the other side of the world, everything Sterling was starting to believe about herself is lost. Down in the doldrums and short on luck, something happens to Sterling that alters the course of her life forever.

Buy links:

Amazon
Smashwords
Barnes and Noble

Thanks for being here today, PK! And best of luck with your book!

P.S. Anyone who wants to add the FLOAT, Stop Bullying icon above to your blogs, please feel free!

Super-Secret Publishing Tip

2011-06-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

Shhhh...Don't tell anyone this. But I wanted to share the biggest, most important thing I've learned about publishing. It's really important.

Come closer.

Closer.

Are you listening?

Here's the thing. The encouragement and support you will receive as you write and publish your books will be from the people you least expect. Expect the unexpected. It might come from a comment on your blog. An email. A new friend following your blog or Facebook or Twitter. An unexpected review left for you on Goodreads or Amazon. An editor who gets your jokes.

Most of the time, the kindness you receive will come from people you don't know and have never met. It's the little things that can become huge things and fill you with happiness. Those are the people who will get you through your day, especially the tough ones where you've been known to cry your eyes out while eating your weight in chocolate.

To those who've left me awards, kind comments on this blog, listened to my ramblings on Twitter, joked with me on Facebook, critiqued my writing, left a nice note about my books on Goodreads--You know who you are. Thank you! You inspire me. And you totally rock my world!

Dystopians: How Dark Can They Go?

2011-06-15T05:19:00.000-07:00

Dystopian stories, by definition, are dark. They're usually rife with human misery, oppression, squalor and usually set in the future, at least if you read a lot of young adult novels these days.

So why am I reading so many of them lately? Not sure, exactly. But I've been hooked on them the last few months. I think it's because I love intriguing world-building and there are so many authors who do it so well. In the last couple of months, I've read Maria Snyder's Inside Out, Allie Condie's Matched, and I'm currently reading Lauren Oliver's Delirium (I haven't finished Delirium yet so no spoilers in the comments, please!).

Dystopians are currently the hot shiny, no doubt thanks to Hunger Games, right next to steampunk which has certainly gathered trend steam, no pun intended. It seems every other book that publishes is set in some dystopian society so it goes without saying that authors are becoming more clever and even darker with their plotlines. So, I guess the question is: How dark can it go? Are you getting tired of dystopians yet? Bonus question: Will utopian stories be the next trend?

Books As Friends

2011-06-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

I'd like to welcome Carina Press author JB Lynn to the blog today. JB is one of the reasons why I've loved publishing with Carina Press. It's given me a chance to meet so many wonderfully talented and fun authors and JB is certainly one of them.

Today she's going to tell us a little bit about her fave books. I've always believed that you can learn a lot about a person by the books they love. And JB had me at Nancy Drew. ;-)
Below, come meet JB and her new release, The First Victim.

*******

Before I graduated from sixth grade, my family had lived in six towns. This meant I was always the "new" kid in school. I might not have always known which classroom I belonged in or who my teacher was, but I always knew where the school library was.

Trying to make new "person" friends every year was challenging, but I always knew a "book" friend was waiting in the library of whatever town I was in, so I was rarely lonely.

In first grade my best friends were Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys.

In second grade my absolute best friend was HORSE OF TWO COLORS by Glen Balch. (Which is probably why I loved Liz's CAPTIVE SPIRIT so much.)

In third grade A WRINKLE IN TIME was my constant companion.

That pattern has continued through my entire life. I'm always making "book" friends -- discovering new worlds and meeting new characters. I have old friends (I STILL read Horse of Two Colors every year, lol) forgotten friends (I recently read half of an older James Patterson novel before I realized I'd read it before) and new friends (soooo many new friends).

So tell me, who are YOUR book friends?

To learn more about JB and her books, follow her on Twitter, “like” her FaceBook page, or explore her website.

Fifteen years ago, Emily Wright barely escaped from a serial killer dubbed the Baby Doll Strangler. She wants nothing to do with the small town she grew up in, but when her father is hospitalized she reluctantly returns home to care for her teenage sister.

When a friend of her sister is killed and left in front of Emily’s house, Emily begins to relive the nightmare she endured long ago. Soon she realizes that her sister too is in danger from the killer – and the only person who can help is the man Emily left behind: Deputy Bailey O’Neil. Together, Emily and Bailey must discover the killer’s identity before he claims his next victim...

Around the Blog in Sixty Seconds

2011-06-13T05:52:00.000-07:00

A couple of cool things happening today and over the weekend.

First, Elena Solodow is vlogging about Captive Spirit today on her blog! She's doing her interpretation of the first 500 words of my book, complete with pictures and sound and everything. She totally rocks. If you're not already following her blog, do yourself a favor and follow her. Her blog is very unique and entertaining. To view her vlog of Captive Spirit, click here. It is awesome!!

Last week I was inundated with requests for ARCs for Craving Perfect which put a huge smile on my face for most of the week and weekend. Lo and behold, over the weekend, book blogger Dorthyn already posted her review to Goodreads. And Shelfari. And Barnes and Noble, and a bunch of other book blogger sites. I heart her! Most of all, I was so happy that she enjoyed the book. And--here's the really cool part--people have begun to pre-order it on Amazon! Life is good. Better than chocolate.

Finally, tomorrow on the blog I have a visitor! Come meet JB Lynn, author of a very cool mystery entitled The First Victim.

I look forward to seeing what this week will bring and certainly hope it will stay as productive as the last.

Happy Monday, all!

ET, Phone Home

2011-06-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

By far the coolest story this week was from an armchair astronaut who accidentally stumbled upon a cylinder structure on Mars using Google Mars. How cool is that--if it's not a hoax, of course. David Martines calls his intriguing find Bio Station Alpha. Click here for the video. It looks like a big garage. (Roughly 700' x 150'). And it's on Mars. Seriously.

Ah, the stories that begin to spin in a writer's head...

So, a few of us had fun on Twitter yesterday. I'm calling it the first Bed and Breakfast on Mars. I'm hopeful the Martian proprietors make great raspberry scones and don't eat the humans a la that classic Twilight Zone episode that I've seen a gazillion times, To Serve Man.

What do you hope the structure is?

So You Think You Can Dance?

2011-06-08T05:21:00.000-07:00

I started writing a new book this week. Not sure yet if there's a love connection but I see definite potential.

For me, starting a book is a little like dance lessons. First there's the awkward stage. Like you're not sure yet if you even want to hold your partner's hands. Sure, you showed up for the lessons because you want to dance--you love the idea of dancing--but you're still feeling like you have two left feet. You desperately want to get to that stage when you can dance your way across the floor with little effort but you are far from that stage, my little chickadee.

I can usually can whip out a first chapter pretty quickly because I'm excited about my shiny idea, the hook, but then after that's cranked out I stare at my laptop screen and go, "Oh, sh*t! Now what?" It would help if I liked to outline but I have a total medically diagnosed outline phobia. Seriously. I blame a certain English college professor for that.

So I've got this cool idea, an idea of what my book could look like, and I'm raring to grab it and let it whisk me away. Unfortunately I'm stepping all over my own toes at this point.

Baby steps, right?

It's Raining ARCs!

2011-06-06T05:26:00.000-07:00

I have ten copies of Craving Perfect in my hot little hands. I'd like to give them away to anyone who has the desire to read it. If you'd like to read my second Carina Press novel, all I ask in return is the following:

1) You're able to read it by Monday, July 25, 2011.
2) You post your review to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and/or Goodreads. If you can post to all three, fantastic!

The copies are available as .pdf or e-pub, your choice.

Tempted? Be sure to check out the book blurb on Goodreads, just to make sure Craving Perfect is your cup of tea. If interested, email me. You'll find my email link to the left of this post under "My Links."

I'd love to hear from you and I'd be honored to have you be one of the first to read it before its July 25 release date.

First come, first served!

Book Deal NEWS!

2011-06-02T05:28:00.000-07:00

I'm so very happy to finally share that my young adult novel HOOKED has sold to Harlequin Teen!! Here's the shiny pretty official announcement from Publishers Marketplace:

Liz Fichera's HOOKED, in which a Native American girl and her new teammate fall for each other after she becomes the first female member of their high school's varsity golf team, to Natashya Wilson at Harlequin Teen, in a two-book deal, by Holly Root at Waxman Literary Agency (World).

I am so very relieved to know that my story is in excellent hands. I couldn't be happier working with Tashya Wilson and the cool folks at Harlequin Teen. I continue to be very impressed by the vision and scope of the young adult novels they publish and I count myself lucky to be associated with them.

Publication of my first young adult novel has been a long time coming, and I look forward to sharing more deets in the not too distant future. Needless to say, I feel very fortunate to be working with cool literary agent, Holly Root! Without Holly, it wouldn't have happened. Period.

Now somebody pinch me! It finally happened. I'm cracking open the champagne. And quite possibly Guitar Hero and the karaoke machine. It's time to celebrate! Virtual champagne and chocolate for everyone!!

Movie and Book Round-up

2011-05-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

Over the long Memorial Day weekend, I had a chance to make a huge dent in my books and movie stacks. Here's what I read, watched and enjoyed:

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin - an interesting blend of fact and fiction behind author Lewis Carroll and his muse, Alice.

Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard - a contemporary YA involving two unlikely best friends set in a small town called Washokey, Wyoming. I heart stories set in the West!

Taken for Pleasure by Angelina Rain - a hawt novella from my writer friend, Angelina. Loved the sweet ending too.

On the movie front, we rented:

I Am Number Four - the reviews on this were mixed but I really don't pay too much attention to reviews. Despite a few plot holes, I enjoyed this movie and all of its good versus evil with a side of aliens from outer space. Craig and I were in the mood for a big story with lots of action and this one delivered.

Legion - this too was filled with lots of action (and gore). It's the story of an out-of-the-way diner somewhere in the Mohave Desert that becomes ground zero for the human race. I covered my eyes through most of it but my husband tells me it was quite intriguing.

How about you? Have you read or watched anything lately that you'd recommend?

P.S. I may have some super-cool news to share with you this week!!!! Stay tuned because I can barely contain myself at this point. I'm busting. Truly. :-)

Stuff They Don't Teach You In School

2011-05-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

A couple times a week, I head over to my parents' house to spend time with them and, generally, make sure they're okay. They're in their eighties and very stubborn.

Yesterday, Dad was exceptionally talkative. Maybe because it's Memorial Day in the States this weekend, but he had me spellbound with stories from World War II when he served in the Navy aboard the U.S.S. Leonard Wood at the ripe old age of 17. He's only recently begun to talk about his experiences during the war.

Anyway, he told me an amazing story about meeting General Patton aboard his ship when they had to transport the general to Sicily. Dad recounted some of the speeches the general gave to the soldiers and he has a vivid memory of General Patton smoking a cigar and walking very stoically along the deck of the ship, alone. Because my Dad speaks Italian, he was asked to accompany the general and his entourage on shore and serve as an interpreter. Dad happened to be available and quite eager to get off his ship, at least for a little while. Like many of the men who served and lived to tell about it, he almost died a thousand times.

If you've got parents, be sure to hug them. To those in the States, Happy Memorial Day! Take time to remember those who've sacrificed. And if you get the chance, listen to their stories.

I've been Tagged!

2011-05-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

The lovely Angela Felsted tagged me this week!

What does that mean? It means that I get to answer a bunch of semi-embarrassing questions and then randomly tag eight more people who can then answer the same questions and tag eight more people--or "unfriend" my blog and pretend like they don't know me. And so on. And so on. Like that old shampoo commercial.

Before I answer the questions, here are the eight cool writer bloggers that I've randomly selected:

Susanna Ives
Tina Whittle
Sherri Meyer
Angelina Rain
Elise Warner
Cold As Heaven
JB Lynn
Donna Cummings

Now, for those questions:

1) Do you think you're hot?
I live in the desert. Of course I'm hot!! It's perpetually 100 degrees where I live. Oh. Wait. You mean, that kind of hot?! H*ll no!

2) Upload a picture or wall paper you are using at the moment.
My current laptop wallpaper is a photo of Kauai. And I have no idea how to download and upload that for you. (Translation: I'm too lazy) But, trust me, the pic is gorgeous white beach and blue skies. It's very Hawaii Five-0ish. There are days when I wish that I could dive inside my laptop wallpaper. Lots of days.

3) When was the last time you ate chicken meat?
Seriously, who came up with these questions?! Truthfully, I eat mostly vegetarian and would probably be completely vegetarian if it wasn't for my adorable husband who I refuse to return to the store at this point. He's stuck with me and I, him. Hence, I have to cook the occasional meat dish to keep him happy, even chicken, but it's rare so I really don't even remember the last time we ate "chicken meat." Blech. Maybe at Easter?

4) The Song(s) you listened to recently?
I don't go a week without playing songs by The Proclaimers. Whole Wide World is one of my faves.

5) What were you thinking as you were doing this?
I was thinking that I was spending way too much time blogging and not enough time working on my latest manuscript! And then I thought about eating chocolate. Gobs of it.

6) Do you have a nickname?
My family calls my Lizzy. But, shhh! That's supposed to be a secret, especially after the whole "Lizzy Borden took an axe" thing...

So, there you have it.

Watch out. You could be tagged next. *Cue the really creepy zombie music*

Zombie Chic

2011-05-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

Well, the world was supposed to end this past weekend. May 21, to be exact. It didn't. Not that I'm complaining, but I am amazed at the Rapture frenzy this past week on Facebook and Twitter. Rapture was code for "the world is going to end." It had an eerie H.G. Wells War of the Worlds feel but without the cool voiceovers.

People were posting Rapture playlists, Rapture survival lists, Rapture anything. There were Facebook Rapture groups and Rapture parties. It was as if people were hoping for the Zombie Apocalypse.

Crazy weird. I don't get it. But Zombie Chic is definitely the new black. Anything for a party and it sure makes for some good stories.

The X-Files

2011-05-20T06:23:00.000-07:00

This isn't a science fiction post. Not really. But X-Files just popped into my head when I was trying to think of a snazzy cool title for it. (Although I was a huge X-Files fan back in the day--Team Mulder, thank you very much.)

X-Files is what I call all of the finished and unfinished novels and short stories that lurk in my hard-drive, waiting for me to play with them. I resurrected one this week, a contemporary YA, that I wrote three years ago. I still love the story but realize that several of the secondary characters need to be reworked, like, totally. So I've been busy this week fiddling with one of my x-files, shining a light on it, and working to bring it back to life. It will, however, require a complete rewrite.

Been there, done that, with almost everything I write. I'm not sure I haven't completely rewritten anything I've ever written at least twice. The good news is that as I reread it, I think to myself, Damn, this is good. I'm glad you didn't deep-six it.

Do you keep everything you write?

This Will Be A Really Weird Post

2011-05-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

I have this little ugly pig egg-timer. See it in the picture? The ends are roundish yellow wooden pig heads, separated by sealed glass that allowed the hourglass to float once upon a time when it held water. I've had it since I was a kid and got it from my sister Mary for my birthday when we were in grade school. I don't remember which birthday but I'm pretty sure it was single digits.

My sister bought it at this store called Globe in our hometown in Park Ridge, Illinois. The store no longer exists but it's still legendary in the minds of most of the kids who grew up there. That's because the same three ancient old ladies worked inside that store for, like, ever. They sold records and knickknacks and whenever anyone under the age of 18 dared to venture inside, these old ladies would eagle-eye you like you were about to steal something. I thought my little sister was pretty brave for having gone there to buy me this gift.

Anyway, my little ugly pig egg-timer has lived with me on three continents. About once a week, I turn it over and watch the sand go from one side of the hourglass to the other. One of the pig's ears is missing. Not sure where I lost that. It's still ugly and strange and no longer works but I've always loved this thingamajig.

My sister doesn't understand why I won't throw it away. Today it sits on my desk in my office where I write. Whenever I look at it, it reminds me of hot summers, long days at the public ice-cold pool, orange popsicles, and endless kick-the-can on our front lawn. That's why I keep it.

Do you refuse to part with anything?

Laughter is the Best Medicine BLOGFEST

2011-05-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

A "laughter is the best medicine" blogfest?! I am so in.

There are two people who can make me laugh out-loud on a pretty regular basis: Jerry Seinfeld and that Dos Equis Guy.

Since I can't post an entire SEINFELD episode in this post, I'm going with a few tweets from the Dos Equis Guy who, by the way, tweets some of the funniest things on Twitter.

Here are a couple of his latest tweets:

"He played with Legos once. The result was The Great Pyramids."

"He doesn't vote for presidents, he chooses from a list of applicants who want to be his assistant."

"He once went to visit a psychic, but it was only to warn her."

Stay thirsty, my friends!

P.S. To see who's participating in today's Blogfest, click here.

Goodreads, Shelfari, and LibraryThing, Oh My

2011-05-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty active on Goodreads. As a voracious reader, I love being able to keep track of my books, read and post reviews, and participate in a few online book groups. I'm not as active on Shelfari and LibraryThing, though, not for any particularly good reasons. I've just grown so used to Goodreads.

What do you think about these online book communities? Do you prefer one to the other? Is yes, why?

Inquiring minds gotta know, and I'm just plain nosey. What do you think?

Music To Make Write

2011-05-10T05:05:00.000-07:00

I'm over at Chris Phillip's blog today talking about some of my fave tunes. By the by, if you don't follow his blog, you must. It's hilarious.

Music is always ~~blaring~~ on at my house, especially when I'm writing (most of the time), running (often), or cooking (rarely). Chris only let me pick my top three favorites which was pretty hard because I have thousands of favorites.

Hope you enjoy the three that I picked, and if the third one doesn't get you out of your chair, playing air guitar, I don't know what will. :-)

Great tunes to write by. Click here.

Movie and Book Round-Up

2011-05-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

I've been on a movie and book tear lately. I've lucked out on reading so many great books and choosing so many entertaining movies. I love it when that happens.

On the book front, I downloaded BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver from my library. Wow. Highly recommend. It was not at all what I expected from reading the book blurb. If you're expecting a light-hearted YA romp, think again. Oliver did such a great job of getting me inside the head of Samantha Kingston, the book's main character. She also did a magnificent job of dealing with teenage drinking, sex, and bullying and weaving those issues into the story with rich, angsty prose. Very realistic. Not at all cliched, IMO. You can read my review on Goodreads. I've already put her second book, DELIRIUM, on hold. Looking forward to that one too, although it sounds like a completely different read.

During the last week, we rented THE KING'S SPEECH (loved!) and THE TOURIST (enjoyed!). THE TOURIST was a lot better than I expected, with plenty of plot twists to keep me interested, although I didn't believe for a second that Johnny Depp was a math teacher. Where was he, pray tell, when I was in school?? Both movies are definitely worth a rental.

What about you? Read any good books or see any great movies this weekend?

Native American Lit

2011-05-06T06:15:00.000-07:00

It's good to be on the right side of a (possible) trend, for a change. If a trend was the North Pole, I'm usually the South Pole. Always on the outside, looking in.

I don't write vampires, werewolves, fairies, or witches, although I love reading the stories from authors who do. But finally something that I love to write about--Native American characters and their stories--is beginning to rear its impatient head. Too soon to call it an official, full-blown trend but I am hopeful.

Why there aren't lots more mainstream stories with Native American characters remains a mystery to me, especially since the cultures are so rich, colorful and varied. Ditto for stories written in the American Southwest. Yeah, I'm a desert girl too.

Anyway, a girl can dream. (And I do.)

Have a fab weekend! It should be a busy one here at the O.K. Corral. Craig and I have two parties (the same day), a house project, and a trip to Old Town Scottsdale planned. I was hoping to squeeze in a book and a movie somewhere in all that, but we'll see. Are you doing anything fun??

Wanted: New Genres

2011-05-04T06:15:00.000-07:00

How weird can you go? My weirdness knows no bounds but I'm always up for a challenge.

So what crossover genres haven't been written yet? Maybe it's the one you're currently writing? If it is, kudos to you for writing something bold and different.

How about:

Young Adult Historical Fantasy Mystery; or

Contemporary Romance Thriller Fantasy

What's hiding out in your hardrive? Readers, what would you like to see that hasn't been written? Name a new genre, or a new crossover genre.

The sky's the limit. Hey, it could happen.

April Showers Bring May (Wild)Flowers

2011-05-02T05:40:00.000-07:00

In the Sonoran Desert, it's wildflowers.

We had a few good rain showers this year and the flowers in the desert have been nice, although not spectacular like they've been in previous years. When we get heavy winter rain, the wildflowers between Phoenix and Tucson become so vibrant it's like the sky dumps watercolors onto the desert from some giant paint tray. Pinks, yellows, reds, purples--the color is enough to sting your eyes!

This time of year, though, I always miss the lilacs and peonies that we had in the garden where I grew up outside Chicago. I can still smell them, especially the peonies, pink and white creamy flowers as big as grapefruits that grew all lopsided against our garage.

In grade school, my sisters and I use to pick them, wrap the stems in paper towels and then wrap another layer of aluminum foil around the stems. Then we'd carefully carry them to school to our favorite teachers (that would be you, Miss Berry and Miss Bone!) during the beginning of May every year. A lot of kids did.

What a beautiful day today!

Give My Regards To Broadway

2011-04-29T04:45:00.000-07:00

Stasia Ward Kehoe has invited writers to share their first audition and first performance stories over at her cool blog, A YEAR OF AUDITIONS.

Today is my turn. And today I get to make a fool of myself all over again. Yeah, it'll be fun.

Come learn why you'll never see my name in bright lights on Broadway. And thank god I have other skills--well, most of the time.

Click here to read more.

What's In A Word

2011-04-27T05:39:00.000-07:00

Everything.

It's just a word, certainly, but some words can make your blood boil, laugh, shiver, cry, maybe even make you feel nauseous.

Here's one that's gotten under my skin lately, thanks to the over-the-top nonstop William and Kate Wedding coverage: Commoner.

Commoner?! What a condescending word. It implies "less than." As if anyone who's a commoner is nothing but ordinary, boring, and not worthy. It even sparked some interesting convo on Twitter yesterday, which was kind of fun.

So I'm suggesting a new word to be used instead of Commoner. I prefer Betterer. Kind of rolls of your tongue, doesn't it?

Are there any seemingly innocent words that press any of your emotional buttons?

Sneak Peek: My Upcoming Release CRAVING PERFECT

2011-04-25T05:01:00.000-07:00

I'm so very excited to share the book cover today for Craving Perfect. Finally! And, no, it's not the image to the left that I selected for this post but you'll see it in a second. Promise.

I know that you'd expect to hear this, but I truly adore the book cover. It hit all the right emotional buttons for me, right down to the plate of raspberry scones. :-) The uber-talented Angela Waters is the artist who designed the cover for Carina Press and she's truly a goddess in my book. Excuse the pun.

Craving Perfect releases July 2011 and, like I said in Friday's post, it's been a loooong time coming. To say that it takes a village to get a book to publication would be an understatement!

Rather than continuing to babble in true Liz Fichera fashion, here's the book trailer. It'll give you a sneak peek about the book and a good look at the cover. I hope you like it!

The Post In Which I Will Be A Big Tease

2011-04-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of those annoying posts where I tell you something that won't happen till next week. How lame is that? Yes, I'm a tease.

But my next release, Craving Perfect, has been such a long time coming that I am positively giddy. And so ready to party. That's because the book's nickname is The Little Book That Could because, seriously, for a long time it was The Little Book That Couldn't. It's also the book that my very cool agent, Holly Root, first fell in love with and I totally love her for that. It was not, however, the first book that sold. And, hopefully not the last! (Hey, Universe, are you listening?!)

So on Monday next week, I hope you'll stop by and check out the beautiful book cover for Craving Perfect and its spiffy little book trailer. In the weeks and months that come, there will be lots of cool prizes and giveaways but on Monday, I'll bring cupcakes and a big fat smile on my face. :-) No more teasing. Promise.