Never Surrender

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you,

Till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer,

Never give up then,

For that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.

(Harriet Beecher Stowe)

Rejections. I've gotten my share from agents and editors. Probably more than my share. WAY MORE. And some days I want to say screw this and give it all up. All of this work. This striving. This slogging.

 I allow myself to wallow in those moments, feel sorry for myself, have heavy thoughts.

But after each time, I imagine the actual process of just letting it go. Letting my dream float up to the clouds--suspended there, waiting--until I'm ready to reach for it, pull it tight, tuck and fold it into myself again. Back where it belongs.

And somehow that image ignites a spark of hope in the very center of my soul. 


*******
This post was part of ELANA JOHNSON'S Never Surrender Blogfest, happening all of this week, in celebration of her second book: SURRENDER. 

I'm reading her book right now and loving it. Two Words: Raine & Gunner. *sigh*

(image, image)

Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ!

A smile. An encouraging word. A thoughtful gesture. Each day people interact with us, help, and make our day a bit brighter and full. This is especially true in the Writing Community. 

So many people take the time to make us feel special, don't they? They comment on our blogs, re-tweet our posts, chat with us on forums and wish us Happy Birthday on Facebook.

To commemorate the release of their book The Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The Bookshelf Muse are hosting a TITANIC Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ. And because I think KINDNESS is contagious, I'm participating too!

Kindness ROCKS!

There are some people on the interwebz who are always *ALWAYS* kind, encouraging, and supportive on blogs, Twitter, Facebook etc. no matter how crappy their day may be. I actually could list a few others but that would be overkill. 


Here are the THREE writer friends I'd like to spotlight for there unfailing KINDNESS:

1) Lola Sharp- Your consideration and honesty is electrifying. When you speak out about rudeness and meanies, I'm always like, "Yes, exactly what she said!" Can I be you when I grow up?

2)  Lindsay Scott- You always have a virtual smile for me in the high school halls of Twitter. You're like the sweet girl cheering by the lockers with your pom-poms, not even realizing how cool and gorgeous you are, inside and out!

3) SA Larsen- You're always lifting other writers up and cheering them on, in your own sophisticated and classy way. You put together a writer's support group on Facebook. Enough said. :D

SO, Lola, Lindsay, and Sheri, what can I give you in return? I'd like to offer you my time and hope that it's enough. I will always be here to beta read anything you've got for me. Hit me up, I'm waiting! xoxo

**********

Do you know someone special that you'd like to randomly acknowledge? Don't be shy--come join us and celebrate! Send them an email, give them a shout out, or show your appreciation in another way. Kindness makes the world go round. :)

Becca and Angela have a special RAOK gift waiting for you as well, so hop on over to The Bookshelf Muse to pick it up.

Have you ever participated in or been the recipient of a Random Act Of Kindness?  Let me know in the comments!

PAY IT FORWARD

So MATT and ALEX are holding a blogfest today. The idea is to get to know other bloggers and to link to people you admire.

This was the perfect opportunity to choose the one person I was was hoping to spotlight soon, anyway! My CP and friend, KATE WALTON. She is one of the most humble, positive, kind and giving people I know. Really and truly, the best kind of author to stalk (er, follow). Go see how cool her author website is too! :D

And not only that, her debut contemporary YA novel, CRACKED comes out from Simon Pulse,  Simon & Schuster on January 3, 2012. AMAZING! And I can say that, not because I've been able to read this one yet, but because I've read everything else she's written, and people, she is GOOD!

And Holy Toledo, check out the premise (two male MC's)--YES!

Victor hates his life. He has no friends, gets beaten up at school, and his parents are always criticizing him. Tired of feeling miserable, Victor takes a bottle of his mother's sleeping pills—only to wake up in the hospital.

Bull is angry, and takes all of his rage out on Victor. That makes him feel better, at least...

When Victor and Bull end up as roommates in the same psych ward, there's no way to escape each other or their problems. Which means things are going to get worse—much worse—before they get better….

Why not add it to your *to-read* pile on Goodreads (or pre-order it, if you'd like)?

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND!

Post-Valentine's Day Blogfest

WHEW! This is how I feel after yesterday's blogfest!


Like I have a sugary sweet hangover. That's what kissing and romance will do to you (the candy I consumed didn't help either)!



I'm still wading through the comments, emails and entries today, so I'll leave these comments off.



Thank you guys and STINA for making yesterday a HUGE success! What a great blogging and writer community!



See you on Thursday.



(source: sodahead.com)

JUST KISS ALREADY BLOGFEST

IT'S HERE! TODAY IS THE DAY! Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day too!

Here's my excerpt from my YA ghost story called HAUNTED MELODY.

********

In this scene, Melody (who is haunted by her dead best friend, Paige) cannot contain her attraction to Paige's boyfriend, Paul.


“I do miss her, Mel.”

I bit my lip, moisture blurring my vision.

His fingers stroked up and down my arm, heat rushing to all the wrong places.

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” he murmured. “You’re the only one who gets me right now.”

I took a deep shuddering breath, trying to stay rational. “Maybe we’re both just… lost.”

Paul turned toward me, so close that I felt his warm air on my lips.

Paige, this is your chance. Show me this is wrong.

I stared into his eyes, my heart thrashing against my chest.

Soft as a whisper, he brushed his bottom lip against mine. Like he was asking permission.

It was more than I could take. I gripped his face and crushed my mouth into his. A moan escaped him as he wound his fingers in my hair and tugged at me, like he wanted to consume me. The kiss was frantic and desperate, and I pushed the guilt far, far away.

All I wanted was him and this moment.

I drew away to catch my breath just as I heard a bedroom door creek open.

In Honor of Le' Kiss (Le' Sigh)!

So today I thought I'd celebrate the art of KISSING!

But first, a reminder about Monday--the BIG day!

The Just Kiss Already Blogfest Stina and I hosting! We are starting at 7 am EST!

There are fifty of us now! Click HERE for the easy peasy rules!

*******

Now back to the KISSING!

The building tension, intense eye contact, the distance closing, and then BAM! Shiver me timbers. :D I love writing those scenes!

So here are (some of) my favorite KISSES. It was hard to choose!

From the movie ATONEMENT (in the library, with the green dress):

From the television series THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (last season in Stephan's driveway, right after Elena tells him she loves him):

And, in the book PERFECT CHEMISTRY, their first kiss in Alex's house from his POV!

HAVE A "LOVER"LY WEEKEND!

(sources: breakfastattiffany.livejournal.com, polyvore.com/yellow_flamingo, Amazon)

Just Kiss Already Blogfest

So, STINA and I have teamed up to do a Valentine's Day Blogfest. We figure it was *time* to have our characters kiss already, darn-it!

And we've simplified the rules so nobody feels *too overwhelmed* (like I often do when participating in blogfests)!

Here are the Details:

1. Sign up on Mr. Linky, below, or on Stina's blog.

2. On February 14th (Valentine's Day), post an excerpt from either your own work, or another's authors work you admire (give them credit, though), beginning at 7 am EST.

*But* make sure the excerpt is no longer than 250 words (it's tiring to read long excerpts). And if there's an intro to the scene, please, keep that short too!

Oh, and *don't forgot*, this is an actual KISSING SCENE! So go crazy :D

3. To make this *really simple*, we won't require you read everyone's entry (that's exhausting)! How about just 3-5 other entries?

Does that sound doable? Join us!


Mr. Linky is below!

The Signifcant Other Blogfest

**Head over to DL's Blog if you want to participate, or just read the other entries!

The following three questions were answered by my husband, Greg. See that cute boy down there, holding that other chubby-cheeked cute boy? Yep, that's him!

1. What food or drink is guaranteed to return your wife to a good mood, even after a bad day writing? Depending on the day, either a nice glass of dry red wine, dark chocolate, or a Popsicle!

2. What one thing would you change about your wife's writing habits? The blank, glossy stare that tell me she hasn't heard a word I've said, and then a mad dash to the computer.

3. How hard is it to sit by and watch someone you care for struggle to attain a dream...knowing there's very little you can do to help? First, let me say how hard I am rooting for her. She has so many 'jobs'-mother, wife, writer, newspaper columnist, and hand-stamped jewelry entrepreneur- and she somehow juggles them all.

But because of all of that, she doesn't get nearly the time she needs or wants to write fiction, the thing she truly adores. But she's driven, and I believe in her one-hundred percent. I can only help by supporting her, and letting her talk through rough patches. And I'm glad to do it!

I love you, honey!
(*sniffle, sniffle*)

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

The Almost Kiss

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I know, it's not Monday yet, but Frankie from Frankie Writes twisted my arm (not really). I needed to participate in her NO KISS BLOGFEST.

Besides, the almost kiss is my favorite kind of scene to write.


So this will just have to count as my Monday post :-)

******

This excerpt is from my YA ghost story, HAUNTED MELODY.

Melody's BF, Paige, is dead (looks like a suicide) and she lusts after her BF's boyfriend (so she's kind of a mess)!


Coming up close behind, his breath warmed my neck. He squeezed my shoulder, my skin prickling beneath the touch of his balmy hand. I remained perfectly still, praying he’d leave his fingers there.

“Mel.” He said my name so tenderly, I nearly dissolved into tears right then and there. “You sure I shouldn’t stay?”

“Yes… and no.” I turned to look at him. “I kind of need to do this alone.”

His eyes travelled over my shoulder to her room.

“I miss her.”

“I know,” he said, swiping a strand of stray hair from my eyes. “Me too.”

My stomach tingled as his eyes held mine. His lips were a whisper away, and I considered closing the distance between us.

Then the hairs rose on the back of my neck...

The Big Reveal (Part Two)

To continue on with the blogfest Jen, over at Unedited is having, today is The Big Reveal.

So I gave you a snippet yesterday of my protagonist from my new YA ghost story HAUNTED MELODY and asked you to guess what she looked like.

Did anyone guess right? The vast majority of you knocked it out of the park!

Melody is an unassuming beauty with brown hair and rich brown eyes like Rachel Bilson, or Camilla Belle (Margo actually said Camilla Belle!). She's on the short side and has a medium build. And yes, she doesn't realize how pretty she is. She's brainy and a good friend.
There were so many great comments. Diane S.' actually blew me away: "Melody has dark hair with just enough wave to make it shine in the sunlight. Her complexion is fair, and her eyes are blue -- or maybe a brilliant brown.

She has no idea how beautiful she is, because she always hates herself in pictures. No static photo can capture her liveliness, her grace, or her natural, un-posed smile. "

Um, Diane were you looking over my shoulder when I was composing my character sketch?

Thanks for participating everyone and HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Take a Guess (Part One)?

Jen over at Unedited is having a GUESS THE CHARACTER BLOGFEST today. Want to join in? Then get over there!

Here's how it works: I post a snippet from one of my stories. You read it and try to guess what my character LOOKS LIKE. Come back tomorrow for my reveal.

Easy peasy, right? So here goes.

This is from my current YA ghost story called HAUNTED MELODY. My protagonist Melody, lost her best friend Paige, to a suicide and has a tough phone call to make.
*********

“I’ll call… Paul.” A sigh escaped my lips. Not a call I looked forward to making. It was tough when someone grieved just as hard as you. Paige’s boyfriend, Paul, was a good guy. Really good. Sure, he and Paige had their ups and downs, but didn’t all couples?

The awkward thing about Paul was that we sort of had a history. Paul liked me all sophomore year. But I kept my distance because I knew Paige was crushing on him, hard. Friends didn’t go after the same guys. It was an unspoken rule. And if it had to be spoken, it got ugly.

I dialed Paul’s number and my heart picked up its pace. I hung in for four rings before he finally answered.

“Paul?”

I heard a large intake of breath before he said, “Hi Mel.”

I counted the silence with two beats of my heart and said, “Paige’s mom wants us to go to the summer house.”

“Why?”

“To help pack Paige’s things.”

There was silence. I could hear his uneven breathing.

I felt a stirring in my chest. I thought about that party sophomore year, when Paul asked me out. My pulse pounded in my ears while I explained the delicate situation. I half-heartedly told him to give Paige a chance.

I remembered like it was yesterday how Paul looked across the room to where Paige shared a chair with Laney and without skipping a beat said, “Yeah, she’s pretty.” Of course she was. And confident. And brilliant. Much more exciting than I could ever be.

Then Paul turned back to me, stared straight into my eyes, and said, “But you… you’re beautiful.” Goose bumps rose all over my body and made me shiver. No way had anyone ever thought I was better than Paige. She was the beacon of light in our foursome.

*******

There you have it. So what do you think Melody looks like?

Love Letters To Literary Crushes Blog Fest

Frankie, over at Frankie Writes is holding a blogfest in honor of the ECLIPSE premiere ( I am going to see it tonight with my girlfriends, btw).



Since Edward and Jacob get so much love, she wanted to spotlight other literary crushes!

Sounded GREAT to me!

So my love letter is to Alex Fuentes from the YA book, PERFECT CHEMISTRY.

*CLEARS THROAT* *TESTS PEN*

Dear Alex:

Or should I call you Alejandro?

You were a dangerous (being a gang-member) and sexy MC. I loved being in your world. I saw your tenderness, your dreams, goals and motivations.

Every time you walked into a scene with Britanny my heart went pitter patter! I wanted you to call me Mamacita and whisper spanish sweet nothings in my ear.

I rooted for you and Brittany and hoped you'd find a way to leave your dangerous lifestyle.

Oh, and that first kissing scene? *hawt flashes* I.so.wanted.to.be.her.

So here's to you, Alex, for making me stay up late just so I could live in your world a little while longer.

(P.S. Edward and Jacob who?)

*********

A Review From Booklist:
Tough guy Alex is primarily known by his classmates as a dangerous member of the Latino Bloods gang. He’s not exactly thrilled when Brittany Ellis, the school’s seemingly perfect beauty queen, is assigned as his lab partner—and the feeling is more than mutual. But Alex’s bravado works against him when he impulsively accepts a bet that he can get Brittany in the sack.

The romance that follows will not surprise any reader (TRUE!), yet Elkeles gives it heart by constantly switching point of view from Alex to Brittany to provide dual running commentaries on their minute-by-minute insecurities and urges. Brittany’s controlling parents and sister with cerebral palsy are well drawn, but it is Elkeles’ rendition of Alex and his life that is particularly vivid (YES!). Sprinkling his speech with Spanish, his gruff but tender interactions with his family and friends feel completely genuine.

You got any crushes to fess up about?

Let's Talk Blogfest

Roni from FICTION GROUPIE put together a dialogue blogfest today.


Which means picking a scene of dialogue to share. If you want to participate, head on over there and sign up.


I've learned lots of dos and don't with dialogue over the past two years. And I could probably stand to learn even more.

*For one, use dialogue tags (he said, she said) only when neccessay to identify someone in the scene.

*And, only use other dialogue tags like: shouted, cried, sobbed, sparingly. I used whispered in my scene below because they are in a classroom. But I probably didn't need to.

*What else should you use sparingly? Adverbs to descibe the dialogue. For example: "Get out!" John said loudly. Delete loudly. The dialogue should stand on it's own. Use stronger dialogue if you need the reader to understand the emotion.




So, here's a scene from my paranormal YA, HANDS TOUCH.

It's between my protagonist, Callen and his best friend, Aaron. Callen is able to see a person's death by touching them. He just had a second vision about a female classmate. This time, he saw how she died AND who was involved.



“Tell me something already,” Aaron whispered. “It’s killing me. Not really killing me. You know what I mean.”

Aaron chuckled nervously. It was a bad attempt at humor.

Callen looked grim. “Like I said, it was more detailed this time.”

“Did you see the date again?”

“Yep. The night of the dance.”

Aaron shifted in his chair and cleared his throat a couple of times. “Did you see how again?”

“Same thing.” Callen casually put his hand around his throat because he didn’t want to say the word choke aloud for anyone to overhear.

Aaron's eyes widened. He covered his open mouth with his hand. “Was there a who this time?”

Callen's eyes looked sunken in from the ordeal. He squeezed them shut and sighed deeply.

Aaron swallowed loudly, asking nothing further for the moment. And Callen certainly wasn’t sharing it.

After another count of silence, Aaron seemed to muster enough courage to ask, “Who was it?”

Callen took a deep breath. Keeping his hand low, he pointed his finger up the aisle.

“Huh?”

“Figure it out,” Callen whispered.

“Someone in this room?”

Callen nodded.

Aaron’s gaze searched the small room methodically until it finally landed on the right person. Awareness darkened his expression now.

“No!” Aaron mouthed.


** When I isolate a scene like this, I always find a ton of improvements I can make. Anyone else find that?

Spread the AWESOME

Today is a pay-it-forward kind of day.


A few dozen writers around the blogosphere are hugging an author today and touting their work.



This was put together by Awesomeness herself, ElenaJ. Thank you Elena, for putting together this blogfest.


The author I chose to spotlight is Lisa McMann.


I seriously have a girl crush on her!


Her Wake trilogy and her writing style are made of awesome.



And she really inspired me to play up my own style.


SO, I am giving away A SIGNED COPY of WAKE.



Lisa is sooo cool. In the signed copy she wrote "Don't Dream and Drive", something you'll understand after you read the book.

Here's the premise:

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old.

Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does -- they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak.

So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.
Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone.

For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant....

Fill out the form below and hit submit to be entered.



**The contest ends Friday, 5-7-10 at 5 p.m.**

PLEASE visit the other writers (over 60 of us!) participating in Spread the Awesome day, like Carrie Harris.

First Page Blogfest + Good News

I am participating in Kelly's Compostions First Page Blogfest. So go bloghop and read everyone's first pages.

This is PERFECT timing because I just happen to have some EXCITING news that goes expertly with this bloghop.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I shared the news that I made it to the semi-finals in the Sourcebooks Teen Fire Contest?

Well, I just got the news that I made it to the FINALS! I am one of the top seven finalists who were chosen. *lots of grins*

So, here is the passage I submitted that helped me WIN (see how it goes perfectly with this blogfest?).

It's from my Young Adult Paranormal called HANDS TOUCH:

People became prisoners of many things. Love, money, time. But gloves? Callen shook those thoughts away as he plucked a new pair out of his locker. Lighter material for springtime–-a respite for his sweaty hands.


Each pair lasted about two months. The fingertips frayed first then the edging along the palms. He knew enough about gloves to develop a better prototype someday. But that would make his life even more about the gloves. Screw that.


He tossed the ratty ones in the trash and savored this moment of freedom from the confines of his glove detention. He glanced both ways making sure he was alone in the hallway. It was lunchtime and he was excused to the bathroom. The lunch monitor, Mr. Stuckey, always took pity on him. Probably figured he needed more time, with the gloves on and all.


Mottled red bumps ran along the tops of Callen’s fingers and moved in jagged lines down his wrists. Obvious burn scars despite the flailing fluorescent lights.


Disgusting.

He was like a leper.

And not just because of his hands.


*****

So there you have it!

The other reason this is the perfect time to share this passage (given my shyness and fear of rejection)? I have a feeling the crickets will be chirping around here today, because of Easter and spring break. YEP!

HOPPY EASTER TO YOU!