Influenster

If you've ever wanted to sign up for a service that sends you FREE stuff, then Influenster is the service for you. Once you sign up with Influenster, you take surveys to receive badges that are relevant to your life. In other words, if you are a total techie, then you could take the surveys to earn the Gadgeteer badge. If you were born to be a traveler, you could unlock the Jetsetter badge. Then, once you've received all of your badges, you'll get offers for things called VoxBoxes. A VoxBox is a box full of a handful of different items from different brands (within the realm of a certain area, like beauty), that you then try out, test, and review in a survey on Influenster a few months later. Not only are you getting free items, but you can share your opinion with others and let them know whether or not something is worth trying out. I totally recommend that  everyone sign up for this, because it's a cool program that gives you the opportunity to review products (for free) that are relevant to your lifestyle.

I'M BACK!!!

Whoa! What in the world is this?! Is this a post?! From Sydney?! Omg! Yes it is!

Let's see, since the last time I posted I have probably turned eighteen, graduated high school and now I'm at good old University of South Dakota. I've been busy busy busy. But, the great news is that I have started writing again. Yay! It's just a little bit here and there, but I'm so happy that I've gotten back into it because I've really missed it.

Let's see... I really can't think of much else to add to this. I may or may not have just decided to post this because Bailey told me to. :) Have a great day!!

Oh, PS: We missed Mandy's birthday a couple weeks ago.. So.. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY MANDY!!! :D

VICTORY TOUR 2013: LIFE IN THE DISTRICTS

Victory Tour is a Hunger Games convention taking place in North Carolina in the summer of 2013, created by fans for fans. Events that will be happening at the convention include: Opening Ceremonies, a Hunger Games musical, Fashion Show/Costume Contest, a Reaping, The Tribute Games and Training Center, a movie night, and the Harvest Festival closing ceremonies. There will also be the Career Lounge, a place where those who have purchased Career level registration (Rockstar) will be able to relax between events. Those who have purchased Career registration will also be getting several more perks, to be announced at a later date.

A Kickstarter has been launched to help raise funds for this marvelous event. You can help out by donating money to help get some of your favorite Hunger Games actors there. The more you donate, the better this convention will be for the fans! To learn more about Victory Tour, head to http://victorytour2013.com

Fire is catching in 2013. Make sure you are a part of the movement, and May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor.

Senior Year: Slightly Overrated (In My Opinion)

So it has been a few weeks since I have started my senior year of high school. College has started back up, we've had assignments due, things are really kicking up. But one thing I've noticed: there's nothing that's oh so spectacular about senior year. Sure, there are some perks, like my teachers letting us out of class up to an hour early because they don't have anything else planned for that day. But overall, I don't think my senior year has started off any different than any of my other years. But I am almost 100% positive that that will change!

Everyone I've ever talked to (okay maybe not everyone, but you get my point) has said that senior year was the best year of high school. So I take that partly as my reasoning for why it'll get better. The other part is going to be me and my friends trying lots of new things, probably getting into a little bit of trouble, and most importantly, having fun and making memories! So although things like finishing my college applications, applying for scholarships and grants, graduation, and leaving the place that for 18 years I've come to know as my home (even though I despise it here!) seem daunting, I know that with some help and support from my gurrrls and my friends, I can get through anything!

P.S. I am really going to try and keep posting things about my vacation, I just got really busy! Much love, XOXO

My Author: David Foster Wallace

Procrastination is NEVER the answer

So although I always tell myself that I won't procrastinate anymore, I never take my own advice. I know, life would probably be a lot easier if I actually did things as they were assigned, but I just don't. I am a procrastinator, it is my nature to put things off until the last minute. So what have I put off this time? My summer reading assignment. My assignment was to read the assigned books (Madame Bovary and Their Eyes Were Watching God), and then complete a reading journal (consisting of character dissections, quotes and their relevance, etc.), to be turned in on the first day of school. Well about three weeks ago, I started reading Madame Bovary, and at the point of writing this blog, I have finally finished reading it. I have not started the reading journal for it. School starts Monday. I have 5 days, count em, FIVE, to read Their Eyes Were Watching God and do my reading journals for both books.

Although this might have some people worried (my mom, especially!), I am not even remotely worried. I know that I will have plenty of time to complete my assignment to the best of my ability. Even with all of the other things I have to do that all seem to be happening this weekend. So although I am putting things off until the end, I am not leaving myself without enough time to complete all that is required of me. So I suppose the moral to this story is that, although procrastination is a terrible habit, if you're going to do it, leave yourself enough time to complete everything to the best of your abilities.

My goal for this school year is to be more organized. I've purchased TWO calendars (one for my wall and one to keep in my purse at all times) and I am going to be more aware of due dates and things like that. This senior year is sure to be stressful with college applications and such, but with just a little organization, I'm sure that I can avoid some unwanted worries.

My advice? Don;t make more commitments than you can keep. Don't spread yourself thin trying to do as much as is inhumanly possible. Take on what you can handle while still doing your best. Because if it's not worth doing your best on, it isn't worth doing at all.

My author: Chuck Palahniuk

Sorry for being MIA

I really wish that I could have been posting for the last 3+ weeks. I really do. I love blogging, I love my gurrrls, and I love being able to share a bit of my life with anyone who happens to read this blog. But I think I have a valid reason for not being able to post... I was having a once in a lifetime experience in Europe! Yes, it was rainy. Yes, I was busy all day every day, and got little to no sleep. But I had a BLAST!

It started out on July 2nd. I boarded a flight on British Airways from LAX to Heathrow Airport in London. Although it was a 10 hour flight, it seemed to fly by (pun intended) because it was a really nice plane. Everyone had their own television screen and could choose what they wanted to do with it. There was TV, movies, music, and games. I watched 5 movies on the flight when I should have been sleeping, but I enjoyed myself. Then, once we finally landed (on the morning of July 3rd), I was very excited. We got our bags, met our guide for the trip, got onto our coach, etc. We started driving into London, which seemed to take forever. Then we made it to Hampton Court Palace, which was gorgeous! I wonder why someone honestly needs all of that space, but whatever floats your boat, King Henry VIII... After that we went back to the hotel and got to rest.

The next day we had a guide take us around the city of London. She was very knowledgeable and showed us a lot of things. I really enjoyed her tour because she pointed out a lot of things that were put into the Harry Potter films, like the Millennium Bridge (in Half-Blood Prince) and the Australia House, which served as the inside of Gringotts bank in Philosopher's Stone. Then we got to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. No spotting of Her Majesty though, because she was off doing things for her Diamond Jubilee. After that, we got to go to the Tower of London and see things such as the Crown Jewels (really ugly, if you ask me) and King Henry VIII's suit of armor, with a codpiece that you couldn't help but think that there had to be some exaggeration going on there! Afterwards, we got a little time to shop in the West End, and then we headed off to go see Wicked! This was my 2nd time seeing Wicked, and although I enjoyed it more my first time on Broadway, I still loved it just as much!

Then July 5th came, and it was our last day in England, which made me incredibly sad. We got to go on the London Eye, which offers some pretty amazing views of London. Then we did a little souvenir shopping, and  I got myself an Oxford University jacket, which is now my favorite jacket in the world! After that we got to meet a former Member of Parliament, who was incredibly kind, and had a great sense of humor. After that, we went to Covent Garden, which is a shopping center with souvenir type shops as well as with "normal stores" like Sunglass Hut and Build-A-Bear. We got a few hours there, so it was a nice leisurely time to shop. Then we headed to Portsmouth, England, where we had dinner and then boarded our ferry that took us to France overnight. It was almost like a cruise ship, but not nearly as nice, and the rooms were EVEN SMALLER! But it was an effective way of getting us across the English Channel.

I'll post my stories about France tomorrow or something... don't wan't to overload you guys and bore you, or anything like that!

My author: Cory Doctorow

Well...

Well I got married. It's been three weeks that I have had to put an R between the M and the S and also as my last initial. It has been a beautiful whirlwind.

Well no one posts here anymore and that makes me sad. What happened to my other gurrrls? Is anyone writing any more? Anyone reading? Anyone breathing? I'm still reading A Game of Thrones and have also started Seal Team Six which is totally out of my comfort zone but actually pretty entertaining.

Well it is still Summer and hot as a firecracker. Too hot for firecrackers actually...

Well I didn't have much to say but someone needed to post.

Well...

Author: Stephen King

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY!!!!

To the lovely Miss Amy we would all like to wish you the most magical and wonderful of birthday. I think I can speak for all of us gurrrls and whoever might view this page and say that we LOVE YOU and our lives would crumble without your presence. So here is your video Your Highness of the Ninth of June.

How Much Can You Fit On Your Plate?

I know, I know! I'm the worst! My gurrrls and I have been slacking so much with our posts but I am undoubtedly the greatest offender. It's been a couple months, at the least, since I posted and I just realized that it's Thursday so I decided to just blog. Once I made this decision, it struck me how many things I need to do that I neglect, just like this blog, and that's what I'm going to talk about today.

I'm sure I'm not the only one this happens to. Someone close to you asks you to be a part of something and you don't want to say no and let them down. Not only that but you really want to be a part of the project, whatever it may be. Or maybe, you underestimate the time commitment. Stuff like this happens to me all the time, until I realize that I have way more going on than I can handle and it makes me want to do none of it. Right now I'm on summer break but usually I've got school, work on Hogwarts Radio, work on Shadowkissed.net, editing and recording the podcast for SK.net, this blog, possibly two new podcasts, writing, and then of course, life.

The point of this is to show that you have to know what you can handle and when to say no. I find that even though I enjoy all of these things, the sheer amount of things I have to do overwhelms me and prevents me from  doing any of it. I need to learn when to say no and what I can handle. This is the only way that the important things will get done. I think everyone deals with this at some point on some scale, maybe more or less than I do. So let's all try to balance our workloads a little better! And I'll try to post more regularly!

Until next time! xoxo

Author: Cory Doctorow ( I should probably read this guy's stuff since I get him every time.)

(Reading this post back, I realize that in my quest to get my thoughts out, my post turned out  very rambly and my point is poorly made. Oh, well. Sorry!)

For a long while...

Today I will take my Spanish 102 final and I will be DONE with college for this semester. Needless to say, I am very excited because this means my summer break can finally start! Summer finally starting means a few things for me. 1) I have a couple of vacations coming up, and I am quite excited to be able to get out of the miserable dry patch of land that I must call home. 2) I will have a lot of free time, both for reading and writing, and hopefully even a little bit of transcribing for the lovely Hogwarts Radio. I really have missed being able to wake up and read from the time I wake up all the way through til the wee hours of the night, with interruptions only for eating and bathroom breaks. Reading marathons are a staple of my summer agenda. 3) I don't have to wake up early every morning to go to a school where I don't particularly learn anything of the utmost importance.

I know that school is important and all, that it helps us to become who we are, blah blah blah. But I've been ready for summer break since... oh about February. I've had so-called "senioritis" (the sickness when you're a senior and you don't have the motivation to do anything related to school because you're so ready for it to be over) for about three months, and I'm not even a senior yet! I can only imagine how bad it'll get next year.

After I walk out of my college class tonight, I will officially be a senior in high school. It is so weird to think that in just a year, I will be graduating from high school. In a little over 4 months, I will begin applying to colleges. Everything just seems to be crashing down all at once, and I'll be honest, things are a little bit overwhelming. But I'm going to just take things one day at a time.

Until next time! DFTBA!

(P.S. I hope to be much more regular with my posts now that it is summer break! Although I can make no promises whilst I am on vacation; I won't have access to a computer!)

My Author: Stephen King

H-Y-P-AB-LE

This post has nothing to  do with hypable.com. I just love saying that. But, it does have to do with HYPE! HYPE! They way things are hyped up. Do we sometimes hype things up too much and kill them? Is the hype ever worth it? Yes. And a thousand times yes!

An example of too much hype: this blog. It was more of a personal hype. I was very excited because it is Summer so I figured there would be a ton of times for posts and writing and mermaids (hint hint!!) and so many other things. No. There never seem to be enough hours in the day to do everything you need to. Today happens to be an anomaly for me. I am guessing my other gurrrls feel the same seeing as how I am posting twice in a row and they are about 2 weeks apart (another hint!). I digress.

An example of hype worth: Potter. No one can tell me that the hype leading up to a Potter release is unworthy. The midnight parties, the long debates and discussions, the many hours of speculation. All are memories I will never forget. It made the experience more of a journey than a staccato interruption of life. It was a life. Even if we were let down by something in the movie or saddened by an event in the book, the hype was worth it.

Without hype there would be no anticipation, no excitement, nothing to look forward to in life. We need hype to make life exciting once in a while and to give us something to do and to look forward to when needed. Sometimes we go a little overboard. All the hype surrounding Pottermore it what killed it in my opinion. It was fun to get the news, to wait for it, to be excited, but when the time came and we were disappointed then the hype just became annoying. Don't get me wrong, I am a proud Ravenclaw in Pottermore and I love that JKR gave it to us out of love and released the new material, but a little more organization would have been spectacular. We are a demanding fandom after all. Again, I digress.

My closing thought is that even though hype sometimes can ruin something in the end, it is the beginning that is always the fun part. And I don't know about you but personally I don't have the capability of hindsight needed to distinguish the good hype from the bad. I just believe that we need hype, but maybe sometimes just in smaller quantities.

Author: Harry Harrison

Inky Imagination

Do you read?

Read what?

Books dear. Fiction. Beautiful scrawls on paper landscapes.

This was a legitimate conversation I had earlier today. It was one of those moments when you say something the immediately look around for the person who said it. It couldn't have been you! You would never think to string those words together in a line like that. It's was one of those moments. I love those moments. Sometimes the words simply tumble out of the dictionary and fall in together in a way you can't avoid. Sometimes they make sense, sometimes they are nonsense. Sometimes they build cities or worlds, sometimes they knock walls down. Anytime I am caught off guard with words, my own or overheard, I write them down. I actually keep a small notebook in my bag to do so. If I do not have my notebook I am fortunate enough to own a smart phone and I keep a running note full of wonderful things on it. I love those moments when they happen and some should be loved forever. Maybe one day I'll use them in my own writing, maybe I'll decorate my home in them, maybe I'll just read them when I need a smile.They are everywhere in my life and to have a catalog of them keeps them safe.

Author: Stephen King

So although I said I would never do it...

So as I am sitting here in class, bored to death watching people present their mindless topics about historical people, I figured that I would hop on here and write a post, because none of my other gurrrls seem to be doing that as of late... (cough cough!) I have not had nearly enough time to write lately, due to an endless amount of projects from my teachers (two history projects, and English project, two papers in my music class and studying for a written and oral final in Spanish). However, I have been doing a lot of thinking about where I want to go to college, my major, etc. And I have come to the conclusion that I want to change my major, despite the fact that I claimed (years ago) that I would never change my major!

As much as I tried to deny the reality that my original choice was not the right option for me, I decided to give in and change it, because I don't want to live the rest of my life with regret for not doing what I wanted. My original major choice was a double major in Business Administration and English. I wanted to open my own bakery, and write on the side, just for myself. But being a baker just isn't realistic for me: I have scoliosis, and though it doesn't look like it affects me, standing for long amounts of time puts me in loads of pain. Sooooo, long story short, I have decided to change my major from Business Administration/English to a major in Journalism and a minor in English. And I feel like I will be able to enjoy that a ton more that I could have with my prior choice.

There's just one small problem: I have to tell my mom. I feel like she is going to be really judgmental about this. She's always been the one to support whatever I want to do, but I think she'll just question my decision. "Are you sure that's what you want to do?", etc. So hopefully this won't turn out bad. If I don't post ever again... you know something bad happened. Just kidding... or not.

My author: David Foster Wallace

Please Forgive Us

I hope that our readers will forgive us, because we have all been so terrible about posting lately. It's been a good month since any of us have posted (except Marissa! She's so good!) and I'm sure everyone has stopped checking out our page every day because they've given up hope for us. I totally get it, I'd get tired of waiting too. Personally, I am going to be trying really hard to post regularly. Not only on here, but on the other websites that I work on too ( http://shadowkissed.net , http://hogwartsradio.com , and just recently, as in today, http://hunger-games.net ). I have been a slacker far too long, and I want to get involved again. I miss this. So be expecting weekly posts from me again.

So now to writing. Today, in my English class, we were going over essays that we wrote a month or so ago, and the teacher was asking for people to volunteer their paper to be shown on the board as an example of how to edit our papers to a "publishable draft" as our teacher calls it. So, being the good student I am, I volunteered mine for everyone to look at, thinking "Oh, so what if they see how horribly I did on my paper," (I didn't ever finish reading the book that we were supposed to, so I assumed that I did horribly on the paper). So the teacher pulls up my paper, scrolls through it and there are no errors in my paper. Not a single one. I was shocked. It was a pleasant surprise, and it makes me have more confidence in my writing, but I am still a very self-conscious writer. I am always wondering if what I've written is good enough, or if people'll like it. That it another thing that I want to start working on though: having more faith in my writing, and not caring whether others like it or not. My writing should make me happy, no matter how good or bad it is.

I'll be back on Friday with my regularly scheduled post for everyone :)

My Author: Cory Doctorow

Handful of Randoms

So I have been feeling absolutely awful lately about not being able to post. Well I've just been feeling awful in general, but I digress. I finally got a few moments to myself on an actual computer (not a smart phone) and I come here to see that it's been WEEKS since anyone has posted. WEEKS! And here I was thinking I was letting my gurrrls down when we have all be absent. For. Shame.

I have been working my tail off in school and living on someone couch for the past 3 weeks since moving to Harrison. My life has been absolutely crazy ridiculous. Wedding, school, moving, and I know you are all completely tired of me ranting on about it. But you talk about your life and that is mine right now. So there is my apology. As 10 would say, "I'm Sorry. I'm so sorry."

Also, in case you haven't heard,

J.K. ROWLING HAS ANNOUNCED HER NEW BOOK DETAILS!!

Yes yes we are ALL very very excited. You can get all the details available here at her new site. However, in all this excitement, I am slightly sad. I may be the only one but I would like to know where her old site went? It was beautiful! This one just does not remind me of her style at all. Yes there are the scribbles and such but I want the desk and the locked door and the barking dogs back!

Finally, I have actually written a little in my own story. I think I may have written the end. I don't know if I have mentioned it but I want it to be a four book series. This may be the end of the fourth book. Or possibly the third but if that is the case then I have a lot to work around for the fourth. There is much much editing to be done however. Nothing is ever perfect the first time. So on with the editing.

And lastly (because I lied when I said finally), I have been listening to a new hilarious and thought provoking podcast about books! You can enjoy it here. Rider Strong is one of the hosts so don't be shocked to hear Shawn Hunter's dulcet tones coming through your speakers. It is a delight.

Have a wonderful rest of the month and I will see you all again after finals when I will finally FINALLY be able to take a breath again.

Author: Cory Doctorow

What a Day/Night!

Let me start off by saying that as I am writing this, I am functioning off of 2 1/2 hours of sleep so if none of this makes sense, I am sorry. Secondly, I would like to apologize to Mandy for this post (you'll see why) because it's going to be all about my night last night.

Okay. Last night was probably one of the best nights of my life. Why, you might be asking? Well, because I got to see The Hunger Games at midnight. It was the first midnight showing that I've ever gotten to go to (though I wanted to go to many a Potter one!), so it was a really cool experience. I got to the theater around 5-ish. I wanted to get there earlier, but I had a test in my Spanish class, so I kinda needed to go to my class. We waited around outside with loads of other people, and played many games of "Kill, Maim, Alliance," a very fun game, I might add. We ate "Hunger Games-y" food, and just had a great time. Then, almost at 9, they let us go into our theater. Three hours might seem like a long time to wait for a movie to start, but with all of my friends there and other fans, along with a few video crews recording stuff for the news, etc. (we think one of them worked for TMZ!) the time just flew by. Before we knew it, it was 12:01 and the previews began.

I won't get into any details of thye movie, but I will say that it was SPECTACULAR! It exceeded my expectations by about a million-fold. As soon as the film was over, the first words out of my mouth were "Is it time for Catching Fire yet?" Too bad filming hasn't even begun.

I know that I should probably be tired, but I don't feel like I am. But after today (another action-packed day, where I'll be up for a long time again) I will probably pass out as soon as I get home. Well, thats all I;ve got for now :D

My Author: David Foster Wallace

Anna and the French Kiss

Second post in a row!! Round of applause, anyone? No? Just stories from Mandy? Ok.

I've had tons going on this week and I'm also quite busy today, so my post won't be that long. I read a book a couple months ago and I just recommended it to a friend and she loved it, so I thought I'd share it with everyone. This isn't going to be a proper review, but here we go! 

The book is called Anna and the French Kiss and it's by Stephanie Perkins. I'll put the description from Stephanie's website here, since I'm terrible at summarizing stories.

"Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss? Stephanie Perkins keeps the romantic tension crackling and the attraction high in a debut guaranteed to make toes tingle and hearts melt."

I really enjoyed this book. The main characters really pull you in, especially Anna and St. Clair, who are both funny and full of wit. I felt like I could connect to Anna and could see where she was coming from in the ways she reacted to the events in her life. I think it's a great coming of age story, and it accurately portrays a girl at that age. I loved how throughout the story, the way Anna reacted to similar situations changed as she matured and grew up. Paris is an amazing city for this story to take place; it's like a character in its own right. From the title, I had assumed it was going to be a cliche, cookie-cutter book but it really surprised me with the depth of character and emotions.

If you're looking for a book to read (or even if you're not) I would highly recommend Anna and the French Kiss! Give it a read and come back here and comment letting us know what you thought! If you have read it, let us know now! 

Lazy Day

My life is crazy right now. I've been working crazy hours and this weekend is Hunger Games weekend, which means I'm trying to do a million things before all hell breaks loose tomorrow. It sucks and I know I should be doing an actual post, but enjoy this youtube video!

Upside Down

That is how my life is right now. Last week was kind of boring. I mainly was just in school praying for the weekend. I am on Spring Break this week and extremely glad about it. But starting Saturday my life has been a literal roller coaster (figuratively of course).

Saturday I went to the First Ever Ninth Annual World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade in Hot Springs. It was a literal blast (not figuratively). In the middle of the parade a transformer BLEW UP about 40 feet away from me. It was absolute chaos. Only one person was seriously injured and they were taken away in an ambulance right in front of me. I could have reached out and touched the stretcher.

After the parade my dad and I went to the 38 Special concert. I had forgotten how much I adore going to legit concerts. Except for dealing with the drunks it was an incredible concert. The smoke and the lights and the music were only half of it. Watching the band have fun and interact with the crowd and dance around stage and mess with each other made the whole concert. You could see they truly love what they do. I was so close to the stage I could see the sweat dripping off their faces and could read the labels on the drum set. When I got home that night my heart was still pounding, my hearing still half gone, and my face still smiling. You know it was a great concert if that happens.

Sunday was kind of blah.

Today was the kicker. I am at my parent house in Benton. I had only been away for about 15 minutes when all this happened. I woke up to my aunt calling me to say that my cousin's water had broke. She lives in Fayetteville. This is probably the closest I will ever some to having a nephew. My cousin Kevin and I are the only children in the family. We are 14 years apart but we are extremely close to each other. He is the closest thing to a sibling I have ever had. His son is being born today and I will be up there as soon as my dentist appointment is over this afternoon.

The second thing today was a total shock. It happened about an hour ago and I am still shaking and my heart is still pounding, but not in the way the concert made it pound on Saturday. The concert brought life into it. This about killed me. I had just gotten off the phone with my aunt (remember this all happened within 15 minutes of each other) and someone starts beating on my door. I thought it was UPS with a wedding package and wanted a signature. I changed into some proper clothes (as I was in my pjs since I had just woken up) and I answered the door. Standing on my driveway was a man I had not seen in about 5 years and did not even recognize until he told me his name. It was another cousin of mine who had basically dropped off the face of the earth. We have heard from him once in my entire life and that was 5 years ago. He asked where my parents were (at work!) and said he would drop back by this evening. I closed the door and literally collapsed in shock. I just laid on the floor for about 20 minutes trying to calm down.

So why do you care? You probably don't but I had to tell someone. My brain is absolutely going crazy with everything that has happened. I feel like I am in a work of fiction. One of these episodes will probably end up somewhere in something I write. You can't make this stuff up! I guess, in short, my advice today is take scenes from your life. There are somethings that will happen to you that you would have never imagined in your wildest dreams. Tweak your stories to fit your fiction. I think I have said this before, but I passionately believe it. If you don't put some of yourself into your stories then they aren't really your stories. Your thoughts, beliefs, loves, hates, life will come through regardless. I believe that is what makes every story unique. You can write the same story as someone else, but you will have your own viewpoints, ideas, and insight. Start there.

Just a few things...

First of all, I would like to say that I hope everyone has had an amazing week. I know that though there were some ups and dowens, overall my week was pretty fabulous. I've not really got anything to talk about. Project Create is going quite well for me. I need to upload some of my stuff though because so far it is just sitting around. I thought I would talk about Amy's post yesterday (shockerrr!).

I, like Amy, am a very self-conscious writer. I love writing. But I do occasionally get the feeling that I'm not good enough. Sometimes I don't know what to write, or how to word something. But I just keep chugging along, hoping something will come to me eventually. I don't think that my posts on here are particularly entertaining or anything, but I do enjoy writing this blog with my gurrrls. Sometimes I might come up with a witty remark, but for the most part I think I am boring.

I've not written anything for fun in a long time. Probably since the middle of January. But soon (after Girl Scout cookie season is over) I will get back to writing. I am even contemplating doing ScriptFrenzy this next month. But I don't know. Maybe I can talk my gurrrls into doing it with me (are you in?) and I'll be more motivated to actually do it. Well, thats all I've got to say at the moment, so I'll stop trying to think of things to put on here.

My Author: Cory Doctorow (I really must read some of his writing, seeing as I keep getting him!)

I'm Not That Fond Of You

Woahhh! Can it be? A post? From me?! Despite the fact that I have not posted in ages, it is really me! I have not posted in such a long time. I'll get to that in a minute, but first I'm going to address what has motivated me to post today. I'm being bribed by Mandy, we all are. On time posts from all of us for two weeks, and we get chapters from her story. I'm doing this, we all are, but revenge is sweet, gurrrl. Moral of the story: Don't bribe people, kids!

Moving on to my topic for today's post, what I like least about writing (which also happens to be the reason I haven't posted in a long while). I hate the ever-present speculation on what other's will think of it. I know that that is really not what I should be thinking about while writing, but sometimes I can't help it. It becomes so discouraging and it inhibits my writing to the point where I just stop.

In terms of this blog, I see the posts from my gurrrls and they are all so good and amusing and I look at mine and get discouraged because they aren't as good. This leads to me shooting down every idea I come up with to blog about, which leads to me not having anything to blog about, which leads to no posts from me. It is a very convoluted and self-destructive process.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who goes through this in their writing, but I think we should all stop. When writing, the most important person that needs to enjoy the writing is the writer. We shouldn't let ourselves get psyched out based on the work or the opinions of others. I'm going to work on this, and if any of you readers have this problem, you should work on it, too.

Hopefully I'll get my act together and get back to regular, weekly posts! Until then, may the odds be ever in your favor! Goodbye! (I am in a very Hunger Games mood right now, what with the movie coming out in a week after waiting for years and years. Sorry, Mandy.)

-Amy

Author: Cory Doctorow

The Savage Grace by Bree Despain Book Launch

Okay, in the spirit of my enjoyment of author signings and book launches, I'm going to talk about another launch party, this time for The Savage Grace by Bree Despain.

The Savage Grace is the third book in The Dark Divine trilogy following The Dark Divine and The Lost Saint. I first came across the first book when Bree was doing a signing at the movie theater during a midnight release of one of the Twilight movies. And, me being the nerd I am, had to buy it because it's a book and the synopsis on the back sounded pretty awesome.

So anyways, about two weeks ago, I got a text from a friend of mine saying "TSG comes out on March 13. We're going." Of course, we basically said the same thing to another friend of ours and that other friend brought another friend, meaning the four of us piled into my Mazda and drove to King's English. What makes these friends absolutely awesome is that there was another book launch by Brandon Mull, but they decided to come with me to this one.

Arriving at the bookstore, we decided to buy our books before going to the Gallery two doors down where the release was being held. Considering one of my friends has gone with me to a lot of signings and was only just purchasing The Dark Divine, shows you how much I had to bother her to actually buy something this time.

Me With The Savage Grace

So, going into the gallery, we were given a questionnaire with trivia having to do with the first two books. Unfortunately, my issue with double guessing myself reared its ugly head and I didn't get as many answers as I could possibly get. There were some awesome prizes for those who aced the trivia, though, such as a moonstone ring and a box of Chocolate Cinnamon Bears.

Bree spoke about what it was like to finish a series, about her kittens divine, and, of course, Taylor Kitsch. We were able to hear her read a part of The Savage Grace and even got a small summary of what her next series is about -- Fall 2013 can't come soon enough.

Compared to a couple other book signings we've been to, this line wasn't too long to wait in. We got our books signed and got some pictures with her.

Maegen and Bree Despain

Mandy and Bree Despain

I think one of my favorite things about going to Bree's signings, besides being able to say hello and have a new book, is the fact that there's always nail polish that goes with the book covers. I have them sitting on my dresser waiting for me to use if I ever get time to sit down and do it.

After the signing, we all went to Village Inn and literally sat for two hours just talking and playing Draw Something on my iPod, which Marissa can tell you about.

Here's a summary about The Dark Divine, because the summary of The Savage Grace does contain a couple of spoilers for the first two books:

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel's dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

If you get a chance to get your hands on The Dark Divine Trilogy you really won't be disappointed.

Now, I'm about half way through The Savage Grace so I'm going to sign off with a Happy Hump Day!

ehh...

Do you ever have those times when you just plain don't care? Yeah you do. Everyone does. Sometimes you just want to curl up in bed and sleep. That's how I have felt lately. Except with midterms, wedding, my cousin expecting to have her baby any day now, and everything else I can't just sleep. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and do the things you need to do. And as always I have tied this in with writing. My advice today is to create goals for yourself. Tell yourself if you do this much then you can do this. Create rewards to motivate yourself to finishing the tasks that need to be done. For example, if I read two chapters in my microbiology book then I can work on the nativity set I am making for my new baby cousin. You can use this both ways in writing. You can say you are going to work this much on your story before you can do this. Or you can say I am going to get this done then I can allow myself to work on my story. Either way creates an opportunity to get things done and to help you sort your priorities. And that is all I have today. Sorry about no posting lately. I will try to get back on schedule soon. Next week is Spring Break and I am doing nothing but going to the dentist and organizing my life. Sounds fun, huh? Well once I do that I am allowing myself time to read and see the Hunger Games. Can't wait!!

Author: Cory Doctorow <-- someone buy me this guys work! Oh wait...tax refund!! Yay! I'll let you know how I like it :)

Happy Birthday Sydney!!!

On behalf of all of us here at Tripppy, I would like to send a very special HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of our favorite gurrrls in the whole world, Sydney! Hope you have the best birthday Syd! We all love you.

Sh*t Writers Say

Okay so I admit, I have no idea what to post today. Life's been so hectic that I've barely been able to write anything besides the review for the Sphinx Project. So instead of talking about things that make no sense, I leave you today with an awesome youtube video about writers and a promise to have a good topic next week!

Too Lazy To Come Up With A Title

I don't have anything particularly interesting to talk about this week, but I felt obligated to my gurrrls and whoever may read these posts to at least try to come up with something good. But what should I talk about? I could talk about how as I am writing this, I am on break from school, but have to go back to class in a little more than an hour. I could talk about how I woke up this morning and didn't want to go to school whatsoever. Any one of these would do. But for some reason, all I can think about right now is how I want nothing more than for March 23rd to get here, for the Hunger Games movie. And then after that? I want time to just whiz by in the blink of an eye, to where school is out for the summer, and I've got two amazing vacations to look forward to. I am so done with school right now, the only thing I can focus on when I go to class is how much I would rather be anywhere else. Sure, my friends make it a little better, but I can't take much more of this. College sucks. High school sucks. But soon enough, it'll be spring break, and I'll have a week of vacation. Things to look forward to.

Also, it is so windy outside right now that it sounds like I am going to get blown all the way down the street if I step outside. It's a little frightening, but whatever. Just one more "perk" to living in the Antelope Valley. Outrageous wind.

My Author: Cory Doctorow

Short and Sweet

Today's post will abide by it's name. I have no real advice for you today. A person can only give so much good advice before she begins to repeat herself. Let me live and little more and learn a little more before I jump back in. But I still wanted to keep you updated with my literary life. I am still working on the planning of my story. It will definitely take a while. However, I also recently bought two new books. They are rather mainstream and I feel behind on reading them. But I also believe that it is never too late to consume wonderful literature. I bought The Fault in Our Stars and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I am reading the latter of the two now and I am finding it hard to put down. There are so many beautiful words, sentences, paragraphs! It makes me really think about what I say, what I write, what I feel. I love the stories the sculpt your soul and I believe this to be one of them. So my advice: read. Read. Read read read and read more. Read until you feel the way that I do now. Read until it changes your life then find something else to read to change it again. Read.

Author: H. P. Lovecraft

Review: The Sphinx Project (The Chimaera Chronicles Book 1) By Kate Hawkings

Title: The Sphinx Project (The Chimera Chronicles Book 1)
Author: Kate Hawkings
Published: February 28, 2012

Summary:

Not many people can say their entire existence has been one big lab experiment: poked and prodded by scientists, genetically modified to be the best and endure the worst, subjected to daily tests and trials that would kill a normal human. All Michaela wants is her own life, to be able to go to school, flirt with boys, maybe eat ice cream now and then. So when the chance to escape finally comes, Michaela and her sister grab it, taking their friends with them.
But they weren't the only ones to find their way out of those labs. Following close behind are another breed of creature, one that doesn't know the difference between right and wrong, who exist only to feed their own hunger. The appearance of a strange boy who seems to be too much like them to be a coincidence makes things even more confusing makes things even more confusing. But as the world begins to literally fall apart around them, Michaela must accept his help, especially when she could lose the very thing she holds dearest: her sister.


Review

Have you ever read a book that leaves you speechless and anticipating the next one? That's exactly what The Sphinx Project does!

From the first minute you begin this book, you'll be hooked until the very end, unable to put the book down until you've reached the final page.

An action packed, fast paced Young Adult novel, this book will have you on the edge of your seat. Kate Hawkings has created an amazing paranormal Y story that has no parallels. From kick-ass heroines, like Michaela and Nicole, to brilliant plot twists and turns that will leave you wanting more.

If you don't have this book on your To Be Read list, you really don't know what you're missing. Once you've read the book, you'll be infected by the Chimaera Chronicles!

A New Page...

I didn't post last week. I have no excuses. So now that that is out of the way, I'm going to get today's post underway. Today has been a wonderful day so far. In fact, as soon as I finish this post I'm heading over to Starbucks. And earlier this week I picked up my midnight showing tickets for The Hunger Games (I can barely contain my excitement that the movie is less than a month away... Sorry Mandy! :P). So this week has been really good for me.

With the news of J.K. Rowling's new book also coming this week, I thought that I would write about that. Queen Rowling has moved on from her old project, something you might have heard of before called Harry Potter. And now she has moved on to a new project, one that has yet to be announced. And for all of us who are incredibly sad that she isn't writing more Potter books, sometimes you just need to move on as a writer. Change toppics. I have my project that I started for NaNoWriMo last year, and I've not touched it since December. I haven't had the urge to continue it. But I have started a few new projects, that I think have some promise. And I think thats what Jo did with Harry too. Though she wants to put out an encyclopedia of Potter, she needed to move on to something else for a while. Just because she isn't working on Potter now doesn't mean she won't in ten years. And just because I've not continues my NaNo book doesn't mean that I won't continue it sometime in the next year.

My Author: (coincidentally enough) J.K. Rowling

P.S. Girl Scout cookies come in this weekend! I shall send pics to my gurrrls of all of the cookie chaos in my garage tonight :)

Lazy-Eye Moody

So lately I have been in a funk. I was sick a little while back and cannot get rid of this cough! But I haven't really had a chance to rest to help it anyway. Not that it is a bad thing though. I've have been full steam ahead working on wedding stuff. Friday I met with my decorators, Saturday my bridesmaids picked out their dresses, Sunday was spent making "what's left" lists and organizing the rest of the payments due. It's been run run run. And it continues to be that way with school. Three tests this week. Fun stuff. Interestingly enough, I have been lazy as well. I wake up and have to convince myself that I can take a nap later just so I will get out of bed and go to class. I hardly ever have time to take said nap, but it seems to be good motivation at the time.

However, in the middle of everything I continue to work on my story. When I have an idea I immediately write it down. But I don't marry it. I just keep it in case I want to use it. For instance, I have three versions of a background story for some of the supporting characters. I don't know which one I like more or if I like a combination. Point it, I have them handy. If I am in class I will flip to a lean page in my notebook and write. If I don't have paper I will make notes on my smart phone. I usually have one of the two, but if I don't I search for the nearest substitute. I love some of the things I learn about my characters and I don't want to lose any of it. So there is my advice. Write whatever comes to mind, whether it makes sense or not. You can always edit and cut and paste. That's what writing is in my idea. It is a story that is continually edited. Whether you publish or not, continue to edit.

On the other hand, with this blog I never edit. I may spell check, but I just let the words flow usually. That is why they seem a little disconnected sometimes. I try to make them flow into something pretty but they usually end up like scribbles in my head. But it does help. It helps me get out what I have been thinking writing wise. And it helps to see what my other gurrrls are thinking about. I am so glad I decided to do this blog with them. It may end up veering away from writing sometimes but I always try to bring it back with some connective lesson. So here is the second one for the day that ties in with the first: keep some kind of journal. I know this has been written about before, but siriusly :) DO IT! It really does help. Even if it is just the place where all your story idea are put. Mine is this blog. I already explained why so I will not be redundant. Instead, I will stop my ramblings and go to sleep. Got a test tomorrow morning and a dinner for my fiance's work tomorrow night. Like I said: run run run!! But I should be able to squeeze in a nap between the dinner and my business law class. Yeah...that will work...

Author: Cory Doctorow (I get this guy a lot. I need to read his stuff!)

I'm Sick

First of all I would like to apologize for not posting last week. I didn't remember until I was already supposed to write up this week's post. As for this week, I have been sick as a dog since Friday. I barely got out of bed Saturday and Sunday. The title of this post is kind of a joke. I am a very annoying sick person, but my fiance and I kind of joke about it. I use "I'm sick" for any excuse I need. I want to watch Doctor Who because I'm sick. I want to eat sushi because I'm sick. I want to go to London because I'm sick. Even when I am not sick I use this excuse. It has become a great little joke between us and our friends. So that is my excuse for this week's late posting :) I'm feeling better but I still have a cough like a ninja that randomly sneaks up and tries to murder me. I know you care and all...

Anyway here is my post. Yesterday was my first real productive day since I got sick and I had to go to an 8am microbiology lecture and lab. During lecture I let my mind wander to my story. I don't know if it was the class or that I wasn't feeling great or both but I ended up killing about 10 people in my story. It was not anyone major, simply some people in a background story of some of my characters, but they were still real fictional lives I snuffed out. I like where the story went, but here is my warning: beware of feelings. They can get to the best of us. Even JKR had this happen when she almost killed off Ron (thank Merlin she didn't!) because she was in a foul mood. Don't be the stoic and ignore them, because they are part of who you are. Therefore, let them leech into your story. But here lies the rub. Don't throw anything away. You may kill someone one day, let them live the next, then get to the final draft of the story and realize that you do need them dead. Worst case scenario is you don't use that draft at all, but it will give you a better picture of who your characters are and why they act the way they do. JRK is applicable here too. She has an entire background story on so many characters that she truly got to know them and was able to determine how they acted because of their past. Hardly any of them made the final cut, but this made them more believable and real to the readers. So let your emotions fill the pages. It's your story after all and should be a part of you. So let yourself be a part of it.

Just Writing to Say Hello...

I recently had a conversation with a friend about the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. We were talking about how Charlie's letters seemed to help him and that we wished we could have something like that to get our emotions out there. So I said "Why don't we just do it?". He was a little hesitant at first, but after decided on fake names for both of us to use, we said we'd do it. I don't think we are going to mail them or anything, but you never know. Even just writing things out is sure to help somewhat. I'm quite excited and am going to start writing my letter as soon as I'm done with this blog post.

The point I wanted to make in this post is that sometimes, you can't talk to people you know about troubles you may going through. Whether it's because you can't trust them, don't think they'd understand what you're going through, or simply can't find the right words. But writing can help with a lot of things. And even if you're not writing letters to some random stranger like Charlie is, you can still write. Write in a journal, on a white board, write wherever (as long as it's legal!). Something that I like to do when I get really emotional is write down all of my sad/mad/angry feelings onto a piece of paper, and then burn it. It makes me feel as though all my problems are burning along with that paper, and I'm free to feel better emotions. And this usually happens... at least once a week. My gurrrls know that sometimes my mom just makes me want to crawl up into a ball and die. But I would never do that because there are plenty of people who love my who would be very sad if I did such a stupid thing.

SO my point is, write. Write about your emotions, all of them. It helps. It really does. And that's coming from someone who feels like they could break down every day.

For Sydney: That is a really good question. After immediately thinking of J.K. Rowling, I also thought of John Green and then I went to Stephen Chbosky. So I suppose my answer would be a mix between thee three of them. But really I'd be happy with any of them.

P.S. Ten points to anyone who can guess what name my friend came up for me to write my letters as! <3:Dx

My author: William Shakespeare

Keep Trying

Yes, I'm late. I had a busy Friday night, and then a busy weekend, and I never got around to coming on to post. Heck, I was lucky I found time to go read chapter 6 of Mandy's story. But, while I wasn't on here posting my highly awaited blog post (that's sarcasm, if you can't tell), I was getting my inspiration for my post.

Friday night I went to my school's talent show. And as always, there's the really good acts, and the ones that are... sub par. They don't suck but they're not the best, if you know what I mean. And it made me think of writing. Some people are incredibly adept at it, and others could use some help. But you know what they all have in common? The courage to go out there and risk making a fool of themselves because they are doing what they love to do. And that's how I feel about writing. I'm not the most confident person in my writing, but whenever I do show someone a bit of it, whether it's personal writing or a school assignment, I always seem to get lots of positive feedback about how great I am at writing. You'd think that'd convince me? Well, it doesn't. But I still continue to write because I love doing it. And that should be everyone's inspiration to write. Not because you have to or you think you might become famous from it (because lets face it, it's hard to become a well-known author), but because you truly want to.

My author: Cory Doctorow

Writing About What's Real

When I write, it's usually about reality with a little fantasy splashed in to make it more entertaining. I like writing about mermaids, angels, demons, and everything in between. That's a known fact about me that everyone who knows about what I write knows. I never thought that I could write a book about real life topics like Sarah Dessen or Emily Brontë so I stuck to what I knew I could right.

Now, looking back on it, I know I was just scared. Books such as Dreamland and Just Listen by Sarah Dessen are things I could never even dream about writing. The topics are so hard to write about because you don't want to offend people and give them the wrong impression.

For my English major, I had to take two semesters of a foreign language. I'd had my heart set of Italian or Russian just to give me a challenge and have some fun. Unfortunately for me, they didn't have Italian 1010 or Russian 1010 available during a spring semester. They did, however, have American Sign Language (ASL) so I decided to give it a try.

During my classes, I found myself enjoying it more and more, especially with how many hours I was in class plus a weekly lab and studying on my own or with friends. We had to be in the mindset of not being able to talk for long periods of time, but having to find ways to communicate even if we didn't know the sign for a word.

When I saw Switched At Birth a while later, I decided that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to write a book about a character who was deaf. Of course, that was easier said than done seeing as I've tried distinguishing between thoughts and signing in writing and let me tell you that it's nearly impossible to do unless you're bolding, italicizing, underlining, or whatever other fancy things you can do. So instead, I chose a different topic that's not so far from a deaf character.

Currently, my Writing In Progress is to a huge concrete road block like the one that blocks my shortcut home from campus thanks to flooding this past year. I know where I want to go and how I want to get there, but I'm not quite sure how to make the words flow.

I suggested a story idea to Bailey and she really liked the idea so I began writing it. It's been coming out great so far, but the tricky part is that it's not my usual Urban Fantasy. This is actually about real life and has no magic or fantasy in it what-so-ever. That means that I have to do even more research than I normally would. My plan is that on my next free day, I'll spend the day at the library to do research since I trust books more than I do the internet even with how often I'm online.

With this new idea, I keep wondering what happens if I offend someone? What happens if all the facts are wrong and I'm made to look like a fool? Then I realize that this story may never be published or even looked at by another person who isn't part of this blog, but it's something for me to have fun with. It's a new challenge. If it doesn't work out, that's a shame, but it's not the end of the world.

I know what my strengths are and that's good, but sometimes you have to try something new. You have to step out of your comfort zone and prove, even if it's just to yourself, that you can do it.

This week's author: Not even going to put it because it never changes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BAILEY!!!

Everyone at Pen, Paper, Priorities would like to wish our very own Bailey a Happy 17th Birthday! Congratulations on finally being able to get your apparition license and use magic outside of Hogwarts! Hope your day is absolutely magical!

Real or Not Real?

So I have been having trouble lately with deciding who is lying through their teeth and who is telling the golden truth. So many tabloids and so many stories. So many friends and wanna-be's. This troubling issue will be my topic for the day. But as confused and angry as I am I will take the high road and put my famous optimistic spin on it.

Don't listen to 100% of what people say. No matter how much the gold from the honey dipped words gleams, take your daily dose of salt with it. And vis-versa (as Train says) "when words keep you from feeling good use them as firewood and let them burn." People will tell you they love your work just to make you happy or to make you go away. People will also tell you how horrible your work is to hurt you intentionally or to make themselves feel better. Very few people will give you the real talk on your work and those are the ones you must sort out from the others. I have my gurrrls in that spot for sure. But you can take the glass half full approach with the other people too.

For the ones who just love love love your work with their pitiful smiles: listen closely to what they say. In my experience people will try to prove themselves worthy by pointing out their favorite parts. I have actually taken this approach and used it myself. But I use it because of the lesson I have learned from it. Usually the parts people remember are your best bits. Maybe try to focus on where to take those or maybe elaborate on them. You can also see how they were written and put that technique into other parts of your writing.

For the ones who think you have no potential: listen closely to what they say. They will point out parts to you that need to be fixed. Go back and work on them. Period.

Finally, the last lesson from both of these situations is don't let your pride get in your way. Don't let people puff your pride up to where you think you are Lord Voldemort and think you are invincible. But also don't let people knock you down so much that you feel worthless and give up. Too much pride and your work will become stale. Too little and you work may end.

Summary: take what people say and twist it to be constructive. It can always be constructive. You have to really look for those rainbows on a rainy day (and that was kind of cheesy so I apologize).

And for Bailey: I have been reading my microbiology book lately! Yay for school. But Siriusly the last book I read that I had a hard time putting down was the Hunger Games. I read the first book in a week, the second in two days, and the third in 12 hours. And my fiance was rushing me so he could read them. But I know you have read that one. So how about Narnia? I know it's a classic and it's been out forever but it's not a bad read. I am reading it now. Between my micro chapters of course :)

Author: Chuck Palahniuk

Great Books

I am on time! Soooo... yeah :P haha I made sure that I was going to be on time, just so I wouldn't get criticized. (Love you gurrrls! <3:Dx) Now what to write about...

I suppose I'll write about reading. Oh how creative of me, right? Last night, I started reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (I know Sydney has read this book, I don't know if any of the other Tripppy gurrrls have), and the book had me crying and laughing simultaneously, and that was by page 25. And though it was late, I had to keep reading. After I got past chapter five, I decided I'd put it down so I could get a decent night's sleep. But I wanted to stay up ALL night to finish it. And it hit me how I hadn't read a book like that in a long time, where I didn't care how crabby I was the next day, or if I fell asleep in clas, that I just wanted to keep reading. And so now that is one of my goals in my own writing, is to make those kinds of books. The ones that everyone anticipates, and devours in a few hours. I doubt if I'll ever have the skill to do that, but a girl can dream, right?

So I have a question to my gurrrls. What book(s) have you read recently that have had you hooked on them? Because I'm always looking to expand my reading arsenal, and I'm sure others are too. Also, I am incredibly jealous that Mandy got to go to a book launch :P

My Author: Ray Bradbury

Awesome Book Launch

Yesterday, I had the amazing pleasure of attending the book launch of Everneath by Brodi Ashton. I thought I'd share some of the fun experience I had.

To start off, I'll just say that that parking was completely impossible to find and we ended up parking half a block away and walking. We arrived only a couple of minutes late, but we decided to buy the book from King's English, the local bookstore who was hosting the launch. When we got into the launch at the 15th Street Gallery, it was packed with an insane amount of people. We couldn't really see much, but it was fun to hear about publishing experience.

After that, we made our way to the line for the book signing, which was out the door. It took us about ten minutes to get into the small bookstore, where it was extremely claustrophobic. As we waited, we had some awesome conversations and even began to read the book.

There were some awesome treats for us as we waited in line, including a cake that had the cover of the book on it. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a picture of it, but you can imagine. Once we got up to the front of the line, we met a very amazing author. My favorite signings are always the local authors because it's so surreal to know that authors don't live in some mythical world.

The picture above is a picture of my friend Brittany (left) and Brodi (right).

She was such an amazing person to meet and her book is brilliant. I'm only two chapters in so far thanks to work and other commitments, but I'm totally hooked. When I finish the book, I'll post a review and let you know my thoughts.

Check out Everneath by Brodi Ashton!

Until next time!

My Censor Soapbox

Well this week I really have nothing of my own to talk about. So I will simply talk about Mandy's censorship challenge. My views on censorship are best explained in the same way the Miss Oklahoma answered her question in the Miss America pageant this year. Her question was about what she thought about the government stepping in to control our diets. Her answer was that she did not agree with it. It begins with the parents. If the parents can instill good morals and decision making abilities in their children then the government shouldn't have to step in at all.

I believe it is the same with internet censorship, as well as any other type. The way a child is brought up will dictate how that child will act for the rest of their lives. For instance, I believe I am a good example of this theory. My parents brought me up in church (Southern Baptist). They taught me about the beliefs I have now. Not only in religion, but in tolerance, in etiquette, in basically everything. My parents never censored me, but I know my limits. One specific example is Rugrats. When I was a kid, some of my friends were not allowed to watch the Rugrats cartoon. Their parents were afraid that they would end up like Angelica. That was (and still is) my favorite cartoon. I knew better than to take on her attitude. I was raised better than that.

In conclusion, I don't really believe in censorship. I believe that people have their own minds and choices. It is their problem if they don't know how to control it. People should know their own limitations and should know what is in the world so that they are not blindsided.

Author: Ray Bradbury

This post has NOT been censored

I know, I know. I promised that my post would be on time this week. And then Friday came around, and I had school, and homework, and a school dance at night. So I'm sorry that I wasn't on time. Now I thought that today I would talk about my viewpoint on censorship, like Mandy. I have always had a viewpoint on censorship, for almost as long as I can remember. My mom, never a huge reader herself, never bothers to "check" what I'm reading. So I've been allowed to read anything I want, from vampire books to wizard books, books about succubi and sex, to books about teenagers and hard drugs. And I think that's made me believe that parents shouldn't censor what their children read. My opinion is that if a child is willing to read, you shouldn't stop them. Because what if, in stopping them, you take away their desire to read? As it is, plenty of kids these days would much rather do anything thats not reading, so its rare, at least from what I've seen, when a kid wants to read. When I started up my school's book club this year, the ASB President said "Who reads for fun?!" I was shocked. But I suppose I shouldn't have been. Anyways, I think censorship, of anything, is wrong. People should be allowed to make their own opinions on anything, instead of being forced to not read or do something because its the law.

In other news [caution, possible rant ahead], as I sat down to write this, my mom came over to the computer and said "What are you doing?", in that tone that means "You're probably doing something that I wouldn't approve of." So she starts reading the screen, and I say "Oh, I'm just blogging," which I know is something she probably wouldn't approve of (she's evil, and crazy overprotective), and she replies "And did I ever say you could have a blog? Oh, no, I didn't. But you don't care, do you? Of course you don't. I just answered my own question." I wanted to say something, but was so angry that I couldn't get anything to come out. It's not like I should have to ask her about everything I do, is it? I mean, I made my email account when I was seven, and she never got mad about that. I don't know. Sometimes (A.K.A. every day) I just wish that I was already in college, living far, FAR away from California, with no one to answer to but myself. Le sigh. Oh well, one day soon. Much love.

My author: Ray Bradbury

Censorship is *****

As you noticed, there was no post yesterday on the blog. No, this wasn't me being an airhead and forgetting to post. Again. It was decided that I wouldn't post as part of the strike against the Protection IP Act and SOPA. Not only will these laws destroy the internet, but they also violate America's First Amendment of Freedom Of Speech.

Going on that same topic, Censorship *****.

Plain and simple. We know that censorship is part of being an author and life in general. You have to censor yourself with everything you do. Growing up in a very conservative area, I have had to censor myself all my life. It's really a difficult thing to do, but censorship is different from disagreeing.

As a writer, I write about very controversial topics. Knowing I'll have my books challenged and possibly banned is fine by me. The only issue I have with it is that it's forcing your own opinion on someone else. Taking books out of a library means that children can't read a work of classic literacy like Catcher In the Rye or authors from JK Rowling to Laurie Halse Anderson. It's like saying I can't have an opinion.



America is not the only place affected by PIPA. Every social media site like Facebook, Tumblr, sites like Blogger and Wikipedia are threatened. The entire world will suffer if this vote passes. Please, go onto http://americancensorship.org/ and sign the petition. Even if you're not from America, your voice can still matter just by scrolling down a little further and submitting your e-mail.

Alright, my rant is over. Sorry, but this is a sensitive topic for me and I know it is for everyone else as well. For my gurrrls, what's your opinion on censorship?

Author: None for today because Mandy's running late and should already be out of the house while she's writing this.

EDIT: SOPA and PIPA have been stopped thanks to Obama saying that he wouldn't support the bills.

Not Late

This post isn't late. It is being written exactly when I wanted to write it. Now, let's all believe that is true.

I don't have a catchy segue or a heartfelt post for this week. I started back to school, I started a new job, my fiance started ball tournaments. Life is crazy right now. And even though I have not written hardly anything all year (haha) I have not given up. I was listening to an old Hogwarts Radio episode with John Granger and he reminded me that J.K. Rowling took a long time to write her book because she did so much planning. So that is where I am at. I have my idea, I have a few details, now I am just planning. If a scene comes to me I write it down, but for the most part I am just trying to figure out how this story will unfold. So I guess my advice for this week never throw anything away. Whatever idea you have write it down or type it out and catalog it. It may not go anywhere or it may develop into a story itself. You can always go back to this list of ideas when you get stuck on another story and use one as a springboard to get going again. Just don't give up or think an idea is stupid. You never know where it will take your story.

Author: J. D. Salinger

Life Gets in the Way... And That's Okay!

First of all, I would like to apologize for the extreme delay in my post. Normally this post would have come on a Friday, but instead, life got the best of me. What exactly I got caught up in, I can't remember, but I'm sure it was important at the time. But while I wasn't on here posting, I came up with a few great ideas for stories that I want to start (see my word goal for the year? It's finally got some numbers in it :P). And the point of my post is that it is 100% okay if you don't write for a few days, or even weeks at a time. Because sometimes, it might seem like a daunting task, or you just might not be feeling it. Sometimes you just need to get your mind off of writing. And sometimes, there are things that need to be done before you can sit down and write for the day. And during the off time, things can become clearer. You can come up with ideas that you might not have otherwise come up with. So don't be discouraged if you don't write for a few days, or even weeks. Because you can always pick up where you left off.

In response to Mandy's question, why all of us gurrrls write, I feel my answer is quite simple. I write to escape whatever thoughts I might be thinking or problems I might be having. Sometimes life just gets to be too much for me, and I'll break down and become an emotional wreck. I've only found two things that will help me cope so far: reading a book whilst cranking music into my ears to drown out all thought, and writing. Writing is the best form of relief that I can think of. And of course, I know I can always talk to my gurrrls, especially Sydney, who seems to know exactly what to say when I'm feeling overwhelmed. So to all of the wonderful authors out there, my computer (or in dire situations, paper), and my gurrrls, thank you, for always being there for me.

My author: Cory Doctorow

P.S. I promise I'll be on time this week :D

Writer's Block

My gurrrl Mandy asked us all a question in her last post. She wanted to know why each of us write. I don't really have a definitive answer to that. I've also had fanciful daydreams of stories and such. I remember when I was younger I wrote a story about a little boy that turned into an orange. However, it was, I believe, my freshman year in high school when I realized that I loved to write. I'd had a project to write a romantic novella and when I started, I couldn't stop. I loved writing it so much and when my friends and teacher read it, they said they loved reading it. After that, I've just continued writing because I love it. I can just get lost in my writing and I'm just so relaxed. I personally don't think I'm that great of a writer, but I love writing so I continue to do so. So, there's your answer, Mandy!

Now on to my topic...

Each week I face writer's block when it comes to my blog post. Everyday I try to come up my next topic and I draw a blank. I don't usually decide what I'm going to write about until I sit down to actually write about. This week I had a topic a few days ago, but due to my goldfish memory, I've forgotten it. Then, the writer's block was back. Finally, I decided to write about this, seeing as that's what this blog is for: our inspirations and difficulties as writers.

We all have writer's block, but we all handle it in different ways. When I'm faced with a block, I stop writing. Obviously I can't do that with this blog, because I've got my day to post, but I do so with my personal writing. If I can't think of anything and have truly hit a block, I don't like to force myself. I just put away my things and go about my day. Once I let my brain wander, I usually find a way to get past the block. That's my trick: let your brain work it out, instead of trying so hard.

So, readers, what is your way around writer's block? What about you, blog sisters? Tell me!

Goodbye until next week!

Author: Cory Doctorow

“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” Nathaniel Hawthorne

If you don't write, then you don't know how true this quote is. In my opinion, writing is one of the hardest things you can possibly do. However, each of us on this blog enjoy writing so we obviously enjoy suffering, but why?


My answer to this is because I don't know any other way. Writing is something that I will always do no matter what my day job is. I would absolutely love to be a full-time writer, but that's obviously not the case at the moment. I love letting the words flow onto the paper or the computer and just letting myself get completely lost in another world. Also, I'm an English Major so I obviously enjoy paperwork, right?


For me, I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants writer. I have a main idea written down and with some stories, I have the ending planned out, but I would rather have the same experience I get through reading. That experience is going along with the characters on their journey to figure out the question or defeat the villain. It's something that I've repeatedly been told is a bad thing for a writer, but you know something? I could care less if it's a bad thing.


Of course I tie things up and write down plot points that are loose and need to be tied up or that I can get rid of. Of course I actually do outline my characters so I know exactly who they are and what their motives are. But getting there is half the fun.


If I ever got a book published, that would be great, but I'm not planning to be JK Rowling or Stephen King or any of those extremely famous authors. I just want to share the worlds that I create with the people I care about and if it happens to get published then good for me. If I never get published, it won't be for a lack of trying.


For my other girls on this blog, what's your reason for writing if most people think it's hard?


Author: Cory Doctorow
(For any others, who want to know who they write like, you can check out this awesome site: http://iwl.me/)