Great News!

I'm so very excited to announce that I'm a finalist in the 200 word limit novel contest through 'Gearin' Up To Get an Agent' (GUTGAA)! The competition was FIERCE, goodness, I've never seen so much creativity in one place! Click here if you're interested in checking out the rest of the finalists! It's a privilege to have made it this far, and good luck to all!

Also, do you remember how I told you about my two eldest joining the swim team? If not, you are welcome to read about it here and here. Well, guess what? My 8 y/o, who is the worlds biggest sissy and wouldn't leave the side of the wall, let alone let her face get wet as of last summer, has managed to make it not only to A Regionals, but then went on to qualify for State! So, this Friday we're going on a road trip! Tomorrow night she'll walk in a parade-like at the Olympics, and then on Saturday she gets to race!

This is the final stretch of a very long road for us, and a memory I know she'll hold dear the rest of her life.

Hope everyone has a wonderific rest of the week!

The Unintentional Pothead

Last January I came across this list in my shopping cart at the grocery store. Before chucking it into the store trash receptacle, I looked at it to make sure it wasn't something important, worthy of lost and found. At first glance, it's just some random shopping list, unimportant. But upon closer inspection, this became a gem. A happy, silly treasure that I decided to take home. My intention was to show it to my husband and share a good chuckle with him. I promise, I've never done this kind of thing before but it was too good to resist! Somehow, between the car and the house I lost this piece of paper, and then oddly enough, I came across it in the downstairs bathroom this morning.

So, of course, I decided to share it with all of you!

From the list it's clear to see that the individual who wrote this is a college student --rent, computer, registration--are only some of the clues. A girl with a cat-Glamour (magazine?), cat food. Tobacco tripped me up, if she smoked wouldn't she write cigarettes instead? Hmmmm.... A possible recluse, again, the cat and then netflix.  And then there's the $30 pot. Clearly she's not talking about the kind you cook in, if she were, I figure it would have been listed between 'trashbags' and 'floss', not between 'registration' and 'store'. But I began to wonder, as I drove home from the grocery store, what pothead allocates funds for weed? And this person's list is so concise and well thought out. So where's the junk food? I find it hard to believe that a college student is going to get high and then cook up some squash and onions to meet those cravings. So for s*** and giggles I thought it might be fun to briefly step into her shoes.

Dear Diary, 

I know it has been a while since I've checked in. Things have been crazy busy around here. What with Trish, my new roomie, moving in last weekend and then that cooking class. It just ended, I think I aced it though, so that's good. Last night I made spaghetti from one of the recipes I learned. Delish! It had just the right amount of spice and that basil I found in Trish's side of the medicine cabinet gave it some serious zing. Trish liked it, too, before it was said and done we ate the entire pot. So much for freezing it into smaller portions for later. I guess we were really hungry, this morning I couldn't find anything to eat-even the butter was gone. Luckily, I just got paid so I was able to go to the store for some provisions, but then I lost my list halfway through and I ended up coming home with only Juju Beans, pork rinds and some food for Dottie. That poor cat doesn't get much attention lately, hope it doesn't get worse once classes start up again. 

Trish doesn't care about Dottie, says she stinks the place out with her litter box. I say Dottie was here first, if anyone's going it's Trish. Besides, I'm already sick of her attitude. She yelled at me when I didn't come home with more basil, though she calls it pot--she's very bohemian, so who am I to correct? But really, how was I to know that she didn't want me to use it? Who keeps spices in the medicine cabinet, anyway? And then to have to go meet some guy over on Louis Street and hand over the little bit of spending money I have. Why can't I just buy more at Walmart like the rest of the world? They sell organic, I could get it for a couple bucks, too, keep some money in my pocket. Well, I must go. I have to rewrite another list, and while I'm at the store I'll pick up some of that herb Trish was wanting, I'm sure she won't know the difference. 

Week 4: Gearin' Up To Get An Agent

So this is it, the last week of Gearin' Up To Get An Agent Blogorama aka GUTGAA. This week we were asked to post the first 200 words of our MS. Before I do so, I would like to give a big fat thanks to Deana, the ingenious mastermind behind all of this. It is only because of her diligence and hard work that this came together so beautifully. I would also like to thank the judges and peers who have participated! I have had the privilege to meet many fabulous, incredibly talented writers over the last three weeks, and I've loved every minute of it! I hope we stay in touch, urging each other on in our creative endeavors.

And now, onto my little offering this week.

A very short excerpt, the first 200 words of my YA Fantasy/Paranormal novel, Bound:

I see the note right away, perched on top of an avalanche of textbooks and binders that threaten to tumble out when I open the door. Delivered in the same fashion as the ones before it—slipped through the thin grate at the top of my locker. Also like the others, the cruel words inside fail to match its unassuming pink envelope.

Do us all a favor and kill yourself.

The scent of Abby’s favorite perfume rolls off the page, thick and sweet, nauseating.  This time my old ‘friend’ hasn’t bothered to disguise her handwriting. I look down the hall to find her staring my way, face bright with anticipation. She’s at her locker with her latest best friend, Maddy, by her side. When our eyes make contact she grins, and then leans to whisper in Maddy’s ear. Maddy quickly looks in my direction, expressionless. 

I notice they're dressed for tonight's game. With that same vindictive smile in place, Abby fiddles with the captain's pin she has hooked to her red and grey cheerleading uniform. The same pin I used to wear till I returned it to Coach last October, walking away from that part of my life.

     

Pinterest!

Curious about Pinterest? Until about a month ago I had no idea it existed. For those of you scratching your head in confusion, let me fill you in. Pinterest is a semi-exclusive site where you can pin your interests. (pretty fitting name, eh?) Have you ever come across a DIY online and thought "Ewww, I want to try that", but then you move on cause you're in a hurry. Sadly the idea gets lost in netland, never to be found again. Or you're planning a vacation, a wedding, a birthday party. Or perhaps you simply 'like' a hair cut, a quote, a recipe. Anything goes. You like it, you pin it, and then it's there waiting for you anytime you have a hankering to revisit it.

Would you like an invite? Just leave a comment below and I'll send one to you.  But I only have five left, so it's first come first serve.



I love this place! I visited Neuschwanstein with a dear friend years ago. I'll never forget that trip! I was thirteen with a fractured wrist (stupid soccer), the first time I'd flown by myself. Germany is gorgeous and the people there are so nice and friendly, I would definitely go back. Anyway-recognize this castle? It was used in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'!

Source: google.com via Lindy on Pinterest

Yeah, I've been here, too! *grins* 

Source: browse.deviantart.com via Lindy on Pinterest

Love this!

Source: eeuphoriaa.tumblr.com via Lindy on Pinterest

Tiggerific Tuesday!

Welcome to Tiggerific Tuesday! Blog Hop...or Bounce!

Link up, meet new friends, network with other bloggers, and have fun!

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1. Follow the Host (Magical Mouse Schoolhouse) and the Guest Host (Lindy Legends and Other Such Nonsense) on GFC, Networked Blogs, Twitter or Facebook. (We will follow back!) Leave a comment below to let us know.

2. Follow as many people as you can and be sure to let them know that you are from "Tiggerific Tuesday! Blog Hop...or Bounce."

3. You are not required to, but we'd greatly appreciate it if you could grab our button and write a post about this hop and/or display the button on your sidebar. Hops are only fun if bloggers know about them, so please help spread the word!

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What's your poison?

I hope everyone is well rested and ready for the week ahead. After being completely spoiled, with a parade of presents from my children/hubby (and I mean this literally, they were sooo cute), a massive b-day cake, and lunch out at my fav. restaurant, I myself am coming off a razzle dazzle fabtabulous weekend! I'm left full of spunk and vigor and am looking forward to a day of swim lessons, laundry  and rewrites. Okay...mostly rewrites. A load of laundry may get squeezed in there somewhere-but I'm not promising anything. I bet you also have a huge list of things to get done, so with a busy day ahead for all of us, I'm going to make this snappy!

I'm sure you've noticed by now that I have a thing for words. My favorite hobby is to create them, but I also have my conventional favorites. Lately I've been running with 'Swanky'. For my own amusement I've been trying to work it into conversations every chance I get. Not easy to do with such a dated word. "Yeah, I had a swanky good time last night at the grocery store" or "For the swank of me I can't figure out how to use this microwave." I make no sense, but who cares?  I lurv it! Really, I mean don't you, too? Saaa-wankie. I don't know, there's something about the way it rolls off my tongue. It's super sassy, 1950's gangster style, shoot em up, Marilyn Monroe-ie sounding. Okay, maybe I'm a little crazy. Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this, anyone else have favorite words?

Agent Contest

Whoa! Two posts in one day? Things are getting crazy around here! But you're going to thank me for this! Because I'm back to tell you about a cool contest hosted by Yatopia The TeenLit Haven, involving highly esteemed Vickie Motter-agent extraordinaire with Andrea Hurst & Associates Literary Management. Are you shopping for an agent? Well it can't get any easier than this! All you have to do is come up with a three sentence pitch. There are only 50 spots available and it's filling up fast--so set those fingers in motion and get over there!

Yatopia The TeenLit Haven

Can You Raed Tihs?

With a background in psychology, I absolutely dig this kind of stuff!  


The jumbled words and language recognition theory states that so long as the first and last letter of the word remain intact, then our brains will automatically 'fix' the word, making it possible to read what appears at first glance to only be a jumble of letters. Context is also important-obviously, it helps if you have an idea of what's coming! 

Arinocdcg to rencet rseaerch, the hmuan brian is plrectfey albe to raed colmpex pasasges of txet caiinontng wdors in whcih the lrettes hvae been jmblued, pvioedrd the frsit and lsat leetrts rmeian in teihr crcerot piiotsons.

The fcat taht you are ridenag tihs now wtih reaitvle esae is poorf of the thoery.

Wehre did all of tihs strat?

It smees taht the trehoy orgteiinad form a 1976 ppaer at the Uvnitsriey of Nigaonthtm wtiertn by Graahm Rwsnailon of Asrhodelt, wichh gvae rsie to an acirlte wihch aaeprrped in the 'Narute' pbuolitaicn in 1999.

A fhrtuer alircte in the Tiems neppeawsr in Speemebtr 2003 pivroedd mroe eanxopiatln auobt the peohoemnnn.

In the Tmeis aitlcre, Dr Reoaesln MhActcry, a neruo-phylcoogsy lruecter form Knig’s Ceglloe, Cgmdbriae, ssegegtud taht hmuan bnegis are albe to usnatdnerd jeublmd up wdors buaecse the hmaun bairn parimliry raeds the mannieg rehatr tahn the piothenc cnontet of wdors (the sdnuos of the wrdos and leertts).

Dr McRtcahy was qoteud as saiyng, taht "...if you can acaitinpte waht the nxet wrod in a snnetece cloud be, you wlil not nslsciareey ntcoie if smoe of the leettrs in taht wrod are out of pclae...", and she aslo taht she was sepsrruid at jsut how rosubt the barin’s rgceotnioin aeiibtils had been pverod to be. "The hamun biarn is a lot mroe toanelrt tahn we had pahrpes risaeled, and it has to cpoe wtih diisputrng in eevydray lfie."

The torehy pdeoivrs a fiatsincang pprciesetve on mderon cutonacniimmos and the dmveelnoept of laguange.

The terohy aslo hples to eaipxln the doepmevnlet of merodn txet mseniagsg lagunage, and how the hamun biran so rlaidey utendrnsdas atboivbinears and cimtonobnais of lrettes and nbrmeus mainkg new 'wdros' whcih we've nveer seen beofre and yet stlil are albe to usterdannd alsomt iammeiltdey. For emxpale: 'c u lte8r', wihch you'll nitcoe you can utransnded eevn thgouh it's jmulebd.

One of the gerat lsneoss form tihs troehy dmsttnareoes the rmaaebrlke pweor of the huamn biarn.

Wehn we are yonug we not olny lraen how to raed, but aslo ibcerndily and uninaenionltlty lraen how to raed waht wuold by nmoral cooevntnin be decerbisd as uettr nnsosnee.

Tihs bges qtuseonis abuot the dicrieotn of laagngue eolotuvin.

Waht wlil lgganaue look lkie in geotrnaiens to cmoe?

Whtuoit dobut hmuan binegs are albe to asobrb pvrseiogerlsy mroe maening form pvolesesrrigy rucdnieg anotmus of wrdos and lrttees.

We now raed in shohtnrad - and iamegs - and sfcginltianiy we are beord by aiytnhng taht is too lhtngey.

Posorneiafl witerrs need to get tehir pniot asorcs in jsut a few seodcns, or the raeedr's anitttoen is lsot.

The jmbleud wdros torhey datrmneeosts jsut how caalbpe the biarn is at arnboibsg mneaing far mroe qilcuky tahn msot wrietrs wuold eevr iaimnge.

And a fnail daioertomstnn of how celver yuor barin is - can you raed tihs?...

'if' by rrdayud kipilng

If you can keep yuor haed wehn all aobut you
Are lnsiog thiers and bianmlg it on you,
If you can turst yusrleof wehn all men dbout you,
But mkae alanowlce for tehir duontbig too;
If you can wiat and not be tierd by wntiaig,
Or bineg leid auobt, don't dael in leis,
Or benig htead, don't gvie way to hiatng,
And yet don't look too good, nor tlak too wsie:

If you can darem - and not mkae dmaers yuor msater,
If you can tihnk - and not mkae ttghhous yuor aim;
If you can meet wtih Tpumirh and Dtseasir
And traet thsoe two iortmspos jsut the smae;
If you can baer to haer the trtuh you've spoekn
Tesiwtd by kevnas to mkae a tarp for floos,
Or wtcah the tinhgs you gvae yuor lfie to, breokn,
And sotop and bluid 'em up wtih wron-out tolos:

If you can mkae one haep of all yuor wininngs
And rsik it all on one trun of ptich-and-tsos,
And lsoe, and sratt aiagn at yuor bniiggnens
And nveer baerth a wrod aoubt yuor lsos;
If you can froce yuor hraet and nrvee and sniew
To svree yuor trun lnog afetr tehy are gnoe,
And so hlod on wehn trehe is nhontig in you
Epxcet the Wlil whcih syas to tehm: "Hlod on!"

If you can tlak wtih crdwos and keep yuor vturie,
Or wlak wtih kngis - nor lsoe the cmmoon tcuoh,
If nheeitr feos nor liovng fdriens can hrut you,
If all men cunot wtih you, but nnoe too mcuh;
If you can flil the uigrnonvfig mnuite
Wtih stxiy snceods' wotrh of dinstace run,
Yuros is the Etrah and envyeirthg taht's in it,
And - whcih is mroe - you'll be a Man, my son!

Rrdayud Kipilng (uerblcamsnd vrieosn of Ryrduad Kiinlpg's iynatpasiionrl 'If' peom hree)

Acknowledgements to: Dr Rosaleen McCarthy, Sam Coates and the Times Newspaper, Graham Rawlinson, Nature magazine, Rudyard Kipling, and the Lerfjhax online jumbled words website, which was used to create the jumbled words which appear in this article.

Go here for original source of article.

Week 2: Story Chain

Hey everyone! 'Gearin' Up to Get an Agent Blogorama' is now on its second week. It's not too late to join in the rest of the festivities, just click the logo on the sidebar if you're interested.

This time we're working on a story chain. I had a lot of fun with this and it has been a pleasure to work in collaboration with such talented writers! For the post before mine, click here. Or click here to start at the very beginning of our tale!

The holly bush in Dio’s front yard broke her clumsy fall from the sky. Still, not too shabby for her first time in the air. She scrambled up from the bush; plucking sharp leaves from her dress and hair. Her dress was wrecked, torn and covered in grease and soot from the motorcycle earlier.

But the dress would have to wait; she had more important things to contend with. She marched into the house, straight to the study. It took her all of a second to realize the book wasn’t there. She quickly scanned the bookshelf again, searching for its purple cover, her fingers tapping the empty space where she could have sworn she’d left it.

Without the book how would she ever get out of this mess? She sagged to the floor. It was over. Hopeless.

Then an idea came to her. One she quickly shooed away. She wouldn’t, couldn’t do what she was thinking. Her father had died getting her out of there--poisoned from the toxin of a fairy bite. He was the one who’d saved her from the creatures in Nefnia Forest, from the makers of the Wish Granter book.   She couldn’t go back, asking for help, not now, especially with the book she’d stolen from them having gone missing.

“They’ll surely kill me,” Dio whispered into the empty room. She shook her head.  She had to try. This time would be different; she was stronger now, she’d arm herself with salt, she’d use her light. They really hate the light.

And then they’d be forced to do her bidding, they would have to help her find her parents.

Dio slowly came to her feet and headed upstairs to change. She picked her outfit carefully. A t-shirt and shorts, sneakers. Light and unrestrictive, the perfect attire for the task ahead. She knew once she hit the sandy bank at the edge the forest, she’d be running as if her life depended on it. 

My assignment was: With the knowledge the MC has gained (see last post) help her make a plan to get what she wants. Your words are: bank, t-shirt, salt. 

Click here to continue the story! 

Eye Candy

Okay, I totally borrowed these pics from an email a dear friend sent to me. But who can blame me? I find these buildings to be completely amazing!



1. Mind House ( Barcelona , Spain )

2. The Crooked House ( Sopot , Poland )

3. Stone House ( Guimarães , Portugal )

4. Lotus Temple ( Delhi , India )

5. Cathedral of Brasilia ( Brazil )

6. La Pedrera ( Barcelona , Spain )

7. Atomium ( Brussels , Belgium )

8. Museum of Contemporary Art ( Niteroi , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil )

9. Kansas City Library ( Missouri , USA )

10. Low impact woodland house ( Wales , UK )

11. Guggenheim Museum ( Bilbao , Spain )

12. Rotating Tower, ( Dubai, UAE)

"Have you ever seen a building in motion that actually changes its shape?
This building will never appear exactly the same twice. It is amazing but you will have the choice of waking up to sunrise in your bedroom and enjoying sunsets over the ocean at dinner. In addition to being such an incredible engineering miracle it will produce energy for itself and even for other buildings because it will have wind turbines fitted between each rotating floor (picture 2). So an 80-story building will have up to 79 wind turbines, making it a true green power plant."

13. Habitat 67 (Montreal, Canada)

14. Casa da musica (Porto, Portugal)

15. Olympic Stadium ( Montreal , Canada )

16. Nautilus House ( Mexico City , Mexico )

17. The National Library ( Minsk , Belarus )

18. National Theatre ( Beijing , China )

19. Conch Shell House, ( Isla Mujeres , Mexico )

20. House Attack ( Viena , Austria )

22. Cubic Houses (Kubus woningen) ( Rotterdam , Ne the rlands )

23. Ideal Palace ( France )

24. The Church of Hallgrimur ( Reykjavik, Iceland)

26. The Museum of Play ( Rochester , USA )

27. Atlantis ( Dubai , UAE)

28. Montreal Biosphere ( Canada )

29. Wonderworks (Pigeon Forge , TN , USA )

30. The Basket Building ( Ohio , USA )

31. Kunsthaus ( Graz , Austria )

32. Forest Spiral ( Darmstadt , Germany )

33. Wooden Gagster House ( Archangelsk , Russia )

Share and Enjoy

To blog hop or not to blog hop...

                          
                         Have you been asking yourself this question? I know I did.

When I first created my blog, I had absolutely no inkling what I was doing. So I fell back on my 'ol standby --the internet. I spent hours researching, trying to find that perfect template, figuring out code, trying to get out there, to brand myself--which is near impossible when using an alias. I worked and worked, until I had it how I liked it (or so I thought at the time), and then I published my first post.

It was nerve racking. I was honest, painfully honest, and I wondered what kind of response I would receive.

The next day I checked my blogger account with trembling fingers. What I found there was shocking! Lo and behold I had a follower. Boy did I feel special!

 I had that one follower for a couple of weeks. And then a friend joined the group, and my sister. So there we were, the four of us. It was awesome.

And then one day I was tooling around the internet and came across a post that spoke of blog hopping. What was this foreign idea? What? I was supposed to sign up and then go from blog to blog following perfect strangers, hoping for the same in return.

No! Way!

Like I would ever do something like that! People were going to follow me because they wanted to follow me, because they were interested in what I had to say. Not for any other reason.

I waited a while longer, maybe a week, but my little blog made absolutely no progress. I was talking, but no one was there to hear me, and I found the void striking a death toll in my heart. I was failing.

What was the point?

Yes I love to write, but I would be better off working on my manuscripts--not spinning my wheels, shooting the breeze with nary a soul to respond. (my lovely followers weren't exactly vocal)

Then one day I had a thought. (This happens to me from time to time, weird) How were my prospective readers to even know I exist? It's not like I'm Lady Gaga. If I were Lady Gaga, I'd have all kinds of people chillin' on my site. But that wasn't the case. I'm a nobody growing into a somebody, and if I ever wanted to make friends I needed to be the one to introduce myself.

So I did exactly that. I stood tall and went knocking, hoping that I wouldn't be ridiculed for being so forward. And that day I discovered something...there are other people out there. People who not only wanted to meet me, but people who have interesting, exciting things to say. Oh my...a long, fabulous list of inspirational posts began to fill my reader. The funny thing is that some of my absolute favorite bloggers are the ones I never would have followed otherwise. We all know you can't judge a book by its cover, and never has this been so true!

If you're interested in making new friends, check out the blog hop link above. There's a slew of great hops going on every day of the week. Hope to see you there!

I Just Had To Ask...

Gearing Up For An Agent, most graciously hosted by Deana Barnhart,  is now underway!  I hope everyone has fun! I'm super excited and totally nervous. Sort of like that feeling you get your first day at a new school, like you're afraid you're going to trip on air and fall flat on your face in front of everyone.

But I'm safe from all that embarrassment because Deana, in all her wisdom, has made our first objective pretty simple. All we have to do is to ask a question. Really, how hard can that be for someone like me? I'm a nosy, highly opinionated individual with more to say than the day has hours. However, as is my luck, every time I searched for a good meaningful question, my head only echoed back my to do list: laundry, vacuum, mow the cursed yard. Huh. Not what I want to hear right now! (or ever)

But then I remembered a post I'd read by our dear Jane Friedman, entitled "5 Things More Important Than Talent." Number 2 on Jane's list is community, where she stresses the importance of a support network. Which got me thinking (hopefully by the end of this, my tedious to do list will be buried deep under all these more important thoughts, never to surface again) about my own support network. While I have friends and family who are encouraging, I get more of that same echo when I need serious writing help. Sure there's a smorgasbord of terrific agents and other literary professionals who kindly post great tips online, but by their very nature they are forced to be more generalized.

So, my question is this: What is the best way to reach out to other like minded writers? Both to help, and receive help?

Grace Ruined Update!

Well, I do declare! After a month and a half of unabashed procrastination, I've revised & added a few more pages to Grace Ruined. Of course, this new work can only be credited to my complete hatred for the rewrite I'm presently doing my darnedest to avoid.

For those of you who've been keeping abreast of Grace Ruined, you'll notice I've done some tinkering with names. Rich is now known as Brad. I have this terrible habit of giving characters similar names. And yet again, I find myself with the same problem- Riley and Rich.

What was I thinking? You should see Bound--it's ridiculous!

Anyway, please keep in mind that this is a WIP--if you see anything in need of correction, or have suggestions for improvements, I'd love to hear from you. Hope you enjoy!

Click here to read Grace Ruined or you can still find it on the right sidebar.

Happy Fourth of July

(Courtesy of La-Vita-a-Bella)

I'm off to celebrate, so I won't be on here over the weekend. Just wanted to wish a Happy 4th of July to all my fellow Americans, and an abundance of good will and cheer to the rest of the world!