Kelly Oram's Blog, page 22
June 18, 2012
Serial Hottie Blog Tour!
Hey everyone! I promised info for the Serial Hottie Blog Tour, and here it is! Be sure to check it out because I spent way too much time writing all those guest posts, and am being hosted by way too many awesome book blogs for you to miss it. Not to mention you can win free stuff...
July 1st. "Ellie's This Or That" hosted byBlkosiner's Book Blog
July 2nd."Author Interview" hosted by Larkin's Book Bloggers
July 3rd."Ellie's Top Ten Tips For Stalking Your Hot Neighbor" hosted by Once Upon A Bookcase
July 4th. "Why it sucks to be born on the 4th of July" & Birthday Giveaway hosted byKatie's Book Blog
July 5th. "My Top Ten Fictional Boyfriends" hosted by Tales of a Ravenous Reader
July 6th. "Songs For Ellie: The unofficial Serial Hottie Soundtrack" hosted by Moonlight Book Reviews
July 7th. "Love Triangles: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" hosted by Parajunkie
July 8th. "My favorite YA Heroines" hosted by Planet Print
July 9th. "The Robin Complex" hosted by Teens Read and Write
July 10th."Dream Cast" hosted by Burning Impossibly Bright
July 11th "My Firsts" hosted by Good Choice Reading
July 12th "V is For VirginTeaser and Serial Stalker Contest winners!" hosted bykellyoram.com
July 1st. "Ellie's This Or That" hosted byBlkosiner's Book Blog
July 2nd."Author Interview" hosted by Larkin's Book Bloggers
July 3rd."Ellie's Top Ten Tips For Stalking Your Hot Neighbor" hosted by Once Upon A Bookcase
July 4th. "Why it sucks to be born on the 4th of July" & Birthday Giveaway hosted byKatie's Book Blog
July 5th. "My Top Ten Fictional Boyfriends" hosted by Tales of a Ravenous Reader
July 6th. "Songs For Ellie: The unofficial Serial Hottie Soundtrack" hosted by Moonlight Book Reviews
July 7th. "Love Triangles: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" hosted by Parajunkie
July 8th. "My favorite YA Heroines" hosted by Planet Print
July 9th. "The Robin Complex" hosted by Teens Read and Write
July 10th."Dream Cast" hosted by Burning Impossibly Bright
July 11th "My Firsts" hosted by Good Choice Reading
July 12th "V is For VirginTeaser and Serial Stalker Contest winners!" hosted bykellyoram.com
June 13, 2012
Giveaways Galore!
Hey everyone! Lots of stuff going on for me right now. With the release of Serial Hottie less than a month away I've got several giveaways running on my blog. Right now you can enter to win one of three signed copies of Serial Hottie, and the "Ellie's Secret To A Successful Stakeout Prize Pack"! (pictured)
Check out the contest/giveaway page on my blog for all giveaway details.
Stay tuned for more fun stuff to come. I'll have details up soon about another giveaway and a blog tour!
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May 2, 2012
Serial Hottie Sneak Peek
That's when I looked up to see the new guy staring down at me with the most intense eyes I'd ever seen. And, get this. He was holding a Taser. "Hi, Ellie," he said in a strong, deep voice. "It's nice to meet you."
Well of course I screamed. The psycho just killed the Haskins's dog. I screamed loud enough that the J's probably heard me all the way at camp. Then I tried my best to push the new kid away from me, but he was too strong. I would have freaked out that such a hot boy was touching me, except I was too busy freaking out that such a hot boy was touching me! Pinning me to the ground actually.
"Easy there, Ellie," New Guy ordered me and then did the weirdest thing ever. He took off his shirt.
Not that I didn't appreciate what was under his shirt, but I screamed again. Well what was I supposed to do? The guy comes out of nowhere, kills a dog, pins me to the ground, and takes his clothes off? Oh yeah, and he knows my name. How does he know my name?
Yup, that right there is a snippet from my upcoming book Serial Hottie. Sadly the release just got pushed back to July due to the Dynamic Duo at Bluefields being super busy working on the upcoming release of their first feature film! YAY BLUEFIELDS! (I'll blog about that later...)
Anyway, another month to wait so, since I'm incredibly impatient, I've decided to give you all a sneak peek and posted the first chapter of the book for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
SERIAL HOTTIE CHAPTER ONE
^ that is a link... you must click it...
Well of course I screamed. The psycho just killed the Haskins's dog. I screamed loud enough that the J's probably heard me all the way at camp. Then I tried my best to push the new kid away from me, but he was too strong. I would have freaked out that such a hot boy was touching me, except I was too busy freaking out that such a hot boy was touching me! Pinning me to the ground actually.
"Easy there, Ellie," New Guy ordered me and then did the weirdest thing ever. He took off his shirt.
Not that I didn't appreciate what was under his shirt, but I screamed again. Well what was I supposed to do? The guy comes out of nowhere, kills a dog, pins me to the ground, and takes his clothes off? Oh yeah, and he knows my name. How does he know my name?
Yup, that right there is a snippet from my upcoming book Serial Hottie. Sadly the release just got pushed back to July due to the Dynamic Duo at Bluefields being super busy working on the upcoming release of their first feature film! YAY BLUEFIELDS! (I'll blog about that later...)
Anyway, another month to wait so, since I'm incredibly impatient, I've decided to give you all a sneak peek and posted the first chapter of the book for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
SERIAL HOTTIE CHAPTER ONE
^ that is a link... you must click it...
April 15, 2012
An Angry Birds birthday party! (And my FREAKING PINATA adventure...)
Sorry to those who've been waiting for this! (Also, remember if you can click on any of the pictures to see them bigger.)
Back in November my son turned 8 and wanted an Angry Birds birthday party. Well I don't know what I was thinking, but for some insane reason I agreed. It all turned out fantastic, but it was quite the undertaking. Anyway, since then I've had quite a few people ask me to post pictures and links and what not, so here goes...
First of all... the FREAKING PINATA. I have two words for you on this subject...
NEVER AGAIN!
So Josh wanted a pinata, right? Well Little Miss NOT CRAFTY Me first tried to buy one. I couldn't find one, even after scouring the internet. Apparently they don't exist for sale. So I looked up how to make one. Newspaper strips dipped in liquid starch, slopped on a balloon, dry, and repeat... Didn't sound too hard, so I said okay. Little Josh was so excited.
Josh decided he wanted it to be one of the pigs because in the game it's the pigs that get beat up, not the birds. Made sense to me, so I thought okay, the pigs are round kind of like a balloon, so it shouldn't be hard. I can do this. So I went to the store to buy a balloon and I stood there thinking that a regular balloon would make a very small pinata, so I asked if they have any large balloons. They did, and the shape of it when blown up was like a tomato. Perfect for the pigs who are also shaped like a tomato. Awesome. So far so good. And then I got home and started putting strips of paper on this giant balloon. HOLY FREAKING FREAK!
Oh, making a pinata is easy all right. It's a very brain-dead process that any moron could do. All the websites say it's easy. They aren't lying. What they don't tell you is how time consuming it is. I spent HOURS upon HOURS upon HOURS paper macheing that FREAKING PIG!
3 WEEKS LATER...
I have created the awesomest FREAKING PINATA that ever existed, and Joshua has the awesomest MOM that ever existed. (And he better remember that for the rest of his life!) Seriously, though, is that cool or what? (Also, my awesome husband helped with the face or it would have looked like crap because I have no artistic talent whatsoever.)
Being my first pinata ever, I was worried that it would be too flimsy, and that the first kid to take a swing at it would destroy it, so I made sure to follow the directions and cover the balloon completely three times, letting it dry out for 24 hours between each layer. But what do they mean when they say layer? If they mean every newspaper in the city of Maricopa wrapped around that giant balloon, then I think I got it right. If not, I may have gone a bit overboard. By the time I was finished, that pinata could have doubled for a bike helmet. I'm not kidding. That beast was solid. We let those kids go at it was a baseball bat.
After every kid had a turn we still had to let the big kids intervene in order to get the stupid thing to break. Which they did... like this...
Which eventually turned into this...
So that was the pinata...
We also did a "Golden Egg" hunt. This was much easier. Plastic Easter eggs hidden in the yard and the kids who found the three yellow ones won prizes.
And of course, what good is an Angry Birds birthday party if you can't play Angry Birds? I've seen this done lots of different ways on line and we went with homemade sling shot and cardboard blocks with the plush animals. The kids got to build their own levels...
And then knock them down like so...
This was a huge hit, and I must thank my parents for putting the slingshot together for me. (Grandma and Grandpa you guys ROCK!) My mom sewed a square of material for the pouch and used medical tubing (available at most pharmacies I think) for the ends. The slingshot worked great for the older kids and we just let the littler ones throw the birds.
WARNING: SLINGSHOTS TURN ALL ADULT MALES INTO IDIOTIC BOYS AND REQUIRE ADULT FEMALE SUPERVISION AT ALL TIMES. (I'm just saying...)
So there you have it folks. A very Angry Birthday!
As far as decorations go I didn't do too much (I was so over it all by the time I finished the FREAKING PINATA...) Some simple things I did do was get all the paper products in different solid "Angry Birds" colors. Red Yellow Green Blue..... And the cake I had done by the wonderful people of Wal-Mart. (Why bake myself what I can have someone else bake for me tends to be my motto...)
The cute thing I did do was the party hats. I got plain party hats (again in "Angry Bird" colors) and turned them into the actual birds. They turned out great and the kids LOVED them. They were really easy to do and unlike the FREAKING PINATA were fast. I found these great templates online at the Party Animal Blog I just printed off the templates, cut them out and glued them onto the hats. Easy Peasy.
So cute, right? And so easy! On the Party Animal website she has all kinds of ways to use these templates. Balloons, goodie bags... I was going to do the goodies bags too but I just ran out of time. For those I just used regular paper lunch bags in the Angry Birds colors. Good call doing the hats and not the bags because the kids crumpled up their bags when putting their FREAKING PINATA candy in them, and they just had a blast with the hats. If you are planning an Angry Birds party I highly recommend the hats...
Okay, I really think that about covers it. Happy Birthday Little Josh! Mommy loves you. (Even after the FREAKING PINATA request.)
Back in November my son turned 8 and wanted an Angry Birds birthday party. Well I don't know what I was thinking, but for some insane reason I agreed. It all turned out fantastic, but it was quite the undertaking. Anyway, since then I've had quite a few people ask me to post pictures and links and what not, so here goes...
First of all... the FREAKING PINATA. I have two words for you on this subject...
NEVER AGAIN!
So Josh wanted a pinata, right? Well Little Miss NOT CRAFTY Me first tried to buy one. I couldn't find one, even after scouring the internet. Apparently they don't exist for sale. So I looked up how to make one. Newspaper strips dipped in liquid starch, slopped on a balloon, dry, and repeat... Didn't sound too hard, so I said okay. Little Josh was so excited.
Josh decided he wanted it to be one of the pigs because in the game it's the pigs that get beat up, not the birds. Made sense to me, so I thought okay, the pigs are round kind of like a balloon, so it shouldn't be hard. I can do this. So I went to the store to buy a balloon and I stood there thinking that a regular balloon would make a very small pinata, so I asked if they have any large balloons. They did, and the shape of it when blown up was like a tomato. Perfect for the pigs who are also shaped like a tomato. Awesome. So far so good. And then I got home and started putting strips of paper on this giant balloon. HOLY FREAKING FREAK!
Oh, making a pinata is easy all right. It's a very brain-dead process that any moron could do. All the websites say it's easy. They aren't lying. What they don't tell you is how time consuming it is. I spent HOURS upon HOURS upon HOURS paper macheing that FREAKING PIG!
3 WEEKS LATER...
I have created the awesomest FREAKING PINATA that ever existed, and Joshua has the awesomest MOM that ever existed. (And he better remember that for the rest of his life!) Seriously, though, is that cool or what? (Also, my awesome husband helped with the face or it would have looked like crap because I have no artistic talent whatsoever.)
Being my first pinata ever, I was worried that it would be too flimsy, and that the first kid to take a swing at it would destroy it, so I made sure to follow the directions and cover the balloon completely three times, letting it dry out for 24 hours between each layer. But what do they mean when they say layer? If they mean every newspaper in the city of Maricopa wrapped around that giant balloon, then I think I got it right. If not, I may have gone a bit overboard. By the time I was finished, that pinata could have doubled for a bike helmet. I'm not kidding. That beast was solid. We let those kids go at it was a baseball bat.
After every kid had a turn we still had to let the big kids intervene in order to get the stupid thing to break. Which they did... like this...
Which eventually turned into this...
So that was the pinata...
We also did a "Golden Egg" hunt. This was much easier. Plastic Easter eggs hidden in the yard and the kids who found the three yellow ones won prizes.
And of course, what good is an Angry Birds birthday party if you can't play Angry Birds? I've seen this done lots of different ways on line and we went with homemade sling shot and cardboard blocks with the plush animals. The kids got to build their own levels...
And then knock them down like so...
This was a huge hit, and I must thank my parents for putting the slingshot together for me. (Grandma and Grandpa you guys ROCK!) My mom sewed a square of material for the pouch and used medical tubing (available at most pharmacies I think) for the ends. The slingshot worked great for the older kids and we just let the littler ones throw the birds.
WARNING: SLINGSHOTS TURN ALL ADULT MALES INTO IDIOTIC BOYS AND REQUIRE ADULT FEMALE SUPERVISION AT ALL TIMES. (I'm just saying...)
So there you have it folks. A very Angry Birthday!
As far as decorations go I didn't do too much (I was so over it all by the time I finished the FREAKING PINATA...) Some simple things I did do was get all the paper products in different solid "Angry Birds" colors. Red Yellow Green Blue..... And the cake I had done by the wonderful people of Wal-Mart. (Why bake myself what I can have someone else bake for me tends to be my motto...)
The cute thing I did do was the party hats. I got plain party hats (again in "Angry Bird" colors) and turned them into the actual birds. They turned out great and the kids LOVED them. They were really easy to do and unlike the FREAKING PINATA were fast. I found these great templates online at the Party Animal Blog I just printed off the templates, cut them out and glued them onto the hats. Easy Peasy.
So cute, right? And so easy! On the Party Animal website she has all kinds of ways to use these templates. Balloons, goodie bags... I was going to do the goodies bags too but I just ran out of time. For those I just used regular paper lunch bags in the Angry Birds colors. Good call doing the hats and not the bags because the kids crumpled up their bags when putting their FREAKING PINATA candy in them, and they just had a blast with the hats. If you are planning an Angry Birds party I highly recommend the hats...
Okay, I really think that about covers it. Happy Birthday Little Josh! Mommy loves you. (Even after the FREAKING PINATA request.)
April 7, 2012
Serial Hottie cover!
So my next book is almost here! Serial Hottie will be releasing June 5th and officially has a cover!!! Yay! I think it turned out fantastic.
Ellie's sweet sixteen is a summer of firsts. First car. First kiss. First boyfriend. First serial-killing stalker?
Hockey-obsessed tomboy Eleanor Westley has never been the object of a guy's affection before. So when the hottest boy she's ever seen moves in across the street and starts treating her like she's the center of his universe, naturally she's going to be a little skeptical. But everything starts to make sense when girls who look just like Ellie start dying all around the city. Obviously the new guy is the killer, and of course he only likes her because he wants to slice her into tiny pieces. Right?
The more Ellie gets to know Seth the more she's convinced he's a psychopathic killer. The problem is he's the sweetest psychopathic killer she's ever met. Not to mention he's brutally hot. No matter how hard she tries, she can't help but fall for him.
Will Ellie find true love, or will her summer of firsts turn out to be a summer of lasts?
Fun, right? I'll try to get a couple little snippets posted here on the blog in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!
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Ellie's sweet sixteen is a summer of firsts. First car. First kiss. First boyfriend. First serial-killing stalker?
Hockey-obsessed tomboy Eleanor Westley has never been the object of a guy's affection before. So when the hottest boy she's ever seen moves in across the street and starts treating her like she's the center of his universe, naturally she's going to be a little skeptical. But everything starts to make sense when girls who look just like Ellie start dying all around the city. Obviously the new guy is the killer, and of course he only likes her because he wants to slice her into tiny pieces. Right?
The more Ellie gets to know Seth the more she's convinced he's a psychopathic killer. The problem is he's the sweetest psychopathic killer she's ever met. Not to mention he's brutally hot. No matter how hard she tries, she can't help but fall for him.
Will Ellie find true love, or will her summer of firsts turn out to be a summer of lasts?
Fun, right? I'll try to get a couple little snippets posted here on the blog in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!
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March 22, 2012
Kissing Jamie Baker (A Ryan Miller short story)
Get a peek inside the mind of Ryan Miller!
A rare treat today... I've taken so much time off from writing to have my baby that I decided to get back into the swing of things by writing a short story. The next thing I knew I had chapter one of Being Jamie Baker told in Ryan's perspective. I've seen a lot of authors do this and always think it's so much fun. So, without further ado, here's the kiss that started it all as told by Ryan Miller... Just click the link to get to the story.
Kissing Jamie Baker
Haven't read Being Jamie Baker yet? No worries. The kindle version is currently on sale for only $2.99 HERE!
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A rare treat today... I've taken so much time off from writing to have my baby that I decided to get back into the swing of things by writing a short story. The next thing I knew I had chapter one of Being Jamie Baker told in Ryan's perspective. I've seen a lot of authors do this and always think it's so much fun. So, without further ado, here's the kiss that started it all as told by Ryan Miller... Just click the link to get to the story.
Kissing Jamie Baker
Haven't read Being Jamie Baker yet? No worries. The kindle version is currently on sale for only $2.99 HERE!
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February 26, 2012
Little baby D is finally here!
WelcomeDaniel DavidFebruary 10, 2012 7 lbs. 3 oz.20 and a quarter inches
Obviously not my first kid if I'm just posting my first picture over two weeks after his arrival. I am starting to get subtle stink-eye messages from the numerous amounts of grandparents and aunts and uncles wanting to see pictures so I guess it's time. lol.
Not much to the "story". Routine C-section. My fourth. Had to have them all that way after all the complications with my first baby. So delivery for me is boring and all that. Pretty much the only thing I can really say is that with both my babies born here in Arizona they had the radio on during the operation so both Matthew and Daniel were born to specific songs that we have dubbed as their personal theme songs. For Matthew is was Katy Perry's California Girls. We still get a good chuckle out of that and wondered if Daniel would get a better song. Well, little baby D was born to Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's "Endless Love". HAHAHAHA! For the record, I do plan to mention this to all of the girls they bring home as teenagers. In fact, I'll probably tell their dates about their theme songs while showing them this picture...
Yes, I'm cruel. But come on, this is a good one. I took it to show the size difference. You forget just how tiny the new little ones are. Suddenly my cute little Matthew is a BRUTE. And, the difference between 7 pounds and 25 pounds is A LOT. Crazy how fast they grow.
Anyhoo, baby D is here and both he and I are happy and healthy. He's a fantastic nurser which is a relief, and an okay sleeper. (If I could just get him off that newborn nocturnal schedule we'd be doing great.) I'm finally back on my feet and I believe some of my brain cells are even starting to come back. Hallelujah!
And the best part? I'M NOT PREGNANT ANYMORE!!!!! Or ever again for that matter. This baby factory is officially closed! There is not a dance in the world happy enough to express how thrilled I am about that. Now to lose the baby weight for the last time!
Obviously not my first kid if I'm just posting my first picture over two weeks after his arrival. I am starting to get subtle stink-eye messages from the numerous amounts of grandparents and aunts and uncles wanting to see pictures so I guess it's time. lol.
Not much to the "story". Routine C-section. My fourth. Had to have them all that way after all the complications with my first baby. So delivery for me is boring and all that. Pretty much the only thing I can really say is that with both my babies born here in Arizona they had the radio on during the operation so both Matthew and Daniel were born to specific songs that we have dubbed as their personal theme songs. For Matthew is was Katy Perry's California Girls. We still get a good chuckle out of that and wondered if Daniel would get a better song. Well, little baby D was born to Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's "Endless Love". HAHAHAHA! For the record, I do plan to mention this to all of the girls they bring home as teenagers. In fact, I'll probably tell their dates about their theme songs while showing them this picture...
Yes, I'm cruel. But come on, this is a good one. I took it to show the size difference. You forget just how tiny the new little ones are. Suddenly my cute little Matthew is a BRUTE. And, the difference between 7 pounds and 25 pounds is A LOT. Crazy how fast they grow.
Anyhoo, baby D is here and both he and I are happy and healthy. He's a fantastic nurser which is a relief, and an okay sleeper. (If I could just get him off that newborn nocturnal schedule we'd be doing great.) I'm finally back on my feet and I believe some of my brain cells are even starting to come back. Hallelujah!
And the best part? I'M NOT PREGNANT ANYMORE!!!!! Or ever again for that matter. This baby factory is officially closed! There is not a dance in the world happy enough to express how thrilled I am about that. Now to lose the baby weight for the last time!
January 9, 2012
Oh, the joys of writing. (she said sarcastically...)
This is me taking a moment to vent. (Please note how efficiently I am avoiding my manuscript right now.)
First of all LIFE. Life is so inconvenient for writers.Life can seriously suck dry your inspiration and motivation. If I could sit all day in a dark cave with my lap top and an IV that pumped Diet Coke, I might accomplish something once in a while... But alas, I am first and foremost a stay home mom. Anyone who has the notion that this is a simple task please, please, please, trade me lives for a week. I'm not complaining about my life. I love it and am truly blessed. I'm just busy which makes it hard to get the kind of writing done that I'd like to. I can't keep up with myself.
This year the holidays were a little more hectic, and tedious, and all-around draining for me than usual. Plus I spent nearly a month babysitting extra children. And, of course, there's that minor detail that I'm eight and a half months pregnant which means I'm constantly exhausted, miserably uncomfortable, and have absolutely no brain cells left with which to function.
Long story short, I haven't written a paragraph in nearly two months. I HATE that. Writing is my sanity. I seriously feel it when it's been longer than a week and here I am nearly TWO MONTHS later and still sitting in the same scene I was when I hit my NaNo word count. The time away has sucked me dry of all that momentum I'd had and given me a serious mental road block. I know what needs to happen next but for some reason I'm completely stuck. Usually a case of writer's block this bad stems from some sort of plot hole. Problem is, this time I'm not seeing the plot hole. The scene just isn't coming together and I can't figure out why. Probably because I'm rusty and tired. (and possibly too pregnant to be creative.)
Anyway, my being stuck right now is very very bad because it's totally making my Sequelphobia rear it's ugly head.
SEQUELPHOBIA = The fear of having to write sequels to your manuscripts.
This disease may not be listed in the encyclopedia or even the dictionary, but I promise you it is legit. And I suffer from it. BIG TIME. I have actually never managed to complete a sequel to a story ever until the current project in working on. I'm in the middle of a paranormal romance/urban fantasy trilogy, and I was so proud of myself when I completed book two. I thought maybe I'd cured myself of my Sequelphobia. But then came book three. HA! If I thought having to stick with the same world and characters and plots for two books was bad...
I am so done with this book and these characters. I love them, but I'm soooooooooooo done. Except for that part where my manuscript isn't even half way complete yet. UGH! I think my Sequelphobia actually stems from my Story ADD (also a legit writing disease I suffer from). I have a severe inability to stick with one story at a time. My brain comes up with plots and characters and story lines a lot faster than I can write them. I'll be half way through a manuscript and suddenly have THE BEST idea that eats away at me--willing me to write it.
SO, combine my Sequelphobia with my Story ADD (and, of course, pregnancy) and here you have me blogging a bunch of barely coherent crap when I should be pushing through a difficult scene. I apologize for this time-wasting rant. I'm done now. And I feel better. A little. Must go make myself get back into this story and finish my freaking trilogy so I can finally start something new. Wish me luck!
Also, kick me next week when I still haven't written a word, because my new Kindle Fire is arriving tomorrow according to Amazon and there are like six books that come out this month that I'm DYING to read. Don't let me spend the last month of my pregnancy reading instead of writing. Pregnancy sounds like a good excuse to blow it off, but the reality is, after I'm finished being miserable pregnant, I'll have a newborn, and that's probably worse for my creative juices.
First of all LIFE. Life is so inconvenient for writers.Life can seriously suck dry your inspiration and motivation. If I could sit all day in a dark cave with my lap top and an IV that pumped Diet Coke, I might accomplish something once in a while... But alas, I am first and foremost a stay home mom. Anyone who has the notion that this is a simple task please, please, please, trade me lives for a week. I'm not complaining about my life. I love it and am truly blessed. I'm just busy which makes it hard to get the kind of writing done that I'd like to. I can't keep up with myself.
This year the holidays were a little more hectic, and tedious, and all-around draining for me than usual. Plus I spent nearly a month babysitting extra children. And, of course, there's that minor detail that I'm eight and a half months pregnant which means I'm constantly exhausted, miserably uncomfortable, and have absolutely no brain cells left with which to function.
Long story short, I haven't written a paragraph in nearly two months. I HATE that. Writing is my sanity. I seriously feel it when it's been longer than a week and here I am nearly TWO MONTHS later and still sitting in the same scene I was when I hit my NaNo word count. The time away has sucked me dry of all that momentum I'd had and given me a serious mental road block. I know what needs to happen next but for some reason I'm completely stuck. Usually a case of writer's block this bad stems from some sort of plot hole. Problem is, this time I'm not seeing the plot hole. The scene just isn't coming together and I can't figure out why. Probably because I'm rusty and tired. (and possibly too pregnant to be creative.)
Anyway, my being stuck right now is very very bad because it's totally making my Sequelphobia rear it's ugly head.
SEQUELPHOBIA = The fear of having to write sequels to your manuscripts.
This disease may not be listed in the encyclopedia or even the dictionary, but I promise you it is legit. And I suffer from it. BIG TIME. I have actually never managed to complete a sequel to a story ever until the current project in working on. I'm in the middle of a paranormal romance/urban fantasy trilogy, and I was so proud of myself when I completed book two. I thought maybe I'd cured myself of my Sequelphobia. But then came book three. HA! If I thought having to stick with the same world and characters and plots for two books was bad...
I am so done with this book and these characters. I love them, but I'm soooooooooooo done. Except for that part where my manuscript isn't even half way complete yet. UGH! I think my Sequelphobia actually stems from my Story ADD (also a legit writing disease I suffer from). I have a severe inability to stick with one story at a time. My brain comes up with plots and characters and story lines a lot faster than I can write them. I'll be half way through a manuscript and suddenly have THE BEST idea that eats away at me--willing me to write it.
SO, combine my Sequelphobia with my Story ADD (and, of course, pregnancy) and here you have me blogging a bunch of barely coherent crap when I should be pushing through a difficult scene. I apologize for this time-wasting rant. I'm done now. And I feel better. A little. Must go make myself get back into this story and finish my freaking trilogy so I can finally start something new. Wish me luck!
Also, kick me next week when I still haven't written a word, because my new Kindle Fire is arriving tomorrow according to Amazon and there are like six books that come out this month that I'm DYING to read. Don't let me spend the last month of my pregnancy reading instead of writing. Pregnancy sounds like a good excuse to blow it off, but the reality is, after I'm finished being miserable pregnant, I'll have a newborn, and that's probably worse for my creative juices.
September 15, 2011
Brutal honesty as only a kid can say it.
I have this niece who is freaking funny. My sister could seriously write a book on all the things she says. Well I've always said that my kids aren't quite as entertaining as Kimberly, but we've had a very eventful week. Apparently my kids have decided they are hilarious. Of course, my self esteem may not ever recover.
So this was the conversation as we were all getting in the car the other day...
Josh(Age 7): Mom? Can I sit in the front seat?
Me: No.
Josh: But Dad lets me sometimes because the air bag turns off.
Jackie(Age 6): But mom has to sit in the front seat.
Josh: No she doesn't. She can sit back here.
Jackie: No she can't. There's not enough room. Her butt is so much bigger than ours.
My Husband: *snicker* *snicker*
Me: *mentally* Thanks Jackie. Thanks so much. Love you too.
Then, as if that weren't bad enough, the next day we're driving home from school and the kids are being all quiet when suddenly...
Josh: Mom?
Me: Yes?
Josh: Were there cars when you were a kid?
Me: *mentally* Nice. Are you two in this together or what? *out loud* Cars were invented over a hundred years ago. I'm not more than a hundred years old. So, yes, Josh, there were cars when I was a kid.
Josh: *thinks about this long and hard* Oh. So... were there planes then?
Me: *mentally* Thanks Josh. Thanks so much. Love you too.
Apparently in the eyes of my children I'm ancient with a huge butt. Nice. And while we're at it, I'll go ahead and add this little gem to the pile...
A few months back we were sitting in church and my husband, the talented artist was sketching my daughter's profile on a piece of paper. She thought it was so good she asked me to draw one too. She told me to draw a picture of her father. Well, little secret about me--my creative talents stop at drawing. So I start drawing a picture of my husband. After a minute Jackie frowns and says, "No, Mom. Draw a real picture."
I'm doing my best, mind you. So I tell her, "I am drawing a real picture."
She frowns again an even more dissatisfied frown which makes Josh look at what I'm drawing. He rolls his eyes and says, "Why does dad look like a banana?" This is when the people behind us can't help laughing. Nice.
Then a couple weeks later we're all sitting together as a family, and, for once in my life, I am given a turn on the iPad to take a shot at playing Angry Birds. Well, another secret about me--my hand-eye coordination stops at video games. After failing miserably over and over again at what I was informed was an "easy" level, Jackie tells me, "Come on Mom, I beat that level on like my first try with three stars."
This, of course, catches Josh's attention and he looks over to see what level I'm playing. He watches me try it once and then says, "Mom? Why do you suck at everything?"
Me: *Mentally* Thanks Josh. Thanks so much. Love you too!
So this was the conversation as we were all getting in the car the other day...
Josh(Age 7): Mom? Can I sit in the front seat?
Me: No.
Josh: But Dad lets me sometimes because the air bag turns off.
Jackie(Age 6): But mom has to sit in the front seat.
Josh: No she doesn't. She can sit back here.
Jackie: No she can't. There's not enough room. Her butt is so much bigger than ours.
My Husband: *snicker* *snicker*
Me: *mentally* Thanks Jackie. Thanks so much. Love you too.
Then, as if that weren't bad enough, the next day we're driving home from school and the kids are being all quiet when suddenly...
Josh: Mom?
Me: Yes?
Josh: Were there cars when you were a kid?
Me: *mentally* Nice. Are you two in this together or what? *out loud* Cars were invented over a hundred years ago. I'm not more than a hundred years old. So, yes, Josh, there were cars when I was a kid.
Josh: *thinks about this long and hard* Oh. So... were there planes then?
Me: *mentally* Thanks Josh. Thanks so much. Love you too.
Apparently in the eyes of my children I'm ancient with a huge butt. Nice. And while we're at it, I'll go ahead and add this little gem to the pile...
A few months back we were sitting in church and my husband, the talented artist was sketching my daughter's profile on a piece of paper. She thought it was so good she asked me to draw one too. She told me to draw a picture of her father. Well, little secret about me--my creative talents stop at drawing. So I start drawing a picture of my husband. After a minute Jackie frowns and says, "No, Mom. Draw a real picture."
I'm doing my best, mind you. So I tell her, "I am drawing a real picture."
She frowns again an even more dissatisfied frown which makes Josh look at what I'm drawing. He rolls his eyes and says, "Why does dad look like a banana?" This is when the people behind us can't help laughing. Nice.
Then a couple weeks later we're all sitting together as a family, and, for once in my life, I am given a turn on the iPad to take a shot at playing Angry Birds. Well, another secret about me--my hand-eye coordination stops at video games. After failing miserably over and over again at what I was informed was an "easy" level, Jackie tells me, "Come on Mom, I beat that level on like my first try with three stars."
This, of course, catches Josh's attention and he looks over to see what level I'm playing. He watches me try it once and then says, "Mom? Why do you suck at everything?"
Me: *Mentally* Thanks Josh. Thanks so much. Love you too!
August 19, 2011
Veggie Tales
Like father, like son. I'm just saying...
