Megan Bostic's Blog, page 11

I think it's time...

After some low days and soul searching I decided I could not stay away from writing. I miss writing this blog and I miss writing fiction. I have one novel fully written that just needs editing and one that I have about 30k in that I need to finish and so many ideas it seems a shame not to write them.

So I am back.

I also have my author website I was updating which I'd like to finish and was going to start a new weekly blog

This is what I love and though I love what I do at my day job as well, it is not enough. I will have to toil through work and health problems, exercise and kids activities and make a schedule that works.

I picked up writing for a reason. I needed it, and I don't mean like oxygen, like so many others might say. It came to me at a time that I was grieving. It makes me calm, gives me peace, help me breathe - a form of therapy that nothing else seems to be able to parallel.

So, I guess, in a way it's like oxygen. I feel I need it to survive this world. I realized that without it my world was a darker place.

Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first John Green book I’ve read, though I’ve wanted to read him for a long time. You know the phrase, so many books, so little time…anyway, I HAD to read it before I saw the movie, so it was time and here are my thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in this book. Green writes them very well, they are unique, and descriptive and you truly get a feel for what they are going through. Both sets of parents, Augustus’ and Hazel’s have just the right balance of strong, yet on-the-brink-of-breaking-down. I love that her father is the sensitive one. I think we often see fathers as being the strong and unemotional, but the truth is, they can be as vulnerable and expressive as their female counterparts.

I adored Hazel and Augustus and found their relationship sweet and affecting. I loved their silly banter, their quick wits, and sarcasm. They are actually much like me, which I liked. Couple things that bugged me, both of them had odd names. There are just not many Hazels and Augustus’ out there anymore. Their vocabulary both in dialogue and internally seemed WAY over their heads. I understand the wisdom of the dying youth, and the fact that these two are incredibly intelligent, but I still don’t think teenagers would talk and think the way they do at times. Sometimes yes. As often as they do? No. Also the calling each other by full names and first and middle names cute at first, but through the whole book, a little irritating. And the over use of “um.” Um? That’s just my ticky tacky stuff.

This brings me to Green’s writing skills, I think he is an amazing and beautiful writer. He makes putting words to paper look effortless and seamless, which, as a writer, I know it is not. It’s obvious he took a great amount of time to research the subject matters spoken of in this book , i.e. cancer, treatments, Amsterdam, and it felt like they mattered to him.

I guess I’m among the minority that found the story just good and not earth-shattering. I liked it yes, I’m not sure I loved it. I’m not a big crier when I read, and I did not cry while reading this either. The only time I remember getting a little emotional is when Hazel spoke to her mom about not being a mom anymore. There are books that have resonated with me more.

However, as I said before, I liked the book, I loved the characters, John Green’s writing is impressive, the storyline, noble. I will read the other John Green books on my shelf. This would be a 3.5 for me, but Goodreads doesn't allow 3.5 so I'd rather up it than down it.

Do I recommend it? Yes. If you like books about cancer, books that make you cry, books like Deadline by Chris Crutcher, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, The Pull of Gravity by Gae Polisner and any other of John Green’s books.


View all my reviews

We're on a break

Writing and me that is. Life just keeps handing me these tests and tribulations this year and it's gotten to the point in which something has to be put on the back burner. As much as I'd like it to be my unruly teenagers or my job or health issues being faced by myself and loved ones, unfortunately, they win out.

You've probably already noticed the absence from my blog (if I still have any readers at this point).

I know it only takes 20 minutes a day to stay on top of things, but so do a lot of other things like graduation announcements and doctor appointments and mowing the lawn.

I still have things in play, for instance, Girl in Motion is still competing in the ABNA contest, next cuts being made in a couple weeks. You can go read and review the first 5000 words if you wish. It has an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. Not too shabby.

I also have blog tour the first week of next month for Dissected, and of course it's still for sale on Amazon in print and for Kindle.

Never Eighteen is still plugging along as well.

All other writerly things will be put on hold, including this blog, indefinitely. That is unless something crazy happens like Girl in Motion wins ABNA or sales go through the roof or I win the lottery or something. Feel free to keep buying and reading and spreading the word because I will be back. I have unfinished stories both in files and in my head, and finished ones that just need a little polishing.

Until then...thanks for your support.

I'm breaking up with you gluten, it's not me, it's you

My life is in a state of turmoil right now, big time. One of the challenges I've been facing is what I like to call Quasi eye. I may have talked about this here on the blog before. It's been happening for about 6 months now where my eyes get so puffed up I resemble Quasimodo.  It is, in a word, hideous.

It wasn't that bad at first, just a little swollen, I thought perhaps we were just having a dry fall. My eye doctor thought my tear ducts were clogged. He gave me some advice, which I followed and I switched from extended wear contacts to dailies.

None of which helped Quasi eye.

Then a couple months ago I thought, after a night of having maybe a glass too much of wine and waking up with swollen eyes that I was allergic to red wine, but then decided that was silly, as I drink red wine on a semi regular basis and Quasi is pretty erratic and comes and goes when it pleases.

After a 48 hour bout with Quasi eye last week, in which my eyes were swollen halfway shut,  I finally went to my doctor. I though maybe I was gluten or glucose intolerant. I'd never had food allergies, but hey, they can pop up any time during life, and now's a good time as any.

She thinks it's actually airborne allergies, gave me a prescription and told me some other things to do and take, but she did an allergy palette as well, just to see if anything else is out of whack. I already know I have allergies by the way, I'm allergic to everything under the sun. I've never had a problem with hay fever before and my eyes have never been affected, but she, as well as others have told me that sometimes it can do strange things to you one year, then never again.

Anyway, this all brings me back to gluten. Whether or not I'm allergic to wheat or gluten or the Glyphosate-based pesticides our food is soaked in (as a friend told me yesterday), many people have told me that going gluten free has made them feel better and made their allergies better. So I'm trying it.

Sigh.

Which may be difficult because I love me my bread. Nothing else matters. But hey, I can eat things like Garfava, Amaranth, and Job's Tears (really? WTF are those things?)

I will probably be annoying and intolerable for awhile, but at least I still have my staples: popcorn, greek yogurt and red wine.

Ronald McDonald will never be cool

I'm in marketing. I'm sure you know that if you've read me for awhile. And well, I'm a writer and we have to be in marketing. But my day job is also in marketing. One of my Facebook friends posted the dumbest thing I've seen in marketing in awhile. Ronald McDonald's Millennial Makeover.

The new Ronald McDonald will be wearing yellow cargo pants.

The new Ronald McDonald will be wearing a spiffy yellow vest with red piping.

The new Ronald McDonald will be wearing a white and red striped rugby shirt.

Um...

There is still some things seriously wrong with this picture.

Ronald McDonald is still wearing yellow with red piping.

Ronald McDonald's name is still Ronald McDonald.

Ronald McDonald's hair is still an unnatural color of red.

Ronald McDonald has unusually large feet.

Ronald McDonald is a clown.

Maybe instead of changing Ronald McDonald's wardrobe you should just go ahead and change Ronald McDonald. Does anyone really like him anyway? No one really likes clowns, do they?

Here is the original picture from the announcement.


First maybe we should change the color of his outfit because...well...I've done a lot of research on color psychology...no one likes the color yellow.

How about a nice blue. Everyone's favorite color is blue.






Okay, that's a little better, but his hands and feet are still freakish. I think we should update them and make them a little more normal. What do you think?



Yeah, I know, the shoes are cool, he's got regular hands, but he's still a freaky ass clown. Hmmmm...Okay, can't he be a good looking red head, like one of these below?




And since we're giving him a full blown make over, the name Ronald McDonald isn't cool. How about Finn Flanagan or Brady Burns or Cody Collins.

Now I would buy a burger and fries from these guys even if their clothes were still a little "off." What about you?

It's Earth Day Motherf*ckers!!

Yes, it's Earth Day and I happen to enjoy the Earth, but there are some strange
things about the Earth that you may not know (yes, stranger than this picture to the right).

We're the only planet not named after a god. Dafuq?Some people think we had a sister planet, Theia (also named after a God(dess) and our Earth absorbed it after they collided 4.5 billion years ago and the rest of Theia is now our moon. O.o Sounds legit.The Earth isn't really round. It's geoid, meaning it has love handles.The pull of gravity differs across the globe, meaning, you are technically lighter or heavier in certain locations on Earth. I'm going to assume I live where we weigh heavier.This:
The Earth has tectonic plates, which allow the crust to recycle itself, and is the only planet to have them.We're getting jilted out of our days. The Earth actually takes about 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.091to rotate around its axis.400 billion gallons of water is used every day across the globe. Sheesuz.Asia has too much mass and too many people. Okay, that's not exactly what the stat said, but it was more funny.100 pounds on Earth would weigh 30 on Mars. We should all move to mars and eat pizza.The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was in Antarctica. It was minus 128.6 degrees. No thanks.The hottest temp ever recorded was in El Azizia, Libya, where it hit 136 degrees Fahrenheit. Quakes on the moon can affect our tides here on Earth.Coral reefs are the longest living structures on Earth, which creeps me out a little.Humans can only survive unprotected in space for 2 minutes. So don't leave the Earth. It's good to you and you should be kind in return. There you have it. Happy Earth Day. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Bike or Walk to work, plant a tree or some flowers. Do something nice for Mother Nature today. Don't be this asshole kid on the right.

These Vines Have Sour Grapes

I have been hanging out a little bit at the writer's forums at the Amazon
Breakthrough Novel Award Contest (which I said I wouldn't do) and let me tell you, just like every year, things have turned ugly since the quarter final cuts.

People aren't happy. They are complaining about their reviews about Amazon's Vine reviewers not being professionals so they have no business judging the competition etc.

Like I said, it happens every year. I believe this is the 7th year of the contest and I've entered 6. Of those 6 times, I have made it to the quarter finals twice, the first year and this year. Did I have sour grapes? Honestly, I don't remember. It's possible, but as a veteran and seeing it happen, I would say probably not. I would say I probably got my reviews, maybe bitched a little and went back to improving my manuscript.

Except the 4th year, but I've already talked about that. And speaking of that, yes, sometimes you will get a person who is not a good reviewer and if you do that sucks. That's what happened to me that 4th year. And when I am talking about a someone who is not a good reviewer, I'm not talking about someone who didn't like my book. Shit happens move on. I'm talking about a person who:
Says nothing at all about your writing in their review.Adds their biased opinions about ____________(fill in the blank, it could be homosexuals, the death penalty, drugs, whatever) and decides your book is no good because it includes it.Is obvious they didn't read your entry or openly say they didn't read it yet gave it low marks.Gives no constructive criticism whatsoever.Gives criticism in the form of insults, snark and sarcasm.Instead of encouraging you to work on your craft tells you to quit altogether or worse, kill yourself (yes, the latter has been done).So, if you get a reviewer like this in the contest the only thing you can really do is
report them to Amazon and hope they never choose them for the contest again. Other than that, it's a done deal.

There are people on the forum bashing the contest, saying it's stupid and Viners shouldn't judge and they will never enter again. Okay. Those people have that right. I just had to point out a few things though:

ABNA is a free contest.Amazon gives away 6 publishing contracts and advances in the amount of $125,000It's Amazon's contest, who else are they going to get to judge the 500 excerpts but their own reviewers.You can't judge the entirety of the contest on a couple bad reviewers.Amazon states in the rules who is judging the contest and who they are.It actually prepares you for the real publishing world as it is subjective and some people will hate your work and some people will like it and you will have to learn to deal with that. I have gone far, I have been cut. I've received good reviews and I have probably
seen the worse review the contest has ever seen, but I will continued to enter because 1) It's free. 2) I'm still a Mid Lister 3) It's a good opportunity to meet other writers 4)I like getting the feedback on my work, which always helps me learn and grow as a writer.

Reviews of Girl in Motion

I wanted to share this yesterday, but I worked late, then there was some Good Friday after hour drinks to be had, a nap because I was going to a show in Seattle and then I didn't get home until like 1 am. BTW, if you like good music and like good country, like old country (because I'm not a country music fan, but I like me some classic stuff like Americana stuff) and some bluesy country and rock, you should check out Clear Plastic Masks and Hurray for the Riff Raff. Effingfantastic stuff.

Also, while you're there checking those out on Youtube, you should check out my latest vlog, Glamorous Life of a Midlist Author, Episode 3.

Okay, back to these reviews. In a word, they were pretty awesome. The first reviewer was not as glowing as the second and that's fine. I've not read the manuscript in a while and though I disagree in some respects (awkward sentences, it's more of a voice thing, but maybe if I rework them, I'll see the light), I'm sure others are spot on, so here is the first review:

ABNA Expert ReviewerWhat is the strongest aspect of this excerpt?The author uses good details that add to the emotion of the piece - like the moment when the narrator sees the undertakers rolling her mother out in a black plastic bag with the zipper down the front. The specificity of certain moments in the excerpt allow us to more clearly see and understand the characters. The description of the urn, how Chelsea straps it carefully into the front seat of the car before she leaves - all of these are the moments that make this book seem emotionally moving. I think the author could have more of these moments and further develop the ones s/he already hasWhat aspect needs the most work?I think this text could use a couple rounds of editing. There are some awkward sentences, for example: "I slept when she finally died after just three months, and I was glad for it" and "I like how Idgie and Ruth stood up for what was right and by each other in the hardest of times."

I also feel that there are moments where the author doesn't fully develop the scene, character, or dialogue. Often the writing feels like a series of "and then this happened, and then this" without a lo of developed scenes. The strongest moment is when the George's come to take the body, because here we have an emotional scene that has good attention to detail. More moments like this.What is your overall opinion of this excerpt?Overall I think this is a fairly strong premise and excerpt - I'm interested in Chelsea and her future with her unknown father. I think it could do well in the Young Adult genre. I do think it could benefit from some more (fairly substantial) editing to further develop the characters and scenes. Review #2: ABNA Expert ReviewerWhat is the strongest aspect of this excerpt?"Girl in Motion" is an excellent portrait of a sixteen year old girl confronting the death of one parent and her attempted reconnection with her noncustodial parent. Having lost my father when I was seventeen gave me greater insight into this topic and to the emotions expressed in the excerpt. The author's depiction of Chelsea's reaction to the undertakers is exacting and could only have been written by someone who has experienced a similar event or who is extraordinarily empathetic.What aspect needs the most work?"Girl in Motion" was another excerpt that I found so compelling that I was unable to find any significant weakness needing additional work. The author captured the characters' attitudes and emotions quite well. Individuals' reactions to various challenges and conflicts were genuine and were those most would also experience. If one thing might add to the piece, it would be helpful to know the cause of Chelsea's parents' divorce and the reason for her lack of contact with her father.What is your overall opinion of this excerpt?I thought "Girl in Motion" was an excellent piece of writing that promises to develop into a fine work of young adult fiction. The situations in this piece are ones many teens confront; the reactions true to life; and the outcome uncertain - as in life. The characters are relatable and appealing. Their resilience is part of the story and their eventual triumph is something the reader hopes will occur.   Needless to say, I'm very happy with these reviews I've received. You can nowgo read and review my excerpt of Girl In Motion here, and I would love if you did because I believe they are taken into some kind of account during the contest. Next step: Top 25 (Semi-Finalists) announced June 13th at ABNA. The Semi-Finalists will be determined by ranking each Quarter Finalist Entry based on the average Judging Criteria score given to each Quarter Finalist Entry by Publishers Weekly. We reserve the right to advance fewer than 5 Entries from each Category to the Semi-Finals if, in our sole discretion, we do not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified Entries. There you have it. 

Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award Contest

So, I don't even know if I mentioned that I entered this contest again. This is the...wait, I need to count...1,2,3,4,5...6th time I've entered the ABNA contest. The first time I went to to the semi-finals. After the first year, they changed the way they did things drastically. The 2-4 time I got past the pitch phase. If you make it that far, you received reviews from the first round of reviewers, I think in the 2nd year it was Publisher's Weekly, but since, it's been Amazon Vine reviewers. The 5th year, I didn't make it anywhere.

I was trying to locate the reviews I received, but alas, could not, except for the scathing one I received in year 4. You see, although I was ousted in year 2, both my reviews were good. Year 3, the reviewers like my writing, but not the subject matter (school shooting, graphic violence, meh).

However, year 4...oy. I don't even remember my 2nd review (though I think it was pretty good) because this one blew my mind. If there was every a person that didn't "get" my writing, or the voice, it was this guy. And I only say guy because that's the vibe I got from the review. I will add that the reviewer though I was a teenager,
which I take as a compliment to the voice of my character being spot on, although he didn't get that.  But this is also a sad statement because if I had been a teenager, this person probably would have made me quit writing forever. The following is not constructive criticism. It is an attack and would do no writer any good. I will also add that by the time I entered this contest, I already had my book contract for Never Eighteen.

 Here are a few of my favorite lines from that review.

"Unfortunately you have failed to pay attention in the one class required to be able to write well - English."

Um, really? I think Houghton Mifflin Harcourt would disagree.


"It's a shame that you didn't write anything that hasn't been written hundreds of times already this year."


Yes, because in 2010 I'd seen tons of book out there about girls who wanted to play high school football to gain the attention of their estranged father. O.o


"If this was a school paper, I'd have to give it an 'F'."



Well thank god it wasn't!

"It is way too easy today for people to get published and sincerely hope you do not see that as an option. Frankly this is no where good enough to be called a "book" and you to be called an "author.""



First of all, really? It's too easy to get published today? What alternate reality are you living in? And um, you think I'm like 16 and you're going to say something like that to me. Yeah, way to dash the hopes and dreams of tomorrow's future. I'll think I'll go shave my head, put on some black clothing, read some Plath and cut into my thighs. Sheesh.



In a word, this guy(woman, whatever) was a douche. I've learned to handle bad
reviews and criticism, but I was like, bewildered. *Blink Blink* Did I really just read that?

So anyway, I digress. The point of writing this blog was to tell you that I have made it to the quarter finals of the ABNA contest for the first time since the first year I entered and with the same book I entered that received this scathing review.  Girl in Motion - football book. So, there you have it.

I'm old(er)

Today I turn 45. Every year I make myself promises to myself about how I'm going to be when my next birthday rolls around. While most of those promises are abandoned throughout the year, and I may be thicker around the waist (and let's face wider in other places and sagging in places I wasn't before) and have more wrinkles and gray hairs, in other ways I've improved.
I'm stronger, physically, mentally and emotionally.I'm more resilient - I bounce back much more easily than I used to.I've learned that it's okay to say "no." I do not let people take advantage of me. I take "me" time.I ask for help.When I'm in a rut, I switch gears When I feel overwhelmed, I slow down instead of break down. In the last five years I have become a different person, I think for the better.  For a time, I was a shell of a former me, and I finally broke out of that shell and became a new and improved me, more like my younger self, the self I lost along the way somewhere. 

If I were to give someone words of wisdom from an aging woman it would be this: 
Never compromise who you are for anyone. Never put aside your dreams for the dreams of others, though if you need to, work on them side by side, hand in hand. Never let yourself be manipulated into something you don't want to do, you could find yourself there for a very long time with no way out. Always surround yourself with people who will be a positive force in your life, who will support you when you need them - those people you know would move the earth for you. In turn, be that person for them.Be good to your children and your parents, always (unless there is a VERY good reason not to, I think you know what I mean).Happy Friday everyone. Hug your mother and have a drink for me today. Saluté!