Rachele Alpine's Blog, page 11

First Lines

Paper Lantern Lit has a great post about first pages.  Seriously, if you're a writer, check out their advice.  It rocks!

It also got me thinking about first lines in books.  One of my favorites is from The Great Gatsby: 

In my younger and more venerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.

It's just one line, but it holds so much information.   I've literally made my students discuss this one line for a whole class period before.  It says so much about the narrator, his relationships, his views, and what might potentially happen later in the book.  It amazes me how much just one line can say.

As a writer, the article made me go back and look at the first lines in my books.

CANARY starts:
Your dad will leave you when you are twelve.

CIRCLES starts:
The first time I betrayed my sister was two weeks before she disappeared.

OPERATION PUCKER UP (my MG novel that I hope to hand over to my agent within the next week or two!) starts:
My parents told us during Friday Pizza Night.

What about you?  What are your favorite first lines?  If you are a writer, how does your book start?

Road Trip 2012: Ithaca, New York and Washington D.C.

Hard to believe I have never been to Washington D.C. (especially when it's only six hours away!), but I can now cross that off my list!
My main squeeze and I took a week off from work and writing, and went on an adventure.  First stop, The Finger Lakes.  We met up with my cousin, her husband and kids and visited their alma mater, Cornell University.  Did you know Ithaca is gorges?!  : )
We climbed to the top of the Cornell clock tour at sunset...

And listened to the students play a concert with the chimes.  It was crazy loud, but the view from the top was worth it!

We also found time to hit up one of my favorite places to eat in colleges. Jason was a believer!

Then we moved onto D.C where we stayed in a hotel that was an old bank.  That's one of the vaults behind our head board!






On the way home, we made a quick stop in Maryland to visit one of the greatest writers to ever exist...
Did you go anywhere fun this summer?

Nooooooo! Say It Aint So!

My lovely husband thought it might be fun to ruin my day today.

He shared this article with me.

Words cannot even express how upset I am.  I have been DYING to see this movie.  I made my husband swear we'd see it on Christmas Eve at midnight.  I planned to take my English 10 Honors students to it after we read the book.

How can I wait another whole year!?!

If you agree with me, this button might come in handy.  Make sure to press it with the sound up.  It pretty much sums up all of my feelings right now.

Oh, F. Scott Fitzgerald, I'm so sorry Hollywood sucks!

P.S.  Check out where I went on Friday after we left D.C.!

Off The Grid

I'm going off the grid until August 17 (my first day back to school).

My agent wants to sub my new book this fall, so I need to get it into shape!  I figure removing distractions and using these last two weeks to write is my best bet.

I'll answer any comments/e-mails/tweets/posts to me, but you probably won't see me around for a bit.

Don't forget about me as I go and hide in my writer's cave (you can even send chocolate if you want!).

Road Trip 2012

My main squeeze and I are heading out on a road trip today.  We'll be spending some time at The Finger Lakes and Washington D.C. (can you believe I've never been there!?!).  I'll see you all in a week!

Winner, Winner!

Confetti is being thrown in the air for the winner of my REUNITED advance reader's copy....
Kristan Hoffman!
Yay...you're going to love this book!
I highly suggest you buy a copy of your own.  It's a great summer (or anytime!) read.
You can find it here, here, and here!

Underground New York Public Library

I'm really into voyeurism.

But before you get all creeped out, let me explain!

I love to see what other people are reading.

It's one of my favorite parts of traveling.  I'm always checking out what books people at the airport have in their hands.  I also give my students 15 minutes a day at the start of class to read, and I'll stalk the aisles to peek at their book titles.  And one of the main reasons I was resistant on getting a Kindle was because I like to show off what I'm reading (that might make me a book snob...hmmm....).

I just think it's so fascinating to see what books people are taking the time to read.

That's why when I found this site, I was instantly in love.  Underground New York Public Library is all secret pictures of what people on the NY subway are reading!  The photographer takes the pictures (usually without the people catching them) and provides links to find out more about the books.

Oh my gosh, I love this site!  Seriously, I stalk it a few times a day!

And look here...this is my favorite sneaky pic!

You can also follow "the library" on Facebook.

Are you a book voyeur?  If so, where is your favorite place to check out what people are reading?

REUNITED: ARC Giveaway

I was lucky enough to get an advance reader's copy of Hilary Weisman Graham's book REUNITED.


Alice, Summer, and Tiernan are ex-best friends.

Back in middle school, the three girls were inseparable. They were also the number one fans of the rock band Level3.

But when the band broke up, so did their friendship. Summer ran with the popular crowd, Tiernan was a rebellious wild-child, and Alice spent high school with her nose buried in books.

Now, just as the girls are about to graduate, Level3 announces a one-time-only reunion show.

Even though the concert’s 2000 miles away, Alice buys three tickets on impulse. And as it turns out, Summer and Tiernan have their own reasons for wanting to get out of town. Good thing Alice’s graduation gift (a pea-green 1976 VW camper van known as the Pea Pod) is just the vehicle to get them there.

But on the long drive cross-country, the girls hit more than a few bumps in the road. Will their friendship get an encore or is the show really over?

I can't tell you enough how much I loved it!  I'm a huge fan of THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS series, and while this book is totally different from those, it also reminded me a lot of it.  I think it had to do with the travel aspect and the friendship between the three main characters.  It's told in the three different voices of the girls, and I really liked getting into each of their heads.

The book came out a month ago, but I want to pass my copy on to you, since I plan to buy some hardback copies for my classroom (paperbacks just don't last!).

I'll choose a winner on Saturday (July 28), so you have until midnight on Friday (July 29) to enter.  Just fill out the form below.

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P.S.  Check out Hilary's webpage...it's so cute (especially her blog!)

One Year Ago...

My main squeeze and I got hitched one year ago today!  Hot diggity dog!  
If you want to peek at some of our wedding pictures, here's the post,

Life couldn't be any better...it's been an amazing year!
Here are our Save the Dates...
And our table favors (each person got a big stick of rock candy with this card on their plate)...
And a real picture...

Look For The Helpers

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers - so many caring people in this world."

~Fred Rogers