Suze Reese's Blog, page 2

How to Not Write a Book Without Even Trying

I am going to take a quick moment to give you instructions on how to not write a novel. And let me just say that it is very tricky. But if you're heck-bent on succeeding at failure it can be done.

First, have an uber-talented child go on tour with a performing group. And make sure he's in not one, but two groups. If you play your cards right this will entail a half hour of driving (each way) and four hours of performing at least four days a week, often five. Not including rehearsal time.

Second, participate in a wild and crazy medical study that involves two hours each day of an "exercise" that takes complete concentration but does not burn any calories or build any muscles. (Any more info would be TMI, trust me.)

Third, break your laptop. Just trip right over the cord and bend the plug, resulting in absolute blank computer monitor.

And that's it! Follow these steps precisely and you too can have an entire month of almost no progress on your manuscript. And believe me, June can't get here soon enough--assuming that laptop gets fixed. It's all in my head--I just have to get it on paper!

I HEART YA #18: Do You Have a Cozy Place?

Welcome to the 18th weekly I HEART YA Blog Carnival! I HEART YA is a Blog Carnival for readers, writers, and lovers of young adult fiction. Every Tuesday there will be a blogging prompt that celebrates my favorite reading genre --YA fiction. Bloggers are invited to write their own take on the topic and post a link in the comment section, or if you prefer just put your thoughts in the comments. Either way, if you own a blog, grab the button to show your pride, and add your link to the list below. If you're not sure what to do, go to the I HEART YA tab for more details.


So today is show and tell time. First I'll show you mine: (my comfy spot that is). I'm guessing most readers have one. In truth I'll read pretty much anywhere--in bed, on a chair in my bedroom, in the little girl's room, in a car, in a plane, on a bus or on the train. (Okay, I never really ride a bus or train, but I got on a Dr. Suess roll there.) 


But 90% of the time I'm right here when reading:


If you look closely, you'll see a window in the background. It was dark when I took this picture, but when it's light it has an amazing view of my town. There's also my super soft blanket, a pillow, my little netbook (can you believe don't have an e-reader? I'm sure I'll break down soon, but I prefer to hold real books, and for now my netbook does the trick when I only have a digital copy.) The best part of my little spot is the foot massager at the bottom of the pic (can you say SPOILED?! It was a gift from my hubby.). Oh, and the coffee table with a cubby that holds dozens of books is just barely in the pic. It's the perfect place for me, which is probably why I'm there so often.


So what about you? Do you have a comfy spot? Tell us about it, or better yet grab your camera and show us! 


And don't forget: 1. Add your link to the linkytool (Only once is necessary. Links will be removed after two months of not participating.) 2. Add your link to the comment section so we know you participated this week. 3. Grab the button if you haven't already. 4. Check out the other blog posts. Ready...set...go!
1.Author Suze Reese2.SupaGurl Books3.Sarah Belliston - My First4.PidginPea's Book Nook5.Cortney Pearson6.And Then There Was That One Time7.Emily @ confessions8.A Little Dversion9.CP Slayer10.Scribble and Edit11.Jennifer Hoffine12.Kako biti prvi na Google-u ?Submit your link:Link Title:

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I HEART YA #17: Let's Talk About Passion

Welcome to the 17th weekly I HEART YA Blog Carnival! I HEART YA is a Blog Carnival for readers, writers, and lovers of young adult fiction. Every Tuesday there will be a blogging prompt that celebrates my favorite reading genre --YA fiction. Bloggers are invited to write their own take on the topic and post a link in the comment section, or if you prefer just put your thoughts in the comments. Either way, if you own a blog, grab the button to show your pride, and add your link to the list below. If you're not sure what to do, go to the I HEART YA tab for more details.


Thanks to Cara M. for suggesting this week's topic. Cara pointed out that while "a lot of people are very rah-rah about sex in YA...I doubt they would be so happy if an erotic romance subgenre started up." I have to agree with that, though I'm sad to say I've seen hints of just such a subgenre. 


I'll admit up front that I'm a fan of clean reads. That doesn't mean I think all reads need to be clean, it's just my preference. And while I can sympathize with the argument that fiction should reflect real life, I draw the line at YA fiction that encourages young readers to engage in risky behavior. I also believe good writing doesn't need graphic sex to tell a good story, whether it's adult or YA fiction. But especially in YA fiction.


So that' my take. What about you? What level of (ahem) passion to you think is appropriate for the YA genre?

So what about you? Do you participate in challenges? Why? Do you do more than one at a time? Do love them? Hate them? Give us your scoop!

And don't forget: 1. Add your link to the linkytool (Only once is necessary. Links will be removed after two months of not participating.) 2. Add your link to the comment section so we know you participated this week. 3. Grab the button if you haven't already. 4. Check out the other blog posts. Ready...set...go!
1.Author Suze Reese2.SupaGurl Books3.Sarah Belliston - My First4.PidginPea's Book Nook5.Cortney Pearson6.And Then There Was That One Time7.Emily @ confessions8.A Little Dversion9.CP Slayer10.Scribble and Edit11.Jennifer Hoffine12.Kako biti prvi na Google-u ?Submit your link:Link Title:

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It's Official: I'm a Nerd

Stopping by from the Comfort Inn this morning. Went on a road trip yesterday for a family wedding in beautiful California. (And if the IRS asks, yes, I'm totally doing research.)

Anyway, while on the road yesterday, we spent a few hours passing through the Mojave Desert. Did I say a few? I mean like a million. The place is HUGE! And the landscape barely changes. You just drive, and drive, and drive...

I had the thought at one point that if it just had water it would be large enough to house an entire planet's population. As long as they didn't bother the rest stops or the two prisons they wouldn't even get in anyone's way. And THEN I started wondering if beings from another planet could somehow transport water there. Or maybe they wouldn't even need water? It would be perfect. If they wanted to go undetected they'd have to stay a 1/2 mile or so from the road. Except for satellites and planes. Hmm...they probably couldn't go undetected. Cloaking an entire community would probably be too hard.

And that's when it hit me. I am OFFICIALLY a nerd. Not even sort of.

I think I'm okay with that. I've always had a soft spot for nerds.

I HEART YA #16: Are You Up for a Challenge?

Welcome to the 16th weekly I HEART YA Blog Carnival! I HEART YA is a Blog Carnival for readers, writers, and lovers of young adult fiction. Every Tuesday there will be a blogging prompt that celebrates my favorite reading genre --YA fiction. Bloggers are invited to write their own take on the topic and post a link in the comment section, or if you prefer just put your thoughts in the comments. Either way, if you own a blog, grab the button to show your pride, and add your link to the list below. If you're not sure what to do, go to the I HEART YA tab for more details.


With summer right around the corner I want to look at challenges - as in reading or writing challenges. There are a ton of them. A quick look at the website A Novel Challenge lists over a dozen for 2012. Some encourage reading from a certain genre, some favor the classics, some suggest debut authors. I usually try to get my kids involved in the summer reading challenge offered by my local library. (Except I haven't stepped foot in a library for months. Hmm...that might just be a subject for another day.)  


So what about you? Do you participate in challenges? Why? Do you do more than one at a time? Do love them? Hate them? Give us your scoop!

And don't forget: 1. Add your link to the linkytool (Only once is necessary. Links will be removed after two months of not participating.) 2. Add your link to the comment section so we know you participated this week. 3. Grab the button if you haven't already. 4. Check out the other blog posts. Ready...set...go!

I HEART YA #15: Just Say No (To Plagiarism)

Welcome to the 15th weekly I HEART YA Blog Carnival! I HEART YA is a Blog Carnival for readers, writers, and lovers of young adult fiction. Every Tuesday there will be a blogging prompt that celebrates my favorite reading genre --YA fiction. Bloggers are invited to write their own take on the topic and post a link in the comment section, or if you prefer just put your thoughts in the comments. Either way, if you own a blog, grab the button to show your pride, and add your link to the list below. If you're not sure what to do, go to the I HEART YA tab for more details.


I'm so excited to be resuming the carnival (and apologize to anyone I put out by my absence). The ExtraNormal Blog Tour was incredible, but I'm really glad to resume a normal writing schedule. As I'm sure you know, the tour started at about the same time that the YA blogging community had a small implosion. I don't think I need to go into details. I've gone back and forth since then on whether to go with the topic of plagiarism for this carnival. I like to keep topics upbeat, and that is definitely not an upbeat topic.


However, I don't feel right about ignoring the subject all together. I believe that for the community to heal, we need to agree on two things: 


1.That plagiarism will not be tolerated 


AND 


2. That personal attacks are just as unacceptable. 


With those two goals in mind, I want to tell my plagiarism story. Several years ago I agreed to grade and critique my son's 5th-grade-class creative writing assignments. It gave the teacher a break from grading, and they thought it was cool to have an author critique their work. The papers ranged in quality, but they were all entertaining. That is, until I got to one that was a complete regurgitation of 'Call of the Wild' by Jack London. The boy didn't even bother to change the character's names. 


Before thinking, I scribbled 'Plagiarism is NOT cool!' across the top of the paper. When I finished I realized that probably wasn't the best way to handle the situation. I wrote a note to the teacher with an apology for my knee-jerk reaction, and a suggestion that he might want to talk to the boy.


I never heard back from the teacher. I don't know if he even saw my note or talked to the boy. I kind of hope he just handed him the paper with my angry scribblings across the front. And I kind of hope he didn't. Because a personal attack is never a good solution to a problem. But ignoring a blatant wrong isn't the solution either. 


So for today's blog carnival I'd like to invite a civil discussion on the topic of plagiarism. I hope we all agree that it's bad, wrong, totally unacceptable. Do you agree that it can never happen on accident? Have you seen it personally? Had it happen to you? Do you have a story? An opinion?


Share! (Nicely.)


And don't forget: 1. Add your link to the linkytool (Only once is necessary. Links will be removed after two months of not participating.) 2. Add your link to the comment section so we know you participated this week. 3. Grab the button if you haven't already. 4. Check out the other blog posts. Ready...set...go!

She Called Me a Genius! (Aw, Shucks)

Good News! I got called a genius today. I'm blushing all over, and not just because I splattered myself with tanning lotion.

And there's good news for you all too -- An ExtraNormal Blog Tour ran into some delays yesterday, and so I've extended it through Monday! Which means you have a couple more days to enter to win that Kindle and ExtraNormal paperback and tons more prizes!

Sana over at Artsy Musings of a Bibliophile gave an awesome 5-star review. So make sure you drop by and say hi and then come back here to enter for those prizes.

And like any good salesman, there's MORE!!!! To celebrate the end of the tour, ExtraNormal will be free on Amazon Sunday and Monday. That's right! Free download! (HooRay!!)

Last Day of Touring = Last Chance to Enter!

We're finally here! The last day of the ExtraNormal Blog Tour! It's been a great run. If you missed some of the stops - there's still time to hop around and earn points towards the great prizes. Go to the Blog Tour tab for the Rafflecopter linky.

And for a review of the prizes up for grabs:
Grand Prize: ExtraNormal Book Bag stuffed with: A Kindle! Signed copy of ExtraNormal (or $15 Amazon gift card), EN t-shirt, 5 signed bookmarks
Seriously! That's jut the grand prize! Check out the other great prizes on the Blog Tour tab.

And on to the tour - we have two stops today. As of this writing neither of them were up, but if you don't see them check back later. (Isn't that always how it goes when you travel?)

First we have Sana at Artsy Musings. Sana's been great to work with, she's a busy student and amazing.

And then there's Book Whisperer with one of the best review sites I've seen. I don't know how they get all those books read and reviewed!

Okay - ready, set, tour!

Eleventh Stop: Time for Taffy!

We're on the final two days of An ExtraNormal Blog Tour and I'm exhausted! But what a blast. I hope you all have taken the time to put your name in the pile for some of that fantastic swag! (Not thinking a Kindle is technically swag, but let's not get technical. Or forget that a paperback of ExtraNormal AND a Kindle are included in the prize pool!)

Anyway, today's I'm hanging over at an old friend's blog, Taffy's Candy. If you're not her follower already you really should be. Nobody knows books like Taffy.

Tomorrow's the last day! Thanks to all of you, it's been a great trip so far. =)

Next Stop: Haunted Rose

Today for An ExtraNormal Blog Tour I'll be over at the Haunted Rose with a guest post. Make sure you stop by - not only will I be as witty and charming as usual (heavy eye rolling going on in case you're worried), but it'll give you yet another chance to enter to win some of the awesome prizes you've been hearing about. We only have three days left! There are so many opportunities to enter, don't feel intimidated if you can only do a few - everybody's name goes in the raffle!

And since these daily posts are getting so similar, I thought I'd throw in a bit of trivia for today. ExtraNormal is set in the city of Los Robles, California. If you go looking on a map, odds are good you won't find it. But if you look hard enough you may find an elementary school with that name, located in the city of Hacienda Heights. And it's possible I grew up there. And loved it.

And now you know.

Now go visit Haunted Rose - and then come back to this site, find the ExtraNormal Blog Tour tab and enter to win!