Kodilynn Calhoun's Blog, page 4

H is for Horses

I've always loved horses. Always. When I was toddling, we went to a family-friend's house and I was unafraid of the horses, upset because they hurried off, afraid they were gonna be ridden. When I was 4, my dad and I did a wishbone…and I won. Excited, I squealed and ran to the window…and then burst into tears. I had wished for a pony and expected it to be tied to my swingset. We lived in town…there was no way. But it broke my heart.

As I grew up, my aunt got horses and I visited them whenever I could. When I was 14, I decided to join 4-H. I found someone willing to lease me a horse and I fell in love all over again. Dan was a bomb-proof cob who was not pretty in the least…but he was a good, gentle soul and taught me nicely. I got over my fear of going past a trot with him…and was determined to lease a faster horse for contesting barrels/poles the following year.

Then my dad was offered a horse by a co-worker; a beautiful yellow dun mare named Persephone. We took her on, but had to board her until we moved and I didn't get to go over as often as I would've liked. She was fickle, moody, stubborn as a mule…and beautiful. On the ground, she was sweet and calm. In the saddle? A whole other story. She spent the 4-H season kicking/nipping at other horses and trying to buck me off.

Still, the week of horse camp and the week of 4-H were some of the best of my life, hard work, sweat and tears. It was wonderful with Dan, but he was never mine, not like Sephie. Despite her sassy attitude, she was mine. She was definitely too much horse for me and I was too inexperienced for her, but we made do with what we had and we had a bond. I loved her, spending the time at the barn, and she enjoyed the barrels.

Then my dad decided we weren't going to move after all…and after a long talk and a hard decision…I agreed to find her a new home. He sold her to a couple of guys who wanted a trail-riding horse, both of them experienced, and she took to them. And I let her go and in letting her go, I also let my dreams of horses go as well. At least until I grew up and moved out.

I haven't ridden or been around horses in 8 years, but I still miss them. I really hope to find a stable this summer and go riding again. Someday I will have horses again. And you can bet your tailfeathers that I'll be barrel racing them

Sephie

G is for Gluten-Free

Whoah, so I totallly almost forgot about today's post LOL. Okay, lie, I did forget, but I was kindly reminded by Valerie. Whoopsie!

So after my stepsister was "diagnosed" Celiac (her mother claimed it..,until she realized how expensive/involved a wholly gluten free diet was…and then the kid was suddenly cured. Right, because that's logical…) my mom started reading up on it. My mom is an avid researcher. I love her, but sometimes she obsesses xD She read everything she could get her hands on on gluten free diets…and then promptly decided we were all gluten intolerant: Me, my grandma, and her.

I complained the loudest and the longest…but I settled into a gluten-free lifestyle within a month. Yeah, wheat-free is hard; gluten is in EVERYTHING (like soup? It's a thickener. Barley malt? In most cereals. Gotta read the labels!) The bread is not nearly so good (we're too chicken to bake our own xD) but it's…more filling? I ate less. I lost weight. And quickly found that hey, maybe I am gluten intolerant. The every-night heartburn? Gone. The nausea/sick feeling after eating wheat? Gone. Insomnia? Getting better. Bloating, gas? Bye-bye!

And then I fell off the wagon… (One too many 'cheat days' became 'cheat weeks' and then…yeah, you get the picture LOL) And got all those symptoms back and then some. I started developing GERD…and it was not fun. So back to gluten-free I go. Since I'm already focusing on a healthier lifestyle, GF was just another stepping stone.

Now if only I could make myself like vegetables…

F is for Friendship

Admittedly, I'm not the best at making (or keeping) friends. I'm a little bit of a social outcast; always have been, even in grade school. I had one best childhood friend before we moved then I lost contact with her; two friends during grade school and lost contact with them after being pulled to home school in 5th grade. My characters in my stories were pretty much my best friends until I joined 4-H at 15.

I met both of my "real life" friends through 4-H, Ann in Horse & Pony, Jenni in Dog Obedience class  -waves to them- We're still friends, almost 8 years later. I talk to both of them on a usually-daily basis, through IMs or texts, and I love them

And then, on the other side of the coin, I have my closest "internet" friends, Wiz and Sadie; both of them I met on a virtual dog-sim site (of which I was a part of for longer than I was in 4-H xD!) and we hit it off well. I don't even remember how I met them, honestly, just that they're awesome and a big part of my life.

These four amazing people lift me up when I'm down, listen when I need to rant, and are just there for me. I just hope I'm as good of a friend to them, as they are to me

Friends are awesome! ILU gaiz

E is for Evolution

And we're not talking human evolution here, people.

Because there's a better kind. You heard me. POKEMON! (Yes, I'm still slightly a nerdy kid at heart ) And what do Pokemon do? They evolve!

A neighbor kid of mine got me into Pokemon back in 1998; we started trading cards and he let me and my little brother borrow his Gameboy for a couple weeks, just so we could play Pokemon Yellow. (Our parents = dinosaurs and didn't believe in video games…yet XD) Bro and I would sit at the kitchen table, taking turns beating up Gym Leaders, catching Pokemon, and evolving them.

We somehow conned our parents into getting us Gameboys of our own, as well as the other Pokemon games. Gold was my favorite. My teams usually consisted of all fire Pokemon…because who doesn't love cute little Arcanine? Or perhaps Ponyta? Or my favorite: Ninetails!

Ninetails

Either that, or I'd have an entire team of Eevees, evolved to a different stage. Or heck, as long as the Pokemon resembled dogs, cats, foxes, or wolves? I was game!

Houndoom, anyone?

(^ Maybe why I like hellhounds so much? The world will never know!)

By the way, the worst evolution? The stage where your bug Pokemon turns into a freakin' cocoon and can use one move: Harden. And it doesn't even do any damage to your opponent! LOL Whyyy would you make a fighting monster turn into a cocoon in the first place? I never raise bug Pokemon, just so you know.

My trusty Ninetails will kick that cocoon bug's butt, any day!

D is for Done

D is for Done!

Done, as in as of one-am officially heck-yeah finished with my YA novel, Souljacker. It was a long haul from November' s spur-of-the-moment NaNo project, to…abandoning it in December (whoops?) to picking it back up in February at 33k and FINISHING in April at 79k (we won't speak of March, where I did a little writing and a lot of slacking )

SJ's my longest work to boot, making me insanely proud of it, but also insanely happy to be out of their heads, LOL. Now it needs to sit on the shelf for a little bit before I do another swoop and send it off to my betas for crits

C is for Cat

I love cats. I really do.

My first real pet was a Siamese kitten named Missy (aka Missy Weasle, or Weezie for short!) my parents got when I was three years old. She would demand my attention when I was drawing or coloring, flopping on my book so I would pet her. I'd shove her off, and she'd come right back. Yeah, we were best buds….until the witch ate my fish. The fish that I saved up my measly allowance for for weeks. She ate him! WHOLE! I banned her from my room (ah, little kid logic) and ignored her for years to come. Around that time, my family got a miniature doxie and I became a dog person. I claimed I hated cats. I immersed myself in dogs, got a doxie of my own named Lily, and did 7 years of obedience in my local 4-H club.

While volunteering at the local shelter, a plain-jane kitten reached through the bars and snagged my shirt with her claws. Twice. I looked into those eyes and knew she was mine… I named her Pandora and begged my mom…but she thought she was just another ugly tiger cat…and I left Pandora behind. Four months later, we had to put Missy down (by then, I had begun to love her again, so it hurt so bad when I lost her…and it was my own fault) and I was a mess. Mom took me to the shelter…and the first cat I see?

Pandora. A little older, but she KNEW me. She reached for me again…and she was mine. And my love for cats has only blossomed. Pannie is seven now and my heart, my soul. I almost lost her last July due to pyometra (a uterine nfection that happens in unspayed, older female cats) and it was only thanks to my grandma that we were able to get her surgery. $700 dollars later, she's fat and happy and healthy and my love.

I love cats

B is for Blogging

So. A-to-Z Blogging Challenge, anyone? Sounds a little tricksy, especially seeing as blogging and I…well… I'm not confident about blogging. I'm actually terrified of it. But Valerie Sloan kinda talked me into it. You can't get over fear unless you face it. So here we go. I missed A, but here's B.

And B is for Blogging.

I've never been the sort of type to journal: In the past, I've started journals…of course, as a kid, I would write about how horrible my parents were, how much I was jealous of my cousin for being an only child, why my friend and I were now exes. And then I would sign them with a fake name, because I grew up wanting to change it. XD So I'd write a page-long rant (basically) and sign it with my name of choice (Isabelle, Lilith, Darien, Harley…the only ones I can remember off the top of my head LOL) and then…promptly forget about it three days later because I shoved it between my mattress and box-springs.

Anyway. I never stick with it. And blogging's kind of the same way. Who wants to hear about me? I'm boring. I'm not adventurous, I'm not wild and crazy. I don't have an amazing dog who does silly things that people will love. I generally don't do things worth writing about, or even outside my comfort zone. So why?

I…am still not sure But I'm doing it (Look Ma, no hands!) Because I can. Because some people who like my books, might wanna know what I have to say about the real Kodi. Because once I get a topic to blog about (or in this case, a letter of the alphabet) I run with it and find that I might have something worthwhile to say.

And because I need to get over this irrational fear that if I blog, and if I comment on other blogs, I'm going to get eaten by a big, black shadow monster who sucks out your soul (and let me tell you, it sounds like a long and painful process). So. I'm blogging. Once a day, besides Sundays, for the whole of April. And maybe by the end of the month, I'll be a more confident blogger.

I can do this.

(And because it's Music Monday…a song that starts with "B" and oh, so fitting Much love!)

Paranormal Romance Novella Giveaway!

My friend and critique partner, Sadie Hart, is doing a little giveaway for one of her novellas, What The Heart Haunts, a sexy little paranormal romance that tells the story of Nalla, an ex-Hound of the Wild Hunt, exiled to live out the rest of her immortal days on the earth, never to run through the skies again…all because she did the forbidden: She fell in love.

Click here to get your copy!

Note that this is an adult romance, not YA.

But if you like it, I encourage you to spread the word!

Happy reading!

Souljacker: Cover Reveal!

I am officially down to five scenes remaining in the Big Boss Battle on my WIP, Souljacker. (Well, technically four remaining in the BBB, and one for story-wrapup, but still!) Whoot whoot! Kicking butt, I am. Of course, it's all thanks to the lovely Sadie Hart, for using that cattleprod and…zapping me into submission and writing the end.

The end. Ominious, isn't it? Ends are superbly hard for me. I don't know if it's the fact that I've been with these characters for 60k+ words, and know their book's coming to a close and don't want to give them up? Or if it's the fact that I'm sick and tired of them and want it to be over (LOL!) that makes me halt around the 8-scenes-left line. I've done if for almost every book I've written. xD It's just a Kodi-thing. But that's okay!

The important thing is: I'm getting it done. I hope to have Souljacker completely written and a pass-over done by Monday, and out to betas the next day. Edits in April. And I still have hopes of a mid-May release date, but nothing's set in stone.

BUT I do have a…dundundun…. Cover reveal

Souljacker:

Only one more year until she's 18, then Lucifer Swift can start a new life, one not filled with loveless foster homes and whispered rumors—painful reminders of her past. She knows she'll never outrun her Need, the monster inside of her that can suck the life force out of someone with just a touch, but she can sure as hell try. Nothing holds her here. She has no family, no friends, nothing.

Until she meets him.

Iofiel is a Cyberhound—a dark Faerie creation who can shift from man to canine and back again in the blink of an eye. Pack law denies him the right to love, but Iofiel can't suppress his want. And he wants what he can't have: A certain girl with haunted blue eyes, a girl with secrets darker than his…

I Know It’s Not A Monday, But…

I need to share this music with you I’m like super-obsessed with this guy right now; I plan on buying the CDs he has available on Amazon, but just haven’t had the chance. I especially love the songs where it’s just him and the piano…brilliant. Really wish this guy was bigger than he currently is :0 He’s got raw talent…compared to people like Ke$ha who are rich and famous…for no apparent reason (I’m not bashing her! She’s fun to dance to xD But if we’re being honest here, talented isn’t a word I’d use to describe her. My opinion )

 

As for me, I’m surviving. Fell off the ‘healthy’ lifestyle for a bit due to Evil Bronchitis, working my fitness level back up again now. I have noticed that while I was eating healthier/exercising daily, I had more energy and was more excitable and overall happy. So I want to get back to that level!

We had to have one of our elderly dogs put down earlier this month because she was doing really bad…worse than we realized after we took her in. Immy and I didn’t see eye to eye, so I’m not that broken by it…but the fact that my girl, Lily, my heartdog, is Immy’s littermate…and is gonna be eleven…kills. I wish I could breathe years back onto her life. I love her…but I hope she sticks around a long while Doxies can live to be 15+ so here’s to hoping!

Writing wise, kind of all over the place, lol! TRYING to finish Souljacker (which totally has a summary now, go look ! ;D) but I’m just feeling rather…unsettled with it. Still hoping to finish up those 8 scenes in the next week or so! Still hoping for a May release

And in good news, my WIP from last year, Hunger, is telling me its a trilogy and the last book sounds totally badass in my head! Unfortunately, I probably won’t get to that book until mid-2013. Too many ideas, too little time.