Chantele Sedgwick's Blog, page 8

Awesome News!

I'm so excited for my friend, Renee Collins! She just landed her first book deal! And let me tell you, the book is AWESOME. Go over and tell her congrats! WOO HOO!! :D

Also, my blog tour starts on Monday. Yay! Stay tuned for giveaways, interviews and fun! :)

Movies and Things

So ... if anyone knows me, they know I love movies. The hubby and I own quite a few ... not going to say how many because you'll think I'm insane. Anyway, we watched a few movies this weekend since I don't write Friday-Sunday. We like spending time together on the weekends since the weekdays and CRAZY!

Anyway, here is a mini review of the movies we watched. First up?

Snow White and the Huntsman.

Did I like it? Uh ... Chris Hemsworth was hot?

Honestly, that's about the only thing I liked. I could watch him all day... ;) Oh ... sorry. Back to the review...

I'll say it right now. I'm not a huge fan of Kristen Stewart. I don't think she has a personality at all. Maybe that's being mean, but I didn't really like her as Snow White. I really wanted to like this movie, but alas, the romance was sort of nonexistent and Kristen Stewart ... well, you get the idea. Oh well. You love some you hate some, right?

Moving on.

In preparation of The Avengers coming out this week, the hubby and I are watching Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America. Yes, we are sort of dorky, but I LOVE them! We watched Iron Man last night. I can't tell you how much I love Tony Stark. I think Robert Downey Jr. is amazing as him. I'm a big big fan. He rocked Sherlock Holmes as well. So, obviously I loved it, even though I've seen it 5 times already. :) Can't wait to buy The Avengers!! It was probably my favorite movie I've seen this year! I'm a sucker for a super hero I guess. ;)

Any interesting movies I should see? Any movies you've hated recently? Loved?

Getting Organized

Have you ever felt really disorganized in your writing life? I admit to have notebooks stashed everywhere and a bunch of half-started ideas on my computer. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed with my ideas, and don't know where to even start. I really don't have a problem coming up with story lines, it's following through and finishing the book that I have to work on.

I belong to a little group of writers who make goals every week on facebook. My goal for this week, besides writing 5,000 words, is to get organized. So ... I'm going to get a few more notebooks, sticky notes and folders to put in my empty writing file and hopefully I can get more organized.

Sometimes when I'm in the middle of writing a book, I forget some important detail about one of my characters. Then it takes me a bunch of time to figure out what it was, searching through stuff I've already written to find it. I'm going to make sure I have a notebook for every book I write that has every detail about each one of my characters in that story. It will be so much more helpful to me! Right now I'm writing my fairy tale sequel. I've jotted down my outline, (Shocked? Yes, me too.) and synopsis, character sketches and blurb ideas. I think I'm set to finish my book by the beginning of November. That's when my first draft will hopefully be done. I'm loving my second book more than my first, so that's a good sign. I'm about 60 pages in, so hopefully I can keep going!:)

What do you guys do to stay organized?

Oh, and check out this review of Not Your Average Fairy Tale by Clean Romance Reviews!

Also, this review over at Krista McLauglin's blog! :D

What I've Been Up To...

I usually don't post picture of my kids on here, but I'll make an exception, since newborns all sort of resemble each other... :) Anyway, he's here, healthy and we are so in love! I'm excited to have my pre-pregnancy brain back and be kind of normal again. :) Hopefully I'll be blogging more and writing more now. I have so many projects I want to tackle. I guess I'd better get to it! :)

JOLENE IS SLOWLY TAKING OVER…

*waves frantically with a ridiculous smile*
Hey Chantele’s people!! How is everyone??
She let me take over her blog today because it’s my birthday – in a year where I have to realize that I’ve passed that midpoint in my THIRTIES (36 today) I needed some happy. SO! I’m running all over the internet for fun (And for the workout b/c I swear my metabolism slows down a little every year, and I could use the exercise).
I met Chantele just before LDS Storymakers 2011, and then got to meet her in person when I was there. She was just as hilarious and fun as I knew she would be, and I was salivating over her idea for Not Your Average Fairy Tale. (It was just as good as I wanted it to be BTW).
Chantele is one of those great people who always says the right thing at the right time and has made me feel better about a MILLION times with what’s going on in my writing life. She’s been nothing but friendly and open and honest, and it was so fun to hear her whole big long publication story for Not Your Average Fairytale (and it is a long one). Her interviews have introduced me to so many friends, authors, and books that I’d have never known about otherwise, and I pop in almost every Friday for her bits of random (even though I’m a lazy commenter).
She’s one of those people whose stories need to be out in the world.
SO! In celebration of my birthday (and by the sound of it, possibly the birthday of someone else…very tiny…) I’m giving away one e-copy of Chantele’s book, and a e-copy of one of my books (your choice).
Leave a comment w/ your email address and my nine year old daughter or random org will pick a winner :-D
THANK YOU CHANTELE!!
I’m off to another blog!! Happy Birthday :-D
For a full list of where I am today, go to my blog, which is www.jolenesbeenwriting.blogspot.com
~ Jolene
 

Launch Party Recap!

Ha! MIA again last week, right? :) Anyway, I had such a great turnout at my launch party. It was SO much fun and I was so overwhelmed by my supportive friends. Here are a few highlights! :)

Bookmarks and wands! :D
Water bottles, since it was blasted hot!
Lots of fun treats!
Books of course!
Me attempting to sign books... My last name is tricky to sign, so I had to think about it every single time. LOL ;)
My signature is in a book! Aaaaghh!! :)
Me and my cute hubby. He got a hardcover of my book done and surprised me with it. It is BEAUTIFUL. SO beautiful. I love him. :)
Some of my cute critique girls! Love you girls!! Don't mind my swollen eyes... :)
It was such a fantastic day. Thank you to everyone who came!!

Launch Party!

So, my launch party is this weekend. Aaaghh!! I'm a little overwhelmed with everything, but excited as well. Here is the invite in case you Utah folks can make it. I'd love to see you. :) Come help me celebrate the launch of my debut novel Not Your Average Fairy Tale! When: This Saturday from 6-8! Open house style. We will be having a party and book signing at the Schneiter's Bluff Golf Course Clubhouse: 300 N. 3500 W. West Point, Utah 84015 There will be treats, prizes and fun! This is a family event, so kids are welcome! Hope to see you there! :)

Still Alive!

Sorry I've been MIA. Between school starting tomorrow, my book launch on Saturday and a baby that will hopefully stay put for a few more weeks, I've been off the grid for a while. I hope everyone is doing well and I promise I'll be back more regularly as soon as I can! :)

Happy Release Day to Nyrae Dawn!

This book is full of fun. If any of you haven't read anything by Nyrae Dawn yet, you should get on that. She's a wonderful writer. And it was published by my publisher! Yay! Go check it out!

Blurb:"Whoever said, 'parents are always right' really should have thought that one through. After all, my mom believes in vampires. Go figure."

All Abigail Thompson ever wanted was to be considered normal. Instead, she ended up a loner with a vampire–obsessed mom and a stamp labeling her the resident freak of Karma, California.

When bad boy Caleb Evans saves Abby from a mean girl attack straight out of a “B” movie, Abby’s own karma starts to improve. Maybe “normal” could become her way of life, after all. But Caleb isn’t the only boy to notice her. Once newcomer Gabriel Chambers becomes Abby’s new best friend, she finds herself trapped between two boys, both holding secrets. And when Abby learns sometimes things really do go bump in the night, she discovers one of those secrets could just get her killed.


    Excerpt:           
    I wonder how teachers make the school clocks run so slowly?  As soon as you step through the doors you’re in a parallel universe where time runs slower than Mr.  Henry’s drawn-out algebra lectures.  Like any of us will need this outside the classroom.   If we did, there would be an adult other than a math teacher who could help with homework.  There’s not.                  I sigh, letting my eyes travel to Stacy, queen of The Lipstick Posse.  Her eyes, dark brown, but they almost look black, narrow at me and she gives me one of those wicked smiles that only someone who excels in mean-girlism can give.  She mouths vamp freak at me.  So original.  The least she could do is muster up some creativity.  Okay, so my mom believes in vampires.  That’s golden as far as reasons to make someone’s life miserable.  If I were Stacy, you can bet I’d have a better game than that.                  In case you didn’t catch it, my life sucks.  Ha!  A pun.  It wasn’t even on purpose either.                  At the first shrill ring of the bell, I pull my familiar swoop-and-roll maneuver, jerking my backpack over my shoulder, rolling out of the chair and making a break for the door.  It’s not that I’m scared of The LP.  Okay, that’s a lie; maybe I’m just a little afraid.  Who can blame me?  It’s not only three on one, but I have no doubt if Mom’s crazy vampires-are-real fantasy were true, Stacy Cavanaugh and her death stare would be the poster child for the undead.  She sucks the life out of me every day.  Not that I have much of a life to suck.  Wow, I rock at puns.                  I squeeze my way through the students herding toward the door.  Don’t these people understand I’m tortured here?  They should totally let me out first.  I’m trying not to become a bullied teen statistic.  “Excuse me.  Excuse me.” I try to wiggle my way through, but it doesn’t work.  Everyone else might not stoop to calling me “Vamp Freak of Karma, California”, but they do enjoy the show, no matter how many reruns The LP play.                  I’m halfway down the hall before I exhale a deep breath.  I might have made it.                  “Hey, Vamp Freak.  How’s your crazy mom?” They surround me like a bad Mafia movie.  I keep walking.  “It must be hard, living with a nutcase.  Do you guys have padded walls in your house?”                It doesn’t bother me.  It doesn’t bother me, I chant to myself.  But it does.  No matter what, she’s still my mom and besides the one tiny—okay, maybe not so tiny—but besides the one peculiarity about her, she’s completely normal.                  “My mom’s not crazy.” I glance at her.  “Oh, I think you missed a spot.  Your top lip is looking a little less hooker-red than the bottom.”                 Tiffany stumbles.  Stacy’s hooker lips form an “O”.  Even I’m a little surprised by my comment, but a vamp freak can only take so much.                  “You little bitch.”                Uh-oh.  She pulled out the big guns.  Bitch means she’s really pissed and I don’t feel like being shoved into the lockers today.  Three on one, remember?                  I break into a run.  Sad, I know, but unfortunately I don’t have any super-vampire abilities where I’m able to take on The LP by myself.                  I shove through the charred-brown doors leading to the back of campus.  Ahead of me is a field of green.   If this were a movie, I’d be frolicking through it rather than running for my life.  Just beyond the field is the line of trees separating high school hell from my reprieve.  I find solace in the woods.  My problems feel a whole lot smaller when surrounded by towering trees.                  Maybe it’s because I know The LP won’t follow me out here.  They might get dirty or something.                  “Run, freak, run!” Stacy yells as I dash through the field.  How cliché.  If kids are still quoting movies that came out when most of us weren’t even alive, what chance do I have they’ll ever lose interest in crazy Abby and her psycho mom?  If I were old enough to bet, my money would go on never.                  My run dies as soon as I hit the trees, settling into a nice, slow walk.  A few more months.  Only a few more months and I’ll be out of Karma for good.  I kick a branch.  What kind of name is that anyway?  Karma, California.  Did I wrong someone in a past life?  Oh!  Maybe I was a vampire hunter in a past life and this is their payback.  But that would take me believing in things like that.                  Which I don’t.                  Seriously.                  Maybe I especially don’t want to believe because, at seventeen, I’d just been allowed out after dark.  Kind of hard to fear the night monsters if you’re the only teenager in the world who has to be in by the time the streetlights come on.  The only reason I can swing it now is because I threatened to sneak out of the house—gasp! After nightfall.  Unfortunately Mom only okays it very rarely and on prearranged, extra-special circumstances.                  All thoughts of crazy moms, vampires and psycho, tormenting teens, flitter out of my head on the wind as the tiny cabin comes into view.   There’s only one person who has a cabin way out here and my little path leads right past it.  Lucky, right?                   Caleb Evans.                  It’s embarrassing to admit, but I remember every detail about the few conversations we’ve had.  Every.  Last.  One.  Pathetic.                  The slow, lazy walk I was enjoying is over and I start speeding up.  Not into a run, because I don’t want to look like the freak everyone thinks I am.  A girl has to save face whatever way she can.                  Before I reach the dirt road in front of the tiny shack of a cabin Caleb shares with his dad, the blinds part slightly.  When eyes I know are the most unique shade of green peer out, I trip.  Yes, a stupid rock jumps in front of me when Caleb Evans looks out his window.  Nice.  My cheeks are hot.                  I start walking again.  Just like those few conversations, I know every look too.  And surprisingly, Caleb Evans looks at me a lot.  But then, who doesn’t like to stare at the vamp freak?His gaze is scalding on me, burning me up from the outside in.  Soon, I can’t take it, my eyes darting to the woodsy earth beneath my feet.  It doesn’t last long.  My eyes are drawn to him, and I can’t help but seek out his green again.  He’s still there.  My thoughts start rapid firing at me.  How did he get home so fast?  Why does he stare at me?  Did he ditch?  Why do I like it?  Where are his friends?  Why can’t I be one of them?Okay, maybe not that last question, because as addictive as Caleb Evan’s gorgeous green eyes and messy black hair are, his friends are a little scary.  I’m pretty sure most of them will end up in prison one day.  Well, except for Caleb, because he’s beautiful and makes me burn inside.  God, I really am a freak!Before losing sight with him, I shoot one more glance his way.  And he smiles.  Not a real smile, because I’m not sure his mouth really works that way, but a half one.  He has me in some kind of Caleb-induced trance.  Pfft, trance.  It’s called good looks, Abbs.  But this is the first smile, so it has to mean something.  I can’t help but return it.  As soon as I do, the curtains close and he disappears behind them.  The trance is broken.  Hell, I’d probably even imagined the smile, because that is my biggest fear.  Imagining things, seeing things, believing things.  As normal as Mom is in so many ways, I’m scared of becoming that hidden part of her most people don’t see.  I’m scared of being like the crazy, vampire-obsessed woman I call Mom.   Click on the links to add her book to Goodreads or to visit her site! :D  Goodreads Nyrae's site: 

Random Thoughts From This Week

1. My book is now available for NOOK. I know some of you were waiting for this, so yay!

2. I'm sad the Olympics are almost over, but happy to get my writing life back! LOL

3. Baby boy has 4 1/2 weeks until he makes his appearance! WOOT! Can't wait to feel like myself again!

4. What I wouldn't do for a pepperoni pizza right now... Dang heartburn. :(

5. I'm slowly getting back into writing. The problem? I have too many things I want to write. I'm just writing what I feel like right now. When I can think again I'll have to pick just one project to work on.

How did your week go? Anything exciting happen or going on this weekend?