Laura Teagan's Blog, page 35

TIGF

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linking up every week with Ashley from Hello Nature to remember the things we're grateful for.

 

making it back from DFW safely - even though it poured for about half my trip . awesome Mary Kay customers . working on a new little book . great beta notes . new glasses . spending a great weekend at the Special Olympics State games . an amazing book to read . a nice day to catch up on blogging stuff . much needed rain across Texas . finding a good blog planning system - I think . new medicine that seems to really be helping . an awesome roommate who came back before me and caught all the gnats so I didn't have to! . friends who treat you to dessert 

 

what are you thankful for?

Summer Classes

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Today, I start summer classes and I have to say, I'm really scared. It'll be my last American Sign Language class - the hardest. I'm always nervous about this class, but it's all squished into four weeks. It's terrifying. 

I'm also taking Principles of Advertising - a class I absolutely need for my major. Two big classes in the span of a month while editing and running a business. Nothing I haven't done before, but I'm seriously afraid at how fast these classes are supposed to go. 

So, if I'm missing for a couple weeks, you know why. But hopefully that won't happen. 

back story, pt 4

Three weeks ago, we were finally up to the point where HarperCollins had emailed me telling me my review was on inkpop.  I made my mom read the review before I could, but I was sitting at the computer with her and couldn't wait for her to finish.

 

I was shocked. There were comments about things I hadn't expected - funny how people pick up different things. Granted, there was no offer for publication, but at that point, I didn't think there would be.

 

Overall, I was happy with the review. My parents were too, in fact, for Christmas, they gave me a framed copy of the review and it still hangs on my wall.

 

So, here's the review:

 

You’ve devised a thrilling premise here—the dual lives that Cassie leads, the intrigue of her past, the excitement and daring involved in her profession as a teenage assassin (not to mention that she’s a female assassin!)—all of these elements grab the reader immediately. I think Cassie’s spunky personality and bravado are truly appealing—she is a relatable heroine that the reader will root for, especially considering her checkered past, the misfortune of her parents, her calling to become an assassin as her father was before her, and a destiny that could not be denied. That she is a seemingly everyday teen with boy troubles, mean girl confrontations, cafeteria showdowns, history projects and homework adds to the allure of her secret life. You’ve set this up beautifully and the juxtaposition between Cassie-by-day and her nighttime missions makes for great reading. 

 

The prologue is chilling and a wonderful set-up as you thrust the reader into the action right away, and we witness the gruesome murder of Cassie’s mother by her father. Cassie’s mother’s premonition that her baby is destined to outshine her father in her abilities is one that is haunting. What will become of this poor abandoned child? Flash forward to an outwardly normal high school life, and we learn how Cassie has come to reconcile the person she was meant to be. Her skill in killing, the signature knife through the heart, the suspicions and fame surrounding the identity of The Assassin—all of this allows for action-packed and alluring scenes. Where I would like to see more development is in Cassie’s understanding of her role as assassin—how did she first learn that this was her calling? Was she trained somehow or did it come to her naturally? She has such tremendous confidence in her skills that I think it would help for the reader to better understand how Cassie first learned of and grappled with her fate. It can’t be easy to find out that you were meant to be a killer. Also, in her murder scenes she appears to have no remorse—I understand that each of these intended victims are wrongdoers in some capacity or another, and that she must be professional and detached in order to execute her assassination, but she seems almost too cavalier and relaxed. Also, there seems to be a Robin Hood aspect with respect to her targets—this is interesting, especially in opposition to her evil father and his cruel and unusual work as an assassin. I think this could definitely be developed and fleshed out further.

 

The romance with Seth Edwards delivers palpable chemistry and sexy banter—the way in which she rejects him in spite of herself allows us to see the vulnerable side of Cassie and helps to round out your heroine. I think you could do further work on Seth—why is it that he’s so intent on charming Cassie? His motives, beyond a basic crush, seem unclear. What is the source of Seth’s feelings, and why is he drawn to Cassie in such an intense way?

 

I’m eager to see where Cassie’s hunt for Joe will lead her and how the showdown with her criminal father will play out—all these details allow for a climactic denouement and a captivating conclusion. Bravo for crafting a terrific plot and delivering a gripping story arc!

Summer Games

It's not something I talk about here on the blog too much, but I have a little brother who's special needs. He's got a speech disorder called apraxia. Over the past six or seven years, he's really become involved in our local Special Olympics organization. 
This includes a trip down to Alrington (which is only about a 40 minute drive) every Memorial Day weekend for the Summer Games for the State Special Olympics. Every year, I take about 600-700 pictures but let them sit on my computer.
So, obviously, these aren't all of the pictures, but here's a few from the first game I went to. 

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Number 26, that's my little brother! The team lost two and won two, coming in at third place in their division. After the medal ceremony, my mom snapped this cute little picture of three of the four kids (Sam, the youngest stayed at home). Amy is on the left, Bryan is in the middle, and I'm on the right. Amy and I were trying to get Bryan to smile, including poking him in the sides and tickling him. 

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Back Story, pt 3

November was a month of waiting. The limbo period between getting my star and receiving my HarperCollins' review. During that time, I jumped the gun between junior year and NaNoWriMo. My book for NaNoWriMo was a little book entitled Snatched. 

 

17 years. Zoey Lauder had a good life for seventeen years. She's the Junior class vice president. She's got great friends, a family that supports her, and a guy that wants her.

 

One week. That’s how long it’s been since Zoey stumbled into work late one night and saw an a robbery gone wrong, and her boss laying on the floor, almost dead. But she’s never seen the two men who were trying to kill him. She has no idea why they would try to kill him, but after they try again and succeed, she has a feeling she might be next.

 

20 days and 20 nights. Zoey Lauder has been missing that long. One minute she's in plain sight; the next, vanished.  It’s not like her to just leave and never call. As time goes on, her family and friends are becoming horrified. There’s no way she could have survived, but as long as there’s no body, there’s hope. But will hope be enough for Zoey’s family when the truth becomes exposed?

 

While most of the story didn't get done during the month of November, I wrote like crazy. It was the first time I'd ever worked with a main character that wasn't Cassie. And it was hard. Crazy hard.

 

November 2010 was a blur. Between school, Snatched, and my 17th birthday, I hardly had time to sit down and just enjoy my success with The Assassin. And to this day, I think that speaks a lot about my work ethic. Once I conquer something, I turn around and go back to conquer something else. 

 

November turned into December and it dawned on me that it was going to be time to get my review. inkpop loved to taunt top picks with the slim possibility of publication. I wasn't expecting that, but I was anxious to get my review.

 

December 2nd, I remember opening up my email and seeing an email from inkpop. HarperCollins had posted a review on my book and I needed to review it before I made it public.

 

I was so scared to see it, I made my mom read it with me. Were they going to crush my dreams? Or maybe make my dreams? 

Single Problems

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I just want to state here, at the beginning, 99% of the time, I really do enjoy being single. There's something nice about being able to take full control of all those crazy decisions that you make and not having to worry about what a significant other things (read: starting a Mary Kay business). However, we all have those moments where things we love have downsides. As far as being single, here's some humorous reasons that I like to "claim" as being the reason I'm single. 

A Few Reasons I'm Single:

Reason #4513: I write sponsored posts about tissues. 

Reason #6834: I like barbecue too much. Do you know how messy that stuff is? 

Reason #3: Um, there's no one in my life I would date. That wants to date me.

Reason #694: Have you seen those goofy girl posts? I make those faces. And willingly post them on the internet. No shame, y'all. 

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Reason #17: All the men I meet while doing Mary Kay? Yeah, they're already dating the ladies I meet in Mary Kay. 

Reason #7980: I kill people. In my books.

Reason #664: I think mothers are getting smarter about warning their boys about gingers. 

Reason #6709: I have a thyroid disease which makes me a human popsicle. No one wants to cuddle with a popsicle. 

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Like I said, these are just some goofy reasons why I am single and some of the "downfalls" of being single. I'm sure I could do a whole series on this, so I'll have to keep writing reasons down. If you're single, what are some of the reasons you blame for your singleness? Or some of the downsides? 

TIGF :: Things I'm Grateful For

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Linking up with Ashley from Hello Nature every week to celebrate the little things in life.

 

sunny days playing tennis | surprising my mom for mother's day by coming home early | Mary Kay meetings | big thunderstorms | soft rain to fall asleep by | days of writing | long drives home | really good music | home cooked meals | some fun bling bling from Mary Kay | being home

 

What are you thankful for this week?  

Staying On Top of Things

I'm a do-it-all. Ask anyone in my life and most of them will be in awe of how much I do in a day. Everyone always wants to know my secret and honestly, the only secret I have is plan ahead. Even if you don't stick with the plan, have a plan.

1.) Keep a Planner | Right now, I'm obsessed with my Simplified Planner by Emily Ley. I love that it has a page for every day. I pack so much into a day, those little week-by-week pages just don't cut it. Every hour has two lines, one for the top and one for the second. I like being able to see what blocks of time I have free. I know a lot of people color code these, but I haven't jumped on that board. Since my business is so appointment-based, I use the pencil because people always reschedule. 

2.) Carry a Notebook | I carry a notebook around for my books. The Assassin will be a ten book series, and sometimes I get really good ideas for subplots. In the back of the notebook, I write down notes for other things, whether it's blogging or Mary Kay. Having a notebook is a great way to keep track of the loose ideas that roll around in your head.

3.) Separate Everything in Binders | I have two 3 inch binders - one for my books and one for Mary Kay. While these don't go with me everywhere, I always keep things in them. Every script, flyer and idea for Mary Kay is in those rings. For The Assassin, I have two drafts of the book, numerous outlines of the first and second book, character sketches and so much more. The binders keep me on top of things because I'll know exactly where to find something.

4.) Use Technology | I use the to-do list app, Clear. You can get it both for iPhone and Mac (That's what I have). I'm not a total user, I still use my list in my planner, but sometimes, it's easier to pull out the phone and note it down there. Either way, use a to-do list! I also have the Sunrise app (it's a Calendar app) for appointments. 

There's still some days where I get nothing done, but be organized (to some extent) helps me keep things in order and gives me the brain space to be creative and come up with some awesome ideas. 

How do you stay organized while working on multiple things? 

Back Story: Part Two

January 2010, I joined inkpop. four days later, I uploaded The Assassin onto it. A few hours later, I received my first comment from a user named MIC (still a lovely lady to this day). She liked the book! At the time, MIC was the top trendsetter (Ie, when she picked a book, she had the most influence and many people followed her). and she added The Assassin to her pick list.

Over ten months, I edited and revised, swapped and commented on other stories, all for my book. By July 2010, I was in the top forty books. It was easy to jump high, but the closer and closer you got to the top, the harder it was to move places. It took more picks to get you there.

By August, I was determined to get into the top picks by the end of the year. I had lots of help from a dear friend at the time, Evie. She helped edit and she helped promote me. While I was in school, she was watching my numbers (remember, it was blocked at school!) and editing my book.

September came and I finally cracked the top ten. That's when panic mode hit. If I didn't break the top five that month, I'd be an automatic shoo-in for October. The editing began to consume my soul. My flash drive became my best friend as I was editing during free time at school (aka, astronomy class).

 

Finally, October. Ten months later and I popped in at #3. I had the top mystery book on the whole entire website.

October was a month full of ups and downs. Half of my other top five fellow ladies weren't even on the website and I was constantly changing spots. For a while, I was seriously scared that I would fall out of the top five. It was an emotional month.

Halloween was a Monday night that year. I beg and pleaded for my parents to let me stay up until 11, when the clock would flip over on the website and I would get my star...

Double Oops | A Cover Reveal

We all remember that book cover I debuted way back in February for The Assassin. The one where I'm peering behind the wall.

Well, I hope you burned that cover into your brain, cause you ain't seeing it again. At least not from me. The photo for the picture was taken by a former friend. Emphasis on former. And for reasons, I just don't feel comfortable using that cover anymore.

So, what does one do when she no longer wants to use a book cover? She makes another one. This one will be the one that'll be on your books and your kindles and nooks and iPads. Well, maybe not the nooks. I'm still debating what platforms this book will be on. (That's another post for another time).

Now, without further ado, here's my fancy new book cover:

I really love this cover, I just feel like it super dark and mysterious. And I scared a lot of friends by showing them a picture of me holding a pocket knife! 

I've been hard at work the past few days piecing back together this book from rewrites and such. I'm aiming for a release some point in September. I'll finish it in August and probably won't be able to write another book until I graduate (thank you senior year of college), but I can't wait until I graduate to put the rest of the series out! 

If you're dying to read some of the book, you can read chapter one or read the synopsis of the book. Also, feel free to add the book on goodreads if you're on there.