Sasha Hibbs's Blog, page 2
February 4, 2016
Cold Feet
I've written some posts about my YA Contemporary "The Boxer and the Butterfly." This past weekend, after agonizing over this particular title, I typed 'The End.' I've read over it a few times and have even had a few glamorous betas help with editing it.
This was all in the hopes of a few things.
1.) I wanted The Boxer and the Butterfly complete.
2.) I wanted to participate in #Pit2Pub
3.) There's supposed to be three things, you know, like Sheldon Cooper. If you don't have 3 things going on, then it's incomplete. But right now, I'm not coming up with a 3rd reason.
The finished product came in at roughly 85k words. It covers some seriously sensitive topics. This novel in particular is very dear to me. While it's a piece of fiction, there are some elements in the novel inspired by real experiences.
This past weekend, after binge reading (I felt sure at Sunday midnight my eyeballs turned to dust sockets) I started getting pumped for #Pit2Pub. For those of you new to this concept, there are tons of Twitter pitch parties where an author can pitch the concept of their novel in 140 characters or less to publishers, editors and literary agents. Exciting, right? Well .... it is, but let me tell you, if you thought trying to get a query down to 250 words, try capturing your novel in 140 CHARACTERS. I'll never complain about writing a query letter again. In fact, bring it on!
I used 7 different pitches on the 3rd and by the end of the day I had favorites from 7 different publishers and 2 editors. Exciting!!!!! My heart slid down into my stomach each time my pitch was favored. After the high wore off, I found myself going, "Oh, God... What have I done?"
Other questions that followed looked like this:
1.) Is my manuscript as good as it can be?
2.) Am I ready to hit the proverbial 'submit' button?
3.) Am I ready to part with my baby and send it out into the cruel world of publishing all on its own?
4.) Can I really handle email stalking, rejections, etc. and then wonder if there was something I missed that ultimately caused said publisher to pass?
5.) What if I pick the wrong way to go?
Oh, the questions that roll through your head are soooo tormenting. At 24 hours later, my feet grew cold, and I'm deciding to sit on my manuscript. I'm so proud of it, but I have to break out the Lysol wipes and give it another one over before I ship it off to who knows where.
I've thought about attending the #PitMad in March and I've even considered doing the whole literary agent thing again. Maybe they are ready for me, but I'm not ready for them. Change is hard. Even a good change. In the meantime, here's a 1st outline of my query for The Boxer and the Butterfly:
From the outside looking in, seventeen-year-old Autumn Chamberlain has it all. She hails from a prominent family with connections, has a perfect GPA and lives in a gated community where her mother wins best curb appeal year after year. Autumn’s satisfied being the perfect daughter until one evening she becomes immersed in a dangerous game of dare where she ends up the loser.
As punishment Autumn is given the choice to tutor the boy from the wrong side of the tracks or face the consequences of her parents wrath for tainting their good name. Autumn decides to take on the challenge of bad boy Mickey Costello. The problem? He’s the principal’s nephew and has more demons than Autumn could’ve ever imagined.
Mickey’s everything she isn’t. He lives life on the edge, is reckless and impulsive. Once Autumn undergoes the task of helping Mickey bring his grades up she discovers a world where everything that glitters isn’t gold. As she begins to breach the walls Mickey’s thrown up, she learns that he isn’t who everyone else thinks he is. As the attraction between them grows, long buried secrets resurface that threatens to tear them apart. In the ring, Mickey’s never lost a fight, but when the tragedies of his past come back to haunt him, will it shatter them both forever?
Complete at 85,000 words, my novel, The Boxer and the Butterfly, explores sensitive themes like Stacey Trombley’s Naked and Kelly York’s Made Of Stars, but with a profound voice of its own. Thank you for considering The Boxer and the Butterfly.
This was all in the hopes of a few things.
1.) I wanted The Boxer and the Butterfly complete.
2.) I wanted to participate in #Pit2Pub
3.) There's supposed to be three things, you know, like Sheldon Cooper. If you don't have 3 things going on, then it's incomplete. But right now, I'm not coming up with a 3rd reason.
The finished product came in at roughly 85k words. It covers some seriously sensitive topics. This novel in particular is very dear to me. While it's a piece of fiction, there are some elements in the novel inspired by real experiences.
This past weekend, after binge reading (I felt sure at Sunday midnight my eyeballs turned to dust sockets) I started getting pumped for #Pit2Pub. For those of you new to this concept, there are tons of Twitter pitch parties where an author can pitch the concept of their novel in 140 characters or less to publishers, editors and literary agents. Exciting, right? Well .... it is, but let me tell you, if you thought trying to get a query down to 250 words, try capturing your novel in 140 CHARACTERS. I'll never complain about writing a query letter again. In fact, bring it on!
I used 7 different pitches on the 3rd and by the end of the day I had favorites from 7 different publishers and 2 editors. Exciting!!!!! My heart slid down into my stomach each time my pitch was favored. After the high wore off, I found myself going, "Oh, God... What have I done?"
Other questions that followed looked like this:
1.) Is my manuscript as good as it can be?
2.) Am I ready to hit the proverbial 'submit' button?
3.) Am I ready to part with my baby and send it out into the cruel world of publishing all on its own?
4.) Can I really handle email stalking, rejections, etc. and then wonder if there was something I missed that ultimately caused said publisher to pass?
5.) What if I pick the wrong way to go?
Oh, the questions that roll through your head are soooo tormenting. At 24 hours later, my feet grew cold, and I'm deciding to sit on my manuscript. I'm so proud of it, but I have to break out the Lysol wipes and give it another one over before I ship it off to who knows where.
I've thought about attending the #PitMad in March and I've even considered doing the whole literary agent thing again. Maybe they are ready for me, but I'm not ready for them. Change is hard. Even a good change. In the meantime, here's a 1st outline of my query for The Boxer and the Butterfly:
From the outside looking in, seventeen-year-old Autumn Chamberlain has it all. She hails from a prominent family with connections, has a perfect GPA and lives in a gated community where her mother wins best curb appeal year after year. Autumn’s satisfied being the perfect daughter until one evening she becomes immersed in a dangerous game of dare where she ends up the loser.
As punishment Autumn is given the choice to tutor the boy from the wrong side of the tracks or face the consequences of her parents wrath for tainting their good name. Autumn decides to take on the challenge of bad boy Mickey Costello. The problem? He’s the principal’s nephew and has more demons than Autumn could’ve ever imagined.
Mickey’s everything she isn’t. He lives life on the edge, is reckless and impulsive. Once Autumn undergoes the task of helping Mickey bring his grades up she discovers a world where everything that glitters isn’t gold. As she begins to breach the walls Mickey’s thrown up, she learns that he isn’t who everyone else thinks he is. As the attraction between them grows, long buried secrets resurface that threatens to tear them apart. In the ring, Mickey’s never lost a fight, but when the tragedies of his past come back to haunt him, will it shatter them both forever?
Complete at 85,000 words, my novel, The Boxer and the Butterfly, explores sensitive themes like Stacey Trombley’s Naked and Kelly York’s Made Of Stars, but with a profound voice of its own. Thank you for considering The Boxer and the Butterfly.
January 30, 2016
Evernight Teen Publishing is Turning 3 Birthday Hop!
EVERNIGHT TEEN is celebrating their anniversary this month with a 3rd Birthday Blog Hop. It’s EVERNIGHT TEEN’s birthday but we're giving out the presents with a Grand Prize of a $100 Amazon gift certificate!
EVERNIGHT TEEN books feature fresh teen fiction that is raw, gritty and real. Whether paranormal, contemporary, sci-fi or suspense, our books are about real issues and pack a strong emotional punch. You’ll find cutting edge fiction that today’s young adults can relate to and will keep you turning the pages long into the night.
I’m proud to be an EVERNIGHT TEEN author. Check out my previous blog posts for teasers from my Vulcan Legacies and Summer Crush. Be sure visit each stop on the BLOG HOP for more chances to WIN the GRAND PRIZE of a $100 Amazon Gift Card. You’ll receive bonus entries for commenting on each blog!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Check out the next stop here:
January 6, 2016
Release Day and Review of Downfall by SD Wasley!
Downfall (The Incorruptibles Book 1)by S.D. WasleyRelease Date: January 7, 2016Summary:From Amazon bestselling author S.D. Wasley comes her first work of new adult paranormal romance perfect for lovers of Lauren Kate's Fallen and the Richelle Mead's Bloodlines series.Blurb:Frankie’s cousin wants her to do three things this year:1. Lose her inhibitions
2. Do something spectacularly stupid
3. Fall madly in loveTravelling was Frankie’s life. As the daughter of a big-name evangelist, she’s been able to feed her hunger for new sights throughout most of her teenage years. Then a hushed-up scandal gets her thrown off the tour circuit and stuck at her uncle’s house in the town of Augur’s Well.Forced to repeat her failed senior year, it looks like a dismal existence for Frankie—until she’s invited to the bizarre meeting place of four mismatched people ... and falls hard for the fascinating, secretive Cain Aleister.Furtive meetings in an underground chamber ... Latin words carved into a stone wall ... intense desire ... and a secret so elusive she’ll do almost anything to bust it open. Until now, Frankie never believed in grand passions—but that’s not the only one of her beliefs about to implode right before her eyes. Looks like Frankie’s going to score three for three.
Excerpt 1:“Where are your friends?” He nodded toward the wall with the carven words. Somehow I’d missed it on my first look around the room, but now I saw a man stretched out asleep on a ragged sofa. “Who’s that?”“Cain.” Jude took the chip bag out of my hands. “I’ll just put these cans in the cooler. You wake him up.”“Me?”Jude went down a dim corridor. I looked back at Cain, who still slumbered peacefully. Screw that. I wasn’t waking up this guy I’d never met. Jude could do that when he got back from his cooler mission. But an odd feeling of recognition came over me and I drew closer. Was it possible I knew this man? From school? No way. He was older than me by at least a few years. From Dad’s church? Seemed unlikely. I knelt beside the sofa, looking up and down the length of his body, from his tangled brown hair to his bare feet, lying one on top of the other. His left arm was exposed, palm up, and tiny scars peppered its crook. When I worked my examination back up to Cain’s face I found his eyes open, mirroring the shock and fascination I felt. We gazed at one another for a long, tense moment.Finally his eyes flicked upwards, above and behind me. “Who is she?”I hadn’t noticed Jude standing skittishly at my back because I couldn’t take my eyes off Cain. His face now he was awake was … well, there was no word for it but stunning. It wasn’t even something identifiable, like striking eyes or sensual lips. Just a face that could make you forget to blink until your eyeballs dried out. A face that could, and was, making my body react—despite my efforts to control it.“Frankie. Francesca Caravaggio,” Jude stammered in reply. “An old school friend.”“What is she doing here?” Cain’s voice was calm, a still body of water against Jude’s nerviness.“I thought you might think she’s, uh … okay …”Cain nodded. I felt a rush of air from Jude as he turned away, heading down that dark corridor again. Cain sat up and lit a cigarette, rubbing the back of his head. He offered me one and I shook my head in wordless distaste, although these cigarettes didn’t seem as bad as most. In fact, I couldn’t really smell it at all. He drew on it deeply and gave me a smile, fixing his eyes on my face.“Hello, Francesca Caravaggio. I’m Cain. Cain Aleister.”“Frankie.” My reply sounded lame, helpless, because I was seriously disturbed by that smile. It didn’t seem fair that he could keep climbing degrees of stunning like that. “Everyone calls me Frankie.”He puffed on his cigarette. “The others will be here soon.” His voice. It was soothing, comforting, and intimately warm.“Who are they?” I asked, more to distract myself than from actual curiosity.“There’s Liz. She’s a nurse I met in the hospital when I came off my bike.”“How old is she?”“About thirty, I think.” Thirty? Jude was hanging out with thirty-year-old women now? “Then there’s Owen Zheng,” Cain went on. “He’s a university student.”“What does he study?”“History.”“Who else?”“You already know Jude.”“Yeah, from school.”“You were at high school together?”“Yeah. Well, no. I haven’t always been in town. Not for the last few years.”“Why’s that?”Okay, here it went. This was the bit where I admitted to this guy who was incredible in a way I had never—not in forty-five cities over three years—seen before, that I was Don Carver’s daughter. If I could have closed my eyes to get it over with, I would have.“My father’s a well-known author,” I said in a rush. “He made it big in the last few years and I’ve been touring with him. It takes me out of town for most of each year. Took,” I corrected myself, the new reality coming back to me like a slap. “It took me out of town for most of the year, but not this year. I’m staying in Augur’s Well now. To study.”“Oh.”He played with his cigarette for a moment before lying back on his sofa, positioning himself so he could still observe me. That’s it? I watched him, suspicious. He wasn’t going to ask why? He wasn’t going to ask my dad’s name? He wasn’t going to tell me he’d heard of my dad’s Saints Among Us book series and live shows and thought they were a load of bullshit?“Have you always lived in Augur’s Well?” was all he asked.“Uh, no. We lived in Land’s End for a few years. That’s where my mum comes from. Dad had a job managing the grocery store so we lived there till I started school.”“Did you like that? Living on the coast?”“I loved it.” He waited, but I hesitated to give him any more information about myself. I was already at a major disadvantage in this situation. I seized the questioner’s role. “So … you’re not at school, I guess?”Cain gave a small smile. “Not for a few years now.”“Been in Augur’s Well long?”“No. Just a year. I lived in Revel City before that.”“Did you get a job here or something?” I couldn’t think of any other reason someone would move from vibrant Revel City to the flat, anonymous town of Augur’s Well.“Just knew I had to live here.” As he spoke he watched me closely. Was he trying to detect a particular reaction?I didn’t give him one. “Okay.”
I wanted to ask how old he was but wasn’t sure that was something you asked a man you’d just met. It had never come up as an etiquette issue for me before. Cain reached for an opened soda can and shook it to see if any drink remained, and then dropped his cigarette into the can. It hissed as he turned his head back and smiled at me again, that terrifyingly beautiful smile. My whole body responded to it. I looked away, telling myself to get it together. Where the heck is Jude?
Review of Downfall: 5 Stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Downfall by Ms. Wasley was an incredible debut into the world of New Adult Romance. It took me no time to breeze through Downfall. From the very beginning clear until the end, Ms. Wasley kept the pace fast and the reader on the edge of their seat.
The cover is delicious and I LOVED the chapter titles... they set the feel for what each chapter had in store.
The story begins with our main female protagonist, Frankie. The prologue certainly had me terrified but instantly drew me in... I had to discover how Frankie found herself in such a position. We then go back to the beginning and find out that Frankie (the daughter of an evangelist) is pretty much kicked off her fathers book tour. Formally she was pretty much his marketing manager and did her job well. Where the conflict comes in at is that Frankie is herself not to blame for getting kicked off the tour and dumped at her uncles house, but it is actually her sister, Vanessa's, fault. And Frankie resents her for it. It was interesting to see the dynamics in these two sisters relationship. Sisters are sisters. You fight, grow, overcome and fight again... but you always love each other and the author did a wonderful job building the relationship here.
So Frankie is living with her uncle and her cousin (who was one of my favorite characters) Albion. I loved him. He was so large and full of life. I loved how Albion always comforted her and gave wonderful advice... he is the cousin everyone needs in their life.
Albion sets the stage for Frankie to get reacquainted with Jude... a guy who is totally into Frankie. The problem with this entire scenario is that Frankie is somewhat attracted to Jude until she meets Cain.
Cain is the leader, so to speak, of this club that meets at Gaunt House. This part was super mysterious. I was on the edge of my seat reading, needing to find out who Cain is, what he's capable of, the tension that built between him and Frankie.... it was awesome!!!!!
I will not include any spoilers, but the budding relationship between Cain and Frankie was spectacular. I loved the mystery and supernatural feel to it.
Another element that I need to comment on was the descriptive detail... The writing was so vivid in Downfall that I felt as though I were there. This is truly a book that comes to life.
If you are a fan of New Adult Romance, snatch up Downfall now and look for more great things to come from Ms. Wasley!
Buy Links:
AMAZON US
AMAZON AU
Add to Goodreads here: Downfall on GR
About the author, SD Wasley:
S.D. Wasley is an Amazon bestselling author of paranormal romance and mystery. She has been composing literary works since before she could write (her first work being a piece of rhyming poetry announced improv-style to her mother as she stood in the kitchen, five years old. Her mother wrote it down).
S.D. Wasley has wanted to write for a living from the time she knew it was possible to do so. She ran a copywriting business in Perth, Western Australia, but her dream was always to create stories for a living - stories people love to read. She especially enjoys writing fantasy and romance stories.
She completed a literature degree and went on to do a PhD in Communication Studies. She has worked as a lecturer at university, a migrant English teacher, an online magazine subeditor, a gift shop cashier, and a carpet cleaning company receptionist! She is also the mother of two daughters.
She spends most of each day reading, researching, editing, and writing. She loves the way stories start to write themselves after a certain point, the ideas flowing like a torrent. S.D. Wasley tends to write for children's/young adult/new adult readers. She enjoys writing for young people because she remembers how immersed she would become in books when she was young and had all the time in the world.
2. Do something spectacularly stupid
3. Fall madly in loveTravelling was Frankie’s life. As the daughter of a big-name evangelist, she’s been able to feed her hunger for new sights throughout most of her teenage years. Then a hushed-up scandal gets her thrown off the tour circuit and stuck at her uncle’s house in the town of Augur’s Well.Forced to repeat her failed senior year, it looks like a dismal existence for Frankie—until she’s invited to the bizarre meeting place of four mismatched people ... and falls hard for the fascinating, secretive Cain Aleister.Furtive meetings in an underground chamber ... Latin words carved into a stone wall ... intense desire ... and a secret so elusive she’ll do almost anything to bust it open. Until now, Frankie never believed in grand passions—but that’s not the only one of her beliefs about to implode right before her eyes. Looks like Frankie’s going to score three for three.
Excerpt 1:“Where are your friends?” He nodded toward the wall with the carven words. Somehow I’d missed it on my first look around the room, but now I saw a man stretched out asleep on a ragged sofa. “Who’s that?”“Cain.” Jude took the chip bag out of my hands. “I’ll just put these cans in the cooler. You wake him up.”“Me?”Jude went down a dim corridor. I looked back at Cain, who still slumbered peacefully. Screw that. I wasn’t waking up this guy I’d never met. Jude could do that when he got back from his cooler mission. But an odd feeling of recognition came over me and I drew closer. Was it possible I knew this man? From school? No way. He was older than me by at least a few years. From Dad’s church? Seemed unlikely. I knelt beside the sofa, looking up and down the length of his body, from his tangled brown hair to his bare feet, lying one on top of the other. His left arm was exposed, palm up, and tiny scars peppered its crook. When I worked my examination back up to Cain’s face I found his eyes open, mirroring the shock and fascination I felt. We gazed at one another for a long, tense moment.Finally his eyes flicked upwards, above and behind me. “Who is she?”I hadn’t noticed Jude standing skittishly at my back because I couldn’t take my eyes off Cain. His face now he was awake was … well, there was no word for it but stunning. It wasn’t even something identifiable, like striking eyes or sensual lips. Just a face that could make you forget to blink until your eyeballs dried out. A face that could, and was, making my body react—despite my efforts to control it.“Frankie. Francesca Caravaggio,” Jude stammered in reply. “An old school friend.”“What is she doing here?” Cain’s voice was calm, a still body of water against Jude’s nerviness.“I thought you might think she’s, uh … okay …”Cain nodded. I felt a rush of air from Jude as he turned away, heading down that dark corridor again. Cain sat up and lit a cigarette, rubbing the back of his head. He offered me one and I shook my head in wordless distaste, although these cigarettes didn’t seem as bad as most. In fact, I couldn’t really smell it at all. He drew on it deeply and gave me a smile, fixing his eyes on my face.“Hello, Francesca Caravaggio. I’m Cain. Cain Aleister.”“Frankie.” My reply sounded lame, helpless, because I was seriously disturbed by that smile. It didn’t seem fair that he could keep climbing degrees of stunning like that. “Everyone calls me Frankie.”He puffed on his cigarette. “The others will be here soon.” His voice. It was soothing, comforting, and intimately warm.“Who are they?” I asked, more to distract myself than from actual curiosity.“There’s Liz. She’s a nurse I met in the hospital when I came off my bike.”“How old is she?”“About thirty, I think.” Thirty? Jude was hanging out with thirty-year-old women now? “Then there’s Owen Zheng,” Cain went on. “He’s a university student.”“What does he study?”“History.”“Who else?”“You already know Jude.”“Yeah, from school.”“You were at high school together?”“Yeah. Well, no. I haven’t always been in town. Not for the last few years.”“Why’s that?”Okay, here it went. This was the bit where I admitted to this guy who was incredible in a way I had never—not in forty-five cities over three years—seen before, that I was Don Carver’s daughter. If I could have closed my eyes to get it over with, I would have.“My father’s a well-known author,” I said in a rush. “He made it big in the last few years and I’ve been touring with him. It takes me out of town for most of each year. Took,” I corrected myself, the new reality coming back to me like a slap. “It took me out of town for most of the year, but not this year. I’m staying in Augur’s Well now. To study.”“Oh.”He played with his cigarette for a moment before lying back on his sofa, positioning himself so he could still observe me. That’s it? I watched him, suspicious. He wasn’t going to ask why? He wasn’t going to ask my dad’s name? He wasn’t going to tell me he’d heard of my dad’s Saints Among Us book series and live shows and thought they were a load of bullshit?“Have you always lived in Augur’s Well?” was all he asked.“Uh, no. We lived in Land’s End for a few years. That’s where my mum comes from. Dad had a job managing the grocery store so we lived there till I started school.”“Did you like that? Living on the coast?”“I loved it.” He waited, but I hesitated to give him any more information about myself. I was already at a major disadvantage in this situation. I seized the questioner’s role. “So … you’re not at school, I guess?”Cain gave a small smile. “Not for a few years now.”“Been in Augur’s Well long?”“No. Just a year. I lived in Revel City before that.”“Did you get a job here or something?” I couldn’t think of any other reason someone would move from vibrant Revel City to the flat, anonymous town of Augur’s Well.“Just knew I had to live here.” As he spoke he watched me closely. Was he trying to detect a particular reaction?I didn’t give him one. “Okay.”
I wanted to ask how old he was but wasn’t sure that was something you asked a man you’d just met. It had never come up as an etiquette issue for me before. Cain reached for an opened soda can and shook it to see if any drink remained, and then dropped his cigarette into the can. It hissed as he turned his head back and smiled at me again, that terrifyingly beautiful smile. My whole body responded to it. I looked away, telling myself to get it together. Where the heck is Jude?
Review of Downfall: 5 Stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Downfall by Ms. Wasley was an incredible debut into the world of New Adult Romance. It took me no time to breeze through Downfall. From the very beginning clear until the end, Ms. Wasley kept the pace fast and the reader on the edge of their seat.
The cover is delicious and I LOVED the chapter titles... they set the feel for what each chapter had in store.
The story begins with our main female protagonist, Frankie. The prologue certainly had me terrified but instantly drew me in... I had to discover how Frankie found herself in such a position. We then go back to the beginning and find out that Frankie (the daughter of an evangelist) is pretty much kicked off her fathers book tour. Formally she was pretty much his marketing manager and did her job well. Where the conflict comes in at is that Frankie is herself not to blame for getting kicked off the tour and dumped at her uncles house, but it is actually her sister, Vanessa's, fault. And Frankie resents her for it. It was interesting to see the dynamics in these two sisters relationship. Sisters are sisters. You fight, grow, overcome and fight again... but you always love each other and the author did a wonderful job building the relationship here.
So Frankie is living with her uncle and her cousin (who was one of my favorite characters) Albion. I loved him. He was so large and full of life. I loved how Albion always comforted her and gave wonderful advice... he is the cousin everyone needs in their life.
Albion sets the stage for Frankie to get reacquainted with Jude... a guy who is totally into Frankie. The problem with this entire scenario is that Frankie is somewhat attracted to Jude until she meets Cain.
Cain is the leader, so to speak, of this club that meets at Gaunt House. This part was super mysterious. I was on the edge of my seat reading, needing to find out who Cain is, what he's capable of, the tension that built between him and Frankie.... it was awesome!!!!!
I will not include any spoilers, but the budding relationship between Cain and Frankie was spectacular. I loved the mystery and supernatural feel to it.
Another element that I need to comment on was the descriptive detail... The writing was so vivid in Downfall that I felt as though I were there. This is truly a book that comes to life.
If you are a fan of New Adult Romance, snatch up Downfall now and look for more great things to come from Ms. Wasley!
Buy Links:
AMAZON US
AMAZON AU
Add to Goodreads here: Downfall on GR
About the author, SD Wasley:
S.D. Wasley is an Amazon bestselling author of paranormal romance and mystery. She has been composing literary works since before she could write (her first work being a piece of rhyming poetry announced improv-style to her mother as she stood in the kitchen, five years old. Her mother wrote it down).S.D. Wasley has wanted to write for a living from the time she knew it was possible to do so. She ran a copywriting business in Perth, Western Australia, but her dream was always to create stories for a living - stories people love to read. She especially enjoys writing fantasy and romance stories.
She completed a literature degree and went on to do a PhD in Communication Studies. She has worked as a lecturer at university, a migrant English teacher, an online magazine subeditor, a gift shop cashier, and a carpet cleaning company receptionist! She is also the mother of two daughters.
She spends most of each day reading, researching, editing, and writing. She loves the way stories start to write themselves after a certain point, the ideas flowing like a torrent. S.D. Wasley tends to write for children's/young adult/new adult readers. She enjoys writing for young people because she remembers how immersed she would become in books when she was young and had all the time in the world.
December 31, 2015
Hoping for a more productive New Year!
It's so obvious from my pitiful blog that I've neglected it all in the spirit of being in a creative slump, in other words just... blah!
My poor blog (much like my writing of late) feels like a deserted town where I can actually see dust balls roll through the cyber streets.
In looking back at my New Years resolution, or something like that, my hopes included that I would produce three books. At 12/31/15, I feel like I met that goal by around 75%.
This year I completed the Vulcan Legacies with Black Apocalypse and contributed to Evernight Teen's Summer Crush Anthology.
The third title that has been a thorn in my side as well as something I've obsessed over and is currently to blame for my "creative slump" is my nearly complete YA Contemporary title, The Boxer and the Butterfly.
This book has been like a love/hate relationship of which the likes I have never seen. It's been a concept in my mind over the last 2 years and I've written with such gusto to only hit a wall and now I feel like the main character in the Maze Runner. No matter how many different ways I travel the maze I can't get out. But I'm hoping, like the main character, that after 2 hours of grueling running, death and heartache, that I do finally find my way out of this slump and can finish what I've started.
The biggest issue with The Boxer and the Butterfly is that I have created a secondary story line that is pretty sensitive and my fear is that it will bump my primary storyline out of first place. And that is not something I want, but I don't want to delete either. What to do? What to do?
I'm expecting to wake up in 2016 and have the answer.
In the meantime here's what I've been doing to fill the void of not writing:
1.) I read the entire Dark Hunter series in one long binge reading marathon and was left with a reading hangover for several weeks.
2.) Of course my job as an RN never leaves me with too much down time. They love to work me, and call me out and rearrange my plans all the time. Work loves me so much they believe they can replace the desire to watch my children grow up. It's nice to be so needed *insert sarcastic laugh here* *insert me backtracking here and saying this is what really pays the bills not my overwhelming quarterly royalties*
3.) I've developed a love for The Big Bang Theory. TBS airs like 4-5 episodes on the weekdays every night and over the last month I believe that I have watched all 8-9 seasons. I've replaced binge reading with Big Bang Theory binge watching. Howard is my favorite character.
4.) I thought it would be a good idea for around a 2 week time period to delve into Pride and Prejudice retellings, sequels and alternative fan fiction. Bad idea with the exception of Amanda Grange's Mr. Darcy's Diary. Now it doesn't get better than his POV. Oh... I am excited to see Pride and Prejudice and Zombies coming out Feb 5, 2016. The mash up sounded so corny, but when I saw the preview... yeah... I am EXCITED!!!!!!
And that's a wrap.
Now onto my 2016 goals:
We'll see how this turns out, but I pray, pray, pray that I can finish The Boxer and the Butterfly. It. Needs. To. Be. Over!!!!!
I had thought about participating in Pit2Pub this February, but might hold off until the brutal, maddening PitMad in March hosted by Brenda Drake. The waters are a bit deeper with PitMad, but that means the sharks are more vicious too. It sounds like fun, but then again so didn't sending queries to literary agents and that turned out to be something akin to hell. We'll see....
I'm hoping to have novel 1 in the adult Vulcan Legacies completed.
I'm hoping that aside from the adult Vulcan Legacies, that I never, NEVER, EVER (I'm starting to sing that damn Taylor Swift song) think it's a good idea to start a series again. Writing the Vulcan Legacies was awesome and I hold them near and dear to my heart, but it was painful keeping track of questions and answers in my head versus what I actually wrote. Never again! (I hope my past self haunts me if the notion ever strikes again).
The other thing that's going to be new for me (at 34, you'd think I would've grown up a bit sooner), I enrolled in a 401K at work. I just can't wait to start living with less money in the spirit of having money in the event I live to see retirement age.
Enough with the sarcasm.
I sincerely wish all a Happy New Year!
My poor blog (much like my writing of late) feels like a deserted town where I can actually see dust balls roll through the cyber streets.
In looking back at my New Years resolution, or something like that, my hopes included that I would produce three books. At 12/31/15, I feel like I met that goal by around 75%.
This year I completed the Vulcan Legacies with Black Apocalypse and contributed to Evernight Teen's Summer Crush Anthology.
The third title that has been a thorn in my side as well as something I've obsessed over and is currently to blame for my "creative slump" is my nearly complete YA Contemporary title, The Boxer and the Butterfly.
This book has been like a love/hate relationship of which the likes I have never seen. It's been a concept in my mind over the last 2 years and I've written with such gusto to only hit a wall and now I feel like the main character in the Maze Runner. No matter how many different ways I travel the maze I can't get out. But I'm hoping, like the main character, that after 2 hours of grueling running, death and heartache, that I do finally find my way out of this slump and can finish what I've started.
The biggest issue with The Boxer and the Butterfly is that I have created a secondary story line that is pretty sensitive and my fear is that it will bump my primary storyline out of first place. And that is not something I want, but I don't want to delete either. What to do? What to do?
I'm expecting to wake up in 2016 and have the answer.
In the meantime here's what I've been doing to fill the void of not writing:
1.) I read the entire Dark Hunter series in one long binge reading marathon and was left with a reading hangover for several weeks.
2.) Of course my job as an RN never leaves me with too much down time. They love to work me, and call me out and rearrange my plans all the time. Work loves me so much they believe they can replace the desire to watch my children grow up. It's nice to be so needed *insert sarcastic laugh here* *insert me backtracking here and saying this is what really pays the bills not my overwhelming quarterly royalties*
3.) I've developed a love for The Big Bang Theory. TBS airs like 4-5 episodes on the weekdays every night and over the last month I believe that I have watched all 8-9 seasons. I've replaced binge reading with Big Bang Theory binge watching. Howard is my favorite character.
4.) I thought it would be a good idea for around a 2 week time period to delve into Pride and Prejudice retellings, sequels and alternative fan fiction. Bad idea with the exception of Amanda Grange's Mr. Darcy's Diary. Now it doesn't get better than his POV. Oh... I am excited to see Pride and Prejudice and Zombies coming out Feb 5, 2016. The mash up sounded so corny, but when I saw the preview... yeah... I am EXCITED!!!!!!
And that's a wrap.
Now onto my 2016 goals:
We'll see how this turns out, but I pray, pray, pray that I can finish The Boxer and the Butterfly. It. Needs. To. Be. Over!!!!!
I had thought about participating in Pit2Pub this February, but might hold off until the brutal, maddening PitMad in March hosted by Brenda Drake. The waters are a bit deeper with PitMad, but that means the sharks are more vicious too. It sounds like fun, but then again so didn't sending queries to literary agents and that turned out to be something akin to hell. We'll see....
I'm hoping to have novel 1 in the adult Vulcan Legacies completed.
I'm hoping that aside from the adult Vulcan Legacies, that I never, NEVER, EVER (I'm starting to sing that damn Taylor Swift song) think it's a good idea to start a series again. Writing the Vulcan Legacies was awesome and I hold them near and dear to my heart, but it was painful keeping track of questions and answers in my head versus what I actually wrote. Never again! (I hope my past self haunts me if the notion ever strikes again).
The other thing that's going to be new for me (at 34, you'd think I would've grown up a bit sooner), I enrolled in a 401K at work. I just can't wait to start living with less money in the spirit of having money in the event I live to see retirement age.
Enough with the sarcasm.
I sincerely wish all a Happy New Year!
December 2, 2015
The Good. The Bad. The Ugly. Family Vacation From Hell Revisited....
I'm currently sitting here at a nice desk tucked away in a 1940's cottage on St. Simon's Island, GA. Sounds charming, doesn't it? A year ago it was a source of hell so profound it has taken me an entire year to write about our family vacation/art show trip from hell.
Today, while at Neptune Park, I couldn't help but revisit a weekend in my life from April 2014 that sucked so colossally bad, it has taken me this long to reflect on the whole of it.
My blog post are always writing related, and this one is no different. There is a 'writing' point to it. But there are also several others points that came from this trip.
It's hard for and part of human nature, to own up to some uglier aspects of how we react to certain situations or how we treat people. Please stop reading this as I am about to embark on a journey that portrays me in a rather dark light. If you're brave enough, pray continue. But I have some things to say, mostly about myself, that are less than pleasant.
If you've read my Vulcan Legacies series you know that book 1, Black Amaranth, begins in North Carolina and ends in Georgia. More specifically, St. Simon's Island, Brunswick and Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island.
My husband had been juried into their art show the spring of 2014, April, to be a little more precise. We have to travel through 5 states to get to St. Simons, so you understand that it is quite a haul from where we live. Roughly 12 hours. We had planned a min-vacation around his art show. Get to the island on Thursday, set up Friday, have Thursday and Friday as fun days, art show on the weekend, and our last fun day Monday. We would come home on Tuesday.
Here we are when we were still under the belief this was going to be an amazing vacation:
We leave the house Wed evening with the intentions of driving as far as we can before we become too tired to drive. We get about 3 hours down the road, and of course during these 3 hours the family discusses all the things we want to do, and the truck suddenly makes a noise and begins to shift awkwardly. We pull into a Go-Mart at Beckley, WV.
I'm praying that Tim can instantly diagnose the issue. After he pops the hood, I envision him closing it, rolling his eyes, brushing the dust off his hands as he comes around to the driver side window and says, "No biggie. Just a fuse. We're good to go." But that's not what he says. It was something along the lines of, "Huh... I don't know what's wrong with it."
At which point I was like, "Shit. We're only 3 hours from home. Maybe we should turn back."
My darling, sweet, optimistic husband felt like rolling the dice and continuing with the journey. I, on the other hand, was extremely apprehensive about pressing forward. But in the end, Tim won out. I will attribute this lack of what is usually good judgment to his excitement about his art show.
We drive through Virginia, North Carolina and get to the border of South Carolina. Each time we come to a stop, the truck just sounds like it is going to die. I'm not a mechanic, but it was all wrong. It was obviously wrong. But if Tim's child-like excitement could've mechanically operated the truck, we could've went to Disney World and back without issue. Unfortunately, excitement will only get you so far.
We stopped at a motel around 5AM, slept until 8AM, and hit the road. We went to the first auto part store we could find, only to spend $200 in parts that didn't fix the problem. Tim's theory was that we continue to press forward to GA, and of course mine was dwelling in the past, aka. "Tim, I told you in Beckley, you know that city that is still in the same F#$%ing state we live in, that we should've went home. Of course you want to go to GA, because we are now geographically closer to GA than we are to home. This was your plan all along!" You start to turn on each other and go a little crazy when shit hits the fan. But trust me, this was only the beginning. We, as a family, would be tested. Oh, we would be tested....
At this point I am chewing on the side of my jaw, telepathically trying to will the truck to not break down. And just when I thought I was getting somewhere, 12 miles from St. Simons, the truck breaks down. This was a very ugly moment for me where a string on unsavory words swiftly left a mouth that prior to this event, I would not have been ashamed to kiss my mother with.
It wasn't pretty....
At this point there was no option left but to rent a vehicle. To compound the problem our truck was loaded down with several paintings so it wasn't like we could rent an economy car. No, we needed a truck or something larger. And if I left out the part of we were on a budget, I'll insert that here. So, this was awesome news... to be stranded 12 hours away from home with my husbands entire art collection in the back. We set off on foot to an Enterprise that is luckily a block away. We're angry, sweaty, pissed off and looked like a dustbowl family by this point. I'm pretty sure the other customers were a bit afraid as our family comes strolling up in the joint. To our disappointment, Enterprise would not rent us a vehicle because of being out of state. A year later I still think that's a bogus excuse and the real reason was because I looked and acted like the crazy lady pictured above. It was awful. I didn't think it could any worse. Oh, it did. It sure did.
After trying every rental in the area we walked, broken in spirit and wallet in hand, to U-Haul. We got there literally 10 minutes before my bank was ready to close. Tim and the girls were standing outside as I'm talking with the lady running the joint. The good news was that she was willing to rent me a U-Haul. The bad news was my debit card was being declined. I'm ready to seriously lose it even more than before. It was a big cruel carrot dangling in front of my face and by damn I was going to get my hands on a damn U-Haul even if I had to kill for it. I frantically call my bank and ask what the in the hell is the hold up... why is my card being denied? The bank teller proceeds to tell me that GA is on their fraud list, which surprises me because a few months before my card info was stolen from someone in New Jersey. It made no sense to me that New Jersey wouldn't be on this list, but something about GA made them suspicious. Whatever. After getting that hammered out, the lady then asks me how many is in my party because the only van she has happens to be the biggest damn van available to man, and only had two seats. Of course I answer by saying, "Oh that won't be a problem. It's just me and my husband." *insert an innocence smile here* While she is bending over to grab the paperwork off her printer I run outside and tell my husband to hide the kids in the bushes. I kid you not.
We get the U-Haul, smuggle the kids in and set off to the truck. We grab Tim's art work/entire booth and head off to set up the booth on the island. My favorite part was where we had to have the girls lie down in the back of the U-Haul with a moving blanket tossed over them. All I could do was pray we wouldn't get pulled over. I had no choice at this point but to smuggle the kids everywhere we went.
2 hours later, Tim's booth is set up for his weekend art show and we go and check in at the hotel back in Brunswick. After checking in we go to our room to try and digest everything that happened and what we were going to do. I immediately call a tow company in GA and one back home. The cost to tow Tim's truck back came out to roughly $3000.00. I threw up a little in my mouth. I honestly had no idea what in the hell we were going to do. I decide to check our account, already knowing there wasn't anywhere near $3000.00 in our account, but one can always hope that something miraculous happened like your bank made a colossal mistake and they were waiting for the moment you needed it most to pay you back. That wasn't the case. The case was not only were we near broke, but then I had the pleasure of finding out that the motel in SC was continuing to debit my already dwindling account. My bank is closed at this point so I naturally call the motel we stayed at only for them to tell me they had no clue what I was talking about. It was painful.
My husband, who really puts up with more than he should, decides to make lemonade out of lemons. He suggests that we've had a terrible day (understatement of the year) and the hotel has an indoor pool. Why don't we go unwind for a few? I was already drowning in my own tears so I figured I may as well go wash them off. Tim the girls and I quickly change in to our swimsuits and proceed downstairs. The pool is open until 11PM. We get down there at 10:15PM. 45 minutes was plenty. The hotel receptionist thought it would be a good idea to remind me that I had kids and they could only swim until 11PM. I took a deep breath and proceeded to tell him that I wasn't illiterate, I was able to read and understand the sign as it was clearly written, tell him about my wonderful trip so far, and tell him to back off. I was a coiled cobra ready to strike and did. Not nice. I know. Really, I do. But by this point, I assure you the pool closing in 45 minutes was the least of my worries. Nothing was going to stop us from swimming in that damn pool. By this time I had become quite crafty at smuggling my kids into things. I felt confident the pool would be a piece of cake.
And this was me rationalizing my psychotic behavior to my husband.
Move forward to Saturday, the first day of Tim's art show. I'll save you the suspense... he sold nothing. So here the girls and I are walking around with me pretty much telling them they can't have anything because at this point I'm wondering how to feed them and contemplating selling a kidney on the black market to do it.
I made several distress calls and I have wonderful family and friends. Truly, I do. The issue wasn't having someone to come get us, that part was easy. The problem was we had no idea how to get Tim's big ass broken down truck home. I voted to leave it. I was positive before embarking on this vacation from hell, that his truck was possessed. This only confirmed my suspicion. Prior to this trip, the truck had went through 2 transmissions and 2 engines. Oh, and I loved this. During one of the transmission re-build projects, Tim and girls are literally on their way back home from the garage and a turkey flew into the windshield, busting through it, costing us $200 and to this day my kids are afraid of turkeys. They are bigger than you think.
At any rate, Sunday rolls around and nothing, absolutely nothing is improving our mood. We have to turn our U-Haul in the next day which will leave us stranded far, far, far from home. But in all this (recap real quick--motel stealing money, Enterprise turning us away due to crazy appearance, Tim not selling anything, smuggling our kids like border jumpers) the straw the broke this mothers back was on the very last day of the show, I take the kids to a park that is near to pass some time and hopefully for them to have some fun with other kids.
We walk in to this park, this public park, and wouldn't you know Easter is the next weekend and there happens to be a "Mother's Club" Easter egg hunt going on. There are kids everywhere dressed in beautiful dresses, boys in suits, mom's that looked like Stepford Wives. And wouldn't you know this damn thing is catered, with beautiful cakes and treats and baskets.
And here are my poor kids that looked like panhandling hobos. I'm sure for added effect, they even had mud smudged on their little faces. We couldn't have looked any more desperate. I watch the light shine in my kids eyes as they grow big taking in the sight before them. And my heart sank. My kids were too little to understand, but I could see immediately that this was a private club which pissed me off because if that was the case (and it was) they should've had it at a private place, not in a public one where my kids couldn't understand why everyone else had Easter baskets and eggs but them.
At this point all I could see was Coach diaper bags, Chanel purses and Ralph Lauren dresses. And it was simply too much.
I'm not going to go into too much detail here, because it was really ugly on my part, but suffice it to say that when my youngest sat down beside a tree and silently wept from a broken heart, mama bear rose her head and tore the place apart. I may have even said something along the lines of "I killed the f***ing Easter Bunny." I don't remember (or I've been trying to suppress the devil that came out of me) ... I blacked out and things went hazy. I told you this wasn't going to be pretty. I'm human. I will own up to my ugly behavior. They made my baby cry so in my fragile, very emotionally broken mind, I guess I thought it was okay to ruin their party.
I'll cut to the chase and say that the girls and I left. We went down to the beach on St. Simons and I plopped down and looked across the way where I could see Jekyll Island, home to my beautiful Driftwood Beach, the place that is featured in my book and the only place I wanted to see while down there. And I cried. I could see it, it was so close and yet so far away. And I knew I wouldn't be able to go there. But I cried for so many other things. At the end of the show, my poor husband sold 2 prints. To say the show went poorly doesn't quite express how profoundly we felt the financial impact. It sucked. We loaded up and went back to our hotel room. Our hearts were broken. Our spirits shattered. We finally admitted that our vacation was akin to hell. St. Simons whipped our asses. Just when all hope was lost, our dear friend, Tim Heater, called to answer our prayers. He is coming to get us... with a trailer large enough to haul Tim's beast back. I couldn't believe it. I was stunned. He took off work and drove 12 hours down to GA to pick us up. On our way back home, it also happened to be my birthday. I'm a big girl and the excitement of birthday's have long since wore off for me. But in the spirit of my birthday, the guys decide to stop at a Mexican place to celebrate. I think this was a place in South Carolina. It was an all in one stop. You could order an enchilada, get your tires changed, speak with a bails bondman and get a tattoo. I'm sure they were cooking up fajitas and meth in the back. I told the kids to hold their breath. We ate and booked it. I'll wrap this up by saying on the way home, a tire blew out, we had to stop, I get a call that one of my beloved clients passed away, and we hit a lovely snow storm in the mountains. There's more. I know there is. It was a trip I will never forget. But regardless of how terrible and scaring this trip was, the moment our friend drove us up our driveway, I had tears of gratitude in my eyes. At the end of the day it really didn't matter that Tim's truck broke down. It didn't matter that we had no money and upon return home we had to cash in our life savings at a damn Coin Star. It didn't matter that the show was an epic fail. It didn't matter that I ruined the Mothers Club Easter egg extravaganza *insert evil laugh here while I'm sanding my hands together and laughing "bwahahaha"*. (Remember, those bitches made my babies cry and feel unwelcomed, I'm not ready to let this one go.) None of those things mattered any more. What mattered was we made it home thanks to a friend who demonstrated an act so kind I'll never be able to pay it forward enough to make up for how he helped my family.
I felt like an indentured servant who was finally free to move my family to the frontier where we could start over.
At the end of the day I had what mattered most in the world, and I still have it... my wonderful family who was with me the entire way and a friend far better than I deserve.
Today, while at Neptune Park, I couldn't help but revisit a weekend in my life from April 2014 that sucked so colossally bad, it has taken me this long to reflect on the whole of it.
My blog post are always writing related, and this one is no different. There is a 'writing' point to it. But there are also several others points that came from this trip.
It's hard for and part of human nature, to own up to some uglier aspects of how we react to certain situations or how we treat people. Please stop reading this as I am about to embark on a journey that portrays me in a rather dark light. If you're brave enough, pray continue. But I have some things to say, mostly about myself, that are less than pleasant.
If you've read my Vulcan Legacies series you know that book 1, Black Amaranth, begins in North Carolina and ends in Georgia. More specifically, St. Simon's Island, Brunswick and Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island.
My husband had been juried into their art show the spring of 2014, April, to be a little more precise. We have to travel through 5 states to get to St. Simons, so you understand that it is quite a haul from where we live. Roughly 12 hours. We had planned a min-vacation around his art show. Get to the island on Thursday, set up Friday, have Thursday and Friday as fun days, art show on the weekend, and our last fun day Monday. We would come home on Tuesday.
Here we are when we were still under the belief this was going to be an amazing vacation:
We leave the house Wed evening with the intentions of driving as far as we can before we become too tired to drive. We get about 3 hours down the road, and of course during these 3 hours the family discusses all the things we want to do, and the truck suddenly makes a noise and begins to shift awkwardly. We pull into a Go-Mart at Beckley, WV.
I'm praying that Tim can instantly diagnose the issue. After he pops the hood, I envision him closing it, rolling his eyes, brushing the dust off his hands as he comes around to the driver side window and says, "No biggie. Just a fuse. We're good to go." But that's not what he says. It was something along the lines of, "Huh... I don't know what's wrong with it."
At which point I was like, "Shit. We're only 3 hours from home. Maybe we should turn back."
My darling, sweet, optimistic husband felt like rolling the dice and continuing with the journey. I, on the other hand, was extremely apprehensive about pressing forward. But in the end, Tim won out. I will attribute this lack of what is usually good judgment to his excitement about his art show.
We drive through Virginia, North Carolina and get to the border of South Carolina. Each time we come to a stop, the truck just sounds like it is going to die. I'm not a mechanic, but it was all wrong. It was obviously wrong. But if Tim's child-like excitement could've mechanically operated the truck, we could've went to Disney World and back without issue. Unfortunately, excitement will only get you so far.
We stopped at a motel around 5AM, slept until 8AM, and hit the road. We went to the first auto part store we could find, only to spend $200 in parts that didn't fix the problem. Tim's theory was that we continue to press forward to GA, and of course mine was dwelling in the past, aka. "Tim, I told you in Beckley, you know that city that is still in the same F#$%ing state we live in, that we should've went home. Of course you want to go to GA, because we are now geographically closer to GA than we are to home. This was your plan all along!" You start to turn on each other and go a little crazy when shit hits the fan. But trust me, this was only the beginning. We, as a family, would be tested. Oh, we would be tested....
At this point I am chewing on the side of my jaw, telepathically trying to will the truck to not break down. And just when I thought I was getting somewhere, 12 miles from St. Simons, the truck breaks down. This was a very ugly moment for me where a string on unsavory words swiftly left a mouth that prior to this event, I would not have been ashamed to kiss my mother with.
It wasn't pretty....At this point there was no option left but to rent a vehicle. To compound the problem our truck was loaded down with several paintings so it wasn't like we could rent an economy car. No, we needed a truck or something larger. And if I left out the part of we were on a budget, I'll insert that here. So, this was awesome news... to be stranded 12 hours away from home with my husbands entire art collection in the back. We set off on foot to an Enterprise that is luckily a block away. We're angry, sweaty, pissed off and looked like a dustbowl family by this point. I'm pretty sure the other customers were a bit afraid as our family comes strolling up in the joint. To our disappointment, Enterprise would not rent us a vehicle because of being out of state. A year later I still think that's a bogus excuse and the real reason was because I looked and acted like the crazy lady pictured above. It was awful. I didn't think it could any worse. Oh, it did. It sure did.
After trying every rental in the area we walked, broken in spirit and wallet in hand, to U-Haul. We got there literally 10 minutes before my bank was ready to close. Tim and the girls were standing outside as I'm talking with the lady running the joint. The good news was that she was willing to rent me a U-Haul. The bad news was my debit card was being declined. I'm ready to seriously lose it even more than before. It was a big cruel carrot dangling in front of my face and by damn I was going to get my hands on a damn U-Haul even if I had to kill for it. I frantically call my bank and ask what the in the hell is the hold up... why is my card being denied? The bank teller proceeds to tell me that GA is on their fraud list, which surprises me because a few months before my card info was stolen from someone in New Jersey. It made no sense to me that New Jersey wouldn't be on this list, but something about GA made them suspicious. Whatever. After getting that hammered out, the lady then asks me how many is in my party because the only van she has happens to be the biggest damn van available to man, and only had two seats. Of course I answer by saying, "Oh that won't be a problem. It's just me and my husband." *insert an innocence smile here* While she is bending over to grab the paperwork off her printer I run outside and tell my husband to hide the kids in the bushes. I kid you not.
We get the U-Haul, smuggle the kids in and set off to the truck. We grab Tim's art work/entire booth and head off to set up the booth on the island. My favorite part was where we had to have the girls lie down in the back of the U-Haul with a moving blanket tossed over them. All I could do was pray we wouldn't get pulled over. I had no choice at this point but to smuggle the kids everywhere we went.
2 hours later, Tim's booth is set up for his weekend art show and we go and check in at the hotel back in Brunswick. After checking in we go to our room to try and digest everything that happened and what we were going to do. I immediately call a tow company in GA and one back home. The cost to tow Tim's truck back came out to roughly $3000.00. I threw up a little in my mouth. I honestly had no idea what in the hell we were going to do. I decide to check our account, already knowing there wasn't anywhere near $3000.00 in our account, but one can always hope that something miraculous happened like your bank made a colossal mistake and they were waiting for the moment you needed it most to pay you back. That wasn't the case. The case was not only were we near broke, but then I had the pleasure of finding out that the motel in SC was continuing to debit my already dwindling account. My bank is closed at this point so I naturally call the motel we stayed at only for them to tell me they had no clue what I was talking about. It was painful.
My husband, who really puts up with more than he should, decides to make lemonade out of lemons. He suggests that we've had a terrible day (understatement of the year) and the hotel has an indoor pool. Why don't we go unwind for a few? I was already drowning in my own tears so I figured I may as well go wash them off. Tim the girls and I quickly change in to our swimsuits and proceed downstairs. The pool is open until 11PM. We get down there at 10:15PM. 45 minutes was plenty. The hotel receptionist thought it would be a good idea to remind me that I had kids and they could only swim until 11PM. I took a deep breath and proceeded to tell him that I wasn't illiterate, I was able to read and understand the sign as it was clearly written, tell him about my wonderful trip so far, and tell him to back off. I was a coiled cobra ready to strike and did. Not nice. I know. Really, I do. But by this point, I assure you the pool closing in 45 minutes was the least of my worries. Nothing was going to stop us from swimming in that damn pool. By this time I had become quite crafty at smuggling my kids into things. I felt confident the pool would be a piece of cake.
And this was me rationalizing my psychotic behavior to my husband.
Move forward to Saturday, the first day of Tim's art show. I'll save you the suspense... he sold nothing. So here the girls and I are walking around with me pretty much telling them they can't have anything because at this point I'm wondering how to feed them and contemplating selling a kidney on the black market to do it.
I made several distress calls and I have wonderful family and friends. Truly, I do. The issue wasn't having someone to come get us, that part was easy. The problem was we had no idea how to get Tim's big ass broken down truck home. I voted to leave it. I was positive before embarking on this vacation from hell, that his truck was possessed. This only confirmed my suspicion. Prior to this trip, the truck had went through 2 transmissions and 2 engines. Oh, and I loved this. During one of the transmission re-build projects, Tim and girls are literally on their way back home from the garage and a turkey flew into the windshield, busting through it, costing us $200 and to this day my kids are afraid of turkeys. They are bigger than you think.
At any rate, Sunday rolls around and nothing, absolutely nothing is improving our mood. We have to turn our U-Haul in the next day which will leave us stranded far, far, far from home. But in all this (recap real quick--motel stealing money, Enterprise turning us away due to crazy appearance, Tim not selling anything, smuggling our kids like border jumpers) the straw the broke this mothers back was on the very last day of the show, I take the kids to a park that is near to pass some time and hopefully for them to have some fun with other kids.
We walk in to this park, this public park, and wouldn't you know Easter is the next weekend and there happens to be a "Mother's Club" Easter egg hunt going on. There are kids everywhere dressed in beautiful dresses, boys in suits, mom's that looked like Stepford Wives. And wouldn't you know this damn thing is catered, with beautiful cakes and treats and baskets.
And here are my poor kids that looked like panhandling hobos. I'm sure for added effect, they even had mud smudged on their little faces. We couldn't have looked any more desperate. I watch the light shine in my kids eyes as they grow big taking in the sight before them. And my heart sank. My kids were too little to understand, but I could see immediately that this was a private club which pissed me off because if that was the case (and it was) they should've had it at a private place, not in a public one where my kids couldn't understand why everyone else had Easter baskets and eggs but them.
At this point all I could see was Coach diaper bags, Chanel purses and Ralph Lauren dresses. And it was simply too much.
I'm not going to go into too much detail here, because it was really ugly on my part, but suffice it to say that when my youngest sat down beside a tree and silently wept from a broken heart, mama bear rose her head and tore the place apart. I may have even said something along the lines of "I killed the f***ing Easter Bunny." I don't remember (or I've been trying to suppress the devil that came out of me) ... I blacked out and things went hazy. I told you this wasn't going to be pretty. I'm human. I will own up to my ugly behavior. They made my baby cry so in my fragile, very emotionally broken mind, I guess I thought it was okay to ruin their party.
I'll cut to the chase and say that the girls and I left. We went down to the beach on St. Simons and I plopped down and looked across the way where I could see Jekyll Island, home to my beautiful Driftwood Beach, the place that is featured in my book and the only place I wanted to see while down there. And I cried. I could see it, it was so close and yet so far away. And I knew I wouldn't be able to go there. But I cried for so many other things. At the end of the show, my poor husband sold 2 prints. To say the show went poorly doesn't quite express how profoundly we felt the financial impact. It sucked. We loaded up and went back to our hotel room. Our hearts were broken. Our spirits shattered. We finally admitted that our vacation was akin to hell. St. Simons whipped our asses. Just when all hope was lost, our dear friend, Tim Heater, called to answer our prayers. He is coming to get us... with a trailer large enough to haul Tim's beast back. I couldn't believe it. I was stunned. He took off work and drove 12 hours down to GA to pick us up. On our way back home, it also happened to be my birthday. I'm a big girl and the excitement of birthday's have long since wore off for me. But in the spirit of my birthday, the guys decide to stop at a Mexican place to celebrate. I think this was a place in South Carolina. It was an all in one stop. You could order an enchilada, get your tires changed, speak with a bails bondman and get a tattoo. I'm sure they were cooking up fajitas and meth in the back. I told the kids to hold their breath. We ate and booked it. I'll wrap this up by saying on the way home, a tire blew out, we had to stop, I get a call that one of my beloved clients passed away, and we hit a lovely snow storm in the mountains. There's more. I know there is. It was a trip I will never forget. But regardless of how terrible and scaring this trip was, the moment our friend drove us up our driveway, I had tears of gratitude in my eyes. At the end of the day it really didn't matter that Tim's truck broke down. It didn't matter that we had no money and upon return home we had to cash in our life savings at a damn Coin Star. It didn't matter that the show was an epic fail. It didn't matter that I ruined the Mothers Club Easter egg extravaganza *insert evil laugh here while I'm sanding my hands together and laughing "bwahahaha"*. (Remember, those bitches made my babies cry and feel unwelcomed, I'm not ready to let this one go.) None of those things mattered any more. What mattered was we made it home thanks to a friend who demonstrated an act so kind I'll never be able to pay it forward enough to make up for how he helped my family. I felt like an indentured servant who was finally free to move my family to the frontier where we could start over.
At the end of the day I had what mattered most in the world, and I still have it... my wonderful family who was with me the entire way and a friend far better than I deserve.
November 16, 2015
Review of FORGET TOMORROW by Pintip Dunn
Imagine a world where your destiny has already been decided...by your future self. It's Callie's seventeenth birthday and, like everyone else, she's eagerly awaiting her vision-a memory sent back in time to sculpt each citizen into the person they're meant to be. A world-class swimmer. A renowned scientist.
Or in Callie's case, a criminal.
In her vision, she sees herself murdering her gifted younger sister. Before she can process what it means, Callie is arrested and placed in Limbo-a hellish prison for those destined to break the law. With the help of her childhood crush, Logan, a boy she hasn't spoken to in five years, she escapes.
But on the run from her future, as well as the government, Callie sets in motion a chain of events that she hopes will change her fate. If not, she must figure out how to protect her sister from the biggest threat of all-Callie, herself.
What others are saying about Forget Tomorrow:
"This gripping read is sure to have you on the edge of your seat." - Farrah Penn, BuzzFeed.com
"Debut YA author Pintip Dunn's Forget Tomorrow delivers a page-turner full of adventure and danger. The story's creative premise - receiving your future memory at 17 years old - provides enough what ifs to amp up the action in each chapter with the suspenseful race-against-time theme." - Michelle Monkou, USA Today
"Forget Tomorrow was a gorgeous, refreshing story that has restored my faith in dystopian. Filled with action, adventure, romance, amazing characters and a heartfelt storyline that you can connect with. ...[A]t the beginning you are thrown into this world, there's no unnecessary build up, you're hooked from the very beginning with this unpredictable plot and then left shocked and surprised by the clever cliffhanger ending. It's safe to say, I loved this book- Forget Tomorrow is a magnificent debut and I can't wait to see was Dunn does next." - Cody, Literary-ly Obsessed
Buy it here: AMAZON And... What am I saying?
Forget Tomorrow by Pintip Dunn was a knockout! From the beginning to the end, there was never a dull moment. In a market saturated with Dystopian novels the cream always rises to the top and floats up there among other greats like Divergent, Fury or The Book of Ivy, Forget Tomorrow emerges in the same realm of victory. It was simply stunning and hauntingly beautiful. Oh, and of course the cover is gorgeous... a nice prelude to what lies within. Callie's character was tragically beautiful. The synopsis says it all. Limbo is a hell hole where teenage 'criminals' are held because of the vision they received on their seventeenth birthday... future criminals. Of course there is always more to this than what meets the eye. Callie is no exception. But I do have to say bravo to Ms. Dunn. The real connection between Callie and her sister is one that caught me by surprise. But the real shocker was the ending. It's been a while since I read a book that was not only beautiful but managed to shock me as well. Forget Tomorrow does both and leads to a frightening conclusion. I hope there will be more to this tale of Callie (I refuse to believe otherwise), Logan, her sister... those outliers with gifts hoping for a better future. I would highly recommend this to fans of YA Dystopian. Entangled Teen has published another winner. About the author Pintip Dunn:
When her first-grade teacher asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, Pintip replied, "An author." Although she has pursued other interests over the years, this dream has never wavered.Pintip graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL. She published an article in the YALE LAW JOURNAL, entitled, "How Judges Overrule: Speech Act Theory and the Doctrine of Stare Decisis," and received the Barry S. Kaplan Prize for best paper in Law and Literature.
Pintip is represented by literary agent Beth Miller of Writers House. She is a 2012 Golden Heart® finalist and a 2014 double-finalist. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Washington Romance Writers, YARWA, The Golden Network, and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
November 10, 2015
The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engel Book Tour + Giveaway!
Title: The Revolution of Ivy, Book 2 of The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel Published by: Entangled Teen
Pages: 400
Genre: YA, Dystopian
Subgenre: Awesome
Beyond the fence. I am still alive. Barely.
My name is Ivy Westfall. I am sixteen years old and a traitor. Three months ago, I was forced to marry the president's son, Bishop Lattimer—as all daughters of the losing side of the war are sold off in marriage to the sons of the winners. But I was different. I had a mission-to kill Bishop.
Instead, I fell in love with him.
Now I am an outcast, left to survive the brutal savagery of the lands outside of civilization. Yet even out here, there is hope. There is life beyond the fence. But I can't outrun my past. For my actions have set off a treasonous chain of events in Westfall that will change all of our fates—especially Bishop's.
And this time, it is not enough to just survive...
Buy it here: AMAZON My Review:
The first book, The Book of Ivy, was one of those books that stayed with me long after finishing. I knew when I completed it, there was so much more to this enchanting Dystopian read, and to my absolute satisfaction, The Revolution of Ivy was underway. When the publisher sent me an ARC I nearly broke my kindle ... I couldn't get to this highly anticipated sequel fast enough. Often in a series, what starts out so promising and amazing, fizzles out in the sequel. But Ms. Engel delivers yet again in this action packed, follow up that exploded with twists and turns right up until the very end. A Dystopian read is never an entirely happy one. It is riddled with what caused the original structure to crumble, those impacted and ultimately how to survive. We learn in The Book of Ivy how this world collapsed and the answer inside the wall was a very structured way to live where girls and boys are forced into arranged marriages and that's when we meet the presidents son, Bishop, and the enemy of the president, Ivy. These two are forced to marry but we learn through Bishop that you can't judge a boy by the name he carries. Bishop was such a gentleman in The Book of Ivy. He decimated every pre-conceived notion Ivy had formulated in her head ... as it was poisoned by her father's hate. Ivy is charged with the task of killing her husband but when it comes down to it, love wins out and costs her a one way ticket to the other side of the wall where she's been told since she's had the capability of understanding, that no one survives on the other side. In the Revolution of Ivy, not everyone does survive, but she does. This stunning sequel is about her survival and ultimate resolution. The only spoiler I'll give here is that Bishop arrives to save Ivy from what I perceive to be herself and her own doubts and fears. He is a rock, her rock, and my love only intensified for him in this sequel. If you're a fan of Dystopian, treat yourself to this gem of a series. I loved The Revolution of Ivy! About the Author, Amy Engel:
Amy Engel was born in Kansas and after a childhood spent bouncing among countries (Iran, Taiwan) and states (Kansas; California; Missouri; Washington, D.C.), she settled in Kansas City, Missouri, where she lives with her husband and two children. Before devoting herself full-time to motherhood and writing, she worked as a criminal defense attorney, which is not quite as exciting as it looks on television. When she has a free moment, she can usually be found reading, running, or shoe shopping. Giveaway: : a Rafflecopter giveaway
October 22, 2015
Dark Hunter Series=Hiatus
I have been on a reading hiatus. My sisters have begged and begged me to read The Dark Hunter series for well over a year now.
I started by reading Fantasy Lover, which the author claims is not an official Dark Hunter novel. And please don't throw rotten cabbage at me you fellow Dark Hunter lovers, while Fantasy Lover wasn't terrible there was zero about it that inspired me to devote hours and hours of reading more about series.
But my sisters kept nagging and nagging and nagging (love you girls and I'm glad you did).
After release my last 2 novels, I felt I had a well deserved reading break coming my way, and so the madness began.
I just finished Styxx last night (nearly a 900 page book) and I'm still in recovery mode. This series is the most intense, mind blowing, unique world of paranormal that I have ever read. In my entire life I don't think that I've binge read anything like this. Once you start, and get past (I would skip Fantasy Lover altogether) introductions and the setting up of things, you cannot stop. I recommend having a clear schedule. Do not proceed if you have important obligations, work, kids, other books you need to write... because you will neglect everything around you including your sleep. After finishing Styxx, I seriously feel like I need some kind of book rehab.
Wow....
This is hands down the best series I have ever read.
So the point to this post is to apologize as neglecting your blog and writing things of your own falls into the category of if-you-read-the-Dark-Hunters-series-you-will-neglect-everything-around-you, etc.
I've had my binge read, and now I'm bracing myself to get back on track with life.
I started by reading Fantasy Lover, which the author claims is not an official Dark Hunter novel. And please don't throw rotten cabbage at me you fellow Dark Hunter lovers, while Fantasy Lover wasn't terrible there was zero about it that inspired me to devote hours and hours of reading more about series.
But my sisters kept nagging and nagging and nagging (love you girls and I'm glad you did).
After release my last 2 novels, I felt I had a well deserved reading break coming my way, and so the madness began.
I just finished Styxx last night (nearly a 900 page book) and I'm still in recovery mode. This series is the most intense, mind blowing, unique world of paranormal that I have ever read. In my entire life I don't think that I've binge read anything like this. Once you start, and get past (I would skip Fantasy Lover altogether) introductions and the setting up of things, you cannot stop. I recommend having a clear schedule. Do not proceed if you have important obligations, work, kids, other books you need to write... because you will neglect everything around you including your sleep. After finishing Styxx, I seriously feel like I need some kind of book rehab.
Wow....
This is hands down the best series I have ever read.
So the point to this post is to apologize as neglecting your blog and writing things of your own falls into the category of if-you-read-the-Dark-Hunters-series-you-will-neglect-everything-around-you, etc.
I've had my binge read, and now I'm bracing myself to get back on track with life.
October 2, 2015
Review+Giveaway for The Summer Marked by Rebekah L. Purdy
The Summer Marked (The Winter People #2)by Rebekah L. PurdyRelease Date: 09/22/15Entangled Teen305 pages
Summary from Goodreads:
Fresh off a break-up with her boyfriend, Kadie's glad to be home from college for Thanksgiving. All she needs is a rebound guy, a box of chocolates, and some girl time with her best friend, Salome. Problem is, Salome isn't returning her calls, and her family won't say where she is. Feeling sorry for herself, Kadie ends up at Club Blade, a place filled with pumping music, dangerous guys, and promises of a good time. However, when midnight strikes, Kadie's fun turns into a nightmare as she's ripped from the human world into Faerie by a vengeful Winter Prince named Etienne. For the first time in her life, she realizes the monsters Salome always spoke of are real, and they'll stop at nothing to destroy her friend.Salome thought the winter curse was behind her. But winter has left its mark. Not just on her, but on the whole summer court. The Kingdom of Summer is falling apart, and Nevin is hanging onto his throne by a thread. With war on his doorstep, he has no choice but to send Gareth into enemy territory, which means Salome will be left alone--vulnerable in a world she doesn't understand. A place where beauty is deadly and humans are pawns in the macabre games the Fae play. Both Kadie and Salome will have to call on all their strength to survive in a world where humans aren't meant to be. With death and enemies all around them, it'll be a miracle if they can survive.
Buy it here: AMAZON
About the Author:
Rebekah Purdy grew up in Michigan, where she spent many late nights armed with a good book and a flashlight. When not hiding at her computer and getting lost in her stories, she enjoys reading, singing, soccer, swimming, football, camping, playing video games and hanging out with her kids. She loves the unexplainable like Bigfoot, the Dogman, and the Loch Ness Monster (lots of good story material)! She admits to still having all the books she bought throughout her childhood and teen years, and she may or may not have an obsession with anything chocolate… My Review:
SUMMER MARKED was incredible! I read this one over my vacation at the Outer Banks in August and I simply couldn't put it down. I LOVED The Winter People and when I saw the sequel on NetGalley I nearly broke my keyboard in half trying to get it. I couldn't imagine what the sequel would entail but I assure you it did not disappoint.
To recap on The Winter People, we meet Salome who is tied in this family curse, falls for more than a few guys, breaks the curse, sets the Summer King free, and rides off into the sunset with Gareth... or so we think. And that's what sequels are for!
In Summer Marked the reader is taken into not only more of Salome's world within the kingdom but we get a serious glimpse into her best friends, Kadie, world. By the end of the book, let's just say that you hate Kadie, but you get it... you understand what put her on the destructive path she has currently found herself on. So sad... and that part with Salome's dad... very tragic.
And now onto Salome's grandmother... wow, oh wow. I did not see that coming. I believed her to be someone significant in this marvelous world, but not that. And that leads me to my next rant... Salome herself.
Of course Salome is important, she's the main character, but I loved what Ms. Purdy did with her character. I loved the back story and how that weaved together in Summer Marked and how that prepares the reader for what I'm sure will be an incredible third book.
There are more sources of romance in Summer Marked than just one. I loved reading about all the different kingdoms and ultimately how Salome's return (oops... did she go away in the first place? *wiggles eyebrows*) is affecting them.
And, the Winter Queen.... let me tell you, if you thought the witch in The Winter People was scary... the Winter Queen makes the witch look like a tame kitty. Villainista to the max!!!!
Overall, Summer Marked by Rebekah Purdy was a wonderful blend of romance in the world of the Fae. There was never a dull moment. Not one. The only disappointment I had was when it ended.
If you're a lover of young adult and delicious stories about the Fae, I promise you snatch up The Winter People and Summer Marked. You will not be disappointed. a Rafflecopter giveaway
September 27, 2015
Cover Reveal for The Rift by S.D. Wasley!
Blurb: The Rift by S.D. Wasley “I longed for normality. Even our own, off-the-wall brand of normality.” She’s finally got things together. Mimi’s dating a hot guy and has a place in the school’s Gifted Program with her awesome friends. Yes, she still attracts the dead. But there’s only one ghost these days, and he doesn’t seem to have an awful lot to say. Just when Mimi’s life is looking pretty good for the first time in years, the unthinkable happens ... one of the seven gifted teens is torn from their close-knit group. The unity of their circle shattered, things begin to go terribly wrong. It’s ruining their focus—and with the threat of the Astarion cult growing stronger each day, the gifted seven need all the focus they can muster.
In The Seventh, Mimi found her place in a circle of seven extraordinary teenagers. In The Rift, she must face what happens when the circle of seven is broken. Release: November 2015Add on GoodreadsEmail Sign-up The Rift is the stunning sequel to The Seventh, released earlier this year. And guess what? It's on sale on Amazon right now for only $0.99! Buy it here: AMAZON
