Kate Scott's Blog, page 16

What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk.  Head over to Jaime's page for links to find out what's up with everyone else. Here's What's Up with me.
What I'm Reading
I'm currently reading David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. I'm a big Gladwell fan and find this book about the nature of underdogs and their more likely than expected success interesting. It's very similar to all of Gladwell's other books and contains a number of anecdotal examples centered around a given theme, in this case underdog success.

Unlike all of Gladwell's other books, this book I relate to on a personal level as well. One of the chapters, about disadvantages often being adventitious, is about dyslexia. Not only is the POV character in my debut novel dyslexic, I am too. Since dyslexia is genetic, I also have a lot of dyslexic relatives.

The first dyslexic case study described in this book is about a guy EXACTLY like my brother. I felt like was reading a biography of my own family member. Gladwell didn't say anything on the subject of dyslexia that I don't already know, but he also didn't say anything I disagreed with. I have understood the advantages of dyslexia that most people ignore my entire life. Those overlooked advantages are the primary reason why I wrote COUNTING TO D.

I even went through a phase in my youth when I insisted on calling dyslexia a learning difference instead of a learning disability because I was convinced the advantages outweighed the disadvantages and labeling it as a disability was disingenuous. I've gotten over that. Being illiterate really is a disability. Still, I'm glad Gladwell included dyslexics in his chronicle of underdogs who often exceed the world's expectations.

The dyslexia section is only a small portion of the book, and I'm enjoying reading about all the other unlikely overachievers too. 
What I'm Writing
I'm still working on revising/re-writing THE EVOLUTION OF EMILY. I wrote one new chapter this week, which is not enough to finish this re-write in the time frame I want, but at least it's better than nothing. Hopefully, I'll get back into it this coming week and make more significant progress.

What Inspires Me Right Now

I think reading DAVID AND GOLIATH is actually inspiring me a lot. Or maybe it's simply making me reflexive so I'm more inclined to inspire myself. I am a dyslexic author. I'm not the first person to fit that dichotomy and I'm sure I wont be the last. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Agatha Christie, and Hans Christian Anderson all paved the way into the world of illiterate authors.

One of the things that Gladwell claims in his book is that dyslexics are more likely to take risks than the general public. Dyslexic are both 3 times more likely to end up in prison than non-dyslexics, and 3 time more likely to become CEO's of large corporations. A disproportionate number of dyslexics are entrepreneurs, must likely because we're very bad at following directions. Matching that model, every single adult dyslexic relative I have is self-employed, most quite successfully.

I'm not just a bad reader who likes to write. Last spring, I fired my agent and decided to create a small press. I haven't made much progress on writing my current WIP lately, primarily because I've been spending a lot of time working the publishing side of things to get COUNTING TO D ready for it's February release. And I can't wait until my cute little company, Elliott Books LLC, is ready to start accepting submissions by other writers.

I don't have any expectations of Elliott Books ever becoming a huge company. I just think the current publishing model is broken and I think I can do better, so I'm doing it myself. But who knows, I doubt Paul Orfalea thought his little copy company would amount to much when he started Kinko's. Who knows if Charles Schwab thought his fledgling investment company would succeed. They were just both dyslexics who were bad at following other peoples rules.

I'm not sure about all dyslexics, but I think I was brainwashed from a very young age to grow up to quit my day job. As a little kid, people were constantly telling me, "You need to be the boss when you grow up, because you really need a secretary." I could still use a secretary, although I don't think they are called that anymore, but I'm choosing to focus on the being the boss part, at least this week.
What Else I've Been Up To
This week I gave my webpage a face-lift. How do you like my new look? In addition to the new banner and new sidebar description, there is also now a Books page, because you know, I have books. :)

It's December, which means Christmas is right around the corner. I've been spending most of the time I should be writing shopping. And writing, now that I think about it. This week I wrote a super cute picture book that I'm giving to my niece and nephew for Christmas. It's being published by shutterfly and all the illustrations are photos of the worlds two cutest kiddo's. But it's not just a photo album. I wrote an adorable little story staring two equally adorable children. I'm an awesome aunt.

So What's Up With You?

What's Your Story - Love Edition

For the past for months, I've interviewed a different person each week in an ongoing project I call What's Your Story? So far I've talked to 18 different people. One of the questions I ask all my what's your story participants is, What do you love most in the world?

Here are the answers I've received so far.

Can I get all religious on you and say God? Because that’s my answer.
Kids. I do love my husband and parents a lot too. But I really love kids. I always have. Back when I was in college, I worked at a summer camp and the camp director told all us counselors that our only job was to love  children. That was the easiest (and most enjoyable) job I’ve ever had. Because nothing is easier for me than loving children – even the really obnoxious ones.
I love that timeless feeling I get when I’m working on a piece of art. If all goes well, I’m in my own quiet, tiny world, working on my own quiet, tiny art.
Literature. I love writing and reading.
God, my husband and two children. On the side, I also love the singing time movies, twix candy bars, sunny summers, camping, my diva cup, Washington outdoor women, and my saladmaster cookware. Sorry, I know this is product placement—but I do really love them!
A good belly laugh.
I strive to love my God above all other things, but I struggle with loving my family more.
How can I choose only one thing? Seriously. I can’t do it. Unless it’s something very abstract and all-encompassing like “learning” or “creation” or “exploration.” As much as I love writing, for me that love has long competed with a love of art (drawing to photography to gluing nonsensical things together to paint pens to Photoshop) and language. Sometimes the simple beauty of a foreign word (maquillage, ojala, humuhumunukunkuapua’a) will knock me off my feet.
I love when people show genuine, non-strategic, compassionate interest in one another. I think that there are few things as magnificent and loveable as people who want to share and learn about one another, unspoiled by either desperation or cynical motives.
God and creativity.
I’m not the sentimental type, so I’m going to say a cheesesteak with fried onions from Jim’s on South Street.
God. And then my family. But as other things go – mixed coffee drinks, chocolate and a good jasmine tea.
My baby sister. She’s actually 18, so not so much a baby, but she’s my favorite person, and I love that we can share a love for stories.
My beautiful son. He’s a little monster one minute and a real sweetie the next.
Music. I believe music is what makes us more than beasts.
Family. I love my Father in Heaven, my husband, my sons. But I also love the family I’ve found in friends, both online and in the real world. I never knew how important family was until I grew up ~ and now it is my very favorite of all time!
My daughter and my husband.

I love living in a place where everyone moves to pursue their dreams. I’m constantly surrounded by idealists, artists, and entrepreneurs chasing their ambitions. It’s very inspiring.
So what about you? What do you love most in the world?If you are interested in participating in a future installment of What's Your Story, please leave your contact information in the comments section of this post, or email me directly at katherine.elliott.scott(at)gmail.

What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk.  Head over to Jaime's page for links to find out what's up with everyone else. Here's What's Up with me.
What I'm Reading
Right now, nothing. There are lots of books on my TBR list, but I need to decide which of them to read next.
What I'm Writing
I'm still working on revising/re-writing THE EVOLUTION OF EMILY. I got a lot done during the first half of November, but then didn't work on it much during the last two weeks simply because of holiday craziness. Now that it's December, I'm starting to try and focus again. My goal is to finish this rewrite by the end of the year, which is only dueable if I can find time to actually write.

What Inspires Me Right Now

My sister in law, Cathy. She came out to visit me for the holidays and just left yesterday. I posted an interview with her on Monday for my What's Your Story segment. She is an actress working in LA right now. She's not a huge movie star, yet, but she's concitanly finding work and doing a lot of very interesting projects. It's inspiring to see an artest make a career following her dreams, even if she works in a different industry than I do. I'm also glad I'm a writer not an actor, becase from talking to Cathy, dealing with Hollywood types sounds a lot harder than dealing with publishers.
What Else I've Been Up To
Not only was my sister-in-law visiting last week. My husbands parents came to visit last week too. We hosted all of our local relatives for Thanksgiving too. But beyond the giant meal, we also spent a lot of time playing tourist in our only area with our out of town guests. My mother-in-law is on the board of directors for her local library. So she was interested in seeing how libraries are laid out here. In addition to going to the typical tourist hot-spots, we also visited several libraries. It was fun, and also a bit inspiring.

All my relatives left yesturday. As much fun as it was having them all here for a week, it's also nice to settle back into normal life. I have lots of writing that needs to get done. And hopefully, I also have a few more life experiences to keep my stories authentic and entertaining.
So What's Up With You?

Catherine's Story

I love to read, and write, because I love stories. Everyone has a story to tell. That's what makes this crazy world we live in so interesting. Every Monday, I interview a different person here and share their stories. At first glance, my guests may appear ordinary, but I promise they're not. They're people. And all people are fascinating. We all have a story to tell. 




This week, I'm talking to the actress Catherine Annette. (Vote biker chick.) In real life, I know her as my sister-in-law Cathy. When semi-famous people come to visit me for Thanksgiving, the rule is that they have to answer my What's your story questions. So today, Cathy is hear to share her words of Hollywood wisdom. 


Let's get started, Catherine, describe yourself in 50 words or less.

CA: .female, swordfighter, professional pirate, geek, actress, writer, artist, ginger, brave, confused, transplant, tenacious, driven, working, creative, objectified, exhausted, dreamer, chilly, environmentally conscious, animal-lover, left brained, overanalytical, virgo, competitive, smoothies, blind doggy, black cat, museum goer, painter, comicbook superhero, yogi, fair skinned, producer, farmgirl, body double, stuntgirl, brussel sprouts, monty python, morning person, matcha addict, french speaker, judged, mathematician, bat-girl, biker-chick, barefoot, Venice Beach, SuperShark meal.
Me: With all those words, I feel like you should add busy to the list. What do you love most in the world?


CA: I love living in a place where everyone moves to pursue their dreams.I'm constantly surrounded by idealists, artists, and entrepreneurs chasing their ambitions. It's very inspiring.
Me: You make Hollywood sound way sexier than the most people. What do you fear most?

CA: I've always been a big risk taker. I fear that one of my actions will inadvertently hurt the people that I love. I also fear living my life with regrets.
Me: Now I want to know your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to reach it?


CA: To achieve a comfortable lifestyle supporting myself only through my artwork, whether it be acting, painting, writing, producing or any other art form. I also want my work to inspire other people. Currently, I'm sacrificing comfort and security in order to keep my art a priority.
Me: You are already the most successful actress I know, and it seems like every time I talk to you, you're announcing some new project you've got in the works. I believe all your sacrifice is worth it and you'll reach your dreams. It won't be easy though, good thing you aren't afraid of hard work. What is the hardest thing you've ever done?

CA: Moving from a small town in Pennsylvania to the sharp tank known as Los Angeles with no job, no friends, and a naive understanding of how the entertainment industry works. 
Me: Last month there was an article about you in Elle magazine, somehow I don't think your the naive little farm girl anymore. Now that we've gotten to know each other, tell me a story. It can be long or short. From your childhood or last week. Funny, sad, or somewhere in between. Just make sure it's yours. What's your story?

CA: Kate, I'm an actress/screenwriter/producer, not a short story writer. So lets make this post mixed media. Here is a short film that I entered in the Burbank film festival last year.



Me: You are seriously twisted, but I love you anyway. Thank you for sharing your story, although I hope it's fiction. :)

So what's your story? If you're interested in participating in a future installment of What's Your Story, please leave your contact information in the comments of this post or email me directly at katherine.elliott.scott(at)gmail.

What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk.  Head over to Jaime's page for links to find out what's up with everyone else. Here's What's Up with me.
What I'm Reading
This week I read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It's a cute contemporary YA romance, that will probably be reclassified as NA sometime in the future once that book classification becomes more solidified, since the story features college students not HS students.

I liked this book a lot, but I'm not sure how well I would like these characters if I knew them in real life. The main character is "big in the fandom". She writes fanfiction and has tens of thousands of followers reading her stuff. I know fanfiction exists, but I sincerely hope there aren't any fanfiction writers with that many followers.

Maybe it's because I'm not a super-fan, or anything. But the entire idea of fanfiction has always annoyed me. If someone is as good of a writer as Cath (MC in story) she should write her own stories, not rewrite someone else's.

Rainbow Rowell did write her own story, about a super-fan. And it's very cute story, which I enjoyed reading. 
What I'm Writing
I didn't get much writing done this week, and expect to get even less done next week. Whoever picked November for National Novel Writing Month, clearly doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving the way my family does. Real life has officially taken over.
What Inspires Me Right Now


I've been mentoring at-risk-youth for about six years. I'm currently working with three different teen girls, each of whom I see once a week. Last week, one of them won free tickets to the Summer Set and 3Oh!3 concert on the radio. Her parents didn't want to take her, and they didn't want to let her go alone, so my chaperoning skills were volunteered. I genuinely care about all three of my little twerps and always enjoy the time I spend with them. But standing in a mosh-pit surrounded by fourteen-year-old fangirls made the YA author in me think, this is really great research. 
What Else I've Been Up To
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. There is something about a holiday dedicated to the celebration of gluttony that speaks to me. As a result, in the Scott household, Thanksgiving is the biggest holiday of the year. Over the weekend, we shampooed all the carpets in preparation for the upcoming festivities. The first of the out of town guests arrived on Monday. More will be coming later in the week. Plus tomorrow night, every relative I have in the greater Portland area will descend upon my house ready to eat.

So I'm cooking. And eating. And entertaining out of town guests. It's great, I love Thanksgiving. But I'm not getting any writing done.
So What's Up With You?

Juliana's Story

I love to read, and write, because I love stories. Everyone has a story to tell. That's what makes this crazy world we live in so interesting. Every Monday, I interview a different person here and share their stories. At first glance, my guests may appear ordinary, but I promise they're not. They're people. And all people are fascinating. We all have a story to tell. 




This week, I'm talking to Juliana Haygert. Juliana is the author of Breaking Reins and six other New Adult novels. I've gotten to know her through What's Up Wednesday, and I'm thrilled that she agreed to drop by today so I could get to know her even better.


Let's get started, Juliana, describe yourself in 50 words or less.

JH: I'm a wife, a mother, a writer, an author, a friend, an avid reader, and a former ballerina. I'm from Brazil but have been living in the US for a long time.
Me: Sounds like you're busy too. What do you love most in the world?


JH: My daughter and my husband.
Me: What do you fear most?

JH: Dying before being able to raise my daughter until she's an adult. There, it's the truth. I'm not really afraid of dying really, I'm afraid of leaving the people I love behind, of leaving my daughter without a mother.
Me: I expect that is the fear of most parents, they just aren't always willing to admit it, even to themselves. Now I want to know your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to reach it?


JH: Being a dancer? lol I was actually a ballerina, but I hurt my foot and can't dance on pointe shoes anymore. So, yeah, not much I can do there, other than put on loud music and dance in my living room ;)
Me: I took dance classes as a kid, but we never good enough to even dream of being a ballerina. Letting that dream go must have been hard. What is the hardest thing you've ever done?

JH: Hm, hit publish on my first book? lol
I don't know. Perhaps it was to leave my family behind in Brazil when my husband I moved to the US. I'm very close to my mother, father, brother, SIL and niece - I miss them.
Me: Wow, moving away from your family like that does sound hard. I'm glad you're still "close" even from a long distance. Now that we've gotten to know each other, tell me a story. It can be long or short. From your childhood or last week. Funny, sad, or somewhere in between. Just make sure it's yours. What's your story?

JH: I've always loved books - I started reading "big" books when I was very young, thanks to my mother and her love for books. When I was in 8th grade (in Brazil), my Portuguese teacher assigned us a group project: to write a short book. So, I got together with my 4 best friends (with whom I'm still best friends with) at my house and we started talking about the book. When I realized, I was writing the damn book all alone - not because they didn't want to, but because I didn't let them lol I was so in love with it, that each time we got together to work on the book, I would bake brownies and rent a movie so to keep them busy while I wrote the book lol I would write when they were gone too. And that's how I became a writer.
Me: I love it! Clearly, you were meant to be a writer.

So what's your story? If you're interested in participating in a future installment of What's Your Story, please leave your contact information in the comments of this post or email me directly at katherine.elliott.scott(at)gmail.

What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk.  Head over to Jaime's page for links to find out what's up with everyone else. Here's What's Up with me.
What I'm Reading
This week I read Allegiant by Veronica Roth. I liked it okay, but didn't enjoy it nearly as much as Divergent. I did a longer post about it for the YA book club on Monday. Be forewarned though, that post contains lots of spoilers. 
What I'm Writing
I'm still working on my revision/rewrite of The Evolution of Emily. I'm not quite keeping up with NaNo standards (plus this is a rewrite, not a first draft). But I did revise five more chapters this week. I added a very fun new twist that I think will make the story a lot stronger. 
What Inspires Me Right Now

Everyone doing NaNo. Even though I'm not participating, knowing that so many other people are writing right now has helped pushed me to spend more time writing. So thank you to all those hard working writers out there sprinting towards 50k words. And good luck.
What Else I've Been Up To
Not a whole lot. I'm busy, but with very mundane things like writing, working, and socializing. Last week, I briefly mentioned that I'm in the process of trying to adopt, and got a lot of comments about that. So today, I'll talk more about that. Since it is something I'm up to, even if nothing is happening on that front this minute.

Back in the summer of 2012, I got super sick. I spent a couple months in the hospital fighting to stay alive. Thankfully, I didn't die. But I did loose all my reproductive organs in an emergency surgery. So having biological children isn't an option, and hasn't been for a little over a year now.

My husband and I discussed the various adoption options, and quickly decided foster care adoption was the path to parenthood we wanted to take. We then made the decision that since we are planning to adopt a child or sibling group from state care, we would work with the state, and not a private adoption agency.

I started thinking this was a bad idea a few months ago, but we're still slugging through the system. We finished all of our required training back in February. So for the past nine months, the home study has been our next step. The home study is still our next step. While he have now been assigned to a social worker, we haven't actually met her yet. And I've given up all hope of our home study being scheduled any time this year.

We could still break down and hire a private agency to help speed things along a bit. But at this point I'm trying to be patient. I was very sick a year ago, and had a lot of health problems that had nothing to do with my reproduction. So the elongated adoption process has given me more time to heal. I actually think I could handle chasing around a couple of kiddos now.

So in answer to the what else I've been up to lately questions -- a whole lot of waiting. And when I do finally get my home study complete, I'll be able to start the next round of even more waiting.
So What's Up With You?

Allegiant

***Warning, this post contains spoilers!!!***
This post is a part of the YA book club blog-hop hosted by Tracey Neithercott. It is intended for people who have already read Allegiant by Veronica Roth. If you have not read Allegiant, I'm going to warn you again. This post contains major spoilers!

This is the third book the Divergent trilogy, and it's hard to talk about it without talking about the other two books as well. To start, I want to say that I liked Divergent a lot. It's probably my favorite dystopian YA.That being said, I wasn't very thrilled with the beginning of this book. And by beginning, I mean first 60%.
The world in Divergent is very complex and interesting. Allegiant takes place outside of the city. Tris, Four, and their friends escape and find members of the US Government, about 200 years in the future. It turns out the faction system and the city of Chicago in general is a complex social experiment that has been monitored by scientists for 8 generations.
That is interesting, sort of. But it's an epilogue, not a novel. I felt like I was reading a pointless story where absolutely nothing happened simply because someone decided this had to be a trilogy and all the action happened in the first two books.
Then the action actually happened, and my opinion changed. Because I didn't particularly like the first half of the book, the end didn't make me completely love it. But I was very happy with how it ended. Again, if you haven't read this book yet, be warned, major spoilers ahead.
Tris dies. The hero/heroine of a story never dies. First person narration makes it pretty much impossible for a POV character to die. As a reader, you can't know how a story is going to end, but you can always assume the main character will live. Except in this book, that didn't happen.
And I'm really glad. Tris needed to die, to save her city, and her brother, and all the people she loves. The fact that Tris is a POV character capable of dying is what made me like this series so much from the beginning.
The duel narration is the reason this ending was possible. Four narrated 1/2 the chapters the entire time. And then after Tris died, he narrated them all. Now that I've read the ending, I understand why the duel narration was necessary. But it was also one of the things I disliked most about the first half of the book. The voices of Tris and Four were EXACTLY THE SAME. The only clue as to who was talking was the name at the start of each chapter. There were a lot of times while reading this book when I though Tris was narrating only to have her walk into the room and I'd have to go back and reread the last page to re-imagine everything through Four's eyes. Or visa versa. 
I like the world building in this series a lot. And I like the characters, and the premise. But the lack of distinction between the voices of the two POV characters made me dislike the writing. Which is another reason why I came very close to giving up on this story half way through (even though I sincerely enjoyed the early books in the trilogy). 
I'm glad that I read the end. I'm glad that Tris dies. But I'm still not sure if killing off the POV character can justify bad writing and a no-stakes first half of the story. But maybe I'm being overly critical.
What did you think of Allegiant?

Ali's Story

I love to read, and write, because I love stories. Everyone has a story to tell. That's what makes this crazy world we live in so interesting. Every Monday, I interview a different person here and share their stories. At first glance, my guests may appear ordinary, but I promise they're not. They're people. And all people are fascinating. We all have a story to tell.

This week, I'm talking to Ali Cross. Ali is the author of seven novels for young adults including BECOME. I'm thrilled that she was able to take a break from her busy fiction writing schedule to share a more personal story here. Welcome, Ali.


Let's get started, Ali, describe yourself in 50 words or less.

AC: I am an optimist and realist who still feels like a little girl most of the time. Hence, the graphic T's from the junior section at WalMart. I love being a mom more than I ever thought possible. I am happy.

Me: I love that you describe yourself as happy, it's such a wonderful thing to be. What do you love most in the world?


AC: Family. I love my Father in Heaven, my husband, my sons. But I also love the family I've found in friends, both online and in the real world. I never knew how important family was until I grew up ~ and now it is my very favorite of all time!

Me: Family is pretty darn great, and it sounds like you have a really good one. What do you fear most?
AC: I fear failing my children. I realize I'm painting a picture here of being a crazy, neurotic, over-protective mom, but I promise, I hide it in real life very well!
Me: No, you don't seem neurotic at all. Now I want to know your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to reach it?


AC: This is going to sound weird, probably. But my greatest unfulfilled dream is that my sons will grow up well, that they'll be able to find and follow their own dreams, that they'll marry and create families of their home ~ that they'll be as happy as I am. They are only thirteen, and I'm really aware that I'll only have them for a few more years. To help them, I'm trying to love them, to lead them, to be REAL with them. I try to step back and let them form their own opinions, forge their own paths, but sometimes it's HARD!
Me: Okay, now you do sound a little crazy. Your biggest dream isn't for yourself but for your kids, who you do realize are not a part of you. I do understand where you are coming from in wanting your children to be happy though. What is the hardest thing you've ever done?

AC: The hardest thing I ever did was to get married. My husband and I didn't date in the traditional sense ~ we only had phone calls and letters to get to know one another! I travelled, by myself, 5, 000 miles by plane, with my wedding dress in tow and finally met up with David 8 days before our wedding. (We HAD met before, but not dated.) I didn't have any family with me, so I had to be brave and strong and exercise a lot of faith that I was doing the right thing. And it was! We've been happily married for twenty-two years! 
Me: Wow! I have never heard of anyone doing anything like that. I'm so glad it worked out so well for you. Now that we've gotten to know each other, tell me a story. It can be long or short. From your childhood or last week. Funny, sad, or somewhere in between. Just make sure it's yours. What's your story?


AC: Since this became all about how I feel about my family and stuff, I thought I'd tell the story of how I came to this point.

I am eight years younger than my nearest sibling, and my parents divorced when I was four. My siblings told me that Dad left because of me--and I believed them. Even to this day I think there's truth in that statement.

There were a lot of bad things in my childhood and I grew up thinking that I didn't ever want to be a mom. I didn't care about visiting with my siblings or being part of a family. Not until my mom died when I was nineteen. But I'd built all these walls around myself that I didn't know how to reach out to my family. I still wasn't sure I liked/wanted family, but now that I was all alone in the world, I began to realize I NEEDED them.

I had some wonderful opportunities for growth when I was a young woman that changed the course of my life forever. I met and married a good and wonderful man. We planned for and tried to have a family. I so badly wanted a chance to do it right ~ or at least do it better than my parents did. (Isn't that what we all hope for?) But over the next nine years of marriage my husband and I would suffer seven miscarriages, including losing a little girl at 17 weeks gestation.

It's another story in and of itself, but we did manage to have twins ~ and being a mom to them has been everything I had ever hoped in parenthood. I finally have a family, and it is everything I'd hoped it would be.

Family is everything to me because for half my life it was nothing to me.

And that's my story!

Me: Thank you so much for sharing your story, Ali. Your family sounds so great, I'm going to forgive you for being a crazy over-protective mom.


So what's your story? If you're interested in participating in a future installment of What's Your Story, please leave your contact information in the comments of this post or email me directly at katherine.elliott.scott(at)gmail.

What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk.  Head over to Jaime's page for links to find out what's up with everyone else. Here's What's Up with me.
What I'm Reading
This week I read The Originals by Cat Patrick. It's a YA Contemporary Science Fiction about a clone. Lizzie and her two "sisters" (fellow clones) Ella and Betsey each live one third of Elizabeth Best's life. Lizzie's mom is a bit of a mad scientist, but the cloning aspect of the story was fairly minimal (except for the set up that the girls had to live as a single person in order to help keep their identity hidden). Other than that, the story easily could have been about a set of triplets with creepy parents. The shared life despite clear personality differences between Ella, Lizzie and Betsey was interesting and made the story fun to read.

I read Cat Patrick's debut novel Forgotten a few years ago. I think I enjoyed it more than The Originals. But I would still recommend this book.
What I'm Writing
I'm actually writing, which based on my recent activities is a huge accomplishment. I've been trying to revise/rewrite THE EVOLUTION OF EMILY for several months now but none of the changes I made ever seemed to accomplish anything. I'm a total pantser, so the my rough draft had a beginning and an ending that didn't fit together. In addition to cutting some scenes, adding others, and rewriting pretty much everything else, I also need to do A LOT of reorganizing. I've known this for months, but struggled to get it done.

I'd hear that Scrivener is a great program for shuffling scenes, so I decided to give it a try. In the past week and a half, I've managed to shift my entire rough draft from Word to Scrivner. Rewrite the first 7 chapters. And outline the changes that need to occur in the next 6 chapters (including adding 5 new scenes).

This revision isn't quite up to NaNo pacing. And I'm hosting out of town guests towards the end of the month. So I don't expect to finish this revision/rewrite by the end of the month. But considering how many months I've managed to accomplish diddly squat, I still feel like November is proving a great writing month for me this year. My goal is now to completely finish this revision and be ready to pass my manuscript off to beta readers by the end of December. That has actually been my goal for a long time. I just now feels like an obtainable goal again.
What Inspires Me Right Now

All my What's Your Story participants. I started doing weekly interviews every Monday back in August. The premise is that everyone has a story to tell, but I've been viewing the interviews more as a character study of real people. I have found everyone's answers really fascinating and always look forward to seeing how people answer the various questions. It's also proving a useful reminder of how complex real people are --there are no one-dimensional characters in real life.

Finding a new person to interview every week is, however, a challenge. So if you want to share your story, please let me know! You can simply leave your contact info in the comments, or email me directly at katherine.elliott.scott (at) gmail.
What Else I've Been Up To
Last weekend one of my co-workers and his kids came over for the afternoon. My husband collects steam engines (yes, it's as weird as it sounds). My co-workers kids are interested in machines and engines of all sorts, so they came over to play with my husband and all his toys. It was a very fun afternoon, but it also made me pretty darn nervous.

Right now, my husband and I are in the process of trying to adopt. Our plan is to adopt out of the foster care system, so our kid(s) will actually be kids not babies when we meet them. We are hoping for a couple of curious kiddos who like taking things apart and seeing how they work. But boy howdy, my friends kids were crazy. Intelligent curiosity coupled with juvenile energy and antique machinery is a major accident waiting to happen. I still hope that our future kids are curious hands-on thinkers, but we're going to have to do a lot more child proofing before any children move into our house.
So What's Up With You?