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Friday, March 30, 2012

Double the Versatility

When my parents told me I could be anything, I'm not sure they meant a blogger, but it's moments like this when my wonderful bloggy friends share lovely things with me that I say to my parents, "Ha! The Internet thinks I'm versatile!"

And then I get to see the confused expressions on their faces. Double the pleasure and now double the versatility because Lora Palmer has just graced me with the Versatile Blogger award, which I already have in my possession. 

This time it looks different though so it's almost like receiving it for the first time again! That doesn't happen very often in my experience. Unless you count deja vu and I do. So...actually it happens quite a lot in my experience. 

Anyway, since I've already received this delightful award before, I'm going to abscond from the passing it along to 15 more people (plus I'm running low on time) so I'm just going to say a large THANK YOU to Lora and give seven random facts about myself. I hope no one is upset with this. 

(If you feel like you deserve this award and I've just cheated you out of a shiny addition to your blog sidebar, please feel free to petition me for the right to award it to you. I think that would be fun and I could probably be persuaded to go back at another time and hand it out to 15 bloggers. I just can't right now.)

1. I've been called Snow White-esque twice in the past week. Each time it happened I looked around for the dwarves. They must be invisible to only me. 
2. I just watched Hot Fuzz for the first time last night. I almost died from ALL THE LAUGHTER.
3. I have a stuffed dragon's head sitting on the top shelf of my desk. His name is Sunny. Because he's yellow. 
4. I've gone through almost two boxes of fruit pops this week. I think I may be addicted. 
5. I still haven't seen The Hunger Games movie. I think I'm scared. Or just too lazy to go to the theater. 
6. It has taken me ten minutes to think of something else to say about myself that is random and facty. Success is in the eye of the beholder. And I feel successful. Day made. 
7. I bruise worse than a banana. Seriously. I woke up this morning with two new bruises on my knee. I swear they weren't there when I went to bed. I think I may fight crime in my sleep. 

Until next time...

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

RTW: Best Book of March

Welcome to our 123rd Road Trip Wednesday!

Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.


We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link in the comments - or, since this week's topic is a short one, you can include your answer in the comments.

What was the best book you read in March?

Due to the complete lack of time to read books for "fun," I'm going to say that the best book I've read this month is...

image from goodreads.com

It's not a very long novel but it's certainly the best book I've read this month, including Great Expectations. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Dickens' novel (my favorite is Tale of Two Cities) but Pip annoys me. 

The main character, Silas Marner, is repeatedly oppressed by outside forces and he gets to the point where he becomes a figure that people distrust, but throughout the narrative we see how things work out for the better and how Silas goes through a transformation into a respected member of society. Love, redemption, satisfaction, and faith play important thematic roles in the novel. It's thoroughly heartwarming, as it was no doubt meant to be. 

Silas Marner employs the wry touch characteristic of Eliot's works, and as a piece of literature, it's decidedly tinted with the attributes of a fable. I've always been a fan of fables and fairytales so reading this book was a nice break from the other Victorian readings that I've been doing lately. Realism is fine in small quantities, but sometimes it's nice to read something that puts a smile on your face simply because it's sweet. 

If you haven't read Silas Marner or anything else by George Eliot, I highly recommend that you do. Or at least read Silas Marner. It's not very long. There are some dragging, dull moments but the ending is worth the time spent skipping those spots. (Haha!)

Well, here's to hoping that next month I'll have a YA book to mention and discuss!

Until next time...


Monday, March 26, 2012

Returning from the Near-Dead

OH boy. Turns out that in addition to my overall overwhelmed state the past month, I've also had a sinus infection. It explains so much. Being the Type A person that I am, I couldn't understand why I was so tired, why I ran a fever every day, or why--gross warning--the snot just wouldn't stop.

However, I'm here to tell y'all the problems are now resolved. You're reading the words of a college student no longer plagued by the illness blues. I swear, I wish Z-paks came for everything in life, especially troublesome projects and early classes. I'd never lose a wink of sleep then!

The same can be said for writing. (Yes, I am pulling this lesson application out of thin air, but roll with it. I am.) There are always going to be days, weeks, or even months when we are not hitting the mark. We're going to lack energy and feel like what we're writing is guano. Sometimes we'll know the reason and sometimes we won't; it's just the luck of the draw.

But the important thing to remember is that there is light at the end of that tunnel. No matter how bad it gets or how much rejection you face or how many people tell you that what you're writing is no good, there is a Z-pak for that. Or whatever you want to call it. Silver lining. Pot of gold. Hot bath at the end of the longest day of your life. Those sort of images.

Now, I know it's hard to find those good things when you're being pushed down by the weight of a thousand elephants, but you have to have faith that one day those elephants will get tired of sitting on you and move on to other shoulders. If that makes any sense.

The solution for your issues won't always be as easy as a six day run of strong antibiotics, but I'm betting that it exists out there somewhere. All you have to do is look.

Until next time...

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

RTW: Hot Stuff Coming Thru

Welcome to our 122nd Road Trip Wednesday!

Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.


We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link in the comments - or, since this week's topic is a short one, you can include your answer in the comments either here on my blog or back on the prompt post at YA Highway. It doesn't matter where

A long-awaited kiss, a surprise ending, a character's sudden decision… these are the moments that make us smile, gasp, and LOVE a book for the rest of our lives.


What is your favorite literary moment?

Making this decision was not easy. I've been blessed to have the opportunity to read many books in my life and there are countless memorable moments to go along with them. 

I can still remember the first time I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and the magical feeling I got when Harry is finally allowed to read his letter. It's not a big moment in the grand scheme of the series, but it's important to me because it emphasizes the spectacular journey that Harry will soon embark on. Looking back as a long time Potter fan, I take away so much more from that moment than I did perhaps the first few times I read it. 

And then you can't forget the memorable scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as Molly Weasley takes on Bellatrix Lestrange with a "Not my daughter, you b*tch!" That's one instance of raw feeling that continues to catch me off guard and fill me with a sense of thrill just imagining Mrs. Weasley finally ridding the world of the depravity of Bellatrix Lestrange. The doting mother versus the deadly widow. Poetry in fiction. 


I promise not all of my favorite literary moments are from Harry Potter novels, but a good deal of them are. That's just the way the cookie crumbles. 

Until next time...


Friday, March 9, 2012

Lucky 7 Meme from Super Duper

Well, despite having no time, I couldn't pass up this cute little blog meme when Donelle Lacy tagged me. It just sounded so fun!

What is it?

Rules:
1. Go to page 77 of your WIP.
2. Count down to the 7th line.
3. Copy the next 7 lines and paste them into your post.
4. Tag 7 others to participate.
5. Let those writers know they've been tagged. (Otherwise they wouldn't participate, right? haha)

It seems easy enough and I was curious to see what the excerpt would be from my WIP Super Duper. What follows is what I found on page 77. I hope y'all aren't too confused.



But this time around, I thought that perhaps I should make a plan. Just in case. It wouldn’t hurt in the long run. Deciding on having a plan was the easy part; actually making a plan left me dumbstruck. I had nothing, zero, nada, zilch. My planner hadn’t even made it to step one yet. Things weren’t off to a promising start.
            Mr. Smith never told me when I was going on a mission until the day of, so planning an escape had to include the contingency of his presence and the destination of my mission. Of course, I never knew where I was being sent in the first place, so I suppose the destination was another thing I couldn’t count on. 

And there you have it folks! A piece of Super Duper! It's all first person narrative from the perspective of a teenage girl with super powers. That's all I'm gonna say. If you want to know more, I think I have more on the blog somewhere. Probably one of those tabs at the top.

Anyway, I need to tag some people so here I go!

1. Colin Smith
2. Kelsey Sutton
3. Alicia Gregoire
4. Sophia Chang
5. Silent Pages
6. Tracey Neithercott
7. Cindy Thomas

Until next time...

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

RTW: Memoirlicious

Welcome to our 118th Road Trip Wednesday! 

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic. 


We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments. 

NAME THIS LIFE: What would your memoir be called?

we've all been talking and we think it's time you updated your blog
Consider this an update. 


Not to seem vain or overly enthusiastic about talking about moi, but I've actually given this a bit of thought. It's one of my greatest inner anguishes that Where the Wild Things Are has already been used with great success. That title perfectly sums up the purest essence of Bailey.

Because we all know that I have infinite wild things inside of me just waiting to burst onto the scene and cause all kinds of havoc with the civilian population. It's no wonder I drink coffee; I have to keep them busy.

However, since that title already graces the shelves of stores everywhere, I have a few more titles that may just serve in some capacity.

The Girl with the Deathly Hallows Tattoo
I had to make this. 
World War B
Bailey Hammond and the Empty Coffee Pot (this will be in series form and subsequent books will grow exponentially)
Sleeping Late for Dummies!
One Star Wars Bandaid at a Time
It's a Dill Pickle Chip Kinda Life
The War of the Minds
One Pen, Two Pen, Green Pen, Blue Pen


As y'all can see, I'm all over the place. I'm actually pretty partial to the first one and the third option. Yep. They're alright.

Until next time...







Thursday, March 1, 2012

Go On...Without Me

Gopher go on without me

See that groundhog? (Or is it a gopher?) Yeah. That's me.

I'm finally surfacing from the massive stacks of papers I've been writing, and let me tell you, I swear today was the first day in two weeks that the sun has shone on my face. I was almost blinded. I felt like Saul on that road as the light came down and turned him into Paul.

Good times.

I'm sure y'all may have noticed my absence from the blogosphere lately, and I feel like I must apologize for neglecting y'all. It's been a weird two weeks. I haven't liked not having time to do bloggy things. I've missed, like, two RTW's for goodness sake! That's horrible. I'm horrified.

Sam Winchester startled face


However, I'm hoping that the sunshine will return and invigorate me, thus turning me into a blogging machine, the likes of which I've only dreamed of becoming.

That's the plan anyway. I hope everyone is doing well and haven't already started planning my funeral and drawing lots for delivering my eulogy. I'm not dead yet folks. I walk a fine line.

Until next time...