Narnia Mum

Trailer for Awake

2012-01-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

My book comes out in just over a week! I debuted the pre-release trailer for it on my author blog on Friday, but I wanted you guys to see it too! Thanks so much to Victoria Austen-Young for putting it together, and to my hubs, Ed, for composing the score!

What do you guys think?

I can't wait for next Tuesday!

A New Sample of Awake

2012-01-24T09:39:00.003-07:00

Last week I posted a new sample of my upcoming novel Awake: A Fairytale on my author site. I'd love for you to check it out and let me know what you think.

I am now counting down in days to the release! Yikes!

Well, hello there Winter!

2012-01-19T00:37:00.003-07:00

There is really nothing more to say...

Last Year

2012-01-03T15:39:00.004-07:00

I haven't done a year in review post because I felt like I didn't get much accomplished last year. I haven't been able to sew as much as I wanted, and even though I got two quilt tops down, I haven't had time to take nice pictures or blog about them. 2011 was just a weird year for sewing and crafting.

So, I don't have a lot of super gorgeous sewing related pictures to put in a fancy layout, but that doesn't mean I didn't get a lot done last year. I have no reason to feel unaccomplished, but I found myself feeling that way. To make myself feel better/gain perspective, here are a few things I did last year.

I moved. Three times. Seriously. And one of those moves was basically across the country. That's a pretty big accomplishment I think.

I wrote TWO books! This didn't really occur to me until recently, but it's true. I didn't start working on Awake: A Fairytale (other than that first few thousand words I managed in 2010) until March. I wrote the entire thing (those first few pieces hit the trash bin pretty early in the process) between late March and early June. Not only did I write and edit Awake this year, in November I wrote my second book, Attempting Elizabeth. Yeah, it is in rough draft form and I still have several scenes to add, plus the laborious process of editing, having it beta read, rewriting, editing, etc., but the fact remains, 53k words of that book were written in 2011. (If you add together what I've done this year on the two, it is about 144k words, wow).

I started a pretty cool website. Indie Jane was launched in July and we've had 24 thousand plus page views to date and have had fun establishing an online community. The book club on our message boards is starting a Pride and Prejudice group read this week. Each week's discussion questions are being hosted by an author of an indie P&P continuation or re-imagining. We have some great authors participating and our community members are the best!

All in all, I think it has been a pretty darn productive year and I hope to make 2012 even more so.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2: 8-14

Christmasy Stuff

2011-12-22T15:09:00.004-07:00

Even though we are running behind on Christmas due to combination of a) leaving things until the last moment, and b) a horrible virus that caused us to lose an entire week of December, we've still managed to get a few Christmasy things done.

Thanks to Walmart One Hour Photo, I manged to slap together a Christmas card!

And we finally hung up the sparkly snowflakes that we glittered in early December. Yay for toddler art projects! And for finding something for this really strange, large, open window!

It's December 22! I'm still getting out Christmas decorations! Oh boy. Next year I am going to be done with gift shopping early... as in September!

How are you doing? Are you ready for the big day?

While the Giant is Sleeping

2011-12-16T00:05:00.004-07:00

One of the most interesting geographical features of Helena, Montana, is the Sleeping Giant. There is a section of our mountain range that really, truly looks like a giant laying on his back. The cool thing is the Sleeping Giant is perfectly framed out of our new back window!

Alycia Holston is an author and Helena resident and, I'm glad to say, also a friend of mine. She and illustrator Suzi Stranahan have produced a charming picture book called While the Giant is Sleeping that follows the Sleeping Giant throughout the year as the seasons change around him. This well written and beautifully illustrated book is a treat for both children and their parents. Both of my young children loved reading about all of the wildlife and weather that pass through "while the giant is sleeping." I highly recommend this book, especially if your children are interested in nature.

Alycia and Suzi are currently having a giveaway on their site Calm Creations for a copy of While the Giant is Sleeping. All you have to do to enter the giveaway is visit their site today, let them know which of the winter illustrations from While the Giant is Sleeping is your favorite (the illustrations are on their site), and make sure to leave your name and email address in your comment. Easy peasy!

You can also purchase a copy of While the Giant Sleeping on Amazon or through CrossRiver Media.

Revealing the Cover for My Novel!

2011-12-12T09:00:00.003-07:00

Oh my gosh, I am so stinking excited that I cannot contain myself! Today on my author site I am revealing the cover for my novel Awake: A Fairytale. I would really love if you could head on over and check it out!

I'm kind of bummed to have missed out on the Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day - but come on guys, it's a real book! I promise to not miss out next time (May, right?!?!)

Look Who's a Winner

2011-12-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

I honestly thought I'd feel a lot more excited about this...

But I guess at a certain point you realize that getting the first 50k is a great milestone, but you are so far from done that it's a little bit "ho, hum, guess I'm still going into the office tomorrow."

And by office, I mean Starbucks.

The middle is looking great. I've still got to write the end...and the hero and heroine's entire relationship prior to the middle (so yes, that would be the beginning, or at least large sections of the beginning).

But, yay for me! I've written the middle of a novel in the month of November!

Now to commence a major freak out about how much is left to do in an incredibly short amount of time if I want it out by August 2012. Ah, good times.

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway

2011-11-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know I have another blog? Yup! I started a site for my pen name - Jessica Grey. It's all pretty and shiny AND right now I' am participating in a 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway and Blog Hop. I'm giving away two books and a Starbucks card. Free coffee, people, you can't beat it. You should totally head on over and enter my giveaway (and the others that are going on too, they are all great!) The giveaway will be open through December 12th.

Review: His Good Opinion by Nancy Kelley

2011-11-23T06:00:00.001-07:00

Last week I reviewed my friend Nancy Kelley's book His Good Opinion, A Mr. Darcy Novel on the site Indie Jane.

“But Jess,” you might say, “you’re really good friends with Nancy. You run Indie Jane with her. How can you give an impartial review of her book?”

“Well, you,” I might answer back, “I am friends with Nancy, and she is nice enough to put up with my crazy shenanigans and blog with me, but I’m totally just a cool, impartial chick and if this book sucked I totally would tell you.”

Actually, if this book sucked I would just sort of of slink off into a corner and pretend that I’d never read it or been asked to review it… avoidance is my go to response in those sorts of situations. But luckily for me, and the world in general, this book is frickin’ frackin’ brilliant and now it is available for you all to read so you can agree with me!

So yes, I know Nancy as personally as one can on the interwebs, and this is going to be a gush fest – I didn’t create the hashtag #HotDarcy on Twitter when talking about this book because I just had nothing better to do…I created it cause Nancy writes a really #HotDarcy AND I had nothing better to do!

So, now that we’ve gotten that cleared up, here is my review!

Darcy is hot. He is really, really hot. There is more than one occasion on which he loosens his cravat and is all sexy and hot like. You should buy this book. The end.

This review brought to you by the puddle of goo formerly known as Jess.

Kidding! Well, actually that’s a pretty decent summation, but here is my real review!

In His Good Opinion, author Nancy Kelley sets out to tell the story of Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy's point of view. Although Darcy is the hero in Pride and Prejudice, for the first part of the book he comes across to Elizabeth (as well as everyone else in Hertfordshire) and the reader as proud and aloof. In the second half of the novel, Austen shows us how Darcy changes and Darcy himself admits to flaws in his behavior. But why was Darcy seemingly so proud? Why did he refuse to be easily pleased, withholding his good opinion more often than he bestowed it. And why would someone like Darcy fall in love with a girl like Elizabeth - someone open and vivacious and not at all concerned with securing his good opinion?

Told from Darcy's point of view, this novel follows Darcy from London where he has become increasingly turned off by the artifices of society, to the country where he meets Elizabeth for the first time. As he become enchanted with her the reader is similarly enchanted by this version of Mr. Darcy. The blow of Lizzy's rejection of Darcy's proposal is felt more keenly than ever before because we as readers find ourselves rooting for Darcy. His heartbreak is real and touching, and frankly, makes him irresistible. As he comes to term with the rejection and takes Lizzy's criticisms to heart, he endeavors to become a man worthy of her love - even if he can never have her.

The book follows the timeline of Pride and Prejudice, but because it is told from Darcy's point of view, readers are treated to scenes that we have previously been imagined, such as Darcy's hunt of Wickham and his eventual confrontation with him in London. We are also get to see the relationship between Darcy and his sister Georgiana, as well his relationship with his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam. All of this serves to flesh Darcy out and make him an even more desirable hero.

And here is where Nancy Kelley's genius really shines. Darcy is already an incredibly loved, and if we are all honest with ourselves, desired, hero. She has managed in this story, to make him even more desirable while also injecting levels of sensitivity and vulnerability that are absolutely heart-wrenching. While this book could be given a G rating based on it's content, Ms. Kelley manages to raise the reader's temperature with a look or a gesture. In fact, every time Darcy loosened his cravat I melted into a tiny puddle of goo.

The tagline of this novel is "Mr. Darcy speaks from the heart," and in the end that is what endears readers the most to this incarnation of Mr. Darcy. Yes, he's tall, dark and handsome (and has ten thousand a year), and yes he is very, very hot. But in this retelling of Pride and Prejudice it is his heart that truly shines through. And I think it is that heart that will make readers fall in love with him all over again and wish that they too could be a woman worthy of... His Good Opinion.

Five Stars

And guess what! Right now on Indie Jane we are giving away two copies of this book! Head on over and enter!

Yellow House

2011-11-21T10:58:00.003-07:00

Sorry for being MIA recently. Between moving and writing for NaNoWriMo I've barely got time to breathe!

I grew up in a little yellow house, so maybe that is why they seem so homey to me.

Now we are finally moved into our new yellow house here in Helena, Montana.

And right after we moved it snowed. A lot.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T18:09:00.004-06:00

Happy Halloween from Knight/Prince Phillip Maddie and Dragon James!

Shining armor and a cape!

Raaawr!

And for your viewing pleasure ... Maddie hunts dragons!

Fall!

2011-10-24T13:59:00.005-06:00

Being from Southern California we aren't really used to the major season changes that most of the country experiences. The seasons change, but it is just a lot more subtle that everywhere else.

Here in Helena there are a lot of fir trees (we are up on a mountain after all), but there are still quite a few that are putting on a spectacular show for us.

This is our neighbor's tree, it's right off our deck. Pretty.

These are in the little canyon right behind us:

We are also seeing lots of deer around. These guys walked right past our deck and ate up the grass in the front. I took this picture from our deck, so you can see how close they were!

As pretty as fall is, I hear in Montana it is pretty short! And for proof of that, word on the street (and by street I mean my iPhone weather app) we are supposed to get a mix of rain and snow tonight. What do you think? Do these clouds look like they've got snow in them?

Now might be a good time to invest in some long sleeve shirts...Pretty sure I only have two that fit! If you live in colder climate, where is your favorite place to shop for winter clothes?

Fairy Tale Giveaway on My Author Site!

2011-10-17T15:36:00.005-06:00

I'm having a pretty awesome giveaway on my author site www.authorjessicagrey.com.

I'm giving away a copy of two of my favorite fairy tale books: Beauty by Robin McKinley and The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald, and this super amazing fairy tale necklace!

Come on by and check it out!

NaNoWriMo is Almost Here!

2011-10-14T06:00:00.000-06:00

The insanity known as National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for short) is just around the corner! I will be working on my Austenesque novel Attempting Elizabeth as I also try to move and prepare for the holidays.

My daughter, Maddie, loves fast rides. She puts her hands up on roller coasters. She's three. Actually, she's been doing this since she was two. Gadget's Go-Go-Coaster in Toontown at Disneyland? Front row. Hands up. Yes siree, Bob. She also has tackled the Matterhorn at least four times. Her dry comment as we whizzed by the Abominable Snowman? "Oooooh, 'citing!"

This could be partially my fault. I've always tried to have her look at things as exciting instead of scary. I started this really young with Maddie, before I knew that she was a natural born dare-devil. I am now rethinking that particular parenting strategy (do you know kids that literally climb walls? I have one!)

However, I think that Maddie has a pretty darn good outlook on roller coasters, and on life. It doesn't have to be scary. It can be "'citing!" So that is how I choose to look at NaNoWriMo and the whole rest of November. It's going to be an exciting ride!

Front row.

Hands up.

Here we go!

Swinging Like Big Kids

2011-10-13T08:50:00.000-06:00

Winter is coming! There are only so many play outside days left in the calendar year!

So what do we do? When it is cold and blustery, and the rain clouds are coming in over the mountains, we put on our hoodies and head out to the park!

Nothing better than swinging like big kids!

On the tire swing even!

Because everyone knows that swings are fun!

Longer Sample of My Novel!!

2011-10-11T13:39:00.005-06:00

I've put up a longer sample of my novel Awake: A Sleeping Beauty Story up on my author blog.

I would love if you could check it out and let me know what you think!

Introducing Jessica Grey

2011-10-06T00:15:00.002-06:00

I've gone back and forth on whether to use a pen name for my writing. And I've finally decided to go ahead and use one. So, without further ado, meet Jessica Grey.

Hey! That girl looks just like me!

So, why Jessica Grey?

Grey is my mother’s maiden name, and my first book, Awake: A Sleeping Beauty Story is dedicated to my late grandfather, Charles Richard Grey, who was a huge influence in my life and a great reader. He introduced me to Mary Stewart, one of my biggest literary influences, and I still have his copies of his (and mine!) favorite Stewart novels. I actually began using Grey as a pen name when I was in middle school, and so when I decided to publish under one, it was the best and most obvious choice.

I am launching my new online presence this week, and would love if you would join me on my new blog! I will be sharing fun writing stuff, excerpts from my upcoming book, and random ramblings on music from my infamous writing playlists. Good times all around. I also have a Twitter account dedicated to my new pen name @_JessicaGrey.

We are actually getting pretty close to the launch of Awake! Only four more months to go!

I am excited!

Review: Caroline Bingley by Jennifer Becton

2011-10-05T06:00:00.004-06:00

Caroline Bingley. For Austen fans, even hearing the name can bring up feelings varying from annoyance to revulsion. For me, the feeling I get is kind of the same as the one that shimmies up your spine when someone scrapes their nails down a chalkboard. That “Oh my gosh, why? Make it stooooop” feeling. Caroline is one of the best examples of what I call “Austen’s smack-able characters,” and she could write some pretty darn smack worthy characters (pretty much everyone in Sense and Sensibility for example)! You love to hate Caroline.

So what is Jennifer Becton thinking centering a whole entire Pride and Prejudice continuation on this smack-able, nails-down-the-chalkboard, crazy girl? I have been wondering that every since I heard Caroline Bingley was coming out. I loved Jennifer Becton’s other Personages of Pride and Prejudice novel, Charlotte Collins. I really, really loved it. I also really enjoyed her thriller Absolute Liability. I mean the woman can write . . . but CAROLINE BINGLEY? Surely, you jest.

I don’t know quite how she did it, but at the end of this book I like Caroline. Not only do I LIKE Caroline, I totally get her. I sympathize with her. I want her to succeed. I want her to be happy. Up is down . . . wrong is right . . . “Dogs and cats living together . . . MASS HYSTERIA!”

The story picks up right after the end of Pride and Prejudice with Caroline being banished to her mother’s home in the north by her brother Charles for her interference in his romance with Jane Bennet (and her refusal to apologize to Elizabeth). To Caroline, who wants only to help further her families connections in society and to find her own home, this is a truly harsh punishment.

While in the north Caroline continues to try to advance her standing in society, but her best-laid plans seem to come to naught. To make matters worse for Caroline, her brother has saddled her with a paid companion, Rosemary, a woman she cannot stand. Caroline desires to distance her family from their roots in trade, but her mother’s husband doesn’t seem to be ashamed of his trade as a bridge designer at all, and his partner, the young and handsome Mr. Rushton, has the audacity not only to not be ashamed of his trade, but to find Caroline and her machinations amusing.

Can Caroline let go of her fear long enough to find her own home? Could it be be possible that Caroline will find a true friend where she least expects? Could Mr. Rushton be any more hot? The answer to that last one is no. If he was anymore hot readers everywhere would be spontaneously combusting, and I can’t imagine Ms. Becton wants that on her conscious, so she wisely went with an appropriate level of hotness.

So here I am, all confused and feeling slightly like I’ve cheated on Lizzy Bennet by ending up liking Caroline Bingley as a character. We often forget that Caroline is so very young, that was one of the first things that struck me while I was reading this book. She tried so hard to present a sophisticated and urbane front that, I, at least, forget she was the same age as Lizzy. Also, as the reader comes to learn more about Caroline’s history as Becton presents it, and the pressure put on her by her father (intentionally or not), and how she internalized that pressure, she becomes a much more understandable and sympathetic character. I’m not saying that she is easy to love, but there is something about the difficulty in getting past those prickles that makes the reward worthwhile.

Did I mention Mr. Rushton is hot?

Check Out My Interview for the Teatime Ten

2011-10-04T10:59:00.004-06:00

The lovely Emily at O Beauty Unattempted! has interviewed Nancy Kelley and myself (the co-creators of Indie Jane) for her Teatime Ten feature this week. We were honored that Emily would included us in this popular weekly feature. I would love it if you could check it out and comment! Thanks!!!

Same Same, Different Different

2011-09-29T12:48:00.008-06:00

Are they twins?

It gets asked a lot when we are out. James is really only a few inches shorter than his sister, and when they're sitting down it's actually hard to tell that she's longer and more gangly than he is.

They're alike in so many ways, that I kind of think they are de facto twins . . .

But then sometimes they are so different it's like they are little opposites of each other.

Maddie likes her cereal dry. Always.

James likes his with milk and a spoon. All is right with his world if he has cereal, milk, and spoon.

Maddie loves grape juice.

James loves orange juice.

Maddie will occasionally sample the orange juice but she says it's "too spice" and screws up her face in a horrifically comical manner. "Too spice" from the child that eats pickles for breakfast. Meanwhile, James will chug limeade straight. Go figure. He prefers the citrus based juices I guess.

Maddie prefers Little Einsteins

James prefers Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

This causes fights.

Madie loves to snuggle under blankets.

James hates sleeping with a blanket over him with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns.

Maddie's snacks on raw celery. James, not so much.

James snacks on raw brocolli. Maddie is horrified by this.

Luckily, in spite of their differences, they still love each other.

(blanket was for story time purposes only, after which it was kicked off)

Nothing Says NaNoWriMo Like Moving House

2011-09-26T05:40:00.001-06:00

I'm super committed to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year. I fizzled last year, having written something sad and pitiful like 4,615 words of Awake (quality, not quantity, people!) but I have redeemed myself by actually finishing the sucker once we moved here to Montana.

So, guess what I am doing November 1st? Kicking off NaNoWriMo here and on Indie Jane . . . aaaaand MOVING! Yes!

We are moving from our condo to a house. Still renting, but the exciting things are:

a) it's cheaper . . . mind-blowing.
b) it's bigger, although same number of bedrooms and only one bath, the downstairs is bigger than our whole condo.
c) it's got a yard, and that yard is FENCED.
d) we can paint the walls . . . pause for happy dance.

The cons are:

a) it's a WHOLE LOTTA work to move.

So wish me luck as I'm writing, editing, and packing like a mad woman this coming month. Only to be writing and unpacking like a mad woman in November! Yay!

Broccoli

2011-09-23T21:56:00.004-06:00

This is how James spends our shopping trips.

He picks it out himself from the produce section.

It's not exactly clean, but far be it from me to stop him.

If I did he'd just throw a tantrum and fish it out of the bag when I'm not looking.

Occasionally people stop us and ask me how I get him to eat it.

I dunno. He just likes it.

But really, I think it should earn me some kind of parenting award.

However, unless you think I'm super granola mummy who magically convinces her children to only eat good, wholesome things . . .

I present to you . . .

Rocky Road cake pops.

Yum.

Balance is important in life, I think.

100 Days

2011-09-15T13:40:00.006-06:00

There are only 100 days left until Christmas. Less if you're on the other side of the world.

Don't believe me? Check out the Christmas Countdown Clock.

Cause you know, we all need more stress in our lives - countdown clocks really ratchet up that old spazz level. You can sit there and watch it tick down. Freaky.

In twelve hours from this writing, there will be only 99 days left . . . double digits! Omg.

Pause for freakout.

I am unprepared.

Extremely unprepared.

For a lot of things actually . . . not just the 100 days until Christmas (lists? sewing? what?)

Slightly less than a month and half after that lovely little Christmas Countdown Clock hits zero and resets to 355 (actually my favorite part) I will be releasing my first novel into the wild.

Pause for slightly larger freakout.

Maybe I should create a countdown for that . . . just to see how high my blood pressure can get as I watch it tick down. It would be like a medical experiment!

There are also less than 7 weeks to the start of November, which means NaNoWriMo!
Planning, outlining, deciding how the darn thing ends?
Sure. Whatevs.

Not pausing for a freakout here because I am in d-e-n-i-a-l.

It's September. I now live in Montana. It could snow any day. Fall is like the blink of an eye here, at least that is what they tell me.

Pause for huge, out of control, I-have-no-winter-clothes-and-wear-flip-flops-everyday freakout.

But enough about me . . . and the celebration of the Christ Child's birth . . .

The biggest, most important countdown clock is this:

There are only 13 regular games left in my team's regular baseball season!

Thirteen.

Mind blown.
Whatever am I going to do with myself after the season is over?
Maybe, you know, finish editing that novel, sew those Christmas presents, buy some real shoes, or curl up in a ball and cry until spring training.
It's really a toss up.

Meanwhile, we are 3 back in the division race and starting to make some noise in the very intriguing wild card race . . . so GO ANGELS!
The rest of it can wait.

At least for another 13 games or so.

(gratuitous cute kid picture with Angels tie in. Um, yes, he's restrained with a jump rope, he seems ok with it, my kids are weird.)

Because I am Insane

2011-09-07T23:31:00.007-06:00

I am really looking forward to this year's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November. My plan is to work on my Austenesque novel Attempting Elizabeth which I am expanding from the short story I wrote last year. I am currently doing some serious actual planning and plotting for it, which is so unlike me.

But here is the thing. I've been editing for weeks. And now I am planning something I won't be actually writing until November. That's eight weeks away! What is a girl to do? A girl who is itching to get some real, actual writing in?

Apparently what I am doing is writing a completely different novel! Yes sirree Bob! This week I started the sequel to Awake. Don't worry, they are stand-alone, you will definitely get a resolution to Awake . . . no waiting for months for the next book to come out after being left dangling off a huge plot-precipice. I hate that.

So, what is it about? I can't tell you much other than that it is a redux of Beauty and the Beast. Love! It's been done a lot. It's been done really well (especially well by Robin McKinley, not once but twice for goodness sake!), but I am hopeful that my story will add something new and fun to the grand tradition of La Belle et La Bête.

That may be aiming a bit high, let's just say I hope it's really fun to read!

So, I write my booty off until NaNoWriMo and then I guess I take a break from Beauty and work on Austen . . . OR I could finish Beauty and the Beast before then . . . it only means writing 11,250 words a week.

No problem.

Cough.

I would love to finish the rough draft by November first. It would be brilliant. But I am not going to throw myself off a cliff if I don't. After all, I'm only 7,000 words in. I'm having fun though!

While I can't tell you anything about my plot (hint: there is a beauty in it . . . and maybe a beast), I can share with you these amazing photos! Did you know that Drew Barrymore did a Beauty and the Beast spread a few years ago for Vanity Fair? I am dying over these dresses. Aren't they so pretty? You really must see them all!

Dear Jane Pen Pal Project

2011-08-30T13:23:00.004-06:00

I have been so swamped recently with all the awesome, cool, exciting stuff I have some how managed to get myself involved in. As it turns out, there are only 24 hours in the day, and a significant portion of those are required for sleep if you want to be at all functional.
Whose idea was that?

One of the super rad projects I am working on is the Dear Jane Pen Pal Program over on my site Indie Jane. We are connecting Austen fans and readers all over the world and reviving the lost art of letter writing. Sign ups are running through 9/15 so there is still time to be a part. I would love for some of my blog readers to join us! It doesn't matter what level of Austen-fan you are, if you love literature and letter writing (or want to love letter writing) please join us!

Image provided by Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My Issue with Journals

2011-08-24T05:37:00.000-06:00

I have issues with journals. Don't get me wrong. I want to be a journal writer. I love those gorgeous leather bound journals. I gaze at them longingly in the book store and think of all the wonderful things other people could write in them. But I am scared. Literally paralyzed by my own fears . . . I have huge, huge issues with writing in them myself. They are so pretty so I want everything I write to be perfect. I cannot handle mistakes. This is why I write in pencil (because it has an eraser) and in word processors. Just the thought of it not being perfect makes me want to never start. I call it avoidance perfectionism. If I don't ever actually DO it, then the concept of it can remain perfect in my mind.

Perfectly undone.

This probably sounds totally weird to most people. But I know there are others like me out there. It spills out into other parts of my life, it's not just journals, but they are a really prime example of it. Case in point. My husband gave me a gorgeous wood covered journal for my twenty-seventh birthday and I haven't written in it yet. I am thirty-two.

There's actually a book for people like me. A "journal" that gives you instructions about how to dirty it up. Do this with that page, crumple up and throw this page away, etc. The problem here is that I would literally get so caught up in following the instructions perfectly that it would completely defeat the purpose of the darn book.

Completely. Defeat.

I got another journal for my birthday this year. The cover is a gorgeous deep brown leather with beautiful flowers. There's a lovely inscription in it. It's from a woman here in our new town, the wife of my husband's coworker. She threw me a surprise birthday party. She has no idea about my avoidance perfectionism because I really do come off as a normal person. It is so pretty I don't want to unpretty it.

I've had it for almost two months.

Enough is enough.

I gave myself permission to unpretty this journal.

I got supplies. Including PENS.

I put pictures in the front. I didn't worry about the fact that my kids tore the picture of Maddie (so sad, I only have one untorn one left), I just tore the others to match.

I wrote in it.

On several pages.

I'm going to try to write in it more tomorrow. And more the next day. I might skip a day . . . I don't know. The point is I can skip and still come back to it. I can jump around. It doesn't have to be orderly or perfect. It just has to be used. This journal was made to be written in.

And once I've filled this one up, I'll start on my wooden journal.

I refuse to maintain a false perfection by just avoiding. I have to embrace the imperfection.

The Debut of Chapter One

2011-08-22T00:01:00.001-06:00

Here it is! The long awaited (ok, maybe only by me) debut of the first chapter of Awake: A Sleeping Beauty Story.

If you need a quick refresher on what my novel is about, click on over here to read the synopsis. Otherwise, without further ado, here is the first chapter:

Awake: A Sleeping Beauty Story

Chapter One

The last place Alexandra Martin expected to see Luke Reed was at orientation for summer interns at the Museum Guild of Los Angeles.

Quite honestly, Alex hadn’t expected to see Luke anywhere after graduation, except maybe in the occasional news report about minor league baseball and eventually the majors. Rumor had it he’d already signed a contract with a major league team and was going to be playing in their minor league farm system starting that summer. Not that Alex paid any attention to rumors about Luke Reed.

And yet there he was, slouching in one of the museum’s ancient folding chairs, arms crossed behind his head as he gazed soulfully up at the ceiling. What he found so fascinating about the yellowing acoustic tiles Alex couldn’t even begin to fathom. A group of girls seated a row behind him, obviously destined for a summer of interning at the art museum if their black clothing and red lips were any indication, ogled him blatantly. It was entirely possible that he studied the tiles more to avoid their predatory gazes than from any real interest in the ceiling.

Alex lingered in the doorway and wondered for a single heartbeat if she could escape unnoticed. Maybe she could tell the receptionist she wasn’t feeling well and see if she could be excused from orientation. It was, after all, her fourth summer interning at the Gem and Mineral Museum; she was already fully oriented.

But that would be cowardly.

And he’d already lowered his gaze from his contemplation of the ceiling and spotted her.

“Hey Lex, saved you a seat,” Luke flashed her his trademark killer grin - a grin that caused most females of the species to swoon and giggle like they’d suddenly dropped twenty IQ points, but the only feeling it aroused in Alex was minor irritation.

Alex eyed the seat next to him. She supposed it would be horribly rude to sit anywhere else, seeing as he had just announced to the entire room that he had saved it for her. Alex had never been horribly rude to anyone in her life. She doubted she could even pull off horribly rude if she wanted to.

“Luke,” she acknowledged as she stepped over his long legs to reach the folding chair next to him, ignoring the incredulous, mildly jealous, stares from the gaggle of art interns. Alex sat, hugging her backpack in her lap in front of her and resting her chin on the top of it as she stared at the empty podium at the front of the meeting room.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what I’m doing here?” Luke teased her after a few moments of awkward silence.

Without looking over at him she answered, “I would think it was pretty obvious, as it’s summer intern orientation, that you’re here because you’re interning at one of the museums.”

“Hmm, yes, logic always has been your strong suit,” he replied. “You’re at the GeMMLA too, right?” He laughed as Alex’s head snapped towards him, her eyes widening at his use of the word “too.” “Of course you are, you’ve always had a thing for rocks.”

Alex stared at him, her brain refusing to wrap itself around the concept that Luke Reed of all people was going to be spending the entire summer at the Gem and Mineral Museum of Los Angeles.

“Luke,” she finally asked in bewilderment, “what in God’s name are you doing here?”

He flashed her another lethal grin, but Alex was already too off balance to feel her normal irritation.

“I’m spending the next nine weeks doing all sorts of geeky rock stuff with you, short stuff.”

Alex winced at the old term of endearment. “Luke, you and I haven’t been friends since the seventh grade,” she pointed out. When everyone began to notice how talented he was on the baseball field, he had started getting popular, while Alex, who’d possessed no discernible talent other than for schoolwork and being slightly awkward, had remained as unpopular as ever. It wasn’t that Alex had been a social outcast, that would have required her peers taking enough notice of her to cast her out. She just sort of quietly was, whereas Luke’s good looks, charm, and athletic talent had rocketed him into the popularity stratosphere. “We’ve barely even spoken to each other since middle school.”

“Lex, I asked you to the junior formal last year. Doesn’t exactly qualify as not talking to each other.”

“Your mother made you ask me.”

Luke laughed. “Is that why you said no? Because you think my mom made me ask you?”

Alex glared at him, silently daring him to lie to her. “Okay,” he conceded, “she may have mentioned that your mom told her you didn’t have a date to the dance, although I already knew that because you never go to dances . . .”

“There is no sense,” Alex interrupted irritably, “in a person like me ever attempting to go to a dance. That aside,” she continued when it looked as if he might argue with her, “I am sure there is an actual valid reason you’re planning on wasting your summer doing ‘geeky rock stuff.’”

“Yup.”

“Yup, what?” Alex asked, exasperated.

“Yup, I do have a valid reason,” Luke answered.

Alex glared at him for a moment, but he didn’t seem inclined to elaborate. “Well, there you go,” she said sarcastically.

She glanced up at the clock, hoping orientation would start soon. The museums had staggered closed days. The only two days all six were open at the same time were Wednesdays and Saturdays. Even the organizers of the summer internship program realized the cruelty of asking teenagers to sit through an orientation on a Saturday in July. So here they all were, every teen within a thirty mile radius who had even thought of setting foot in a museum during the summer, about twenty-five of them, spending their Wednesday morning waiting to get sorted out and dispersed amongst the main museums.

The six museums were grouped together in a hodgepodge circle surrounding a large open grassy area referred to, quite creatively, as “the lawn.” Other than the occasional errand between museums, the lawn was the only place interns from different museums would ever run into each other. This usually happened during lunch breaks since most of the restaurants around the museum guild were priced out of the average high school student’s budget.

The Gem and Mineral Museum was definitely not the most glamorous museum in the Guild, and therefore it garnered the least amount of interest. Becca Ward, who had volunteered with Alex the last three summers, had waved exuberantly at Alex as she came into the room a few moments earlier. Becca had noticed mid-wave that Alex wasn’t sitting alone. She’d raised her eyebrows almost comically high at Alex as she walked by them and took a seat in the back corner with a group of interns from the Science Museum. Alex tried to flash her a “save me” look, but she was pretty sure Becca hadn’t seen it, or she’d just decided to abandon Alex to her fate.

Alex had figured this year, just like last, it would only be herself and Becca, who would end up at GeMMLA. But now, of course, there was Luke.

The clock slowly ticked down the last few moments to ten when the orientation was scheduled to start. Luke, wisely reading her last comment as signaling the end of the conversation, had resumed his perusal of the ceiling tiles. Alex wondered idly who would be doing this year’s presentation. It was pretty much the same material every year, an overview of the program, usually dryly presented by someone from the Art Museum, as they got the most interns, or occasionally by someone from Science. It was too much to hope it might be someone from GeMMLA, and definitely too much to hope that it might be him. As evidenced by the fact that she was sitting next to Luke Reed and therefore already feeling out of sorts and slightly inadequate, she was just not that lucky today.

Exactly one minute before ten, the door swung open and he walked in, a stack of stapled handouts tucked under one arm. Alex’s mouth went dry and her cheeks flushed as he caught sight of her and gave her a smile and a wave. She could hear the gaggle of art interns whispering furiously amongst themselves. Alex figured they must be wondering how she rated a saved seat from the hot blond athlete and a smile and a wave from the handsome dark-haired advisor. She had to consciously stop the almost frantic giggle that rose up in her throat, because she totally agreed with them.

Luke had also noticed the smile and wave, as well as Alex’s reaction to it. He gave her a little smile, different than his usually casual grin, and Alex had no idea what to make of it.

“Hey everyone, my name is Nicholas Grey, and I am the intern advisor for the Gem and Mineral Museum.” Nicholas dropped his stack of papers on the podium with an audible thud, then leaned against it, ankles crossed with one arm casually draped across the top. In his dark jeans and sports coat over a t-shirt featuring the logo of a classic rock band, he was the epitome of academic chic. Alex could almost hear the art interns rethinking their museum choice.

“I’m also working on my doctoral thesis,” Nicholas continued, “so I’m a student just like you guys.”

Alex was pretty sure Nicholas could not honestly be compared to any of the high school students or soon-to-be-college students in the room. With the possible exception of Luke, no one else here was as comfortable in their own skin. Unlike Luke’s innate athletic grace, Nicholas radiated a sort of calm energy that came from maturity and experience.

“The information we are going to go over this morning is pretty basic and general, just a bit about the program and the six different museums that make up the Guild. You’ll get more detailed info from your respective intern advisors. I’ve got a list of all your names, so I’ll read it off and make sure everyone is here.”

He paused to pull out a pair of horn-rimmed glasses from his coat pocket and slipped them on. It was really unfair, Alex reflected, that Nicholas’s glasses managed to make him look even hotter, while hers just managed to obscure her eyes and highlight the too-small bridge of her nose by slipping down continuously.

“Alexandra, would you mind passing out these handouts while I take attendance?” Nicholas shot Alex another smile.

Alex set her backpack on the floor and wiped her suddenly damp palms on the front of her jeans before she stood up, almost tripping over her discarded backpack. Before she could even react to the fact that she was tipping over, Luke’s arm shot out to the side and he snagged a finger through the back belt loop of her jeans, stopping her forward momentum. Three thoughts flashed simultaneously through Alex’s mind. The first was that she was glad her jeans, as well worn as they were, didn’t rip. The second was relief that Luke had been so quick that he had effectively prevented her from making a total fool of herself and had done it in such a way that only those sitting behind her could even tell there was a problem. Nicholas, standing as he was in front and to the left of her, couldn’t even see Luke’s arm steadying her or his hand gripping her waistband.

The third was that Luke was really, really strong.

“Easy, short stuff,” Luke said under his breath. “Make him guess at least a little.” Alex turned and glared at him with what she hoped was enough force to kill. He just chuckled under his breath and tugged on her belt loop once before letting her go.

Alex concentrated on taking careful, measured steps on her way to the podium and accepted the stack of handouts from Nicholas without fully meeting his eye. As she passed them out, she ignored the snide sideways glances from the art interns, who, being seated behind her, had unfortunately had a great view of her near mishap and the heroic save by Luke. She sat back in her chair and resumed her clock watching, this time counting down the seconds until the orientation was over and she could escape to the calming environs of GeMMLA. She made the mistake of glancing over at Luke once, and when he gave her a broad wink, she realized with a small sinking feeling that her sanctuary, the one place she felt relatively normal, was about to be invaded by the person in whose presence she tended to appear the most unspecial and inadequate. And this invasion was going to happen in front of the one person that she desperately wanted to see her as special and adequate.

Hello Beautiful

2011-08-19T08:15:00.000-06:00

It's official! I have turned into my mother.

In the morning, this is the most beautiful sight . . . just think, this time last year I wasn't a coffee drinker at all. And now here I have my own pot and everything!

I can't really claim to have fully turned into my mom quite yet, she drinks it black. Hard core. I still have to throw some flavored creamer into my cup. Someday though, someday I will drink it black as night and dark as pitch. And like it.

Make sure to stop by here on Monday to read the first chapter of my novel in it's entirety!

Butterflies in My Tummy

2011-08-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

This upcoming Monday, August 22, I will be debuting the complete first chapter of my novel Awake: A Sleeping Beauty Story here and at Indie Jane.

I am a little bit excited and a lot terrified.

I really hope you will come by on Monday and let me know what you think!

Fried Green Beans

2011-08-15T08:00:00.000-06:00

Someone from church gave us an entire grocery bag full of freshly picked green beans and in my search for recipes to help use them up, I have discovered the awesomeness of fried green beans. These are amazing! They are so addictive! I am not quite sure if they should be considered a health food (fresh green beans after all!) or a horribly fattening snack (deep fried, but the flour coating is minimal at best). Whatever else they are they are most definitely yum! Here is the recipe I have been using, although I just eyeball everything, measuring kills my mojo:

Fresh green beans, I make about 1/2 lb at a time, washed with the ends snapped off
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup(ish) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
Oil for deep frying (I just use about 1/2 cup in a small saute pan)

Mix the flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder in bowl.
Dip the green beans in milk and then roll in the flour mixture.
Deep fry until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels.

Great for snacks, or as a side dish for your summer burgers. Yum . . . burgers . . .

Ten Things I Know to Be True

2011-08-11T13:52:00.000-06:00

1. There are not enough hours in my day.

2. I will never be as perfect or as accomplished as I want to be.

3. My eyes are bigger than my tummy.

4. Piles of unfinished projects are both overwhelming and depressing.

5. I suck at prioritizing.

6. Caffeine is a miracle drug to which I am hopelessly addicted.

7. Yo Gabba Gabba was obviously created by people high on illegal narcotics.

8. We only get warm sunny days for so many days out of the year, I should be making sure my kids are out enjoying more of them.

9. I would love to lock myself in a hotel room for a weekend just to write . . . a caffeine fueled writing and editing binge without worrying about anything but the pieces of story in my head. Trifling things like dishes, laundry, nap times, and showering. However, if I actually ever did this the Mommy guilt would kill me.

10. His grace is sufficient.

The Advent of Becca

2011-08-08T13:52:00.000-06:00

Our friend Becca is visiting us for a month! The kids (and mommy and daddy) were excited out their minds about her coming for weeks before she actually got here. Every time someone would leave James would wig out thinking they were going to pick up Becca without him.

Becca sent Maddie and James a "Countdown to Becca" calendar. Or as I like to call it, a Becca Advent Calendar. It's almost like Christmas! (In a totally non-sacrilegious way).

Becca has been here for a week and we've been busy doing all sorts of fun Montana-y stuff. Here is Becca, Maddie, and James in Reeder's Alley in downtown Helena. Reeder's Alley was originally bachelor apartments for miners, and now it is cute little shops and restaurant.

Some friends from church (also originally from California) took us out Saturday on their boat and we went up the Missouri River through the Gates of the Mountain. Ah-maz-ing. Maddie looks pretty darn thrilled.

We drove up to a "ghost town" in the mountains called Rimini, it wasn't much of a town, or very ghosty, just some old buildings and a few newer houses, but there was a pretty awesome waterfall that we walked up to.

We went rainbow hunting in an afternoon thunderstorm, and we were rewarded with a double rainbow. This may be my new favorite picture of all time.

Here is to another week of fun!

New Post on Indie Jane

2011-08-03T12:24:00.001-06:00

Hello there beautiful people! I have a new post today up on Indie Jane in which I discuss how adaptable Austen is and share artwork from my upcoming Pride and Prejudice children's book. I would love if you could check it out and comment. Thanks!

Just for Fun

2011-08-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

Just for fun I created a Wordle word cloud of my novel (as it stands now mid-editing) and then I took an Instagram picture of it, because everything is better with Instagram.

The best part is that none of my overused words appear anywhere on this! Progress my lovelies, progress!

I am hoping to release the first chapter as a sample soon . . . anyone interested?

Just a Reminder - Giveaways on Indie Jane

2011-07-24T23:34:00.000-06:00

Just a quick reminder that we have two ah-mah-zing giveaways going on at Indie Jane right now! The first is for a Kindle. Um, yeah. You have through 8/11 to enter and there are lots of easy ways to enter!

We are also giving away two copies of Charlotte Collins by Jennifer Becton, one paperback and one ebook. That giveaway ends this Tuesday, so make sure to head on over and enter!

Realizing You Have a Problem is Half the Battle

2011-07-20T13:29:00.000-06:00

I know there are certain words I overuse when I am writing a rough draft. That's kind of the point of the rough draft, you have to turn off that internal editor as much as possible and just plow through.

I know I use "suddenly" way too much. Apparently things never happen at a slow pace in my novel. Another one is "seemed" (and seemingly and seems), maybe part of that is that I am writing scenes with magic so I default back to my own unbelief and say something "seemed to happen" instead of actually happening.

I had no idea that there was another word that I overuse. A lot.

Realized. Who knew? It appears to be one of my favorite words and I didn't even realize it (ahem). This was pointed out to me by one of my beta readers, Victoria. Her awareness of it was likely enhanced by the fact that because she's in Australia, her spell check underlined each and every instance of it in annoying, squiggly red. I'm glad it did or I would never have known!

After a few hours of editing . . . the occurrence is much lower. Yay for the awesome "find" feature in Pages, I really do get more out of it than the one in Word.

Are there any words you overuse? Do you own a thesaurus? My Mom swears by good dictionaries with an included thesaurus. Luckily for me, there are some online, it makes editing so much easier!

Fabric Love

2011-07-15T08:15:00.000-06:00

Looking for the e-book giveaway of Jennifer Becton's Absolute Liability? I am giving away 5 copies and there is still time to enter. Just go here or scroll down!

I've been thinking for awhile that I want to make Maddie and James quilts for their toddler beds. Having a young boy and girl in the same room presents some decorating challenges, but luckily Maddie is pretty tomboy-ish, so she doesn't insist on princess or pink. We are going with a sort of baseball/vintage/americana/country theme and I really want the predominate colors to be red and white (Go Angels). I've been looking and looking for a fabric line that I could use for both their quilts (as in not too girly), would coordinate with each other, and were predominately in red & white. No luck. But look what Sweetwater is coming out with!

This line is called Hometown and I think it is pretty much perfect! They have charm packs, fat quarters, and yardage for sale at the Fat Quarter Shop and I think I will be buying some! Cannot wait!

Flying

2011-07-13T21:46:00.001-06:00

This is an actual conversation I had with Maddie yesterday.

Maddie: There goes bird flying with flapping wings.

Me: Yup

Maddie: I fly, I flap wings?

Me: No, you don't have wings, so you can't fly.

Maddie: (Sad face)

Me: Because we are human, humans can't fly, only in airplanes.

Maddie: But I be Tinkerbelle.

Me: But Tinkerbelle is a fairy, that is why she can fly, people can't fly.

Maddie: Oh! Idea! We get pixie dust. We get pixie dust we fly.

Me: (desperately trying not to laugh) That's a good idea but we don't have any pixie dust today.

Maddie: Ok, I go find pixie dust, bye!

Indie Jane Awesomeness

2011-07-12T09:36:00.000-06:00

I have been just a little bit MIA the last week.

Why?

Because I have been almost totally consumed by the awesome new project I've started with fellow author and Janeite Nancy Kelley.

Allow me to introduce Indie Jane - the premiere independent Austen community!

About Indie Jane in bullet points:

* We are awesome (of course).

* We are an online community that supports independent publishing of Austenesque novels, shorts stories, and other literature.

* We are a great place to hang out if you are a reader of either of the above two categories (indie pub or Austen).

* We are a great place to hang out if you are considering becoming a writer of either of the above two categories.

* We have an amazingly kick-butt logo (above) drawn by my friend Victoria. No really, isn't it the coolest thing you've ever seen?

* We have an amazing site & blog button courtesy of my hubs.

* We are giving away a Kindle.

What? What was that last? Yes! We are giving away a Kindle! Our launch was yesterday . . . and today in appreciation of everyone who visited yesterday, and to celebrate our opening month we have posted a Kindle giveaway! Head on over and enter!

We will have weekly giveaways for our first month as well. The excitement is overwhelming!

Also, there is still time to enter to win an ebook of Absolute Liability (for kindle, nook, or as a pdf to read on your computer), please make sure to enter!

E-book Giveaway! Five Copies of Absolute Liability by Jennifer Becton

2011-07-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

I reviewed the awesome new thriller from Jennifer Becton last week (read my review here), and this week I am giving away five (5) e-book copies!

Yes, you heard that right!

Five lucky winners are going to get to read Absolute Liability for free! Yay you!

Meet Julia Jackson. Apparently, she's been abducted....

A woman is taken at gunpoint from the downtown office of Southeastern Insurance, and the police believe the victim is Special Agent Julia Jackson. Only it isn't true.

Now, with the help of her new partner Mark Vincent, state fraud investigator Julia Jackson must find justice for the woman who was taken in her place.

As Vincent and Julia begin to unravel the multimillion-dollar frauds that led to the abduction, they encounter a cast of quirky characters, one of whom will go to desperate lengths to hide a deadly secret.

Things only become more dangerous as bodies begin accumulating around town, and Julia must discover the truth before the abductor comes to rectify his mistake.

I am able to give away Kindle copies (for your Kindle or Kindle app) through Amazon, and in other formats (pdf, for your Nook), through Smashwords.

Remember, if you want to read it right away Absolute Liability is on sale right now! And through July 16th, Jennifer is donating 10% of her proceeds to Ride 2 Recovery, a charity that helps wounded warriors recover through cycling.

To enter just leave a comment below letting me know why you'd like to read Absolute Liability! And please, if you are a no reply blogger make sure I have a way to contact you!

Extra Entries:

(leave a separate comment for each that you do)

Follow my blog

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(scroll down to the bottom for Google Friend Connect)

Tweet about this giveaway

(you can do this once a day, separate comment for each tweet)

Be sure to link back to this post! You can use this suggested tweet if you'd like:

Win an e-book copy of @jenniferbecton's thriller Absolute Liability on @narniamum #ebook #giveaway ends 7/15 http://bit.ly/pSYaWs

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Entries will close 7/15 at 10pm MST. I will notify the winners by email by 7/16.

Thanks and happy entering!

Support Indie Film - Old Man Cabbage

2011-07-06T09:00:00.000-06:00

My friend Raymond is totally awesome. He's funny, smart, talented, and the greatest friend ever. I have literally run through the streets of Los Angeles with Raymond while holding dozens of purple roses and a bridal runner, ah good times.

He's also super cool. He's a puppeteer (yes, I know someone whose job title has puppet in it!), and a video director. He's travelled all around the US and lived in Iceland. Really. Iceland.

I'm pretty sure Ray is an artistic genius. Don't believe me? Check out this amazing video of him talking about his new project - a long form narrative music video.

Right?

The awesome thing about independent art, and independent film, is that it's free from the constraints of big Hollywood. I'm not entirely sure that whoever green-lit Smurfs would see the artistic merit in something like Old Man Cabbage. But then, they green-lit Smurfs . . .

The problem with independent art and film is that, unlike big budget crap like Mission Impossible 4 (yes, they're making a fourth . . . also, I didn't want to appear to be unfairly targeting Smurfs, but really people stopping messing with my childhood), it needs to be supported by it's fans monetarily, sometimes before it even comes out.

Raymond and crew are fundraising to complete Old Man Cabbage. If you want to support amazing art I would be forever grateful if you would make a donation. Pledges start at just $5 and you get awesome stuff in return. Just think you could be a patron of the arts! Where would art be without patrons? Even Shakespeare had them!

So to sum up:

Raymond is awesome, you should love him like I do.

Raymond's art is fabulous, it is amazing and beautiful!

Smurfs is bad! Mission Impossible 4 is also bad!

You should help support the Old Man Cabbage video and receive awesome goodies in return!

Our Fourth of July - Instagram Style

2011-07-05T12:36:00.000-06:00

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T15:17:00.000-06:00

We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

Summer Reads: Absolute Liability

2011-07-01T13:41:00.000-06:00

I admit I am a Jennifer Becton fan girl. I adore her book Charlotte Collins (you may have heard me mention it), and have been anxiously awaiting the release of her newest book – a thriller entitled Absolute Liability. And it’s here! Yay! Jennifer was nice enough to let me have an Advanced Reader’s copy and I was so excited I sat my kids down in front of some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and read it in one sitting!

Here’s the description of Absolute Liability

(have I mentioned I love the cover?)

Meet Julia Jackson. Apparently, she's been abducted....

A woman is taken at gunpoint from the downtown office of Southeastern Insurance, and the police believe the victim is Special Agent Julia Jackson. Only it isn't true.

Now, with the help of her new partner Mark Vincent, state fraud investigator Julia Jackson must find justice for the woman who was taken in her place.

Things only become more dangerous as bodies begin accumulating around town, and Julia must discover the truth before the abductor comes to rectify his mistake.

And here is my review:

I love mysteries and thrillers. I was raised right, which means on a healthy doses of Columbo and Murder She Wrote. I am very picky about my mysteries/thrillers because so many authors either try to hard (the wise-cracking lead comes off more like someone who missed a career in standup as opposed to someone whose just quick on their feet), or don’t try hard enough (I know who dunnit by chapter 4). When I find a really good mystery I cannot put it down and that is the case with Absolute Liability, which I read straight through as fast as I could.

Julia Jackson is a really believable lead character. She’s funny without being annoying, she’s vulnerable and insecure enough to not be a superwoman, and she yet she is clever and dedicated enough to keep me interested and rooting for her.

Her new partner Mark Vincent is, um . . . hot. Yes, I said it! But he’s got layers and layers that I so want Julia to start unraveling. I love the chemistry between them and I cannot wait to read more about these awesome characters.

All in all, I say two thumbs up! Five stars! I vote this as one of my “super satisfying summer reads,” and I highly recommend that you read it.

You can purchase Absolute Liability for your Kindle on Amazon (I have the Kindle app for my iPhone and it’s pretty cool), or for your Nook at Barnes & Noble, or as a downloadable ebook at Smashwords.

Two for the Show

2011-06-27T08:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Second Birthday to my Sweet Baby James!

Words cannot express the joy you have brought into our lives. You are an absolute miracle, a gift from God. Your sweet, snuggly, loving, happy-go-lucky personality brightens our hearts every day.

We love you!

Once Upon a Time Challenge - Completed

2011-06-22T15:47:00.001-06:00

(I die for this artwork, they should release them as a series, I'd buy and frame them!)

I have been totally MIA for the last week or so, and wonders of wonders I managed to break another toe. I am special, very special. However, I completed the Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge, on time and everything, although this post is two days late.

I tried to stick with a Sleeping Beauty theme, just because I am in that state of mind, but in the end only 3 of 5 ended up being Sleeping Beauty stories. Here is a quick recap of the books I read:

Thornspell by Helen Lowe

This is a middle grade fiction book based on Sleeping Beauty. What is fun about this novel is that it focuses more on the story of the prince who rescues the sleeping princess. It's interesting how knowing (or suspecting) that he is the foretold prince who will break the spell affects Prince Sigismund. I really liked the use of the faeries and faerie world in this book, the magic was very believable, I am a huge fan of magic making sense in it's own context and not just being used to get a writer out of a jam. 4 out of 5 stars.

Spindle's End by Robin McKinley

This is the one book on this list I had read before, although it's been a few years. You may as well know that I think McKinley has cornered the market on fairytale retellings. She is brilliant, and as it turns out the only living author listed in my "favorite authors/authors who have influenced me" in the "About Me" section I had to write for my new site. The way she writes magic is amazing. If I could be half as good as her I would die happy. I love the non-traditional take on Sleeping Beauty, I love Rosie as a heroine, I love Narl as a hero, I love Katriona, and her constant internal conflict and love for Rosie. To recap: I pretty much love everything about this book EXCEPT the new cover, the old cover was so much better, and luckily that is the version I have (and have chosen to share with you here, click the title of the book if you want to see the new one, boo). 5 out of 5 stars!

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

My third Sleeping Beauty novel . . . It was cute, it was fun, so why was I left feeling disappointed? Maybe it's one of those horrible examples of a book not living up to it's (gorgeous, by the way) cover? I'd heard a lot about Beastly, also by Flinn, although I haven't read it, so perhaps I was just expecting a lot? It wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it was definitely fluff. That isn't necessarily bad. Fluff is fun, it just doesn't really etch glorious images into your mind. It just sort of is, and once you're done, it isn't. It was likely a mistake to read A Kiss in Time directly after Spindle's End. It also has a new cover, what is up with these publishers? Ditching beautiful covers for crap? 4 out of 5 stars.

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

While not technically a fairytale, Wings is a tale about faeries, so I am totally counting it. I had been wanting to read this for awhile, so was thrilled when it was offered free on the Kindle (I'm so cheap). In the first chapter there is a reference to homeschoolers being unsocialized and this annoyed me so much I put it down and didn't pick it back up for almost a month. And while this overused and frustrating stereotype is actually used to further the plot in this book, it still cheesed me off. That being said, I really liked the book. The main character, Laurel, is interesting, the take on faeries is fresh and unique, and there is tension between to equally awesome possible main hero types. Fun stuff! It is the first in a series of three, so don't expect total resolution at the end. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Fairytale Bride by Kelly McClymer

Ok, I admit I bought this for my Kindle iPhone app merely because of the title and the fact that it was 99 cents. It ends up being more of an early victorian romance than having anything to do with fairytales other than that the heroine is constantly, and often inexplicably, quoting them. If you like historical romances it's a decent read. The heroine was likable if a bit naive, and the hero was suitably honorable and attractive. I suppose I could have found another book that met the challenge more specifically, or recapped one that I'd already read, but I ran out of time. 3 out of 5 stars.

Northern Summers

2011-06-17T07:22:00.000-06:00

Since late April the days here in Montana have been getting longer and longer. I thought I was used to long summer days, living in Southern California, but let me tell you, it is nothing compared to Montana, and it's not even high summer yet. Unless it's pouring rain it get's unspeakably beautiful at between 7 and 7:30 p.m. here. All of our windows face west, so we are constantly forgetting how late it really is.

Here is Montana at 7:45 in early June. Crazy!

The weirdest part is how long it stays light, even after the sunsets which happen around 9:20 right now (sunrise is at 5:30 and I hear in July it will be closer to 4:30).

Check out this sunset from the other day after it rained. Pretty!

And it stays light like this around the mountains (Helena is in a valley) for at least 30 minutes after sunset, so now that means until almost 10 pm!

The funny thing is that Starbucks closes at 9, so when I go out to write I leave the coffee shop and come home while it is still light! It boggles the mind!

I guess this much sun makes up for the cold, dark, winter!

Mickey Mouse Bounce House!!

2011-06-15T08:00:00.000-06:00

James loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Love might be too weak a word.

He adores it.

He thinks Mickey is the best thing on planet earth. He can say all the characters names, and responds when they ask questions. I realize that a lot of it is memorization because he watches episodes over and over, but the other day Mickey asked what some number was and James answered "twelve." I spun around, shocked, because I've never heard him use that number - and yup, he was right, it was a twelve. My kid's a genius. Twelve - also the number of times he's seen that episode, but please, let's not spoil my proud mommy moment ;)

Little Mr. James has a big birthday coming up - he is going to be 2!

That is insane on so many levels. What happened to my little baby? Sob.

We are having his party at Big Time Bouncers, an indoor bounce house facility here in Helena, Montana. If there is anything James likes more than Mickey it's bounce houses. Big Time Bouncers has several up at the Farmer's Market every week and Maddie and James spent a good hour in them on Saturday.

So here are the invites for Jamie's Mickey Mouse Bounce House (See what I did there? Clever!) birthday party, compliments of Daddy and Walmart 1 hour photo.

(Gotta love my quick blur job on that phone number, thanks iPhoto!)

Are they not adorable? Yay Mickey! Yay Jamie! Yay bounce houses!

Editing: Not for the Weak at Heart

2011-06-13T13:00:00.000-06:00

I bit the bullet and scanned through my manuscript, mostly just to make a list of scenes I need to add and rewrite, and to reassure myself it's not a total piece of crap. And it's not, at least not totally. But that is why I call it the crap draft (rough is too kind a word).

I went old school and made my list with an actual pencil and paper. My goal was to give myself a mental break, and separate the beginning of the editing process in my mind as much as possible from the writing process. Hmm. Not entirely sure how it worked out. It was fun writing it out, but I'm having to type it up anyway because a) I get anal over line spacings and stuff when I write things out, and b) eventually my kids will find and destroy this paper.

It was both frightening and freeing to make this list. I know what I still have to write. Hopefully now that I know my characters better the scenes that gave me issues before will come out more smoothly.

It also helped to go back and reread the scenes I am already pretty happy with. To remind myself that even in crap drafts there are gems.

The End. Or Just the Beginning?

2011-06-09T12:42:00.000-06:00

I finally wrote the words The End.

Honestly, I expected to feel a lot more elated. Maybe finishing that last scene in the 10th inning of what would turn out to be my team's 5th loss in a row (at home) wasn't the best timing.

It was kind of like "Oh, so there's that. Hmm. Interesting. Ho, hum."

Or maybe the issue was I know how much work I've set up for myself. There's four or five scenes I stopped writing half way through and moved on, or that I just didn't write at all. There are some really awesome continuity / character issues near the beginning of the novel because I didn't know my characters as well in chapter one as I do now.

I'd love to be more excited than I am. A lot more excited. I mean, it is a pretty big deal, right? That's what I keep telling myself!

Oh well, I guess the only thing to do now is grab a huge Diet Coke (why does diet Coke have to taste like death?) and jump right into re-writes!

Maddie Loves Rocky

2011-06-06T12:09:00.000-06:00

I don't know why, but my three year old, Maddie, loves Rocky. Yes, Rocky. Rocky Balboa, the Italian Stallion, "Yo, Adrian." That Rocky.

She really thinks he is the bees knees. Not only will she sit and watch the movies, she requests them. She knows the difference between the sequels based upon the fighters featured. Rocky is first in her affections at the moment rivaled only by Christopher Reeve's Superman.

She's an odd little thing, I can't fully explain her.

I don't usually feature videos on my blog, and here I am two posts in a row with video! This is too awesome not to share though. The first time she did this we were totally flabbergasted, and couldn't quite get out the iPhone fast enough to record, then at the end she asked for it again, so we rewound the dvd and made sure we were ready with the camera. Amazingly she did it again!

Here for your entertainment is Maddie replicating the training montage from Rocky II.

My favorite parts? The attempted no handed push up and using the tv stand for pull ups. This is the kind of classic video I will one day be showing any boy she brings home.

If I Had a Million Dollars

2011-06-01T17:30:00.001-06:00

I love this song by Barenaked Ladies, if you haven't heard it you are totally missing out. There are a million live versions on YouTube, but usually they include a lot of really hilarious ad libbing, so I thought I'd give you this original version (boring green screen with lyrics aside), it might be the best intro to the song. Love it.

So what would you do if you had a million dollars?

Not that a million dollars goes all that far these days, ahem.

If I had a million dollars (either via lottery or if I somehow become an ebook sensation and my novels sell like proverbial hotcakes, if you know, hotcakes sold in the millions), I think I would totally buy one of the newer condos near Angels stadium, get season tickets, and walk to all the games. The walking would a) save gas and parking costs, thereby making my million dollars go further and b) burn calories, so a win win.

Wouldn't it be awesome to get to see this approximately 80 games a year?

So, what is in on your "If I had a million dollars list?"

Free Short Story - Cancellation Notice

2011-05-31T12:33:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite authors, Jennifer Becton (Charlotte Collins), has a new novel coming out this summer called Absolutely Liability. It is the first in the Southern Fraud Series, a six book series of thrillers set (you guessed it!) in the south.

If there is one thing I like better than Austenesque sequels it's mysteries. I really, secretly and desperately, want to be a sexy, smart-talking, quick on her feet girl-detective, but enough about me . . .

Jennifer has a free short story from the Southern Fraud thriller series up on her site. It is called Cancellation Notice and you should totally go there now and read it! And if you want to be total sweetheart, let her know if you love it (cause of course you will) and that I sent you!

Newest Tangled Janeites Twitter Date!

2011-05-26T17:35:00.000-06:00

What are the Tangled Janeites? We are group of Jane Austen fans who also happen to be Disney fans - we discovered each other on Twitter, and quite honestly, we are pretty cool.

We've scheduled our third Disney movie watching date (previously we have viewed Tangled and Beauty and the Beast), for Sunday, June 5th at 9 EST. We will be watching Cinderella together (in our respective locations) and tweeting live through the movie! Want to join us? I promise it is tons of fun! All you have to do is tweet with the #TangledJaneites hashtag, and follow that same hashtag to play along.

There's always at least one really awkwardly funny "damn you autocorrect" moment provided by one of our iPhone tweeter - last time it was me, ahem.

Winner!

2011-05-26T01:48:00.000-06:00

Thank you all so much for entering my Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day giveaway!

To win the bunting and the 2 yards of fabric Mr. Random has chosen :

The lucky comment was left by Deborah in Atlanta.

Congratulations Deborah, I've sent you an email!

Again, thank you all so much for entering my giveaway!

Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day!

2011-05-23T03:00:00.000-06:00

Hello to all of you who are visiting for the Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day! My name is Jessica, and this blog is about sewing, writing, being a mom, and trying to live as like a Narnian as I can in my little corner of the world. Recently it has been a little bit more about writing than sewing because I am working on my debut novel, Awake: A Sleeping Beauty Story, which is due out in February. I know you have a lot of blogs to visit and giveaways to enter so let's get right to it!

For one lucky winner I have two (2) great prizes.

First up a handmade prize:

It's Spring! (It's really almost Summer, but it snowed here two weeks ago, so I'm sticking with Spring!) And nothing says Spring and happiness like bunting! I have this sweet little bunting made from 1930s fabrics. Adorable! I wasn't sure I loved these reproduction fabrics, but in this bunting they are totally cute, and I am going to have to make another one for myself!

The bunting itself is 56 inches long, with another 12 inches of bias tape on each side for hanging.

And secondly a supplies prize:

In this case fabric! Cause we all love fabric!

I have a yard of this lovely springy/summer print with fun daisies called "He Loves Me" by Jackie Robinson for Maywood Studios:

To add some more sunny splash a yard of this gorgeous yellow called "Gather Sunshine" by Nancy Odom for P&B Textiles. Gathering Sunshine sounds great to me because it is pouring rain here . . . this picture doesn't do the color justice, if the sun come out at all tomorrow I will attempt to get a better shot of this pretty yellow!

So that is two (2) full yards of fabric. Here they are together, oooohh pretty!

So, what do you have to do to enter?

Just leave a comment! I know you are probably cruising through hundreds of blogs entering these lovely giveaways so I won't ask you to be clever (although please feel free to be clever if you really want), you can tell me your summer plans, or the title of your favorite book, or just say "pick me, pick me!" Just please, please, please make sure I have a way to contact you . . . if you are a no-reply blogger (in other words, your email isn't listed on your public blogger profile) then please leave me your email address in your comment! Thanks!

If you would like a second entry follow my blog, and let me know in a comment that you did (or already do)!

I do hope that you will come back and visit after the giveaways are over! Also, if you haven't already make sure you check out all of the other giveaways on Sew, Mama, Sew!

The fine print:
This giveaway is open until 9 pm MST on 05/25/11.
I will ship internationally, so please everyone feel free to enter!

Same, Same, 50k

2011-05-21T23:03:00.000-06:00

It's really hard for me to write at home. I either have a toddler hanging on me (or they are doing something nefarious or climbing random furniture), or if for some reason the kids are asleep we usually have a baseball game on, or I am like, you know, falling over dead on my feet asleep.

So what I usually do is sneak out to Starbucks, or the library. But Starbucks has caffeine, so it kicks the library all hallow.

My little corner at Starbucks looks pretty much the same, me in my Mickey hoodie, with headphones on listening to Pandora (I find it easier to write YA fiction if I listen to bands that I used to listen to in high school, it's like method-acting but writing, so um, method-writing?) and a yummy, yummy white chocolate mocha next to my computer.

Pretty much the same . . .

and more of the same . . .

and if you do that often enough you hit a really big milestone like I did last week . . .

Fifty thousand words! I still have about 1/3 of my rough draft (or as I like to call it the "crap draft) to go, but having that first 2/3rds or so down feels absolutely fabulous!

Don't forget! Monday is the Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day1 Make sure to stop by and enter my giveaway!

Welcome to the Fourteenth Century

2011-05-16T09:20:00.001-06:00

I am part of a group on Twitter called Tangled Janeites, we found each other through Jane Austen but discovered that we all love Disney movies as well. Every few weeks we watch a Disney animated movie at the same time and live tweet our thoughts and commentary using the hashtag #TangledJaneites (we started with the movie Tangled when it was released, hence the title).

We decided it was be fun to do a mini blog tour featuring posts about our favorite Disney heroes.

Nancy at Austen Aspirations : Flynn Rider (Tangled)

Kaydee at For the Love of Austen : Naveen (The Frog Prince)

Rebecca at a Word's Worth : Beast (Beauty and the Beast)

And I am posting about Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty.

You're shocked right? Totally, absolutely flabbergasted that I chose to talk about the hero from Sleeping Beauty. You hide it well.

Also, if you missed it, I announced the title and release date for my Sleeping Beauty redux here, there is also a synopsis and I'm pretty darn proud of it.

Welcome to the Fourteenth Century

Honestly, girls like me who like Disney princesses tend to get a lot of flak, especially if they happen to be English majors. Most feminist professors are not really fans. Even among the average, every-day "Mom of Girls" there tends to spring up anti-Disney Princess viewpoints. The problem most of these women have with how Disney portrayed these princesses is that in their view the women are weak, unable to do anything for themselves, relying on a man to save them, yadda, yadda, yadda.

There is even a poster floating around that has each princess labeled with the "bad" message she is supposedly indoctrinating our daughters with. I'd show it here, but it would just cheese me off, I'd have to dispute it point by point, and this post would get even longer than it already is destined to be. I'll save that for another day.

This poster even shows up sometimes where it surprises me, and I feel suddenly judged for liking the princess movies, and worse, exposing my impressionable young daughter to them (gasp). I suppose it doesn't matter that her favorite movie is Superman, or that our favorite female heroines are scrappy, tough-talking, kick-butt kinda girls like Mara Jade from Zahn's extended Star Wars universe. I've let her watch a princess dancing about in a dress and singing and therefore my poor sweet girl is destined to play second fiddle to men for the rest of her life.

Here is the main problem with this school of thought: If you are being honest, it's not the women in these Disney stories who are getting short-changed.

It's the men.

Snow White: Say what you will about Disney's first heroine, she's obviously not the strongest of the princesses (likely a result of being the first, we often forget the point of Snow White was that it was the first movie of it's kind, no one had ever attempted a full length animation before), but she at least has several good qualities. She makes friends easily, she cares for nature, she has a name. Not so the big, strong, man who "saves her" with a kiss. First name Prince, last name Charming. So glad a really fleshed out character was important here. Obviously Disney was conspiring to destroy the confidence of a generation of young men, oh wait, I mean women. Yes, that is what I mean.

Cinderella: She needs a man to save her! The poor thing can't do anything for herself (except, you know like persevere in adverse circumstances, while not letting them poison her attitude or change her character) and needs a man to come and save her. Except not. Pretty sure it's another woman that performs the getting out of dodge magic (Cinderella's goal was never to leave her step-mother's house for good, just for the night.) And again here we have Prince Charming. Dear writers, please lay off the steam rollers. I believe this character is flat enough. Oh wait, he doesn't want to get married. Look, there's a slight bump, we need to iron it out some more.

These men exist only to serve the princess and her story line. Without the princess they are just nameless, faceless heirs to a throne no one really sees or knows about. Even with the princess they are still pretty much nameless, although they have faces. Very smooth, expressionless faces. Poor schmucks.

Which brings me to Prince Phillip in Sleeping Beauty. The first really fleshed out prince character in Disney animated movies. Mothers of boys everywhere rejoice. Importantly, we notice he has a name! This is a pretty big deal to me, because, in my opinion, naming connotes personhood. Prince Phillip is more than just the prince, the heir to the throne, the one promised to marry the Princess Aurora, he's also Phillip. And it's as Phillip that he meets the lovely peasant girl in the woods, and falls in love with her, and it's because he's Phillip that he fights an evil fairy in the form of a dragon. I doubt his responsibility to the throne is what's really on his mind as he battles to save his true love.

Another really important aspect of the Phillip character is he is loved by Briar Rose/Aurora not because he is a prince, and not because he can save her. Briar Rose has no idea she needs saving at all. She doesn't realize that she is royalty (although as such she will be elevated to equal footing with Prince Phillip without having to marry him), nor does she's realize that he is royalty, and she also has no idea she is in danger. She doesn't see him as a savior, she sees him just as a young man that she is in love with, a young man that she has dreamed about.

Phillip has some pretty modern views about who young royals (male or female) should be allowed to marry. He is all for marrying for true love, and not overly concerned about defying his father on this matter. "After all, this is the fourteenth century" he tells his father as he rushes off to meet Briar Rose. Even though his views on marriage are modern, he also exemplifies the sort of chivalrous qualities that I hope my daughter looks for in a man, and that I hope my son learns as part of his character. Phillip is brave and courageous, he would lay his life down to save his love.

I don't know any mother who doesn't want that for her daughter. Do I want my daughter to be strong and courageous as well? Of course. I want her to be brave, to be thoughtful, to care about others, to be able to meet life's challenges while never losing sight of who she is. I want her to have all of the qualities that make a truly, fleshed out, complete person. And I want her to expect that from any man that comes into her life.

She should demand a Prince Phillip and nothing less.

Shazam! Ka-pow! A Title, a Release Date, and a Synopsis

2011-05-14T11:36:00.000-06:00

Take two! I posted this the other day, but then blogger went all cuckoo for Coco Puffs and deleted it, posted another post, reposted this post - but with the comments deleted! It had only been up a few hours before blogger threw its little hissy fit, so I thought I'd post it again (I reworked the synopsis again, let me know what you think)!

I've been studiously (and shockingly productively) working away on my novel. If I can keep up the pace, I am pleased to report that my rough draft will be done by July 2nd. Woot! Then comes the fun business of rewrites, editing, formatting, and promoting!

I am not sure if I have mentioned this explicitly before on this blog, I know I've discussed it pretty openly on Twitter, but I am planning to self-publish. And no, this novel hasn't experienced loads of rejection from publishers and agents. I'm actually writing it with the intent to self-publish. Why? So many reasons! Mainly, it means I get complete artistic control over my product, as well as the ability to set my own timeline, price, and marketing. There are a billion more reasons, and if you're interested in why self-publishing works for some people I highly suggest checking out Jennifer Becton's blog Skidding in Sideways.

Maybe I will blog more about my reasons in the future - there is a lot of debate about self-publishing in the writing community, and I fully expect to get some flak for my decision - but for now I have some exciting news.

Here is my official announcement of my novel title and my release date.

I'm including the internet debut of my novel's synopsis for your reading enjoyment! Let me know what you think!

Awake: A Sleeping Beauty Story

February 7, 2012

Alexandra Martin didn't believe in fairy tales...

Alex has always been more interested in rocks and science than stories about princesses and magic. Now she's far too busy with her summer internship at the Gem and Mineral Museum to think about children's stories. Between avoiding her former best friend and high school baseball star, Luke Reed, and trying to hide her unrequited crush on her mentor at the museum, the real world is occupying all of her time.

...Until she walked into one.

It turns out fairy tales aren't all fun and games. A curse has turned her neat and orderly world upside down, and to break it, she bands together with a fellow intern and a recently awakened princess, who's been asleep for 900 years. Can this trio of unlikely heroines put an end to an ominous enchantment, discover true love, and keep an ancient and evil magic from being unleashed on modern-day Los Angeles?

2011-05-13T09:00:00.000-06:00

I came across something odd a week or so ago while researching possible novel titles. These two books have similar titles and eerily similar covers.

I know nothing about these novels other than that the first one was an adult novel (paperback released in 2005, hardcover with a different picture released in 2004) and the second is a YA dystopian fantasy released this year. If you're interested in finding out more info about either, you can click the cover picture to go to their Amazon listing.

Crazy, huh? So, do you think book publishers of Awaken hadn't ever seen the cover of Awake? I'd hate to think that they had and went with the design anyway, but it's weird to thing that they didn't spend the same 30 seconds searching on Amazon as I did.

It's Coming! The Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day

2011-05-10T09:25:00.000-06:00

The Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day is a semi-annual tradition in which crafty bloggers from all over the world giveaway handmade items and sewing/knitting supplies on their blogs all on the same day! It is so amazing! This will be my third time giving something away on Giveaway Day, so make sure to stop by on the 23rd and enter my giveaway! I will have a handmade item AND some supplies! You'll also want to check out all the other blogs that will be participating, they get posted on the Sew, Mama, Sew blog the day of the giveaway! There is also still time to sign up if you want to giveaway a handmade item, supplies, or both, on your site!

The Yellow Sundress - A Story for Mother's Day

2011-05-07T19:50:00.000-06:00

In honor of Mother's Day I thought I would share with you a short story I wrote in college. It is (not so) loosely based on my Mom and I, and has the distinction of being the first story I ever published as it was included in my university's literary journal. I hope you enjoy it and Happy Mother's Day!

"I had a vision." Lorraine insisted as she rifled through the sales rack, sliding the hangers down with a determined click-click.

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "A vision? You've got to be kidding me."

"No, I am not kidding you, a vision . . . a picture . . . I can see it in my head. Now we just have to find it." She reached the end of the sales rack with a sigh. "They don't have it here. Let's go."

"Mom, they have plenty of nice dresses; can't we look at them?"

"No, Lucy, we can't be distracted by other dresses. We need to find a yellow sundress. If you're spending the summer in Paris, you have to have a yellow sundress; that's just the way it is. Oh, and you have to buy flowers from a sidewalk vendor."

"While wearing the yellow sundress?" asked Lucy.

"Of course." Lorraine guided her daughter past the rest of the dresses and out the door of the department store. "I know what we are looking for," she insisted, fishing for her car keys in her purse, "You'll see—as soon as we find it."

Lucy only had two days left before she flew to Paris with her summer school French class. She was conscious of all the packing and planning that she'd left until the last minute. They really didn't have time to be driving around town in search of a mythical sundress. Lucy knew, though, that once her mother got an idea in her head, it was hard to dissuade her, as evidenced by the black silk dancing dress with "a scoop neck and a flirty ruffled hem" hanging in her closet. The dancing dress had been one of her mother's visions, brought on by Lucy's two-month love affair with the swing-dancing classes offered at the local community college. It had taken seven hours, thirteen stores and one hundred twenty-five dollars to procure. They were only on store number three in the “Quest for the Yellow Sundress.”

"Mom, I don't even want to take a dress. It's going to be July, it will be hot and sticky and yucky, and I hate it when my legs stick together. I just want to take jeans and t-shirts."

"Lucy, this is Paris. Have you ever seen a movie or read a book where a girl wears jeans in Paris? No. Yellow sundress, I tell you. You'll look just like a Mary Stewart heroine."

"I'm not a British schoolteacher on a holiday. None of her novels are technically set in Paris anyway, usually Greece."

"Don't be difficult. You'll love it. I can see it now, just above the knee, sleeveless, but not spaghetti straps—maybe with flowers."

"Flowers?" Lucy screeched. "Flowers? I hate frou-frou; I refuse flowers."

"Not girly flowers, fun flowers." Lorraine insisted.

"Well, personally I think you and your sundress idea are off the wall."

"We'll go to Target." Lorraine ignored Lucy's comment. Lorraine had been to Target, but she'd never been to Paris. In fact, she'd never been much of anywhere. Lorraine didn't travel, she got seasick, carsick, airsick. She was also a serious homebody—hot coffee, a fluffy pillow, and a good book being the top three items she required for a good time. Her library card was so well-worn that her signature on the back was barely visible. She considered the fifty-book lending limit rather restricting.

Lucy remained quiet on the way to Target. She was resigned to the reality of the yellow sundress. Her only hope was that it wouldn't be pastel or in any other way girly. Currently her basic wardrobe consisted of jeans and t-shirts emblazoned with Mickey Mouse and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that she bought from the boys department at the Valu-2-U Mart. To Lucy, paying less than five dollars per shirt was a matter of personal pride.

Lucy couldn't wait to board a plane bound for Paris. It would be her first time out of the United States, and she was prepared to do and see, not just to read and dream. She wanted to be the adventurer, the Indiana Jones of her family. She wanted to be able to casually drop the phrase "when I was in Paris last summer" into conversations. To her, the yellow sundress was just a silly fantasy; she was going to experience real life.

When Lucy climbed on the plane at LAX two days later, a yellow sundress with blue flowers was stuffed haphazardly, half-forgotten, into her duffel bag. She nearly skipped onto the plane, eager to experience five weeks of independence and adventure. Eighteen hours later she was no longer skipping. Bleary-eyed, she followed her classmates up the four flights of stairs to their dorm in the Cite Universitaire, her duffel bag thump-thumped up the stairs behind her….

************************************

“Hey Mom, I’m here, sorry it took me so long to call…they have these weird payphones; they don’t take money. You have to buy a little card and stick it into the phone.”

“That’s ok, Luce, I knew your plane didn’t go down ‘cause I’ve been watching the news.” Lorraine replied. “Happy Birthday! Well, there anyway; here it isn’t your birthday yet."

“I know, isn’t that freaky? I got on the plane seventeen and got off eighteen. That’s just bizarre. Mom, I’m so tired; I’m gonna go get some sleep. Professor Beltin is dragging us all over tomorrow and I want to be able to see everything!”

************************************

“Mom?”

“Lucy, what’s wrong?” Lorraine’s voice sounded anxious, even through the static that permanently plagued the downstairs phone of the dormitory.

“We got assigned to our classes today at the university, and everyone from my school is in one class and I’m in another one all by myself with a bunch of people I don’t know,” sobbed Lucy. “And it’s not even at the Sorbonne; it's at an extension campus, so I have to go an hour earlier than everyone else and find it all by myself, and….and classes start tomorrow, but that's the Fourth of July!"

“Ok, Lucy, slow down…calm down, it’s going to be ok. I’m sorry they are separating you from your class, but maybe you’ll have a really great teacher.”

“Yeah, maybe. But it’s the Fourth of July! Going to school is like wrong or something, my brain can’t get around it. It’s unpatriotic!”

“No, it’s not, sweetie. We’ll light some fireworks for you. I know: why don’t you wear your American flag t-shirt? That will make you feel patriotic.”

“Ok, I will. I gotta go mom, there is a line for the phone.

************************************

Sometime around week three, after conjugating the wrong verb and getting a low score on her first test, missing her subway exit three times, and being forced to watch “Memphis Belle” completely dubbed in French while she did her laundry in the dorm basement, Lucy began longing for a fluffy pillow and a good book.

“Completely in French I tell you! I mean Matthew Modine and D. B. Sweeny in a World War II American bomber, speaking French?”

“Well, we watch foreign films” Lorraine pointed out reasonably.

“Not if they’re dubbed, we don’t. We watch subtitles. It just looks so stupid 'cause you can totally tell by their mouths what they are saying, but the French translation is so long that the voice keeps going after the mouths have stopped moving.”

“GYou have a point. So,” Lorraine changed the subject, “have you seen any of those sidewalk flower shops?”

“Sure, Mom, they are all over the place.”

“So, um, worn your sundress yet?”

“My what?” Lucy asked, puzzled. “Oh that! No, it’s probably somewhere in my bag still. I’ll dig it out if it cools down, I guess. It’s like 89 degrees and the humidity is ridiculous; you know I hate wearing dresses when I get sweaty…and we have to walk everywhere.”

************************************

Around week four she realized Paris could never be as fantastic as it was in her mother's head. The museums were all beginning to blur together. She missed her friends, her family, and her language. When separated from her classmates for most of the day the only English she heard was from a street musician. Every morning on the subway he’d run through a string of Eric Clapton songs on his guitar.

“Hi Mom, I’m coming home in a week and a half.”

“We can’t wait to see you. Are you having fun?”

“Not really;” Lucy sighed. “I’m just sort of tired.”

“Did you get the package I sent you?” queried Lorraine.

“No.” Lucy perked up. “You sent me a package? What is in it?”

“Well, if I tell you it won’t be a surprise; you’ll see when you get it.”

************************************

The package arrived the Monday of her last week in Paris and contained two of Lucy’s favorite Mary Stewart novels and twenty dollars. Lucy went out and bought a stack of chocolate bars and spent the night curled up in bed reading the familiar words.

The next morning found her on a crowded subway, clutching a bright bouquet of flowers wrapped in brown paper in one hand, while trying with the other to keep them from getting crushed by the press of rush hour. The yellow of the daisies almost matched her dress.

Cupcakes and Carousels Party

2011-05-05T09:15:00.000-06:00

Maddie's birthday party was a rousing success. She had a fabulous time, and so did (I am hoping) the eight other little girls in attendance.

I ran out of time to finish the purse goody bags, so I now have fourteen almost completed toddler purses and no idea what to do with them. Luckily, I was able to snag some plastic princess ones at Walmart on the way to the party and no one was the wiser.

I didn't end up with a lot of photos but here are some good ones via Instagram.

The party was at The Great Northern Carousel and they provided balloons . . .

Vintage Carousel Circus Horse Cupcake Toppers, you can buy the printable pdf from the gypsy factory on etsy . . . cupcakes by yours truly . . .

The birthday girl rides the carousel with Mommy . . .

James on the carousel, please excuse his bangs, there was an incident involving scissors . . .

I am calling this birthday party a success - Maddie won't remember all the little details that I wanted to get right and didn't find the time for, she will remember that we had a rockin' good time, rode us some carousel animals, and ate cupcakes that stained our teeth pink and purple.

200th Post and a Confession

2011-05-03T11:34:00.000-06:00

This is my 200th post on this blog. I probably should be doing something fun and interesting to celebrate, but I am running low on ye ol' fun and interesting. Easter, and then Maddie's birthday, have totally sucked all the creativity right on out of me!

So, I apologize for the fact that this post is absolutely, tragically, un-fun and un-interesting.

I just really feel the need to confess, to unburden my soul, to you my dear, dear readers.

I hate housework.

Not only do I hate it, I am really kinda bad at it.

I think the main problem is that I find it so horribly non-stimulating, and then my ADD kicks in and I get easily distracted and drift away in the middle of the project . . . leave the dishwasher half unloaded, the laundry unfolded, or worse, forget to move it into the dryer.

I wish I could be one of these really anal OCD people who have to have a clean house or they can't sleep. It is all to easy for me to ignore, forget, or just plain not care and konk out on my unmade bed. But there is still that quiet, nagging voice inside that continues to let me know I haven't done enough, or done it right, and just can't quite measure up to "good enough."

I also have a deep-seated, secret jealousy of suburban Ritalin moms. You know the ones who are getting it all done, perfect house, perfect kids, involved in every activity and always on the go - because they're popping ADD drugs on the sly from their illegal stash in the glove box of their SUVs . . . I didn't say it was a rational jealousy. Although, my guess is that if I might actually qualify for adult ADD meds and they'd just bring me up to normal as opposed to Super-Mom.

They say confession is good for the soul. Is housework the bane of your existence like it is mine? Is there something that makes you feel like you aren't good enough? Or are you one of those women who has got it all together? I promise I won't hold it against you if you are . . . ok, maybe just a little bit.

My Newest Article at Mama Buzz

2011-05-01T10:05:00.000-06:00

My newest article is up at Mama Buzz. One of the categories that I am a supposed expert on is "entertainment," and I have yet to write an entertainment post because I didn't want to feel I was being blatantly promotional of one particular movie or book, etc. But it is spring and the surest sign of spring is that baseball season has begun, so I've written an article on baseball! (I am sure you are all just flabbergasted to learn I like baseball). I tried to include a little bit of everything, majors, minors, ticket specials for families this summer, movies! I would love if you could hop on over and read it . . . and leave a comment there! Thanks!!!

In Which My Kid's Stage a Murder Scene

2011-04-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

Otherwise known as "I don't make the news, I just report it."

I can't really explain this picture to you. I don't know why the toy car is turned over, I suppose it was involved in a wreck. I don't know why Barbie is a) naked and b) lying there at Maddie's feet. Speaking of Maddie's feet, I don't know why she is lying under the tree house climber. I also don't know why James is looming above them - but I do know his shadow looks so menacing because the sun was really, really bright that day.

All I do know is that I had to take a picture. And that the picture is best presented in black and white.

What's in a Name?

2011-04-28T12:51:00.000-06:00

I am chugging away on the rough draft of my novel (which you can read about here and here). In spite of having had Easter and a birthday this week, and a party coming up this weekend, I still managed to sneak away for an hour and half to Starbucks and add about 1,800 words to my manuscript.

Even more exciting, last week I had an awesome Yahoo chat with my great friend Tori, who always functions as my story sounding board. She can take all the vague statements I make about what I "see" and "feel," ask just the right questions to get me thinking, and offer just the right suggestions to flesh things out. It is truly amazing. Thanks to our chat I have solved all of my major plot issues and have a lovely road map for the rest of my story.

I am feeling really good about the direction that my novel is heading, and I have some really exciting news about it to share soon!

Illustration by William A. Breakspeare

The only thing I am not happy with currently is my sad, tragic, depressing lack of a title. Sleeping Beauty 2.0 (working title) is just not cutting it anymore. I've taken to calling it The Sleeping Beauty Project which kinda, sorta works. But I am in search of a really kick-butt title.

I'd really love a strong, one word title like "Enchanted." Unfortunately, Disney already beat me to that one. Of late, Disney has had some pretty cool titles. "Tangled," for example, is quite literally a perfect title.

Robin McKinley also has an amazing way with fairy tale titles. Her Sleeping Beauty story is called Spindle's End. And it rocks, by the way.

There's a balance, I think, in novel naming. You want to entice the reader without giving away too much of your plot.

So, my poor little baby, for the moment, remains un-named.

What are your favorite book titles? Have any suggestions for mine?

1-2-3 Ready, Set, Go!

2011-04-27T11:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday (a day late! We were having too much fun yesterday and I forgot to post) to my sweet, crazy, adventurous, loving, tough, silly, stubborn, perfect three year old girl.

We love you Maddie-Pants!

Deeper Magic

2011-04-24T07:45:00.000-06:00

“It means,” said Aslan, “that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward."

- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Good Friday

2011-04-22T20:57:00.000-06:00

"Oh how can they?" said Lucy, tears streaming down her cheeks. "The brutes, the brutes!" for now that the first shock was over the shorn face of Aslan looked to her braver, and more beautiful, and more patient than ever.

- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

25K, Otherwise Known as Writing My Booty Off

2011-04-16T18:46:00.000-06:00

I have been unusually industrious this past week. I went out and wrote Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday nights! I am happy to report that not only was I able to rewrite the 3,000 words I lost, I added a ton as well. I averaged about 2k a night and was able to add almost 12k to my manuscript this week!

I start my writing week on Fridays because that is Ed's day off and I'm glad to report that I was abel to write both yesterday and today, and I have reached a huge milestone! I've cruised passed 25,000 total words in my novel! Woot!

Serendipitously, I picked my phone up to text home to check on the babies, just as I hit 25k, so I took a screen shot, tee hee!

What, you may ask, is behind this amazing productivity?

Ladies and germs, I have discovered I can self-medicate my ADD with Starbucks.

White Chocolate Mocha. It's a beautiful thing.

I am even considering buying a coffee pot. My Mom is may actually pass out when she reads that, I have been decidedly anti-coffee for my entire life (I am a Coca-Cola girl). But guys, guess what, there is so much more caffeine in espresso! The focus is amazing!

Here's to hoping I can hit 30k this week!

Anybody Wanna Buy a House?

2011-04-14T10:12:00.000-06:00

My parents are selling their house in Peabody, MA. The best part is that they will be closer to us once they move (still a really long drive, but you can drive it if you want, it's not a mandatory flight like the Boston area.)

Know anyone who lives in the North Shore that is in the market for a house? Or know anyone who might know someone? I'd love if you could pass the link along! The short link is: http://bit.ly/gX66Yj

It's a really cute house!

It is bright, sunny, and cheerful.

The lot is really large, and is set back from the street, with lots of trees - an a really awesome front deck to enjoy it all from. (And did I mention it has a multiple car garage? Almost unheard of in the North Shore area)

Even my teenage brother's room is pretty nice ;)

I would love, love, love if you could share the link to their listing! I really want my family to move closer to us! Thanks!

The Disneyland Jar

2011-04-13T10:45:00.000-06:00

We are putting all of our change in a special jar (actually it's my Coca-Cola straw holder with the straw holding part removed) to save up for next year's Disneyland trip.

We love Disneyland. Really, really love it. And we are kind of looking forward to being out of state tourists, maybe we will even stay at a hotel!

Right now I calculate our Disneyland savings at almost enough to buy churros for the entire family. Mmmmm . . . churros . . .

Hopefully we will see it grow over the next several months!

3,000 Words

2011-04-08T23:36:00.000-06:00

I was so proud of myself last week. I took myself out to Starbucks and Ed's office and I added 3,000 words to my Sleeping Beauty manuscript. Not bad for a night's work, even if it was the only night last week I got to write. The two week's prior to that I only managed a measly 1000 or so a week, it was like hitting my head against a wall. Last week though I felt like I finally broke through the setup scenes that were driving me nuts, and got into some action and character development that felt like it was just flowing out of me.

I was so proud.

As they say, pride cometh before the user error that deletes all of your hard-written work.

Oh wait, that isn't what they say? And yet, it is true. Popped open the laptop yesterday ready to add onto the brilliance of the previous week.

And it wasn't there.

Poof.

Gone.

My file (multiple copies of it apparently) remained just as it did before last week's 3,000 word extravaganza. I did not save the file. True story. Which is funny, because I am usually a frenetic saver. Life is full of little tragedies, isn't it?

But, I suppose, we must pick ourselves back up, dust ourselves off, squirt some non-sting anti-bacterial on those skinned knees and slap a bandaid on that sucker! Therefore, last night and today I rewrote it. I am about 5 or 6 paragraphs from regaining most of what I lost.

Onward and upward.

Read a Free Chapter of Caroline Bingley!

2011-04-05T11:34:00.000-06:00

As much as I love Austen, I only started reading Austen sequels and adaptations recently. I think I was scared of them! I was incredibly lucky that the first one I read was Charlotte Collins by Jennifer Becton. It was ah-mazing! If you haven't read it, go buy it now . . . no really . . . I'll wait . . .

The problem with reading Charlotte Collins as my first Austen sequel, however, is that not all of them live up to it. There are some good, some not so good, but I can honestly say, thus far Charlotte Collins is by far my favorite. So imagine my excitement over Becton's new novel Caroline Bingley, which is coming out this summer! I love that she's chosen to write about such a universally despised character! I, for one, have some sympathy with Caroline and cannot wait for her to get her own story!

Now for the best part! You can read the first chapter of Caroline Bingley free online right now! But only until the middle of the week! So hurry! Go! Read it! I promise you'll love it!

"Spring, Spring, Spring" Sang the Frog and a Winner!

2011-04-02T21:00:00.000-06:00

I think we can officially say that it is spring!

So maybe we had some snow last Friday - but since then only lovely, gorgeous spring weather! Even when it rains it seems like you can always see at least a little bit of sun and blue sky . . . and when there is sun and rain you get insane rainbows like this:

Can you believe this sucker? And I am telling you the photo does not do it justice at all! We could see both ends where they touched the ground and it seemed like if we just walked up into the hills we would definitely find a pot of gold or two . . . it was so close!

Another sure sign that it is spring is that baseball season has started! Yippee!!!! And of course we had to have our famous opening day nachos! Yum!

Here is Maddie doing her best Vanna White with the official Melendez Family Opening Day Nachos Angels Plate (we got it at the kid's first ever game at the Big A, pretty sure James was about two months old):

And here are the nachos, yes, we make our own chips!

And because it is spring it is time to pick the winner of the spring fabric giveaway!

And the winner is the lovely Stephanie of Sand and Starfish! You lucky girl you!

I've sent you an email! Congrats!

Tangled!

2011-03-30T11:57:00.000-06:00

Somebody is excited!

Tangled came out on DVD yesterday and Maddie couldn't be more thrilled! She and James both loved it when we saw it in the theater (more than once), we have the Tangled app on the iPhone so they can take their picture with Pascal and watch the trailer, and Maddie even got to meet Rapunzel at Disneyland a few months ago. The whole time we were in line Maddie kept calling "Apunzle, Apunzel, let down your hair!"

Our version of the movie came with a brush and comb, and Maddie has done everyone's hair - including James who has been very sweet to put up with the multiple hair stylings.

I have to admit that I love the movie as much as Maddie does, if you haven't seen it (and Mom, this means you!), I highly recommend that you do!

Maddie's Birthday Invitations

2011-03-28T09:15:00.000-06:00

There's still time to enter to win some fabric from me! Just scroll down or click here!

Don't you just love it when the stars align and everything comes up roses?

Ok, everything is a stretch, but this is pretty awesome!

I recently won a gift card to Snapfish on Savings and Stewardship and the timing couldn't be more perfect because I was able to use it to get Maddie's birthday invitations!

Maddie is a having a Cupcakes and Carousels birthday party (see my inspiration board here) at our local carousel, and while Snapfish didn't have anything overtly carousel related, I was able to get these adorable cupcake and bunting invites:

Isn't it cute? I think it communicates the cuteness and cupcakeness rather well. Can't wait for them to get here!

Have you ever used Snapfish or a similar service for invitations or cards? We usually print our own, so excited to be getting these!

What I Did For National Quilting Day and a Giveaway!

2011-03-25T09:00:00.000-06:00

March 19th was National Quilting Day (it is the third Saturday of March) and as I haven't done any sewing in months (gee, I wonder why), and I haven't had a chance to set up my sewing stuff here at the new place yet I thought I'd at least start moving my fabric bins into the correct location.

I am planning to use this walk through closet for sewing . . . isn't it cute?!

It is also the hottest part of the condo because the heater is in a secondary closet inside it - yes, a closet within a closet! It is basically the walk through area between our bedroom and the master bath. The bedroom has a regular sized closet, and I just do not have enough clothes to need a large closet. My other problem is I don't have a table to put in here yet to put my sewing machine on . . . however, I have now moved all my bins and other paraphernalia into the closet/sewing room.

(Maddie and James rifled through my bins, wasn't that helpful of them?)

And in the process I managed to break my toe! Yes! Note to self: bare feet + pushing bins of fabric + door jam = extreme pain! This is not the first time I've broken this toe - you would think I would learn!

I have not been able to put on shoes, or go anywhere, or sew (also missing in the move seems to be my rotary cutter) since the 19th.

Also, I feel like I haven't posted anything sewing or crafty related in ages, so to make it up to all you lovely sewing gals, I thought I'd have a little giveaway from my stash (partially inherited) in honor of my new soon to be sewing closet and the fact that it is spring!

Up for grabs I have 1 yard and 2 fat quarters of this lovely spring-like fabric. It is from a 2006 line from RJR fabrics called Bungalow. I think it looks very California Craftsman and really pretty . . . I have two fat quarters of the pink flowers (with some green and yellow designs) on cream, and 1 yard of the green print.

To enter just leave me a comment telling me where in your house you sew . . . or your favorite thing about spring . . . or pretty much anything you'd like!

If you'd like some extra entries you can leave one comment for each of the following:

1. Follow my blog.

2. Comment on another post.

3. Follow me on Twitter.

4. Tweet about this giveaway, make sure to include @narniamum and a link to this post, you can use this wording if you'd like:

Enter to #win the spring fabric #giveaway on @narniamum http://bit.ly/gEk8ad

5. Share another way (blog post, email or Facebook status) just leave me a comment for each that you do!

I will keep this giveaway open until Saturday, April 2nd at 7:00 p.m. MST, and it is open worldwide, so everyone please feel free to enter!

This giveaway is now closed, thank you for entering!

A Fairytale Challenge!

2011-03-24T10:00:00.000-06:00

There are a ton of reading challenges out on the web right now, and honestly I really want to do all of them. I also really want to be Wonder Woman, but we must be realistic.

This, however, is a challenge I can do! One of the reasons is because I am already reading a lot of fairytale books because of my work on Sleeping Beauty. I heard about this particular challenge from Rebecca at A Word's Worth. It is the 5th annual Once Upon a Time Challenge hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings. The nice thing is it doesn't run all year (year long challenges translate to "11 months to procrastinate" in Jessica speak), but instead from March 21st - June 20th. So, there is still time to join in if you'd like!

There are several different "quests," the easiest of which is The Journey in which you don't commit to reading a certain number of books, nice and low pressure . . . but also very easy for procrastinators like myself to get away with doing nothing. Therefore, I'm committing to the next level which is Quest the First. I am promising to read 5 fairytale related books by June 20th. Lack of bullet proof bracelets and Lasso of Truth not withstanding, I am pretty sure I can do this!

I have ONE book on my list so far - Thornspell, a Sleeping Beauty variation juvenile fiction which I just picked up at the library. I am contemplating adding a Kiss in Time to the list as I have it reserved at the library, but wondering if I should add some non-Sleeping Beauty to the list to round me out (although if you are interested in a SB variant, I cannot recommend Spindle's End by Robin McKinley strongly enough! I know it is on Rebecca's list as well!)

I'm also reading a non-fiction about the Grimm's, and while that fits with the theme, it just doesn't seem very fun!

Here is my list thus far:

1. Thornspell

2. A Kiss in Time (yes/no/maybe)

Any suggestions? (You should probably know if Robin McKinley's written it, odds are I've read it, so while I encourage you all to read Beauty & Rose Daughter, etc., I think the point of the challenge is to read things I haven't read yet.) Are you a part of any reading challenges this year? Interested in joining us in this one?

CSN Stores Winner

2011-03-23T20:36:00.000-06:00

Thank you all for entering my CSN Stores giveaway!

Mr. Random selected:

And lucky comment #15 was from:

Congrats to Skooks! Make sure you follow her great blog too!