What I'm Reading, What I'm Writing, and Get Your First Page Critiqued

Hey y'all. I thought it was time to do some updates.

What I'm reading: 

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an ARC of Matt Kirby's book THE CLOCKWORK THREE. 

It was so good. You know, one of those books that makes me jealous of his way with words. I'm proud to call Matt a friend. So I can track him down and toilet paper his house.

What I'm Writing:

Some of you have been asking what the status is with my book. We are currently at Defcon 4. 

Defcon 1: Find an Agent.

Defcon 2: Revist with Agent.

Defcon 3: Wait to submit to Editors.

Defcon 4: Blood turns to acid because the stupid clock is not ticking away fast enough, and even though you've been waiting for years already, you swear this time, the wait will kill you, so you spend most days trying not to send crazy-a** emails to your agent, demanding to know why he doesn't have the power to speed up time, and perhaps as incentive, you should open a vein and bleed acid blood on everyone...

Defcon 5: Submit to Editors. Or the world blows up. It's fifty-fifty.

Get Your First Page Critiqued, and Meet Some Authors

If you have an interest in the publishing world or writing in general, you probably have heard how important the first page is.

Well, this Saturday, you can have your first page critiqued by a nationally published author... and raise money to provide needy children with books! 

It's a day of workshops and panels and critiques and signings, and an evening extravaganza, with some big names in the book world like James Dashner, Bree Despain, Jessica Day George, Shannon Hale, Ally Condie, Emily Wing Smith... and more. 

I had my first page critiqued last year, and now I have an agent. *

*above statement was not FDA approved, and results may or may not be typical.

Anywho, you can come for the day, or evening, or both. Click here for more info and to register.

Whew. I'm off to Lagoon (the illegitimate love-child of Disneyland and the State Fair) with Sam and the kids, because I got to thinking that it's been a while since I puked my lungs out. Wish us luck. 

What I'm Reading, What I'm Writing (Starring Jandy Nelson's THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE)

*added- I'll announce the winner of Free Book Friday next blog. (Wednesday). 

Holy cow. First day of summer vacation. The kids are running around, begging to be fed. Even worse, they're demanding to be entertained. I did not sign up for this. 

When I was little, my mother gave me a piece of string, some used chicken wire and a garden shovel, and told me to "use my imagination" until dinnertime, as she shoved me out the door. 

You can bet I used that chicken wire, piece of string, and garden shovel to build myself a treehouse, complete with satellite television. (At least, that's what I tell my kids I did).

Where have those days gone? How am I supposed to live like this? How am I supposed to blog like this?

Since summer used to be the time when I'd sit around, reading, under a tree, little Toto nuzzling at my feet, I thought I'd do a "What I'm Reading... What I'm Writing" blog. 

WHAT I'M READING:

I've been reading realistic fiction lately. Not a vamp/demon/witch in sight. 

So I thought I'd share my thoughts on them, but since I get in trouble whenever I recommend anything, let me just say this first: I am not recommending anything. 

I don't want to get any emails that say, "Brodi said she totally loved this book, and my little Jenny read it, and now my little Jenny is anorexic, therefore Brodi causes anorexia." Because yes, I've gotten these emails before when I've talked about books on my blog. (Okay, not ones that say I cause anorexia, but you get the drift.)

Here's the official disclaimer:

*Disclaimer: I read these as a mother of two young boys, who are not about to read any of them. I read them because I love Young Adult books. Just because I like something does not mean I'm issuing a blanket statement that it's safe for all ages. I am not the arbiter of values and morals, or individual tastes.

Whew. Thanks. I feel better now.

First up was Jandy Nelson's THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE.

Oh my goodness, I can't say enough about how much I loved this book. The writing is like poetry, which isn't surprising because the author wrote poetry first before she wrote a novel. 

It's about a girl, coping with the loss of her sister, and juggling two boys. I know I love a book when I lend it to a neighbor, and I'm mad at myself for letting it escape my bookshelf where I can reach out at a moment's notice and read my favorite passages. (So, neighbor who shall not be named, light a fire under that bushel, or a burr under your bunny, and get reading it!)

Here's a preview:

Next were Carol Lynch Williams' THE CHOSEN ONE and Laurie Halse Anderson's WINTERGIRLS.

These both tackled serious subject matters (polygamist cults and anorexia respectively) Although I really liked both books, I probably won't be reading either of them again. 

The endings left so many questions unanswered, which is probably appropriate given the subjects. And they each had one or more scenes that made me cringe. I liked them both, I thought about them both long after the last page. They are both powerful reads, and I probably won't be reading them again.

So, that's what I'm reading.

WHAT I'M WRITING:

Um... nothing much. Just waiting on revision instructions from Michael. 

What about you guys? What are you reading? What are you writing? 

What I'm Reading, What I'm Writing, and This Week's Things that Must Go.

Good Friday, yon bloggerland.

What I'm reading:

The Loser's Guide to Life and Love.

It's a retelling of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, set in a contemporary high school, and so far I've laughed out loud several times.

The author, Ann Cannon, and another local author Ann Dee Ellis are hosting a Writing Marathon March 18-20. And by "hosting", I think they mean virtually, and by "Marthon", I'm assured there will be no running, or physical exertion of any kind.

Basically, you commit to writing as much as you can on those days, and then you make a goal, and then you get to reward yourself if you reach your goal.

I committed to 20,000 words. If I reach my goal, I'm flying to the moon and releasing a dove to symbolize my fledgling writing career. If the dove flies away, I'll know I'm gonna be published someday.

Anyway, to all of you writers, hop on over to their blog and sign up with me. Tell them I sent you, and you'll receive 10% off the free admission price. You can't beat that!

p.s. I'm giving away a copy of Loser's Guide to Life and Love. Read to the bottom to find out more.

What I'm Writing:

My current WIP is a mystery, and it's a mess. At least with paranormal stories, I can create complex mythologies to cover up for stuff that doesn't make sense. This book is actually making me use my brain, and I really hate to use my brain. I'm seriously considering throwing a ghost in there.

This Week's List of Things That Must go:

1. The top three reactions to my recent adventures in hair dying must go:

a. "I have a canary that color."

b. "Ha ha. Will you never learn?"

c. "At least you got warm colors. And by warm, I mean flaming."

Here's how my hair will look for the next two weeks (which is when my hair person is scheduled to clean up my mess... that is, if she still will have me. I think I may have damaged our relationship permanently)

2. An education system with no sense of humor must go.

Kid C was supposed to do a report on an animal indigenous to Australia. I convinced him to do it on Dingoes, and then I made him practice the line, "Maybe the dingo ate your baby" over and over. No one thought it was funny. Maybe he didn't have the accent down...

3. In honor of Grammar week, my sister's most famous malapropism must go:

(Talking about Diet Coke) "I have a wooden leg for that stuff."

Bonus: This guy, I won't name names, used to always say, "C'mon guys, It's not rocket scientists."

4. The Great Spring Fakeout must go.

After a mild winter with dismal snow totals, I was starting to smell spring sunshine in the air. (It smells like chicken with a hint of Rosemary seasoning). But today, snow storm. Curses, Mother Nature!

It's not the snow storm that makes me angry, it's the lack of consistency. As my mother used to say, "Inconsistency is a road to Hell paved with Good Intentions."

5. And finally, school breaks that make no sense must go.

Kid C is home today, because it's "No Attendance Day". 

I remember when the settlers first came to our valley, perservering through inconsistent weather and starvation. After their long journey, they looked out over the land, and their leader marked the spot with his staff and said "This is the place, because X marks the spot. Let today, March 5, forever be known and celebrated as... NO ATTENDANCE DAY!"

Bonus Free Book Friday:
As a bonus for those of you who read this far, leave a comment about your own things that must go, and you'll be entered to win your very own signed copy of A.E. Cannon's THE LOSER'S GUIDE TO LIFE AND LOVE.


So, are you going to sign up to do the writing marathon? Or am I alone on this?

Free Book Friday, and the Best Model of a Weekend Warrior Trailer made entirely out of Coasters

It's Free Book Friday!
Find out how to enter at the end of the post.

1. I'm Being Interviewed:

F.O.B. Tamara interviewed me for her blog today. If you get a mo, please please leave a comment so she doesn't accuse me of ruining her readership. It may not be up until later today.

*Update: her post is up! Go check it out.

2. What I'm Reading:

Keturah and Lord Death, by Martine Leavitt.

Martine Leavitt critiqued the first 20 pages of Broken at a writing workshop over the summer, and I learned so much from both her and the rest of my class cohorts.

I can sum up her advice to me in two sentences: "Don't make me guess what the Frakkin Concrete Object of Desire is!" and "When it comes to backstory, why can't you be more like Kim?"

I kid. She didn't use the word Frakkin, and she said it much more eloquently than I just did. But the general gist of it is there.

I took her advice. Now, my main character has a goal (sorta important in a book) and I'm trying daily to be more like Kim.

Anyway, she talked about Keturah and Lord Death a lot, so I figured I should give it a looksy.

2. What I'm Revising:

Page 2 of Broken. Only 325 more pages to go. Thanks everyone for your nice comments Wednesday, and thanks to those of you who couldn't think of anything nice to say about the first page, so didn't say anything at all.

As reported by Team Gluten Intolerant in the comments section Wednesday, I turned in my book at 10:02 that night.

3. Apparently you'll have to draw me a picture...

Do you ever have those family members who are all like, "If we weren't related, we probably wouldn't be friends, because we have nothing in common."?

I do. Cousin A. I know this, because the other night when we were at dinner with Cousin K, she said to me, "If we weren't related, we probably wouldn't be friends..."

It all started when she was telling me about how their family likes to go to the sand dunes for vacations. I'm stating here and now, I do not understand this type of vacation, or how one even considers it a "vacation". When I asked where everyone sleeps in the sand desert, she said they stay in trailers.

me: "Like a camper trailer?"

A: "No. More like a Weekend Warrior."

me: "What the Frak is a Weekend Warrior?"

A: "It's boxier than a camper, and it has a back door that drops down so you can drive stuff into it."

me: "So, like a trailer on the back of a semi?"

Totally exasperated, Cousin A gathers five square drink coasters on the table and stands them up, arranging them.

A: "Watch closely. You see, the sides come together at 90 degree angles, like walls... four sides... Hey Cousin K! I need more hands. Can you hold the roof on? Great. There. A Weekend Warrior Trailer looks like this:

me: "A cube? All that work, using coasters and four hands to illustrate to me what a box looks like?"

A: "That's not all. Also to show you what the drop down back door does:

Here's an actual Weekend Warrior:

I think her cube of coasters is a pretty good likeness.

After all these years, Cousin A and I are trying to understand each other.
I tried to appreciate the intricacies of a Weekend Warrior trailer, and why in the world someone would make sand dunes a destination.

She reached out to me by telling me she was at a book store the other day, and she thought of me because she saw a picture of a zombie, and didn't I think that was cool. I mean, I like books and zombies, right?

Actually, I always think books and zombies are cool.

To Enter Free Book Friday:
Leave a comment on Tamara's blog when my interview comes up, and then tell me you did in my comments, and you're entered in FBF. But feel free to leave a comment on this post even if the interview doesn't show up until way later. How about if you leave a comment on this post, you're entered once, and if you leave another one on Tamara's interview post, you're entered twice. Good? Good.

What's everyone doing this weekend? Any fun plans? I'm going to the SCBWI Conference. If you're there, find me!

What I'm Reading, What I'm Writing, and FBF Winner Announced

FBF Winner:

Jill of the O.W.L.

Please email me your top three choices from the picture below to brosam (at) gmail (dot) com. (Hint: I'm out of Maze Runner). Don't forget to include your address.


What I'm reading:
I just finished Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr. Loved it.

It's about a Pastor's daughter, whose family is already in crisis when her neighbor is kidnapped. During the ordeal, she struggles with her beliefs, her faith, and her fears.

I loved the writing, and the main character asked the same questions I think all of us have asked in our lives.

Excellent read.

What I'm Writing:
WIP (Work in Progress) is at 39,000 words. That's about 178 pages. I'm trying to just finish the darn thing before I edit, but I can't help editing. So I'm stating it here and now: I will finish by the end of November. You hear me? I expect you all to hold me to it.

So, what are y'all reading and writing?

1. Kid C is home sick from school today. First time he's ever missed school due to illness. It's gonna be a long day. This morning, when I was giving him his medicine, and he was psyching himself up for it, he said under his breath, "Oh Tummy. You are not going to like this..."

Yeah, sucks to be you, Tummy!

2. Kid C is in a children's program at our church, where each child gets to stand up to the microphone and say a part. I had several other adults tell me they couldn't wait for Kid C's turn, because he is notorious for inappropriate microphone use. (One time, he screamed, "Jesus loves elephants!" I don't know where he comes from.)

So I go over and over his part with him.

When it's Kid C's turn to speak, he leans in close to the microphone and says his part, word for word... all in "burp talk". You know, where someone burps the alphabet?

Everyone laughs.

I rush the podium and whisk him out of the room, all the while trying to think of a threat that would make sense to Kid C. I couldn't say, "You want to miss the program?" Because he would inevitably say, "Yes."

We get to the hallway and I crouch down so I'm face to face with him, and I say, "What you just did? You weren't only being disrespectful. You were being a... big meanie to... your teachers... and Jesus."

I bit the inside of my cheek trying not to think about what I just said. Kid C, who has a pretty good sense of humor, looked like he was going to crack, and then we were both laughing hysterically.

Anyone else cringe when their kid has the microphone?