CONFESSIONS!!...brace yourselves...

Dearest  Bleaders,

*bleaders = blog + readers

I've got some news and a confession.

Let's start with the confession (I mean, let's face it, you were probably more interested in THAT anyway...). I've been a horrid - HORRID! -  commenter as of late. There have been so many events in my life (some I can't say yet, others I'll share shortly) that have prevented me from spending much, if any, time on Blogger. *extends hand for vicious slapping* I want to thank you for taking the time to read and comment regardless!

Ben started Dental School (200 pages of notes on Day 1???...er, um, I mean, YAY!), and I've been very busy doing final edits on my ms (thanks, Laura!) while writing book two. Also, on Friday I leave for Europe!! Off to Sweden, Denmark, and Italy for two weeks with my uncles and sis. First time I've traveled internationally without Ben. Kinda freaks me out, but not enough to stay home. :) If I don't blog while there, I'll definitely share highlights/photos when I get back. 

And...Gaia's Secret has a cover! (Thanks, Ben!) This has truly been one of THE coolest pieces of the literary puzzle - "seeing" an actual image for my story. I wouldn't be here without you all, and I can't wait to share it once I come back from across the big pond.

In the meantime, Happy Labor Day, and I'll leave you with this...

Some students wrote to Roald Dahl, asking him questions about his short story collection, "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More." Here's his response:

See, writing isn't a hobby. It's a lifestyle.  :)

Eat your Humble Pie and Shut Up.

I've been thinking about this word a lot lately because, well, it's what my main character deals with. Over and over again. (And for those of you that know Daria Jones, my little obstinate heroine, you might see what inspired Character Flaw #1: Apparent lack of humility.)

Here. I'll give you an example. I like examples.

Every year for about five years, the hubby and I would hike Half Dome. If you know what Half Dome is, you might think I'm insane. If you don't, know that it's a hike in Yosemite National Park, a little over 8 miles one way with the last 400 yards being up the side of a steep granite wall with only cables for support, and an overall 4500' elevation gain. (you might think I'm insane now, too.)

No really, it's fun. I promise.

As I was saying, every year the hubby and I would go, and every year we would "take" different people. And one of those years we brought someone - let's call our anonymous hiker Jill. Jill is one of those insufferable know-it-alls. A one-upper. You had a great weekend? Well, hers was better. But I digress...

Weeks before the hike, when THE one and only Experienced Hiker (aka me) was planning, Jill already knew everything, had thought of everything, and had so much wisdom to impart I was about ready to tell her we weren't going. I don't know, maybe the campground flooded or a group of bears recently attacked or a hurricane was coming (?). ANYTHING. (Know anyone like that? Yeah. Not fun.)

But rather than fabricate some excuse, I do something else. (Because I'm so smart. I'm experienced.) I decide to invite a secret weapon: Humility. Besides, I'm the one that had hiked it before. Humility would back me up.

Day of hike. Wake up at 5am and get moving (ignoring early-morning advice from Jill while talking myself out of pushing Jill over a waterfall). "Jill will see how tough the hike is." I smile to myself. "And then Humility will shut her up. She'll see."

Three miles in and Jill still won't stop talking about how smart she is. I'm wishing Humility would show up already and throw Jill down, but Humility is no where to be found. And I'm not feeling so good. Probably because I'm so annoyed.

And then this happens (ahem):

Jill: "You're not looking so good."
Me: *rolls eyes inwardly* *smiles* "I'm fine." *looks around for Humility to do said deed*
Jill: "No, you're pretty pale. Did you need to rest? I don't mind waiting for you."
Me: *fights urge to push Jill in river* "Really, I'm fine."

Then I finally see Humility on the trail, all decked out in camo. FINALLY! But what does Humility do?

Well.

It goes ninja.

It kicks out my legs and spits in my face (also known as passing out beside a waterfall). My hearing fades, my vision turns black and...

*Enter hot knight in shining REI gear, aka Ben*

When I finally came to, Jill frowns. "I told you that you shouldn't eat cookies for breakfast." By then I was too embarrassed to be angry.

Humility is shifty. (It's also closely related to Blow to the Pride.) While you're waiting for Humility to assassinate someone else, it'll most likely go ninja on YOU!

Maybe instead of eating cookies in the morning, next time I'll have a slice of humble pie. And shut up. :)

Have any similar experiences where Humility went ninja on you? And for you authors, which life experiences inspired your characters?


**FYI: NONE of the below photos are from The Year of Jill. This is an entirely different trip, with VERY fun people :)**

View from "almost" top of cables

Half Dome

Those aren't ants. Those are people. (Tall guy is Ben. He's talking to our friend, Nathanael)

Final ascent...Sierras in background

Me (i'm in front) and Misty on the cables of death - and we're so happy!

The spray by Vernal Falls (I'm in the green poncho)

*If you like YA Fantasy, check out my book, GAIA'S SECRET. The sequel is coming soon!

BLOG AWARDS!...(and a brief German lesson.)

Gosh, it feels like Christmas!...with book giveaways and blog awards all wrapped in pretty digital red bows. (No tinsel, please. Not even digital tinsel. That stuff gets everywhere.)

Monday pushed me out of bed and kicked me in the face, and lo! One of my favorite bloggers, the amazing Peggy Eddleman  left me one of those digitally wrapped presents (without tinsel) - the Liebster award, which spotlights up and coming bloggers who currently have less than 200 followers.

(German lesson: "liebster" basically means "dearest" - a term for close friends. Oh, and just so you know, the word "liebling" means "favorite." So see, it kinda makes since...okay, maybe I'm giving more details than you really care. I like foreign languages.)

See, look. It's pretty:

Now I get to play Santa (see, I told you. Christmas!) and pass them around with good tidings (and no tinsel)!

Here are the rules:

(1) Thank the giver (Thanks, Peggy, you're attitude is awesome!...but you really need to stop posting pictures of cookies in the morning...) and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
(2) Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
(3) Copy and paste the award on your blog.
(4) Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.
(5) And most of all - have bloggity-blog fun!

So here's my list, and please go visit these great people!

1. Laura Josephsen - One of my favorite people/bloggers/writers (can someone please invent a term that encompasses all of these things?) She's an awesome writer who blogs a lot about writing and her experiences with publishing.

2.  Donna K. Weaver - So Donna doesn't really fit the <200, BUT her posts about writing and grammar (THANK YOU!) and everything else pertaining to the literary world is awesome!

3.  Lindsay N. Currie - She's got such a beautiful blog! And she writes a ton of great posts about writing and the writing community.

4. Beth at Of Muses and Meringues - Um, food AND books AND travel? Exploding from too much goodness...

5. Julie at From Pen to Paper - I love the way Julie writes - about writing, about books, about, well, everything! Her posts are so fun to read.

And We Have a WINNER!!

Well.

It was sooooo hard for me to choose. The comments you guys left were fabulous! (If you missed out, you can read them here.) And I must thank you because I smiled and laughed, reading all of your answers :) So, THANK YOU! You guys are awesome.

But, alas! Laura's only given me "rights" to ONE book. *nudge nudge* Laura? :)

And the winner is...

Wait for it...

*cues drum roll*

CHRIS PHILLIPS

Who, poor sap, was actually stripped of his award. Read his confession for yourselves...


"I was stripped of my Professor of the Year award at Hogwarts for perfecting a Patron-Us charm that turns water into Patron'. Mr. Filch is sleeping in for some strange reason."


Thanks to everyone who participated...I had so much fun reading. :)

Book Giveaway Contest!!

Today's post is in honor of an amazing writer and dear friend Laura Josephsen and the release of her fabulous, witty book, Confessions from the Realm of the Underworld (Also Known as High School), which was so fun to read that I finished it in one afternoon. :D ( I mean...the title is funny enough, eh?)

Sephie (short for Persephone) is in high school. *cringes* And as the oldest of six girls, she's got a huge weight on her shoulders: being the role model. Up until now, she hasn't been that concerned about it. They may bicker and fight and home life might resemble a mini-maelstrom, but at the end of the day, they would do anything for each other. (And Laura's got you loving them so much, you'd do anything for them, too!)

But Sephie's world begins to change, and we watch her take on hard challenges and grow stronger because of them.

Confessions contains a myriad of timeless themes we deal/dealt with in adolescence (and adulthood); it's about family and friendship and unconditional love and forgiveness and finding the strength inside yourself. Full of humor, love, and struggle, Confessions is a great reminder of what matters most in this life.

This is the first story I've read of Laura's, and I'll definitely be reading more of her work. She's got talent for writing engaging characters and for creating many laugh out loud moments - which I love. Thanks, Laura, for a great read!

Now...for the goods (you know that's really what you're here for :)  )

Laura's offered to give away a free, signed copy of her book to one lucky winner!

Here are the rules/stipulations/annoying-fine-print:

(1) You must be a follower of this blog.

(2) Most clever/unique/funny answer wins.

(3) "Retweets" and "blog reposts" get extra points :D

Please repost as a comment with blanks filled in (I couldn't help myself...):

You were awarded Professor of the Year at Hogwarts (yay you!) because you discovered ____(certain spell/charm/curse)__ which ___(what does it do?)__. And Mr. Filch __(his sentiment towards you).

Now...GO! Contest closes at 7PM, PST Wednesday, Aug 3rd, and the winner will be announced Friday, August 5th!

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

WARNING: If you have NOT read the previous Iron Fey novels by Ms. Kagawa, and have any intent on doing so, read the following at your own risk...for, here there be spoilers. :)

I've just had the pleasure of reading Ms. Kagawa's final installment in her New York Times bestselling series, IRON FEY, and all I can say is...WOW.

Ms. Kagawa wasn't lying to us. If we thought we knew Ash before, we hadn't seen anything yet! And you'll be even more in love with him when you've read his story. Just you wait Team Ash...you're in for a treat! *fans face*

If you remember, The Iron Queen left us emotionally conflicted (um, utterly distraught? ready to throw my Kindle?). We were relieved the war between Winter, Summer, and Iron ended and the Nevernever would survive, but there was just one little, itty bitty catch. Ash, our beloved Winter Prince, realizes he can't be with the woman he loves without it physically killing him. He simply cannot exist as a Fey in Meghan's Iron Kingdom (remember dear friends, iron is toxic to faeries). So, what does our dashing knight in shining armor do? Well, he sets out on a quest to find a way to be with the woman he loves, and, in the process, discovers that in order to be with her, he must become mortal.

*gasp*

The Iron Knight begins with Ash and the infamous and seemingly omnipresent Puck (who's just as hilarious and flippant as ever) seeking out a particular, annoying cat in hopes of finding a way for Ash to become mortal. What the Winter Prince needs is a soul, and the journey to gaining that soul is treacherous and agonizing and full of heart-wrenching discoveries.

With Puck and a few other surprise (ahem!) guests at his side, Ash faces his haunting past. We finally begin to understand the "ice" in "Ice-boy." Ms. Kagawa's writerly skill and prowess forces us to live Ash's torment and agony. We feel the weight of his decision and we are devastated when he finally discovers what he must sacrifice in order to be with Meghan Chase.

Filled with adventure, suspense, humor, and romance, The Iron Knight is sure to leave the reader completely satisfied. It is a perfect and beautifully crafted ending to the Iron Fey Series, and while I'm still coming down from my happy cloud, I'm sad to part with Ms. Kagawa's rich and exciting Fey world.

That is...for now. :) She's announced a SECOND Iron Fey trilogy starring Meghan's younger brother, Ethan. It'll take place several years after the first trilogy.

Thank you, Julie Kagawa, for introducing us to such a wonderful group of "friends" and sharing their fantastic journey with us. Can't wait for more!

The Iron Knight will be released in October 2011!




*If you like YA Fantasy, check out my book, GAIA'S SECRET. The sequel is coming soon!


Here's a link to my review for the rest of The Iron Fey series

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Gorgeous Cover!

I'll start with this. Ready? Picture it....

London.

Time travel.

History.

Dark haired hottie. *sigh* 

Is it a wonder I finished it in an afternoon? :)

German author Kerstin Gier managed to combine all elements in the first of her Ruby Red Trilogy! (translated to English this past May)

For 16 year-old Gwyneth, time-travel is real. At least that's what she's always been told. Her family had the fortunate (or unfortunate) circumstance of inheriting the gene. And, as predicted by Sir Isaac Newton, this gene would appear for the last time in her cousin, Charlotte. Charlotte was prepared all along for the day her time-traveling gene would express itself. The only problem is, the gene doesn't express itself in Charlotte, it shows up in Gwyneth. And the unsuspecting Gwyneth is thrust into 18th Century London with sneakers and her cell phone.

To make matters worse, she's got a time-traveling "guardian", 19 year-old Gideon de Villiers, who is arrogant, condescending, and...gorgeous. And the more the pair travel to the past, the more they realize they are part of a plot that could get them killed.

Unlike most "first books in a series" I've read, this one isn't a "stand alone". Nothing is really resolved. Throughout the book, the mystery builds and builds (I still don't really know what's going on), the ending is a romantic cliffhanger, and you are left desperate for the sequel (which, by the way, there is a teaser Chapter 1 at the end...that doesn't help either).

But, the story was so much fun - hilarious at times! - and I would recommend it to anyone wanting any of the said elements above. As for me, I'm impatient for Spring 2012!

Happy Reading!

Find it on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Red-Trilogy/dp/0805092528


*If you like YA Fantasy, check out my book, GAIA'S SECRET. The sequel is coming soon!