Harry Potter Week, Day 2: Classes and Teachers

     So you've gotten your letter to Hogwarts. You've boarded the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 3/4. You've gotten some treats off the trolley- perhaps some Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, Cauldron Cakes, or Pumpkin Pasties (whatever the heck those are). You've been sorted into your new house (Hufflepuff for me), and you've gone to bed in your nice new dormitory.
     Then school begins... You get to learn charms and transfiguration, potions and history of magic. So on to today's questions...


What subject would you be most keen to take?
What subject do you think would be your favorite?
Which teacher would you hate the most?
Which teacher would be your favorite?

       Right now, if I could choose any subject from Hogwarts to learn, I'd definitely pick Defense Against The Dark Arts. How cool would it be to use Stupefy, Impedimenta, or Petrificus Totalus. Not to mention learning how to cast a patronus.

     Knowing me, I think Charms would probably be my favorite subject. Since I'm not a great cook, I don't think I'd be able to master the art of Potions. I bet Transfiguration is really hard. History of Magic might be exciting if it weren't for Professor Binns, the Ghost teacher, who drones on and on. I've never been an animal person so that takes out Care of Magical Creatures. Arithmancy and Ancient Runes are probably way beyond me. And I think I'd take the Harry and Ron route and just make stuff up in Divination. So that leaves Charms. It sounds like fun, not too difficult, and Flitwick seems like an easy-going teacher.

     I think for sure Snape would be my least favorite teacher. Unless I was a Slytherin, he would probably hate me because I think I'd be rubbish in his class. And, like Neville, I would be majorly intimidated by him which would just make me worse.

     I'd want Dumbledore as a teacher, he'd be my favorite for sure if he actually taught anything. Since he isn't a teacher, I would have to go for Flitwick or Lupin for DADA.

     Speaking of Dumbledore, I want to give a shout out to Richard Harris, who I think embodied Dumbledore to the max. Yes, Michael Gambon is a great actor, but Richard Harris is exactly how I picture Dumbledore in the books. So here's my movie clip for today showing the late, great Richard Harris.


     And also speaking of Dumbledore, because he's awesome, I'm going to take a couple of different quotes from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, all spoken by Dumbledore (page 49,50, 529).

"- yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often," Dumbledore finished the sentence gravely. "Best to say nothing at all, my dear man."

"I would assume that you were going to offer me refreshment," Dumbledore said to Uncle Vernon, "but the evidence so far suggests that that would be optimistic to the point of foolishness."

"There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more." 

    So... what class would you want to take? What teacher would you love?

Harry Potter Week, Day 1: Welcome to Hogwarts

     I was planning to do a Harry Potter blogfest. I thought it would be fun to ask a bunch of questions about the movie and see what everyone's answers would be. Then time passed and I realized it was waaaay too late to do a blogfest. Oops. Instead I'm going to dedicate this week to Harry Potter, asking questions, posting favorite clips of movies, and sharing favorite quotes. I'm even going to change my blog music to the HP soundtrack. Why? Well if you're asking why then you're clearly not a Harry Potter fan and you don't realize that the very last movie comes out this weekend which I am SUPER excited about (I'll be seeing it on Saturday night). So away we go into Harry Potter land. 
     I read a poll once that asked, if you could go to any fictional school, which would it be? Obviously the number one answer was Hogwarts. That would be my number one as well. The summer when I was eleven, I moved to Orleans, Ontario, a suburb of Ottawa. So instead of enrolling in Henry Larsen Middle School, I'm going to pretend I got my letter to Hogwarts: (I couldn't find the right font)
       Miss M. Stanford
The Bedroom Facing the Driveway
(can't remember the #) Fieldstone Crescent
Orleans, Ontario
CANADA
     Hogwarts, with all its corridors and moving staircases would totally intimidate me. As would the sorting ceremony. Like Harry, I would worry that it was some kind of test, or that it they would realize their mistake and chuck me out then and there. But there'd be no mistake, and I'd be sorted along with the other first years. Which brings me to today's questions:

Out of the four Hogwarts houses- Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin, which house would you want to be in?

And...

Which house would you actually be sorted into?     

     Of course I would want to be in Gryffindor. Who wouldn't really? But lets be honest. We wouldn't all be sorted into Gryffindor. Which is why I asked which house would you actually be put in.


      Honestly, I'm not brave- so that rules out Gryffindor. I'm not cunning, so no Slytherin (thank goodness). While I like to read, I've never been a great student, so that nixes Ravenclaw. Which leaves... Hufflepuff. Yeah. Sure they're loyal and hardworking, which... well, I don't know if I'm those either. The sorting hat says in one of its songs that Hufflepuff takes "the lot", no matter what their strengths. Or lack of. So that would be me. Sigh. Although, Hufflepuff does have Cedric Diggory so... enough said.
    I think we'd all like to be Gryffindor's because we'd like to have their bravery. At least that's the draw for me. So on that note, I'm sharing one of my favorite parts of all the Harry Potter movies. This is the end of Goblet of Fire when Harry decides that he's not going to hide from Voldemort but stand and face him like a man. This is Dan Radcliffe's best moment- just so believable and well done. Every time I watch it I can't help but think, not one of the Death Eaters would be brave enough to do what Harry did and face Voldemort. That's why we all love Harry.



     To go along with that scene, here's my quote for the day from page 575 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:

Harry crouched behind the headstone, and knew the end had come. There was no hope... no help to be had. And as he heard Voldemort draw nearer still, he knew one thing only, and it was beyond fear or reason- he was not going to die crouching here like a child playing hide-and-seek; he was not going to die kneeling at Voldemort's feet... he was going to die upright like his father, and he was going to die trying to defend himself, even if no defence was possible...

Books and News

     I'm absolutely itching for the last Harry Potter movie in a week. Itching. Or maybe that's my sunburnt back. Anyway, I figured I needed a short HP break, so I decided to read something else before I get to Deathly Hallows. And I wanted to read the book closer to when I see the movie. Why? Who knows. Probably because I'm mental.

     Anyway, I read Everlasting by Allyson Noel on Tuesday. This is the last book in her Immortals series. It's a good series overall. I love the love story between Ever and Damen that spans the entire series. I also like how she talks a lot about karma and spirituality in a personal sense. It's kind of new age but she gives a great message through the books without being preachy. And I loved loved loved the way she ended the series. My only complaint was this book had a lot less action and a lot more introspection as Ever is trying to figure everything out. Understandable for the last book in a series, but still- it could have had a little more action for me. My favorite part of the book was when she travels back to a past life (these books talk about reincarnation a lot too). Although I had to gasp at her use of the names Alrik and Fiona during that part. Not that I have the only right to those names but still, I couldn't help my loud "HEY!".

     Since that book only took me a day, I decided to read The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan. I'm still in the middle of it but it's as awesome as all his other books. If you've never read him- DO IT NOW! His voice is just INCREDIBLE. So funny, so perfect. His books with their crazy/hilarious chapter titles are what inspired me to come up with my own chapter titles. Chapter 1 of this book is called: Fun with Spontaneous Combustion. I mean the voice is just so there all the time, I love it. He inspires me.

     In other news... or this is ACTUAL news... I read (here) that Stephenie Meyer is producing the movie version of Shannon Hale's Austenland. For someone who loves that book and loves Stephenie Meyer, this was great news to me. Can't wait to see it and I hope they do the book justice!

Road Trip Wednesday- A Chance to Look at Pretty Pictures

    
     This week's Road trip Wednesday:
Share some images that inspire your WIP
     This should be fun because I've never done this kind of thing before. So I think I'll share some that have inspired Daze and Knights, which isn't exaclty my WIP (book 2 would be I suppose), but it's still not completely done with the whole editing thing yet so...
     Wow, I actually found this to be VERY difficult. Maybe because the book takes place mainly in a medieval castle or village. Here's what I got though...



It was VERY hard finding a picture of a girl holding a sword that wasn't animation or trying to be sexy (which this one is but it's tamer than some of the other ones).


Hampshire Castle
The closest thing I could find of a glowing tree (aside from the Avatar one)

You may wonder why a Barbie picture? Well it was this movie that inspired Jessica's training outfit which looks basically like this except it's brown. You can't see the knee-high boots here.

Melee or battle



Jousting

The forest where Jessica wakes up

Duel


And of course I just cant resist a picture of the actor I want to play Alric- Alex Pettyfer

The Best Laid Plans...

    
     Things happen in life that totally blow plans out of the water. I like to plan. I like to know what's happening today, tomorrow, the rest of the week. I plan my meals on Monday for the entire week. I have a cleaning schedule of different parts of the house I clean each day. I have a set time to do my writing (during Avery's nap). We eat meals at the same time each day (usually). You get the idea.
     Clearly I have control issues. But I've learned that no matter how much you plan, those plans can go awry. Luckily, I think I'm easy-going enough that when plans do fall through, I don't freak out- too much.         
     Like last week- I was at my parents house until Tuesday night. On Wednesday I didn't want to bother with my cleaning so I ignored it for the rest of the week. I also spent those few days at my parents eating like a cow. It didn't help that I brought mounds of fudge from Waterton home with me, or that my husband had stocked our pantry while I was gone with bags of candy (including 3 bags of my fave- Swedish berries), bags of chips, boxes of cookies, and an alarming amount of chocolate bars. (That's why I don't let him shop.) So my "eating healthy" plan blew up in my face. Or more accurately- my belly.
     Then there was the goal I had set for myself- finish Jessica Book 2 by July 1st. Ha. I barely wrote at all in June because I was focused on fixing my query, and going through a reader's edits.
     Today is Monday, and I'm determined to get back on track. My house desperately needs cleaning, my body is begging for something healthy, and even though I have new edits to go through on book 1, I have set a new goal to finish book 2 by September.
     I need to have plans. Otherwise I'd sit around and do nothing all day. Having plans forces me to get things done. Having goals forces me to work towards accomplishing them.
     And when I don't? When my best laid plans fall through... well, I shrug my shoulders, try not to beat myself up about it, and get myself back on track.

To Wake Up or Not To Wake Up

    
     I've read in multiple places that you should never start your book with your character waking up. It's like a death sentence for your book.
     I get that, I really do. But...
     I have always assumed that what this means is something like this:
     My alarm blared, waking me from a lovely dream. I groaned. I hated getting up in the morning. After laying there for a few minutes, willing myself to get up, I finally ambled out of bed. My greasy hair clung to my head so I sighed and stepped into the shower. The hot water was enough to wake me up. I quickly dried my hair and dabbed on some makeup and then went down to breakfast.
     This is of course an example of weak writing all around, but you see what I'm saying here? I thought that the whole not starting your book with your character waking up meant you shouldn't give a blow by blow of their everyday routine before getting to the action that happens later in the day.
     Why am I even mentioning this? Well, the first line of my book, Daze and Knights, is this:
     I woke up to a sword at my throat.
     You see my dilemma? My character starts the book waking up. But, I'm starting the book right where the action starts. I mean, hello- she's waking up with medieval knights poking a sword in her throat and she's wondering where she is, who they are, and what happened to her bedroom. I thought this was fine. I never considered it fell into the category of "waking up". Then someone who critiqued it suggest I change that. And I thought- Ack.
     And THEN- I read a post by Nathan Bransford (you can read the whole thing here) who says you should NEVER do it, no matter what.
     I do have a reason for her waking up- an important reason that won't be explained until a later book (if I get that far). I'm not just doing it because I feel like it. But I don't want to hang a death sentence over my book or make it easy for agents to scrap it after the first line.
     So- what do you think? Should I change it? Comments? Bueller?

I'm Baaack

     Ok so I wasn't really gone but it sure felt like it. I usually take Sundays off from the computer but four whole days away from the computer and I feel like I've missed out on the whole world! There's so much catching up to do (and so little time!)
     Anyway, it's wednesday which means... Road Trip Wednesday! Here's the question:


What's the best book you've read this month?

     Well gee... that's tough. Hmmm... Which Harry Potter will I possibly choose??? Haha. I'm still on Order of the Pheonix (book five) because of my weekend with the family. So out of those five I'd have to say Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite. Why? I don't really know. It's been a long time since I read it for the first time so I can't really say why that one stands out. But I will give an example of one of my absolute favorite parts from that book: (Courtesy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling, page211)

     "Professor Severus Snape, master of this school, commands you to yield the information you conceal!" Snape said, hitting the map with his wand.
     As though an invisible hand was writing upon it, words appeared on the smooth surface of the map.
     "Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business."
     Snape froze. Harry stared, dumbstruck, at the message. But the map didn't stop there. More writing was appearing beneath the first.
     "Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git."
     It would have been very funny if the situation hadn't been so serious. And there was more...
     "Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor."
     Harry closed his eyes in horror. When he'd opened them, the map had had its last word.
     "Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball."

     Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha. That part makes me laugh- out loud- every time. Love Harry Potter. Just love it. Enough said.  

Lovin' The Language Blogfest

     Jolene Perry over at Been Writing? is hosting this blogfest so check out her blog to see everyone's responses which will probably be more interesting than mine...

     I have to admit, this was a tough one for me. I don't think of myself as a writer who is very good with words. So why am I writer then? Well, I love stories and characters and settings. I enjoy writing the scenes I see in my head and I love dialogue. But I'm rubbish at description and I rarely come up with something that I think people would stop and say, "that was brilliant!"
     Since Jolene is kindly allowing us to break the rules (yay), instead of five lines from Daze and Knights, I decided to post five of my favorite chapter titles. I had lots of fun coming up with these titles, and I'm quite proud of them. (Cue my self-satisfied smile.) I had a really hard time choosing too, but here they are:

Chapter 2: If I’m Daydreaming Then Where’s Zac Efron?


Chapter 7: Let Me Introduce You To Creep #1 and Creep #2

Chapter 20: Splinters, Visitors, And A Sword Up The Nose

Chapter 47: Who Knew That Killing Someone Makes You Want To Barf

Chapter 51: How Many People Do I Have To Kill To Get Some Alone Time Already

All You're Ever Gonna Be Is Mean



     I'm always a little behind the times. I just watched this video for the first time today even though I know all the words off by heart by now (I'm a huge Taylor Swift fan- FYI). Although this isn't my favorite song off her Speak Now album, I just love that she isn't afraid to be honest in her songs. The video is different, there's no skanky-ness going on (props for that), and I love the message of rising above the people who are mean to you. I think we can all relate to that. (An aside: the little girl from Ramona and Beezus is in the video too.)
      Well, this isn't much of a post, I know, but I love watching videos. Tomorrow, after I go to an assembly where my daughter is getting an award (Go Jade!), me and the kids are heading to Cardston. I'm looking forward to seeing family I haven't seen in awhile, but sad for the reason (my Grandma's funeral).
     See you all on Monday for the Lovin' the Language blogfest. Until then...

Someday I'll be livin' in a big ol' city
And all you're ever gonna be is mean
Someday I'll be big enough so you can't hit me
And all you're ever gonna be is mean
Why you gotta be so mean?

Road Trip Wednesday

This was an EASY one. And I loved the picture YA Highway used so I'm totally stealing it.


The house is on fire and you've only got time to grab five things. What are they?

     They are: Jade, Logan, Kori, and Avery (my four kids), and then my USB stick (or whatever that little thingy is called that has a backup of my books on it. If my kids count as one thing, then I'd definitely be grabbing for the photo albums next.
     Seriously though, this is probably my biggest fear. And it also really makes me think that I should constantly back-up my work and have the stick accessible (it's usually buried under piles of paper so the kids don't grab it and lose it) just in case.
     What would YOU grab?

Age

Me at 17

     Getting older is scary. I never felt this way a few years ago, but then again, I was still in my twenties and felt young and alive and like I still had all this time ahead of me. What is it about turning thirty that makes one feel suddenly old? It's not even that old! I'm thirty-one now (sniff) and I feel like every second where I do nothing is a wasted second, even though sometimes it's good for you to do nothing and I happen to like it- sometimes. But I can't help but feel like there's so much I want to do and accomplish and yet so little time. 
   This is on my mind because my grandmother died on Sunday. It's wasn't sudden or anything. In fact it was one of those things where you pray that they will be taken from this life so that their suffering can finally come to an end. But with death naturally comes thoughts of life. I can't help but think of all the things I could be doing better, the ways in which I can improve as a person, a mother, a writer, and all the things I want to do before I die.
     This hit me especially hard two years ago when my father-in-law passed away. He was young, it was sudden (sort of), and very hard for everyone who knew him. I don't think the notion of my own mortality had ever really occurred to me until then. I still felt invincible-  like I had all the time in the world to accomplish my goals. Then I realized how very untrue that is.
     It's not like I'm old- I know. I think part of the problem is the world in general is obsessed with being young and looking young, what with all the Botox and lipo and stuff out there. I see it all in those magazines I read. And then there's the fact that I read mainly Young Adult books. Even though my teen years weren't the greatest, and I cringe at some of the stuff I said and did and the mistakes I made, I still can't help but wish to be 16 again. Add in the fact that a lot of those YA books have immortal teens in them (Edward and Bella, Damen and Ever), and I feel like being over 30 sucks bricks.
     I guess it's good that I'm rereading Harry Potter now. Lord Voldemort- pretty much the epitome of evil- goes to every length imaginable to become immortal. It's a good reminder that growing old is natural and right and a part of life. I just need to remember to do the best I can with the life I have. And not to beat myself up if every second of every day isn't spent doing something productive.
  Am I the only one out there afraid of getting old? Afraid of wasting their life with moments of doing nothing? Hmmm, I doubt it.
Is this what immortality looks like???

Harry Potter Mania

    
     Okay, this just shows how much of a nerd I am, but I actually got teary-eyed when I watched this preview. It could be because I'm back into the Harry Potter world right now- rereading and watching the movies as I go along. I don't know what it is about these books but man oh man, I'm utterly useless when I'm in Harry-Potter-land. I can't write, I can't edit, I don't want to watch any other movies, heck- I can barely say one sentence that doesn't include the words "bloody" or "brilliant", and I have to refrain myself from calling someone a "git" or a "nutter". I'm even craving jelly bellies.
     Yeah. I'm obsessed. What can I say?
     Oh, BTW, if there are any other Harry Potter maniacs out there- ages ago I wanted to buy this U-no-poo t-shirt but it disappeared off ebay. If anyone knows where I can find one, let me know...

Woo-hoos and Road Trip Wednesday

     I didn't intend to blog today. My mom is here so I should be spending time with her- but my kids pretty much monopolize her attention so...
     Really, I'm just psyched to say that my "love scene" from Daze and Knights was chosen as a finalist and sent to the wonderful Weronika Janczuk @ Lynn C. Franklin Associates. Woo-hoo! I hope she likes it. Woo-hoo. Can I say it again? Too bad, I'm gonna, Woo-hoo!

     It's Road Trip Wednesday but I so don't have the brain power for today's topic. I'll take a crack at it anyway. Here it is, You're re-reading one of your favs when someone asks the dreaded question: "What's that book about?" Give us your best off-the-cuff blurb of any book, any genre, and have your readers try to guess the title in the comments!

    
     Here's mine:

     So there's this girl who has to kill scary unicorns even though she doesn't want to. And because she has to kill them it means she can't, you know, "do it", or she'll lose her scary-unicorn-killing powers. Which is a problem when she meets a hot guy. Duh.

     Okay, okay, that was an easy one if you've read the book. Take a guess if you want, or check out other people's (probably wittier) answers at http://www.yahighway.com/.

Talents

    
     Last Sunday I had a lesson in church about Talents. We talked about how it's important to seek out our talents and then work on them. Find the time to develop them and then share them when possible.
     I really enjoyed this lesson because I'm constantly struggling with my guilt over writing. Sometimes I can't stop thinking that I shouldn't be spending time on it. That there are more important things. That when the second coming happens (or if you don't believe in that, try the Zombie Apocalypse or the End of the World), if I'm still alive, will it really matter if I'm a published author or not? Shouldn't I be spending more time with my kids, or doing service, or genealogy, or something- anything more spiritual?
     Then I'll argue with myself. But this is a talent of mine. It makes me happy. It's not something I should just let go. And if I did, I would lose some sort of sense of myself.
     I blogged about this awhile back and my sister-in-law said something that I haven't forgotten. We're on this earth to grow- not become stagnant. Yes, I need to be a mother first and foremost. But I can't sacrifice all of myself- I need to grow as well.
     The one thing from the lesson that really stood out was that if we don't exercise our talents- we will lose them. I know that's true. I can't play the piano as well as I could at age 16 because I don't play as much anymore. I definitely can't dance as well because I'm not flexible or strong like I used to be when I danced all the time. If I stop writing, I'll lose the talent for it. I'll lose the ideas that constantly come to me. The more I practice, the more I write, the better I get.
     The lesson also talked a lot about finding the time to practice your talents. That's the key isn't it. Balancing life as a mother and writer. I think that's where the guilt comes in. I'm spending time writing when I could be spending it playing with my children. I can't help but feel guilty about that. I don't think the guilt will ever go away. I don't think my internal battles will ever stop. But maybe that's not such a bad thing. When I'm not doing any writing- maybe it will help me get my butt in gear and do some. And when I'm writing too much and not paying enough attention to the kids- maybe it will help me to stop, take a break, and focus on what matters most.

Love All Year Long

***I wanted to add a bit of background info here, because the scene was confusing to some. My main character Jessica, is a 16-year-old who  travels back to medieval times. This scene is about halfway through the book- Lord Alric has been teaching Jessica to swordfight and here they are taking a break. And FYI on Lord Alric- he is normally a very proper gentleman so all the laughter here is unusual for him, it's something she brings out in him.***

     So there's a contest happening here: http://aspiringwriterworld.blogspot.com/  You're supposed to post a maximum of 750 words of a love scene from your finished manuscript. I'm entering the contest a day late (I was supposed to post this yesterday), so I may be ineligible to win, but I thought it would be fun to take part anyway. I love me some love scenes (not the erotic kind, FYI) and I can't wait to go through and read everyone else's. Feel free to tell me just how cheesy you think it is.

Name: Melanie Stanford
Title: Daze and Knights
Genre: YA
Entry Word Count: 748 (eek)
Manuscript Word Count: 87,000 (estimated)
Link #: 27

“Remember when we first met, I had tripped over Fiona’s laundry and fell and I caught you laughing at me?” He stared at me, his mouth slightly agape. “Anyway, I was mad about that so I wouldn’t tell you my name when you asked me for it and then you said, ‘That’s okay, I have another name for you,’ or something like that. Remember?”


Lord Alric looked a little bowled over. “Yes, I remember.”

“So? What’s the name?” I pressed. “You’ve never told me.”

A small smile appeared on his lips, thrilling me. “You are not the only one with secrets never to be revealed,” he answered.

“I never said I had secrets. And don’t change the subject!”

“Every thought is a secret if it is never shared. This secret I will take with me to the grave.” He was trying to hide his smile but I could see it there, making his lips twitch.

“Oh come on, just tell me,” I begged. “You know you want to!” I turned on my side so that I was facing him.

“I will admit nothing,” he replied, laughing.

“If you won’t tell me, then I’ll make you,” I challenged. He looked at me incredulously and then laughed harder.

“You will force me? What is it to be, torture?” he asked through guffaws. I scowled.

“You don’t think I can get it out of you? Well, I can. Witness my version of torture.”

“What?” he managed to wheeze out, still doubled over in mirth. He was too preoccupied with laughing at me to see my hand sneak out and inch slowly forward. I had to aim for behind his knees; it was the closest part of him that I could reach that wasn’t covered in boots. I kept my eye on him to make sure he wasn’t aware of what I was doing and then I quickly attacked, tickling him behind his bent knee.

It worked. He yelped and jumped about a foot in the air. I rolled onto my back, laughing so hard that I had to hold my stomach.

“That was an unfair tactic,” he muttered.

“You know,” I managed in the midst of all my laughing, “you’d think that I’d care, but I really don’t!” I put my arm over my eyes as I laughed, reliving his jump in my mind. That proved to be a mistake. All of a sudden I felt a tickle along my side and this time it was me who jumped.

“Hey!” I exclaimed with a jump. “You’re playing dirty!” I lunged at him without thinking, tackling him to the ground. We tried to tickle each other but it didn’t work much since we were both laughing so hard. I grabbed his arms so he wouldn’t be able to tickle me back.

Suddenly I found myself on top of him. He was lying on his back and I was sitting on his stomach, my legs straddling his hips. My hands pinned down his arms on either side of his head, my face was close to his, and our eyes were locked. We both stopped laughing abruptly. My breath felt heavy, my mouth slightly open. I could feel his chest rise and fall beneath me.

“What’s the name?” I whispered. How had I remembered to ask that?

His eyes were liquid, his lips soft as he whispered back the answer.

“Asha.”

It came out in a ragged breath. His soft lips were parted and I couldn’t resist them anymore. I couldn’t resist him anymore. I leaned down slowly and joined my lips to his.

It was a soft kiss, and brief. I pulled away when I realized what I had done and looked at him, afraid of what I would see on his face. He looked a little surprised as he stared into my eyes. And then he grabbed me around the waist, sitting up so fast that I ended up on his lap, unaware of how I got there but uncaring because he pressed his lips to mine and kissed me eagerly. Electricity ran through my body, coming from his lips, his hands, every part of him that touched me. My fingers and toes tingled and I couldn’t stop from trembling against him. It was electric, magical. More magical than the glowing tree nearby.

And then it was over.

He pulled away, and my beating heart stopped when I saw the look of distress on his face.

“We cannot,” he whispered through labored breaths.

Random Thought Thursday: Entertainment Edition


1. If you're a Twilight fan, you've probably already watched the above preview for Breaking Dawn Part 1. And, if you're a fan, you might not like the fact that I can't help laughing every time I watch this preview. I am a Twilight fan, and I can't wait for this movie, but it's very funny to me how dramatic they're trying to make it. But maybe it's just me.


2. Speaking of Twilight, someone needs to give RPattz a brush. Seriously.


3. Major kudos to Reese Witherspoon who told the crowd at the MTV Movie Awards that it's okay to be a good girl. That you don't need raunchy tapes or reality shows to become famous. Way to go Reese!


4. I saw X-Men: First Class last weekend. I thought it was a good movie although not everyone I saw it with agreed. It gets major brownie points because I think James McAvoy is a fabulous actor.


5. If you haven't seen Ramona and Beezus (or is it Beezus and Ramona? I can never remember) then you should. My daughter is reading the series and its such a cute movie.

6. How is it that Divergent is already being made into a movie? It came out as a book last month and I haven't even read it yet! (Okay, so they're not exactly casting yet but they've already chosen a screenwriter.) How does this happen??? It's like I Am Number Four- already a movie out on DVD and the book hasn't even been made into a paperback yet. 

7. I'm so happy that So You Think You Can Dance is back. ***Cue the big Mary Murphy scream now***

8. Has anyone watched the older version (1981 I think) of Sense and Sensibility? I did last weekend. What is up with the crappy ending?

9. Speaking of Jane Austen movies, I just bought this boxed set from Costco that has not only that S&S, but the older versions of all her works. I can't help but love the newer ones better although I haven't watched Persuasion or Northanger Abbey from the set yet.

10. I'm still majorly skeeved out by Bentley. He just makes my blood boil.



Thank You's and Road Trip Wednesday

     First off, I need to say two very big thank you's and send them out to the world. First to Michelle, for an AWESOME, AMAZING, TRULY FABULOUS critique. I'm still not done going through her edits yet but it has been invaluable. It's amazing that even though I've edited my book so many times I've lost count, there are still things I didn't notice. Like all the adverbs! (I swear I thought I hardly used them- haha!)
     Second, to YA Highway for three amazing query critiques. I won them off the Help Write Now Auction, and I couldn't be happier that I did. Even though my query still isn't there yet, their comments were very helpful and constructive. Hopefully I'll finally be able to get a winning query written.

     Speaking of YA Highway, it's Road Trip Wednesday and this one is an easy one. Are you a plotter or a pantser?
     Definitely a pantser. While I usually have my ending in mind before I even start, I start the book and just go from there. I'm always amazed by what comes out too. While reading back Daze and Knights while I edit, I can't remember where some of those ideas came from. Oh well- came they did and I think they work so, YAY. But I'm a little bit of a plotter too in the way that if my book ever became a series, I know the basic ideas for 3 other books aside from the sequel I've almost finished. And I know exactly how I want it all to end. But mostly, I'm a pantser.
     What about you?

Characters, Taboos, and the Biggest Jerk-Face Ever

     I read a YA trilogy this past week (well actually just book 2 and 3, I read the first one a couple of months ago) and I was struck with something I thought interesting. In the books there was a lot happening, but not much going on. That was my initial reaction to this trilogy. And in fact I had this same feeling for another YA series I've read (it only has two books in it so far).
     I don't even know if that's the right way to put it though. A lot happening but not much going on makes it seem like a lot happens in the book but the story doesn't move forward, and I don't think that's the case. What I realized is that I just didn't care that much about the characters. When I really love a character, I could read about them doing almost anything. I would stick with them through parts of the book that really aren't all that great. But when I don't care about the character, it just seems like a lot of nothing for me and even though I'm interested enough to see what happens in the end, I find myself skimming a lot to get there faster.
     It made me realize two things. One- I have to really try to make it so people care about my characters. And two, no matter what I do, not everyone will love them. Even series' that are wildly popular (hello Twilight) have haters out there who just didn't get it.

     Speaking of characters that I love, I've started rereading Harry Potter again. I do this every time a movie comes out, so this time will be my last (at least for a long time). Sniff. Reading Harry Potter is like sitting down with an old friend. Though I couldn't quote you the first paragraph, reading the words were so familiar and comforting.
     While reading the first two chapters of The Philosopher's Stone last night, I noticed all of these writing taboos that JK Rowling uses. There were so many was' and ... and -- and almost every dialogue line ended with an adverb. I'm wondering, is it more acceptable in middle grade? Or did she just get away with it? What's funny about it too is that I've never noticed it before. I probably only noticed it now because I'm editing my own book. It's interesting that she breaks all the "rules" and yet look how popular her books are.

     On a completely random note, because it's still on my mind, I have to say how much I loathe Bentley (the biggest jerk-face ever). If you don't watch the Bachelorette then you'll have no idea what I'm talking about but if you do, I'm sure you'd agree. You know on Runaway Bride, how random women slap Richard Gere on the street because of the column he writes? Well I hope that the women of Salt Lake- or any woman at all who runs into Bentley on the street will do the same- give him a nice slap on behalf of Ashley and all womenkind. I would do it. Watch the video and you'll want to smack him too. Trust me.

Timeless


Timeless, by Alexandra Monir
    
     Read this! Read it now! It is so great, you must go to the library or your nearest Chapters or Barnes and Noble or wherever and get this book now.
     When I've read a book I loved, I just have to let everyone know, especially when the book isn't high on the radar. I heard about this book simply because I was searching for YA time-travel books. While I've found mostly older books, this one is brand new, having been released just this year.
     The book is about Michele who goes to live with her Grandparents in NYC after a family tragedy. She finds a key and a diary that take her back in time to 1910 where she meets her ancestors and a guy she's been dreaming about since she was young.
     Here's what I love: It is just a beautiful story. I cried (which is weirdly a selling point for me). Michele travels to 1910, the 1920's and the 1940's, all in New York City, and I loved what the author showed of those times and the music she mentioned. She obviously did her research because the time's are all described very well. Mostly though, and back to my first point, the story was just awesome. I read late into the night last night because I just couldn't stop. Once I was done and had tucked myself into bed, I still couldn't stop thinking about the book.
     My teeny complaints: For one, it was written in 3rd person and a few different moments that threw me off for some reason. It shouldn't have but there were times when I was like, "what, she? why not I?" My other teeny complaint was that at times I didn't think the dialogue was very believable. Not from the characters in the past- I think theirs was great. But the MC- Michele- sometimes would say things and I'd be like, "people don't say that", or it just sounded somewhat formal to me.
     But keep in mind, those are TEENY complaints because overall I loved the book and would read it again. And again. And again. And you should too.