Playing Golf in the Stacks

This Saturday I bundled up the kids and drove to Lawrence to see my mom and do something I've never done before. Played miniature golf inside a library. It wasn't any old library either. This library was the one I grew up in. I didn't have a TV, the internet hadn't been invented yet, and I loved books (still do!).

Saturday was a special day. It was their last Caddy Stack miniature golf fundraiser before they remodeled the library. Gone were the shelves and shelves of books I would wander for hours, replaced by an empty room full of golf courses designed by local businesses. All of them themed to represent Lawrence, KS or libraries in general. One of my favorite was the Dr. Seuss one.

My kids and my mom had a wonderful time.

Quantril's Raid Golf Course

At the end of the course, they had a cup full of markers so that we could write various things on the walls before they tore it all a part.

So we wrote a few things.

My youngest thanking them for letting us play with "Grammy"

A phrase that popped into my head. Might use it in a story.

My mom went to this library for 35 years!

So many days were spent amongst the books at the library. It truly taught me to love books.

My oldest came up with his own thing.

It was, in retrospect, a bittersweet moment. The next time I would set foot in that library, it would be a different building with new memories. Gone will be the moments of my childhood spent roaming the isles looking at the books neatly lined up on the shelf. I won't be able to point out a favorite reading spot to my children.

And for those of you wondering where all the books went. Some are in storage while the rest are housed in the old Border's store a few blocks away.

I look forward to the seeing the new building, but I know it won't be the home it used to be. I'll still visit it when I'm in town to see family. It is a library and I do love books.

'Till Next Time

Fear of Revisions

I am a god of my own microcosm and I am afraid.

I have created a world. A lopsided, broken world the orbits drunkenly around its creator...Me...

Yes, I have written a first draft.

It's perfect in it's dysfunction.

And I am terrified.

I am terrified because now I have to take this broken ball of words and tear it apart, character by character, word by word, sentence by sentence, scene by scene, chapter by chapter, and rebuild it. Make it whole again. Make it less broken, more stable in its orbit. Make the words more meaningful, the tension more palpable, the characters more real. Take all the broken pieces and make them whole. Take this barren world and make it alive.

I am its god. The creator of its existence. It's terrifying.

I woke up at 4:45 this morning because today I'm planning on starting the revisions. Marking up the beautifully printing, pristine manuscript with hasty scrawls of fear driven madness. I woke up with words crashing in my head. Loud, screaming words. I let the draft sit for several days. My MC, Julius, says it's time.

I will do it because I am its creator. I am it's god, but I am also its slave. Somewhere along the line it BECAME. It isn't a figment of my imagination anymore. I breathed life into it and it lives, breathes, loves, hates, FEELS.

Now I must tame it, make it whole. Give it a soul.

It terrifies me when I think of it.

Despite the terror deep in my heart, I know I can do this. I took it from nothing and created it.

Today, I start crafting its soul so that one day it might touch others and live inside them. A memory, a history, changing them the way it has changed me. This isn't self-aggrandizing. It is the nature of stories.

One day this story will be whole and it starts today.

I am a god of my own microcosm and I am terrified/certain/confidence/fearful/excited.

My will be done.

'Till Next Time

Evade by Jessa Russo Blog Hop

If I were not an honest person, I would say that I had already read Ever. If I were a better person, I would have read, loved, and rated Ever before this blog post. Unfortunately, I am an honest person, so I will have to admit to my failures.

Frankly, I owe Jessa a HUUUUUUGE apology for not getting this done. Yes, I have been busy. Several life things have gotten in the way...as well as getting sucked into the rabbit hole of my own writing.

Please forgive me!

That being said, I will not fail in recommending a character for Evade (the second book in the Ever trilogy). For what it is worth, I have read the first few pages and I'm totally hooked.

See, her instructions were pretty clear. Come up with a character. Pretty simple. The part I forgot to do was read Ever so I could ensure that my character could fit. Err....ok...well, we'll just have to use my warp imagination and see if I can come up with something. It's YA. I write YA. It has ghosts. I wrote a ghost story. I can do this.

It's a tough choice. Good or evil (or as Jessa says "Douchecanoe").

Although, I personally love being portrayed as a villain, I think I will put vanity aside and suggest someone else.

Decisions...decisions.

• Name: Susan
• Age: 16
• Gender: Female
• Good or bad? Good
• Description: 5'9". Slender. Medium length wavy dark blond hair. Hazel eyes. Glasses. Smart, quiet, and a little shy. Can be goofy around people she knows. Comes across as fairly straight laced but has a wicked sense of humor in situations where she's comfortable.

So, there you have it. My character. And yes, I know this person quiet well. I've known her for about 20 years now. She still puts up with me. I made her a teenager since it is YA, but the real person used to be a HS teacher, so you can make her that was well. As a teacher, she was tough but fair. Student's would "hate" her, but at the same time love her because she would treat them with respect.

'Till Next Time

7 Line Challenge

So, I was tagged a while back by the lovely Victoria Pearson in a blog post and I have finally gotten around to doing my post. I would apologize, but we all know I would do it again. I do have an excuse. I was writing and my first draft.

Here are the rules:
This is your mission:  Go to line 7 on either page 7 or page 77 of your manuscript and post the next 7 lines, then tag 7 people to keep the challenge going! This a short and savvy way to see what others out there in the blogosphere are writing and get a sneak peek of what your favorite author may be bringing out soon.

I am "breaking the chain" so to speak by not tagging anyone. However, if you want to do post of your own, please let me know either in the comments, or via twitter, and link back to this post.

Now, I've posted page 77 of my just finished WIP...at least I thought I did...er...can't find it...

*Gulp*

Anyone remember where I put that post?!


Anyone?! If you know where it has walked off to, let me know.


Ok, guess I'll do it again! Hah! Take that lost blog post thingy!


So, here is 7 lines from my recently finished first draft of Hate Jacket. This time from page 7.

Probably should have worn it back, but I was in a hurry as usual. By the time we get into the car, we both look like drowned rats. Correction, Blake looks like a walking god with wet hair. I shake my head.

Blake laughs. “What are you staring at?”

“If I didn’t like you so much, I’d probably hate your guts,” I reply with a mock glare.

Blake laughs even harder. He’s heard it before. He knows what I’m saying. He claps me on the shoulder again, nearly slamming my face into the dashboard.

So, what do you think?

'Till Next Time

Signal Boost: Evil for Crestline

Ok, so it's not really evil, but the Evil League of Evil Writers are doing an awesome online auction to benefit Crestline Elementary school that was devastated by a fire. Hence the name. Even if you can't bid on the items, you can still do something by boosting the signal.

This is the news article that started it.

I've looked at some of the stuff they have up for auction. It's pretty awesome. Makes me wish I had money. Bid if you can otherwise boost the signal and get this out there.

Be evil. Spread the word. Help some kids. Click on any of the Evil images and go bid on some awesome stuff!

Sometimes evil is bad and when it isn't bad, it's soooo good.

'Till next time.

Cover Reveal: Cheating Death by Jen Naumann

So today we are joined by the gorgeous and multi-talented author, Jen Naumann, sharing the cover to her newest book Cheating Death.

But first, a look at Jen.

In addition to being an author extraordinaire, she is also a photographer. You can check out some of her work on the covers of her previous books.


Jen can be found at the following places:
website | goodreads | amazon | twitter | facebook

Now for the cover...because...well...it's awesome. Jen admitted that she didn't do this cover, but I personally think it's well within her abilities.


So...here it is...it's very pretty.

 

Lysandra Brooks remembers everything about the day she almost drowned alongside her grandma, especially the set of mysterious eyes she saw at the bottom of the lake. Ever since then, she's been seeing strange things when she is near water - things that aren't really there. Because of it, Lysandra has the tendency to avoid anything that isn't on dry land. On her last day of high school, however, the biggest party of the year is set to take place at a fellow senior's lakeside mansion. Despite her fears, Lysandra decides to prove to her friends and herself that she can handle it.

But after a horrific night of drinking and drama that leaves Lysandra feeling lonely and confused, she nearly drowns for a second time, only to be saved by the new guy in town. From that moment on, Lysandra's world is turned upside down with the discovery of mind blowing secrets, including a revelation that something sinister is after her soul.
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What do you think? Pretty awesome, right?

'Till Next Time