Give and Take

The always always amazing Cole came up with this truly awesome question for our latest blog chain:

In this season of giving, what one piece of advice you can gift aspiring authors?

Oh wow. I have to give a gift of advice?!? Eek. Pressure. 

Wouldn't you rather have a $5 Starbucks gift card? You could buy an eggnog latte and... Well that's pretty much all $5 would buy at Starbucks. But still - yummy, right? 

Okay, no. I can do this. Advice. Wrapped up and with a bow on top. 

But first, let me go off on a tangent, that will then circle back around to the whole advice gift thing. I'll be quick - I promise.

I love Christmas movies and Christmas specials. And I tend to get teary-eyed very easily while watching these - it's mostly just my allergies from all those dusty Christmas decorations. I mean, for goodness sakes, I'm not really getting choked up over the stupid Folgers commercial where the girl tells her brother that he's her Christmas gift this year... could I? 

Anyway, moving on...

A lot of these specials have the common theme of family and being with those you love - like that emotionally manipulative coffee commercial. But my favorite theme - and the one that gets every stinking time - is that of belief. I guess the belief thing gets me because it's not about believing in Santa or even the power of little baby Jesus. It's bigger than that. It's belief in something good and magical and sacred that goes beyond presents and decorated trees and cookies. For me it's belief in the human spirit - that someone survives even the tragedy of this past week.

That belief is what makes the Grinch's small heart grow three sizes.

Yeah, the Grinch has always been one of my favorites. But in the last few years, there's another Christmas movie, that I might like even more. Maybe it's because this one gets a lot of play in my house due to my son - the train lover. Or maybe it's because I just love what it has to say. 

That book and movie is The Polar Express. 

So to all those aspiring writers out there - here is my gift to you - by way of The Polar Express.

First be ready to ride. 

Once on your way, don't forget that...

And finally just...

And I know it's not really in the Christmas spirit - but I totally gave myself the same gift too.

Want to open another present? You'll find it wrapped up and waiting for you on Sandra's blog tomorrow.

A Darkness Most Dreadful

Today is not only my daughter's third birthday but also the start of another blog chain. Christine kicked things off with this question:

I've been described as a writer of highly emotional and dark stories. So much so, that some could not read Transcend saying that while it was "beautifully crafted and written", the story was just too dark. So I ask you...How dark is too dark for your aesthetic? And is writing "dark" and "emotional" a "bad" thing?

This is such a great question for the blog chain because I already know that everyone will answer this a different way. And that's because what one person views as dark, may not be so bleak to another person's point of view. 

For me personally, I write darker books and I like to read darker books. Although sometimes I also like to read light and fluffy books. I don't think either of these is good or bad--as long as the darkness or light fits the story that it is being told. The most important thing about reading a dark book, though, is that there is some light at the end. Endings don't necessarily need to be 'Cinderella driving away with the Prince' happy, but there needs to be hope or a feeling that things are looking up.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about. 

In high school I had to read 1984 by George Orwell. I was not a Cliffnotes type of girl. I wouldn't even skim. If I was assigned to read a book, then I read every single word. I even read the rather long book within a book that comes somewhere around the middle of 1984. The last 100 pages were a bit of a slog, but I kept going - not just for school anymore - but to know how it ended for myself.

I had my fingers crossed for a happy ending. I guess I should have known better. Maybe I did. But what I didn't know was that it was a **SPOILER ALERT** strap a rat in a cage to the main character's face so that he would finally give in and be completely and utterly defeated type of ending. 

I threw that book across the room. I was so mad at it. Just thinking about it now, I feel outraged all over again . I do not subscribe to that book's vision of the world and humanity and I never will. 

That is too dark for me.  

Maybe next June when ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE hits the shelves, it will also hit the walls of some its readers. It is a dark book in some places, although the word I hear most often in feedback so far is "creepy." That might not be everyone's cup of tea and I get that. But I will promise you this - there are no rats and the ending is ultimately on the side of hope.

As you probably already know - this is only the beginning of the blog chain - to read more head on over to Sandra's blog.

It's blog chain time again and Alyson is kicking things off with this question:

How important is setting when crafting a story? How do you choose where your stories take place? How do you research setting? Do you have to have been somewhere in order to write about it? What are some memorable settings from books you've read?

So, setting is obviously pretty important. To borrow Stephen King's brilliant writer's toolbox analogy, I would say that setting is a power tool. Now power tools are awesome because, well, because of the whole power thing. They can do a lot quickly and easily. The downside is that if you use them wrong, you can also cut your hand off. 

For example if your story is set in New York City, the city can almost be like another character in your novel. OR, if you set your story in NYC, but you've never been there and you're basically using Friends and Sex In The City repeats as your research - that may be less effective.

The biggest setting downfall, though, is when you have done your research or you have lived in New York City all your life and want everyone to see it as crystal clearly as you do - so you write pages and pages and pages of description. Beautiful, poetic... BORING description.

I call this the HANS BRINKER, OR THE SILVER SKATES syndrome.

This is a book I was given when I was a kid and for years it sat on my shelf - unread. For many kids this would probably not be an unheard of scenario, but for me - a child who devoured every book in her path - this was shocking. The thing is I tried to devour this book. Every so often starving for a new book, I would take a little bite of it, and then every time, I would start reading chapter 2 and... the book would become as delicious as sawdust. I'd spit it out and move on to something else. 

So what was it about chapter 2 that led to this reaction? Well, Chapter 2 was given the title of "Holland". It begins like this:

Now I think most people would agree that that is some lovely descriptive writing... but by the end of that rather long paragraph don't you feel like, okay, that's nice, but can we have some dialogue now? Alas, this type of description continues for the next EIGHT pages!

I did eventually read Hans Brinker, though. I must have been desperate for new reading material, and finally just skipped chapter 2 and then read the rest of the book, which was actually pretty good. 

Of course, setting doesn't have to be the brussels sprouts on your thanksgiving plate - aka something that must be eaten around. And this is because setting - unlike brussels sprouts - can be delicious if handled correctly. 

A good example of setting that is integral to a book and enriches it can be found in Maggie Stiefvater's THE SCORPIO RACES.  The whole book takes place on an island where every year half-sea monster, half-horse creatures come out of the ocean and are captured by those foolish enough to try and ride them in the Scorpio Races. It is just brilliant and lovely and all the beautiful setting details are sprinkled evenly throughout the book instead of dumped into one big steaming pile and calling it chapter 2. 

Okay, so those are my thoughts on the potential perils and rewards of setting. Now go check out what the rest of the blog chain has to say, starting with Sandra tomorrow.

Blog Chain

This month many writers, including myself, are focused on NaNoWriMo and that makes the question Sandra picked totally perfect.

During National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), writers attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Do you set daily writing goals for yourself, either a certain word count or time spent on writing? Does this include other writing-related activities, like research, plotting, or revising? Do you focus on reaching the end of the journey (such as finishing your current project), or do you enjoy the writing process along the way?

So, as I mentioned above, I am taking part in NaNoWriMo this year. With that in mind I am going to keep this short. 

I don't usually set word goals for myself because I am terrible at keeping them. In fact, this is my third time doing NaNoWriMo and I have never actually won. However, when I am writing a first draft, I do try to make myself sit down in front of the computer, pull up the Word document with my WIP in it, and get some words down. Just to give myself some sort of goal I usually aim for 1,000. Sometimes I meet that, sometimes I don't. Either way, though, if I get any amount of words down, I usually count my time spent writing as successful.

As for enjoying the writing process along the way or only focusing on the reaching "the end"... 

Well, it always feels good to finish. There is a sense of accomplishment at telling your story from beginning to end. But I don't think I would continue writing if all the enjoyment was saved for the finish line. 

So yes, there is definitely joy in the journey. At times there is also agony, when the words aren't flowing and nothing seems to be working. But the good days - when a plot point from earlier suddenly connects with another plot point fifty pages later, or when a character's voice is crystal clear in my head, or when I find the totally perfect words to describe something - they are what fuel me to reach the end of writing one book, and then after a short rest, they are what make me get excited about starting another.

Okay, back to getting those words down. But there's lots more to be said about writing goals - this question will be answered by the rest of the blog chain members throughout the next two weeks. And the next person up is the questioner herself - Sandra. Make sure to check that out tomorrow.

Next Big Thing Week 21

Today I am taking part in the Next Big Thing blog hop that has been making its way through the blogosphere faster than a head cold in a roomful of people who refuse to cover their mouths when they sneeze.

I was tagged by Mindy McGinnis fellow Class of 2K13'er and author of the upcoming - OMG I can't wait to read it, please let me get an ARC in my hands ASAP -  NOT A DROP TO DRINK.

These questions are about my current work in progress. ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE is a stand alone, which means that my WIP is not a sequel but something else entirely different.

1) What is the working title of your book?

ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE came from the Janis Joplin song, Piece of My Heart from the part of the chorus where she sings: "take another little piece of my heart now baby. Staying with the song motif, my WIP is currently titled: (DON'T YOU) FORGET ABOUT ME

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

Ummm... I'll have to refer you to my Class of 2K13 vlog about brain throw-up.Yes, you read that correctly. I said brain throw up.

3)What genre does your book fall under?

Young Adult where strange things happen.

4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Oye. This would be a better question for my husband to answer.  

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

That question should really be - Can you sum up your book in one sentence? And the answer to that would be: No.

6)Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

By book is currently contracted with HarperTeen.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Umm... I'll let you know when it's finished. 

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I would compare it to both The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater or The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff because these books both take place in a town where something strange or magical is excepted as an everyday thing.

9) Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Um... me?

10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I am writing this book in such a way that it will make reader's teeth whiter and their hair thicker. Guaranteed*.

This is the part where I am supposed to tag some other writers for next week. But everyone else I asked had already been tagged. AAUUGHH. It was like high school gym class all over again. So, if you are reading this and have not yet been tagged - feel free to jump in next week (Week 22) with your Next Big Thing answers. Let me know that you're going to post and I'll link you up here so that others can check out your blog next Wednesday, October 31th, when it's your turn to post answers to these same questions about your own works-in-progress!

Rules:



***Answer these ten questions about your current WIP on your blog


.

***Tag five other writers/bloggers with their links so we can hop over and meet them.


*NOT really.

Cover Reveal!

I am so excited to announce that ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE has a cover!

Well, actually it's had a cover for a while now, but I haven't been able to show anyone until now.

So, let me try that again...

I am so excited to announce that ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE has a cover... AND I can now share it with all of you!!!


So where is this cover?

The amazing Ana and Thea AKA The Book Smugglers have graciously allowed me to share my cover on their brilliant blog today! Please go check it out and then come back here to let me know what you think.

And if the cover and book description have you intrigued, but you want to know more, for example, some other comparable titles - then you are in luck! Tomorrow I'm blogging on the Class of 2K13 blog and I've made a helpful comparable title infographic for ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE. 

Book vs. Movie

I'm back with another blog chain and this time the fabulous Michelle McLean gave us this question to chew on:

There are so many book-to-movie adaptations out there. Which are your favorites? Which are your least favorites? Why? Do you make sure you've read a book before you go see the movie adaptation, or do you prefer to read it after, or not at all?

Yes, it's the age old question: which came first the book or the movie? Okay, so maybe movies have only been around for the last hundred years - give or take a decade. But you know way back when in ancient Greece at a performance of  Sophocles' Oedipus Rex there was some jerk in the audience grumbling that the book was better.

But seriously, I love this question. Of course, as a reader, I am firmly in the "book was better" camp. However, that doesn't mean that I hate every book to movie adaptation.

For example, I thought The Hunger Games movie was pretty decent. I enjoyed it while watching it and upon leaving the movie theater didn't feel like I needed a literary chaser to get the bad taste out of my mouth. BUT, in contrast, I thought the book was great. Amazing. Something I will read again. The movie, if it comes on HBO I might watch a few minutes, but I can't really see myself sitting through the whole thing again.

I don't really know if I have a favorite adaptation. I think Fried Green Tomatoes is pretty great and did a really good job of capturing the spirit of the book without trying to stay 100% true to it's source material.

I also am a huge fan of Bridget Jones's Diary. And this is a cause where I enjoyed the book, but LOVE LOVE LOVE (omg Colin Firth as Mark Darcy - swoon!) the movie.However, when the sequel came out my feelings flip-flopped. I thought the book was enjoyable, but the movie was just awful.

For the most part I like to read the book before watching the movie. Or I like to read the book and just skip the movie entirely and save myself the pain. The Time Traveler's Wife is a good example of that. I thought the book was fantastic, but the movie looked really bad - so I skipped it.

There are times though when I see a movie without realizing it has literary roots. This is the case with one of my favorite movies ever: The Shawshank Redemption. Unlike The Hunger Games film, when this movie comes on TV, if I watch even a few seconds I get so sucked in that I end up on the couch watching it until the very end. Despite my love for Shawshank I have never read the Stephen King novella that it is based on. It's on my to-be-read pile though and I know that one day I will get to it, so that I can see if this is another case of the book being even better.

Okay, that's it from me, but this is only the beginning of the blog chain and there is a lot more book vs. movie discussion yet to come. Next up is Sandra's post tomorrow - make sure to check it out!

Class of 2K13

Hey everyone, today is the official launch day of the Class of 2K13. We are a group of 20 MG and YA debut authors with amazing books coming out in 2013. To celebrate our launch we are having a HUGE GIVEAWAY! Please check it out on our Facebook page! Or to save you some time you can enter to win right here on my blog! Just use the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Going Visiting

Today I am taking the SAT over at Mindy McGinnis's blog Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire. Luckily, this was not the high school type of SAT where a number 2 pencil was required. Nope, here it stands for Successful Author Talk. Pretty cool, right? You can find it here.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I've never been able to believe it. I don't believe a rose would be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk-cabbage. 
-Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables

Today I am the first in choosing a question and getting things rolling again for the brand new but mostly old - blog chain. This is the question I came up with:


What's in a name? What if Harry Potter had been Larry Snotter? What if Edward was Jacob and Jacob was Edward? What favorite books had character names that you loved or hated? And how do you come up with your own character names? 

This whole subject of naming and what's in a name has been on my mind lately because of a certain little guy who entered my life a few months ago.

This is the puppy we brought home in early July. He was only seven weeks old. He was the cutest damn thing you've ever seen - I mean just look at that picture.

The only thing we knew about him then was that he was going to get bigger. A LOT bigger. His mom was a St. Bernard and his dad a Great Dane. On the ride home we also found out he got carsick. We actually found that out 3 times on the way home. It was a long ride home.

This wasn't a lot to go on for naming purposes and so it took us a while to settle on a name. By the end of the first day we had it. We named him Copper for his pretty fawn coloring and for The Fox and The Hound movie, which was a favorite of my husband's when he was growing up.

Time passed. Copper got bigger. On August 26th my husband and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary. Like most people who have been married for seven years, we had no idea what to get for each other. Using the power of Google we looked up the list of traditional anniversary gifts for a seventh anniversary, and they were... copper and wool. Yup, Copper. It turns out we had already given ourselves the perfect anniversary present without even knowing it.

So, that little bit of Kismet is what made me start thinking about names. About how names seem to fit certain people just perfectly, while others change your perception of what a name means. For example, prior to Twilight I'm not sure that many people would've connected the name Edward with  a guy who is sparkly and dangerous.

For ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE, I wanted to give my heroine a distinctive name. Not just a first name, but first middle and last that seemed to fit together as one whole piece. I took my inspiration from the TV show, Veronica Mars. This was a BRILLIANT series (well the first two seasons, and the last episode of the third season, anyway). I highly recommend watching it if you have not already done so. And if you do watch it, you'll notice how often the characters call Veronica by her full name. According to show creator, Rob Thomas, this is because the two names "just sound great together" and "rolls of the tongue". That's what I wanted when I gave my character the name Annaliese Rose Gordon. Maybe not quite as snappy as Veronica Mars, but it did what I wanted it to do.

And where did those three names come from? I stole the middle name Rose from my sister Amanda. I honestly can't recall where Gordon came from... But Annaliese (pronounced Anna-lee-suh) was a name that my husband and I had on the short-list for our second child. We ended up naming her Zoe instead. A good call by the way - she is DEFINITELY a Zoe. And that left me with a wonderful name that I needed to use somewhere - at the time I had a new work in progress where it fit just perfectly.

Okay, that's it for my time on the blog chain. But there's still more naming fun - to see how the rest of the chain deals with the name game, make sure to check out Sandra's blog tomorrow.

At the Lucky 13s...

 

Today I am blogging over at the Lucky 13s about books I love. Come and check it out!

Inspirational Books and Contest

So does anyone want to win some awesome books?

If the answer is yes, then don't wait (well wait until you are done reading this post), don't hesitate (except again for the finishing to read this post thing), and do hurry over the Lucky 13s blog for our SIX MONTHS UNTIL 2013 CELEBRATION!!!

If the answer is no... Um, then, urgh. Are you sick? Maybe you should think about visiting the emergency room (feel free to go immediately without finishing this blog post). I'm not a doctor, but not wanting free books seems like a potentially serious ailment.

So here's the deal (for the healthy wanting to win books people). The Lucky 13s is a group of kidlit authors whose books debut in (yep, you guessed it) 2013. A bunch of the members of the Lucky 13s (me included!) are giving away a book that is special to us or inspired us in some way.

The book that I am giving away is THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson.

Why this book?

Because this was one of those books that I fell in love with, that I read and then wanted to go out into the streets with a cardboard sign around my neck, telling other people to read this book too.

Because I read this book over a year ago and I am still thinking about it.

Because the title rocks.

Because this book broke my heart.

Because this book put my heart back together again.

Basically, because the way that Jandy Nelson tells this story and her use of language in telling it, is everything that I as a writer and storyteller aspire to be.

If you have not read this book, you really should. And hey, wouldn't it make it easier to read it, if you won a free copy and had it delivered to your house by your friendly (degrees of friendliness may vary) neighborhood postal worker? Oooor if you don't win this book, you might win another awesome book instead. So that would be a win/win. Or you might not win anything, but you would have discovered the Lucky 13s blog, and that's pretty good too (although admittedly not quite as good as winning a free book.)

So, to recap: Books are good. Winning is good. Free stuff is good. And the Lucky 13s are just plain awesome. Sooo... head over to the Lucky 13s blog NOW (yes NOW, this blog post is pretty much over and I won't be hurt at all if you skip these last few words). Enter the contest. I hope you win.

Bad Blogger

I have been a terrible blogger lately. If this blog was a houseplant it would be dead. I know, I have seen this happen to houseplants under my care before. It is not pretty. Luckily, this blog is not a houseplant, and it will survive my neglectful care for a little while longer. Why a little longer? Well because today I am blogging over at the Lucky 13s blog and the topic is REVISIONS. Please come on over and check it out.

All In Good Time

Today's blog post is about time. Specifically about time in the publishing world, which is...

sssss

llllllll

oooo

www.

Butthensometimes(likewhenyou'reunderdeadline)itcangoreallyfasttoo.

Of course, if you know anything about publishing, you already know this.

I knew this.

But knowing it and experiencing it are two different things. Being prepared to wait is not the same as being in the midst of waiting and having to bite your tongue to keep yourself from coming across as a little kid in the backseat of the car during a very long road trip who asks "are we there yet?" every five minutes.

So, I am not there yet. There, in this case, being Summer 2013 when ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE will be published by HarperTeen. At times there feels very far away, and that's when I need to remind myself of the progress I've made so far in this incredible journey.

Here is a quick recap.

June 2011 - Started sending out queries for ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE.

July 2011 - Joined forces with the amazing Alexandra Machinist of Janklow and Nesbit.

August 2011 - After a week on submission (this was one of those times when publishing went fast and I am sooo grateful for that) my book sold to HarperTeen.

November 2011 - Received first editorial letter and began my first set of revisions. I am one of those people who really enjoy revising (while first drafting, on the other hand, is like pulling teeth) so this was super happy times.

December 2011 - Friends and family ask for the bazillionth time - but now with an increasingly concerned tone - if I have gotten my contract/any money yet. I tell them "No, not yet, these things take time." They don't say it out loud, but I can tell that they are wondering if I have hallucinated this whole 'being published' thing.

January 2012 - I turn in my first revision - two whole days before my deadline!

January 2012 - My contract arrives! I call all my friends and family to let them know that it is now legal and legit - my book is really being published! I also make my husband take pictures of me signing the contract.

That's me actually signing my name to a legal and binding document.

That's me, sorta smiling, after being instructed by my husband to look happy.

January 2012 - Received my first check! Once again called friends and family to reassure them that this was really truly officially official.

February 2012 - Got word that marketing was starting to think about covers for Summer 2013 books - including mine!

February 2012 - Received second revision letter, along with my printed out MS full of wonderful purple inked comments.

March 2012 - Working on my revisions.

March 2012 - Joined Lucky 13s, an amazing group of 2013 debut YA and children's authors.

March 2012 - Joined Y2K13 - another awesome group of 2013 debut YA and children's authors.

And that brings us to now. Still working on my latest round of revisions - I have only two weeks until they are due! I'm also plotting out my next book, which I am about 10K words into and very excited about. Other than that, the journey continues. Sometimes with teeny tiny baby steps and at other times great leaps. Sometimes it's thrilling. Sometimes it's nerve-racking. Sometimes it's coma inducing.

I'm not there yet, but bit by bit - I will get there eventually.

Chillin Like A Villain

Okay, the reason for the title of this post will become clear very soon, but first I wanted to go off on a tangent about, well about the title of this post. So I have heard the phrase "chillin like a villain" many times, but I didn't actually know what it meant until just moments ago when I thought "Hmm, maybe before I put that phrase on my blog I should Google it and make sure it doesn't mean something dirty or bad that I totally don't intend at all."

And this is what I found on Urban Dictionary from a helpful poster, "Anyway, as said before, it's SPELT "chillin like a villAIN" not "chillin like a villain". It means you are really relaxed et cetera. like a head of a rich criminal organization."

And from another helpful poster at the same site, "It first appeared on the saturday morning cartoon Batman, where Batman approaches Freeze and Mr. Freeze says im chillin like a villan, hence why he was chillin (literal definition).

Batman: Freeze what are you doing?
Mr. Freeze: chillin like a villan"

So the next time someone asks me how I am doing, I could totally answer that I am, "chillin like a villAIN. I won't though because:

A. It would be embarrassing for all involved to hear those words coming out of my mouth.

B. If I was a villain I would not be chillin at all. I would be freaking out that I was going to get caught or that the other villains were going to kill me, or that my latest evil plot would blow up in my face (if this plot involved explosive devices then this worry would be literal). Of course, I could twist the phrase and respond, "I am chillin in a way not at all resembling the way I would feel were I a villain" but that is clunky, ruins the rhyme completely, and doesn't at all alleviate the problem of point A.

For now let's leave chillin like a villain as the title of this blog post, and speaking of this blog post Amparo from the blog chain has brought us a wonderful topic dealing with... villains.

Since Valentine's Day is around the corner, I think it's only appropriate to pay homage to those we love. But instead of our better halves, family members, and friends, this blog chain will be all about loving the haters: write a love letter to your favorite literary villain/villain-ish character. It can be short, long, serious, funny. You can use song lyrics or poems instead. Choice is totally yours :)

Okay, my villain isn't literary, but I really truly love him - and I think that's the important thing here. So no more pantsing around - here it is:

My Dearest Spike,

In pictures and in your own words, here is why I love you.

Your ability to communicate without words.

Your awesome British cussing.

Your part in the musical episode. 'Nuff said.

"Do you know what I found worked real good with Slayers? Killing them."
Season 2

Your villainy. Yeah, you were a truly bad, bad guy. That changed in later seasons, but in the first few - you were no good. And in later seasons it was so much fun watching you becoming a better man... even though you were kicking and screaming the whole way.

"You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other until it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood -- blood screaming inside you to work its will. I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it"
Season 3

Cause you told it the way you saw it - bullshit free.

"Dracula? Poncy bugger owes me 11 pounds, for one thing"
Season 5

Cause you know Dracula... and Dracula owes you 11 pounds. Hee.

"You listen to me. [Kneels in front of her] I've been alive a bit longer than you, and dead a lot longer than that. I've seen things you couldn't imagine, and done things I prefer you didn't. I don't exactly have a reputation for being a thinker. I follow my blood, which doesn't exactly rush in the direction of my brain. So I make a lot of mistakes, a lot of wrong bloody calls. A hundred plus years, and there's only one thing I've ever been sure of: you. [Buffy looks away; he reaches toward her face] Hey, look at me. I'm not asking you for anything. When I say, "I love you," it's not because I want you or because I can't have you. It has nothing to do with me. I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you. And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy."
Season 7

And mostly because you can make one hell of a passionate speech.

I love ya, Spike. Happy Valentine's Day!

That's it from me - keep following along with this blog chain to find more villainous love notes, and if you have a minute leave a comment telling me who your favorite villain is.

One Way or Another

 

Today it is my turn to get the blog chain rolling with a new topic. My topic is inspired by the million awesome Tumblr blogs that I keep coming across during my internet explorations.

Post pictures, songs, movie clips, poems, or novel excerpts that make you feel. Feel what, you ask? Feel anything. Happy. Sad. Angry. Nostalgic. Hopeful. Hopeless. Jealous. Joyful. 

I have read in several different places that YA novelist John Green said of his latest novel, The Fault In Our Stars that he wants to make his readers "Feel All The Things." I would love that someone could go through this blog chain and through what we all choose to post have that same Feel All The Things feeling.

So here's mine:

Hello from ant1mat3rie on Vimeo.

Sea Fever

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

by: John Masefield 
(I wrote a paper on this poem in high school. After turning a poem inside out so that you can write a five page paper on it you will either love it or hate it when you are done. I loved it.)

*(Personal Note: French words are the WORST!)

Athlete Aimee Mullins
“Born without fibulae in both legs, Aimee’s medical prognosis was discouraging; she was told she would never walk, and would likely spend the rest of her life using a wheelchair. In an attempt for an outside chance at independent mobility, doctors amputated both her legs below the knee on her first birthday. The decision paid off. By age two, she had learned to walk on prosthetic legs, and spent her childhood doing the usual athletic activities of her peers: swimming, biking, softball, soccer, and skiing, always alongside “able-bodies” kids.”

 

" The man had killed the thing he loved, and so he had to die
Yet each man kills the thing he loves, by each let this be heard
Some do it with a bitter look, some with a flattering word
The coward does it with a kiss, the brave man with a sword
Some kill their love when they are young, and some when they are old
Some strangle with the hands of lust, some with the hands of gold
The kindest use a knife, because the dead so soon grow cold
Some love too little, some too long, some sell, and others buy
Some do the deed with many tears, and some without a sigh
For each man kills the thing he loves, yet each man does not die

— from The Ballad of Reading Goal by Oscar Wilde

"Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that. You forget some things, dont you? Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget." — Cormac McCarthy

And that about sums it about for me. Please keep following this blog chain to see what everyone else posts - next up is Cole.