Top Ten Fiction Books I Read in 2014

I'm excited about a lot of things for 2015, one among them being starting a new Goodreads challenge because BOOKS, amirite? This last year, I had the pleasure of reading some really fabulous ones. I'd like to mention them here. Because when you read a great book, it's good to tell others about it! Then other people read it and soon everyone's reading great books and the world...

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Posted in books, lists

Writers, Do the Things That Scare You

Over the weekend, I went with my family to Disneyland and California Adventure. (Yes, I'll give you a moment to be jealous . . . Okay, moment's over. Back to reading.) Most of you are familiar with the rides at Disneyland; they're all fun, kid-friendly attractions. Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, etc....

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Posted in pep talk, writers, writing

Why I Didn't Win NaNoWriMo (And Why It's Okay If You Didn't Either)

Sit with me, friends, and I will tell you the tale of a woman who believed she could write a 50,000 word novel at the same time she was finishing her college degree. Yes, right there is comfortable. No, don't touch the fine china. I don't have any fine china? Oh, then I guess you can touch it. I don't know whose that is. You see, this woman believed in this novel, as many...

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Posted in NaNoWriMo, writing

Liebster Award: 10 Questions Blog Hop

Two of my friends, Sandie and Vanessa, nominated me for the Liebster Award. I'm going to be honest, at first I wasn't sure what this award constituted. But then I thought to myself, Self, it has "award" in the title so that can only mean good things, right? In reality, the Liebster is a friendly, pay-it-forward type of award that bloggers pass around to other...

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Posted in A Bear Gorged on Sorrow, blog hop, Liebster Award, NaNoWriMo, WIP

Seven Sins Blog Hop

My dear friend, Sandie Docker (whose blog is here, click click!), tagged me in this Seven Sins blog hop because she knows I love talking about books almost as much as I love reading them. So, without further ado... Greed – What is your most inexpensive book? Well, since acquiring a Kindle, I tend to get quite a few books for free every month. (I am a glutton for free books,...

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Posted in blog hop, books

Mini NaNo Pep Talk (November 5th): It's a First Draft, Not a Bomb

As most of you know, today is my birthday... Wait, no, I was going to talk about NaNoWriMo, but how KIND of you to remember that it's my birthday! Why, yes, that's the second time I've used this gif today. Never gets old. A lot's been going on in my life since my last update, and I don't have time to get into all of it (short version: I got into PitchWars after all as...

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Posted in birthday, NaNoWriMo, writing

10 Books That Affected Me

So my friend, Taylia, tagged me on Facebook to do the following: Name 10 books that have affected you in some way. Don't think too long or hard. They should be books that naturally stand out to you.  Now, this was supposed to be a quick list to be reposted on FB, but since I have a lot of book feelings, I thought it would make a good blog post. So here we go! 10 Books...

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Posted in books, feelings, lists

Johnnycakes v. Reality (or Why I Am a Good Writer But Would Have Made a Horrible Pioneer)

We've all heard of method acting, where actors live and breathe the characters they play for the duration of filming, even when the lights and cameras are off. But what about method writing? Does such a thing exist? Allow me to answer that with a story. A story about johnnycakes. Mormon Johnnycakes, to be exact. For those who do not know what a Mormon Johnnycake is, it's...

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Posted in baking, history, writing

Pitch Wars: Ask Me Anything!

Today I'm doing an AMA (ask me anything) as a part of Pitch Wars, courtesy of E. G. Moore who tagged me. Go check out hers, if you haven't already! For those who don't know what Pitch Wars is, it is an amazing contest that will make your writerly heart soar with hope (yes, breathe in the fresh air of possibility, there you go) and also probably inspire a bad Twitter habit....

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Posted in AMA, Pitch Wars, writing

New blog!

The act of starting a new blog is always exciting. I can tell you this because this is my second time creating one and so obviously that makes me an expert on the matter. Obviously. A new blog is so shiny and clean and full of potential. Kind of like beginning a new novel. The world is your oyster. Crack that sucker open. Or something. I'm not sure where I was going with this analogy. But writing...

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Posted in introduction