Teaser Tuesday

I've been in a slump since publishing Hidden Magic on Friday. That book has been a huge part of my life for so many years, and now it has left my heart and gone out into the wide, wide world. I know I should be actively marketing it, but I need a few days to just let it be gone, to figure out what I'm going to do with that empty space in my heart and life. It's terribly exciting, and yet every once in a while I also find myself in tears for no good reason.

Here is a scene from Hidden Magic, which is on sell at amazon. For a couple more weeks, you can buy the ebook for only .99 cents and the soft cover book is just $9.99. 

I chose this teaser because Jessica wanted me to show the world that there was more to my book than romance:

He’d only learned how to shapeshift this year, and he wasn’t very confident at it yet, but adrenaline made up for lack of skill. As the strange lion sprang, Arram shifted into the shape of a dragon. He hadn’t had the time or the proficiency to think about what he would turn into, but had simply hoped for something big. A dragon though? Arram hadn’t even realized such a thing was possible. How ironic.

Arram slammed into the cat, which landed on its back. With amazing grace it twisted back onto its feet and sprang again--this time at Arram. They rolled, and one of its claws raked Arram’s arm, one of the few spots his scales did not protect. He roared in shock and pain, and tried to bite the cat’s throat. Quickly he realized his mistake. The cat was too agile, and Arram was much clumsier than any dragon he had ever met. He needed to rely on his superior size, so he locked the cat in a tight bear hug and began pummeling it with his claws, a move no real dragon would be caught dead using. Whenever the lion tried to bite his throat, Arram managed to block it. The lion was bleeding from several gashes, but thankfully, it hadn’t been able to hurt Arram again.

Arram growled, deep in his throat, and to his surprise, sparks shot from his mouth, reigniting a patch of blackened groundcover. The cat let out a primeval roar in response. Arram roared back, more carefully this time, and managed to pick up the whole animal and throw it. It yelped in pain as it hit a tree, and took a long moment before it sprang back into a crouch. But this time, Arram didn’t wait for the attack. Taking the offensive, he lunged for the cat, who met him halfway. Before he even realized what was happening, Arram’s claws had ripped a deep gash from the cat’s throat to its stomach. It lay there, thrashing on its back. Arram was torn between revulsion at the thought of killing something so helpless and a desire to end its suffering. He lumbered towards it on all fours and roared again. Dragon instincts took over, and soon the animal lay dead on its back. The whole fight had taken only a few minutes.

Arram turned to face Jenny, who was stamping out the fire, her face white with shock. “Arram?” she whispered, and took a deliberate step toward him.

She looked pale and frightened, and he longed to put his arms around her to comfort her, but given how much magic shapeshifting used up, he might be a dragon for a while. Jenny’s hand stroked the scales of his back tentatively.

To his relief, shifting back was not as complicated as he’d thought it would be. He even remembered to make sure he was fully clothed when he returned to his normal body. Jenny, looking more frightened than before, threw her arms around his neck and then pulled back, touching his arm gingerly. “You’re bleeding,” she said, showing him her own hand, which was now covered in his blood. She swayed and sank to the ground.

Feeling a little lightheaded himself, Arram sat on the ground next to her, and gathered her into his arms, murmuring, “Jenny, Jenny, you’re all right.” She pulled away, her eyes darting around frantically.

“It’s you that’s hurt,” she reminded him. “You need a bandage. Take off your shirt.”

Hidden Magic Book Release and Signing!

I have the coolest friends ever. They let me live out a life long dream: a Book Release Party and Book Signing rolled into one. It felt very surreal to see all those people I loved, mixed with a few strangers and realize they were there for ME, to celebrate that I had written a book. This book:

Buy at amazon

Toward the end, completely unexpectedly, I was asked to talk. I know, I know, it sounds ridiculous that I was shocked that anyone would ask me to speak at my own Book Signing, but really...anyone who knows me knows that I do a lot better with the written word than the spoken word. But these crazy people really intended for me to say something! Luckily, there were a lot of questions, nearly all of them about this book:

Buy at amazon

I guess it is a tradition now, that when I publish a book we get a cake from The Bankery in Skowhegan, Maine. The cakes are incredible. People just stood around staring at this one. It's gorgeous stuff:

from The Bankery

I even did a book reading, which was awkward, but fun: I read the section where Nico and Mariah demonstrate what happens when two dravani fall in love:

 A smattering of pictures. If I get more, I will add them.

Hidden Magic Release!

Purchase ebook on Amazon
Purchase soft cover book on Amazon

When Jenny has the opportunity to spend the summer with her sister, a small slice of freedom is all she's really hoping for. Instead she finds something else altogether: electricity.

That's what Jenny feels when she looks at Arram. She knows he’s drawn to her too, but the mage-in-training does his best to hide it.

Stung, Jenny turns to Arram's former best friend, Jack. But Arram and Jack's rivalry is much darker than Jenny suspects, and so are Jack's intentions. Soon she's caught in a mystery of old murder, ancient prophecies, and magic hidden where no one has thought to look.

When Jenny uncovers a secret magic, she is offered two choices. Arram wants her to do the safe thing. Jack wants to show her the easy way out. Whatever Jenny decides, her life will irrevocably change.

Either way, freedom may be the one thing Jenny can never have.

Excerpt

Jack put his finger to his lips and motioned toward an empty bedroom across the hall. Not knowing what else to do, she went in, her heart thudding against her ribs. “Jack,” she whispered. “What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

“What? No welcome home kiss?” His voice was mocking.

Trying to keep her voice steady, she said, “So Arram was right. You do want to kidnap me after all.”

“Kidnap you?” Jack looked horrified. Underneath the horror though, Jenny could see that his eyes were sparkling with mischief. “I should have known Arram would fill your head with something stupid like that. No, you wonderful, impossible girl, I’m here to rescue you.”

Website   Facebook   Goodreads

Here is a list of the blogs that will be helping me to spread the word:

http://thepassionatebookworms.com
http://rosecaceres.blogspot.com
http://feedyourfictionaddiction.blogspot.com
http://missriki.com
http://beckysbarmybookblog.blogspot.co.uk
http://margayleahjustice.blogspot.com
https://rachschmidt.blogspot.com
http://www.cover2coverblog.blogspot.com
amethystdaydreams.blogspot.com
http://www.mmbearcupoftea.com
Thegirlbookaholic.blogspot.com
http://fromthebootheelcottonpatch.blogspot.com
http://lauriethoughts-reviews.blogspot.com
http://addicted2bookreviews.blogspot.com/
http://mommyslatenightbookup.blogspot.com/
http://www.tispyink.blogspot.com
http://eatsleepread88.blogspot.com
http://www.immabeama.blogspot.com/
bkwrm29.wordpress.com
http://cusebookgiveaways.us
http://ellelainey.wordpress.com
http://www.erinoriordan.blogspot.com
http://blackrose886.wordpress.com/
http://themusingwriter.blogspot.com
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http://dalenesbookreviews.blogspot.com/
www.truleevsspot.wordpress.com
http://www.bookishtreasures.blogspot.com
Http://christydilg.wordpress.com
http://michelle-willms.tumblr.com
paranormalromancefanforlife.blogspot.com
http://www.houseofmalfunction.com
http://rosebeps.blogspot.it/
http://jeanzbookreadnreview.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.inkkreviews.com
http://booksbyagmoye.blogspot.com
http://www.boekwegbooks.com

http://theprosers@blogspot.com
http://www.rrdcwd.blogspot.com/
http://pebbleinthestillwaters.blogspot.com
http://fabulousandfun.com
http://donniedarkogirl.blogspot.com
http://mythicalbooks.blogspot.ro/
http://rachschmidt.blogspot.com
http://www.whatsbeyondforks.com
http://booksandtheirworldlyrealm.blogspot.com/
www.pratr.wordpress.com
http://www.juliedarley.com
http://www.yanovelreader.com
http://www.mybookcrushes.wordpress.com
http://youngadultbookaddict.wordpress.com
http://www.theothershelf.com
http://www.afangirlsobsession.wordpress.com

Teaser Tuesday

I need to figure out how to make Teaser Tuesdays work for me. Most indie authors do them, and I am joining their ranks rather reluctantly. I don't mind sharing. Not at all. It's just that the things I write seem very jarring to me when taken out of context. So I'll keep experimenting with it, but in the meantime, here's my very first Teaser Tuesday! This is from Hidden Magic, which will be released on Friday!)

     “Arram.” Melinda tugged on his pant leg.     “What?” he asked, bending down to look at her face to face.     “I’m not going to marry you.” She looked into his eyes soberly.
     “Why not?” he asked.      Jenny leaned forward on the couch and covered her eyes with her hand.     “Because you’re going to marry Jenny, and I’m going to be your bridesmaid. Me and Jenny worked it all out, ‘cause Christopher said you’ll be old and ugly before I can get married. And bridesmaid dresses are prettier than dumb old white.”     “You and Jenny worked this out?”     “Yes,” Melinda said. “Are you mad at me?”     “Oh no. It sounds like a very good plan. Thank you for finding me someone else.”     “You’re welcome.”

Hidden Magic Cover Reveal with a Giveaway

Hidden Magic

by 

Melanie Crouse

Release Date: 

Friday, November 24

From the back cover:

Jenny feels trapped by her overprotective family. When she has the opportunity to spend the summer with her sister, a small slice of freedom is all she's really hoping for. Instead she finds something else altogether:

Electricity.

That's what Jenny feels when she looks at Arram. She knows he’s drawn to her too, but electricity doesn't seem to be enough to entice the brilliant mage-in-training.

Stung, Jenny turns to Arram's former best friend, Jack. But Arram and Jack's rivalry is much darker than Jenny suspects, and so are Jack's intentions. Soon she's caught in a mystery of old murder, ancient prophecies, and magic hidden where no one has thought to look.

When Jenny uncovers a secret magic, she is offered two choices. Arram wants her to keep her safe. Jack wants to show her the easy way out. Whatever Jenny decides, her life will irrevocably change.Either way, freedom may be the one thing Jenny can never have.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Thanksgiving!

For Family Home Evening on Monday, we each filled out a list of 100 things we were grateful for. I was trying for some shock value, and thought the kids would freak out at the idea of 100 things, but they said, "OK, and started writing. I had to stop them. "Wait!" I said. "There are categories!"
We really only had to think of 10 things in each category.

I got the idea at the Red Headed Hostess, though I changed several of the categories. Here are the ones we used:

1. Things (Items) you are thankful for
2. People you are thankfrul for
3. Things people have made that you are thankful for
      *This was hard to explain, but I meant books, movies, songs, art...stuff like that
4. Memories you are thankful for, distilled into a word or two
5. Things about yourself that you are thankful for
 6. People who have gone before you that you are thankful for
7. Things you have a testimony of that you are thankful for (things you know)
8. Things that have happened this week that you are thankful for
9. Things about today that you are thankful for
10. Things about your family that you are thankful for

The Red Headed Hostess has a very cute paper you can print out for your 100 things.

I had thought of sharing some of the highlights from the 600+ things we came up with, but I changed my mind. Instead, I want to tell you how grateful I am for my family, and the great attitude they have when  I try out silly projects like this. I am incredibly blessed by their goodness every single day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Long Beach, California, Part 4

I got home late last night, and let me tell you, my trip to California already seems like it happened ages ago. So quick! Before it fades completely, here are the highlights from the last two days.

1. Roger's conference ended at noon, and I knew that whatever we decided to do, it would involve a lot of walking, so I didn't do much...a little hot tubbing, a doomed-from-the-start search for something to watch on TV, a few minutes of reading. And boy did I call it.

Our day went like this: Roger wanted to go to Huntington Beach, which was 1.5 hours away by bus, with one transfer. The concierge gave us one set of directions, but the bus driver told us he was wrong and gave us different directions. She was wrong, and we found ourselves stranded. I knew exactly what to do--wait for the next bus and continue on our merry way. Or take the route the bus driver thought we wanted, and see what happened next. But this was Roger's one chance for some fun, so, knowing exactly what he would decide, I let him take over. We walked. It was an adventure--a "let's see where this bike road takes us", "let's see where what's over this next hill," "darn it's too late for lunch, but here's a granola bar to tide you over until we find a place to eat dinner" kind of an adventure. We ended up on Seal Beach, and even found the delicious Crema Cafe again (it was closed. Sigh).

My favorite part of the adventure was watching a huge group of pelicans dive into the water over and over again. Plus the beach was awesome, although a cold wind was blowing. My least favorite part of the adventure was a muscle spasm in my left calf for the first leg of the journey. Luckily it went away before our walk home. 

2. Halloween in CA. From what I saw of Halloween in CA, it consisted of children going from store to store with their parents, and getting candy if any happened to be left. Then they all went out to dinner at a restaurant. Those poor kids--I wondered if they had any inkling of the bounties my own children were getting here in Maine.  Speaking of which--it was harder than I'd thought it would be to be away from my kids for Halloween. I MISSED THEM. It sounds like they had a ball though.

3. The next day we had to be up at 4:00 so we could get to the airport. We got on the plane without incident, and it wasn't until we landed in Chicago that we found out that shortly after our plane took off there was a shooting at the airport and the whole thing had to be evacuated. So glad I missed that, and so glad that we were able to make our connection and get home on time. I was terribly anxious to see my family, and although of course we could have survived without seeing each other for awhile, I'm more grateful than I could say that we got home a little earlier than I'd even expected. And you know what? I think they missed me too.

Long Beach, California, Part 3

After the excitement of the first four days, there really isn't a whole lot to say. For the past two days, I've kind of settled into a routine. Still there are a few highlights:

1. The Long Beach Used Book Store: Woah. That is not the name of it, but I can't remember the actual name. But wowza. What a store. I was there for at least two hours, possibly longer, and I still didn't make it through every shelf. Every book in the store costs $1, and I swear the store was the size of a grocery store, and every nook and cranny is filled in a moderately organized fashion. It was beautiful. The stack of books in my hand grew steadily larger and larger, but I had to thin it out again before I left, because there was no way to get all those books back to Maine. In the end I bought six books...and two of them we already own. (Oops.)

2. Public transportation: It took a little bit of time for me to work up the courage to use the free bus system. But it turned out to be fun. I met several people, including one elderly woman who was bundled up in a coat, gloves and hat, who told me about how there used to be a real roller coaster that went across the street in the spot where the bridge that looks like a roller coaster is now, and how her sister used to use it, though they took it out before this woman was a teenager.

Public transportation opened up my life. I mentioned in my last post that I had hurt my hip. It isn't terrible, but the muscles do seize up after a mile or two of walking, and most of the places I want to go are a ways away. So now, I can take the bus part way or all the way one way-- I still end up walking six or seven miles a day, but I am getting so much more accomplished, and I'm not limping (quite so much) during my evening walks with Roger.

3. The ASDWA convention always tries to have a dinner somewhere cool, and this year, they had dinner at the Aquarium of the Pacific. We were able to tour the whole building after hours, and then had a lovely dinner. It was nice, though the conversation at my table was too filled with words like "parts per billion" and "capacity" for my taste.

4. Yesterday, for example, I finally found the beach. It's a weird thing. No one mentioned it. When I would ask people where the nearest beach was, they would all give me directions to Huntington Beach, or Seal Beach. I was beginning to think that Long Beach, California had no beach. Maybe they named this city Long Beach because they Longed for a beach? But it was right there, about half a mile from the Aquarium, past the marina, and completely unlabeled. I spent the afternoon there yesterday. It is in a deep harbor, plus there is a breakwater, and so the waves were very small. While I was walking through the water, I had one of those rare moments when I feel like the two extremes of my personality meet in the middle and I feel utterly relaxed. The world seems so clear and simple in those moments, and every thought I have seems so profound. Why don't those moments last? Perhaps it takes an ocean.

5. Last night we went back to that Spanish restaurant, this time with most of the people who are here from New England. There was no flamenco dancing this time, which is just as well, because our whole group was utterly focused on the baseball game on the television screen. It was the last game of the world series, and I had a ball. There were no mentions of the EPA or new regulations or parts per billion last night. It was all about the Red Sox, and the final game in the World Series. (We won!)

The man who sat across from me regaled me with stories of growing up in the Bronx and knowing the Yankees players. His sister learned to ride her bike in the halls of a hotel they would stay in, and once she even got to babysit for one of them--an important one, one whose name I even knew, but I can't think of him now. After his stories, I was half a Yankees fan myself. (Shhhh. Don't tell.) Luckily her wasn't the kind of fan who rooted for the Yankees and anyone playing the Red Sox. We were all on the same page with cheering. We weren't in a sports bar, so the restaurant was very patient with our cheering. I think they were bemused by the whole event.

6. Roger mentioned to the woman next to me that I had just published a book, and she promised to buy it, and then she told me about her boss's new book. As she spoke, I realized it was the very same book whose advertisement had caught my attention on my kindle this week. It is the winner of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel General Fiction contest. She said he wrote it on the commuter train into Boston on the way too and from work, and that no one even knew he was a writer until he won this contest. What a small, small world this is. (BTW, the book is called It Happened In Wisconsin. I plan to buy it when I get home.)

7. Finally, I am missing my children, and I won't be sad to get home tomorrow. When I used to go with Roger to an occasional conference, the break seemed absolutely necessary for my health and sanity. But I'm out of that intense parenting phase, and although I'm having a good time, being here doesn't feel critical, and being with my kids does. But I'm glad I came, for two main reasons. First--I got to meet Sabrina, which was so incredible. Second--too often my relationship with my husband is the last thing on our priority list. Although he's been gone a lot, we've still had a lot of time together too. So it is absolutely worth it. (I am still so sad about missing Halloween though).

Long Beach, California, Part 2

1. On Sunday, I took a taxi cab to church. It was only about five miles away, so I was absolutely flabbergasted when the fare came to twenty-five dollars. Holy cats, that's a lot of money. I was busy texting when I first got in the car, so the fare was already up to fifteen dollars when I finally looked up. After I finished coughing and sputtering, I managed to ask how much longer it would be before we got there. We were almost there, he said. Still, those last two miles seemed to last forever as I watched the fare creep steadily higher.

2. The congretation was Spanish speaking. I didn't hear one word of English the entire time. It was awesome. I've often heard people say that you can still feel the Spirit in sacrament meetings, even if you can't understand the language, and it was definitely true for me. It is very comforting to recognize the pattern of the meeting, even if I didn't understand the language. They did a confirmation and (of course) the sacrament. Then they did the children's presentation. In LDS congregations, once a year the children ages 3-12 do a presentation about what they learned that year. They sing songs, give talks, and have speaking parts. So I recognized all the tunes to the songs. And kids are adorable to watch, even if I don't understand the language. I was moved to tears more than once.

THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE TRIP 3. Luckily I didn't have to take a taxi back to the hotel. Instead (drum roll please) Sabrina West picked me up. Yes, THE Sabrina West, famous author and ornithologist. She picked me up and we went to the Cafe Crema for lunch. I had this amazing panini with roast beef, mozarella and jalepenos. It was, by far, the best food I've eaten for a long time. Then Sabrina took me to the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in search of the elusive coastal sage brush. Not just any sage brush. It had to be the exact right kind, because our next book is set in Carlsbad, California, and I need to know what it looks like there. Luckily, Sabrina is an expert. We also saw an incredible variety of birds, and Sabrina knew ALL their names. (I'm hoping she'll send me a list, because, as she knows very well by now, I have a memory like a sieve.) There were terns and pelicans, even a harrier falcon and a several plovers. There were some curlews and merganzers...I know I'm forgetting a bunch, but it was a beautiful place to get to be in as I got to know this woman who has become such an important part of my life. Actually, it didn't feel like I was getting to know her at all. Her personality shines very authentically through the internet, and I feel like I've known her for a long, long time.

4. Did I mention that I got to meet SABRINA WEST? I'm not certain I'm giving this part of my trip the weight that it deserves. We talked plot lines for quite a while. It was a blast.

5. All too soon, our visit ended. I had to be back to the hotel by 5:00 because the board members at Roger's conference were all going to the Queen Mary for dinner. We went, and it was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to be aboard the boat. The dinner was good, and the company was wonderful. Roger works with some awesome people. When it was over though, I think we both felt like we'd made a mistake. It was still the Sabbath, after all, and it felt like we'd missed something important.

6. Monday I went to the fitness center, where I must have done something painful to my hip. I spent the rest of the day shopping, which entailed miles and miles of walking, and as I walked, my hip got more and more tender. I tend to ignore stuff like that though, or to attribute it to the aches and pains I wouldn't have if I was in better shape.

I spent way too much money and probably need to return a few things, since I have a very limited amount of luggage space. Afterwards, we went to a reception, and then watched the Red Sox win the fourth game of the world series!!!!!!!! It is so much fun to watch those games on the east coast, because it isn't after midnight when they end. So then Roger wanted to go for a walk, and how could I say no? He'd been at work while I played all day long. Besides, I got to try out my new shawl.

7. We walked to a section of town I hadn't seen yet, and I've GOT to go back there today. It was beautiful, with walking trails and the ocean (but no real beach. Is there a beach in Long Beach?????) And there was a HUGE used book store, and all the books were just a dollar each. I may have to buy some more luggage. :)

But as we walked, I became more and more aware that this pain in my hip wasn't just some phantom ache from exercising more than usual. By the time we got back to the hotel, I was limping pretty badly. I took some aleve and went straight to bed, where I tossed and turned and finally got back up. I got in the bathtub and put the hottest water I could stand in, and it helped to relax my muscles, and made me very sleepy, so I was able to get some rest, even though my hip was still sore.

I'm about to go sit in the hot tub for a while, and then I'm going to go ask for some ice. I'm hoping to get in a lot of fun stuff today, but I might have to explore the wonderful world of public transportation instead of trying to walk everywhere today.

Long Beach, California Part One

I am with Roger at a conference in Long Beach, California. On the one hand, I've been looking forward to this trip for a long time, but it was also really hard to leave my kids. I see this world through their eyes, not mine, as a quick glance through the pictures on my camera attest. Why else would I have taken picture after picture of billboards? But I am glad I came. My relationship with my husband is nearly always the relationship that I let slip when life gets crazy, and I'm so glad I've had this time with him.

We've been here since Thursday, and here is a quick run-down of some of my memories.

1. Motorcycles on the freeway. Sabrina tells me what they are doing is perfectly legal, but that has got to be the scariest thing I have ever seen. Sheesh.

2. Billboards. There are very few billboards in Maine--I'd like to say none, but I might be wrong. I'm pretty sure they are illegal though, because if you are looking at a billboard, you might not notice one or two of the trees, and wouldn't that be a tragedy?? There are plenty of billboards in Utah though, and many of them shock the socks off of me. I haven't seen many pictures of bikini-clad women here, which is a lovely thing. Instead, I see billboard after billboard advertising movies! And TV shows. It is so cool. Ender's Game! Catching Fire! Once Upon A Time In Wonderland!

3. We went to the LA temple on Friday. It is huge! I haven't been to the temple since May, and such a feeling of peace overcame me as we drove onto the temple grounds. The funny thing is that it is on Santa Monica Boulevard. The only things I know about Santa Monica Boulevard come from that song, and they are not at all pleasant. Such a contrast. Afterward, we drove down to Rodeo Drive. Even though I hate to shop, I got filled with adrenaline just driving past all those incredible stores. I can't imagine what it would be like for someone who is addicted to it.

4. The next day we drove back to Santa Monica and went to the pier, which is a little like a carnival. The most memorable thing that happened there was that we watched the fishermen. One of the cormorants ate the bait from a fishing pole, and the fisherman had to drag it through the water, and then pull it up onto the pier. It was awful! He didn't seem phased by it though. He grabbed the bird by the head and gently tugged the hook out, and then let the bird go free.

5. It was pretty cold that day. We decided against getting into our swim suits, and instead walked along the beach for a long, long time. I should have known that eventually I wouldn't be able to stop myself from getting in the water, and as we walked I slowly got deeper and deeper until by the time we returned my pants were soaked. They also got a rip in them, dangit, I am hard on pants.

6. That evening we went to a restaurant with the ASDWA board members. It was a Spanish restaurant, and I had the paella. The amusing thing is that it was decorated for Halloween, and the waiters and waitresses were dressed up for Halloween, but it was such an eccentric little restaurant anyway that I didn't notice. I thought the scary looking monster over our heads was just part of the decor. Finally I noticed a waiter in a pumpkin suit, and it all came clear. I spent the rest of the evening readjusting my impressions of the whole restaurant. It was a noisy place, especially when the flamenco show started, but it was a lot of fun. Between the show and the TV with the Red Sox game going, I never ran out of things to be interested in.

7. I forgot to mention that Albertsons's sells our favorite kind of taffy--the kind we can usually only find when we go on vacation to Utah! My kids will be SO excited.

8. Also, that night I lost my phone somewhere. I keep hoping it will turn up. I'm going to call the restaurant today. But yesterday I had to walk to Walmart and buy myself a cheap phone, just to tide me over.

Editing Two Books Back To Back

Next week, I will officially be a published author. Alchemy comes out on October 11!

Today I have been up to my eyebrows in edits for another book that I hope to publish in January (Hidden Magic. SO EXCITING.)

It's crazy, but I feel like I've forgotten how to live my life.
I used to be so much better at balance than I am these days, and yet I was never really very good.

 Next week I'll be starting to write the sequel to Alchemy, and I hope it is the only writing project I'll have for a while. I've got marketing and formatting and blog posts to write, but I've also got rooms to clean and children to enjoy and meals to prepare and gardens to get ready for winter, and garages to clean and the inside of a windshield I've needed to clean since LAST WINTER, but I only ever think of it when I'm driving and the sun shines just right and nearly blinds me.

I know this post feels like one great big run-on sentence, but it's a metaphor, see? For the editing process, which you should never do with two books back to back. That's a sure-fire recipe for insanity. Hopefully temporary insanity, because I'm almost done. Wish me luck! And forgive me for this bizarre post. Next month will be much better. Oh wait. That's Nanowrimo. Oh no...

Top Ten Books on My Fall 2013 To Be Read List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish.  Every Tuesday they post a new Top Ten List on something bookish.  Click on the link above if you wish to participate.

Top Ten Books On My Fall 2013 To Be Read List

Vortex by S.J. Kinkaid.

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

The Slayers by C.J. Hill

Do you like how I just slipped this one in here?

Alchemy by: Sheena Boekweg, Melanie Crouse and Sabrina West

Publication date: October 11, 2013

 

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Men At Arms by Terry Pratchett

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

The Get Yourself Organized Project by Kathi Lipp

The Outcasts by John Flanagan

Ever After High

There are a bunch of these short stories, one for each of the characters that

are in Shannon Hale's upcoming book. At least that's how I understand

it. I'm excited to read them all!

Cover Reveal for Alchemy

"Do you want me to be dangerous?" he asked, his voice husky and low.
I gulped, and for a moment I was incapable of speech. But he was quiet, waiting. "No. I don't."
"Then I'm not dangerous at all," he murmured. His gaze moved from my eyes to my mouth. "You've never been safer than you are at this moment." I shivered as his breath tickled my skin. Our lips were mere millimeters apart when the sky shattered in a kaleidoscope of colored light. 

We didn’t know how much we had to lose until we were infected with magic. Sam was in love, Juliette was the main caretaker for her siblings, and Ana and her dad planned the best parties in New York. But we lost it all when we were shipped to Chebeague, an exclusive school for newly infected mages.

Everyone knows about the mages, those who survive the infection and end up with magical abilities. We’ve seen the power of magic, the high-paying jobs, and the world fame. But we never saw the cost. We didn’t know we’d be forced to give up everything: sanity, family, even the right to talk on the phone.

We didn’t know mage was just another word for prisoner.

Add to goodreads!

Insecure Writer's Support Group

I haven't written one of these for awhile. There are a lot of reasons for that...I've been focusing on my other blog, and I never get to post on Wednesdays on that blog. Then I was working on a novel, and then I was figuring out how to market said novel, and somewhere in the middle of all of that I was wallowing in apathy from all the editing. But I love this idea, and I love this group, and so every month, as I visit my favorite blogs and read their IWSG posts, I've really wanted to join. But something else was holding me back. More on that later.

Being a writer is a weird, weird thing. First of all you spend so much time trying to keep yourself off the internet while you write a book, and then, when the book is written, you suddenly have to force yourself back on to the internet to do this thing called marketing. The potentially most fulfilling way to market is unfortunately the most time-consuming. It works though, at least that's what I'm told. That is to find a group of like-minded bloggers and help each other out.

At least from the outside, that's exactly what IWSG is.It's a group of people who found each other at the right stage of their lives and who have bonded tightly. They are the first ones to post comments on each other's blogs, they critique each other's manuscripts and promote each other's works and participate in each other's cool blog events. And then there are the rest of us--the ones who came a little late to the party. We still gain from being part of the group, and with a little luck, maybe we'll bond the way those first members bonded. 

It's the same with some of the huge blog challenges and hops I see. They've gotten too big to be as useful as they were for the original participants. And yet somewhere, out there, I know members of my tightly bonded group are waiting. Will I find them at IWSG? Only if I actually participate. 

Celebrate the Small Things--June 29, 2013

 This is a blog hop sponsored by Scribblings of An Aspiring Author. The purpose is simple: to celebrate the small things in your life.

Some small things worth celebrating:

I haven't had to worry about mowing the lawn/having the teenagers mow the lawn because it has done nothing but rain this week. It will soon be a meadow out there, but at least we've had a week off.

We're getting close to the end of editing our novel! And we finally agreed on a name: Alchemy. Sheena blogged about it here.

Along with millions of other people, Roger's flight got cancelled. BUT he got to sleep in a hotel. After years of trying to sleep in airport terminals, this seems like an unbelievable luxury. Life is good.

My Grandma, Part 7

The notebook is missing!

I've had that thing for over a decade, and now that I want it, I can't find it. There was only one story left, so if it doesn't turn up in the next week or two, I'll get someone who lives near my grandma to interview her and write it down. It's a good one, and it's about my Uncle John, who has such bad luck it would be funny, if it wasn't always so awful. This one is called Uncle John vs. the Measles.

Sorry! Grandma, if your hand is all recovered, maybe you could write it all down.

My Grandma Part 6

Years ago, I sat down and asked my grandma a whole bunch of questions, and recorded the answers. I'm finally getting around to sharing it with you. If you are anything like me, you've heard a lot of stories, but they got so complicated I wasn't sure I understood them right. This is my attempt to understand the life of my wonderful grandmother. Enjoy!

Did you work when you were first married?

No. I had a job when I got married but I never went back to it. I'd been working but I never went back to it.

Did marriage surprise you then?

I wasn't prepared for marriage. I didn't know anything. I had no brothers so I was very naive. I was too naive.

When did my dad come along? 

Two years later. I was married at 18, your dad was born at 20 and by then we'd moved here--your grandpa was out of the service and we'd moved up to Heber. I'm a city gal like you've heard. I had all the conveniences of everything. We had gas. We had lights. We had indoor plumbing. I went to Heber. They didn't have gas, they had a coal stove. They didn't have indoor plumbing. Oh...they didn't have anything. It was just like Grapes of Wrath. It was like going from 1945 to 1919 or something. It was horrible. So then we lived with his parents.

Was that hard?

Very hard cause I'm a night person. I sleep late in the morning. I still am a night person and they got up at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning, and his stepmother--your grandpa's stepmother, because his mother died when he was young. His stepmother--oh, she was friendly and everything, but there was no bonding at all. We'd get up at 4 or 5 in the morning, fix a big breakfast and then Boyd would go off all day long until lunchtime. Of course, as soon as breakfast was over--she had a big coal stove, you know, one of those great big ones and when breakfast was over she started preparing lunch cause usually ouy'd have a whole bunch of men doing chores together--they'd help each other, or I don't know...She'd make a big, big, big, big, big lunch. And I don't eat breakfast...still don't and I didn't then, and then this great big lunch that we'd prepared and then there were all these dishes to do and then dinnertime they didn't come in til dark. Oh...I was never so miserable in my life. So anyway, then I was pregnant. we used to sleep upstairs and they didn't heat the upstairs. It was wintertime and we had blankets up that high and I was cold and I always had to go to the bathroom. Oh I hated it. I wanted California back.

When did you move back? 

Right after Dale was born. We moved back to California after your dad was born and I was glad. But your grandpa wasn't happy. He missed the deer season and he missed all sorts of things. So we stayed in California for a year or something or rather, and he wasn't happy so we moved back to Utah and we build that little cinderblock. I said "I'm not going to move back in with your folks." We lived with them for awhile and then we built that little two room cinderblock. No bathroom. An outhouse by the chicken coop. we were there for a while and again I was unhappy so we moved back to California again and he became unhappy and we moved back to Utah again and then Steve was born. There's two years between Dale and Steve. So Steve was born. We moved back to California. I guess we didn't move back in with his parents while we were building the little cinderblock. We rented down the street a little bit. We rented half a house and we had a coal stove--a big coal stove, and I remember I had the two kids. Steve was just little and Dale was 2 years older. Dale was about 4 and steve was about 2 and Boyd would get up in the morning at 4:00. He'd get the coal stove going. Well, I couldn't keep that coal stove burning. I couldn't cook on it. I--the house was cold. I was miserable. He'd leave at 4 and I wouldn't see him again until late at night.

And I remember, one day I decided to go back to California. It was wintertime. I packed a suitcase. There was snow. It was wintertime and town is about--what?--5 miles into town? Anyway, I was mad and unhappy. I had Steve in my arms and Dale by the hand and the suitcase--he was helping me carry the suitcase and we were walkig to town to the bus depot. I remember Ken Ryan came by and stopped. "Where are you going?"

"I'm walking! Getting on a bus and I'm going home!" He talked me into staying--waiting til Boyd got home, you know. So  I went back to the house and he started the coal stove up again. Anyway, after that we moved back to California and we bought a house there in California. We had a house there and I planted all the trees and the shrubs. I planted ivy all around the mailbox. I planted a pine tree and I planted rose bushes all around. I'll have to tell you why. We had this cute little house, and back whe Dale was ready to start to school--we registered him for Kindergarten but we decided to move back to Utah and he would build--we had the cinderblock house still--but he said he would build a bathroom, which he did--we moved back and he built a bathroom on. And years later we went back--years later we drove past this house and the pine tree was about 20 feet tall and the ivy was all--I don't think people had done--all my rose bushes were everywhere. I remember taking a picture. Anyway, we moved back and Dale started school and we stayed and never went back to California again except to visit.

My Grandma Part 5

Years ago, I sat down and asked my grandma a whole bunch of questions, and recorded the answers. I'm finally getting around to sharing it with you. If you are anything like me, you've heard a lot of stories, but they got so complicated I wasn't sure I understood them right. This is my attempt to understand the life of my wonderful grandmother. Enjoy!

My grandfather had just returned to port unexpectedly...

So he says, "Hurry! Meet me!" When someone comes home, I hop in my car--the little red Nash--my mother's car. I don't know what she did. She must've gone back to riding the bus because I had her car. So anyway, the day I had the date with this sailor I met your grandpa and we went to Yuma and got married. He came in and I met him and we decided to go to Yuma. Neither one of us could get married in California because we weren't of age. we were almost 18.

Were you still in high school?

No, I had just graduated. We got married in November so I graduated in May. And as we were leaving I said, "Hey honey, drive by the Plaza and let's see if I can find the sailor I had a date with." But we drove by the Plaza and there were 10,000 sailors and I would never...I don't know what I was thinking. How would I have ever found the guy that I had the date with? I mean there was 10,000 men and I would have gone down there...

Did you ever have to tell that tall guy that you were married?

No. I never did. Mother said--I just called my mother and told her that I just got married and she said, "To who?" That was the times then. Anyway, she said after we came home, "That guy that you had a date with called and wanted to know" and she said "I told him that you got married." So anyway, that was my love life. I called my mother, but your grandpa didn't dare call his dad. About two or three weeks later he finally called. I remember the first thing Grandpa Sweat asked me..."Are you LDS?" And I said "What is LDS?" I turned to Boyd and said, "What's an LDS?" I knew he was Mormon. He said, "Oh that's a Mormon," and I said, "No I'm not." but I've never known a more perfect, loving wonderful man than your great grandpa Sweat--Elmer Sweat.

So that's about it. Then I was married. We got married at Gretna Green's Wedding Chapel.

Did you love him? 

I did. I thought I loved him, but it was also the times. I had a boy next door all through high school that I loved as a high school girl. But he went off to the navy also. So I don't know--your grandpa was the first one that came back. But I wouldn't have married him if I didn't love him. All the others--other than the boy next door--all the others were just dates that I had--lots of fun and dancing and rollerskating and boat riding. There was a place where we rented boats. Most of the time we went on double dates with--I had two special girlfriends, Dorothy and Marsha. It was the 3 Muskateers, Dorothy, Marsha and me all through high school. We used to mostly double date or else just go alone. But you've seen pictures of it--all the soldiers and all the USO would go the dances and go--lots of fun. We did the jitterbug--I didn't get flung up in the air but...Frank Sinatra was my ideal. In face, I cried more for him when he died then Kennedy or any of them. You know, he was the one we used to drool over and I danced to Benny Goodman and all of the big bands.

All of the pictures you see during the war--they all went off to war and I don't know of any that got killed. My grandmother--your great-great-grandmother--my mother's mother had 5 sons and 6 or 7 daughters. 4 of her 5 sons were off in the war. She had 4 stars in her window. And each one was in a different branch of the service so all of my uncles, except one who wasn't able to go because he was color-blind--all of my uncles were in the service. So she had 4 stars out of 5. 

Did they all live?

Yes. They all lived. They all came through the war. Only one had to survive Hirojima. Uncle Leo had big scars down his leg where a mine blew up, but they all came through. None of them got killed in the war, and they all served in a different branch of the service. My cousin that was like my brother, he was in the service too so she had 4 sons and one grandson in the war. Ask me some more questions.

Hmmm....How long were you engaged? (Oh yeah, about three hours.)

I was never engaged. I just got married.

What was the precise moment that you knew without a doubt that you wanted to marry this person?

When I saw him and we just went off. He didn't have a ring or anything. In fact the ring that I had was one mother gave to Boyd to give to me. Cause you know he was in the navy. He didn't have any money whatsoever. We rented an apartment and lived with another couple and shared a kitchen. 

Was he gone a lot when he was in the service?

He was there, stationed in San Diego so it would be sometimes at night and sometimes just on weekends. He never got shipped out again. In fact the war ended right after we got married.

How much did your wedding cost? 

Nothing. I remember I got married in a light blue suit.

What was an average day like during those first years?

Boyd would get up and go to the ship and this other couple that we lived with--they were from Arkansas or something--well we would just...I remember laying out on the lawn during the daytime and waited til they came home at night. We took turns fixing dinner after they came home and when they didn't come home, I don't know what I did. Seems like they got to come home usually at night. They spent the day on the ship and then we'd wait for them to come home we'd have dinner and maybe got to a show, if we had enough money, which we usually didn't.