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Last week I was bundled up in scarves, mittens, long underwear, and fuzzy boots. Yesterday I wore flip-flops. To say that the weather lately has been crazy would be a total understatement.
What I want to know is when did the weather get so out of whack? I mean, I know there have always been storms and harsh winters and Indian summers and such. But isn't this just ... more?
I have come up with some theories on the source of our wild weather.
Climate Change
I dare not call it global warming because, hello, it was like negative two hundred degrees last week. But it does seem like something significant in our Climate is sure Changing. Whether humans are the main/sole/contributing cause is up for debate.
Planetary Cycles
Throughout history, Planet Earth has gone through different climate phases, without help from chlorofluorocarbons, greenhouse gases, and depleted ozone. Case in point: The Little Ice Age, a period of unusually cold and rainy weather that affected Europe and the eastern United States in the early 1800s.
Population Overload
If you've ever been at a party that started off freezing but, after a few hours of dancing and chatting and crowds of people, turned into a sweatfest you know that the human body is a high caliber furnace. Maybe all the extra billions of people swarming the planet are messing with the Earth's temperature regulation.
Mother Nature's Wrath
We humans haven't always treated her with utmost respect. Maybe she's getting a little revenge.
2012
The Mayan doomsday day is looming closer and humanity might have less than two years left until the end of the world (or the calendar restarts or whatever). Maybe this is a sign of bigger troubles to come.
Okay, those are my theories. What do you think? Have a theory of your own to share? And, more importantly, are there any solutions in sight?
Hugs,
TLC
teralynnchilds.com
@teralynnchilds
As I write this (on Monday night) most of the central plains and the midwest are prepping for a snowpocalypse blizzard. We've bought up enough groceries to last two weeks, the cars are gassed up, the iPads, iPhones, and laptops are charged. We're lucky because we have a heat-pumping gas fireplace, gas stovetop, and gas hot water heater. When If the power goes out, we'll be bored but not frozen. I'm even charging up my Nook for bonus reading.
I feel prepared. For those of you in the path of--as John Green calls it--the Ice Storm of Doom, are you ready? How did you prepare? For those of you who will
survive the snowpocalypse miss out on this blizzard
madness torture event, do you wish you were here?
Hugs,
TLC
teralynnchilds.com@teralynnchilds
Today is the first day I feel like I can be back at 100% after nearly two weeks (!) of being sick. I hate being sick--who doesn't, I know--but I resent it more than usual this time because I had such plans for starting the new year off on super productive foot. And now I'm two weeks behind.
My general remedy for illness is sleep. When I start to feel myself getting sick (achy back, runny nose) then I try to drop everything, go to bed early, and get at least a few bonus hours of sleep on top of the regular eight. This time ... I didn't do that. I ignored the signs and my body made me pay for it. I won't ignore them again!
Anyway, my question of the day is: What do you do when you're sick? What's your favorite home remedy or guaranteed cure? Do you sleep a lot, down plenty of OJ and echinacea, or are you an over-the-counter meds person?
Hugs,
TLC
teralynnchilds.com@teralynnchilds
(Blog topic by special request of soon-to-be-published Suzanne Lazear.)
There is nothing more exciting or more terrifying for a writer than the launch of her first book. It is the culmination of years spent dreaming, crying, and working hard hard hard. Other people (aka those not related or otherwise known to you) will finally be reading your words. For anyone about to venture down this path (or hoping to in the near future) here are my words of wisdom, based on my experience.
Promotion
It's easy to get swept up in the idea the promotion will make a book a hit. As authors we control so little in this business, so much of our fate lies in the hands of others, I think we grab onto promotion as something we can do to direct our path. The hard truth is that there are two ways for a book to become a hit. Either it gets an astronomical push from the publisher (who can do more with their pinky finger than you could with your entire advance and every waking hour) or it builds by word of mouth. Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games weren't bestsellers out of the bat. They took time to build. People talked. Friends told friends "You have to read this!" And they did. The only way get word of mouth is to write the best, most compelling book you can.
You Can't Do Nothing
Okay, so it's true that an author is expected to do more than just turn in a well-written book. Very few can get away with the hermit life, completely shut off from the public world, and still expect to have a successful career. (And since you're here, reading this blog, I'm guessing you're not one of those people.) At a very minimum, you need to have a website or blog, with a way for readers, reviewers, librarians, and booksellers to find out more about you, your books, and how to contact you. It doesn't have to be super shmancy or crazy expensive. Just something clean, easy to navigate, and that reflects your writing voice.
Let Them Read Words
As I said in my first point, word of mouth is the best promotion you can get. And the only way to build word of mouth is to let people read something so they can talk about it. Whether it's posting an excerpt on your website, sharing a bonus short story related to your book, a regular blog, or just flat out giving books and ARCs away (I cannot count how many copies of my books I've given away in the past three years), give as many people as possible an opportunity to read your words. If the words are enough, they'll buy your next book and the ten after that. If they aren't... well, then make sure that they are in the next book.
Keep Looking Ahead
Besides making sure this book is the very best book you can make it, the next best thing you can do is write the next book. Whether it's a contracted sequel, something new in the genre, or something altogether different, keeping moving forward. You never know when you will find that magic spark. Ally Carter published two chick lit novels before finding her niche with her bestselling Gallagher Girls series. Suzanne Collins wrote a successful middle grades series before writing her phenomenal Hunger Games trilogy. Susan Beth Pfeffer wrote... holy cow, I don't know how many books before Life As We Knew It, but she's publishing her 77th this year! The point is, don't get complacent with where you're at. Always look for exciting challenges and new directions. Who knows where the next book will take you?
So, in summary, my advice for authors who want a career in publishing:
- write the best book you can
- make yourself accessible online
- let people read your words
- make the next boo
Last month, along with thousands and thousands of other writers of all levels, I competed in the National Novel Writing Month challenge. And let me tell you, it was a challenge. Despite having three published books, two more written and ready to go, and four other as-yet-unpublished manuscripts under my belt, getting through that 50,000 word first draft was a serious feat of willpower.
 |
| Writing hurtz my brains. |
As I was busy pounding out words (most of them in the last four days of the month) I was reminded of just how much persistence it takes to make it in the writing world. There are so many ways and reasons to give up along the way. It takes too much time. It's such a longshot. It's changing to ebooks so I might as well self-publish. It's too hard.
Writing Be HardYou know what, it doesn't get better once you're published. Instead of worrying about getting an agent and a contract, you're worried about keeping them. You're worried about your sales numbers and whether your editor will want another book in the series, another book from you period. You're worried that, even if your editor buys more books, that the sales numbers aren't high enough. You're not getting enough promotion/high enough print run/good distribution. And these are just the ones I've reached at my level. There will be more, different ones as I (hopefully) move up the publishing food chain.
The list of worries goes on and on. And the sad thing is that there is virtually nothing you can do about most of them. That's a hard pill to swallow, especially for someone with the drive, determination and persistence to actually become a published author. You want to believe that if you push the right buttons, buy the right advertising, give away the right goodies, that things will get better or easier. News flash: they won't.
There are doubts and worries and fears at every single level of publishing. From the unpublished (will I ever get a contract?) to the debut (will anybody like my book?) to the veteran (will my next book do better than my last?) to the bestseller (will I make the list again?). Those authors who make it to the top level, who stick it out for long-term careers in publishing, have two major traits in common that help them achieve that success.
PersistenceOne, persistence. The drive to keep going and going despite whatever obstacles (rejections, life crises, bad reviews, lost contracts) fly into the way. Success in any field, whether it's acting or engineering or writing, is probably 90% persistence. So just keep going.
Protect the WorkTwo, in the immortal words of Susan Elizabeth Phillips, protect the work. When it comes down to it, the one and only aspect of this crazy career that the author can ever hope to control (unless, I suppose, you're Nora Roberts or Stephen King) is the writing. All of the press and promotion in the world won't do squat if the book is a piece of garbage. Hone your craft, put your soul on the pages, and, as Ally Carter says, leave nothing for the swim back.
That's the formula for writing success. To survive this career you have to put your head down, push through every obstacle in your path, and write the best book you can. Everything else is distraction.
Hugs,
TLC
teral
My family has never been one of those that goes around the Thanksgiving table and has everyone say what they're thankful for. It always seemed a little cheesy to me. But since I'm now a cheese-free vegan I think I can go for it with feeling dorky.
 |
| Tasty ginger cookies. |
Besides, it's always a good idea to keep perspective on the good things that are happening, because sometimes it's too easy to dwell on the bad. Here goes. My list of things that I'm thankful for in 2010.
- my parents (for being here and healthy and always supportive)
- my friends (for same and for letting me whine and keeping me going)
- my agent (for always being ready with a hooray)
- my editor (for helping make those hoorays possible)
- my dog (for always wiggling when I get home)
- the opportunities life has given me
- the opportunities I've made in life
- the infinite resource the internet
- warm blankets on a cold night
- the beautiful blue sky outside my window
Wow, pretty amazing list when I look at it all lined up.
As a bonus item for today, I'm thankful for the fabulous
RT Book Reviews because they asked us Buzz girls for some advice on how to write YA books and they're posting it on their blog today. (FYI, they have
a really great collection of YA news, interviews, and guest posts.)
Now, for the contest. I'm giving away a signed copy of
Forgive My Fins.
* To enter,
comment with your favorite meat-free Thanksgiving dish. (Double points if you include a recipe or a link to one.) I'm going to give
this one a try.
Hugs,
TLC
teralynnchilds.com@teralynnchilds* US/Canada only, winners to be announced Monday
Okay, so this recipe is not mine, but I cook it enough that I feel like it is! (I found the recipe on AllRecipes.com and full credit goes to calead910 for the yummy goodness.) You can totally play around with the ingredients (different beans and veggies) or spice level (leave out or add more jalapeños and green chiles), but any which way you make it this is delish.
 |
| heating the veggies |
Ingredients1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained
2 (12 ounce) packages vegetarian burger crumbles
3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn
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| adding in the veggie crumbles |
Directions- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
- Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.
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| the almost finished product |
I swear even your meat-eatiest tasters will think this is the best chili they've ever eaten. As far as veggie burger crumbles go, the Morningstar Farms ones aren't strictly vegan (there's a trace of egg
If you are one of the thousands upon thousands of writers signed up for NaNoWriMo, you already know that November is National Novel Writing Month. This year, I am among the crazies authors who are attempting to write a 50,000 word book in a month.
50,000 WORDS!
I know that sounds like an impossible task, but if you break it down that's only 1,667 words per day. That's about seven manuscript pages. That seems more doable, right? Seven little, measly pages a day. You can do that!
For some writers, NaNo means tuning out all distractions, ignoring school and work and friends and family and personal hygiene for the next thirty days. It means loading up on caffeine and potato chips and Twizzlers, disconnecting from the internet, and yelling at anyone who dares to ask them a question.
This is a little extreme--and I personally think that going to extremes leads to quick burnout, but hey whatever works for you.
For me, NaNo means going to the office (
cough Starbucks
cough) every day. I mean EVERY DAY. I'm not usually a write every day kind of writer, unless deadline looms, and I feel pretty guilty about this. But for this one month, without a contracted deadline driving me, I'm going to write every day and finish the book.
As my grandfather always said, BISHOK: Butt In Seat, Hands On Keyboard
What about you? How many Buzz readers (and Bees) are participating in NaNo this year?
Hugs,
TLC
teralynnchilds.com@teralynnchilds
One of my favorite things about Halloween is trying to find ways to scare myself silly. The bad news is that I don't scare easily, so the bar is really high on the terrifying front.
I generally find that my imagination is way worse than anything a movie can show me. It's usually in the hours after a scary movie that I'm actually frightened enough to check the doors and windows, not during the movie itself. Like when I watched Dawn of the Dead the other night.
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| Zombies Eat Ur Brainz |
I was totally fine through all the blood and limb eating and accidental chainsaw attacks. But when the movie was over, my mind started to wander. I started making my own plans for the looming zombie-pocalypse. (And really wishing my car was full of gas and parked in the garage, so I could get to it without venturing outside.)
Most "scary" movies affect me that way. The only times I can remember being truly scared during a movie were the remake of
Cape Fear (which I watched with my best friend in high school, and I think her fear was contagious)...
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| Bobby DeNiro is pretty darn scary. |
...and
Signs (but the fear vanished when we finally got to see the aliens, because M. Night Shyamalan's vision of scary is not mine).
 |
| Hello, Mr. Alien |
A book, though... that's a whole different story. Books have the ability to scare me like nothing else, simply because a book exists entirely in my imagination. The most terrified I've even been was when I read
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.
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| Even the cover is scary! |
I made the mistake of reading this when I was home alone in the two bedroom apartment I shared with three other employe
As Wendy introduced on Sunday, this week is the fabulous Teen Read Week™ sponsored by the ALA (American Library Association) and YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) and the theme for this year's week is...
Books with Beat @ your library®
As the
Teen Read Week Wiki says, this theme is open to lots of interpretations. And, being a child of the 80s, my first thought is the Go-Go's (as interpreted by Kids Incorporated):
Now beats can mean a lot of different things. Heart beats. Music beats. Hoof beats. Bad beats (in poker). Beat downs (not such a good thing). Getting beaten (as in a race). Beat feet (to run away). Beat an egg (which I don't do anymore, since I'm vegan). And those are just the one that I can come up with. There are even more great
theme ideas on the Teen Read Week Wiki.
Your turn. How would you interpret the 2010 Teen Read Week theme?
Hugs,
TLC
This weekend I attended the terrific Emerald City Writer's Conference in Bellevue, Washington. Technically, this is a joint trip to speak at the conference and to hunt for potential apartments for my upcoming move. But even if I hadn't been apartment hunting I'd still attend this and other writing conferences.
Now, since I'm a multi-published author with an agent, an editor, and various deadlines, you might think that I don't need to spend the time and money to go to conferences anymore. And, in one regard, you'd be right. I don't
need to attend for the same reasons as when I was first writing. I don't need to pitch my book to agents and editors, desperate for someone to love the story as much as I did. I don't need to learn the basics of publishing, craft, promotion, market, and all those other things that are so important to a writer's education.
Conferences have other things to offer, though, beyond the networking and educational opportunities. Things that you couldn't buy with all the money of a New York Times bestseller.
- Inspiration -- Keynote speeches never fail to make me cry, even the funny ones. As I sit there and listen to how writing or reading has affected the speaker's life (Barbara Vey) or what obstacles the speaker has overcome to reach this point (Alyssa Day) or even research and anecdotes about the power of belief and courage and creativity (Brenda Novak), I can't help feeling that the work I do is important. That I'm very lucky to be on this path in the career I love so much. That I'm proud of the work I do, of the people who help me do it, and of the readers who help me keep doing it.
- Motivation -- Maybe it's because I'm an extrovert, but something about being around dozens (hundreds) of other writers just fills me with writing energy. When I attend a workshop with new tips on time management or a clever new way to plot or first-hand insights on writing forty-seven books a year, I walk away super motivated to put that new knowledge into practice. Right now I'm chomping at the bit to start on Secret Project IW--but I have to wait until my revision is done, darn it!
- Shared experience -- Since the very first writing conference I attended, when I heard one of my favorite, ultra-bestselling authors stand up and say that at the end of each writing day she thought she'd produced the worst pile of poo ever written and that soon the world would realize this and take away all her contracts and bestseller titles and she'd never write again. Then, the next day, she reads it over and thinks that it's not so bad, but the next pages... To know that every writer at every stage and at every level of success suffers the exact same fears and doubts that I do just makes me feel... better.
I guess my point is that there are some quantifiable benefits to writing conferences (like meeting agents and learning craft) and others are unquantifiable. Others aren't as tangible, but just as important. So no matter what level I reach or how many books I write or how busy I get, I'll always make time for conferences.
Hugs,
TLC
It all began with Top Chef. I was in Boston for my first, last, and only semester of the PhD program from hades. One of my greatest joys was watching the third season of Project Runway. As the season finale neared, Bravo started bombarding me with commercials for the new season of Top Chef. I'd never watched a cooking show in my life, and I wasn't really interested.
But then Bravo did a brilliant thing. The showed the season premiere of Top Chef right after the season finale of Project Runway. I was feeling lazy and didn't want to walk back downstairs from the lounge to my room. So I stayed. And watched.
I was love at first Quick Fire. I've been a devoted Top Chef watcher ever since. And my newfound love for cooking-related shows has expanded to include some other terrific competitions.
Food Network Challenge ranges from building massive architectural structures out of chocolate to an ultimate pancake cook-off to cakes of unimaginable design and proportion. I'm halfway watching to see if something goes horribly wrong, and halfway watching to see the amazing edibles the contestants produce.
On the very first episode of
Cupcake Wars, vegan baker
Chloe took home the prize--much to the annoyance of the other more experienced chefs. (The rumors are true! Vegan cupcakes are better than regular.) Watching this show just makes me hungry and more often than not drives me to the kitchen to whip up my own cupcake creation.
My newest favorite is
The Great Food Truck Race. Nine food truck teams from across the country drive from destination to destination, trying to make the most money in a given time period. There are challenges along the way and the team that makes the least money goes home each week. I totally want to have a food truck now.
There's a new show on the horizon.
Top Chef Just Desserts premiers soon and it promises to be just like Top Chef on with DESSERTS! It's going to be hosted by Top Chef judge Gail Simmons and I think it's going to be amazing. I'm sure to be in a sugar coma by the time the season's done.
Thanks to Stephanie Hale for opening our discussion yesterday about the Romance Writers of America conference in Orlando, Florida, attended by five of the seven Buzz Girls. (Next year we're hoping for a full house!)
Here are Steph and Tera flanking me in a picture Tera somehow managed to be in AND take (I am always inspired by multi-taskers):
Here stands me, Marley, Wendy and Tera, in a photo perhaps worthy of one of Marley's Ghost Huntress books:
And now replace Wendy with Steph, and add in the middle...oh...um...what's her name...(choke, sputter, gasp)... MEG CABOT.
Yes, *the* Meg Cabot. Looking every bit as warm, friendly--and gorgeous--as she is in real life. It was a thrill and delight for us to meet her!
That's it from me. Maybe some of the other Buzz Girls have pictures to share?
Tina
Tina Ferraro
The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, 2010 Rita® Finalist
How to Hook a Hottie, 2009 Rita® Finalist
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
www.tinaferraro.com
Tera Lynn Childs, who shared the scandalous Cover Story for her Oh. My. Gods. books, is back with an awesome, colorful cover and the story behind it. Take it away, Tera!
"I had no cover in mind as I wrote Forgive My Fins. Which is weird, because I'm a very visual person and I usually make a mock cover for every book. But I was completely blank.
"My editor asked if I had any great ideas (which, as I said above, I didn't). 
I gathered together a collection of images that resonated with me, especially the movie poster for Aquamarine (right) and the Evian mermaid ad (below). I only knew that I wanted a realistic cover, with a real girl. A real Lily Sanderson. Mermaids are fictional enough already, I didn't want a cartoon to make my characters seem even more so..."
"When I first saw the original cover, I had mixed emotions..."
Time to announce the winners of signed copies of Forgive My Fins! Congrats everyone! Please send me your mailing info to tlc at teralynnchilds dot come and whether you want it signed to you, to someone else, or generically and I'll get them out ASAP.
blackroze37 AT yahoo.com
MsFairyFreak!
Ladytink_534
Melissa @ Flourish {and} Blotts
Faith
NYMFAUX
Thanks for helping me celebrate my release! Let's do the same thing next year with the release of the sequel, Fins Are Forever!
Hugs,
TLCOh. My. Gods. and
Goddess Boot Camp (Greek gods are more than myth.)
FORGIVE MY FINS (What happens when a mermaid kisses a human?)
Congratulations to Buzz Girl Tera Lynn Childs for release week of the much-anticipated Forgive My Fins! I can't wait to dive into this mermaid story!
All this week, Tera's giving away a copy a day of the book right here on Books, Boys, Buzz (so don't forget to comment each day to enter the drawing!) and there are more chances to win over at her
blog where she's also making a donation to an ocean charity for each comment this week.
We're also celebrating by revealing our childhood dreams.... Hmm. I'm sure I may have told you this sometime over the last few years of blogging with the Bees, but here goes.
I wanted to be on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson... Or maybe be Johnny Carson.
For those of you who may not remember him, he's the guy that had the Tonight Show long before Jay Leno, or Conan O'Brien, or... Jay Leno.
It's true, when I was eleven, I would try to make up jokes. Usually they were about celebs that Johnny lampooned on the late night show - like Richard Simmons, Elizabeth Taylor. I made up jokes even when I wasn't sure who these people were.
After a while, my mom got me a notebook to write down all my jokes in, and for some reason, this seemed to kill the dream. Now there was pressure to prove I was funny, pressure to perform the jokes. I turned to writing plays for my friends and I to put on together- it was so much easier to get up in front of people with a group, after all.
If I were me at eleven these days, I would want to be Tina Fey. But back then, there weren't a whole lot of women comics (unless you stayed up late to watch SNL) to choose from, and I guess that's why I latched on to Johnny.
Maybe someday I'll get to go to that comedy fantasy camp and learn how to really do stand-up - but for now, it's just one of those childhood dreams that morphed into what I do today - writing stories. My first book, Never Cry Werewolf, has some pretty funny moments, if I do say so myself. So maybe the dream is alive, if even for a few pages.
CONTEST: To enter to win a copy of Forgive My Fins
A huuuuuuuuge congrats to Tera for the release of her new book, Forgive my Fins. What an awesome concept and I can't wait for my Amazon delivery to catch up with me.
As the others have said, we're talking about childhood dreams. Mine...were a bit warped, I must admit.
First...I dreamed of being a travel agent. I turned my father's shelf of tax forms into homemade travel brochures of "exotic" places like Atlanta and Panama City Beach and Birmingham. LOL! I would book my stuffed animals on trips and make tickets and such for them.
Ironically, my professional career has been as a meeting planner...so I guess that dream helped me out some, eh?
Then, I wanted to be a doctor. Most kids want that at some point, eh? But not just any doctor. I wanted to be an anesthesiologist. My grandfather had surgery and he told me all about it and I was fascinated by the fact that there was a doctor that could literally just put you asleep.
But the dream that was biggest for me...I wanted to be a cheerleader! I love sports and especially football and I have an extremely big mouth. LOL! What better person to be a cheerleader, right?
I started off as a pee wee cheerleader. This wasn't a big deal as anyone who would buy the uniform and show up for games could be one. I was in band my junior high years, so I wasn't a JV cheerleader. But, in 9th grade, I tried out for the varsity and made it! Fortunately, because of being so physical as a cheerleader, I discovered a lump in my left leg which turned out to be cancer. Had I not been a cheerleader, I might not have found it so quickly. So, that was definitely something to cheer about.
How have your childhood dreams morphed and changed and helped you? Share your story in the comment section and you'll be entered in this week's contest to win a copy of Tera's book. Also, there are more chances to win over at Tera's website web-site and she's making donations to an ocean charity, as well. Please help out!
Congrats again to Tera!
Hugs,
Marley = )
Ghosts don't hang up their sheets November 1st
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON - Available Now!
This week we are celebrating the much anticipated release of Tera Lynn Child's Forgive My Fins. As a mythology freak, this book has been on my "Must Have" list for eons! It's hard to believe it's finally out. Congratulations, TLC!
All of the Buzz Girls are blogging about childhood dreams and you'll want to comment because you'll be entered for a chance to win cool stuff like a signed copy of Forgive My Fins. (If you haven't already, please scroll down and read the Contest Rules on the righ
t column of the blog.)
When I was very young, I wanted to be Big Bird when I grew up. I was already quite tall for my age, I wanted to be on TV, and I 
thought it would be cool to be BFFs with Snuffleupagus. I was meant to be Big Bird!
It never occurred to me that Big Bird careers were few and far between. And it never occurred to me until I sat down to write this
that I did end up having a similar job when I got a bit older. I was Funshine Bear for grand opening celebrations. I just dressed up in a big furry costume and waved at kids. Even though it was very hot at times, overall it was a fun job. But eventually I got canned. I grew to be too tall for the costume! I went on to have several jobs that involved dressing up in a costume and that brings me to the prompt of the day:
Have you accomplished something that can somehow be traced back to your childhood dream? Thanks for sharing and good luck winning this week's exciting contest! P.S. Pop over to Tera Lynn Child's
web-site for more chances to win, and she'll make a donation to an ocean charity! It's all good! :)
In celebration of Tera Lynn Childs’ newest release, Forgive My Fins, we are talking this week about dreams from our childhood...
I have been remembering a lovely friend from second grade, and how we spent most recesses “trotting” around the playground, as horses. My favorite part was jumping, which I imagined to be like flying. Of course, in my mind the horses were all sweet and loving and probably blue and pink. Think My Little Pony!
That summer, my family took a vacation to Yosemite, and I begged my mother to take me on the trail ride. It took some finagling because I just under the required height/weight, but I got my own horse and set off with the group. On what was a terrifying ride--at least to an 8 year-old--for my horse had a mind of its own and seemed to want nothing to do with the trail, following the other horses,or being with me. I simply couldn't wait for that trail ride to be over.
After that, I was pretty much DONE with horses. Real and imaginary.
Until many years later, when a work-friend talked me into accompanying her for elementary level horseback riding lessons out in Topanga Canyon. Time to face my fear!
Slowly, I did. Soon, that weekly lesson became the highlight of my week. I reverted back to that little second grader who was trotting the playground, only this time, for real. Eventually I worked up to one of the perfect moments of my life: taking my first jump.
Eventually, though, the lessons came to an end. And it’s been years now since I’ve been on a horse. But I’ll always have my childhood dream--and how I went on to make it come true.
So tell us, in order to be entered to win a signed copy of FORGIVE MY FINS, did you or do you love horses and riding--either now as a kid?
Tina
Tina Ferraro
The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, 2010 Rita® Finalist
How to Hook a Hottie, 2009 Rita® Finalist
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
www.tinaferraro.com
It seems almost hard to imagine, but the release week for FORGIVE MY FINS is finally here! You might think it gets a little easier or a little less extraordinary after two books, but let me tell you the third book release is just as exciting/terrifying/hopeful/busy/nervewracking as the first. I'm glad you and the Buzz girls are here to celebrate the craziness with me.
Because FORGIVE MY FINS is the realization of a life-long mermaid fantasy (I still dream of my legs magically turning into fins) all this week we'll be talking about childhood dreams. For anyone who hasn't heard the scoop, here's the blurb:
Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it's not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you're a normal teenage girl, but when you're half human, half mermaid, like Lily, there's no such thing as a simple crush.
Lily's mermaid identity is a secret that can't get out, since she's not just any mermaid—she's a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn't feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she's been living on land and going to Seaview High School ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems—like her obnoxious biker-boy neighbor, Quince Fletcher—but it has that one major perk: Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren't really the casual dating type—the instant they "bond," it's for life.
When Lily's attempt to win Brody's love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily ever after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.
Regular Buzz blog readers know that when there's a release week, there's usually a giveaway, too. Well, guess what? There is a giveaway, too! Every day this week I will give away a signed, hot-off-the-presses copy of Forgive My Fins to one lucky winner in the US/Canada. That's seven days, seven copies, seven chances to win. Comment every day for your best odds!
To enter today's giveaway, tell me:
Water. Love it, hate it, or fear it?
Good luck and thanks for making this week extra special.
Hugs,
TLC
PS -- Want more chances to win? Want to help protect the oceans? Pop over to
my personal blog, where I'm giving away another seven books this week and making a donation to Ocean for every comment.
I'm a little (a lot) late posting my blog this week because life is a little hectic right now. Besides the fact that I have a book due June 1st (and a first draft that needs a little (a lot) of work), I have a release on the same day! Forgive My Fins comes out in just three weeks. THREE WEEKS!!! Eeeeeek!
(Yes, that was the sound of me screaming, both in glee and terror.)
The month before a release is a totally crazy time. There are signings to coordinate, ARCs to mail, contests to hold, bookmarks and temporary tattoos to order, teaser excerpts to post on Twitter and Facebook, Splash Teams to coordinate, guest blogs to write, interviews to answer, Amazon and Barnes & Noble numbers to obsess over, self-Googling to do... Oh my gosh, the list goes on and on and on.
Add to that the facts that I'm doing my book signings out of town (in Houston) and that from there I'll be flying out to Las Vegas for the summer, which means I need to pack up everything I could possibly need and load it into the car while I'm trying to get ready for my signings.
And, in the middle of all that madness, I'm trying to finish a book. Is it any wonder that I'm a little (a lot) behind?
Are you feeling the time crunch at the moment? Do you have any brilliant tips or coping mechanisms? (No, chocolate doesn't count.)
Hugs,
TLC
Oh. My. Gods. and Goddess Boot Camp (Greek gods are more than myth.)
FORGIVE MY FINS (What happens when a mermaid kisses a human?)
This week on the Buzz blog we've been celebrating Marley’s latest release, Ghost Huntress: The Reason. Last week we all dished about lies in our pasts, and this week we're spilling secrets.
While I can't exactly spill any of my secrets (because then they wouldn't be secrets, would they?) I want to talk about keeping secrets in writing. I don't remember where I heard it, but there's an adage in writing that goes something like this:
Secrets from the character are good, secrets from the reader aren't.
Basically it means that if the character doesn't know something that the reader knows, that's fine. It's even okay if the character doesn't know something and neither does the reader. But if your character knows something (like that she's secretly a mermaid or a princess or in love with a particular boy) then the reader should know, too.
Let's take a classic example: Romeo and Juliet. Think about the end, when Juliet has taken the special "poison" that will make her appear to be dead, so she can go be with Romeo forever. Enter Romeo, who has no idea that she isn't really dead. The reader knows. We're practically screaming at Romeo to just wait a few minutes before stabbing himself in the gut. As sad as it is, we love that, because we know something Romeo doesn't.
Imagine if it were reversed. Imagine if we thought Juliet were really dead. Imagine Romeo knew the truth, so he just walks into her crypt, whistling a happy tune, and has a seat next to her seemingly-dead body. We'd hate him in the moment because it looks like he doesn't care at all for this girl who risked everything to be with him. When she woke up a moments later and we discovered the truth, we would be so annoyed that we (or at least I) would throw the book across the room.
It's all about balance, about making sure the reader never knows less than the characters. As readers, we either want to share the big reveal with the character or we want to know what's coming and anticipate their reaction when they find out, too.
Okay, enough of my little rant about secrets in books and onto the fun stuff. The giveaway! Marley is giving away signed copies of her new book all week here at the Buzz blog. To enter today's contest, leave a comment the following:
Share an example (good or bad) of a book in which the writer keeps a secret from the character.
Besides Romeo and Juliet, I would have to say Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. I won't share what, because it would be spoilers, but she's brilliant at hinting to the reader about a really huge secret that Katniss really has no clue about. Brilliant, really.
Your turn to share. Check back every day to comment on the other Buzz girl posts for more chances to win and then tune in this weekend to find out who won.
Hugs,
TLCOH. MY. GODS. and
GODDESS BOOT CAMP (out now)
FORGIVE MY FINS (coming June 1, 2010)
Yet another release week, here on the Buzz blog. This time it's Buzz girl Steph with her fourth book, THE ALPHA BET. (Do you have your copy yet? You should! If not, don't worry, because you can win one every day this week. Keep reading to find out how.)
To help Steph celebrate, we're all supposed to share a lie from our past. This is tough for me because I never lie. Okay, I
try to never lie. Partly because I'm really bad at it, but mostly because I think it's not very nice. Still, in the interest of Buzz girl solidarity, I will share my shameful secret.
Any writer who has ever been to writer's conference knows the joys (and terrors) of pitching your book to an agent or editor. This is a session, usually 8 to 10 minutes long, in which you try to convince them that you're book is the greatest book ever written, while trying to disguise the fact that you really think it might be total crap. Sessions vary from author to author and from agent to agent, but there are a few unwritten rules to every pitch.
- Be succinct.
- Be professional.
- Have questions ready in case there's a lull.
- Remember that agents and editors are people, too.
- Never, ever lie and say a book is finished when it's not.
Confession time: I broke rule number five. Twice.
I never set out to lie. In my defense, both times I was pitching to agents who NEVER EVER requested full manuscripts. It wouldn't even be an issue. They would request the partial (three chapters and a synopsis), which I had at the ready, and by the time they requested the full, the book would be done.
Only they didn't request the partial. The requested the full.
Rather than admit the books were unfinished (each was more than a hundred pages from being done) and potentially lose an opportunity, I just said, "Uh-huh. Oh, yeah, it's finished." Thankfully I survived both these situations because I am a VERY FAST writer and I excel under the pressure of a deadline. And I wanted a writing career way more than I waned anything as insignificant as sleep.
If I had the chance to do it all over, I would totally lie again.
ContestSo you see what kind of lengths I was willing to go to in order to become a professional writer. (Pretty much anything short of murder and animal cruelty was fair game.) For a chance to win a copy of THE ALPHA BET and your choice of OH. MY. GODS. and GODDESS BOOT CAMP, comment your answer to the following question:
What would or wouldn't you do to achieve your dream?
Be sure to check out the other posts this week and comment to increase your chances to win! And come back on Sunday, when the list of winners will be posted.
Hugs,
TLCOH. MY. GODS. and
GODDESS BOOT CAMP (out now)
FORGIVE MY FINS (coming June 1, 2010)
Today, I am finally--after more than seven weeks on the road--heading home. It's been an absolutely amazing journey. Along the way I spent time in:
- New York
- New Jersey
- Montreal
- Quebec City
- Toronto
- Vancouver
- Seattle
- San Francisco
- Houston
- San Antonio
Here are some of my trip details:
- I traveled by planes, trains, buses, and automobiles.
- I packed in a single, carry-on suitcase.
- I did laundry along the way.
- I kept under my budget.
- I missed my family and my dog.
- I took over 1500 pictures.
- I posted all of them on Flickr.
- I went east (Quebec City) to west (Vancouver).
- I went north (Edmonton) to south (San Antonio).
Am I glad I went on this trans-continental journey? Absolutely! Would I do it again? Maybe, someday. Am I ready to move to Seattle and settle down for a while? Definitely.
My life isn't going to be exactly sane for the next few months--then again, when has my life ever been sane? Here's what I have coming up:
- Head home to the parents' for a few weeks.
- Pop down to Welasco, Texas, for a school visit.
- Pop down to Houston for Forgive My Fins signings.
- Head out to Vegas for the summer with Daisy and the parents.
- Pop up to Seattle to scout apartments and neighborhoods.
- Pop over to Nashville for the RWA national conference.
- Head back to Oklahoma to pack up for the move.
- Move to (barring an unforeseen apocalypse or change of mind) Seattle.
After that, I think I'll be in one place for a bit. Well, maybe....
Hugs,
TLCOH. MY. GODS. and
GODDESS BOOT CAMP (out now)
FORGIVE MY FINS (coming June 1, 2010)
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Hey, TLC, no theories necessarily, but our weather has flip-flopped. Two days ago it was 80 degrees and I was in shorts. It rained last night, and today it's so cool that I am in my cozy sweats. Crazy!
while I'm not a big fan of the flip-flopping, I kind of wished I was back home...because everyone but me got snow days!!!---the weather reminds me more of the big winters I remember when I was a kid, as oppose to the wimpy ones of late.
but then again, I don't think my vote counts, because I don't live in a place that believes in winter.
The seasons are completely different here now. We are very hot well into October most years and winter can last until April. We had a blizzard two weeks ago and today I got away with just wearing a sweatshirt outside. It's crazy. I really hope the Mayans are wrong because I'm going to be upset that I didn't spend the next two years touring the world and charging up my credit cards if they are right. :)
about the Mayan stuff, I remember hearing an interpretation more like "the end of the world AS WE KNOW IT."
so it's more like some kind of unfathomable CHANGE.
which gives me a little more comfort
[likes to pretend there is no impending doom]
The weather is crazy, that's for sure, TLC. I have no theories other than what you mentioned about the effect of humans on the planet. Still cold here in the NW. No 70 degrees for us...