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Welcome to day 9 of the Golden Coffee Cup. Nine days of work feel substantial. You can do this! You can! You will!

No clue what a Golden Coffee Cup is? Click here.

Today's holding up the walls high five comes from Mary E. Pearson, author of THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX among others.



I've been really challenged recently about slipping into the skin of my characters. Mary's character Jenna Fox is that kind of character. I can't tell you how real Jenna seems to me. I've worried about her. I've taken the painful steps with her to rebuild a life that would never be like the life she had before. Yay, for Mary for taking such care with a character! What a great read.

I hope you find the place that deep calls to deep in your characters.

I'm always on the search for deep connection. My hope is that I will feel deeply about the characters of my own work and pass that feeling to my readers. When I worry about my characters, when I try to protect them, when I ultimately let them suffer, I know that I am drawing close to what I am searching for. I never want to go there. I don't want my characters to go through the terrible things they must journey through. Still we journey through the darkness, and at the end, the light shines. I do shout with joy when my characters are victorious. I do like a victorious character.

Today, I'm challenging you to try harder to reveal the breathing soul of your characters. Let the things that you have suffered inform and flesh out the characters of your work. As always be fearless.

That's today's steaming cup. Keep on going! Don't give up! I will be back tomorrow with more hot java.

Today's quote is an excerpt from THE VELVETEEN RABBIT by Margery Williams. May all of our characters be real.

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

There's nothing like a road trip, especially when it's a spur-of-the-moment, in-your-face, meant-to-be chance for a fair day. How many times does something like this come along? So when Chaney Bennett sent along The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson, I went along on the ride. Thank you, Chaney and Mary!

I mean, how cool is this idea? Mary sent four ARCs of The Miles Between out on a cross country road trip, the final destination to be her editor's desk. My ARC started out in San Diego, then to Texas, and arrived for me in Massachusetts.

Mary wrote The Adoration of Jenna Fox, a powerful, thought-provoking book I absolutely loved, so I couldn't wait to read The Miles Between.

The Miles Between is a lighter read, the story of Destiny Faraday and three of her classmates, who venture out on a spontaneous road trip, in search of their "one fair day--a day where the good guy wins and everything adds up to something just and right." This story has a touch of magic a la Cinderella, with plenty of poignant secrets to be revealed. You know this means tissues, right?

I thought I'd share a couple photos of The Miles Between at a couple of my favorite spots.

I LOVE statues and there is one awesome statue in my town square, of a girl reading to a boy on a stone bench. Of course in real life, these children would be too young to read Mary's book, but for the sake of a photo opportunity, I thought this looked great.

Next, I decided since the ARC was on a road trip, it was a good time to go the beach. We drove a little over an hour and stopped by our favorite breakfast place, Mary Ellen's Portuguese Bakery, for eggs, bacon, home fries, toast and coffee. Then, on to the Falmouth Road Race Finish Line Stone Garden overlooking the ocean, for this inspiring photo.

The Miles Between ARC is going to have plenty of mileage. It's headed back to California....to...drumroll, please...Becky Levine! I actually found out about the road trip from Becky, and think it's only fair to let her join in on all this fun.

Yay! for road trips! What trips are you planning?

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17 year old Jenna Fox wakes up from a coma after a terrible accident, not knowing who she or anyone else around her is. She doesn't know her parents or her grandmother, does not remember the accident she is told almost took her life, and has no idea who she really is, only what she is told. As time goes on, Jenna begins to remember things, or at least she thinks she does. Some of the memories she has would have taken place so long ago, she shouldn't be able to remember them. And just how has she gotten so smart? She certainly doesn't remember being a genius, but now has all sorts of amazing facts in her head. What exactly are her parents hiding?

As Jenna learns more about her accident and what happened after, she wants to believe she is also learning more about herself, though instead, feels as if she is actually losing more and more of the Jenna she really believes is true. What really happened to her? How exactly is she alive today...and does she even want to be?

The Adoration of Jenna Fox, written by Mary E. Pearson, was a page turner from the very beginning. I was hooked from the very first sentence, instantly wanting to know what this character had experienced and how she has become the girl she now is. Lots of ethical questions are brought up in the text, making this a great book discussion choice, as well. Teens and adults alike will love this thrilling novel.