Happy Bookday!

It’s here!  After more than a year, After Death is finally available in Paperback AND Kindle!

Paperback

Kindle

I’m so excited for the ghostly misadventures of Michael, Luke, and Kate to continue.  I hope you all enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them!

I want to take a little bit of time, however, to celebrate a few OTHER books being released today: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer, and of course, the illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

The fact that my book came out on the same day as all of these ladies is, quite frankly, a huge fangirl honor for me.  JK Rowling is Queen, as everyone knows, and I don’t know a single person whose lives she hasn’t touched with her magical world.  Stephenie Meyer, yeah, okay, it’s kind of fun to make fun of Twilight.  But I’ve got to be honest.  I still love it.  I love the story.  It’s just pure fun and fantasy, you know?  Very escapist, and I do love to escape.

Then, finally, there’s Rainbow Rowell.  I fell in love with her writing after reading the story of my life, Fangirl.  I’m serious.  I’ve never read a book that so keenly described what it feels like to love a book and, frankly, to be apprehensive of the world outside.  Oh my Heavens, do I love Fangirl.

As if I didn’t already love Rainbow Rowell enough for  bringing that story to life, I then got to meet her last May.  She is incredible, basically everything I want to be as an author and as a person.  When I found out that her new book, Carry On, inspired by the book series in Fangirl, was being released the same day as mine, I was thrilled.  And yes, I’ve already run out and bought my own copy.

Yes, I bought Life and Death too.  I wanted to buy the new Harry Potter, but let’s face it, as an Indie Author, I barely have two dimes to rub together.  I really shouldn’t have bought these two books, but I can’t help it.  I have to support the authors and stories that I love.  And, yeah, okay, I really need to feed my addiction to YA literature.  Most importantly, though, these books serve as a reminder of why I do what I do and why I put so much time and effort into my books.  I want this world of words to be my world, too.

Happy Bookday, everyone!  Go read your favorite book!  Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, go pick up something new!

May I recommend a ghost story?

Style

When I was in college, I met this guy at a party.  We talked for maybe two minutes because everything he said translated in my mind to, “Hi, I’m a jerk. You don’t want to know me. I am physically repelling you with my voice right now.”

It happens.

Anyway, in those two minutes, we ended up talking about writing styles.  Specifically, we talked about JK Rowling’s writing style.

I don’t remember how Harry Potter came up, but considering it’s me, it’s not very surprising.  I’ve mentioned how the Harry Potter books got me through some of the hardest parts of my life. https://jackiesmith114.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/i-believe-in-dragons/

It was JK Rowling and her style that inspired me to begin writing my own stories.  Granted, back then it was just for fun.  I had absolutely no intention or inclination to consider becoming a writer full time, or even part time.  It was just something I did for me.  The guy that I met that night at the party, however, apparently had had it in his head for a while that he was destined to become the next Tolstoy or something.  Let me tell you, he had an ego on him the size of… well… Texas.  I was going to say Hogwarts, but Texas is way bigger than Hogwarts.

Anyway, the moment I mentioned Harry Potter, this guy goes all out, trashing JK Rowling and her horrible, juvenile, dialogue-based writing.  I was appalled.  For one thing, it was the first time I’d ever heard someone say anything even remotely negative about Queen Rowling.  For another, I love the way that JK Rowling writes!  It was so personable to me, so easy and fun to read, so truly and uniquely in her own voice.  I much prefer reading books with narrators who speak to their readers like old friends rather than narrators who are aloof and above it all, which that guy at the party definitely was.

It’s weird to think that a two-minute conversation I had with some jerk at a party would stay with me for eight years, but that conversation is wildly relevant to my life as a writer now, mostly because I want to be everything that he trashed that night.  I want to write like I’m friends with my readers.  I want them to read my stories and feel like it’s a real person telling them.  I want my characters to have lives personalities of their own and I want their dialogue to reflect it.

I love writing dialogue.  It’s my favorite thing to write.  I’m very mediocre when it comes to action and descriptions, but dialogue is my thing.  And you know, when it comes to writing, there is no right or wrong.  There is no such thing as too much dialogue or not enough dialogue.  It fully depends on the author’s intention for the story.  I’ve read and enjoyed books that are almost all dialogue and I’ve read and enjoyed books that have very little.  Not every book is meant to be written a certain way.  In fact, if they were, reading would be terribly, terribly boring.  I love that every author of every book I’ve ever read has their own style that makes them 100% unique.

As for me?  I know I tend to hover around the more dialogue-based narrative.  I love characters.  Even when I was little, I had four or five imaginary friends running around inside my head at once.  It’s really no wonder I became a writer.

That all being said, I hope you all have a fantastic Wednesday!  This week is going so slowly for me.  Is it for anyone else?  It’s probably because my sister is coming home this weekend and we’re going to see Ed Sheeran and I’m dying to see her.  I also have a very good friend taking some pretty intimidating exams at the end of the week and I keep wanting them to be over for him.  Hurry up, weekend!  We’re all ready for you!

Sorting Characters

Alright, this post is definitely more work-related that my last one full of trees and whimsy.

Every once in a while, whenever my sister and I are feeling particularly nostalgic for our days at Hogwarts, we make a list of all our favorite fictional characters and sort them into one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw (the best!), or Slytherin.  As I was driving around the other day, I thought, “Hey… I should sort MY characters!”

I consulted my sister on the matter, since she’s an even bigger Potterhead than I am (and yes, I do admit that).  Taking her opinions into consideration, this is the Sorting Selection that I’ve come up with.  Enjoy.

CEMETERY TOURS SERIES

Michael Sinclar: Self-Imposed Slytherin

Okay, I know this sounds weird.  Hear me out.  Originally, my sister thought I should sort Michael into either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff.  The problem is, I don’t see Michael as particularly brave.  He’s also gone out of his way his entire life to manipulate people into believing he’s something he’s not.  He himself has been hiding from his true nature.  Furthermore, even though I don’t believe he’s dark or troublesome, he definitely sees himself that way.  I think Luke would see him as a Hufflepuff, and Kate would most certainly see him as a Gryffindor, but I think Michael himself views himself as a Slytherin.  Not because he’s particularly ambitious or cunning, but because, frankly, he’s haunted, and he has never seen himself in a positive light.

Kate Avery: Ravenclaw

I was torn for a while between sorting Kate into Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.  I was leaning toward Gryffindor at first because she’s so outgoing and up for new adventures, but then when my sister said she should be in Ravenclaw I realized that really is where Kate belongs.  She’s very creative, which is a defining trait of Ravenclaws.  She’s also cautious and she definitely tends to over-analyze things.  She’s clever, but thankfully, she’s not snooty about it.  Ravenclaw is definitely the place for Kate.

Luke Rainer: Gryffindor

Again, I debated for a while if Luke was going to be a Gryffindor or a Slytherin.  Although he comes off as ambitious, the truth is, he’s actually not.  He’s just very passionate.  He even admits in the first book that he doesn’t care about success or ratings.  He just wants people to know the truth about the afterlife and the paranormal.  Luke is brave, probably to the point of being reckless, and incredibly loyal to the people he loves.  He most certainly belongs in Gryffindor.

Eugene Brinkley (Brink): Hufflepuff

There’s no way Brink would ever be anything other than a Hufflepuff.  He’s just there for a good time.  He’s funny, he’s light-hearted, he’s easy-going.  He’s alway honest.  He’s a great friend.

Gavin Avery: Gryffindor

Gavin was hard to place.  Originally, my sister and I both thought he might be a Slytherin, but then we kind of realized that he’s not cunning or ambitious in the least.  He, like Brink, is kind of just there for a good time.  Gavin grew up, as Kate puts is, as the “golden boy” of the family.  He never got in trouble, always got good grades, but as he got older, I think he turned into a bit of a rebel.  Gryffindor seems to suit him.

BOY BAND

Melissa Parker (Mel): Hufflepuff

Mel, to me, has always been a Hufflepuff.  She’s friendly, she’s very go-with-the-flow, she’s innocent, almost to the point of being a little naive, but she’s incredibly loyal to her friends.  She’s not one for picking fights or drama.  She knows who she loves and she tries her best to stand up for them, even though any sort of confrontation I think really goes against her nature.  She’s happy to be behind the scenes.  She’s very much an observer, and she’s also “unafraid of toil.”  Classic Hufflepuff.

Sam Morneau: Gryffindor

At the very beginning, Sam was one of the members of the band who believed that The Kind of September could make it.  I think he probably believed it more than anyone else, and he was the one really determined to make it happen.  He’s willing to take chances and risk it all, and I think he’s actually quite brave for it.  He’s loud and happy and outgoing, and though he does have a thoughtful side, he’s not really one to think before he leaps.  He just dives into whatever he does, no questions asked.

Josh Cahill: Hufflepuff

Josh is kind of like Brink in the sense that he’s just there to have fun.  He’s always cheerful, he’s sweet and unassuming, he’s goofy and hilarious.  He doesn’t like drama and never goes looking for trouble.  Josh is a most certainly a Hufflepuff.

Joni Foreman: Slytherin

Even though she’s not even a member of the band, Joni is definitely the most ambitious of the entire group.  She’s very career and goal-oriented.  It takes a while to get her to open up.  Even her best friend, Mel, admits that she’s not much of a hugger and very rarely shows her soft side.  After having her heart broken at a young age, Joni is very guarded with her emotions, almost to the point of being a little cold and withdrawn.  She’s incredibly smart and all of her friends know that it’s never a good idea getting on her bad side.

Cory Foreman: Gryffindor

Joni’s twin brother Cory is a Gryffindor.  Although he was a good student, he’s not nearly as smart or as ambitious as his sister.  He’s usually very level-headed, but his relationship with Tara Meeks has made him a bit love-crazy.  Infatuation, unfortunately, happens to the best of us.  And Gryffindor Cory Foreman is no exception.

Oliver Berkley: Ravenclaw

Sweet, thoughtful, and a little reserved, The Kind of September’s token Brit is also the group’s only Ravenclaw.  Oliver is mature, introverted, clever, and witty when he wants to be.  He’s also harboring a secret crush, but despite being a member of the hottest boy band on the planet, he’s too shy to tell her.

Jesse Scott: Slytherin

Jesse is the group’s resident rock-and-roll bad boy, even though he’s not actually very good at it.  He loves animals and is very active in the charities that he supports.  Despite his heart of mostly gold, however, Jesse is still a Slytherin.  You never really know his motives for anything and more often than not, you only see what he wants you to see.  He’s a bit more cunning than he lets on and he values his freedom and independence above anything else, and he very rarely lets anything stand in the way of what he wants.

Ode to Fangirl

This won’t be a proper ode because, let’s face it, I don’t have a poetic bone in my body, but Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell deserves nothing less than a Shakespearean sonnet.

I’ve been wanting to read this book from the moment I first heard about it, coincidentally, here on WordPress.  I knew I would love it.  I just didn’t know how much.

This book, to me, was a love letter, not only to writers (I loved Professor Piper and the way she put writing fiction into perspective) but to anyone who has ever loved a book series so much that those places and characters, in fact, become real to them, in some instances, more real than real life.

(https://jackiesmith114.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/i-believe-in-dragons/)

Simon Snow is the Harry Potter of the Fangirl universe and the book included several passages from the books and fanfiction written by the protagonist, Cath.  I’ve got to be honest, if they were real, I would read those books in a heartbeat.  They sound awesome.  I found myself reading, not only to keep up with what was happening with Cath, her twin sister, and her potential love interest, but also to find out how the Simon Snow saga would end!

In the book, Cath and her twin sister, Wren, become immersed in the Simon Snow fandom after their mother walks out on their family.  For them, Simon Snow was an escape, a refuge.  It is revealed that Cath loves the fandom so much because for a moment, her reality stops.  She doesn’t have to live there.  I’ve never had something so horrible as a parent walking out happen to me, but my family did struggle financially for years.  I won’t go into it (I’ve already written it all down in the blog entry I posted above) except to say it made our home life miserable.

That’s where Harry Potter comes in.  Hogwarts became my own personal form of escape.  Instead of living in the horrible real world where our problems dictated our lives, I sought sanctuary in the world of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  While I was there, none of my stupid problems could touch me, because they didn’t exist.  Like Cath, I began reading and writing fanfiction (though I was not nearly as dedicated as she is), which eventually led to writing stories of my own.  I don’t list JK Rowling as one of my writing influences because I can’t even begin to compare myself to her, but the truth is, she’s the one who started it all.  I have other writing idols, but JK is the Queen.  We all know this.

Near the end of the book (I don’t think this is really a spoiler, but if you don’t want to read it, skip over this paragraph), Cath and Wren and a few of their friends attend the midnight release of the last Simon Snow book.  I’m not going to lie to you, but I got tears in my eyes.  The entire time I was reading, I was reliving my own time spent waiting for each of the Harry Potter books to be released.  It was real magic.  That moment the boxes come out, the moment they’re opened, the moment the first one is sold and everyone cheers.  If you’ve felt it, you know what it’s like.  These books, these characters, are so special and have such an impact on our lives.  That’s why I love writing and reading so much.  In some ways, it’s the only world I really know.

I’ve wondered my whole life when I would find my true place in the world.  It sounds so melodramatic and cliche, I know, but it’s something we all wonder.  I see people all around me who seem to know.  Some are meant for the world of business, others for law, some for medicine.  Artists, the writers and painters and sculptors and actors and musicians, I’ve come to believe, have no specific place in the world.  That’s why we feel compelled to create our own.  By doing so, I like to think we make the world a little bigger, give it a little something new each and every day.  And maybe, if we’re lucky, someone else will find a part of themselves in our creations.

Meeting the Authors and Discovering Witches

This last weekend was super.

It began Saturday with a book event at the Colony Public Library called Meet The Authors.  Several local authors gathered at the library to meet with readers (and each other), spread the word, and maybe sell a few books.

While getting the sales and spreading the word about my books is always great (and very appreciated), my favorite part is always meeting and connecting with readers.  I met one girl who turned out to be an aspiring writer.  She thought it was so cool to meet people who’d actually written books and could hold them in their hands.  She even let me read the beginning of the story that she’d been working on.  I felt so cool and honored that she would trust me with that!  Definitely the best part of the experience.

I also talked with a mom and her daughter about Harry Potter for about an hour.  The girl eventually looked at me and said, “We’ve talked more about Harry Potter than your books.” That tends to happen.  I’m pretty sure I Tweet more about Harry Potter than I do Cemetery Tours.  That might not be the best marketing strategy in the world, but I’m a fangirl at heart.  I can’t help myself.

I also came home with several new books: Surviving Life by Jeanne Skartsiaris (fun fact: her half brother is Ed, Carol’s abusive husband in The Walking Dead! I’m sure he’s quite a nice fellow in real life), Moon Tears by M.M. Frische (she also writes children’s books; her first is called Miss Muffet & Bitsy and is totally adorable), Take 2 by Linda Bolton, The Empowered Woman by J. Nicole Williamson, and This Crumbling Pageant by Patricia Burroughs.

Finally, at the end of the day, one of the men who ran and coordinated the event asked me if I’d like to come back for an event around Halloween and give a presentation on ghost stories and sell some more books!  I am so excited, I can’t even tell you.  I’ve already begun planning out what I’m going to say (Hamlet, anyone?).

All in all, I’d say the Meet The Authors event was a huge success.

I spent the rest of the weekend reading A Discover of Witches, the first in the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness.

May I just say that I LOVED THAT BOOK.   Oh my goodness, it was magical.  I loved the characters, (especially Matthew, whom I pictured as Richard Armitage), I loved the setting, and I really loved how Harkness created such a beautiful and compelling story using so many different elements: magic, science, history, alchemy, religion, literature, romance, mythology… It was one of the most intricate and intelligent books I’ve ever read and I can’t wait to read the next two books.

My own Witch’s Familiar really enjoyed the book too…

What are you reading this week?

Ultimate Book Tag!

I’ll be honest.  I love these surveys.  I think they’re so much fun.  This one, I found on Callum McLaughlin’s blog: http://callummclaughlin.wordpress.com/2014/09/07/ultimate-book-tag/ 

1. Do you get sick while reading in the car?
Nope.  Though I’ve got to be honest, I rarely read in the car.  I like to listen to music and watch the world outside the window.  

2. Which author’s writing style is completely unique to you and why?
That’s a tough one.  The one that has always stood out to me, however, is Madeleine L’Engle.  I remember the first time I read A Ring of Endless Light, she simply had me captivated.  Her writing, her thoughts, were just so incredibly beautiful.  This quote, in particular, has stayed with me for years:

If I’m confused, or upset, or angry, if I can go out and look at the stars I’ll almost always get back to a sense of proportion. It’s not that they make me feel insignificant; it’s the very opposite; they make me feel that everything matters, be it ever so small, and that there’s meaning to life even when it seems most meaningless.

3. Harry Potter Series or the Twilight Saga? Give 3 points to defend your answer.
Is this even a question?  Harry Potter! 

1) Harry Potter is real magic.  It’s not just a story.  JK Rowling created an entire world, a society, a culture.  It’s intricate and brilliant and colorful and simply alive.

2) Harry Potter got me through the toughest time in my life.  I even wrote a whole blog post about it. https://jackiesmith114.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/i-believe-in-dragons/

3) Characters are always my favorite parts of any book and Harry Potter’s characters are all truly exquisite.  I wish several of them were my best friends.  Sadly, very few of my very favorite characters actually survived the series.  

4. Do you carry a book bag? If so, what is it in (besides books…)?
I don’t have a book bag, per se, but when I need to carry a book with me, I use my giant orca purse.  It’s a bag with a lot of pretty embroidered killer whales and dolphins on it.  It also carries my phone, wallet, planner, and notebook.  

5. Do you smell your books?
Oh yes.  

6. Books with or without little illustrations?
I haven’t read a book with illustrations in a while (unless Harry Potter counts with the little pictures at the beginning of every chapter), but I don’t mind them.  In fact, I like seeing what the author or illustrator had in mind.  It’s always interesting to see others’ interpretations.

7. What book did you love while reading but discovered later it wasn’t quality writing?
Every Nicholas Sparks book ever.  I love them all.  I read each one the day it comes out.  However, in the end, they all kind of end up being the same book.  Except The Guardian.  That is one heck of a good book! 

8. Do you have any funny stories involving books from your childhood? Please share!
I started wearing glasses when I was in first grade.  I didn’t mind really, except that I really, really wanted to be a Disney Princess and none of them wore glasses.  So I went through all of my big Disney picture books and drew glasses on all the princesses.  

9. What is the thinnest book on your shelf?
Either Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard or a book of Episcopal Haikus.  Yeah, I’m that kind of person. 

10. What is the thickest book on your shelf?
Either The Complete Works of William Shakespeare or The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.  

11. Do you write as well as read? Do you see yourself in the future as being an author?
Now that you mention it…

12. When did you get into reading?
I can’t remember a time I wasn’t into reading.  My mom was reading to me from the day I was born.  

13. What is your favorite classic book?
This is going to sound nerdy, but I really love Beowulf.

14. In school was your best subject Language Arts/English?
Yep.  That and Biology.  I really love animals and nature.  

15. If you were given a book as a present that you had read before and hated…what would you do?
I would act like I loved it and then sell it to Half-Price Books.  

16. What is a lesser known series that you know of that is similar to
Harry Potter or the Hunger Games?
I recently discovered the Inescapable series by indie author Amy A. Bartol and I’m kind of loving it.  However, it’s probably more similar to Twilight than it is to Harry Potter or The Hunger Games.

17. What is your favorite word?
Ergo.  I love it so much.  

18. Are you a nerd, dork, or dweeb? Or all of the above?
I prefer fangirl. Or Ravenclaw.

19. Vampires or Fairies? Why?
I actually haven’t read many Fairy books (unless Midsummer Night’s Dream counts) so I guess I’ll have to go with Vampires. 

20. Shapeshifters or Angels? Why?
Angels.  Because I secretly wish I had wings.  

21. Spirits or Werewolves? Why?
Spirits.  Because Cemetery Tours.  

22. Zombies or Vampires? Why?
Depends what I’m in the mood for.  If I’m in the mood to be scared then ZOMBIES.  If I’m in the mood for dark, supernatural romance (or Twilight), then vampires.

23. Love Triangle or Forbidden Love?
Forbidden love. If a girl is going to have two hot guys fighting over her, she’d better be pretty darn awesome.  

24. AND FINALLY: Full on romance books or action-packed with a few love scenes mixed in?
Oh gosh… I read both and I enjoy both.  Again, it depends!  If I’m sick or in a particularly girly mood, I’m going to choose romance.  Usually, however, I do prefer a bit of action.  

To whoever has read this… I tag you!  Only if you want to, that is.  I hate internet peer pressure.

My Guide to the Perfect Sick Day

For about the past two weeks, I feel like I’ve been going, going, going.  This is usually a good thing.  I always prefer to be active and to have something to do than to have absolutely nothing to do.  

Throughout the past few days, however, everything seems to have caught up with me.  I’ve been absolutely drained of energy (hey… maybe there’s a ghost around!  Ha ha ha… Cemetery Tours humor) and on top of it all now, I just really, really don’t feel good.  I don’t think I’m actually sick, just run down.  However, I don’t want to treat my poor body like it’s not sick because it’s obviously not feeling its best for a reason.  

To be totally honest, I haven’t had a real sick day in a while because… well… I don’t really get sick anymore (knock on wood).  I used to get sick ALL the time with upper respiratory infections.  I finally got fed up with it near the beginning of 2013 and I decided to see an allergist.  As it turns out, I am allergic to everything that grows except, get this, mountain cedar.  Go figure.  The one thing that everyone in the world is allergic to is the one thing I can sniff all day long and not sneeze one little bit.  

Sick days are still as un-fun as they were the last time I was sick, more than a year ago, but there are ways of making them slightly more enjoyable.  

Guilty Pleasure Movie Marathon

You know those movies that you’re ashamed to own and even more ashamed to admit you love?  Watch them all.  Go for it.  You want to binge-watch Twilight?  Go ahead.  Nicholas Sparks movies? Start with The Notebook.  Yeah, people might judge but you’re sick and you should do what you want to do.  Especially if it takes your mind off how awful you feel.  My favorite sick movie is the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  Not sure why.  It’s just the first movie I turn to when I’m not feeling myself.  

Comfort Food

Baked potatoes with lots of butter, Ramen noodles, ice cream, warm french bread, soup, I could go on forever.  Delicious and soothing comfort food is definitely one of the best parts of not feeling well.  Unless, of course, you can’t keep it down, in which case, I do now want to see you, I do not want to talk to you, I do not even want to acknowledge your existence.  Stay away from me.

Pajamas

Now, I love pajamas even when I’m not sick, but I can never ever justify staying in them all day unless I’m not feeling good.  I usually go for my special, extra-comfy Christmas pajama pants, a tank top or comfy t-shirt, and my fluffy Bath and Body Words bathrobe.  Sooo cozy.

Camping Out on the Sick Couch

When I’m sick, I transfer my entire world to the living room couch.  It’s crucial that the ailing body remain as close to food and to the television as possible.  The couch is usually that ideal central spot.  Take your pillows, your blankets, your tissues or whatever medicine you might be requiring, a heating pad… Anything and everything to ease your suffering.  

A Big Glass of Ice Water 

Or any beverage of your choice, but water is my favorite.  It’s a good idea to stay hydrated even when you’re healthy, but it’s extra important when you’re sick.  Some of you may prefer something with a little extra kick, like tea or Gatorade.  

A Pet

Unlike most animals, my kitty is not a very empathetic creature.  Except when I’m sick.  Somehow, whenever I’m not feeling very good, she always seems to sense it and she comes over to sit on me.  Granted, this usually turns out to be more of an inconvenience than a comforting gesture, but it’s the thought that counts.  At least I know she loves me.  

A Good Book

When I’m sick, I tend to reread my favorite books.  This usually comes down to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban or A Ring of Endless Light.  I’ve read Azkaban so many times that the middle portion of the book is no longer attached to the spine.  If I open it up, a big chunk of the body of the book just falls out.  But it’s always worth it. 

On that note, if you’re in need of a good book, I recommend Cemetery Tours.  And even if you’re not, it would make me feel better.  

http://www.amazon.com/Cemetery-Tours-Jacqueline-Smith-ebook/dp/B00F7CHQ08/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409874863&sr=1-1&keywords=cemetery+tours

Talk to you all later! 

Books, Books, Books

Hi, friends!

The past couple days have been pretty busy.  I attended my first book club meeting as a guest author.  It was so much fun, and all of the ladies just had the sweetest things to say about Cemetery Tours.  It was so encouraging and just a wonderful night.

In preparation for the book club, I took a trip to Barnes and Noble for a gift card for the hostess.  While I was there, of course, I did a little shopping around.  It’s impossible to walk into Barnes and Noble and NOT shop, you know?

As I looked around, I found myself thinking of a Facebook post I’d seen recently about how today’s young people read less than any generation before.  Now, I’m not sure if that’s true or not.  I’m no statistician.  However, as I passed the John Green section, I thought about The Fault in Our Stars, and how it’s been celebrating a nice spot on top of the box office charts.  Apparently, people are shocked that it’s doing so well, but to be honest, I’m surprised that people are surprised.  With the book’s enormous and devoted fan base, how could it not do well?

Then I started thinking about other major blockbuster events and award nominated movies, Divergent, Catching Fire, 12 Years a Slave, Philomena, The Hobbit, etc… and I realized they all had one thing in common.  They are all adaptations of books.  Even television series, The Vampire Diaries, Sherlock, True Blood, GAME OF THRONES, all are based off of BOOKS.

Whether statisticians like to acknowledge it or not, books and authors play a HUGE role in our world today, or at least in the entertainment industry.  And you know, it doesn’t stop there.  We have The Giver, The Maze Runner, Ender’s Game, The Lord of the Rings, Twilight, The Princess Diaries, The Book Thief, The Walking Dead (graphic novel, but still), even Disney based fairy tales go back to books and works of authors like Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm.

And of course, we can’t forget the Wizard himself, Harry Potter.

So many of our cultural phenomena go back to books.  Not all, of course, but enough to think that no, books and reading are not on the way out.  There’s never been a greater time to be a reader or a writer.  John Green, a nerdy guy who started a vlog series with his brother, is quite frankly, a rock star now.  Books and reading are an important part of our lives and our society.  They expand and enrich our worlds, our minds, our perspectives.

Are people reading less today than ever before?  I don’t know.  I don’t know how those things are figured.  But I do know that, while I was working up at my camp, two girls overheard me talking about books and they immediately ran over to ask what I was reading, and if I’d read this or that.  They were so excited, not to talk about the latest pop star or hottest television show, but to talk about books.  If that isn’t encouraging, I don’t know what is.

Speaking of having read this or that, Cemetery Tours is standing strong at 43 reviews, but I still need 7 more by July 1 to reach my goal of 50!

I hope you all have a great Thursday!  It’s almost Friday the 13th, plus a full Honey Moon!  I’ll be sure to celebrate with my black cat.

Geeking Out

Okay, guys.  So yesterday, I was scrolling through Tumblr, browsing the Harry Potter tag, and I came across something about two of my favorite actors from the franchise, James and Oliver Phelps.  I think I’ve mentioned before how much I love the Weasley twins, how Fred was my fictional boyfriend for like eight years before JK Rowling MURDERED him, and how I actually felt like I’d lost a friend after I finished reading the seventh book.  Fortunately, I can live happily knowing that James and Oliver are actually both alive and well.

They are also apparently going to be starring together in a new movie.  A remake of Hamlet.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2349632/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1

I don’t know if I’ve told y’all this… BUT I LOVE SHAKESPEARE.  I especially love Hamlet.  It’s one of my favorite plays.  I also love Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello, Twelfth Night, Macbeth (I could write a whole blog post about why I love Macbeth, and maybe I will someday), etc…

I’m not sure how he did it, buy my high school English teacher had this way of teaching all of us Shakespeare, among other great things, in a way that made all of us love it.  We even ended our first semester with a trip to Shakespeare in the Park where we all had an absolute blast.  That love for the Bard stayed with me all the way through college.  I even wrote and illustrated an ABC Shakespeare children’s book for a Children’s Literature class.

Desdemona and Othello.

Romeo and Juliet’s nurse.

The Weird Sisters from Macbeth. Fair is foul and foul is fair…

Anyway, James and Oliver are going to be playing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in new version of Hamlet, at least according to that IMDB link.  If you’ve only read or seen Hamlet, you might not think a whole lot of those roles.  Their scenes with Hamlet are amusing, but that’s more due to Hamlet pretending to be mad than any sort of character development or connection to Rosencrantz or Guildenstern, and I don’t know about anyone else, but I didn’t really care when I heard they’d been killed at the end of the play.  Easy come, easy go.

However, if you’ve read or seen Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, you’ll know that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two of the greatest (and most philosophical) characters in the entire play!  Reading the play was a complete and utter joy, but the movie, staring Tim Roth and Sirius Bla – I mean, Gary Oldman, is just about the best thing ever.

I wish, more than anything, that once they’re done shooting Hamlet, then James and Oliver would star in their own version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.  Still, having my two favorite twins from my favorite series ever starring in one of my favorite plays ever… I will not complain!

Weasley Twins + Shakespeare = Pure Happiness

In other good geeky news, I found these AMAZING pictures on Pinterest.

As if the glorified combination of Harry Potter and Shakespeare wasn’t enough, now I get Disney and Van Gogh?!  Is it my birthday?!  Seriously, I thought I couldn’t love anything more than Fred and George as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, but these pictures are SO BEAUTIFUL and I love Disney Princesses almost more than anything and I don’t know a soul who doesn’t love the art of Van Gogh.  Or that one Dr. Who episode?

I’m not even much of a Dr. Who fan and I could watch that episode over and over and over again.  And Matt Smith is actually the cutest human being alive.

Alright, well, I’ll let you all enjoy the rest of your evening while I sit here in all my geeky glory.  Chapter 27 of CT2 is coming along nicely.  For all the Luke Rainer fans, he gets a little bit of the narrative in this one!  I’m excited!  He’s such a fun character to write.  Good night, all!

One Day More

I just read on the Weather Channel that although we (as in all of North Texas) are under a freezing rain advisory until tomorrow at 6 PM (yay), the following days should be all sun and highs in the upper sixties!

I can not even begin to tell you how much I hope that that’s true.  With Texas weather, you can never really know.  I’ve seen days where Texas decided we needed tornadoes in December.  No, Texas.  No one ever needs tornadoes.  Especially in December.

However, I would be lying if I said I didn’t prefer thunderstorms to whatever the heck we’ve had for the past week.  It’s been gray and foggy and drizzly and COLD every single day, and as much as I don’t want to admit it, it’s getting to me.  I’m not sure I’d go all the way to say I have Seasonal Affective Disorder, but it did used to bring me down a lot.  Now, I’m older (and on anti-anxiety medication), so maybe that’s helping a little.

But even if it’s not affecting me mentally, it’s starting to get to me physically.  I’ve had almost no energy this past week, and although I’ve been keeping up with the new book, somehow forcing myself to punch out words on this blog has been a nightmare!  That’s not to say I don’t love you!  I do!  That’s why I want to keep writing here as often as I can!

There have been times in the last few days I honestly thought I was getting sick, and part of me almost wanted to.  That at least would have explained the no energy and the overall feeling of yuckiness.  Last week, I was convinced I was getting sick because of how achey I felt and because of all the pressure in my sinuses.  But you know what?  I think I’m as healthy as a horse.  I really think it’s just the weather.  I got a text from my best friend yesterday.  She’s an accountant and she’s right in the middle of busy season.  She told me the all the stress combined with the weather was about to put her over the edge.  Now, being an author is not NEARLY as stressful as being an accountant (not yet, at least…), but I could totally empathize.  I told her I wasn’t sad or stressed, but I just felt sick.

I guess thinking about it, it could be a mental thing.  Just because it’s not affecting my mood, doesn’t mean my brain can’t send out some weird signal to the rest of my body saying, “Okay, you’re not sad or grouchy.  But you need to react to this weather somehow.  I know.  I’ll make you feel like crap.”  The brain is a really fascinating thing.

And now for some other things that have been on my mind recently but I haven’t mentioned because I’ve been too busy griping about how cold and gray it is even though we actually really don’t have it all that bad down here.

1) I really wish people of the world would STOP posting their injuries on Facebook.  It’s gross.  I’m sorry you busted up your knee skiing and I’m sorry you were stupid and you accidentally sliced your finger open on a wine bottle, but I really do not need to see pictures.  Just stop.  Please, stop.

2) You know what musical I really hate?  Annie.  Seriously, it is the worst musical ever.  The Disney remake is only tolerable because of it’s adult cast (Kathy Bates, Victor Garber, Audra McDonald, Kristen Chenowith).  The reason I’m bringing this up is because for some reason, people around the office where I work have decided they need to start singing “The sun’ll come out… tomorrow…” like, pretty much every day since the cold and gray first started.  It’s not bad enough that I have to endure this awful weather, now I have to suck it up while you sing one of the most annoying songs in musical theater history?

3) I mentioned before that my sister and I had a pretty good chuckle over JK Rowling announcing that she regrets Ron and Hermione ending up together.  I guess the reason it was funny to us was because we never really cared all that much about if they got together or no.  To be honest, I was still too sad after JK killed off all my favorite characters to care about who got married in the end.  Still, I knew a lot of people were really upset about it.  A few of my friends, in fact, were just beside themselves.  I really didn’t get it.  Then, completely out of the blue, my sister texts me, “Oh my gosh.  Do you know what I just saw on Twitter?  Someone just wrote, ‘For those of you who don’t understand why we’re all upset about Ron and Hermione, imagine what it would be like if Suzanne Collins suddenly said she regretted having Katniss and Peeta end up together?'”  Oh boy, that did it.  That would not be funny at all.  I think I’d be heartbroken.  I wouldn’t know what to believe in anymore.  I love Katniss and Peeta!!!  So, to all you Ron and Hermione fans out there, I, as an Everlark fan, apologize from the bottom of my heart.  I can’t imagine what that might feel like.  The good news is that they’re still canon and unless JK wants to write us more books, there’s nothing she can do about it.

Honestly though, I want more books about the Four Founders or the Marauders or the Weasleys.  Or all of the above.

4) 93 people have either reviewed or marked Cemetery Tours as to-read on GoodReads!  My goal for the end of February is to get that number up to 100!    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18470430-cemetery-tours

5) I finished Chapter 25 of the sequel last night.  I’m loving it, guys.  I really hope readers love it also.  Cemetery Tours is 28 chapters long, but I know that the sequel will be a little longer.  However, the sequel is just at 60,000 words and CT was something like 78,000.  We’ll see, though.

Again, stay warm.  Find a good book.  Light a fire.