Chapter One...

There's nothing like a trip to Paris to derail your blog updates, right?

Me totally behaving myself at the Louvre

Also, the pink hair's gone now. Some things are awesome for a little while, and then it's okay to go back to something that doesn't make people double-take.

First things first: I finished Exchange in Eichstätt (Kat Shergill Mystery 2). While I'm polishing up the last bit of editing, you can enjoy the first chapter here: (click). You're more than welcome to send comments/concerns before the whole thing goes live.

Also, I finished a few books (reading), and I have some thoughts.

The Stranger -- Kyra Davis
This is a trilogy, of which I've only read the first 2 parts. With part 3 now available, I ought to get on that.
So, this is erotica. I struggled through Fifty Shades of Gray (shouldn't say that... I didn't get through it because of all the cringing), and thought there had to be something better than this if I wanted to read a sexy story. Since I'm a fan of Kyra Davis' mystery books, I got right on board.
The good news: it's better than 50 Shades. The bad news: the story deals with domination. Instead of feeling sexy, sometimes I just wanted to not be around the male protagonist. Oh really? You'll allow me to do this? You want me to ask you specifically for X sexy favor? You've got a special acceptable behavior for me? How about you go **** yourself?
Granted, this specific area is touchy for me and is not the fault of the author.

The Hunger Games -- Suzanne Collins
I stayed away from this trilogy because it's YA. I'm not a teenager, so I didn't think it would be for me. I was wrong, and I'm okay with that. The characters were real and relatable, and the suspense/drama/danger stayed tight throughout. At the end, I felt drained and sad, and I wanted to pick up the first book again immediately and re-read the whole thing.

I Can Barely Take Care of Myself -- Jen Kirkman
If you're a person who wants children, you won't enjoy this book. On the other hand, I can't imagine my life WITH one, and can't understand why it's so important for other people. Reading this book was one big, "Yeah! I agree with you!" fest. Also, all these "don't ruin your life with a pregnancy" ads have done nothing to change my mind.

Thanks, terrifying ad on the subway! I will never be letting any babies in my house.

Okay, back to something that's not so scary. Stephen King.

Misery -- Stephen King
Now, I've got to say, I love me some Stephen King, and I've probably already gone off about it at length. I'm much happier, though, when he stays away from creatures and focuses on the evils that live in people's hearts. That's the stuff that's really scary ... something unassuming (an ex-nurse, for example), but hiding something disturbing.
The fun thing about reading a horror novel is that sometimes you're reading along, all suspensed-up, and then something gruesome happens (like the person's head comes off). I get the book away from me and shut my eyes. But this isn't like a scary movie: the pictures are in my head, and they stay there. So I open my eyes and check out the ads in the subway...

OH MY GOD!!!!!!

The fun thing about Misery was that it was about a writer with a crazy fan. Maybe I'll never crash my car and be nursed back to health by my "umber whuun fayunn", but the way King describes writing is exactly how I feel about it. "Falling into the hole in the paper"... very accurate (also for reading). And I'll bet if my freedom was contingent on me leaving the one and only copy of my novel behind, I might not leave either (not really a spoiler). 

What the hell is up with Melanie?

(Yes, I stole and modified the title from my friend Jenny, but only because I love her.)

Unless you count spending far too much time on social networking sites trying to get people to pay attention to me like an ignored 5-year-old, there isn't much to report. If I don't go food shopping soon, I'll be eating cereal for dinner (not that there's anything wrong with that). The pile of clothes in the corner of my room hasn't diminished for quite some time.

On the plus side, I got some comments back recently for the 2nd book in the Kat Shergill series, so I've been working on that. Still trying to come up with a title. Maybe I'll hold a contest. This ties nicely into the "wanting attention" category.

Also a plus: I love my job! This is good because I spent a lot of money to get a job like this. It still amazes me that some days I think, "Maybe I'll go in to work and get some highlights," or, "My friend needs a haircut -- I'll take her to work on my day off." I would have shot myself if I'd ever thought, "you know, those reinsurance status reports aren't going to process themselves. I have some extra time on Saturday ... think I'll go in for free."

my tools are even pretty!

I also re-watched The Lord of the Rings recently. Not only is the imagery in that movie gorgeous, but the characters are so dimensional. I appreciate things like this more now that I'm writing with a fury: not everyone is completely good or bad. Take Frodo for example: he's the underdog who saves the world and destroys the ring. Hooray! Except it wasn't as simple as that. He starts out friendly, loving, slowly becomes untrusting and weary, identifies more with someone who's been through similar trials more than his best friend, makes Sam cry, changes his mind about saving the world, and succeeds BY ACCIDENT. It's so beautifully done. Even when Frodo shows his ugly side, we still know he's a good guy.



Not in the same category, but I also re-read Kyra Davis' Sex, Murder and a Double Latte. The humor in this book is nothing short of charming. Still suspenseful even though I knew what was going to happen. (It's always disappointing to go back to a book or movie I thought I loved only to find I just hyped it up.) When my little monetary slump is over, I'll buy her newest in the series (she's now indie like me!).

Back to editing.

Q&A

I've been tagged. And I'm going to tag you too.

THE RULES


1. You must post the rules.  

2. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.   

3. Tag eleven people (or as many as you can) and link to them on your post.

4. Let them know you've tagged them! 

It's always fun (for me) to be part of an interview, so when M. Nicole Cunningham tagged me, I was flattered. Here are her questions:




1. What is the oldest book you've ever read?
In terms of publication, probably the Bible. In terms of the age of a physical book, I've read several classics from the early 1900's. I liked the brittle pages and that the cover might fall off if I wasn't careful (no, really!)

2. What was the first story you ever wrote and what was it about?
My very first story was called The Bad Carwash. I probably wrote it when I was in kindergarten. It was about a woman who went to a car wash and got her dress caught in the door, thereby soaking her dress by the time the wash was finished. Started strong, but degraded into multiple car washes with various parts of the car falling off in the process. That's actually about how long the original was, too.

3. Who is your favorite author? If you have several, list them all out!
Always a tough question for me. Classically, I love Oscar Wilde and Charles Dickens. In the modern world, I'm pulled toward writers who take my mind off other things, like Kyra Davis and Jennifer Weiner.

4. Tell me a little story about the significance of your birth date.  Feel free to embellish. 
Well, I was born. That's pretty significant to me!

5. What tropes are beginning to annoy you in steampunk? I know you have a few; I certainly do. *coughairshippiratescough* 
Uh, I'm not entirely engaged in steampunk, so I couldn't say.

6. Do you think a novel needs an idealized hero?
No. The hero should be someone who's flawed -- someone people can relate to. Any time you idealize something, you run the risk of it becoming a parody or a "Mary Sue".

7. What do you think of gender roles in novels?  Should they reflect reality, an ideal, or something in between?  
Most often, they should reflect reality. I write everything from "the present" so the roles are what I see around me.

8. What makes a delicious villain?  
Someone who has 2 sides. Everyone has a little good and a little evil, so when the villain displays something good, something you can identify with and (possibly) agree with, it makes the character so much frightening (and believable).

9. Tell me about a lesser-known novel that made an indelible impression on you and why.  
I could probably sit here all day thinking of the "perfect" choice here, but I'm gonna go with Help! A Bear is Eating Me! by Mykle Hansen. Hilarious! It impressed me because voice can make or break a story. This story is more than a little morbid (a man trapped under a car has his legs slowly eaten by a bear), but the way the author handles the narrative and characterization makes the novel funny.

10. Earlybird or night owl?  
A little of both.

11. Favorite mythological being?  Feel free to pick an obscure one.  
Unicorns. They were a serious favorite when I was a kid, and they still make me a little happy. Although, if we could put some wings on a cat, that would be cool. My cat already hurls herself through the air, so I wouldn't have a hard time picturing that.

Now for the tagging! 

• Jenny Duggan
• Richard Pearson
• Megg Jensen
• The Lisas
• Veronica and Thomas
• Marcus Stricklin

Please answer the following questions:

1. What's the most annoying book you've ever read?
2. You're in a bookstore: what's the first section you visit?
3. What project are you working on now?
4. Are you a "plotter" or "pantser" (i.e. do you use an outline or just "wing it")?
5. What do you do when you're not writing?
6. Why did you choose your specific genre?
7. Who are your biggest influences?
8. How much of your writing is based on your own experiences?
9. Are you ever afraid you'll never have another book idea?
10. We all like TV (even if we don't want to admit it). What's your favorite TV show?

Girl Detective

Nancy Drew taught me that reading didn't have to be boring and stupid. When you're homeschooled and all reading becomes "required," it's easy to want to do anything else.

Nancy was cool, though. She had a boyfriend (which my parents didn't like), investigated behind the police's backs, and saw all kinds of trouble (which my parents told me would give a real person serious mental problems). Regardless, I became hooked on The Nancy Drew Files -- it was the coolest of all the series.

Though I didn't grow up to be a detective (it was a runner-up), I kept reading and eventually writing about them. 

My current favorite "adult Nancy Drew" is the Sophie Katz series by Kyra Davis. Luckily for me, she's posting a chapter of her newest novel on her blog every week until the official release date. For reasons the author herself can fill you in on, this latest book will be indie (like me!), which is very exciting. You should all check it out. I even reviewed Sex, Murder, and a Double Latte on my previous blog.

Similar to Nancy, Sophie has a boyfriend (but a much cooler one ... I mean, I know Nancy's was invented in the 20s, but Ned? No longer sexy), goes behind the police's backs, and sees a lot of trouble. But there's also sex and language (sorry, mom) that makes the stories much more interesting.

I guess the reason I've preferred amateur detectives to professional ones is that they give me the hope that one day it could be me. I don't want to work for the police or be a reporter or any of that. But what if I get a client in my chair and she blabs a little too much about "that chick who got stabbed" ...? I'd put things together, ask the wrong person questions, and because I carry my shears and razor with me everywhere, they'd turn into the perfect weapons when I get kidnapped for knowing too much.

Yeah, not likely, but still.