Angie Frazier

Summer vacation is so far very productive for my writing. I'm not sure how it's happened, but for two mornings now my kids have taken to playing together while I write. They don't ask for a video. They don't ask for breakfast. (I had to remind them to eat!). They just...play. And I just...write. And it's 11:12 a.m. and I have added 2,414 words to my WIP. A great scene! A tense scene! And I got to write it all, uninterrupted. Amazing.

I'm off to the bakery with the kids now to thank them for their cooperation. We now resume our regular scheduled program. :-)

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is really a 3-1/2 for me.



The cover drew me in...it is simply gorgeous. Also, I'd been dying to read a story about mermaids or mermen and this seemed like a great choice. I loved how easy it was to submerge myself in the story. Friedman's descriptions of Selkie Island involved all of the senses--taste, smell, touch, etc... And Miranda and Leo, and the host of characters, had plenty of secrets and mysteries to go around.



Biggest let-down: The lore of Selkie Island was a bit too heavy handed in the beginning chapters, though I did like Miranda's scientific outlook and her predisposition to dismiss any kind of superstitions. Still, I wish the book would have slowly dipped me into the realities of Selkie Island's lore, rather than dump me in headfirst. Right from the beginning, I knew the truth about Leo. I felt I knew more than Miranda, and that bothered me a bit.



I liked how Friedman made the relationship between Miranda, her mom, and Miranda's dead grandmother, one of the most integral plot lines of the story. And Leo...well, he's just plain hawt :-) The ending perfectly sets up a sequel, which I will most definitely be reading.


View all my reviews.

A trip to the bookstore resulted in me adding these to my OSHA condemned tower of books:

I've offered a full chapter critique over at Cynthea Liu's awesome auction to benefit the deserving kids at Tulakes Elementary, and there are tons of other great critique offers up there, too!

Visit the auction online, take a look , place a bid, and help some kids get the books that will enrich their lives and imaginations!

It's been an odd kind of morning. I'm happy because I've already pounded out 1,200 words in my Huntsman WIP, and my girls are content playing Candy Land and My Little Ponies while I work. But I'm sad because my best friend, Sarah, just emailed me to remind me that today is the anniversary of my college friend's death. 

Kevin, Sarah and I were inseparable freshman year. Kevin and Sarah were a couple, and I was the third wheel, but it never quite felt that way. It was such a fun and exciting time, being away from home for the first time, banding together to make our own home, our own little family, at college. God, the memories of that year are still so fresh even though it's been over a decade now.

Skateboarding down the halls on Kevin's board, feasting on Ramen noodles, hanging out at the student center, Kevin and Sarah prank calling me one night while I was alone in my dorm room...they could see me from another dorm, and they were using a voice changer to pull the whole creepy thing off. We spent April vacation at a ski resort, where one night before heading to bed Kevin and I were brushing our teeth in the bathroom, and reenacted a Billy Madison scene totally impromptu and with total, unflinching perfection (all you Billy Madison fans will appreciate!):

Me: "Pepsodent toothpaste is the best toothpaste ever."
Kevin: "I disagree. It's a very good toothpaste, but Crest is the best toothpaste ever."
Me: "Crest sucks."
Kevin: "You know what, YOU SUCK!"

Kevin was the kind of person who just made you laugh, even at the expense of himself. Over the summer, between freshman and sophomore years, Sarah and Kevin broke up. I remember talking to Kevin on the phone that summer, and being devastated because I knew I wouldn't be friends with him the same way ever again. Sarah and I would stick together. We got an apartment off campus, I was her maid of honor the year after we graduated, I'm "Aunt Angie" to her two girls...we're still best friends. 

A few years back, I got an email from her. It consisted of one sentence. "Kevin's dead." Panicked, I searched the web, and found the article. He'd been driving on an interstate in Georgia when the drunk driver of a tractor trailer truck slammed into him, killing him instantly. Kevin had been on the phone with his sister at the time. Kevin was dead. I couldn't grasp it. I still can't.

The last three years of college I saw Kevin on campus, said hi to him whenever we passed eachother. Just before graduation, I remember how we ran into eachother outside the student center. And he hugged me. He'd changed a lot, but was still the skater kid I'd known. Still the kid who'd posed with me and Sarah and our friend Jess with Peach-Os stuck on our noses. He was still Kevin.

You're missed, Kev.

Just finished the last sentences of CATCHING FIRE.

Oh. My. Collins.

It is FABULOUS!  More than fabulous...it's even better than the first book. The love triangle with Katniss, Gale, and Peeta is beyond heart-wrenching; the twists, the turns, totally threw me for a loop. I can't say much else, or else I'll be giving away key twist details. But honestly, my ONE complaint for the entire book was that I, as the reader, was able to figure out something right away that Katniss didn't until the end. And I didn't quite believe that she wouldn't have figured this out. But that's all I'm gonna say :-) I know, so vague.

So, what, now I have to wait another year before the third book comes out? I need more Gale & Katniss tension, like now. :-)

A fellow Tenner, Jen Cervantes, pointed out this fantastic article from BiblioBuffet today. For any adult questioning why they'd ever actually want to check out the YA section of the bookstore or library, there are some light-shedding reasons put forth. Take these snippets for example:

"Today’s YA fiction, in the overwhelming majority of cases, is written from the authentic point of view of a YA, not employing the benefit-of-old-age trick. That’s the real critical difference between it and adult fiction. But the beauty of the current YA landscape? Everything you see on the adult side of the store—literary, mystery, romance, comedy, you name it—it’s all there on the YA side, but with one more critical difference: because the audience is still discovering the newness of the world in terms of events and ideas, the writing somehow manages to match that newness by being fresh."

and

"Some people still think all YA fiction is Stephenie Meyer or books about gossip and the wealthy. Or else that each book centers on high school events—Football! Prom! Pimples! But there’s just so much else going on."

So far, no one I know has asked me why I choose to write YA. I might print off this article and keep it handy for the day that question is inevitably asked. Knowing me, I'd answer with something lame like, "Because it's awesome, OK?" :-)

Many writers use music to inspire their craft, piecing together whole playlists that relate to their book’s characters, scenes, and plot points. My playlists tend to be of the instrumental variety, with no lyrics to hold me back from slipping entirely into the world that belongs to my protagonists.

There is something powerful about a song that is able to take you out of the world you are physically part of, and bring you someplace deep inside your imagination. For me, no song does this better than Yo Yo Ma’s “Eternal Vow.” It’s intoxicating and tragic, and when I listen carefully I can hear its story unfolding as the music climbs to a climatic point.

Like a book, the music begins at a slow pace…builds and complicates…falls off as the story takes a pivotal turn for the worst…works to overcome the setback before rising to the climatic scene…resolves itself, and ends. But the story of the “Eternal Vow” isn’t a happy ending. It falls off, unfinished almost. To me, it feels tragic. Star-crossed. What do you hear?

Close your eyes, and listen.

 Guess what I found in my mailbox this morning? 

A CATCHING FIRE ARC!!!

I was so excited, I ran back to the car, tore open the padded envelope, inhaled a lungful of that horrid dusty particle stuff, and proceeded to do the happy dance while in the driver's seat until my girls were reduced to giggles in the backseat ;-) 

I'm nearly finished with my revisions and will be able to read CATCHING FIRE as a reward after. Yay!

 Debut author Megan Crewe is holding a contest on her blog, and the spoils include a few great ghosty books--including her own, of course! Check it out.

 Made my way through all of my editor's notes. Phew. Now I'm implementing all of my short changes, having made all of my longer changes into a master document already. Then, I'm going to read through it and see how I can work in one of my editor's larger revision ideas. 

I'm not sure I'm going about this as effectively as I could be, but oh well. My system will work out, as convoluted as it may seem to any other sane person. 

On the plus side, I figured out how I want to design my new website! And I'm going to learn how to make bread! I know, I'm scatter brained. It's just a sign of my productivity (or of my demise).

Good night ;-)

No, I did not just title this post in another language. YAMGWriMo is the "write a novel in a month" thing-a-majiggy that we at The 5 Randoms are hosting in the month of June.

Are you working on a WIP? Do you want to check in daily (or weekly. whatever, we're laid back) with 5 sentences as proof to your hard core writing? :-) Well, Amanda, Susan, Robin and I are all looking for writers to join us as we endeavor to write 30,000 words in a month. We're posting each day with updates and excerpts and plenty of encouragement in the form of giveaways and contests :-) 

I've posted the first 5 sentences of my current WIP, the dark YA fantasy loosely based on the Huntsman from the tale of Snow White. Head on over and share something you wrote today :-)

In case you missed my interview with Cindy Pon over at The 5 Randoms, I've just added an image of the art on Cindy's gorgeous SILVER PHOENIX bookmarks that are up for grabs. Just leave a comment and you're entered to win! 

Progress is happening with revisions. I'm attacking everything page-by-page, no reading ahead to see what my genius editor had to say. It's like reading a book and not wanting to know what happens at the end. Actually, I just don't want to get overwhelmed by all the line edits. I'm keeping a running tally and so far only 5 out of the 168 pages I've reviewed and worked on have been free of any changes!

I also worked first thing this morning on content for my new website. I'm very excited about it. I want something simple and clean and focused, and I think I've come up with some good ideas. I hope. 

On the reading front, I have come to the conclusion that I simply cannot spend any more energy trying to enjoy The Time Traveler's Wife. There are many of you out there who loved this one, and I really wanted to as well...sigh. I've moved on to The Graveyard Book, and it's good so far. Dragging a bit, but still enjoyable. 

OK, I'm babbling. Time to sign off for the night. 

Every Friday night my husband comes home from work with some sort of goody...a bottle of wine, a DVD rental, ice cream, etc... Tonight he brought home all 3 of those! Smoking Loon cabernet, a pint of Ben & Jerry's Mint Chocolate Cookie, and (**cue screeching brakes sound effect**) Twilight??? 

My husband hasn't read the books, and has no interest in doing so either. Heck, he hasn't even read MY book (to which his excuse is that he's waiting until it's made into a movie. Yeah. Good plan. You'll be waiting a while, bro.) So why would he bring home a movie that I have said time and again was hilarious for its horrible over-acting?

Husband: "I've GOT to find out what the big freakin' deal is."

Ha!

ETA: Husband's reaction after watching Twilight: "Yeah. I can see how girls can get hooked on that."

Revision Log: Page 92 of 295

Head on over to The 5 Randoms to read an interview with the author of SILVER PHOENIX, Cindy Pon! While you're there, leave a comment in the comment field and you'll be entered to win a gorgeous bookmark featuring Chinese brush paint by Cindy!

Yes, THE LETTER has arrived. I am handling it well, actually. Three pages (single-spaced) were devoted to the four "big" revision suggestions. All the smaller edits are marked in blue pencil, which just happens to appear on every single page. Blue pencil is better than red pen. Blue is soothing. I think Editor Jen chooses to edit in blue so that her writers don't crumple up into a fetal position and bang their head against the floor.

So, for my own documentation purposes (because I understand most of you don't care where I am in revisions, you just want to read the final product, right? You're pining for it, right? I mean, you've probably already gone onto Amazon to see if you can pre-order it. Right??), I am going to keep a Revision Log. Pay no attention to the little numbers at the bottom of each blog post from now on. Until I'm finished, of course, and then we can PAR-TAY!

Yes, I've consumed way too much caffeine today.

Pages Reviewed: 69 of 265

(and just so you know, I'm actually reviewing all Editor Jen's comments/suggestions and making changes where I can on the manuscript pages before I enter them into a Word doc. Does anyone else do it this way? Is there an easier way?)

What is this, you ask?

Well, if you were in my living room a few moments ago, you would have heard my 5-year-old and 3-year-old daughters playing with their My Little Ponies, screaming that they needed to "Race to the Mountain of Hands and Teeth! Hurry!"

Who knew Carrie Ryan's book would make its way into their imaginative play? I read Forest of Hands and Teeth about three weeks ago, my 5-year-old totally captivated by the book's cover the whole time. I remember telling her once or twice what the title of the book was. She obviously remembered :-)

Now, if they start pretending their ponies are zombie ponies and begin moaning instead of neighing, I'll be very worried.

ETA: Oh wow. Now the ponies are singing Poker Face. Lady Gaga has also seemed to make an impression on my daughters... hmmmm....

 Today at The 5 Randoms, I'm reviewing the new release by Lurlene McDaniel, BREATHLESS.

We're also going to announce the winner of our first Query Hook Contest.

Come on by!

...the scent of myrrh?? I've never smelled it before, and it plays a role in my WIP. For those of you who know, how would YOU put its scent into words?

Thanks!