A Brilliant Post As Written By Others

Today I was going to write a post about the journey of the writer never getting easier, but why that's a good thing. I was going to talk about the ups and downs.

But it seems Beth Revis and Elizabeth Davis have already beaten me to the punch. 

Liz has a visual representation of what it's like to write a book that had me cracking up.

Beth Revis has an amazing post, complete with a graph, of why you're never going to feel like it's "good enough" and why that's okay.

So away! Feast your eyes on their wisdom!

Ideas Like Weeds

Are you struggling with coming up with ideas to write about?

Good, me either. 

But, if you are, I have just the thing for you. All you have to do is work on another book. It's true! It seems like some sort of sick paradox, but the longer you work on one book project, the more ideas you will get for other books. 

My muse has the attention span of a five year old hopped up on sugar and a day of non-stop TV. I seriously have been getting a new idea for a character, a scenario, or vague plot just about every single day. I am closing in on the end of the rewrite, and I think my muse is getting desperate. The rewrite is coming along nicely, but I keep getting ideas for other stuff.

Of course, I am staying the course. I will finish this rewrite if it kills me (it just might, too. You never know). I just think it's funny how when you're working diligently on another project, you get all sorts of ideas for something else. 

Maybe it's just me though. Do you guys get ideas for other books while working on something else? One or two, or have you had stretches where you've had several new ones, one right after the other?

Maybe it's just me. I would blame caffeine, but I haven't had more than a few sips of tea since I got pregnant. Sugar, I could blame the sugar. Yes, it has to be the sugar.

Book Lust

This post is inspired by The Rejectionist's post yesterday.

Today we're going to talk about lust. Book lust. Because we're not just writers, we're also readers. A lot of my friends, while not being writers, are voracious readers. Obsessive readers form their own little crazy subgroup.  We have our own quirks. Some people call us obsessed, I think we just really like books.

Warning signs of being a compulsive readers are as follows:

*People always remark on your vast quantity of books.

*You carry a book with you everywhere you go.

*You will never have enough books.

*People who help you move complain about your massive boxes of books.

*You check the book section wherever you go. Goodwill, the grocery store, the pet store. 


If any of these warning signs apply to you, don't worry. You're already hooked on books. There's no backing out now.  The advent of Ereaders is only enabling your book buying habits. Less space, easier ways to hide them. Click the button, boom. Another book in your hoard.


I had to order a rain CD from Amazon so I could sleep at night, so of course I thought it would be a great time to order some more books. Since the CD almost put me at getting free shipping. Then I heard about Borders's amazing going out of business sale. So I bought a bunch of books from there.


Mind you, I have a huge stack of books I already need to read. It's like a sickness. A wonderful sickness. The Rejectionist was right. We're all going to be on Hoarders some day, unable to move because our mountain of books will be so large. 


At least being a writer gives me an excuse. I have to stay current in the market. I have to be well read. I have my husband convinced of this, although he still objects to my incessant need to fill my bookshelves up with books. He jokingly told me that when I have the baby, we're going to have to buy diapers instead of books.


I told him I'd rather starve, thank you very much.


I don't know what it is about books. But I love them. I love owning them. I like looking at them on my bookshelves. It fills me with great joy. 


What are your crazy book stories? I know you have them.

Book Review: Making Waves

The logical conclusion to my last post would be for me to review Making Waves. So here it is:

I loved it. 

I don't read a lot of romantic comedy, mostly because a vast majority of those books feel like they are just about the guy and the girl hooking up. Which, of course, that IS what a romance novel is about. But usually for me I need a little more going on in the book, or I just feel like I am reading a soap opera.

Happily, Tawna Fenske's book delivers a really cute romance, but also an interesting plot and hilarious characters. The core of the plot is disgruntled employees who are recently laid off, trying to steal their corrupt boss's illegal goods so they can use that to replace their pensions.

There's also lots of suspense and conflict, but what really made the book for me was the characters. The main female character, Juli Flynn, is...different. She's quirky, but not so quirky she turns into a stereotype of herself. The supporting characters are just as interesting, which make for interesting reading with all of them stuck on a boat together. I really enjoyed the chemistry all of the character had together. Making Waves is about a romance, but it's also about Juli trying desperately to find people she can fit in with.  

In short, I thought this book was awesome, even if I did get strange looks at the OB's office for laughing out loud.    

Pre-order a Book---Get a Free Bookmark!

Hello everyone! 

It's time for some promotion. Not for myself, but for fellow author Tawna Fenske. I've followed her blog for months now. If you're not following her, let me tell you--she's a riot. Every single post has some sort of funny innuendo. She's a really great example of how to blog so other people want to read your posts (needless to say, I take copious notes).

Her first book, Making Waves, is due to come out August 2nd, and in celebration of that illustrious event, she's bribing rewarding people who pre-order her book with mailing of bookmarks, entering them to win in a drawing, and other fun stuff. 

The best part? If you order from Amazon your book ships early! That's right, I am holding my copy in my hot little hands right now. Making Waves is a romantic comedy, so a perfect "beach read" or something to read if your children have sapped your brains from staying home all summer. 


Now if you'll excuse me, I have a book to read. It arrived just in time, because I am about to go see my OB and we all know how long and boring waiting at the doctor's office is.

Werewolves vs. Vampires: A Conversation

*Contains spoilers from Gail Carriger's Heartless*

Late at night as we were laying in bed trying to fall asleep, I told my husband that my mom had just finished Gail Carriger's Heartless. I'd bought the book the second it came out and passed it along to her to read. Mom emailed me, jokingly lamenting that when I have my baby, it's not going to turn into a little wolf cub or vampire depending on what sort of supernatural creature is currently holding it, like Alexia's baby does at the end of Heartless.

I told my husband, "Honestly, I am a little disappointed too. Although the set up would be reversed in our case. You would much rather be a vampire, and I'd rather be a werewolf."

Husband: "Really? You'd want to turn into an animal?"
 
Me: "Yeah, it would be really cool. I could turn into a wolf, and run around, and smell stuff, and get in people's way--"

Husband: "And eat people."


Me: "No, I'd eat deer or something. At least I wouldn't be dead."


Husband: "People die all the time."

Me: "You'd be drinking blood all the time, gross."


Husband: "I wouldn't be allergic to silver bullets--"


Me: "--holy water, crosses, garlic, stakes..."


Husband mutters darkly: "If I was a vampire, they'd never find me."

Me: *laughs* "That's right honey. They would never find you."


Then we went on to talk about how humans should never actually be able to beat vampires if they are as powerful as they were back in Dracula's day, since they are practically demigods. Also how vampires would control overpopulation if the vampires in question were really strong and immortal, and don't die easily.

Just a normal late night conversation in the Poole household.

Harry Potter: the End of an Era

*sniff* He's all grown up.

 The second part of the last Harry Potter movie releases today. 

It feels like the end of an era. 

I know, I know, it really ended when the seventh book came out, but even then it didn't feel like it was over. We all knew there would be more movies coming out. 

But today that is no longer true. This is the last Harry Potter movie, and it makes me a little sad and very nostalgic. Sometimes a book (or book series) transcends it's medium and becomes part of our culture.

For me, the Harry Potter books were like that. Yes, they are well written amazing books. But their popularity, the controversy they caused, and the excitement I felt with my friends when a new book would be released made them more than just a bunch of books.

I wasn't into the books at first. I didn't understand what the hype was about. It was like a loud party going on in the next room. Even though I wasn't reading the books myself, I was impressed with the series all the same. 

My little brother, who "hates" to read, was reading them. He was in middle school at the time, and he was so excited about the books he went to the midnight release parties. That was very impressive. For a kid who thought books were boring, here was a series he was avidly reading.

Then my best friend, who'd read the books, recommended them to me. She said I would enjoy them. So that was another seed. One night, while bored, my brothers and I sat down to watch the first Harry Potter movie. 

And I enjoyed it. I thought it was really well done. It was summer, and I didn't have anything to read. So I borrowed my little brother's books and I cracked open the first one. 

I finished it later on that night. I tore through my little brother's collection until I was caught up (Order of the Phoenix had just been released). Suddenly I understood what everyone else was talking about. These were awesome books. I could see why they were so popular. 

From then on, I took part in the fandom. I went to see the movies with my friends and later on, husband, because we were all fans. I got to tell my husband what was different about the movie from the book. Even though my little brother never became a voracious reader, he still went on to read other books. He read the Dark Tower series by Stephan King when the rest of us were passing that series around like crack, and was able to get the references from those books we kept making. Without Harry Potter, I don't think he would have bothered to read them, or the other books he picked up.

And tonight, the last Harry Potter movie releases. 

It's the end of an era, but it doesn't mean that Harry Potter has to go away. I am pregnant. Someday I will get to pass my copies along to my kids, and maybe even start another generation of Potter fans.