GAME OF THRONES: SEASON 2

The dragons are coming.... Sunday, April 1, 2012.

Needless to say, I'm excited. I hope I'll be able to enjoy the premiere without a repeat of last year's Game of Thrones Experience with the Kids in the House.

As a huge fan of the books, I thoroughly enjoyed last season. I got a huge kick out of the reactions from my friends who had never read the books, but were totally enjoying the series. They had no idea of the twists awaiting. As the last few episodes aired, it was tragic.

 I'm trying to be cryptic, no spoilers. But, maybe I'm going overboard and confusing everyone. So I'll stop here with a final warning.

Since the series appears to follow the books faithfully, be prepared. War is coming. It'll get nasty. And nobody is safe.

I'M BLOG HOPPING

Earlier this month, Michelle Hauck shared her inspiration in an awesome Sharing Our Voices post. Thank you again, Michelle.

So when she asked me to write up a post on Getting The Call, I couldn't say no. Not that the thought even crossed my mind. I love my awesome critique partner to pieces. Plus, this is one of my most exciting memories. It's right up there with the day I got married and the birth of my children.

I relive the excitement of that day whenever I get discouraged with this writing journey. It helps to remind me that no matter what stage of the process I've entered, whether it be starting a new wip, learning how to write a query letter and synopsis, querying agents, editing, going on submission...etc.

This is my dream and each experience is a memory I'll treasure.

Here are the links if you want to stop by and say hello:

For the Love of Writing
Michelle4Laughs- It's in the Details

Thanks :)

P.S. Happy Birthday, Daddy. Love ya.

HIBERNATION COMA, WAKE ME WHEN IT'S WARM

I'm sorry to say I don't have a Sharing Our Voices Post today. I love learning about what inspires my fellow writers. If anyone would like to volunteer and share, please email me.

I've been hibernating. For some reason, March puts me in a foul mood. I always catch some nasty virus. Right now, I'm fighting off a sinus infection. Hopefully, it won't be a repeat of last March when I was down with bronchitis for a week and had crazy fever dreams featuring the cast of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake novels. Wicked crazy.

I haven't felt inclined to start a new writing project. I still need to finish editing the three wips, DJINNI, HOUND OF ANNWYN, and QUEST lounging about in my computer. I rotate my efforts between them, because I'm always thinking of new ways to improve upon the existing storylines. A story isn't done until the ideas dry up, right? Or until it's published.

I've been critiquing for my partners, and they're reciprocating by reading my latest wip, QUEST. I still love this story, and I’m learning more about the elements needed to make it middle grade. I'm still trying to convince my daughter to draw character sketches. She started one last week, but got distracted by Naruto (she's totally addicted now). Maybe I should just do it myself. Sigh.

So, how’s everyone doing? Any new projects?

MY GIRLFRIEND IS A GUMIHO (NINE-TAILED FOX)

My Girlfriend is a Gumiho is a South Korean romantic comedy series that broadcasted in 2010. It can be found on Hulu and Netflix. I suggest watching on Netflix to avoid commercials.

Here’s a short blurb:

A gumiho, legendary fox with nine tails, is trapped inside a painting of Grandma Samshin for 500 years after false rumors are spread claiming she eats the livers of humans making her unable to find a husband so she can become human being.

Cha Dae-Woong (Lee Seung Gi), a spoiled brat of a man-child, accidently releases the gumiho. Terrified, he takes a life-threatening fall and the gumiho saves his life. After he wakes up, he meets a pretty girl, not knowing she’s the gumiho he released. Because the gumiho saved his life he has no choice but to let the gumiho stay with him.

The actress, Shin Min Ah, who plays Mi ho is “pinch her cheeks” adorable until her foxy side comes out, and then she can be downright terrifying.

This is a very cute show. Kiwi and I watched it after watching Playful Kiss, so of course there were comparisons in my mind. Some of the episodes dragged for me. However, Kiwi loved they mystery and magic of this fairytale, and she wouldn’t let me abandon it. I'm glad I hung in despite the slow parts, because I was balling my eyes out like a wee little babe at the surprise ending.

THE FAIRY GODMOTHER FILES: Cinderella Complex by Rebekah L. Purdy

Rebekah L. Purdy's @RebekahLPurdy novel THE FAIRY GODMOTHER FILES: Cinderella Complex is now available through Astraea Press. I'm so excited, I begged for a chance to feature her on my blog. Check out the blurb:

Sixteen-year-old Maggie Winters can’t think of anything more exciting than junior year. There’s her first prom to look forward to, she can drive, and most important Connor Prince has finally noticed her. But unfortunately so has the school snob, Katrina Melville, who goes out of her way to make Maggie’s life a living hell. If that’s not enough, Maggie’s grandma has decided to retire, which doesn’t seem like such a big deal. That is until she finds out her grandma is a Fairy Godmother, and not just any Fairy Godmother. The Fairy Godmother, as in Cinderella, pumpkins, and mice. And she has informed Maggie that she’s next in line to become the new Fairy Godmother.

At first Maggie is excited, the whole getting wings, flying (or rather trying not to crash), and a wand that lets her grant wishes. It’s like being a superhero, without all the action, explosions, and spandex. Then she gets her first assignment, Katrina Melville, her nemesis. And if that doesn’t make her want to poof herself into oblivion, she finds out that part of Katrina’s happily-ever-after is Connor Prince. Life is so unfair. Even worse, she can’t tell her two best friends about any of it and they’re getting sick of her disappearing acts. Then there are the dangerous creatures, called Grimms who will stop at nothing to keep the happy endings from being fulfilled, even if it means destroying the Fairy Godmother responsible. With time running out, Maggie has to make this wish come true or it will ruin the fates of everyone involved, and open the world to darkness beyond imagination. Maggie will soon find out what it truly means to be a Fairy Godmother—and it isn’t all about princes, gowns, and wings, but something much more.

Doesn't this sound fantastic. I can't wait to buy my copy. I know Kiwi and I will be fighting over who gets to read this first. For more information on Rebekah, please check out these blogs:

Traci Kenworth
Liz Botts
Vanessa Barger

You can find The Fairy Godmother Files: Cinderella Complex at:

Astraea Press
Amazon
Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble

Rebekah is also giving away bookmarks and book cover trading cards! She can do 4-5 of each. So, please go to Rebekah's blog and leave her a comment under her "release date" post and she'll pick some winners.

Rebekah L Purdy
Blog: Writer Adrift

SHARING OUR VOICES- MICHELLE HAUCK

I'd like to welcome Michelle Hauck. She graciously agreed to write a post about how her environment influences her writing. Please check out her blog Michelle4Laughs- It's in the Details 
for more about this amazing and talented woman.


Thank you, Michelle.


Angie asked me to write about how my culture or environment influences my writing.  I’d like to say my family could be plunked down on the set of Big Fat Greek Wedding and blend right in, but that would be stretching the truth a tad. Okay, more than a tad. At the movie wedding, we’d be the humdrum people across the aisle on the groom’s side, the pale colorless ones who don’t tan. My family is a combination of parts of Western Europe: one set of grandparents are Swiss, the others are a mix of German, Irish, and Scotch. We’re not exactly overflowing with stand out or unique traditions. A little bit nutty like most families, but we’re talking pretty much typical suburban American background here.

 

I do live in the paradise of extreme northern Indiana, pressed right under Lake Michigan. It ranks right up there with New York and LA for excitement. I won’t go into our glittering lights (fireflies) or tall buildings (Marriott building all of ten stories). Northern Indiana has an abundance of two things: seasons and cornfields. Here in Indiana, we go from three feet of snow with a wind chill of thirty below to heat indexes in the high nineties. That’s variety for you. We also have a little something the weather people like to talk about called lake effect. Lake effect is when the wind blows off Lake Michigan and dumps snow or rain on you when the next county over has clear skies. You’ve heard of Buffalo, N.Y. and their snow piles, we’re their less famous cousin. I really don’t like to dwell on winter by writing about it. Moving on.

 

Cornfields. What can you say about that? Indiana is classified as deciduous forest and that is definitely the type of plants and animals I use when writing. I’m keen on gardening so I like to use flowers to show progression of time.  Lilacs and bleeding hearts get replaced by roses and daylilies as spring moves to summer. Characters might enjoy a kiss under the white blossoms of a snowball bush or be pulling garlic mustard weeds from their vegetable gardens. Not that cornfields don’t make fascinating reading material.  Perhaps someday I can dedicate a whole book to them.  Look for it on Amazon.

When local environments and your culture fail you, the dedicated writer looks elsewhere.

The description of my invented castle came from actual castles like Leeds which I toured in England. The volcanic landscape and brilliant turquoise waters where my main character searches for a cure are actually from Yellowstone. Wind rippling the tall grass in waves up a South Dakota Hill and seen from a car window can be the setting to display my hero. From my former neighborhood in Tennessee, a pine forest where the red ground is strewn with dead needles. My grandparents’ small Indiana farm (now a modern housing area) became a magical oasis in a dystopian destroyed civilization.  

 It’s not so much who you are or where you live, but what you’ve seen and experienced. Anything can become fodder for a story. Talent lies in incorporating your whole life into the details of what you write.   

http://michelle4laughs.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=802397835

PLAYFUL KISS/ MISCHIEVOUS KISS

This South Korean Drama is based on the Japanese manga ITAZURA NA KISS created by Tada Kaoru. We found it on HULU, but a seven episode "Playful Kiss: Special Edition" reportedly was released on YouTube (I haven't looked for it yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed).

Let me break down the deets for ya.

Oh Ha Ni (Jung So Min) is a naïve and fanciful high school girl who places in the bottom of her class. She’s in love with A Spirit of the Forest, a genius male student name Baek Seung Jo (Kim Hyun Joong, from BOYS BEFORE FLOWERS) who not only is way out of her league, but he also hates “stupid girls.” 

Oh Ha Ni confesses her love to Baek Seung Jo, and he totally humiliates her in front of half the school. The jerk. Still, our little Noah Snail doesn't give up on her crush, and luck gives a helping hand in the form of a mild earthquake which destroys Oh Ha Ni’s home. She and her father move in with her father’s childhood friend. The father of Baek Seung Jo.

Kiwi and are are halfway through this sixteen episode series, but after a slow start, we've fallen in love with OH HA NI! The amount of contact embarrassment we get whenever Oh Ha Ni interacts with her crush has us rolling on the bed. It’s not only funny, but so sweet.

SHARING OUR VOICES- BLAKELY CHORPENNING @bchorpenning

I want to welcome back Blakely Chorpenning, author of FRAYED: A Madison Lark Novella. The idea of  Sharing Our Voices came to me after having a conversation with Blakely about her inspiration for the multi-cultural cast of characters in her novella (check out her earlier post).

Blakely's post articulates the reason why many writers feel uncomfortable, or are afraid, of writing from a perspective foreign to their own. I believe by taking on this challenge, we grow as authors while celebrating diverse cultural experiences, especially in YA. This is a topic I love to explore, and ya'll know how much the anthropologist in me loves learning about other cultures, even when they're supernatural.

So, please welcome Blakely as she tells you in her own words what inspires her.

Thank you for having me back, Angie! You taunted me with such an irresistible topic. I was like a little kid drawn to a pack of pixie sticks. But honestly, you had me at “Howdy”.

So, cultural and environmental influences. Those two words are filled with entire worlds. And they’re pertinent to every piece of writing. I don’t think a story can reach that level of “meaningful” once cultural or environmental factors are drained or you lose a huge piece of heart from your writing.

It’s taken a while for me to get to a point in my writing where I don’t guard those influences like I once did. When I was younger, I was scared that branching away from my immediate experiences might offend someone else. And I always played by the golden rule: “Write what you know.” I love this rule. It keeps me honest. But I’ve also reached a point in my life where –after blatantly breaking this rule- I’ve realized that I was taking it too literal to begin with.

“Write what you know.”

I don’t know what it’s like to walk through an American mall wearing a burka. To have people stare at me and think they already know everything worth knowing about me –fearing me- without taking the time to even find out my name.

I don’t know what it’s like to be a Hispanic woman struggling through a new language and culture. To have to rely on my child for something as simple as checking out at the grocery store. To not let those whispers or rude comments affect my confidence as a person worthy of much more.

I don’t know what it was like to be an African American woman in the South sixty years ago. Twenty years ago. One year ago. Yesterday. I can read about them, and I have, and I sympathize. But I will never truly know the personal cost it takes to insure that my family thrives in an environment that wants everything but.
So what do I know?

I know from personal experience that racism and biasness are serious issues. While I didn’t mind being “That White Girl” on the bus in tenth grade, I have minded the biased attitudes that infringe on me as a person, that only see the color of my skin or my gender. They don’t see my multi-cultural family members. They don’t see that drop of Cherokee in my cheekbones. They don’t see that I am capable of defending myself. They don’t see that these things do not define me. They don’t see that there’s nothing wrong with the color of my skin or my gender or anything else. They don’t see…me.

“Write what you know.”

This is what I know.

I want to speak up and tell my family as well as others that their multi-racial, multi-cultural backgrounds are beautiful. I want to tell everyone with a single racial or cultural background that they are no more and no less for it. They are beautiful as well. I want to tell all the little girls (mostly the ones found in the hearts of women) that everything is possible, and that someone recognizes the cost you pay, no matter your background. And mostly, I suppose, I want tell the generations to come that mistakes will be made, huge and miniscule, horrendous and precious, and you don’t always get to choose. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t choose to make a difference. 
None of this could be accomplished if I didn’t embrace cultural and environmental influences. I want everyone to relate to my characters and, in return, realize that they are relating to each other.

That’s why I broke the rule.     

That’s why I don’t look back. 

If you would like to discover more about 'Frayed: A Madison Lark Novella', please visit www.blakelychorpenning.com for reviews and vendor links. Also, check my site often for news regarding 'Souled Out', my "new adult" novel due in April.

For more antics, you can also find me here:

indiscriminatewrites.blogspot.com

pinterest.com/bchorpenning

and Twitter as bchorpenning

iPAD LOVE

There you go. I’ve confessed my dirty secret. I’m in love with my iPad. I didn’t think I would fall so hard. At least, not a first. When I saw it sitting on the shelf, I couldn’t look away. The shiny exterior called, “Take me. Take me, Angie.”

When I went through all its apps, I felt a little overwhelmed. One touch of a button, and I can check my email, Facebook, Twitter, listen to music, play solitaire and scrabble, watch Netflix and Hulu.

Again I say—love, love, love.

I realized it may be a dangerously addictive love while soaking in the bathtub. I had the iPad propped on the counter so I could watch a movie. Then, I moved from the bathroom to the kitchen to finish my movie while washing the dishes. When I went to bed, I turned on the iTunes and fell asleep with the iPad beneath my pillow. I brought it to work, and it’s sitting in front of my computer screen. Close enough to touch if I feel the compulsion.

I’m a little frightened. If I love it this much after only having it a week, how much more enthralled will I be once I learn how to work its magical features. Once I can swipe its screen with authority. Explore the brave world of apps I’ve never heard of, let alone discovered yet.

Breathe, Angie.

It’ll be okay. I’m still in control of my affections. I haven’t even officially named this new child of mine; although, I am leaning toward Binky Sandro.