A New Year! A New Resolution! Ya right.

The kids are back in school, Christmas is all packed up, and I'm going to write EVERY day!! At least that is what I told myself. Today is day 2, and as I left my computer to begin the "pick up the kindergartner" routine, I realized....all I have done for the last two hours is stare at my computer when I should have been cleaning my kitchen. (It is seriously nasty)  Yes, this morning I dutifully ignored the breakfast bowls of milk curdling in the sink and focused all my efforts on my writing.

 Unfortunately, my characters believe they are still on their well deserved hiatus.

So, instead magically pulling an amazing chapter out of my proverbial magic hat......I mentally argued with fictional characters in my head, quite literally.  (I'm beginning to see why quite a few of our literary progenitors were reclusive.  Everyone else thought they were plumb crazy from talking to their mental creations.) And to add insult to injury, I betrayed my stalwart companion, Pepsi, with his arch nemesis Coke Zero. What can I say? I'm cheap, it was on sale thus in-house, and I didn't want to drive to 7-11.

Either way, I have decided to embrace my...shall we call them idiosyncrasy's?  One reason being my husband is fully aware I'm crazy, and loves me anyway. The second is that my characters are still on strike so I plan to bring more ideas to the bargaining table tomorrow. Hopefully, we can end this controversy peacefully and with a few pages in tow.  

Oh ya, and with a Pepsi.

Play dates, Campaigns, Sports, Plays, Holidays, Dr.'s and oh ya, Writing is supposed to be in there isn't it?

Can I just say, I miss the days when I lived on a street with a bazillion kids.  When playing with friends didn't require any pre-planning, driving in a car, or sending notes to school.  The days when it consisted of, "Mom, can I see if Billy can play?" Then out the door and a couple houses down they knock and ask.  Now, I have five kids harping me constantly about who can come home with them from school, or when can we set up a time to play with this person or that.  It's one of those totally awesome things you don't realize you have until it's gone.  Well, it's gone and now I miss it!!  (My totally random vent for the day)

As some of you know AM is officially turning into my over-achiever.  She has tried out for the school play earning the role of one of the comical narrator's, and also decided to run for Secretary at school.  Now I know I've mentioned I sometimes have a creative gene pop up for these kinds of things.  You know, creativity of the cutsied campaign poster variety.  Ya, well, that gene is currently hiding and is not coming out for anything!  I know AM needs to be responsible for most of it, but she keeps looking to me with hope and I just keep shrugging my shoulders.  Yup Mother of the Year right here folks.  So, as I struggle to think of a way to help my over-motivated child, recover from one season of sports to gear up for another, juggle my ridiculous Dr. appointment schedules ( Ya, it stinks I don't qualify for AARP for another 19 years.  Bummer), gear up for the Holidays ( let's be real, that's ALL I want to do right now.  Best time of year right now folks), and start delving into family history which is only slightly frustrating (sorry Dad, but if I had a dollar for every ' I don't know where it is right now, I'll have to find it' answer I got, I'd fly home and look for ya) my book gets pushed further and further to the back of my mind.

I have to admit, when I finally sat down to start working on my book again after such a long time, I couldn't even remember where I was going with the scene I was in the middle of. Embarrassing!!! I was re-reading and thought Dang! Nice foreshadowing Annika! Oh wait.  What am I foreshadowing?  Talk about a little deflating! So, for inspiration I decided to get back into my family history. (My book is based on the inspiring lives of my Grandparents)  Now, this is good I know, but then I got sidetracked from the actual story of their lives to the dates and genealogical side of things.  Now, every other Mormon out there knows that this is really a good thing, to be driven about our genealogy, but I really need to get my book fire burning! (Not actual book fire, like burning books you know.  Just to keep things clear and all :)

So, as I prepare for our trip to Kentucky in 12 days for Thanksgiving!!! (Not that we're counting) and chip at our genealogical wall, I really need to find time to let my mind disappear into Karelia and become my character's again! (without falling asleep) Here's hoping posting about this will make me more accountable. :)

The Long Lost Blogger

My husband kindly pointed out to me the other day that I have failed to blog the entire summer. Yup, sounds like me! I've been a horrendous slacker, and now as I reflect back on our summer I think, how do I cram the entire summer into one post? My solution...the longest run-on sentence EVER. So here it goes. *ahem*

Family visits for a week so we tour D.C. my right arm begins to hurt and family leaves but my arm still hurts and I have a funky rash spreading on my left arm so I'm grumpy and my kids hate me so I go to the Dr. and discover I have shingles on the left arm and some weird ligament inflammation thingy on the right so I'm armless and quarantined to home including over the fourth of July which I then recover in time to prepare for a trip to Niagara Falls and Palmyra, New York with the kids, but the suburbans transmission is on the fritz, and we've already booked the hotels so we rent a Expedition which my husband hates but we have fun then we get home and start football for my son which practice is EVERY DAY and the groundhog living under our porch ate all the apples from the apple tree so I'm mad but I make 18 quarts of spaghetti sauce, 6 quarts of tomato juice, 16 pints of salsa, and 21 bottles of peaches, but now I'm feeling really crummy like a nasty cold won't go away but then it spreads to my chest which then feels like all my mother guilt has shifted from my shoulders to my chest and I'm grumpy and my kids hate me again and they're sick of having such a boring mom for the summer so I finally go to the Dr. and find out it's a respiratory infection, go me, so I get the antibiotic get the kids school shopping done take them to meet their teacher and send them to school with a love you and a hallelujah then took the first week of school off to relax, I can also now add an epic failure of a writing day to the list!

Okay, as a writer that previous paragraph is driving me CRAZY!!!

I hope your summer went a tad better than mine and here's to beautiful autumn!!!!

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It felt as if I had been waiting forever for this book to come out, as I had thoroughly enjoyed the other books in this series and I was pleased how the character from the other books were all drawn so well into Bitterblue's story.  I love Cashore's beautiful, poetic style of writing as she breathes life into characters and imagery, but I will say that while the language in this book is clean, there are some situations which I would not recommend for the 'younger' young adult.

Bitterblue is a young queen, trying to help her kingdom heal from the atrocities of their former king, her father (these are the situations I refer to as they uncover the truth about her father the crimes are sexual and physical abuses against young girls).  As she escapes into the city alone at night, Bitterblue discovers her kingdom is not as stable as she has been led to believe, and the legacy left by her father is one of suffering, hate, and deception.

As Bitterblue unravels the mysteries plaguing her kingdom we're taken on a rollercoaster of mystery, deceit, romance, and adventure.


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Endure, by Carrie Jones

Endure by Carrie Jones
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have to admit, I wasn't overly impressed with Endure.  In fact, I'm a bit disappointed. (I was having Mockingjay flashbacks)

 As Zara continues her quest to save the world from an apocalypse, I found myself rolling my eyes at parts which seemed too cliché, predictable, and a bit cheesy.

I'm glad I read it once to finish the series as I can't stand NOT to finish a series, but something was just missing in this book for me.

My suggestion is if you are into this series, read Endure, but don't have your expectations too high.


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Under the Never Sky Review

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down.

Aria has lived her whole life in a pod, a structure built mostly underground to keep them safe from the dangerous world outside. But stuck underground, the dwellers live most of their lives in virtually created realms.

After breaching security measures to discover what happened to her mother in another pod, Aria suddenly finds herself banished from the safety of underground and left outside, exposed to elements she has never before faced.

Battling electric aether storms, physical exertion, and savage outsiders, Aria truly believes she is going to die.

Saved by an unlikely and shaky alliance with a savage Perry, (an outsider searching for his nephew) Aria discovers an outside world, not only dangerous, but beautiful.

As Perry and Aria work together trying to find their missing loved ones, secrets messages, and dangerous betrayals are discovered.

I found Under the Never Sky unique, engaging and refreshingly clean.


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The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection by Kiera Cass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised I enjoyed this book so much!  Far into the future, the country of Illea (the former countries of Canada and United States) is seeking a bride for the crown prince.  America is the daughter of musicians, a mere Five in the country's caste system, but against all odds she is drawn as the one young woman from her province to be entered into The Selection.  Joined by thirty-four other young women from all over Illea, she is moved into the palace as Prince Maxon decides who will be his future bride.

As I said, I was surprised I enjoyed this novel considering it's resemblance to a certain reality show featuring bachelors and bachelorettes. (I'm not a fan) But, much to the author's credit, I soon found myself attached to the main character. America is feisty, stubborn, and wants’ nothing to do with Prince Maxon, or this game of choosing a bride, but her family could use the compensation money The Selection offers.

As she finds herself caged inside a palace with the pressures of learning the rules of high society, catty girls, mysterious rebel attacks, and heart stuck in two different worlds, she begins to realize she doesn't know she really wants.

I found The Selection a thoroughly entertaining, and clean read.


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