You know you've neglected your blog for a long time when you don't even remember the login or password to access it.

Writer's Digest - Weekly Writing Prompt

I think I'm going to start doing the weekly Writer's Digest prompts more often. It's good for my writing, as well as the mind, body and soul. The topic for this week:

You get a message, it is obviously for you, but it is scrawled in lipstick on a mirror in a public restroom. It’s unexpected, but now you know exactly where the killer is hiding. It’s time to find him and, hopefully, your friend (and hopefully your friend is still alive). Write this scene. (500 words or fewer)


I know it needs a lot of love and care, but I think it's ok for right now. And for 500 words. 


Also, it hasn't been posted yet for whatever reason so I guess this can be considered a "sneak peak" of it.

The air, laden with sweat and cigarette smoke, enveloped my senses and burned my eyes. Wiping away a salty tear from my cheek while simultaneously smearing my mascara, I weaved through the crowd of twentysomethings to the bathroom. Might as well fix my makeup and see how Clarissa’s doing.

None of the stalls were occupied. Odd. Didn’t Clarissa say she’d be right back after she went to the bathroom?

I applied eye drops and blinked to clear my vision before looking in the mirror. It had a message written in smeared lipstick: never odd or even.

It was in her favorite shade – pink popcorn. The shade she wore tonight. My fingers massaged my temples. Ok, think. The killer knew we were here, at the club. The message was meant for me, and it was in code.

I traced the message with my fingertips; it was still wet. They must have left right before I entered the bathroom. What could it mean? I stopped pacing.

It was a palindrome.

Clarissa loved them, and so did her ex-boyfriend. We used to play word games together. Boggle. Scrabble. Even Apples to Apples. That’s all in the past.

But why that particular one? I bit my lower lip and walked the perimeter of the bathroom, my heels clacking against the floors.

Fourteen. There were fourteen letters in that palindrome. 1441. Neither an area code nor a date. Address?

There were two restaurants and a car dealership at that address. Cars? Clarissa hates cars, why would the killer bring her there?

Never odd or even. Clarissa was a math teacher – it made perfect sense. Infinity is a mathematical concept and can never be odd or even because infinity never ends. Infinity. Infiniti. Another play on words.

Suddenly thankful I was the designated driver, I ran to my car and sped to the dealership, not caring that I had just received a ticket last week. I gripped the steering wheel, knuckles white.

The roads were empty. All the lights green.

Screeching to a halt, I killed the engine and leapt out, screaming, “CLARISSA! CLARISSA!”

Silence.

I exhaled, my air ragged like shredded clothing. I started to check the cars. The red 2012 convertible. The black 2011 sedan. Nothing underneath the cars. Nothing on top of the cars. Where? Where would he take her?

Then everything around her seemed to slow. Seconds dissolved into minutes.

There were no lights. My eyes adjusted soon enough.

The back door was ajar.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open and peered around the corner. Goosebumps raised on my arms.

Tires screeched and a car sped away. The killer’s car. Panic coursed through me – was I too late?

A muffled yell.

Clarissa!

She was thrown into a closet, an afterthought. I untied her hands and removed the cloth from her mouth and we cried in each other’s arms.

There was a lipstick message next to us: next time.

Book Cover Revelations

I love reading. That much should be obvious. The way the words flow on the page and dance on my tongue is magical. It really is. It's like mind-reading, but there's no negative repercussions of witnessing someone's innermost thoughts. Because they're giving away their thoughts for free. Now there's a potential idea for a book.

But I think today I'll focus on not the content, but the covers itself. Shocking, I know. There's the well-known cliche, "Don't judge a book by its cover". Well, there's not going to be any judgment on this blog, especially because I need to google 'judgment' every time I use it in a sentence to make sure I'm spelling it correctly. There's only going to be sheer admiration for the beauty of words and the images that are associated with it.

No, not all of them are Young Adult novels. Actually, I don't think any of them are classified as Young Adult, but that's OK, because we're in a judgment-free zone (thanks, google). There'll probably be another post about Books with Fantastic Cover images with an emphasis on Young Adult books, but for right now it is what it is.

What are some of your favorite book covers?

A collection of top 10 Book Covers in no particular order:

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

2. The Opposite House by Helen Oyeyemi

3. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

4. American Nerd by Benjamin Nugent

5. The Girl Who Ate Kalamazoo by Darrin Doyle

6. Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace

6. The Naked Pint - An Unadulterated Guide to Craft Beer

7. South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami

8. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

9. The Language of Things - Understanding the World of Desirable Objects by Devan Sudjic 

10. The Last Days of Publishing by Tom Engelhardt

Florence + the Machine. Or, a post on music to listen to while writing.

I love listening to music while I write. When I first started, I needed complete silence and perfect conditions. A fluffed pillow. A comfortable bed. A warm laptop (not too hot) balancing on my lap while I type away on the keyboard. In the olden days, a college-ruled spiral-bound notebook with pages that were pre-approved. Yes, I have rejected journals based on the quality of the paper. If it didn't pass the finger stroke test, it was a resigned rejection. Wide-ruled? Form rejection.

Writing is a personal subject. You can't share your thoughts while you write - it tends to only make sense to you. You, as a writer, need to sort through the tangled branches of your thoughts until you wind up at the root of your idea.

I find that music helps me do this. Untangle my thoughts, much like coiled necklaces. Honestly, there must be some love story I'm missing because each time I take it from the jewelry box it's like I'm a surgeon.

I'm always thrilled whenever I find a new musician I really like. Thank goodness for  Pandora. I've found quite a few gems that way. Two Door Cinema Club, anyone?

Anyway, my initial band I liked was Daft Punk. Still great, but there's been a change. A welcome addition called ...

Florence + the Machine. Uh-may-zing. Yes, spelling it out in an obnoxious manner was completely necessary. Although, this  music video is a little out there for me, but still good, nonetheless.

Do you like listening to music while you write?

Waiting on Wednesday #12

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine where bloggers post spotlights on upcoming releases that they're eagerly anticipating.

This week, my pick is Whispers at Moonrise (Shadow Falls #4) by C.C Hunter. Expected publication: October 2nd 2012 by St. Martin's Griffin. (first published October 1st, 2012)

Even though everything about this book seems to be a bit cliche (mix of Percy Jackson, Twilight and Jungle Book) I love the cover. Also, I haven't read the first three books but maybe I'll look into them. 

Goodreads Summary: At a camp filled with vampires, werewolves, and fairies, Kylie Galen has always struggled to figure out what she is. Now she finally knows the truth—but she's left with more questions than answers. She doesn’t have a clue what her heritage means or how to harness her newfound powers. All she knows is that she needs to sort out her feelings for Derek, the sexy half-Fae who just confessed his love, and Lucas, her werewolf boyfriend who seems more committed to his pack than to their relationship. All the while, Kylie's dealing with a group of underground rogues who want her dead and a mysterious grandfather who makes it clear he doesn’t trust the FRU . . . or Shadow Falls. Soon Kylie will have to choose: Will she stay with the new family she’s formed at Shadow Falls, or will she leave with her grandfather and embrace her destiny?

What's your Waiting on Wednesday pick?

A Book About Bookshelves To Put On Your Very Own Bookshelf

I love bookshelves. My favorite one is currently the one next to me. It's dark brown and reaches almost to the ceiling, with basic shelves and it has holiday lights on it as an accent. It's filled with childhood favorites, current reads and future endeavors.

The title of this blog, and the images that follow, are from a book about bookshelves, and the unique people who design them. My classic bookshelf will always be my favorite, but it's always interesting to see what else is out there.

Which one of the below images is your favorite?

Antique Automobile  Club

Bath & Books

The United States of America

Tree Bookcase

This is the cover image of Bookshelf, the book of the Bookshelf blog, published by Thames & Hudson. I love reading and anything and everything associated with it, bookshelves included. Hopefully I'll be able to check out this book soon. (NPR Article: http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2012/05/01/151378285/a-book-about-bookshelves-to-put-on-your-very-own-bookshelf)

In the meantime, I'll keep placing new books onto my bookshelf. 

Kickstarter: The funding platform for creative projects

In case you haven't heard, KIckstarter is here. And it's amazing.

Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. So book collections, music albums, art projects, it does it all. The section I'm going to talk about is books. Of course, since this is a book blog, it might not come at a surprise.

But the particular book that I'm about to bring up isn't a Young Adult novel, even though there have been successful Young Adult novels that have been funded.

No. The purpose of this blog post is to learn how to .... wait for it ...

How to Pack like a Rock Star. 



I know, right? Genius.

I'm horrible at packing. I always procrastinate  until the last minute (sometimes even the morning of!) and then I end up forgetting something useful, like an umbrella.

If only the packing gods had been nice to me. See above? I can't do that. Even in my twentysomething years, I still can't back.

It really makes me wish I came up with the idea first. Alas, the inspiration should've came when I watched Almost Famous years ago. Anyway.

I love this idea, and I'm about to back it, even though it's already funded. Overall, you should check out Kickstarter, and who knows, maybe you'll find your next favorite book on there, or maybe you'll attempt to KIckstart your own project. 

In the meantime, here's the about video that they have on the site: