Lucky Seven- Tagged

My agent mate, Kathy Bradey, tagged me to do Lucky Seven.

The Lucky 7 Meme Rules
■Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP
■Go to line 7
■Copy down the next 7 lines–sentences or paragraphs–and post them as they’re written. No cheating.
■Tag 7 authors
■Let them know

Since I'm not sure my publisher will allow me to post anything from Cheater Beaters yet, I went through all my manuscripts and picked the best Lucky Seven stand-alone moment.

It's from my college-set book, One Hundred To-Dos. Okay, so even this one isn't totally stand alone...one of the things on Liz's to-do list is to collect seventy-five beer bottle caps. She was starting her collection the first time her and Greg met.

**********************

“No, he’s not.”

“Well, one thing’s for sure. That boy’s scalding hot for you.”

“Yeah. Well. That’s just a guy thing.”

Greg squeezed back through the crowd with three beers held between the fingers of one hand. In that moment, I saw him through Carmen’s eyes. Not broad or chiseled enough for pure hunk material, but the chestnut hair and dark complexion made him a boy-next-door chip off that block. I’d had better-looking guys come on to me—ones Carmen might even pant over—and I thought, Why him?

Then he smiled at me. Tug. Tug. Now I remembered, Why him.

Greg used the delicate coordination guys seemed to reserve for the handling of alcohol to twist off all three bottle caps with his free hand. Then he fisted that hand in front of me. I put out mine and he dropped the bottle caps, one by one, into my palm. As an added gesture, he reached into his pocket and pulled out three more. With each added plunk, he tugged on that invisible string between us. 

Carmen cleared her throat and reached for one of the three beers he still held in one hand. “Thanks.” She took a swig. “Nice to meet you, Greg.”

**********************

 Okay, now for tagging seven more writers...if you've already done it, please feel free to ignore the tag. Or even if you haven't, please feel free to ignore.

Julie Musil
Meredith Moore (after your blogging break, if you want)
Carrie Monroe (after your A-Z blogs, if you want)
Jaime Morrow (after your A-Z blogs, if you want)
Alison Miller (after your A-Z blogs, if you want...or maybe "L", for Lucky)
Laura Pauling
Patti Nielson


What about you? Done/seen this before?

Katniss vs Bella- In Retrospect (plus, contest winners)

First off, for my March How Many Have You Read/Heard Contest: Pam Torres and Chick Lit Girl. Check out next month when I have still more series/older ARCs to clear out in time for BEA in June.

Now, for those of you who didn't read THIS POST on Tuesday, I got a little riled about an article comparing Katniss and Bella as role models.

In short, some blogger in need/want of attention questioned Katniss's honor, so I flared up like a mama bear and took a few swipes at Bella. Poor girl, I doubt if the character would even consider putting Role Model on her resume...she was just living out a fascinating story...one that happened to capture the imaginations of many, many, many readers and movie goers.

I, too, read Twilight...way back when we lived in Michigan...in the first year or two it came out. At the time, I didn't spare more than a fleeting, motherly thought to Edward's stalker-ish ways until other critics started going on about it...then I read the other books...then screaming crowds of Team Edward fans showed up for the movies, and I got seriously worried. We already have enough girls out there attracted to the "bad boy"...might this character, Edward, and Bella's blind, sometimes self-destructive devotion to him lead even more girls into potentially harmful/abusive relationships?

So, yes, I'd only considered Bella as a dangerous role model...albeit to only a small portion of the books'/movies' fans who would see Bella's "anything for love" attitude as something to pursue in their own lives.

Then Hunger Games arrived, and people's Team Gale/Team Peeta debate sort of surprised me...Who cares? There are children starving and dying in these books because of an oppressive government. That was what mattered to me, and what mattered most to Katniss...Okay, so maybe that's part sour grapes since I've always been team Gale...poor guy, never stood a chance.

AND, how amazing was Suzanne Collins to create this imaginary world that said so much about us and what we value/overvalue (consumer gluttony, violence, celebrities)...and where that might lead us if the wrong people someday took control.

Genius. Pure genius.

So, sorry Bella, I shouldn't have been so snarky, but vampire/werewolf worlds...fascinating as they might be...just can't compare.

What about you? What do you think?

Road Trip Wednesday- Acknowledgements

This Week's YA Highway Road Trip Topic:

Who has helped you on your reading/writing/publishing journey?

It definitely takes a village to raise an author...or, more like an Internet.

Still, in my pre-online days, one Junior High turned High School teacher (I was lucky to have her at both levels) influenced my writing the most: Mrs. Wilson. The ten comma rules, a preposition song sang to the tune of Yankee Doodle (If, on, for, after, at, by, in...), diagramming sentences and "How long does our paper have to be?" Her answer: "As long as it needs to be."...these were just a few of her gems. But, more precious than diamonds, was her red pen bleeding all over my papers with the big 87-89s plastered at the top...I rarely got an A from her, but thanks to her I got A's from everyone else.

Other teachers inspired my reading, writing and acting (which does help with writing fiction): Mr. Hoke, Mr. McIntire, Mr. Kinsey, Mr. Hurber...wow, we really did have a great English Department in High School.

Okay, so fast forward many, many years. I did get an English Degree with a Theatre minor from Indiana University, which helped with my reading, writing and acting, but no specific teachers come to mind there.

Then I wrote my first book...a six-week rough draft...one raging hot mess. My first big helpers in revising were: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King, Write Tight by William Brohaugh, and The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman (though, thanks to this last one, I went a little "rule" crazy for a while).

Then, I have to thank my mother-in law for being one of my first brave readers. Other friends and family members also braved the murky waters of my first efforts. Then came Doreen Height, a friend-of-a-friend published author who I linked up with online. She became my first critique partner.

After that came Critique Circle, a wonderful online critique site. Through them, I met Laura Pauling, Shana Silver, Denise Jaden, Pendred Noyce, Arlene Webb, Eric, Elle Strauss, and many others. What help! I learned so much from all of them!

So much that I landed my wonderful agent, Suzie Townsend. She got me a deal with Coliloquy. From there I met my editor, Emily Schultz, who's holding my hand through my first efforts at writing different plot pathways for a story...thank goodness, because it's way more overwhelming than I first would have thought.

Last but not least, all my blogging buddies who help keep me sane.

Thank you, thank you, thank you all!

What about you? Who goes in your acknowledgements?

Katniss vs Bella as a Role Model?

Katniss vs. Bella?

No competition

or

No comparison?


Thanks to Suze Reese for linking this article in her weekly I Heart YA blogfest.




I haven't entered into the whole Hunger Games buzz, other than a few blog comments and my own anticipation about seeing the movie (Next week, spring break. YAY!!!).

But this article got me riled.

I know it's natural to compare the two franchises, Twilight and Hunger Games, but beyond ticket sales and royalty checks, I'd say there isn't much else to compare.

Exhibit A:
Hunger Games is about an oppressive fictional dystopian society where many starve so few can live in luxury and 23 random children are killed each year for entertainment.

Exhibit B:
Twilight is about a fictional vampire family and a werewolf pack that both depend on remaining secret from the rest of the world.

The article, I think, makes my point instead of theirs:

Bella...does many things against both her own and everyone else's better judgment, like falling in love with a vampire, jumping off of motorcycles and cliffs, and generally becoming a depressive, whiney teenager. But nothing really depends on this. It's not important for her to act this way, except outside of her own emotions.


The article then criticizes Katniss for going along with The Capital's efforts to turn her into a celebrity...saying this makes her passive. But, HELLO, not going along with the games means she's more likely to die. DIE.

Meanwhile, not acting like a whiny, self-destructive teenager means Bella would be more likely to live. LIVE.

The stakes in the story are why Katniss matters as a positive role model.

It's not Bella's fault. Who knows what gumption she might show if you threw her into an arena for a fight to the death...I'll bet she wouldn't be moping about Edward then.

What about you? Seen this article? What do you think?

How Many Have You Read/Heard ARC/Book Clearance Contest (My March Listens)

Only two more months until BEA.  For those of you who don't know, Book Expo (conveniently located across the Hudson from me) is where I snag all the great books for my monthly contests.

The problem is, I don't always have luck hooking up my monthly winners with certain series books/Arcs I have. I also have some older ARCs that got lost in the shuffle.

So, this month (and next), I'm giving away six series books/already published ARCs. Anyone can enter for each book...PLUS, You'll get bonus entries for each of my March listens you've read or heard.

First off, these are the ARC/Books I'm giving away(I'm going to use Goodreads links to save on post space):

The Last Little Blue Envelope- Maureen Johnson (signed)
The Gray Wolf Throne-Cinda Williams Chima (ARC)
The 13th Reality (Book One)- James Dashner
The 13th Reality (Book Three)- James Dashner (signed)
Annexed- Sharon Dogar (ARC)
The Limit- Kristen Landon (ARC)

To win, let me know which books you'd like to enter for and which (if any) of my March listens you've read/heard.

My March listens:

YA Historical. YAY! My favorite March book. See longer description HERE.

Also YA Historical, with an alternative history/witchy twist. One of my debut author books. See longer description HERE.

Homeless girl as a cockeyed optimist? Trust me, it works.

Don't let the similar cover to BEASTLY fool you. This one is very different. Much lighter in tone, and the author weaves many relatively unknown fairytales into this story.

At the birth of the Internet, a girl stumbles on the Facebook page of her future self. Clever premise. If you liked this one, you should also read GIMME A CALL, by Sarah Mlynowski

Second in Sherrilyn Kenyon's YA version of her Supernatural Dark Hunter series.








Another Historical, Supernatural style. Lucky me.

I don't usually like anything mob related, but this supernatural version of crime families I LOVE. Check out WHITE CAT (the first in this series) if you haven't already.








Luxe #2. More Historical. Wow. I really did have an incredible listening month. This one is so much like Gossip Girl that I sometimes pictured the stars of the TV show in my head as I listened.









I'll be honest, this second part of the series started out slow for me, but it got much better along the way.








Contemporary Furies out for revenge. I also liked this one better toward the end, though further toward the end this time.










Was happy Melissa Marr managed to tie up everything, even the unsettling ending to INK EXCHANGE, all nice and neat with this final faery-world book.








Want some of the books from my series/ARC clearance?

The Last Little Blue Envelope- Maureen Johnson (signed)
The Gray Wolf Throne-Cinda Williams Chima (ARC)
The 13th Reality (Book One)- James Dashner
The 13th Reality (Book Three)- James Dashner (signed)
Annexed- Sharon Dogar
The Limit- Kristen Landon

Just let me know which ones you want. AND, tell me which of my March listens you've read/heard to get extra entries.