dirty words

2012-01-05T05:57:00.004-05:00

In case you were wondering, I have not been eaten by sharks. I am busy writing and editing and planning 2012 domination. In February I plan on hosting my first ARC giveaway along with a SUPER COOL SECRET prize. Seriously, I just want to keep them all to myself. But, this year is going to be about thinking of others. (Lets see how long that lasts!) (JJ).

Okay, diving in for some sleep and more writing.

ttfn like,

Zoraida

Book Babies

2012-01-03T12:04:00.000-05:00

Or, taking a second to post the following announcements:

It is APOCALYPSIE release time! Happy Book Birthday's ya'll!

Which of these books are you psyched to read?

How about, ALL of them ;)

The Secret Life of Writers

2011-12-26T18:13:00.002-05:00

Or, look at my writing space:

New Beginnings

2011-12-22T15:59:00.000-05:00

Or, HAVE A MERRY MERMAN CHRISTMAS

The Vicious Deep cover has gone through a roller coaster. Which is appropriate since it takes place in Coney Island. Not only do we have a fabulous new cover, but the book has gone from paperback to hardcover! It's already up on Amazon. They do work fast!

Look at how blue! How wavy! How tridenty! How Vicious Deepy.... Okay those last couple are strange ways to describe it. But I'm so glad to have gone through this cover journey.

Now go do the loving thing:

GOODREADS + TWITTER + FACEBOOK + PRE-ORDER AMAZON + PREORDER B&N

In case you're wondering how I feel, it looks like this:

Cover Reveal: If I Lie by Corrine Jackson!

2011-12-21T09:38:00.000-05:00

A powerful debut novel about the gray space between truth and perception.

Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.

Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise.

IF I LIE debuts August 28, 2012.

Add to Goodreads

Follow on Twitter

Like on Facebook

WINNER

2011-12-18T14:40:00.001-05:00

Happy Christmas to

YAN

you will be receiving this package (this week) (hopefully by friday.)

Thank you Random.org!

e-mail me your address ASAP!

Paranormal Christmas Giveaway

2011-12-08T05:20:00.007-05:00

Or, if you don't want these books for Christmas, then we can no longer be friends.

I've had the pleasure of joining one of the coolest groups of 2012. THE debut YA/MG/Children's books writers of 2012. The Apocalypsies. We're gearing up for the big bang. The, holy crap my book REALLY is coming out next year for everyone to get their grubby mits on and judge me reality of it all.

*deep breath*

But wait! There's more...

Some members of the Apocalypsies have already debuted! And you can own them NOW through this giveaway, my gift to you. And even BETTER, both books are signed by their respective author ladies. I had the pleasure of meeting up with them both one fateful night in New York City.

POSSESS by Gretchen McNeil and DARKER STILL by Leanna Renee Hieber. Because if Charles Dickens has taught us anything it's that nothing says Christmas like being afraid of the dark!

Above is proof of their awesomely awesome signatures. And the answer is yes, yes I am wearing boxers that say NAUGHTY. What can I say, it's Christmas time.

*Ahem* Now for the giveaway deets. It's super easy:

US & Canada only

1: fill out the form

2: tweet about the contest

3: follow me (if you want to live) on twitter @zlikeinzorro

4. wait till December 19th when I announce the winner!

I appreciate comment love and WILL SHIP it gift wrapped and all. Granted you already know what's IN it. But if you're like me, I like tearing into that wrapping paper and pretending like I'm surprised.

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When I Was a Christmas Gypsy

2011-12-05T05:14:00.010-05:00

Or, more importantly how Christmas in New York rules

Whenever I remember coming to America I picture my 9 year old self, even though I was actually 6. I shivered in my black spandex that turned into bells at the ankles, paired with a white ruffle blouse, like Selena. On my feet, clogs, like a little Dutch girl. It was winter in New York City and my family waited with my first down jacket. In Ecuador, Christmas is always hot and humid and the only down feathers anywhere were on turkeys flapping their wings before getting their necks snapped and ducked in a pot of boiling water. That was the best thing about Christmas in Ecuador, the turkey dinner.

At 24 and fairly assimilated, I can’t picture a Christmas without snow.The pristine whiteness of it. The way it sparkles under the dirty yellow New York nights. Granted it lasts for a day, if we’re lucky, before the endless tire tracks and footprints make it look like Frosty the Snowman puked all over Manhattan. Even with all that, Christmas in New York rules and Christmas in Ecuador will forever be tainted in my soul.

The last time I spent Christmas in Ecuador, I wanted to part of the biggest production in the neighborhood: the birth of Jesus. As of now, I don’t know how I survived infancy without a fat man in a red suit giving me presents, but back in the old country, Baby Jesus and the Three Kings were the ones who took care of business. I would leave some food out for their camels, carrots and water and hay. I don’t know where we got hay, but there it was, outside our house for them to eat. (The camels, not the Three Kings.) There were no presents till January 6th, which is another bonus of Christmas in America.

The reenactment of the Nativity scene was my first taste of favoritism. As a girl whose entire family was slowly migrating to a different country, the neighborhood both looked up and down at us: at my father for “letting” his baby-momma leave in the first place, and my aunt J whose quickie civil court wedding at 19 was unnanounced and therefore, excluded the neighborhood family all at once. My therapist, if I had one would interject this is the reason I did not get chosen as the angel of the nativity scene.

A part of me, the girl who was always the center of attention— at home and at school believed this part belonged to me. I was only 6 and already understood the values of being #1. Why shouldn’t I be #1 in the only part I could play? I was too old to be baby Jesus, not to mention lacking a penis, and I was too young to be Mary, not to mention we were both virgins. I have no recollection of the people who organized the pageant. Because the neighborhood was distinctly 80% related by blood and marriage, I’m sure it was some jealous cousin who hated my mother.

I’ve burned in my mind the tight and surly smiles women would give my mom. Always a size 4 with a personality that radiated like gold and hair like an Incan princess, plus she could cook, who wouldn't be totally jeal of this lady? Clearly, too good for my dad, but that’s a different story. The tight lipped, surly women who organized the reenactment of the Nativity scene told my aunt J that I could not be an angel. It was given to some other girl.

I must admit, there was no way I was an angel. I threw out the vegetables from my soup while my aunt J wasn’t looking. I once made fun of a boy at school who had polio because I couldn’t understand why he wore braces on his leg. I broke ornaments in the house while I danced around to Michael Jackson and because I didn’t have sibling to blame it on, I would break into hysterics so my dad would go easy on me. Really, I should not have been the angel in the Nativity scene. Instead I became the Christmas gypsy.

No, really.

According to this tiny neighborhood in Ecuador, there were gypsies at the birth of Christ. It isn’t exactly recorded anywhere, but how accurate were those things anyway? There could have been gypsies there. And so with a scarf

around my head and hips, lots of gold chains borrowed from my aunt’s jewelery box, I joined the rest of cast out neighborhood kids who didn’t get a better part.

I’m not the kind of person who likes to reflect on events. I don’t look for hidden meanings, the “it happened for a reason” of it all. But something about this Christmas has never left me. For all my life, I can not say who the other people were, what the show was like, or what I did after. I remember putting on the outfit, being told I couldn’t be the angel, and standing around pissed off because I didn’t get what I wanted. It is a fullfilment that has never been dealt with. If I were to psych 101 myself and claim this let down as the reason for every mistake I’ve ever made, I think I would believe me.

Then again, the following year I was in America, freezing my little tush off at JFK. I was too old to believe in Santa Claus, but I still believe(d) in him anyway. Our family got smaller and there were no more neighborhood reenactments, just us. I learned to wait for first snow falls, the smell of real Christmas trees, the taste of peppermint chocolates. I decided maybe I was better off being the gypsy. Like I said, I was never meant to be any kind of angel.

***

Thank you for stopping by on my round of the Holiday Blog Tour! The next stop is Danielle Klenak, December 6th.

unBeautiful Chaos

2011-12-04T07:18:00.004-05:00

Or, how do I find myself in the middle of these things? Take a ride with me through good old New York City.

One - Saturday, December 3rd 6PM ish

My first mistake was not spending my writing evening at Starbucks. Though not all Starbucks goers are diligently typing on their laptops. Some sit there and read. Others sit there and gossip. I don't like Starbucks music, usually likening it to Hipster Elevator Shit that PERMEATES my earbuds.

So I chose a wine and cheese shop with a no frills dining section in the back. I ordered this meal below and waited for my friend to join me in one of our last gorges of the year before healthiness ensues.

Meanwhile, a highly pretentious couple talked about things they wanted to see in the next couple of years: Harry Potter land (minus the castle!?!), Disney (minus the Dumbo rides?!?), and cappuccinos across the Pantheon in Rome. He was promising to take her to these place as he refreshed her wine glass over and over again without truly refilling his. Totally classic "get her saucy and take her back to my place to get it in kind of stuff."

Between a cappuccino in Rome and chapter 18 of my WIP, the lady puked her guts out on the man. It was very quiet after that. Lucky for me, none of the puke affected me or my new peacoat. The lady tipped 100% of her bill (I saw), and the man was not going to get laid.

Probably.

Two - Saturday going into Sunday morning

I start work at 8 PM. After the wine and cheese place, my friend K and I sprinted down the Hells Kitchen street to start our shift at The Club. On Saturdays I do Admissions, which means I prepare myself for a lot of fake smiling and coordinating duties with my bouncers. I also prepare myself for the folks who don't want to pay, have no IDs, speak broken English, and the random guy who clears out an entire corner of the club with his sheer smell of onions and curry.

For those of you who think New York on a Saturday is glamorous, don't think that. It isn't and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Besides, any place between Hell's Kitchen and Times Square after midnight is a recipe for violence or vomiting. (Though the first vomit was at 7PM)

We don't allow cameras in The Club, but at the end of the night every patron was clapping like it was the world series of some sport with a ball going, *clap* *clap* CHAR-LIE CHAR-LIE! Around me, my bouncers are tired and only ready to pounce if someone is actually threatening. These men going, *clap* *clap* CHAR-LIE CHAR-LIE! were not threatening. They didn't know each other. They were a motley crew of motley crews who bonded over whatever it is boys bond over at 4:45 AM.

In the end, they left. And my friends and I decided we needed nourishment after being surrounded by clapping chaos. At that time in the morning, there is only one place to go.

Three - Sunday December 4th 5:30 AMish

The French Roast on the Upper West Side is a quiet little place, one of those dying New York eateries that serves good food 24 hrs. At 5:30AM it's the after bars/clubs crowd. The nights we go there are generally quiet. We have a fantastic waiter who takes care of us. We keep promising to let him play with our Vamplets (yes, we each have a pair) but somehow always forget.

As the cab pull to a stop I notice our quiet little place doesn't look so quiet and little.

Me: Are they having a dance party?

We get out of the cab.

G: Uhhh, I don't think so.

We look for our waiter and wave at him. He looks distressed.

Me: OMG! There's a fight!

Two chicks decked out in Beyonce's greatest-hits-closet-collection are trying to pull their weaves off each other. This has never happened. This is our quiet, wind down place, not a crazy after party brawl. Clearly, the chaos has hitched a ride at the soles of our shoes.

And not only are these girls including all of their friends and family members in their fight, they are blocking every means of entrance! In hind sight, most people would've seen a fight and walked away. But it might be because we're impervious to the chaos, or because we live in it, we find our table and start ordering.

I like the music here. It's old timeish. Lots of Beatles and rock and roll. Just when Rocket Man comes on and my memories turn nostalgic, LOUD singing erupts. It's times like these that I wish they'd pass a law in NY that let you purchase booze after 4AM.

Things like this...

One of them starts talking to us. His name is Tristan. ("HEY THAT'S JUST LIKE MY NAME," Tristan of The Vicious Deep calls out from the shallows of my delirious brain.) They're all musicians. The kind that study it for years and give the right inflections to foreign names or artists I've never heard of. They drink here after their sets at a little opera/piano bar.

It's all fine until The lady singer gets jealous of my friends and I, and starts making a scene. She disses my friend's spider tattoo. She implies our names are not memorable. To the men we are known as Malta (G), Ecuador (Me), and the one with the beautiful eyes (K). The men ensue staring at her beautiful eyes.

Our trusted waiter gets us our check, and the Opera group goes on their merry way, the lady singer huffing and snarling at us on her way out. All I can say is, "listen lady, all we wanted was to eat."

End - Still Sunday morning, but now I'm really going to sleep.

I find myself wondering why I always stumble onto the craziness of others. If it's something I seek out or if it's something the Universe throws at me. Then again maybe it's New York telling me we're not over yet... Or maybe we are... But that's a different story.

For now, I'm trading the madness of the night for what I hope will be quiet dreams. I'd say "tomorrow is another day," only that for me, Tomorrow is right now.

Attention Writers!

2011-11-20T22:43:00.001-05:00

Or, want to get your query critiqued by some 2012 debut YA novelists?

I know you do ;)

From Tuesday November 29th to December 5th we will be doing live query critiques a-la Miss Snark. SEVEN query letters chosen at random will be workshopped by The Nighstand members.

As of now we are taking query submissions to the following e-mail address: nightstandblog2012@gmail.com

Here are some ground rules:

* One submission per person
* Include your name and address. We will not reveal it on the blog at all. This is precautionary to keep one submission per person.
* All submissions must be sent in by wednesday November 23rd!

Why are we doing this?
Because not long ago we were in the same position, scrambling to write the perfect query letter. Some of us might have more help than others. So spread the word!

Below is a tweet you can copy and paste to help us get this thing going!

@thenightstand hosts a post-thanksgiving query critique. Visitbit.ly/v70XZZ and submit! Please RT #novels #writers #queryletter

write on ya'll,
Zoraida

look at what i'm reading...

2011-11-12T05:43:00.002-05:00

This is my first copy. I was able to swing by my publisher and pick one up. The cover is not final and to be revealed! Look at all of my excitement ! ! ! ! It's better than having full cell phone bars, which never happens.

Bloggers and persons of interest, if you're like a review copy, the best person to look for is Derry Wilkens @sourcebooksfire / derry.wilkens@sourcebooks.com If there were a list, get yourself of it.

Dreaming of sexy mermen like,

Zoraida

My Vampire Balls are Bigger than Yours

2011-11-02T15:41:00.004-04:00

Or, can we leave Stephenie Meyer the F*uck alone?

I WAS going to do a vlog, but this Halloween weekend has given me dark circles and a sore throat.

Old Faihtful (no, not the NYTs, but Facebook) has once again brought some important news to my attention. Anne Rice (to some, the OG Vampire Queen) has taken a cheap shot at sparkling vampires. Listen, when you read The Vicious Deep, you'll find a quip at the dazzling immortals as well. The difference is I actually enjoyed the Twilight books. Anne Rice claims to have never read them.

So where is the problem?

I'm not an "Lets All Just Get Along" kind of person. But when it comes to writing and writers, I'm more naive. I forget that writers don't all sit around and hug each other (unless you're the Apocalypsies, holla) and love everything the other one has written.

As soon as Anne Rice essentially goes, "my vampires have bigger non-sparkly balls" she gets 10 THOUSAND comments from her fans and Twilight fans verbally duking it out. I am not from the Anne Rice generation. When I was a teen, I read Annette Kurtis-Clause, America Atwater Rhodes, and freaking Nancy Drew. The times I tried to read Anne Rice, I'd shut the book after a few pages and would actually prefer to do my homework reading. This has nothing to do with reading levels. I have always read a combination of teen and adult novels. So haters who say "Twilight" is dumbed down, it isn't. Its voice is concentrated and targeted. While you don't have to be a teenage girl to read it, this IS the intended audience. It is not your grandmother's vampire novel.

I do defend Twilight. I read it in a time and place when I needed some comfort and it provided just that. Should it win a Pulitzer? A Booker? A NBA? Something that makes the high brow literary folk pinch their chins in deep thought over what the color of Bella's jacket symbolizes? Sometimes a brown fucking coat is a brown fucking coat.* It makes a lot of girls happy. Sure, also a little insane. But I can only hope people can feel as connected to my writing.

In the end, I leave you with some pictures of my Halloween adventures. Click on *Read More ->* Beware. That is all.

Actually Team Jacob AND Team Edward at the SAME time like,
Zoraida

no, it's not real.

Slash and a Sub

Geisha + Vampire Princess

Vampire Queen + Vampire Princess

MY FAKE EYELASHES!

This is how Latins cook

Feeding my pet zombies

Feeding my self.

Bourbon Balls!

The red frosting looks pink. Not as scary. But still yummy.

(*note: Bella probably wears a brown coat, but in this case it is just an example.)

November is whiskey month

2011-10-24T15:03:00.001-04:00

Also known as National Novel Writing Month.

I am doing NaNoWriMo! Using this whole month to write the sequel to The Vicious Deep.

Follow us Apocalypsies doing NaNo 2011 on Twitter with the hashtag #ApocaNaNo

Stay tuned like,
Zoraida

Sometimes I paint

2011-10-19T19:06:00.002-04:00

Cover Reveal for Suzanne Lazear's INNOCENT DARKNESS!

2011-10-17T14:13:00.001-04:00

Go to her blog, quick! She's having a very prettyful contest.

Click on the cover and it will magically transport you!

Top Ten Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time

2011-10-11T06:19:00.000-04:00

Or, because I NEED to go to bed, but I don't WANNA.

(Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!)

These are in no particular order, but are followed with some notes as to why I with I could go back to that first read:

Because I read it too quickly and
there were soooo many good lines.

Because the ending KILLED me.

Because it was my inspiration.

Because it is the ultimate love story.

Because it broke my heart.

Because it ignited my love of werewolves.

Because I learned how to write my myths.

Because before all the HATERS,
all I wanted was a boy to want me
the way Edward wanted Bella.

Sleeping like,
Zoraida

Vlog #2

2011-10-09T05:01:00.000-04:00

Or, why the hell is this video so dark!?

Must start vloggling earlier in the day.
(That's what SHE said.)

But seriously, watch me be silly like,
Zoraida

You want the TRUTH?

2011-10-07T01:34:00.001-04:00

Or, you can't handle the new cover!

The Melancholy Writer

2011-10-01T15:14:00.002-04:00

Or, it is raining in New York, NY.

Just because I missed my little potato friend, and because I need to kick myself in the arse. Maybe it's the gray sky, the light rain on the tree outside my window, the soft blue blanket I bought yesterday--but I'm very much in the mood to listen to Adele and eat Ben & Jerry's.

However, Tristan 2.0 beckons me. He is an inpatient merman, wanting to know what will happen to him next.

WINNER

2011-09-30T18:14:00.004-04:00

According to the TRULY RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR, the winner of this lovely decal is

! emilimcg !

please e-mail me at zoraidawrites@gmail.com to claim your prize;)

Mermish Madness

2011-09-29T02:51:00.002-04:00

Or, conflicting reading issues followed by cover love.

As someone writing about mermaids, I'm staying away from the slew of mermaid books being released. It's nothing personal. I LOVE that mermaids are getting their turn in the dim light of the Vampire/werewolf craze. It's just that as I'm writing, I don't want to take the change of the influence. What if I read something and am all, "OMG, I did the same thing!"

I don't expect anyone to understand that. But maybe if I put it this way-- In THE GOOD FAIRIES OF NEW YORK by Martin Millar there is an introduction by Neil Gaiman himself.

He writes, "Authors are odd animals...For me, probably for any author, the biggest worry is that someone will writer the book that I'm writing, and write it first."

Thank you Neil! So while I'm purchasing all these books, I keep putting them off.

That being stated, I am so in love with this cover. It is the follow up to LOST VOICES by Sarah Porter.
Look at the jellyfish! Look at her tail! <3

PS: Don't forget! Mermaid Decal Giveaway ends Friday Sept 20th!

costumes

2011-09-27T22:23:00.003-04:00

This week at The Nighstand, we are kicking off our Halloween Month. Saturday is my post on costumes. Here is a little preview of my favorite costume from three years ago.

Jubilee + Rogue

I forgot who my lovely Laura was,
but it's still hot!

What are some of your favorite Halloween costumes?

PS: my mermaid contest ends SEPTEMBER 30!

my first vlog. ever. ever.

2011-09-23T01:42:00.002-04:00

Happy Happy Giveaway

2011-09-21T16:31:00.001-04:00

Or, what do I do when I'm in a good mood? I give shit away. Word. Look at what I got!?

YOURS

MINE

You can put it on a wall or glass or our laptop or your car. It really goes anywhere and lets the world know that you're waving your mermaid flag.

This giveaway is about followers. Nothing too crazy or complicated.

To ENTER leave a COMMENT and FOLLOW my blogger

+ for tweet about contest + twitter follow + Facebook Likey

ENDS SEPTEMBER 30th.

I WILL ship internationally.

The sea weed is always greener like,

Zoraida

zombie land

2011-09-19T04:32:00.000-04:00

Or, did I ever tell you guys about that time I was a zombie?

Yes, I'm a picture whore. I love getting my picture taken. I love photography. Especially fashion photography and cool artsy stuff with a lot of light, shadows, and make up.

I did this a long time ago, but I realize I never posted them. I think.

So, here they are. Make up by Lacey Allure and photography by GK

Can you guess the story line?

a peek at my unmentionables

2011-09-14T19:00:00.000-04:00

and by unmentionables, I mean my sweet mermaid collection. there are tons more. but, some are too nerdy and I'm not showing you those.

just a pretty bronze statue

bottle opener

doll, needs to be hung up

one of two book ends

Reading List

2011-09-12T22:56:00.000-04:00

Or, looks at the books I just bought !

New Cover, New Date

2011-09-12T04:35:00.000-04:00

Or, look at my NEW shiny cover!

So, after some debate, a detail of my cover has changed. It might be the part you liked the most. It might be the part you liked the best. It might be that this goddess-dammned article has actually created a shift in future YA covers.

Either way, It is still lovely and I think I like her better this way. Indeed, this has prompted my search for the exact same shade of red. Which I might already own, but I need another excuse to go to Sephora.

Now coming to a Barnes and Noble near YOU in APRIL 2012!

Look at the pretty accent over the first O in my last name! My conquistador ancestors would be so proud!

going make-up shopping like,
Zoraida

there's no place like home

2011-09-11T07:31:00.001-04:00

Or, an open comment to the guy on the train wearing typical uncomformist-conformist hipster uniform, bitching about how America sucks.

I really do love men in uniform. All military and men who serve. But, specifically Marines and firemen. It's not just a display of manhood. Believe me, I believe in this kind of manhood. It symbolizes strength, duty, honor, family. The list goes on. I love and support our troops. Without them--- I don't even want to think about it.

Today is a day to remember that we are the land of the free. It is not perfect, but we are still evolving. Compared to the rest of the world, our history hasn't even made a scratch. We don't have dynasties or monarchies. Most of our changes have happened so fast, we're still adjusting to the changing backlash. So go ahead and keep bitching and moaning. You're American. You won't get put in prison for passive-aggresively hating your government. Unlike some other places. Somewhere over seas my friend is fighting for your right to do this. For my right to do this. So, support those who fight for your right, bro. He's making a different. What are you doing?

don't go breaking my heart

2011-09-07T19:53:00.000-04:00

Book 2 is hard to write.

Next week I have to send in my copy edits as well as a summary of Book 2. The working title is THE FATHOMS BELOW. And yes, it is from this:

*Swim fishy, swim!*

Ahem. Anyway.

Time to turn into evil plotting witch. It looks something like this:

Happy plotting like,

Zoraida

copyediting and book 2

2011-09-01T16:24:00.004-04:00

Or, I don't know if you know this, but I'm a big fan of crime soap operas. NCIS, Rizzoli and Isles, BONES (duh).

I was (still am) watching NCIS instead of writing. This episode is Cover Story as copied from IMDB:

While processing evidence from a crime scene, McGee is shocked when he discovers a link to his newest/unfinished novel. When the team finds 2 bodies, the race is on to find the killer and his link to McGee's work. McGee finally admits he based his characters off his co-workers.

You see, McGee (right) is an NCIS agent by day, and Thom E. Gemcity by night. He can't seem to finish writing his sophomore novel and the pressure is on. DiNozzo (left) asks him if he has writer's block. And McGee responds with "I do NOT have writer's block...It's creative stifling."

I think that's what I feel right now.

In November I'm going to take a week off. Look at me planning before I actually request this from my job. But between a week to two, I'm going to become a hermit. I know, I know, why am I planning all the way in November.

Because THE AREN'T ENOUGH HOURS IN THE DAY.

Granted, if I didn't watch this much Bones NCIS and True Blood, I'd have 3 or 4 hours back of my day. The problem with working on creative projects is that for a long time, it isn't going to pay my bills. There is nothing I love more than my writing and painting. But my job is so draining, that it takes away from my writing time. When I get home, I just want to put on my eye mask, take a tylenol PM for my aching footsies, and dream of Special Agent Seeley Booth.

In the morning I have to get the f@#$% over it. Writers WRITE. It's that simple. We have to reschedule hang outs, forget about sleep, drink a little too much coffee and booze, and forget about dieting because inside, ALL writers are a little insecure.

So, this is me getting over my "creative stifling." McGee had to get over it because otherwise Abbey would die. And I need to get over it, because other wise the world will IMPLODE in the form of my apartment and the books and laundry already littering the floor.

In better news, I'm getting my copyedit soon, so this is helping.

Thank you for listening to my ranting. I need to rant. Now, write one like,

Zoraida

Once more, again, with feeling,

2011-08-29T14:35:00.003-04:00

Or, my soundtrack to this thing I call writing Book DOS.

I've turned on channel 614 which is the ROCK station. If you know me, you know I love rock music. Often times I don't know the band or the names of the lead singers. I just know their voices, gritty-dirty-throw-you-on-the-ground-and-love-you-hate-you voices. It's all about the voice. Sometimes not even the lyrics. When I listen to Pearl Jam I can only understand 1/4th of the things he says. And it's okay because the melody and the voice is what makes my heart ache.

I sort of imagine the opening of my book to something fun and carefree, Buckcherry style.

<-- Buckcherry <3

There is a lot of My Darkest Days and Guns and Roses. Because nothing says mermen at sea like rockers in tight pants and crazy hair, right? I think there might be something there, ya know?

Maybe it works like this: I work best when surrounded by noise. And while Adele and Sade and Taylor are sweet and I still have their songs interlude my rock sessions, nothing makes me feel as energized like a good rock song. Is this a good time to admit that when I was in junior high I had a crush and the two following lead singers?

Don't judge me.

Seriously, I would totally still bone Steven Tyler even though he's almost 90. Having been around Kid Rock when he frequented my previous night club, I wouldn't touch that with a sanitary stick. Still, something about me has a thing for dirty white guys with sexy voices.

This then forms my soundtrack of rollickin' mermen (and mergirls) kicking ass.

I leave you with a song I have on repeat which will lead me to the moment before the climax of my intended plot. (Mind the video is about a ballerina, but the sentiment of letting go is what I'm aiming for.)

rock on and write on like,

Zoraida

Bookish

2011-08-24T15:22:00.008-04:00

Or, To avoid becoming like this <-- I run to the closest book store and act like a binge eater opening the refrigerator after starving for a week. That's right, I haven't been reading as often as I usually do because my work schedule has turned me into a vampire. I sleep during the day. I play at night. And by play, I really mean watch the whole of NYC and masses to tourists collectively turn into assholes. It's a gradual transformation that comes with an open bar tab and lots of "pretty" women. But that's another story.

This week I've gotten these books:

Now, LOLA is on loan from the lovely Sandy at Pirate Penguin's Reads. I loved Anna and the French Kiss, so I'm excited for this one.

Wildefire I picked out on a whim. It is so much different than the vamps, angels, and zombies that are out right now. Plus, Karsten Knight is so totally cute.

Lights Out in Wonderland is also a random pick for me. The author is described as "Flannery O'Connor on an overdose of amphetamines and cable television." So that's really all I needed to know. Plus, it's "adult" fiction and I need a YA breather every now and then.

Possess hits stores YESTERDAY and it is by fellow Apocalypsie Gretchen McNeill. So do your self a favor and go buy it!

Reading like,

Zoraida

Outlining

2011-08-10T08:24:00.003-04:00

Or, what did I get myself into?

Just Kidding!

Sort of.

Outlining book 2 is almost harder than outlining book 1. I end up doing crazy things like GOOGLE. I honestly believe that if it weren't for GOOGLE, Washington would be hard at work right now. And so would I!

and this image below, which is how I feel right now:

That's actually a scale (no pun intended) photo of me going to do my writing at the cafe around the corner.

fighting evil by moonlight like,

Zoraida

The Vicious Deep

2011-08-02T05:22:00.002-04:00

Or, HOLY-SHITAKE-MUSHROOMS, LOOK AT MY COVER

The designer is Jeanine Henderson.

So far, the reception has been "Creepy!" "Scary!" "Alluring!" "Sexy!"

I hope that combined, these are all good things.

The most interesting part is that my MC is a boy. The hungry mermaid on the cover is not my MC, in case you're wondering. This is the villain of the story. In case the bloody lips didn't give that away. I wasn't expecting her, but the minute I saw it, I loved it.

I hope you do, too.

love like,

Zoraida

2011-07-31T16:14:00.001-04:00

I'm being interviewed over at Pirate Penguin Reads. <--click Go there now!

Cover Teaser #1

2011-07-16T08:00:00.002-04:00

Or, wanna get a peek at my cover? ;)

Here is the first of two:

The second teaser will be NEXT SATURDAY over at miss Pirate Penguin's Reads, along with a contest and a the WHOLE COVER REVEAL.

If you haven't added The Vicious Deep to your goodreads, then do!

Mermaid Splash

2011-07-13T20:50:00.002-04:00

Or, wait, that's a weird blog title.

I've been gone for a few. Not just here, but over at The Nightstand as well. I've been moving, traveling, decorating, reading.

This saturday I will be posting a teaser of my cover for The Vicious Deep!

Later this month I will have my very first interview.

All good things coming.

For now, I leave you with a song tuck in my head, which is out on iTunes. Go get it. Seriously. You need it in your life. <3

Be back soon like,

Zoraida

immaculate dream

2011-05-31T23:55:00.003-04:00

Or, taking a break from editing and thinking in general.

Right now I'm kind of in love with the cover of Duran Duran's COME UNDONE by My Darkest Days. I also and kind of in love that the Duran Duran video is an underwater dream.

check, check it out:

I have this uncle who's more like a brother to me. Growing up he listened to all this music, Michael Jackson , Duran Duran, Ace of Base--basically HIS 80s and early 90s tunes. I used to roll my eyes and blast my Britney Spears. A million years later, and I'm listening to these songs wondering how in the world I subconsciously know all the lyrics. It's this influence that really runs deep and I'm thankful for that. I also know just who to dedicate my upcoming novel to.

Speaking of said novel, here I am trying to cut 20k out of the 120k. It is not as hard as I thought it was going to be. For starters, I thought I'd cry every time I cut out a paragraph. I've come to understand what people mean when they say "PUT IT IN A DRAWER AND DON'T LOOK AT IT FOR A FEW WEEKS OR MONTHS." You need time away from your novel. It's kind of like when you see someone all the time, you don't really notice how they might change gradually. But then you don't see them for MONTHS and they gained 15 pounds and got a whole bunch of face tattoos and shaved their hair off.

So, maybe not exactly. But separation makes for a better understanding of things when you take another look at them. I can look at my words with a little bit of distance as opposed to SHEER ADORATION like usual.

I leave you with the cover of COME UNDONE by My Darkest Days. Isn't his voice sexy? Just what I need in the background while writing.

who do you need like,

Zoraida?

Brought to you by Mermaids of Coney Island 2

2011-05-23T16:51:00.003-04:00

Or, how did I not know Sade was a mermaid, too?!?!?!

I remember my uncle listening to this album on repeat when I was little and I've only just now seen the video for it.

Enjoy the mermaid love like,

Zoraida

Brought to you by Mermaids of Coney Island

2011-05-09T17:09:00.004-04:00

Or, holy Poseidon! Even my NAILS can be mermaid-themed.

Pirates 4 has mermaids. I know this. I've contained my glee. I've been cool and collected.

But if there's one thing that makes me jump out of my seat faster than a long-tailed cat in a rocking chair is makeup.

If you know me, I have tons of glittering pots and liners and mascara and rhinestone appliques and .... you get the picture.

I saw these at my local Ricky's and gasped so loud the cute gay boy behind the counter arched his finely plucked eyebrow at me and went "you okay, guuurl?"

The ones on the left have a layer of OPI's very cool new Shatter in Silver. #7 is Mermaid's Tears. And while I don't want to see any of my own mermaids crying, it's a very pretty spring color. I mean, lookie---

rejoicing in the return of the mermaids like,

Zoraida

Return of the Mermaids: Interview With Anne Greenwood Brown

2011-05-05T16:00:00.007-04:00

Or, an interview with fellow Apocalypsie Anne Greenwood Brown.

First off, when I talk about the Apocalypsies I refer to a group of authors whose DEBUT Young Adult and Middle Grade books are slated for an end of the world 2012 release. Go HERE to check out our blog for updates and reviews of new releases.

Now.

Anne's debut YA is LIES BENEATH, a love story about mermaid assassins on Lake Superior, will be published by Delacorte Press (imprint of Random House), summer 2012. (from Anne's blog.)

Because I want to know more about her, and because YOU want to know more about, here is an interview that will allow you to do just that.

Z: There's this thing from Sex and the City (I'm a big fan) that they talked about once called Secret Singular Behavior. Stuff you would never do in front of your boy or husband. What about Secret Writerly Behavior. What is your writing ritual? I write best when I'm alone with my music blaring.

A: write my best really early in the morning. I wake up at 5:00 on the weekends and pound out words until lunchtime. My goal is always 1000 words a day. I've tried to write to music but I find my head gets too noisy that way.

Z: Tell my about your novel. A short blurb is one thing, but when someone asks you what your book is about do you shout "MERMAIDS!!!" or do you give them the back copy summary?

A: My two word pitch for LIES BENEATH is: Mermaid Assassins. That usually gets people's attention! But here's a bit more: Calder White is the only brother in a family of merpeople, living in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior. They plan to assassinate Jason Hancock, the man they blame for their mother's death. The mermaid sisters give Calder the responsibility of getting close to the Hancock family and (in that way) get the water-phobic Jason out on the water. Trouble is, Calder screws everything up by falling in love with Hancock's daughter Lily and he has to try and figure out how (or if) he can love the girl while simultaneously plotting her father's murder. It's a revenge/love story.

Z: Why mermaids? (Other than they are the best supernatural team out there).

A: I live in Minnesota (the "Land of 10,000 Lakes") and I spend summers on Lake Superior (the Wisconsin shore), so water was a natural and easy setting for me to put my characters in. When I was little, I used to pretend to be Aquaman's wife.... maybe that has something to do with it, too.

Z: Some minds go straight to Disney's The Little Mermaid, adapted from Hans Christian Anderson's tale, but there are so many cultures with their own versions of mermaids. Do you have a favorite mermaid fairytale?

A: No. The mermaids and mermen in LIES BENEATH do not follow any of the traditional mermaid (or even Greek siren) mythology. As Calder will tell you, he's an "evolved merman."

Z: How did you develop your Merlore?

A: I did no research at all. I didn't want to be affected by anything and wanted to start from scratch. It developed naturally as part of the plot more than anything: how merpeople are created, their special skills, their migratory patterns, the inconvenient parts of their nature...what I've imagined will catch people off guard at first, but it's all such a natural part of the story that the reader will find it strangely believable.

Z: Did you try googling Mermaid Anatomy and end up shocked and giggly at all the results? Cos I did.

A: Nope. But that is very funny! My merpeople are able to change to human form (and back again) at will, so I didn't have to worry much about mermaid anatomy. There are a lot of awkward naked scenes though during the transformation process.

Z: My novel is first person from a merGUY's POV. Was it hard for you writing from Calder's POV?

A: I write from the male pov quite often so that wasn't too hard. However, the sequel (WATER LILY) is told from Lily's point of view, and that has been harder for me. I think because the temptation is to slip into my own voice (as female), and I have to keep reminding myself that even though it would be super cool to have a boyfriend like Calder (if I wasn't married), I am NOT her and she can't be me!

Z: In the BOOKS section of your website, you've only listed LIES BENEATH and then your WIP. Does this mean that LB will not have a sequel?

A: Yes! It will have a sequel. As I mentioned above, the working title for the sequel is WATER LILY and it is told from Lily's point of view. The series is anticipated to be a trilogy; however, the third book will be its own separate publishing deal.

Thank you Anne!

For more on LIES BENEATH and Anne Greenwood Brown, go to her ->website<-

For more 2012 Debuts check out The Apocalypsies Blog.

~Zoraida

Monday Momento

2011-05-02T23:53:00.005-04:00

It could be that I'm PMSing.

It could be that the vindicated death of Osama Bin Laden has filled me with a strange surge of American pride.

It could be that there is no moon, and because I'm ruled by the moon, its absence has left me with a sense of deep and unwarranted loneliness.

No matter what it is, it's a melancholy night on my side of Astoria and I'm flipping through one of my favorite novels in the world. The cover is to the left. <-

And the excerpt goes like this:

“Who knows how to make love stay?

Tell love you are going to the Junior's Deli on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn to pick up a cheesecake, and if love stays, it can have half. It will stay.

Tell love you want a momento of it and obtain a lock of its hair. Burn the hair in a dime-store incense burner with yin/yang symbols on three sides. Face southwest. Talk fast over the burning hair in a convincingly exotic language. Remove the ashes of the burnt hair and use them to paint a mustache on your face. Find love. Tell it you are someone new. It will stay.

Wake love up in the middle of the night. Tell it the world is on fire. Dash to the bedroom window and pee out of it. Casually return to bed and assure love that everything is going to be all right. Fall asleep. Love will be there in the morning.”

Do you see why he's my favorite? When I read his words, it feels like someone is taking hold of my heart and twisting because every word is true and he's found a feeling inside me I didn't even know was there.

ANYWAY

Enough of my Monday night moping. Coming SOON is an interview with fellow mermaid-writer and 2012 debutante, Anne Greenwood Brown!

As well as my first ever contest! Which I'm kind of nervous-in-a-good-way about.

Casually returning to bed like,

Zoraida

Ch-ch-changes

2011-04-29T16:50:00.003-04:00

It's been over a month since my last update

I've been waiting for interesting things to say. The first one being: my Macbook Pro is here!!!

It made it's way patiently from China to Alaska to Tennessee all the way to my lap. My previous Smelly Dell has caught its death. The only thing I lost were some pictures and some music. But I still have most of my music on CDs.

As for shiny mermaid novel news, I have some deadlines. From browsing Twitter, I notice a lot of writers talking about #deadlinedash-es. You get a certain amount of time to hand in a revision from your editor. You look at the date. You memorize the date. You write the date down on all of your calendars--the one on your phone, the one on your laptop, and the one on your wall. You tell yourself you have time. And then the next day you say the same thing. I've done this with many college papers. I don't know if it's the intimidating scratch-outs and murderous lines across your favorite paragraphs, but I would imagine that it's the kind of thing that'll hurt your soul a little.

I can't wait.

In two weeks, I'll return to my coffee-induced-zone-out where all I do is write.

In the mean time, I've added The Vicious Deep to Goodreads. <--Click on the title to add, too!

In other fun news, those of you reading this blog will notice it change a bit. I've found a FANTASTIC web designer. Updates of web launch soon to come.

Zoraida

The Book Deal

2011-03-14T15:38:00.004-04:00

Roughly two weeks later and I have the best news ever.
This is me waiting--

And this is me after I've received the following news:

Zoraida Cordova’s YA debut, The Vicious Deep, a modern Arthurian tale with a twist, about the return of the mermaids to Coney Island in search of their new king, in which Tristan Hart discovers what he really is—a merman and prince, to Leah Hultenschmidt at Sourcebooks Fire, for publication in February 2012, in a two book deal, by Adrienne Rosado of PMA Literary & Film Management, Inc.

The announcement will be in Publisher's Market place tomorrow, according to Lovely Agent.

I guess this is where the fun starts.

~Zoraida

The Waiting Room Pt. 4 Feat. Caridad Ferrer!

2011-03-09T17:25:00.007-05:00

Two days left till Friday.

Well, today counts as a partial day so I guess I have two and a half days of waiting.

The simple response to waiting is to not sweat it. Don't think about it. Whatever happens happens. And while that's true, I'm only a girl.

Some of the things I did while waiting for my book baby news have been sangria, margaritas, and the occasional shot of bourbon when I'm with my Guy. Anyone who knows me knows that I love love love Buffy. Which means, I've gone through seasons 4 and some of 5 because when I'm not ready to face the real world, the Buffyverse is like my own visual security blanket.

Not to mention I still have to go to work in Manhattan's bright-lights night life.

As part of the wait, I have the pleasure of having fabulous author Caridad Ferrer join me in the waiting room to relate her very own experiences. With three YA novels out, including her RITA award winning Adios to My Old Life, It's Not About the Accent, and her most recent release When the Stars Go Blue, Ms. Ferrer is a pro. (Obvi) My questions are bolded starting after the awesome covers.

*Do you remember your first thoughts after finishing WHEN THE STARS GO BLUE?

Honestly, no, mostly because there were various points where I thought it was "done" only to have to go back and and work on it some more. I think it really sank in about the time I received the page proofs and started to get an idea of what the book was going to look like as a finished entity. Given that this book had a really long and twisting journey to publication, that was really the "OMG, pinch me, it's real and it's done!" moment.

*What did you do while you were waiting? Stalk Twitter feeds, clutch a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, head desk every time you thought of something you would’ve written differently? All of the above?

This is going to sound exceptionally boring, but I started working on something else. I mean, yeah, there's a certain amount of "I really hope someone loves it," stress in the background, but the best thing for me to take my mind off that is to work on something else. And since I never have any shortage of things to work on... :) I feel like a massive slacker if I'm not working.

*I know I'm internally frantic and I watch a lot of NCIS and drink my boyfriend's whiskey to calm the nerves. Did your family notice any unusual behavior?

Ha! I do tend to try to catch up on missed TV after a deadline, but no... my unusual behavior happens more when I'm pushing towards the end of a manuscript. I get sort of crazed and sleep-deprived and everything around me fades into the background as I focus solely on the story. Then when it's done, I emerge, blinking owlishly to discover that the world has, indeed, gone on without me and my surroundings covered with a fine layer of dust. (And bills-- ugh. That's the worst part. Is to catch up on the bills that need paying because I ignored them in my quest to reach the end.)

*You’ve already published two novels, Adios to My Old Life (and won the RITA for it), and It’s Not About the Accent. Was the wait for STARS different?

Yes. Adiós sold literally in a matter of a couple of weeks and because it was part of a two-book deal, I had no real wait for Accent, other than to hear whether the concept was one my editor liked or not, which also only took a couple of weeks. Stars began similarly, in that it was originally a commissioned project from a publisher, so there was very little wait to hear if it had been accepted, but because the publisher ultimately changed their minds about wanting the project (after 18 months) I had to go back, revise the manuscript again, have it sent out again, and then wait to hear back. Luckily, though, that wait wasn't too terribly long, since there had been another editor who was very interested in the project and that's ultimately who we went with.

* How has publishing affected you since your first release, to STARS, to what you’re working on now?

As cynical as I was going in (because I'm a natural cynic anyhow), I'm even more so now. Which sounds horrible, doesn't it? But you know, given my work ethic, I firmly believed that hard work coupled with talent (which I've been told I have) would be rewarded. It didn't have to be the huge six-figure deal or the Times list (although I wouldn't say no to either) but I expected to be able to continue to gradually grow my career.

Yeah... doesn't happen that way. I will say that the waits between deals have given me to freedom to "play" a lot with genre and style, and given me time to continue to develop my craft in my own little cave without any kind of pressure or expectation being placed on me from outside sources. The pressure and expectation I place on myself, however... I think it's safe to say that no one puts as much pressure on me as I do.

*I know all writers blog about their angst while waiting, revising, editing, revising again, getting ready to go all pyro on certain passages. But we still write. For you, what is it that keeps you going?

I tell stories. And I want to tell my stories in as polished and perfected and clear a manner as possible. In other words, I'm an incurable perfectionist. But at the heart of it, I love to tell stories and writing happens to be my medium.

*What would you advice a young author whose novel is currently under submission for all of Manhattan to pick and prod at?

Keep working. Seriously. I know it sounds too simple to be true, but working on the next project provides not only experience, but insurance as well. You always have that next project ready to go. What if an editor loves your voice, but the project submitted to them isn't quite right or didn't really hook them. They might well ask, "Well, what else does the author have?" or "Send me the next project." I'm all about preparedness. It's the Virgo tendencies. :)

* Can you hint at what you’re working on next?

A few things: currently out on submission is a new YA proposal-- a big switch for me since I'm dipping my toes into the paranormal waters. While that's out, I'm tearing apart a women's fiction project and also starting work on another adult project that's kind of a modern take on gothic horror.

You can visit Caridad by clicking here. Or following her AQUI!.

And she's right. I've started working on other things. It's the writer's itch, I suppose.

write on like,
Zoraida

The Waiting Room Pt. 3

2011-03-07T16:40:00.003-05:00

Yesterday it rained all day.

But that's not why I wanted the week to begin. I wanted the week to begin because this is the week that I get The News. Friday, to be exact.

As I'm typing I'm realizing that I need a new laptop. Mine works, but it's a dinosaur. It's bulky and makes strange guttural noises like it's going to shut right on my fingers and go Nom! Nom! Nom!

During this waiting period I've decided that I've taken solace in reading other books. Right now on my pile are:

I picked The Eternal Ones up because the ouroboros is my favorite symbol. Plus, who doesn't love an eternal love story?

This was given to me by a friend. I'm writing about mermaids, so I really didn't want to read it while I was working on my novel. But now that I'm done, I think it's time to see everyone else's takes on the mythologies.

I've never read Saundra Mitchell's books, but I've heard a lot of awesome things about this. I did opt for the ebook version because I wanted to read it on the train today.

Happy reading,

and Happy waiting like,

Z

The Waiting Room Pt. Dos

2011-03-04T05:07:00.002-05:00

SO....that was fast.

I'm not allowed to talk about it because said Agent has duck taped me. But only a few days later, and we have interested parties.

It was 2:50 something PM. I work nights so that's a normal hour for me to be sleeping. I hear a text chime in the depths of my dream. But I keep dreaming, because in my dream I was trying to solve a mystery and elude thieves and some kinds of garden attackers. Yes, people who were attacking a garden.

So I pick up right, and I'm glad I did because she told me we had interest. Maybe New York publishing isn't so awful after all! I'm too young to be so jaded, after all. I thank all the deities who had my back. It's a wonderful feeling knowing someone else out there gets my writing.

The day went by with cuddle time with my manfriend and a delicious tall glass of margarita goodness.

Hopefully with a better post and solid news to follow like,
Zoraida

The Waiting Room Pt. Uno

2011-02-28T04:10:00.005-05:00

Other than the Oscars and random episodes of NCIS and Buffy TVS, the reason I can't sleep is because I'm nervous about the oncoming weeks. The novel is done, and The Agent is making calls as of today. And people will get to read it in the next few weeks, maybe months.

Even though my horrorscope for 2011 gave me a thumbs-up in all aspects of my life, I've still turned to a strange form of spiritualism.

The first kind is a fascination I have a thing with frogs. I have an accidental collection of little statues. It's come to my attention that there was (maybe there still is) a goddess-frog. Frog-goddess? Obviously, to frogs their god looks like a frog because we tend to model our gods in the forms of our physical selves. Anyway, this frog shaped god lady of Ancient Egypt is named Heqet. She was associated with fertility and with the last stages of childbirth. As I've decided to document my publishing-wait-process The Waiting Room, it almost seems appropriate.

I think I named this guy Rigoberto.

Now that I have my frog-goddess relics all over my room, I've turned to the more traditional side of spirituality. Religion wasn't a big part of my upbringing. I also get annoyed when people attribute this to being raised in New York City. Some people like to think that just because we're in NY it means New Yorkers are all atheists. We're not. But before this turns into a rant about something other than my literary-postpartum-depression, I'm going to say that I was baptized Catholic but do not go to church or even like church, but have nothing against those that do. As a writer, I do love the idea of Saints and the worship of these people who have such a powerful pull to us mere mortals. And they were mortals once, too. Only they were better because now they're Saintly.

I've found a St. Francis De Sales, the patron saint of writers. Even though he only became this because he wrote a lot and put his voice out there to convert those darn Calvinists. It's better than not having a patron Saint at all, right?

This is he:

Look at how literary. I've lit a candle for him and everything.

The next saint is St. Judas. Look at how calming.

Not to be confused with Judas who betrayed Jesus. This guy is the patron saint of lost causes. And because every now and then, it's easy to get a little bit lost in more than one life-area.
I haven't gotten a candle for him yet, though it's on my to-do list for tomorrow. I have one for St. Francis, but as holy as they are, I don't think saints like to share.

hope you don't get literary-postpartum depression like,
Z

You've Finished Your Novel Pt. 1

2011-02-17T17:30:00.006-05:00

Say you write a novel.

Say you write a novel, and you already have an agent.

Say you write a novel, and you already have an agent, and your novel is ready to get sent out there.

This is the point in every wannabe-published-author's dreams where the dreams become a little nightmarish. In my case, there's the wait and see. The next weeks are going to be hellish. I already know that. Though, I will be doing my very best to internalize my turmoil.

Right now, my novel, titled THE VICIOUS DEEP, is taking up a smidgen of space in my hard drive and will be passed around NY editors for them to take a stab at it. Literally.

I do have a physical copy. It looks like this:

In the next few posts, I'll (hopefully) have some material to further chronicle my journey into that unknown and mysterious void--publishing.

***

also, happy late Valentine's Day.

celebration

2011-01-10T22:15:00.001-05:00

and now, it's time to edit.

Happy Christmas

2010-12-25T22:05:00.002-05:00

This is what my people do for the new year.

Ecuador

"Ecuador celebrates a unique tradition on the last day of the year. Elaborate effigies, called Años Viejos (Old Years) are created to represent people and events from the past year. Often these include political characters or leaders that the creator of the effigy may have disagreed with. The dummies are made of straw, newspaper, and old clothes, with papier-mâché masks. Often they are also stuffed with fire crackers. At midnight the effigies are lit on fire to symbolize burning away of the past year and welcoming of the New Year. The origin of the tradition has its roots in pagan Roman and pre-Roman Spanish traditions still celebrated in Europe and which were brought to many countries of Latin-America in colonial times.

Other rituals are performed for the health, wealth, prosperity and protection. For example, traditionally each person eats twelve grapes before midnight, making a wish with each grape. Popularly, yellow underwear is said to attract positive energies for the New Year. Finally, walking around the block with one's suitcase will bring the person the journey of their dreams."

I don't know about the suitcase thing, but the grapes and the yellow thong thing is something I've always done.

Love love love.

old fashioned christmas

2010-12-06T19:26:00.005-05:00

Roommate and I bought a small Christmas tree. It doesn't have ornaments yet, but it's looking nice with just lights.

I'm reached the 80k mark, but I added a few scenes that were necessary, so I've lengthened my word count. AGAIN.

This Friday i'm going on a book buying vengeance! I've got a review of Beautiful Darkness coming, too. Even though, you don't need a review to tell you it's AWESOME.

I'm not going to update until I finish my next word count.

writing like,
Z

decking the halls

2010-12-03T18:19:00.004-05:00


time for a break before i go to work. tomorrow i'm getting a christmas tree and some decoration with my roommate. i didn't have a tree last year, so i'm super excited. i'm ready for a christmas decoration explosion!

whatchu gonna do when they come for you

2010-12-02T17:16:00.004-05:00


wowie zowie. i'm hyped on coffee, and i'm about to make some more!

do your happy dance like,
Z

so it goes

2010-11-30T23:16:00.004-05:00

nanowrimo is over!

although, this is where i am (note: i didn't start the novel in november, but did get at least 50k done this month.)

yesterday i was working coat check and managed to make my Cold&Sinuses even worse, so now i'm on my bed trying to write. i want to finish this scene because I personally need to figure out what happens next. i've extended my wordcount by 10k because there was no way i was going to resolve anything in 70k. as of now, i plan to be done by next week. then spend all of december editing, and then letting my agent read it and tell me she wants to BURN it. or maybe put it in her closet *lol*

oh, duh, coat check.

so while i was in coat check, i wrote down bits of a scene on post-its. because that's all i had. so i'd put a post-it on the wall and scribble. my manager looked over and for a second he thought i was writing on the walls!

this is what my bed looks like now:

yes, i am reading Beautiful Darkness, and yes it is REAL GOOD.

so now i'm going to take more medicine and continue reading BD. tomorrow is another day, and i've got a new wordcount goal to finish.

love like,
Z

this is what your self-motivation looks like

2010-11-24T13:36:00.008-05:00

dearest Self and blog-peepers,

lately been afraid that there are too many "themes" like mine. which isn't true by a long shot. the problem with selling YA is that it comes in waves. fairies, vampires, werewolves, zombies, angels, random other things. and when the wave has crashed, it's hard to get your book in there. i've already been through this once with a contemporary Latin YA because there were just too many of the same-themed Latin YA books.

it is crushing. it's like the boy of your dreams telling you that he doesn't like your shoes because they're just like everyone else's and you're ugly and suck. okay, maybe that's a little much. but it is a terribly sucky feeling. even now as i sit here, reaching a point where my novel is almost done, then off to the agent, then back to me to rework it, then out to the world to get judged by the NY publishing world who may or may not "get it"--i think--what if after another agonizing process, i can't do it?

and when the going gets tough, the writer starts drinking. or shopping, in cases where you're not old enough to purchase, or too chicken to slice off some whiskey and coke from your parent's cabinets. oh come on! i kid, i kid.

the answer isn't always drinking. you sit around telling yourself you can't do it. then after a while you feel like you can't. dark thoughts are easy because you're a New Yorker, and being negative is something you're used to. it's harder to focus on the good when giving up would be easier. if you give up you can sit there and watch as many Bones reruns as your brain will stand, and it can stand quite a lot.

but for me, the hope comes in the form of my characters. i've birthed them (so to speak), i've nurtured them, and if i stop now without getting them to their...climax and resolution...then i've just left them in Writer Limbo, joined by Kafka's unfinished novels, and that's just a nasty place to be in.

so right now, after just having risen from my dreams about bank robbing, i'm going to shower, make coffee, heat up a lean pocket, and keep plugging away. because as a wonderful writing teacher once told me, "writers write." these writing Fears are genuine. but they're like the proverbial Monsters Under Your Bed. they're there, waiting till you fall asleep to take your hard work from you and gnaw on your toesies. so don't let it. don't let them win!

end of story.

write on like,
Z

***
edit hours later:

and then your boy calls you and you're all <3 <3 <3 so you get happily sidetracked. then you go to work, and then you do it all over again.

glycerine

2010-11-23T17:38:00.003-05:00

am listening to an alternative rock stream on iTunes. i love when songs i haven't heard in a long time come on and make me go "OMG that's my song." after hitting 50k words on friday, i took the weekend off to recharge my batteries. i watched Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, which had me blubbering like a baby. for serious.

i've reached a point in my novel where i'm getting to the final third and it's kind of scary. then there's the third draft, and then it goes out in the world. i've stopped looking at other author's whose work is similar to mine and feeling jealous. i just keep writing, because writers write. duh. end of story.

coffee, one more writing hour, then out of my bedroom and into the night to work.

write on like,
Z

Laundry Service, or what happens when you delete your facebook

2010-11-18T16:33:00.003-05:00

i've gotten rid of The Facebook after almost six years of loyal service. i've been writing 2000 words a day on my novel the past couple of weeks, and i love the progress that i'm having so far, i feel like it's necessary to get rid of the extras.

this is what i'm listening to:

and

happy dance like,
Z

LOVELY, ANGRY MEN

2010-11-17T17:52:00.003-05:00

This is sort of revisited from a draft I wrote in Montana. It seems appropriate that I dedicate it to the person it's based on, though most of the details are fictionalized as I try to remember but kind of can't.

LOVELY, ANGRY MEN

for her.

My grandmother (the one I was named after,

not the one who raised me) was twenty

four years younger than my grandfather,

a maladjusted Ecuadorian farmer who never

smiled in pictures. He always wore white t shirts,

tucked inside his beige slacks held up with a strong black belt.

When I visit her, she says I'm tall like him, and have his

same jaw line and teeth and angry brow. I never smile

in pictures either. And oh, he was a Lovely man, an angry man,

but lovely, Too. She never went to school but had three of his

fistful of kids, and barely learned how to cook. Seems a girl can't

find herself a real man anymore. Look at that accountant my

sister got married to, and the other one is in love with an

undecided-student. Did you know your little cousin has an Indian boyfriend?

The last thing You need is brown children. Do you know any Nice boys in America?

Make sure they're lovely men, but not too much angry,

But lovely and strong like your grandfather.

I wish it were easy to be given to a Husband along a cart full or potatoes

and rice and fresh white linen. I tell her, I'm not right for husbands and I've never

met a lovely man.

She clucks her tongue, and keeps spooning rice onto my plate.

****

writing is lonely

2010-11-16T16:30:00.004-05:00

i believe that when really pouring yourself into your world, you end up feeling completely detached and lonely from everyone you love. you wonder if it's all worth it. you wonder.

something's happened with my characters that makes me sad, but it's necessary.

i'm drinking coffee in the soft light of my apartment. i'm hungry, but i don't know what i want to eat.


drink cold black coffee like,
Z

since feeling is first

2010-10-28T14:51:00.004-04:00

still writing. researching poetry. moving forward. it's hard to move forward without leaving somethings behind.

they made a statue of us

2010-10-12T14:51:00.007-04:00

listening to This.

the sun is putting a left foot in and the right foot out in the sky.

as i'm trying to control my figurative "vomiting onto the page," i remember the first (and only) book on writing advice i ever found helpful.

"Very few writers really know what they are doing until they've done it. Nor do they go about their business feeling dewy and thrilled. They do not type a few stiff warm-up sentences and then find themselves bounding along like huskies across the snow. One writer I know tells me that he sits down every morning and says to himself nicely, "It's not like you don't have a choice, because you do--you can either type or kill yourself." We all often feel like we are pulling teeth, even those writers whose prose ends up being the most natural and fluid. The right words and sentences just do not come pouring out like ticker tape most of the time.
......

The first draft is the child's draft, where you let it all pour out and the let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later. You just let this childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions come through and onto the page. If one of the characters wants to say, "Well, so what, Mr. Poopy Pants?," you let her. No one is going to see it. If the kid wants to get into really sentimental, weepy, emotional territory, you let him. Just get it all down on paper, because there may be some thing great in those six crazy pages that you would never have gotten to by more rational, grown-up means. There may be something in the very last line of the very last paragraph on page six that you just love, that is so beautiful or wild that you now know what you're supposed to be writing about, more or less, or in what direction you might go--but there was no way to get to this without first getting through the first five and a half pages."

going to work like,
zac

its almost november again

2010-10-11T16:55:00.003-04:00

i wish i could keep track of time.

that's a lie, i totally keep track of time. but not in a watch and calendar kind of way. more in a "this time last year kind of way."

i don't remember what i did this time last year. i have about 50 half-assed journals that will remain unfinished. every time i have a new boy in my life, i start a new journal. i have not 50 boys, just 50 journals. every time i'm upset i start a new journal. i have not only been upset 50 times. every time i want a physical representation of a New Start, i buy a journal. i've started buying the black and white composition notebooks because, otherwise, i'd be spending way too much money on books that'll only ever get a few pages of my thoughts.

for this one, i didn't buy a new journal. i don't want to jinx myself with my general apathy towards romance.

i have two large coffees in front of me, at Brooklyn Bagel Company (in Astoria). One is all the way empty and one I just bought. i'm thinking about the main love story in my novel, and as of now, i know how they end. FUCK YOU DISNEY FOR RUINING MY PERCEPTIONS OF LOVE AND HAPPINESS. but, alas, only the unfolding chapter will tell what happens to these crazy kids, no matter what i wish for them.

also, i have almost reached the end of Part I. this is where it gets hairy--grizzly hairy, italian man hairy, so hairy, i think my novel is going to need a Brazilian before i figure out how to write about male genitalia in a quirky way which won't make bored middle-american housewives want to burn my manuscript.

but for now i have my Elton John playlist on Last.fm, because if anyone probably loves mermaids as much as i do, its the man with the most sparkly wardrobe in the world. And coffee, naturally.

coffee drinking like,
zac

bird by bird

2010-10-10T03:31:00.002-04:00

"I thought such awful thoughts that I cannot even say them out loud because they would make Jesus want to drink gin straight out of the cat dish."
— Anne Lamott

still writing.

2010-10-07T18:01:00.002-04:00

I've realized that I'd make a good teenage boy if I came back as a teenage boy in my next life.

I also realize, that cold coffee tastes better with whiskey in it.

Additionally, my names makes for a terrible anagram. This makes a pen name impossible. I don't really want a pen name, but I want the option of having one. So far, none of these are workable.

ADA VICAR ROD ZOO

ADA CARR OVID ZOO

ADA CARR VOID ZOO

DADA ROAR COO VIZ

RADAR ADO COO VIZ

RADAR VIA DOC ZOO

RADAR VIA COD ZOO

CAD DIVA ROAR ZOO

CAD AVID ROAR ZOO

CAD VIDA ROAR ZOO

CAD VIA RAZOR DOO

CODA AVOID RAZOR

CODA ADO ROAR VIZ

CODA ROAD OAR VIZ

CODA DORA OAR VIZ

DRACO ADO OAR VIZ

CARD DIVA OAR ZOO

CARD AVID OAR ZOO

CARD VIDA OAR ZOO

CARD ROAD VIA ZOO

CARD DORA VIA ZOO

VICAR ADD OAR ZOO

VICAR DAD OAR ZOO

CAR DAVID OAR ZOO

CAR DIVA ROAD ZOO

CAR DIVA DORA ZOO

CAR AVID ROAD ZOO

CAR AVID DORA ZOO

CAR VIDA ROAD ZOO

CAR VIDA DORA ZOO

RCA DAVID OAR ZOO

RCA DIVA ROAD ZOO

RCA DIVA DORA ZOO

RCA AVID ROAD ZOO

RCA AVID DORA ZOO

RCA VIDA ROAD ZOO

RCA VIDA DORA ZOO

ARC DAVID OAR ZOO

ARC DIVA ROAD ZOO

ARC DIVA DORA ZOO

ARC AVID ROAD ZOO

ARC AVID DORA ZOO

ARC VIDA ROAD ZOO

ARC VIDA DORA ZOO

CARR DIVA ADO ZOO

CARR AVID ADO ZOO

CARR VIDA ADO ZOO

CZAR DIVA OAR DOO

CZAR AVID OAR DOO

CZAR VIDA OAR DOO

CZAR ADO VIA ROOD

CZAR ADO VIA DOOR

CZAR ADO OAR OVID

CZAR ADO OAR VOID

CZAR ROAD VIA DOO

CZAR DORA VIA DOO

CZAR VIA OAR DODO

ADD VIA RAZOR COO

DAD VIA RAZOR COO

ADO VIA RAZOR DOC

ADO VIA RAZOR COD

writing

2010-10-05T15:39:00.001-04:00

its 2 AM, do you know where you are?

2010-08-14T02:04:00.002-04:00

you are searching through your inbox because you can't sleep and you find words.

To the girl at The Badlander who stepped on my foot:

Don't even worry about it. Keep on
dancing the way most of us dance at five,
nine, but never eleven— all shoulders
and hands and legs. I stand outside with
a cigarette and cell-phone praising clean
Montana air, but hang up without saying goodbye
because who likes to hear when their ex-
lover has a new lover? Did you know your arms
are spread side to side waving up and down like
you're either a shaky bird, or a workout video
from the 80s? I remember the last concert
I went to was all heads bouncing in synchronized
nods, like in yes, yes, yes. I never dance unless
my uncles force me to salsa, because it's Christmas
or So-and-so's birthday, or Do you remember
how you loved this song when you were little?
I don't ska or wind or grind, but I like watching
leaves on the ground, stealthy as wallflowers
waiting for the right kind of wind. I like the way
the stage lights catch the silver confetti of the extensions
in your ponytail when you turn and say, I'm sorry
and point at my foot. I'm sorry, too. Sometimes I can't
sleep in the stillness of this valley so I write letters that'll
never get to travel the same distance I have.

Z.C.

April Flowers

2010-04-04T18:02:00.002-04:00

Or, sweet strangers

Of course the gym is not open,
silly bad-catholic-girl who forgot
it was Easter. There are only a hundred
old black ladies on the streets in shiny pastel
dresses and hats with so many flowers, you'd think
they were tending the wrong garden.

In the park I run the dirty dirt road,
follow the edge on the pond where ducks
chew on Easter candy wrappers.
follow the cracked steps
follow the trail of shattered booze
follow the candy wrappers to the top of the park
and then you can forget you live in Brooklyn.

Who says men aren't of the gentle-kind any more.
I stop in front to tie my shoes by tulips.
He's jogging, a hundred and alive.
Plucks a flower. Happy Easter, babygirl. Keep on Runnin'

Snowed In

2010-02-16T20:14:00.008-05:00

Homeward

or, The White Christmas that Never Happened is Happening, So Welcome to Poetry Tuesdays.

season of mist
mellow fruitlessness.*
this is what writer's block
feels like.
retailing therapy,
smiling on the
subway to myself.
the train crosses my borough
to yours. the light breaks
the train breaks
your eyes break like twilight.
brooklyn, how sweet it is--
the last time i loved a boy was
oh
i can't even recall so
huff and puff me down
to size. you sit and remind me
of the time i lost my mother-tongue.
words are easier because
i've forgotten how to make them
beautiful. i've forgotten how to
love somewhere between
mountain ranges and this skyline.
pavement glittering like
unpaved snow at 5 am.
each step i sink deeper into the snow.

(*John Keats)

going to work like,
zac

Coney Island: in (some) photos

2009-07-24T13:16:00.006-04:00

I didn't spend enough time at the beach as I wanted, and the Coney Island Museum doesn't let you take any pictures (which is why I'm relying on Google to show you what it looks like without me there).

Here is the beach at 10 AM. This is the first really nice day I've had all summer. Screw this weather.

This is the Wonder Wheel from far, far away. Not good composition, but it's really a research photo for the book. *memory snap*

This is me in my sequin bathing suit top. Kind of research for the novel. I kind of wanted to see what it's like to be a mermaid. In the end, it was just a sparkly top. *sigh*

This is the face one makes when drinking a POOR EXCUSE OF A PINA COLADA WITH WATERED DOWN RUM. Shiiiiiieeeet.

Walking to the Coney Island Museum.

(the next two photos are not MY museum shots)

Next time I have to go to this bar. It's called Freak Bar.

the path to the Museum

one way....

...or another.

just when I was wondering the sex life of mermaids...

and starfish...

I found Flotsam, but not Jetsam.

my bff

The End.

south of the equator

2009-07-22T10:57:00.002-04:00

Or, really, right on the equator. As in, Ecuador.

In one week, I'll be on my way to Ecuador.

I'm nervous. One, because I haven't seen my family in so long and don't know how they'll react to my strange New Yorker ways. Two: because my grandmother's house doesn't have wifi. Three: I will leave my blog unattended and then you all might forget me.

This is why I'm going to write up some of those reviews I've been staring at for the past week and just have them scheduled to be posted.

Guayas, here I come.

NYC Mega Reading

2009-07-18T06:48:00.002-04:00

This looks like fun. Though, the author I'm interested in the most is Michelle Zink because I'm reading Prophecy of the Sisters right now. And I'm LOVING it.

This coincides with my going away party, which isn't really a party, and more of an excuse to go to the bar for happy hour. The bar is The Skinny and it's on the Lower East Side. It's on the corner of Orchard, between Allen and Ludlow. I'm not good with directions. The first time I went here, my friends and I got very lost.

Also, I'm not really "going away," as much as I'm just visiting Ecuador for two weeks. So, if you'd like to join me for some book action followed by bar action, lemme know!

Nine authors will be at Books of Wonder in New York City on Saturday July 25th, from 2pm to 4pm.

Participating Authors:

Lauren Barnholdt, author of Two-Way Street
Sarah Cross, author of Dull Boy
Erin Dionne, author of Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies
Heather Duffy-Stone, author of This is What I Want to Tell you
Mandy Hubbard, author of Prada and Prejudice
Julie Linker, author of Crowned, Disenchanted Princess
Sarah MacLean, author of The Season
Mari Mancusi, author of Boys that Bite, Girls that Growl, Stake That!, Gamer Girl and others
Michelle Zink, author of Prophecy of the Sisters

Pitch Party NYC

2009-07-14T19:00:00.000-04:00

Have you ever been to a Pitch Party?

Me neither.

That's why I wanna have one.

Adrienne Rosado over @ PMA and I were chatting about True Blood and vacation days when we decided this would be a rather neat idea. A party (at a bar) where the agents will be there for your pitching pleasure. *wink*

We're still thinking on what the invitation is going to look like, the when and where. We're thinking Library Bar. Fitting?

What I know for sure is: Please only pitch if your novel is completed, as in, finished. Please only pitch if your non-fiction proposal if completed, as in, typed. There will be more info to come throughout the summer because it will happen at the end of summer, when the sun will finally start shining.

I'll have to get one of my image-savvy internet friends to make a little flyer for it. Anyone? I'm already excited and speaking with a southern accent as I type this.

Start telling your novel-writing friends. Specially if they write YA.

Maggie Quinn: Triple Whamey

2009-07-13T07:00:00.004-04:00

Prom Dates from Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Pub: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Realeased: April 2008
Rating: 4 by 5

Maggie Quinn knew high school was hell, but even she thinks the smell of brimstone is a little out of the ordinary. When she’s the only one to see that something supernatural is stalking the school’s ruling clique, it’s up to Maggie to channel her inner Nancy Drew and ferret out the origin of the ancient evil, before all Hell breaks loose at the Senior Prom.

Maggie Quinn is cute, smart, witty. She looks like a pixie, writes for the school newspaper, and she's a psychic. This is definitely a cool girl. Clement-Moore creates a psychic Nancy Drew who has to save her school from a demon.

My only beef with the story is that the magical elements are very underdeveloped. Maggie has inherited the sight from her Granny Quinn, who has only decided to tell Maggie of her gift on her senior year of high school. The gift skips the males in the family, so her father didn't have it. The magics are too general, and so not new. But I found myself rooting for Maggie and hoping she saved the day.

This is a character-driven novel. So if you're looking for something that has created a new universe rules for magic, this is not it. If you want a novel with a funny protagonist who like, doesn't, like, for sure, totally talk like this, Maggie Quinn is your girl.

Hell Week by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Pub: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Realeased: August 2009
Rating: 3.5 by 5

Maggie Quinn has battled an ancient demon, faced down psychotic cheerleaders, and saved her best friend from certain death, but nothing can match this. Formal sorority recruitment, otherwise known as rush. And after facing hellfire, infiltrating sorority rush should be easy. But when she finds a group of girls who are after way more than “sisterhood,” all her instincts say there’s something rotten on Greek Row. And when Hell Week rolls around, there may be no turning back.

Here Maggie gets a boyfriend! A few, actually. She starts realizing that she's hot, even though she thinks guys are only into her because she's rushing a sorority. For Maggie, the point of the rush is not to be part of the "sisterhood," but to go undercover to see what the big deal is. Article by article, she starts noticing occulty-related things. Before she knows it she has to find a way to get herself out of the mess that comes with the sorority bitches from hell.

This novel is fast paced and the characters have undeniable voices. Sometimes I want to roll my eyes at the way that Maggie is so introverted and a smart-ass-know-it-all, but she's somehow still likeable. I love snark, but sometimes there's a level that shouldn't be breached and Maggie sometimes gets close to breaching it.

Also, again with the very light magical aspect. I kind of wish she was just a regular psychic detective because the Hell and demons part of the narrative are very plain.

The only thing that keept me reading is the characters, not the plot. And while I'm into character-driven novels, I like my magics to be new and innovative.

Highway to Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Pub: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Realeased: March 2009
Rating: 3 by 5

Maggie Quinn was expecting to find plenty of trouble with Lisa over Spring Break. Give a girl a bikini, a beachfront hotel, and an absent boyfriend, and it’s as good as a road map to the dark side. But Maggie doesn’t have to go looking for trouble. Trouble has started looking for her. One dead cow and a punctured gas tank later, she and Lisa are stuck in Dulcina, Texas—a town so small that it has an owner. And lately life in this small town hasn’t been all that peaceful. An eerie predator is stalking the ranchland. Everyone in town has a theory, but not even Maggie’s psychic mojo can provide any answers. And the longer the girls are stranded, the more obvious it becomes that something is seriously wrong. Only no one—not even Maggie’s closest ally—wants to admit that they could have been forced on a detour down the highway to hell.

Clement-Moore has a knack for starting a story just when it needs to be started. There is nothing excess in her writing style. Even still, this is my least favorite of my Maggie novels. Most of it has to do with the chupacabra business, and some of it has to do with the way the magic (surprise) is explained. Everything is very black and white. Sometimes I couldn't picture the way the demon was described because a chupacabra is so 2000, but still fresh in my mind from the tabloids when I was in junior high.

My problem is that everything about this world is a cut and paste collage of pop-culture references and doesn't give iteself a chance to explore its own universe.

Watch out for Rosemary Clement-Moore's new book The Splendor Falls out September 8, 2009. This time it's a dark-romance ghost story. Very excited ;)

In my mailbox (nueve) / Suck it Week

2009-07-12T00:48:00.003-04:00

Two words: Sookie Stackhouse.

I just got the first seven novels of this series. I can see how they're already changing some of the plot line and relationships in the series (which I've finally watched and have become obsessed with).

To continue this obsession, I've gotten Buffy Season 8 #21-26. This season is leading up to the END of Magick in the world/buffyverse. I've stuck it out with Buffy for years because Joss Whedon is a master at writing dialogue. There are a lot of books that try that sarcastic-blunt angle, and it always comes out too forced or annoying.

Buffy Season Eight (for those not following) is in comic book form. Harmony is now a celebrity vampire. It's like True Blood, vampires are in the open. Except there's no vampire blood supplement, and people in the Buffyverse think they're misunderstood. The big army of slayers is now painted as the "bad guys" and they're on the run. Below: covers #21 and #22

Both covers for #23. See, seach comic comes out with two covers. One is more cartoony and the other is life like. Can you tell which one?!?!?

#24 Yes, that's Faith. And Giles. #25, Dawn and the Thricewise that put a curse on her.

#25 Willow and the whole gang.

Seriously, I cannot wait. Vampires rule. End of story.

P.S.
Oh, keep watch all your writers our there. My agent and I are going to plan a Pitch Party at the end of the summer. More details to come.

P.P.S.

I just finished some books. I didn't like any of them. I sometimes hate giving negative reviews, but I guess I'll just suck it up.

Ghostgirl in NYC

2009-07-08T10:12:00.000-04:00

I'm copy-pasting from Cupcake Witch's fab blog

JULY 16th at 5-7pm
@ Jefferson Market Library
425 Sixth Ave at 10 street
New York, NY 10011

Tonya Hurley is going to be reading from her newest book...

She's bringing along Vince Clarke from Depeche Mode, Yaz, & Erasure...

He's going to play music from the book's soundtrack....

They are going to sign autographs...

And give-away ghostgirl merch like tote bags and t-shirts...

And there is going to be a GIGANTIC 3-D ghostgirl cake made by Food Network's ACE OF CAKES!

Of course this event is free of charge- just bring your lovely, darling selves!

Please spread the word on your blogs and tweet this!

***

I am TOTALLY GOING. I mean, work starts at 8PM or so, but I'd love to meet some of the other book bloggers who are coming down for this.

Teaser Tuesdays (uno)

2009-07-07T16:47:00.004-04:00

*Thanks to MizB of Should Be Reading for hosting this weekly meme where we give you a sneak peek into what we're currently reading.

The Rules:

*Grab your current read
*Open to a random page
*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
*Share the title & author.

This is a three sentence teaser. But they go so well together that the sentiment would be broken up if I left one out.

"No matter how much we moved or where we lived, Dad had his students and his research and the book he was working on and his fascinating colleagues. Mom and I had each other. Or we used to, until I became a robot and she became crazy."

How To Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford
Scholastic Press
October 2009

down with the sickness

2009-07-04T23:29:00.003-04:00

I have no actual IN MY MAILBOX this week on account of me having the flu. Or something terrible resembling the flu.

I spent a day and a half watching TrueBlood season 1. I was expecting it to be overrated. BUT IT IS AMAZING. Sexy vampire fun.
I'm totally in love with Swedish vampire Eric.

My head feels like someone is pounding my brain with a sledgehammer. When I stand I'm all weak and kitteny. If I cough or sneeze, the sledgehammer gets angry, and I can't decide if I'm cold, hot, or clammy. So much for my Coney Island Sunday.

favorites / kreativ blogger award meme

2009-06-30T00:00:00.004-04:00

Thanks to Pirate Penguin!

The Kreativ Blogger award meme works like this: If you accept it, you are supposed to list seven of your favorite things and nominate seven blogs that deserve this award.

Seven of my favorite things (visually):

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Seven blogs that I nominate for the same award (and sorry if you've already been nominated or already did the meme):

(right back at'cha) Pirate Penguin

Pop Culture Junkie

Ravenous Reader

YA Bookmark

Books Love Us

Cupcake Witch

Simple Life and Reading

YA Carnival Winner of Fade to Blue

2009-06-29T20:00:00.001-04:00

The winner of a signed copy of Fade to Blue by Sean Beaudoin is Kristen over at Bookworming in the 21st Century!

Like, totally, for sure, i just got a manicure/ in my mailbox (ocho)

2009-06-28T06:13:00.008-04:00

My birthday was on Friday and the party ended about half an hour ago. That is my manicure, for sure! That's my pink manicure and a bunch of rings just because it's my party and I'll wear as many rings as I want to.

My Ecuadorian family sure can party. After being with them for 6 hours, I ended up on the Upper East Side at iggy's karaoke bar with TS and we celebrated our birthdays. It was nice place and everyone of my friends kept buying me drinks, so I don't mind so much that the douche bag MC didn't call ANY OF MY SONGS the WHOLE TIME I was there. Whatevz.

After Iggy's on 76th and 2nd Friends and I ventured off to my work place #1 and watched the dancers and kept drinking. It was a Bright Lights, Big City kind of night, and I ended up coming home and eating some bread to settle my stomach. I am 22 and I am sober, but still feeling nice.

These are my birthday book presents:

Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo is an adult title, given to me by a friend. It looks funny and cute and super cute.

English professor Emma Grant has always done everything just the way her minister father told her she should -- a respectable marriage, a teaching job at a good college, and plans for the requisite two children. Life was prodigiously good, as her favorite author Jane Austen might say, until the day Emma finds her husband in bed with another woman. Suddenly, all her romantic notions a la Austen are exposed for the foolish dreams they are.

On the other side of Austen, there is Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard. I'm not a bit chick-lit kind of gal, but I'm giving it a chance at least! Plus I remember following the author's LJ through her journey to publication, so it's exciting.

I got You Are So Undead To Me by Stacey Jay. I hate the title (despite my sudden lapses into Valley Girl Speak), but I love that the cover tries to copy the original Buffy cover art.

I have Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog. I've already started reading and feel that there is a major plot hole and I CAN'T STAND THE NARRATOR, all in 25 pages.

Another adult title, Love Will Tear Us Apart by Sarah Rainone
A bittersweet, darkly comic novel from a lyrical new voice, Love Will Tear Us Apart tells the story of six childhood friends reunited at a wedding where secrets are revealed, hearts are broken, and new meaning is given to the phrase “You can’t go home again.”

I'm a sucker for novels like Love Will Tear Us Apart. Don't ask why, but I figure it's the literary bit that makes the lovey-dovey part of the story itself redeemable.

Review: Shiver

2009-06-27T00:00:00.001-04:00

Shiver by Magie Stiefvater
Pub: Scholastic Press
TBR: August 1st, 2009
Rating: 3 by 5

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Though the prose is lovely and poetic, it should not overshadow the characters. This is precisely what happens in Shiver.

The story builds up the first few chapters so that Grace and Sam can finally meet while he's in human form. This happens in a few chapters, and I stopped reading around page 90.

Right now I'm torn because the novel isn't bad, as far as the writing is concerned. I've stopped reading because I don't care about Grace or Sam or their fleeting romance. I don't understand her obsession with the wolves and I don't think the the first chapter is enough. I think it's strange that despite being a werewolf whose pack may or may not be eating people up, Sam works at a bookstore when he's not of the canine variety? I don't buy that Grace takes Sam's human form so easily and that the first thing they do is play 20 questions?

I think that as pretty as the prose gets, the characters are not memorable enough for me to keep reading. I don't love Grace and I don't love Sam, but I don't dislike them either.

Ultimately, Shiver isn't right for me.

Review: Oh My Gods by Tera Lynn Childs

2009-06-24T01:32:00.000-04:00

Oh.My.Gods by Tera Lynn Childs
Pub: Dutton Juvenile
Release: May 1, 2008
Rating: 4 by 5

A modern girl’s comedic odyssey in a school filled with the descendants of Greek gods.

When Phoebe’s mom returns from Greece with a new husband and moves them to an island in the Aegean, Phoebe’s plans for her senior year and track season are ancient history. Now she must attend the uberexclusive academy, where admission depends on pedigree, namely, ancestry from Zeus, Hera, and other Greek gods. That’s right, they’re real, not myth, and their teen descendants are like the classical heroes—supersmart and superbeautiful with a few superpowers. And now they’re on her track team! Armed only with her Nikes and the will to win, Phoebe races to find her place among the gods.

I think that I like the hardcover cover more than the paperback option with just the shoes. Though, both are super cute, just like the story itself.*

Phoebe is an awesome character. She's smart and witty, and I love that she doesn't let the other demigods boss her around. The novel itself starts off on a very fast paced, no pun intended, scene: a race. Though, I do think that the ending is too obvious from the first chapter.

The only time that I rolled my eyes was when Phoebe refers to the hot Ares descendant at Mr. Beautiful, or something like that. Other than that, she's a genuine teenage girl with lots of angst and a power she has yet to discover. I wonder why her last name is Castro, if her dad is Greek and since I'm a little-brown-girl myself, I associate it with a hispanic origin.

It's an incredibly fast read, and before you know it, you're half way through. It's chillax-kind-of romantic comedy.

Review: Zombie Blondes by Brian James

2009-06-23T00:00:00.001-04:00

Zombie Blondes by Brian James
Pub: Feiwel & Friends
Released: June 24, 2008
Rating: 1 by 5

From the moment Hannah Sanders arrived in town, she felt there was something wrong.
A lot of houses were for sale, and the town seemed infected by an unearthly quiet. And then, on Hannah’s first day of classes, she ran into a group of cheerleaders—the most popular girls in school.
The odd thing was that they were nearly identical in appearance: blonde, beautiful, and deathly pale.
But Hannah wants desperately to fit in—regardless of what her friend Lukas is telling her: if she doesn’t watch her back, she’s going to be blonde and popular and dead—just like all the other zombies in this town. . . .

Yes, trying to be like every other popular girl in a tiny town is not something that should be on the top-shelf of priority.

Hannah wants to fit in. The blond girls all look the same and are zombie-like. Lukas is the brooding outcast, which makes him the "hero" of the piece.

That's about it.

The thing that's annoying about YA novels that make the marginalized people as the cool-hero-types is that trying to fit into the "outcast" role is equally as bad as trying to be a zombie blond.

This novel could have gone anywhere. But it didn't. It was all surface, no depth, and hardly a social commentary. And now I want my money back, but I can't find the receipt.

my, like, first ever contest/YA Book Carnival

2009-06-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

It's the YA Book Carnival!

Win a copy of Sean Beaudoin's Fade to Blue

from the back copy:

Sophie Blue started wearing a black skirt and Midnight Noir lipstick on her last birthday. It was also the day her father disappeared. Or spontaneously combusted. Which is sort of bad timing, since a Popsicle truck with tinted windows has started circling the house.

Kenny Fade is a basketball god. His sneakers cost more than his Jeep. He's the guy all the ladies (and their mommas) want. Bad.

Sophie Blue and Kenny Fade don't have a thing in common. Aside from being reasonably sure they're losing their minds.

Acclaimed author Sean Beaudoin's wildly innovative novel combines uproarious humor with enough plot twists to fill a tube sock. Part thriller, part darkly comic philosophical discussion, and accompanied by a comic book interstitial, Fade to Blue is a whip-smart romp that keeps readers guessing until the last paragraph.

TBR: August 2009

All you have to do to enter is

1. comment
2. follow me
3. post this on your blog, twitter, etc
(and link me so i can follow, twitter, etc. you back)

Contest ends June 27th.
Winner announced June 30th.

In my mailbox (siete)

2009-06-21T00:00:00.003-04:00

Remember the days when women used to wear gloves when they went out?

Me neither.

But because I think they're pretty and should not just be a winter accessory, I went out and bought two pairs of lady-like gloves. Too bad I don't go out as much in the day time, because the white ones are very day-time-summer-ie.

You can't see the black lace one very well and I didn't feel like taking different angle photos. So go here for the online version. And a giant costume necklace just because. I'm trying to put together two birthday outfits and It's proving very difficult. I have exactly one week.

This week I'm having my very first contest, ever. It is a book give away, duh. It'll be posted on Monday the 22nd. It's also part of the YA Book Carnival, which starts tomorrow. Or, in one hour to be exact. Visit Shooting Stars Mag for the info.

Here is my book batch:

The After Life by Daniel Ehrenhaft
"Nineteen-year-old Will Shepherd has never met his father, even though they live on opposite ends of Manhattan. Suddenly, within twenty-four hours, Will meets his father and his two halfsiblings, Kyle and Liz, and then his father dies out of the blue.

A clause in the will requires Will to drive back to New York from the funeral in Florida with self-absorbed Kyle and gorgeous, vulnerable Liz, leading to a road trip filled with tensions, escalating risks, and deep revelations.

In the tradition of Brett Easton Ellis and Hunter S. Thompson, Daniel Ehrenhaft crafts a novel of excess, a coming-of-age story with grit and edge that ultimately offers redemption to three characters in desperate need."

Zombie Blondes by Brian James
Kinda self-explanatory.

Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguie
A retelling of THE LITTLE MERMAID. My Steve got this book for me and I love it.

Okay, I caved. Wings by Aprilynne Pike
Tell me how I didn't realize the cover was actually two flower petals until I bought it. Uh, duh.

The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilights Realm
ed. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Confetti Girl by Diana Lopez
"Apolonia "Lina"Flores is a sock enthusiast, a volleyball player, a science lover, and a girl who's just looking for answers. Even though her house is crammed full of books (her dad's a bibliophile), she's having trouble figuring out some very big questions, like why her dad seems to care about books more than her, why her best friend's divorced mom is obsessed with making cascarones (hollowed eggshells filled with colorful confetti), and, most of all, why her mom died last year. Like colors in a cascarone, Lina's life is a rainbow of people, interests, and unexpected changes."

cupcake witch spring cleaning contest! click here.

2009-06-20T22:33:00.003-04:00

Head on over to Cupcake Witch for the following:

This contest is for:

1) ARC of If I Stay by Gayle Foreman
2) ARC of No More Us for You by David Hernandez
3) ARC of Dull Boy by Sarah Cross
4) Signed paperback of Better Latte Than Never by Catherine Clark
5) Random swag (book marks, book promo stuff, etc.)

All you have to do to enter is:

+1 comment me
+2 follow me
+5 tell other people about the contest (sidebars, twitter, blog post, whatever!)

This contest is ending: Tuesday June 30th, 2009
U.S. only: Sorry!

Review: Ink Exchange

2009-06-18T06:56:00.004-04:00

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
release: April 2008
publisher: HarperCollins
rating: 3.5 (a spark that gets extinguished)

Unbeknownst to mortals, a power struggle is unfolding in a world of shadows and danger. After centuries of stability, the balance among the Faery Courts has altered, and Irial, ruler of the Dark Court, is battling to hold his rebellious and newly vulnerable fey together. If he fails, bloodshed and brutality will follow.

Seventeen-year-old Leslie knows nothing of faeries or their intrigues. When she is attracted to an eerily beautiful tattoo of eyes and wings, all she knows is that she has to have it, convinced it is a tangible symbol of changes she desperately craves for her own life.

The tattoo does bring changes—not the kind Leslie has dreamed of, but sinister, compelling changes that are more than symbolic. Those changes will bind Leslie and Irial together, drawing Leslie deeper and deeper into the faery world, unable to resist its allures, and helpless to withstand its perils. . . .

It's been a while since I read Wicked Lovely, and it took me so long to actually pick this up because I have some trouble with the writing style.

First, I love urban faerie fiction. I have tons of fairy lore and reference books. This should make this book ideal for me. But, while I really dug Leslie as a character and wanted her to be safe because of all of the things that happened to her pre-fairy interception, I hated that it was told in so many POVs.

Point of view is such a tricky thing. How can the author let a reader know something important if the story is first person, and then how would the first person character know this? So, Melissa Marr uses the third person limited and shifts between Leslie (protagonist), Niall (right hand to Summer King), and Irial (Dark King). For me, it was the constant shifts between these characters that created an overly dramatic effect. As in, even though the narrative bits were concentrated on a given character, there were still these constant bursts of italicized internal thought. Those italicized internal thoughts were so unnecessary and most of the time gave the effect of a soap opera.

I think that Aislinn is my least favorite character in the series. I think she's less personable in this book as a secondary character than in Wicked Lovely. While Leslie is known as Ash's best friend in the past two books, I think their interactions were underdeveloped.

Sometimes I had a hard time keeping track of what the fairies looked like, since Marr uses the traditional spellings for some fairy types and doesn't go into description-mode. I think the narrative is so full of what the characters are "feeling" that I can't get a concrete settings. Sometimes I rolled my eyes at the dialogue.

But I kept reading because I did like Leslie and wanted to see what would happen after the ink exchange. Marr gives Leslie something very difficult and brushes a subject that should be talked about more among teenage girls. I skimmed most of the ending because I didn't really understand what the conflict was about anymore, and I wanted more dialogue and less italicized internal thought. Essentially, great start, ok finish.

Beautiful Creatures

2009-06-16T01:00:00.003-04:00

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
tbr: December 1st, 2009
publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
rating: 4 by 5

from the back copy:
There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere. At least, that's what I thought. Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong. There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

SPOILER ALERT

The dreams, the girl, the power. I definitely thought I knew where this book was going, and it took me in a different path! Which is the first think I love about it, even though the last 100 pages are questionable as far as plot goes.

I love Ethan Wate and I love Lena Duchannes.

The love that they develop starts from a psychic connection neither of them can explain, nor can anyone in their families. It the the forbidden-kind of love. The kind where they can hold hands but will never be physical. This absolutely sucks. It's like when Buffy and Angel can't bone because of that little problem where he'll get all evil and start killing people. Or like Edward and Bella where he'll crush her with his totally hard marble.......body. Actually, nothing like Edward and Bella because while the love is sometimes pinny, it is justified by more that being with someone beautiful.

I'm talking about depth, people! This relationship has depth.

Complete with Ethan's sort-of-nanny with mystical powers of her own, and Lena's shut-in-uncle who is witty-dark-and-lovable, and this quaint southern town has more secrets than the remnants of the Civil War. The same war that is still alive and going for the average citizens of Gatlin County, as well as in Ethan and Lena's visions. Be glad that this isn't your average witchy county. This family, Lena's family, is the oldest in the town. As in, they founded the town. Their powers are not explained much further than Light Caster and Dark Caster (which, by the by, are fantastic names), and it's not much more complicated than that.

This novel is about love, destiny, and being able to choose who you are despite what your family legacy dictates.

Things I wish were explained/developed in Book 2:
-the connection between Lena and Ethan. does it go deeper than Genevieve and the other Ethan?
-about Macon.....that didn't really happen....did it?????
-Ethan's mother's presence.
-Link's character can be a little 2D. I know he's comic relief. But sometimes he came off as excess
-wouldn't it be AWESOME if Little, Brown did a family-tree poster of the gatlin families? though, that might be a)expensive by b)the best thing ever.

Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty

2009-06-15T04:02:00.002-04:00

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
release date: May 5th, 2009
publisher: S&S Children's Publishing
rating: 5 by 5

from the back copy:
Some summers are just destined to be pretty Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer -- they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

Warning: Some plot spoilers (not the end).

In her first YA, Jenny Han, author of Shug, writes about the forever-kind of summer love and the forever-kind of friendship.

The plot is simple, one girl+two brothers that she's known for years=a very long love triangle. Belly has the same wants that all girls do: to be pretty, to be wanted. The idea that this summer she is finally visible to those around her is so palpable that you become part of her emotional roller coaster.

Belly loves Connor, the bad-boy that is always at the tips of her fingers. Belly loves Jeremiah, beautiful, funny, lovable Jeremiah who will always be a friend and nothing more. When the boy's mother finds out she's dying of the same cancer they thought was long gone, Belly gets a new perspective, and a new understanding of Connor's rebellious streak and decides it's time he knows that she loves him.

The best part about this book was the dynamic of a group of friends who have spent every summer together, with this summer being perhaps the last one. There is a heavy sense of nostalgia and lovesickness, but it is never overwhelming.

Though both boys are loveable, I am most definitely Team Connor. He is brooding and lovely where Jeremiah is cute and funny. You don't want the summer to end, and you don't want them to stop being together. This is what the end of summer always feels like, for me at least. It's like closing a chapter that you aren't really finished with yet--

--this is why I'm happy there is a book #2 and book #3.

In my mailbox (seis) and an inappropriate crush

2009-06-13T23:47:00.006-04:00

Has it already been a week since last week? Time flies when you work overnight. Night and day kind of melt into each other because I arrive at work when the sun is setting and get home when it rises. This sometimes makes me feel like a vampire, or something that goes bump in the night. And while I've started to work in the adult dancing industry, even as a cashier, I guess I am a thing that goes bump in the night.

Sunday is in two minutes and I present my list of books I bought at The Strand in the ARC section of the children's books this week.

Already, not an ARC, just a semi-old book I've been meaning to read forevz.
That is part of my book shelf, which is a mess, and doubles as the place I dump my jewelery after work.

Gingerbread by Rachel Cohen
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
1st edition (March 1, 2002)

The 16-year-old "recovering hellion" (as her stepfather refers to her) who narrates Cohn's debut novel, breathes a joie de vivre into this story of her bicoastal family. Cyd Charisse (named for the dancer/actress), a wealthy and wild love child, begins her story after being booted out of boarding school. Nearly the first half of the novel is set in San Francisco, where she's having trouble settling back into life with a mother obsessed with weight and a perfect house, and a boyfriend, Shrimp, who suddenly wants his space. Her mother and stepdad agree to send her to her biological father in New York City, whom she's only met once (when he gave her Gingerbread, a still-treasured rag doll).

Okay, I know I've talked about how I really disliked the way the plot of Wicked Lovely unfolded.
Still, this was only $2, and I'm a literary masochist. I mean, remember the time I read the City of Bones trilogy even though I hated to story but it was such a train wreck that I couldn't keep my eyes off it?

Bad, bad, Zoraida.

I'm excited for this. It's so easy to love a concept, and then cry because you're so amped about a book and then it sucks. But, it's next on my list after 20BS. Werewolves are the new black. And by black, I mean Vampires. Which is, of course, illogical, but true.

No, you're not hallucinating. Yes, those are Zac Effron t-shirts on my bed. It is perhaps the only way I will ever get him on my bed. The Virgin store on Union Square is shutting down. They have two entire fixtures with these two shirts. I can't WAIT to wear these. And yes, Steven, I unironically love Zac Effron.

Of course there is a problem of the two girls on the gray t-shirt. So I'm covering them up with these pins I got a BEA.

Holla.

dirty words

Book Babies

The Secret Life of Writers

New Beginnings

Cover Reveal: If I Lie by Corrine Jackson!

IF I LIE debuts August 28, 2012.

WINNER

Paranormal Christmas Giveaway

When I Was a Christmas Gypsy

unBeautiful Chaos

Attention Writers!

look at what i'm reading...

My Vampire Balls are Bigger than Yours

November is whiskey month

Sometimes I paint

Cover Reveal for Suzanne Lazear's INNOCENT DARKNESS!

Top Ten Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time

Vlog #2

You want the TRUTH?

The Melancholy Writer

WINNER

Mermish Madness

costumes

my first vlog. ever. ever.

Happy Happy Giveaway

zombie land

a peek at my unmentionables

Reading List

New Cover, New Date

there's no place like home

don't go breaking my heart

copyediting and book 2

Once more, again, with feeling,

Bookish

Outlining

The Vicious Deep

Cover Teaser #1

Mermaid Splash

immaculate dream

Brought to you by Mermaids of Coney Island *2*

Brought to you by Mermaids of Coney Island

Return of the Mermaids: Interview With Anne Greenwood Brown

Monday Momento

Ch-ch-changes

The Book Deal

The Waiting Room Pt. 4 Feat. Caridad Ferrer!

The Waiting Room Pt. 3

The Waiting Room Pt. Dos

The Waiting Room Pt. Uno

You've Finished Your Novel Pt. 1

celebration

Happy Christmas

old fashioned christmas

decking the halls

whatchu gonna do when they come for you

so it goes

this is what your self-motivation looks like

glycerine

Laundry Service, or what happens when you delete your facebook

LOVELY, ANGRY MEN

writing is lonely

since feeling is first

they made a statue of us

its almost november again

bird by bird

still writing.

writing

its 2 AM, do you know where you are?

April Flowers

Snowed In

Coney Island: in (some) photos

south of the equator

NYC Mega Reading

Pitch Party NYC

Maggie Quinn: Triple Whamey

In my mailbox (nueve) / Suck it Week

Ghostgirl in NYC

Teaser Tuesdays (uno)

down with the sickness

favorites / kreativ blogger award meme

Brought to you by Mermaids of Coney Island 2