Come on, Irene

We weathered the storm and came out the other side fairly well. The only real issue we have is that our basement got some water in it and our carpet is super wet. We were thinking of cutting it out anyway, so now we have a real reason to do so. The only thing ON the carpet were my CD towers (which I almost never use any more anyway) so we didn't really have anything ruined either. The front window in our living room had a tiny drip we need to look into, but it wasn't really all that bad. We got lucky - the video and pics from around us are incredible. Streets nearby that we've been down every day are flooded with several FEET of water. Apparently we can't leave the town for the next couple of days -- my parents' friends who had come to stay with them for shelter tried leaving this morning and were unable to go.

I hope everyone else is safe and staying home for today and possibly tomorrow.

Finished another book!

This evening I finished the rough draft of my fifth book. It's crazy to me that five years ago I wouldn't have thought I could write a book at all, let alone five (well, five plus 1/2 of one that just kind of fizzed). I really like this one - it's dystopian/sci-fi and I think maybe my most EXCITING book to date.

I do love the feeling of accomplishment, even knowing I still have revisions ahead of me.

Now to figure out what my next book will be...

Crazy, Stupid, Love

We're in Ohio for a week visiting Caitie's parents. It's always a good time for me there - good food, lots of relaxing, and lots of time to read and write.

We went to see "Crazy, Stupid Love" yesterday, and I was pretty surprised by it to be honest. It wasn't my first choice, but hey, Steve Carrell is usually pretty funny, Julianne Moore is always good, and Emma Stone is cute. It turned out to be a much better movie than I expected.

I don't want to give much away in terms of plot because I kind of feel like the less you know going in, the better off you'll be. All you really need to know is Steve Carrell's character Cal is blindsided when his wife, Emily (Moore), tells him she wants a divorce. He goes into something of a downward spiral until he meets Jacob (Ryan Gosling), a lady's man who agrees to teach Cal how to be "cool." There are subplots involving a woman Jacob attempts to pick up at the local bar (Stone), and Cal's son's crush on his babysitter.

The cast is uniformly strong. Gosling, Carrell, Moore, and Stone are all perfectly cast. Kevin Bacon has a somewhat dull cameo -- they could have given him more to do. Marissa Tomei however has a very funny smaller role that's pretty much worth the price of admission alone.

Overall, I was surprised and impressed with this movie. I laughed out loud several times, and I guess the romantic in me related to the message that love isn't easy, but it's worth it.

Game of Thrones

I finished the first book yesterday. I was VERY impressed. Martin managed to balance an incredible amount of characters, and his writing style is amazingly realistic considering it's a fantasy world. I found it fascinating that the "fantasy" element doesn't really come in until the end of the book (though hints of it are scattered throughout). The book, like Lost or Battlestar Galactica, works because the characters are so sharp, so realistic, and so interesting.

I have a favorite character (Tyrion, duh) just like with any other work, but there weren't any characters that I didn't like.

I'm definitely looking forward to the sequels -- please don't spoil anything for me!

Reading

On Wednesday, I was given the chance to do a reading of two chapters of Bye Bye Connie at Kettle of Fish in NYC. It was the first time I'd ever done anything like that, and I have to admit, it was a lot of fun. Yes, I was nervous as hell, but getting people to laugh at what I wrote, and hearing the laughter, was all kinds of awesome. It does make you understand just why it is some people pursue acting or comedy as a career.

Even better, afterward, Michael, the founder of the reading series, came to talk to me and asked to see my whole book. He enjoyed what I did, and offered to help me get to an agent and hence published. Caitie has a lot of faith in Michael, and so I'm being optimistic here.

Of course, now I'm in the "waiting" phase...

Summer's Coming!

My school district seems to be the last district in the country to let out of school. We still have two more weeks left!
That doesn't mean that mentally I'm not gearing up for summer - which means quite a few things for me.
1)a lot of time with Caitie, especially if she doesn't get a job (I actually hope I DON'T get to spend the time with her!)

2) Sleeping LATE

3) Going to sleep LATE

4)Watching a lot of movies

5) Big Brother will be back (woohoo! I admit it, I LOVE BB!)

6) Lots of reading

7) Two mini-vacations we have planned...

8) Time with friends and family (I suppose this should be higher, so I'm just going to retro-add that this list is in no particular order)

9) Did I mention sleeping?

10) Writing, writing, writing.

I certainly hope that the "writing" turns into another career - and maybe, just maybe, it'll happen this summer. I have a fantastic opportunity on the horizon that I can't talk about JUST YET, but will very soon.

On another note, today, for the first time in a while, I had a "I just don't feel like writing today" day. I reached a really interesting place in my newest book yesterday, and I guess I just need a little time to let all the stuff I came up with sink in, and figure out where exactly to go next. My process is a weird combination of sorting through vague ideas in my head and just sitting down and getting them out on paper. I've tried "brainstorming" as in actually writing notes/graphic organizers etc - none of it works for me.
So, while it's not unusual for my brain to work on my book like my PS3 downloading something in the background, the fact that I didn't write today was strange. I've been pretty good about the "write every day" mantra I keep reading about. Oh well, I guess it was bound to happen...

On yet a third note, I've noticed that I have a few new followers. I don't know pretty much any of you who are following me (other than Caitie, of course - hi Caitie!) so --

Anybody want to share what brought you here? I'm always happy to meet new friends/fellow writers!

I'm still alive

I haven't written anything here in a while - I'm still alive. Just haven't had much to say lately.
I'm still pursuing representation and have a couple of fulls out. I did encounter one strange rejection that perhaps I'll blog about another time, but since it's still fresh and I'm not quite sure where I sit with it, I can't really say any more. I know that's vague, and I'm sorry, but it's been giving me a lot of stress in the last 24 hours.

One positive thing - Caitie and I realized that we have access to some more money than we thought we did, so we won't be eating Ramen all summer. Caitie doesn't really like Ramen anyway.

I hit a kind of creative boon with my new book. Something clicked somewhere along the way for me, and I've been really pushing through lately. I have to remind myself every now and then that the only thing I can't write is what I can't imagine, and there's no reason I can't imagine anything. I know it's a little "Disney-esque," but we have a painting of Mickey and the gang in our front hall and a statue of Beauty and the Beast in our living room. The point isn't lost though as a writer: you really are only limited by your imagination.