F is For Friends and Family

I think we all know at this point that no matter where you are in life, whether writing a book, preparing for publication, starting a new job, or just trying to make it through the day, you need a team in your corner--a group of people who love you and have your best interest in mind.

The size of your support team can fluctuate over time or even change from one face to another.  The best team members are the ones who stay with you at your worst and hardest, though.  They're the ones who will really have your back.

The members on my team have always included my parents and sisters.  Recently, I added a husband and two sons to it.  And very close friends have come and gone and come again, adding their own sweetness and support.  These are the people who have helped me become the person I am today.  Sometimes my team seemed sparse, and even though my family was always there for me, I was too deep into sadness to tell.  Other times I thought I would burst at the seams with the fullness of my support team and their overwhelming love.

So what does your support team look like today?  Is it full and bursting with friends and family?  Or is it fickle and fading away?

E is For Emma, by Jane Austen

I've kind of been obsessed with EMMA these past couple weeks.  I don't exactly know how it started, but all of a sudden I just had to watch every single movie attempt at the story.

And out of all of them, my favorite  (by far) is the BBC adaptation.  The story had room to breathe with four hours that it just couldn't get with only two.  And to be honest, I preferred the acting in the BBC version.  Gwyneth Paltrow, though I'm sure a good actress, just didn't seem to capture Emma the same way the actress from the BBC version did (sorry, not good with names).

And Clueless?  Well, it was a cute way to take the story, but I'd forgotten just how much of the Valley Girl dialect those actors put into the whole thing.  Too. Much.

Mr. Knightly was the only character that was portrayed equally well in all versions of EMMA.  I don't think that character is in any way capable of NOT capturing our hearts, though.  *swoon*

So, for your enjoyment, I now present you with one of many of the "fight" scenes between Emma and Mr. Knightly in the BBC adaptation of EMMA:




Don't forget to check out the A is for Awesome contest going on this month!

D is for Dun! Dun! Duuuuun...

Few things make me want to turn the page like the dun! dun! duuuuun...moment.  You know what I'm taking about.  It's that moment when you know there's some baddie around the corner--but the MC doesn't--and you're just about to find out what happens when...

The chapter ends.

And here you thought you were going to put the book down (FINALLY!) and go to bed.

Nope.

Because you need to know what happens.  Bad.

It's the dun dun dun moment.  And it'll getcha every time.  :)

So what about you?  What makes you turn the page?

~Don't forget to check out the A is for Awesome contest going on!  There are goodies!~

C is for Cover Reveal!

We're now on day 3 of the A to Z Challenge.  Don't forget to check out the over 1200 other participants!!

You know, I was thinking of prolonging the reveal a bit by putting on other pictures and dragging the post out, but I changed my mind.  

So here it is!  The cover for ELEMENTAL!

Isn't it absolutely gorgeous???  I am seriously swooning over this.  I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've opened my email just to look at it.  My preciousssssss...

And you know what?  This is the point where I must MUST tell you about the absolute genius behind this cover.  I've been wanting to brag about her for soooooo long, but I waited.  But I must wait no longer!

There are actually two people I must thank for this cover before I get carried away, and the first is the awesome photographer at Glimpses of You Photography.  She is the genius behind the photo of the model (who is my very own niece, by the way).  

And the second person is someone most of you know.  I'm actually giddy with anticipation at telling you about her because without her, I wouldn't have a cover (well, at least not one as amazing as this).  

Victoria Caswell!!!  (aka aspiring_x)  

Those of you who follow her already know she's a very artistic person, but I don't think you've even begun to imagine how talented and wonderful she is.  She took that beautiful image of my niece and my abstract thoughts on what I thought I wanted (which seriously changed all the time) and came up with something I never would have imagined.  And that cover isn't even the end of all she's done for me.  Currently, she's working on designing my Mamood battleships for me and other images for my book trailer (coming soon).

Vic is awesome.  Period.  

Now, if that cover piques your interest (because don't we all judge books by their covers (though you can read the back-of-the-book blurb if you visit my ELEMENTAL trilogy page up top)), I now have a little giveaway for you.

From now until the release date, I'm hoping to get around the blogosphere in a Blog Tour.  If you agree to have me on your blog some time, I'll enter you in a contest for an ARC of ELEMENTAL.  I'll be giving five ARCs away.  For those of you who have already contacted me about having me on your blog, don't worry, I've already put your names in for the giveaway.  

I'll be drawing the names for ARCs on May 15th.  So you have a bit of time to enter.  :)  Just let me know in the comments if you're interested and I'll shoot you an email!  

B is for Bee Movie

The A to Z Challenge continues!

And today is all about the letter "B."  Few, if any, of you know that I absolutely, completely love bees.  Seriously.  I don't know if all of you have a favorite insect, but the bee is mine.  I have this life-long dream of having my own hive.  In fact, when my husband and I moved into our new house a few years ago and discovered we had a honey bee hive in our one tree, we knew we'd been blessed.

I even have one story about how a hive of wasps (my love of bees also extends to wasps) became my little minions during a short time of my life.  It's a cute story; I'll have to share it sometime when I'm not expected to keep the post brief.

So in honor of the letter "B," I give you the (absolutely hilarious) teaser from "The Bee Movie."



For those of you new to the blog or just stopping by, Saturday is usually my day for funny videos, so come back next week to see what other hilarity I have planned!  :)

Also, there's an awesome contest going on that you just don't want to miss.  There are prizes galore!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!

A is for AWESOME

As in: how could this contest get any more awesome?

It can't.

Just like Captain Kirk, it's pretty much achieved perfection. :)

For all my lovely followers and guests just popping in, here's a recap:

ELEMENTAL, my YA Space Opera, is going to be published this summer! 

WOOHOO!!!

So to kick off the celebrations (if you haven't already figured it out), I'm having a contest!  I want to get the word out about my book to as many people as possible, but to do that I need your help!  

See that lovely group of pictures over there?  You know which one I'm talking about.  It's got all the pretty faces.  Well, those 128 faces are some of the most awesome followers out there.  In fact, they've spoiled me.  Spoiled me so much, in fact, that I know this whole blogging experience would be even better with more happy little faces joining them.

If you help me get up to 250 followers by the end of the month, one winner will get...

and

and

AND!

a $50 gift card to B&N or Amazon

BUT!

If you help me get to 300 followers by the end of the month, I'll give the winner AN EXTRA $25, AND I'll draw a second place winner who will get a $25 gift card.

Here's how the point system will work:

+1 for commenting

+2 for becoming a new follower

+1 for posting about the contest on your blog

+1 for tweeting the contest

+1 for posting on facebook

+1 for every person you bring over (person must give you credit in the comments)

Please provide links to the posts and tweets.  And PLEASE compile all the points you should get in your comment.  

Oh, and as an extra incentive to becoming a follower today...

This is just the first of three major contests I'll be holding.  The next one is going to be on Monday (it just might have to do with a certain cover reveal ;) ).  And the third is going to blow. your. mind.  You DON'T want to miss them.

Good luck!  :)

EDIT: If there's a book in that list that you already own, I may be convinced to change it to something else you don't own and really, really want.  


And by "may," I mean yes, I definitely can be convinced. :)

  

March Madness

And no, I'm not talking about basketball.

More like I'm going to go mad if I add one more thing to my to-do list.

I really did think I'd be able to keep up with my regular blogging schedule while preparing for the impending launch of ELEMENTAL this summer, but I was wrong.  There are way too many initial details to take care of right now that are impeding on my blogging time.

SO!

I'm going to take March off and come back in April for the A to Z Challenge!  And when I do come back, the awesomeness will begin!

Be prepared.  :)