Saturday Fun Time! Sorry Sorry!

My blog exploded with followers yesterday!  Welcome, everyone!  If you haven't picked up your cookies yet, please do so now.  And feel free to leave a comment in this post to introduce yourselves, your WIPs (if you have them), or anything else you'd like us to know.  :D

So today is Saturday Fun Time! and I thought we'd go a little cultural today.  It's always nice to look past our borders and find talent in the realms beyond our shores.  With that in mind, I bring you Super Junior--a South Korean phenomenon.

To tell the truth, I actually laugh every time I watch this video.  I don't know why.  It's not like they intended it to be funny.  Actually, I think they thought they were being sexy (which is, actually, probably why I laugh).

Click that play button.  You know you want to.  ;)



~Emily White

Let's Party!!!!!

101, baby!  It's time for a contest!


I just don't know exactly what kind of contest to do.  As the numbers under my followers button has slowly crept up, I've been wracking my brain for ideas.  And those ideas have gone from epic-oh-my-goodness-how-can-I-not-do-that? to slightly-less-epic-but-still-really-cool.  However, that just relates to the prizes!  I still have to figure out the actual contest.

So, my good readers, let me ponder these events and get back to you on Monday with my master plan.  Until then...

Celebrate!



By the way, all my new lovely followers who made this possible, I have something for you.  A big fat welcome!

and treats.

Enjoy!

~Emily White

A Bit About Me--My Weak Tummy

I react badly to vaccinations, and yesterday I got a tetanus shot.  For that reason, this will be a very short post.





I feel like crap.  That is all.

~Emily White

But We're So Much Better Than Everyone

A few weeks ago I was getting my hair done and my hair stylist, in an effort to strike up some conversation, asked what was new with me.  Well, this was just a day or so after I finished the rewrite of Aurumenas, so that was top on my mind.  I informed her of my latest accomplishment and I got...the look.  You know the one.  The look where the one giving it thinks we've accomplished nothing greater than finishing a scrapbooking project, but they're sure we think we've just won the lottery and are bound to become the next big thing.

Yeah.  It was irritating and I immediately wished I'd kept my mouth shut.

The look was quickly followed by the high pitched voice one usually reserves for children.  "Oh yeah?  What is it about?"

I knew and she knew she didn't really want to know, so it was painful giving her my one sentence pitch.  Her eyes immediately glossed over when she figured out I'd written a sci-fi, and YA at that.

That's when I did what I wished I'd done from the beginning and brought the conversation to an end by saying nothing.  After a few nods of my head and "uh-huhs" she soon realized I was done talking.

This kind of stuff happens a lot.  I've heard some version of this tale from quite a few other authors over the years.  People just don't understand us.  They can't grasp the scope of our vision or the strenuous labor we pour into each and every sentence.  We are arteests and they are simply ignorant, unworthy of our time.  Only those who truly understand us should ever be allowed to have access to the fruit of our minds poured out on paper, otherwise they will taint the beauty and elegance of books with their tacky, ignorant ways.

Right?

Uh...no.

That's silly.  We may be artists, creating something out of our imagination, but unless we intend on only writing for our own enjoyment, we're also businessmen.  The moment you put it in your head to seek representation or publication, you've turned an artistic hobby into a business.  It's too late for you to start complaining about how people might find out about your (hopefully) soon to be published book, or who might read it. 

If I'm going to bother to write a book for others to read, I want as many people to have access to it as possible.  Giving them that access is not tacky.  We as writers should want everyone to read, no matter who they are or where they're from.  

I've been a part of a lot of groups throughout my life, and every group always (without fail) thinks they're better than every other group.  They think they are more compassionate, understand the world better, are more intelligent, etc.   

But notice I said "group."  That's the funny thing about groups because if you were to take people individually, they probably wouldn't necessarily believe those things about themselves.  One or two may, but for the most part, people understand that they do not know the most or they are not the most skilled at something.  However, when you put the group together and pit it against another group, the people feed off of each other and the group almost becomes a sentient being and wholly other.

Look at politics, for example.  If you were to put a democrat and republican together, they would most likely be able to carry on a civil conversation.  They would give their points during their turns and respectfully listen to the other when their turn was done.  You put a group of democrats against a group of republicans and conversation is impossible.

The same is true for any group (that one just happens to be the most visual in today's day and age).  Writers sometimes have the habit of looking down on non-writers.  Not individually, but when the group gets together.  I've been a member of a lot of writing communities and it happens in every one.  And it's easy to see why.  We writers are often looked down upon by people who don't write, because everyone thinks they can do it.  When we share our stories with each other what inevitably happens is we try to bring ourselves up, convince ourselves we are accomplishing something, by looking down on those who looked down on us. 

But here's the truth:  you are accomplishing something.  When you let the laundry or dishes pile up or the dust settle into thick mounds on your furniture, it's not because you're being lazy in front of the computer.  It's because you're working.  Don't doubt that.  But don't start thinking that you're work is too good for some people, either.  If it's really good and worth reading, then everyone should have access to it.

~Emily White

  For another great post on this topic, go to Hairnets and Hopes.

It's Monday!

Which means the weekend is over.  Boo!

But it also means it's time for an update!  Woohoo!

Yes, I seem to have turned into Dr. Seuss.  I really don't know how that happened.

Now because I'm still editing Aurumenas and will be doing so until I query in September, and because editing seems to be boring to everyone but me, I decided I'd do an update on something a little different today.

My garden!  It's so loverly and delicious, I can't help but share it with you all!

This right here is box garden #1.  As you can see, I'm growing marigolds, onions, and tomato plants (in the back).  What you might not have noticed, though, are the little pepper plants in the middle rows.  The empty squares had romaine lettuce in them, but they reached the end of their season so I pulled them out.

And this is box garden #2!  There are peppers, onions, tomatoes, and marigolds in this one too, but the big leafy thing in the back is a pumpkin plant.  My husband and I built a little trellis thing to have the pumpkin grow up instead of around.  There are also a couple pea plants in the back, but you can't see them in this picture.

Here's our one and only pumpkin.  We have LOTS of flowers, but only one pumpkin so far.  See how it's just hanging out?  Making these big plants grow up saves a lot of space.

Here's my water garden I've been working on.  I dug most of the hole last summer when I was very pregnant with my youngest.  My husband finished up the digging last Mother's Day (it was his gift to me).  Yes, I did place all those heavy rocks (all of them except the big round one right in the water--way too heavy for me).  There's some loose stone on the floor of the pond that I had just put in and they weren't washed, so that's why the water is all dirty.  If the water was clear, you would see that there are different levels in the pond.  I plan on planting some water lillies next summer when this is all done.  I'm also going to move some of my herbs and plant them right up against the pond.  You can see the lavender in the corner of the picture right now.  On the other side of the picture, I have a peony, but you can't see it.

Here's another angle!  I'm going to put more loose stone all around the bigger rocks and plant some moss and grasses around it.  There's the peony plant!  It's new so it doesn't have any flowers yet.  And off in the distance is my overgrown herb garden.  I did not expect them all to get so big so fast!  I have to move them around a bit to space them out.  And now that I'm really looking at this picture, I realize I have to fix that column.  It's leaning way too much!

So there it is!  My garden-in-progress.  Do you guys have any home improvement updates?  It is summer after all.  :)

~Emily White

Saturday Fun Time! Things that make you go ahhh...

Saturday is the day I like to post some YouTube videos I've come across that for one reason or another I can't help but watch over and over again.

Today's video is just plain adorable.  Whenever I need a little pick-me-up, I take thirty seconds out of my day to enjoy the simpler pleasures of life...like baby bunnies in costumes.

Enjoy!

Okay, for some reason, I can't paste the code for the video on here.  But no matter!  Simply click here and be prepared to go ahhh.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Book Review--Wings, by Aprilynne Pike

First of all, there's a great discussion going on here about why on earth aren't we advertising books on TV??  Please join in!

If you don't know by now that I love fairies, well you must be extremely new.  And if that's the case, welcome!  I'm glad you're here!  Here's some cookies.

So of course any book about fairies is immediately going to pique my interest.  Wings does not disappoint.  Aprilynne Pike adds a new take on an old myth in many surprising ways.  I've envisioned fairies in what I thought was every way imaginable, but I was blown away at the twists in this book.

Though it seems to be geared towards girls, there are many scenes in this book I'm sure any boy would like.  And of course there's the ever expected love triangle between Tamani, David, and the MC Laurel.  Though a love triangle has almost become cliche in YA, Pike delivers it in a new, refreshing way.  I usually pick a team, but in this book I honestly can't decide who would be better.  

If you haven't read this book, I highly encourage you to do so immediately.  

~Emily White