Fantastic Friday!

Hola, mi writing amigos! This week's Fantastic Friday is semi-redundant.

Thing #1) 2009!!! Which means it is no longer 2008!!! Which fills me with great happiness!!!

Thing #2) I am a few steps closer to getting that puppy of mine. My parents now speak of "when" we get a dog instead of "if." Who says subliminal messaging doesn't work?

Thing #3) My Stream Pirates issues are resolved. Finally. All of them. Gone. And I am now back to that lovely lovely stage of writing where I look forward to, nay long to write each new scene.

Thing #4) I got Beauty and the Beast on DVD. I am convinced that whenever I watch this movie I become seven years old again. My favoritest of favorite Disney movies. And now I can become seven whenever I want.

Thing #5) Extension of Thing #1: it is January. Which means it is not December. Which means that full that I am oh so patiently awaiting a response to is that much closer to being responded to. This both excites and worries me, as can be expected.

Thing #6) I am halfway through Unwind by Neal Shusterman and it doesn't suck. A full review will come when I am done, and also expect a full review of To Catch a Pirate very soon. I'm planning a new segment, a new book-review-y segment, which promises to be the makings of much entertainment.

All righty then. I have many a lingering email to return, including one from mi prima Nikki Hensley and an edit due back to Jill, which I am very excited to sink my teeth into. Onward!

Everyone Else Jumped off the Bridge

So apparently I will too! In honor of 2008 finally slinking away into the darkness, I will draw up my list of New Year's resolutions.

Normally I don't make New Year's resolutions, seeing as I have a sick way of making myself feel horribly guilty when said goals are not met, but I feel as though I should after this year. This year has been, quite literally, the worst year of my life. 3 deaths (in the span of a month), 1 surgery (the day before the first of the deaths), 1 bad life experience (cleverly disguised as a relationship), 2 mid-mid-life crises (one involving everything I thought I wanted to do with the rest of my life going *poof* and the other involving everything I called my faith going *poof*), 1 college switch, and a never ending string of health problems due to the compounded stress of the repercussions of all the aforementioned bad things. So, in other words, thank God 2008 is over. I have never been so happy to get out of something as I am to get out of 2008.

Wow, depressing. So here are my resolutions, happy things, to balance out the sheer bleck that was 2008:

#1) Finish Stream Pirates. This kind of goes without saying. There's no reason I shouldn't finish it long before 2010, but just in case, there it is.

#2) Hook that ever-allusive agent. I still have that full out as well as one other partial for Blind. Every time my phone rings, I freak out. And get oddly disappointed to see that it's my best friends calling and not the magic agent number. Sorry, guys.

#3) Stop being so hard on myself. So if, for some reason, I don't meet every single one of my goals, I am not allowed to feel bad for it.

#4) Read more books. Read more GOOD books. I tend to opt for lesser-known books in search of hidden gems (which are sometimes, but not nearly often enough, found) instead of trusting the bestseller list. This year, I will read only good books. Err, try to, at least.

#5) Be healthier. And not in an I-resolve-to-work-out-7-hours-every-day-and-eat-only-veggies way. In an I-resolve-to-not-go-to-the-doctor's-every-other-week kind of way. Not that I have too much control over that, but I will do what I can. Which may include working out 7 hours a day and eating only veggies.

#6)To have a better year. Honestly, 2009 just has to be uneventful for it to be better than 2008. Just no extremes, and I'll be happy. A nice, medium, neutral year. Though, if it wanted to go ahead and give me an agent, that'd be an okay extreme. And a book deal. Another okay extreme. And a puppy. A very fluffy, cuddly extreme.

*raises a glass of non-alcoholic sparkling cider* Here's to 2009. Go ahead, '09. Kick 2008 to the curb and change the locks, cuz he don't live here no more. There's a new boy in town, a new kid on the block. And he promises to be filled with more excitement, more happiness, more promises, more smiles, more hugs, more tears of joy than 2008 ever tried to have.

Cheers, mates. Happy New Year.

Fantastic Friday!

Down to the wire. Again. Bad Sara, bad.

Fantastic Thing-that-happened-in-the-past-week #1) Christmas!! B&N gift cards, cinnamon candles, a Belle (yes, Beauty and the Beast the Disney movie Belle) snow globe, and a stampede of puppies at my grandparents' house. Four doggies. Four wittle doggies. It was a rip-roaring good time.

Thing #2) I fell in love with yet another animated man (does anyone else do this? For instance, have a crush on Aladdin? Or watch Treasure Planet only because Jim is, well, hot?). This one is Sinbad in Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. A-DOR-a-ble. Adorable. I don't know why this movie was so "hush-hush" when it came out. It's got adventure, romance, mythology (teehee. Explanation for the teehee in a moment), ships, giant sea monsters. And a really attractive animated lead, seen here.

Thing #3) Reason for the mythology-induced teehee: I finally figured out what was wrong with Stream Pirates (and there's a lot of mythology in SP. Hence the teehee). Since I got to a certain part in the story, everything has just sucked. And I could not for the life of me figure out why. This happens a lot though; I have a really difficult time keeping my characters' motivations consistent throughout really long gaps where they aren't forced to change and/or state their motivation. Unfortunately, the first half of SP is a really long gap where my protagonist isn't forced to change and/or state her motivation. So I kept forgetting why she was doing what she was doing. But I finally reached a point where she semi-exploded on another character, and this explosion served both to calm her down and remind me why she just did everything she did. So now that I know why she did what she did, I'll have a much easier time getting her to do what I want her to do. (Did you follow that? I almost didn't...)

Thing #4) There was thunder today. THUNDER. In December. It was both thoroughly disappointing because it should be snowing and cool because I like thunder. Odd combination.

My other exciting thing was already mentioned. The dogs in Barnes and Noble. If they had dogs in B&N all the time, I honestly do not think I would ever be able to leave. *marketing hint to any B&N execs*

Til next post...

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Well, my fellow writers and/or blog readers, we've come to the end of yet another Christmas season. I find it odd that we prepare so much for one day. Shouldn't we be like the ye olde ancient folke and celebrate for days? It'd get rid of the cookies a lot faster. Anyway.

I just wanted to take this moment and wish all of you a merry Christmas. May there be submissive characters, finished novels, and agent contracts under your tree, and may the spirit of inspiration leave oodles of rich new novel ideas in your stockings.

Happy writing to all, and to all a good novel :)

TGIF: Thank God I have Family (who give me B&N gift cards!)

Puppy dogs + Books = Sara nearly exploding with giddiness.

Yesterday I ventured to a Barnes and Noble, completely unaware and unassuming, only to go on the very day that a group of people who take dogs to hospitals/nursing homes was gift wrapping to earn money. And they brought their DOGGIES!! They had their Golden Retrievers and the lot, but there was something special. Something exciting. Something truly monumental: one woman had THE dog I am considering getting (ie: talking my mother into being all right with): a Newfoundland dog. Of all the ridiculous dog breeds, they had the exact one I would love to cuddle with. Fate, I tell you. Destiny.

Anywho, I also had the extreme pleasure of walking around said Barnes and Noble, grabbing books off the shelf, and actually BUYING them. Normally I grab said books, walk around, talk myself out of spending $20 on a book I haven't researched enough to know whether or not it won't suck, and put it back. But thanks to the hefty supply of B&N gift cards I received at a family Christmas (I'm so easy to please) I am now the proud owner of:

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale (My parents were getting impatient so, after having debated with myself between it and a few others, I grabbed it on my way out. But Hale is a safe bet for a good read.)

Unwind by Neal Shusterman (I'm on an anti-Utopian, end-of-the world, post-apocalyptic spree right now.)

To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker (Because, honestly, who doesn't want to catch a pirate? Johnny Depp. *drool* Also, I consider it "competition" for my current WIP. Loosely related competition, but competition nonetheless.)

And finally, a book that has been on my wish-list for (I kid you not) four years and was at long last discovered in the B&N sci-fi section,

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, translated by Mirra Ginsburg (I told you I'm on an anti-Utopian, end-of-the-world kick. It's along the same lines as Brave New World and 1984. I'm 84 pages into it so far, and while the language is slightly archaic [first published in 1952 in Russian], it is way heavy, way deep, way terrifying. As are all anti-Utopian, post-apocalyptic novels.)

So, after a very long hiatus from reading (the last book I enjoyed was The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray this past August. I say "enjoyed" because I have read quite a few books between now and then. I just really, really disliked most of them.) I will return to the world of words full-force.

While simultaneously sneaking Newfoundland puppy pictures into my mother's purse. And sock drawer. And medicine cabinet.

Pictures like this.

PS: I still fully intend to get The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins as recommended by Jill. There are far more Christmas parties in my future, and far more people who know how easily shopped for I am. And it fits very nicely into my anti-Utopian, post-apocalyptic kick.

Fantastic Friday!

This week has been a blur. Working can do that to ya.

Hm. My repertoire of snappy openings is running low. I should fix it by watching a few hours of Scrubs or Monty Python.

Anyway.

Fantastic Thing-That-Happened-in-the-Last-Week #1) I started working again. Which means my ever-decreasing store of monetary funds will stop decreasing at such catastrophic speeds. And I'll be able to get my friends something more for Christmas than little mystery gift bags from the Dollar Tree.

Thing #2) Mi prima and fellow writer Nikki Hensley made her blog non-private, which means when I speak of her and tag her in blog posts, my avid readers can then see who it is I am talking about. Yes, Virginia, she does exist!

Thing #3) I played with a St. Bernard puppy and had to be resuscitated due to overwhelming cuteness.

Thing #4) I passed the 30,000 word mark with Stream Pirates! *raises the roof*

Thing #5) Less than a week until I get Barnes and Noble gift cards and can actually leave the store with BOOKS! I'm so poor, I can't even afford to be bad and spend money I don't have on books. Because I don't even have money to not have. But God bless Christmas, because it provides me with a plethora of B&N gift cards.

On the subject of #5: I need recommendations. The one book I'm certain I will get is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (it both sounds interesting and is represented by the agent who currently has my full!). But other than that -- I'm at a loss. When I go into bookstores, I get so flabbergasted by the various titles screaming at me (and their potential suck-ability) that I never settle on a single one. So, help? What book this year changed your life?

PS: I think my little picture up there says "I have inside me blood of kings." In case you were wondering.

This Blog Layout Won't Let Me Capitalize Titles

One week until...CHRISTMAS!

Not that I'm excited or anything.

Okay, enough mindless internet procrastinating. To the WIP!