How Come Some People Have All The Luck?

This post is part of the official blog tour for Kirsten Hubbard and her release of LIKE MANDARIN! One commenter from today's post will win a swag pack for LIKE MANDARIN, and all commenters will be entered to win a copy of LIKE MANDARIN! (Make sure to leave your email address or a way to contact you.)

The idea behind this guest blog tour was to talk about who we wanted to be like in high school, as Grace, in LIKE MANDARIN, wanted to be just like Mandarin. I got there in kind of a roundabout way, but here are my thoughts on the subject...


Have you ever known someone who just seems to have horseshoes up their a$$? Maybe they win every contest or they're just one of those people who seems to be good at EVERYTHING?

I remember a girl like that I went to high school with. Her name was Chelle (pronounced Shelly), and seriously, she had it all. I was a drama geek, and auditioned for every play my school put on, but Chelle was pretty much guaranteed to get the lead--without being a drama geek. Besides that, she was an honor roll student, had tons of friends, and sang with her amazing voice in a school quartet.

I  hated her.

Okay, I'm lying. I really didn't hate her, because on top of everything else, she was actually a really, really sweet person. URGHHHH!

One thing I've learned over the years, though, is that talent and good fortune don't happen by accident. I'm still working it all out, but there are some things I believe you can do to make yourself into one of these ultra-fortunate people.

1. Speak the positive. There are a lot of people in the world who seem to just accept the sucky things they've been given in life. They say things like "I guess this is the way my life will always be" or "Yup, it sucks to be me." Instead, speak life into your life. "Things will be better tomorrow." or "Things will seem brighter in the morning."

2. Persevere. If you look at any highly accomplished person in any area of life, you'll see they have had to persevere through difficult times to get where they are. Giving up is the easy way, and that's why so many people take that route. Be among the small percentage of people who persevere.

3. Be thankful. I think this is a key quality of successful people. Notice what you DO have and be thankful for it. Take your eyes off of what others have for a few minutes and really focus on your own good fortune. Thankfulness breeds thankfulness (or things to be thankful for) , but at the same time, jealousy breeds jealousy. Make sure you're on the springboard you want to be on!

4. Be good at everything. I know, that sounds like a crazy one, right? How can you really be good at everything? But if you notice the people who are singularly focused, you may notice they have a difficult time being thankful because all they notice is what they're NOT getting in that one area.Try to be good at several things and I think you'll find that things are usually going well in at least one area.

So, in short, I think the people who succeed in so many areas have such good fortune because they try in so many areas. I'm in the middle of reevaluating my goals, but I've decided to set more than just writing goals. I want to set goals in every area of my life: to be a better wife, mom, teacher, dancer, friend, person, and writer. Because I want to be just like Chelle. I want to be one of those people who seems to have all the luck!

Don't forget to leave a comment to enter to win all sorts of fun LIKE MANDARIN goodies!

World Read Aloud Day!

LitWorld Presents: 

World Read Aloud Day 

March 9, 2011

What would you miss most if you could not read or write? Imagine your world without words.

Let's join together and read aloud for a collective 774 million minutes in support of the 774 million people worldwide who cannot read or write.

With this global rally we show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people and we lend all our voices to the Global Literacy Movement.

Let the children of the world know we believe in the power of words and stories to change their lives.

“I know the day is coming when global literacy isn’t fiction. I don’t know how long it will take, but I know that day will come.”
- 10 year-old World Read Aloud Day Participant

Visit litworld.org to participate in World Read Aloud Day and to "Read it Forward" and donate to LitWorld's mission to change the world with the power of words.

We are rallying our worldwide participants to link back to our social media sites and our website during the actual day so we can connect everyone to a common hub, and here are ideas on how to participate virtually: http://www.litworld.org/worldreadalouddayblog/2011/2/1/join-the-global-literacy-rally-via-social-media.html

Facebook.com/litworld
Twitter.com/litworldsays
Litworld.org


And for my contribution to World Read Aloud day, I've read aloud an excerpt of my novel, LOSING FAITH below. I also plan to read some of my own books aloud today. Because isn't it an amazing thing that we CAN do that?

Enjoy! And happy reading to you all!!

Teen Author Tuesday Presents Alex Epstein and THE CIRCLE CAST: THE LOST YEARS OF MORGAN LAFAY!

I'm happy to welcome another Elevenzie to the blog today, Alex Epstein, whose debut novel, THE CIRCLE CAST:  THE LOST YEARS OF MORGAN LE FAY, was just released from Tradewind. It is Historical Fantasy for ages 14 and up.

It's currently out in Canada and the UK and will soon be out in the U.S., however it's available through Amazon.com.

Welcome Alex! Can you tell me about your book in seven words or less?
Revenge, magical coming of age, Morgan le Fay

Sounds interesting! Other than your main character, who's a favorite character of yours in
your debut novel and why?
Morgan is a girl who's driven by vengeance for her father's murder. But after years in slavery in Ireland, she escapes to an early Christian settlement run by a woman, Béfind, who's unlike anyone she's ever met before. Béfind is about grace and forgiveness. She tests Morgan in an unexpected way, trying to turn the lies Morgan tells into truth (Morgan's pretending to be Christian). But Béfind isn't sure of her own faith, and the two of them have to grapple with doubt. Ultimately Morgan has to choose between what Béfind is offering and the vengeance that's been keeping her alive; she has to turn her back on grace.

Can you tell my readers a little bit more about yourself?
In my day job, I'm a successful screenwriter. I've written a hit action comedy and co-created a comedy TV series. This book is a passion project straight from the depths of my childhood. I've always wanted to tell this story.

What's been the most surprising thing about your path to publication so far?
How impossibly long it takes to publish a book! In TV, you write a script and a month later they're shooting it, and a month after that they're airing it. It took two years from selling my book to seeing it. That's just crazy.

Yes, it is! What's one piece of writing advice you would give to aspiring authors?
Outline first. You can write yourself into a mess if you don't have an outline. With an outline, you never have to write a whole book, you just have to write a little section. Then another section. Then another section...
Are you swept up with promotion for your debut book right now or can you give us a sentence or two about something new you're working on?
I'm a working screenwriter, so I'm working on a slew of movie scripts. One of them is KIKI WILDER, a comedy about a 28 year old Montreal girl who just found out that "party girl" is not a career.
Sounds fun! What did you write when you were a teen? Did you journal? Write poetry? Write overly literary or emotional stories? Or avoid writing altogether?
I wrote a great deal of poetry. Writing poetry taught me to fuss with the rhythm of sentences. When I'm writing, particularly writing dialogue, I try to be very sensitive to how words flow. I'm not trying for a "poetic" effect now, I'm trying to give a sense of how thoughts come out of someone's head. Anybody can write a well-constructed sentence -- well, any writer -- but to write a badly constructed sentence that sounds truer and is more revealing than a grammatical one -- that's the trick.

What's the last book you read that you really loved?
DECLARE by Tim Powers. It's a spy novel set in our world, except that the djinni exist, and the great powers are trying to use them against each other. The main character is a bastard of surprising ancestry ... and it's all based on some true mysteries about Kim Philby, the famous English double agent and traitor.
If readers want to find out more about you and your writing, where should they look?
I've got a website for the book, http://thecirclecast.com, and a blog, too: http://morganslostyears.blogspot.com. I also blog extensively about screenwriting at http://complicationsensue.blogspot.com.

Great! Thanks so much for visiting, Alex, and all the very best with your debut!

MARCH MADNESS Check-In Day 7!

We've made it through our first week, friends! Have some chocolate, some wine, some stuffed jalapeno peppers!!!

Okay, maybe you don't LOVE stuffed jalapeno peppers like I do, but seriously, it's important to celebrate milestones, even small ones. If you've gotten more accomplished in the last week than you would have without March Madness, I want you to take five minutes to do something a little special for yourself today.

And, okay, maybe that's not you at all. Maybe you feel like you've failed miserably. You've barely looked at your work in progress, and maybe you haven't even set any goals yet. That's totally okay! I'm celebrating that you're here right now! We're only seven days in. You still have twenty-four days left this month to make a difference. So do that. Make a difference. Let March be the month that you look back on and say, wow, I got a LOT done that month!

As for my progress, I'm neither ecstatic nor discouraged. I've been getting bits and pieces done each day, but no extravagant jumps so far. SO FAR, I say, because I still have hope! I've faced some obstacles and been able to climb over them. But climbing, of course, takes time. So all in all, I'm feeling good. I've been continuing to get up early in the mornings and keeping my Internet off for the first half hour of the day (that's still the most I can handle!) That's up until Friday, of course. The weekend, sigh, was the weekend, and I'll admit, I fell a little off the wagon.

How about you? Did you work through the weekend, or spend it watching all six Star Wars movies like I did? Come on fess up! Or inspire us. You must do one or the other...

And don't forget to head over to Shana Silver's blog for check-in tomorrow!

ETA: Oops, I almost forgot to award a book from my shelves to one lucky Goal-Setter! So...the choice of books this week goes to...

macaronipants!!!

Pick a book from below and email me the name along with your mailing address to d(at)denisejaden(dot)com  Congratulations!!

Friday Four!

1. I'm sure you've all heard of March Madness--not the basketball frenzy, but the writing, reading, and blogging frenzy! If you haven't set some goals yet and joined in on the fun (and believe me, it IS fun!) here's the place you want to go to do that. It's absolutely NOT too late to join. We'd love to have you!

If you've been hanging out with us all week, today the place you'll want to share your triumphs and woes is over at Craig Pirrall's Blog.

2. I've heard from other authors lately that the Amazon Affiliate Program is a pretty cool thing. So I'm trying it out. I've got a little Amazon-ish store on my website now, and I've tried to add a widget to my blog, though that one doesn't seem to be running quite as smoothly. This is what I thought was cool and why I decided to join: Apparently if anyone clicks through to Amazon through one of my links, if they buy ANYTHING, even if they don't buy my book, I get a kickback on it. And since, you know, I'm going to spend money on new books anyway...I might as well have Amazon chip in a little to that fund. So if you're planning to make a purchase on Amazon anyway, I'd love it if you'd click through my website to get there!

3. LiveJournal has kind of slipped my mind lately. I try to always cross-post between my two blogs, but I often set Blogger up to post automatically, then I completely forget to come back here and cross-post it to LJ (LJ won't let me set things in advance to post). So apologies to anyone who follows me on LJ, but if you want to make sure you don't miss out on anything REALLY important, because you know how often I post REALLY important stuff...I'd suggest heading over to my Blogger blog and clicking follow over there. I will attempt to keep cross-posting here, but it just may slip my mind sometimes.

4. I'm getting ready to go away on a little reading/writing break and I'm so very, terribly, incredibly, monumentally excited! I never really get enough time at home to sink myself into projects anymore and I think this will give me a chance to really re-center myself. I went on one of these "breaks" a couple of years ago and it was so refreshing.  I may even return using less adverbs!

5. I guess it's a Friday Five again. My family is doing a Star Wars Weekend this weekend. We're watching all six of the movies (plus possibly a couple of Ewok cartoons) back to back. I'm a mild fan of Star Wars, but my husband and son are big fans and so we have a whole weekend of yummy foods and jammies planned. We've been looking forward to this for a while. At least most of us have. Oh, and I'm going to pin my hair into two buns on either side of my head. LOL.

What are you up to this weekend? Whatever it is, may the force be with you...

Would You Rather Wednesday: Rejection

First, don't forget to check in for March Madness! Today's check in is right here.

If you're a writer trying to get published, or even one who has been published, you've probably faced rejection. Even if you haven't pursued publishing, you've probably faced rejection in some area. It's one of those common denominator experiences of being human.

It's never pleasant. So none of these are particularly appealing options, but you have to pick the lesser evil:
1. Would you rather...be the reject-or or the reject-ee?

2. Would you rather...be rejected in a long, heartfelt way that you know you and your rejector will remember forever, or in a short, sweet way that you will both easily forget?

3. Would you rather...receive detailed but harsh reasons of why you're being rejected, or oodles of praise about your good points to soften the blow?

And one more bonus question...Would you rather be rejected by mail, email, phone, or in person?

Teen Author Tuesday Presents Bettina Restrepo and ILLEGAL!

March Madness Begins...don't forget to check in over at Shana Silver's Blog!!


But onto today's post! Today I'd like to welcome Bettina Restrepo, a debut author from the Class of 2k11. Bettina's first novel, ILLEGAL will be released March 11, 2011 from HarperCollins, a Katherine Tegen Book. It is contemporary YA for ages 12 and up.

Welcome Bettina! Can you tell me about your book in seven words or less?

Family, friendship, finding your voice, illegal immigration.

Sounds great! Other than your main character, who's a favorite character of yours in
your debut novel and why?

I dearly love Mr. Mann. He is homeless and rarely speaks in the novel. But, he sits on the corner with a sign asking for money. He has less than 100 words in the book – but he speaks volumes.

Please share a little bit about yourself with my readers.

I’m a mommy, twice a day dog walker and a wife (besides writer). I once knew how to cook, but now only make things that wish you had ordered take out. I generally tell bawdy jokes, have quite a spiritual quiet side, and have a compulsive cleaning habit. I also like Legos but hate video games.

Yes, I'll take Legos over video games too. What's been the most surprising thing about your path to publication so far?

That I like writing books much more than publicizing them.

What's one piece of writing advice you would give to aspiring authors?

Not everything you write should be for publication. Writing is art, publication is business. Be the artist first.

Great advice! Are you swept up with promotion for your debut book right now, Bettina, or can you
give us a sentence or two about something new you're working on?

Just finished my next book, Telenovela. Telenovelas are Latin soap operas that are crazy. So, just think – high school musical meets foreign exchange students on Telemundo. (It’s a comedy… I needed to laugh)

What did you write when you were a teen? Did you journal? Write poetry?

I only wrote assignments for school, and I believe my high school English teachers loathed me. I finally dropped out of honors English – only to find out the basketball coach who reinspired me to read. The reading led me back to writing.

What's the last book you read that you really loved?

Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls. A fictional memoir of her Grandmother who was really bad a#$, back when women weren’t that way.

Also, The Year We Were Famous, by Carole Estby Dagg (debuting in April) – 2 women WALKED from Spokane to NYC in 400 days back in the early 1900’s. I stayed up all night reading. Even though it was historical fiction – I found it so relevant! (it’s considered MG, but read so much better!)

If readers want to find out more about you and your writing, where should they look?

My website: www.bettinarestrepo.com

MyFacebook: www.facebook.com/bettinarestrepo

My Twitter: www.twitter.com/bettinarestrepo

They can also see my crazy videos on http://www.classof2k11.com/?p=1183 I like to ‘hunt’ for our debut titles as they come out. I’ll be trying to do a video for each book at 2k11. 

Thanks so much for visiting, Bettina, and all the very best with your debut!