Camp NaNoWriMo or Bust!

April seems like another good month for a fast draft! Whether you're officially involved with NaNoWriMo or Camp NaNoWriMo, I invite you to sign up for my short daily writing inspirations, delivered straight to your inbox through the month of April.

You can sign up here.

My apologies for anyone who was looking for some camaraderie through March Madness. This year has been a little crazy, and I wasn't able to get it in gear in time. But I hope you'll think about joining me through an April writing challenge.

Here's the link again to sign up!

If you're a reader and not so much a writer, I invite you to join my reading group over at DeniseJaden.com. Very soon I will be announcing a very special launch contest for my new Living Out Loud series, launching in April.

Until next time, happy reading and writing!

MARCH MADNESS is Here! Day 1: Set Your Goals!

If you’ve been looking for a challenge to get your writing into gear, you’ve come to the right place! Through the month of March we will be cheering each other on to meet challenging goals with our writing, reading, blogging, or illustrating.

Basically, anyone who wants to challenge themselves regarding books and win prizes for it!

Today is goal-setting day! 

(But if you don't make it here on the first day, not to worry.
Feel free to add your writing goals here any time during the month of March).

March Madness officially begins today, March 1st, and this is how it works.

1. Set a goal here (anything writing, reading, blogging, or otherwise book related). It can be as small and simple of a goal as turning off your Internet while you write, or finishing reading a book you've been trying to get through during the month of March. Or it can be as large as writing or revising an entire book.

2. Check in daily through the month of March at our designated check-in points. Let us know how you're doing with your goal. Share your victories and struggles. Encourage others. The key is support and camaraderie.

3. We give you prizes just for stopping by and letting us know how you're doing, and for encouraging others!

Sounds easy and fun, right?! The following will be the check-in points for the month of March. Check in as often as you can, as we will be announcing prize winners throughout the month on all of the different blogs, but we're writing too, so we don't have time to chase around anyone who has won.

We plan to have check-in posts up and running by 9AM PST (noon EST) each day.
Mondays –  Check in with Kim Baccellia -  http://kimbacceliasweblogfantasy.blogspot.com/
Tuesdays – Check in with Shari Green – http://www.sharigreen.com
Wednesdays – Check in with Mary Ann Scott - http://thebrokentree.blogspot.com
Thursdays – Check in with Carol Garvin - http://careann.wordpress.com
Fridays –  Check in with Tonette – http://www.tonettedelaluna.com

Saturdays – Check in with Dawn Ius - http://www.dawnius.com/blog

Sundays –  Check in with Denise Jaden – http://denisejaden.blogspot.com

The prizes! We have some truly awesome prizes up for grabs this year! I'll start by giving away a prize to one person who comments below with their goals within the next 24 hours!

Here are the prizes that are up for grabs (these are in no particular order and have been donated by my generous co-hosts for this event!) I've added in brackets where we are able to mail each prize:

A critique of your first five pages - (courtesy of Denise’s agent Michelle Humphrey – INT’L)

A handmade bracelet - (courtesy of Mary Ann Scott – INT'L)

A surprise book on the craft of writing (courtesy of Dawn Ius – US/CAN)

An audiobook of Writing With a Heavy Heart  - (courtesy of Denise Jaden – INT’L)

A FULL Manuscript Critique! (courtesy of Tonette de la Luna - INT'L)

A Writing-on-the-go Writer’s Kit – (courtesy of Carol Garvin – US/CAN ONLY)

Book of Choice (to $20 Cdn) from Book Depository (courtesy of Shari Green - INT’L)

A swag pack from Anne and Henry and Falling For Alice - (notebook, charms, bookmarks – Courtesy of Dawn Ius – US/CAN)

A surprise box of YA Fiction - (courtesy of Denise Jaden – US only)

A package of fiction books, including KI, SPIRITED, and possibly an ANNE & HENRY ARC – (courtesy of Dawn Ius – US/CAN)

A beautiful Van Gogh Sunflowers Canvas Cuff Bracelet (courtesy of Kelly Calabrese - US Only)

Some popular high-demand advance copies of YA fiction – Choose one or two from the following selection (courtesy of Kim Baccelia – US/CAN)

Isn't that quite the ARSENAL of prizes?! Wow, thank you to all of our awesome hosts!!

(Also, check back, because in the past I have had March Madness participants so eager about their progress  or about the great camaraderie that they have offered additional prizes during the month!)

Why do we do this, you may ask. Well, I can only answer for myself. First of all, people who set tangible goals and stay accountable with them are as much as 90% more likely to achieve those goals. And I REALLY want to achieve my goals this March. Secondly, I love the camaraderie. This business makes writers feel lonely enough, so any chance I have to feel like I'm not in all of this alone, I'll take it! I love NaNoWriMo each year, but this group is a little more personal. We get to know each other and care about how we're doing on our projects and in our lives. And if one check-in a day is not enough camaraderie for you, we also hang out on Twitter under the hashtag #WIPMadness, so please join in on the conversations there as well.

As for this year's goals, I'd like to draft a book that I outlined over a year ago. I haven't even looked back at this outline for months, so I'm still unsure of how it will hold up, but I'm jumping in with both feet anyway! 

How about you? What are your goals for this March? Have you done this challenge with us before, and if so, how has it worked out for you? I'd love to hear!

Don't forget to leave your goal(s) in the comments below, and head on over to check in with Kim Baccellia -  http://kimbacceliasweblogfantasy.blogspot.com/  tomorrow! Remember, the more you check-in and encourage others, the better chance you have of winning some of the above awesome prizes! And if you set your goal within the next twenty-four hours in the comments below, you have a good chance at winning one right away!

ONWARD, Fearless Writers!

Romance is in the Air Giveaway Hop!

 Romance is in the Air Giveaway Hop

Featuring Young Adult & Clean Adult Romance

February 4th to 14th

Who doesn't love a good romance? Follow along this Blog Hop, hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer to find (and win!) some great new romances!

Enter the Rafflecopter below to enter to win a digital copy of my newest YA Romance/Mystery. Fans of Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins 

will love Foreign Exchange!

Jamie Monroe has always played it safe. That is, until her live-for-the-moment best friend, Tristan, jets off to Italy on a student exchange program. Left alone with her part-time mother and her disabled brother, Jamie discovers that she is quite capable of taking her own risks, starting with her best friend’s hotter-than-hot older brother, Sawyer. 

Sawyer and Tristan have been neighbors for years, but as Jamie grows closer to the family she thought she knew, she discovers some pretty big secrets—not only from her, but from each other. As she sinks deeper into their web of pretense, she suspects that her best friend may not be on a safe exchange program at all. Jamie sets off to Europe on a class trip with plans to meet up with Tristan, but when Tristan stops all communication, suddenly no one seems trustworthy, least of all the one person she was starting to trust—Sawyer.

What People Are Saying About Foreign Exchange:

"Denise Jaden's newest novel, FOREIGN EXCHANGE, is a must read for contemporary YA fans. The characters leap off the pages and readers will furiously turn pages to keep up with the fast pace and intriguing premise. Definitely add a copy of Foreign Exchange to the top of your reading list."
~ Janet Gurtler, Rita Finalist and Best Selling Author of I'm Not Her

“I loved the well-drawn relationships in Foreign Exchange – the tension between Jamie and her mother, Jamie’s tenderness with disabled brother Eddy and especially the intense chemistry between Jamie and Sawyer. Their off-limits attraction and the increasingly dangerous hunt for his sister had me racing through the final chapters.”
~ Jen Nadol, author of The Mark, The Vision, and This is How it Ends

"Foreign Exchange takes you on a thrilling ride through the exotic streets of Europe into the dark side of the fashion world. Our charming heroine will stop at nothing to save her best friend. A sweet dose of romance keeps it light."
~ Lee Strauss - author of The Minstrel Series

"Foreign Exchange is a fresh contemporary YA that will keep readers compulsively turning pages until the very end. Combining international intrigue with a steamy forbidden romance makes for a can’t miss read."
~ Eileen Cook, author of Year of Mistaken Discoveries

"A pitch perfect voice and delicious chemistry between the characters kept me turning those pages!"
~ Tara Kelly, author of Amplified and Encore

"Foreign Exchange is heart pounding and suspenseful...the teenage dream of escaping the boredom of suburbia by travelling Europe and spending quality time with a hot guy shifts into a dangerous nightmare."
~ D.R. Graham, author of Rank and the Noir et Bleu MC series.

"Denise Jaden is a force to be reckoned with! I loved her new book so much. This one is a thrill ride with full realized, lovable characters, and a refreshingly unique premise."
~ Rachel Shane, author of the upcoming Alice in Wonderland High

Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter below, and then follow the Linky to the next stop on the blog hop!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Favorite Books Read in 2014!

I read over 70 books this year, and while that may seem like an impressive amount, it's actually down quite a bit from my 2013 total. But this year I was determined to not set a reading goal (well, actually I set it at 10 books, but I knew I would read at least that many). Instead, I wanted to read when I wanted to read and what I wanted to read, not feeling a push to get more and more reading in, like I did last year.

So, because of that, I have lots of favorites this year. I'll try and give a quick sentence or two about why I loved each book here. I hope you'll check some of them out (and also I'd love to hear about your favorite books read in 2014!)

In no particular order...

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas - What a well-plotted mystery! At some point I suspected almost everyone in the book of the murder, and I was flipping pages furiously to find out.

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson - There's been so much buzz about this book, I'm not sure I need to say anything more here. But I will say that Jandy Nelson's writing is evocative and exquisite, and I aspire to write as well as her one day.

Kiss Kill Vanish by Jessica Martinez - I love everything Jessica writes, but this is probably my favorite. It combines her usual literary style with a thriller-esque mystery. Very engaging!

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith - An unusually set romance, combined with a road trip and many interesting locales. Loved it!

Just One Night by Gayle Forman - This was actually a novella, but it's exactly what was needed to complete two of my all-time favorite novels, Just One Day and Just One Year.

Anywhere But Here by Tanya Lloyd Kyi - This book deserved more notice. One of the best male point of view YA's I've read in a long time.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han - One of my favorite romances of the year, by one of my favorite romance writers. I've heard there's a sequel, which I'm super-excited for.

Don't Even Think About it by Sarah Mylnowski - I needed a few laughs this year too, and this book definitely fit the bill. It was one of those books where I kept waking my husband up with my sniggering.

Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally - Miranda always belongs on my favorite lists. Her romances are so engaging, I could easily drop everything in my life to just read for two days straight.

Just One Year by Gayle Forman - One of my all time favorite books. I love taking travels through these characters' eyes. I will read this one again and again (and I cannot wait for the movie!)

OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu - I already know Corey Ann will be one of my favorite authors for many years to come. Her sharp witty writing and engaging plots make her books un-put-down-able.

Those are a few of my favorites! Now I'd love to hear some of yours.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season and an amazing 2015!

Thoughts on ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER by Stephanie Perkins @naturallysteph

Thanks to Penguin Canada, I was fortunate enough to read an early copy of ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER. I can't tell you how excited I was. I read it in a day.

As with everything Stephanie Perkins writes, ISLA is highly addictive and highly readable and highly romantic. (The author mentioned on Twitter that there was LOTS of kissing, and she wasn't kidding!) It was not difficult to read it in a day (the difficult part was telling Real Life to stop bothering me!)

There was so much to love in this book, from the setting (Paris! New York! Barcelona!), which was described in such fun and interesting detail, to the odd chemistry between a girl who has never been seen and a boy who is too used to being seen. I loved finding out the background of Josh and why he is the way he is, and why he was the way he was in ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS. Isla was a sweet and endearing character with an unexpected side to her, which I loved.

I also have a YA romance set in Europe coming out this fall (FOREIGN EXCHANGE, Evernight Teen, October, 14). Interesting tidbit... during my many revisions of FOREIGN EXCHANGE, I had to whittle down much of the story that took place in Barcelona, and instead expand the part of the story that took place in Italy. I was happily surprised when I read the part of ISLA that took place in Barcelona, because it was as if a part of my book showed up in Stephanie's book. Our characters visited all the same monuments, had many of the same feelings about them. So fun for me to read!

I kept waiting for my favorite characters from ANNA and LOLA to show up, and hoping their appearances would be satisfying. I don't want to give spoilers, but I'll say that these characters were brought back perfectly in a very satisfying way. Stephanie Perkins is a character-wielding-genius!

Stay tuned, because I will be giving away my early copy of ISLA very soon in a very special giveaway. (I'll want to buy my own hardcover when it comes out, but I really want to share this early copy with another Stephanie Perkins fan very soon!)

Reading Recap for 2013!

I said I wasn't going to do it, but I went ahead and did it anyway. I set a stupidly lofty goal of reading 100 books this year. Yes, I completed it, (I actually read 103) but only because I rarely leave goals uncompleted. It's in my blood. Also, I should not that about a third of the books were on audio, but they were still full versions.

Last year I said I was going to set a better, more-realistic goal for myself for the year: To find 12 books I really love. Well, I completed that goal too! If you're looking for some fantastic books to read, check my sidebar (13 books actually made it to my 12 awesome books list - I couldn't decide.)

So I won't go over those, but I wanted to add a specialized list here, to give you a few more thoughts into the books I enjoyed and why I enjoyed them this year. Not all of these books were published in 2013, but they are all books I read during the year.

The book that made me LOL the most: Don't Lick the Minivan by Leanne Shirtliffe
- If you have kids or have ever considered having kids, this is a great book for you. My husband was constantly asking me, "What? What are you laughing at?" followed by, "Oh, you're reading that book again."

The book that inspired me the most: It's Not Just Gymnastics; It's Life by Lance Ringnald
- I started this book feeling old and like I was generally losing interest in uncovering the strong and flexible person I used to be, but since March, since reading this book, I've been excited about working out again, trying new things physically, and even writing my own book concerning some of this stuff (more to come on that!) I love reading biographies of interesting people, and this book was definitely that.

The Book that I was the most conflicted about: Just One Year by Gayle Forman
- It's a little hard to go into why I was so conflicted about this book without giving spoilers. Let me just say that I LOVED the setting (Holland! India! Paris!) of this book, I LOVED the self-discovery, I LOVED the writing... but partway through, I started getting frustrated with the plot. I did something I NEVER do: I skipped ahead to the ending. It helped rid me of my frustration, and I was able to go back and enjoy the rest of the book, but I didn't love the ending, and had I not skipped ahead (which I still feel oddly guilty about) I think I would have found it a very frustrating read.

The most romantic book I read this year: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
- I'm not sure what else to say about this, except I just wanted to hug this book over and over and over again.

The most artsy book I read this year: The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr
- (Followed closely by This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales). I love books where the main character is very skilled at an art of some kind, and this was such a book. It reminded me a little of Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez. Both books really inspire me to work harder at being me in my art.

If I had to pick a favorite book this year? I'd have to go with the Summer Trilogy by Jenny Han
- Sorry, there's no way I could pick just one of these books. I loved them all, and I especially loved how they fit together. I listened to this series on audio, and actually listened to the whole series twice in a row, because I just didn't want these characters to stop being in my life.

So those are some of my favorites and whys...Now I'd love to hear yours!

If you want to see the full list of books I read this year, check out my GoodReads page.

Monday Musings

I'm changing the blog a bit. After attending a book festival on the weekend, I had a few brainstorms about my blog and what I want to do with it. So this is my hope...Monday Musings will now replace my Friday Four, and I'll update it whenever I have a variety of stuff to share. I will continue to highly authors who write for teens (mostly) on Teen Author Tuesday. Wednesdays, I'd like to start offering Writing Prompts for writers who need ideas or a little push to get going, and on Fridays, I want to start offering some tips, ideas, and excerpts from my forthcoming book, Fast Fiction, about how to fast draft. As most of you know, I'm super-busy with NaNoWriMo this month, so I can't promise how much of this will get done right away, and the initial posts may be short, but I'm feeling motivated, so hopefully I will be able to start on this soon! Speaking of NaNo, I've had some great progress so far! Last night I broke the 10k mark, so I'm really excited about that.

And for all of you who think no one could possibly write a decent novel in a month...I agree. But I do believe you can write THE BONES of a decent novel in a month. Tune in Fridays and I'll give you some suggestions of how.

I had a great time at Northwest Bookfest on the weekend, presenting to a group of writers about writing Fast Fiction. This Wednesday, if you're from the area, I'll be doing another little talk and write-in at the Sumas Library in Sumas, WA. 

Also, if you haven't noticed, I've completed my list of 12 awesome books read this year in the sidebar. The latest addition is THE VOW by Jessica Martinez. It has a fresh premise, and such smart smart writing that I didn't want to put it down. 

If you're looking for more tips on writing than what I get to here, don't forget about my new website for writers, AuthorStarts.com. I hope you'll check it out!

That's all for now. Must get back to the NaNo project, and, you know...life. May the words be with you!

Hey, It's Friday!

Wow, life has gotten away on me again. It's been a while since I've blogged, and even longer since I've felt like I had time to blog. Anyway, here's a quick Friday Four to let you know what I've been up to...

1. Just added another Awesome Book to my 12 Awesome Books in the sidebar. This one is THE BOOK OF BROKEN HEARTS by Sarah Ockler. I love everything by her (it must be in the name--I like A LOT of books by Sarahs!) but this one hit me in just the right way at just the right time. A very tender story about a girl and her dad. And a hot boy, of course. Can't forget about him. Anyway, I highly recommend it!

2. If you follow me on Facebook, you may have heard about all my excitement filming a movie last week. A few of the Polynesian dance troupe I work with were hired to be part of a big luau scene for the Nickelodeon movie, A FAIRLY ODD SUMMER. It doesn't come out until next August, but we had a fun, cold, exhausting time filming it (did I mention this was filmed in Vancouver in October in the middle of the night?) Here's our group at 3 a.m. (I'm on the far right, but please, please, don't look too closely!)

3. I'm very excited about several events coming up, and I'll probably do an Events Post soon to highlight all of them, but for now I'll just highlight the next one. Next weekend I'll be at the Surrey International Writers' Conference in Surrey, B.C. I'll be signing copies of all my books (except for Fast Fiction, because it's not out yet, but I do have bookmarks!) during their book fair on Saturday night. More information is at siwc.ca 

4. And here's something I'm really excited about...I've been working for a while on a secret new website. I have to have it ready for next week for the official launch, but I'll just call this a soft launch and let you, my awesome blog readers, know ahead of time. It's called Author Starts, and you can stop by to see a bit more of what it's about. If you have any comments, I would LOVE to hear them--good or bad. I'd love to get it running as smoothly as possible, with as much useful information as possible, before next week.

Happy weekend, everyone! My son is competing in a judo tournament, so I'm a very nervous Mom...

GCC Presents VOILA - A Short Story by Debbie Rigaud!

Today with the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit, I'm featuring another short story, this one recently released by Debbie Rigaud. Here's a little more about the story and the collection where you can find it...

OPEN MIC: RIFFS ON LIFE BETWEEN CULTURES IN TEN VOICES (Candlewick Press)  Edited by Mitali Perkins

• Featuring the short story “Voila” by Debbie Rigaud

About OPEN MIC

Listen in as ten YA authors use their own brand of humor to share their stories about growing up between cultures. Edited by acclaimed author and speaker Mitali Perkins, this collection of fiction and nonfiction embraces a mix of styles as diverse as their authors, from laugh-out-loud funny to wry, ironic, or poignant, in prose, poetry and comic form.

About “Voila”
Thanks to overprotective parenting, Simone’s elderly great aunt Ma Tante has more of a social life than she does. But one afternoon, Ma Tante’s social scene awkwardly intersects with Simone’s in the unlikeliest of places.

Rave Reviews for OPEN MIC:
“[Open Mic] will leave readers thinking about the ways that humor can be a survival tool in a world that tends to put people in boxes.” –Publishers Weekly

“Naomi Shihab Nye offers an eloquent poem about her Arab American dad, whose friendliness made him ‘Facebook before it existed.’ David Yoo, Debbie Rigaud, Varian Johnson and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich also contribute stories to this noteworthy anthology, which robustly proves Perkins’ assertion that ‘funny is powerful.’”
 –Horn Book Magazine

“Teachers will find some powerful material here about how the young can become discomfited and find solace in their multifaceted cultural communities.
 –School Library Journal

Debbie stopped by for a short interview about her writing:

1. Tell me about your book in seven words or less.

Humorous short stories about life between cultures.

2 Other than your main character, who's a favorite character of yours in your story?

Simone's elderly relative Ma Tante. She's loving and sweet, yet quick-witted and sharp-tongued. I love to explore relationship dynamics between the young and elderly. As a teen, elders were an important part of  my life and I'm sure other teens can think of an elder who has touched their lives in some way as well.

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

Develop your own voice. It’s a chief storytelling tool that makes the experience of reading your work unique and enjoyable. I believe that a well-defied voice speaks to readers about as much as your actual writing does.

4. 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 did all of the above (including the avoiding writing part--at least when it came to school-assigned writing).Writing was an outlet for not only my creativity, but my general self-expression. I don't think I could've made it through the ups and downs of high school and college without it.

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

I'm late to the party on this one, but I recently picked up a few Lois Lowry books and enjoyed them. It was interesting to read what seems to be one of the literary predecessors of today's dystopian YA.

For more about OPEN MIC, like our page www.facebook.com/openmicanthology

Debbie Rigaud (www.debbierigaud.com)
Debbie Rigaud began her writing career covering news and entertainment for popular magazines. Her YA fiction debut, HALLWAY DIARIES/Kimani Tru was followed by the fish-out-of-water romantic comedy PERFECT SHOT/Simon Pulse. Since then, Debbie’s non-fiction essays have been published in anthologies IT’S ALL LOVE/Broadway Books and DEAR BULLY/HarperTeen. Her short story “Voila!” is featured in OPEN MIC/Candlewick Press, and TURFQUAKE, her first YA e-book will be released late 2013.

Friday Four!

1. What am I reading? Tina Fey's BOSSYPANTS. There are not a lot of books that can literally make me laugh out loud, but many times this week I have spit out my food or wine or nearly choked on my own saliva from laughing so hard at this book. Laughter is very good for the soul (and the body) so I highly recommend this book. And you may notice I don't recommend (or read) a lot of grown-up books. This is going on my Top Twelve (see right sidebar).

2. What am I writing? I have had a glorious three days of writing absolutely nothing! Of course, if you've followed my blog for any amount of time, you know that not writing makes me grumpy. But my mind needed a few days for a creativity-chill. I was starting to jumble thoughts between all my books and question everything I was writing or revising. I'm already feeling much more clear-headed. I have notes on two manuscripts waiting for me, plus I'm expecting copyedits on FAST FICTION by the end of the week, so I will be launching into a very busy August of writing.

3. Yes, I'm still homeschooling. We took a week off for our recent trip to California, but we are back at it almost daily. I like homeschooling through the summer. It gives us a chance to not worry so much about the curriculum and have fun learning together. Yesterday, for example, we watched this fun physics video on building stronger sand castles. Then we went to the beach and conducted some experiments on the strength of sandcastles (we ended up with one that could hold both my son and me without collapsing!)

4. The only thing better than visiting good friends you haven't seen for a while, is visiting a good author-friend you haven't seen in a while. This weekend I get to do both! I'll be going to the Okanagan to catch up, soak in the sun, drink wine, and talk shop with Elle Strauss and some other very good friends.

Wishing you all a very happy weekend!

Friday Four!

I'm sure thankful for #FollowFriday on Twitter. Otherwise I'm sure I would have had no idea what day it is!

1. I'm home from Sacramento! Had a great time visiting friends there. Our friends put on a huge natural bodybuilding competition, so my husband and I try to join them each year to help out (we used to run our own bodybuilding shows). This year we stayed on a few days extra and traveled to the coast with our friends (along with a new friend, Chris Nsubuga, who also happened to be a pro champion from the competition). Here we are together (I'm almost as lean and muscular, right?)

2. I'm a little behind on things like blogging, but I still have a little green alien on deck for a blog interview. Next week Ace Hansen will be here for sure. Look forward to it! He's a fun little guy.

3. What am I reading? I just finished up THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE by Leila Sales, and as anticipated, I absolutely loved it! It's not out quite yet, but maybe I'll have a contest soon so one of you can win this early copy.

4. What am I writing? Still plugging away at MAKING MIRACLES. I'll be looking for a couple of beta readers soon, so if you're interested, email me at d(at)denisejaden(dot)com. I also have received some feedback on some other manuscripts, so I have lots to keep me busy through the summer.

The weather is beautiful here and not too terribly hot. I'm feeling bad for all my Twitter friends who have been cooking lately. Since it's summer, I've been thinking about good beach reads. Next week I'll try to come back and list a few of my favorites. Do you have favorite beach reads?

Happy weekend! Oh, and a happy birthday to me--I'm getting even older on Sunday :-)

Friday Four!

1. What am I reading? I'm sad to say I've given up on two audiobooks I was listening to this week. They were from the library, and were both coming due. I listened to them about 1/3 of the way into each to see which one I wanted to renew, but it turned out I didn't want to renew either. I'm always disappointed and sometimes even feel like it's my fault when I give up on a book. Does anyone else feel that way?

I have been reading another book I've been enjoying, though, and I recommend it for any writer who has ever struggled with frustration about the business of writing and publishing. It's called THE WRITER'S BOOK OF HOPE by Ralph Keyes. Lots of wise words in here, and any book that makes a writer feel less alone is a good one I think.

2. What am I writing? I'm just finishing up a read-through of MAKING MIRACLES. To be honest, all through the last revision I was second-guessing myself on most of the changes I was making, but now, reading it over, I think I like them! A good sign, but I also know that sometimes we as writers don't have a lot of great perspective on our own work.

3. So...I'm looking for some early readers for this book. It doesn't matter whether you're a writer or not, I just need a couple of readers who enjoy reading fiction, are willing to be open and honest about their thoughts, and want to have a hand in shaping the final product of this book (it is still a work in progress, so there's a good chance I will still make some changes). I'm looking for people who can give feedback on a variety of areas: miracles and traveling ministry, high school life, high school sports, a setting in the southern states. If you think you can lend some wisdom to any of these areas, or just don't mind reading about them, I'd love your input. Plus, I have some very specific questions about whether things I've implemented in this latest draft are working or not. If you're interested, please email me at d(at)denisejaden(dot)com

4. It's my husband's birthday this weekend. We normally celebrate by attending a huge bodybuilding competition in Seattle. This year we just found out the competition was moved to a later date when my husband will unfortunately be out of town. (I'm not exactly crying my eyes out about this, but don't tell my husband that). So...looking for something to do instead, we discovered that Comic-Con is on in Vancouver this weekend. I've never been to a Comic-Con, but I'm kind of excited about checking it out. Maybe I'll even dress up!

What are you up to this weekend? What are you reading? Anything good?

Friday Five

1. What I'm reading: I'm reading a book by one of my favorite authors right now. I won't mention who it is, or what the book is, because my compassionate side won't let me say things publicly that could hurt another writer. But this book took me 161 pages to get into. ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY ONE! I remember when I'd give a book a chapter or two to hook me, if not, I'd move on to something else. Now I generally give a book about a hundred pages (it's the compassion thing again, because I know how much it would hurt if someone put my book down after only a chapter or two). Because this was one of my favorite authors, though, I kept pushing on. And finally it DID start to hook me. But 161 pages in? It does make me wonder if lots of other people will give up on this book. How many pages do you usually give a book before moving on?

2. What ELSE I'm reading: The bright side is, I'm also reading a book that I really love. I finished reading IT'S NOT JUST GYMNASTICS; IT'S LIFE by Lance Ringnald a week or two ago. I'm supposed to be starting on a novel study with my son for homeschool, but I admit, I was not feeling motivated at all about that. I just don't enjoy most of the books that are at my son's reading level, so I find myself tuning out when he's reading to me. So I decided to use this book by Lance Ringnald instead (I wanted to read it with my son anyway). It's not a novel, and it's a bit above his reading level, but I'm helping him with the reading and making up my own rudimentary study guide to go with it. It's making the whole process of schooling him enjoyable for me (and for him!) so that has been my bright spot of reading lately. It has also sparked some great conversations about the emotional turmoil of competition, as my son competes in judo tournaments regularly and definitely has his ups and downs about it.

3. Speaking of good books: I mentioned in an earlier post that my goal this year was not to read a plethora of books, but instead to try and find 12 books I really love this year. To that end, I decided to start a list of these 12 awesome books in the sidebar. If you ever have something to recommend to me (really excellent amazing books only, please!) I'd love to hear about them!

4. What I'm writing: I got pretty sidetracked with finishing up the audiobook for LOSING FAITH, but now I'm finally back to revising my work in progress, MAKING MIRACLES. The title is still not something I totally love, but I'm really having fun with this book. Here is the logline (another pitch I wrote myself--I do think I'm getting better at this!) Wild-child Delaney Peters tries to impress her friends by attempting to punk a religious tent meeting, but instead starts experiencing strange and increasingly embarrassing miracles.

As I've been getting beta feedback on this one, it seems like readers' main struggles in this book is over the miracles I've chosen to show. They either want them to be bigger and wilder miracles, or some readers want them to be tamer and something they would have an easier time believing. Would you rather read about big, wild miracles that may stretch your suspension of disbelief, or miracles that would kind of fall into the background because you have no problem believing them? This is the question I'm struggling with right now. I'll be looking for more beta readers for this one soon if anyone is interested.

5. We have out of town friends visiting at the moment, which usually means two things for us: Anton's Pasta and Theatresports--two of our favorite things. If you ever visit Vancouver, Anton's is a must (you can recognize it by the lineup down the street). Hoping for some sunshine or our Arizonian friends are going to freeze!

What are you up to this weekend?

More Fun Q&A

Since posting some recent questions and answers from my fan mail, I've received a few follow-up questions. I thought I'd post those here too, since they're such fun questions.

Do you make playlists and listen to music as you write?

No. I love music, it's important to me, but I can't listen to it while I'm writing. I suspect this is because I'm a dancer/choreographer of many years. I can't just let music play in the background without my mind wanting to count out sets of eight and picture combinations of moves to accompany it. It would make for a busy writing time, a little like mental juggling, trying to keep all of that going in my head at once.

I do, however, usually come across songs that remind me of certain books or characters of mine. For example, Things I'll Never Say by Avril Lavigne will always remind me of Loann and Marcus from NEVER ENOUGH. Sick Cycle Carousel by Lifehouse is Claire's song.

I also have a "rejection song." It's a song I listen to after I've received a particularly painful rejection. It's officially a breakup song, but publishing, in a lot of ways, can be like a relationship. This song doesn't build up bitter feelings or anything, at least not for me. Instead it reminds me that I don't want a publisher who is just willing to take on one of my books. I want an editor who is head over heels in love with my story. Plus it's good to dance to, which always helps. So here's my rejection song, Thanks For Nothing by Fefe Dobson:

 

Enough about music. Next question:

What's your favorite book?

Here's my answer: Anyone who has a favorite book doesn't read enough. LOL. I read over a hundred books last year. I loved over half of them. And that was just last year. I really, honestly, can't imagine narrowing my all-time favorite down to one or even ten books. Here are a few loves that come to mind off the top of my head, but it's by no means a complete list: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green, THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER by Sarah Dessen, GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn, CATALYST by Laurie Halse Anderson, ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins, HARMONIC FEEDBACK by Tara Kelly, GUITAR GIRL by Sarra Manning, THE LUCY VARIATIONS by Sara Zarr.

Are you a fast reader?

Not particularly. I know I said I read over a hundred books last year. Thirty of those were audiobooks I listened to while driving back and forth to dance classes. Also, I keep books (or my kindle) with me EVERYWHERE. So, really, those books were read in very short spurts, and not terribly fast. Once in a while I'll find a book that I cannot put down, and I'll push off other responsibilities to read it in a day or two. Or once in a while I'll find a book I really want to savor, and purposely only read a couple of pages a day. Right now I have one of those "savor" books living in my gym bag--that gymnastics book by Lance Ringnald I talked about on the blog a couple of weeks ago. I keep promising to read it with my son, but I'm finding it inspiring, so I don't want it to end.

Are you a fast writer?

Yes. My next book (out either later in 2013 or 2014) will attest to that. It's called FAST FICTION and will teach you my process of writing quickly. It still takes me six months to a couple of years to get from the conception of a story to the point where it's salable, but I can quite easily write the first draft of a sixty thousand word novel in a month now (I've even written two of those in a month once!). Honestly, if I wasn't homeschooling and busy with other parenting/family/business responsibilities, I suspect I could put out a few books in a year now. But a season for everything...

Thanks for the questions, friends! Keep them coming and I will keep answering! (You can post your questions in the comments here, on Twitter @denisejaden, or email me at d(at)denisejaden(dot)com). I love interacting with people who are reading my books, and it's never a bother.

From My Fan Mail

I truly adore fan mail. Renewed realization that my work really connected with someone--that makes it all worth it. If you've ever thought about writing to an author whose work you've loved, I encourage you to do it. Even if they are mega-famous or whatever, they will appreciate your words. It can be a great juxtaposition to all the criticism and impossibly difficult editorial feedback that comes with this business. (But if it's a lesser-known author, even more reason to take time to write to them. I promise, they will appreciate it!)

Some of the mail I've received recently included several questions for me. I thought I'd answer some of them here, because, who knows, maybe more people are interested, but just too shy to write to me, or are afraid of taking up my time. So these questions come from Khanh and Megan. Thanks so much for your wonderful letters!

Why did you decide to become an author? To be honest, I didn't really decide. I started writing when I was in my thirties and pregnant (I blame it on "pregnant brain"). It started out as a journal--something I had never done in my life--but when I wanted to write down really personal stuff that I didn't want read, I changed it to character names. Eventually, I started playing the "what-if" game with my "characters," because that was a lot less scary and a lot more fun than playing it in my own life. I grew to love the experience of understanding human nature and reactions, and coming up with stories in the process.

What kind of music do you like? I like a WIDE variety of music. I'm a long-time Polynesian dancer, so I love many varieties of Polynesian music. I love a lot of the eighties music I grew up with. Avril Lavigne is one of my current favorites--I love her girl-power lyrics, and they often inspire me in writing different characters. Plus I love anything with a good beat that is easy to dance to. I really dislike music snobs who think the only "cool" music is the kind they listen to.

Where have you traveled to? I've been very fortunate to travel a lot of places in my life! I've been to England, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Romania, Czech Republic, Alaska, Florida, California, Bahamas, Mexico, Seattle. With my Polynesian dance troupe I've traveled around Canada, the U.S., to Hawaii, and Japan. My next hope is to go to Spain and Portugal.

Do you like Harry Potter? Um...This is a difficult one for me to answer. I don't dislike Harry Potter, and I think the writing is marvelous. But--and this is completely personal preference--I'm just more of a real-world kind of girl. I get swept up in stories when I really believe they could happen to me, or to someone close to me. It's more difficult for me to get swept up in something more magical or fantasy-infused. Again, that's just me. My husband loves Harry Potter, and I have watched all the movies with him. They just haven't been terribly impacting or memorable for me.

Where do you write? I'm writing this at my kitchen table. I have a small office that doubles as a guest bedroom in my house, but I tend to gravitate back to the kitchen table. I'm not sure why. I guess I like the light in here. I used to write in coffee shops, and I can still write anywhere if I need to (I have a net book with an 8-hour battery) but this is where I most often write.

How do you decide what to write about? It's always different. With LOSING FAITH, I think my initial seed of an idea was to write about two sisters with a secret. I decided to make one religious and one the black sheep of her religious family. From there, the secrets started to reveal themselves to me. I also lost my best friend when I was sixteen. I've always thought there was so much to be explored with a teen experiencing death, and I wanted to delve into that more.

NEVER ENOUGH is also about two sisters, and I'm not sure why I've had such a fixation on sisters. I've never had a sister, but always wanted one, so maybe that's why. With NEVER ENOUGH, the idea came from real life. I have a good friend who suffered with a serious eating disorder. When I first started writing, it wasn't necessarily meant to be a book, or a book I would publish. I really just wanted to understand my friend more and learn how to be a help in her life.

Besides that, I get my story ideas all over the place: from chatting with people or hearing a news story. Quite often when I sit down to watch a movie, in the first ten minutes my mind speculates on where the movie is going to go. It often doesn't, and I end up with a story idea right there.

When you were in high school, did you ever think you would become an author? Not even close. When I was in high school (and this is definitely to my detriment) I didn't like to write, or even read. I found my love for reading in my twenties, and my love for writing in my thirties, but I've always wished I had started much earlier.

Would you ever consider visiting my English class? I would LOVE to visit your English class! Unfortunately, travel does cost money, and most schools do not have it in their budget to bring authors in from across the country. If I ever plan to be in your area, though, I would be happy to make some time to visit your school. One of my very favorite things is to talk to young people who are interested in writing and books.

What advice would you give to people who are thinking of writing a book? Write it! Get your ideas down on paper. Try to write every day, even if it's only a little bit, so your story can gain some momentum.Don't get caught up in the idea of publishing the book--write it first. Publishing is a whole other (stressful) world. Write the book you would want to read, and figure out what you love most in books and what you love least in books in the process.

Thanks again,Khanh and Megan for the great questions! I would love it if we could meet each other in person one day. I'm always *thrilled* when I hear that one of my books has sparked a love of reading in someone. It truly makes my day.

Happy reading and writing to both of you, and to anyone who has taken time to read this :-)

Books Read in 2012

Whew! I read more books in 2012 than I've read in any other year of my life. I'm AMAZED at how many of these books were wonderful and memorable, and I count several of them among the best books I've ever read. I'll be back in a few days when I've whittled this down to a few of my favorites, but for now, I'd love to hear if you've read some of these and if you have any strong opinions on any of them. (My apologies for any spelling mistakes!)

I'll do a little more analysis at the end, but for now, here's the list, starting with the ones I read at the beginning of last year, and ending with books I just finished: 

1. Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
2. The Broken Thing by Peter Swift
3. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
4. So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti
5. Every You, Every Me by David Levithan
6. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
7. Zero by Tom Leveen
8. Let's Get Lost by Sarra Manning
9. The Fault in our Stars by John Green
10. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
11. A Million Suns by Beth Revis
12. Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz
13. A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young
14. Dancergirl by Carol M. Tanzman
15. Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse by Lucas Klauss
16. The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
17. The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
18. Unbreak My Heart by Melissa C. Walker
19. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
20. Starters by Lissa Price
21. Identical by Ellen Hopkins
22. It's a Little Haywire by Elle Strauss
23. The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti
24. Dead to You by Lisa McMann
25. Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
26. The Future of Us by Jay Asher
27. The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
28. Blankets by Craig Thompson
29. Heist Society by Ally Carter
30. Boy 21 by Matthew Quick
31. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares
32. But I Love Him by Amanda Grace
33. North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
34. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
35. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
36. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
37. Lucky by Rachel Vail
38. Being Friends With Boys by Terra Elan McVoy
39. Crazy by Amy Reed
40. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
41. 37 Things I Love by Kekla Magoon
42. When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle
43. The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecelia Galante
44. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
45. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
46. Real Live Boyfriends by E. Lockhart
47. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
48. Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross
49. On Becoming Childwise by Gary Ezzo
50. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty
51. The One That I Want by Jennifer Echols
52. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
53. 3 Willows by Ann Brasheres
54. Take Me There by Susane Colasanti
55. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
56. Flyaway by Helen Landalf
57. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
58. Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
59. In Honor by Jessi Kirby
60. Radiance by Alyson Noel
61. Whisper by Alyson Noel
62. Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton
63. Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
64. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
65. On Becoming Pre-Teen Wise by Gary Ezzo
66. Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
67. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
68. What She Left Behind by Tracy Bilen
69. Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols
70. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
71. Blubber by Judy Blume
72. Would You by Marthe Jocelyn
73. The Anatomy of Story by John Truby
74. Write Good or Die by Scott Nicholson
75. Gone by Lisa McMann
76. Do or Di by Eileen Cook
77. If I Lie by Corinne Jackson
78. Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy
79. Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
80. Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
81. Looking For Alaska by John Green
82. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
83. Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies by Blake Snyder
84. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
85. Cracked by K.M. Walton
86. A Curse as Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
87. The DNA of Relationships by Gary Smalley
88. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
89. Every Day a Friday by Joel Osteen
90. It's Your Time by Joel Osteen
91. Ten Things We Did by Sarah Mylnowski
92. No Plot? No Problem by Chris Baty
93. Ask the Passengers by A.S. King
94. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
95. On Writing by Stephen King
96. Purity by Jackson Pearce
97. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
98. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
99. Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed
100. Every Day by David Levithan
101. Abby Road by Ophelia London
102. The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
103. And Thereby Hangs a Tale by Jeffrey Archer
104. Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarrey
105. The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
106. Live Through This by Mindi Scott

ETA: I just realized I'd missed at least one book (changing the total from 105 to 106 - Thanks, Mindi!) My only excuse is that I practically read her book in one sitting because it was so good, so I guess I somehow missed adding it to my GoodReads list.

Double whew! Keep in mind that this is not including books I critique or beta read, or my own books, which I have to read many times throughout the year. I honestly do not have a clue how I found time to read this many books. And I'm not a fast reader. All I can say is that I'm very goal driven (I set a goal to read a hundred books this year) and I also really, really enjoyed much of what I was reading.

Of the 106 books that I read in 2012:

Number of fiction: 95
Number of nonfiction: 11
Number I listened to on audiobook: 30
Number of books I did not finish: 4
Number of books I read because of hype: 24
Number that lived up to the hype (in my opinion): 9
Number of books I read for research purposes: 32
Number of books I read based on recommendations: 37
Number of books I would consider meh: 19
Number of books I would consider pretty good: 47
Number of books I would consider memorable: 25
Number of books I would consider ah-mazing: 16
Number of books that I will never forget: 2


It's a pretty good ratio, in my opinion. I didn't want to give specifics on books, because as a fellow author, I have too much compassion to do that. I certainly wouldn't want to read my book on another author's list of "meh" books. Besides, in my opinion, recommendations of awesome books are much more important.

Next year I don't plan on setting any ambitious reading goals, because I am feeling a bit burnt out on the "need to read" thing, but what I do plan on doing is being a bit pickier on what I  choose to read. I'm hoping to find 12 really amazing books by the end of 2013, so if you know of any that are not on my list (they don't need to be published in any particular year) please give me your suggestions.

I'll be back soon with my trimmed Best-Of list, but until then, I'll leave you with my top two...

How about you? Any favorites from the list above?