Wednesday, March 23, 2011

One Man Disney Movie

I'm an old-school Disney animation fan. My teen years were filled with such amazing films as "Aladdin," "The Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast." I'm also a huge fan of their own personal send-up, "Enchanted."

I found this video via Twitter, and it's amazingly well done. I just could not resist sharing it.

By Pixar modeling artist Nick Pitera:



EDIT: Apparently my blog is cutting off part of the video, so here's the link to YouTube for better viewing.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Happy Spring!

I have to admit, I'm happy to see spring finally arrive. I hate winter. I hate being cold. I like being warm, and I like sunshine. But in retrospect, this winter went by very quickly. VERY quickly. I can't even figure out where the time's gone.

This past week, though, I know exactly where my time has been spent: up to my ears in Dreg City. Edits for book four landed the week before last, and I've been digging into those. I really do love this book for a lot of reasons. The flashbacks are handled a bit differently than in the first three books, you get to meet some new shape-shifters, and--wait...that's just mean, isn't it? Talking about a book that won't be out for another year? *innocent smile*

Anyway, those edits are done. I'm letting it sit for a little while before I give a few sections another reread, just for clarity. Then it's back to Bantam! Yay!

Right now I'm preparing to dive into edits for TRANCE. Funny story about publishing to go along with this: when I went to open my digital file last night, it said the last time the file was modified was August 2009. I immediately thought that I'd misplaced/lost/corrupted the original file, and that I was in deep trouble. I searched my files, then searched my Sent emails. Surely it hadn't been a year and a half since I'd last modified the book!

And yet, it has been. That's the file that was sent to my agent, which was sent to my Pocket editor. It really floored me to think about the time frame, and then I got a good giggle out of it. It honestly didn't feel like it had been that long since I'd fiddled with this book, but it had.

But now I get to play again, in a world where superheroes are scarce, feared, and your own powers can be turned against you.... *cue dramatic music*

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Critiques for Charity

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard about the disasters in Japan. I try not to look at the photos and footage of the destruction, because it always makes me cry. And it's easy to try and ignore the utter devastation of it all, because it's happening on the other side of the world.

Until you realize that the very nice lady who was about to buy a red sofa from you just got a phone call from her daughter, who was in Japan, and who she hasn't heard from in days.

This affects us all.

That's why my friends at the League of Reluctant Adults are auctioning some things off for charity. All of the money raised will go to the American Red Cross and relief efforts.

So what are we auctioning? Critiques, ladies and gents! Two different partial manuscript critiques by two different sets of Leaguers.

Team Claw.

Team Fang.

Get thee hence and bid!

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Spring Colors, Slow Cookers, and Edit Letters - Oh My!

So I've had a mini-vacation of sorts. The interesting thing about working in retail, even part-time, is that your days off are never the same week-to-week. And sometimes they fall in such a way that you have days off at the end of one week and the beginning of the following week. The end results: five days in a row away from the day job.

It's been awesome.

I spent the weekend doing some really cool things. Namely, shopping. I don't generally like shopping (unless I'm in a bookstore or a thrift store). But I really wanted to put some bright, spring colors into my apartment (which is mostly neutral colors). So I did. And I love the way it looks. I'll post some before-and-after pictures in the near future, but I went with aqua and lime green accent colors, and it looks really nice. Fresh. Ready for spring.

I also spent time with my sister, niece, and parents on Sunday. We went over to belatedly celebrate my dad's birthday with presents and a cake. Yesterday I made a lovely pot roast in my slow cooker (first time I've used it since I got it for Christmas) with a mostly-made-up recipe. Much yumminess.

I've also been fiddling with getting my tax information prepared. Every year, I tell myself I'll be more organized with my receipts, rather than just throwing them into an envelope. Every year, I open up an envelope and spend hours sorting. But Tax Day is drawing ever nearer, and I must get this finished.

Meanwhile, my edit letter for WRONG SIDE OF DEAD (Dreg City 4) is here! I can't wait to jump back into Evy's world for a while and whip this book into proper shape. My lovely editor really likes the direction I've taken the series in this book, so yay! (yes, that was a tease, since this book isn't coming out until next spring)

I've also seen the cover for TRANCE (Pocket, 10/25/11), and I love it! I promise I'll share as soon as I'm able.

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Happy March (Plus Someone Else's Giveaway)

Happy March! There's something wonderful about flipping the calendar out of the last winter month and into the first spring month (even though spring is still technically 20 days away). I have this adorable homemade calendar that my sister gave me for Christmas, and each month has a different picture of my niece. In March's picture, my niece is eating a piece of corn on the cob. It's so cute! And I get to look at it for a whole month!

Today is also a big release day in the urban fantasy realm. Here's a handy link to fellow Leaguer Carolyn Crane's blog, where she is hosting a cool giveaway for several of those releases. If you like free books (and who doesn't?), check it out!

As for myself, I don't have much to report. I admit, I'm insanely excited about the Food Network's new special, Chopped: All-Stars. I love Chopped and tend to Tweet about it if I'm home to watch new episodes. And this time, both regular judges and other FN chefs are the ones competing. It looks like a lot of fun.

Alas, I only read eight books last month. I know, some folks are thinking "ONLY EIGHT?!?!?!" But considering I read 21 in January, eight is a big step backward. Then again, I don't think I read anything the first two weeks of the month, so maybe it's not so bad. My reading choices were pretty evenly divided between urban fantasy and YA, plus one true crime and one contemporary romance.

Anyone else read anything good recently?