Creepy?

So does the Captain America movie trailer creep anyone else out?? (I will be seeing it. It looks awesome. I just hope the transformation happens fairly early in the movie so I'm not creeped out for too long.)

Watch it here

It is so weird to see Chris Evans' face on an altered body. Kind of like Brad Pitt in Benjamin Button. It totally freaks me out. Maybe because it looks so unnatural. Unlike this image, which isn't creepy at all because it is so completely realistic:



(Note that I am even whiter than Nicole Kidman. I need to get out more.)

Oh the Torture

Remember the time I vowed I would never run a 5K again?? Yeah, I remember it too. Especially after rereading this post. That was a year and a half ago and I haven't forgotten. BUT I'm doing it (why, oh why do I think torturing myself is fun?). In May I will run a 5K with my daughter (yes, this is all her fault). I am making this announcement so I can't talk myself out of it (but maybe you can talk me out of it). This time I will train better. I will run 4 times a week (or three....probably only two), I will eat healthier (unless my mom makes cookies at which point I will have three or four spoonfuls of cookie dough....Mmmmm cookie dough), and I will go to bed before..........1 am (that's good, right?).

In all seriousness, this run is to support my sister and her husband who recently lost their son to Trisomy 18. She carried him full term (tough little guy) and he lived 28 hours. He was the sweetest little angel. This run benefits Angel Babies, a support group that helps parents dealing with stillbirth, miscarriage, & infant loss. It is an amazing organization that really helped my sister through the hardest time in her life.

For my Fresno peeps, if you want to join in the "fun" run, it takes place Saturday, May 7th at Woodward park. I think I'm going to start "training" at the Clovis East track a couple nights a week. If anyone is interested in training with us, email me and I'll give you the details.

I can do this, I can do this (me and running are long time enemies so I have to give myself a pep talk).

And the Winner....

Of this amazing book (how many times can I put the cover of this book on my blog?)


IS........


Jenilyn Tolley


YAY!!! Congrats. Email me your address and you will receive your SIGNED copy soon. Enjoy.

Thanks, everyone, for entering and for the tweets. You're all the best.

Maddeningly Unhelpful Monday--How Does Your World End?

My daughter asked me yesterday what would happen if everyone on the planet screamed at the exact same time. Well, one of two things, I told her. Either we would all implode or the world would spontaneously combust. (Maybe not everyone would implode, but for sure all the mothers of the world would. Or maybe they would just collectively say, "Shh" which would set off a whole different sequence of events.)

This got me thinking about post apocalyptic novels. I don't write them, but I'm very interested in the different 'end of the world' scenarios out there. If you were writing a novel that took place after a major World Destroying event, what would that event be? Or maybe you'd be like Cormac McCarthy in "The Road" and never tell the reader what actually happened to the world, just that it was destroyed. And maybe you would write such a good book that your reader wouldn't notice you never told her what exactly happened, nor would she notice that you never used a single quotation mark in the book (okay, so she would notice the quotation mark thing, but she'd be very much surprised that it didn't bother her in the least). So Mr. McCarthy? What happened? Did everyone scream at the same exact time?

*If you haven't already, don't forget to sign up below to win a free book. Contest ends tomorrow at midnight. :)

Are You Sure You Have The Right Girl?

So someone thought I was cool enough to interview. Go figure. Check it out here. Thanks, Chantele. I've never met her in "real" life, but we've both been around the blogosphere for several years now. She recently snagged an agent. Congrats, Chantele.

Don't forget to sign up to win a free book below by leaving a comment. It's easy and fun. Well, maybe it's not fun, but it's definitely easy. And you might win a signed book for it. Yay!

How About I Give Away a Book

I haven't been reading a lot of (published) books in the last two weeks. I've been editing for friends. Have I mentioned I love to edit (other people's books)? I do. It's fun for me. So anyway, no review today. How about instead I give away a book! Yes?

One of my favorite reads last year was WOLVES BOYS AND OTHER THINGS THAT MIGHT KILL ME by Kristen Chandler.

Here is the post where I gush about it. You should read this book. Though the title might suggest otherwise, this is a contemporary. No werewolves. Actual wolves. So if you want to win a signed copy of this book, leave me a comment about why you think real wolves (or werewolves) are awesome.

Tweet about this contest for a second entry. I'll announce the winner next Wednesday. Good luck!

Maddeningly Unhelpful Monday--Busted

So I got pulled over the other day for talking on my cell phone. Sigh. I've really had it coming. I don't like the law. I've rebelled against the law. I actually think the law has increased the amount of people who, in order to avoid being caught talking on their cell, now text while driving. But we won't get into all my angst about the California cell phone law. The fact of the matter is that it IS a law and I finally got caught breaking it. Yes, it put the fear in me. I will no longer hold my phone to my ear while driving. Blue tooth here I come. And I'm going to wear that thing everywhere. To the gym, to the grocery store, to the kids' school. It will be awesome.

Even though I got caught and in reality deserved a big, fat ticket. I didn't get one. First, I smiled at the cop, and then when he said, "I pulled you over because you were on your cell phone," I responded with, "Yes, I was."

He seemed surprised by my statement, but took my license and walked to the back of my car. He even got his little white book out and started writing. When he came back, he said, "I'm going to let you off because you were the first person to tell the truth today. You should hear the stories I've heard today."

I almost said, "Really? Let's hear those stories." But I figured I shouldn't press my luck. I thanked him and went on my way.

But now I need to know. What cool (or not so cool) stories might people tell a cop when they get pulled over. I want to hear the best excuse you'd give a cop for being on a cell phone. Or how you would creatively pretend you weren't on a cell. I'm not saying that all of you would try to get out of the ticket with a lie. This is all just hypothetical. Give me your best excuse.

Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s….

House, Wife, Ox…or Publication Story.

So I have a problem. It’s called, obsessively comparing myself to others. From the way I write all the way to how fast someone sold a book. This is not helpful in the least to my journey and sometimes it sneaks up on me without warning. But sometimes, most of the time, I let it in by my actions. By purposefully seeking out stories with the intention of comparing them to my story.

For example, when querying, and an agent would request a full, the minute I hit send I had a mission. The mission: Find everyone else in the entire world who had ever sent even one sentence to this agent, read every detail of each story, pick one (usually the most unrealistic, like the agent offered rep two days after requesting) and then lament when my story didn’t match theirs exactly. “Oh no! It’s been three days! She must hate me!” “Oh no! She writes books in two months and I take three! I must suck!”

This does not help me in the least. In fact, it paralyzes me. It keeps me from being productive. So how can I stop this behavior:

1. Don’t stalk people.

I was going to make a list of the things I shouldn’t do, but I think eliminating that one behavior might solve the issue. This won't eliminate my interest in other writers, because I am interested. But taking away the comparison intent will make a huge difference.

I am not my neighbor. I will have my own story.

So what about you? How do you keep yourself from obsessively comparing yourself to others?

Wednesday (movie) Review

I've been in a reading lull lately. I'll blame it on laziness. And when I'm lazy, what do I like to do? Mindlessly watch movies. I think I've mentioned before that we have Netflix. So sometimes I'll troll through the "instant plays" trying to find some hidden gem that I haven't heard of before to satisfy my I-need-a-movie-RIGHT-NOW craving. Who has time to wait for a movie to come in the mail when I'm in the mood to watch a movie this INSTANT? This movie was probably the best of the "hidden gems" that I've viewed. It was super cute.

It did have an unrealistic bit when the main character sat in an editor's office with his manuscript while she rejected it. It made me laugh. If only we got personal appointments with editors. And the fact that the editor was able to personally talk to even those she was rejecting. Amazing. But aside from that it was a great romantic comedy with a twist I didn't see coming. If you end up watching it, tell me if you guessed the twist. Although, I didn't know there was going to be a twist so I wasn't really watching for one.....Crap, I shouldn't have told you there was going to be a twist. No, I'm not going to erase it. I still have confidence, despite my telling, that you will not guess.

So if you have Netflix go watch this right......NOW. And report back to me in exactly 1 hour and 34 minutes. :)