Tangent Shell

Book Review: Homeless Bird

2012-03-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Homeless Bird tells the sad, but inspiring story of a young Indian girl who is married off at thirteen to a sickly boy that soon dies. Koly is then stuck living with her in-laws that treat her almost as a slave. Girls of all ages will enjoy this book for its simple, yet gripping writing.

This story also illustrates how life is for many Indian women as Koly's story gets even more tragic and she is dumped by her mother-in-law in the town of widows. There Koly finds that many women become useless widows who end up on the streets after the husband's family can no longer care for them. From there her journey starts to look up. Homeless bird is both a great story, as well as educational.

I had no idea so many Hindu women ended up shunned widows seen as a drain on their families and were often dumped in Vrindavan. Crazy. Those poor women need help, just like Koly did. This was very eye opening. I loved it and would recommend for girls from about ten to adult.

View all my reviews
Song of the Day:

Help a Fellow Blogger Blog Hop

2012-03-01T06:11:00.000-08:00

Well, February is over and it feels like it can't possibly be March yet, but it is. That means it's time to post my results for the Get Fired Up Blogfest hosted by the lovely Melissa Sugar at Have You Heard? The point of this blogfest is to help a fellow blogger improve their blog. I have to say that I didn't really reach out to anyone specific and offer help to them, as I don't exactly feel qualified to do so. My blog is somewhat successful for my own purposes, but isn't really at a place where I feel I can offer much to anyone. So, all I really did for this blogfest is post a few things I've learned about blogging. I hope it helped someone.

Life is crazy busy right now, so that's all I have today. Happy March to you all. I really gotta get some writing done this month.

Song of the Day:

Snow and Birthdays

2012-02-26T18:01:00.000-08:00

That's the Birthday Boy on the far right in gray (forgive my craptastic camera).

As I sit watching the snow fall, the world turns white. It's my son's 17th birthday, so I'm also feeling old, but enjoying how cool my son is. He is currently obsessed with photography, which means that right now he is photographing the snow fall (freezing his butt off in a T-shirt) and waxing poetic about how everything is so much prettier in the snow. He's also hoping for a snow day from school tomorrow as a belated birthday present.

After the wild ride of the last 17 years, I am truly enjoying his older teen years. Suddenly I'm not quite as lame as I used to be and he gets it that we eat organic food when he used to beg us to just buy "normal" food and be more "normal" in general. Now he almost appreciates our lifestyle and the crazy stories I have to tell. Also, Caleb is endlessly entertaining. For instance, right now he is furiously trying to keep up with all his birthday well-wishes coming in on Facebook. He set a goal to personally respond to each one. I just went in his room and he said, "I'm trying to keep up with my Facebook, they just keep coming. There are no breaks." The kid cracks me up.

Yesterday I went ice-skating for the first time in about 5 years. Thanks to my Goodwill addiction, I had the perfect little skate skirt to wear for the occasion. I was dressed just like a bunch of sixth grade girls at the rink. Yeah, I'm never going to grow up. Too bad my aching legs tend to disagree.My son took this funny picture of me walking into the rink. The arrow is pointing to my place of employment. He knows there is drama at my work right now, so this was his photo essay of work "hanging over my head." Clever.

Well, here's to a great week ahead.

Song of the Day:

Totally Trippy Thursday

2012-02-23T18:26:00.003-08:00

I'll start with a picture of a groovy waterfall in downtown Bellingham that I took last week. I <3 my town. It's been awhile since I've posted about the corporate craziness at my job. You may recall in September when my manager was laid off (i.e. whisked away never to return) and earlier when half of my department got the sack last year. Then all the smart people quit and we were left with 9 people in a department once 40 strong. So today we already knew something was going down. Our boss from out east was here and we had a special meeting set up.

My local Supervisor came to get me a little early to talk before the meeting with another person. When we walked into the room there was a dude from HR there, so I'm like, "are we getting laid off right now?" and the answer was no--not us, but everyone else was. At least my coworkers get notice this time and it's all staged out, but still, it was just one of those freaky corporate moments. Our boss has only worked there for a few months and he's in his twenties. There he was laying off people with ten years service to the company (some of them). Seriously, it was totally out of Office Space.

Speaking of cubicle culture, the company also had a "party" today to get rid of all the old branding and marketing materials from the "old regime" today. I couldn't help but see it as a great dystopian story or maybe a war story. We have been conquered and the compliant folks are bringing in their old flags, perhaps forbidden history books, now contraband and fuel for the fire. I'm totally inspired to write about rebels who keep the old brand hidden away...I kept my mousepad. I wonder if the secret police will come after me?

On the writing front, I randomly entered my novel, Long Live Luna-C, into the ABNA contest since it's all I have completed right now and figured what the heck. Last year I entered Sylph Song in the YA category and was SO into it. I wanted to win, agonized over my pitch, and actually thought I had a chance to make it to the quarter finals at least, but didn't even make the first cut I was crushed and didn't write again for months. Luckily I got over it. The irony is, this year I just pulled a pitch out of my arse in about fifteen minutes, uploaded my stuff and forgot about it. I honestly had no hope of even making the first cut. When I got the email about the second round list being up, I checked it while telling myself I certainly would not be on the list, but I was!

There is no way I will win and I'm more scared to death of making it to the quarter finals than getting cut next time 'cuz if Publisher's Weekly gets a hold of that manuscript, they will tear it to shreds. But at least I feel a little validated this year in that my pitch didn't totally suck. Perhaps I am learning here, and maybe, just maybe, there is hope for my next novel. A little glimmer is all I need...

Song of the Day:

First Page Contest

2012-02-17T17:37:00.000-08:00

Jamie Ayers is hosting a blog hop where you trade first page critiques. The prizes are a manuscript critique from Heather Burch and a copy of her book, Halflings. It's also a chance to see other writers' first pages and offer critiques if you feel like it. The prize of the book will go to the person giving the most helpful critiques on the hop, which is pretty cool, too. Remember, all you have is that first page to sell your novel. If the first page doesn't have it, chances are nobody will see your brilliance on page 10, right? So post it up and hop!!

Here is my first page from a novel I've been toying with writing, but haven't finished. It's a paranormal romance. You can't really tell from this excerpt. Critique away!

The Tracks

Not an hourgoes by that I don’t replay that night in my mind at least once. When I’m lucky it’s only once. Most of the time I see it again and again,like I’m stuck in a movie theater with a horror film playing and I’m powerlessto look away.

Only it’s not a film, it’sreal, the blood belongs to Jared and once I realize this, I see his face, ablank stare where once warm eyes lit up to see me. His body, mangled beyond recognition, laytwisted and broken. Those strong armsthat had held me, lifted me, kept me warm, now strewn about the rocks andrailroad ties like branches torn by the wind.

I was toolate to save him and it is my fault he is dead. The realization hits me again and again, no matter how many Xanax thedoctor gives me, no matter what scenery they chose to move me into; it happenedbecause of me and nothing will ever let me forget it. Nothing.

“Girl, yougotta eat,” the nurse says. It’s theweekend nurse, Trina, not Jenny who has the weekday shift.

“I’ll nevereat again."

Trina sighsand leaves me there in the empty cafeteria. Everyone else is already safely tucked away at activities hour sewingmoccasins or crocheting. I have to sithere until the food is gone or the doctor lets me go. Not like I care. Nothing matters anymore. I fucked up and it’s all over now. Life isn’t worth living.

“I’m sorry,”I say for the millionth time, but it's too late.

======================================

Song of the Day:

Is it Getting Hot In Here? Blog Hop

2012-02-14T05:30:00.000-08:00

Happy V-Day, y'all. I hope you are surrounded with love and hearting every minute of this day. In honor of Valentines Day, Cassie Mae and Hope Roberson created a groovy bloghop wherein we share a kissing scene from one of our WIPs or another book. Here is my favorite kiss from one of my WIPs, Long Live Luna-C, that sadly will probably not be resurrected. At least this reunion scene can live somewhere, if only for a day...

===<3<3<3

“Do you still love me,Onyx?” Chicory asked, her heart beating hard with the fear of how he mightanswer.

“Do you still love me,Chica?” He asked, taking her tiny, pale hand in his.

Chicory laughed alittle, just because the way he said it reminded her of the old days in thetribe, the innocent days when they would have never even questioned it. Thenshe broke down in sobs again, conflicted and scared of everything she didn’tremember and the horrible things that she had endured without him. Robert cameto her mind fleetingly, which just confused her more. Truthfully, she didn’teven know what love was at this point.

“I don’t know anythinganymore.”

“Neither do I,” Onyxsaid, “except that right now, I want to kiss you, but I don’t want to scareyou.”

“I’m not afraid of you,Onyx,” she said looking into his eyes, which had softened just a touch.

He kissed her gently,like he was afraid she would break. She melted into his warm lips and respondedto him more eagerly than she would have thought possible. Something about hisenergy was so familiar that it moved past the walls she had built around herheart in Luna-C and it filled her with longing. The old spark between them hadnot died, but Chicory wondered if she would freeze up if he tried to touch hermore intimately. For now it was just kissing, like they had done for years backwhen she wouldn’t let him mate with her for fear of having a child too young.She had been foolish to waste that time, but it was too late to change thatnow.

“Do you still love me,Chicory?” Onyx asked again, smiling this time.

===<3<3<3

Song of the Day:

Book Review: The Night Circus

2012-02-12T13:45:00.000-08:00

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow. I need more stars to give to this novel--five just isn't cutting it. Everything about this book glimmers with awesome. Every time I opened The Night Circus (and I read the sumptuous hardcover version, which I must say added immensely to the experience), I traveled to another world entirely. I had no choice but to fall in love with the Cirque des Reves and become a Reveur (dreamer) myself as I read. Morgenstern's descriptions are heavenly, her belief in magic refreshing, and her ability to tell a story left me trying to ration the pages so this book would never end.
This is a beautiful love story, an intricately woven tapestry of lives bound to a challenge, as well as a visit to the most enchanting circus in the world at the turn-of-the-century. Written in a fairytale prose, the plot flows perfectly as the details of the circus and the challenge that gives it the spark of other-worldliness unfold. There is the perfect balance between riveting suspense and luscious description that truly takes the reader out of the mundane and into the realm of possibility that is the Night Circus. It was just the book I needed right now. Everyone should read this. It's better than Harry Potter. Seriously.
View all my reviews

Incidentally, Erin Morgenstern did one of the Nanowrimo Pep Talks this year, so check it out.

Song of the Day:

Light a Candle for Caleb Kors

2012-02-10T12:33:00.000-08:00

Today marks the one-month milestone for the Kors family. Their sparkly son Caleb was pronounced dead one month ago today. It's without a doubt the saddest thing I've ever experienced, and the loss of Caleb has absolutely devastated his family. So, please send good vibes to the Kors today, light a Candle for one of the cutest and most creative kids ever, and help send a little love to a family that is grieving. If you're on Facebook, you can go to the Caleb Flip Kors Support,Assist,Love page and "like" it to show that Caleb is not forgotten. For those of you that are local, come check out the Valentines' Day Circus and support the Caleb Kors Memorial Circus Scholarship (see the poster above).

With much love and blessings to Caleb on his journey and the Kors who have a long journey of their own <3 <3 <3

Song of the Day:

Valentine's Paper Crafts and Blog Awards

2012-02-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy few days around casa de Shell. This weekend, I made some Valentine's Day heart baskets and some other heart decorations to hang about the house or decorate gift baskets. I heart hearts, what can I say?

When my son was little, we made about a thousand of these and filled them with candy for his classmates. It took me a bit of time to figure out how to do it again, but I used these two tutorials: Heart Basket Tutorial (this one is good for the basic cut out, but is lacking when it comes to explaining the weave). Coupled with this How to Make a Valentine's Heart Basket video (their template is extra fancy with hearts that weave in), you are sure to be able to create these on your own. I went for the punk-rock pink/black look. "Pink goes through black, black goes through pink" was my mantra yesterday.

If that is too frustrating, try these easy-peasy heart hang-ups. Just cut random strips, pinch into teardrop shapes, add an optional straight strip in the center of two, and staple. Viola! Comic book or old book pages work great for this, as well, so these can be made totally recycled for extra eco-grooviness.

Here is where I got the idea. My friend made the hearts on the left out of a comic book:

I made the <3s on the right with extra paper from my heart basket.
Here is how easy it is:

1) Cut some strips of paper and lay a contrasting color of a shorter strip on top of a longer strip of paper.

2) Pinch each side together like so:

3) Pinch two of these together with an optional strip in the middle for hanging and staple, being sure ends meet (try to stay at the edge):

That's all there is to it. You can thread them together or just hang singles around the house. Go to town <3

Now for something completely different.

The lovely Nick Wilford over at Scattergun Scribblings awarded me TWO blog awards. A special thanks to Nick, and now to the awards, which I am passing on here as well. In the spirit of receiving them together, I shall award them together as they go hand-in-hand. A versatile blog is a creative blog, right? Here is the list of folks deserving of both of these awards:

Ladonna at Writer who blogs about writing, life, and sometimes even candy!
Hannah Hounshell at Footprints on the Sands of Time who is a writer and artist -- very creative.
Stephanie at Clay Baboons. I know I gave her the Liebster, but she's just so awesome :)
Melissa at Have You Heard? She's got an amazing contest going on and has a very cool blog.
MJ Fitfield at My Pet Blog. This blog is versatile, creative, and just fun to read.

So, here are your awards, friends, and thanks again to Nick. Now, one thing that goes with these awards is that you must tell everyone seven things about yourself that they wouldn't otherwise know. So, here goes:

1. I have an identical twin sister, which is pretty awesome, but can get weird when total strangers run up to me and give me hugs on the street thinking I am her. What's worse is when I don't remember someone and I say, "oh, you must think I am my sister" and they are like, "no, you're Shell." Eep!

2. Though I have never really calculated it exactly, I've hitchiked over 10,000 miles across the United States.

3. During my hitchhiking days, I once lived in a tree on a beach in California for three months during the rainy season of January, February, and March.

4. I've been to at least fifty Grateful Dead concerts and hung out in the parking lot of at least fifty more.

5. I once spent time in two different jails in Idaho after getting arrested for trying to protect the largest roadless wilderness area in the lower 48 states. Federal Marshalls came to my parents house and threatened them with aiding and abetting a fugitive after I ditched probation for said tree-hugging, so I turned myself in and only had to serve the remainder of my 3 year term. The roads they had planned were not all built.

6. I have the ability to become invisible by accident sometimes, thus scaring the crap out of people who don't realize I am there until I have been hanging around for several minutes. Elevators are fun.

7. A few years ago I bungee jumped in a National Forest at about one in the morning under a full moon and a very tall bridge. It was one of the most liberating experiences I've ever had, and I had only gone to watch.

Alright, how's that for the LONGEST post ever? If you made it to the end, you deserve an award!

Song of the Day:

Book Reveiws: Lucifer's Hammer and Define Normal

2012-02-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

Today I thought I would highlight my reading randomness by posting reviews of the last two books I read, which vary greatly in genre and target age. My reading tastes are as tangential as I am. Go figure.

Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As most of my friends know, I'm a total apocalypse fiction junkie, so of course I liked Lucifer's Hammer in some ways, but I've read so many of these books that I'm getting picky. There were things I liked in this book, yet a lot of the book had issues. First of all, this has become sort of an Apocalypse classic since it was published back in the 1970s. It has all the elements of a satisfying post-apocalypse read with cataclysms, refugees, battles, scavenging, day-to-day survival, even some romance. On the flip-side, it takes 250 pages to even get to the apocalyptic event. In these pages we learn all about the comet that eventually hits the earth and the characters that we follow, for the most part, through the book. It's a little much, especially with all the scotch on the rocks and Steuben crystal of the seventies. The actual comet hitting part was awesome, as is the exodus out of L.A. Then it gets rather unbelievable as just the right people somehow make it to just the right spot to survive. In the protected valley, the book gets into some interesting survival ideas and sustainable, low-tech living, as well as delving into the new politics of a world without governments. Then a whole cannibal/fanatical religion army enters the picture to start a war with the good folks of the stronghold. Some of the actual battle scenes are really good, but they are interspersed with some pretty cheesy stereotypical lovemaking scenes. And speaking of sex, there is also a part where a main character finds his son and a scout leader who are now living in a camp with a bunch of teen girl scouts and they are all hooked-up together, including this older dude with a teenage girl. I see this a lot in apocalypse books written by men, and yeah, it's sort of annoying, but again this is like 1977. The only other complaint I have with this book is that a nuclear reactor somehow survives and it is the hope for the future. Maybe this is Fukushima talking, but yeah right! The end of the novel was also very forced and rushed. It's like, how could the author spend 250 pages of parties and blah blah at the beginning, then sum up the first winter with a four page epilogue? Seriously. A re-write would've helped this novel a ton. It's fairly entertaining if you love to read about the apocalypse, though, especially if you enjoy a historical take on what the future might have held from a 1970's perspective. It's worth the read for the hardcores, otherwise skip it.
View all my reviews

Define Normal by Julie Anne Peters

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Julie Anne Peters surprised me with this story. I wasn't sure if I would like it when I first picked it up, half expecting it to be a little trite, or at least predictable. Luckily, it went against all my preconceived notions and ended up reeling me right in. The tables turn in a delightful way that keeps the story real. The writing is tight, fun, and Peters even throws in some age-appropriate cussing that brings the characters to life without going overboard. I would put this in the young YA/older MG category. It's the story of two girls thrown into a peer counseling situation that they both hate at first, but soon grow to rely upon. In the end, the unlikely friendship blooms. The story could have easily been cheesy, but wasn't, in my opinion it was really sweet yet still cool. Perfect for 10-14 year old girl readers (possibly a musically inspired boy would like it), as long as they can handle some light swearing. A great book to teach teens tolerance and an understanding of mental illness.

View all my reviews

I'll leave you with a song inspired by Jazz in Define Normal. Sometimes you just gotta rock out.

Song of the Day:

It's hot, it's gonna get hotter...

2012-01-31T18:53:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to tell y'all about a February 14th blog hop for all the romantics out there. Post your favorite kissing scene from a book or even one of your own WiPs on Valentine's Day for the Is it Getting Hot In Here? Blog hop.

Remember, all you blogging newbies, blog hops are not only a great way to increase traffic to your blog, they are also FUN. Did you know I'm a closet cheese-ball, by the way? I'm ready to kick-ass in the apocalypse, but I also want to have someone to cuddle with when the fighting is done, you know what I mean? Visit my blog February 14th for a peek at one of my WiP's cheesiest moments.

Song of the Day:

2012-01-30T06:07:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Melissa Sugar at "Have You Heard?" for awarding me the Liebster blog Award. This is my very first blog award, so it's extra special to me. *wipes tears from eyes* I am also very pleased to be able to award this to other groovy bloggers out there who still have fewer than 200 followers.

The rules are simple: Name 5 blogs with under 200 followers that are totally awesome and deserve the award. Link to those five blogs, as well as the blogger who awarded the award, and let your picks know they are the winners. Share the love and help an undiscovered blog find the readership it deserves. Yet another reason the blogging community rocks!

Here are my favorite blogs with fewer than 200 followers. It was a hard decision, too, but y'all deserve this!

Meri over at Meri-Goes-Round - Meri has a lot of fun being crafty and taking a lot of pictures. Her blog is a fun place to get new ideas for crafts, things to do around the house, food and other inspirations.

Stephanie at Clay Baboons - Stephanie is hilarious.Clay Baboons is a weekly blog that tells funny stories from Steph's life with clay figures (sometimes baboons). The stories are adorable, and the clay figures add a whole new dimension.

Anna over at Anna of Alaska - Anna lives way out in the wilds of Alaska, so this blog is her place to tell stories about life in the arctic. She is also a writer and blogs about writing in her cabin and the challenges of getting published from the middle-of-nowhere.

Randi Redvines the Distracted Genius - Randi is an amazing teenager who writes book, music and movie reviews at her blog Distracted Genius. This is a great place for you YA writers to get a glimpse into the mind of a musical and literary genius of a teenager.

Julie Daines' self-titled blog is a great go-to blog for writing advice and to read about the adventures of a YA novelist/mom. In fact, she's got some great writing advice posted right now!

Congrats to you all! There's just one more blog I want to mention. It's very new, but if it doesn't already have 200 followers, it will in about 5 minutes. It's called Cupid's Literary Connection and it is a blog devoted to pairing writers with literary agents. If you are currently seeking representation, it's a blog to watch. They just held a contest and there are a plethora of excellent query examples posted with agent feedback. Check it out!

Song of the Day:

Caleb Kors Fundraiser

2012-01-28T12:27:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, Sunday January 29 is the first fundraiser for the Kors family and more celebration of the life of Caleb Kors. I know most of my blog readers don't live around here, but I just wanted to put the word out there. This is going to be an amazing event with auction items that are out of this world. Bellingham has an incredible artist community, and many of its artists are friends with Caleb and his mom from Allied Arts and the Farmers Market. Some of the items available include original artwork, passes to Mt. Baker, a year of pasta at Bellingham Pasta Company, a CSA share from an organic farm, a "pub crawl" package, tickets to all kinds of events, tons of handmade craft items, gift certificates for massages, handyman work, organic groceries and more. It's going to be awesome. Come on down if you can!

There is a second event "Celebrating the Amazing Life of an Extraordinary Boy" happening next weekend Saturday February 4th in Sudden Valley at the Dance Barn at 8 Barn View in Gate 2 from 11-2pm. It will also feature live entertainment and a silent auction.

Song of the Day:

Blogging Tips for New Bloggers

2012-01-25T19:38:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of Melissa Sugar's Get Fired Up blogfest, I thought I would share some of what I've learned about blogging in the last year. I'm no pro-blogger or anything, but there are definitely several simple things you can do to increase traffic to your blog and to keep people reading. My aim is to help some new blogger out there, and if it's you, please comment! Commenting is actually one of the best ways to build relationships with other bloggers, which is a great way to increase your pageviews, and to also to enjoy blogging. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that blogging is really all about the community.

If you are a new blogger, one of the best ways to meet other bloggers and challenge yourself to blog is to join NaBloPoMo (that's short for National Blog Posting Month). This was the single thing that I started doing about six months into blogging that took my blog from a random place to post thoughts to a place I really wanted to hang out where I could hang with friends who actually read my blog. The BlogHer community is totally helpful and the website is full of great ideas, motivation and tips. Also, if you take the NaBloPoMo challenge, it forces you to blog every day and it becomes a habit. I did it last July. While I don't blog daily anymore, just doing it for a month helped me get over the "what to post?" problem, as well as forced me to give my blog focus and direction (well, as much as a tangential girl can muster...)
Then there are things like using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to make your blog come up in more general internet searches. This is especially important if you want to make money on your blog or drive particular traffic to it. I've actually been using SEO tips as I've written this post. The title "Blogging Tips" is a search tag that I want my post to show up in the search results. I will also include it in my labels, because that is another spot that helps search engines find my blog. Also, if you look at my links, they open in a new window (so my blog readers will stay here while they also check the links), and the link text is an actual description of what I link to. I am amazed by how many professional blogs don't do that with link text. So often the link text is "click here" or "link" rather than what the link goes to. Search engines pay attention to links, too, so always use descriptive words for links. Include a search bar on your blog, too. Oh, and don't forget to link to your own relevant blog posts.

Probably the number one way to gain followers is to join blog hops. A blog hop, sometimes called a blog fest, is when a hosting blogger (or group of bloggers) creates a link list and usually a theme for the hop. Then, everyone who joins posts according to the theme, hops around visiting the other blogs post and usually following them. There are often contests and prizes involved. Not only does it help to give direction and motivation to your own blog writing, it's a cool way to meet like-minded bloggers. Here is one example of a blog hop directory, and there are more. Hippity hop! The next best way is to follow other blogs, comment widely, but personally, and make sure your blog is listed in your Google Friend Connect so others can easily follow you even from another person's blog. Don't be shy.

I'll admit, I'm new at this blogging game, so that's about all I've got. Kludgy Mom just posted about a blog grader website that sounded interesting. I'm a little scared to know, but tempted. Her blog is an example of a professional blog, so check it out if you are super ambitious. There is no shortage of role models out there in bloggyland. I'm still a newbie, but hopefully this helped someone out there.

Song of the day:

Saturnalia

2012-01-21T21:59:00.000-08:00

Life has been a swirl of chaos lately, but the snow has melted, the full moon has waned, and I'm starting to get back to writing again. Mostly, I just wanted to let you all know about this really amazing contest over at the sweet Melissa Sugar's blog Have You Heard? This is the perfect contest for all of my bloggy friends, because it's not just for writers, but really for bloggers to help other bloggers, which is good for everyone. Seriously you gotta check this contest out! Did I mention she's giving away AMAZING prizes like a Kindle Fire and more??

Click here to go to the contest details.

This contest reminds me that I sort of forgot about my blog's first birthday on Friday January 13th. I was going to do something special, but then my friends' kid died and all hell broke loose. It just didn't really matter to me anymore. I have to say that it was nice to have my blog as a place to share Caleb's story with the world and to ask for support. Blogs are cool that way. The blogging community is cool that way. It was a surprise to me over this first year of blogging to find that out, but a nice surprise. Cyberhugs all around to the blogosphere. Y'all are awesome. And since this contest is about helping other struggling bloggers, if anyone who reads this wants some help finding followers or anything else, just let me know.

One last thing. There is a new blog I just discovered that is going to be super fun to read. You should all check out Friday the Thirteeners, a new blog written by a group of authors who all have books debuting in 2013. Natalie Whipple's dare post is hilarious, and also educational. You will never look at an info dump the same again, or teenage zombies, for that matter. Check it out!

Song of the Day:

Call for Donations for Caleb's Family

2012-01-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone. Someday my blog will be back to normal, but for now I am still in a swirl of love, sadness, and shock over the loss of our little friend Caleb Kors and the pain it has caused his family & friends. It's really made me want to live more in the moment and get off the computer, hang with friends, and especially to do what I can to help. Now I am offering you, my lovely bloggy friends, a chance to support this amazing family. There is a silent auction fundraising event coming up on January 29th at the Blue Horse Gallery in downtown Bellingham. It would be great if you could make it, but since many of you are nowhere near us, and there is a bunch of snow on the ground, you can still help by donating a book or ebook, or anything else you can think of (even ideas) to the cause. I'm thinking of putting together a book basket with both paper books and e-book coupons or gift cards or whatever for one of the auction items. Care to donate?

(some artwork by Caleb -- Mother Nature never looked so cute)

If you are interested in helping out there are a few ways you can do so. The Facebook page has all the pertinent info, including a mailing address if you would like to donate directly. This is also a good place to get an idea of what kinds of things have already been collected. Otherwise, you can email me at shell0flower at gmail and I can coordinate with you to get the donation to the right place. Or if you had had success with a silent auction event in the past and just have some good tips, I'd love to hear them in the comments.

Still sending blessings and love to the Kors Family and Caleb

Song of the Day:

Remembering Caleb Kors

2012-01-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

As the world learns of sweet Caleb Kors through the media, I just wanted to share some more personal stories to illustrate the boy himself and how special he is outside of his incredible performer persona. My last post in memory of Caleb's shiny spirit was written while I was still in a state of utter shock over losing Caleb and the pain that his family is suffering, so I feel like I didn't even scratch the surface regarding how truly AWESOME Caleb is. The memorial down in Fairhaven is filling up with tributes to Caleb and continues to give comfort to his family and loved ones. The nice folks at the Fairhaven Toy Garden even put up a canopy over the Dirty Dan bench in order to keep the candles lit and the notes and offerings dry in the rain. This spot offers an amazing sense of peace, so if you are able to visit, please do.

Last night I was sharing with Caleb's mom, Melanie, how I felt like the sun was shining upon me whenever I interacted with Caleb. He would always look me right in the eye and his eyes sparkled with a depth that was unlike other kids his age, like he was really seeing me. She said that he often told her, just after meeting someone, that they were his friend and she would be like, "but you just met them" and he would say that he SAW them and knew that they were friends. It was like he could see you spirit when he looked at you and you could feel that right away. It was truly an honor to know this little guy, to have him flash you a smile and fill you with a warmth that was contagious.

One of my boyfriend's favorite stories about Caleb came out of him asking Caleb about how much money he made busking. My boyfriend was like, "Dang, dude, you must make a lot of money down there at the Market" and Caleb was quick to let him know, "Not really, it goes to buy groceries and bills!" Just the way he said "bills" with such an eye roll and total disdain, cracked my boyfriend up so much that ever since when we talk about paying our bills we always say it just like Caleb did and laugh. He is just such a funny little guy.

Another story that had us laughing even before Caleb's tragic accident is when his mom told us about how she had to give him tiny bottles of shampoo on bath nights and how they couldn't leave a whole bottle in the bathroom if he was around. He liked to lather up the whole bathroom with suds and slide around joyfully on an entire bottle of shampoo. I mean, this kid lived every second of every day to the ultimate fullest extent and found a way to have fun in every situation possible.

His grandpa was sharing stories about how he trained their dogs to jump through hoops among other things. One of the dogs has issues with being cuddled, so one day when Caleb was cuddling the dog and getting growled at, Caleb said, "he's establishing his boundaries." So true, and Caleb just saw it for what it was. He was so sensitive to others out there and saw things for what they were.

Caleb is a creative genius in so many ways. He was always taking things to the next level, and his mind never stopped coming up with new ways to look at things. For Christmas he got a bunch of duct tape and PVC piping so he could build circus equipment (and NO this is not what caused his death, BTW). Caleb loves to create, and I have no doubt that he is still creating even now.

On a final note, I just want to say how awesome and generous Caleb's family is. When approached for organ donation, Melanie, Caleb's mom, knew that Caleb would want to help others. She also wanted to help mothers in her situation, mothers waiting for a miracle, to give their children a chance at survival. Knowing they had lost her beautiful son, the Kors family still wanted to help others save their own children. Caleb's organs were donated to at least 4 children and gave them a chance at living, a chance that Caleb didn't have. While it's so freakin' sad for the Kors family, they are happy that Caleb could help and lives on sharing his magic.

I could go on and on with adorable stories, but you get the picture. Please keep Caleb in your heart and remember how awesome he is. The Bellingham community has been amazing and continues to pull together to support the family. They really do appreciate every little thought and offering made, and gain great comfort from the world knowing how incredible their little boy is. Viva Caleb!!!

We're going to the Vaudvillingham benefit tonight to support the family. Come on down if you can and don't forget the memorial on Monday. Wear a costume in honor of Caleb and his sense of style. He's going to love it!

I am posting more than one song of the day. It's more of a playlist of the day. The first two songs are some of Caleb's favorites and the last are songs written by a brother while his brother almost died before getting a lung transplant.

Caleb's favorite song:

A song that Caleb said "speaks to me":

This song was written by Spencer when his brother was about to die, but was saved by a lung transplant. The second is recorded afterwards, when Evan lived and was able to record again:

In Memory of a Shiny Spirit

2012-01-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

**Edit** I added another post about Caleb to share more and because this post just doesn't do him justice.

One of my dear friends' children passed away yesterday after an unfortunate accident. Caleb "Flip" Kors was one of those kids that shined. His eyes sparkled with energy and mischief. He was hilarious and cute as a button, and always entertaining. Here is a picture of Caleb juggling.

Please pray for his family right now. There is a PayPal account set up for donations at e-mail calebflipkors@hotmail.com if you want to donate. I know his family could use the help.

Caleb was totally into steampunk and often dressed like a little Victorian boy even when he wasn't performing in the circus. He had the ultimate entertainer personality and cracked us up with his jokes and acts even at potlucks when he wasn't "on stage". One of the last conversations I had with him was really sweet. We were hanging out with my twin sister and he was just fascinated by the whole twin thing. Kids his age are generally sort of weirded-out by twins, in my experience, and I have never had a child ask me to tell twin stories with the interest that he did that day. He said he always wanted a twin and I hope that if there is a next life for him, he will get to be a twin next time. You never know.

Here are some more pictures of this special guy. By the way, he has the same first name as my son, but this is not my son. I've already had a couple people confused, so I wanted to point that out, especially since we are in the same circle of friends. I just can't imagine how his parents and two big brothers are handling this. If you guys are reading this, we are here for you and will see you soon. Let us know what we can do. For now, I just want to celebrate the life of Caleb Kors. We love you little bro!

Here is a photo gallery link from the Village Books Steampunk Masquerade, he's in the fourth and fifth pictures (they are copyrighted, so I can't post them directly). Totally worth the click.

Here is a video of Caleb's act at the Farmer's Market. Sooooo funny. The video doesn't even do him justice.

Song of the Day:

2012-01-07T18:23:00.000-08:00

Today we went to a book-themed birthday party for a sweet one-year-old we know. It was probably the most fancy decor I've ever seen at a first birthday party. There was a beautiful 3-D cake with not only the caterpillar on top, but all the treats it ate along the way to butterflydom, too. They had a caterpillar on the ceiling made of colored paper lanterns, and adorable little caterpillars all over the place. It's amazing how books are such a part of our lives. I just love the fact that books create so much character in the world, especially children's books. The idea of a book-themed party is exciting for YA books as well, and adult books, too. Have any of y'all ever been to a book-themed party?

And speaking of metamorphosis, as in the caterpillar turning into a butterfly, it's something we expect out of a main character in general in a story, isn't it? I've been thinking a lot about the MC in my current WIP and her transformation. When I first began the book, all I knew was that I had a teenage girl with totally off-the-wall parents and she's trying to get control over her life. I knew she would also find romance along the way. From this simple idea, now I have the challenge of who she is on page one of the book and how she will transform from this powerless teenager thwarted by her parents to an empowered young woman who spreads her wings and flies. She will have obstacles, she will grow, there will be setbacks and misunderstandings, but in the end, she will be a better person.

I think the simplicity of children's books is what gives them the universal appeal that many, such as the Very Hungry Caterpillar, seem to have. As a writer, it's fun to read these stories and realize that a good plot is a good plot. It's about transformation and growth, with a little magic or at least a sense of magic to make it special. Some books are a few pages long, others a few thousand, but in the end, the stories we all love involve simple concepts that we can all relate to. When writing and editing, it's important to ask how your character has grown and transformed from who he or she was on page one to who he or she is at the end. If there hasn't been any transformation or growth, then it's time to get to know your MC a lot better and maybe challenge him or her some more. A lot more.

Song of the Day:

Workhaholic Wednesday

2012-01-04T18:04:00.000-08:00

Hey there bloggy friends. I'm back to my 9 hour work days and all-too-short nights of surfing the web instead of working on my manuscript. Bubba is lounging next to me and thoughts are bouncing around wishing for a chance at blog stardom. I just read an awesome post by one of my favorite bloggers, The Intern. Daunted writers click here. For now I'm not querying, as I've shelved my last two novels and have begun a third.

Unfortunately, my sister thinks that the subject matter in my latest WIP is mocking her lifestyle, so I've lost a bit of steam on that project. When I was writing Hippie Dippy, I was thinking of my own life in an alternate universe, perhaps, or just not thinking and writing from what I know. I had no intention of making fun of hippies real or imagined, but more exploring a teen's reactions to some really far-out hippie parents and going from there. Writing is so personal, even when you are totally making shit up off the top of your head. You can't help but to draw from your own well of experience or the wells of those around you, right? Has anyone else gone through this sort of thing with a family member? I'd love to hear about it.

Lately, I've been reading Stephen King's On Writing again and loving it. He is a total pantser when it comes to not plotting every detail, which I love. There are so many choice nuggets of advice in this book that I hope everyone has or will read it. I'm borrowing my son's copy that he was assigned for his Lit. class. One of the best resolutions I've seen this January is K.M. Weiland's resolution to read a book on the craft every month in 2012. I might just try to do that myself, including reading hers!

On the jobby-job front, rumors are flying like dodgeballs around work right now. They've already outsourced half the company, and the other half seems to be next. Never a dull moment around that nut house. Happy Wednesday!

Song of the Day:

2012 The New Years Post

2012-01-01T12:20:00.000-08:00

Last night when all the fireworks were going off it almost seemed like the apocalypse was already starting, but no, it was just the neighbors partying. It seems so crazy to wake up in 2012 with everything still normal as can be, but you never know how the year will unfold. I'm hoping for the best.

2011 was a strange year. A lot of good things happened, but there were certainly challenges. On the positive side here is a list of my accomplishments:

Started my blog January 13, 2011
Queried my first agent January 2011 (rejected, BTW)
Finished my second novel June 2011
Attended my first writers conference in June, 2011
Survived my first two in-person pitch sessions with agents June, 2011
(one of them requested the first 50 pgs. and rejected me after that)
Successfully completed NaBloPoMo in July, 2011
Successfully completed NaNoWrimo for the second time AND my first blog hop November, 2011
Survived multiple-rounds of lay-offs at my job (if you can call that a good thing-- I'm not so sure)
Met tons of awesome bloggy friends that have made this whole thing worthwhile!

I'm hoping that 2012 is the year I complete THE NOVEL, the one that is so full of awesome that it lands me an agent as well as a book deal. Even though I've been convinced the apocalypse would hit this year for most of my life, I'm still going to try to get published. It is the only thing that keeps me sane at my day job. So, here are some of my goals for 2012:

Finish my 3rd manuscript (third time's the charm, right?)
Get an agent
Attend at least 1 Writer's Conference, if not more (and WriteOn Con, too!)
Make it to 100 followers on my blog (I might just have to do a giveaway)
Get into a serious Critique Group
Help my son find a college and get into it
Get into better shape. I might even join a gym if my cube neighbor has anything to do with it.
Help Bubba lose 5 pounds

This will be the hardest. I mean, could you say no to that face?

Happy New Year everyone. We might as well enjoy it like it's our last!

Song of the Day:

Book Review: Become by Ali Cross

2011-12-31T10:59:00.000-08:00

Become by Ali CrossMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Become drew me right into Desolation's world of hell. Ali Cross does a great job of taking her readers on a journey into a believable world where the Devil's daughter is cast out onto the Earth to prove herself in an unlikely place--high school. Desolation is torn between the cold icy darkness of hell and the warmth and light that she finds inside herself, though she doesn't know how it got there. Through her struggle to remember who she is and what her true task might be, Desolation's hell isn't too different from the muddle of emotions a lot of teenagers endure in the mundane hell of high school. She doubts that she is good enough, fights with the destiny her father, Satan, pushes her to become. When love arrives, so does a war between Heaven and Hell so great that it takes her to the brink of death where she must make a nearly impossible choice.
I loved the angels and demons living among regular people in this book. Cross writes a believable, engaging story weaving ancient legends into an Earth-bound tale ending in an epic battle. Become has all the elements of an awesome angel story, as well as the chaos and confusion of YA lit as Desolation comes to grip with who she is and her place in the world. I absolutely loved this book, except for the end, which left things hanging in a way that makes me already dying for the next installment. Those are my least favorite endings, but otherwise, this book is totally amazing and I'll be keeping my eye out for the next one.

View all my reviews

Song of the Day:

Holiday Randomness and My Writing Partner

2011-12-27T18:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas was nice, but not without its problems.Bubba, the lovely little favicon hanging out there on your browsing tab and my bestest friend, was pretty lethargic and didn't even get up to beg for food when we started getting ready for bed on Christmas Eve, which is seriously unlike him. Bubba loves him some food. I checked on him once in the night because I was worried and at 6am he got up to use his litter box and eat a little, which made me feel better. We had a chill Christmas morning, opened some presents, the whole deal, but Bubba didn't seem to get better during the day. By that night he was crying about his back legs when he tried to turn over and didn't want to get up on his hind legs at all. Finally he gave me the eye and I brought the litter box over closer to him and he was able to stand up and go and then limped to the kitchen for a bite or two of his food. Then next day we took him to the Vet. and he had a 104(F) fever of unknown origin. Poor thing had to get the anal probe of doom to find that out.

Don't worry, he's on the mend, but we don't really know what it is. The Vet gave him subcutaneous hydration and a shot of antibiotic and we're supposed to start giving him anitbiotics by mouth in a couple days. Bubba's labs checked out fine and they don't think he has an injury, but he's still walking with stiff back legs. Also, he weighs 21lbs so we got the obesity speech from the Vet. It was painful. Bubba's "Dad" can't bear to see his plaintive little eyes staring up at him, so he is served fresh "carpacchio" (aka Raw Advantage) several times a day. We used to give him canned food, like 2 cans a day, and he would lick up the gravy part, nibble a bit at the rest, then bury his face in the crunchy dish. We stopped that about 2 months ago and thought he was losing weight, but I'm afraid it isn't the case. So this problem is multi-faceted.

We're all about natural medicines and good food here, and none of us have been sick enough to need a doctor (except broken bones with the skater boy) in years, so it's hard to have our kitty all pumped up with antibiotics, but he broke my heart trying to get up off the couch the other night and he's only 5. The Vet. is all anti-raw food, too, so we have yet another dilemma. The raw food has really put a spring in Bubbie's step, even though he's still quite substantial. We got him a few cans for the moisture content, as the Vet. recommended, but we're not giving up the raw just yet. I remember these kind of natural medicine vs. allopathic medicine dilemma when my son was a baby getting fevers, so this has kind of been a blast from the past. My kitty is my baby, I'll admit it, especially now that my son is bigger than me and can speak for himself when he isn't feeling well. It's hard to draw the line and decide when to get help from a medical professional and when you're better off on your own. It was a relief to see the labs and know it's not his liver or kidneys or anything, though.

Well, this has turned into quite a ramble. Bubba jumped up onto the couch to sit by me on his own while I wrote this post which gives me hope that he is on the mend. I'll keep you posted. 2012 just may include many a post about Bubba and his diet plan, and my successes or failures when it comes to getting "Dadda" to stop caving in to the demands of the plaintive green eyes as Bubba launches his "Occupy the Kitchen" campaigns to get what he wants.

Song of the Day:

Shell Gets Flaky: A Paper Snowflake Tutorial

2011-12-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year for the craftiness it always inspires. Before I started writing again, I used to do all sorts of crafts. One of the best winter crafts is cutting paper snowflakes. Here's a little step-by-step tutorial to make paper snowflakes for those of you who haven't done this since kindergarten.

I like to make snowflakes out of all sorts of paper from origami paper to comic book paper, but it's just as easy to use plain printer paper. All you have to do is fold one corner up flush with one side of the paper and cut off the excess strip to have a perfect square to start out with.

Once you fold the paper corner to corner (being sure to start with a square) you want to fold again right in the middle of your first fold. I'm using origami paper here. Second fold:

For the third fold, you will be folding at the bottom left corner to right in the center of the non-folded edges. The non-folded edges will stay the only side without folds. Here is fold three:

The fourth, and last fold is going to go from the lower totally folded corner through the middle of the non-folded side. This one might be stiff, but try to fold well to make cutting more symmetrical. Fold four:

Now you can start cutting. For those with little children, some folks like to cut the extra sicking out paper on top (opposite where the scissors are in this picture) straight across as that part is only half the sides. It's optional, so experiment. I usually just cut down past that part. Where the scissors are in this picture is the center of the snowflake. You can cut as deep or across as you want. The opposite top (non-folded side) is the edge of the snowflake and you can cut deep toward the middle as well. It's the folded sides where you have to be careful. Don't cut all the way across the middle.

Make smaller cuts into each side. Just be sure to leave some of each of the folded sides for structural integrity. This is an example of how I cut into it, but you can make more smaller cuts than fewer large ones if you want to. Experiment! This one is the snowflake pictured above.

This cut turned into this one made out of printer paper:

And last but not least:

So grab those scissors and some groovy paper and snowflake it up! Great for decorating windows, presents, taping to colored construction paper and hanging on the wall. Each one is unique, just like the real thing.

Song of the Day:

Happy Solstice Everyone!

2011-12-21T19:37:00.000-08:00

The winter solstice is one of my favorite days. Yes, it's the longest night of the year for us northern hemisphere folks, but it's also the last day that it is still getting darker and then after about three days of no change, the light starts coming back. The Sun is born, just in time for Christmas. No this post isn't really about pagan holidays being hijacked by other religions. I'm just really happy that the days will start getting longer soon. We're in the heart of the Earth's inbreath and it's a good time to do some soul-searching.

For me riding my bike to work at 6:30am and riding home around 4:30 or 5pm, it means I am using lights on both sides of my ride and it sort of feels like I live in total darkness. I'm looking forward to having a few days off (after tomorrow) and hanging with friends and family. I'll probably be blogging a little over the weekend, but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Solstice! One more day in the corporate salt mines...

Song of the Day:

Book Review and Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge Check In

2011-12-19T18:22:00.000-08:00

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a hard review to write. Classics often throw me for some kind of loop, and Wuthering Heights did that for sure. I was expecting this to be very romantic, though I knew it would be dark. It's definitely a love story, but more about obsession and revenge than romance. Part of the reason I decided to finally read this book is because Stephanie Meyer talks about Cathy and Heathcliff a lot as inspiration for Twilight. I guess that explains the twisted, messed-up love between Bella and Edward. Only it's even weirder with Cathy and Heathcliff. If he was a vampire, it might make more sense, especially by the end when he digs up Cathy's grave to lie with her one more time. Freaky stuff. Cool and gothic, yes, but still weird.

At first I really loved Cathy and Heathcliff's relationship, when they were kids and it was them against the world. But then Cathy was bitten by a dog and ended up becoming a lady and suddenly it all changed. I wasn't expecting that. One fascinating thing about the classics is that a simple dog bite can land a person invalid for months, stuck four miles away in another estate as if it was across the world. Fevers and frights render characters lifeless within weeks, which is so crazy to think about in our time of modern medicine. Many lives are taken by unexplained illnesses in this story, as Heathcliff plots and carries out his revenge to the bitter end.

There wasn't really much romance at all in this story, rather tragic losses of love and security and random attachments forged against the tide. Wuthering Heights is a tumultuous tale of dark entanglement out in the middle of the desolate moors. It ends with more of an uplifting twist than I had expected, yet even the end was slightly unsettling. I love to be immersed in a different time, with such strange customs and characters, so I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't the romance I was expecting.
View all my reviews

I am really trying to finish all the books I am in the middle of reading by the end of the year. Unfortunately, I'm falling way short of my 60 book goal for the year. It's funny because I first decided on 30 books, but decided that was too easy and doubled it. Looks like my first goal was a lot more realistic, as I'm at 28 of 60 and I'm almost done with three books right now. With writing, I find I read fewer books, and blogging takes some of that time, too. It's worth it, though!

Song of the Day:

Totally Tangential Tuesday

2011-12-13T18:18:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, thanks again to all of you who guessed my MC's age. I received some great feedback and have edited my first page a bunch. For anyone who is wondering, her age is 16. Thankfully, I made it to the semi-finals of Brenda Drake's Contest, but did not win. Yet, in a way, I totally did win because I found a bunch of cool new blogs and the community has been amazing. I am totally inspired to get back to work on Hippie Dippy again.

In the blog hop, I found a great blog called Between the Sheets (I mean, with a clever name like that how can this blog not be awesome?). Heather has posted an AMAZING list for writing a novel. Click here to see Janis Hubschman's 10 rules of writing. It's totally worth a click.

Also, last week I won 4 books in blog contests. I just finished Sophie & Carter (my review here), one of the novels I won, and I am currently reading Become by Ali Cross--and loving it.

Other than that, I'm just working too much and not writing enough. I did enter a synopsis to be selected to write one chapter of a serial fantasy story that our newspaper is running this spring. For any of you folks that are local, you should check it out: Bellingham Herald Serial Fantasy.. The deadline isn't until March and it might look good in a bio, right?

Song of the Day: