On Gallbladders, Writing Conferences, and Theme Parks

Yeah, random stuff coming your way. You've been warned.

First off, the Great Gallbladder Strikeout.

This is a disgustingly cute plush gallbladder toy.
Source << Where to buy it. Seriously. They sell these.

Two weeks of incredibly I'd-rather-give-birth kind of pain, people. It was neither cute nor funny. My gallbladder was letting itself be known--such a drama queen the little thing was, pshaw!--and it tormented me daily with pain that would last as long as 5 and 1/2 hours (yeah, I passed out on the bed, only to awaken to more pain) on a really bad day, 1 hour on a good day. I couldn't take care of my kids or my baby boy. One time, I drove my boys to their doctor's appointment, and on the way home, my stomach started hurting. My fingers made a dent on that steering wheel, I kid you not. I was determined to make it home alive, with my boys unharmed from a possible vehicular accident. (Mind you, I wasn't being completely stupid driving while in pain.  I knew that I would have to pull over if it became too intense for me to handle.) Thankfully, we made it home and then I promptly passed out in my room (after handing the boys over to grandma's care).

It's been 3 1/2 weeks since the surgery. I'm pain-free, I'm happy, I'm healthy and getting stronger each day, and no way do I miss my gallbladder. Thank goodness for modern medicine (and for a wonderful surgeon).

PSA: To learn more about cholelithiasis (gallstone) and cholecystitis (gallbladder inflammation), check out these links:

http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/understanding-gallstones-basics

http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/tc/cholecystitis-overview


Next up: The LDStorymaker conference

Before the gallbladder strikeout, I had purchased a ticket for a Saturday session at the LDStorymaker conference (May 10 & 11) in Provo, Utah. It was my first time to attend a writer's conference, and I almost didn't make it because people, in real life, I'm an extremely shy person. Yessiree, my good pal Bethany Crandell had to talk me into going. She wasn't going to be there, but she's such an awesome friend she just knew I needed someone--her--to push me out of my comfort zone. (She'd probably push me off the cliff too if that would make me fly, if you know what I mean. This gal pal of mine is a real treasure, I tell ya.) So I got me a ticket months before the conference, months before I knew I was going to have surgery. Luckily for me, two days before the conference, my surgeon gave me the go-ahead: I was finally allowed to do whatever I want, even to pick up and carry the baby, except powerlifting and weight-lifting. And since attending the conference did not require any dumbbells but only stamina to endure a whole day of sitting down, scribbling notes, and chatting up with fellow writers, away I went.

It was FUN! It was INFORMATIVE! Was I nervous? Yes, but as I didn't have to pitch to any agents or editors there, it wasn't stressful. I got to meet my online writer friends (LOTS of HUGS and HAPPY SQUEALS all around) and I also learned a TON about writing and publishing. Methinks I'll have to blog about this in another post. Also, there are pictures, but I'll have to steal them from Shelly Brown someday. My iPhone camera was full, and I couldn't take anymore pics, except for one (but it wasn't very good so I stole Robin Hall's photo instead).

With my lovely agency sister, Robin Hall!
Sorry I stole your picture, Robin. But don't you agree we look better in this pic than the one I took?
:-D

Anyway, I was glad I went, even if I had to leave a wee bit early because I ran out of steam (it had only been 2 weeks post-surgery, and my energy level wasn't up to par yet). The moral of the story?

This is my notebook where I jot down outlines and plots and ideas.
I love it!

And finally, Disneyland!

The fam and I had a blast at Disneyland last week. The past month had been especially grueling for everyone because of my health issues, so going to Disneyland felt like a much needed reward-slash-reprieve for all of us. I'm not gonna go into details about what rides we went on, or how we liked Cars Land (we LOVED it!), or what the baby boy's favorite attraction was (the Enchanted Tiki Room!). But I do have to say this: Disney sure knows how to entertain.

And if I really have to push it and tie Disneyland to writing, it would have to be this: That even (some) Disney rides follow a plot structure.

Have a great week, everyone!

I'm alive... and still writing

Yep. Still here, still slaving away.

My 2nd blogiversary came and went, and I didn't even realize it. That's how craaaazy my life is nowadays. Baby boy has mastered the art of crawling, which means, I can't get a moment's peace unless he's napping. He's also my octopus boy--those little hands, my goodness, I don't know how he manages it but he can grab anything and everything, even stuff I thought were out of his reach. My two older kids also keep me busy. Which means that getting time to write is very tricky in my household. So I hoard my free time like it's gold. I haven't been blogging or checking out other blogs. I do tweet sometimes, but that's because it's more convenient than blogging, especially with an iPhone and a Twitter app. When I do go online, it's to check emails and do research for my WIP.

So anyway, there's my update for you. Nothing too important, really. Just wanted to say hello.

Source: Moriartys

Book Spotlight: ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake

Blurb and image from Goodreads:

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

About the Author:

According to her bio on her website, Ms. Blake is an import from South Korea who was raised in the United States by caucasian parents. She received a Bachelor's degree in Business from Ithaca College and a Master's degree in Writing from Middlesex University in London.


The Book: YA Horror/Supernatural

I enjoyed this read. It definitely kept me guessing what was going to happen; in other words, a page-turner. If you're into ghosts and horror with a dash of YA romance, grab this book. You won't be disappointed.

Book Spotlight: SPLINTERED by A. G. Howard

I am so excited for this book, you guys! A. G. Howard has been one of my dearest writer friends ever since I met her in the blogosphere the first time I started blogging, which was in April 2011. Almost 2 years ago! Imagine that! Before Splintered came out, heck, before Amulet bought it, I was already sure that Ms. Howard was going to blow our minds away with her literary prowess. And I’m glad to have been proven right!

 Blurb and image from Goodreads:

 

 This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

 When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

 

About the Author:

A.G. Howard is most at home when weaving the melancholy and macabre into settings and scenes, twisting the expected into the unexpected. She was inspired to write SPLINTERED while working at a school library. She always wondered what would’ve happened had the subtle creepiness of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland taken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child.

A.G.’s pastimes are reading, rollerblading, gardening, and family vacations which often include impromptu side trips to 18th century graveyards or condemned schoolhouses to appease her overactive muse.

You can find her online at her website, blog, and on Twitter (@aghowardwrites).

 

The Book: YA Fantasy

Splintered is a wonderfully macabre reimagining of Lewis Carroll’s version of Wonderland. While the world of Wonderland is taken on a new spin with darker settings and Tim Burton-esque creatures, I feel like the original sense of charm and adventure that is inherent in Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is still very much present in this book.

Alyssa Gardner’s biggest fear is to end up like her mother: a resident of Soul’s Asylum with talking bugs and flowers for company. But all too soon, Alyssa finds herself hearing the bugs and flowers talk. The curse of madness that has plagued the women in her family for generations is inescapable—unless she goes down the rabbit hole to right the wrongs her great-great-grandmother Alice Lidell, the original Alice, had caused in Wonderland. While Alyssa’s personal motivation is to keep herself from going insane, she’s also determined to save her mother from a life of straitjackets and electroshock treatments. There is also history between mother and daughter that has shaped their present-day relationship into something unnatural and guarded. For one thing, Alyssa refers to her mother by her name, instead of calling her “mom”. But despite their fractured relationship, Alyssa’s love for her mother drives her to find a way to get to Wonderland and sort out the curse once and for all. I feel like this is the core and heart of the story—that just as much as Alyssa needed to correct Alice’s mistakes, she also needed to fix her connection to her mother.

We also have two swoon-worthy love interests: Jeb, the longtime best friend; and Morpheus, a denizen of Wonderland who was a part of Alyssa’s childhood. While Jeb insists on being Alyssa’s protective knight, Morpheus endeavors to bring Alyssa to her full potential, even to the point of madness. I thought both characters were good foils for each other, and their reactions to Alyssa were, for the most part, entertaining. J

Wonderland is not what we’ve thought it to be. Ms. Howard’s vivid imagination and sensorial prose has brought to life a truly cinematic vision of a world that’s filled with strangeness, madness, and beauty, offering us a peek into the darker side of ourselves.

Splintered has a little something for everyone: romance, adventure, mystery, and plot twists to keep you up on your toes.   

Alooooha!

What? It's 2013 already?

I haven't blogged for aeons, but I'm not going to apologize for it. Sometimes, it's just not possible and that's just the way it is. The clock keeps on ticking and life keeps demanding for attention. Priorities matter, and unless I'm finally able to clone myself, I can't do everything.

So. 2013. A new year, a new beginning, eh? And countless possibilities. My family and I kicked off the new year with a trip to the lovely, and ever sunny, Aloha state of Hawai'i. We left behind the snow and cold for tropical smoothies and sun-kissed beaches. It was fun to take my kids to the places that were meaningful to me and my husband. (Backstory: I lived there while going to school. Hubs and I were both students at the same university. We fell in love and got married, before moving to another state. Some people thought we were crazy for leaving paradise. On cold winter days, I believe them. ;D)



View from our hotel deck

Anyway, I didn't write while I was away. I didn't read. Or think. I just let myself be in the moment. It was wonderful, and a much needed break. Last November, I was struggling with my NaNoWriMo WIP. It wasn't that I had writer's block--in fact, I wrote almost everyday until baby boy got sick with a nasty ear infection, and then writing was impossible after that. It was that the WIP was a truly a work-in-progress--a very rough, cringeworthy first draft. It didn't feel right--the tone, the voice, the plot. I loved my characters, but the writing was just...just meh.

I'm not a fast drafter. I take my time because I want to get it right--or close to right--the first time. Some would think this is counterproductive. We're taught to learn how to word vomit then do tons of revisions after. I'm not this way. I don't word vomit--I carefully measure my words the first time around because I know that voice and tone are a lot harder to revise later on. So anyway, I eventually finished NaNo with 30K words. Not bad at all, even though I didn't win.

December came. I restarted my NaNo WIP from scratch, using what I've written during November as reference. The holidays are always hectic so I had to make room for that, which meant, not a lot of writing got done. Then after Christmas came, it was time to start packing. I hammered out almost 2K of new words before we were out the door. I didn't bring my laptop with me so I wouldn't be tempted to work during our vacation.

Now we're home and I'm back to writing. The words come easily because I've had time to recharge mentally. I'm in love with the WIP all over again. Which is always a good thing.

So, if you don't see me around the web, I'm probably having a date with my Word doc, in the world of Sleepy Eye town and its inhabitants. I'm 3 chapters in so I have a loooong way to go, but I'm the tortoise, not the hare. I will get to the end and I will win. There are no other options.

I'm closing this post with a big ALOHA to all of you! I hope you all had a great start to your New Year, too.