the dog's breakfast

Where did all these cookies come from? Photo credit: Zorik07

This post has gone through several incarnations--actually, I shouldn't even say it was a single post because at one point it was going to be three different posts, but as the title suggests, I've decided to throw up my hands and cobble them together into some sort of Frankenpost.

It's been about three months since my last update, and though most of the people reading this will probably have some idea of what's been going on with me because of Facebook, I figured I might as well post a rundown here for posterity's sake. And it being Friday and all, let's do this Friday5 style, shall we?

But only kinda.

1. I'm moving to the country (gonna eat a lot of peaches...does anybody even remember that song?) Yep. Let's get the biggie out of the way first. We all know how stressful and time consuming moving can be. Throw on top of that the fact that we weren't exactly planning on moving (until we suddenly fell in love with a house) and, well, let's just say everything is a bit chaotic at the moment. If I'm not chasing my children around (my actual full time job), I'm making lists and checking them twice--wait, that's not right--it's more like making spreadsheets and cross-referencing everything eight thousand times. And packing, and scheduling, and packing, and painting, and packing. I won't bore you with all the details, but on top of the usual moving stuff (and our family has doubled in size since we last moved), there's also all the getting our current house ready to sell in a timely manner stuff, because again, we weren't exactly planning on this happening...

2. Which brings me to update #2: because of the sudden decision to move out of the city, I've also made the extremely difficult decision to not return to my position as an assistant editor at Harlequin. I have A LOT of thoughts and feeling about this decision, but rather than wade too far into the deep end, I'll sum them up as best I can by saying this whole moving/not returning to work thing has been very bittersweet. I'm definitely excited about our new home and the opportunities it presents (see #3 below), but Harlequin (specifically MIRA, and then HQN) has been my home away from home for seven years and there aren't enough positive words in the dictionary to describe the amazing, talented people I'll no longer be working alongside. I'm going to miss them tremendously. So yeah, BITTERSWEET. 

3. The decision to make the above life changes has left me with the occasional sinking feeling this might end up being a huge mistake, but for the most part, something about it just feels right. Call it a gut feeling. Part of that has to do with us settling in a nice little community just as my daughter is about to start kindergarten, but it also has to do with the opportunity it presents regarding my ambition to build a career as an author. Writing has always been something I've dreamed I'd one day get to devote my primary (work) focus on, and now I have the chance to explore that. Is it a huge gamble? Definitely. But sometimes you have to take a chance, and bet on yourself. This next phase of our lives feels like the right time for me to do that and if it doesn't work out, it certainly won't be for lack of effort or drive. Please keep your fingers crossed for me :)

4. Speaking of writing, that brings me to my next update: my WIP, THIS HIDEOUS HEART is finished, and while I don't usually like to talk about the submission process on this blog, I'll just say that it's out in the world, looking for a home. I'm really happy with how this one turned out (not that I'm not happy with how all of them turned out) and I really, really hope I'll get the opportunity to share it with you some day soon! My next project is the one I'd been working on before the lightbulb that was THH went off, stealing all my attention away. It's a summer camp story--I was a HUGE fan of summer camp style stories as a kid (Baby-Sitters Club Super Specials anyone?) and I can't wait until the bulk of this moving stuff is out of the way so that I can dive in. It's a contemporary YA romance, with hints of mystery, humour and a lot of heart. The working title is, SUMMER CAMP SUCKS WHEN YOU'RE FAT, and it fits the tone of the story so well I don't plan on changing it anytime soon :) More updates on that to come. And in fact, more everything to come. Once this move is over, I'll be in the position to actually, truly, once and for all, get back to a regular blog schedule--another benefit of all these life changes.

5. Okay, this has nothing to do with me specifically beyond the fact that I'm totally hooked. Can we please talk about iZombie? Because I'm in love. I knew I would totally dig this show because, hello, Rob Thomas is a supercrazyawesome genius, but he has somehow surpassed my expectations, meshing the best elements of Veronica Mars with Warm Bodies. In true Rob Thomas style, season one ended with a bang, and I can not wait for season two. So good, you guys. SO GOOD.

Bonus TV-related bullet point: Yes, I'm loving PLL's #summerofanswers. The drama is at an all time high, and my Haleb shipper heart is giving Hot Caleb all the awards for best boyfriend ever. If I can manage it, I'll try to do a Pretty Little Recap or two in the coming weeks, especially if something truly explosive happens. But no guarantees. Seriously, you guys should see all the boxes and moving crap surrounding my desk right now....

So, that's all for now. I'll be back with more in the coming weeks/months/etc, hopefully with an update about SUMMER CAMP SUCKS's progress, and maybe a taste of THIS HIDEOUS HEART since I'm proud and want to share. Until then, I'll just shamelessly sign your yearbook with, "Have a great summer!" ;)

i'm not dead

I'm not. I swear. If I were dead, would I be able to type this? Probably not, but then again, do we even have a definitive answer on zombies retaining the typing skills they had in life? Maybe tackle that one next, Robert Kirkman.

Anyway, yeah, not dead, just busy.

With this:

Baby H is keeping me plenty busy as he develops fun, new skills!

And this:

It's hard to get things done when a doll has been put to bed and is snoring on the ottoman. And no, I can't move her. The daughter will know/throw a fit if I move her. 

And this:

New WIP: This Hideous Heart, a YA re-telling of Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart

So yeah, that's what I've been up to. And as a result of being busy with all that, I haven't had free time to blog, not even to do a Pretty Little Recap, though yes, I have been keeping up with the show and will probably make time to recap the finale. (Mini recap time! Hot Caleb was missing for too many episodes, but was awesome when he returned; wow, Spencer was really spicing things up in the UK; the scene with the guy suddenly rising up in the burn ward was freaky as hell and I'll have nightmares for weeks; Ali with no makeup in prison is refreshing and awesome; and holy crap, Hanna is in jail, and Hot Caleb is basically the fourth liar now. Whew!)

All of this is to say that I'm on a mini blog-hiatus while I get a few things sorted out. Primarily the first draft of my WIP, because the two kids? Not much to be sorted there. That's just life. But I'm very excited about the new book, THIS HIDEOUS HEART. It's coming along really well, and so far I'm mostly on track to meet my self-imposed first draft deadline of the end of March. But I need to neglect other things to stay the course, and yeah, blogs and recaps are part of that neglect because again, the kids can't be ;)

I will definitely share more about the new book once I have a synopsis to post, and in the meantime, I'll leave you with a bit of good news about another book of mine, Skin Deep, has been shortlisted for the the 2014 Dante Rossetti Awards! In an industry as challenging to break into as publishing is, it really is very exciting and such an honour to be recognized this way :)

S'all for now! xo

pretty little recap: bad ideAs across the board

5.19 Out, Damned Spot

This week's episode didn't just bring the drama, it was also full of life lessons. So grab a pencil and some paper cause you might just learn something from the liar's many mistakes...

Maybe don't give out free DNA samples when someone is trying to frame you? Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. One thing that wasn't a mistake in this episode was some honest-to-goodness continuity! Emily can't give blood because of her trip to Haiti. More than anything, that just gets me wondering if this was all planned and there's a very specific reason they needed Emily to be unable to give blood. I guess time will tell on that one...

2. My only other main highlight of the week was the scene between Ezra and Hanna regarding her Dad and going to college. I've said it before, but I'm really enjoying the different character interactions we're getting to see this season. This one made for a really touching scene.

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Let's get right into it cause there were a lot of mistakes this week--first and foremost: Girls, why are you giving blood when someone is trying to frame you for murder? That just seems like a seriously #badidea.

2. Aria cheating on a test. Oh Aria. When will you learn? A is almost definitely going to use anything stupid you do against you down the line. #badidea As a sidenote, can we talk about Andrew? That guy suddenly looks like he's 35! For a moment there I thought he was a student teacher or TA or something. I don't remember him looking that old the last time we saw him.

3. Talia is married. Oh Talia. What were you thinking? That is way too big a secret to try and keep from the girl you've been hitting on/kissing. The situation being complicated is all the more reason to tell Emily up front. Why drag her into something messed up when all Emily deserves is to have a nice, normal relationship for once. Is that really too much to ask? Keeping your marriage a secret is a #badidea Also, I don't buy "he's my BFF" as a reason for marrying a guy when you're a lesbian. Can't you just be BFFs?

4. Spencer and Jonny. This guy is clearly up to something, I just don't know what. I think the liars seriously need to stick to the tried and true guys in their lives. You know, the guys the show has already tried to convince us could be A and then proved weren't A, so they've basically been vetted for life. Between Andrew, Johnny and Talia, I think we can conclude that hanging out with someone new is a #badidea in Rosewood.

5. When a motorcycle is about to run you down, get off the road. Running in a straight line so the bike can continue to chase after you? You guessed it. It's a #badidea

6. BONUS Mistake: When Andrew says, "Do either of you drive stick?", Aria had a perfect window to say, "Well, Emily sure doesn't..." but she totally missed the mark. Dammit, Aria!

Pretty Little Mysteries

1. Not a lot of big reveals this week and not a lot of big questions, but I do find myself wondering why Hanna's extremely wealthy dad can't just pay for both girls to go to school. Cause seriously, he can afford it.

2. Where was Hot Caleb this week? Sure, I enjoyed seeing him in the short clip of video at the end, but that's just not enough Hot Caleb. #badidea giving him a week off, PLL.

3. What is Mike up to? As much as I hope he's truly up to no good, I'm starting to think that's not the case. Still, I feel like he's such a throwaway character. I want to see them go somewhere bold with him!

~PLR~

pretty little recap: double feAture

5.17 The Bin of Sin & 5.18 Oh, What Hard Luck Stories They All Hand Me

I'm finally at the point in my mat leave where I'm playing a bit of catch-up on appointments--haircuts, trips to the dentist, and more trips to the dentist after the x-ray revealed the beginning of a cavity and a wisdom tooth that needs to be pulled (at least it's my last one and I'll never have to go through it again!). But the most painful part is that I fell behind on my PLL viewings! But never fear, I'm all caught up and ready to recap the last two episodes in one! In honor of this PLR double digest, I'm changing up the format a bit--but only a bit--with a new section called, Pretty Little Mysteries. Now that it's here, I don't know how I've gone so long without it :)

The liars have perfected their suspicious glares. Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. Hooray! Aria has finally come clean about that stupid letter she wrote. And Ezra is... okay with it? No wait, he's broody. Oh Ezra, isn't it a little too late to be regretting your relationship with a highschooler now? She's almost in college. Maybe just leave things be? These two were this close to acting like a mature, adult couple for once, but then Ezra had to bring the drama.

2. The old, abandoned ice cream factory, where the major scare of the week goes down. Oh PLL, stay you. Stay you forever. Seriously, who comes up with these delicious twists?

3. Team Haleb. Seeing these two work together as such a strong duo is definitely a highlight, but I do have one reservation--there's so much A-related drama going on that we never get to see these two be fun-cute. Sure, they're continuing to express their love in terms of how far they'd go to protect each other, but I miss the days of shower hijinks and passionate Haleb makeouts. Can we have a few of those thrown in from time to time too? Or have things gotten so dire on this show that nobody has fun anymore?

4. Talia is (hopefully) not someone to worry about. With all these new mysterious characters showing up in Rosewood all the time, it's nice to see that someone might just be a legit love interest without any strings attached. That said, this is PLL, so things could change at any moment, but I'm definitely warming up to Talia. Maybe not as much as Em seems to be, but she hasn't tried to drown Em yet so I'm already a bigger fan of her than I was of Paige. Sidenote: is it just me, or does it seem like Emily takes more breaks at work (or wanders into the backroom, or messes around after hours) than she spends time actually working? I know we the viewers don't want to just watch her working, but that doesn't mean she isn't taking an exorbitant number of breaks...

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. The flip-side of the Team Haleb coin is the Hanna's plan to begin with. Liars, repeat with me once more, tampering with evidence is never a good idea. And yet, they always try. I'm glad Hot Caleb decided to back Hanna up, because she was clearly going to go through with it either way, and at least he could help her to make fewer mistakes that she might have otherwise (love her, but this is Hanna we're talking about). I'm even happier that Copper Toby was on the scene to shut things down before Haleb could get themselves into trouble.

2. Emily, Emily, Emily. You call that an attempt to rescue you friends from freezing to death? She was behaving as though she somehow knew everything was going to work out. If I was Aria or Spencer I would be pretty pissed at Em's weak attempts to get that door open. Maybe give it a little more elbow grease next time, Em.

3. Okay, we need to talk about the hairy elephant in the room. Hot Caleb's teenstache has reached a point where it's no longer acceptable. It needed to be gone like two episodes ago. I love you to death, HC, but seriously it's time to shave the lip toupee.

4. Quick Pretty Little Mistake shoutout to Aria's leopard print chiffon dress (see above pic). Love the silhouette, hate the material. Aria, you are not welcome to the jungle.

5. Let's take a quick moment to address Spencer's college dilemma and I'll make it real simple: Spence, your mom is right. Go to college. Cause here's the thing: even when you don't know what you're going to do with your life, you don't stand to lose anything by going to college. If you change your mind later and decide to do something else with your life, you can very easily do that, but at least you will also have a college degree in your back pocket. The one thing you can't do down the line is suddenly have a college degree when you didn't go. See? Simple. Everything to gain, and nothing to lose. Just go to college.

6. Hanna may be a rebel, but she was really taking a risk when she got out of her car after the cop stop. If it'd been me, I'd have driven off when the officer appeared to have disappeared, but no, Hanna heads out into the dark with her (lead pipe?) and confronts the threat. Risky behaviour, even if she eventually come off as a bit of a badass.

Pretty Little Mysteries

1. Is Mona really in the barrel? Unless I missed something, we still don't know for sure. But Copper Toby does. Copper Toby, it's your by-the-book new career in law enforcement that first started to endear you to me, but come on, share your secrets!

2. Mona's friend, Lesli. Do you trust her? I definitely don't. There's no way Mona had a good friend that she never, not even once, mentioned to former-BFF Hanna. No way. Plus, could she have been any quicker to throw Mike under the bus?

3. Speaking of Mike (and his trick or treats--???), we once again witness the true magic of PLL--being able to take your viewer from not being sure who to suspect to definitely, absolutely, positively suspecting that Mike is not only up to something, but is definitely, absolutely, positively working with Ali. But that doesn't make him one of A's minions if you, like me, don't think Ali is A. So that's a bit of a snag in this plot, but here's what I love about the possibility that Mike is up to no good: unlike when the finger was pointed at then-Creeper Toby and Ezra, the show could actually go there with Mike. He's a minor enough character that they could make him bad without back-paddling down the road. I, for one, would love to see this happen. But again, him seeing Ali makes me think something else is happening here. I just don't know what.

4. And finally, Johnny. Oh Johnny, what the hell is up with you and your wacky inventions? This guy might as well be named plot device at this point, but here's the real mystery: since when did The Brew turn into a makeshift community centre were random weirdos can just solder away on their latest hobby project? Johnny has access to the Hastings' barn--why doesn't he just do his work there? I simply don't understand. Did Ezra sign off on this? I'm so confused.

~PLR~

the writer's arsenal: shiny new idea syndrome

One question people like to ask authors is, "where do you get your ideas from?", and the answer, as it should be, is usually some variation of, "where does anybody get any of their thoughts from?" Because really, ideas can come from anywhere. Sometimes they're directly inspired by something we observe, and sometimes, they just form in our brains, either while we're asleep (the "I had this crazy dream..." starting point) or they just appear out of the blue. I personally find that ideas often come to me while I'm already working on another book; something I write, or some plot twist I decide not to use, ends up inspiring a whole new story. The only problem with that is, when the new idea appears, it's suddenly all I can think about (and they always seem to come to me when I hit a creative lull and my brain is looking for something flashy and easy to divert to). When that happens, I usually force myself to jot down everything about the new idea and file it away in my idea folder before returning to my WIP. The new idea can wait its turn. (Sidebar: the word "idea" is starting to lose all meaning as a result of this first paragraph.)

Usually, I can get over the new idea hump, but sometimes, the new idea isn't just a distraction, there's something about it that really clicks, and even if my WIP isn't in a creative lull, the new idea embeds itself deep inside my brain and demands attention. That's what's happening to me right now.  It's hard because part of me is very focussed on a first this, then that mentality--I know the vital importance of staying on task while writing--but I can also look at the situation rationally and see that my WIP could wait (it is, after all, about summer camp, a topic perhaps best saved for when there isn't snow swirling outside my window). And this new idea? There's something timely about it. Unlike other new ideas I've had, I worry this one might fizzle too much if I don't breathe life into it now.

Shiny, new ideas can be dangerous. They're often the death of WIPs. A lot of writers struggle to finish writing anything because they can't stay focussed, and I'd say that 99% of the time, it's best to file new ideas away and stay on task. But the other 1% of the time, when you can't shake the shiny, new idea no matter how hard you try, it might be best to make an exception and let the new idea cut in line. I'm nervous to make the jump, because I don't want to put my WIP in jeopardy of never being finished, but I think the fact that I feel that way is a pretty good indicator that its time will come. With four novels under my belt, I'm at a point where I know I'm capable of reaching the finish line. I think I've earned a little side trip for book number five. Plus, this new idea? It's dark and devastating. Perfect for winter writing :)

Do you find you fall victim to shiny new idea syndrome? Does it keep you from finishing anything or can you set new ideas aside and stay on task?