First lines

Awhile back, all my Facebook writerly friends were posting the first lines from the first three chapters of their current works-in-progress. Since I am a big-ole-lemming, I am going to do the same--except cheat and do the first line, first two lines, and first three lines.

(Brief foreword: this book is written in multiple POV, which is a decision I really love. Various readers that I all respect have had different opinions on this decision, so I am currently rolling the dice and sticking with it. I guess we will find out if that was an awful idea or not come #PitchWars, amiright?)

First chapter (Jenna)

              I love Elin Angstrom to death, but it pisses me the hell off that she tried to kill herself.

 Second chapter (Ket)

             Not for the first time, I wished that we could just tell Teddy about Elin’s Incident.

             Partly because as one of her oldest friends, he deserved to know. 

Third chapter (Rosie)

The last thing I wanted to do was put on the prom dress hanging on my closet door. But if I didn’t get up and change soon, my step-dad Will was going to pop his head into my room and try to talk about my feelings.

And neither one of us was that great at talking about feelings.

I tag all the other writer folks to do the same -- put the link to your blog post in the comments so I can go check you out!

Welp. I guess this is a thing that happens now.

My friend Lulu and I went to a movie this weekend. (No, I'm not going to say which one. Not relevant.)*

The main character came on the screen and I thought, "Huh, he's kind of got a weird face."

And then a few seconds later, I thought, "No. That dude is stupid hot."

A scene after that, I leaned over to Lulu. "Is that guy strangely attractive, or is it just me?"

"Not just you," she whispered back. "He's really hot. Like ... really hot."

For the rest of the movie, we whispered back and forth about the fine attributes of this gentleman. His hair. His shoulders. Forearms. Biceps. Jawline. Profile. DUDE HAD A HOT NECK, for crying out loud.

At one point he had to change his shirt, and I swear we both held our breaths.

After the movie was over, I IMDB'd it, as I am wont to do. I clicked on the name of the actor, since I'd never heard of him before. And then gasped.

"Dude!"

"What?"

"The hot guy is 51 years old!"

"WHAT?! No..."

"Yes. Seriously. Fifty-one."

And that was when I realized it.

I** was officially old.






* (Moderately shameful.)

** I am saying "I" here because I am not willing to make this statement for Lulu.

But seriously. There is nothing that really hammers the "YOU'RE THIRTY, DUMMY!" message home like realizing you're apparently attracted to 51 year olds.

pitch wars

I love lurking on writing contests.

I always read the entries on Mother.Write and Miss Snark's First Victim. I follow the #pitmad hashtags, curious to see which friends are getting favorited by which agents. I even entered a couple, long ago, with my now-shelved, possibly-someday-to-be-self-published (but probably not, because I'm not sure I have the stomach for it) romantic comedy.

Since that old manuscript, I've written two more books. One we shall not speak of for many months to come (for ... reasons ...) and one that I hope to begin querying this fall.

I've been revising, thanks to some excellent CP feedback, and while there are still a few things I need to smooth over, I am spending my evening searching through Pitch Wars mentor bios. I'm probably jinxing myself by mentioning it, but this post will prevent me from later chickening out.

Anyone else thinking of Pitch Wars-ing it? Let's strategize together.

And now, a summertime party pic.

Because I love my porch.

Can we talk about DANGEROUS GIRLS?

What was up with the ending to Dangerous Girls?

I know I am late on the Abigail Haas train, but I started (and finished) Dangerous Girls last night and I must talk about the ending!

So if you have read Dangerous Girls, let's discuss it in the comments. (WARNING: There will obviously be spoilers.)

And if you have not read Dangerous Girls, what are you waiting for? GET IT and then let's talk about it!

About Dangerous Girls:


It’s Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives.

But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations. As Anna sets out to find her friend’s killer, she discovers harsh revelations about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.

Awaiting the judge’s decree, it becomes clear to Anna that everyone around her thinks she is not only guilty, but also dangerous. And when the whole story comes out, reality is more shocking than anyone could ever imagine...

What's up?

Lately I am ...

Revising one book

Outlining another

Watching Project Runway (I think Charketa is going to be my favorite, but we will see)

Reading Alias Hook, Dangerous Girls, Elizabeth is Missing, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson

(it's been a binge)

Trying to think of the next vacation

(I've been to San Francisco to visit college friends and Zions with the roommates* this summer, but the travel fever rages on)

* Yeah, Hannah moved out last year. SHE WILL ALWAYS BE A ROOMMATE TO ME.

What have you guys been up to?