Waterlogged

Corvallis, Oregon is a flood zone right now. Seriously, half of this city is underwater. You don’t walk through the streets, you swim. And the rain is falling so hard, I’ve contemplated wearing safety goggles when I’m out in it, to avoid retina damage. People are sporting life jackets instead of vests. You could go tubing down the highway near my house.

When it rains this hard, it’s a perfect excuse to stay inside, read, and, of course write. I’m working on the third (and final) book in the Awaken series right now. When I wrote Awaken and Middle Ground, I knew the books wouldn’t end (technically). But this book will inevitably have to end, which is so sad to me. It's like ending a relationship with someone I really love which doesn't normally happen...

Meanwhile, FIRST COMES LOVE is approaching it’s release date. I was looking at other YA books coming out in May—most of them are sci-fi, fantasy or paranormal. Those are definitely the hot genres. I hope people notice my little realistic fiction story. Please don’t pass this one up. There are no vampires (not even baby vampires), no werewolves, no “Big Brother” controlling the world, no merciless villain. But, there’s still a pretty good story there. I promise.

More Tunes

Here are two more songs from the FCL playlist (thanks to Eric Hutchinson and The Cure for creating such excellent ear candy).

Reminder: People, time is running out to participate in the Get Unplugged contest--you can win an advanced reading copy of Middle Ground (the sequel to Awaken). Learn all about it on my homepage. This is more than a contest, it's a challenge and it might be painful, it might be lonely and terrifying, but I believe in you. For those of you that have already submitted entries, I just want to say thanks. You are awesome in my eyes, you are brave and tenacious and persevering and many good things will come your way. The rest of you are slackers.

Now, on to the music:



9.

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.


Number 1: My Lie, THE WHITE BUFFALO (Sadly, I couldn’t find a copy of this song to share. Just look for it. It’s brilliant).

What People are Saying...

I try not to read reviews about my books for various reasons, but friends have been pointing out a couple of reviews on First Comes Love that I wanted to share.

I'm terrible at describing my books, especially summarizing them, and I like these reviews because they discuss my book without giving too much away.

Speaking of reviews, here is a heads up: If you write a review, and it contains "spoilers," then guess what, you've overdone it. Back pedal (backspace) those spoilers away so you don't ruin books for readers by retelling the entire plot, Cliffnotes style. I think I speak for all readers and writers in the galaxy that we don’t want to know every plot twist, or how the story ends. Save a little room for wonder and mystery, (what we all eagerly look for from books in the first place). Thanks. :) I will now step off of my soap box.

So, here are a couple of bloggers that help describe First Comes Love. Kudos to these reviewers, and thanks for the cyber love. (Dylan and Gray thank you too).

INTO THE HALL OF BOOKS

LIVE TO READ

Gray and Dylan...Continued

First Comes Love is coming out in approximately FOUR MONTHS. I wish it was four days, or four hours, but unfortunately I can't control time (yet). I'm hoping iPhones will come out with a time controlling app one of these days. I would consider purchasing a phone if they did. Or maybe an immortality app? That would be interesting.

Anyway, here is another interview question for Gray and Dylan, the two main characters of First Comes Love.



What was your first impression of each other?

Gray: Honestly? The first time I talked to Dylan, I thought she was mentally imbalanced. I was debating between heat stroke or mild schizophrenia.
Dylan: Thank you.
Gray: See what I mean? She thinks that’s a compliment.
Dylan: I try not to form opinions about people too fast, because they always surprise me, but the first time we met, I knew Gray had promising potential.
Gray: Thanks, coach. I’ll try not to let you down.

What's New:

Middle Ground (Awaken #2) copy edits have been packed up and shipped off to Boston and I'm praying for their safe arrival. I don't have a confirmed release date scheduled for this book yet, but it's still looking at fall, 2012.

Now I have ample time to focus my holiday attention on: overeating, frantic shopping, NCAA basketball, NFL (mostly the Packers), and catching up on reading. Current book is The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack, by Mark Hodder. I have given up my social life and sleep in order to keep reading it (as good books always force you to do).

Event coming up: I'll be at Klindt's Booksellers in The Dalles, Oregon from 1-3 pm on December 21st for a multiple author signing event. Be there or be lame.

Lastly, First Comes Love is coming out in LESS THAN FIVE MONTHS. It's still way too long away in my impatient head, but it's coming...

As promised, here are two more songs from the FCL playlist:

Number 7.


Number 6.


Number 5:



Number 4:



Number 3:



Number 2:



Number 1: My Lie, THE WHITE BUFFALO (Sadly, I couldn’t find a copy of this song to share. Just look for it. It’s brilliant).

Meet Gray and Dylan

It depresses me that I have to wait until May, 2012 to share First Comes Love with all of you. Just for fun, I'm going to interview Gray and Dylan over the next few months, to give you a sneak peak into these characters.

So, Gray and Dylan, I have one question for each of you to answer to help readers get to know you a little bit: If you could write a book, any book, what would the title be and why?


Dylan: I would write a book called, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the Unabridged Version.”
Gray: I’m pretty sure that’s a classic children’s song.
Dylan: Yes, it’s a song—with gaping holes in the story. I would expand on it. There is so much potential there for an amazing epic adventure. Okay, your turn. Book title?
Gray: The Tao of Ms. Pacman.
Dylan: The video game?
Gray: Yeah, it would discuss ways the video game relates to life.
Dylan: What do the pellets symbolize?
Gray: All the experiences you devour, depending on which path you take. But just like the game, you have ghosts challenging you. They get in the way of your pellets. So, you can dwell on the ghosts, and miss the pellets, or you can focus too much on gobbling the pellets, but then the ghosts will eventually trap you.
Dylan: What do the bouncing fruit symbolize?
Gray: Opportunities.
Dylan: So, what about the pellet that makes you invincible? How does that apply to life?
Gray: I thought I just had to come up with a book title.
Dylan: I would argue that Donkey Kong has more life lessons implied in the game dynamics.
Gray: Dylan, I love you, but sometimes you put the n in annoying.
Dylan: There are two n’s in annoying.
Gray: Exactly.
Dylan: Well, you put the t in awesome.
Gray: What?
Dylan: Exactly.
Gray: (sighs).

MUSICAL COUNTDOWN CONT'D

So, last month I shared the first couple of songs that inspired FIRST COMES LOVE. Now I'm adding two more, as I'll continue to do each month until this book is released. I can't believe I have to wait six more months for this book to be in print!! Ahhhhh, it's painful. I CAN'T WAIT FOR ALL OF YOU TO KNOW GRAY AND DYLAN. Okay, on to the ear candy:





Number 1: My Lie, THE WHITE BUFFALO (Sadly, I couldn’t find a copy of this song to share. Just look for it. It’s brilliant).

Number 2: To Be Young, RYAN ADAMS




Number 3: Such A Pity, WEEZER




Number 4: Mysterious Ways, U2




Number 5: Joy Ride: THE KILLERS