My crit buddies and I started a short story blog in an effort to help us improve that writing habit we all seem to have. Each week, one of us posts a 1,000 word story based off a photo prompt. But, because there are only three of us, and we'd like to feature other fabulous authors out there, we take submissions* for the fourth week of the month.

You can find my first story here: Peace

And Stefanie Jones' story is here: Behind the Glass

*We've already chosen an author for April, but we'll be posting the photo for May in the next week.

My critique partner, Amy Christine Parker, had a big announcement today:

Parker Lands at RH Children’s for Debut YA


Amy Christine Parker closed a two-book deal with Suzy Capozzi at Random House Children’s Books for her debut effort, The Silo. Capozzi bought world rights, for six figures at auction, from Lucienne Diver at the Knight Agency. The YA book, which is scheduled for fall 2013, follows a teenage girl named Lyla who has been living in a religious cult after the disappearance of her sister. While her parents are hopelessly under the sway of the group’s leader, Pioneer, Lyla is drawn into a dangerous situation when she begins to question Pioneer’s prophecy about the impending apocalypse.



2013 is going to be a big year for my wonderful critique partners, as my other partner, Dianne Salerni, has Caged Graves coming out that year as well. Caged Graves sold to Clarion last summer.

Congratulations, ladies! You're both amazing!

In continuing my blogs about the wonders of Florida fairs/festivals, I present to you the Osceola County Fair.



Now, I have not been to a fair in any other state since I was very, very short (photographic evidence of this will be presented if I can ever find the picture), but I am fairly certain most states have things like chainsaw carving.



And 4h tents.



But I wonder, do all states have animals like giraffes?



And what about Cotswold Sheep?



Or zebras?



In all, a good time was had, although I did end up making an unexpected return trip the next day because I left my wallet on a ride there. Thank you to the kind person who turned it in. I wish you lots of good karma.

What about you guys? What fun things do you like about the fair?

These two things happened within one week of each other. I suppose in some places, there is a season in between the leaves falling and the trees budding, but here in Florida, there is not.* This is also where my next novel is set, in the scary hot summer in the middle of the Green Swamp.

*Not bragging. I miss the snow in Virginia like you wouldn't believe.

Today's blog gives you a peek at my office space.

I am currently about 5k into my latest WIP, and I decided to go out this past Sunday to do some field research. Translation: I was bored stiff and didn't want to sit in the house. So, I took Small Child to Lake Louisa State Park. Although, if you ask him, we went to see "forest" and "lake," because it is not officially a park unless it has a playground.

He was fascinated.


So was I. See this tree? See those branches? They go back to the ground and burrow underneath, kindof like it's clawing it's way across the path. I just know it has to make an appearance in my WIP.

Bonus points if you can tell me what kind of tree it is, because I'd really like to know.

And look at this. Can you picture a rambling mansion somewhere in there? Cause I can.


Can you spot the alligator?


So, that was my weekend. Much fun was had, and I'd love to go back and explore some more. Did you guys do anything fun this past weekend? Where do you go when you're bored and need a muse?

To say Small Child is obsessed with trains is an understatement.




The other day when we were playing with one of his tracks on the floor, he got bored and tore up part of the track. Instead of getting mad, I created a new game. I called it, "Oh no! Ice!" inspired by The Polar Express. When the trains went off the track, they slid into an ice field and there was much chaos until the trains made their way back to the track. After a couple of rounds of that, to make it even more interesting, the trains ran into a field of dinosaurs who kept jumping in front of them and landing on the cars. Much fun was had by all.

As we were playing I got to thinking how our game applies to writing as well. Characters doing the same things over and over again gets boring. Going in circles for hours will make a reader close a book fast, but throw in an ice field or a herd of dinosaurs, and they just may keep reading.

For all of you writers out there -- http://writtenkitten.net

Simply copy and paste your word count into the box and you get a new kitten for every hundred words (or however many words you choose.)

Link found at kellyrfineman's Live Journal page. Stop by and say hi.

Over Thanksgiving, my family and I went on a Royal Carribbean cruise. If you've ever been on one of those ships, you know they have all sorts of cool things to do on board, many of which will earn you a danger punch.

You sign away your life on a waiver, and they punch your sea pass card. At first, we scoffed. And then, this happened:

After 40 minutes, I had a blister the size of quarter on my foot. I will spare you the pictures, but suffice it to say, I had to buy emergency flip flops, and a week later, I am still unable to wear any other shoes.
Fortunately, we all remained safe while doing this:

But then came roller blading where my brother in law tore something in his knee, and the water park where a friend fell off a 15' iceburg in a reverse belly flop.

In addition to those injuries, my mother in law hurt her rib on a chair, Small Child got a black eye from a bed, and my husband got his nose cracked by Small Child's hard little head. In fact, there was only one person in our party who escaped injury altogether. Needless to say, we stopped scoffing the danger punches, lest they heard us and inflicted more injuries upon us.

Beware the danger punches, my friend. Beware.

I've been watching Terra Nova this season, because dinosaurs = yay! And I've been willing to forgive its other flaws, but since I write YA, this particular one bugged the snot out of me.

On a recent episode, a 16-year-old boy and girl were sharing their first kiss. The boy breaks away because he has a girlfriend 85 million years in the future. The girl he was kissing says (paraphrased of course), "It's okay. I still like you, and I will help you get your girlfriend here."

My immediate reaction was, "No self-respecting teenage girl whose only competition was 85 milliion years away would offer to bring that competition face to face with her."

My husband, who was watching with me, said, "Forget about the girl. No 16-year-old boy would stop kissing a pretty girl when his girlfriend was 85 million years away."

In any type of storytelling, there must not only be rich and interesting characters, but also characters that stay true to their age. For me, the scene felt more like a plot contrivance than something that would organically occur. However, I might have believed it if the couple was older. Perhaps the guy was married, and his wife was not allowed to come. For 16-year-olds, it simply didn't ring true for me.

So what do I take from this? When I'm writing, I need to strive for honest, real reactions from my characters. If an interaction doesn't feel right, perhaps that bit of business needs to occur with other people or under different circumstances. Will it always ring true for everyone? I doubt it. But it's a worthy goal.