Rain Rain Go Away Please Don't Come Back Another Day

Another day off from school and it is raining again. Last week we had a few days here in New York where the temperatures were close to seventy and now it is back in the fifties and raining buckets. There is something about the rain that makes it almost impossible to get motivated. I have no desire to do a single thing even though I have so much I have to do. I long for the days where it is the perfect temperature. Not to hot, not to cold, the perfect balance between both. I can ride my bike, go for a walk with my Ipod, and to be able to smile just by looking out the window because I can't wait to get outside. Hopefully those days will be here soon.

There are so many things I want to do this Spring/Summer. Lately I have a bad tendency of saying I will do things and then never do them. I was never like that. I used to get something in my mind and I wouldn't stop until I went there or did whatever it was. I want to get back there, back to the person I used to be. I love have something to look forward to so I am making a promise to myself now that I will. This Spring/Summer I want to:

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge

Go to the Ancient Egyptian Exhibit (in NYC)

Experience the beauty of the Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC

Go to the beach on my days off and read a book (which falls under the category Get over my fear of doing things alone)

Take the train into the city on one of my days off and go to as many museums as I can

Mountain Bike atleast twice (or more) a week

Finish the Forever Series

Finish The Hallways of Hell

Watch movies such as Breakfast at Tiffanys, The Godfather, Some like it Hot, Casablanca (All the classics I have never seen)

Read all the books I have bought and stacked under my coffee table

Query as many agents as I can until I find the one that believes in my stories

See my friends more often (It's bad when life takes you away from them)

Go back to Philadelphia for a weekend (I went in 5th grade and loved the history)

Visit with my Grandmother more (I have no excuse she lives around the corner from my job)

There are so many more things I want to add to the list but I don't want to be overly ambitious so I will start with these. Hopefully I can accomplish most if not all and of course I will blog about it when I do. I already feel better knowing I have things to look forward to.

A New Path

I sent a query letter out to an agent today. I know I should be sending out to more then one agent at a time but I read up on this particular agent and I liked her. I think that is important, to have an agent that you like. How could you work with someone if you don't like them? I rewrote a few parts of my first chapter. I added an introduction paragraph that has more of a hook to it. Originally it jumped right into the story with no hook at all. I think that is my main reason why I didn't make it in the Amazon Contest. I also took out some boring unnecesarry descriptions. I guess I will wait and see what happens. It's a process I know but I just wish that I actually knew if I was going to make it or not. There is nothing worse then getting your hopes up and then getting let down. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best though. I will also try to not think about it. I stressed myself out so bad with the Amazon Contest and waiting for the results to be posted. I will not be doing that again.

I'm working on my third book still. I am actually almost done with it. I have only a few more chapters to go. I just have to round all the characters out before it ends but leave it open enough to move onto the fourth book. The third book is my favorite so far. It deals with flashbacks and I really enjoyed developing the story and using the flashbacks as a way to piece everything together. I think there is great growth with each character and I love how the characters seemed to take over the writing. It's as if they are telling the story and I'm just typing it. I had a direction and an idea for each character but sometimes it's like they are telling me no that's not going to work lets go this way instead. It's bizarre I know but trust me when I say I'm not crazy.

I have also been thinking about writing a spin off to the series. Follow the character of Renee, Emma's younger sister. I already have the story line and the plot in my head I'm just not sure if I will. I might move on to something else once I finish the fourth book and then come back to it. I have another book in the works "Hallways of Hell" I wrote the first two chapters and am really happy with how it's going so I would like to start work on that soon. I tend to work on it when I have writers block with the Forever Series. However, I would like to focus all of my attention on it at some point in the near future.

My fingers are crossed for now and we will see what happens.

Back to the Drawing Board

After finding out that I made the first round of The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards I had a month to wait to see if I qualified for the quarterfinals. A very long month went by and yesterday was the day the announcement would be made. They did not specify a time so I checked at 6:30AM yet nothing was posted yet. I went to school and found myself logging on any computer I walked by. Still nothing was posted. After school I went home and logged on the page again and still nothing. Finally at 9:30 PM the results were posted and sadly I didn't make it. I didn't think that I would make it but there was still that glimmer of hope that lie in side of me. So sow I am back to the drawing board. Figuring out what it is that my next move will be. I'm going to send a query letter out to an agent and see what comes of it. I don't really know how to go about getting my book published. I thought the Amazon Contest could've posisbly given me an easy break but I should have known better. I was upset but immediately hopped on my Eliptical and worked my sadness away. At least it motivated me to excercise that is always a plus. Here's hoping my dream isn't squashed. Thinking it is just another hill I had to climb in order to get where I need to be. ;)

Movies that make me cry and 90's Dance Music

I was talking to a friend today and we were naming movies that no matter how many times we see them they still make us cry. I figured why not make a list and post it. See if anybody has any to add.

Beaches (With Bette Midler)
Steal Magnolias
Term's of Endearment
A Walk to Remember
Untamed Hearts
Ghost
Titanic
Forest Gump

And the ones I cried at more recently:
Sex and the City
Atonement
The Time Travelers Wife
Little Ashes

I'm sure there are so many more but these are the ones that popped right into my head. I think every now and again a good cry is needed.

The same friend and I were also discussing 90's dance music. I think there should be a rebirth of 90's dance music, it was awesome. Some of the songs mentioned were:

Montell Jordan-This is How We Do It
Real McCoy- Another Night
House of Pain- Jump Around
Blackstreet-No Diggity
Culture Beat- Mr. Vain
C&C Music Factory- Gonna Make you sweat Everybody Dance Now
Tag Team- Whoomp There it is
Mark Morrison- Return of the Mack

These were such great songs. I can hear any one of them and instantly get the urge to start dancing. I just thought I would share. It was nice to walk down memory lane. It's amazing how a single song can bring back so many memories.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone. I'm not out at a bar drinking heavily but I am on my couch enjoying a nice Magic Hat #9. I had work from 8-6 today so the idea of going out is not very appealing to me. I am going out on Saturday to celebrate my best friends Birthday and that's good enough for me. However my parents are out right now enjoying the holiday and my mom worked the same hours as me. I love the fact that my parents have a better social life than me. I hope when I'm their age I am just as lucky. I was able to finish chapter 19 of my third book today at work.

My writers block passed for the time being. I am also working on two other books. (Sorry if I have mentioned this in past posts.) I think I have finally decided that writing is my passion. My passion for marketing has kind of disappeared. I still enjoy it but I think I would enjoy it much more if I was marketing my own book(s). Is it silly to want to follow a dream? I don't believe so. I want to be happy and I know that is the only way I will be. I think I have what it takes to make it. I'm not trying to come off as if I think I'm wonderful because trust me I don't think of myself in that way at all. I just feel the drive in me and I know I will stop at nothing to get myself where I want to be. I'm sick and tired of sitting around and waiting for my life to work itself out. I need to intervene and get it to where I want it to be.

My boyfriend is sitting next to me reading an article in his mountain bike magazine about a guy who won 220 million dollars. He asked me what would be the first thing I purchased. He said besides the obvious. "I know you would give money to charity and to your family and friends but besides that what would you buy? What is the first big purchase you would make?" I thought about it for a second. I wanted to say something cool and exciting but all I came up with is I really just want a house. I don't want to live in an apartment I want a place I can call home my home. My parents house is still my favorite place and I want to be able to have my own favorite place. Then my gears kicked in and I added I want a vineyard, it is me and my mom's dream. Then I added I want a large piece of land but I want to be near a body of water. I grew up with the Great South Bay and the Atlantic Ocean only blocks away and I couldn't imagine being landlocked. The other thing I added is that I want a dark room in my house. I don't think that is too much. Okay maybe it is but hey a girl can dream can't she.

Now I am going to watch American Idol. I can't stand the elimination episode. Can they possibly drag it out any longer? It is too suspenseful for me so I tape it and rewind it to the parts I want to see. I'm rooting (is that spelled right? That's bad.) for Lee. I really like him and I love his voice. It's distinctive and I think that is the most important quality a contestant can have. I want to be able to close my eyes and know exactly who is singing. I also like Crystal Bowersox and Siobhan. They all have my vote. I'm also hoping for Andrew Garcia but he peeked too soon how can he top Straight up? He's been trying but he hasn't been able to yet. I'm also really upset that Alex Lambert is no longer on the show. I really kind of loved him mullet and all. He was on Ellen today and I think he is a sweetheart. I hope great things come his way. Okay off to watch Idol.

The Next Round

The next round of cuts for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest is next week. They are narrowing it down from 1,000 to 250. With those odds I have already counted myself out of the competition. I don't mean to think negatively but I have read many of the other contestants pitches and they are quite impressive. It also doesn't help that this round is going based soley on your excerpt which for me is the first chapter of my book and my first chapter isn't one of those shocker keeping you in suspense chapters as many are. However I didn't feel the need to start the book off that way so even if it is the reason I don't make it any further in the competetion I won't change a thing. I wrote it the way I did for a reason and I'm not going to change it. I have read so many times from other writers about how they write and then rewrite and then rewrite again and that's just not me. I write what I write and I'm not going to change it. It comes out that way for a reason. I mean I may take out a sentence here and there but I will never change the story so completely that isn't what I had made it in the first place. I'm kind of babling but what I am trying to say is that I am thrilled I have made it this far in the competition and if it ends next week I may be disappointed but I will not let it ruin me. I will only be more determined to go on and get my book published.