Voice, Research, Courage & Inspiration what’s your take?

So all of us have got our topics for tomorrow night’s local author showcase at The Oregon City Public Library at 7PM: using an authentic YA voice, life experience as research, finding the courage to write, inspiration & the writing process. I’ll be talking about inspiration.

So authors, what’s the strangest/oddest/funniest thing to inspire your books? Readers, what YA/MG novel inspired you most? I’ll be sure to talk about your books at my talk tomorrow night. I’d like to give as many authors exposure on this tour as possible!

As I type, I’m sitting at my home-away-from-home today, Powell’s Bookstore. Today hubby had an early date with the building department so the cafe of this legendary bookstore is where I’ve landed. It makes meeting my writing goals a little bit easier. My reward for meeting my goals today? I get to check out the children’s book section and swing by books on magic. I love Powells. It’s where I found the very rare book that added so much depth to the research of Winnemucca. It’s where I edited 13 on Halloween. I guess it’s only fitting that I’m editing 14 on Halloween here today. I’m also working on a new project too that I’m really excited about and can’t wait to tell you about! There’s a steady drizzle outside and when we flew in last night, more than one person said they’d just had a few really beautiful sunny days. The crab apples are in bloom and are so gorgeous.

I always pick up a book while I’m here. Today’s find, I’m talking the minute I walked in the door is: MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS by Kelly Link. I can’t wait to dive into this book:)

Writing on the road

I’m heading up to Portland later today for the local author showcase at The Oregon City Public Library this Thursday night. I can’t wait to meet the teens there and also get to spend some great time with my friends and fellow authors Lisa Nowak, Stacey Wallace-Benefiel and Cidney Swanson. What’s that you say? But, you don’t live in Portland. Well, that’s kind of true. See, I travel a lot with hubby’s work and we spent a great deal of last year in Portland, living at the Holiday Inn at the PDX airport. And, as luck would have it, I met some amazing authors who adopted me and made me feel right at home.

I haven’t been up to Portland in a while. So I’m suffering from some serious doughnut & ice cream withdrawl. Hubby’s work has kept us home these past few months. And we’ll be back-and-forth again soon. Because of all the traveling we do, I get to work in some pretty unique places. Today I’m writing in what used to be on old beauty salon:

Don’t you love the groovy couch? It’s so George Jetson, isn’t it? Here’s a sign I came across on our road trip north that cracked me up….

LOL! Before we catch the plane for Portland today we are attending a funeral. We have real funeral weather today––dreary, sprinkles, cold. You know how busy life is. Everyone has a million things to do. And then you get a call. An email. Everything stops. There’s this other time. Funeral time.

So I’d like to leave you with something a little less serious than what’s ahead this afternoon. Here’s a picture from yesterday when I was at home trying to fit everything I need for the author showcase and, you know clothes LOL!, into my suitcase:)

On the road to Deltona, FL for The Paranormal Plumes YA Book Tour

The Paranormal Plumes Young Adult Book Tour hits Deltona 1/30-1/31

I landed in Tampa last Wednesday night and have been hanging with my family here for the past few days. Tomorrow my sister and I head north to Orlando where we’re going to Harry Potter’s Wizarding World. After Orlando we’re meeting up with The Plumes in Deltona for dinner. We’re SO excited!

Today went WAY too fast We saw my niece play in her B-ball game, that’s my bro-in-law coaching!

Then we all went for a run! Soooo much fun. After that we pampered ourselves….with a Mani-Pedi!

Happy Birthday SIS!!!!

Then we had a FAB BBQ with all the fam But not before I snapped this photo!

Tonight we’re packing our bags and are super excited about losing ourselves in the world of wizards & young adult books

CONGRATS Jessica McLaughlin winner of the kindle edition of Pyxis by K.C. Neal! So excited to have hosted the Ariel-Arson-Pyxis tour, thanks so much to all the people who entered!

 

Wordless Wednesday: New Member of the Family!

Wordless Wednesday : One more scare

Readergirls Interview with Ginny from Winnemucca & A Scare In The Air

Hey all, I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday. I’m really excited that Readergirls is hosting my interview with Ginny, from Winnemucca today. I share the first conversation Ginny and I had about five years ago, and Ginny share’s the decision that changed her life and what she thinks is the scariest thing of all. Speaking of Halloween, I  hope you’ve had a chance to sneak in a good scare already. I had mine. It was on the flight home and I had just taken off  from Portland, OR to San Jose, CA when the plane’s cabin door started making this high-pitched whistling sound. It was such a loud noise that the flight attendants started handing out earplugs to everyone.

I was busily scribbling in my journal, as I love to do on planes, oblivious to the situation because I always wear my amazing Boise noise canceling headphones on airplanes. A MUST for the frequent flyer. Anyhoo, so I notice everyone wearing earplugs and a flight attendant bending down a wee bit, obviously addressing the concerns of one of the passengers. I take my headpones off and listen in on the conversation.

Wordless Wendesday : The Burn, First Martini & The Haight

Playa name? Rogue

First Martini On Top of The Mark

Scene from Haight-Ashbury

San Francisco Story : Inspiration & Purple Leis

It’s not every day that you pick your daughter up from the airport. And today is even more special because my daughter lives a continent away. She’s coming back home and we are going to get to hang out for ten precious days. One of my fondest memories of San Fransisco is when my daughter graduated from San Francisco State University. It was a magical realism author’s dream come true as Isabelle Allende was one of the speakers at graduation. But Gavin Newsom was also an amazing speaker and he had some great advice for the graduates that I’ll never forget–STAY GREEN. Meaning, keep learning. Don’t stop. What great advice. And what I’ve found, and what my debut young adult novel Winnemucca is about, is that so much of our learning takes place out of the classroom. Just like so much of great writing is about what isn’t said. It’s off the page.

I remember my daughter all decked out in her purple graduation robe and purple lei. Here’s more on graduation day: What I Learned At My Daughter’s Graduation from University: Words of Inspiration I can’t wait to see her again and I can’t wait to have another San Francisco Story.

If you want to learn more about what inspired Winnemucca, my guest post about Latinas & Mariachis is on Alicia McCalla’s amazing blog.

Road Trip Wonders : Living @ The Holiday Inn

I was nineteen when I got my first summer job where I didn’t wait on tables. It was right after my first year of college and I wanted to have a more “serious” job. I think that’s what was on my mind when I applied and was tested to work at Holiday Inn’s Reservation Center in suburban Chicago, very close to my family’s home. It was kind of a dream job for me.

The Fairy Truck Driver

What’s a Winnemucca? That’s pretty much the response I get from people when they read the title of my debut novel, a small-town fairy tale about a teenage girl’s enchanted road trip. It’s that or it’s “Oh, I’ve been there.” With a smile. Winnemucca is The Emerald City of the novel. There’s a fairy truck driver in the story too. I liked this video so much that I thought I’d honor all the hard working truck drivers out there. How many have helped wayward travelers in need? So here’s to every day angels.