A Little Encouragement

Anyone who needs encouragement of the writerly sort, please check out this post by Kim Derting, author of The Body Finder, in which she shares feedback from her rejectors.

Quite an eye-opener on how subjective opinions really are!

Have a great weekend, and stop by my blog on Sunday- it's the first day of the Spring Carnival and I'm giving away four amazing books!

W Giveaway

Susan Oloier is having a W-themed giveaway today.  Hop over to her blog and check it out.

That's it for today.  Peace!

Now Starring Blogfest!

A chance to cast the characters from my novel-turned-blockbuster-movie?  How could I resist?
If you want to do the same, run over to Kore Averna and sign up!

Even though I'm not published (or even agented), I've given a lot of thought to this (yes, even prior to the blogfest).   My novel is based on a freaky dream I had, and the face of the first character we meet in the novel is still as fresh in my mind as the morning I woke up from it.  That face looked uncannily like:


Actress: Eva Longoria.  Granted, my character is younger than Eva, so I'd need a time machine if she were actually going to play the role, but hers is the face I've pictured ever since I had that dream.
Character Name: Rebecca Gaines
Description: Becca is fun, plucky, and not afraid to say what's on her mind.  She's also very fashionable, has a flair for dramatics, and is just a wee bit self absorbed.  Oh yeah, and recently deceased.  She can't move on to the afterlife until she completes a mission involving my next female mc....

Character Name: Alexis Beckman
Description: Alexis is skeptical, cynical, and in total disbelief that a dead girl is on call as her personal cupid.  She has no interest in helping Rebecca find her "true love", because she doesn't believe he exists.
And the role goes to: Dianna Agron.  Now, bear in mind Diana doesn't look much like the Alexis I see in my head.  In-my-head-Alexis has blonder hair, blue-green eyes, and a handful of freckles across her nose.  But I love Dianna, and I think her acting style is perfect.  Not to mention she's gorgeous, in that naturally pretty way that fits my character.  So she's my pick for Alexis.

And now the contenders for her heart....

Character Name: Jeremy Manning
Description: Jeremy is a hottie because, well, it's my book and I say so.  He has blondish hair, hazel eyes, a dimpled smile and a rockin' bod, thanks to his dedication to wrestling and fitness training.
And the role goes to: Kellan Lutz.  Again, not the exact image of the face I see in my head, but the body... Mmmm.  I'm sorry, was I saying something?  Oh right.  On to the next character...

Character Name: Michael Clark
Description: Total dreamboat.  I adore Michael, and yes, I can say that even though he's a product of my overactive imagination.  Blue-eyed,dark-haired, sweet, hard working, absolutely gorgeous, and oh - he has a secret, too...
And the role goes to: Steven McQueen.  Though I'd also consider Tom Welling or Zack Efron.  Something about Steven's face just makes me think of my character.  And look at him.  I'd accept his pink flower even if I didn't like pink.  Or flowers.  It certainly doesn't suck to be Alexis Beckman, does it?


Last but not least, I want to cast Alexis's best friend, Jamie.  Jamie's role in the novel isn't huge, but I loved her so much that I've outlined another just for her.  Jamie is a hard working, loyal friend who's had her share of bad luck.  She gets her happy ending... but how long will it last?  Unfortunately, when I tried to post a photo of my pick (Victoria Justice), I wound up with a virus on my computer.  So if you'd like to look her up for yourself, I encourage it.  Just don't click on anything!

Stuff that Scared the S-Word out of Me (And Still Does)

Yup, riding the A-Z coattails again. 

After Katie over at Creepy Query Girl posted about getting the heebie-jeebies from the Jabberwocky on J-day, it set off a landslide of traumatic childhood memories in me.

Okay, so maybe that's a bit dramatic, but there were so many things I watched as a child that scared the crap out of me.  And when I watch them now, you know what?  They're STILL scary!

Some of them are children's shows that I can't believe were ever geared toward children.  The first one is a Japanimation cartoon that haunted my sister and me for years.  We'd go around asking people, "Have you ever seen Unico?  Have you ever seen Unico?" 

More often than not, we'd receive an answer of no, followed by looks of complete bafflement.  We started to think we'd imagined the whole thing: Unico, Katie the Kitty, the blue-haired devil with the ginormous mouth.  Sounds innocent, right?  Well, don't be fooled by the adorable photo you see here. 

Unico was a scary-ass cartoon.  It's like an acid trip meets night terror meets horror movie.  Especially the episodes with the bug-eyed dude in the orb.  Don't believe me?  Check out the video below.  And then tell me- have you ever seen Unico?  And would you let your children watch it?

The second is an anime Jack and the Beanstalk from 1974 (so what the heck was it doing on TV in the 80's?) that is guaranteed to give you nightmares. 

Princess Margaret is kept under a spell by the evil Madame Hecuba (in the creepy department, Malefecent ain't got nothin' on Madame Hecuba), which must be renewed each night to make Margaret believe she's in love with the troll-ish oaf, Prince Tulip.

The center photo is Madame Hecuba renewing the spell on Margaret.  Did I not tell you she was scary?  As if she's not eerie enough, there's also the paper doll wedding, Jack's drugged dinner, the mysterious voices echoing down the hall singing run away Jack, far away Jack, run away Jack...

Those Japanese must have nerves of steel, because I'm still getting chills just writing this post!  Check out  Madame Hecuba in the creepy-ass flesh in the video below:

The next thing that scared me is a lot more mainstream, but I still can't figure out what my mother was thinking when she called me into her bedroom and said, "You have to see this, it's so neat." 

The "neat" thing in question?  That would be Michael Jackson's Thriller video.  And FYI, when there's werewolves and zombies and Vincent Price's shiver-worthy voiceover involved, "neat" is not exactly the word that comes to mind for a six or seven year old.  Thanks, Mom. 

It's kind of embarrassing to admit I was scared of this next one, because I have no clue why it freaked me out.  Maybe it was the body paint.  Maybe it was the slinking around in the body paint.  Maybe it's the way Simon Le Bon's lips seem to be their own self-contained entity.  Either way, I distinctly remember being frightened of Duran Duran's Hungry Like the Wolf video.  Go ahead, laugh.  It's ridiculous.

So that's what sent me over the edge as a kid.  As an adult, I refuse to watch scary movies, because they stick with me.  I made the mistake of seeing The Ring in the theater, and boy do I wish I hadn't.  Now, I avert my eyes at commercials for scary movies, because I'm just that much of a wimp.

What shows/videos left you traumatized as a child?  Has anyone seen the ones on my list?

One Year Ago... What Not to Do With Your First Draft

One year ago this month, I did something I'd never done before: wrote a draft of a novel from beginning to end.

It was a huge deal, because I'd talked about writing a novel for most of my life.  Normally I'd write a few pages, stop because I'd have no idea where I wanted to take the darn thing, and then never pick it back up again.

One year ago this month, all that changed.

My very first blog post was about my inspiration and endeavor to get that novel finished, and since I had about, oh, zero readers at the time, I thought it be worth revisiting.  So, once again, here's the story of How I Finally Finished a Novel:

In the Beginning

For the longest time, I said I was going to write a book. But alas, college came and went, and after graduation I put my BA in English to good use as... a purchasing agent? Eight years later, I felt like the last of my creativity had drained out of my toes, and was pretty sure I'd never see the day inspiration would strike again, let alone actually sit down and finish a novel.

Then, much like everyone else on the planet, I read and loved Twilight. For the first time in years, I felt the desire to create something again. I went online and read about how the idea came to Stephenie Meyer in the form of a dream. I admit, (hanging my head in shame) I was instantly jealous. I moaned to anyone who would listen that I had wanted to write a book my whole life, and here this woman was handed the mother of ideas on a platter as sparkly as Edward's skin. HMPH.

I should have kept my mouth shut. Earlier this year, I woke up from the strangest dream and knew it was going to be the subject of my story. 

I tossed ideas around in my head for two weeks before I ever put a word on paper. I had to figure out how to connect the characters, how to fill in their backstory, how to develop the plot based on the little snippet my subconscious had shown me. Once I had a clue, I started to write.

And O.M.G. was I rusty. But just four months later, I had a completed draft of word vomit, and I was as excited as a pig in you-know-what.


I decided I was ready to query.  Wrong.
 
Don't misunderstand, I was not - AM not - under the impression that my story is the next Twilight. But Stephenie Meyer proclaimed her query "sucked", and still scored herself an agent. I was pretty sure my query sucked too, but I was hoping the whole book-based-on-a-dream scenario would work in my favor, too. 

Twenty rejections later, I realized just how badly my query sucked. Not one request for a partial, not one request for a full.
 
I knew I had to buckle down and do even more homework. I bought reference books and found new websites, opened every link pertaining to queries (including the ones that popped up when my search was "why does my query suck") and tore my letter apart time and time again.
 
In the process, I realized how much work my manuscript needed. I came across a website, I think Chuck Sambuchino's, where I read YA novels over 80K words reflect the author's inability to edit. My story was 95,000 words. I chewed my nails, agonizing over my word count. I was sure there was nothing I could eliminate without hurting the plot.
 
Wrong again.
 
Three months after my last rejection, my manuscript is down to a more polished 88,700 words. And you know what else? It's not YA, either. I was nervous that my college student protagonist was too old, and I was right. My novel falls under the paranormal romance/urban fantasy umbrella. Good to know BEFORE you query, don't you think?


Looking back on that entry, I had even more to learn than I thought.  I had no critique partners at that point, because I was too scared and embarrassed to let someone read my writing.  I was afraid of people stealing my idea, and also of someone telling me how badly it sucked.


Now, I'm still pruning away the evidence of amateur writing, and excess words.  I was happy when I got down to 88,700, but now I'm down to 81,200 and still convinced I can trim it up some more.

I have two great critique partners I met through the blogosphere, both of whom believe my story could really have a shot with the right "renovations."  Their input and encouragement has been invaluable.

So if there are any newbies out there reading this, my advice is this: do it right.  Do LOTS of research.  Go to the how-to websites like Nathan Bransford and Query Shark.  Find helpful, introspective posts like this one from J.L. Campbell, and use all of them to hone your writing.  Then, find people you can trust, and let them tell you the strengths and weaknesses of your manuscript, because when you're looking at it day after day, there are things you just won't see.

And don't rush it.  Stephenie Meyer is the EXCEPTION, not the rule, which I would have known if I'd done more research.  I thought her piddly "seven or eight" rejections was the norm.  I wish I'd known then that most people liken getting published to hitting the lottery.  I wish I'd known about authors like Brodi Ashton, who faced over a hundred rejections and went through two agents before landing her book deal.

Finally, I advise newbies to follow the blogs of published authors and agents, but also follow the unpublished ones.  We're quite the worker bees, and there are plenty of us who'll link to the posts we've found most helpful on a regular basis.  Stina and Heather are great for this.  Check them out BEFORE you jump into querying.

Hopefully one day, my finished novel will become a published novel.  But in one year I've come far enough to know it might never happen.  All the more motivation to reach another milestone- finishing a second novel.

So how did your first novel come about?  Did you always know you'd finish it, or were you as shocked as I was?

** Also, there's a great giveaway going on at Cleverly Inked.  Stop by and check it out!**

Why Can't I See My Peeps Anymore?!

For the last couple of days there's been a blank, gaping hole in the spot once occupied by the lovely faces of my followers.

Anyone else having the same problem?  It's freaking me out!

What's in a (Maiden) Name?





Let's hope she doesn't plan to hyphenate, either.

  

One of my Women's Studies professors said something that's stuck with me through the years.  She said throughout a woman's life, her last name defines her as belonging either to her father, or to her husband.

For feminist's, them's fightin' words.  Belonging to a man?  Nay!  Women are not pieces of property!

Maybe it's because of my professor's observation that I had such a hard time letting go of my maiden name when I got married.  After all, my husband got married, too.  Why didn't he have to change half of his identity in order for people to recognize that we were now family?  Why did his family name get all the glory?  It didn't seem fair; it felt like I was being asked to become a different person while he got off scot-free.

Or maybe I was put off by the simple fact that his last name is only six letter, three of them being "C", and people still can't figure out how to pronounce it.  For the record, it's Ciocca.  See-oh-kuh.

It felt wrong for people to call me "Mrs. Ciocca".  That's what I'd always called my mother-in-law, for the nine years my husband and I dated.  Yes, nine.  We started at seventeen, and married when we were twenty-six.

Suddenly, "belonging" to my father didn't seem like such a bad thing.  I'm his offspring; I do belong to him.  But now I was also someone's wife, and the old-fashioned part of me couldn't see not taking his name.  Not to mention my husband and his incredibly old-school Italian family would have been highly offended if I'd refused to formally identify myself as one of their own.  But did it make me their property?

To me, the answer is no.  That is, until someone addresses me as "Mrs Domenick Ciocca" (Until MY name is Domenick, I'm Mrs. GINA Ciocca.  Get it right.).  Yes, the underlying connotation of "belonging" to my husband is still there, but I understand that it's eons of tradition dictating his name be attached to our new family unit, and not some diabolical plot to beat me into identity-less submission.  Yes, said traditions sprang from very anti-feminist roots, but the uglier aspects of them have fallen away over the years.  At least now, we have a choice in the matter.

Some day, our family unit will grow.  I hope.  And when it does, I want to have the same last name as my children.  I don't want to get tied up in hyphenation, and wind up with grandchildren who have sixteen last names because their mothers were as reluctant as I was to relinquish the names they grew up with. 

I haven't forgotton who I was from birth to the age of twenty-six, though.  My maiden name still appears in the electronic signature of all my work e-mails.  I put it down as my middle name on my Facebook page.  And some day, if I'm published, I guarantee it will be the name you see on the cover of my book.

Because I am still me.  And because who can pronounce Ciocca, anyway?

Winners of The Name Game Contest!

I was going to wait until Wednesday to post this, but it seemed silly when the contest ended yesterday.

First, another big thank you to everyone who took the time to participate, and everyone who follows this blog!  April seems to be a crazy month and I'm truly grateful to anyone who humored me by playing my little made up game.

Now- the winners!

With a whopping EIGHT out of ten correct, the ARC of Meg Cabot's Abandon and a copy of Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve goes to:

Kristin Rae at Kristin Creative!

The lucky re-tweeter who'll get an ARC of The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch and a copy of What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell is:

Susan Oloier at Memoirs of a Writer!

And- I'd also thrown in a bonus round, offering a mystery prize to a lucky contestant who took a stab at naming my husband.  I think this might have been my favorite part of the competition.  I laughed hysterically at all the suggestions, but only because I can't associate him with any name other than the one on his birth certificate: Domenick.

We DO call him Dom, and there was a guess of Sam.  So, because they're both three letters and end in M, I'm awarding an ARC of Patrick Carman's novel, Floors to:

Elizabeth Briggs at Liz Writes!


Congrats to the winners!  Please e-mail your info to me at gina(dot)ciocca(at)yahoo(dot)com. 

And now, the answers!

1-Tricia, 2-Anthony, 3-Lisa, 4-Samantha, 5-Michael, 6-John, 7-Christina, 8-Tod, 9-Lisa, 10-Diana



It was so much fun to see how you all perceived them.  Thanks again, everyone!

Last Chance to Win Free Books! (Until the Next Contest :)

Whew!  Not gonna lie, I never thought it would be this difficult to get people motivated to win free books.  I mean, hello, free books!  Who would have thought the letters of the alphabet could be more tantalizing than a contest?  Color me baffled.

So, just a reminder that tonight is the cutoff to click here and participate in the Name Game Contest.  You can win up to four YA titles generously donated by Jody, my sales rep at Scholastic Trade. 

Winners will be announced on Wednesday.  After that, I'll probably take a break for a while, as I can practically hear crickets chirping over here at Writer's Blog since the A-Z Challenge started.

Good luck and thank you to everyone who partipated/linked/tweeted, and to those who follow along!

Here's a recap of the prizes:

An ARC of ABANDON by Meg Cabot.  First in a trilogy, pub date April 26th:

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at

once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . .. because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.



But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.


Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.

But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

FEVER CRUMB by Philip Reeve:

Fever Crumb is a girl who has been adopted and raised by Dr. Crumb, a member of the order of Engineers, where she serves as apprentice. In a time and place where women are not seen as reasonable creatures, Fever is an anomaly, the only female to serve in the order. Soon though, she must say goodbye to Dr. Crumb-nearly the only person she's ever known-to assist archeologist Kit Solent on a top-secret project. As her work begins, Fever is plagued by memories that are not her own and Kit seems to have a particular interest in finding out what they are. Fever has also been

singled out by city-dwellers who declare her part Scriven. The Scriveners, not human, ruled the city some years ago but were hunted down and killed in a victorious uprising by the people. If there are any remaining Scriven, they are to be eliminated. All Fever knows is what she's been told: that she is an orphan. Is Fever a Scriven? Whose memories does she hold? Is the mystery of Fever, adopted daughter of Dr. Crumb, the key to the secret that lies at the heart of London?

WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED by Judy Blundell:

When Evie's father returned home from World War II, the family fell back into its normal life pretty quickly. But Joe Spooner brought more back with him than just good war stories. When movie-star handsome Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served in Joe's company in postwar Austria, shows up, Evie is suddenly caught in a complicated web of lies that she only slowly recognizes. She finds herself falling for Peter, ignoring the secrets that surround him . . . until a tragedy occurs that shatters her family and breaks her life in two.

As she begins to realize that almost everything she believed to be a truth was really a lie, Evie must get to the heart of the deceptions and choose between her loyalty to her parents and her feelings for the man she loves. Someone will have to be betrayed. The question is . . . who?

An ARC of THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE by Jeff Hirsch (pub date September 1st)

The wars that followed The Collapse nearly destroyed civilization. Now, twenty years later, the world is faced with a choice—rebuild what was or make something new.



Stephen Quinn, a quiet and dutiful fifteen-year-old scavenger, travels Post-Collapse America with his Dad and stern ex-Marine Grandfather. They travel light. They keep to themselves. Nothing ever changes. But when his Grandfather passes suddenly and Stephen and his Dad decide to risk it all to save the lives of two strangers, Stephen's life is turned upside down. With his father terribly injured, Stephen is left alone to make his own choices for the first time.


Stephen’s choices lead him to Settler's Landing, a lost slice of the Pre-Collapse world where he encounters a seemingly benign world of barbecues, baseball games and days spent in a one-room schoolhouse. Distrustful of such tranquility, Stephen quickly falls in with Jenny Tan, the beautiful town outcast. As his relationship with Jenny grows it brings him into violent conflict with the leaders of Settler's Landing who are determined to remake the world they grew up in, no matter what the cost.

G is for Great Posts, Gray Hair, and Giveaways! (And Gina, of Course!)

I'm not officially participating in the A-Z Challenge, but since I'm partial to the letter G, for obvious reasons, I decided to ride the blogfest's G-themed coattails.

First, I've been meaning to link to some great posts that stood out in my mind, and hadn't really had the chance to work them in.  Well, here's my chance.  First, a fantastic post from the Chocolate and Spice blog about why we love YA romance.  Tracy took the words right out of my mouth - I couldn't have said it better myself.

Also, agent Vicki  Motter did a succinct, informative post on common errors to avoid.  I love agents who elaborate on their pet peeves rather than make you guess.  Or worse, give off the impression that you're expected to be walking-textbook perfect on the first try.  Because, as agent Kristen Nelson proved the other day, even agents make grammatical errors.

Kristen did a post entitled Whose Got Problems?  Dorchester Has Problems.  An anonymous commentator remarked, Uh, don't you mean "Who's Got Problems?" As in "Who Has?"  Kristen didn't respond to the comment, she simply corrected the error.  Let it be a lesson to agents to not skewer us poor, nervous queriers when we show our fallability! 

Speaking of fallability, the one thing we all succumb to in life is age.  Sure, some go down kicking and screaming with whatever muscle movement is left after their Botox treatments, but in the end, age gets all of us.  And it ain't pretty.

The idea of morphing into a faded, wrinkled version of yourself is terrifying to most people, myself included.  I started taking vitamin supplements in college, when I read vitamin A was essential to youthful skin, and lack of vitamin B and D could actually cause premature gray hair.  Gray hair?!  I shuddered at the thought.

Three years ago, my sister and I shared a hotel room on a trip to California, and upon seeing me popping my B-complex tabs, she questioned me about my vitamin regimine.  I explained the gray hair theory, and that was that. 

Unfortunately, the day after we returned from that trip, our Uncle Frank passed away.  At lunch after the funeral, my sister casually remarked, "Oh, by the way, Tod (her husband) and I saw a gray hair on your head at the wake last night."

Pffffff.  That was my actual reaction.  I thought she was busting on me for taking the vitamins and being paranoid.  But when her face remained totally serious, and she started sifting through my hair, I felt panic set in.  Sure enough, seconds later I was staring at a completely colorless piece of hair in my hand, one that had just come from my carefully vitamin-supplemented head.  I was devastated. 

I was only twenty-seven, and I'd never felt so old.  All my illusions came tumbling down around me.  I had to face what I already knew: there is no eternal youth, and there is no eternal life.  Eventually, we'll all shrivel and fade until we meet the same end- another "G" known as the Great Equalizer.

So what do we do in the meantime?  Enjoy every minute of it, gray hair and all.  And you can start by adding some great books to your life through my final G- my Name Game Giveaway!  There's still time to play for some great YA titles.  Here's a synopsis of what's available.  Go now!

An ARC of ABANDON by Meg Cabot.  (First in a trilogy!  Pub date April 26th)

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.



But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.


Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.


But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

FEVER CRUMB by Philip Reeve

Fever Crumb is a girl who has been adopted and raised by Dr. Crumb, a member of the order of Engineers, where she serves as apprentice. In a time and place where women are not seen as reasonable creatures, Fever is an anomaly, the only female to serve in the order. Soon though, she must say goodbye to Dr. Crumb-nearly the only person she's ever known-to assist archeologist Kit Solent on a top-secret project.

As her work begins, Fever is plagued by memories that are not her own and Kit seems to have a particular interest in finding out what they are. Fever has also been singled out by city-dwellers who declare her part Scriven. The Scriveners, not human, ruled the city some years ago but were hunted down and killed in a victorious uprising by the people. If there are any remaining Scriven, they are to be eliminated. All Fever knows is what she's been told: that she is an orphan. Is Fever a Scriven? Whose memories does she hold? Is the mystery of Fever, adopted daughter of Dr. Crumb, the key to the secret that lies at the heart of London?

WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED by Judy Blundell:

When Evie's father returned home from World War II, the family fell back into its normal life pretty quickly. But Joe Spooner brought more back with him than just good war stories. When movie-star handsome Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served in Joe's company in postwar Austria, shows up, Evie is suddenly caught in a complicated web of lies that she only slowly recognizes. She finds herself falling for Peter, ignoring the secrets that surround him . . . until a tragedy occurs that shatters her family and breaks her life in two. As she begins to realize that almost everything she believed to be a truth was really a lie, Evie must get to the heart of the deceptions and choose between her loyalty to her parents and her feelings for the man she loves. Someone will have to be betrayed. The question is . . . who?

An ARC of THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE by Jeff Hirsch (Pub date September 1st):

The wars that followed The Collapse nearly destroyed civilization. Now, twenty years later, the world is faced with a choice—rebuild what was or make something new.


Stephen Quinn, a quiet and dutiful fifteen-year-old scavenger, travels Post-Collapse America with his Dad and stern ex-Marine Grandfather. They travel light. They keep to themselves. Nothing ever changes. But when his Grandfather passes suddenly and Stephen and his Dad decide to risk it all to save the lives of two strangers, Stephen's life is turned upside down. With his father terribly injured, Stephen is left alone to make his own choices for the first time.


Stephen’s choices lead him to Settler's Landing, a lost slice of the Pre-Collapse world where he encounters a seemingly benign world of barbecues, baseball games and days spent in a one-room schoolhouse. Distrustful of such tranquility, Stephen quickly falls in with Jenny Tan, the beautiful town outcast. As his relationship with Jenny grows it brings him into violent conflict with the leaders of Settler's Landing who are determined to remake the world they grew up in, no matter what the cost.

Amazing Book Alert: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

So I just finished Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and I'm feeling very contemplative.  And - not gonna lie- kind of depressed.

If you're like me and you live for those happy endings, this is not the book for you.  I kept hoping Clay's mention of Hannah not having a funeral meant that we'd find she hadn't really gone through with her suicide in the end.  Except she did.  Here is the book synopsis:

Clay Jensen, somewhat shy, California high school student, returns home from school one day to find a box sitting on his doorstep. Upon opening it, he discovers that it is a shoebox containing seven cassette tapes recorded by the late Hannah Baker, his classmate and emotional crush who recently committed suicide. The tapes were initially mailed to one classmate with instructions to pass them from one student to another, in the style of a chain letter. On the tapes, Hannah explains to thirteen people how they played a role in her death, by giving thirteen reasons to explain why she took her life. Curiosity and fear of exposure keep the people on the list listening to the tapes, and Hannah has given a second set of tapes to another character who will leak the tapes if they are not passed on. Through the audio narrative Hannah reveals her pain, and her slide into depression that ultimately leads to her suicide.

To me, the main point of this book is to illustrate that everything, even something that may seem insignificant, leaves a lasting mark on person's life.  Most of the thirteen people who receive Hannah's tapes, Clay included, have no idea why they're on them.  Granted, some of them probably could have figured it out more easily than others, but the vast majority are clueless that their actions had left someone so scarred. 

As Hannah puts it, No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people.  Oftentimes, we have no clue.  Yet we push it just the same.
I couldn't necessarily identify with all of Hannah's "reasons" - having an undeserved bad reputation, being groped and taken advantage of by an obnoxious senior, and feeling responsible for a car accident that claimed the life of a classmate, to name a few - but I could identify with her torment.

High school is brutal.  I still remember the names of the boys in my Biology class who used to draw hideous sketches of me labeled with cruel nicknames, when I had done absolutely nothing to them.  I remember innocently talking to a group of friends in the hall while someone I didn't even know walked by and shouted "Losers" at us.

Those guys probably thought they were hilarious.  They probably got a rise out of belittling people who didn't defend themselves.  But I have to wonder - was it worth it?  What did they really get out of it?  How much fun can it possibly be to make someone question their self worth, or did they not even realize that was what they were doing?

In Hannah's words, when you mess with one part of a person's life, you're not messing with just that part.  Unfortunately, you can't be precise and selective.  When you mess with one part of a person's life, you're messing with their entire life.  And it must be true, because even after all these years, I have zero desire to ever attend one of my high school reunions.  I'm more than happy to leave that part of my life behind, though not in the manner Hannah chose.

It was difficult for me to accept Hannah's choice.  I got that she felt betrayed and violated, that her safe havens were breeched, and the people she trusted let her down.  But by the time someone came along who had no intention of letting her down - Clay - she was so wary of the next thing to "pop out of the woodwork and get her" that she went looking for them.  She completely sabotaged herself.  As Clay put it, she killed herself and blamed everyone else. 

Things didn't have to end the way they did for Hannah, and I hope anyone who's reading this book because they're in a dark place in life realizes it.  I hope anyone who's called someone a loser for sheer entertainment realizes the effect it could have.  If so- bravo, Jay Asher.

My only complaint about this book, aside from the lack of happy ending, is that it gets a little confusing when Clay's thoughts interrupt Hannah's dialogue.  Her speech is in italics, his is not, but it's easy to not notice the difference when you're engrossed.  A few times I had to go back and re-read passages that tripped me up.  On the whole, though, it's a really beautiful read.  If you can handle the heavier subject matter, definitely add this one to your list.

The Name Game Contest! (AKA Amazing ARC Giveaway!)

I'm hosting my first contest! Thanks to my awesome sales rep at Scholastic Trade, I have some great prizes to give away (you ROCK, Jody B.!), so I hope you'll all participate.  Now for the deets.

I got to thinking about how character's get their names.  Sometimes I have a name first and a face later, sometimes vice versa.  The name has to fit the character.  It almost feels like I'm naming my children, because my characters are so much a part of me, and their names are so much a part of them.

We've all looked at someone and thought, dude, his/her name totally does not fit his/her face. 

This time, you be the judge.

Below is a photo with me and some of my cousins (yes, I said some.  I have a big family).  You'll notice I've assigned a number to everyone but me and my husband.  Below the photo, you'll find a list of names.

The Rules:
You must

- Follow this blog, if you aren't already
- Leave me one comment with your guess by Monday, April 11th
** Anyone who reposts/tweets/links to this contest and leaves me the link in their comment will be eligible for for two additional prizes!**

Using the names provided, decide which name best fits the person in the photo and match one name to each numbered person.  Leave me your guesses in a comment.  The person with the highest number of correct guesses (or if there are several correct guesses, the person selected randomly from them) will win the following:

An ARC of Meg Cabot's newest novel (first in a trilogy! Pub date April 26th), and a copy of Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve!

For the people who choose to repost/link/tweet - all you A-Z'ers, I'm giving you a golden opportunity (C is for contest, G is for giveaway, F is for free books.  You can totally work it it there.)  - you will be eligible to also win the following:



What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell, and an ARC of The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch (pub date September 1st)!

Ready?  Here is the photo:

Now the names.  The Gals:                                      

Diana

Lisa

Tricia

Lisa (Yes, there are two Lisa's in the photo)

Samantha

Christina

The Guys:

John

Anthony

Tod

Michael

Pretend they're your characters, and these are the only names you can choose from.  GO!! 

P.S.- We all know my name is Gina, but I've never mentioned my husband's name.  If anyone wants to take a stab at inventing a name for him, there may just be another prize involved!

Memory Lane Blogfest!

The Memory Lane Blogfest was too fun to pass up.  Even if this is the first you're hearing about it, the questions are super easy so go sign up now!

Post your answers to these questions:


When did you start your blog? My first post was October 27, 2010

What is first denomination (price) of postage stamp you remember?   Oddly enough, 29 cents.  I looked it up, and I would have been 13 or 14 at the time, though I have no idea why I would have been taking notice of postage stamps!

How old were you when you learned to ride a bike?   Yikes, on the old side.  I think 9 or 10.

What was the first concert you attended without parental supervision?   I want to say Elton John with my husband.  I've also seen Aerosmith, Chicago, and my first concert was Debbie Gibson, but those were all attended with parent-types.

How old were you when you got your first kiss?  Around the same age I started taking notice of postage stamps, apparently.

What is your earliest memory?  Sitting on a couch with my mom, watching two men carry a piece of furniture up the stairs to our apartment.  Touching the iron and burning my finger is my next earliest- not so fond of that one.  I still have flashbacks every time I iron one of my husband's shirts.

Two Awards in one Week! I Must Have Mad Blogging Skills!

 

I was super excited to be the recipient of two awards this week!  First I was given the One Lovely Blog Award by Heidi!

Then I was given the Versatile Blog Award by Aleeza!

It makes my day any time someone is kind enough to tell me that not only does my blog not suck, it's actually kind of enjoyable.  I am still floored that I ever got past one follower - that I got past zero, actually.  So thanks so much to everyone who voluntarily clicks on my link to see what I'm rambling about on any given day!

According to Heidi's award, I need to pay it forward to 3 more deserving bloggers.  Those bloggers are:

1) Aleeza, because she's just all-around lovely, and does some of the best book reviews ever.

2) Meredith.  I love the photo in the title bar of her blog.  Plus, she's always posting about things that make her happy, so it's a very uplifting blog to visit!

3) Heather, because her blog is princess-y and fun!

For Aleeza's Award, I need to pay it forward to 10 bloggers and also list 7 facts about myself.  I've done this before, so I'll try to come up with new info that's somehow interesting despite my very normal, very boring life.  Here goes.

1) I used to have great hair.  Like beautiful, dark curls cascading down my back (um, yeah, on a good day).  Look, I'll show you:

The funny part is, this picture was only taken three years ago, but every year since, my hair got a little more limp, a little more frizzy, and a little more unmanageable.  Now, you'd be hard-pressed to not find me sporting a ponytail.  Getting old sucks.

2) I am addicted Double Stuf Oreos.  I smash them into Cookies N Cream ice cream, because the cream to cookie ratio simply isn't enough for me.

3) My favorite place to read is curled up in a black leather arm chair in my study.

4) My favorite color is red, though I didn't know it until I started planning my wedding and incorporating it into everything.  Like my flowers:

5) My birthday is May 11th, and the year I was born, it fell on Mother's Day.  It's kind of hard to top that gift!

6) I fell and cracked my right knee cap while on a tour of Spain, and wasn't allowed to walk the gardens at the Alhambra with the rest of my group.  I'm still mad about it.

7) I'm posting my first contest on Sunday night!  Come back for the chance to win some amazing ARCs and books!

And the my recipients of The Versatile Blog Award are (only doing 5, since this is a two-in-one, and since I'm still building my followers and followees) :

- Heidi

- Katie

- Tracy

- Michael

- Stina

Stop by their blogs and you'll see why!