RTW: Tardy As Usual...

Hello strangers.  I swear this book is sucking the life right out of me, but from what I hear, that is a good thing.  I'm sufficiently invested.  Anyway, my tardiness is showing again but I felt compelled to participate in yesterday's Road Trip Wednesday question, seeing as it's a phenomenal one.

YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesday question of the week:

What song would you love to see a book based on?

I actually spent a lot of time thinking this one over, and though I tried really hard to distance the question from my own WIP, sadly I just couldn't.  I am so immersed in the story I can't seem to direct my creative kool-aid down another avenue.  So, after much hair pulling and frustrated groaning, I came up with one of the songs that has been a significant influence in my own WIP.

I am sure most of you out there are familiar with Florence and the Machine.  I find their music to be very helpful while I'm writing and I listen to it often.  Every one of their songs has a super epic feel to it and I guess that helps me write.  The song that I've played so many times my kids are humming it around the house is "No Light, No Light".  It encompasses a lot of what my characters are going through and seems to summarize the overall tone of my story pretty well.  I don't want to give too much away because I'm an anxious ball of nerves when it comes to discussing the premise of my book, but I wanted to share the song that has fueled much of the story for me.

Here's the song, in case you aren't familiar with it:

(I chose not to provide the music video for this song, which depicts gyrating men, choir boys, voodoo, and other wacky things that seem to be very typical of a Florence and the Machine video, because unfortunately I have none of these things going on in my story.  The lyrics are the focus here.  Maybe in the next book, I'll include some of this to liven it up a bit...)


And now the hermit is telling me it's time to crawl back into the writing cave.  It sure was nice to see you, sunshine.  Does anyone else have a particular artist or song that either fuels their writing or should be made into a book?

RTW: Superhuman Skills

We're trekking along on the YA Highway again for Road Trip Wednesday.  So buckle up and enjoy the ride!  This week's question asks:

This Week's Topic: In our Bookmobile selection this month, Amy Tintera's REBOOT, the main character has died and been reborn as a robot-like soldier. If you were reborn faster, stronger, and quicker healing, what's the first thing you'd do?

The idea of being reborn into a superhuman version of myself is one I haven't thought of since I was a kid.  I can remember wishing I was faster, stronger, and quicker healing many times as a kid, particularly when my older brother was chasing me, tying me to trees, and otherwise picking on his annoying little sister.  Now, I'm not sure I would even know what to do with superhuman skills. 

There are the menial tasks that my superhuman quickness could accomplish in a matter of minutes, like cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, cooking dinner, and things like that.  I could probably be in and out of the grocery store in under five minutes and carry all the groceries in one trip.  I could actually open the monstrous jar of pickles all by myself. 

Sure, there are a lot of things I could do with my new-found superhuman skills.  But I think before I tackled all that, I would want to do something fun to challenge myself.  How cool would it be to be able to just flat out run until your legs can't run anymore and wind up in Brazil or somewhere far, far away?  Then go for a light swim and voila; you wash up on the beach in Casablanca.  I think that's what I would do first: travel the world on my own two feet.  The super-speedy house cleaning and butt-kicking action would come later. 

What would you do with superhuman skills?

RTW: What's in Your Post-Apocalyptic Carry-On?

Road Trip Wednesday... on a Tuesday???  Yep, we're bending rules on the blog, today.  Good thing, too, because my writer-hermit brain needed a jumpstart this morning.  Last week's question at YA Highway asked:

If you time-traveled to a post-apocalyptic future, what would you bring?

 Everyone fortunate enough to know me knows that I am a notorious over-packer.  For some reason, I feel the need to prepare for various catastrophic events every time my family and I travel.  Everyone knows the one time you don't bring the winter parka is the time you will need it.  Never mind that it's July and going to be eighty degrees the whole trip, just bring it anyway.

But traveling to a post-apocalyptic future might actually be a simple thing for me.  The worst has already happened, so there isn't really much to be prepared for. 

I would definitely need to bring some fresh produce since I'm guessing there won't be much available post-apocalypse;  some fresh fruit and veggies ought to perk up the ashen gray scene. 

I would also have to bring a few books, because who knows how many would survive the apocalypse?

I think a jar of peanut butter would also be in order.  Maybe an extra jar to barter with; I would think peanut butter would be a pretty hot commodity in a world of canned sardines and stale crackers. 

Also, some batteries.  Doesn't it always seem like the people that survive apocalyptic catastrophes are in serious need of batteries? 

And the most important thing inside my duffel would have to be seeds.  I would bring copious amounts of seeds.  Watermelon, zucchini, tomatoes, carrots; you name it, I'll grow it.  Now let's just hope I can find some sort of fresh, non-zombie-virus-infested water source...

What would your bag include?

RTW: In Your Dreams

This week's Road Trip Wednesday question over at the YA Highway asks:

Conference season is here! We are getting all excited for BEA and ALA (check out the get-together we have planned with Stacked for ALA!), and we want to know: What authors would be on your dream author panel?

 I must admit I have never been to a Writers' Conference before.  I have always wanted to go to one, but have yet to muster enough courage to market myself in person.  (Yes, I know I'll have to get over it at some point if I want my book published, but for now I'm content to oblige the writer-hermit in me and remain holed up in the basement working on my manuscript.)

But if I were to go to a conference in my dreams and see an entire panel of authors of my choosing, not only would it be amazing, but it would be extremely beneficial.  I would probably choose authors that have boggled my mind at one point or another with their amazing story-telling talents. 

For their astounding world-building skills, I would choose Lois Lowry and Aldous Huxley.  For the beautifully simplistic way in which they compose a sentence, I would choose William Kennedy and Edgar Allen Poe.  For simply writing a story that broke the boundaries of the YA genre, I would choose J.K. Rowling.  And finally, for showing us newbie writers how your wildest dreams of being published can come true and being a real honest human being about it, I would choose Veronica Roth.  (She also wrote an amazing series and should be recognized for that as well!)

These are all authors that, in some way or another, have made me love the written word and the craft of writing it.  If I had a chance to pick their brains at a Writers' Conference, I would be one happy gal.

What would your dream panel be and why?

RTW: The One That Got Away

Hello YA Highway.  How I've missed the time we share together on Road Trip Wednesdays.  It's good to feel the wind in my hair again.

Although they haven't actually made this week's question live yet, I am taking liberties and running with it anyway.  A busy mom only has so many windows in which to blog, you know.  Besides, it was posted on last week's question as a teaser for this week.  (Yep, I'm a gun jumper.)  This week's question over at the YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesday asks:

What book is your 'one that got away?' (What book have you always been dying to read but still haven't yet?)

Let's begin with a little disclaimer, shall we?  I am a horribly awful procrastinator.  I am also a notorious "starter" of things and have difficulty following through.  (See my About Me page)  Series are particularly hard for me, unless they are riveting and capture my attention the entire way through.  I can think of only a handful of series that had me carting kids to the bookstore at odd hours of the day to pick up the next installment because I simply couldn't wait any longer.  (Hello Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Divergent, and  Robert Langdon series)  And yes, I am that weird lady with whiny children perusing the YA section of the bookstore.  I can't be the only one...

So it should come as no surprise that the "one that got away" for me is a series I never got around to finishing.  I idolize Stephen King for his unique writing style and "what you see is what you get" attitude.  I have read many of his books and enjoyed them all.  The series I have been meaning to finish for quite some time now is his foray into the fantasy genre, "The Dark Tower" Series.  I read the first book, "The Gunslinger" at a time in my life when I was distracted by other things, so I didn't retain a lot of the events and key points in the book.  I think this had something to do with my lack of excitement to move on to the next book in the series.  I have been intending to revisit Roland and his multiverse and just haven't gotten around to it yet.  Maybe this was the kick in the butt I needed to pick it up again!

Does anyone else have a book or series that got away?

RTW: Robot-like Humans or Human-like Robots?

We're going Sci-fi on the blog today.  This week's topic over at the YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesday is:

In our Bookmobile selection this month, Debra Driza's MILA 2.0, the main character discovers she's an android trained to obey orders. We want to know: What other human-like robots (or robot-like humans?) have you enjoyed in books, TV, or movies?

Robots in real life are boring.  They are pretty much only useful for things like building cars or sucking up your wayward popcorn kernels under your couch while you're at work.  Robots in fiction and movies, however, are badass.  They almost always have super-human strength because, well, why not?  They are almost always better looking than us lowly humans.  (Hello "Fembots", "Gigolo Joe", "Marcus Wright", and basically every other cinematic android ever created)  They are often created with some form of humanistic qualities, which later turns into quite a conundrum when they inevitably develop feelings and attempt to ascertain what constitutes humanity.  Also, for some unknown reason, robots are almost always subservient to humans, when they possess the obvious ability to outnumber, outwit, and out-muscle us in every way.  It sure does make for a good story, though...

 

The very first character I thought of when I read this question was Rachael from the movie "Blade Runner".  It's an old-school gem by Ridley Scott that explores the parameters of what makes us human and therefor different from a robot.  When the differences become blurred and almost impossible to distinguish, the philosophical pondering really starts.  Rachael is a character that drives the debate of what makes a human, well, human.  To me, she exemplifies the human-like robot concept.

 

Another character that jumped out at me was Bender, from the tv show "Futurama".  I am not a devout follower of the show, but from the few episodes I have seen, Bender seems quite human in nature.  On the show, he is described as, "an alcoholic, whore-mongering, chain-smoking gambler".  Those seem like very human qualities to me.  Plus, he makes me laugh.


Anyone else have a robot-like human or human-like robot from books, movies, or tv to share?

RTW: Poetry Month

YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesday

April is National Poetry Month, as I'm sure you're all aware by now.  That means lots of lovely verse has been floating around the interweb ether for a few weeks.  It has even found its way onto the YA Highway Blog!  Today's Road Trip Wednesday question asks us to share our favorite poem and/or poet.  I find this prompt to be exceedingly difficult; impossible, actually.  To pick just one favorite poem or poet would be like choosing just one thing to eat for the rest of your life.  With so many delicious options available and an ever-changing mood, how could one possibly declare just one thing above all others? 

There are far too many poems that I would label favorites for me to share in one post, but I have chosen one that speaks to me today and has done so many times in the past.  I love this particular poem because it describes my personality so very well.  I tend to take things very personally and feel the weight of others' burdens on my own shoulders as well.  

After what happened at the Boston Marathon this week, I have been in a somewhat despairing mood.  For some reason, these tragic events weigh heavily on me and I find it difficult to shake them off and continue with everyday life.  I have been told many times in my life that I take things too personally and need to develop thicker skin.  This is especially true in the writing industry, where criticism is thrown at you whether you want to play catch or not.

So here is my favorite poem of the moment:

Personal

By Tony Hoagland

Don’t take it personal, they said;

but I did, I took it all quite personal—

the breeze and the river and the color of the fields;

the price of grapefruit and stamps,

the wet hair of women in the rain—

And I cursed what hurt me

and I praised what gave me joy,

the most simple-minded of possible responses.

The government reminded me of my father,

with its deafness and its laws,

and the weather reminded me of my mom,

with her tropical squalls.

Enjoy it while you can, they said of Happiness

Think first, they said of Talk

Get over it, they said

at the School of Broken Hearts

but I couldn’t and I didn’t and I don’t

believe in the clean break;

I believe in the compound fracture

served with a sauce of dirty regret,

I believe in saying it all

and taking it all back

and saying it again for good measure

while the air fills up with I’m-Sorries

like wheeling birds

and the trees look seasick in the wind.

Oh life! Can you blame me

for making a scene?

You were that yellow caboose, the moon

disappearing over a ridge of cloud.

I was the dog, chained in some fool’s backyard;

barking and barking:

trying to convince everything else

to take it personal too.

Anyone else have an opinion or favorite to share?

By the way, if you are a writer of fiction or non-fiction and haven't developed an appreciation for poetry yet,  check this out.

RTW: From Page to Screen

Road Trip Wednesday

This week over at the YA Highway, the question addresses the magical journey of book to film.  The question asks:

The Veronica Mars Kickstarter success makes us wonder, what YA book would you raise $2 million to see a movie version of?

First of all, I must confess that I have never seen Veronica Mars.  Shocking, I know.  It seems like everyone on Earth, including the cave trolls of LotR, have seen this show.  There has been a lot of talk about the whole raising money to make the movie thing and it really got me thinking.  Why in the world would us normal people that make normal amounts of money need to contribute anything when those Hollywood folks with all their millions could just lift up a couch cushion and find $2 million laying among the cheerios and long lost Nerf darts?  What is that all about?

Anyway, my answer to this question came to me instantly and it is my absolute favorite YA book I have ever read.  Yes, I am going to go old-school on the blog today.  The answer is:

The Giver by Lois Lowry

 

I remember reading this book for school when I was very young and it really left an impression on me.  I didn't fully understand it the first time I read it, but I came back to it several times as I got older and I found more layers revealed themselves to me every time.  It is such an imaginative book and I would love to see it explored in film.  It would have to be done right, though.  All this franchise crap coming out these days has destroyed the book to film leap for me somewhat.  With the right director and team behind it, I think The Giver would be a project I would fight for.

By the way, I just checked out what is hiding underneath my couch cushions out of curiosity.  A treasure trove of lost items, let me tell you.  Among the goods: 2 Nerf darts, 3 Legos, 6 cheerios, 3 pennies, 1 quarter, 1 christmas light bulb and a whole mess of popcorn pieces.  No $2 million.  I could always check the car...

RTW- A Three-fold Journey Through Time and Space

Road Trip Wednesday

It's Wednesday again, and you know what that means: a road trip on the YA Highway!   This week's question is an intriguing one that I had difficulty answering:

If you could visit any country with a fictional character as your guide, who would you pick and where would you go?

My indecisive nature rang true while thinking about this one and, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't narrow down my list of top three people and places to one.  I also struggled with the fact that, in posting this answer, I will be revealing to the world my deepest nerdy desires to travel with people who don't really exist to places that may or may not exist.

Oh well.

So, I will give you my top three.  They would all be equally awesome, in my opinion.  I used the destination concept very loosely in deciding where I would visit and also some are in a different time as well.  There goes my imagination again.

Trip #1
Guide:  Indiana Jones
Destination:  Egypt, early 20th century

 

Growing up, my dream was to become an archeologist.  I was obsessed with everything relating to ancient Egypt and fantasized about running important archeological digs and discovering the tombs of the pharaohs beneath the sand.  I remember watching the Indiana Jones movies and latching onto his character with enthusiasm.  I absolutely idolized him.  I think a trip to Egypt during the time when a lot of the Valley of the Kings was being discovered would be a stellar adventure.  We'd probably run into trouble with some locals, but good ol' Indie and his trusty whip would get us out alive! 


Trip #2
Guide:   Albus Dumbledore
Destination:  Hogwarts

 

This one is easy and universal.  Who wouldn't love a guided tour of one of the richest fictional places ever created alongside the man that lives there and knows all of its deepest secrets???  Dumbledore seems like the kind of guy that wouldn't hold back on all the wild and fun aspects of the castle, even if it meant a little danger was involved.


Trip #3
Guide:  Jay Gatsby
Destination:  Prohibition-era Manhattan

 

Gatsby may have been a lying, manipulative, selfish person, but let's face it: the guy knew how to throw a party.  What I wouldn't give to throw caution to the wind and dive into that carefree, live-in-the-moment lifestyle just for a weekend.  I certainly couldn't live forever that way, but there is something very alluring about his consuming ambition.  If I could tag along on one of his weekend soirees, I imagine he would be a magnificent host.

I would love to hear any other opinions or ideas on a great trip with a fictional guide.  Think I got it all wrong?  Set me straight!  Who and where would you choose?

Road Trip Wednesday: Best Book of March

It's Road Trip Wednesday Time

This week's question on YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesday is:

What was the best book you read in March?

Oh, decisions!  How will I ever choose?  Oh wait, this is easy.  I would love to project an aura of Wonder Woman to you all and boast about how I've read twelve books this month in addition to spring cleaning my entire house, finishing my own novel, and discovering the cure for childhood boredom.  Unfortunately, none of those things happened in the month of March.  Perhaps in April...

Anyway, I really only read one book this past month, so I suppose it gets my vote.  It was really good and deserves to be best of March in my opinion.  The book was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  Not really a YA book, I know, but hey, it's slim pickins around here!  I love the dark and edgy tone that is just dripping with wit and suspense.  I would definitely recommend it.

This question is a great reminder of the importance of reading as a writer.  I am a firm believer that if you continually read good writing, it will begin to rub off on you.  If you surround yourself with crap or with no writing at all, that's probably all that will come out when you write: crap, or nothing at all.  So immerse yourself in great literature of all kinds and further your craft.  Happy Wednesday.

Road Trip Wednesday

Before I begin with YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesday question, I would like to address something first.  There is a bit of a stigma that goes along with both reading and writing the young adult genre that I would hereby like to banish from this blog.  Just because it is titled "Young Adult" does not mean you have to be a young adult to enjoy it.  There are some wonderful books out there that I, myself, have enjoyed and been laughed at or whispered about because of said enjoyment.  Guess what?

I don't care.

You can call me childish.  You can call me silly.  You can call me whatever you want.  I like some young adult books.  And I have entertained the idea of writing a young adult novel as well.  I think it's high time some of the literary snobs stopped turning up their nose every time a serious writer mentions they are writing a young adult piece.  It may not be as profound as your literary novel, but it means just as much to just as many people, whether they are teenagers or grown-ups with big imaginations.

There, now that's out of the way.

YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesday

I have been a follower of the YA Highway for a while now and decided I would start participating in their Road Trip Wednesday "Blog Carnival".  They post a question and invite followers to answer on their own blogs.  If you visit their site, you can click on the different links in the comments and read everyone's replies.  The question for this week is:

What novellas would you like to see inspire YA books?

The first novella that came to mind is George Orwell's Animal Farm.  I remember reading it in junior high school and thinking wow, this guy had a serious issue with Russian dictators.  Or maybe just an insider's knowledge of the hierarchy on a farm.  Anyway, it wasn't until much later that I developed an appreciation for the message within the story.  If the story didn't leave as much of an impression on you, let me refresh your memory.  

On the dystopian Manor Farm, the animals, lead by some radical pigs, revolt against the tyrannical Mr. Jones.  They establish their own set of rules called Animalism (a.k.a. Communism) and unite themselves against the humans.  But that sneaky pig, Napoleon, takes certain liberties with the rules and leads the animals back into oppression with his "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others" law.

I think these timeless concepts of equality, false allegiance, and political corruption would make a kick-ass YA novel today.  There are literally millions of instances where young people come in contact with the ideas of oppression, virtue, and rebellion.  I would love to see that message captured into a sort of YA cautionary tale.  I can see a Snowball-type character, the unsung hero, defeating the evil and power-hungry Napoleon character.  Maybe it could be adapted to the hierarchy of high school?  I think we're on to something here...

Thanks for reading and remember, "Four legs good, two legs bad"!  Just kidding.  Enjoy your Wednesday.