Kimberly Franklin

My return to the world of blogging...

2011-12-29T07:00:00.001-06:00

Is coming soon. Really soon. YAY! I know you guys are all so excited! Right? Or maybe you didn't even miss me. Who knows?

But seeing as today is not the day for my "real" return to the blogging world, I wanted to get in touch with someone who emailed me yesterday about my blog template. I would love to help you, but I have no return email address. So, if you emailed me, please do so again!

And until I see you guys again, Happy New Year!!!

Giveaway Alert! Win an autographed copy of Forever by Maggie Stiefvater!!!

2011-08-05T07:00:00.009-05:00

Time for a Giveaway, don't you think??? We think HECK YES!

Recently Kristi *waves hi* had a chance to attend a Forever signing in NC and snagged an autographed copy for one lucky winner(click here to read and see photos from the signing) Here's the prize:

Haven't heard of Forever (btw-where have you been???)

Here you go:

Goodreads Description:
The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stievater

In Maggie Stiefvater's SHIVER, Grace and Sam found each other. In LINGER, they fought to be together. Now, in FOREVER, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

All you have to do to enter is fill out the form and follow ONE of these blogs:

booKrushed

Kristin Creative

Kimberly Franklin

Don't worry you over achievers out there!

There are ways to get extra entries!

If you're a huge Maggie fan like we are, you can follow, tweet, and post to your heart's content, just make sure to include the links on the form when you fill it out. One form per person, so try to fit it all in.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

Other cool Forever links:

Maggie's website

Maggie's blog

Maggie's Twitter (@mstiefvater )

Buy the book here

GOOD LUCK to you all and HAPPY READING!

Author Signing: Kiersten White, Supernaturally

2011-08-01T07:00:00.002-05:00

Last night I had the opportunity to go to an author signing. And that alone makes me all kinds of excited. But more than that, I got to attend a Kiersten White signing, which basically makes me want to squee! SQUEE!

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Anyway, so yeah. This was actually my first author signing (unless you want to count R.L. Stine, which I went to when I was still in elementary school), and it was so much cooler than what I could have ever expected. My writer girls (especially Kristin, who lives in Houston where basically every author goes ALL THE TIME! Lucky...) are always going to signings and telling me how fun, cool, and motivating they are. Well..... they were right! I'm so excited to get back on track with my writing!

Enough babbling, now here's some pics:

Kiersten signing books.

More book signing.... in pretty pink and red markers too!

Evie's cupcake corner. So cute!

Kiersten at the podium.

Side note: First of all, sorry for the non-zoomed in pictures. Apparently I have no idea how to work my phone. No, wait. I HAVE no idea how to work my phone's camera and forgot my regular camera, which totally sucks.

Back to side note: If you read Kiersten's blog you know how she mentions, sometimes, that she's tiny. Short. Something to that effect. Well... she's not joking. She is so cute and tiny. When she first came up she couldn't see over the podium and told a little story about her kitchen sink at home. It was so cute!

This is the cute Supernaturally ring that was on the cupcakes. Is it bad that I picked off the ring and tossed the cupcake? Regretting that right now. They sure looked good!

And now that you've seen some pictures, here's a little video I took from the chat before the signing. I recorded little segments (because on top of not knowing how to work the camera on my phone (or video either, which you will see because it's all squished. Kiersten may be small, but she's definitely not squished! Sorry in advance!) but the battery was also almost dead. As you can tell, I come prepared! HA!

I hope you guys enjoyed! And if you ever get a chance to see Kiersten White in person.... jump on it. It was a blast!

In the blink of an eye...

2011-07-18T06:00:00.001-05:00

It's funny how things can change so fast. Literally in the blink of an eye. One minute everything is normal, and then the next.... not so normal. It isn't like this is unheard of, I mean it happens someone every day, but when it happens to you, well, that's when things change.

I started off this year full of pep and energy, excited to see what the year brought me. And the first few months, while uneventful, were normal. And like I shared before, April and May, well, they were not the easiest of months. But then there was June. June was the worst month to date.

Some of you may or may not know that I LOVE dogs. I have no kids, so my dogs are my fur babies. Just a few days shy of a month ago one of my fur babies, and the youngest one of the whole bunch, was diagnosed with lung cancer. Or maybe a heart tumor. They weren't really sure. Pretty much all we knew was he was sick and it didn't look good. Two days later he died. And that's when everything hit rock bottom. The black cloud that's been hanging over my house for months finally dropped the biggest downpour of all. Of course, dogs die. Everyone dies. I know this. But when it happens to someone you love, it just sort of changes you. In good ways and bad. It makes you realize that life is so much shorter than you could ever expect, and that you must take advantage of the time we do have. Do the things we love. Don't obsess over things that are out of our control. Basically, live your life the way you want it to be, don't wait and wish for the way you hope it turns out. These are all things we tend to forget as time passes. Life's busy, dang it!

However, with that being said, that's what I've been trying to do. Slowly, but surely. No more pressure. If I don't write for one day. One week. Two months. It's okay. If I want to spend all day watching TV, even though there are a thousand and two other things I NEED to be doing, so what. Naturally, I'm very obsessive. I want things to be perfect, but life's messy and not perfect. It never will be. So that's where I've been for the past month. Two months? I can't even remember when I posted last.

Not to mention, our house flooded a few days after all of this happened. Imagine shoes floating in your closet! Two inches of water covering half of your house. Not fun! And.... yes, there is more. It's like I'm the bad news bear over here or something. One of our other fur babies had to have laser eye surgery because he had a cornea ulcer (See his eye? It has to be stitched shut for two weeks! Talk about pain!). Now, it's pretty bad when your dog gets doggie lasik before you, yourself do!

So it's been crazy around here. I'm hoping that things settle down. I'm wishing for Fall to hurry up and get here. It's been way too hot and I'm ready to snuggle up in warm blanket and enjoy the crisp fall breeze.

I did not write this for sympathy. It's just something I'm feeling. I hope all of you are living your life to the fullest every day. Not wishing your life away waiting for the weekend (which I fully admit, I still do most of the time. Especially on Mondays!). No one wants to wake up one day and wonder... where did my life go? No one.

On a much happier, non-depressing, whining, blah, whatever side note: We got a new puppy (despite the fact that I always vowed I never would! Because, yeah, they're cute! But they are also A LOT of TROUBLE!)

Meet Jaxon. Isn't he so freaking adorable?!?!?!!!

How have you guys been? Enjoying your summer? Anything new happening??

A new day, a new design

2011-06-06T07:00:00.029-05:00

Hey all! Did you all have a really good weekend? I really don't have much to say here, nevertheless, I still wanted to post because I have a new blog design! YAY!

You may not know this, but I'm kind of addicted to blog design. Which is why I change my design so much. Plus, there's no better way to start off blogging with a fresh new look, right? Or maybe I'm just crazy. Oh well.

So, other than my new design, I wanted to talk about the new Summer TV line up. There are a few I'm excited for. Though, I'm not sure why I'm so excited because it seems that every Summer new shows come on, I love them, and then they are promptly canceled! It sucks. But, that's not enough to stop me from watching them.

Here are a few new ones I'm excited about:

Teen Wolf

Switched at Birth

The Nine Lives of Chloe King

They're all so new and shiny. But that isn't it. I know these aren't new, but I still can't wait for them!

And the one I'm most excited for....

True Blood!

I can't wait! So, what are you watching this Summer???

Happy Monday!!

I'm Back!

2011-05-31T07:00:00.005-05:00

Hey everyone! It's been a super long time since I last posted. It's Summer now (well, not officially, but in Texas... it's Summer!), and I'm excited that things have slowed down enough so I can get back into a regular posting schedule.

The last time I posted I was in the middle of some major redecorating. And... well, I did finish most everything I wanted to get done (except the one and only room I planned on redecorating in the first place. How does that always happen??)!

But while I was away, there was a lot of other things that went on. I mean... A LOT!

Winter ended.

Spring began.

My precious Boxer, Mack, was attacked by another dog! (I have pictures, but they're not pretty!)

Bad storms came through our area that resulted major fence damage (like, the entire fence was knocked down. Not fun!)

Most of you probably remember this, THE ROYAL WEDDING!

Aw, isn't that just so sweet! And isn't she just so pretty? I swear, the week before the wedding all I watched was shows about the Royal wedding. It was so much fun!

And then all was quiet until last week when one of these came through...

This is an actual picture from of the many tornadoes that touched down last week in North Texas. Thankfully we didn't sustain any damage, but a lot of people in our area did. Pretty scary stuff!

So, all in all, there were a lot of things going on. More than I can remember, actually. But the important part is.... I'M BACK!

I've missed you all so much! And even though I haven't commented much (at all!), I have been lurking in the backgrounds and reading posts throughout the whole time I've been away. I think my little break has done me well, because now I feel energized and ready to go!

While I was gone, I started writing again. Of course, I'm not writing at record speed here. But I consider the fact that I'm even writing as a mini-miracle in my book. Because writing.... hasn't been happening around my house in a while.

Anyway, I know this post is getting a little long and ramble-y. The main point of my post was just to say HI!

So.... HI!

I'll try to keep posting regularly. My goal is to post at least once a week, but I'm not going to force myself, so sometimes it might only be once every two weeks. Or even once a month. But, I'll be here, and I hope to see everyone and get a chance to visit everyone soon!

Hope everyone has had a good start to Summer!

PS: Today I'm also posting over at BooKrushed. So if you get a chance, please stop by!

On Hiatus

2011-02-28T06:00:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone, I know I've been sort of MIA lately. Sorry for that. Right now I'm finding it hard to concentrate on blogging, especially when so many things need to be done. And none of them are actually getting done, go figure. So I've decided to take a little break. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, probably around a month or two tops.

I've mentioned it previously on the blog. I'm redecorating my entire house right now, and it's taking all of my time and energy, plus some. Also, I don't know about all of you, but apparently Spring has come early in Texas. Or, at least in Fort Worth, Texas. The last week or two has been 60's, 70's, and 80's, and I'm finding it hard to resist the lovely weather. I have to take advantage while I can, before I know it, it'll be June and 100+. YUCK. Not looking forward to that!

So, anyway, back to the important stuff. Even though I'll be on hiatus on this blog, I will still be posting on BooKrushed every Tuesday. So if you miss me, please stop by and say HI! We love getting visitors. Also, I'll still be stalking your blogs and probably commenting at random. Sometimes I just can't resist.

I hope you all have a lovely rest of Winter. I plan to see you guys in a couple of months when Spring is well underway and everything around my house is back to normal. And hopefully, I will have gotten some writing done--even though I'm not counting on it. UGH. Home renovations are so tiresome!

See you guys soon!!!

Across the Universe ARC Tour

2011-02-21T06:00:00.001-06:00

I think you can gather by the title that an ARC of Across the Universe by Beth Revis is on tour. And it's next scheduled stop is with Kristin Rae!

Okay, so I'm a little behind on this post. Sorry for that in advance. Several weeks ago (actually about a week before the ATU launch date) I received the opportunity from the lovely Abby Minard to get a chance to read an ARC of Across the Universe before the book released. And I have to admit, I was super excited. I mean, I have been waiting for this book to release for what seemed like forever! And Abby picked me! But I can't forget to give credit where credit's due, because if it weren't for Cinnamon (who so graciously decided to send her ATU ARC on a tour across the universe (umm... okay, maybe just across the world)) I would never have gotten the chance to read the ARC in the first place.

So I want to thank both Abby and Cinnamon for giving me that chance!

I read Across the Universe in about a day. It was fabulous! And I totally plan on writing a review in the near future.

I hope you guys get a chance to read this one--it released on 1/11/11.

Spring Fever

2011-01-26T06:00:00.001-06:00

Okay, so post is totally off the topic of anything reading and writing related, but I just have to share with you what I'm up to. Hope you don't mind!

I know there is still a few months to go before Spring is in full swing, but it seems that I've caught Spring Fever a little early.

Spring is one of my favorite seasons of the year. The air is usually perfect--not too hot and not too cold. The flowers are starting to bloom and the trees are starting to bud. The world is becoming so green (which is one of my favorite colors) and I love it. Not only that, but I'm a dork. I love spring cleaning. It makes me happy for some odd reason. Getting rid of junk and re-organizing is always the highlight of my Spring. Only, this year, along with Spring Fever it seems I've caught another, potentially dangerous, bug.

I have design fever, too! Ekk!

My hubby and I bought our house back in 2004, and since then we have repainted (much to his protest) almost every room in our house. We've decorated (and by "we" I mean "I") every room of this house. We've even made some major decorating renovations, like adding in pretty granite counter tops to our bathrooms and fancy bowl sinks. This is always very fun for me, but not so much for my poor hubby. I'm afraid he didn't know what he was getting himself into when we signed the papers and they handed us the keys.

And now.... I'm tired of the paint. I'm tired of our furniture. I'm just tired.... of everything. So I plan to do something about it this year. A few years ago when we started decorating, we were operating on a more limited budget. Not that we have a huge one now, but we are able to afford a little more than before. So I told my hubby this weekend that this year we are going to re-decorate the entire house!

And he screamed with joy! Okay, more like moaned and started weeping. I like to imagine he was excited as I, though, so I'm sticking with screamed with joy! Of course, before I start re-designing my whole house, I needed to take a trip to the best store in the world! to get a few ideas (and, arguably, the place I will spend all of my money at this year).

So I went to Ikea.

Sigh. That store is like heaven. I got tons of ideas and found tons of things I wanted to buy.

And now, I want to share pretty pictures with you now. They make me so happy just looking at them.

I want my bedroom to be as pretty as this.

I want my office to have endless bookshelves like this.

Okay, so my kitchen will never look like this, but it doesn't hurt to dream right?

This will be my office--only, not so white and with more bookshelves.

I just love this store! And I can't wait to get busy. Does any body else ever get the urge to paint or redecorate? Or are you a nerd like me who actually loves Spring Cleaning? Please, share your Spring rituals with us!

Have a great day!

And the winner is...

2011-01-24T06:00:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone. It's Monday again, and since Monday's are usually not too much fun, I decided I would try to add a little spark of fun to the otherwise gloomy day. How am I going to do that??

Well, you see, a month or so ago I interviewed a very awesome lady by the name of Sarah Ockler. And because she's so awesome, and her books are phenomenal, I decided I would give away not only her newest release, Fixing Delilah, but her debut release, Twenty Boy Summer, as well.

So without further ado, the winner is:

Inspired Kathy

I will be emailing you shortly, Kathy. Before I go, I want to thank everyone who entered. And if you didn't win, there's still time to enter another contest I'm contributing to over at BooKrushed.com. So check it out if you haven't already.

Have a great Monday!!

Paradise awaits...

2011-01-17T06:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Monday everyone! Wouldn't you love to wake up to this every morning? Well, "technically" that might be a little hard to do since it is a picture of a sunset, but I'm thinking that you guys catch my drift. Right?

Anyway, the point of this post is not to talk about sunrises and sunsets. I'm here to tell you today that for the next week I will be waking, or rather, ending my day looking at this!

Now, don't get too excited. It's probably not what you're thinking. No, I'm not writing to you from a beautiful, tropical paradise right now. Nothing fun like that, unfortunately. What I mean is that for the next week I'm going to be living and breathing this setting. Because my newest novel is going to take place in paradise. Lucky girl, right? Well, in her case, maybe not so lucky.

So, in order to fully get into the right frame of mind, I'm going to be taking off this week--to the beautiful Hawaiian islands that live only in my head--and I won't be back until next week. It's going to be so much fun. I'll be sure to drink an imaginary piña colada for you! Okay, maybe a real one too!

Have a great week!!

PS: Don't forget to visit our new book site:

http://www.bookrushed.com/

Across the Universe Exclusive!

2011-01-11T07:41:00.000-06:00

I'm taking a break from promoting our new book site, BooKrushed, (opps... I did it again!) today, because I have something very important to talk about.

The date is 1/11/11, which, under normal circumstances would be just a regular day in January. However, today isn't any regular old day. Today is the day I finally get to get my hands on a copy of Across the Universe! And you just don't know how excited I am about that!

In order to help spread the word (as if there was anyone who didn't already know) about the release of Beth Revis's (blog & Twitter) debut novel, I, along with many other fellow bloggers teamed up with Penguin (Penguin Twitter & Facebook) to bring you a bunch of ATU goodies you won't want to miss!

So, just sit back, relax and let the good ship Godspeed take you on one super fun and exciting journey!

Today I'm pulling out all stops. And to begin this journey I'm going to give you a io9 EXCLUSIVE! If you really can't wait until you get off of work/school to begin reading, just visit this link and you can start reading Across the Universe now! (Just try and make it look like you're doing important stuff when you boss/teacher walks by! Don't you love how interchangeable that sentence is? )

At exactly 11:11 AM io9 will post an 111 page excerpt from Across the Universe. But you better hurry, because the freebie read only lasts until 11:11 PM.

Click here to read the io9 111 page excerpt from Across the Universe!

That's not all the exclusives we have for you today, though. Below we have the official, exclusive, never before seen author video from Beth Revis.

And the official Across the Universe trailer.

Phew. Are you tired yet? I certainly hope not because today the Across the Universe website is being launched. And I've heard there are all sorts of cool things to explore, namely the Godspeed itself.

So be sure to check it out! And if you haven't gotten enough of Across the Universe in one sitting, head over to ATU's facebook page where you're sure to meet tons of super awesome people who are just as excited about ATU's release as you are!

And if you can't stomach getting out to buy your copy today, just stay in your pjs and order it here!

I hope you enjoyed your journey on the Godspeed today! See you guys later!

Fresh Start

2011-01-03T06:00:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year! I can't believe that 2010 flew by as fast as it did. In some ways it's kind of sad to see another year slip by, but in other ways.... it's fantastic! 2010 wasn't the best of years for me. Actually, 2010 was kind of a year full of suck.

But it's over with now, so I won't dwell. If anything, 2010 taught me that things will not get done by putting them off. It also taught me a lot of other things, but we won't get into that.

Generally with the passing of one year comes a list of resolutions that we resolve to complete in the new year. For me, personally, I'm not big on New Years Resolutions. The main reason is because I never finish them. I start off with a bang and then after a few weeks, maybe a month tops, BAM! New Years Resolutions are forgotten and I'm off to repeat the bad habits of years past. I seriously can't remember the last time I set a New Year Resolution for myself, other than the obligatory, I want to get fit, loose weight, find a magic diet where you can eat all the ice cream & cookies you want. Yeah, like that's ever going to happen.

This year though, things they are a changing. I'm setting resolutions. And I am going to follow them. Period. End of story. After a year like last year, where I literally got NOTHING DONE!, there's no other choice. I have to do something to get back on track. What's so surprising is.... I'm actually excited about it.

And because I'm a firm believe of: if I put it out there, and others read it, then I feel compelled to do what I said I was going to do, I'm going to share my resolutions with all of you. So if I start slacking, you guys have to crack the whip!

My 2011 New Year's Resolutions:

1) Write more.

Every day to be exact. As I mentioned before, I basically didn't write last year. Or, at least, there was no quality writing happening around here. None. So writing is a must this year.

2) Blog more.

I'm sure you can guess that along with my writing, my blogging wasn't up to par either. Near the end of the year it was practically non-existent. I have a lot of things in the works this year to share with the blogging world, so I'm super excited to get started!

3) Read, read, and read some more.

When you're a writer, reading is pretty important. And I love reading. This was the one thing that didn't really stop last year. However, as you will find out in the coming weeks, I've set a very ambitious reading goal for myself in 2011. There are just so many great books coming out this year!

4) Eat healthier.

Um, yeah. As I said before, I say this every year. And usually on January 1 I just head first into the dieting and exercising and I'm super pumped. And followed by that I get super burned out in a few weeks time. So even though I set this resolution for myself every year, this year I'm going to tackle it a little differently. I'm starting out slow. I tend to do better with subtle changes. Little goals. And my goal for January is just to eat in. Period. With all the hustle and bustle of the busy holiday season, my hubby and I have been eating out more, and frankly, I'm so tired of it. I got a set of great pots and pans for Christmas and I'm looking forward to putting them to use. I've decided that I will gradually incorporate more healthy food and exercise, but my first priority is to just take it slow. No need to rush.

So those, my friends, are my resolutions for 2011. The year has just started and I can already feel that it's going to be a great year! I love New Years for this very reason, it's a clean slate and it's very refreshing to start over again.

What about you guys, do you have anything you resolve to complete in 2011??

PS: Due to other obligations, I will only be posting once this week. However, by next week I plan to come up with a blogging schedule. And I plan on sticking to it! Have a great week everyone! I'll be lurking...

Be Jolly By Golly!

2010-12-20T06:00:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone! It's hard to believe that this year is almost over! And Christmas is already almost here (it's Saturday! Eek!)!

In honor of the big day, Jen is hosting a blogfest. The Be Jolly By Golly blogfest, to be exact. And it's a chance for all the bloggers of the world! (ahem, sorry, got a little over-enthusiastic there) to show their Christmas decor and share fun holiday recipes. Such a great idea, right???

I'm going to start off with the most important thing: the food. Or, in this case, the drink. This is the time of year I like to snuggle up next to the fire, put on a good movie, and sip on a cup of creamy hot cocoa. There's nothing better than that! So here's my recipe:

It's so creamy. And delicious. I think I may need to make me a cup right now! But before I do, I'm going to share one last thing with you all. Here's a picture of my Christmas tree. I'll forewarn you that my digital camera is broken, so I snapped a quick picture with my cell phone. The quality probably isn't the best, but nevertheless, here it is:

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Interview & Giveaway Time!

2010-12-07T16:00:00.009-06:00

I was incredibly fortunate enough too get a chance to interview this fabulous and very sweet lady not to long ago. She is the author of Twenty Boy Summer, which if you haven't read it yet, you definitely should! It was breathtaking, funny, extremely sweet, and definitely on my list of top 5 books I've read this year! Twenty Boy Summer was one of the two books that really opened my eyes to contemporary YA.

Which means I shouldn't even have to explain how excited I am to read her newest novel, Fixing Delilah--released December 1! But I will anyway. I'm SUPER EXCITED! I've already bought my copy and can't wait to dig in!

So, without further ado, I give you Sarah Ockler, author extraordinaire!

Covers. They're what I love the most, so that's where I'm going to start. I'm in love with your covers. Both of them! The first time you saw them, either one, what did you do?

Thank you! I'll talk about the Twenty Boy Summer cover first, because that experience was made even more intense since it was my first book. I literally squealed, then cried. It was so beautiful, and it perfectly captured the essence of the story--especially with that red piece! It was even better than I imagined. I'd seen earlier comps and heard about the direction they were considering, but I never expected the final version to be so amazingly perfect. The best part was that my publisher sent me some of the sea glass they used in the photo shoot, so now I have an awesome memento.

With Fixing Delilah cover, after having been through on book launch, my first thought wasn't about crying... it was about marketing. As soon as I saw those adorable paper dolls, my brain said, "Ooh! Just think of all the cute paper-doll themed things we can do for marketing!" I'm already working on yellow paper doll cookies for my launch party. :) Just goes to show you how much your mindset shifts from the first book launch to the next. I'm so fortunate to have such beautiful covers, though. Props to Saho Fujii at Little, Brown, who designed both of them!

After covers, the second thing I notice when I walk into a bookstore to browse are titles. I love titles second best, and I'm very bad at coming up with book titles. But I love yours so much--Twenty Boy Summer & Fixing Delilah. They're so simple, and I think that's what makes them so catching. How did you come up with your titles?

Both titles actually came to me before I started writing the books. The Twenty Boy Summer title was based on a goofy contest my best friend and I had one summer when we were teens. We wanted to see who could kiss the most boys, and I won, 20 to 17.

That summer became known as my Twenty Boy Summer. Very classy, I know! Anna and Frankie's summer turned out very different from mine, but I knew I wanted to include that title. With Fixing Delilah, the title came to me as I was thinking about the characters and their broken family.

For me, a lot of times, the titles kind of guide the story. Both were original titles, meaning they pretty much stayed the same from first draft to final cover. The only change was that with the current book, we shortened it at the last minute from Fixing Delilah Hannaford, just because it was kind of long, and Fixing Delilah got the point across more succinctly.

Oh Sarah, you have no idea how happy it makes me to know that Twenty Boy Summer was actually real!

As a writer, I always spend way too much time trying to figure out which POV and tense I want to write my story in (which, this lady right here, knows how to write a present tense novel. Brilliantly!) . So I'm curious to see if you think about the same things before starting a story?

Thank you! I don't know, I just kind of hear the characters in first person present tense. That's how they come to me, and I'm very comfortable in that voice. It doesn't mean I won't change it up in the future, but for now, first person present tense is where I live.

Which brings me to my next question: Are you an outliner or pantser?

I'm kind of a combo girl. Yikes, would that make me a ... pantyliner? Okay, sorry, that's gross! Ahem. Moving on. With Twenty Boy Summer I didn't do any outlining--just wrote and rewrote as the story developed. With Fixing Delilah, I spent a little more time outlining, then I'd go back and change my outline as the story changed. With my current project, I had a pretty complete outline before I started. I guess it just depends on the project.

Ha! You're so funny! I'm afraid to admit that I'm a bit of a pantyliner too! :)

Is there any type of scene you prefer to write over another?

I love emotional scenes, especially if there's crying and/or kissing involved. And crying while kissing? Even better!

Kissing scenes! I live for those. And if I remember correctly (which I'm positive I do!), I believe Twenty Boy Summer has a few of those very kissing/emotional scenes. So, can you tell me if you have a favorite scene in Twenty Boy Summer?

I love the scene when Anna first meets Sam and starts having these feelings and doubts. There something very sweet about it, and complicated, considering her feelings for Matt. I also love the final scene in Frankie's room. This was the summer that really changed their lives--maybe even more than the summer when Matt died--and a lot of things are brought out into the light.

Twenty Boy Summer was your first published book, can you share with us how many first drafts you wrote (obsessed over) before you knew it was ready to query?

Well, I worked on it off and on for about four years, but I never re-wrote a complete draft. I'd do a few chapters, workshop them with my critique group at Lighthouse Writers Workshop, then re-write certain sections based on feedback. Some chapters didn't require any re-writing. And some went through about 10 different versions. I knew it was ready to query when I starting getting feedback from my group and a trusted writing mentor that it was in very good shape.

After I signed with my agent, we went through another round of revisions, and then we went through a similar process with my editor after we sold the book.

So I guess it's like having children... you're never "really" ready, but at some point, you either dive in and give it a try, or do something else. Right? I don't know. I don't actually have children, so I'm afraid my mixed metaphors aren't worth very much. :)

I completely love that quote of yours! It's so true, though I don't have any children either so I'm not sure where that leaves me.

The next thing all aspiring authors love to hear about is the querying process. Can you tell us what it was like for you the first time around?

I was extremely fortunate to have a short-n-sweet querying process. I did a lot of up-front research to target agents I felt would be interested in my type of manuscript, and then I spent a lot of time polishing and perfecting my query letter. I sent out 11 queries, most of which resulted in requests for partials and fulls, and within three weeks of sending out my first letter, I signed with my agent. It was a crazy, nervous time involving a lot of ice cream and obsessive email checking, but I survived.

Did you ever get discouraged?

Yes. Every rejection is discouraging, but you have to learn to take it in, feel it, and then move on. Just as a group of readers in a bookstore will each pick out something different, agents are the say way. You want an agent who's absolutely in love with your book--don't settle for anything less.

Any suggestions for aspiring authors?

The best advice is simple: persevere. Rejections happen, even to published authors. If you really want to write, you have to just keep writing, keep trying, keep querying, editing, revising, trying again and again until it happens. Think of it as training for when your book is finally published--dealing with negative reviews is even harder than dealing with agent rejections! :) For those of you who are embarking on the agent search, take your time to research agents and target those who you feel would be the best fit. Ask questions. Ask for references.

If your considering agent offers, you may want to check out this blog post: Literary Agent Offers: Don't settle!

So, can you tell us a little bit about Fixing Delilah? Any deep, dark secrets you can reveal about the book?

One of the things I love most about Fixing Delilah is that it's really a blend of things I've experienced in my own family, happy and sad, mixed in and acted out by this fictional family of women--the Hannafords. I decided to make them only women because I really wanted to focus on the crazy, tumultuous, and intense bonds that women in families share. Mothers and daughters, sisters, aunts and nieces--there is so much love and tragedy and animosity and attachment in those bonds--it just felt really natural to write the story that way.

Before I started the book, two of my aunts passed within a year or two of each other, and as we put together pictures and stories for their memorials, I remember thinking how each of us has this whole history, and so often, that history dies with us. There was so much about my aunts that I didn't know, and now I'll never get that chance. And even though my mother is alive and well, there's so much about her that I don't know, and so much about myself that I've kept from her. That secrecy and history is something Delilah really struggles with throughout the book, and it's something I think all women and girls can relate to.

Also, for anyone who's read or planning to read Fixing Delilah--the dog sweater and cremated dog ashes stuff?? That was my grandma all the way--totally real. So was the blue Delft cow and the box of tears. :)

I can't wait to read that part! Now, you're apart of a group of YA contemporary writers called, The Contemps. What is it like to be apart of that group?

It's an honor to be part of The Contemps. We're all so passionate about contemporary realistic fiction, and it's nice to have a posse of other writers who are all excited about one another's work.

Can you tell us a little about the group?

The Contemps are 21 YA contemporary authors. We do regular blog posts spotlighting contemporary YA fiction, contests, and something we share TMI from our own embarrassing teen years. Our goal is to share our love for contemp YA with readers everywhere. Check us out at http://www.thecontemps.com/!

And for one last question: Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

I think I always knew that I wanted to write, I just didn't know I could actually be a real live writer. It took me a while to realize that I didn't have a choice--writing chose me as soon as I learned how to read, and it's been chasing me down ever since.

Okay, so I lied! My last, one last question: To you, what's the best part of being a writer?

Getting to work in my pajamas! Okay, really, it's waking up every day knowing that I'm getting paid to do what I love. It's not always easy, but it's always rewarding, especially when I get to interact with readers. I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to write for teens!

--FLASH ROUND!!--

What's playing on your iPod right now? I Will by Radiohead

Favortie place to write? I love writing in coffee shops--just the right amount of noise and yummy coffee smells! But if I don't like getting out of my PJs, I'll work on the couch or at my desk.

Favorite movie? The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Snacks: salty or sweet? Both! But my favorite is Smartfood white cheddar popcorn.

Mac or PC? Mac

What's the one food you couldn't live without? Veggie korma, though it's been a while since I've had it. Hmm... maybe tonight for dinner!

Say you met a genie and he agreed to let you bring to life one character from any book, who would it be? Sal Paradise from On the Road, who is a thinly veiled Jack Kerouac, whom I've always wanted to meet.

Before I go any further, I want to thank Sarah for taking the time to answer all of my questions! And in order to show my many thanks, not to mention my love for Sarah's books and writing style, I'm hosting a giveaway.

But I'm not just going to give away a copy of Fixing Delilah. No, that wouldn't be enough. Especially not since we talked so much about Twenty Boy Summer in this interview! That's why I'm giving away a copy of Twenty Boy Summer and Fixing Delilah to one lucky winner.

All you have to do is: 1) Be a follow of my blog (required for entry).

2) Comment on this interivew post (required for entry).

3) Fill out form below (required for entry).

4) That's it. Just comment on this post and fill out the form.

Extra entries avaliable, but you must fill out the form to see what they are!

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The deadline for entry is January 20, 2011 at 6:00PM CST. So get those entries in! And good luck to everyone!

And the winners are...

2010-12-03T12:45:00.008-06:00

Happy Friday everyone! You know what today is?? Today's the day I announce the winners of not one, but two contests! How fun is that for a Friday??

So enough beating around the bush, here are the winners! (All winners were selected by random.org.)

I'm going to start by listing the winners of the 4 (non-signed) Mockingbirds bookmarks:

1) Dangerous With a Pen
2) Tracy
3) Latishajean
4) Susan Fields

Now, here's the 2 winners of the autographed Mockingbirds bookmarks:

1) Roxy
2) Shannon O'Donnell

Congrats to the winners of The Mockingbirds bookmarks! Please email me at kimberly@kim-franklin.com with your name and address and I'll get them out to you asap! (PS: The autographed bookmarks will take a few weeks.)

And we've finally come to the time where I get to announce the winner of the two books I'm giving away.

Winner of The Hating Game by Talli Roland

Congrats to Marsha Sigman!

Winner of an autographed copy of
The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Congrats to Kristin Rae!

Major congrats to everyone who won a prize today! If you could all please email me at Kimberly@kim-franklin.com, with your name and address, and I'll get your prizes out to you ASAP!

And even if you didn't win, I want to thank everyone who took the time to enter! I love running contests, and hate that not everyone can win a prize. But the contests aren't over yet, check back next week for my last contest of the year!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Win The Hating Game

2010-12-01T06:00:00.006-06:00

Want to help out our lovely fellow blogger, Talli Roland's, debut novel THE HATING GAME hit the Kindle bestseller list at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk? It's really simple. All you have to do is spreading the word today! Even a few sales in a short period of time on Amazon will help push the book up the rankings, making it more visible to other readers.

And even if you don't have a Kindle, you can download a free app at Amazon for Mac, iPhone, PC, Android and more!

Coming soon in paperback. Keep up with all the latest at http://www.talliroland.com/.

Here's a little info on THE HATING GAME:

When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy cash prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?

Now doesn't that make you want to read more?!
So what are you waiting for?

THE HATING GAME

Order you copy now!

Enter for your chance to win a copy of

THE HATING GAME

(Kindle version)!

Many of my contests involve a lot of doing other stuff. But I'm all for making it easy. All you have to do is comment on this post and be a follower of my blog and your entered for your chance to win a copy of THE HATING GAME. Easy peasy!

I will give away one copy of THE HATING GAME. The deadline for entering is December 2, 2010 @ 6:00 PM CST, and I will announce the winner for THE HATING GAME along with my announcement for the winner of THE MOCKINGBIRDS on Friday, December 3.

So good luck to everyone! And congrats to Talli!

Almost Over

2010-11-29T09:26:00.000-06:00

Hey guys! November came and now it's just about gone. I haven't really gotten a chance to post in the last few weeks. This is literally the first time I've touched my laptop since the beginning of November. Between the holiday craziness, hospital visits, and other secret projects, it's been a super busy month, and I'm glad NOVEMBER IS FINALLY ALMOST OVER!

So anyway, just wanted to take some time to say HI! and remind you that the contest for the autographed copy of The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney is ending this week.

I've extended the contest deadline by one day. The deadline to enter is December 2, 2010 at 6:00PM CST. And I will announce the winners of all prizes on December 3, 2010.

So if you haven't had a chance to enter..... here's your chance!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! And good luck and congrats to all the participants of NaNo Month!!

You can win.....

2010-11-04T19:45:00.000-05:00

So you've read the review.

And you've read the interview.

Now it's time for a GIVEAWAY!

In honor of Daisy's debut novel, The Mockingbirds, I've decided to give away a personalized, autographed copy of the book to one lucky winner.

But wait, there's more. In addition to the autographed book, there will be another drawing where two lucky winners will receive an autographed The Mockingbirds bookmark!

And then another drawing where four lucky winners will win plain The Mockingbirds bookmarks!

All you have to do is:

1) Be a follower
2) Comment on this post
3) Fill out the form below

((**It appears that there is something wrong with google spreadsheets & forms. So, if you could just follow the prompts in the form (minus the the address) and put your answers/number of points and what you did for the points in the comments that will be perfectly fine. Sorry for the confusion and for the malfunctioning google form/spreadsheet!**))

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The contest deadline is December 1, 2010 at 6:00PM CST. And I will announce the winners on the 1 month Mockingbirds anniversary.

So, be sure to enter! And good luck to everyone!!!

Interview with the fabulous Daisy Whitney!

2010-11-03T06:00:00.009-05:00

From the moment I found out about Daisy's love, passion, obsession for books, chocolate chip cookies, and most importantly SHOES, I knew we would be friends. What more can a girl ask for?

So, when the chance came about to interview this awesome, purple wig wearing rockstar!, you better believe I jumped on it.

Isn't that wig awesome? =====>>>>

Anyway, without further ado, I give you Daisy Whitney, debut author of The Mockingbirds.

So Daisy, what inspired you to create a secret society of students who help right the wrongs of their fellow peers?

I've always been intrigued by boarding school and also by the potential teens have to take a stand for what's important. THE MOCKINGBIRDS--an underground student-run justice system--was born from those twin thoughts as a way to look at what it takes to stand up for yourself and others.

Well I have to agree with you on the intriguing part. And The Mockingbirds surely isn't lacking on the intriguing side either.

Now, I know The Mockingbirds is your first published novel. Can you share with us about your experience writing, finding an agent, and ultimately getting The Mockingbirds published?

I wrote three chick lit novels that were repped but never sold. When I switched to writing for teens, I finally broke through and landed a book deal! But suffice it to say, it was a long road paved with many rejections and I have the stack of rejection letters to prove it. But I am a big believer in perseverance so I kept writing and I view those first 300,000-plus unpublished words as a writing school in a way.

Um, yes. I think that many words definitely qualifies as writing school. Definitely. Speaking of writing, is there any type of scene you LOVE to write? (Like, maybe, KISSING??)

Well, Kim... I do like writing kissing scenes as a matter of fact! They're like dessert, aren't they? And because they're dessert, I try really hard not to skip ahead and have dessert first! I will often picture the kissing scene but because they are so fun to write (and yes there are kissing scenes in The Mockingbirds!) I don't write ahead--I make myself earn them and write them in sequence! Dessert they are. Kind of like a warm, gooey, fresh out of the oven cookie. When I write, I write in sequence too. It's the only way I get all the non-fun parts written.

So, Daisy, tell us, are you an outliner or a pantser?

I used to be a pantser but then I had to write an outline for my editor's approval, so I've become more of a plotter. I still prefer to wing the first few chapters though and then write a rough outline.

And do you have any suggestions/nuggets of authorly wisdom you can share with all of us aspiring authors?

Write, write and write. Then get your butt in the chair and write some more. Then find a critique partner or two. Then listen to their feedback. Then revise, revise and review. Then revise some more.

Sounds easy enough. Mental note: butt in chair!

We all know that there is going to be a sequel to The Mockingbirds. Can you reveal any deep, dark secrets about the Sequel??

Ah, the Sequel! You'll find more kissing scenes in it! And also many new characters and a ton of new challenges for the Mockingbirds.

Wait! Did you say kissing? I'm pretty sure I missed everything after kissing....

And now to borrow one of my favorite interview questions of Daisy's: In 140 characters or less, tell me why people should buy The Mockingbirds?

The Mockingbirds is the story of a secret society of boarding school students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.

I don't know about you, but definitely buy it. Oh wait! I already did.... Ha!

Now it's time for the fun-facts flash round!

What's playing on your iPod right now? Swim Until you Can't See Land by Frightened Rabbit.

Favorite place to write? Coffee shop with yummy lattes and showtunes playing in my ears to drown out conversation!

Favorite movie? Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Writing outfit? Jeans, sweater, scarf. Hmm, it must be getting cold! (That outfit sound way cute!)

Mac or PC? Mac all the way baby! (Perfect answer! This lady is the one who convinced me I had to have a Mac!) I write on Scrivener and use Mac Freedom Pro too!

The one food you can't live without? I am having a mad love affair with Chocorooms these days.

And lastly, because we both LOVE shoes: Do you have a dream pair of shoes? I dream about Christian Louboutins. Oh, how I love all his shoes. I love the red soles and the colors and the shapes and the designs and I WANT a jewel-colored pair of Louboutin heels. Sigh.

Who could ever resist these lovelies??

You just can't deny a love like that!

Before we go, I just want to thank Daisy for taking the time to be with us today. Congrats on your new book and have a great release week!

Do you want to lean more about The Mockingbirds? Read my review!

PS: Want to win an autographed copy of The Mockingbirds?? Join me back here tomorrow for all the details!

The Mockingbirds

2010-11-02T06:00:00.003-05:00

Some schools have honor codes.
Others have handbooks.
Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.

Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.

In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it.

I was lucky enough to get a chance to read an ARC of The Mockingbirds many months ago. And I admit that, before I had read the book, my opinion may have been a little biased. I mean, I basically loved this book before I had even read it. Crazy, no? I'll admit that the #1 reason for this wasn't because of all the noteworthy buzz, or because of it's awesome cover (though, it is pretty awesome, isn't it?). It was because of it's fabulous, shoe lovin' author, Daisy Whitney. She's an awesome lady! And I knew, without a doubt, that her book would be great.

So what did I think once I read it?

Well.... I was a little surprised. Why, you ask? You see, once you build up a book in your head that much, and you just know you'll love it, it's a little surprising to find that..... it's so much better than you could have ever imagined. And now, when people ask you what you think about it, you won't even have to lie, because the truth is: The Mockingbirds is freaking fantastic!

Before I read The Mockingbirds, I wasn't a big reader of the YA Contemps. It's not like I was opposed to the genre or anything, but it just wasn't what caught my eye when I walked into the bookstore. I think you all know how I feel about the YA Paranormal Romance genre. For many months in 2009 I was all: Vampire and Angel and Zombied out. That's all I read, so that's what I became accustomed too. After I read The Mockingbirds though, that all changed.

Alex's--the MC of The Mockingbirds--story opened my eyes. The strength, courage, and transformation she makes during the course of the story, struck a nerve. This was a story of girl, a real girl. She didn't love a vampire. Not even a fallen angel. She was just a girl, and she was in a really bad situation all the same. The difference is: she was in a real life situation. One that any one of us could, or maybe even have faced before. Her story hit home, it was real. And that's why I loved it. And it didn't hurt that Alex was loveable, intelligent, and one bad-ass pianist. Oh, and there's Martin too. Can't forget about him. Anyway.....

Debut author, Daisy Whitney, handled the sensitive and very delicate situation of date-rape masterfully. And most importantly, never preachy. The topic of date-rape, or rape of any sort is a bold choice, and I commend Daisy for writing on the topic and sharing her personal experiences with us.

The Mockingbirds is the first book of a (now) two book series. The Mockingbirds 2 is set to release sometime in the fall of 2011.

Speaking of Daisy, here's a little note from the author herself:

The Mockingbirds is now available online at Amazon and other book-buying sites, as well as in stores like Barnes & Noble, Borders and of course your local independent book store. I'm also thrilled to report that Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review calling it "Bold, intense and timely."

To celebrate the book's release I made a donation to the charity Girls for a Change to support a team of teen girls leading social change in their community and I will continue to donate a portion of all my book proceeds to this charity.

So, as if you didn't already know, The Mockingbirds, released today! So be sure to run out and buy your copy. Now! I promise that you won't be disappointed! And you're helping a good cause as well. What's better than that?

Congrats Daisy!!

If you want more info about Daisy or The Mockingbirds, you can visit her book site at DaisyWhitneysbooks.com or her personal website at DaisyWhitney.com.

PS: Join me tomorrow for more Mockingbirds release week fun!

One More Day!

2010-11-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

Hush my fellow bloggers, don't say a word....

One more day till The Mockingbirds.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-29T06:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Halloween! Well, it's not "technically" Halloween yet, but close enough. I absolutely love Halloween. The feeling of this time of year is just fun, and all of the free candy doesn't hurt either. Anyway, I found some cute Halloween videos on YouTube and I just couldn't resist posting them.

Anyone have any fun plans this weekend? Whatever you do, I hope you all have a fabulously, freaky (but safe) Halloween!

PS: Be sure to check back next week for The Mockingbirds Release Week Fun!

Read it! Now!

2010-10-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hi all! Sorry for the super short posts lately, but I promise to make up for all of my MIA-ness next week. Maybe. Anyway, this is going to be super short because my battery is dying, as we speak, er, type. It's seriously in the RED and I can't find my cord.

So..... I just wanted to stop by and say hi. HI!

And, I have one very important message for you: Crescendo. Read it. Now! Sigh....

Have a great weekend!!

Super Tips

2010-10-15T06:00:00.001-05:00

Hey all! It's Friday, finally. It's been a super busy week with a lot of not-so-super things going on. (Sounds fun, right?) But more on that next week. Because I'm being super lazy today (okay, every day. I'm lazy every day!), I found a video for you guys. Hope you haven't already seen it!

How To Write a Book In 20 Steps, by Jackson Pearce.

Have a super weekend everyone!

I'm so blah

2010-10-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

I know I should be writing lots of fun and interesting stuff here, but today, I just can't come up with anything to blog about. It's almost as if my mind has gone on vacation, without telling me. Do you ever have days like that? Or, I guess in my case, weeks like that?

It really sucks. But, I did just finish questions for a super cool interview I can't wait to share with you guys! And I'm in the process of coming up with a super fun giveaway to accompany the super cool interview! So, clearly, there's a lot of super fun coolness going on around my house. Excited yet? I hope so. I will reveal said super fun stuff in a couple of weeks.

And did I mention, I can't wait to share it with you all?!

Super fun coolness could, possibly, have something to do with this book. Maybe. Can't say.

So for now, that's it. I'm going to go back to reading--sTORI Telling by Tori Spelling (great name, right? And the book is fab so far!)--since it's all I can seem to concentrate on right now.

Have a great week!

Who Knew?: Book Edition

2010-09-28T06:00:00.003-05:00

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air."
--Nathaniel Hawthorne

Fall has finally arrived in Texas. Or, it's at least arrived in Fort Worth, Texas, anyway. And that's good enough for me! So pardon me while I leave you with this cool book/publishing fact video today and go out to bask in the cool Autumn breeze.

Oh, and if you're looking for a funny and informational video.... there's only one place to go. Carol's blog. Check it out!

Have a great day!

A makeover of epically professional proportions!

2010-09-23T06:00:00.002-05:00

I bet you all thought I was talking about me, right? Nope, sorry to say, I, personally, didn't get a professional makeover--though that would be nice. However, my website/blog/procrastination station did get a makeover (an absolute permanent one this time, swear!). By the title of my post, it appears that it got an epically professional one. And I'm absolutely in love with it! Seriously, I can't quit staring at its beauty.

So today, I'm breaking my one-post-a-week-so-I-can-actually-get-some-writing/working/TVwatching-done rule to thank the fabulously, awesome Marina, of Penny Lane Designs.

She's got all kinds of skills guys. I swear. Be sure to check out her portfolio! And feel free to drool over my site, I don't mind.

Now, back to following the rules. Well, at least the TV watching portion of the rules.

Have a great day!!

PS: scroll down and take a look at the footer. It's pretty, and very fitting in my case.

My Week

2010-09-20T06:00:00.006-05:00

I had an exciting post about bubble gum planned for you this week (yes, bubble gum), but other stuff happened. So, my gum post will have to wait until next week.

Last week I took a week off from blogging. Well, not really because I blogged once and that's all I'll be blogging this week too, but anyway. It was my intention to take the week off to get some stuff done. And.... I got some stuff done. Not everything I wanted to get done, but life isn't perfect and I never get everything I want done. So I like to consider last week a success.

One of the main tasks I wanted to accomplish for the week was to start writing on my WIP again. I mean, I always, sort of, write at it. But never really on it. And though I didn't get a lot of writing on the WIP done last week, I did finish a version of my chapter one that I actually think might work and want to keep. (It's a huge accomplishment, believe it or not.)

I've been struggling with the tone of my WIP for so long now. Months. And now, finally, I think I might have found a balance between the tone I want and the tone that just comes out when I write this character (she has a mind of her own!), and I'm super excited. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. One of my biggest problems is that, often, I try to push my preconceived notions of what I think the story should be that I never give it a chance to unfold naturally. It's a huge problem.

Last week though, that didn't happen. So YAY! Don't you guys get excited when you push through a wall on your WIPs?? I do.

And last weekend was perfect for celebrating. Because Friday was my birthday! YAY! (And Christine Danek's too! We're birthday buddies.)

So there was lots of cake...

Baskin Robbin's Cookies 'n Cream ice cream cake with fudge frosting.....MMMMMM

And there were burgers and fries.....

Five Guys Burgers and Fries have the best fries. EVER! Double MMmmMMmmm

And lastly, thanks for my lovely hubby, there were beautiful flowers (which arrived at my work on Friday DEAD, but were replaced on Saturday. Hmm... you think my hubby was trying to tell me something there?? Like maybe he thinks I'm old and withered? Hmm.... Oh well.).....

Oh, and I almost forgot the most important thing, there were pretty new purses that are like the cutest thing ever!.....

The pictures kind of dark, but it's very cute. I promise.

So, my week was GREAT! And my weekend was even better. I hope you guys had a great one too!! Happy Monday!!!

To blog or not to blog

2010-09-13T06:00:00.001-05:00

To blog or not to blog. Apparently, that's the question. One I didn't get the memo for. However, it seems that as of late, I've not been blogging. Or, rather, not blogging regularly.

And guess what, this week will be no different. I readily admit that I've been a BAD BLOGGER lately--no regular schedule or relative content. (Sorry for that guys!) But, hopefully in the near future (and by near I mean October or possibly even November) I hope to get back on a blogging schedule. (The key word being "hopefully.")

It's just, lately, I've had many scheduling conflicts. I can't seem to make time for everything I want to do. And truthfully, because when I get overwhelmed I tend to shut down, completely, I haven't been getting much of anything accomplished. Though, it could have something to do with the Vampire Diaries DVDs and Felicity series DVDs I received in my mailbox recently. Maybe...

But anyway, I just wanted to take this time to let you know that instead of trying to find something to post about this week, I'm just going to take a break. Or, in my case, a break away from the break I've already been on. I've got bunches of stuff to catch up on, such as coming up with questions for an author interview I'm very excited about. More on that later. And, I really need to take some time and actually start writing again. Like, really writing. None of this sentence here and there business. Not to mention, two of my faves, Gossip Girl and 90210, premiere this week. So yeah, I'm taking a break to catch up.

Like I said though, my schedule still might not be regular after this week. But, I promise to post at the very least, once a week, for now. And then, I'm thinking about maybe sticking to either a MWF (Mon, Wed, Fri) or a TT (Tues, Thurs) blogging schedule. But that will come later.

I hope you all have a great week! And get all you set out to complete, accomplished!!

PS: I'll still be reading blogs, just not posting. Can't get rid of me that easily!

Baggin' & Taggin'

2010-09-07T06:00:00.002-05:00

Okay, so everyone knows about Kiersten White's fab Paranormalcy contest, right? Why am I even asking? Of course you do, because Kiersten and her debut novel Paranormalcy are AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!! and not knowing that would just be plain silly.

So anyway, even though it seems I may be babbling a bit (which I totally am) I do have a point. I wanted to share with you my entry picture for the Paranormalcy contest.

The way to enter is this: Take a picture of you and Paranormalcy doing something together at home.

Well, I tried to take a picture of me and Paranormalcy together. I really did. But the second I got her home, she got to work baggin' and taggin' all of my little house gremlins. She's making her way around the neighborhood as we speak. Silly Paranormacly. No resting for her.

Now if I could just get her to start mopping the floors and taking said house gremlins for daily walks....

I hope everyone had a great weekend! And if you want your little house gremlins bagged and tagged too, well, you know what to do. Have fun at the bookstore!! Paranormalcy will be waiting for you.

Look what I found

2010-09-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

Look what I found in my mail box yesterday ====>>>>
Of course, I was expecting it. Because it's an early birthday present (to myself. I have several more coming over the next few weeks. Shh... don't tell my hubby). But I have to say, there's nothing more exciting than opening your mailbox and finding something other than bills, bills, bills. Right?

I can't wait to crack this baby open and start watching me some Damon and Stefan. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a huge Vamp Diaries fan. Huge. And I'm super excited that season 2 premiers next Thursday--9/9.

Here's a little teaser of what's to come this year. I'm really looking forward to Katherine. With her entering the picture drama, drama, drama is sure to ensue.

And, although I didn't get receive this in my mail box (because I was way too impatient to pre-order this one from Amazon), I went out during lunch on Tuesday and picked up this little gem. ==>>

Pretty, right? I started reading the minute I got it and I'm loving every minute of it! Evie is my kind of girl.

So, did anyone else get anything exciting in their mailbox this week, or bought something because you wanted it??

A weekend of epic fails

2010-08-30T06:00:00.001-05:00

I'll admit that sometimes my post titles may be a bit deceiving. But not today's. This weekend was, in fact, a weekend full of epic fails. Or, maybe I should say falls? More on that later.

It all started on Friday. I mentioned on Friday that I was going to see The Last Exorcism. And my hubby and I, along with a couple of friends did go see that movie. Or, at least, we attempted to watch the movie. But it's kind of hard to watch a movie when there were legions of talking, texting, fake screaming, Skittle throwing teens filling the seats of the theater. Now, maybe if they would have been throwing Peanut Butter M&Ms, all previous infractions could have been overlooked, but they weren't. Needless to say, we did kind of get to watch the movie, which was surprisingly... funny. Aside from a few WTF moments. And in return, putting up with senseless teen shenanigans scored us free movie tickets for next time. So all in all, not such a bad night, I guess.

However, Saturday was a completely different story. There are only four words needed to describe this incident: yard, hole, foot, and OUCH! So today, I'm left with a swollen, twisted ankle that I can't walk on. Fun times.

But anyway, I'm sure you guys have heard enough of my fun-filled weekend. And as promised, today I'm going to announce the two lucky winners of The Mockingbirds bookmark.

So, without further ado, the two random.org winners are:

Kat O'Keefe and Carol Valdez-Miller

Congrats to the winners! I'll be in touch with you shortly, however if you don't hear from me, please email me at Kimberly@kim-franklin.com.

And for everyone else, if you didn't win this time, don't worry. I promise there will be more chances in the near future to win super cool Mockingbirds prizes.

Have a Happy Monday, everyone!!

Delayed

2010-08-27T15:41:00.002-05:00

Hey guys! Orignially, today was the day I planned on announcing the two Mockingbirds bookmark winners. However, not much went as planned today.

So, instead I'm going to announce the winners on Monday. With that being said, if you haven't already entered, here's your chance.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Now I gotta run and do everything else I was supposed to do today before I have to leave. Tonight the hubby and I are going out with friends to see this:

The Last Exorcism. Looks scary, doesn't it? I hope it doesn't give me nightmares!!

Have a great weekend!!

A different kind of post...

2010-08-24T06:00:00.002-05:00

Hey guys! As if you couldn't already tell, I'm kind of at a loss for post ideas lately. My brain has just been focused on other things (i.e. writing and the HOT, HOT weather!).

So, today, my post is going to be a little off topic. It's also going to be super yummy! (You'll understand why in just a minute.)

I don't know about you, but one of my favorite seasons is Fall. I love it for many reasons, like the cool crisp air filtering through my open windows. There's nothing better than opening all the windows in the house on a crisp Autumn day. The beautiful color the leaves turn just before they fall. Even though I HATE,HATE,HATE raking said leaves. But mostly, I love Fall because it's a perfect excuse for me to bake. Things like this, especially.

So today, I'm going to share with you my recipe for Pumpkin Pie Muffins. And you know what's even better??? These super moist muffins are low-fat and low in calories! And I promise, you can't even tell! (You're welcome!)

Pumpkin Pie Muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 tsp. groung cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

3 egg whites

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt

1 cup canned pumpkin (Canned Pumpkin Pie Mix can be substituted for additional calories.)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with muffin cups and mist each one with cooking spray.

Sift the following ingredients into large bowl and set aside once finished: flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg.

In a different large mixing bowl, combine the following: yogurt, egg whites, and sugar. Mix until blended. Stir in pumpkin. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixtures and mix until no flour is visible.

Spoon mixture into muffin cups (I filled mine with 2 ice cream scoops per muffin cup), and bake for 20 mintues.

Viola! Beautiful, moist, Pumpkin Pie Muffins!

This recipe makes approx. 18 muffins and each is only 109 calories. They're super yummy, I promise!

I hope you all love the recipe, and if anyone else knows any great Fall recipes, please do share!

Have a great day, everyone!

PS: Don't forget to enter for you chance to win a Mockingbirds bookmark.

The Mockingbirds

2010-08-20T06:00:00.003-05:00

First off, let's address what's important here: It's Friday! (Longest week EVER, I swear!)

Since I can't really share any details about this fabulous book I read a few months back (yet) (and even though I'm really, really, really DYING to), I thought I would share with you a video about said fabulous book (well, kind of) instead.

The book is The Mockingbirds (all I can say right now is AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME! Pre-order it now!)

The much too sweet author is Daisy Whitney (she has to be one of the sweetest, most generous people EVER!)

And here's the video:

Want to know more about The Mockingbirds?? Visit Daisy's website for all the juicy details.

And, because Daisy is the super sweet, adorable shoe wearing person she is, she gave me more bookmarks to give away. So just comment below, and next Friday I'll draw two random names as winners.

If you don't win, don't worry. There will be more chances to win The Mockingbirds bookmarks among other cool prizes soon. So check back!

Hush, Hush Fans

2010-08-16T06:00:00.001-05:00

The other day I happened to be... procrastinating (what else?) and came across something really cool. In promotion for Crescendo--the sequel to my beloved Hush, Hush--the official Hush, Hush fan site, FallenArchAngel.com, is holding a countdown to the release of Crescendo.

It's super fun, so you should definitely check it out, especially if you're a Hush, Hush fan, such as myself. You can even read the first two chapters of Crescendo. But what's even better is, each Monday the site is posting Crescendo teasers called: Crescendo Cookie of the Week. And after I saw the first one... well, I know I will be returning each week waiting to see if Patch returns.

Just watch, then you'll completely understand. [FAN GIRL ALERT! FAN GIRL ALERT!]

Crescendo Cookie of the Week #1 - Patch. No really, it's Patch. From the Hush, Hush cover.

I swear, if I didn't want Patch before (which I DID. I really, really DID!), I definitely want him now.

Crescendo Cookie of the Week #2 - Becca Fitzpatrick

I can't wait for Crescendo!

So tell me, is there a book you can't wait to get your hands on??

Have a great day, everyone!!

And the winners are...

2010-08-12T06:00:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone! The time has finally come for me to announce the winners of The Body Finder Giveaway!

Before I do so, I just want to thank everyone for entering! I'm just really happy that this contest was a random.org drawing, because if it were up to me, I would send a copy of this fabulous book to everyone.

But, that can't happen. Not because I don't love you all, but because that would be MEGA bucks. Bucks with which I could be buying lots of pretty shoes. See my dilemma.

So, without further procrastination, I give you the winners of The Body Finder Giveaway!

The second place winner, who will win a personalized copy of The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting, in addition to CANDY, is....

Jon Arnston

And the Grand Prize winner, who will also win a personalized copy of The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting, in addition to some Body Finder Swag and a $5 Amazon giftcard, is....

Christine Danek

Congrats to both winners! I'll be contacting you shortly, but if you don't hear from me soon, please email me at kimberly@kim-franklin.com.

Before I go, I want to thank everyone who entered again. I couldn't hold these super fun contests without you guys! (Well, I guess I could. And I would win everytime! But they wouldn't be as much fun.) So THANK YOU!!

Last Chance

2010-08-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! I know it's been awhile, so I wanted to remind you all that today is the last day to enter my The Body Finder Giveaway! It's an awesome book and you won't want to miss your chance to win an personalized, autographed copy The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting, among other prizes.

Seriously, you don't want to miss it!

All entries must be received by six o'clock CST on Wednesday, August 11, 2010. And I will announce the winner on Thursday, August 12, 2010.

So, good luck to everyone! Don't forget to enter! And have a great day!!

PS: Before I go, I wanted to make sure everyone knows about Carol 's super cool contest as well. Be sure to check it out. She's giving away seven shiny new ARCs. How cool is that?? Too cool! Go now!!

Free Audiobooks for everyone!

2010-08-06T06:00:00.003-05:00

I don't know about you, but I love free stuff. I mean, it's free! What's better than that?? And when the aforementioned "free stuff" = audiobooks, well, I could just die and go to book lovers heaven. (Yes, I love them that much!)

Needless to say, when I happened to come across a post (via Gaby's site) promising information on how to get free audiobooks, well, you know what happened. I died and when to book lovers heaven. But I came back just to share with everyone on how to get free audiobooks, too. Aren't I sweet?

So here's the info:

The program is called SYNC. But what is SYNC, you ask? Well, I was just getting to that.

• SYNC is an online community that seeks to build the audience for audiobooks among readers 13 and up.
• Each week, SYNC will give away 2 FREE downloads--a popular Young Adult title paired with a Classic title that appears on Summer Reading lists--starting July 1 through September 1, 2010.
• SYNC is hosted by Audiobook Community, a new social networking site for the discovery of audiobooks.
• Listeners can choose to join a conversation about these titles with authors, narrators, publishers, librarians, and other listeners. (Listeners are not required to join Audiobook Community to follow the conversation on SYNC nor to download FREE titles from SYNC.)

If you want to know more about SYNC or how to download your free audiobook(s), please visit http://www.blogger.com/www.audiobooksync.com/ for more information.

Now, on to the important stuff... the free audio books. Below, I've listed the two audiobooks that will be released each week.

SYNC Titles
Audiobook downloads available as MP3s
Summer 2010
Available July 1 - July 7
The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Available July 8 - July 14
Over the End Line by Alfred C. Martino
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
Available July 15 - July 21
Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Available July 22 - July 28
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Available July 29 - August 4
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Available August 5 - August 11
Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Available August 12 - August 18
Beastly by Alex Flinn
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Available August 19 - August 25
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
Available August 26 - September 1
Handbook for Boys by Walter Dean Myers
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

I can't wait! Some of these books I've never read. And I absolutely love that they are pairing each Young Adult title with a Classic title. It's amazing opportunity for teens and adults alike to take advantage of this free program.

So, please visit the site. And share the info, if you like. I'm going to download my free audiobooks right now! Have a great weekend everyone!!

Easy A

2010-08-04T06:00:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone, it's Hump Day! Usually I reserve movies for Friday, but since this week has been The Longest Week Ever! (which I believe I say EVERY WEEK), I decided to post my movie fun day early. (Or, possibly, I forgot what today was? Possibly...)

Anyway, a few weeks ago I saw this movie trailer in theaters, and I have to say: I can't wait to see it. It looks hilarious, and even better yet... it comes out on My Birthday (Oh, and Christine's, too. Because, you know, we're super cool like that, being birthday buddies and all.)!

So obviously, it's meant for me to see. And obviously, I'm going to share the trailer with you today (duh). I hope you enjoy!

Easy A - in theaters on the best day of the year, September 17th.

Easy A's Olive Penderghast - Basically, she's making a fool of herself. Who can resist not watching that?

So, tell me: What movie are you excited to see?

PS: Later today, when you're at work, or writing, or surfing YouTube and Tweeting while pretending to "work" you can thank me for that song being stuck in your head. :: I've got a pocket, got a pocket full of sunshine. Oh. OOoohhh.:: (Sorry!)

Tenses: How to choose?

2010-08-02T06:00:00.002-05:00

With the beginning of each new story there is always so much to decide: character names, hair color, which POV (first or third, etc) you want to write in, and who's POV you will write in, etc. This list could go on and on.

As of late, I've been trying to decide on the tense for my story. It's such an important decision that can truly make or break your MS. There's a part of me that wants to attempt present tense, work a little harder to see it if will pay off. Lately I've read many books that were written in present and were executed flawlessly. When written correctly, I believe, present tense can bring a character to life, put the reader in their head, connect you to the MC on a completely different level. However, I've also read books were I found the present tense distracted me from the story, leaving me to only focus on the fact that the book was written in present tense. I don't want that.

And then there's this other part of me that loves the feel of past tense, and the ease of which it comes so naturally. So, needless to say, I'm torn. Past or Present. Present or past. I haven't a clue as to what I will, or even want to do.

So, per the usual, I've been practicing my techniques. And since these will be put to no other use, I've decided to share another writing exercise. (I'm full of them, apparently.)

Past Tense: Here's what naturally comes out when I write. It kind of just flows out of me effortlessly.

My father blatantly avoided the topic of “my car” as we drove past it on the way to school this morning. Though, I could tell the way the crinkling lines lightly furrowed along his brow, he wasn’t very happy with me. Not that I could blame him, I wasn’t very happy with me either.

Until last night, I had a car. It wasn’t new, but I loved it—even despite its age and missing paint chips. Okay, okay… and the huge dent in the front fender, which actually was the only one not caused by yours truly. I know it wasn’t much, but it was mine. All mine. And that made all the difference.

This morning, my blue Civic was exactly where I had left it last: nose deep in mud, teetering tail up in the shallow creek at the end of the vacant, vineyard lined road that lead to our house.

Present Tense: And here's the same snippet (for the most part) in present tense. It took a little more work, but turned out okay, I think.

My father blatantly avoids the topic of “my car” as we pass it on the way to school this morning. I can tell by the crinkling lines that appear and furrow along his brow, he isn’t very happy with me. Not that I can blame him, I’m not very happy about what happened last night either.

I love that car. Well, I think a correction may be in order now: I loved that car. It wasn’t new or anything, and it wasn’t even in perfect condition. My little black Civic had weathered many years in the salty breeze that blew in from the San Francisco bay. The missing paint chips proved its loyalty to the Bay Area. It even had what I like to call a, “love tap,” permanently decorating the front fender.

I'm still torn. Ultimately it is a decision that will have to be made soon, and I think that Past vs Present tense is something every writer tackles on a case by case basis. It greatly depends on the "feel" you want to achieve for your story.

Obviously, I'm still trying to figure the "feel" I want to achieve. But I'm curious: How do you all choose a tense for your stories? Does it come by decision or just happen to flow out naturally, one way or the other?

The Awesomeness that is Maggie Stiefvater!

2010-07-30T06:00:00.001-05:00

Hi all! Sorry I've been MIA this week. But I have a good excuse: I've been reading like a crazy lady! I mean it: CRAZY LADY! I'm half way through my third book this week.

First there was The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard. (Sad but good--in a very emotional way.)

Then Sea by Heidi Kling. (OMG... I will have to tell you about his one later. Or you could just buy it. You won't be disappointed, promise.)

And now, NOW, I'm reading Linger by Maggie Stiefvater. And I believe there's only one word I can come up with at the moment to describe it so far: AWESOME.

So, because I'm in the mood to share the fabulousness that is Maggie Stiefvater, I've taken liberty and stalked her YouTube channel just for you guys. (It definitely wasn't for me!! No, definitely not!)

And here's what I found:

First up: The Linger trailer made by Maggie Stiefvater herself. How cool is that??

Next up: Maggie Stiefvater behind the music of her super cool trailer!

And lastly, another really cool stop motion trailer that has the coolest mustic ever.

What can this woman NOT do??? I really wish I could play the piano.

Anyway, I hope you guys have a great weekend!! And if you haven't already, pick up your copy of Linger today!!

The Monday Blues & Writing Exercises

2010-07-26T06:00:00.007-05:00

Okay, so I know it's not Teaser Tuesday or even WIP Wednesday. It's just yucky old Monday. But, since it is Monday, which is the day I am most commonly running late, I've decided to share a little snippet of my writing.

It turns out, this snippet is not going to be used for anything. At least nothing I know of. So I guess this is really more of a snippet from (another) writing exercise.

YAY for writing exercises, aren't they fun?! So much more fun than real exercising, for sure. And I've found they are a great way to practice your writing style and voice. What's better than that?

Anyway, here it is. I hope you enjoy!!

I flung my pillow toward the annoying buzz coming from my nightstand. My alarm clock and I had one of those love-hate relationships. He loved to push my buttons, and I loved to smack his. Only, usually after one blow from my pillow, hand, or whatever else within reach I could throw, he would cave. Not today. The blaring noise pierced my ears and seemed to grow louder with each passing second.

“At least he’s faithful,” I mumbled to myself. “Even if he is annoying.” In that moment, I wasn’t sure if I should be more worried of the fact that I had begun talking to myself, or that I referred to my alarm clock as a “he.”

Before I could come to a consensus on my sanity, I heard the beeping cease and a familiar voice above me; it too was annoying but could easily be overlooked because it came from my best friend, Mackenzie Fuller. It never surprised me when she appeared out of nowhere; she had practically lived at my house since sixth grade.

“Seriously?” She asked, incredulous. “Please tell me your incoherent mumbles are actually in reference to your alarm clock—as weird as it may be—and not Weston Jergens.”

The remainder of my mangled heart fluttered in automatic response to the mention of his name. It hurt and infuriated me at the same time. For him to have any control over me, or my feelings, still, was out of the question. All ties that bound us together were severed the moment I saw his Facebook status update: Wes Jergens is now single. Still, for some unknown reason, he held one of the invisible heartstrings; the one directly hardwired to my old feelings of love and admiration for him. And like a jerk, he proceeded to twist and tug and yank on that tiny thread every chance he got. Lucky me.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Kenzie standing directly over head, sporting my new green blouse and a pair of black, dangly earrings she had stolen—or, “borrowed” as she liked to phrase it—out of the jewelry box on my dresser. She only paused momentarily, admiring her backside in the full-length mirror that sat in the corner behind her, before continuing her rant, “Because one, you are way too good for him. He’s not even that cute. Plus, now, after being spotted with Megan, I’m sure he’s disease ridden. Serves him right. That’s what happens to boys who cheat—especially on my best friend. And two, I gave you the whole weekend to get over him. So, please tell me you’re not still hung up on Wes. He’s not worth one day of misery, much less two.”

I didn’t respond. I had nothing to say. We both knew she was right.

Reluctantly, I dragged myself out of bed.

“How long have you been here, anyway?”

“Oh, just long enough to get a good whiff of your ripe morning breath,” she smiled, waving her hand in front of her nose.

And to raid my closet, I thought.

Happy Monday!!

PS: Finally, I've come to the decision that THIS is the perfect layout for my site. Sorry for all of the changes lately. Also, because I've done so many changes, I had to re-add all of my widgets. So, if you don't see your name on my blog roll please tell me. I tried to add everyone, but the list is so big that I'm sure I probably left someone out. Sorry! :)

You know what today is!

2010-07-23T06:00:00.008-05:00

It's Friday. And there's nothing better than Friday, especially when it has been THE LONGEST WEEK EVER!

Thanks to the lovely Kristin Rae, (who we now know procrastinates on YouTube with the best of us! It is a writers official duty, after all. Knowing how to effectively spend your time (on YouTube) is the truest sign of a real writer) today, I thought I would share a couple of OH MY GOSH, THAT'S HILARIOUS videos with you all.

I hope you enjoy! And Happy Friday!!

Go ahead, take the day off!

2010-07-21T06:00:00.003-05:00

I'm declaring today as: My Day Off.

There are tons of things I need to get done today and with the creativity flowing full force, I'm going to put it to good use and add the finishing touches to the outline for my new WIP.

It's going to be a fantastic story. Here's a little preview:

Untitled: It's the story of Girl and Boy.

Don't you just love it, already?? Ha-ha. So, I haven't come up with a title yet. Or names. Other than that, I'm almost completely finished with the outline (well, what I call an outline). And I'm really excited to start writing again. Writing a story that I'm REALLY EXCITED ABOUT!! (I'll share more on my new WIP later. I don't want to jinx it yet.)

So, what are you declaring today??

Monday Review

2010-07-19T06:00:00.002-05:00

Monday... sigh. It's Monday again, and per the usual I'm running late, again. So, because I'm running late, and because my fellow Twilight buddy Marsha brought to my attention that I haven't shared how much I loved the latest Twilight flick to hit the theaters, Eclipse, I've decided to do just that.

<<<======Plus, isn't that picture just the perfect way to start your week?? I think so. But anyway, back to Eclipse. I'm sure you all would be surprised for me to say anything other than: I LOVE IT! But that's exactly what I'm going to say, because I loved it!

I've read reviews where people have bashed this movie because: it was too slow in parts, or the action was too fast, or they just hate Twilight period. (Yet they felt compelled to stand in line with the hordes of Twilight fans to see it on opening day/opening weekend. Hmm... seem a little backward to you??). I, on the other hand, thought it was fantastic. Yeah, there were some slow parts, but have you read the book?? It's all about the slow parts. That's where the tension comes in between the hunky Jacob and the ultra-sexy Edward. That's pretty much what the entire book is. Should Bella choose Edward or Jacob? with the threat of the red-headed bloodsucker, Victoria, thrown in to make things more complicated.

In my eyes, I think they did a fabulous job turning Eclipse the book into Eclipse the movie. I mean, who couldn't LOVE all of the gushy scenes that filled this movie?? (Double sigh...) ===>>>>

So, I'm almost positive that NONE of you are surprised by my thoughts on Eclipse. But still, I just had to share them. (If for no other reason than to have a good excuse to post gushy Twilight pictures.)

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. I did. It was low key just the way I like them. I got a ton of reading done (The Carrie Diaries) watched a few movies (one of those movies being Remember Me. And now, I know I'm in love with Robert Pattinson. After seeing that movie, who wouldn't be??), and not much else. Pure perfection!!

I hope you all had a great weekend. And have a Happy Monday!

Vampires Suck

2010-07-16T06:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday, everyone! Isn't Friday the best day of the work week??

It's been awhile, but Movie Day is back this week. And the trailer I've found for you today proves: They really will make a movie about anything!

I have to admit, that movie does actually look kind of funny.

Have a great weekend guys!!

Twenty Boy Summer

2010-07-14T06:00:00.002-05:00

WE (OR I, REALLY) INTERRUPT THIS BLOG POST FOR A VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

Tiana Smith is a genius! And I am forever indebted to her greatness. This lovely and much too kind lady gave me the best tip ever! One that actually succeeded in recovering my comments. All of my precious comments. [Tear] I just want to thank you, Tiana. You're the best. And if you ever need any chocolate... I'm your girl! :)

NOW, BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED BLOG POST.

Good morning, Wednesday!! The week is half over and I couldn't be more excited. Well, actually, that's a lie. I would definitely be more excited if it were Friday. But I'm not complaining.

In the wake of a new story idea, which is ultra-top secret, at least for now, I decided that I needed to branch out from reading mostly YA Paranormal (oh, how I love my paranormal boys!) and explore all things YA.

Many moons ago, my friend Daisy Whitney recommended the book Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler to me. (Daisy always knows the best books. And, some how, she knows exactly what I like to read about: BOYS! She's a mind reader, I swear.) So, of course I took her awesome book expertise, and I bought a copy the other day. Now, I'm sorry it took be so long to get to it. Because it is freaking fantastic. I haven't finished yet, but I can't wait to see what happens.

This book isn't one I would normally pick up, because 1) I'm a big YA paranormal reader and 2) although this book has boys in it (as well as in the title! The title practically screams: Hello, Kim! Read ME! Now!!) I usually stay away from emotional, make you want to cry books. Crying just isn't my thing.

However, even though this book has caused me to shed a tear or two (or forty), I still love it. Plus, it's good research for my new idea, which could hold a few tear jerking moments. Possibly.

So, for all of you out there who haven't read this book yet, please do. It's as fun and light-hearted as it is sad, and a fantastic summer read.

Here's the synopsis:

"Don't worry, Anna. I'll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it."
"Okay."
"Promise me? Promise you won't say anything?"
"Don't worry." I laughed. "It's our secret, right?"

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in ZanzibarBay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever day, there's a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie---she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

Beautifully written and emotionally honest, this is a debut novel that explores what it truly means to love someone and what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.

And here's a make you want to laugh out loud snippet I read last night from chapter 19 of Twenty Boy Summer:

"We rehearse the story again before Jake and Sam drop us off a few houses from ours. Otherwise, Red and Jayne might spot us getting out of a car full of strange boys and want to invite them in for tea and lemon cookies. We'd have to pretend that they were Jackie and Samantha's older, super responsible, super gay brothers who dislike girls and coincidentally have almost the same exact names as their sisters. Those crazy parents!"--Sarah Ockler, Twenty Boy Summer

I swear, this story is so fun!! Have a great day, everyone!!

Epic Fail

2010-07-12T16:55:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone, I hope you had a fantastic weekend.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I transferred my custom domain name (www.kim-franklin.com) to my blogger page. It was a huge pain. Then again, anything technical like that always is.

However, it appears that I greatly underestimated just how much I could mess up. I was able to transfer the domain name successfully!! (Woohoo!!) However, in doing so, I've some how managed to delete all of my comments and erase myself from everyone's blogger widgets and I suspect readers, too. Go me!

Anyway, all is good, I guess. I'm not sure if I will ever be able to get all of my precious comments back, but as for the The Body Finder Giveaway, everyone who entered should have filled out the entry form, and I haven't deleted that (yet).

So, if there is a chance you wanted to enter, but got tired of reading my ridiculously long post, and somehow skipped the entry form, please revisit this post: The Body Finder Giveaway.

Also, I think I still have all of my followers. However, if you keep track of my posts via blog list widgets or possibly Google reader--or any other kind of reader-- you might have to add my new URL into the reader/list in order to see my posts.

Sorry for the mess up guys! Also, in the near future I'm going to be working with a designer on coming up with a customized design for my blog, which will also now double as my website. So you may start seeing changes and streamlining happening soon. Hopefully I won't erase anything else in the process. :)

I hope you guys have a fabulous day, and excuse me while I continue sobbing over my missing comments and everything else I messed up. :*(

PS: Please comment so I can make sure I've still have all of your info, too. I think I've gotten everyone, but there's a chance I skipped someone. Thanks, again!

Don't Forget

2010-07-09T06:00:00.004-05:00

Hey guys! Happy Friday. I woke up late today, so this one is going to be short.

I just wanted to remind you all to enter my The Body Finder Giveaway! It's an awesome book and you won't want to miss your chance to win an personalized, autographed copy The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting.

Seriously, you don't want to miss it!

Also, before I go, I want to announce the deadline for entering. All entries must be received by midnight on Wednesday, August 11, 2010. And I will announce the winner on Friday, August 13, 2010.

So, good luck to everyone! Don't forget to enter! And have a great weekend!!

Plotting Troubles

2010-07-07T06:00:00.011-05:00

I love writing. It makes me happy. Or, at least, that's what I keep telling myself. And it's not a lie. Writing, the actual writing part, does make me happy! It's the plotting that proves to be very frustrating, most of the time.

I don't know what it is, but plotting, at least for me, is not easy. It takes a lot of time and effort for me to commit to a plot line. And even once I have committed, I'm still never completely satisfied.

So, last week, post plotting meltdown (I'm not kidding. I do actually have those... weekly), I was surfing one of my favorite authors' website for little nuggets of authorly wisdom, and actually, that's exactly what I found.

Here's one little nugget (of many) from the New Moon Outtakes page on Stephenie Meyer's website:

New Moon Outtakes

Come, gentle night; come, loving, black-browed night;
Give me my Romeo; and, when I shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night...
—Romeo and Juliet Act III scene ii

"This quote was the original epigraph for New Moon. Why did it change? As I spent more time with the book, I decided I wanted the epigraph to be more representative of danger and potential heartbreak. Though this quote also has some nice foreshadowing, I had to choose—the romance or the warning? I went with the warning.

That's how outtakes are made—choosing one storyline over the other, exploring a direction that doesn't quite end up where you want it to, adding something new that makes another piece obsolete.

Of course, these are all rough pieces and it's really embarrassing to let people see them. I'm enduring the shame for three reasons. Firstly, humility is a virtue. Secondly, people loved the Twilight Outtakes so much, and I'm afraid they'll hurt me if I don't give them more. And finally (this is the real one), so many of you are writers, too. I think outtakes are most interesting from a writer's perspective. I'm hoping these might help some of you who are just getting started to be able to make sense of the editing process, and to be more ruthless self-editors. (Just because you love something doesn't mean it should stay in.)"--Stephenie Meyer.com

What can I say? The words in pink really spoke to me. They inspired and brought forth the realization that: My plot doesn't have to be perfect the first time around, or even the second. The outcome of my story may even be different than originally intended--through exploration of different plot possibilities--and that's okay! (One of my biggest problems is that, often, I try to push my preconceived notions of what I think the story should be that I never give it a chance to unfold naturally. This is a big problem that I am working to correct.)

Those few lines, for whatever reason, really comforted me. Now, will I remember all of this next week when I'm in full-on meltdown mode--umm... probably not! But still, there's something to be said about perusing your favorite author's website. Apparently it's more than just a great way to procrastinate. Yay!

So, my question is: How do you feel about plotting? Does it come easy, or the exact opposite? And, how do you work through your plotting frustrations?

Have a great day, everyone!

My Writing Sucks!

2010-07-02T06:00:00.003-05:00

No, really. I'm not even kidding or exaggerating. At all. My writing really does suck, see. ====>>>

A couple of weeks ago, I was tagged by the lovely Jen at Unedited to do this penmanship meme. Fun stuff. Or, in my case, not so much fun. It seems when I'm trying to write well, I tend to mess up. A lot! (Plus, this didn't scan very well. Sorry!)

In case you haven't seen this, or are wondering what in the heck I'm writing about, here are are the items in question:

1. Name/Blog Name.
2. Right handed, left handed or both?
3. Favorite letters to write?
4. Least favorite letters to write?
5. Write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
6. Write in caps:
CRAB
HUMOR
KALEIDOSCOPE
PAJAMAS
GAZILLION
7. Favorite song lyrics?
8. Tag 7 people.
9. Any special note or drawing?

And, in case you can't read my writing (very, very possible), here are the three people I tagged to do this FUN meme:

Kristin Rae, Kristi Chestnutt, and DL!!!

Have fun, guys!!

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!! Doesn't this song just scream SUMMER?!

I'm so excited!!

2010-06-30T06:00:00.003-05:00

Hey guys!! I've missed you all so much! My vacation was great! And I hope you all had a great week, too. But, I must digress because today is too special to talk about vacations.

Today is the day I've been looking forward to since November.

Today is the day I will get to ogle hot Twilight men for two full hours... and four minutes (that four extra minutes makes all the difference! LOL). Uninterrupted. Sigh...

Ahem, sorry. Today is The Day Eclipse hits theaters! YAY!!

And although I really wanted to go to the midnight showing (like, really, really, really wanted to GO), I couldn't. Because unfortunately, I have to work today. (HA! Like any work will be getting done today. Ha-HA!) But, you better believe I'm going to be at that theater tonight! Like the minute I get off of work. Seriously! (Okay, so I'm only half serious. The theater is more than a minute away.)

So, if you were expecting a real post today... sorry to disappoint. I just can't contain my love for all things Twilight. Hence all the videos and scene previews below from Eclipse.

Please enjoy!! And if you've already seen the movie 1) I'm extremely jealous and 2) how much did you love it??

Happy Twilight day, everyone!!!

On Vacation

2010-06-17T06:00:00.002-05:00

Hey guys!! I hope you all are having a fabulous week. I just wanted to drop you a line and let you all know that I am going on vacation (a real one)! YAY.

So, you won't be seeing any posts from me until I get back on June 29. However, I will sporadically pop in and say HI to you all when I get a chance. I hope you all have a great couple of weeks!! And don't forget about me. I'm coming back, promise!!

In the mean time, if you haven't entered my The Body Finder Giveaway yet, be sure to do so. Like now!! Because you don't want to miss out on all of the cool prizes!

See you guys soon!!

Did someone say GIVEAWAY????

2010-06-14T13:00:00.009-05:00

From the moment I randomly stumbled upon this lovely lady's blog, (many months before her novel released) I knew this lady was awesome and that I would LOVE her debut novel, The Body Finder.

You're probably wondering how I was so certain of this fact. And I do have an answer: Her name is Kimberly.

In my opinion, anyone with a name as cool as that is.... well, made of awesomness in my book. Simple as that! (Not that I'm biased or anything. HA!) Also, it didn't hurt that she writes YA, her book's title and cover are fabulous and intriguing, and there's also a little someone named Jay Heaton in her novel. (I knew I would love him as soon as I read the synopsis on her website, KimberlyDerting.com.)

But you want to know the best part? I was 110% right! [Brushes shoulders off] No lie! All joking aside: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting has been one of my favorite reads for the year. Not that I ever expected anything different. So, naturally, the moment I finished, I knew I HAD to interview Kimberly. Like immediately.

I know you guys are practically jumping up in down in your seats, like giddy school girls and boys, right now. So, I won't prolong this any longer.

Cue Awesome Author Interview now!

Let me get right to the important stuff. Your cover. The first time you saw it, what did you do?

I think I cried a little. Not so much tears of joy (although, yes, I'm sure that was part of it), but mostly out of relief. I'd been stressing over the cover for months, even having nightmares about it in which there were these incredibly vivid--and very ugly--covers involved. So realizing that I LOVED MY COVER was such a weight off my shoulders.

It is beautiful. I hope to have a cover as pretty as that one day! One thing I notice the most about the cover is the contrast between the breathtaking blue flower in the background and the sharpness of the title: The Body Finder. It's an eye catcher, for sure.

I, myself, am very bad at coming up with book titles. And I love your title so much. It's just so... simple, and I think that's the key to the beauty of it. How did you come up with the title? And did you ever have anything else in mind?

When I first started writing the manuscript, I used the title THE BODY FINDER as a placeholder name on my computer because.... well, Violet could find dead bodies. I was POSITIVE that my publisher would change it so I'd never seriously considered any alternatives. Months later, I found out that Sales & Marketing loved the title, so it stuck. Now that I've let myself get attached to it, I'm so happy that it did; I can't imagine it being called anything else!

Me neither! It really is perfect, in every way imaginable.

So, I have to admit, I have a crush on Jay. (To everyone reading this, it's a shocker, I know.) And I was wondering how you came up with his character, and why you made him so sweet when in this day and age, YA is all about the bad-boy?

I'm actually not a fan of the bad-boy, not in real life and not in my books. I get the appeal, and like reading about them, but they just don't "do it" for me. I like a nice, sweet, funy guy. And I really liked the idea of Violet and Jay being friends first, having that history together before getting involved.

I have to agree. 100%. Them being friends first was a nice touch. It made me want them together all the more, which leads to my next question:

Who was your favorite character to write? And, has it changed since you began writing the sequel?

Aside from Violet and Jay, I fell in love with Chelsea. She's the say-it-like-it-is kind of girl, even when people don't always want to hear-it-like-it-is! And because of that, Chelsea plays a much bigger role in the second book, Desires of the Dead.

I can't wait! I really do love her, and that may just be because she reminds me so much of my sister in that say-it-like-it-is kind of way. With that being said: Did you base any of your characters on anyone you know, personally?
I love to tell my friends that they're all in the book; they just hve to figure out who they are. But, really, I didn't base any of my characters on people I know... although I may have (stolen) borrowed some of their personality traits! Now, I get to just sit back and laugh while they all try to figure it out! :)
Oh, Kim, you're so.... devious. I love it!! Ha-HA!

As a writer, I always spend way too much time trying to figure out what POV I want to write my stories in. So, I'm curious to hear why you chose 3rd person POV, opposed to the norm for YA of 1st person.

I've written in both 3rd and 1st person, and I'm not sure it was a conscious decision to write The Body Finder in 3rd person. I think I'd written several chapters (and really liked them) before I was even aware that was what I was doing!

Amazing! I love getting a inside look into authors minds!!

Do you happen to have a favorite scene in The Body Finder?

I really (REALLY!) liked writing the serial killer's scenes in The Body Finder, which probably says something disturbing about my psyche. Initially, there were fewer of those sections because I was afraid that it was too dark for a YA novel, so when my editor came back and asked me for more, I was thrilled! (And, yes, I know how twisted that sounds!!)

Second to only the Jay and Violet scenes (because, hey, I'm a sucker for romance!) I loved the serial killer scenes, too! They added this underlying eerie-ness and urgency to the novel. It was fabulous!!

Speaking of editors: How many drafts of The Body Finder did you write (obsess over) before you knew it was ready to query?

Fortunately (or unfortunately), I didn't have much time to spend rewriting or obsessing over my drafts. I was scheduled to go to the BEA's writer's conference at the end of may and I only finished The Body Finder in the beginning of the month, so I only had a few weeks to shape and polish before I was off to pitch it to agents and editors. It was both exhausting and incredibly rewarding (that was where I met my agent!).

Wow! I think it's amazing that you met your agent at that conference. Sounds like it was meant to be. But I'm curious, since The Body Finder's querying process wasn't the typical experience, did you ever query any other novels, and what was you experience? Did you ever get discouraged?

Since I met my agent at a writer's conference I didn't do any querying for The Body Finder, but I had spent years (and years!) querying on my original manuscript, a horror novel that I'd written in my early twenties and continued to rewrite (and obsess) over for the next fifteen years. I have STACKS of rejection letters for that book! So discouraged, yes, I think everyone going through this process gets discouraged sometimes.

I have to say: I'm not looking forward to those rejections or feelings of discouragement. But, it's apart of the experience, and almost a right of passage for an author, I think. Most of the time, anyway.

So, do you have any suggestions for all of the aspiring authors out there?

I really believe that the people who make it are the ones who never give up. Like I mentioned above, I have stack of rejection letters, and I doubt there are many published authors who can (honestly) say they have none. It's the rare exception that someone writes a book, pitches/queries, and it sells overnight. R-A-R-E!

Very true! (Note to self: NEVER GIVE UP!!)

Moving back to The Body Finder, I've read there will be a sequel, Desires of the Dead. Can you reveal any deep, dark secrets about the sequel??

I can't say much yet, but I will tell you that there may or may not be a dead body. Or two. :)

Okay, well, can you tell us if there are any steamy love triangles headed our way??

Again, you'll just have to wait and see...

I swear, I can practically hear the evil laugh escaping your lips right now! ;)

Can you at least, maybe, reveal the release date for Desires of the Dead?
As far as I know (which doesn't always mean anything!), it's scheduled for March 2011. Although in publishing these things can change in an instant.

Thanks for that, Kim! I'll be sure to circle the month on my calendar right now!!

Lastly, I've come up with a few questions--kind of a flash round--to be answered quickly, off the top of you head. Though, I wouldn't really know if you answered them quickly or not... since I'm not there! Ha-ha.

So here we go:

What's playing on your iPod right now? EVANESCENCE. (At least that's what I'll admit to.)

Favorite place to write? My office.

Snacks: salty or sweet? Sweet, always!

Mac or PC? PC. But very curious about Macs. (Curious about Macs? I have two words for you: Indescribably Awesome!!)

What's the one food you couldn't live without? Skittles.

Say you met a genie and he agreed to let you bring ot life one character from any book, who would it be? Babs (from Some Kind of Normal). I just know we'd be friends.

I want to thank Kim for being such a doll and taking the time to answer all of my pressing questions. Thanks, Kim!!

Be sure to pick up your copy of The Body Finder (in book stores nationwide) today!

Now, for The Body Finder Giveaway!! But this just isn't any ole book giveaway. Nope! Not at this blog, baby. I'm doing much better than that! I am actually giving you guys a chance to win a personalized, autographed copy of The Body Finder! How cool is that?!

The prize packs are as follows:

Grand Prize Winner:

Personalized, autographed copy of The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting, some awesome The Body Finder swag

, and a $5 Amazon giftcard. (Personally, I would use it to put towards the sequel to The Body Finder: Desires of the Dead. But that's just me! You can do as you wish.)

Runner up:

Personalized, autographed copy of The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting and chocolate (or candy of some sort). Because, after you read this book, in all its greatness, you will want the comfort of CANDY! I mean, that serial killer is one scary dude! Seriously!!

I'm so excited to be able to share this with you! And here are a few things you must do to be entered into the giveaway:

1) You must be a follower of my blog.

2) You must leave a comment on this post.

3) You must fill out of the form below.

The Body Finder Giveaway Entry Form

Now, how easy was that? But wait, there are ways to get extra entries.

+2 for Tweeting about this contest (@kimlfranklin). I'll even give you 2 extra entries for following me on Twitter. And 2 more extra entries for following Kimberly Derting on Twitter, too!

+2 for Facebooking about this contest (Kim Franklin's Facebook page). Same as with Twitter, you can receive 2 extra entries for friending me up on Facebook, and two more entries for friending Kimberly Derting on Facebook, too!! (I'm feeling extra generous today!)

+4 for posting my, The Body Finder, giveaway in the sidebar of your blog or website.

+5 for blogging about this giveaway.

+10 for posting a blog post solely dedicated to this giveaway! ( You heard me right!! 10 extra enteries!!)

There are a lot of extra entries up for grabs here! The contest deadline is August 11, 2010. So you guys better get busy now! Believe me, you don't want to miss out on this!

Have fun, everyone! And good luck!!

The Body Finder

2010-06-11T13:32:00.001-05:00

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself.

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting, oh how I love thee. This book is made of awesome, fabulousness (I know it's not a word, but still! It's that good!!). So fabulous, actually, that I'm positive I will only have to mention a few key points about it, and you too will want to read it.

So, before you read any further, please make sure you have ample free time. Not because this review is going to take up a ton of time but because as soon as you read it, you will want to go to the book store nearest you, buy The Body Finder, and then read it in its entirety, immediately. And I'm not kidding.

Here I go: (You can't say I didn't forewarn you!)

First, me being the cover junkie I am, I have to start with the cover. I mean, look at that cover! Isn't it beautiful? And the title, it's simple and intriguing and perfect! Now, who could pass up a cover and title like that?? If you can, you must be crazy. Then again, if you haven't read this book yet, you must be a little crazy already.

Moving on to my next point, The Body Finder is a YA book. (For those of you who don't know: YA=best books on the face of the earth! Yeah, you heard me: The Best!) More than that though, it's a YA book who's strong and lovable MC can sense dead people, which is super cool and kind of creepy. But mostly cool!

Oh, and did I mention there's also a serial killer on the loose. Kimberly Derting sprinkles the killer's POV sporadically throughout the novel, and I love that. It really set the tone for the novel, one that is both eerie and creeptastically awesome at the same time. I have to say, I haven't read very many YA novels with serial killers running around ... killing. [Cue the spooky music.... here]

And as always, I saved the best for last: Jay Heaton. ('Nuff said!) He isn't your normal, bad boy love interest that you can find in every other YA book on the shelves. He's actually the good guy. Really good. Which, in my opinion, is very yummy too. Like melt your Popsicle scrumptious! You won't want to miss him, I promise. When have I ever steered you wrong on that bookish boys? Hmmm...

So, what do you think? You all want to run out and buy your copy of The Body Finder right now, don't you?

Hello?? Is anyone still there ... [cue the crickets]

Well, I guess I was right. Ha-HA! But, if there is still anyone out there, quietly reading, waiting for this post to hurry up and end already, then I will be nice and let you sprint to the store, or to Amazon, and buy your copy now.

OR

If you could just wait until Monday, when I share my interview with the fabulously-awesome Kimberly Derting, you might be able to enter my next contest for a chance to win a personalized, autographed copy of The Body Finder for yourself. Maybe.

Guess you'll just have to come back Monday to see. ;)

Have a great weekend, everyone!!

Two sides to every story...

2010-06-09T07:33:00.002-05:00

Well guys, the new Stephenie Meyer novella, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, hit bookstore shelves everywhere June 5, 2010. I'm sure you all know, I was there bright and early to snag my copy. I'm a barrel of surprises, I know.

And although I love Twilight series and The Host, I have to admit, I wasn't too sure about this book. Yet, I still bought it regardless because lets face it, Stephenie Meyer is a writing prowess. The way she spins and weaves her words into stories, and stories into novels, and novels into reality is magical.

[WARNING: FAN GIRL ALERT! FAN GIRL ALERT!!]
I just ... love her. (In a non-creepy way, of course.)

Here's a short synopsis from the book jacket:

"Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, super human reflexes, and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood ... life before she became a vampire.

All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch you back, don't draw attention to yourself, and above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn't know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out.

Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they know only as her. As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagined, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?"

Sounds intriguing, right?

Anyway. I'm about half way through this 178 page novella (I'm having to restrain myself, otherwise I would have read it in one sitting) and I'm loving it. I even find myself wishing and hoping that Bree will somehow escape, and run away from the newborns (with Diego, of course!!). Sadly, we all know what happens to poor Bree in the end. And even though I do know the ending, I'm still excited to see what's going to happen. Because just like the book's promo says, "Every story has two sides."

So, if you're a Twilight fan, or even if you're not, be sure to pick up your copy of: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. And in doing so, you are not just getting a fabulous read but also helping out the American Red Cross. One dollar from each book sold will be donated to the American Red Cross. What's better than that?

Oh wait, there's more. If you go to BreeTanner.com, for the first 30 days (June 7 - July 5) you can read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner for free. Yes, you heard me right. FREE! How cool is that? So even if you don't buy it, you can still enjoy the awesomeness of this book.

Now what are you waiting for?? Enjoy!!

Time

2010-06-07T06:00:00.005-05:00

Every weekend starts out the same for me. I always have these grandiose plans (or maybe more like wishes) of things I really want (need) to get done. (Can anyone tell me why weekends are only two days? Hmmm?? Seems kind of unfair if you ask me.) But does that ever happen? Umm... no. And this weekend was no exception. Shocker, I know.

This weekend, my days, hours and minutes were filled with visiting family, reading the new Stephenie Meyer, Eclipse Novella (of course) and my nephew's birthday party. He just turned two on June 2. Man, how they grow so fast!

Here are a few pics--pre-birthday bash.

Yummy, birthday donuts. MMmmMMmmm...

Wait, did you just say I get to have cake?!?!!!

And, of course, Aunt Kimmie had to let him open one present early. That's what aunts are for.

Anyway, so I know I promised details on my next contest today, but I've decided to push it back a week, because truthfully, I didn't have the time to type out the posts. (Doesn't that sound like a great excuse? Ha-ha.) So, I promise, that contest will be coming to you next week, for sure. And it will run for a couple of weeks because.... I'm going on vacation. A real one! And I can't wait!!

Ahem. Sorry about that. I tend to drift when I think about things like... vacations. :)

So, sorry for the short post today. I will be back on Wednesday with a "real" post. Or, in my case, as "real" of a post as I ever post.

Have a great Monday, everyone!!

I WANT TO WIN!!

2010-06-03T18:24:00.012-05:00

First of all: YES, I have already blogged about this contest before, but Sara has extended the deadline to her Very Vampire May Giveaway and I felt compelled (ha-ha, get it?) to share this fabulous contest with you once more.

I mean, it's no secret that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Twilight, right? And this lovely lady is actually giving away a copy of Twilight (the novel) that is signed by Stephenie Meyer, (OMG. I think I've died and gone to Twilighters heaven!!) among other fantastic prizes.

So be sure to check out Sara McClung's contest NOW! But don't even think about entering, because I WANT TO WIN SO BADLY! At least the signed copy of Twilight, anyway. I guess you can enter for the other stuff. I'm not stingy. :)

When it comes to Twilight, I get a little crazy. But you should know this already. (Yes, I am totally one of those crazy ladies with a room in my house completely dedicated to all things Twilight. No, seriously, I am. I can show you pictures! And... I do have a Twilight photo, autographed by Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson (sigh).)

Wow... I do sound a little crazy. But, it's all in good fun! And that's exactly what this contest is. Fun!! So check it out!

Have a great weekend, everyone!! (Two posts in one day... WOW, I'm on a roll!!)

Writers' Block

2010-06-03T06:00:00.007-05:00

It seems, lately, that I've had a mild case of writers' block. It really sucks, but hey, it happens, right? There's always going to be stuff that needs to get done around the house, or things you really, really want to do (even though you really, really should be writing). I like to view it as unavoidable, because that's just life. Plus, it's almost Summer, which roughly equates to nothing on TV, triple digit temps and three to four solid months of not leaving the comfort of my air conditioned house. So for today (okay, this entire week), I'm free to do whatever I want. Ha-ha!! :)

Today, I decided to put one of my favorite sites for procrastination to use--YouTube--and have posted some fun writing videos for you. I hope you enjoy!! (So that shouldn't count as procrastinating, right? I mean, hey, I did write this blog post.)

First: Writers' Blok by Jackson Pearce
(I love this video! Jackson nailed writers' block right on the head!! Plus, who doesn't love Kesha?)

Next: How NOT To Write A Novel--Bookfomercial
(Totally hilarious! I mean, who doesn't want to be fabulously wealthy and irresistible to the opposite sex? Hmmm.... [cue the crickets] That's what I thought!!)

I probably won't be around to post on Friday, but I'll be back on Monday (psst... I might be giving a few more details about my next contest during that post. Maybe. Be sure to check it out, you know, just in case!! :) )

Have a great weekend, everyone!!!

And the WINNER is....

2010-06-01T06:00:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a great, relaxing Memorial Day weekend. My weekend was great but not so relaxing. My hubby and I spent most of it outside working on the flower bed, and it was so, incredibly, hot outside (the thermometer said 98 degrees, but it had to at least be 150 degrees outside. At least!), and we aren't even finished yet. Still have more to do next weekend, but the hard work is done and for that I am thankful.

Moving on, today I'm going to announce the winners of my Daisy Whitney is awesome contest. Daisy so generously dontated an autographed copy of Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan and The Mockingbirds bookmarks. (Thanks, Daisy!!!) All winners were chosen by random drawing.

So, without further ado, the grand prize winner is...

Jen at Unedited

Congrats, Jen. I know you will love this book. If you can please email your mailing address to Kimlfranklin@gmail.com, I will mail your prize to you soon!!

But wait, there's more. I also have the lovely The Mockingbirds bookmarks to give away. Now, I have a small stack of these to give away, but today, I'm only going to give away 10 of these fabulous bookmarks. I'll save the rest for a different contest.

The winners are...

1) Mia
2) Christine Daneck
3) Marsha Sigman
4) Nicki
5) Spav
6) Susan Fields
7) Jackee
8) Katie M. Stout
9) Robin
10) Amy Saia

Congrats to all of the winners! If you can please email your mailing address to Kimlfranklin@gmail.com, I will get your prize out to you soon!!

And if you didn't win, well, don't worry. I will be holding another AMAZING CONTEST next week. I promise you, you won't want to miss it!! :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday! See you guys on Thursday!!!

And don't forget to pre-order your copy of The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney today!!

Don't Forget!

2010-05-28T09:05:00.005-05:00

Hey guys, I'm running low on time (per usual), because I'm watching my nephew today (he's two, or a week shy of turning two) and he should be here any minute, so this is going to be short and sweet.

Mostly, I just wanted to let you know that I will probably be unplugged until Tuesday. But don't fear, I won't be having tons of Memorial Day fun. Nope, nothing like that planned for me. Instead, I'll be digging up bushes, expanding flowerbeds and searing in the Texas (almost Summer) sun (it was 97 degrees here yesterday. Crazy!). Now doesn't that sound like fun?

Anyway, I just wanted to remind you all to enter my contest, where you can win an autographed copy of Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan. And, how can we forget, The Mockingbirds bookmarks too! I've decided to extend the contest deadline to Monday, May 31, 2010, and I will announce the winner on Tuesday, June 1. So be sure to enter now.

I hope you all have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend! Enjoy it!

Sex... and the City

2010-05-26T06:00:00.003-05:00

Okay SATC fans, tomorrow's the day.

The best day in the month of May that is.

The day Sex and the City movie 2 hits the big screen. And I'm exaggerating when I say I'm super excited, because I'm way more than that. It's hard to explain my love for the series and those ladies.

So today, I've compiled some fabulous YouTube videos for all the fans out there to watch (drool over).

First up: A look into SATC 2

Second: The New SATC Hunk (Wait! Where's Smith?!?!?!!)

Lastly: SATC 2 Sneak Peeks

I hope you all enjoyed! And happy Sex and the City movie watching!!

"Every once in awhile, a girl has to indulge herself." -- Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City

A contest, Daisy Whitney and The Mockingbirds!

2010-05-24T06:00:00.005-05:00

Does everyone know who this lovely lady is?? Hmm?? Well you all should because she is the coolest! And I'm not exaggerating one bit when I say that.

For all of you who don't know (shame on you!!) this super awesome lady (with the gorgeous necklace and I'm sure fabulous shoes--she loves shoes as much as I do!! There's nothing cooler than that, for sure) is Daisy Whitney, debut author of The Mockingbirds, which will be flying off bookstore shelves nationwide on November 2, 2010.

Now, you're probably asking yourself why I'm professing my love for Daisy when her book isn't even out yet. Well, I do have a reason.

And that reason is.....

Why yes, that picture you see is an ARC of Daisy's book, The Mockingbirds. And yes, that is a picture I took of the ARC my dear, shoe lovin', friend Daisy sent for me to worship. *ahem* I mean, read.

How cool is that?!?!?!!! I couldn't resist taking more pictures, because, I mean, just look at it! It's beautiful, isn't it!

Here's a picture of The Mockingbirds on my book shelf, where it will rest permanently November 2, 2010.
And here's another picture of The Mockingbirds on a different book shelf. I guess I was just testing out where it fits better. I haven't decided yet, so I might just have to buy multiple copies. :)

And lastly, I think I may have got a little carried away. Here is The Mockingbirds as my computer background. (For those of you wondering, yes, I actually squeezed it in through that cd-rom slot. I'll be the first to tell you, it wasn't easy. *Wink, wink* But isn't it pretty!)

Anyway, I want thank Daisy for sending me a copy of her ARC to read. I was dying to read it and believe me when I say: OMG... you guys must pre-order your copy of The Mockingbirds now!! And, you can find more info about The Mockingbirds on Daisy's website.

But wait, there's more. A few month's back, this lovely lady, donated a book for me to give away during one of my contests. For whatever reason (because really, I can't remember why I haven't given this book away yet), I still have it and have decided that now is as good as ever to give it away.

The book: Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan. And to top it off, it's AUTOGRAPHED!!

Pretty cool, huh?

But that's not it. I swear, Daisy is one of the most generous people on earth! Thanks to Daisy, I have more prizes.

The Mockingbirds Bookmarks!!

I don't know about you, but I can always use a bookmark.

So, here's how to enter:

You must be a follower of this blog and comment on this post.

Easy peasy, you're entered to win. But, if you want extra entries you can do one or all of the following:

Blog post about the contest = 5 entries

Twittering (@kimfranklin25 ) = 3 entries

Sidebar posting = 3 entries

Now how easy is all of that? Just be sure to let me know if you've done anything to get extra entries. The contest will end Sunday, May 30, 2010, so get busy and good luck!!

Once again, THANK YOU, DAISY!! I can't wait to see your name on the New York Times Bestseller List. Because after reading this....

There's no doubt in my mind that your name will be there in November.

PS: When your book becomes a movie, you'll let me be there with you during the hot boy casting call, right? ;)

Happy Monday, everyone!!

Really??

2010-05-23T12:22:00.005-05:00

Okay, so it's not a secret that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Twilight, right? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Anyway, I must digress because, really, I could talk about Twilight all day long. Seriously. And what I really want to talk about today is the super cool contest over at Sara McClung's blog.

She's hosting A Very Vampire May Giveaway, and she isn't exaggerating. She has tons of cool prizes, and one of which I WANT, WANT, WANT!! And when I say that, I'm definitely not exaggerating. Not one bit. Because this prize is AWESOME!

Sara is actually giving away a copy of Twilight (the novel) that is signed by Stephenie Meyer. OMG. I think I've died and gone to Twilighters heaven!!

So, everyone be sure to check out her contest. Or don't. I really prefer you don't, because I want to win so, incredibly, BAD!!

I hope you all have a great Sunday!!

Poison Ivy

2010-05-19T06:00:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I know it's not Teaser Tuesday, but I'm running low on time --it's definitely not because LOST is about to come on TV, and I really want to watch it (despite my continual LOST-ness when watching), promise. *wink, wink*--so I've decided to share a little snippet from my current WIP.

Now, like always, this is rough. (I'm serious. I promise I don't just say that to get nice comments, though I really do love all the nice comments!!)

I wrote this little snippet one day on a whim, and I have no idea if it will even stay in the story. It was more or less a exercise to test out my MCs voice. YAY for writing exercises, aren't they fun?! So much more fun than real exercising, for sure.

So here it is, my small, possibly bogus snippet from Poison Ivy. Enjoy!!

This morning, my car was exactly where I left it last: buried nose deep in mud, teetering tail up in the shallow creek at the end of the vacant, tree lined road that lead to our house.

Not the ideal parking spot. I had an excuse, though—in true teen fashion. I blamed it on “the migraines.” I did have migraines, sometimes. Okay, never. But it’s not like I could tell my parent’s the real reason. Tweeting while driving was a bad idea, believe me, I know that... now. And how could I resist reading a Tweet from my Ian, professing his love for me, to the entire Twitter-verse in one hundred and forty characters or less?

The problem was: I couldn’t. Apparently, self-control was low on my list of redeeming qualities.

Positive the real story wouldn’t appease my parents, I figured my little fib was the best way to go. For everyone. I wouldn’t loose my driving privileges—once my car was hauled out of the creek and de-mudded. And dad wouldn’t have to suffer through hauling his, “little girl,” and her boyfriend to school every morning. Even though the last part would have only been temporary. Ian would have gotten his car back, eventually. Most likely once the dust settled on his newest speeding ticket. Regardless, I planned on sticking to the “migraine” excuse. For my dad’s sake, of course.

Have a great Wednesday, everyone!!!

How to choose...

2010-05-17T06:00:00.005-05:00

In preparation for my new story, Poison Ivy, I've been doing a lot of thinking and researching about settings. Choosing the right setting--East Coast, West Coast, cities big and small, or even the Moon--is crucial to the mood and tone of your story. The perfect setting can add depth or even become a supporting character.

For instance, would Twilight have been the same if Edward was stuck inside all day, every day because he lived in LA, where the sun shines almost everyday? Probably not. It probably would have been the most boring book ever. But, then again, that might have led to more kissing scenes... hmmm. Oh well, I guess we will never know because Stephenie Meyer chose her setting wisely, picking one of the rainiest cities in the US.

For Twilight, choosing Forks, Washington was a logical choice, but what if your story doesn't have any sparkling vampires in it? How do you choose a setting?

I have to admit that I have a tendency of choosing a setting based on places I want to go. So, when I was searching for a setting for Poison Ivy, I decided on Sonoma, California . That city is absolutely beautiful, and would be a perfect setting. Not to mention, I would love to go there and tour wine country (sounds like fun, right?). But, after delving a little deeper into my story, I've come to realize that Sonoma, although breathtaking, doesn't quite set the right mood or tone for my story. Which pretty much sucks. [Insert whining here.] So I'm back on the search for the perfect setting. Hopefully I'll find it one day.

I'm curious to know, how do you all pick the perfect setting for your stories?

Isn't Sonoma, California beautiful. I'm craving a glass of wine right now!!

I hope you all have a great Monday (as if that's even possible)!!!

Movie Day Returns!

2010-05-14T06:00:00.003-05:00

I know I promised to have a "real" post for you today, but IT'S MOVIE DAY!! (That's my excuse and I'm stickin' to it!!) I can't believe I forgot. I'm smacking myself on the hand right now. Ouch!!

So, in lieu of my written genius (haha!! That one makes me laugh!), which will return on Monday (aren't you guys soooo excited?! ) I've found some very funny commercials for you to watch.

The first two videos are to display my love for vitaminwater. This company has the most awesome writers EVER! (Thanks for the email, guys!! I love you too!!!) I'm not sure I've actually seen these commercials on TV, but they are hilarious!

And last up is quiet possibly one of the funniest commercials I've EVER seen. My hubby and I laugh EVERY TIME it comes on. EVERY TIME!!

"Who you callin' cootie queen, you lint licker!!" That line gets me EVERY TIME!! Haha!!!

I hope you enjoyed the commercials and have a GREAT WEEKEND!!!

In which I am very lazy....

2010-05-12T06:00:00.002-05:00

It appears that I'm having another one of those lazy days. But hey, shouldn't I at least get credit for trying?!?!

Anyway, I found a couple of videos while searching YouTube today that I want to share with you all. I hope you enjoy!!

First: Meg Cabot on Writing (You should listen, she's pretty funny and everything she says is truetruetrue!!!)

Second: Jackson Pearce on the Imaginary Writing Process (Umm... who do we need to contact in the publishing industry to make sure this is how it works from now on?!)

I hope you all have a fabulous Wednesday!! And hopefully on Friday I'll be back with a real post. (Haha... who am I kidding?!) ;)

M.I.A.

2010-05-10T06:00:00.001-05:00

Hey guys, I know I've been a little M.I.A lately. Sorry. :( Anyway, I just wanted to drop you guys a line letting you know I haven't been kidnapped by the Salvatore brothers or anything. (Only in my dreams.... ha!!)

The last couple of weeks have been super busy in my house and at work, but things are slowly but surely starting to get back to normal.

So I hope you all have a fabulous Monday (even though I'm pretty sure it isn't possible... unless you stare at the lovely picture I've posted all day. LOL). I'll see you all on Wednesday!!!

Plan B

2010-05-05T06:00:00.003-05:00

You're probably wondering why I have a picture of Vitamin Water on my blog today, right? First of all, it's so yummy and my new favorite drink. Seriously good!

And, I've decided that if this writing a novel thing doesn't pan out that I would be completely satisfied (okay, now that's a lie) to be a writer for Vitamin Water.

Now you're probably thinking, "call the psycho ward, Kim's gone crazy... again." You are, aren't you?

Well, before you call, hear me out. Have you ever read the side of one of these yummy drinks? Hmm?? (Yes, I have nothing to do all day, except read the sides of my water bottles. Hush!)

Let me share with you what a few of them say. They are sooooo funny!! Haha.

VitaminWater Zero - Grape-Raspberry flavor (YUMO!!)

You gotta admit, there's nothing like people watching at the gym. You got the women in the neon pink unitard over spandex bike shorts (1986 called), the guy checking himself out in the mirror (we see you), and our favorite, the "let's do this!!!" trainer (chill. It's 6AM). If that scene's not for you, but you want to help support your immune system, crack open this bottle. So hey there Mr. "I'm just going to walk around and watch TV," good thinking. No need to pay for the gym and cable.

VitaminWater Zero - Lemonade

C'mon, is that a purse... or a suitcase? Let's see what you're squeezing in there. Looky here, a gift card (with 89 cents left), three different hand creams (melon, cucumber, cucumber-melon), lip balm, lip stick, and lip gloss--oh what's this? Ahhh the good ol' giant wad of receipts. (Plan to return the shirt your wearing?) Well, your bags have inspired us. We squeezed as much good stuff as we could into this bottle. And since it's naturally sweetened and zero calories, feel free to squeeze a couple of bottles into your purse... or "man-bag" (we're not judging).

Vitamin Water Zero - Blueberry Pomegranate

Ever notice that XXX has a bit of a reputation? On a game show, it's a let down to the whole family, in the video store it's the section you "accidentally" wandered into, and in a marriage, one X can be expensive, but three?! That's why we're cleaning up XXX's reputation. The survey says drink up, switch to a healthier (and less scandalous) XXX, and who knows, maybe the fourth time's a charm.

Funny, right?! (I'm really lame, so humor me.) So, like I said, if this writing a novel thing doesn't pan out, then my "official" plan B is to become the funniest Vitamin Water bottle writer EVER!!

I dream big!! Haha. :)

Have a happy Wednesday, everyone!!!

Sick Day...

2010-05-03T06:00:00.002-05:00

<<=== Don't you wish that excuse would work? Without actually being dead, of course. That wouldn't be very good. At all.

Anyway, yes, I'm sick today. It seems my hubby wanted to infect me with his germs, because he just loves me so much and doesn't want me to feel left out, of course. That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.

So I hope everyone has a better Monday than me. I'm headed to work. I would try the "calling in dead" excuse, but I don't think it will work. Plus, I probably need to save that in case of emergency. You know, like if the Twilight cast comes to town or something. :)

Have a great Monday!!

A special movie trailer

2010-04-30T06:00:00.004-05:00

It's FRIDAY!! YAY!! And just like the picture says: I'm in love... with Friday!

It's like the best day of the week!

Correction: It's like the best day of the work week!!

So, I'm going to keep this post short and sweet, since it's MOVIE DAY (not because I'm lazy. No, definitely not because I'm too lazy to type anymore. Teehee)!

Enjoy!

First up: Trailer for every Oscar-winner movie made... EVER!

(Umm... I think they're trying to say these movies are formulaic or something. Hmmm... now where would they ever get that idea? Ha-ha.)

Next up: The official trailer for Twilight Saga: Eclipse

[Cue the fan girl screams] Woohooo!!! Take off your shirt Jacob.

*cough, cough* Ahem, sorry about that. Guess I got a little carried away there. ;)

Have a happy Friday and a great weekend!!!

The Carrie Diaries

2010-04-28T06:00:00.006-05:00

Many of you may think you've got me pegged--Twilight junkie. Well... your assessment is correct! (No surprise, right?!)

However, way before Stephenie Meyer introduced me to the world of sexy, brooding Vampires and hot-tastic, overgrown Werewolves, I was obsessed with another fictional character. (I'll take a moment for you to let that sink in. It's hard to believe, I know!)

It's true, though. Years before Edward, Bella and Jacob (sigh) another character held me captive, and her name was...

*** DRUM ROLL PLEASE***

Carrie Bradshaw!

Yeah, so, she might not have any special or supernatural powers to speak of (unless you consider being able to run around the streets of New York City in those fabulous, yet very painful, designer stilettos a super power. Which, now that I think of it, it has to be a super power, right? I mean, who can do that? I know I can't make it two feet in stilettos without cowering in pain), but she does have lots and lots of shoes!

And, what girl doesn't love shoes? [Cue the crickets] Exactly, there aren't any.

Anyway, the point I'm trying get to (and taking forever to do so, I might add) is that Candace Bushnell's new YA novel, The Carrie Diaries, released yesterday, April 27, 2010!

Here's the 411:

Synopsis

Before Carrie Bradshaw hit the big time in the City, she was a regular girl growing up in the suburbs of Connecticut. How did she turn into one of the most-read social observers of our generation?

The Carrie Diaries opens up in Carrie's senior year of high school. She and her best friends -- Walt, Lali, Maggie, and the Mouse -- are inseparable, amid the sea of Jens, Jocks and Jets. And then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture. Sebastian is a bad boy-older, intriguing, and unpredictable. Carrie falls into the relationship that she was always supposed to have in high school-until a friend's betrayal makes her question everything. With her high school days coming to a close, Carrie will realize it's finally time to go after everything she ever wanted.

Rabid fans of Sex and the City will love seeing Carrie Bradshaw evolve from a regular girl into a sharp, insightful writer. They'll learn about her family background -- how she found her writing voice, and the indelible impression her early friendships and relationships left on her. We'll see what brings Carrie to her beloved New York City, where the next Carrie Diaries book will take place.

I'll admit, I never read the Sex and the City series (slapping myself on the wrist right now! OUCH!), but I watched the show religiously and LOVED IT! So I can't wait to read this book. And the fact that it's YA... well, I'm practically drooling already.

So, for all of those Carrie lovers out there (even the closeted ones. I know they're out there!), be sure to pick up your copy today!!

"As we drive along this road called life, occasionally a gal will find herself a little lost. And when that happens, I guess she has to let go of the coulda, shoulda, woulda, buckle up and just keep going." --Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City

Blah, Blah, Blah!

2010-04-26T06:00:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone, I hope you had a great weekend. Today is Monday (UGH...), and I'm in a very BLAH mood today. So, instead of another one of my witty, insightful posts (go ahead and laugh. I know you want to! LOL), I'm going to share with you a little sneak peek from one of my WIPs, Static.

FYI: This piece is probably rough, so consider yourself forewarned!! ;)

Enjoy!!

Hiding in the corner of the small room was a long mirror, one of those mirrors that made you look bad even on the best of days. I couldn’t risk another chance of being humiliated this week. Stomaching my disgust for white walls and the smell of bleach and Lysol, I made my way over to the mirror to make sure I wasn’t suffering from a case of bed head. Pulling the band from my now lopsided pony tail, I smoothed the plaits of hair with my fingers. My hand brushed over a tender spot where a bump was beginning to form. The pain throbbed in sync with each beat of my heart and I winced making a mental note not to do that again.

As I turned to leave, I saw him standing in the doorway, watching me with a wicked smirk. I jumped back, knocking a row of chairs askew in my wake. My heart skipped and blood flooded my cheeks. They always sold me out.

Moronically, I stared dumbfounded, speechless.

It was Jaxon Wilhelm. He was one of the many new faces at the beginning of the year, and he had immediately made a reputation for himself as a loner the second he arrived. I wasn’t really sure why because he had popular written all over him. From his chocolate cropped locks and lean, toned physique to his I’m better than everyone so don’t even think about wasting my time attitude… he had it nailed down. He was much more equipped for my circle of friends than I. Then again, the only reason I was there was because of Amethyst and… Caleb.

“What are you looking at?” I asked, desperately trying to extinguish my blush.

He stood in silence, hands in pockets, left eyebrow arched, lips hitched into a half smile. His eyes wandered up and down my figure. Tugging at the bottom of my shirt was almost an automatic reaction, but I stood my ground and felt ridiculously uncomfortable doing so.

Shaking his head, he spun on his heel and padded off toward the exit without so much as considering my question.

“Better double check that mirror. You missed a hair, princess,” he said, amusement coloring his tone.

The door slammed shut and I twisted around to check my reflection. My hair looked fine. Good, enough. Part of me couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing here, staring, at me. Avoiding my questions. But the other half, the broken half, couldn’t care less.

The official ruling was in: boys suck! No one could change my mind about that—no matter how cute they were.

I hope you all enjoyed this little snippet from Static. And I hope you have a fabulous Monday. I'll be back on Wednesday--hopefully a little less BLAH.

ME, ME, ME!!

2010-04-23T06:00:00.002-05:00

I was tagged last week by the lovely and very funny Marsha Sigman. The rules in this fab game are to answer 5 questions, 5 times, and then tag 5 other bloggers. I know you guys are so excited to hear more about ME, ME, ME, so I'll get right to it.

Question 1: Where were you five years ago?

1. At the home I just purchased.
2. Watching Sex and the City (crying because it was going to end. *tear*).
3. Hmm....
4. Ummmm....
5. That year was kind of a blur. Give me a break, I had just turned 21!! But I think I remembered the important stuff, right?!

Question 2: Where would you like to be five years from now?

1. Agented.
2. Published.
3. Writing full time.
4. On the NYC Bestsellers list.
5. Casting hot boys as my MCs for my novel's big screen adaptation!!!

Question 3: What is (was) on your to-do list today?

1. Write.
2. Write.
3. Do not drink caffeine (opps... that ones out the window).
4. Exercise (Hahahahahaha!!!).
5. Write.

Question 4: What five snacks do you enjoy?

1. Ice Cream!! Any kind, doesn't matter. I'm not picky.
2. Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips.
3. Black and Blueberry Sobe LifeWater (it's healthy and it's OMG so good!!!).
4. Chocolate!
5. Did I say Ice Cream??? (Truthfully, it deserves all five spots!!)

Question 5: What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Buy a new house! A big one!
2. Quit my day job (see ya!!) and write full time.
3. Travel. Everywhere.
4. Buy lots of shoes! And clothes! And then, maybe, more shoes!! (A girl can never have too many pairs of shoes! Never.)
5. I would buy a Mini Cooper, because they are just too cute!!

Now that was fun!! I know you all just love learning more about ME. Which is good because I love talking about myself. Haha. You just think I'm kidding!! ; )

Here are the 5 funtastic winners!!

Summer
Carol
Talli Roland
Jen
Christine

These girls are super fun, funny and extremly talented! So be sure to check them out!!

Have a great day everyone!!!

A Big Kaboom... and other random stuff.

2010-04-21T06:00:00.014-05:00

(((WARNING. WARNING. RANDOM POST ALERT!!!)))

For those of you who don't know, I live in Dallas (and by "Dallas" I really mean Fort Worth), Texas. And a couple of weeks ago Texas Stadium (or Cowboys Stadium--which is right up the road) came crumbling down (on purpose of course. Have you seen the new Cowboy Stadium? There are only three letters needed to describe it: O. M. G!!!).

I didn't join in the city wide festivities (yes, festivities, with millions of people--the city of Irving actually such down major freeways surrounding the stadium, and there were fireworks and everything!!), but I do have a fun video for you to watch.

Now you see Texas Stadium...

Now you don't! (Pretty cool, huh? Yeah, there was really no other reason for me to share that with you other than the cool factor. LOL.)

In other news (other than random videos of buildings going KABOOM!, which are extremely important, of course), I started working on my new story. And surprisingly, it's going extremely well!! It seems: the words, they are a-flowing... which is great! I'll keep you guys posted.

Also, before I go, I wanted to take a few minutes to thank some of my fellow bloggers for a few awards I received while I was away. The awarding of the awards to other deserving bloggers will have to be postponed. No time today. :(

<<===First off, I want to thank Mia, Summer, DL , Roxy and Kristi for the soulmate award! I feel we are all definitely soul mates too!! Aww... aren't we sweet! :)

For the Prolific Blogger Award, I have the lovely Jamie to thank. I'm Prolific! YAY!! ;) ===>>

<<=== Also, I want to thank The Little Flower for the Oh My Blog! Award!! Haha... I love it!! :)

And last, but certainly not least, I want to thank Amy for this sweet little award. Isn't it SO cute?! ===>>

If you haven't checked out these bloggers yet, you must be crazy! They are all fabulous!!!

Well guys, it seems I've rambled enough for today. Thanks for listening and I'll see you all on Friday!!

I'm Back!!

2010-04-19T06:00:00.003-05:00

That's right, after a week off from blogging (where I got a lot done... HA!), I'm back! I know you all are practically jumping for joy right now, right? Ha-ha.

Anyway, so my blogging break was nice, but I really missed you guys. And I would love to sit here and tell you how much I did or didn't (the last one sounds more like it) get done, but I won't. However, I did go to the movies since I've last blogged, and at the movies I saw the new SATC2 trailer, and I think, maybe, I screamed little. (I'm sure I embarrassed my poor hubby, but oh well. He knew what he was getting into when he married me. Muahahaha!!)

So, in lieu of a long post about how much I didn't get done on my blogging break, I've decided to share with you the lovely, sparkly, and very fab Sex and the City 2 movie trailer.

Enjoy!!

Happy Monday!!

PS - I'm trying out a Monday, Wednesday, Friday blogging schedule this week. So see you all on Wednesday!! :)

Vacation

2010-04-12T06:00:00.004-05:00

Hey guys, I managed to sneak away long enough to tell you:

This week my beloved Macbook (he is such a cute, needy little thing), my very bossy Muse and I are all going on vacation (just a writing vacation. It's not like we're getting to go to Hawaii or something fun like that *sad face*). Together. (Ekk! Help me, please!)

But, I'll be back next week, so don't forget about me. And, if I get a free moment (rather, if I'm able to escape the MUSE for even a second) I will stop by your blogs to say hi. I will surely miss you all!!

Have a great week!!

Now this is FUNNY!

2010-04-09T06:00:00.002-05:00

This week I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I've been slaving away on my WIP, because I'm sure you all have already deciphered my secret code already.

Working hard on WIP = Perusing YouTube :)

So here are your funny videos for the week!!!

First up:
If Video Games Were Real

(Wait, what?? You mean Mario and Princess Toadstool aren't real??? Ugh! Video games are ruined..... FOREVER! I guess I'll just go play some Wii Tennis, that's real, right??)

Next:
Reality Check (This is seriously one of the funniest commercials I've seen! LOL)

Have a great weekend!!!