Monday Meme and Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

So, it's Sunday night and I've had a fun but tiresome weekend at Islands of Adventure (where HP World is) and Busch Gardens in Tampa. Even though we live like three hours from Orlando, we hadn't made it down to Harry Potter World yet. Here are some pics - if you haven't been, this could be considered a spoiler, so consider yourself warned.

Don't know, not too good at following rules... :)

The sky was behaving and gave me a nice backdrop.

Yum....

You could actually send yourself real mail from here. Like an acceptance letter to Hogwarts or something.  How rad is that???

And another of Hogwarts with the cool statues. The sign was cool too, there were these sparkly silver lights that kept lighting up behind 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry', to make it look like magic. It was a very fun weekend. The Hogwarts ride is really cool, even for a wimp like me. I only screamed once :)

Blending into my usual Monday meme... I don't know about you, but when I'm at theme parks, I usually have the urge to pick up a few souvenirs. Like, half the stuff in the Harry Potter store, some Grinch pajamas, a few things in the Marvel gift shop. So, when I'm a famous author, I'll go on a wild theme park shopping spree that would put Kim Kardashian to shame... not that she'd shop at a theme park. And then, to make up for my materialism, I'll make a large donation to the endangered animal fund at Sea World and Busch Gardens.

So, what theme park goodies do you want to get your paws on? What's your favorite theme park?

Leprechauns, Darth Vader and Harry Potter

What do you get when you cross two Irish writer chics, an epic holiday, and free stuff?

That's right, the SPD Blogfest! 

Who: Colene, me and you guys!

What: Mega dose of Irish fun

When: SPD of course (3/17/11)

Where: Linky sign up thing on Colene's blog

How: Sign up, write your flash fiction or SPD/Irish story of 200 words or less (but nobody's really counting), visit everyone else's awesome posts!

Free stuff? Absolutely. Colene and I will each pick our fave post and award the two winners with the new release of their choice! 

Go sign up and join us in the Irish debauchery!  Or not-debauchery.  Up to you!

So, not to blow your mind with too much awesomeness in one post, but did you guys see this hilarious Super Bowl ad?  I don't watch football, but I came across this:

This reminds me of when I was a kid and was obsessed with having magical powers, thus the reason I now write fantasy stuff.  Minus the Darth Vader getup, this was totally me! Love it!  Of course, I may or may not currently have dreams about doing magic...

Lastly, my son is now reading the Goblet of Fire (he's blown through the first three in about 3 weeks). I love sharing the Harry Potter adventure with him!  He started reading the first one for a book report and character parade at school.  So, I drew a little lightning scar on his forehead with black eyeliner, and put a cape on him (coincidentally his Darth Vader cape from Halloween), and he already has glasses, so good to go there.  He sat down for his breakfast of cereal and put his hands on the table and said, "Where's my big feast? I'm Harry Potter!"  He grinned up at me and it was one of those priceless moments.  My kid rocks.

So, go sign up for the SPD blogfest, don't forget about my 100 followers celebration contest (more free stuff!), and have a stellar weekend!

Happy Tuesday/Monday

So, all day I've been fairly confused since yesterday was MLK Day.  I kept thinking I needed to take my son to boyscouts after work, forgetting that it was Tuesday and not Monday.  And I kept thinking since it was Monday, it was only two days since I'd done a blogpost, when really it's been three.  Btw, I've been super busy at work lately and have not had the time to be as good a blog commenter as I like to be... I am trying to catch up, so please bear with me!

Over the weekend I came across several really great blogposts that I wanted to share.  The first was from the ever awesome Guide to Literary Agents, which I adore.  It is an amazing story about an author who self published and was crazy successful.  But her process for how she did it is extremely relevant for any of us, whether we want to self publish, find an e-publisher, or get an agent and traditional publisher.  Go check it out now!  You won't regret it.

The other one is also from GTLA, and it's a really awesome example of a synopsis - wait, let me say that again - THE DREADED, TERROR-INDUCING, GUT WRENCHING SYNOPSIS!!  I hate them, you hate them, I've even heard an agent say they're truly evil.  But this article was terrific.  Read it!

Finally, I re-came across this fantastically informative post from Pimp My Novel, which is full of much needed info for after we actually get books deals.  I know I personally am guilty of knowing far more about agents than I do about publishers and that whole process.  Lots of stuff us writery creatures need to know.  Let's go ahead and plan for getting that kick-ass book deal.

Also, I must have been a good girl lately because I received two new awards!! Double yay!  Thank you so much to Liz at Novel Moments for a new Versatile Blogger Award and to Abby at Above Water for the Making Smiles on Faces Blog Award!  They both have lovely and addictive blogs, so pop over, say hello, and enjoy yourself.

Okay, so the Versatile Blogger Award requires me to share 7 things about myself, so here you go (warning: highly random zone ahead):

1) I love strawberries.  When they are in season, I buy huge boxes and eat them every night as my before-bed snack.

2) Although I love chic flicks, most of my favorite movies are action/adventure types.  I love LOTR, Star Wars, Kill Bill, The Matrix, Transformers, Fight Club, X-Men, and a ton more I am forgetting at the moment.

3) I dress either preppy or sort of funky Boho chic.  It depends on my mood.  I think I give people fashion whiplash.

4) My son just starting reading the first Harry Potter book.  He loves it, and I love sharing it with him and enjoying it all over again from his perspective (he loves the part where Scabbers bites Crabbe's finger - or was it Goyle?). 

5) I like red and white wine.  Nothing too dry or too sweet.

6) I love gardening, but I kill most of what I try to grow.  I call it Darwinian gardening.

7) I have these hurt-your-eyes grape purple rain boots that I got to go out and feed the horse friends in, so I don't get all muddy and whatnot.  They rock.

So, blog friends, since I dearly love you all, please choose an award for yourself.  Really!  Pass it along, share about yourself, spread the joy.  You all rock, and you deserve it.

Happy almost Wednesday!



In the wee hours of the day after Thanksgiving...

Okay, well I started writing this in the wee hours of the day after Thanksgiving, but at about 2 am I gave up. All of my creative juices of the evening went into making a new blog titlebar picture or whatever you call it. I used pictures I've taken (well, one was taken by my husband) on different travels about the globe. Except for the sunset pic, that was from our front yard. Now that I've spent all the time making it, I can't decide whether I really like it or not, so if it comes down in a few days you'll know which side of the argument prevailed.

Anyways, I hope everyone had a lovely and delicious Thanksgiving. I did (my Tofurkey was scrumptious as usual). Speaking of giving thanks, I was honored and delighted to receive the Honest Scrap Award from Colene Murphy at The Journey! Thanks, Colene! I started out this blog with the intent of writing a completely honest account of my adventures in writing and trying to get an agent, and I'm glad that I'm doing my job. Colene's blog is super awesome. I haunt it with regularity. And if you need more reasons to visit, I put a link below to a hilarious Harry Potter interview she posted.  Check it out!

So, the award rules state that I am to share 10 things about myself. Here goes:

1) I like to talk about myself. I don't think I am overly narcissistic (for a writer), but I'm just an open book and like to share my stories (again, writer).
2) I live on five acres in the country with two horses, a pony, a dog and three cats, two children, and one husband. My neighbor has cows and a vineyard (interesting combo, right?).
3) My 'real' job (the full-time one that pays the bills) is for an educational non-profit corp. I'm a manager, and seriously hope I am not like Michael Scott in real life (like I was for Halloween).
4) None of my coworkers know how serious I am about writing. I amuse myself with the thought that it's my secret life.
5) I'm kind of like Garfield. I love food and sleeping. I don't cook much, but I like to eat the delicious things my husband makes, and could go nuts in Fresh Market or Whole Foods. I've never even been in a Whole Foods, but I am waiting for them to bring one to my city.
6) I used to bleach my hair blonde, and then accidently went pink for a weekend while I was changing to red, which lasted for a while, and then eventually I went back to my natural brown. Black hair has always been my favorite, but I've never been brave enough to go there.
7) I'm a major crier. I cry when I'm happy, sad, angry, or when something just makes me emotional (something beautiful, triumphant, sweet). Seeing other people cry makes me cry. Sometimes I really annoy myself with it.
8) One day, I'd like to become really involved in some sort of global project. I'm passionate about protecting the environment, and stopping animal cruelty, and women's rights. My degree in Sociology, while pretty much useless in my day job, added a lot of fuel to my save-the-world fire.
9) I am a certified equine sports massage therapist. When I was in my teens, I used to compete with my horses, and flew out to Colorado to learn how to massage them. I actually had quite a few paying clients at one point. I haven't done it in years, though I still get the occasional request.
10) When I was 15, I started working at this awesome cafe run by hippies and earned the nicknames 'Lex-Ann' and 'Lexicon'. I find the Lexicon one amusing since I am a writer and considered fitting that into my blog title, but then figured I wasn't really quite fantastic enough of a word smith to get away with it (I should be; but since we’re still being honest and stuff…).

So, now that you know 10 random things about me, I'd like to pass on this lovely award to five fellow bloggers that I think have honest and delightful blogs full of great writery stuff:

Lola Sharp at Sharp Pen/Dull Sword
Jai Joshi at Jai Joshi's Tulsi Tree
Melissa at Through the Looking Glass
Donea Lea at Queen of Procrastination
Shallee McArthur at Life, the Universe, and Writing

Check out their blogs, they rock!

Now, as a bonus for everyone, here are a few things that caught my attention on my blogging adventures this week. The Rejectionist is having a New Year's Pre-Resolution Uncontest, and she also had a hilarious Harry Potter music video that had me LMAO. For more on Harry Potter, check out this interview on Colene's blog. More LMAO. And, to wrap things up on an educational note, here's a really good post on query letters by the ever-awesome Nate Bransford. A cool way to look at writing them if you are in the mood to revamp yours.

Warning: Random and Sappy Blog Post Ahead

Hi, Writer Friends! As the week of Thanksgiving is now upon us, I am reflecting on all I am thankful for. And one of the things I have grown to love are my blog friends: you! Although I started my blog in June, I didn't really make an attempt to connect with other writers until about six weeks ago. In that short span of time, I've met so many awesome people. People that understand my hopes and my fears, my goals and the drive it takes to achieve them. I've met people that are at the beginning of the journey like me, polishing manuscripts and querying agents. Others already have agents and publishers and some even have books on the market. It's been so amazing becoming part of this community all around the world, and for that, I am very grateful. And just this weekend I surpassed 50 followers! Thank you everyone for stopping by my humble blog and reading what I have to say.

Now on to the random part. I saw HP and the Deathly Hallows today. Loved it! Without spoiling it for anyone who hasn't seen it, let me just say that I thought it was the most emotionally powerful and beautifully shot film of them all. The scenery and details were gorgeous. I am glad they split it into two films, as I will be very sad the day I see the last movie.

In editing news, I have truly discovered the effect of tipping one little domino. I started by deciding that I needed to change the beginning of my book, and had decided to bring forward one of my favorite scenes from much later in the book. This scene had been the introduction of my most favorite character, or at least the one that speaks most clearly to me. Bringing him into the beginning meant needing more scenes with him throughout the book. It also meant eliminating the scene I originally had at the beginning, which I had meant to just move to another place, but it just didn't fit. So, in essence, what at first seemed a big change in the first 100 pages of the book has now changed the entire book drastically. I think I'll be working on it for quite a few weeks. But, I am loving the new direction it's gone and developing some characters that were minor before. So, I have to say with true honesty that I am thankful the agent who requested the partial rejected me and gave me feedback that urged me to make changes I had been stewing about for quite some time.

So, as Turkey Day approaches (or in the case of vegetarians like me Tofurkey Day), what are you thankful for as a writer? Did you receive honest advice, or words of encouragement, or had a mentor that has helped you out?

I will probably not post again until Friday or Saturday, so everyone have a fantastic holiday with safe travels if you are leaving town.