Publication News: Cantilevers

For me, April was like trying to stuff sweaters into a dresser drawer. You hope for space, for future sweaters, but the current ones you own won’t have it. Your sweaters expand their chests and stretch out, refusing to let you close the drawer all the way.

I’m typically not a busy person in the sense that I have to get in the car and go do things. Weeknights are for exercising and relaxing. Weekends are for catching up on sleep, plotting stories, and the occasional outing. But not this month.

April grabbed me by the shoulders and sang loudly in my ear, declaring that my life this month would be full of adventure. When my MFA pals read their theses in a small graduation ceremony, I was there, trying not to sniffle with pride in the audience. I got autographs from voice actors and bought way too much Sailor Moon merch at a local anime convention. A new friend from work whisked me away on a Friday afternoon for Hibachi, the both of us ignoring the traffic jams and crazy drivers for the sake of good food and a show.

But probably the most epic event this month had to be going to my alma mater, Florida Southern College, as the Guest Author for their literary journal.

You might remember the post I wrote a while back about what I learned by serving as a fiction editor on two literary journals. In my undergraduate years, I climbed from being a staffer to the literary editor of Cantilevers: Journal of the Arts.

Being invited back years later as Guest Author was surreal. Something like coming full circle. My days of introducing Cantilevers’ Guest Authors and Poets are over. Being on the other side was just… amazing.

The Unveiling Ceremony took place on a Tuesday night. I was in the basement of the new English building, one that I hadn’t had the pleasure of using before graduating (though, as nice as the new building is, I’m glad I took my classes in the old one. It had undeniable character, haha).

Getting to see some of my old professors was amazing. And a little tearful. Going to college was my first time being away from home, and FSC’s English Department was like a second family to me. Even though my old friends and fellow students had long since graduated, the current students were delightful. I loved the energy and excitement at the event. I can’t explain, even now, how immediately comfortable I felt when I walked up to the podium to read my published short story. It was like being at home. I guess this is what school spirit feels like, haha.

Being Guest Author meant that I got to judge best poetry and best prose in this year’s issue. It also meant submitting a story of my own to be published. I had written a new story for Cantilevers called “Elsewhere,” inspired by Victorian post-mortem photography and mermen.

You’re probably not surprised.

I was actually inspired by a particular photo of two sisters. The one standing in the photo is dead. I was curious about the dead sister, of course, but the story only came when I considered the living sister’s feelings. How did it feel to pose next to her dead sister? What did she think of her sister when she was alive? But there always has to be some magic, so you’ll find stolen pearls and a fishy vagrant thrown into the tale.

Cantilevers is only printed and distributed for FSC students at this time, but I’m sure you can see this story again. One day… or else squint really hard at the picture to see the beginning, haha.

The best part of the night was getting to talk with the students. Honestly, hearing that they loved the story, along with sharing some healthy geeking out about magical realism and Eisley, kept a smile on my face for the rest of the week.

Having studied the craft of fiction in grad school, I find myself at war with the lessons I learned in academia and what the “real world” is looking for in good (sellable, perhaps) fiction. Even as I was reading “Elsewhere,” my MFA brain was chattering and poking holes wherever it could. So when I got to talk with the students afterward, I was both in awe and thrilled by their kind words and enthusiasm for my story.

The goal is always to become a stronger writer, to tell my stories better. While my MFA program did wonderful things for me and my growth as a writer, the truth is that lessons come from everywhere.

Some lessons lead you to a better way of writing, while others are here to remind you that, yes, you’re doing it right. Relax. Fall in love again with whatever you’re writing and don’t let your inner editor rob you of that.

In other news, April’s minutes and hours have been sucked up by moving. Every evening, I’d come home from work, pack more stuff from my old room into boxes, and shuttle it over to the new house. Me and ‘rents have chosen to move into a cozier house; it’s much smaller, but has a lot of character and charm – something that the old house lacked, for all its space.

The movers finally came this week, so the past two days have been a whirlwind of shifting furniture around and finding new places for everything. Since I couldn’t rest unless all my books were shelved (or on the floor next to my bed – I’m not that neat), I tore open our boxes and ended up getting all my books shelved during the first night in the new house. And then my mom and I finished reshelving her books in the library the next day. Nothing says “finished” like books all back where they belong. Once that was done, the rest of the house came together.

When I said the house has character, I meant it. My parents are obsessed with non-colors and I had been living in a sea of eggshell-white for far too long. So my new room is my favorite shade of blue: a powdery, hazy lake-like blue. And with my white furniture, the combined effect makes me feel like I’m stepping into some enchanted space. I can’t wait to write stories here.

Disney's Flower & Garden Festival 2014

There's nothing more rewarding after finishing a big project than celebrating its completion in style. Thankfully, Disney always has something fun planned this time of year: Epcot's Flower & Garden Festival.

Epcot typically has a lot of flowers all year round, but the festival paints the entire park in vibrant colors (and mosquitoes, due to the sudden change to hot weather).

The topiaries are the stars of the festival, though they usually remain the same every year (which is why I only have the Muppets one pictured here - in honor of the epic movie that just came out, Muppets Most Wanted).

The newest addition to the festival is multiple tiny gardens throughout Epcot, each with a different theme - either from a Disney / Pixar movie or learning experience. I took a photo of the Gardener's Palette on the bottom left, focusing on color theories and language. It was probably my favorite of the gardens.

The Festival Center was abuzz with presentations from gardeners and plant life geniuses, including HGTV stars (in theory. I wasn't there on those days, haha). The four photos on the right were taken in the Festival Center; in the space where the Food & Wine Festival shows off chocolate sculptures, this festival presents a pint-sized history of Disney Horticulture. Not as interesting as chocolate, but still pretty cool.

Another new thing: the Flower & Garden Festival has FOOD. Guys. Guys. Guys. Instead of booths, they're called "Outdoor Kitchens." And the food, as a whole, was fantastic. Apparently, Disney started the outdoor kitchens last year... and I somehow missed it. WHAT. I chalk it up the stress of my impending graduation last year. March-May is always a weird time.

And where there are booths / outdoor kitchens, there will be passport stamps. And I collected them all! HERE WE GO:

(Left to Right: Festival Center; Gardener's Palette; Mater's Parts, Plants & Play Garden; Garden Retreat; Mike & Sulley's Monstrous Garden; Water Wise Herbs and Vegetables; Pineapple Promenade; Merry Meadows Outpost; Buttercup Cottage; English Tea Garden; Fleur de Lys; Backyard Play Garden; Taste of Marrakesh, Hanami; The Smokehouse: Barbecue and Brews; Primavera Kitchen; Florida Fresh; Lotus House; Jardin de Fiestas; Urban Farm EATS) 

Food I Ate:

The food was great for the strange fluctuating weather as Florida jerkily transitions into its usual intense hot weather. The food offered stayed on the cool size, either chilled or naturally refreshing with fruits and veggies. Ever since I heard about the outdoor kitchens, I'd been dying for violet lemonade - I can't describe how perfect it was. The candied strawberries peppered with sesame seeds made candy apples pale in comparison. And the Shiso violet sauce used with the Hanami sushi is divine. To the point where I'd fight an army of bridge trolls for a bottle (ohhhh, I hope Disney sells it someday. It seems to be an exclusive festival creation).

The only real disappointment was the Caprese push-up pop... because it was tiny/ Even Oleander from Flour House wouldn't be able to make a meal of it. Yikes. 

Ghost Pepper-Dusted Tilapia with Crisp Winter Melon Slaw and Mint Oil

Urban Farm EATS

Shrimp and Stone Ground Grits with Andouille Sausage, Sweet Corn, Tomatoes, and Cilantro

Florida Fresh

Beijing-Style Candied Strawberries

Lotus House

*My Favorite*

Hanami Sushi (A flavorful combination of salmon, scallop, and beef topped rice balls served with a Shiso Violet Sauce)

Hanami

*My Favorite*

Popped Rice Cakes (Japanese puffed rice cakes with green tea whipped cream and azuki)

Hanami

Freshly Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Biscuit with Smoked Salmon Tartare

Buttercup Cottage

*My Favorite*

Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade

Pineapple Promenade

*My Favorite*

Caprese Push-Up Pop (Tomato, mozzarella, and balsamic)

Intermissions Cafe, Festival Center

Pork and Apple Sausage Roll with House-Made Piccalilli 

Buttercup Cottage

Macaron a la Fleur d'Oranger (Orange blossom macaron with white chocolate ganache)

Fleur de Lys

*My Favorite*

Little German Village:

German's little train village is usually decorated a bit for each festival, and the Flower & Garden Festival is no different. The main area has lampposts with festival banners hanging from them.

You can see the flower stands and people either relaxing on benches or busy doing... things. Like walking. 

Okay. So not as exciting as the mini booths during the Food & Wine Festival. BUT I'm sure that the decorations will be expanded in the future. I expect to see a lot more little flowers and gardens throughout the village next year. 

I keep a special eye on one corner of the village, where a church sits on top of a hill. The figurines throughout the village do change from time to time, but I've grown attached to the characters in this section because they've changed the most over the years I've gone to Disney. So imagine my surprise when I saw the nun, fallen on the pathway still in her sitting position! She's never been dislodged before. Which led me to wonder exactly what devilish thing has caused her to collapse (maybe the push-up pop, haha!). 

We Could Fall in Love (Maybe. But I'm Talking About the Manuscript)

I've been very bad. For months now, I've been writing something and kept it a secret from you.

Considering how often I've written serially on Figment, this was EXTREMELY HARD to do. I'm terrible at keeping secrets. That's why my friends know better than to ask me about movies and books. I usually slip up with spoilers, though I try to give fair warning. Sometimes.

But now, the time has come. My newest novel manuscript, We Could Fall in Love, is officially online and ready for reading!

So I've been giving you hints about this novel, but really, what is it about? Well, well. I could give you a list, or I could be reasonable and give you a summary instead:

Fallon attends high school in the town of Grimbaud, where magic takes the form of crafted charms, potions, and fortunes. When she receives this year’s love fortune from Zita’s shop, the mysterious woman whose fortunes are said to come straight from Love itself, Fallon refuses to accept what her new fortune decrees: being eternally unloved–and a guaranteed residency at the Spinster Villas. 

But a rebellion is brewing, and she suddenly finds herself at the center of it, joining fellow ill-fated teenagers determined to end Zita’s reign. There she meets Sebastian, a handsome boy notorious for dating and dumping girls before they can know his heart. 

Her aversion to Sebastian fades as she gets to know him, but love is risky when heartbreak awaits her–unless the rebellion succeeds.

Where Can I Find It?

I'm glad you asked.

You'll find three sample chapters on Figment.com. The full manuscript, however, is exclusively on Swoonreads.com. 

Swoon Reads is a teen romance imprint publishing under Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan. The great part about them is that they work the same way Figment does, creating a community where writers can share their manuscripts with readers. Swoon Reads is focused on YA and NA romance novels, spanning many different genres and subgenres. The exciting part is the chance of publication: if readers and the staff love the book, you might get offered a publishing contract with Swoon Reads.

You'll need to make an account on Swoonreads.com to read my manuscript, and I hope you do!

Voting for this round ends May 31st.

It may mean that you'll need to shift around your endless reading lists to read and comment on We Could Fall in Love in time, and for that, I'm truly appreciative.

Fallon and Sebastian's story is near and dear to my heart. I've been eating way too many sweets over the past few months, seeing hearts on everything, and questioning the fate (or lack of it) that brings some people together and keeps others alone.

Now is the perfect time to break out into an 80s love song, but I'll save you the torture (I can't sing. Really). Instead, I'll just say that I've been waiting a very long time in Kim-years to share this story with you. Please enjoy!

Commercials and Life

I really don't care how hipster Instagram is. I love using it. There's something irresistibly charming about seeing the world through a phone. Little moments on the go. I look forward to sharing fragments from my life, as well as seeing what my friends are up to in their travels. And I've discovered that an old college buddy of mine is rocking Instagram. Meet Colby.

I'm really proud to say we're friends. In college, we lived down the hall from each other in the dorms. I remember stepping into her dimly-lit dorm room - one of the few dorms in the building that smelled nice. More than nice. Colby was always using a strong, cakey sweet perfume. I'd sit on her bed, admiring her Marilyn Monroe / Michael Jackson / Abraham Lincoln posters as she went through her beauty regimen. I'd always been interested in the past, but I think spending time with Colby strengthened that desire to immerse myself in all things vintage and research my favorite time periods. She also made me think about female role models.

Before college, I can't say I really had any. Except for maybe the heroines in the books I read. But along came Colby with her intense love for Marilyn Monroe. For our senior projects, Colby gave a riveting hour-long presentation about how different biographers have portrayed MM over the years (while my presentation had been on mermaids in folklore, using Vladimir Propp's version of structuralism - turning fairy tales into equations. So. Much. Fun).

MM wasn't quite for me, though. I looked at other Old Hollywood starlets. Who won? Mary Pickford, of course. Jeez, she was wonderful.

But Audrey Hepburn came in second. I love how she carries herself, a confidence that I've rarely seen. There's something mysterious about her as well. So far, I've seen Breakfast at Tiffany's and My Fair Lady. Though both films are classics, I can't say I like either that much. That's the weird part. I'm not too thrilled with the films (or even the prospects of watching the other ones), but I love the woman herself. I get the shivers every time I hear the lines from Sky Sailing's "Sailboats" song:

Once in 1964
An actress ran on the shore
And though you'll never return,
I love you Audrey Hepburn
Sometimes I can see your face in the crowd

And when I saw the brand-new commercial that Dove Chocolate released, I was in awe:



The best part? Audrey is actually CGI. It's a lot easier to notice that on the computer, but she certainly looked real to me on my plain old television. I had just assumed a lookalike actress or model was playing her. Wow. This is such a cute commercial. I get the chills (the good kind) every time I rewatch it. 
Speaking of role models, I'm guilty of periodically searching Nicoletta Ceccoli to see if she's created anything new. I'm fidgety and EXTREMELY RESTLESS because it's going to be forever (or never) until Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart film makes it to America. Please, just give me subtitles and a way to buy it. 
I loved the book and author Mathias Malzieu's soundtrack (he's a brilliant musician, so you know...). And Nicoletta Ceccoli worked on the film. The character designs are modeled after her style. I'm dying, guys. Dying. To tide me over, I found a little commercial that she had worked on:



Lice-prevention has never been cuter. If you think about it, this was a good fairy tale for Paranix to choose. Having hair that drags all over the place because it's so long must not be very hygienic. A perfect home for lice. But luckily we have princes that ride stick horses and peddle Paranix.

Writing has been going well. I always gain more momentum when I pass the halfway point in a manuscript. At 64k, I'm almost done with We Could Fall in Love. Just. A. Few. More. Scenes.

The main thing I'm keeping in mind at this point is keeping the plot tight. No flabby scenes. No fluffy exchanges of dialogue. No boring.

Which makes watching this commercial highly appropriate if you ignore the car part:


I have no shame in saying that I've been singing this song around the house as my brain recovers from mad-typing. I may be an adult, but I still find Muppet humor just as funny as it was when I was a kid. I'm probably hyper aware of Jim Henson everything these days, since participating in The Dark Crystal Author Quest contest (sorry folks, I didn't make it). 
Still, the Muppets continue to put a smile on my face. I'm considering seeing the new movie, because I can't sit through those trailers without laughing. Even if I see the same trailer 15+ times in one night. 


So what commercials have you seen these past few months that seem to be speaking to you? What a crowded month March is turning out to be already :)

Writer in Search of a Writing Spot

I need a change in scenery. Something to spice up the endless hours of burning my eyes out on the screen. Meeting my 1k word count goals every day at the same computer in the same shifting light is fine... but I'm tired by the weekend. I want to go outside.

Or sit inside, in the AC, but somewhere that's not the office or my own house.

Graduate school gave me the chance to write anywhere I wanted on campus. I had my pick of at least five different buildings, each with their own nooks and outlets to suit my moods.

But now I commute to work, come home, and go to sleep. And at work, the only real place to sit is in my cubicle. I'm really good at sitting there for hours. So my project is to find (a few) public places (besides the library) that I can hunker down at and write on the weekends.

I haven't always had this opinion - another point for the Real World. In fact, writing in public spaces had been kind of fun to joke about among my grad peers, because we all knew the stigma behind it. To quote one of my favorite cheeky writing books, Robert's Rules of Writing, Robert Masello says:

Starbucks is where writers who want to be seen in the act of creation go, who treat writing as if it were some kind of performance art. They want to be admired, they want to be soothed by the ambient noise and the occasional glance from an attractive patron. They want to be asked, "What are you working on?" so they can sit back and talk about it.

I'm not gonna lie. Part of the intrigue is that I have a shot at being a little more social. By simply sitting at a cafe or bookstore, the possibility of making new friends or witnessing something inspiring (or funny) is greatly increased than... if I sat at home.

Besides, aren't hip 20-something's supposed to be out in public, soaking up the universe? I dunno. You tell me.

I've been living in the same place for 10+ years (not including the four years at college), so I know what's around here. Businesses close so fast that my memories of failed gift shops, pet stores, and a parade of restaurants isn't so great. The rent's too high, I guess, for some entrepreneur to open a coffee shop down the street from me.

Like any good sleuth, I searched the internet for coffee shops, bakeries, soup and sandwich shops - anything that might be in reasonable driving distance. The shops I found were a good 45 minutes away (without traffic) and/or in dubious areas of town. So.

So.

So. That leaves only one place: Barnes & Noble. *cue ominous music*

My local B&N (which is not so local, driving-wise) is really the only central book hub left after Borders closed. There are no used bookstores. Only one place to go. Personally, I love wandering the two-story store; as much as I love ordering books online, nothing beats the pleasure of finding books by simply stumbling upon them. There's a coffee shop inside the store, so to speak, so I'm going to start going there to write for an hour or two in the morning.

The hard part is making sure I don't leave with a new book each time!

Do you have a favorite place you like to write/read at besides at home? What's your view about writers writing publicly? 

BTW, make sure you stop by Namie's blog, Good Morning Lovely, because she's just posted her interview with me there. Do poke around her blog; Namie's posts are both uplifting and inspiring - and I have the honor of being her friend (like, in real life. We hang out).

Fancy Free

This might as well be my Valentine's Day post. The heart-shaped chocolate boxes have been rotting in stores for months. My co-workers are making dinner reservations at the posh restaurants in town. I'm not sure if love is in the air, or if that's just the inky smell of the communal copy machine breaking down. But one thing's for sure: it's the same old story for me this V-Day.

I'm certainly not complaining.

Life keeps me busy at this time of year. After moving to a new cube at work, I've been enjoying more sunshine (being closer to the windows has its benefits). In addition to work, I've been making great headway on my current manuscript, We Could Fall in Love. I've just reached 30k which, by my estimation, is the halfway point. The plot thickens. From here on out, I'll be making my characters' lives extremely difficult.

That's not to say I'm not in a romantic mood.

There are three things that I'm thrilled to be able to do this V-Day. I've been in the habit of spending each V-Day indulging in the things I love to do and I've got a solid plan this time. Check it out:



3) Belt out Don Bluth love songs.

You know by now that Don Bluth is a big hero to me. This is not a surprise. But there's nothing like the music that comes out of his films. I'm not lying when I say that I love EVERY SINGLE song. If the OST's were actually available, I'd never hit "skip" on any track.

With that said, I've narrowed down my top three favorite romantic songs from his films. This was very hard. The sacrifices I make for you guys.




If you gave me the time, I could spend decades singing the praises of The Pebble and the Penguin. But my most favorite part of this movie is, well, Hubie's existence. HUBIE. I'm a pretty big fan of beta males (aka, the strong and kind male characters that DON'T throw women against walls or exude macho / stalker attributes).

Hubie's totally beta. He's a clumsy, sensitive penguin who is hopelessly in love with Marina. Throughout the film, he learns how to stick up for himself (and how to throw a mean punch), but doesn't change who he is inside (Don't even get me started on Marina. She's so cool). I happen to think that this song is pretty gosh darn romantic because he finds the courage to share his thoughts and feelings with the girl he loves.



Rock-A-Doodle is another bizarre gem I grew up with. I don't have an ear for Elvis (I really don't, sorry), but the songs from this film had me singing along nonetheless. In this song, Goldie realizes that she's fallen in love with Chanticleer - despite hating him in the beginning for stealing her spotlight. I remember being enthralled by the setting, while at the same worried that Chanticleer and Goldie would lose their balance on the swing and plummet off the building (I mean, who wouldn't be worried?). I also got really thirsty for milk. Totally romantic, I know. 


Guys, I'm dying. Thumbelina my favorite Don Bluth film. It's almost one of my top favorite films EVER. I should also probably mention, while I'm at it, that Prince Cornelius is my favorite animated prince. 
No shame. 
Anyway, "Let Me Be Your Wings" takes the cake for romantic in my book. First of all, Prince Cornelius has a pet bumblebee. Which is basically the fantasy equivalent of a motorcycle. Secondly, who wouldn't want to dance in midair, on water, or on top a giant pumpkin? Sign me up. The lyrics are sweet and full of promises that both Thumbelina and Prince Cornelius try to keep in the midst of their respective struggles. Plus, plus, plus! The finale, guys. The finale at the end of the movie makes me sniffle. A happy sniffle. 


2) Play otome games.

What is an otome game? Woo boy. Generally, it's kind of like an RPG, but usually has a female main character that ends up developing a romantic relationship by the end of the game. They usually come in the form of simulation games or visual novels, and I think they're a lot of fun because it's like reading a book (with good-looking anime guys, but you know, still book-like).

Amazon has a REALLY BAD selection of them, so when I got my iPhone, I couldn't wait to try them out.

If you mean agent rejections, then yes, hugs work.

My favorite one so far involves my main character finding out that she's actually the daughter of Japan's Prime Minister. Since the Prime Minister is always being threatened by rebels and other such troublemakers, my character is assigned a (handsome) bodyguard to protect her until the latest threat is over. Fun stuff. Also makes me want to write a more politically-driven story. Maybe.

As a writer, I also find these games to be fun because each guy has a different personality, from how he looks, acts, and speaks. It's kind of a wake-up call for me to make sure that my own male characters are well-crafted.

1) Use my miniature claw machine.

The truth: this claw machine actually belongs to my brother. But he left it at home when he moved out. So now it's mine.

What are your plans for Valentine's Day? Do you have a favorite Don Bluth film? Better question: do you also have a miniature claw machine? 

Cakepops and Writing Projects

I had been eating cakepops a long time before thinking of making my own. How could a mere mortal make a cakepop? They're always moist on the inside and seem to attract all kinds of experimentation. I've seen so many pictures of mouthwatering cakepops both beautiful and made of delicate ingredients like lavender and vanilla bean. 

I can't cook or bake and I get all trembly around an oven, but when I saw a Bella cakepop machine sitting on the bottom shelf in Tuesday Morning, my eyes grew big and I hugged the darn box. It wasn't until today that I opened the box, admired the happy-blue machine, and gathered my ingredients to see if... it actually worked. Yeah. That's kind of important.

With the help of my mom, who's been steering the family in a more healthy direction, we decided to go simple for our first try and cut back on the eggs. The cake mix was classic yellow (I didn't know that it had been elevated to "classic," did you?). Instead of eggs, we used soy flour mixed with water. Mom and I also made the executive decision of putting chocolate chips into the batter. 

The cakepop machine moved quickly - each batch bakes for five minutes; yet, after watching a video online, the baker said to observe the machine closely: you'll see steam coming out of the machine - when the steam stops, it's time to take the pops out. 

You'll see the first batch pictured above.  We, uh, had an interesting time with these egg-less pops. Some of them didn't rise, while others spilled over instead of taking the full round shape. But the taste? 

GUYS, the taste was spot-on. Moist in the middle. I mean, we may have created tons of cakepops that look like muffins / UFOs, but they were delicious. Next time, we're going to use eggs, though, and see if they turn out perfectly round. Also, I'd love to experiment with cookie batter... I have a mix of creamsicle cookies in the pantry that's just begging to transform into cakepops.

I'm in a wonderful experimenting mood. Not just with food, of course. But this is a new year and I want to put my best foot forward with everything I write. 

I ended 2013 by chugging along to meet a December 31st deadline for Jim Hensen's The Dark Crystal Author Quest. A few friends of mine told me about the contest while I was in the middle of writing my NaNoWriMo project. I got so excited about it that I carefully set aside everything and plunged into the world of The Dark Crystal. 

I grew up with Jim Hensen's work, watching The Muppet Show every night and doing the Magic Dance while berating Sarah for not staying with Jareth, the Goblin King, at the end of the Labyrinth. There was no way I was going to let this contest go by without tossing my hat in. I had less than a month and a half to submit a 10k entry that would best represent the story I wanted to tell set during the Gelfling Gathering, a time many trine (years) before the film. The winner of this contest receives the honor of writing that novel and being published under Grosset & Dunlap.

When I wasn't working, I was fully-engrossed in exploring the extensive mythology and history of The Dark Crystal. There was a lot to see, read, and digest before being able to create my own story. In the end, my 10k entry was the first three chapters of the would-be novel. I don't think I've ever written a story like it before; the process was like riding a roller coaster: a slow ride up, what with all the research, but once I started working in my Word document, it was all screaming and laughing, flipping upside down and bursting out of tunnels. Exhilarating stuff.

By December 31st, I was feeling a little like Emperor SkekSo (not to mention quoting him because it's fun):

Now I'm back to working on what was my NaNoWriMo project, We Could Fall in Love. It's refreshing to be working in this world where charms can influence weather, but more importantly love, and a motley crew of rebels are just getting starting with their plan to overthrow the head love fortuneteller.

I'm hoping to stay on schedule and finish my first draft in March (hopefully earlier. I love tight deadlines). When the manuscript's ready, you'll be able to read it... but that's all I'm going to say about that right now ;) *continues to be sneaky*

And then... there will be brand-sparkly new chapters of Boys & Bees. Oooooh yes. As I sit on the couch, ruminating over the possible cakepops I can make, I've also been mapping out the next few chapters so I'm ready when the time comes to return to Lorabeth and her bees. The circus tents are popping up, Caith's sneaking around with his double-face, and another disaster is slowly making its way to the school of apiary studies. March couldn't come fast enough, eh? :D