Monday, April 30, 2012

I've Won!!!

I've won this year's Script Frenzy with just a few hours to spare. Now granted, I could have done so much better on the script this year. I got started on the first day, let most of the month go by, then have been typing all weekend so that I could finish in time.  I'm glad of the work I did, but I am going to continue the script throughout May without the stress of competing with time hovering over my head. Will I do Script Frenzy again? Humm, perhaps.  I'll let you know in a year.  ;-)

Going to go let her back relax from hours of non-stop typing,
M.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Leap Day Musings by Mandy Hubbard

So I was hunting around the internet for writing inspirations and I found it in the form of Mandy Hubbard. I have yet to read one of her books, but have been wanting to read her Prada and Prejudice for a long time now. I hope to be able to either get it from the library or buy it very soon.

On her blog she gives writing advice to those of us with the dream of joining the ranks with her and becoming a published author.  In one of her recent posts she talks about reflecting back to Leap Day 2008 and where her career was just four short years ago. Her story is inspiring and she encourages us all to continue on our journey. We may not make it there in 4 years, but if we are persistent and believe in ourselves and our work we will make there.  Have a read and feel inspired. Smile

Feeling inspired,
M.

The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling

So if any of you are fans of the Harry Potter series, it’s possible you are fans of the series’ author J. K. Rowling.  I’m a big fan of her work and her personal story.  After her last book came out I worried there was no way she could top Potter.  I mean Potter was and still is huge. How can she top that? After reading about her latest work, I don’t think she’s trying to.

I have eagerly been awaiting Rowling’s new literature release, and it seems that come September 27, 2012 the world’s waiting will be over. The Casual Vacancy (feel free to preorder now) is the newest novel from Rowling and the first since the Potter series ended.  This time her novel is aimed at adults. I was so excited to read more work was coming from her, but in reading the short blurb about her upcoming novel it has me wondering how good it will be.

While the Potter books were very much British specific, the world could relate to the stories because it took us into a world that didn’t really exist, the world of magic. It didn’t matter that the characters all talked with accents or that they spoke words specific to Britain.  The world that Rowling created was her own and though she shared it with us we all saw it in our own way so it really didn’t change how one read the books.  However in her new novel I’m not really getting that it’s a fantasy book but more contemporary.  I could be wrong, but the blurb to me read as contemporary, and this makes me wonder how the rest of the world will relate to it. Here’s the book description from the Amazon website.

When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…. Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town’s council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations? Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.

Now don’t get me wrong, I so plan on reading this book. I mean come on, it’s J. K. Freaking Rowling, so of course I am going to read it. I hope the name alone will make people want to read it because I want her to be a continued success. But I have seen in the past where YA authors tried to write for adults and it just didn’t translate well.  Since her book is for adults I don’t imagine kids getting their hands on it easily if at all so the market has narrowed down for her. I just wish it would say if the book is fantasy or not. I think if it was fantasy it would have a better chance than contemporary. I don’t know if there is a big draw for adult readers for stories heavily based in certain countries. Not too many Anglophiles out there like myself…but if there are drop me a note and let me know so we can dream about England together. Winking smile 

But perhaps I am wrong and this book will be the new craze and we’ll be hearing about the movie The Casual Vacancy in a year or two.  I’m thinking in 480 pages there has got to be something gripping and exciting, and I can’t wait to get my paws on it. Smile  It’s nice to have something to look forward to from Rowling again. I don’t know if I can do the $21.00 asking price from Amazon, down from $35.00, but I do plan on shopping around and seeing if I can get it a hair cheaper.

So what do you think? Think the new book from Rowling will be just as awesome as Potter? Don’t think it can live up to Potter? Or do you plan to wait and read before you make your mind up? Though I have some lingering doubts on how it will do, I plan to wait until I read it from cover to cover before I make my finally decision on it. For once in my life I can’t wait until September to come.  LOL!

On that note I will close. I am working on Script Frenzy, yes I know I barely mentioned it, but I am chipping away at it…kind of. This month has been a hectic one and so I am still cleaning up last year’s work so I can continue with this year’s. Hey, I have 8 days and a few hours left to knock out 100 pages…piece of Birthday cakeOpen-mouthed smile Alright readers and writers alike, I am off. Talk to you all soon. Be good until then. Bye for now.

Wondering how many pages she can knock out tonight,
M.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

I give up for now guys…

I’ve been trying to get back into blogging but if its not one thing its another. As you may know my computer has been unusable because it overheated and needed a cleaning. I finally got it back a couple of days ago and was trying to sort things out on it so that it would work faster and blah blah. Well I kept noticing something weird about it. It gets hot on the completely other side of the keyboard now and there’s a constant humming. For days I thought it was just me, but no, I’ve used this thing enough to know that Best Buy Geek Squad has messed up my computer!!!  They put it back together wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am beyond pissed because its going to take an act of some higher power for me to get it fixed back around and those dillweeds better NOT expect payment for it!!!  I’m livid, if you can’t tell.  I haven’t been able to use my computer much because its slow and sluggish, probably from all the heat that is barely escaping because all the vents are ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COMPUTER and so the air is not getting out and my computer is just staying hot. Sorry, just frustrated by this on top of other things. And to make it more frustrating it’s Script Frenzy this month and I haven’t worked on it yet because I am reading through what I wrote last year to see where I left off.  Loving the story I wrote last year, btw. But now I may have to put it off for a few more days while the dillweeds that insist they know what they are doing fix my computer, AGAIN. Sad smile Once again, sorry, just frustrated and this is just the tug that broke the doll’s neck. Ha, did you see what I did there…oh nevermind.

So basically, if I owe you an email, its coming, but probably not until hopefully this weekend but don’t count on it until next week. My email is muy backed up again and I was all set for a big cleanout when I finally got my computer back since my sister’s is kind of slow to do it and I thought my computer I’d whiz right through it. Yeah, not so much. So yeah, if you sent me something you will get a response next week at the latest. Sorry, but it is what it is. Sad smileI’ll see what I can do from my sister’s computer, but honestly its only really good for watching things and not much else. So yeah, odds are I’ll be silent for a while, but I’ll be back as soon as those jokers get things fixed. Ugh! Dillweeds.

And so on that note, I’m off. I hope all of you have a wonderful Easter if you celebrate. If not, I hope you have an awesome weekend. I will talk to you lovely people later. Be good until then. Bye for now.

Wishing she knew how to fix her own computer,
A rather pissed off Michelle