Christmas and New Years

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

This is my new car. BMW X3. Nice ha. Here's the funny story:

Several weeks before Christmas I received an e-mail asking me to ring a number in regards to a prize. I thought about it, showed it to my hubby, then did nothing. My hubby said it would be worth giving then a call. A week later I received another e-mail, this time I picked up my phone straight away and made the call. The lady on the other end said I've been waiting for this call, you've won a BMW! I didn't really believe it, but then the results were published in the paper, then we went to the dealership I drove away with a brand new car!

It is a beautiful car but I think we'll sell. Just thought I'd share the story, sometimes people really do win things.

What are you all reading at the moment?

Get Blogging

So a rejection e-mail made its way into my inbox the other day. But it was the most positive rejection e-mail I've received. Encouraging me to submit my story with other journals or magazines. I have a list of journals and magazines that I want to submit to, so when through my list, found someone who is accepting submissions at the moment and sent it off, the same day. It feels much better then sticking the story into a drawer and walking away.

Anyway to other things. I'm reading the Game of Thrones novels still, they are very dense, but I am really enjoying them. I'm hoping to finish soon so I can read Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. I've had the book for months now, but have been reading other books and been busy. Today I read on Laini's Blog click here that Universal Pictures have optioned the book! I'm excited about that too. And I loved her quote today in regards to her daughter who is a little sick: "To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world." Probably because I have a little daughter, I call her my baby and she says "no mummy I'm a big girl".

I recently went and saw the new Twilight movie, and absolutely loved it. It may be because I loved the books so much.

And I have been very slack on the writing front. I reached 60 000 words on my second draft which was exciting, but that was a week ago. So I'm trying to give give myself a kick up the butt, but can't quite reach.

The time to write.

It's hard to find, but tonight I did. I've hit 60,000 words, yay! Eaten a lot of chocolate and now have a sore back from sitting so long in the same position.
My characters are having a hard time and may have just been exposed for the supernatural creatures they are:
“You’re more worried about me than that thing I just killed, there’s hundreds of them up here, and if we don’t leave they’ll be here, soon.”
Brody nodded, “They’re coming. Put your gun down and we’ll get you safely back, keep it aimed at my friend and we’ll leave you.”
Still gun man was unconvinced.
“Put the gun down Gus,” one of the girls said.
He grunted, but let it drop. We started moving down the mountain.
“I’m gonna want answers but.”
“And you’ll get them,” Brody said.
But we all knew that wasn’t going to happen.


Tomorrow is another day, I hope I get another couple of hours to write, because when I don't write I daydream.
Cheers,
Tristy.

Guilty pleasures

Whats yours? Chocolate, alcohol, chick flicks, trashy telly?
I like reading, even when I know I should be doing something else,  like the washing, cleaning the house, etc. Or in tonight's case, watching episodes of True Blood, season 4. I've just watched episode 11, one to go, and I'm trying to figure out how to do it. Obviously I can't watch it when my daughter is awake, I can't watch it now (I'd have to down load it first anyway), so should I just pretend to be working on my computer tomorrow night? Like I did tonight. It just feels so guilty. My guilty pleasure.
I did write a little tonight and am up to 57,000 words into my second draft, which I've re-written because I wasn't so happy with my first draft, but then who is?
I also got my uni result this last week, Distinction and High Distinction, gives me a Distinction average for the course. Uni felt a bit like a guilty pleasure as well, putting everything else on hold so I could read the course work and do assignments, and now that I'm finished I wonder when I had the time to study.
Got to read my book club book this week, 'Let the great world spin' by Colum McCann http://www.colummccann.com/
I'll let you know what I think when I've read it.

Hope everyone's weekends were filled with guilty pleasures!

Working on it

Today I sent off a short story. It will be ages till I hear either way, but I feel like it is a positive step towards being published. I have another story ready to send off as well. It has taken a long time to write and polish these two stories, but I've discovered a lot about the writing and publishing process over this last year.

I'm still working on my novel, here is my proof:
My eye’s adjusted to the yellow dancing candle light flickering by Jake's bed. Dust had settled on me and it shifted when I sat and puffed into the air. Jake's chest rose and fell, slowly. His heart was still beating but his body was fading away, we really had to get answers, figure out what as going on with him.

I'm reading book 3 of Game of Thrones and loving it. I just finished reading 'Dead Reckoning' book 11 of the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris, and enjoyed that. I love following the same character through different books. I always feel a sense of loss when I get to the end of a book, it's not so bad if there is another one to come.

If you're not reading, write. If you're not writing, read.

Cheers,
Tristy.

Weekends

I don't know when I turned into a keen gardener, but now I look forward to the weekend, to heading to Bunnings or the local nurseries to buy plants, vegies and herbs. Today I found rolly poly carrots, we rigged up a new dog-proof (fingers crossed) garden bed, and planted the new carrots. We also made a lid for our new compost bin! So weekends are great, productive times at home, I should be writing, but the sun was out and I have a two year old.

I've written a few short stories around my novel and this is the beginning of one that I really liked, at one stage I thought of including it in the novel somehow.

What was really happening? People dying, strange marks on their necks and drained of blood, this would suggest Vampires, but who believed in Vampires? They were myths and stories that made it into our movies and books, not reality. So what then cults? Ritualistic killings? Vampire wanna be? I scratched my head. First day on the job and things weren’t looking good. I’d transferred down from rural New South Wales into the big smoke of Melbourne, wanting to be closer to my family and friends. But seeing these bodies pile up and the bizarre nature of the crimes, I was thinking I should of stayed put.

Happy reading and writing all!

Writing dreams

I've just read Laini Taylor's blog and found it inspirational (view is here Laini's Blog). She talks about dreams and always aiming high, not having a fall back option and not settling for second best.

Here is some text from my novel:
Tears wanted to come, flood down my face, but I was all dried out. Maybe you only got a certain amount and when you used them all no more would come. Jakes face was peaceful, his eyelashes resting on his cheeks, a slight smirk on his lips, but his face was pale, almost like mine and when I felt his skin it was cold. I wanted to fight and yell and scream, take on some strik, like a whole army and beat them all. But what would Jake want?

I still feel like I have a long way to go, but at least I am working towards finishing my novel.
Cheers!

Tax time

I haven't done my own tax since I was a teenager with one part time job. Now it's complicated! I'm sure most of you who work and live in Australia have finished or are going to go to a tax agent. That's me normally, but this year I decided to give it a go. I think I'm a reasonably intelligent person, but still there is a whole other lingo that is used, I was trying to work out the difference between a 'low-cost asset' and a 'low-value asset', and I still don't know.
On other thoughts I haven't written any more of my book. Next time I blog I'll include a newly rewritten paragraph.
Get writing and if your not then get reading!

What next?

Yesterday I handed in my last assignment for uni. Today I spent an hour looking at courses. I'm thinking about a Masters of Arts. But I need to wait. I've been using studying as an excuse to put my book on the back burner. I think if I don't get into it, I'll put it in a draw and leave it there. So I plan on writing a little each week on this blog about how I'm going.
On another note, I have book club tomorrow night, my choice of book 'The Passage'. Can't wait to hear what my fellow book clubians say about it.
Cheers!

Would you read this book?

Blurb:

From a far away land comes an Alien like no other. Amaranda looks like a 17-year-old girl, but looks can be deceiving especially if her diet is anything to go on. Lost, confused and alone on the gritty streets of Melbourne she must figure out what it means to be cast out and left to the night, an interloper and the only one of her kind, or is she?

Filled with love, loss and a host of supernatural beings the Lost soul will be a page turner you just can’t put down.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Been doing some research into YA novels and stumbled upon this one. I haven't read it yet but am interested. Out of all the book I looked into this one sounded the most interesting. A new twist if you will. I can't wait to read it. If any of you have would love to hear from you.

Laini Taylor's blog: Daughter of Smoke and Bone: THE NEW TRILOGY FROM LAINI TAYLOR, COMING SEPT 27 TO BOOKSTORES EVERYWHERE! FALL 2011 TOUR SCHEDULE

US edition
Around the wor...

Uni and books

I've just realized I have three weeks left of my uni course. Then I really will have no excuse. I feel like I've discovered a lot about writing, and improved my own. However I also see how far I have to go. The one thing I am looking forward to is guilt free reading. At the moment when I read I'm thinking about all the other things I should be doing and it can be a bit distracting. I've just read Fallen and Torment by Lauren Kate. I enjoy a good YA novel and enjoyed these ones, think I'll buy the next book too. But what I really love is a book like The Passage by Justin Cronin, I read that earlier this year and was blown away. Justin created such an intense and real world for his characters to live in, so much so that at times I had to have a break. I liked that the story spanned such a long time. I wont spoil the ending incase you haven't read it, but it left me wondering. If you haven't read it yet, do, its a great book.

Naming my short story

One subject I am doing at uni—a fiction writing subject—requires that we write a short story (3000 words) and submit it to our peers for critique. It's great to get feed back on your work, in this case a story that I had lost faith in. A story that everyone else liked. It's still in the drafting process but I'm looking for a name. It's a story about change, inspired by Kafka's 'Metamorphosis'. But instead of changing into a giant bug, my character changes into a vampire. It seems that in writing most of my stories lately I am having difficulty with coming up with a title. I would love to find an exercise or tool that helps me with this.

Five Creative Ways to Kickstart Your Novel | The Craft of Writing Fiction | Character Development and the Power of Plot

It's great to read others thought and idea's on writing a novel. This blog has some good ideas on all aspects of writing. I liked this article on writing a novel.
Five Creative Ways to Kickstart Your Novel | The Craft of Writing Fiction | Character Development and the Power of Plot

To write

Sometimes is seems such a chore to write, then at others I wish I could forget about the world and just write. However life has such a big demand on my time—leaving less time for writing.
At uni we are writing stories for a fiction subject. We post our stories and our peers give us feedback. It is such a great way to improve your story and therefor your writing. The comments I am currently receiving for my story are giving me great ideas about how to make it better. If you are a writer I suggest joining a group or having someone who can critically look at your work and offer insight.

Study

If you've got a child or children, you'll certainly understand how busy life can be. Add in work, writing and you'd think these not much space left—however I decided to study. A graduate certificate in professional writing. I'm halfway through it and have found it to be scary, enjoyable and enlightening. I don't get much time for TV, but that's ok.

An scene from my first chapter

Pushing open the bathroom window let all the steam out.  I climbed through onto the narrow ledge, several storeys above the street. Closing my eyes, I let the darkness wash over me, smelt the scent on the air and opened my eyes. There he was, a few storeys below, striding along the footpath. He reached the cross street, glancing around. Had he sensed me?
My wet hair flapped against my back as I jumped, I landed feet square, knees bent, on the pavement. My black t-shirt clung to my body. He’d crossed the road. He took out his mobile phone, pressed numbers and started talking. I stepped out of the street light and slipped into the shadows. Darting from shadow to shadow, I quickly gained ground on him. He’d stopped and was waving his arms around, almost yelling into the mobile. My heart beat faster, little butterflies fluttered against my stomach, adrenalin surged through my blood. My eyes changed colour from harmless brown to hunter silver. Needle like teeth extending out of my upper jaw. His scent filled my nose, I could already taste his blood; beautiful and sweet.
“Hi,” I said.
“Ha,” He swivelled around, dropping his mobile.
I circled him. He was tall, lean, he had dark hair and an angular shape to his features.
“What do you want?”  His eyes searching for his mobile.
I raised my eye brows and smiled.
“Cut it out, what ever you want...” He backed away from me.
I stepped forward, and as I did, he shuffled back and tripped. I was there in a flash catching him before he hit the pavement. He yelped.
“You’ll be fine.” Mind control was great, it stopped them struggling.
I kissed his mouth, then traced my lips down his neck to the sweet spot. My teeth sunk into his soft flesh, his sweet blood filling my mouth, I gulped it down greedily, three gulps, no one more, thats enough. Using my tongue I closed up the small puncture wounds.
He blinked, his eyes darting from my teeth to my eyes. “What… are you?”
I looked into his innocent blue eyes, staring back at me, was it horror, fear? “I’m nothing.” 
I passed him his mobile and slid back into the shadows where I lived.

I'm writing a novel—a YA urban fantasy. This blog is to document my progress and process.