meomeoim

My books are being re-edited. I just uploaded a newly edited version of My Blood Approves , and its really good. The typos are gone! But here's something that's been happening every time somebody edits my books: They point out missing quotes, when they're not. Here's a quote from the third chapter of Wisdom : “I don’t mean in a perverse way," she said. "Everything I did, I was just looking to feel like someone cared about me, I think. And you were the first person that ever did. I could feel it .  “So, thank you.” She laughed nervously. The purple highlighted part is not in quotes. Most people think it should be, but it's not supposed to be. Here's the rule (with a quote from Jane Austen to back me up): In most cases, quotations that span multiple paragraphs should be set as block quotations, and thus do not require quotation marks. Quotation marks are used for multiple-paragraph quotations in some cases, especially in narratives. The convention in En...

So, I wrote Wisdom . And what you may or may not know is that I was not pleased with the ending. Not pleased at all. It didn't feel... right. I still can't say what exactly was wrong with it except it seemed too... sterile. I don't know if that's the right word, but that's the one I'm using.  The good news is: Inspiration hit, and I rewrote the ending tonight! The last 6,500 words were cut, trimmed, or rerranged, and the word count went up to almost 10k. But you know what? That's okay. Because the ending is perfect. Really. Well, I think it's perfect.  I feel so relieved. I really hated the old ending and couldn't figure out how to fix it.  Anyway, I fixed it. I'm excited. I can't wait for you all to read it.  (Which will be on August 22nd, when the highly anticipated fourth novel in the My Blood Approves series is released. Meanwhile, feel free to catch up on the rest of the My Blood Approves on Amazon.com now, as well as the first book i...

Guys, Blade Runner is a really good movie. But that's not what I'm here to talk about. Stephen King sold Carrie when he was 26-years-old. Because of this random fact, 26 has been the bar that I measured success by. I had to be a real writer by the time I was 26 or it meant I would never be a real writer. That's what I said inside my head. I'm 26 now. As of today, July 28, 2010, I've sold over 10,000 books. No, my writing career has not been how I pictured it when I was a kid. But in some ways, it's a lot better. I'm not saying I'm better than Stephen King. He's clearly a better writer and has more success than I can ever hope to achieve. I'm never actually going to compete with him, not in any real way. But this was never about being better than him. But I did reach my goal. I am still reaching it. And that's pretty amazing.

I recant all the negative things I hinted at my previous review of Inception . (Except Christopher Nolan still doesn't know how to utilize ladies.) Okay, sure it took me 11 days, and I've been thinking about it a lot. But I just now figured out what actually happened in the movie, and it was brilliant. I kept thinking, "Wow, these are holes in the story telling," but that's because I didn't see the actual story it was telling. And it's the best. It's really good. It's beyond good. It's way better that I thought it was, now that I figured out what it thought it was. I just watched this fun Toy Story 3 mashup with Inception , and that's how I figured it out. It sounds stupid, but when I was watching, I was like "Oh my god, the answer was right there all along! It's so obvious!" Maybe I was just slow. Maybe Christopher Nolan is too smart. I don't know. What I do know, is that I have  to see it again. In IMAX this time. The I...

Here's what I'm listening to on a continuous loop: "Bulletproof" by La Roux, "Your Song" by Ewan McGregor from Moulin Rouge , and "Motorcycle Drive By" by Third Eye Blind. On a note mostly unrrelated to anything, here are my favorite albums when I was 12: Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind Our Lady Peace - Clumsy Beck - Odelay Black Lab - Your Body Above Me Pearl Jam - Ten I stand by all these albums as being some of the best albums produced in the 1990's. In the case of Pearl Jam, I'd say perhaps one of the best, and both Black Lab and Our Lady Peace being the most overlooked talents of the '90s. Third Eye Blind isn't a great band. I'll say that. But the last three tracks on their debut album remain some of my favorite songs to this day. "Motorcycle Drive By" could be the anthem for Alice in Wisdom . Maybe that's why its been so stuck in my head lately. Anyway... I'm sleep deprived. My brain feels like mud. S...

It's a month until the release of Wisdom . I've been working on it, getting it ready for the big day, and I thought I would give you a little insight into what's going on. Here's the thing: I don't like "happily ever after." It's not that I don't like happy endings. I do. Everything should have a happy ending. But I don't like these blanket ones. (Side note: Just because I like happy ending doesn't mean I wrote one - but I might have.) Take the end of Cinderella. She gets married after meeting the guy once, and even though he's supposedly so infatuated with her, he can't even remember what she looks like well enough to find her without relying on a shoe size? They have a shotgun wedding, ride off in the carriage, the music soars, Disney says "Happily Ever After," but I'm sitting there going, "And then what?" How did the marriage work? Did they have anything in common? What kind of things do they do? Does Cind...

I added a widget for the Wisdom countdown. Apparently, it's only 32 days away. Egads! I'm working on some fun things for the release of that, and I will be asking for beta readers/editors soon. I'm not asking yet, so don't offer yet, cause Wisdom isn't quite ready for betas yet. Last night, I had a super bizarre, sometime frightening dream. I had to hide under a bed to avoid getting shot at one point. What I remember clearly: The song "Purple Rain" played in the background the entire time, but like over the loudspeaker at a mall - very background noise. And Joseph Gorden-Levitt was there, helping me, I think. So I blame the entire dream on Inception . As a writer and a frequent-owner of very, very bizarre dreams, I often wonder if given the option to live entirely in a fantasy (i.e. a made up world in my mind or dreams or what have you), would I choose it? That's not say that I don't love my friends or family or many parts of my real life. Most of...

I'm in love with Joseph Gordon-Levitt this week, and you'll all just have to deal with it. To be fair, my Joseph Gordon-Levitt crush has been brewing since Angels in the Outfield , but it intensified after I saw The Lookout  a few years back (side note: I've put the The Lookout in the top fifty movies I've seen in the past 10 years, and I've seen a lot of movies in the past ten years - it's very, very good. You should go watch it. Right now.)  I got annoyed with him after 500 Days of Summer . I'm not going to go into my issues with that film or Zooey Deschanel or Michael Cera, because it's too much work and vaguely confusing, even to me. Anyway, I saw Inception last night. I won't give away any spoilers (mostly because it would be too long to explain it) but here's my general thoughts:  Leonardo DiCaprio's role in the film should've been lessened. Also, he's being typecast lately, but I can't tell you how, because that would ruin...

I just learned that Guillermo del Toro is set to direct a remake of Slaughterhouse Five . I don't know if this will ever happen, but I squeed when I found out. Putting one of my all-time favorite books with one of my all time favorite directors is very exciting. On the subject of which, tomorrow I'll see Inception . I'm already excited for its brilliance. Christopher Nolan is totally completely brilliant. I'm a little in love with him. Here's something people don't say but I think is true: Leonardo DiCaprio can only play sad. Watch him cry or yell or get really upset about something, and it's believable. But when he's happy (or does an accent), it takes you out of the film. He can always make me cry - he can never make me laugh. I'm also in love with Michael Caine. Completely. Have you seen Michael Caine? He's the best ever. Him and Eric Idle. Give me a funny British guy, and I am so there. I think that's the main reason I'm afraid to mov...

Yesterday, when I took a shower, I stepped out, thinking I had completed my washing ritual, only to find my head still completely full of soap. I hadn't even slightly rinsed it out. Things like this have been with increasing and somewhat startling frequency lately. I feel like I'm forgetting the most basic things. I couldn't remember Robert Downey Jr's name last night, which is a very big deal since I always remember every celebrity's name and Robert Downey Jr is also my all-time favorite actor. (Tied with River Phoenix and narrowly beating out Christian Bale, because I'd actually enjoy spending time with Roberty Downey Jr instead of being terrified like I would with Christian Bale, who does terrify me, in a very loving way.) Anyway - the point is, I think my brain is broken. It's clearly on vacation. It feels mushy and sleepy and does not want to conjugate anything ever.  It's also having a very, very hard time remembering to reply to emails. I feel lik...

It is so unfairly hot in my office right now. But on to brighter and better things - have you read the fantastic review of the My Blood Approves series at Fangs, Wands, and Fairy Dus t ? It's so awesome, I think I might print it off and frame it. You sorta have to check it out. That's how good it is. s Here's another awesome thing you have to check out: This video from author Zoe Winters . She writes vampire novellas, and according to Amazon, a lot of people who like my books also like her books. So you should check them out. Plus, she is pretty hilarious.  This is her new webisode called Zoe Who? If you're not familiar with the writing industry, some of it might not make sense, but I think its funny even you've never read or written a word in your life. In other news worthy news, Switched - my exciting new novel just released a few days ago - is #1 in Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths . I've never had a book #1 in any category, so this very exciting to me. ...

Thank you to everybody for all the birthday wishes!!!!  I didn't do much on my birthday, but that's okay. :)  Unfortunately, a horrible crime was committed, and I'm actually pretty upset about it.  My pink flamingos were stolen from in front of my house. They lit up and I've had them for about 9 months, and today, somebody stole them from me. I'm pretty bummed about the whole thing. Plus, I can't find anymore like them that light up on the internet. I'm going to get more flamingos and I'll padlock them to my deck if I have to. But I will win this fight. I'm going to fill my yard with lots and lots of tacky flamingos. I'll show them. (I'm not sure what exactly, but I will show them. You'll see.)

I'm 26 now.  I know in the scheme of things, that isn't very old. And when I'm talking to people who are twenty-six or twenty-seven, I always think they're very young. I think I'm much older than I really am, and I act much younger than I am. I have a very immature old soul.  But birthdays always make me reflect on life. On where I am and who I wanted to be and all that. Most years, I'm pretty disappointed in my progress (or the lack thereof).  I have bad credit. I'm no good at getting up in the morning. I could really lose a few pounds. And I really, really need to clean out my car. But I think for the first time in my life, I really feel on-track. I'm pretty much exactly who I said I would be when I was five-years-old, and that's sorta awesome. I read a study somewhere once where they said that what kids want to be when they're five is a good indicator of what would give them the most happiness in life and where they should go as adults. It not...

Amazon , in its infinite wisdom and tricky trickiness, has Switched  for sale today. It's currently only available for the Kindle , but the paperbacks should be up soon. The site that sells my book says the page is up, but when I click on it, I get an error message.  But as soon as the paperback is ready, I'll have the link for it. And the good news is I was able to keep paperback prices much lower than I was for the My Blood Approves series by switching publishing companies. Paperback copies of Switched will only be $7.99, and the Kindle version is only $2.99!!!!!  The winner of the cover challenge was the brighter purple one (thanks to everyone who voted): For those of you that buy paperback, the cover will still be the paler image - at least for a little while. I will get it updated with the new, brighter image ASAP.  If you have read Switched and would like to review it, it's open for reviews on Amazon and Goodreads , and I'd love to hear yo...

It's 7:20 am and I am just finishing up working for the night - and I actually took the day off today. Admittedly, I did some spend the evening chillaxing and playing video games, but it's the weekend before my birthday. I reserve the right to have fun. To everyone who commented on my previous blog about review copies - I think I've gotten back to all you as of 7:20 central time. If you haven't heard from me, feel free to nudge me and say, "What gives?" It's not on purpose - I just spend 5 hours working on the cover tonight and my brain feels fuzzy. Can I be honest here? I think I can since we're all friends here. I didn't expect that many people to want to review Switched . That's not a bad thing, though. It's very good, and I thank you all for offering up your time to read a book by a relatively (or... you know, entirely) unknown author. So thank you ! Back to the aforementioned cover - my good pal and bandmate Pete (her real name is Jenn...

If you have a review blog or are a top reviewer on Amazon, and you would like a copy of any of my books to read and review, let me know. I have no problems with giving away ARCs and PDFs for honest reviews of my work. I am especially interested in anyone looking to read/review Switched , since it's a brand new novel in a brand new trilogy. Even if you don't have a review site, and you'd like a free copy, it definitely wouldn't hurt you to ask. This offer applies any time, but I'm particularly desperate right now. :)   

I don't know about you, but this summer, earwigs have been hitting my small town pretty hard. At work, at home, everywhere I go, I seem to find an earwig. If you're unfamiliar with an earwig, here's what the dastardly little fellas look like:   I'd actually never seen one before this year (to the best of my memory) so I had to look stuff up on them. I assumed that like the evil monsterous centipedes that make me scream in terror, these were mean and vicious and poisonous and most certainly wanted me dead. Instead, I found out they're one of the friendliest insects. They're completely harmless to humans, and they eat other annoying insects and vegetation. Those nasty pinchers on their butts are used for carrying food, and they don't bite or pinch you with them. But the thing that got me - they're one of the only insects with maternal insticts. They actually care for their young, which is more than you can see for many species in the animal kingdom, includ...

Good news everybody! Switched now has it's own blog! Since it's the first book in a series, I thought Switched ought to be represented on it's own. This site will still be devoted my ramblings and news, but all of the Switched new will be posted over there - and I'll either mention it or link it from here. Switched will be out in less than a week, and so far, the responses I've gotten for it have been positive. So that's a yay. I'm still working on cover art, but hopefully, I'll have things figured out soon. I've post an excerpt on  for Switched . It's longer than the one I posted for the the My Blood Approves books, but I'm a rebel that way. Read: here .  I also posted the sexy soundtrack for Switched . Listen: here .  The one thing I've always hated about being a novelist is that books don't come with soundtracks. Apparently, they're working on enhanced ebooks, so in the future, that might not be true anymore. Yay! I am getti...

For people that didn't grow up in Minnesota, I'm not sure how familiar you might be with the disappearance of Jacob Wetterling. If you're not, here's a crash course -   In October 1989, eleven-year-old Jacob Wetterling was riding a bike down a country road to his home with his brother and a friend. A man stopped them and told the two other boys to lay down in the ditch while he took Jacob.  Jacob hasn't been seen since. (For more information or if you have any information, please go: here ) In October 1989, I was five years old and we'd recently moved out to a farm in rural Minnesota. I'd just gotten a bike (with training wheels), and I frequently rode my bike up and down the quarter mile long drive away.  I remember watching the news story on TV and how the road that Jacob disappeared on looked just like my road. When it first happened, I didn't understand how far away St. Joseph was from where we lived, and I did think he was kidnapped from just right...