Why YA?

This message is inspired by the amazing Kiersten White's recent blog post, that you can read here.

First and foremost, I need to express my appreciation for Kiersten for answering this question. Being a very new reader to her books, I've been avoiding her blog for a little while because, I am only half way through her first book and she's spouting spoilers like there's no tomorrow (okay, not really, but I'm determined not to be spoiled at all until I'm done with her first one). But this post caught my attention. And man, did she hit it right on the nose!



The fact that 'adults' are teased for reading Young Adult (YA) fiction is laughable in my opinion. Who do you think WRITES those books? Not 16 year old high school students (normally), its the authors who are able to transport themselves into teenagers perspectives and give us a story that both entertains and teaches. They're the people who show us that as we grow older, it doesn't necessarily mean you have to BE grown up. As a 22 year old, working adult (as odd as it may be to call myself that), who can often be found in the YA section of any bookstore clinging lovingly to the shelves of her favorite authors (usually accompanied by her best friend, Helen), I proudly state that I usually find reading YA fiction more enjoyable than reading 'adult' fiction.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of adult books that I adore. But my true love is YA. It's what draws me in, it's what keeps me entertained, and its what I love to write. That is why Meg Cabot's quote about writing is one of the first on the sidebar over here ---->

"Write the kind of story you would like to read. People will give you all sorts of advice about writing, but if you are not writing something you like, no one else will like it either."
-Meg Cabot

Whether you like YA because of the drama, or the way that it takes you back to when you had your high school crush, whether it's because you get drawn in to the story by the epicness of the two main characters love, or because you want to transport yourself to a realm where anything is possible. Sure, a lot of the time you want to slap the main character upside the head and scream "DUDE! Wake up and open you're eyes." But that's part of the fun. I can't count the number of times I've actually laughed out loud at work while reading my books.

Young Adult fiction, at least for me, lets me leave my normal, mundane adult life, and flips the switch in my imagination not only letting me explore the worlds that authors have created for me, but gives me the inspiration to create my own worlds, characters and stories, and perhaps, it'll allow me to eventually be able to inspire others.

P.S. NEVER underestimate the power of YA networking. The main reason I started reading Kiersten White, was because Stephanie Perkins (one of my new favorite authors) suggested her book and raved about it.

When Will My Life Begin?

Do you ever have one of those moments, where you turn on your Zune (or iPod) put it on shuffle and the first song to play seems to explain EXACTLY what you're feeling? In this case, it was a song from the new (and amazing) Disney movie 'Tangled'.





I absolutely love this movie. The more I watch it the further up my list of Disney princesses it climbs. I think that Rapunzel will hold steady right above Tiana, but below Belle. Though truthfully, a lot of what I love about this movie is the actors voicing the characters. Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi did an (beyond) amazing vocal performance.
(and my small nerd crush on Zachary Levi has big part nothing to do with why I love it so much.)

Anyway, when this song popped up on my Zune I felt this rush of emotions. Rapunzel talks about being stuck in the same place she's always been. Not complaining about said place, just wondering what it would be like to expand outside her box (or in this case her tower). This is the main song in all of the Tangled soundtrack that I completely relate to. I too have sat at my desk at work, or on my couch at home, wondering 'When will my life begin?'. I think this is a common question for most people. Especially people between the ages of 18 and 30, when they're still trying to figure out what to do with their life.

I've been no stranger to feeling like this is my life*:


Now, as of the past couple weeks, I'm on my way to figuring out what to do with my life. Web Designer seems to make the most sense to me. It's something that I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy doing, and (if you do it right) the pay is pretty decent. Not to mention, if I'm REALLY good at it, I could just work from home. Which would be awesome.

I'm pretty sure that the phrase 'When Will My Life Begin?' will never not apply to me at some point or another, but as of right now, I'm pretty happy with my life. I have a beyond amazing husband, some pretty kick ass best friends (both in real life, and online), an fantastic family, a decent job that pays well and offers pretty fantastic benefits, and my muses seem to be waking up (at least in the writing department), and when it all comes together, I get that warm fuzzy feeling, that just keeps me smiling from ear to ear.

So with all that said, I think my new life phrase is one that's currently in my sidebar, because I really love it. And it shows exactly what I'm feeling right now. I'm tired of talking about all the things I want to do with my life, it's time for me to get up and do something about it.

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing"
-Walt Disney

*this is basically just a reason for me to use a gif. Because gif-less entries are boring. (:

Stupid Cupid, Stop Picking on me!

Depending on how you look at it, Valentine's Day can be a few different things.
` A day to show a loved one that you care about them.
` A holiday created by the greeting card compainies to make more money.
` Just another day that people seem to get a lot of presents for.
` A day that creates an excuse for you to eat a lot of calories and no one can yell at you for it.

No matter what way you look at it, it can be classified as an eventful day.

Don't worry, I'm not going to get all super mushy and tell you why I love my husband or anything like that (mainly because I hate when people do that and partly because I'm pretty sure no one wants to hear me gush), so instead, I'm going to recommend five of my all time favorite romance novels* (though some might be series), in alphabetical order (by author):


The Airhead Series : Meg Cabot

EM WATTS IS GONE.

Emerson Watts didn't even want to go to the new SoHo Stark Megastore grand opening. But someone needed to look out for her sister, Frida, whose crush, British heartthrob Gabriel Luna, would be singing and signing autographs there-along with the newly appointed Face of Stark, teen supermodel sensation Nikki Howard.

How was Em to know that disaster would strike, changing her-and life as she'd known it-forever? One bizarre accident later, and Em Watts, always the tomboy, never the party princess, is no longer herself. Literally.

Now getting her best friend, Christopher, to notice that she's actually a girl is the least of Em's problems.

But what Em's pretty sure she'll never be able to accept might just turn out to be the one thing that's going to make her dream come true . . . .

NIKKI HOWARD IS HERE TO STAY

Although Em and Christopher's relationship is kind of a sub-plot in the overall series, I love this relationship. Mostly because, Em is a total geek. She plays video games, is super smart, and has lengthy conversations about all things geeky with Christopher. Proving that being Geeky is awesome!

Boy Next Door : Meg Cabot

Gossip columnist and single New York City girl Mel lives lives in the most exciting place in the world, yet she's bored with her lovelife. But things get interesting fast when the old lady next door is nearly murdered. Mel starts paying closer attention to her neighbors—what exactly is going on with the cute boy next door? Has Mel found the love of her life—or a killer?

Meg's ability to write an entire story through e-mails and actually have it make sense, is one of the main reasons this book is on my top favorites.

The Heather Wells Mysteries : Meg Cabot

Heather Wells Rocks!

Or, at least, she did. That was before she left the pop-idol life behind after she gained a dress size or two — and lost a boyfriend, a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the American woman!) and her new job as an assistant dorm director at one of New York's top colleges. That is, until the dead body of a female student from Heather's residence hall is discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft.

The cops and the college president are ready to chalk the death off as an accident, the result of reckless youthful mischief. But Heather knows teenage girls . . . and girls do not elevator surf. Yet no one wants to listen — not the police, her colleagues, or the P.I. who owns the brownstone where she lives — even when more students start turning up dead in equally ordinary and subtly sinister ways. So Heather makes the decision to take on yet another new career: as spunky girl detective!

But her new job comes with few benefits, no cheering crowds, and lots of liabilities, some of them potentially fatal. And nothing ticks off a killer more than a portly ex-pop star who's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong . . .

Again the relationship between Heather and Cooper is sort of a sub-plot, but still intense none the less. With Heather's insistence on getting involved in cases, and Cooper's annoyance to that fact, their chemistry is amazing. Through out the series you just want to slap Cooper upside the head hoping that it'll clue him in, too bad it doesn't exactly work.

The Jessica Darling Series : Megan McCafferty

“My parents suck ass. Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane? . . . I don’t see how things could get any worse.”

When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone. How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life

Though truthfully, I have only read Books 1, 2 and half of 3, I still fully love the relationship between Jessica and Marcus. I've heard that as the series goes on, it just gets better and better, I'm pretty excited to delve into this relationship more.

Anna and the French Kiss : Stephaine Perkins

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.
As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

This is my new favorite book. I'm a little bias, because it uses my first name, so I could pretend that it was me on this fantastic adventure, but seriously, this book is so amazing. Anna and St. Clair's relationship is both endearing and believable, and to make a romance that takes place in France seem believable and not extremely cliche, takes amazing talent. I whole heartedly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a story about a girl you wish could be your best friend.

Okay, so I really love Meg Cabot. To the point that this list seems a little Meg heavy, but I really love the way she writes her romances. Trust me, Narrowing it down to THREE was REALLY difficult for me.

All in all, these are the books that I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a nice, feel good romantic book. Ones that make you smile in the middle of work, ones that make you laugh out loud, these books are some of the best books (in general) that I've ever read.

*all summaries from Goodreads.com

Nerdfighting... In Your Pants!

As John said in the video, Nerdfighteria is going to be starting a new site called Your Pants, and is haveing a contest in designing the logo for said site.

So, just to try my hand at it, I came up with two logo's.
I'm pretty proud of myself.
Both of them are made from scratch. &hearts

First:

I'm pretty proud of myself for drawing the 'A' from scratch.

But I think I like the second one more...
Second:

Thoughts?

Embrace your inner Nerdfighter!

There are some weeks I wish I could just cut out all the crappy bits (like work) and all that would be left would be the awesome bits of the day.

Take yesterday for example. I finally get over from being sick all last week, go to work, where things really weren't all that terrible, just uneventful, and I get home and look what was in my mailbox!

GUYS! It's AWESOME!!! I was stalking it online for like a week and half trying to use my Jedi Mind Trick to make it get to me faster. It made me so happy to see it in my mailbox! I was bouncing up and down in my car about it.

For those who don't know, the bracelet says 'This star won't go out." For the This Star Won't Go Out Foundation, its a foundation started in the memory of Ester Earl, an avid nerdfighter, who passed away from Thyroid Cancer. The foundation is to assist families who have a child living with cancer. I was so excited to be able to contribute to this amazing charity!

This all happened coming off the high I was feeling driving home from work when I talked to my husband. For the past couple months I've been considering the chances of going to Dragon*Con. I've really wanted to go for a few years and now it almost seems possible.

My husband made a deal with me. If I could save up the money to go, then it was fine. I was giggly and ecstatic, then I realize what that meant. It meant I was giving up a handful of things that are going to be happening between now and September.

The first being: A new Zune. I want a new Zune more than Charlie Brown wants to kick a football. My current zune (affectionately named 'Butt Trumpet' #starkidreferanceftw) occasionally craps out on me every once an a while. Though it's been a bit better as of late, I've been coveting a new Zune for over a year. But it's worth giving up... I hope.

The second: Mamma Mia. Broadway Across America is bringing Mamma Mia to Salt Lake in June, I love the movie, I love ABBA, but I'm not sure that I love it enough to go see it live. I'm sure it'll be amazing, but this is the one thing I knew I could live without seeing.

The last (and really most revealing about how serious I am about going to Dragon Con): The Little Mermaid on Broadway. The Tuachan Theater in St. George is putting on this show for three months. I was really really excited for it. I was planning on going for my birthday, but here is where I had to make the choice. It was either Ariel or Dragon Con. It breaks my heart a little to give this up, and I'm hoping Dragon Con will be worth it. *crosses fingers*

So instead of doing all of those things, I'm saving a little bit of money each pay check to save enough money to go to the Con. Luckily, I have a couple of online friends who are willing to share a hotel room with me so that we can split the cost. I'm pretty stoked for it, not gonna lie. It makes the nerd in me totally go crazy!

Currently Listening to: When I Get You Alone ` Darren Criss (on repeat. *is addicted*)
Currently Reading: An Abundance of Katherines ` John Green.