Where The Heart Is

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Definitely a good book.  For those keeping track, this book is ranked 12 out of 24 on my top 24 book list. 

It really struck a chord with me- I’m not sure why but Novalee is definitely an interesting and strong character.  To be left behind by her boyfriend at a Wal-Mart, 7 months pregnant (and only 17), and nowhere else to go…She ends up living in a Wal-Mart, undetected and keeping track of everything she ate, drank and wore so she could one day pay back everything she had taken from the store. 

I’ve never gone through what she had to go through, but she’s a very sympathetic character, and while at Wal-Mart, meets several other great people- Sister Husband, Moses Whitecotton, and Benny Goodluck.  And who could forget about Forney Hull and Lexie Coop?  All very memorable characters.

Sister Husband is pretty awesome- she definitely made Novalee feel welcome after she came to Oklahoma.  Sister Husband is kind and pretty spunky.  She offered to let Novalee and Americus stay with her after Novalee’s mother bailed.  And Novalee a stranger to her at the tine too.   

Moses Whitecotton- I’d say he definitely inspired Novalee to become a photographer, and helped her out with her photography. 

Forney Hull- definitely set up to be Novalee’s love interest.  To me, he also inspired her to read, and Forney, being the town librarian (at least in his sisters stead, since his sister was an alcoholic), is also someone who plays an invaluable part of Novalee’s life. 

Lexie Coop- she’s definitely Novalee’s best friend.  One of the most moving scenes in the entire book was when one of Lexie’s boyfriends rapes Lexie’s two oldest children, and Lexie and her five kids live with Novalee and her daughter.

It definitely sheds a light on a small town, where people help each other out, and how community and friends are so important in our lives.  It also shows what life is like for the lower class.

Turning Point Update

Posted in Turning Point by

Random Note: My top 24 book list has it’s own page, so if you haven’t checked it out, it’s right next to the current projects page!

I’ve finally read it for the 1st time, since, well, ever.  And I have to say, I’m pretty impressed.  In the five years I’ve done NaNo, this is (so far) the only one where I thought most of it was pretty decent, with a few parts even being (dare I say it?) good.  There’s the requisite fluffy parts, some parts that are cute, and a lot I can work with.  I actually think (if I ever go back and edit) that I’ll end up keeping most of it.  It’s still needs a lot of work, of course, because I did write it in a month.  But I’m pretty happy with a lot of it!  I also thought I’d share some of the gems I found.

  • They are doing their jon.  (don’t you mean they’re doing their job?  doing their jon did give me a laugh though)
  • “That’s very sensical,” laughed ian.  “Don’t you mean logical?” asked kiora.  “Nope, I meant logical.”  (I have no idea know if using the word sensical was on purpose or an accident- either way, I decided to run with it, with some strange results)
  • Plus, if your dad decides to ruin for office it’ll be good to make nice with people.” (Sienna, I think you meant to say run for office, although given kiora and blake have a strained relationship at best, running for office may not be the best idea)
  • “Please be quiet,” kiora begged.  “I know you don’t want to relieve high school, but if you two don’t stop, then I’ll fail everything and end up on welfare because I had to drop out of school.  Is that what you want?” (there may not be anything wrong with this sentence, but it amused me)
  • Kyle somehow managed to glare at dustin most of the ride home.  (I didn’t know glaring was that hard)

There’s definitely a lot more where that came from, so I’ll be posting them every once in a while.  Some of it, I definitely didn’t remember writing, which is to be expected- and it definitely makes any rereads interesting.  It’s like, I wrote that?  Some of it made me scratch my head, and stare at the screen in wonder.

The Gin Blossoms

Posted in Music by

Seriously, I need to pimp out the Gin Blossoms.  They are seriously one of my favorite bands ever. 

I tend to jump around a lot when I listen to music, but the Gin Blossoms are one of the few bands I can listen to without feeling the need to skip to something else after a minute.

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s something about their music that makes me feel calm and yet nostalgic.  Their new album (No Chocolate Cake) definitely reminded of New Miserable Experience (which is also completely amazing, and if you have to get any of their albums, New Miserable Experience is the one to get).

Congratulations I’m Sorry and Major Lodge Victory are also pretty good.  I will say that while I like Major Lodge Victory, it’s probably my least favorite of the 4.  Major Lodge Victory definitely has a different feel to it than the other 3.  Congratulations I’m Sorry would probably be my 3rd favorite, if I were to rank them in order of how much I liked them.

It is good to see bands grow and change- each album is definitely them, but there definitely is something different about each one.  When I’m writing, they are definitely one of the first bands I go to, and at least one of their songs ends up on my playlists.  They definitely get me into the writing mood.

Luna Lovegood

Posted in Character Spotlight, HP & The Giant Prehistoric Chicken by

She is hands down one of my favorite Harry Potter characters ever!  In fact, she’s tied with Hermione, along with Hagrid, as my three favorite characters in the series.  What’s interesting about Luna and Hermione is that they are opposites, and complement each other quite nicely.    

She’s really random and quirky, which is completely awesome, and she doesn’t care about what others think of her.  And even though she knows people steal her things and make fun of her, she still cares about them.  Plus, her house looks totally cool- like a giant rook, and it would be pretty awesome to live in a house shaped like a giant rook.

Luna’s pretty open-minded, and has some pretty unusual beliefs, as well as some unusual habits and an unusual way of dressing.  All of this makes her a fairly easy target, and she’s ridiculed a lot, but she also overlooks it, and is, in my estimation, an optimistic person.  

I do see some similarities between Luna and myself- the open-mindedness, and patience and acceptance of others.  I wish I could be as serene and calm as she is- while I can be calm and serene, I’m not anywhere near as calm and serene as Luna.

Pacts

Posted in Other Projects by

So yesterday, I did a little planning for one of my untitled plot bunnies- the one about the pact that has far-reaching consequences.

  • so the two friends are Poppy River Addison and Jordan Connor Scott, and they’ve been best friends since they were little
  • Jordan gets left behind in the wake of what happens
  • I have no idea what happens yet, or what the pact entails
  • of course, it changes everything for her friends and family
  • Jordan feels guilty because he couldn’t protect her
  • she left behind journals and letters so he would understand what happened
  • It’s going to go back and forth between present time and her letters and journal entries

While I don’t know for sure what exactly this pact is, the notes I’ve come up with point to Jordan protecting Poppy from something and not being able to.  I also have the distinct feeling she didn’t tell him everything, because she feels like leaving her journals and letters to him will help him understand and deal with what happened to her.

I definitely need to come up with friends and family.  Alternating between letters and the present time will be an interesting challenge for me because I’ve (usually) stuck to present time, and going back and forth between past and present will be a lot different.  I’ve done the occassional flashback, so it’ll be interesting to see how it actually turns out.  And NaNo is the perfect time to try something new.  I’m pretty excited about this one now because it’ll test the relationships of everyone that she left behind and how one event/pact can change everything.

Stolen Lives

Posted in Books by

This book definitely makes my top 24 books.  It’s by Malika Oufkir. 

I first read it in high school, and reread it a couple years ago.  It’s about Malika’s time as a companion to Princess Amina (the daughter of a Moroccan king), and her time at the palace.  It also covers 20 years in different prisons, getting shuttled from prison to prison, and her escape from prison, a house arrest after escaping from prison, and ends with a final escape to freedom. 

It’s definitely a good read and I couldn’t put it down.  It’s amazing what she and her family went through.  The fact that she and her family were political prisoners for so long…I can’t even wrap my brain around the fact that they saved up their rations to make cakes and made toys out of cardboard.  That even though they were in prison, they celebrated holidays and their birthdays.  That Malika considered herself to be a member of the royal family, and that she was the daughter of the kings closest aide, and then to spend 20 in prison because her father led a coup against the king…It couldn’t have been easy for her.  To have to choose between her biological father and her adoptive father…

It’s definitely in my top 15- I’m not sure where in the top 15 but that’s definitely where it is, if I had to put them in order.

The Colors of Happiness

Posted in Writing Prompts by

Writing Prompt: What colour makes you think of happiness?

It’s a toss-up between yellow and blue.

I know yellow is such a cliche, but it’s such a happy color.  It makes me think of summer and rollerblading up and down the street, and hanging upside on the bar that we had in the backyard. 

As for blue…let’s see.  It’s definitely a very calming color, and when I’m calm, I’m pretty happy.  Plus, blue makes me think of the sky, and the beach.  Not that I really go to the beach, because I’m way too self-conscious to actually wear a bathing suit, and wearing a t-shirt and shorts at the beach is just silly.  Plus, I’m too lazy to drive to the beach. 

Anyway, blue.  And yellow.  Together, they make me think of sunny days, and sunny days make me happy.  Seriously.  I feel a lot more depressed when it’s raining and cloudy.

There isn’t anything else to report as far as writing or reading goes.

Birthdays

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Writing Prompt: How do you feel when it’s your birthday? Why?

I’m pretty ambivalent about my birthday.  It was cool when I was a kid (which really wasn’t that long ago) because of birthday parties and cake and everything.  Now I’m like, meh.  Like my 21st birthday was…pretty abnormal, from the way I’ve heard some friends talk about it.  My reaction was, “I can drink?  Big deal.”  But then again, my grandpa didn’t drink anything, and my mom and my grandma did very rarely, like only at birthdays or other special occasions. 

But back to celebrating my birthday.  I’m not sure why I’m not big on celebrating my birthday, but it’s seriously not a big deal to me.  My idea of a fun birthday is watching a movie and going to the bookstore.  Or something like that.  I really have an odd idea of fun.

In Other News:

I added about 200 words or so to Turning Point yesterday, and it was pretty exciting.  I think it may have been the spark I needed to get back on the novel-writing train, because I’m more excited about getting back to work on everything than I have been in a while. 

And I’ve already done my once-a-month baked good resolution: yet another chocolate chip cookie.  It’s a lot different than any other chocolate chip cookie I’ve made- I really love chocolate chip cookies.  They tend to be my default thing I bring to parties.  And I make everything from scratch.  Or I try to anyway.  Stuff made from scratch just seems to taste better than the boxed stuff from the store.    

Dustin Ellis Sullivan

Posted in Character Spotlight, Turning Point by

So, Dustin is one of Kiora’s secret service agents.  I don’t have an exact age for him, but he’s in his late 20’s (at the youngest).  Estimating his age was such a pain that I gave up, especially since there were a lot of different variables that frustrated me. 

So Dustin is around 6’4″ making him pretty tall (at least, compared to my height, which is 4’10).  His hometown is Austin, Texas, and has a degree is psychology.  His major is something that I definitely want to change, as psychology is a little too cliche for my tastes.  He tends to be pretty extroverted, and is pretty judgemental of others.  He can be pretty emotional but he also tends to be stoic- it just depends on what’s going on.  He’s really self-confident. 

His favorite colors are blue and brown, he likes Italian food, dogs, darts and Christmas.  He hats cats, board games, apple cider, hair products, and pudding.  He’s scared of needles and heights.  And according to my notes, minored in math, which is weird because I distinctly remember him making some comment about how Kiora’s weird because she likes math.

Chloe Douglas

Posted in Character Spotlight, Wildflower by

Chloe is definitely one of my favorite characters, and one that is very near and dear to my heart.  She was the main character in my 2006 (and very first!) NaNo. 

She definitely has a lot in common with me, and she was partly based off me.  I made up a lot of stuff about her life, but there are also a lot of things that happened to me that I ended up writing in.

So she’s an only child, lived with her grandparents and mom until they died, and never knew her dad.  She tends to bottle things up, tends to cry a lot, and avoids dealing with things.  She hates conflict, and only deals with it when she has to. 

Her deepest, darkest secret is that by the time she’s no longer taking of anyone, and is fully on her own, she’ll be too old to care that she can finally live her own life.  She’s definitely motivated by fear, and is scared of change and being alone.  She has more family issues than she knows what to do with.

I never did a fun facts sheet for her, mostly because I didn’t have time, but she is a writer and wants to be a best-selling author.