she walks through a land of her own making

Draft zero of my teenage superhero novel is done!! I finished just now at 78,470 words! And in only four months! I feel pretty good about it. But now I'm putting it away for a month so I can edit it with fresh eyes. August is for radio play episodes and short stories and agent research, I think.
So, that's that. I did it!
More blogging to come soon about books and dreams and such. I've been pretty writing-oriented lately, so haven't really taken the time for much else. August will be much more relaxed.
Happy weekend!

balance is grace standing still

I'm here to talk about a book. Not just any book, either. I've read a lot of good books so far this year, and I've read a couple exception books. But number 30, the halfway mark in how many books I'm going to read this year, is the best book I've read this year. And that's saying a lot.
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater is that book. It absolutely blew my mind. The language is luminous and beautiful and lush. You can feel the ache, the yearning in the main characters for something that they know they will never have. It hurts to read this book, in the best possible way. Sam and Grace read like people I would want to hang out with, and the relationship between the two of them is hard. But . . . I don't even know how to say all the things I feel about this book. I was trying to tell a friend about it and she said, "So, it's what Twilight was trying to be." And that's sort of right. I mean, in a sense, yes, it is a teenage love story between a mortal and a supernatural being. But Twilight felt trite to me. An emasculated vampire who wants to be with (and eat) a girl because of how she smells? Yikes. Shiver, on the other hand . . . Oh, it gave me chills. It's visceral and raw and full of hardship and wanting and confusion. I held my breath for most of this book, and wept at the end. It's that good. This is one of those books that I think everybody should read, regardless of whether or not you usually read YA or paranormal. This transcends all of that, and is really just an amazing love story.

off in the night

Well, it's been too long, once again. I've been busy, of course. Isn't that always my excuse? There are a couple posts I've been putting off writing, but it's time to nail them down and let them go so I don't get buried in things to talk about. . . .
I'm sure all of you know this by now, but my cat, Abigail, passed away on June 23. She was fourteen years old, and had been with my family for most of them. She was a great cat with a big personality (and a big appetite, until the end!). When she lived with me, she slept either on or behind my knees almost every night. There are still mornings when I wake up expecting her to be there. I left her behind when I moved to the big city because I couldn't bear to force her into living her life indoors, and I wish that I could have seen her more than once or twice a year since then. I wish she'd held on for another month, then I could've seen her one more time. Ah, well. Wherever she is, she's happy, and not suffering. She's probably in kitty heaven with the other cats my family has lost in the last few years, looking down at us while she eats her favorite foods and smiling.

she climbs the mountain

Official word count on YA novel: 51,375 words!!! Yeah!!! Good progress. My goal is currently a little crazy---80,000 by the end of July---but right now, I feel like I can really do it.
Now on to a little freelancing, and a little writing for a radio play episode. Regularly scheduled blogging will recommence soon, I promise.
Happy Wednesday, everybody!