The Kindness of Strangers

This morning, I took my son into PetSmart to look at the cats and birds. PetSmart is currently selling their holiday stuffed animal, a dog named Chance. 10% of the proceeds go to homeless animals. At some point this morning, a woman purchased Chance and said to give him to a child in the store. The cashier picked my son. To both this woman and the cashier, I say, "Thank you." My son loves the toy, and hopefully I will find a way to pay your kindness forward.

A Florida Christmas Parade

Small Child and I had the pleasure of attending the Christmas parade in lovely Ft. Pierce, FL this past weekend. It was filled with everything you'd expect in a small town parade - Shriners, the 4-H club, dance teams. And then a few things you might not expect.

Here's McGruff the crime dog.


And then on the back of the McGruff float...the crime manatee?


Following that float (boat?) we have...um...McGruff. Again. This one wasn't lucky enough to ride on a float.


Next, we have Rudolph the 4-H horse.


And a bunch of little tiny painted horses. Seriously, there were like a hundred of them. But aren't they cute?


Small Child with his glow bracelet on one hand and a silly band shaped like a bank on the other. He loves those things.


Santa manatee


And the real Santa


And what Christmas parade would be complete without loot? Candy canes, life savers, and oranges.

O Christmas Tree

Despite being a dancer, I've never been particularly graceful. This became proven fact on Saturday while I was attempting to retrieve a stack of books from behind the Christmas tree. I thought, Surely, I can fit between the tree and the book shelf.

Um, no. I could not.

As I wedged myself into the tiny space, the tree tilted. My arms flailed. I grasped at needles, and then at nothing as the fully decorated tree crashed onto the chair. Witness the photographic evidence.



I tried to pick it up, but stopped when I heard the pops and cracks of the tree stand breaking into little pieces. This was when my fail face appeared and did not go away until hubby managed to purchase a new stand at Target. We righted the tree and, and since we tie the ornaments on due to the small things that run around our house, discovered only one ornament casualty. Yes, we have a cat, a dog, and a 19 month old, and I'm the one to knock over the tree. Awesome.

At least it had a happy ending, and I've got a funny story. =)

Meeting Maggie Stiefvater

One of my favorite authors, Maggie Stiefvater, was in town doing a stock signing at a local bookstore today. So, of course, I went down to get my books signed. And, of course, I dragged Small Child along.




Words cannot express the giddiness.

Writing with the Unwritten Sequel in Mind

I have a novel that I've been querying. I've gotten a list of requests followed by some very helpful rejections. So, now I'm in the process of revising that novel. One of the comments I got was guy #1 wasn't fully realized, so I set about making him more well-rounded. I ran into road block after road block. Then, I realized the problem. Although this novel can stand on its own, I've created two sequels to finish out the story. The first sequel has been outlined. The second is only vaguely realized. Here are the basics.

Book 1 - MC falls for guy #1. He's fabulous, but then she realizes she loves guy #2.
Book 2 - Guy #2 goes away. After a long period of time, she decides it's time to move on and tries things again with guy #1. Guy #2 returns.
Book 3 - She never goes back to guy #1, and she and guy # 2 live happily ever after.

Last night, I started thinking, "What if guy #2 doesn't want her back? What if guy #1 is who she chooses in book 3?" That's when things started to clarify for me in book 1. I'm not saying the problem is completely fixed, but looking at the unwritten has definitely given me renewed inspiration for my rewrites in book 1.

One Reason I Stop Reading a Series

Spoiler warning for Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy Book 3) by Richelle Mead ahead. *Not a series I stopped reading.*

I read mostly YA series, and I've been noticing one trend popping up lately. Somewhere in the end of the 1st or 2nd book, the intrepid heroine gets together with her true love. Then, in the next book, she spends many many chapters swooning over him, stating how perfect they are for each other and how they're going to be together forever. All this does for me is throw up a red flag that says, "Warning: These two characters will no longer be together by the end of this book."

Boring. I don't want to know the end by page ten.

Let me give you an example of a plot reversal involving the intrepid heroine and her true love that I felt worked. In Shadow Kiss, Rose and Dimitri finally get together in act 3. But, because of the age difference and the fact that he's her teacher, they both know it's going to be anything but smooth sailing. Still, you have hope for them. Until a couple of chapters later when Dimitri turns evil.

This was a reversal I didn't see coming, and it provided Rose's motivation throughout the 4th book and part of the 5th one. Plus, bonus, I didn't have to sit through chapter upon endless chapter of Rose driveling on about how happy she was. I like it when my heroines aren't allowed to breathe until the very end of the last book. If they're happy for too long, it just gives me time to imagine all the nasty things that are going to happen to them. Things I want to happen to them.

What about you? What makes you stop reading a series?

Wow, Fail!

Today I recieved a rejection on my full of Spirit World. Not horrific in itself because the agent offered some very nice compliments as well as some helpful feedback. However, I composed a thank you letter and hit send before I realized I had actually used a homophone for a word I had intended. Not cool for someone striving to be a writer.

FWIW, everyone seems to adore my depiction of the stepfather. At least that's a win.

Lazy Blogger, Random stuff

Eep! I am quite the lazy blogger lately. But I have an excuse. Really I do. I was trying to get Princess ready for critique. Was I successful? Not entirely. You see, I wrote a zero draft, then majorly rewrote it, leaving me no time to actually read it through before handing it over. Can we say inconsistancies? Oh well. I needed someone else to look at it anyway. Having been staring at that book since May, nothing in it made sense to me anymore.

News:

I won a blog award from Tessa Quin over at The Quest for a Literary Agent. Check out her blog.

My short story Innocent Blood will be released in an anthology later this month.

I got a form rejection for Spirit World this morning. However, it was quickly followed by "in my haste to request your manuscript, I accidentally rejected it instead!" It was a request for a partial. Yay.

How are you all doing out there?

Defining Dystopia

Recently I posted the first five pages of my WIP, Princess, for critique. It is set in the future after a catastrophic event, but I do not call it dystopian. After reading those five pages, several people said they would call it that. While I know that's something that can be difficult to discern after only five pages, their comments led me to examine my definition of dystopian fiction.

For my purposes, I will use Hunger Games as an example. I believe dystopian novels are driven by the problems in that world. If you place Katniss in present day Appalaccia (which is where she's from), you wouldn't have a story.

In my novel, the main character is Adria. Yes, the world fell apart prior to her birth, but that doesn't affect the story I'm telling. If I placed Adria in modern day Colorado, the heart of the story would be the same. She grows up, sheds her innocence, and learns about the world around her. I could have set it anywhere, but I felt the future I created added color and flavor to her story. Something unique.

That's why I maintain my story is not dystopian. What are your thoughts? How would you define dystopia?

TELL ME A SECRET by Holly Cupala

RWA Literacy Autographing

The Dolphin hotel at Disney World was full of win yesterday. And by win, I mean fabulous authors whom I love and adore. Here are the few I met.

Myself, Small Child, Morgan Ashbury, and Kelley Armstrong. Morgan is actually part of my online writing group over at Kelley's website.


Simone Elkeles


Sarah MacLean


Meg Cabot

The Princess and the Pea: A Haiku

To lie on these beds
and feel the wrath of the pea,
sucks ever so much.

Poem inspired by the Merry Sisters of Fate.

Writing Links

Hey, everyone. I have a couple of links I wanted to share today. The first is over at kidlit.com, one of my favorite agent blogs. This post is for people to find critique partners. My info is there in the fifth comment.

The second link I wanted to share is Writeoncon. It's a free online convention arranged by several writers. It officially begins August 10th, but you can introduce yourself and do some practice critiques before then. I'm there under KrysteyBelle.

I'm still working on Princess. I just finished the mid Act 2 climax, and hope to have a complete rough draft by the 10th. I'm also editing a short story about vampires. Yippee.

What are you all up to?

Updates

Well, I'm sitting at home on a Saturday evening (my anniversary of all days) with a nasty stomach flu. Ick. So, I thought I'd throw a little blog out there. This month has been super busy. I've been editing and querying Spirit World. On top of that, the family and I went on a cruise. Good times were had but unfortunately Carnival has nothing for babies. Small Child was not allowed in the pool areas, and was only allowed in the playroom four hours the entire week. We kept him entertained by letting him crawl up and down the halls and up the stairs. Then, when we got back, he started walking. Lord, help me.

So, needless to say I've gotten very little new writing down. I seem to be stalled out on Princess. I've made it to the end of the first act, and know how the second act ends, as well as the rest of the book, but am not sure how to fill in those 10,000 words I'm lacking. I'm going to go ahead and write the bits I do know, and see what happens then. Maybe the characters will tell me.

Fun Links

The other day, I opened my email to find a wondrous surprise, I had won the May prize pack from The League of Extraordinary Writers. Yay. Books and swag! If you enjoy dystopian novels, I highly recommend you check them out. Plus, they get bonus points from me by discussing Joss Whedon's Firefly today.

Another blog and webiste I've been visiting frequently is QueryTracker.net. You can search for agents and it's instantly visible whether they accept submissions by mail, email, or forms. You can then save your searches and record the responses. Rejections get evil emoticons. It's fabulous. They also have frequent agent judged contests, but you have to be quick on the draw. They do, however, give you plenty of notice as to when the contest opens.

FYI, I don't post a lot of links on my blog. More often, I'll put them on my Twitter page. If you're interested, the link for that is on the side.

I need a good YA love story

I want something along the lines of Perfect Chemistry or Rules of Attraction, but with a little more substance.

Rule #1: It must have a happily ever after ending.
Rule #2: It can be paranormal like Shiver or any of those other ones out there, or just a straight up love story.
Rule #3: It must be YA.

Any suggestions?

Writing Fail

I've been pretty scarce around the blogosphere lately. I can lay blame partically on the fact that I was out of town, but I'd be lying if I said that was the complete reason. No, the real reason is I just haven't known what to write, on my blog and in my actual writing. I was in the middle of my third complete rewrite of The Changing Moon, and I realized I still wasn't happy with it. So I shelved it, temporarily. Now that I've got a few days behind me, I think part of the reason was because there just wasn't enough tension. Donald Mass says to put tension on every page, and I wasn't doing that. It was a pretty story, but pretty stories don't sell novels. So, now that I've realized that, I'm going to let it simmer in my brain for a little longer while I work on something else.

That something else is a plot bunny that's been hopping around for a while now. It's a simple coming of age story called Princess with nothing paranormal involved. It's a change for me, but I think that's what I needed.

I did a post a while back on first lines here. So, I thought I'd share with you the (tentative) first line of Princess.

"My father tells stories of the time before the Great Flood, of the expansive cities where corruption danced through the hearts of every man, where fathers let their daughters run wild in the streets, where desire stalked on every corner and shame haunted every mind."

What do you guys do when you love a story, but you find it simply isn't working for you?

Edited to add: Of course as soon as I posted the first line, I changed it. That's now the second line.

Linger Trailer

Hey guys. Sorry for the silence, but I've been gone for the past week watching my sister graduate with her Master's Degree. It was full of win.

Now onto the real reason for my post. Maggie Stievater just posted her trailer for Linger. Are you as excited about this book as I am?

Pitches and Critiques

Last week I posted about how Spirit World made it into the semifinals, and someone requested I do a post on how I did it. Well, I can only share what I feel worked for me.

1. The first round of the contest is a pitch, which I looked at like a query. CreateSpace (where you submit your entry) has a place where you can display your pitch/part/all of your work for review. You can write up to 5 questions for those reviewing your work. I asked them to identify the strongest and weakest part of my pitch, as well as any suggestions. Maybe two or three of the responses I got were helpful. Some simply left one or two stars with no explanation. So not helpful. It could have been they simply didn't like the genre, but they didn't tell me so I just discounted them.

While I don't have the exact pitch on hand, it looked something like this:

Riesa Adair hears voices. The scratchy, mind numbing, get into your nightmares and throttle you til you cry kind of voices. And her stepfather doesn’t help. His plan to “cure” her includes beatings, group homes, and exorcisms.

When her unique talents attract the attention of a powerful Spirit, the mental attacks grow more aggressive, the bruises come more frequently, and her emotions spin out of control. Enter Garrett, a man with a similar “gift”. With his help, Riesa discovers the immense power lying dormant within her. But will that be enough when they travel to the Spirit World and find themselves engaged in a battle against those voices personified?

The novel, which is written in first person narrative, details Riesa’s struggles and triumphs as she travels the road from troubled teenager to the beginnings of adulthood. She must face tragic circumstances that take away her best friend, her freedom, and her love, and still summon the strength she needs to fulfill her destiny.

2. What I feel was more helpful was having someone from my writing group critique the work. If you are doing any sort of writing, I highly recommend joining a writing group or finding a critique partner. I'm not talking about a friend or family member to gush about your work. I mean someone who is well read in your genre, and isn't afraid to rip your work to shreds. Someone whose work you can critique in return. I have learned so much about my own writing by critiquing others' work.

A few weeks ago, there was a post on Kidlit.com where people were invited to advertise for critique partners. You can find that post here. There are 103 comments listing people looking for partners.

I am also part of an online writing group. http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi? It's free to join, but you do have to ask. Just scroll down to "online writing group" and read the instructions.

3. Have someone read your entire manuscript before submitting it anywhere. This is something I did not do, but definitely will before I start querying.

Again, if you haven't read the first chapter, it's still available here, or by emailing me at belle5678 at yahoo dot com. And if you have read it and liked it, head on over to Amazon and leave a review. I'm not sure if they take those into account, but it couldn't hurt.

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards

Holy freakin' cow, you guys. Spirit World made it to the semifinals!

Then and Now: Part 2

Okay, here's the revised version. It's still a long way from being finished, but I feel that it's at least a stronger opening. What are your thoughts?

Alsa had never seen a star. Or the moons. Terrneo had too many layers of smog to allow for such wonders. But as the transport shuttle broke through the planet’s atmosphere and into the inky blackness of space, the glowing bodies surrounded her.

Under normal circumstances she would have been thrilled, but that particular day, or night since the sun was nowhere to be seen, she couldn’t summon up the strength to be excited about anything.

She simply took a deep breath and sighed, letting her breath form a little cloud on the window. Then, using her pinky finger, she traced a stick figure tree into the cloud.

“Why am I here?” she whispered to herself. Of course, she knew the answer. But severing the past was rarely simple, especially when you hadn’t been given a choice.

Then and Now

Hi, guys. First off, thanks to those of you who sent their well wishes yesterday. I took Small Child to the doctor today, and she didn't seem to think it was a brown widow (which I know we have at our house) or a brown recluse spider bite. That was quite a relief to me since we have both of those here in Florida. She said it could be anything though, and gave me a topical antibiotic as well as an oral one with instructions to come back if it gets worse. Let's hope it doesn't.

That said, I really don't have the motivation to do the blog post I had planned, so I'm doing a sort of "Then and Now" on my own work.

About a year ago, I wrote my first manuscript. I was proud I had actually completed one, but when I finished my second, the first seemed, well, pitiful by comparison. But I really loved the world, so my third manuscript is a massive rewrite of that first one. Even the names are different. Following is the opening section of that first manuscript, titled Lunarbor Summer. Let's see how my writing has changed in a year.

I sat on the shuttle gazing out the window at about a gazillion stars. Sandwiched between the planet below me and the moon above, I had a view few people ever saw. With all of the smog down on the planet, the people were lucky to get a glimpse of any stars, let alone this tapestry of little sequins glued onto the night sky.

I took a deep breath and sighed, letting my breath form a little cloud on the window. With my pinky finger, I traced a tree into that cloud.

I had already been in flight for several hours. In that time I had read two books, taken a nap, and counted the number of floor lights…twice. Now with nothing left to do that truly interested me, I let my thoughts take me away. I reflected back to the night that served as a catalyst bringing me to this moment.

Okay, there's a setting, but not a very clear one. There's no hint of the plot, not a clue about the mc's character, and to tell the truth, I don't think you can tell how she feels right now. She seems happy to see the stars, but then she sighs like she's depressed. Hmm. On Friday, we'll see if the new draft has improved.

Day Off. Resuming Life Tomorrow

Ordinarily, my blog schedule is as follows:

Mondays - Read/discover something wonderful about writing. Blog about it.
Thursdays - Post some of my own writing. Usually some experiment or character study.
Other days -Occasional random stuff

You may have noticed that today is Monday, and this blog post doesn't resemble anything related to writing. That is because I was up all night worried about my 1 yo who has nasty, unexplained bug bites on his head, and my sick husband. My brain is unresponsive.

Tomorrow, I will return with my planned blog post for today. Characters. Until then, sleep well.

Frustration

I'm taking a break from my regularly scheduled programming today for a self-indulgent whine.

Why do I read reviews? I don't know. I guess I'm just a masochist at heart. It seems for every good review I get of Spirit World, I get something negative. I try to take criticism as constructive and use it to figure out what I could do to improve my writing. Today, I just want to vent, so please indulge me.

The latest review said some nice things, but mentioned my grammar as a weak point. Okay, I've gone over it with a fine tooth comb and have had several people in my writing group critique it for me as well. Aside from that, I am teacher and I know grammar. If there are errors in there, I assure you they are intentional.* The novel is written in first person, and thoughts as well as dialogue are not always grammatically correct. End rant.

Thanks for listening, and I will be back on Thursday with another short story. Also, I promise not to whine again at least until I get my review from Publisher's Weekly. After that, I can't make any promises. =)

*That said, if you have read it and found a missed comma or something, I am of course willing to listen.

First Chapter of Your Novel Part 4: Grounding

One of the problems writers often have in their first pages is allowing the MC to drift into his/her mind and dwell on problems, ideas, the weather, etc. without bringing us directly into a scene. We have no idea where the MC is or what he/she is doing. That's where grounding comes in...letting the reader know where they are in space instead of floating around inside the MC's head.

Instead of pulling examples from books, I decided to do something different. This week, I'll be experimenting with my own work to see how it turns out. This excerpt is from my next work in progress. Keep in mind, I have only just begun the character profiles. There is no outline or manuscript yet. The first page is just something I jotted down to keep it fresh in my mind until I had the chance to get to it.

Version #1

I remember the day I was born, the squishy way my head felt, the strange ladies poking and pricking me, the fuzzy outline around everything.

My mom says it’s just my imagination. She says, “If your memory is that good, Bea, why aren’t you doing better in school?”

I say, “Because my head is too full for school.”

She shakes her head and says, “I swear you’re going to end up a writer, just like my mother.”

I say, “I don’t want to be a writer. I want to fly airplanes.”

She says, “Then, you’d better get your grades up.” Because everything always comes back to school.

The truth is I remember a lot of things I’m not “supposed” to. I remember the tingles in my fingers and my heart when I fly a plane. Not the kind you take on vacation to Disney World. The kind like Amelia Earhart flew, with the tiny bodies and propellers. I remember getting married in a long white wedding dress with a high itchy collar. I remember escaping from a mansion with fat columns in front and scorching flames bursting from the windows. I remember living on a farm, and the smell of cows and hay that stuck in my clothes. All of those things float through my mind from the moment I flop out of bed til the moment I flop back in it.

I like them for the most part. I’m never bored, that’s for sure. But there is one memory I try not to ever think about, the one that only pops up when the nightmares come, and makes me shiver underneath my covers until the sunlight burns it away.

I remember being murdered.

Version #2 - essentially the same scene, but I added a location and tension.

I remember the day I was born, the squishy way my head felt, the strange ladies poking and pricking me, the fuzzy outline around everything.

So when my mom tried to tell me the story of my birth in her fifth “re-bonding” attempt of our road trip, I finally broke.

“I remember, okay?” I said, digging my ipod out of my backpack so I could drown her out. “Can we just not talk for a while?”

“Well,” she said with a pinched face while staring out the front window of our PT Cruiser. “If your memory is that good, why aren’t you doing better in school?”

I twisted sideways in the passenger seat, and leaned my forehead against the window. I should have known better than to say anything. She never believed me. “Because my head is too full for school.”

She sighed, the same way she had been sighing at me for the past two days, ever since the two of us had packed all of our belongings into the little Uhaul trailer, attached it to the back of our car, and drove away from Dad. “I swear you’re going to end up a writer, just like your father.”

I plugged my ear buds into my ears, hit shuffle, and tilted my head to the sky. “I don’t want to be a writer,” I said quietly. “I want to fly airplanes.”

“Then, you’d better get your grades up,” she said, because everything always came back to school.

The truth is I remember a lot of things I’m not “supposed” to. I remember the tingles in my fingers and my heart when I fly a plane. Not the kind you take on vacation to Disney World. The kind like Amelia Earhart flew, with the tiny bodies and propellers. I remember getting married in a long white wedding dress with a high itchy collar. I remember escaping from a mansion with fat columns in front and scorching flames bursting from the windows. I remember living on a farm, and the smell of cows and hay that stuck in my clothes. All of those things float through my mind from the moment I flop out of bed til the moment I flop back in it.

I like them for the most part. I’m never bored, that’s for sure. But there is one memory I try not to ever think about, the one that only pops up when the nightmares come, and makes me shiver underneath my covers until the sunlight burns it away.

I remember being murdered.


Let me know what you think.

First Chapter of Your Novel Part 2: Focus, Focus, Focus

I went back and forth on whether or not to make this into a post, but I figured if it helped me, maybe it would help someone else too.

Before I begin, I need to give a little back-story. A few weeks ago, I sent the first 250 words of Spirit World to agent Mary Kole of Kidlit.com. She was hosting a workshop where she would take 8 entries and pick them apart, deciding what could be fixed. I was not one of the ones she had chosen. In fact, she sent me an email stating it was too good to be workshopped. The only note she offered me was she couldn’t figure out the plot. Well, she only read the first 250 words after all.

Forward to last week when I found out Spirit World had made it to the Quarterfinals of Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award. Everyone who made it to that round receives two reviews of the first chapter from Amazon as well as a Publisher’s Weekly review. While I haven’t received the Publisher’s Weekly review, the Amazon one is on display for the entire world to see here.

Let’s take a closer look at what the first reviewer had to say.

“I don't feel that the author clearly defined the goal or problem Reisa is trying to overcome. I vaguely put it together as ‘get over these internal voices I pretend not to have but which are nevertheless bringing havoc into my life’ or ‘overcoming her budding alcoholism.’”

Ouch! *

I wanted to scream out, “But it’s right there on page 4!” And also, “Chapter one is the only place in the entire novel where the character gets drunk”. But of course the reviewer doesn’t know that, because they only reviewed the first chapter. And after I got over my initial frustration and embarrassment, I began to think, “Hm, maybe there is something I can do to fix it.” I mean I know the plot is right there spelled out, and if I move a few paragraphs around, and tweak a few sentences here and there, maybe it will become clearer. So, that’s what I plan to do.

Now on to the examples. Off the top of my head I could name several novels that don’t get into the plot on the first page or even the first chapter, and I’m sure you can too. But that’s not what this post is about.

I want to examine a couple of novels that focus the plot from the beginning, and do it well.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Mary begins the story by telling us a fairy tale about the ocean, something she does not believe exists. But why doesn’t she believe it exists? Well, go on to page 2 and we learn all about the Unconsecrated, the zombies who live just outside her village in The Forest of Hands and Teeth. That’s when we know Mary is destined to travel outside of her village, through the forests of Unconsecrated, and meet the ocean.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
At the end of the first paragraph, Katniss tells us, “This is the day of the reaping.” Do we know what the reaping is? No. But we know it’s terrible because it gave her sister bad dreams. Throughout the first chapter Katniss gives us quite a bit of back-story and leads us right up to the reaping. After that, we have a pretty good idea of how it’s going to change her life forever.

Can you think of any more examples?

*The reviewers did have nice things to say as well. You can read them, as well as download the first chapter for free here. Or if you don’t have a Kindle, shoot me an email at belle5678 at yahoo dot com and I’ll send it to you.

Short Story: Racing to the Beat the Night

My car will not go over 94 miles an hour. And that’s a damn shame because the fog of bloodsuckers is flying close enough to my tail to rip the bumper off.

“C’mon. C’mon!” I urge the speedometer. “Sure, you promise 120 but when it comes down to it, you just don’t have the guts.” Which Costa had assured me it did before allowing me to take the car out on a supply run.

See, here’s the thing. We live in a dome, the few humans who don’t have a death wish, or worship immortality. The problem is such living conditions tend to cut you off from the rest of the world, including sources of food and medication. So, every now and then one of us has to just suck it up, go for it, and hope to God that we make it back before dark when the fog rolls in. And by fog, I mean a herd of vamps very much like the one currently crawling up my tailpipe.

That’s how they travel, you know. They go all misty and join together into this gigantic cloud. And they are fast! I’m talking Go! Speed Racer! Go! Unfortunately, my car does not understand the current need for speed because the back window is now shrouded in fog and little starburst cracks are appearing in the glass.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Little girl, little girl, let us in.

I slam my foot down on the accelerator thinking if I can break it through the floorboards, maybe I can get another 5 mph out of this thing. That’s all I really need. The dome is so close. I can see the rounded top lifting up out of the horizon.

You’re probably wondering how I got myself into such a fine mess, out after dark in a race against evil incarnate. Well, let me tell you if there had been any choice in the matter, I would be sweet dreaming in my bunk right now. But I’m the best runner they got, and I wasn’t about to let any of those little ones die if I could help it.

See, a few years ago, we noticed some of the vamps getting sick, and not with your run of the mill cold either. I’m talking eating away at your flesh from both the in and outside sick.

Fortunately, humans seemed immune to it. At least at first. But then our little ones started getting sick. Not the teenagers or adults, no. Just the little ones. As if there weren’t enough reasons for hating the bloodsuckers.

Anyway, a couple of days ago, one of the under fives started showing the symptoms. We thought she would make it til the next supply run, but this afternoon she took a turn for the worst. She needed antibiotics, and she needed them yesterday.

So with one hour left before sunset, I went to Costa, and had him prep me a car.

“Hey,” he said right before I took off. “I don’t wanna have to come rescue you.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “When have you ever had to come rescue me?”

He shrugged. “There’s always a first time.”

I laughed, and stomped on the gas.

My first stop was the field where we grow anything that doesn’t fit in the dome. The vamps even help us maintain it. That’s a smart move on their part, if you think about it. It’s sort of like fattening the cow before the slaughter.

I filled the backseat to overflowing, and sped off to my next stop, The Wastelands. Maybe it once passed as a trailer park, but now it was a glorified dump whose inhabitants played both sides of the field, vamp and human. It was the only place in a 500-mile radius where you could buy necessary things; you know gas, medicinal supplies, and bags of blood for those nights when you just can’t catch enough humans.

With twenty minutes remaining, I bagged every bit of food from the back seat, and hauled it over to the Hospital Quarter, really just a couple of Airstreams filled with supplies. I dropped my bags in their “donation” pile, and received one small vial of antibiotics in return.

Then, I turned and made my way back through the towering piles of junk. That’s when I felt it, that inky, oh crap feeling that tells you a vamp is near. But I comforted myself with the knowledge that I still had five minutes of sunlight left, and my car wasn’t that far away.

Of course there were shadows, long ones. I guess I should have been more careful, but I had never seen a vamp desperate enough to rise before sunset. I didn’t even know shadow walking was possible until he materialized right in front of me, only a bite away.

Disease raked his throat as he whispered, “You have something I want.”

I clutched the tiny vile to my chest like it contained the elixir of life, which in a way, it did.

“Little girl,” he rasped. “Please don’t be difficult. I only want the one thing. Then you can be on your way, safe as sunlight.”

Why didn’t I bring a stake? I chided myself. First rule of survival -- always bring a stake.

I pocketed the medicine and said, “Eat wood.”

His scarred face contorted into a sad sort of grimace. “It’s a shame you said that. It didn’t have to be this way.”

My heart hammered in my throat, but I held my ground. Against a healthy vamp, I wouldn’t stand a chance unarmed, but against a sick one…maybe. I balled up my fists, and waited. Scarface was just your typical vamp, right? I was pretty sure I could guess his next move.

And I was right. Fast as lightening, his hand flew to my pocket.

I took the only shot I knew I’d get, and punched him smack across the jaw, tearing his face in the ragged fashion typical of a reanimated corpse.

And I ran.

Oh God, did I run. Scarface had wasted four of my precious minutes and I still had to make it to the car. When I was only feet away, the last rays of sun dropped in to the night. I dove into the driver’s seat, and slammed the door, tearing the inside handle off in the process.

With the sun gone, the mist of a dozen vamps formed in the distance and headed toward me. I had no idea if Scarface was one of them, but I didn’t care. I shoved the keys in the ignition, and tore out of there as if hell itself was bearing down on me.

Because it was.

And that’s how I got in this predicament, with the mist still gaining ground, and both sides of the car shrouded in that crap. Any second now, they’ll be creeping in through the vents.

That can’t happen.

The dome is so near. The gate’s closed, but I got my remote. The problem is, I can’t go in there with my little hitchhikers hanging on. See, the rule that says “vamps can’t come in without an invitation” only applies to individuals trying to break in. If they come in attached to me or my car, well that’s as good as inviting them over for tea. So, I’ve got to figure out how to lose them.

Only one thing comes to mind, and yeah it’s crazy, but it’s all I got. I stick the remote in my teeth, slam the brakes, and yank the steering wheel hard enough to send my car skidding sideways, lifting up on one side and teetering over to the next. It flips again and again while high-pitched, shriek-y, wail-y, screams fill the night, and the parasites are trashed into oblivion.

When the car finally comes to a rest down in the ravine running parallel to the road, I climb out the best available window and stumble to the dome, stabbing the entry code into the remote along the way. It’s not far, but due to the glass embedded in my skin and what I’m sure are multiple fractures, I can’t go very fast.

Which is why, just before I stagger through the threshold, a freshly materialized Scarface is able to grab onto my neck and cross through with me, sending me crashing to the ground, with him landing on top of me.

And that’s a damn shame, because I’m not in a position to do anything about it. I just close my eyes, and wait for the bite.

But it doesn’t come. Instead, I feel his tense body turn into dead weight and I risk a peek.

Costa is standing there with a stake in his hand, and a grin on his face. “What was that about you never needing to be rescued?” he asks.

I push Scarface’s body off me, sit up, and shrug. “There’s always a first time.”

He laughs, and helps me up, so he can accompany both my precious vial and me to the infirmary.

First Chapter of Your Novel Part 1: The First Line

The first page of your manuscript is often the only thing an agent sees when deciding whether to ask for more of your book. It needs to give a lot of information, and entice the reader to want to read further. I’ve searched the Internet and my library of books for techniques that have helped me, and figured I would share them with you. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be talking about different aspects of the all-important first page, as well as giving examples of each.

Today, I’ll be starting with the first line, the hook. Here is a list, by no means complete, of books that reeled me in from the first line.

1. “Lyra and her daemon moved through the darkening hall, taking care to keep to one side, out of sight of the kitchen.” The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
From those few words, we’ve learned the name of the MC, and the fact that she is sneaking around. Why? Is she doing something dangerous, or something that’s simply forbidden? The use of the word “daemon” also suggests that we’re not dealing with our world as we know it.

2. “I felt her fear before I heard her screams.” Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
This book takes us right into the action. Someone is terrified, and I’m pretty sure we’re about to find out why.

3. “My name is India Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes and I came back with a dog.” Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
I love this opening. Once again, it gives us the MC’s name. We also get a sense of her age because she uses the word “daddy” instead of “dad”. We know a little bit about her family, and we know that this adventure she’s about to embark on most likely involves a dog. So, we have details about the MC, her family, and the plot all in one sentence.

4. “They say that just before you die your whole life flashes before you, but that’s not how it happened for me.” Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
A lot of books have the “this is how I die” opening, but this one grips me. Possibly because I know that the character actually does die in the book. And no, that’s not a spoiler. It’s the main plot of the book.

5. “I’d seen weirder things than a haunted shoe, but not many.” Storm Born by Richelle Mead
Okay, this one tells us that the book is headed is a supernatural direction. Yay. And that the MC is well immersed in that world. What is she going to do with the haunted shoe? How did it get that way? I certainly want to know more.

6. “In these dungeons the darkness was complete, but Katsa had a map in her mind.” Graceling by Kristin Cashore
In this line, we again get the MC’s name, and the fact that she is resourceful. There’s also a location, the dungeons. The author uses the sense of sight, or lack thereof, to ground us in this location. Why is Katsa there? We don’t know. But I, for one, am curious.

7. 24/7/365 “It’s like she can’t breathe anymore, no matter what she does.” Gone by Lisa McMann
This doesn’t tell us a whole lot about the MC, but it does give a sense of physicality. This being the third book in the trilogy, I already know and care about Janie’s plight, but this line tells me that things have gotten much, much worse.

8. “I didn’t tell dad about Granmama’s white owl.” Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow
Only 8 words, but we know a little about the MC’s age and family. And we know she’s keeping a secret. Why?

9. “My arm rises toward my face and the pincer touch of cold steel rubs against my jaw.” Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logstead
This is an excellent example of showing, not telling. The author could have simply said, “I scratch my jaw with my hook for a hand,” but she uses the MC’s sense of touch to show us instead. We also know that this hook must be a recent development. Otherwise, the MC wouldn’t be thinking about it so vividly. What happened to him? There’s part of the plot right there.

10. “Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house.” Coraline by Neil Gaiman
We get the MC’s name, the fact that she has a sense of adventure, that she just moved to a new place, and the beginning of the plot all there in 13 words.

These are just a few examples off the top of my head. What about you? If you have any examples of good opening lines, I’d love to hear them.

Review: Twilight the Graphic Novel

Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 by Stephenie Meyer


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have to say I definitely prefer reading the novel, but the drawings are gorgeous. Some of the techniques are quite interesting, such as only using color in certain places, like the meadow scene.

I understand that graphic novels are generally a bit more expensive, but it's frustrating to pay $20 for something, to only get the first half of the book. I'd rather get it all at once.

That said, the adaptation was generally good. I enjoyed seeing some of the scenes realized, and the dialogue was accurate. I just wish there had been more.

View all my reviews >>

Review: Gone by Michael Grant

Gone by Michael Grant


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was a lot of fun. Michael Grant switches back and forth between multiple points of view, and does it well. All of the main characters are thoroughly realized and interesting. The plot itself kept me guessing right up until the very end, and I'm interested to read the next book in this series.

View all my reviews >>

Winter Wonderland

Today is the last day of the

The topic for today is to create a list of 5 books that are either about or take place in a winter wonderland.



Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
Keenan is the Summer King, who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. His is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost-regardless of her plans or desires.



Frostbite by Richelle Mead
Book 2 in the Vampire Academy series. During winter break, the entire student body of St. Vladmir's Academy take refuge from the Strigoi in a posh Idaho ski resort. But the glittering winter landscape and the resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price...



Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human ... until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.





The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Kids are disappearing, including Lyra's best friend Roger. She must travel to the frozen north to solve the mystery, aided only by a magical device known as The Golden Compass to guide her. Along the way she befriends the witches, the Gyptians, and an armored polar bear. But in the end it is Lyra alone who must make the decisions that lead to the fulfillment of a prophecy and the betrayal her best friend.




The Call of the Wild by Jack London
London's epic of the great outdoors from 1903 tells the story of Buck, a dog taken from his safe home and thrust into the brutal Arctic north of the Yukon wilderness.

Most descriptions taken from Goodreads.com

What's my Line

Quick reminder: Monday, I will be returning to my normal blogging with an article about beginning a novel. And a little bit later in the week I will be posting a vampire story from yours truly.

But for now, I return you to the


Today, the challenge is simply to blog about what I love to read. Yay.

I prefer young adult titles. Within that world, I like pretty much everything, paranormal, fantasy, romance, sci fi, dystopian, etc. Some of my favorites include:

The Hunger Games (series) by Suzanne Collins
Vampire Academy (series) by Richelle Mead
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
Harry Potter by J K Rowling
Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Middle Grade:
Blubber by Judy Blume
Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath
Bel Air Bambi and the Mall Rats by Richard Peck

Adult books:
The Ender Books by Orson Scott Card (I know Ender's Game is now usually under YA, but the sequels are adult, so that's why I classified them here.)
The Georgina Series by Richelle Mead
Dark Swan Series by Richelle Mead

There are so many more. But that's a start.

Create a Book Cover

Next week I will return to my regularly scheduled program of talking about reading and writing. Topics for next week include Techniques on Beginning a Novel, and a vampire short story by yours truly.

But as for this week, I present the most entertaining

yet...Creating a book cover.

Here are the rules:

1 – Go to “Fake Name Generator” or clickhttp://www.fakenamegenerator.com/
The name that appears is your author name.
2 – Go to “Random Word Generator” or clickhttp://www.websitestyle.com/parser/randomword.shtml
The word listed under “Random Verb” is your title.
3 – Go to “FlickrCC” or click http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php
Type your title into the search box. The first photo that contains a person is your cover.
4 – Use Picnik, or something similar to put it all together. Be sure to crop and/or zoom in.

5 - Write a short synopsis of the book.

So without further ado, here is my creation.

Locked deep within Asha's mind are memories of the past. Not just her past, but those of every female in the Hoffman family for the past seven generations. When her family moves into Great Gramma's old mansion, she learns of her gift when she meets the ghost of a distant ancestor. With the help of the ghost, Asha must find a way to access those hidden memories in order to solve her ancestor's murder from over a century ago, and finally put her to rest.

Wow. This exercise sent my creative wheels spinning. If you try this yourself, please leave the link in the comments. I would love to read it.

Distractions

Does anyone remember that game show, Distraction, where you had to answer trivia questions while pinning clothes pins to your face? Yeah, it's kindof like that.

The topic for today's

is what keeps you from meeting your goals? Specifically, mine are reading the library books I have checked out and writing.

Distraction #1 -- Small Child. He climbs everything he can get his little leg up on. He eats everything he can get his little mouth around. And he falls. A lot. So, in order to still get my "me" time in while watching him, I have learned to read while rocking him to sleep, and write while he actually sleeps. I try to get 500 words in during naptime, and another 500 after he goes to bed. It usually works pretty well, as long as I can keep myself off the Internet. Which brings me to

Distraction #2 -- The Interwebs. I try to limit myself. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. And sometimes I win cool stuff. So sometimes it's worth it.

Author Appreciation Week -- Judy Blume

Judy Blume is one of those authors who has helped form who I am today. She taught me to face my fears in Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, made me laugh with her Fudge books, got eerily close to my own life in Blubber, and talked to me honestly about the things my parents were too embarassed to talk about in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, and Forever. And I am positive that she has done the same for countless other readers for over a generation. The fact that she has been the target of so much censorship only tells me that she got everything right. And you know what the best thing of all is? Her favorite color is purple. Just like me. =)

Thank you, Judy Blume, for being such an important part of my childhood.

Check out her website here.

Spring Break Reading Challenge

Today's topic for the

is "What would you like to do with your blog?"

Well, in case you haven't noticed, I have a generic Blogger background. What I'd like to do if I were handy with a crayon and paper, is to create one of those fun cartoony title graphics as well as a background for my blog. In my dream world, it would be a wondrous drawing of the moon from my current WIP, since the title from my blog is derived from the first line of said novel. Now, I could create something in Photoshop using photographs and what not, and probably will at a later date once I get a handle on my current MS and have more time. But it's just not the same.

I'd also like to create a side bar with my favorite links. I do know how to do that, but once again, taking the time while my 1yo chews up a chair just isn't viable.

Until tomorrow,
cheers and ice cream

What I am Reading

Day 3 in the



The challenge today was to share the book I am currently reading. Well, that poses a bit of a problem since I am always in the middle of about 4 or 5 books. For my purposes today, I have narrowed it down to the one I've spent the most time reading in the past few days, Gone by Michael Grant.


It tells the story of a small town of children who suddenly find themselves without a single person over the age of 14. Oh, and lets add the fact that they appear to be trapped inside a dome (nicknamed The Fayz), and many of the children are developing supernatural abilities.

I read the first hundred pages or so online on the Harper Teen website, and was intrigued enough to reserve a copy from my library. It's told from multiple points of view from several children within The Fayz, each with a unique voice and perspective. Each chapter is titled with a countdown clock, and while I know there are sequels so the children most likely don't get out of The Fayz within this book, I can't help but wonder what the clock is counting down to, and am excited to keep reading.

Want to learn more? Check out these websites.
The Fayz is a blog written from someone inside the dome.
Micheal Grant's Harper Teen website and blog

To Be Read

It's Day #2 in the


1. First off, the challenge was to find a brand new blog to read. I chose Confessions of the Unpublished by Sarah Darlington. It's a site with books reviews, contests, and info for wannabe writers like myself. =)

2. Link the author of a book in my To Be Read pile. I chose Carrie Ryan, author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead Tossed Waves, both of which I am sqeeing for joy over reading.

3. A book releasing this month that I want to read. Succubus Shadows by Richelle Mead. It's book 5 in her Georgina series and I've been saving up the last of my Books a Million gift cards from Christmas to purchase it.

And as for my goal, well I'm on page 161 of 558 of Gone by Michael Grant. My 5k will go into full swing when hubby goes back to work tomorrow.

Reading Challenge

For the next week, I will be participating in the


Check it out.

Anyway, the first challenge is to set goals for the week. My goals are to finish at least one book I have started (not an easy task with an 11 month old), and to write at least 5,000 words on my current WIP. Ordinarily, I aim for 1,000 words a day, but inevitably, there are setbacks where I end up deleting nearly everything I wrote. I want 5,000 words that stick.

What about you? What are your goals?

Writing Links

I thought I'd share a few pages on writing that I like to frequent. They often help give me a jump start if the story isn't coming, or if the outline fails, or just for general tips and guidelines.

Ten Rules for Query Letters by Maggie Stievater

Kidlit.com hosted a Novel Beginnings contest and critiques what works and doesn't work in the opening pages of a novel.
Grand Prize
Check out the rest of the blog for the other critiques as well as agent advice at Kidlit.com
Confessions of a Contest Judge - General writing advice
Part 1
Part 2 - Point of View
Part 3 - Thinking Like a Point of View Character
Part 4 - The Dreaded Head Hop
Part 5 - Walk Like John Wayne
Part 6 - And How Does that Make You Feel?
Part 7 - (Don't) Name that Emotion!

Enjoy!

Meeting Lisa McMann

Last weekend, I got the chance to go a book signing/reading by Lisa McMann. Now, I've blogged before about how awesome her Wake series is. I even utilized the style used in the books to create a character sketch for Spirit World. You can read Mars's Story here. So, you can imagine how excited I was to go this signing.

It was held in the Vero Beach Book Center which is an adorable store with the bottom half dedicated to children's fare, including a small theatre area, and the top half with new and used books. And since I drove all the way from Orlando to go to the signing, they gave me a free tote bag. Win!

Lisa started off with a few stories about her road to publication with the Wake series, including how she came to be the photographer for the chair image on Gone. Then, she opened up the floor to questions, of which there were many interesting answers. My favorite tale was how she used to work at a book store and ended up going to dinner with Madeline L'Engle, one of my personal heroes.

When it came time for her to read, she allowed us to choose the excerpts. In the end, she decided she had enough time for two readings, one from her upcoming YA novel and one from her upcoming MG novel. I am excited about reading both, but the later, a story where children are branded as wanted, necessary, or unwanted, sounded truly fascinating.

It was also Lisa's birthday, and the book store treated us all to Gone cupcakes. And yes, the book was edible, and turned my mouth blue. =)



Finally, she met with us all and signed our books, at which point I was possibly a little too giddy, but that's okay. I had a great time and that's all that matters.

FYI, this was Small Child's second book signing, and he did pretty well. I've got a future reader on my hands. But right now, he's still working on not eating the books after he's finished with them.

Hi, everyone. I run a blog over at http://krysteybelle.livejournal.com and am creating a mirror site here simply because there are so many Blogger blogs I'd like to follow. I generally post book reviews, short stories and selections from novels that I've written, and other random things. Enjoy.

Short Story: Being Beth Lochman

I woke up in Beth Lochman’s body.

I know. It sounds crazy. But when I opened my eyes this morning, I was in her room, enveloped in her pukariffic pink gingham comforter.

Knowing I hadn’t spent the night at her house, I got up to see what was going on, and accidentally got a look in her mirror. I had to stifle a scream when I saw her round eyes staring back at me.

Beth Lochman…the meanest girl in school.

Seeing that evil reflecting back almost killed me right then and there. And maybe it would have, if it hadn’t been for her mother pounding furiously on her/my door, yelling for her/me to get dressed.

I ignored her and crawled back into bed. I was in the middle of some nightmare. That was the only explanation.

“Beth!” her mother bellowed again.

Ugh! I had no desire to be Beth, so why was I dreaming I was her? She never let a day pass when she didn’t torture someone. I guess being pretty and popular means you get away with more stuff.

Regardless, I was much happier being me.

And being me meant I got out of bed, determined to make the best of things. It was just a dream, and I was still Jules Camden. I just looked different, that’s all.

I rummaged through Beth’s closet, uncovering a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans that still had the non-designer tags on them. Not her style, but certainly mine.

In the kitchen, I grabbed a powdered donut just in time to hear her mother yell again. “Hurry up! Ben’s here.”

I choked, and powdered sugar sprayed all over my shirt.

Ben? As in Beth’s boyfriend Ben? The same Ben who stops my breath every time he speaks to me? So that’s why I was dreaming I was her!

And because dreams have impeccable timing, Ben appeared at just that moment, laughing as I dusted off my shirt.

Reclaiming my dignity, I proudly said something I would never say to him in real life. “Didn’t you hear? Powdered sugar is the new black.”

He laughed again and slipped his hand into mine. I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Dream or not, he wasn’t actually my boyfriend. But that didn’t stop my insides from turning all warm and squishy.

When we got to school, my happiness completely evaporated. Peering at us from behind a corner, was me. I mean Jules. Who I was sure was actually Beth, due to the cranky look on her face when she saw me with Ben.

I got distracted helping some kid who had dropped his books, and when I stood back up, she was gone. But Ben was there, staring at me with the strangest look on his face.

“What?” I asked suspiciously.

“Nothing. You just seem different today.”

He didn’t know the half of it. “Good different or bad different?”

His face lit up with a smile. “Good different.”

Realizing a little dream flirting wouldn’t hurt, I smiled back.

Ben’s glow continued at lunch when I gave money to some girl who had lost hers. And he looked like he was ready to kiss me when I told off one of Beth’s friends for purposely tripping a trumpet player.

Once or twice, I caught Jules/Beth scowling at me, but I didn’t care. It was about time Beth was nice to someone, even if it was only in a dream.

At the end of the day I was heading toward the parking lot, and my face appeared out of the shadows. “Unfreakinbelievable. I switch bodies with you and Ben still likes you better than me.”

“You know what’s unbelievable?” I shot back. “Even in my dreams you’re a jerk.”

“This ain’t a dream, babe.” She held up an ornate gold box. “You remember yesterday when I bumped into you? The electric shock?”

I did remember. And terror slithered down my spine in response. Sure, part of me wanted to call her crazy, but seeing as I was staring at her from her own body, I had to believe her. Plus, if I were dreaming, wouldn’t I have woken up by now?

“What is that?” I asked.

“A Spirit Shifter. My dad bought it off some voodoo priestess in Brazil.”

“But why would you-”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”

“Noticed what?” Maybe she was crazy after all.

“The way Ben stares at you in the hallways. The way he should be staring at me. I heard he was going to dump me and ask you to the dance. So I thought -”

“That you’d switch places with me, and he’d come running to you? You’re an idiot you know that? Newsflash. He’s probably sick of you being such a-”

“Whatever. Just give me your hand so we can switch back.”

I did, happy to end this waking nightmare. She pressed a button on the device. A shock flew through my body, but I was still looking at myself through Beth’s eyes.

“Nothing happened.”

“Who’s the idiot now? We switched when we were asleep remember? It’ll happen tonight.”

And it did.

I went back to myself, and unfortunately, so did Beth, with Ben standing quietly at her side. Then one day, he sat at my lunch table instead of hers.

After school, he offered me a ride home. And in my driveway, he said the most surprising thing. “I’ve had a crush on you for a while.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. There was this day a few weeks ago where Beth did all the stuff you usually do. It’s like she was channeling you.” He looked at me, embarrassed for saying it. “I know. It sounds weird.”

“Actually, it doesn’t.”

“Well anyway, that was the day I realized I wanted someone who was like that all the time. I wanted you.” He laced his fingers with mine, and the warm, squishy feeling returned with fireworks and explosions. And this time, I knew it wasn’t a dream.