leap day, rtw, a goodreads question, and march madness.

You guys, you guys, you guys.

a) Time's about out to enter to win a signed copy of Article 5, by Kristen Simmons. Please check it out if you're interested. Info here!

b) Voting is still open for the 1st Campaign Challenge! My contribution, Maximum Splatter, is #196. Us bottom-dwellers {also known as the procrastinators} are pretty lonely, you know. If you're feeling daunted by the huge list of 200+ plus entries, might I suggest beginning at the end? We've got some good stuff, too! :)

and, c) I'm FINALLY posting for Road Trip Wednesday again. Hello, road trippers!

This week's topic is "What was the best book you read in February?"

Leave it to me to turn this into a loaded question.

I do love Leap Day.

You see, I'm in a book funk. Or, I keep telling myself that I am. My gut reaction to this topic was, "Yikes, I didn't read ANY books in February," which is entirely untrue! I don't know what's wrong with me. I actually read three, but they were all within the first two weeks of the month. Maybe that's why I forgot.

Of those three:

Article 5 takes the cake. I also read Anna Dressed in Blood and Legend. I enjoyed all of them, but A5 wins. And not just because my friend wrote it. Speaking of, in case you missed the earlier link: interview with Kristen! Giveaway of awesome! You still have a week to enter.

*end of shameless plugging*

The other night at a women's fellowship thing at church, we all went around the room and said what we were currently reading. But after the three mentioned above, I'd stalled out, and then overcompensated. You guys, I'm reading, like, five books right now. And I realized, if I can't read a book in about a week, I sort of feel like it'll never happen. I know this isn't true. I've proven myself wrong countless times. Still.

When it was my turn, I listed the five books that are currently stacked up by my bed, but something felt wrong. I know I'm in the middle of *something,* right now, I thought...

Then I remembered, but was to shy to blurt, "Oh, does manga count?"

Friends, tell me, does manga count?

Because, while I haven't devoured a novel in over two weeks, I *have* been eye-deep in this wonderfulness:

Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket, OH!

The day I discovered that I could get a free manga reader for le iPhone was a jolly day, indeed. And, according to it, I've read close to 30 {extra} books since the middle of January.

The secret is out. Not only does she watch anime, she reads manga, too.

It's a recent development. Really, I'm just fulfilling my role as a book person.

And a nerdy female.

So, here's my question.

Do I add these "extra" books to Goodreads? I want to. I want them to count toward my 2012 total. Is anyone out there going to demand my head on a spike for this? Will you scoff and say, "Yeah, sure, it says she's read {however many} books this year, but we all know half of them are manga."

Is that... even a bad thing?

Oh, and d) Have you all heard about March Madness? Not the basketball one, though I love that, too.* This one's about writing! And setting goals! And achieving them! Also, prizes. Here are my goals for March, in case you're interested:

~Finish crit for a CP before weekend.
~Pound out the first 15k of WiP rewrite (at least).
~Idea dash/loose-outline the first third.
~Remove myself from the internet after one hour of blog-reading.
~Finish reading three of the five books on my nightstand.

 Wish me all kinds of luck. Later taters.

*I grew up in Kentucky. Therefore, these things are true about me: I love basketball. I love horse-racing. It's just... a thing.

new year, new thoughts, and news in general.

Greetings!

Ack, I never know how to start a blog post.
I mean, it comes around eventually, but it tends to take me a while.
Honestly. How does one START a blog post, without constantly alluding to starting a blog post?

Like, hey, it's January. Hello, January. You're looking rather... blustery. I'm glad for that, though. You are January, after all, and not... June.

Oh my gosh, I'm talking to the months.

Moving on.

So, I guess this is my proverbial, hey-it's-a-new-year post, wherein I talk about goals and resolutions and such. There's really no way around it.

{Hm. I could have just started there. Holy pants, I need to blog more. Then maybe I won't get stuck with the start quite so much. Because, you know, I will already be going. Smart.}

I have too many things to say, in general. Shall we continue in list form?

a} My new favorite writerly thing: 750 words! I wasn't going to make any cut and dry resolutions this year, but this is SO fun. Handy how I found it at this time of year, no? It's like a NaNo, but instead of shooting for 50k words in a month, it's just--you know--750 words a day. And if I write {at least} 750 words a day all year, that's almost 300k words written in 2012. If I limit those words to fiction, that's a LOT of raw material. Plus, when you hit 750, you get points and a breakdown of what you wrote, from mood to theme to most-often-used words. How could this not be awesome?

b} Shameless confession that you either already knew or probably saw coming: I watch a lot of anime. I just... had to make that known, again. For some reason.

c} It is high time to find a clearer direction for this blog. I'm thinking, like, planned, weekly posts, and everything. But not across the board. Because that would be very much against my floofy-headed nature. We'll start small, yeah? And, hey, if there's something you want to see more of, please let me know. Like, more pictures of my cats. I could probably swing that.*

*Please don't actually want this, because then I will have to comply, thus becoming
that girl who blogs about her cats and talks to the months.

d} In 2011, I read 50 books. Success! It was going to be a hundred, for, like, a second, and then it was 60, then I trimmed it to 50 in September when I saw how maddening the rest of the year was going to be, and then... I did it! So, kind of a success. And I thought, maybe this year I'll do the backwards of that and start with a laughably attainable goal, like... 17. I will undoubtedly read at least 17 books in 2012. But hopefully more. We'll find out when I get there. So far, I'm still chomping on the first one. Not because I don't love it, because I do, I'm just... worn out from cramming in the last two or three of last year. Ha.

e} Have you all heard of this One Little Word thing? I am intrigued. And thinking very much about a word to shape my year. Well, really, I'm fairly torn between two. I may just have to use both.

GRACE. As in, gracefulness, elegance, dignity. Because I tend to be sour when few others are looking, and it's time to change that.

INTENT. As in, with purpose, determination {but not in a competitive way} and focus. To go along with my sourness, I have a major lazy streak in me. After NaNo, when I realized that I had blanked on how to write with intent, the phrase really glued itself to my brain. As fun as that 30-day spree was, I don't want my whole life to become a blitz of unusable, sub-par days, no matter how many I accrue.

So, GRACEFUL INTENT, INTENTIONAL GRACE, or, just GRACE and INTENT. I think I need both. Is that cheating? Meh. No one's gonna lock me up for it. Yay for Two Little Words!

*end of the list*

Well, that was fun. OH! Some might remember a NaNo myth I once bragged to have unraveled. It wasn't that awesome. I had heard people talking about how they wouldn't be able to read at all that month, but I read a ton, and it helped my writing more than hindered it.

Huh.

Kind of like real life, NaNo.

Kind of like real life.

overwhelmed, but in a good way.

Perhaps I should write something? I've got that pesky, "phoo, I'm too boring to blog," thing going on. I don't know what the problem is. Not knowing where to start? I believe that's it. I just don't know where to start. Maybe I'll make a list (and some lists within that list).

1. I am now officially a library volunteer! Perks include: name tag; discount at cafe when donning said name tag; being asked questions (no, really, today was my FIRST DAY, and I was approached twice, by two different people, regarding two separate things I knew nothing about, but it was great [extension perk of the name tag]); rolling seat, if you're in a sit-and-shelve mood; free schedule; abundance of books. Today, I spied: a book by the real Allison Dubois, which was incredibly timely, since Joshua and I are currently obsessed with watching Medium on Netflix; the very copy of Patrick Ness's The Ask and The Answer that I had just turned in (ha!); a copy of Winter's Bone; and the bizarre discovery that this library shelves the Harry Potter books (at least #s 6 and 7) in adult fiction instead of YA. Hrm. Same went for Susan Beth Pfeffer's The Dead and The Gone, which was one of my favorite reads of last summer. Weird, right? Speaking of, I had to giggle when the woman who was training me pointed out where the YA section was. Believe me, if I know any section of this library backwards and forwards, it's that one.

2. I am about halfway through Ness's Monsters of Men, the conclusion to Chaos Walking, and I've gotta say, I am AFRAID to finish it. Not necessarily because I don't feel like it will end well, but because I'll miss it so much. This hasn't happened since... since... I don't know. Mockingjay, probably.

3. Remember when I recently admitted that I am mildly in love with anime? Well. Turns out that was a dangerous conclusion for me to make, because now I feel like I have to watch ALL OF IT. Tsk, tsk. It'll still be there tomorrow, self. And... is it really benefitting me, anyway? Sometimes splurging is fun, but only sometimes.

4. The Big Thing going on in my life right now, I suppose, is that I've recently connected with two new writer friends who have been incredibly encouraging to me. The funny part is that I knew both of these writers in real life, without even knowing that they wrote, let alone that they wrote YA, until recently. One is being published this winter, the other is on submission and an active member of SCBWI, and I... pretty much want to be just like them. [You know who you are.]

It's amazing to me how certain chapters in my life unfold. Sometimes I hold back, doubt myself, want to give up, but then the Lord blesses me with all these little nudges in the right direction, and, if not open doors, at least a cracked window with a nice breeze blowing through. It's a really good feeling. And something tells me that I'm going to need it, because I'm going in for round two, real, real soon.

5. I'm sore, but exercising regularly again is worth it.

6. It's June?

7. I think this is the end of my list. Til next time!

one award, seven things about me, and some other stuff.

In keeping with this week's theme of "rites of passage," I have officially received my first blog award. (!) Thanks, Jeigh, for being awesome and making me feel good about myself. And for laughing at all my stupid jokes. And for getting excited about all the right things. Dang, you're cool.

Look at how pretty it is!

The catch, of course, is that I have to share interesting things about myself. And then, you know, pass on the award, which is the fun part! But before we get to that fun part, here are seven things you may or may not know about me.

1. I am a vegetarian. Surprised? Strangely, even my grandmother forgets this about me, from time to time. Which is funny, because I haven't eaten meat since I was, like, six. I just don't like it. It began, in all honesty, with my dad referring to my half-eaten drumstick as a "chicken leg." The freak-out went a little something like this: "What?! WHAT. AM. I. EATING???!!!!!" Little Julie was horrified. Dead animals + my insides = should not be mixing. Soon after that, the texture of most meats began to revolt me--ground beef is the absolute worst. Even though I didn't officially call myself vegetarian until college, I hadn't eaten meat without grimacing or complaining (or abstaining entirely) since the chicken leg debacle of approximately 1991. It's a little bit animal rights, a little bit "I just don't like it," and a little bit of that original freak-out, still hanging on.

2. I am the only girl (of my generation) in my biological family. I have one brother... and five male first cousins. Surprisingly, I never played sports.

3. Scars: I have a scar on my lip from falling down the stairs on my fourth birthday, chasing after my new kitten. That kitten just passed away a year ago. She was 21. I have a scar on my hand that is a complete mystery, which is a shame, because it looks really cool. Yeah, I'm kind of boring at the scar game.

4. I am embarrassingly sensitive to silverware. Silverware rips holes in my sanity, if I'm not careful. I hate the feeling/sound of metal scraping against my teeth (uuhhnghg), on plates (eeeeenghkk), even other people's teeth (pleaseplease, make it stop). It doesn't upset me emotionally or anything, so don't feel like you have to apologize for scraping your teeth across your horrible, metal fork every time you take a bite *shudder shudder scream gag*, but now you know why I sometimes have to find a random subject to talk about, or suddenly go to the bathroom. I'd rather do that than say, "I'm sorry, every new friend I ever make, I detest silverware. I require that we only use plastic or bamboo flatware in my presence." I save that for my poor husband. In fact, his very first gift to me, back when we were dating, was a set of bamboo flatware. I'm not kidding (he's such a keeper). And every holiday with my parents, my place is clearly defined by the plastic picnic ware 'mongst the good china and fancy goblets. You didn't know it was this bad, did you? I'm trying to improve. At least I don't take my own flatware with me to restaurants (but don't think it hasn't crossed my mind).

5. I used to ride horses. Then I got scared. Story of my life.

6. I am mildly in love with anime. I don't have an excuse. It's a guilty pleasure. If I can ignore the typically over-dramatic dialogue (and steer clear of the particular shows involving larger-than-life boobs), there's just something about it that makes me feel all happy inside. There. Now you know.

7. The first blog I ever followed was The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee. In fact, I joined blogger so I could follow it. Don't make fun. I was planning a wedding at the time. Baby cats = stress relief of kings. When I finally started my own blog, there was this huge mental hurdle I had to get over. I was like, "What do people who don't foster kittens blog about?" And then I found the YA writing community, and the "Aha!" moment was not far behind.

Aren't you glad to know all those weird things about me? I have dutifully prepared you for possible conversation topics, future trivia, and, of course, what to do when faced with the daunting situation of dining with me.

[Speaking of trivia, and anime, and The Count of Monte Cristo (were we not talking about that one?), this is a real thing. It is so bizarre. Be warned, though, it's not for kids... and not really anything like The Count of Monte Cristo (though still more faithful than the Jim Caviezel version). I'm also not technically recommending it to someone unfamiliar with anime (there are lots better out there). But it is just so dang weird, I had to mention it. If you're not familiar with anime, but you want to be (rah rah!), start with any film by Hayao Miyazaki, as I'm sure I've said before. Love love love.]

Anyway, now onto the fun part! *obligatory drumroll* My three picks for this award are:

Elisabeth, at fairbetty's world: A real life friend who just happens to also be a blogging, aspiring novelist. Yeah, it's pretty awesome. Plus, she just got back from "researching" in Scotland. You know you want to be a part of that. Tidbit: her cousin, Katie, and their annual family trip to Mt. LeConte (sound familiar yet?) may or may not be what brought my husband and me together. :) Them's family ties, right there.

Amber, at C(am)em(ber)[t]: quite possibly my favorite blog title, ever. She's a friend, listener, and make-happen-er: smart-as-a-whip and pretty, too. And her blog is full of thoughtful, useful stuff. She lives and breathes writing, and boy is it contagious.

and

Jessica, at Graduate Gourmet: Because after a long day of writing, is there anything better than gawking at beautiful food? No. :) Jess and I are long time friends and camp buddies. Now she lives and works in DC, and blogs about food, and dangitall if the girl can't roast some mean asparagus. Foodies unite!

So, go on over! Show some love! And winners, now you get to pass it on, if you like. See, isn't this fun? Later on, friends (I'm cutting this a little short, because hoo-wee, would you look at the time).

Bye!