Longing for Spring

I know it just passed and summer is here for a while. I still have fall and winter to go through, but I’m very much looking forward to Spring 2013. Here’s why:

 

Synopsis Cover Copy:

Everybody thinks Tara Doucet has the perfect life. But in reality, Tara’s life is anything but perfect: Her dear Grammy Claire has just passed away, her mother is depressed and distant, and she and her sister Riley can’t seem to agree on anything. But when mysterious and dazzling butterflies begin to follow her around after Grammy Claire’s funeral, Tara just knows in her heart that her grandmother has left her one final mystery to solve.

A strange butler shows up to take Tara and Riley to Grammy Claire’s house, where Tara finds a stack of keys and detailed letters from Grammy Claire herself. Note by note, Tara learns unexpected truths about her grandmother’s life. As the letters grow more ominous and the keys more difficult to decipher, Tara realizes that the secrets she must uncover could lead to mortal danger. And when Tara and Riley are swept away to the beautiful island of Chuuk to hear their grandmother’s will, Tara discovers the most shocking truth of all — one that will change her life forever.

From Kimberley Griffiths Little comes a magical, breathtaking mystery full of loss and love, family and faith.

You can’t see me, but I’m grinning from ear to ear and bursting with excitement! I’ve loved Kimberley’s books (and have reviewed them here on my blog) and am so very much looking forward to the release of this one. Doesn’t it sound amazing?! And the cover is gorgeous (all of her covers have been).

So, I’ll burn through the summer months, enjoy the fall of leaves in autumn, freeze in the winter, and endure whatever may come because I know that when spring comes, not only will I have flowers to look forward too, I’ll also have WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME to read.

Kimberley is having a giveaway on her blog (free autographed books, people—don’t miss it). Go here to check it out. Click to visit Kimberley's blog and learn about the giveaway (it’s super simple, promise).

What book/books are you looking forward to?

Write/Read on.

Critiquing Today for Better Writing Tomorrow

As writers we learn our craft from many different sources: workshops, hundreds/thousands of books that promise to take our writing to the next level, lots of practice (I’ve been “seriously” practicing for almost nine years), attending conferences, etc.

All these things are awesome, but perhaps one of the least heralded sources of learning comes in the form of critique. Getting a critique from another author (regardless of that author’s experience level) teaches us something about our manuscript and writing style. Incredibly helpful as this is, I feel one of the greatest sources for learning comes in GIVING a critique to another author.

It was through critiquing another’s work that I learned the meaning of “show, don’t tell.” In pouring over paragraph after paragraph of backstory, I learned to recognize info dumps. It wasn’t until I started critiquing another’s work that I learned how pompous, unnatural, and “writerly” my words sounded on paper. Critiquing other manuscripts helped me find my own voice.

Why?

For one thing, it’s easier to spot discrepancies in other people’s work. We aren’t attached to it and are able to read with an objectivity we don’t have when it comes to our own work. This practice opens our eyes to the same or similar flaws in our own work (at least it will if we let it—cause guess what, my friends, none of us are perfect—no matter how long we’ve been writing). I think somewhere in the back of our subconscious minds, we know what is wrong with our work. But do we listen to the subconscious?

No.

That is, until we critique another writer’s work. Then our subconscious is free to gravitate to the flaws it knows so well—the flaws present in our own work.

So get out there and critique, my fellow writers. Learn the things your subconscious has been trying to tell you all this time. Then dive into your own work and fix the issues you’ve discovered.

 

Write/Critique on.

Friday Five

1. This has been a miserable week! Sunday we went to visit hubby’s mom for early mother’s day (that’s not the miserable part). By the time we got home Sunday night, hubby was feeling sick. Monday night, I started coughing. And it was all downhill from there. We’ve been sick this whole week! Coughing, throat so raw it hurts to swallow, stuffy nose, high fevers. It hasn’t been fun. I ended up in the ER on Wednesday morning because my chest hurt so bad it was hard to breathe (I have a weak chest wall). They gave me antibiotics and told me to rest. Gee, thanks. *eye roll*

I can barely talk now (and it hurts when I try), it’s still painful to breathe, but I’m taking Motrin to help with the pain. I’m taking Sudafed to help with the stuffy nose, sucking on cough drops like they’re candy to help with the sore throat, and taking the azithromycin (antibiotic). Hopefully it will all go away soon—and I won’t get pneumonia (I usually get it whenever I have a respiratory infection).

2. The kids have been out of school most of the week with the sickness. It’s hard enough feeling crappy, but trying to take care of kids who also feel crappy on top of it is even worse. It’s all part of being a mom though.

3. We’re supposed to go to Snowflake to visit my mom on Sunday for Mother’s Day. I’m not sure we’ll make it with all the sickness. I’m still hoping I feel better by then and can at least go by myself if I have to.

4. With all the sickness, I haven’t done much writing. I did manage to critique a chapter for someone though. And I have looked at my MG . . . read through a bit, but didn’t write anything.

5. I hope Sunday brings all my LJ friends a great Mother’s Day!

Stay well!

Write on.