August is over already?

How insane is that?  And we actually had a couple of pleasant days last week (which for Houston means less humidity) so now I'm officially ready for cooler weather. It's practically Christmas already! Seriously... who would have thought it would be time to start thinking about gifts again.  This will be a light Christmas for us (less than a month left of being employed!), but my new nephew is due Christmas Eve, so I'm sure we'll all be caught up in the newborn hoorah. 

Well I realized it's been a couple of months since I've done a "here's what I read this month"... so let's play catch up, shall we?  You can read all my reviews at Goodreads.com/kristinrae.

Books read in June:

Rumors (Luxe #2) by Anna  Godbersen *3/5

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan *4/5

The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan *4/5

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer *4/5

July: 

I don't know what happened in this month that I only read one book...... I guess I was too stressed.

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting *5/5

August:

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater *4/5

Graceling by Kristin Cashore *4/5

Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti *3/5

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins *5/5
Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs *4/5

Pages read YTD: 

10,152

What I look forward to in September:

A vacation

Working the rest of my employed time from home

Tom Petty concert on my last day of work

Hub's birthday (well, not sure HE's looking forward to it... every year closer to 30 is cringe worthy)

Several newborn shoots!

Maternity shoots!

A family shoot!

Cooler weather!!!!!!

What's your favorite book(s) you read this summer?

I'm Your Density! What? Oh.. I mean, Your Destiny

What about destiny?  Anyone believe in it?  Does our idea of our destiny change as our preferences, interests and opinions do?

This past weekend, my mom was my assistant at this photo shoot:

(Thanks, Mom. You really were so much help!)

Anyway... the little boy's  mom asks the dreaded question at this stage in my photography career: "So, Kristin.  How long have you been doing this?"  Gulp.  I can't say two months, can I?  That won't sound too inspiring to someone who just shelled out their hard-earned cash for primo photos, right?

So I start way back, tell her I've been doing travel photography for almost ten years, which was when my parents got my my first Nikon.  And I tell her that one of my Italy photos was on the cover of a poetry magazine, which I've shared with y'all before, and that I started doing portraits just this past June. 

Then my mom chimes in and says that I may not remember, but I've actually been taking photos closer to 20 years.  She said on every family trip we took, I snatched the camera and did all the photography.  I even said that I was trying to get "photonific" shots, whatever that is (and yes, I do still use that word actually... just forgot it originated so long ago).  So basically, most all of our vacation pictures were taken by me, "which is why they're so good," she says. 

The boy's mom then says, "See, Kristin.  It's your destiny.  You were made to do this all along, and now you have the opportunity."  

I was a bit choked up, especially now that I'm internalizing it and writing it out, but how interesting?

So I have a childhood story tying me to writing, which I shared HERE, and now one tying me to photography.

It's neat to look back, yes?

What about you?  Did your childhood lay down the foundation for what you're doing now, maybe even without you realizing it?

Happy Mockingjay Day!!

Borders sent me a lovely 50% off Mockingjay coupon today, so I picked that up, along with a sweet Mockingjay keychain!!!

I'm only on chapter 10 so far, but wowza... there are so many directions this could go! I want to stay up all night and read it, but I also don't want it to end.  I'll try to space it out over the next few days...

Who am I kidding? I'm sure I'll have it finished by tomorrow night.  Blasted work, always in the way!!

(One more month from today and I am free of the cubicle!!!)

Best Concert of the Summer!

So... as my long time followers will know, I am a bit obsessed (not in a freaky scary way...) with the band Switchfoot.  They are my all-time fav band, and I've seen them more times than I care to admit (and I really don't know if I could count...  a couple times a year at least).

I've seen the Goo Goo Dolls quite a few times as well, so we weren't originally planning on going to the show last night... but HELLO... Switchfoot was the opener! 

Needless to say, my voice is a bit rough this morning--I sound like a man, lol, but it was so much fun!

And to top it all off, total surprise, Switchfoot came out to talk to people after their set, so I got to meet the guys for the third time!  And I didn't have anything for them to sign, but the girls in front of us had them sign their converse so mom and I did the same!

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot:

Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls

Johnny Rzeznik - Still has the most awesome hair ever!

And this was the opening opening band, Green River Ordinance.  I had actually heard their song "Come On" on the radio before.  They did really good live--new fan.  Check them out here!

Blogfest Character Reveal!

Sorry for the delay! I had a photo shoot this morning. :)

This was too much fun!  Two of you got it EXACTLY right, like NAMED the person I picture in my head when I write Brighton.  

DL and KM both hit it out of the park naming Ian Somerhalder as my Brighton look-a-like!

The younger version, probably closer in age to Brighton, as he's a freshman in college:

And the version he will be one day.... 

Brighton is H-O-T

He's been to the dark side, and is trying, slowly but surely, to rise above his past.  Now a college freshman, he's a bit unkempt--scruffy faced, grown out hair, deep green eyes with a pattern of lighter diamonds in his irises (there's nothing paranormal about him--my friend seriously has green eyes with little diamond shapes in them... it's amazingly beautiful, so I passed the trait off to Brighton).  Some of you guessed that he was sarcastic--he uses this and humor to keep the focus off of what's really bothering him. An older version of his brother, Brady, he's of medium build, strong, but not the type to wear muscle shirts.

 

Blogfest! He looks like what?

So today is the long anticipated "Guess That Character" blogfest, hosted by Jen at Unedited.  I'm showing you a snippet from my newest WIP, Anemone (the flower, not the seaweed), and you try to figure out what my character looks like by the small descriptions and dialogue.  Tomorrow, check back for the big reveal, as I show you the picture of a celebrity I imagine he looks most like as I am writing him.  

In this snippet, we have three characters--Reagan (her POV), Brady, and Brighton. What does Brighton look like to you?

As I approached Brady’s side, the stranger’s eyes darted quickly my direction.  I stopped instantly as our eyes locked.  He wasn’t looking through me.  He was looking right at me.

            He looked back at Brady, eyebrows scrunched.  “Who’s the girl?”  He nodded my way, his hair again covering too much of his face. 

            Brady cleared his throat and his voice came out a little uneasy.  “What girl?”

            “Uh,” he smiled, “let’s start with the one standing right next to you.”  He glanced toward the side of the house.  “I don’t see Mom’s car, and I know Dad’s out of town….  Don’t tell me they went soft and actually let you have a girl in the house when they aren’t home?”

            Brady turned to look at me, his face mirroring my surprise.  “You can see her?”

            He sees me!  A flutter along my shoulders satisfied me like relief—a burden taken away.  It was much easier to believe in my own existence when more than one person acknowledged... my existence.     

            “Brady,” he said in a sour tone.  “I told you, I don’t do that stuff anymore.  Now are you going to introduce me or do we just get to stand here and stare at each other?  Either way, I’m fine with it.  She’s pretty hot.  Impressive, baby brother.”  He took a step forward, feet resting on the threshold. 

            Brady appeared to be tongue tied, but eventually stammered, “Her name’s Reagan.”

            “Well, Reagan, good to meet you.  I’m Brighton.”  He reached a hand out for me to shake, so I did the same.  But we didn’t touch.  His hand passed through me, the sensation of pouring sand again tingling through my fingers. 

Guess that Character Blogfest TOMORROW!

The lovely Jen at Unedited is hosting a fun blogfest tomorrow and Friday, so check back HERE for my entry, and I'll be checking YOUR BLOG for your entries!  Sounds fun, huh? :)

Answers to Your Questions Part 1

A couple of weeks ago, I asked you for your questions--what was it that you, my faithful bloggers, wanted to know about yours truly?  Here is round one of Kristin Creative Q&A!

Q1- Crystal Cook asked, "How long have you been writing and how do you stay motivated?"

A1 - I remember when I was about 10 years old, I was home schooled at that time in life, and I went to my local home school group's activity day.  In one of our classes, we had to write a little story, complete with illustrations (or maybe I just wanted to illustrate it, because at that time, I was going to be an illustrator for Disney, of course).  The woman who was the guest "teacher" for that session pulled me and my mom aside after the class and said that I had potential as a writer.  (A ten year old?  Seriously?)  Come to find out, I'm pretty sure she was an editor for either a newspaper or a publisher or something (hence why she was brought in for our class), and she gave my mom all sorts of information so that I might be encouraged to keep at it.  Well, I was excited about that idea, but all I wanted to do was draw (now I can hardly draw a stick figure, but when I was young and had patience for it, I was much better than I am now).  The week before I graduated college in December of 2005, a story popped into my head and I couldn't stop writing it.  I even snuck in paper to my graduation ceremony (which was LONG--the only part I paid attention to was the speech by Barbara Bush! And yes, I did meet her!) so I could keep my ideas flowing.  Over the next couple of years I got frustrated and put it aside, then I'd work on it some more, put it aside. Then in 2009, something kicked my thoughts into gear and I finished that story (Between the Letters... it's now shelved awaiting some serious revisions or a paranormal twist), and have started two others (Still Loving Ghosts, and Anemone), and have ideas for several more.  My motivation now I guess comes from being inspired.  I read a lot, and often I think, well if they got published, I can do it too! And not even necessarily in a snarky way... I just choose to be encouraged as I read others work, that it's possible... that my stories (my new ones anyway) might actually make it somewhere.  I write because I love it (it's obviously not going to make me rich, so that's not even a thought), and because the stories in my head are itching to get out.  I stay motivated because I dream of seeing my published book on a shelf in Borders one day.  :) 

Ok, that was a really long answer and I don't even want to know how many typos I made. I'll just leave you with that for today!  Be on the lookout for round 2!

Happy Monday (It's raining here--we need it!) 

Counting Down

It's crazy to me how just over a month ago I was extremely upset about the idea of getting laid off.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still freaking out about having to find alternate insurance (especially since I have it on good authority that regular insurance company prices are about to sky rocket so we will be forced to be even more government dependent... because we all want that to happen...[but I'm not extremely educated on this, so I will save the ranting for blogs with that focus]), but now that it's sinking in more and more each day, and coworkers are increasingly getting deeper and deeper under my skin, and my butt keeps getting wider and wider... I've never been more ready to GET OUT!

I'd be stupid not to be a little concerned that my attempt at starting a business of my own will fail.  I mean, what a time in our nation's history to try THAT kind of venture... we are not exactly set up to support the little guy right now. 

But I do have hope.  I hope that I can make this work... that people will give this still-learning little girl a chance... that in six months, I won't be back in a cubicle somewhere, feeling the life drain from my fingertips and the fat pack on my thighs.  

A friend at work tells me just about every day how incredibly optimistic and inspiring I am... and it's amazing to me that I come across that way, when inside I am so unsure of everything. I'm still learning my craft, still learning how to be confident doing what I love, and still learning to trust that everything will work out--the way it's supposed to--for the better. Breathe.

Anyway, thanks for letting me rant.  I know it's not epic... but it helps to get it out, you know?  I will leave y'all with some highlights from the past week's sessions. Happy Tuesday.

Location Location Location!

This morning, Kim and I scouted Hermann Park for future photo shoot spots.  I have a photo shoot there in a few weeks, so I wanted to familiarize myself with the area.  Wow did it get hot!  We were tempted to swim in some of the water fountains!

Here are some of my pictures from our walk!

Happy Saturday!

Also, my photography blog has gotten a face lift!  Check it out!

And the Winners Are........!!!

We have our winners of the signed LINGER bookmarks!! 

Congratulations to

Wulfluva!

and

Kimberly Franklin!

Email me at kristinrae023(at)gmail(dot)com, give me the address you'd like it sent to, and I'll get it right out!!

Giveaway Ends TODAY!!

If you haven't yet entered for your chance to win one of two signed Maggie Stiefvater LINGER BOOKMARKS, today is your last chance!!! I will be announcing the winners TOMORROW!!

ENTER HERE!