Going to Pee my Pants... Austin Comic Con 2010

Holy Crap.

Just in time for my Buffy the Vampire Slayer obsession... 

James Marsters, the one and only SPIKE, will be in AUSTIN TEXAS this NOVEMBER for the 

AUSTIN COMIC CON 2010!!!!!

There are no words.

Nicholas Brendon, "Xander", will be there too!

Angel who?

Yeah... I finished watching Buffy.  

Yeah... I changed my button to Team Spike.

What are you going to do about it?  Bwahahahaha.

No Longer Employed... and Buffy Update

It's over.  I cleaned out my desk, said my goodbyes, and signed my papers.  Then last night my parents and I went to the Tom Petty/ZZ Top concert (pictures to come) which was AWESOME.  I'd never seen ZZ Top before and was actually impressed.  And I knew probably all but 2 of their songs! I had no clue I knew that much of their stuff.  Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were incredible, as usual. ;)

Now on to other things!  Like photography, lots of editing, BLOGGING, and losing all this pesky pudge I acquired over the last 2+ years in my cubicle (I'm actually most excited about that prospect).

My sister in law just shared this awesome Buffy photo with me.  

Check.It.Out.

How hilarious is that caption?

Now, about Buffy... I'm about 2 episodes away from being completely finished and I just don't get what's going to happen.  I love Spike/I hate Spike, I love Buffy/I'm mad at Buffy, I love Giles/I'm SO very mad at Giles, where the crap has Angel been lately, and the idea that I will have NO fresh Buffy to watch makes me sick.

Anyway, it's finally Saturday.  And I have 5 photo sessions to work on! GASP! 

Happy Weekend!!

One Week To Go...

Well, this is it.  Monday... of the last week at my job.  I'm both excited and terrified.  It's odd to me that after Friday, I will no longer be allowed inside the building.  I won't chat with the people in the cafe as they prepare my lunch.  My daily routine over the past two and almost a half years is changing.

Bright side: I won't have to use the restrooms up there anymore. Not that they were gross.... but who likes bathrooms that a hundred people use a day? This will be an emotional week, full of goodbyes and tears, I'm sure.  

I apologize (again) for being a bit of a flaky blogger lately.  Not only did I get to spend a week in Alaska (a pre-layoff planned trip -- pictures to come!), but I've been playing catch up with my photo session edits.  I'm very thankful that I have quite a few sessions lined up, but it's not quite enough to make a fraction of what I was making.  So I'm in for a long and difficult stretch ahead, and I'm doing my best not to over-stress myself.

For those of you who are Buffy lovers, I am on season 7 now (working from home has it's Netflix viewing perks!--and multiple computer monitors is a must), and it's amazing how much has changed.  (The musical episode... AWESOME)  I used to be 100% team Angel, but that Spike.... 

he. is. hilarious.

Well, not so much anymore in season 7, but season 6 was pretty awesome most of the time.  I often found myself thinking, "Angel who?".  Anyway... I'm curious to see how it will all turn out.  Right now I'm a bit disappointed in this season, but... whatever.  It is what it is!  AND! Buffy has inspired me to be a better me.  (I've lined up some martial arts DVDs on Netflix... first step in superhero training ;)  bwahahahaha.

Next up on the Netflix line up is Angel, followed by Firefly, then Veronica Mars!

What's in a (nick)name?

We've talked about naming our characters before, but what about nick names?  

Question for you Twilight readers.  Did it not drive you INSANE that Edward was ALWAYS Edward.  Edward. Freaking. Edward?  I mean, I can see that maybe it wouldn't fit to call him Ed or Eddie... but something would have been nice.  A pet name?  Bella got a nick name... several.  Heck, Bella IS her nick name, as was Bells.  (Thank goodness EDWARD didn't call her "My Pearl" or something ancient) You get the picture.

I get irritated when authors don't give at least the main characters nick names, especially if their name is super long and I have a hard time pronouncing it in my head in the first place.  

But the nick name has to fit.... And that can be a surprisingly hard decision.  

In an earlier story I've pretty much shelved, one of my main characters is named Jackson.  The first nick name that popped into my head for him was Sonny... (JackSONNY... get it?) which only his ex called him, everyone else called him Jackson.  Why didn't it occur to me to call him Jax or Jack??  Don't know.  But my beta readers kept asking who "Sonny" was.  Nick name did NOT work.  Now, I shelved it before I could be happy with an alternative, so it really doesn't matter anymore, but the point is, some nick names don't fit. 

What do you think about nick names for your characters?  Do you avoid them entirely?  Give them to one or two characters?  All of them?  Ever have a nick name just not cut it?

 

Couples on the Big Screen!

Have you noticed a theme this week??? 

COUPLES!

Sure this would have been good to do in February, but this Angel/Buffy thing has me all in a tizzy, and thinking about other couples I love.  Here are some of my favorite on screen couples! (in no particular order)

1) Jenna and Matty - 13 Going on 30 - this is one of my favorite chick flicks.  Jenna basically sees what her future would be like with life long friend Matty always just out of reach.  Will she get to right the wrong before it's too late???  Sigh.

2) Christine and Raoul - The Phantom of the Opera - I was impressed with the movie version of this musical.  Emmy Rossum is a doll face, and Patrick Wilson has the most amazing singing voice.... I have the DVD and the soundtrack. :)

3) Amanda and Mr. Darcy - Lost in Austen - Words cannot describe how much I love this mini-series. Yes, it's long, but it's so great. Amanda is a modern day girl that trades places with Elizabeth Bennett and the story goes topsy turvy.  Hilarious, dramatic, romantic... LOVE IT. LOVE THEM!

4) Emma and Mr. Knightley - Emma (BBC Mini-series) - This is an amazing adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma.  The actors are all PERFECT for their roles, and Emma and Mr. Knightley are PRECIOUS. I watch this over and over again. 

5) Aragorn and Arwen - Lord of the Rings - I read somewhere that this was THE moneymaker of all big-screen couples.  Women all over the globe sat through orcs and hobbits and sword fights just to see if these two would make it.  (Personally... I liked the action... (and Legolas Greenleaf, hello--why didn't he get a girl?))  But I loved the drama of their fight to stay together.  And their costumes were purty.

6)  Danielle and Henry - Ever After - I adore this movie.  It's a sweet retelling of Cinderella, with the lovely Drew Barrymore and an even lovelier man with an accent. ;)

7) Grace and Bob - Return to Me - Did Bonnie Hunt just do an amazing job with this movie, or what?  It's such a heartbreaking movie... but lovely.  

8) Kathleen and Joe - You've Got Mail - Once you get past how much the name Kathleen doesn't really fit Meg Ryan, you really root for these two to figure out they have been emailing each other.  Such a cute story.  I watch it quite often, but especially during the holiday season.

9) Lucy and Jack - While You Were Sleeping - One of my ALL-TIME favorite movies.  Bill Pullman was in his prime, and the chemistry between him and Bullock was priceless.  Love love love rooting for this couple throughout the movie.  It's witty, romantic... sigh.

10) Jane and Joe - Summer Stock - Such simple names... but so not a simple relationship.  She's engaged to a fuddy duddy, he's dating her sister--but they have more in common with each other, don't they?  Yep!  This is one of my favorite old musicals.  Gene Kelly and Judy Garland were tops.  They don't make em like they used to.  I love me some Gene.

BONUS!) Sabrina and Linus - Sabrina - There is just something about this movie... sure Harrison has gotten old by this point, but I'm completely hooked.  I rooted for Linus all along, despite Greg Kinnear's stellar performance (as in everything he does) as David--he does have the best drug induced lines though: "Do the dry cleaners have your car?..... How do you get there?"

Favorite Book Couples!

I've seen several blog posts highlighting book couples, so I thought I'd do the same with books I've read recently.  Keep in mind some of my pairings don't mean they end up together in the long run... it's just couples that I like to read about together.  In no particular order:

 

1) Sam and Grace - Shiver and Linger by Maggie Stiefvater.  Sometimes they are a little too perfect for me, but on the whole, they have a sweet relationship with it's fair share of outside forces trying to keep them apart.

 

2) Katniss and Gale - Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.  Life long best friends, tension, and hotness. I love me some Gale.

 

3) Katsa and Po - Graceling by Kristin Cashore.  While the book took me a while to really get into, the interactions between Katsa and Po were creative and often left me hanging... which made me keep reading.

 

4) Violet and Jay - The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting. HELLO TENSION! I love love love Violet and Jay--everything about them.

 

5) Sophie and Archer - Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. This book was FUN FUN FUN and Archer is HOT HOT HOT.

 

6) Mary and Travis - The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.  Carrie Ryan owns the copyright on Forbidden Love.  Her characters circumstances are heartbreaking, and that's what keeps me reading--hope in a happier ending than Carrie Ryan ever intended to give me. haha. 

 

7) Gabry and Elias - The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan.  Again, Carrie Ryan is the queen of forbidden love... and the love triangle. I love me a good love triangle.  Enter zombies in the mix and a bitten friend here and there, and it's an emotional roller coaster.  Sure Catcher is quite awesome... but something about Elias spoke to me more. :)

 

8) Lily and Quince - Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs.  This was a fun summer read, and something about Quince pulled me in from the get go! He is bad boy hot, with a good heart--what could be better?

 

9) Miranda and Leo - Sea Change by Aimee Friedman.  I really enjoyed the mystery of this book... and I adored Miranda and Leo. I sure hope there is a sequel coming.

 

10) Elizabeth and Will, Diana and Henry - Luxe Series (The Luxe and Rumors are all I've read so far) by Anna Godberson.  Talk about forbidden love, triangles, squares, whatEVER.  These books are all about the scandal and the shock factor.  I'm about halfway through the series and my heart has already broken twice.

Made for TV Couples

Who doesn't love a good TV show?  My regular followers will know of my long-time obsession with Lost, my recent obsession with Buffy, and I anticipate an obsession with Veronica Mars in the near near future. I get emotionally pulled into shows (especially ones with major teen romantic drama--because everything is WAY more dramatic and it's-the-end-of-the-world-if-this-doesn't-work-out in the eyes of a teen in love), and over the years, I've fallen in love with quite a few television couples.  Here are some of my favs, in no particular order:

 

 

 1) Buffy and Angel - I admit, through my teen years, I never thought Angel was much of anything, but now that I actually WATCH the show... dude's hot (is it creepy that I looked up the actor's info and he's only 5 years younger than my mom?).  I'm not even halfway through the series, and I know he's about to leave Buffy and get his own show (which I'm totally going to watch), and I know that Spike will attempt to win me over, but right now my brain just doesn't understand how that can happen.  I love me some Angel.

 

 

2) Max and Liz - I watched Roswell from the very first episode.  My friend and I watched it every week, and even taped a lot of them to watch over and over again.  Yes, it was silly, but what shows aren't when it comes right down to it? Max and Liz fell for each other hard after Max used his alien powers to save her life.  Sure they broke up, got back together, broke up, and got back together again, but I knew they'd end up together in the long run.  I've slowly been going through these episodes on Netflix.

 

 

3) Clark and Lana - Lois Lane who?  I was a huge Smallville fan back in the day (haven't watched it in years, and I can't believe it's STILL on) so in my eyes, Clark and Lana belonged together.  Just look at them.  So pretty.  (And the actresses name is Kristin, HELLOOOO). 

 

 

4) Ephram and Amy - Ah, Everwood.  Such beautiful scenery in this show.  I wanted to live in that little fictional town.  Ephram liked Amy from the get go but oooo she was a bad girl and used her friendship with him to get his miracle surgeon of a father to fix her vegetable boyfriend.  After several seasons of will they won't they... let's just say I was very pleased with the series finale. 

 

 

5) Sully and Dr. Quinn - Growing up, I LIVED to watch this show.  Sully was THE MAN... gosh I had such a huge crush on him.  I was always rooting for them to get together.  Sigh.  I really miss this show.  :::checking Netflix:::: ;)

 

 

6) Rory and Logan - Oh how I miss the Gilmore Girls.  Their witty banter and boy troubles brought me through my late teens and early twenties.  Rory had her share of boys... Dean, that tension with Tristan, Jess (who I sort of rooted for most of the time), then Logan.... Logan is just ADORABLE.  Sure they might not have been good for each other in the long run, but the episodes he was in were good for me. :)

 

 

7) Lorelei and Luke - From the very beginning I wanted Lor and Luke together.  And I waited, and waited and waited and freaking waited.  But when it happened.... sigh.  So cute.

 

 

8) Damon and Elena - So what if she's with Stefan, he's a WIMP.  I'm still rooting for this pair up at some point. Bwahahahaha. 

 

(If you haven't watched Lost yet in it's entirety but plan to, you MAY want to skip these last two.)

 

 

9) Jack and Kate - I went back and forth with Jack, mostly because of Sawyer.  Sawyer.. well, he's hotter than Jack, and he seemed more in tune with the inner workings of Kate, both being baddies and all.  But ultimately, I am happy with Jack and Kate being linked together for all eternity.  And yes, I might have cried a little.

 

 

10) Sawyer and Juliet - I never saw this match coming, but, well, they made me cry too.  So sweet.

 

Paranormalcy! Nightshade City! And... I'm Famous!

Well, not FAMOUS famous.  But Kiersten White, debut author of Paranormalcy, is doing a Q&A series of posts and today she selected my question :) 

Isn't the internet a funny thing?  When viewed one way, it appears that social networking isolates people.  Of course, they LET it isolate them from their physically social lives of families and friends (here's a hint, let it ADD to your life, not BECOME your life). 

And in another sense, social networking brings people together.  Just look how we've all found each other here.  We have similar interests, most of us are writers hoping to be published, some are published hoping for staying power... we are networking, not only to learn from each other, but to support each other.  To buy each other's books when they come out, read them, review them, spread the word!!

Congrats to Kiersten on her debut!  I picked up a copy earlier this week, and so far I'm loving it.

Also, congrats to Hilary Wagner for her debut middle grade book, Nightshade City!  Even though the release date is in October, B&N already has it out on their shelves, so I'll be sure to pick that up soon.

Happy Friday and three day weekend! :)

A New Obsession with the Old

I was fourteen when Buffy the Vampire Slayer started on TV.  I wasn't really interested, so I didn't watch it.

But now that I'm older and insane, I discovered that Netflix made the whole series available to watch instantly, so guess what I've been doing? (And if you have an iPhone, download the new Netflix app that lets you watch instantly anywhere :) 

I've barreled through 2.5 seasons of Buffy over the past couple of weeks, and it's making me a bit wacky... my mind is filled with monsters and vamps (and Angel... swoon).  Even when I pump gas or walk in a parking lot, I've got my eye out for, well, whatever.  I feel a really strong desire to learn martial arts now, too.  My Netflix queue is lined up with instructional DVDs.  haha.

There's something about getting wrapped up in a show (or a good book) that inspires me to write.  Do you find that happening to you?  I suppose a near constant immersion in a heightened reality would tend to do that to any creative mind.  

Happy Thursday :)