New TV Shows this Fall

It's hard to give new TV shows chances these days. They hook us in just a couple episodes, then take them away from us (The Ex List, Eastwick). They hook us in a season or two, then take them away from us (October Road, Life on Mars, Joan of Arcadia, Outsourced). Going into this new season of television, I'm nervous about getting my heart broken yet again, but there are still several shows I've got my eye on...

On the CW:

Ringer - Welcome back to TV, Sarah!!

Hart of Dixie - I know, I know, another show about a doctor. But I think this show looks sweet, and I'm giving it a shot. Plus, it has lots of familiar faces!

The Secret Circle - Apparently this is from the creators of The Vampire Diaries (Which I think has been done very well so far), so it's worth a look. 

On NBC

Grimm - looks a little creepy, but something about it intrigues me. 

Smash - this is a mid-season addition, but Katherine McPhee can SING. And I'm a huge fan of Glee, so of course I'm going to watch this one. 

On ABC

Once Upon a Time - I wondered what happened to the girl from House. Now I know! And I hope this show is done right, and that it has the strength to stick on ABC. They always try these types of shows but don't hang on to them. Stop messing with us, ABC!

Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to all who entered my giveaway for an ARC of THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE! 

The Winner is....

L. Diane Wolfe!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

:::throws confetti:::

Losing My MIND

I gave full time photography a shot, but it didn't quite work out as I'd hoped. I'm still working at it and getting clients, but as of last week, I have a part time job M-T-W. I'm not happy about being back at a desk (that's not mine at home with my own computer) for 8 hour days, but it's a necessary evil right now. Maybe one day photography (or writing!) will be enough to pay the bills.

I forgot how exhausting and mentally taxing office work is (especially when you're in training!!). I come home and all I want to do is sleep. Or cry. grrr.

I hope my mental exhaustion doesn't cause me to lose momentum on my WIP. I've found it's been easier this week to revise what I've already written than come up with new material, so I guess I'll consider that progress. Fingers crossed I don't get overwhelmed feeling like there's too much on my plate (the cleanliness of my house is already suffering... sorry house) and stop working on it completely (Note to self: DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN).

Now, I'm off to a photo session (Another note to self: Don't schedule sessions after work again...). I hope you all are having a fabulous week and that you don't lose your mind too. :)

Giveaway Alert!

Blogging superstar Carolina Valdez Miller is hosting a couple ARC giveaways! Definitely worth checking out!

Click here to visit her blog!

Borders: A Love Story

So many of you have been sharing your pains of Borders shutting its doors, so I'm taking this chance to express my sadness as well. *Warning, this post will be a ramble, possibly without sense.

If it weren't for Borders, I'm not sure where I'd be in my writing/reading right now. It's played such a major role in my life over the past several years, I can't imagine what will take its place. And I know a lot of people are anti-big chain, but the closest indie is an hour away, Borders was five minutes away.

When I started getting serious about writing, I joined my local writers guild, and that's where we held the meetings. A small group of us broke off from the guild (which was way too large by that point), and we also met at Borders. The employees were always friendly and helpful, and loved having us there. I met so many people for the first time there. People who have played such a vital part in my growth as a writer.

I've taken many a long lunch there with friends, many instances of "oh I'll just see what's new" and I ended up with a handful of books, the list goes on and on. Just this past birthday I wandered in to kill some time and sat down to read a couple chapters of Anna and the French Kiss by the fantastic Stephanie Perkins. Guess what? It's like my favorite book of all time now.

It's sad to see physical bookstores disappear and suffer in this technological age. If I get the chance to be published, I'd love to have a printed copy I can hold in my hand and put on a bookshelf. Sigh.

We will miss you, Borders.

Crushing on Snape

**If you haven't read the Potter books or have yet to see the newest movie and plan to, you might want to stop reading right here.**

I went to see the final Harry Potter film last Friday with one thing on my mind: Snape.

Okay, so I also had "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS THE LAST ONE" on my mind, but ever since I finished book 7 at 2:30 in the morning in July of 2007 with soaking tissues EVERYWHERE, Snape has burrowed in my heart. 

Alan Rickman played Severus Snape brilliantly throughout the entire series, so I had no doubt his big scene in the finale would prove heartbreaking. It was. Even now, days later, I'm not really thinking about Harry finally sticking it to Voldie, I'm still thinking about Snape; the greatest closet romantic ever written.  

Music for your Monday

As I've mentioned before, I usually have to write listening to music without vocals. I end up singing along and typing out the words and get nothing done. Movie soundtracks keep me sane. They're all sorts of exciting, emotional, epic, calming. I've gotten two soundtracks recently that I can't stop listening to.

 

Super 8 was a fantastic movie. It was all the best parts of Spielberg and Abrams wrapped up into a solid movie focused on a group of kids who have never acted before and did an INCREDIBLE job. (Plus Kyle Chandler was in it.. BONUS)

But this post is about the MUSIC. Michael Giacchino is BRILLY. We've heard his musical stylings before in movies (Up) and television (Lost), but he really hit the mark with this one. It fit the action and emotions of the movie perfectly, and listening to it by itself, I've even gotten choked up (I'm a nerd, shut it). It's gorgeous. 

Alexandre Desplat is one of those composers with a style so obviously his own, you know when it's his music. I loved his score of New Moon, and I listen to HP&tDHpt1 soundtrack constantly. I knew before it was released that I'd be buying part 2, but I have to admit, at first, it felt lacking to me. It's so DIFFERENT than part 1, I didn't get it. Then I saw the movie. 

Now it's love. 

I guess I needed that visual connection to it. It's funny, people have recommended soundtracks to me, but if I haven't seen the movie and I give the music a listen, I probably won't connect with it enough to listen to it over and over again while writing. 

So maybe this post is more encouragement to go see these movies if you haven't yet, and pay special attention to the great music that ties all the action together. 

It just might be something to write to! 

Giveaway! The Eleventh Plague ARC

**** GIVEAWAY CLOSED ****


A couple months ago at the Houston Teen Book Con, I snagged an ARC of Jeff Hirsch's debut, The Eleventh Plague. It doesn't release until September 1st, but you could might get to read it early because I'm having a giveaway!! 

From Goodreads:

The wars that followed The Collapse nearly destroyed civilization. Now, twenty years later, the world is faced with a choice—rebuild what was or make something new. 

Stephen Quinn, a quiet and dutiful fifteen-year-old scavenger, travels Post-Collapse America with his Dad and stern ex-Marine Grandfather. They travel light. They keep to themselves. Nothing ever changes. But when his Grandfather passes suddenly and Stephen and his Dad decide to risk it all to save the lives of two strangers, Stephen's life is turned upside down. With his father terribly injured, Stephen is left alone to make his own choices for the first time. 

Stephen’s choices lead him to Settler's Landing, a lost slice of the Pre-Collapse world where he encounters a seemingly benign world of barbecues, baseball games and days spent in a one-room schoolhouse. Distrustful of such tranquility, Stephen quickly falls in with Jenny Tan, the beautiful town outcast. As his relationship with Jenny grows it brings him into violent conflict with the leaders of Settler's Landing who are determined to remake the world they grew up in, no matter what the cost.

My thoughts:

What's so terrifying about this dystopian is how real it feels. Most are set so far in the future, or seem so far removed from reality, that they're just neat stories. But The Eleventh Plague feels like it could happen tomorrow. Hirsch's descriptions of empty highways, shopping malls with cars still in the parking lot, abandoned Applebee's, Starbucks, MacDonald's, downed planes, schools, AT&T billboards, etc., are just haunting. It's our world today, but a fraction of the inhabitants, no electricity, no government, no organization whatsoever.

Fantastic writing, great story! Stephen's journey is one any dystopian fan will enjoy.

What do you have to do to win this fab ARC?

Just leave a comment below with a way to contact you if you win! Easy as that!

 You'll have 48 hours to respond before I pick a new winner.

Extra entries:

+1 New Follower

+2 Old Follower

+5 for Tweeting (mention @kristincreative and leave link in comments)

+5 for blog post (link me!)

+1 Sidebar

Giveaway ends at midnight central on Tuesday, July 26th.

Christmas in July?

I've seen a few things pop up this past week about Christmas in July, and while I haven't given it a ton of thought, today I actually find myself listening to Christmas music. I accidentally ran across a song in my iTunes library (I think it was on shuffle) and now I can't stop.

Maybe it's because it's so blasted hot out and my area is in the middle of a record-breaking drought, I'm especially yearning for the coolness of December. The holiday music is doing a nice job of tricking my brain, however temporary. :)

I saw a giveaway for novels with a Christmas theme, and it got me wondering if I've read any "Christmas" books. Some books touch on it... some of the Harry Potters, A Walk to Remember... maybe one or two others that I can't remember.

Have you read any that don't feel like the screenplay to a Hallmark movie? (NOT THAT I DON'T WATCH THOSE!! I'm a fan of the fake snow and cheese as much as the next person.) Any recommendations for me? I must quench this Christmas yearning!

Another Goal, CHECK

I hit 25,000 words exactly on my WIP!! I had just finished chapter 14 and my word count was at 24,995, so what did I do? I snuck in one more sentence in chapter 13 (which is incomplete) to round it off!!

Yes, I thought I'd be at this point several weeks ago (nearly a month ago, in fact), but you know how those things go. Point is, I'm HERE NOW and it feels GREAT. Hitting a huge number like this is just the boost I need to full-steam ahead to 30k! Then 40k, then 70k, then THE WORLD!!

Okay, maybe not the world. I'll settle for taking on draft number two at that point. After I eat lots of ice cream as a reward for my efforts.

And after kickboxing class to punish myself for said reward.

How is your WIP coming along? Hit any goals lately?

Waiting on Me Wednesday

Yes, you read that right. I have quite the TBR pile, and they're all waiting on one thing: ME. Just when I make progress in my stack, I go to another author event and pick up a few more. Then I find a SUPER good deal at the bookstore and get a few more. It's a problem. And no matter how many times I tell myself to read one book at a time, often I'm in the middle of two at a time, maybe three. That's another problem. No wonder I can't fall asleep at night. Too much fighting for space in my brain.

Here are some of the pretty books I've gotten recently that are waiting for me to dig into them!

  

I snagged an ARC of Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver!

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

(I LOVE how similar yet different those two covers are... gorgeous)

  

Die For Me by Amy Plum (met her!)

Hereafter by Tara Hudson (met her too!)

Possession by Elana Johnson (ARC that I haven't gotten to!! EEEK!)

  

I got these books MONTHS ago. Maybe I read too slow??

Haven by Kristi Cook

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

The Lost Saint by Bree Despain

Sadly, this is such a small part of my TBR pile, but the ones I'm most excited about getting to next. What about you? What books are waiting on you to read them?