My First Blogfest!! Letters to the Future!

To celebrate 300 followers, I'm hosting my very first blogfest!!

Recently, here on my blog, I apologized to my future published self for my lack of confidence and laziness in the present, seriously delaying my career as an author. Several of you thought that was a fun idea, so I decided to make it into a blogfest so we could all give it a try!   

The rules are simple: 

1) Sign up for the blogfest on the Mr. Linky widget below.

2) On Wednesday, May 25th, write a letter to your future self and post it on your blog. It doesn't have to be an apology like mine, it can be about anything! 

3) After signing up, comment on this post (leave your email address!) if you'd like to be entered in a giveaway for the book of your choice from The Book Depository (must be under $15 and TBD must ship to you for free)

4) Help me spread the word! It's a fun and easy blogfest that your followers might like to join too!

Thanks so much for following!! I can't wait to read all your letters!

But Prince William was Already Married... To Me...

I'll admit it, I had a slight crush on Prince William when I was about 16. He's only a year older than me, and what girl doesn't think about being a princess at least ONCE in her life?

But I managed to snag my own prince, and believe it or not, he actually looks quite a bit like William.

It's the hairline, it's the nose... and they have the same smile when they laugh. There are several photos I've seen of William plastered on magazines and book covers that actually made me do a double-take. One thing they definitely don't have in common though... the accent. Handy just canNOT fake an English accent for the life of him. It always comes out a mix between Australian and South African. 

His family and I have been talking about the resemblance for years. Besides the question of "When are y'all going to start having kids?" (neither of our sets of parents ask that, thank God--they know better--I'm talking about everyone else), "How do you feel about your husband marrying Kate?" has been something I've heard quite a bit lately. 

So, Prince William (the real one), I wish you a lifetime of happiness. It worked out for the best anyway. :::grins:::  

Happy Wedding Day! (can it be a holiday here in the states too, or what?! ;)

A Year on Etsy

Well, it's been a slow start for me on Etsy. I've officially had my store up for a year now, and have only made two sales (better than none, I know). So, as fellow consumers of handmade products on Etsy, what are some things that you might be tempted to buy from a photographer? Here are some things I've been considering adding to the shop.

• Prints (obviously... because that's all I have on there so far :)
• Notecards (blank on the inside with a photo on the front)
• Bookmarks (maybe a series of 4 in a pack?)

Any of these sound appealing? Any other ideas of things I could try to do with my images?

If you haven't been to my Etsy store in a while, check it out. I've recently added some new prints.

An Ode to Nathan Fillion

When first our eyes did meet

Your attitude was huffy

You were oh so far from sweet

Working for The First to kill my Buffy

Then oh Captain, my Captain of Serenity

An honest thief with heart of gold

But viewers were fickle-y

Or so the story's told

Now a writer of mystery

Solving murders in a flash

I've never seen such chemistry

You and Beckett were meant to last

I recently finished season one of Castle on DVD. I should have started watching it when it began, but I'm so hesitant to get into new TV shows--the ones I fall for always seem to get cancelled about 8 episodes in and it breaks my heart. I am in LOVE with this show. Fillion is genius. BRILLY I SAY! The banter! The wit! The faces! 

There was a short film in the bonus features of the DVD. Most of it was just silly, but one point stuck with me. When writers are blocked, it could stem from the need for perfection. 

WHAT? Why didn't I think of that before?! That's SO my problem. I'm paranoid of the first draft. But it's not supposed to be perfect, it's a DRAFT for a reason. Get it WRITTEN. Share it with your critique buddies so they can inspire you and sing praises about what a great idea you have. They can point out flaws they see early on so you don't spend too much time writing down the wrong story path. The perfection can come later. 

To my critique gals, Kim and Kristi, and a special shout to newbie Heather, a BIG thank you for the encouragement, suggestions, "what were you thinking here?"s, and for pushing me through my struggles of self-doubt. I can only hope I'm as big of help to y'all as you are to me :)   

Wanna Swap? The Lying Game

Notice anything different about me? I spruced up the blog a little bit this morning--now it feels more like Spring!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter celebration this weekend. Handy and I spent a lot of time with family, and yesterday we went swimming for the first time this year. I couldn't believe the water was already warm enough (it's been hotter than hot here lately, so I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised).

It's time for another book swap! My bookshelves are seriously overcrowded, but I'm addicted to reading now more than ever, so instead of buying MORE, how about we swap books we realistically won't read again?

Up for swap today is a hardcover of The Lying Game by Sara Shepard

 I've read it once (so it's in good shape), and while I enjoyed it, I don't plan to read it again. 

Other books (all paperbacks) still up for swap:

 

SLoB-Trade Paperback; MoT-Trade pb size ARC

 

MSK-Mass Market Paperback; DUD-Mass Market

Leave a comment (or email me) and let me know what you're interested in and what you're willing to swap for it. 

My New WIP Setting, Tilt-Shift Style!

What's tilt-shift? It's a type of photography that I haven't officially tried, but you can fake it in Photoshop. Basically, it makes the photo kind of look like you took a picture of miniatures or a model set.

It's probably not a surprise to most of you that the new story I'm working on is set in Italy. I've been going through all my travel photos for inspiration, and I've been playing with them in Photoshop to give them a fun twist--the tilt-shift twist! It works better on some than others, but either way, it brings a new life to the photos. Fresh and fun. Enjoy!

My MC starts out in Rome

And eventually she settles in Cinque Terre because, well, if you've ever been there, you know how hard it is to leave.

View from her window in Riomaggiore

 Makes me ache to go back. I told Handy I was working on a new story set in Italy and the first thing out of his mouth was, "And I suppose you have to go back for research now?" HA! I wish we could! I'll have to settle for sifting through all the photos and maps and travel guides I collected back when I was planning. Sigh. 

What about you? Do you use photos for inspiration? Ever set one of your stories in a place you went on vacation because you loved it so?! 

Why I Love Tuesdays

SAY HELLO TO THE WARBLERS! 

This album can pretty much be summed up in two words:

Darren. Criss.

:::insert big breathy sigh here:::