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Archive for June, 2010
Monday, June 28th, 2010
Since I have turned in my latest draft a couple weeks ago, I have let myself start reading books again. I am glutting myself, really. And it is at *just* the right time, because there are a number of my favorite authors who have had their books come out in the past month. So without further ado, I present to you the latest in What Kate’s Reading!
After a long reprieve, I tend to glut myself on historical romance. It’s my first love, and I’ll always come back to it.
First up was Nine Rules to Break when Romancing a Rake, by Sarah MacLean.
I had the great pleasure of meeting Sarah MacLean a few months ago at Lady Jane’s Salon, where she wowed everyone with her reading abilities. And the book lived up to the chapter taste we got that evening. Lovely writing, great vulnerability in her characters – which is not easy to pull off. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and wanted to strangle Sarah when I found out this is her debut adult book (she has a YA historical – The Season – under her belt). I can only imagine how awesome her future works will turn out to be.
 Next, I turned to one of my faves, the perennial Julia Quinn, with Ten Things I Love About You. (Side note: what is it with the numbers in the book titles? I cannot wait to come across a book titled Eleven Lords a Leaping into You Arms). It was a solid story, a lot of good interaction between the characters. Add in Julia Quinn’s dialogue, and it’s hard to ask for more than that.
I broke my short numerical streak with Lisa Kleypas, who is another fave (I love her contemporary  Texas-set stories) and her latest in the Hathaway series Married by Morning. I love the Hathaways. I wanna be a Hathaway, especially if I lived during the Victorian Era. And this novel simply fostered that desire.
 Last but not least, I read Girls Dinner Club by Jessie Elliot. It’s YA, and its set in Brooklyn, and I sort of love almost anything set in New York (I’m on a nostalgia kick for my old hometown). A very kind story about three high school aged friends who help each other through a period in their lives by having weekly dinners. I consider it a historical romance palate cleanser.
I know four books in a matter of two weeks is not a high rate of reading, but I have every confidence I will get back into the swing of things with aplomb. (That’s not to say I don’t have work to do. I do, my editor and agent, I swear I do.)
But until next week, I wish you (and me!) happy reading!
Posted in What I'm reading | No Comments »
Sunday, June 20th, 2010
I recently went through a bunch of boxes of old papers and what not (and you have no idea how pleasant it is to do something like that for someone who has been focused solely on her deadline, and slightly OCD to boot) and discovered an old New Year’s Resolution list.
I couldn’t tell you the year of it, but by my handwriting, I’m going to say late high school/college. Among other mundane items that would never be completed (lose 15 lbs! Write a movie!) is, in the boldest possible hand, the simplest of instructions: Be Brave.
Now, I can’t remember why I wrote this. I don’t remember myself as an overly-reticent teenager. May be New Years caught me at a somewhat melancholy time, when I had not shown enough gumption with a boy or in a class. But for some reason, I felt the need to remind myself to step outside my comfort zone. To take a leap.
Bravery has to be taken into account when writing. Now one wants to read about a comfortable person in their comfortable life. The thing that scares you is also the most compelling, and the most difficult to explore. The great themes — love, death, passion, pain – are not, repeat, not experienced by the wallflowers. And as a writer, I have a tendency to keep things light. I like the fluffy. It feels comfortable.
Light and fluffy makes a nice cupcake, but not drama.
I try to keep that in mind now, as I gear up to start my next story. It may only be a germ of an idea right now, but soon enough I won’t be conversing with myself in hypotheticals. Therefore, I cannot be missish now. I have to take a leap. I have to be brave.
Posted in Future books, Writer's life | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
I have a chalkboard on my wall that lists things I have to do. There are some things on this list that are finished right away, like ‘laundry’ or ‘buy OJ’, and there are some things that take a little longer, like ‘finish writing novel.’ That one, I just checked off. But there are some things that will never get checked off the list. For me, it’s ‘Fix Clock’. (Long story short: When I was moving in to my apartment, I have a clock that broke, that I should get fixed and haven’t. The End.) I could write something poetic about time having stopped, but it didn’t, because it’s been almost a year since this occurred.
Which means it’s been almost a year since I moved to Los Angeles.
I look at my life a year ago versus now, and from the outside, it has changed pretty drastically with pacific coastal living. I’ve changed jobs (again!), and started driving regularly – and swearing at other drivers, as is natural. I have a whole new pack of friends, I haven’t had to wear a winter coat since early 2009, and have actually gone hiking voluntarily. These are things New York Me would not be doing.
But here’s the thing: New York Me and LA Me aren’t that different. LA Me still loves to write books. LA Me still has eggs and turkey bacon for breakfast. (LA Me also still has to go back into her apt one last time to make sure she turned off the stove…) LA Me still wants to have brunch on Sunday with her New York girls. LA Me still wears laceless chucks as her go-to shoe. And New York me would, dollars to donuts, not have that clock fixed yet, either.
Which is kind of comforting.
Turned in the book this week, so I’m giving myself a short break from writing. Extremely short, because I have a couple of ideas I want to explore, that need to be jotted down…
As always, Happy Reading!
Posted in Future books, Los Angeles, New York, Writer's life | No Comments »
Sunday, June 6th, 2010
I have been MIA for the last couple weeks, because I’ve been pushing hard trying to get through this draft of the next book, and I’m happy to say that as of this past week, I wrote The End on the page! To be realistic – this isn’t ‘the end’ per se, I still have a little time before deadline, and will be doing a massive read through, but it still feels so damn good to have gotten a (hopefully) coherent story on the page.
But since I’ve been out of it so long, I feel the need to recap things that have happened in the intervening time. So, here’s what’s been going on in the world, in no particular order of seriousness or global impact.
1. The Gulf is an Oil Slick.
As I look at pictures of baby ducks covered in oil, I have never been happier that I drive a hybrid. Now, can we please plug this leak? Please?
2. So You Think You Can Dance is back on!
I love you Adam Shankman! I even saw Step Up 2: The Streets! In the theater!
3. The Summer of You is now available on Kindle.
I don’t know when this happened. I was likely drunk at the time. Previously, my publishing house (Berkley Sensation, which is a division of Penguin) has been in a dispute with Amazon regard ebook price points. This happens so far above my level that I have very little knowledge of what occurred, but I can certainly see both sides of the argument. However, it did delay the release of new books from my house to Kindle. But now that’s all taken care of! Yay!
4. Summer Movies!
Ok, I have not actually been to the movies in a couple weeks, but I did see Iron Man 2 and Robin Hood (ok and meh, in that order). I’m really looking forward to Inception, and Toy Story 3, and maybe Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. (I’m just wondering what Michael Cera’s schtick will turn into in a decade.)
5. I’m gonna be in Turkey!
Not physically. But I have sold foreign rights to Compromised, Revealed, and The Summer of You in Turkey! This marks the third language I’ll be in, after English (duh) and Russian.
I’m sure a million other things occurred (I know Lost ended, but I don’t watch it, so I didn’t care) but this is all I’ve got off the top of my head. This week – I will not be writing for once! I will be instead, revising! And, oh, maybe I’ll read a book or two… how exciting…
It’s the little things, really.
Happy Reading!
Posted in Books, Compromised, Revealed, TV & Movies, The Summer of You, Writer's life | No Comments »
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