QueryTrackers Making Tracks, #9

Today is installment number nine of my Friday series on successful authors from QueryTracker. Some of my guests have agents, others have found success in less conventional ways. But one thing they all have in common is the utilization of the QueryTracker website to help make their tracks in the publishing world.

Today’s guest, Kaylie Austen (KAusten to us QTers), is not only a prolific writer (it's rumored she can whip out 6-10k words a day--WOW), she also managed to land an editor without an agent. Amazingly, this same publishing house (kNight Romance Publishing--e-books and trade paperbacks) only accepts agented authors now. So, the lady also has really FANTASTIC timing. ;)

Welcome Kaylie!

Kaylie: Thanks for having me! I feel so honored.

AGH: And I'm honored to have you here. Seeing as you're about to be sitting happily on the shelves, you have a lot you can teach those of us still climbing our way up. I'm very excited to pick that prolific brain of yours. For starters, how many books had you written before you found your publisher?

Kaylie: Two poorly written sci-fi books. They had interesting concepts, but bad writing. I've learned a lot about writing since.

AGH: When was your first book accepted, and what is its title/genre?
             
Kaylie: Ravens was picked up last summer. It's a YA urban fantasy (with a smidge of sci-fi and romance). Ravens are those who are sought out by portals and dragged into a parallel dimension where they acquire superhuman powers. The have white eyes and black sclera, an uncanny look which earns them the name Ravens. Liam and Julie vanished 10 years ago, and Liam's illusions haunt Kendra. When she moves closer to the brink of sanity, he appears through his telepathic ability and coerces her into the portal. She is the last human to portal into a world where Ravens are hunted by humans. Kendra has ill-controlled powers, is trapped in a torrid affair with Liam, and desperately struggles to find a grip on her new reality.

AGH: Sounds like my kind of read! ;) Did you try querying the book first?
             
Kaylie: I queried Ravens for several months. I had a few bites from agents and publishers, but mainly rejections. As soon as I found a publisher who offered a contract, I accepted.

AGH: It's so wonderful that you found a home! How many books do you now have available to the reading public?
             
Kaylie: Ravens will be my debut novel, but I am contracted for three other series in the upcoming years in the genres of YA fantasy, sci-fi, and dark fantasy.

AGH: Wow. That's an amazing line up. Congrats! Are there any marketing tips you’d like to share for others who are venturing out into publishing?
             
Kaylie: Do your homework to see where your novel will find the best exposure. Large publishing houses have entire marketing teams, and trade publishers have small marketing teams. All I have to do is say is that I'd like to go here or there, and the team will try to set up a signing or appearance. They send out ARC's to reviewers, and work out business with bookstores. I've been known to approach local libraries and grocery stores to ask if they'd like to carry my work. If you do this, check with your publisher first. They might have a deal going already and don't want their authors doing the leg work.

My publishing house actually prefers that their authors concentrate on writing and they'll handle marketing, which was new to me. I've also gone after radio stations. Definitely look for free advertising like interviews, social networks, and sites which cater to your genre. Take advantage of connections. I know several business owners who are willing to put my books out in their stores, coffee shops, bakeries, and other businesses.

AGH: What books / authors have most influenced you (either in your writing or in your publishing decisions)?
             
Kaylie: I like almost anything that is fantasy or sci-fi, so I set out to look at publishers who are big in those genres.

AGH: How did you find QueryTracker, and how did it help you in your effort to get inside the publishing doors?
             
Kaylie: I don't remember how I came across QT! But I'm glad that I did. I enjoy the community, the positive and informative feedback, and the new connections. It's good for new writers to learn about the experiences of others, no matter how long it took them to find writing success. It's very up building when QT'ers cheer you on and help you to keep going. Likewise, it's beneficial to learn about their struggles. You realize that you are not the only one who has difficulties. Actually, a friend from QT pointed me toward my publisher.

AGH: That's a really great friend. What advice on the business side of publishing would you give to up and coming writers … something you wish you’d known when you first started?
            
Kaylie: Read and research. Know the craft, know how to edit, find a critique partner to catch what you've missed. This saves your butt from a major spanking when the pro's are editing your manscript. Research the market, know what goes into contracts and rights, and get thick skin! This is a business. We may find friends along the way, but the publishing world wants quality books that make money, and they are not afraid to tell you what they expect from a writer. Being a writer is hard work even after the contract. You have to dedicate a lot of time and energy into your work including edits and marketing.

As you know, it's not as easy as people expect it to be.Take deadlines seriously, and don't do a half-butt job because you're busy, lazy, tired, or just stumped. If you truly want to be a published writer, consider it a career and not a hobby, but always remember that you do it because it's a passion, a skill, and you have a story to tell.

AGH: So true. Writers really have to be in it for the long haul. Do you have any current news to announce? A new book or books you’re working on?
             
Kaylie: Ravens will release in paperback and eBook on June 11, 2011 at local bookstores.

Currently, I have multiple projects that I'm working on. The release of Ravens will be followed by a YA fantasy series where mermaids and other mythological creatures destroy mankind and take over the world. This is a two-book series. There's been a lot of hype about my zombie mermaid joke prompted by the arrival of the Lady Washington (featured in The Pirates of the Caribbean). I didn't give in to turning my mermaids into zombies, but I started a different YA dark fantasy about mermaids, the secret of Atlantis, and zombies--err--sirens (who just happen to enjoy a succulent human or two). This is my "just for fun novel', but maybe it'll get picked up. Who knows?

Also, I'm working on a different YA dark fantasy which incorporates Egyptian mythology. This was sparked by all those History Channel documentaries (because I'm a nerd), and oddly enough, the TV series Vampire Diaries. Instead of vampire brothers, I use immortal Egyptian "gods" who are after something important that has fallen into the lap of an Egyptologist's daughter.

**Five for fun**

AGH: Which would you rather do: carry an umbrella or sing in the rain?
                              
Kaylie: Carry an umbrella! However, I live in the rainy state and no one carries an umbrella. They just wear hoodies, hats, or get wet. No thank you, I don't like getting rained on, plus I can't sing.

AGH: What’s your favorite breakfast?
                              
Kaylie: New Orleans French Quarter-Cafe Du Monde. A simple cup of cafe au lait, and a side of beignets (French powdered donuts). I'm literally moving there for this!

Are you Team Dog or Team Cat?
                              
Kaylie: Team dog. Cats are cute, but they're so independent and sometimes cranky. Dogs love attention and they are always excited to see you.

AGH: What would I find in your refrigerator right now?
                              
Kaylie: Lots of veggies and fruits, juices, and an assortment of cheeses. Oh, and Mike's Hard Mango Punch! Which I didn't know they made until it mysteriously showed up in my fridge.

AGH: If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
                           
Kaylie: The same as my characters in Ravens: Agility, superhuman strength, hyper-regenerative healing, heightened senses, telepathy, and the ability to fly.


Kaylie: Thanks so much for having me! This was really fun, and I hope to get to do it again! For anyone who's interested, you can become a member on my website www.kaylieausten.com and read about all of my projects as they come out; read my rants on www.kaylieausten.blogspot.com; follow my randomness on Twitter @kaylieausten, or friend me on Facebook www.facebook.com/kaylieausten. I look forward to hearing from you.

~~~

And thank you for the interview, Kaylie! That book cover is lovely. I'll bet you're looking forward to holding it in your hands. J And after seeing the kinds of food you keep in your fridge, no wonder you have enough energy to write so many words each day! I need to start eating more veggies. ;)

Congrats on all of your successes so far, and I wish you much luck and happiness on the rest of your writing journey! If anyone would like to show your support or ask Kaylie a question, please leave a comment below. I know she would love to hear from you.

I hope to see everyone next Wednesday on my new weekly blogging day. Until then, have a wonderful, safe, and relaxing weekend.

Writing Wednesday-meme and award COMBO

I'd been planning to partake in Lori M. Lee's brilliant Writing Wednesday-meme for several weeks now, and since I've been bestowed The Versatile Blogger award again, along with The Irresistably Sweet Blog award, I've decided to incorporate an improvised version of the meme into this post. 

Yes, I'm changing the rules of these particular blog awards, folks! Or, at least giving the recipients the choices between ye ol' rules, and some shiny new ones. I'm a rebel, what can I say? ;)

So, off we go!

Thank you, Caitlin Vincent

Bequeathed to:

Lea Zeqiri

Liesl

Taryn Tyler

Brenda St. John Brown

Marigold Lott

The original rules:

1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
2. Share seven random facts about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 5 deserving blogging buddies.
4. Contact those buddies to congratulate them

OR

My new rules...

Replace #2 above with this improvised meme from Lori's post: List the first and last lines of the first five chapters from one of your manuscripts. Can you see a story taking shape? Does it intrigue and intensify, making you want to read what's between?

I chose chapter snippets taken from my historical literary love story, Forgotten Silences (think Jane Eyre meets A Certain Slant of Light) with a unique love triangle between a deaf woman, the ghost that only she can see and hear, and a dark and mysterious viscount tied to the ghost's death.

Chap 1:

Melancholy ... melody; separate words, separate meanings, united by a memory pressed upon my heart.

Taking a breath of cold air, I opened the door and crossed the threshold, alone.

Chap 2:

In my youth, a spot of hot chocolate savored in tandem with a cranberry crumpet could evaporate the rain from the soggiest afternoon.

Then, using the grosgrain ribbon for protection, I picked up the flower, grabbed my lantern, and scrambled along the path and into my home, locking the door behind me.

Chap 3:

It took me half of the hour to plant the blossom, as I wore thick gloves to avoid getting pricked by its stem or touching the poisonous pollen within the raised cone.

“Either I am having a vivid hallucination, Sir, or you are a ghost.”

Chap 4:

I did not have to be a lip-reader to analyze the skepticism within his expression.

Then, as I clasped the chain around my neck and the locket fell between my breasts beneath the throw, my ghostly companion reappeared … this time to stay.

Chap 5:

Morning broke with a reluctant sunrise.

How could anyone withstand the vision of their own grave, knowing what lay beneath the dirt?


 Next:

Thank you, Cherie and Lisa Ann

Bequeathed to:

Lani Woodland

 Stephanie Alexander

Jamie Handling

 Sylvia Ney

 Rene Nightingale

And along with the strawberry goodness comes these original rules:

1. Thank and link to the person who nominated me.
2. Share seven random facts about myself.
3. Pass the award to 15 blogging friends.
4. Contact the winners to congratulate them.

OR

The new rules...

Replace #2 with: List three of your favorite sentences from a WIP or finished MS. 

And, in the interest of time, you can be creative with #3 and pass the award to as few as five friends.


My favorite three lines (from the same MS as above):

1. Winter had settled in her heart, and was freezing her from the inside out.

2. Yet I could not shake the foreboding sense that each page turned would be another ribbon snipped away from Pandora’s box of beautiful misery.

3. Flames of fear have crisped the memory to a nightmare, which snows like ash over my dreams.

 ~~~

Congrats, nominees! By now I've contacted you. I hope you enjoy the award. You earned it!**

On Friday, my QueryTrackers successful author interview will be with Kaylie Austen. Kaylie's story is atypical in that she's found a trade publisher sans an agent. She has several new books coming out in the near future, so be sure to drop by and congratulate her!

**Award winners: Please don't feel obligated to post the award or partake in the rules unless you're so inclined. The gesture on my part is like a thank you card, and I don't expect everyone to save their cards unless they want to. We all have our own decorating tastes and expectations for our "online home." But, if you choose to post it, here are some helpful hints:

Right click on the picture here and "save picture as." From your dashboard go into 'design' and 'add a gadget' and download the picture.

Laughter is the Best Medicine Blogfest

Click  for a list of other blogs participating in this blogfest.

Yes, I know! I said I was only going to blog on Wednesday and Friday this week, but I already had a commitment (albeit a fun one!) to my blogger pal Leigh at That's Write for her laughter blogfest.  Lydia Kang of The Word is My Oyster is her cohort in this endeavor.


If you haven't visited Leigh's blog yet, please pop by. A couple of weeks ago, at my First Bi-Annual Wonderland Bloggy Awards, she was a recipient of the Instrumental Blog award for being instrumental in helping others navigate the choppy and murky waters of both publishing and public image. I'm not very familiar with Lydia's blog, but after visiting today, I've found it's lovely and informative, so I'll be following her now, too.

Now, without further adieu, here's my writer's joke for the day (then we'll get back to my regularly scheduled writing haitus).  ;)

A linguistics professor was lecturing to a writing class one day . "In English," he said, "a double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."

A voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right."

Heh. I lurv me some sarcasm.

And my own contribution (because I stink at writing jokes but rock at lists) in true Jeff Foxworthy redneck form:

You might be a writer if...

•Your idea of exercise is “running" to Office Depot to stock up on paper and ink.   
•Your car’s navigational system has a special alarm to alert you of approaching coffee shops with wireless internet.   
•Your quiet walk through the woods is preempted by an argument between two colorful characters when there’s no one else around. 
•Your idea of getting out and “bird-watching” is sitting in the mall and eavesdropping on other people’s private conversations so you can polish up a rough stretch of dialogue in your latest WIP. 
•You consider it a good night’s sleep when your head falls to the keyboard without hitting the delete key and erasing a two-thousand word scene. 

Okay, I LIED *evil giggle*. I'm not closing this blog post until I share a link from Agent Goddess's blog from a few years back that I stumbled upon recently. It's fitting for today, since laughter inspires us to feel better. Something else that inspires writers are stories of other writers overcoming adversity and rejection after rejection before finally scoring that win.

By now, most of us have heard about a little book called Prada & Prejudice. The book's author, Mandy Hubbard, did a guest post on my agent's blog back in 2009. At the time she was interning for Jenny when she sold the book. Jenny asked Mandy to share her tumultuous path to publication, and how she and her awesome agent never gave up. Here's the link. Hope it inspires you as much as it does me.

And don't forget to jump over and get a list of blogs to visit today so you can enjoy more writer's jokes and meet some great new bloggers in the process.

Have a FABULOUS Monday, everyone!

QueryTrackers Making Tracks, #8

This is the eighth installment of my Friday series on successful authors from QueryTracker. Some of my guests have agents, others have found success in less conventional ways. But one thing they all have in common is the utilization of the QueryTracker website to help make their tracks in the publishing world.

Today’s guest, Beth Cato, had two offers before signing with agent  Rebecca Strauss of McIntosh & Otis, Inc.  You can find the details in her QueryTracker success interview.

Welcome Beth!

 BC: First of all, thanks for inviting me here today! I truly appreciate it.

 AGH: Absolutely my pleasure. Let’s start off with what genre(s) you write.

BC:  I mostly write fantasy and science fiction, but I dabble in literary short fiction and have had several poems published. My non-fiction stories can be found in a number of Chicken Soup for the Soul books. However, fantasy is my greatest love.

AGH: Interesting about the Chicken Soup stories. When I first read your interview on QT, I thought your name sounded familiar. Maybe that’s why? So, could you give us a quick summary of the book which snagged your agent?

BC: Sure! When goody-two-shoes healer Celeste Reed wakes up to find her superpower is gone, she turns to the government for help so she can get back to work ASAP. Things take a sordid turn when she discovers she's been their unwitting guinea pig all along, and that a mysterious terrorist is taking advantage of other test subjects like her. Lives on the line in her city? Not on Celeste's watch.

AGH: That’s an original premise, losing a superpower instead of gaining one unwittingly. How long did you query, and what were your stats?

BC: I sent out 22 queries, and had one partial requested at a conference. Agents then requested five partials and three fulls. I started querying at the end of January and had two offers in mid-March, which still flabbergasts me. I expected to be at it another six months. I bought a full membership at QueryTracker two days before I had "the Email" about setting up a phone call. I ended up having two offers, which is awesome and terrifying all at once.

AGH: That’s very exciting! I understand what you mean about the fear. You want to know you’re choosing the right agent for you. Back to your book, what inspired your idea?

BC: A dream. The basic concept for the novel was told to me in voice-over, with one brief scene that followed. That scene is still in the book, too.

AGH: That’s so cool! Some of the best books get born through dreams. How did you come up with the title?

BC: The title emerged the very next day as I jotted down detailed notes on the dream and the expanding idea for a book. Since the story is about a super-powered character becoming normal, the word "Normal" seemed a natural fit as a working title. It also fits a theme where Celeste's version of "normal" is constantly challenged. Her entire life, she could never touch people bare-skinned without being compelled to heal them. Then her power is gone. Staying conscious while touching people is something foreign and frightening for her.

AGH: Hmm. That could make for some good tension between Celeste and the other characters. J Before you signed with your agent, how many previous books had you tried to query?

BC: Two, but I gave up on the querying process very fast. Probably a good thing, as those books are horrendously flawed.

AGH: What books / authors have most influenced your own style and concepts?

BC: I had a hard time finding Celeste's voice. C. E. Murphy's Walker Papers series taught me all about urban fantasy pacing and voice. Some of my other influences include Elizabeth Moon and Mary Doria Russell.

AGH: Have you recently learned anything about the business side of publishing that you can share with up and coming writers, something you wish you’d known in the beginning?

BC: You have to market yourself from the time you even consider writing a book. I did a few things right--like I had my website set up before I had a single short story sale--but I had no idea how much marketing and publicity is handled by the author. One of my agent-siblings recommended a book for me to read, BOOK LIFE by Jeff VanderMeer. It's all about balancing public and private worlds as an author, and how to market yourself. A lot of the material in there was all new to me.

AGH: Wow, thanks for the rec! So, are you involved in any new projects you can tell us about?

BC: I'm revising a novel that's the start of a different urban fantasy series.  It's an homage to the old school RPGs I loved growing up, like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. It features two middle-aged adults who are thrown together and realize that their favorite childhood role-playing game is really an instruction manual on how they're supposed to save the world from an invasion of parasitic dragons. I'm also outlining sequels for NORMAL and writing short stories. Plenty to keep me busy!

AGH: Speaking of busy, you mentioned you already have a website up and running. Could you share that link with us so we can follow your journey to the shelves (and beyond--J)?

BC: My web site is http://www.bethcato.com and my blog can be found at http://celestialgldfsh.livejournal.com.

**Five for fun**

AGH: Which would you rather do: carry an umbrella or sing in the rain?

BC: Oh, carry an umbrella. I hate for my face to get wet! This presented a constant challenge when I lived near Seattle for a few years.

AGH: Are you Team Dog or Team Cat?

BC: Team Cat all the way. I've always had cats around. My two fat tabbies are named Palom and Porom; Porom is snoring under my desk right now.

AGH: If I were at your house right now, what would I find in your refrigerator?

BC: A whole chicken that's leaking onto a plate, milk, soy milk for my son, OJ and Diet Pepsi for my husband, and a whole lot of strawberries and grapes. Oh, and I can't forget my Mountain Dew. I have one can a day.

AGH: When would you go to if you had a time machine, and why?

BC: I'd want to go all over the place. I love history, and it'd be amazing to see it with my own eyes. This is probably a very unusual answer, but I would love to see my home region of Central California before widespread settlement. It's a beautiful place, but consists of farms and orchards; the old grasslands and marshes are gone. A 70-mile long lake no longer exists. I would love to do a true compare and contrast and see what has changed in 150 years.

AGH: What would be the first thing you would do if you woke up to find you were a fish?

BC: Get in water, fast! Then I'd go and take out Nazi submarines, like Don Knott's did in my old favorite movie The Incredible Mr. Limpet. If I could talk to people, I'd try and find a way to change back. If that failed and this was the modern era... well, I'd find some way to be useful and avoid being someone's dinner.

BC: Thanks again!

~~~

And thank you for the interview, Beth! That’s so funny you’d say that about Mr. Limpet. That was my all-time favorite Don Knott’s movie. I always thought he had the perfect face for a fish (and I mean that in the nicest possible way). J

Don’t forget to visit Beth’s website and blog to stay abreast of news and announcements. Also, you're welcome to leave her questions, comments, and kudos below.

Congrats, Beth, on all of your successes so far, and I wish you much luck and happiness on the rest of your writing journey!

Everyone else, I hope to see you next Wednesday on my new weekly blogging day. Until then, have a wonderful, safe, and relaxing weekend.

Finding my Zen...

I've learned something about myself as I've been out of pocket healing from surgery.

I'm totally unbalanced.

I don't mean mentally. (Well, maybe a little. But aren't we all? We wouldn't be writers without those voices in our heads.)

What I'm referring to is my inability lately to balance my writing schedule. I used to put out 2K words a day. When I had a part time job even. I could write a book in six months. But since I left my first agent back in December and signed with a new one, I’ve only written 7K new words. In FIVE months. That’s it. And every single word was work.

Writing didn't used to be work for me. It used to be a passion. But now I'm spending that passion and creativity on posts, blogging, and interviews, etc... instead of doing what I'm hoping to one day be paid to do.

Donald Maass, literary agent extraordinaire, said in this interview: "Promotion and “platform” are much bigger considerations for nonfiction authors. Novelists starting out need to put their focus on great stories. All the blogging in the world won’t build an audience if your fiction is weak. The best promotion in the world is a strong second novel, followed by an even better third novel. But, hey, let’s assume your fiction is superb. You never write a weak novel. (That’s you, right?) Okay, how much effort to put into online promotion? Remember that promotion is cumulative. The effect of any promotion on sales of an individual title is going to be small. If you are a self-promoter you’ve got to commit to it for the long haul."

If I'm going to be in this for the long haul, I'm going to have to ease off the gas pedal a little or I'll end up stranded in the middle of nowhere with an empty tank and a blank screen.

You guys are just way too charming and fun, and I'd rather hang out here in the blogasphere with you than buckle down and work on my writing. And you AMAZE me, how you can keep up with families, twitter, work, blog three or four times a week, and still get your writing in. But now that I've had a little time off from the internet, I'm realizing that's just not me.

So, I've decided that after the month of May, I’m only going to do my QueryTracker interviews one Friday a month. And I’m only going to post on my blog once a week (I'm thinking maybe Wednesdays). But I promise not to abandon any of you! I will still visit blogs. I'll just have to limit that to once a week, too. ;)

It's time to find my writer's zen again. And this is the way to get there for me.

I'm curious ... am I the only one who's been struggling to manage my time? Or are there others out there?*

I'd love to hear about it so I don't feel so completely inadequate.

And a heads up: this week, my QueryTracker Friday interview will be with Beth Cato, one of my Stylish award nominees from Monday's post. We'll be discussing that snoring sound coming from under her desk, and her urban fantasy NORMAL, which really isn't so normal, after all. ;)

*Kalen, you are officially exempt from the above question since you already showed your superman colors in this previous post on your blog. Heh.

Why my MC is way cooler than me...

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! I'm feeling like a new girl after ridding myself of the ol' half-life gallbladder. And to make my weekend even better, I come back to the blogasphere to find I've been bequeathed the Stylish Blogger Award again, this time by Jessica LeSaicherre, Kaya Koban, and Mandie Baxter. Thank you, lovely and generous ladies!

Along with this award comes a few responsibilities.

1. Thank and link to the person(s) who nominated you.
2. Share seven random facts about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to five blogging buddies.
4. Contact those buddies to congratulate them.

I'll get to steps 3 and 4 later. First, number 2. As fate would have it, I was planning to join in Ashley Graham's fun game of: 7 things you might find interesting about my MC, so I'm changing the rules just a bit. After all, my MC is sooo much more eccentric and intriguing than me.

So here are 7 random facts about Alyssa Gardner, my heroine from SPLINTERED. And, taking a cue from Ashley, I'm adding some visual aids. ;)

1. Alyssa's been blessed, or cursed, with the power to talk to bugs and hear their whispers, the very thing that sent her mother to the asylum. So to keep herself from going crazy, she does the only thing she can to silence them: capture and smother them in bug traps. But, being a frugal and artistic gal, she doesn't waste the corpses ... she preserves them and uses them in her mosaics. Needless to say, the girl's not squeamish.

2. Since Alyssa can hear bugs, she can also hear them scream when captured by a cat or dog and chomped to death. So, in place of a traditional domestic pet, she opts for eels. In her words:  "They’re elegant and mystical, and use a shock organ to stun their prey. It’s a quiet and dignified death, like the bugs dying by asphyxiation in my traps." Oh, and their names are  Aphrodite and Adonis. Romantic, right? *shudder*

3. Alyssa's father is frugal, too. He bought her a used Gremlin for her sixteenth birthday and named it Gizmo after the cute little creature from the eighties movie (which he took Al's mother to on their first date).

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_Gremlin

4. For exercise, Alyssa likes to skateboard, but she has a deathly fear of heights. She's always trying to get up the nerve for stunts, but her phobia keeps holding her back.

 5. Speaking of phobias, Alyssa has another debilitating one: the fear of being constrained. This formed early in her childhood, after seeing her mother bound in straitjackets and drugged out of her mind.

6. Alyssa won't leave the house without wearing a pair of fingerless gloves. It's more than a fashion statement. She has scars on her palms that she wants to keep hidden. The way they came about is too weird and humiliating to share with anyone, especially her friends.

7. Though Alyssa's heart belongs to her best friend and secret crush Jebediah, she is inexplicably drawn to the hero from the 90's movie The Crow. Sometimes when she's looking at the poster, the hero seems familiar somehow, like he's the only one who really understands her. Her words: "The emo guy looks back at me, his eyes bleeding black tears like he knows my pain, intimately. Something about him comforts me and I have a weird longing to be in his arms—wrapped up in leather." Well, you know what they say about being careful what you wish for, Luv. 

  

Okay, so that's some of what makes Alyssa tick (thank you Ashley for the excellent idea!).

Moving on to steps 3 and 4 ...

I bequeath the Stylish Blogger Award to four of my pals from LiveJournal, ye old blogging haunt, and to one of our fellow bloggers here on blogspot:

1. Beth Cato

2. Pat Esden

3.Stephanie Denise Brown

4. Terri Coppersmith

5.Tina Moss

Congrats, nominees! By now I've contacted you. I hope you enjoy the award. You earned it! 

And to everyone else, have a wonderful Monday. :)

Award winners: In case you're techno-challenged like me, you can post your award on your blog, just right click on the picture here and "save picture as." If you're on blogger, from your dashboard go into 'design' and 'add a gadget' and download the picture. I'm not sure what the process is for LJ; might take some investigating. ;)

Mother's Are The Gardeners

Mothers are the gardeners
Of wind-blown wild flowers.
They water them with happy tears,
Happy with them many years,
Even as the hours
Ring with sweet, sad melodies
Sighing through their bowers.

~Nicholas Gorden