christmas post

i hope everyone had a merry christmas. i didn't post on christmas for one reason: i have a lot of family. i love blogging, writing, journaling, creating characters and everything, but sometimes, you have to stop doing a solitary project and look up. look up at the people around you...if for no other reason than to observe and stumble upon your next story. but it's more than that for me...i used to live in california (a place my sweet husband adores for the weather)...and we constantly go back and forth with each other about which is better: tennessee or california. we never change each other's minds, even though he was actually born here in nashville, and i was born right outside of los angeles. funny huh? but i grew up here, and i have a ton ton ton of family. most of his is in kentucky, so he didn't experience the growing up surrounded by 40+ family members.

anyway, the point is, i am so thrilled to be a writer and to be able to write whenever i get inspired. and i'm thankful that my husband is supporting my love and that he believes in me enough to let me do it full time. but i write all the time. and writing is a lone process. (i'll write another post on that). what i don't get to do is be in a room with people that share my dna, however much. see them, play with their babies, hug them, ask them what's new, play games, eat, be merry with them. everyone has such separate lives no matter how close we live. it's the way of the world. we are supposed to do that. and i wouldn't want it any other way. because we bring so much to the table when we are together during the holidays. so many stories, so many accomplishments.

and every year, we see how much the others have grown up, changed, moved forward. last year, my sweet cousin grace hadn't even spilled the "i'm pregnant" beans yet, even when i asked her point blank if she was trying soon..:) and this year, she has a healthy preemie baby named lyla (after our late great grandmother). that's just one example in a line of many.

like i said, posting is so important to me. i love my blog. i love that you read it. but, i have to lift my head every once in a while, keep my computers, books, and journals shut...my pen down in order to take the blessings in. and i did. and i'm full of joy and gratitude. the Lord is so so good.

this next year (another post as well) is going to be great. absolutely great. catch ya later. and merry be-lated christmas from the huffs/andersons/revelettes.

ps. my full name (if i had kept my original middle name after i got married) is

  ashlyne anderson huff revelette

all i can think about when i see all those is how i would fill in all those bubbles for standardized test. impossible right?

new family members

the day before, we were a three. 

we've had a lot going on this past year...our first anniversary, my writing in its many stages, new restaurants (and 2 more coming in the next year and a half), we went through the process of buying a house a few weeks ago--which we do as real estate agents all the time, but this was for us--but then had to let go of once we figured out the house wasn't in as good of shape as we had hoped. :( as if all this wasn't enough...we got another dog.

the scene of the crime.

maddie posing with her to send a picture to mason. 

this was BEFORE the hair being done..sorry for the bun. 

 yep! we did! i walked in historic downtown franklin (which you totally need to do if you ever visit nashville) with my sister maddie to our hair appointments on main street. the way we came out of the parking garage led us to the franklin square, and wouldn't ya know there were two tents set up with doggies up for adoption. normally, i look, squeal a little, and move on, knowing my charlie would disown me if i even dared bring another dog into the house. but mason and i had been talking about getting another dog--beagle sized or so--at some point. we either wanted to wait until our future first child (not, this is not that kind of announcement post) turned two or do it now, before we have any impending children on the way. one puppy/child at a time please. so, needless to say, this wasn't one of those times we oooed & cooed and scurried along. our hair dresser was running behind (it was the saturday before christmas) so we had some time to kill. it was a rare 65-degree december afternoon, so we spent it outside, and we back to the dogs. i took a picture of a couple, sent them to my husband, and he was hooked.

how do i know? he drove all the way from one traffic central 25-30 minutes to another to see these dogs. he hasn't come down to downtown franklin in forever for a reason! it's pretty far out of the way for folks living closer to downtown nashville. so, when he showed up...i knew we were adopting a dog. 

her name was sparkles, but we quickly renamed her to NASH. she's a mutt, but guess what we know she has in her? some beagle and some dachshund. she has a beautiful short coat and long little legs, and according to my uncle (who is a vet), she probably won't get that much bigger since she's already 5-6 months old.


my biggest fear was charlie. how would he react? would he flip out like he does on our walks around the neighborhood, alpha-male-ing everything in sight?

their first meet. check out charlie's hesitation. 

we introduced them on neutral ground (thanks to my uncle and nash's foster mom for that tip), and i was sooooo nervous. but it was fine! hallelujah! it wasn't like a family reunion or anything, but he didn't freak out on her. and bonus: she slept through the night!

so now, i'm on day two...and i'm exhausted. two big personalities, one puppy, one i need to remember to show i love him and i'll never forget my firstborn dog...holy moly. charlie is tolerated and getting used to her, but he's not chummy.

and nash is clumsy, teething, chewing on my hair, learning how to be led by a leash (first timer) and constantly whining, but we don't know exactly why when half the time it's when she's completely preoccupied.

in uncle jordan's lap.

coexisting.

he immediately got in his bag for as long as possible.

how charlie looked at me all last night. fire eyes.

crate training. she actually likes it. 

drunk on h20. i have to give it to her...she sleeps hard.

still gotta show my little man i how much i love him. 

currently reading: eleanor & park

eleanor & park  by rainbow rowell

in my pursuit to immerse myself into the Y.A. genre, i have really taken to miss rowell's stuff. she is really really good at capturing the voice of a young adult. in  fangirl  she is a girl starting her first semester of freshman year in college. in this one, she takes on the voices of both a girl and a boy (16). that's difficult, since girls and boys are usually in totally different mindsets at any given age. but i'm telling you, i buy it. eleanor & park takes you back and forth from, you guessed it, eleanor's view and park's view of the same life in nebraska.  they go to the same school, ride the same bus, and yet, they lead two totally separate lives. i love how miss rowell shows you little pieces of their backgrounds all throughout the book, rather than giving it all on the first couple pages. you keep learning about the characters as they get put into the situations. as someone who is trying to get into this genre, i give it two thumbs up. shoot, i even liked it for myself because there were some serious 80s throwbacks--the story is set in 1986. 

that brings me to my next point: i can really tell that she wrote what she knew. i was only 1 when this book took place (if even that),  but i didn't feel like i was out of the loop when it came to references. there were enough context clues for me to figure out any i didn't get. and i actually felt compelled to research a couple of them! little history lesson in pop culture never hurt anybody! 

as i start writing more in the Y.A. realm, i am going to take a note from this genius from nebraska. i am going to write from not only where i know, but also when i know. i know high school from 2000-2004. i lived it for 8 hours a dayyyyy. i think it would be silly for me to believe i could do any justice to a high school setting now, unless i sat in the classes for an entire year...and even then, i don't think like a high schooler now (can't un-ring a bell or perspective) so all the petty stuff would be brushed off immediately! 

thanks, rainbow.thanks a heap. i love your stories. 

love, ashlyne 

vacations...

i've been on vacations before. lots of them in my 28 years. but i just realized that vacations are totally different now. ever since i decided to be a writer, that i wanted to spend hours and hours crafting and creating lives of fictitious characters (sounds kind of lame when i put it like that...but it's not i swear) down to every detail...vacations some how shifted.

now you're wondering, what could i possibly mean? and how could vacations have anything to do with writing? well, let me give you an example of a before and after using the trip i just got back from.

mason, my mother-in-law, and i went to palm beach (their favorite) for about six days. i was sold on the 82 degree weather. i had a deadline to meet while i was there. it was sort of self-imposed, but that's how i like it sometimes (otherwise, there's always a reason not to finish). anyway, it was a wonderful trip.

pre-writer vacation: all i thought about was getting a sun tan. i would go out as early as possible, lather myself with spf, and stay out all day. reading novels, listening to music, going on walks along the beach...all until it started getting cold. i would go in, shower, do a little dinner, and then fall asleep....all to do it again the next day.

this trip: i still wanted to get a little tan considering i really skipped that whole scene in the summer. i started to look see-through (and some people look really good without a tan...homegirl isn't one of them), but it was more about being strategic with my time. how can i get the best sun of the day and still have time to write before getting showered and ready for dinner? i was more concerned with my writing than relaxing. 'what's the point of a vacation if you're going to work the whole time' you say.  it's simple. i feel more able to get my writing done without a house to clean, a dog to walk, laundry to fold, dishes to put away, errands to run. on vacation, i am getting a vacation from the parts of my life that take my attention for most of the day.  oh, i did read a little YA fiction though (Eleanor & Park)


writers don't get vacations. they don't want them.

before our first dinner of the trip...and a few hours before i got sick alllllll night.

the breakers resort is ri.dic.u.lous.

writing/revising in the courtyard

croquet anyone? for you dancers out there, it was the best grass ever to do barrels and  leaps and tour jetes:)

post sun writing sesh

dinner at flaglers

a little italian

while they shopped, i wrote at the starbucks on worth avenue

my man and me on the beach

dinner. my husband couldn't be any more GQ. i'll never keep up.

a little sun and rainbow rowell (currently reading post to follow!)

bye bye palm beach

my favorite part. no really. ok not really.

trying to type the new edits in on the plane...not the easiest ever. 

and we're back in nashville. 

finding time in the day to be proud of yourself.

there's no time to do this. our culture, our society, doesn't let us take two seconds to look around at our accomplishments and be a little proud.

the desk in all it's cluttered glory

i don't know if that means making it out of high school alive, getting that masters degree, surviving a devastating blow to your confidence, moving on from a relationship that had you in its grips, breaking through a lifelong struggle of some sort. whatever it is, i'll bet you don't tell yourself "way to go" all that often.

because there's no time. you have to get moving to the next thing, the next big hump of your life. you have to keep up with the rest of the world. when i was graduating college, it was all about "getting a job, any job" because the recession was about to hit. a lot of people i knew stayed in college longer than they probably would have to hopefully skip the whole thing. i got a record deal in the worst possible time ever...the economy wasn't doing so hot but even before that, the record business was changing at a rapid speed. i didn't have to worry about a job, but the job i had was uncharted territory for everyone it felt like.

so i ducked my head and went through the next 3 years with determination driving the bus. i was going to make it through. (and then of course, i kept getting sick, which is another couple posts worth). but i accomplished a lot in those years, not only in music. the stuff you see is a music video or two, two albums, a couple tours, tv show spots, etc. but the stuff i can finally see now that it's been long enough is the overcoming of my biggest fears at the time, persevering through a lot of personal confidence issues, working sometimes for weeks without any breaks,  moving 3000 miles away from my beloved tennessee, finding myself, getting out of a realllllly bad relationship only to find my future husband standing right there. those three years got me more than some awesome memories and  life-long friends. i found me.

the piecemeal shoppe

and fast forward to me now...i'm sitting in my office right now, taking a break from a big edit of my novel--a novel was something i always wanted to write but never knew how i would even do--with my dog under my desk, the rain tapping on my window on a strange 66 degree december day (that's nashville), and i can see all the little things i've physically accumulated in my office. the drafts i've written, the books i've read, the pile of post-its i've used, the cup of pens i cherish, the other novels i've started, my little etsy shoppe in the corner, the pictures of my last year as a married woman.

i might not be a published author yet, but i am an accomplished person. i have survived this world so far, so i think i can keep on going...only maybe today, i start looking up every once in a while.

my mascot, charlie

 have a great day everyone.

ok so i'm a writer...how to find your sweet spot

i woke up at 4:45 because my tummy ached....worst feeling ever. i tried to go back to sleep for another hour, but at 5:45, i gave up and came downstairs. it was pitch black and cold outside (well, i didn't actually go out there, but it was cold inside, so i used my deductive reasoning). :) 

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i made myself some coffee, turned on the fire, lit the christmas tree, and started watching some netflix on my computer on the couch. safe haven was my choice...love julianne, a fellow huff (different spelling but we know we're the same). and of course, i love anything nick sparks. so it was a perfect movie. when i feel nauseous at all, i want to watch something sweet like disney or saved by the bell or a chick flick. my usual forensic thriller shows like law & order: svu just don't make the cut. 

so here, i'm sitting in light of the fire and tree with my headphones on so that i don't wake my husband (sound travels up our stairs in some weird ways), and i suddenly feel not only awake, but ready to work. 

if you know me at all, i'm the furthest thing from a morning person, so this was a shock. i fully intended on falling asleep on the couch once my belly stopped churning. or at the very least, watching the movie until it was over. 

i had brought down the manuscript with me (at the time, i thought it had been wishful thinking), so i pulled it up and started going. talk about a zone. i'm in the part of the manuscript where some of my big changes are going to start coming in, the ones that will hopefully make the story that much better...and i got right into it, taking notes, getting ideas, writing all over my manuscript. 

now, i'm taking a break to write this post: it's almost 8 am. husband and dog are still asleep...which is the cutest thing i've ever seen by the way. and i'm looking around at the same fire and tree...and a few vanilla candles i lit a couple hours ago...

this, ladies and gentleman, is my sweet spot. i had a run during the summer/early fall when i was waking up early to work. i remember loving it, but after i got sick with a stomach bug ...or maybe it was the sinus infection...either way! after i got sick, i got off my early riser train and slept my life away. 

it's almost like it takes a fluke to get me back into the morning game. like something silly and annoying has to wake me up early for me to actually do it. and then my body clock adjusts and we're golden. 

so how does this apply to you? are you in search of that time of day when you are at your best? when you aren't working on your other jobs' tasks, taking the dog for a walk before it gets dark, working out, making/eating meals...there always feels like there is more to do than just write...like it is a luxury, so it can wait. 

and maybe it can...or  maybe it can't. i will tell you that finding your sweet spot can make all the difference. i used to write all night, but then i would feel like i could never get started in the morning. when mason and i lived in LA, he would wake up at 5 something to get started on the stock market at 6am (9am eastern) while i would be dead dog tired until at least 9 because i was up all night long with ideas. that's no way to live...so i feel like this early early morning thing is good. i feel rested, and then i can go to sleep when my other half does. 

your sweet spot is all about you. most things in life shouldn't be...but this should. you can't be in two head spaces at once and write well. you can't be half in, half out. i don't have children yet, but i imagine it would be difficult to try to write some dialogue when they are coming in every 2 minutes with a question or request. so, knowing that you're wasting your effort and frustration, find this sweet spot, this time when you can write, and i mean write. when the chances are the slimmest that  no one will bother you. (i.e. 5:45am) it will make all the difference in the world. and if you are thinking you just don't have time and maybe the universe is trying to tell you that you aren't a real writer...you just haven't found that sweet spot yet. keep looking. keep writing. writers write. 

so, the moral to the story is that my tummy ache was a gift. i'm up, inspired, and working. and feeling like a write should...hungry to keep going. 

ok, so i'm a writer...how to go with the flow and change

this post isn't so much about accepting editorial criticism as it is about finding your place in the writing world. in music it was easy...i was pop. i danced, and country music, even though it was churned out of nashville like a factory,  did not have much room for a dancer. so i went to pop--my decision was kind of made for me. (i was always told i sounded like i was from the south though ironically...but that's another post and another "chicken or the egg" thing.)

as a fiction writer, it's not as easy. i am finding out that i may not be a new adult writer. and that mind sound like a big sad sigh to some out there...not that you're so attached to the particular genre but more because that means i might have to refocus my current book to a younger audience.

sounds like work. it is. but it feels like work i want to take on, work that will totally be worth it in the end.

so for the next couple weeks (aka the holiday season), i will be utilizing the time when the publishing industry takes a short break to make this thing sooooo freakin' good, even i don't know how to deal:) i'm smiling really big right now, trying not to laugh at myself. it's hard, because like i said in my last post, i don't take myself too seriously.

but i am super duper serious about making these changes. and i cannot wait to see what comes out! my mother-in-law and father-in-law are taking mase and me to florida soon, too, so i can get a whole lot done there!

happy thanksgiving! i'm thankful for you. and my family. and charlie. and my friends, who i consider to be family.

pumpkin pie is callin' my name. see ya. 

ok, so i'm a writer....:taking yourself too seriously

i take my work seriously, but not myself. i take my characters seriously--i actually care about them-- but not myself. i want to finish my manuscripts more than i want to accomplish anything...but i still don't take ashlyne too seriously. if you don't believe me, keep reading and beware of the picture. 

when people ask me what i do now, meaning "why aren't you still touring", i often don't know what to say right away. if i say i'm an author i feel like i'm implying that i am published, and my books are best-selling. extreme, i know, but that's how i feel sometimes. it's human nature to want to puff yourself up, but when you literally have no credits to your name, you can't even pretend. 

so i always hesitate and end up saying "i write" with a touch of nonchalance to it. that's real nonchalance though, not the fake kind that begs the other person to ask me more. i have no news, so i couldn't tell you anything else besides the fact that i've technically written two novels and songs to go with them. there's no more news. 

like i said, i take my actual work seriously, i get all giddy about it when i'm on the phone with certain people (like my agent, my grandmother, and lindsey). but i don't take myself seriously. i can't. i'm a married 28-year-old who found out what she loves to do more than anything else: write 300+ pages while i visit coffee shops and different cities or sit in my office at home with the fire going and my little darling yorkie charlie under my feet. listening to hans zimmer on pandora or itunes. 

how in the world could i be serious? i'm so happy about where i am right now, i have no time to be too serious about it. i won't be able to enjoy it! 

here to rescue all the serious-ians from their seriousness

and when i get cold, i wear onesies that are clearly not made for me. but when you're 5' 2'', you get to do these things. (look right)

funny story: i was talking with my agent sarah and then lindsey this past friday night, and we had a little bit of a breakthrough about my current novel and how to improve it vastly...and i'm sitting there in my space ship onesie pivoting in my chair like some old businessman. 

again, how could i begin to take myself seriously?

not possible. not possible. 

look, the bottom line is that you can't be a creator if you think your art is above other things in life, that it's so sacred that no one else should be able to offer constructive advice, that no changes should be made because it will lose it's integrity. it will only lose it if you let it become something you can't stand behind. the simple act of changing (or dare i say improving) will not do anything but lead it in a place you might not have been able to see before. 

it's like co-writing for songwriting is for me--i prefer to write songs with other people. in my opinion, it's a better song in the end when two people sit there and tackle the same idea from different sides of the room, with different personalities and pasts to bring to the same coffee table. you push and pull each other until the song is this big piece of stretched taffy. on your own, it would have only stretched so far. 

writing a novel is a lone process, yes, but once you're done, don't be afraid to ask for some hands to stretch it. (in your gut, you know the difference between good and bad criticism. you can feel it, just listen.)

and you might be thinking i'm talking in terms of commerciality...and sure. i am i guess. but i also think that if you even want your BFF to read your stuff, you might need a find a way for him/her to connect to it. it's a lonesome project if it's so coded that only you get it. what's the point? 

enjoy your life, enjoy your art. create things you can share to make other people's lives better. unless you're an art and enjoyment hoarder. in that case, this might not be your favorite blog :) 

ashlyne

ok so i'm a writer...without a deadline

i've talked about meeting deadlines a little bit--i think, maybe? either way...rule of thumb: meet them! haha easy right? but seriously, it's easy for me to meet a deadline because i can work backwards and figure out how much i'll have to do with the amount of days in between. it's a real math problem (albeit an easy one that i'm comfortable with...don't make me solve for x please!) i have always somehow enjoyed (groan i know) time management. i used to do my homework in my tights and leotard in the corner of the dance studio lobby so that i didn't have to have homework when i got home--which was like 1 or 2 in the morning some nights. (that's another post from another life)

but what do you do if you're writing without a deadline to light that fire under your bum? or what if your deadline is an arbitrary date you set, and there's really no reason you absolutely have to finish it, making your deadline a more of a wish?

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there are a couple reasons people might not have a deadline that's helping them get to the finish line. 1. you are still on your first book, so you don't know how long it should be taking. you don't know what it feels like to be done, you don't know if you'll ever be done. and 300+ pages is a lot of words... 2. you have finished a book or two and you can write it in record time if someone's asking for it (like an agent or an editor). but since no one is asking, you have no reason to shoot for the stars like you did before.

i'm sure there are more reasons, but i will stick with these two since technically, i'm not a published author, so i don't want to cross over my boundaries!

let's break it down:

1. you are still on your first book: cue panic. i remember when i was writing my first-ever manuscript. it felt like i would never finish with the pace i could handle. i was working like four jobs, moving from los angeles/santa monica back to nashville (which actually propelled the nashville-based stories), having my second sinus surgery, and planning a wedding. i had never been more unsure of myself at that point. i mean, i knew who i was and where i came from and who i loved and loved me...but i didn't know where my career was going.

that unsettled feeling was/is the best thing i could have asked for. not knowing where you'll end up leaves a window of hope and "if i could just" in your system. and with that, i knew that i wanted to be a writer even if it wasn't all i had in my day. even if i couldn't write for a week from being to swamped with other stuff.

i had no deadline, no one waiting besides my then-fiance, who was just proud of me for writing a lot of pages down.

how did i get through that? i tried not to think about it. and this is so normal for writers i think. unless you're a celebrity that gets commissioned to pen some memoirs or something, no one seeks you out. you have to write the thing, edit the thing, all on a wing and a prayer. and oh by the way, you have to find a way to make a living for yourself so you can survive long enough to see it be published! easy peasy? not really.

there were some definitely lulls and times i thought i should just forget about it. i didn't know how it felt anyway, so what was i really missing? i could cut it up and make it into a bunch of songs or something....but i never let go. it sounds silly, but i held onto the day of seeing my name on a book cover in a bookstore. i designed my own covers when i couldn't write a word. i did what i could to keep the dream alive...and that was to not forget about it. i thought i would eventually finish. and i did.

and you will. just don't let that doubt steal your dream. let it steal your time you need to do your other job(s) every now and then. it isn't your income yet, so be practical about that. but don't let your dream go. find some time (some sacred time) to sit and write every week, if not every day. make it happen. i read jane green's "for writers" section of her website back in 2010 or 2011, and printed it out, stuck it on my wall. the one thing i kept going back to was about finishing. that's first and foremost, she says. you have to finish it to do anything with it. so if you do nothin else...finish it! 

i redid this a little for our purposes, but this was the original source.

2. you've written one before, and since you don't have a technical deadline right now (doesn't mean ever), you're having a hard time getting into the groove again.

this is me. right now. i know i can finish a manuscript in two and a half months. and that was with my agent and office asking for it while i was bookkeeping for two of my husband's restaurants and selling my stationary on etsy and doing real estate. and after i finished the manuscript, we really got started with content edits and rewrites and the whole nine yards. i read that thing so many time, i knew what it was saying before i finished the sentences. it was pandemonium! and i loved it!

so now, here i am...so happy, feeling accomplished. but no deadline. and sarah keeps telling me it will change soon enough (that the fire will be lit under my bum again) and i believe her. it's just really interesting  to see how that fire changes my writing habits.

which brings me to my final thought (i know you thought i'd never have one). i have to find a way to light my own fire. i was talking to my mentor/author friend lindsey yesterday and we are on both ends of this spectrum at the moment. by talking to her i realized the advice i was giving to someone who hadn't finished the first one was exactly the advice i needed to give myself....just finish it ashlyne! you already know the deal. finish it! who cares if you aren't sure how it's turning out. you can't do anything about it until you see it as a whole, crazy girl! you know this! get over yourself!enough of a fire? yep. (my inner voice gets mad at me a lot haha)

hope you find your fire! and don't let anyone or anything blow it out. 



ashlyne

currently reading: fangirl by rainbow rowell

i actually finished this book a little while ago, but so much is going on at one time that i tend to stockpile post ideas for when i have the time...

      fangirl by rainbow rowell

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ps. i can't believe there are only 40 days until christmas. 

sarah (my agent) suggested i read some from the young adult/new adult world of fiction alongside of my standards (emily giffin, nicholas sparks, jane green, elin hilderbrand, kristin hannah etc.) to get an idea of where i really live in my writing. because i'm 28--don't remind me--my recollections of high school and college are just out of my reach, in a good way. 

i am old enough to have some perspective on both of those structured times in my life, which is why i tend to write about it. it's something i remember like it was yesterday, but the mistakes and crappy (and tragic) situations you just have to go through as a teen and early 20 something...they don't sting anymore. at least not much. time heals, but i would change the cliche to "time lessens the blow" for my particular age. it's still there in my memory, and that's why i write about it. and i'm able to write about it because i'm not still in it. does this make any sense. i feel like i'm writing in a circle. either way, the point is this: my genre is "new adult", we have discovered (18-24 age range). and at first i wondered why i would be writing for girls younger than me...the above rambling is what i came up with for an answer. 

*if you're an experienced, published writer, you're probably thinking...duh, ashlyne. but hey, this is a blog, and i'm not afraid to look silly and show what i'm going through as an amateur.:) 

fangirl was a great read. it took a minute to get into, but it's probably because you have to get into two stories, cath's present and cath's passion: a harry potter-like series. so you kind of have to take a second to get the flow down, but once you do, it's smooth sailing. 

you know the author is a good writer when you start feeling like you're the character. i actually made the university of omaha (somewhere i've never been) belmont university in my actual freshman year. i took every situation she was in, every classroom, every dining hall and put it to my experience. and it fit perfectly. i felt the same freshman-y emotions all over again. some good, some bad...but all real and all part of making it a book i could believe in. 

the only thing i wondered about was the ending...and maybe it's just because i didn't want it to end. i wondered what happened to this, to that, to them, etc. and again, maybe it's just me mourning the ending of a great novel...i have a hard time every time i get to the last 25% of books i read. and because i am reading on an ipad, all i have are "locations" and page numbers based on my font. so for this book, i was blindsided by the end...i thought there was more! but no. :( 

all in all: recommended! rainbow rowell knows what she's doing! 

sponge-ing: pat conroy

                                                        be a sponge.

pat conroy/ source

lately, i've been refilling my tank in a lot of ways. i've been reading novels, watching tv shows on netflix, going to coffee with my grandma donna on tuesdays, and attending as many author "things" as i can. by author things, i mean events where authors come and either speak or answer questions with a host...or a dinner in which i'm mingling with established authors. 

in the past couple months, i've done a little bit of all of them. the nashville library has this series called salon at 615. they bring authors in and have a Q & A with a bookstore owner here in town parnassus (ann patchett-an author herself). my sweet mama accompanied me to hume-fogg high school's theater a few weeks ago. ( taylor swift's video for "teardrops on my guitar" was filmed there) and the author was pat conroy. to be honest, i know about his works, but i've only read one of them: south of broad. it's an amazing read, especially if you like charleston, south carolina. 

i know he's a killer writer based on that book alone, but because i write more like an emily giffin or nicholas sparks, i have tried to read my weight in those types of titles. now, i think i will delve into the collection i'm sure will be spectacular. 

mr. conroy was doing press for his latest book the death of santini, a sequel of sorts to his 70s novel the great santini, which was made into a movie (i haven't seen it either, sadly). where have i been?! i'm telling you i learned so much that night. 

the writer advice i would have to say was the most interesting to me was how candid he was about his real life creeping into his books. i don't know if he was even trying to give advice, but it has stayed with me. if you know anything about his stories, they can be pretty dark--i know the one i read was gritty and realistic, not fluffy. his real life sounds like it has been the same. coming from seven kids, his dad was the great santini, who i have learned was not the most loving father. 

there is a lot more that he said, talking about all the funny stories of his childhood--although some of them were not funny at all. but all this is to say one thing: he writes what he knows. and that plus the fact that he can write like no other...that makes a storyteller. and that, he is. 

i'll let you know what i think of the entire pat conroy catalog! (i was told i'd like beach music so i'll probably do that one next!)

being a sponge is the best thing i can do as a new writer. it's the best thing any novice or amateur can do period. you have to learn from the best , even if they aren't giving you straightforward advice. listen. listen. listen.  you'll get something out of it. i promise. 

ok so i'm a writer...:ruts part 1

i didn't exactly travel to get back into writing. i love writing. all the time. of course, i am a regular person, a wife, a mother (to my dog, but hey i'm still fully responsible for him) with a house that needs to be clean, laundry that needs to be done, dishes that need to be put away. anyway,  i have other things in my life too... not just household stuff, and sometimes it can get in front of my work. when you work for yourself, on your own time, it's hard to clock in and clock out.

king street

why? because you're the coolest boss in the world. and the coolest boss in the world doesn't want you to have household chores to do late at night. she wants you to get it done throughout the day so it's done. but then you see a shiny thing in the kitchen (aka a pan that's been sitting in the sink or the stainless steel trashcan that needs to be changed) or a dog that needs to be walked while the rain stopped...and before you know it, you (and the boss) are doing a million other things besides writing.

quad at college of charleston (i would have actually fit into this school crowd)

mase and i decided on a trip to charleston for our first anniversary. (yes, it's was 2 weeks ago, but we had other things going on like beautiful weddings and a dinner date with sarah--my agent-- and her sister marissa!) we wanted to go somewhere we'd never been together, somewhere that we could explore and enjoy. charleston was the perfect choice.

bring a hot boy with you on your trip if you can:)

there, i observed new places, compare & contrast nashville to south carolina, found a new place for my characters to be from or visit...and there i could write in new coffee shops with no familiar faces or responsibilities around the corner...

at kudu coffee shop

church renovation outside my window at kudu



it was a place i could get back into it. i had just started the manuscript for the sequel and to that point, at home in nashville, it had been difficult to get into a flow. but don't worry--it started rollin' right along.

sometimes coffee doesn't work

at leaf cafe for some good pinot and writing

how does this pertain to you, especially if you don't have any trips coming up? well, i would say that you need to find somewhere to go, whether it be a coffee shop you've always wanted to try but never have, the library, a park bench, your porch, your stairs, your bed even! just get out of your office (or wherever you normally work) it's about jumpstarting your brain.

found this on a bench in a park :) 

the point of taking trips is to get out of your head...so you can get back into it and not feel like you're wheels are rusted over. whatever that means to you, do it. 

namaste. ( i just did yoga, go with it.)