Tis the Season....

.... for generic headings....

Hahahahahaha haha ha ha.


Did I mention that I love just about everything about this time of year?  It's true.  Busy stores, long lines, late nights, flour handprints on my jeans... love it all.

I think however, like everything else I do - I may be gathering a few too many traditions.  So far it's manageable, but if I keep picking up 1-2 new ones every year, in about 10 years we'll be spewing Christmas from Labor Day to Valentine's Day.

I've been writing, so that's wonderful, but I'm sort of stuck in a world of WIPS (works in progress).  There aren't any that are calling my name at night and begging for attention, so I'm just plugging along waiting for one to scream to be written or a new SNI (shiny new idea) that will grab me.

Banned Book Week

So, the Banned Book Week party is over, the crepe paper is still clinging to the ceiling by a random piece of Scotch tape.  The dishes are almost washed and the helium balloons are bouncing around the room at eye height now. 

Did we all have a fun Banned Book Week?  I still can't believe some of the books that get banned - or challenged.  I try and live in my little world bubble most of the time - here we have good food and can read anything we want to. 

Enough rambling and on to the good stuff...  I have a winner for my little contest.  I was so excited to have 10 comments!!  ( Little things people... little things! )  Thanks for sharing your favorites with me - and commenting!  I love you all!

The winner of the contest is MELANIE!  Congratulations!! Email me at hddougherty at att(dot)net with your shipping info and choice of book and I'll get it out to you by the end of the month!!

Thanks again for participating! 

Banned Book Week Contest

As you can see, I don't blog frequently or have a huge array of followers (but for those of you that do follow and read - I LOVE YOU!! SO MUCH! Hai!!) so this may in fact end up kind of silly. 

Look down there... I usually only have one amazing person commenting on any given blog post - so the fact that I'm doing a contest may end up being rather laughable. 

Laughable, silly... yes, indeed.

I still can't stop myself.  It's almost, nearly, just about Banned Book Week.  I can't stand for it.  Well, I can stand for Banned Book Week - but not for Banned books.  I've never understood this concept of censorship.  If you feel something isn't appropriate for your child to read - then monitor it.  Please don't try to dictate what my kids (or me!!) have access to.  I was lucky that I grew up in a family that didn't really censor my books/music access.  Sometimes there were clear lines drawn - especially for age appropriateness, but as I got older, my parents felt okay with letting me decide what I could handle reading/listening to.  I hope to do the same with my kids. 

Some banned/challenged books have been favorites of mine.  Others not so much.  I'd still love for others to have a chance to read them...

Most recently there has been quite an uproar over the challenge to Laurie Halse Anderson's book, Speak. 


I would love to attempt to give this topic some face time, but quite frankly - I feel it's been so eloquently handled by others that I will leave it to them, but I want to say that I SUPPORT SPEAK!


Who I recommend reading on this subject (hope you don't mind me linking to ya - cuz you rock!): 
Laurie Halse Anderson

Myra McEntire
Veronica Roth

The ALA has listed the top 10 most challenged books from the last year. Read banned books!




DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING ABOUT A CONTEST?  GET ON WITH IT WOMAN!!!

Okay...  So - here is my plan.  Comment here with your favorite banned book and you are entered.  Easy Peasy right?  Considering you may be the only one commenting - your odds could be spectacular! ;)  If you tweet this contest or blog about it or somehow in some other way mention it - you will get an extra entry into the contest if you note that in your comment.  Also - please note in the comments if you are blogging about banned books this week or are having a BBW contest.

So what do you get?  Well, the winner - picked randomly from the comments (if there are more than one!) - will have their choice of one the following banned books sent to them. I should be able to ship internationally, so go ahead and enter!

This contest will run through the 2010 celebration of Banned Books Week, from September 25 through October 2.  I will post the winner sometime the week of October 3.

Thanks for supporting banned books (and me and this little blog thing!)

Out in the world...

This has been a crazy month.  As you can see, I haven't managed to be very successful at blogging regularly.  I'm okay with that since I'm not putting extra pressure on myself.

I've started the query process, but as I'm learning - I query like a blog.  S-l-o-w-l-y!  I seem to be on a one submission every other week time frame.   This works out well for me because I'm really spending time researching the agents.  I think I'm on the right track...

As for writing - I have had SNIs invade my life the last couple of weeks.  I won't complain - but it is definitely challenging to find enough time to do all the writing I'm inspired to do.  I have a MG skeeery ghost book that has a word count of about a 7K with most of the book thought out (yes, I'm still a pantser - but this one came at me fully fleshed out), and then Tuesday I had a SNI hit me harder than any other - EVER.  I wrote 10K words on Tuesday and then yesterday I actually sat down to make notes so that I wouldn't forget all the ideas screaming through me for it.  I settled in to write another 2K - and hope to double that today.  This SNI is a contemp YA - I love it. 

In other news - the kids are back to school - well - at least Big and Middle are... Little doesn't start until next week.  I wish I could say that this means I'll have 3 mornings off a week - but I've chosen to work while she's at school.  The stress that's removed by paying bills definitely outweighs the extra quiet time.  Did I just say that?  That seems rather grown-up of me.  Must be a fluke. 

In my to be read pile:  Mockingjay, The DUFF, Hush Hush, Silver Phoenix, You Wish... I don't remember the rest... I love books.

I want to wish fellow AWer Emilia a Happy Blogiversary.  Check her out - and don't miss her Punkiversary Giveaway of Life-Changing Proportions Contest... last day to enter is today! It is so full of amazing things you'll be happy just looking at all the prizes.  Don't forget to check out the rest of her blog.   She's funny - adorable and mega talented - plus - you'll get to say "Oh, I found her way back before she was this mega-famous author." 

Ode to an Iced Capp

Many roads we’ve wandered,
You and I
When the wells of my sanity,
Have all but run dry.
Your popular cousin, Coffee,
Is just not my thing,
But with your milk and icee,
You make my heart sing.
When my nights grow too short,
Because my worries are long,
With you in my system,
I can keep going on.
Some might call this corny,
Or even quite silly,
But it’s just my way of
Saying, I really, really,
Really, really, really, really
Really love you.

oooh books!

I am on a reading spree.  My BFF (I may be 35 but I can still call her my BFF - she's been my friend since I was 13!) sent me a box full of books.  Great books.  Amazing books.

I got her hooked on Hunger Games - so she bought me Catching Fire (yes it's finally close enough to Mockinjay's release that I can read it!), Linger (yay!!), Vampire Diaries and more Vampire Diaries, Darkfever, Hush Hush - oh there are more but I can't remember them all. 

This was one of the coolest gifts I've received in a long time.  Can you give a better gift than a book that someone falls in love with?  That escape, those characters - they are with us forever. 

Speaking of books - in which a girl reads is having a HUGE contest - in fact it's called the Very Humongous Blogoversary Contest.  Check it out.  Definitely check it out!  Fall in love - she has a very humongous group of terrific books to choose from if you are a winner. 

It's done! It's done! It's done!!

The latest draft of NORMAL is complete.  I'm sending the last section to my amazing betas.  Once I get their responses back - and I have the last reserved betas do a full once over... it will be time to query agents!  Can you believe it??

It is an amazing feeling to have this draft under my belt.  There were many large edits in this version and I really like where it's gone. 

No more excuses, no more procrastination.  Hopefully within the next two to three weeks I will begin sending queries. 

WHOO HOO!!