"X" Marks the Egg

I must admit Easter Egg Hunts are not my favorite thing. While I do enjoy devouring the occasional (READ often) Reeses Peanut Butter Egg I can't get eggs-cited about 100 kids trampling each other over plastic eggs filled with those sickly sweet multi-colored jelly beans.

I blame it on my childhood.

Okay, one bad experience with an egg marked with a golden X in my childhood.

At this particular egg hunt, if you found the egg with the golden X you won a ginormous hollow chocolate bunny. A dad was helping his toddler-sized daughter who was way too young to appreciate the significance of winning a ginormous hollow chocolate bunny JUST SAYING find Easter eggs. And they were RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME when said dad found the egg with the gold X.

The injustice of it all soured me on further egg hunts.

It should have been mine

Okay, so I'm (slightly) kidding. Egg Hunts aren't that bad. But when my 10 year old declared herself too old to attend the neighborhood hunt this year I secretly cheered.

R-S-T-U-V

RSTUV...what does it mean?

It means I'm taking a "restive" break from the alphabet blogfest.

I hope to catch back up with W for the big finish...X-Y-Z!

Q is for QUERY

Ask a writer what word comes to mind when you say the letter Q and I'll bet the word is QUERY.

It's something you've never even heard of when you first set out on that path of ridiculous dreams otherwise known as WRITING A NOVEL. When you are finally let in on the scary little secret, it's a word that strikes fear in the writer's heart. Fear that though you think by some crazy stretch of insane imagination you can write a full-length novel, how will you ever write a simple, one-page letter convincing someone of that novel's merits?

It's a letter that must contain personality and your novel's voice. It must be engaging, but not too wordy or plot-revealing. It must be confident, but never gushy or include over the top assertions. Above all, it must hook the agent/reader and literally compel them to ask for more.

Can it be done?

I'm out to prove that. I have two (measly) queries out right now. More will follow. I wonder what will become of them, even knowing that some writers submit hundreds of queries before finally being published.

Deirdra blogged about queries, too, over at A Storybook World, and with actual helpful information and everything! Go HERE to find it. Shallee blogged about it, too, HERE. So nice of them to share their knowledge about queries. All I did was ramble.

O/P

Yeah. Opie.

Here's a quiz on the little tyke...

http://www.peoplequiz.com/quizzes-2857-The_Andy_Griffith_Show_Opie_Taylor.html

N is for NEVER...

...as in never miss out on a great opportunity.

YAtopia has a pitch contest going on right now where you can win the chance to have your pitch read by agent Natalie Fischer of Bradford Literary Agency!

I entered last time and while I didn't win top two for my pitch, the agent (a different one) did email me and say she was "intrigued" by my "outstanding" entry. Yes, those two words are exact quotes!! And she asked me to send her a query letter and my first five pages!!!

Now here's another chance at the YAtopia blog for an agent to get a look at your very own pitch.

GO HERE. (BTW, it must be YA.)

I tweaked mine a little and now it looks like this...
Ideal High is anything but. After the tragic deaths of the student body president and most of the A-listers, Taryn, the one left behind, sets aside her own pain to lift an entire school out of theirs.

Try to condense a 75,000 word novel down to 2 sentences and see what you come up with. 'Taint easy.

M is for Moon Over Manifest

I returned a book to the library half-read. The writing was good, I was so impressed with it, really, but I found I didn't care enough about the main character. It was YA and heavily about boys and while I can totally relate because my YA-hood was much to do about boys as well...this one didn't work for me.

I picked up a new one that came highly recommended--Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. I am already enjoying the writing style immensely and the MC is twelve so there shouldn't be too much teen craziness at this point in her life. Plus it's set during the Depression, so I'm sensing the focus might be elsewhere than on who is going out with whom.

I have such high hopes for the book that I already listed it in my CURRENTLY READING list on the sidebar. I only do that when I know I am going to finish a book (so you won't find the one that I returned to the library listed and I won't tell you what it is unless you ask me directly).

Do you always finish a book you start or are you inclined to stop halfway if the story doesn't suit you?

I discovered a bunch of new M's today, so thought I'd mention... for those of the LDS persuasion that are looking for a laugh... try out middle-agedmormonman.blogspot.com.

L is for long overdue

Today I dropped a glass bowl shattering it on the kitchen floor.

Then at the other end of the kitchen I pulled an open box of angel hair pasta from the pantry upside down spilling the entire contents.

I think it's the universe's way of telling me the floor needs to be swept.

Now I almost feel obligated to mop, too.

J/K

I missed another day of Alphabet Soup.

My apologies to J. It's a very fine letter.

I have three amazing sons whose names begin with the letter J.

But even though right on my list of things to do it said, "Blog J," I guess it was not meant to be.

K is lovely, too. I have three amazing daughters with K names.

And K is for KINDNESS.

Ponder this quote by Mother Theresa while I write the letter J one hundred times to make up for missing yesterday..

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”

Christine's Daydreamer blog inspired my K today. Read her post here.

G, H, I better get caught up

I got behind and missed my grand opportunity to blog about G and H. I won't lose sleep over it, but forge ahead.

Today won't be all about I (me) though. I want to blog about a writer friend with a new book out.

Anna del C. Dye writes romantic fantasy novels for the young adult market. Her newest novel is Curse of the Elfs. Book Blurb:

When an Immortal race ceases to be immortal, woe to the land.

Ancient legend tells of elfs crossing paths with a dying wizard named Zoltan. The Old Sorcerer’s unrepentant deeds had caused the wizarding school to chastise him severely. On his deathbed Zoltan asked the elfs for help. Losing patience in his delirium, he cursed them. Now, the immortal elfin race is slowly, but surely dying. Their only hope lies in a servant of kings who must learn to love the elfs before he will attempt to save them. But no one, elf or mankind, has ever heard of this man. Can the healer be found before their race is gone forever?

Author Anna was born in Valparaiso, Chile. Later she moved to the United States where she learned English through reading the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series. She was introduced to The Lord of the Rings, and loved it. In fact it inspired her own stories.

In her latest novel, she used the word "elfs," but it is on purpose and not a misspelling of the usual English plural, "elves."

Curse of the Elfs can be purchased in the following places: Amazon paperback Kindle edition Barnes & Noble paperback Nookbook edition

Anna's other fantasy novels, in the "The Silent Warrior Trilogy," are
Book 1 - The Elf and the Princess
Book 2 - Trouble in the Elf City
Book 3 - Elfs in a Conquered Realm

"F" is for 50th

I got so excited today buying the 50th Anniversary edition of To Kill a Mockingbird thinking how me and it were birthed the same year. In actuality it was published in 1960, so now it's the 51st Anniversay. I'm still way excited to own a copy of my *favorite book.

I almost spent my gift card on a Nancy Drew boxed set. Spent a lot of good times sleuthing with Nancy in my early years.


*I call it that, though truthfully, can you really have a favorite.)

"E" is for E-reader

Okay, not really. I don't have anything to say about E-readers.

How about eggs?

We are buying a new house that sits on an acre, but is surprisingly close to where we live right now. My husband has wanted an acre ever since we moved from ours in Utah, but knew I didn't want to make any random, major moves, so he found a place with a completely-redone-inside house and all the dirt surrounding it that he could ever want.

What does this have to do with eggs?

Of course, he wants to have animals, chickens among them.

Chickens lay eggs.

So possibly sometime in the future I will be known as the Egg Lady and you can come buy fresh eggs from me.

I prefer being the Egg Lady to the Crazy Chicken Lady.

I guess it could go either way.

"D" is for DH

Look what showed up at my door yesterday. Yep, my Dear Husband bought me my dream fridge.

Freezer on the bottom and all that lovely fridge space on top. Everytime I open it I will think of him.

That's not all he did yesterday...he took me to dinner, took the entire family bowling, ordered a cake, assigned the kids to decorate the house, invited people over, and put together a virtual birthday party at GoToMeeting.com where I got to talk to family from Alaska (Miss you Landi & Ralph), Utah (Miss you Megan), and Texas all at the same time.

"C" is for wellness CHALLENGE

For 12 weeks beginning last January I have participated in a Wellness Challenge. A week has gone by since it ended--a week of eating chocolate and not exercising, a week of eating after 8 PM if I darn well wanted to, and no writing in my journal. (Rebel that I am!) Nearly everything that I've been denying myself or forcing myself to do I have participated in this past week.

Now I'm here to evaluate. Of the 10 things on the list to do or not to do, what do I really want to make a part of my life. I should rephrase that..what am I willing to make a part of my life? Willing enough to actually do or not do?

Sure the challenge was, on its surface, about keeping points to see who would win the prize for the highest score, but at its core it was about developing healthy habits. Here's the 10 listed in their shortened-checklist version. Which ones do you find most worthwhile in your own life? I already am in the habit of "inspirational" reading and I don't generally drink soda, and never alcohol. Fast food is consumed sparingly. It's the others that could go either way for me.

1. 48 ounces of water
2. 45 minutes of exercise
3. 2 servings of fruits & 2 servings of vegetables
4. No soda or alcohol
5. No sugar (as in sweets, not hidden sugar that's in everything)
6. No fast food or unhealthy snacks
7. No eating after 8:00 pm
8. Read 15 minutes (inspirational reading, like scriptures)
9. Write in your journal/blog
10. Personal goal of choice

While I did lose 6 pounds (though not my intention), I don't know if I feel more "well." It's probably one of those things where you will find the most benefit down the road in life. Like when I'm 80 I'll wish that I had exercised more.

Speaking of ages that end in "0," today I am celebrating one, so it's a good time to ponder. While I'm deciding what to do about the wellness habits, I'm also thinking about what to be. If you heard Lynn G. Robbin's message yesterday, you will know what I'm talking about.



I am a big list-maker. Everyday is about what TO DO. I wanted to do something for this year when I turn an age that ends with a "0" so I am thinking maybe instead of a list of 50 things TO DO, I will work on a list of 50 things TO BE.

Instead of exercising (a TO DO) maybe I should BE someone who exercises. Hmmm...

I blog about books

"B" is for BOOKS. (And apparently for lame blog posts, because I didn't get this done earlier and I don't have anything to offer now).

Love a book today.

"A" Blog Post

Okay, despite the fact that I have about 28 other things going on in my life right now, I have jumped on a bandwagon...actually it's an A to Z bandwagon wherein I join more than a thousand other bloggers in a "'fest" to blog for 26 days in April using a different letter of the alphabet each day as some sort of theme letter.

As in, this is crazy, EH? (A)

No, it's not an April Fool's sort of thing, though that does start with an A. Check back tomorrow to see what I say B-related and you'll find out I'm serious about doing this, though I may get bogged down around about LMNOP. We'll see.

The whole point of it, they tell me, is to inspire the habit of blogging on a regular basis and to increase followers. Click on the A to Z button on my sidebar and it will take you to a list of other bloggers on the blogfest bandwagon.

Also, I don't know if this cheese guy is participating, but his posts are hilarious. Scroll down to the one where he lists his recent Facebook statuses. (Is that the plural of status?) I promise you'll laugh out loud.

http://www.theblogocheese.blogspot.com/