Jill of all trades

Lately, do you find that your taste in books has changed? Like, did you once love fun chick lit, but now find yourself seeking out dramatic literary?

Those of you that have read my books know that I have two sides--Light and Dark. Of course, most of my books end up gray, but the tone of them is either Light or Dark. I can never decide which I like better, but I notice that at certain times, I skew.

Like, if I'm sad, I tend to write Light. If I'm deliriously happy, I write some depressing crap! haha. Right now I'm writing a book that is dark. One of my darkest. But you know, I love it.

What are you in the mood for right now? Light. Dark. Or somewhere in between?

-Suz

And for a smile, pop on over here to get a link to Lisa Schroeder's revision medley!

PROJECT: Perk

One thing that never fails to make me smile: Gary Larson's THE FAR SIDE. And after this weekend, I could use a smile. :-) (See! There it is!)

Saturday Night Live

I wish writers could be the guest hosts on Saturday Night Live. How fun would that be? I was cracking up watching tonight's SNL rerun. My favorite? The Cougar Den. haha. I'm not old enough to be on it, but I know that lots of older ladies go after younger guys. But none that I know look like Cameron Diaz! hahaha

If you like SNL or have ever watched it, what are some of your favorite skits? I think if I was on it, I'd want to be on a SNL Digital Short. Or maybe MacGuber?

Operation:Supermodel

In the afterglow of my rough draft, I took a minute to look around. My laundry had piled up, my dishes had begun to grow their own food, and my children asked who I was. (Disclaimer:This post will be highly exaggerated for comedic effect).

So I joined a gym to work off my revision (and rough draft) weight. When I got there, I was highly intimidated! I mean, my GOD! Who were these Cylons? People growling as they lifted weights, flubberless models RUNNING on the treadmill as I panted next to them, trying not to fall off. It was horrifying.

And I set a goal. I'm going to lose some poundage in anticipation of the LA SCBWI conference which I just booked yesterday along with my girls, Heather and Mandy. By the way, I'm also an official SCBWI LA 2009 blogger with some fabulous people (see side link!)

In my ferverish attempt to fit in at ROBOFitness, I hired a personal trainer. I know what you're thinking, "Suz, you don't have a job! How can you afford a personal trainer?" Answer: "I don't have to buy as much food! I'm on a diet, remember?"

Expect bitchy posts from now until August!!

I Did It! (sort of)

Okay, so I'm posting this a little prematurely.

I finished the draft of The Naughty List--Book 2! (Brandi, look for it soon!) I just have to add like... one quick scene, read it through and then send it to my fabulous editor and agent. YAY!! I'm SO SO SO Happy. I mean, it'll need a ton of revision, but I don't mind. I just needed to get this draft out, because now... I can start something NEW!!!!!!!!! Double YAY!!!

So.... the first paragraph(ish) from three possible books. Which one should I finish?????

Book 1: I flicked on the windshield wipers, swiping at the rain-splattered glass. Forecast had said mostly sunny. Right. Was that why my tennis tournament had been rained out?

“Are you listening?” my father asked in his I-know-you’re-not-listening-but-I’ll-ask-anyway voice.

Book 2: As we drove past the New Mexican desert, I breathed on the glass of the passenger window and then traced a heart in the fog. I paused, leaning back to look at it. It looked hopeful.

I wiped it away with my hand.

Book 3: The chairs in this room were severely uncomfortable. I’d tried all of them, like I was Goldilocks or something. I settled in the leather one behind the desk. I didn’t think the doctor would mind.

So... yeah, not the best opening paragraphs, but hey! The books aren't written yet, so I can tweak!

Everyone have a great day!!!

Time to play....

Cast my movie!!!

So, if The Naughty List or its sequels become a movie, here is my dream cast (although they're a bit too old). Why am I doing this now when I'm supposed to be writing? Stalling. Plain and simple. And proud of it! :-)

Tessa:



Aiden:



Kira:



And Christian:

Who would be cast in your novel's movie??????

Okay, now back to work.... Have a great day!

PROJECT PERK!

PROJECT PERK:

So to find today's perk, I decided to look back through my photos. I figured you might be tired of the youtube videos (next week). And unfortunately, I lost my prom photos AGAIN! It sucks because they are Hay-Larious!

Anyway, here are some pics that still can make me smile.

First, my dog, before he became huge and stinky:

Me during my working out phase:

Realizing that my children could have been baby models:

And then remembering even though it looks like so much fun in pictures, I'm glad I don't have to deal with THIS anymore: (it's chocolate cake)

So today, if you need to find your perk, take a look through your photo albums. Sometimes it's just what I need to remember how lucky I am.

Oh, and just in case you were hoping for a video, my kids put on a concert tonight. lol.

Happy Monday!!!!

-Suz

Hard at Work

All day to write. All Day.

So... I watched a ton of The Science Channel. Oh, evolution, you are SO FASCINATING!!!!! Tomorrow, I'll work. I'm so flipping close! If only I didn't have cable. Frak you, Comcast!!!! Sorry, a little too much BSG.

By the way, regarding BSG, it helped to look up final interviews with the creators. It gave me some closure. Although I'm looking forward to The Plan to see the cylon side of it all.

Wow. What's funny is that I was just making fun of my friend for being a dork... and I'm here talking about Battlestar Galactica on my blog! hahaha

Have a productive day, everyone!

So Say We All!!

Okay, time for a BATTLESTAR GALACTICA post. Tonight is the finale. The SERIES finale. My husband and I are turning this day into a holiday. Forget St. Patrick's Day, we're celebrating BSG Day!!!!

If you haven't seen this series yet, I beg you to pick up the first episode. It's a miniseries, and if you don't fall in love, you must be a toaster. :-) Kidding. I am a cylon-fan.

In fact, one the best lines from the Battlestar Last Frakking special was: I get to be a cylon. And chicks dig cylons.

So hubby and I are picking up some take-out Chinese food, a bunch of Coor's Light, and party hats(not really) and rock it like it's the last day on Galactica. Cuz it is.

I LOVE YOU, BSG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS. My husband tells me I'm his Starbuck. (aka: Bad Ass Chick!) :-)

Aw...such great friends

So one of my wonderful friends had this up on facebook and referenced me as a prime candidate for it! Aw, ain't he so sweet!

FDA Approves Depressant Drug For The Annoyingly Cheerful

Happy Anniversary!

Well, in honor of my wedding anniversary (Which took place on St. Patrick's day in Las Vegas!) I dug out the wedding photos. Wow, I look really young! And Jesse! He looks even younger!!

Next week, I'll go back in time again. To Prom..... (bites nails)

Have a great day!

Party Crasher

Well, we made it this far. Tomorrow we'll do the cake and ice cream. Today we did: Toys R Us, Build a Bear Workshop and Si Senor Mexican Restaurant (?).

This is how it looks to have a great birthday:

Now, time to unpack!

MOVING

Moving apartments today (upgrade!) so I'm not around.... AND it's Miss Sophia's sixth birthday. When I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday, her response was:

"I want to love you for buying me a big, huge surprise."

Uh... okay.

Have a great day, everyone!

My husband, the vampire

On TV tonight we were watching Jon and Kate Plus Eight, and made a drinking game. Every time there was a snarky comment, Drink! Anyway, during the show, the Twilight commercials started. I looked at my husband and just said, "Please?"

He answered, "Say it."

"Huh?"

"Say it."

"Vampire?"

"Are you scared?" All of this in a really bad man-whisper. (Trying to imitate Edward) I cracked up.

BUT I get my video as my anniversary present. YAY!

Bunch of writing to get done today, so you all have a great afternoon!

-Suz

What a Sweet Sight

I saw this story on the news tonight, and I had to smile. You know, talk about positivity!! A local artist in Portland decided to put up a billboard that meant something! Hugs and Kisses.

Thank you. Photo & Story courtesy of OregonLive.com

Meet my New Boyfriend

Once again, I'm talking about in my books, not real life. I consider all of the male love interests in my stories to be my boyfriends. What? I write in first person! I have to get into it!

But last night, something strange happened. Now, I'm a dreamer. I dream every night (mostly nightmares) without fail. BUT, last night I met him. A character in one of my upcoming novels.

He was tall (they always are...) with light brown, messy hair, hazel eyes and an endless supply of cords and T-shirts. His name was Henry, and he was totally sarcastic, but in that insanely hot way.

Oh, Henry.

Now... I woke up (two hours late) and had Henry still on my mind. I need to write a story for him, only... he doesn't fit into THE NAUGHTY LIST sequel. He has to get something all on his own. So next week, I plan to finish TNL2 and send it back to my fabulous editor over at Razorbill. Then, my newest boyfriend will get his story.

Just so you know what he has to live up to, here are some of my previous boyfriends:

AIDEN (TNL):

Colin (Unkissable)

Too much time on my hands? Possibly. Worth posting pictures of super hot guys? Definitely.

Have a great day!

-Suz

THE NAUGHTY LIST-Is your boyfriend on it?

Lately, I’ve been doing some self-Googling. I know! Dumb. But I found out that I still had a lot of book information out there with my old title (Peace out, Smitten Kittens!) So for the past few days, I’ve been going through and updating all the SKs to TNLs. I even came up with a tagline: THE NAUGHTY LIST- Is your boyfriend on it?

Do you like it?! I kinda do!

This got me thinking, as an author, what would my tagline be. Now, in the past, I’ve always used: Writers are dope! Because, well, they are. But I think it’s time to expand my horizons! Branch out!

Will you help me with my new tagline??? Here it is:

Suzanne Young- ___________________________

And yes, The Freshmaker is already taken.

:-)

Project Perk: The Pep Project

Happy Monday! (Thanks, Trish!)

Hotel for writers!

Time to get moving! I finished my copyedits, and now it's time for me to buckle down to finish book 2. Something about misbehaving dogs and loud children has made writing difficult here. Hm.

So I'm leaving to go to a hotel for the night with a 100 page goal. Can I do it? Not sure. Depends on how much coffee I ingest.

Okay, see ya all on Happy Monday! Look for a Project Perk Post!

_Suz

Another blog?

Well, well, well. The girl that has a stack of blogs is adding another to the list!!! Please check it out! A group of us got together for some fun and you're invited!!!!

It's called Flashy Fiction--a site with other talented writers and there's an opening for you to share as well! Here's the intro from Heather. Hope to see you all over there!!!

Welcome to Flashy Fiction!

Are you struggling to find the words? Have you lost your desire to write? Need to remember how fun it is to create without criticism? This is the site for you!

What is Flashy Fiction?

Flashy Fiction is a blog designed to motivate you to write. We will give you prompts, your job is to write a flash piece and post it in the comments. The prompts can be anything – pictures, a series of words, a news article, a sentence, or quote.

Make this process something creative for you! Use it as a jumping off point to get back to your manuscript.

How does Flashy Fiction work?

Anyone can participate in Flashy Fiction. Read or view the prompt and then spend 10 to 20 minutes writing your flash piece. We do not care about your level of experience.

What can you write?

ANYTHING! It can be silly, or cute, or downright sad. Language is your choice as well. The only thing we ask is that it be on topic.



As a matter of courtesy, we do ask that all comments be nice. This is NOT a critique site and should not be treated as such. The participants are sharing pieces for fun.

Project Perk: Our Pep Project

PROJECT PERK: Our Pep Project

It’s time to inject some pep into the blogosphere. Lately, the news (both economic and other) has got me DOWN. Way down. And there doesn’t seem to be anything good to balance it out.

Right now, I want happy, fun stories. I want cute, fluffy flippin’ bunnies!!!! So every Monday, Robin and I are launching Project Perk: Our Pep Project. On that day, you will see nothing but pure, unadulterated cuteness. No holds barred!!!

Want to join? Let me know if you want to post happiness every Monday, and I’ll link to you as part of Project Perk in the side links! It will be Inspiration Nation!

Let’s do this! Let’s send the positive vibes out into the universe!!! Wanna? I’ll start now:



-Suz

A BIG POST: 2009 Golden Kite Winners and LA SCBWI News!

Hey there! Well, I have a couple of announcements. First, I wanted to post the winners of the 2009 Golden Kite Winners via SCBWI! Congrats! *runs out to buy all of the books listed. Thinks you should too.

Golden Kite Award Winners:

Fiction: DOWN SAND MOUNTAIN by Steve Watkins- Candlewick Press
Nonfiction: A LIFE IN THE WILD: GEORGE SCHALLER’S STRUGGLE TO SAVE THE LAST GREAT BEASTS by Pamela S. Turner- Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Picture Book Text: A VISITOR FOR BEAR by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton- Candlewick Press
Picture Book Illustration: LAST NIGHT Illustrated and written by Hyewon Yum- Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Golden Kite Honor Recipients:

Fiction: THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX by Mary E. Pearson- Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
Nonfiction: THE MYSTERIOUS UNIVERSE: SUPERNOVAE, DARK ENERGY, AND BLACK HOLES by Ellen Jackson; photographed and illustrated by Nic Bishop- Houghton Mifflin
Picture Book Text: BEFORE JOHN WAS A JAZZ GIANT by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Sean Qualls- Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
Picture Book Illustration: I LOVE MY NEW TOY Illustrated and written by Mo Willems- Hyperion

The Golden Kite Awards will be presented to the winners on Sunday, August 9th at the Golden Kite Luncheon. This luncheon is part of the SCBWI’s 38th Annual Conference on Writing and Illustrating for Children, taking place at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel August 7-10, 2009.

Speaking of the 2009 LA SCBWI conference, I also want to announce that I am part of SCBWI Team Blogger, official blogger for the conference. Thanks to Alice Pope, I will be blogging live from the red carpet--like the Oscars, only without all the botox! Meet my distinguished blogging teammates: Paula Yoo, Jolie Stekley, Lee Wind, Jamie Temairik, and of course, the amazing Alice Pope.

I will be interviewing authors, illustrators, agents and editors throughout my time in LA, and even getting you super-secret behind the scenes looks at some of the events. (Hide the karaoke machine!)

In the weeks before the conference, look for chances to score yourself an interview on the official SCBWI conference blog which will get you and your website/blog unbelievable exposure!

From my live blogging you can expect suspense, drama, humor and… fashion advice. Oh, yes. You’ll get it all.

(what red-carpet-professional can look like: LA SCBWI 2008)

Congrats to the Golden Kite recipients! I look forward to the luncheon in LA!
-Suz

Dinner Theatre

My kids were cracking me up tonight, so I busted out the camera during dinner. Sheesh. They really ham it up! No idea where they get that from....

Sophie's way of deciding ANYTHING. (Notice how she luckily always gets the outcome she wants). Tonight, she wanted to know who was the boss:


Joey's one joke:

Sophie's ONE joke:



Well, that's all from the Young household. Now we can go back to AFV. My son's favorite show!

-Suz