Highlights From 2013

I suppose most people have put 2013 behind them by now, but before I join them in putting the year to rest, I have a few reflections. It was a mostly positive year, with one dark cloud which will continue to loom over my family in 2014. Though I may not always be able to see the sun on a dark, cloudy day, I have faith that it still exists on the other side. So, in no particular order, some of my highlights and favorite things from 2013.

1. Writing - What would I do without words? Without characters and stories to create? Probably succumb to watching HGTV 24 hours a day. That channel is seriously addicting.

2. Squash pie from Wilson's - I discovered this pie right before Thanksgiving and had to go back to buy one for Christmas. I may have accidentally hid it in the back of the refrigerator on Christmas until after we had eaten dinner and dessert. Such a shame that the family was too full to eat any.

3. Speaking of refrigerators...My new refrigerator! - After my ol' faithful 20 year old fridge froze its last ice cube a few days before Christmas, it was time to put it to rest. My new one is shiny and white and doesn't have handles. It's sparkly with it's LED lights and oh, so clean. I never thought I'd become enamored with a kitchen appliance, but I'm smitten.

4. Pope Francis - I love that this simple man of faith is leading my Church and I'm hopeful for its future.

5. The University of Notre Dame

6. My family - There were so many joyful  moments that made my heart soar this past year: birth of a new baby, wedding with a story behind it that makes me tear up every time I tell someone (and the addition of our Chloe), my parents moving back from Florida, celebrating sacraments together: First Communion, Confirmation, Baptism - we are truly blessed. There were/are some difficult events that we struggled with and will continue to face in 2014 but we're strong, resilient, and hopeful.

7. One of those joyful family events...My son running, finishing, and in his category, winning a marathon.
He trained last summer, often running 8 to 15 miles in the heat. This past fall, on his fall break from college, he flew home and ran in a local marathon. His time, just under 3 hours, qualified him  for the Boston Marathon in 2015. He is such an inspiration to me and I'm so proud of him.

8. My friends, J and T, blog about their child and how she has changed their lives in the best possible way. It's a peek into their private lives and the little joys that come with their child's discoveries and growth. Their posts put a smile on my face as I remember my own brood when they were that young. I look forward to every post!

9. Downton Abbey - Yes, I am bandwagon jumper on-er. After mispronouncing the name of this hit show for two years (kind of like how I mispronounced Hermione's name until I listened to a Harry Potter audiobook. Doh!), my oldest daughter and I decided to borrow the DVDs for the past 3 seasons to see what all the hype was about. Well, it only took a few episodes to hook us and I'm so excited about season 4. Can't wait to find out what happens to the residents and staff of my favorite English residence.

10. My comfy Clarks. Worth every penny.

What were some of your favorite things or moments of 2013? I'd love for you to share them in the comments below.

Favorite 2013 Reads

My Goodreads reading goal for 2013 was to read 26 books. To my delight, I surpassed this goal in the fall and reset it for 32. As of December 31, 2013 I finished reading 39 novels! It was a great year for YA fiction and it's going to be hard to narrow down my favorites, but I suspect that some of mine are on your favorites list as well. In no particular order:

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - I love a book with a gut-wrenching twist.

Just One Day/Just One Year - Gayle Forman is back! Just sayin'.

Fangirl - I categorize this as NA. Another great book by Rainbow Rowell.

Shine - Lauren Myracle - How did I neglect reading this for so long? Wonderful!

Prodigy - Marie Lu - The Legend series; Most trilogies I've read or started reading have a weak book. Not this one. Champion will be my first read in 2014.

Days of Blood and Starlight - Laini Taylor, enough said.

Wintergirls (reread) - Laurie Halse Anderson - Perfect.

The Fifth Wave - Rick Yancey, I love your writing.

Chaos Walking series - Patrick Ness, I love yours, too.

The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith - Jo, you sneaky devil! Refreshing. Renewed my love for mystery/detective books with great characterization.

And because Neil Gaiman's brilliant, even when he's writing a blog post, The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Good creepy stuff!

I'll keep my 2013 list visible on the right of this homepage for a few more days in case you're looking for recommendations for your 2014 TBR list. After that I'll post the list under my Books Read tab where you will find my 2012 and 2013 list. If your're interested I will be adding my 2014 reads to the right sidebar on this page as well as what I'm currently reading.

Also, a special shout out to my two friends who were published this year. Donna K. Weaver and Donna Hosie.
I'm so proud of these women and happy to count them as friends. I wish them continued success and can't wait to see how they'll use their talents this year.

What were your favorite reads of 2013? Were any of mine on your list? What must read book should I add to my 2014 TBR list?

Finally

The shopping is done
Presents have been opened and put away.
Family has been hosted.
The broken refrigerator has been replaced.
My time is my own for a week.

Looking forward to getting back to writing
and reading
and decluttering,
sleeping and breathing
and catching up with family, friends, my characters.

I've been allowing 2013 to wind down, putting it behind me, and looking forward to 2014 tentatively. This year has the potential to be really great or devastating with not much room for in between.

I choose hope and faith, shielding my heart from fear.

How was 2013 for you? Are you looking forward to the new year?

Literary Conversations

Another Sunday afternoon and ABC family is playing Harry Potter and Sorcerer's Stone. I walked into the den where my youngest daughter was watching the Halloween feast in the Great Hall. We both drooled over the table laden with festive treats aplenty. She sighed and asked, "Why didn't you send me to Hogwarts?" To which I replied, "You're only 9. You have to be 11 to attend Hogwarts." Seriously, who doesn't want to go to Hogwarts? I've got two years to figure out how to send her there.

Another daughter was immersed in The Final Descent, Rick Yancey's fourth and final book in his Monstrumology series. She looked up when I entered the room, her eyes rimmed red. "[Name of one of our favorite characters]," she said sadly. "I know," I sympathized. She had just read about his death. Later, she came down still looking a bit sad. "Did you finish?" I asked. "Yes, but I'm sad because it's over." "Me too," I said. "I wish he could have written more." Then, "I'm going to text M [her friend who also loves the series but hasn't started Book 4 yet] to tell her I finished."

Then we watched this together.

We both declared, "It looks good!" and had a discussion about how we hope the book translates well to screen. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

Sprucing Up the Blog

I decided to spruce up the blog a bit as an early resolution to post more often. It's hard to come back though. I wonder if everyone else has moved on and will even notice if I post. I've noticed a decline in blog participation and posting in general which makes me sad, since it's the social media that I prefer.  I am on Facebook now but rarely post. It's more a means to keep in touch with family and a few friends. As far as Twitter, I most likely will join next year, and again, my participation will be minimal.

I've always been more of an observer, and I'm just fine with that. It's my nature. I'm a self-professed introvert and Hufflepuff (even if the Pottermore sorting placed me in Slytherin). I used to believe that I had to change these parts of my personality. Be more aggressive, assertive, seek out the spotlight, and toot my own horn. But I'm comfortable with who I am now, flaws and all. And even though I still haven't finished a first draft of a novel yet, I will. It might even be by the end of this year.

So why all of this reflection? Maybe because I had a birthday a couple of weeks ago. I'm someone who hasn't minded getting older. Each day is a gift that I try not to take for granted. I'm not getting any younger, but I'm grateful for each and every day. My schedule has slowed down a bit after an absolutely crazy fall. Having no free time for two months really starts to wear you down. Throw in a few personal hardships and something has to give. The pattern for me over the past few years has been fall = little to no writing. I've tried to fight against it, but it's time for acceptance not guilt. Now that I do have the time (even though a little voice has been whispering, "You should be Christmas shopping") I'm drawn to work on my WIP. THAT makes me giddy happy. Why? Because that truth speaks to me. It says, "You're a writer and and nobody can take that away." Only I can decide if I'm not. I still love my WIP and fresh ideas keep flowing, even after a long break away. So I'll continue to  move forward writing Jude's story as it unfolds in my brain and hopefully I'll get to share it with the world some day.

In the meantime, my intention is to blog once a week and hopefully keep in touch with some writer friends. I hope some of you will stop by and say "Hi." Writing can be a lonely venture, but it doesn't have to be if we listen and support each other.

Another Post Where I Gush About LHA

How do you begin a blog post when you've been away for oh, say, 6 or 7 weeks?

Maybe a simple, "Hi. It's great to be back."

Truth is I've had a great summer, but now that the kids are getting older, summer isn't quite as laid back and relaxing as it used to be. It's still my favorite season but instead of blogging, I decided to use my time reading, writing, working on my critiquing skills and join the rest of the world by catching up on 3 seasons of Downton Abbey (which is pure LOVE). My WIP is continuing to take shape and I'm excited about the direction it's going in -- a great motivation for the busy autumn months ahead.

Today I'd like to focus on one of my favorite authors -- Laurie Halse Anderson. Those who've read this blog and know me, know how much I respect and admire her. Not only does she absolutely nail the teen voice, heck all her characters voices, she touches many lives, many of them teens, through her novels. I've had the honor of meeting her once and she's the real deal: gracious, humble, generous.

So why am I gushing? Three reasons. I could think of more but I'll stick to three for now. (and now I'm reciting Monty Python in my brain, heehee)

Reason to gush about Laurie #1
I reread Wintergirls a couple of weeks ago. It's one of those books that as I read I found myself thinking, "Every word counts." Perfection.

Reason to gush about Laurie #2
Her long awaited (by me) YA novel, The Impossible Knife of Memory, will be available January 7,  2014 (squee!!). It's going to be tough waiting 4 whole months, however you can read the first 6 chapters here. WARNING: These chapters completely sucked me into the story and left me craving more. Read at your own risk ;)

Reason to gush about Laurie #3
WFMAD is back!
Write Fifteen Minutes A Day is a month long series of prompts, usually in August, for us, for writers. You can read about it here.
If you follow her blog, you might know that she's had a busy year. So when August rolled around and there were no WFMAD posts I figured it was too much for her this year. I was wrong. The posts will be every day in September this year. One of the things I love about Laurie is that even though she's hugely successful, she offers a month of writing prompts, encouraging words, and gentle prodding to those of us who dream of writing a novel and maybe even dream of being published.

Can I say that when I saw her last image on Day 1, a quote by one of my favorite wizards, I wanted to hug her?


How's your summer been? Have you been writing?

What I Learned About Teens at One Direction

Harry
Niall
Zayne
Liam
Louis

 What do these names have in common?

 If you thought of the band, One Direction, you would be right.

I recently attended their concert with one of my daughters. My older daughter was already going that night with friends. On the day of the concert, my 13-year-old and I got the opportunity to go when two family members asked us when their friends had to back out. I'll admit I wasn't exactly looking forward to it, but I knew it meant a lot to M (you should see her 1D poster plastered walls!). I anticipated spending two long hours, quite possibly in the rain, with 19,000 screaming teen girls. Hearing loss was a definite possibly as was a wet, sticky car ride home. 

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Though dark storm clouds loomed in the direction of the outdoor stadium, the clouds passed and it never did rain. When the sun went down, twinkling stars appeared in the sky. It was a beautiful night for an outdoor concert. I'd like to share three mini observations/experiences at the concert that occurred that night.

In our aisle, my daughter stood on my right and a girl I didn't know to my left. As you can imagine, there was a lot of screaming when the boys came on the stage, when they began singing a new song, and when they stopped to talk with the audience. But for the most part, the audience quieted down or sang along during the performance. At one point near the beginning of the concert, the girl to my left turned to me and said, "Am I bothering you? I'm so sorry if I'm singing too loud." Is that not the sweetest thing? I responded, "You're not bothering me at all. Don't worry about it, please! Have fun!" I was so impressed with her consideration of me, a tag-a-long mom, a complete stranger. I was also impressed that this adorable girl knew every single word of every song (even the cover of Blondie's, One Way or Another)!

The next happened after the show was over. The crowd was exiting along a walkway, a mass wall of people heading for the parking lot. It wasn't a fast moving crowd, but you did have to stay close your companions or you could easily become separated. A girl in front of us dropped her 1D t-shirt as the crowd kept moving forward. Another girl to our side scooped the t-shirt up and gave to the grateful girl who had dropped it. A simple act of kindness that spoke volumes.

And lastly, I just wanted to comment on the energy of the audience. Yes, they were loud, but not obnoxious or rude. They danced and sang with an exuberant joy for the band they loved, and even though I'm old enough to be Louis's mother, I enjoyed every moment. (What?)

One thing I believe is essential when writing young adult contemporary literature is an authentic voice. Some authors nail this: Laurie Halse Anderson, Sara Zarr, and Gayle Forman. Sometimes, I think adults forget that being a teen does not necessarily equal snarky, self-centeredness, rudeness or moodiness. Or else they forget that adults can be this way, too. Teens are kind, considerate, joyful, witty, and caring. Two books that I read this year were good, but would have been so much better with less snark and sarcasm. Not that those characteristics are necessarily bad, but balance is important. I find that the more I write, the more authentic I want my teens to act and speak. It's not enough to try and remember what it was like to be a teen, or write how we think a teen might act. Spending time with teens and/or observing them is key. Lucky for me, I live with three (and one on her way in a few years).

Who are your favorite young adult contemporay authors? Or, what is your favorite boy band?