Category Archives: Wednesday Randomness

Feb25

Wednesday Randomness – Your Book is a Movie, Who is the Dream Cast?

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This week’s blog is about all dream casting for your book. I haven’t actually published a book, yet, but I have a current story I’m working on that I’m pretty excited about so I thought I’d use that one. I don’t want to give away too much about, but in short, this is a YA story about a psychic and a serial killer. Enough said.

My main character is named Francie and I have always pictured her as Felicia Day, although as a teenager. Especially with a hint of her character, Charlie, from Supernatural. A little quirky, but with a secret that she sides from a lot of people. But the look, total Felicia Day, the red hair, the smile, totally adorable.

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Francie’s best friend is a kid named Will, or as I like to call him, a younger version of John Cho. In the book, his last name is actually Cho. I like this picture of him in particular because he looks a little younger and a little innocent. And kind of a like a guy in awe of his psychic best friend. But he’s also Francie’s rock.

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The other character I can picture clearly in mind is the bad guy, the killer, Grayson Anderson. And for him, I see James Spader. A late 1990’s or early 2000’s James Spader. He can come across as utterly creepy and soulless, it just screams serial killer. His faces flashes in my mind when I write certain scenes. *shiver*

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Those are a few of my characters from my current work in progress and my dream casting if it ever became a movie (and time travel were possible, apparently).

Check out the links below to see what the other Wednesday bloggers are saying:

Jess
Gwen
Bronwyn
Kellie
Jessica
Kris

Jan21

Wordless Wednesday – On My Walls

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Wordless Wednesday – On My Walls

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Check out the other Wednesday Bloggers:
Kris Norris
Bronwyn Green
Gwendolyn Cease
Jess Jarman
Kellie St. James

Jan7

Wednesday Randomness – Fave Things: (Super)Heroes

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This week’s random Wednesday topic is our favorite (super)heroes. I’m sticking to fictional heroes here, and I’m going some traditional superheroes and some not.

The first is my all time favorite superhero, without question. Which is funny because aside from this one character, I’m a Marvel girl, but I love Batman. I love the character, I love Alfred, I love the setting, the villains, all of it. And, because I couldn’t pick my favorite Batman, I decided to represent with a classic comic representation. See, I adore Michael Keaton. He is such a fantastic Batman and his first movie is great. Jack Nicholson as the Joker is so over the top crazy, but it works. However, I also have a very special place in my heart for Christian Bale, ever since he was in Little Women, and then for him to be Batman. And those movies were so dark which just made them better…although I could have done without Katie Holmes and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Okay, I have to stop with Batman or that’s all this post will be. Moving on.

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Next up is my second favorite traditional superhero. Thor. I used to read the comics when I was a kid, but here, I had to go with the movie version because, yum. I don’t usually find myself attracted to blondes, per se. but how can you not? Anywho… I enjoy Norse mythology so like that the comic is (loosely) based on that, but I also just enjoy the characters.

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And third, the Doctor. Not a superhero, but a hero for sure. He’s saved so many people and planets throughout the universe. He gives people hope. One of my favorite quotes about him is from a two part storyline in the third season of New Who:

“He’s like fire and ice and rage. He’s like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun. He’s ancient and forever. He burns at the center of the time and can see the turn of the universe. And he’s wonderful.”

I’m not really sure this says why he’s a hero, but I think it sums the Doctor up perfectly. And although David Tennant wasn’t my first Doctor, I think he’s my favorite. Although I do have a special place in my heart for Christopher Eccelston too.

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And last but not least, the Winchester boys. They are heroes whether or not they want to be, and whether or not they think of themselves that way. They are flawed heroes to be sure, but in the end, they (or at least one of them) will always do what’s right even if it’s not easy. Who am I kidding? It’s never easy for the Winchesters. But they are fighters and I think that’s a key characteristic of what makes someone a hero. They don’t give up even when things seem impossible. Even when they’re dead. They do what needs to be done.

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Check out the links below to see who the fave heroes are of the other Wednesday bloggers:
Jess Jarman
Gwendolyn Cease
Bronwyn Green
Kris Norris

Dec10

Wednesday Randomness…Five Biggest Writing Distractions

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It’s been so long since I’ve blogged, I almost forgot what a blog was. I will say that I have been struggling with same major mental health issues (and that is my first time ever mentioning my mental health or anything related to it online – cue hyperventilating). Just pulling myself out of the muck to do this blog post required a backhoe, but I figured, I have to start somewhere. So here I start…

The five biggest writing distractions. I have to narrow it down to five, huh? Number one for me lately is, as I’ve already mentioned, mental health. I’ve actually been struggling with some pretty deep depression for close to nine months now, but it’s gotten worse over the last two or so. I used to want to write but couldn’t make myself. Now I don’t want to. I know it’s temporary and I know it will pass. Eventually. One day, hopefully before the universe ends. But right now it sucks.

When I’m not fighting my brain, the number one distraction is my day job. Mostly in the form of, I spend nine hours or so on the computer at work, so when I get home, the last thing I want to do is get on the computer. I’m not sure if that’s really a distraction or not, but it keeps me from writing.

When I actually get to writing, those rare times, I get distracted by…the internet. Who’s surprised? Anyone, anyone? Bueller? I’m guessing no one else out there is ever distracted by the internet. I mean, no one else looks at pictures of baby elephants bathing, or cats jumping and missing their landings or dogs trying to walk in new booties or ALL of Pinterest. You lucky people with self control.

What else distracts me from writing? Oddly enough, the actual act of writing. I get so bogged down in wanting everything to be perfect that I don’t get much writing done. This sentence needs to be the best sentence ever written! Three hours later I have four words that mean going to the store…which are probably “going to the store.” It’s infuriating.

I also tend to get distracted by everything else I SHOULD be doing besides writing. Writing isn’t my day job. It’s not even a paying side job (yet). So every time I sit down to write I start thinking that I should be cleaning or doing laundry or spending time with my husband or working on any number of home improvement projects that are piling up. I need to just get over that. My husband tells me that all the time, I need to just go write.

So, those are my five biggest distractions from writing. What distracts you from the task at hand?

Check out the other Wednesday bloggers below:

Brownyn Green
Jess Jarman
Kellie St. James
Gwendolyn Cease
Kris Norris

Oct15

Wednesday Randomness…Crushing on Fictional Characters

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This week’s Wednesday post is all about crushing on fictional characters. Mine mostly come from books, but I found a few non-book swoon-worthy characters to throw in there. In no particular order…

Dmitri Belikov from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. I didn’t see the movie so I don’t know how he was portrayed there, but in the books, he was flat out amazing. He was a bad-ass for one, when it came to fighting. Good-looking, as well. But he was also loyal and supportive, and just a good guy. Except for that time in the middle of the series where he was a serious bad…oops. Wait, spoilers.

Jonah Seafort from the forthcoming Eventide by Chris Allen-Riley (otherwise known as our very own Bronwyn Green). This books comes out October 20 and you should read it because it’s awesome, but also because it has this swoon worthy character. He’s Native American, which for me is a big plus (so sue me, I’m shallow). And he doesn’t have any of those negative attributes you see in so many teen male characters these days. He’s not a stalker, he’s not controlling, he’s not creepy. He’s there for Devon (the main character), even when most others think she’s toxic (damn, I’m getting close to spoilers again). I’m not sure I can even put into words what I really like about it, but I got at least two, maybe three distinct stomach flips from him when reading this book.

Maybe I’ll start a new grading scale for crush-worthiness, the number of stomach flips you get. I can even use little pictures of stomachs, instead of stars. Would that be gross?

The Winchester Brothers from Supernatural. I have a hard time picking just one, so I’m going with both. And just for a little bit of eye candy, here’s a picture. 🙂

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I think both brothers are crush-worthy in their own way, but it’s their relationship that really makes them unique (and the show). They never give up and they are loyal to a fault.

Tod Hudson from the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent. I read a lot of YA, so a lot of my crush-worthy fictional characters from there, which makes me feel like a dirty old woman. I can live with that. Tod starts out the series as sarcastic and acerbic and I love him for it. He doesn’t lose that, but he becomes much more than just the witty guide that he starts out as. He becomes an integral part to the story and has the most heartbreaking scene in all of the seven books, hands down. Who doesn’t love a man who can cry?

Daniel Kalbi from the Dark Divine series by Bree Despain. Another YA series but to me, this one is not your typical paranormal YA. It has some of the same aspects that you come to expect, but it’s written in such a way that it feels fresh. And Daniel is no exception. He starts out as the bad boy with the dark past who shouldn’t be hanging around the preacher’s daughter (although not for the reason you think), but that idea gets turned on it’s head. He’s fiercely loyal, and he believes in his woman. I love that in a man. Or boy, I suppose.

My last crush for the day is from another TV show, Dr. Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds. I just love that weird, genius. He’s totally out there and I have a feeling that if I knew him in real life, trying to carry on a conversation with him would make me nuts, but I’d sure give it my very best try.

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Check out who the other Wednesday bloggers are crushing on:
Jess Jarman
Gwendolyn Cease
Kellie St. James
Bronwyn Green
Jenny Trout
Kris Norris

Oct1

Wednesday Randomness…These are a Few of My Favorite Things – Songs Edition

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So, I might have moved my blog. And maybe given it a new name, and a new look. And a new theme. I’m not saying all these things happened, I’m just saying they might have happened. And I was, potentially, supposed to show them off a few weeks ago. At the same time, I was supposed to be keeping up on the Wednesday blogs.

But, that’s a lot of supposed to’s and should have been’s. And I’ve learned that way of thinking is not good for me. So I’m just going to skip over all of that and say, Welcome to my new blog! I can’t say it will look this way permanently, I’ve gone through at least four themes since I moved over here and I’m not sure I’m sold on this. But we’ll see.

You also might have noticed a bit of an alteration to my name. Move along. Nothing to see here. These are not the droids you’re looking for.

On to the actual Wednesday Randomness topic for the week…Favorite Songs!

This was a tough one to scale down. But here is a list, in particular order, of a few of my most very favorite songs:

Queen – Killer Queen (of all of Queen’s songs, I have no idea why I like this one so much, but I love to sing it). And yes, I’m aware it’s about a high priced call girl.

Toad the Wet Sprocket – All I Want (forever and always). I still get chills, from the song and the video. I saw them in concert recently (with Bronwyn Green) and they played this. I was a happy girl.

U2 – Angel of Harlem

Billy Joel – Leningrad (and also Downeaster Alexa). The man can tell a story. I get chills from both of these songs.

Sarah McLachlan – Building a Mystery (high school…)

U2 – Mysterious Ways. It’s funky and I love it. The video is kind of trippy.

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons – Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You (I love them in general, really)

Toad the Wet Sprocket – Crowing. Not one of their better known songs, but it’s always been one of my favorites.

Domestic Problems – Untitled. So I worked in a music store in high school and this CD came out when I was there. We played it all the time because DP is a local band. I can still every word to every song, but this one was always my favorite on the album.

David Bowie/Queen – Under Pressure. Ummm…Freddie Mecury and David Bowie? Yes, please.

Dave Matthews Bank – The Space Between

Counting Crows – Goodnight Elizabeth, this song has the feels, man.

Okay, so that’s just a few. I didn’t include any Broadway or Movie soundtrack songs though, that would easily double this list.

If you want to see what music the rest of the Wednesday bloggers are listening to, check out the links below:

Bronwyn Green
Jess Jarman
Gwendolyn Cease
Jenny Trout
Kris Norris
Kellie St. James

Sep3

Wednesday Randomness – A Few of My Favorite Things…Book Covers Edition

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This week’s Wednesday blog is all about our favorite book covers. Anyone who knows me will probably not be surprised by the ones I chose to include. I love color and lots of it. I think you’ll find that my favorite book covers stick to that pattern.

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The Dark Divine by Bree Despain. I love all of the covers, but this one is my favorite. It’s very ethereal and haunting. And purple, which is my favorite color.



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The two above are from the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent. The first book is the last in the series, the second is the third omnibus. Again, I love the color. And apparently I have a thing for flowing dresses. I tend to also like covers that don’t show faces directly.


         
Or in the case of the series above, show the face partially obscured. I’m still working my way through this series, but I included all of them here because they are gorgeous. And mysterious.
Again with the partial face and bright colors. I’m starting to feel reptitive. 🙂
Okay, one more YA series. The covers to the Ruby Red Trilogy by Kerstin Gier are just stunning.

In trying to find the cover for Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews, I discovered that they reissued it with a different cover. One that is more similar to her newest releases. Disappointing, I say! I love the original cover because the picture, combined with the title, speaks to my Southern roots. I can feel the heat and humidity in the summer with a fan blowing that does nothing more than push the hot air around. All that from a fairly bare-bones kind of picture.


These are just a few of my favorite book covers. Click a name below to see what covers appeal to the other Wednesday bloggers:
Bronwyn Green 
Jess Jarman
Kellie St. James
Kris Norris
Gwendolyn Cease

Aug13

Wednesday Randomness – Self-Interview with James Lipton

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Good Morning fellow sentient beings! It’s Wednesday again and time for another totally random blog. This week’s topic is to conduct a self-interivew ala James Lipton. I decided to stick with his ten questions because I’ve never actually answered them before.

  1. What is your favorite word? – Scrumtrilescent (I had to do it, there’s too many to pick one of my own)

  2. What is your least favorite word? – Moist *shudders*

  3. What turns you on? – Ummmm…ummmm… It probably shouldn’t be so hard to answer this question. Something to do with glasses and curly hair, I think.

  4. What turns you off? – So many things. I have many little idiosyncrasies and things that annoy me, it doesn’t take much.

  5. What sound or noise do you love? – Waves crashing

  6. What sound or noise do you hate? – A dog left outside barking his fool head off. Or a baby crying. They both grate on my nerves. And a stapler. And people chewing. I could really go on and on with this one. No, seriously. I have sensory issues related ot noise.

  7. What is your favorite curse word? – The F word. Without a doubt. I can swear like a sailor when the mood strikes, but I like to try and keep it clean on my blog. J

  8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? – That’s an easy one. Writer.

  9. What profession would you not like to do? – Anything involving something gross, like cleaning out horse stalls or septic tanks. I have a really weak stomach.

  10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? – Uh, didn’t expect to see you here.
Check out the other bloggers to see their interviews and maybe find out something new!

Bronwyn Green
Jess Jarman
Kellie St. James
Kris Norris

Jul30

Wednesday Randomness – What Motivates Me?

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This week’s Wednesday Randomness blog is on a topic I seriously need help with.

What Motivates Me?

There are any number of topics I need motivation about; exercise, cleaning, projects around the house, writing. I could go on, but I’ll focus on writing because, you know, I don’t want to think about the other ones.

First, here’s a motivational picture. Just a little something to put myself in a good frame of mind. Of somewhere else I would MUCH rather be.

Ok, what motivates me to write? So far, not much. It’s not my full-time job. It’s not even my part-time job, so I have a tendency to push it aside. Even though I would very much like it to be my full time job at some point in my life. Part of my problem is that after spending nine hours a day in front of a computer at work, I don’t want to spend any time in front of a computer when I get home. But that’s just an excuse.

The biggest problem though; I’m a huge procrastinator. And, I’m lazy. I’ve actually been told that…by one of my parents. I remember it well. We had to ask a parent to choose three words to describe us for health class. One of the words chosen was lethargic. Isn’t that nice? Made me feel great having to say that to the whole class.

Apparently this post is turning into free therapy, sorry about that.

Back on topic.

Physics.  Physics. PhysicsPhysicsPhysics. PHYSSSSSSSSICS. I hope you’re all getting this down.

Can you tell I’m having a hard time writing this post? It must be a lack of motivation.

See what I did there?

Deadlines motivate me. But I don’t currently have any that are writing related, so that’s not overly helpful. Sure, I could set my own. But my own deadlines usually don’t work, I just ignore them. I need someone, somewhere waiting on me turn things in. Someone that I can get in trouble with. That’s a motivator.

Even setting myself rewards doesn’t really work because if I really want to do something, I’ll just do it anyway.

Guilt is also a big motivator, but I’ve yet to figure out how to guilt myself into writing. It’s usually other way I around. I feel guilty spening time writing and ignoring my family and the other things I need to be doing around the house.

The post has not gone at all like I intended, but there you have it. If anyone has any good ideas about self-motivation, lay ’em on me!

Check out the other Wednesay bloggers to see what motivates them:
Bronwyn Green
Jess Jarman
Kellie St. James
Kris Norris
Jenny Trout
Gwendolyn Cease

 
Jul9

If I Could Have a Superpower, I’d…

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After missing a few weeks of the Wednesday blogging, I’m back. And I’m kind of excited about today’s topic, because I am a major nerd.
 
If I Could Have a Superpower, I’d…  Well, I’d be awesome, obviously.
 
This is actually a question I’ve pondered quite often over the years, there are a lot of possibilities. But, ultimately, I think I would want to be telekinetic. Partially because I’m lazy. But also because it would just make so many things a million times easier!
 
Think about it.
 
No more having to practically break my wrist trying to carry in all the groceries in one trip so I don’t have to go back out to my car. Instead, I could hover them into the house. And put away lots of things at once, not just one or two at a time. I’m not sure if this goes back to the lazy thing or is just really efficient.
 
Also, I could finally get back at people who used ot hold things over my head out of my reach. *cough cough, my brother, cough cough* I could put things like his work tools just out of reach and make them look like they are going to get closer, and then shoot them back up into the sky. Although, I hope I can levitate my self out his reach, too.
 

But, I think it would come in most handy when I want to keep my annoying neighbor off my property. I would pelt her with mulch and small rocks and things while I stayed safely inside the house. She would never even know it was me. That would be awesome because that woman is a pain in my ass.

I’m sure I could come up with a million more uses, but those are the top three that come that come to mind. I have to add, if I couldn’t be telekinetic, I would totally want to be able to fly. Or somehow transport between to places instanteously. I’m tired of commuting to work.

Check out what super powers my fellow Wednesday Bloggers would like to have:
Bronwyn Green
Jess Jarman
Kellie St. James
Kris Norris
Jenny Trout
Gwendolyn Cease