Monday, March 29, 2010

Teaser Tuesday!

You'd think that I would've written more, but I find when I get free time, I don't exactly use it to write. I've cleared my workspace and made it a little stress-free, but I don't know if that'll help. Hopefully! Anyways, this week's teaser from THE UNLIKELIHOOD OF NOSTALGIA is short, just about Zoey's first day back at school:

snipped!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Musings About Writing

It seems that when I have a lot of time, I rarely spend it doing anything productive. In the past few days since school ended, the only productive thing I've done is go to a spin class and work out at the gym for a couple of hours. I've written a total of about 300 words and mostly, I just played Pokemon and Guild Wars. I'm not very good at motivating myself.

Today, I'm just going to ramble. I don't post here often enough because I don't feel like I have a reason to. I don't want to bore people. So, here's a little intro to the first novel I ever completed: The Shape that Breaks.

I started writing it something like four years ago during winter break, before I started running and before I had a job. I just had an idea and I went with it - a girl who's heart is broken by, in her eyes, 'the perfect boy' and who gradually learns to pick up the pieces, aided by the wonderful, golden-eyed Aiden. There was this kid in my Marine Bio class who had yellow-green eyes who inspired Aiden - he was way tall and very skinny, his limbs too long for the rest of him. Aiden is probably one of my favorite love interests of all time. He wasn't that gorgeous, but he was striking in the way he looked because he stood out so much. His mom is from Greece and his step dad is a total jerk who moves them all over the place. He's a super genius at math. He's the goofiest character I've ever created and also one of the sweetest.

I finished The Shape that Breaks two years later, during a summer marathon writing session. The first draft was terrible and since then, I've totally changed the plot. I kind of treat my first draft like the time to just get to know the characters and the plot usually changes after that, like with The Unlikelihood of Nostalgia. But Aiden still continues to be my favorite character.

A little excerpt:

snipped!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Teaser Tuesday

Yay, my favorite day of the week! I'm about to go on a bike ride, but I'll get to everyone's in a little. Here's my teaser from Unlikelihood. I reached the 8k mark last night!

*snipped!*

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Teaser Er... Wednesday

My internet's been down, so I haven't been able to post my teaser, but here it is.

*snipped*

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers


Title: Some Girls Are
Author: Courtney Summers
Page Count: 256 pages
Summary: Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder. Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around.

Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge. If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day. She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully. Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be
more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.

Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale from the author of
Cracked Up To Be.

Review: I loved Cracked Up to Be, so I was super excited when I saw this book at Barnes and Noble the other day. My expectations for this book were very high and they definitely weren't crushed.

Some Girls Are was very... intense. I felt so bad for Regina but it was like a car crash - I couldn't look away. I read this book in probably a couple of hours and I got leg cramps from sitting on my bed in the same position for those couple of hours because I just couldn't stop. My mom pulled me out of a daze when she called to see if I wanted to watch Lost and as I was watching it, all I could think about was getting back to my book. I love those kinds of books because it reminds me of why I love reading so much - getting so wrapped up in another world that yours doesn't even seem real anymore.

The characters in Some Girls Are, like Cracked Up to Be, were really real. I loved that Michael was kind of a dick to Regina at first because he felt like he should hate her for the things she's done to him, but she grows on him. She grew on me, too. I wasn't her biggest fan in the beginning and some of the things she did were kind of questionable, but she was real. She made mistakes, but she was tough. She was really tough. I would've run away from home or begged my parents to move away if girls had put me through this type of treatment, because it was so terrible. And to think, she used to be one of them. She used to treat people like they had and she realizes how it is. I think she needed it, though.

I liked Parker of Cracked Up to Be just a little better, but Regina definitely grew on me. Sometimes the bullying was really, really intense and it didn't seem to be real for me, if only because I would've gone to someone about it or fought back even harder than Regina if I was in that position. Overall, though, Some Girls Are was a thoroughly good read.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Teaser Tuesday

Zoey's just gotten home from the hospital in this snippet and she's seeing her room - and her body - for the first time since the accident that took away her memory.

*snipped!*

Friday, March 5, 2010

Friday's Finest (1)


I decided to steal this meme from A Bookful of Thoughts because I wanteany idea what to. I haven't finished Liar by Justine Larbelestiar yet, but I'm almost done, so I'll have a review of that ASAP (I'm loving it so far!). Anyway, onto the rules:

Rules:
~Post a quote that really stuck to you after reading it in a book.
~Make sure it isn't a spoiler!
~If you'd like, expand on what you think it means and why you chose it.

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

From my favorite book of all time, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This always stuck with me, even after I'd put the book down and tried to go on with my life now that there was no new Harry Potter to look forward to.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Teaser Tuesday/ A Little Intro

So, as you may or may not know by the name of my blog, my name is Sam. I'm a senior in high school and chronic procrastinator as well as a lover of words. I run for my high school and I am both the girl's cross country captain and girl's distance track captain. To say I am busy would be an understatement: the majority of my life consists on homework, running, work, and the occasional night out with my boyfriend.

Anyways, I mention all the stuff about running because I have my first track meet of the year tomorrow! Wish me luck, everyone!

And now, for Teaser Tuesday! This little excerpt here is from my rewrite of The Unlikelihood of Nostalgia, a contemporary YA about a girl who gets hit by a car and forgets that past five years of her life. I wrote the entire novel for NaNoWriMo, but it definitely didn't turn out the way I wanted. So, without further ado, here it is:
Snipped! :)

So, I've given in.

I suck at blogging, I really do. My last blog, Read Sam, Read, was an utter fail once my reading inertia ran out. I've created a BlogSpot because I know that's what most people use, so here I am. Hopefully this blog will be more successful than my last one! :D