Life truly does happen when you're not looking.

This is not another post about how "I'm so sorry I haven't blogged in months" and how "I am vowing once again to start back up" and then feverishly writing a zillion scheduled blogs.

This is simply a post to say I'm just not sure this blogging thing is for me.  Life has gotten so busy these past few months.  Really this whole year.  It has changed and rearranged so many times.  It's been really hard to keep up with anything, personal or professional.

I moved my life across the country, started a job, quit a job, moved again, started school, started another job, quit both, sat around looking for answers, and then found yet another job (which I just quit yesterday to start school next month).  I also squeezed a wedding in there somehow, and moving yet AGAIN.

Hopefully I won't have to move until 2014, when I will be moving to Hawaii with my new husband.  That should be a VERY nice vacation, especially after the last few months.

So my original point stands, I am unsure that consistent blogging is something I can keep up with.  I really do love the blogging world.  It keeps me in the loop for cool contests, new books, writing advice, and fun people!  But it also remains a source of self-inflicted stress.  I feel pressure to perform on the same scale as the people who have been blogging professionally for years.  I can't even read a book consistently, let alone review one in a decent amount of time.  I have been trying to call myself a writer, as well as trying to write about my writing, but when I haven't written in FOREVER, it's hard to keep up with that persona.

What's the point?  Anymore, I'm not sure.  I created this persona: writer, reader, blogger - who is that person?  I've been trying so hard to be something I'm not able to be.

Some would say I am over thinking something as simple as a blog.  But when you put your words out into the world for everyone to read and judge, you take on certain responsibilities (even if only to yourself sometimes.)  If you want to have anyone actually READ your blog, you have to have interesting material on a regular basis.  It's my downfall that I just don't think I'm that interesting.  Not every day, not every other day, and certainly not every week.

I tried to figure out what made me like reading the other blogs I love, and that's when I realized it - I am just mimicking the blogs I see.  But no one ever told me what to do or how to do it, I just followed suit.

That is why I think if I am to blog, I must find my own groove.  I can no longer do what everyone else is doing.  And I guess I knew that the whole time.  I've never gone to the beat of anyone's drum.  Ever.  My close friends tell me that is why we're friends - I'm interesting and fun and crazy and cool.  We'll see.

But for now, I won't be blogging on this blog.  If I do, I will be changing it up.  Or I may just start a new blog: fresh, and all ME.


.......Actually, my name is Corrina.  Charlie is the pen name I created for myself 3 years ago, when I decided to start this blog.  I thought it would be "cool" and different.  But really, it just created more stress, trying to keep up the facade of yet another mask.  I will still create novels under my pen name, I think, but now I'm just me.  I'm just Corrina.

(and my husband)

Silence says it all.

Today's writing piece comes from a writing prompt at Write on Edge about utilizing local nostalgia to create a short story.  As I just finished pasting this onto my blog, I realized I didn't utilize any particular "named" local things, but utilized a place and activities to tell my fiction tale.        

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     Lily sat on the stool facing the window, so she could get a good look at the bay.    Her coffee steam fogged her glasses, reacting to how cool it had been outside.  Fall in Seattle was her favorite season, but as she thought of a warmer place, a warmer time in her life, the orange leaves rippled into rolling waves.  Sand crept up between her toes; it was abrasive, yet comforting.  A set of wings flapped past her head, and Lily realized it was an old, hungry friend.  Lily made many friends at the ocean.  One in particular flooded her with nostalgia.

            It had been so many years since Drew, so many lost nights in the sand and surf.  His warm tan skin and his confident golden eyes enveloped Lily’s memories in a passionate, yet fleeting embrace.  She couldn’t recall how many times she questioned his intentions.  She was only visiting family for the summer, after all.  Nevertheless, Drew would smile and Lily would lose it all over again, swimming in his endless passionate kisses.

            Lily focused on one particular kiss, one that came after a very important question from Drew.  He had asked her for vow of marriage – a commitment a 17 year old could hardly make.  Lily’s heart had stopped in her chest, as her eyes welled with tears.  She knew she could not stay with this man at the ocean’s edge.  She might as well jump in the Atlantic herself and save him the misery of her answer.  Lily dropped Drew’s gentle hands and stared towards the waves.  Drew sighed, and Lily knew it was done.  He carefully moved a strand of hair from Lily’s face, leaned towards her and pressed his lips softly to hers.  “I’ll think of you always, my little sunshine.”  He whispered close in her ear and walked away.

            “Ma’am?  Excuse me, ma’am?  I think your phone is ringing again.  It’s been going off for ten minutes.”  The store manager’s voice boomed through Lily’s ears, while Drew’s words echoed into oblivion.  Lily’s reality flooded in, taking all of her sand and sorrow with it.  

----Charlie----

BLOGGIESTA - Fall Style!

It is time again for the awesomeness that is BLOGGIESTA!


This time though, it's in September (28-30 to be exact)!


In case you don't know what Bloggiesta is, I will be kind enough to tell you! ;)


Bloggiesta is a time for all bloggers to take their blog and give it a once over (or a twice over, or even a thirty times over).  You might want to change something simple about your blog like the template, background, or text color.  You may even want to go a little farther and update your blogroll, label system, or comment structure.  Even farther still, you might want to check out any of the mini-challenges that will be hosted around the blogosphere by fellow book bloggers.  Just make sure you sign up at There's A Book in the link widget to share your experience with Bloggiesta!

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective), I spent a few days in August cleaning up my blog and changing stuff around.  So, for Bloggiesta this time I will focus on increasing my traffic to my blog, better time management (with regards to scheduling book reviews/posts), and maybe a few other things. 

I really, really, REALLY want to come out on the other side of this Bloggiesta triumphant and with the satisfaction of knowing I have completed a goal! :P

So join me and the many others who will be participating in BLOGGIESTA, on the last weekend in September (28th - 30th).


--Charlie--

Ink of Every Color

"Everything the wise woman learned she wrote in a book, and when the pages were black with ink, she took white ink and began again."

—Karn, silver golem

I found this quote through a game I play.  I thought it was completely fitting for all of us writers out there.  There is always something to learn, something to write, and someone to share it with.

The Big Question....

To Write, or not To Write?

I'm not so sure anymore.  

I still enjoy writing, but I have fallen so far away from it that I'm not sure how to find my way back.

I have been reminiscing about my past lately, and going through all of my old short stories and discarded ideas.  A lot of them have potential, if I could only focus and finish.  I know that I am not alone in this problem, but it is a problem nonetheless.  

Unfortunately, inspiration only comes when I am at my most emotional (and usually negative emotions are what drive my writing); but most writers give the advice to try to write through your slumps - to fight for every word.

I have written a lot about motivation, so I won't beat this into the ground.

I just want to find my writing groove again.  I want to someday be able to inspire readers the way my favorite authors inspire me.  I want to share my thoughts with the world!

So,

 To Write, or not To Write?

What do you think?

In which I proceed to fail at my Bloggiesta goals

The title says it all folks.  The weekend of Bloggiesta I was sick, then fell down some stairs, still had to work, and still had to sleep.  Part of the time I was lazy, but that was when I was on the couch with my leg up.

So....I will be working on my Bloggiesta goals over the next week (probably Sunday - it's my only day off for the next 7 days.)

I did finish one of my goals, adding a Facebook like button to all of my posts!

I still have to go around to blogs and meet people ( a week too late )  but I'm sure they won't mind.

Hope you all had a great Bloggiesta and completed as much as you could!

--Charlie--


P.S. I still feel like the above picture today.  SO TIRED! :D

BLOGGIESTA 2012!!

It's time for BLOGGIESTA 2012!!!

I've never participated before, but from the looks of my blog, I need to!  I'm stuck in a rut and need to freshen up!  

To get to the starting line, head over to It's All About Books and sign up!

As for the mini-challenges, check out The Master List on It's All About Books 

Now for what I plan on doing.

I'd like to focus on first freshening up my blog, then creating better content, and then getting it out there for everyone to enjoy!

I chose these mini-challenges to help me with my goal (quoted from It's All About Books):

• Have you ever thought about making a Facebook page for your blog? Liza from Sockets and Lightbulbs (@brightcdns) has a challenge on How to Promote Your Blog Using Facebook. Now's the time!

• Do you have any idea what HTML even means? Would you love to learn a little about this computer code? Then be sure to check out The Top Ten of HTML Basics brought to you by Pam at Bookalicio.us. (@BookaliciousPam)

• My guess is that by now, everyone's heard of Pinterest. But did you know it can be for more than just recipes and craft projects?  Joy from Joy's Book Blog (@joyweesemoll) tells you all about how to use Pinterest to Promote Your Blog in this fun post. 

• We can never talk enough about commenting. Let's learn more about it... specifically How to Build Readers for Your Blog Through Commenting, a mini challenge found over at Sheila's from Book Journey (@bookjourney). 

• How about those reviews? Can we make them even better? In this post, Jessica from The Bluestocking Society (@thebluestocking) teaches us Five Ways to Make Your Reviews Stand Out. 

• Are you spending too much time on reviews? In this challenge, Melanie from Melanie's Musings (@MelanieFoust) gives you Five Tips to Write Reviews Faster

• Are you feeling in a bit of a blog fog? Well, languish no longer! Emily from Emily's Reading Room (@emsreadingroom) has Eight Ways to Freshen Up Your Content. 

I will also be participating in the Twitter Party tonight at 9 pm EST.

My goals:

• Clean up my blogroll
• Clean up labels
• Visit at least 10 new blogs 
• Anything else I run across to change or fix
• Finish ALL mini-challenges!

I'm pretty darn excited to learn all this new stuff!  Plus I can't wait to improve my blog and hopefully share some new things with even more people than I do now!  :D

Happy Bloggiesta!!

Teaser Tuesday (7)

Hello all!  Today is Tuesday, time again for a little teaser!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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This week I chose a creepy book I can't wait to finish.

"I dream that a dark shape puts me in the crib, puts a hand over my mouth, and whispers in my ear.  Shh, it says.  And, Wait.  No one is there, no one is touching me, and when the wind comes in around the edges of the window frame, my skin is cold.  I wake up feeling lonely, like the world is big and freezing and scary.  Like I will never have anyone touch me again."



 -page 1 of The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff




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That gives me the heebie-jeebies!  Especially since that cover to go with it is so dark! 

I broke the rules a bit this week, because without all of those sentences the voice of the book couldn't be heard.  Sorry, MizB! :)

I just cannot wait to finish this book.  This quote is from the FIRST page of the book.  It's the second paragraph.  I made it through a few chapters and am very excited.  It seems right up my alley.

Hope it entices you the same way it did me!

Happy Reading!


 

Boxes, Boxes, and MORE Boxes!!

I can't believe how many boxes I saw this past week.  Boxes and paper and tape, OH MY!  I finally made my move from Colorado to Maryland.  You never quite realize how much stuff you have until you have to move it across the country.

I didn't even have that much in comparison to others (only 2000 pounds worth of goods), but when I saw all of my things pulled out of closets and drawers and under the bed and out of the bathroom (I have SOOOOO much lotion) I kind of freaked out.  I didn't have very much furniture, which meant I have something like 1500 pounds of STUFF.  Just STUFF.

(Lots of SHOES...and that's not quite all of them)

But eventually the house was empty and I was ready to get on my way.

I am also trying to condense and merge my loads of stuff with my boyfriend's stuff.  It is an interesting venture, but I have a lot of things he doesn't have so it should work out okay.  (Minus how very excited he is to have to share a bathroom with me...)

But after packing up my life into boxes and onto a big truck, I still had to get across the country.  So I packed up my car (to the brim) and my dog and started driving east.  And let me just say, that if I never have to drive through Kansas again, I'll do naked cartwheels in the middle of Walmart.  Sorry to all you Kansas-ites (inians?), but your state is FLAT.

I got to see some cool stuff:

So did my dog:

Anyway, I'm here now, and I'm getting settled in my new place.  I already found Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, and Target.  :)  (the important things in life)

So, now you know why I haven't been blogging.  But I'm back, with a lot of new adventures to talk about.

Adios!

Monday in My Coffee Cup

Today I am drinking Pike Place Roast from Starbucks.  It is absolutely delicious.

Today I am also starting the last two weeks before I have to be finished cleaning/packing/painting/purging in order to be ready for my cross-country move.  I can no longer sit the days away just thinking about the move.  I must act.

This means I can still have my morning coffee and check blogs - just not for three hours.

So today I take my inspiration from a simple Anne Frank quote I found:

"Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction."

I supremely enjoy sitting in front of the computer or TV all day, planning what I will do, and not actually doing it.  Laziness is very attractive to me.  I am a lazy person.

I don't want to be lazy anymore!!  My boyfriend is the opposite of lazy, and I'd like to use him as an example to improve my disposition.

So off I go to clean and pack and buy paint and sell stuff and try to find a house and and and and.....you get the idea.

Thanks for reading my rambling today.  Hope your Monday is treating you all well!