Critique Me! Or don't. But do something!

At times I feel like this bright lightbulb, but most days I am one of those others.  I am battling with my need for positive (or any) feedback and my need to finish writing my book.  If I spend all my time waiting around for someone to read or edit what I have so far, I will never reach the end.  But I so badly need some feedback.  Who do I ask to read my writing?  No close friends want to, they are too afraid of hurting my feelings.  No one understands that I just want objective criticism.  You got it?  Give it to me!!  Tell me if you want to read my stuff - tell me if you don't!  Just tell me.  I'm addicted to feedback.  Grrr.  Maybe today is just a dark lightbulb day.

  @Parajunkee is having a design contest! You could win a new layout for you blog!! Go enter at:

http://parajunkee.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-year-new-blog-design-contest.html


Charlie

Today is a melancholy day.

Charlie

j-kaye book challenge

Here's a challenge we all can try!

http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-2010-reading-challenge-100-reading.html

100 books in a year?  Try for 200?  Let's do it!


Charlie

Character Interview

Here is an interview with the MC from my book.  Hope this goes well.
---------





Charlie: I am here today with Holly Price, main character of Shutter Click.  Hello, Holly! How are things today?

Holly: Not too bad, considering how much death I looked at today.

Charlie: I'm sorry to hear that, is it difficult for you to handle seeing dead bodies?

Holly: NO! I just wanted to finish my breakfast today before I got yet another phone call about another girl who was killed.

(Holly fidgets with her dark ringlets, wrapping and unwrapping them around her finger.)

Charlie: Well what made you want to get into the forensics business?

Holly: When I was 15 my father got me a camera for my birthday.  It sort of started my interest in photographing things.  Everything.  I found I especially enjoyed taking photos of people doing everyday things; playing with a puppy, taking out the garbage, brushing their hair.

(Holly seemed anxious talking about the past, and her leg starts tapping furiously.)

Charlie: Why do you put such a negative emphasis on 'father'?

(Holly's eye seemed to twitch with rage.)

Holly: I refuse to talk about him, except for that I've come to terms with his never being around, but I don't want him around now.  Pick something else to talk about now.

Charlie: No problem, I apologize for bringing up a sensitive subject.  Next question then: how does photographing murdered people affect your personal life?

(Holly glares at me, flips me off, and walks out of the room.)

Charlie: I guess that was too hard of a question for her.  I guess we'll have to...Oh wait, she's coming back!

(Holly comes in apologetically and takes her seat.)

Holly: I'm so very sorry Miss.  I didn't mean to be so rude.  I am just sensitive about my work, as it has affected my personal life so wholly.

Charlie: Not a problem at all, no judgement here Holly.  If you don't mind then, how has it affected you?

Holly: I have one friend, no love life, and I frequently eat alone at cafes.  It's rather pathetic, I think.

Charlie: You are pretty busy with your work though, that is usually cause for having a nil social life.

Holly: Mine is more an anti-social life.  There just isn't one, and I avoid it at all costs.  It's so much easier, and yes, I am exhausted from phone calls at 2 am, late nights, nightmares; it's a desperate sort of life.

(Holly rubs her forehead, releasing some tension.)

Charlie: Well I'm very sorry to hear about all of your tribulations Miss Holly, it seems like a life not chosen.

Holly: It's not. I couldn't be doing anything else and even be remotely happy.  It is thrilling trying to catch a killer, regardless of what it does to your life.

Charlie:  I can literally only imagine what that's like, the frustration and desperation of not finding the perpetrator, followed by celebration and elation at the end.

Holly: Sorry Miss, you're a bit off.  Yes, it's frustrating, it's full of desperation.  But there isn't really a celebration or bouts of elation when we catch someone.  Because when we catch someone, that means they still killed a person, now they are just going to pay for it.

Charlie: You're right on that one.  Thank you for doing what you do, and I'm sorry to hear your life isn't going so well.  Anything I can do?

(Holly seems to switch back to the angry mode she was in at the beginning; her eyes turning an deep onyx.)

Holly: How dare you even think your insignificance could EVER make a difference in our life!  We like things just the way they are, and Holly here can't do anything to change that, and neither can you. 

(Holly pulls out a long, sharp blade and threatens my throat with it.)

Charlie: STOP! STOP! Security!!!!!

(Holly is carted away by nervous looking police officers.)

Charlie: Sheesh! What in the hell??  At least she didn't get close enough to me.  How's my hair?  Still okay?  Good, lets get prepped for the next interview.

------

Mindful Musing Blog Book Giveaway!!

The Mindful Musings blog has hit 400 followers!  They are having a contest to give a book away!  Always the best kind of prize!!  Go enter, heck, even go follow!!  She has a great blog going over there.  I have entered, so must you!

Charlie

“If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.” -Win Borden

I'm pretty sure that if I folllowed this advice I would have a more interesting life.  At least I'd be having more fun.  I would at be worried and anxious less for sure.  I'm very concerned about making mistakes, about being wrong, and about being made fun of for it.  I know I just have to jump, but I'm so damn scared.  Argh!!

Charlie

It's All Over!

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” 
-Maria Robinson

So the big day is over, and I was thinking to myself, "Now what?"  We have New Year's to look forward to, another new beginning to take a chance on.  The quote above inspired my thought that I can begin anew anytime I like, and I just might do that right now.  Why wait?  I can't go back and change the crazy year I've had, but I can try to have a good 2010!! 

Charlie

This book blog website above is having a very generous, very awesome giveaway on their site.  They are giving away an e-reader of choice, or $150 gift card to bookstore of choice!  All that is required is a little thought and time filling out their form.  You know you wanted to follow them anyways, their blog is awesome!!

I'm entering.

Charlie

Merry Christmas all!  I can't believe it's here.  It sure did sneak up this year.  I'm not quite sure what to do with myself; I'm sitting here staring out at my snow laden yard, frozen truck, and sleepy neighborhood.  Nothing is very inspiring to me.  I searched for a picture of holly because as a kid I always drew holly around my name on my homework during the holiday times.  Other kids always doodled snowmen or reindeer; I drew holly and its berries.  It sure is a beautiful bush; hence the picture: I needed some inspiration to be awake today.  I am a little down about Christmas, and have been reading plenty of blogs about how to keep your spirits up during the holidays. 

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/all-out-of-holiday-cheer-10-tips-for-beating-holiday-depression.html

That one had some good ideas.  I just miss my family and friends; I wish I could be home or they could be here to share the day.  I'll make my round of phone calls today and hopefully that will improve my mood, but I'm pretty down today.  Either way, it could always be worse, that's my mantra.


"and the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?



It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled


and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from the store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."


~Dr. Suess~

Charlie

P.S. Photo from:   catherinesherman.wordpress.com/2008/12/13/snow/

Today I won a book:

Robert Crull's Book: Dream State


You should check it out, it looks as if it's going to be a fantastic book!!  Thanks @robertcrull

On another note, I am hoping people are reading my chapter I posted lastnight.  It's a little bit worrisome waiting around for a comment. ;)  I'm trying to just stay busy writing my book and reading blogs; it's working so far.  I'm just so nervous!  Reading all these blogs are intimidating; they are so good looking and popular!  I feel mostly confident and it's only my first week, so I'm keeping the faith that things will pick up as I get more visibility, thanks mostly to my friend @lisapietsch posting about me!!  Thanks lady!

Happy Holidays All!

Charlie

A Novel Idea: Chapter One

Chapter 1: Violet Violence

Holly Price's heart always raced when she peered anxiously through the lens of her camera. Focusing her gaze on the most gruesome details of a murder victim's body was her job, but her love was capturing that last remaining essence in their eyes. The victim she was examining was increasingly interesting. A young woman had been found in her loft, poised delicately in an armchair. She was gazing out her window at the bay. The girl was noticed by a neighbor across the street who called the police as soon as he saw that his cute watcher was not moving. By the time Holly reached the scene police had already set up tape and started asking questions. She couldn't stand when people walked all over her crime scene. Detective Jerry Hudson was one of them she particularly despised walking anywhere. He had always been a fat thorn in her side at the unit; doughnut dust laden fingers always pointing out her faults. He was a self-proclaimed genius when it came to crime scene investigation, yet that was his biggest downfall. Holly strained not to point it out every moment she had the chance.

Click!

Holly tried to focus both her camera and her wits on the task at hand. She snapped a photo of the gashes on the girl's wrists, the bruising around her slender neck. She captured the serene sadness emanating from her faded blue eyes. The next picture would explain the obsessive psychosis of the killer. The girl had been dressed post-mortem. The killer had meticulously placed every vital part of the pose. Her body was wrapped in a breathtaking Victorian gown. Every button was fastened, every lace tied securely. The royal purple material gleamed in the sunlight floating through the soft curtains. The dress flowed around her body in a plum waterfall of silk. Holly took notice of the gentleness the killer took tying the curls in her hair back with a sweet violet ribbon.

Click!

Another memory was ingrained in Holly's roll of Kodak: the disparity between the dress and the girl's skin. Her skin was a remarkable contrast of milk white porcelain, drained of all life, and yet still retained a crimson set of lips and a flush on her cheeks. This killer was creepily focused on details. Her eyes were softly lined with black, her lashes curled neatly with mascara, yet her gaze was racked with broken blood vessels. Her eyes retold what the marks on her neck had shared; death by asphyxiation.

Click!

The girl's fingernails had even been painted with the same crimson from her lips. Her slender left ring finger was home to a fantastically extravagant diamond ring. Under her exquisite manicure was some residual dirt. Holly spotted it in a close up of the princess cut heart-shaped diamond. That would need to be gathered for evidence. Hopefully it had not been flushed away by the killer's thorough cleaning. Holly noticed something small and white in the girl's hand: a business card sized note. It was a creamy off white and on the front in flowing script read:

Freedom in Death

Holly shuddered at the haunting script as she flipped over the card. It was covered in a photo of poppies, flaming orange and raging red. She swallowed hard at the sight. She placed the card into an evidence bag, her mind careening. She needed to remember to stay grounded, so she returned to the victim's wounds, trying to determine which caused death. Holly was engrossed in her victim's wrists when Detective Hudson came crashing into her thought space.

"Price! Hey PRICE! Yo! Snap out of it!" boomed the burly man, snapping his fingers in Holly's face. Coming to, she jumped, startled at the screeching voice interrupting her contemplations.

"Was that really necessary, Hudson?" she questioned, one hand on her hip, one on her camera.

"Well you've been standing there starin' at your girlfriend for over thirty minutes now, and we kinda have a job to do! Hurry your little picture takin' up, would ya?"

Holly huffed at him with a sneer and spun back around to face her newest model. While she contemplated the beautiful yet unnerving corpse, she reeled about Hudson's 'picture takin' comment. He was such a brutally disgusting old man; he made her edgy. She started to lose focus when she noticed she had forgotten to take one last picture. It was always the most important to her: the feet. In this case, the shoes as well needed to be photographed.

Click!

A pair of sateen amethyst heels adorned the victim's angelic feet. Holly was ecstatic that the killer did not over look this part of the girl's body. She kept this morbid oddity to herself, as most would not understand how much can be told from the special belongings on a victim's body.

As her camera concluded the photo shoot with a resounding mechanical note, Holly was energized with thoughts of her next task. Developing the film was almost as exciting as taking the photos.

A word a day keeps the demons away

Writing is soothing. It's also exciting, exhilarating, and exhausting. For all you writers out there, "amateur" or "pro", this is true. I am a new writer (new to actually sticking with writing a novel) and am finding it a little intimidating to run with the "big dogs". Everyone tweets, everyone blogs, everyone networks. I am also a new tweeter, a new blogger, a new networker. But what I'm worried about is that I have nothing to share. I feel confident about my book, I wish I could already have people reading it, even unfinished. But how does one get so many followers? I guess it starts slow. I am so excited that there are people even reading my blog! They are the ones that matter the most. The firsts (you know who you are!) are the best, in my opinion.

The point I'm trying to drive home is that writing is a big job, and I'm just learning that it's not so easy when you're tired, or busy, or tired ;).....but you have to push through. You have to keep driving, keep going, and when you edit later you might just find something worth keeping. Give yourself that apple, that metaphoric treat you've been waiting for when you hit a big word count. Maybe even when you hit a small word count. Hitting 10,000 was a ginormous milestone for me, I called my mom and my friends and facebooked my ass off. And then I had some candy. And then I kept writing and hit 11,000. But that 400 word mark had me stoked in the beginning, so every word counts. As I said in a previous blog my 10,000th word was 'she', a sort of unimportant word on it's own, but a vital word in the big picture. I'll never forget my first 10,000th word, and neither should you. Maybe let me know what yours was.

Keep writing! Keep blogging! Keep Tweeting! Keep networking!

Charlie Charlie Charlie

Here is my new camera! Be prepared to look at lots of pictures of my dog, my shoes, hell, maybe even some trees and stuff. I'm SOOOO excited my boyfriend got this for me. It's friggin purple!! It's awesome, and I'm gonna drive him nuts taking his picture. Thankfully my puppy loves having her picture taken. And she looks good doin it! :D


Charlie

Damn cute faces

So there I was, trying to allocate all of my money to my bills, seeing where I could trim off some fat, when out of nowhere comes this face above. I want to save 25 bucks, I say. I want to live, says the puppy. How in the hell am I supposed to cancel that??? I'm not. I'm a sucker for a cute face, and the puppy got me. And my 25 bucks.


Charlie

How are those balls coming??

So here are all the goodies my friend Jen and I made lastnight. We were up until at least 10pm making sure they were beautiful. Jen made the cookies, I made the pretzo-sticks (as I call 'em.) There are "the best sugar cookies ever", thumbprint s'more cookies, white chocolate peppermint pretzo-sticks, and german chocolate butterscotch pretzo-sticks. SOOOoooOOOooo good! She was amazin! Jen is a baking guru! I would've been covered in flour from head to toe, chocolate melted everywhere, and had burnt cookies in the end. She is the real master, I just dipped and rolled. *tee hee* She rolled like a billion balls lastnight! So funny, "How are those balls coming?" All she could do was laugh, when I added, "What's wrong with your balls? Dough not stiff enough? I've got a dipstick right here and it's firm as hell!" We are such nerds, I love it.

Anyway, I hope that there are other people bringing stuff as well, because I want to eat as many of these sweet things as possible without feeling bad about sharing. I am representing my boyfriend with my amazing shepard's pie;making everyone jealous is what I do. :)

Keep your eye on the 'ball'......

Charlie

Well this is what I want the cover of my book to be, and as you can see it's from Adelina Zotta:

http://www.adelinazotta.ro/blog

I found her art on DeviantArt:

http://www.adelinaz.deviantart.com

I'm in love with it, and as my book is called Shutter Click (hopefully), and it's about a murderous chick who likes to take pictures, I thought it was fitting. What do you think?

Charlie

2009 Facebook Status Collage

This is a collage of merely SOME of my facebook statuses from 2009. It's actually kind of cool, I like it's simplicity and tellingness.

Charlie

Cheese is the Winner

My shepard's pie is on the top, and I think mine looks much nicer. Mine even has cheese on top - you can't go wrong with the cheese. It smells so amazing it's hard to concentrate on much else but the ticking timer to when we can eat the hell out of it. Also, I think I may have won over the last little bit of my boyfriend's heart tonight with this shepard's pie. It could've been the beer I bought, but I think it's the pie. Now I wish I could find that recipe I have for mini blueberry-peach cobblers, he might just be mine forever! ;)

Just don't forget the cheese.

Charlie

I Didn't Do It!

So if you've read, I'm writing a novel. I've gotten about 11,000 words into this murder mystery and have written my first murder. I had a friend read some of my writing, and she was ecstaticly disturbed. Which was exciting for me, however when I had a nightmare about my own murder scene, I became a little more worried about her comment. That's when I remembered this scarf, and realized, I should be wearing it all times in order to warn people! :) My friend called me beautifully twisted, which is a good thing in the book department, and I hope it means a lot of people will buy and read my book. Or books.

On another morbid note, I'm going to pass on the info about Brittany Murphy. She died. At 32. Of a heart attack. There you go. I now feel like TMZ or some crap. But it's weird, and sad. I liked her, and liked most of her movies. I guess we'll be hearing about this for quite awhile, so no need for me to go on and on about it.

By the way, I am a crime scene, and you should keep out of my brain. Just enjoy my book when it's ready, and don't question anything. ;)

P.S. Got all of my cards done, and even MADE cards for those local people who don't need stamps. I'm mentally wasted. Cleared out too many cobwebs.


Charlie

Christmas Spirit Sucks Sometimes

This morning has been productive so far; I haven't even turned the tv on. I did go to facebook, but who misses a minute on there? Plus I was uploading photos galore. I finally got around to those Halloween pictures - only a month and half later. I do what I want! *wink*

I also had to get some photos printed out for my mother's christmas card contents, as she has is technologically challenged and can't check Facebook on any kind of basis. I'm just soooo super nice I did all this for everyone; no one wants hard copies of photos anymore, except my mom.

I've been sitting on my hardwood floor for over an hour scanning in photos, loading new cartridges, getting photo paper, and trying to enjoy my coffee. I officially can't feel my ass. Oh well, it's done now! And they all have what they want, and so do I: not getting bugged about pictures anymore! *giggle*

So tomorrow I send my Christmas cards, as they are my "remember I'm broke" presents to my family. Hopefully they make it there in time to start the fire for the roasted chestnuts, or marshmallows. Mmmmmm mallows.....

P.S. Photo courtesy of http://nataliedee.com Check her stuff out, it's wet-your-pants hilarious. At least to me. :)

Charlie

Just Do It!!

So here it is, Saturday evening, and I'm playing WoW. Now I don't know if it's okay to make fun of myself for doing something I enjoy, but I will because it's Saturday night. I am officially a nerd. It could be worse I suppose, I could be.......dead?

I do have some cool stuff for all the cool people who are following this blog. My friend Lisa Pietsch is an awesome writer who has her works published (by Sapphire Blue Publishing, btw). Her first book, The Path to Freedom, has made my list of awesome books, and should therefore be on your list of things to read. Also, I wanted to post a trailer her friend made about her book, since it too, is freaking sweet. Here you go: (WATCH IT)!

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=46928130

Now wasn't that awesome?? If you don't have an answer, it's because you didn't watch it, so go on, do it. I'll wait........................................................................

Okay, you should be good now. It's only 1:20 out of your life, and it is worth it. She is awesome and is the one who kicked me in the pants to get my writing started up again. She is just as bad-ass as the heroine in her books. Also, if you'd like to keep up with her awesomeness, here is her blog link:

http://blogs.myspace.com/lisampietsch

With all that said, my Crunch bar is calling my mouth to enjoy it. Hope everyone has a great Saturday night, and I promise I won't be upset if you don't read Lisa's blog. Okay, I actually will. Just do it, she's cool.

P.S. If you want to preview and purchase Lisa's book, The Path to Freedom, do so at Sapphire Blue Publishing's site here:

http://www.sapphirebluepublishing.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=36&products_id=47&osCsid=9bdb7dad97bbd708f82cd5062db4917b



Charlie

You can save 10% on 1 soul if you buy 73 of them

Noon is rolling around here, and I am clipping internet coupons. Here is a math equation for this activity:



Effort it takes to get coupons > What it's worth in the end



I don't know why I try this coupon thing. Every few months or so I think being frugal means clipping coupons. There are many better ways to save money. I am teaching myself to get over brand names. I can stand a few subpar goods in the name of saving money. I also have talked myself into drinking water. I KNOW, I know, I know. But it's working. I'm not spending upwards of $10 to $15 a day on soda and coffee. It's magical! Now I'm not saying drinking water is FUN, but it has inspired other things that will eventually be fun, like being healthier and such. I have started working out again, though I have multiple "injuries" that keep me from doing all that I want, I sure can work my ass off on the elliptical or treadmill.



Now all of this has stemmed from a coupon; blessed little coupon. I recommend to all my friends that they take just 15 minutes and try to clip coupons. That soda and designer toilet paper will be out the door so fast they won't know what hit 'em.

Charlie

Frustration in the Street Light

Here it is, 6 am on a Saturday morning, and I'm awake as if it were Wednesday or something. I'm stuck with this orange street light mocking me, as if to say "Get the hell back to sleep or I'm only going to get brighter and more obnoxious!" I'm not quite sure what to do with my days off, there is a lack of purpose I don't do well with. I can always keep writing, as I hit almost 11,000 last night. This is the problem: there are too many possibilities for me to handle, so I just shut down and blog. :P
I am surprised, by the way, that I already have 3 followers (that fourth doesn't count, it's me)!! You guys rock! I liked some of the links to other blogs you guys had too. I see why this is such a great networking tool! Blarg!!
Today I feel like taking my amazing dog for a walk around the neighborhood. She needs it just as much as I do. It's just colder than a witches tit outside, as my mother would say. Right now we've got 19 degrees. BBBrrrrRRrrrRRRrRrrrrr!!!! So we'll see about the walk. I love you Lucy, but sometimes it's just too freakin cold.
Lastly, I am starving, AND lazy. Oatmeal sounds amazing right now, but I'd have to, like, make it! Garsh. MmMmmmMMMmmmmm oatmeallllllll.....

And Off I Go, to the Wonderful Wizard of Quaker Oatmeal

Charlie

Widgety Widget Time

Widgets are surprisingly difficult to 1. Come by and 2. Use. But there you go.


Charlie

Sexy Words

Make sure that when you're writing, you realize that "box" could be misconstrued, especially if someone "reaches into it and strokes the silk". Editing is amazing. Plus, I HIT 10,000 words! My 10,000th word was "she"; sort of unimpressive, but a good number nonetheless!

That is all.

Charlie

P.S. Diana up there is representin'!!

The toast clock

Well this is my first blog ever, and I am a little nervous. I probably won't write much, but that's okay, it's my blog damnit and I can write what I want.

The title of my page is Life Happens, as is so very, very true. This has been a crazy year for me, but has helped inspire me to write again. I am working on my first novel and will be posting my progress here as I search for a publishing company that will fall in love with me and my story. So far I have about 9,800 words in what I want to name Shutter Click. We will see how it goes.

Lastly, today is Friday, the final day in a crazy BORING week. One nice thing, I got my own desk! I get to decorate, and finally buy that clock that looks like a piece of toast. I freaking LOVE crazy office supplies.

So with that, I'm off, I have Halloween pictures to upload (yes, late I know) and hair to fix for my date with my awesomely hot boyfriend. *giggle*

Signing off,

Charlie