And I keep on going...

At the beginning of March earlier this year, I sat down at my computer and began to write a novel. It wasn't my first attempt at writing one, but I was strangely determined about it. Most of the other attempts I've made at writing one contain only a page or two. There's even one that I filled an entire notebook with before giving up. I realize now that those other novel attempts were my experiments. I didn't know which writing method was best for me or how I wanted to approach this daunting task, so I was testing myself. They were never finished because I didn't find the right method. I found different books on writing (and even got one from my sister for my birthday that helped), and I read and read and read. After reading some more, I think that I finally figured it out.
I had a revelation today just as I blazed past 30,000 words. I thought, I can do this. I'm going to finish this novel, and I'm going to get it published. I can feel it. The end is a foreseeable goal and no longer just a dream. It keeps my fingers working and my brain focused. A new kind of determination overcame me and threw my mind into a frenzy of thoughts as I continued plotting and writing. It helps that the scene I'm working on is filled with lots of action. It's one I've been looking forward to writing for a while now.
When it's finally all written, I just might cry. I know that I'll have tons of editing to do, but at least it'll all be there, down on paper, as a solid and concrete thing. The video I've put below isn't related to writing a novel in any way, but it's fun and dance-y. I plan on blasting it as I jump around like a lunatic once I type in that last word.

For the love of YA

If you know me, you definitely know that I'm a huge bibliophile. When I go to the library, I usually come home with a teetering stack of books in my hands. In fact, the perfect night off from work consists of a large book that forces me to read through the night and well into the early morning. Although I'm no longer a teenager, I prefer the YA genre above all others. I'm so happy that it's become a very popular, ever expanding section of libraries and bookstores. It's a good thing that it's now become normal for mothers to read the same books as their daughters because I don't think I'll ever grow out of reading them.
What do I love about the YA genre? Seeing as teenagers are beings that possess an astounding amount of emotions, the stories are very exciting to read and the possibilities are endless. I won't lie to you. My teen years weren't exactly fraught with rebellion or peril.  You may even call them downright boring. I was the good girl who never snuck out, did all my homework, and loved school. Reading YA gives me the chance to experience a different kind of adolescence, while at the same time bringing me back those fundamental teenage emotions without actually having to be a teen again. I shudder to think of that ever being possible.
My love for YA continues onward. I'm always on the search for the next novel that'll give me sleepless nights and an obsession that can only be quelled by another novel that makes me feel the same way. It's because of these books that I want to become an author. My love for writing comes from all of those hours spent reading YA novels.

P.S. There's this cool contest going on HERE. Beth Revis is giving away a ton of books, and I'm totally entering.

My major distraction...

Okay, so for a while now I haven't really been spending too much time focused on writing my book. Or doing homework. Or anything else productive, really. But how could I when I have such a major distraction in the form of a little show called "Revenge"? Seriously, have you seen this show? It's soooo addicting. Season one is up on Netflix, and I've spent the past week or so watching it instead of doing more important things.

"Revenge" is a show about a girl named Amanda Clarke who comes live in the Hamptons under the fake name Emily Thorne. When she was younger, her father was convicted of aiding terrorists and died while in jail. After she turned eighteen, Emily found out that he'd been a mere scapegoat and had  been betrayed by all those he'd trusted, so she has returned to avenge him. How does she do this? By methodically screwing with each and every one of their wealthy lives until they are completely ruined. Emily is like a female Dexter, except, you know, she doesn't kill anyone. Intentionally. She's the bad guy on the show, but her adversaries are way more loathsome than her, so you kind of have to root for Emily. Throw in a snarky sidekick (LOVE Nolan, by the way), a fake love interest, and a real one she can never truly be with, and you have an amazing television show.
Thankfully, I've already finished season one and I'm all caught up with season two. Now, I only have to wait for Sundays in order to watch it and further procrastinate on doing other things I should be focused instead. Lucky me.

A New Obsession

I have recently joined Pinterest and I am now addicted. Completely. It is the perfect site for one such as myself. I've always been a very crafty sort of person and this site is LOADED with DIY projects that I'm just itching to try. Here are a few examples:

1. Screen printing shirts

2. Quilting

3. Screen printing pillows

4. Transfers

Let's just see if I ever get around to making any of these things rather than just looking them up on Pinterest. Then again I never seem to have the time to do everything I want to do. I think I have too many interests and too little time. It's a problem. I suspect that it won't get any better with age. Oh, well. Perhaps, I'll make a list, pick out the ones I want to do the most, and go from there. Eventually, it'll either get done or it won't. We'll see.

Where I've Been/Book Review: "Everneath" by Brodi Ashton

Wow. It has been FOREVER since I've last posted! I blame life. I was going along, doing just fine, and BAM. All of these things just happened all at once. But I guess that's what happens. Anyway, the good thing that has happened recently was that I rediscovered the library. Yes, I know that may not sound so exciting, but I was so busy with school and work, that I didn't bother looking up where the local libraries were since moving to South Carolina. Because of the library, I have been reading like crazy lately and have found some amazing books. I've decided to write a review for my favorite one I've read so far: Everneath by Brodi Ashton.

"Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her boyfriend—before she’s banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance—and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen"

 (from Amazon.com).
This was such a great novel. It was one of those books that made me hungry for more right after I finished it. I loved the characters and the relationships they had with each other, especially between Nikki and Jack. The countdown on each chapter helped build the suspense in a very subtle but effective way. The more I read, the harder it was for me to put the book down. I've always enjoyed the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades, and Everneath was a great modern retelling of it. I would give this book a five out of five stars and would highly recommend it. Go ahead; read it.

Camp NaNoWriMo

Have you ever heard of NaNoWriMo before? If not, that's okay. Personally, I never knew what it was until a couple of years ago. This crazy little acronym stands for National Novel Writing Month and it takes place in November. Within that month, you're supposed to write a novel of at least 50,000 words. I remember the rush of excitement I first felt when I saw the poster tacked up on a bulletin board at my college. My thought was that this was it. This was the push I needed to finally finish writing that novel that I'd been obsessing over in my head. Well...it didn't happen that year, and it didn't happen the next year either. Each November, I logged into the website (found here), typed in my novel information, wrote about ten pages and promptly gave up. That's when I realized just how hard it is to write a novel in a month, especially when you're dealing with school full time and a part-time job that you always seem to be rushing off to. My dream of becoming an author remained just that: a dream.
Earlier this spring, however, I found out that NaNoWriMo has a summer version of their November writing festivies: Camp NaNoWriMo. It's basically the same thing as the original idea, but it takes place in June. It's actually kind of cute. They place you in a "cabin" with "cabin mates" that serve as a way to get inspiration or a source of encouragement as you trudge through writing that novel you've been promising yourself you'd finally create.
By May, I'd already written a good amount of my current project, The District. I was starting to really feel serious about this writing thing and thought, Why not? Yes, I know, I'm sort of cheating since I started writing in April, but who really cares? It's not like you get any real prizes when you win NaNoWriMo events other than bragging rights, so I can't feel too guilty about it. It's kind of exciting to watch your word count rise as you continue to write a little each day. I feel accomplished because this is the most I've ever written (and I might actually win this year!). The best feeling though is that my dream is starting to feel more and more real every day.

Writer's Block

I'm not going to lie, while I love writing, it can be a real pain sometimes. The good times are when the muses decide to deign me with their presence. They fill my brain with their inspiration so much so that my fingers fly over the keyboard in a frenzy. It's exciting and the stuff that comes out in the end usually ends up surprising me. I sit back and ask, "Did I really just write that?"
But, sadly, those pesky muse creatures don't show nearly as often as I would like. These are the times that it becomes hard, and the dreaded writer's block rear's its ugly head. I become stuck. The thought of sitting at my computer and staring at the steadily blinking cursor makes me cringe. This is when I feel more overwhelmed than any other time. It's like being in one of those dreams where you want to run, but you can't quite move fast enough. I hate this part about writing. This is when the doubt takes over and I feel like I'll never get this story written out.

The bright side, however, is the joy I feel when I overcome these rough patches. I might be simply thinking about an unrelated part of my story and then BAM! There it is! The perfect solution and my writer's block is gone. I grab a piece of paper and, in my excitement, scribble it down so fast that my handwriting is usually almost illegible. I then, again, remember why I love writing so much. Sometimes it's easy, but most of the time it's hard. I love the challenge that it poses for me. I love getting past that doubt and fear and coming up with something amazing in the end. There is truth to that old notion: there's a solution for everything; sometimes you just have to look for it.

Book Review: "Smokeless Fire (Fire Spirits #1)" by Samantha Young

"For the last two years Ari’s life has been anything but normal and on her 18th birthday, when her friends surprise her with a gimmick genie claiming to grant wishes, Ari discovers the truth. The tragic and strange occurrences surrounding her 16th birthday were not coincidental and her life is never going to be the same again. Ari’s real parents are not normal. They are not loving. They are not human. They are myth. They are Smokeless Fire. They are Jinn." (from Amazon.com; click here for the page)

I really enjoyed this book! It was so different and I got to learn about Jinn, a subject I haven't had much experience with. I loved the characters, especially the chemistry between Ari and Jai. They had that sarcastic back and forth commentary that I found myself looking forward to while reading. The plot moved along nicely and there was a pretty good amount of action involved. It was the kind of book that I couldn't put down, and when I did have to put it down, I found that I couldn't stop thinking about it. I devoured this novel in about a day. I can definitely see myself reading this one again in the future. I highly recommend Smokeless Fire and I give it five out of five stars.

First Blog Post

Hello! My name is Katie Kay and I am 22 years old. I've always been an avid reader and I love stories that have supernatural elements and/or are about romance. Some of my favorite books are the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, anything by Meg Cabot, Keary Taylor, and Samantha Young, the Night World series by L.J. Smith, the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, and The Host by Stephenie Meyer (just to name a few). I'm currently working on my first novel, The District (this is just a working title). It's somewhere between a young adult and contemporary fiction novel. It is surprisingly not about anything supernatural, but is instead a totalitarian action/romance novel. This is weird for me because most of the stories that I've come up with are supernatural romances.

I can't wait for this novel to be done. It's taking a while to write and I haven't even got to editing any of it, but I'm enjoying the journey. Once I've completed it, I'm going to try to send it to the publishers and if that doesn't work out, I'm probably going to try self-publishing. Somehow, some way this novel is going to get published. I'm so excited for that day to come, but for now I'm just going to have to read, write, and sleep.