I'm on a Roll

To be a good writer, I've often heard the advice to read, read, and read. And of course write. I can support his theory and find that when I read (and often) it helps me when I write. The words come easily to my mind and I also have the motivation to make something amazing when I read something that touches me.

For the past couple of weeks, I've been deep in my reading binge. I love it!!! I stay up late. I think constantly of the characters I've grown and loved.

My sister mailed me a box of 'one nighter' books. Thanks sis! But 95% of them were first books in series...without their accompanying sequels. Thanks sis! Anywho, I am in love of reading. Here are some of my favorites:

The character in this book is actually a dragon. Weird huh? But it was SO good. I had to buy the 2nd book. I just had to. ;) The 3rd and final book comes out in 2 weeks. Yay!

Angels are the new fad in the publishing industry, apparently. This book, about a girl who finds out she's part angel, is now on my 'save forever' shelves. I loved every aspect of this book...romance, mystery, adventure, love triangle. Sigh. I have a confession: I bought the 2nd one too. The 3rd doesn't come out until January. :(

Great series! Another book about angels. Luckily I didn't have to buy any sequels. I found a friend who had them. The 4th and final one comes out in October.

This one is a book about zombies. But not the kind you're thinking of. They're teenagers who have died but attend a school to learn how to live among the living. Don't dig it until you've tried it.

Cute book. I couldn't wait to find out who she chose. But I was not expecting the cliffhanger at the end. There was no conclusion. No finale. No hint of what would happen next. I don't even know when the next book comes out. :(

Signed, Sealed, Delivered...

Yes, I received a contract from my publisher.

Yes, I signed it...with much enthusiasm.

Yes, I sealed it and plopped it right back into the mailbox to be whisked away to my publisher in Salt Lake City.

Ooooo, what a feeling.

LDS Publisher's Summer Book Trek

 

 How fun! I haven't participated in a really fun reading challenge for awhile!

When I saw LDS Publisher's Summer Book Trek challenge, I decided to go for it!

Quick Summary:

Who: Calling all fiction readers!!! (If you’re under 18, you have to have your parent’s permission.) You do not have to be LDS to participate.
What: A summer reading challenge for August 2012! Read books by LDS authors.

First step, creating my reading list:

1. Persuaded...by Jenni James (released August)
2. Secrets After Dark...by Mary Higgins
3. 
   

Author Friends

Snowflake is bubbling over with authors. Who knew? My hubs encouraged me to ask a couple for advice on getting published.

David Bowman is an artist/author whose daughter goes to school with my oldest son. 1st day of Kindergarten my son told me about this cutest girl in his class. ;)

Alma Yates is the principal at my children's school. He's published 11 books and called me yesterday to give me his personal advice.

DeeAnne Gist, who included my name along with my mom's and sister's in her latest book, emailed me to congratulate me.

Friends...especially popular ones...are great!

Jenni James...Love her!

As per my last post, I have been looking over a contract from Walnut Springs Press to publish my first book. Since this is all new to me, I had no idea what to expect. I told my hubs that I wished I had someone to talk to who was in a similar boat and could give me advice. Thank goodness for facebook. I've made friends with fellow authors and remembered a favorite of mine who also published with the same publisher. Her name is Jenni James, and she writes the cutest YA novels. So, I sent her a message through facebook asking her for help, and she replied back and gave me her number to call her. And I just have to tell you that she is the sweetest. She answered all of my questions and helped me so much...while at the same time fixing her 7 kids lunch. Yes, I said 7. She's a single mother of 7 who just moved her family from Utah to Farmington, NM. Wowza. Anyway, she gave me some great advice. She talked very highly of Walnut Springs, and I'm ready and excited to be a part of their company. Here is Jenni James link (check it out):

http://authorjennnijames.com

July 10, 2012...a date to remember

Happy Dance!

2 years ago on Mother's Day I finished my 3rd book titled I'm Not Cinderella. I printed and bound a copy for each my mother and grandmother for Mother's Day and then sent the manuscript off to 4 publishers. During the span of 26 months, I've had 1 publisher reject my manuscript, another interested but requested alterations only to have the same person who was interested no longer work for the company and that 'said' company no longer interested, another publisher file my manuscript in the 'to be published' file but then write to tell me they are going out of business, and then 1 last publisher who emailed they were interested and gave me suggestions to fix my manuscript and requested to see it again. Well, I revised and revised and revised my manuscript and then resent it to that particular publisher 5 months ago and received the most glorious news on Tuesday, July 10th, 2012. It says:

Dear Tarrah,

How are you? I apologize for being out of touch, but I do have good news. Recently, I asked someone in my office to read the revised version of I'm Not Cinderella, and she liked it very much. (I've been so busy I haven't had time to read submissions; my coworker read your manuscript while on vacation. :) We'd like to publish the book if you haven't yet contracted with another publisher.


And then another email:

 Tarrah,

Thanks for your message. We are excited to work with you and publish I'm Not Cinderella. The next step is to get a contract signed. Please read the attached (our generic contract) and let me know if you have any questions. Once we have a signed contract, we'll chat with you about marketing, schedule, etc. My guess is that we'll want to publish the book in spring 2013.

Did you say there will be sequels to the book? If so, how many?

Crunches & Allergies

So, we went to Mexico. Survived. Loved it. Want to go back. Ryan broke his ankle. What?! Yes, he broke his ankle. And, ladies and gentlemen, he broke it after only being in Mexico for 4 hours. Bravo! Well done. Our son, Tytan, and him were jumping the waves in the ocean and doing a little bit of body surfing when he came down with the force of the one of the ways and his foot landed in a small hole and snapped. The clinic by the resort wrapped his ankle up in a boot, and we stayed on our vacation. When we got back to America 3 days later, the doctor ordered him into operation to get 6 screws and a plate to hold his ankle together. Crazy! I think we're done vacation hopping for now. What do you think?

The kids have been hilarious calling his crutches crunches. I correct them often but have found the slip-up endearing. I love my kids little and know it won't last long. I love that my 8 year old son still wants to hold my hand. So, if my 7 year old daughter and 6 year old son call crutches crunches, I'll bask in the life of childhood a little longer.

On the same page, they call algae allergy. Love it!

My dear mom, sweet sister, and I went to a RomCon event this past weekend. Yes, I left my poor husband home to fend for himself. Thank you to wonderful friends and neighbors who helped with the kids. I, on the other hand, had a blast. We were prized with 76 books altogether from the convention...for free. Can you believe it? Sad thing is I don't know where to start reading. Which one do I pick. We went to dinners with fun authors, laughed silly at some questionable authors, went shopping, and giggled at secret jokes. It was a perfect weekend to recharge and rejuvenate me. Thanks Mom and Torie. Miss your face! Love me some rainbows. ;) snicker...

I'm going on Holiday

Why do Europeans say they're going on holiday instead of vacation? I like it. Sounds more official. Summer 2012 is the time for taking a 'holiday'. Let it begin.

April was our Europe trip
May was an expedition through Zions National Park and St. George
May/June marks our week long break to Laguna Beach and a surprise visit to Disneyland
June is one more trip to San Diego and then Rocky Point, Mexico

Alright, now breathe.

Europe or bust!

Nervousness, excitement, trepidation, elation, confusion, anticipation...

Ryan and I are going to Europe - take 2. Three years ago we went to Paris, London, & Rome and had the best tourist trip of a life time. When Ryan asked me where else I would like to visit, I said I wanted a repeat of our trip and chose to return to Europe. This time we decided to venture to Eastern Europe.

Our intinerary:

Friday...fly to Europe
Saturday...Prague, Czech Republic
Sunday...Vienna, Austria
Monday...Salzburg, Germany
Tuesday...Munich, Germany
Wednesday...Fussen & Garmisch
Thursday...Inssbruck & Zurich, Switzerland
Friday...Berlin, Germany
Saturday...Berlin, Germany
Sunday...Prague, Czech Republic
Monday...fly home

Exhale. What a trip! Can't wait to post pictures of our adventures.

Sisters

Sisters, sisters
There were never such devoted sisters...
Caring, sharing
Every little thing that we are wearing...
All kinds of weather, we stick together
The same in the rain and sun...
-from the movie 'White Christmas'

This ones for you, Sis!!!

About a month ago I received a letter in the mail from my one and only sister, Torie. It was handwritten and everything. She has beautiful handwriting...it's intimidating, actually. I type, and I type fast (which can also be intimidating). Therefore, I'm typing a letter to my sweet sister.

Jane Austen used to write to her sister. How fun that I also have a sister to write to. 12 hours of driving time between us will not keep us apart. Lightning speed emailing will not keep us apart. And definitely unexplainable, instantaneous texting will not keep us apart. Yes, that shows the complete devotion I have to my sister...who I have not written to since her first letter last month. It's not like I have any avenues. Why the complexity? ;)

So, my dear sister, here is my letter that I will forge for you. I love you and miss you. I can't wait to see you soon. Even though it'll be a brief hi and goodbye surrounding our trip, I'm excited for the experience. At least we'll have St. George; that's where the real fun will happen. I love that we have our get togethers. Our moments are spaced farther apart, but that just makes them more memorable. I love sharing those glimpses in time with you. Thank you for making my childhood sweet of sisterhood fun. Don't ever forget how much I love you. Please forgive me for the times I was a bossy older sister and didn't let you play with my barbies. I'm glad that you gave me unconditional love and that I got to be your sister.

P.S. Thank you for taking care of my angel babies. You are the sweetest sister ever!!!

Spring Schedule

With the warmer weather, our schedule is bulging. As if we weren't busy enough. On one hand, though, being busy with little kids reminds me that I get to enjoy this part of life that is so completely immersed with my kids. Gotta love it.

Mondays...
AM - I volunteer to teach music at the Elementary school
PM - I pick up kids and cousins from school; Trista/Trey have tumbling from 3-4; Family Night
Tuesdays...
AM - Preschool
PM - Tytan bball practce 3-4:30; Trey karate 5-6; bball/tball games
Wednesdays...
AM - My morning is free to do laundry.
PM - I tutor and teach piano 2:30-5:00
Thursdays...
AM - Preschool
PM - Tytan bball practice 3-4:30; Trey karate 5-6; bball/tball games; Tytan cub scouts 5-6
Fridays...
AM - My morning is free to clean, clean, clean
PM - I coach Trey's tball team & we have practice after school on Fridays
Saturdays...(this Easter weekend Saturday is packed)
AM - Easter party/hunt @friends' house 9:30-12
PM - Baptism in Holbrook @1; Baptism in Snowflake @3