Holy CRAP!!!

I was at Barnes & Noble the other night for a Script Frenzy write-it, but nobody showed up. Low and behold, guess who did show up?

I am the kind of sad, obsessive fan-girl who remembers an author's voice from three years ago, yet I could hardly believe my eyes and ears when I saw and heard the BRANDON SANDERSON talking to a group of people in our lowly B & N. Talk about a sucker-punch!

So I just read manga and sort of peeked between bookshelves for a glimpse every once in while until Mom and I were ready to go, by which time he was packing up and signing the last of his books.

My mom "prompted" me to go and talk to him (it involved a bit of pushing), and I ended up getting a signed, personalized copy of Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians (remember my review about that one?) and a pep talk about writing (he found out that I was a writer), as well as giving me a business card for his writing podcast. He stayed extra just to sign my book and talk to moi. I was the last person. I just about fainted (not to mention grinning my head off).

Pinch me.

San Fran Part 1

Hello all. Well, as you obviously know, I've returned from San Francisco (wish I was still there) and it was FABULOUS. So, I've included quite a few of the photos I took there (and some summaries). The photos are pretty good, if I say so myself, seeing as though the majority were taking from inside a moving tour bus.

4:30 AM: Arrive at school, get ready to board buses. This includes a whole lot of Mrs. W blowing her stupid whistle and designated areas for baggage, carry-on, instruments, and people. Then there's a boarding order, starting with the basses and cellos, and ending with the violins and the trumpets. Yes, they even loaded the flutes and the violas before us violins! (the shame!)

5 AM: leave campus. Tired, grumpy, disgruntled, pretty excited, and very hyper, despite the tired-and-early factor. After a "rousing" speech from the bus driver regarding the toilets on the bus ('It's like a bank. You get back [in smell] what you put in plus interest.' Needless to say, the bus toilets remained unused throughout the trip). We pretty much lived off of iPods and chocolate bars for the first few hours of the trip. I fell asleep somewhere around 6:30 or so, and woke up around 8:45,

when we were out on the salt flats. Rousing, yes. We stopped a few minutes later, and then onward to Nevada, armed only with the grisly remains of sack breakfasts and Nacho Libre. Exciting, no? When we got there, we met T, our new bus driver. T is a riot. He's a big Samoan guy who tells jokes every time he starts up the bus. Well, he drove us through the wilderness of Nevada (I hope you sense the sarcasm there) and to many a fast-food stop. Meanwhile, we in Bus 2 (the 'Bigfoot Bus'), we watched Back to the Future (thankfully only the first one; I don't

think I could have taken all them) and Madagascar 2. Of course, by then I wasn't paying much attention to the movie, since fast food and bus travel through Nevada tend to make the contents of your stomach have a sudden desire for an encore. Thankfully they didn't.

I took a nap around 4:30/5-ish, and didn't wake up until we were in California (ah, the blessed warmth!), around 6:20-ish. We
drove through Sacremento and Vallejo and through to San Francisco.

We arrived at the hotel (Embassy Suites; SOOO nice) around 7 or 7:30. We had a few minutes to get everything in our rooms (girls on the fourth floor, boys on the fifth) before pre-dinner rehearsal. The band practiced first, in one of the smaller ballrooms in the hotel. We waited by the door while they did; then we met Joe, our native tour guide (so to speak). I'm slightly chagrined to admit that at first I took him for a strange homeless man who just happened to be telling us that the pizza would arrive in less than fifteen minutes. What can I say; my brain doesn't really function when I've been up for that long (I hadn't even slept the night before). So after pizza, we had sectionals for orchestra practice while the band went up to bed (lucky bastards). Rehearsal was somewhat difficult due to the fact that the sectionals were all in one room and we had no music stands, but we got through rehearsal until 9, when Mr. D (orchestra teacher) let us go for the night.

9 PM: Up to bed. Five girls in one room and one shower. It was interesting to watch everybody else argue over shower times. Smartly, I stayed on my bed (Ha! I got my own) and watched Law and Order and a bit of Burn Notice (one of the first things T.--see second picture at the top--did was check the TV to make sure in had USA. Smart; very smart.

10 PM: Lights out. We went to be quickly and quietly; a nice change from diabetes camp, where the stupid girls never went to bed. It was like pulling saber-teeth to get those girls to shut up. Thankfully, orchestra girls are much better; or maybe we were just too tired.

And that is part one of the orchestra trip. All photos are mine except the two of the hotel; these ones are nicer than the ones I'll post later. You'll see why, trust me.

True Callings

Who needs a college degree?

My Favorite Shtuff

You know, I was musing a second ago about the things I like best about writing (both in general and on FF.net)
1. Caffeine: Did you know that NaNoWriMo has an "Abusing Caffeinated Beverages" Merit Badge? Even if hot chocolate doesn't really count as a caffeinated beverage, I think I still get the award. After all, when I'm writing I drink about 4 mugs a day. Well, I guess I'm safe from heart disease,
2. Pandora: I would die without Pandora Radio. Non-stop good music is one of the things that keeps the cogs turning and the plot bunnies semi-sedated. Music is good, folks.
3. Avatars: I don't know about you, but I LOVE avatars (and not the weird Japanese cartoon kid, either. The fun little 2x2 pics on the 'net). If I didn't have an FF profile, a NaNo/SF profile, etc, I couldn't have profile pics like this:
Or this:
Or maybe...(evil laugh):

See what I mean? Life would so pointless without these guys!

Right, um...moving on.

4. HIGH-SPEED INTERNET. Let me make this clear: writing would be hell without high-speed. Seriously. No, we don't just use Word (CLIPPY MUST DIE!!!), we use the internet. A lot. I mean, what if you need to look up what 32 degrees F would be in Celsius? Or how many inches of snow there are in the lower portions of the Brasov region of the Carpathians? Or long long it takes to fly from Brasov to Thessaloniki, Greece? (And yes, I had to look all of these up in November).
5. REVIEWS: for those of you who don't write fanfic, you're missing out big time. Reviews are awesome!!! I mean, everybody writes you and tells you how funny your writing is (or fluffy, or dramatic, or angsty, or full of whump). What could possibly be better?!

There you have it. My Top 5 Favorites of Writing.

So I have spoken, so I shall be (Because I Said So).

New Layout

So, how do you guys like the new layout? I thought that it was getting a little old. Plus, I'm heading to San Francisco on Thursday (at 4:30 IN THE FREAKING MORNING...UGH), so I thought I'd get used to seeing the ocean again. To most of your relief, I'm sure, I decided to stick with English and turn off the Hindi Translator, that makes every word I write Hindi. (Cool, yes, but it makes editing a pain in the butt.)

Also: April 1st: SCRIPT FRENZY! Yes, that's right. Another branch of NaNoWriMo. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DOING IT, FOLKS! It's going to be a blast.

Well, that's all for now.

Ciao.

(Hey, that rhymes.)

Testing, Testing...1, 2, 3...

Okay, let's face it.

Testing sucks.

Especially math testing.

Today, for instance. The UBSCT test: Math Portion. You know, I will be the first to admit (openly, mind you) that I am a worse mathematician than my younger brother is a mime (translates to "terrible"). But the questions on the UBSCT test? Those were so easy they were insulting. I'm all for easy math, but when they make me stay after school and wait outside in the cold for half an hour for the bus just so I can take math on a fifth grade level?

Nuh-uh.

My patience snaps there.

So consider my patience snapped.

Psychic Update and Book List

Well, here's the book list. And I updated Psychic (thanks to a request from the awesomeness Madi). It's here if you want to read it. If you haven't started reading it and WANT to but can't find the earlier stuff, here's that.

1. Sword of Waters by Hilari Bell ****/5
Sequel to Shield of Stars. After Regent Pettibone is removed from power, everything returns to peace and prosperity in the kingdom of Deorthas. But when Arisa's mother, the Falcon (the leader of the rebellion and the new commander of Deorthas's army) asks her to find the Sword of Waters, the legendary weapon that goes with the recently-recovered Shield of Stars, in order to solidify her position, Arisa is torn between loyalty to her mother, and loyalty to her country.
2. The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding *****
Cat Royal is an orphan in nineteenth century London, living in the Royal Theatre of Drury Lane. When Cat overhears the theatre owner talking about his 'diamond' being delivered to the theatre, she thinks that things have finally begun to get exciting--until everyone else seems to get involved, including Captain Sparkler (the treasonous cartoonist with a price on his head), Billy "Boyle" Shepheard (a local gang leader and Cat's long-time nemesis), Johnny (the mysterious new prompter), Pedro (a freed slave with an incredible talent for playing the violin), and Syd (the local butcher, a boxer, and Cat's friend, almost like a brother). And everyone seems to want a piece of it.
3. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor ***
Alyss of Wonderland is a princess; at least, that's what she keeps telling herself when she is forced from her kingdom after an attempt to assassinate the entire royal family, instigated by Alyss's evil aunt Redd. Alone and abandoned on the streets of London, Alyss has to get back to Wonderland, save the kingdom, defeat Redd, and reclaim the throne.
4. Gideon the Cutpurse by Linda Buckley-Archer *****
When Peter and Kate, two modern-day London kids, are accidentaly transported back in time--London, 1793, to be exact--due to a backfire with an anti-gravity experiment, they have to team up with Gideon, a mysterious reformed cutpurse, in order to have any hope of getting back home. While Peter and Kate wage a battle against the Tar Man, the henchman preventing them from returning home, Peter and Kate's parents have to wage a battle against all possible odds in order to find them and get them back home.
5. Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson ****
"So, there I was, tied to an altar made from outdated encyclopedias, about to get sacrificed to the dark powers by a cult of evil Librarians." So begins the tale of Alcatraz Smedry, a not-very-nice-boy (or so he constantly insists) with an uncanny and incredible talent for breaking things. After the librarians steal the Sands of Rashid from him (a birthday gift from his long-dead parents that recently arrived in the mail), Alcatraz, his whacky grandpa (who is late for everything, even getting shot), his cousins Sing and Quentin (who can respectively trip over anything and everything--rather impressively, too--and speak without making a lick of sense), set off to retrieve the sands. And to do that, they have to infiltrate the headquarters of their foes, right into their very lair: the public library.
So, that's all for right now. I've read more, but these are my favorites.

Much Better

Well, Across the Worlds has been updated; twice. And I got chocolate.

So I'm happy.

Anyways; on to business:
1-My Narnia fic (My Lady the Pirate) is doing fairly well; it's hard to write though--I don't do drama. I do comedy. I mean, just look at My Roommate Is a Wraith; 100 Reviews now (Whoo!) and twenty-odd chapters. That's pretty dang good, if I do say so myself.
2-By request of the fabulous Madison (*nudge, wink*), I've started posting chapters of Psychic back on my LJ. If you want to check those out, then either follow the hyper-link or hit the LJ icon at the top-right of my blog (the blue pencil).
3-I'M FREE!!! Yes, I am FINALLY out of one of my WORST classes (too bad it's not math) and am now going into Web Design!!!

So there's my update.

Oh, and I'll be doing a new reading list this week or next.

That's all.

Musings of an Irate Author

As the 'great and wise' Brandon Sanderson once said: "If you don't believe what I'm telling you, then ask yourself this: would any decent, kind-hearted individual become a writer? Of course not."

He's totally right.

Author's do not become authors to make the world a better place, okay? For the most part, we write because we like to, we need to vent, or we need an outlet for our sarcastic comments. Or a combination of all three.

We also have short tempers (well, at least I do, as well as most of the author's I've met). Irritation is something that comes easily to us, the kind that makes you throw your keyboard against the nearest wall when Microsoft Word keeps auto-correcting a word you keep typing that should not be corrected. We're time bombs where the fuse is reoccurring and inaccurate; bombs that have a tendency to blow up over and over again, therefore denying the laws of science (don't tell me you've never wondered where science-fiction authors come from).

For instance: I stayed up all of last night/morning to read a KICK-TOAST fanfic (Narnia) called Across the Worlds by Star Dragon Fire (READ IT!!!!!!) and it left off without finishing the story; she hasn't updated it! The same thing happened with emeraldteardrops' Lost Chronices of Narnia: the Beast of Witherby; she hasn't updated it in almost TWO MONTHS!*

(*Another thing about us writers: it should be noted that many of us are bleedin' hypocrites. I myself left off a few fanfics for a few months...But that's not the point!)

Yes, we may be grammar Nazi's at times. And yes, we do have a tendency to 'occasionally' abuse caffeinated beverages. In fact, we even have a nasty little habit of saying things that everyone else is thinking but no one is rude and blunt enough to actually say it.

But really, we're just a bunch of irate curmudgeons who don't know the meaning of '8 hours of sleep' and 'no caffeine'.

So, I guess the point is: UPDATE YOUR FANFICS, PEOPLE!!!

Another One?

Well, since I'm just crazy about consistency, *rolls eyes*, I've started ANOTHER fanfic. Now, before you reach for sharp object and/or firearms (depending on your personal tastes), here's the basic gist of the story:

Title: My Lady the Pirate
Category: Chronicles of Narnia (Hey, why not?)
Genre: Adventure/General Swashbuckling
Rating: T (violence, Shakespearean insults--they're more fun than usual insults--and the usual brouhaha)
Characters: Susan, with a little bit of Edmund/Lucy/Peter/Caspian/Reepicheep/Trumpkin in other chapters. Mostly Susan, though.
Summary: Slightly AU. After being backed into a corner in an air raid, Susan ends up, once again, in Narnia, where she becomes captain of the Sherwood and sets out to free Narnia of pirates. Susan the Gentle becomes Susan the Fierce, Narnia's sea-faring Robin Hood. Meanwhile, Peter, Lucy, Edmund, Caspian and a few others get together to try and find Susan, who apparently went missing without a trace, and bring her back. (But she's having waaaay too much fun for that.)

Til the Fat Lady Sings

Well, I'm back after my week-long ban from the computer. I've since updated Summer With the Cullens, A Cullen Story, and Dawn of the Personality-Challenged Power Rangers. And I've also put up a new story, a Stargate Atlantis one-shot called 'Til the Fat Lady Sings.

Til the Fat Lady Sings
Going off-world to an uninhabited snow planet to investigate energy readings, Sheppard explains snow sports to the team...with an example, of course.

Well, I've been frantically reading and writing fanfic (especially writing) since school will start to go haywire in January; testing, testing, assignments, testing, (did I mention testing?) So I'm trying to tie up some of my fics (I also need to do two more Cullen season stories, Fall and Winter).

Well, that's the quick update. Oh! Before I forget, I've started working of Psychosomatic, the sequel to Psychic. I know, it's a bit premature (since I still have to edit the first one, a task I'm dreading). And I've also started going through the little bit of a fantasy novel (creatively known as Untitled_1 for now), since I found a complete plotline for it the other day.

The fun never ends.

Long Live The Psycopath

Well, today is my official one-year anniversary for writing/posting fanfic! As promised, here are all the links to my fanfics (with summaries):

1. The Angel Experience (Maximum Ride)
Kat is a human-tigris hybrid: part human, part Bengal tiger. When she escapes Itex at the cost of her mentor's life and meets Max and the flock, can they trust her, help her to avenge the death of her mentor, and bring down the place that ruined her life?
2. Spring With the Cullens (Twilight)
The Cullens are your typical American Vampire family. They're just an ordinary family with lots of issues. With a few twists. Hippie Carlisle, Civil War Anniversaries, hormone-injected cows, sneaking blood behind the house, momness; the list goes on.
3. Translator (Power Rangers)
Sydney has always understood her teammates better than anyone else did. A look at the team dynamic, from Sydney's perspective. Syd/Bridge friendship.
4. School's Out--For Now (Maximum Ride)
Sequel to Angel Experience. Max is captured, and the flock needs help to get to her. Where else to go than Kat in Seattle? Crazy hacker/inventor Chi Kit, a very bored Max, and Fang trying to lead.
5. Summer With the Cullens (Twilight)
The Cullens are at it once again. Road Trips, summer jobs, fish tanks, and summer camp, Bella is once again caught up in the madness. Whether it's hiking or just watching TV, the Cullens have a knack for trouble. And, as usual, she's right in the middle.
6. Dawn of the Personality-Challenged Power Rangers (Power Rangers...obviously)
What's happening to the SPD rangers? Sky thinks he's a Broadway star, Z thinks she's a lawyer, Jack thinks he's the star of a sitcom, Sydney is a goth-girl treehugger--can our newly germaphobic Bridge Carson solve the mystery and sort of save the world?
7. My Roommate Is a Wraith (Stargate: Atlantis)
After a very unusual experience of being in a Hive cell with three Wraith, John Sheppard unwittingly offers assistance if he's ever needed. He has no idea what he's getting himself into. But the Wraith might not be as bad, or as different, as he thought.
8. A Cullen Story (Twilight)
All 10-year-old Jasper wants for Christmas is a Replica Stonewall Jackson Civil War Confederate Rifle BB gun. The response, from his brother Edward, his foster parents, his teachers, and the pretty Mary Alice from 2 streets over: You'll shoot your eye out.

You can find my fanfic page here, if you want to.

Oh, and today is reveal day, so EVERYONE WHO VISITS THIS PAGE, LEAVE A COMMENT, PLEASE!

Psychosomatic

I'm horrible. I know. But I honestly couldn't help myself.

So there.

I just started writing Psychosomatic, the sequel to Psychic. I know, I know; I have to edit the first one and all; I will, I swear, but Psychosomatic is NOT going to wait. Hello multitasking.

Anyway, in case you haven't checked it out yet, I started posting A Cullen Story, and I'll be updating again REAL soon.

Oh, and my fanfic-writing anniversary is on the 11th this month, so I'll be doing another post then as well, with links and summaries to my stories, as well as updating every single one of them (*gasp* Shocking, I know).

That post will count as a Reveal Day. Everyone who visits this blog for that post, LEAVE A COMMENT. I've been seeing the most amazing places showing up on the blog map, and I want to meet you guys!

Well, lots of writing to do if I have to update everything soon.

Ciao.