A Quick Note

Laters this week I should have a post about Arbor Day, but until then I thought I should let you knows: I started a Spake Blog Here --> In this Secret Link <-- And I have been blogging there regularly. I don't know why, but I have ideas spilling out of my head and I just know I could blog until the wombats and alpacas come home with the cows... (So, if you see someone named Spakedom commented on your blog it's just me under a Secret Guise trying to confused the population of bloggers)

BUT over here I feel like I am floundering just the tiniest of bits. I was talking to a customer at work today and he mentioned that he was looking into self publishing and we started talking and along the way I mentioned I had a blog. He said, "Oh, what's it about?" And I kinda' gaped at him like a fish. Like this fish:

*goes to find picture of gaping fish*

*is disgusted and runs away*

Ugh. *shudders* I forgot that I am Utterly Detested of fish. Grossgrossgrossgrossgross....

You know what. Forget the gaping picture of mouths. I HATE mouths. I have just decided.

ANYWAYS...

So I thought to myself, "I don't know what it's about? Is that okay?"

And I wondered to myself: "Does it bother you?" I mean. It's all well in good to write for oneself, but if I were to write only for myself I would be writing in a journal. In a book. That you did not see. Cause that's the thing with a blog. A part of it is for me, sure, but it's also for You guys. Are you annoyed that there's no structure this way? That I come and go and wander around and dance into the fog while you're still boarded up inside? Or that I board myself up at home while you're dancing in the square?

So I suppose, if you want my Solid Responsible Consistent part of me you can visit Spakedom. If you want my Spastic Colon, Wombat Squealing, Hyper-Active Mocha-Coffee part of me you can visit me over here. Sometimes I think there is too much of me to stay in one place. Which is why I'm always accidentally sprinkling bits and pieces of me into my characters.

Maybe that's what all authors do. They have so much inside of them that they can't keep it all to themselves and they just end up spilling it out into words. Or artists do it through pictures. Or musicians through music.

It is said that creative people tend to have more connections between their different brain parts. Maybe we simply don't know what to do with all those connections. So we throw up our souls onto slips of paper and parade them around in the hopes that someone else can make sense of them. But in a good way. In a way where we're most happiest, most at peace, when we're writing, since that's what we were created to do at birth, what with our messed up brains. And stuff.

I think that makes sense. Either that or my one character, Philosophical Solomon, is just messing with my brain again.

Random Video Fun

Oh wowsies. I can't believe I haven't posted this thing up yet. For some reason my brain has been everywhere but in bloggy land. I miss you guys. *hugs GLOM* Hopefully that hug transfers through to your computers.

WELL... In case you have yet to hear of it: I am obsessed with Spakes. They are mythologically real creatures and I talk about them pretty much incessantly.

People throw things at me.

It can be bad.

SO in order to attempt to get my Facebook friends to become fans of Spakes on Facebook (which you can totally do here if you happen to have a Facebook page. I keep meaning to make a linky-do-da but I am lame and so have not done that.) I made this video, and I thought I would share it with you, if I can get it to load. It takes a day to load to youtube, so I haven't done that yet (I now hate youtube). We'll see if this works...

Woah! I think that worked :D So exciting. Anywaydles... Hope you enjoy. I'm going to try and pop around tomorrow, unless I have to do an emergency stand-in for my sister at work. Her thumb's still a bit of an owie. Have fun! :D

The 37 Things I Learned This Year

As it is the End of December/Beginning of January I am going to become reflective and think about what I learned this year, though generally I leave reflecting to the mirrors and ponds of the world.

1) Putting things like metal into your mouth is bad for your teeth. You can supposedly chip your teeth this way. Who knew?

2) Just because a musical has puppets in it does not mean it is appropriate for children.

3) If you are on vacation you will most likely get sick.

4) When you slide on ice and tap the back of a large pick-up truck and they say "that's alright" what they really mean is "In three months I'm going to call your insurance and try to blame you for a totally unrelated incident."

5) Sometimes cautious drivers will stop at a yield sign even if no cars are coming. Especially if they are foreign and do not know the difference between a stop and yield sign.

6) When you hit the back of a car that has stopped at a yield sign even though no cars are coming, it is quite possible that awful green liquid will ooze out of your car. And you will cry.

7) No matter how much you love your Nissan Maxima, it will not magically reappear in your driveway.

8) No matter how much you love the truck you're borrowing from a friend they will not hand it over. Even i f you bake them brownies. Or write a love song to the Nissans you adore.

9) Writing a book in 8 days will turn you into a Zombie.

10) Trying to accomplish NaNo after spending 8 days writing a novel is not a good idea.

11) Just because there are exploding wardrobes in your novel does not mean that you will be able to finish said novel in 30 days. Sadly.

12) An all girl's college is very weird. And not necessarily in a bad way.

13) Never transfer from a place that will hold your transcripts hostage.

14) Be careful while writing. Do not empath too much with a suicidal character. Or a character obsessed with shoes. Bad things can happen.

15) Bloggy friends are Amazing. Never lose them for they will keep you sane.

16) Summaries aren't as hard to write as you thought they were.

17) Do not tell people your car exploded in the middle of the highway. It does not go over well.

18) Even if you work in a store clearly marked "Calendar Store" customers will still ask for things that have nothing to do with calendars. Like asking for fish food.

19) Researching agents can lead you to discover some really wonderful books that you might not have read otherwise.

20) If you go to the library multiple times a week the librarians will start knowing you by name. This is not a a bad thing.

21) The insanity of writing is cantagious. You may or may not cause others to start hearing character voices and you may or may not cause certain parents to worry for their children's sanity.

22) Do no talk to your characeters out loud while at work, even if it is late and no customers are around.

23) Age doesn't matter as much as people think it does.

24) Sometimes you have to actually study what you're learning in class. It does not magically enter your brain through some sort of Learning Portal.

25) Polaris is the most Amazing Convention Ever!

26) BEA is also up there on the E.o.M

27) Spakes are a whole lot more complex then you thought they would be.

28) Sometimes, even if you only have one chapter left a novel will not let you end it. This can be an okay thing.

29) Some bosses are better than others. Some should be avoided, some should not.

30) Catholics can be pretty cool people.

31) Some jobs are worth fighting for, some are not. Sometimes you will not be sure which truth applies to the situation.

32) If you leave coats/notebooks/Bibles lying around at some church buildings they will disappear and you will never see them again. This will very likely sadden and frustrate you.

33) Having an organ-obsessed brother can be a good thing, and can even produce some pretty darn good music.

34) Aristophanes is one funny guy, and Aeschylus has some really Spake-appropriate quotes.

35) You cannot go to college for anything cool until you do graduate work. This is unfair.

36) There are times that it is perfectly acceptable to go into the city to meet people you've met online. As long as your parents know about it and you go in pairs.

37) Sometimes you will write blog posts that are not your best work, but people will read them anyway because they care about you and it will blow your mind.

Spake Update

As someone of you know I have a slight obsession with Spakes.

For those of you who don't know, well, now you pretty much do.

What is a Spake? You might ask. Most simply put a Spake is:

"A mythologically real creature that stalks Innocents and feeds off of their soul essence."

I've been keeping it hush, hush for a Long time, because I'm afraid of someone stealing my babies, but at this point the Spakes have exploded so much, I don't think anyone Could steal them without me pointing to all sorts of Evidence that I created them. I mean, their voices are on my head for Pete's sake. Ahem. Though, who Pete is I don't know and I'm not crazy, I swear. Or I am, but I believe that's a necessity for being a writer at least 63% of the time.

But beyond my insanity there is a reason I'm telling you all of this. I want you to know that now you can become a Fan of Spakes on Facebook --> CLICK ON THIS!

And if you don't have a Facebook ignore that and know that you can also follow Spakes on Twitter! Hey, if they're going to follow you, you might as well follow them, right? --> CLICK ON THIS!

And if you don't have either a Facebook or a Twitter don't worry. I'm working on a website thingy. It's not going to be complete real, with my own domain name or anything. It's just for fun and for me to play around with stuff.

Okay.

Fine.

It's already up, but I'm still working on it. It was so much fun to put together, and if any of you go over and look at it and have any questions, or hate it, or anything, feel free to let me know. There's an easy-peasy link over there that you can e-mail me on and everything. --> CLICK HERE!

YAY! :D There's even Explosions! Well... Kinda'...

This reminds me of Spakes *sigh*

Spakes and Cpntests and Other Nonsense

*And apparently the inability to spell, come on Jacqueline, you should know better.

This is just a quick post: (it's a good thing too, Miss Grammar-Mistakes)

1) I believe the Super Sister Contest deadline got extended for a short while, so you still have time to enter. Yay! :D (sheesh... no link or anything? Go here for more info)

2) As some of you know my friend and I are obsessed with Spakes, so I created a Spakes page on Facebook, and if you are attached to Facebook you can feel free to become a fan, or like it, or whatever. I'm trying to spread the word about these loverly creatures, so that when the book gets published y'all will be prepared, or some such nonsense. Basically I did it just because it was late at night and I was on the computer, and one never knows what I'll do under such circumstances.

3) Have a good day!! I demand it. (*shakes head* What are you? Queen? Stop demanding people about, it's ridiculous monkeys.)

-Jacqueline Edenbry

(one of Naomi's characters)

*With notes from Amarilla, who can spell properly, you baby

A Strange Place to Get Stuck

Pic found here

This is a Strange Place

I have noticed a trend in my writing. And no, I'm not talking about these kind of trends:

Pic found HERE

Erm... This is trendy??

*shudders* Anyway. One of my trends in writing is NOT finishing the second to last chapter. I know, weird place isn't it? I can write beginnings with little to no difficulties, and endings make me happy. Sure, the middle can be a tad difficult to make sure all the pieces are in the right order. But hand me the second to last chapter...

And suddenly

I can think

Of nothing.

It's true!

Thanet's Curse, which has plagued me since February, taunting me with the fact that I don't have any desire to finish it. Forget you, thou second-to-last chapter of death! I've been running from the aforementioned novel cringing with the thought of dealing with that chapter.

Then there's Luperin, the sequel to Haunbrinth. Now, there aren't really chapters (is this legal?) but I wrote everything but the few scenes right before the end, so it's about the equivalent of the second-to-last Chapter of Doom! I keep saying I'll finish it, but I haven't. Because. I don't want to deal with it.

There's even Myzi, which you guys don't even know about. Guess what I've written? Yup. Pretty much everything but that last final chapter. (And the third to last chapter, but you get the point.)

It's a plague, I tell you, a plague.

Check Melanie's blog out here.

She has some good stuff.

Google is not cooperating today

I don't know how this is a Writer's Plague

And I don't know whether this is cool

Or so creepy I should go about screaming

I was working on Cinnamon and Calamus: of Why You Shouldn't Trust Spakes when I stopped. Anyone want to guess why? Yes, you, the one in the front moving your arm languidly back and forth like a fan? Why! You're correct. I did get stuck on the Second-to-Last Chapter of Destruction.

But I have found a way to fight it and I will be victorious! You see, this is the story I am writing that is based off of an inside joke.

Foot pic here

Eh, that's a weird looking foot

Of course, most feet look weird

Feet Are Weird

No, no, not the foot inside joke. The Spake inside joke. Anyway, so I made myself a promise. (Those pesky little promises won't leave me alone. I keep making them. *sigh*) Every time I see this Friend I have to have written at least one paragraph from the Second-Chapter-of-Dearth.

And guess what?? I have written at least half of the Horrible Chapter :D

The only down-side to my excitement? It's too short. Again. I'm only at 34,000 and That's Too Short.

I have decided that all of my books should be stamped with the label: S.A.S Books.

Short Attention Span Books. It's difficult for me to write long books (that are based solely on one character) because after 50,000 words I'm bored and done with that character. Let's move on. Plus, lately I've been having a hard time finishing long books. I think that's one of the many reasons I've been reading more and more Middle Grade books. (Though, they're not always shorter.)

So, my dearies, where do you get stuck when writing? Have you found any tricks to get past those tough parts? Do you like short books or do they annoy your face off?

(P.S. My brother, Dave, is reading my book right now, and it is much more hilarious when he reads it. Ahahaha...)

S is for Spakes and Spices and Something Secret

Spakes. Just exactly what are they? And why are they cropping up all over this mad-crazy person's blog? I have questioned sharing information on these creatures, because I want it to be a surprise if it should ever get published. (Which it will because I love Scotch so much.) However, I figure it won't hurt to give you some glimpses into the life of a spake. Beware: They are very vague and will probably annoy you so much that you will not be able to get away fast enough.

[But wait! Don't run away! Stick around to the end for news on an upcoming... ;) I'm not gonna' tell you yet, silly. You have to wait for Something Secret.]

1) Their existence began in ancient Egypt. Never mind, how, for right now. Just know that Egyptian scribes can be stupid when messing around with the Book of the Dead.

My lame attempt at Egyptian artwork

2) Obadiah likes to jump off of pyramids. Solomon, however, likes music. He ended up sitting by the Nile watching the hippos. Yup. He was always a little loose in the head. Still not sure why he went total mad, but my friend and I are still working on it. (Oh! By the way, said friend just started out a blog, which makes me crazy happy.)

No, I did not draw this during youthgroup

when I was supposed to be paying attention

to the message. *Gives innocent look*

3) If you ever meet a girl named Zipporah who is super happy and weird, DO NOT TRUST HER. She is most probably a spake and will probably kill you.

4) Spakes kill people. Most of the time it's not their fault, unless he's Habakkuk. Then it's just from enjoyment, because Habakkuk is a psychopath.

This is what a psycho path looks like

Because psycho paths are stickmen?

5) Sometimes spakes kill people wrong (::cough cough:: Jedediah ::cough cough::) and this causes all kinds of annoying issues for the person being eated. If you find yourself being attacked by spakes, and you have no way of escape, make sure you tell them to eat you properly. Trust me.

The main reason why I bring spakes up is because I'm trying to figure some stuff out about them. For one thing, spices are super important, but I cannot figure out why. There seems no reason for it. Thus, I will have to do more research on Herbs and Spices. If any of you know the names of some good books on Herbs and Spices, feel free to let me know.

With questions of spakes turning through my mind I went to the library and asked the question, "I'm creating a mythological creature. Do you have any book recommendations for that?" Because I've heard numerous times that librarians are good people, and they want to help. Two of the librarians (one of them knows me by name now, which is kinda' funny) went running around, and the one who knows me by name said she had a book at home I would probably like, and she would find out the name of it and get back to me later. How cool is that? I felt very pampered, and even if I still don't know anything about spices, I know more about Dwarves, which is important for Pixie Princess.

It leaves me happily doodling scenes from Scotch's perspective, and leaves me wondering aimlessly about Solomon (a spake). All in all, it can be stated that today was one happy day.

~~~

WAIT! Have you run away yet in fear? In boredom??

First, here's a Pumpkin pic that I forgot, and I asked especial permission from my friend to use it, so I would feel terrible if I didn't post it up here:

Hand made Punkin Love

Alright, moving on.

What is this Something Secret?? It's actually not really a secret, so I kinda' lied, but that's because I didn't want to have any Spoilers by putting the true name up in the title.

Enough of this rambling!

I'm here to tell you about: The Super Sister Contest!!! Yay!!

When my sis, Rebecca/Sonshine, and I each reach 108 followers we will have a slam-bang of a contest. There will be books, and cool things, and stuff, and... Basically it's so cool I don't even know what all we will have yet!! I do know that I will be making mini-pillows for the event. And for any men readers out there, pillows ARE manly.

So get excited, and feel free to get the word out on this slam-bang Super Sister Contest. Check out my sis (if you haven't already) over at:

Sonshine Thoughts

She does a weekly Retail Wednesdays that will make your sides hurt from laughing too much. Or your noise. Sometimes your noise will hurt from laughing too much. (That is, if you're drinking soda while reading her blog, which isn't a safe thing to do.)

And I think that's all! :D

Oh! Wait! Other people are having contests too...

Like, Caledonia Lass over at Writings, Musings, and Other Such Nonsense is having a sister contest with Cheri. Check it out!! It's full of awesomesauce.

And Kristin Creative is having an easy-cheesy contest. Make sure you read the comment entries, they're hilarious.

And check out the Birthday Phenomenon over at Cleverly Inked, if you haven't already. It's crazy!!

AND The Alliterative Allomorph is having a contest tooooo.

I think that's all :)

I is for Interesting?

Laura over at Wavy Lines had a blog up today about predictability. It got me thinking about my own string of novels that I've been working on, because she was asking what one did to make their characters stop being predictable. There's pretty much ONE thing I do to stop my characters being dumb and boring.

I make them go crazy.

Yup. Just like that.

A little while ago I mentioned that my one character, Scotch, is just WAY too okay with someone stalking her. This is bad because one big point to writing this book was to show a more realistic approach to how someone would react to a stalker. Now, don't freak out at the word "realistic" because remember, I am writing this and I am ridiculous, so what I count as realistic others might scratch their heads at and wonder at my peculiarities.

Anyway, because she was being way too laid back, (which is the total opposite of her character) I make her paranoid. She makes her mom take her to the police station, but no one takes her seriously because she's barely sixteen, has an over-active imagination, and her stalker keeps interfering in ways that are so not cool. (Though, is it really his fault? Being a spake and all didn't give him many choices in the way he would be raised up.)

I am very excited, because I've been mapping out the next book in the series (yes, it's a series *hangs head in shame*) and I am just waiting for all the terrible things I can do to my characters. Mwahahahaha >:)

So for you writerly people out there: What do you do when a character is being as boring as a dirty sock? Do you like to mess with their mind? Throw rocks at them? Or do you give them some incurable disease, where they can only eat foods that start with the letter z? Do you stick your character with an annoying side-kick?

Alright, I'll stop now because if I don't I will continue this list for a very, very LONG time.

And a quick note: I have NOT been commenting on your blogs very much, my dear followers, and for that I apologize. April is the Month of Evil for me, so I will be around like a cat, sometimes disappearing for days or weeks only to pop up mysteriously again. (At least, that's what our old cat did.)

Oh! And my sis is having a super cool contest! It includes super cute owls. :D Aren't you excited already??

And there is still time to enter my First Ever Contest.