And one to grow on

Happy 90th birthday, Grandpop! We look forward to many more!

My obsession knows no bounds

So after I posted my irate fan blog about Midnight Sun, I read through the 264 pages that Stephanie Meyer made available on her website. I skipped dinner. I barely remembered to feed the kitties I was so engrossed.

And I was blown away. I didn't think it was possible to love this story more that I already do, but hearing it all from Edward's point of view made me fall in love with him all over again.

Watching him fall in love with Bella and realize that he would fight his family over her if necessary was just as powerful as Bella's need for him in Twilight. True love stories do not come around often, so when one this perfect does, it's hard not to go all gooey and turtle-dovey.

So here's my plea to Stephanie Meyer - Please, please, please finish this book. I cannot live happily ever after without at least seeing "Confessions" from Edward's point of view. I need this. And I know you do too. You can't give up on him now!

Beware the wrath of angry Twilight fans

To the jackass who leaked portions of Midnight Sun on the internet-

Just who the hell do you think you are? Midnight Sun was not yours to distribute to the masses. You were given a copy because you were a trusted friend (or possibly even family member). And what do you do? You betray not only Stephanie Meyer, but also the legion of now devestated fans, by being the world's biggest ass.

As a writer, I am horrified by your blatant disregard for the legal copyright of Midnight Sun. As a fan, I am furious and devestated that you have potentially ended a story that I have been dying to sink into. (So furious in fact that I'm close to wishing you bodily harm. Serious harm that would help the overwhelmingly global impact of your actions sink in far enough that you are never quite right again!)

Did you think that we'd all be so voracious to read the unfinished manuscript that your betrayal would be forgiven? Because of you and your selfishness, the world may never know Edward's story. (I may never know Edward's story!) And that is unfrgivable. The fact that Stephanie Meyer said her mood was dark enough to let James win and kill all the Cullens should make you ashamed of yourself.

And even if Stephanie proves a kinder person that I (which I am counting on), I will always think of you as the person who tarnished the near-perfect saga. And like the books, Edward was damn near-perfect too and you've ruined that for her. At least for today.

So you better find a way to fix this disasterous turn of events and convince Stephanie that you are the lowliest type of scum on the planet and your actions should have no bearing on her writing or Edward's story. If you don't, I think there just may be a special place in hell for a person who angers and devestates millions of women with one careless action.

Think about it.

Sincerely,
A Seriously Irate Fan

One big, fat I told you so...

Comment from Karen on Facebook today after finishing Twilight:

"I am absolutely furious that you would do such a mean and horrible thing to such a loving sister. I mean really, giving me a book like that to read, knowing that I would be DYING to read the next one and PURPOSELY NOT bringing it. Honestly, I thought you cared. And seriously, what an awesome book!"

Proof

I have friends. Need proof?

The first picture is Krysti and me at the Karaoke Kong Marathon (notice my KK logo on the right side? I made that); the second is Andrea and me at Krysti's birthday party. My friends rock.

Is my beloved Veronica coming to the big screen?

Michael Ausiello made my day today with this post about how Kristen Bell and Rob Thomas had an impromptu meeting about making a Veronica Mars movie! (Yes, that sound you just heard, the one that sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard from a distance, was me sqealing my head off in sheer delight!) I don't know if it will ever come to fruition, but a girl can dream, can't she?

Direction Pt. 2

At lunch today, I told Mark that I finally gave into an idea and now my novel has a new direction.
His response: "You added vampires didn't you?"

(If this doesn't make sense to you read a few posts back about Twilight and it will all become clear. And to answer his question - No.)

Direction

After years of rebelling against romance of any kind in my writing, I have finally given in. For the longest time, I didn't want to be seen as one of "those" writers. I didn't want to be chick-lit or romance novel-ish. I wanted to be respectable. I wanted to be literature.

I wanted to be taken seriously as a writer and have my stories mean something. Somehow in my mind I felt that being literary mean that I had to give up the things I enjoy (ie romantic love) to be replaced by grown-up plots and ten-dollar words. But I read romance novels, devour them actually, and I lap up any good love story. And stories don't have as much impact on me if they don't make my heart sigh.

So why do I consider these authors and books to be serious literature, but not my own?

And that's when something clicked in my sluggish brain. This deep rooted seed of romance sprang to life and my novel has a new purpose. The mental block lifted and I could clearly see the path Aden was to take to get to the happy ending. Just by accepting that two characters are meant to be (which in my head I knew, but never allowed to be acknowledged on paper), everything fit in place.

I'm in love with a vampire

Well, actually a whole family of Vampires – the Cullens. But Edward Cullen is top of the list with his golden eyes, bronze hair, wicked crooked grin, and unequaled love for one Miss Bella Swan.

I immersed myself in my latest obsession, The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, this past weekend and read the 2,515 pages of all four books in a four day stretch. Back-to-back. With only brief interludes for minimal food and bathroom breaks. Otherwise, I was all vampires all the time. And it was well worth the aches from sitting in a chair with my neck cocked down to read.

I cannot express how much I LOVE this series. In the next few days I will try though. I cannot stop thinking about the four books so I will do more blogging as the scenes keep replaying in my head like a widescreen. You'll also soon get to watch the trailer for the Twilight movie set for release on December 12, 2008. (Robert Pattinson - who played Cedric Diggory in Goblet of Fire - completely brings Edward to life.) Cannot wait!

Dwelling on what should have been

Just like too many cooks spoil a broth, too many trivia teammates second guess each other and we come in third.

I know I should be happy that we placed, but I'm not. It's annoying that we had right answers and then changed them. Oh well. There's always next week.