Leave Paula Deen Alone!

I don't know if you guys have been following the story on Paula Deen but it recently caught my eye and I did a little research. The article I found really reminds me of the Chick-Fil-A de-bock-le. (Pardon the pun.) CNN is states that Paula Deen has used the "N" word in her life and in a negative connotation. She does go on to explain that it was in a different time and she doesn't discriminate against race, sexuality or gender today. I mean, even if she did say it, at least she apologized! Even then, we have to remember that Paula Deen had had a lot of work done (she's pretty dang old) so during her teen years the major social problems included racism. The fact that she admitted to her past faults and went onto apologize is a huge thing. I know a lot of people her age are older (Especially in the South) that still believe interRACIAL marriage is wrong.  That's pretty bad considering now same-sex marriage is becoming legally and socially accepted. (Score!) In short, I do believe people are over reacting (like with Chick-fil-A) and because of that, companies are saving their butts.

This leads me to my next topic: Racial and other prejudice slurs in writing. Are they okay with historical context or not? Honestly I'm a fan of the real deal nitty-gritty historical recounts in writing. (As long as the author personally doesn't favor the past.) However, if Bubba Joe wants to write book about how the only real people are White, Christian, God-Fearing men then he really can go back under the rock (read trailer) he came from. When we look at books such as To Kill a Mocking Bird and Uncle Tom's Cabin (depending on which publisher's book you read) you'll see that racial slurs are used. This is because racism did happen and still does today. Slavery existed in the United States. These are true facts of history that America is now (hopefully) ashamed of. Just like the Holocaust in during World War II, these past mistakes need to be learned and taught in order to keep the past from repeating itself and head towards a better future.

Getting off my soapbox, I'll add that personal preference and comfort is also a factor in this decision. Some people aren't comfortable with swear words; I get it. That's something that should be listed on the back of a book so that those people don't find themselves blushing in a coffee shop. (Don't get me started on book ratings.) I, myself, don't personally use the "f" word slur for homosexuality because one, it's a negatively contorted word and two, it actually means a bundle of sticks used for tanks or in English slang, a cigarette. Neither of which I really talk much about (even though I like to pretend I'm British) in daily life. Nevertheless, I did bring it up in my novel where a very narrow-minded teenager is shown to use it as a slur. The main character who could be considered just as close-off reacts negatively (like really she almost kills the chick) to the word. I do worry that with the way society is that I might be criticized for this one word and maybe not even considered by publishers because of it. What do you guys think? Am I just being my usual nervous self or could this actually be an issue?

Comment below, adventurers and I'll see ya later!

Peace&<3,
Angela

Editing is the 7th layer of HELL

I never really got why Hell supposedly has 7 layers. Wouldn't it make more sense to have 6? Seven is supposedly a holy number I thought. Or maybe I'm just confused because it rhythms with Heaven. Wait... I'm getting off track.

So I'm on draft like 900 of my novel I Know How You Feel and I'm actually getting really good editing advice from a glorious editor friend. Monica is Godsent no doubt. She leaves edits but also little comments that make for a nice comic relief among the hours of hair pulling, insecure moments, and questioning if this is even worth it. Plus you can genuinely tell that she loves what she's doing. I need to figure out some way to pay her back. (Hmmm... isn't there this thing in the beginning of the book... what's it called? A dedication. Oh right!) Anyway I'm blessed to have her as an editor and even more so as a great friend!

Back to editing though, it's almost too tedious for me. I mean I usually never read books more than once or twice in a year and now I'm reading my own writing through over and over. (Oddly, enough I still love the book so maybe that's a good sign.) I want to say now that no matter what I will always hate editing! I mean to each their own but I really prefer writing without worrying about errors. I mean, people don't make painters go back and fix their abstract art! Too bad I really suck at painting. Computers and spellcheck really need to be more advanced. Although this new software for my Mac called Pages is pretty sweet so I might run it through their and see what it comes up with. The only problem is that the program is really for writing formal essays and thesis not novels.

I'm sure my publisher is close to wanting to wringe my next these days. I'm sorry though! It's just not ready! (They also do this weird thing where they call me and then leave messages with just elevator music. I think it's supposed to be passive aggressive or something. Who knows.) I think I'm gonna step up my game soon and try to tackle this beast of a novel and hopefully my fab editor will stick with me too.

That's all for my rant, adventurers!

Peace&<3,
Angela

Two Years Passed

Wow. I don't normally get too personal on this site but I guess I do have some explaining to do. For the past two years my anxiety got to it's worst and so did my depression. I was finally driven to do something about it and ever since then it's been an uphill battle. It took me two years almost to graduate high school because I had to switch to online learning. Some days I couldn't leave my house and others I couldn't even leave my bed. I lost most of my school friends but grew closer to my family than ever before. I learned how much they really mean to me and how lucky I am.

Okay, I'm done with the after-school special writing now. I hope I didn't get too cheesy! Anyway my adventure continues as I'm not self-publishing my novel "I Know How You Feel" with the amazing company called AuthorHouse. If you look at the sidebar you'll see I updated the books I'm working on. Yes, I have kept writing and I even won another award even during the rough time. I am an official Merit Scholar in Novel Writing now. It's pretty sweet but I won't brag too much. Getting that award for "I Know How You Feel" gave me the confidence to to publish it.

Also, I'm in college this summer at a local(ish) college and planning on attending SCAD next fall. So not much has changed with my future plans. I kind of want to be a screenwriter now though. Or have the title "Director/Screenwriter/Producer" under my name in those behind the scenes clips and such. My plan of becoming a published author will happen soon though and it's EXCITING! (I just have to, ya'know edit my novel)

I still roleplay at OUAC and now I'm also roleplaying on tumblr. (Though college is killer with that. I'm gonna have to cut down. ) It improves my writing and helped me make really cool friends all over the globe. I know two people from Wales and one from England now!

Holy moley, I'm talking a bunch. I really miss blogging (tumblr isn't the same with all the reblogging and stuff) so I'M HOPING I'll be back soon.

Tata, adventurers.
Peace&<3,
Angela

I SURVIVED!

They really need the t-shirt to say "I survived NaNoWriMo!" because it's one heck of a rollercoaster.

Hello my dear readers! It is I, Angela. I've made it through the belly of the beast and have come out with VICTORY... sorta.

Good news: I have finished the first two novels in new series! Here & Here are the covers for those. IT's my handiwork so it's not the best but hopefully they'll peak your interest. This is a dark supernatural romance series that I've been working on for a awhile now. I plan on having four books and hopefully interesting an agent with them.

Bad news: Even so I only had written 45k and had to add 5k from previous writings that I didn't write in November.

In short, I cheated. Which is why you will not see the lovely icon of victory on this website. I still do feel like I won but I really want to write a fifty thousand word novel in a month. Eventually!

So now I'm taking a month off and celebrating the rest of my holidays with my family instead of sitting behind a computer cursing my slow typing. Yes it will be very hard not to give into the temptations of shredding my novels to pieces and putting them back together in a hopefully better way but I'm certain my hands will fall off (or I'll at least get carpel tunnel) if I continue another month into NaNoFinNo. Plus I will be following the advice of many people about letting your piece sit awhile before coming back to it.

Speaking of Holidays, how was your Thanksgiving? Mine was particularly splendid minus the stress of NaNo. Although I didn't stuff my face with turkey. (I'm not a big fan of the feathery meats) I'd love to hear about your family traditions!

Peace&<3,

Angela

Tis the Season to be NaNo!

NaNoWriMo to be exact!

Hi again my lovely adventurers! Are you excited as I am this year for NaNoWriMo? Probably not! This year I just know I'm gonna get the fifty thousand words. I'm pretty pumped to get started on my book. I've been planning it in my head since last year. If you don't know what NaNoWriMo is I'm pretty sure I explained it in last year's post.

In other news, I'm a finalist for the World Poetry Contest. This is rather surprising seeing as I really thought I failed at writing poetry. Usually I write a poem by opening up my heart and pouring on the paper. (That could be a bit gory depending on how you picture it.) Then I look back and realize what a big mess it is and clean it up a bit. I'm going to be published in the huge book that supposedly will "last through generations". Anyway I'm still kind of in shock. I'm a poet and I didn't even know it.

Hahaha sorry I had to. Oh, and I'm in another contest. It's for Seventeen magazine. I used to read this mag all the time when I was younger. I'd steal it from my sister's room and snicker at all the parts about "How to Kiss your man". Now I could possibly get published in it! Also when some much needed college money and get to talk to one of my FAVORITE writers, Maggie Steifvater!!!!!

Sorry, but screw the money; talking to her is the only thing that gets me excited to enter in this contest. The link for this contest is right here! You can join if you'd like. Or you can heart my little story on figment that's an entry. That link is over there!

I'm being a bit corny today. There's really nothing to do as I sit in Starbucks waiting for my shift at Subway to start. More on that in my next REALLY long post. Well, I'm going to play some random games now. Bye!

Peace&<3,
Angela

26 is my new favorite number!

Hello adventurers! So I has some fantastic news for you! I am rated #26 on TeenInk. I have no idea who's voting for me but KEEP DOING IT PLEASE! If you would like to check out the first couple of chapters of my handy dandy novel "I Know How You Feel" (whoa I went all Blue's Clues on you for a second) check out the cute little icon on teh webpage. If you can't see it, then I suggest some glasses or laser eye surgery or maybe, if you have a super cool macbook like me, take your two fingers and do the zoom in motion on your mouse track pad type thingymabob. Anyway, it's there and so is the fabulous book I have been talking about. Also I told you guys I'd give you the link to where you can buy the book with my story in it so
Lookie here: http://www.harpercollins.com/books/A-Midsummer-Nights-Dream-William-Shakespeare?isbn=9780062066008&HCHP=TB_A+Midsummer+Night+s+Dream

Also I attempted to dye my hair purple today and let's just say it is still red. DON'T BUY RAW HAIR COLOR!!! IT SUCKS! That's all for now!

Peace&<3,
Angela

Oh hey, a contest.

Lookie here my lovely authors of unpublished novels!

http://yatopia.blogspot.com/2011/09/pitch-contest-with-agent-mandy-hubbard.html

Tis a beautiful opportunity for those YA and MG authors. I'm entering. Why don't you?

Gone Forever? What are you kidding me?

Well hey there strangers! I really can't explain where I'm been without going into the long story of how I've been through hell and back so I'm just going to tell you the good things that you've missed.

My first partial! -- Though rejected it was by GINGER CLARKE!!! She's pretty awesome and I'm excited that she was at least interested by my novel.

My name is now officially in print! -- And by HarperCollins no less. If you're a fan of the old classic "A MidSummer Night's Dream", pick up the republished version coming out this October and look in the extras section in the back. There I am, first story. Several of my friends are wanting me to sign it. My excitement can not even be described in words!

My acceptance into SCAD-- Literally two days after I sent all the stuff they needed, they sent me an email. Talk about awesome!

Sadly I don't have much more to say except for I'm back. I'm going to be keeping you guys updated on the adventures from now on. I'm thinking I'll be sending out queries again (since regular jobs aren't wanting me) and trying to write some more. I can't make any promises but I'm definitely participating in NaNoWriMo this year.

Whoever stayed with me is awesome!

Peace&<3,
Angela

WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?!

Hi Adventurers! So let's just say this month has been a whirlwind. Literally. The storms here were really gross and the weather was so messed up BUT... now it's sunny and I couldn't be happier. :) Why is that you may ask? (Or may not but I'm telling you anyway.) You know that contest I've been gabbing about for the past three weeks? Well, I won. Yes, you read right... I WON :D Sorry if I'm bragging or anything but this makes me so excited. I've never won a contest in my entire life so this is amazing. They'll be launching the book in October and I'll be a published author. It's so weird to say that. Every time I think about it in my head, I'm amazed. Now to become a novelist. Which hopefully will be easier with this credential in my belt. Well, I'm off to go celebrate some more. Once the book comes out in stores I'll post the link on here.  I'm hoping to post more but I just got a tumblr and it's sort of addicting haha. Until next time!

Peace&<3,
Angela

Mysterious Contests and Bad Queries

Hey Adventurers! You could say I'm a bit down right now. The Shakespeare contest won't announce their winners. Instead they're going to call, email or send a letter. And I haven't gotten anything like that yet :/ I'm pretty sure I didn't win or I did and they're being mysterious lol. Also my query was torn into little tiny pieces on Absolute Write (another good site for writers) and I was told that it's not ready for prime time yet. Now that I look at it, I can see why but being told that is still a bit discouraging. Oh well! I'm going to keep moving forward nonetheless. Oh and if you've been with me since the beginning you'll probably notice that site changed a bit. Do you like it now or before? I took out the music because everyone was complaining about it and I found myself turning off my volume every time I got onto here. I also plan on trying to add some more to the site but I'm not sure what yet... Any ideas?
Until next time!

Peace&<3,
Angela

UPDATE: Shakespeare Contest

Hello adventurers! I can't remember when, but awhile back I told you about this contest I entered. Well... I didn't have much hope for it at first but after I made a group on Facebook, the votes slowly started piling up. It was amazing. In less than a month,  I got over a 150 votes and now I'm in the finalist stage!!! They're reading and judging the entries today! The results come out tomorrow, saying whether or not I made it to the final stage. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. If I win this contest, I could possibly be published by Harper Collins! (or win an Ipod Touch, which I've been needing a new one(: )
Just thought I'd let you know(:

One more day of waiting! :D

Peace&<3,
Angela

Angela is currently: writing my arm off xD

Hello adventurers! I'm back with fabulous news. My short story, "Shattered" has been published on Teen Ink! (How about them apples?) If you want to see it just click here. I'm hoping it will be considered to be published in the magazine so I can FINALLY be a published author. Also I've been working on editing I Know How You Feel again and put the prologue and the first chapter of the second draft up on Teen Ink as well. (Yay for free time!) Another thing I finally got back into is writer's roleplay. If you didn't know, writer's roleplay is kind of like acting but instead of saying the lines and doing the actions, you write them. It's a fun way for me to practice my writing and it keeps me from getting bored with editing. A while back I joined a site called "Once Upon a City". It's a lovely site where you create a character that is the personification of a Children's Storybook character. (think Disney) At the moment I play Happy from Snow White, Anastasia from well... Anastasia and Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast. I really love this site and all the people in it.
I've also created a site called "Eternal Bonds". It's all about the Greek myth of the Creation of Love. You create a character who is a half soul and write about their life and another person creates their other half and when they meet and fall and love... they are whole again. (That's me and my hopeless romanticness) I'm hoping this site will pick up again so we can finally start having some cutsie romance (Yes I just said cutsie romance XD) Every writer should participate in writer's roleplay if they want to have fun with writing and gain more experience. Just make sure you pick the right sites (the creeperless ones) and choose the right plots.

Anyway, enough with the infomercial! I can't wait for this summer. 20 more school days! How many for you?
Bye for now!

Peace&<3,
Angela

Busy time over!

Hey there adventurers! Sorry about abandoning you for so long but I'm back! All of my life-changing experiences have come and past, and now I'm finally going to be settling back into a routine. Well... as routine as my life can be. Through all the busy days I did manage to find some free time to put together a group on Facebook for that little contest I entered! I have over 90 votes now thanks to all my awesome friends. I'll be sure to have the judges reading my little entry now :D I'm excited to see what happens but even if I don't win I've learned I still have a huge group of people who back my writing endeavors :) It's exciting to get feedback from the ones whose opinions I value the most.

I also have been working on I Know How You Feel and hope to finish the editing process by the end of this month. (A little bit of deja vu huh? (; ) If not then I'll keep on truckin'. After all it is 63,000 words and 419 pages printed. (Thanks Scrivener :D) I can't take this job lightly. I have to buckle down and get to it!

Also my other novel Energy has been getting some attention when I get an urge to write in it. I think when I get some free time I'm going to make a spot and post excerpts of each of my many novels just to have a portfolio so to speak. For now I'm off to make my to do list! Bye!

Peace&<3,
Angela

Vote for me?

Hey there Adventurers! It's me and guess what I did? I finally submitted my entry for the Midsummer Night's Dream contest!!!!

Check it ooout: http://inkpop.strutta.com/entry/156540

I'm really hoping you guys and my lovely writing friends on Facebook and Inkpop like it enough to vote it to the top five. I've probably said this before, but my dream is to be published by Harper Collins. If this works out, I can have my name in one of their books! It's so exciting!!! Also, this coming from a admin of Inkpop, having the fact that I'm published with Harper Collins on my query is a huuuuge flashing sign to literary agents. How's that for credentials?

Sorry for all the uber happiness and hope. (A slight change from yesterday's post, eh?) I'd fill this post with smileys but I feel like that would be a bit much. Anyway, I also have a new program to show you called Scrivener. It's a program made by an English man for writers. And let me tell you, it's pure genius. Everything is so easy to organize and edit with this program. At forty-five bucks, it's well worth it. I'm not going to go all infomercial on you but seriously, if you're a writer, check it out.

That's all for now. (I was tempted to say folks hehe)

Peace&<3,
Angela

Contests are my new drug

Thankfully most of them aren't a contest of luck (considering I have none even though I'm Irish) Here is a lovely one that you should try: http://yatopia.blogspot.com/2011/03/agent-pitch-contest.html
Yatopia is holding this super awesome contest with a literary agent but guess what? You don't have to write a query letter! Just fill out the form and hope and pray that the agent is interested.
Just thought I'd let you know!

Peace&<3,
Angela

March Madness!!!

No, I'm not that big of a basketball fan. (Personally, I don't get the obsession with sports) I'm talking about my March Madness. All of my weekends in March are filled up! Prom was awesome :D Next weekend I'm throwing a party and the weekend after that is Spring Break! And now it's getting warm, so I want to go outside. I'm worried I'll never get my story edited!!!!
Oh hi, Adventurers. Sorry for my rant. I really am a bit surprised by all of this. I'm never this busy! I'm thinking I'll have to move my writing schedule back a month. I am entering a pretty big contest though. I've got my awesome Creative Writing teacher looking over my work and giving me some advice. After that I'll post it here and hope and pray you'll like it and vote for it.
In other news, I didn't get accepted into Newspaper. (sadness) I'm good now though. At first I was moping around and grumbling about my Senior plans being ruined but I'm at the acceptance stage now. I'm realizing that rejection is inevitable. (not to be pessimistic) Not everyone is going to like my writing and probably more than seventy-five percent of my queries will be rejected this summer. But as the quirky movie "Meet the Robinsons" says, I have to keep moving forward! Well that's it for now. Question of the Day: What are your plans for the next six months for your writing?

Peace&<3,
Angela

I'm still here!

Hi adventurers! Sorry about disappearing! March has been waaaay busier for me then a planned. I'd love to say I got tons of editing done while I was gone but... I didn't. I did write though! So it's probably safe to say I WILL NOT be getting the editing done for I Know How You Feel before April 1st. My weekends are jam-packed. I'm pretty excited about this too. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only writer who thinks they'll be stuck behind typed words for the rest of their life. Even one of my best guy friends says whenever I tell him I want to be published, "But writers are lonely!" So tell me, what do you do to break the Writer's Curse? (hehe I just made a reference to my poem) Bye for now! I'll try to updated at least once a week. After March is over it will probably be daily again.

Peace&<3,
Angela

Wow, it's late!

Not as late as my other posts but still... So no editing today! Maybe tomorrow. (Is that procrastination I hear?) I've been working on another contest. (This one's pretty legit) If I when I'll have more things to put on my query and I'll have my writing published with Harper Collins. (cue girly screams) So I have been productive... just not in the way of editing. I'm hoping to get back on the editing bandwagon as soon as I finish this piece. Or during... it depends on how ADD I am tomorrow. So another short and sweet post by me! And my question of the day is: What helps you stay focused? Good night followers... I need a another name for you guys... Adventurists? Readers? Knights who say Ni? I'll work on it.

Peace&<3,
Angela

¡NO MAS COMPRANDO!

Yeah that's probably not correct Spanish but oh well...

Hello darlings! I'm back from a very busy day! My prom is coming up soon and I successfully found the perfect dress and jewelry after shopping for three weekends in a row. I'm not too fond of serious shopping so you can guess how I'm feeling right now. (Especially with another weekend of shopping needed to find shoes *twitchtwitch*) Though I did get to spend time with my mom and my best friend so that was nice. (Look at me, being all positive :D) I didn't get any writing down today but I'm certain I can get the ball rolling again tomorrow. Maybe I should only work on editing on weekdays... there's an idea. Anyway I'm going to keep this post short and sweet because my energy is at about ten percent right now. So here's my question to you: What is the most inspirational time of day for you to write? Mine is usually late afternoon to three A.M. ^^" Bye for now!

Peace&<3,
Angela

I'm entering contests now

Hello! So I saw this contest on Inkpop that I figured I should join because I needed to get some credentials and a contest sound fun. Sadly, at that time, I had zero inspiration. Then a peculiar thing happened. I opened up my blinds and saw a lamppost. Then suddenly, BAM I had a story. So here it is!

Shattered

By Angela T. Marie

I opened my blinds to see he was standing at the lamppost. Just like I asked him. The orange light revealed his silhouette looking towards my house. It was nearing midnight so I knew everyone was asleep. I slipped on some shoes and tiptoed down the steps and out the door. As I walked across the street to him, I thought of the first words that he would say when I got there. He'd probably comment sarcastically on my robe or make a joke about my choice of a meeting place.  He really wasn’t much of a romantic.

When I meet his gaze, I wasn't expecting him to look lovingly at me the way he did. I also wasn't ready for the amorous embrace he immediately pulled me into. No words just actions. His smell enveloped me and I relaxed in his warm arms. He slowly pulled me away and stroked my cheek. The whole world around me seemed to blur as we made our way back to my house. I entered a new realm of being when I pulled him into my room. I closed the door and he pulled me closer, kissing me in a way that showed love, not lust.

This much emotion from him was almost impossible for me to perceive. When he asked me to get together I thought I knew exactly what he meant. I thought it would be for one night only and then done. I hadn’t planned it to affect me in the least bit. I wanted him and he wanted me. That much was true. There didn’t look to be anymore until tonight. The way he touched me tonight, I felt like we could stay in this delusion of love forever. I felt we might never leave the realm of being we had entered. That was until a simple call broke the illusion.

"That's her," he said speaking for the first time tonight. I nodded and he answered the call. The illusion was shattered. The realm was broken. In the real world, he had a girlfriend. In the real world, I wasn't "her". In the real world, that girlfriend was my best friend.

So what do you think? I really need a critique before I submit it. The characters are meant to be faceless by the by. I like to make my short stories open to the imagination. Plus if I go into detail it usually turns into a novel heh. Bye for now!

Peace&<3,
Angela