Acts of Good #71 and 72

1. I collected a lot of compost to give to Mollie yesterday and today. :)
2. I've been working hard on my novel! I just finished editing Chapter 11.

Acts of Good #68, 69, and 70

1. I've been procrastinating the project of finishing my NaNoWriMo, but I've finally decided to take the next step. Last night, I worked hard formatting my book, and I continued (and finished) in the morning. 
2. I made the final cover for my book, accounting for bleed, spine size, etc. So, I'm almost completely finished!
3. I'm editing the writing of my NaNoWriMo as well, and I'm on Chapter 4! *cheers*

The Tension of Opposites

I just finished The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride. It is SUCH an amazing book. I was completely attached to it, and there was absolutely no way anyone could tear me away from it. I think I devoured it. ;)

McBride has created a beauty. Her characters are real and imperfect (not like one character in Twilight- *cough* Edward *cough*- sorry, that's just my opinion), which is how characters should be, like the real people that they seem to represent. The plot is catchy- it's always changing and exciting- and I always wanted to read on to know what would happen next. I felt like I was actually in the story- and it was such an exhilarating experience! It was also really inspiring- I've written a novella in the same genre, and McBride's book reminded me of it. They're both slightly dark- yet cheerful at the same time- and the characters in both of our books are in similar environments. My book isn't nearly as good and needs a lot of improvement, but as I mentioned before, The Tension of Opposites was a great source of inspiration. I'll definitely look back at this book as a source of motivation whenever I need it. Kristina McBride accomplished her dream of publishing a book, and I hope to do the same in the future.

-Cora

Blogs and an Awesome Author

I follow my best friend's blog, http://gollie-worldofwords.blogspot.com/, and I saw Mollie's post that she wrote about Kristina McBride. Mollie actually reminded me that I had wanted to write a response to the amazing author's visit (but I got sidetracked with working on my NaNoWriMo), so here it goes:

As Kristina McBride mentions on her website (http://www.kristinamcbride.com/), and as she also told us, it takes a long time to get down the road of writing and finally get published, as that is the final goal that every author dreams of. It's what I dream of (among other things, such as happiness :)), and it's what I admire about McBride. She persevered through writing several manuscripts of several novels, most of which received too many rejections to count. These are struggles similar to many other writers out there- but this author carried through with her ideas, and she let them speak for themselves.

Though I haven't gotten into the book yet, I can tell that it's going to be brilliant, and I can't wait to start reading! I loved meeting her, especially because I saw part of me in her. For example, I haven't written one piece of writing that I believe is good that doesn't have some level of depression or darkness to it, and I love to watch dark crime TV shows (like Bones and Castle), and McBride seems to have a similar dark theme evolving in her previous novels (the ones that weren't published), and her latest book regards a kidnapping- and she also loves criminal TV shows!
Another thing I really love about her is her extreme enthusiasm. She was so engaged in what she was talking about, and it gave me an extra burst of motivation. I felt drawn in, and I felt ready for the journey to becoming an author. I was ready to meet my characters directly and to interact with them personally. I was ready to make time to write. I was ready to work on my previous works (which I did- Mrs. McBride inspired me to finish my NaNoWriMo formatting and continue writing poems, and ideas, and simply writing!) and start new ones. I was ready, and I still am.

So, thank you, Kristina McBride. Thank you for the motivation, and the inspiration. I'm really excited to read your latest novel, The Tension of Opposites, and I'm also excited to see what experiences the path of writing throws my way.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,

Cora

50th Post!!!! (And Acts of Good #37, #38, and #39)

Today, I: 1) organized my bookshelf, 2) recycled a bunch of old magazines, and 3) set apart some books that I don't need any more... though a plan of action for what to do with them will have to come later...

Other than that, the only news I have:
This is the 50th post! I feel like doing something special for it... if I think of something, I'll let you know!