Leslie Pugh, one word at at time

bye-bye blog. for a while at least...

2014-01-06T11:31:00.003-08:00

If anyone is still out there occasionally checking in on my writing blog, thank you for being faithful! I apologize that I have greatly neglected this blog. I'm still writing fiction and I'm still reading your blogs. But I've learned over the last year that I am just not committed to blogging about writing.

I have so very much to learn about the writing process that I should spend any writing time I have actually writing and learning more about the craft of writing and not worry about trying to blog about it at this point.

My 2014 resolution is to let go of guilt over things I just can't maintain or commit to in my life. So I'm saying good-bye to this blog for now. I'll still be visiting your blogs throughout the year and hopefully get to see many of you at a writing conference!

Happy 2014 and good luck with all of your writing dreams this year!

my heart is with those in Boston today

2013-04-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

There is so much evil in the world. I openly admit that I often go days or all week without watching or reading any news because it can so easily overwhelm and sadden me. Today was no exception. The only reason I heard the news about the horrible bombings in Boston was because a friend commented on it on her Facebook account. Of course then I had to find out what was going on. And what I saw on the news was incredibly sad.

So at times like this, I just have to remind myself of all the good in the world that far outshines the dark corners of evil. On this terrible day in Boston, so many immediately went to help those in need and so many thought of others rather than flee. I'm thankful for those people and I'll be praying for the victims and their families.

less than a month until LDStorymakers!

2013-04-12T21:37:00.001-07:00

I'm counting down now that there is less than a month until the LDStorymakers conference in Provo, Utah! Last year's Storymakers was the very first writing conference I've attended. I learned so much at that conference and met so many other great writers that I knew I would try very hard to fit this year's conference into my schedule.

But I almost didn't get a spot in time - yikes! Somehow I thought there was plenty of time to register and just didn't get around to it. Then much to my surprise a little over a week ago, one of the conference organizers posted on Facebook that there were only two tickets left!!! Aack!

I scrambled like a crazed squirrel chasing a nut over to the Storymakers site and typed my bankcard numbers in as fast as I could before those two spots were snatched up - and somehow I got a spot. Phew! Thank you, thank you, Don, for posting the heads up that tickets were almost out. And thank you, my lucky stars, that one of those tickets was meant for me.

Anyone else out there signed up? I'm so looking forward to seeing those of you I met last year and meeting new writing friends!

2013 goals

2013-01-01T23:31:00.000-08:00

A new year is here! Do you set goals or resolutions at the start of each year?

I do. I'm a list maker by nature and can't resist making goals and resolutions each January. I'm not going to comment on how many of them I actually accomplish. It's about having renewed determination and continuing to strive towards positive goals in my opinion. Better to try and fail than never try at all, right? Something like that anyway.

So since I haven't been part of the writing community very long, I'm not going to go crazy with an overachiever list. I'm keeping it short and simple.

1. Attend a writing conference. I attended two writing conferences during 2012 and learned more than I ever expected to. So this is the top of my list. I'd absolutely love to attend far more than one or two, but one is the minimum.

2. Write something every day of the week except Sunday. I learned a lot as a writer just sitting down to write something day in and day out. And then, when I let myself not write anything (for months at a time), time flew by when nothing was accomplished and doubt piled high around me. So this year, if it's at least a sentence a day, I'll be happy. But a regular break is a good thing, so Sundays off for me.

Happy new year to you all! Go forth and write!

Santa, you done good

2012-12-26T17:48:00.001-08:00

I'm a day late, but I wanted to wish you all a wonderful and merry Christmas! It's one of my favorite times of the year and I'm grateful for all the good that comes this time of year and the reminder to be a little kinder and more loving to others.

Although I didn't get any books under the tree because I forgot to write down any titles on my wish list, my kids were thrilled with what Santa left under the tree! (And don't worry, there were plenty of other wonderful gifts so don't feel too bad about my bookless Christmas). Amazon.com Prime and I are bff's so I'm never without a good book.

My kids favorites this year:

13 year old son - The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney (we gave this book to our son who has been reading the Wimpy Kid series since the beginning but our daughter loves them so much that she was just as excited about this book as the ones she received).

8 year old daughter - Kid Atlas from The National Geographic Society (she was dying to get this at the school's book fair in the fall and is thrilled that it's now hers)

7 year old daughter - Midnight on the Moon (Magic Treehouse #8) by Mary Pope Osborne. Anytime we go to the library of a bookstore, our youngest daughter hunts these out.

This mom can't deny that I felt a wave of pride when each of them actually did a little cheer when they opened these books. There is nothing better than seeing their love of reading grow each year. One of the best gifts a parent can receive, right?

Any great books under your tree this year?

best thing about a book fair

2012-11-07T16:07:00.001-08:00

This school year I'm trying to get more involved with my kids' schools and classes than I have in past years when I had babies still at home. So when I was asked to help out at the elementary school book fair, I tried not to think too much about all the obligations and to-do's piled up in my life and signed up for several time slots.

Turns out, the book fair gig is pretty fun and easy as pie (most of the time till some third grader asks a tricky question or someone tries to pay with a credit card - though I did get both of those situations resolved if you want to know).

There is a lot of down time when kids are in classes, parents are at home, and no one is shopping so I had time to knit and read. And even better, time to shop for books for my kids for Christmas.

But the best part about the book fair? It's being there in the background listening to kids talk about why they love certain books, which ones they really want, giggles over something exciting or funny found in the pages of a new book, or what characters kids really love in picture or chapter books.

There is nothing as thrilling or wonderful as a new book, is there?

good-bye crazy summer!

2012-08-29T14:49:00.001-07:00

Hey there writing world! I've missed you! Somehow I made it through my summer of crazy travel and helping family and I returned just over a week ago.

Life taking care of 9 children, which turned into 10 after my sister had her baby, was even crazier and harder than I had anticipated it being. It wasn't just the sheer number of children but that all the kids were so little (oldest being only 10 1/2 and not much help since he has some special needs), that many of them had daily and multiple tantrums and meltdowns, and that my sister was on full bed rest and then eventually was still greatly incapacitated as she recovered from a c-section. But we all survived and my sister and her family are hanging in there and doing as well as can be expected.

Fortunately, there also was help sometimes from some of my sister's friends and members of her church congregation (especially with many meals) which was greatly appreciated and I still am awed by the kindness of those people.

That probably explains why even though I took my laptop with me on my California adventure, I didn't write a single word. Not one. I tried. I thought about my WIP. I thought about my crit partner's WIP. I thought about some ideas. But I somehow couldn't get around to opening up Microsoft Word and typing. Because at the end of each day I felt so completely exhausted that I basically used any extra time I had to watch mind numbing television and do repetitive knitting. That was my form of lying in the fetal position and rocking myself back and forth, lol.

So today can I just tell you that I'm counting down the hours until school starts tomorrow for my kids? I'm that excited that my crazy, insane, summer is officially over! Even better, my kids are excited to be back at school. They can do their thing. And I can do mine. I'm so looking forward to writing, reading, spending time with friends, sewing, knitting and finishing my still incomplete home, and getting back to normal, structured life.

Hope you all had a great summer! And here's to having an even better fall!

my California adventure and possible blog hiatus for summer

2012-07-25T22:25:00.002-07:00

I'm posting from sunny California and will be here for the next month or so. One of my sisters is having her eighth child (yes, 8!) and her Air Force husband has unexpectedly had to deploy to somewhere scary far away that I'm not supposed to mention. She's on bed rest because of pregnancy complications and we are all hoping and praying that she makes it at least a couple more weeks before she has to deliver her baby.

It's great to see her and my cute nieces and nephews but let me just say that taking care of nine children (her current seven plus two of mine) is exhausting. And since she's on full bed rest, I need to be the main person to also keep the house clean, do the laundry, cook, grocery shop and run errands. I had no idea that just keeping that many little kids fed, basically clean (which includes changing diapers for three of them) and supervised is a constant job. Like - barely get to sit down for more than a few minutes in an entire day - job. I have three kids which keeps me busy but NINE feels like far more than triple the normal work I do in my home, more like ten times the normal work! I have an even greater respect for my sister and her husband than before.

Needless to say, all my goals for summer writing have been shelved for a while. I brought my laptop with me in the hopes of squeezing in a few sentences on my WIP now and then but I've realized that even blogging once a week or so may not happen. I'm happy to be able to help my sister and right now that's more important that my previous plans.

Hopefully I can jump online occasionally and enjoy some bloggy time visiting your blogs or writing on mine. But if not, I just wanted to share a little update.

a little reading every day goes a long way

2012-07-11T19:56:00.001-07:00

Thanks for all of the helpful and supportive comments on my last post regarding having a tired brain. Reading ideas and gaining insight from other writers helped me not stress myself too much about going through a slump. I truly appreciate all the kind comments!

My week away serving as a leader at a girls camp also helped refresh my mind immensely. I had five wonderful days in the lovely woods of western Washington spent in the company of great girls and great friends, with a surprising amount of free time that I used for reading and knitting.

The reading especially recharged me and I realized that though I've always loved reading, I haven't always considered it a priority or even a productive use of time and I needed to get over that. I'm a person that likes to really be doing something most of the time and I have often felt a little guilty "just reading."

This year I set a goal to read at least one book a week and I've been loving that goal but still feeling guilty about so much reading time. So I usually "read" by listening to audiobooks while working around the house, or snatch chunks of time reading while eating or brushing my teeth or in the car if someone else is driving. Getting to sit around a campfire or under the trees and just read for long periods of time felt so luxurious.

my littlest reader had to be pulled away from all the great books on our recent visit to The King's English bookstore in Salt Lake City

Now that I'm back at home and trying to balance time with my kids and all the house projects I need to do (and get ready to leave town again soon!), I miss all that time I just sat and read at camp. But I've been giving myself permission to just enjoy a good book for a block of time each day and set aside the chores.

And I've noticed my kids reading a lot more this summer than they have in past summers. Of course, that may have a lot to do with our new family rule of no screen time (Wii, tv or computer) unless they read at least 30 minutes a day. Some days my youngest squawks about the rule, but I notice I still find her reading unprompted for a lot more than 30 minutes most days.

What about you? Do you consider it a priority to read each day? Is it hard to squeeze it in especially if you have your kids at home all day long now that it's summer?

when the brain needs a little vacation

2012-06-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't say that I have writer's block exactly. More like tired brain. Symptoms include inability to type complete sentences, irritation with my main characters, laptop avoidance, and glazed eyes from excessive blog hopping as I procrastinate working on my WIP until late evening each day.

Writing 2,000 words a day (the recent summer goal I set) has been challenging but most of the time really enjoyable. I love watching my word count increase daily and seeing my story come to life.

But some of the time I feel tired at the thought of writing before I even sit down to type the first sentence. Ever feel that way? Is it writer newbie-itis? Or does tired brain affect all writers now and then?

I'm thinking a change of scenery will do me good. And maybe just a lot of downtime with a great book.

And fortunately, this week I am on a five day excursion as a leader at a church girls camp in the lovely wooded area of western Washington. We are asked to not bring electronics of any type (only cell phones are allowed for leaders) so my laptop will be taking a break as well back at home.

I will have good old fashioned pen and paper with me though and am hoping my brain will perk back up and the ideas will flow once more as I enjoy the forest and daily s'mores.

How do you like to recharge your batteries?

The Booker Award - who can pick just five great books?!

2012-06-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

This week I got The Booker Award from both Emily R. King and Krista McLaughlin. Thank you ladies! Click on their names to check out their fantastic blogs.

The rules of the award:

* This award is for book bloggers only. To receive this award the blog must be at least 50% about books (Reading or writing is okay)
* Along with receiving this award, you must also share your top five favorite books you have ever read.
* You must give this award to 5-10 other lucky book blogs you adore.

Top Five Favorite Books - I have such a hard time choosing my top favorite books so might be different if you ask me tomorrow but here are five that have made an impression on me during my life and that I still love and rave about!

1. Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl. My fourth grade teacher read this aloud to our class and it was one of the first times I truly felt a story come alive for me. I was mesmerized each afternoon as my teacher read and fell in love with Roald Dahl's books that year.

2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. One of my church youth leaders recommended this to me when she found out I loved to read. I was hesitant at first because it seemed too old fashioned. But within a couple of pages I was hooked and fell in love with Anne and the characters. Anne (with an E!) Shirley is still probably my all time favorite book character. One of my dreams is to visit Prince Edward Island and see the beautiful setting brought to life in the Anne books.

3. Harry Potter and the whole series by J.K. Rowling. Is that cheating to throw in a whole series here? I didn't learn about Harry Potter until the third book was out and my sister Erin told me about them. I took the first with me on a vacation to Canada and devoured it so fast that I had to search out the following two at a grocery store near our hotel. I absolutely love this series and have read the books twice and also listened to them as audiobooks. Jim Dale's narration kept me going hour after hour as I worked on caulking trim and siding last year while we built our house.

4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I discovered Jane Austen during AP English during my senior year of high school and have been a huge fan ever since. I love and have read every single one of Austen's books but Pride and Prejudice is my favorite with Sense and Sensibility as a close second. And yes, I'm one of those women that can sit and watch the movie versions over and over again. Especially the BBC version. The longer the better.

5. The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White. Another book introduced to me by my fourth grade teacher. I also absolutely love Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. This book is one of the main reasons I adore middle grade fiction and love rereading these books with my children now that they are old enough to enjoy these stories.

Okay, so there are some of my all time favorites. I'm supposed to pass this award on to 5-10 other bloggers. Since I've seen this award frequently over the past week in bloggyland, I'm not sure who to pass it on to so I invite anyone that loves books and wants to share their book love with others to take this award and go forth and blog! Seriously, just say you got it from me and I'd love to hear if you did.

And tell me what some of your favorite books are in the comments. Especially if they are middle grade books. I'm always on the hunt for those for my family library.

Have a great weekend and happy reading!

_________

book love: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

2012-06-20T13:51:00.001-07:00

Earlier this year I came across The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks at my local library. While I do enjoy reading non-fiction, it's usually only a small percentage of my reading in the course of a year. And books that have a scientific or medical basis are pretty much nonexistent on my reading list.

But this story intrigued me immediately. I checked it out and I had a hard time putting it down. Several months later, I find myself often thinking about the book, about Henrietta Lacks and also about the author, Rebecca Skloot.

Here is the synopsis:
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.

Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia—a land of wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo—to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells.

Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family—past and present—is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.

Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah, who was devastated to learn about her mother’s cells. She was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Did it hurt her when researchers infected her cells with viruses and shot them into space? What happened to her sister, Elsie, who died in a mental institution at the age of fifteen? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance?

My thoughts on the book: Even though I'm not usually interested in books that are based on the medical field or scientific research, Rebecca Skloot told the story in such a way that non only could I understand the scientific side of the story, but I become increasingly more intrigued as the book went on about how the cells taken from Henrietta Lacks changed the face of medical research, cancer and disease research, the medical industry and more. That combined with the very touching human side of the story as Skloot researched and learned about the life and family of Henrietta Lacks made this one of the best books I've read in a very long time.

I also developed quite a respect for Rebecca Skloot as a writer and researcher. She spent ten years working on this book. Because of her involvement with the family as she researched during those years, the author became one of the characters in the book and impressed me with her determination and effort to bring this story to light. On Goodreads, I see that it's won several awards and they are well deserved. I highly recommend this book!

For more information on the author or book:
http://rebeccaskloot.com/the-immortal-life/

Write 2000 words a day? Stephen King says he does...

2012-06-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finished this book:

I've been reading it over the past month. More like studying it. I'm a fast reader and usually whip through a book in two or three days. A week or two tops if I'm reading other books at the same time.

But for this book I took my time, had lots of post-it notes on hand and even typed up some of my favorite quotes into a word document to save.

The more personal and *ahem* colorful memories or descriptions King shared were fast reading. I'm not a fan of profanity nor of horror and so I had to tell myself several times to just move along quickly and mentally bleep out quite a bit of his descriptions. I'm not Stephen King's ideal reader or target audience in any way. I'm very happy primarily being a MG and YA reader and writer.

But this book contains so many nuggets of writing gold that I'm tempted to go out and buy it to add to my personal shelves once I return my library copy. I found myself stopping frequently to think about what King was saying and I want my own copy to highlight and fold down page corners.

This quote keeps lingering in my brain:

"I believe the first draft of a book -- even a long one -- should take no more than three months, the length of a season. Any longer and -- for me, at least -- the story begins to take on an odd foreign feel, like a dispatch from the Romanian Department of Public Affairs ... I like to get ten pages a day, which amounts to 2,000 words. That's 180,000 words over a three-month span, a goodish length for a book ... only under dire circumstances do I allow myself to shut down before I get my 2,000 words." Stephen King

2,000 words a day AND having a draft complete in three months! No wonder King is a such a prolific writer. Before I read this book, I thought it was a great day of writing if I broke my goal of 500-1,000 words a day. I have had only one day this summer where I wrote more than 2,000 words. One single day. So I wonder - can I actually sit down and write 2,000 words a day, EVERY day? We shall see.

I'm giving myself a 2,000 word goal for the rest of the summer (Sunday's off). It's a lot, but it's worth a try, right?

Do you have words per day goals? Pages per day? Hours per day? Minute per day? I'd love to hear what your daily goals are in the comments.

audiobook love: a road tripping girl's best friend

2012-06-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

The closest family I have (from my side of the family that is) lives twelve LONG hours away driving time. Twelve hours maybe for single men with bladders made of steel, highly fuel efficient vehicles, and contentment with beef jerky for sustenance.

For the rest of us with easily carsick, whiny, grouchy and hungry kids that seem to need hourly potty stops, the drive from central Washington to Utah Valley has often been a torturous thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen hour drive.

Once in a blue moon we make that drive all in one day. And usually once a year, I am the lone adult driving my three mutinous children because my hubs needs to stay home and work. I try to block those days from my memory.

This week I broke the road trip into two days and it made the journey so much more bearable. The two of my three children that came with me were fairly pleasant. Surprisingly, there were minimal arguments, NO puke or pee by the roadside stops, and they were actually content with the food I packed for the trip. I celebrated with some happy book buying at The King's English bookstore in Salt Lake City today!

In large part, I have this lovely audiobook to thank for the success of our trip:

I know, I know. You're thinking it looks a little cheesy, right? And you would be so wrong. Not that I mind cheese anyway. A little cheese usually ensures that my younger kids will enjoy the book. So in no way am I completely anti-cheese. Unless we're talking about the type with lactose. Then I'd better leave it on the shelf.

But back to Movie For Dogs. Talk about one entertaining audiobook! I'm so glad I came across it on the shelf at my local library. I've read quite a few of Lois Duncan's books in the past and find her books charming with great adventures that appeal to a wide range of kids. This MG book is perfect for 9-12 year old boys and girls, but my six year old also loved it and I have a feeling if my thirteen year old son (who is more of a YA reader these days) was with me, he would have loved it too. My anti-dog hubs might even have enjoyed it.

This book made me laugh out loud several times. But it's not just funny. The plot twists kept me wanting to hear more at the end of each chapter. The reader (Katherine Kellgren) was phenomenal. She really brought the main characters and even the dogs to life. I give this audiobook two thumbs up!

By the end of the book, I started wishing there was a way I could sneak a dog into our home past my cat-prefering hubby.

Any audiobook recommendations you have for my return journey? Ones that would be great for the six and eight year old girlie ears that will be listening along with me?

hanging out at Leigh's blog today...

2012-06-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

I don't know how I got so lucky, but Leigh Covington asked me for an interview! She was one of the first and absolutely nicest people I met at the LDStorymakers conference last month. She wowed me with her just how nice and funny and sincere she is and is just one of those people I wish was my next door neighbor.

The interview is posted on Leigh's blog today. Check it out if you'd like even more Leslie tidbits and psssst, do me a favor and become a blog follower of Leigh's if by some small chance you aren't. Her blog is a very cool place to hang out, trust me.

book love: The Hourglass Door Trilogy by Lisa Mangum

2012-05-31T18:58:00.000-07:00

Synopsis of The Hourglass Door: His past. Her future. Can love bring them together in time?Abby's senior year of high school is textbook perfect: She has a handsome and attentive boyfriend, good friends, good grades, and plans to attend college next year. But when she meets Dante Alexander, a foreign-exchange student from Italy, her life suddenly takes a different turn. He's mysterious, and interesting, and unlike anyone she's ever met before. Abby can't deny the growing attraction she feels for him. Nor can she deny the unusual things that seem to happen when Dante is around.

Time behaves differently when they are together traveling too fast or too slow or sometimes seeming to stop altogether. When the band Zero Hour performs at the local hangout, Abby realizes that there's something dangerous about the lead singer, Zo, and his band mates, Tony and V. Oddly, the three of them are also from Italy and have a strange relationship to Dante. They also hold a bizarre influence over their audience when performing. And Abby's best friend, Valerie, is caught in their snare. Dante tells Abby the truth of his past: he once worked for Leonardo Da Vinci, helping to design and build a time machine. When Dante was falsely implicated as a traitor to his country, he was sent through the machine more than five hundred years into the future as punishment. As the past and the present collide, Abby learns that she holds a special power over the flow of time itself. She and Dante must stop Zo from opening the time machine s door and endangering everyone s future. More than one life is at stake and Abby s choice could change everything.

My take on the books: After hearing about these books on blogs and Goodreads, I jumped at the chance to meet the author and purchase the set at LDStorymakers conference. The idea of time travel and a connection to Leonardo Da Vinci really intrigued me. I don't want to give away anything for those that haven't read the books yet, so I won't say too much about the plot. But I will say that once I started reading The Hourglass Door, I had a hard time putting it down. And then I HAD to continue reading The Golden Spiral and The Forgotten Locket. Boy was I happy that I had purchased all three!

The main characters, Dante and Abby, were strong appealing characters that didn't annoy me or seem wishy-washy. Hey, that's one of my main measures for good books. :) The secondary characters such as Valerie and Zo also really came to life. I hated Zo! And I was dying to find out what would become of Valerie especially! I was tempted to read the last few pages just to see but I resisted.

The plot twisted and turned with fascinating time travel craziness. The river theme and imagery was so different than I would have expected time travel books to have which made the books unique in my mind. Each of the three books had very artistic descriptions and gorgeous writing. I look forward to reading more of Lisa Mangum's books.

I would recommend these because because:

*Great storyline that kept me interested throughout all three books.

*Very clean writing. No words or vulgar language that would make me hesitate recommending these to teens I know. Clean books are the ones I keep and don't yard sale. ;)

*Though I would consider this more mature YA because there is a lot of talk about love and relationships, and some action scenes that are a bit intense, it's written tastefully enough that if my own 13 year old son wanted to read them, I'd be fine with that.

*I'd also recommend these to adults because the love talk isn't too "teenager" or gushy, the plot will absolutely enthrall all ages, and all three were written well.

Go read them! Today! If you already have, what did you think? Tell me in the comments.

p.s. I even saw these books in my local library. If they can be found in my small town's one room library, then I know you'll be able to find them.

stylish blogger award

2012-05-29T15:34:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Ilima for passing on the Stylish Blogger Award! I don't know how stylish my newbie blog really is, but thanks! I'm supposed to share seven random facts and then pass along the award love to five other bloggers.

1. I attended five high schools. Yep, five different high schools in four years. With no flunking involved in case you wondered. Cabrillo High, Hilo High, Leilehua High, Mililani High, Pleasant Grove High. We were living in CA when my dad was ready to retire from the Air Force. My parents wanted to move our family to the Big Island where my dad is from but there were no good jobs there. So off we moved to Oahu where we stayed with family at first, then moved to different town again and stayed for a while. It wasn't the best fit for our family, so we moved to Utah right before my senior year. You can probably guess that I spent a lot of time in the library during school lunch break. :)

2. I have never had a speeding ticket. Was pulled over and warned twice (for going about 7 miles over both times - we live in a very small town so 7 over is a big deal apparently) but never had the actual ticket.

3. Peanut Butter Captain Crunch is the tastiest cereal ever in my opinion. I have to make myself not buy it just so I don't consume an entire box in two days. My family sometimes buys me PB Captain Crunch instead of flowers for Mother's day. Go try it today! You'll thank me, I promise.

4. First time I heard my husband's name (when a mutual friend from informed me that a guy named Troy Pugh was asking about me), the thought went through my mind, "yikes, who would want to be stuck with a last name like that?" Uh, apparently me.

It is easy to tell who the telemarketers are when they call though. No, we are not the Pugs, the Pyoogs, or the Poogas. It's pronounced just like like church "pew."

5. I've never had any broken bones. Maybe it's all that milk with my PB Captain Crunch. Or it could be all that time in the library.

6. My teacher read Danny, the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl aloud to my class when I was in fourth grade and I was mesmerized. At that point in my life, it was the most amazing story I had ever heard and it prompted me to read every Roald Dahl book I could get my hands on. But I haven't ever reread the book because I'm a little afraid that it won't be as good as I remember it from fourth grade.

7. I'm very, very, very unathletic. If I could play any sport, I wish it was tennis. Sometimes I think hiring someone to teach me. But instead I attempt to play once a year with my husband and when that attempt ends in giggles or falling down like the year before, I hand my racquet over to my son to take over.

Okay, so there's some Leslie randomness for you to enjoy. I now pass the stylish blogger baton on to:

Erin Summerill
Brenda Sills
Shelly Brown
Melanie Fowler
Tasha Seegmiller

Go visit them and enjoy their randomness too!

hi, my name is Leslie and I'm a bookaholic...

2012-05-25T18:59:00.001-07:00

Most of the books I came home with from the LDStorymakers conference. My suitcase was just shy of the weight limit, thank goodness! That's even with carrying a few on board the airplane with me. Yikes!

I'm assuming that it's a safe bet to say there are a lot of bookaholics out there in the writing world, right? Please tell me that I surely would not be the only member at a meeting for book hoarders.

Is it even possible to be a writer without an inherent compulsion/passion/addiction to hoarding stacks of book?

I've always had a really hard time not buying books. From yard sales, local bookstores, big box bookstores, Amazon.com, my kids' school book fairs - used or new, I love buying books. If there are books involved, I'm there.

There have been a few years on and off since college when money was really tight or we as a family were working on being as frugal as possible when I made myself stick to the the library for my book addiction. Or I borrowed a lot from friends and family. But these days I really just adore having the books I love nearby and owning them.

If you know me in real life, this might surprise you because I'm a perpetual purger of stuff. I have very few knick-knacky things, I detest clutter or piles around the house and I don't enjoy recreational shopping very much because other than a new outfit now and then, I am not a fan of buying stuff I know we don't need.

I'm known for being a purger so much that I have had more than a few people (that I do not know personally) run into me and ask when my yard sale will be. Yep, I have yard sales almost yearly. In which there are often books I'm tired of. Hey, I didn't say that I keep all those books forever.

Thankfully, I have a very supportive hubby. And kids that are so excited to read the books I bring home that I don't feel so guilty. But since I also have stacks of books sitting around checked out from the library, and want to be able to afford to send the kids to college, I might just have to reign in my book buying for a while. Can anyone tell me when the next bookaholics anonymous meeting is?

what time of the day is the best time to write?

2012-05-23T10:04:00.002-07:00

Yesterday I got out of bed at 5:20ish a.m. to write. My alarm clock normally goes off at 6:40 a.m. and I often struggle to pull myself out of bed even at that time.

But when one of my energetic kittens woke me up by fooling around with the paper blinds in my room yet again (haven't gotten around to installing regular blinds in our new home yet), I remembered a couple of authors at the conferences I attended extolling the virtues of early morning writing (as in 5 a.m. early). The fact that my brain was clear enough to remember that I took as a sign that I should get up and give it a try.

I shuffled into my fuzzy pink bathrobe and house slippers and sat down on the couch with my laptop. Amazingly, I felt awake enough to write for an hour before our family's normal rise and shine routine began. I patted myself on the back and thought this was the way to go from now on to get a least an hour in of writing before the day begins.

Then 1:00 p.m. hit me and I was catatonic sack of potatoes. That little twist in my normal routine zapped my energy so completely that there was nothing to do but lay down with the kittens for a nap. Not that I'm opposed to napping on a regular day now and then because I do love me a good nap, but this time I was compelled by the universe to lay down right then and sleep.

Normally I write in the middle of the day (when the kids are at school) and then for an hour or two in the evenings (once the kids are in bed) but it varies a little every day depending on what's going on around here and some days I get very little writing time in. So the idea of early morning writing really appeals to me. But getting up again at 5:00 makes me tired just thinking about it right now. I wonder how long it would take to get my body shifted to a new schedule - days, weeks, months? And now with summer vacation coming and the promise of occasional sleeping in, maybe shifting to just a later nighttime schedule is the way to go. Hmm, what to do?

Makes me curious about what time works best for other writers. What time of day do you get your best writing in?

in love with writing conferences and ready for the next one!

2012-05-21T13:51:00.005-07:00

A grand total of two posts ago I revealed that I came out of the writing closet this year and just went to my FIRST writing conference ever (LDStorymakers conference the first weekend in May). And let me to you, I was pretty nervous to go. Even though I was attending with my sister, I was nervous enough to reconsider going several times. Had I not paid for non-refundable airfare right after registering for the conference I probably would have bailed at the last minute and stood my sister up for our weekend conference date. Good thing I'm a cheapie and had to put that airfare and registration to use.

Once I got to the Storymakers conference and promptly fell in love with this new writing world, I felt like an IDIOT for putting off writing conferences for so long. For denying myself of the awesomeness and inspiration that comes with hanging out with hundreds of other aspiring and published writers.

***

I came home from that first conference and I promptly signed up for another conference. The one and only writing conference in central Washington state - the Write On the River conference, in Wenatchee.

I asked all my local FB buddies if anyone had heard of the conference. Only one friend's husband had attended years before and no one else had even heard of it. Hmmm, didn't sound promising at that point. But my one and only local writing friend was interested so we made plans and made the hour long drive together to get there and back.

There were only about a third of the amount of people that attended the Storymakers conference. And of course, far less classes and authors. But for the area we live in, I was just happy to find anything to attend. The conference was well organized and I enjoyed all but one of the classes I took. Even the class I didn't enjoy so much still had some kernels of information that were beneficial.

My favorite class was probably Character, Conflict, Change with a Side of Angst: Writing the YA novel - taught by Maureen McQuerry (author of steampunk YA, The Peculiars) and Stephen Wallenfels (author of sic-fi YA Pod).

The keynote speaker was Jonathan Evison, author of All About Lulu and West of Here. He had quite an entertaining speech - more of a lively discussion while he paced back and forth across the stage in his very cool hat (seriously, I love hats!). Jonathan was so open about his years of writing struggles and journey to publication. He told several funny anecdotes and did a great job inspiring us to just keep writing and pushing forward.

I know, I've got to start taking photos on something other than my phone camera!

And now I'm ready for the next conference! I wish I could attend one monthly but that's not going to happen since life is about to get crazy busy for our family so I'm hoping to find one for fall to attend.

Are there conferences you've recently discovered or attend every year you could tell me about (whether to warn me away from or to rave about them)? I'd love to hear about any and all, even in other states in the comments section. Thanks!

setting GOALS and writing them down

2012-05-18T12:14:00.002-07:00

"Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines." Brian Tracy

Two weeks ago I went to the LDStorymakers conference and my life changed. Eye rolling at overly dramatic but true statements perfectly acceptable. After those three days, I changed from someone who dreamed of being a writer but did little about it into someone with specific goals who understands more about the steps to take to become a writer.

Not only were the classes that were taught by authors, editors and agents incredibly educational, they were inspiring and motivating. Most teachers shared some personal background or part of their writing journey with us and I just soaked it in. This was my very first writing conference, my first time attending a writing event of any kind and I loved every single minute.

It wasn't just the classes that impacted me. It was getting to meet so many writers at various stages in their writing careers. I am grateful for the generous encouragement, tips, and suggestions everyone offered me. And I loved being with people with the same writing dream I have.

One thing that stuck with me from classes and talking with some attendees was

to set specific goals.

Becca Wilhite taught the class, "Leaping the Hurdles: Getting Over the Reasons Why You Can't Write" and it was just what I needed to hear to help me start getting over my own hurdles. She discussed the difference between dreams and goals.

GOALS - is something you have the full ability to control
DREAM - is something others have some control over

We may have the dream to write a best-selling novel. But we ultimately do not have complete control over whether that will ever happen. We do have control over making goals and working on steps to improve our writing though. Goals that can move us as close as possible to our dreams.

After the conference I decided on specific goals to work on and accomplish in a year. I went downtown to search for a small planner to write and record my progress on my goals. Since it’s mid May and I have all of three stores to choose from that sell stuff like this in my town, there were only two identical planners left in my town to purchase (yes, just two!). Mockery of my lady-of-the-night looking red boot planner also perfectly acceptable.

I opened my snazzy planner and wrote down my goals. I set 10 that I want to accomplish by May 2013. A few are:

Form or join an online critique group and a local critique group. (you’re probably thinking easy-peasy, right? Let's hope so but right now since I know a grand total of one person locally that is a writer this may be a challenge. Wish me luck!).

Attend three writing conferences or events. (right after I wrote this I signed up for the one conference in central WA and it’s tomorrow. Hoping this will help me with the above goal)

Write every single day Monday through Saturday. (at this point I’m not giving myself a word count or time requirement, I just want to get in the habit of daily writing)

To jump into the online writing world by started a writing blog (check!) and post every week.

To read one book (or more) a month on writing.

How about you? Did you set goals when you first started writing seriously? Do you have a goal you are working on now? Share it in the comments.

p.s. add one more goal to my list. take a decent camera to the next conference!

what to say, what to say...

2012-05-17T10:31:00.017-07:00

I have no idea what to say right now.

So I'm going to do what I'm guessing most new bloggers do. Ramble. Introduce themselves. Ramble some more.

Kind of like those awkward first 10 minutes of a blind date. Okay, who am I kidding? The awkward, uncomfortable part of MY past blind dates went so much longer than 10 minutes. Hours longer. Best reason to get married - no more blind dates. One of the best reasons anyway.

Better get on to the intro part of this post before the awkwardness drags on too much longer, right?

***

Hey there, friends! I'm Leslie Pugh. Yeah, you probably guessed that already. Welcome to my new blog devoted to reading and chatting about great books, learning to be a better writer, and working toward the dream of publication. I live with my hubby, three kiddos and two kittens in the sunny, desert side (yes! there really is a dry side) of Washington state. I grew up in the Air Force but since my family moved to Utah before I graduated from high school, I call Pleasant Grove, Utah my hometown. Went to BYU, met and married my awesome hubby while there, graduated in Art Education. Moved to WA state 10 years ago.

And now, why a writing blog? I have wanted to write children's books for years (picture, chapter, middle grade, young adult). Years and years and years.

Until a couple of years ago, I never really told anyone. Sure, I occasionally mentioned it would be cool to write books. But I never seriously referred to myself as the intended author in that cool scenario lest anyone think I was silly. I did not know a single person that was a serious writer or a published author and I just didn't think it was a realistic dream. Ridiculous, right? Dreams do NOT have to be realistic, that's why they are dreams. Gotta remind myself of that often.

But I am a realistic person who often puts dreams on the shelf for long periods of time and I put an expectation on myself that my time needed to be spent doing productive things. Things that I could show evidence of how my time was spent. I poured my creative energy and time into things like studying art ed in college, cake decorating, scrapbooking, quilting, knitting, sewing, painting. I enjoyed all those things. Still do some of them occasionally. But year after year, that writing dream lingered in my brain and kept bugging me. Occasionally, I'd write something. A book idea, a first page, an outline. And then I'd delete it before too long.

A couple of years ago I finally told one of my sisters. The sister that I loved to dish about books with. We talked about books so much that I felt comfortable telling her that one day I wanted to write my own books. To my surprise, she had the same dream! And of course she didn't think it was ridiculous and she was going to go for it. Over the last couple of years she's invited me to writing conferences, told me about her book ideas, and started working hard at her dream. She is an awesome sister and support and inspiration to me. That's Erin.

But I still wasn't ready. I was afraid. I still felt a little silly. I was busy with kids and church and life. I live in the sticks far from writing conferences or even airports to get to conferences. I didn't want to try and then fail. Until this year, I still didn't even know anyone besides my sister that wanted to be a writer. I hardly knew anyone that even loved talking about books as much as I did, let alone want to talk writing. You get the point. I told myself a lot of excuses. And it took me a long while to feel ready.

This year I'm ready. I'm in it for the long haul. One word at a time.

new blog coming soon...

2012-05-10T16:26:00.001-07:00

Hoping to have my writing blog up and running soon! In the meantime, come chat with me on Facebook!