Musings of a Fantasy Author

What Are Literary Agents Worth?

2012-02-09T08:25:00.000-08:00

I get the questions all the time.
"Why don't you self-publish? You're great at self-promoting. You have a fan base. Work up from there."
"Wouldn't self-publishing be easier?"

Now, don't worry. I'm not here to bash on self-publishing. That's not what this post is about. It's about my reason for not doing it and my decision to keep all of my books on hold, in my computer until I find an agent to represent my work - as excited as I am about them.

Sure self-publishing would be easier. Sure I could self-promote the way I have been but I won't.

Agents are not just people who take your stuff and sell it to publishing companies. Agents are not even a promise for success or fame - though you should all know by now that fame and glory was never in my crosshairs (yeesh). The idea gives me the shivers and as someone put it yesterday, "I'd hate to be in Meyer or Rowling's shoes." Elaboration on that will be for another post.

There are a few things about agents that people don't realize. Usually the people who take it personally when rejected and look for an easier/faster road to getting published.
The thing with agents is that they become like cyber-family and they extend your cyber-family when/if they sell your work. A family that will help your writing improve and become something we all, as writers, hope we can become. They open our eyes to the business side of writing, making sure what you do and get involved with is safe for you and your work.

Self publishing doesn't do that. No other publishing can do that better than the people who know the literary world front and back.

That's why I am still seeking representation. Because I want to do things right, safely and to learn the craft in a way that no one else can teach me. Agents offer a myriad of things if you want your writing to become a career.

Just my two cents. No bashing. No awkward, angry tone. Just me, my brain and my typing fingers.

Diana

Life is Hard. Life is Beautiful.

2012-01-31T07:56:00.000-08:00

There's nothing quite like a schizophrenic man in a suit telling you you're beautiful to start off your day. (that's real, I promise)
Or finding out that a class has been canceled so you have free writing time.
Or knowing that the next few hours will be spent with friends, be they in person or online. (I got both today)

I chose those points of today to share versus the "my car broke down and I had to drive a PT Cruiser to school. I didn't sleep well last night, at all. I was nauseous all morning and couldn't manage a coffee. I rushed to my classroom to make it on time only to find that it was canceled."

It's interesting that everyone else I met today shared the negative aspects of their morning before even sharing a smile.

I'm an optimist. Most people know that about me. Life is too short to mope around complaining about anything at all when there are people on the streets and kids without clean water.
I have a roof over my head, food on the table and clothes on my back. What right do I have to complain about anything?

I get a lot of shaking heads from people because I smile so much. How does that make sense? Am I supposed to be down and depressed for some reason?

I wasn't always a positive person. My middle school years were pretty hard on me and I fell into a sort of void where all I ever saw was worldsuck and how it picked on me. It wasn't until junior year of high school that things changed - details on that is a story for another post.

Thinking back to that year, I remember telling myself that if I wouldn't get married and have a family anytime soon after I graduated, I would live month to month. I would do something that didn't have a promising future - I was going for Egyptology - purely for the purpose of showing the world that even then, I could keep a smile, just by doing something that I loved. That was my new view on life - live with love and life will be good. Life is hard, sure, but life is good if you stay in the right mindset.

I know a family in Romania with twelve kids. They didn't have shoes or anything but mud beneath their feet in their home - which was more of a shack - that their father built with his bare hands. If you would meet them on the street, you wouldn't know how bad their situation truly was. They kept their smiles. They kept their love for each other. They kept their faith that they would make it to another day.

When I think of them, I find myself wondering how people can complain about not having more money or a cooler car while a family like that- poor right down to their muddy toes- remain so positive? I think we've all been raised with terrible ideas that life is all about us; the world revolves around us.

I think if people would just take a serious look at their situation, what they do have versus what they don't, not only would everyone get along better but the world might just seem brighter. If we remain in this hole of "I want" and "I need" and "I deserve," then the next generation will only be worse. Sooner or later, we'll just be a very pessimistic world altogether and people will forget what happiness is.

Again, life is hard, but for others, life is harder. Think about it.

Diana

Thank Your Favorite Authors!

2012-01-23T12:32:00.000-08:00

This is something that really came to mind after a little chat with bestselling fantasy/kids author, John Flanagan.
It was brought to my attention - even after our talk - that authors often receive emails in which readers ask for advice....just advice. The email/letter starts with something along the lines of, "I love your book(s) . You're really great. How can I get famous, too?" Or, "how do I write books?" Or even, "my book has no plot. Can you help me make one?"(<~ that one is real, believe it or not) Questions you can find answers to on millions of different websites online or books in a library.

Makes you wonder...what are these people really after? Right?
Wrong.
Authors get this type of thing all the time, so they know what people are after - whether it be fame or just bragging rights- "omg, that author spoke to me. Omg, omg, omg." I'm convinced that it gives them a little ache in their chest when they get these letters...or just exasperates them.

Authors spend an ungodly amount of energy while writing their stories. Because of that energy, readers get their high...they get caught up in the author's world. It's what makes books so magical. It's the reason readers read! (say that three times fast)

After finishing a book, authors sit back, breathe and look on their work like a mother adores her baby. So much work, patience and impatience was put in every scene. Every sentence. Sometimes every word.

Now, imagine being in that state of peace and happiness then receiving an email or letter that starts with, "your book was wonderful. Thank you for sharing your magic with readers like me." A simple line like that can give an author that tiny push of motivation that might be needed to keep writing, don't you think? Sadly, they don't always get a lot of that. Their emails are typically full of the same questions they answer in interviews - interviews you can easily find with a simple Googling of the name.

I don't mean to say that asking things like that is wrong. It isn't, but I think it would make the authors' world spin just a little more smoothly if we find the questions like that somewhere else.

I'm not anyone famous. I don't intend to be as famous as some out there. (I don't think I'd be able to take that kind of publicity.) But, even so, I get at least an email every other day from readers asking me the aforementioned type of questions and every time, I don't roll my eyes. I think of authors I love, like Flanagan, Paolini, Mull and Rowling. I frown, saying, "I'm looking at one. They got thirty."

I want to propose something. I would love for this idea to go all out viral, so please send this to your friends and have them send it to their friends. In a time when books are so immensely important and adored, let's all send emails/fan letters to our favorite authors with nothing more than a true, heartfelt "thank you for sharing your world/magic/adventures/writing with readers like me."

They'll will feel a little warmer inside and you can rest assured knowing more of their books will come to keep you company.

Diana Ilinca

The Nerdpocalypse Is Coming

2012-01-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

Beware: this post is true and may elicit feelings of fear and/or discomfort at any future confrontation with the nerdy sort.

I've always said it. If you've kept up with my nonsense long enough, you know how I always said, "nerds will one day own the world."

Computer skills.
Writing skills.
Reading skills.
Math skills.
Nun chuck skills.
Dragon-slaying skills. (for my extra nerdy friends.)

I honestly love nerds. Everything about them is pure awesome and sweet and totally dateable.
(Note to Self: I am married.)
I always stuck up for my nerd friends in high school. I still do in college. (can you believe people are still bullied in college? And some nerdy people are still a little too shy to stand up for themselves.)

Anywho, so I was talking to someone - let's call him Steve. Good guy. Good friend, but he wishes to remain unnamed. Steve and I were talking about nerdy things like chemistry and biology and how frost forms at a molecular level. (yeah, we're awesome like that)
While we were talking, I looked at my twitter feed and read aloud something funny that Christopher Paolini, author of the Inheritance Cycle tweeted. Steve responded with something about Paolini being a really nerdy nerd and I'm all, "not like you think. I mean, he was a few years ago but now he's like...a buff nerd who can swing a sword."

Steve's response went something like this: "What? No, no! T-that's not right! That goes against all the social norms. That means everything I've learned in school to this point is a lie. Nerds can't be buff."

See, Paolini? The norms are shaking in their boots already.

That's not all. The real thing about nerds it what people tend to miss when they see the skin and the body-type and the way we dress. What's that? Our passion. It's not just because nerds are smart that we get things done. It's the passion that drives us. The thing is, we do what we love to do and that tends to not be the cool thing...not cool, but a lot of times, necessary. Who do you think created medicines? Nerds. Why? Because they were getting paid? No. Because there was someone interested in that type of research and did what he/she felt was worth doing.

Now, let's rewind back to my "nerds will one day own the world point" I started this post with. Along with the other skills I have listed, we can now add, "passion," "strength" and "sword wielding" skills - among other things that I don't have the time to go into right now but let me assure you they're awesome. Seriously, us nerds are starting to become immune to the skinny, acne, high-pitch-voiced image we've always been stuck with. We have some super nerds now that are making their way to the top...the top of world domination.

Super nerds... kind of like the X-Men...except with dragons, swords and magic.
Watch out world.

Diana Ilinca

ZIRCONYA GIVEAWAY!

2012-01-17T17:30:00.001-08:00

ZIRCONYA GIVEAWAY! What must you
do to win a free ebook copy of Zirconya?
Ask an EPIC question or state an EPIC fact in the comments below. Any EPIC question/fact about any EPIC fantasy.
I will choose TWO winners tomorrow night. Ready?
GO! (share this!)

www.Zirconya.com

2012-01-17T16:59:00.000-08:00

The new website for Zirconya is officially up!
There you will find an Elvish translator, an encyclopedia-type thing for all the creatures of Zirconya, forums, free reads and more!

Please stop by and leave a comment in the forums!
I love comments. I munch 'em like last night's Skittles.

www.Zirconya.com

Diana Ilinca

SFFS 1.14.12

2012-01-13T08:53:00.000-08:00

Here's my snippet for the week from Zirconya: The Sage of Aluh'Nehn! This is just a purely random piece I decided to post.
Maze is taking Chloe on a bit of a tour of trading grounds. She's learning a few lessons about the people.

"They seem like nice people," she observed.
"Do not be fooled; they are humans."
Chloe glanced to Maze. "Wait, I'm confused. Aren't we in Elvish territory?"
"Yes, we are."
"Then why is there a human town?"

Maze sighed as he looked at the town. "Any time you are near trading grounds, there will be humans."
"Why?"
Maze took a deep breath. More questions. "When merchants pass through these towns to sell their merchandise in the markets, something occasionally falls out of their wagon. The humans take whatever it is. They are petty thieves."

New Site For Zirconya

2011-12-29T11:06:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting - for a long time, really - to get a website up specifically for Zirconya. Life has been making me procrastinate. (Ah, life...the likely scapegoat.)
Well, I'm doing it. I've been working on a new site through weebly and will have it officially up soon. But, for now, take a look and let me know what you think and if you'd like there to be more...or anything less, even.

I hope you enjoy!

http://www.zirconya.weebly.com

Diana Ilinca

SFFS FTW 2!!!

2011-12-16T05:51:00.000-08:00

w00t! This is my second week into Scifi-Fantasy Saturday! Last week was a snippet from my published YA Fantasy, Zirconya: The Sage of Aluh'Nehn and this week, I've decided to give a sneak peek into the sequel, Zirconya II: Reunion of the Sages!

Maze is an olintor, a guardian who was the assigned bodyguard to Caelum, the Sage of Aluh'Nehn. He has now been ordered to keep his distance from her so she could train without distraction. Two men were placed in his stead and Maze...well...isn't really in agreement.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“I would not go so far as to insult one of the olintor,”Aglahr replied coolly. “You must understand that not only is the Sage not in any immediate danger, but these men were trained on elven grounds, by elven soldiers, with elven weapons. They are skilled in their craft."

The wizard's explanation was no more than empty words in hollow ears. Maze slammed his fist onto the table, cracking the thick wood as he roared, “They're humans!”

Caelum shook in surprise.

Aglahr swiftly rose from the table with a finger pointing to the door. “Out,” he ordered. “I will not allow such child-like tantrums in my place. Get out!”

Maze was out of the door before the old man even finished speaking. With a hard swallow, Caelum made her way after him.

~*~*~*~*~*~

SFFS FTW!

2011-12-09T14:15:00.000-08:00

I was invited to post a snippet from Zirconya for the wonderful Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday! So, I shall keep the talk short. Shall we begin? Here is the snippet for my YA Fantasy called Zirconya: The Sage of Aluh'Nehn, now available in all ebook formats.

~*~

The professor stared, his eyes struggling to tell the girls what his lips could not. Aquin hadn't any patience and continued to burst out. "There must be more! How can anyone be reborn?"
"I just asked that," Melanya snapped with a new fire in her eyes.
The room was crowded with arguments and questions as Caelum and Aglahr gazed intently at each another. Sound dissolved into a distant hum as his thoughts became clear in her mind. He took notice of her understanding and sadly dropped his gaze.
"No," Caelum shook her head incredulously. "You want us to fight him."

~*~

Zirconya is Out!

2011-12-07T11:28:00.000-08:00

It's official! Zirconya: The Sage of Aluh'Nehn (book I of the series) is now available in ebook format! (Kindle, PDF, etc)

You can find it at www.burstbooks.ca! After you read it, let me know what you think and please, please leave a review! Thank you!

Also, just adding to the excitement, I've received a commissioned piece I've been longing for! Done by the wonderful Joanne Renaud!

isn't it BEAUTIFUL!?

Thank you, Joanne! I shall cherish it always!

Diana Ilinca

WINNERS OF THE CONTEST

2011-12-02T17:08:00.000-08:00

So, the winners are YUKI KUROSEI and TALIDA BALAJ!

Congratulations you two!

And thanks everyone for entering!

Win a Free "Memory Orb" from Zirconya: The Sage of Aluh'Nehn!

2011-11-28T17:06:00.000-08:00

Hello world!
So today marks the one week countdown to the release of my debut novel, Zirconya: The Sage of Aluh'Nehn!
How exciting is this? Very exciting!
What am I gonna do about it? I'm gonna give out some pre-release, pre-Christmas presents! Whoo!
What are the presents?
Well, first, read this excerpt from Zirconya: The Sage of Aluh'Nehn:

He turned and grabbed the necklace out of the air and placed it in her hand. "Here, you try. Just throw it in the air as I did."
Chloe looked at the necklace then closed her hand around it and tossed it up again. It froze at her eye-level.
She turned to Maze with a giggle. "What now?"
"Give it a moment; just watch."
She looked at the orb in wonder, gazing at it as it remained unmoving in the air. In an instant, a light shone from it. Chloe jumped back, nearly tipping the chair over. Maze moved to a spot behind her. Holding her in her place with a hand on her shoulder, he turned the orb so the light shone on her face. "Watch," he whispered.
Chloe gazed into the light when pictures began to move like a movie in fast forward. The images were as clear as a television screen, only in 3-D like some movies. She licked her lips and swallowed a knot in her throat. "What are they?"
Maze's hands were on her shoulders as he spoke into her ear. "Memories, Caelum; of your life in Zirconya."

Can you guess the present? It's the memory orb! (memories from an alternate dimension not included)
Da da daaaaaa!

YES! These are what two of you lucky winners will win!
"Gee golly, Diana. Whatever must we do to win such fine jewelry?"
That's easy! Just leave your name and email in the comments below! (If you're not comfy leaving your email in public, email it to me with CONTEST in the subject line.)
I will quite literally choose two random names out of a hat. I will be 100% fair about this, so, personal friends, bugger off with your requests!
The contest will start November 28, 2011 (now) and will end on Friday, December 2, 2011 at 8:00PM EST.
LET THE COMMENTING BEGIN!
Hmuah ha! I feel rather powerful right now.

Happy reading and I will see you HERE on Friday at 8!

Blog Post ... for the year.

2011-11-28T09:25:00.000-08:00

Blog post for the year...
That's what it seems like, huh?
I haven't been posting much, so I've been overdoing Facebook and Twitter. I haven't had time for real writing or blogging or anything. It's terrible!

But, rest assured that my writing skills are not dead. Tired, maybe, but not dead.
I am currently working on my Gluttony story for the 7 Deadly Sins anthology, which should have been done...today, but, because my brain and spine tried to murder me a couple weeks back, I have been delayed. The story is moving along pretty well and after tonight/tomorrow night, I should be able to finish it within a couple hours.

It shall be awesome.

In other news, the girl standing in front of me with the leopard-print mini skirt really shouldn't be wearing that. Ew.

In other, other news:
Okay, never mind, I think that was it. The grodiness threw me off track.

Diana

Meet Maze

2011-11-18T11:15:00.000-08:00

Nerd-Off!

2011-11-15T12:14:00.000-08:00

This will come in video form, too...eventually.
Shall we begin?

1. I have a gnome collection.
2. I have knowledge of Star Wars background information that I probably shouldn't know.
3. I speak Elvish...and my accent is dynamite.
4. I have seen the LOTR movies an absurd amount of times.
5. I had a crush on Star Trek: The Next Generations' Data...and still have the eyes for strange, inhuman type characters.
6. My ringtone is The Windmill Hut song from Zelda and my notification sound is Navi's "Hey!"
7. I write fantasy books.
8. I have a Nightcrawler action figure.
9. I have to wear reading glasses.
10. My merchandise design logo is "Nerds Will Own You." ... my life logo, pretty much.
11. I'm in school for Biology.
12. I have a collection of fantasy jewelry.
13. I dress up for the Renaissance Festival.
14. All my friends play D&D and/or role-play.
15. I write X-Men Fan Fiction.
16. I get called out for daydreaming in class...though little do my teachers know I'm daydreaming about X-Men or Lord of The Rings or something else totally unrelated to reality.
17. I have a collection of faery/fantasy pictures and calendars.
18. I have posters of alternate dimensions, faeries and dragons.
19. I decorated my kids' room as a "faery home in the woods."
20. I write video game fan fiction. (Tekken, Final Fantasy VII, Mortal Kombat...)
21. I use expressions that only other LOTR fans would understand in my everyday conversation.
22. When people ask what I look like, I say, "I'm tall like Gandalf."
23. I have all the Narnia movies and have bought clothes for my kids that look "Narnian."
24. I have and adore all the Jurassic Park movies...and have written a fan fic.

Oh...there is more...so I will be adding to this as they come to mind.

So, what's your list?

Diana

I've Survived the Plague!

2011-11-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

Thank you Shelly Picarella for the title. (<~ she's an author, too! check her out xD)

So I've been out for about two weeks. This past week I've been on bedrest...which is so not as fun as I always imagined it to be. The week before, I was hospitalized for meningitis.
Ewwww, meningitis?

*clears throat* Do you even know what it is?

For those who don't know, this is what meningitis actually is: the membrane surrounding my brain and spinal cord was horrendously inflamed. The liquid that is around there, was infected. What came from that was an indescribable migraine, fevers and inability to move my neck. Not STD's, thank you very much. I don't know why that's always what comes to people's mind :\

Okay, so I spent a week in the hospital. There's a huge story there and I'll tell you as much as I remember...because I don't remember much of the first week.

It started with a migraine. Yeah. I had a migraine. Nothing too new. I typically get a migraine a year but it only lasts a day. This one was a good week. After the 1st week, a fever started. With the fever, I had a stiff neck, like I slept on it wrong. I looked up the symptoms, because they wouldn't go away, but all that came up was meningitis and I didn't know much about meningitis so I just ignored that. I saw it was something life-threatening and was like, me? Nah.

We were out of town when it got bad and we ended up going to an E.R. When they asked if I would let them do a spinal tap to check for viral meningitis, I was like, "if it is, what'll you do for it?" They said they'd give me meds and send me home so I was like, pft forget you. No needles in THIS back, thank you. So, they drugged me up nice and sent me home.

When I got home...oy vey. Back to the hospital...and onto the spinal tap.
The spinal tap? UGH. It was harmless. Really. An epidural is slightly worse. The nurses laughed at me and I said, "lady, seriously...I watch House." I was - for the next three hours - popular in the hospital and known as "The House Girl."

Moving on. Spinal tap over, they find that I do, in fact, have viral meningitis. As things progressed, the pain was excruciating. It was like my brain was giving birth to an alien into my spine. It hit me in spurts every 10-15 seconds and lasted for about 10 seconds. It was like contractions in my brain. There was 4 days and nights of no sleep. Just spurts of pain. I lived 4 friggin days and nights of my life focusing on every 10-15 seconds. That was a long 4 days.

At about the 4th or 5th day, the morphine was no longer having an effect. I was cringing and twisting in pain and my fever kept spiking. My husband told me (later, of course) that you could see the skin around my head pulsating with the pain.
So, what did the doctors do? They gave me something stronger. The happy juice called dilauded. Then, the last two days of my being in the hospital, they spiked that up. I wasn't feeling much...no, I was unconscious :)

The 5th and 6th days were my last, there at the hospital. Only then did I start eating and start being able to open my eyes in light...kind of.

Now, this was also where the doctor admitted to me that, "I didn't know if we were going to be able to help you."
Ouch. That scared me. I was on the edge and didn't even realize it. It felt like it but couldn't know for sure.

After a week at home and 15lbs lighter, my eyesight is still shot (can't watch tv or look out the window when in a car...all the moving crosses my eyes). My back hurts a bit from the spinal tap but all this should soon pass. I plan to get back to school this Monday, praise God. Of course, I won't be driving myself but it'll be interesting to be around a bunch of people again.

So, that's my story. I promised I would blog about it so, before the nap attack that's knocking at my door, I figured now would be as good a time as any ^_^ Moral of the story: if you have a bad headache, fever and stiff neck, go to the doctor. And don't be a "House Girl." The spinal tap is NOT that bad.

Diana

Team Discovery Channel!

2011-10-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

(this actually happened a while back)
It's my team! My posse! My crew. My gang. Bunch. Club. Company. What have you. Made up of...well...my oldest brother, Dan, and our cousin, Laura. Two hi-larious people. I literally suffered from side-splitting laughter pains and lack of oxygen for the last three days.

My brother came to visit for a couple days. We had a blast. Well, I did. Whether or not Danny did is really up to him. But, I will come across as a selfish prick today and say, well, I had fun and that's ALL THAT MATTERS. Not really though.

Okay, so, today, I took Danny and Laura to the Latta Plantation Nature Preserve. We went walking on the trails. Things happened.

This is us.

My brother, Dan. He does the best laugh, imitating Arnold Schwarzenegger. He made me laugh hysterically.

I'll try to find a way to post a recording later xD
Dan is my oldest brother of four. He lives in Arizona. He has an Amish style beard.

Laura is the Shutterbug. My first cousin and the walking form of awesomeness. She lives in North Carolina. She's married. Sorry boys. Graphic Designer Chick. We have dumb fun. Fun that likely dumbs us down xD

I am the Fool. I make faces and do embarrassing things...minus the shame. Well, others may be ashamed but me? Nah.
I write. I mother. I wife. I pose in ridiculous stances and post them online. Like this:

We are Team Discovery Channel.

We will leave our mark on the world.

Okay, so it's been suggested that my family is a little odd. Okay...I understand where you would think this...BUT, I promise there is something good that can come from this. Self defense. What, you ask? It's true. Keep watching. (warning: pictures from here on out are rather random)

You wish to learn the most useful ninja moves?

As Team Discovery Channel, we seek, we research, we put to practice. For more information on other useful self-defense moves, call 1-800-KarateNoGoodHere <--note: not a real number.

Okay...now...more things that happened today :)

Okay, so now you've seen what a day spent with Diana Ilinca may or may not consist of. Discuss.

(note: original post was on 3/16/11)

Some Things Worth Saying

2011-10-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

Oh, that title sounds rather serious, doesn't it?
If you thought this post was going to be, I'm sorry for disappointing you.
...
Well, I guess it can be construed as serious, in one way. In the way of serious awesomeness.
Awesomeness, Diana?
Yes. Awesomeness.
In my dictionary, awesomeness has a few names. Here, today, I will share some of them with you.
Their names are Meekakitty and Nanalew. Two of my favorite Youtubers.

(p.s. I'm proud of myself right now for typing this much without looking at my fingers.)
Moving on.
Meekakitty and Nanalew are two ... I guess they would be comedians. They're female. Yes. Anyone who knows me personally is probably in jaw-drop mode right now. I have found two females that I actually find amusing.
A little fact about ladies: women are typically born hating other women. I don't know why. It's just the way we are.
Little fact about me: I typically hate other women. Okay, so I'm lying. I like everyone. But I have the hardest time finding girls that I actually think are funny. Especially girls that I don't personally know. Kind of like finding a female cop I can like. It's just...difficult.
These two, Meekakitty and Nanalew, are something else. Maybe it's the faces they make. Maybe it's their music.

...

It's both. Plus,
Nanalew writes. That was one thing that got my attention.
Meekakitty shares my nose. That's hard to find in a person.

How did I find them?
Meekakitty. I got texts from a number of people telling me they found someone on youtube...after hearing details, I listened. I conformed. I discovered she's awesome. She sings about Star Trek...and Harry Potter. And rambles. ramble, ramble, ramble...
Nanalew. Meekakitty goes on and on and on about Nanalew in her videos. I looked her up on facebook, saw their video "Sail" ... and I lost it.
Then Nanalew's "Brain Crack" video was fun. Except I lied a little here, too...I saw Brain crack first and then Sail.

They both make some fun music videos.

Okay, enough awesome. I have people to harass. If you haven't checked out the two, click on some of the links here and do it.

Diana

p.s.
I just got this. As Wesley, (first comment below) was about to write his comment, his captcha was this:

(meekakitty's name)

Great Writerly News!

2011-09-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

Good Wednesday, all!
I've got an exciting bit of news for you all.
Just a few hours ago, I was invited to hop aboard a project that's been in the works for a little bit now. It's a collaboration of tales about the Seven Deadly Sins. Seven sins. Seven authors. Seven stories.

We'll have:

Michelle Anderson-Picarella writing sloth.
A.T. Russell with greed.
Tymothy Longoria writing envy.
Vickie Adair with pride.
Stephen Penner with wrath.
Dawn Kirby writing lust.
As for me? My sin is gluttony.

Though no story line is in my mind at the moment, I cannot wait to get started.
Just had to share the news!

Diana

Here Comes Autumn!

2011-09-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

It's raaaaiiiining!
The leaves are changing, the air is cooler...
Finally! Summer is gone and Fall is here!

This makes me happy? Why, yes. This pleases me greatly, actually. No more pools. No more beach. Just warm, snuggly scarves and boots and rain in your hair.

(I took this picture)

This is the time I spend mostly outside. Parks, mountains, lakes. Just to see nature at its finest. My 5yo also loves Fall. She remembers last year when I would take her and her little sister to a plantation by our house and walk on the trails or sit by the water. We would talk about how God made trees and water and how the seasons change.
It's also the best time to pull out the camera! Pictures will likely be swarming all over social media feeds. So...don't be surprised.

How about you? What changes does Autumn bring for you?

Give Change a Chance Essay for My English Class

2011-09-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

So we had to write a reflective essay about something in our life. I did mine on my years through school and how I changed.

What I am posting is the exact version I gave the teacher which has a typo and two mis-used semi-colons. I figured I'd keep them in there for the sake of saying, "hey, I'm not perfect and I mess up," to all of those who assume that because I write novels, I'm a master in the arts of words.

That's it, so enjoy!

For a college English class.

Give Change a Chance

Personality is a funny thing. Starting from the first years of a person's life, their likes and dislikes twist and turn like a Twizzlers Pull 'n Peel. I like to think my life wasn't too far off from the majority. I changed in every way possible through the years; inside and out.

To make a ridiculously long story short, I was a nerd. From my elementary years until this day, typing away on a laptop, I've been interested in everything that really has no importance to a person's everyday life. Fantasy is my pastime and has been for as long as I can remember; writing fantasy, reading fantasy and even daydreaming fantasy.

With my mind constantly on things that aren't real, I was never concerned about anything material or outward. I never tried drugs or alcohol and I didn't care to shop. My appearance in middle school was proof of this. My hair was long and disheveled. My clothes hung on me like sheets on a drying line. I knew nothing of fashion or what was “cool,” and honestly, I didn't care.

With the way I looked and my unkempt personality, I wasn't very popular. I didn't actively desire popularity but, like any other kid, I didn't enjoy being disliked. I can't say that I was really bullied to a news-worthy point with insults or being pushed around, but peoples' aversion to me was clear. They would laugh at me as I walked through the school hallways – the tall, ninety pound, gangly girl slouching with the weight of a fifty pound backpack – and sit at desks farther away from me with a snort. The girls would wrinkle their nose at me if I sat too close. The boys would pretend to flirt then laugh at me for responding.

The negative attention got to me throughout the years. I wasn't attractive and though I had my fellow nerdy friends, I often felt alone and small in a big world.

Time went on and I dealt the hand life gave me, but when I started high school, I decided to give change a chance. From the nerdy, book-worm, role-playing fan, I turned into a punk-goth. Three years of my life were rather dark, but surprisingly, I couldn't let go of that nerdy side of me. I still adored everything fantasy.

Whatever attention was on me before didn't disappear, but one thing was different. The attention wasn't about how ridiculous I looked; it was about how scary I looked. People began to wonder if I was a witch, until they started a conversation with me and out would come the loud, geeky side. It wasn't what anyone expected.

The dark phase lasted only for so long before it came to an end in my senior year when I met my now-husband. I matured a bit, and though I didn't fall back into that untidy appearance, I wasn't so creepily dark either. There was a balance there where people were comfortable enough to approach me, though whether they stayed throughout my haphazard bouts of dragon and elf talk depended on each person and the amount of crazy-speak they could handle.

The biggest change came around in that senior year when I bumped into a girl who was part of the popular group in middle-school. I'd asked her about some of the people she hung out with and discovered that while some of them were on their way to college, a fraction of them – the ones who I remembered as horribly mean - dropped out of high-school, while others had actually been in prison once or twice because of drugs and alcohol.

That was the day I took a good, long look at my life and smiled at the nerd inside of me. Looking back, middle-school was hard and depressing. I'd suffered through ridicule and depression only to come out in the end with a good life: a husband, kids, a house and a basket-case cat.

When I see people, young and old, in that same boat I once was – the strange girl with her nose in books and her head in the clouds – I go out of my way to encourage that person never to let the personality change because of how the outside world looks on him or her. My experiences and hardships taught me that the world is not the molder of a person, but the person is the molder of his or her world.

Lack Of...

2011-09-19T15:32:00.000-07:00

Self-control, people. That's what I seem to lack. If I start talking to someone, I can't shut up. If I start writing something, I can't stop. If I start laughing, good luck to you but you're about to see me zombified with streaming make-up.

I blame it on myself. Closing myself off for so long with no real socializing.
You hear it a lot, right? I always say the same thing. I was in the house for too long. I have no social skills.
I mean it, people!
Serious! But I'm really trying to be better, too.
It's just, when I start talking, I come across as weird or even a little bit frightening. When I decide I like a person, I keep talking and talking until I get giggly and unruly and I don't realize it until it's too late and people are avoiding me or giving me the stink-eye.

The best thing to do in this situation? Turn around and ignore me. I will shut up eventually...and I'll try not to take it to heart. I pinky promise.

Funkay!

2011-09-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

Hello, world!
Hmmm...you know how people twitterfy that by saying, "hey tworld?" Wonder if I can bloggify that. Blworld? No. Definitely not.

Okay! Wondering what my malfunction is? Acid reflux!
Okay, maybe not but ...

I've been stressed like never before lately. Why? I have no idea, actually. It's sort of just popped up in my life. Sense no making.

Trouble sleeping (nightmares, I have them), trouble eating (troubles as in, it's basically come to a stop), trouble relaxing(...), and to top it off, college! Don't get me wrong, I love being out of the house. Six years in the house with kids made me a hermit and I forgot how to socialize when I used to be a social bunny.

The reason I'm here? Let me say something about college:
It's not that it's hard. Honestly, if you put forth the effort to study, it's okay. <---discovered today that it works. I guess, for me, it's more of a recent, self-realization thing.

It started today...like this.
My 5 year old asked, "mom, you were little like me, right?"
I answered, "yes, I was."
5yo: "When were you little?"
This is basically where I threw up a little and said, "almost twenty years ago."
5yo: *pause* "What happened?"
Me: "I grew up."
5yo: "How?"
Me: Though I was thinking about how much I've disappointed Peter Pan, I actually said, "I ate all my food, slept at night and ran all day, like you do."

We got to school and she happily skipped away while I drove off, wallowing in thoughts of, "when did everything change?"

In high school, I was ... get comfy, this'll take a bit ... a punk/goth. Can you imagine that? I got pictures at home but I refuse to share them. I wasn't all depressed or anything. I was just as loud and obnoxious as I tend to get now...okay, no I was worse. I never did my school work. I passed every class on the edge. I just didn't care. All I wanted was to be lazy and sleep. Typical teen thing, right?

Before the punk/goth phase, I was an unkempt nerd who liked Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z. Not too many friends. Not very liked. I was this scrawny little thing with messy hair and a dumb sense of humor.

Now, in college, I actually care about how I'm doing in class. I actually get mini panic attacks about quizzes! QUIZZES! For the love of all that's good and pure in this world, I lose sleep and appetite over a quiz? I've become a good-grade-loving-monster!

As many of you know, I got married straight after high school and popped out some kids. I was an at-home mom until just a month ago. When I think about what would change if things had gone in a different direction, I shudder. Knowing how I was in high school, I would have been a college failure. I would have treated it just like high school. Not caring. Not trying. I would probably be doing something stupid like going to parties and getting drunk or something. (one of my pet-peeves is drunks. alcohol, in general. ew. I still love you, Shelly xD )

It's funny how a person changes with life experience. It can be a little depressing, too, if you think about it the wrong way. This morning, I was a little on the line between. I was upset because I couldn't get more homework done last night, which means more for today. I was also nervous about a quiz I had to take today. (again, a QUIZ! Not even a test! It's like, a test's pesky little brother!) Why was I nervous? I don't know! Pressure from hubby is on one side, all excited about me getting through school so he can chill with work. Time is against me when I want to study and get good grades. I really don't want my teachers to hate me. I'm the only one in the house with enough English to help my girls with their homework - which takes time from my own school work/focus. Invoices for our business are waiting every night. I put aside my writing to get it all done.

Wow. I suddenly feel like I have some super-human power to not break down. But you know what I think is helping? I still smile! I still laugh! I still jabber non-stop. I can't imagine if I had to be drop-dead serious all day. Twitter has been a life-saver. The occasional tweets I still get keep the positivity there.

I won't say that I'm sad. Because really, I'm not. You can stick me to work in Walmart or flipping burgers and I'll still find a way to keep smiling. It makes my world go 'round, you know?

But, wow. Life is crazy. I never believed people when they would say it. I'm torn between saying, "enjoy your teenhood" or saying, "jump into life. It's hard but the sooner you get a handle on it, the better you'll deal with your mid-twenties." But maybe that's just me.

Yikes, I've written a novel here. I'll stop. I have projects to work on. Have an awesome weekend people. Twitter is on, so say hi! And smile!

Diana

p.s.
I smell old tuna. ew.

Goodly Goodliness

2011-09-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

I decided to use the word goodly. I don't know why. I like it. It sounds senseless. I like senseless.

Okay, onto things that actually matter.
My fire for Zirconya seems to have flared up again. Can we get a YAY! Maybe it has to do with the new release date. *cough* December *cough* Maybe it has to do with my writerly mind not being used so much lately. My muse came back from vacation.
Or maybe this is a fluke. Maybe the fire will die again and I'll only start talking about it more when the release date encroaches.

Whatever it is, and however long it may last, I feel like me again. Not writing for so long...over three months, I think...made me get all...detached and sad and...well, just not like me.

So, let me get this over with.
*clears throat*

WHOOOO-FLIPPIN'-HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Happy happy joy joy! Whoopee! Yeehaw? no. YES! Zirconya! OMG! Tanis is a pain, Maze is gone, Caelum is going NUTZ, Aglahr is a cranky old man, Keiren is cool as usual, Prince Leithen is sadly in love, Melanya is ALSO in love but not so sadly, Aquin is a JERK, Lord Sireg'Wethyl is creepy and getting closer, and the circle of Zirconyan/Earthen life continues to spin!

Phew.
Okay. I can breathe now.

On another note, school is rollin. I guess. Social life is fun. After 6 years in the house, I was hesitant to open up but it's happened. I'm a nut in school, too. Except in one class. Not so much in that one. But it's full of boring people.

Youtube videos will likely be in a stand-still. Maybe one a week...if that much. Depends on the writing.

So, how about YOU? Readers, tell me: what fantasy novels have you recently read and loved? What's been the high of YOUR last three months? Keep the lows to yourself. No negativity here, please! ^_^

Have an awesome rest of the week. (was tempted to say "Hump-day" but that makes me giggle.) <-- hey, look, I said it!

Diana