I'm Back! ... and The amazing Iron King Series.

Hey everyone!

First of all, let me say how SHOCKED and HAPPY I am that I actually remembered my log-in info. I would have been really upset if I'd forgotten :\ So I'm back. Hopefully on a regular basis from now on. Things are always so crazy over breaks from school, and since this is mostly a writing blog for me, I don't have much to say if I'm not in the middle of a WIP. However, I'm hoping this blog can become something more than just a writing blog for me. I'd like to make it an all-around "things to do with reading, writing, etc" blog. So I'm going to start doing the following:

1) Reviews (I suck at these, ex-journalism major or not, so please be kind). I'll start discussing the books I read after I read them.

2) Discussions on various writing/book topics. I know a lot of authors will post blogs, stating their feelings on something currently happening (Like the trend among YA authors discussing the use of sex/sexual identity/and sexual encounters in their stories). I'd like to put in my two cents, as well. We hear the author's perspective a lot.. Let me tell it to you as a reader (who also happens to write, albeit unpublished).

3) Of course, as I continue my writing/publishing journey, I'll still post blogs about that, too.

If anything else comes up, I'll throw that in, too. Maybe I can get some author interviews, do some giveaways, or link you to awesome blogs and posts by other authors. And, using my awesome Nerdy Book List, I can inform you when cool new books are set to come out.

With all that said, I'm going to keep in mind that the next half of this semester is going to suck, and I hope to do all this, and do it regularly, but please don't throw darts if I can't.

With that all said and done and out of the way, let's move on to a quick blurb/review/my thoughts on The Iron King Series by Julie Kagawa. Simply put, it was an amazing new take of Faery Lore that combined traditional myths and stories with the advent of technology - something that isn't new to any of us.

With the rapid growth of technology, people seem to almost depend on their gadgets and gizmos. I'm actually one of the few in my generation who doesn't appreciate it all (the e-book can go stuff it. Sorry, had to get that off my chest.) Julie Kagawa took the idea that technology is beginning to overwhelm us, and used it to put a new spin on old Faery stories. And with great success. The characters are likeable. Meghan is an active heroine, not just sitting by while others fight for her. Ash is a complex character the reader will fall in love with very quickly. And adorable Puck. I believe Puck is quickly becoming my favorite Faery character, in any series he pops up in. The ending of the Iron Queen brought me to tears, as I expect it will do to others. The thing that made me cry the hardest? (SPOILER>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>) Ash bringing Beau back for Meghan :) I was just asking myself.. "Did everyone forget about Beau????" when, there he was. Too adorable, and a great ending to a great trilogy.

I'd love to say more, but I'm so bad at doing reviews... I never know how much to say or not to say, to reveal spoilers or to not reveal spoilers (hopefully the one I did mention isn't too big of a spoiler :\). I promise I'll try to get better at this as I do more! Sorry, Julie, for making you my Review Guinea Pig :\ I loved the books, though!!

Until next time,
Meredith xoxo

I'm baaaa-aaack!!!

Hey everyone.

It's been a long, annoying, and unpleasant summer. But I'm back in Ithaca and I'm once again motivated to work on Project Gina. I kind of lost interest over the summer because too much was going on and I couldn't concentrate. But now I'm back. I have a LOT of classes and work to do this semester, but I promise to try and stay more up-to-date on this blog with what's happening.

I also have a few ideas for a couple new stories I want to try and get started on, although I think I left the notes for the one at home. I think I can remember most of the storyline, though.

So keeping this short, I will update soon with what I've gotten around to.

Have a good weekend everyone!
Until Next Time!
Meredith

Revision Time!!

So I had a teacher motivate me today, and I've begun revisions on Project Gina. In about two hours, I've done 65 pages. Yay! My goal is to finish the first go-around by Sunday night, because I gave a copy of it to my teacher, and I kind of want her to have the edited one as soon as possible, so she can beta-read for me and give me my second round of revisions that way. And then the third round will be mine again.

I'm gonna keep this short so I can get back to editing, but I'll keep everyone updated as I go along :)

Until Next Time
Meredith

End of Semester Blues

Hello, folks :)

I haven't updated since I finished Project Gina. I haven't gone back to it yet - and I don't honestly know when I will - to begin edits. The end of a semester is a rough time in college. Everything the professors couldn't get done and desperately NEED or WANT to get done get piled up and they scramble to finish everything on time. So us poor students get dragged down with hours of work and large assignments and final papers/presentations/projects.

Today alone, I had a group meeting for one class, and I've been trying to catch up on four ads for my Media Writing Class that I fell behind on. I've been working on them on and off since 12pm New York time, and it's now 8:30 and I've only finished 2 of the 4. Needless to say, my brain is fried and I'm doing one more thing for one more ad, and then it's quitting time.

The biggest problem with all this work, is that I barely have time to read, let alone start edits for Project Gina. I'm speed-reading through Kelley Armstrong's YA trilogy. Then two books are coming out this month that I want, and I have the three Claudia Gray books.

So, with a big dramatic sigh, Project Gina must go on hold for now. And maybe I can start editing it over the summer, when things are a little less crazy. Until then, I'll try and do a little bit here and a little bit there. But school and homework must - grudgingly - be the priority.

Anyway, I'm off to finish my last assignment of the night, and then I'm relaxing until about 10, taking a shower, and calling it a night.

Until Next Time!
Meredith :)

Shadow Soul is Finished!

At 46,850 words, Shadow Soul - the first MS I've been able to complete in five years - is now finished and ready to undergo edits.

This is both a happy and sad thing. Sad because I love this story and the characters and I'm not ready to leave them. Edits will allow me to stick with them for a little while longer, though, which is good. But it's also a happy thing because like I said above....This is the first manuscript I've been able to complete in five years!!! That's so important to/for me!

I can now say I have TWO completed manuscripts :) This makes me very happy.

So I'm going to leave it alone for a few days now, and then I'm going to go back to it and begin editing. I already have two friends interested in being my very first beta readers :) :) :) :) This makes me very happy, also!

In the mean time I have: two other WIP's I would desperately love to finish; one story I need to outline and then write; and one idea that's still being played around with. And, the way I ended Shadow Soul, it leaves it open for a potential sequel. So maybe I won't be leaving the world of Shadow Soul just yet :)

Anyway, I'll update in a few days with where I'm at, Shadow Soul Editing wise, and also in other news.

Until Next Time!
(A very happy) Meredith

The End is Near!!! (But this is a good thing)

Hey everyone! I have some exciting news!!! I'm at 42,076 words on my WIP, and it's almost done! This is both a happy, exciting thing and also a sad thing.

Happy because I haven't been able to complete a manuscript in 4 years. Sad because I've enjoyed writing again, and I'm worried an idea like this won't come around again for another four years, and I'll be back to being depressed that I can't write anything good.

But hopefully the editing process for this current WIP will keep me busy long enough to accumulate new ideas and I'll be writing again shortly :)

Anyway, I said (on twitter) that I was headed to bed like..2 hours ago. So I think I need a break to refuel and decide my next scene. I can't decide if I want to do an "aftermath" of what just happened, or switch to the "Hell" scene and wrap up the loose ends there :) We'll see. I'll decide that tomorrow, I think. For now, bed!

Until Next time (when I'll hopefully be DONE with my WIP)
Meredith :)

Good Books are Bliss

I've been taking a break from writing, since I wrote 6,000 words on Saturday. I think I deserve the break. Instead, I've been reading. I read Succubus Shadows by Richelle Mead in about 2 days because it was so amazing.

Like I said when I talked about Bethany Griffin's Handcuffs, I'm not a book reviewer and I don't know how to be. So this is way unofficial, but I hope you still enjoy it:

The Georgina Kincaid series is one of my favorites from Richelle Mead. I love Vampire Academy, and the Eugenie Markham books have a very different feel to them, and stand out from the crowd of books that all read the same story in different ways. But the Georgina books are my favorite. I love Georgina; she's smart, witty, funny, and she has good intentions - despite being one of Hell's minions. She still wants to do good and that's awesome.

Succubus Shadows was one of my favorites in the series. I don't want to give too much away, but there's a big chunk of the book where Ms. Mead allows us to get a glimpse into what life was life for Georgina over the years, leading up to present day. There's some closer with Seth, which I'm sure everyone was dying for. But I'm also very suspicious now of some people and some things. And I seriously can't wait for the next book. I don't know if I CAN wait. The cliffhanger at the end of Shadows was just as taunting as the cliffhanger that Heather Brewer places at the end of Eleventh Grade Burns.

I think, once the final book is out, I'll probably reread every single Georgina book in a row. Sound like a plan? Awesome :)

Next up: Gayle Forman's If I Stay. I'm only 80 pages in, but this book is both amazing and heartbreaking and funny and sad - all at once. I find myself wondering what I would do if I was in Mia's position. And it's brought tears to my eyes. At least twice. It's a fast-paced, easy read, and so far I can't put it down. If it weren't for homework, I WOULDN'T put it down. But - sigh - I must try and get some more homework done before bed.

One last thing before I wrap up. I just want to say that reading a good book is bliss. It's comforting. You become one with the story and the characters, and you feel their pain; you smile when they're happy; you cry when they're hurt. And once you finish the book, it feels like a small piece of you is gone. Some days, I finish a book and I can't seem to get into whatever new book I start right away, because I'm so fixated on the previous book.

Am I the only one who feels this way? Am I totally insane, or does someone else feel this way, too?

Anyway. Homework. Ew. Maybe I'll take a quick shower first, to wake myself up. Then homework.

Until Next Time
Meredith