Music Monday: Rabbit Heart

Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you! I’m just waist-deep in two projects at the moment.

In the meantime, I thought we could listen to some music together while I work on this chapter.  🙂

I have to admit most of Florence + The Machine‘s album, Between Two Lungs, is on my go-to writing playlist. This song in particular has already influenced parts of my work-in-progress. What songs or albums have affected your writing?

Happy Writing,
Jacquline Carrera

P.S. Yay, we got Bin Laden! Here’s hoping our troops find and destroy all his Horcruxes.

Imperial Chicken predicts the future.

I missed three Prompty Tuesdays while my laptop was out of commission. Here are the writing prompts I had planned on sharing with you, including a new category called scenarios. Enjoy!

RANDOM FUN
Write a scene involving: getting lost, a fortune-teller, and watermelon.

SCENARIOS
A rogue chicken picks up the fight against demons.

MUSICALITY
When people hear the Imperial March, they think of Darth Vader and Star Wars.

This is your main character’s theme song. Is your MC a badass in an alternate universe or maybe a geeky kid out for vengeance? Start writing and find out what your mind has in store.

The awesome thing about writing prompts is their versatility. They can be used individually or together to create a new experience. For this Prompty Tuesday, combine one, two, or three of the prior exercises.

Happy writing!

Write, Jacquline, write!

My best friend’s awesomeness is unquantifiable. She believed in this crazy writing adventure before I did way back in 2002. With Shapeshifting For The Win releasing in seven days [squeeee!], I feel as if I owe her for the years of unwavering support and encouragement. You know, something more than the standard signed book.

What do you get for someone who’s been such a powerful force in your life? Plan A was a house in the mountains with a small heard of pygmy goats to pull her sled through the snow, but I’m a struggling artist. I’ll have to use my backup plan until I write a few bestsellers.

Backup plan: write a novel geared towards everything she loves and give it to her as a birthday present this year. That gives me 113 days to write it and a month to edit. Totally doable. My new WIP (work-in-progress), King Rick, is perfect for this challenge. Consider this post my battle cry.

Check out mini-figurines I pulled from my best friend’s Dungeons and Dragons collection for my inspiration. Yes, that is a pink dire boar with a red heart on its rump. Also, pictured is Helena Holt, the plucky heroine, a kobold named Beastmuck, and an angry dwarf with a scythe. I’m not sure how the dwarf will factor in to the story yet, but he’s too cool looking not to include somewhere.

Wish me luck!

Introducing Alphabet Absurdity

 

Presenting the further adventures of everybody’s favorite superhero, the man who is faster than lightning, stronger than steel, smarter than a speeding bullet… it’s Super Grover!

Like everyone else born after 1969, The Muppets were a big part of my childhood. When I was five, I named my hamsters Ernie and Bert and wanted to be Miss Piggy when I grew up. Most importantly (since this is a writerly blog), The Monster at the End of This Book featuring Grover was one of my favorite books. I read the cover off that thing.

That should give you an idea of how excited I was when I found this. I need that Super Grover t-shirt. Even if Target listed it as Gonzo and not Grover. Shame on you, Target!

My online shopping habits aside, this got me thinking about those sing-songy skits on Sesame Street about letters of the alphabet. It inspired me to create a new category for Prompty Tuesday. I call it… ALPHABET ABSURDITY! You’ll get the ‘absurd’ part of the name when we get to the letter ‘X’ and we have to work with words like xenophobia.

 

Gangster muppets want you to write. Or else.

 

Use these five words in your scene: absorb, adultery, antibiotic, antenna, assure.

Happy writing!

What I did on my Thanksgiving vacation.

As it turns out, Arizona has more than oppressive heat and large bugs. My dad and step-mom took me to a few awesome places. I might not have achieved 50k for nanowrimo, but whoa did I have fun and find a load of inspiration along the way.

Coconut Cupcake with disco dust!

If you’re ever in the Phoenix area, go to The Coffee House in Gilbert. My chai latte was good, but the cupcakes made the experience. I have them on the brain now and it’s leaking into my writing. In a scene I wrote this morning, the main character had a bought of nervous eating. Apparently, her feelings tasted like lemon-raspberry cupcakes.

What do your feelings taste like?

I also spent hours wandering an independent bookstore in Tempe called Changing Hands. They have a great selection and helpful staff. I found Christmas gifts for both of my roomies there. I’d tell you about my awesome finds, but that would spoil it for them. *winkyface*

Although, I will say I noticed a few signed copies of WAKE. If you live in the area and haven’t read her novel yet, go there NOW and pick one up for yourself. If you live elsewhere, I still highly recommended Lisa McMann‘s novel.

I read WAKE on the flight from Phoenix to Philly. Luckily the gentlemen next to me slept the entire way, because I wept like a baby girl towards the end of the book. Lisa McMann’s main character, Janie, struck a chord with me that no other novel has ever managed to do. I can’t wait to read the rest of the trilogy this weekend.

…And that’s what I did on my Thanksgiving vacation.