Rewriting...

Today I'm working on rewrites. They're actually going really well today. It's just 'flowing', you know? This excites me because I haven't had a whole lot of writing time lately, and I've had Writer's Block on top of that, so having a really good writing day made my day. I was going to say week, but today's only the first day of the week. (And if this were yesterday, it wouldn't have made my week because Leanna Renee Hieber's signing took the cake for that!)

Anyway, I'm really actually liking where my writing is taking me right now. It's somewhere I've never really taken my characters before because I had this vision for the longest time of a perfect happy world where nothing ever goes wrong, and nothing ever gets in the way of them. See how stupid I was when I was eleven? My characters are going to be strained, and broken, and about everything in the book (another pun by me!!), but ultimately, that's a good thing because that means they have to heal...together(?). See, I can be smart.

Oh, by the way, I think I might've just found a new title! Cautious Heart? Anyone like it? COMMENT!

Well, the picture above is of me. I was playing around on Photo Bucket last night and this was my product! I really like it and since I'm so happy today--I thought I'd post it. :D

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

With eternal love and blessings,

Officially Inspired

Signing...

So last night I went to Leanna Renee Hieber's book signing for her book The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker! It was so much fun!

Leanna is super funny! And she was surprisingly a lot like me, as a writer. She talks to her characters as I do, and her characters talk back (no comments--I don't want to go back to that white padded room ;) ). So here are some pictures!

So, after she talked about her book, and took questions (I asked two!!) it was time for signing! We got in line and I grabbed a book to get for my friend Carly, who was going to go with "Luna" and I, but had other plans.

Finally, I got to the table and Leanna says to me "You're Hanna right?" And I was like "Yeah!" She knew me, like right off! How cool is that? *Oh, btw, I had contacted her on Blogspot...* And she remembered how to spell my name! (Not many people do!) She signed my book again and made it more personal, and she signed Carly's book. But she also handed me this note:

She told me to read it whenever I get discouraged! I haven't read it yet, because I'm not discouraged yet. It was so nice of her to do that. She also told me to keep her posted on my writing and stay in touch!

Leanna Renee Hieber is such an inspiration to me because not many people from Ohio get to a point where they're well-known or even to the point where they could become well-known. But she has. As a writer, she's just shown me that no matter where I am, nothing is impossible. She's given me a gift that I will never be able to pay her back for.

She's definitely set the standards high for Ohio writers (that includes me...gulp) because her book is that beautifully written and entertaining!

Then "Luna" and I looked at other books and as we were walking out of the signing area a lady said to "Excuse me, can I ask you something?" "Sure" was my response. "How long have you been writing?" Was her question. "Since I was 11. I'm 13 now." "I could tell you've been writing for a while from the questions you asked." That was a cool experience for me. I can't really explain why. Then we went home.

It was a 'Strangely Beautiful' night that I will cherish and remember for the rest of my life.

Leanna, thank you so much, for everything. I will never know how to repay you.

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

With eternal love and blessings,
Officially Inspired

Ducks...

Hey great two people who read this! (Hey, two is better and more than zero. Yes, I'm in Algebra).

My friend showed me this picture on one of her website thingys. I think it's funny!!

Oh, and that friend is here right now! Say hi to "Luna"!! *She's undercover for the CIA, so I am not at liberty to post her name on this page! jk, two ppl.*

I'm going to Leanna Renee Hieber's signing tonight--pictures to come. Oh! And "Luna" is coming with me! Yay!

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

With eternal love and blessings,

Officially Inspired

Fit...

I've been thinking about coming up with a new title for my novel for a while now. No Title really does fit, so don't just think I was just planning on using that because I was too lazy to come up with a new one. But a few people have been telling me I need to change a few things...

1) The title

2) Edward's name

3) Hallie's last name

Just right off the bat:

Now, I'm the first to admit that my novel needs a LOT of changing, and I appreciate the input. But let's address these issues separately.

Firstly, the title. No Title has grown on me, but is it appealing to anyone else? Depends on the reader--as always. However, I've come up with a list of 13 titles, none of which are right. It just doesn't sound right if I said, "I wrote a book called Still" Or whatever, you know? A title sometimes just 'fits' (and I'm usually good at that) but for some reason, it's just really hard for me to find that perfect title for it.

Secondly, Edward's name. Something that I will only change as a last resort. Here's the story of how I came across Edward's name. Obviously, at the time I began writing, I was almost done with Twilight, so I used Edward as a 'fill-in name' until I could find something more permanent, if I even kept with the writing. The problem was--I kept writing and never changed his name. Since that time, I've become interested in names and their meanings. On a Website it told me the name Edward means "Rich guard" which totally fits my Edward. He's rich, and he guards Hallie in ways Hallie can't even understand. Edward was also a popular name in 1899 (the year he was born) in England. It totally fits, and it's just another one of those things I've tried to change, but nothing else 'fits'. So I will only change Edward's name if it is advised by an agent and/or publisher. If it ever gets that far.

Finally, Hallie's last name. When I began writing Hallie's last name was Leadford, which is really close to my last name. So the whole first draft that was her last name. It wasn't until recently that I changed it to Pearson. Hallie Pearson. This was something I was willing to change, but it took me a long time and a lot of research to find the last name that 'fit'.

But finally I did, and I guess that's what I need to remember. Eventually, I'll find it. (Eventually is also a title I've considered.)

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

With eternal love and blessings,

Officially Inspired

Barnes & Noble...

OMG!! I went to Barnes & Noble last night! It's always an exciting and happy night when I get to go to Barnes & Noble (which I am beginning to like better than Borders...people are kinda...nicer at Barnes & Noble)! So let's re-cap. Shall we?

WE SHALL!!

So, we went to dinner before hand, and the service sucked, so we didn't get out of there until like 8-8:30ish. We headed to Barnes & Noble when I was then told to "Hurry". Yeah. Right. I'm in a bookstore and I'm going to hurry... Anyway, so I was in search of 3 amazing books. 1) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins; 2) Bran Hambric The Farfeild Curse by Kaleb Nation; 3) The Strangely Beautiful Tales of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber. I found CF almost immediately--of course it was on the end isle. I couldn't find Bran Hambric anywhere! So I asked for help and a guy named DaVon helped me and found it. But I could not find Strangely Beautiful ANYWHERE! Seriously--ANYWHERE! So finally I asked for help--again. I don't remember this guy's name...but he looked all of the store and finally found it! Yay! Remember how I was telling you that I'm planning to go to Leanna Renee Hieber's book signing? Well, I guess Leanna had stopped by this B&N (a different one than where the signing is) and signed some books. So the copy I got was already signed. Oh well--I'm still going to the signing--I'll just have her sign another page. ;) So after this hour had passed, I still had to ask them about an ad. I work for a school newspaper and we're selling ads--but they couldn't tell me if they could do it yet--so they'll be in contact with me sometime this week. I hope they can do it!

So, that was my night. I was very happy about the way things turned out and I can't wait to read these books! Even my brother (who fought with Kaleb Nation on YouTube and now hates Kaleb) wants to read Bran Hambric. Which everyone should want to read all of these books. But if you are going to read Catching Fire be sure to read The Hunger Games first. It's a series. ;) Oh and Stephenie Meyer has a comment on the back of Catching Fire!

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

With eternal love and blessings,

Officially Inspired.

D.C. & Health...

Hey readers! How are you today? I'm okay, thanks, my cold's almost gone! Yay! Anyway, I don't have much to talk about today, so this should be a pretty quick post. Should.

So, first off, I'm going to Washington D.C. next month--which I'm totally excited about! I can't wait to go, because I'll get to see so much history and it'll be a great experience, and that in itself is enough. But...my school's having an essay contest with the prompt "Why do you want to honor the soldiers who have paid the ultimate price and those willing to do so?" And if you win, you get to participate in the ceremony of placing the wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier! How...amazing would that be? I still have 13 days to work on it, so I'm hoping that'll be enough time to make it all shiny and the best I can make it. Wish me luck!

Secondly, I usually love Health class--I have been loving it. But it's going to kill me tomorrow. We're doing...physical testing. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not very physical, and therefore, I'm not in the best shape...so I'm not looking forward to 5th period tomorrow. We have to do sit-ups, pull-ups, jumps, steps, and that kind of thing. Most of which I can't do. At all. Ugh, I hope I live through it...and without embarrassing myself.

Thirdly, (because I just thought to add this), revisions are actually starting to pick up! I'm on chapter five, but I'm really liking how...cautious it is. It's just completely different than what I originally wrote, but it's so much better! Or at least in my opinion. ;) No, I'm not biased at all...

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

With eternal love and blessings,

Officially Inspired

"The Strangely Beautiful" tales of my life...

So, there's this author from my area who just got published, and her book, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, just came out. Her name is Leanna Renee Hieber. She has a blog here on blogspot (which I am following), but my main point is that she's having a signing on Friday, September 25th! I'm so excited and I really hope I can go! But seriously, where I am...you never think that you could get anywhere. We're just in a state that's like that. But the fact that she made it, that she published, that's just so inspiring to me.

On another note, I've discovered that I should NEVER flat-iron my hair when I'm barley awake. I accidentally pinched my earlobe with the flat-iron at 340 degrees! OUCH! My ear is red and it hurts! I also have a cold, which my brother was convinced was Swine Flu, but--Good news!-it's not! I think I'm almost done with it...

In writing news, I'm hard (define hard...) at work on revisions, and so far they're going very well! I've had issues on the preface, but I'm on the lines of a winner. (Get the pun? Lines...like lines I write...yes, I'm that special.)

In reading news, I've finished Blood Promise which I'm sad about because now I want the next book. I started reading As You Wish last Saturday--which I then finished Sunday afternoon. Yes, it's that good. Seriously readers, GO READ AYW BY JACKSON PEARCE--RIGHT NOW!! SERIOUSLY NOW!

Oh! And guess what?!? I finally got my bus time changed so now I can sleep until 5:40 so I can catch the bus at 6:40. Yes, so it's only 40 minutes difference, but hey, that's 40 more minutes I get to sleep. See what I mean?

Well, I think I'm going to dinner. Have a wonderful and blessed day!

With eternal love and blessings,

Officially Inspired

Remembering

Today is 9/11. I can't even put words to express how I feel. I made a video in honor of 9/11, the link is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWpmYbR4x0c

I can't say too much--just because it'd take too long to write and it's very personal. So please, just watch the video and REMEMBER.

With eternal love and blessings,

Officially Inspired

Prayers...

Wonderful readers, I ask a few things of you today. First I would like to ask that you keep my family and myself in your prayers. My great-aunt has just lost her husband, Howard. He's been sick for quite a while, and he's in a better place now. But it's still hard for all of us to go through. He's just one of those people you never imagine you'll lose. I hate to say that I didn't know him very well, but he was a very special man. So please, just keep us in your prayers. Please and thank you.

Secondly, I ask that you take a few minutes out of your day today and thank those who work for a living, making your day easier. Teachers, police men and women, firefighters, just to name a few. Besides, it's because of them that you have a day off from school. ;)

Thirdly, I want you to take a little bit of time today to realize what God has given you. I've realized a lot since reading The Shack and a lot of that is that I take so much for granted. I take things for granted that is not guaranteed to me. My family, my friends, my talents, each day, my life, everything. "Each day's a gift, not a given right"--Nickelback

I hope you have a wonderful and blessed Labor Day!

With eternal love and blessings,

Officially Inspired

School and Books!

Hey great people who read my blog--even if I haven't posted since the night before school started (almost TWO WEEKS ago!!). I'm sorry, but I've been really busy, but I won't get into all the personal info. Okay? Because I have a feeling the few people who actually read this blog don't really care and/or have already heard it. So let's move on to the 'important' stuff.

First, I have As You Wish by Jackson Pearce and Blood Promise by Richelle Mead in my possession. I finished The Shack for book club...I really do have a better relationship with God and understand a lot more what it means to believe after reading that book. I haven't been able to get Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (the sequel to The Hunger Games) yet. And Kaleb Nation's Bran Hambric: The Farfeild Curse comes out Wednesday 9/9/09. Can't wait to read them all!

Secondly, this weekend is Labor Day weekend, as you're all aware, so I would like for you all to thank those that work for a living. Plus, it's because of them we get out of school--another reason to thank them. ;)

Thirdly, today College Football starts! The Buckeyes are playing right now--they're my favorite. Go OSU! I hope they have a good season this year!!

So, I think that's pretty much it...I got a backpack that says "That's Mrs. Pattinson to you" lol. Mr. Brunk thinks I have serious issues.

Happy Stephenie Saturday Mr. Brunk! lol.

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

With eternal love and blessings,

Officially Inspired