Waiting on Wednesday: Twin Sense by Lydia Sharp! (November 14, 2012)

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Twin Sense by Lydia Sharp

Publication Date: November 23, 2012

 

Okay, so I don’t have to wait that long for Twin Sense, but I have been waiting for it since I first heard about it. The cover was just revealed this week. Isn’t it gorgeous? While I do read a lot of LGBT fiction, it’s all been boy/boy (or men/men *ahem*).  Time to shake it up a little bit with girls.

I’ve followed Lydia’s blog for several months now. She’s got some great writing advice on her blog.

Here’s the summary. How fun does it sound??

two boys + two girls = one big mess 

As girlfriends of the Taylor twins, Layna and Sherri have only been friends by association. But when Sherri breaks up with Keith (for real this time), and Kevin gives Layna a promise ring (whoa, what?), Layna’s whole world spins off balance. She avoids Kevin’s unwelcome pressure to commit by spending more time with Sherri.

Without the twins around, Layna and Sherri are tempted to go beyond friendship status. Then Keith tries to win Sherri back, and Kevin apologizes for rushing Layna. Now she’s stuck inside a double-trouble love quadrangle that has her reaching for the consolation cheesecake. The only way to sort out this mess is to make an impossible choice—between the one she wants and the other one she wants—or she might end up with no one.

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Six-Sentence Sunday: NaNo Week 1

It’s been a full week since my last post.  Oops.  Well, what can I say? It’s November; NaNoWriMo has begun!

How’s it going?

It’s … going.  I’m a little behind. You can see my word count on the right. As of last night, I should have been up to 16,667.  But it’s all good. I could have a few really good days and catch up, right?

Right.

Anyway, I thought during November, I’d participate in Six-Sentence Sunday and share some of my NaNo story.  I had been planning to write a young adult novel involving a robotics competition.  Then 12:01 AM November 1st, after the magic of Halloween had come to an end, I suddenly decided I didn’t want to work on that story after all.

Instead, I decided to pick up on an old short story I had wanted to write a couple years ago and expand it into a short novel.  It’s an adult romance, not young adult.

(And remember, it’s NaNo — that means it’s fast-drafted and unedited!)

Jeremy knew what could have happened. He could still feel his hands being held behind his back, the sharp edge of the table cutting into his waist with every thrust. The skin burns. The pain. The grunts behind him.

And it could have all happened again, right here in his own home.

The cheesy, working title is Shots on Goal,  and the tentative summary is:

Brett has just weeks left on his contract with his minor league team to prove he deserves a spot in the NHL when a wrong move aggravates an old injury. When he learns the figure skater he’s admired from afar is also a skilled massage therapist, he sees a chance to save his dream.

Jeremy loves dancing on the ice, but his dream to be a professional figure skater died before it began.  To keep his massage therapy business alive, he’ll need to take on more clients, which leaves less time for preparing for the upcoming skating competition.  So when Brett offers to pay Jeremy double for his treatment, saying no is difficult even though Jeremy usually refuses to treat male athletes. Especially huge hockey players who sneer at gay figure skaters.

As Jeremy’s hands work their magic over Brett’s muscles, Brett must break through Jeremy’s walls and convince him  he’s not the homophobic jerk he appears to be…while also hiding his injury from his coach and his sexuality from everyone but Jeremy.

 

Hope you enjoyed the little snippet. Be sure to check out the other Six-Sentence Sunday participants!

 

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Pumpkin Carving, Part 7: This Year’s Carves

UPDATE September 19, 2015: Want to learn how to carve pumpkins like these? I’m creating a set of step-by-step video tutorials. Check out Carve Awesome Pumpkins for more info!

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Welcome to seventh and final post of my Carving Pumpkins series for 2012.  I can’t believe Halloween is over already.  Sometimes I wonder why I put so many hours into creating these pumpkins for just a few hours of display one night of the year. Then I look at them all lit up and smile. 🙂

This week I’m just going to post pictures of the pumpkins I’ve carved this year. Some you’ve already seen, some you haven’t. I did take pictures of my progress while carving the real pumpkins, but I’ll save them for a How-To/Tips post for next Halloween. They probably won’t do you any good now.

In case you missed any of my previous posts in this series:

Foam Pumpkins for 2012

 YA Book Covers

Paper Towns Pumpkin Divergent Pumpkin Divergent pumpkin

These Paper Towns and Divergent patterns were created by Kate Hart and are available for free download. (Yes, I carved 2 different Divergent pumpkins.)  All 3 of these pumpkins were given away as part of contests.

 

Beautiful Creatures Pumpkin

This pumpkin was also given away as part of a contest. I created the pattern and it’s available for free download on my FREEBIES page.

Harry Potter

 Dumbledore Pumpkin

Both of these patterns are from Stoneykins.  The Harry Potter pattern is free for download, and the Dumbledore pattern must be purchased.

Hunger Games

My favorite carve of the season! This is the most intricate pattern I’ve carved so far, but the effort was so worth it.  Pattern from Stoneykins.

You Can’t See Me

You Can't See Me pumpkin

Although I carve mostly for me, I try to do at least one pumpkin for everyone in my family each year.  (Sadly, my husband got left out this year because I ran out of time, but he can appreciate the Hunger Games and Harry Potter pumpkins. 😉 )

This one I did for my son, who is a fan of WWE Wrestler John Cena.  “You Can’t See Me” is Cena’s catch phrase and this is the logo on the hat he wears.

I created the pattern by hand. If I had a digital file for it, I would share it for free download. It’s a simple pattern to make yourself, though. You can find an image of the logo on the internet to use as a basis for the pattern.  Cut out the letters and shade the circle crossing out the “C”.

Vampire Diaries

I’m a huge fan of Damon on Vampire Diaries (I’ve loved Ian Somerhalder for a long time…since he was a “freak of the week” on Smallville way back in Season 1 or 2) and really wanted to carve a Damon pumpkin last year but couldn’t find any patterns.

So I was really excited when I saw that Ultimate Pumpkin Stencils added a Vampire Diaries set to their store this year!

 

 Real Pumpkins for 2012

Elmo

Elmo Pumpkin

This is the pumpkin I did for my daughter who is 2.  She would have loved a Caillou pumpkin, but I couldn’t find a pattern and didn’t have the time/energy to make my own.  Elmo was the next best thing. 🙂

This pattern is from Ultimate Pumpkin Stencils’ Sesame Street set. The characters are also available separately.

General Halloween

Trick or Treat pumpkin

Usually one of the real pumpkins I carve has something that represents the year for our family.  For example, last year I did a Mickey and Minnie pumpkin because we took the kids to Disney for the first time.  This year, I couldn’t think of anything that really symbolized “2012” for us, so I went with a generic Halloween pattern. I’m really pleased with how it came out.

The pattern is from Stoneykins, and warning: I did leave off part of the pattern to make it more family-friendly. 😉

Breaking Dawn Part II

Breaking Dawn Part II pumpkin

I have carved a Twilight pumpkin every year since 2008. I have done a pumpkin for the movie poster of each Twilight movie, but when I saw the poster for Breaking Dawn Part II, I was too busy laughing to try to make a pattern from it.  (Seriously, what were they thinking?!)

Still, the night before Halloween I was feeling sad that I wouldn’t have a Twilight pumpkin this year.  Then I saw this pumpkin from the Miller Tree Inn and was inspired to carve one myself.

(Side note: in less than 2 weeks I’m going to visit a friend in Seattle for the Breaking Dawn Part II premiere. We’ll be spending one night in Forks, staying at the Miller Tree Inn aka “the Cullen House.” Very excited!)

 

The Best Part of Pumpkin Carving!

Okay, here’s the REAL reason I carve real pumpkins! 😉

I made two batches:

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds with Sugar and Spice (very yummy, but too sweet. Cut down the sugar.)

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds (yummy!)

 

 

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Friday Finds: Angsty Stuff. And Some Fantasy. (November 2, 2012)

FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Should Be Reading and showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

Some weeks I add several books to my list. I’ll be limiting my Friday Finds posts to 5 books each week. Those that don’t make this week’s list will be on next week’s. So many books, so little time!

Fault Line by Christa Desir

Goodreads
Summary:

Ben could date anyone he wants, but he only has eyes for the new girl — sarcastic free-spirit, Ani. Luckily for Ben, Ani wants him too. She’s everything Ben could ever imagine. Everything he could ever want.

But that all changes after the party. The one Ben misses. The one Ani goes to alone.

Now Ani isn’t the girl she used to be, and Ben can’t sort out the truth from the lies. What really happened, and who is to blame?

Ben wants to help her, but she refuses to be helped. The more she pushes Ben away, the more he wonders if there’s anything he can do to save the girl he loves.

Troll Or Derby by Red Tash

Amazon | Goodreads
Summary:

In Troll Or Derby, fifteen-year-old Roller Deb is singled out by town bullies for both her skates, and for being different. When her popular homecoming queen of a sister is kidnapped by a scuzzy drug dealer, Deb must flee the trailer park in which she’s grown up, and rescue her. Along the way, Deb becomes enmeshed in the magical realm of trolls and fairies, and the blood-thirsty version of roller derby at which these beings excel. But spending too much time among the fairies comes with a price. Will Deb choose to save her sister, with the aid of a mysterious troll? Or will she be lost to the lures of roller derby, and the blonde temptress April, forever?

The Truth About Faking by Leigh Talbert Moore

Amazon | Goodreads
Summary:

 Jason just wants a date with Harley.
Harley just wants a date with Trent.
Trent’s still getting over Stephanie.

When Harley and Jason decide to fake date, they uncover a school of deceptions. Trent’s got a secret, but so does Jason. And the more time Harley spends secretly kissing her fake boyfriend, the further she gets from her dreams with Trent.

Worst of all, Harley’s mom is getting cozy with her hot massage therapy student, and even Harley’s Reverend Dad can’t fake not being bothered by it. But when the masks finally come off, can everyone handle the real truth?

Forever My Girl by Heidi McLaughlin

 Amazon | Goodreads
Summary:

I was never supposed to be a rock star. I had my life all planned out for me. Play football in college. Go to the NFL. Marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after.

I broke both our hearts that day when I told her I was leaving. I was young. I made the right decision for me, but the wrong decision for us. I’ve poured my soul into my music, but I’ve never forgotten her. Her smell, her smile.

And now I’m going back.

After ten years.

I hope I can explain that after all this time.

I still want her to be my forever girl.

Always and Forever by Karla J. Nellenbach

Amazon | Goodreads
Summary:

Mia’s first reaction is outright disbelief. Obviously, a mistake has been made. Sixteen-year-old girls don’t die. But, when the diagnosis is confirmed, she dives headlong into anger. If she has to die, why should it be of cancer? In fact, anything would be preferable to cancer. Better for her to say when, where, and especially how.

Determined to meet death on her own terms, Mia devises scheme after scheme to get the job done. A “fall” down the basement stairs, driving her car off a bridge, and even a dance with a train all end in her survival.

And through it all, Mia keeps her family and friends at arms’ length with her destructive and hurtful behavior. With each failed suicide attempt and burned relationship, she slowly realizes that it’s not the dying that she’s afraid of, but the life she’ll be leaving behind. Now, that life is in a shambles. As time begins to slip through her fingers and death is upon her, Mia fights to rebuild the bridges she has destroyed, but can she do it before the clock runs out?

 

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