Hi everyone! I apologize for my very sporadic posts. I decided to join in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and 1700+ words per day on a shiny new manuscript doesn't leave much time for other writing endeavors. Honestly, I never expected to come close to 50,000 words in one month. I average 1,000 words per day when I'm writing well, and I'm okay with that. But committing to NaNoWriMo for me meant committing  to write as many words as possible each day in this month that is filled with fall festivals and school parties and football and family gatherings.

It's not over yet, but I am on target to finish. (Yay!) And this is me doing the part where I tell the world, so I have that extra incentive to  keep up during this holiday week and make it to the finish line. I could hardly believe it when I crossed the halfway point a few days ago. They may not be the best words. Ninety percent may end up being rewritten. But as a pantser this month of literary abandon is working for me. It's allowing me to try out my main character's voice, and to figure out where the plot is going without worrying about what I'll have to change later, because I can just accept that most of it will have to change. I enjoy all the stages of writing a novel, but to me, this is the fun part.

This may be my last post for November, but I'll be back soon with a review of Rachel Cohn's Beta and the next installment in my Music Lessons series featuring Jack White. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for all of my blessings. My savior Jesus. Family and friends. Health and home. Books and beautiful words. I wish you the best this holiday season!

Music for today: Trojans by Atlas Genius

Beth Revis Is My Hero

I don't think it's a secret that this blog exists because I love books. Sometimes I have to slow down the reading habit, because I could easily spend hundreds every month. My new hero Beth Revis is giving away an entire LIBRARY of SIGNED YA books, and all you have to do to enter is share the news about the giveaway and share the love for YA books.

This is a great time for me to talk about what I love about YA, because I just finished reading my adult book of the month, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Gone Girl is a fantastic book; it lives up to the hype and deserves all the rave reviews. I enjoyed the stark truths about marriage and failed expectations wrapped in the twisted mystery, the hallmarks that make it an adult book. But they also reminded me why I have a heart for YA.

YA books have a unique sort of promise. They have possibility. They have hope for the future.

When I was a teenager, I could not wait to be an adult. (Like many teens, I actually thought I was an old soul, trapped in a young body.) I was so busy rushing to get there that I missed that chance to revel in the potential of what the future could be. And like so many firsts you can't ever get back, the moment when a young adult makes his or her first life-altering decision has a sort of magic. Most YA books, whether contemporary, fantasy, or any other genre, explore this in one way or another. That magic of the first is what I love most about YA.

For your chance to win Beth's AMAZING giveaway, (seriously--  nearly 50 signed books to a single winner) click here for Beth's blog. And if you choose to enter and blog on what you love about YA, leave a link to your post in the comments! Happy NaNoWriMo, everybody!

Music for today: Breathing Underwater by Metric