#BookSelfie!

It started very simply. My friend Jo said, When you get the first copies of your book, you have to take a picture. Everyone does it! And really, who am I to mess with tradition?

This was the Ooh, it's my book! selfie. I was somewhere between overwhelmingly excited and completely crazy.The fun thing about social media is that you can share special moments like this in the blink of an eye. And that's how the Becoming Beauty #BookSelfies were born!

I challenged my followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to post #BookSelfies with Becoming Beauty. I had no idea what would happen. Friends, new and old alike, began posting them! And pretty soon there were enough to do a collage. (And yes, those are my proud parents posting for their first ever duo selfie.)

Then there was my Book Launch and people wanted #BookSelfies with Becoming Beauty and its author. Can you tell I really put up a fight? Whatever. My hair was AWESOME that day.

During my blog tour, I got several more. That's the sister of an Instagram friend posing with a copy of Becoming Beauty on the upper right! How cool is that? And a sweetie pie on Twitter on the upper left (Thanks, Lydia!) who bought and reviewed my book on her own. (And yes, that's my bestie, Raylynn on the bottom. She really loves selfies. And marketing my book. Bless her heart.)

And of course, my littlest big fan. Her name is Cambree and she's more precious than words. And yes, she dressed to match my cover for my book signing.

And some of my oldest friends demanded a #BookSelfie when I dropped off a book to them the other day. When someone you know from your girlhood doesn't stop saying things like I'm so proud of you! Your book is amazing! and How did you do that? it makes your day. Actually, it makes your year.

The gist of my little social experiment is this: sharing love, magic, and happiness with others keeps us connected and keeps hope alive in the world.  That's always a good thing. So here's my challence: if you have read, are reading, or will soon read Becoming Beauty, snap a #BookSelfie and tag me! Just keep spreading the good will!

P.S. Are hashtags irritating? Maybe. Do they work? Definitely! Jump on the train, my friends!

Panic City, Population: 1

The first year I taught kindergarten we had something called New Teacher Induction. Sounds like you're joining some sort of clan, right? Whatever. Anyway, the one thing that stuck with me was this: For the first while, you will be in survival mode, but please, don't stay there forever. 

Little did I know that the first year teaching would test all my philosophies and patience, as well zap all my energy. My after school activities included staring blankly at the computer screen and trying to summon the energy to drive home. 

Ten years later, you'd think I'd have it all figured out. Nope. With my days spent with crazy kindergarteners and my nights spent on book promos, I'm at my limit. Vegging nightly with Netflix, though tempting, isn't feasible. And since for several reasons I can't afford to live in Meltdown City, something must be done. So, this is my advice for me and anyone else in the same boat:

Treat yourself: Get a cupcake, get your toes done, go to dinner with a friend, catch a movie. Whatever. Just do something for yourself.

Talk to friends: Speak to someone about what's bothering you. They may be able to help or they may just listen, but connecting with another human makes the process so much more bearable. And Siri can't answer everything. Plus she kind of has a lot of attitude.

Don't rant on Social Media: I did recently post Consider yourself ranted. But that was about it. Ranting makes you look unprofessional and, frankly, unhinged. Slap on the happy face for online encounters and use the phone a friend option for venting. Plus your friends already know that you're crazy, so they won't judge.

Stay healthy: Admittedly I'm not staying healthy right now...but I'm trying to rest up, get out of work on time, and put my feet up. Hitting the gym a few times a week, eating your fruits and veggies, getting a full night's sleep, and taking your vitamins really does solve a lot of problems. And hey, just step away from the pan of brownies.

Find an outlet: Books, games, hobbies, music, writing/journaling, underwater basket weaving, etc. really help to freshen your mind and recharge your batteries. Even a few minutes a day/week will turn you into a proficient basket weaver. Seriously.

Ask questions: Don't shut yourself off from people who could be of help. Suck it up, ask them for what you need! There are no stupid questions, just the ones you're too stupid to ask, Big Dumby.

Take a night/day off: Pick your poison. Are you addicted to British television, 80s movies, or romcoms? Bring it. You deserve it. And things will run smoother if you take some time out every now and then.

Yes, life is hard. But will I give up, either on my day job or writing? No way. Uh-uh. Not happening. I'll keep it together, paste on my happy face, jump in with both feet, and only occasionally have a big girl meltdown and down way too much chocolate. It's all good. 

What do you do to survive the hard, crazy, busy times? Thanks for dropping in! 

Three, Two, One...Launch!

The best thing about being an author is getting into the community & interacting with readers. And hey, that's just what Becoming Beauty and I did at the Becoming Beauty Book Launch at Barnes & Noble!

First off, you should all know that I am THE PARTY GIRL. No, I don't go clubbing every night or attend uber shmancy soirées in my tiara (wouldn't that be fun!), but when there's a get-together to be gotten together, I'm your girl! Basically, my launch was like your regular girls' night, game night, movie night, or family night, but with the volume turned up. (And by that I mean extra amounts of awesomeness.)

My saving grace was the collection of friends and family who rallied around me. Sweet Julie helped me hunt down all the fun do-dads and must-haves I required for the occasion. My friend Raylynn helped me set up the event and stayed by my side during the whole Book Launch...except when she was roaming around Barnes & Noble passing out bookmarks. How cool is that? And my family claimed a corner of the store and camped out for most of the event which made me look uber popular. You've gotta love them!

Other than my face aching from all the grinning, there were no negative aspects of the Book Launch. I loved having my family and friends around to keep me normal. (Okay, relatively normal.) And I'm especially grateful for the kind soul who went on a beverage run in the middle. She knows who she is! And, as far as numbers go, we did very well for a first-time author doing a first-time signing.

Need tips for your author event? Here's what I'd say to someone planning an event:

Rely on fabulous people. 
Ask for help when you need it. 
Don't let anyone tell you no...unless they have a better plan. 
Use social media--it's the best tool you have for getting the word out quickly. Facebook reminds them about events they've been invited to and does all the nagging for you!
Put on your happy face! You are your brand. Look happy about it.
Thanks to all who jumped in to make this a successful event! Here's a little something extra. Just for you.

For the giveaway, I asked the question “What is your favorite fairytale? Why?” And the answers were hilarious. The Top Four Favorite Fairytales are:

#1 Beauty and the Beast: When I met my husband, I thought he was a Beast, but I was wrong.

#2 Cinderella: She gets the life and love in the end that was meant for her before her father died.

#3 The Little Mermaid: I LOVE mermaids! (This was from a youngster!)

#4 Rapunzel: because...HAIR!

It was fun to peruse the entries afterward and see much people love fairytales. However, I regret to inform participants that Spider-Man is not actually a fairytale. So, so sorry about that.

I'd love to hear about your favorite fairytales! Leave me a comment below! 

Becoming Beauty: On Tour!

The Great Blog Tour & Giveaway begins!

November 9th-26th Becoming Beauty has the pleasure of bouncing from blog to blog at a dizzying pace as well as hosting a giveway. (Luckily, I will be following its progress from home, where I can bite my nails in peace and pretend like I've done this before). A big thank you to all who are participating, either as blogger or readers. I appreciate your kind words, support, and all you have done to share Becoming Beauty with your friends.

Feel free to follow along, make comments on the posts, and spread the word! I know there's a smattering of random tidbits about yours truly which you'll enjoy reading along the way. Basically, it's going to be awesome!

Here's the fabulous lineup:

November 9: Jorie Loves a Story, Wondrous Reviews

November 10: R.K. Grow, I Love To Read and Review Books

November 11: A Casual Reader's Blog, Author Cindy C Bennett

November 12: Readalot, Literary Timeout

November 13: Getting Your Read On

November 14: Books Complete Me, The View From My Window

November 15: Misty Dawn Pulsipher, My Book Addiction & More

November 16: Jo Ann Schneider, Inklings and Notions

November 17: Katie's Clean Book Collection, My Book a Day

November 18: Bookworm Lisa (spotlight), Wishful Endings

November 19: Mel's Shelves, Lydia Thomas

November 20: A Backwards Story

November 21: Claudia Y. Burgoa, Bookworm Lisa (review)

November 22: Corinne's Garden

November 23: Enchanted by YA

November 24: Let It Be & Celebrate

November 25: Blooming with Books, Fire and Ice Reads

November 28: Reader Girls Blog, The Book Blog Experience

And bloggers and readers alike, don't miss out on the Blog Tour Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks again! I'm excited to see the process play out! If anyone else would like to host an Author Spotlight, Book Review, or Book Blitz, comment below or send me an email. Both Becoming Beauty and I would love to be guests on your blog as well!

Adventures in Kindergarten

Even in the middle of things like book releases, book tours, and author events, life goes on and so does my teaching career. In case you're wondering, yes, teaching is hard. But we're not gluttons for punishment. We have plenty of reasons why we do what we do. Here are a few of mine:

It's Getting Hot in Here...

“You may want to take your jacket off. It's gets pretty warm in here.”

Student just looked at me, so I explained, “You know, because I'm smokin'.”

He gave me a half smirk & went to hang up his jacket. From the hall I heard, “Miss Boucher's been smoking!”

So Creepy

A handyman was perched on a ladder working on something in the ceiling. He could only be seen from the waist down. Children passed by on their way to lunch.

“Whoa...” 

“That's creepy!”

Apparently they thought it was half a human hanging up there. I was too amused to correct them.

Any Questions?

 “Does anyone have any questions?” The unsuspecting student teacher asked. One child raises his hand.

“Yes?”

“What does the fox say? Ring a ding da ding da ding ding!”

Beer. On a Wednesday Morning

Feeling like she needs a burst of energy, the teacher cracked open a Diet Coke. “Teacher, is that your beer?” A student inquired innocently.

Astronaut

Let me preface this by saying that our school mascot is an Astronaut. Pictured on my school shirt, the children were trying to guess what it was one day. 

“It's a man!” one called out excitedly.

Being the helpful teacher I am, I gave them a clue. “It starts with aaaaa...” They look at me blankly. “Aaaaaa...” I cue them. "Sssss..."

One dude perks up. “Ass man!” Yes, my friend, I long to say. This is our school mascot, the ass man.

Big Baby

Kindergartners have a difficult time with numbered dot-to-dots. I'm not sure why, but they do. By the time I came to the aid of one student, he had connected 1, 3, 4, 5,  and 2. So I tried to help him understand. “So you're growing up. You're 3 years old, then 4, 5. Then you go back to 2? You're a baby again?”

That was apparently the wrong thing to say.

“I'm not a baby!” he blustered. “I'm a big baby!” 

Of course I didn't make fun of him. I was too busy laughing.  

My Hands Aren't Black

When you run cardstock through the industrial strength copier, the ink rubs off on your fingers. My students discovered this during an activity and made numerous comments about how their hands were turning black. 

One of the African American students piped up. “My hands aren't black.” 

No one responded so he said it again, more loudly. Still no response. 

So he repeated it again. “My hands aren't black! Because I'm already black!”

I had to walk away and laugh somewhere else.

* * *

I'd love to hear your silly kids moments. Leave me a comment below! And here's a little something extra, just for you.

Kid Definitions: 

Skunky: when something smells bad. 

Instinct: when you stink in your body.

Chummy: when something is super duper huggable (ex: a teddy bear).

Read more of my adventures in Kindergarten in It's Playtime! Closing Time, & The Start of Something Good. And poke around the site for news on Becoming Beauty. Thanks for dropping in!

Hippoty Hoppity Bloggity

Becoming Beauty is weeks from its release date! I'm living in a constant state of crazy ecstasy waiting for the blog tour, the release, and my book launch. However, while I'm twiddling my thumbs (not really), I'm happy to have the Blog Hop to distract me.

The baton was passed to me by the illustrious and incomparable Jo Ann Schneider (a.k.a. The Ninja Novelist). Jo writes a little bit of everything, from sassy Super Secret Agents to YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy, all of which is amazing, engaging, and fun. Pop over to her website to learn more about her. You won't regret it, she's hilarious.

Anyway, Jo invited me to participate in the Blog Hop and chat about myself and my current projects. And what writer would say no to that? (Also, saying no to Jo can be bad for your health. For a petite blonde, she packs a punch.) So, off we go!

What are you working on?

My current work in progress, like Becoming Beauty, is a twist on a fairytale classic. Twelve Dancing Princesses is less well known than Beauty and the Beast, but its story is nonetheless endearing. Recreating a tale about twelve sisters required the development of twelve distinct personalities (okay, eleven, because my identical twins are so identical no one can tell them apart). As you might imagine, this creates some interesting family dynamics. I consider Twelve my ensemble cast piece. The entire tale is told from a man's perspective. (I figured growing up with five brothers made me uniquely qualified for this project.) 

Here's a truly beautiful version of the traditional tale:

If I send some of you scurrying to bookshelves, libraries, or Google to familiarize yourself with the original tale, I'm happy!  Fairytales are powerful!

How does that differ from other works in the genre?

In life and literature, I always put a unique spin on things. In my stories, I'm adamant about creating a realistic setting where events in the story might have occurred. In the traditional fairytale--and in most of the rewrites I've read--the twelve princesses escape their father's watchful eye via magic to dance the night away in a fantastical underground land. However, in my tale, the sisters rely on their own wits to get out from under their father's thumb. Gifting the girls with the brains, sass, and sneakiness necessary to achieve this task was a lot of fun.

I added another element to the tale by expanding upon the kinship between Jonas (narrator/assistant to the head gardener) and Braden (obnoxious upstart/under gardener). There's something else concerning these two that's new, but *SPOILERS* you'll have to learn about that yourselves when it's released.

Why do you write what you write?

Quite simply, I'm a fairytale junkie. Since my girlhood I have been obsessed with all things fairytale, and after years of devouring Once Upon a Times, I crafted my own original fairy story in my teen years and I have never looked back. To read more about my obsession with fairytales and all things dorky, read Fan Fiction & Fairytales or Embracing the Fangirl Within where I explore these topics in more detail.

What's your writing process?

I admire writers who plot everything out beforehand. They have well-developed characters listed name, trait, and prominence in a character bible, an outline of events that will transpire in a specific sequence, and carefully plotted story and character arcs before they even sit down to write the first sentence.

I'll be honest. I only learned what half of those things meant after I landed my publishing contract. I'm the writer who sketches out characters and develops a basic idea. Then, I fly with it. I let the characters lead me where they will. This means that sometimes I write myself into a corner and have to delete or rewrite, but it also means that cool things pop up mid-story that I never would have expected. At the beginning, I'll never be able to tell you exactly what journey I'm sending my characters on, but I guarantee you'll have as much fun reading it as I did writing it.

That's it, my friends! Now I get to pass the baton to Misty Dawn Pulsipher, author of the modern Austenian classics Pride's Prejudice and Persuaded. Can't wait to see what she's working on!

* * *

To read more about Twelve, peruse Interlude in the Rose Garden featuring Jonas and Ariela, the eldest of the Twelve daughters. Following the links at the bottom of the post will send you to more excerpts of Twelve.

COLD III

Happy Halloween my lovelies! This picture seriously creeps me out. But if dolly had one chunk of hair left tied with a dodgy little bow, she'd be exactly what I pictured for Nanny's companion. 

And on that delightful note, on to the finale!

Creepy Old Ladies & Dolls

Part Three

                A hand patted his cheek. “Ben!” The urgency in the voice pulled him from the darkness that held him captive. “Ben, please wake up!” 

                The scent of her, homey and honey sweet, wafted over him. But the comforting aroma was tinged with something else. Smoke?  But his mother didn’t…Then it came to him. The fire. His eyes popped open to see his mother bent over him, her face twisted with concern. Red and blue lights flashed behind her.
                “Oh thank heavens!” she said, throwing her arms around him. “What happened?”

                Ben tried to piece things back together again. The interchange with the old woman. The doll.  The fire.  He pushed the words out. "Did she get out all right?"    

            “Who?” his mother asked, the concern deepening the faint lines around her eyes.“Was there someone with you?”
                “The woman...” he faltered.  “The old woman upstairs.”

                Her frown grew more grim, the look in her eyes a mixture of pity and worry.  “There was no one upstairs.”

                Ben wanted to explain what he meant, but his head was pounding so hard he could barely think. Something niggled at the back of his mind. Had his parents ever really referred to the old woman? He remembered thinking of her often throughout the years and longing to ask questions.  But every time he had brought her up, his parents changed the subject, always with that same concerned expressions.

                “The doll,” he muttered dazedly, looking around for it.

                “Do you mean this old thing?” His mother brought forward the tattered doll, pinching its pigtail between two fingers.

                “She...” he hesitated, unsure how his mother might react. “She called herself a nanny. She threw the doll out the attic window before she broke the lamp and started the fire.” 

                His mother glanced up at the narrow attic windows, the color draining from her face. Ben propped himself up and followed her gaze. Obviously, the fire had been contained quickly, but the shattered, blackened window testified of what had transpired.

                The next words out of his mother's mouth were so faint he barely heard them. “Nanny West,” she said softly.

                “Nanny West?” he repeated.

                His mother's eyes—fear flickering behind them—fixed on him. “When you were born, I was too ill to care for you, so we found a nursemaid. Her name was Isabel West.” She looked down at the doll still pinched between her fingers and laid it gingerly in her lap. “She was quite elderly, but she was a wonder with children and seemed particularly taken with you. When I recovered enough to take care of you, she became resentful and jealous.” Ben's mother fidgeted for a moment, smoothing the doll's dress and straightening the hair bow. Finally she lifted her eyes to meet Ben's again. “Her emotions became so erratic we were afraid of what she might do...take you away or harm you in some way.”

                “So you sent her away?” His mother confirmed the guess with a grim nod.

                It fit perfectly with what the old woman had said. Except for one thing. “Then why has she been living in our attic for all this time?”

                “She hasn’t.” Her voice wavered, devoid of its usual strength. “Isabel West has been dead for fifteen years.” 

                Shock ran through him like lightening. Ben turned his gaze back to the attic window.

                His mother cupped his cheek to draw his attention and he refocused on her face. 

                “All those times you told us you heard something upstairs, we didn’t believe you. We thought it was nothing more than an overactive imagination,” she explained.  “I never believed in ghosts, but if there was ever a woman determined to protect a child, it was Nanny West.”

                The statement hung in the air, worming its way more into Ben’s mind with each passing second.

                “How did she die?” he asked.

                His mother took a deep breath and released it slowly. “After she left us, she refused to take another job.  She retired to a small cottage on the outskirts of town, barricaded herself inside, and refused to see anyone.  One day they found her, dead in her own bed. Apparently she’d overdosed on something and passed away in the night.”

                “What about that?”  Ben nodded toward the doll sprawled in his mother's lap.

                “It was with her when she died,” she said, pressing her lips together, as if it that was all she would say on the matter.

                Ben narrowed his eyes, willing her to put into words whatever she had held back.  

                She dropped his gaze, shame creasing across her brow.  In a voice so small Ben barely heard it, she said the one thing that would haunt him for the rest of his life. 

                “It was buried with her.”

               

* * *

             

Thanks for reading! I'll admit I hate horror but I love suspense and mystery. A special thanks goes out to my dad for introducing me to both Alfred Hitchock and The Three Investigators and for my five brothers who regularly scared the pants off of me. Sometimes literally.

Did you get scared? I'd love to hear what you think! Read Parts One and Two again!