Purrsonal Thursdays: For the love of . . .

 

Since Valentine's Day is around the corner, I've decided to talk about love. Of books and reading.

There is a lot of debate over paper books and e-books. Whether you like flipping through the pages in front of a fire or basking in the glow of your Kindle Fire, readers like to read, so what's up with the format hate/love?

To be honest, I love reading on my Kindle Fire. It's convenient. I can hold thousands of books within my fingertips. I can get a book instantly. And it's much easier to eat a meal and keep reading on my Fire.

Paper books are nice too. You can flip through pages and skip to the end much easier. You can make these cute book hearts (like the picture above). The cover art can be very pleasing to see on bookshelves. I get that.

I don't get the book smellers out there, though. Think of the germs, people! After you've been a librarian, the only way you want to touch a book is after it's been disinfected. Seriously. Trust me on this one. Do you know what cats like to do to books? Sit on them. You're breathing in cat butt. And don't get me started on little kids. I just wanted to read The Spiderwick Chronicles and I got the stomach flu from those books. So, yeah, think before you press your face against a book.

That aside, I do love books because I love reading. That's what I really love. I love sitting there and falling in love with a story and characters. I want to be swept away to a different world.

Isn't that what is really important? No matter how you read a story, it's the story you remember, not the format.

That's what I love.

Purrsonal Thursdays: Breaking up Is Hard to Do

 

Breaking up Is Hard to Do

I decided it was time for a break up last week. We weren't working out. I tried. I really did. I wanted it to work. We'd been trying to stay together since last year. We would gain some headway, and then everything would change. It was such a love-hate relationship. So, on Friday, I realized I was done. I couldn't go on any more. Perhaps we can remain friends, but not right now. We need time apart. A lot of time. Months, maybe a year or two. It's both our faults and this is for the best.

Mock cover

I'm talking about my novel Virtuoso. I wrote that novel for NaNoWriMo 2009. Off and on last year and off and on most of this year, I tried rewriting it. The first ten chapters are pretty good, but it was falling apart after that. I didn't love the story any more. Nadia wasn't the same. I wasn't the same. I realized in order to fix the story I either had to take out the paranormal elements, which would make it a completely different story, or take out Derek. Right now, I'm just too tired of it. Maybe one day I'll take those first ten chapters and continue from there without Derek. The middle and the ending would be different in a lot of places. The novel will probably be more novella-length, but it could work. We just need time apart, though.

Mock Cover

So now I went back to my first love: The Phoenix Prophetess. I read through it on Friday-Sunday and realized how much I loved it. My passion was reignited. I can't wait each day to work on it. I have a month to edit/polish it, but I can do it. I want to do it. I should've worked on it instead of Virtuoso, but I heard first novels rarely do well. Oh, the writing is a bit rough, but the story is sound and exciting. Oh, gods, seriously, this story is so awesome. I started The Phoenix Prophetess on January 15, 2009 and I finished the first draft on September 15, 2009. Two years later and I'm editing it, loving it.

I don't know what will happen when I pitch The Phoenix Prophetess at the James River Writers Conference in October, but I feel in my heart that I made the right decision. Whatever happens, The Phoenix Prophetess is the novel I want to represent me as a writer. I'm proud to put my name on it.

Breaking up may be hard to do, but sometimes it really is for the best.

Have you broken up with a story before?