What's Up Wednesday- March 19th


Cyborgs, Shiny New Ideas & Excuses to play with Caracals


What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what's up.  Should you wish to join, check out Jaime's or Erin's lovely blogs and sign up with the link widget at the bottom of the post.


WHAT I'M READING
A lot of you fine people have recommended the CINDER series. And since you have excellent taste, I clickedy clicked it onto my Kindle. (before I even read the cover copy) Okay, confession time...I had no idea from this cover that it had cyborgs in it. Does this look like a cyborg cover to you? (Well, if you look closely it's a "duh moment", but on a teeny thumbnail...I missed it) Had I known, I might have been unfairly biased against it, because though I like really good Sci fi, there is a lot of not-so-good Sci fi out there. I'm so glad I'm an unobservant idiot, because I'm really enjoying the book so far.

Also, I made one tiny disparaging comment against robots and my Kindle went on the fritz. Coincidence?...I think not. Word to the wise, don't insult robots in front of your Kindle. You will be stuck reading about them on your phone, which is not annoying AT ALL.


WHAT I'M WRITING

So I have a lot of big goals for the YA Buccaneers  Spring Writing Bootcamp , but I'm the kind of person that when I find myself in a giant hole, I keep digging, because there's got to be some treasure in here somewhere, right?

Right. 

So I added a goal. Because shiny new ideas are SHINY.

Plot New Book: Boy Chris and I have decided to write a book together. Well, I'm doing the actual writing part, but we're doing all the plotting and planning together. And it's so fun. We're basically writing the book we want to read.
In case you don't know the cuteness that is Caracal kits
Their "meow"sounds like a little mini roar. "Rwaarr"

The working title is SKINSWITCH. It's got Chimera, it's got star-crossed lovers, it has betrayal and one seriously creepy bad guy!! What more could you want?! Though Boy Chris wants it to be written from about 14 different POV's...including some animals.*facepalm* Because you take two insane Biologists and that's what you get.

But, on the plus side, it means we might just have to hang out at the Big Cat Animal Sanctuary down the road and spend some time with Caracal kittens...for RESEARCH. *happy dance*



WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO 

Oooh boy, since last week? What have I been up to... *taps chin*

  • I've been hand-dying scarves for spring. Because I really needed another project that turns my hands permanently blue and green. 
  • Restoring our hammock. (Because it turns out when you buy 2 acres, you have to actually MAINTAIN 2 extra acres) So we're planting hundreds of ferns, and coral honeysuckle, and transplanting moss and orchids, etc.etc.
  • Making crazy stuff for my Etsy shop. I love it that I can now watch movies while making stuff and it's called "working". (i.e. this Marie Antoinette ensemble is brought to you in part by The Brothers Bloom and a generous grant from the Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) *grin* (still hoping to make my deadline for the London photoshoot)
  • Kayaking/exploring new areas to add some cool new trips to our EcoTour offerings
  • Playing my guitar out on the grass and eating copious amounts of mango. (Mango is a food group. Don't argue, it's Science.)

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW 

"Rwaaarrr"

'nuff said.





21 comments:

  1. I love when you share about your artistic projects, Kris. You should post photos of the scarves you're dying. I bet they're beautiful! Also, I own a signed copy of CINDER, but I haven't not even cracked it open. Cyborgs do nothing for me. But, I keep hearing that all of the books in that series are amazing. Perhaps I need to get over my bias. :-) Have a great week, lady!

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    1. I guess I should post pics (since you asked so nicely) :) I should post pictures of my hands too, because they were GREEN for 3 days. Everyone thought I did it on purpose for St. Patrick's Day. Ummm...no. Just normal me being normally insane. Crazy art projects indeed.

      And I'm with you on the whole cyborg thing. But I must say, I am really enjoying the book. I'm really glad I didn't know going in.

      Hope you have an amazing week too! xo

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  2. That animal POV sounds great :-))) Hand-dying scarves sounds like lots of fun! And I have to check out your Etsy store!
    Have a wonderful week :-)

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    1. Thanks! That vote of confidence is well, confidence building. I miiiight try his idea. Worst case scenario, it's terrible and no one but us ever reads it. Best case scenario, he's right and it turns out awesome. What the heck, right?

      Hope your week is marvelous too!

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  3. Wow, your project sounds so cool! Collaborating on a writing project sounds like it could be a lot of fun. Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks, it has been a ton of fun. *pets caracal kitties*

      Hope your week is great too! :)

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  4. That's so fun that you're going to be working on a book with your husband! Those Caracal kittens are so cute! Happy plotting. :)

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    1. Thanks Ghenet! It has been a ton of fun! Plotting and planning are my favorite parts. Maybe someone can pay me to just come up with lots of book ideas, instead of you know, finishing my edits. *wishes on magic 8 ball*

      Hope you have a great week!

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  5. Uh oh. It's starting. The machines are taking over and they've sent out the foot soldiers (your Kindle among them). LOL :P I'm so happy you're enjoying CINDER. That series is one of my favourites. I was a little thrown off by the cyborg thing at first, but it really wasn't off-putting in the end, so that's good.

    I love that you and Boy Chris are plotting a story together! I've often wondered if my husband, Todd, would ever be interested in helping me plot a story. We'd probably end up killing each other. The Caracal kittens are adorable! I'd spend all my time researching by their enclosure. Have a great week, Kris!

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    1. Who knew I would start the Robot Wars, right?! And yes, Cinder pulled me in so much that I've been totally slacking today because of it. (Don't tell)

      And I'll let you know if I kill Boy Chris after trying to write 14 POV's. *grin*

      Hope you have a great week too! :)

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  6. I also want to see pictures of the scarves! And I had to laugh at the cyborg comment in front of the Kindle. haha... Cinder is pretty accessible sci-fi as I've found with just about every YA book I've picked up labeled that; it's really more fantasy and very light on the sci fi. I'm listening to the second book in the series on audio book.

    Also laughed at the 14 POVs, and this is the third time I've heard in a short amount of time someone mention writing from an animal POV. A writer in my group said she'd made every newbie mistake out there "except writing and animal POV." and I laughed. But this is actually a thing? And not in kids books I mean. Wow, funny.

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    1. Hah! I know. I can't decide if the animal POV's would be brilliant in this MS or a complete disaster. He's usually right about things like that, so I might have to give it a whirl. *crosses fingers* *closes eyes*

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  7. *pets kitties*

    Don't feel bad, I didn't realize from the cover what CINDER was about either.

    Yay for book projects with Boy Chris! Sounds fun :)

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    1. Oh good, I'm not the only one. Funny enough, the red high heel kept me from picking it up too. I'm glad I finally did though, because it was really good.

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  8. You live down the road from a Big Cat Animal Sanctuary?! Seriously, I'd be there everyday. Those Caracal kits have to be some of the cutest things I've ever seen.

    Your writing process with Boy Chris totally cracked me up. Fourteen points of view would make for a unique story. It's so fun that you two are working on a writing project together!

    I hope you enjoy CINDER. I just finished CRESS, the third in the Lunar Chronicles, and loved it. They're some pretty creative fairy tale retellings while very much being their own stories too. Have a super week, Kris!

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    1. I do. The Big Cat Animal Sanctuary is biking distance from my house. It's a neat place. I should post a couple of their videos on my blog. They have some funny ones. My faves are "Big Cats Like Boxes Too" where they give tigers and leopards big cardboard boxes to play with. (The caracal just jumps in it & settles down like a queen). My other favorite is, "Big Cats with Mirrors". Hilarious.

      And I really did enjoy Cinder. Devoured it in a day. That's the only bad part about good books, I get nothing else done. :)

      Hope you have a great week too!

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  9. Another person doing the YA bootcamp? I wish I knew about that before it. It sounds awesome and sounds like you're doing really well :)

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    1. It's not to late to do YA Bootcamp. It runs 'till May. Yay! You should definitely check it out. The motivation factor is off the charts. :)

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  10. OMG those little kitty babies…they look like the cutest, most wannabe-ferocious creatures ever. SO CUTE.

    I found CINDER a really fun read--haven't gotten around to the others in the series so far, but I plan on it one day. The idea of a cyborg Cinderella=genius.

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    1. I know! I want to take them all home with me. Ferocious little adorableness. "Rwaar"

      I'm going to have to check out the other books in the series too!

      Hope you have a great week! :)

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  11. Ooh, Etsy shop! I have one, too :)
    In fact, I'll be making some spring things for it later today, after a little writing. It's a combo of the two Best Jobs Evah.
    Good luck with the new writing project! My husband and I have written a few screenplays together, but he is not a novel guy. He would like to be, but he looks at the word count on my manuscripts, and gets a little light headed.

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