Authoress

2010-04-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

Me at the Tower of London. Obviously that's where I am.

Buckingham Palace...obviously. And my much too large purse!

Europe! yay!

2010-04-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Europe!

This is me in Merlin's Cave! You just can't get much cooler than that! (And um, obviously I was seeking King Arthur in Tintagel, England. He's my once and future husband after all.)

And Lochness with Pam!

Aaannndd here is the picture

2008-04-10T20:23:00.001-07:00

Here ya go

Herman's Hermits

2008-04-10T20:22:00.001-07:00

Erika and I at the Herman's Hermits concert...and the handsome the Cheat!

2008-04-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

More Pictures!

2008-04-05T18:08:00.001-07:00

For Natalie and Julene

2008-04-05T18:02:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't updated this blog in like...what...months? Here are some pictures for ya!

I am in love.

2007-11-14T20:23:00.001-08:00

Could MGM POSSIBLY be a more perfect park for me to work in???

This is just so necessary.

2007-11-14T20:19:00.000-08:00

How could anyone walk by a sign like THIS without stopping to take a picture???

This warms my heart

2007-11-14T20:17:00.000-08:00

Safety pins. Need I say more?

Kali River Rapids

2007-11-14T20:14:00.001-08:00

This is me and my friend Erika after we rode the Kali River Rapids in Animal Kingdom. Do not ride if you don't want to get wet. We're soaked.

THIS IS AWESOME

2007-11-14T20:04:00.000-08:00

I MET SAMANTHA BROWN AT MGM!!!

Can it get cooler than that??? :D Umm I am not smiling cuz I didn't realize the picture was being taken QUITE yet...but hey...it's awesome!

Pictures! Since apparently Natalie is bored with my blog

2007-11-07T19:20:00.000-08:00

I meant to put this picture up on my little Halloween post, but I couldn't find it!

Halloween...spooky!

2007-11-03T19:22:00.001-07:00

I know I haven't updated in awhile, but I've been busy. Things are going well here, even though I've been working a lot. I wasn't expecting to get Halloween off, so I didn't bother to get a costume, but I played in the parks!

MGM

2007-09-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about working at Disneyworld is that when you are bored, you get to go play at Disneyworld! My roommate Jennifer and I both had the day off, so we just went to MGM for a couple of hours. It's great that we have enough time to play that we can just roam the shops and take pictures. Outside of Star Tours they have a speederbike that naturally I had to take a picture on, (while eating an icecream cone, of course). And I thought of Dad when I saw this old car. :)

For All of You Non Believers

2007-09-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

If THIS isn't a dream come true...I don't know what is!

They do these pirate princess parties here, in which you get to dress up like a pirate or princess! Naturally this is where I met the love of my life, Jack Sparrow. (No, he is NOT a statue...he's a person, and he insisted on hugging me. Of course. We're engaged.)

I finally got my computer!!!

2007-09-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

So here I am in Orlando, Florida! Wahoo! I wonder if anyone still bothers to read this but...here is the view from my porch in my apartment! Yay! Isn't our fence gorgeous? We're secretly hoping that a gator will show up. If it does, we're naming it Joey. (I may or may not have screamed that on our porch...right...)

Well...

2007-07-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, yet again. Right now I am avoiding writing on my newest novel. I just can't seem to get *quite* into it. There isn't much to say. In about...21 days I am leaving for Florida! I'm excited, but not quite prepared for it yet. I need to sell my car first, and try to save more money. (I'm not sure which one is going to be harder...)

I finished Harry Potter Seven today! Twas quite good, but I'm afraid I cried in a certain moment in the story. It's a little sad that it's over, but I'm sure JK Rowling is quite relieved.

Natalie Told Me That I Never Update My Blog

2007-06-08T20:39:00.000-07:00

So here I am! I just don't lead the most interesting life, I suppose. I far prefer to write the lives of others, thus I am a born author!

I kept telling Mandy that she was going to have her baby on my birthday, and she tried her hardest, but only managed to have her the day after. I can accept that. The baby, Miriam, is beautiful and I THINK has Mandy's nose. And is so good at playing "Happy baby" "Angry baby."

Naturally.

She's also a brunette, so naturally MUST be prettier than any other babies. :D

I keep trying to convince mother and father to visit me in Disneyworld, I think Mom really wants to, but Dad does't like Disneyland very much.

You should try to help me, Natalie! :D

My FAVORITE character at Disneyland!

2007-05-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

It's about time they made Jack a character.

Unforunately, my best picture of Johnny.

2007-05-21T17:52:00.001-07:00

This is sad, I called out to him to turn so I could take a picture, he did, and I didn't have my flash on!

More reasons to take Nicholas to visit me in Florida!

2007-05-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

:DMater and Lightning McQueen!

I look horrificly fat, but Nicholas and Junior would appreciate this photo

2007-05-21T17:33:00.001-07:00

Um yeah

Well I haven't updated in awhile

2007-05-21T17:24:00.000-07:00

I just got back from California, we went to Disneyland for the Pirates 3 premiere. Unfortunately, we didn't go in early enough to get good spots, so we were at the end of the red carpet. They rushed Johnny and Orlando past us, (but I got their pictures and autographs last year at least!) And, um, well, I forgot to turn on my flash for my camera so not very many of my pictures turned out. :(

But here is a somewhat blurry one I thought Natalie might appreciate. He IS the father of Nicholas, after all. (Lex Luther) (Got HIS autograph at least)

The Trouble With Finals

2007-04-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

The reading is boring. I am waiting for my hook for my book to be critiqued. I'd rather be reading The Shadow Rising. I have no study guide to follow. My hook should be critiqued within the next seven minutes but it probably won't be. Ugh. Pam, Ron, and I just made up a poem together that would stir the soul if I could remember every line about Mike, the trike, and the hike.

Waiting

2007-04-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

Well I am STILL waiting for my hook to be critiqued. Today is the deadline, and it hasn 't gone up. It seems like all of the OTHERS have. Hmph. I should be studying for my final, but instead I am fretting. And watching Deal or No Deal. It is my goal in life to go on that show. I especially want to go on when they do the 100 million dollar show! :D I could do a lot with a 100 million dollars.

Right now I am trying to tell the greedy lady to take the freakin deal, it's $139,000 dollars!!! But for some reason, she can't hear me.

Ooh she took it! Mommy was yelling too. 'Tis a stessfull show.

My Hook!.

2007-04-13T15:49:00.000-07:00

Well this isn't very good, but I sent it into the contest anyway. This is what a hook is, my darling brunette. Well this is my hook.

Rachel Christensen, professional Damsel in Distress, has dedicated her life to the training of heroes through the art of self endangerment. Her first mission takes place on Alentan, a world just beginning its age of legends. Her potential hero, prince Cedric, seems destined to introduce harems to his country, Talera. He is barely interested in sword play, he leaves ruling to his Lords Council, and believes that the grass is always greener when it comes to women.
It is Rachel’s responsibility to make him a legend.

Rachel gives Cedric opportunities to rescue her, but begins to feel foolish because she would be better off saving herself. She avoids interacting with him to prove that not all women find him irresistible. Cedric is flattered by her elaborate ploy to get his attention, and is convinced of her high regard for him. He begins to pursue her. Rachel tries to lose his interest by besting him in fencing. Cedric is intrigued by her abilities and requests that she teach him. She agrees, realizing that it is the first step toward making him a hero.

Prince Cedric proves to be a capable student and good listener when he forgets his own greatness. He takes Rachel’s ideas for ruling Talera seriously. He is almost willing to give up his womanizing ways, for her. Rachel struggles with her conscience, wondering if it is right to use his attraction to her as a method for training. She cannot help but question if she is actually doing him a favor by turning him into the kind of hero that legends are made from.
The greater the hero, the greater the villain.
***

Still Avoiding Hook Writing (Also Known as St George!)

2007-04-11T19:37:00.000-07:00

At the very last minute, right before the second block of spring semester, I decided to take a class. The class is called Introduction to Adventure. I thought it would be fun. We are only in lecture every other week. Our first outing was snow shoeing. (That took a LOT of work!) The next thing we did was rock climbing. That was scary. But not as scary as I thought it would be, I would do it again. We went to the ropes course. That was scary.

Scariest of all...was a weekend in St George.

We decided to camp at the Redcliff's in St George. On Easter weekend. Naturally, no camping spots were open. All we did at Redcliff's was hike. I had to climb across a mountain WALL to get to the other side of the trail. My poor classmates had to talk me through it as I freaked out. (They're Rec Majors, I'm an English Major. There is a difference.)

But the most FRIGHTENING of all....

We camped on BLM ground. No facilities. Boys in the group, no bathrooms. Thank goodness we stopped at a gas station the next morning. I never much thought of myself as a city girl until that moment. I like facilities. I like to shower. I like to feel safe and secure. I could never do a week long backpacking trip where you can't wash your hair. Ugh.

Hook

2007-04-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

Well I am working on writing a hook for my newest novel. The problem is, I have only written thirty pages so far. But there is a hook writing contest going on this weekend, and I could really use the practice. Heck, if I could write a good one for a book that is only thirty pages long, hopefully when it is finished I won't have any problems at all. (Yeah, right.)

I think it is almost easier to write a book than it is a hook or a query letter. The book can be 100,000 words, a hook shouldn't be more than a hundred. One would THINK that the shorter work would be easier. Right. I guess it must be in a writer's nature to be long winded. Or at least a writer like me.

I don't know why I wait until two days before the contest deadline to begin writing. It's pretty much the only way to force myself to work on it, I suppose.

I'm also not sure why I have three blogs when I can barely manage to update this one. If it weren't for my beautiful, dedicated reader, I probably wouldn't work on it at all. If a hook wasn't necessary for finding an agent, I wouldn't write that either.

Sigh.

I think I have gone through at least fifteen writes, rewrites, deletions, and desertions. If I had to do that with the actual book, I'd quit writing completely.

Ugh.

I'm writing on this blog to avoid hook writing. I created a new blog to avoid hook writing. I'm watching American Idol to avoid hook writing.

Morte De Arthur

2007-03-31T20:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it happened again. I read my Guinevere trilogy, and in the end, Arthur died. While I was reading the final chapter my sister Pam kept asking me if he was dead yet and if I was crying. This severely interrupted my reading! And, when I hit the ending, and the tears came, I hid it with the book.

I don't know why I put myself through this. Pam pointed out to me that I am fully aware that he dies, and I always know when it's about to happen. (Even if it's a new Arthurian series I discover) She likes to skip the parts in books she knows will make her cry. For some reason I can't do that with this trilogy. The writing is so intriguing, so beautiful, I keep reading anyway. My writing has been influenced more by Persia Woolley's Guinever trilogy than any other books I have read. Her insights to characters and the human spirit is amazing, and it is my goal to reflect it in my own.

I want to make myself cry and have Pam laugh at me. (I wonder if it would be more pathetic if it is my own character, whose death I plotted myself, and I sob over it. Hmm.)

I'm considering tossing short story parts around this blog, not necessarily anything I intend to sell, but use it as a way to get the words out of some of my less normal ideas. We'll see.

TheCheat

2007-03-28T17:32:00.000-07:00

Sisterhood of the Traveling the Cheat

2007-03-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that I have apparently done nothing interesting since September of last year, I DID invest in thecheatnapping. Consequently I, and my friends, fell in love with the little guy. He's so handsome, we were depressed to return him. My only hope is that Ben treats him a little better, but so far, it looks unlikely. :(

You remind me of the babe

2007-03-28T16:52:00.000-07:00

Well this isn't a well updated blog. I guess I haven't done anything interesting since September of last year. Right now I am reading the end of a Guinever trilogy, (for the third or is it fourth time?) and am depressed that Arthur is about to die. It is my goal in life to find an Arthurian novel where he DOESN'T die. Maybe I'll have to write one and keep it happy.

My sister Julene has promised to me that I can raise her first child when it turns sixteen IF she and Gabe have to move to Japan and it doesn't want to go. Or that her niece Makenna doesn't want to raise it. Then it can be MINE. This is our formal contract. I will never forget.

Pam and Julene are watching Full House right now with adoring eyes. I am horrified.

Still attempting...

2006-09-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

Still attepmting pictures...for profile. Not sure between this one and the waiting for Mr. Depp...who I DID find...and took this picture!

I'm in love.

Trying to upload a picture

2006-09-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

I think this is how you do it...so I am trying! This is me standing in front of the Black Pearl while on a quest to find Johnny Depp.

Saturday

2006-09-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well I guess since this is my first post I should probably introduce myself. I am twenty three years old, the fifth of a family of seven children, and single. I am currently a student at Utah Valley State College studying creative writing. I love country music and broadway.

I just finished a fantasy novel and am stressing out over query letters. This is quite fun. (Really.)

This week is looking to be horribly long and busy, as I am helping with my sister's wedding on Saturday. I can't wait until the 9th. Really not sure what else to say at the moment, so I'll just stop here!