AWESOME – Page 5 – Abigail Mumford

…can anyone hear it?

life, both offline and on, can feel lonely. you’re putting yourself out there and getting little to no feedback over and over and over and over until…

BAM.

an unexpected comment changes things.

in the midst of complaining about the massive annoyance and hideously cumbersome interface that is overdrive (the software program all libraries use to allow their patrons to download audio and e-books), a friend, (hi, E!) unleashed two facts i immediately locked up in the treasure box of my heart.

(1) she said she thought of me when she signed up for the library. (i am so proud of her! especially since she can use overdrive and i cannot figure that jank out. trust me. i’ve tried four different times over the course of many years.)

(2) the books she was borrowing from the library? THE HUNGER GAMES. THE SCORPIO RACES. how’d those books get on her TBR list? this very blog.

be still my heart.

from time to time she has referenced my blog before, but with an insanely packed schedule, she only has time to read my words, not comment too.

i will ALWAYS be grateful my words (any words) are read, even if i don’t know so, but as the creator, the silence toys with my memory and it’s easy to forget my words were/are ever heard. in the quiet, it’s easy to think my sentences and paragraphs and posts are falling in the forest with no one around to hear them or their echoes.

as it turns out, someone was in that forest scooping up my thoughts and opinions and pondering what i’ve said, and, with those two tiny offline comments, left me a trail of breadcrumbs.

*follows trail*

snOMG

February 12, 2013February 11, 2013 abby mumford

the weathermen were proven right and the city, the state, the region fell silent, quiet in the way only a heavy snowfall elicits, as we paused to take stock of what mother nature was capable of.

the loneliness piled up as high and fast as the snowflakes.

i checked on my (multiple) devices, charging those that needed it and braced for the power to go out when my phone flashed an incoming email at me. it was an amazon gift from a twitter friend, but i wasn’t expecting or anticipating it, so i flipped over to twitter to follow the trail of bread crumbs.

you see, wendy was holding a timely (and wicked generous) giveaway of her book FROSTED and she had one more copy left.

enter: jessica lemmon (author of TEMPTING THE BILLIONAIRE) who saw wendy’s tweet and spoke up for my frosty behind. just like that, i was the proud new owner of an e-book, but way more importantly, my loneliness dissipated. the twitter community warmed me as if i was sitting in front of a fire on the hearth. all i needed now were s’mores.

when the snow stopped sometime late the next afternoon, i figured i’d end the indoor isolation by tackling this:

before — i hope i’m about to dig out the right car…

in the midst of what ended up being a two hour task, i was passed by 7 plow trucks, 10 cars (driving ban, what?) and countless people. a father, mother, son, and their dog stopped to chat.

father: you’re doing an excellent job.

me: oh, thank you! it’s certainly taking long enough.

mother: do you have a [town] parking sticker?

me: yup.

mother: you know you can park your car in one of two garages during a snow emergency, don’t you? then you wouldn’t have to do this!

me: oh, yes, i sort of knew that, but hey, this is good exercise, right?

father: indeed. keep up the good work.

i did have more work in front of me, but with the sense of community warming my veins, the shovel felt lighter and less burdensome.

and now, to keep the good times rolling, i’m going to pay it forward. since i can’t offer to shovel your sidewalks, i’m going to give away a digital copy of wendy’s FROSTED and jessica’s TEMPTING THE BILLIONAIRE to two lucky people who comment below. that’s it. there are no other rules. go forth and join my community by commenting!

the winners will be announced on friday february 15th. stay tuned.

book club

BOOK HUNGRY: tempting the billionaire

December 27, 2012December 27, 2012 abby mumford

who says you have to be crowded into the living room, kitchen, and/or dining room to hold a book club? we are ladies of the 21st century. we don’t need no stinkin’ couches. so pull up a blog and join in the conversation.

the members of the BOOK HUNGRY are (alphabetically): patty blount, kelly breakey, karla nellenbach, and myself. we pick a book to read. we discuss via email/phone. we post a review on our individual blogs the 3rd thursday of the month OR, well, we used to all post reviews. now, i think, it’s just patty and me. but anyways, go for it. click on their names above and if they have a review up, it’ll take you to there. enjoy.

this month’s BOOK HUNGRY selection is:

TEMPTING THE BILLIONAIRE by jessica lemmon

what it’s about from amazon:

Crickitt Day needs a job . . . any job. After her husband walks out on her, she’s determined to re-build her life and establish a new career. When swoon-worthy billionaire Shane August hires her as his assistant, she jumps at the chance to prove herself. Despite her growing attraction to her boss, she vows to keep things strictly professional. No flirting. No kissing. Definitely no falling in love…

Shane August is all business, all the time. He’s a self-made man who’s poured his heart and soul into his company, and he’d never allow himself to get involved with an employee. Then he hires sweet, sexy Crickitt-and he can’t keep his mind or his hands off her. But no matter how much he wants Crickitt, Shane fears that painful secrets from his past will always come between them. With fate working against them, can these two lonely hearts learn that sometimes mixing business with pleasure is the perfect merger?

my opinion:

this was a very special edition of BOOK HUNGRY because (1) i know the author (well, loosely. i know her from twitter), (2) i read the book in one day, the day after i got back from india and was supremely jet lagged, (3) jessica joined our conference call and gave us insider tips (on where the idea came from, the characters’ names, and which scenes got cut and which elaborated) and she was generally as lovable as her characters, and (4) i got a super-dee-duper secret copy.

basically, it was all mission impossible and once i read it, my device blew up. well, loosely. not blow up in the KABOOM kind of way, but definitely in the bow-chicka-wow-wow kind of way.

you guys, i admit it, i was nervous about this book. i REALLY wanted to like it because i REALLY enjoy jessica on twitter, but i had to read it in one day and when i could barely see straight from all that jet lag? yup. me. nerves.

but, as with most things, i was worrying for no reason at all.

the awesome cover opened to even more awesome things inside. it was realistic! funny! charming! sweet! and the ending (specifically the very last line) was spot on. i’ve been on the lookout for really good endings lately because it seems most books end quietly and normally, but TEMPTING THE BILLIONAIRE (and GONE GIRL for that matter) nailed it. they both contained genius endings that left me inordinately pleased.

this book did not disappoint and in fact, even turned a bit of the romance genre on its head. it’s absolutely worth a read.

jessica’s had a wild ride from the selling of her book to the rapid release of it (we all know publishing’s not known for its quick turnarounds) and folks, let me tell you, this is one ride you want to get on. it comes out on january 8th (a FANTASTIC DAY if i do say so myself), so make sure to get thyself a copy.

feelings

ears vs. eyes

November 13, 2012November 13, 2012 abby mumford

in the midst of all the writing i’ve been doing this month, i’ve also done a fair amount of reading, correction: listening.

i was first introduced to audiobooks by my parents during long drives to visit this relative or that one. i was re-introduced to them when i started making my own long drives to/from boston. it’s an odd thing, these audiobooks, because i tend to look for different things in an audiobook than i normally do for one i’m going to read.

it’s my ears vs. my eyes.

usually, my ears like fast paced action packed novels because they deliver tension and intrigue and it’s helpful in keeping this driver alert. my eyes on the other hand also like that type of book, but they can handle slower paced things, more lyrical, more sensual, more fantastical.

and then there’s maggie stiefvater and THE SCORPIO RACES (which has quickly become one of my favorite all time books ever). it’s a pure delight in both forms.

and so when her newest book THE RAVEN BOYS came out this fall, i was eager to dive into it. it’s the start of a planned four book series and as such the depth of the book is intense and the pace is rather slow, as is worthy of a book setting up a new world and all the characters involved.

i had a hard time getting into it.

until adriana said she was listening to and loving the audiobook. i decided to give it a try and for whatever reason, it clicked. “reading” the book in this audible medium changed my perspective. the pace isn’t slow, it’s creepy and winding and lingering and just right. the depth of the book felt like uncharted scuba diving territory instead of drowning.

the narrator’s voice makes the characters come alive, feel closer, and fill your head.

i’m in heaven.

it’s also given me time to get my “reading” in at different points (aka walking around town) than normal because this month isn’t normal and i don’t have much free time but i also can’t do without reading for an entire month. this way, i’m having my cake and eating it too.

and so with maggie’s words filling my ears and rolling around in my head, it’s made my own words and stories smarter, better, more exotic. thank you, maggie for your wonderful imagination. thank you, adriana for suggesting the audiobook. thank you, will patton, the amazing narrator of THE RAVEN BOYS.

have you ever read a book and not liked it, but then gone to another medium (movie or audiobook) and liked it? or vice versa? if you like a book, do you like it in all forms or are your tastes more specific? how are you today? (i’m just trying to poke you all into commenting. say anything! say nothing other than hi. or good luck or whatever floats your boat. we’re all aiming for high word counts this month. ha.)

writing

writing retreat

October 23, 2012October 23, 2012 abby mumford

i’d heard of these things where a bunch of writers travel to a specific locale and do nothing* but write. i’m not entirely sure how i got (a) the label “writer” and (b) an invite to rockport, MA, but i did and i was and i accepted both.

after a weekend of words, i find myself only left with these:

IT. WAS. AWESOME.

and here are these: