Tag: words

general

i haz no words…

abby mumford

…so here, read theirs:

WRITING ADVICE by janice hardy. seriously, everything she says is this “AHA! LIGHTBULB! IS THAT YOU, OPRAH?” moment. the only downside is that she posts so frequently, i find it hard to find the time to read every post because each one deserves to be read with a fine tooth comb. or with a pen and paper for notes. or with a glass of wine. you know, how ever you roll. (also? her books are so so fun. THE SHIFTER and BLUE FIRE.)

HILARITY by allie. this is seriously funny business.

THE SPACE BETWEEN by lauren miller. a post i’ve linked to before but i’m linking to it again because i can’t stop thinking about it. it usually crosses my mind as i glance at the clock which reads 2:15am, 3:27am, 4:12am, 5:34am, etc.

CONVERSATIONS WITH STRANGERS. i came across this blog from her other tumblr site: HGRB. that is a lighthearted blog and perhaps this one started as one too, but it’s evolved into something more. she says this started as a way to combat her shyness and i must say, it’s working. she comes across as confident, witty, and interesting. plus, she always manages to say so much more than just what she writes in each short post. this is a read between the lines keeper!

READING RECOMMENDATIONS by michelle hodkin. a lot of buzz is swirling about michelle’s upcoming novel THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER and while i’ve read the first chapter (and sufficiently scared myself), but aside from all that, i’ve had a few interactions with her on twitter and she is awesome. not to mention yesterday she was giving away free book recommendations (based on the last 3 books you’ve read) in the comments section of the post. her point was that we should all break out of our reading habits. re-reading the comments section is a great way to add to your own TBR list.

this is what my life feels like right now.

anything else YOU’D like to add?

book club

BOOK HUNGRY: natural born charmer

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, vanessa noble, alyson peterson, cynthia reese, elizabeth ryann, and myself. here’s the deal. we pick a book to read. we discuss via email. we post a review on our individual blogs on the same day (3rd thursday of the month). we link to each other. done. i know, genius. click on each one of their names (above) and it’ll take you to their review. browse. enjoy.

this month’s BOOK HUNGRY selection is:

NATURAL BORN CHARMER by susan elizabeth phillips

the title is accurate as this book IS a natural born charmer. i read it in one sitting, or rather, one laying down. i woke up early one weekend (someone tell me why that always happens? the one day i can sleep in and i pop awake at 7am. not ok.) and had nothing on the agenda and ended up devouring this book. i am so grateful for mornings like that.

i hadn’t read anything by susan elizabeth phillips before (or at least from what i remember), but it appears i’ve been missing out. this book was chock full of characters, but each one was individualistic, unique, funny, memorable, and all around awesome. this was the exact book i needed to be reading because all i wanted to do was escape from reality.

i mean, watching blue bailey and dean robillard try to resist falling in love was as charming as their personalities were, which is to say, a lot.

in addition to everything else genius inside (the pacing, the characters, the romance!), this book made me laugh out loud. case in point: “But, even so, he blasted enough heterosexual mega-wattage to light up the entire female population. Which he’d undoubtedly been doing since he shot out of the birth canal, glimpsed his reflection in the obstetrician’s eyeglasses, and gave the world a high five.” (pg. 21)

don’t bother trying to resist, just pick it up and read it!

p.s. sister J, this book reminded me of childhood when you’d check out stacks of romance novels from the library and i’d sneak them out of your room. thanks again for sharing! i was always too embarrassed to check them out…..but now, i proudly proclaim, viva la romance novel!

p.p.s. join us next month as we tackle my choice: THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by jandy nelson.

//

feelings

the princess & the space shuttle

abby mumford

i was trolling through twitter looking for blog ideas. adriana suggested i write more book reviews, which triggered an idea, but before i could get into the office to write that post that idea was obliterated.

let’s back up a minute. once upon a time…

*the sun rises* *an alarm clock screams* *abby wakes to an overcast, but not yet rainy, day*

somehow, despite the gloomy morning and late bedtime the previous night, i manage to finish my morning routine 20 minutes ahead of schedule. (i know! great day, right?) i skip out the door and head to the bus stop. i’m almost there when i see the shuttle pull up (note: i like to call it the shuttle because it makes me think i’m boarding a spaceship and isn’t that infinitely more interesting than a bus? yup, i work on mars.) so i’m at the intersection and have the stop lights working for me, but still, the shuttle revs its jet engine and i’m forced to make a mad dash (frogger style) across the street.

i catch it.

as i hop on, i see the little girl who’s often on the same bus. she looks at me, grins, and turns to her father. “look, it’s the princess.”

her father laughs. “i guess you’re a princess,” he says.

“only on thursdays,” i say.

this little girl, who is between the ages of two and three, and i, we’ve never spoken, only exchanged smiles, so i’m not sure where she got this idea from. but hey, who am i to argue? if i can take a space shuttle to work, then her imagination’s allowed to place me amongst the stars.

feelings

conservation efforts

abby mumford

one of the recent changes in my life is writing related. i’ve started a new WIP while i let the other, completed MS marinate. i’ve also picked up a critique partner (the lovely alexis) [thank you, natalie!] who is giving me deadlines and cracking the YOU CAN DO BETTER whip. so in a desperate attempt to keep up with the force of nature that is alexis, i’m saving all writing efforts for my new WIP, which is in the worst sort of shambly shape. it’s kind of embarrassing, really.

which means, this post is all you’re going to get. it’s up to YOU to entertain ME. perhaps with an embarrassing story of your own.

how do you like them apples?

and, GO.

feelings

#teamlucky

abby mumford

gather round, kids. it’s story time with aunt abby.

once upon a time some peeps were tweeting.

kelly

and karla

it might have been their close proximity to one another (ish. florida’s a big state!) or perhaps it was their shared sense of humor or maybe it was a result of too much sunshine, but they hatched a plan. a writing plan. to create a story and volley it back and forth with each one trying to trump and stump the other.

they blogged and they bantered and they chuckled and they chatted and they wrote and they wrote and they wrote and it the midst of it all, i fell in love.

*gasps, sighs, cries, waves of horror from the audience*

i know, i know, calm down. you’d know if i had a BF in real life. but it’s a fictional love. wait, no, my adoration of lucky isn’t fake, it’s just that he’s fake, well, no, wait, not like silicone breasts fake, but like fiction fake which isn’t false at all, but really, he’s not someone i could take home to meet mom and dad. (though i could tell them, and YOU, to click on kelly’s and karla’s names above so you too can read and know and love lucky or harper or owen or grace or truman).

so yeah, anyways, LUCKY. he rules. and how does kelly react to my outpouring of love for a character borne of hers and karla’s minds?

first, she gives me a cameo.

and then, SHE MAKES ME A T-SHIRT. and by t-shirt, i don’t mean a hanes t-shirt base with some puffy paint on it, though, come to think of it, that would be rad.

*gasps, sighs, cries, waves of jealousy from the audience*

you know what? let me just SHOW YOU what #teamlucky brings to the table.

my reaction upon opening the package (TWSS).

the front of the shirt (so don’t even think about stealing it, yo).

a little gem there on the sleeve.

isn’t it amazing!?!? and you haven’t even seen the best part of it, the back. i think this deserves a drum roll.

*audience obliges, floors/desks/tables rumble*

and now, i present to you without any further interruptions, THE AWESOMESAUCINESS!

what’s that? you want a close up?

isn’t it fantastic? isn’t she talented? aren’t i SO LUCKY? i bow down to her and her overflowing generosity and creativity.

*round of applause for kelly*

another point for team twitter. it’s keeping me well dressed.