Thursday, October 31, 2013

A Day In the Life of MV--10/30/2013 Wednesday

11:00 a.m.: Get up. I was up past 1:00 a.m. writing notes for my NaNo novel. The only reason I stopped was because my parents kept coming in and asking me, "Are you going to bed soon?" like it was the chorus of a "The Might Be Giants" song. (Ever heard of THIS song)?

11:00-11:30 a.m.: All five of us (my mom, my dad, Maxim, Scout, and me) are in the same bed, cuddling and talking while Scout slurps on my hand like it's a doggy ice cream cone. Maxim won't stop moving (or making noise), but that's completely normal, expected even. Even in his sleep he wiggles.

12:00 pm.: In the kitchen, I'm writing notes from the day so far when my mom calls out, "Mark, tell the kids I will pay whoever finds the Vera Deitz book, two dollars. I am serious!"
Daddy: "Kate, did you hear that?"
Me: "Yes." *Scribbles* "It's going into my post."
Mommy laughs, but she doesn't deny that she's obsessive about finding lost objects. Even objects that aren't hers.

12:05-12:25 p.m.: Did a lesson in my school workbook. I breezed through the grammar (re-writing run-on sentences--something I do all the time in my writing anyways) and the multiple choice section. Math is trickier (finding the surface area of 3D objects--when am I ever going to use this?). Math is my least favorite subject. I hate it. It takes me forever to grasp a concept, and by the next day, I've forgotten it! Then I have to relearn it. Again. Addition to division is piece of cake (if it weren't, I'd be worried myself), but decimals, fractions, and geometry? Forget about it. (Okay, geometry's a little easier).

12:25-12:35 p.m.: Practice piano. I played the piano version of "Safe and Sound" (which is really just the guitar part of the song adapted for the piano) and a couple of other parts of Taylor Swift songs. I've practically memorized them all, so it's not really a challenge anymore, but I'm thinking about getting some "Hunger Games" film scores for the piano. That would be challenging. (And fun)!

12:40 p.m.: Max is playing "Mario Kart" on the Wii while I go to check e-mails and blogs. My BFF Kirsten has finally gotten into writing (squee!) and is going to do NaNoWriMo this year!!! :D I've helped her create characters and come up with a plot, and she sent me two book covers for me to decide between. Which one do you like best? I like the first one.





12:45 p.m.: Maxim complains out loud that he can't pop-a-wheelie with a car on "Mario Kart," then two seconds later says, "Whoa! Cars are awesome for manual! ... They still suck, though." Then he asks me if I can do a Google search for how to unlock the "Tiny Titan" on "Mario Kart" (my favorite car) so he can have things I like for when we play on his license. He's so sweet.

12:50 p.m.: Kirsten's birthday present from me just came in the mail. But I know she'll read this, so I'm not telling what it is!

1:15 p.m.: Finished looking at e-mails and blogs (for a little while). I'm off to take a shower and get ready for the day.

1:55 p.m.: I come downstairs and am greeted by a, "Kate!!! You'll never beat my ghost!" from Maxim who is currently standing on the table while playing "Mario Kart," and a happy, adorable puppy who is currently jumping on me and licking my earlobes while I write this. I play "Mario Kart" with Maxim.

2:35 p.m.: Finished playing "Mario Kart" with Maxim (and Mommy, who joined us about halfway through). I watch this "Catching Fire" trailer, which is by far the most exciting (and my favorite). Feeling inspired, I decide to write. I'm not sure which book yet, but I'm going to write something.



3:15 p.m.: It turns out the book I was going to work on wasn't one that already existed. Nope, it's a
new one. A fantasy/dystopian one that will satisfy my hunger until November 1st. I go to get a snack, but nothing too huge because our family is going with another family to an all-you-can-eat Brazilian Steakhouse (yum!).

3:25 p.m.: I play with Scout for a little bit. She's insane and bites my finger so hard, there's an indent from her teeth. I watch some behind-the-scenes "Catching Fire" and "Hunger Games" videos. (I am so excited. Could you tell?)

3:35 p.m.: I get on Minecraft to play with Maxim for a little while.

4:00 p.m.: I read my mom and dad's "Day In the Life" posts from Tuesday. They're both hilarious and considerably different, seeing as they've both experienced the same day together for most of the time.

4:25-4:40 p.m.: Mommy reads a book out loud to Maxim and me while Scout licks my hand like there's no tomorrow. I took a couple videos so you could see how frantic she is. And how freakishly long her super-pink tongue is.


4:50 p.m.: In the car and on the way to pick up the Johnsons (Dave, Christie, Rich, and Brennan) and go to the Brazilian Steakhouse. Maxim tries to tell Mommy and Daddy something while they repeatedly interrupt him with jokes about what he's saying, laugh like crazy, and say, "Sorry! Sorry! Continue," then crack a joke again. They're like toddlers. They can't help themselves.

5:00 p.m.: We're at the Johnson's house. Blitzy--their medium-sized mutt--leaps onto us and sniffs our faces. Even as I'm writing this she's digging her nose into my stomach, forcing me back on the couch. The boys (Rich, Brennan, and Maxim) run straight for the computers to look at some Minecraft thing. We leave.

5:05-6:05 p.m.: We play "Rubberneckers" in the car on the way the Steakhouse. It's sooooo much fun. I also work on writing some notes for my NaNoWriMo novel and play games on my iPod. We arrive.

7:10 p.m.: Feeling disgusting at how much meat I've eaten, I sit and I listen to Rich, Brennan, and Maxim's role-playing game adventure. It's so loud, I can only catch snippets of their conversations, but that makes it funnier somehow:

Brennan: "Ugh! Richard, can I see more than just a stupid foot now?!
Me: "Uh . . ."
Rich: "Don't ask."

Rich: "Screeeeeeech! Boom!" *Makes exploding noises and waves his hands in the air for effect, nearly hitting Brennan in the face.*
Mommy: "Shh! Guys!"
Dave: "Boys, boys, other humans."

You should see Rich's face at the mention of bacon. You'd think that someone's told him he's just won the lottery. Actually, now that I think about it, he's more like a dog at the mention of a squirrel.

And Brennan, my God. He gets into a zone when he eats fish. He hears and sees nothing. Everything sems to be going in slow motion for him and he slowly transitions from using a fork to eating it--sauce and all--with his bare hands. By the time he's finished, there's fish all over his face and he starts to lick it off. And he doesn't even care.

Later a waiter comes by with a big stack of meat. The grownups are all trying to get the boys' attention, but to no avail. So I cover Maxim's eyes to get his attention, and then say, "BACON!" so Rich will look up. It works, but Brennan's still in la la land. "Fish!" I say, to which he looks up and say, "Oh, no thank you."

7:25 p.m.: Five people in the restaurant have gotten free flan and had the Portuguese version of "Happy Birthday" sung to them, complete with bongo drums and a tambourine. The regular, "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you . . ." sounds like a funeral march, while the Portuguese version sounds like a huge party. Americans are so boring and reserved compared to the rest of the world.

7:30 p.m.: The adults are beginning to groan. Even the boys are calming down . . . slightly. I'm full, but not stuffed. Better stop now before I end up like the adults (who are still eating, by the way, despite their complaints that the waiters don't serve tums or second stomachs).

7:40 p.m.: My mom is now attempting to sneak the remains of the meat into some paper towels to take home to Scout. She sings and looks around nervously.

Christie: "None of that is slick."

My mom starts to laugh and both Daddy and Dave quote "Friends" by saying, "Dude, none of this is cool."

(Remember Ross and the pinecones?) Skip to 3:50 if you want to refresh your memory.

7:45 p.m.: Rich, Brennan, and Maxim have now left the table to go to the bathroom. All at the same exact time. They do this every time we go to a restaurant. I'm not convinced it's planned. The funniest part is when they come back, still talking, as if they'd never left.

7:50 p.m.: And now we've all ordered dessert. As soon as the waitress leaves, the adults put their heads in their hands, groan, and ask themselves, "Why? Why did we have to order dessert? Why?"

7:55 p.m.: Dessert arrives.

8:25 p.m.: We've left. We're all moaning by this point, even me.

10:05 p.m.; After a quick stop at the Johnsons to drop them off (where the kids play freeze tag in an almost pitch-black front yard) we come home. My mom turns on the world series baseball game, then we go up to bed. Maxim and I come back down just to see the last out of the game. Then I go back upstairs, finish rereading Catching Fire (I'd started it just a couple days ago so I could finish it before the movie came out) then go to bed.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Quotes From Cosmo--Part 2

As promised! :D

Note: Any literary agencies mentioned in this post are completely fictional. A similarity in names is completely coincidental. If there really is a 'Bartholomew Adams' Literary Agency of Crap', I didn't intend it to be that way.

Another note: Something got messed up with the chapters numbers in the last blog post. The quote from Chapter 15 is really from Chapter 14. Here's Chapter 15 on to now! :D

(Spoilers in this one, though it's not that huge).


Polaris darted out of my bedroom and jumped up on the couch. Nana’s hand flew to her heart.
“Oh, my!” she said dramatically, creeping closer to Polaris. “You got another cat! Oh, she’s so cute.”
“He,” I corrected her automatically.
“He. Right,” Nana said. “What’s her name? And where is that awful cat. Cupcake or whatever the hell her name was. She was always hissing at me and she ripped my favorite sweater.”
“Her name was Muffins,” I said quietly. “And she died. Before Christmas, actually.”
Oh.” Nana’s face showed no sympathy. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure you were devastated.”

 --Cosmo, Chapter 15, page 136

(Another spoiler, related to the one above).



"How would you feel if all of your writing had been deleted?" Celeste's voice cracked on the last few words. "It's all gone! I mean, what, are we in high school?"
I gave Celeste a hug and let her cry into my shoulder. I held her like she had held me when Muffins had died. 
"I hate to break it to you, but we are," I whispered. "Welcome to the world. It sucks."

--Cosmo, Chapter 16, page 148

(I hope you've read Harry Potter).
“No way! You didn’t cry at all when Dobby died?”
 I shrugged.
 “Not really. Maybe a few sniffles, but that was the extent of it. No, the tissues came out for Hedwig and Fred. Dobby was kind of annoying.”
Celeste punched my shoulder.
“You are heartless.”
“I am not!”
“Watch it.” 
Celeste grabbed my arm and tugged me away from a girl’s outstretched foot. A minion of Samantha’s, no doubt.

--Cosmo, Chapter 17, page 150

(Another spoiler from HP. This is is also from Chapter 17. Sorry for all the spoilers! I promise these next ones will be fine).

And if Samantha were Voldemort, the rest of the girls trying to impress her were all Bellatrix Lestranges; they were desperate to impress her, to flatter her, to be just like her. They all wanted the top jobs, the best place at the lunch table. But Vanessa, oddly enough, was the only one she kept close. She was the least evil of them all, yet Samantha seemed to adore her. Was it because she was trying to convert her or was it because Vanessa was truly evil? 
I just hoped Vanessa turned out to be a Severus Snape.

--Cosmo, Chapter 17, page 152

Samantha seemed to be searching for a clever retort, but nothing came to her, so she settled for waving the notebook in my face.
"This," she started, letting the 's' hiss out into the silence that followed her break. "Is--"
"Pure genius?" Celeste interjected. "Astounding? Astonishing? Amazing?"
"Nice use of alliteration," Samantha said sarcastically. And when Celeste and I stared at her in disbelief, she added, "Yeah, I know things, too."

--Cosmo, Chapter 18, page 159

 
I turned in my chair and rested my chin on my arms, which were resting on the top of the chair. "Firefox keeps crashing. I think I have too many tabs opens."
"Here, let me try." Mom came over and clicked on the Firefox button. The tabs were restored, only for the screen to fade a little, freeze up, and crash again.
"See?" I said. "Can you fix that?"
Mom clicked a few buttons, pressed the F1 key for no apparent reason, and stood up, muttering, "Kids these days," which was the excuse she made whenever something was too complicated for her.

--Cosmo, Chapter 19, page 169


I sighed and scanned the 'Agents' page of 'Bartholomew Adams' Literary Agency.' There were a few that accepted YA books, but most of them didn't like contemporary or stories set in schools.
"This. Is. Hopeless." I threw my head back over the chair and groaned. "Every single one of these agents would have a problem with my book. Every single one! These agents are ridiculous. Who doesn't like female protagonists? Who?"
"Male chauvinist pigs," Celeste said simply. "And apparently Deb Garner."
Celeste closed 'Bartholomew Adams' Literary Agency of Crap' while I grumbled things like, "Hopeless," and "Stupid."
"Your optimism is killing me," Celeste said in a flat tone. "Can't you be just a tad more negative? I don't want you to get your hopes up."
"Wait, here's an agent!" I sat up and stared at the screen. "Matthew Evans, lover of simple contemporary YA stories--that's what I write!--has worked at Reid Literary Agency for over five years, blah, blah, blah . . . darn. He doesn't accept unsolicited manuscripts."
Celeste stuck her tongue out at Matthew's smiling picture.
"Darn you snobby agents!"

--Cosmo, Chapter 19, page 169-170

 
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Pretty please with a cherry on top?"
"Um . . . no."
"But--"
"No!"
Celeste slapped my hand away from her keyboard.
"I said no," she said, sticking her tongue out at me.
I edged closer to the computer mouse. Celeste grabbed my shoulders, turned me around and shoved me away.
"Please?"
Celeste let out a loud groan.
"Gah! You don't get it, do you? Define 'no' for me so I understand how you're thinking."
"Um, it means maybe? If I pester enough you'll give in."
Celeste banged her head against the wall three times and moaned.
"I need cookies." And she stumbled out of the room.
I crept towards Celeste's computer once I heard her call out, "Dad! Where'd you put the Chocolate Chunkies?" But as soon as I touched her mouse, Celeste poked her head in the room.
"Don't even think about it."
I yelped and dropped her mouse, which was cordless.
"God, don't do that!" I bent down and picked up the mouse, which was a shade of neon green.
Celeste shrugged. "Then don't do purposely do something I've forbidden you to do."
"You're heartless." I stuck out my lower lip at her and furrowed my eyebrows.
"You're hopeless!" Celeste called back at me as she walked away. "And I'm hungry! Dad, where are the cookies?"

--Cosmo, Chapter 20, page 175

“Cosmo.”

“Holy monkeys!” I jumped in my chair and pulled off my headphones, a recent just-because present from Celeste, who had just said my name.

“God!” I put my hand over my rapidly beating heart. “You scared the crap out of me!”

“Sorry.” Celeste sat down on my bed and pulled off her jacket—a purple hoodie with patchwork pink hearts on the sleeves—and set it on top of her tie-dyed tote bag. “I thought you knew I was coming over.”

“I did. I just forgot.”

Celeste glanced over at the computer screen. I had ten tabs open. Two of them were YouTube videos, one of them was my e-mail, two were my blogs, and the other five were writing articles.

“The internet’s killing your short-term memory, you know,” Celeste said wisely, nodding like a maniac. She stopped and put a finger her face. “Wait, or was it your long-term memory?”

“Did Mom let you in?” I asked. I fiddled with my headphones in my lap. They were still plugged in to the computer.

“No.” Celeste frowned. “I didn’t think she was home. I knocked, but no one answered, so I just let myself in.”

I raised my eyebrows at her.

“You let yourself in?” I said. “If I remember right, you don’t have a key.”

“Uh, what about the spare that’s under your doormat?”

Celeste must’ve seen the surprised look on my face, because she smirked.
 “Yeah, you told me about that,” she said. “Again the internet’s—seriously, which is it? This is gonna bug me all day. Look it up.” 

--Cosmo, Chapter 21, page 180

---------------------------------------
Updates From MV:

I realized the other day that I didn't have the regular version of "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles on my iPod. That's my favorite song by them! Well, now I have it. All is right with the world again.

Want "Catching Fire" to throw up on your computer screen? Say no more.

What do you think of this song? I LOVE it! :D

(If you have something you'd like me to share in "Updates From MV" please send me an e-mail at themagicviolinist(AT)gmail(DOT)com. Thank you! :D) 

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Quotes From Cosmo--Part 1

(The book, not the character . . . necessarily).

I've seen a few blog posts on a few different blogs where the blogger shares a few of her favorite quotes from the book they're writing. I thought I'd try it out by posting one short excerpt from each chapter I have (so far), but since I don't want to overload you with quotes, I'll split them into two parts. Let me know what you think! :D

“Do you think Dad’ll help us out?”
Mom’s eyes widened. The coins in her hand rattled because her whole body was shaking with grief. She clenched her fists and held them in her lap.
“No, Cosmo. No, I don’t think he will.”
I nodded again. I had already known the answer.

--Cosmo, Chapter 1, page 6

I’ve always liked the sky. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s my name: Cosmo Moonshine. Maybe it’s my natural nerdiness. Or maybe it’s because there’s a secret out there that none of us know about, waiting to be unlocked and revealed by the right person.
Maybe that person is me.
Maybe it’s not.
I don’t know.
What I do know is that a fourteen-year-old girl living with her single mom in New York City has no choice but to keep her dreams to herself. You can’t just go up to your mom and announce that you want to go to college and study astronomy when we can barely afford a hot meal each day.

-- Cosmo, Chapter 2, page 7

I was writing a new novel called Halley’s Comet. It was about a girl named Halley who loved astronomy. One day her dad goes to war and becomes MIA. Later in the book she sees a comet and wishes that her dad would come home. The next week her dad shows up to her school and surprises her. Then they live happily ever after.
The end.
I write a lot of books about astronomy and girls with loving dads that are there for them.
Sigh.
People say to write what you know.
I do that.
But I also like to write about things I don’t know.
Like loving dads.
Focus, Cosmo, focus.

--Cosmo, Chapter 3, page 11

I smiled at the girl as she plopped down into the seat on my right.
“So do you like it here?” Celeste whispered to me. “I just got here a couple days ago.”
“It’s—a nice school,” I said hesitantly. “My classmates can be—er—well, they’re not the nicest bunch.”
Celeste snickered.
“It can’t be any worse than Colorado. I’ve had to be transferred to different schools fourteen times for bullying problems.”
“Fourteen times?” I whispered in a high-pitched voice. “Holy . . .”
“Yup,” Celeste said, leaning back in her chair. “You guys seem like saints so far, compared to my old classmates.”
“So they were demons?” I asked, my lips twitching into a smirk.
Celeste laughed.
“No, they were Satan’s right-hand men.” Celeste frowned a little. “Come to think of it, they were pretty much Satan themselves.”

--Cosmo, Chapter 4, page 19

“I guess we’re in the same boat now,” Celeste said.
“Not really. You’re parents aren’t divorced. Let’s think positive.”
“You’re right. I guess we’re in the same ocean now.”
I raised my eyebrows at her.
“You know,” Celeste said. “Not quite in the same boat, but in the general area, like the ocean.”
“The ocean’s a lot bigger than a general area.”
“Okay, we’re in the same lake now.”
“You’ve crossed into the ‘weird zone.’”
“Sorry.”

--Cosmo, Chapter 5, page 31

“It’s called Halley’s Comet. It’s about a girl named Halley whose dad goes MIA in a war. She sees a comet and wishes that her dad would come home and—well, I won’t give it away. You said you wanted to read it, right?”
“Yup.” Celeste sat down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling again. I finished typing. “Did you base Halley off of yourself?”
I froze just as I was about to hit the ‘save’ button.
“Why would you say that?”
Celeste shrugged.
“I don’t know. Didn’t your dad run out on you?”
“Yeah . . .”
“Well, Halley’s dad goes MIA. Your dad disappeared on you. Halley wishes on a comet that her dad would come home. I bet you wish your dad would come home.”
“No,” I said, my voice shaking a little. “I don’t want him to come back. Ever.”

--Cosmo, Chapter 6, page 35


Celeste's eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of her sockets. Her eyebrows disappeared into her hair.
"Can I describe it? You can't describe Harry Potter. It's indescribable. It's magical. It's phenomenal. It's--it's salt."
I turned my laugh into a cough.
"I'm sorry, it's what?"
"It's salt." Celeste sat up straight, her head cocked to the left and up as if she were staring at this marvelous, new piece of genius. "How do you describe salt? You can't. It's salt. It's salty. Salt is the word you use to describe other foods. Other foods don't describe salt. Harry Potter is the salt of the book world. If someone asks you, 'can you describe this book?' you can respond, 'it's like Harry Potter.' But if someone asks you, 'can you describe Harry Potter,' you reply, 'I can't. It's like salt.'"
--Cosmo, Chapter 7, page 40

“What does it mean?” Vanessa asked.
“It’s the Chinese symbol for fashion. The guy who did it said that he wasn’t technically supposed to give it to me, because it wasn’t one of the official designs, but I paid him a little extra.”
Click! Samantha blinked spots out of her eyes as Celeste took a picture of her with her phone.
“What the—” she said.
Celeste grinned, showing off all of her teeth and sat back down.
“I’m gonna look it [the tattoo] up,” Celeste whispered. “Just you wait. I bet she’s really walking around with a Chinese symbol that means, ‘emu’ or something weird like that.”

--Cosmo, Chapter 8, page 47

Mr. Johnson raised his eyebrows at us as we walked back to our tent.
"Uh, Cosmo? Why are you soaking wet?"
"Oh, we hit her with a water balloon," Samantha chirped, her curly brown hair bouncing. Vanessa nodded so fast, her face was a blur. "It's just a little inside joke. No biggie. Right, Cosmo?"
Samantha turned her head so only Celeste and I could see her face. She gave me a piercing look that clearly said, agree with me or I'll make your life a living hell.



--Cosmo, Chapter 9, page 52

Celeste didn't ask me any questions. She just sat there next to me on my bed for hours while I cried, holding my hand. I got up to blow my nose in the bathroom and when I came back, there was something written on Celeste's hand.

Only in the darkness can you see the stars.

"I can't see any stars at the moment," I said quietly. Celeste gave me another hug.
"Maybe the city lights are blocking them out."
"I wish they wouldn't."
"Give it time. Maybe by then you'll see the moon."


--Cosmo, Chapter 10, page 58

"So," Celeste started slowly, hesitantly. "Are you coming to the big Christmas Eve dance?"
I swallowed and looked at her.
"What dance?"
Celeste goggled at me.
"You haven't seen the posters? They're practically wallpapering the whole school!"
She motioned to the cafeteria which--after looking more closely at the walls--was decorated with brightly colored posters showing a cartoon boy and girl dancing. Underneath it said:

Christmas Eve dance in the gym on Christmas Eve, 8 o'clock. Make sure you grab a date and have something nice to wear!

"Ohhh," I said. "That dance."
"Are you going?"
I shrugged.
"I don't have a date and I'm not counting on one. Why, did someone ask you?"
Celeste almost spewed her juice box across the table and started laughing.
"Me? Get a date in this school? Did you hit your head on a rock this morning or are you just that idealistic?"

--Cosmo, Chapter 11, page 63

I went to the Customer's Service section and waited in line. A little old lady called me up to the counter.
"Hi," I said breathlessly. "I was just in your women's section. I was looking for a scarf--a green one--but I didn't see it. Do you have some in the back?"
The lady stared at me.
"You're going to have to give me a little more to go on."
"Um, it was a green scarf, it was hanging in the women's section--"
"What brand name was it?"
"I have no idea. It was cheap, just five dollars--"
"Was it on clearance?"
"No."
The woman sighed and typed something into the computer muttering, "Driving me crazy . . . no memory whatsoever . . . less brains than a chimpanzee . . ."

--Cosmo, Chapter 12, page 67

Mr. Smitherson handed me a brownie.
"Looking for this?"
"You betcha." I bit into the brownie. "Whoa."
"Good or bad?" Mr. Smitherson wrung his hands together, looking nervous. "Good or bad?"
"Geez, dad, let her breathe!" Celeste took another brownie and shoved it into her mouth.
"Good," I said. "Very good."
"Take another one." Mr. Smitherson cut another brownie and gave it to me. "What do you think now?"
"It's even better the second time." I finished off the brownie and licked the crumbs off of my thumb. "I think this one's a keeper."
"It's definitely an improvement over the mint brownies," Celeste said, laughing. "Remember those?"
"The bottle said, 'Vanilla Extract!'" Mr. Smitherson waved a bottle in her face. "I swear I didn't put any mint in!"
"Yes you did. You grabbed the wrong bottle."
"All right, but what about that time I let you bake? Huh?"
"How was I supposed to know that aluminum foil was flammable?"
"You called the fire fighters."
"Our oven was on fire!"
"There's a fire extinguisher under the sink."
"I would've known that if you would let me near the sink!"
"There's a reason why I don't anymore."

--Cosmo, Chapter 13, page 87

"Ha. Nice try. Not telling."
"Pleeeease."
"Nope. Part of Christmas is the surprise of the presents."
I gave her a stern look.
"And patience."
"I don't have any. Maybe you can get me some of that for Christmas."
"Patience is too expensive these days."
"You got that right. Prices have been skyrocketing!"
"Maybe I'll buy some kindness for Samantha. She'd hate that."

--Cosmo, Chapter 14, page 97

 I stood next to her, fiddling with my dress and looking around.
 "You know," Celeste said, still dancing. "You look even stranger when you aren't dancing at a dance."
"I don't want people staring at me."
"They're not concerned about what you're doing." Celeste twirled around in a circle, letting her dress billow up around her. "They're busy having fun."
I looked around. Everyone was dancing, minus the few outcasts that we're drinking punch or nibbling on cookies. No one was looking at me, including Celeste.
"Let loose," Celeste said. "Kick your shoes off."
She looked at the ground.
"Actually, I don't recommend that last part. I'm not sure what's touched this floor."
"I envy you." I wrinkled my nose at her. "I know exactly who's puked on this floor."
"Oh, gross!" Celeste recoiled, looking at the floor.
"You're standing where Michael Fishbein walked around barefoot."
"Who's Michael Fishbein?"
"A freshman with a bad case of warts."
"I might just puke."
"I'll make a note of where you're standing so I can warn future students."

--Cosmo, Chapter 14, page 100

(I couldn't resist putting both of these up from Chapter 14).

The silence between us was starting to weigh on me, adding to my uncomfortable state of mind. I didn’t want things to be awkward between us, but I didn’t want to talk about it either.
“I’m not mad at you. Really, I’m not. Why would I be?”
“Because I dragged you to this stupid dance. I’m sorry you had a miserable time.”
“No, I had a great time. And it wasn’t stupid. I really just wished it had ended on a happier note.”
“We can make it end on a happier note.”
I lifted my head from the window. My breath had fogged up the glass.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, we could go do something. Fun. We could go bowling or catch a movie or go ice skating.”
“Ice skating? Celeste, I don’t have ice skates or the money to rent some.”
“I have money.”
I drew a heart on the window with my finger.
“I really don’t want you to spend more money on me. I don’t want to be a mooch.”
“You’re not a mooch.”
I rested my head back against the window.
“I’m tired of being poor.”
The statement was just something I wanted to let out. Something that I meant to just say to myself. But Celeste put her arm around my shoulder and said, “I know.”


--Cosmo, Chapter 15, page 109

Part 2 coming soon. :)

Which quote was your favorite? Leave a comment! :D

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Updates From MV:

I recently got a "Pinterest" account. It's just for personal purposes (really I'm just using it to organize anything visual for my books) but I'm loving it! I've cast a bunch of actors and actresses for my characters in Flightless Birds.

Want to know my top three favorite book covers? Click HERE to find out! :D (Let me know if you link up)!

Allegiant came out today!!! :D I just placed a request for it at our library. Who's excited? *Raises hand*


(If you have something you'd like me to share in "Updates From MV" please send me an e-mail at themagicviolinist(AT)gmail(DOT)com. Thank you! :D) 

Saturday, October 19, 2013

A Trailer

After searching through dozens of trailers (some of which weren't even trailers, but just fan-made videos), I finally found it. The trailer of awesomeness.

It's a "Catching Fire" trailer, but it's the trailer featuring "Atlas" by Coldplay, which just makes it even cooler.



Are you going to be at the midnight showing? And which dress are you most excited to see--the one for the tribute parade or the wedding/Mockingjay dress? (Personally I can't wait to see her wedding dress transform into the Mockingjay).

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Updates From MV:

The book has a name! :D My NaNoWriMo dystopian novel now has a title! What do you think of Flightless Birds? It also has a cover, but I can't post it here for some reason. Click HERE to see my NaNoWriMo page, which has a summary and a cover for you to see there.

NaNoWriMo, NaNoWriMo, NaNoWriMo. Everywhere I look there's a new blog post about getting ready for NaNoWriMo. I decided to jump in and write about it myself HERE.



A fellow Chewer is talking about upcoming YA book adaptations HERE. What are you most excited for?

(If you have something you'd like me to share in "Updates From MV" please send me an e-mail at themagicviolinist(AT)gmail(DOT)com. Thank you! :D)

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Book Giveaway Winner

The giveaway is closed! If you didn't get a chance to enter, don't worry, I'll have more giveways here at some point. ;) Now for the winner.

And the winner is *drumroll please* . . . Kirsten! :D Congratulations, Kirsten! You have won three Vampire Academy paperback books by Richelle Mead, including Vampire Academy, Frostbite, and Shadow Kiss. You should be receiving a package very soon. ;)

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Updates From MV:


Is it strange that I know practically everything that will happen in my NaNoWriMo book but I don't have a title yet? :/ If you think you might be able to help me come up with one, please, send me an e-mail!

Talking about red-haired heroes (and heroines) HERE.

Just finished City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I sooooooo want to see the movie, but when I checked to see what date it's coming to Redbox I found that they don't know what date it'll be there yet. (!!!!!) And our library doesn't have any copies of City of Ashes in. The universe is trying to torture me (especially with tantalizing photos of the production of "The Fault In Our Stars" and "Divergent" being tossed around on the internet).

(If you have something you'd like me to share in "Updates From MV" please send me an e-mail at themagicviolinist(AT)gmail(DOT)com. Thank you! :D)

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Book Giveaway Ending Soon

Just a reminder that my book giveaway is ending tomorrow. If you still want to enter, you'd better hurry! (A post with more substance is coming soon).

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Updates From MV:

Suuuuuuuper excited for NaNoWriMo! :D I'm writing a dystopian. Are you participating?
Talking about books I'll be reading soon HERE.
Loving THIS trailer.
And THIS song.

(If you have something you'd like me to share in "Updates From MV" please send me an e-mail at themagicviolinist(AT)gmail(DOT)com. Thank you! :D)

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Happy Every Day

I'm entering the Happy Every Day contest by Bryan Hutchinson (check out his blog HERE) as celebration of the publication of his new book, Happy Every Day--Simple, Effective Ways to Better Days. You can buy the book HERE, get it for free via "Story Cartel" in exchange for a free review HERE, and you can see my Amazon review of it HERE.

The following are pictures I took with quotes from the book on them (this is for the contest). I'd love to hear which one was your favorite. :)








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Updates From MV:

Giving away three books for the price of absolutely nothing (click HERE).
Talking about Anne of Green Gables along with my fellow chewers HERE.
Loving my dad's letter to the world (click HERE).

(If you have something you'd like me to share in "Updates From MV" please send me an e-mail at themagicviolinist(AT)gmail(DOT)com. Thank you! :D)

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Query Letter Rejection Celebration!

I got my first personal rejection today. :) It wasn't a form letter. Let me tell you the (short) story.

I submitted to "Nancy Gallt Literary Agency" about a month and a half ago by using their online form, the very same agency that currently represents Jeanne DuPrau (The City of Ember series) and Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians series). After it sent, I crossed my fingers, held my breath, and tried to forget about it so I wouldn't be obsessively refreshing my Inbox every few days.

Today the rejection was in my Inbox, but it looked kind of weird when I opened it. Ah, that would be because it was longer and they . . . actually used my name? No "Dear Author" or "We're sorry to say . . ."?

Nope! It was a personal rejection, meaning it wasn't a form letter, that the agent I submitted to (Marietta Zacker) had actually written it out and taken the time to respond to me, something most agents don't do and don't have the time for. Here's the letter she sent me:

Ms. (My last name here):

I am so impressed with your drive and your fortitude.  Congratulations on what you've already accomplished.  Writing a novel is no easy feat.

I have to pass on FANTASYA, but I'll be rooting for you, hoping that you continue to be as passionate as you are now.  I also recommend that you stay as dedicated to the craft of writing as you are at the moment. You have an amazing future.

Thank you for your query ~ I wish you the very best.

Sincerely,
Marietta

Marietta Zacker
Nancy Gallt Literary Agency

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Updates From MV:

Giving away three books for the price of absolutely nothing (click HERE).
Waiting on six literary agents to respond to my query (EEP!!!).
Loving THIS shirt.

(If you have something you'd like me to share in "Updates From MV" please send me an e-mail at themagicviolinist(AT)gmail(DOT)com. Thank you! :D)