Today is Not Thanksgiving

You might have noticed my semi-absence from the online world lately. Well, it's not just because I am under crazy deadline to write and revise Just For Fins. It's also because my dad had a quadruple bypass four weeks ago. I flew home to Oklahoma for that and then, when he got the all clear from his surgeon and things seemed to be looking so great, I flew back to Seattle.

And then the next day... he went back to the hospital with an serious infection. I turned right around and flew back to be with him and my mom as he went through another (not as complicated) surgery to help get rid of it.

As of today, he's doing well but still in the hospital. We're waiting to find out if the infection is all gone so that he can come home again. Yesterday, we (my mom and dad and I) decided that today wouldn't really be Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving is just an arbitrary day, we would wait to celebrate it when my dad gets home.

So, for all of you who are celebrating the great feast today, Happy Thanksgiving! But I'll be partaking of my tofurkey roll and Grandma's stuffing at a later date.

Hugs,
TLC

PS. To everyone who is patiently (and not so patiently) waiting for an email from me, I'll get to them as soon as I can. You can understand why my priorities are elsewhere (Dad and Just For Fins) at the moment.

Essential Writing Tech

One of the most common questions I get when speaking at a signing or event is about my writing process, what a typical writing day is like for me. Or even what is my must-have item for writing. My first response is usually that I have to leave the house. I write most of my words in coffee shops, sitting in a comfy chair with a steaming or icy caffeinated beverage at my side.

But that's not all it takes to get me writing. I have a few essentials--and a few non-essentials that I just really like--to make getting words on a page, if not easier, then at least less painful.

Alphasmart { This is my magic machine. It's ultralight, practically indestructible, and holds something like 200 single-spaced pages of text. It has a simple on/off button and autosaves everything as you write. And, perhaps the best thing, it only shows five lines of text at a time. Going back requires pressing the up arrow a billion times so it really encourages me to just keep writing and worry about editing the garbage later.

Earbuds { As much as I like writing in public, I need to be able to tune the public out while I'm writing. A lot of writers must have complete silence, but I need the white noise of familiar music. Most of the songs on my playlist are ones I know by heart and can tune out while I pound the keys. Also, they usually signal the general public to leave me alone. (Some people don't take the hint.)

The music in my iPhone at the moment is a crazy mix of everything from classical (Ravel and Musorgsky) to country (Michael Peterson and Faith Hill) to showtunes (Hair and Legally Blonde) to pop (Brittany Spears and Taylor Swift) to soul (Adele and Florence + the Machine) to indie (Hey Marseilles and Pickwick).

Write or Die { When I don't have my Alphie with me, this little gem is my salvation. You can use the web version or buy the desktop software for $10--and now there's an iPad app I'm have to try. You plug in how many words you want to write in how many minutes and then it makes you write them. If you don't, the screen turns red and it makes angry sounds. If you choose kamikaze mode, it'll delete words if you stop for too long. Talk about motivation.

I have plenty of other gadgets (netbook, iPad, Nook, ray gun--okay, not that last item... I have one, but it's more helpful for deleting than writing) but with these three things I can produce many a book.

So, to all the writers out there, what are your essential writing technologies?

Hugs,
TLC

Do Books Make You Cry?

Several weeks ago I opened an unsuspecting can of worms on Twitter by asking the simple question: What books make you cry? I had just read a pretty bad romance that still managed to make me sob at the end, and I wanted to know if my followers had books made them break out the tissues.

Oh. My. Gosh. Apparently a lot of them!

I wanted to share these with you, because I think it's amazing proof of the emotional power of books--even commercial fiction. In case you're looking for a good tearjerker, here are some great ones:

• the everafter, the last song, in a heartbeat and a few more that i don't remember haha
• The Book Thief. I was crying like a baby.
• Also, @RobinMcKinley's PEGASUS made me cry weepy girl tears at the end.
• If I Stay. Had me crying 20 pages in.
• i got all misty-eyed at the end of Delirium.
• I couldn't finish Twenty Boy Summer because I sobbed so hard I had to stop
• Night by Elie Wiesel
• How about Melissa Marr's Ink Exchange? That one was really angsty and good.
• when i was younger, the first time I read Speak & Go Ask Alice, they made me cry
• Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr was really good too, though not a tearjerker. Tell Me A Secret had me in v. angry tears. So good.
• 13 reasons why didn't make me cry exactly, but it did make me rather emotional
• Between Shades of Gray made be cry, debut coming out March 22nd. Fantastic book though
• Oh, SHIVER also made me cry!! Oh-so-much!
• OH. @HannahMosk's Invincible Summer had me BAWLING. Oh my gosh I rarely cry that hard in a book.
• I wasn't expecting Jellicoe Road to affect me so much. I did cry when I finished the last HP though, because it was over.
• Anne Tyler's Accidental Tourist just KILLS me every time.
• Delirium definitely made me cry .. pretty sure The Sky is Everywhere did as well
• i am number four made me cry
• As You Wish by Jackson Pearce made me cry. The Forest of Hands and Teeth; Looking for Alaska; Mockingjay; Harry Potter 7
• I'm Not Her by Janet Gurtler that's coming out in May (I think) is a bit of a tear jerker too. But a fantastic book.
• Delirium made me cry too!!!!
• I also cried when I read Sing Me to Sleep...
• The Forest of Hands and Teeth.
• er, not that Some Girls Are is really a romance...but it DID make me tear up. Often.13 minutes ago
• The Chosen One and Hate List did. Though I was also v. angry too b/c of their circumstances.
• I'm a sucker for romances too. Also Catching Fire, The Sky is Everywhere, Shadow Kiss, Some Girls Are....
• anything by @SparksNicholas and of course the beginning of shadowfever by @KarenMMoning made me ball my eyes out
• One Day, A Blue So Dark, Nineteen Minutes, and Just Listen.
• Compromised by Heidi Ayarbe had me in tears. And Hate List by Jennifer Brown makes me so angry I cry.
• The Iron Queen, HP and the Half Blood Prince, I'm trying to think of others.
• I cried when I read yours, but probably because I was a wreck that day.
• Angel by James Patterson made me cry, but NOT b/c I was happy. I was incredibly ANGRY and depressed and frustrated.
• Burned by @EllenHopkinsYA, Deathly Hallows. Lots more.
• Jellicoe Road. And Before I Die. Pretty sure I used an entire box of kleenex each time.
• I only get weepy over Pride and Prejudice. :)

Have you read any of these books, and did you have the same weepy reaction? What other books have made you cry? I tend to avoid sad, sappy books that I know will end in tears. Do you enjoy that kind of experience, or do you stick to happier stories?

Hugs,

TLC

The Great Big 4-1-1 Contest

So I'm getting bored watching my number of followers and likes slowly climbing and I want to speed them up a notch. To that end, I'm hosting the 4-1-1 contest.

The Goal
4,000 followers on Twitter
1,000 followers on this blog *
1,000 likes on my Facebook page

The Prizes
3 complete sets of my books--1 each on Twitter, this blog, and my Facebook page. That's every book that's in print when we reach the full 4-1-1. Right now, it's five.

• Oh. My. Gods.
• Goddess Boot Camp
• Forgive My Fins
• Fins Are Forever
• Sweet Venom

The Charge
If you already follow me on the blog and on Twitter and you already like my Facebook page, then your mission is to get book-minded friends (please don't beg your family) to do the same. Tweet, Facebook, and blog the word about the contest and I'll be giving books away before you know it.

When we reach the 4-1-1 goal, then I will give further instructions on how to enter yourself specifically in each of the three contests.

Hugs,
TLC

* for the purposes of this contest, the 1,000 followers need to be on Google Friend Connect (in the sidebar under Followers) not Networked Blogs

Monday Giveaway: Wherever You Go

So blogging and Monday Giveaways have fallen by the wayside for a few weeks (I had a crazy fast unexpected deadline and then my dad had open heart surgery, so life has been a little crazy) but I'm starting to feel back in control and back at blogging.

First things first, I need to pick a winner for my last giveaway of Holly Cupala's Tell Me A Secret. *runs to Randomizer.org and plugs in numbers* And the winner is... SwimmerGirl! Send you mailing info to tlc[at]teralynnchilds[dot]com and I'll get it on its way!

And now for the new Monday Giveaway! This week I'm giving away a signed ARC of Wherever You Go by my Seattle writing pal Heather Davis.

Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?

As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?

Told from the perspectives of Holly, Jason, and Rob, Wherever You Go is is a poignant story about making peace with the past, opening your heart to love, and finding the courage to move forward into the light.

One of the most unique aspects of this book is the use of multiple points of view in different first, second, and third person. To enter this giveaway, comment with your point of view preference. Do you like first or third? Present or past? Or could you care less, as long as it's well written and well told?

Hugs,
TLC

JUST FOR FINS Cover

Since the shiny new cover for JUST FOR FINS (the upcoming third book in the Fins mermaid series) has shown up on GoodReads, it's probably safe to share it here, too.

This cover uses the same model as FORGIVE MY FINS (I have a sneaky suspicion that the girl on the cover of FINS ARE FOREVER is actually Dosinia) and I think it's just magical. Plus, I love the purple lettering.

What do you think?

Hugs,
TLC