Teaser... Er... Thursday?

Since I missed out last week, and am posting this two days late, I figured I'd post two teaser today to make up for it a bit. And there's a reward at the end. Just for you guys. This first one is from The Freshman Affair.

She reached for the door handle, but stopped herself, suddenly nervous. She looked down at herself and straightened her gray skirt that fell just above her knees. At that moment, she was very glad she had decided to dress up a little this morning. She had paired the skirt with her favorite long sleeved blue v-neck that showed just a taste of cleavage and had a gray bird that trailed up her side. Quickly, she ran her fingers through her wavy brown hair, took a deep breath, and pushed through the door.


Reece had been pacing in front of the doors nervously, wondering what was taking her so long. Right when he had convinced himself that he should go back, just in case something happened to her, Grace came through the door.

She walked up to him and opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. He tried to think of something, anything to say, but his mind was completely blank. Not a damn thing came to mind. All he could was stare at her.

In some ways, she looked completely different. The last time he saw her, she was about three inches shorter, her hair reached the middle of her back, and she was still a girl, small in more ways then one. Now she had grown up, in more ways then one. He couldn’t help it when his eyes grazed over her chest and he couldn’t stop the blood from rushing to the lower parts of his anatomy. When he managed to regain himself, he continued his inspection of her. Another thing that surprised him was that she had cut her hair so it barely rested on her shoulders. Before she moved away, her long hair was her favorite feature. She had adamantly claimed that she would never cut it above her shoulder blades. It took him a minute to decided whether or not he liked it but he noticed it framed her face perfectly, causing her fair skin and delicate features to be even more striking. As she had grown taller, the bit of baby fat she carried with her up until middle school had disappeared completely. Super model skinny, no. Healthy looking, yes. Even with all these differences, just underneath it he could still the girl he’d grown up with. His first real crush.

She’s beautiful. Reece had always thought so, even when they were just toddlers running around on the playground, but it was different now. She looked put together and mature. She looked young and hopeful. She was simply beautiful. And Reece was surprised when his throat tightened and his mouth ran dry. Grace was affecting him more than any girl had in years.

Finally, it was Grace who broke the silence first, “Reece Brooks. What a pleasant surprise.” Her voice was soft and even, as if she was completely calm.

Reece took a few breaths before answering, trying to bring that same level of calm indifference to his voice. “Grace Reynolds,” he barely got her name out before she flung her arms around his waist. Reece tensed up, surprised, but after a moment, relaxed and returned her embrace. Grace was about seven inches shorter than him so her head was pressed against his chest and he could rest his chin easily on her head.

He heard her mumble something against his chest so he pulled back, “What was that?”

Her eyes were full of emotion and Reece thought he saw tears welling up in her eyes but they never spilled out, “I’m so glad you’re here.”



And here is the second one, this one from VDGP:

It wasn’t hard to find the crime scene. First off, it was less then two blocks away from the street Jay and I had been patrolling the night before. That worried me more than I’d like to admit. Dante’s face crept into my thoughts but I pushed him away. If I thought about it, there was a very good chance I’d have a breakdown. Yet another thing I’d never admit out loud.

Secondly, there could be no mistaking the bright flashing lights of the cop cars, ambulances, even fire trucks. A van with the words City Morgue painted on the side went by us just as we found a place to park.

“Damn. There goes the bodies. I was hoping to avoid a trip to the morgue if I could.”

Riley nods, oddly silence. I touched his arm and he met my eye. “What’s wrong?” I asked, genuine concern filling my voice.

He shivered once, “There’s a reason I never go on any of these things. I’m not good with violence and dead bodies and cops.”

“You could have stayed home. I wouldn’t have held it against you.”

He scoffed, “Bullshit, I coulda stayed home. You knew the second you mentioned Dante’s name I’d go with you. I couldn’t leave you to face any of this alone, and you knew that,” he sighed heavily before visibly shaking himself, “I’m not mad. But don’t pretend I could be anywhere but here right now.”

I hung my head, ashamed. Riley was the only one I told the whole story to, even the parts about Jay. And I know I shouldn’t have. He was right. I did know he’d come along if Dante was involved. The truth was, I wasn’t the only one to lose part of my family the night my parents died. Riley’s parents and mine had been so close that Riley called them Aunt and Uncle, just as I did with his. If Dante could be a part of this in anyway, Riley would be by my side the whole way. And it wasn’t fair to him.

“I’m sorry. You’re not wrong. I did know you’d never say no. I just.. I couldn’t do this alone you know?” My voice wavered and I hated myself for it.

Riley put his arm around me and pulled me into a half hug. His lips pressed a kiss into my hair. “I know.” He held me like that for a moment longer, then let me go. Part of me wanted to wrap his arm back around me and hide in his arms, but I would never allow myself to do that. Not even in private, definitely not at a crime scene.




And now for your reward:


A soaking wet Jake Gyllenhaal:
And for my guy readers,













































(Click to see full picture. Too lazy to screw with the size)
Cause she is so damn hot.

Putting faces to names

This is something that we're fond of over at the YA forum on Absolute Write, finding celebrities that look like our characters! It's fun and inspirational. Looking at someone and thinking, "That's so [insert character's name here]!" can, and has for me, refresh your desire to get their stories on paper.

You've heard me whine about them and read some of the hell I've put them through, and now ladies and gentlemen, I give you the characters from VDGP!!!

First off, Gwen. One of the main weapons Gwen has is that her appearance is incredibly deceiving. She looks soft, harmless, and even helpless. Hell, she looks downright innocence. Although, as many of her foes have learned, she's anything but.

Natalie Dormer is perfect for Gwen. She's the last person you'd expect to chop off your head, right? Well, she can. And has.

Next up is Jaiden, nickname Jay. Jay has a more mature look to him and could be described as ruggedly handsome. He knows what he wants and he goes after it. A man of little words with a shady past. He turns heads and knows it. Only one man came to mind for Jay,
Gerard Butler. He fits perfectly in my brain for Jay. I think he would play the strong, silent type beautifully. Now, Gwen and Jay might not look like they fit together, but they are both what the other person needs and that's all that matters to them.

Chris is rebellious, hot-headed, and a major pain in Gwen's ass. Once again, I found a man who just fit.

If VDGP was ever made into a movie, I would insist on Jensen Ackles. He is absolutely perfect.

And finally, Riley is Gwen's only family. He was the only thing that kept her sane when she lost her parents. He's loving, outgoing, and extremely open. Riley is probably my favorite character I've ever written. I've always had a thing for the best friend character and Riley does it better than anyone.

A young Heath Ledger, happy and carefree, is a perfect fit. When he was young, Heath looked like nothing bad had ever happened to him, and Riley is the same way.

So there they are. My characters. Aside from Jensen Ackles/Chris, they all have little things I would change (eye color, hair length, etc.) but other than that, they are what I see when I'm writing. From the teasers I've posted, do they make sense to you or are you sitting there like, "What is she on?"

Anyone else do this? If so, you should do a blog post and leave me a link! I'd love to see what your characters look like to you.



(Look! Two posts in two days!!! I really am trying harder!)

Character CPR

VDGP (Which may have a new title soon) has been dying a slow, painful death. I've almost lost Gwen's voice completely. Hence the blog silence lately. No new writing means no new teasers.

Thankfully, I've thought of a way to hopefully revive this story. I'm going through and writing some Character worksheets (which is probably something I should have done in the first place). So far, I've only done Gwen's but this her voice is already starting to fill my head again. It's a great feeling.

Since I'm still new at 'seriously' writing (meaning trying to make money from it some day), I am still trying to find a way that works for me. I've read blog after blog about other people's methods, and have found one thing in common: ACTUALLY WRITING. Which is surprisingly harder than it sounds. I hope you will all stick with me through this insanely difficult journey that is writing.

So my faithful readers (even though I'm a less then faithful blogger), I am back in the game. Reviving my characters, my voice, and my motivation. Wish me luck. Because Jake Gyllenhaal says so.
And you can't say no to that face.

A Welcome and a Teaser.

First of all, I'd like to say hello to some of the new followers I've picked up. Hello new followers! I can't tell you how awesome I think you caring about what I post is. I've been trying to post more often but real life has a tendency to get in the way. But here's what you can usually expect from me:

1. A post at least once a week.
2. Usually a teaser from my current work in progress
3. Complaints about said WIP
4. Adult content every now and then.
   
5. Annnddd...

Pictures of beautiful men (and yes. I do know this is the real reason y'all keep coming back.)

Anyways, on to the teaser! This is after a hunt and Gwen just got out of the infirmary. Some adult content in this one but nothing too explicit. Enjoy.

Jay motioned me towards him, his tongue slowly licking his bottom lip. Before I made my way over to him, I took my sweet time undressing, letting my hands linger over buttons and drawing his eyes where I wanted them. I ran my fingers in the waistline of my pants before unbuttoning them; my hands skimmed the edges of my breasts before I slipped out of my shirt.

Jay’s gaze went from hungry to concerned when he saw the bruises that decorated my torso. I tried not to pout as he left the bed and stood solemnly in front of me. There was little arousal in his touch as he methodically prodded my wounds. A frown emerged when he took in my bandaged shoulder. He raised his eyebrows in a question. I rolled my eyes then nodded. Peeling away the gauze, he examined my shoulder.

He sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I’m surprised you are out of the infirmary. From what I can tell, you’re lucky to have use of your arm. That guy really tore into you.”

I started to shift uncomfortably, but stopped myself. Jay didn’t like it when I left against doctor’s order, but so what? It was my life and I was going to do what I was going to do. I met his eyes, daring him to lecture me, “Dr. Galloway didn’t want me to leave, but I wasn’t going to hang around there. I feel fine.”

Suddenly, Jay poked a particularly nasty looking bruise roughly. I gasped and bent over. “Oh yes. You are in top condition.”

I snarled at him and lashed out, but he easily stepped out of reach. He held his hand up in surrender. “I should not have done that. I was just making a point. I apologize.” I gritted my teeth to tell him to fuck off, but his words were genuine and it would have just been childish.

Straightening, I said coolly, “Fine. Just don’t do it again.” We stood there for a moment, both of us unsure what to do.

Jay slowly trailed his eyes down my body once more, but this time his fingers went with it. A gasp escaped me with the sudden change in atmosphere. It was like our little exchanged had never happened. The air was once again thick with passion and heat. Jay’s slow stroke sent small shots electricity down my body and settled between my legs. My breath increased as Jay's fingers did too.

It may be Tuesday, but...

I have no teaser. Why, you may ask? Because I have been writing very little lately.

I work too much. I'm tired all the time. I... I... Shit. I have no excuses. I just haven't been doing it.

Shame on me, I know.

But I'm going to start writing more. I swearz it. VDGP is going really well whenever I do sit down and force myself to work.

Expect an awesome (I hope anyways) teaser next week.

























"Wait, was I mad at Amanda for something? JRM distracted me.... Oh well." *continues drooling staring at JRM*

And so Angie will forgive me,


















If James Marsden doesn't do the trick, nothing will.

End of the year post

I wasn't going to do one of these, but I've been lazy and absent lately so I figured I might as well.

2009 was a mixed year for me. Writing wise and personally.

Even though I'm not quite where I want to be when it comes to writing, I did start working at it more this past year.

I don't like looking back in the past, so instead here are some personal and professional goals for the coming year.

1. Get my own apartment. I'm nineteen years old and still living with my father. Now, that might not seem too bad for some of you, but after living on my own for a year it's really hard living with a parent again.

2. Finish up high school. By this summer, I'm going to be a goddamn high school graduate if it kills me.

3. Finish all three drafts I started in 2009. For VDGP, that shouldn't be too hard. That story still speaks to me the most. College For Witches, on the other hand, needs to be totally ripped apart and redone. TFA is going to need a lot of work as well.

4. Start at least one completely new story.

5. FINISH NANO! Nano has defeated me two years in a row and I won't stand of it again.

6. Read 100 books, which is only 20 more than I read this year. Shouldn't be too hard.

7. I have some fitness and weight goals for next year too but I won't go into detail there.

8. Post on here at least once a week.

I'm sure I have more goals as the year goes on. But even if I just reach a few of these, I'll be damn proud of myself. I hope everyone keeps checking in withe me and hounds me every now and then about these goals. Something about people I've never met before yelling at me motivates me strongly.

Anyone else have some goals for the new year?


Oh yeah. One more goal:




































10. Spend more time looking at hot men, like Jensen Ackles. It just makes my day seem so much brighter.

To Lori and Scarlett

(This blog refers to this blog and this blog)

*shakes head*
I'm disappointed in both of you. Shame.

Teaser Tuesday

Or Tuesday Teaser. Whatever. This is the dreaded dream sequence. (What? My MC has nightmares. Deal with it) Gwen is dreaming about her parents death. I know this scene needs a lot of work but I haven't been writing much lately so... rough and in need of lots fixing it is.


My mother raised her head weakly, “It’s going to be okay, baby.” Her arms were strung above her head just like my dad’s and her toes couldn’t even touch the floor. I wanted to believe her but the monster was too scary, too strong. How could it be okay?

He turned his attention to her, “Yes, lie to your daughter. Comfort her,” he stalked towards her as he stroked a knife I didn’t see him grab. “The mother and daughter relationship always astounded me. The absolute trust she has in you,” he turned and snarled at me. I tightened my arms around my legs as a small sound escaped me. I didn’t like it when he looked at me, “usually. Right now,” he moved behind her and placed his knife against her cheek. I shrieked and scrambled towards her.

I stumbled and fell to the ground, crying. My father was struggling against his chains and I could hear them rattle. “She doesn’t believe you. She thinks you are all going to die. And you know what,” he leaned into her and caressed her cheek. Dad screamed something at him that only seemed to please the monster, “she’s right.” The knife cut into my mom’s skin in a long cut. She called out in pain and my dad screamed again. I sobbed her name and reached out to her. The monster licked the blood from her cheek in a long stroke.

“Get your fucking hands off my wife, you sick fuck.” My dad was jerking against his chains, trying to reach my mother.

“Now, now. Such language in front of your little girl,” he tapped his chin with the knife, “How should I punish you?” A cruel smile spread across his lips. “I’ve got it!” His blade ran across my mom’s throat in a flash. I screamed as blood started to run down her skin. Her head fell forward, lifeless.

I ran to her, saying, “Mommy, mommy, mommy,” over and over again under my breath. I could hear my father calling out to me but he sounded far away. I reached my mom and started to shake her. “Mommy, wake up." I wrapped my arms around her waist and rested my head on her stomach as I sobbed. I could feel something warm dripping down onto me but I ignored it. Nothing felt real. And I knew it wouldn’t until I could feel my mother wrap her arms around me and tell me everything would be alright.

When sound returned to me, I could hear the bad man laughing and my father calling out to me in a broken voice, “Gwenie baby. Come to me. Come to me baby,” but I couldn’t release my mother. If I let her go, then she was really gone. If I dropped my arms, then she wasn’t coming back. Even as her blood dripped into my hair, I held myself to her as close as possible.

Before I knew what was happening, my back hit the wall hard and I crumpled into a heap, unable to move. I couldn’t breath and I couldn’t feel my legs. I could hear my dad shouting again but I couldn’t make out his words. After a while, I could move my head. I leaned my head back so I could look at my dad and see why he was screaming. When I saw him, I was screaming too.

The monster's laughter was louder than our screams. He was holding something medal and pushed into my dad again and again. It smelled like cooked meat suddenly and I could barley manage to roll over before I threw up all over myself.

“Kill me, just don’t hurt my little girl! Please! Please!” The monster smile frightened me so badly that it felt like my whole body was frozen. I couldn’t have moved even if I wanted to. The demon, yes I was sure by now that he was definitely a demon, stalked closer to my father and said something in his ear too quiet for me to hear. My dad’s eyes met mine and a tear slid down his cheek.

I opened my mouth to call out to him but he shook his head. He mouthed I love you, and I do the same. I knew what was coming before it happened and the tears started flowing freely down my cheeks once again. I closed my eyes as the demon raised the hot, metal rod. I heard a fleshy ripping noise and I knew my father was gone.

“No need to cry sweetheart. It will all be over soon,” the demons voice rang high in my ears as I jerked awake.




As a thank you for reading this (and just cause I like to look at him), I present to you:

James McAvoy. Cause you can never have enough McAvoy.

Sometimes, Procrastination Pays Off

I was feeling a little down this morning. So instead of working on my NaNo like I should have been, I spent a good deal of time looking up pictures of beautiful people. After about fifteen minutes, I thought to myself "Why should I be the only one who benefits from my procrastination?"

On that note, let me introduce to some of my new favorites,

Mr. Christian "Sexiest Batman Ever" Bale-
Mr. Hugh "Not afraid to sing and dance" Dancy:

Mr. Jared "How did it take me this long to realize how beautiful you were?" Leto:

There you go. Feel free to benefit off the fruits off my laziness.

Houston, we have a problem.

I don't even know if I can call it a problem. If it was any month but November, I would consider this problem a blessing. And yet...

Because it's NaNo, I had to start a completely new story. I didn't think that it would be a big of deal. I figured I could just temporarily move Gwen and Jay's story to the back burner and give TFA my full attention. But something is happening to me that I've only ever heard of from other authors.

Gwen and Jay won't. shut. up.

Their story keeps me up at night. I even had a dream about them when I finally manged to get to sleep (Jay was even hotter than I thought. It was a really good dream ;-]). Gwen's voice is whispering to me constantly. And her and Grace (TFA's female MC) are two completely different people and their stories have very little in common. Gwen keeps showing up, her mannerisms and attitude keep creeping in where they don't belong.

Some of you would think there was a simple solution, just work on them both. Well, with school, trying to find a job, and dealing with my father, it's hard enough to find time to do nearly 2k a day.

Gwen. I'm beggging you, just for November, please keep your mouth shut.



I really have no reason for putting Gerard Butler in here. I just like to look at him.

Besides, some people *cough* Scarlett *cough* only read this for the hot men. Got to keep them coming back. ;-]

Oh NaNo.

It's that time of year again. NaNo is just around the corner. And I'm just as, if not more, nervous for this year as I was last year.

Some of you may remember that I didn't win my first year. I'm still okay with that because I still wrote more that month than I ever had before. But this year, I feel even more pressure to win. Now that I've gone through it once, I feel like I should be more prepare.

I think it's safe to say that's not how I feel. At all.

Since NaNo last year, I have learned a few things about myself as a writer. One, I'm not a wing it kind of girl. I always thought I was, but after the fail that CFW turned into and the success that VDGP is turning into, I've been proven wrong. So I've been outlining The Freshman Affair, but there is something missing. The "Magic Feather" as Lori (Between Brothers out now. Read it.((Unless you're like me and are still waiting for the paperback to come out))) and Scarlett have deemed it.

I've got a little more than a week to discover that magic. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

On a side note- My birthday was two days ago. Which still hasn't really hit me. I feel like I just hit 18. What happened to 2009?

To apologize for my absent, I present to you:


Men who could murder your cat and you'd forgive them without hesitation.

Forget about my blatant neglection yet? Not quite? Well this should do it then....
Enjoy. =]

Just a quick update.

Writing wise- I've been doing pretty well.

VDGP is coming along pretty well. It's sitting at 3,000 some words right now and with how busy I've been trying to see people before I go back to Pennsylvania. I'm pretty happy with how it's been going.

CFW has sorta been put on the back burner because I've been feeling sort of stalled on it again. That story just doesn't want to go the way I want it to. I wish I would have outlined it. Outlining has been my friend lately.

TFA is still in the outlining process and I'm still having a little trouble making it come together. I need a little more... something to make it worthwhile and interesting.

Personal wise- I've been having a rough couple days and don't really know how to make it better. So I'm going to go over to my sister's house and play with her amazing puppy and watch this guy-

be way too beautiful and shirtless for most of a movie. Hopefully there will be some ice cream involved. Sounds like a perfect cure to me.

Vacation time cuts deeply into writing time.

For the past month, I've been on vacation in my hometown. Actually, I'm still on vacation so I haven't been doing very much writing at all. The only thing I really have been doing is working on an outline for an urban fantasy that I've been kicking around for a long time but hasn't ever been made into reality. Well, now that the outline is all but finished, I'm pretty damn sure that this time (which is probably about the 7th time) will be the charm.

I've never been a huge fan of outlining but I'm really glad that I decided to do it. I have a clear idea of where I want the story to go and what I want to happen. It's probably a little too detailed even but I'm hoping that if it comes between the outline and the characters I'll remember that the characters know what's best. *crosses fingers*

One thing that sucks about outlining is that I had to push myself really hard to finish the outline and just not skip right to the writing. Working on the outline made me so excited to get the actual project started that I almost abandoned the outline more than once. But I stuck to my guns and it's just a chapter away for being complete!

The whole reason I decided to post this was because while I was writing the outline I made the decision to kill off one of my favorite characters. I haven't even started to really write it yet but I'm already so attached to this character that I started to tear up a little. I'm so not excited to write that scene, but I feel like it will cause an intense emotional response from my readers (at least I hope so!) and it will motivate my main character a lot. I was not expecting to have such a strong emotional response already. It gives me a lot of hope for this story!

I still don't have a title for this WIP but I'm so excited to get it going! I can't decide if it would be best to put it off till after CFW is done or work at them both at the same time. I'll jump off that bridge when I come to it.

To apologize for not posting lately (and for the semi info-dumpness that was this post) here's a little man candy:
I usually only lust after men who are quite a bit older than I am so I think for this post I'll pick a few beautiful men who I could actually... well you know... without it being super creeping. Chace Crawford is too hot.

And I would do unspeakable things to Chad Micheal Murray. Whew.
Okay, does this surprise anyone? No matter what, I will never pass up an opportunity to drool over James McAvoy. Never.

YA newbie

So College for Witches is my first attempt at writing something for Young Adults. And I'm pretty sure it's going to be my last.

There's a couple reasons for this. One of them is that I'm afraid that my main character doesn't act her age. All of the characters I've written before have always been in there 20s at least. She's 18, which is actually the same age as me. I would think that I wouldn't have trouble writing someone the same age but it's proving difficult. I don't want to dumb down the character or the story because I know that the readers would be able to tell and resent it. It also wouldn't be true to the character.

It's really hard to put my fears into words without sounding conceited. I don't think I'm better or smarter than anyone my age or anything. I'm just scared my words don't fit with a young adult person.

Another worry I have is with the sex scene I blogged about before. Now I'm fully aware that teens (since I'm still a teen myself) have sex. But again, I'm afraid that the scene I wrote doesn't fit with what is expected in YA. That's it's too put together and more experienced then most teen aged sex. Make sense?

I'm probably being stupid and not giving YA enough credit. It's just nice to be able to put my worries into words. Makes them seem a lot more manageable.

Thanks for listening to my insane ramblings all!

Here to make it up to you:

Mr. James McAvoy.


"Why yes. I do know I'm the sexiest man alive."

Pure Accomplishment.

This one is just going to be a quickie.


But I'm super proud of myself and wanted to share news. Now some of you might not see the big deal, but it's important to me.

Ready?

My WIP crossed the 40k line! I have never come close to writing something this long. I know it needs a lot of work, but for now I'm just focusing on the pure accomplishment I'm feeling at the moment.

How am I going to celebrate?


I'm going to go watch this guy beat the shit out of people and be sexy for a couple hours. With ice cream. Perfect no?

Surrending to the characters.

*Sighs*

I'm giving in to Elvira and Aiden. They will not be denied. I've been reading a couple AW Blogger blogs who have been writing longer than me (and more successfully than me) to pick up helpful tips. And they both have talked about letting your characters take over sometimes because it will ultimately make the story better. So I'm putting my faith in Aiden and El, praying that they know what they are doing.

So I'm off to write a *gasp* sex scene. To get in the mood, so to speak, I'm listening to the
Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Listening to this guy sing:







could get anyone in the mood. Seriously.

I don't post here enough.

Hmm. Too true. Let's see.
Some updates on Amanda's life.



I may be going to Florida this summer with this beautiful woman if I can save the money up. It's going to be about an eight to nine hundred dollar trip, so fingers crossed.

Job is the same. Unimportant and way beneath me but I can deal with that for now. I mean, I'm only 18. I'm not supposed to have my life set in stone yet. Plus side, I got a raise. I now make a whole $7.25! Haha.

I found my home. Online home anyways. Absolute Write Water Cooler is my new favorite sites. I never really got why people like forums. I am so on the ball now. We talk about writing, books, movies, life itself. It's great stuff. Plus there's a whole thread dictated to the hottest of men and women.

I think that's about the it. I'll end this with pictures of the two hottest people on Earth.

WANT!