Friday Five: because I'm a 12 year old boy.

I've been completely swamped this week,

Visitors, work, and viewing a bit' of internet cheek. 

I loved a particular post about the subject of poo. 

If you're kind of a 12 year old boy, you'll love the rest too.

1. 

Funny 

2.

From Here

3.

Or Here

4. 

5.

Favorite-est

So, basically I've wasted a lot of time this week. And you? What have you done?

A winner. A SECRET. A birthday.

1.

Holla' ya'll! We have a WINNER for the head shot contest.

Congratulations Leigh Covington! 

(I'll be contacting you to set up your shooting time. Start digging through your closet for awesome outfits. Or go to Nordstroms. Nordy's is my fav.)

2. 

My secret: I once got a fake ID so I could go clubbing. Sorry Mom, I've failed you. Truth is, the ID was a lame card stock knockoff and the security guy at the club could totally tell. He let me in anyway, but told me to stay away from the bar and out of trouble. I was good with that because all I wanted to do was DANCE. (Cue Abba, Dancing Queen).

3. 

My boys had their birthday's last week. I had them almost exactly two years apart. So basically for one week in March I'm an insane shooting, baking, birthday-planning Momma. 

Inspired to Write-Free Writing Workshops

If you live in Utah and you haven't heard about the Orem Library Free Writing and Blogging workshop, then you're seriously missing out on something spectacular. Don't fret though. There is still time left to pop on over and check them out. 

My good friend SOPHISTIMOM (name drop much?) will be presenting on March 29 at 7:00pm

You can check it out below. 

Are there any writing workshops going on in your neck of the woods?
If not, where do you go for inspiration?

Secret 25 of 100

There's something about nice, simple fractions that makes me want to celebrate today! A quarter of my life's secrets are now exposed for all the Internet to see. Ur . . . that doesn't sound as exciting as I first imagined it would. But I'm not a quitter. 

So here goes SECRET number TWENTY FIVE. 

One summer, a cute golden-hared boy asked me out on a group date. Thrilled, I spent hours trying on every combination of shorts and summer tops that I owned. By the time Golden-boy came to pick me up, my room looked like it was the epicenter for a 8.1 earthquake, and I still wasn't totally ready. 

Ugh. I didn't want to leave Golden waiting. So I rushed out the door.

We went out to dinner (with our group), and then a movie (with our group). But while the other couples were fun, I really just wanted to hang out with Golden--without our group. 

After the movie, someone suggested a bonfire nearby. So Golden and I piled into ONE car with our entire group. At first I was bugged. But then, I realized being squashed up next to Golden with our limbs tangled in a tight space wasn't all that bad. Nope, I didn't mind the group thing at all by then.

We arrived at the destination, and slowly people started exiting the car, until Golden and I were the only two left. 

He leaned in close, the warmth of his breath brushing my cheek. "Erin," he said.

"Yes?" My heart fluttered to a frenzy. If I turned just an inch, his lips would be close enough to kiss.

"Um, I think my leg is velcro-ed to yours."

I pulled back, blinked a couple times. "What?"

He ran his hand over my exposed shin. So un-romantic. "Don't you shave? I swear my leg hairs were sticking to yours. They're like the straight end of the velcro . . . "

At this point I tuned him out as he explained his ridiculous velcro theory in which my straight leg hairs and his curly leg hairs might dangerously stick together. 

Seriously? I sat there, lost for words, and utterly mortified.

In my pre-date prep-frenzy, I had forgotten to shave. And I'm not talking days. I'm talking, I just got home from a week long camp. 

And Golden didn't waste a moment. He was out of that car and sharing his findings with our entire group before I could say, "holy hairy legs."

Needless to say, I didn't go out with Golden again. 

Do you have any shaving secrets you want to share?

Humps and a sorta weird but kinda cool CONTEST

Today is Hump day. I'm in somewhat of a slump.
I should be writing, but I've been spending time shooting and editing.

I figure, why not shoot some more. Maybe if I shoot till I'm sick of holding a camera, I'll want to write instead of shoot.

Thus: the not-so-normal writer's blog contest. 

I'm not giving away a book, a critique, or an agent pitch. (For that you need to hang with me at any given writer's conference. It's worked for all my other friends. Did you check out Julianne Donaldson's post on Peggy's blog? Yep, I practically kicked that puke-head girl out of Jaime's truck when I was the gal sitting between her and her future agent. Alright. So maybe it wasn't all my good luck mojo. Judo's practically a ninja when it comes to writing leave-me-on-the-edge-of-my-seat-in-tears romance. But I still like to think that hanging with me = Agent and book deals!)

Sorry for the digression, back to my CONTEST.

I'm giving away a headshot!

Most of the time I shoot pics like this: 

But now and then I shoot pics like this: 

Contest details:

Enter to win a chance at a free photo shoot with me for a spectacular headshot that will make you look unbelievably cool and author-esque. After the photo shoot you'll receive a DVD with your high resolution images, and a release to print and enlarge.

Disclaimer: If you don't live in Utah (where I'm offering the photo shoot), you can hold your winnings for up to a year. Then, if I'm out near you, or you come this way  you can then have your shoot. Or if you're really nice, you can gift your winnings to another person that lives in Utah!

How to enter: 

You can have multiple entries by: 

1. Follow this blog AND leave a comment. 

2. Post about this weird, but sorta cool contest on your blog. 

3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about it. 

4. Buy me a Coke Zero . . . ha ha...ok, this one isn't for real. But you can Facebook about my contest. 

Leave a link to each of the things you've done in the comment portion of my blog so I can go creepily stalk er, check it out. 

The contest will be open from NOW until March 24. 

Happy Entering!

Secret 24 of 100

I'm a geek. 

I know, surprising right? Here's the thing. I feel like I just hit puberty--in the geekiest way possible.

Evidence? Here it is: 

1. I've noticed a strange smell. As in body odor smell coming from my pits! Shocking, I know. I've never worn deodorant. Even after a sweat-drenching workout, my pits don't stink. That is, up till a few months ago they didn't. But things are changing. And by "things" I mean my hormones, because every now and then my underarms smell. 

2. Zits. In high school I had three. I remember them well because they were traumatic. But as of late, it seems like three zits have become my forehead's standard. Ewwww! It's so gross. Can you recommend a good face wash? Apparently my bar soap and water just aren't cutting it. 

3. I'm a brace-face. At first I was stoked about the idea of straightening my teeth and fixing my bite. I'm still stoked, but I'm not loving how un-awesome I look. Every time I look in the mirror I repeat, "This too shall pass."

4. My confidence is shaken. Usually I feel pretty good about who I am. But last night I spent an hour on the phone with crit-partner Jessie listening to her positive affirmations. Next to Stuart Smalley, Jessie is the best. 

Should we ever meet, make sure you keep my geekiness a secret . . . at least when we're talking face to face. Then I'll really feel like I've returned to high school

Inspired to Write - Change

Today I'm going to change. And not just in some abstract metaphorical, spiritual way. But in the tomorrow-mean-girls-will-call-me-metal-mouth way.

Confused? Here's the deal: 
When I'm not writing, I'm shooting people--mostly brides and grooms. You can check all that out HERE. Alright, enough self-promotion, back to the story. When a particular fabulous bride and groom said, "hey let's workout an awesome brace trade." I said, "Fo' sure!" (Conversation may have been dramatized for artistic purposes.)

Basically, I'm getting braces. 

Up until this morning I was stoked about the whole ordeal. Today, not so much. My insides are fluttery and panicked and disorganized. I'm a scrambled mess that's soon to be a brace face!

To the point: 

I was thinking about my characters and how they deal with change. Sure there's conflict in my book, but sometimes I overlook the physical manifestations that change (particularly stress) can cause in a person. Though I react to stress one way, I found that stress in other people doesn't always look the same. The helpguide.org is a great site for researching nearly anything. Stress reactions can be viewed in three ways:   

• Foot on the gas – An angry or agitated stress response. You’re heated, keyed up, overly emotional, and unable to sit still.
• Foot on the brake – A withdrawn or depressed stress response. You shut down, space out, and show very little energy or emotion.
• Foot on both – A tense and frozen stress response. You “freeze” under pressure and can’t do anything. You look paralyzed, but under the surface you’re extremely agitated.

I'm usually one of the first two responses. But my characters aren't. I'll have to keep these ideas in mind when I'm writing.

What about you? 

How do you're characters deal with stress?

Credits: (http://helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm) 

Lucky 13!

First off, I want to say THANK YOU to all you guys that are new followers. I feel so happy, and weird, and weirdly happy about all your cyber-friendliness. I'm pumped to read blogs tomorrow and see what's going on in the blogger world. Today though, no reading for me.

Why?

Today is my lucky 13.
Mark, my hunky hubby, and I were married on this day thirteen years ago.

So if you'll excuse me, I have someone to go hang with. And when I say "hang" I really mean "make out" . . . and when I say "make out" I really mean we're going to the movies. Because that's what you do when you've been married for thirteen years.

Check you later.

Secret 23 of 100 . . .

And the secret is: 

I'm getting busy HERE

If you didn't catch that clever pun, I'm so excited to to be a guest blogger on Emily R. King's "Get Busy Writing" blog. Come on over and say hi. And while you're there, I'll share another secret.

Friday Five...leaving on a jet plane

I'm leaving on a jet plane, 

On Monday I'll be back again, 

The place I'm going is not a vacay top five, 

For plot settings, though, it might just jive!

 TOP Five Locations for Setting in a Book:

Hawaii's mythological history in a picturesque place,
Makes the perfect backdrop for a story well-paced.

The Sahara is a desert that's more dead than alive,
Already I spot conflict into which characters will dive.

Beth Revis wrote a book about great outer space,
Since then I've wanted to try my hand at an alien race.

But if Earth is my target, then I can't forget Africa,
A story about the wild where there is no traffic-a (I know...you're killing me smalls)

Last no matter the season, Alaska is a unique sight.
freakishly cold, but full of beauty like northern lights.

What are your favorite pics for story location?