Funky Fad Friday--Bad Boys Gone Soft

I'll put this out there first of all: I don't really like bad boys, in real life or in books.

In real life, because I was born without a rebellious streak, I guess. In books, because I hate to see a bad boy gone soft.

Have you noticed this? Hot Guy is mysterious, moody, dark. Girl is drawn to him because he just feels so deliciously dangerous. There is tension. This is good. I'm totally on board up to this point.

But then.

Tension breaks. They get together. Bad Boy starts sharing his feelings like a freaking girl! And he's nice and sensitive and kind and patient. And it seriously bugs me. This is not the same guy Girl was initially attracted to. He has become her, with a deeper voice. Guh.

I say, if he's a Bad Boy, he has to have a reason to be bad. And he has to stay bad. Now, I'm not saying he should slap her around or forbid her from talking to her friends or anything. And of course, a guy would open up more to someone he loved than to the general public. But please, don't make the Bad Boy a pushover as soon as he falls in love.

I'll give you one example of Bad Boy done right: Jace Wayland in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. (No spoilers, guys, I just finished Book 4) Jace is arrogant, sarcastic, and can be downright ruthless with his cutting words. He is emotionally cut off and aloof. He falls for Clary and--wonder of wonders--is still the same guy. Yes, he opens up a bit to Clary, she can see how his sarcasm is a coping device. But he still does it. He still annoys her. She loves him anyway, and I totally buy it because that's who she fell in love with in the first place.

So, Bad Boys. Be nice to the girl you like, but please, continue to be a jerk for your unique reasons, and I will appreciate you all the more for it.

Funky Fad Friday--How Old Are These Guys?

 So, according to the comments on last week's fad, I am the only person weirded out by winking? Okay, cool.

Moving on. Let's discuss something in YA that pops up a lot: Hot Guys. More specifically, cut, ripped, built, broad-shouldered, five o'clock-shadowed, other-kinds-of-manly Hot Guys.

I don't have a problem with this one. I, like every other slightly creepy adult woman, really don't mind reading about a love interest with rippling muscles or whatever.

BUT.

You guys, let's be realistic for one second.

I had the privilege of growing up with my husband. I met him in high school at the age of sixteen, which is often the age of Hot Guys in YA books. And yeah, his shoulders were definitely broader than mine. He was shaving by that time, at least once a week. He had a fair amount of muscles. But, he was still kind of growing into his ears. He was lanky, like most teenage boys are. His voice was deep, but still cracked from time to time. He didn't hit the Hot Guy needs-to-shave-that-attractively-careless-scruff mold until, oh, about twenty, I'd guess.

I had a lot of guy friends who served LDS missions. They typically leave at nineteen and come back at twenty-one, and the thought I had as each one came home was, "Wow, he filled out." Boys became men somewhere in that two year window.

So, my point is, are these Hot Guys really only sixteen or seventeen? Because sometimes the way they're described makes them sound older.Not that I mind. It makes me feel less creepy.

Input! Has anyone else noticed this? What do you think about it?

Funky Fad* Friday--Winking

Every week I'm going to discuss something I've noticed popping up a lot in books I read. Some things I like, some I don't, some just puzzle me. I'm curious to know what other people think, so weigh in! Let your voice be heard!

Winking

I read a lot of YA, and I like it a lot, but this is always something that has made me wonder--do real teenagers actually wink to be flirtatious? Because in almost every YA book I read, there is at least one wink, and often many more. Usually, it's the most popular girl in school, or the hot mysterious guy, and whoever they're winking at is often left flustered and totally attracted to the winker.

Really?

Now, I had a dear, dear friend in high school who would wink flirtatiously and every time he did, it was like, "Huh? How old are you? Are you from the fifties?" (Sorry, people from the fifties. Did people wink back then? I don't even know.)

There was also another boy in high school whose gaze had the power to literally render me speechless. Once, under the full force of his eyes, my actual response was, "Ummmbluuuhhhhhhh." (He didn't look at me much after that.) He was hot, guys. But, my point is, even if he had winked at me, it would've been more like, "Eh?" Because I don't think teens wink like they're often portrayed to do.

What do you guys think? Is the winking legit or is the cheese factor too much for you?

Are there any fads in books these days that you want to talk about? Let me know!!

*Fads and trends are different. I know this.** Some of these will be trends. But trend doesn't start with an F and I'm trying to be cutesy. Work with me here.

**My design schooling demands I defend myself.

I've Been Writing. Just Not Here.

When putting the new button for Julie's Oh, The Early Work blogfest/giveaway (now extended to October 28th!) on my sidebar, I noticed my blog archives, and the sorry amount of posts I've written for September and October. (Don't look. Seriously.)

It's just that, after months of feeling like this:

O_o

about my WIP, I suddenly feel more like this:

Which is creepy, but exciting, right?

So, with my newly sprouted mini-hands, I've been writing about this:

 and including some of this:

set someplace like this:

Not forgetting some of this:

And for dessert, THIS:

Because seriously. Good. Heavens. YES.

BUT!!!!

On Friday, Bilbo and I have an announcement!

 Come back and find out more about my Eleventy-First Follower Giveaway Extraordinasticganza! It will be all sorts of awesome and preciousssss....

Until then, I will be staring at that kissing picture WRITING!!

Music Inspiration

Ahh, unrequited love.

Doesn't it suck?

Don't we all remember that special boy we pined after from third grade to eighth, and even though you came close to being friends, he never saw past the thick glasses and braces and flat chest and second-hand clothes and impossible-to-style-into-popular-poofy-bangs hair and all-consuming talent for making all ordinary moments painfully awkward?

Or is that just me?

Anyhow, that pain of loving someone you simply can't have is a powerful hurt, and this song just throws it in your face. It makes my heart ache. And it really, really helps zero in on the emotions of one of my favorite characters, bless her pitiable little broken heart.

Give it a listen and see what you think.

Fantasy Casting Call: Who Would Play Your Love-Interest?

*If you missed the rest of this series because of a little thing called WriteOnCon, you can find my fantasy MC pick here and my villain here.


This one is so easy for me.

Aiden is sixteen. He's Tenny's next door neighbor and best friend. He's funny, hotheaded, cute, an excellent liar, and...he can't sing like Blake. Or CAN he?

The obvious choice, because his voice inspired my entire story, is Asher Book.

Guys, have you heard him sing??

Not that Aiden sings. I mean, maybe he does. It's a mystery...

Aiden is also an Eagle Scout. These are his badges. He loves to hike. And rock climb.

And he's always more than willing to help helpless people cross the street.

He's a deep-thinker. And he communes with nature on a regular basis.

And if that's not enough, guys, have you heard him sing? This is the scene that started it all.

Who would play your love-interest?

The POSSESSION Show the Love Tour!!!

So, guys. I feel so cool. I read my very first ever ARC this week.

For you non-writers (Hi, sisters!), that stands for Advanced Reader Copy. I got to read a book not available to the public yet!

I have arrived.

(*to those people who read ARCs all the time and are laughing at me right now, I say, "Shhh. Shhhhhhh. This is my parade. Take your rain elsewhere.")

As far as ARCs go, I think I got pretty lucky, too. POSSESSION, by Elana Johnson, is awesome. Here's the blurb from the back cover:

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

 But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

 This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

 I got the book on Monday. I started it at 10 am and finished just before 2 pm. It was awesome. I read pretty much straight through, except the 2 minutes it took to throw frozen corn dogs in the microwave, squirt ketchup on paper plates, dump out Goldfish crackers, peel tops off applesauce cups, and throw the lunch at my kids like they were birds in the park as I dove back on the couch.

Longest two minutes of my life, yo.

This book sucked me in from the beginning and didn't spit me out until the end. And even then, it had to spit me out against my will.

Vi is an awesome girl. She's tough and smart and really funny. And holy cow, can I just talk about the awesome names in this book for a moment? Vi, Jag, Zenn, Pace, Blaze, Sloan, Gavin, Ty. So cool. There's tons of action in this book, lots of twists, lots of mmm-hmmm romance, and a kick-a heroine.

POSSESSION comes out June 7th for all you commoners. (Okay, sorry, I'll quit being all braggy. Out loud.) In the meantime, check out Elana's blog and Like "POSSESION by Elana Johnson" on Facebook. You can also find out more about POSSESSION here.

*side note: Elana's crit buddy, Ali, is responsible for the Show the Love Tour. You can get more info on the tour from her blog, or by tweeting #POSSESSIONlove. (I don't do Twitter stuff. I don't even know if I said that right.)

And remember: Don't plug in! Bad is the new Good!

Lists! Kissing Edition!

*If you missed my Villains list, check it out here

emo love by Jett Meredith (age 4)

 

When I was in college, I had some friends (actually, it was more like I knew some girls who were way cool and I admired them from afar and called them my "friends" in my journal.)  (Kind of the way I make "friends" with other bloggers today.  *cough*) who made a kissing movie.  This was back in the VHS days, so they had recorded the kissing part of a bunch of different movies and dubbed music over the top of it.

It was so awesome.

Imagine, ten minutes of Hollywood's finest, going at it.  My friends had watched it so many times that they offered commentary, too.  The one I remember best was "Ever After":  "She tastes it, she likes it, she goes back in for more."

Making a kissing movie has been on my to-do list since that fateful day.  In that vein, here is my top ten kisses list!

1. Percy and Annabeth (in The Last Olympian) This kiss is long awaited.  And underwater in a giant bubble, which sounds ridiculously fun to me.
2. Harry and Ginny (in Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows) I have to give full credit to Ginny for both kisses.  She is a go-get-em type of girl.  I love the fact that she rushes Harry at the Quidditch celebratory party AND that she ambushes him on his birthday.
3. Ron and Hermione (in Deathly Hallows) This was also a long awaited kiss and I had to read it a few times to make sure it really happened.  Really?  Hermione just jumped Ron??  Awesome. I love Harry's annoyed reaction, too.
4. Max and Fang (in Max: The Protectors) Flying bird kids in love=kissing whilst flying.  That puts it in the same category as kissing underwater in a giant bubble.  In other words, it's on my bucket list of impossibility.
5. Ronnie and Will (in The Last Song) Admittedly, I'm not a huge Miley Cyrus fan.  Maybe that's part of the appeal of this kiss to me.  They're arguing, he's annoyed, so he shuts her up with a kiss.  Good call, Will.  Good. call.  (Here's a link if you want to check it out yourself.)
6. Anne and Gilbert (in Anne of Green Gables) Uh, do I really need to explain this one?  "I don't want sunbursts and marble halls.  I just want you!"  Ahhhhh.  Totally worth the six hour wait.
7. Frederic and Mabel (in Pirates of Penzance) He has to leave his beloved for 63 years, so what's a man to do?  Sing to her, waltz with her, dip her and plant a nice one full on her lips.  That'll hold her for half a dozen decades.
8. Squints Palledorous and Wendy Peffercorn (in The Sandlot) Not a particularly romantic kiss, but surrounded by so many good lines that I couldn't resist.  "She doesn't know what she's doing."  "Yeah, she does.  She knows exactly what she's doing."  "Oiling. Lotioning.  Lotioning. Oiling.  I can't take it no more! Move!" "He had kissed a woman.  And he had kissed her long and good."  I could go on and on.  Plus, he gets the girl in the end, so it all works out.
9. Lend and Evie (in Paranormalcy) I love the idea portrayed in this one; she can see him, literally, in a way no one else can.  That makes for a super sweet kiss.
10. Catcher and Gabry (in Dead-Tossed Waves) The intensity of the feelings surrounding this moment, the exhilaration of summer romance juxtaposed with a fear of zombie attack, made my tummy whirl.  Quite pleasantly.  

So there you have it.  Apparently, I like ambushes, unusual locales, and sweetness.

What kisses do you love?

Confessions I should probably keep to myself #1

I need Amanda Hugnkiss.  (hahaha!  Funniest prank name EVER!  Okay, fine, I'll leave the middle school slumber party and come back to my mature life.  *sigh*)

Seriously, though, I do.  

Not a girl named Amanda.  Or a man to hug and kiss.  Because I already have one of those (hubba hubba!).

But this is the thing:  I write most of my romance-y stuff late at night.  Reason #1- late at night is when brilliance starts sprouting from my brain uninhibited.  Reason #2- late at night I'm not constantly bombarded with "Mommommommommommomcrackercrackercrackertattletattletattletattlepoopoopoopoo!!!"  (Because those four words make up kids and their needs in a nutshell, you know.) 

Reason #3- I blush like a maniac when I write mushy stuff.  If you know me personally, you'll understand that the blushing thing isn't that extraordinary.  I'm a career blusher.  I turn red even for the sake of other people's embarrassments. My nickname in junior high was The Devil.  Yeah.

So one night, Rex was doing homework on the couch and I was typing away and he happened to look up at me and was like, "What are you writing?"  

And I was like, "Huh, what?" *blinking in a foggy haze of romance*  Then I had to admit that I was writing a kissing part, which is no big deal, right?  Because people kiss.  And it was just kissing, not even lusty kissing, really really sweet kissing actually, but I was bright red anyway.

Rex gave me his supportive you weirdo look and went on with life.  I save my mushy stuff for when he's not around, though.

Now, it should be pointed out that the romance in my stories is not racy by any stretch of the imagination.  It focuses mostly on the romantic tension leading up to The First Kiss, and here is where my struggle comes.

Rex is in bed.  The house is quiet.  And I'm trying to write about two people sitting next to each other, and I need to know if their hands would even actually be able to brush if they're sitting the way they're sitting, or I need to see how an entire sequence would play out and if it would come across as romantic or creepy and awkward. 

What's a girl to do?  The way I picture it in my mind isn't enough!  I want to see it at work!  I need proximity!  So, I use my throw pillow.  I prop it up next to me on the couch, let it's arm casually bump against mine.  I let it come 90% and wait as I slowly inch closer...and closer...and closer...

For the record, I've never actually kissed the pillow.  Because it's allll about what happens just before, remember?  But still, yes, I'm hitting on a pillow.  And letting it bust a move on me.

So, I'm curious.  What lengths do you go to in making sure your scenes are realistic?