Connect NOW Available

Hey everyone!

I'm so excited to share with you that my first novel, Connect, is now available to buy. Currently, it is only available here, but once more sites pick it up I will post them here! Enjoy and please feel free to write a review. Any questions or comments can be directed here.

Thanks again and I hope you enjoy :-)

Wanted to share this cool link

put your music player on shuffle. the first lines of twenty songs = a poem; the first line of the twenty-first song is the title.

Here's mine:

Don't let go

In the heart of the night when it's dark
Breathe in the water
Lay down your sweet and weary head
When did I choose to be blind?
I know you want it
Born to fight and we're born to flee
If you want it slowly don't knock on my door
Whenever I step outside
Memories are just where you laid them
When you're around I don't know what to do
Every time our eyes meet
You let me violate you
Turn around
Run run run away so long lost never coming
Oh, you know I have seen
Another head hangs lowly
Do you know that I could never leave you?
Hey mama, hey mama, look around
I'm sitting across from you
No walls can keep me protected

Kind of has an incestuous tone to it; don't you think?

Website Under Construction

Just a quick little note:

The website for the Connection Series will be ready soon. In about a weeks time it will be up, followed shortly by the release of the first book, Connect. I'll be sure to include the link here once it goes public.

Connect Edits and Photoshoots

Not a long post today and I apologize for the lack of them in the recent month. As of today, the edits for Connect are officially done. Put the final stamp on them. It's a weird feeling to know that it's over. But that doesn't mean it's all a walk in the park from here. This week will have me doing my author photoshoot as well as directing the shoot for the front and back cover. I'm excited for those because it will give me a chance to see the art unfold before my eyes. After that it's final decisions before the actual publication. Got 2 reviews in from good friends of mine--both of whom work in bookstores--and have a list of promotional ideas ready. The next few months are going to be pretty insane, but I know I will enjoy every second of it. Once I get some appearances schedules, I'll be sure to post them here. The website will also be done soon. That will include more information, photos and goodies. So until then... Work on Develop is going smoothly and I'm loving what I have so far.

Movie Updates: Jane Eyre & Wuthering Heights

So while catching up on my movie news I came across some pretty cool--and unsure--things about the newest versions of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Now, Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books of all time. Definitely in my Top 3. Therefore, it's needless to say that I was a bit nervous when they were going to redo it because I have a very clear image of what Jane and, especially, Rochester, look like. None of the past movies really gave me what I was looking for in terms of that, but does any movie? However, I'm happy to say I can breathe a little now that I saw this:
Yes, that is Mia Wasikowska from Alice In Wonderland! And she is playing Jane. Let me first say that I'm so, so happy that they uglied her down because Jane was never the pitch-perfect heroine we find--too often--today. I honestly think she looks stunning in this photo.

Of course, it is not just Mia that needs to carry the film. The actor that plays Rochester needs to be just as spectacular. I'll freak out if he and Mia have absolutely no chemistry! And I mean I will literally yell at the screen. Sadly, there are no pictures of Rochester as of now, but I did find a picture of the actor. Everyone, meet your future Rochester...

This is Michael Fassbender; an up-and-coming German actor who made his face known in 300, Inglourious Basterds and the latest X-Men film where he'll play the young Magneto (I'm going to take a fangirl moment here and go, SWEET!). Not a bad choice and while he is a bit cuter than what I think Rochester appears to be, I'm expecting great things from him.

Now with Jane Eyre out of the way (they do have a complete cast list up on IMDB, so be sure to check the rest out), I'll move on to Wuthering Heights. This book did not merely touch me as Jane Eyre did mainly because I thought Catherine and Heathcliff were a bunch of whiny brats. The only part of the book I did like was when (SPOILER WARNING) Catherine's daughter, Young Cathy and Hareton were older and Catherine was dead and out of the picture. Kind of mean, I know, but I just couldn't stand Catherine. Casting for this one has been up and down. According to IMDB's "Trivia" section on the film's page, they have settled on a Catherine and Heathcliff though they haven't posted it under the cast list yet so it could still change. Seeing that they don't have any photos, I created something using the two actors who are apparently the current choices for the leads.

I'm sure many of you recognize Ed Westwick from Gossip Girl. As of now he is lined up to play Heathcliff after another actor dropped out of the role. I believe the girl chosen to play Catherine is the final choice. Her name is Kaya Scodelario. Most popular from the BBC show, Skins, she had a bit role in the latest Clash of the Titans. I will say that appearance-wise, they couldn't have picked a better pair. Even making this, I kept saying, "Damn, they look hot together." And if there's anything Catherine and Heathcliff believed it was that their looks were also a perfect match. {Cough} {Gag} {Cough}

Well, that's pretty much it. Currently, Jane Eyre is set for a March 2011 release while Wuthering Heights is still in pre-production, though it also has a 2011 release. Despite it all, these 2 books are classics that will forever stay with us. Even though I hated Wuthering Heights, I would still recommend it.

Develop back in development

{Stretch} {Bend} {Stretch} Ah... Breaking out of writer's block is like a good stretch in the morning. I'm back now to Develop, the second book in The Connection Series. I haven't worked on it for two months thanks to a cork being slammed into that part of my brain that wanted to write it. But it's been removed and I feel liberated with a whole new batch of ideas and scenes. The final editing stages of Connect are almost done then come this July/August, it will be available for those wanting something new in the YA genre. That may seem like a big thing to say, but it's what I feel. Having read so many YA books in my life, I can honestly say my series takes the popular theme of superpowers, though it goes in a very different direction than you may have seen before.

So now that I am free from the dreaded writer's block, I will go forth with Develop and return to my schedule.

Another One Bites The Dust

Queen is my favorite band and this past episode of Glee gave me the title for this entry. So with the countless rejections I've received from agents, I have thus decided to move onto self-publishing. I know that is has only been 6 months since I sent my query out there, but the fact that 2 agents were interested and said no kind of knocked me down and it was tough to get up. But I did and I am moving on. Self-publishing may seem like the last option, but in all honesty I find it to be a true beginning. By doing it I get complete creative control and show the readers just how I pictured the cover and not what some designers may think it should look like. What you see in the Cover Mock Up sections for Connect, the first novel, is close enough to what I'm going to do, but will modify it a little.

I plan to release Connect sometime this July or August granted the final edits and all are done in time. It will be available through online vendors and once I have the actual links I will post them here. Also working on getting my little tush into the New York Comic Con and hopefully be able to do an event at the Barnes & Noble I work at. Again, this is looking way ahead in advance, but since I haven't blogged in a while I wanted to share with you my current status. A new page has been added with details about Connect. It will be altered in the next few weeks and updated once the cover is complete.

And remember... A lot of success stories have come out of self-publishing. I just believe in this series so much that I want to get it out there now.

Writer's Block Sucks

Damn, almost a month without blogging, but it happens. This is because I've been pretty busy with writing and regular work. In the meantime I have some things to share with you. Currently I'm working on two, count 'em, two novels for the fact that I've had writer's block on Develop. Sucks? Hells yes because I know where I want to go, I just can't seem to get there right now. So to take off the steam I started working on something else; something that I've always wanted to write, but since everyone and their mother has a vampire novel out there, I put it on hold. No more, I told myself. This novel is about Dracula returning in our time. Don't think this has anything to do with Dracula 2000 or the countless other Prince of Darkness books/films out there because what I'm writing I haven't seen and think the idea is pretty awesome.

Already 50 pages in, I'm loving it. For research I've been watching almost every Dracula movie I can get my hands on (many of which I own). Even those where he plays a minor role like Abbot and Costella Meet Frankenstein. Those I've already watched include Bram Stoker Dracula (with the amazing Gary Oldman), Dracula 2000 and Van Helsing. Even Charlaine Harris wrote a short story in which Dracula is looking for the perfect vampire bar to host his birthday. I, of course, have Bela Lugosi's to still watch and the Christopher Lee ones, but as I sit and watch each of these films, I can't help but think, "My God! Everyone has a different view on how this guy is." But that's one reason why I love the concept of Dracula. You can literally take him any way you want because he is so complex.

I don't plan on giving away too much about how I am perceiving him because I want to get through the rough draft then work out the kinks. But I can say that he won't be the charming prince you may have seen. He's angry since being almost killed by Jonathan Harker, Mina and the others from Bram Stoker's novel. That should tease you enough.

I'm still working on Develop at the same time, but it's just not flowing as it was before. My Dracula story is and "flow is flow" so I'm going with it.

People Will Always Dream and Put Those Dreams Into Songs

Lacking in the blog department merely because there hasn't been much to blog about. I did, however, want to talk about Pirate Radio/The Boat That Rocked, which I finally say the other day. I had wanted to see it when it was out in the theater, but sadly that never happened. Philip Seymour Hoffman leads as the only American amongst a group of British DJ's that go against the governments ban of playing rock n' roll on the radio. They are anchored off the coast of England where they broadcast. The antics are great, the casting superb and the music inspirational. I really enjoyed this film and recommend it to anyone, or at least anyone I know who likes these types of films.

Beside that, it dawned on me tonight that many shows are coming to a close for the summer. Most of which have about 3 or 2 episodes left. I plan on using this summer to catch up on a lot of things I've fallen behind on. Anime tops the list. I'll finish the last two seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then pick up Doctor Who, Torchwood and maybe Angel. I'll also be looking forward to the summer theater since it looks to be a fun-filled three months.

That's all for now. Until next time...

Weekend Into Week Craziness

This past weekend was my birthday, which was nothing short of amazing plus awesome. My friends and family made it the best 4-day birthday ever. Yes, 4 days since I had things going on from April 15-18. Dinner cooked on my behalf on Thursday, April 15; dinner with the family at Fire & Ice on April 16; my actual birthday on the 17th which consisted of mini golf, dinner and drinks; ending all with another family dinner on the 18th. So when I say 4-day birthday, I mean 4 days.

I didn't get much writing in during those busy days, but I got some done. Today I got to write a little more, but tomorrow I'll be taking a day trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which means I won't get a lot of writing done again. However, I will definitely do brainstorming and note taking on the ride there and back. Come Wednesday, I'll return to my usual schedule. While the past few days have been awesome, it is time to return to Develop. I'm almost to the halfway mark, which is great. Despite this draft being completely shitty, I am loving what I have down so far.

Still waiting to hear back from Alex Glass, who requested my full manuscript of Connect. Fingers crossed on that one because this guy has a great client list that I would love to be apart of. So cross those fingers and toes for me.