Who Wants Cake?

This Sunday is my BIRTHDAY!

In honor of this glorious event, I'd like to party like Bilbo Baggins, and present presents to all of you, my esteemed guests :).

Please enjoy some of my favorite things:

Fully committed geeks!

Epic facepalms!

Wolverine with corndogs for claws!

(Yes, I made this. No, I'm not ashamed. Okay, maybe a little.)

Starbuck being awesome!

Babies eating kittens!

Hilarious heavy metal fashion!


Neil Patrick Harris!





Adorable baby hedgehogs!

This.

I hope you all have a great weekend! :D Party on!

The Long Wait

I found this quote today while reading agent Rachelle Gardner's blog, and wanted to share it:





“This manuscript of yours that has just come back from another editor is a precious package. Don’t consider it rejected. Consider that you’ve addressed it ‘to the editor who can appreciate my work’ and it has simply come back stamped ‘Not at this address’. Just keep looking for the right address.” – Barbara Kingsolver



Easier said than done, Babs, but a good principle nonetheless.



It got me thinking about how we deal with the wait while we work to achieve our dreams?



Are we idiots for waiting? Why don[t we give up and do something smart like go to dental school?



I thought about the idea of being content with your life even if you aren't exactly where you want to be, and these Bible verses came to mind:



2Co 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
2Co 12:10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.



That last line really grabs me, and I think it applies to all writers whether they're Christian or not--the principle is the same.



When we are tired of waiting, when we're weary of being rejected, when revisions are piling up and we don't think we can do it anymore... when we face these things that would overwhelm normal people and yet manage to keep the dream alive, aren't we strong?



I think we are :).



We have the power of our dreams behind us, and for me, I feel the power of having a purpose in my life pushing me forward, spurring me on. We know what we want, which is more than a lot of people can say! We know what we need to do to get it, and we know that it takes time. We are strong because we know we can never give up.



We're strong because we won't, not for any amount of money. How many people can say the same?



We're strong because we have each other. We all get it, and we know the journey is difficult, but oh, so worth it. We're strong because we support one another in communities like this!



So, I ask you: What makes you feel strong when you are weak?

Tell the Truth Tuesday!

Here are my true confessions this week, for your viewing pleasure:

1) My husband is an Olympics widower. I am endlessly fascinated by all things Olympics, and catch watch ANY sport during both summer and winter olympics, much to my husband's dismay. He'll come into the room to hear me shouting "WHAT?! Only 95.5 meters! What the hell kind of ski jump is that, Norway!" then shake his head and walk away.

2) I have started sleeping with my iPhone. Okay, not like that, but just as disconcerting. I've been keeping my iPhone next to my bed at night so when I first open my eyes I can press it to my face lovingly and check my email. Yes, I'm querying again--how did you know?

3) I love tiny things. The other day, I was feeling down, so I bought myself some tiny fuzzy animals for my desk at work. It's an inch high giraffe, lemur, and snake, and they run a tiny lemonade stand. This delights me. I spend money on stuff like this more often than I'd care to admit.

4) I am an accidental book thief. If you lend me a book, you will never see it again. I always have good intentions, but once borrowed, I cannot for the life of me remember to return it. I still have a book one of my pastors lent me when I was 14. I worry there might be a special circle of Hell for people who steal religious books from a pastor.

5) I've had a beer in the shower. When my husband was out of town, I started doing very bachelorettey things, such using the bathroom with the door open and eating waffles for dinner. Drinking a beer in the shower was the highlight. I have no regrets.

So, fess up, guys!

What would you like to confess this Tuesday?

Eating My Words: Cupcakes RULE!

My apologies for dropping off the face of the earth last week. Sometimes, as much as I hate to admit it, real life gets in the way of blogging. :) I'm back now, and possibly better than ever!

________________

A while back, I mentioned on this blog that I've never met a cupcake that I liked. I've often wondered if it's because they usually come in a hideous configuration like THIS, or if it's because there are delicious cupcakes out there far, far away from me, and I'm missing out.

Well, the lovely Lizzy Mason offered to hook me up with a good cupcake recipe, and sent me THE COMPLETE MAGNOLIA BAKERY COOKBOOK.

Lizzy, it's official: I love both you AND cupcakes!

I finally dared to make one of the recipes this past weekend using this mixer from the 1970s (seriously) passed down to me by my mother. This thing is like a cross between a dust buster and a bucking bronco and only has three speeds: Off, Fast, and KILL. My husband had also run off with the big mixing bowl to use in one of his many projects, so I had to use a tiny bowl and rotate out ingredients.

Despite these challenges, I managed to actually make a batch of Magnolia's black bottom cupcakes, which are fluffy and chocolatey on the bottom half, and have a rich cream cheese top half (YUM!).

My one criticism of the book, which contains a ton of delicious receipes I'm dying to try, is that there are no pictures. As you can see here, my cupcakes were less than beautiful because I had no clue how the cream cheese was supposed to be spooned on to the top. However, they were chocolatey-creamcheesetastic, so I'm not complaining too much!

So, now I'm a believer. If you love cupcakes, I'd recommend the recipes in THE COMPLETE MAGNOLIA BAKERY COOKBOOK. If a novice like me can do it, anyone can!

*disclaimer--this book was sent to me for free as previously mentioned. FTC, you should really try some cupcakes.

Has anyone else used any good cookbooks lately? Any recommendations for the baking-challenged?

Giving It Up*

*No, not that, you naughty readers, you!

I was thinking today, this first day of Lent, what if we were to give something up for 40 days that was truly holding us back? Not something silly like coffee or chocolate, but something truly harmful.

What if we gave up Self Doubt?

What could we accomplish?

Not being Catholic, I nonetheless thought it was an interesting question.

My question to you is, what is holding you back from achieving your dreams, or even trying?

What would you like to give up?

Check out this related post from agent Rachelle Gardener today, and tell me your thoughts!

Blog Chain: Meeting Your Characters!

It's blog chain time again!

This round's topic is brought to you by the character-driven Cole who asked:

How do you get inside your character's world?

Apparently, Cole actually stalks her characters, google maps their haunts, etc, to get to know them. This got me thinking about my own process.

How the hell did I first meet my characters?
How did I know what they looked like? How they thought? What their strengths and weaknesses are?

To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure. They just sort of showed up in my brain like strangers knocking on my door. For example, in my head I have a picture of Astrid and a picture of Torin from LEGACY OF THE EMPRESS in mind from the start. I don't know where they came from, but I knew that Astrid was an 18 year old girl with long dark hair and deep blue eyes, and Torin was a 19 year old boy with dark hair that stuck up in weird angles.

This is seriously the first I knew about them, and I had to figure it out from there. It really was like I saw strangers in a cafe, thought they were interesting, and then tried to get to know them from afar. The first thing I do is try to google for images that are close to what I have in my brain. I feel like if I can give my characters a physical form (at least in my own head), I'll be able to hold onto them long enough to figure out what makes them tick.

So, I googled.

For Astrid, I came up with this picture of Kate Beckinsale, only in my head she's younger, and has longer hair. For Torin, a picture of Jake Gyllenhaal was the closest I could find. From there, I spent time with them in my head and felt out how they talked, if they were quiet or loud or shy or obnoxious, and then checked in with them at random intervals throughout the story to see how they would react to different situations. For each scene I thought "what is driving them?" and then basic questions like "what would Torin do? How would he feel here?"

Being a woman writing a male character, I also had times where I checked in with my Resident Man Expert: AKA, my husband. For example, I had Torin crying over something and it didn't feel right. I asked my Resident Man Expert what a guy would do in that situation. His answer? Punch something! That explains why crying doesn't seem like a good choice here :)! Torin wouldn't cry, dangit, he'd punch the rock until his knuckles bled! (needless to say, my R.M.E. was extremely helpful. I highly recommend getting one if you don't have one already, or a Resident Lady Expert if you are a dude.)

I admit it's kind of weird that my characters show up in my head before I get to know them. I'm not sure how this works. For my new WIP, HOLLOW LAND, I knew that the main character had short, dyed fire engine red hair... but when I tried to name her she basically told me her name was Davida, and the name I'd chosen for her was nickname. Then she told me she's Jewish. Jewish? Great! Now, I'm going to have to research!

Sometimes these characters turn out to be more high maintenance than I bargained for, but who am I to complain? They are who they are.

Okay, now I'm worried that this post makes me sound insane.

How the heck do YOU come up with your characters? How do you get into their heads? Do you meet them first like I do and then let them unfold, or do you have a system I need to know about?

Don't miss the fabulous Kate tomorrow!

The Results Are In.....

My BOOK LOVE CONTEST was a ton of fun, but now it's that time...

Time to declare a winner (or three)!

Since I am nothing if not scientific, I put the names and points for everyone who entered into a random number generator hat, and made my lovely assistant husband pull out the winners!

So, without further ado... our winners aaaaaare:

Crystal in First Place!

Crystal, even though you just joined my blog today (yay!), I put you in the hat, and you won a $25 gift card to your book retailer of choice, and your choice of either chocolate, coffee, or a fancy bookmark :). Please email me at rebeccaknightbooks(at)gmail(dot)com with your preferences and address!

Lisa and Laura in Second Place!

You ladies are blessed with good fortune! You've won a copy of SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater, or a Synopsis Critique from yours truly (which I don't think you need, since you have a wonderful agent, but hey, just checking), and your choice of chocolate, coffee, or a bookmark. Email me!

Cipherqueen in Third!

With the most Book Love and eleven total points in the contest, it's only right that you win some love! You've won either SHIVER or a synopsis critique (whatever LiLa doesn't pick), and your choice of chocolate, coffee, or a bookmark. Please email me as well!

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS!

And hey, the Book Love doesn't end here ;). Remember to show authors and aspiring authors your support however you can!

So, I'd like to know: What's the best book you've read lately?