How did it become Thursday already? I swear it was just Monday. Ah well, it’s Update time!

My goals this week were:

Calm the frak down. If this requires wine, so be it. Ignore the neighbors and work on getting the hell out of that neighborhood.

Finish A CLASH OF KINGS and type up Ryan’s edits.

Dye the pony. Dye the pony! Then mail it out. Also mail out Mo’s shirt, since I’ve had it for a week now

Finish storylining Pike’s Revenge and finish the query for The Nameless Warrior. Start the synopsis and maybe check in with the editor to see how many red pens he’s gone through so far.

I was doing so well at calming the frak down until about ten minutes ago. I had a lovely weekend and my week at work has been easy (until about ten minutes ago, thus the freak out). I’ve mostly been watching TV and reading at home, and ignoring the things that make me want to rip small bunnies to shreds with my bare hands. We’ll call this week a success.

I haven’t finished A CLASH OF KINGS yet, but I’m damn close. That book is dense. But so good!

In the interest of remaining calm we won’t talk about the pony or Ryan’s edits right now, will we? I did mail the shirt out (two hours ago…).

The storyline I was working on for Pike’s Revenge didn’t work out so I started over. This version is much more promising, although it centers a bit too much on the Obsidians and not enough on Kari and Sipi. In fact, I haven’t seen Sipi in this version… I’m sure he’ll make an appearance at some point, but so far this book is leaning heavily on Brennan. Not a bad thing, per say, because I really enjoy writing about the Obsidians and taking a deeper look into their culture, but the book isn’t supposed to be about Bren – it’s supposed to be about Kari and Sipi. Ah well, we’ll see where the storyline takes me and tweak it later if need be.

I wrote the query! I need to re-write the query, but at least I jumped that first hurdle Juliana gave me some good tips for it, so hopefully I’ll have a strong query soon I also sort of started the synopsis (on a sticky note, of course!) and will work on that more once the query is finished. My poor editor had emergency surgery, so it’s going to be a while before I get the edits back. Everyone send him some good vibes!

And although I didn’t mention it as a goal last week I have heard back from one of my First Readers about Apollo and Daphne! He likes it so far, and had only minor issues that he’s found. Yay!

For next week:

Stay calm. Keep breathing. Don’t rip small bunnies to shreds.

Finish A CLASH OF KINGS and type up Ryan’s edits.

Dye the pony. Really. Do it tonight, in fact.

Finish storylining Pike’s Revenge. Finish the query and synopsis for The Nameless Warrior.

And now I’m going to get some coffee and hang out on my Colorful Pinterest board for a while. Join me, won’t you?

Before we get to CPotW let me take a moment to congratulate the winner of the Valentine’s Day contest: LAURA! I know for a fact that you are going to love this book And for everyone else who commented on the Valentine’s Day post but didn’t win: the book is only 99cents on Barnes and Noble! (No, I did not write this book, nor have I ever met/talked to/emailed the author. I just think it’s an amazing book).

Congratulations to Laura!

And now, on to the Custom of the Week: Diva from The Fifth Element! This is one of those great 80s movies that will always be awesome ;P And this custom is awesome.

I’ll be honest: this past week kind of sucked, guys. I’ve been stressed out, my neck and back have been hurting bad, and my neighbors have really made me re-consider that whole “love thy neighbors as thyself” thing. I’d like to just leave this week in the past.

So let’s get that over with. Last week’s goals were:

Try not to fail so spectacularly at the weekend drinking thing, even if Dr Who is involved.

Read read read! And type up edits for Ryan, since I finished reading his chapters over a week ago.

Finally dye the pony for the Custom Pony Contest way back in October and send it on to Kal (sorry Amanda!). First, find out where Hubs put the bag of ponies.

Find more experts. Finish the outline. Bug the First Readers. Storyline a new Pike’s Revenge.

Finally write the query and start the synopsis for The Nameless Warrior. Hope and pray (and possibly sacrifice small animals?) that I get the edits back this week.

Let’s just say that I failed miserably this past week, on all fronts except read read read! I never typed up Ryan’s edits, I haven’t dyed the pony (although I did find it, and I did wash a bunch of them for my co-worker that I’ve had for months now),  I didn’t find more experts or finish the outline for Apollo. I did bug my First Readers, but none of them have started reading yet :/

I have been storylining a new Pike’s Revenge And that has been insanely fun. I haven’t storylined a new story since Book of Souls, and that was two years ago! So instead of choosing between Bar’s storyline and Bren’s storyline I made them into the same person and took a little bit from each story to make something brand new. I still don’t know what happens, and that’s so much fun. I can’t wait to find out how this one ends.

And I did manage to work on the query a little bit. I added one line, at least, and have been mulling it over. I need to go back and re-read the entire book, because so much changed and I can’t remember which parts were cut. I’ve been trying to hold off until the edits come back, because I know I’ll find things I want to change, but so far not a peep from the editor (he also hasn’t been on Twitter, so hopefully he’s so engrossed with The Nameless Warrior that he’s forgotten everything else).

So let’s not go overboard this week. Keep it simple, right?

Calm the frak down. If this requires wine, so be it. Ignore the neighbors and work on getting the hell out of that neighborhood.

Finish A CLASH OF KINGS and type up Ryan’s edits.

Dye the pony. Dye the pony! Then mail it out. Also mail out Mo’s shirt, since I’ve had it for a week now

Finish storylining Pike’s Revenge and finish the query for The Nameless Warrior. Start the synopsis and maybe check in with the editor to see how many red pens he’s gone through so far.

That seems like a simple enough list for the week. Let’s stick with that.

How did your last week go? Any celebrations? Or, like me, do you need a little boost to get you going on those goals?

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Don’t forget: I’m giving away a copy of my favorite book, THE LIGHT BEARER, to one lucky winner! Just stop by Tuesday’s Getting To Know You post and comment with your favorite fictional couple to be entered into the drawing.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today I’m stealing a question from Nathan Bransford: Who is your favorite fictional couple?

My favorite fictional couple (other than Kindra and Gar, of course) is Auriane and Marcus from The Light Bearer by Donna Gillespie (which also happens to be my favorite book. Ever. Go read it! In fact, stick around and win a copy.)

Here, let me tell you more about this awesome book with the blurb:

On the day of her birth, Auriane received a mysterious amulet from a priestess – and a double-edged prophecy of doom and glory. The daughter of a Germanic tribal chieftain, Auriane witnessed unspeakable horrors committed against her people by ruthless invaders. And when tragedy tore her family apart, she took the oath of a warrior, and vowed revenge. Tales of her brilliant swath of conquest carried as far as Rome, to the renowned statesman Marcus Julianus – who felt his destiny intertwined with Auriane’s, and wore about his neck an identical amulet

Twin destinies intertwined by fate and mystery collide in this remarkable debut novel of ancient Roman and Germanic tribal conflict and resolution from a gifted new writer. Epic in scope, The Light Bearer is an unforgettable reading experience in the tradition of I, Claudius.

And yes, I wrote The Nameless Warrior before reading this book (now you know why it’s my favorite!). The descriptions in this book are amazing. The characters are deep, the obstacles are on a scale that you can only write about when Ancient Rome is involved, and the moment Auriane and Marcus finally meet is so sweet and delicious. They definitely win best couple for me

If you’d like a chance to win this book and read this great love story for yourself just leave a comment with your favorite storybook couple. I’ll draw a random winner and announce them on Sunday’s Custom of the Week post!

I’ve seen a lot of custom Mad Hatter ponies in my day, but I have to say that today’s custom of the week is the most colorful Mad Hatter and Doormouse that I have ever seen. I love the colors and the eye makeup and the sock on only one foot. And the Doormouse! <3

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another exciting update on my crazy life goals! Last week I was shooting for the following:

Yoga! And work is starting a new Yopilates class next Friday, so definitely join that. Continue not drinking on weekdays, and cut back on the weekends.

Finish reading Crash Into You and Dies Irae. For reals this time Start the second Game of Thrones book so I can have it done by the premier on HBO (find out when the premier is…).

Continue searching for the elusive expert. Actually start the outline. Bug the First Readers if they haven’t responded.

Breathe – the edits on The Nameless Warrior should be coming back any time now. So breathe!

How’d I do? Well, I failed the “cut back on the weekends” part quite spectacularly But hey, if you’re going to fail, fail big! And have fun doing it! We had so much fun failing, in fact, that I actually got Hubs to watch Dr Who and like it. This is a huge accomplishment (it also means I get to re-watch Nine, who is my favorite).

I finished reading DIES IRAE (if you missed Christine’s guest post you can find it here) and started reading CLASH OF KINGS. I already like it better than the first Game of Thrones book because I don’t know how it ends (and I have realized I will never read Harry Potter, because I know how it ends. It seemed like such a good idea at the time to watch the movies first). I have about one or two chapters left of CRASH INTO YOU, but I can’t take that one to work, so it was a bit slower.

I also found an expert! A very lovely person over on Google+ gave my info to a friend of her’s who works for a senator in Washington State. My new expert is sending me photos of the buildings so I can nail the setting and sending me lots of info about the page program, so I know exactly what Apollo will be doing when he starts working for his dad. I also remembered that my best friend in high school ran cross country, and he sent me a huge long email about that, reminding me once again why he was my best friend in high school. I am still looking for experts on the local high schools, and a mythology expert.

I started the outline (I’m about halfway done) and storylined through the Hyacinth part of Apollo’s past. I did bug one First Reader, but she hasn’t had a chance to start the book yet, so I must practice patience and bug the other two instead

And yeah, still breathing – still waiting on edits. Now that the Apollo backstory is all finished I’ve been trying to figure out what needs to happen in Pike’s Revenge. Fie Eoin changed so much that the current version of the sequel won’t work without major changes (also, my life has been threatened if I kill Kindra) so I’m trying to figure out something else. I do have an alternate version, but it’s not as exciting and it completely leaves out one of the new POV characters. I’m not ready to kill that darling yet, so I’m seeing what other doors my muse will open. Either way I need the current novel’s edits back first, to make sure there are no other major changes to work on.

For next week:

Try not to fail so spectacularly at the weekend drinking thing, even if Dr Who is involved.

Read read read! And type up edits for Ryan, since I finished reading his chapters over a week ago.

Finally dye the pony for the Custom Pony Contest way back in October and send it on to Kal (sorry Amanda!). First, find out where Hubs put the bag of ponies.

Find more experts. Finish the outline. Bug the First Readers. Storyline a new Pike’s Revenge.

Finally write the query and start the synopsis for The Nameless Warrior. Hope and pray (and possibly sacrifice small animals?) that I get the edits back this week.

That sounds like enough for a busy week, don’t you think? What are your goals this week?

Hello and welcome to the DIES IRAE Blog Tour everyone! Today Christine Fonseca is here to talk about her new book, DIES IRAE, the prequel to her REQUIEM series which comes out next month!

First, a little about the book:

Some sacrifices should never be made—even for love. 

Mikayel lives by one rule—obey the orders of the angelic Council at all costs. But when he and his friends, Azza and Demi, are sent to Earth as teenagers, following the rules is more difficult than they expected.

Being human isn’t the only problem facing the three angels. Unbeknownst to the Council, demonic activity is on the rise, threatening to break a tenuous peace that has existed for a millennia.

Caught in a struggle for power with unseen demonic forces, and fighting against his rising emotions, Mikayel must now decide how many rules he is willing to break to save his friends, a decision that could reignite an ancient war and will threaten the only thing that matters to the angels, the survival of humanity.

The Inspiration Behind DIES IRAE and the Requiem Series

 Thank you, Rebecca, for having me today. I thought I’d talk a little about inspiration today. I often get asked how I came up with the storyline for DIES IRAE. My answer – um, I don’t know.

Okay, not totally true. But close.

The story of DIES IRAE actually comes from a conversation between Azza and Nesy, two characters in the first novel of the series, LACRIMOSA. In this conversation, Azza alludes to a friendship between he and another character—Mikayel. When I decided to write a prequel story, I thought that exploring that friendship would be fun. I also thought it could help the entire series. Boy, was that an understatement. Writing DIES IRAE deepened not only my understanding of the series, but it changed my opinion of Azza and my thoughts about the relationship between Azza and Mikayel.

As for what inspired the series, I would have to say it was the mythology of angels in general. A long time ago, I researched angelic mythology for a class. A few of those stories stayed with me, twisting and turning in my subconscious until, in November 2009 when I was supposed to be finishing my NaNo project, the idea for LACRIMOSA was hatched.

With DIES IRAE, I also pulled on the mythology of angels and demons, this time tapping into some of the legends of Iblis and the Jinn as well as the stories of the fall of Lucifer. In reading some of these stories, I got a clear understanding of the realm I was working to create, a clear understanding of the particular story. DIES IRAE, as well as LACRIMOSA and the other stories are an offshoot of that understanding.

In school, I was a student of world religions and spirituality. Not surprising as the most influential person in my life, my mom, was also a teacher of world spirituality. This series, as well as other stories I’ve written, take my understanding of world religions and mythology and meld it together with our common human experience. The result is hopefully a story that both captures the imagination and resonates with that common mythos we all share.

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Obviously I am all about the mythology, and I have to say that DIES IRAE melds it well. For a bunch of angels who aren’t supposed to have feelings, they sure are angry/jealous/loving/scared and every other emotion you can think of! Plus *fans self* dialogue! I love me some dialogue

Thanks for visiting with us today, Christine! And thanks to everyone joining the blog tour today – I hope you learned a bit more about the book and the series.

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About Christine Fonseca

School psychologist by day, critically acclaimed YA and nonfiction author by night, Christine Fonseca believes that writing is a great way to explore humanity. Her debut YA Gothic series, The Requiem Series, including DIES IRAE and LACRIMOSA, examines the role of redemption, sacrifice and love. When she’s not writing or spending time with her family, she can be sipping too many skinny vanilla lattes at her favorite coffee house or playing around on Facebook and Twitter. Catch her daily thoughts about writing and life on her blog.

Time to update you on how my week’s been (I know Thursdays are a weird day to do this, but they work just as well as any other day) and all the amazing things I’ve accomplished.

Last week’s goals were:

Continue with the yoga, not drinking, and having hot water.

Finish reading Crash Into You and Dies Irae.

Find someone who knows Olympia, Washington, as well as someone who is an expert in the Apollo myths (if you know anyone who qualifies for either please let me know, or point them my way!). Start building a chapter by chapter outline of the novel, and figure out what is the #1 goal in Apollo’s life. Storyline how his parents met, and how things progressed to having a bastard child that daddy wouldn’t claim.

Yoga? Check. Not drinking? Check. Hot Water? Oh baby, check check check! I even managed to be social and go to an oyster roast And tonight I’m going to see Jimmy Buffett live! I really hope he sings Coast of Carolina (he should, the concert’s on the coast of Carolina).

I’m still working on Crash Into You (which has been giving me weird dreams) and Dies Irae (did you see yesterday’s post?). I also finished reading and editing the first four chapters of my critter’s book. It was “yank you by the front of the shirt and drag you into a space war” exciting! (I also finished Season One of Dr. Who, and am mourning the loss of Eccleston as the Doctor. God I loved his big ears and grin.)

I also finished storylining Zeus and Leto, and it gave me a much better perspective on Zeus. He’s not as bad as he seemed, but Hera…well, I won’t say anything mean about a Goddess in public I didn’t manage to start the outline, and I’m still looking for an expert on Olympia and mythology. I also think I know which goal is #1 for the novel, but I’m waiting for some feedback from my First Readers before I finalize it.

So, on the plate for next week:

Yoga! And work is starting a new Yopilates class next Friday, so definitely join that. Continue not drinking on weekdays, and cut back on the weekends.

Finish reading Crash Into You and Dies Irae. For reals this time Start the second Game of Thrones book so I can have it done by the premier on HBO (find out when the premier is…).

Continue searching for the elusive expert. Actually start the outline. Bug the First Readers if they haven’t responded.

Breathe – the edits on The Nameless Warrior should be coming back any time now. So breathe!

Oh yeah, and speaking of FE, today is the Festival of Aleda! I’ll definitely put up a FEF tomorrow so you can see what the celebration is like in the Faye land.

*cracks whip* What are your goals for the next week?

I am so excited today to help announce the book birthday of one of my favorite authors Christine Fonseca and her novella, DIES IRAE!

Christine was one of the first people to welcome me to the online community of writers through Twitter and blogging. She’s one of the hardest working people I know, and I am so excited to be part of her Blog Tour that starts today!

Christine will be here on Monday, Feb 6th, to talk about the inspiration behind her REQUIEM series, so make sure you come back on Monday! Until then, check out her Launch Day Party and win yourself a copy of her book!

I am super excited about this week’s custom-that’s-not-a-custom because it has to do with the book I just started editing: Apollo and Daphne! If you haven’t read the Apollo and Daphne myth, find the nearest copy of Ovid’s Metamorphoses and start reading – it’s one of my favorites. So much so that I wrote a contemporary YA re-telling of the myth, which you are going to hear a lot about this year as I try to get it ready to send out. Needless to say, when I came across the following artwork of Daphne turning into a tree as Apollo looks on, I knew I had to feature it on my blog. In fact, it’s becoming my computer wallpaper as well!