Inkpop's back . . .

So, the site came back on Thursday, and I have to say I'm disappointed. There's still a lot of glitches, and it's chaos. I had all of my books written chapter by chapter for the original inkpop, and now, you're supposed to post the whole book so I have to go and copy and paste all of my chapters into a single document. It kinda sucks.

On the optimistic note, I graduated eighth grade last night, and it was great!! I finished reading Delirium by Lauren Oliver, and it was fantastic! I'll do a review soon, but probably not today. It is my first day of summer vacation, you know.

Now, for a rising music artist who I totally just fell in love with . . .



Make sure to pause the piano music that's playing for my page. I'm pretty sure the icon is in the top right corner. Love ya!

The Apocalypse O.O

So, I'm sure any fellow inkies know about the changes going on for the website these next few days. The site's down, which means more free time to write and blog for me :D If you do go to the site, there's a pretty little countdown button with the days, hours, minutes and seconds until inkpop comes back with all of its new orange flashiness. (I don't approve of watching the timer click away the seconds. It makes you dizzy)

I know I'm feeling a little lost without my inkie friends. If you wanna word war or just chat it up, you can go to this website made by fellow inkie, Tracy Michelle
http://chitchatinkpop.webs.com/summers.htm
It's got different chat rooms for the Summers, Procrastinators, Pink Panthers and so on.

Any summers out there, writing their InkieNoWriSum projects? The big event officially started yesterday, and I'm proud to say I wrote four chapters of Behind That Broken Smile. It should be ready for posting after the little shut down.

If anyone wants to talk to a fellow writer during these down days, feel free to email me at ashley2055@gmail.com

Toodles, for now, my fellow bloggers!

InkieNoWriSum :D

See that jumble of letters? That's for Inkie Novel Writing Summer which will be like National Novel Writing Month, but we're gonna take the whole summer to write a project or continue one. My goal is to start 'Behind That Broken Smile' (the sequel to 'Behind These Amber Eyes') and get it up to at least 60,000 words.

InkieNoWriSum will go from June 14 to August 18, so I'm hoping for a good novel at the end of it. I know some of my followers aren't inkpop users, but that shouldn't stop you from setting your own goals this summer.

Want to write a novel? Do it.
Want to write a book of poetry? Do it.
Want to jump off a cliff? Do not - I repeat do NOT - do it!

So, that's the jist of my summer plans. I hope to finish up 'Your Name Was Joey' before June 14, but I won't mind working on it this summer if I must. :]

In the world of the media, here's my personal items on the agenda these days.

Currently Reading: Generation Dead
Currently Listening to: Joey by Sugarland, She Will Be Loved and Never Gonna Leave This Bed by Maroon 5
Currently Watching: Desperate Housewives finale tonight, Secret Life and Make It or Break It tomorrow night

So, there you have it, bloggers. I think I'll go make an icon for InkieNoWriSum :)

The Carrier of the Mark

So, this book isn't actually released until October of 2011, but I was able to win an Advance Reader's Copy. I read this book last week while my school was doing testing, and I had a lot of free time. I decided I should review it, because I don't get many opportunities like this.

Characters: I really liked the characters, although in the beginning I did think that it was going to wind up be like Twilight. The characters were secretive and mysterious like the Cullens, but I think they were really different, and I enjoyed their individuality.

Plot/storyline: I don't want to give anything away, so I won't say much. I did love the story though. I wasn't expecting what happened, and I found myself dying to read more! It was suspenseful with romance and adventure. Great story!

Overall: While I did fear it would turn into a Twilight knock-off, I was pleasantly surprised. It had all the components of a great novel, and I don't know how I'm going to wait until it's publicly released to see what others think of it. I can't wait for the sequel either, but I think I may have to hold off until I start getting too excited for that.

This was definitely a great book. Borrow it from someone who won a copy or go and preoder your own copy right now! You'll want this book as soon as it comes out!

I am on a lucky streak :]

Happy Easter, guys! Or, happy Passover, I guess if you're Jewish. I dyed Easter eggs earlier. There's a picture of a few of the eggs with some quick use of Picnik :)

So, I won that 'Carrier of the Mark' ARC contest. By the way, I got the book in the mail and can't wait to start reading! I'm not sure if I'll do a review or not, becuase the book isn't publicly released until October, but I may drop a few hints for you guys once we get closer to the summer. :D

And then I entered the 'Die For Me' contest on inkpop.com and won again! I will be receiving . . .

Die For Me

The Last Little Blue Envelope (sequel to 'Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes')

Delirium

and Cloaked

I'm very excited. I'll make sure to do a book review on at least one of those books! I can't wait for them to come!! Because I don't have much for you today, here are some photos I took earlier today :)

I'm happy today :)

So, I'm guessing my twelve followers (spread the word, guys! I promise I'll be doing more book reviews and such as soon as I finish up my school projects and whatnot) saw my last post about Leigh Fallon's ARCs (Advance Reader's Copy) of her book, The Carrier of the Mark. When I posted that video to show you all more about publishing and how a book goes through many stages, I entered a contest on inkpop.com as well. It was a random drawing, and I won! So I'll be getting my own copy of the Carrier of The Mark before it hits stores. Maybe I'll even do a special review for all of you. ;) In other news, I had to do a book report for my reading class, and seeing as my school doesn't get spring break, it's been pretty hectic lately. I was going to review 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain (A.K.A. Samuel Clemens) but, honestly, I just couldn't get through the book. It had an intriguing storyline and I really liked the characters, but there was just too much dialect (racial terms and just the way Twain abbreviated so much with the use of an apostrephe) that I couldn't read it. All bashing aside, it did have a good storyline and I hope to return to it one day when it's not required reading, because that puts too much pressure on it, I think. If you're looking for a good book to read, I reccommend 'A Farewell to Arms' by Ernet Hemingway. My friend read the book for her report, and she enjoyed it. I think I'll check it out one of these days and see why she called it 'a sad, but really touching love story'. Adios fellow bloggers! I must go and try to find some medicine to clear up this cold I've gotten :P

Well, gosh darnit, what in the world is an ARC?

That there ^^ is Leigh Fallon opening her box of ARCs. What is an ARC, you ask? An ARC is an Advance Reader's Copy of a book, given to the author to read over and whatnot. In case you don't already know about Leigh's success (how could you not?!?!?!) she is the first author to be published off of inkpop.com Her book, The Carrier of the Mark, made it into the top 5 a few months ago, and, soon, her book will be on bookshelves and in your hands! So, anyone preorder The Carrier of the Mark? Planning to buy it the day it comes out? Reply in the comments and tell me what you think of it, and Leigh's video! (from her personal Youtube channel, no copyright intended)

I finished writing a book . . . .

Yeah, you heard me right. I just finished writing the last chapter of my second novel. It's 80,000 or so words, which means a 200 page book. Of course, I'm going to edit and add more, so who knows how big it'll actually get :)

So, Flashbacks of Juliet is done. I'll go back in a month or so and edit it all to the core. I'll probably add more to the story and really flesh out some of the parts I rushed through. If you wanna check out the first draft (Hey, in a few years, when it's published, you're going to wish you had!) go to this link:
http://www.inkpop.com/projects/12967/flashbacks-of-juliet/

Otherwise, I'll be reviewing 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' in a few days because I need to read it for school, and maybe you'll have to too.

Your Name Was Joey

So, I have a little gift (?) for you guys. I recently wrote a short story, Your Name Was Joey, and I'm gonna post the beginning up on here for everyone to see. Don't get too excited; it's posted on inkpop if you want to read the whole thing. I'll post the link at the bottom for everyone to go, read and tell me their thoughts on it.

Here's the beginning:

If I could go back and change things, there's so much I'd change. I would change the first time I ever lied to you, and all the times I lied to myself about you and us. I would change everything, from our very first date to the very last kiss.
You were always so majestic, so wondrous. I was that random girl in the corner, trying to finish her biology homework. It's funny how things turn out, isn't it? I was a freshman, taking all advance classes. You were a sophomore, trying to keep your grades average.
And so we met in Spanish II, being thrown together in a messy partnership to try and describe our favorite things in a foreign language. You told me you liked basketball, country music and hanging out with your older cousin, who was from Kentucky. Your name was Joey, and you were allergic to bees. That was what I learned my first Spanish class that year.
Your name was Joey, Joey who was allergic to bees.
The next class, you willingly became my partner. Why? Did you plan to become more than just a class partner with me? Or was it all just luck of the draw that I got to talk to you and learn about you everyday?
I told you my name was Renee, which it was - I did consider lying about it, though. My favorite movie was Pretty in Pink, but I was a sucker for any cheesy romance comedies. My mom was a doctor, and my father was a police officer before he was killed on the job.
My name was Renee, Renee who didn't have a daddy.

So, I hope you liked the beginning. I'm warning you this story gets intense, and I've had people start crying. Here's the link if you want to be a doll and read the whole thing:
http://www.inkpop.com/projects/96704/your-name-was-joey/

In other news, I'm almost done the first draft of Flashbacks of Juliet. Go to www.caseyscovers.weebly.com to learn about that book and my others. :D

Hola mi amigas! :D

No, I'm not suddenly Spanish. xD But isn't it fun to talk in a different language? Like, I know how to say Hello in a few . . .

Hello
Hola
Bon jour
Ciao
Aloha
Nei Hao
Konichiwa (spell check?)

See? I know some different languages! Anyway, this post is to inform all you that I am taking a break from inkpop. It may be for a day, or maybe a full month. I'm not really sure. At the moment, I've been going on every so often to check up on my ranks and all, but I think that'll lessen in the coming days.
Also, I'm working on finishing up Flashbacks of Juliet, querying for Behind These Amber Eyes and starting Cupid's Curse. I've got a lot going on right now, so I'm not sure how often I'll post. Hopefully, it'll be at least once a week.
There isn't much else to say except that I finished reading Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Titan's Curse!! Expect a book review in the coming days, guys! :]

Today was a fairytale . . .

So, I totally love Taylor Swift, in case you weren't aware. I'm even going to her concert in August!! Can't wait!

Anyway, I'm a little bored. Inkpop's down for maintenance apparently. The website's all locked up right now. I'm wondering if it'll be a few hours or days before it's back up. I'm already bored! Hopefully, there'll be some evident changes on the site if they had to close it down. If there's any other inkies out there who know anything or have any idea what's going on, feel free to comment or email me at ashley2055@gmail.com I promise I won't stalk you! (or bite!)

I promised you guys a book review for the Lightning Thief, and you'll get it. I just need to type it up. Feel free to look around the blog; check out the writing prompts!

And for those of you, thinking about my personal life, wondering why today was a fairy tale . . . I'll just say it started with a puffin. ;]

Come on, all you inkies!!!!

So, this is a random post to anyone that isn't a member of inkpop.com . . . For those inkies reading this though, a fellow inkie is in trouble. There was a major glitch on inkpop that had people logging in as other inkpoppers when they were actually trying to get onto their own accounts. During that time, a lot of projects were deleted by evil people.

One of the projects, Paradox, was in the top 5. With only one day left until the end of the month, the author needs a lot of help getting picks and feedback. We can get it back in the top 5, inkies! We have to!

Time is running out, and we need these picks fast! Don't tell me that the author may not deserve it or whatever if you haven't read the book, because it's a great book. Also, it was in the top 5 for almost the whole month! We need to make things right and get it back there!

Click this little link right here and then click "Add to picks list" because you know you want to!

http://inkpop.com/projects/90945/paradox/

In other news, expect a book review on 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" tomorrow afternoon!!

New Layout!

So, bloggers and blog-readers, do you see the new layout? I changed the colors, fonts, everything! I was trying to make the background image - the flowers and buttons - bigger, but it's not letting me for some reason. If you have any idea on how to fix that, feel free to comment and help me out! I've also added an icon on the side . . . the glittery type writer? Well, that'll take you to my home page. I'm pretty sure it's on every page, so bada bing bada boom! I think you can also add it to your blog if you're super nice and want to help promote me, but I'm not really sure how you can add something like that. Once again, adivce is welcome in the comments!

On other news, I am hard at work on my books. I'm thinking of bringing 'You Don't Understand' back to inkpop. I've got a preview of the book up at the moment, so if you'd like to check it out, simply go to: http://inkpop.com/projects/89740/you-don-t-understand-preview/
Feedback is extremely welcome!!

I'll be ending with a few updates, by the way.

Currently Reading: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Current Music Obsession: He is We
Mood: Okay; sick! :P

If you get a comment and its obvious that the person didn't read your book do you still thank them?

So, I have a question from a fellow writer on a writing website I am on. (inkpop.com) This question could help others, though, if you have friends or family reading your book.
If you get a comment and its obvious that the person did not read anything about your book (not even the title) do you still say thank you?

I think people that don't have the time to read anything about your book truly don't deserve a thank-you. If they have a real reason for not being able to read it for you, then thank them for trying to. Basically, if they devote time to your novel, short story or even poem, they deserve a thank-you. If they don't bother to read anything, not even the title and summary, then they really shouldn't be thanked. They didn't do anything for you, did they?

If you were swapping with the person, as in reading something of theirs in return for non-inkies, then you're in a different situation. If you've already read their book, you should request a new critique. Explain why you want a new comment. If you haven't read their story yet, then don't. It's up to you if you'd like to message the person and explain, but you shouldn't do anything for them if they're trying to cheat you.