Kieryn Nicolas

It Hath Returned

2012-01-15T20:39:00.002-05:00

(Disclaimer: I don't know if the title is correctly phrased or not--it just sounded adequately dramatic.)

Today I came down with something, again. That something is called I Need To Write My New Story NOW Fever. And it is a wonderful, fabulous kind of illness I hope never to find the cure for. (Kidding, I know what the "cure" is--homework. Homework zaps my will to do anything.)

Anyway. I had a sort of epiphany during school Friday, which pretty much added a sense of purpose to my story idea--which was the only thing it had been missing. (The idea has to do with monocles. So cool. Just saying.) Admittedly, the idea made it difficult to concentrate the rest of the day, and I may have been scribbling ideas in my writing notebook rather than my notes notebook...shh.

This excitement to plan and write is the kind of feeling I can't imagine when I don't feel it. I know it exists, but I forget how it makes everything I do just a bit more exciting, because there's something extra stringing me along. I hope the feeling sticks around a while--I like this story.

Over and out.

2012

2012-01-01T13:58:00.002-05:00

Happy 2012 everyone!

Looking back on the past year, I'd have to say it was a pretty good 365 days. In January I did my first half marathon with Team in Training--and it was awesome. Also, I learned to drive (and used that skill to successfully pull the wool over my mom's eyes). Over the summer I added Tennessee to my list of Places I've Been, and also ate cake. I survived the SAT, the PSAT, and SAT subject tests. I became addicted to Doctor Who. Maybe best of all, I earned my black belt.

That being said, I have plans for 2012 to be even better. I am going to travel, do another half marathon, finish junior year (after which I expect to feel immense relief), and prepare for the zombie apocalypse (are you excited? I am). Oh, and I am going to write like crazy (because when it comes to writing, I am).

If you want to see where my books and I will be this year, keep an eye on my events page!

I hope everyone has a great new year!

TV

2011-12-21T17:12:00.002-05:00

This past Thursday I was on TV! You can catch my interview here.

The experience turned out to really neat--my mom, apparently, was nervous (I'm not sure why--what did she think I was going to do, start dancing? Or, worse, singing?) but I was just excited.

FR on the shelves!

2011-12-04T18:27:00.003-05:00

Check out what I saw at my local B&N!

Flawless Ruins is on sale at B&N online, too. :)

Ya Lit Six members

2011-11-28T20:58:00.003-05:00

You might have seen earlier this month on YA Lit Six, but it's worth a mention/reminder: we're looking for new YA Lit Six members!

Check out this post for information on how to contact us! Our deadline is December 13th, and we'd love to hear from you if you are interested.

In the meanwhile, Laina, Zoe and I are posting!

Glasses

2011-11-13T20:57:00.003-05:00

I think my next character will have glasses.

By that I mean my next main character. I've yet to write one with glasses (which, as I am sitting here peering at the screen through glasses, seems kind of disappointing). And, as I just let slip, I have glasses...though on a daily basis I wear contacts. Can I get three cheers for contacts? Yay!^3. Maybe I haven't worn glasses regularly enough to get used to the ring of color around my vision, or maybe my face isn't really glasses-compatible, but my glasses issues aside I think they could be a great asset to a character.

For example, what would she do with the glasses when she's nervous? Take them off? Adjust them? Use them to hide behind? (Metaphorically.) Would she be constantly pushing them up her nose? Maybe wear them on top of her head and flip them down when she needs them like people in movies do when welding something, such as the broken side of a spaceship. (Except she'd have glasses and not a visor. But the same idea.)

Also, what kind of glasses would they be? Bold? Square angles? Round? Wire-rimmed? Plastic? Bright? Patterned? ...Hipster? (Well, maybe not hipster.) That's a hint right there about her character. (Or, at least, her mom's character, if the main character is stubbornly disinterested and refused to pick out her own.)

So I just wanted to share my thoughts about glasses. I'm going to start the Google Machine Picture Research and find some good glasses candidates...

Of course! Harry Potter, Most Incredible/Famous Main Character Of the Current Age and Maybe Ever, wears glasses.

(kidding)

Going Wilde

2011-10-22T14:11:00.008-04:00

So I have a dance tonight, and with all of the who's-asking-who-and-wh0-said-yes-and-who-said-no-and-who-doesn't-know-how-to-ask-who, I thought I'd offer a suggestion for the nerds out there who'd like to win the heart of another equally nerdy or well-read individual. That suggestion? Go Wilde. Oscar Wilde, that is.

You could start off with a quote from The Picture of Dorian Gray. Actually, half the lines in that book could be a line. But this one--"The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it"--probably takes the cake.

Scenario:

Guy: Go out with me?

Girl: Um.

Guy: You know, the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.

Girl: *stunned expression*

Perhaps you are a girl asking That Guy Who Is Incredibly Smart But Not The Homecoming King Type* to the dance, and he points out that you've never spoke to him before, let alone showed any interest in dancing with him. You can point out that "genius lasts longer than beauty," something Oscar Wilde also told us via Dorian Gray, so you're making an investment in your future. A mutually beneficial endeavor!

If you need to turn someone down, remind him/her that "The heart was made to be broken." (They'll totally appreciate that.)

Now that I've imparted this wisdom upon you, allow me to introduce The Truths:

1) Do Not Try This At Home.

2)Very few people would give you anything other than a sharply raised eyebrow in any of these instances.

3) The real best way to ask someone? A nice moment IN PERSON, and a simple question.

...Or you could try any of these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd-0wHETSSY

* These guys are the Cool Ones later in life, FYI.

Kindle Finds

2011-10-17T16:55:00.003-04:00

Flawless Ruins is the featured book on Kindle Finds today and Rain appeared a few weeks ago. Check out the site which spotlights a new ebook almost every day.

http://www.kindlefinds.com/

Hey, remember my "RAIN by Kieryn Nicolas" fan page on facebook? It's still going and there's also a "Kieryn Nicolas" author page. You can find me on Twitter @kierynnicolas and Goodreads (www.goodreads.com/kierynnicolas). I always love seeing new ratings and reviews!

Black Belt? Yes!

2011-09-27T19:22:00.004-04:00

I tweeted about this, but it deserves a blog post as well: I am a black belt.

No, wait. That's not excitingly phrased enough. This calls for at least three font modifications:

I am a black belt!

Much better.

I earned my black belt (in Taekwondo) on Saturday. In the morning my sister and I, as well as five other (amazing) students, pushed through the four-hour-long physical test portion. We did techniques. We did push-ups. We did forms. We defended against a masked man with a training knife. We did more push-ups. We cried. Did I mention we did some push-ups?

Later in the afternoon we returned to our school (in Korean/Taekwondo terminology, our Dojang) for the graduation ceremony. In front of a crowd we performed forms and broke boards (and boards stacked on top of boards). Finally, after incredible speeches by our equally incredible instructors, we found out we'd all passed.

My Taekwondo family is extremely important to me, and very special. As I told them (and the crowd at the ceremony), I don't cry much. But on Saturday I caught up on my year's quota of tears, to the point where I was talking to the crowd and found I couldn't speak. (And if anyone's seen me speak at a school or author event, you probably know I can talk for quite a while. I can even talk about nothing!) I think there were so many words (not to mention that lump in my throat that accompanies crying) they caused a traffic jam in my throat. There was so much I wanted to say, but I had to stop--luckily, my sister was right beside me to give me a hug (which was convenient, because I was talking about her, and how AWESOME she is). Over three years of training, weeks of focusing every thought on our black belts, and going through the test itself, made me realize how incredibly lucky I am to have the kind of sister who'll not only watch my favorite kick-butt TV shows with me (cough*Buffy*cough), but can also actually kick butt with me.

I could go on (as I mentioned before) but I think I'll wrap up here. Congratulations to Mr. Pete, Mr. PJ, Mr. Alex, Miss Sarah, Mrs. Skinner, and Brynna on their new black belts! (And second degree black belts!) And thank you to Masters Cook, for getting all of us here.

Finally.

2011-09-17T15:42:00.002-04:00

Today is a momentous occasion, one that happens annually sometime near the end of September and that is:

I'm chilly.

Yes! It's true! A cool wind is blowing and the leaves on the ground have an audible crunch--audible, that is, if you can hear anything over the chorus of Hallelujah and applause from the peanut gallery about the chill.

I spent a while outside this morning, and I had to layer on a sweater (okay,a loosely knit sweater with large intentional gaps all over it, but still, a SWEATER) and a vest, and my hands and toes were still noticeably cold! If I knew how to do cartwheels, I would be doing them right now.

The reason this is such a momentous occasion, you ask? it signals the end of summer. Yes. That's right. The end of heat and being unable to go outside without succumbing to a cloud of humidity. The beginning of wearing jeans and boots and comfy sweaters. And hats! Hats are important. I wore a hat at my school's first home football game last night. It was exciting.

Also, my creative processes definitely function better in crisp Autumn air and chilled winter air than the sluggish atmosphere of summer. Get ready for a boatload of story-inspiration, brain.

Writing vs....homework writing.

2011-09-05T20:02:00.002-04:00

It's the age-old dilemma: should I write, or do the homework calling me from my backpack?

Depends. Is it English homework? Do the English homework. Is it anything else? Well, now it depends on the excitement level in your story. If I'm in the middle of, say, a super amazing intense scene--or if I'm writing for the first time in a few days--I'm going to deem writing more important.

Right now, in fact, I'm getting to the I'M ALMOST THERE point in my WIP. Which is pretty high excitement-wise for me. I did my English homework earlier and got physics and math done Friday, so now all I have is a Spanish assignment...

That can wait.

In fact, why am I even blogging? Must go write!

Never mind, the end is here.

2011-08-29T22:30:00.002-04:00

Oh, school tomorrow. School and waking up early and homework and seeing an abundance of people every day.

Yay to the last part, at least.

(Also, it will be fall soon! I hope. Please please please please...)

I find I can write on more of a set schedule during school--probably because, during school, EVERYTHING becomes routine. Every. Day. Is. Basically. The. Same. I say that in One. Word. Sentence. format to convey the robotic monotony that is. Really, the only good thing is I know what day it is and I'll find set times to write.

Here's to hoping I can find a way to make my schedule a little more interesting...

To everyone starting school, have fun!

The End Is Nigh

2011-08-14T17:15:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I started to clean out my closet and go through clothes for school. For school...agh! I can't believe there are only two weeks of summer left. Well, at least that means it'll be autumn soon. I hope.

In my last few weeks I'm going to write. I'm also going to look into all those junior-year things I need to prep for...namely, the SAT. I'm not looking forward to that. I'm so unclear on my feelings about standardized tests. What do they really test? Is it worth it to know what you're taking the test on, or just how to strategically fill in bubbles? (I have the same questions about PSSAs, only I care less about those.)

I guess I'll find out. I'll also find out how much I like physics, AP English, psych, and calculus. (Does anyone know what calculus even is? I spent a year in precalc and I still have no idea.)

I hope everyone's summer is going well!

Kindlegraph

2011-08-09T19:07:00.002-04:00

I just posted on YA Lit Six about Kidnlegraphs, but if you know what they are, my page is http://kindlegraph.com/authors/KierynNicolas! If you don't know what they are, why not read my post, where I kindasorta explain?

Also, my books are now available on iTunes!

Numero uno

2011-08-06T22:19:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I've been hyping Flawless Ruins a lot lately. But, of course, I haven't forgotten about RAIN, my numero uno. Spies? Friendship? Australia? My favorite narrator (so far)? Yeah, that's my Rain.

Ergo (yes! I did just say ergo) I thought I'd remind you that one site where you can buy it as an eBook--OmniLit--has the prologue and part of chapter one for you to peruse. So check it out!

Wake Me Up When Summer Ends

2011-07-25T12:01:00.003-04:00

I can't believe how hot this week was. Is? Well, today is better, because we finally got RAIN. (No, not my book...water! From the sky!!!) For someone who hates heat and prefers snow/rain to bright sunlight, these past few days of 100+ degrees and never-ending, grass-browning sunlight had me quaking inside.

Except when I was working, which was a lot. And driving, which was also a lot.

Okay, so I was out of my house more than in it. But when I was inside, I was filling my time with inside things. Like eating. And sleeping.

And writing!

So I guess bad weather (or what each person perceives as their own form of bad weather) can be a good thing. Except for people who hate being indoors. Okay, my point is, I have revised my outlook on sun and heat: when it's sunny and hot out, I remain in the AC and write. Problem solved.

But seriously. Is it winter yet?

BookFest PA

2011-07-18T15:40:00.002-04:00

Saturday was a long day for me--hours spent outside in downtown State College, sitting in one place, guzzling bottles of water to keep cool, listening to the crowd milling around ArtsFest...oh yeah, and signing books.

In other words, it was pretty great.

I mean, the heat part, that wasn't so great. (Have I mentioned how much I hate heat? Give me a blizzard any day.) But the actual day was neat. It was the second annual BookFest PA. I attended the first one, and while last year was also fun, I definitely think this year's was bigger and better. For one, we were outside, in a large tent (con: no AC! pro: visible to the ArtsFest crowd!) and there were more authors, and therefore a larger variety of books on display.

I met some neat people, and got to see Josh Berk and Cyn Balog again. (I introduced their YA panel, where I also met Lindsay Eland, who, by the way, is very cool.) My point is, despite the heat, it was a good one--next year, if you're in the area, you should definitely stop by!

Sewanee

2011-07-10T16:10:00.002-04:00

Yes, the rumors are true--I have returned.

I actually got home only a few hours ago, after spending Saturday on way to airport/ in airport/ on airplane/ in another airport/ driving, and finally staying with my (awesome) grandparents before more driving and HOME.

Where was I? Sewanee, Tennessee.

When I told people I was in Sewanee, the common response was, "Where?" The answer: a small liberal arts college in TN, the University of the South. I stayed on campus for two weeks for the Sewanee Young Writer's Conference. Which was awesome. And fantastic. And two weeks really wasn't long enough.

The workshops were interesting, the friends I made fantastic (hey y'all), and the campus gorgeous. I also had the opportunity to meet authors such as Kevin Wilson and Nick Flynn. (By the way, Nick Flynn's memoir is being made into a movie to be released in 2012.) (How cool is that?) (Robert De Niro is in it.) (And the brother from Little Miss Sunshine.)

Two weeks surrounded by writers and focused on writing make for lots of motivation to pile on more writing the rest of the summer.

Don't forget, if you're in State College, PA on July 16th, stop by BookfestPA!

FR cake!

2011-06-20T16:52:00.002-04:00

Here's the picture I promised! (It was DELICIOUS.)

CAKE

2011-06-13T15:29:00.002-04:00

Guess what this week is? The Flawless Ruins party at the library! I'm incredibly excited. There will be books, a fancy dress theme (black and white, inside FR joke :), and CAKE.

The cake will be awesome. Last summer I had a Rain cake, and even though it might be unbeatable, a FR cake would certainly be a contender to one-up it.

Here's the Rain cake:

I'll post a picture of the FR cake after the party!

Blog tour!

2011-05-31T20:32:00.000-04:00

I have a blog tour coming up!

June 1: Jennifer Wylie http://jlwylie.wordpress.com/
June 6: Just Another Book Addicthttp://justanotherbookaddict.blogspot.com
June 9: Sean and Conner http://www.seanandconnor.com/
June 13: The Bookish Babes http://thebookishbabes.blogspot.com/
June 14: Coffee and Cliffhangershttp://www.coffeeandcliffhangers.com/
June 15: Modern Romance http://robertauld.blogspot.com/
June 20: Harmony Book Reviewshttp://harmonybookreviews.blogspot.com/
June 24: Carla Veno Jones http://cvj237.wordpress.com/
June 28: Candace's Book Blog http://www.candacesbookblog.com/
June 30: Eating YA Books http://eatingyabooks.blogspot.com/

Make sure you check it out! I'll be doing interviews, guest posts, and you'll see some reviews of Flawless Ruins!

Flawless Ruins Teaser

2011-05-18T21:28:00.004-04:00

For English class we used a site called wordle to put together a...I'm not sure what to call it....well, a wordle with what we've written this year. I decided to make one using a chapter of Flawless Ruins. Here it is!

Cover!

2011-05-03T16:46:00.003-04:00

I posted on YA Lit Six about this....the cover!!

(Click for bigger image)

Check out the FR page on my website!)

Updates

2011-04-30T08:55:00.002-04:00

I just realized it's almost May. Like, really, really almost May. Which means 1) summer's almost here! And 2) school's almost over...what? And 3) I have two author events in the middle of May (almost this month!) and then in July! Yay!

So here's what's new:

My website has been updated [by my personal computer-wizard-slash-grandmother]. It looks really awesome now (and includes the promo cover for Flawless Ruins). The two author events I'll detail next are also listed on my events page. There's also a new About Kieryn page that has some pictures from my Orefield Middle School visit and a new bio (that I like much better).

May 14-15 I'll be in Columbia, South Carolina for the South Carolina Book Festival!

I'm participating in BookfestPA again this year, which is July 16th in State College, PA. [I'm not up on the website yet, but if you scroll through the authors attending you'll see cool names like Cyn Balog and Josh Berk. Come watch them speak! I'll be introducing them. :) ]

Also, I'm working on a blog tour for Flawless Ruins. (Perhaps I'll reveal the book cover for FR soon!) Oh, and I saw the formatted version of FR yesterday. Let's say my excitement upped a few notches.

Laughter? No!

2011-04-24T13:59:00.003-04:00

I assumed, when I planned for the aftermath of wisdom-teeth-surgery, that I would want to watch movies of the comedy genre. Laughter's the best medicine, right?

Yeah, not in this case.

In fact, ow! Even four days later it still hurts to laugh. Not to say the comedy movies I watched weren't enjoyable, but they weren't the most comfortable. That being said, my advice to anyone who's getting their wisdom teeth out? Don't watch comedy, watch Angel.

Really, it's a win-win situation. Angel has the spooky, engrossing world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, minus Xander's comedic relief. In fact, the character of Angel has to be one of the most depressed main characters ever to have multiple seasons air on TV. (Not to mention one of the most attractive...) Yet the show is fantastic, kind of corny, and gripping. I watched five episodes with my eyes riveted to the screen and mouth forming a little "o" as I ahhhed instead of hahahaed.

Just my two cents about media intake post-wisdom-teeth. Thanks, Angel!

Confessions

2011-04-10T15:41:00.003-04:00

Confession time: I'm good at lying.

BUT. Only when I know I have a good reason to do so. For example, yesterday, when I schemed a surprise for my mom's birthday. It was a good plan, and it involved lots of lying--er, acting. I have included it below.

The Plan:

Tell Mom that you and your sister are going to the school play, and that you have to be there at 6:30. (Pro Tip: Having the internet crash is helpful so she can't check the website and find out the play actually starts at 8:00.)
Stop her from making dinner, a process involving complaining about "polenta pie" enough that she huffily gets out a frozen pizza instead.
Convince her to go for a run in the half hour before you have to leave.
While she is on the run, take the pizza out of the oven and hide a piece to make it look like you and your sister ate already.
Upon her return, convince Mom to change into a nicer shirt so she doesn't "embarrass you" at the school because (!) you're driving and she'll have to get out to get in the driver's seat once you're there.
Hustle her out the door before she can take more than a few bites of pizza.
Make wrong turn onto main road. Say, "Oh my gosh, I thought I was going to Jael's."
At next intersection, pretend to not know your way around your hometown and make another wrong turn.
Have your mother not sure whether to laugh or cry in the backseat. (Hopefully she chooses "laugh")
Make final wrong turn. Pretend to freak out and say, "I'll just pull in here and turn around."
Pull into really yummy restaurant where you have 6:30 reservations.
Get out of car.
Enjoy total confusion and shock on mother's face.
Have a lovely dinner.

Second confession: It was FUN.

YA Lit Six Post

2011-03-29T21:44:00.002-04:00

I posted on YA Lit Six about why conferences like the Write Stuff are awesome!

Write Stuff

2011-03-19T09:57:00.002-04:00

Guess what's a week from today and circled on my calendar a few times more than necessary? The Write Stuff Conference in Allentown.

This will be my third year attending (and the first year I'm able to sell hard copies of Rain! Last year the print format hadn't been released yet). While I'm going to expand my conference attendance in the future, I definitely want to keep coming back to Write Stuff. In my experience it's had some pretty cool attending authors, as well as interesting workshops and a nice location. Last year I attended sessions by Jordan Sonnenblick, and the year before that one by David Lubar.

Plus, the first year I attended the Write Stuff Conference I was in eighth grade, the youngest by far-- and yet, after the initial ohmanIdon'tknowwhattosay thoughts, I felt very at ease. Last year was even better, so hopefully the trend continues this year.

Something else to look forward to: on Friday I'm visiting Parkland High School (hi, Emma!).

Farewell Two and a Half Trees

2011-02-28T16:28:00.005-05:00

I feel guilty, because I'm positive at least two and a half trees are dead and it's indirectly my fault--my fault for checking "Yes, feel free to contact me" on the PSAT all those months ago. Because of that mistake, I've received piles of college brochures and letters every day for about two weeks now. All I can say is, thank goodness I checked "creative writing" as my major interest, and not something broader, like English, or Psych (which according to my grandma every school has).

But still, these brochures/letters, not to mention the emails that started a month and a half ago, present a problem: what do I do with them?

No, really. What do I do?

It's the first year I've taken the PSAT. (And now I'm almost hesitant for the SAT.) Before now I haven't really thought about where I want to go to college. I considered forensics at PSU in ninth grade, but once I started honors English this year I realized English is what I want to study. For ever and ever and ever. So now I'm stumped, and tons of college brochures saying OMG COME HERE WE'RE THE COOLEST THING SINCE NUTELLA doesn't help with the confusion.

My mom's excited about the college search, scheduling tours over spring break (though, it's more like spring weekend at my school, only two days off) and browsing websites. I suppose I find it exciting as well--but also incredibly intimidating. I don't know how far away I want to go, what kind of English program I'm looking for, if I want a small campus or a large one, et cetera et cetera et cetera.

So, if college brochures and emails could find a way to tell me that in between bright pictures of laughing students holding test tubes and notebooks, that'd be great.

Contest at YA Lit Six

2011-02-19T14:53:00.002-05:00

It's about time I mentioned it on this blog: there's a super cool contest happening on YA Lit Six!

Go on the post and fill out the form to enter. Here's what you can win:

First prize: A signed copy of Rain (by me!), a custom header/button combo made by the lovely Katie from KD Designs (who made our gorgeous blog button) and a full manuscript critique from all of us (meaning the contributors of YA Lit Six).

Second and third prizes: A custom blog button from Katie (see how awesome she is?), and a critique of your first chapter by all of us.

Time for Exciting News

2011-02-13T11:41:00.008-05:00

I hinted at some exciting news on my YA Lit Six post last week, and here it (finally) is:

My next book, Flawless Ruins, is coming out in June!

Which, let me say, is a perfect way to start off the summer.

Flawless Ruins is not a sequel to Rain--it has its own storyline, new characters, and, oh yeah, it's set about 200 years in the future. (Though I like to imagine the main character--Morgan--is some distant relative of Mel. She definitely has that same determination.)

So let me dangle a carrot now with an picture and a "jacketflap" teaser about the story... This is a temporary promo image a la my sister and grandma. Isn't it awesome?

In 2238, life in America is finally perfect. The Wars are over and the CommWall is in place, blocking communication with what remains of other continents. The women are content to have great education, choice careers, and glamorous hair. Best of all, when every girl turns seventeen she’s given her Like; an adorable, perfect spouse tailor-made just for her.
Everyone looks forward to the day she gets her Like, and Morgan Waters is no exception—until she accidentally stays out past curfew and stumbles across someone who appears to be a Like but claims to be a man. Morgan’s perfect world crumbles down around her in the midst of a forbidden romance, forcing her to deal with the realization that her life may not be so flawless after all.

There will be a Flawless Ruins page coming to kierynnicolas.com soon. I'm excited to be working with Echelon Press again...I'll keep you updated!

P&E

2011-02-09T19:30:00.003-05:00

Guess what? Rain placed in the top 10 on the Preditors & Editors young adult novel category! Click the supercool picture below to see the list.

Authorized.

2011-01-28T17:06:00.004-05:00

I am now authorized to sit in 5,000 pounds of metal and point it at stuff.

In other words, my trip to the DMV this morning was a success. The only question on the knowledge test I skipped was "If you are caught possessing a fake ID you will receive etc etc a fine etc etc suspension IF:" In my defense, I don't think John and Patrice from the 80's AAA Driver's Ed videos covered that specific scenario. Mostly they just gushed about anti-lock brakes and repeated, "Remember, slow down in adverse conditions!"

Now armed with a slip of paper saying I can sit behind a wheel as long as a licensed driver over 21 is screaming--er, sitting--next to me, get to do practice stuff like driving the 5-mile loop by my house. Which I did earlier, my mom and sister (happy birthday, Brynna!-- I gave her some stress-induced adrenaline rushes for her big day) fulfilling duties by sitting in the van.

I had a couple close brushes with mailboxes and one guardrail veered kind of close to me, but otherwise we were all in good and semi-good physical and mental conditions when I pulled back into the driveway. Mom even managed to say, faintly, "Good job."

Kidding. She actually was impressed. Is that against the laws of having-a-teenager-who-is-driving? I think it might be.

Oh, also-- BIG EXCITING NEWS to come soon.

The Disney Experience

2011-01-13T21:31:00.005-05:00

Just to get it out of the way: WOW.

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW.

I had an incrediblefantasticawesome time in Florida--Disney and Universal Studios, more specifically--this past weekend. I saw Hogwarts, visited Cinderella's Castle, and I'm pretty sure I was more excited as a highschooler seeing Disney World than I was in elementary school or middle school. (For instance, when we went to see the Little Mermaid show with my 3 y/o cousin, I was the one bouncing up and down whispering, "LOOK AUDREY IT'S SEBASTIEN! AND--AND--FLOUNDER!") Also, I convinced my sister Brynna to try a roller coaster (or two) and she discovered her hidden love for g-forces. It was such a proud moment when she stepped off of Expedition Everest and said, "Can we go again?"

Not only did I have an amazing time visiting the parks, I also had a fantastic (EARLY) morning Saturday: when I ran the Disney World Half Marathon. I trained for months with my teammates, got up at 2 am to catch the bus, tied and retied my sneakers before the start-- and raised over $3,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training, to benefit blood cancer research and treatment.

Team in Training has been a part of my life for years, as my parents have been involved, and I finally got to fulfill my own (first) event. The Inspirational Dinner/Pasta Party beforehand was, yes, inspirational, and also emotional. I was in tears before I even took a bite of pasta. (John Bingham's speech had me laughing, though.) I saw my grandpa's picture on the huge slideshow with the words "In Honor Of" above it, and heard an incredible speech by a 12-year-old blood cancer survivor.

On race day, I was so happy to see my Aunt Mindy and my teammates Beth, Jeff, Erika and especially my friend, Allie (running in honor of...and with...her mom Beth), as she had been sick the night before and we weren't sure she'd be able to run. I cheered back at every TNT supporter who cheered for me. (I also got a picture with an entire marching band on the side of the course. My marchingbandgroupieness showed.) The best part was right before the finish line-- my friend Audrey and my sister Brynna were right up against the spectator-divider-thing, cheering. I blew them a kiss and ran across the finish line with my mom, smiling even bigger than I had been the whole course.

Thank you everyone who supported and donated to me! I had an amazing experience. It was a great way to start the new year.

New Year....

2010-12-31T12:27:00.002-05:00

I feel like saying something cliche, like "Wow, can't believe the year's almost over!" (Because it's true.) But you know I have a strong dislike for cliche, so I'll refrain.

However, I do want to extend some gratitude. 2010 has been an awesome year (and 2011 will be five times better!). Thank you to all those in the book-related world--the wonderful people at Echelon Press, the fabulous book bloggers, great teachers and librarians, inspirational authors--for giving me amazing opportunities and helping Kieryn Nicolas and Rain take off.

Also, thanks to my family and friends and awesome people I've met along the way, for feedback and support.

Here's a New Year's Resolution: to give you guys another book to read, and have at least one more working towards the finish!

--Kier

PS... one week from tomorrow is the Disney Half! Woohoo!

Double Dose of Holidayness

2010-12-19T19:31:00.003-05:00

I love winter. It's my favorite season for multiple reasons. One, it's cold. I'd so much rather be bundled up than craving AC. Two, snow. Need I say more? Three, snow + cold = viable excuse-I-mean-reason for hot chocolate. Three, snow days? Yes. And four, the holidays.

I say in the title that I get a double dose of holidayness, because I do: my family celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas. (We also do Passover and Rosh Hashana and other traditions during the year.) My mom is Jewish, my dad Christian, and they raised my sister and I with traditions of both religions.

To me, this is really neat. It's always been a factor in my life, a factor I love. I feel celebrating both holidays and having parents from different backgrounds has allowed me to have an open-minded approach to life. Also, my mom makes killer latkes and I love having a lit-up tree in the living room.

When I was younger I read a book called "The Christmas Menorahs." (I recommend everyone read this!) It's a touching book, with a touching concept of different religions being celebrated at the same time while a community fights hate. In the story, Christian families set out menorahs to support their Jewish neighbors, who were being targeted by a hate group. At the time I read the story I thought, this is so cool. I have a tree and a menorah, too! (I read it again when I was older, and absorbed more of the "bigger" concept.)

In high school, so far, I've gathered two friends who also celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas. When I was younger I thought my sister and I were the only ones (in the microcosm of my elementary school), but I'm glad that's not the case.

So happy holidays everyone, and have a great time, however you celebrate!

Guesswhat?

2010-12-05T21:57:00.002-05:00

Guesswhatguesswhatguesswhat?

1) I leave for Disneyworld in a month!! To celebrate, I did a 9.3 mile training run today. Holy crap, it was cold at the top of the hills. I couldn't feel my legs at all. And, tip: when you've already done 8.5 miles, and you're on the last hill, and you can't locate your legs because they're so darn cold, it's not a good idea to "twist and shout," despite what the song by Hall & Oates says. Oh, and an animated bluebird won't appear either, like in 500 Days of Summer.

In more seriousness, I am very excited--and nervous. And I know it's going to be an amazing experience. Team in Training is such a wonderful organization, and I can't wait to complete my first event.

2) Latkes! My family makes latkes, the absolutebestfoodever, once a year, and that occasion (Hanukkah) came round this week. They are fantastic, and we got to share them with a houseful of people.

Happy fifth night of Hanukkah!

Beads

2010-11-28T14:53:00.004-05:00

I found out this weekend that breaking your necklace at a book signing is something that makes a great story later.

It was actually pretty funny. I always fiddle with my necklaces, and on Saturday I borrowed a beaded necklace from my grandma. And while I was at the Borders Express in the Exton Square Mall I continued to fiddle. I forgot that it wasn't my necklace, and the beads were merely strung on a thin string.

Oops.

The string snapped, and beads flew everywhere. I was totally shocked, watching them spray around me, off the table, and skitter into the main area of the mall. People all around started scooping up runaway beads. We gathered them into a bag. I couldn't stop laughing, and I continued to laugh. Each time I moved for the next ten minutes at least four more beads would go flying, and I'd start laughing again.

See what I mean? Good story.

Make sure you check out the article about my Doylestown book signing!

2010-11-25T09:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone...
I hope you have a great break!

Not Ashamed to be a Fan

2010-11-18T16:59:00.002-05:00

I consider myself a fan of many things: NCIS, Castle, Hunger Games, Daily Show, Mortal Instruments, Meg Cabot. But the #1 thing I am a fan of?

Harry Potter, of course.

I read, reread, rereread, and rerererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererereread (not kidding) every book in the series when I was in elementary and middle school. My mom actually took the books away at one point so I would read anything else. I'm going to the Harry Potter park in January. I made a broomstick when I was ten.

However, the movies. I loved the first two. They followed the plot of books one and two, and the actors were totally in character. The third movie was good, but the entire time I was wondering, where the heck did the cloaks go? The fourth movie left out a ton of details and instead added in (in my opinion) pointless dialogue. Don't even get me started on the fifth movie. I can't stand watching it. The sixth movie was enjoyable. And now I'm hoping the seventh movie(s) will be as good as one and two were. I know they're probably making two movies mostly to stretch out the moneymaking as long as possible, but that's okay. I don't want the era of New HP Material to end. And hopefully, with two parts, a lot more plot can be included.

And that's an extra midnight premiere to attend.

So. Excited.

Poison Ivy

2010-11-07T10:14:00.004-05:00

Guess what?

My short story, Poison Ivy, was released this past week! It's available on Amazon and Omni-Lit (Nook coming soon).

The blurb:

Would you tell the truth?

Luz Bennet doesn’t know if she can. She never really thought about being popular, but she didn’t desire to be one of those unnoticed kids, either. And when students at Ivy High turn hurt pride into a campaign against one of the “invisible” girls, they use Luz as their figurehead, never mind that Luz didn’t even start the rumors in the first place. Shoved in the spotlight, Luz has the ability to lead the poisonous movement and rocket to popularity; or she can counter rumors and lose any social standing she has…or she can do something else entirely.

It's an interesting time for the release, with all the bullying that's been in the news lately. I didn't write this story because of the current news, though I could have. I actually wrote Poison Ivy in eighth grade, in response to reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. (Which, by the way, was the only assigned reading of that year that I liked. It's a good book. Read it.)

Anyway, my English teacher that year said we were going to do a creative project that used themes from TKAMB (this is how we abbreviated it. In my head I say it tekahmb). We could do an essay, a collage, a short story, et cetera. I raised my hand and said, "Um, how short is short?"

My teacher said, "Oh, about five or so pages."

Page limits were a constant cause of conflict between my teacher and I. Actually, every English teacher has had this problem with me. Anyway, I negotiated until she said, "Fine. Twenty pages. Can you do that?"

It was going to be a challenge, but I managed. I think I had exactly twenty pages when I finished.

A few months ago, I revisited the story. I knew Echelon was going strong with Echelon Shorts, so I revised the story and submitted it to see if it was something they would be interested in. And now it's released, with a snazzy cover, and I suggest you read it if you like short stories. Or maybe even if you don't like short stories.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

PAYA Auction

2010-11-04T12:19:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone!

Just a quick reminder-- PAYA is holding an auction with some really cool (SIGNED!) books. The proceeds benefit the PAYA event and therefore PA Libraries. Definitely check it out!

Some books for auction:

Will Grayson, Will Grayson (by John Green and David Levithan)
Such a Pretty Girl (by Laura Wiess)
You Know Where to Find Me (by Rachel Cohn)
Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist (by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan)

Aaaand more!

Sanity

2010-10-31T21:37:00.003-04:00

Guess where I was yesterday?

Oh, yes. The Rally to Restore Sanity. And let me tell you, it was excellent. I could hardly see any of the monitors because there were so, so many people there. Which also means a great people-watching venue. I get many ideas from people-watching.

My friends and I made a sign for the rally, and we counted ~60 people taking pictures of it on our way to and from the Mall. It said "Sanity is Sexy" on the front because, really, it is, and on the back it said "[Citation Needed]" because in addition to citations, xkcd was also needed. Fun fact: we saw at least three other signs that said [citation needed] as well.

There are two main types of brilliance that pertain to writing: brilliant ideas and brilliant wording. The thing I love about words and stories and writers is this; the best writers have both. And on top of that, the best speeches, and therefore the best speakers, have both, too. Jon Stewart's serious speech at the end of the rally gave me chills. It had both. I definitely suggest you watch it. And by suggest I mean very highly suggest.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

2010-10-24T13:32:00.002-04:00

I.
Am.
Exhausted.

But the exhaustion is definitely worth it. Even though I have a truckload of homework to do because I couldn't fit my math textbook in my carry-on, and besides, doing math homework on a plane while trying not to have a nervous breakdown would not be fun. It would be negative fun. Not to mention the fact that my pre-calc book would probably snap that little snack tray/desk in half, I'm still calling this an awesome weekend.

Thanks a ton to Wauconda High School and Wauconda Library for being so awesome; I had a blast. And your school colors are very vibrant. And purple is just that much cooler than gray. And you asked a lot of great questions. The library talk after school was also fun, and if anyone who wanted a book wasn't able to make it, you can go to Brain Snacks (the bookstore that was selling at the library), or Amazon.

I would love to do more of this. If you want me to come to your middle/junior/high school just email me: kieryn.nicolas@gmail.com

2010-10-17T13:06:00.002-04:00

Guess what? I only go to my school for three days this week. Then, Thursday, I'm packing up and hopping on a plane with my mom and we're flying into Illinois--Wauconda IL, to be exact.

I know I've mentioned this. But I have to mention it again, I'm so excited. I've visited libraries and schools and clubs before, but this is the first time that I'm the offcial visiting author for a school. (Yes! Friday! I'll be at Wauconda High School!) Lately I've been doing a lot of book signings, which are fun, but I so much prefer doing talks and visits where I can interact more. Meeting and talking to people--especially other teens, people who love to read (and write?) as much as I do, et cetera--is so much fun. I get to discuss my writing and share book-related stories and it's a fresh audience (I owe my friends a lot for letting me babble to them about writing all the time) and I get feedback and ideas and it rocks.

If anyone in the Wauconda area has read Rain, or wants to read Rain, or just wants to say hi, you should come to the library -- I'll be there 3:30 to 5:00 on Friday!

Also, I updated my TNT Fundrasing Page this morning, aaaand happy birthday, James!

Weekends!

2010-10-10T12:49:00.003-04:00

And so starts the Month of Crazy Weekends.

This weekend was/is crazy with a home state high game, PSU game, homecoming dance (which wasn't as good as the last one, and they played hardly any good songs), and I still have homework to do. Also, weekend miles are getting longer. I did five miles yesterday...twas gorgeous weather.

Next weekend I have a book signing at the Altoona Barnes&Noble! It's 2-4, stop by if you're in the area! And after that I'm off to the Sweet 16 for two of my friends. Their presents will consist entirely of inside jokes. Be warned, guys.

The weekend after that will be so. Much. Fun. I'm going to be the visiting author at Wauconda Area High School on Friday the 22nd, and I'll be doing a book talk at the library after. Then I'm flying back for another Sweet 16 the next evening.

And the last weekend....Trick-or-treating (yes, I still do that!) is going to be epic. Six of my friends and I are being the Seven Deadly Sins, and our guyfriends are dressing up as Greek Gods. Best ensemble ever. And on the 30th I'm hitching a ride with a friend to DC for the Rally to Restore Sanity (!!).

Oh, and I'll probably have lots of homework. Good-bye, sleep. See you in November....but oh, it will be worth it.

Awesomeness

2010-10-02T12:38:00.003-04:00

I love high school football games. They just make school five times more bearable because there's something to look forward to on Friday nights.

In related news, I can't feel my hand today. That's probably because I stood by the bleacher steps and high-fived almost every single member of the marching band and they were all wearing those textured white gloves and there were many, many, many of them. But as a groupie, it's part of my job description.

Also, it's totally fall outside! Lovely curled-up, crunchy leaves are everywhere. It's so much fun to jump on them when crossing the street between classes (who says highschoolers aren't as cool as five-year-olds?). Thursday we had an awesome rainstorm, and it was entirely too fun crossing the street in the downpour as well.

And, just as exciting-- I'll be in Allentown tomorrow for a book signing! If you're in the area, stop by the Whitehall Borders at 2 pm!

Tale of Two Cities?

2010-09-20T17:11:00.002-04:00

I own a lot of 'classic' novels. I have about three copies of Pride and Prejudice, two copies of An Old Fashioned Girl and Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, and a few other titles like Sense & Sensibility and Little Women. I'm kind of hesitant to admit that I've only read one--Jane Eyre--and parts of Pride and Prejudice. I'd need hours to just sit and read and decode sentences, and those kinds of hours became increasingly sparse as I got to the age where I would feel inclined to read those kinds of books. (I mean, being totally honest, I want to put them through a sifter. Just to get rid of excess words that confuse me.)

I wasn't particularly excited, then, when we started Tale of Two Cities in English. I'd already read Lord of the Flies over the summer, which I thought was wordy at the time. Now, in comparison to Tale of Two Cities, William Golding was practically blunt. For the first few chapters of ToTC, I felt like I was drowning in half-a-page-long sentences.

But.

Then I started to get a feel for the characters. And understand who they are and their role in the story. And Sydney Carton is my favorite. He is just awesome. And I started to piece together plot threads and hints and foreshadowing and symbols and social commentaery and suddenly the book was so much easier to read.

I'm not saying it's not wordy, because it is. I have to sit in a quiet place and really concentrate on the sentences to understand them as I read, and I often have to reread paragraphs just to understand the point trying to be made. But I'm actually enjoying reading it. Phew.

Firsts!

2010-09-12T19:33:00.002-04:00

Updates!

Yesterday I had my first Barnes & Noble book signing. It was great! I loved that a few friends and teachers stopped by, and that I also met a lot of new people. A family came by with a very dog-eared and reread Rain and about made my day when they asked me to sign it to all of them.

Upcoming book signings are on my website! (I'll be at a Borders in Allentown and the Altoona B&N next month!)

I'm still working hard training & fundraising for Team in Training. Mom and I ran Saturday morning before my book signing. I'm not sure if it was good or bad that I then sat in a chair for a few hours. Sore muscles today say bad.

The first homehigh school football game was Friday! Best day yet. I am such a marching band groupie, but that's okay, because I have other groupie friends that cheer in the stands with me. And then go eat pizza until midnight after. Which meant I was home late, giving me a first "I thought you'd be home earlier" from Mom.

Aaand first math test tomorrow, which meant it's the first time I've had to study since last year. It's been a weekend of firsts....

A Brief Conversation With My Homework

2010-09-04T19:47:00.003-04:00

Me: Gee. it's Saturday, I'm in the middle of reading a really good book, I stood outside in nonstop wind for hours this morning fundraising for TNT, helped my neighbor bake a cake and watched Penn State crush Youngstown. What should I do now?

Homework: OH. Guess what. You should work on math. And English. And Spanish. And then write a blog post. And then watch "Supersize Me" with your little sister because you made her watch Gattaca last night in exchange for watching that today.

Me: No.

Homework: Really, you should watch it. It's educational. And it's only fair.

Me: But she loved Gattaca! It's not like I tortured her.

Homework: Like that matters. But of course, Supersize me is considered "fun," so it's at the end of the list.

Me: Actually, math is at the end of the list.

Homework: Oh, no. It's first. See, I just made you get out your ridiculously large textbook with ridiculously small print, as well as your graphing calculator and the yellow mechanical pencil you've almost used up in one week.

Me: It's not my fault the tips keep breaking. It's YOUR fault.

Homework: Maybe if you weren't always so angry with me, you wouldn't pound your pencil into your notebook in frustration. Have you considered seeing a counselor for this?

Me: That's it. We're done.

Homework: Don't you walk away from me. If you don't sit down and pick up that nearly-empty yellow pencil RIGHT NOW, I will kindly sic my friend Little Black Cloud on you.

Me: ...

Homework: Oh, look, math problems! Let's get cracking.

Me: I hate you.

PS-- most relevant thing I learned in biology last year? Gattaca is a freaking AWESOME movie.

EndOfSummeritis...again

2010-08-30T08:20:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it. It's been over a year since I started blogging...and that means I've went through two bouts of EndOfSummeritis.

Here's what I wrote last year...

Sorry for the lack of posts... I've been pretty busy back-to-school (!) shopping and trying to wrap my mind around the concept of GOODBYE, SUMMER. (It's not an especially nice concept.) I've also been writing (but not blog posts...) and practicing Taekwondo, and trying to become motivated to finish my correspondence course (that's not going so well either).

I think it's called EndoftheSummeritis. It doesn't help that it's chilly all of a sudden, it's a slow, foggy morning, my toes are cold, and I'm wearing my mom's college sweatshirt which always makes me feel too cozy. Therefore, I am not motivated to do much at all. I'm hanging out with my (awesome) neighbors in a little while, though, so I will hopefully perk up then.

At least EndoftheSummeritis should only last another two days. Then I'll turn to BeginningofSchoolitis. That will cause me to be constantly tired with rare spurts of energy, to run around like crazy getting ready in the mornings, give me neck cramps and eye strains from sitting for hours doing homework, and a frustrated disposition on days when I can't find time leftover to write.

Pretty much true. Except I saw my awesome neighbors on Saturday, not tonight, and in addition to homework I'm going to have to juggle my book promo, training for Team in Training, swing dancing, Taekwondo, Driver's Ed, a cultural exchange LE program, honors English (for which I've already had homework...woo), my friends' nonprofit group to benefit SOS Villages, being a Band-Aid (artfully coined term meaning Marching Band Groupie), more writing writing writing...

It's going to be fun.

Except for the homework part.

Winnie Worth 1000

2010-08-24T14:49:00.005-04:00

Hey! So one of my favorite things to do when I'm surfing the internet is read book blogs. Considering my sister and I are always reading, it's neat to see what other people have to say on books I liked, on ones I didn't like, and on ones I haven't read but want to get.

I haven't had as much time to read as I'd like lately, but my sister definitely has. She's a speed reader and is always stealing my books. We get into great arguments--er, debates--and discussions over books we've both read. I was online reading book blogs the other day and turned to her and said, "Hey! You should do one of these."

Because she loves to draw, she not only jumped at the idea to share ideas about her books, but to draw a scene from each one she reads and include that in her review as well. I'll be adding in my two cents at times! She just put up her intro post today...go check it out and follow!

www.winnieworth1000.blogspot.com

PAYA

2010-08-22T14:23:00.006-04:00

As I facebooked, tweeted, and mentioned here, I went to PAYA Saturday. it was AWESOME. I can't wait until next year. It was an amazing idea and everyone who made it happen deserves a huge truckload of props.

I had a really fun writing workshop with Chelsea Swiggett, and the signing afterward was tons of fun. I met so many cool authors, bloggers, readers, and et cetera. (I'm not even sure what et cetera would be, but they were there.) Also, it was all for PA libraries, which rocks.

My mom was there with her camera, so I have a few decent pictures. Such as...

Me and Chelsea! Her tee is covered by her hair, so if you can't tell, that's the Mockingjay symbol. On the back it says "Down With The Capitol." I was so jealous of the shirt. There I was wearing flowers with my hair misbehaving and Chelsea shows up in a Hunger Games shirt! :)
When my dad saw the shirt he asked me if she was a rebel or something. I just sighed and shook my head and said, "Dad, it's a Hunger Games thing..."

Yes, CYN BALOG, author of SLEEPLESS and FAIRY TALE, which were so much fun to read. We're signing books to each other here. Coolest picture ever.

Of course, Josh Berk (THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN) was there, being all comical-like at the next table. This is our secret handshake, which is so secret apparently I didn't even know it.

I was running my bag of books I got from the used book sale (which I couldn't stay away from, of course) out to the car when the author group picture was being taken. But I kind of hated my hair that day anyway, so it worked out. ;)

---
On a side note, SCHOOL STARTS IN T-MINUS-8 DAYS. If that's not scary I don't know what is. At least my schedule was settled. But still, school is going to mess with my writing/reading/author time. Because, for some reason, even though I'm an author, they still give me homework!

Kidding. Not about the homework, but about the being indignant about it part. (Not that I love homework anyway.)

Stack o' Books

2010-08-13T20:09:00.003-04:00

As I mentioned on facebook and twitter (hey, if you're not following me, you should consider it. I keep it more updated than my blog!) I was at the beach this week. While I was there I got a chance to read a ton (or, rather, a backpackful) of library books. I read on the beach, on the beachhouse porch, on the couch, in my bed, in the car... It was paradise within a paradise.

Today I went mini-golfing with Katie and our little sisters, and I kept trying to recap my thoughts about the books I read, but (understandably) I kept getting distracted by swinging the club and, er, fishing balls out of water... So I gave up. But I thought I'd list the books and my thoughts on here.

All-American Girl (Meg Cabot): Awesome book. Meg Cabot always has really distinct main characters.
Something, Maybe (Elizabeth Scott): I kept seeing this at Barnes & Noble and on blogs, so I decided to check it out. Glad I did. Read it in one sitting.
Teen Idol (Meg Cabot): Devoured this one as well.
Hush, Hush (Becca Fitzpatrick): I didn't enjoy this one as much as I thought I would. I actually ended up skimming through the second half. I felt like I'd read the story before. The style was fun to read though.
As You Wish (Jackson Pearce): Gobbled this one up. It's one of those books where you have to find out how the problem gets resolved. The ending surprised me.
The Treasure Map of Boys (E. Lockheart): I didn't read the first two books (didn't realize it was a series) but I enjoyed this one anyway.
The Cardturner (Louis Sachar): Took me a while to readthe first half, but I read the second half nonstop. -SPOILER- I cried when Trapp's voice started giving Alton Bridge directions. So if it made me cry, it was a good book.
Give Up the Ghost (Megan Crewe): Also made me cry. I wasn't that into the story as I read it, but at one point I found tears streaming down my cheeks, so a part of me definitely felt it.
Ready or Not (Meg Cabot): The sequel to All-American Girl. I think I liked this one even better than the first.
Princess Diaries (Meg Cabot): I'd seen the movies but hadn't read the books. Definitely like the book better (off to get the rest of the series soon). And yes, I'm becoming a huge Meg Cabot fan.
Fairy Tale (Cyn Balog): I zipped through this one. I liked Morgan's character better than I liked Julia's in Cyn's other book, Sleepless, but I liked Eron in Sleepless better than Pip in Fairy Tale. I was actually up for an extra thirty minutes trying to decide which I liked better. Didn't come to a definite conclusion.
Audrey, Wait! (Robin Benway): Yeah, I read it again. Twice, actually. Favorite book right now.
An Abundance of Katherines (John Green): Win. Very win. And mathy. But mostly win.
Gimme a Call (Sarah Mlynowski): Another one that didn't end how I expected, and was fun to read.

I feel like there were other books, but I can't picture them right now. If I remember I'll probably post again.

Anyway, there are some reccomendations. Oh, and Rain. You should read Rain, too. :)

Team in Training

2010-08-06T12:13:00.003-04:00

I'm really looking forward to my Sweet 16. It's going to be incredible. It's in January, and I'll be going to Disney World....

....to do the Disney Half Marathon with Team in Training.

I've been planning this for years. My grandpa had non-hodgkins lymphoma when I was in third grade, and when I was in fifth grade my mom did a half marathon with Team in Training. Team in Training is the world's largest endurance sports training program, where participants do half or full marathons, triathalons, century cycle rides, et cetera, while fundraising to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). The LLS uses those funds to benefit blood cancer research and patients and treatment.

When I was in sixth grade my parents did the Disney World full marathon with Team in Training. I got to attend the pasta party beforehand and hear the speakers and patient heroes and it was so, so incredibly inspiring. I decided that as soon as I was old enough I would also be doing Team in Training. And guess what is the minimum age? Sixteen! And, of course, I had my heart set on doing Disney, which just happens to be the same month as my sixteenth birthday.

Fate? I think so.

Anyway, I am now officially registered. I have a road ID (which lookds like a dog tag) that has the Team in Training logo on the front and medical/contact information on the back. I also have a fundraising web page, where I'll be updating my training process and you can see my fundraising progress in the right-hand corner. (Feel free to contribute!)

So that's also going on right now. In other news, I'll be at the Ocean County Library (Long Beach Island branch) on LBI this Monday! (And then hanging at the beach for the rest of the week, after my mom does a triathalon! I love LBI.) And don't forget to sign up for PAYA!

Over and out!

(The picture is of my parents, before the Disney Full, decked out in their Team in Training attire.)

Awesome News

2010-07-25T21:24:00.002-04:00

Soooo guess what?

[Say, "Whaaaat?"]

I have a new blog for you to read!

As in, I am part of a new blogging group. We call ourselves the YA Lit Six. Because, get this, there are six of us, we'll be posting six days a week (I'm Tuesday!) and I think the YA and Lit parts should be obvious.

There's a little intro post on the blog right now to kind of summarize what I just told you, plus it has a cool book background. You should follow it, we'll be having some awesome posts up there. This week we'll all be introducing ourselves.

Check it out! yalitsix.blogspot.com

Contest that I am entering. And sharing the link with you.

2010-07-23T08:37:00.003-04:00

I stumbled across this contest while reading Just Another Book Addict (today's blog tour stop!) and while I usually don't enter contests, I saw one of the prizes was CLOCKWORK ANGEL and since I am a huge fan of the Mortal Instruments series (and because, on the page, there was a picture of MOCKINGJAY--which comes out one month from tomorrow!!) I decided I absolutely had to enter.

That was a really long sentence.

Anyway, I am sharing because I wanted to use capital letters and exclamation points to express this discovery, and oh, also, on the form I was told that if I blog about it I get extra points. :)

Here's the link! http://tinyurl.com/25lza3y

Just gotta say...

2010-07-20T22:37:00.003-04:00

Okay, another update-y post.

1) In case you missed them, as per my blog tour I was on Scott Heydt's blog Thursday, and Cyn Balog's blog yesterday. If you haven't read the posts, go check them out! To see my blog tour schedule, click here.

2) I can't remember if I've mentioned this, and I'm too tired to go check, but I'm going to be at PAYA!! It's August 21st in West Chester, PA. It's officially called "Bring (more) YA to PA" and there'll be a ton of YA authors there signing books (like me! And Cyn Balog! And Josh Berk! And Chelsea Swigget, who will be doing a Teen Writing workshop with me!). For more information, check out the PAYA website!

3) I was completely caught up in a book the last two days. It's Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway. I borrowed it from my friend, coincidentally named Audrey, and had to literally tear myself away from it. I mean, pulling my eyes from the page was the pain equivalent of walking into direct sunlight after hours in a dark movie theater. I think one of the main reasons, other than it being incredibly hilarious/engaging, is that I could totally see my friend Audrey as the main character. It's like they transplanted her into this fictional world and set her loose. Hey Robin, are you sure you didn't meet Aud before writing this? :)
Anyway, I now have to recommend it to everyone.

MiddleoftheSummeritus

2010-07-18T15:49:00.004-04:00

Last year in early September I posted about "EndoftheSummeritus." Today I decided to post about "MiddleoftheSummeritus." Because while I've been very productive this summer, I've also come to a point where I'm prone to lying around reading or watching Chuck rather than getting some crucial things done...like blog posts.

When one has MiddleoftheSummeritus, one hopefully has found captivating new books to read (my list of this certain symptom includes the 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series by Meg Cabot, SLEEPLESS by Cyn Balog, MY SOUL TO TAKE by Rachel Vincent, and this awesome book based off the ANGEL series). Then, one is compelled to read the aforementioned books cover to cover, only stopping to eat or do things requested in a trancelike state.

Another symptom is becoming addicted to a TV series that one deems their "summer show." Mine, for example, is Chuck. One might take upon this crazy goal to watch every single episode of all three seasons in order before the fourth season starts in the fall. (I have half a season left. I'm such an over achiever, I might have to start over.)

Those affected with MiddleoftheSummeritus might have a fondness for sleeping in way past their school-year alarm time. This may result in one's father playing "Reveille" outside one's door once said father deems one has "wasted away enough of the day."

Spontaneous plans might also occur, as one's friends may be prone to sending out mass texts asking who wants to go to the pool/a movie/downtown for an intense game of Ultimate Frisbee. These plans may cause one's parents to lament the fact that one cannot legally operate a vehicle yet and therefore one's parents must "chauffeur" one to said plans.

So...actually, it's not all that bad, MiddleoftheSummeritus.

It's RAIN-ing Blog Tour!

2010-07-15T10:05:00.003-04:00

My blog tour kicks off today on Scott Heydt's blog(s): Mice Don't Taste Like Chicken and Scott H. Blog. Check them out!

You can find the most up-to-date list of my upcoming blog tour stops here.

Now, off to pack (which I always leave for the last minute...).

Author + Google = ...

2010-07-08T20:39:00.003-04:00

I recently had cause to look through the list I made of my Google search history. I made this list in April, so I'm sure even better search terms have been used since then, but I thought I'd list some of my favorite searches I've performed over the last year or so.

~My Search Terms~
Altitude sickness
Anatomy of a dance studio
Balthasar
Black snakes
Bones of the hand
Bufo marinus
Bunny
Capital punishment exceptions
Cliffs of moher
Colors that begin with z
Creepy
Criminal psychology degree
Cyanosis
Dihydrogen monoxide
Doritos
Food beginning with the letter z
Forensic scientist jobs
Hedgehog
Height of average man
History of duct tape
How a skull fracture is treated
How long does hyacinth poisoning last
How to pick a lock
Hyacinth bulb poisoning
Hyacinth bulb tastes like
Hypovolemia
Invention of the band-aid
Ireland best tourist spots
Kleptomaniac
Minerva cast
Missing persons
Mixed amphetamine
Needle types
Non-infectious diseases
Nuts resembling pine nuts
Poisons and their symptoms
Recipe for pesto
Ted bundy
The decibels it takes to shatter an eardrum
Treating hyacinth poisoning
Two types of death
Umbrellas
What color is morphine
What decibel level causes hearing loss
Winnie the pooh slippers
Word for fear of hedgehogs
Zombies
Zoonotic disease

I think you can tell a lot about me and my stories from these...actually, my stories very much so. Apart from the stuff about hedgehogs, most of these are story related :)

The Breakup Letter

2010-07-06T10:03:00.003-04:00

I posted on Teen-Seen yesterday, and I liked my post so much I decided to copy it here. The theme for Teen-Seen was "1776."
-----
So, with a theme of 1776, it only seems obvious that I sit down and write a short but thoughtful post about the Declaration of Independence and how it has affected our country and many others as well.

Huh. Good thing I don't go for the obvious.

Instead I want to write about what "1776" brings to mind. And the first thing it brings to mind for me is fifth grade history.

In fifth grade in my school district, students have their first full year of learning American History. (The next year is eighth grade, I'll get to that.) For me, fifth was my favorite. Not only because I had the most awesome teacher ever (see the acknowledgments of my book) but because I honestly liked learning US history.

Therefore, I had pretty good base knowledge on the topic when we got to eighth grade. I expected my social studies teacher, the awesome/fearsome/manly Mr. Stout, to start out the lesson with a "and so the British were being mean and taxing our tea and yada yada founding fathers yada wrote the Declaration."

But no. One day we came into class and Mr. Stout was pacing at the front of the room, holding a piece of paper. He frowned at us, told us to take our seats, and then said, "I found a very disturbing note in the hallway today." He paused, then said, "Honestly, do you guys not know how to write a breakup letter?"

I remember sharing a look with Katie, trying to figure out if he was serious. Mr. Stout was the kind of teacher that could look dead serious discussing the ways to off someone on the original 8-bit "Oregon Trail" game, but joking as he told someone off.

"I mean, this is atrocious," he went on. "Listen. 'I hate you. You're mean and ugly and I can't stand your presence and I have to break up with you. It's over. PS you smell.'"

He glowered at us. "Get out a piece of paper. We're going to learn how to do this the proper way."

We all scrambled to get out pieces of paper. Mr. Stout launched into how the proper way to do a break-up letter was to state the problem, tell the breakup-ee how he/she could improve, offer suggestions as to a compromise, and "for goodness sakes don't use the line "it's not you, it's me."

He had us write out own--"FAKE"--breakup letters. By this point we still had no idea if he was kidding or not. Only after he made a few of us read ours out loud did he casually mention that this breakup letter format was the same format used in writing the Declaration of Independence.

"The Declaration was essentially a breakup letter," Mr. Stout told us as we gaped at him. "The colonies were breaking up with England."

So that's the second thing I think of when I see "1776." Breakup letters.

Update-y stuff

2010-06-30T10:06:00.003-04:00

So, a few quick updates...

1) Katie and Tasha (my two absolutely awesome friends who went to Tennessee for a week and didn't contact me because they "didn't have sufficient service" or their "phones died") are back! I was so sad with missing them that I couldn't bring myself to write a blog post.

Okay, bad excuse. But I did miss them.

2) I'm now addicted to Chuck, that NBC show I'd never heard about until I saw it on Hulu a few weeks ago. That could also be a reason for lacking of blog posts. But isn't that what summer's for? Awesome TV shows?

3) I'm doing a blog tour! Some awesome people have offered to host me, and once the schedule is all set and all I'll announce it. And then keep announcing it, to remind you.

4) Bookfest is a week from Saturday! Anybody in or planning to be in central PA should stop by. That bestselling author/barefoot runner guy--Christopher McDougall--is going to be there. Check out the website for the event.

5) I got my first invitation to be a visiting author! I'm currently working on an information page about me being a visiting author to put on my website, if anyone is interested in having me.

6) My mom is telling me we gotta go.

So, there are the updates. Have a good day!

Little Sister to the Rescue

2010-06-23T12:11:00.004-04:00

My little sister, Bryn, usually comes to me for electronics help. Computer, iPod, cell phone, et cetera. I usually don't have a problem getting such devices to work. Especially laptops. I've had my own laptop since sixth grade (and since then I've gotten a lot of writing done in the car) and I've never really had problems with one. Well, my first laptop stopped charging, connecting to the internet, loading McAfee, and working after about two years, but it was just its time to depart.

Anyway, I was not prepared for last night.

My parents were both asleep and Bryn and I had just finished watching an episode of "Chuck." I turned off my computer, then remembered I wanted to check my email quick before I went to bed. Bryn left my room and I waited for my computer to shut down so I could reboot it.

Except.

Except when I hit the power button, it started to whir and turn on like usual, and then those pixelated letters that look like the font in the original Mario game covered my screen.

Safe system recovery recommended, it said.

What? I was thinking, and before I could press anything the screen went blank and my computer died.

Oh no oh no oh no oh no, I was chanting in my head, jabbing at the power button. Yes, my computer was plugged in and charging, no, I hadn't dropped it or exposed it to open flame or stomped on it or put peanut butter on it, just like the instruction manual had warned me not to a year ago.

The same screen appeared. And just like last time, it died before I could hit enter.

I frantically pressed power again. Same thing. This time I hit enter before the screen could disappear. My computer lasted a few more seconds, and then died.

The next time I tried, I hit the option underneath, which said Start normally. Yes, that should work. I mean, if I just start it normally it will be as if nothing ever happened, right? And then I can see my computer background of black with white lettering that says "Mind Meld" and I can grin and be reminded of the awesome new Star Trek movie and forget that my computer even had this hissy fit.

It died before it even got to the login screen.

Now I was starting to feel sick. I had versions of my most recent story backed up, and some of my other stories in my email account, but what about my older stories? The ones I was going to come back to? The storyboards? The collection of emails I'd sent during my cruise last January? My grandma, the computer whiz, told me to always back up those files on a flash drive, but I'd been neglecting to do so. At that moment I crossed my fingers and prayed to the computer deities, promising that if my computer started to work, the first thing I would do would be back up every single file in my stories folder.

I tried again. It died.

The keyboard felt impossibly hot beneath my fingers. It always got superheated after about an hour of running, but it'd been that way for as long as I'd had it. Earlier that evening, though, my mom had made a remark about how hot it was, and how it worried her. At the time I'd joked, "What, you think it's gonna burst into flame or something?" But sitting there and feeling the heat, I felt like Ralphie from A Christmas Story. "Oh my God, I'd shot my eye out!" Except for me, it was "$&#@%! My computer overheated, sizzled, and died, taking my stories to the grave!"

By this point I was distraught. I stumbled from my room. I needed consolation, help, and assurance that we'd drive my laptop to the Geek Squad ASAP. Did they have emergency service? A laptop ambulance? I hoped so.

I ran into Bryn as she was coming out of the bathroom. After picking ourselves off the floor she took a look at my face and said, "Try to make it to the toilet."

Kidding. She actually just raised an eyebrow.

"My computer," I whisper-wailed, clutching her hand. What a turn of events. Usually she's the dramatic one and I'm the one rolling my eyes, as she did then. She must feel she can do this to me now that she's as tall as me. False. She still has a half-inch to go. At least.

I dragged her back to my room and pointed wordlessly at my lifeless device. She gave me another odd look and sat down in front of it, hitting the power button.

"I tried that," I said miserably as the pixels filled the screen again.

Bryn studied the screen and selected Start normally.

"I tried that too," I sobbed.

She shook her head, telling me to be quiet. I waited with bated breath. Suddenly, I could see something on the dark screen. Something white. The mouse pointer! I jumped up beside Bryn, squeezing her arm.

"Ow," she told me.

I let go. Suddenly I heard it. The sound of hope. The duh-dun, duh-DUN! of the computer booting up.

"YOU DID IT!" I whisper-screeched, throwing my arms around Bryn.

"Asphyxiating here!" she gasped, pulling my arms away. "I don't know what your problem was. It wasn't that hard."

"You're a miracle-worker!"

"Okay," she said, shrugging. "I'm going to bed now. Night."

She left and I scrambled into my seat, logging in. When I saw the words Mind Meld, I could only clutch my chest and take deep, therapeutic-ish breaths. It was....it was...ALIIIVE!

True to my word, I spent the next hour backing up every story file on my computer. And next on my agenda is to buy one of those cooling pads for my laptop, and get my sister some chocolates and, maybe, a teddy bear and balloons or something while I'm at it.

[Note: some parts of this story were dramatized. Kind of.]

Chicago

2010-06-16T13:58:00.003-04:00

I'm way behind on blogging. By way of catching up/explaining I'll just say that Chicago was fun, finals were not fun, and I'm glad it's summer now.

Printer's Row was really fun, even though it rained on and off both days. Not that I minded, but my mom seemed to want me to wear a rain jacket when it started to pour, and that was annoying.

When I was in Chicago I did an author presentation for the Mount Prospect Public Library. I spoke at the nearby Starbucks. It was awesome for many reasons, only a few being that a) it smelled like coffee deliciousness, b) I got to use a microphone, and c) the poster advertising the event was really cool.

Yeah, like I said, those are only a few of the reasons why it was awesome. I got to meet some neat new people and answer some really good questions they asked. Signing books was fun and I had my picture taken! (Speaking of which, if you took a picture with me, feel free to send it to me!) Also there was a film crew there. Later this summer I'll post a link to the program the library's TV channel is going to put together!

Overall it was just really fun. I'd definitely like to thank Rose Allen again for coordinating the whole thing.

Oh, and when I was in Chicago I had my first deep-dish pizza. Yum.

Et Cetera

2010-05-31T18:29:00.005-04:00

At the Memorial Day fair today, I met this awesome guy in a chicken suit. If anyone knows said chicken suit guy, you should definitely tell him to email me at kieryn.nicolas@gmail.com.

What, you think I'm kidding? I'm not.

In other news, I have finals rocketing towards me (blech!) and also Printer's Row in Chicago (yay!). Anyone in the Chicago area (and any other area, I wouldn't complain) should totally come to tent FF and meet me and the other Echelon authors attending.

I also have sunburn on my shoulders (ouch) and I want to remind everyone that if you have a Twitter account, you should follow me! I try to tweet more often than I blog...

Happy Memorial Day!

Blurting

2010-05-25T16:25:00.002-04:00

I've never been big on journals. By that I mean to say, I've never been big on journals. I like the idea, and I wish I had journal myself, but I've never been able to keep a journal for more than a month until all my entries are once-a-week Oh hey I...have to go, I'll write later's.

This weekend I had a lot on my mind, and I wanted to write it out somehow, but I didn't want to go through the formal process of finding a jorunal and writing a date and "Dear Journal" and other things I've done in the past. I would have felt obligated to write, before my thoughts, a whole Gee I haven't written in a while. Sorry about that. I've been busy. By the way, my book is in print. How cool is that? So yeah...anyway... and by that point I wouldn't feel like writing my thoughts anymore.

So instead I just picked up a notebook off my floor, one that had owls on the front--or maybe parrots, I didn't look closely--and started to scribble. By the time I was done I had about four pages resembling prose poems. I'd never understood prose poetry before, but it was pretty cool looking over my thoughts like that. I did it again the next day. It actually helped!

So basically, next time you're frazzled or broody, blurt out your thoughts into a bird-adorned notebook.

Duct Tape

2010-05-16T09:13:00.003-04:00

I'm rolling out my writing duct-tape. The first draft of my new story is technically finished, but I definitely have to rearrange/dis-then-re-assemble the ending. Hence the duct tape. Because duct tape fixes everything right? I mean, if duct tape can't fix it, you're...well, you know what you are.

But while I work I thought I'd post a little excerpt from the story. I do love me some excerpts. Anyway, here goes. This is from chapter uno... (no, the chapters aren't actually numbered in Spanish. That'd be cool, though.)

It takes another minute of quiet for me to ask, “Why were the books kept in the back room? Why not in the library?” None of Shakespeare’s books are on display. Only books and magazines dating back only a century—before everything was on electronic readers, but after the Wars—are shown.

“They are irrelevant,” Mayor Vee responds. “They’re only in the library temporarily, for maintenance.”

“Oh.” I decide against asking where they’re usually kept. Instead, I stare at the fragile book on the table. “Mayor? How…does it end?”

I feel, rather than see, the mayor shoot me a smile. “Happily, of course. The families’ feuding is stopped. Romeo is Juliet’s Like.” She stands up. “Even though the fact that the books were in the back room should have implied you weren’t to look at them, I don’t feel any discipline is necessary. Just please keep to the public areas of the library from now on.”

I want to ask if I can read the rest, but I don’t push my luck. Instead I say, “Thank you, Ma’am,” and stand up as well. Mayor Vee holds her office door open for me and walks me to the lobby door.

“Have a nice day tomorrow,” she says. “And I’ll see you the day after. Saturday’s a big day for your friend Laney, isn’t it?”

I nod, even though she already knows. “Laney’s excited,” I say.

“You should be too,” she says as I step onto the street. “Your Amora is coming up in just a few months.”

“Yes, it is.” The familiar nervous, excited feeling settles in my gut when she says Amora. “Bye, Mayor.”

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T10:31:00.002-04:00

So, today is Mother's Day. Therefore, for some reason I feel the need to write a short note about my mom. Yeah, no idea where that came from.

Let me just say that my mom is awesome. I mean, she's put up with me for all these years. That can't have been easy. There was the time that I dove into a corner, and I still remember her frantically calling the tele-nurse while I screamed, probably more in shock than pain, "I HAVE A DENT IN MY HEAD!!!" And then she would patiently (well, sometimes patiently) make me play fair when my sister and I would act out our "pretend" games and I would say to Bryn, "I will be the beautiful Princess Ariel, and you will be...Flounder." Then Mom sat in a skating rink for nine years, cringing as I went from stumbling through group lessons wearing a helmet to cringing as I fell repeatedly learning double axels.

Between dealing with my school and skating and Taekwondo and my sister's art classes and our dances and social events, my mom also found time to partner in a small clothing business, run our household, have a job, and be head mentor of the local Team in Training chapter. Go Mom.

So anyway, happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-02T16:10:00.002-04:00

I've been in a state of excitement since Tuesday, when I got boxes of pre-orders of the print version of RAIN!

On Tuesday my friend Katie's mom picked Katie and I up at school. We--along with Katie's sister Sarah--drove to my house because Katie's mom had to "pick something up." (I used quotes because, as I found out, that was false. But I totally believed it at the time.)

When we got to my house and climbed out of the car I saw the garage--my normal method of entry--was closed, so we had to walk around front. The first thing I saw when the door came into view was my mom standing in front of it, phone out, ready to take pictures.

Naturally, I said, "Um. Mom, what are you doing?"

She didn't reply, and that's when I saw the boxes stacked on the patio. I knew what they were immediately, and felt myself stumble backwards. Mom got a few good pictures of me with my hands on my head staring with eyes wider than Bambi's.

Katie's mom had gotten me a cake that said Yea, it's RAIN-ing! on it. It was the awesomest decorated cake I've ever gotten. And now the cake is gone and the boxes are in my living room, so every time I walk by I freak out a little inside again.

2010-04-26T18:10:00.003-04:00

I'm heading to Taekwondo soon... did I report that my sister and I are now brown belts? Just three more ranks between us and black!

Speaking of black, I don't think I mentioned how Katie and her sister Sarah have been black belts--yes! Black! Like ink and midnight and the room with the furnace where the lights are never on!--for over a month? They (and two others) went through hours of testing to achieve this. I went to the graduation; it was AWESOME. Especially when they broke through slabs of concrete.

I really enjoy Taekwondo. It's a challenge and it makes me feel powerful. The school I got to also teaches Hapkido, a really neat street self-defense, and I want to start that this summer. Mostly because I find it interesting/awesome, and, okay, a little bit because it would also be great knowledge to have while writing action scenes. ;)

WANTED

2010-04-22T22:06:00.004-04:00

When I'm feeling distracted or not in the story mood enough, I guess I go looking for story-related distractions. Usually that means I browse through old story files. This evening I found a random file in my "misc" folder. The file is called something like "jskfjdkjfdks," which means I was too lazy to give it a proper name, and therefore I didn't know what it was.

When I opened it, I found a scene snippet:

“We haven’t had time to check her over yet.” One of Mr. Saegich’s assistants moves uncertainly in front of me. “She could still be—”

“Out of the way!” I yell, shoving the assistant aside. I hear Mr. Saegich speak in an exasperated tone.

“We’ve already tried to interrogate her, Miss…”

Interrogate? I don’t want to interrogate her. I want to murder her.

“…She’s refused to say anything, and—”

I yank open the room’s door. It swings wide and a crack echoes through the hallway as it hits the wall. I feel people shifting behind me, towards me, but I’m already striding into the small room. No, not striding. That implies some sort of self-control. Storming in.

“Congratulations,” she says evenly, standing in the back of the room, facing away. “I think you may have broken the door.”

Quivering with the anger that seethes through me, I grasp the lamp beside where I stand, whether to help my control or possibly use it as a javelin, I’m not entirely sure. “What did you do?”

“Apparently I committed some sort of felony, seeing as I’m here.” She shrugs.

And then...it ended! And I have no clue where the rest of the idea is. So I'm putting out an ad in my mind. WANTED: REST OF THIS STORY IDEA.

You know it's bad when you start leaving your future self cliffhangers....

Real Characters

2010-04-12T16:33:00.002-04:00

The weather's been great lately. A few weekends ago it was warm enough for my friends and I to gather at our local park and toss around a frisbee, play volleyball, and paint ourselves with mud from the stream. While we were doing this I realized how much of my friends I channel into my stories.

For example, some of the quirks I write into my characters--like, say, she wears a beanie all the time or patches her clothes with multicolored duct tape--I'm probably getting from my friend Aud. And when I describe a character as stubborn or sarcastic, I'm channeling Katie. A graceful, cheerful character is Tasha. The guy who can turn anything into a questionable joke is James. The rebellious, argumentative one is Henry. The girl who doodles on her homework and who stops to remark how amazing something is is Sophie. The guy who can say anything, no matter how ridiculous, and still have everyone believe him is Jo.

And those are just a few of the awesome personalities I know. So while I was spending time with my friends, I was figuring out how many different kinds of characters I'm surrounded by.

Zoinks

2010-03-28T14:14:00.002-04:00

Busy weekend! So I'll just include a few updates......such as, I had an amazing time at the GLVWG Write Stuff Conference, I'm only a few chapters from finishing the first draft of my story, and I have homework to contend with.

2010-03-21T16:28:00.003-04:00

I visited one of my local middle schools this past week. It was awesome! I met with a group of about fifteen students who were interested in writing, and I talked mostly about characters. I even had a PowerPoint to go along with it. (Yes...that made me feel very pro.)

One of the points I made in my presentation is about long and cliche descriptions. Personally, i prefer to"show" more than "tell" when it comes to character appearance. This includes inferring a lot of times.

An example of a "tell" description I used was (and I wrote this on the spot): ...curly, golden locks that were softly glowing in the sun, framing her heart-shaped face with baby-blue eyes and rosy cheeks and dimpled smile that showed rows of pearly white teeth, and she was wearing a pretty green dress and starched socks with shining black shoes, and there was a small silver locket hanging from a fine chain on her neck...

The next slide had a description of Caidy, a character in RAIN. This is the line when Mel first sees her: In front is a slim, agile girl with strawberry blonde hair tied back in a bouncy ponytail. She saunters down the stairs with an air of authority and slightly in front of the other three.

From those two descriptions I wrote, I feel a reader would get a lot more from the second, even though it's shorter. The first tells us a lot about how this Goldilocks-esque girl looks, but not much about her character right off the bat. Caidy's description shows that Caidy's probably somewhat athletic, has reddish-blonde hair long enough to be in a ponytail, and likes to be the leader of the group.

Anyway, thought I'd share that since I had a lot of fun presenting it at the middle school!

2010-03-11T12:01:00.003-05:00

I was just at the doctor's office, and I found out that I am special. Special enough not to just have one ailment, but two working together! Sino-bronchitis, a hyphenated cross-breed of sickness!

But don't roll out the medical journals yet. According to my mom, "You've had this before, and besides, Kier, it's not like you've created a liger or anything. You just didn't wash your hands enough and managed to pick up two simultaneous germs. Now drink lots of tea."

Okay, I took some artistic license there. Mom didn't mention ligers.

Anyway, no school for me today or tomorrow. Which means: writing time!

(And catching up on the season finales of a few favorite shows. But also writing.)

Speaking of writing, I am psyched (no, I did not use that word because I just watched the PSYCH season finale. Though that may have subconsciously been a factor in the word choice) about my current story! It's a futuristic dystopia novel. (Anyone else absolutely love to say the word "dystopia"?)

Also, I have a busy, and prospectively fun, rest-of-the-month left. And feel free to contact/email me at kieryn.nicolas@gmail.com if you want to reserve a pre-order of RAIN in print!

And one more thing. I hear it's read-an-eBook week. Mind if I suggest RAIN? It's available at Amazon for Kindle/PC, Omnilit for PDF, Echelon Press's website, and Fictionwise in multiple formats.

Katie/Caidy takes over!!!

2010-02-25T16:41:00.006-05:00

Hey everyone! It's Katie this time. Whether you're aware of it or not, you all already know who I am, like a sister, or a beloved pet. If I were to walk down the street and strike a pose, you would say "Wow, that looks so familiar, where have I seen that before?" And then, it would hit you. Yes, that's right. I'm on the cover of Rain. (Actually, if you guessed that, I would be impressed, and wonder if you go to Watson with your amazing deduction skills.) Kieryn asked me to guest on her blog because she is lazy and didn't want to do it herself. (Just kidding, she's actually working on her new novel, for which I can personally vouch awesomeness.) So, here it goes.

Now, for those of you who have read the book (if you don't know what book I'm talking about, I'll wonder why you're on this blog at all...), you'll completely understand this post. For those of you who haven't, go buy one. You don't even have to go anywhere, and you're already on the internet, so how hard could it really be?

Anyways, I have to tell you a secret (which I guess isn't a secret anymore, but that's ok). Not only am I Katie, the model, I am Caidy, the awesome (insert your own adjective here) character in Rain. Most people wouldn't particularly enjoy having the somewhat villainous character based on them, but really I'm ok with it. In fact, when Kieryn admitted this to me, I kinda freaked out; I hugged her.

Waaaayyy back in the days of middle school, Kieryn and I had math together. Fun, right? NO. Here I was, in 6th grade dorky innocence just looking for a friend, in a class of mostly 7th graders. Somehow, I was able to pick out another dorky 6th grader: Kieryn. You would think we'd bond right? Again, NO. She was able to pick me out too, but not as someone who she would be friends with; instead, someone who would she would rather hate upon sight.

We went along this way for about a year and a half. Really, I never knew Kieryn hated me. I was still my sweet, innocent self, and I made friends with the other 6th graders. Kieryn however, went slightly overboard with the "I-really-don't-like-Katie" mantra she had taken up. There were stories, (Kieryn was a writing prodigy even then), and I almost always had awful names like "Nervom." What kind of a name is Nervom? (Of course, I didn't find out about these names until later, when we were friends. Yes, we actually became friends. Seems unlikely at this point, right?)

Then, Kieryn turned 13. Overnight, she wised up, and I was invited to her party. Really, since then, we've been really good friends. However, the memories of the evil me stuck around, and if that's what gives a good antagonist, awesome, I now have a character based off of me.

Now, we laugh about the misjudgements, and view my sarcastic, outgoing self as cool, not annoying and stuck up. But still watch out for me in future stories, I'll be back, I promise.

2010-02-13T12:20:00.002-05:00

I posted on Teen-Seen today!

Also, I think my amazing artist of a sister is going to draw a scene from RAIN or the novel I'm currently working on... I'll upload the picture asap! I'm way too excited about it :)

2010-02-03T16:11:00.004-05:00

I had my first book signing today!....Except for the part where I was signing CDs and not books ;) I sold eBooks on CDs with awesome litescribed covers. Pretty fun! Plus, I had balloons.

Did you know that you don't need a Kindle or Nook or any other eReader to read RAIN? You can read the pdf version right on your computer, or email it to yourself and open it on an iTouch/iPhone. Or, if you have the Kindle version, there's a free Kindle app that lets you read it on an iTouch/iPhone as well, as well as one for the computer.

I have a new RAIN video in the works... should be up soon!

Busy, busy...

2010-01-27T20:43:00.001-05:00

I have been very busy... Just celebrated my birthday, Biology midterms are tomorrow and Friday, and I'm in the process of writing a new novel, which I am very excited about!

I'll try and post something lengthier soon!

Excitement

2010-01-19T19:20:00.002-05:00

Lots of excitement going on!

Firstly, RAIN is available from Amazon! You can find it by clicking here.

Also, my friend created a fan page on facebook for RAIN! Search for RAIN by Kieryn Nicolas and become a fan!

I was featured on Beth Solheim's blog yesterday. Check it out! Thank you Ms. Solheim!

Something neat-- many of my friends helped me put together this promotional video for RAIN! I think it's pretty cool.

Now I'm trying to furiously write another novel... Hoping to finish around the end of March.

Thank you everyone for your support!

Instructions

2010-01-14T16:50:00.001-05:00

Just a few tips--

If you purchase through the Echelon Press website, please be sure to choose pdf or html BEFORE adding the book to your cart (those buttons appear below the "add to cart" button). On the final page of the ordering process with the "thank you" from Karen Syed, there should be a "download" button on the bottom.

Thanks!

The eBook!

2010-01-13T19:09:00.002-05:00

The time has arrived!
RAIN is offcially on sale in eBook format!

Purchase it directly from Echelon Press here!

Scarf. Is. Fun.

2010-01-02T18:12:00.011-05:00

Today, one of my awesome friends gave me a scarf. It is soft and fuzzy and, as I discovered, very versatile. While doodling on my iPod, I came up with five different uses for a fuzzy turquoise scarf.

#1: An attractive hairpiece.

#2: A blindfold for hide-and-seek.

#3: A Miss America Sash.

# 4: A lasso.

#5: A way to restrain your friend while you eat the rest of the fudge.

(Thanks for the scarf and fudge, Tasha!)

Planning Ahead

2009-12-28T22:49:00.003-05:00

Recently, one of my friends had a birthday. (Happy belated birthday, Jeff!) His birthday happens to be December 21st, the day the apocalypse is scheduled to happen in 2012. Because one of the possibilities is a zombie apocalypse, my other friend and I put together a Zombie Survival Kit for our doomsday friend. We wrote out a pamphlet of explanations and suggestions for survival, so I thought that I'd share those with you. Read carefully, and start thinking: will you be prepared when the day comes?

(Disclaimer: This is a joke. ;)

Be prepared for the zombie apocalypse! It is predicted that on December 21st, 2012, society will crumble, the sky will explode with supernova stars, and the dead will rise from their graves. Therefore, you better be prepared to survive! That’s why we Scientists have put together a Zombie Survival Kit just for you! This manual will explain each component and suggest their uses.

THE CASE

First of all, you have to have something to hold your survival kit in. We recommend you contain your kit in a deceptive vessel--like a polka-dot purse, for example. Maybe even with a bow. No zombie would expect a self-respecting zombie fighter to hold their vital possessions in that sort of thing! Also, it would be helpful to put your intiials on it so you won’t get it confused with other kits if you happen across other humans (which, hopefully, you will).

THE COLOGNE

When zombies are running through cities and are pretty much around every corner, you will notice a distinct change in the general aroma. In other words, it’s going to reek like, well, dead people. Include cologne or perfume in your kit, as it will give you a breath of sweeter-smelling air, which, trust us, you are going to appreciate. In addition, zombies hate anything that doesn’t reek like the dead, so it will distract them when you are engaged in combat.

THE WATER BOTTLE

It is quite possible that you will leave the urban areas and head for the wilderness. In fact, we recommend it. However, while you are roughing it out in the woods, you lack the luxury of running water. Water is important. Without it, you’d become easy zombie food within three days. (Of course, by then they might leave you alone. You’d be all dry and shriveled up, like beef jerky. They want the juicy flesh. But still.) This water bottle is a reserve hydration system for a time of such need.

THE FRUIT SNACKS

Like with the water, you will want to have a reserve energy system. Even though you can go longer without food than you can without water, it’s a good idea to have a “just in case” snack. Try to save it as long as you can—try eating herbs or the soft part of tree trunks first. Don’t try anything you can’t identify though, it could be poison. Or No-No Berries. Those are not good, even though they look delicious and red and sweet. Don’t eat them. Eat your fruit snacks.

THE GAUZE PAD

This is what you resort to when you need to treat a deep laceration. Don’t waste this on just any wound, save it for one you know you can’t heal any other way. Try leaves or moss first to help the clotting. The gauze pad isn’t exactly reusable, so use it wisely!

BAND-AIDS

Do we really need to explain how to use band-aids?

Fine.

Peel off the paper and put the thicker, white part over your boo-boo. Try to save them for real boo-boos though. They can also be used as adhesives in building tools or weapons.

Lastly, an important element of a zombie survival kit is a weapon, like an ax or butcher knife. Or crossbow. Whatever you use, just remember, a zombie is terminated through beheading.

Happy Zombie Hunting!

Also, I hope everyone is having great Holidays and enjoying winter!

Ice Princess? No.

2009-12-19T18:34:00.005-05:00

Have you ever seen the movie Ice Princess?

I have.

You are not allowed to watch it.

It came on a few weeks ago. I was flipping through channels with two of my friends, and we caught the part where Casey (the main character) was in an ice show. She did a double toe loop, and was promoted to Junior level.

What?

Afterwards, a little skater complained to the group that she was only passed to Novice level. Another skater told her, “That’s because you’re six.”

WHAT?

First of all, no.

Second of all: no, no six year old is in Novice level. And definitely not by being in one little ice show.

Thirdly: it takes more, way more, than a double toe to pass into the Junior level. And how did Casey learn to do a double toe anyway? According to the movie, she skated for a few months on a pond, did some physics calculations, and did a double toe loop.

I was a figure skater for eight years. Admittedly, I wasn’t in AP Physics for any of that time, but it took me about six YEARS to land a double toe loop. And at that time, I was in Pre-preliminary or Preliminary level. The real competitive levels go in this order: Pre-preliminary, Preliminary, Pre-juvenile, Juvenile, Intermediate, Novice, Junior, Senior. A skater usually doesn’t try for Pre-preliminary until they can land an axel consistently (a jump that I didn’t even land until I’d been skating five years, is considered the hardest and “milestone” jump, and takes on average one year to land after beginning axel training).

Furthermore, passing into a level requires not only freestyle tests, but also moves-in-the-field (edge moves) tests as well, which are also challenging. I don’t think that in the movie Casey even knew what brackets or power pulls were, let alone if she could do them continuously down the ice (just two examples of many). Also, you have to pass one level (both moves-in-the-field and freestyle) before you can advance to the next. In “Ice Princess” it appears Casey skips, um, Pre-preliminary, Preliminary, Pre-juvenile, Juvenile, Intermediate, and Novice levels after taking a few beginner group lessons. After over eight years, most of which I trained with private lessons, I was about to test for Intermediate level.

Another thing that I was put off by was the portrayal of the skaters themselves. No, the typical skater is not catty, airheaded, and blonde. (Yes, some are, but then again, there are some of those everywhere.) It is rare that skaters or coaches run around sabotaging their competition. I met more dedicated, talented, and nice skaters than I met drama queens on the ice. I never once met a punk-rock figure skater that wore studded collars and ripped leather for her freestyle program. Also, in the freestyle (aka the nationally competitive) category, program music does not have words. It’s not allowed. That, people, is Hollywood dramatization.

That’s just off the top of my head, too. Imagine me ranting about this to my friends as the movie played. (Sorry, Tasha and Katie!) They eventually changed the channel. I was happy to let them.

On a lighter note, it’s snowing, and Christmas is just around the corner! Also, happy belated Chanukah!

Codes

2009-12-13T13:26:00.003-05:00

Recently, I found an old journal of mine. I was enjoying reading about my past self until I came across a page that had only a few words in the center:

Jia, gyvysi timg, og auy dep'v sief 'ch'ot auy esi puv et exituni et auys lopfishesvep timg.

It took me a moment before I realized my past self was chastising my now present self. But because I realized what I'd written, I'd earned my past self's approval.

Yes, my past self was that cool.

The language I'd been writing in is called Patrickaen. My sister and I came up with it when I was six and she was four. "Language" is probably not the correct term, as it is derived from English and follows a pattern, but it sounds very awesome and foreign when spoken out loud.

Since I discovered that, I've been having fun having my friends try (and some succeed) to figure out the code. And every time I write in Patrickaen, I can feel my past self give me a high five. It's a good feeling.

The Future

2009-12-07T20:52:00.003-05:00

I've always known what I want to do when I "grow up."

Well, aside from the obvious "author", that's not entirely true. I've had trouble choosing a career path (aka Author's Alternate/college major). So I guess a better phrase would be I've always known what i want to be when I "grow up" (the quotations mean that I'm using Grow Up to mean go to college, and get a job). I want to be doing something I enjoy, and that makes a difference in other people's lives.

Some careers I've considered have been teacher, marine biologist, and architectural engineer. But the one that really hit home was the most recent idea: forensic scientist. One, is there any better mystery novel research? And two, it fits my criteria: interesting, and important--it makes a difference.

The college study of forensic science where I am planning on going to college looks like an extremely tough course. Therefore, I'm working harder in my math and science classes to get a head start. Also, I'm taking a Crime Scene Investigation Class this spring-- can't wait!

(One of the downfalls, though, of having a career in mind is being so focused on preparing for the future that you lose the present. Sorry I've been lax in the blog post category!)

2009-11-29T13:55:00.002-05:00

Breaks are wonderful ideas. Really, without long weekends or holidays, people would reach a point where they turned into robots or spontaneously combusted. Therefore, the second marking period of the schoolyear is always my favorite. We have three-day weekends, holiday breaks, (plus: holidays!), and a general break-like feeling.

Speaking of which, happy holiday season! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I did-- my parents, sister, and I traveled five and a half...uh, miles to my cousins' house for dinner. My cousins, my sister, and I had a good time eating and watching "Spiderman" and enjoying the break feeling. Now I'm listening to holiday music and hoping to write. Ahh, breaks.

And: the prologue to RAIN is on my website! I'll also post it here:

Prologue

The stars spin.

They fly in and out of focus as I attempt to draw air. Breathe, my head chants, but I can hardly hear it through the sharp pain wrapping around my skull. The asphalt presses into my back and the concrete walls of the alley frame my vision. A ringing sounds in my ears. As I struggle for oxygen, other injuries come forth, the feelings blossoming in my spine, my ribs, my shins, my arms.

I should be getting up, preparing to defend myself, to make some sort of attempt to resist my attacker. But I can’t get my body to listen, I can only lie here and wait….

For a moment the agony peaks, and my lungs stutter. When I regain semi-awareness I urgently try to focus. At Watson they teach us to concentrate on something, anything that will motivate you to fight. Anything that will give you the strength to get up.

My mind lands on Ray. Immediately I’m lost in memories, one’s I’ve been suppressing for years, and they flash through my mind with more clarity than the pain in my body.

That’s where everything started, anyway. At the beginning, my mind says, as if I’m telling myself the story, which cues the first memory, the first time I saw him…

Oh, hello, you just wandered into/out of my story.

2009-11-18T21:25:00.004-05:00

One of my best friends was chiding me today because I wasn't planning on working on her "preferred" stories of mine this evening. Once she'd made clear which stories she wanted me to work on, I asked her why she wanted me to write those particular ones so bad.

Her response was something along the lines of, "Because they're the ones I've read, and gotten into, and you're just leaving me hanging!"

"I'll send you the ones I'm writing now," I offered, but she stubbornly refused.

"No. That's not okay. I demand you to finish the ones I told you to."

"I didn't know I was working on commission now," I replied, rolling my eyes. She gave me some sarcastic comment (she's pretty good at those) back.

Then I considered her attitude, and grinned, realizing the stories she wanted me to write were the ones she had a character in. In other words, I'd written her into those worlds, and so far she wasn't in my "current" stories--yet. I say yet because while I do often base characters off of people in my life, it's not always intentional. Sometimes it just happens.

Often when I write my cousin into my stories it is intentional. That's because he's a hilarious character, and adds comic relief. But with other friends, family, or random personalities I meet, I'll just gradually realize that a character in my story resembles someone I know. The characters that are based off of real people in my life seem to have more defined personalities, though a couple invented ones give them a run for their money.

Sometimes I also psychically write people into my stories--that is to say, I meet someone who resembles a character I've already written. These occurrences are almost as awesome as writing about someone. Or, should I say, occurrence, because this has only really happened once, but I'm hopeful to meet other people that have walked out of my stories (so long as they're not the antagonist. I'm not especially fond of them for some reason).

Message From Past Self

2009-11-14T20:34:00.005-05:00

I was going through memories today.

Okay, technically I was cleaning my room for the incoming company we were having. But as I did that I decided to organize the contents of a brown chest I've had pretty much as long as I can remember. This added about two hours to the cleaning process.

I was immediately lost in the world of my younger self. I know that sounds cheesy, but each trinket or scrap of paper Little Me had kept and stored in that chest triggered a filmreel of memories in my mind. My cousin came over while I was in the middle and joined me. We were "wow"ing and "oh!"ing and laughing nonstop, especially when we came across shared memories, like the snailmail letters we wrote to each other in elementary school, or the McDonald's toy we collected on our eigth grade Geocaching field trip.

I also came across notebooks I'd filled in with scribbles and drawings describing the games of pretend my sister and I played and story ideas I'd had. Those made me realized that while I've changed--a lot--my incessant story ideas have been a constant in my life. Which then always reminds me how much I (always) feel like writing.

I've been too busy to work on my stories much lately. I've stated that I believe homework only has negative results, and the way it eats up my free/writing time is forever reinforcing that idea. But I got most of that work out of the way today, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow when I (hopefully) have a chunk of free time. Thank you, past self, for remotivating me to find that free time and making me ready to write.

2009-11-03T19:19:00.000-05:00

I posted on Teen Seen today!

Not Really Window Shopping

2009-10-29T16:24:00.005-04:00

Following up on my last post: So. Now that we have some name guidelines, where to we find the names?

The solution I came up with a few years ago is fairly simple: Baby names sites. My personal favorite site has name finders, top 1000 boy and girl names, and lists of names with common themes. I usually go straight to the top 1000 lists to browse. It's kind of like window shopping, only without windows and without shopping.

The other day during lunch one of my friends was complaining about how common his name was. "I mean, come on, James is like the most common boy's name in the country," he said.

"Don't flatter yourself," I told him. "That would be Jacob."

Some of my friends raised their eyebrows at me. "Really," James said. "Mine is second then?"

"Nope, that's Michael," I responded.

He was frowning now. "The third?"

"Joshua."

"Fourth?"

"Ethan."

"How do you know?" another friend demanded, so I explained about my frequent trips to the baby names site. I ended up printing off a copy of the top 1000 boy names list for them, and spent the rest of the time listening to exclaims like, "Diego? Diego is before my name?" and "How is James only number 16? Every other kid in this school has that name!"

Until then I hadn't realized how much the frequent trips to the site had sunk in, to the point that I could rattle off the first x most popular baby names from memory. The amount of times I go through my name-finding process goes to show how important names are to my stories. If the name doesn't fit, the character doesn't seem right. So do yourself a favor, and 'window shop' for a name until you find the one that fits your character. From personal experience I can attest that it will be worth it.

Also, the look on my friend's face made it worth it as well.

The Rules

2009-10-26T16:44:00.003-04:00

Something I often hear people complain about in regard to writing stories is how "I can never pick names for my characters!" I know the feeling. Names have to fit a certain set of requirements for me to be able to use them. I have decided to post my own guidelines in hope that someone else will find them helpful. So, my general list of rules is something like:

No overused names (like Bob or Sally)
No bizarre names simply for the purpose of being bizarre (like Kynarylismuthosa. Unless it makes sense in context. And if you can get that name to make sense in context, you have full permission to use it)
No fairytale or cliche names (like Dewdrop or Aurora. Again, unless it makes sense in context)
If I'm modeling a character off of someone I don't like, don't choose a name similar to theirs (no example here, sorry)
If I'm modeling a character after someone I do like but don't want them to know, see above.
No recognizable names of characters from books or movies (like Hermione or Jack Sparrow)

Of course, there are other rules, but I usually come up with those as I go along.

Also, I'd like to thank Daryl Gregory for my first review of RAIN!
I will be posting that on my website soon.
You can find Daryl's website at http://darylgregory.com/

Snow!

2009-10-17T15:21:00.003-04:00

On Thursday I glanced outside and saw small white things floating from the sky. Since it's October, my first thought was, wow, a really big pillow must have exploded somewhere! Then, of course, I realized that yes, it was snowing. The flakes were heavy and turned to slush immediately upon reaching the ground, but it was snow. During study hall my friends and I ran outside and took in the sight. It was actually very pretty, and very cold. We figured it was a fluke, however, despite the weather predictions that called for a winter storm that evening.

Friday morning came dressed in white. The snow was thick enough to cover the grass in most places and was falling continuously from the sky. The biggest shock was when school was canceled. Our first snow day of the year came on October 16th. Everyone was stunned, but I seized the opportunity. My sister and I had an epic snowball fight, played Scrabble (I lost), drank hot chocolate, and watched our second favorite show together. The entire day I kept surprising myself by realizing Halloween hasn't even come yet.

The snow was even heavier this morning. As the day progressed the temperature rose and the snow is now melting into a wet slush. I'm not sure if it will refreeze overnight, but it has been a nice little winter preview in the middle of fall.

Homework

2009-10-12T20:59:00.003-04:00

Hello all!

I've been battling some sort of illness the past week, but I believe I'm better now. It's amazing how much make-up work is assigned for missing only two days of school! Actually, it's amazing how much homework students get in general. Thinking about that reminded me of an English assignment last year, when I had to give a persuasive speech. The topic I chose was homework. I decided to post that speech here. Any opinions?

Homework

How many of you like homework? …Haha, that’s what I thought. Most kids don’t, but their complaints are usually ignored, or considered ‘whining’. But what if they—and you—are actually right?

You know, homework wasn’t always assigned. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that we started really experiencing it, and the response to this new idea wasn’t favorable. In fact, in 1901 homework was banned in California, and that lasted fifteen years!

During the early 1900’s, doctors warned that homework was “unnatural” and unhealthy because of the stress it induced, the weight it put on children’s spines, and the hours spent sedentary at a desk. Citizens were speaking out against it until World War Two.

Feelings changed during the Cold War, when there suddenly was a push for more rigorous education so we could compete with other countries. Homework became a daily routine, and since then the amounts have only increased. Today, we see a huge rise in levels of homework, especially among younger children. And yet, we automatically assume that this is okay?

As students, we spend six or more hours a day in school, and more if you are involved in extracurricular activities. Is it fair of school districts to require homework, which is likely to take up an hour or more of non-school time, as well? There are many people, including students, parents, teachers, and other adults, who say no, it is not fair, and believe that homework actually has a negative impact on schooling and student’s lives.

There are other people, though, that argue that homework is beneficial and that students get the right amount. It can’t be ignored, though, that homework levels are rising rapidly, especially among younger children.

I’ll let you guess what the two main sides of this issue are. Yeah, you got it: For Homework and Against Homework. The people that are For Homework claim that homework extends learning beyond the classroom, allowing students to continue learning at home, creates independent study habits from working on their own time, and improves achievement academically. They also claim that homework connects parents to the school by letting them see what students are working on and the type of work they are doing.

Against Homework people say that homework creates stress and steals free time. Do you like it when your parents have to bring work home? It only makes them irritable, stressed, and unable to do things with you. It could be argued that homework creates the same situation, leading to missed opportunities, less exercise, and family tension. In addition, homework may actually impede learning by causing students to hate the subject.

Opinions are great, but what are better? Facts. And the facts of the matter are these: Stress is unhealthy, and homework definitely causes stress in the majority of the K-thru-12 students. In most cases, homework is assigned as a drill, which is the opposite of helpful because these repetitive assignments offer little to no additional help and take up in-class time with review. As mentioned earlier, the homework amount is rising, especially among younger kids. The amount of children aged six to eight that have homework on a given night rose from 35% to 65% in the past twenty years. Also, many high-scoring countries like Japan and Taiwan are actually trying to lower their homework level.

But this is perhaps the most important fact: Nowhere in any studies done has substantial proof been found that homework improves test scores of academic achievement. In fact, in some cases it’s just the opposite—students that were given more homework were shown to have lower test scores than their peers that weren’t.

So, is it fair to ask students to do hours of homework in addition to hours of schooling? To have to do homework in order to “connect parents with the curriculum?” To be assigned generic drill homework that does not help their academic performance? The truth is, homework is simply assigned as a routine, and in reality it is unhealthy and in most cases impeding our learning. In short, it gives kids a legit reason to dislike school.

2009-10-03T23:19:00.002-04:00

I posted on Teen-Seen blog today! Check it out!

Hello, I'm the girl who writes a lot.

2009-09-27T18:54:00.002-04:00

Often times, when I’m meeting someone for the first time, I’ll be introduced as “You know, the one who writes all the time,” which will spur a whole bunch of questions. The three most common ones are “What kind of writing do you do?” (Answer: Really long stories. Fiction, though—like, novels. If I can finish them. Which rarely happens. So, usually I write a bunch of starts to novels, but I don’t really write short stories or anything. Basically, I like potentially really long fictional stories…).

Another one is “What genre?” (Answer: Well, recently I’m really into espionage and action-thriller stories, so I like to write those—like my most recent novel! But I also love fantasy, and have a couple of those stories in progress. Oh, and there’s this science-fiction-slash-futuristic one I’m working on too. And a ghost story idea I can’t wait to write down. Plus I finished an Oregon Trail Diary novel, and I’ve tried some realistic stories. Um, can I just select “all of the above”?).

My favorite question, however, is when someone cocks their head and studies my forehead as if trying to read an instruction manual, and says, “How do you come up with all those ideas?” I always have to smile when asked that, because I have been wondering the same thing since fifth grade. Since that time I have never been without a flood of story ideas. And not just stories—really long, really complicated stories. They arrive in the same manner as an epiphany. As in, I’m pretty sure that when a story idea falls into place for me, other people must think I just figured out the secret to the universe. My eyes light up, my mouth pops open in a gasp, and I jerk upright into perfect posture. This has happened more than once during class, and half the time my teachers are under the impression that whatever they’ve just said has made my day. (I humor them when this happens.)

I’m not sure how it occurs. I know that usually I have my best inspiration when I’m supposed to be focusing on something else. My mind wanders down What If Lane, stops by the Character Cafe, grabs a This Is More Exciting To Think About Than Real Life Latte, adds a few dashes of Oh My Gosh This Would Be So Cool To Write About, takes a sip, and is transported to IHaveToWriteNOWville.

Now, as to how my mind knows what ingredients to put in that latte or even where the right exit onto What If Lane is, I have no clue.

2009-09-20T21:22:00.002-04:00

I recently had to write an essay for my English class, about a favorite quote of ours and why we like it. I thought I'd post my short response, because I kind of liked it. My quote was "It's kind of fun to do the impossible." by Walt Disney.

I love it when someone tells me I can’t do something.

Well, not “can’t” as in “I’m sorry, that course is full” or “This is sold out” or “That is no longer available”. I love “can’t” as in “You can’t do that” in a disbelieving tone. The words, “I don’t believe you did that” and “Yeah, right” are music to my ears.

That’s because I love proving someone wrong. If they think I can’t, I’ll show them I can. I like straying beyond the realms of normal or average and doing something people wouldn’t think of. (That might be one reason I worked so hard to publish a novel at fourteen!)

When I saw this quote a few months ago the first thing about it that caught my attention was the fact that it was spoken by Walt Disney. I’m kind of a Disney fan—or maybe nut?—so that was instant bonus points for the quote. Then I read it and it made me laugh out loud because it’s so true. One of the best feelings is the one you get after you accomplish the impossible. That means you just altered the nature of the task—from impossible to possible!

Therefore, if you tell me I can’t write a 400 page story, I’m going to write a 400 page story! If you say there’s no way I can write a four page story, I’ll create one (it’ll just be harder than the 400 page one). If I can’t participate in your conversation because it’s about “advanced forensic technology” that I haven’t learned about yet, I’ll spend the evening researching and come back the next day an expert (well, almost an expert).

And I’ll have fun doing it.

Teen-Seen

2009-09-12T23:30:00.001-04:00

It's my turn on the Teen-Seen blog! www.teen-seen.blogspot.com

And I should have a new post on here soon. Sorry it's been slow!

~Kieryn