Laura's blog

It's the first anniversary of this blog! Well, technically last month was the first anniversary of this blog -- but I was so caught up in vacation and the Teen Writers Summer Blogfest that I completely forgot about it. So happy late anniversary, voices! *gives flowers* Also, this happens to be the month in which I reached 1,000 twitter followers. Twitter, as I discovered last year, is AMAZING. It is like a constant IV drip of information, opinions, news, and interesting people. Don't get me wrong, I love my Facebook. Via Twitter, however, I've been able to "meet" (tweet?) authors, agents, poets, and other people -- and of course, discover their blogs. ...Which led directly to me winning a blog contest! Over at terribleminds.com , author, screenwriter, and drunken lunatic Chuck Wendig held a contest in honor of reaching 5,000 twitter followers. The terms: comment with a story in three sentences. The prizes: a free pdf or Kindle version of one of his ebooks, ...

Inigo: "You are wonderful." Man in Black: "Thank you; I've worked hard to become so." Inigo: "I admit it, you are better than I am." Man in Black: "Then why are you smiling?" Inigo: "Because I know something you don't know." Man in Black: "And what is that?" Inigo: "I...am not left-handed." [ Moves his sword to his right hand and gains an advantage ] Man in Black: "You are amazing." Inigo: "I ought to be, after 20 years." Man in Black: "Oh, there's something I ought to tell you." Inigo: "Tell me." Man in Black: "I'm not left-handed either." As you can see, a really excellent swordsman can change from using right to left hands at will. They basically make themselves ambidextrous, which must come in handy when you're chasing down the kidnappers who stole your true love and intend to kill her to start a war between Florin and Guilder. ...

Today's post was going to be a review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 . However, I have been sick all weekend--I think I ate some funny crab cake--and not up to the effort. I have literally been closeted in my room all of Saturday, only emerging for the evening meal. I get extremely sour when sick (in terms of temperment, not smell), and my darkened room was transformed into the Bear Cave of Bitchiness. Far more pleasant for everyone if I didn't come out... Whilst in the Bear Cave, when not curled into a ball of migraine misery, I was watching Twelfth Night and editing The Book. I made a feeble attempt at writing more of The Book, but gave up when my neurons started screaming after half a page.  Branaugh's Twelfth Night is pretty good, I guess, but it's really weirdly shot for a movie. The set is very stage-like, not really movie-like at all--it looks like a set, whereas most movies try to disguise the fact that their set is a set. If that makes sen...

The kids I babysit are adorable and very nice. Occasionally difficult, but aren't all kids? If kids are a little difficult sometimes, that just means they're smart. Would you really want some robot of a kid who obeys your every command? ...Well, maybe some parents would. Case in point: my dad is washing dishes while I dry them. He is dissatisfied with the speed at which I am drying the dishes (though I'm not getting in his way). He says: "You know, if you had a drill sergeant breathing down your neck, you might consider going a little faster." Me: "Well, luckily I don't have a drill sergeant breathing down my neck, then. The dishes aren't going anywhere fast." I firmly believe that you can't run a family like you run the military. Which brings me to the topic for today's post: "be yourself." Someone I follow on twitter tweeted a link to their blogpost "Be yourself? What do you think that really means?" I tweeted a ...

Ravenclaws are smart, love to learn, and value knowledge above all. Hufflepuffs are loyal, hardworking, honest, and accepting. Gryffindors are brave -- sometimes reckless -- and value courage. And now for the House everyone seems to hate (though admittedly, there are good reasons for its reputation): Ambitious, cunning, resourceful, with "a certain disregard for rules" -- these qualities describe members of Slytherin House. And as Hagrid (incorrectly) said in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, "there's not a witch or wizard went bad that wasn't in Slytherin." Founded by Salazar Slytherin, it has included Tom Riddle/Voldemort (Dark Lord), Bellatrix Lestrange (Death Eater), and Lucius Malfoy (rich, arrogant ass). However, it has also included Phineas Nigellus (Hogwarts Headmaster, if a rather unpleasant person), Horace Slughorn (the quintessential college professor), Draco Malfoy (sympathetic if foolish and master of the Elder Wand), Narc...

I'm really sorry to have missed the first page critique. Vacation, you know. We just got back home at 11 last night, so bear with me. Today the other participants and I will be answering questions submitted by readers about YA lit, what teens prefer, how teens read, etc. I am grateful for a chance to answer these kinds of questions. Often, when I read the blogs of agents and editors, they'll make broad, assumptive, and/or high-and-mighty statements about young adults and young adult literature--to which my indignant reaction is, "That's not true!" Or at least, not as true as they seem to believe. So, we have four questions from Jess, which I will endeavor to answer. :) 1.) Middle grade novels are defined as books for the 8-12 age range. Do teens still read middle grade fiction as they get older (for example, Harry Potter is an example of middle grade that's read by teens and adults) or are they naturally attracted to books with older themes and character...

This year, I'm spending July 4th with my grandparents in Mississippi. Here, you can get REAL (read: dangerous) fireworks, unlike the pissy little sparklers they limit you to in Maryland. The fireworks were actually an anticlimax this year, but who cares--I've been in a nearly constant state of geekout since Saturday. I WENT TO FAULKNER'S HOUSE!!! (the one in Oxford, near University of Mississippi--or as the locals call it, Ole Miss). No better way to celebrate the 4th of July than to visit the home of a legendary American novelist... unless you follow up that visit with lunch at the Ajax Diner, home of the most orgasmically tasty mac-an-cheese on the face of the planet. NO SERIOUSLY. IT IS AMAZING. I had a sausage po-boy sandwich and stole my mom's mac-an-cheese. They also had amazing salads, classics like chicken and dumplings and catfish, AND an extensive vegetarian menu. And just when you're thinking you can't POSSIBLY top that...there's Square Books...