Pitch Wars and Random Words from Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere

(Futurama - Bender "I'm Back, Baby.")

(Smooth McGroove: Final Fantasy VII Victory Fanfare A Capella)

I hope everyone is having a good summer and had a great June and July. I enjoyed my break, but I was itching to get back to blogging (hence my random blog in the middle of my break). And [in my Bill Nighy Viktor voice:] we have much to discuss...Selene and I.

Pitch Wars is around the corner! I believe I participated last year, because it was a label in my list of labels. The blog-hop of all of the participating mentors went up yesterday over at Brenda Drake's blog. You can research all of them and ask questions on Twitter via the hashtag #askmentor (I just learned you can link Twitter searches). I hope to get picked so I can see if a mentor is thinking what I'm thinking about changing my opening. I'm almost sure I need to, but I want to make sure.

On that note, I think I do because the agents I've queried aren't wowed by my opening. In my first drafts, I began in the thick of the action and received critiques asking, "But who are these people?" So, I added an opening scene showing who the people were, but I guess the calm before the storm is failing at the moment. If I make it, I definitely know what scene will be the new opening.

So that's what I'm doing with my writing. Now...

What am I reading? First off, I reached my goal of 20 books read this year! Many of them were graphic novels, but if I keep going, I might reach 30!

That being said, I'm trudging my way through Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. I don't know why. It might not just interest me the way I thought it would, and it was a spur of the moment pick-up in the library. All of the books I bought at random waiting on my Kindle have a right to be mad.

Anyway, I'll still be using Random.org to show you all a line of my current read. There are 337 pages in Neverwhere, and Random has chosen page 126. I won't be randomly picking the line anymore. I'm returning myself the freedom to pick that myself. So here's a little bit from page 126.

There was a faraway screaming noise, thin and mindless, like an idiot child deprived of its toy. The smoke-tentacle let go of Richard's ankle and slid back over the edge of the platform, and it was gone.

Reading anything good right now? Are you thinking of entering Pitch Wars? Let us know if you're a mentor! See you tomorrow for IWSG!

Wednesday Words: "How Do You Think It Feels?"

Welcome back to Wednesday Words! Happy Hump Day. :)

This is the day I use Random.org to help me throw you all a few lines of what I'm currently reading. I'm still on these short stories, and I don't normally read on days off, but I should be done before the 2nd Wednesday of December (next week is IWSG).

I chose the next few chunk of chapters for Random to choose from: pages 159-231. Random chose...........page 198.

There are about 28 lines on this page, so Random has chosen...................line 24...a long sentence that goes into the next page.

I have never been a sculptor, but something took shape beneath my fingers that night: block hands and grinning head, stumpy wings and twisted legs: I made it of my lust and self-pity and hatred, then I baptized it with the last drops of Johnnie Walker Black Label and placed it over my heart, my own little gargoyle, to protect me from beautiful women with blue-green eyes and from ever feeling anything again.

Everyone have a wonderful Turkey Day! Eat lots of cranberry sauce. :)

Wednesday Words: "Other People"

Happy Wednesday!

This has been a fairly long week. Hallelujah for Hump Day. On a good note, I've been revising up a storm!

On Wednesdays, I share with you all a piece of what I'm reading using Random.org to choose a page and line for you.

I'm still reading Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things (blame the Sherlock Holmesian/H.P. Lovecraftian piece that it started with. I hate Sherlock Holmes.), but I've read some really cool things so far. The story I've started is only two pages, which I imagine I'll be done with in the next hour, so let's move a little further down.

I'll be using the next few shorts, Page 65 - 164. Random.org has chosen........................Page 109.

That actually is the beginning of a short story called "Other People." Sounds interesting. There are about 20 lines on that page, so Random has chosen..........................Line 15.

"Now," said the demon, in a voice that carried with it no sorrow, no relish, only a dreadful flat resignation, "you will be tortured."

As my old classmate Aubrey used to say, "Damn." Can't wait to see where that story takes me. Might have to pray afterwards. ;)

Wednesday Words: Fragile Things

Good morning!

Welcome back to Wednesday Words, where I use Random.org to help me show you all what I am currently reading. Today (or tomorrow, because I left my book at home and usually read at work) I will begin Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things. It is a series of short stories, so this week, in case I'm still reading it next week, I will be choosing a line to read from the first story in the set, "A Study in Emerald." It sounds interesting.

There are 26 pages in "ASiE." Random.org has chosen.......(In my Monica Gellar voice) 7!

There are about 30 lines on Page 7 (I don't know why I always count the lines, because I'm almost sure there are always about 30 lines), and Random has given me........(I had a feeling it would do this) line 2, which starts in the middle of some type of article or something, so up one line I go.

BRINGING LIFE TO THE DEAD: FROM AN OLD FAMILY RECIPE AND THE BEST OF MODERN SCIENCE.

Hm....Can't wait to see what's happening there.

Wednesday Words: Finally nearly done American Gods

Don't hate me.

I remembered yesterday that I'm reading the version that Neil Gaiman actually wanted to publish first, and I feel like that's what's messed up my pace. I had to trudge through the middle of this story. It was so...blah!

It's finally started to pick back up with the pace and intrigue that caught me from the first page, and I'm so glad for that. I plan to be finished it probably tomorrow.

But it's Wednesday, so that means, I need to bring you some lines!

I'm going to do something a little different and only use Random.org to generate the number of pages I have left! So from page 436 to page 541, I will be reading from......page 495.

Hm, that's in the Epilogue. I hope I don't give too much away for myself, but this is what I get! There are 32 lines on this page, so I will be reading......line 8.

He took a deep breath before he went under, closing his eyes, but the cold of the lake water hit him like a wall, knocking the breath from his body.

OOH, Shadow returned to Lakeside! I can't wait to see what's happening, but I have a hunch (especially, because I saw a few other lines while counting, of course).

Wednesday Words! Still reading Gaiman.

Hello!

I'm still reading American Gods. That reading spree I went on a few weeks ago must have burned out, but I can't miss another Wednesday, so you'll all just have to read Gaiman with me. ;)

So, I'm using Random.org to pick a page and a few lines for me to share with you all. As I said before, there are 541 pages in American Gods. Random has chosen.....Ah, a page I've read already. Page 42.

This is a good scene, too. There are about 31 lines on this page, so, Random, do your thing!
...............................Line 11.

The girl gave him his cash back, and put the purchase on the card, and then gave him the card receipt and took his cash, then returned the cash and took a different card.

I'm going to go ahead and throw in a line from a little later as a bonus, because I didn't catch what was happening up there (Honestly, I still don't get it lol).

"The way I saw it in there, you never paid for the gas...The way I saw it, she wound up paying you for the privilege of having you in her gas station. You think she's figured it out yet?"

If you don't see me next Wednesday, I'm still reading this book. I'll try to speed up, but it's the slacker season.

Wednesday Words: Back to Gaiman!

Happy Humpday. :)

On Wednesdays, I use Random.org to pick out a page and a line of the book I'm currently reading/about to read so you can all see what I'm reading!

Yesterday, I finally returned to the library to pick up some books to read. lol I decided to go with Neil Gaiman's American Gods, the precursor to his Anansi Boys, which was my first Gaiman read about a year back. I'm excited to see how this book is, because I loved Anansi Boys.

There are 541 pages (ooh, an interview in the back) in American Gods, so Random, do your thing!

....................................Page 345.

There are 32 lines on that page, so from 1 to 32 I present to you...

....................................Line 14.

"Now, my mom's family were European Jewish," continued Sam, "from one of those places that used to be communist and now are just chaos..."

A very interesting line (my sister was explaining Communism vs. Socialism to me just the other day!). I can't wait to read this and more books by Mr. Gaiman.

Express Yourself: First Lines

Happy Tuesday (technically)! It's time for another Express Yourself question!

A big thanks for Jackie @ Bouquet of Books and Dani @ Entertaining Interests for bringing this meme to the blogosphere. This week, they ask us to share some of our favorite first lines.

The first I want to share is actually the chapter title, which reminds me of a Friends episode title. lol (Also, if you ever want to know why the Friends episode titles are so plain, I actually know the answer!) This is the title to the first chapter of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys:

Chapter One Which is Mostly About Names and Family Relationships.

It's so cynical to me, and it's kind of Fat Charlie's attitude through the story, especially since his dad embarrassed him his entire life.

Another is from Vanessa Diffenbaugh's The Language of Flowers, and if you haven't read this book, dear God, do!

For eight years I dreamed of fire.Trees ignited as I passed them; oceans burned.

First off, awesome imagery. Secondly, the TURMOIL! Clearly there's something behind that, and what a ride to learn what it is! Wonderful.

I've read like a million books, and I was sleepy an hour ago, so I'll do one more. Christopher Pike began my love for young adult horror which I never followed up on in writing. lol Matter of fact, I'm pretty sure he just wrote YA paranormal, but I didn't know the difference when I was a kid. But Remember Me was one of the first books of his I read, and with openings like this, it wasn't the last.

Most people would probably call me a ghost. I am, after all, dead.

Thanks for stopping by. What are some of your favorite first lines?