Alphabet April (Blogging from A to Z Challenge)

Ladies and gents, tomorrow I will begin Alphabet April. That is not the official name for it (it's officially the Blogging from A to Z Challenge), but it's what I'm calling it. My friend, author, and fellow blogger Colby is doing it and she said I should do it with her so I said ok.

Every day of the month, except Sundays, will be a different letter. I decided to go with a New York theme so I'll be sharing a lot of my favorite spots in NYC. 

Stay tuned!

A Chat with Colby Marshall, Writer Extraordinaire

Hello, faithful stalkers!

Today I'm going to do something a little different (though this blog seems to be pretty eclectic as it is, so this post should really fit right in). For those of you who don't know, I'm a very avid reader. I'll read any piece of fiction you put in front of me. Living pretty far out in Queens means that I have about a 40 minute subway ride to and from work. Combine that with the fact that I'm a very fast reader and work at a job where I can sit and read at random times during the day, I usually end up reading an average of 5-7 books a week.

The only way I could be at Colby's first book signing!

My love for reading factored heavily into the bond I now have with my best friend Colby Marshall. I'd barely known her a few weeks before she started sending me pages from whatever book she was writing at the time. It's been so fun to be on the other side of the book, if you will, where I got to help Colby research weird questions and point out continuity problems. I also feel like it's been a huge privilege to be able to watch her journey from writing book after book until finally one got published - Chain of Command, where McKenzie McClendon chases after the story of a lifetime when the president and vice president are assassinated simultaneously. And now she's already in edits for a McKenzie sequel, The Trade, where a surgeon is providing infants to a black market baby trade and leaving helpless women to die.

As part of her blog tour, Colby asked me if I wanted to interview her and the answer was a resounding yes! Enjoy!

1. Do you work better during the day or at night?

Definitely at night.  I'm a night owl by nature, and it also just happens to work out for me right now because with a new baby, it's tough to settle down to work when she's awake and needing lots of attention.  So, since I'm a nocturnal beast anyway, I'm able to put her to bed for the night and get some work done before turning in myself.

2. Who is your favorite character in Chain of Command and which character do you feel you relate to the best?

It's so hard to narrow it down to one favorite.  I actually have three, I think, but if I have to pick, I'd say my favorite character is Uhlig.  I love him because he's quite badass, and I love how much he spices things up in ways you don't realize until the very end.  The close seconds are Pierce and Jig.  (Is it strange that my favorite character is the one who blows up things and the runners up are hackers?  Does that say anything bad about me?)  I relate most to McKenzie.  She's incredibly ambitious, and she wants to be known for her writing, something I can honestly say I have lived and am still living as we speak.

3. What's the most demeaning thing you've heard said about you as a writer or writers in general?

Wow!  That is a such a tough question.  The most demeaning thing I've heard about myself as a writer is one bad review I got on Amazon.com.  The particular reader did not  like the habit one of my characters has of making references to Jesus in "colorful" ways  (example: Jesus riding a skateboard).  She felt they were juvenile.  Everyone has their own opinions and personal preferences, and every person also tends to have his or her own list of tender spots they find offensive.  So, I appreciate her taking the time to review my novel and leave her comments even though I respectfully disagree with her take on Noah's "swearing."  I actually used this tactic in particular as a character quirk for Noah to avoid the need to have him swear as much.  He's a Navy SEAL, so it's only normal that he would use some colorful language, but I hoped this would be a nice way to get around a ton of f-bombs.  

As for what I've heard that demeans writers in general, I think the thing I think most writers find tough is when someone finds out you've written a book and immediately begins telling you about the book they would write if they had time.  Usually this statement is followed by the person telling you all about why they didn't have time, such as having a "real job," etc.  No writer on earth who has actually written a book has time to write it.  We make time, because it is our passion.  It's a little tough to stomach to have someone diminish what is your life's blood by saying, "Oh, yeah, I could do that, too, if I was as much of a bum as you are!" Ha!

4. Are all the names of your characters important?

No, not always.  Usually I feel like I need to come up with just the right names for main characters, so I won't name a large character something that doesn't feel right.  As you know, Elaine Covington in CHAIN OF COMMAND is named after you, but that said, if the name Elaine hadn't fit her perfectly, I wouldn't have used it for this particular character.  I know you know this, but for readers who don't, I do actually tend to have a character named for Ashlee in some way in every book I write, but Elaine's character is the first time it has worked out to be such a huge character.  Typically, if I name a character "for" someone, it is a small character that only appears for a scene or two (this is why so often if I name a character "for" someone, it ends up being a murder victim!).  Another huge character, Uhlig, is named after someone I know, but similarly, it happened to be a name of the sort I was looking for for this particular character, so I picked it for fit.

5. Do you ever wish you had an average 9-5 job instead?

I have moments where I do wish I had a nine to five job, mainly because it is very difficult for me to "leave" work.  If I'm at home with my laptop, I feel like I should be working.  In ways, it would be nice to be able to leave work and clock out for the day and come home and know my hours were over.  As it is, I end up being somewhat of a workaholic because I don't have that separation.  Even so, though, I do love the freedom of having an out of the box career, and for me, the benefits of doing things I love outweigh the problems.

6. We already know that McKenzie lives in NYC, though Chain of Command sees her chasing her story all over the country. I understand that in your sequel, The Trade, the bulk of the story is actually set in NYC. What led you to choosing the Big Apple, as opposed to the other big cities around the country?

CHAIN OF COMMAND was tough moving from city to city for settings, because I was dealing with so many time zones, I needed to time stamp every new scene to make sure the reader knew when things were happening all over the world. So I knew this time if the story would lend itself to it, I wanted to make it occur in one geographical area. I love New York so much so that I hope one day I will be in a position to move there. When Ashlee and JP moved to New York as well as when I started taking trips to the city to go to writer's conferences and conventions, I got to know the city better and better.   When I was in New York one of those times, ideas began to flow for me about particular spots in the city that would work perfectly for the scenarios I had in mind for The Trade. Having gotten to know the city well, I felt like that knowledge would only add to descriptions I could give of the scenarios and ultimately add a lot of authenticity and help set the tone for the story.

And now some fun random questions that have nothing to do with anything:

Crayons, markers, or colored pencils?

Markers almost always.

Favorite Harry Potter character?

Dumbledore.  No!  Snape.  No!  Dumbledore.  Or Snape.

Favorite alcoholic beverage?

White wine.

Vanilla or chocolate?

Chocolate. (unless we're talking frozen yogurt, in which case I like them to both be present and swirled)

Do you enjoy breakfast or dinner more?

Dinner here lately, though this seems to go in phases for me.

If you were deserted on an island, which 3 famous people would you want with you?

This answer probably changes on any given day I'd answer it, but today, I think it would be Whoopi Goldberg, R.L. Stine, and Ellen Degeneres, because they're some of the funniest people to me, so if nothing else, I'd be entertained! 

Oh one last thing: be sure to visit Colby's website and join her S.W.A.T. team for awesome giveaways, merchandise, exclusive materal, fun facts and trivia, even deleted scenes! You can join in the fun here.

Writer by day, ballroom dancer and choreographer by night, Colby has a tendency to turn every hobby she has into a job, thus ensuring that she is a perpetual workaholic.  In addition to her 9,502 regular jobs, she is also a contributing columnist for M Food and Culture magazine and is a proud member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime.  She is actively involved in local theatres as a choreographer and occasionally indulges her prima donna side by taking the stage as an actress.  She lives in Georgia with her family, two mutts, and an array of cats that, if she were a bit older, would qualify her immediately for crazy cat lady status.  Her debut thriller, Chain of Command is now available, and the second book in her McKenzie McClendon series, The Trade, is due for publication by Stairway Press in June 2013.

www.colbymarshall.com

Nemo Found Me

Just in case you're living under a rock or don't care enough about me to keep up with my current weather situation like my grandparents do, NYC has a blizzard on its hands...er...streets.

Now, folks, this is not my first blizzard. It's my 3rd. Right? Yes, I think my third. Thank goodness this blizzard doesn't see me sleeping on the interstate like I did two years ago. No instead I went into work like usual, walked through pretty fluffy snow on the way to the subway, but then battled a fierce wind and heavy snow on the walk from the subway into work. Once inside, I readily joined in with the running weather conversations that provided me with constant updates "according to so-and-so who just had to go out for such-and-such-a-reason" and from "so-and-so who just got back from lunch." I fielded questions from my coworkers like, "Did you stock up on any food or water?" and "How's your commute home gonna be affected?" and "Have I ever told you about the blizzard when such and such happened?" 

I met my friend Jess for lunch around 12:00pm at a nearby sushi restaurant, by which time the snow had turned to tiny pebbles of sleet, which were creating a thin layer of slush on the sidewalks - so still battling wind and precipitation, but now also fighting against the threat of slipping and landing on my ass. I got back and gave my report of the conditions to anyone who asked and some who didn't. It was my duty to give everyone an update after all. Around 1:30pm, my supervisor let us know we could leave at 3:00 so no one would get stuck in worse conditions. Yippee! When I left at 3, the snow had gone back to big fluffy flakes that were now assaulting and stinging my face thanks to that terrible wind.

So now I'm safe and warm in my apartment with the windows open so I can watch the snow fall. Tonight is supposed to be the worst of the blizzard conditions, though I have no idea how many inches we'll get. Let me show you the map that TWC provided for me.

So in the map above you can see the predicted snowfall for those of us getting visited by Nemo. But I actually have no idea what I'll get because if you'll notice in the zoomed in map below, I can't tell exactly where I fall, but there's both purple AND pink in my area. So I'm just going with anywhere between 6" and 18" (I'm secretly hoping for 18" but don't tell my New York friends who hate the snow and don't understand my love for it).

Now I leave you with some photos of me and the snow so far.

My neighborhood. Also my Kermit* hat is awesome.

First footprints on my front walk!

*Kermit hat courtesy of Colby Marshall.

Thing 3 - My Goddaughter

Hey guess what? I have a goddaughter! Remember when I talked about my best friend's wedding here? Well a few months later, she had a baby and named JP and me godparents! She is referred to as Batgirl and she was a tiny little thing when she was born, but has been super healthy. During our theatre years when we were in every musical for over a year at MLT, Colby and I became known as Thing 1 and Thing 2. We were never seen apart unless only one of us had to be onstage...or unless one of us was in the bathroom...although come to think of it, we'd usually make those trips together too. So one of the things I bought for her is a Thing 3 onesie because all of our children will now also become numbered "things." Also, we decided JP and I should have special names like grandparents do, so we'll be referred to as Xenu and LeeLee.

I often think about the wisdom I'd like to impart to her, as I'm sure her parents do too. I thought I'd share some of these things with you.

1. Do not feel pressured to be sorted into a specific Hogwarts house. Yes, I know you have a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw as a parent, but we'll all still love you if you turn out to be a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. I promise.

2. Video games are fun.

3. If people try to tell you unicorns don't exist, don't believe them. They lie.

4. The Muppets exist to entertain you. They will make you laugh and you will love them and want to be friends with them. I promise.

5. Sports are not of the devil. I know your parents aren't into them and that's totally fine. But do not feel ashamed if you find first downs, homeruns, or free throws suddenly interesting. Xenu and LeeLee will happily talk sports with you and teach you all you want to know...especially Xenu. If you start talking about football with him, he will go on for a while...

6. Identity theft is an effing nightmare.

7. Popsicles make everything better. So do sour Skittles, pickles, sour patch kids, and Chickfila. Though not all at the same time necessarily.

I'm sure this isn't all she'll learn from me. I am, after all, a pretty wise person and pretty good at telling people what to do. But this is a pretty good start.

Chain of Command

I get really excited about mail. I love getting cards and packages, no matter how trivial. Today I got a package from my best friend Colby, who's mail is always exciting (for example, I never know when I'm going to get a sheet full of stickers with captions from her...). Instead of another sticker sheet for my collection, today's package contained her brand new debut novel! (Cue oohs and ahhs here.)

Let me back up and say that I have now known Colby for 6 years. I'm sure I mentioned before that we met doing theatre back in Macon, GA, and quickly became codependent...weirdly I compare us to Shawn and Gus from Psych and also Turk and JD from Scrubs. Anyway, it wasn't long before she shared her writing with me. At the time, Chain of Command wasn't written yet, but the stories I did read were very good. I immediately knew she could succeed one day and she continued to send me her manuscripts chapter by chapter. And now here I am cheering for her and her success!

Chain of Command is a thriller about a reporter who uncovers a conspiracy to launch the first woman into presidency. The first chapter will grab you with simultaneous assassinations of two major political figures (even the first chapter has spoilers!) and the chapters that follow are filled with twists and turns and surprises...right up until the big shocker at the very end. There's no doubt in mind that this won't be the last book she publishes and I'm excited for her continued success. I've loved watching her journey from book to book to conferences to agents to publishing companies, to becoming friends with famous authors...I admire her for her perseverance and the fact that she never gave up. I know I couldn't have done it. Congratulations, Colby Marshall - my friend, my twin, my codependent partner, my wife, a badass, and now a published author. I love you!

My twin's wedding.

Two weeks ago today, I was on Tybee Island for my soulmate's wedding. Colby and I have known each other for 4.5 years. When we met at callbacks for Beauty and the Beast at Macon Little Theatre, we had no idea that we'd just met each other's soulmates. Yes, a lot of people associate "soulmate" with their significant other, but not us. Our husbands are the loves of our lives, but we are each other's soulmates. We bonded instantly and now there's a certain level of inescapable codependency (which is alright by me). She understands me more than anyone else ever has and I don't know what I'd do without our constant texting throughout the day, every day.

So yeah, it excited me to no end to be able to fly down to Georgia for her beach wedding. I've watched her fall in love with David (and even told her beforehand that I thought they'd end up together) and am thrilled she's found someone who understands her sometimes more than I do. Their wedding was so special and several times I got teary eyed at the sight of how incredibly happy they are. They were truly meant for each other.

From the moment they set a date, I started planning a shower. I knew I wanted it to be awesome (duh) and I wanted it to be something Colby would love (double duh). I debated a beach theme, I debated a theme involving really bright/almost neon colors, and I also thought about something sedate like a tea party...then I found craft projects on Pinterest involving glitter and all debating stopped. A glitter shower. Perfect. (I'll follow up this post with a more thorough list of things I did for the shower.)

The wedding itself was at the beach on Tybee Island. We had the rehearsal dinner the night before at a little Italian restaurant in Savannah. By the time it was over, we were all exhausted.

The next day was spent setting up the reception area and of course...getting married. It was a beach theme so they had a sandcastle cake, messages in bottles instead of place cards, and bowls of fish as the centerpieces for every table. Everything looked really great.

Here are some parting pics of them being cute.

Congratulations, David and Colby.

Random update with lots of pictures.

I spent the majority of my day reading someone's entire blog, which made me realize it's been a while since I posted on mine...which made me realize how much I stay home on my days off. That's not really a bad thing. For one, we've been attempting to save a little money here and there (which is really hard, in case you're unaware) and now that I work really long days 4 days a week, it's harder to feel like leaving the apartment if I don't have to go to work. Also, we seem to have crossed that line from tourist to resident...we've seen a ton of the city (though not all there is to see - sometimes I think that's impossible) and we're not dying to get out and explore anymore.

We may be going through a boring stage at the moment, but that doesn't mean our lives are void of excitement. Here's an update on a few things in case my Facebook and Twitter aren't enough for you.

First of all, I'm extremely disappointed in NYC's winter weather this year. We had zero snowstorms. Zero. There were a couple of flurries (it's strange to think that back in Georgia these flurries would have seemed like blizzards), but the snow never stuck around and there wasn't enough to build a snowman. Fingers crossed for more snow next year (and also for a mild summer, though I doubt it will help)! This is probably the most snow we got all winter.

In February, Colby (my best friend/twin) and David visited for a long weekend. Colby and I worked hard at making JP and David best friends. They like each other, but "best friends" is still a work in progress. However, the most important part is that David proposed (to Colby, not to JP)! It was very exciting and I am super excited to fly to Georgia for her wedding the first weekend in May. I also took on the task of planning a bridal shower from afar, which has been interesting. But thanks to Pinterest, I have an awesome theme of glitter and will be making lots of fun things to decorate with. And thanks to my aunt Carla, Party Planner Extraordinaire, for helping me! I'm sure I'll have an entire blog post dedicated to her shower/wedding coming soon.

Top row from left to right: Our attempt at forcing them into BFF status by sitting them next to each for a game of LOTR Risk; the game board; Colby and me. Bottom row: Meeting a unicorn; proof of engagement; riding an orca into battle. 

Next up, we went upstate for one of my best friend's baby shower. I've known Brittany for...7 years? We became friends halfway through college, were roommates for a short of time, took a road trip to Disney World our senior year, I got her a job with me at my ophthalmology office after we graduated, and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding. She is so special to me and it's so wild to be able to witness all of these huge life-changing events. Anyway, she's an adorable little pregnant lady and I had so much fun catching up with her and her husband Paul and getting excited about their future baby boy! 

Also in February, I started experimenting with hairstyles, specifically ways to curl it. Random note.

In March our friend Jen came back to NYC for a visit. We had a fabulous night out with her and our other friends, Molly and Katie, and this amazing picture came to be.

My in-laws also made quick visits so that they could see my brother-in-law in Carrie, the musical.

Our next visitor was Lisa, my bestie (or occasionally referred to as my beastie). She decided to pop up for a visit at the last minute, which is always exciting. We visited several of the routine places most people want to go, but we did actually go to a couple of new places too, the WTC Memorial and the New York Public Library.

And last but not least, Colby and David announced that Colby is pregnant! It wasn't exactly in the plans, but they're both very excited. And JP and I were thrilled and honored to be asked to be the baby's godparents. I so look forward to watching them become parents and hopefully having lots of chances to spoil that child. Colby was trying to decide how to announce it in a non-cliche way, and I suggested they do something they're very familiar with - a video. To be specific, turn it into a movie trailer. JP did the voice over for it and Colby had me record myself saying some lines and they did their thing and it ended up being really amazing. I love watching it. Enjoy!

It's a trap!

I've changed a lot in the last couple of years. I can't decide if it's for the better or not...and I attribute the particular change I'm going to talk about here to JP and Colby. They would definitely say it's for the better.

I've done two things I thought I would never do. Read the entire Harry Potter series (something I actually swore I would never do) and watch the entire Star Wars saga (which I just never did seem to get around to).

Colby and I were not immediately close when we first met. We were both cast in Beauty in the Beast at MLT. I met her at call backs, and we ended being cast into two different groups. She was a napkin/wolf and I was a silly girl/dish. I bonded with my fellow silly girls and she with her napkins. However, one of my first memories of her involves her and at least one of the other napkins singing the song from Potter Puppet Pals in the dressing room.

It took me 3 years to finally read the series, and it finally happened after JP and I started dating and he and Colby would have lengthy, detailed conversations about what house I belong it. I had no clue what they meant and finally I had had it. JP went on tour, he owned the first 3 books in the series, and I had time on my hands, so I thought what the heck. I read the first 2 and figured that I probably wouldn't feel the need to buy the ones that come after 3. But then I read the third one...and I was hooked. I was very depressed about being hooked because I had abstained for so long (and maybe also because I spent grocery money on the last 4 book at Barnes & Noble)! The series really is very well written - the best part is how seemingly small things you learn in the first two books end up being super important by the end. Just really well written all the way around. (Side note: I hate the HP movies.)

But I still don't know that Potter Puppet Pals song by heart.

As far as Star Wars goes, I did really like them. My favorite moments were when I would ask a question and then JP would proceed to answer with big words that didn't seem to ever be mentioned in the actual movies...he's read all sorts of extra literature that explains all things Star Wars. The best part about having watched these movies is the fact that I now understand all of the Star Wars jokes out there!

In fact, here's a commercial that would not have been funny at all if I had not seen Star Wars. Ole Miss is currently without a mascot and is trying to decide on a new one (also something I would not have known if not for JP).



Let me also add, that I would be all about going to Dragon*Con if given the opportunity.

Who am I????

Resume done!

I was stressing about having to do a resume because I really hate trying to remember when I worked where. And I was dreading trying to list everything I do at my current job (which is a lot). But then I got on my computer and voila! I found a resume I'd saved on here after I graduated. All I had to do was update it. And on top of that, I remembered that I'd actually already made a list of my work talents in an email I sent to the office so I just copied and pasted. Yessss. Resume? Done.

So now that my grandparents know about the move, now that JP and I have definitive plans to look for an apartment, now that I'm actually talking to an office there about a job...it's really hitting me. Every day I think about the things I'm going to miss. So...here's a list of a few of them.

1. My family. Duh. In 24 years, I've never lived more than a couple of hours from any of my immediate family. And for 20 of those years, I've lived with them. We're all so close and, truth be told, I'm terrified of not having them to run to. I really am. That's not to say that I don't think I can do it, because I know I can, but it will definitely be the biggest adjustment and it will be accompanied with lots of tears. And Bruno will also be missed. He loves me so completely and unconditionally. And he lets me dress him up.

2. My friends. I am a people person. I like to be liked. I love hanging out with groups of people and having fun with them. I like having friends who I can tell anything to and know I won't be judged. I like having friends who only want the best for me. It will be sad not to be able to call up Lisa, Doug, and Niccole and plan a weekend in the mountains together. It will be sad not to be here for Amy's kid. It will be sad not to be able to call Becky up for drinks. It will be sad not to try and see my FPD friends every few months (haha). I have to start all over!

3. Colby. I've never felt closer to another female. She is truly my twin, inside and out. I love that we can talk about anything that comes to mind, no matter how stupid. I love that we tend to like/dislike the same people. I love that she still likes to act like a kid with me. I don't know what I'm going to do without her.

4. Chick-fil-A. Yes, this list is in a specific order. I could eat there multiple times a day (and have) and for several days in a row (and have). There is only one Chick-fil-A in New York, located in the dining hall of NYU so I'm not even allowed in. Will I attempt to sneak in? Of course. There are also locations in New Jersey. Will JP and I take a bus into Jersey at least once a month? Of course.

5. My accent. As much as I say I won't let it happen, I have to face the facts. I tend to talk and pick up the mannerisms of people around me. I think I'll be able to keep a trace of it, but I'm pretty sure I won't be able to keep it up completely. I am very saddened by this, and not looking forward to the speech lessons my mother will undoubtedly give me over the phone.

6. Theatre. I have really enjoyed my time on the stage. I have now had experience as a main role, as well as being in the chorus and honestly I don't like one more than the other. They are both so fun-I just love being on stage and singing. But I have no desire to do it profesionally. So I'll miss doing it in the community.

7. Snow days. Every winter I live in hope of snow because it means I won't have to go into work. I doubt that will matter in New York...

I'll post updates of more things I'll miss as I think of them.