What NOT To Do At A Book Conference

Four Lessons I Learned At UtopYA Con Last Year
(a video originally posted on My Pathway to Books)

UtopYA Con 2013

June 28th-30th

Rule #1: Don't wear a strapless maxi dress to the airport

Rule #2: Don't wear ridiculously high heels on the first day

Rule #3: Double check which country's flag is on your T-shirt

Rule #4: Don't chew gum when on a panel

Thanks for watching my crazy. I love your guts! :)

Picture Post! Here's to the beginning of 2013...

A picture update of my 2013, so far.

READER TATOO

Check out this awesome Archers of Avalon tattoo one of my readers got! 

I love it, love it, love it!

Me and two of my fabulous readers, Richelle (left) and Allison (right).

I heart you guys!

Last month, I was featured in Valley Lifestyles Magazine.
*cue epic screaming and joyous dance moves* 

So crazy. SO CRAZY! Ahhh!!! 

 

To read the article, click HERE. (page 17)

Me with cover photographer, Ashley Bugg (left). I love this girl! And a pic my friend took while at her dentist's office (right). TV Guide...People...then BAM! There's my face.

I'm still not over it.

I saw Muse in concert! Whoo-hoo! (Me and my BFF, Kristen, on the floor--because that's where all the dancing happens.)

 

Two incredibly practical purchases I've made so far this year: a harp and a war hammer. I'm a conundrum, I know.

My 2013 is off to a killer start!

Pressure

Pressure motivates me, drives me, encourages me...but sometimes it also crushes me. Weird how that works.

It's strange to think I can benefit from something just as often as I am wounded by it. But maybe that's just life.

This isn't a cry for help or anything. :) I was just sitting here, overwhelming myself with expectations and fears, when I realized that the very thing I'm fighting against--the pressure to be more--is the very reason I've accomplished anything worthwhile in my life.

So to pressure, I say, "Bring it on."

The Friday Run-Down 2/1/13

I spent most of this week working on Sophie & Carter's sequel. I had trouble with how to let the ending unfold so I put it away (eek!) and I won't get it back out again until the ending comes to me. *sigh* This poor sequel. I've really struggled with finishing it since the beginning and I'm not sure why. But my personal rule when writing is "if I don't FEEL it, then I don't write it" and I don't "feel" the ending yet. So yeah. When the ending comes to me, easy and beautiful, then I'll finish it.



In other news, I'm on my way to Florida today to visit some of my writer friends and I canNOT wait! I have been looking forward to this trip for months and I'm seriously ecstatic about it! I can't wait to hang out with some brilliant authors and pick their brains about life and love and writer's block and caffeine addiction. ;)


My dreams this week:

* I still want to learn to play harp.
* I want to see Elie Goulding in concert. (She's on tour right now.)
* And I want to make new friends at this writer's retreat this weekend. Friends are the best. :)



My favorite quote of the week:

"Just keep following the heartlines on your hand." -Florence + The Machine

There you have it, my Friday Rundown. 

What are your dreams this week? Your favorite quotes? 

Have a great weekend! :) 

The Friday Run-Down 1/25/13

I've spent this week working on my YA Fantasy title as well the sequel to SOPHIE & CARTER and every minute I spent writing made me feel alive. There were several days I stayed in my office all day without taking a break from my keyboard. <-- That's when the good stuff happens. :)

I failed at being "online" this week since I rarely checked my Facebook and Twitter feeds, but I just got so caught up with my stories! :) I'll try to do better next week.




My dreams this week:

* I want to learn to play the harp. Seriously.
* I want to get through the 1600 emails in my inbox this weekend. #mailfail
* And I want a reason to wear these shoes out in public. So if you're throwing a fabulous shoe party or something, let me know.

My favorite quote this week: 

"Shine, don't shadow." -The Good Mad

There you have it, my Friday Rundown. 

What are your dreams this week? Your favorite quotes? 

Have a great weekend! :) 

Video Blog: News! (Audible.com, foreign rights, UtopYA Con and more!)

If you want to skip the video (because let's face it, who has time to watch me ramble? :) I've listed the highlights below. Love your guts! Mwah!


The Highlights:

* Avow (the third and final AoA book) is now available!     Kindle     Nook     Paperback

* My Archers of Avalon series has been picked up by audible.com! Whoo-hoo! A big thanks to my super awesome agent, Suzie Townsend!

* Rights for the AoA series have been sold to Turkey! Yay! Again, thank you, Suzie!
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/sztownsend81/

* I'll be a panelist at UtopYA Con this June--come visit me!
http://www.utopyacon.com/

* Check out my "Coming Soon" page for info on what I'm working on next! http://www.chelseafinebooks.com/p/coming.html 

* Reviewer Appreciation GIVEAWAY!
http://www.chelseafinebooks.com/2012/12/reviewer-appreciation-giveaway.html

Happy New Year, guys! :)

Florence + The Machine = Best Concert Ever

I totally meant to post this last month, but I'm a flake. So here it is now. Haha.

In October, I got to see Florence + The Machine in San Diego and let me just tell you, WOW! I was completely blown away and entranced by their performance! 

The Star Trek Teaser - Awesomeness!

I'm so excited for this movie! 

Star Trek rocks! And so does Chris Pine. 

Have you seen his eyes? Have you SEEN them???

Float Wisely: Writer's Block and Other Nonsense

We all get writer's block and blah, blah, blah. Even if you're not a writer, I'm sure you still get writer's block when you're composing a breakup email to your cheating boyfriend or attempting to write something sweet (and more emotional and memorable than what your little sister is going to write) in the Mother's Day card you bought twenty minutes before meeting your mom for brunch on her annual holiday. *shrugs* Writer's block can pop up anywhere.

The truth of the matter is this: We all get stuck. Whether we're writing or drawing or building or learning...sometimes we hit a wall and it breaks our nose and then we're bleeding all over the place and the last thing we want to do is charge the bricks again.

But we need to. And this is what I tell myself when I'm stuck. 

Don't try this at home. I'm being figurative.

I need to charge. Because the brick wall that just broke my nose is like Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter and I am never going to get to Hogwarts if I don't run full-speed into the wall. (Wow. I had no intention of throwing a HP reference into this post, but whatever. It applies.)

Top Five TV Moments on The CW

I'm a sucker for pretty much any show on The CW. That being said, I've compiled a list of my favorite moments from some beloved CW shows. (Both new and old.) Here are the top five:

1) Roswell - the one where Max comes back from the future to tell Liz she has to break his heart, otherwise the world will be destroyed.

This is one of my favorite episodes--not just scenes--of all shows, ever. Future Max is super hot and all badass, so that's fun, but mostly I loved this episode because it was so freaking heart-wrenching. Future Max has Liz break up with him so he can fall in love with the girl he's destined for? So sad! I totally cried like a thirteen year-old girl.

Book Two Is Hell

While I was writing book two in my Archers of Avalon series (Awry) there were several days that nearly killed me. And I mean this this literally. There were days when I just wouldn't eat because I was so stressed about the storyline. And nights where I would stare at my ceiling instead of sleep because I was so worried about how book two was going to be received by readers. I was sick to my stomach, peeps.

I call this writing period of mine "The Dark Months".

During these months of darkness, I wanted to blog about all my hatred of book two and let people know that I was failing miserably as a writer and, therefore, book two was probably going to suck.

But I didn't.

Mostly because, if I was going to sit down and force myself to write something, I was going to write about Tristan. ;)

But now, two months after the release of Awry, I think I'm ready to share my thoughts on writing book two in a series because I think (and maybe some authors would agree) that book two is a very different monster than book one.

Ready? *dramatic pause*

Video Blog: Why I Wrote My Series in Third Person

Why I wrote my series in third person rather than first person. 

My First Year As A Writer

Last month marked the one-year anniversary of publishing my first book. A year ago, Sophie & Carter went up for all the world (or, at least, the book world) to see, and my life instantly changed.

It's funny, because a year ago I wrote a blog post about how afraid I was of failing as a writer (see Dear Fear) and, now, here I am. Writing. Publishing. And loving every minute. Even the hard ones. :)

So, in honor of my constantly-suppressed fear, here's a summary of the last 12 months of my life:

The accomplishments:

• *I published three books, Sophie & Carter, Anew and Awry
• *I snagged the amazing Suzie Townsend as my literary agent. She's a superhero.
• *My Archers of Avalon series has been optioned for film and/or TV! Say what??
• *Anew was a finalist for Best Book of the Year by ForeWord magazine *jaw drops*
• *Anew was awarded Best Book Cover by UtopYA Con *squeeeee*
• *I attended UtopYA Con as a panelist. So fun! (click here to see pics)

Picture Review of UtopYA Con 2012!

Last weekend, I had the priviledge of attending UtopYA Con in Nashville, TN and it was amazing! If you're a paranormal book reader, writer, or fan, you NEED to attend this event next year! (Tickets are on sale now :)

Here's a picture review of my weekend:

Dinner with my awesome roomies! These girls were gracious enough to invite me to hang with them all weekend. They put up with all of my embarrassing moments and jittery nerves and my tendency to be a complete idiot, haha. But, seriously :) Thanks, ladies!

From left to right: Heather Hildenbrand, K.C. Neal, Angeline Kace and myself.

The Usual Suspects: Airport Edition

This past weekend, I traveled to Nashville for UtopYA Con 2012 (which was AWE-some, by the way) and, while spending excess amounts of time at the airport, I decided to jot down the typical characters you run into around your flight gate.

Here goes.

The Neck Breather: This is the guy that stands so close behind you in the security line that his breath dampens your neck. There are only two peeps who are allowed to breathe on my neck:

Hot guys (for obvious reasons--hello, sexy tingles)

And dragons.

Dragons get a free pass because they are both mythical and terrifying. You don't want to tick off an airport dragon. Clearly, if they are at the airport, their awesome reptilian wings are broken which probably means they're in a bad mood.

Video Blog: Awry, Film Option & UtopYA Con

My new book, the film option, and UtopYA Con 2012! :) 

My Thoughts on Snow White & The Huntsman *SPOILERS*

WARNING: Huge spoilers to come. So please, please, do not read on if you haven't seen Snow White but you plan to.

*clears throat* On with the rave....

First of all, I give it 5 stars. For blowing my mind and making me want to sing along with Florence + The Machine at the end. But then again, when do I not want to sing along with Flo?

To sum the movie up in one word: BEA-UTIFUL. The winter courtyard? The drops of blood on the snow? The forest? Gorgeous. All of it.

At the beginning, we have a young Snow White, who is totally cute with her freckles and innocence, and her daddy, the King.

What's the deal with kings? They're always being tricked and murdered and taken down by pretty women. Never put a man in charge of a kingdom. He and his sex drive will always screw it up, am I right?

Moving on....

Eleven Signs That You're In Novel Underworld

Writing a story can suck you into, what I like to call, Novel Underworld. Where characters are real, people are annoying, and coffee is oxygen. Have you been there? Here is a short list of dead giveaways, just in case you missed the "Welcome to Novel Underworld" sign.

You might be writing a novel if....

1. On your desk, you have a collection of old napkins (some used) with book/chapter ideas scrawled out from that one time, at lunch, when you thought up something brilliant and had to use the eyeliner pencil in your purse to jot out your idea while eating your salad. Okay, fine. Cheeseburger.

2. You've perfected the art of smiling and nodding like you're paying attention to whoever is talking to you, but really you're lost in your head arguing with your characters about who's going to die next.

3. You have Wonderland eyes. You know what I'm talking about: Your eye muscles are so mad at you for staring at a computer screen for 20 hours that they've decided to shut down. Your vision gets blurry around hour 15. You have to blink every two seconds at hour 17. And by hour 19, the words on your screen are floating and spinning around like they just walked out of wonderland and want to play. Wonderland eyes. I'm not sure if this is a scientific term--but it should be.

Avengers Movie Trailer

Oooh! I'm so excited for this one!

Chelsea vs. The Owl

Last night, I had a showdown with an owl. That's right, a full-feathered, creepy-necked, sharp-beaked owl.

Did my owl encounter happen on a farm? Or in a heavily-wooded area where the chance of an owl run-in is probable?

No.

My owl showdown happened at the grocery store.