Weekend Random

I'm a finalist in Cherie's 2nd Annual Flash Fiction Blogfest. You can stop here to vote for the finalists. Voting closes the 28th and winners are announced on the 29th. My entry can be found in my Monday post.

I found another fun blog hop that I signed up. It's the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun! Blog Hop!, hosted by Jaycee and Victoria. One of your female characters interviews another, with a picture and song accompanying the post. Heroines answer three of the questions listed on Jaycee and Victoria's blog (both blog links have the same details).

I recently read the bind-up edition of Simone Elkeles' RUINED series. These are amazing, contemporary YA romance books with a spunky, funny female lead.

From Goodreads:

One girl
Two guys
Three hot summers

'How to Ruin a Summer Vacation'
Leaving Chicago to go to Israel with her estranged father is the last thing sixteen-year-old Amy wants to do--until she meets handsome but aloof Avi, an eighteen-year-old soldier in the Israeli army.

'How to Ruin My Teenage Life'
Can a guy truly be your boyfriend if he lives in a different country? Avi might think it's possible, but Amy's edgy classmate Nathan wants a chance to prove him wrong...

'How to Ruin Your Boyfriend's Reputation'
Signing up for a ten-day boot camp at the Israeli military base where Avi is stationed might not have been Amy's greatest idea--especially since Nathan is there, too.

The bind-up had been sitting on my shelf for over a year! I can't believe I didn't pick it up sooner. That means I have quite a few gems in my library that I haven't read yet. 

Have a great weekend, everyone. 

A ROW80 Update

This round of A Round of Words in 80 Days runs from April 2^nd to June 21^st. Here are my goals for this round, all involving YA manuscripts. Abbreviations are used for the titles. In red are my updates.

A) Revise TWILAMPH. I edited this manuscript during the last round and sent it off to beta readers. I received feedback from all three of my betas. Now I’m returning to it for new revisions and edits. I hope to be done with this manuscript by the end of the round. I revised 3 more chapters, so 28 out of 28 chapters have been revised. I'm done with one portion of this goal. I'll be editing this manuscript real soon. 

B) Finish EK. I wrote over half of the draft during the last round. I’d like to finish this draft, do some major revisions, and then put it away for a month or so to look at with fresh eyes for the next round. I added 2 more chapters since Wednesday, so 27 out of 27 chapters are done. Yes, I'm done with a portion of this other goal. I went over the hurdle of the draft phase, but I have a lot ahead of me. I already wrote two pages of revision notes that I'd like to tackle for this round. 

C) This is optional and only if I’m on task with A and B. I’d like to write an outline for a shiny new idea I have. I'm still jotting down notes for this optional goal, but I haven't started an outline. 

That's it for me. I'm exhausted. I'm not going to work on my manuscripts for a few days. I'll get busy again during the three-day weekend. 

I hope your writing is going well. 

2nd Annual Flash Fiction Blogfest

Today's post is for the 2nd Annual Flash Fiction Blogfest. My piece is from a MG manuscript, which I modified for this entry.

From Cherie's Blog:

1. Entries must begin with the two words: Lightning flashed.

2. Entries must be 300 words or less and be in prose. I'm not versed enough in poetry verse to judge it properly.

3. Entries must be posted on your blog between May 21 - 23.

4. You must sign up in the linky below to have your entry be counted.

Lightning flashed. Robinson clambered to the other side of the railing. His fingers were slippery around the metal. The thought of falling and breaking something forced him to focus on the feeling of his unsupported weight. It didn't help that the rain had soaked him. He tightened his grip, and then he let go of the tower. He made it, joining his friends on the school’s rooftop.

All Robinson wanted to do was skip class and avoid Ms. Lewis, whom he recently pranked. He never imagined that evading security monitors and the principal would make him and his friends end up on the roof. They had to get down and seek shelter. They wanted to turn around and retrace their footsteps, but the roof door had slammed shut, locking them out.

“There must be a way down from here,” Pedro said, raising his voice to be heard over the rain.

“Great!” Junior said. “We get this far and now we’re stuck!”

Robinson sprinted across the roof, inspecting every corner, and the safest place to jump onto was also the dirtiest. The parking lot sloped upwards towards the back of the cafeteria. The dumpsters were on this high ground. "This is the only way out," he said.

“I’m not doing it,” Junior insisted, shaking his head.

“We don’t have a choice,” Pedro said. "If we're caught we'll get suspended."

“This was all your stupid idea!”

“Arguing isn’t going to help,” Robinson said.

The three boys stood above the closest dumpster, looking down at discarded lunches, ripped newspapers, slimy stuff, and dusty things. The odor was nauseating. Robinson tried to keep his eyes open, which was hard to do when the rain doubled, coating his lids and lashes with water. They were closed shut when he made the leap.