The Almost Authentic Jukebox

Also at the pizzeria (aka Deenos) last week was a real, working jukebox.

And I’m sorry, but obnoxious as it probably was, I had to put a quarter in and play a couple songs. Just because, well, that’s what you do when faced with a retro-vintage machine such as that.

To my dismay (as well as the dismay of a few of my Twitter followers) none of the songs available were by Boys II Men or Richard Marx.

*nods at gasps of horror*

I realize this is a travesty. But I did what I could and played an old Sheryl Crow and an old Martina McBride song. (You do what you must when faced with such challenges.) While those songs didn’t take me as far back as others might have, the over-loud, treble-heavy music reminded me of other times.

The problem was that the jukebox and the memories evoked by the music didn’t quite jive together. It felt just a little bit like I was pretending—which was totally true. I think this is one of the dangers of not fully fleshing-out our research, be it time, character, place, object, or any other number of elements in our creative ventures.

The facts don’t line up exactly and people will notice, even if they can’t put their finger on what they’re noticing. Like a painting that looks like it was meant to be centered, but didn’t quite get there. Or a person who looks like they’re almost having a good time, but not quite. Or a vase that looks like it was never broken, except for one small line of paint that doesn’t quite line up.

Those who are paying attention will always notice, the way I noticed the songs not quite going with the jukebox. I was okay with that because I know what a rarity it is to find a working jukebox in this century. But that isn’t always the case.

Theoretically, in what situations is it okay to pretend, and when must you be absolutely authentic?

Love, not War (or Asteroids vs. Mrs. Pacman)

The other day I went to the launch for Heather Justesen’s newest book, Blank Slate, after which a few of us had dinner at an old-school pizzeria. Not only did we actually have to wait for our pizza after we ordered it (I know, crazy, right?) but as I walked into the dining room to have a seat, I found myself surrounded by upright arcade games (ala 1980’s) and a real-live jukebox.

In that moment, I was transported back in time to the childhood in which Asteroids was the ultimate in science fiction, and Ms. Pacman was the epitome of romance.

Am I right? I mean, come on. The Asteroids ship didn’t even move across the bottom of the screen (did it?). You had to have good aim and a quick trigger finger, or there was no way you were making it through space alive. And dying was the ultimate humiliation—no matter your age (just ask my parents and grandparents).

Many family wars have been credited to that game.

Alternately, when you finally made it through level two of Ms. Pacman, even hanging on with one measly life left, the whole effort was worth it when you got to see the uber-romantic chase/kiss scene.

Maybe it’s just me. But romance has always been my thing. And clearly it doesn’t take a lot to woo me. Sometimes, in writing, in life, as well as in arcade games, it’s the small and simple things that make all the difference. Like a silly two-dimensional kiss scene between pizza-head characters.

Oh! Oh. I know. It’s “making love, not war” in terms of Asteroids and Ms. Pacman.

*giggles*

What small and simple things really matter to you?

The First Time I Saw...

Okay, I mentioned songs already. Still feeling a bit nostalgic, apparently, because now I’ve moved on to movies.

Picture this: I’m flipping through the TV channels on a Sunday afternoon, and come across a movie I haven’t seen for a long time. A movie that brings back all kinds of memories of friends and boys, old schools and other places, and feelings, lots and lots of feelings. The past. The present. The future.

Happens almost every weekend. Most often, lately, I find either The Notebook, or Titanic. But sometimes I’m lucky enough to find an older one like, Pretty in Pink or…Pretty Woman.

*eyes glaze over*

The first time I saw Pretty Woman, I was fifteen, and had met a boy at the show house one afternoon. Since we had the entire theater to ourselves, we were adventurous and sat in the aisle. The whole place smelled like spilled pop and that fake butter stuff they put on popcorn, and the air conditioner was cranked—raised goose bumps on my arms. Outside, it was like a hundred degrees (Phoenix weather), so I’m thinking it must have been either late spring or early summer.

And I remember that I really, really liked the boy. And yes, we went out again. Several times.

Ahh, memories. What movies take you back? To where? And with whom?

Michael and Leesie Forever! (And contests and questions.)

Guys. Tell me you’ve heard of this book.

If not, I’m telling you now, if you enjoy a good love story, a heart-breaking coming of age story, a conflicted YA story, or books with unusual, but beautiful formatting, you’ve got to check out this one.

Here’s the blurb:

Leesie Hunt’s Unbreakable Rules:

No Kissing (at least not of the French variety)…No Sex (hah! Not even close to happening anyway)…No Dating Outside the Mormon Faith (what would be the point?)…ABSOLUTELY No Falling in Love with the Wrong Boy (would ruin everything)

Leesie thinks she has her whole life planned out: get into the school of her dreams, write her poems, meet the perfect guy, and settle down. Then she meets Michael—a boy whose parents were killed in a diving accident during a terrible storm.


Michael is drowning in tragedy. And all Leesie wants is to save him. With each day, her heart hurts more. Could it be, perfect Leesie is falling from grace? Or is she just falling in love?

But if Leesie gives in to temptation, who is going to save her?

Sounds great, right? It is. Totally. And so, so romantic. Not only does Morrison explore the difference between love and sex in this heart-wrenching tale, but she delves into the importance of respecting personal beliefs and morals, and also a little about dealing with grief. There is some religion involved, but not so much as to be preachy. *

Michael and Leesie’s story is told in the format of Michael’s dive logs (he’s a scuba diver) and Leesie’s poetry and internet chat logs, giving an alternating point of view, which I appreciated because I think having both points of view make this particular story full and rich.

If ever a book has made you want to learn how to do something, or go somewhere, Taken by Storm will make you want to go to a tropical location and learn to scuba dive.(Seriously. I'm signing up this summer. No joke.)

And. If you finish Taken by Storm and haven’t had enough of Michael and Leesie, good news! Morrison has released two more volumes, taking Michael and Leesie into emotional depths that will transcend any hurricane or religious differences.

To read more about my thoughts on Unbroken Connection (book 2) and Cayman Summer (book 3), visit Star Crossed. I had a lot to say about all three.

After finishing this series (twice) there were a few questions I just had to ask, so Angela Morrison has graciously agreed to an interview. Check it out!

NG: Where were you, and what were you doing when you first met the sexy, charismatic, yet horribly, tragically sad Michael? And what about sweet, loving, gracious Leesie? How did you come to know her?

AM: I met Michael my first residency at Vermont College of Fine Arts. I was sitting in a circle of my MFA classmates, learning the mysteries of free writes from a graduate assistant. She gave us a prompt. “Remember a sound.” I started scribbling, but it wasn’t me. It was Michael. He’d been a vague, haunting idea ever since I heard about a real accident similar to the fictional one I wrote about in TAKEN BY STORM. But all of the sudden he was there on the page. Real. I could almost touch him. And I had to figure out what to do with him.

I met Leesie when Michael went on a field trip to Grand Coulee Dam. That scene is the first one I wrote with the two of them. Poor, Leesie. I let her live in my house, made her go to my high school, and even gave her the challenge of being the only LDS girl around. I got carried away, smothering her with every awful thing that ever happened to me in high school. She put her foot down. I felt awful. Cut and revised. I gave her a retro hippy suede-leather jacket and my sister’s beautiful long hair to make up for it. She was never content until I let her narrate through her poems.

NG: Holy cow! This entire series came from a writing prompt about sound? That's a fantastic story. I love knowing that. Maybe I should take writing prompts more seriously.

I hear you’re a scuba diver. I've always been interested in the sport, and thanks to Michael's story, I'm ready to sign up and get learning. If you were to go on a diving trip with Michael and Leesie, where would be your first two choices? Why?

AM: I have to confess. I’ve gone on loads of diving trips with them. Purists and my accountant would call it site research, but my husband and I took Michael and Leesie along whenever we dove. The Spiegel Grove in the Florida Keys. The Caymans. Cozumel. Thailand. The Red Sea. All amazing story material. I’d love to spend a week diving Little Cayman. Bloody Bay Wall is the best dive site I ever dove. And I’ve only been once. And then, what the heck, why not somewhere amazing, like Fiji or Tahiti. Truk Lagoon. Palau. Maybe we could spend a whole month in the South Pacific. I’ve never dove there.

NG: I figured you'd been a lot of places, otherwise there's no way Michael could see all the things he sees in Thailand and Cayman. But I did not realize you'd taken these two with you!

*scribbles note to self about traveling with future characters*

You chose a really unconventional way to unveil Cayman Summer to your readers, by blogging it rough section by section. What was your favorite part of this process? Your least favorite? Would you do it again?

AM: I wrote a new scene every day and posted it. My favorite part was the immediate feedback. I loved that. My reader’s comments not only helped me when I came to revise but inspired upcoming scenes. And I let them suggest names for the six new guys in Michael’s apartment. Those guys got them drooling. Fun amidst a serious book that had us all crying every post. My least favorite? Trying to figure out how to share the revision process. I gave up—took a break—and then posted the final version on two page tabs—that’s at http://caymansummer.blogspot.com. I loved the whole adventure. If I had a publisher who would let me do that or if I ever have stranded books again, I’d be back at it in a flash.


NG: You know, I would never have thought of doing something like that. You're one brave woman. Because of this process, what kind of influence did readers have on the final finished product?

AM: Loads. I’d been thinking through this story for so long that I had the story plotted out beforehand. That stayed the same, but things they liked and didn’t like helped me come up with twists and turns.

NG: I can see how that would happen. My critique group does that for me every week. I guess blogging it must be like having a giant critique group. But I'm wondering, do you feel the story might have ended differently had you published all three books with the same publisher?

AM: I don’t think Penguin would have ever published CAYMAN SUMMER. Razorbill didn’t ever see it, but when we submitted a proposal for UNBROKEN CONNECTION, I included a brief summary. I think CAYMAN SUMMER’s ending is one of the reasons they walked away from it. My editor left[the company], too. That didn’t help, either. The ending even made some of my readers angry. They didn’t like what happened to Michael. But that’s how I wanted to end it. And I released it myself, so I figured I could do what I wanted. That’s rare in this business.

NG: I'll say. Can we expect another excellent book from you anytime soon? Can you give us any hints or details about plots or release dates or characters?

AM: Earlier this year, I signed with a fantastic new agent, Erzsi Deak at Hen & Ink. I’ve revised the two novels that got sidelined because of my option clause with Penguin with her critique, and now the first one, MY ONLY LOVE, is on submission. MY ONLY LOVE is a historical YA inspired by my Scotts ancestors. I made me great, great, great, great grandmother’s big brother into the hottest 19th century coal miner every to leave Scotland. People who’ve read all my work say this book is my best by far. I hope to have release date for it soon. Right now, we’re waiting, waiting, waiting.

The second book is a romantic, time-travel adventure called SLIPPED. If you took Mad Max and Jane Eyre and plunked them down in Medieval Europe to save the future, you get SLIPPED. I’m putting the final touches on it now.

You can read excerpts of SLIPPED and MY ONLY LOVE at the WIP section of my website, www.angela-morrison.com.

Right now, I’m working on a musical stage adaptation of SING ME TO SLEEP with Harriet Bushman, the incredible composer who wrote the music for and arranged “Beth’s Song” and “Take me Home.”

NG: Yowsa! That's a whole lot of projects for one writer to juggle. And yay, because that means we fans won't have to wait too long for the next awesome book. And I'm completely stoked about the idea of a musical adaptation for SING ME TO SLEEP. You already know I loved that story as well. (Highly recommended, but be warned, you WILL cry at least once.)

Angela, thanks so much for taking the time to visit with me, and for writing such phenomenal stories. Can't wait to get my hands on the next one.

Angela is having a fantabulous contest in which she's giving away loads of free books and swag. Hurry over and enter now.

Purchase your copy of Taken by Storm or visit Angela Morrison's website.
I also read UNBROKEN CONNECTION and CAYMAN SUMMER, and am discussing these books today on Star Crossed Book Reviews. If your interest is piqued, come see more and join the discussion.


Okay, so I've got to know. What books have you found so unspeakably romantic that you had to immediately re-read them again?

*FYI while there isn't an excess of religion in book one, subsequent volumes contain significantly more, and religious beliefs and doctorines become a huge part of the plot in book three.

The Musical Trigger

I’ve decided that life should be set to music. Seriously. Like, when a baby is born, the nurses should assign them a life theme song. Not a permanent one. Just one to get that person started, going, inspired, until he or she outgrows that theme song and needs a new one.

I could swear every memorable moment in my life has some kind of music or song involved, or at the very least, there’s a song that reminds me of those moments. And when I hear those songs, I’m transported in time and place, and suddenly, I’m five again and singing, “Li’l Red Riding Hood” (by Sam the Sham and the Pharohs) in the living room of our tiny house in the Nevada desert. Or I’m fifteen, learning to drive to the sweet harmonies of Wilson Philips. (Am I crazy to admit that?)

Because of this, I have a tendency to unconsciously assign theme songs to books as I read them, heightening the book’s emotional impact.

Do certain songs trigger memories for you? Which ones?

Memorable People

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~ Maya Angelou


I have a theory. Probably not an original one, actually. In fact, someone somewhere has most likely done a study on it at some point. But I believe that our memories are based not on sights or tastes or sounds or smells, but on feelings first. Everything else is secondary.

For instance, we might remember our first vacation because of the excitement and happiness we experienced during that trip. And then we associate smells and sights and sounds with that incident, and voila, we have a memory.

On the other spectrum, we might remember a broken heart because of the hollow ache, the physical pain. And again, all the other sensations we remember are linked to that original gut-wrenching feeling.

I don’t remember a lot of books I read as a child. But there are a handful that I do, and they affected me enough to help shape what I became as an adult. Thinking back, I’ve always been a fan of romance in plots. Even in Nancy Drew, I couldn’t get enough of the almost-kisses between Nancy and Ned. That’s the feeling I latched onto, and the only part about those mysteries I really remember. Well, that, and the fact that Nancy always conveniently carried a change of clothes in the trunk of her car. But ya know. I think that had more to do with believability.

Another example: People.

I’m terrible with names. It takes me at least three times of meeting you before I remember yours (unless you’ve done something to make a huge impression, then it might only take two). But if you made me smile, I’ll remember that feeling and associate it with your face. If you made me angry, I remember that too. And if you said or did something outlandish or incredible or absolutely impressionable, if you made my cheeks hurt from laughing, or my heart flutter with happiness, or my gut clench with pain or anxiety, I will definitely remember your name. The first time.

How do the people you meet remember you?

Objects That Make Us People

After considering my chair (yep, still on the subject), I’ve decided that it IS normal, and not only that, having objects that are important to us is human nature. These are the human things that make our lives richer, make us real-live people.

Off the top of my head, I can think of two different semi-popular songs about chairs. CHAIRS! And stories, lots, and lots of stories, in which setting or certain objects are such an important element that they’re almost characters, too.

Consider the following songs:

Kenny Chesney's “Old Blue Chair” (How fitting is that?)
Rachel Proctor's “If That Chair Could Talk”

Also:
Martina McBride's “House of a Thousand Dreams” which isn’t about a chair, but a house that almost lives and breathes.
Sara Evans's “Rocking Horse” and “On the Backseat of a Greyhound Bus”

All these songs are about objects, vehicles, or homes that play an important part in the story of someone's life.

Okay, what about books? How about:

The town of Forks in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight
Macon Raven's house in Beautiful Creatures
The mortuary in Dan Wells's I Am Not a Serial Killer
The door in Lisa Mangum's The Hourglass Door
Katniss Everdeen's bow and arrows in The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
Hurricane Isadore, and any body of water in Angela Morrison's Taken by Storm 
The forest in Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Each of these stories contains one place or thing that gives readers a solid sense of solidarity. Place, time, and character.



What unnatural object makes your story (or life)richer?

Possession Winners!

Last week, a whole bunch of people signed up to participate in a blog hop hosted by me, Ali, and Windy in celebration of the release of Possession, by Elana Johnson.

The first portion of the contest was to blog about a time when the blogger broke the rules. The incentive? Every participant was entered to win one of three autographed copies of the book. So Ali used Random.org to draw three winners (which we then verified had all actually posted)! 

Congratulations to: 

Amy Mcbray
John Sankovitch
Rachel Morgan

Now for the rest of you, I hope you've all gone out to buy your copy of Possession this week, because we're still taking receipts as entries into our second drawing for personal Elana time! (You do NOT want to miss out on this!) Send me your proof of purchase to writenichole @ gmail . com.

Good luck!

Our Inanimate Family Member

When we got married, my husband gave me this really incredible chair. It’s this monstrous blue microfiber thing that reclines, and is wide enough to fit two people—or, well, my husband and I—side-by-side. The microfiber is the stuff they were making way back before it was popular like, twenty-years ago. Ultra-soft, durable, and still looks brand new after you’ve cleaned it a bazillion times.

We love this chair. Even though it’s almost nineteen-years-old, and ceased to match our home décor, colors and style what feels like eons ago. It’s one of those things you can never get rid of. That one piece of furniture that you wouldn’t ever even consider putting in a garage sale or giving to goodwill. So every time we rearrange the furniture, it ends up in the den, or the spare bedroom—somewhere out of the way—where it can’t be seen.

But we still use it. When one of us is sick or has an injury, or surgery, or a special need that requires a comforting place to curl up, we drag out the big, blue chair. (I cannot count the nights I slept in that thing when I was pregnant and couldn’t get comfortable in my bed. Nor the nights I rocked my fussy babies to sleep in it.)

More than a piece of furniture, it’s almost an important part of our family.

Is it normal to consider a chair—a piece of furniture, an inanimate object—as part of a human family unit? Do you have something like this in your life? What is it?

Clichés for Kids (or Inspiration for Graduates)

Make a goal

Change your mind

Break the rules

Create new ones

Forge a path

Blaze a trail

Spread your wings

Fly for the clouds

And then…

Shoot for the stars.

And if—for some reason—you don’t reach the star for which you were aiming, that’s totally okay. There are bazillions of stars in the galaxy, and you only need to claim one. They’re all bright and colorful, and somewhere, one is waiting for you to catch it—it belongs to you, and you alone.

The only question left is which one will it be?

Breaking and Entering, Possession-style

Oh my gosh, you guys! Today is the day. Possession is officially on shelves and in stores, and being sold to smart readers all over the world. If you’re one of them, don’t forget to send me (or Ali or Windy) your proof of purchase and be entered to win personal ELANA time! (I know, it’s almost too awesome to comprehend.)

If you’re hopping Possession blogs today, you know I’m supposed to be discussing a time when I broke the rules. *takes deep breath* And since [in Possession] Vi, Jag, and Zenn are teens, I’m digging back into my teens for this one as well. Here goes.

Several years ago, while on a tour with my advance drama class (I think it was either my sophomore or junior year of HS), we’d stopped for lunch between performances, at a strip mall which included a movie theater. After eating, a group of friends and I wandered to the closed theater, and discovered an unlocked side door. The boy (I’ll call him…Jack) who discovered that the door was unlocked looked at the rest of us with a mischievous glint in his eye. “We have to go in.”

I looked at Jack, the wheels in my brain turning. “We should check to see if the theater is being robbed.”

Another friend (we’ll call him…Allen) opened the door went in, grinning. “Let’s just call it what it is. Breaking and entering.” But the rest of us willingly followed him (as was pretty typical of us). There was no one inside, and the place was clearly meant to be closed and locked up tight. But. We were in there.

Now, being that we didn’t have a lot of time, and none of us were really “bad” kids, we didn’t do anything more than explore, run around screaming, and do a few cartwheels in the lobby. Well, actually, since I’m telling the truth, “Jack” insisted he had to do something that could be classified as vandalism. So he found a light bulb on a countertop and broke it to bits over a garbage can.

Then we found a payphone and called the police to report the open door.

And. We were late getting back to the bus, and got in big trouble with our teacher.

I spent a lot of time with this particular group of friends, and we somehow managed to end up in a number of situations like this. No. We really weren’t baddies. We were just into having fun.

Okay, your turn. What rules have you broken?

Anything’s Possible—Just Ask Your Idols

With the end of the school year and graduation, the beginning of summer, I’ve been thinking about futures and dreams and possibilities. The daughter of one of my dearest friends graduated last week, and as I was signing her card, I couldn’t help but think of how, next year, my son will also graduate. And then his life will begin for real.

And his life will have so. Many. Possibilities.

For that matter, so will the lives of all my kids. They really can do or be or become anything they want.

You know how adults are always saying stuff like that? I think sometimes we forget to follow through with that statement by proving it to ourselves as well as the kids in our lives.

How do we do that? By letting them watch us chase after dreams of our own, no matter how big or small. And no matter our level of success, always striving to be the best we can be. For me, this means writing, learning, submitting, trying, writing, learning, submitting…endlessly doing all these things until I find success.

It’s a long road for some of us.

Until I can show my kids that it really is possible to reach that star of my dreams, I’ll enlist the help of some of their childhood idols, who will remind them that everyone starts somewhere, and success can only be found through hard, hard work.

(In this picture, my basketball-playing daughter gets pointers from her idols, BYU players Jimmer Fridette, and Jackson Emery.)

(In this picture, same daughter and friend “Sarah” spend a few minutes with American Idol David Archuletta.)

Who do you look up to? Why?

What Inspires You?

Last Friday we talked about fleeting moments of inspiration. Waking on the beach at sunrise, driving past a cemetery, watching raindrops cascade down a frosted window, listening to snow falling. These moments usually happen at random, without warning. And they’re priceless. An absolute gift.

But what about the times when you need a little extra inspiration? Those times when you don’t want to wait for it to come to you, but you need it so badly you grab a weapon and chase after it. Whether it’s to help get you through tough times, or to help unblock your creativity, or boost your spirituality, we all have those moments when we need something to pull us out of a funk.

Generally when I can’t visit the ocean (the nearest one is two states away, after all) I crank my stereo and go for a drive. And I need fresh air, even if it’s cold, so I’ll sit or walk outside if I can. In the spring, planting flowers can also help.

What do you do when you need inspiration?

Rockin POSSESSION to the Top with a Bloghop and Contest

“What?” you ask. “You’re doing another POSSESSION contest? Seriously, Nichole. It’s almost like you’re obsessed with this book.”

(You can read more of what I thought about it here.)

Dudes, I know. But really, this is a phenomenal book, written by a completely phenomenal author and people, the day is coming. POSSESSION IS ALMOST HERE!

*cheers and dances in excitement*

The blogosphere is a buzz. In a totally good way. You DO NOT WANT TO MISS OUT. This is your chance to participate in the fun and win signed copies of POSSESSION along with other wicked-cool prizes.

Ali, Windy and I are hosting this particular activity, and it has two parts:

PART ONE: The Bloghop

Sign up today, or any day between now and June 7th, on any of our blogs. On June 7th, Possession’s birthday, write a post on your blog about a time when you broke the rules.

Three lucky winners will win a signed hard-cover copy of POSSESSION. (Can you say shiny?)

PART TWO: The Pre-order

Anyone who pre-orders a copy of POSSESSION between now and June 7th, will be entered in a drawing to win a prize of your choice, but get this: they all are your own personal Elana-time! (Ridiculous, I tell you. Is that not the coolest prize ever?) You’ll choose a query critique, OR an online or Skype talk with Elana!

To enter, send a copy of your receipt of purchase to me, Ali or Windy no later than June 7th. (writenichole @ gmail . com)

All winners will be announced on Wednesday, June 8th.

**UPDATE: The deadline on the Elana-time portion of this contest has been extended to accommodate those who are purchasing their books at actual bookstores. (We *heart* bookstores.) Send in your proof of purchase from ANY store (online or physical) by no later than noon on JUNE 16th. Elana will announce the winner during her virtual launch party during her online chat. (Also, I will post the name here.)**

So there you have it—yet another frawesome contest. But dudes, there is a point to this, so maybe you could help us out? Advertise these contests on your blogs, Facebook,Twitter, linkdIn, Goodreads, and everywhere else. Rent a billboard, mention it on the radio, have it written in the sky, etc. With a little help from our online friends, we have the power to make POSSESSION debut on the New York Times Bestseller list.

Sign up here:



Let’s rock this thing.