Some Cool April Things

It’s April. And with the new month comes some cool things. Some VERY cool things. Like…

1.       Descendant is officially available for pre-order, and it’s entirely possible you *may* be able to get it in ebook form within the next couple weeks. Just…you know, if you’re interested in that little tidbit.

2.       The launch party will officially be held at The King’s English book store in Salt Lake City, UT on Saturday, May 4^th, 2013 at 4:00 pm. I hope to see lots of you there!

My flower in honor of Descendant.

3.       Because of that launch party, and also because of the upcoming LDStorymakers writer’s conference, in Provo, UT during the following weekend, where I am presenting, I have purchased my plane ticket and will be going to Utah in ONE month. Actually, less than one month. So yeah. Lots of excitement over here.

4.       Spring has sprung in Texas, and I found this at the store the other day. Matches the one on the cover of Descendant, so I had to have it. Flowers make me so happy.

5.       I am planning to write a new book this month. Going to be tricky, since I have TONS of other things to get done before May, but it seems like I work best with tricky. Going to give it a shot.

What about you? What are you excited about this April?  

Spring Things

I don’t know about you, but I’m really quite relieved to say goodbye to February and usher in March. It’s like the light at the end of the long winter tunnel. Also, this spring I am looking forward to lots of things. Spring THINGS!

Like my cover reveal. Because I’ve been waiting to show that off for weeks and weeks, and now I finally can!

And blog tour and book launch planning, searching for contest prizes, stuff like that. Because I like to give things away, and I am ridiculously excited about the release of DESCENDANT and can’t wait to share it with the world.

And like spring break. Wherein we take our kids and drive a few hours to Galveston, TX, where there is a cruise port, and we board a ginormous ship and leave all our troubles behind for a week. (Yes, it’s a Carnival Ship, YES, we were scheduled to sail on the Triumph and had to change our reservation, and no, we are not nervous to sail on the Magic, because we’ve cruised before and we know that what happened a couple weeks ago is not something that happens often. It’s like flying on a plane. Crashes happen so rarely that when they do, it’s BIG news. But there are thousands of planes taking flight every single day.)

I am also anxious for spring flowers and planting season and sea turtle hatching season. (Oh my goodness, there’s a national beach near me where this is a seasonal thing and you can go watch the baby turtles waddle out to sea. True story!) And dolphins in the harbor and baby bunnies which show up randomly on my front lawn.

And Cadbury Mini Eggs, because, well, who isn’t excited about those?

Now it’s your turn. What are you most excited about this spring?

Trends in Entertainment

Have you all noticed the trend in fairytale based movies lately? Oh, and TV shows, too. Once Upon a Time, anyone? (Yes, I am a big fan, just FYI. If you haven’t already, I recommend checking it out.) Two current versions of Snow White, Red Riding Hood (which I finally saw), and now Hansel and Gretel (which I need to see). And if we look back a few years, some great, and fairly current, versions of Cinderella.

And personally, I really like this trend, because I have always been a big fan of fairy tales.  Seriously, who doesn’t love a little happily ever after every now and then?

Also, I’m hearing (and seeing) announcements for a number of multi-cultural historical books being sold, which I find exciting, because these stories are different, and different is interesting.  And I am also a fan of culture and history, so putting the two together sounds like a good combination to me.

What else? Alternate reality stories. LOVE. Great stories about plagues, and toppled governments, and characters who leap off the pages with their tough bravado as they try to restore and rebuild broken societies.

I’m excited about all these trends, and looking forward to seeing the movies and reading the books. What about you? What new trends/movies/books are you exciting to you?