RTW: Persuade Me

     It's Wednesday again which means, Road Trip Wednesday. This week's topic:

What's the best book you've read in August?

     Well this one's easy-peasy. The best book I read this month would be this one:

     And can I just say, I love this cover- I wish mine looked like this. Anyway, I read this (again- a reread) because I'm rewriting it- modern style. I took pages and pages of notes on it which really helped me to appreciate the characters and all their different personalities. I feel like I really know them now, which is important since I'm writing them. It's interesting because I'm writing a book that's not my own, the characters aren't mine, nothing is mine. And so it's extra important to get to know them, to understand them, so I can stay true to Jane Austen's original characters. And then after all that, I'm trying to make the characters, and my version of the book, my own.
     Anyway, if you haven't read Persuasion, you should. Aside from Pride and Prejudice, it's my fave Jane Austen. Where I love and admire and wish I could be like Elizabeth Bennett, I really feel for and relate to Anne Elliot. Knowing you made a huge mistake and therefore ruined your happiness, and then having to watch the man you love court other women... well that would be absolute misery. The book also deals with different family relations, snobbery, and the duplicitous nature of certain people (which all of Jane Austen's books deal with, just in different ways).
     Read it, it's awesome. And then, a few years from now, read my version. Because it'll be just as awesome. HAHA.

Awards

     So first of all I want to thank everyone for their comments yesterday. I spent hours and hours researching and finally worked out my MC's new job and all of my locations except one. I'm too much of a control freak to leave it. Then I had to go through my 80-some pages and fix a bunch of stuff. But I'm glad I got that done. It only added about 500 words to my word count so I've got some catching up to do today.
     Wow, I've gotten some awards! Yay me! I'd like to thank my parents for being so awesome, my husband and children for putting up with me, and especially the Academy... oh wait. I'm not at the Oscars. Scratch that last. I'd like to thank Prerna Pickett at The Sands of Writing, Mel Fowler at Adventure Writes and Emily Stanford (my sis-in-law) at Write About Nothing for awarding me these awards. *cue the rounds of applause*

From Prerna, I received these two awards:

Here are the Rules:Thank and Link to the person who nominates you
Share Seven Random facts about yourself
Pass the award to five more blogger friends
Contact and congratulate the blogs nominated

So, the 7 random facts about me... hmm, I've already got 10 going on at a different page, but I'll try to think of different things...

1- I'm a boy band lover. It started with New Kids On The Block when I was very young, then more than ten years later came Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, 98 Degrees, Boyzone, and Westlife. 'N Sync was my fave- I've seen them twice in concert and This I Promise You is my wedding song. Seriously. I still listen to Westlife now and I have a love for certain Big Time Rush songs, but mostly my love of pop boy bands has changed to punk/rock boy bands: Boys Like Girls, Simple Plan, Faber Drive, Marianas Trench, These Kids Wear Crowns, and One Republic.

2- When I was 18, I did a ten-day mini-mission in Perigueux, a small town in France. It was the only time I've travelled outside Canada/US. (Until this november when I go on a cruise- squee!)

3- I accidentally glued my eye shut once. It was very early in the morning, I was in a hurry, my contacts were stinging, and instead of grabbing the tiny white bottle with the blue label saying "eye drops", I grabbed the tiny white bottle with the blue label saying "nail glue". Oops. Luckily my mom was smart, wet a cloth, and told me to hold it to my eye for forever until the glue loosened it's hold on my eyelashes.
     To my disgruntlement, a few years later another girl did the exact same thing, called 911, made a huge fuss, and ended up on the Rosie O'Donnell show where she got lots of free stuff. All I got was some missing eyelashes.

4- I meticulously choose all of my characters names. In fact, I probably put way too much effort into it.

5- I started jazz at age 8. My first recital, I was a pigeon. My second- woody wood pecker. Luckily I've never had to dress as a bird since.

6- I collect dragons made by Tudor Mint. Yep, dragons. (I have the one above) I also have two Harry Potter shirts, one Twilight shirt, and one a mix of both. I try not to look like a nerd, but clearly, I am one.

7- I'm a huge Friends fanatic. I could probably quote you almost every episode in its entirety. No joke. And I laugh out loud during every episode.
("FORGET THE BUBBLEWRAP, THERE ISN'T TIME!")


     And from Mel and Emily I got this award (Liebster means friend- awwww):

THE RULES:1. Show your appreciation to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
2. Reveal your top five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. Bask in the camaraderie of the most supportive people on the internet—other writers.
5. And best of all—have bloggity fun and spread the love.

So, this may be a cop out, or maybe I'm just extra nice (you choose), but I'm going to award all three awards to the following five people...

1- Rachel- Dreamer, Bread Baker, Story Maker

2- Aimee Renee

3- Bookish Bird

4- Katie On Fiction

5- Magpie & Pen

Problems

     So I'm going really strong on my WIP. I'm at just under 25,000 words which is pretty good I think for only three weeks of work. It could have been more of course if not for life getting in the way as usual (like WriteOnCon, and a spur-of-the-moment camping trip this past weekend).
     Anyway, so I was thinking about my WIP last night and realized that I have a problem. Or two.
     I. Hate. That. I want to keep moving forward, keep writing. I don't want to have to stop and go back and fix something. Some people say, never go back until the whole thing is finished. Heck- I even say that sometimes. But one of my problems is this: I need to change my MC's job. This is an adult novel, not YA this time, and a job is pretty important to a person's life. I need my MC to have a job, and yet I need it to be in the background. A job that isn't daily 9-5. I thought I had it set, but then I realized, there is NO WAY my MC would spend four years of schooling to become a nurse (yes a nurse is what I picked) and then not actually NURSE. That's just not realistic. I can see it if she had kids or something. But she doesn't. In fact, if anything, she would want to get away from her family to do her job. So it makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER for her to get her nursing license and then not practice.
     So. Crap. I have some changing to do whether I want to or not. Because I can't move forward when this major part of my MC's life isn't sorted out.
     And this problem doesn't even include the fact that I haven't totally figured out my novel's locations yet. Yikes. Right now I have a whole lot of question marks where the places should be named. I need to figure this out too before I move forward.
     Am I the only one who needs to resolve problems before moving forward? Or can you ignore those things and fix them after the whole book is done?

Nothingness (Or more accurately- I'm A Rock Star, Crush of the Week, and A Couple Videos)

     I am such a rock star! Okay, maybe not, but I was interviewed over at Michelle Merrill's blog Perfecting the Craft. which makes me sort of feel like one. A little. Maybe if I play some Guitar Hero that will amp up my whole rock-star persona. Anyway, check it out. Michelle has an awesome blog, one of the first I ever followed.
     I missed Crush of the Week last week- my mind was too busy with WriteOnCon to be crushing on anyone (haha). But I've got one this week. Okay, I've mentioned Rupert Penry-Jones before, but I can't help it. He's the inspiration for the love interest in my WIP Sway. And by inspiration, I mean he is the guy. Usually I don't do this. Usually I have the character in my head and then as the book goes along I have fun coming up with different actors/actresses who could play my characters even though none really look like the version in my head. Not this time. Not with my character Eric Wentworth. He is this guy. I can't help it- RPJ is just who I picture as I write Eric. Another reason why I've chosen him for Crush of the Week is that this week I watched two movies he's in (research purposes, you know): The Four Feathers, and The 39 Steps (see pics from both movies below).

     And because I love videos (thanks to all those people who take the time to make them and post them on youtube- I didn't make this video, I'm borrowing it), I thought I'd add this video, in case, you know, you wanted to see more RPJ. Heehee.

     And speaking of videos, I went to the Taylor Swift concert last weekend and mentioned how amazing I thought it was. Then this week I found her new video for her song "Sparks Fly" which is clips from her concerts. So I thought I'd post the video in case anyone's interested in seeing what her concert is actually like. Enjoy!

    

What's the Spark Blogfest

     No, I haven't forgotten that I signed up to be part of this blogfest. I just figured mine would be a one-day post instead of all week.
     So what's my spark? Haha, I have no idea. Nice, right? I mainly signed up for this blogfest because I was really interested to hear what sparked other people to write. This week as I've thought about my own reasons, I came up with... well, not much.
     I was in grade 2 when I first wanted to be a writer. I don't remember why. I wrote a ridiculously long Alvin and the Chipmunks story and I think it's been since then that I decided to make writing my impossible dream. I wonder if a teacher or one of my parents, after seeing my enthusiasm for writing said to me, "You should be a writer!" so I was like, "Okay!" (Sort of like that flashback Friends episode where Chandler tells Monica she should be a chef and she says, "Okay!" Sorry, getting off track...)
     Since then I did a lot of story beginnings. Some very interesting (aka crappy) poetry. Even some sketches of imagined characters (these were even crappier than the poetry). But why did I want to write in the first place???
     I. Don't. Know!!! How lost does this make feel, I'm telling you.
     I remember reading Roald Dahl books when I was younger, Pippi Longstocking, the infamous Dear God, It's Me Margaret, and lots of ghost stories. I still even have some of those books. It wasn't until fifth grade, and one of my older siblings gave me this book that I think writing became more of a reality to me:

    

     Since then, I couldn't stop reading fantasy. Any Dragonlance book I could get my hands on, Lord of the Rings, anything by Piers Anthony and David Eddings- all these books became my life. And I knew I wanted to write fantasy. I was captured by made-up worlds of Elves, Dwarves, other fantastical creatures, and mostly- MAGIC. I wanted magic so badly. (Still do actually. Hence the HP love.)

     So I guess the Spark for me would be all of the above. And it would be all thanks to my older brothers and sisters who read and loved fantasy first and introduced me to that world.

     Funnily enough, I'm not writing fantasy now. I tried it and failed miserably. But I'm pretty sure that one day I will go back to it. It's my first love, and we all know how hard it is to forget a first love.

     So what about you? What's your SPARK?

    

Road Trip Wednesday

     This week's Road Trip Wednesday Prompt:

How do you beat writer's block? Do you go for a jog? Read a book? Go to a movie? Come on, share your secret - we're dying to know!

     Hmmm, when I started my first for-real book back in my late teen years, well- I didn't beat writers block. I would write when I felt the urge, or had a scene in my head, and then not write when there was nothing there. Let me just say that I don't recommend this method since I got maybe 15,000 words written in about oh, um ten years. Yeah. Not cool.

     When I started writing Daze and Knights, I didn't really have this problem. But, the main reason for this is that when I would clean, or run on the treadmill, or right before bed, I'd plan future scenes. I'd play them in my head. Sometimes, they would be what I needed next, other times they'd be scenes that would happen later on. That way, even if I wasn't writing the book from start to finish, at least I was writing. A lot of times I would have to fill in the in-between bits later.

     If I'm really stuck on a spot, I'll quit for the day. I'll just be like, screw it, this isn't happening today. But then I go right back to it the next day, sometimes deleting what I did the day before, but usually with a better way, or a way to carry on the scene. Or if I really don't have a way to fix that problem, or move forward right from that spot, I'll move onto to something later. I'll come up with a way to fix the problem eventually.

     So really, the best way for me is to just be able to think, away from the computer, on what I want to happen. On how I want my characters to interact. And usually I come up with something. Basically- I daydream.

    

Blog Birthday and Campaigning

     Just a few things...

     First, I can't believe I have fifty followers. It's seriously hard to believe anyone would care what I have to say as I ramble along on this blog. I started the blog a year ago now- I don't remember the exact date but it was last August- mainly as a journal for myself. A way to keep track of my writing journey and whatever else I have going around in my head. This past year has been great learning not only about myself as a writer, but meeting lots of other writers out there who are going through the same things I am. It's truly incredible.

     Secondly... okay, the word "secondly" sounds totally hoity-toity to me, I don't know why. Anyway, I'm joining up with the Platform Building Campaign. You can find it here. It sounds like a great opportunity to connect with even more writers out there. Check it out if you haven't already.

     Thirdly... there actually isn't a thirdly. Or maybe there would have been but I completely forgot what it was because I have two crying kids right now. (And no, I don't have a picture for that.) So...

     Now they're screaming at each other. Gotta go!

WriteOnCon and Taylor Swift

     Can I just say that WriteOnCon was totally amazing?! Ha- of course I can. Sure there were some things I knew already, but I learned a ton as well. But not only that, it just... filled me up. It's like when I go to church on Sundays, I leave there feeling spiritually refreshed. This was the same except now I'm writerly (is that a word?) refreshed. It made me really want to go to a live conference. I've balked at them before because of the cost, the trip I would most likely have to make alone- which also adds to the cost, and asking someone to babysit my four kids while I take off. But this feeling I have of being part of the writing community (even though I was at home the whole time) is just so awesome.
     The hardest part for me was trying to simultaneously ignore the housework while trying not to ignore the kids while trying to take part in everything going on. My control-freak-ness was hard to overcome. And I think I have permanent numb-bum, but that's another story.
     Anyway, I'm so thankful I took part and I'm grateful to all those wonderful people who made it happen.
     And on a completely unrelated topic... the Taylor Swift concert was awesome. If you're a fan but unsure if she'd do a good concert- yes! She does an amazing concert. About every two songs had a story to go with them, with actors/dancers and new sets and costumes for everyone. It was pretty cool. I was really impressed. And my seven year old daughter loved it!

Jade- right when Taylor Swift popped out of the stage. (And me with my nose looking pointy!)

     So last week was a little crazy. I didn't get the amount of writing done that I wanted to. But life happens and taking the time to do WriteOnCon was definitely worth it. I'm currently at 15,000 words for my WIP. But I'm back on track for this week. So here we go...
    

Week Off for Taylor Swift

     Hey everyone! I'm going off the map... off the grid... I'm blacking out... what's the right way to say it about a blog?
     Anyway, I won't be posting this week because I'm "attending" WriteOnCon. It's my first time- I'm a newbie- but I'm really looking forward to it. Then on Friday I'm going on my one and only trip this summer- to Edmonton (which sadly is only a couple of hours away so it doesn't really count). I'm very excited for this trip though because I'm going to see Taylor Swift in concert! Yay! I can't wait! And just because this post is so short, I thought I'd add Taylor Swift's music video for "You Belong With Me". It was that song, and "Love Story" which inspired me to write for young adults in the first place. Have a great week!

Goals

    
     My goal was to have 10,000 words written by today. I got there yesterday. Ooo-aaa! Ooo-aaa! (Okay, that sounded fine in my head but it looks funny written down.) Go me, go me. I'm psyched. If I can keep it up, 10,000 words a week, I could have the book done in about 6-8 weeks. Wouldn't that be sweet! I'm obviously on a writing-high... we'll see how long it lasts.
     I'm finding it really helpful to set goals. My goal is a thousand words a day, not counting Sunday. But striving for 10,000 a week isn't a bad idea either.  I know every writer is different, some set goals, some don't. Some write whenever they can. With Daze and Knights, I just tried to write everyday. I didn't care how many words or how many pages. But I remember once I really got into it, I went crazy, writing as much as I could. This time, especially since I know exactly what's going to happen in the story except for maybe some minor details (I still haven't worked out location- eek), there's really nothing to stop me except myself. So a goal is necessary. I'm also hoping that by spilling this all on my blog, I will keep up with the goals so I don't embarrass myself. Haha.
     Anyway, wish me luck and I wish all of you out there luck on whatever it is you're working on. Cheers!

Hands- Who Needs More Time?

     I've been thinking a lot about Time since Wednesday's Road Trip Topic about finding the time to write. I just barely started my new WIP last Friday. I set a goal for myself to write at least a thousand words a day except Sundays. This past week I had it done no problem. Until I got to Thursday. It was a full day, I had cleaning to do, I spent the afternoon in Calgary, and once the kids were in bed, we watched The Return of the King. It was over by 10:30pm and I just wanted to go to bed, but I felt guilty that I hadn't gotten my thousand words done. So I worked for a bit but only managed a few hundred.
     I bring this up because since I've written Daze and Knights, a lot of family members and friends have told me they've always wanted to write a book but they can never find the Time. I totally get that. Kids, jobs, responsibilities, heck just life, gets in the way. We always have other things to do. Things that seem or are more important.
     What I've learned in the past few years is that if you want to be a writer- you will be one. You will write no matter what. You will make time for it. But if it's just a matter of having a story in your head that you think will make a great book, time will be harder to come by.
     I want to be a writer. I am a writer (just not published). I write because it makes me happy. I'm going to sound totally cheesy here but- it completes me. Whether my stories suck or not, whether I ever become published or not, I've learned about myself that I will continue to write., no matter what.
     BUT... that doesn't mean it's easy. I've got this great idea I'm all fired up about, but I still had a hard time finding TIME yesterday. So even if you're serious about it, it's still hard to find the time. And it's hard to sacrifice other things to write, although it has to be done sometimes. And sometimes, the writing has to be sacrificed. That's just the way it goes. It's not easy, it's never easy. But you do it because you have to.

Crush of the Week

Crush of the Week: Neil

(see him dancing above and a pic below) Aaaahhhhh, who wouldn't want to dance with him?! It's pretty obvious I love me a great love story, and the dance above is just that. A love story that's passionate, complicated, heartfelt, painful... all in less than 2 minutes. It gives me chills. Especially the part where Melanie literally runs, launches herself into the air, and Neil catches her. Amazing.

And some Random Thoughts...

   1. I'm joining The Spark Blogfest over at The Writer Coaster. You blog about what/who/which author inspired you to be a writer. I'm interested to see what other people's inspirations are.

   2. There's a post over at YATopia today that I just loved. Especially when she said, "NEGATIVITY- WE BANISH YOU!" It's like a mantra I want to repeat in my head daily.

     3. I've been watching Lord of The Rings with my hubby this week. We've got the last movie still to go, but I've been watching it and marvelling. J.R.R. Tolkien really did so much for the writing and the fantasy world, and I see how so many writers nowadays have been influenced by the world he created.

     4. Writing makes me so happy. Enough said.

Road Trip Wednesday- All About Time

    
     It's time for another Road Trip Wednesday, hosted by YA Highway. Today's topic:

What time do you prefer to do your writing? Early Worm? Night Owl ? Any five seconds you can grab?

     I usually write just after lunch. When I started writing daily, Jade (my oldest) was in Grade 1, and Logan was in afternoon pre-school two days a week for two hours. Plus my younger two napped then. So it was the best time. Even though things are a little different now, it's become a habit to write at that time. If I don't get to it for some reason, or if I'm really going crazy, I'll write after they go to bed too.

     So what about you? When do you find the time to write?

     And because this is a short post, and I'm all Persuasion-crazy right now (for obvious reasons), here's a clip from my fave version. You can see Captain Wentworth (also MY Wentworth) in action.

Write Right Away Before You Lose It All

     Why does inspiration always come at the worst time? Usually when I'm laying in bed after a long day. To get my mind to relax so I can finally fall asleep, I make up stories. It's what I've always done. Now, I use the time to think about the story I'm working on, sorting out problems, or wondering where I'm going to go next. Of course sometimes I'll get something amazing going in my head but I'm too tired to get up and go back to the computer and write it down. So I leave it until the next day. By then, even though I might remember the gist, I don't have the same feeling I had at the time the inspiration hit.
     That happened to me over the weekend. I think it was Saturday night when I had this whole scene in my head- a very important and emotionally tough scene between my two main characters. Sunday turned out to be too busy to write, so by the time I got around to writing on Monday afternoon, I had completely lost the scene.
     I struggled over getting it out. It took me a long time to write it. And I worry that it's garbage, nothing compared to how it was when I first thought it. The funny thing is, what I first thought up might not even be that great. But at the time, it flowed. It was easy and natural. It just happened through my head like a movie, as if I wasn't creating the scene at all but just watching it. So when I have to struggle and hem and haw about what's happening and what I'm writing, I tend to think it's worse because it's not coming as naturally as it did the first time.
     The lesson here: get your butt out of bed and write what you're thinking at the time. Sure, you may end up going to bed later than you want to. But in my case, I'll be much happier with my work, even if it turns out to be garbage and I'll have to fix it all later anyway. At least I'll have confidence in the scene and in my writing instead of crippling doubt and worry that it will never be as good as it could have been.

Inspiration for my new WIP

     I'm so excited to be starting something new. I read on all these other blogs how people have 2, 3, 5, heck 10 WIPs they're working on at once and I so can't do that. I get involved in one world and I eat, drink, sleep, breathe it. It would be hard for me to be in multiple worlds at once (I think, although I've never actually tried it so who knows). But I've been lost in Jessica's world for the past almost two years, what with writing and constantly editing Daze and Knights, and then writing the sequel that is both untitled and unfinished. In fact, it's VERY hard for me to put it aside, especially since I'm so close to the end. But I'm stuck on a part and I'd much rather be writing than not, so that's the plan for now.
     So I already have some inspiration for my new WIP of which I've only written just over 2,000 words over the weekend. Music is such a huge inspiration to me though and when I'm lost in a new world, suddenly songs just leap out and I know they're perfect for the book. I've added some of those songs to my playlist: Heartache Tonight by Michael Buble, Back to December by Taylor Swift, Heavily Broken by the Veronicas, All I Need by Within Temptation, and Take It All by Adele. Do you see a theme here? Haha.
     Another inspiration... well it would be this guy:

 Rupert Penry-Jones as Captain Wentworth and how he looks without regency garb!                                           

     Rupert Penry-Jones who plays Captain Frederick Wentworth in the newest version of Persuasion. It's my favorite version except for a couple of very awkward parts that make me cringe (like the kiss, it's totally ewwwww). Since my new WIP is a remake of Persuasion, this guy is my Wentworth. Granted, he's getting up there in years (sorry dude, but it's true), so he really couldn't be my Wentworth if ever a movie were to be made (I know, I know, I'm only 2,000 words in). But that doesn't matter. He IS my Wentworth. I love how he's totally hot (in my opinion, some might disagree) but not perfect looking. And after writing all about a brunette, I'm happy to move onto a blond. Haha- silly yes, but still true.
     So what about you? Starting a new WIP? Getting new inspiration for an old WIP maybe?
    

Contests

    
     There are two contests going on that I'm entering today. I just love contests! It's great to get your work out there and hear what people have to say and also to read what other people have going on.    
     First I'm entering the Micro Synopsis contest over at YAtopia. If you want to enter too, you can find it here. You have to write a three-sentence synopsis (so hard!) and John Cusick from Scott Treimel NY is judging.
     The second contest is at the blog Blackbird In My Window. It's a first 500 words contest being judged by Lauren Ruth from BookEnds. (I love BookEnds- they have the most helpful blog!)
     So if anyone else is interested, head over to those blogs and check out the contests.

Random Thought Thursday

1. If I Stay by Gayle Forman was A-MA-ZING. Enough said.

2. I forgot to put Charlie St. Cloud on yesterday's novel/movie list. I saw the movie first (hello Zac Efron) and read the book later. This was one of those rare cases where I liked the movie better. (But again- hello Zac Efron.)

3. The house is strangely quiet with two of my kids gone. Except when Kori throws a tantrum because she doesn't have her older brother and sister to play with. Sigh.

4. Why do people have to force deeper meaning into Jane Austen? No her books are NOT about slavery, lesbianism, incest, or whatever else you want them to be about. They are about women trying to make the best of the world they live in. They are about people. And they are about love. So there. If you have a degree or wrote your thesis on her or are somehow a Jane Austen expert- feel free to curse and contradict me to your hearts content. As long as I can't hear you, I don't care.

5. I got the WORST splinter in my foot yesterday. That's what my intolerance for shoes brought me. I'm not joking when I say it was the most painful splinter ever, causing my foot to ache and me to scream when my husband had to perform an emergency sliver-ectomy- which turned out to be a complete failure because after half an hour of digging into my foot... nothing. It's still there and I finally gave up because I'm wimpy like that. Which means I'll be limping around until the thing forces itself out. (You better hurry you crappy splinter or I'm gonna... oh wait, I'm not gonna do anything cuz I'm too wimpy.)

6. Note to all the singles out there: do NOT go on a date to Five Guys Burgers and Fries. It's so messy, it's inevitable you'll end up with ketchup on your face. Or in my case- your lap. Luckily I wasn't on a date, but with the man who swore to love me no matter how much ketchup gets smeared onto my jeans.

7. Taking notes while reading a book kinda sucks. Although I'm really delving into the characters in a way that flying through the book never allows. I'm doing this because my new WIP is me trying a modern take on a classic. We'll see how it turns out.

8. Captain America was a surprisingly good movie. Not only was it funny and I loved the WWII plot line, but it didn't have any swearing (I don't think), sex scenes, or graphic violence. Shocking for a movie these days. I recommend it if you're into superhero movies and you don't mind the inevitable cheese that comes with them. And Chris Evans is a bonus (plus it's funny to see him all teeny-weeny).

9. Like all the fans out there, I'm still waiting... and waiting... and waiting... Meanwhile, I have to listen to their oldies to tide me over (above and below).

Novel Films Blogfest

There's a blogfest going on at Scribble and Edit. You can find it here. I've decided to join since I was honestly curious about my own responses.
So here's the topic of the blogfest:

How many works of fiction have you seen BOTH the film/TV drama and read the original book, play or comic story?

I was surprised at how long my list is. But here it is, what I could remember anyway. There's probably books from High School that I had to read and we watched the movie in class that I just don't remember. (And as you can see, I'm rubbish at pictures- I couldn't figure out how to do a collage, and even though I have the pics nicely ordered, once I publish the post they go all haywire. I have no skills.)

MG/YA:

 Harry Potter 1-7- J.K. Rowling
Inkheart- Cornelia Funke

Eragon- Christopher Paolini

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief- Rick Riordan

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader- C.S. Lewis
The Princess Diaries, Avalon High- Meg Cabot
Beastly- Alex Flinn
I Am Number Four- Pittacus Lore
The Vampire Diaries- L.J. Smith
Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse- Stephenie Meyer
Speak- Laurie Halse Anderson

Adult Books:
The Notebook, Dear John, A Walk to Remember- Nicholas Sparks
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood- Rebecca Wells
Sahara- Clive Cussler
P.S. I Love You- Cecilia Ahern
The Work and The Glory 1-3- Gerald Lund
Angels and Demons, The DaVinci Code- Dan Brown
The Firm, Pelican Brief, A Time to Kill- John Grisham
Timeline- Michael Crichton
The Pillars of the Earth- Ken Follett
Wizard's First Rule- Terry Goodkind (Legend of the Seeker)
Something Borrowed- Emily Giffin
Confessions of a Shopaholic- Sophie Kinsella
Possession- A.S. Byatt
Atonement- Ian McEwan
The Time-Traveler's Wife- Audrey Niffenegger

Classics:
All Quiet on the Western Front- Erich Maria Remarque
The Lord of the Rings 1-3- J.R.R. Tolkien
The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers- Alexander Dumas
Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte
Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte
Little Women- Louisa May Alcott

Anne of Green Gables- Lucy Maud Montgomery

Tom Jones- Henry Fielding

Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey- Jane Austen

Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, Othello- William Shakespeare

To Kill A Mockingbird- Harper Lee

Les Miserables- Victor Hugo

A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations, Hard Times- Charles Dickens

Far From the Madding Crowd- Thomas Hardy

The Secret Garden, A Little Princess- Frances Hodgson Burnett
Lord of the Flies- William Golding