Catenabi Chronicles

Weekly Dose of Abbie Cuteness

2012-02-12T18:37:00.000-05:00

Abbie! Cuteness! Weekly Dose Of!

Here she is 'hiding' in a pillow fort. Can you spot her?

She'll never be able to find me...

Have a great week!

Adventures in QueryLand ... The End. The Beginning?

2012-02-08T20:52:00.001-05:00

Wow.I think that this is my longest blog post title to date.

Ican't believe I haven't blogged in a month! Time flies when crazythings are happening.

 Hereare some of the highlights (or, rather, lowlights)

:  - Mental forDental: I broke a molar while eating a pecan tart last September andI needed a root canal... which I put off until the last possibleminute. (Queen of Procrastination strikes again!) The first half(*sigh*) of the root canal has already been done and I need to goback in two weeks so the dentist can finish the job. And then I needto go back again to get a filling done. I hope I'm not offending anydentists in the crowd when I say that I hate dentists. Hate. Hate.Hate. I cannot bear the pain, the expensive treatments that neverend, the condescending dental hygenist who looks at me like I'm thebiggest liar in the world when I promise that I floss sorta kindaregularly. (Maybe.) There's also the fact that I have a sinuscondition and I can barely breathe through my nose. I always have towarn dentists of this and they roll their eyes at me as if I'm justanother typical nervous patient... until I have a panic attack whenmy airway is blocked by sharp instruments and ! start flailing on thechair because I haven't taken a breath in five minutes. (Fun fact:because of this condition, my voice often sounds stuffy even when I'mnot sick... which (IN THEORY) could be useful when calling in sick atwork. I should try it one day. *Cough, cough*) Hopefully, myAdventures in Dentistry will be over soon and I SWEAR I will flossten times a day and stay away from pecan tarts. (...ummmm, or justchew more carefully?)

  - Day Job Blues: So I decided that Ineeded to move on from my current day job (I've been with the companyfor nine years) and find something new. The thing is. I haven't beenon the hunt for employment for (what feels like) forever. It's acomplete jungle out there and browsing through job websites made merealize that I am not qualified for much... so that was kind ofdepressing. What do you mean I can't be Head Chef of your fancyshmancy downtown restaurant? I can totally cook! Just last week Imade the most awesome brownies! No one needs to know that they wereso hard you could break a tooth on them... *gasp* Don't get mestarted on that!

  I eventually found an interesting prospect andwas called in for an interview and some writing tests in English andFrench (OMG. I can totes write! Oui, oui, oui! lol) Everything wentwell but I'm still waiting for news. Even though I do want to get outthere and try someting new, it's going to be a tough decision if theyend up offering me the job. Do I stay or do I go? I'm verycomfortable where I am but that's also part of the problem. I need achallenge but I'm also scared of that very same challenge. But I'mgetting ahead of myself. As of now, no one has offered meanything. 

 But speaking of challenges and things that arescary..

.  My Adventures in QueryLand for Breaking the Rules areofficially over. No more query letters, no more waiting around forpartial or full requests followed by more waiting for replies tothose requests. I've been querying since October 2010 and only myQueryTracker page and I know the exact number of queries I've sentout. (The word staggering comes to mind.) When I was still writingBreaking the Rules, I knew the querying process would be a toughone... but I hadn't anticipated HOW tough it would be. It's beenquite a ride. I'd like to think that it helped me develop a thickerskin and I was able to get awesome feedback from agents and editors.It also helped me see my book in a new light... While I know Breakingthe Rules is far from perfect, some of the feedback I received gaveme confidence in myself and my book.

Which leads me to this littlepiece of news: 

 I'm going to be self-publishing Breaking theRules. And I'm super excited about it!!

  When I decided to stopquerying, I thought I'd have to stuff my novel in the proverbialdrawer and forget about it. But just the thought of doing that mademe super sad. And when you add novel-related sadness to rootcanal-related pain, you get a huge achy teary mess. (Me. Two daysago.)  

So. I know this is a huge project. Mega-huge. Mega-megahuge. But I'm going to take it one step at a time.

  Step 1: Hiresomeone to proofread and edit. Because I need to make sure mymanuscript is in shape before I send it out there. 

 Step 1.5:Keep working on Book #2!

  And now it's time for me to get back onthe blogging wagon ... I haven't visited blogs in so long and I missit! See you out there!

Weekly Dose of Abbie Cuteness

2012-01-08T19:41:00.000-05:00

I haven't done a Weekly Dose post in quite a while... it's almost as if Abbie stopped being cute. (I know, I know... that is IMPOSSIBLE!)

But THIS happened when I was lounging on the sofa over the holidays.

I call this picture 'The Bodyguard.' And, even though it was very uncomfortable, I didn't move her. She only jumped off me when someone opened a box of cereal and she thought it was her food. Poor Abbie. I had to get up and give her food to make up for the disappointment.

You Mess With Her... You Mess With ME! *meow*

WIP UPDATE:

One word after another. Slowly but surely.

Speaking of words... I will update the word count meter for my next post. I have a pretty good idea of where I am but I'm looking forward to seeing the actual number.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T18:02:00.003-05:00

Well. 2011 will be over in a few hours. Time to admit that my writing marathon failed. But... you know what? I'm not too stressed out about it. I made a lot of progress and worked really hard... and I also took time for myself and spent time with my family. (And watched some awfully awesome Christmas movies!)

So here's to 2012 and a world of possibilities! Hope everyone has a healthy and happy New Year.

Cheers! :)

Writing Marathon - Day ... umm??

2011-12-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

I am lost in a sea of words. I'm still not entirely sure what day of the week today is...

Making progress ... but not quickly enough. I'm starting to think that doing the best I can is going to have to be good enough. Perhaps I've been spending too much time at the (fictional) Moment of Zen resort? ... or I just need to get out of the house! :)

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas!

Writing Marathon - Day Two: Words, Words, Words.

2011-12-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

It's Christmas Eve!! ... And Day 2 of my Writing Marathon.

LESSON FROM DAY ONE:
I realized pretty quickly that reaching 6700 per day is going to be harder than I thought. I don't like using the word 'impossible' but, yeah... it's pretty impossible. I didn't get anywhere near that number yesterday.

BUT. I was able to make considerable progress and finally get to the end of a scene that has taken FOREVER to write and is WAY too long. Has that even happened to you guys? I can already see my red pen hacking away at it. (Note to self: Editing comes later. Now it's WRITE, WRITE, WRITE.)

Back to work! Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Here's a few pictures of Abbie getting into the Christmas spirit:

I shall win this staring contest...

Sleepy Santa Cat

Writing Marathon - Day One: It's Go Time!

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is time. For the next 9 days (excluding Christmas Day) I will attempt to write approximately 6700 words a day in order to have a completed first draft of Zoey & the Moment of Zen by the New Year.

I wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who left kind words of encouragement on my last post. It feels like I have a small army of really awesome cheerleaders!

THE GOOD:
I already have 30K words written and I love this story. I'm having fun writing it and I'm excited to see what happens next. (Even though I know what happens next... I have an outline. But still.)

THE BAD:
I am putting a lot of pressure on myself. I really, really, really want to make this happen and I can't help thinking that I'll flake out at some point and let myself down. MUST. STOP. THINKING. THIS. WAY.

FUEL FOR THE JOURNEY:

Tower of Power

Coke Zero and Twinings Tea. Some athletes take steroids to enhance their performance but this athlete (*cough, cough*) runs on caffeine and artificial sweeteners. (And candy... and chocolate... and Lays Salt & Vinegar chips.)

OK. Time to get to work. See you tomorrow for a progress report!

Writing Marathon: 2011 Edition

2011-12-10T23:31:00.000-05:00

Back in 2009, I used the time off I had over the Christmas break to finish the first draft of my novel Breaking the Rules. I remember how awesome I felt when I finished the draft just a few minutes before midnight. The book was less-than-perfect, it needed a lot of work and there were parts of it I hated... but it was done and I was holding it in my hands. I had a written a book from A to Z and I was so proud. I WANT THAT FEELING BACK!!!!! (Sorry for the all-caps and the exclamation points.)

So that's why I've decided that I'm having another writing marathon this year. I've spent most of 2011 whining about how little time I have to write and about how I have no energy to write when I do get a bit of time. Enough. Starting on December 23, I will have 9 entire days (excluding December 25th) to write before 2011 is through. And I will try my hardest to end the year with a completed first draft of my second novel, Zoey & the Moment of Zen.

THE PLAN:

I will stock up on coffee, Coke Zero and healthy snacks (who am I kidding? An abundance of M&Ms will be consumed) and just write. And write. And write. And write until I can't stand to look at my computer.

I'll be updating the blog daily with my progress (or lack thereof) and this will, hopefully, help me on my journey to the Finish Line.

I want to make it to 2012 with a completed first draft and I'm looking forward to that countdown.

On your mark. Get Set....

Catenabi Chronicles Turns 2!

2011-11-19T16:23:00.000-05:00

Has it been two years already?

On November 21, 2009, I started this blog as a way to motivate myself while trying to finish the first draft of Breaking the Rules. Did I honestly believe it was going to work? Nah. I just thought a few of my friends would get a kick out of it and I'd post funny pictures of Abbie for them to see.

Well, I was wrong... because I believe this blog is the reason I finished my first draft when I was literally drowning in self-doubt and I couldn't bear to write another word. And it kept me motivated during the revision process and it gave me courage to start another project despite the oh-so-familiar self-doubt messing with my head.

I've learned a lot in the last two years and I've 'met' some incredible people. So thanks to all of you out there who have read/followed/commented. Hugs for everyone!

To mark this blogiversary, I wanted to repost my all-time favourite picture of Abbie.. since she is the ABI in Catenabi Chronicles and (honestly) I'd barely have anything to blog about if she didn't drive me crazy or have awesome moments of cuteness like this one:

This manuscript needs serious work!

Here's to more posts (hopefully not weeks and weeks apart!) and more cute pictures of Abbie and more novel news (hopefully good!)

Back to work I go! :)

Houdini

2011-10-22T11:41:00.000-04:00

I don't usually listen to music while writing because I'm so easily distracted... but I fell in love with the song Houdini a few weeks ago when the band Foster the People was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. I think I listen to this song at least twenty times a day... it puts me in a great writing mood. (And I've become a HUGE fan of Foster the People and can't wait for them to come to Montreal so I can ~~scream~~ sing along to this song and all the other great songs on their album.)

First Draft Fever is (thankfully) still going strong and I'm hoping to write at least 1000 words a day in November (in the spirit of NaNoWriMo... though I'm scared to officially participate because of last year's crash and burn on the third day!) But, as long as words are being typed and I'm satisfied with how the story is shaping up, I am a happy writer.

Here is Foster the People on SNL. (And, yes, that is Kenny G at the end.)

First-Draft Fever!

2011-10-09T16:47:00.000-04:00

It's finally happened: I have first-draft fever! I love this stage... I have so many ideas, I can't write fast enough, when I'm not writing I'm thinking about which scene I'm going to write next and I actually think that what I've written so far isn't awful.

The only downside to first-draft fever is that it doesn't last forever and, at some point, a wall will be hit. But, until that happens, I am fully enjoying this writer's high. Over the last few days, my wordcount has shot up to over 11K!

I am hoping to redeem myself for the last few months of complete writerly (and general) apathy. Even though I'm not attempting NaNoWriMo this year (I quit at Day Three last year) I am trying to write every single day. I've joined 750Words.com (pretty simple: write 750 words or more every day) and I'm happy to report that I'm on a 5-day streak! Woot. At this rate, I might have something ressembling a completed first draft by the New Year.

Go Fever!

P.S. Abbie hasn't escaped in the last few days (yay!). There was a small gap in our fence and, even though it's TINY and I can't believe she was able to squeeze through, putting a rock in front of it seems to have solved the problem.

Her reaction:

I want to travel the world. Why must you kill my dreams?

The Great Escape

2011-10-05T22:32:00.000-04:00

So... after years of peacefully enjoying the summer months within the very secure (or so we thought) limits of our backyard, Abbie has found a way to escape into the great beyond.

The Good news: she's fine.

The Bad news: we still don't know how she escapes so we have to watch her every move and she's not allowed to go outside as much... and she is NOT liking it one bit. Since she's hissed at every cat in the neighborhood through our fence, she has not made any friends in the outside world. Yes, my cat is a runaway.

As you can see, there is HUGE cat drama going on at Casa Catenabi right now. As soon as the snow comes, she'll forget about the fun things outside. Until then, all eyes are on her. (What else is new?)

WRITING NEWS! I've finally updated the wordcount for Zoey & the Moment of Zen. I'm inching towards 10K words. The official theme of this novel is Slowly But Surely. OK, maybe not surely. But definitely slowly.

READING NEWS! I've finally joined GoodReads. So. Much. Awesomeness. I've been having lots of fun making lists of books I want to read. (It's the best way to procrastinate dealing with the huge pile of paperwork on my desk.) Why did it take me so long to join?

You can add me as a friend HERE! :) I'm off to add more books to the list now. (And watch over Abbie!)

It's Quiz Time!

2011-09-15T05:49:00.000-04:00

The lovely Michelle Teacress tagged me in a recent blog post and now I have to answer these fun questions!

Here goes:

1. Show us the cutest, most adorable picture of your favorite animal:

Yes, I know this blog is FILLED with cute pictures of Abbie but here is a new one! I took this picture after she heard a noise coming from the house. I call it her 'worried' look. Who knew Abbie had such an emotional range?

Did somebody break a dish? Hope it wasn't my food bowl.

2. You have five seconds to survive the zombie apocalypse. Choose one friend who would save your butt and then tell us why you chose them.

I think my bestie Maryknoll would save my butt during a zombie apocalype because:

a) she's awesome
b) she's saved my butt countless times before in various non-zombie-related situations
c) we could be the female version of zombie-smashers Simon Pegg and Nick Frost from Shaun of the Dead! *love that movie!*

3. Share a quote with us:

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde

4. Using exactly twenty seven words, tell your life story:

Small town and big dreams. Nerd-in-the-making. Moving away. Montreal. Books and the Big City. Love in London. Heartbreak. Writing for real. Breaking the Rules.

5. All dead rock legends live again. You’re standing in a fifty mile long line for:

Jeff Buckley. Definitely.

6. Describe yourself using six words that start with the third letter of your middle name:

My middle name is Esther, so T:

Trustworthy. Talkative. Tempestuous & Timid. Theatrical. Thankful.

7. What do you think of when you hear the word wombat?

I want to go to Australia!

8. What is your quest?

To make a living doing what I love.

9. What is your favorite question?

Whaaaaat? ... It's like 'what' but you hold the 'a' for about 5 seconds. It's usually found at the end of a sketchy/ridiculous/absurd statement. Ex.: "I just ate five cupcakes and I'm still hungry, whaaaaaaaat?" Extremely rhetorical.

10. Who really is going to win the fast food wars in the future?

My money is on McD's.

11. What rock song should be your anthem?

New Radicals – "You Get What You Give"

12. What published book, possibly a classic, would you like to rewrite? I'm not a huge fan of rewrites but, if I had to choose, I'd probably take a stab at a modern Pride & Prejudice… which has totally been done before.

****

Thanks for the tag, Michelle! That was fun! :)

'If I Could Be Anyone, I'd Be...' Web Splash

2011-09-14T06:00:00.005-04:00

Today is the official ebook launch of Talli Roland's second novel, Watching Willow Watts! My copy has already been purchased and loaded into the Kindle and I can't wait to read it! I absolutely loved Talli's first novel, The Hating Game, and Watching Willow Watts looks like it's going to be a fun read too.

I love this cover! So pink and pretty!

About Watching Willow Watts:

For Willow Watts, life has settled into a predictably dull routine: days behind the counter at her father's antique shop and nights watching TV, as the pension-aged residents of Britain's Ugliest Village bed down for yet another early night. But everything changes when a YouTube video of Willow's epically embarrassing Marilyn Monroe impersonation gets millions of hits after a viewer spots Marilyn's ghostly image in a frame.

Instantly, Willow's town is overrun with fans flocking to see the 'new Marilyn'. Egged on by the villagers -- whose shops and businesses are cashing in -- Willow embraces her new identity, dying her hair platinum and ramming herself full of cakes to achieve Marilyn's legendary curves.

But when a former flame returns seeking the old Willow, Willow must decide: can she risk her stardom and her village's newfound fortune on love, or is being Marilyn her ticket to happiness?

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/nIygHP

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/riMpmH

*********************************

To celebrate the launch of Watching Willow Watts, Talli is hosting a 'If I Could Be Anyone, I'd Be...' party. I had a tough time deciding who I wanted to dress up as for this event... but, since I've been doing a lot of baking recently and I think about food every 2.3 seconds, I decided to dress up as... British food writer, journalist, TV personality and domestic goddess Nigella Lawson:

Domestic Goddess for a Day

Things I need to complete my Nigella transformation:

- Lovely British accent
- Long wavy brown wig
- A padded bra. (Extremely padded.)
- Butter and sugar and eggs and CHOCOLATE! No Nigella transformation would be complete without the baking of a cake.

Favourite Nigella Quotes:

"Good olive oil, good butter, milk - they give food taste and depth and a richness that you can't reproduce with low-fat ingredients."

"I am not a chef. I am not even a trained or professional cook. My qualification is as an eater."

"Diets are like boyfriends - it never works to go back to them."

"I eat healthily. It's just that I eat enough for five healthy people."

****

I think I'm going to enjoy being a domestic diva for the day. Bring on the cakes!

Shopaholic Crosses the Border

2011-09-05T15:37:00.000-04:00

So I am officially on vacation for the next two weeks! *wooooo* I have to admit that I've been having a LOT of dayjob-related angst lately so this mini-break comes at the right time.

In a few days, my bestie and I will be heading to Vermont for a little shopping trip. I'm really looking forward to it. I love going to stores that we don't have in Montreal. (Hello, Williams-Sonoma! I'm talking to you... open up a store in my hometown!)

And, this year, I've already pre-ordered this little gadget from JC Penney and I cannot wait to get it home and test it out. How could I resist something so cute?

Babycakes Cupcake Maker ... Where have you been all my life?

Cupcakes for everyone! **

** If I don't burn them!

I hope I have some nice pictures to share with all of you once I've played with it a bit. Apparently, it makes mini-quiches and brownie bites and mini-pies too! It's only missing the ability to brew a cup of coffee to become THE ONLY KITCHEN APPLIANCE I'LL EVER NEED!

Have a great week everyone!

Writer Wednesday: Blogger's Block Edition

2011-08-24T19:38:00.000-04:00

*waves to everyone*

Yeah, I know. I haven't been here in FOREVER! I'm still suffering from a bit of Blogger's Block.

Symptoms include:

- Thinking that everything you have to say is boring/pointless.
- Reading other blogs and wishing your own blog was as awesome as some other awesome blog.
- Staring at the screen. And then staring some more. And then going on TMZ because maybe something important happened since the last time you checked (5 minutes ago.)
- Begging Abbie to do something cute so you can take a picture and post it.

(But we all know Abbie does something cute EVERY SINGLE DAY. She just learned how to use the kitty door that we installed on the patio screen door. I swear it is the cutest thing. I will make it my mission to try and capture it on film and post a video. She's a smart one my Abbie... she's figured out that if she stands next to the kitty door and pretends to 'hestitate'.... we'll lure her inside with treats. It's like she's saying: 'you know that thing I've done a million times before, I've TOTALLY forgetten how to do it! ... Oh, there are treats inside the house? Now I remember...' If only my boss would throw Dairy Milks at me to get me inside the office. That would be a DREAM JOB, my friends!)

In WIP News, I haven't been able to update my Zoey & the Moment of Zen wordcount. My computer is being a bit wonky but I'll figure something out. I'm trying hard to ignore the fact that this might be a sign from the Universe telling me to stop writing. (By the way, Universe: it's going to take more than an Internet Explorer error page. Nice try.)

I've already finished two chapters which is awesome but, at the same time, SOOO not cool since it's almost September and (as my delusional self predicted in the Spring) my first draft should be almost done by now. But I have two weeks of much-anticipated vacation time coming up... so I will focus, focus, focus!

After I'm done with all the shopping and sleeping and daydreaming about having a completed first draft.

'I am calling the Grammar Police!"

Blog Makeover!

2011-08-05T12:49:00.000-04:00

Catenabi Chronicles has a new look!

Being my usual self-doubting ummmm.... self, I need to ask:

How does it look? Does it look OK? Is it too pink? (Is that even possible. Pink rules!) Did you like the previous look better or should I stick with this one?

As you can see, I don't deal with change very well. But I'm definitely liking the new look and I'm looking forward to adding new elements to the blog. Stay tuned!

BIG NEWS!

Despite what this picture may lead you to believe, Abbie has been having a VERY exciting summer. She now has her own Twitter account! I know. How can she tweet with all that 'lack of opposable thumbs' business? All I know is she never misses an opportunity to talk smack about me. Can I get her banned?

(Follow Abbie the Cat on Twitter at your own risk. She's taking over the world.)

Crazy cat lady, indeed!

Have a great weekend everyone!

August and Everything After

2011-07-29T13:00:00.001-04:00

I've been listening to a lot of 90s music recently and since I wanted to talk about August today... I couldn't resist using the title of the Counting Crows' debut album. (But I'm listening to Better than Ezra as I type this. Yes, I am old.)

August! It's almost here. August is a loooong month for me because I usually schedule my yearly vacation at the beginning of September and this year is no exception. But since the last few months have flown by so quickly, I'm hoping August will do the same. And everything after? Everything after will include a mini-trip to Vermont for some shopping and some (hopefully) uninterrupted writing time.

Forgive this flaky post and my general lack of blog commenting. I've been far too distracted lately with overtime at the day job, bank problems that have taken forever to be sorted and a family health crisis that is still very much on my mind. But through all this, I've still been able to work on my novel. I'll be back soon to update the word count meter for Zoey & the Moment of Zen. (I've been putting it off for the longest time. Hopefully, I will be pleasantly surprised.)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Summer!

2011-07-10T15:50:00.002-04:00

Even though I still prefer cooler fall-like weather, I have to admit that I'm thoroughly enjoying the warm summer days we've been having lately.

Abbie doesn't seem to mind either:

I brought the iPad and the keyboard outside with me in the hopes that some kind of writing activity will take place.

They remain untouched but the day isn't over yet.

Have a great week everyone! :)

Writer Wednesday: Saved!

2011-07-06T07:00:00.003-04:00

Happy Wednesday!

The scariest thing happened to me on Sunday night. I'm pretty sure it's happened to most of us writerly folk at one time or another: after an unexpected burst of writing energy, I saved my work, sighed a heavy sigh of slight smugness and satisfaction and put my iPad aside. But a little voice told me: go read what you just wrote.

I did and... it wasn't there. I'm not going to tell you exactly what I said... but it wasn't pretty. In fact, it sounded a lot like duckduckduckduckduck!

Oh, the horror! An hour of work down the drain. It might not seem like much, but due to my as-of-yet-undiagnosed case of ADD, an hour of uninterrupted writing time is like a tiny miracle.

And why did this happen after I wrote stuff I actuallly liked? Why couldn't this happen after one of those writing sessions where you just feel like pressing the delete key until every last word is gone forever?

When I was working on Breaking the Rules, I was obsessive about saving my work on two different flash drives: I kept one at home and had the other with me everywhere I went. And when I was editing the hard copy, I tried to carry it (all 300+ pages) at all times. When I left it home, my parents were on strict order to run upstairs and save it if a fire broke out. For once, Abbie dropped to #2 on the List of Things to Save in Case of Fire. Please don't report me. (And don't tell Abbie!)

Now, with this novel, I'm using Quickoffice for iPad and Dropbox. I hate to sound like an informercial but I love being able to access my files on my home and work comupters, my iPad and my iPhone. This is the first glitch I've had with these programs.

So, the good news: it was only a temporary glitch with Quickoffice and I was able to find the updated document on Dropbox. I saved it again. And again. And again. I must have saved it 10 times. And checked it 5 times after that. And again the morning after.

There's only one word that can describe how I feel: Phew!

As always, Abbie slept through the whole ordeal:

Has this sort of thing ever happened to you? What do you use to back-up your work?

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Happy Canada Day!

2011-07-01T10:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Canada! You are 144 years old today but you don't look a day over 123!

Of all the things I love about Canada, this is one of my favourites: Joel Plaskett!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Tag!

2011-06-25T21:58:00.000-04:00

A few days ago, I was tagged by lovely fellow blogger Tara from Tara Tyler Talks! Yay! Thanks Tara!

And now, I must answer these questions. Just because I couldn't run fast enough! ;)

1) What's the first thing you do in the morning? Feed the hungry beast known as Abbie or if she is still asleep (which rarely happens) I will check my email.

2) How old do you feel? It depends. Sometimes I feel really young (especially when I'm goofing off with my friends) but when my chronic ankle/back pain flares up, I feel slightly granny-ish.

3) What's your sign and does the description match your personality? Yes, I am a total Pisces. I'm oversensitive and my head is almost always firmly in the clouds. Pisces also lack self-confidence so... yeah, I am the textbook definition!

4) How do you like your caffeine? Lots of fake sugar (Splenda) and lots of milk. (Cream when I'm being bad.)

5) Favorite cartoon character? So hard to choose! But the winner has to be Stewie Griffin from Family Guy. There's just something about an evil baby with a British accent! Tweetie Bird is a close second.

That was fun! Thanks again Tara!

WEEKLY DOSE OF ABBIE CUTENESS!

My weekend plans included cleaning out my closet and donating some clothes to the local charity shop. So I leave you with a picture of Abbie 'helping' me.

Have a great week everyone! :)

Mine. All miiiiiine.

Yard Sale

2011-06-19T13:34:00.001-04:00

We're having a yard sale at Casa Catenabi this weekend. Actually, it's my parents' sale but I threw in a few CDs and DVDs.

We've had lovely weather so far but my pale writer's skin isn't used to seeing so much sun. Hello, sunburn! (Even after nearly bathing in sunblock!)

Back to the bargain bin I go. Despite what this sign says, Abbie is not part of the sale!

Hope you all are having a great weekend! :)

A Few Updates

2011-06-12T14:42:00.002-04:00

WAGON UPDATE: I've been back on the wagon for almost two weeks and things are going well. My blood sugar levels are normal most of the time (yay!) and I've lost a bit of weight. But it's a long and bumpy road... so hard to say no to all the foods I love. I had moments where my mood got so dark, I snapped at everyone who tried to talk to me. But it's better now. I blame the lack of chocolate and cupcakes for my temporary insanity.

BOOK #2 UPDATE: *hangs head in shame* I've been so preoccupied with non-writing stuff that I'm stalling a little bit. OK, stalling a lot. But I'm determined to get back on track soon.

ADVENTURES IN QUERYLAND: I've been querying Breaking the Rules for 9 months now. It feels like only yesterday I was sending my first e-query, hand shaking as I pressed the SEND button. I'm not giving up on it, though... In fact, I've decided that I won't even consider giving up on it until I get 100 rejections. I'll keep you posted when I hit that milestone. And then I'll have a blog party to celebrate. Might as well have fun with it, right? :)

WEATHER UPDATE: Rain, rain and more rain! I'm currently watching the Formula One Grand Prix on TV as I write this. I don't usually follow racing but the Canadian Grand Prix is in Montreal and it's an awesome event for my city. But it won't stop raining! Boooo!

Hope everyone has a great week. I will be back with some Abbie Cuteness soon! Here's a sneak peek:

Snoozing in the sun (this picture was DEFINITELY not taken today.)

#1 Sign Summer is Here

2011-05-31T22:42:00.001-04:00

Hope the weather is nice where you are! :)

The Wagon

2011-05-28T23:17:00.000-04:00

I am the World's Worst Diabetic. Seriously. If there was some sort of Medical Olympics, I would win a neckful of gold medals and smile for the cameras. (Or hang my head in shame?) Sigh.

So, as of today, I am getting back on the wagon and working on losing my title and being a healthier, wiser diabetic. One who checks her blood sugar levels often. One who stays away from sugary treats and junk food. One who takes her insulin before meals instead of forgetting and taking it when her blood sugar level is already through the roof. One who puts her health first instead of making it an afterthought. One who gets up from the sofa or the writing nook (gasp!) to gets some fresh air and exercise.

So what prompted this sudden change? I am going for blood tests next September and, for the last few years, I've seen the look of disappointment in my (otherwise awesome) doctor's eyes as he looked over my results. The guy deserves a break. 'You can do so much better,' he's told me many times. But, over the last few years, I haven't gotten better. I've been in a kind of limbo: my results weren't horrible and alarming but they weren't good or promising either. And I'm tired of being tired and not having much energy and feeling out of control.

Over the last few months, I've taken care of my financial health (which was even more screwed up than my physical one.) Now it's time to take care of myself. The words 'long bumpy road' are ringing in my ears right now... but I feel strong enough. I can do this. One day at a time.

I will be back soon with a (hopefully) non-existential-crisis-related post... as soon as Abbie does something cute. Who am I kidding? She does something cute every second. ;)

Take care everyone.

Picture Time!

2011-05-21T11:17:00.000-04:00

Happy Saturday all!

Here are a few pictures I've taken recently:

My parents and I spent a few days in Ottawa earlier this week and we had a great time. I'm not a huge fan of plants and flowers (mainly because I've never been able to keep a plant alive for very long) but the Tulip Festival was absolutely beautiful. Ottawa is a lovely city (I'd never visited before even though it's barely two hours away from Montreal) but I will definitely be back.

Terry Fox Statue in front of the Parliament

And this is my new writing nook! You can't see them in the picture but there are rapids behind the trees in the park and, in the evening when the street is quiet, the sound of rushing water fills the air. Since the weather is nice, I can open my window and have awesome background noise.

Abbie 'helping' me organize my index cards

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend! See you next week! :)

Writing Nook

2011-05-14T12:02:00.001-04:00

Yes, I am still here. I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. I am going to blame the usual suspects: time, energy and inspiration. They have been most unkind to me in the last few weeks. But now that I have some time off from work, I'm looking forward to working on my projects.

#1 on my list is setting up a writing nook in my bedroom. While I have an awesome writing desk, it has been taken over by bills (and other equally un-fun things) and it's becoming hard to concentrate on writing when I'm sitting there.

My dad has built a tiny little desk that I can place right in front of my window. While the view of the parking lot across the street isn't the most awesome thing in the world, I can also see trees and water and hear birds. I love looking out the window early in the morning and seeing the sun rise. I'm looking forward to writing with that beautiful view.

I will take pictures when my writing nook is ready.

Since my bedroom window is her favourite spot in the house, I have a feeling that Abbie will make an appearance.

Have a great weekend!

Z is for Zoey & the Moment of Zen

2011-04-30T06:00:00.006-04:00

Well, it's finally here: the last day of the A-Z Challenge! I have to say it's been quite a month. I struggled on many entries during this blogging marathon but I'm happy that I was able to write something (anything!) for every letter. Since I have a tendancy to give up when things gets tough, just making it to the finish line feels awesome.

And now it's time for Z! I've been thinking about the subject of my Z post since the very beginning of this challenge. In fact, I think about it every day because I've been neglecting it terribly.

Zoey & the Moment of Zen will be my second novel ... once I get around to working on it. The last few months have been hectic with non-writing issues that have taken up a lot of my time and energy. It's funny how that works... I feel too drained to write but when I sit down and write, I feel energized and happy. Fighting through the fog to get to the point where I WANT to write is the hardest part. I haven't been fighting very hard lately.

So a new challenge is beginning. This will be the summer of Zoey and I will attempt the impossible (for me): complete a first draft in four months. I know you can't see it... but there's a totally panicked look on my face right now. I might fail but, then again, I might not. And even if I get to September with *only* a half-completed first draft, I'll be a happy writer.

I have to say a massive THANK YOU to the lovely organizers of the A-Z Challenge. I'm so happy I participated because I got the chance to discover so many awesome blogs and equally-awesome bloggers.

And thank you to all of my followers for making me feel like I have a place at the cool kids' table.

Write on everyone! xo

Y is for Yay!

2011-04-29T07:59:00.001-04:00

Yay! April is almost over. Will be back tomorrow with a proper Z post to end this challenge.

Hope everyone has a great Friday!

X is for XOXO

2011-04-28T06:00:00.004-04:00

xoxo!
Hugs and kisses to all!

And, yes, I am running out of steam now that the challenge is almost over. I came *this close* to writing a post on the dental x-rays which are a daily part of my day job.

But I didn't. You're welcome! ;)

Happy Thursday!

W is for Wedding

2011-04-27T11:05:00.000-04:00

W is for Wedding!

Even though I've adopted a somewhat cynical view of romance in the last few years, I still consider myself a hopeless romantic.

That's why I read and write romantic comedies and why I can watch the same chick flick a million times and cry on cue at the same scene every single time.
It's also why I took the day off work Friday to watch the Royal Wedding on TV with my mother.
(Full disclosure: I could technically watch it at 6 am EST and be at the office later in the morning but I chose to make a day out of it so I can honour the event properly. Or, rather, go back to bed once it's over and lounge around in my PJs for the rest of the day.)

We love the Royals in my family. My mother often tells me about how my grandmother used to cut out newspaper articles about the Royal Family and keep them in a scrapbook. I never got to know my grandmother because she passed away when I was really young. But I'd like to think that her love of the Royal Family lives on through me. When I went to London for the first time, the first attraction I visited was Buckingham Palace. Being there was really emotional for me because I wondered if my grandma, all those years ago in her tiny village a million miles away, had ever dreamed of standing where I now stood.
Yes, I cried. Did I just admit that?

So yay for the Royal Wedding! :) I'll probably cry at some point during the ceremony... because, after all, the wedding of a prince to a commoner in beautiful Westminster Abbey has to be the greatest chick flick of all time!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

V is for Visitor

2011-04-26T06:00:00.009-04:00

This picture was taken from my balcony. Abbie has a not-so-secret admirer! Can you spot him?

He's been visiting almost every day for the last month or so but, sadly, Abbie really isn't into the whole 'feline friends' thing. There's a lot of hissing and kitty tantrums whenever Mr. White Cat drops by.

Isn't he just the cutest thing? (Don't tell Abbie I said that!)

Happy Tuesday!

U is for United Kingdom

2011-04-25T06:00:00.003-04:00

I've been wanting to go back to the UK since about 5 minutes after coming back from my last trip in 2007. But I haven't been back for many different reasons including lack of funds and lack of vacation time.

However, it looks like 2012 will be the year I get to go back! Everything seems to be falling into place. I'll be spending time in London (of course) and then taking the train up to Edinburgh.

I've always wanted to visit Scotland. My mother's ancestors are from there... so that means I'm totally Scottish, right? Wonder if I'm predisposed to liking haggis? I plan to eat as much shortbread as possible (yum!) and go on a Nessie-sighting expedition!

My UK 2012 project means I have to tone down my shopaholicism and save my pennies. (Lots and lots of pennies!) But I can't wait to go back and I'm looking forward to planning every detail of my trip.

Happy Monday!

T is for Tea!

2011-04-23T11:43:00.000-04:00

It's a rainy Saturday here and I've gone down the lazy route and decided to do nothing except catch up on some reading. This brings me to my favourite T which I will be enjoying in a few minutes... tea!

English Breakfast from Twinings is my absolute favourite.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! See you Monday.

S is for Sugar

2011-04-22T10:55:00.000-04:00

Sugar! I love it. But since I'm diabetic, I have to be really careful. Still, I can indulge now and again and this creation by Nigella Lawson is a family favourite.

If you have a sweet tooth like me, you will LOVE this recipe. I will be making it on Monday for my mother's birthday. It's quite simple and you end up with an AWESOME dessert.

I will let the divine Ms Lawson give you all the details.

Happy Friday! :)

R is for Rain

2011-04-21T06:00:00.000-04:00

Today's post is a tribute to the rain we've been having in my neck of the woods recently.

I'll probably regret saying this if the gloomy weather doesn't go away soon... but I like rainy days now and again. There's something soothing about sheets of water crashing to the ground.

And it gives me an excuse to use my super-cute Lulu Guinness umbrella ... and to sing Garbage's 'I'm Only Happy When It Rains.'

Happy Thursday!

Q is for QueryTracker

2011-04-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

I was panicking a bit about Q but, yesterday, it dawned on me.
Q is for QueryTracker! I've been using the site since last September when I started my Adventures in QueryLand. It's an awesome tool to search for literary agents and to keep track of the queries you send. It's a free service but I bought a premium membership because it opens up additional fearures and also because I wanted to support QueryTracker. I definitely recommend it!

And this concludes the Infomercial portion of the challenge.

Happy Wednesday all! :)

P is for Poutine

2011-04-19T06:00:00.002-04:00

It's time to talk about my ultimate comfort food: poutine! Yum!
If you ever visit Quebec, you MUST try one. It's one of our best inventions and totally makes up for Celine Dion. (I kid. I kid.)

Delicious Math:
Fries + gravy + fresh cheese curds = AWESOMENESS!! (+ a few extra pounds if you eat too much... but it's sooo worth it!)

And now I'm totally craving one.

Happy Tuesday All!

O is for Oscar x 3

2011-04-18T06:00:00.003-04:00

Happy Monday!

Another A to Z Week begins and for a second I considered choosing "OMG-I-can't-believe-Q-is-coming-up-in-a-few-days" as my O entry. Instead, I've chosen three of my favourite Oscars. Behold!

Oscar the Award:

I used to recite my Oscar speech into a hairbrush while standing in front of the mirror when I was a kid. It usually lasted around 10 minutes.

Oscar the Grouch:

Who doesn't love Oscar? Oscar and Cookie Monster were my Sesame Street faves.

Oscar Wilde:

This is one of my all-time favourite quotes:

See you tomorrow!

P.S. I have reached 100 followers! All I can say is: thank you, thank you, thank you... HUGS FOR EVERYONE!!! :)

N is for Ni!

2011-04-16T10:25:00.000-04:00

From Monty Python and The Holy Grail: The Knights Who Say Ni!

Classic.

Have a great weekend! :)

M is for BFF...

2011-04-15T09:56:00.002-04:00

Happy Friday!

Today I am sharing a picture of my BFF, Maryknoll! It was taken a few years ago while watching a Habs game. How very appropriate since our beloved team kicked some major Bostonian behind yesterday to win Game 1! wooo!

I'm very lucky to have such an awesome BFF. She's the ultimate cheerleader and I'm pretty sure I would have never finished my book without her constant encouragement.

I declare today: Hug Your BFF Day!!

See you tomorrow!

L is for London Scrapbook

2011-04-14T10:08:00.001-04:00

It's the 12th day of the A-Z!

From the very beginning of the Challenge, I knew that my favourite thing starting with L would be London. But instead of going on and on and on about how much I love London (which I've probably already done on this blog) I decided to share a few pictures of the scrapbook I created after my first trip in September of 2004.

Going on this trip was a dream come true. I was 25 years old and I'd never been on a plane before. I booked a flight and a tiny hotel room, studied London travel guides for a few months and made a (long) list of all the things I wanted to do. And for an entire week, it was just me and a map, discovering the City of my Dreams. It was awesome. And it went by way too fast.

Here are a few pages from my scrapbook:

Since I was alone (and I hate having my picture taken) I didn't expect to see myself in any of the pictures I took. But I got a nice surprise when I had my photos developed... Can you spot me in this picture?

Happy Thursday! :)

K is for Kate

2011-04-13T06:23:00.001-04:00

Back in my high school days, I wanted everyone to call me Kate. I just thought it sounded cooler than Catherine. But my attempts to get my new nickname to catch on failed (miserably) and, to this day, I am either Catherine or just Cat.

As the Royal Wedding approaches, I find it funny that Kate Middleton, who was born Catherine, wants everyone to call her by her birth name. I have a feeling she'll be more successful at the name game than I was! ;)

Have you ever wanted to be called something other than your birth name?

Happy Wednesday!

J is for Jason!

2011-04-12T09:11:00.000-04:00

It's J time!
I apologize for the short posts and sparse commenting recently. I'm currently dealing with totally boring bank-related issues and it's taking up a lot of my time and energy (and also driving me a little crazy.) I've spent the last few days 'holding the line for the next available agent' and going over paperwork. *zzzzz*

So, in order to remember happier times: J is for Jason Mraz! I love Jason's music and, back in 2009, I was a teeny bit obsessed with him and bid on an eBay charity auction to win a 'Meet and Greet' before his Montreal show. I lost the auction...but not before bidding WAY more than I could afford. Waiting in line outside the venue, I met the girl who had outbid me. We got to talking and she let me go in with her so I could meet Jason too! Yay for lovely Tiffany from Newfoundland! She rocks! :)

So this is me and Jason. Yeah, I know.... it's hard to tell. But I swear that's me!
Happy Tuesday!

I is for Ireland

2011-04-11T06:30:00.001-04:00

Happy Monday everyone!

Today's A-Z entry is one of the many places I'd like to visit someday.

I is for Ireland!

H is for Hypnotize

2011-04-09T16:01:00.000-04:00

For some reason, Abbie loves to climb on my back. If I bend down to tie my shoelace, she'll climb on the table and jump aboard. It all happens so fast... And then I'm stuck walking around the house with a 12-pound cat on my back ... whose claws are deeply embedded in my shoulder. If no one is around to save me, I usually walk (like a hunchback) to the bedroom and, after a bit of coaxing and further digging of claws in shoulder, she'll jump off.

I was able to take a picture the other day. Doesn't it look like she's trying to hypnotize everyone?

You're getting sleepy... Give me more food...

G is For Go! Habs Go!

2011-04-08T06:26:00.000-04:00

G is for ... Go! Habs Go!

It's that time of year again! The NHL playoffs are only a few days away and hockey fever in my city is at an all-time high. Of course, I will be cheering for my beloved Montreal Canadiens (nicknamed the Habs.)

This last season had a lot of ups-and-down but we managed to secure a place in the playoffs earlier this week.

I'm going to be spending lots of time glued to TV screens, cheering, screaming at the refs and hoping that this is The Year. Obviously, playoff season is a huge D for Distraction. But I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Go! Habs Go!

Bonus G: Montreal Canadiens Captain: Brian Gionta.

Happy Friday!

P.S. This is my 100th blog post! Hugs to all my followers! You guys are awesome and I am G for Grateful for all your comments and kind words.

F is for Food Network!

2011-04-07T06:00:00.002-04:00

It's the sixth day of the A-Z Challenge! Only 20 letters to go!

It's finally time to find out about my favourite F!

It is: THE FOOD NETWORK!!! (Or Food Network Canada in my neck of the woods.)

I can't write and listen to music at the same time (I'm too easily distracted) but I need some kind of background noise. So, most days, my TV is tuned to the Food Network while I write. It's the perfect channel: there's always something interesting going on, it's on 24/7 and I get to drool over tasty creations and maybe get inspired for non-literary kitchen creations.

I also have the HUGEST CRUSH (no, I am not 15 years old, why do you ask?) on one of the Food Network chefs. Apart from being super talented and super cool, he's from Montreal!

It's Chuck Hughes!

Hello? Is this Catherine? I must cook for you!

Chuck recently beat Food Network superstar Bobby Flay on an episode of Iron Chef America! He is only the second Canadian chef (and the youngest) to win Iron Chef. He is also the first Quebec chef to compete on the show. He has made his hometown very, very proud. One of his dshes was a lobster poutine, a variation on a local favourite. (I have a feeling we might be hearing more about poutine later on in the challenge.) Go Chuck!

And thank you Food Network for airing vintage Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver at all hours of the night.

See you tomorrow!

E is for Emily Dickinson

2011-04-06T06:00:00.014-04:00

I have to admit that, back when I was studying English Literature, I didn't particularly enjoy Emily Dickinson. In fact, I remember being quite happy when we moved on to another writer. (Sorry Emily fans!)

And even today, I can't say that I'm her biggest fan but I rediscovered one of her poems recently and it spoke to me. I'm starting to think I've been too harsh with Miss Dickinson. Maybe (back in my youthful Uni days) I was too young to understand and appreciate these lines. The first stanza (in the form of this cute picture) hangs on my wall at the office and at home:

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

The rest goes:

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

And this concludes the poetry part of this challenge. Happy Wednesday! :)

D is for Dolphins!

2011-04-05T06:46:00.000-04:00

The year is 2007. I've just been through a painful breakup.
(You know the kind: heart ripped out of chest and trampled on while the sound of maniacal laughter fills the air.)

My parents were headed out to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to spend the winter months away from the snow and the sleet and probably away from all my whining and crying. Before they left, they convinced me to book a flight so I could spend my birthday week in the sun.

I'm glad I did because, during my trip, THIS happened:

*smooch*

Which one of you will fit inside my suitcase?

Swimming with dolphins was awesome and not something I will likely forget. They are amazing creatures, so calm and gentle and smart.
In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that, a day after this picture was taken, I drank some UN-bottled water (which you should never do) and spent a day in the hospital and the rest of my vacation in bed. STILL. I had a great time and I cherish my dolphin pictures because I know that, if only for a moment, these amazing creatures healed my heart.

Have a great Tuesday everyone! :)

C is for Confessions of a Shopaholic!

2011-04-04T07:30:00.001-04:00

Happy Monday everyone! :)

A new A-Z week begins. I had an awesome time discovering new blogs this weekend and I'm looking forward to discovering more! (Hopefully, I can make my way through the entire list by the end of April.) Thank you to everyone who has commented/followed so far. You guys rock! :)

On to my favourite thing that starts with C! Is it cats? (Yes, but no.) I've chosen:

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella!

I always get a bit mushy and cheesy whenever I talk about this book. Yes, I read it and I loved it (and all the other Shopaholic books that followed.) But it's more than that... Confessions of a Shopaholic was a revelation and it helped me find my voice as a writer. I was studying English Literature when I read it and, at that time, I was feeling lost with my own writing. I didn't know where (or even if) it belonged. And then I discovered chick lit. And it became OK to write stories about women who, like me, were struggling with careers and dating and body issues and, yes, piles and piles of debt. Stories that were a mix of serious issues and light-hearted fun. Stories that made you want to be BFFs with the main character. I found my voice when I discovered chick lit and I owe it all to Confessions of a Shopaholic and Sophie Kinsella. (That was the mushy and cheesy part!)

And while Abbie appreciates my enthusiasm for the above-mentioned book, she still thinks that C should have been for Cats. So, as a compromise, I let her be in the picture.

I refuse to look into the camera in protest.

See you tomorrow!

B is for Breaking the Rules

2011-04-02T07:11:00.000-04:00

It's Day 2 of the A-Z Challenge! Thanks to everyone who dropped by and commented yesterday. It was awesome to see so many new faces and to connect with new followers. Quick note: if you're following me and I'm not following back, please let me know. I try to keep up with Google Friend Connect but it can get a bit wonky sometimes.

It's time for my favourite thing that starts with B! It could have easily been books but ... B is for Breaking the Rules, the title of my first novel. I've never really discussed the book on this blog except to say that I've been riding rollercoasters with it on my Adventures in QueryLand.

But today I drew a picture. An AWFUL, AWFUL, TRULY HORRID picture to represent the book. In my defense, I drew it at work using the default Paint program and my mouse is super unresponsive (probably because I've dropped it on the floor a million times.) I've been trying to get the IT guys to give me a cool new wireless one but I've been unsuccessful so far.

Also...I can't draw to save my life so I can't believe I'm actually posting this. But here it is.

Breaking the Rules: The Drawing.

*hangs head in shame*

Dreadful, huh? I'm pretty sure a 5-year-old with a few Crayolas would have done a better job!
What's up with Izzie and her perma-frown, 80s hair and oversized pants? And Roxy's skirt? I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be caught dead wearing that shade of pink.

Still, my childlike etchings have (hopefully) revealed a little bit about the book: a friendship at the breaking point, an unexpected pregnancy and a disapproving older sister... with questionable taste in pants.

I will go hide now.

"C" you on Monday!

A is for Abbie

2011-04-01T08:00:00.003-04:00

The A-Z Challenge is here! For the rest of April, I'll be blogging about My Favourite Things.

It should come as no surprise that A is for Abbie, my evil-yet-adorable feline friend. She drives me crazy, breaks things and thinks that 4 AM is an appropriate time to wake me up even (no, especially) on Saturday mornings. But she is my ray of sunshine and, when she snuggles up next to me and purrs so loudly it almost sounds like happy growling, I forget about all the bad stuff.

ABBIE FACTS:

- Adopted from the SPCA shelter in Montreal on July 2, 2002.
- Was found wandering in an alley a few days before I adopted her.
- I chose her because she was the only cat NOT trying to get my attention. She just sat at the back of the cage, too cool to act interested. I wanted to adopt ALL of the cats but, in the end, I chose the cat with the non-conformist attitude.
- Loves: sitting on laps, drinking the last bit of milk after I eat a bowl of cereal, sleeping on my bed, eating her food and then going downstairs to my parents’ house and eating again, watching birds and squirrels, climbing up on top of dressers and tables and knocking stuff to the ground, cuddles.
Hates: Me sleeping in, other cats.

See you tomorrow!

Life .. and a Challenge!

2011-03-26T13:15:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of blog posts/commenting recently. (Seriously, how have you been getting by without your Weekly Dose of Abbie Cuteness? I kid. I kid!)

Let's just say that while I was busy making other plans, Life sorta punched me in the stomach and reminded me that, even if you try really hard, problems won't go away if you ignore them.

But I'm happy to say that my issues aren't health-related or life-threatening or anything like that. I'm going to be fine. In fact, once the dust settles, I'll have a lot less stress in my life and I'll be able to focus more energy on writing. Yay for that!

Ummm.. where was I? Yes. BLOGS! I shall return to mine in April for the A-Z Blogging Challenge! My entries will be pretty short but with so many blogs to visit, I think that's a good thing. I'm looking forward to blog-hopping and enjoying all the alphabetty (probably not a word) goodness. Have fun everyone! :)

(Belated) Random Friday: Awards!

2011-03-19T00:08:00.003-04:00

This week's Random Friday post comes to you early Saturday morning.

AWARDS!!!

I've recently been given some lovely awards by equally-lovely bloggers and I am ever-so-grateful.

Heather from Pen, Paper, Lots of Coffee gave me:

Thanks so much Heather!! :) Definitely check out Heather's lovely blog as well as the blogs of my fellow award winners!

From Maria at Reading, Writing, Romance I have received the:

Thanks Maria! :) Once again, definitely check out Maria's blog as well as the blogs of all the other award winners. Stylishness guaranteed!

As part of the award, I have to list 7 items about me. I've already revealed 7 random facts in a recent post but here are 7 more. Behold! More randomness:

1) I have an older brother.

2) I've always wanted a sister so I gave my main character in Breaking the Rules two sisters.

3) My parents almost named me Isabelle.

4) Catenabi is a play on Cat-and-Abbie. I've been told it sounds like Japanese anime.

5) I could watch The Food Network and HGTV all day if I didn't stop myself. I don't know why but I love to watch people cook and buy/sell/renovate/decorate homes.

6) I'm allergic to horses and I found out when I broke out in hives during a high school field trip. Neither lovely nor stylish. (Maybe I should give the awards back?)

7) I keep buying headphones for my iPod because I can't seem to find the perfect pair. Just ordered another pair tonight in my quest to find buds that don't fall out of my ears with every step. They're pink... but that probably won't help them stay in my ears.

There it is! I'm supposed to pass on these awards to a few people but, as always, I'm so indecisive (random fact # 8) and I absolutely can't choose between my awesome bunch of followers. So both awards go out to everybody!

Cheers!

WIP Wednesday: Location, Location, Location!

2011-03-16T07:45:00.002-04:00

This is where I do some of my best work:

I went with a 'Comfortably Cluttered' theme for this room...

Yes, this is my actual work cubicle. (I hope I'm not breaking any kind of corporate law or something by posting this!)

I don't know why I do my best work here but I'm able to write entire scenes and I come up with great new ideas while sitting in that chair.

I have some theories:

1) Fear of getting caught doing non-work related stuff makes me write faster and silences my inner-critic.

2) I can't get up and see what's on TV or pop over to TMZ.com and catch up on some Hollywood gossip or watch a movie on my iPad.

3) No Abbie meowing for food or attention. (See Abbie, my lack of productivity is all your fault!)

4) The day isn't over so I still have energy. (Whatever energy I have left at the end of the day usually gets drained by my bus-and-subway commute back home.)

Basically, when I sneak in a little bit of my Dream Job into my Day Job, I just WRITE. I don't worry about anything else except getting the words down on paper. (Or, rather, in a very important, totally work-related email to myself.) I don't even worry about which chapter I'm working on. Yesterday, I wrote a scene that takes place in the middle of the book. My usual writerly-OCD wouldn't allow skipping over chapters. But there are no rules during Illegal Office Writing Time.

So, I think I need to work at bringing my office-writing attitude into my home-writing life.

Or I could just build a cubicle in my living room and hire someone to sneak up on me and say: get back to work!

Where do you do your best work?

Weekly Dose of Abbie Cuteness

2011-03-13T14:17:00.000-04:00

I think that, like me, Abbie can't wait for winter to go away. In the summer, she stays outside in our garden for most of the day, sleeping in the grass and watching (but never harming) the birds and the squirrels. A few summers ago, she found a hole in the fence barely big enough to fit through and escaped... but apart from those fifteen minutes of freedom, she's always been content to roam around our small yard.

Something tells me that she knows spring is just around the corner. And soon I'll open the patio door and there won't be any wet snow sticking to her paws! I can't wait for that day too! ;)

Winter, winter...go away!

WIP Wednesday: March Madness

2011-03-09T07:45:00.002-05:00

Since I'm feeling a bit under the weather these days, today's WIP Wednesday will be short and sweet (and quite possibly drowsy.)

I'm almost done with the first draft of Chapter One. While I'm happy that I've written a first chapter that I like, I wish I could write faster. I seem to have two speeds in writing (and, if I'm being honest here, in life in general): slow and slower. I wish I could be one of those writers who can get a ton of words out in a single sitting. But in addition to the aforementioned slowness, there's also the fact that I can't write it down if I don't like it. My inner editor/critic can't seem to let me write in peace.

(Note to self: Inner Editor is also to blame for last year's NaNoWriMo fiasco.)

I've set up a little goal for myself: get to 10K words by the end of March. It's my version of March Madness. (Fun fact: I always participate in March Madness contests even though I know NOTHING about college basketball. I just pick the teams with the prettiest uniforms. So, no, I've never won anything.)

Cheers everyone! :)

Weekly Dose of Abbie Cuteness

2011-03-06T10:33:00.003-05:00

I don't have many old pictures of Abbie. I've moved four times since I adopted her from the SPCA in the summer of 2002 (she was already 5 years old when I got her) and a few of my digital camera picture cards have gone missing. I found this picture in an old email this morning... from 2006!

VINTAGE ABBIE!

She definitely looks a bit younger and skinnier in this picture. And she seems totally intrigued by my new (in 2006) state-of-the-art camera-phone!

Have a great week! Cheers! :)

Random Friday: 7 Facts Award

2011-03-04T07:30:00.003-05:00

Beth @ Beth's Blog gave me the 7 Facts Award! Thanks Beth! :)

So here are 7 random facts about me. (How appropriate for the first edition of Random Friday!)

1) I am addicted to texting. I'd much rather have an entire conversation through text than pick up the phone. (I think it's because I've worked in too many call centres over the years!)

2) I was born into a French-speaking family in a small French-speaking town but I went to an English school. I learned to read and write in English and had no idea how to write in French until my first year of high school.

3) I was named after St. Catherine of Alexandria who happens to be the Patron Saint of Spinsters. (Thanks Mom & Dad! lol)

4) My childhood dog's name was Billy and I still miss him. He was a Black Lab and the coolest dog ever!

5) I'm afraid of driving (way too distracted and clumsy) and never bothered to get my license. But if I can ever afford to buy a Mini Cooper, I will take a class and learn to drive. (So probably never.)

6) London has been the setting for some of the most intense moments of my life: I fell in love. I got my heart broken. I drank my first Red Bull and almost had a heart attack.

7) I'm a bit of a drama queen! ;)

Now... I'm supposed to pass this award on to 7 people but, since I'm a bit of a rule-breaker (and I'm writing this post literally seconds before I have to head out to work) I'm giving this award out to all my awesome followers.

Have a nice weekend! Cheers! :)

WIP Wednesday: Outlines

2011-03-02T14:07:00.000-05:00

OK, so this is my first WIP Wednesday post and I am totally unprepared. You'd think I would have planned this a bit better... But I guess this lack of preparation is a good way to start talking about outlines. Do you love them or do you hate them? Do you plan and plan or do you just get in there and figure things out as you go along?

When I wrote Breaking the Rules, I outlined so much that it feels as though I wrote the book twice. I outlined every single scene with dialogue. When I finished the outline, it was something like 50 pages. It took me months to write and I didn't even have a first draft yet. That's when I lost A LOT of enthusiasm for my project and the actual writing of the first draft dragged on and on. Even though I still liked my story idea and my characters, I wasn't in love with the book anymore and it took me a long time to fall back in love with it. So I definitely don't want to repeat the same mistakes with Book #2 ... but writing without a detailed plan feels a bit strange to me.

Tell me... am I the only Outline Addict out there?

Weekly Dose of Abbie Cuteness

2011-02-27T08:53:00.000-05:00

Ever since I decided to make Abbie a weekly blog feature, she's been a little camera-shy.

Behold! Abbie: The Reluctant Star:

Have a great week everyone! :) Cheers!

Blog Makeover

2011-02-22T22:55:00.001-05:00

Catenabi Chronicles is getting a makeover! In my efforts to become a more disciplined writer (*double sigh*) I've established a blogging schedule! Hopefully, I'll be able to keep it up and it'll motivate me to stick to a novel-writing schedule. (Which I've never been able to do, thus explaining the fact that my first novel took forever to write.)

So! I've decided to blog three times a week. The new features will be:

WEEKLY DOSE OF ABBIE CUTENESS (on Sunday): Because Abbie knows that she's the star of the show! I'll be posting a new (obviously, cute) picture of my evil-yet-adorable cat. I swear, this cat does a million cute things each and every day. But she also has an evil side... which usually comes alive at 3 in the morning when she decides to jump on my bedroom dresser (or kitchen counter or living room coffee table or bathroom sink) and knock everything to the ground. So if I catch her in the throes of evilness, I will take a picture and shame her publicly. I also want to try posting Abbie videos on the blog at one point. Do I need to remind anyone that I'm a crazy cat lady?

WIP WEDNESDAYs will be all about (you guessed it!) writing and my work-in-progress. Oh, and more Adventures in QueryLand!

... and finally:

RANDOM FRIDAY will be about... ummm... anything and everything else! Cooking, TV, movies, rants & raves... Just a bunch of (hopefully fun) randomness!

There you go! I hope you enjoy the new features. :)

The fun begins on Sunday!

P.S. Thank you to all my followers, old and new! Your awesome blogs inspire me each and every day. Cheers!

Birthday Week

2011-02-20T07:48:00.010-05:00

I don't know why I can't shut up about my birthday this year. I'm not particularly happy about turning 32 but, then again, I'm not in 'full panic attack mode' like I was when I turned 30.

I'm having not one, not three, but five (yes, five!) celebrations this week. On Wednesday (my actual birthday) I'm having an office party during the day (where you get to waste an hour of company time) and then dinner with friends at one of my favourite places, the Mongolian Hot Pot. I've been promised cupcakes with pink sparkles (made by my BFF) so I am beyond excited for that. On Thursday, my parents are taking me for a Costco shopping spree because nothing makes this shopaholic happier than having access to a car to go buy stuff in bulk. And on Friday, the BFF and I are going to see the movie Hall Pass because my celebrity crush (Stephen Merchant) is in it and I go see every movie he's in. (I paid good money to see Tooth Fairy, people! That's devotion.)

On Saturday, it's another family birthday dinner with my adorable nephews!

Wow... I'm exhausted just writing about this stuff. (And I should be writing other stuff, like my synopsis or my novel!)

As always, Abbie is quite unimpressed by it all:

Have a great week everyone! Cheers! :)

Back to School

2011-02-13T10:34:00.000-05:00

I'm getting my pencils ready...

Tomorrow I'll be starting an online workshop over at Savvy Authors to whip my synopsis into shape! The one I have right now... how can I put this? I want to take it to the office so I can watch it go through the industrial paper shredder... whilst laughing manically at the tiny white confetti.

OK. It isn't that bad. But I have not been sending queries to agents who request a synopsis with the query letter because I don't feel confident about it. And in one particular situation, I HAD to send out my current (shredder-worthy) synopsis... and I'm pretty sure that's the reason I never heard from that person again.

So! I'm hoping that this workshop will help me create something that I'll be happy to send out.

In 'What-Was-I-Thinking?' news, tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I promised the entire office Almond Butter Cups (like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups but allergy-friendly.)

In my head, the whole process was going to take a few hours. Tops. In reality, it took me most of yesterday... And I ate WAY too many handfuls of milk chocolate chips in the process!

Here's what I'm bringing to work tomorrow:

I really hope that:

a) they're a hit.

b) they don't melt on the way to work.

c) I don't end up eating half the box!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! Enjoy a chocolate. Or two! ;)

Have a great week!

Sunday Treats

2011-02-06T15:57:00.000-05:00

During the Christmas break, I bought a Wolfgang Puck Convection Oven because... well, because I'm a shopaholic and it looked really cute and it has a pizza drawer and how cool is that?

I knew there was a big chance that it would end up being just another kitchen gadget that slowly makes its way to a cupboard under the sink.... never to be seen again. But, surprisingly, it's been quite the opposite. Ever since I got the oven, I've been making tons of yummy stuff like: roasted potatoes, pizzas, cupcakes... Granted, I could make all those things in a regular oven but there's just something about this thing that makes me want to cook. It has already saved me tons of money in take-out but, more than that, I've rediscovered my passion for cooking.

This morning, I woke up and decided to make apple turnovers. I've never made apple turnovers before... and I wasn't sure if my sudden enthusiasm for turnovers would translate into something good enough to eat.

Here is what I ended up with:

Not bad, huh? A few sheets of puff pastry, apples, butter and brown sugar... a dash of cinnmaon and 20 minutes in the oven. I'm feeling a little bit smug right now. I didn't burn anything and I didn't give up halfway through... not even when the dough got a bit too warm and I couldn't find the pastry brush. (Still have no clue where it is!) And they are delicious! Yay for success!

I'm sending you all a piece of yummy apple turnover! Enjoy! :)

Have a great week everyone! Cheers!

Blogger's Block

2011-01-30T14:56:00.000-05:00

I'm no stranger to Writer's Block but, for the last few weeks, I've been suffering from Blogger's Block. Whenever I sat down to write something, my mind went blank. I had nothing amusing to talk about, no existential crisis to discuss, no childhood memories to ponder, no exciting news to share. Nothing.

I still don't ... but, like Writer's Block, sometimes you just have to sit there and write about something (ANYTHING) to get over the hump. So here it is:

I've been watching a lot of Jersey Shore lately. Yes, I know. I could be doing something much more productive with my time... but I got hooked and now I have to watch or else I get all twitchy and nervous and I have to beg my friends for Snooki and Pauly D stories to get me through the day. (I kid. But I even downloaded the first two seasons on my iPad so I can catch up during my lunch hour. I know. It's gotten THAT BAD!)

I haven't been ignoring my WIP completely... but I know I haven't been giving it the attention it deserves and I feel a little guilty about that. So in order to give myself a boost (and hopefully motivate myself to work more) I've included a new countdown on the blog. It's New Countdown Time!! Yes, it's the official debut of the Zoey & the Moment of Zen (ZATMOZ, for short) countdown to approximatelty 90K words. Wouldn't it be awesome if I had a first draft ready by the summer? *dreamy sigh* If I can peel my eyes away from the hilariously trashy Jersey Kids and all the other distractions I give in to on a daily basis, I might just make it.

And I'm sure my January funk will come to an end once Feburary rolls around. Yes, it's a harsh month: cold and dark and seems very long in spite of its shortness. But I'm a big fan of February because it's my birthday month and in recent years (if you had any doubt that I'm still a 4-year-old at heart) I like to do a little something every day of the month to celebrate. It's terribly self-centered and silly but it makes the month go by faster and once February is over, Spring is just around the corner and that's just pure awesome!

So here's to new projects and new countdowns! Cheers everyone. Have a great week!

P.S. FIST PUMP!!

Musical Interlude - Adele

2011-01-09T12:28:00.000-05:00

I've been working on the outline for Book #2 over the last few days and I'm also getting to know my main character Zoey. Since the story revolves around Zoey's obsession with a failed relationship, I have a feeling she would love this gorgeous song by Adele. In fact, I'm pretty sure that it's the most-played song on her iPod right now... like it is on mine.

This song makes me speechless (and that's a very hard thing to do.)

Enjoy!

So what are you (or your characters!) listening to these days?

Have a great week everyone!

Goodbye 2010...

2010-12-30T18:11:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the last day of 2010! Whaaaa!?
This past year has definitely been a flash... Seems like just yesterday I was staring at the first draft of Breaking the Rules with my head in my hands wondering how I'd ever whip it into shape. And now I'm riding the QueryLand rollercoaster. Crazy. But exciting! I can't wait for 2011. Bring it on!

So... Happy New Year to all!! I hope 2011 brings you all the good stuff: health, happiness, love, peace and exciting new projects.

Hugs and cheers! :)

Happy (Healthy) Christmas

2010-12-23T08:56:00.001-05:00

I just got hit by karma. After (quite smugly) declaring that I was immune to the cold that currently has its claws in my loved ones... You guessed it. Stuffy nose, sore throat, headache and something really strange: two massive eye infections! Whaaaa? No fair. What's the use of having a sick day when it hurts to read or watch TV? Oh well. I'm feeling better than yesterday so, hopefully, I will be OK for Christmas.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy Christmas! Take care of yourselves and have fun!

Stay warm! :)

Cheers!

When I Grow Up...

2010-12-19T11:27:00.001-05:00

It's a snowy morning here and I'm taking a stroll down Memory Lane.

Like most kids, I wanted to be a million things when I grew up. Here is a sample:

- Lawyer / Judge: I loved the People's Court. (Yes, like Rain Man.) And I used to watch this show about lawyers when I was a kid but I don't remember the name. It wasn't LA Law... I just Googled 'Lawyer shows from the early 90s' but nothing rings a bell. Speaking of... does anyone remember a show called Rescue 911 hosted by William Shatner? They would recreate actual 911 calls and almost every segment would start with Shatner saying: "We begin in a small town..." Whenever I mention this show to anyone, they look at me with a blank stare. (Am I making it up?) So, yeah, lawyers. I totally wanted to be one.

- Choreagrapher: One simple reason: Paula Abdul's Cold-Hearted Snake video. "He's been telling liiiiiiesss..."

- Pediatrian: Yes, another television reference. I mostly wanted to be a pediatrician because of the show Empty Nest with Richard Mulligan and that hilarious actress who played LaVerne.

- Soap Opera Actress: Another fond childhood memory. I was at a friend's house after school (must have been 9 or 10) and I asked if we could watch All My Children because they would rerun that afternoon's episode at 4 pm. My friend's mother called my Mom to make sure it was OK for me to watch it and (get this!) to ask her WHY she let me watch it. 'Because she likes it.' And indeed I did. I haven't watched All My Children in years and years but I was fascinated with it back then. The endless drama, the back-stabbing, the complicated love triangles, the waking up in the morning with perfect makeup and immaculate hair, the glamorous jobs that don't require you to do any actual work. It's the standard formula for most soap operas and I now understand my friend's mom's concern but I like to think that it encouraged and nurtured my flair for the dramatic. And, hello? Tad and Dixie?? I learned that true love never dies because of them. (Literally, Tad jumped off a bridge and was presumed dead for a long time but he didn't die. Just a bit of amnesia. But you know what he never forgot? His love of Dixie.) Awwwww....

- Postal Worker: I've always loved receiving mail... but my passion for letters has sort of faded because, as a kid, getting a letter is exciting and doesn't happen often. But as an adult, I don't get as much fun mail anymore. (It's mostly bills.)

- Debbie Gibson Concert Reviewer: To be fair, that was only one day. And I never went to a Debbie Gibson concert. I just imagined what it would be like to see one and wrote about it. (Weird kid, I know. My parents were worried.)

- Teacher: We all had that one teacher who was awesome and inspiring right? Mine was Mrs Cleary from St-Patrick Elementary school. (Grade 4 & 5.) I still remember how she ran her bright-red fake nails on the board to get our attention and how she'd nag me about my math homework. Tough as nails, she was. (Pun intended.) But she also had a heart of gold and she taught me way more than fractions. Winning one of her famous Spelling Bees is still one of my fondest childhood memories. If I had become a teacher (soooo not patient enough!) I would have wanted to be just like her.

- Chef: I don't remember how old I was (11, 12?) but I once wrote a letter to the Stratford Chefs School in Stratford, Ontario (hours and hours away from where I grew up... in another province, actually) and asked them for brochures because I was going to go there. I signed the letter: Catherine Lavoie, Future Chef. Now... they were kind enough to send over some brochures and a letter reminding me that I had to move to Ontario in order to go to their school and that there was a lot of competition to get in but that I should definitely give it a try when I was old enough. Isn't that the cutest thing? Thank you Stratford Chefs School for writing back and encouraging my dream (which probably lasted a month.) I am obviously still fond of food and love watching Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson and I buy their cookbooks and drool over the pictures... but I don't think I would have made it as a chef. (Anyway. Gordon Ramsay defiinitely ruined it for me when he started calling people Fat Donkeys on Hell's Kitchen.)

And last but not least:

Writer: I don't remember a time when I didn't want to be a writer. It was always at the back of my mind. Lurking. And even though I could have ended up being something pretty cool (see above) I'm glad that writing is the one thing that stuck.

Although I'm still holding out hope for the Debbie Gibson Concert Reviewer gig.

Have a great week everyone!

Cheers!

Winter Wonderland and One-Hit Wonders

2010-12-10T23:03:00.000-05:00

Wow. I think this blog post title might be a tongue-twister! Say it three times fast...

I am going to use lots of exclamation marks now so you know I mean business. SNOW!!!! OMG, friends... there was so much snow this week in Montreal. And just when we started thinking it was all over and the city's plows had cleared most of the streets and sidewalks... MORE SNOW!!!!! I'm already dreading Monday morning. (Though, to be honest, I almost always dread Monday mornings.)

Here's a picture I took from my office window. I'm a bit disappointed that it doesn't look that bad and exclamation-mark-worthy from the 11th floor. But, trust me, on the ground it was windy and cold and awful.

Brrrrr....

Something awesome happened this week: my last dentist appointment! I am now officially done with my Invisilign orthodontic treatment and I'm totally ready to star in the infomercial. (Call me!) During my last visit, they were playing a kids' movie in the waiting room and I recognized the song that played during the credits. I know this song, I told myself. I like this song. WHAT IS THIS SONG? A few Google clicks later and I was brought back to 1999 and a band called the New Radicals. Here's the song. Do you remember it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0QBxwRhAmA&feature=fvw

The song has been stuck on repeat in my iPod for the last few days. I find it has a very positive message
(despite the whole beating up Courtney Love thing... there's no way I could take her OR Marilyn Manson. Maybe Hanson circa Mmmmbop but there's three of them so I don't know.)

SAMPLE LYRICS:
"But when the night is falling
And you cannot find the light
If you feel your dream is dying
Hold tight
You've got the music in you
Don't let go
You've got the music in you."

Is there anything better than 90s One-Hit-Wonders?

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Cheers!

A Cat in QueryLand - Lessons I've Learned (So Far)

2010-12-05T19:07:00.000-05:00

I'd like to start off by saying 'hello' to my new followers! (And 'hey, how are you doing?' to those of you who have been here longer.) Wow. If you'd told me a year ago that this blog would be read by anyone other than my friends, I would have likely rolled my eyes and called you a nutter. Not that I'm the kind of person who goes around calling people nutters... But thank you for being a great audience and for creating blogs that are a joy to read. I've said this before but I'll say it again: writers rule!

So, as most of you know, I've been sending out queries to agents for the last two months. Here are a few lessons I've learned so far:

1) Roller coasters are a good metaphor for a lot of things: life, love and, yes, querying. Roller coasters are thrilling and exciting and when the ride comes to an end and you don't think you can stomach another go, it starts up again and you forget all about the queaziness (is that even a word?) of the first ride. Yeah, querying has been like that for me. I've had a few exciting moments (nothing major yet) but they didn't pan out... and I questioned whether I should keep going or just quit and take up knitting...but then I get restless and I go back to the QueryTracker website (my second online home) and take a look at all the other agents I haven't queried yet. And I think: here we go again...

(P.S. The roller coaster in the picture is called Le Monstre and it currently resides at La Ronde, an amusement park in Montreal.)

2) Pity-Parties Get Boring Fast: I am a loud person. When I'm happy, you can read it all over my face and hear it in my voice. So it's really easy to see when I'm in sulking mode: I don't crack jokes, I don't talk a-mile-a-minute and my iPod is usually tuned to the playlist that has all the songs that make me cry and/or remind me of all the mistakes I've made in my life. Why didn't I ask Clumsy Danny out in the sixth grade? We could be happily married by now. Sure, he would have probably tripped down the aisle but I'll never know, will I? Woe is me. Cue REM's Everybody Hurts. But pity-parties get boring fast because that's not ME. I'm the girl who loves to laugh and make fun of herself and goof off. I'm not saying my party days are over (I'm still a moody, tempermental artist after all! lol) However, I've realized that a healthy dose of sulking is OK... but that when you start pushing people away or you're using a rejection as an excuse to cry over every little thing that's ever gone wrong in your life, you need to slap yourself (or get someone else to do it for you) and get back on track.

3) Be Patient (or: Obsessively Checking Your Email Will NOT Make Agents Answer Faster.) That's the bad thing about my lovely iPhone. I can literally check my email every 2.5 seconds. And you know what I usually end up reading? This:

- E-bills. (Why did I spend $60 on a USB flash drive shaped like a Mini Cooper? Oh yeah, because it's the coolest thing EVER! Sorry. The geeky shopaholic in me took over just now.)

- SPAM (Mostly about various body parts that might need enlarging or long-lost uncles from Nigeria who need my help releasing millions of dollars. Dude, I am the LAST person to turn to when you have money troubles.)

- Facebook requests from high school 'friends' I barely remember or have been trying to forget for years. (Seriously, I can't do Facebook anymore. Whenever someone mentions it, my face automatically scrunches up and I go on a 5-minute rant about how much I hate Facebook. I think I need help.)

What was I saying? Oh yeah... I rarely get any satisfaction from crawling under my desk for a quick check of ye olde Gmail. (Cell phones are a big no-no in my office.) So I've been trying to be more patient and now I can let a few hours slip by without worrying about what may be waiting in my inbox.

I think that learning to be patient and believing in myself are the most important things for me right now. (Oh, and work on Book #2! I need to do that too!) And even though going through the query process can be pretty hard (i.e. getting rejected by two Dream Agents. On the same day. In a span of 2 hours.) I know I wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't exciting... like a roller coaster! (See #1.)

Cheers everyone! Have a great week!

The Hating Game (I'm Loving It!)

2010-12-01T00:00:00.003-05:00

December is here! The next few weeks are going to be awesome... days off from work and time to read and write, cooking with Mom, spending time with my nephews...

But something AMAZING is happening TODAY! It's the brilliant Talli Roland's Amazon Web Splash!! Tali's debut novel, THE HATING GAME, is coming out in e-book form! I've very excited by this book as I love romantic comedies! And ebooks! And web splashes! (Yes, I admit I had no idea what a web splash was until a few weeks ago...) And debut novels! And helping a fellow blogger and novelist! AND EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!!!

Here is all the info you need to help her take on Amazon:

Help Talli Roland's debut novel THE HATING GAME hit the Kindle bestseller list at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk by spreading the word today. Even a few sales in a short period of time on Amazon helps push the book up the rankings, making it more visible to other readers.

Buy it from:

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

No Kindle? Download a free app at Amazon for Mac, iPhone, PC, Android and more. Coming soon in paperback. Keep up with the latest at http://www.talliroland.com/

About THE HATING GAME:

When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £200,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?

**************************************

I'm off to buy my copy of THE HATING GAME now. I can't wait to start reading it!

Good luck Talli!! :)

Happy Birthday Chronicles!

2010-11-21T08:00:00.004-05:00

Wooooot! Catenabi Chronicles turns one year old today!

Thanks to everyone out there who's ever read/commented/followed. I'm sending a huge virtual hug to all of you! :)

And to celebrate, here's a picture of Abbie getting ready for the Holidays. (Read: here's a picture of me torturing Abbie with yet another costume.)

DISCLAIMER: No animals were harmed in the taking of this picture. (Once it was removed, the costume wasn't as lucky.)

Cheers! :)

A Cat in QueryLand - Part Three: Starting Over

2010-11-13T23:26:00.001-05:00

I don't know exactly when I started having doubts about my query letter. I remember being very confident when I first wrote it and being equally confident as I sent it out to a handful of agents.

But last Saturday I did what I should have done a long time ago and posted it on two awesome forums (Absolute Write Water Cooler and the forums on Nathan Bransford's blog) and sat around waiting for my fellow writers to weigh in on my query.

Oh boy.

I'm surprised that so many people took time out of their busy writing schedules (it's NaNo month after all) to read my post and tell me what was wrong with my letter. And since writers are awesome people, the feedback was very constructive and I soon came to the conclusion that my letter wasn't 'selling' my novel. Too vague. No hook. Too much filler, no meat. Where's the conflict, where's the drama? I could go on but I won't.

Now. I'm not proud of this but I totally sulked. Oh yes, indeed. I spent an entire Saturday afternoon snuggling under my Edward Cullen fleece throw (there's nothing you can't find on eBay) and I watched TV while pondering the extent of my suckiness. But here's the thing: I knew that's how I would react. After all the ups and downs that came with writing this book, I knew I'd go through a sulking period but that I, ultimately, would get over it and get back to work. By that evening, I was ready to start a new query.

A lot of people gave me suggestions on how my original query could be fixed but I decided to start over from scratch.

A LITTLE BACKSTORY: A few weeks ago (back when I still thought my original query was great) I bought an ebook called 'From the Query to the Call' by Elana Johnson (read her blog here.) BEST. DECISION. EVER. Because when I started freaking out at the thought of starting over, a little voice (has my inner critic finally decided to be helpful?) reminded me that I had a copy of Elana's book on my iPad. Her book is beyond awesome and I can't recommend it highly enough. After reading the book, I immediately knew what was wrong with my query and what I needed to do to fix it.

I worked on my new query all week. It wasn't easy. There was a lot of writing, deleting and rewriting involved. I lost patience with myself a few times and tweeted about the fact that I wanted to bang my head against the wall. (But, to be fair, that's all part of my usual process.) And now, my friends, I am so happy to report that I have a shiny, new query that I am completely in love with. It captures the essence of my book in a way that my old one didn't.

I'm a little bummed that I can't take back all the queries I've already sent... but it's a lesson learned. And, most of all, I'm so happy that I started having doubts about my query and got the chance to correct the situation before sending a mediocre letter to an ENTIRE list of agents.

The (new and improved) adventure continues.

Cheers!

Quitter

2010-11-06T23:03:00.000-04:00

I am a total quitter. After only a few days, I've decided to quit NaNoWriMo. It just wasn't for me. I've never done ANYTHING fast except for talking... and, as it turns out, speed-writing is NOT one of my talents. From Day One, I fell behind and only wrote 582 words when I should have been writing 1,667 words a day. On Day Two, I wrote 1,000 words and felt so disappointed in myself for not being able to keep up with the daily targets.

My writerly woes along with an exhausting, drama-filled week at work and the ongoing Adventures in QueryLand turned me into a cranky, weepy mess. Something had to give.

THE GOOD: I'm almost done writing the first chapter of my book called (for now) Zoey & the Moment of Zen AND I have an outline for the second chapter. I hated feeling disappointed in myself about my wordcount when I now have a great opening and a head full of ideas for Zoey.

It's going to take me more than 30 days to write it but that's OK. My turtle's pace can be quite frustrating at times but, for now, it's familiar and I feel comfortable making my way slowly towards the Finish Line.

Cheers!

November Madness

2010-10-26T20:49:00.001-04:00

A lot of things happen in November:

- It gets colder and I have to reluctantly drag my winter jacket out of the closet and find a pair of matching gloves.
- I start thinking about Christmas prezzies for friends and family and start looking forward to the holidays.
- I go on daily rants about how fast times flies. November, already? No....

But in November of this year, something special is going to happen: Catenabi Chronicles turns ONE YEAR OLD!! On November 21 of last year, in the throes of endless writer's block, I started a blog. I have to admit that I didn't think it would become anything. I just thought I'd waste some time and post some cute pictures of Abbie for my friends to see while I worked on my novel.

But what started out as just another way to procrastinate turned into something that helped me go from random notes to first draft and from first draft to revised draft... to final draft. Along the way, I learned from awesome fellow bloggers and became (I hope) part of a community of writers that never ceases to amaze me. (Writers are cool and funny and generous and I just feel lucky to be part of the group. Finally! I'm one of the cool kids!) So thanks to everyone out there! I'm sending cyber-hugs to every one of you.

Sooo... to celebrate the blog's anniversary and to get a jump-start on Book #2, I've decided to sign up for NaNoWriMo! I've been aware of National Novel Writing Month for years... but I never thought I'd ever want to participate in a crazy novel-writing race. But this year, it feels right. I'm sending out queries for Breaking the Rules and I already have my idea and a rough outline for the new book. And while I'd love nothing more than to wait by my Inbox for responses to my queries, I know that I should be working on a new project.

It'll be a fun challenge and, who knows?, I might end up with more than half a first draft written by December!

I have less than 1 week to prepare for November! I still don't know how I'll manage to write 1,667 words every day for 30 days and I don't know if I'll even make it to the end. But I guess these doubts and fears (and excitement!) are all part of the NaNoWriMo adventure.

Bring on the November Madness! :)

Time

2010-10-23T18:22:00.000-04:00

Time has literally been standing still for me this week. My watch stopped working on October 16th at 2pm and I've been too lazy/busy to replace the battery. And since walking around without a watch on my left wrist feels kind of strange... I wore it to work all week.

Of course, the inevitable happened:

"Hey Cat! What time is it?"
"It's 2 o'clock... wait, wasn't it 2 o'clock an hour ago? And why is it dark outside?"

I wish I HAD been able to stop time this week (what a cool superpower that would be!) because I was writing my synopsis. All I can say is that I now know why it's sometimes called 'the dreaded synopsis.' I'm almost finished now (it only needs a bit of polishing) but it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I had complete and total writer's block. I either sat and stared at the blank screen until I gave up and closed the computer or I wrote feverishly until I came up for air and realized that I'd written a page and a half on the first chapter when I wanted the entire synopsis to be two pages. DELETE. START OVER. I read countless blog posts and articles on the art of the synopsis and, while it made sense and I understood how it should be done, I just couldn't apply it to my novel.

In the end, I just wrote it. I sat down, opened a hard copy of the book and went through it page by page. I asked myself: What happens next? Is it essential to the plot? After a few hours, I had a 3-page synopsis and I felt like a 20 pound weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I don't know why it was so hard to summarize my own novel. I wrote it. I've lived with this story in my head for years. I took for granted that writing a synopsis would be a breeze. Oh, how wrong I was! It's hard and it takes a lot of time and effort... just like writing a novel.

Nothing about being a writer and working towards publication is easy and 'a breeze'... but the little victories are so awesome!

Speaking of awesome, yesterday a collegue asked me if I'd been to a new fish and chips restaurant that he'd read about in the local paper. The Anglophile is me was full of questions: What? When? Where? How fast can I get there? I haven't had decent fish and chips since I came home from my last trip to England in May 2007. Needless to say that MK and I made plans to go to Brit & Chips (what a cute name!) for dinner that very night.

I think this picture (and the silly/goofy grin on my face) says it all. It was SO GOOD. This is also the first picture I've posted with my 'new' teeth. I've been wearing Invisilign clear braces since May and it still feels strange to smile for pictures. But I like this picture because it was taken while I was enjoying a nice meal in good company while reliving London-related memories. (The restaurant has a mini-grocery section where you can buy British food like Colman's Mustard, Sarson's Malt Vinegar and Walkers Crisps. I was looking forward to buying the vinegar but they were sold out. I should have stolen the bottle on our table!)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Cheers!

Giving of Thanks

2010-10-10T10:07:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving: Canadian Edition and this year, like most years, I have lots to be thankful for. So I'm putting all query-related activities on hold for the day so I can watch the yellow-red-brown leaves fall to the ground and eat some delicious turkey with my family.

And since I have the day off tomorrow, I plan on finally writing a synopsis for Breaking the Rules. Which is something I really should have done a long time ago. I think I've been putting it off because I've heard so many horror stories about what a pain they are to write. But now I have no choice since the next agent I want to query wants a query letter AND synopsis.

I am very thankful for that extra day in my weekend so I can procrastinate with minimal guilt! ;)

Cheers!

A Cat in QueryLand - Part Two: First Letter Sent ... Almost.

2010-10-03T15:46:00.001-04:00

I am literally two seconds away from hitting SEND on my first e-query. As expected, I am a HUGE ball of nerves and my fingers are shaking. I've triple-checked everything to make sure that a dreaded typo hasn't found its way into my query/sample pages. I've made sure the email address is right and I've respected the agent's submission guidelines.

A while back (when I should have been concentrating on writing instead of worrying about querying) I decided that I was going to do my best to keep my query-related blog posts positive and light-hearted. I don't want the blog to become a collection of my rants and raves about being rejected.

So that's why I'm not going to blog about which specific agents I query until I find the right person who wants to represent my work. I might not find that person. I might have to stop querying and put Breaking the Rules in the drawer at some point and just concentrate on my new project.

I have to admit that this is an exciting time for me. Anything and everything is possible at this point. But if it doesn't happen for me... Well, at least I wrote a book that I love (yes, I can admit it myself now... after loathing it for so long, I now think it's pretty good!) and I have my awesome family and my equally-awesome friends and, in the grand scheme of things, I am a lucky girl.

So whatever happens happens. I'm going to sit back, query widely, and enjoy the ride. (And, yes, I WILL come back and read this post again when I'm in the throes of writerly angst... it will surely come in the next few months.)

I'm off to hit SEND now. Here goes nothing.

Cheers!

A Cat in QueryLand - Part One: I Am Not Afraid (OK, Maybe a Little...)

2010-09-25T14:19:00.001-04:00

I have a confession to make:

For the last two weeks I've been basking in a glow of slight smugness after finishing my novel and handing it over to my beta-readers. Since I almost gave up on this book several times, finishing it feels like a huge deal.

But it's only the beginning.

MEMORY LANE: When I was fifteen years old, I signed up for the Quality Paperback Book Club. You know... one of those 'Sign up now and get 4 free books and you only need to buy 4 more books in the next two years' kind of clubs. Every few weeks, I'd get a glossy magazine in the mail and (if I was lucky and had a bit of money) I'd order a book and wait for the brown box to be delivered. That was before Amazon and e-books and moving to a big city with huge bookstores that had comfy couches and a Starbucks.

One of the first books I bought from the Book Club was this one:

I spent an entire summer reading this book (I think it's now it its 5th revised edition) and taking notes because, in my head, I was only a few months away from finishing my totally awesome novel and being, like, a super famous author and stuff. Ah, the delusions of youth!

Before reading How to Write and Sell Your First Novel, I had no idea what a query letter was. I thought you just wrote a book, packed in up in a giant manila envelope and sent it to someone in New York City who read it and made it into a real book.

So now the time has come for me to sit down and write a query letter to send to literary agents. What's the first thing that comes to mind? Fear. For years I've been reading about them, looking at examples of good ones and bad ones, letters that worked and letters that ended up published on some website in the 'What NOT To Do' section.

I've already got a very rough draft of a query letter written but it's very.... ummmm.... boring and, if I was a literary agent receiving this letter, I don't think I'd be interested in reading my own book. That is, without a doubt, a Query Letter Fail.

But that's my Challenge for the next few weeks: Write a query letter that makes my book sound... LESS boring and MORE awesome!

COOL THING I BOUGHT THIS WEEK: After reading a few interesting blog posts on the subject, I decided to upgrade my QueryTracker.net subscription and become a Premium Member. It costs $25/year but I think it's a small price to pay for such an awesome resource. (And no, I am not being paid to say this!) I already have a list of 12 agents I want to query when my letter is ready and since you can search through their huge database of agents by the genre they represent, I'm going to be adding on to that list in the next few weeks. The site also has plenty of statistics about agents and agencies and comments from other users about agent response times. I'm sure that there are plenty of other features that I haven't discovered yet but I'm already in love with the site and I know it will be very useful in my search for an agent. And I love encouraging a site that helps writers ... so it is, indeed, money well-spent!

Here's Abbie 'helping' me navigate through the site:

Cheers!

Leaving On a Jet Plane

2010-09-09T21:29:00.002-04:00

Well, actually, it's more of a bus than a plane.

Still, I'm really excited about leaving for Vermont tomorrow morning! A weekend of shopping and eating and good times with my BFF awaits.

Also, I will be celebrating the fact that I finally finished my novel after countless drafts and revisions and major love/hate drama. So I'm going to go wiiiiiild! Yes, you heard it here first. I'm TOTALLY going to steal ALL the tiny bottles of lotion and shampoo on the first day so we can get more on the second day... and then I'll probably take those too.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend! :)

Cheers!

Thank YOU!

2010-09-07T21:56:00.003-04:00

So the time has finally come.

After a day spent dealing with malfunctioning printers and paper jams and trying to figure out how to put a header in my manuscript using Word 2003 (grrrr!), my beta copies have been handed out for review/feedback.

How do I feel right now? Nervous, excited, relieved, scared and hopeful.

My beta readers are awesome: Debs and MK are friends who I know will be honest with me and they both enjoy chick lit. And my third reader is a writer I met on the Absolute Write forums even before I finished the first draft last year. I'd just like to take the time to say that writers rock! I've never met a group of people so willing to help a stranger.

So a giant thank you goes out to my wonderful beta readers and my equally-wonderful blog readers for encouraging me and cheering me on when I felt like I'd never see the light at the end of the tunnel. I almost gave up on this project SO MANY TIMES.

Tonight, I am so overjoyed that I didn't.

Here's a picture of the copies I printed up today. Oooooh, pink and purple! :)

Cheers!

What's In a Name?

2010-09-01T09:49:00.000-04:00

First off: Some exciting news!!

Well, it's kind of only exciting because I love seeing my name. (I promise I'm not totally self-centered!) And since I have a fairly common French name, I see it all the time over here. Most of the time, it's not even me! Sometimes it's that other Catherine Lavoie who's a famous make-up artist and works in Hollywood (can I be her?) or it's the one who has a lengthy record and prevented me from getting a job because the temp agency did a background check on me USING ONLY MY NAME. No date of birth or social security number. I had to go to the courthouse and get a document proving that this Catherine does NOT, in fact, have a little hobby called Breaking and Entering.

Where was I? Oh yes.

A few weeks ago, the lovely ladies at Chick Lit Reviews were preparing their Sophie Kinsella Week (It's happening right now! Go check it out! It's awesome!) to celebrate the release of her new Shopaholic book, Mini-Shopaholic. It will be released September 21 in the US & Canada and September 2 (tomorrow!) in the UK. I still haven't decided if I'm going to wait for the Canadian release date or order it from a UK seller. I WANT to have it in my hands as soon as possible but I know I won't be able to read it right away. And I also like the UK cover better... Clearly, a lot of important decisions need to be made today.

I became an instant fan of Sophie Kinsella as soon as I read the first few pages of 'Confessions of a Shopaholic.' So when fans were asked to complete the following senetence ("I Love Sophie Kinsella Because...) as part of the Sophie Kinsella Week festivities, I knew right away what I wanted to say.

If you go to the Chick Lit Reviews site, mine is the second entry:

“I Love Sophie Kinsella Because … she helped me find my voice as a writer.

When I read Confessions of a Shopaholic, it was like a revelation. I knew I wanted to be a writer and I was pursuing an English degree but, up to that point, I didn’t know where my kind of writing belonged and I didn’t feel like a ‘real’ writer. Sophie made me realize that I didn’t have to change who I was or what I wrote. It was OK to write about characters who are a little crazy and neurotic and who are out there making their way in the world, facing challenges and looking for love. And, just maybe, a new designer handbag with a 50% discount!
Sophie Kinsella made me fall in love with Chick Lit and made me proud to say that I write it!”
– Catherine Lavoie, via email

Yay! I am so happy to say that the person who wrote that is ME and not the other me who's a make-up artist and definitely not the career criminal.

NOVEL UPDATE: I think I need to change the name of my 'Final Read-Through' to my 'Final-Change-Bits-and-Pieces-Here-And-There.' I am definitely still doing a lot of tweeking. But that's not a bad thing since I love some of the elements I've added. It's just taking a lot of time. And since I'm currently on vacation from the Day Job (yay!) I actually have time to sit and tweek. 9 days, to be exact. After that, I leave for my celebratory shopping trip to Vermont!!

Is there any doubt as to why 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' is my favourite book?

Cheers!

Everything Zen

2010-08-25T21:45:00.000-04:00

When I was in the third grade, our class had a part in the school's year-end Variety Show. We had to sing 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' After weeks of rehearsals (where it was confirmed that I am, indeed, tone deaf) the Big Day finally arrived. Parents and students assembled in the auditorium. Teachers ran around trying to gather everyone. We were all excited and nervous... And then a few minutes before show time, I ran out into the crowd and found my parents and begged them to take me home. I then proceeded to be sick in the back seat. Over and over again. (Sorry for the graphic imagery.)

No. Nerves have never been my friend. In fact, that third-grade-scenario has been repeated over and over again. I have an endless supply of stories that involve me looking forward to something but it getting ruined by illness or tripping over my own feet. I am 31 years old and my Mom STILL brings up the choir story whenever I say: "I can wait for..."

These last few weeks, I've been repeating 'I can't wait to finish my book!' Now, I agree that this might be totally unrelated but, in the last week or so, I've been having intense neck and shoulder pain. I've been eating painkillers like candy and walking around like I'm pushing 70. I am *this close* to buying a walker.

I can't help but think that all my nervousness and excitement and stress over my book has made my body rebel against itself.

So, now that I'm feeling a bit better, I've decided to try and be more zen about everything.

No more stressing out about things I can't control.
Can I file that under the 'Easier Said Than Done' category?

NOVEL UPDATE: I am soooo close to the end. I'm currently doing a final read-through before handing the MS over to my three lovely beta-readers. Did I mention they were lovely?

VERMONT CHALLENGE: I think it's safe to say that my goal has been reached. I truly didn't expect to have the novel ready for beta-readers before leaving for my trip but it will be. Wooooo. That means I can totally shop MORE while in Vermont, right? (As if I need an excuse!)

Cheers!

Going the Distance

2010-08-16T22:37:00.000-04:00

I had an awkward Twitter moment the other day when I tweeted about my absolute hatred for the trailer of the movie Going the Distance, starring the undeniably adorable Justin Long and Drew Barrymore. Basically, I tweeted that the trailer made me want to throw my remote control at the TV.

The movie deals with a long-distance relationship and, as previously mentioned on this blog, I was in a long-distance relationship with a British boy a few years ago and it was nothing short of heartwrenching and, to this day, I haven't really gotten over the experience. (But I'm getting there!)

Soooo... back to the movie trailer. It made me angry that the long-distance dynamic seemed to be reduced to a cutesy rom-com story. Don't get me wrong: I LOVE romantic comedies! I am a sucker for chick flicks and I still cry even when I've seen a movie a million times (see: Never Been Kissed.)

I fired off my tweet and didn't think twice... Until the guy who wrote the movie, Geoff Latulippe, tweeted me back and said I should give it a chance since it is NOT a romantic comedy.

Initial reaction: Absolute shock and horror. Here I was just sending off a tweet to vent... and it ends up reaching the writer, of all people. Not the director, not the producer, not the casting agent... The writer. MY PEOPLE!

But it turns out that Mr Latulippe, like many writers, is a cool guy and has a good sense of humor. Because of that, I am intrigued and might consider seeing the movie. I say 'might' because I still don't know if I can stand watching a movie about a long-distance relationship, even with good actors and a funny script. It's a sensitive subject for me.

But it might end up being good (and cheap) therapy. I still have a few weeks to decide if I'm going to face my fear!

Oh, and I'm going to be more careful with my tweets from now on... Cat's Reign of Twitter Terror shall come to an end!

Cheers!

Rewriting is DONE!

2010-08-15T22:46:00.000-04:00

Let the polishing begin! I am one step closer to a final draft.
I am going to go collapse (with joy) now!

Cheers!

Here We Go Again!

2010-08-12T21:32:00.000-04:00

For the last few weeks, I've been asking myself the same question: what happens next?

What happens after Breaking the Rules is completely revised and polished and ready to be submitted to agents?

I seriously wondered if I had a second book in me. After putting so much effort into BTR, it felt like I'd never be able to create another story, another set of characters...I don't know what I was waiting for but I was waiting for something.

And that something happened this afternoon: a spark!

(Side note: Dear Boss Lady. I know the chances of you ever reading this are very, very slim. But still. I'd just like to point out that when inspiration strikes, you have to drop everything and write it down. It's a writer thing. Or, rather, it's a scatterbrained writer thing. Because if I had waited until I was out of the office to write it down, I would have been completely forgotten my idea by the time I got on the subway. In fact, it probably would have slipped my mind the moment I got up from my chair. It's also the reason why I send myself about twenty emails a day... I'm not stalking myself or anything. No, endless emails from me to me is just the easiest way for me to jot down bits of dialogue and other novel-related stuff. I'm glad everything is out in the open now. So, we cool. Cool? Great!)

What was I saying? YES! A spark! I had a spark and an incredible need to write a story. It really was an awesome moment. So I opened up another email to myself (see above) and wrote about this idea. And wrote. And wrote. After a number of minutes that shall remain undisclosed, I had a basic outline for what will become my second book.

It's a bit scary to embark on another major project when I don't even know if I'm good at this and if ANYONE will be interested in my stories.

But I'm working on the whole 'Not Letting Fear Stop Me from Doing What I Love' thing. Being fearless is my goal.

I've had many 'bad writer days' over the last few years but I want to forget about those right now and celebrate one of the good ones:

So here's to Book 1 (may it be done soon and may it find a lovely home) and Book 2 (may it not take years to write and may it be as awesome on paper as it is in my head right now.)

Back to the rewriting. The finish line is near on one project and another is just beginning! :)

Cheers!

Vermont Challenge Update

2010-08-09T20:27:00.000-04:00

I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying this... but it looks like I will done rewriting my novel by the time I leave for Vermont in early September. That was the mini-goal I'd set for myself a while back and, knowing me, there was a pretty good chance I wouldn't make it. But now I'm working on Chapter 16 (of 20) and I have an entire month to go!

Hmmm.. In light of this, I think the Vermont Challenge should be amended:

Previous (boring) goal: To be finished with rewriting by September 9th.

New (exciting) goal: To have the ENTIRE FINAL DRAFT done by September 9th!!!

OMG! I'm nervous already. Look at all these exclamation marks!!!!!!!

But I think I can do this!
No, I KNOW I can do this! (Right?? lol)

Cheers!

Movie Madness

2010-08-07T12:12:00.002-04:00

I have a confession to make: I am utterly and hopelessly in love with Edward Cullen.

Why the sudden outburst of vampire-love? Because yesterday I succeeded in dragging MK to see Eclipse, the third Twilight movie. The conditions were perfect since we didn't have to pay for the tickets but I'm not at liberty to discuss any other possibly-incriminating details!

I suck at movie reviews so I will only tell you that I thought Eclipse rocked. That's it. Nothing about the plot. Nothing about the acting (except to say that Taylor Lautner's abs deserve an Oscar. C'mon Academy. Open up a new category or something!) It was so much better than New Moon (which I saw for the first time last week) and I cannot wait for Breaking Dawn.

Don't get me started on Robert Pattinson. (Seriously.) I've had the unbelievable chance to meet a few celebrities I adore over the last few years (Jason Mraz, David O'Doherty, Ed Robertson) and I *think* I was calm, cool and collected when I talked to them. Hopefully, I was not a blabbering idiot. But you know all those stories about screaming girls chasing Robert Pattinson down the street? I would become one of them in a heartbeat if I ever saw him. No doubt about it.

Even though I was enjoying a night out away from my novel, it was never far from my mind. (It never is.) As I was watching Edward Cullen brood and fight for his beloved, I saw someone else: Ollie. My Ollie. The Ollie who lives and breathes in my book... the boy I created and have the hugest crush on. Of course, my Ollie isn't a vampire so he wouldn't be as pale as Edward. And maybe Robert is a little too handsome to play the 'boy-next-door' Ollie.

STILL:

Yes, I am going there. I'm taking my screaming girl fandom to another level and declaring that I want Robert Pattinson to play Ollie in the as-of-yet unmade version of my as-of-yet unfinished and unpublished book.

Because it's totally appropriate for a writer to chase the lead actor down the street while he's shooting the movie version of her novel. Right?

OK. Enough daydreaming! Back to rewriting I go. And I promise you that there will be no more Twilight-related posts until 2011!

Cheers!

Mini-Milestone

2010-07-31T20:26:00.000-04:00

Wooooo!

I have rewritten 50% of my novel! Only 10 more chapters to go... I feel like a child in the middle of a long road trip: "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" I can't wait to be done with the rewriting so I can stretch out my legs somewhere new. (Query Land, here I come!)

But I must admit that, as much as I'm looking forward to finishing, rewriting has made me love and appreciate my novel even more. And I've reached the point where I can tell myself: "Even if no one else reads this novel, or if they read it and hate it, I am proud that I wrote it and proud of myself for seeing it through to the end."

No, I'm not tearing up! What are you talking about? I just have a bit of dust in my eye, that's all!

Mooooving on! I promised you a Party on My Blog (i.e Picture of Abbie) for this mini-milestone, right?

Here it is:

Back to work I go! I'm off to tackle the remaining 50% (hopefully before my deadline of September 9!)

Cheers!

Final Draft ... Why Does It Have to Be So Final?

2010-07-21T21:11:00.000-04:00

So this is me the other day:

I'm at my desk with a bunch of claims in front of me that need to be processed, my phone is ringing off the hook with customer service agents who need help and my boss (who's a very lovely lady in case she's reading this) is giving me more things to do. It's a typical hectic workday and my mind should be completely focused on what I need to do ... but part of me isn't there at all. No, part of me is scanning the manuscript that is permanently etched in my mind and yelling at me:

'Dude, why is Roxy doing THIS in Chapter 3? She should totally be doing THAT. Change it. Change it NOW. Change it NOW or else you'll never make it as a novelist and your novel will suck so bad it will render people blind as soon as they lay eyes on it.'

Have I ever mentioned that my Inner Critic is a bit overly dramatic and ... well, MEAN?

But the fact remains that, even as I'm heading towards a final version of my novel, I still worry about tiny little details and I can't imagine ever getting to a point where I won't want to change a thing.

My dream has always been to see someone reading my book on the subway or the bus (Hopefully, they won't be rolling their eyes or laughing at something that wasn't meant to be funny.) I can totally see myself hovering over their shoulder telling them about the brilliant new edits I've just made to the book they're reading...

OK, maybe I should get back to rewriting instead of daydreaming about harassing random strangers on the bus.

NOVEL UPDATE: I'm 33.33% done with rewriting! (Woooo! You can't tell but that was a very pathetic Wooooo!) But I will be throwing a party on this blog when I hit 50%! (Warning: A party on this blog could just mean a new picture of Abbie.)

Cheers!

A Week in Review

2010-07-18T20:08:00.000-04:00

So the Just for Laughs Festival is over. (For me, at least. I think the festival officially ends on the 25th.) Once again, I had an amazing time with my BFF and partner-in-crime MK. It's become our yearly tradition to choose a few shows we really want to see (sadly, lack of funds prevents us from seeing ALL the shows we want to see) and wander the streets of our great city in search of famous faces.

This year, we saw shows by:

- Aziz Ansari
- Bo Burnham
- Jim Jefferies
- Greg Giraldo, Jimmy Carr (he was a last-minute replacement for one of the performers and I think I almost died of excitement when they announced his name. I have the hugest crush on Mr Carr), Rich Vos, Jim Norton (all part of The Nasty Show)

and in between those shows, we saw... from afar (or not):

- Greg Behrendt (we shook his hand and talked to him! Such a nice guy! He and his wife wrote a book called 'It's Called a Break-Up Because It's Broken' which became my bible when I split with my ex-boyfriend. It was kinda surreal to tell him how much his book helped me.)
- Jim Jefferies (I shook his hand!)
- Bob Odenkirk
- Harland Williams
- Todd Barry (he walked by me a few times but I was too shy to say hello)
- Mike Wilmot (ditto what happened with Todd Barry)
- Sugar Sammy
- Derek Edwards
- Joey Elias
- The guys from Trailer Park Boys

Even though I had an awesome time, the Festival reminded me that I am getting old. After a few nights of going to bed late and walking around and waiting in line (while wearing definitely UNsensible shoes) I am BEAT. My back is achy and my feet are still sore... you'd think I was 90 or something. But it was worth it.

NOVEL UPDATE: Yeah... didn't get a lot of work done this week. (See above.) But I still have a few hours of weekend left to redeem myself. I'm currently rewriting Chapter 6 and I still think it is my favorite chapter. There's just something about it that makes me smile. Maybe it's because I took a Writer's Digest Writing Workshop a few years back and I submitted the opening scene of this chapter as an assignment and got some positive feedback. It hasn't changed much since then.

YES, I AM BRIBING MYSELF AGAIN: Last summer, MK and I booked a weekend trip to NYC for September 2009. I openly declared that I would finish the first draft of my novel so we could celebrate this milestone in the Big Apple. Well... turns out I only finished the first draft on December 31st of that same year. Not having learned my lesson, when MK and I booked a weekend trip to Vermont for September 2010, I declared that I would finish the final draft of my novel so we could celebrate the milestone while on vacation. Here we go again!

I don't know why I enjoy bribing myself even when it usually never works out (remember my friend Debs who was *supposed* to be reading the final draft during her trip to San Francisco? She's been back for more than a month...)

So the new goal (which shall be called the Vermont Challenge) is: Final draft of Breaking the Rules finished (at the latest) September 9th. Better get to work!

Cheers!

Abbie Says: Rewrite!

2010-07-11T19:18:00.000-04:00

Here's a picture of Abbie resting on my iPad. Is she trying to send me a message? Yes, I know. I should be rewriting. (By the way, rewriting my novel on the iPad has been awesome. I can take it everywhere with me and wherever I have a few minutes, I can open it up and work.)

It feels like every single spare second I have is spent rewriting or thinking about what I need to rewrite. But I'm not complaining (something must be wrong with me! lol) I'm growing more and more confident in my novel as I head towards the final draft. Hope I didn't jinx myself just now... I'll need to re-read this post when I have my next writerly existential crisis! ;)

Busy week ahead: Going to see three Just For Laughs shows this week. I love the festival and always have a great time. First show is Aziz Ansari tomorrow night!

Tonight's goal: Finish rewriting Chapter 5 (aka The Neverending Chapter Where a Lot of Important Stuff Happens) so I can update the countdown ... and also do a Dance of Joy.

Cheers!

New Countdown

2010-07-03T23:12:00.000-04:00

I am happy to announce that the blog has a new countdown! The first one I had a while back for my first draft was to keep track of the number of words. And now that I'm done with revisions, I've changed the countdown to keep track of my rewriting. So... as of now, 4 chapters have been rewritten. Out of 21.

I can do this! (I know you can't hear me right now but that TOTALLY sounded more like a question than a statement.)

OK, back to work. Chapter 5 isn't going to rewrite itself. (When are they going to create an iPad app for that?)

Cheers!

Moving Day

2010-06-26T15:23:00.002-04:00

Today is Canada Day (woooo!) and, for many people, it is also Moving Day. Time to gather up a few willing friends and exchange their hard labor for pizza and beer after they help you move on to a new home.

Thankfully, I'm not moving this year. (Just the thought of having to pack up all my books and DVDs makes me cringe!) But I've seen a few moving trucks rumbling down my street since this morning... and I've been thinking about the act of 'moving on.'

I suck at moving on. I really, really do. I'm a lingerer. That's why I've been feeling so moody and emotional since I stumbled upon my ex's wedding website. Yes, a wedding website... complete with a cute 'this-is-how-we-met-and-fell-in-love' story and details about their upcoming fairytale wedding in an English castle.

Like seriously? This is something that I see happening to one of my characters... and now it's happening to me.

I think there's a lesson to be learned here. Well, two, actually:

1) Being bored while on the Internet can be a lethal combinasion

But the most important thing...

2) He has, without a doubt, moved on and I should have done the same a long time ago. I will always cherish the memories and hate the way things ended ... But the fact remains that they ended. I need to focus on all my blessings (awesome family and friends) and work towards my dream (being a published author) without always looking back and thinking about 'what could have been.'

And I think that writing this post has helped do that a little bit. So I guess that, in a way, it's Moving Day for me too.

Oops. Did I forget to mention that today is 'Pour Your Heart Out' Thursday? Come back next week when I'll be blogging about the time my dog died. (I'm kidding.)

Take care everyone.

Wayward Chapter Update

2010-06-21T08:41:00.001-04:00

Chapter 2 has been found ... hiding under a big pile of files on my desk at work.

Sigh
Of
Relief.

In Case of Emergency...

2010-06-20T17:50:00.000-04:00

I can't find my revised version of Chapter 2.
I probably left it at work on Friday but I can't be sure until tomorrow morning.

This situation is really distressing for two reasons:

A) I only have ONE copy of the revised version of Chapter 2 and it is currently missing.

B) I always check my bag whenever I'm leaving work or home to make sure I have my writing supplies (ie current chapter I'm working on.)

What if it fell out of my bag on the bus or metro? What if I threw it out by mistake? What if I had some really important edits written down and now I can't remember them?

Yes, I know that, in the grand scheme of things, it is a very tiny tragedy. I just hate misplacing stuff... especially something I've worked so hard on.

The rest of my edited novel is in a black binder on my computer table. And even though I have an obsessive amount of back-up copies of the first draft (laptop, USB key, work computer, iPad) I only have one paper copy of the edited draft.

So... If there's ever a fire or any other kind of situation where I need to evacuate my home:

Save myself
Save the cat
Save the manuscript

Everything else can be replaced.

Cheers!