Si, Se Puede--Yes, you can!

I'm excited to be hosting this month's #wipmadness and thought I'd tie today's post with celebrating. Today is my son's 12th birthday! It seems like just yesterday he was little: Today we hope to celebrate by having cake and having family over. I found this one site: 15 minute Writer that talks about celebrating our writing. www.15minutewriter.com/how-to-celebrate-your-achievements/ Sometimes we get so busy with life, we don't take time to celebrate our accomplishments and others achievements as we go along. My question today is how do you celebrate? I know for me whenever an author friend gets a book deal/agent/or even finishes a first draft, I celebrate with them. I find this also helps me not get so depressed if my own writing doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Plus, I love being happy for others. Love hearing good news and accomplishments. Added goodie for this week: Share your goals for this month and this Friday I will chose a name ...

1. The light is at the end of the tunnel! Next Friday is the last day of school and then it's summer break! This chica is totally burned out. After all the pushing to get son's math scores up, after his STAR testing? I was done. 2. Fellow YA Book Central editors Jen @cupcakegirly and Mandy @mgbuelhren are at BEA13 this week! Check out their posts on Twitter! 3. Just finished reading book two in The Selection series. Loved it! Now can't wait for the next book THE ONE. 4. Right now reading a regular fiction book which is amazing: An architect is asked to build 'priest hold' like hiding places in Paris for Jewish Parisians during the Nazi invasion. Love the voice so much! 5. Almost done with this book: This one is perfect for Veronica Mars fans. Great voice! YA Books Central review coming soon! **Guilty Pleasure: Husband and I plan to see this movie

What is genre fiction: Genre fiction is kind of wide category. Science fiction, fantasy, horror, crime, romance. Though often dismissed or ridiculed by the more “literary” minded, these novels often deal with complex themes and issues and some of the world’s most beloved authors write in these categories. Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Anne Rice, Deborah Harkness, Douglas Adams, P D James, J R Ward and George R R Martin to name a few. Genre fiction can take us to places we never imagine, experience scenarios we’ve always dreamed of and open up new worlds to explore. Armchair BEA If you’re a reader of genre fiction do you have a favourite author or series? Wow. I have so many! My all time favorite series has to be OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon Love Claire and Jaime(omg, he's so hawt!) Their love story is amazing. There's a little of something for everyone: time travel, romance, hawt Scottish guys, amazing writing, did I mention hawt guys, and a love story that e...

Why, reader, do you love classics?" "Tell us all the reasons you love classic literature. What are your favorite classics? If you could give a list of classics to someone who claims to hate them to make them change their mind, what would be on it? How would you convince them to give classics a try? And why do you keep coming back to those old favorites?" Okay, confession time: I'm not a huge fan of the classics. In High School I hardly remember any of them. One book though did stand out: GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Charles Dickens. I loved the whole premise of a girl trained up to shun her suiters. But mostly I loved this one scene that never left me: There was just something equally disgusting yet fascinating about keeping a wedding feast for eons as a way for the jilted bride to never forget that terrible day. I also think it shows her own attempt at gaining control of a terrible situation by making her niece learn never to open her heart to anyone. ...

Though I can't attend BEA this year, I was excited I can be a part of this group! Here's the link: http://www.armchairbea.com/2013/05/armchair-bea-is-coming-prep-your.html To start off with they wanted us to introduce ourselves. Here's the five questions I answered: 1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? My name is Kim Baccellia and I've been blogging since 2006 after I took a YA writing class from author Lauren Barnhold. She told us it was a must when taking her class. I was hooked. I've always loved writing and blogging is perfect! Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location. Feel free to share pictures. I'm blogging from Southern California. I'm a 25 minute drive from Disneyland. And I'm 37 miles away from a nuclear plant. **I found this out after that one scary tsunami back in...

1. Scoring is over! Yay! Now they're asking if I'd help with 7th grade essays. I've been debating on this as I'm pretty much burned out. Plus, my stories are calling out to me! 2. Went to AAA and started to put together my (or more like Jordan, Selena, and Grams) Paris trip. So many fun tours out there. Son got into it to and was disappointed when he found out this was research for my book. Maybe this will work in my favor as he's now bugging husband that we should go too! 3. Finished reading PRAEFATIO: My YA Books Central review: http://www.yabookscentral.com/component/content/article/28-young-adult-indie/15362-praefatio Teaser: PRAEFATIO is one wild ride where Fallen angels, Archangels, and mythology collide. The first chapter hooked me right in. The author does a great job of showing the confusion that Grace feels in the hospital room. I wanted to read more to see where this story would take me. The one thing I loved about this story had ...

1. Still scoring. So far they're 87% complete. This means I'll probably be done sometime next week! Then it'll be back to my writing again! Yay! 2. Really didn't have much time this week for reading. I know, shocker, huh? But here's what I read: This is the second book in the GLOW series. Think Sci-Fi meets LORD OF THE FLIES with a dash of HANDMAIDEN'S TALE. This series is totally addicting! YABC review coming soon! 3. Love this YA paranormal series from Alyson Noel: 4. And wowza, found this ad in the latest Seventeen magazine: THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE CURSED Here's the blurb: After a bizarre accident, Ingrid Waverly is forced to leave London with her mother and younger sister, Gabby, trading a world full of fancy dresses and society events for the unfamiliar city of Paris. In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house Ingrid’s twin brother, Grayson, found for them isn’t a house at all. ...

1. Still scoring essays! I have another two or so weeks to go! And yes, at the end of the week I feel like this: 2. Got a sneak peek at my cover for NO MORE GODDESSES. It's not quite there but what I've seen so far? I'm really loving! Can't wait to reveal the final cover to everyone! Stay tuned! 3. I'm totally on a Paris kick right now! I signed up to take beginning French at Saddleback College this summer; got a niffy Paris theme handbag: T-shirt from Urban Outfitters: 4. Here's some Parisian settings in some recent YAs I'm either reading or read: Love this series by Amy Plum. Here's the blurb on this amazing paranormal series: Introducing a new supernatural mythology, the DIE FOR ME trilogy presents Kate, a 16-year-old American who moves to Paris after her parents' death. She finds herself falling for Vincent, who she discovers is not the typical French teenager he appears. Love, mystery, & horror are combined in t...

1. Even without STAR testing, it's been another crazy, busy week! I ended up getting a phone call on Monday to go to a meeting with paperwork that I didn't even start on yet. Sigh. 2. Then some good news. Not for me but for Mandy, the YA Book Central goddess! She'd been hinting around that she had news to share and finally did! http://strangechemistrybooks.com/2013/05/01/announcing-our-newest-author-m-g-buehrlen/ 3. Another former critique buddy got a book deal too: ******ALLELUIA!!! After nine years and five novels, I finally sold one!******* Kym Brunner's debut WANTED: DEAD OR IN LOVE, about two teens possessed by the spirits of Bonnie and Clyde who soon discover that the legendary outlaws plan to continue where they left off, to Jacquelyn Mitchard at Merit Press, for publication in 2014, by Eric Myers at The Spieler Agency (World English). **I loved this story and can't wait to read the final version! 4. Reading this amazing book right now:...

1. Decided to have my webmaster Little Willow vamp up my website to reflect more of my upcoming YA book's theme of 50/60ish/Audrey Hepburn. http://www.kim-baccellia.com/ Doesn't it rock? 2. Reading this amazing, chilly thriller right now: Totally OMG worthy! 3. Got this one from the latest May Tab Scholastic book order for $4.99 Really enjoyed this YA vamp tale! 4. Week two of scoring 4th grade essays and rushing son off to his STAR testing had me feeling like this by Friday: 5. So I tried to get in some yoga: **Guilty Pleasure: Picking up new People mag which has the most attractive people of the year!

1. This week has been crazy with my part-time job of scoring 4th grade essays. I have to get in 20 hours a week and it was really hard. Hopefully next week will go more smoothly. 2. Also having a really hard time finding a book to read! I so hate that! But then I found one! Loving this YA paranormal about the daughter of Lucifer and Lilith who comes down to Earth to find her missing half brother. 3. Needed a new playlist for my sequel. Yes, Jordan will find some cute guy in Paris! First love, first real kiss. Plus of course some danger and a god or two! Love this song: 4. Also this one totally reflects the mood of my story: This one reminds me of Grams' 5. Getting a new washer/dryer and oven today! Yay! **Guilty pleasure: Yoga. In the early morning!

1. Finished reading ETERNITY CURE which is one amazing read! My YABC review: http://www.yabookscentral.com/yafiction/15162-the-eternity-cure-blood-of-eden-2 Teaser: There's action, suspense, mystery, and also a love story. Plus, betrayal from those around her. Who can she trust? I was sucked right into this story. There's twists and turns and major revelations from characters. Not everyone is what they seem to be including Zeke. Exactly what is his motive to find Allie? And Stick is back! Here's another example where the author could have left him as the cowardly, weak friend who stabs Allie in the back by betraying her. No, instead we see him now in the vampire tower that Allie hated when she lived outside of the Fringe. Now he's Mr. Stephen and he has his own secrets which involve some unresolved issues with Allie. Great pacing, dynamtic chemistry between not only Allie and Zeke but her blood brother Jackal. Loved the dialogue between these two. And what is ...