Decisions, decisions...

Ever since I started daydreaming about becoming a published writer, I always envisioned being signed with a publishing house, and (hopefully) being mentioned in the New York Times Bestsellers list at least once. But now that seems to be changing slightly. I'm starting to really consider self publishing at least my first novel. And who knows? Maybe I'll get picked up by someone after then. The idea of self publishing is still very new, and only slightly intimidating to me. But I do have a couple of pretty great people I know who have helped me out.
One being Sir Andrew Gaeta, my newest writer friend I met through NaNoWriMo 2012. See, he's already been self published twice (see his novels here), and is currently working on getting a third published, if I'm not mistaken. Haha, seems like he's always writing, which is good. He's sort of given me the kick in the pants I needed to quit ho-humming around and finish my projects already.
Of course, my amazing and ever so supportive boyfriend is a huge help too. He's easily my biggest fan, and I love that he's always so enthusiastic about my writing. It's a little bit funny though when I hint about something I'm planning for later in my novel, but won't share it with him. Unfortunately, he doesn't always get special treatment. ;) He does get to read my works eventually, but I also want him to get the full effect with twists and turns and whatnot. Haha, he's rather impatient right now to read The Unknown as I write it next month. I assured him that he will get to read it as soon as I'm done editing it-I don't let anyone, not even my mom or best friend to see my rough drafts. He's also a writer, and a fantastic one at that! I look forward to the day when I get to share his debut novel with all of you. :) I'm definitely the proud girlfriend there.
In my debates with myself on self-publishing, I created a couple of accounts to play with and I am having so much fun with it! I'm getting even more excited about finishing my first novel next month and getting that much closer to publishing it. I can't wait to share my stories with you. :)

          -Liz

Interview in Progress...

So I thought I might should drop y'all a little note explaining in advance how I sadly will not be posting during spring break. I will be leaving tomorrow afternoon for Denver, CO on a mission trip with my college group, so alas, I will yet again be MIA for a bit. However, since we are driving up there-yes...we are driving. And I actually prefer that instead of riding a plane seeing as how I have never flown on a plane and am terrified of them.
Anywho, so since we are driving the 18 hours there and back, I am taking a couple of short stories with me, as well as Clue to work on, and will hopefully get some considerable work done on them. I'm going to do my best to try to get at least one of the short stories finished though, if not two of them.
But the point of this post is to say that I am taking about 110 interview questions to narrow down, and I will be interviewing Kelsey and Derek from The Unknown (April Camp NaNoWriMo), and those interviews will be posted here when I get back. I'm thinking there will be between 15 and 20 questions per person. So be looking for that!

     Interviewer mode: on

          -Liz

Blog Hop 2013

So I've heard about this thing going around called a Blog Hop. I look at it as sort of an interview about a work in progress that you're working on. It's just ten questions all about what your novel is about, where you got your inspiration, who might play your characters in a film version, etc.
Anywho, it sounded like fun, so I figured I'd give it a shot. :)
I hope you enjoy the Blog Hop as much as I enjoyed it, and that you discover some new writers along the way! Enjoy!

Blog Hop Tour Answers – about my book in the works

1. What is the title of your working book?
The Unknown

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
I was just playing with an idea when I was 15, having fun with my overactive imagination and finally decided that I was having so much fun just planning out what events might take place that I decided to just run with it. And not long after, I had a book in the works with ideas coming to me all of the time. And they're still coming.

3. What genre does your book fall under?
Fantasy. :)

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Well as for right now, I have a few people picked. Unfortunately, by the time this would ever be made into a movie, the actors would be too old for the roles, I think.
However, for the purpose of the game, I'll share anyway.
I picture Sophia Melon for Kelsey, I'm thinking Lorraine Nicholson for Shea, Lucas Till for Chris, I still haven't found anyone for Derek, I'm still looking for Ang as well, I think Shailene Woodley (curly/wavy hair) would make a nice Rebecca. And that's all that I can really think of right now...

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
After having been broken up with her ex-boyfriend for several months, Kelsey realizes that she isn't quite as over him as she thought. And she soon realizes that he isn't quite who he said he was either. There were a few details he forgot to mention. Like how there's a whole other world of people living amongst everyone she ever knew. And he's just one of them.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I hope to be represented by an agency, but I am still researching for just the right one.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Well it's not quite done yet, that's why it's called a work in progress. I plan to finish the first draft of the manuscript in April during Camp NaNoWriMo. I will probably be keeping a word counter widget in the sidebar during the month.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Well that's a toughy, because I can think of a few, however, all of the ones I would mention involve spoilers. And I am trying to not include any spoilers too early. Or I suppose really at all.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I guess maybe my love of fantasy would have to be a big part of it. A few key people who are constantly encouraging me are also a huge help. They help to keep me well grounded and also encouraged that my dream is actually possible! :) Especially this one friend of mine who just recently told me that I underestimate my writing ability. Or something really close to that. Little things like that mean more than they could ever know.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I feel like there’s bound to be something there, but for the life of me, I can’t think of anything right now. Plus, if I mentioned what I have thought of, again, it would involve spoilers.
Although, I can say that I am seriously considering re-writing this at a later date from the opposite main character's point of view. There is a lot of new material from his life that I can use that the reader would not see otherwise.

I know I wasn't able to answer every question, but I hope that I answered enough to get any interest going. And again, I will be working on finishing this manuscript in April. 50,000 words, here I come, lol. Since I have been working on this since 15, I have a little bit of a head start and am currently in the eighth or ninth chapter. However, I will continue writing in April until the full story has been told and my character's tell me it's done! Until April, I will be working on my various side projects, Clue included. And I will be trying to hold off on writing any more on The Unknown until Camp NaNoWriMo. I plan on doing as much brainstorming as possible between now and then as well.
Next week, please visit my blogging and writer friend (below) for the next stop on this blog hop book tour! This guy has been a huge encouragement to me ever since I met him during NaNoWriMo 2012. And he’s quite the writer himself.

Andrew Gaeta: The Excursions of the Split-Personality Author

          -Liz

Oh...so close...

Alright, here it is! My No Kiss Blogfest scene! I hope you guys like it as much as I enjoyed writing it! And please feel free to leave any comments about your thoughts on it. :)
And don't forget to check out some of the other scenes here.

     “Stop it, Riley! I’m serious, quit it!” I couldn’t help but giggle a little. Riley continued to shove me sideways with his elbow.
     “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He replied, grin showing in his voice.

     “You’re just mad because this will be my third round in a row to win. I’m just so sorry, Ri, but I’m just that good. I hate that you had to find out this way.”

     As if on cue, Mrs. Parker passed by the door and poked her head inside, “Riley, you’re not letting Alexis beat you too badly, are you?” She asked teasingly.
     “No ma’am, I don’t really have to try that hard to beat him.” I replied with a teasing smile.
     “Oh, trust me, I am perfectly aware of that.” She replied with a wink.

     Riley turned to look at his mom for a moment to mock shock that she would say such a thing. It was a well-known fact that his family was always like this though. The first time I ever came over to his house, I learned this right away and jumped right in. I loved spending time with his family. It had become like a second home for me. In no time at all, Riley and I were inseparable best friends. We had a rather unusual friendship too. Everyone anywhere always thought we were dating because we were always invading each other’s personal bubbles. Or we would be if we had one. Even though we had been best friends for years, his brothers and sisters were still suspicious about us having a secret relationship this whole time. Or that we were just in denial that there was anything there. We finally just decided that we knew the truth, and people could think what they wanted because we weren’t changing how we acted around each other.

     I took my chance while Riley was briefly distracted and sent the turtle shell I’d been holding onto for the longest, aimed at his cart, and let it fly. I bounced up and down on the end of the bed in a happy dance as I passed his wrecked cart and went through the finish line.

     “Yes! Winner and still champion, in your face!” I taunted.

     Mrs. Parker just grinned and shook her head while walking away.

     Riley turned the game off, “Ok, then, something else.” He looked at me sideways, and then suddenly pounced on me. “One, t-”
     I quickly countered and flipped him over, ending up on top of him, pinning him to the bed. “I’m sorry, what was it you were saying? I win?” I asked, grinning widely. As much as he wanted to pretend to hate it, I knew he secretly enjoyed our games. We never really wrestled, we would just occasionally pin each other to the floor for some random reason.

     Suddenly a voice came from the open door, “At least close the door if you’re going to be like that.”

     Riley craned his neck around to look at his younger brother, “Shut up, Jordan!”

     Jordan just rolled his eyes in slight disgust and walked off. He was probably the most convinced that there was something more going on with Riley and I.

     He looked back at me and just shook his head, “That kid can be such a brat.”

     I rolled my eyes in response, then I got an idea and smirked at Riley.
     “What?” He asked suspiciously.

     I leaned down and quickly licked the side of his face to show triumph that I still had him pinned.

     “Ew! Yuck! What was that for?” He asked in bewilderment while heavily wiping the side of his face.

     I laughed while I got off of him and climbed to the head of the bed to sit and lean against the wall. “It’s a moose kiss.” I giggled.

     “Oh, really now? Well then maybe you should get one too.” He said with a teasing look in his eyes.

     I squealed slightly, “No!” I argued as he grabbed me and wrapped his arms around me, holding me hostage as he tried to lick my face back. When I wouldn’t let him, he settled for tickling me.

     “Ok, ok, I give, I give!” I cried between gasps and giggles.

     Riley finally backed off a little, and just looked at me with a victorious grin spread across his face.

     I sat back up against the wall and tried to catch my breath. After a moment, I jerked suddenly, causing Riley to stare at me, “What was that?”

     “I just got a sudden chill.” I replied, folding my arms and hugging myself.

     “Oh, well I can take care of that.” He stated simply, while putting his arms around me, rubbing my arms. “Is that better?”

     “Oh, thanks.” I said while snuggling into him slightly. Riley was always warm, even on the coldest day of the year, he was guaranteed to still be warm.

     I felt tiny goose bumps slowly creep down my arms, and I could tell the hairs were rising on the back of my neck. I looked up at him only to find that he was already staring at me. But it was a different look than I had ever seen on his face-at least when looking at me. I had seen that look a time or two when he was looking into the eyes of someone he truly liked.

     But that couldn’t be right… I argued with myself. And yet, somehow I felt drawn to him. Before I knew it, we were slowly moving toward each other as if some internal gravitational pull were controlling us. And neither one of us seemed to have a problem with that.

     He slowly raised his arm and gently placed his hand on my face. He drew me closer to him until we were mere inches apart. I could feel the heat coming off of his chest. I felt my heart beat quicken to the speed where it was pounding against my chest and I was sure he could hear it. If he did, he didn’t say anything. He just continued to stare into my eyes. And I was suddenly very aware of how much I was breathing into his face. My breath had quickened as well, and I seemed to be taking short deep breaths.

     We stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like hours, when suddenly, his gaze moved from my eyes to my lips. I knew it was coming then; any second now. If it were even possible, my heart beat felt faster. Without even realizing it, I held my breath then let it out in one long, slow breath. I stared at his eyes, then his lips, then back again to his eyes. I couldn’t help but stare at his lips though. His full lips that looked so kissable. And now barely an inch away.
     It would be so easy to just kiss him already. I’d barely have to move at all.

     So easy, and yet I didn’t dare move. I felt frozen in place.

     Finally, he began to move the last half inch to kiss me, when, “RILEY!!!”

     He let out a heavy sigh, and hung his head, “That would be Lauren. I’m supposed to go tuck her in tonight.”

     “Oh, uh, right. Yeah, go tuck your little sister in. It’s fine.” I replied, feeling like I just tripped over my own words for speaking too fast.

     Riley gave me a barely readable expression that I took for apologetic. Then he left to go see his baby sister. I did love the girl though, cutest little three-year-old.

     As soon as he had left the room, I collapsed on the bed, What just happened?

Well, I hope y'all enjoyed it! And again, feel free to leave a comment below! I look forward to seeing what everyone's thoughts are on it!

          -Liz

Happy New Year

So I wanted to start this year off by wishing everyone a happy new year. And I hope y'all have just wonderfully fantastic years ahead of you!
I am going to do my absolute best to do better this year on my writing. I can tell in just the past month or two that my writing style has definitely improved. I feel like more of a writer now.
On the note of doing more writing this year, I'd like to share a little heads up on what to expect in the weeks to come.
First of all, there's still Clue: A Modern Tale that I'm working on. The plot summary is simply that when six friends go to a murder mystery show, they discover that it's not so much of a show, and more real than they ever imagined. A fun night has turned into someone's twisted game. I'm really excited about this story. Be watching my Wattpad or Booksie page for updates!
Other than that, there are around four short stories that I'm working on, if not more. Among them are Curiosity, The Candle, and The Missing Clue. There are others, but they have yet to be titled. I have a rough schedule planned for getting three projects hopefully tackled and posted. I'm focusing more on Clue first-after, of course, my No Kiss Blogfest scene is posted. After the next chapter of Clue is up, I'll be working on the previously mentioned short stories a bit and try to get one or two finished, then go back to Clue for another chapter. And somewhere among the craziness, try to finish my NaNoWriMo novel, 3,000 Miles Away. Because as I've said before, I have three friends who will never let me forget it if I don't finish it, haha.
So, that's the crazy year I have ahead of me. But I'm so looking forward to it! And besides, being a bit crazy sort of comes with the territory of being a writer. Not that I mind, of course. ;)
Check back later today for my No Kiss Blogfest scene! I hope y'all like it!

          -Liz

Calling all fantasy lovers...

So I had a pretty fantastic night Thursday night. I was unexpectedly able to go see The Hobbit premiere due to a friend of mine having an extra ticket (in 3D) and they really didn't want it to go to waste. I haven't gotten around to reading the books yet, but I definitely will now. I was especially excited to find out that there's a freaking dragon in The Hobbit! Someone forgot to mention this to me. I love dragons!
Anyway, when the movie was over I stayed with my other friend I wound up sitting with, and we waited until all 10-15 minutes of credits played, only to find out that there was not in fact, an end credits scene. But to pass the time, I was explaining to him that I really want to eventually write a dragon book but I'm not sure what to do about it since nearly everything's been done before. He quickly corrected me saying, "Not necessarily."
So I asked him to give me a few examples. His first idea was simply put, brilliant. I so wish I could give spoilers and share the amazingness of this idea. However, it states it in the title: "spoilers". So alas, I cannot share details at this time, but I am super, super excited about writing this. It may not happen for another year or two. But rest assured-it will happen. And my awesome friend has already been promised to be in the acknowledgements page, and he will be getting an autographed copy because he's just that awesome, haha. And I fully intend on keeping my promise.
A main reason of why it may take longer to get around to writing this is because it's in an area of fantasy in which I am not that experienced. Thankfully, I have two pretty beastly writer friends who both know their way around pretty well with the fantasy genre. It could be because that's pretty much all they write. But then, I never heard anyone complain about too much fantasy either. So because they are so good at what they write, I will be going to them for many, many brainstorming sessions. So chances are, they too will get mentions on the acknowledgements page. But the guy who gave me this brilliant idea comes first, hehehe.
So needless to say, I am so freaking excited about this! And to sweeten the deal just a little bit more, I am going to do my best to work out at least one fictional language, preferably two for this upcoming novel. EEEHH!! Looking forward to getting to work on this!!

     Believing dragons truly existed (no, seriously),
          -Liz

Random Celebratory Post!!

Ok, so this isn't exactly random. I have a point to make here. I have somehow seriously underestimated any number of potential fans of my writing. I know that because this morning, I am transferring some stories from an old writing account to the new one. On the portfolio page, it has your story's title, what genre it is, how many pages, read count, and comment count.
Anyway, I just happen to glance toward the middle of the page to see that ohmygosh, I have over 1,000 reads on one story alone! It's a "short" story (I put short in quotations because my brain insists that short is never below 1,000 words), but still, I'll take the 1,090 reads! It still hasn't sunk in that this has actually happened. It's just...amazing, really. I'm speechless. And I'm a girl! We always have things to say, haha.
But before I go off ranting, there's one person I should thank the most for. And I can never thank them enough for this. I want to thank my God for just being awesome every day. For being there for me when I needed Him most, and for giving me this great talent to share with everyone. I hope any future fame will never go to my head. This 1,090 reads just gives me a mere taste of what that might be like. And I couldn't feel more humbled that that many people enjoy my writing. Thank you everyone, for either reading what I write, or supporting me all along the way in some way. You'll never know how much you mean to me, and how grateful I am for you to be in my life. :)

     Thank You God!
          -Liz

The Unknown Stationary

So a year or two ago, one of my besties randomly made some stationary for me to use as inspiration for my characters in the main book I've been working on. I've told her almost everything there is about this book (almost...some things need to remain a surprise...even to a bestie). But she does know that Derek never fell out of love with Kelsey.
I may not ever get a chance to use the stationary, but I rather like it either way. I included a picture below of what it looks like. It starts off with "My Dearest Kelsey," and ends with "Yours Forever, Derek". And the picture used for the watermark was, at the time, the current picture I was using for the cover. It's changed since then, but I think this works much better.
Thank you, bestie, for always being supportive of my writing. :)

          -Liz

New Story!

Hey everyone! So...Clue: A Modern Tale is finally up! I have it posted on both my Wattpad and Booksie accounts now. It's just the prologue so far, and it's only a couple of paragraphs long, but I am hard at work trying to get more chapters finished, so bear with me. :)
Here are the links to Clue:

Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/story/2352552-clue-a-modern-tale

Booksie: http://www.booksie.com/mystery_and_crime/novel/lizanneglasgow/clue:-a-modern-tale

     Thanks!
          -Liz

Note: The prologue is the only part written from this characters' point of view.

Note note: This is going to be a little different than my usual projects I write.

A Burst of Genius!

Ok, so I'm a bit OCD on posting my drafts in order, but right now, I'll forgive myself. The side project (Clue: A Modern Tale) book I've been brainstorming over for the past few months looks like it might see the light of day really, really soon! As in, by the end of the day! What was originally the prologue, I changed to the first chapter. I knew what I wanted to do for the new prologue, I just needed to think of a great first line. I've started being more hard on myself about writing a first line that immediately grabs the reader's attention and immerses them into the story. I think this one does just that, and keeps attention for the remainder of the prologue. It's only a paragraph long, but some of my better work, I believe.
Anyway, I just had to let some of the excitement out before I go to bed (yes, just now going to bed. Night owl here, remember?). I'm excited to share the prologue with you later today! It will be posted on my Wattpad and Booksie accounts. Look for my next post sharing the links!

          -Liz

Hello There...

Hey everyone! Welcome to my new blog. Which, by the way, I have no idea what I'm going to write about on here. So this first post is probably going to be short and sweet.
I've had other blogs before, but this is my first writing blog. I do have a couple of ideas bouncing around in this round thing I'd like to call my head. In fact, if you'll take a little looksee to the right here (-->), you'll find a poll of what I should write about on here. The ideas so far are listed as Current Books, Future Book Ideas, Teasers, Book Reviews, and Other. You have the option of selecting multiple choices if you simply can't make you're mind up because I'm awesome like that (See how I turned that around on you? Yeah...comes from being awesome. Hehe.). However, if you select Other, please just drop me a quick note via email (LizanneGlasgow@Gmail.com) and let me know your thoughts. I'll share the results as I get them, and whether or not I will consider it. If you would be so kind as to give me a name to address you with, I will even give you a little shoutout. :)
So...yeah. That's pretty much all I've got right now. But before you go, feel free to check out my brand new website, and "like" my official Facebook Page or Twitter...or both! Also feel free to follow my blog, I know it's not much yet, but hopefully I'll have some more ideas soon on what to write about. I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete yet. So go on and vote already, why are you still reading this? Go vote on the poll, then you can read the little note I left you below. Yes...it has to be in that order. Hey...don't argue with me now. (Hehe.)
Yeah....going to bed now. If you're reading this, I already love you because you were awesome enough to come visit my blog. Whether you become a fan or not anytime in the future, well, that's entirely up to you. In any case, I look forward to sharing my stories with you.

     Thank You.
          -Liz

Note: Yes, I realize at the time posted, it is fairly late. Not really for a night owl such as myself. But I did kinda promise myself that I would have my first blog post posted "today", as in, before I went to bed tonight. So here it is, I hope you enjoyed it! :)

Note note: Ok....soo maybe this wasn't quite as short and sweet as I thought. Apparently I have more to say than I realized. Or...it could just come from being a girl. Or a mix of both, I dunno. (Probably the latter, leaning more toward being a girl, hehe.)