I know, y'all. I know. I have failed so, so hard at NaNoBloMo. Siiiigh... In my defense, there was some family stuff, then a sick kid, then books to write, so I promise I haven't been kicking back eating bon-bons, and not blogging! (Okay, I ate some bon-bons. If those Dove dark chocolate heart thingies can be called bon-bons.)

BUT next week, there will be all kinds of exciting content! Like news of...BOOK TOUR! And (maybe, hopefully, fingers crossed!) MY COVER!!

Until then, you just have a few more days to register to win an ARC of HEX HALL at Goodreads! We're already up to nearly 1100 (!!!) people, which is just...yeah, the mind, it is boggling.

See you on Monday, AKA My Birthiversary!

HA! You suckers thought I wasn't going to blog tonight, didn't you? Well, HA! I say. HAAA! Because here I am, all blogging and stuff at 9:30 at night. Okay, so when I was doing the School Visits of Awesome last week, I had one of those things happen where a kid asked a question SO GREAT that I totally blanked on answering it. And I told her I'd think about it, and blog the answer once I'd come up with something. So this is me, fulfilling that vow!

The question was: Is there a motto you live by?

Right away, you see that this is a freakin' cool question. And I DO have mottoes, lots of 'em! The problem is... well, most of them are from my dad, and he was, um, a SAILOR, so they're not exactly suitable for sharing with 7-12th graders. (They are however, Brilliant And Amazing, like, "Just sit back until you know who all the a-holes are," and "Don't mean sh*t to a tree." I seriously use at least one of those every week.)

As is always the way with these things, an answer occurred to me just a few hours later. There's a magnet I have on my fridge that I read every single day. As far as mottoes go, it's a long one. Still, I think it's the best "this is what I try to live by" statement I could find. Girl Who Asked Great, Yet Stumping Question, this one is for you!

“To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I know, I know, I did not blog yesterday. Sadness. But maybe I'll try to do something AMAZING soon, and blog, like, twice in one day or something. But for now, I'm still SO worn out from my school visit extravaganza. So in lieu of actual content (Look, principal at Black Hole of Suck! That is how you actually use that phrase!), I'm sending you to Awesome Things That You Should Read.

First off, please, please, please go read Chantel Acevedo's blog post about the horrific arrest and beating of several Cuban bloggers, notably Yoani Sanchez. These brave men and women literally risk their lives- and the lives of their friends and families- to tell the truth about life in Cuba under Castro, and the more we can spread the word about what happened there, the better.

Secondly, go check out Agent Holly's fabulous post on how she is not, in fact, Emperor Palpatine. (You can imagine how disappointed I was to learn that!) Seriously, though, it is a GREAT post for any aspiring writers who are quivering in their boots at the thought of agents and queries. Also, yes, you should all SEETHE WITH JEALOUSY that some one so kick-ass is my agent.

And thirdly, if you are a GROWN-UP TYPE PERSON, go read Patrick Rothfuss's post on why, despite Living the Dream as a full time writer, he still sometimes hates his job. I just bought Patrick's THE NAME OF THE WIND, an huuuuge epic fantasy novel. Only a few chapters in, but so far it is brilliant, and refreshingly free of "twee" fantasy stuff, like dumb names or extremely two-dimensional characters. Anyway, his post is HILARIOUS, and so, so true. (But again. Naughty language ahoy!)

Now I'm gonna go back to bed until I recover from talking to people for 2 days straight...

I realize this is very close to whiffing on my NaNoBloMo, but y'all. Y'ALL. I am sooooo tired! I talked to a bunch of extremely awesome students today, and while the experience rocked my face off, it reminded me that talking all day is. ex. haust. ing. So I'm gonna go pop another lozenge and hit the hay. Expect a full report soon! And if any of you reading this are the kids I saw today, THANK YOU!! You were so fun, and had such great questions, and the tired is so, so worth it!

Look, when I started this whole NaNoBloMo thing, I promised content every day. I did not necessarily promise substantive content every day. ;-) Right now, I'm packing for a trip to The Hometown, trying to pick up the house, and dealing with a Haircut Tragedy, so I have to keep it kind of brief.

Tomorrow, I'll be at my alma mater, Houston Academy, talking to a bunch of English students about all kinds of fun things. I've set aside some time for a Q&A section with the kids, which could possibly lead to many blank faces, but hey. I used to be a teacher. I'm used to that.

So until I return tomorrow with Tales Of Adventure From My Old High School, I was wondering if you, my blog readers had any questions. They can be about anything. HEX HALL, writing, the pub biz, Xanadu... I'm open! Leave any Qs, serious or completely ridiculous, in the comments section, and I'll tackle them this weekend! Heck, I'll even let you be anonymous. Go for it!

Until tomorrow!

OMG! I nearly fell down on the NaNoBloMo on the SECOND DAY! How lame is that?? This is what happens when one spends half the day writing her happy little brains out, and the rest of the afternoon watching weird French movies with random singing (God bless Netflix Insta-Player!)

I've been thinking about goals a lot here lately, namely what kind of goals I have for my career. Now, most writers have totally boring goals like hitting the NYT Bestseller list, or going on Oprah. (Side note-that-is-actually-rant: People ask me A LOT about Oprah, and I...yeah, I don't get it. I write books about teenage witches, and vampires, and shapeshifters, and a reform school on an island. I personally think all those things are FREAKIN' AWESOME, but Oprah material, they are not. So no, I am never, ever, ever going to go on Oprah with my books, and that is fine by me. Added Additional Rant: I hate when people dismiss Oprah's Book Club. She's picked some great stuff, and pretty much all of it has been challenging, interesting literature. Go read THE POISONWOOD BIBLE, or FALL ON YOUR KNEES, or PARADISE, and tell me she only picks "fluff books," m'kay?)

ANYWAY. Those are great goals to have, no doubt, but I like to think outside the box. And so I present to you my Top Ten Career Goals:

1) Overwrought YouTube Video Tributes to HEX HALL, as has been previously mentioned.

2) Being the celebrity judge at my hometown's Miss National Peanut Festival Pageant, not-so-affectionately referred to as "Miss Nut." (Also, the fact that I just called it "Miss Nut" means that I will never be asked to be a celebrity judge. DAMMIT!)

3)Ditch The Husband for Celebrity Boyfriend; Be Scandalous/Fabulous (Look, I know this one is not that nice, but if I have a chance to be Mrs. Prince Caspian...er, Mrs. Ben Barnes, then I WILL TAKE IT, PEOPLE. And so would you. Don't lie.)

4) Two Words: Hawkins. Manor.

5)Become BFF with Dolly Parton and/or Paula Deen. (Ideally, it would be both of them, and we'd do one of Paula's shows together, and then I would die of happiness.)

6)HEX HALL: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL

7)Slumber Parties with J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer

8)Scandalous Biography of Me by Kitty Kelly. Wait, is Kitty Kelly still alive? I think she is. Should maybe Google...Okay, YES, Kitty Kelly still alive. GOAL SET.

9)Have Vast Quantity of Internet Taken Up with Slash Fanfiction of HEX HALL Characters, Even Though Only One Character is Actually Gay.

10) Own Brand of Boxed Wine.

So that sums it up! Surely, I can make these things happen, preferably by next Thursday. Will let you know! ;-)

Hey, you guys remember last year when I tried to finish REBEL BELLE during NaNoWriMo, and I failed epically at it? Well, I'm at it again! NaNoWriMo, that is. Not finishing REBEL BELLE. I'm still working on that, but this November, I'm tackling a whole new Super Seeeekriiiit Project. After finishing HEX HALL 2, I was a little adrift at what to do next. I'm around 40K into RB, but I was really looking for something new to sink my teeth into. I'd thought about starting work on my New Adult Paranormal Book, but, again, after HH2, I wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to hang out with ghosts and witches again.

So I did what I always do when I'm in a writing funk, and talked to an Awesome Author Friend, Chantel Acevedo. Chantel was in the same boat; wanted to do NaNo, didn't want to work on something in her normal vein. Over chips and salsa, we got to chatting about the Super Seeeeekriiiiit Projects currently bouncing around in our brains, and we each decided that the other's SSP was freakin' awesome. And lo, a pact was made: We would use NaNoWriMo to stretch our writerly muscles, and hammer out 50K words on books that actually seemed like FUN to write.

So what IS my Super Seeeekriiiit Project? Well... I can't say. It is, after all, seeeeekriiiit. But I will say that it is straight fantasy- no paranormal elements involved!- and that I've been doing a lot of research into 17th century England as research. See? Seeeekriiiit. So far, I'm 600 words in, and while it IS tough- no snarky teenagers! Coming up with names that are "fantastical" without being, um, stupid!- it's been fun. As in, giddy, butterflies-in-tummy fun. It may never see the light of day, much less get published, but that's okay. It is my Brain Sorbet between HEX HALL books, and I lurve it.

Now, not only will I be tackling NaNoWriMo, but I also plan on- wait for it- BLOGGING EVERY DAY IN NOVEMBER! I know, I am crazy. But I think it might be helpful to blog about the wacky NaNoWriMo process, and besides, I'll have exciting things to talk about like MY COVER! Seriously, it is coming ANY DAY NOW!

So please join me on this possibly insanity-inducing journey. Anyone else out there taking the NanNoWriMo plunge? If so, buddy me! I'm under the ever-so-creative name, Rachel Hawkins. Until tomorrow, dear friends!