MY MUSE, GRISELDA

Yup, here she is: Griselda, my muse, who has occupied my office for the past ten years. (Anytime somebody says "muse," I instantly get this picture in my head: black hair, tambourine and all...)

I'm eyebrow-deep in yet another project right now; good ol' Griselda's been working overtime this summer...

YOU CAN "LIKE" ME, REALLY "LIKE" ME

Yup, it's true...I just created my own "fan" page at Facebook!

Be sure to head on over to the page and give 'er the old thumbs up:

Holly Schindler on Facebook

TV SERIES PITCH

School starts here in Springfield today...and in honor of the new school year, I'd like to vote that we develop a sitcom set in a grade school that stars all of the "teachers" in the current Target ads (my fave is the music teacher).

Come on...don't these ads make you giggle every single time they air?

FOLLOW FRIDAY #5

I'm back for another Follow Friday! Love this meme...

This week, the question is basically, "Which book would you write yourself into and what role would you play in that book?"

Weeeell...I sort of already did.


Both of my published books (A BLUE SO DARK and PLAYING HURT) are 100% fictitious. The events and characters are complete figments of my own imagination.

...But there's just something about writing in first person. Bits of myself naturally leak out. My humor, my observations, drips of my own personality become part of my characters. And it doesn't matter how unlike me my characters might seem at first. I even see bits of myself in Clint, the male protagonist from PLAYING HURT.

So in a way, I feel as though I am very much a part of both of my books. (I don't think I'm the only writer who feels this way, either. I think this is part of the reason why written work always feels so very personal to the author...)

New followers, please leave a comment so I can head on over to your blog! (Also, be sure to check out my last post...we're looking for fabulous topics at my YA group author blog, YA Outside the Lines!)

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST Qs

I know I've mentioned this previously (the idea of sending me your topics for September blog posts for my YA group blog, YA Outside the Lines). But I also just filmed a short vid about using your topics for our posts, and I had to share...

We're getting some really great suggestions in, but I'd love to have more! Slapstick funny or deadpan serious...it's up to you! Go ahead and leave any ideas in the comments to this post.

Thanks in advance for your fabulous suggestions!

FOLLOW FRIDAY: MY RETURN

It's been so long since I participated in Parajunkee's Follow Friday! I love this week's question, which is basically, "How have your reading habits changed since you were a teen?"

To answer, I'm counting college as part of my teen years...after all, I was a lit major when I was 18-19 years old.

College taught me how to read with a pencil. To scour the books, underlining, making constant notes in the margins as I searched for potential test material or quotes for term papers. When I got out of school, finally, as a 24-year-old with a newly-minted master's degree, I still read with a pencil, looking to find out how successful, published authors got their stories on the page (I had to learn to write all over again following graduation; I sincerely believe there's a difference between academic fiction and mainstream / trade publishing fiction, but that's a post for another day).

Bloggers, though? Bloggers read with their gut. Bloggers respond to books on an emotional level, not just an intellectual level. They view characters as people they either connect with, want to befriend, or punch in the face.

I can't turn off the writer in me; I can't completely silence the margin-note-taker. But more and more, I find myself letting my emotions come into play now when I read, too...And that's definitely allowing me to continue to grow as a writer...

New followers, post comments below so I can head straight over to your own blogs!

REDEFINING "TORTURE"

As a writer, I spend more than my fair share of time thinking about the shades and meanings of words. This summer, it seems my old home state of MO is providing a brand-new definition of "torture," as this video explains:

YA OUTSIDE THE LINES: CALLING ALL QUESTIONS

I recently took over administrative duties at my YA group blog, YA Outside the Lines. (Don't worry; the blog's previous administrator, the fabulous Jennifer Echols, is continuing to blog at YAOTL, too...)


Like my MG blog, Smack Dab in the Middle, everybody at YA Outside the Lines blogs about one theme per month...And for our September posts, we'd like to hear from you guys! Send us your questions: the kookier and quirkier, the better! Don't be shy! Head over to YAOTL, check out who's blogging there, follow along, and shoot some funky q's to writehollyschindler (at) yahoo (dot) com...even leave a few questions in the comments below! Nothing's off limits.

Can't wait to hear from you!