skewed rescue

Andi May left. Left her job, the boy she thought loved her, the security. She left it all.For two months, she drifted across the world, with no place to go and nothing to do. But, now, the boy, Drew, has found her and is determined to get her back.

Hiding somewhere in Paris, is a missing diplomat from the United States, and it's up to Drew and Andi to find him, and make sure he returns unharmed. Seeing as she has no choice, Andi joins Drew as they fly to Paris to find the diplomat. 

But, once they arrive, Drew and Andi soon learn that the kidnappers have no plans to give up their hostage, sending Drew and Andi across the city, looking for clues and their missing man.With a time limit over their heads, Andi and Drew must find a way to save their man, and Andi must find herself again, or they may just all lose their lives. 

Wohoo! I am so excited to share this with you guys. I apologize for the crummy cover/pitch. Looking over it, it sounds like a romance book (not that there's anything wrong with romance books, I just don't write them). Let me tell you a little about this book:
You could argue that it's kind of The Assassin's big sister. Why? Well, it's a little more:

• edgier
• mature
• tougher topics
• dangerous
• sexier

Plus a lot more. I feel like, for Andi, the stakes are much higher than for Cassie (which is strange to think, and I'm sure why I feel like that.)

I've started working on this book (I'm handwriting it while I finish up TA) and in the first scene, Andi is being chased by Drew....
So, does that give you a little peak into what on Earth is going on in my mind while I write this?

I'll have a teaser sometime soon, once I have more written.

a brutal day....

Well, more so yesterday than today....

Yesterday, I went to work, and they over scheduled my department.....

So, guess who spent three hours standing in one spot going "hi, welcome to main event! Hi, welcome to main event! Hi, welcome to main event! Thanks, come again!" 

Yeah, that girl right there. ^^

After thirty minutes, my lip was bleeding and I couldn't feel my feet. Thank God for some of my co-workers who talked to me between their parties, otherwise I would have died of boredom. 

Yeah, life as a working girl. It's interesting. I'm not sure if I've ever actually talked about my job on here.... Well, in case I haven't, I work at this place called Main Event. It's got bowling and laser tag, billiards and lots of arcade games. 

I'm a party host, which means I get paid to get bowling shoes, go save those balls that get stuck on the lane, take your kids to the bathroom, pull pizzas out of a burning hot oven (without gloves), light your child's candles (without burning the building down or my finger off) and pick up all the trash afterwords. Yeah, life is so glamorous being a party host. 

Despite all of it, I actually like my job. True, it does pay pretty nice, but I like working for things besides the money. I like my coworkers in my department and my supervisor. 

What I do not like is standing around for three hours repeating "Welcome to main event" for minimum wage. The least they could do is give me a stinking chair or a break! 

But, today was the first day I went to school since I turned 18. Crazy stuff. We had all of last week off, but I ditched the Friday before so I could go visit a college. (Stephen F. Austin, if you were wondering) and then the next day (Saturday), I went and visited the rival college, Sam Houston State. (The shirt I'm wearing in the picture is a shirt from Sam Houston) . I also visited Texas A&M, home of the fightin' Texas Aggies (that's where Aggie the dog gets her name - I'm an Aggie baby). 

But, my poor allergies. I went through multiple climates and areas of Texas in the past week, so I've been exposed to everything I could ever imagine being possible to in the span of a week. 

And, why is it when I come back home, it's so freaking cold? 31 degrees this morning! BRR! Anyways, I'm off to go freeze to death! 

sponsor in december

P&ACL is growing, and I'd love to be able to get to know some of my new followers! For rates and questions, click here. 

And, I'm adding a means of sponsoring! 

-Now, I'm accepting giveaways as a means for sponsorship. I'll take esty items, blog designs, or anything else you can think of to giveaway. You do a giveaway on my blog, and I'll host your button for two months.

Email me at lalatennisketter[at]gmail[dot]com if you want to sponsor!

what a week....

hope y'all all had a fabulous Thanksgiving and for those of you who were out shopping yesterday, hope you got some great deals and stayed safe!

It was a long, tiring, week, this morning has been exhausting, my car needs gas, and I have to go to work in a bit. So, I'll let the photos tell you how my week was. 

why i'm now a summarizer.

So sorry for the lack of updates. I'm on vacation. I went to visit a college on Friday, and then a different one yesterday. They're my top picks and I'm pretty sure I've narrowed it down to one. But that's not the point of this post. Today's point is summaries and why they're a good thing to have.

I'm sure many of us start out writing as pantsers. To learn more about that, go visit this wonderful blog post by the lovely Marisa. She covers the differences quite well.
Anyways, I think it's safe to say many writers start out doing just that... writing. No planning, thinking about the ending of the book, ect.... We don't know any better. We just want to write, am I correct? When I finished the very first handwritten draft of The Assassin back in eigth grade (I'm still in shock it's been that long!) it couldn't have been more than forty pages, and instead of being sad that the book was over, I flipped the page over and started the sequel....
Because I didn't know any better.
Sometimes I wish I could go back to that simple drive to just write, none of this meeting a word goal, or finishing by this point.... You know?
Up until I tried NaNoWriMo last year with Snatched, I had never outlined a book. At all. I just kept the thoughts in my head, and it usually worked well.
Well, I tried to outline Snatched, and it was a good outline, but I lost it halfway through Novemeber and had to make a new one (I found the original the day after I finished the novel). And now, I can't write a book without outlining at all. My outlines are pretty simple, in fact, here's a part of the The Assassin outline.

Chapter one:
-murder scene
-murder is botched
-Cassie sees Brent

Chapter two:
-followed to school
-introduce Seth
-Cassie goes home, is knocked out

Chapter three:
-Sarah is murdered

See, just a few notes about what happens in each chapter. Nice and simple....
Until last night, when Evie (check out her new blog!) told me I needed to write a summary so she could help me. A summary. Should be detailed, but not too long. It's now three and a half pages of me covering major plot points, rambling, and a few curses when I can't think of the right word!
But, while the first part is sketchy because I don't remember exactly what I wrote, for the part that I haven't written, it's doing wonders. I'm getting into specific plot points that wouldn't be covered in an outline. The first paragraph of my summary is this:

Cassie Dreandry is a fifteen year-old girl who deals with normal problems like boys and mean girls. But, by night, she’s an infamous killer simply known as the Assassin.  While the general public believes the Assassin is some looney bin, twenty something year-old guy living alone in the mountains, but in reality, the Assassin works for the United States government, targeting people the government believes to be a threat.

Here’s where the real story begins. On a mission to kill a terrorist who plans to attack New York City, Cassie is befounded when another person comes in and kills the terrorist before she does.  Confused and a little freaked out, she leaves.

Haha, I lied. That's two paragraphs. But, see, it goes into so much more detail than just the dashes of an outline.
I have a feeling this will be replacing my general outlines from now on. The summary is definetly helping me understand Cassie better, especially since I've just made a really big change and introduced a character that wasn't supposed to come until a later book. So, this has been majorly helpful.
Onto y'all. What do you do to prepare yourself for writing a book? Do you outline, summarize, or pants along? Or do you have another form of plotting? Let me know!

The Last Day

Yeah, in about 6 hours....

I'll be a legal adult....

Woah.....

Crazy stuff....

I feel like being 18 has been something I've waited for a long time. I'm a pretty self-reliant person, except for the whole having my mom sign my permission slips and what not.... But after tomorrow? I'll have to sign them myself.

Somehow, I don't think I'm quite ready to be 18 yet. Just not yet. 

But, I don't really have a choice, do I?

feeling a bit generous

I hope I spelled generous right.....
Anyways, I'm feeling a bit generious, so today, I'm going to post the second chapter of The Assassin. To read chapter one, click here and scroll to the second part (I think it's the second part). So, enjoy!

Feel free to critique.
This is a long chapter.
JUST KIDDING! HAHA! The formating is way screwed up, so if you want to rread both one and two, click here to visit them on google docs.
 Yeah, so, I'm going to go actually write now....
Bye guys.....

authentic people

Because I'm kind of out of it right now, but I really need to do a post, I'm joining the authentic people blog party! 

So.... here we go!

1} What's the nerdiest/geekiest/weirdest thing about you?

I write books! And lots of them! I mean, what's more nerdy than that? 

2} If you could live in a fictional universe from any book, movie, or television show, what would it be?

The world of Vampire Academy. I mean, Rose is pretty amazing, and she has Dimitiri. I love him. <3

3} What is one of your favorite items in the house? 

My elephant piggy bank. I think I have a picture of it somewhere.... *looks*

Just kidding. 

4} Do you like animated movies? If so what's your favorite?

Yep, I do. Some of my favorites are Anastasia (which is NOT a Disney movie), Tangled, and.....

5} What is your favorite household chore?

Um..... doing laundry. I actually kind of like folding clothes.

6} What's your favorite thing to get at Starbucks? 

Hot chocolate. That's the only thing I get from there. 

7} What is you favorite pizza topping? 

pepperoni. Love that stuff. 

8} Waffles or pancakes

Waffles are good, but I love the softness of the pancakes... so PANCAKES!

9} Do you like to play games? If so, what is your favorite?

Words with friends is always a fun one. I play that all the time! 

10} Have you ever let anyone win a game?

no one my age. Maybe a sibling or cousin who's younger than me.... But, I'm too competitive to.

11} Have you ever dyed your hair?

Nope, but I'm thinking about getting extensions, which means I may have to dye it to match the extensions. 

12} Do you make your bed every morning?

Ha.... no..... I probably should though. Most days, my bed looks like this after I get out of it. 

13} Picasso or Norman Rockwell?

Uh,,,, Who? 

14} Do you like carpet, tile, or hardwood floors?

Anything but tile..... 

15} If you could put one thing in a safe under your bed, what would it be?

my stuffed elephant collection! 

16} What's your favorite condiment?

eh...... Not a big condiment person. 

17} Have you ever thrown up on someone (excluding when you were a child)?

oh, weird question. no.

18} What was the last thing that made you laugh?

It's too early in the morning to remember! 

19. Think fast! What's the first song that pops into your head?

Baggage Claim by Miranda Lambert. Such a clever song.

you're invited

It's official. I woke up one morning this week and decided that for my 18th year, I was going to do the 365 project! So, as to avoid spamming your newsfeeds EVERY single day with pictures (especially you who follow for my writing, and only the writing), I created a blog specifically for photos. The title "The Story of Us" comes from the Taylor Swift song, "The Story of Us." I thought that was a pretty cool title seeing as photos really do tell the story of us, humans. The blog is already up, and I've posted a bunch of photos up (mostly of clouds), but a few were from my trip to Midwestern State University this past Monday. So, like I said, the blog is already up and running, so feel free to follow, admire, and spread the word!

Also, I'd like to thank y'all for your generosity during this really tough week in my family. It amazes me how kind people you've never met can be, and how much the power of prayer and kind thoughts can help a family. Thank you so much guys. 

fall

Guys, please excuse my absence for the next few days, my grandma passed away in the early morning hours of Monday. My family and I are doing okay, we knew it was coming, she'd been sick for a very long time, but it's still hard.... So, I thought I'd leave you with some fall-ish pictures, since, here in Texas, it actually looks like fall now.

nobody's fool

Have you ever done something you've gone on to regret later in life?
This song is for you. Especially for relationships.... In Miranda's words, and don't quote me on this, this is just from my memory, she said she has songs like "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" and "Kerosene"

, but "Nobody's Fool" is about after the fact. After you realize what an idiot you made of yourself.... because of him.
Last night, I told my friend that Miranda Lambert songs were to me like Taylor Swift songs are to normal teenage girls. You know, how every girl loved "Our Song" because it was "their" song? And everyone claims they instantly relate to Taylor's songs, even if they really don't? This is where you nod your heads and say "yes, Laura, teenage girls do." Trust me! I know!
But, for me, Miranda Lambert will always write songs that I can relate to. Minus the whole drinking thing. Because, well, I'm still too young for that. Only..... *does math* Three years, one week, and five days until I can legally drink! (So, based on that, can y'all figure out when my 18th birthday is? Just out of curiousity?)
So, I'm off to go get ready for work (that's a different blog post in itself.)
Happy Saturday! If you live in the U.S., enjoy your extra hour of sleep tonight, I know I will!

life according to lala // clouds

I've got this strange obsession with clouds.....