Monday, November 26, 2012

A Day in the Life: Ghenet Myrthil

You know what I had to do to convince the astonishingly adorable Ghenet Myrthil to give me a Day in the Life? I went all the way to New York City this summer and forced her to eat lunch with me. Trufax.
***
I'm so excited to participate in Sophia's Day in the Life series! I work full-time in book publishing in New York City, and the rest of the time, I write young adult novels. It can sometimes be tough to balance everything, but I always find time throughout the day to squeeze in reading and writing. Here's what a day this past summer looked like:

6:30 am: My first alarm goes off. I turn it off and fall back asleep.

6:45 am: My second alarm goes off. I reluctantly open my eyes and grab my iPhone. Yes, I'm one of those people who checks her email first thing in the morning. And Instagram. And my RSS reader app. And Pinterest. Obsessed, much? I admit it!

7:00 am: I get out of bed, hop in the shower, and get dressed. CBS This Morning plays in the background. I also get my breakfast and lunch together to bring to work.

8:15 am: If I'm lucky, my husband can drive me to the train station. If not, I either take the shuttle bus or walk. Today, I'm lucky! I hop in the car with him and we drive for 5 minutes to the station.

8:25 am: I wait for my train and marvel at the pretty view of the Hudson River. While I wait, I listen to a This American Life podcast episode on my iPhone.

8:30 am: Train's here. Off to the city I go! I usually use this time to read. Today, it's an ARC of Skinny by Donna Cooner.

9:00 am: I arrive at Grand Central and walk a few blocks to work.

9:15 am: Before I go inside, I make a pit stop at Au Bon Pain, where I get my usual coffee - French vanilla, soy milk, two sugars.

9:20 am: I settle in at my desk, have my coffee and breakfast (fruit and a cereal bar), and answer emails. Working in book publishing is awesome, but my workday is pretty typical of any office job. Lots of emails with meetings sprinkled in between. The best part is being surrounded by so. many. books.

1:00 pm: I take my lunch break. Since it's nice out, I bring my lunch outside. I find a seat on a bench and balance my salad on my lap as I read more of Skinny. This time of day, midtown Manhattan is packed with people eating lunch outside. The pigeons join us.

2:00 pm: I'm back in my office for the next few hours, answering more emails, and taking a break or two to chat with my coworkers. At one point, I stare out my office window at the huge super-weed that's been growing like crazy on the roof outside. A little greenery in this concrete jungle!

5:30 pm: Work day's over! Now it's time for my favorite part of the week - Write Nite! Once a week, a few writer friends and I meet at a nearby Manhattan cafe to write. We don't critique each other's work. We just break out our laptops/notebooks and spend 2+ hours focusing on our WIPs. We are surprisingly productive when we're together. I walk the 10 blocks to the cafe to meet the girls, while listening to another podcast. (Another favorite is This Creative Life by Sara Zarr.) On the way, I pass through Rockefeller Center.

6:00 pm: I arrive at the cafe, grab a beverage and chat with the girls for a few minutes about how our writing is going. 6:10 pm: Enough chit chat. Time to get down to work. I work on revising my manuscript, based on feedback I received from beta readers and an SCBWI conference critique.

8:00 pm: Our writing session is over. While I was writing, my husband texted me to say he could swing by the cafe on his way home from work so I don't have to take the train. Score! On the ride home, I snap pics of the gorgeous NYC sunset. Moments like this make me love this city.

8:45 pm: My husband and I get home and eat dinner. On many nights, I work on my novel or write a blog post, but since I just came from Write Nite, I spend some quality time with my husband instead. We watch some TV (So You Think You Can Dance FTW!) and then around

11:00 pm, I go to bed. Gotta get my 7-8 hours of sleep! Thanks for having me, Sophia!  



Ghenet Myrthil is a young adult writer with an MFA in Writing for Children from The New School. She’s currently seeking representation for her first novel. You can find her blogging at www.ghenetmyrthil.com, tweeting @ghenet, and on Instagram.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Sunshine Blog Award - Duckfaces Welcome

Thank you Kristy from Two Nerds. One Dream. Zero Results. for giving me something to blog about this award!

There's something wrong with the questions, you say? Yes there is! I've swapped most of them out for a set I found on Tumblr, the hipster's Facebook.

1: Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? 

The doors are sliding mirrors and I keep the side facing the bed open because I 1) don't want to wake up and give myself a heart attack thinking there's some ghost girl rising from my bed 2) read something about feng shui somewhere once.

2: Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel? 

No, I'm pretty particular about the type of shampoo and conditioner I use (must be wave-enhancing for the latter because I love curly hair).

3: Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? 

Who in the world sleeps with sheets tucked in?? Do you like your toes being in permanent Barbie position?

4: Have you ever stolen a street sign before? 

I wish! My friends once cut down my iPod ad plastered on some construction site. There were like months of other posters stuck behind it. Those things are also surprisingly large.

5. What is your Favorite Time of Year?

Summer, hands down. If it could be summer all year long I would make it so.

6. What is your Favorite Time of Day?

Late night when traffic dies down and the creepy crawlies come out to play.

7. Which are better legos or lincoln logs?

Lincoln logs. I spent all my Monopoly money on an incomplete set of them in 1st grade during a school auction. I didn't really know how to count money so I just held up everything I had. All in, baby.

8. Do you always smile for pictures? 

I try to MySpace duck face as much as possible. Like this:


(this shot is probably going to end up all over the internet and be my downfall - the lengths I go to to entertain my readers)

I tag the ladies of Tiger Tea Tent from Camp NaNoWriMo 2012:

Julie Dao
Wistfully Linda
Krispy and Alz
Emy Shin

and

Lydia Kang cuz she's an awesome Azn Lady too

Friday, November 9, 2012

Jon Klassen Signing and Halloween with Krispy and Alz

Hat-lovers gathered at an art gallery in L.A. last weekend for an exhibit and book signing with Jon Klassen, author and illustrator of This Is Not My Hat, which is currently up for the 2012 Goodreads Best Picture Book Nominations.


Guess who else likes hats: our favorite blogging duo Krispy & Alz! I have a rare photo of Alz's full form - recognize her from her signature single long braid.

Alz, Krispy and I meeting under a shady parking lot lamp
And in case you missed Krispy's Halloween post, Glinda the Good Witch and Taylor Swift had some "Boo"-ba last week:


Wednesday, November 7, 2012

NaNoRevMo 2012

Thank you everyone who sent me emotional support and hugs after the rough weekend. I'm moving on and diving into writing - my anchor.


Like last year, I'm doing NaNoRevMo - a month of revision.

I'd still love for you to friend me on NaNoWriMo, though I may only log words for the chapters/scenes I rewrite entirely.

No more procrastinating now.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Rough

My NaNoRevMo post was going to go up on Friday but something traumatic happened.

I woke up to police tape cordoning off the driveways and cars.  There was a bullet-riddled car outside and blood splattering the sidewalk.  A neighbor's friends were involved in a gang shooting and someone died out on the street that night before.

I've chosen not to post a photo of this, but I can't get the images out of my head.  I see the bloody sneakers and pile of clothes and I do not have a strong stomach.

I am not returning to that house where this took place and am safe where I am living right now; I'm just shaken.  I've tried to continue life as usual, working and talking to friends.  Revising my novel has been a big help.  I've been crying a bit and my jaw hurts when I wake in the morning, but I know that will pass.

I just needed to clear this; thanks for listening and thank you to my Facebook friends who've given their emotional support.


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