So You Think You Can Dance Wrap-up and Check In

I'm not back!  It's admissions and SAT season so I've been working 7 days a week and am pretty stressed out.  But I wanted to wrap up So You Think You Can Dance Summer and bring you your Sophia Hangs with a Celebrity photo of the month.

I was very pleased that Team Ballet won 2012 SYTYCD!

But here in L.A. animation stole the show.  Dragon House, home of finalist Cyrus, was in town for their SYTYCD performance and I got to dance with Brian "Chibi" Gaynor.

Chibi tears it up at a Hollywood club

Then the same day Chibi performed on the SYTYCD finale, my buddy's band Monsters Calling Home played the Jimmy Kimmel show!  It was a friendly night on TV last month.

Here's Ellen Oh's fangirl post on Monsters Calling Home, who are an all-Asian-American folk band.

Back to my revision and work cave now!

More Day in the Life to come, plus an account of the 2012 Los Angeles Pie Tour I've been hosting.  To keep up to date, find me on facebook where the latest controversy is my Am I A Hipster? photo album.  (Friends say yes.)

My New French Boyfriend Gilles Marini

The Yardbirds sang at the Angel Awards again this year, benefiting Project Angel Food.  At last year's awards, we shared our green room with some Glee kids.

This year, I met my new boyfriend, Gilles Marini of ABC's Brothers and Sisters, Dancing with the Stars and Switched at Birth.

 talking with my new boyfriend and his, um, wife

I can't gush enough about how down to earth Gilles and his wife are, so I'll just say

BACK OFF LADIES!

I also embarrassed myself by stalking Alan Cumming, whose Scottish accent is unbearably adorable.

We lacked altos for this gig so two of us sopranos had to swing parts at the last minute and did a great job faking finesse.  Here are the boys starting House of Blue Lights: (you can see Cylon-girl Tricia Helfer in the bottom right corner)

Wordless Wednesday: I Look Like Vince Vaughn

Two of my childhood future-husbands are on here...can you guess which ones?

You can waste time too at Celebrity Look Alike Generator

A Macrobiotic Birthday

It's my birthday week!  I kicked it off with vegan sushi and karaoke, and am ending it with a free boat ride to Catalina Island.  Because nothing's better than being on a boat.

(Right, Krispy?)

We'll be back!

SCBWI Recap: The Hippie Hop

My back hurts.  I'm shell shocked.  My eyes are sore from lack of sleep.
It must be the 41st SCBWI National Conference!

I am insane did all 4 days this year, including the annual heavy partying poolside at the Hyatt in Los Angeles.  This year's theme was hippies, so we've got a fake Vietnam vet and our favorite Asian American writers with peace signs temporarily tattooed on their cheeks.

with Kat Yeh

with Michael Reisman

An unofficial Guess the Asian, 60's version:

Rita Crayon Huang, Jo Whittemore, me, Cindy Pon, and Emily Jiang

More photos to come after I recover from carrying around signed books and dancing on the stage!

Tiger Tea Tent Debuts at Camp NaNoWriMo!

Greetings from CampNaNoWriMo!

I'm writing from a cabin with five of your favorite Asian American female bloggers from around the world.  It took 3 days of coordinating a 16-hour time zone difference to present to you:

Tiger Tea Tent:

Camp NaNo's Only All-Azn Lady Cabin 

THE CAMPERS:

Julie Dao a.k.a. juleswrites

Novel: ELEGY
Genre: YA Mystery/Paranormal

Julie is relying on the magical power of chocolate-covered gummy bears to help her get through Camp NaNoWriMo.

Linda a.k.a. wistfullylinda

Novel: PURE AWESOMENESS (aka a fancier version of UNTITLED)
Genre: Fantasy

Linda has a love-hate relationship with NaNoWriMo; she is rather fond of the ease and instant gratification of signing up, but very much less so of the fog of failure that blooms above her head for a month due to her word count deficiencies. But, with the support of her cabinmates and the lessons she learned last time, she's pretty sure she'll manage to write at least a couple thousand more words than she did last year.

Alz a.k.a. shizalent


Novel: MINER (working title) / THE LAST MANATEE (side project for Camp Nano, for if I need a break)
Genre: High Fantasy / Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Fantasy with a Side of Manatees (link to Last Manatee post)

Alz has been faithfully Nanowrimoing since 2004 and faithfully Camp Nanoing since 2011. Her attention span has been getting shorter these days (hence the possible side project) but with manatees around, maybe her mind (what little there is) will stay more focused.

Emy Shin a.k.a. justemy


Novel: CHRONO
Genre: YA Science Fiction

Emy is a one-time NaNo winner and many-times NaNo loser who will hopefully up her score this time around!

Krispy a.k.a. Kangaru

Novel: (it's stand-in not-really name is...) LUCK
Genre: Fantasy

Krispy is an enthusiastic NaNo-er who never seems to learn she should really plan some stuff before she attempts to write 50,000 words in a month. Oh well. Good thing she's a pantser, and mostly she's at camp for the smores.

Sophia Chang a.k.a. YellowTypingFiend
Unofficial Cabin Counselor

Novel: UNTITLED EPIC FANTASY
Genre: YA Fantasy

NaNoWriMo is singularly responsible for Sophia finishing her first novel - and every one after.  Sophia has been a NaNo rebel for years now, using the month to revise or redraft.

Camp Counselor Soph makes sure the cabin mates are hydated, the names are unPC, and the kids get candy - even Gingers.

How I Became A Dancer

So You Think You Can Dance Summer continues with the story of how I fulfilled my dream to work as a dancer late in my career.

When I first got to Hollywood, I wanted to be Christina Aguilera's back-up dancer.

I threw myself into ballet and hip-hop classes, even this thing called Pilates until I developed bursitis and had no idea how to rehab it.  So I put my dream away.

Then The Universe Happened
In 2005, FOX debuted a reality show called So You Think You Can Dance.

I saw a Paso Doble for the first time, with a real Russian ballroom dancer. I finally realized the genius that is Wade Robson, who at that time was little more than a bleach-haired white kid from Orange County who purportedly danced like a black guy. I cried after every piece, in awe that this kind of dance was finally on network TV.

Something in me stirred.  I wanted to dance again, bad.

Getting the Call
The Universe has a way of responding to requests.

I received a recommendation to a trainer who knew exactly how to rehab my bursitis (as well as a car accident injury I had further accumulated in Hollywood.) I went to the gym every day.  In months I was stronger than I had ever been.

And that summer, as I dreamed in front of the TV, I got the call.

My agency phoned me with an audition for an untitled film directed by Julie Taymor (Frida, Broadway's The Lion King) featuring songs by the Beatles.

For a dancing role.

"But these are professional dancers!"

"You're a professional dancer," the agent replied.

After two sets of three-hour auditions and an amazing phone call later, I was indeed, a professional dancer.

That movie, you may have guessed, turned out to be Across the Universe, starring Evan Rachel Wood.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where I inadvertently work with Desmond Richardson.

National Dance Day

The Dizzyfeet Foundation (created by the So You Think You Can Dance team with Katie Holmes) is hosting National Dance Day again this Saturday, July 28th.

As I mentioned in my kickoff post, SYTYCD inspired me to connect with my charity of choice.  Because of NDD, I decided to contact the Asian Pacific Women's Center to lead movement workshops for the children at the shelter.

This year, a massive celebration will be held at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles, replete with food trucks and my SYTYCD favorite, Season 5's Brandon.

Food trucks and Brandon don't have anything in common other than I love them both.

You can learn the zumba or hip-hop routine that the country is doing en masse (I fear for us all), by visiting their facebook page.  And if you're brave, please share a video of yourself shaking it.

A Day in the Life: Kelsey Macke

I hate to share my lover with the world, but I cannot hold back our entirely-internet-based affair any longer.  For my next Day in the Life, I present my online-wife, Kelsey Macke.

***

You guys don't even knows the depths of my girl crush on Sophia.

Like, MY HUSBAND KNOWS ABOUT OUR LOVE... It's that serious. I thought it'd be a good idea to just make sure he knows she exists incase we decide to run off and make a world dominating girl rock band and get a little flat above a vintage jewelry shop.

So, yeah. Soph is in-crey-abb, and I am so happy that she indulged me by letting me participate in her cool-kids party over here.

6:45 AM
The hubs alarm goes off and he wakes to get ready for work. I spend the next hour or so with the covers over my head, resisting the call of daylight because it's summer. And I'm a middle school special education teacher (I work with lil rockstars who have emotional/behavioral disorders) and it's VACATION time.

7:30 AM
I eventually roll my butt out of bed and as soon as my feet touch the ground, I'm instantly awake and smiley because I'm insufferable morning person. I try to resist the singing part until he's out of the house, but don't always succeed.

At this point, I traipse downstairs and let the cats out of their kitty apartments.

(Yes, our cats are "crated" and it's AWESOME.)

At some point before 9 AM

I try to get outside and go for a jog before the sun here in North Texas begins to melt the pavement and turn the cement back into a liquid form which would trap me there forever, resulting in my skin burning off before lunch time. It really is hot here... and SO FREAKING HUMID.

9:45 AM
Showered and clean (unless I DGAF) I'm ready to do my daily vocal exercises. I'm a singer (folk indie duo, Wedding Day Rain, with the hubs -slash- musical theatre actress when I can) and warming up each day is great for my chords and makes it possible for my endless hours of youtube karaoke alone in my living room in front of my cats.

10:45 AM
I'm meeting some friends for lunch today, and I need to stop at the office supply store (aka the most important store in the universe) so I'm out the door headed for a little pick me up. I almost NEVER order the same drink at starbucks, but today, I go for a non-fat vanilla latte.

It is iced. Because I live in Nouveau Sahara.








10:57 AM
I FOUND THE MOST AMAZING NEW PENS.

The new papermate inkjoys eye me from across the crowded aisle. I shyly avert my eyes, not wanting to be too forward, but quite confident that the feeling is mutual. The demonstration stand is on the endcap, scribbled on by so many patrons, filled with endless loopies, smiley faces, and dozens of "Hello"s.

I fight the urge to run away from the undoubtedly e coli infested sample pen. Eventually, I pick it up, and begin to write.

"Hellooooooo"OOOOHHHHHHMYGOD. THIS PEN IS FABULOUS!

This moment is one of the highlights of my week.

1:45 PM
After an awesome lunch with two of my writer friends, I am rejuvenated.

These are the friends who tell you when you're being ridiculous.

And I am.

My contemporary YA manuscript needs some revision love to make it really shine, and I've been putting it off. My friends encouraged me to rip the bandaid and get in there.

I make plans to take a big bite out of my MS in the morning.

3:00 PM

This summer, I'm really excited to be working with new teachers who are coming into the profession from other careers. I'm filling in for an instructor for a couple of weeks, and teaching the basics class! I've always been interested in teaching adults, especially after graduate school, and this is the perfect chance to get my feet wet and see how I really respond to having adult students.

This will only be a short class, but the curriculum is fast and furious. I spend the next several hours going through my lessons and notes.

6:00 PM
Hubs is home, and he brought me ICE CREAM.

9:45 PM
I just realized that I've been at this very spot and on my computer for the past 5 hours.

*shrug*

Everyone's got a vice, I guess.

10:00 PM on the freaking DOT
I'm heading to bed with a little Harry Potter to keep me company. I re-read the series every other year or so, and I'm somewhere in the middle of Chamber of Secrets right now.

I usually go to bed early, but especially so tonight because I feel awfully sick. I - along with approximately 176 MILLION other women worldwide - have endometriosis, a chronic, painful disease which is, unfortunately, under diagnosed and often misunderstood.

So, that sucks.

But life doesn't!

Thank you, Soph, for having me here! And thanks to her readers for stepping into my crazy world of songs and words for a few moments today!

Obligatory paragraph in 3rd person:

Kelsey Macke is a YA writer, special education teacher, recovering graduate student, and singer from Dallas, Texas. She is in love with the internet, particularly twitter (@kelsnotchels) and blogging (kelseyiswriting.blogspot.com). She likes office supplies, making music (weddingdayrain.com) having an obnoxiously large smile, and sharing her home with an amazing husband and 2 cats. 

Wordless Wednesday: Double Jacob

better than a double rainbow

I'm sick; I can wear whatever I want!

p.s. Kate Coursey's giving away ARCs of Diviners and Throne of Glass!

Caring for Introverts and Extroverts

One easy way to think of your characters is to divide 'em right down the middle - are they introverts or extroverts?

found on facebook

What about you?

I'm so extrovert it's not even funny.

This weekend I went partner dancing two nights in a row, which apparently is the fast train to sickville.  I just got over strep and now I've got my first cold in 12 months.  The moral is, being an extrovert requires hand sanitizer.  "Before" photos of healthy, happy Sophia about to Lindy Hop.

The Kindness Project: The Hardest Thing - You're Living

Too often kindness is relegated to a random act performed only when we’re feeling good. But an even greater kindness (to ourselves and others) occurs when we reach out even when we aren't feeling entirely whole. It’s not easy, and no one is perfect. But we’ve decided it’s not impossible to brighten the world one smile, one kind word, one blog post at a time. To that end, a few of us writers have established The Kindness Project, starting with a series of inspirational posts. We post the second Wednesday of every month.


I had lunch with an actor friend last week.

I try not have many actor friends because, let's face it, we're flaky people.

And I especially try not to "do lunch" with them because, we'll face it, didn't that first sentence sound douchey?

But Tohoru Masamune has a background like mine - he went to MIT and fell far short of his Asian family's expectations for a legitimate career.  (Though he did work on one of the biggest movies of the last five years.  Hint - is the top still spinning?)

During our douchey 3-hour lunch, Tohoru gave me some of the best encouragement for artists of all genres.

What we're doing is the hardest thing of all.

It blew my mind.  And was so simple I caught on immediately.

People my father often scoff at us for not having a real job.  One that makes you show up at the same time, usually too early, and every day.  For not doing the hard thing of growing up and being responsible.

I don't discount that - being a grownup is hard.  Especially when they see us lunching for three hours like douchebags, looking unnaturally fit for our age.

But on the flipside, they know where their next meal is coming from.  Whereas the lunching douchebags may not eat again the rest of the day.  (No wonder we sat for 3 hours - had to make the most of our one meal.)

Even staying fit isn't something to be envied - it's a job requirement for the only industry in the world in which, legally, your race, height, and fatness can land or lose a gig.  This isn't easy; it's primitive!  Just as Neanderthal man didn't eat if he didn't run, we don't get paid if we don't get on that elliptical.

This ability to tolerate an enormous amount of uncertainty, to even thrive on it, hits right down to our roots as people.  Cobbling together money to slide the rent check under the door at 5:01 p.m. (told you actors are always late) may not be the same as trekking twenty miles every morning to spear a boar, but the underlying drive is.  There's something about the sink or swim mentality that makes you feel ALIVE.  It's what keeps the actor going to rejection audition after audition, and the writer to complete one manuscript after another.

So if you've committed yourself to living your passion, you should be commended.  If you've finished a novel, if you've queried, if you dared to practice your craft and share it with the world, you're doing the hardest thing of all.  You're living.

Visit the other members of The Kindness Project:



P.S. Fellow Kindness Project author Meagan Spooner is having a massive giveaway on her blog for her debut Skylark!

A Day in the Life: Sarah Skilton

Feel free to be jealous of my next Day in the Life! Not only is nicest-person-ever Sarah Skilton a total model with her cheekbones and height, but she's a double new mom: a Lucky 13s debut author with a gorgeous baby boy. 

***

Sarah Skilton's debut YA novel BRUISED arrives Spring 2013 from Abrams/Amulet Books. She also has 12 years of experience as a Hollywood script analyst.

5:30am - WHAT IS HAPPENING?? An alley cat has broken into my house and is making weird noises! Oh wait that's my baby. I have a baby. He's hungry and bored. Time to get up.

Elliot drinks his first bottle of the day, then accompanies me downstairs and sits in his highchair so I can have breakfast, too.

If we want to go on a stroll, and we do, we best do it now before it gets too hot. I live in a suburb of Los Angeles, sort of like the Valley's Valley, which means we're trapped by mountains in a desert climate. It's 10 degrees hotter in the summer and 10 degrees colder in the "winter" than, say, downtown.

Elliot and I have the park to ourselves and I'm feeling ambitious so we try to make it around the lake, or at least to the bridge where the turtles congregate. Each day we count them. Our personal record is 21.

I'm hoping we'll see The Beagle or The Corgi on our trek, but no such luck. Even dogs don't get up this early.

7:00am - On the walk back, Elliot murmurs for a bit and falls asleep. We arrive home and I put him down for his first nap of the day. Time to check email and see if my copy edits for my novel have arrived.

8am - Elliot wakes up and wants a bottle.

9am - My husband Joe, who works as a magician, is now awake (if by "awake" I mean lurching around the kitchen looking for cereal), propelled much like his son by the need to feed. Because Joe works nights and weekends, he's on baby duty for most of Monday-Thursday.

10am - I kiss my fellas goodbye and hit the road for my job.

Let me guess: you think your commute sucks. And I'm sure it's, you know, *cough* formidable and all, but mine has been declared the worst in the country. (Why don't I feel like a winner?) Say hello to the 405/101 interchange, aka Carmageddon. Some days it takes me 2 hours to drive 30 miles.

10:45 Text from hubby - "I'm going back to sleep. Nyah Nyah" (direct quote). Don't worry, our baby's not in danger; Joe's parents are visiting and helping out this week, so Elliot has extra cuddles and fun on his schedule with Grandma and Grandpa.

11am - It's bagel day at the office, yay. For my job, I and four other writers read TV and film scripts and create character descriptions for the roles being cast, to be used by casting directors, actors, agents, and managers.

Today I'm finishing a project I started yesterday. It's a feature film with 80-plus roles, which is a bit unusual but certainly not unheard of (most feature-length scripts have around 30).  Also, the two leads are already cast. I wish I could tell you who's in it because it's kind of awesome, but I gotta keep mum. Every day at work is different; sometimes I read student thesis short films, and other days I read things like The Hangover. 

1pm-1:30 - Lunch. I miss Elliot and watch videos of him on my phone. I finish my first project and pick up another script. Summer-only TV shows are filming now (shows that have 12-episode seasons), though we'll probably start seeing fall premieres in another month or two.

7pm - Work day's done. Elliot's asleep and my in-laws are happy to babysit while they're in town, so Joe and I meet up with friends for a rare double-date. We're dining with another magician and his lovely wife. I throw caution to the wind and order a margarita -- first one in two years -- which (spoiler alert) I will regret the next day.

11:45 pm - Elliot wakes and wants a snack. I fly into his room -- quick and quiet like a ninja, of course -- so I can snuggle with my bundle while he feeds. Then it's time for a lullaby, a page or two of THE GREAT GATSBY to lull him, and off to bed again for my little guy.

Goodnight!

Happy So You Think You Can Dance Summer

Happy So You Think You Can Dance Summer here at Sophia the Writer!

A hearty welcome to our Asian contestant, Hawaiian-native Cole Horibe.  His precision and muscle control will make you think un-YA thoughts.

click me and regard the glory of my arms (photo downloadable at fox.com/dance)

SYTYCD is more than a show.  It inspired me to :

1. Fulfill a childhood dream of being a professional dancer
2. Which resulted in my working with Desmond Richardson, possibly the best contemporary ballet dancer right now and a SYTYCD choreographer
3. Lead movement workshops for kids and recovering battered women at the Asian Pacific Women's Center

As you can see, my life has been altered forever by this show in the most amazing ways.  I hope that by sharing my experience with it over the next two months, you too will find inspiration.

Or at least enjoy the topless boys.

Wordless Wednesday: Shady Saloon

I'm actually at work today, but I hope the rest of you are enjoying your Fourth!

July 2011 ~ Irvine, CA

A Day in the Life: Lani Wendt Young

We're hailing from Down Under today!  Lani Wendt Young is a Samoan YA fantasy author who shares her Day in the Life from New Zealand. 

***

A Day in the Life of a (Slightly Demented) Author: 

Lani Wendt Young

Monday

I get up at 5.30am, which I absolutely hate doing, especially if I’ve only just gone to bed at 2am. I then tackle the toughest task of my day – waking up my 13yr old daughter. She really does sleep like a log and if we ever got robbed, thieves could roll her up in her blanket, carry her out of the house and she still wouldn’t wake up.

6am. I drive her to Seminary which is a youth scripture-study class run by our church. It’s on 5 days a week for every school week of the year. While she’s in class, I go for a run. Or more aptly, a ‘very brisk walk alternated with a shuffly, jiggly sort of jog.’ I’m terrified of killers and attack dogs, so I usually just go many times round the block or the parking lot. If it’s raining (or if I’m feeling lazy) then I take my laptop and cram in some writing time.

7am. Back home. Mobilize the troops for breakfast and family prayer, then teenagers take off to catch the school bus while me and the three Terrors attack the house chores. We rush through dishes, floors and lunchbox prep. (My 8yr old son is the fastest, bestest vacuumer in this solar system.)

4 of the Fab5 ready for school

8.45am. Take the Terrors to school. Stock up on Diet Coke on my way home. Spend the next hour doing vital life-preserving things like…laundry and shutting the doors to all my children’s bedrooms so I’m not confronted by their chaotic messes.

how I survive

10am – Write stuff. And eat lots of snacks. I’m sorry to say that I often consume way more Doritos then actual pages written…

1pm – Emails. Update all social media. This can take anything from an hour to two spread out over the day and includes, updating my blog Sleepless in Samoa, Facebook author site, Twitter, Goodreads, skim thru publisher/author blogs that I follow.

2pm – Run work errands eg. Post Office to mail out signed book orders, drop off books to local indie bookstores who stock my book TELESA, that kind of stuff.

3pm – Get the Terrors from school. Try not to yell at Little Son for losing his shoes AGAIN, playing rugby in the mud AGAIN and ripping his school uniform AGAIN. Try not to freak out when Little Daughter asks, ‘Mum, did you ever like a boy who was older than you at school?’ Try not to crash the car when the 4yr old Beast is having a tantrum because I won’t detour to McDonalds.

me and Beast

4 to 6pm – The part of my day when I wish I could clone myself and have six of me. One to cook dinner. One to help Little Daughter with her homework. One to test Little Son on his spelling words. One to play with the Beast on the trampoline so she wont stand in the middle of the kitchen bellowing ‘Nobodys playing with me! I got nuffing friends. Can I help you do the cooking mum?’ One to drive and get the teenagers from Debate Club and rugby practice. And another one to lie on the bed with earphones on, blasting Eminem and muttering This is not my life. This is not my life. Any minute now, Im going to open my eyes and be a stunning supermodel in a glorious mansion with Ryan Reynolds cooking me dinner. Oh, and my WIP would be all written. And at the top of the bestseller list. Any minute now…

7.30pm – Ideally, all small and filthy children will be showered and fed by this time. This usually involves lots of threats/blackmail/coercion/pleading/the muttering of curse words and the drinking of copious amounts of Diet Coke. (By me, not the filthy children.) Teenagers do dishes and then sneak off to do Very Important Things. Like Facebook . Text their friends that they just said goodbye to a half hour ago. Weights in the gym downstairs. And supposedly to do homework in the Dens of Darkness that they call their bedrooms…

8pm – I read stories to small and very clean children. And then they are supposed to go to sleep. Ha.

9pm – I read a book on my Kindle. Partly because when you’re a fiction writer, reading a revolting number of novels is called “RESEARCH”. And partly because that’s how I relax and not be too mean to my children.

11pm – I write some more. The bestest time to write anything, anywhere, anytime is when the house is asleep.

Midnight. Or maybe 1am. Or maybe 2am – Sleep.

Lani is from Samoa and currently lives in Auckland, NZ with her Hot Significant Other and 5 children. The Significant Other travels often for work . Leaving the Fabulous Five Children at Lani’s mercy. *cue evil witch laughter*. She is the author of one non-fiction work ‘Pacific Tsunami-Galu Afi’, the YA Fantasy/Romance TELESA series, a short fiction collection and various stories for children written for the NZ primary school literacy curriculum.

Blogger Royalty at ALA and BEA/Fierce Reads Giveaways

Look who got to meet Kiersten White and Shannon Messenger in person at ALA!  Two more awesome author/illustrator photos in my facebook album (including one of my favorite illustrators dressed as George Washington...Krispy this has you written all over it).

My favorite discovery is that Kiersten is actually shorter than me.  Possibly the only adult in the world who is.

Don't fret, readers, if you missed the conference fun, Live to Read is giving away some great BEA haul and Literary Exploration is giving away 4 ARCs from the Fierce Reads Tour.

Happy Solstice and ALA

taken in West L.A. (c) 2012 Sophia Chang

This Wednesday was a really powerful Midsummer because of the new moon.  And now it's summer - my favorite and birth season!

I'll be at ALA tomorrow (Saturday) so tweet/text/email me if you're there!

A Day in the Life: Beth Navarro

Beth Navarro writes young adult and children’s picture books. She has published two picture books, Kiko the Hawaiian Wave and Grambo, with an innovative new publishing company Be There Bedtime Stories. She also authors a comedic, raw and sometimes controversial mom blog, Mother-naked. She is a proud member of California Readers, a wonderful organization that connects authors and artists to students and staff. She is a teacher in an after school enrichment program, LEARNs, in Pasadena. She is a member of SCBWI and the co-editor of KiteTales, Southern California’s Tri-Regions newsletter. She is a member of The New Hollywood, a philanthropic women’s goal group and is a 2012 nominee for the Los Angeles Business Journal Women who Make a Difference Award. Beth lives and writes in Los Angeles. In her spare time, when not playing with her two daughters, Frankie and Zoe, she makes cool stuff and sells it on etsy.

www.bethnavarro.com
https://twitter.com/#!/BethNavarro76
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mother-naked/111636188964108
http://www.etsy.com/shop/craftbybeth

6:15 I wake up to Mr. Bees in my face and Frankie singing: “You look like a monkey and you smell like one too. SMELL HIM MAMA!” Today I detect a whiff of of kid sweat and gummy worms. Not bad.

6:18 Zoe screams from the other room UP! UP! UP! She will not stop until I get her, so I do.

6:45 Waffles for breakfast. I’ve discovered if I put their food on sticks they’ll clean their plate.

6:51 We all burp at the same time. It’s awesome. Synched! I cannot wait until we have our periods at the same time.

7:00: I check my email. Word of the day: Notorious. I read these like my horoscope daily. I’m taking “notorious” as an awesome sign. I realize I’ve left the girls alone with a bottle of syrup...

7:15 Bath time. “Quit waterboarding your sister.”

8:30 We make a rocket ship. (It’s torn in half by Zoe, but I got killer tape skills)

8:45 Zoe successfully imitates the kid from Parenthood (the movie) I think I have my next Mother-naked article.

9:00 The girls are picked up by their dad. Let my work day begin.

9:05 I take a quick shower and throw on my comfy clothes (Totally as sexy as you are imagining)

9:15 Work on YA rewrite. The consistent note from my writing group: He needs to say this out loud! Apparently I accidentally made my main character mute. Oops.

11:00 Lunch break. Warmed up Panda express leftovers.

11:15 I spend a few minutes fantasizing about living in The Game of Thrones world. I really would be willing to trade the peace of mind of living in a time and place where I won’t get beheaded with the chance to check out The Wall and hang with the Dothraki.

11:30 There is a Firefly marathon. I allow myself one episode. One.

12:30 I consult with my writing partner about the next chapter I’m rewriting. She concurs with my notes.

12:35 Continue with YA rewrite while listening to Pixies and Band of Horses to get me going. One more chapter to do today...

1:30 Whoopie Pie break (I fully believe in rewarding myself after I write) and play Lorax

1:40 Play Drawsomething. I’m pretty happy with my Picasso.

1:50 Review proofread articles for the next Kite Tales issue

2:45 My head itches. I go into paranoid mode that one of the kids gave me lice. After a through examination, I realize I’m fine. (This happens at least once a week)

2:50 I stay glued to my couch with Firefly in front of my face. Damn Mal and his charming little quips.

4:00 I go over my notes for the next two chapters of my rewrite with the only pen I can find. Ugh.

4:30 My friend texts me: “I’m at Lucky Baldwins. Wanna come up?” Umm yeah. I walk up into town for a quick beer.

6:15 Come home and go over my author visit presentation I’m giving at an elementary school this week. It’s even funnier with a beer in my system.

6:45 Dinner: Frozen Trader Joe’s Mac and Cheese. Delicious...

7:15 Read The Maze Runner by: James Dashner

8:00 Missing the girlies and our “Crazy Story Time” we do every night.

8:15 Talk on the phone with my lovie

9:15 Check my email and waste some time on fb.

9:30 Brainstorm the next craft kit I’m going to make. I think it will involve cut up dictionary and music pages.

9:45 Research book blogs to get to review my latest picture book, Grambo.

10:00 MAD MEN!

10:30 Too tired to stay up and finish the episode.

10:35 Write in my log book

10:45 Go to sleep in my fave stolen teeshirt (Don’t ever let me near your teeshirt collection)