What's Up Wednesday

Yes, I've been gone a WHILE (sorry,) but on a positive note, I've been spending that time revising and writing... and conferencing in the Poconos in the cutest cabin in the planet (yes, I'll blog about that later. Promise.) So, when I saw this meme on Jaime Morrow's blog, I had to hop on! What a great way to catch up with everyone!


What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what's up. It's hosted by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk, and if you want to join in, sign up on Jaime's blog!


What I'm Reading:

Oh, boy. This has been one of thooooose weeks. Two new releases, a new release from last week that I had to order, and a friend's WIP.

I want to read them all. And a part of me is trying.

WIP: I'm 4 chapters in, loving the concept and writing. The problem with going to conferences like the SCBWI Eastern PA Poconos retreat is that you get to read and hear excerpts from so many awesome WIPs. I'm dying to read more! (hint, hint Poconos ppl)

How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True by Sarah Strohmeyer. A) Set in New Jersey! YAY! B) I loved Smart Girls Get What They Want and the beginning of this book has the same, fun voice I expected from Sarah Strohmeyer.

Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike. All of you must know by now that I love my fictional dead boys, so a book about a fictional dead girl means that she'll probably move very quickly into bff (best fictional friend) status.

Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins. Oh, Kai. *swoon* That's all.

What I'm Writing:

I finished rev 6 of You And I, which I've renamed to Bookishly Ever After. While I'm waiting for feedback, I'm playing with two different WIPs-- one about a character from Bookishly, and a completely new, shiny contemporary.

If the me who started this blog had known I'd willingly write contemporary and love it, she would have had a heart attack.

What Inspires Me Right Now:

Wil Wheaton. Everyone needs to see his video on why it's awesome to be a nerd or read the transcript.* No matter how many times I see or read it, I start tearing up. I wish nerdy teen me could have seen this.

"It's not about what you love. It's about how you love it."- Wil Wheaton

*Thank you, Jaime, for tweeting me this link!

I'm also inspired by all the support and love I've found in the writing community, especially the kidlit community. It's incredible to watch (and join in) as we lift each other up, cheer for our friends' successes, offer valuable time for critiques or guidance, and send silly cat pictures when someone has an awful day.

From the Poetry Garden at the Highlights Boyds Mills facility
Picture courtesy of my Poconos retreat roomie, D.B. Graves

What Else I've Been Up To:

Work. And more work. And more work. The day after the Poconos conference, I was in a cadaver lab, I'll be in another two next week, and another one the week after. Possibly one in June. That's a lot of dead bodies.

But! That also means that I'm in the learning and development phase of a new project for work. This is the fun part of being a product development engineer, that rush of watching a surgeon in action, watching how they have to adapt to current instrumentation or implants, and trying to figure out how to make the surgery faster and easier for them. There are lightbulb moments and brainstorming sessions where the team builds off of each other's ideas. I get to model new parts in CAD (3D computer aided design) and send them to a 3D printer or to the prototype shop.

Sometimes you invent new things: As of the end of 2012, I'm the proud owner of two patents, one for an instrument and one for an implant (currently in people, which is awesome and scary at the same time.)

It's that same honeymoon period feeling of creation I get when diving into a new writing WIP.

Skating: My coaches predicted that I'd need six months to adapt to my new boots and blades. So far, they're right. I've gotten back almost all of my jumps and most of my spins, though some of my footwork (*cough* twizzles *cough*) still needs work.

The skates are powerful. When I go into a jump with the right entrance and speed, I fly. As long as I concentrate on hooking into my spins, they're faster and more centered than spins in my old boots. Both Coach #1 and Coach #2 agree that the fitter did an awesome job. I love these skates.

That's my Wednesday update.

So, what have you been up to lately?