The Adventure Continues...

Yesterday on Beth Revis’ Across the World Tour, my waterfall adventure was featured here. I’m so excited to have been a ‘stop’ on her blog’s two week tour. If you haven’t checked it out, you still have time to hunt for the clues and enter her amazing contest.

But like I said yesterday in my comment section, my adventure didn’t stop after escaping the guys from the waterfall. As you can imagine after hiking all day, we were exhausted on our trek back home.

My feet were blistered. I was desperate for a shower. And starved for food.
 When you’re in that kind of shape, you’ll do pretty much anything. Like jump in front of a moving jeep to hitch a ride down the mountain. The driver kindly drove us to the banana plantation where he was headed. It wasn’t the whole way, but close enough.

It was a bumpy trip and it got even bumpier when the earthquake hit.

No joke!

Okay, so it wasn’t a major earthquake, just enough to shake you around. When I got home, believe me, I was relieved! A couple of things had been knocked over and a wall had a large splintered crack down the middle, but overall, everything was safe.


The earthquake had broken some of the water pipes in Bukit Sentul so we had muddy water (yeah, didn’t get my nice hot shower) for the next day. And the electricity was out, too.

But you know, even though I didn’t get my hot shower and had to use bottled water to get cleaned up. And even though there was no electricity, it was okay.

We all were safe. And that whole experience made me even more grateful for clean water and lights.

That night we ended up heading to the outdoor café for food. Man, I was so sore and that nasi goreng tasted so delicious! The sun was fading, but the restaurant, used to the loss of electricity, had plenty of candles. From our table, I watched the city of Jakarta light up in the valley below. The mountain we had hiked up to was behind me, silhouetted in the sun’s final rays.

And that’s when I realized how blessed I was to be safe, surrounded by my friends, and to have everything that I needed.

Across the World Book Tour for Across the Universe

Across the Universe is a sci fi coming out from Penguin/Razorbill on January 11, 2011. Author Beth Revis describes it as "a murder mystery set in space," but it also has romance, adventure, and dystopian elements. In the book, a girl boards an interstellar spaceship in a journey across the universe to find a new planet.

To celebrate the book's upcoming release, Beth's gathered together writers and readers from across the blogosphere to share their stories of adventures they've had across the world. Check out her site the first two weeks of November to read about adventures from the Wild West to Indonesia (this is where my adventure takes place!), from Europe to Africa.

And as you're going across the world with all these adventures, be sure to pick up the clues. On Beth's webpage is a secret link--LOOK for it, and you'll SEE it. But it's password protected! To find the password, you'll need to go on the adventures with us, pick up the letters, and re-arrange them into the secret phrase.

What do you get for playing? On the password protected page there's tons of secret information about the book--hidden Easter Eggs, the surprising origins of one of the characters, and the unexpected inspiration behind the space ship. But, more than that--there's also a chance for prizes! Only accessible from the password protected page is a form to enter a drawing--the winner will get a signed and doodled ARC of Across the Universe, pin-buttons featuring the book, star-related swag--and a secret something else!

All you have to do is follow us across the blogosphere, pick up the letters, and unscramble the password! Your clue for today is...

E

You Must Check This Out!

Beth Revis' Across the Universe Book Tour starts today! Head over to her blog for this awesome adventure. The directions on how it works are here and this is where the adventure begins.

And So It Begins

November 1st is a big day for those who have signed up for NaNo Writers Month. What is NaNo? It’s where many writers sign up on the NaNo website committing to write at least 50,000 words of a book in a fast draft form. Impressive isn’t it?


For the last two years I’ve unofficially joined in and I’ve dished out a stack of words in doing so. Even with November being one of my busiest months, I’ve always been able to write more just feeding off of the excitement and motivation of other writers out there pounding away at their keyboards.


And I was planning on doing it all over again by starting my next book set in Indonesia.


But I’m not going to. Instead I’m tackling a major revision of my latest book set in Korea. I knew my book’s opening chapters could be stronger so I emailed my critique buddy the whole book and said, “HELP! What is wrong with this baby of mine?”


That’s the amazing thing about great critique partners. They see the problems you just can’t see when you’re too close to a project. And they tell you what’s wrong instead of sending you a happy gram back with smiles and “I love it!” (Well, they might say “I love it!” but with lots of other insights too!)


When I got her email with her comments, I got so excited. She was right! She had some great ideas on how to fix my problems, too. So I’ve been brainstorming, making lists on the problems and how I’m going to solve those. It’s a great feeling.


So this month, I’m hacking out a pretty intensive revision. It won’t be a major rewrite but many of the chapters will be getting whole new looks and the first few chapters will be seeing lots of cuts and rewrites. Exciting isn’t it?


My goal? Get this baby finished by December 1st!

Bring on the chocolate!

Disney's Food and Wine Festival

Can I just say delish? Fabulous? Divine?

Last weekend hubby and I went on a date (!!!!!!!) to Epcot's Food and Wine Festival. And let me tell you was so fun. We took about 3 hours to walk around the lake, stopping at different countries along the way.

Our first stop was Argentina where we ate Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Puree. I think that was my favorite.

Then we headed to Mexico for a Tamal de Pollo. Yum...

South Korea was there for the first time! They had kimchi slaw!

Oh and then there was Italy. I just love Italian food and I wasn't disappointed. We ordered baked cheese ravioli and Cannolo Al Cioccolato and ate it on the steps overlooking the lagoon while listening to Sister Hazel. How cool is that?

At Australia, we ate the Grilled Lamp Chop with Roasted Potato Salad and Red Wine Reduction. I have to say that the lamb wasn't as good as when we ate in Australia, but I would still recommend it.

Then to complete the night we had the dessert trio of Strawberry Angel Verrine, Pear Streusel Pudding Cake, Dark Chocolate Sensation, and Rose Imperial.


The festival runs until Nov. 14th so there's still time to head over for some good food!

Disney Tip #1

Since I live right around the corner from the happiest place on earth, I thought I'd add in some Disney tips on my blog. I've been to Disney, oh about 20 million times (okay, so I work there too seasonally).

Yeah, I'm addicted. I'm a fan. I'm a Disney girl.

One turnoff for many people is the crowds. If that's the case for you, then this time of the year is the time to go. September through early November and then again in January until spring break time, the crowds are substantially less. And not only will you find the crowds have thinned, thus making the lines shorter, but the weather is perfect in the fall. Not too hot, not too cold. No humidity.

Now if you must go in the summer or you love Disney at Christmas (who wouldn't?), but those crowds still get to you, then hit the coffee pot and get there early.

We usually get there as soon as the park opens (BTW, it's cooler in the mornings!) to do all the rides we can, watch a show and then catch lunch before we head back home. I'm always amazed at the streams of people who enter the park between 10:30 and noon. I suppose I shouldn't blame them. They're on vacation, have slept in, eaten a yummy Disney breakfast and meandered to the park.

So think Disney in the autumn and you if can't swing that, get to the parks early to hit all the rides you've been dying to ride.

The End

I finally finished Mockingjay. Took me long enough and it was no fault of how good the book was. Purely me being busy. But it got me thinking about endings.

One of the things that pushed me to keep reading Mockingjay was I needed to know the answers.

Does Katniss survive? Who does she end with- Peeta or Gale?

For me:

• A good book propels the reader to the end
• An end must be satisfying
• An end should answer most of the reader's questions
• An end could reveal a surprise twist
• An end should complete the a character's emotional journey

How about you? What do you need in a good ending? And while we are chatting about endings, check out J.A. Palermo's blog post over at the Paper Wait on leading readers to turn the page.