It.... LIVES.... Muhahahahah

*gasp* It's been so long since I've been able to play on the internet. I'm dying over here! Between having major projects at work, scheduling and pulling off a birthday party for an "ADD" child, few physical hurdles (pulled my back and had a nasty migraine for two days), and looking for a new job... I've not had any time!

A few of those major projects at work are moving along nicely so I can relax a little on those. The birthday party has come and gone... the Pea Pie is now a proud parent of a crazy haired guinea pig, fondly named Scooby. Flexoril fixed the back. Relpax and sleep fixed up the migraine... and I've got a phone interview on Monday for a job I really want... ready for the title? Associate Consumer Strategist, Global. Sounds cool, huh?

So... how are you doing? Have a post you made in the last week or two that I should make sure I read while I'm playing catch up? Give me the link so I can be lazy and go right to it!

Scheduled for this weekend? Picture of Scooby to share his crazy hair with ya'll and maybe some of those book reviews finally!

In the meantime, how internet addicted are you?

You Are 75% Addicted to the Internet

In your opinion, life without the internet is hardly worth living. Could be, but you probably need a bit more fresh air and sunshine to think clearly.

Are You Addicted to the Internet?

Women on Writing Ezine

I was surfing along this morning and saw a blogger, I think it was inky girl mention the WoW (not world of warcraft) site. I popped over and it does look like it has some interesting stuff. I thought I'd share it with you.

Women on Writing Ezine

13 things that have kept us apart!

I haven't even spent five minutes in the blogosphere since last week. The craziness from Friday continued on through the weekend and early part of this week... Let's see what's happened since Friday morning - here they are... 13 things that have kept me 5,000 miles from the blogosphere.

1. Severe abdominal pain of unknown source.... or so says the ER release form that I got when I spent a day in the emergency room with my 9 year old. She had some severe pain a month or two ago and I took her to the doctor and he saw nothing troubling and eventually it went away. It's back and this time we took her straight to the hospital. It's incredibly tender to touch... but blood tests and xrays couldn't identify it... so now we play the waiting game.

2. The joy of seven year glee... The pea pie turns 7 this month and I've been trying to get her party scheduled and invitations together. The party is this Saturday.

3. My mother who loves me.... and feels the need to call me every evening to ask what my daughter wants for her birthday or how my other daughter is... or if I saw American Idol... or if I wrote my grandmother...

4. Lincoln Child's Deep Storm (book I finished and need to write a review on)

5. Trudi Canavan's Priestess of the White (which I also finished and need to review)

6. Trudi Canavan's Last of the Wilds (ditto)

7. Read Blanchard's Raving Fans.... not by choice mind you. I was given a week to read it for work and starting soon we're all going to talk about our thoughts on customer service... every day... each morning, before we start our day. Oh may the joy never end.

8. The job which has lost it's appeal. The CEO completely wigged out on Friday, treated the employees in a completely unacceptable fashion and when I let him know he was pushing me to look for another job he responded by telling me they may just go ahead and hire some one soon so that there isn't a gap in the service provided to the clients (yeah, I really felt appreciated after that).

9. The beginnings of the job search. So I brushed off my resume and sent it out on Saturday. I've already had five calls in response. I'm thinking it's a good sign so far.

10. Longer than usual work days... It's called the work harder, get criticized more, get more tasks, have shorter timelines and get nothing in return business model... oh yeah... I love working 10 to 11 hour days. (see #9)

11. Hunger Strike in response to Idol and oh how it surfs through the net - really... I don't know

if I want to criticize the stupidity or pity the thought that this is the most important thing in someone's life. Unless it's all a great big joke.... then Har Har Har

12. Family funday. Saturday (to release some of last week's pent up energy and before #1) we went to the Children's Museum as a family outing.

13. Let's see... Oh yeah, a UTI, a special gift for me from the "Life Sucks Fairy, Ha Ha Ha".

So, it's been an interesting couple of days for me.

Geez... question for you astrology folks

Is mars traveling through "Uranus" in retro or something... (sounds uncomfortable to me) I mean, completely crappy day at work, my kids are home less than an hour and screaming with temper tantrums... what is up?

Is Cosmic Karma's evil twin on the loose?

13 Things I've learned about the Amazon

Thursday Thirteen brings you 13 things I've learned about the Amazon!

My work in progress takes place in the Xingu-Tapajos region of the rainforest. Since I don't happen to live in the Amazon, I've had to do a lot of research. I wanted to share 13 things that I've learned in the research I've done for my novel.

1. The Amazon is the largest river in the world. At the most narrow, it is 1.2 miles wide.

2. The Amazon Basin is nearly 140 times the size of Costa Rica.

3. The Xingu Valley is one of the largest tributaries in the Amazon. It's nearly the size of France.

4. Cattle ranching and logging are the two most important economic activities in the lower Xingu region.

5. The Tucuma Palm (26 to 66 feet tall) are covered with long black spines and the fronds are relatively small. The fruits are popular. They can also make a cream of Tucuma Butter (like cocoa butter).

6. The Piraha are an indigenous tribe who live on the Maici River. Their numbers are now down to 200 people. They have a fascinating language, which the men whistle. There are no relative clauses or grammatical recursions and the language only has 7 consonants and 3 vowels.

7. Vincristine is an anticancer drug that comes from periwinkle.

8. Ayahuesca is a hallucinogenic brew that comes from lianas (vines). It is often used as medicine or part of a ceremony. There is a very interesting ceremony I found that uses it and it's mentioned in my novel.

9. The Lear's Macaw was seen by illustrator, Edward Lear. However, it wasn't scientifically discovered until 1858 by Charles Lucien Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon. It was pretty much unseen and the mystery of the origin of the bird began. Ornithologist Helmut Sick started searching for the Lear's in 1954. It took over 20 years, but finally he found them. It took 120 years to resolve the mystery of the Lear's Macaw.

10. The Urucu-Manaus pipeline will travel 670 kilometers through the Amazon to Manaus.

11. Electronorte is proposing a huge dam on the Xingu river called the Belo Monte. It is being heavily protested.

12. Brazil is considered the most biologically diverse country in the world. It has over 30% of the world's rainforest and more than 55,000 vascular plants (17,000 are endemic to Brazil). There are more than 500 mammal species, 460 reptiles, and 500 amphibians that naturally occur in Brazil - and we don't even want to try and count all the creepy crawlies.

13. Rivers that look like tea are called blackwater rivers. Rivers that are milky brown are called whitewater rivers. These are not the same as the clear whitewaters that canoers and kayakers are familiar with.

The many layers of novel writing

Last night, as my mind wandered I found myself thinking about my work in progress. I’m not moving forward as I should be – not because I’ve got plot block. No, I know what comes next, but, I’m dissatisfied with the quality and flow of the last few thousand words.

We beat the dead horse over first drafts and inner editors. It’s just hard to get past that sometimes. When a painter decides to paint a picture of a bouquet of flowers, he doesn’t start with a petal. He starts with the curtain of the backdrop. Then, when dry enough he adds some shading and depth, and then begins on the centerpiece; painting the pieces that will result in the vision of the painter’s inner eye.

I know that I must follow the same concept: complete my first draft, which is my background. When dry, come through a second time and start working on the depth and texture. Go over it, again, to make the final masterpiece come alive and only then, if I’m lucky, will it match the masterpiece I am expecting.

A fun little movie for writers

Have you seen Stranger than Fiction? I'm not a big Will Ferrell fan, yes, I know - how could I claim to have a sense of humor and not like him! I just find his style over the top on more than a few of his movies. I did enjoy Old School... I refuse to watch Elf... I just can't do it...

Anyway, I didn't go see this movie in the theater because it was one of "his movies" and I thought I wouldn't like it. However, the premise of the movie was interesting enough that I did pick it up at the video store.

I LOVE THIS MOVIE

It's not a "Will Ferrell Movie" and instead it's a fun little movie that I found particularly amusing. Emma Thompson plays a fantastic writer with quirks and obsessions. It was like seeing some of my neurotic writer friends on screen! Will Ferrell plays his role of the "tax man" perfectly. Dustin Hoffman plays a literature professor, the kind that makes me want to sign up for classes at whatever school he would teach at... I love how important, "little did he know" is to the story!

I just wanted to share that. I'm done now. Okthankstalktoyoulater!

What do bad dreams mean?

Last night I had a bad dream, not necessarily a nightmare. I wasn't scared or terrified; but it was emotional. My mother became sick again and this time she wasn't going to survive it. At the point where she was dying in the hospital my other little inner persona jumped up and I took control of the dream. I tend to have lucid dreams, not often, but usually a couple of times a month I realize that I am in a dream and influence what happens next. Usually, I fix something I don't like about it.

But, as I sit here sipping my cranberry juice, my mind wanders and I wonder what (look at my mad alliteration skills) bad dreams foretell.

Now then, Freud would certainly tell me I'm repressing some kind of sexual need. Naturally, I think everyone in his time period was sexually repressed. But the nuts and bolts of a dream, to me, is the communication between your body and subconscious and your conscious self. Sometimes your dreams are sort and store, it's like the little monkey in your mind picks up all the pieces from the hectic day and tries to shelve them where they belong. Sometimes your body is trying to tell you something, "Hey, you are too stressed out and making me tense up!" or "Yo! Dummy. Stop eating so much crap!" I remember one time where in my dream I started suffering migraine symptoms. I woke up, and shortly after I did get hit with the aura of an oncoming migraine. My body recognized the chemical imbalance and tried to warn me.

Dream Moods lists eight types of dreams:

Daydreams:
Studies show that we all have the tendency to daydream an average of 70-120 minutes a day. Day dreaming is classified as a level of consciousness between sleep and wakefulness.

Lucid dreams:
Lucid dreams occurs when you realize you are dreaming. "Wait a second. This is only a dream!"

Nightmares:
A nightmare is a disturbing dream that causes the dreamer to wake up feeling anxious and frightened.

Recurring Dream:
Speaks for itself

Healing Dreams:
Healing dreams serve as messages for the dreamer in regards to their health. Many dream experts believe that dreams can help us avoid potential health problems.

Prophetic Dreams:
Prophetic dreams, also referred to as precognitive or psychic dreams, are dreams that seemingly foretell the future.

Signal Dreams:
Signal dreams help you how to solve problems or make decisions in your waking life.

Epic Dreams:
Epic dreams (also known as Great Dreams or Cosmic Dreams) are so huge, so compelling, and so vivid that you cannot ignore them.

I found a fun little dream interpreter tool that allows you to describe your dream and it pulls out significant words you use and tells you what that might mean. It's at Freakydreams.com .

So, what did my dream from last night mean? Well, I'm dissatisfied with work and I'm thinking of looking for a new job. I always worry about my mother's health. I would bet my subconscious was using my mother to symbolize my dwindling relationship with work. The great thing is, once you've dreamed and remembered, you can think through it and figure out what makes sense to you.

As a writer, I've certainly had some crazy dreams and honestly, I've gotten a few plot ideas from thinking through my dreams the next morning.

What type of dreamer are you? Have any that really stick with you?

Spring Reading Challenge

Susan let me know about the Spring Reading Thing hosted over on Callapidder Days. It's a fun event where you can put together your reading list and try to get some of those books you've been putting off!

Check out her site for all the details, but here is a little snippet for you:

When: Not surprisingly, the challenge takes place during the spring. :) Specifically, it will run from March 21st through June 21st, 2007.

Where: Here, and on blogs all over the bloggy universe. I'll put up a Mr. Linky on March 21st where you can submit a link to your own Spring Reading Thing blog post. All I ask is that you share your goals and list of books in your post, and that you include a link back to the post here that contains the Mr. Linky. We want to spread our love of books and reading far and wide, and make sure people have easy access to everyone's lists!

Babyproofing Your Marriage Book Review

Blogher virtual tour had a Harper offer for the book Babyproofing Your Marriage. It sounded like an interesting read.

And an interesting read it is! Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill, and Julia Stone bring their own experiences and toss them together in some fast, witty advice for couples. Along the way they include quotes from other couples.

It's actually an easy read, you can pick it up, read about 20 minutes of it and then put it down to pick it up a little later. Many of the sections are pretty entertaining and I think this would be a great book for new couples considering children. In fact, I'm going to pass this copy on to my brother and his fiance.

I do remember life B.C. (before children). My husband and I never fought. We'd have a disagreement every now and again. Then first child came along and oh yes, things certainly changed. First of all, mommy clock turned on the light sleeper mode. Second, I realized that while my husband was still staying up until the wee hours of the morning playing video games - I had to wake/sleep/wake/sleep, care for an infant, work and try to keep a house. Yeah, the little resentment bug got me a time or two. I think having this book during those early days would have been helpful for me as a young wife and mother.

A large portion of the book focuses on the physical relationship between a man and wife. Definitely an important component. Luckily for my husband and me, we do alright in that arena and we've never had the issues the book mentions. I particularly liked reading the sections "It's Never Enough" and "Marriage in a Vicious Cycle".

Another portion of the book is the use of "terms" like SGI's for small gestures of intimacy. I really liked the "ick factor". I can't tell you how many times I've bent over a pile of puke and battled with my gag reflex. When you don't have children it's easy enough to think about how your life might be when you do have them... but you won't really know it, until you do.

Overall: The book has some great quotes. There is some great advice in here. (In fact, there is one little bit of advice for women in there that my husband thinks is particularly good advice - don't worry, when you read it, you'll know precisely what part I'm talking about.) It's a fun, easy ready and can benefit many of its readers. It's Win-Win all round!

Announcing Book Review Sunday!

Hello my friends and lurkers,

I am a big reader, yes, I know you are surprised by that! I have decided to devote Sunday's to book reviews. I usually read at least one book a week. Last week I read Christine Feehan's newest in the Game series. It's the second part of the twins and yes, it was fabulous. I also read Julie Garwood's The Wedding. It's an old one and I like to read it periodically. I'll not be reviewing those today. I've got another book I'll be writing about.

I just wanted to let you know about the new plan and to give you the heads up on Sunday activity.

Cheers!

A Great Place for a Screenwriter to Get Their Manuscript Read

Sometimes we writers get a little... focused on our level of the writosphere and we forget that the writing family has a lot of relatives, the novelists, the poets, the lyrists, screenwriters... flashers (flash fiction) and more.

I could never be a screenwriter. I just have too many words floating around and could never break it down for screen. With that said, I do love watching movies and tv shows so I wanted to take a moment and share some information that may be of interest to those writers of a visual kind.

Scriptapalooza is an internetional screenplay competition that reviews 1,000s of scripts and has some great industry support. Scriptapalooza president, Mark Andrushko, was kind enough to answer a few questions for me on this event.

1.Can you tell me a little bit about how Scriptapalooza came to be?

About 9 years ago, a lot of my personal friends were writers and always telling me how discouraged they were with screenplay competitions - they would send their script to competitions and hear nothing back and what really annoyed them was that they didn't know who was reading their script if anyone? Basically the other competitions would say, "Read by Hollywood producers," well who are these people? Because they never mentioned any info on the judges...What Scriptapalooza did was we listed on our website every company that reads, the person's name and their title. We have over 70 producers, managers and agents reading every entry that comes in.

2. I see it's the 9th annual - how has the event grown since its first year?

The first couple of years were tough; we were cold calling producers to read our winners, now everyone calls us to see the winners, runners-up etc...

3. How many entries does the Scriptapalooza usually receive?

Anywhere between 3500-4000 per year.

4. There are over 70 production companies and agents listed as the entities reviewing the scripts. Overall - what are they looking for?

Since we deal with so many companies, they are looking for everything...we have producers that just want horror or animation. Basically every genre is needed by all these 70 companies.

Is there a percentage of how many entrants see something come from participation in the competition?

The good thing about Scriptapalooza is that if you win 1st place or you are just a Semifinalist, your script will be pushed for an entire year.

5. It sounds like you have some exciting news about past entrants, like Craig Clyde. How do you think their participation has helped develop their project or improve their craft?

We open the doors for them, they write great scripts, and we have the connections to get them a meeting, an agent, get their script optioned, sold and eventually made.

6. The Scriptapalooza has some fantastic support from writer's groups and entertainment agencies, how has that impacted the competition?

It validates everything we do...Robert McKee has said that Scriptapalooza is the best screenplay competition out there, Writers Guild of America west and Writers Guild of Canada both endorsed us...so it feels good, people are recognizing that we work for the writer.

7. What do you think is the most important component of a successful script entered into the competition?

Great storytelling and great dialogue.

8. What words of advice do you have for writers trying to break into the industry?

I'm very honest with everyone, it's a very difficult business to get into, but if you're a great writer you'll float to the top eventually.

9. How can entering contests and competitions help advance the writer's career?

Competitions are good way to get your work out there and see what people think. But make sure you only submit your script to reputable competitions, such as Nichols and Scriptapalooza. They are many competitions are there that don't really do anything, do your homework and judge for yourself before submitting.

The Research Files: Harpy Eagle

As we all know... research is a critical component of any story. As writers, we spend hours reading, watching, asking and absorbing (yes, I just love those gerunds)... now, sometimes we carry too much of that research with us and put a little too much into the story.

Sean likes Harpy Eagles... and they are pretty awesome. I'd thought I'd share some of what I've learned... after all, if Sean knows all about them - I need to as well.

- The Harpy Eagle stands over 3 feet tall.

- Wingspan can reach seven feet

- Females are quite larger than males (some reports say twice as large, others say three times)

- The Harpy Eagle talons are the longer than a grizzly bears

- They eat monkeys, sloths (their tasty treat), and sometimes - small antelope

- They can exert several hundred pounds of pressure with their talons

- They have a chick every two to three years and don't reach sexually maturity until four or five

- They are threatened

- The Harpy Eagle is the national bird of Panama

- Latin name: Harpia Harpyja from Harpe (don't we all recall the harpies from mythology?)

What is threatening the Harpy Eagle? Deforestation

Visual DNA

Spot of T had this on her blog and it is awesome!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

The mystery of the < div > tag

For some reason blogger today has been unfriendly with it's paragraph spacing and not reading my paragraphs and then adding in way too many spaces between lines. So, I apologize for the size of the TT post today... but instead of editing/posting/editing/posting, etc I'm just going to leave it... :)

Meat Sean Watts, Eco-Challenger

1. Sean, I'd love to let my readers get a chance to know more about you. Could you tell us where you live?

I live in Manaus, near the Amazon river. I've got a cozy little boat that does an adequate job of keeping the skeeters away.

2. Have you always lived there?

No, heh, I'm originally from the Ozarks of Missouri.

Yeah, I see you thinking of a hillbilly comment... it's best you kept that a thought.

3. That's a pretty big change in location, what do you do there?

I'm a tour guide. I take boats up the Rio Negro and take tourists and adventurers on strolls through the jungle.

4. Sounds like fun!

It's something to do. Keeps me out of an office.

5. You were a member of an Eco-Challenge team. What did you have to do to make the team?

I worked hard. I had to push my limits and embrace the thrill of adventure.

6. I read some articles that you had a rough childhood. Would you mind telling us about that?

Yes. But I know you are a nosy, pain in the ass who won't leave me alone until I tell you more. My mother stayed at home with me. My father worked in construction... he had a passion for Schlitz... and Jack... and anything else that would help him "relax".

7. So he was an alcoholic?

Yeah. You could say that.

8. I understand that you lost your mother while you were young. I'm sorry for your loss.

*Shrug* I don't really remember much of her, other than her constant praying... and her moans after my father finished using her as a punching bag.

9. Well, I'm sure she's in a better place now, with God's grace.

*He snorts*

What? You don't agree?

I might, if I thought there was a God and if I thought she was deserving.

10. Um... Ok... Well... Uh, It must be amazing to see all the wildlife in the rainforest. What's your favorite creature?

The poison-dart frog is pretty darn cool... but, I think I'd have to say the Harpy Eagle.

11. How do people get in touch with you for a tour?

I've got a few deals with hotels, travel agents and I've got a friend who handles some of the internet work for me. I don't like working all the time, so my tours are sometimes spaced out a bit.

12. So, what's next for Sean Watts?

I've actually just been hired as a guide for a larger project. I'm afraid I can't tell you any details at the moment though. I'll be out of Manaus for a little while.

13. Hello fellow Thursday Thirteener! Sean Watts is the protag in my "Work In Progress". He's been spending a lot more time with me recently. He's fascinating but also a little annoying and... he can be a real ass sometimes. I hope that he continues to keep me company. I really need to finish his story.

Time for some serious link love!

I've been a little busy and distracted lately... it happens, right? And I've been pretty quiet in the blogosphere. I pop on just to make a fast announcement to the world at large: "Yay! I finished something important. I AM syked! WoooT!"

And along come the wonderful people in the blogosphere to pipe in and make me feel even better. One of the reasons why being involved in the blogging community is to have a support network of friends and like-minded associates.

My mother sent me a lovely arrangement - let me share it with you... and a special thank you to the folks that stopped in to say hello!

Heather Muses

Christine D’Abo

Undercover Angel

December Quinn

The one, the only! Susan!

Laughing Muse

Joely Sue

Mike Berta – where ever you are!

Wylie

Angela the SciFiChick

Sabrina at the Coffee Quill

Amy Ruttan

Rob with Paxton Fiction

Katie with Slightly Savage

The Domestik Goddess

Visit them, tell them how wonderful they are :) and let the bloggy karminess continue!

One life goal down... BOoYah!

My husband and I met in high school. When I graduated, my mind was not on my education, but on other things. I had a 3.9 GPA, scholarships aplenty, and enough acceptance letters to go where ever I wanted. I managed to finish a year of college and then found myself married, working full-time, and shortly after - pregnant.

I love my husband and my children. I have no regrets and I thank the powers that be everyday that I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful family.

Not having that degree though... that was a burr in my saddle. As I matured and as my children went off to school the annoyance became a fever. In 2004, I signed up for University of Phoenix online campus. Today I am finished. Yes!

I am raising two children, maintaining a solid - loving relationship with my husband, working a full-time career which often requires 50 or more hours a week of my time, blogging, writing a book, trying to keep a house clean... and I spent the last two and a half years in accelerated college courses writing at least one (usually two) papers a week - every week. (Which is, of course, why my house is often a mess and I'm only a third of the way into my first draft!)

Life goals 1 & 2:

1. Complete my bachelor's degree: Is officially taken care of.

Now I can focus on 2. Complete a novel.

You are never too old to finish something you started - or start on a completely new path for your life. No matter who you are or where you happen to be, never give up your dreams or your goals. No matter how unattainable they may seem to be. No matter how many obstacles you think you face. With determination and dedication anything is possible.

When the blogging lull hits

It hits hard! My regular readers have noticed I'm not posting quite as frequently as I usually do. I'm experiencing one of those blogging lull's. I'm not really accomplishing anything else. I'd love to say that I've been focused on my writing. Instead, life has just been taking up my time.

We've had some out of town trips, some major snow falls, and some family nights out. It all equals less time for me to think about the blog.

So, what do you do when you have a blogging lull? What is usually the biggest factor that takes your time?

Time to play... Name That Line!

There are some debates over the importance of an opening line for a story. Some people think the opening line should stand alone as a hook (or at least example of the author's writing skill) and others don't consider the opening line as that important. I thought for this week's Thursday Thirteen we'd play a little game. Here are 13 opening lines from books and below are the 13 books they come from. Can you guess which is which? Of these - which one is your favorite?

(Note: If there was a prologue, I skipped and went to the first line of chapter 1)

1. The ghastly, corpse-pale face appeared suddenly, materializing out of the depths of the fathomless darkness like some demonic guardian set to protect forbidden secrets.

2. The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.

3. The scent of slaughter, some believe, can linger in a place for years.

4. "Dear Deverell, of course I know exactly the right lady for you."

5. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

6. "Vicious little beasts, aren't they?"

7. On the night the Underworld put a contract out on me, a crescent moon dangled overhead like a celestial fishook and stars bobbed in the sky.

8. On his thirty-sixth birthday, May 18, Travis Corell rose at five o'clock in the morning.

9. Vampires.

10. My name is Odd Thomas, though in this age when fame is the altar at which most people worship, I am not sure why you should care who I am or that I exist.

11. Eragon knelt in a bed of trampled reed grass and scanned the tracks with a practiced eye.

12. Sssshhhh.

13. The first thing the boy Garion remembered was the kitchen at Faldor's farm.

(Ok, I've given you some easy ones... and some not so easy ones. Let's see if you can match the book to the opening line.)

Here are the books these lines come from:

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Dawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
Eragon by Chris Paolini
Hunting Fear by Kay Hooper
The Paid Companion by Amanda Quick
The Loop by Nicholas Evans
To Distraction by Stephanie Laurens
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
Hunter by James Byron Huggins
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by Rowling
Hell's Belles by Jackie Kessler
The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason
Watchers by Dean Koontz

Good luck!