The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill

Don’t just get even. Write a novel. Ellie Sweet is a lot of things—good girl, novelist, silent adorer of the new boy at school, Palmer. But when “outcast” gets added to the list, she decides it’s time to take reality into her own hands … and tweak it as needed. In the pages of her book, she’s Lady Gabrielle, favorite of the medieval Italian court. Her once-friends are reduced to catty ladies-in-waiting, and the too-charming Palmer—who in real life never spares her a second word—gets to be nothing more than a rake wracked by unrequited love for her. She even has a perfect real-life villain in the brooding Chase, who hails from the wrong side of town. But just when she’s getting along great in her fictional world, the real one throws her a few curves. With Chase pursuing her, Palmer wanting to date her—but in secret—and the details of her manuscript going public, Ellie suddenly receives more attention than she ever really wanted. And when her former-friends discover what she’s been writing, they’re determined to teach Ellie a lesson about the severe consequences of using her pen as her sword.

So. First off. I don't usually read books like these. I'm not really big on slice-of-life romances. However, I won this book along with a few others from Stephanie Morrill at Go Teen Writers and figured I ought to read it at some point. Last summer, I'd finished all the other books I wanted to read when I remembered this one.

At first I was hesitant, because like I said just a minute ago, I didn't like these books. I almost didn't read it, after all, I was a science fiction/fantasy girl. I thought that I would most definitely not enjoy it. I was so wrong.

As a female teenage writer, I found this book ridiculously inspiring. Ellie is a wonderful character and one of those rare characters that I would love to sit down and have coffee (or in my case tea) with. Despite the fact that it's not my usual genre, there's no shortage of action or emotion that I get from other books.

I finished this book in one sitting. That is the highest form of praise I can offer. I didn't even finish most of my favorite books (and this is one of them, mind you) in one sitting.

As soon as I could, I got my hands on the second Ellie book. I remember when it came in from Amazon, I ripped open the box, grabbed the book, and ran back to my room to read.

Just like the first one, I finished it in one sitting.

Emma had finished it a few days before I had so all through the night I was sending her live updates.

I loved this one just about as much as the first one. It didn't end quite how I wanted (my poor ship ;_;), but it was still a great wrap up to a good series. 

Secretly, or I guess not-so-secretly, I'm hoping for more books about Ellie.

To wrap this whole thing up, if you are a writer, you need to read this. If you are not a writer, you still need to read this.

Thank you so much Stephanie for giving me the privilege of reading your book. I loved it!

6 Ways to Get Your Readers Shipping Like Crazy

So. Writing. 

It's a thing I like to do. It's also a thing that many of you guys like to do. I've wanted to do a writing post for a while, but I don't feel qualified to give any advice of my own. In honor of Valentine's day, here's a neat post I found this afternoon.

6 Ways to Get Your Readers Shipping Like Crazy

I've wanted to include romantic subplots in my novels for a while. Problem is, I've never found one that fits. In one, the timing of the plot just didn't allow it. In another, I kind of killed the main love interest. I've also never known how to approach writing romance, since I've never been in a serious relationship before. I've never been on a one-on-one date, and I've never been kissed. 

Much like writing advice, I don't feel qualified to write romance. Sure, I've read my fair share of romantic subplots. I've squealed, hugged books to my chest, and rolled around in my bed like a crazy fangirl. Unfortunately, I can't seem to translate this into my own writing. Much like point number one in the above article, my first inclination is to shove the romance down the reader's throat.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THERE IS LOVE IN THE AIR. DO YOU HEAR THAT? LOVE. FREAKING LOVE. DELVE INTO THEIR ADORABLE-NESS.

tl;dr 

Romance is cute. I suck at writing it. Read this post instead.