Annabelle Jones has spent the majority of the last sixteen years as her bipolar brother’s personal disaster janitor. She’s not bitter though. I mean, she’s  got the support of the world’s two greatest best friends. Plus, Blake’s issues haven’t really gotten in the way of her own life … well, until now.

Annabelle has six days to figure out and fix what Blake did to kicked off the track team, thus losing his scholarship, before her father puts in his resignation, finalizing a move that puts her on the other end of the state just before her senior year, with cbdoilkaufen.com. All she has to do is get past an angry ex, his attractive best friend (who suddenly has a thing for her) and decide whether or not it’s worth breaking the law to change her dad’s mind. Because if she can’t, it’s hello new high school and goodbye senior year with the two friends who’ve kept her sane through all her family’s drama…

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Whereas books like The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath or Impulse, by Ellen Hopkins show mental disorders through the viewpoint of the one suffering from the illness, my novel explores Bipolar through the view of a family member in order to show that bipolar disorder not only affects the person suffering from the illness, but also the people who are close to them.

So I’ve updated my site! You’ll see many new tabs and lots of new schtuff, cuz well, things have been rather crazy over here in Marybeth land! From starting my new website to finishing ‘Taming the Crazies’, I’ve been a pretty busy gal. (Oh stop being so jealous! You’re more than welcome to come fold my laundry for me!)

So take a moment, take a look around. Let me know what you think!!! I’m HOPING to get back into blogging more as things settle down, but I’m not ready to make any  promises just yet!

I’ve been working hard trying to finish my manuscript made of awesome lately, Taming the Crazies, and totally ignoring my website. That’s just not fair is it?

SO to hold you over a tad, I decided to tease you with a little excerpt.

Things you need to know…

Annabelle – MC

Blake – Her brother, he has bipolar disorder

Tyler -Annabelle’s ex

The rest you’ll just have to wait for 😉

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Blake is sitting at the table in a somber mood. The repercussions of Mom and Dad’s lecture from last night have gone into effect and he’s gone into the ‘I’m a failure’ mode. So not my favorite.

“Want a ride to school?” I ask him.

He looks up at me with glassy eyes. “Huh?”

I can tell he didn’t sleep a wink. I smile, trying to brighten his mood. “The Neon is requesting the pleasure of your presence this morning. She thinks it’s been far too long since she’s felt your ass cheeks against her tattered upholstery.”

He cracks a quarter of a smile. “I’m not sure my glutes are in the mood for her vicious bouncing a la no shocks.”

“Oh come on, if I have to go to school and face him, you do too.”

“Who, Tyler? I don’t care what he thinks. I’m just not in the mood to be around people.”

I sigh. “Blake, don’t do this.”

His head repeatedly bangs against the table. If it hurts, he doesn’t show it. “Mom and Dad hate me. They think I’m a failure.”

These words flow from Blake’s mouth on at least a biweekly basis. Sometimes there are variations. “You hate me.” Or “Everybody hates me.” But it’s not worth the trouble of trying to convince him otherwise. Sending him into a rage is the last thing I want to do this morning.

“So, have you figured out how you’re going to get back on the track team?” I ask. Changing the subject is always the best way to handle a Blake low.

“That’s not going to happen. Coach Lenny is sick of my mood swings.”

“Did he actually say that?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Coach Lenny is aware of your condition, I’m sure once things settle down he’ll reconsider his decision.”

“And besides, he didn’t make the decision. Mom and Dad did.”

Not good. Not good at all. Mom and Dad rarely go back on their punishments. They like to practice consistency. With Blake it’s quite necessary.

“Mom and Dad? I would’ve thought the school would have taken action, not them.”

“It didn’t happen on school grounds. There was nothing Delray could do about it. Unfortunately that did not satisfy the parents.”

Delray is our Principal, an overweight old lady who is due to retire – and/or die – any time now. Still, I’d rather endure one of her punishments over one of my parents’. “Then how did they even find out?”

He looks at me in way that insinuates I should already know the answer and I’m ashamed to admit that I do. “Tyler’s mom?”

“It wouldn’t be Tyler if he didn’t run home to mommy and cry about it.”

I shake my head. Tyler doesn’t cry to his mom because he wants attention. He does it because he knows she’ll retaliate on whoever hurts her precious son. I suppose it’s easier for him than actually dealing with his own problems. After our most recent argument, I’m pretty convinced he doesn’t know how to handle problems by himself anyway.

“We’ll find a way to change their minds,” I say. I’m not sure how the hell we’ll do this, or if it’s even possible, but I’m determined to make it happen. “Now come get cozy in the Neon. I don’t want to have to explain to her that you think your ass is too good for her lack of seat padding.”

I know it’s been a LONG time since I’ve updated here. My plate has been rather full these days. I completed my edits on The Oliver House, but have not yet had any luck enticing and agent. You’d think the had hundreds of authors to choose from or something…

So in the midst of the submission process I got this insane idea. I questioned others about it and asked if it might be something worth writing, and apparently they all thought it was.

So I’ve started a new novel called, Taming the Crazies. It’s a story about a teenage girl struggling with the impact her brother’s bipolar disorder has had on not only her, but her entire family. (You can read more about it on my Projects Page) As of right now I’m in love with it, but we all know how that goes…so this time I’m not going to shout from the mountaintops professing my love. (Though I may visit a hill…totally different!)

On top of that, and partially fueled by it, I got another insane idea. I started a new website. I’m not going to say it’s a blog, cuz really…it is so much more than a blog. I have teamed up with an amazing teenager who is also suffering from bipolar disorder. (If you didn’t know, I suffer from it also, as does my son) Together we have created www.askabipolar.com where we answer peoples questions about the illness from the perspective of someone who’s been there. So far its going well. I hope that continues!!!

If you get a chance, check it out and cheer me on!!

You will also see some updates being made to this site in the future. For now they are just basic (like I changed my photo and updated my projects) but I’m hoping to unveil something a little more spectacular soon!

Hope all is well!

This is my homepage! I’m having technical issues….it will be all shiny and pretty and full of great fun soon 🙂

So I’m reading Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell (Genius I say! Pure Genius!) and I’m filling out this questionnaire about me. I thought to myself, I should do this for my MC too. Why not see how well I know her! (Considering I invented her!)

I get to the question “What are the things you (or in this case my MC) good at?

Total FAIL moment!

I mean Epic FAIL!!!

I’ve been working on this book for almost a year now (ok so half that year the book was still in my head and not on paper…but still!) and I cannot for the life of me come up with something my character is good at!

How is this possible?!?!

I went through all the skills and talents a person can have (Google is full of wonderful information) and could not for the life of me choose one that fit her personality.I mean how is being able to do that going to help my plot along??? Has anyone ever had this problem? Should not having a talent just be one of her quirks? Would it be strange to give her a talent that has nothing to do with the overall story?

What are your characters talents? I mean everyone needs to be good at something!

Yay for kissing day. I once wrote an entire post on kissing, though you won’t find it on this blog. It included the history of me and all my kisses and ended with “the kiss that hurts”.

What?

A kiss that hurts?

Oh yes. The kiss that hurts.

We’ve all been there. Kissing the man we love goodbye because he is leaving on a business trip. Or kissing him hello because something terrible had just happened and you thought you would never see him again. Or even a kiss that signifies a break up that you are not entirely sure you want, but know you need.

The kiss that means nothing but at the very same time means everything. The kiss where you close your eyes and your face tightens because your entire mind is wrapped around that kiss. The kiss where you place your hands on his face and hold on for dear life because you never want to let go, though you know you are going to have to in a very short amount of time. It takes your breath away until your lips part. And afterward you step away staring at each other and gasping for air. This is the kiss that hurts.

My unlucky character got to experience one of these. For a bit of a different reason, but it still hurt nonetheless. And to make it worse, my MC, who is painfully in love with him, had to witness the entire ordeal. It is possible that this kiss hurt more for her than the two involved.

They stopped on an empty street corner. It was dark and damp outside. The only lights surrounding them were from the street lamp above and the blinking traffic light beside them. “Rachel, I know you are going through a rough time right now with Oliver, but he is your husband. Regardless of whether or not I notice more than he does, he is the one you are with. Not me.”

I was proud of Michael for telling Rachel this. She needed to hear these words. Michael needed to hear these words. I feared he often forgot this himself. Unfortunately, as quickly as I was feeling pleased about Michael’s acknowledgment, Rachel was doing the unspeakable. She leaned in toward Michael. The next thing I knew she was kissing him. It was not like the kiss I had encountered with Greg. This was a kiss where I wished I could have been her. Their mouths had become one and his arms grabbed her closer until there was no longer any space between them.

I fought to think about my kiss with Greg, every little detail I could remember. I thought about the horrible breath that lingered from the extensive amount of onions he had consumed. I thought about his pointy tongue trying to penetrate through my firmly closed lips, but it did not work.

Time, up until this moment for the most part, had slid by unnoticed. But this moment – This moment where I longed to be Rachel’s lips pressed up against his, and Rachel’s waist held firmly by his arm, and Rachel’s hair flowing over each of Michael’s fingers – This moment lasted for what seemed to be an eternity. Again, I could not shake the feeling that there was something more, some force working against me.

The laughter was louder and more pronounced this time. It was also more malevolent. I knew it was near and knew it was meant for me. Someone was reading my thoughts or watching me. They were witnessing my failure to influence Michael, and they were entertained by it. I could tell the laughter was that of a woman’s, but did not see any other person or soul anywhere near. It was just Michael, Rachel and I as far as I could see. But the laughter continued, as did my frustration.

However, I continued to hold my concentration, to provide distraction. For one slight moment I felt confident it may have helped as Michael broke through their embrace and gently pushed Rachel back. When I looked into Michael’s eyes though, I knew the accomplishment was small. There was agony in his eyes as he stared at Rachel and watched her fight back the tears glistening in her eyes. It hurt him to see her hurt.

“I’m sorry Michael,” she said slowly, refusing to let the tears fall, she was feeling somewhat humiliated. “It was just that the moment was right, and I’ve wanted to do that for months now, and I just let the emotion overtake my common sense. It will never happen again, I promise. Please don’t tell Oliver.”

And without any notice she had turned away and began sprinting down the road away from Michael. Michael stood there, like a statue. He seemed stunned by the passing events. I could only imagine the thoughts cascading through his mind.

I knew the thoughts running through my own mind. I felt guilty. I knew this was my fault and I knew he would not have continued to kiss her had I not had the idiotic moment of weakness where I wished I were Rachel. I couldn’t stop Rachel’s actions, but I did have some small control over Michael’s. I had to make this right.

So that is my kissing scene. It’s actually the only kissing scene in that manuscript. Sorry for all the poor grammar and such. It was my first novel and I had MUCH to learn after I wrote that. Well enjoy you kissing fest! I’m off to read some blogs!

My husband and I got in a chat about recommendations. He’s big into Linked In. I like the site too, though it’s not twitter. (Just sayin…)

On Linked In you put your resume up and connect with former/current employers and/or employees and/or co-workers. As you connect you are able to leave each other recommendations (As long as you have worked together in the past) and boost one another’s credibility. It’s an awesome feature and I don’t doubt it helps in the hiring process.

Our conversation began when we started talking about agents I like and how I know some of their clients via blogging/twitter.

He said, “You should get recommendations!”

Now I think this a great idea, but I felt like ‘eh’.

I explained that to me it seems like an unspoken rule between writers that we don’t cross that boundary. Kinda like the unspoken rule that you never date your best friends ex. Or the one where it is mandatory to tell a good friend that they have food in their teeth.

Nobody flat out makes these rules, they are just kinda there.

OR maybe it’s just me. I love my bloggy friends! I would never want them to think I am stalking following them just to earn me some recommendations. That is totally NOT the reason I stalk follow/read my favorite blogs and chat it up with my twitter folk! (Now in twitter language would that be Twolk? I’m totally trade marking that one!)

So what are your thoughts? Would you ask a friend for a recommendation before you queried their agent? If you have an agent, have you ever had anyone/everyone ask for a recommendation?

Please share your feelings. I am incredibly curious! (And I’d love to prove to the man that I am right about my unspoken rule that I may or may not have created all on my own)

I know I’m a big dork, but the beginning lyrics to this song always cause me to tear up. The words to this song are powerful and I hope we can all keep them in mind as we wait on our journey to publication!

Closer To Love Lyrics

She got the call today
One out of the gray
And when the smoke cleared
It took her breath away

She said she didn’t believe
It could happen to me
I guess we’re all one phone call from our knees

We’re gonna get there soon

If every building falls
And all the stars fade
We’ll still be singing this song
The one they can’t take away

I’m gonna get there soon
She’s gonna be there too
Cryin’ in her room
Prayin’ oh, Lord come through

We’re gonna get there soon

Oh, it’s your light
Oh, it’s your way
Pull me out of the dark
Just to shoulder the weight
Cryin’ out now
From so far away
You pull me closer to love
Closer to love

Meet me once again
Down off Lake Michigan
Where we could feel the storm blowin’
Down with the wind

And don’t apologize
For all the tears you’ve cried
You’ve been way too strong now for all your life

I’m gonna get there soon
You’re gonna be there too
Cryin’ in your room
Prayin’ Lord come through

We’re gonna get there soon

Oh, it’s your light
Oh, it’s your way
Pull me out of the dark
Just to shoulder the weight
Cryin’ out now
From so far away
You pull me closer to love
Closer to love

Cause you are all that I’ve waited for all of my life
(We’re gonna get there)
You are all that I’ve waited all of my life

You pull me closer to love
Closer to love
Pull me closer to love (You are all that I’ve waited for)
You pull me closer to love
Closer to love
Closer to love (Cause you are all that I’ve waited for)
Closer to love

Pull me closer to love

Ever run into a problem with your manuscript before?

Yeah I super did yesterday…And I’m talking like a MAJOR plot hole!!! Like a plot hole the size of the freaking my Great Aunt Bertha’s belly button….ok so I totally don’t have a Great Aunt Bertha, but you so pictured how big my gaping hole was didn’t you!

Well anyways my day had already gone rogue when my dear wonderful fantastic perfect friend Mindy followed through with my super awesome fantastic Mission.

The Mission -Should she choose to accept – Read the remainder of my manuscript and tell me any and all questions she had left so I could ensure they were answered before I ended the book.

Well being the super, awesome, fantastic friend that she is, she accepted! I LOVE YOU MINDY! I got my email back from her and read through her questions. The first couple made me giddy. I was all like, “I can’t wait till you see how I plan to answer that one!” and “Oh my word are you in for a surprise with that this one!” It was magical I tell you!

Then I came to the next one and the world stopped. My five part harmony choir halted their voices and I could hear them mutter in my head, “Dang girl, your screwed.” and “How could you miss that!” and “That’s crappy.” Apparently my choir isn’t very sympathetic. (Memo to me: Find a new happy choir to celebrate with!) Then the fuzzy, fury, adorable animals dancing in my field of happiness stopped bouncing around and stared at me like I was the biggest idiot they’d ever seen … and can you believe those little rodents ran away!?!? The gall of that future road kill! And to top it off my white dress of perfection, you know the one all girl authors made of awesomeness wear when they write a perfectly awesome book, fell off my body into little shreds as though I wasn’t worthy of it’s covering. It was a crappy dress anyway. Didn’t even enhance my best features…

So I cried a little, pulled out like half my hair, ate a whole box full of cookies and three boxes of mac and cheese then sat down and stared at my ruined story. I swear it muttered at me, something about “Thoughtless Author” and “Maybe I should be writing with Crayons instead of a computer..” but I’m sure that was all in my head.

I had nothing.

The question was humongous.

And so my dear, wonderful, fantastic, awesome sister got online after seeing my world had been crushed via facebook (What? You don’t tell facebook every time your world gets crushed. Oh come on…you can’t fool me!) and offered to help. So we sat on IM and fought it out. Then my dear, wonderful, fantastic, awesome, super friend Mindy got online and fought it out with me too. I love my friend and sister. My sister had to go, family to tend to and all, by my favorite Mindy sat online with me for like three hours. I’m in love with her!

And now I am proud to announce … drum roll please … can someone find my choir and stupid dancing animals? … I have solved my problem!!!!

HOORRAYYY!

So what was the worst problem you’ve come up against in your writing? How long did it take you to fix?