Kate Rivet

Writers’ block.  Any author knows about it and dreads it.  It happens to the best of us at the worst of times, never when it’s convenient.  But does anyone know truly how to break through it?

I’ve been trying desperately for a few months to get out a few of my newest novel ideas.  I know where they’re both headed, but neither one wants to come out.  I can get a paragraph, maybe two at most, then it just stops.  It’s like I’ve hit a brick wall and I can’t get going.  It started like that on Idea #1, as I’ve christened it, so I tried one of my handy tricks: start another project.  Nothing like getting those creative juices running, right?

Idea #2 started off on a high, too, but soon hit that wall.  This time, I was SURE it was going to work.  I’d open Word dutifully every night and just … nothing.  It wouldn’t come out.

I’ve just started on Idea #3, and I’m truly hoping this one pans out.  I’m definitely NOT a person who does well with proper outlines and whatnot, but I’ve mapped the heck out of this story and have serious plans for it.  And in 3 sessions I’ve come up with over 3,000 words, so that’s real progress in my world.  The only issue I’m foreseeing in this one is that I’m in uncharted territory — that is, I’m writing about a place I have VERY little experience visiting, so it’s going to be me and Google getting through this puppy.  I’m heading back to London in exactly 107 days, and I’m actually contemplating a daylong excursion to Paris, where this book is taking place.  I also speak a very limited amount of French and feel most comfortable with written French, because my accent is terrible, so I guess we’ll see how this goes!  My most trusted beta reader has gone through the first chapter, maybe chapter and a half, and says so far this is her favorite of all my works, so I guess we’ll see!

Does anybody else have any other strategies for writers’ block?  As you can tell, my “start a new story!” method has probably a 33-50% rate of success.  We can talk about it as I try to take a Google Maps tour of the 6th Arrondissement and the surrounding areas!

Until next time,
Kate

I’m still a terrible blogger and would go through the typical apology phase here, but tonight I’m here to write for a different reason.  As an author, you’d think words would come rather easily to me, but sometimes it’s difficult to find the right ones.

A few years back, I was somewhat internet-famous, if you could call it that.  I had a lot of good friends in a lot of bands (some of which are still big-time acts these days, but I’m not going to name-drop them).  Not only did I go see shows in Pittsburgh, but I went to Ohio, Kentucky, and Illinois.  It’s Illinois in particular that I’m writing about tonight.

There was a girl whom I met over the internet and formed a very close friendship with.  Her name is Kassie, and while we aren’t nearly as close these days because real life gets in the way of the fun times we had when we were young and had much less responsibility and need for bills to be paid by ourselves, she is still a sister to me.  When I was 18, I flew on a plane for the very first time since I was a child (stymying a fear of flying, by the way) and touched down at Chicago’s Midway Airport.  There, I took a taxi (also a first) into a neighborhood called Summit, one of the suburbs of Chicago proper.  It was here that I turned up at Kassie’s house for the very first time of many trips over the next few years.  It was also this evening that I met her mother in person for the first time, though we had spoken on the phone before.

Kathie took me in as her own child from that very first time I turned up at their doorstep to the very last time I waved goodbye to them at Midway Airport before becoming the lead pharmacy technician at my store and effectively ending most of my pleasure trips until 2012.  From that first time I met her, Kathie was immediately somebody that I warmed to.  She was a single mother who was raising the younger two of her children at this point, and she worked some pretty difficult jobs to try to make ends’ meet.  Over the many years and visits, we’d find ourselves up early and at the kitchen table more times than I can even remember.

I relished these early morning conversations; a lot of the time, Kathie would be exhausted from waitressing the night before, and this would be a relaxation for both of us. We’d talk about life, but we talked a LOT about books, too.  Like me, she loved to read, and she was just about as avid about it as me.  Her favorite books were those by Kristin Hannah, and although I have yet to read a Kristin Hannah book, we found a kindredship over chick lit, or women’s fiction as some would prefer to call it.

As Kassie and my lives diverged, my trips grew fewer and farther apart.  I remember parts of my last trip out to see her, but not everything.  One thing I do remember, though, is how Kathie always took me back to the airport and would give me hugs and say goodbye to me like I was her own kid leaving.  She told me more than once that she was proud of me for working hard to ensure that I would continue to thrive at work, and that sentiment sticks with me even to this day and makes me proud to be at the top of my current profession.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed via social media that she wasn’t doing too well.  It was just within the past week or two that I found out that she was suffering from lung cancer that had spread.  I knew right away that I wanted to get out to Chicago not just to reconnect with my “Chicago mommy” as she was called, but to reconnect with the people who were as close to siblings as I’d ever get.  I was hoping that when the local colleges went on spring break that I could take a few days and head out.

As it would be, Kathie passed away last night and has left a hole in many peoples’ hearts.  Her Facebook page has many messages indicating many lives touched by her kindness, and I’m just one of many missing her today.  I can’t even imagine how her children feel right now, although I know that the grief I feel that does bring tears to my eyes when I recall specific events is only a mere fraction of what her family feels.

So tonight, I’m posting this to tell the world that she touched my life in an indelible way, and that I’m going to remember the kindness and pride she showed me on the many trips I shared in her home.  I wish desperately that I could get away for her memorial, but I don’t think that will be possible.  As it is, I will be dedicating my next book to her, and I’ve got some ideas kicking around in my head as to small things I can do to keep her memory alive as well.  Her work ethic and success at raising her children by herself is something that touched my heart, and it pushes me to be a better person.

Thank you for allowing me into your life so readily, Kathie, and I hope that you’re resting well in peace now with the siblings you lost before.  Those of us still here will not forget you any time soon.

Until next time,
Kate

I would apologize to those of you who are checking in on my little corner of the internet here, but I think I’ve already done that a few times. Hi, my name is Kate Rivet, and I’m a TERRIBLE blogger!

I can’t believe it’s been almost an entire year since my last post, but at the same time I’m truly not shocked. I’ve been on the internet since I was probably 8 or 9 years old, and I’ve had many websites over those years. Believe it or not, I used to actually be a somewhat popular webdesigner before the profession blew up, but I never really wanted to get too far into the technical end of it. I stopped writing HTML, and now I rely on precoded pages like this one to carry me along. It’s okay though, because since I’m such a sporadic blogger, I never bother to update the theme of the page!

So, what is there really even to talk about? I’m glancing over my last post, and I’m sorry to say that most of it is what I’m still dealing with. I’ve spent about 6 of the past 11 months working 6 days a week, which is great for your wallet, but terrible for your mental and physical wellbeing. Add to that thrilling schedule the fact that my stomach has never fully been right since I got home, plus I got to have my gallbladder taken out at the very end of April, I’ve been a busy bee. I did start writing a book a few months ago (my 5th, by the way), but it’s sitting on my laptop at about a 97% completion.

I’m leaving on the 22nd (a week from yesterday) to go back to Barcelona for a week with my best friend in the entire world who I rarely get to see. It still doesn’t actually feel real that it’s so close, but we’ve been planning since, oh, Januaryish?, so I’m glad it’s finally here. This is actually my very last day off of work before going, and my schedule today is jam-packed. At some point, I really should get packing!!

As you can tell, it’s November now and we all know that November means NaNoWriMo. I wasn’t going to participate this year again, but I happened to get to work with the fabulous local ML, Fox, and she encouraged me to go for it even though I’m missing out on 9 entire days. Well, guess what? As of this morning at 9:19 AM, I was at 51,174 words and am done! I’m still not sure of the title — it’s changed probably two or three times since I started writing — but I’m at least positive of the content. I really liked writing this book, because it’s nothing like what I usually write. There were really no sports involved, go figure 😉

I thought I might spend a few words here telling you all the secret to my NaNo 2013 success, and I’m hoping that it’s advice you’ll take to heart and use to help yourself on future NaNoWriMo adventures, or even to help you on this one.

I knew that I was losing the last 9 days, so that shortened my NaNo experience to 21 days. To finish in 30, you’re supposed to write 1,667 words per day. I made my personal goal 2,500 words a day. Did I always hit it? Definitely not. Did I do my best? Absolutely.

My free days this month were the weekends, so I got up in the morning and started writing, and didn’t quit til nighttime. Of course, I took breaks to eat and go see the sun once in awhile if it was peeking through, and I allowed my mind to wander during the day so that I didn’t get burnt out too quickly. The first Saturday, I wrote a little over 2,500 words by the first Sunday, I was over 10,000. Pretty good for somebody who ended the first day at 676 words, huh? Last Saturday and Sunday, I did probably around another 10,000 or so.

Another thing that truly helped me out was attending write-ins this year. Not only have I made some really great new friends, but I was able to get out of my house and write and help the others with bouncing their ideas around and finding people inspiration from the strangest but funniest conversations. I got a lot more done at both write-ins I’ve attended than I thought I would get done outside of my typical routine of listening to music/letting movies play in the background. Thursdays changed from my typical errand night to my writing night, and it was a great change. I’m going to be sad to leave my fellow WriMos behind, but luckily our local group meets up a couple times a year to edit, chat, and enjoy each others’ company. It will definitely bridge the gap to next November, and help inspire success again in 2014!

Well, I think that’s all I’ve got for you right now. Once I get back from the hair salon and possibly the nail salon to get myself looking great for my trip abroad (and a few pounds lighter than when I returned home 10 pounds less last year, so here’s hoping for leaving a few more pounds in my favorite place ever), I’m planning to finally update the books page to reflect upon the increase in my material, and maybe I’ll even finally post the first chapters of my books!

Until next time,
Kate

I was just thinking about this blog a few minutes ago as I wait forever for photos to post to my Facebook from a Zoo trip today. My life has been so incredibly busy lately that it’s enough to make me want to cry sometimes, no lie. We’ve had a lot of personnel changes at my primary job — the one I’d love to leave to write full-time instead — and this has left me working a lot of overtime and just not a lot of time OR energy to actually do some writing.

This has also kept me from doing NaNoWriMo again, which is a bummer. My friend and I agreed to do a 2 month NaNo-type deal for ourselves, but I know that she is actually behind my progress on this, and my only progress is deciding what the story would be about. I actually have two really good ideas, and one of those has a first chapter, but I just don’t have tme or energy, as I’ve said, to get anywhere on those. I’m hoping that sometime soon I can get inspired and find enough time to get somewhere on these, but who knows at this point!

Well, remember how I was talking about my vacation in my last post? I’m happy to report that I did it!! I was actually terrified to be on a plane as long as it took to get from New York to London, but I made it through both legs with very little problems. The flight TO London, I had a fabulous seatmate in the same business as I am, so we had some nice chatting between sleeps, and he was incredibly nice to me as a first-time transatlantic flier. Somehow, my iPhone’s AT&T World package was the wrong one, so I could NOT get any signal on any UK carrier until I got to my hostel, which was over an hour after I landed. I was freaking out because my parents were waiting for my call, but I was able to send my Dad an iMessage to let him know that I was back and was going to figure out what was going on with my phone.

I stayed in Clink 78 Hostel in London, which was the former courthouse where The Clash were tried and where Oliver Twist was written by Charles Dickens. This is located in Islington, which is about 5 minutes from Kings Cross Station. I was a 10 minute walk from a phone store, so I picked up a prepaid phone to use throughout the UK in case of emergency at Orange, and when I returned to the hostel, I got my iPhone fixed. I then started my vacation after getting settled in my bunk in a large dorm that saw a lot of different and nice girls throughout the stay.

I went to Emirates Stadium to see my team, Arsenal FC, on the 5th of May. It was amazing to be there and experience the Premier League atmosphere! It really made me aware of things I could add on edits of my books, which made it even better. I even shopped in the Armoury and bought a bunch of neat souvenirs to bring back home with me, and although we drew against Norwich City on that day, it made me sure that I’ll keep my membership up so I can go back again!

I left early the next morning for Barcelona, after taking the Tube back to Heathrow after the match, and I had a nice night in a luxurious hotel room before my flight. It was actually only about 2 hours from London to Barca, and the plane had these little overhead maps that kept me aware that we were passing over places in France that I’d only ever heard of in books. Stepping into El Prat de Llobregat Airport was amazing; it was my first time in a country where English is NOT the first language, and to see the signs telling you where the departures, or “salidas”, were was insane.

I took the Aerobus to Plaça Catalunya, which is the main Plaza in Barcelona. I was disoriented immediately, and there were two buildings that seemed to match the ONE listed on my directions to my hostel that I was supposed to navigate by! I found some English-speaking help at a tourist information booth, and I was soon on my way down the Passeig de Gràcia towards the hostel. I stayed in HostelONE Barcelona Central Garden on Carrer Roger de Llúria, and I can’t tell you enough how spectacular that place really is. I was sick on arrival there, and it turned out that one of the workers was a doctor! He told me that if my concoction of drugs I brought from home didn’t help, that I should go get some in the Farmacia. Well, I ran a terrible fever that night and went between hot and cold flashes, but the Spanish paracetamol and the American Aleve I took in a combo managed to bring it down. I took his advice and went to a doctor the next day, and I ended up spending my trip in Spain on antibiotics!

I wasn’t about to let that get me down, though; I did cancel my trip to Dalí’s museum, but that was because there were so many beautiful and amazing things to see in Barcelona itself! The first day found me entirely overwhelmed by the enormity of Barcelona’s central area via Passeig de Gràcia — I’m sure being sick didn’t help — but I woke up that second morning feeling like I was finally home.

Finally home? I’ve lived in Pittsburgh my entire life and it’s very much my home, but I felt more like myself and at home in Barcelona than I have here in Pittsburgh for YEARS. I was so sad to leave behind everything I had grown to love, from strolls down Passeig de Gràcia to Parc Güell at the top of the city to Casa Milà to Sagrada Família. I vowed before I boarded the Aerobus back to El Prat that I would absolutely be back again, and I am hoping to get back there in 2013. If the opportunity arose, I would definitely move there in a heartbeat!

I spent a day and a half while still sick upon my return to London up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the setting of one of my very favorite shows, Geordie Shore. The train ride from south England to north (and nearly Scotland for that matter!) showed me the beauty of the English countryside. I didn’t get out that night as I had originally planned; I took a shower in my private ensuite in the hostel (EuroHostel)’s room for 4 that I purchased for myself, and I watched television and rested because my illness had finally caught up to me with the exhaustion part. I did eat at a fabulous meal at Panis Cafe near the hostel, since they had gluten free pasta, and the next morning I got up and passed by a Geordie Shore hotspot, Florita’s, on my way back to the train station. The exterior shots of Newcastle by the way? Not exaggerated! It’s really that beautiful 🙂

I spent one day traveling from London to Paris and back on the Eurostar. Paris was … ehhhh, it’s hard to say how I felt about Paris. There was an exchange with a rude French girl at Gare du Nord who refused to believe me when I told her I spoke no French (in French nonetheless!!), and I had to stand in line for literally over 3 hours to get a TICKET to go up the Eiffel Tower, but the cabbie to the Hard Rock from the Tower was WONDERFUL, and I think I would go back to Paris for a day or two someday just to see if it was as meh as I remember.

The rest of the time away was in London, and it was beautiful. I love London and would gladly live there, but my heart is definitely set on Barcelona one day.

Well, I somehow managed to write about 1,400 words here! I guess if I can get that much out now, I should probably be able to get some stuff written for my books, right? Haha. I’m really going to try to use this blog more as well, but I think the next things I’m going to really focus on are cleaning up my books more, edit-wise, and looking for agents and/or editors to try to get the publishing thing going! So I guess I’ll be off to get working on those things!

Until next time,
Kate

Hello everybody!  Long time no write!  I’ve been going absolutely insane between work, personal life in between, and of course, crazy edits!  But I have some good news for this (somewhat short) post — the second set of edits on book #2, Slew Foot, were successfully typed in their entirety with the conclusion of last night!  I’ll be heading out shortly to get a hard copy printed, then I’ll start circulating it between my faithful set of beta readers!  If that goes well, the chapter one previews of potentially all three books will be posted soon!

Wait, three books?  Yeah, you read that right!  The third one, which I finished a short while back, is a bit different — I’m toying with using 3rd person instead of 1st.  It’s also unlike the first two in the sense that one character does not have a separate chapter each time.  I think it may be my favorite of my three books so far.  It’s about a girl from Ibiza, Spain, and a boy from Cadaqués, Spain.  They both live in London, but they certainly haven’t forgotten their Spanish roots!  The best part of it all?  It’s helped inspire my huge vacation next year!

See, I’ve always wanted to take a nice 2-3 week vacation, and ever since I got into Arsenal, I really wanted to see a match.  Fast-forward a bit, and I’m heading to see Arsenal vs. Norwich City in May 2012!  Even better, though?  I’m leaving London the very next morning to hop onto a flight to Barcelona, Spain!  I’ll catch the Barcelona vs. RCD Espanyol at the Nou Camp!  I have a confession to make — I became a Culé (that’s a Barça supporter, for those who aren’t aware!) when choosing my La Liga team.  Also, my favorite Arsenal player signed with Barça just a few weeks ago, so of COURSE I want to see him play!

I’ll spend 4 days, including that one, in the beautiful city, and one of those will include a field trip to Figueres to see the Dalí Theatre-Museum, and I’ll spend part of that same day taking a field trip to Cadaqués to see where Salvador grew up.  I’d like to see his house in neighboring Port Lligat (Portlligat) and I can’t wait to see the huge statue of him on the beach in Cadaqués!  I know you want to see it, too, so here’s a teaser picture from Google Images!  I am beyond excited for that!

So after my beautiful Spanish trip, I’ll (grudgingly) head back to London, then spend 8 luxurious more days enjoying everything that London and the surrounding area can offer!  I want to try to make it to Stratford Upon Avon, I want to see the Globe Theater … it’ll be so exciting!  I have a hostel picked out in Barcelona, but have yet to actually decide on my London digs yet.

That’s my trip, though!  I’ll leave Pittsburgh on May 3rd in the afternoon, then leave New York City (my first time ever there!) late that night so I can get in a nice sleep, and wake up to London calling!  Yes, I couldn’t resist 😉

So that’s all for now!  I’m going to head out to Kinko’s and get my book printed up, then I’ll be coming back to get things together and get the first chapters of my books ready to post!  I may post a poll for you all to say which you like best — 1st or 3rd person — but we’ll see!

Until next time,
Kate

Well, it’s certainly been awhile since I’ve had time to write!  It’s definitely not for a lack of wanting to write, but between trying to do NaNoWriMo, the holiday, and work drama, it’s been a madhouse lately.

Notice I said trying to do NaNo … yes, I failed at it.  In fact, between everything that happened over the past ridiculous month, I only managed to write about 5,000 words.  Not helping was the fact that I had an idea I liked, but it was not translating as I had hoped to my Scrivener file.  It was also my maiden voyage on Scrivener, and I was fairly pleased with how it worked.  I’ll most likely be purchasing it with my NaNoWriMo participant discount in the near future, but I’ve still got to figure it all out.

In other news, I have been rereading tons of books!  I haven’t really bought many new books lately since the last big batch of them, and honestly, I haven’t even picked any of the ones I have bought up just yet to read.  While I was off from work the entire Thanksgiving week, I reread at least 4 books, and realistically it was closer to 6 or 8.  I actually spent a good portion of my vacation doting on my grandmother, who had to have an emergency cholecystectomy (that’s a gallbladder removal surgery in layman’ terms) on November 13th.  She was admitted to the hospital late the 11th into the early hours of the 12th, and they did her surgery around 7:30 or 8 AM on the 13th.  She spent about half the day vomiting according to my mother, but when I got to go see her that evening, she was (mostly) back to her old self again.  We took her home the next day, and as I was the one off of work, I got to be the one to convey her to her 10 day post-operation check-up.  I actually went to her and my aunt’s place Monday afternoon, and she and I baked a cake that night, then spent the next day taking her to an eye appointment, then we went shopping, then to the surgeon.  She’s just now finally getting completely back to herself, and I couldn’t be happier that she’s finally feeling better.

That’s the biggest part of the vacation I had, although I did turn 24 years old on the 24th last month during my vacation.  I celebrated it by going to the Strip District in Pittsburgh with my dad at 9 AM to pick up dinner rolls at Mancini Bread for our Thanksgiving extravaganza, and we stopped by Prestogeorge coffee next door and bought my mom some teas, and my dad got a variety of coffee beans as well.  The best part of the Strip trip was that we went to the new Dick’s Sporting Goods Winter Classic store that was opened for the Winter Classic hockey game on January 1st, starring my beloved Pittsburgh Penguins.  I picked up a few things, as did my dad, then we headed to Shadyside (which, incidentally is the location of the hospital my grandma’s surgery was at) and hit Whole Foods to pick up groceries and the turkey.  I spent the rest of the day helping to get things ready for the next day and doting on my grandmother and my father.  My bosses also came over and gave me a present, and I had a generally enjoyable day.  Thanksgiving was slightly annoying, but we all seemed to have a tolerable time, which is all we could ask for with 14 people stuffed into the house!

Now that all the craziness is over (besides the weekends, which will find me glued to the TV for Arsenal when they’re on and cooking up hard candy every spare minute), I plan to get back to fine-tuning Yellow Card so I can start looking for an agent, and beginning to edit Slew Foot.  I also had a few ideas for book three, which I’ll have to write down soon.  I can’t wait to get back to writing, and even though I didn’t completely love my NaNo project, I think I’d like to work on that some more, and maybe take it in a new direction.  I enjoyed the story that played out in my head when I came up with the NaNo book, so we’ll see what happens!

I hope everyone else has been well, and I hope that the book will be in your hands at this time next year!  I’ll be putting up chapter one of Yellow Card soon as well, so keep checking back!

Until next time,
Kate

Hi! I’m actually writing this in bed on my iPad right now. I’m still sick; I even went to a walk-in clinic for this, because it was getting absolutely ridiculous. I was going to see my doctor, but they were unwilling to work with me, so i went to the clinic and went to work late and ended up leaving halfway through the day because I was so sapped of energy.

So, the verdict is that I have an infection in my left ear (which came as a surprise! I only thought my ears were congested), my allergies are flaring up, and with the way my cough is progressing, I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns into one of my typical 2 yearly bouts of bronchitis before my Z-Pak kicks in. I came away with three prescriptions — the aforementioned Z-Pak, Nasonex, and Tessalon Perles — and was greeted nearly immediately upon return to work by my dad with his own Z-Pak prescription from one of our doctors. My mom came home after HER appointment with another doctor at our practice with a prescription for Bactrim DS and a new Epipen for her peanut allergy. So needless to say, we’re running our own Rivet pharmacy here. I did the whole 8 hours of my shift today, but around hour 6, I had done way too much and ran out of energy.

This leads me to today’s post! In all this time sick, I’ve been catching up on my television shows. Now, I’ve never been too big of a television show regular watcher, but this season has been actually fairly good for many shows. I’m becoming a slave to my TV, and even though I have a DVR, I tend not to use it. There are a maximum of two nights a week that I’m not trying to watch something, and now that hockey’s back, that may leave no days free for me. Of course, since this is my blog, I’m going to tell you that I like all kinds of TV, but I do watch a fair amount of what my mom calls crap. Here’s a typical week for me right now:
Sunday: maybe hockey or soccer/football, or else nothing
Monday: 90210 from 8-9 on The CW, Gossip Girl 9-10 on The CW
Tuesday: Glee from 8-9 on Fox
Wednesday: maybe hockey or else nothing
Thursday: The Vampire Diaries from 8-9 on The CW, Jersey Shore from 10-11 on MTV
Friday: Degrassi from 9-9:30 on TeenNick
Saturday: typically an Arsenal game starting somewhere between 8 and 12 and ending by 2, msybe hockey

Yeah, I know. Super crazy! I was close to dropping 90210, but I have been pleasantly surprised by season 3. Season 2 was pretty disappointing, but it’s getting juicy again. Gossip Girl wasn’t something I set out to watch; I saw most of season 1, but gave it up before the finale. I gave it another shot with the DVD’s but just didn’t have the time. I was taking Italian classes if I’m not mistaken during these first few seasons, so it was difficult to commit the time. I remembered that Clémence Poésy (Fleur Delacour in the Harry Potter movies!) had an arc this season, so I gave it a shot. Needless to say, it reminded me why I got hooked in the first place.

Glee is something I had been interested in when I saw the pilot, but I didn’t have time for it when it first came out. I got hooked before the halfway point of season one, and quickly caught up with the DVD set of season 1 part 1. There is only one episode I haven’t really cared for so far, and I absolutely love the music that’s been coming out every week. There are some that make you remember periods of your life and a few good ones you’ve never heard, too. The Vampire Diaries is my favorite besides Glee (they’re tied) and this is one show that keeps getting hotter and hotter. I have seen every episode and DVR’d them to rewatch during the holiday break, and I own a good portion of the episodes on iTunes (Glee too!). This show literally has gotten better with each episode, and I look forward to new developments every week. I’ve read all but one of LJ Smith’s TVD series (gave up on the newest for now with my own writing going on) and the show is actually slightly better, which is a rarity.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the biggest of my two guilty pleasures — Jersey Shore bitches! My three favorite housemates are Snooki, J-Woww, and Vinny, then Pauly D, The Situation, Sammi, Ronnie, and Angelina the dirty hamster. People either love this show or hate it, and I’m in the former category. You can’t take it seriously or it’ll make you a part of the latter group. Tonight is actually the season 2 finale, and I can’t wait for a few more fist pumps until season 3. Lastly, Degrassi is my other guilty pleasure. I’ve been watching this show for a good couple of years now, and this definitely is the closest to a real high school experience that I’ve ever seen. It’s definitely worth a watch during one of the many marathons TeenNick runs.

Well, that’s all for me tonight, because I only have 2 more minutes until I’m transported to Miami via my TV to join the Jersey Shore cast. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it — it’s nice to have a sort of escape from this constant sickness in my house!

Until next time,
Kate

Hello!  Just wanted to write quickly to say that I’m sick!  I’m assuming this is a cold, but nearly every single member of my family has had it lately, so it makes sense that I’ve finally fallen victim to it.  It’s miserable — starts out with a sneeze or two, maybe a cough here or there, then turns into a full-blown sore throat with sneezing, coughing, congestion, and general malaise.  The only bright spot to this is that I have two books that I’m currently reading that I should finish today — My Booky Wook by Russell Brand and Body Check by Deirdre Martin (for probably the hundredth time) — and I’m watching some quality movies and television.  Anything interesting going on for any of you, or any great suggestions for cold remedies, do feel free to share!

Until next time (hopefully, it will be germ-free!)
Kate

I’ve been so busy writing lately that I’ve had a stack of books lying by my bed I’ve neglected to even crack open.  I’m happy to say that over the past week or so, I’ve managed to read three books, and I absolutely loved them all!  I thought I would take a minute and write about each one just a little.

Book #1: Mini-Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

This was the first book I managed to start and finish out of the three, and I absolutely loved it.  I’m a big fan of Sophie Kinsella, and own all but one or two of her books, so as soon as this was released, I ran out and picked up my copy.  I loved all of the Shopaholic books (and the movie, which I hear might place me somewhat in the minority), so I was glad to be able to see what Becky and Luke were up to.  To recap shortly: the last Shopaholic book ended with Becky and Luke having their own baby, Minnie Brandon.  They had tried to buy a house, but the deal fell through; instead, they moved in with Becky’s parents until they could get on their feet again.  Mini-Shopaholic picks up two years later.  Becky’s still working for The Look part-time, and Luke’s still running Brandon Communications; he’s still trying to settle everything from the Arcodas disaster.  They’ve had the deals fall through on more than just a few houses now, and are still trying hard to move out of Becky’s parents’ place.  We get to follow Becky in this book as she attempts to throw Luke a huge birthday party, and she tries to tame Minnie’s shopaholic habit that she’s picked up from none other than Becky herself, all while Luke tries to keep everything in check as the banks start to have failure issues.  It’s a great book, and the ending was really nice.  I don’t know if Ms. Kinsella plans to write any more Shopaholic books, but I’d love to read another.

Book #2: Sugar and Spice by Lauren Conrad

Full disclosure: I love reality television.  I watched Lauren Conrad faithfully on Laguna Beach and cheered for her against Kristin Cavallari, then I watched her on The Hills for a season or two before the show started to bore me (and before Spencer and Heidi got as crazy as they became).  I actually met Lauren Conrad a few years ago when she was in town promoting her clothing lines, and she was a total sweetheart.  As soon as I heard about her first book, LA Candy, I had to go get it.  I was utterly surprised at how good it was!  I didn’t think much of it, because I never saw Lauren as an author, but she definitely has a great story she’s been telling.  I thought the same of the second book, Sweet Little Lies.  Everybody seems to say that you should write what you know, and Lauren definitely knows a lot about how reality television works.  So, her third book, Sugar and Spice, picks up where Sweet Little Lies leaves off.  The heroine of our story, Jane Roberts, is recovering from her second break-up with her boyfriend Jesse, and she’s now torn between three guys — Jesse, his former roommate Braden, and a former high school boyfriend, Caleb.  Jane’s got all of this drama in addition to one of her LA Candy costars, Madison, on her tail trying to ruin her and make herself the star of the series.  Jane’s best friend Scarlett is also stuck with some serious thinking to do when she has to decide between staying at USC or transferring to any of the other colleges she’s secretly been applying to, all while trying to keep her first serious relationship afloat despite the LA Candy producers seemingly trying to ruin it all.  It’s a good conclusion to the series, and I was surprised to find out some of the twists relating to Madison, then later, Jane.  It’s definitely worth a read, and I really did like this series in general.

Book #3: Priceless by Nicole Richie

Yes, I loved Nicole on The Simple Life with Paris Hilton.  Yes, I own Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD.  Yes, I was on Team Nicole during her feud with Paris.  And yes, I own her first book, The Truth About Diamonds.  I think Nicole has a great voice that shines through her books.  I really enjoyed hearing the story of Chloe Parker, and all her struggles and triumphs throughout that novel.  I have reread it at least two or three times, and I like it more with each read.  I had actually forgotten that this had come out, and I was lucky enough to stumble upon it at Barnes and Noble the other day while I was picking up Sugar and Spice.  I sat down and read it this morning (I’m a quick reader), and I loved the tale.  This book tells the story of Charlotte Williams, a girl whose father spares no expense on his princess.  Her mother was killed in a car accident when she was just seven, and she was raised by a nanny for a few years named Miss Millie.  The other staff of the house, Davis and Greta, also helped to raise this pampered girl.  She’s just returned from a year in Sorbonne — she’d been studying at Yale before she had a drunken incident which involved her torching the school’s political science building as revenge against an ex-boyfriend.  Things seem to be back to normal, but that changes rapidly — her father is arrested for securities fraud, and her family is now under investigation by the FBI and the SEC, as well as the police.  Charlotte’s apartment that she grew up in is seized, so she chooses to head to New Orleans and find Miss Millie, who has offered for her to come stay.  There are a few problems she encounters on the way — all of the money her late mother left her is frozen by the government although it is entirely separate from her father’s, and she suddenly has a psycopathic stalker threatening to kill her — but it’s her new friends, Kat and Jackson, and her beautiful singing voice that provide her with a bright spot on the horizon.  It’s a great story from start to finish, and I highly recommend it.

Well, there you go!  Three books that I’ve read, and they’re all worth borrowing, if not buying.  I do love reading as well as writing, and it’s been very fun to delve into other authors’ works for a change.  Not that I don’t love my books — because I do! — but it’s always great to have a slight vacation, isn’t it?

Until next time,
Kate

Hello world!  This is my first official blog.  My name is Kate Rivet (well, that’s my pen name…let’s leave my real name out of this, shall we? ;)) and I’m a romance novelist.  I’ve loved romance novels for years now, and have always wanted to write one, so I did.  In fact, I wrote two of them.  The first one took me about a month, and I started the second one days after I’d completed book one.  They’re a set, and there will be more in the series down the line.  I’m taking a little bit of time off of writing them so I can edit book #2 and try to get an agent, and then attempt to become published.

A little bit about me: I’m based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — but I do love writing anywhere and everywhere.  I enjoy taking vacations, and especially love visiting Toronto; Toronto happens to be the setting for the first two novels in my series, and one of my favorite cities in the world.  I’m in my twenties, and I write around my day job.  I’m a nationally-certified pharmacy technician here in the US, and although my job can be rather diffcult some days, I do love it.  I hope to make writing my career sometime, but I don’t think I would ever want to give up pharmacy completely.  There is something soothing about the sound the pills make as you slide five of them at a time across the counting tray, and it brings me strange joy.  Other than work and writing (also known as job number two these days), I like watching sports and participating in social media.  I couldn’t have grown up in Pittsburgh and NOT been a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and my hero growing up was Mario Lemieux.  I spent about two years of my life attending every single hockey game at Mellon Arena before I was financially unable to any longer, and I am pleased to say I’ll be seeing my first game at the Consol Energy Center when the Penguins take on — who else? — the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 13th (next Wednesday!).  Even better is that I’ll be sitting in the first row right behind the net the Maple Leaf will defend twice.  They’re my second favorite hockey team, so it’s always fun to see them play the Pens.  I’m also a football fan, but not American football.  I love Arsenal FC from the Barclay’s English Premier League, and my favorite player is Theo Walcott.  I’ve just gotten rabidly into Arsenal again recently, so it’s been extremely fun waking up early on the weekends and watching the Gunners go for the league title.  Unfortunately, real work gets in the way of most of the Champions’ League games, so I don’t get to watch those unless I DVR them.

So, that’s just a little bit about me.  If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!  I would love to hear about my readers as well, and as soon as I get this all sorted out, I’ll probably be posting an excerpt, if not the entire first chapter, of my first book.

I’ll also be posting a special page that will be a small sample of some of the music that kept me motivated while writing book two.

Until next time,
Kate