As most of you know, I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo 2009 this year, which means I have to write a 50 000 word novel in the month of November - on top of school work, and my work for the magazine, and my weekend job...

...and so I have decided that it's probably for the best if I leave Confessions of a Fashion Editor for the month, in order to complete my novel. I'm so excited about it. (:

Check back in December for more posts :)

And - you can keep up to date with my progress HERE.

LoveLoveLove

- A -

I am so, so, so excited to be bringing this interview to you - I am absolutely certain that it is the best intervuew I have ever conducted. Ever. No, really. I'm serious. (:

Tell me about yourselves...

Tabbie: I live in a cupboard under the stairs

Drama: we are a multi-coloured indie rock band made up of all basses that plays songs about books…mostly. I sing and play the bass that sounds like a keyboard, Pep plays the bass that sounds like a guitar, Latte plays the normal bass, and Tabbie plays the bass that sounds like a live drum set.

Latte: We are family.  Everyone is sisters but me.

Pep:  Dude! We go up to 11.

...and how exactly you were sorted into your Hogwarts houses?

Drama: *cries* it was very painful and many pumpkins died… it is sooo hard to talk about… the juice, the pumpkin juice, I nearly went out of my gourde… but eventually after living as a pencil for several weeks… I became a Gryffindor.

Tabbie: Slytherin, because I am pure E-vil

Latte: Hufflepuff

Pep: Ravenclaw, cause I am just that good looking I guess or I was unconsciously putting out Ravenclaw vibes.

Tabbie: Subconsciously!

Pep: What?

Where did the band name come from?

Tabbie: I am still wondering that myself - since 50% of the band members are allergic to felines

Drama: Well I wanted people to know we were a female group and I LOVE kittens, but I wanted something that shows we are tough too so I put the Switchblade with the kittens.

Latte: Switchblade Kittens means family.

Pep: Switchblade Kittens means seatbelts.

Tell us a secret?

Tabbie: The reason why we are all "color coded" (Drama = pink, Pep = blue, Tabbie = green, Latte = purple) is because our mum (mine and drama's) didn't feel like writing our names in all of our clothes, socks, knickers, etc. so she color coded us...  and DRAMA can't get past it - how did I get stuck with green you ask...  IRISH! half of me anyway - the only half me mum recognizes - I'm so sick of green, I just can't stand it...  green will never be the new black, NEVER I SAY!!!! Ban the green - it just might save a life! (My sisters!)

Pep: The sneaky sock eater video was made by a fan and that is her actual size cat.

Drama: Inventing the basses was my idea basically to compensate for the fact that I am a terrible bass player.

Latte: The movie "Babe" was written about me. La La La!!!

How did the idea of writing based on books come about?

Tabbie: Magic

Latte: Maybe it’s because when we are on the road touring we always listen to audio books and if we don’t have the audio books Drama makes us listen to her read her books out loud.

Drama: Exactly! Originally we were signed to a record label *starts booing* and they were big jerks.  I wrote a song about Harry Potter and they would not let me release it, so I put it on the Internet for free and ended up writing the first Wizard Rock song called “Ode to Harry.”  Soon thousands of people from all over the world were e-mailing me about how much they loved the song, so we made a whole CD of songs about the books. 

Pep: All my songs are based on Cliffs Notes.

And... which is better? Harry Potter or Meg Cabot?

Tabbie: I plead the 5^th

Drama: this puts me in a difficult position because Meg is the shizzle and also my homie and I want to say her, but Harry can do magic and can turn me into a water goblet.

Pep: Well, Harry Potter can do a Patronus charm but Meg Cabot can write like a book a minute so I’m going to say Meg Cabot ‘cause long after the last glitter of the Patronus charm is gone, books will go on… and on… and on. 

Drama: That’s so beautiful.

Tabbie: Whatever.

Latte: Meg Cabot, because I met her. Harry Potter won't even friend me on Facebook.

You must be the coolest band in history, what with a song named after Fat Louie, and all... are you "big" with Meg Cabot's fans?

Tabbie: and you must be the coolest and smartest of all writers for noticing - I mean that sincerely - no sarcasm in that comment - it's a rare event from me

Drama: I heart Fat Louie.  I even have a Fat Louie phone charm.  Meg Cabot fans are the coolest.  We played a Meg Cabot show at the New York Public Library benefit and it was amazing.  Meg Cabot fans send us cool stuff and they make music videos from our songs on youtube.com.

Pep:  Shiny!

Latte: but we're huge in Iceland .

How would you like to be remembered?

Tabbie: as a bitter mint - bitter chocolaty on the outside, crisp and clean on the inside

Latte: For fighting my mum, and my mum won.

Drama: as the girl who made music her own way by inventing instruments and NOT having a record label or for being the personification of a candy necklace.

Pep: as a butter pecan ice cream and fries… and maybe M&M’s.

Drama: No Pep. Not what would you like to have for dinner but how do you want people to think of you?

Pep: With my mind???

Tabbie: Let’s just stick with the butter pecan.

What mottos do you try to live your lives by?

Tabbie: Give a Hoot! Don't Pollute!

Latte: As Hunter S. Thompson once said, if you're going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else you're going to be locked up.

Drama: Go to college and don’t get pregnant.  My mum told me that.

Pep: How come Tabbie always gets to answer first?

Where can we find out more?

Tabbie: www. what's our website again?

Drama: www.switchbladekittens.com and if you want to listen to our free podcast sitcom it is www.switchbladekitten.com (without the last S)

Latte: Yeah, what she said.

Pep: Can I answer the next question first?

Tabbie: Yes.

So, I'd just like to say a MASSIVE thank you to these guys - for being so incredibly ,awesomely, cool, and also for taking the time out of their busy schedules to answer my questions!

Oh - just a warning... tomorrow, my post is going to be a NaNoWriMo one, telling y'all I'm leaving you for a month in order to write my novel. Thought I'd give you fair warning. ;)

LoveLoveLove

- A -

Ok. The first problem I have right now is my apparant inability to count; that should surely say "T-minus Two Days", given that NaNoWriMo starts the day after tomorrow? Or... is that how it works? Anyway, I'm sure you get my drift.

So, I just recieved an email from NaNoWriMo explaining the novelling process and the building word-counts to me, and I'm now becoming crazily, crazily stressy!

My fellow NaNoWriMo-ers aren't helping either; I just posted a new thread on the Literary Den forum, entitled "NaNoWriMo 2009. Oh. My. ******. God.", and so far the only reassurance I've been offered is the fact that Andy has the sedatives and straightjacket ready for me.

So, as you can imagine, I'm feeling a little bit stressed. I've been working on my characterisations all afternoon, and I finished reading my story in its Changing Tracks incarnation about an hour ago, so...

So it's not as if I'm underprepared. At all.

I'm trying to calm myself down at the moment, then, by making myself a "Music To Write To" playlist on YouTube, for moments when things go horribly, drastically wrong.

So, this is my NaNoWriMo 2009 Playlist -

1. Fireflies, covered by Megan and Liz (originally by Owl City)
2. Untouchable, by Taylor Swift
3. Going to Carolina in my mind by James Taylor and the Dixie Chicks
4. The Lucky One, by Alison Krauss
5. Missing You, by Tyler Hilton
6. Jump Then Fall, by Taylor Swift
7. She's Everything, by Brad Paisley
8. I Wish You'd Stay, by Brad Pailsey
9. Brighter, by Paramore
10.  Hallelujah, by KD Lang
11.  I'm Yours, by The Script
12.  Maybe Possibly, by Megan and Liz
13.  Indescribable, by Megan and Liz
14.  Come in with the Rain, by Taylor Swift
15.  Broadway, by Alison Krauss and Union Station
16.  The Greatest Story Ever Told, by Oliver James
17.  Teardrops on My Guitar, acoustic, by Taylor Swift
18.  Godspeed, Sweetdreams, by The Dixie Chicks
19.   Breathe, covered by Megan and Liz (originally by Taylor Swift and Colbie Callait)
20.  Butterfly, fly away, covered by Megan and Liz (originally by Miley Cyrus)(I'm truly sorry for this... >.<)
21.  And finally, Rain, by Patty Griffin

And you can listen to them all right here. What do you think?

LoveLoveLove

- A -

Wow. This is a really, really odd feeling. I appear to have developed a social life. I've been out three nights this week; Monday, to see Up, the excrutiatingly awesome Pixar film about the grumpy old man who's really, genuinly hurting inside and is actually very lovely, and then on for tapas at La Tasca; Wednesday, to my friend Kim's house, where I attempted to watch a film while Tim kept muttering cynical comments to stop me concentrating (and yes, they were mostly right, but that's not the point), and where I was beaten several thousand times at every Wii game in existance; and last night, to Hannah's house to watch Anna Wintour in The September Issue with Sarah and Han.

I was also beaten several times at Mario Kart Wii, last night, too. And, this morning, for that matter.

Considering I was at a sleep-over (Ed: <fake feminine American accent> "SLUMBER PARTY! LIKE, AWESOME!" </fake feminine American accent>), the biggest oxymoron in the history of time, I actually got a suprising amount of sleep, but I'm still absolutely zonked from all the homework, and coursework, and revision, and NaNoWriMo prep which I've been doing at the same time as having a life, for the first time in my life.

I think I'll just have to become a recluse for the next month, and write a novel, or something which will equally well ensure that I make no tiring human contact for a while, y'know?

Anyway, there was a point to this post, I swear, and I'm getting to it - 27 Dresses.

As every girl knows, there is nothing quite like vegging out on the sofa with a cuppa and a romcom when you're absolutely shattered, and my romcom of choice today was 27 Dresses.

If you haven't seen it, the trailer is in that there YouTube box, there. :)

The thing is, despite the fact that I love it because it's so cute and sweet and happy ending-y and all, I kind of hate it, too. For starters, the feminist in me is wondering why the hell this woman is so obsessed with weddings, and the fashion editor in me is largely appaulled with the costume choices, and the actual human being in me is melting at the cuteness and... 

And this is my mental conversation at the moment. I thought I'd share the insanity, for a change (warning - includes hints of multiple personality disorder, and spoilers...):

Feminist in me (FIM): What? Why the hell is she so OTT about weddings?

Fashion Editor in me (FEIM): Because they're so pretty and all.

FIM: But women don't need men to exist. We can get along quite well without them thanks.

Actual human being in me (AHBIM): And she is. She just enjoys looking at the pretty dresses...

FEIM: *Nods approvingly*

AHBIM: And helping out her friends, and everything.

FIM: But still. Collecting wedding columns? That's pretty much conforming with every stereotype of a desperate single woman that there is!

AHBIM: But she's not a desperate single woman. Alright, yes, she is single, but she's not desperate...

FEIM: (Under breath) She must be, if she's wearing some of those dresses...

AHBIM: Besides, this is a relatively non-misogynistic romcom! Jane and Kevin -

FEIM: Lol. He's called Kevin.

FIM: Did you just "Lol"?!?

AHBIM: Ahem. Speaking here. Jane and Kevin are pretty much equal, anyway. He just helps her realise who she truly is and what she truly needs. It's sweet.

FIM: But she shouldn't need him to do that! She should do that herself!

AHBIM: But... But... But...

FEIM: At least she makes all those bitches -

FIM: You did not just call your sisters "bitches"!!!

FEIM: At least she makes all those bitches wear there disgusting dresses at the end...

So. That's my mind. I know, I know - I have issues. Please. Help me - tell me what you think, and stop my mental argument.

Mental, that is, in both senses of the word.

LoveLoveLove

- A -

Look! I made a cover for my NaNoWriMo novel! :) It's a bit geeky, but I love making covers for the stories I write, and this one is a proper novelling project, so I thought I'd better make myself a cover!

So, today, I started re-reading my first draft of my first ever version of this story, then called Changing Tracks, and I have to admit that it's rubbish. But, I've grown up a lot in the year since I started writing it, and the end of it is so much better written than the beginning that I'm pretty sure anyone could tell that, and so I hold a little hope for my new version, with the new title, and with a slightly new twist.

So, I guess I'd better introduce you to some people. Meet my new best friends for the next month, my protagonist and her friends...

Immy

This is my protagonist, Immy, or Imogen Etoile Lillianna Katherine Victoria Eleri Kennedy, as she's really called, currently in the guise of actress Ellen Page. She's sixteen years old, and lives in a small, fictional town called Port David on the South Welsh coast. She's always had a problem in that she doesn't really fit in with her amateur-dramatics-society family, being a phycisist and mathematician, and the fact that she has brains and doesn't really go in for all the usual teenage stuff has never really endeared her to any of the people at her school, Ysgol St Mary, except for her best friend, Tom.

One day, though, someone new walks into her life, at a job interview, and things in her world start to change... forever.

"And… that was all it took to send me over the edge. That one, little, insignificant letter that he had put on the end of his message; just one little “x” and I lost myself in pointless hope."

Tom

I can't find a picture of a guy who I think resembles Tom Metcalfe anywhere online. I just don't know how to describe him. He changes in my mind, quite regularly.

He's in Immy's year at school, and, like her, is a mathematician and scientist. Ever since they can remember, they've spent their weekends together, doing their homework, to pool their brain-power - because he likes to think that they're the only people in South Wales with brain cells.

Despite this belief, though, he has a girl-friend, Caila, who lives in Swansea, and with whom Immy is good friends.

“Err…” he stammered, “what’s this in aid of Im? ‘Notting hill’? Do you really think I go in for Hugh Grant?”

Poppy

Poppy Heath is seventeen years old, lives in Swansea, and is here depicted as singer Eva Cassidy.

She, quite by chance, walks into Immy's life one day, and things for both of them suddenly begin to change.

She is beautiful; but not in the way that Immy's sister is - she's not showy, and she's not tradtionally beautiful. She's tall, yet petite, with long, straggly, white-blonde hair, and pale, pale blue eyes. She's waif; she's tragically beautiful, and she looks as if she might blow away at any second...

I don’t know where Poppy got her party ideas from (no. I take that back. I know exactly where Poppy got her ideas from. My Super Sweet Sixteen.)

So, there you go. Those are my main characters. What do you think? Can you guess the plot?!

(:

LoveLoveLove

- A -

My best friend has become an artist. I'm amazed and impressed and stunned and happy.

And advertising. :)

©2009 ~Phenixfeathers

I'm very impressed - especially because it quotes Wicked in its title! :)

You can buy it here.

LoveLoveLove

- A -

Yesterday's NaNoWriMo prep post is a guest blog for Literary Den;

Read it HERE.

LoveLoveLove

- A -

Wow, it's been a forever since I did a "Five Minutes With..."!! I have sent out interviews to lots of exciting people, but they're all so busy being exciting that responses aren't so fast as usual. It's a shame.

But, today, I have an interview for you all, with cute-as-can-be illustrator Steph, of Steph Says Hello!

- Tell us a little bit about yourself?
Well, my names Steph Baxter, I live and work in a little town just outside of the fair city of Leeds. I graduated recently with a degree in Graphic Design from Leeds College of Art & Design but my heart well and truly lies with illustration. I spend a large portion of my day either drawing, doodling, thinking about drawing or looking at drawings on the internet.. You get the idea! When I'm not drawing you can usually find me baking, drinking tea and cuddling my cat, Tibby. Shes a very old lady now, and can usually be found sat on top of piles of my drawings.. She's also my greatest critic.

-How did you get into illustration? Did you go to art school?
I never thought I would be an Illustrator. I left school with the idea of being a photographer or a fashion designer (which if you know me, will know that that is a ridiculous notion!) But I really got into drawing on my Foundation course. I ended up doing a very good Graphic Design course at Leeds College of Art and Design and my love for drawing just kinda blossomed from there. I consider myself somewhere between a Graphic Designer and an Illustrator!

-Your website and drawings are all so cute! Do you ever draw differently from that, or is that your "signature style"?
Thank you very much! I'm glad you like them :) I would call that my "signature style" now. I love being surrounded by cute and colourful things so it seems fitting that my style might reflect that. When I was younger my style would change all the time, and I guess that was my style developing. I was never, ever happy with what I drew but now I've finally found a style that just comes naturally to me. Although it's always evolving and changing slightly (hopefully for the better!) Practice makes perfect!

-How long have you been up and running as a professional illustrator?
Not long! I graduated in June so I've working, working, working to try and get more work - which in this recession is proving harder than I thought! But I've been doing freelance work and projects for the last three years now. Paid, unpaid, volunteer work, competitions.. I try to get stuck into everything that comes my way. It's any excuse to draw really. I find it hard to believe that I can get paid for doing something so fun!

-What inspires you?
So many things! Cats, baking, feeding the ducks, collecting stickers, my little hamster Pip! One of my most favourite things to do though is take trips to the seaside. What could be more inspiring than eating ice cream and fish and chips and winning tacky prizes on the 2p machines? Nothing, I reckon! But I find when I'm at home and I'm lacking a bit of inspiration nothing cheers me up more than looking through sites like Flickr and Society6 (my new favourite thing!) There is such an amazing wealth of talent and supportive people on sites like that you can't help but feel inspired.

-You seem to have illustrated for 100 000 different things! What was your favourite to work on?
It's very hard to choose! I always love doing group activities. In the Easter holidays my friend and I ran a painting day at a local library for children called 'The Big Frieze'. Lots of painting bunnies, chicks and easter eggs with amazing kids. You can't beat being told you're using the wrong shade of pink by a 6 year old! I love the idea of involving everyone in art and making people happy :)

-What advice would you offer to other aspiring artists and illustrators?
I'm still learning myself so I feel a bit silly saying this, but don't give up. Keep trying, stay positive and whatever you do, don't be disheartened! I'm still trying to break into the industry properly myself so I know just how hard it can be. I'm still amazed on a daily basis that people like my work enough to commission me or feature me on their blogs! It's a very nice feeling when work does come along though. The best advice I can offer though is get your work out there, start blogging regularly, join art sites like Flickr, Illustration Mundo and Society6 and start networking like a madman! I  also send out mailers to people and companies where I think my work would fit.. Be brave!

-Where can we find out more? (And have you got anything else to add?)
You can usually find me lurking around these places;

My website: www.stephsayshello.co.uk
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/thepinkrobot/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephysayshello

All images (c) Steph Says Hello

Yes, I think I can safely say that Steph is the cutest illustrator ever.

Also, I want that monster - the one right there in the middle. SOOOO COOL :)

Thank you for your time, Steph, and good luck with everything in the future!

LoveLoveLove

- A -

Over the next few days, as well as my regular posts, I've decided to do a set of NaNoWriMo preparation posts, so that you can all see how I'm doing. Whilst I'm actually writing, I won't be blogging properly, I don't suppose, so I'll post little excerpts of my story up here, and when it's done I'll somehow convert it to a .PDF for any regulars who want to read it.

So, the other day, I wrote a post called Sins and Struggles, where I told you about what I then thought was going to be my novel's plot. The thing is, though, I've changed my mind, now.

That's because of a story I started to write last summer, called Changing Tracks. I got it finished, but by the end, the story was so very different from how it began that I've decided to re-write it for NaNoWriMo this year, under a different title, and with a slightly different plot - one that I hope will work out better, and one which I hope will be just as much of an emotional rollercoaster as the original version.

Relationship map I drew for the original version of 'Changing Tracks' - (c) me 2009.

The new synopsis is...

Leaving You

"But counting down the days to go
It just ain't living
And I just hope you know
That if you say
Goodbye today
I'd ask you to be true
'Cause the hardest part of this is leaving you"

- My Chemical Romance

Imogen has never been part of her family. They say that they will always love her, no matter what, but she has always known, deep down, that she was different, and that she would never fit in.

But, every so often, in the middle of an ordinary life, the world grants us a fairytale, right?

It's just a shame that fairytales don't last...

Lonliness. Family. Misfits. Fairytales. Friendship. Sisters. Love. Loyalty Romance. Loss. Depression. Struggles.

And Recovery.

Because the hardest part of this is leaving you...

And those lyrics at the start are from a song by My Chemical Romance, called CANCER. If you click here, you can watch them perform it. Even if MCR's not your thing, it's so emotional that I urge you to listen.

So, how does that look to everyone? I'm really looking forward to writing it again - so much that I'm tempted to re-post the original on my fictionpress site - but I don't think I will...

Anyway, for any other NaNoWriMo contestants this year, a present for you! Just a little something I came across on deviantart, but it's cute.

Oh - and if you are doing it, too, don't forget to add me as a writing buddy!

LoveLoveLove

- A -

These two incredibly talented girls are Megan and Liz, and they're singing a song that I've now become completely addicted to, by Owl City. It's called Fireflies.

Listen, and love. :)

LoveLoveLove

- A -