Spunky Heroine

A writer since I could lift a pen and scrawl my name, I'm still a late-bloomer!  I have a BA in Theatre and work for a performing arts venue, but words and creating stories have always been my passion - it just took me until my 30s to realize it!

I live in Indianapolis, IN but have traveled quite a bit - more than most, but not enough for me.  :-)  My home is also a work in progress, but it's adorable and it's mine.  I have a loving family and an amazing circle of friends and the most constant of companions, my pup Nildë.

Besides writing, I read.  I sing.  I garden.  I love needlework and all manner of crafts.  I'm also a crossword puzzle fanatic (in pen, thank you very much!).  I love working on my home when I have the energy to spare.  And there is nothing more lovely than a long nap on the sofa on a Sunday afternoon!

I'm also a cancer survivor (five years!) and I'm a constant nag to all the women I know to have their yearly check-ups.   My team Peregrine's Posse  and I continue to  participate in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life  in May.  If you'd like to walk with us or would like to donate to the ACS, please send me an email!

Thanks to all my family and friends for their constant love and support - you all help make my dreams come true each day!

IMAGES

Aubri (as Buttercup Brandybuck) stops by Bag End to wish the Misters Bagginses "Happy Birthday!"
  Aubri & her Shieldmaiden friends pose as hobbits at A Long Expected Party, Shaker Village, KY (September 28, 2008)

Aubri at the KC Renaissance Faire with friend Rayna and the Three Musketeers (September 2007)

Aubri on the steps at Palais de Versailles outside Paris, France (May 2006)

Aubri's Mini-blog: What I'm Thinking, Loving and Ranting About Now!

It's that time of year again - NaNoWriMo2010 started November 1st.  At first I thought I would skip this year, but I've been working diligently on my new non-YA novel, "Pressing Concerns."  While I've done quite a bit of work, I'm no where near 50,000 words yet so I decided I take a stab at keeping it going and finishing it this month.  It's fudging a bit, I suppose since I've already written about 11,000 words, but there's still almost 40,000 words to go - it seems like a good goal!

Chapters One and Two of "Kingdom" are in pretty good shape, but I'm still working on Chapter Three.  In the meantime I have a little plot bunny distracting me, but I'm trying to ignore her for the moment.  I'll let you all know when I finally decide to give her some attention.  In the meantime I've been reading quite a lot lately, mostly in the Regency period -- and almost all of it dealing with Jane Austen or her characters.  Since Miss Austen's works are in what is called the public domain, there are a lot of authors out there adapting her characters into their own stories.  That's not a bad thing necessarily, imho -- however, some of it is better than others.   A particularly good series is the Jane Austen mysteries by Stephanie Barron, which I have read through twice.  It can be a bit dense when it comes to some of the historical parts, but worth the read if you like lots of history and Miss Austen!  I'm also trying desperately to get through James Joyce's "Ulysses."  It's a difficult work and I'm not even certain I know what's going on -- I'll let you all know if I make any progress!  I also have enjoyed seeing "Wolverine" and "Star Trek" at the movies.  Jason Mraz is getting the most play on my iPod!

Well, even though I haven't been active over here on the website, I have been working on "Kingdom."  I felt like the beginning needed to have more "punch."  I had gone through the manuscript so many times at one point that I didn't think I could do much without the help of an editor.  Time and maturity have changed that though and I feel like I'm getting some solid work done.  Thanks to several of my writing/reading friends for their thoughts and comments -- they've helped a great deal!

I recently re-subscribed to Writers Digest Magazine after being disenchanted with it some years ago.  I'm glad I've gone back to it.  The last three issues have been very helpful and have motivated me to get back to work on finding a publisher for "Kingdom" -- actually to look for an agent first.  It's been awhile since I tried that route, but I think the climate is ripe for YA writers.  My task for the holiday break is to write as many query letters as I can and to work on some self-editing.  I also hope to keep this a bit more updated than I have the past few months.

Well, the month of November is halfway over and I'm still plugging slowly along on my NaNo-novel.  I haven't been as productive as I'd like, but I do believe I have a good start.  I was distracted for a day or two by reading the wildly popular "Twilight."  I needed to see what all the praise was about!  I enjoyed it very much, and took A LOT of mental notes for my own work.  I'm holding off on reading the subsequent sequels 'til NaNoWriMo is done -- it would be too easy to get "sucked" in by the story!  lol!

I've long been a fan of the faerie tale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses.  I can't explain why -- it can be a gruesome story (a lot of faerie tales are, actually!).  It must be the dancing and party clothes!  lol!  Anyway, this year for NaNoWriMo I've decided to adapt 12DP into a YA novel that I'm calling: "The Twelfth Princess."  The main character is Ember the youngest princess, and how she and her eldest sister Nora help to break the Grey Faerie's spell that makes them dance every night 'til they have holes in the soles of their slippers.  As of day 3 I'm on track to make my 50,000 words, but it's very, very early in the month!!  Stay tuned... 

Summer was busy and yet dull at the same time.  Most of my focus was on house projects rather than writing.  I don't know if that's good or not, but my "garret" is looking pretty nice!

Autumn is here almost here, though, and it's time to get back down to brass tacks.  NaNoWriMo begins in a little over a month and I need to get my outline for my entry.  This one is more of a children's story than I've done in awhile.  I don't know that it's worth 50,000 words -- that's a lot for a kid to read, eh?  We'll see...

LOVED "Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog!"  The story was engaging and the music was as good -- if not better - than half the musicals on Broadway.  Even better are the stars, especially Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible.  I'm hoping evenutally there will be more episodes than the inital three.

I'm also listening to Gaelic Storm's new CD, What's the Rumpus and reading Nora Robert's new novel, Tribute. 

Yea!  It looks like Spring might actually be here!!  It is a welcome change -- I know I'll be out in my garden at last! 

Oh my gosh, can winter be any longer?  We keep getting hints that spring is around the corner, but then the nasty weather comes back with a vengeance!  I'll be heartily glad to put away the heavy coats and boots 'til next year! 

Happy Valentine's Day to one and all!  Being a writer I can't help but be a bit of a dreamer and a romantic!  I do hope you find a bit of love in your life today! 

Looking forward to 2008 and all the wonders a new year may bring.  It's a clean slate... an opportunity to recommit to old challenges and discover new ones... I like clean slates better than I like blank pages!  :-D  I hope you all have a prosperous and joyous new year! 

I was on the sofa sick over the past two weeks and read quite a bit, which is an unusual luxury for me.  So here's what was on my nightstand those few days:

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert -- LOVED it!

Becoming Jane Austen by Jon Spence -- very intriguing semi-biography about one of my very favorite authors

1st to Die by James Patterson -- first novel in the Women's Murder Club series.  Enjoyed it, though was occasionally distracted by the writing style.  For adults and mature teens only - not appropriate for younger readers.

On to a novel about Pope Joan! 

I also recently downloaded Raising Sand by Alison Krause & Robert Plant to my iPod and am really liking it a lot!

If you'd like to find out what else I've read or am reading and what I think about it, check out my page on GoodReads:

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/610609 

Here it is December 17 and NaNoWriMo is well and truly over - and unfortunately I didn't get anywhere near 50,000 words written (honestly I didn't even quite make it to 10,000!).  November is really not the best month for me to commit to it, though I will keep trying.  All the books and articles can tell you that you must write every day until they are blue in the face, but the reality is that if you have to make a living to keep a roof over your head and food on the table Life will get in the way sometimes... ok, a lot!  Is that an excuse?  Yes.  It's also the truth!

That being said, I still did get a really good start on a new YA series novel called (tent.) The Bookshop Kids: Darcy's First Mystery.  So I'll be working on that as well as "Marian" over the Christmas break.  (For a description of TBK see the listing on the HOME page).

Well, week one of NaNoWriMo 2007 is past and we're into the next week.  I made good progress the first few days, but then got side-tracked towards the end, so I'm behind a bit.  However, I have the weekend to work on it, so hopefully I'll get caught up and back on track.  It really does go to show a gal that writing every day, even for an hour can be productive.  Now just to get rid of those pesky interruptions... :-)

November is National Novel Writing Month - affectionately known to its participants as NaNoWriMo!  Basically writers can take the month of November to spew out 50,000 words of a new novel - no editing, no polishing... just get the words on the page!  The Office of Light and Letters who sponsor the competition also has a junior division, so all you writers - younger and older check it out and get your pencils... er, computers ready to write!

http://www.nanowrimo.org/ 

I traveled to Columbus, OH on October 13th to see Celtic singer/songwriter Loreena McKennitt perform at the Palace Theatre.  What an incredible concert!!  The difference between hearing her recordings and seeing her live is physically palpable.  There's truly nothing like hearing - and feeling all the undertones and nuances that happen when the artist is physically present - not to mention the rapport she had with the audience and her fellow musicians.  I highly encourage everyone to check out her recordings - and especially go see her perform in person if you ever have the opportunity!  :-)

Here's her website: http://www.quinlanroad.com/

Be sure to check out Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty and its new short film that shows how advertisers manipulate images that harm a girl's (and frankly a woman's too!) self-esteem: http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com  

I just downloaded Anúna's recording "Invocation" to my iPod and I've been listening to it constantly!

Just got back from the Kansas City Irish Fest and the Renaissance Faire over the Labor Day weekend.  Had a blast and got to see my favorite celtic band Gaelic Storm!

Saw the movie "Becoming Jane" a few weeks ago and LOVED it!  A must see for all Austenites.

I'm perishing for LOST's new season to start - I can't believe we have to wait until February!!