Lately, I’ve been reading books that have been made into movies such as Queen Bees and Wannabees (Mean Girls), Stardust, The Nanny Diaries, The Golden Compass and The Secret Garden.

Books to movies seems to be a growing trend in Hollywood. It does make sense, if you think about it. There is more potential box office bucks for a movie that has been a beloved book than perhaps a brand new film with no built in fan base.

On Yahoo!, a new trailer for Beowulf with Angelina Jolie is playing. Would you watch the Beowulf film?

What are some of your favorite books to movies?

The blog has been quiet lately because I’ve been in full out editing mode. I’m on a deadline for the editing of the first High Jumps (referred to from now on as HJ1 until the title changes). Over the past few days, I’ve been on a roll and haven’t had a spare minute to blog.

For interested writers, The Atlantic published their 2007 list of the best schools for creative writers in grad programs. On the list? FSU (yay!), Boston U, NYU and Cornell, among others. The guide is fantastic and helpful in finding low residency programs and schools with notable alumni.

I’m not choosing MFA programs yet, but I do like to keep in the know about schools and their latest creative writing programs. Schools I like? Mmm…USC, NYU, Columbia and UNCW. Though I love fiction, I want a school that offers screenwriting, non-fiction and other areas that are accessible to writers of all genres.

Anyone in a graduate writing program? Or graduate from one? If so, share away!

Well, my first big interview with the Tallahassee Democrat is published in today’s weekend edition! Check it out here! Big thank yous to Kathleen Laufenberg, Joetta Wharton, Ned Stuckey-French and Celeste Perrino-Walker.

All right! My class info and an interview for Lamar University is online! If you’re interested in my online class, check it out here. And for a quick interview about me, check here and scroll down.

If you want to enroll, it’s a 6 week online class from September 10-October 15. I’m only taking 20 students and several people have expressed interest, so sign up soon if you want to try it. Remember, you don’t have to be a Texas resident to take the course.

It’ll be six weeks of reading, writing and feedback from queries to non-fiction articles. You’ll leave the class with a polished article and a matching query.

Okay, end of sales pitch. 🙂

On a rarity, I picked up How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead: Your Words in Print and Your Name in Lights by Ariel Gore. I say “rarity” because I chose this writing guide based on the oh-so-catchy title.

The book is a decent guide for beginning writers. It covers pitching, agents, self-publishing, promotion and many other topics. The only issue with that is each topic is covered so fast, there’s not much depth about one single issue. Gore does several interviews with authors, which are entertaining but not overwhelmingly helpful.

The book did have a good section on promotion and it had suggestions for a press kit that I hadn’t read before.

If you’re new to the biz, this book may be helpful, but if not I’d recommend another guide book.

Today’s post is short, but if you’re looking for a great Q&A with a successful author, head over to Diana’s blog and ask a question.

A shout out to Jen on her new book deal! Drop by her LJ and congratulate her! 🙂

Updates on the progress of High Jumps will come soon. I’m doing editing now and it’s going great so far! 🙂

I’m also typing up the lectures for my writing class with Lamar and can’t wait until more info become available.

Happy birthday, Daniel Radcliffe! He turns 18 today! 🙂 Regular blogging will begin later this week. I’m swamped with projects and will blog about something other than HP soon. Promise.

*NO SPOILERS! Don’t worry!* (If you comment a spoiler, I’m deleting!)

I got my hands on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows around 11am yesterday and finished it around midnight. I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t read, so I’ll wait a few days before talking directly about the book. Now, I must start back at book one to fill my Potter needs!

Since I spent all day yesterday reading, today is catch up day on writing and class of 2k8 duties. I joined the apperance and speaking committee so I’m covering a territory (the NE) and am looking for places for authors to speak.

Sven was sweating alone yesterday, so it’s back to work!

Check in, if you’re not too busy reading HP. How many words or pages did you log this week? I hit about 6k. Share your stats!

So, I found out last night that I was accepted into the Class of 2k8! If you’re not familiar with the Class of 2k7, check out their Website. I was lucky to get a spot since it fills up fast and I’ve been on the waiting list with fingers crossed. Thanks to 2k7 for blazing the trail for us in 2k8 and I’m excited to participate! 🙂

Sorry for the double post today, but I got an e-mail from the lovely Susan Johnston at The Urban Muse blog that my interview with her is up and running. Check it out and enjoy her blog! 🙂