Melanie's Monday - Graduation Continuation

I'm Melanie, and I'm back for another installment of my weekly blog, Melanie's Monday!

Okay, so I definitely have to say that the graduation festivities for Cal are beginning to heat up! His parents are planning a surprise graduation party for him the night after his graduation for all of his closest friends and family, and I've had so much fun helping them! It's not very often that anyone can plan something without Cal finding out - he's pretty perceptive about that. So I can only imagine his face when he realizes that we'd planned him a suprise party that a bunch of people knew about! I just know that he's going to love it!

Besides this rockin' graduation party (which Cal doesn't even know about so I guess I can't count it as one of his graduation festivities right now), we also just got out yearbooks! This year's book is definitely the best one yet! I've gotten tons of signatures, and I've also made sure that Cal has been having his yearbook signed as well! His freshman, sophomore, and junior year he didn't have his yearbook signed and since it's his senior year, I had to make sure that he got plenty of signatures to look back on in five, ten, twenty, thirty years!

Putting aside the graduation festivities, you can really feel the end of the school year coming up at school! All my teachers have become really laid back, and we barely have any homework anymore - just to study for the finals. And all the seniors just can't wait for graduation (Cal included!).

So next week I'll tell you more about what we plan to do for Cal's graduation party since we don't have all the planning done yet! Until then!

Melanie Ryder is a character that can be found in Alyssa Montgomery's short stories, Where Are You? and 9:53 P.M. (from the Heat of the Moment Anthology).

Melanie's Monday - Graduation!

It's Melanie, and I'm baaccckkk!

Okay, so maybe it's not my graduation because I'm only a sophomore. But graduation is still right around the corner - only a few more weeks - and that means that Cal will be graduating!

And I have to say that it's going to be weird. I mean, I'll be going to school next year, and he won't be going with me! Yeah, he's going to be going to the community college so he'll still be here, but it's still going to be weird not driving to school with him, not eating lunch with him...

Then that gets me thinking. I mean, if it's weird for me and I'm not even the one graduating, then what must it feel like for him? Graduation means the time for, essentially, a whole new life. A time when a person leaves his childhood behind and ventures out into the seemingly unknown land of adulthood. And when I think of that, I really begin to wonder how Cal must be feeling.

So, yeah. I'm excited to see him get his diploma in just a few short weeks. And really, when I think about it, it's really just the beginning of another great adventure.

Melanie Ryder is a character that can be found in Alyssa Montgomery's short stories, Where Are You? and 9:53 P.M. (from the Heat of the Moment Anthology).

Melanie's Monday (Tuesday Edition!) - Prom! (Part 2)

It's Melanie again! Here on a special edition of Melanie's Monday, on Tuesday!, so I can finish telling you all about my amazing time at Prom this weekend!

To read about the first half of my night, read my blog entry from yesterday.

So, continuing on...

After I managed to escape without a single speck of food on me or my dress (though I suppose I was lucky because when I was finished, the napkin I put on my lap wasn't nearly the pearly white color that it had started as), we all left to go dancing on the dance floor. And I definitely have to say that the DJ was amazing! He played just the right amount of fast and slow songs - time to both hang out with friends and time to just be with Cal.

Toward the end of the night, after countless dances and, as cliched as it sounds, many great memories, we all started to pile back into our limo and head for home. It was weird as we drove back home, too, knowing that, even though I wasn't graduating, some of these people were and this might be the last time that we all hung out together.

So after everyone had left, and we had all said goodbye, Cal and I were alone in the limo as it drove to drop me off at my house. We arrived, and he was all gentlemanly and walked me to my front door. And he sealed the perfect night with a perfect kiss.

All in all, I'd say that it was an amazing night (and, as I look back on it and read back on this, a night with quite a few Prom cliches present in it as well). But you know what? I wouldn't change any of it :)

Melanie Ryder is a character that can be found in Alyssa Montgomery's short stories, Where Are You? and 9:53 P.M. (from the Heat of the Moment Anthology).

Melanie's Monday - Prom! (Part 1)

Melanie here. And I would have to say that I am especially excited to write my blog this Monday because I had Prom this weekend! I would definitely have to say that it was...

Amazing.

Magical.

Wonderful.

So Cal picked me up in a limo. A limo! Talk about surprised! And then he goes and continues to surprise me with the most beautiful corsage that I have ever seen! It was made of three dark red roses that went perfectly with my dress! (And for those of you who don't remember, my dress is a midnight blue strapless gown.) And needless to say that my mom snapped picture after picture of Cal putting the corsage on my wrist.

And then she snapped about a million more of me putting on Cal's boutonniere.

So after that, my mom took some more pictures - these of Cal and me standing in our backyard. She would have kept taking pictures, but she luckily had filled up her memory chip, giving Cal and me the chance to escape before she had the chance to upload all the pictures and continue with an empty memory card.

We got into the limo and picked up a few of our friends and their dates before stopping at Kassie's house to take some group pictures. And her house was perfect for pictures! She has one of the biggest backyards that I have ever seen with so many trees that you feel like you're in the woods or something. So needless to say the group pictures turned out absolutely beautiful. (And Cal and I took a few more pictures of us together - you know, to add to the millions that my mom had already taken.)

So after we all packed ourselves back into the limo, the driver took us to one of our local hotels where our Prom was being held. It was absolutely amazing! Our prom was being held in one of the giant ballrooms, and the entire room was decked out with flowers - flowers of all kinds - with the room divided between tables and an area for dancing. And since the tables sat ten, our entire group was able to sit together. And it was quite a sight to see - there was dress everywhere as we all tried to sit at the table! Mix that with food, and it's a miracle that no one ended up dancing with a new dress or tux that was decorated with food. (I guess I was smart, then, to wear a dark dress, right? So even if I did spill something, it wouldn't be that noticeable. Well, unless it was a light food... )

Anyway!

I seem to be running out of time right now, so I will continue entertaining everyone with my Prom tomorrow! That's right! There will be a special Melanie's Monday tomorrow, on Tuesday, so everyone can finish hearing all the great details about Prom!

Melanie Ryder is a character that can be found in Alyssa Montgomery's short stories, Where Are You? and 9:53 P.M. (from the Heat of the Moment Anthology).

Melanie's Monday - Less Than a Week!

Hey everybody! It's Melanie, and I'm very excited to say that prom is ...

This weekend!

I can't even explain how excited I am! I keep fantasizing about how the night will be, and it's always amazing in every different version of the night!

And now that Prom is less than a week away, it really makes me realize how close to the end of the year it is. I mean, yeah, I'm only a sophomore, and I'm still going to be in high school next year, but Cal isn't going to be. He's going on to college.

Okay, yeah, it's the local college so I'll still see him practically everyday, but it's just going to be sooooo different at school next year!

So, yeah, back to prom.

It's this weekend, so that means my next Melanie's Monday will be all about it!

Until then!

Melanie Ryder is a character that can be found in Alyssa Montgomery's short stories, Where Are You? and 9:53 P.M. (from the Heat of the Moment Anthology).

Pixie Chicks by Regan Black

Pixie Chicks by Regan Black

From Echelon Press:

"For a quartet of girlfriends known as the Pixie Chicks, life takes on a delicious new flavor when their normal Friday night walkabout through the Hobbitville Gardens reveals secrets and adventures previously unimagined. Who knew the statues were portals to similar, magical gardens around the world? Or that only a select few can travel by statue and fewer still can arrive at their desired point? These four will reach for the stars despite the risks of the unknown to embrace an adventure suitable only for the boldest of teens."

To begin, Black's use of characterization is phenomenal! Her different characters and motives are clearly defined, so it is not necessary to skim over past pages in a full-blown effort to find a single defining trait that can somehow be used to distinguish the different characters. Furthermore, her characters easily enable the reader to be drawn into the story and feel as though he is actually in it and not merely an outsider intruding upon private moments.

Black also mixes fantasy with romance with such ease that it appears seamless. The fantasy aspect provides the story with a magical and light air that wonderfully works hand-in-hand with the romance angle, creating a light-heartedness that perfectly encompasses the story. Coupled with the story dealing with normal teenagers who have access to a magical garden and the story becomes a creative and delightful mix of the average and the fastasy.

The second installment of the Hobbitville Saga, Sierra's Setup, is due out soon in a few months from Quake, and I, for one, am anxiously awaiting the sequel.

Alyssa Montgomery
Author of Where Are You?, Mr. Mysterious, and 9:53 PM (from the Heat of the Moment Anthology).