"I'm Bored."

You're bored. You're sitting on your bed... at your desk... on your couch... and you can't believe how mind-numbingly bored you really are.

Since when did that spot on the wall become so interesting? And that speck of dust. You really should do something about that. Maybe you should get something to drink. You are pretty thirsty after all. A nice tall glass of water might be good.

Could take away boredom for a whole minute. That just leaves... Oh... The rest of the day, but hey! You wasted that whole minute getting a glass of water. Time's sure flying by!

Now that water's sitting in your belly and you're still bored. Maybe you should just count all the bumps coming down from the ceiling...

Okay, that's when you really need to say enough. I mean, come on. Counting the bumps on the ceiling? Is that really how you want to be spending your day?

Well, if it is, carry on!

But if you're just doing it because you have nothing better to do, then you should stop. Seriously. Because I'm sure that there are better things that you could be doing right now than counting the bumps coming down from the ceiling.

Like read a book?

And it's not nice if you laughed when I said that and decided to go back to counting the ceiling bumps. Because reading can be really fun! I know that I love it!

So tell me this. Are you really entertained by those bumps? Huh? Because reading a good book can be way more entertaining than counting them, I can tell you that much!

So the next time you're bored (and you know it's going to happen!), why don't you consider picking up a good book and reading it?

Oh, I get it! You're not sure where you can find a good book and have simply been stumped this whole time! Why didn't you just say so? Echelon Press has some great books if you're looking for one! So get reading!

Or I suppose you could just go back to counting...

Alyssa Montgomery
http://www.alyssamontgomery.com/
Author of Where Are You?, Mr. Mysterious, Mysterious No More, and 9:53 PM (from the Heat of the Moment Anthology) and COMING SOON - MICHAEL SPRINGER!

EBooks are Great!

Since I've now convinced you that reading is fun, it's time to talk about EBooks.

Everyone knows about the conventional paper books - they've been around forever. I'm not bashing paper books - I myself have a collection that overflows from my huge bookshelf - but in this new age, there is also the option of reading an Electronic book. These books hold the same story that a paper book would hold, only they are available for reading on a number of different electronic devices - a computer, palm pilot, any EBook reader...

Electronic books are on the rise. For instance, my publisher, Echelon Press, not only offers a wide selection of paper books, but a huge selection of EBooks as well. The same goes for Barnes and Noble. On their website, you can now buy certain books in the EBook format. That is not to say that the availability of paper books is declining, but rather the availability of EBooks is rapidly skyrocketing.

When looking at Echelon Press' EBooks, one begins to realize that one of the great aspects of EBooks is their flexibility. While a paperbook can vary on their page lengths, I've noticed that a standard book is generally no less than 150 pages. However, novels are not only released in an EBook format, but short stories are also published as EBooks! These stories can be great for a quick read at a reasonable price!

So if you're looking for a great read, why not give an EBook a try?

(For a great article on EBooks, check out Pam Ripling's here.)

Alyssa Montgomery
http://www.alyssamontgomery.com/
Author of Where Are You?, Mr. Mysterious, Mysterious No More, and 9:53 PM (from the Heat of the Moment Anthology).

Melanie's Monday - The New School Year!

Hey guys, it's Melanie!

Even though there are still a few weeks left of summer vacation, it's already almost time to start school! Can you believe it? It seems like yesterday that the school year was ending, and we were all getting ready to watch Cal graduate. Time sure does fly in the summer!

I love summer. (There's no doubt about that.) Getting to go to BBQs, going swimming, going on road trips with your friends... Even with all that stuff going on in the summer, I'm still actually looking forward to going back to school. Reuniting with friends, meeting new people, hopefully getting some awesome classes. And this year I'll be a junior in high school. That's going to be pretty awesome!

Cal's obviously not going to be there, so that's a major bummer. But, like I've said in other blogs, at least he'll be going to the community college, so he'll be close by and not what seems like a million miles away. But at least Kassie will still be at school.

So now, even though summer is my favorite season, I am anxiously waiting to get my school schedule and find out what classes and teachers I got and start to find out who's in my classes. (Hopefully Kassie will be in my classes!) And hopefully this year will be more amazing than last! (And I must say that last year was pretty amazing!)

What about you guys? Love summer? Hate summer? Those of you in school, looking forward to it?

Now I'm going to go soak up the last of my summer vacation! Not going to let a minute go to waste!

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 (or Tuesday) - Road Trip!

Hey everyone, it's Melanie! Sorry about the delay, but as I said, I didn't bring a laptop with me on this trip! So I'm making a quick stop at an internet cafe to write this blog while everyone else grabs something to eat!

So I have to say that so far, this road trip has been...

AMAZING!

We've had the best time! We spent a couple days camping in the mountains (where I gladly did not freeze my butt off because I had packed all those warm clothes), where we laughed as Paul and Cal struggled to pop open his tent. Since Kassie and I managed to pop ours open pretty easily, it's kind of difficult to understand why they had such a hard time at setting up that tent. (But it's okay because it provided us with some good entertainment. Ha)

But as for all the rest of the stories, there simply is not time right now. But you all are going to hear all about it next Monday after I've come home!

So 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 - Road Trip Prep!

It's Monday, so that means it's time for Melanie's Monday! Yay! And for those of you who don't know me, my name is Melanie Ryder, and I'm one of the characters from a couple of Alyssa Montgomery's E-Books!

So, this week has been super busy since I've been preparing for my...

Road trip!

And I'd have to say that I'm pretty excited. It's going to be awesome! This could be one of the last times all of us get to hang out for a long time, what with Cal and Paul leaving for college in the fall. So it's definitely going to rock.

So I've spent the last week with Kassie making sure that all our reservations are okay, and then going shopping for everything that I need. Which is quite a lot (something that I didn't expect until I actually started going shopping!) I had to buy a new sleeping bag for the nights that we're camping along with roughly a million batteries for my camera and flashlight. There is no way that I'm going to be running out of batteries. (Especially when I'm in the dark. My flashlight is not dying on me then!)

And then I had to make sure that I had enough warm clothes for when we're in the mountains. Just like I'm not going without a flashlight in the dark, I'm not going to turn into a popsicle at night because I didn't pack clothes that will keep me warm at night. And I know that however warm my sleeping bag is that it's just not going to cut it.

So now I'm totally psyched for this trip! We'll be gone for ten days, which means that you're going to be getting a special post next Monday from on the trip! (Or somewhere around there. We're not bringing a laptop, so it's either post from an internet cafe, or wait until the end of the trip. I guess we'll just wait and see what happens!

Well, that's it for now! I'll be leaving tomorrow for my trip! Yipee!

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 - Summertime!

Melanie here! And I'm so glad to announce that I have totally spent the first week of my summer in the best way! I got to spend the first week of my summer vacation, not only looking forward to and preparing for my upcoming roadtrip, but also by... simply...

Relaxing.

Yeah, that might have been a tad anticlimactic, but after all the stresses of school, graduation, and party-planning, it was great to just kick back and relax, read a book, sit by the pool, go into the pool....

Let me tell you! Nothing is better than finding a good book to read and then lounging outside to read it. I've already finished three books this week! Totally entertaining.

So that was my week. How about everyone else? Anyone do anything interesting this week?

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 - Summer!

It's Melanie! And now that school and Cal's graduation are over, that means that summer is officially here! Time for the beaches, pools, vacations.... (not to mention that school is out!)

I'm so excited!

Summer is one of my favorite seasons, and I plan to totally enjoy it this year! I'm going to be taking a road trip this summer with Cal, Kassie, and Cal's friend, Paul. And I have to say that I am going to have the best time! Nothing is better than hanging out with friends. Plus Cal and Paul are both going away to college, so it'll be nice for them to hang out too!

So hopefully everyone is already enjoying their summer and plans to have a blast!

Talk to you next Monday!

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 - Cal's Graduation Party!

Hey everybody! Melanie again. So as I said last Monday, this week we would be talking about...

Cal's surprise graduation party!

And I'd have to say it really was a surprise. I honestly did not think that we would be able to pull it off with Cal never finding out (what with him being able to figure out everything), but we did! And he was thoroughly shocked when I walked with him through the front door of his house and everyone jumped out and yelled, "Surprise!"

I think the look of complete shock and surprise on his face was totally worth it.

He was so excited to get to see all his family, too! One of his cousins, who lives all the way in Europe, was even able to make it to the party, and I could tell that he was just ecstatic that she was able to fly all the way here to make it to his party.

Then came the food. Yeah, like I had predicted, it was a little messy, but there were generally enough tables and chairs for everyone to sit at. Cal and I, with some of his younger family, found a nice place to sit on the grass that wasn't too wet. Even from the grass in the backyard you could see all the decorations that the house was decked out in - the numerous 'Class of 2009' and 'Congrats Grad!' balloons with streamers, wall decorations, centerpieces... While it was kind of cheesy, it was still really neat.

Lastly, as we went to cut the cake, everyone gathered around the table to sing 'Happy Graduation to You'. I know Cal really enjoyed that one. He was hamming it up as the head of the table, acting as the conductor of the group. That's Cal for you!

But, all in all, I really think the party was a success! (Well, it had to be since we actually succeeded in surprising Cal!) It was the perfect way to end his high school graduation.

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 - Cal's Graduation!

It's Melanie, and today I'm going to be talking about...

Cal's Graduation!!!

First, I have to say that the graduation was so beautiful! The entire hall was decorated with beautiful flowers and other plants! And combined with all the graduates wearing their black gowns, it looked truly amazing.

Of course, Cal looked wonderful in his gown. He was even graduating with Honors, so he had a medal around his neck. And when Cal walked out with the other graduates, the applause for his was tremendous. And if you thought that was loud, then you should have heard the applause when his name was called.

Deafening.

But the whole graduation was truly amazing (even with all the beach balls flying around!). And now I'm thinking how weird it is that Cal isn't going to be at my school anymore, but if I think it's weird that he isn't going to be at my school, I can only imagine what he must be thinking about the whole thing. I mean, it must be pretty weird and shocking to think that high school is over and that it's time to be moving on to bigger and better things. Which I know that he'll be amazing at.

Well, that's it for today! I'll see you all next Monday when we talk about Cal's graduation party!

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 - Cal's Graduation Party Planning!

So, as usual, I'm Melanie Ryder, and I'm back for my weekly Melanie's Monday installment! And today I'll be continuing my talk from last week about...

Cal's surprise graduation party!

We've bought all the decorations for the party (well, except the balloons. You can't really buy those in advance), and it's all the usual stuff that says '2009' on it - plates, napkins, centerpieces, balloons (okay, so we did buy the balloons. They just haven't been inflated yet)... Basically anything that can have 2009 on it. Ha.

We've also hired this catering company to come cater the event for the night. So, naturally, they're going to be serving Cal's favorite food - lasagna - with spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread. Yeah, it's a little messy and not the best food for the party, but it is Cal's party so we figured we should at least get him his favorite food. I mean, it is his party after all. Ha. And that includes a white raspberry cheesecake for dessert. Yum!

And the best part is that, with the exception of an aunt and uncle who are out of town, everyone can make it to his party! Even his cousin who's been living in Europe for the past year! Cal's going to be so excited!

So Cal's going to be graduating this week, and his party is the following week. I'll keep you all updated!

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 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 - 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).

Melanie's Monday - Hair!

Hey everybody! It's Melanie, and I'm back for more on my 'Road to the Prom'!

I've been looking in magazines, trying to find the perfect way to style my hair from prom! And I've finally found it!

If you read earlier, then you remember how I found the perfect prom dress - a midnight blue strapless gown. Now, my hair is going to go perfectly with my dress!

I'm going to take about a third of my hair, clip it to the top of my hair, and have it come down in curls. The rest of my hair is going to be free flowing and in curls too! It makes my blonde hair really stick out against the blue, and I think it's going to look absolutely beautiful!

Well, that's it for me this week! I'll be back next week for the next Melanie's Monday!

Melanie Ryder 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 at the Teen-Seen!

I just wanted to let everyone know that my character, Melanie, is talking today over at the Teen-Seen about Fantasy books and movies! Go check it out!

Alyssa Montgomery
http://www.alyssamontgomery.com/
Where Are You?
Mr. Mysterious
9:53 PM from the Heat of the Moment Anthology

Melanie's Monday - Prom Dresses!

Hey everybody! It's Monday, so that means it's time for me to continue Melanie's Monday!

So this week I'm going to be talking about how I went shopping with my best friend Kassie to buy our...

Prom dresses!

We decide to try shopping for dresses at the mall first. That place is huge, so it's bound to have the perfect dress hidden in there somewhere, right?

And I was right!

Right when I walked into the first store, my eyes were glued to a midnight blue strapless gown with tiny flowers stitched in/scattered across the dress. I would have to say that it was, quite possibly, the most beautiful dress I have ever seen in my life.

Naturally, I had to try it on.

And it fit perfectly! Can you believe it!? It was like the dress was made for me, and it was just waiting for me to come and find it! Not to mention that it matched perfectly with my blue eyes. There was no way that I was going to allow myself to pass by that dress.

So I bought it. And I think that Cal is going to absolutely love it!

What about all you guys? Was there ever a dress that you bought that was so perfect in every way that you just couldn't pass it up?

Well, that's it for me today! I'll catch you all next Monday!

Melanie

Melanie Ryder 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

Hey everybody! For those of you who don't know me, my name is Melanie Ryder, and I'm one of the characters in Alyssa Montgomery's stories, Where Are You? and 9:53 P.M. (from the Heat of the Moment Anthology). I'm going to be blogging on Alyssa's site every Monday with new and exciting stories to share! If you caught me on the Teen-Seen last Tuesday, then you heard the great new that

Cal asked me to prom!

And I would have to tell you that that was the most exciting news in the world! Okay, so we've been dating each other for a while now, and I pretty much knew that we'd be going together, but it was the way he asked me that was amazing!

So he drove me home from school, as usual, but instead of coming inside like he normally does, he dropped me off and said that he had something to take care of and that he'd be back later. So he leaves, and I go inside the house and up the stairs to my bedroom. And sitting on my bed was a single red rose with a note attached to it. So I opened the note and inside was written, Come outside.

I knew Cal's writing from anywhere, so I ran down the stairs, wondering what he was up to. And when I opened the front door, he was standing there with a bouquet of a dozen roses, and he handed them to me, and asked me if I would give him the honor of allowing him to take me to prom!

And of course I said yes. I would have gone with him in a heartbeat even if he had just mentioned it casually in the car. But that's the great thing about Cal - he's such a romantic! Even if some of the things he does are completely cheesy and cliched, he puts so much thought and love into it that my heart just swells at it. Literally. And I can feel a giant smile come on my face.

Now that I have finished raving about Cal, where was I?

Yes, prom. So I can now safely say that I am more than excited about the dance. I don't think I can wait a month for it to come. All I can say is that Kassie and I need to start hitting the dress stores.


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

Fashion is Passion

Melanie Ryder, my character from Where Are You? and The Heat of the Moment: 9:53 PM, is currently talking today over at the Teen-Seen blog about fashion!

Go check it out!!

Alyssa Montgomery

Interviews Galore!!

Connor, one of my characters from 9:53 PM (The Heat of the Moment Anthology) and Where Are You?,has been interviewed by Gus - a character from Mary Cunningham's Cynthia's Attic series. You can read the interview now at

http://cynthiasattic.blogspot.com/

On another note, I also had the honor of being interviewed by J.R. Turner - author of DFF: Dead Friends Forever (also available now from http://www.quakeme.com/). The interview can be read at:

http://tinyurl.com/amontgomery-jrt

Thanks for stopping by!

Alyssa Montgomery