Brett VS. Monty

I am really loving the comments and debates I am getting from readers of The Prettiest Thing. There are some die-hard Brett fans and equally die-hard Monty fans out there and I love that. Although I have my outline and I know exactly who is going to wind up with Ella, getting there will be fun and definitely competitive for the two guys. Out of curiosity, who do you prefer? Brett or Monty? Who is better for Ella? In chapter twenty, the battle begins.

Brett

VS.

Monty

Brett and Ella

So HMC sent me these awesome black and white pictures for The Prettiest Thing and I wanted to post them. She wasn't sure if it reminded her of Brett and Ella or Ella and Monty but when I saw this picture - my favorite of the bunch - I instantly thought of Brett and Ella. Thank you for the picture, HMC. I will post the others later. Please read the story and review it for me. I really loved chapter nineteen and I want others to love it too. I am already working on chapter twenty but I cannot promise when that will be posted. In the meantime, please read and review. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. And also, enjoy the picture. Thank you.

The Prettiest Thing - Chapter Nineteen

As promised, I have posted chapter nineteen of The Prettiest Thing on AFF.net so check it out for me. Read and review and let me know what you think. I am so happy that for the most part, people are loving this story. I love writing it and cannot wait to write down the rest of the story. Thank you for reading and reviewing and being such wonderful supporters. All of you are just simply amazing. Also, thank you to Laura for finding me this picture that reminded her of Trevor and Joy.

Lindsey

This is completely random of me but I found this picture of Kristen Bell, who was my influence for Lindsey Holland from Blood and Honey, and I thought it was absolutely perfect. Lindsey, along with her best friend, Ryan Reed, were heavy pot smokers in the story and this picture I thought just screamed Lindsey so I wanted to post it for you to see. In other news, slight changes were made to chapter nineteen of The Prettiest Thing from my original outline but not too many significant changes. I hope to have the chapter posted by either today or tomorrow. I will let you know when I post it. In the meantime, I hope you like the picture.

Ella

Hi everyone. Some have asked and the name of the model who portrays Ella is Sabrina Pauletto. I have only been able to find two pictures of her and these pictures are absolutely perfect. This model is exactly how I pictured Ella when I began writing The Prettiest Thing. If you find any pictures of her, I would be so grateful. Thank you to everyone who is looking for me.

Possible Pictures

I was unable to sleep last night so I was surfing the internet trying to find pictures for The Prettiest Thing. Since the pictures which initially inspired me for Ella, Brett and Trevor are of models, it was hard to find their names. Thanks to some fans and their hard work, Ella and Brett's names were found out but Trevor still remains nameless. But even with Ella and Brett's names now known, finding pictures of them, at least for me, is still difficult. I was able to find a picture of Brett but I could only find pictures that LOOK like Trevor and Ella but aren't. I wanted to post the pictures anyway though because I'm tired and I like having the pictures up. I do wish though that the picture I have of Ella had a model with more tanned skin since Ella's skin is tan but oh well. Remember that if you are ever online and see a picture that reminds you of The Prettiest Thing, please send it my way. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advance!

Ella

Brett

Trevor

Joy

Cassidy

Below is a picture of how I picture Cassidy Allen from The Prettiest Thing. Though she won't have a very large role, she is going to be an important figure in Brett and Ella's relationship so I am sorry for that because I know that she is hated in the story - which is good because she isn't supposed to be well-liked. She is based off of a girl I went to high school with and I am sure that everyone can say they know a bitch like Cassidy.

Cassidy

The Prettiest Thing - Chapter Eighteen

As promised, chapter eighteen of The Prettiest Thing is posted on AFF.net so check it out for me. Please read and review. There is a lot that happens in this chapter and a lot of insight into some of the characters so please read carefully. And get ready because next chapter is Thanksgiving and it will be explosive to say the least. Thanks in advance for reading and letting me know what you think. It will forever be appreciated. Also, please, please don't be upset with Brett after this chapter. Well, you can be upset but please don't hate him. I really do love Brett but like most boys his age, he is making mistakes so please just keep that in mind.

Someone Like You

Thank you for all of the get-well wishes. I am feeling a lot better and I hope it is a long time before I get sick like that again. I am almost completed with chapter eighteen of The Prettiest Thing and I actually hope to have it posted by tonight. I will let everyone know when it is posted but be on the look out for it. In the meantime, listen to the song below, "Someone Like You" by SafetySuit. The song is one of my favorites and while writing this chapter, I was listening to this song repeatedly. I suppose you can call it my inspiration so please give it a listen and let me know what you think. Thank you and have a great Wednesday everyone.

Some Q & A

Hi, everyone. Thank you for the reviews of chapter seventeen of The Prettiest Thing for me and all of the get-well wishes. You guys are amazing. I am still under the weather and am writing this from my couch and listening to Nirvana's "Nevermind" but I hope to feeling better by the end of this weekend. I hate being sick like this and rarely get truly sick so I feel like I'm going crazy. Reading some past questions and reviews, there are some things I have wanted to address about The Prettiest Thing.

This is going to be a LONG story. We are already on chapter seventeen and there is still so much to tell. It is taking place in one year - or one school year - of the four main characters and at the moment, we haven't even gotten to Thanksgiving yet. A lot more is going to happen to all four: Brett, Ella, Trevor and Joy and I already know that some of these things aren't going to be very popular with readers. I am not changing my outline or story plots just to please people though. The story I want to write is the one I am going to write and since I already wrote the last chapter, and loved it, nothing is going to be changed. This story could possibly have 35-40 chapters so I hope everyone is up for that kind of a long epic read. I am confident enough to say that this will be my greatest, and longest, story yet to be told.

Trevor and Ella DO know about Lyla's marriage. I am sorry if that wasn't clear but Nick and Connie told them and with their parents arguing constantly about it, Trevor and Ella would know. As they are driving to the campsite in chapter sixteen, Trevor tells Ella that he hates secrets. First with Lyla and now with Ella. And in chapter seventeen, Andy tells Lyla that he called Ella to tell her that Lyla was coming home from the hospital. Trevor and Ella definitely know about their sister's marriage but I have not delved into how they feel about it. Remember that Thanksgiving is coming soon for the Scott family though - a holiday all about family. Should be very interesting.

Everyone keeping things from Trevor because they think he can't handle it will become very important to Trevor's storyline involving Joy but that will not happen for two more chapters. And when it happens... I am curious to see everyone's reactions about Trevor's storyline. Also, Brett is a good football player - one of the top fullbacks in the state - but Trevor is one of the top high school quarterbacks in the country so more attention is focused on him and his football career. Brett will get scholorships with no problem but more attention has always been on Trevor when it comes to football. One spoiler since I know people have been asking - Ella will lose her virginity in this story. I am just not saying to who. And when it happens, which will be the near the end of the story, it is going to be a serious chapter since Ella is our main character and for someone like her, losing her virginity is going to be a very big deal to her.

Any other questions, just let me know and I will answer them all in regards to this story. Thank you for reading and please keep doing so. Thank you.

The Prettiest Thing - Chapter Seventeen

Chapter seventeen of The Prettiest Thing is now posted on AFF.net so everyone knows the drill. Please read and review for me. I hope the chapter turned out okay. I have been sick with the flu for the past few days so most of the chapter was written while I was under the influence of medication. Despite that, I hope the chapter is still enjoyed. Also, thank you to Alessandra for the art she made of Brett and Ella below.

A Winged Cupid Painted Blind

Though The Prettiest Thing is no where near close to being finished, and I do have to do some work on Ghetto Gospel, I have ideas churning in my head as usual. If you remember my story idea for The Wit of the Staircase, I have decided to maybe use that particular idea for my manuscript for publishing - which I hopefully will get published someday - but I want to have another idea ready for my next story on AFF.net for all of you to read. The story is called A Winged Cupid Painted Blind, which is a line from Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream.

PLOT:
As the oldest daughter in a very traditional family, Lena must marry before her sisters. Desperate for her to find someone, her mom decides to help by putting an ad for her in the newspaper. Lena wasn’t expecting anyone from it - especially him.

Despite all of his long hours and hard work, Tim is finding that it is impossible to move ahead at his company unless he is in a relationship or married. When he sees Lena’s ad in the newspaper, he figures that she is desperate enough to help him until he gets promoted at work. But he wasn’t expecting falling for her.

Please let me know if this is a story you would be interested in reading. Thank you!

Tim

Lena

The Prettiest Thing - Chapter Sixteen

Chapter sixteen of The Prettiest Thing is now uploaded on AFF.net. Thank you to everyone for the reviews. I have read them all and I am sorry that my characters seem rather flat and one-dimensional. I will try harder to work on their differents characterizations and personalities. Also, thank you to Lauren for the fan art of Brett, Lyla and Andy below. Please read and review the chapter for me. I greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

Piper's Hidden Kiss - Part II

The final part of the completely random story from my mind Piper's Hidden Kiss is up on Fictionpres so please, once again, check it out and review it for me. I really am not sure where the story came from but I like it. It really is just a glance into these two lives for a few days before we leave them again with hope and possibly, a good feeling. I think everyone has at least one issue with our parents and in a lot of ways, they have shaped us into what we are today. Piper obviously has a lot of issues with her mother and it is up to Piper to turn into the person she wants to be. Please read and review. Thank you.

Piper

Chris

Realize

Colbie Caillat is one of my favorite new artists of the year and as I was listening to her cd last night, I stopped and really listened to her song "Realize", which immediately sent me to YouTube to find the video. I think this song applies to every couple, or every near-couple, in the The Prettiest Thing and as I was listening to it, I was able to think of nearly every character in the story. Please listen to the song and tell me what you think. Thank you and have a wonderful Wednesday.

My Schedule

Hi everyone. I hope you all had a good Tuesday. I just wanted to give a fair warning to everyone. I have been extremely busy this week and I am going out of town this weekend. I am not sure if I will be able to update anything until next week. I know, I know. You are all pissed off and I am so sorry. I might be able to finish up part two of Piper's Hidden Kiss before I leave and I am crossing my fingers for chapter sixteen of The Prettiest Thing to be completed by Sunday night. Please don't hate me if it takes me until next week to update anything. I am trying to write but life this week has just been sort of out of control for some reason. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed both Piper's Hidden Kiss and The Prettiest Thing. I am glad everyone is enjoying both of these as much as they seem to be. I love you guys. Also, thank you to Alessandra for making the fanart below of Preston and Jane from Ghetto Gospel.

Piper's Hidden Kiss

I have no idea where this story came from. It was only suppoed to be a one-shot but then I decided to break it into two parts. The second part will be posted in a few days. Piper's Hidden Kiss is posted on Fictionpress.net under my Templeton21 account and I would love everyone if they checked it out for me and reviewed it. Please let me know what you think of it. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much in advance. Below are pictures of Piper and Chris. Thank you again.

Piper

Chris

Reviews

Why is no one reviewing chapter fifteen of The Prettiest Thing? I signed on today and saw that I had received hundreds of hits but only eight reviews, which greatly confused me considering how many reviews I got for the last chapter. Please tell me if something is wrong with the story. Please tell me if you didn't like the chapter or did. I really want feedback. I want opinions and I want people to tell me what they think. Please review chapter fifteen for me if you haven't already. If no one tells me what they don't like, I don't know how to make the story better. Thank you so much for those who have reviewed for me. I appreciate it beyond words. And thank you to Amanda who sent me the pictures below which reminded her of Trevor and Brett.

The Prettiest Thing - Chapter Fifteen

How are all of my wonderful readers this Friday morning? I am so excited for it to be Friday. I am so tired and all I want to do is sleep. Anyone have any plans for the weekend?

Chapter fifteen of The Prettiest Thing is posted and once again, this is a chapter I love. So many emotions within so many different relationships - I hope everyone enjoys reading it as well. Don't forget to review but I know you won't. Let me know what you think of it. Some people have been asking me questions and I want to answer these right now. Yes, Harper Cannon, Brett's grandma, is named after Harper Lee. I love her name and I have been wanting to use it in one of my stories for a while now. Remember that no character in this story is just there so Harper will make appearances again. Also, I edited her after from late fifties to early sixties. I still wanted her to be extremely young even though Cynthia would have been forty-five and Harper having Cynthia when she was very young will be mentioned again.

Lawrence, Indiana is a fictitious town in Northwest Indiana. I grew up here and I will always consider it to be my home. I know that the land of steel mills, factories, and railroads don't seem attractive to most people but I love it there. The scenery almost is another character in my stories and I do write what I know and what I know is NW Indiana. Almost all of my stories take place in this area or Chicago. Also, every chapter is named after a classic rock song and I will be putting a list with the songs and artists at the end of this story so don't worry about that.

If there are any other questions, remember that you can email me or leave me a comment and I will try and remember to respond. It sometimes takes me a few days so please be patient with me. Chapter four of Ghetto Gospel is being worked on at the moment so be on the lookout for that soon. Thanks to everyone who is reading and I am so happy that a lot of you are enjoying The Prettiest Thing because this is quickly becoming one of my favorites as well. Also, I need some more new fanart for this story. Alessandra made me some great ones for Ghetto Gospel which I can't wait to post but if someone can make me something for The Prettiest Thing, I would love them forever. Thank you in advance.

The Prettiest Thing - Chapter Fourteen

The newest chapter of The Prettiest Thing has just been posted on AFF.net. This is the longest chapter so far of the story and it is one of my favorites. A lot happens and sets things up and I love it. Please read it and review it for me. Please let me know what you think of it. Below is a picture of Harper Cannon, Brett's grandmother, who is introduced in this chapter and once again, a billion thanks to Lauren for the fanart she made of Andy. Thank you so much Lauren.

Harper

Hints and Foreshadowing

I love reading everyone's emails that I get about The Prettiest Thing and I love it even more when people try to guess what is going to happen. Congratulations to reader Sarah who read all of the clues about Trevor and guessed exactly what is going to happen to him. At first, I was thinking that you had somehow managed to steal my outline, which I know is impossible, so it must just be that you are an incredible guesser or really read into some of the clues I have dropped throughout the past thirteen chapters. By the way, chapter fourteen is coming soon. I promise. Thank you countless times to Lauren who made the fanart of Trevor and Joy shown below. I know I say it every time and it probably doesn't have any meaning anymore but you are amazing for making these for me. Thank you so much. And be on the lookout for the next update - coming shortly.