Fabulous Fridays- Top Moments of 2013

I’m sorry to see 2013 go. Last year at this time, I vowed that it would be the best one since 1986 and I have to say, in the end…2013 is going to be a hard one to top. On New Year’s Eve, I was at dinner contemplating what the best moment of the year was. I had to be the only one at the table with a true Top Ten list but I couldn’t help it. It was all so amazing! So with no further ado…here are some of my favorite moments from what has truly been a spectacular year!

     Seeing/Meeting Heart. It’s always exciting to go to a concert, but it is even more exciting to see your favorite band, meet them and listen to them do a 30 minute encore of your OTHER favorite band. Top that off with an exclusive interview with the lead singer and a press pass for the show and you have a recipe for an unforgettable life event!

     Getting my masters degree. I firmly believe that education is the key to making all of your dreams come true and it was incredible to be able to complete my masters program in a year and to secure my degree with a 4.0 GPA. It seemed like such a long journey but in the end, it was well-worth it. Hopefully in 2014, I can secure a teaching position at a local college or university and enter into a new phase of my already amazing career!

 

     Going to Disney World. I don’t take vacations, so after completing my degree I decided that the Monkey and I would take off for the Happiest Place on Earth and trip the light fantastic for an AWESOME week. The Disney people do not disappoint, I must say. Everyone was so pleasant and accommodating and I literally cried when I had to leave and go back to the real world. Getting to spend that vacation with my teenage son was also fabulous, especially when I asked him what the best part was and hearing him say, “Meeting the mouse!”

      Singing on the American Idol Stage. OK, it was the American Idol Experience at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but still…I had to go through a blistering audition process, impress the production people and give the performance of my life in 90 seconds. Hands down that auditorium had the best sound system I have ever encountered and even though I didn’t take home the Golden Ticket, having some of my “fans” come up to me afterward and want their picture taken with me made me feel like a rock star!

     Attending the Western & Southern Open. I am a tennis junkie. I admit it. I love the sport and there are a lot of top players worthy of watching. It had been years since I attended a live match so what better way to spend your birthday than to go to Cincinnati and see the top players in the world. Seeing Venus, Roger and Vika was so wonderful and having one of them wish me many happy returns was even better. Can’t wait to go back in 2014! (I’ve got my eye on you Andy Murray!!!)

 

     Meeting “Doctor Who.” There is something truly exciting about helping your kid reach a goal of meeting one of his idols. It’s even better when you get to interview that idol as well! For my young “whovian” there was nothing as special as meeting Peter Davison even though when I asked him about his top moment of 2013…Doctor Who surprisingly didn’t make the list. LOL

    Releasing FAMOUS FACES of WTTV-4. I am always honored and proud to release a new book, but this one was extra special considering that the subjects of the book were the television heroes of my childhood. I was thrilled when “Janie” came to the launch along with the Puppet Master Brian Reynolds, and Commander KC. We were able to Skype briefly with Peggy of the “Popeye and Peggy” show and the book has received some wonderful reviews on Goodreads!

 

     Signing the FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME contract. At long last my first novel is coming out and I could not be more excited about it. I am so appreciative of Rocking Horse Publishing for taking a chance on MonAmi’s madcap journey into manufactured superstardom and I can’t wait to beef up the buzz as we approach our 4/1/14 launch date!

 

As for what is coming in 2014? Well if you know me, there will be plenty of weekly book reviews and Fabulous Fridays. I plan to start an “Author Spotlight” feature and of course, don’t forget to check out MonAmi’s Tour Diary which is the companion blog to FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME and full of sneak peeks, deleted material and whatever MonAmi feels like sharing. I guarantee there will be plenty of the unexpected along the way and I can’t wait to share it all with you. Let’s rock the new year!

Julie Young

On the Web: http://www.julieyoungfreelance.com

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Twitter: @JulieYoung14

 

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Fabulous Fridays-What I did over summer vacation

Most people have a favorite year in their lives…mine was 1986. I graduated from the eighth grade. I was 13. I went to my first rock concert by myself (and a few friends…but no parents, making it a totally awesome experience.) I fell “in love” for the first time, got mono and had an incredible summer trying to find loopholes in my convalescence program.

However, 2013 blew 1986 right out of the water. Somehow I knew it would. The number 13 has always been magical for me so if the summer I was 13 was special…surely any summer with the number 13 would be even more so, right? Even though it seemed shorter as far as summers go, I can’t believe the incredible things I was able to pack in. So today class, I am going to use my Fabulous Fridays post to talk about “What I did over Summer Vacation!”

   1. My sixth book was published. Only a few more and I will be neck and neck with JK Rowling! This book was truly a wonderful labor of love for me and I have been amazed by how well received it has been. I have the best readers, friends, fans and family in the world and I couldn’t do any of this without you!

 

    2. I held a baby tiger. Seriously! How cool is that? While on a day trip for a story that appeared in Indianapolis Senior Life, I was able to get into a tiger hutch and hold a baby tiger. No, the mama was no where near me and this is not something the average guest gets to do, but if you have never been to the Exotic Feline Rescue Place near Brazil, it is definitely worth checking out!

    3. I met Ann and Nancy Wilson and saw their Heartbreaker tour with Jason Bonham. How ironic is it that the people featured in the afore mentioned concert above would be the same people I would see nearly 20 years later? Even more amazing, they sound just as good if not better. Meeting my idols was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience (or twice in a lifetime considering I had met Nancy once before) but it was a moment I will never forget. The 30 minute Led Zeppelin encore was amazing and Ann’s rendition of “Stairway” brought me to tears!

        4. I saw the best of the best in the world of tennis at the Western & Southern Open. I have not seen professional tennis since the days of the Indianapolis Clay Courts and this year I decided that for my birthday, I would do something that my father and I would have enjoyed together, were he still alive. In one day I saw Victoria Azarenka, Sloan Stephens, Roger Federer, David Ferrer, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova and the legendary Jimmy Connors.

    5. WHO is that? Well that, is Peter Davison…aka the “Fifth Doctor” in the famed BBC series Doctor Who. When The Boy Who Lived found out that a “doctor” was coming to town he was quick to mention it to his Whovian little brother  who went wacky for a trip to the west side to meet the man who not only played Doctor Who but is also the real life father-in-law of 10th Doctor David Tenant.

It’s going to take a while to top this sumer, and I am not sure I would really want to try. Some things like 1986 can’t be recreated or duplicated…but every once in a while a lucky number comes through for you and you have a summer you’ll never forget!