Acting Update: First Rehearsal

If you're following my acting blog or Twitter, or we are personal friends on Facebook, you already know the good news. However, for those of you who don't, I've been cast in a play!

The play is called Dark Side of the Moon, and today I will officially start rehearsal. Did I mention I'm excited?! I originally auditioned for End of the World (as we know it), but the director probably didn't think I was a good fit for that show. Luckily, he thought I would fit better in another show! I'm so happy. This is just  the opportunity I'm waiting for.

The rehearsal process goes for about 3 weeks or so, and then we open. I'll definitely let you all know for those you live in Los Angeles area.

If you'd like to keep updated, make sure to follow my Acting Blog. I'm hoping that I'd have enough money to move close to LA by the summer time. How I'm going to earn income with this crazy schedule, now that is the challenge :) Wish me luck and pray for me!

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Promo: Cityglitter by Carla Caruso

Title: Cityglitter
Author: Carla Caruso
Publisher: e-penguin
Release Date: September 15, 2012
Buy Link: Amazon

Blurb:

Christelle is like any other 20-something living in Sydney, Australia – except for one huge secret. She enjoys cocktails with girlfriends, luxury brand launches, gossip and shopping. For an added touch of spice, there’s also the sizzling connection with her new boss, the gorgeous Jasper.

Then Christelle’s younger sister, the hapless and naïve Trixie Fifi Panache, arrives unannounced, and things begin to fall apart. Not only does Christelle have to deal with her sister’s exploits and embarrassing mistakes, but she also has to live with the fear that her escapades will reveal the truth: Christelle and Trixie are half fairy, half human, and hidden beneath their clothes are a pair of gorgeous wings. To make matters worse, Christelle has fallen for Jasper, but knows that taking the relationship any further threatens exposure. And no love could survive that, could it?

Cityglitter is a charming, magical romance that leaves in its wake a glitter of fairy dust. With inner-city fabulousness and sophistication, this fun celebration of love will add more than a touch of sparkle to your life.  

Excerpt:

I look back at Mr Butterscotch Eyes, who looks a little bemused. Perhaps it’s my seven-second delay to his greeting. I think fast.

‘Hello again!’ I gush, like we’re long-lost friends, not virtual strangers.

Without thinking, I stand up on tippy-toe, leaning forward, intending to air kiss his cheek. Somehow, like a paperclip drawn to a magnet, I’m pulled askew, my lips brushing his.

The effect on my body is like switching on an electrical grid, as every pore starts to buzz. His lips, so soft, moist, kissable; his musky scent, spinning a web around me; my body, pinging like a microwave with his strong physique mere centimetres away.

Suddenly, though, the sensual warmth, the heavenly breath, has been pried away and my lips are cold, bare. I flutter my eyelids open, honing in on his gaze, detecting a flicker of something in those liquid gold-like orbs before it dies.

He clears his throat, playing with a tortoiseshell cufflink. ‘That’s certainly not the kind of greeting I’m used to – especially from someone I barely know.’

About the Author:

Carla Caruso grew up amid a boisterous extended Italian family in Australia – yet somehow managed to become a bookworm...

Carla always wanted to be a novelist, annoying the kindergarten teachers by dictating long, detailed stories to them.  It just took her a while to realize her childhood dream - journalism seemed a more practical course. Her media career has included stints as a newspaper and magazine journalist, government PR and fashion stylist. These days, she works as a freelance journalist and copywriter. She began seriously writing fiction three years ago when she went freelance full-time.

The romance genre appeals as she is a sucker for rom-coms (especially if Channing Tatum is in the mix) and likes to think her Italian ancestry means she lives with passion. Hobbies include watching trashy TV shows, fashion, astrology and running.

Website / Twitter / Buy Link

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Guess Where I Am Today?!

Depending on what time you are reading this, I would either be on my way or already in Los Angeles! I was notified last Thursday that I have an audition for a theater role, and I was notified yesterday that I have another audition for a student film! The theater character is Carol, she's quirky with a million dollar smile. I'm so excited! The film character is Susan who is Jack's girlfriend and they plot to steal money from Jane. Pray that I do well!

Also, since the audition is later in the afternoon, I decided to get a room at a motel so I don't have to drive too far. I doubt I'd be able to drive an hour and 45 minutes without falling asleep on the wheel anyway. It is safer this way, even if I have to pay for a room. Surprise! My mom decided to come with me and asked for a day off when I told her about this trip last Thursday! :)

Anyway, tweet me, wish me luck, give me encouragement (I need it!), or just say hi. I'll try and take pictures and let you all know how it went! @ariannecruz07

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2013 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

I can't help myself, I wanted to participate in another challenge. I think this would be a good motivation for me to actually read the books on my shelves! This one is hosted by My Reader's Block (click the link for the challenge sign up). I've looked at my shelves and picked out which books I'd like to tackle for this challenge. Three of them are crossovers from the Finish the Series Challenge I posted yesterday.

First, let's look at the level choices and the rules, directly quoted from My Reader's Block.

Challenge Levels (I've adjusted the levels just slightly this year):

Pike's Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Vancouver: Read 36 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Ararat: Read 48 books from your TBR piles/s
Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 60 books from your TBR pile/s
El Toro: Read 75 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Everest: Read 100 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Olympus (Mars): Read 150+ books from your TBR pile/s

And the rules:

*Once you choose your challenge level, you are locked in for at least that many books. If you find that you're on a mountain-climbing roll and want to tackle a taller mountain, then you are certainly welcome to upgrade.

*Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2013.

*You may sign up anytime from now until November 30th, 2013.

*Books must be owned by you prior to January 1, 2013. No ARCs (none), no library books. No rereads. [To clarify--based on a question raised last year--the intention is to reduce the stack of books that you have bought for yourself or received as presents {birthday, Christmas, "just because," etc.}. Audiobooks and E-books may count if they are yours and they are one of your primary sources of backlogged books.]

*You may count any "currently reading" book that you begin prior to January 1--provided that you had 50% or more of the book left to finish in 2013.  I will trust you all on that.

*Books may be used to count for other challenges as well.

*Feel free to submit your list in advance (as incentive to really get those books taken care of) or to tally them as you climb.

*A blog and reviews are not necessary to participate. If you have a blog, then please post a challenge sign up and link THAT post (not your home page) into the linky below. Non-bloggers, please leave a comment declaring your challenge level--OR, if you are a member of Goodreads, I will once again put together a group for the challenge there. Feel free to sign up HERE.  And, finally, I am contemplating a review tracker for this year.  I will post a link if that works out.

So, here is my list:

 Crossovers
-Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
-Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts
-Destined by PC and Kristin Cast

Other TBR books
-Maze Runner by James Dashner
-Family Secrets by Stephanie Amox
-The Perfect Play by Jaci Burton
-Maid to Match by DeeAnne Gist
-Swoon by Nina Malkin
-Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
-Divergent by Veronica Roth
-Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
-Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

My list is mostly YA since that's what's mostly on my big bookshelf. I added a couple romance to keep me sane, but they are clean enough to be reviewed on this blog (except maybe for The Perfect Play). I may or may not increase my level later depending on my progress. This is going to be fun!

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Finish the Series Challenge!

Hi everyone!

If you follow my adult blog, you know that I just recently signed up for my first ever challenge: The Erotica Literature Challenge.

Anyway, I was browsing my dashboard yesterday and found another challenge that I wanted to participate in. I thought it would be perfect for this blog since erotica is obviously not appropriate here. So, without further ado, I present to you:

Finish the Series Challenge hosted by Liza from Reading with ABC!

The series I'd like to finish would be:

• Wolves of Mercy Falls - book #3: Forever
• The Bride Quartet - book #4: Happy Ever After
• House of Night Series - book #9: Destined (this one is technically not finishing the series, but I don't have Hidden yet so I'm not counting that one)

So, that is all the series I plan to complete. They're only three books but if you know me, I sign up for review books all the time whether blog tours or from publishers. I think it is just more realistic to set those goals above. Besides, I also need to make sure I can make headway on my adult challenge ;)

If you'd like to participate in this challenge, simply click Liza's blog link above! I hope you enjoy 2013!

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How I Spent My New Year

Who wants to know how I spent my new year?

...

Well I suppose it would be you since you're here.. I'll tell you. I drove to see my mom because it was her day off today. She just woke up when I arrived so I had to wait. My aunt asked me to go to the store to buy some creamer so I did. While there, I went and bought a couple bouquets of flowers as a new year tribute to my mom and aunt.

When my mom was finally ready, we went and cleaned our cars at the hand wash station. Then, we ended up at the mall. I stopped by Sephora and found out how much NARS lipsticks were (they were $25). We were on our way to Macy's when I decided I wanted to check out the MAC counter. Long story short, I did an impulse buy for my first ever MAC lipstick. In reality, it is my very first MAC anything :)

I got it in the shade LUSTRE - See Sheer. It took a lot of swatches on the associate's forehand to find the color I really wanted. I was looking for something a little less pigmented and neutral-looking. I think I scored gold on this one. I'll let you know if it is otherwise once I use more of it.

Does anyone else have this color? How do you like it? I love it even in that picture :) One thing I would say though is the fluorescent lights at the MAC counter was really harsh and it was really hard for me to see which color I liked. I could tell the associate was getting a little impatient with me, partly because I'm so confused and don't know exactly what I want!

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Happy New Year + 2012 Recap

Happy New Year!!! I hope your 2013 will be even better than your 2012!

Here's my 2012 Recap:

• This year, I turned 23. I'm getting older and wiser :)
• This year, I celebrated my first blogoversary back in March.
• I learned that Las Vegas and I will probably never get along.
• I learned that life is always a stage. Every interaction is an opportunity to act and be a character.
• Graduating still hasn't hit me.
• I learned that I need to overcome my shyness and just introduce myself to everyone I encounter in movie sets.
• I did my first background role in a YouTube film called Yellow Face where I got to be in the same vicinity as Christopher Gorham from Covert Affairs.
  
  
• I had the best holidays this year.
• I've understood more things this year than all the others. Now I understand the sacrifices and the amount of love my mom has for me and my brother. Thank God for her.
• I started my own book tour services: Romantic Maidens Book Tours - we service many different genres like Paranormal, Fantasy, Contemporary, Young Adult, Historical, and Erotica.

As I welcome the new year, I look forward to being more outgoing when I'm on a set whether it is TV or Film. I also look forward to having a rewarding business position in a fun company. Ultimately, I hope to be doing what I love which is acting and creating new characters come to life.

From me to you, Happy New Year. May you all be prosperous! Let me know your plans for 2013 or 2012 highlights!

P.S. Do you like my new template? New Year, New Design.

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