The Restless Writer

2012: The Year of the Writer

2012-01-29T16:52:00.000-05:00

While feeling great about where my writing is heading, I confidently declared on Jan. 1 that 2012 would be: The Year of the Writer.

Me and Gordon Korman

Christy Raedeke

      Today, I decided to make that happen rather than sit around and wait. (there's a lot of waiting with publishing, isn't there?) So, to that end, I've decided to devote this blog to the year of the writer. Each month will delve into a different topic designed to challenge and enlighten us as writers (and readers!) I'd like to do more interviews and get a lot more guest posts. I also have some fun events up my sleeve, but more on that later.
     Get ready to kick things off in February!
     In the meantime, who are some of your favorite writers?

Harris Burdick

2012-01-24T21:29:00.002-05:00

I first encountered Harris Burdick when I was in 6th grade. I had a particularly wonderful 6th grade teacher (Mrs. Bloomquist, I know you're out there somewhere). Anyway, it had been no secret I loved to write since 2nd grade. My teachers knew I was always writing little stories and they encouraged it. When I got to 6th grade, Mrs. Bloomquist called me up to her desk at the end of the day and told me about a summer writing camp for kids that she wanted to recommend me for. She gave me the brochure to show my parents and I signed up.
The most memorable part of that experience was our final writing project. The instructor brought in The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg. Each of us had to select an illustration from the book and write a story to go with it. If you haven't seen the book, get to a library or just go ahead and buy it. The illustrations are slightly creepy and all come with a provocative title and caption. Harris Burdick is the mysterious illustrator, according to the forward by Van Allsburg. Trust me, you need to see this book.
So, as I was flipping through review journals for work a few weeks back, I was surprised and delighted to see The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales / With an Introduction by Lemony Snicket by Chris Van Allsburg. I couldn't wait to see an authoritative story for each picture. Would they be anything close to what I'd imagined? I immediately put the book on hold at the library and hoped it wouldn't take long to arrive. It didn't. And that leads me to this blog post. I have read the book and wanted to share my thoughts with you.
To begin with, I was disappointed. I should have known it would happen, but really, some of the authors interpretations of the illustrations just felt so wrong it was like a betrayal of all the time I'd spent in my youth imagining about those drawings. I considered not going on, so I took a break for a few days. But I ended up persisting, and I'm glad I did. None of the stories came close to what I'd imagined but most of them ended up being so surprising and interesting that it was worth the read. Among the ones I loved, it's hard to pick a favorite, but the Cory Doctorow story thrilled me since it went the route of alternate realities. If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you know how much I absolutely admire and cherish Michael Lawrence's The Aldous Lexicon, an alternate reality trilogy. M.T. Anderson hit one out of the park with an otherworldly tale that becomes urgently personal by the end. (Bear in mind, I've met M.T. and I don't think he was particularly taken with me. But to break up the monotony of this post, I'll slip in my picture with him.)

M.T. Anderson, not so impressed with The Restless Writer

Lois Lowry has a great imaginative and fun story in the collection. And, Chris Van Allsburg, the one who started the whole thing, did a deeply satisfying and brilliant story as well.

So, my verdict is: I'm glad I continued reading the book but the fact remains, the original illustrations are so richly provocative that the imagination can ponder them into infinity and continue to generate new possibilities. For that reason, the first wins my personal, "Best Books of All Time" award and the second wins a solid, "worth reading". Both inspire the imagination and that's always a good thing.

What are your experiences with Harris Burdick?

Happy New Year, Pajama Girl style!

2011-12-31T09:00:00.049-05:00

It was one year ago today that I received the email telling me Pajama Girl had won the first MeeGenius Author Contest. It was my first book to be accepted for publication and you can probably imagine the level of happy I was experiencing at that moment. As today is the one year anniversary of that life-changing moment I think we need to do something exciting here. Don't you?

I have a nice collection of author swag that you are in need of. I have autographed Pajama Girl postcards, autographed Breath of Eyre book marks and book covers, autographed bookmarks for the Prophecy of Days series and a few miscellaneous mystery swag items. (I've profiled these authors here and here) Wouldn't you love to get your hands on some of this stuff? You betcha! So how do you do it? Let me tell you.

Rules for the first anniversary Pajama Girl Awesome Swag-a-thon Giveaway!

To enter:
Comment on this post for an automatic entry. Please include your email address so I can contact you if you're a winner.

Score additional entries by doing the following:
1 additional entry for 'liking' my Facebook page (if you already like my page, mention that in the comments for your extra entry)
5 additional entries for reviewing Pajama Girl on Goodreads.

That's easy enough, don't you think?

Winners will be announced Thurs. January 5, 2012.

Good luck! And remember, Pajama Girl loves you!

Chris Eboch Interview

2011-12-18T22:21:00.000-05:00

      It's interview time again. This time, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chris Eboch. To give a little shout out to my group, SCBWI Michigan, I'll say that I've heard an abundance of admirable things about Ms. Eboch from SCBWI MI AdCom members. So when I found myself with the opportunity to do a guest blog post for her, I jumped at it.
     In return (although you guys are getting a much better deal), she agreed to do an interview for my blog, which I am quite grateful for. When you see some of the awesome answers she gave, you'll be grateful too.
     So, without futher ado, Chris Eboch!

Restless Writer (RW): You have written a couple historical adventures for children. Are you a big fan of history? How much research did you have to do for these books?
Chris Eboch (CE): I’ve always enjoyed ancient/world history. My family lived in Saudi Arabia when I was a child, and we traveled extensively, so I got exposed to other cultures and their histories early.

I traveled through Mexico and Central America for two months after college, before I ever planned to write a book set there. That gave me a good background on the Maya and plenty of ideas for The Well of Sacrifice. I did additional research through libraries and museums. (This was before the Internet, but I was living in New York City so I had other great resources.)

I’ve loved Egyptian history since I was young, and I traveled to Egypt as an adult. My mystery The Eyes of Pharaoh is actually the second book I’ve written with an ancient Egyptian setting. (The first is not publishable, however.) I already had many reference books on my shelves when I started research. I favor the kind with lots of illustrations and insight into people’s daily lives.

One of the secrets to writing historical fiction is understanding how people have changed – and how they haven’t. I believe that while we may eat different foods, wear different clothes, and worship different gods, we are still motivated by the same emotions: love, fear, greed, friendship. The seven deadly sins are thousands of years old, after all.

That’s how I can write stories with exotic settings that resonate with young readers today. They can understand a girl like Eveningstar, the heroine in The Well of Sacrifice, because she looks up to her older brother, is jealous of her sister, feels shy about going to a party, and is trying to figure out what she believes and what to do when she sees injustice. The Eyes of Pharaoh is a mystery with strong friendships and young people who are starting to understand that the world is much bigger and more complicated than they realized. The feelings and messages are still relevant.

RW: You’ve also written some scary adventures for kids. Would you ever go on a paranormal investigation? (Personally, I’d be too terrified.)
CE: I think ghost hunting would be fun. I don’t really believe in ghosts, but perhaps the most exciting question in the world is “What if...?” In my Haunted series, about a brother and sister who travel with a ghost hunter TV show, I get to ponder why some spirits might get stuck behind after death. And my young hero and heroine get to have some hair-raising adventures that I probably wouldn’t enjoy myself in real life!

RW: You’ve written books for children, writers and adults. Is there a particular audience you enjoy most? CE: They all have their advantages. I’ve enjoyed writing for children, but after doing so for almost 15 years, I wanted to try something different. I love reading romantic suspense, so I tried writing some and am now publishing that under the name Kris Bock. In some ways the books aren’t that different – the adult books are longer and, well, more adult, but my style for both is plenty of action and adventure, with crisp, vivid language.
My first adult book, Rattled, involves treasure hunting adventures in the New Mexico desert, with dangers ranging from rattlesnakes to flash floods. My brand new romantic suspense, Whispers in the Dark, has a slower build up to the intense action, as a young archaeologist realizes she’s stumbled into something sinister. I’m learning to slow down a little and give more character development in the romantic suspense, but I like books where plenty happens, so that’s what I try to write.
As for writing for writers, I’ve done a lot of teaching and critiquing, and I write a blog on the craft of writing, Write Like a Pro! I’ve also written many articles for Children’s Writer and their annual Writer’s Guides, and a couple for Writer’s Digest. It seemed natural to collect and expand many of my articles and workshop notes into a book. I wanted Advanced Plotting to take users beyond the basic advice most books cover, with specific techniques such as how to write a cliffhanger chapter ending.

RW: What do you think is the most difficult aspect of being a writer today?
CE: Writers today have more choices than ever. In some ways that’s great, but it’s also hard to identify the best option, and there can be pressure to do too much of everything. It’s hard to wade through the conflicting advice and figure out what will actually work for you. I think this is true at every level – if you are a beginner, should you take classes (and which ones), network at writers conferences, hire a freelance editor, or jump into publication? Once you are published, which of the many marketing opportunities are most worth your time? The path used to be difficult but fairly straightforward. Now it’s not so much a path as a big rabbit warren of options.

RW: Most of my blog readers are aspiring authors. What is a piece of advice you wish you’d gotten when you were starting out?
CE: It’s even harder than you think, so take the time to learn. Life works at such a breakneck pace today that it’s tempting to rush through every stage of being a writer. But it takes time and training to learn to write well. It takes time to understand the industry, especially with all the new options. For those who are tempted by self-publishing, it takes time (and often money) to do it well, and much more time to market yourself.
Few people would think they could decide to become a doctor or a lawyer or a college professor, and expect to have it happen within a year. But people think they can become successful writers in no time. I think this is partly because we assume creative fields depend on “talent” rather than hard work and education. Plus, it’s hard to judge your own work. I advise aspiring authors to be patient and focus on their craft for several years before trying to get their work published. Rush toward publication too quickly and you’ll just suffer more disappointments.

RW: You do paid critiques for writers. What do you enjoy most about helping writers improve their craft?
CE: I give really tough critiques, for a novel usually a 4 to 6 page editorial letter discussing my concerns and suggestions on the plot, characters, setting, theme, and voice. I don’t do detailed line editing, but I do make plenty of comments on the manuscript as well. I’m often concerned that clients will be overwhelmed by all the advice. But 95 percent of the time, I hear back “Everything you said makes sense and resonates.” I’m relieved, and I really respect writers who are willing to do those kinds of major revisions.
A couple of times, I’ve had the chance to do second critiques, or to critique another piece of writing from the same author. I’ve always seen enormous improvement, which is very satisfying. It’s partly an altruistic desire to see other people getting closer to their dreams, but I suppose part of it is vanity as well, since I can feel good about my teaching/editing skills.

RW: What is the hardest thing about doing critiques?
CE: I’ve been fortunate that most of my private clients have good ideas but need help with the structure/and or style. But I’ve worked with students in a number of formats, including community college classes and a correspondence school. Sometimes students are enthusiastic about an idea that’s not very good, or that’s been done too often before, or that they don’t yet have the skills to do successfully. I can still try to teach them techniques for improving their writing, but it’s challenging to gently let people know that something should just be considered a practice piece, and not submitted for publication. People don’t always want to let go.

RW: Are you currently working on a book? If so, can you tell us anything about it?
CE: I just published Whispers in the Dark, my romantic suspense set at an archaeology site in the Southwest. I’m in the planning stages of another romantic suspense/mystery, where the heroine finds the body of a murder victim. And learns about falconry. And falls in love. I’m really excited about it and anxious to start the first chapter, but I find the writing goes smoother if I spend a lot of time on character development and plot planning first.
I’m not actively working on anything for children right now, though I hope to have another Haunted book out one of these days.

Learn more about Chris and read excerpts of her work at www.chriseboch.com (for children’s books) or www.krisbock.com (for adult romantic suspense written under the name Kris Bock) or see her Amazon page. You can also read excerpts from Advanced Plotting and get other writing craft advice on her blog.

Thank you so much for doing this interview, Chris! Lots of great advice and information here.

Eve Marie Mont Interview

2011-11-17T21:53:00.000-05:00


Eve Marie Mont

     After a long silence, I finally have something to say. It's a foggy memory, but I'm pretty sure Facebook helped me discover a book called A Breath of Eyre by Eve Marie Mont, coming out in March 2012. If you've been following my blog for any amount of time, you might realize that I LOVE Jane Eyre. So Eve's title, alone, made my heart do a little pitter patter. I watched the book trailer and read the blurb. I was completely sold. There was no question, I had to have this book.
     After pushing aside the vague feeling of "I wish I'd come up with that," I also had to tell the author she's brilliant. So I pre-ordered the book and contacted Eve. As it turns out, Eve and I have very similar taste in reading. So that seals the deal. What's not to love about Eve Marie Mont? In short, nothing.
    Generous soul that I am, I asked to interview her so you can love her and her books too. Here we go!

RW (Restless Writer): Obviously, you are a Jane Eyre fan. Can you give us an estimate of how many times you’ve read the book? What are some of the things you most love about it?

EMM (Eve Marie Mont): Despite calling Jane Eyre one of my favorite novels of all time, I’ve probably only read it about five times in its entirety. Of course while I was writing A Breath of Eyre, I pored over certain scenes, reading them again and again for “research purposes.” But to be honest, it didn’t feel like work. Since I first read Jane Eyre in eleventh grade, I have never found another story with such a restrained yet passionate romance. Each time I read those long passages between Jane and Edward and watch their relationship evolve from master-employee to star-crossed soul mates, I am swept up in the romance of it all over again. Because Mr. Rochester is the ultimate bad boy: dark, arrogant, and moody, but not beyond hope. And Jane is the ultimate heroine to redeem him: strong, intelligent, moral, and unafraid to speak her mind. I knew I wanted my protagonist, Emma, to step into her shoes as she awakens to first love and discovers her own strength of character.

Isn't the cover gorgeous?

RW: The premise for A Breath of Eyre is brilliant. How long did it take you from first draft to submissions?

EMM: The idea has been rattling around in my head for years, but I didn’t actually start writing A Breath of Eyre (then called The Trouble with Jane) until winter of 2009. Since I teach full-time, I wrote off and on during weekends and breaks that year and then raced through the final 100 pages in a mad blur over winter 2010. My agent and I whipped it into shape that spring and summer, and we shopped it around in fall 2010, when Kensington made their offer. So all told, it was a little under two years from draft to submission.

RW: If there was a way to make fictitious characters real for one day, which 3 would you want to spend a day with?

EMM: Great question! I’d start my morning dishing the dirt with Elizabeth Bennett over coffee and scones. From there, I’d take long a walk with Holden Caulfield through Manhattan, where we’d go ice skating at Rockefeller Center, visit the Museum of Natural History, and share stories about all the phonies we know. I’d end the day horseback riding along the moors with Edward Rochester, followed by a cozy, fire-lit evening back at his mansion.

RW: I asked my blog readers if they like to write with or without music. I usually have to write with music playing so I was surprised at the number who said they need to write in silence or with quiet instrumental music only. What about you?

EMM: I usually can’t write with music playing, but for many scenes, I’ll play a song to get me inspired and tease out the ideas while the music’s on, then shut it off so I can do the actual writing. But the song will still be echoing in my head, and it definitely helps me set the tone for certain scenes. Those are the chapters that tend to be the most cinematic, which I love! For A Breath of Eyre, the bands that were most influential were Coldplay, Thirteen Senses, Barcelona, and Embrace. Embrace’s “Gravity” sort of became the unofficial love theme of the book.

RW: What are the last few good books you’ve read?

EMM: Oh, wow, I’ve read so many good books this year, most of them YA. Here’s a link to a guest post I did for The Nightstand, a YA group blog I belong to, with blurbs about my top 5 books from 2011:

http://thenightstanddebuts.blogspot.com/2011/11/top-5-ya-reads-of-2011.html

RW: Can you share any teasers about the next two books yet?

EMM: I can tell you that Book 2 is loosely based on The Scarlet Letter and has my protagonist, Emma, doing a lot of growing up as she navigates her way through secrets and scandal. Book 3 is inspired by The Phantom of the Opera and will take place in Paris; it’s definitely going to be the most fantastical and dark book of the series.

RW: Since you’re a Phantom of the Opera fan, I have to ask if you like the musical version as well?

EMM: Believe it or not, I only saw the musical once when I was about sixteen years old. I remember loving it then, and I thought the music was so haunting and lovely, but like any English teacher worth her salt, I prefer the book. :)

RW: You will be exploring The Scarlet Letter and The Phantom of the Opera in your next 2 books. Anything else planned beyond that?

EMM: I have a file on my computer called “Good Story Ideas,” where I write down every idea I come across, from the silly to the seemingly brilliant. My head is swimming in my series right now, so I don’t have the brain power to attend to new projects, but I’ve got a few shiny new ideas that call to me every now and then when I should be doing others things. I can say it will almost definitely be a young adult book, and I’m leaning toward a stand-alone idea with some elements of magical realism, in the vein of Sarah Addison Allen.

Huge thanks to Eve for doing this interview and for having such awesome taste in Literature. Your students are truly lucky to have you. Excited readers, like myself, are lucky to have such awesome books to look forward to. (Aside: all of you don't realize that I basically devoted a year of my middle school life to The Phantom of the Opera. I loved everything about it. The original novel, novels based on it, information about the Paris Opera House and the musical. The first novel I ever wrote was in that year. I hand wrote, in a spiral notebook, my version of The Phantom of the Opera. It was terrible writing but so fulfilling. This is to illustrate how wildly excited I am, not just about A Breath of Eyre but the upcoming Phantom of the Opera book. I daresay I squealed with delight when I discovered that fact. Share my joy, gentle readers.)

Discover Eve's brilliance for yourself at:

Website: http://evemariemont.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/evemariemont

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/evemariemont

Blog: http://evemariemont.blogspot.com/

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3517421.Eve_Marie_Mont

Third Campaigner Challenge - Always Look Behind

2011-10-21T14:12:00.001-04:00

Another fabulous challenge from Rachael Harrie. Here are the rules, followed by my entry:

Write a blog post in 300 words or less, excluding the title. The post can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should show:

that it’s morning,

that a man or a woman (or both) is at the beach

that the MC (main character) is bored

that something stinks behind where he/she is sitting

that something surprising happens.

Always Look Behind

The sun begins to stretch wispy rays over the horizon. Maria clutches her blanket around her shoulders trying not to shiver. The tag scratches her neck, reminding her she should have cut it off.

Her scalp is caked with sand. Sleeping on the beach isn’t as glamorous as it seems. What she’d really like is a steamy bath. She inhales, wishing the scent of lavender bath oil was greeting her nostrils. Instead, a putrid smell triggers her gag reflex. She covers her mouth with her hand and crawls closer to the waves. The fishy smell emanating from the wet sand is better than whatever she’d caught a nose full of. Probably some rotting animal. Anyway, she won’t remain any longer to find out. He’s not coming.

The golden orange light of the sun intensifies, driving home the point that she’s alone. What did she really expect would happen? Devon wasn’t a knight in shining armor. How could he get away with picking her up and heading out of town, forever, while this godforsaken town snored and drooled in the moonlight? It had always been a stupid idea.

Maria buries her face in the blanket and rubs at the sand that has suddenly found its way into her eyes.

She staggers along the shore, not knowing where she’s going, only that she isn’t going to come back.

It’s a shame she doesn’t look behind her to find out what that smell is. If she only turned around, she would see that Devon did arrive, as promised. Only he has a knife through his neck and a note pinned to his shirt: He can never have you now. –Your Guardian

As is, she wanders on, oblivious to the grave danger she’s in.

If you enjoyed this dark little tale, please head here and vote for it. It's #94. Thanks for stopping by!

Ebook Review: Ebenezer's Ghosts by Michael Lawrence

2011-10-16T19:33:00.000-04:00

I'd like to start adding ebook reviews to my blog, for a number of reasons. I won't bore you with them right now.
To kick off this amazing feature, I selected a short book that promised to be interesting: Ebenezer's Ghosts by Michael Lawrence. So, on to the review!

We all know the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, yes? We also know various adaptations: print, stage, and big screen. In fact, we may well be sick to death of old man Scrooge. Then along comes Michael (sung to the tune of Along Comes Mary...if you don't know what this aside is taking about, kindly ignore.)

Michael gives the classic his own unique treatment that is just perfect for this pre-Halloween time of year.

With most references to Christmas removed, the reader focuses more on the ghosts themselves. This is made easy by Michael's chillingly detailed descriptions. A phrase that I won't soon forget, "The hand was folded like a cup of knuckles". Isn't that a truly awesome description? What does it mean exactly? I'm not 100% sure but it sounds disgustingly fantastic. There are many more brilliant gems like that throughout the story. Particularly vivid is the scene of the first spirit making a grand entrance, the second ghost's special "party trick", prophetic apple juggling and a fantastic use of the Tiny Tim character.

While reading, I stopped frequently to admire the word choices and imagery. Don't let this ebook original fool you. Michael is a master of language. Nothing but excellent writing here.

The ending is also quite different than the many variations of the classic original. Without spoiling it, I'll just say that, for me, the ending hints at Michael's interest in alternate realities and how things might, or might not, turn out.

My final verdict, this is a good read for middle schoolers and up. For a quick read with fantastic ghostly descriptions, I highly recommend it.

With Halloween fast approaching, this is a good tale to cuddle up with in the dark. If you have a Kindle, or Kindle reading capabilities and want to check this out, I can loan it to the first person who asks. Just include your email address in the comments and I'll send it along. I am a librarian after all. There are also extracts.

Giveaway and guest post

2011-10-07T14:25:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! How are you? I'm awesome and because of that, I want to share the love with all of you. Who doesn't need some love?

1. I have discovered a little gem called Novel Publicity. Every Friday is Karma Friday, in which, authors, like many of us, pay it forward by liking each other on Facebook and Twitter. The idea is that you never know who you will connect with and who might help you out, or be helped by you in the future. I've participated the past two Fridays and have already discovered some awesome writers.

2. Inspired by the karma, by the platform building campaign by Random Acts of Publicity, I decided to do a little giveaway of my own if anyone is interested in playing along. I recently created a YA paranormal short story for Halloween and put it on Amazon for fun. The feedback I've been receiving is really encouraging so I thought I'd follow up with a giveaway. If you're willing to read "Kiss of Death" and leave a review on Amazon you can comment here and leave your email address for a chance to win an Amazon gift card. If I get 5 reviews, the gift card will be $5. If I get 10 reviews, $10. I can't imagine more than 10 people will play along but we'll cross that bridge if we get to it.
An offshoot of that which doesn't directly benefit me, I'd love to start an Indie Book Discussion group here or on Facebook so that all the small press, Indie books, ebook authors among us can generate discussion and reviews. Stay tuned as I work out logistics on that. Any interest?

3. Today I'm the guest blogger on author, Chris Eboch's blog. I wrote about revising...which I'm off to continue doing now. Unfortunately, this novel won't revise itself and I don't want to be stuck in the revising stage this time next year. Onward!

Trick or Treat!

2011-10-03T21:13:00.002-04:00

Since Halloween is coming up, I decided to offer you, my devoted readers, a little trick or treat. I wrote Kiss of Death: a YA paranormal short story about Kate, who goes to an out of control teenage Halloween party. She meets a handsome young man who becomes her savior at the party, she reveals a secret she's been hiding for years and there may or may not be a curse and kissing involved. Anyway, since the themes in the story are just right for this time of year, I decided to offer it as an Amazon ebook for the month of October. Since I have amazing friends and connections, it also has this awesome cover by Sean Ashby. I'm really pleased with it. Notice that menacing person silhouetted by the title? What's his deal? You'll have to read to find out. I hope you will. If you don't, the trick's on me but that's just par for the course at this time of year.

PS. S.J. Lomas is my YA writing pen name.

But enough about me... Part 2

2011-09-30T14:21:00.002-04:00

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my flash fiction post below. You people are truly awesome. Really. So that's why I'd love to know more about you. I've got a whole blog here about me. Blah blah blah. Let's hear about someone else for a change.
Last time, I asked for your top 10 songs, this time I'd like your list of top 10 books. Again, the criteria for the 10 is up to you. Top 10 favorite books of all time, that you just read, that make you cry, that you wish you'd written...etc. Whatever you want. I think I'll pick the top ten books that influenced the novel I'm ~~writing~~ revising now. In no particular order:

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
2. A Crack in the Line by Michael Lawrence
3. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
4. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
5. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
6. Falling Under by Gwen Hayes
7. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvator
8. Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook by Donald Maass
9. Nevermore by Kelly Creagh
10. Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks

Dying to see your lists!!!

2nd Campaigner Challenge

2011-09-26T14:34:00.001-04:00

Rachael put together a challenge for us to write a brief post 200 words or less with the following requirements:

1. The word "Imago" be in the title.

Imago

A.Entomology . an adult insect.

B.Psychoanalysis . an idealized concept of a loved one, formed in childhood and retained unaltered in adult life.

2. The following words also had to appear in the post:

Miasma

A. noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere.

B. a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere.

lacuna

A. a gap or missing part, as in a manuscript, series, or logical argument; hiatus.

B. Anatomy . one of the numerous minute cavities in the substance of bone, supposed to contain nucleate cells.

C. Botany . an air space in the cellular tissue of plants.

Oscitate

To gape; to yawn.

Synchronicity

an apparently meaningful coincidence in time of two or more similar or identical events that are causally unrelated

Here is my attempt at the challenge. Enjoy or detest.

Imago of my author

When I put down your book for the first time, my heart was full. You were like a god to me. A genius of the written word. No lacuna to be found. Every word, thought, detail, tight and complete. Perfection.

I thought it was synchronicity when we both suffered slights in an uncaring world. I seized the chance to reach out to you, to align ourselves to each other at last. You accepted my life preserver, and together, we drifted away from the miasma of decaying dreams.

Some days I would oscitate, shocked and hurt at the vitriol the world had to offer. Sometimes it was you, head in hands, wondering why we still bothered. We would stand before the mirror together each day, hands entwined, searching for signs of ruin. My eyes didn’t shine as bright. Your hair became grayer. But then we would turn to each other and the smile lines would deepen. If it hadn’t been for the heartbreak, I wouldn’t have found the courage to reach you. And you are all that matters.

But enough about me...

2011-09-22T14:34:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone out there! In the spirit of fairness (and pushing down that debut video post of mine) I decided to do something fun with you. At least, I think it'll be fun.
Besides writing, music is very important to me. I usually listen to music while I write. It helps me access the right mood, feelings, words. So I thought I'd post a list of the top 10 songs I listen to while writing my YA novel...which I'm still revising. In exchange, I hope you'll post your own top 10 list of songs in the comments. It can be for what you're writing, it can just be the soundtrack of your life, it can be your favorite 10 songs right now, it could be 10 songs you just hate. Whatever you want. It's all about you.

These are the 10 most played according to my Itunes, and you know, Itunes doesn't lie.

1. The Consort - Rufus Wainwright
2. Trapeze - Iron and Wine
3. Thinking About You - Radiohead
4. A Long Goodbye - Erasure
5. Rise - Gabrielle
6. I hope tomorrow is like today - Guster
7. To the Ghosts who write history - The Low Anthem
8. Porcelain (Trin Remix with Enya) - Moby and Enya
9. Follow Me - Paul McCartney
10. I'm About to Come Alive - Train

What top ten songs make your list?

Versatile Blogging at it's...um...most versatile? 9/20 UPDATE

2011-09-18T21:45:00.002-04:00

Hello my restless readers! In the interest of keeping things fresh and interesting, I decided to try a video post! How cutting edge! (not really) What spurred this crazy endeavor, you might wonder? Well, you'll find out in the video.

(Could I have posted a video with a more flattering still? I doubt it.)

One bonus tidbit about me, I'm a little crazy. Otherwise, why would I decide to debut a video post when I'm coming down with a cold and didn't feel like applying makeup? This is as real as it gets folks and I decided to just go ahead and throw it on the internet for your consumption. Yep. Insane.

As mentioned in the video, big thanks to :

Carla

Kelly

So, that means it's time for me to share the love as well. So here are my picks for versatile bloggers:

Jody Lamb

Ray Veen

Michael Lawrence (ok, not technically a blog but he's the king of versatile and I'm a huge fan...in case there was any doubt in your mind. He's written successfully for babies through adults. If that ain't versatile, I don't know what is.)

All Kid Lit all the Time

Go check them out!

And that's all from me right now. I still have that cold. Time to sleep it off.

**9/20 UPDATE**

A fellow campaigner has graciously offered to spotlight other campaigners on his blog and my spotlight is up now. Thank you so much, Chris for offered up the blog space to help promote your fellow writers. You're scoring some big time karma points, for sure.

Also, just pressed 'send' on the submission of my Pajama Girl sequel. Fingers crossed that goes over well. Don't forget that MeeGenius, my publisher, is hosting their second new author contest. That's the reason Pajama Girl is available to you now. I've definitely enjoyed working with the good people at MeeGenius. So what are you waiting for? Head over with your picture book manuscript and take a look at the guidelines. Maybe YOU will be this years winner!

Working and hoping

2011-09-14T14:18:00.001-04:00

Well, September seems to be a productive month for me. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. September has become a happy month for me.
I sent out a picture book manuscript to a publisher I met through SCBWI in July. Within 12 hours, she'd responded that the story was 'cute' and they would consider it. I have no idea how long the considering process might take but I'm pleased to have received that tiny scrap of validation. It's 'cute'. It was worth passing on to the next level. I hope to have great news on that front sooner or later. We'll see.

I also finished a draft of the Pajama Girl sequel this afternoon and sent it to my illustrator to see what he thinks. I'll admit it, I've been hyper critical of #2. It's very difficult. I truly loved Pajama Girl. It was like a direct gift from the muse, and a lot like Mary Poppins: "practically perfect in every way". PG2 required a lot more planning and drafting than PG. I think I've finally come up with something interesting and new that stays true to PG. Fingers crossed.

And now, a trilogy you should all read:

The Naia Underwood contest concluded with success. Our winner is happily reading the first book in the Aldous Lexicon trilogy. I love those books so much, I'm excited for her, experiencing them for the first time. If your curiosity is piqued at all, take a look at excerpts from the books. I dare you to not get sucked in.

PICTURE BOOK CONTEST COMING UP!!!!

Ok, something that you all might actually care about. MeeGenius, the publisher of my Pajama Girl, is hosting their second annual new book contest. Pajama Girl was the contest grand prize winner last year. I can now say that I'm a published children's author. Prior to the contest, I couldn't say that. If you have a picture book manuscript, illustrated or not, and you've been sitting on it or getting heaps of rejections, I urge you to consider entering the contest. I'm certainly happy I did it. The prizes are pretty awesome this year! Cold hard cash AND a publishing deal!
I also discovered this week that one of the contestants who didn't place last year just had their story published with MeeGenius, so you never know what could happen.

You could be distributing postcards like this next year for your own book. Wouldn't that be awesome?

September is starting well

2011-09-01T21:23:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been an exciting couple of weeks! My oldest child started kindergarten last week at my elementary school alma mater. That's it's own emotional roller coaster, but first and foremost, I am so proud of that girl. She's excited about what she's learning and she's happy to get up in the morning and get dressed for school. I love it. Ok, back to writing stuff.

If you've been following me for awhile, you'll notice some changes here...like the fact that I've doubled my number of followers in a weeks time. Thank you Rachael Harrie and your awesome campaign! :::waving and smiling at all my fellow campaigners and new writing friends:::

You'll also notice that super cute sticker in the upper right hand corner. Thanks to meeting my fellow campaigners, I stumbled across a giveaway to win your own custom blog badge or sticker. I chose the sticker so I could have a cute link to my digital picture book, PAJAMA GIRL. Huge thank you to Carrie Butler, for offering the giveaway and designing such a cute sticker. I love it!

Another awesome thing is that Elana Johnson is now a follower of my blog! I find this pretty incredible because I feel like every blog I follow has been buzzing about her debut novel, POSSESSION. And by 'buzzing' I mean falling over themselves with praise and adoration for her book. First, Allen Zadoff starting following me on Twitter and now I've got Elana Johnson here, I have totally entered an alternate universe here. (and I like it!)

And that's still not all. I am surprised and honored that a fellow campaigner, whilst visiting the plethora of campaigner blogs, decided that my blog was worthy of an award! So thank you so much, Megan for thinking so much of this blog. I really appreciate it.

The award is to recognize bloggers with less than 200 followers. Recipients of the blog are supposed to award it to 5 other bloggers, because, let's face it, writer's enjoy sharing the love. I will share the love, I promise, but I'm too brain dead at this exact moment to do so. I'll try to get to it sometime before Labor Day weekend is over. Hold me to it folks. After all, yours may be the blog I award it to.

Finally, to end this little love fest, I want to remind you that the Naia Underwood giveaway I'm moderating is making me sad because only 4 people have entered. For the backstory, I'm moderating the social media for Naia Underwood because her creator is an author I deeply admire and consider a friend. I really, truly, love the trilogy she appears in, The Aldous Lexicon, and I want to see them become successful as ebooks. Truly, my YA novel would not have been written if it wasn't for the trilogy. The giveaway winner will be announced this coming Monday, Sept. 5. So I'm urging you to enter. All you have to do is Tweet to @NaiaUnderwood or leave a comment on her Facebook page, answering the question, "What would you do if you came face to face with an alternate version of yourself." (the trilogy deals with alternate realities) The winner receives a $12 Amazon gift card, which would easily cover the cost of the trilogy, although, of course, you can use it for whatever you want. Spread the love folks, enter the contest. It'll set my little heart aglow, and really, isn't that what we all want?

Author publicity events coming up!

2011-08-25T16:35:00.001-04:00

First, I wanted to let those of you who are writers and aspiring writers know that you can take part in Rachael Harrie's Third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign. It runs now through October 31, 2011.
In this campaign you can connect with other writers and aspiring writers and work to build each other's online platforms. This includes increasing your blog and other social media followings and participating in cool challenges and connecting with other people in the same boat. This is the third one Rachael's hosted and the first one I'll be participating in. (I would have done it before but I hadn't heard of it yet). She's only letting people sign up through Aug. 31, so if you're even slightly interested, act now!

Second, Darcy Pattison is hosting Random Acts of Publicity Week, Sept. 6-9, 2011. The point of this is to help promote your favorite book or author. To participate, you can do easy but valuable things such as write a review of the book for Amazon (or, ahem, in my case, review the Apple or Android app). Become a follower of their blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Post a review on your own blog or social media account. And nominate them to win awesome prizes, like a book marketing consultation.

I am very excited about both of these events. I would love it if someone would nominate me for some of those marketing consultations. Just sayin'. I'll return the favor! After all, in this business, it pays to help each other out. You never know which connection will get you closer to publication. Agreed?

SCBWI Conference Wrap up AND contest you shouldn't miss

2011-08-20T22:09:00.002-04:00

Ok, my mind is beginning to get hazy on what happened in LA. Two days after I returned, I took a road trip with my husband and young children to Milwaukee and Chicago. It's been a busy month. But I promised you more stories, so more stories I shall share, disjointed as they may seem at this point.

First, I'll begin with a super happy photo of my first time behind the author table. This picture was taken by the insanely talented Angela Matteson. She's a children's illustrator and I really like her style. So much that I'm currently trying to think of a story to match to her style so I can ask her to illustrate another book for me for MeeGenius. (don't worry Sean, I still want to do a PJ Girl sequel with you. Still working out just the right idea though. It'll get here.) Don't hold your breath, Angela. As Sean will attest, it can take me awhile to formulate and write a new idea. But when I get it, oh boy, I'll be crossing my fingers that you'll want to work with me.

Notice the lighting in the photo. Very bright, right? I told you those lights were shining in my eyes. One very nice, and tall, gentleman stayed to chat with me for awhile and kindly positioned himself in such a way that the lights didn't blind me for awhile. My enduring gratitude to you, sir, whoever you are.

Ok, on to other things. The party for instance. SCBWI has a tradition of wild costume parties on Saturday night of the conference. This year's theme, in honor of their 40th Anniversary, was the 40 Winks Pajama Party. Well, I didn't have to take more than 10 seconds to figure out what I would be wearing. (Hello, my picture book is titled PAJAMA GIRL!) I am extraordinarily lucky to have met two wonderful friends at the conference last year who were on board with group costumes so we were the three Pajama Girls. Thank you so much to Lisa Lamm Aikins and Jody Lamb for not only dressing up with me, but for the awesome fun we had together at the conference. You ladies are amazing.

Also, thanks to Sean, the coolest illustrator rockin' a viking helmet, for designing the super cute shirts. Someone even asked me about the shirt because they'd heard of Pajama Girl. (swoon) There's buzz, people! It might be a small mosquito buzz, but it still counts.

So on to the party. I had been trying, unsuccessfully, that day to meet up with the fabulous author, Christy Raedeke. Loyal blog readers will know that I interviewed her here last year. I loved her book, The Prophecy of Days. I'm really behind in my reading this summer but I'm very excited to read the second book, The Serpents Coil. I was really looking forward to meeting her in person but it didn't seem like it was going to work out. So while Jody and I were hanging around near the lobby doors trying to find her, we did run into Ray Veen again. I'm pretty sure Ray thought Christy was a figment of my imagination but he humored me. Good sport, that Ray Veen. Anyway, while we were waiting, we seized the opportunity to chat with Jon Scieszka. I got a pic. with him the following day that I will insert here for your viewing pleasure.

Yes, Jon is a riot.
Giving up on ever finding Christy, me, Jody and Ray headed toward the food line and mingled like the sociable and cool people we are. Interestingly enough, we had a conversation with someone (sorry, I told you I was hazy at this point) about how hard it was to find people. With 1300+ attendees, you'd meet someone cool in a session and say, "Catch ya later" only to never even catch a glimpse of them again. However, I kept running into Ray and Chris Friden. Jody and I had met Chris the night before at the member book sale while I was still trying to find my Pajama Girl table. We'd ran into him periodically throughout the day and would you believe I ran into him again at the pajama party? Of course you would...because it's true. Shortly after running into Chris, we found Lisa and the trio of Pajama Girls was complete. Next, we hit the dance floor because I'm a dancin' queen, and Chris was cuttin' it up out there too. Once the party had to officially stop we all said our goodbyes and Jody and I headed to the lobby to try our luck at kidlit celeb spotting. But who did we find? Go ahead. Guess. Yes, it was Chris again! So we had some drinks and laughed, hysterically, as we told our own crazy stories into the night. Really, it was some hard core belly laughs. Tears were involved. It was good times. Everyone needs to laugh like that much more often than they do. Go find someone and share some laughs right now. The blog will still be here when you get back. So thank you to Jody and Chris for making me laugh so hard. I needed it. That was definitely a high point of the conference for me.

So, the next day, I was knocked out. Jody and I went down for breakfast. I was a zombie so I went back to bed for awhile. Didn't emerge until the Golden Kite luncheon but I felt much better. Jody went home that night, sad sad. And as I sat around the lobby, alone, hoping to find someone awesome to talk to, I ran into Ray Veen again. He too was preparing to head home so we hung out for a bit before I sent him off with a pep talk for conquering LAX and getting safely back home to MI. (which he did successfully).

Next day was intensives. Ran into Chris again. (is there any surprise?) (actually, a funny aside, every time I type Chris, I accidentally type Christ and have to make sure I take the 'T' off. Now that I think of it, Chris did wear white a lot...) Anyway, intensives...I got to work on my query letter with Tina Wexler. She seems like an awesome person to work with. She's definitely on my list of agents of query now. Afternoon was revising your novel with editor Julie Strauss Gabel of Dutton Children's. I don't think she's interested in anything I write but it was still valuable to hear her perspective.

Afterwards, I hung out in the lobby to see if anyone cool was left and who did I finally get the chance to see? Why, my BFF Jay Asher! We'd smiled at each other a few times during the conference but never got a chance to talk so I marched myself over and changed that. We probably chatted for about 40 minutes. At one point during our wonderful reunion a guy I recognized but couldn't place came over. He said a few things to Jay and then turned to me saying, "Have we met?" I said no so he held out his hand and said, "I'm Arthur." I said, "Hi, I'm Sarah" but what I was thinking was along the lines of "Holy shit, he's Arthur Levine!" Arthur Levine is a big deal in children's publishing. I played it as cool as I could considering I had no idea what to say to the man. But he didn't hang with us very long. Whew! It was a relief to just chill with Jay. I'm super suave when in the presence of a New York Times bestseller who has sold movie rights for not just that bestselling book, but for the next book that hasn't even come out yet. Smooth like melted butter. You betcha. I'm sure Jay would agree. At any rate, he knows who I am and he gave me a hug. Two of them if you really want to know. No picture this year though because things were too hectic.

So there you have it. LA 2011 in a nutshell. I guess this post was a slightly obese nutshell. Sorry. But, if you read the title of this post, there's a little more.

CONTEST CONTEST CONTEST CONTEST CONTEST!!!!

Loyal blog readers will also know that I interviewed author, Michael Lawrence here last year. You'll also recall that I have an overwhelming amount of respect and admiration for the guy. At this point, I would dare say we're friends. Anyway, we have embarked on a joint venture to help promote his amazing trilogy, The Aldous Lexicon. They are available as ebooks now (the print version is out of print which makes me very sad. Truly, I LOVE those books). In an effort to keep them in the public eye we've created a Facebook and Twitter page for them under Naia Underwood (she's a character in the trilogy). Naia is hosting a contest. Send her a tweet @NaiaUnderwood or respond to her FB status to answer the question, "What would you do if you came face to face with an alternate version of yourself?" (it happened to her). Doing either of those things will enter you in a random drawing for a $12 Amazon gift certificate. Who doesn't want free money for books? Seriously! That's all you have to do, but we're already planning future contests and other fun stuff so it would be worth your while to follow her or 'like' her, as the case may be. This contest is open until Labor Day, Sept. 5, 2011. Please get entered and spread the word. You've got nothing to lose! Ok, that's my plug for Naia. She's close to my heart so I really hope you'll consider checking out her page. Off soapbox.

Still dreaming of the Fonz....

More magical moments in LA

2011-08-11T22:29:00.001-04:00

You'd think the Henry Winkler moment was enough for one trip wouldn't you? But no. There was more!
First, I should mention that previous to the Henry Winkler "HW" moment, the Michigan SCBWI members were going to have lunch together. However, we couldn't find our entire group so it ended up being just me, Jody, Ray, and Laura. I give you my 100% personal seal of approval that these people are awesome. Read their blogs, buy their books, wish you'd had lunch with them too. They'll be part of the story again later.
Ok, so let's go back to autograph time during the HW moment. Jody and I were so flustered after having met Henry that we walked right out of the room even though we had books for Norton Juster to sign as well. Isn't that silly? Luckily, we remembered and headed over to Norton, who only had a short line because he hadn't spoken at the conference yet. I handed him my copy of The Dot and the Line, which I'd learned about from a mathematics graduate student at Oxford University years ago. (that's another series of moments to explore at a later date) So I asked Norton if he was really good at math or what. He chuckled and explained that he's not good at math but this was meant as a revenge story. The dot represents a woman, the squiggle represents a disreputable guy Norton didn't like, and the line represents Norton. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, you'll just have to read the book. It's a lot of fun.) So Norton wrote the book to get back at the squiggle guy. The moral of the story being, sometimes revenge does pay.
So I had that little moment with Norton Juster but it was fun.
After that, it was time to head over to the SCBWI PAL (published and listed) member book sale, of which I was taking part! I had dropped off my 300 Pajama Girl postcards that morning and had no idea how the event would be set up. Last year, it was like a book sale table where you could buy the books and mingle with the authors if they were around. This year, every author had their own table so it was like your very own author event. I was thrilled!

Now, I know, I look far from thrilled in this picture. Why is that? A number of things. I was tired, I was hungry and there were amazingly bright lights shining straight into my face. None of those things made it a particularly comfortable experience but trust me, it was still thrilling. My first author event! And, as you can see, people actually stopped by to talk to me and take a postcard, which is more than I could have hoped for. I mostly expected to sit there by myself, feeling sheepish until the event was over but I probably talked to a good 30 people. When you're a little ebook surrounded by ink and paper, 30 people is a big deal. So that was definitely a great moment.

Ok, now we can move on to Saturday's first moment. Imagine, if you will, another author signing event. This time, David Small and Sarah Stewart are among the signers and I want my copy of The Library signed because it's a beautiful book and every book lover should own it. David was first. He signed the book and I told him how I was a librarian and that the very first library I ever worked at had a framed poster of the cover of this book and I thought it was so beautiful. He seemed politely impressed and passed the book over to his wife, Sarah Stewart, to sign. Here's where things get good.

Me: I was just telling David that I'm a librarian and the first library I worked at had a beautiful poster of this up behind their check out desk.
Sarah: (looking up at me from beneath her big brimmed gardening hat) Oh, you're going to make me cry. It's just such an honor to be married to him.
Me: (frankly, I don't know if I said anything cuz I'm thinking, "Oh my God, I made Sarah Stewart cry!)
Ok, so I'm a little hazy on the details here but she asked where I was from and said her son had been testing cars in my city and we talked about said city for awhile. Then she asked if I'd like a postcard of her garden. Um, yes please. I'll take whatever you're willing to give me, Sarah Stewart. So she hands me a postcard of this beautiful, huge, maze garden she has. Reminded me of something you'd find in Europe. I took it and exclaimed about how she must spend all her time there...blah blah blah. And she turns the card over, which has a few bullet points of things for writers. 1. Learn Latin.
    Me: Ooh! I took Latin in college. My professor was a genius, seriously, the most intelligent person I've ever met.
Sarah: Yes, my Latin professor was a genius too.
Me: In fact, I took Latin with my husband, while we were dating. When he finally proposed, he got in touch with our Latin professor and asked him how to say a traditional Roman proposal and he proposed...
Sarah & I together: In Latin!
    At this point, Sarah stood up, tears in her eyes and wrapped me in a huge hug.
    Sarah: Your husband must be a very special man.
    Me: Yes, he is. (starting to cry myself) He even got 120 floating candles to help with the proposal.

So there we stood, crying and embracing each other. We said some sort of farewell and I turned back to the line to find Jody standing there.

Jody: (paraphrased) What the heck is going on here?
Me: (still teary) I made Sarah Stewart cry! She made me cry! We just had the most beautiful moment!
Jody: (paraphrased) What the hell is up with you and these incredible author moments! You suck!
Me: (paraphrased) I know! I'll meet you in the hall.

So I went to the hall to compose myself. Ran into Chris (who shall appear again later) and we chit chatted about what went down in day two of autographing until Jody came out and then we headed off for, drumroll, The 40 Winks Pajama Party. Which is where this selection of moments will say goodbye for now. We'll pick up again next week with the Pajama Party because I'm going out of town again. If you get lonely in the meantime, by all means stare at my Henry Winkler picture some more. It helps me through the day, let me tell you.

A collection of amazing moments

2011-08-10T18:56:00.002-04:00

I am home from the SCBWI 40th Anniversary Annual Conference. It was very different than last year but still an incredible experience. To try and tell the story this year, I'm going to focus on my most memorable moments from this trip. Pictures will be forthcoming. Try to keep your pants on...please.

So, moment #1 came pretty early in the game. Henry Winkler, aka. the Fonz from Happy Days, was a special guest. You may not know that he and Lin Oliver, co-founder of SCBWI, write a middle grade series together, Hank Zipzer. Henry gave a very emotional and exciting talk about how he and Lin write together and how we should write with passion to please ourselves first. Let editors reign in the material if they see fit. That evening, Henry and Lin were signing their books. Folks, let me tell you, you don't have the opportunity to meet Henry Winkler and walk away from it. So, my friend Jody and I planned our moment making strategies and got in line to see Henry. Jody tells it more amusing than I do so I'm stealing her beginning. Jody was in front of me. She read Henry's latest book, "I've Never Met an Idiot on the River" and learned that Henry LOVES to fish and he LOVES Montana. That was going to be her approach and she expected Henry to be delighted that she'd read the book. Here's what happened:
Jody: When are you going to Montana?
Henry: Next week.

End of conversation. Henry slid the book over for Lin to sign. Lin, being one of the sweetest women alive asked Jody if she was from Montana...which, she is not. Things got awkward from there and Jody left the table feeling disappointed and

irritated with the whole experience.

Now, it was my turn.

I handed my book to Henry, who didn't really look at me and I started with the brilliant little speech I'd come up with while waiting in line. My moment went a little something like this:

Me: First, I wanted to tell you that when I was a little girl I was convinced I would marry Fonzie when I grew up.
Henry: (a teeny tiny chuckle)
Me: Also, I wanted you to know I absolutely loved your work as Barry Zuckercorn on Arrested Development.
Henry: (glancing up) Thank you.
Lin jumped in at this point as we discussed a little about the brilliance of Arrested Development, I was so sad when it went off the air, yadda yadda yadda. I wasn't done with my speech so I pressed on.
Me: AND I'm a librarian....
Henry: (looking up, I've caught his attention now)
Me: And I love to recommend these books to kids, especially when people have reluctant reader boys, I like to give them these books because they're so great.
Henry: (reaches out and clasps my hand warmly) Thank you, Sarah.
Me: (internally) HENRY WINKLER IS HOLDING MY HAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Me: (externally) Can I take a picture with you?
Henry: Of course.
So I throw my bags on the floor and run around that table like nobody's business. I put my arm around Henry's shoulders and, yes, YES, he reaches up and clasps my hand again. There is photographic evidence. (I'll add the rest of the photo later, but this part bears close examination anyway, don't you think.)

I could have gone home happy right then and there. But you need more moments from me than that. And there are several. But we'll take some time to absorb the awesomeness of my Henry Winkler moment. There will be more posts coming, all in good time.

Sarah Jane Freyman Interview

2011-07-25T15:26:00.001-04:00

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sarah Jane Freyman of the Sarah Jane Freyman Literary Agency about publishing and her goals as an agent. She was very insightful, inspiring and an absolute pleasure to talk with. She's accepting queries...so read on and take heart!

We all know ebooks are changing the publishing industry. Sarah affirms they're definitely having an impact on publishing but they aren't to be fear or scorned. She reminds us that there was a time when books were illustrated manuscripts made by their creator. People had to deal with a move to print. Going back even further, all stories were told verbally without paper. Things change. The one thing that doesn't change is "the need for humans to hear story." Whatever medium those stories come to us is just fine. We must, "save what's worth saving, embrace technology and make it beautiful". The only thing she feels needs to be changed about ebooks is the amount of money authors make from their work. "That will have to change." (I agree!)
Her final thought on ebooks and publishing right now, "We're a little lost in the rapids right now but we'll find the flow."
Talking about manuscripts and what she's interested in representing, she says, "Everything interests me." She would love to see an illustrated novel for adults or YA or a fabulous mystery, but really, she loves a good story. (Sarah Jane Freyman Agency does not currently represent children's authors other than Young Adult.) They more recently added Young Adult to their list after she read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. She admits it was "one hell of a story." The writing wasn't great but the story was and Sarah could see the market was shifting and she wanted to be part of the great work being done in the Young Adult market.
Sarah has been an agent since the 1970s. To keep at a job for that long, a person must really love what they do. Sarah's love for her job shone through as we talked. For her, the best part about being an agent is "discovering new worlds and dipping into them." She loves discovering a wonderful story and savoring that moment of wondering what it could be and how she can help to realize it's potential. As a result, Sarah Jane Freyman is an editorial agency. If the underlying story and the author's writing is good enough, she'll take on a client and offer editorial help to get it up to speed for the market.
Sarah's ideal client is simply a nice person. If you're nasty, aggressive, or too touchy, don't query here. Be willing to consider editorial advice and be polite.
Serious writers know the market is seemingly impossible to break into but Sarah offers hope. She believes writers need to learn to write a good query letter and to seek outside help for their work if they need it. (critique groups, outside editors, etc.) Don't send in your work before it's ready! Authors get a high from that completed manuscript and often want to send it out immediately. Sit on your hands until the madness passes! Although, Sarah says publishing is a paradox. You have to strike a balance between sitting on your hands and leaping before you look. Keep learning and never give up. Learn from mistakes and try again.

Thank you so much, Sarah for taking the time to talk with me!

Gwen Hayes Interview

2011-07-10T15:38:00.001-04:00

I recently picked up a book called Falling Under. The cover is gorgeous, don't you agree? Here's some of the back cover copy:
"Theia Alderson has always led a sheltered life, not allowed the same freedoms as the rest of the teenagers in the small California town of Serendipity Falls. But when a devastatingly handsome boy appears in the halls of her school, she feels every urge she's ever denied burning through her at the slightest glance from Haden Black. Theia knows she's seen Haden before - not around town, but in her dreams."

That, alone, sounds pretty compelling, right? For better or for worse, it's taken me so darn long to revise my novel that I've started reading books that have similar elements to make sure I haven't been trumped. It scares me to read these books until, phew, I discover they're completely different than mine. However, books like Falling Under aren't only different than mine, but written so beautifully that I find myself getting lost in the writing, then going back to figure out how she did that. Gwen Hayes is a masterful storyteller. Her characters are well drawn and interesting. (The supporting cast is a riot!) The descriptions are not too lengthy but gripping. Each chapter ends with a mini-cliffhanger. (I did some heavy revising on my chapter endings after I put this book down. Thanks, Gwen!) Books like this become instant inspiration for me and the authors become heroic, in my eyes. (this includes the other authors I've interviewed here.) So, I highly recommend reading Falling Under if you're looking for a dark, beautifully written paranormal romance. The scenes will not quickly leave your mind. If you don't believe me, here's the first sentence of the book, "Everything changed the night I saw the burning man fall from the sky." Amazing! And if that doesn't catch your attention, just wait until you find out who the burning man is and how she describes him. So, without further gushing, here's my interview with the brilliantly talented, Gwen Hayes.

RW (Restless Writer): In your acknowledgements, you admit that it scared you to write this book. I know what scared me reading it, but what scared you about writing it?
GH (Gwen Hayes): When Falling Under started haunting me, I was busy writing a romantic comedy. I wasn't quite prepared for all the dark, twisty things...I thought I was going to write funny books. It was scary because it seemed like such a stretch for me and I was afraid I was going to blow it. Also...I totally creeped myself out.

RW: What was your first inspiration/idea for this book?

GH: The first scene with the burning man wouldn't leave me alone. I had no idea what I was embarking on...but that is the original idea.

RW: I was blown away by the pacing and the fantastic chapter endings. As a writer, it makes me wonder how much was changed in the editing process. Are there major difference, that surprised you, between the version you first submitted and the final?

GH: Thank you! I do like to end my chapter and scene endings with a reason to turn the page. :) As for revisions, the first version is unrecognizable. For instance, Madame Varnie came about as a surprise during revisions. And what a surprise Varnie is, right?

RW: Within the book, Theia makes a comment about vampires who sparkle in the sunlight. Are you a Twilight fan? (if yes, team Edward or Jacob?) Did it have any influence on how you told Theia’s story?

GH: I really enjoyed Twilight. I think Stephenie Meyer does a great job connecting people to the story. And I always felt that Jacob was kind of whiny...so def. Team Edward.

RW: As a mother of young children, I’m fascinated how other moms make time for their writing. How do you do it?

GH: My kids were 11 and up when I began writing, so I have no idea how women with wee ones do it. My husband is the reason I can write, though. He takes care of everything and reminds me to eat when I'm writing.

RW: How long did it take you to complete Falling Under, find an agent, sell it and when did you start the sequel?

GH: The book took about 6 months to write, and I got an agent less than a month later. I know this is not typical. I know this because I had been querying agents for some time before this book. Penguin bought the book 3 months after I acquired my agent. It all went super duper fast.

RW: Amazon reviewers, even the negative ones, agree that the world of Under is a unique and interesting place. Was it easy to write about such a creepy, dangerous place?

GH: Well, yes and no. The Under scenes came pretty easily writing wise, but they sometimes left me unsettled.

RW: Amazon reviewers also agree that the supporting characters are awesome. Varnie alone is so interesting I can imagine his own series of books. How do you keep your amazing supporting cast in check while you tell Theia’s story? Do they ever try to get more of the spotlight?

GH: In a lot of ways, it's just as much their story as Theia's....we're just looking at it through Theia's eyes. And I don't think Theia could function without her best friends, so they are very important to the way she sees her story.

RW: Do you belong to any professional organizations? If yes, how have they impacted your career?

GH: I belong to RWA-Romance Writers of America. It's a strong, empowering organization. I'm very proud of the fact that I write romance.

RW: What are a few of the last great books you’ve read and what struck you about them?

GH: I just finished revisions (I don't read much YA while I'm writing YA), so I'm really looking forward to TEXAS GOTHIC by Rosemary Clement-Moore which I shipped to myself last week when she gave me a copy at a conference...and now I have to wait for it to get home. :)

RW: These days, everyone imagines their favorite books as movies. Do you have an ideal cast in your head for Falling Under?

GH: ARGH...I suck at this question. No...I really don't know the young actors these days, but trust if there is ever a movie, the ideal cast will make it their own. Also, I wouldn't mind it being a Tim Burton movie. I think he would understand Under very well.

Thank you so much, Gwen, for taking the time from revisions to do this interview. Everyone, keep an eye out for Dreaming Awake, the sequel to Falling Under, coming out in 2012. For more info. on that, and to see the amazing cover for Dreaming Awake, visit Gwen's website.

Shelley Watters Agent Critique contest!

2011-06-26T16:40:00.000-04:00

That Shelley Watters is at it again! She's got another agent judged contest going on and I thought, what the heck, I'll give it a shot. I've majorly rewritten my first page. Well, it feels major to me anyway. This is 356 words, rather than 250, but heck, this is my blog so I figured I'd post what a saw fit. Here it is, see what you think.

Title: Dream Girl
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Word Count: 74,171

Chapter 1.

I’d imagined it forever but when the time came, I wasn’t prepared for my gothic fantasies to become real. For most of my eighteen years, things were as normal as the Cheerios I’d eaten for breakfast. The day I met Gabriel started out no different. My alarm had gone off. I’d gone through the same old morning routine. Checked my phone for new texts from my best friend, Tiffany. Listened to a voice mail from my mom and left my apartment the same way I always did: wondering WWJE do? (What would Jane Eyre do?)

That particular morning, I drove to work wondering how Jane Eyre would spend the summer after graduating high school. Summer stretched out before me like a lazy cat. I really hoped I could figure out what to major in at college. I didn’t have to decide until next year, but it would be nice to have it squared away and know where my life was heading. I always like a concrete goal to work toward.

My thoughts had to wait when, ten minutes late, as usual, I hustled into the public library, my workplace for the past three years. Ditching my purse in my locker, I strode into the workroom, an open space populated by cubicles for the librarians and long tables for the support staff. I held my breath as I scurried past the row of supervisor offices on my right. The last thing I wanted was one of them to notice I wasn’t manning the circulation desk already.

Escaping detection in supervisor alley, I made it to the staff copy room, where our mailboxes resided. Hoping to duck in to retrieve my nametag, I discovered my boss, Laura Faust, talking to a guy who wore his brown tee shirt and rumpled jeans really well. At least, he looked good from behind, which was all I could see of him.

I tried to inconspicuously snake my arm around them to access my mailbox but Laura stopped me.

“Christine,” she said. “I’d like you to meet Gabriel, our new page.”

“Nice to meet you,” Gabriel said as he turned toward me.

Flops, failures and inspiration

2011-06-22T21:16:00.000-04:00

Ok, so the contest was a colossal failure! Not completely unexpected but whatever. I see that MeeGenius has now listed Pajama Girl at $2.99, so maybe you'll wish you got your free app from me, but that's the end of that. On to more interesting things...the sophomore slump.
Do you have any idea how much I've been agonizing over the next book? Trust me. You do not.
I've got a few attempts at Pajama Girl 2...the continuing saga but it just doesn't feel like the first one. (and the first one felt 100% cosmically aligned) So I've put that on hold. An ABC book idea I've been carrying around in my brain for years felt pretty flat when I finally put it on that blank Word document, so back to the drawing board on that. But the interesting thing, is that I started writing out picture book ideas this afternoon and wrote down one I'd thought of before. Wouldn't you know it, that particular one, which had seemed like a good idea at the time, but with no spark of inspiration, winked at me this time and gave me the voice of the main character. Aha! That's the sort of thing I need to see more of! So I wrote a couple lines from this character and liked what I saw. Then I realized I needed a conflict so I unloaded the dishwasher and BOOM! Another character popped into my head and told me she needed the first one to help her with a big problem. There you have it. The full arc of inspiration. Now I just need to write the thing. You'll notice that I'm writing a blog post instead. Don't you worry. While I seemingly do other things, my brain keeps percolating my stories and making them better before I have to put in any real effort. Nice, huh? So now, I just need this story to turn out really really good by July 16, at which time, I'll be attending an event that will introduce me to the Associate Publisher for TigerTales books. This could be good. It better be good. I have to follow up the contest debacle with something outstanding.

It's Contest time!

2011-06-05T21:45:00.000-04:00

This weekend, Pajama Girl became a standalone app available from Itunes or the Apple App store. To celebrate, I'm holding a contest, right here, with this post. I can tell you've never been so excited so lets cut to the chase here, shall we?

The Prizes:

A 10 page crit. of a novel (done by me)
A full picture book crit. (done by me)
A free copy of the Pajama Girl app! (courtesy of me!)

To enter leave a comment on this blog post, listing which prize(s) you want, and your email address. You don't have to be a follower of this blog, but if you are (or become one) you'll get an extra entry. You will also get an extra entry for each of the following: tweeting this contest, mentioning it on Facebook, mentioning it on your own blog or website. (so mention that in your comment too) I will randomly select the winner on June 17.

Sound fun? Enter away!

Shelley Watters Critique Contest Submission

2011-05-29T09:01:00.001-04:00

     First 250 words of Dream Girl for critique for the Shelley Watters Blog Contest

      Title: Dream Girl
Genre: Paranormal Romance YA
Word Count: 75,425

Ok, I'm currently grappling with POV in my revision. I had started out with the intention of writing everything from the protagonist, Christine's, POV but I attended a workshop a couple weekends ago that prompted me to consider alternating POV. The voice of Gabriel hit me like a ton of bricks while I was in the shower. (isn't that where the best writing ideas come from?) Anyway, here is the originally scheduled Chapter 1. followed by the new Chapter 1. What do you think? I think I know what you're going to say, but still. I need your help!



                                                                     Chapter 1. Gabriel

I hear voices on the beach, too close for comfort. Next comes the crunch of boots on wet sand. I whip my head around, expecting to discover them right behind me but I don’t see anyone yet. Sometimes, it takes awhile for visuals to kick in. One thing is clear; they’re after me again.

“Gabriel,” a woman calls my name and I book it into the fringe of trees that sandwich the beach between the water. A branch scratches the hell out of my cheek but I don’t have time to care until I’m tucked safe in the dense foliage of a well-placed bush.

Peering out from my shelter, I catch sight of them, right where I’d been standing seconds before. Damn, they’re closer than they’d ever gotten before, two of them, a guy and a girl. Most of the time, I don’t see them but when I do, they always wear black combat boots. Nothing else about them is consistent, from clothing, to numbers, to gender but always the boots. It must be a requirement of their group, whoever the hell they are.

They walk together, heads swiveling in every direction as they look for me. I try not to look directly at them for fear that they’ll feel me watching them and come straight for me.

“Gabriel, are you here?” calls the girl.

I don’t answer. She looks short enough that I could take her if I have to, but she also has a spiky hair

Anime chic vibe going on that I don’t want to mess with.

   OR....the original much revised version of Chapter 1.

For most of my eighteen years, everything had been as normal as the Cheerios I’d eaten for breakfast. I was still getting used to living in my apartment but confident that I’d be all settled by the time college started in September. Summer stretched out before me like a lazy cat. Nothing about it, or my regular drive to work, indicated that the Gothic adventures I so loved to read were about to become more than fiction.

Ten minutes late, as usual, I hustled into the public library, my workplace for the past three years. Ditching my purse in my locker, I strode into the workroom, an open space populated by cubicles for the librarians and long tables for the support staff. I held my breath as I scurried past the row of supervisor offices on my right. The last thing I wanted was for one of them to glance at their clock and see that I wasn’t manning the circulation desk yet.

Escaping detection in supervisor alley, I made it to the staff copy room, where our mailboxes resided. Hoping to just duck in to retrieve my nametag, I discovered my boss, Laura Faust, talking to a guy who wore his brown tee shirt and rumpled jeans really well. At least, he looked good from behind, which was all I could see of him.

I tried to inconspicuously snake my arm around them to access my mailbox but Laura stopped me.

“Christine,” she said. “I’d like you to meet Gabriel, our new page.”

Picture book #2

2011-05-26T18:59:00.000-04:00

Well, it seems that Pajama Girl is well received. MeeGenius has listed it on the Bestsellers section of their website. It is always good to see your book and 'bestseller' together. I also heard an awesome tidbit from a co-worker who shared the book with her 9 yr. old daughter. After reading the book together, the daughter went to her room to play with her dolls. Her mother discovered that her daughter had made tissue costumes for each of her dolls. When asked what she was doing, the daughter replied that she was playing with her superhero dolls.
That's huge news for me! That makes Pajama Girl a success in my eyes. No further proof necessary. (but further proof would be awesome).
So, while I'm very happy with how Pajama Girl is doing, I'm also thinking of picture book #2. It has to happen, you know. I'm currently making a list of subjects I'd like to tackle in a picture book and drafting a few outlines for some. The creativity this time around is not as dramatic as it was for Pajama Girl. I will blame this on the seemingly never ending rain and gloom that Michigan is throwing at us this 'spring'. I will also blame this on never ending respiratory infections plaguing my children and, in due course, my husband and me. But I'm getting there.
I am also gearing up to have my first ever blog contest, right here at the Restless Writer, so stay tuned for that. Also hoping to get another interview up here soon.
So I'll end by posing a couple questions for you.
1. What is a picture book you'd like to see but haven't been able find anywhere?
2. Who would you like to see interviewed? (from the writing profession)
3. Do you think the Michigan rain will end before someone has to build an ark?

Thanks for reading!

Pajama Girl has arrived!

2011-05-09T22:38:00.001-04:00

     Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to announce that you can now download my e-picturebook, PAJAMA GIRL!
     It is the all-too-real tale of a preschool girl who assumes a super hero identity, complete with super powers, at bedtime.
     I can't help but smile every time I see the cover because Ingvard the Terrible, (who is the opposite of terrible when it comes to illustrating), did such a perfect job nailing this character. The smirk, the stance, the footy pajamas, I love it!
     I don't know who she is, but the Meegenius narrator did a fantastic job reading the book as well. Can I also admit the fact that hearing her sweet, cheerful voice say, "Illustrated by Ingvard the Terrible" makes me laugh too?
So, yeah, you might say I'm extremely happy with how this whole venture turned out. I hope you will be happy with the book as well.

Quick note about the book:
     As much I would like to, I cannot send anyone a copy of the book. This is the truth of digital publishing. I can't do a book signing unless you want me to sign your Ipad, Ipod, Iphone, or computer screen with a permanent marker. (for the record, I would be happy to do that).

Enjoy!

Pajama Girl is coming!

2011-05-03T22:14:00.002-04:00

The big day is finally (almost) upon us. Pajama Girl will be released by MeeGenius for general consumption on Sunday, May 8, aka Mother's Day!

So, for those of you who may wonder how I achieved this, here is the story of Pajama Girl:

My daughter was probably around 2 years old when the idea hit me. Toddlers don't like to go to bed. Picture books don't often depict girls as super heroes. What if a toddler girl became a super hero when it was time to go to bed? I thought the idea had merit. I wrote the little story as soon as I could and I was pretty happy with it. A few months later, I attended a local SCBWI conference and had it critiqued by Daniel Lee, who was editor at Turtle magazine at that time. He had a lot of great things to say about the story and very minor revisions. He basically indicated that it could probably find a home in Turtle or Humpty Dumpty magazine. At that time, I was a newbie to SCBWI and I also clung to the dream of seeing my book in print. (not my story in a magazine) So I sat on it for over a year. Around that time, the SCBWI Bulletin newsletter came out and it profiled a company called MeeGenius, which publishes e-picture books. I thought it was intriguing so I did some research. E-publishing doesn't give me the same fuzzy feeling as traditional publishing. I had visions of receiving my print copy of Pajama Girl in the mail, cracking the spine and sharing the book with my children. I could do book signings for my friends, work the local library circuit. It would be so glamorously wonderful. An e-book, doesn't really afford you those opportunities. Yes, I could curl up with an E-reader to share the book with my kids but I'm not completely sold on that idea even now. How can you do a book signing when there's no product to sign? You see my dilemma. So, I made a decision. I would send the story to Turtle to see if there was still interest. If there wasn't, I was going to try MeeGenius.

Alas, I had waited too long. Daniel Lee was no longer the editor and the new one passed with a form rejection. So, my decision was made. MeeGenius it was. It was exciting to peruse the artist portfolios and select an illustrator for my own story. To my mind, Sean Ingvard Ashby was head and shoulders above the others and I could see my Pajama Girl hiding in the faces of his other characters. I contacted him to see if he'd be interested in the project. He agreed that it sounded fun so I sent him the manuscript and he began illustrating. Toward the end of the illustration process, Meegenius announced their first Author Contest. Sean and I were excited because we could easily make the deadline, which we did. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Clearly, I'm very pleased with my decision although it's not what I always envisioned. I took a chance, deciding that since E-books seemed to be on the rise (they definitely are now) that maybe I could get in on the ground floor and take the opportunity to try something new while many others were still leery. It paid off.

Besides my Pajama Girl success, I am hoping to get similar good news for a YA ghost short story contest I entered last week. If I am chosen as a winner in this contest, my story will be one of 13 to go into a collection of short stories, the proceeds of which will benefit 826 National. Fingers crossed on that. If it isn't chosen, I think I will publish it here on my blog. It was fun to write, I hope it will be fun to read.

I will be attending a local SCBWI conference next weekend where I will participate in an intensive workshop with Pete Hautman. Upon hearing that Pete would be at the conference, I read his newest book, The Big Crunch, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I'm excited to see what developments for my novel will be unlocked through this experience.

I'm also signed up for SCBWI Annual again this summer. Several of the authors I've interviewed on this very blog will be attending which gives me a chance to meet some of these writers whose work I so admire! I'm so excited!

So, to conclude this rather lengthy post, the year of awesome continues to live up to its moniker. I'm happy, you should be happy, and I hope you'll check out my first book, Pajama Girl on Mother's Day!

Tamson Weston Interview

2011-04-14T23:51:00.001-04:00

I admit, Tamson Weston was not a name I knew until I got the latest edition of the SCBWI Bulletin. In the back, they list market news which announced that Ms. Weston had left her position as senior editor for Disney-Hyperion to start her own editorial consultancy called Tamson Weston Books.
Since Dream Girl revisions are dragging on and I have no greater wish than to get it properly revised and start submitting it, I anxiously looked up her website. It looked fantastic. In fact, it was so compelling that I thought to myself, "I wonder if she'd agree to let me interview her for my humble blog." Having nothing to lose, I asked and she did agree. I found her answers very valuable and she's been excellent to work with, as an interviewer. I'd love to have her as an editor someday. So, without further ado, I give you, Tamson Weston:

Restless Writer (RW): What first attracted you to youth publishing?

Tamson Weston (TW): I was a bookseller for many years and was given the children's section to oversee. No one else wanted it because it was always so messy and I loved it. Spending all that time straightening books and reading them along the way made me want to participate in their creation. When I went to Emerson to get my MFA in Creative Writing, I took some children's writing courses with Lisa Jahn-Clough and then interned at the Hornbook Magazine. It all unfolded from there!

RW: What made you decide to stop working at a publishing house and start your own editorial consultancy?

TW: The further along in my career I got, and the more the publishing industry evolved, the less time I had to spend actually editing books. Editing is the whole reason I got into the business. I've always loved working with new authors and illustrators and I'm pleased to have been able to work with people like Adam Rex, Mac Barnett, Mark Newgarden, Megan Cash and others early on. I decided to leave because I felt that I could spend more time doing this if I didn't have the added responsibilities of profit and loss--creating profit and loss statements, estimate requests and so forth. And I was right. I spend much more time with manuscripts and authors now. I will always have non-editing work to do, too, but it has been greatly reduced in my current role.

RW: What genres do you most enjoy reading?

TW: I don't know that I have a particular genre that I enjoy most. I like good writing. I think, generally, I prefer picture books and middle grade the most because they tend to be more playful and less brooding than YA. That said, one of my favorite books is I CAPTURE THE CASTLE and another is THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING.

RW: What are some of the most common mistakes you see in manuscripts?

TW: INFORMATION DUMP is a big one. This is when authors withhold information in a story to create suspense, and then feel the need to provide all the answers somewhere just before the end. Key information should be revealed gradually and organically, not all at once like the final scene in PSYCHO when the psychiatrist explains why Norman Bates went crazy. And it's not necessary to answer every question. Readers can often imagine perfectly satisfying answers on their own. That's part of the joy of reading!

RW: What would be the traits of an 'ideal client' or 'ideal manuscript'?

TW: I don't know if I have an ideal for either, but I really enjoy working with people who are honestly interested in improving their writing and/or manuscript and not just looking at me as a means to a publishing deal. I can definitely be that, but the best way to make sure that your manuscript is going to attract the interest of the right agent is to work hard on revising and keep an open mind about its possibilities.

RW: What should writers look for when hiring an editor?

TW: I think it's a good idea to hire someone who has had experience working in the industry and has maintained those connections, because market awareness is pretty important, obviously, if you are trying to get published. But a writer should also be sure that he or she has an affinity for the editor. Part of this means that the editor has either worked on or is interested in the same kinds of books that inspire the author. Another part of this connection is being sure that you "click" with a person and that she has a sense of what you are trying to accomplish with your manuscript. The best way to find out if the chemistry is there is to communicate with the editor. Sometimes it takes a phone call, other times it's an extended email exchange. The writer should be sure to ask questions about what the editor's process is before hiring him or her.

RW: Should a writer send you a pitch or a query to see if the manuscript is a good match before you take them on as a client?

TW: I don't think a pitch is necessary. Authors should save this for agents and publishers! I'm trying to help the beginning author get to that point. Usually, if the author is genuinely trying to improve his or her manuscript, I can find a way to help.

RW: Do you believe there are manuscripts that are beyond the help of an editor?

TW: No. The only pre-requisite for making a manuscript better is a desire on the part of the author to do so. This doesn't mean, however, that every manuscript will find a home at a major publishing house. That's a different question.

RW: What are your top five favorite books?

TW: Ugh! This is the hardest question for me to answer. Kids books or adult? I Capture the Castle, all of the Frog & Toad books by Arnold Lobel, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by MT Anderson, The Philharmonic Gets Dressed by Karla Kuskin, Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham, The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch. And of course, there are all the books I've worked on, but I can't even include any of those for fear of leaving out something crucial.

RW: How do you feel about e-publishing? Is it opening the door for more authors or opening the door for mediocre writing?

TW: Well, honestly, probably a bit of both, but I still think it's worth it for the former. Having witnessed how many cool manuscripts I could not publish because of the business requirements of a large house makes me excited for all of the innovative, bucking-the-trend fiction that we will see in electronic form. Buzz was always a very valuable publicity tool and I think we'll see some very interesting stuff rise to the top.

RW: We know paranormal romance is still hot in YA literature right now, do you see any signs that a new trend is coming soon? If not, is there a trend you'd like to see?

TW: Well, there's a little bit of an alien trend on the rise with I AM NUMBER 4. And then there are all the Angel books--FALLEN, MERCY, etc., but I don't really know if these are significantly different than the paranormal trend. I keep hearing that there's a Steampunk trend, but I've yet to see it materialize in the same way that paranormal has.The truth be told, paranormal is still being acquired rather aggressively--I still see a great deal of these kinds of books still in the reports from Publishers Lunch, etc. In all honesty, I wish that publishers would adhere less to these waves of popularity and take more risks, but these are the realities of a competitive market.

RW: Do you attend writer's conferences or workshops? Do you have any appearances coming up?

TW: I do attend conferences, but I don't have any scheduled at the moment.

RW: Do you write as well?

TW: Yes. I've written a picture book called HEY, PANCAKES! that was illustrated by Stephen Gammell. I'm working on some other things now. Stay tuned....

RW: What is the most frustrating thing about being an editor?

TW: Not being able to read as quickly as I'd like to!

Fantastic opportunities abound

2011-04-06T14:55:00.001-04:00

Remember when I told you 2011 would be the year of awesome? I wasn't kidding. Cool things just keep happening. You'll recall that my picture book, Pajama Girl, is the grand prize winner in the first MeeGenius book contest. Still awaiting publication on that, but you'll be sure to hear about it when it's available. I am currently signed up for the next SCBWI-MI spring conference. Last year's spring conference is where I met Jay Asher. This year, I will be attending an intensive workshop with Pete Hautman. (YAY!) SCBWI LA, look out! I'm heading back to the west coast this summer to hobnob with the stars of children's publishing once again. So why do I have this Leap Books badge in the corner? Well, thanks to Children's Authors & Illustrators for Japan | An auction to aid victims of the 2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami, I have scored myself a 50 page critique with Kat O'Shea, editor in chief of Leap Books!!! Could I be more excited? Doubtful. Well, I could be more excited if she enjoys those 50 pages and asks to see more and then offers me a contract, but I'm happy to take one step at a time. Especially as the revision continues.

Anyway, I thought you might want to check out the current list of titles at Leap Books, and imagine, if you will, a world in which Dream Girl appears on that list. Even if it doesn't, check them out.

Coming up in the near future, an interview with Tamson Weston, editor of Tamson Weston Books.

It's still an awesome year. :)

First Anniversary

2011-03-03T21:33:00.000-05:00

Do you remember what's historic about March 26, 2010 10:42pm? Odds are, you don't but I'm here to tell you. March 26, 2010 is when I finished the first draft of my YA novel, Dream Girl. That moment had been seven years coming. Let me explain.
A friend of mine had given me a nice suede covered journal as a gift years ago which I decided would make a great writing journal. On January 30, 2003 I wrote down these notes from a bizarre dream I'd had:

A dream
A strange new male co-worker with dishwater blonde/brown hair and a squarish rugged face begins giving me stories on tape to listen to. The stories are usually quite odd.

-sisters, young girls, who for some reason have to cut their feet off...in their pretty little shoes.
The man and I go to visit their home and encounter the ghost of the sisters and their cruel father. A horribly creepy scene, but I'm not scared by it.

-go back in time to visit two brothers, young men in their 20s. Long hair in pony tail-dark, red head with shoulder length hair. We aren't afraid of each other. We picked the day dark hair suddenly goes mad and dies. Unfortunate. He's very kind. A guard comes in to inspect. I fly to the top of a tall bookcase to hide. The brother's body lays on its back on the floor, red head kneeling beside it. I close my eyes. Open them to find guard's blade inches from my face. I pinch the blade and point it away. Explain I'm not from there. Disappears. I wake.

Ok, so those are some crazy notes. But the dream was so vivid and unusual that I felt I could use it for something, someday. Flash forward to 2005. I was doing book reviews for www.myshelf.com I had requested a YA book called A Crack in the Line by Michael Lawrence because it sounded interesting. I picked the book up as soon as it arrived and read it feverishly. I loved it. When I put it down, a lightbulb came on in my brain. It basically said, "Oh my God. That dream I had, I can write it as a novel but it needs to be a YA novel! I did a little thinking as the basic outline and characters started to form in my head. I first sat down to write it on August 31, 2005. I got married September 9, 2005. I got pregnant shortly thereafter. Life came on with a vibrant vengeance and Dream Girl went mostly into hibernation again.

After my son was born, June 2009, I decided that it was now or never for Dream Girl. I wanted to be a writer. I kept telling people I was writing a book but was I really? I wanted it to be a reality. I wanted something to show for all my years of thinking and wishing and wanting. So I sat down to write as I could find time and I worked it out. I averaged 2-4 chapters a week. I gave myself the deadline of having the first draft complete by the time I went to LA for the SCBWI writer's conference in August. And, dear reader, I accomplished that goal, ahead of schedule on March 26. Whew!

But the story doesn't end there. Following writerly advice, I let the draft sit for a few months. I figured I earned the break and I could get started on revising after the conference. And yes, that's what I've been doing, slowly, ever since. If you've been following this blog for awhile, you know there have been ups and downs and that I've started and re-started the revisions. I've had breakthroughs and setbacks. Currently, I'm back to breakthroughs. This week, the pieces in my head finally clicked together. I hadn't been happy with my first draft ending and I knew I needed some major plot fixes and after months of pondering, I believe it's finally come together...again. I am just as excited about this project as I was when I woke from that vivid crazy dream in 2003. I can see potential. I can see progress. I can see myself growing and becoming what I've always wanted to be, a writer.

There is still a lot of work ahead to complete the revision process. I am still working through that as time allows. I still need my trusted critiquers to look it over after that. I'll need to consider and incorporate their suggested changes and then, maybe then, I'll be ready to tackle that all important query letter.

But that's where we are, one year after I finally completed the first phase of this crazy project. Happy Anniversary, Dream Girl. I can say, with certainty, you only get better with age.

April Lindner Interview

2011-02-13T16:34:00.000-05:00

If you know anything about me, you know I love Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. The book is haunting and beautiful and it has a big impact on the novel I'm still writing/revising right now. So, when I saw that April Lindner had written a modernization, entitled Jane, I was intrigued. I was even more interested when I read that the character of Rochester, (Nico Rathburn in Jane) is a rock star. Might seem a bit crazy to die hard Eyre fans but I decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I did.
Lindner was meticulous about remaining true to the original, despite what Rochester as a rock star might make you think. I was particularly pleased with how she handled the relationship between Jane and St. John Rivers. I found it more satisfying in Jane than in the original.
However, no one can top the original, but the fact that Lindner so obviously loves the Bronte makes Jane an excellent read.
Lindner is currently working on doing a modernization of Wuthering Heights, which excites me to no end. Have you read Wuthering Heights? I love the story, but I feel like it's a mess to read. I have read it twice and both times were very painful. Not just because it's a horrible/wonderful story but the language, for me, is very difficult to get through. There are a lot of passages written with an accent that I just can't get through. It hurts yet I want to love it.   Heathcliff fits my ideal literary love interest, horribly flawed, somewhat dangerous but consumed by love for his woman. (see the Phantom of the Opera, Rochester, and Edward from Twilight as a few examples of the kind of crazy lovers I like to see in books).
   I greatly admire April Lindner for tackling this modernization project. I think it's wonderful. In a way, I wish I'd done it myself. (longtime friends will know that I did do a rewrite of the Phantom of the Opera as my very first 'complete' novel when I was in 8th grade. I'd be tempted to resurrect it if it didn't involve so much research. However, I may have outlined a modernization of it myself to be worked on when I'm done with my current novel. Don't go stealing that idea...)
   Anyway, without further sidenotes, and with great admiration for my fellow Eyre lover, I give you April Lindner.

1. Restless Writer (RW): Clearly, you love Charlotte Bronte's original Jane Eyre. Were you ever afraid of taking on a classic and making it your own?
April Lindner (AL): I probably should have been at least a little afraid. Modernizing a beloved classic like Jane Eyre is treading on sacred ground, and it would be easy to make a misstep and alienate the novel’s longtime fans. While I was doing the actual writing, though, I didn’t let myself worry about what readers would think. What I did do was try to write in good faith, to be as true as possible to the spirit of an original book, and I hoped—and still hope—that my respect and affection for Jane Eyre comes through.

2. RW: What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book?
AL: Taking plot elements in the original and finding believable contemporary equivalents was the book’s big challenge. You can’t have Jane Eyre without having a madwoman in the attic, but how could such a thing happen in our age of medical miracles? That was the biggest roadbump but there were lots of smaller ones along the way.

3. RW: A friend of mine and I were recently chatting about how Rochester is never ugly enough in film versions of Jane Eyre. If Jane was made into a movie, who would you envision as Nico and Jane?
AL: Any actors I can think of are bound to be on the too-attractive side. In my imagination, Nico looks and sounds quite a bit like Toby Stephens, the actor who played Mr. Rochester in the wonderful 2006 BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre. Nico’s in his early thirties, though, and if I had to choose among thirtyish actors, I’d choose Milo Ventimiglia, who has brooding rock star looks, or maybe James Franco, who seems versatile enough to do just about anything. As for Jane, I think Carey Mulligan could do a great job in the part. She’s got a lovely, quiet intelligence that fits the character.

4. RW: I'm a Jane Eyre addict myself. (it is heavily influencing the YA novel I'm writing) As a fellow Eyre lover, I would love to know what specific scenes in the book haunt you/stick with you the most.
AL: My favorite scene is the moment under the chestnut tree when Jane breaks down and admits her feelings for Mr. Rochester and he has to convince her that he feels the same way about her. The speech she gives him—“Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!”—is one of the most perfect moments in literature. And there’s the wonderfully understated declaration, “Reader, I married him.” Really, there are so many touchstone moments I couldn’t bear to leave out.

5. RW: I've read that you're working on a retelling of Wuthering Heights next. I've read the book twice and found it a slow difficult read both times. (although also compelling and worth the difficulty). I'm so happy to hear you're modernizing it. How far along are you and how does it compare to writing Jane?
AL: I’m revising, but I’ve got a long way to go. I’ve found this particular novel much more difficult to write. With Jane, I meant to stay faithful to the original, so I had a pretty clear template to follow, but Wuthering Heights has so many elements that resist translation into the 21st century, for example, first cousins marrying and Heathcliff digging up the long dead Cathy for a last look at her body. I knew I had to give myself permission to go a lot farther afield, so I did. Like the original, my retelling, Catherine, is a multigenerational story of obsessive love. The Heathcliff character is a punk rocker and Catherine is the brilliant and somewhat spoiled daughter of a legendary night club on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. It’s a darker story than Jane, but still nowhere near as dark and violent as the original.

6. RW: The writer in me wonders if Jane was an easy sell for you. How long did it take from idea to book deal?
AL: Don’t hate me, please, when I tell you that Jane was a relatively easy sell. I wrote it in the summer of 2007, revised it over the next year, found an agent, and sold it in 2009, though a lot more revision ensued after that. But Jane isn’t really my first novel; I’ve got another one languishing in a drawer, unpublished. Also it took me ten years of banging my head against a brick wall to get my first poetry collection, Skin, into print. A second poetry manuscript has been a finalist or a semi finalist in multiple contests but has yet to win the competition that is the usual way into print for a poetry book. So I’ve paid a lot of dues along the way.

7. RW: You're also a rock fan. What are the top 3 concerts you've been to?
AL: 1) My all time favorite concert would have to be almost any Bruce Springsteen show I’ve seen, and I’ve seen many. If I have to choose just one, it would be my very first, in 1980, during The River Tour. He played for almost four hours, and was a fireball of charisma and energy. He still plays longer, more intense shows than anyone else, and he’s got such a wealth of material to draw from that I’m always left wanting more.2) This summer a friend took me to see Paul McCartney. To tell the truth, I was more excited about seeing my friend than about seeing Sir Paul, but the show took my breath away. When Paul launched into the Long and Winding Road I surprised myself by bursting into tears; it was an instant flashback to my early childhood. The rockers—both Beatle era and from Wings and beyond--still sizzle, and nobody does a ballad better.3) On a whim my husband and I went to see Train at a free music festival in New Jersey, and they were fantastic. Lead singer Pat Monahan threw his whole soul into every song, and he has such a beautiful, powerful, resonant voice.

8. RW: When I write, I often listen to a specific soundtrack I've put together for my story. Do you do the same? If so, would you share some of the songs from your Jane playlist?
AL: Absolutely. The playlist’s still growing, but here it is in its current form:It Happens Every Day (Dar Williams)Bad Reputation (Freedy Johnston)American Slang (The Gaslight Anthem)Parachute (Train)The Lucky One (Alison Krauss & Union Station)My Love Will Not Let You Down (Bruce Springsteen)Romeo’s Tune (Steve Forbert)Hey, Soul Sister (Train)Don’t Dream It’s Over (Crowded House)Your Mind’s Playing Tricks on You (John Wesley Harding)Rumors (Josh Ritter)Janey Don’t You Lose Heart (Bruce Springsteen)Troubled Times (Dar Williams)Intro/Sweet Jane (Lou Reed)

9. RW: Do you have any projects in mind once Wuthering Heights is complete?
AL: I want to do another modernization, and I’ve been thinking about the possibilities of reworking E. M. Forster’s A Room With a View, to tell the story of young American backpackers in Italy. When I was 22, I backpacked solo across Europe and I’ve always wanted to work some of those experiences into a story.

10. RW: When can readers expect to see your version of Wuthering Heights hit the bookstores?
AL: Fall of 2012 is the projected date. It seems so far away, but also, considering how much revising I still need to do, terrifyingly close.

11. RW: You're also an award winning poet. Did you always have an inkling that you'd write for the YA audience? Are you still writing poetry?
AL: I always thought I would write a novel some day, and I knew it would probably be about young adults, because I’m fascinated with that time of life, the point at which people really start to grow into the adults they’ll become. But it didn’t occur to me that I was writing for a YA audience until my agent, Amy Williams, wisely pointed out the possibility. Now that I’ve fallen into the YA world, it feels like home. There’s so much enthusiasm among YA book bloggers and readers. There’s a sense among academics that high school and college students just aren’t reading for pleasure anymore, but now I know that there’s a hard core of passionate young readers hungry for more.As for my poetry, it comes from a different part of my psyche—a more personal place. I still write poetry, albeit maybe a bit less of it these days, and I don’t plan to stop.

Tammi Sauer interview

2011-01-19T14:41:00.003-05:00

I first discovered Tammi Sauer's work when I was working as a children's librarian. I was browsing our new book shelf for something to bring home for my daughter and the cover of Chicken Dance caught my eye. Having been an Elvis fan for as long as I can remember, I picked it up, checked it out and brought it home. It was, in short, hilarious fun.

Fast forward to SCBWI annual last year. It was the last day of the conference. I was sitting in the last row and who should sneak in next to me but Tammi Sauer and Cynthea Liu. Tammi and I exchanged business cards and I was delighted to exclaim, "Oh YOU wrote Chicken Dance! My daughter and I LOVE that book!"

This led to the all important Facebook friendship, and as a result, you get to read my interview with her. If you want something fun to read with your children, Tammi Sauer is the author for you. If you want to read some picture books to examine style, humor and get inspired to perfect your own writing, Tammi Sauer is the author for you!

Thank you so much for agreeing to the interview, Tammi. Can't wait to read your upcoming books!

Restless Writer (RW): My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed Chicken Dance. I’ve always loved Elvis. So the question is, how did you pair together poultry and Elvis? (It’s a brilliantly fun pairing!)

Tammi Sauer (TS): When I first started working on Chicken Dance, I knew there would be a barnyard talent show, and I knew the grand prize had to be big. That prize couldn’t be a bucket of oats. It couldn’t be a hay bale. It had to be amazing and different and fresh. I was sitting around thinking chicken when two words popped into my head: Elvis Poultry. And I knew I had my grand prize: Tickets to Elvis Poultry in Concert: The Final Doodle-Doo.

RW: How did you choose the name ‘Bernadette’ for your little monster in Mostly Monsterly ?

TS: My mom comes from a huge family. Seven boys: Lawrence, Sylvester, Sonny, Al, Robert, George and Frank. Seven girls: Rosalia, Ramona, Loretta, Caecilia, Vivian, Gladys, and Bernadine. While these names are perfectly lovely, I always thought they sounded like a great cast of characters for a monster school. When I came up with the idea for Mostly Monsterly, I didn’t even have to think about what the main character’s name should be. I tweaked Bernadine’s name and had the perfect fit for my big-hearted, little monster.

RW: What are some picture books that make you laugh the hardest? (in a good way)

TS: Oh, there are so many! Some of the books that have made me laugh out loud are Ugly Fish by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Scott Magoon, What Will Fat Cat Sit On? written and illustrated by Jan Thomas, and Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox, illustrated by Lydia Monks.

RW: Wannabe writers, like myself, hear over and over again that picture books are the hardest area of children’s publishing to break into. How did you manage to do it?

TS: I kept reading, writing, revising, and researching. I never gave up, and I never stopped believing. I didn’t sell my first story. Or my second story. Or my third. But those stories helped me to be a better writer. The more I wrote, the better I wrote. I tell kids that writing is just like playing a sport or an instrument. You get better with practice.

RW: The ‘average’ person often seems to think writing picture books must be easy. How long does it take you to complete a manuscript? How many rounds of revisions do you typically go through?

TS: The hardest part for me is coming up with a great idea. That can take months and months. Once I have that idea, it generally takes a month or two for me to complete a solid manuscript. I then get feedback on the manuscript from my critique partners and from a number of other picture book writers. These days, I usually go through ten rounds of revision. Some of those revisions might just involve a few word changes, but with picture books, every word must be the right word.

RW: Many people don’t realize that picture book writers don't choose their illustrators or have a lot of input into the illustrations of their books. Tell us the truth, how do you really feel when you’re holding your yet unseen artwork for your precious characters?

TS: I feel nervous/excited/hopeful, but I always trust that my publishers will find the perfect match for each book. Getting those emails with art attachments is one of my favorite parts of the business.

RW: Can you give us any hints on your upcoming projects?

TS: I am super excited about the soon-to-be-released Mr. Duck Means Business. Mr. Duck loves his solitary life on his pond. One day he goes a little haywire when the barnyard animals mistakenly think they’ve been invited for a swim. Following that is Bawk and Roll, the sequel to Chicken Dance. In 2012, I have Princess-in-Training, Oh, Nuts, and Me Want Pet. Princesses, chipmunks and a Cave Boy? I can’t wait!

RW: What is one of the coolest things you’ve been able to experience because of your writing?

TS: I love hearing from kids. This is my all time favorite letter:

Dear Mrs. Sauer:

Your [sic] the best. Your [sic] my hero and roll [sic] model. My dream is to right [sic] a book. Do not tell her this but I like you more than Kelly Clarkson.

Love,

Elizabeth

2011 is the year of Awesome

2011-01-01T22:31:00.001-05:00

This is the level of awesome I'm talking about. Partying with NYT bestselling authors in drag on the West Coast awesome!

If you follow me on Facebook, you already know that yesterday I got the news that my story, PAJAMA GIRL, is the grand prize winner for the MeeGenius book contest. My prize is, in order of awesomeness: an Apple Ipad, an ebook deal for Pajama Girl with MeeGenius and an associate editor at a major publishing house will be working with me on my manuscript prior to e-publication. This is beyond exciting!!! So, the Ipad alone is far more than I've ever earned for my writing. The book deal is exciting because no one really knows what's going to happen with ebooks just yet or how it fits into the traditional publishing model. This could potentially be starting out on the ground floor of something really awesome. At the very least, I can earn a little bit of income for something I've written. And, for me, the coolest part of all is that I will be working with a real, live editor at a major house. I will have a real contact! This is the stuff writer dreams are made of! (and this is not to say that I'm not stoked about being an Ipad owner.) :D So, yes, 2011 has started well. But I'm not stopping to rest on my small victory. I am trying to power through these Dream Girl revisions as well. I think I've got a good grasp on it now. I've been working through Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook and it has been so incredibly useful. This book is brilliant. It's like the author knew what all the weaknesses of my novel are and he told me what to do to fix them. This book managed to get me generating multiple plot twists that I've been grappling with for a year. I'm excited about the direction things are going now. I have a firm understanding of what the story is, where it needs to go and what the details are. This is big news! This is good stuff! This is 2011, my year of awesome!

We've come a long way, baby

2010-12-28T21:30:00.001-05:00

Around this time last year, I started dreaming about how awesome it would be to attend the SCBWI annual conference. At first, I never expected it to come close to reality. Why on earth would I travel across the country, alone, leaving my husband and two young children for almost a week just so I could indulge in a big conference, which would undoubtedly be at least as much fun as it was informative? Well, you all know how that turned out.
I don't know if it's just this time of year or what, but the dream has returned. I want to go back to that conference. I want to go badly. The hubby is on board so it's time to start planning and saving up the $$$.
In the meantime, you may also recall that I was brilliantly happy with my writing strides in 2010. I completed a full draft of my YA novel, which had started as a bizarre dream all the way back in 2001. I attended a regional SCBWI conference that assigned NYT bestseller, Jay Asher, to critique the first chapter of my novel. His feedback was amazing. He encouraged me. He made me feel that my work really does have merit and that I need to pursue it. I attended the SCBWI annual conference. I met unpublished authors who I'm working with to perfect our craft and break into this crazy business of kidlit. I met wildly successful published authors who were also very encouraging and kind. I met my critique partner. I learned that I'm totally capable of traveling all by myself. I learned a lot about my novel and the work it will take to get it from that completed draft to a version that I can show an agent or editor with pride and confidence.
I entered my picture book manuscript in a contest for MeeGenius. The results are yet to be announced. (sigh) But I'm still holding out hope that I could be the winner, and if not, that I will get a small ebook deal with them out of it and be actually making some money for my writing.
I have been grappling with the revision of DREAM GIRL. It's a hard row to hoe, let me tell you. I thought it was a struggle to get the first draft out, I will tell you with confidence that it's harder to make that draft into something engaging, intelligent, suspenseful, polished, compelling and coherent. Thus, after many attempts to get through a revision of the entire draft (which I have not done,) I have come back to a title recommended by editor Ruta Rimas at that same regional SCBWI conference where I met Jay Asher. The book is WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL WORKBOOK by Donald Maass. I had checked the book out from the library after that conference, but I wasn't ready for it. I was riding high from completing the first draft. I just knew it was brilliant as is. (if you're a writer, you know that feeling, let's take a moment to laugh about it now.......ha.....ha.....ha....ok, let's continue.) So, zoom forward to tonight, I bought that book 5 days ago from Amazon. It arrived on my porch this morning. (pretty impressive since Christmas has occurred in between purchasing and receiving). We got the kids to bed by 8 tonight and I did the exercises in the first two chapters. This involved answering 8 questions/ doing some brainstorming and I stopped after those 2 chapters because it's draining but incredible work! I think I'm already on track for a heck of a lot better book just from those 8 questions alone. And let me tell you, there are 34 chapters!
Working through this workbook, which I highly recommend for any of you out there who want to write better novels, is helping me to polish this manuscript better than I could myself. I wouldn't know about this book if it wasn't for that regional conference.
Besides that, all of my current revision work is reminding me of the talks I attended by Rachel Vail on character development at the SCBWI annual conference. I didn't want to admit it at the time but I didn't know everything there was to know about my character. In fact, here's a dirty secret, I hadn't spent much time thinking about her before I threw her into my story, let alone the other characters. So now, I'm putting in the hard work, or starting to. These conferences I've attended, these connections I've made to the writing world, have helped me tremendously, even if it takes me a few months to process it and apply it to my project.
So, in closing, I suppose my point is that even though this is really hard work and the conferences are a lot of fun, they are so valuable to this dream I have of publishing books. This past year has been my most successful as a writer even though I have not even advanced to sending out queries yet. The devil is in the details, and right now, I'm striving to make the details of this novel as good as I can so I can fashion a product that will make myself and my potential readers proud.
I can only imagine what 2011 will have in store, but if I can continue reaching and growing even slowly, it's going to be another amazing year. Thanks for being part of this journey.

Christy Raedeke Interview

2010-11-04T20:49:00.001-04:00

I told you it was coming and here it is! Christy Raedeke is another author I admire. Thanks to the wonders of Facebook, she's also my 'friend'. Let me tell you, not only is she a talented writer, but she's really nice too.

I couldn't wait to read her young adult novel, PROPHECY OF DAYS. It was another book that I desperately wanted to finish in one sitting but couldn't because it was after midnight and I have small children. Having never been a morning person, I highly value sleep. So I stayed up too late two nights in a row to finish this book. "Wow" is about the first thing that came to mind after reading it. There are so many fascinating characters, many who aren't what they seem to be. It's set in Scotland, what's not to love about that? There's a hot Scottish guy for the protagonist to fall for. Yummy. There's conspiracy...good, good. There's the intrigue of the ancient Mayan calender and the year 2012...exciting and intelligent. And thrown into the mix, for good measure, is hope. After reading this book, I felt like I could make a difference and that there is still a reason to have faith in humanity. (After the recent elections that have left many feeling hopeless and without any faith in humanity...I highly recommend picking up this book.) It was fast paced, exciting, intelligent and fun. Book 2 is due in May 2011. I can't wait!
So, without further ado, Christy Raedeke!

RW (Restless Writer): I truly believe Mr. Papers is one of the greatest literary characters of all time. How did you come up with the idea for an origami folding monkey and name him Mr. Papers? It's brilliant!

CR (Christy Raedeke): First of all, I have to tell you that I printed this out, cut out the part about Mr. Papers being one of the greatest literary characters, and taped it to the top of my monitor so I can look at it all the time. For a librarian and writer to say that means so much to me!

I have always thought it would be amazing to have a helper monkey - the origami part was folly at first and then it made some sense! I wanted an animal that could communicate and with what Capuchins are trained to do, Origami is not that far out of the realm of possibility.

RW: PROPHECY OF DAYS draws heavily on the ancient Mayan calendar. Your characters speak of it very intelligently. Had you previously studied the Mayan calendar or did you just start researching it for this book?

CR: I read about the Mayan calendar back in 1999 and was instantly enchanted by it. The knowledge the Maya had about astronomy and math was unbelievable! The more I looked into it, the more captivated I was by it. The book took a lot of research but since I am so interested in the subject it was fun, not work.

RW: For an adventure story of this magnitude, you could have chosen anywhere in the world for the setting. What made you chose to set it in Scotland?

CR: Because I love Scotland! It just feels so old, so softened by time and weather. Also I wanted the setting to be very far culturally and physically from the Mayalands and Scotland fit that bill.

RW: You have traveled extensively. Have you visited all the places mentioned in the book?

CR: I have been to many of the places that I use in both the two books, and a couple still remain dream trips I hope to take (like the Dunhuang Caves in China). Travel is my absolute favorite thing, so even writing about travel is fun.

RW: Your book packs adventure, travel, conspiracy, romance and ancient wisdom into one fast-paced and enjoyable package. You make it seem easy. How long did it take to write and how much research did you have to do?

CR: I can’t believe it seems easy! What a great compliment. No, the book took a few years, but I also had a very young child when I started and had another child a year into writing it, so time I could spend writing was spotty. The most enjoyable and yet most time consuming part was the research. But like I said, when it’s a subject you love it doesn’t feel like work, it feels like following a super interesting trail you’ve never been on.

RW: Your book is the first in a trilogy. How did you approach agents/publishers as a debut author with a proposed trilogy? The book is incredible but did you encounter any resistance from the industry?

CR: It’s actually just a two-book series, a “Duology”. My agent signed me after reading the first one and a one-page synopsis of the second one. We talked about breaking it into three books but right about that time the market really changed and all of a sudden publishers felt like it was a risk to take on a series – they wanted books that could stand alone but had series potential – so we scaled it back to two books. My book deal was based on a finished manuscript and a three-page synopsis of book two.

In terms of resistance, I did get some at first. When it first went out on sub, many of the New York editors had not heard of the Mayan Calendar or 2012 (this was 2008). Then last year at a writer’s conference one of the editors who gently passed on it made an open plea for anyone who had a 2012 book to please send it to her!

RW: Unlike the more mainstream perceptions of 2012, which focuses on destruction, your book offers hope. Did you make the decision to inject the story with hope or did you find evidence for a less destructive interpretation in your research. (doomsday vs. a new beginning)

CR: In all of my research I never came across one piece of information that said the world was ending, or that said what was coming was cataclysmic. It’s all about transformation, about the end of an era and the beginning of another.

I really detest fear mongering, and that’s what most of the media focuses on so naturally they’d twist this into an apocalyptic thing. Everyone is always looking for the next apocalypse!

RW: On your website, you list an app. for the Mayan Calendar. Do you, like Caity, use the Mayan calendar in your daily life? Have you found that readers are using it now?

CR: I use it all the time. There’s a great iPhone app called Tzolkin Explorer that’s easy and fun to use. It’s very helpful in setting an intention for the day and looking at each day as a unique and special piece of a never-ending spiral, not just another day on a linear yard stick.

RW: What do you hope teens will take away from your books?

CR: I really hope they get inspired by the adventure, the mystery, and the travel. There is so much wonder in this world, so many things to see and ways to live. I’d like teens to get a sense that they can change the world – never before have so many people under 20 been on the planet at once. They have the numbers, now they just need to get organized! Change the paradigm, please!

RW: Do you have any favorite books that you keep coming back to?

As a kid I liked to re-read books (obsessions included Herman Hesse’s Demian, Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, and Steinbeck’s East of Eden) but as an adult there are very few I enjoy re-reading. I am currently in love with Meg Rosoff’s What I Was (I actually adore all her books, but this one really got me) and Jennifer Eagan’s The Keep.

RW: Book 2 is coming out in May 2011 (YAY!) have you completed writing it? Can you give us a teaser?

CR: I’ve done the majority of the work on it, and have been through one round of revisions. I still have some more to do, but at least it’s close I actually like it better than Book One, which is surprising since it was so much more difficult to write.

In Book Two you get to see more of Mr. Papers, including some previously hidden ninja skills! The stakes are higher, Justine is with Caity the whole time, and some very interesting places are involved. Let me pull out a little teaser (this is from page 173):

Silently, we walk back down the way we came up and then over a small bridge from El Palacio to a group of three temples that face each other. I was drawn to the smaller one today, the Temple of the Foliated Cross, because it was tiny and wonky and a little overgrown with weeds. But it’s the more spectacular one across from it that we climb.

In the back corner of one of the chambers at the top there’s a small chink in the rock. I cannot bring myself to sick my finger in it, so I use the end of one of the long candles I bought in the gift shop. When Justine sees it crumble, she pushes me away. “I’ll do it,” she says, sticking two fingers down in the dark hole. After feeling around for longer than I ever would, she manages to move something. One of the thick stone panels that I thought was a wall, rotates just enough to reveal a very skinny, very dark staircase.

“Mr. Papers?” I say, handing him a flashlight. “Would you?”

He looks at me and rolls his eyes. Instead of taking the cheap tourist flashlight I was offering, he reaches for my big metal flashlight and shines it down. No snakes, no critters—so far so good.

Since Justine bravely stuck her fingers in the hole, and Papers is going first, I suck it up and follow. I have to turn sideways to even fit, and once I get a few feet down I can no longer see my feet because the staircase is so narrow and steep. I just feel for each step. Justine has her hand on my shoulder and is feeling her way behind me. After about twenty stairs, we reach the ground. We are under the Templo del Sol, the Temple of the Sun.

The space widens just a bit, enough for Justine and me to walk side by side. I had memorized the map and know we have to follow this tunnel almost the whole distance of the base of the pyramid to reach the hidden room.

Neither of us is talking, we’re both just breathing heavily and walking as quickly as we can. The farther we get, the more panicked I’m feeling about getting stuck down here. Just as I fear I might start hyperventilating, the tunnel turns. Right after the turn is a stone door. Mr. Papers gives it a push and it rotates open, this time to reveal another door covered in silver and decorated with glyphs.

I pull on the handle, shocked to find the room behind it already glowing with light.

Great cover art. It even looks thrilling, doesn't it?

Writing and not writing, that's life.

2010-10-27T22:11:00.000-04:00

Well, I've put up two author interviews here this month. From the overwhelming lack of comments, I don't know if you're impressed or ho-humming. I prefer to think you're stunned speechless because Susan and Michael are pretty awesome. Feel free to comment and let me know what you think of them too. Up next will be Christy Raedeke, who is another wildly awesome author. She has written a book called THE PROPHECY OF DAYS which I'll tell you more about when the interview goes up.

In the meantime, I thought it would be nice to shine the spotlight back on myself. Not because I'm that vain but because there are some things happening that are of note.

1. Sean Ingvard Ashby, my utterly talented illustrator has completed his work on PAJAMA GIRL. All that's left is to submit the manuscript to Meegenius.com and wait a couple months to see how we fare in the contest. Regardless, it was a fantastic experience to collaborate with Sean and to actually 'see' how my little Pajama Girl looks through someone else's mind. She looks incredible and Sean was a joy to work with, so if you're looking for an illustrator and you dig his style, hire him. Don't delay. He's crazy talented and fun too. Hooray for Sean!

2. DREAM GIRL is currently kicking my ass. If I gave birth to this manuscript in March, then she's turned into a snotty teenager now and will not cooperate. Chapter 18 refuses to be written properly, thus effectively putting revisions in a firm standstill. Well, sort of. Convinced that I did not lay the groundwork properly in chapters 1-17, I've gone back to the beginning, again, to sort out what the problem is. I'm back up to ch. 8. So far, so good...if I say so myself. So the problem must be between 9-17. However, the kids and I are sick with a hideous virus, my poor daughter the worst of the lot, and frankly, I don't want to revise right now. I really want to be querying, but one step at a time. And the author interviews are a whole lot of fun too. (Hint, if anyone needs to hire an interviewer, I'd love to do it!)

Well, I guess that's all the news there is for now. Please let me know if you're enjoying the interviews. I certainly am!

Michael Lawrence Interview

2010-10-19T23:51:00.001-04:00

Michael Lawrence and I go way back. Like 5 or 6 years back. I read his book A CRACK IN THE LINE, the first of the Withern Rise trilogy while doing book reviews for www.myshelf.com I was so impressed with the book that I decided to interview him for Myshelf's author of the month feature. I contacted him via email, unknowingly starting a regular correspondence that would last approx. 18 months. At that time, I became a mom and dropped off the face of the earth for awhile. But let me back up a bit.

Michael's book combined with my subconscious, which had been simmering a story idea for 2 years. It hit me like the cliche ton of bricks. My book had to be a paranormal YA novel! Well, over the years, that book became DREAM GIRL which I know you are all anxious for me to finish revising and get published.

After A CRACK IN THE LINE, I waited impatiently for book 2 to come along, SMALL ETERNITIES. It was every bit as amazing as the first, and, luckily, it came out in the UK shortly after I read A CRACK IN THE LINE. The final book, THE UNDERWOOD SEE made me wait longer, as he was writing it while we were corresponding. As a result of the correspondence, Michael included a small homage to yours truly in that last book. Those of you who've known me since before 2005 must drop everything right now, buy all three books and tell me when you've discovered what it is in THE UNDERWOOD SEE that I'm referring to. For those of you who didn't know me, buy the books, read them and I'll tell you what it is. Go ahead, the links are right here. The interview will still be here when you get back....

Ok, now we can get on with things.

A CRACK IN THE LINE was up for a Printz award. Let me tell you, I was thoroughly disappointed that it didn't win. It should have. It should have won a great many awards. If I had anything to do with it, it would have.

Michael is such a talented fellow that he writes books for all age levels. He's done an adorable series for babies, Baby Loves. He's written the Jiggy McCue books for elementary school kids. He wrote his own memoir for adults which I really enjoyed, MILKING THE NOVELTY, which is only available through Michael. And those are just the ones I've read. There are more. Buy them.

So I'd like to introduce you to Michael Lawrence, someone I admire greatly as a brilliant author and a really great person who tolerates numerous emails from an American wannabe author.


On location doing research for his book, JUBY'S ROOK

RW (Restless Writer). It seems that the YA genre is full of trilogies and series these days. How did you approach editors with Withern Rise? Did you know it would be a trilogy when you started writing it?

ML. A Crack in the Line, volume one of the Withern Rise trilogy, was a slightly expanded rewrite of my first published book for children, When the Snow Falls, published in England (but nowhere else) in 1995. Some time after publication of Snow Falls I began to get an itch to further explore the premise of life alternatives thrown up by chance and circumstance, but for older readers. I only approached two editors with the proposition, and the second of them accepted it, probably because she had already published other books of mine. Although I intended The Aldous Lexicon (my English title) to be a trilogy I had no idea what would go into the second and third volumes until I came to write them, but I dropped little things in the first volume (and the second when I came to it) that seemed to have no business there, which meant that I had to find a reason for their presence in the next volume or volumes in due course. The story was thus a sort of unfolding puzzle for me, but I liked that process. It meant that I couldn’t write on automatic.

RW. You write for very young children through adult. Do you prefer writing for one age group more than the rest?

ML. I’ve always liked variety, though writing for children can be both limiting and frustrating as there are times when I want to use language and plot devices that would be beyond the young reader.

RW. The first time I interviewed you, I asked if you thought you'd tire of writing. You said "I seem to change interests and professions every ten years or so. 2005 is my tenth year as a published writer, so I’m a bit restless at the moment, wondering what I can do to spice things up a bit." So, 2010 marks year 15 as a published writer. Have you found a way to 'spice things up' or are you searching for a new direction?

ML. Five years ago I put up a shelf that fell down. So I’m still writing. But the restlessness has not gone away. Far from it. Ever feel that you’ve strayed into the wrong reality? If so, you might be in mine.

RW. Since you've been publishing for 15 years, how do you continue to generate ideas for your books? What moves you along when the muse isn't smiling on you?

ML. I’ve never needed a muse, smiling or scowling. I’m one of those unfortunate individuals who has too many ideas to sleep through more than three nights a week. There are times when I long for writer’s block. What peace!

RW. You've written many great books with memorable and quirky characters. Is there any character that has remained with you or do they 'go away' when you've finished their book(s)?

ML. When I finish a book I’m out of it immediately and working on the next one. My characters are creations, that’s all, and disposable. Plenty more where they came from. I recently lost a close friend from childhood. He was real. He stays with me.

RW. BABY CHRISTMAS has become a holiday classic in my house. Did you find any major difference in selling a seasonal book? Would you want to do more seasonal books?

ML. It took about a decade to find a publisher for Baby Christmas. Publisher after publisher turned it down, but after it came out I was asked to write a sequel. This I did – setting it on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. It was turned down on the assumption that buyers of Christmas books wouldn’t be interested in an after-Christmas book. Pity. It was a fun idea.

RW. I think many people are drawn to writing and publishing because they want their words to live on and touch other people. Which of your books are you most proud of?

ML. Proud of? Tricky. I get absolutely no buzz out of seeing my books in shops, libraries or anywhere else. I might think fondly back on something I’ve written, but that’s about as close to ‘proud’ as I get. The book I think most highly of is the one that will be in my head next week, or the week after.

RW. Where is your favorite place to refresh and rejuvenate your mind?

ML. I have a wooden lodge on the coast of North Cornwall, about an hour and a half’s drive from where I live. I go there for a week or so at a time, to work. It’s very quiet there. There’s no telephone and I receive no mail there. My view is of a field of grazing cows, hills dotted with walkers, and a small rocky bay. At night the sky, when not heavy with cloud, is filled with stars. It suits me very well.

RW. What is the worst advice you've ever been given, about anything.

ML. ‘Don’t do it.’

RW. What is the best thing that's happened to you because of your writing?

ML. Being able to give up sleeping on park benches under newspaper. For a while anyway...

RW. I confess that I often procrastinate when I could be writing. Facebook is a fabulous procrastination tool for me. Do you procrastinate when you should be writing? What is your diversion of choice?

ML. Facebook holds no allure for me. My preferred diversion? I write music of various kinds, including songs. No one hears these things. They’re for me alone, but hugely satisfying to produce and record.

RW. The publishing world is in an uproar over the future of publishing and digital rights. Has any of this affected you and the work you're currently doing?

ML. Book sales are way down at present for most authors, including me, though I doubt the reason is entirely the digital market. Ebooks could be the thing of the future, however, and accordingly I have just signed a contract for sixteen of my books to be made available in that format over the next year. These include the three Withern Rise books (the English version, as The Aldous Lexicon).

RW. Do you have a favorite book that you find yourself coming back to?

ML. Nope. Tons of music, though.

RW. You used to work as a photographer, do you think the artistic process of photography has influenced the way you write? Do you still do photography for fun?

ML. These days I have no interest in taking pictures other than to record things or places I wish to remember or as an aid to my writing. When about to start work on a novel that requires a vivid setting I go to some lengths to find a real location for my characters to inhabit. I’ve just finished a comic novel about a murder weekend that goes wrong. Before starting it I searched quite widely for a house to set it in, and eventually found a likely prospect and wangled a guided tour by the owners. It was a huge dark place, with ivy over much of it, and a bell tower, and battlements, rambling grounds, and so on. I took a stack of pictures, which I spread over my desk in order to feel in touch with the place while moving my characters around its various rooms and parts. I did something similar during the three years in which I wrote The Aldous Lexicon. Withern Rise, the house in the trilogy, is the house I was born in, which overlooked a quiet stretch of English river. During the writing I revisited it often, photographed it and made notes through all the seasons, to ensure that every description was as precise as I could make it.

RW. Are you ever in the States? If so, how could I wrangle you to Michigan for a pint?

ML. The Big Invite has yet to arrive, and I doubt that it will. You need to hit the best-seller lists for that kind of interest, and I’ve only sold a couple of million books or so. Peanuts.

Susan Heyboer O'Keefe Interview

2010-10-14T11:36:00.001-04:00

If you follow my Facebook page, you know that I was contemplating doing author interviews here on the blog. Susan Heyboer O'Keefe just released FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER this month, so I thought it was a good starting place for interviews. This is her debut adult novel, but she's no stranger to publishing. She's done tons of children's books, among them, DEATH BY EGGPLANT. (Isn't that an awesome title?)
If you recall the Mary Shelley version of Frankenstein, you know that the monster is alive at the end. So what happened to him? Susan answers that question her book. Even though this has nothing to do with Susan's writing, you have to agree that the cover for the book is phenomenal. Doesn't it just beg you to pick it up and read it?
Congrats to Susan for the publication of FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER, and extra congrats for getting a great cover design!
Without further ado, my interview with Susan Heyboer O'Keefe.

RW: (Restless Writer): Everyone knows Frankenstein whether they’ve read the original book or not. What drew you to the character and made you decide to write a new book about it?

SHO: I was always amazed at how the movie was so different from Mary Shelley’s book—most notoriously, in the nature of the monster. The movie monster grunts and lumbers and exists on a purely physical level. Shelley’s monster is an articulate creature, intensely aware of its isolation from humanity and why that’s so. Plus, Shelley’s monster doesn’t die at the end of her book, which naturally invites the question, “What happened next?”

RW: Were you ever apprehensive to tackle such a well-known character?

SHO: It never even occurred to me and thankfully so. Sequels are often written by other authors. If I had known that someone would say it took guts to tackle not just a classic but an iconic figure, I might never have attempted it.

RW: How long did it take you to write the book?

SHO: I started it in a previous life around the year 1700, which means it's taken about 300 years. However, it also means that I didn’t write the sequel to Frankenstein. Mary Shelley wrote the prequel to Frankenstein’s Monster.

RW: What kind of research, if any, did you do for the book?

SHO: I researched everything because I know nothing. Afterward, I put as little of it as possible in the book. Realistically we don’t mentally recount the whole history or workings of something that we pass. Usually—or at least, it’s usual for me—we note only what’s important to us at that moment. So I try to just suggest a place or an event.

RW: Do you have a new project in the works?

SHO: Always. Picture books being written and submitted (and rejected). Also two novels. One is adult historical fiction about an alcoholic daguerreotyper, who ran away from home as a boy and has finally returned to save his sister from the same horrible circumstances. The other is a contemporary middle-grade comedy that refuses to give me a full first draft. Now that Frankenstein’s Monster has been published ahead of it, and the other adult book is in full swing, and I’m up to, like, the twelfth full draft, maybe it will be jealous and eventually come around.

Coming together

2010-09-16T12:03:00.000-04:00

The revision process for Dream Girl trudges onward. I won a critique from Becky Levine for the first chapter, which I recently got back. At first, I was totally frustrated because the things she honed in on were different than the things Jay Asher honed in on, were different from what Cynthea Liu said. I'M SICK OF CRITIQUES!!!! I screamed to myself. So I started reading a book about writing called, The First Five Pages by Noah LukemanThe First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile. The beginning was mostly about formatting. I was about to put it down until I made it to the end of chapter 2 and found revision exercises. They seemed sort of bland: look at all the adverbs and adjectives on your first page and put them in a list. Then list all the nouns and verbs. Are they commonplace? Rewrite the first page without using any adverbs of adjectives. Blah blah blah, I thought. Nice idea but it's after 11pm, I know the baby will be up too early in the morning so I should just go to bed...but then I felt the hand of the Muse upon me. "Look at your first page" she said. You can't argue with that. So I took out a printed copy of my first chapter...from a couple revisions ago, just to glance at the verbs and whatnot. Well, I didn't exactly follow the exercises Mr. Lukeman suggested, but something happened. I did list some of the words I used and generated some replacements. I got fired up about the replacements. I changed the first line. Things that Jay Asher mentioned back in May, clicked. Then they tied in with things Cynthea Liu had mentioned. And I think I got at what Becky Levine was talking about. And, seriously, it only took changing a few words and rewriting a few lines and I feel like I tightened the entire first chapter, perhaps setting myself up to overhaul the entire manuscript. I will share with you some of these astounding changes. See what you think....

The opening lines from a couple revisions ago: I didn't know it then, but I was scudding into work five minutes late on a day that would totally change the course of my life. Everything had been so normal. I didn't have the slightest clue.

Now, I've held on to that first line for a loooong time. As in, that's pretty much how it started 5 years ago...until last night. When the hand of the Muse led me to try this instead: I slid into work on a Monday afternoon that disrupted the course of my life. For seventeen years, everything had been as normal as the Cheerios I'd eaten for breakfast. There was no indication that the Gothic adventures I so loved to read were about to become more than fiction.

Which one would make you read further? What do you know about the narrator after reading each opening? What kind of story are you in for?

I'd like to think that if Jay, Cynthea and Becky read this post they would nod their heads and say, "Yes, now you're getting it." However, I'm content with thinking it of myself because a writers life is a lonely path and you have to rely on your own confidence to get through it.

PS. I want that book for a Christmas present. Hint hint to hubby. ;)

Becoming Real

2010-09-09T22:12:00.000-04:00

I feel like I have arrived. No, I don't have a book deal in hand. No one has offered to publish anything of mine but I have made it to a step that many aspiring authors never get to...a real, live, talented, artist has done some sketches for my picture book. This awesome artist being, Sean Ingvard Ashby...go check out the sketches for yourself. The best news of all, besides seeing a real face for my little character? The best news is that Sean nailed it. This excites me for two reasons. 1.) Because it proves that Sean is talented. 2.) It proves that I am talented.
What a minute...you say. Isn't that 2nd point a little narcissistic? Well, yes. But from my point of view, I've written my story in such a way that it could be illustrated the way I see it. I left it open for artistic interpretation but the feeling I wanted to evoke is right there in the sketches from somebody I don't even know. What an awesome experience!
Now here's the insider scoop for all of you. I've read about illustrators who put things into their illustrations that are part of the author's life, but not known to the illustrator. When I look at those sketches on Sean's blog, a couple things jump out at me. Note: NONE of these things are in the text.
1. The story is based on my daughter. I hoped that the illustrations would at least have the same hair color as her. Thus far, it seems that they will. Cool!

2. There is a cat in the illustrations. I like cats. We have a cat. Cool!

3. The BIG thing for me, in the bathtub sketch, what is the little girl holding? Go on...go take a look. A mermaid. Yeah, my daughter has a mermaid just like that for tub time. Do thousands of girls have a mermaid like that for the tub? Yes. But this is my daughter and my character we're talking about, so I can be as excited about this as I want. And, have you guessed? I'm really excited.

Besides these fun coincidences, I'm just relieved that my two hopes have been realized. I wanted the character to look cartoon-y but cute. I know these are just preliminary sketches, but that was already nailed. I can't wait to see more!
This is a happy moment in this author's life.

Schmooze & Flash Fiction sample

2010-08-20T10:27:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday, I attended an awesome local event hosted by Shutta Crum. I do not appear in the photos on her website because I was sitting on a trunk in the corner. It was a great time with food and more writer networking. Seriously, children's writers are the friendliest group of people you could ask for. You're never alone in a crowd of children's writers. Although, my bud, Jody was there too and we had a conversation about the angst of revising. Our conversation led me to email Jay Asher, since we're so tight, and ask him about critiques and revising. He responded, promptly, and gave me some fantastic advice. Basically, if the advice doesn't match up with the vision you had when you started writing, don't pay it any mind. It sounds simple enough but that point can easily be muddied when you start throwing paid critiques from professionals into the mix.
The Schmooze was a great event to follow the LA conference. Helped me to stay focused and energized about what I'm doing, despite the lapse of revision angst. Now, I find myself gazing longingly at the SCBWI-MI fall conference which is taking place next month. So many awesome events, so little time and money.
Anyway, I've also been thinking that I should get some writing samples up on this page. I recently entered a flash fiction contest with this little piece I call, DORIAN. The rules stated that the first line had to be, "What were you thinking?" and the piece could be no more than 400 words. This isn't the greatest piece of writing I've done and I could definitely polish this more but I like the concept I came up with and I thought you might enjoy a brief read. So here you go. Let me know what you think.

Dorian

What were you thinking? The words echo in my brain even as my vision starts to get fuzzy.

I know what I’d been thinking. Everything is so clear now. I knew all along that I should have stayed away from Dorian. Everything about him put me on edge, especially his eyes. Looking into his eyes, even for a second, had made me feel like all my secrets were transported into his mind. It was a terrifying sensation, but it also had the effect of making me want to be near him. Maybe I just wanted to know the guy who seemed to steal my secrets, and, against my better judgment, I chose to get involved.

I never expected to trust him.

Sure, we hung out, we even kissed, but it never made him less creepy. He would say the right things and I would answer the right way but I always stayed a little on guard. After all, he was the weirdo of the entire high school, probably of all the high schools in the nation. I needed to be able to drop him if things got too weird.

Today, after school, he’d asked if he could take me somewhere special. To my credit, I hesitated. “That’s ok,” he’d said quickly. “You don’t have to, it’s cool.”

“No,” I’d replied, suddenly feeling like I’d offended him. “I’d like to go.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “I don’t want you to feel like I’m twisting your arm or anything.”

“No,” I assured him. “I’m sure it’ll be fun.”

That was the first time I’d ever fully trusted him. I let my guard slip and it turns out that I won’t have an opportunity to make that mistake again.

When Dorian stole my secrets, he would have learned that, even though I’m seventeen, I’m still afraid of monsters. I know, it sounds stupid, but there’s always a moment at night, just after I turn off the light, that I hold my breath and brace for the worst. Nothing happens and I feel silly, but I still do it.

“You were right to fear monsters” he’d said when he brought me here. Now, I’m lying on the forest floor watching all my blood flow from my body. It’s almost reassuring to know that my nighttime ritual wasn’t in vain but I’m sorry I’ll never be able to warn anyone.

SCBWI Annual LA Part II

2010-08-19T17:09:00.000-04:00

Yes, I've been slacking off. Well, not really. I've been filled alternately with angst and rapture while I continue the revising process. I redid the first 3 chapters. Overall, I think they're getting pretty well polished now. My new critique partner has them now...we'll see what she thinks before I get too carried away.
Anyway, back to LA!

DAY 3
Having been exhausted from the party and jet lag and the general disrupted sleep of motherhood, I slept in and skipped out on most of the panel discussion on "Why narrative nonfiction is hotter than ever". I didn't feel cheated since researching for nonfiction isn't my thing.

Next was the keynote by Carolyn Mackler, which was totally awesome.

I went to another breakout by Rachel Vail because she was so great at the first one.

Lunch was the Golden Kite Award Reception. It was amazing...think the Oscars without the glam dress code and self importance. Only this was for MY people. It was so inspiring. Tears were shed, not just by the people on stage. So who won? Yeah, remember up there when I said researching for nonfiction isn't my thing? I could look it up for you, but I hear the little guy stirring on the baby monitor so blogging time is at a premium here.

Breakout by Deborah Halverson on how you know your manuscript is ready to submit. Very informative. Loved it.

Keynote by Gennifer Choldenko. She's the author of
Al Capone Does my Shirts.
Keynote by Rubin Pfeffer about the future of children's publishing. Wow. It was heavy but it was awesome. Leads me to a question for all of you reading this. Rubin told us not to worry about books because they will always be around, but I'm not so sure. Don't get me wrong, I don't want print books going the way of the Dodo, but I'm not a child in the digital age. I haven't had the experience of being a 2 year old with a computer mouse in my hand. When I did a book discussion a couple months back for a group of 5th and 6th graders, I asked them if they would mind if print books went away. One girl was adamant that she'll always prefer a print book but the other kids weren't so sure. One boy said he'd prefer e-readers and couldn't care less if print books were gone. Interesting. The other kids were too tweeny to want to speak up with an opinion of their own, so that was that.

After that, we were left to our own devices for the rest of the night. Jody and I grabbed some dinner at the mall across the street. Then, we decided to finally do a little sightseeing before we came home. We heard Rodeo Dr. was not far away so: Viola!

Isn't this lovely? Reminded me of Europe. The building with the columns is Versace.

It was so much fun strolling Rodeo Dr. that we considered ditching something the next day to do one of those bus tours. However, when we got back to the hotel, we discovered the the first keynote of the day was addressing middle grade, which is what Jody is doing, so our brief dream of skipping out was brought back to reality. Next year, Jody, next year.

DAY 4 - Last day
First keynote was Rachel Vail...3rd time I'd heard her speak at the conference and she was amazing every time.

Second keynote by Paul Fleishman

Editors panel...very insightful!

Gail Carson Levine workshop. You know, she's an awesome lady but not the best presenter. I went to see her though because I love her work and wasn't feeling compelled by the other workshops.

Final breakout I attended was by Coleen Paratore and it was so awesome. I arrived a good 15 minutes early and no one was there, except Coleen. So I took the opportunity to chat with her, she's super nice! I asked if I could help her set up anything and she allowed me to be her DJ. She wanted the song, Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield to play continuously while people strolled in so I got to be in charge of that.

Finally, everything came to a close with Ashley Bryan. Wow. Have you heard of him? I hadn't. He's an 87 year old African American poet. He made us recite poetry with him and you haven't heard poetry until you've heard Ashley perform it. Check him out on Youtube. And that isn't even a fraction of the passion he put into it at SCBWI. It was a life-changing event just to see him.

Finally, Stephen Mooser and Lin Oliver sent us off to our homes around the globe and the conference was complete. I started the long trek home but let me tell you, there is a large portion of my brain that is still in LA, still processing everything I learned. If there's a way I can get back there again next summer, you bet I'm going. Next summer and every summer for the rest of my life, as far as I'm concerned.

SCBWI Annual LA

2010-08-05T16:30:00.000-04:00

I knew things were going really really well when I found myself at the baggage claim in LAX with Carolyn Crimi and Kelly DiPucchio. Ok, so I didn't recognize them. I had met a fellow conference attendee on the plane, Jacqui Robbins, who has the hook up, so she introduced me to the others. I played it totally cool. "Excuse me, did she say you're Carolyn Crimi?" "Yes." "I LOVE your work! You're so funny! My daughter and I have read all your books and they're so funny I love them all...blah blah blah." Smooth operator, that's me.
Anyway, we all took a shuttle to our hotel together. Also on the shuttle, we met an editor from Scholastic books. (before you get too excited, she only does nonfiction books, which isn't my bag, baby). So the ride from LAX to the hotel was pretty awesome. I waited in line to check in with Carolyn and Kelly, so I figured I wasn't doing too bad for myself. I headed up to my room, realized I was now alone and starving. Room service looked pretty awesome, so I got it. What do you think?

Since pictures and blog posts go together really well, here's another one. The view from my hotel room. I thought it was pretty cool.

DAY 1

Conference proceedings started on Friday morning. We were welcomed by Lin Oliver and Stephen Mooser, the founders of SCBWI and prolific writers themselves. They were pleased to announce that 1,139 kidlit folks were in attendance at the conference, the largest number ever! Their first conference, in 1972 had 55 participants. You've come a long way, baby!
Following them was Jon Scieszka. If I have to explain who he is, you're reading the wrong blog. Jon is like a god of kidlit responsible for brilliance such as The Stinky Cheese Man, the Time Warp Trio, and Trucktown. His presentation was so funny and inspiring, I vowed to meet him during the course of the conference. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. Better luck next time.
Next up was M.T. Anderson. The man is, and I'm not exaggerating, a literary genius. In addition to that, he's an awesome speaker with a great singing voice. He treated us to a performance of the state anthem he's written for Delaware. Why Delaware? You'll have to read his work.
Next I went to a workshop with Ginger Clark, literary agent. Followed by lunch a panel discussion with 4 editors, and another workshop with Josh Adams, a literary agent. The mind expansion for the day was brought to a close by illustrator Loren Long then we were off for the wine and cheese party. Who should I run into there?

Yes, you're correct if you guessed my BFF, Jay Asher! Jay, the man, the myth, the legend, Asher, (who is still on the NYT bestseller list at...oh, is it 67 weeks now?) remembered me and gave me a hug. Yeah, Jay and I are cool like that. Anyway, my awesome photog for these pictures did the posed one first, and then snapped a candid as we were chatting, to "prove that we had a conversation". God bless her, whoever she is.
So Jay, and I, did chat for awhile...maybe 10 or 15 minutes, which is ridiculously awesome when you're talking to a NYT bestseller.

When Jay wandered off to find some cheese before it was all eaten out from under him, I decided to head out. But on the way out, I ran into Kathleen Duey, who is my FB friend and an amazing fantasy author. I chatted with her and a group of her followers for close to 20-25 minutes until I felt so hungry I thought I might soon expire. Rather than doing that, I found someone to have dinner with. Elisabeth Aikins and I had dinner together on the patio and had great conversation.

All in all, not a bad way to spend the first day in LA. Can you believe there's more to the story than that?

DAY 2

In the interest of sparing you from a blow by blow of everything, I will highlight the speakers I heard for the day and skip on to the next bit of awesome.
Speakers:
Gordon Korman (again, another god of kidlit)
Panel of literary agents
MY CRITIQUE was done by Cynthea Liu All I will say about that is that she's the 3rd person to say the the manuscript is very marketable (a great thing). She illuminated that I have a lot more work to do before I can get on with the next phase and I don't want to wrap my head around that yet, so there you have it.
Marion Dane Bauer
E.B. Lewis illustrator (breathtaking presentation)
Rachel Vail she has a theater major, fantastic presenter!

After an emotionally charged day with this phenomenal presenters, it was time for the Heart and Soul Gala. Yes, a gala! I spent much of the gala with my new friend, Jody Lamb. Jody is awesome so check her out. So Jody helped me accomplish the goal of being photographed with as many of the literary celebs as possible. Here's what happened:

Here I am with M.T. Anderson. Note how he's got a good inch of space between us. This is probably because I led with, "You look so much like my uncle." Jody found it "cute" that I said that. M.T. clearly found it a little psychotic. I explained to Jody, "This is the type of shit I come up with when I talk to celebs." Luckily, I wasn't as stupid with anyone else. Good thing I saved it up for the literary genius, huh?

This is me with my BFF again. Yes, that's Jay Asher in his first prize winning costume. Heart and Soul was the theme. Jay looks pretty hot as cupid, don't you think? Discerning blog readers will note that I am wearing a Rubber Soul shirt. I also wore a red skirt with hearts pinned to it. Dressing up doesn't scare me. Packing a suitcase with an elaborate costume to take across the country does scare me, so that's why I'm low key.

Here I am with afore mentioned kidlit god, Gordon Korman. You can tell I didn't frighten him as there is no space between us. Whew! Jody and I probably chatted with Gordon for at least 20 minutes and he was the kindest most encouraging lit. celeb I met. (Don't worry, Jay and I are still tight). Gordon was really awesome and assured Jody and I that even though our critiquers had made it seem like we had a lot of hard work left, that we probably weren't as far off as we imagined. On that note, we hauled ourselves off to bed. Believe it or not, each day was more emotionally draining, yet more exhilarating than the last. Reliving it here with you is also a big task so I think I will break here and give you PART 2 tomorrow or this weekend. This should keep us all happy until then. But I will leave you with this until the next installment: KIDLIT PEOPLE ROCK!!!!

The verdict is in...

2010-06-11T10:37:00.000-04:00

and it's slightly disappointing. DREAM GIRL, is not actually finished. Revision is on hold because I have to write a new ending. It's frustrating because, I'm sure you've noticed, I was incredibly excited to get this wrapped up so I could start querying agents. Now, I'm no longer sure how far away from that goal I am. I'm back to outlining and plotting.
Even though this is a disappointing setback, it's not all bad either. I'm proud of myself for realizing there is more work to be done and that I'm committed to doing this project properly. I hope the payoff will be a stronger finished product that will hook an agent.
The next phase is not as close as I imagined, but it's also not a far off distant dream. I just have to get through a foggy patch and I'll be back where I wanted to be.
In the meantime, I'm enjoying my fan page on Facebook: Sarah Perry, Children's and Young Adult Author. There's a contest there that ends tonight at midnight. Check it out for a chance to have one of my DREAM GIRL characters named after you. Since I have to rewrite the ending, there's a pretty juicy, yet nameless character who is now in the mix. Could be your namesake! :)

Oh no.

2010-06-04T10:05:00.000-04:00

Revising is going along beautifully now. I have 3 chapters to go and then I'll be able to send it to my critique team...or do I? As I was working on my revisions last night, a horrible thought seeped into my brain. "Perhaps," it said, "it isn't a good idea to leave Dream Girl as you do and continue in a sequel. Perhaps you should continue on and make it into one larger book...to the tune of around 90,000-100,000 words." There was a moment of panic before I answered this rogue thought. "No, no no no no!" I said. "That's too horrible. I'm continuing with the plan." Whew, crisis averted.
I had recently read an agent blog post about great books with poor endings. One of the commenters said how much they hate endings that don't wrap things up and obviously leave an opening for a sequel. Hmmm. I had the first sneaking suspicion that I might be guilty of doing that very thing. I hastily retreated from that thought and back to the safety of revising.
But today is a new day. As I was rocking the baby for his morning nap, the thought came back to me. My ending isn't good enough, but is there any way to do it right, given the circumstances of my story, and still have a sequel? I used to think there was way too much information left to contain in one debut novel, but now I'm wondering if that's true. Are 90,000-100,000 words too much? Which option would be more appealing to an agent or editor? Can I be honest with myself and put off the excitement of querying and write the rest of the story as one novel? Could I rework my current ending and leave things as is and go ahead and query? Would an agent be interested enough in the project to take me on and give me their expert answer about the ending? Could I ask any more questions about this?
As our friend Joseph Conrad so brilliantly said in HEART OF DARKNESS, "The horror...the horror."

All ya gotta do is complain

2010-06-02T17:36:00.000-04:00

Well, after the angst and suffering of my last post, I broke through the wall and successfully continued the revising! If I'd known the only way to dislodge the fuzz in my brain was to publicly complain about how difficult the revisions were, I would have done it a long time ago. I'm now on Ch. 35 of 43. I have either cut or combined 6 chapters and I'm feeling good about things again. (and in case you were overcome with worry about how I handled the party invitation, I cut it and made the party a much smaller scene. I also trashed all the filler chapters. Why were they there in the first place? I don't know, but now they're gone forever. Whew. Now we can all rest easy.)
I hope to be done with these first round revisions by the end of this month. Then it's off to my team of trusted individuals for their brainpower and then I'll revise again based on their comments. After that, I expect to be agent ready and then the query process will begin. I have already selected the first 10 agents I want to query. In a perfect world, at least one of them will be chomping at the bit to snatch me up and then we'll wait for the inevitable book deal. If not, you'll have a lot of posts about rejection.
In the meantime, I've put another pot on the fire and have resurrected my picture book manuscript, PAJAMA GIRL. I read an article in the SCBWI Bulletin about MeeGenius. They publish picture books, in a digital format that can be read online or downloaded to your Iphone, Ipad, etc. Is this the wave of the future? Is it a fad? Is it career death or a career starter? I'm not sure yet. I'd love your comments on it. I'm considering submitting PAJAMA GIRL to them and see what they say. Could be interesting, could be fun, could be a bad idea. Time will tell.
I'd love to see a ton of comments on this one, so get to it!

On and on I go

2010-05-30T20:28:00.000-04:00

So I discovered that my own personal hell has a first name, it's Revision. You thought I was complaining and struggling when I was just finishing the first draft but there was a special ring of Dante's hell waiting. It is the ring of revisions that will not come. Seriously, things were going pretty smoothly, too smoothly, until I got to chapter 30. Things came to a grinding halt as I realized the chapter was merely filler. So, merrily, I gave it the ax and moved on to chapter 31. A sinking feeling hit me when I came to the same conclusion about 31. Scarcely daring to look ahead, I glanced at 32 and discovered there were several small things that had to happen to get us from 29 to 32. And that is where I've been sitting for a couple weeks now. A few paltry things to get us from point A to point B, and yet, they won't come.
As my entire family napped this afternoon, I decided I was going to push through and get through this so I could finish up the revisions and move on with my life. No more procrastinating, I was determined to figure it out. So you know what I did? I wrote. What was the result? More filler. Nothing more than trite filler to slowly move along to the next exciting bit. This will not do. I have been thinking about this, agonizing over this dilemma for the last couple weeks and this is what I discovered. To get from chapter 29 to 32, I need 2 weeks of largely uneventful time to pass and the protagonist needs to get an invitation to a party. Put that way, it seems laughable that I'm struggling with this so much. "Seriously?" you're thinking. "You're that hung up about a party invitation?" Unfortunately, my answer is 'yes'. (unless I cut the party as well...hmmm...arrgghhh! Now you have a tiny clue of the nightmare in my brain.) My beautiful story has fallen apart roughly 3/4 of the way through. How sad is that? Sadder still, is the fact that I have to fix it. It's all up to me.
Sure, Jay Asher and Paula Morrow think I have a very marketable story here. They're right. But you can't market something that isn't finished. I can't wow my dream agent if I'm not impressed myself. Believe you me, I have a severe case of not impressed.
I know what I need to do. I need to tap into the voice of my characters and let them tell me what they need to do next. Unfortunately, it seems they're taking a vacation together and they haven't left a forwarding address.

Hope

2010-05-02T15:50:00.000-04:00

The SCBWI-Michigan spring conference took place yesterday and it was incredible. Jay Asher was the keynote. His book, THIRTEEN REASONS WHY is currently #4 on the NYT Bestsellers List at 60 weeks! (if you don't quite get what that means, trust me, it's a big deal). (if you click on his name up there, you will be taken to his blog post about the SCBWI-Michigan conference. Quite entertaining, even if you weren't there.)
Jay gave a tremendous keynote, entitled "How to Sell a Book in 12 years or less!" He said a lot of interesting and inspiring things about the big conference I'm going to which gave me a lot of hope for networking and really making some professional strides through attendance. I'm actually more excited to go than I was before and I was already pretty giddy.
I attended a great breakout on character development by Ruta Rimas of Balzer & Bray. That proved very valuable as I continue the revision process. I also attended Jay's breakout on injecting suspense into your work which was also fantastic.
All of these great talks led up to the pinnacle of the day for me...a 4pm manuscript critique with Jay Asher himself. What I was promised was 10 minutes of Jay's time to discuss his thoughts on the first chapter and 3 page summary of my novel. However, there are advantages to being the last critique of the day, but more about that in a moment. Jay wrote on my critique worksheet, "Fascinating premise!" Who wouldn't be excited to hear a successful author say that the very idea of your work is fascinating? But what really hit home was the portion marked 'notes on marketability'. Jay's comment there: "No problem with a premise like this." Hmmm, where had I heard similar words before? Oh yes, from Paula Morrow, former editor from the Cricket Group and currently an owner of her own publishing business, Boxing Day Books. She also told me that DREAM GIRL was highly marketable. These are the words that make a wannabe author's little heart go pitter patter. So I now have two professionals who think my idea is unique and cool. Jay actually said, (and this part is only from memory) that my novel sounded like a great story about really cool characters. To say I was happy with his critique is the understatement of the year.
But this isn't where the bliss runs out. Oh no. Recall that I said there are advantages to being the last critique of the day? Well, the critique rooms were way on the other side of the hotel from where the main action was happening. When my critique was over, Jay and I had no where to go but back to the other side of the hotel...together...whilst chatting. The final breakout was already half over and as we approached the room, I asked Jay if I could ask him a question about his book. He said sure and we proceeded to talk about his book and a few other fun literary things until the other breakout was finished. All in all, I had Jay Asher all to myself for about half an hour!!! People who sat at his table for lunch had to share him. I didn't! It was totally awesome! I'm even fairly sure that I managed to carry on intelligent conversation and not be a rambling fool. That's a big accomplishment!
Should you ever find yourself in the position to hear Jay speak, I recommend you do it. He is such an approachable, funny, genuine, humble person. His talks were exciting and fun and his advice in my critique was thought provoking and great. As a result, I'm all Jay Asher, all the time at present...except that I'm fired up to polish DREAM GIRL into the jewel I know she can be. After all folks, I've got a marketable story here and, after five years, I still love her. Things are looking good.

At last! (and yet we're still not there)

2010-04-27T10:13:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm sure most of you know from my Facebook page (Sarah Perry, Children's and Young Adult Author), I finished the first draft of DREAM GIRL. Surprisingly, after 5 years of on and off writing, there was no fanfare, no blast of trumpets, no earthquake when I keyed in the final word. In fact, I couldn't even celebrate with anyone because it was going on midnight and the rest of the household was asleep in their beds. Even Facebook was a desolate place. So I watched Youtube videos for the songs I'd listened to while writing and ate a victory bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Then, with nothing better to do, I crawled off to bed myself. Can you stand the drama?
So when is the book coming out? you may well be asking. Ah, my friends. Now is when the real journey begins. I am now revising, as best I can, in between work, mothering, and a negligible amount of housework. (Ask my poor husband. A good housekeeper I am not!) The struggle of revising has also been put a bit on the back burner as conferences approach. In a mere 4 days, I'll be attending a conference. The main attraction, for me, is that Jay Asher will sit down with me for 10 minutes to tell me if my first chapter has any merit. He is the bestselling author of THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, which is, last time I checked, on the NYT Bestseller list at 59 weeks.
I also signed up for the big conference this summer and booked myself a manuscript critique for the first 15 pages + 1 page summary. This will be another chance to get the work in front of an agent, editor, or other industry professional who can give me advice which will help me from looking more foolish than necessary when I'm really ready to query.
Oh, and did I mention I won a free agent query letter critique from Elana Roth of Caren Johnson Literary? That was already enormously valuable. Thanks to her, I now know that the part of my query that I thought was intriguing and compelling was actually vague and generic.
The bottom line is I feel things are going well with revising and that I'm enormously happy to have access to all this good advice before I start sending it out. The more mistakes I can correct now, the better my chances of piquing someone's interest and moving to the next step.
In the meantime, let's all read THIRTEEN REASONS WHY and hope Jay has at least one nice thing to say before he rips into my chapter.

Coldplay knows

2010-03-11T22:16:00.000-05:00

"Nobody said it was easy. No one ever said it would be this hard. Oh take me back to the start." -Coldplay This song, "The Scientist" came into the rotation as I was writing. I have a soundtrack carefully assembled to help me keep the mood and momentum of my story. I have been struggling all day with this chapter, #43 and when this song came on I knew I had to take a break and blog my way through it.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am in labor. Labor in all senses of the word. This book is nearing delivery and we're both struggling hard to get it here.
I recently read on an editors blog that a mistake newbie authors make is trying to sell a book they haven't finished writing. This happens because a new book is all consuming, energizing, amazing. It grabs you in a passionate embrace that doesn't fade until...oh...say, several chapters in. Once the blush of infatuation has worn off it can be hard to stay with your new book. There are a lot of break ups. It's been five years now, but Dream Girl and I have held on to our relationship. Other potential books and I have flirted, even dated a bit, only to find that we just didn't have the same goals. We had to part ways. I've suspected for a long while that Dream Girl is "the one". We're together and we're going to stay that way. The only problem is that Dream Girl is the caterpillar in the cocoon and she needs me to get her out. Let me just state, for the record, that it is a hell of a lot easier to build the cocoon than to extract the butterfly. Yes, I'm mixing metaphors but you see how this is all swirling around in my brain. It is harder to write the end of a book because it's sort of like getting the results of an experiment. (Sorry, a different metaphor) Throughout the experiment, you're adding elements getting everything set up and then, at the end, you have to make sure those elements lead to the proper outcome. Did the foreshadowing in chapter 7 actually come to fruition by chapter 15? Did the set up in chapter 25 give me anything to work with logically by chapter 43? I know, I know, that's what revising is for but the business of not adding any more elements, tidying up what was already thrown out and making sure that it makes sense, is still worth reading, and satisfying is HARD work.
There is no epidural for this kind of labor. It's 100% all natural. I'm feeling every word. I love it because I know what I get at the end. I hate it because the end still feels forever away.
Oh for those heady days at the start when Dream Girl and I couldn't get to know each other fast enough. I looked over chapter 1 today...where it all began. I'm entering it in a manuscript critique for a conference this May, so yes, it's a useful diversion from finishing up. Looking it over drove home the point that revising is easier than finishing up the course we've set. (we = the characters and I) However, it also made me feel that I'm doing well with this. It's a long, slow, difficult labor, for sure but I am seeing steady progress. Keep up the cheerleading. It's time to birth this book!

The Doldrums

2010-03-08T09:33:00.000-05:00

Well, I didn't do much blogging here last month because I was on fire with the actual business of writing Dream Girl. I managed to hammer out 4 chapters in February and felt quite giddy with joy about it. I finished February 2 chapters ahead of my goal and down to a total of 8 chapters left to write. 8! EIGHT! Hold up 5 fingers on one hand and 3 on the other and you will see how many chapters are left to finish! It isn't very much is it? I should be blazing like a wildfire to get those last 8 chapters done, but am I? Nope.
The end of February found me with a 4 day jury duty stint on a very serious criminal case that was exhilarating, but energy sapping. During the same 4 days, an insidious virus was slowly fighting for dominance of my body and the struggle ensued for a total of 12 days. The baby has also decided that sleep is for the weak and has been slowly but surely making his wake up time earlier and earlier. (5:30am today...sweet Lord, I can't go on like this!) So is it really any wonder that I'm looking at my calendar and thinking, "Eh, it's only the 8th. Plenty of time to write my 2 chapters." Looking to the past, this would be the part when months would go by with no thought to writing at all. Normally, it wouldn't bother me and I'd know that I'd pick up again when the time was right, when I felt the urge again. So this is my long dark night of the soul for my writing life. But I do have my monthly goal to complete. I do have the looming deadline of the conference. I do have the stab of jealous camaraderie when I see updates from fellow writers (who already have that book deal). I've been looking at blogs by literary agents. I see what's going on. Deals are being made. Writers are writing books, getting paid, feeling proud. I so desperately want to join them, but I feel that I'm lamely struggling to the finish line of "someday" I'll have a manuscript ready to send out. This is why writing is a lonely craft. Besides the solitude of the actual work, you spend a lot of time on the outside looking in. Longing with an unquenchable thirst to get through that magical door. And yet, here I am, rubbing my two sticks together haphazardly, hoping to get that spark that will lead me through these last 8 chapters. Anyone want to sign on as members of my literary cheer leading squad? No athleticism required.

Shameless advertising

2010-02-14T13:12:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm taking a break from writing about me today to post this link to the sequel to Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. I have highly recommended Shiver to many of my friends and family. It is also a book that inspires me to keep writing Dream Girl. Since it inspires me, I don't mind posting the info. about her upcoming book. (the fact that it enters me in a contest to win an advance reader copy doesn't hurt either).
So, if you haven't read Shiver yet, you must.
While you're at it, read The Withern Rise trilogy by Michael Lawrence too. Reading the first book in that trilogy, A Crack in the Line unlocked something in my brain that made Dream Girl take shape. No, my book is nothing like his, but something clicked. It was also like that with Twilight and Shiver. So if you're dying to sneak a peek at my book, you won't find that anytime soon, but you can read the books that inspired me to tell my tale.
Now excuse me while I try to win my sneak peek at Linger, which will undoubtedly keep up the inspiration for me.

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.

Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.

Enter to win an advanced review copies of LINGER, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie's blog.

Sloggin'

2010-02-07T20:28:00.000-05:00

Slogging through blogging. No, not really, that was just fun to say. I am, however, slogging through the final chapters of Dream Girl. This is seriously hard work. I completed chapter 37 yesterday and today. In order to fit in some writing time, I actually wrote most of ch. 37 longhand in a fancy journal that my friend, Mary Beth, gave me years ago. Don't judge me for parenting with one hand and writing with the other. ;)
Chapter 37 was actually a huge turning point for the novel and myself. It sets up a huge plot element that will need its own book to explore. Yes, Dream Girl is a big story. I am not generally in love with sequels but there is a lot going on here that needs two books to fully explore.
Now that I have this chapter finished, I can feel the wheels winding down toward the end. At this point, I think everything has been set in motion that needs to be in motion. This is a truly exciting point to be at. I've got one more chapter to write this month to met my goal. (I was getting worried that by the 6th, I still had not gotten a chance to sit down and write.) I'm feeling good about everything except that looking at the outline and what I've got, things have shifted a bit. My original outline for chapter 36 ended up getting split into 2 chapters. So I may still have 13 chapters left unless something gets condensed or eliminated. We shall see. The outline is only to make sure that I have a logical progression of main points. How I actually get to those points is all inspiration as I go along.
Well, to reward you for slogging through this blog post of my thinking out loud, I will give you a little snippet of some of my writing. Here's a link to a couple author interviews I did during my days reviewing for a website called www.myshelf.com
I highly recommend that you read the Withern Rise Triology (US title) Aldous Lexicon (UK title) by Michael Lawrence. If I hadn't read those books, Dream Girl would not have developed from the scribbles in my journal. His is the first interview which I am quite proud of. First author interview I'd ever done and Michael actually complimented me on the questions.
Here is an interview with Marisa de los Santos. Loved Walked In is an absolutely beautiful book. She has a line in it, that I can't quote directly, but it's so beautiful it's stuck with me. If I could write something as striking and real as she did, I'd be a happy woman.
Now on to chapter 38!

Inspiration

2010-01-25T13:05:00.000-05:00

Ah, inspiration. Something that writers have very different views on. I've read numerous articles with authors who said they would never had published anything if they sat around waiting for inspiration. I have usually scoffed at those articles, refusing to believe that a person could write anything worthwhile without some sort of inspiration.
Recently, a writer friend of mine mentioned how sometimes it's best when you come back to your writing project and find that you've left yourself in a boring spot. You have to really be inventive to get the story back on track. I agreed wholeheartedly but still felt that, personally, I couldn't come out of those situations with any sort of quality writing. This all changed the last time I sat down to write.
I had, unfortunately, left myself without a cliffhanger. I had the rare opportunity to write in the late afternoon and I didn't want to squander it on Facebook. (ahhh Facebook, enemy of procrastinating writers everywhere). Anyway, as I was trying to figure out a way to get out of the story doldrums inspiration struck me a mighty blow. A scene I had crafted years before came to me in an electrified form and set my story on fire. Everything fell into place and I typed furiously for 2 glorious, uninterrupted hours, and easily completed two chapters. I would have loved to continue from there, but the baby woke up, my husband came home with our daughter, and the spark was snuffed by reality.
The experience taught me that my friend was very wise when he said the dreary scenes can lead to inventiveness, out of necessity. Of course, once the first draft is completed, I will revise and delete the dreary scenes. If they don't grab me, they certainly won't grab my readers, but that's a story for another time. For now, I have completed my writing goal for January, even managed to sneak a little ahead of the plan. 36 chapters are complete. 13 remain. This is inspiring news for sure!

Progress, progress!

2010-01-14T20:51:00.000-05:00

After an awesome birthday, I spent the evening winding down with some writing. Chapter 34 is complete. It's on to 35 now! It would seem that I'm ahead of the 2 chapters/mo. goal for this month! The initial fire has already worn off, if you can believe it. Fizzles fast, my friends. So it's back to the grind of getting this story out of my head and heart and onto the screen. Thinking about the looming deadline of the conference, I realize how much work is left to be done. I want the draft finished, but I'd like to have something better than that to offer should anyone take interest. Some serious proofreading will need to occur. Luckily, I have a friend who is a professional proofreader to help me out there and also an awesome retired literature professor who A) believes in me and B) gives great insight. Between the two of them I'm confident I'll have a finished product that is at least worth something before the editors take a whack at it. I'm also thinking I may open up the initial reading to a very few good friends just to see what they think of it as a story. More on this as the time draws near.
Anyway, feeling good that things are moving on. Feeling great that I had a birthday massage. Things are going well all around.

Thank you!

2010-01-07T18:50:00.001-05:00

I would be remiss if I didn't post a big THANK YOU to Mel of MimiNicole Designs for creating this awesome background for my blog! I love it!!! You are so awesome!

Well, I had great intentions to finish writing chapter 34 today. My daughter was at preschool, my mom came over early to help me out so she was putting the baby to bed. Alas and alack, the baby didn't go to sleep (no surprise with this child), so we all sat around in the dining room talking and wondering why the baby refuses to sleep. So, the farthest I got was opening up the file and then watching the computer fall asleep. Sigh. I'm taking heart in the fact that it's only January 7 so I still have the rest of the month to complete my 2 chapters to stay on target for finishing the draft by August.

Somehow I managed to score a 4 day weekend every month, which is coming up this weekend, so I'd better get some writing done then. Also, many thanks to my loving husband who indulges me in my crazy desire to write...and travel across the country for the big conference...and puts the kids to bed, when it isn't his turn, so I can get more accomplished in a day.

And we're off!

2010-01-05T18:21:00.000-05:00

Going to the big conference this summer! It's a go!

It's the final countdown

2010-01-03T13:29:00.000-05:00

So, last night I couldn't stand not knowing anymore and I pushed my way through outlining the rest of Dream Girl. Ladies and gentlemen, there are 16 chapters left. (give or take a little) I'm hoping I can average 2 chapters a month for the next 8 months. However, when you're the mother of two small children, you don't have the luxury of setting your own schedule, especially when you're not writing under a deadline or with a definite payout on the horizon. I'm also hoping that, worst case scenario, the first draft is completed by the end of the year. Seems so far away when we're just starting January now.
But if I do go to the huge conference in California at the end of July, I would at least be able to say that I know how many chapters are left to be written and that they're outlined. I think that would be very helpful should I meet someone powerful with even a shred of interest in the book.
I did stay up too late last night since I vowed to not go to bed until I finally finished Ch. 32. By 10, I had finally gotten my daughter to get in bed and stay there. Once I got through the chapter, which turned out to be 10 pages, I decided I needed to outline the rest of the book then and there because I couldn't stand not knowing how much is left. At this stage of the game, I need a concrete(ish) goal to work toward. So now I've got it. 16 chapters stand between me and a completed draft. It's on.

Welcome

2010-01-02T17:09:00.000-05:00

My name is Sarah, mother of 2, part time children's librarian and author in the midst of writing a young adult novel, Dream Girl. This blog will chronicle my progress, epiphanies and general writing and literature information. My goal for 2010 is to finish the first draft of Dream Girl which started as a dream I had in 2001 and starting taking form as a novel in 2005. A wedding and two children later, I'm still writing it. I have 32 chapters under my belt and figure I have anywhere between 15-30 left. It appears that the book will need a sequel as it grows in complexity and develops plot elements that I never imagined. This is the longest I've ever stayed with a novel I've started and I still feel really good about this one. I'm so excited.
I feel that if you liked anything about Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, you'll like Dream Girl. (move over Bella and Edward, here come Christine and Gabriel!) You should also read Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. It's beautifully written and gives you the paranormal romance that is so tastey these days.
So thank you for checking in as my journey continues. I hope you will be entertained and inspired.