Congrats, Mirely!!! You've won my TEN ARC! Send me your address, and I'll send the book out this week!
Thanks to everyone who participated!
Friday, June 29, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
What Scares (and Intrigues) Me
So yesterday I submitted some pages on my new story for feedback and then I was just kind of sitting around the house for the rest of the day, and I remembered a story idea (well, more of a setting, really) I had two years ago.
It scares the crap out of me.
Not only the subject matter, but the fact that it takes place in Chicago in the 1900s. Um, yeah. I've always been a fan of "write what you know" and I don't know ANYTHING about this time period. Seriously. My husband, who was a history teacher for nearly ten years, is ashamed of the amount of American history I know (or shall I say DON'T know).
But yesterday I took a leap. I opened a new document, gave it a title, and started writing. Only got about two pages in before I was googling things like "price to ride streetcar 1900" and "when were toilets invented". Yeah, it's bad.
I'm also reading this fascinating book about life during that time period, and I'm taking notes on details I might be able to use in the story. I told my husband this isn't something I can crank out in a year. It's going to take years of research to be able to write. And although that freaks me out, it's also kind of nice because that makes it more MINE. A labor of love. A hobby.
Maybe it will turn out to be something. Maybe not. And that's okay. It's awesome, really.
It scares the crap out of me.
Not only the subject matter, but the fact that it takes place in Chicago in the 1900s. Um, yeah. I've always been a fan of "write what you know" and I don't know ANYTHING about this time period. Seriously. My husband, who was a history teacher for nearly ten years, is ashamed of the amount of American history I know (or shall I say DON'T know).
But yesterday I took a leap. I opened a new document, gave it a title, and started writing. Only got about two pages in before I was googling things like "price to ride streetcar 1900" and "when were toilets invented". Yeah, it's bad.
I'm also reading this fascinating book about life during that time period, and I'm taking notes on details I might be able to use in the story. I told my husband this isn't something I can crank out in a year. It's going to take years of research to be able to write. And although that freaks me out, it's also kind of nice because that makes it more MINE. A labor of love. A hobby.
Maybe it will turn out to be something. Maybe not. And that's okay. It's awesome, really.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Summer Lovin' (Ehhh, I can't really think of a post title.)
Ohmydog, it's been ages since I've written. And it's like... almost July! How did that happen?
This summer has been wonderfully relaxed for me. I'm not under a deadline, really, just working on some pages for the next story I'd like to tell. I've been working out every day, eating healthily, and reading a ton. We went to the lake last week, and I got to sit on the dock and watch the sun set.
I guess I'm just really making the most of my free time after the craziness of the spring. Before long, I'll be thinking about the start of another school year and picking out new borders for the bulletin boards and hoping to find some way to make grammar less boring.
And so... I don't have a lot to say. Just trying to live in the moment.
Happy Summer, everyone.
This summer has been wonderfully relaxed for me. I'm not under a deadline, really, just working on some pages for the next story I'd like to tell. I've been working out every day, eating healthily, and reading a ton. We went to the lake last week, and I got to sit on the dock and watch the sun set.
I guess I'm just really making the most of my free time after the craziness of the spring. Before long, I'll be thinking about the start of another school year and picking out new borders for the bulletin boards and hoping to find some way to make grammar less boring.
And so... I don't have a lot to say. Just trying to live in the moment.
Happy Summer, everyone.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
IMPOSTOR (SLIDE #2)
So I keep seeing messages pop up on the IMPOSTOR Goodreads page about how people did not realize SLIDE had a sequel.
It's true! There's more slide-y goodness to be had, people.
Here's the synopsis:
What if a killer took control of you?
Vee Bell’s gift (or curse) of “sliding”—slipping into the mind of another person and experiencing life, briefly, through his or her eyes—has been somewhat under control since she unwillingly witnessed the horrific deaths of her classmates six months ago.
But just as things are getting back to normal, Vee has a very bizarre experience: she loses consciousness and finds herself in a deserted area, at the edge of a cliff, with the broken body of the boy who took advantage of her on the rocks below.
As Vee finds herself in stranger and stranger situations with no memory of getting there, she begins to suspect that someone she knows has the ability to slide—and that this “slider” is using Vee to exact revenge on his or her enemies.
Here's the GOODREADS page if you want to add it to your TBR pile and the AMAZON link if you'd like to pre-order. I heard Rollins was giving out kisses to people who pre-order.
This book contains possibly the weirdest scene I've ever written--when Vee slides out of herself and realizes that someone slid into her at the exact same time. Some Freaky Friday stuff goin' on! But not really because you don't know who's controlling her body. That's a secret.
Anyway, I had a blast writing this book and I'm loving the first pass pages, which I'm reading right now. Oh, how I'd missed Rollins. Sigh.
And you know what first pass pages mean...
Who wants an ARC? They should be coming soon!
It's true! There's more slide-y goodness to be had, people.
Here's the synopsis:
What if a killer took control of you?
Vee Bell’s gift (or curse) of “sliding”—slipping into the mind of another person and experiencing life, briefly, through his or her eyes—has been somewhat under control since she unwillingly witnessed the horrific deaths of her classmates six months ago.
But just as things are getting back to normal, Vee has a very bizarre experience: she loses consciousness and finds herself in a deserted area, at the edge of a cliff, with the broken body of the boy who took advantage of her on the rocks below.
As Vee finds herself in stranger and stranger situations with no memory of getting there, she begins to suspect that someone she knows has the ability to slide—and that this “slider” is using Vee to exact revenge on his or her enemies.
Here's the GOODREADS page if you want to add it to your TBR pile and the AMAZON link if you'd like to pre-order. I heard Rollins was giving out kisses to people who pre-order.
This book contains possibly the weirdest scene I've ever written--when Vee slides out of herself and realizes that someone slid into her at the exact same time. Some Freaky Friday stuff goin' on! But not really because you don't know who's controlling her body. That's a secret.
Anyway, I had a blast writing this book and I'm loving the first pass pages, which I'm reading right now. Oh, how I'd missed Rollins. Sigh.
And you know what first pass pages mean...
Who wants an ARC? They should be coming soon!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
HYSTERIA by Megan Miranda
So the Amazon link for Megan Miranda's HYSTERIA has gone up!
Wanna see? CLICK HERE!
I'm loving the cover. So creepy.
Hysteria is a standalone novel that I had the pleasure of reading last summer. It's psychological and freaky and everything you'd expect from Megan Miranda.
Wanna add to your TBR list? CLICK HERE!
Yay, Megan!
Wanna see? CLICK HERE!
I'm loving the cover. So creepy.
Hysteria is a standalone novel that I had the pleasure of reading last summer. It's psychological and freaky and everything you'd expect from Megan Miranda.
Wanna add to your TBR list? CLICK HERE!
Yay, Megan!
Monday, June 11, 2012
Revision is Like Makeup
Did your mom ever tell you that makeup is supposed to be invisible? Like, it's supposed to highlight your good points and downplay your flaws, and most of the time you shouldn't be able to notice it?
It should appear effortless.
That's how I feel about revision--its purpose is to make your writing appear effortless. But the truth is actually the opposite. Revision is sooooo hard.
~~~
Here's a text exchange I just had with a friend:
Friend: My mom is reading your book and she said to me VERY seriously "This is damn good writing." :) Then she read aloud one of her fave lines.
Friend: (It was the one about if mattie is the pink glitter on a valentine vee is the black sharpie used to draw mustaches in the yearbook. Lol!!)
Me: Aww that's nice of her! :) Haha, it took me like an hr to come up with that line. Nice to know it's appreciated.
Friend: Interesting!! :)
Me: There was a diff line, and my editor was like, "This metaphor sucks!!" :D *
Friend: The revision paid off!! Lol!!!!
~~~
Now, I don't post this conversation to toot my own horn (well, actually, I'm totally leaning on it with my elbow... but there's another reason as well). I just feel like so much of the work writers do is during the revision stage. I *literally* (yes, LITERALLY!) spent an hour thinking of that line to place whatever sucky comparison was there before. And I've had no fewer than twenty people comment on that line. I guess what I'm trying to say is those long hours toiling in front of your computer screen really do pay off, eventually. Now if only I could get one of those on every single page, like John Green or Laini Taylor. But that's writer envy, a subject for a different blog post.
Be well and enjoy your summer!
*Oh, and I'm sure that's not what Donna actually said. But it's what she meant. ;)
It should appear effortless.
That's how I feel about revision--its purpose is to make your writing appear effortless. But the truth is actually the opposite. Revision is sooooo hard.
~~~
Here's a text exchange I just had with a friend:
Friend: My mom is reading your book and she said to me VERY seriously "This is damn good writing." :) Then she read aloud one of her fave lines.
Friend: (It was the one about if mattie is the pink glitter on a valentine vee is the black sharpie used to draw mustaches in the yearbook. Lol!!)
Me: Aww that's nice of her! :) Haha, it took me like an hr to come up with that line. Nice to know it's appreciated.
Friend: Interesting!! :)
Me: There was a diff line, and my editor was like, "This metaphor sucks!!" :D *
Friend: The revision paid off!! Lol!!!!
~~~
Now, I don't post this conversation to toot my own horn (well, actually, I'm totally leaning on it with my elbow... but there's another reason as well). I just feel like so much of the work writers do is during the revision stage. I *literally* (yes, LITERALLY!) spent an hour thinking of that line to place whatever sucky comparison was there before. And I've had no fewer than twenty people comment on that line. I guess what I'm trying to say is those long hours toiling in front of your computer screen really do pay off, eventually. Now if only I could get one of those on every single page, like John Green or Laini Taylor. But that's writer envy, a subject for a different blog post.
Be well and enjoy your summer!
*Oh, and I'm sure that's not what Donna actually said. But it's what she meant. ;)
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