Tag Archives: Fumbling with Fiction

Review In Questions: Killer Summer by Ridley Pearson

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**I have a real treat if you tune in tomorrow. The NYT best-selling author of Killer Summer, Ridley Pearson, has given Fumbling with Fiction an essay entitled “Writing a Killer Series” for me to post. All you series writers will definitely want to check out his advice and words of wisdom on the subject.

Sheriff Walt Fleming grows suspicious when he sees a tow truck crossing a bridge with a car in tow while out on a fishing trip. When he catches up with the truck, he discovers a dead man in the car with a briefcase chained to his wrist. In the briefcase are three bottles of wine purportedly to have been a gift from Thomas Jefferson to John Adams. Immediately, Fleming starts to think that he’s stumbled upon a plot to steal the wine. But the further Fleming digs, the more he discovers that something much more elaborate and sinister is afoot.

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Favorite thing about the book?

I’m a big fan of the premise here. Three bottles of wine that had purportedly been a gift from Thomas Jefferson to John Adams. For some reason, I always enjoy books that can make food an integral part of the story. And I feel that Pearson has made a book that melds a foodie hobby–wine tasting–with mystery. So in other words, the basic premise alone has appeal to wine lovers, mystery fanatics, and history aficianados.

Beyond that, this story mixes murder mystery with a heist plot. And there’s even a nice nod to Ocean’s 11 when one of the characters is dubbed “George Clooney.” Nice touch, Mr. Pearson.

What was most surprising about the book?

I did not know there was a quasi-Hamptons of Idaho. Ok, that’s probably not what surprised me most, but seriously, I’ve never heard someone describe Idaho so vividly.

Favorite Character?

Walter Flemings, the main character/detective. I haven’t read the previous books in the Killer series, but I know this is not Walter’s first adventure. You’ve got to love when an author has been writing a character for awhile and it seems like the author can just wear that character as comfortably as an old shoe. There’s a familiarity with Walter that makes him leap off the page. Clearly, Pearson has put a lot of thought into his main character’s backstory without making the mistake of vomiting it all onto the page. I love the social awkwardness in Walter that I don’t see in a lot of adult capers–especially from male detectives. And you’ve got to feel for the poor guy. His ex-wife’s seeing a deputy!

Although Walter remains my favorite, I have to say props to Pearson for fleshing out his teen characters. As a YA-lover I really enjoy seeing adult authors deal realistically with their teen cast.

Underlying themes?

There are a fair number of family strife-type the,es going on here, but, thankfully, they take a back seat to the mystery and the action.

After this book you felt…?

Surprised. It’s a mystery after all.

Who would you recommend this book to?

Folks that like a good caper or heist story. I could even see younger readers who enjoyed the movie National Treasure getting into the Killer Summer.

Also, if you like twists on history or fine wine then this is a cool read.

Finally, how long did it take you to read?

A couple weeks. It’s a nice summer read and a page turner. Bring it to the beach and relax.

Friday Five

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Holy cow a Friday Five on *gasp* Friday! Whoddathunkit?

 

1. On the writing front, still waiting on agent revision notes for the proposal. Hoping to get those soon, so I can work on revisions this week because…

2. I’m on Spring Break! Wooohooooo Spring Break ’09, Girls Gone Wild, Woooohooo. Oh wait. This is law school spring break–which yes, does not deserve capitalization. Law school spring break entails lots of sitting in my apartment trying to catch up on my outlines before said revision notes come. And, oh yeah, a couple interviews. Still, a nice and needed break! 

3. Check out Shelli’s Comment Your Butt Off contest on her blog Market My Words. Shelli is giving away the fab prize of a professionally designed website worth $1,000! How nice is that? All you have to do is, well, comment your butt off. And there is also extra credit. 

4. Try as I might, I am still the worst Twitter-er on Planet Earth. I want to figure it out. I do! But I don’t get what to do? Do I just start talking to people? I was very pleased when I learned the whole “@” feature. But then I realized I didn’t know what to say. Oh dear. 

5. Cool blogs I’ve discovered this week: Rachel Vincent,  Diana Peterfreund,  and Adrienne Kress.

 

**An aside: Younger readers of this blog. I heart you. I do. Please keep reading books. Keep reading this blog and keep commenting on the reviews of books you love. But let me make one thing clear. And I must admit this has been a bit startling to me because I thought I’d made this abundantly clear due to the URL of Fumbling with Fiction (chandlermariecraig.wordpress.com), etc. But, anyway, here it is: I did not write the House of Night books. Like y’all I love them. But I can’t take credit for them. P.C. and Kristin Cast, a  wonderful mother-daughter team, wrote those books. This is not their blog, however a quick google seach for P.C. Cast will lead you to more information about the upcoming books in the series. I do appreciate the emails, though, and the comments. So, if you’d like to discuss the books, feel free to email me directly and I will happily respond. [chandler1986 at gmail dot com]

2009 Debutante Author Interview Series: Carrie Ryan

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In Mary’s world, there are simple truths.
The Sisterhood always knows best.
The Guardians will protect and serve.
The Unconsecrated will never relent.
And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village….


forest_home

 

I have been oh-so-excited about this interview. Carrie Ryan is the author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, which will be published by Delacorte and will hit shelves March 10th. Everyone is talking about this book. I know that I’ll be buying a copy the day it launches. For personal reasons, I’ve been dying to know how Carrie handled law school, working at a firm, and writing books. I’m so thankful Carrie put so much thought into these answers. Hope y’all enjoy.

 

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is your debut novel, so a big congrats on that. But can you give us a little statistical rundown on how long it took you to get to this point? How many books? How many rejections? How many days, months, or years?

 

The short answer: Three completed novels (The Forest of Hands and Teeth was the third); seven years (only three years of actually writing); 19 rejections.

 

Longer answer:  I started writing my first novel just before graduating from college and I finished it that next year.  It was a western historical romance (long story behind that choice) and I queried about six agents — a few requests but all ended up as rejections.  And I realized I was okay with the rejections because I never wanted to write another western historical romance again!  After that I wrote a romantic comedy that I never polished or queried.

 

Then I had this grand long term plan that I’d write chick lit and I somehow convinced myself that the best way to do that was to go to law school (another long story behind that choice!).  So basically I stopped writing for four years while I applied and attended law school. 

 

After starting work as a lawyer for a few months I decided I needed an exit strategy and I started writing seriously again.  I had many false starts (I wrote about 172k words that year but finished nothing).  I started writing The Forest of Hands and Teeth on November 2, 2006 (I still have the email where I sent myself the first line).  I finished the rough draft in April 2007, revised it until the end of August when I started querying agents and sold in October!

 

Oh boy. An exit strategy from practicing law? I need to cover my ears!

 

Which “Call” thrilled you more? The call in which you landed an agent or the call in which you landed your book deal? Can you describe to us what it felt like?

 

Wow, I don’t think I can compare the two!  My agent, Jim McCarthy, called me on a Monday and it was totally out of the blue.  I was standing in the kitchen when I heard his voice on the answering machine asking me to call him back.  I just stared at my fiancé, JP, and he stared at me and he started jumping and dancing but I just kept saying “it could just be that he wants to talk.  It might not be an offer.”  It was well after business hours and for about twenty minutes I walked around the house in a daze unable to really utter anything coherent.  Then I checked my email and Jim had sent an email letting me know that he wanted to offer representation.  That’s when I started dancing too and we went out to celebrate!

 

The call for the book deal was also way unexpected!  We were going to send FHT out on submission on a Monday but Jim called Friday afternoon and asked what I thought about sending out a sneak peek to a few editors who’d showed early interest.  I was all for it!  So when he called on Monday morning I figured it was just to check in and talk about sending out the rest of the submissions.  But he was calling to tell me there was a pre-empt!  When he gave me the details I just remember staring out the window completely floored. 

 

Actually, now that I think about it, I think the call for the book deal thrilled me more.  Getting that offer of representation was an amazing feeling but knowing the book had sold – wow.  I floated all day (I’m still floating!)

 

Now THAT is a fast sale.

 

You’re lucky enough to have quit the day job now, but how did you balance the demanding task of being a lawyer as well as being a writer?

 

I had no life – haha!  Seriously, I decided that if I was really going to do this — write and try to sell a book — that I had to figure out how to make it work.  I didn’t want five years to pass and look back and lament not really striving for my goals.  I cut out most TV (and honestly, that’s how I found a lot of time), I ate frozen dinners, the house teeters on being a wreck (our Christmas tree was almost always up through my birthday in mid-January).  I’d wake up, go to work, come home and write.  On the weekends, I’d write.  Some months (when I was working on a big trial) the only time I had to write was the 8 minutes while the pasta was boiling for mac ‘n’ cheese!  I’m not really sure I would call that balance – haha!

 

That’s a really honest answer. Thanks for sharing.

 

I believe when I talked to you last you were rushing to meet a deadline. Are you working on the sequel to Forest? What fresh challenges are there in writing a sequel and in trying to avoid the infamous sophomore slump?

 

I made that deadline – yay!  I’m working on a sequel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth that will come out in Spring 2010.  It’s kind of a loose sequel, though, set quite a while after the end of the first book and with a different POV character.

 

Fresh challenges — there were plenty (and old challenges too!).  One challenge for me was that I’d never planned to write a sequel so I hadn’t created a character arc and plot arc that I felt like could span another book.  I had a few other issues but can’t get into them without spoilers ☺ But I think that’s one reason I ultimately decided to use a different POV character for the second book and set it later.  So I’m using the same world, but it’s not really a direct sequel.

 

I also think it’s often nice that the lead times with YA are so long that you have plenty of time to write the next book in a vacuum without hearing public feedback about the first book.  I think sometimes hearing the responses to the first book can really influence the way you think about the second!

 

Interesting. I had no idea different genres/categories of books had different lead times.

 

This is Fumbling with Fiction, so I have to ask, in your writing career have you ever had a big “Oops!” moment?

 

Oh yes!  The first one that comes to mind is when I ended up querying an agent before the project was remotely ready.  In my defense, it was a pitch workshop with an agent and I didn’t expect her to actually be requesting material, but I didn’t even have the partial ready!!  I scrambled to edit that and sent it before the book was finished (never did finish the book) and got a rejection (rightfully so!).

 

However, I’m also a big fan of believing that things tend to work out and happen for a reason.  I definitely learned not to query until the manuscript is as polished as possible and I also met my critique partner, Diana Peterfreund, without whose support I’m not sure I’d have sold FHT.

 

I think your fiancé is also a writer and an attorney. That’s two writers/lawyers under one roof! Good, bad, or ugly?

 

Lol, I asked him this question and he was like “all three.”  For me it’s wonderful.  He understands that writing can be hard, he supports me unequivocally, and he’s an amazing editor.  He’s not afraid to tell me when something’s not as good as it can be nor is he afraid to heap on the praise ☺  The hardest part for me is that he is truly an amazing writer and I strive to write as well as he does!

 

You’re now at the beginning of your writing career. Can you believe it? Where would you like that sure-to-be illustrious career to take you?

 

No, I still can’t believe it!  Honestly, there are days when I just clap my hands and dance around with glee!  For me and career goals… I’d just love to be able to keep writing (and to keep writing full time).

 

Tell us a little about receiving your first editorial letter. What was yours like? How did you feel when you received it?

 

My first editorial letter came on the Wednesday after I sold that Monday!  So I was utterly surprised because I thought I’d be waiting weeks or months!  The first letter focused on broader issues and then we worked on smaller and smaller issues with subsequent letters.  I was really energized when I first got it because it made everything feel so real!  I think for me the key with revisions has been understanding the “why” of it — if I know WHY my editor wants a certain change it’s easier for me to figure out how to make that change.

 

Your editor must have been really psyched to start your book. That’s great!  Finally, if you could have written one book previously published by another author, which book would it be?

 

I’m sure it will seem quite strange to most people, but I wish I’d written Lolita by Nabokov.  I remember when I first opened that book, standing in the college bookstore loading up for my semester classes, and I had to sit down on the floor because the beginning is so stunningly written.  I love the wordplay, the fun with language and I learned a lot from that book about how to write descriptions and choose words. 

 

 

           (Be sure to check out the coolest book trailer ever!)

 

                 

 

 

 

2009 Debutante Author Interview Series: C. Lee McKenzie

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It’s not a heart-grabbing noise like when somebody jiggles the doorknob to see if it’s locked. It’s not a bitter smell like the electrical short we had last month, when all the breakers popped. No. It’s something in the air, something like a ghost making its way through the room. And it can’t be Monster, not after last night.

sliding_cover_small1

C. Lee McKenzie’s here! She has her debut novel, Sliding on the Edge, coming out from WestSide Books in April and she was kind enough to answer all the questions I had about her road to publication. Thanks, C. Lee!

Sliding on the Edge is your debut novel, so a big congrats on that. But can you give us a little statistical rundown on how long it took you to get to this point? How many books? How many rejections? How many days, months, years?
I had to dig into my archives to answer this one. I’ve written two Middle Grade stories that are gathering moss on my C drive. Sliding is my first YA and I think I sent queries and sample chapters to about six publishers who either didn’t think it suited their mix or didn’t respond. As to how long this book has been in the pre-birthing phase: I started thinking about it in 2006. I wrote some of the ideas down in my notebook (something I consider an additional appendage) through the first part of 2007; then I started actually putting those ideas into scenes and chapters. I hauled what I now refer to as the first draft to a conference and was asked, “What made you write about something like this?” It wasn’t a nice question, BTW, and I was thoroughly discouraged for about half an hour. I finally sold the book in January of 2008. So . . . three books, seven rejections, two years to sale, three years and three months to publication.
Seven rejections! That’s it? Pretty amazing! Which “Call” thrilled you more? The call in which you landed an agent or the call in which you landed your book deal?
Wish I had a comparison to offer, but I don’t have an agent. I’m flying solo without any pre-flight instruction. But talking to my editor is an all-time high, so as life moments go, I’d rank our discussions right up there at the top. The first time we spoke the conversation was pretty one-sided with her doing most of the talking. I was working on breathing while I searched for the part of my brain that knew words. I guess you’d describe the moment as “exciting,” but that’s such an inadequate word.

I’m so impressed by authors who can go it alone. Congrats on making that sale. I know you also write Middle Grade fiction. How do you switch gears when writing between two different age groups? Are there certain things you need to keep in mind for each?
I guess my head just goes into another place when I’m writing and if I’m into MG, I sort of nestle into my pre-teen self. It’s still in there, waiting to be noticed and enjoyed again. My angsty YA is pretty demanding. It has a lot to say, so when I’m there things kind of pour out, like sweat after a run. I’m not really “in” my usual mind when I write. I can’t explain it very well, except to say that I kind of slip into my character(s) and they tell me stuff. So I guess my answer is I don’t have any problems about keeping the two genres separate.

This is Fumbling with Fiction, so I have to ask, in your writing career have you ever had a big “Oops!” moment?
Only one? I hope I’m allowed more than that because I’m way over my quota if I’m not. My biggest oops is probably sending a query addressed to one publisher to another. That was super embarrassing, but the publisher was kind and returned the letter to me with something like “oops!” (and not dodo bird) written across the top. She also included a short note saying she liked my idea, but it wouldn’t work for her house. Sigh.
Hey, we’ve all been there. Or at least I have! You’re now at the beginning of your writing career. Can you believe it? Where would you like that sure-to-be illustrious career to take you?
I’d be very happy to see another book of mine on the shelves and in the hands of readers. I’ve completed (loosely speaking) another YA novel and am working on a third, so I guess I’m thinking continued publication would please me greatly.

Tell us a little about receiving your first rejection. What was yours like? How did you feel when you received it?

My first one? Oh not that! It was horrible. They actually rejected my book (one of my Middle Grades). How could they? That book was positively brilliant. It was the next Harry Potter of the publishing world. Of course, after a few years I came to recognize that the brilliance was more in my head than on the page.

Well, hopefully your upcoming book will be the next Harry Potter, right? Finally, if you could have written one book previously published by another author, which book would it be?
This is not only the last, but also the most difficult question, Chandler. Thinking. Thinking. Thinking. Only one? I seem to be asking that question a lot in this interview. Well, I’ve been re-reading S.E. Hinton lately, and I really love the way she captures the young male adults in her books. So I guess I’d choose my favorite among her publications and say I wish I could have written Rumble Fish.

2009 Debutante Author Intervew Series: Deva Fagan

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In Fortune’s Folly, a girl who survives by telling fake fortunes must
make one of them come true to save her father’s life–to succeed,
she’ll have to procure a wicked witch, recover a pair of enchanted
slippers, and, worst of all, find a princess to marry the prince she’s
falling in love with herself.

____________________________________________________________________

fortunesfolly

 

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Does that not just sound like the cutest story? A girl has to find a princess to marry the prince she’s fallen in love with–LOVE it! Today’s deb is Deva Fagan, author of the forthcoming Fortune’s Folly. You can reach Deva through her website at www.devafagan.com. And! be sure to look for her book this Spring.

Fortune’s Folly is your debut novel, so a big congrats on that. But can you give us a little statistical rundown on how long it took you to get to this point? How many books? How many rejections? How many days, months, or years?

I wrote an absolutely terrible novel in junior high (it had a silver-eyed girl who was the Chosen One and an anti-hero who looked like my favorite pop star and lots and lots of very overblown prose), so if you start counting with that, it’s been over 20 years, 5 completed (now trunked) novels, and too many rejections to count.

On the other hand, it was only in the last five years that I got a handle on the submission process (thanks in large part to the resources available online!) and really made writing a top priority in my life. Once I stopped flailing about things began to improve. I started getting personalized rejections, then positive rejections, and finally a sale! 

Which “Call” thrilled you more? The call in which you landed an agent or the call in which you landed your book deal? 

 Actually, I didn’t get any calls at all! My communications with both my agent and editor throughout the submission processes were done over email, and I’ve still never spoken with either of them on the phone (though we have met in person and do email regularly).

But one moment that did truly thrill me was on January 1st, 2006. I like “firsts” and will often start new projects or endeavors on the first of a month (or week, or year). I had just suffered several rounds of rejections, but I had decided to hold fast to my determination and send out another spate of query letters to agents. I was in the middle of sending off my e-queries and suddenly a response popped up in my in-box.

I was sure at first that I’d mistyped and it was a bounced mail, but no, it was a request from one of the agents to see more. I had sent her the query at 7:13 and the response came back at 7:18. I nearly fell out of my chair! Apparently that was an omen of things to come because just about a month later I had signed with her, and just about a month after that we sold the book!

When it happens, it happens fast!

I think you said you actually wrote Fortune’s Folly as a “break” from the big, serious book you were then writing. Whatever happened to the big, serious book?

Unfortunately, it was SO big and serious it was also terribly dull and spiritless. So right now it’s sitting in my virtual trunk. At some point I may chop out the parts I still like (some of the secondary characters, the setting) and reuse them, but for now it’s been set aside.

Well, it sounds like you made the right decision in starting something new!  I’m always curious about this subject: How do you balance writing and your day job? What do you do when you get overwhelmed?

I’m a morning person, so I usually wake up early enough that I can get in a good two hours of writing time before I have to go to the office. It can be difficult, though, because my day job involves sitting in front of the computer (I’m a software developer).

What helps me keep the balance is making plenty of time to get outside (my dog helps with that, since he is always up for a walk!). I also always have paper and a pen with me so if I get an inspiration when I am at work, I can jot it down. Of course this leads to my purse being stuffed with scraps of paper scribbled with things like “her hair turns purple!” and “minions have pumpkin heads” that I then have to sort through. I really ought to get a notebook!

Hey, Whatever works, right? Did you feel your relationship with your agent changed after your sale?

Not really, since the book sold so quickly I didn’t really have time to establish a relationship before the sale happened!

This is Fumbling with Fiction, so I have to ask, in your writing career have you ever had a big “Oops!” moment?

Oh plenty! Though thankfully most of them relate to the actual writing and thus only impacted me personally (well, and my friends who had to listen to me bemoan my mistakes). I tend to find the plots and settings of my books first, and then have to sort of wait for the characters to introduce themselves and become real people in my mind.

Unfortunately I am not always good about waiting for that to happen. I want to rush ahead and write the story down. This has led to quite a few partial (and, sadly, full) novels with cardboard characters, that I end up having to toss aside and rewrite once I find the real, living, breathing characters who belong in the story.

You’re now at the beginning of your writing career. Can you believe it? Where would you like that sure-to-be illustrious career to take you?

It is hard to believe! I am very grateful to be here. The thing that thrills me the most is the idea of people reading, and hopefully enjoying, my books. If I can look back on my writing life as an old woman and believe that I have entertained people, that I have brought magic and adventure and love and beauty to them, then I would be a very happy old lady!

That’s such a sweet sentiment.

Tell us a little about receiving your first editorial letter. What was yours like? How did you feel when you received it?

My first editorial letter was about three pages long. I love my editor for many reasons but one of them is that she always finds something nice to say (before getting to the part that’s going to be hard work). So it started with some quite nice things that made me blush, and went on to the things that she felt would make the book stronger.

The two main issues we dealt with in that revision were pacing and establishing more empathy with the main character. I will admit that at first I was intimidated! Both seemed like daunting tasks. But then I saw that my editor (bless her!) had also included lots of notes on the manuscript itself to show me where to start. I decided I would go through and do all the “easy” stuff first, and then tackle the big stuff. That eased me into it and by the time I did get to the big stuff, it felt much more manageable.

Finally, if you could have written one book previously published by another author, which book would it be?

I would love to write a book as beloved as my own childhood favorites, and to feel that I was part of the grand tradition of storytelling. With that in mind, I might chose Lloyd Alexander’s The Black Cauldron (from his Chronicles of Prydain series) because it combines adventure, humor, tragedy, and heart. I loved those books as a kid (and still do!).

Thanks for having me, Chandler!

2008 Wrap Up

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I was checkin’ out Shelli’s blog the other day and really liked her review of her life in 2008. Since so much has happened in my writing (and personal) life this year, I thought it’d be nice to look back.

So here we go…

-Graduated a semester early to focus on writing

-Researched industry, tried to figure out what the heck I was supposed to do

-Found Absolute Write Water Cooler

-Finished book #1, a YA mystery titled WEIRD TATTOOS AND LOW IQS

-Queried WEIRD TATTOOS, racked up rejections

-Wrote the proposal for SCOUT, a YA graphic novel

-Started Fumbling with Fiction!

-Began receiving review copies of fabulous books like The Gargoyle, The Map Thief, Land of Invisible Women and many more–an unexpected perk

-Joined the Verla Kay Blueboards

-Discovered some of my all-time favorite YA books: The Boyfriend List, Wicked Lovely, Twilight, I’d Tell You I Love You But Then I’d Have to Kill You, Thirteen Reasons Why…

-Found artists for SCOUT

-Queried SCOUT

-Moved from Philadelphia, PA to Austin, TX to start law school at the University of Texas

-Found Purgatory and the fabulous Purgatorians

-3 offers of representation for SCOUT, plus 1 offer of represenation for WEIRD TATTOOS

-Signed with Super Agent Dan Lazar of Writers House!

-Nate (boyfriend) moved from Washington, D.C. to Austin

-Finished SCOUT script, lengthened synopsis, completed proposal, signed contracts with artists

-Wrote an article for SCBWI’s January issue of Sprouts

-Agent began subbing SCOUT

-Went in a hole to study so that I would not fail out of my first semester of law school

-Met some great writing friends through Purgatory whom I am so thankful for because I know that I would not know half of what I know now without them

-Began work on next 2 proposals/projects

…And here we are. That’s a pretty successful year if I do say so myself. It will be interesting this time next year to check back and see how much has changed and how much as stayed the same. I certainly hope to have taken the next (or next several) step(s) in my writing career. And you can bet that I’ll be spending another year working my tail end off to make sure that happens.

Muses Do the Darndest Things

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Of course, the second I sit down to start studying for the night, the muse strikes. She’s been in hiding or playing hard to get or something. But that was fine because I wasn’t interested anyway. At least not ’til next week.

I guess that made Miss Muse mad because she decided to make herself known tonight in a big way.

So what’s a girl to do? I can’t exactly just let it pass because as soon as the words are gone–they’re gone for good. Unless, that is, I somehow managed to write them down before.

So I opened up a word document and tapped away. Typed about 500 words then briefly outlined a bit more about the characters etc. I think that’s all the work I can justify doing on it tonight. This is not the Scout-character book that I talked about before, but I will probably work on these two projects sort of simultaneously. Whenever I get stuck, hop to the next, etc.

See, I’m not the type of girl that cares much for muses. Or at least I didn’t. Look at my writing quote on my About page. I like to feel firmly in control of the process. I like to think that “inspiration” constitutes a miniscule part of the actual writing of a book. I hate to feel dependent on waiting for a spark. Because if I do that, then who is to say another idea will just pop into my head? No, I’ve typically been a very methodical writer. Still am.

But, when I wrote SCOUT, unlike in my other writings, I relaxed my death grip on total control of the process. I allowed myself to admit that my ideas were better when I stepped away from the keyboard and waited for inspiration to strike.

Luckily, I’ve come up with a compromise in the way I think of Miss Muse. I lay the groundwork then let the subconscious provide the extra somethin’-somethin’. Unfortunately, when I plotted meticulously, thought about the “correct” way to do things, and consulted theory in order to hammer out a book, the book I came out with felt, well, uninspired.

SCOUT changed that. I wrote down what I could think of, allowed that to marinate, and then I’d be lying in bed, and Poof! a plot twist.

So, yeah, apparently the subconscious had been churning away and decided to spit out the product today. I’m sure that many more similar incidents will be required for this idea to form itself into a book. But for the time being, I’m pretty darn happy with this new project. For the time being at least, I’m calling it SECRETS OF A SUPERNATURAL SLUT. It’s YA urban fantasy and would fit nicely next to SCOUT.

 

So yay!

 

 

Status: Watching Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe–can I please be C.S. Lewis?? And now, more studying!

Whipped Into Shape

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I’m feeling a bit out of shape.

Each word plops onto the page only after much huffing and puffing.

And I’d be lying if I told you my paragraphs weren’t a bit flabby.

And the adverbs? I need to shed those fast!

Yep, it’s sad, but true. I’ve fallen out of writing shape and I’m embarrassed.

In mid-November I wrapped up my writing projects and decided I would devote myself to school entirely. Well, my last final is on Tuesday and I can already just imagine how painful it’s going to be to get those creative muscles back in working order. When you get into the groove of writing every day you can feel yourself getting better and better. But getting started and getting in that groove…well that’s tough.

I watched Jay Leno last night and Michael Phelps was a guest star. He said that for every day you took off swimming you lost two days of training. Well, I hope its not that steep a loss with writing, but I’m not sure I’d equate knowing how to write with riding a bike or anything.

Luckily, even though gluing my butt to the chair and making myself eek out words the first few days might be painful, I am so looking forward to it! I’ve missed writing and I can’t wait to get back into it. I’ll also be back to doing prose. I’m doing a couple chapters as per the request of my agent with the characters of SCOUT. I can’t wait until Tuesday–ok, well I might not be writing Tuesday riiiiight after the exam, but Wednesday for sure!

Despite the fact that I’m a bit rusty, I have written much more intensively since my first novel (not SCOUT). I’ve landed a great agent. Lots has happened. I do feel like I’ve grown as a writer. I think that’s going to make things much more difficult because I’ll expect more from myself, but I’m also thrilled to be flexing my new writing muscles a bit in another full-length project. I’m pumped to see what I can do, but I’ve also gotten to know a bunch of great writers in the recent months and am hoping to use some of their input to bring my work to the next level. (That is, if they love me that much when I ask ‘em!)

 

Anyway, to start slowly getting my behind in gear, I was wondering if y’all knew of any good websites with daily writing prompts or character exercises or maybe you just have some that you enjoy doing before really digging into a project. Let me know!

 

Upcoming Topics:

Falling Back in Love: I’m so NOT over you…

Starting with a sense of Direction

What’s OK in YA?

The Left-Brained Artist

Playing off the Pressure

 

 

Status: And…Back to studying.

2009 Debutante Author Interview Series: R.J. Anderson

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Forget everything you think you know about faeries…
Creatures full of magic and whimsy?
Not in the Oakenwyld. Not anymore.

Deep inside the great Oak lies a dying faery realm, bursting with secrets. Long ago the faeries mysteriously lost their magic. Robbed of their powers, they have become selfish and dull-witted. Now their numbers are dwindling and their very survival is at stake.

Only one young faery–Knife–is determined to find out where her people’s magic has gone and try to get it back. Unlike her sisters, Knife is fierce and independent. She’s not afraid of anything –not the vicious crows, the strict Faery Queen, or the fascinating humans living nearby. But when Knife disobeys the Faery Queen and befriends a human named Paul, her quest becomes more dangerous than she ever anticipated. Can Knife trust Paul to help, or has she brought the faeries even closer to the brink of destruction?

knife-small1         spellhunter-small1

You guessed it! Our next author interview is R.J. Anderson. I’ve already heard buzz about her upcoming book Knife (in the UK) and Faery Rebels (in the US)–How lucky is she to have two gorgeous covers!? After reading the blurb, I know I can’t wait to get a hold of the novel! Thanks so much for joining us, R.J.!

Congrats on your debut novel, Knife. Can you give us a little statistical rundown on how long it took you to get to this point? How many books? How many rejections? How many days, months, or years?

KNIFE / SPELL HUNTER (I’ll just call it KNIFE from now on, for brevity’s sake!) was my second completed manuscript, and I finished it in the spring of 1994 — though it took me thirteen more years to sell it. You’d think I’d have written other novels during that time, but I didn’t: I was busy writing fan fiction and posting it on the Internet. Which was good writing practice, taught me to value criticism and earned me a small but loyal audience, so I don’t consider that time wasted.

Anyway, I’d had enough encouragement from friends who had read KNIFE, as well as from the first editor I ever sent it to, that I felt sure the book had potential. So whenever I got a rejection I’d snivel and moan and put the ms. away for months or years before mustering the will to revise and send it out again, but I never gave up on it entirely.

It wasn’t until 2002, however, when an online acquaintance told me that she was an editor with a major publishing house and would be interested in reading my original manuscript, that I really woke up and got serious about doing whatever it might take to get KNIFE published. I did two rounds of revisions for that editor, and although circumstances beyond either one of our control meant that she didn’t end up being the one to buy the book in the end, her criticisms and suggestions really helped me take the book to a whole new level.

Wow. That goes to show you that you never know what great contacts you could be making online! Which “Call” thrilled you more? The call in which you landed an agent or the call in which you landed your book deal? Can you describe to us what it felt like?

I think it had to be getting my agent, because it was so quick and dramatic. I’d just been turned down by another agent who “liked but didn’t love” my manuscript, but was willing to recommend me to another agent she thought might feel differently. Once she made that referral, I had my first e-mail from Josh Adams in two days and an offer of representation less than a week later. Josh had e-mailed a couple of days before to tell me he was loving KNIFE and ask when would be a good time to talk with me about it, so our conversation didn’t come as a complete surprise, but you can bet I spent the weekend in a tizzy trying to find out everything I could about Adams Literary, and think of all the questions I should ask before accepting an offer of representation!

With my editor I had even more advance notice, because a week before the book went to auction she asked my agent if she could call me and see how willing I’d be to do the kind of revisions she had in mind for Knife’s story, and get a feel for what I might be like to work with. So my first call with her wasn’t really The Call, but more of a get-to-know-you experience. It was very exciting, though! Especially because we really did click well right off the bat, and when I put down the phone I found myself hoping that HarperCollins would win the auction so I’d get to work with her. And fortunately, that’s just how it turned out!

How exciting both must have been!

This is Fumbling with Fiction, so I have to ask, in your writing career have you ever had a big “Oops!” moment?

I think my biggest oops is over my own stupidity and (let’s be frank) laziness in not continuing to turn KNIFE around and send it back out after it had been rejected a couple of times in a row. I allowed myself to waste years just sitting around moping over how slow publishing was, when it probably would have gone a lot faster if I’d been more persistent and proactive in approaching more and different publishers.

It also took me a ridiculously long time to realize that my book was YA (MG really, though it’s sort of on the borderline between the two) instead of an “adult” fantasy. I feel kind of silly about that, too! It seems so obvious to me now.

 

An important message for writers not to be paralyzed by rejection. Thanks for sharing! Now that you are a soon-to-be-published author, seeing the view from the other side, what has been your favorite moment in the publishing process so far? What part of the process has most surprised you?

I have to say it’s been really exciting doing contracted revisions with my editor, knowing she loves my writing and my story but also wants to help me make it the best it can be. She’s been great at pointing out the places where my book is weak or confusing, but also leaving it up to me to figure out how best to solve those problems — trusting my judgment, rather than imposing her own vision on the book. And I think most professional editors are that way, really. I just never realized it before I had the chance to work with one.

The part that’s surprised me is how little the author often knows about what’s really going on with her book. I have a great agent and editors who try to keep me in the loop and are generally very willing to answer questions, but sometimes it’s hard to even know what questions I should be asking. I guess I imagined that the author would hear about every meeting related to her book and get copies of every little bit of promotional material, and that’s just not the case. Agents and editors have a lot of clients and a lot of projects on the go at any given time, and sometimes the author has to politely beg for information before they even realize she doesn’t already know!

It looks like your book is coming out in the US and UK at the same time. Is this typical? How did that happen?

Actually, it’s coming out in the UK on January 8th, which puts it four months ahead of the US release date (which is April 28th). The rights to the UK sold six months later than my US rights, but the book is coming out earlier in the UK because publishing moves much faster over there than it does here.

As for being typical — it’s not that typical from what I understand, but my book has an English setting and feel to it, so it was a natural fit for the UK market in that respect. Also, my agent has a partnership with an agency in the UK, and he worked hard to retain UK rights to the book when working out the details of my contract with HarperCollins. That enabled him to send the manuscript out to a number of publishers over there, and it was eventually bought by Orchard Books last December. Which was very exciting because it was like selling the book all over again! 

So cool to have had TWO deals that quickly! Could you explain to us why your book has a different title in the US and UK?

KNIFE was my original title for the book, and my UK editor thought it was a perfect fit — short and memorable and dynamic. I think that the slight darkness and edginess (if you’ll pardon the pun) to that title was appealing for the UK market, where the dividing line between middle grade and teen literature is less strongly marked. But my US publisher felt that to call it just KNIFE would be confusing and perhaps give people a wrong impression of what the book was about, and they wanted to emphasize the faery content. So after much back-and-forthing, we came up with FAERY REBELS for the series  (since in the US I had a two-book deal for KNIFE and its sequel) and SPELL HUNTER for the book title.

 

Tell us a little about receiving your first editorial letter. What was yours like? How did you feel when you received it?

My first contracted editorial letter was seven pages long. She started out by telling me all the things she loved about the book, and then moving on to the places where she felt the plot and characters needed work. Many of the things she mentioned we’d discussed on the phone previously, so they didn’t come as a big shock or anything.

Still, it took me a few days to really process all the information in the letter and decide how I wanted to tackle the revisions. No matter how gracious and thoughtful an editor’s criticisms may be, it’s easy to succumb to feelings of “O woe is me! I suck! They only bought this manuscript because they felt sorry for me!” It’s also easy to resent or resist certain criticisms and tell yourself that the editor just doesn’t understand your Sublime Artistic Vision.

But once I’d finished wallowing in self-pity for a day or two, I got excited and started thinking of ways to solve the problems my editor had pointed out. And I also realized that my editor was right in her criticisms — not just about a few things, but about everything. The book is a LOT better now than it was — tighter, more focused, and also deeper.

I love hearing about author-editor relationships that work well! Finally, if you could have written one book previously published by another author, which book would it be?

Oh, goodness. This is hard, because there are so many books I love. But I think I’m going to have to say I wish I’d written C.S. Lewis’s THE SILVER CHAIR. That is my favorite of all the Narnia books, and I adore Puddleglum.

Thanks so much for telling us all about your journey to publication! Can’t wait to check out FAERY REBELS here in the US and I’m sure we’ll be hearing great things in the future from you. Again, Congratulations on your success!

2009 Debuntante Author Interview Series: Cindy Pon

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While this is the 2009 Debutante Interview Series, I’m pretty sure this week’s deb would get kicked out of the ball on account of her incessant bootay shakin’. Yes, it’s Cindy Pon (aka Xiaotien) and she’s here to chat with us about her journey from waging query warfare to her three book deal with Greenwillow. Her first book, SILVER PHOENIX, hit shelves in ’09.

silver_phoenix_hc_c

No one wanted Ai Ling. And deep down she is relieved—despite the
dishonor she has brought upon her family—to be unbetrothed, free, and
not some stranger’s subservient bride banished to the inner quarters.

But now, something is after her. Something terrifying—a force she
cannot comprehend. And as the pieces of the puzzle start to fit
together, Ai Ling begins to understand that her journey to the Palace
of Fragrant Dreams in search of her beloved father—missing these many
months—is so much more than that. Bravery, intelligence, the will to
fight and fight hard . . . she will need all of these things. Just as
she will need the new and mysterious power growing within her. She
will also need help.

It is Chen Yong who finds her partly submerged and barely breathing at
the edge of a deep lake. There is something of unspeakable evil trying
to drag her under. On a quest of his own Chen Yong offers that
help…and perhaps more.

Congrats on your debut novel, Cindy. The cover art is beautiful and I can’t wait to see it on shelves! But can you give us a little statistical rundown on how long it took you to get to this point? How many books? How many rejections? How many days, months, or years?
It took me about three to four months to write the rough draft. Then I spent a year revising it with comments from my two critique groups to help me. SILVER PHOENIX was the first novel I’ve ever written.

I queried 121 agents and i’m sure was rejected by at least 90 of them. I started agent querying at the end of january 2008, and landed agent bill in early april. He sent an email on sunday afternoon saying he loved my novel and I literally jumped up and down in the kitchen.

My bubs thought mommy had gone nutso. =)

The book went to auction in my fifth week of submission to publishers.

 

That’s fantastic and couldn’t have happened to a nicer person! Which “Call” thrilled you more? The call in which you landed an agent or the call in which you landed your book deal? Can you describe to us what it felt like?
Oh, such different emotions there.

I approached querying for an agent like all out warfare. and i would “revenge query” each time i got a rejection. if i had nothing in my query email box for a few days, i’d zap out a few more. It’s a strange thing to say, but many times, seeing a rejection was better than seeing NOTHING at all. (that’s the worst!!)

As I said, I was truly ecstatic when Agent Bill sent me an email to arrange THE CALL for monday morning.
It had been such a roller coaster ride. and all along, I never really knew if what i had was good enough. I only knew that i loved it–and i had to try. try hard!

Going on submission to editors was entirely different. It was utterly and completely out of my
hands. There was no more revising a query, or fiddling with your first pages of prose. Your novel was OUT THERE. and the only thing you could do was try to stay sane and wait.

I think I was in a state of disbelief when my novel went to auction. it was a very high stress and emotional time for me. Here i was, scheduling talks with editors from major publishing houses (what?!) in between picking up the bubs from preschool and their nap times. It was all very surreal.

When I said yes to Virginia and Greenwillow books, I was spent. and still in utter disbelief. It’s very strange
to want something so long and call it a dream, then to actually get it. i was thrilled and terrified. The whole experience was incredible.

 

Ahhh! I love stories like that. So inspiring, but staying sane while waiting? I’m working on that one…  This is Fumbling with Fiction, so I have to ask, in your writing career have you ever had a big “Oops!” moment?
I sent out partial requests too soon. I think many writers make that mistake. We’ve been fiddling with the story for so long, we’re just itching to get it out there already. But you have to learn from your mistakes. That’s why you should send out in batches–so if you get a lot of rejections, you know it’s time to regroup and revise.

 

I think you are right. That’s a problem a lot of writers run into. I know that was one of my problems as well, so great advice!

Now that you are a soon-to-be-published author, seeing the view from the other side, what has been your favorite moment in the publishing process so far? What part of the process has most surprised you?
My favorite moment would be getting my first editorial letter from virginia, my editor! It was just such a sense of achievement for me. I had fumbled very long by myself over this story. Labor of love is exactly what it is. And i knew i was at a point where I had nothing more to offer to the prose or the story.

I had done as best as I could as a writer, with what little resources I had. To get that first editorial letter and see how my novel could be improved–and improved in such great ways–I just loved it!

Seeing my book jacket comes in as a close second. That was very emotional for me. They did such a fantastic job on it. I was floored.

 

You and Agent Bill seem to have such a collegial relationship. What do you think the secret to sucess has been of your extremely functional agent-author relationship?
I don’t think it’s a secret. Open communication is so key. I frequent the writing forums and I know the prevailing feeling of “not wanting to be a bother” walking on eggshells because it was so hard to find an agent. No one wants to lose an agent!

Communication is important. And so is trust. And respect. If you have a question or concern, ASK YOUR AGENT. That’s what s/he is there for!!

 

A valuable reminder for those, like me, who are newly agented. I hear you got an offer for a picture book thrown in your deal as a result of your editor reading your blog. What new challenges come with shifting to writing for much younger readers?
It’s a different mind set. And it’s going to be a great challenge. I’m very intimidated! I need to submit a dummy (which is a mock up of the picture book) and I’ve seen some fantastic dummies–that look like an
actual picture book.

So I’m trying not to panic. I don’t want to send Virginia a few pages stapled together and have her think, what the heck did I get myself into? =X

I have a lot to learn. But if anyone is going to guide me well, it would be Virginia.

 

Your brushwork is beautiful and I know you’ll do a wonderful job.

Finally, if you could have written one book previously published by another author, which book would it be?
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’dell.

 

HUGE Congrats again and I look forward to hearing all of your future success. Keep us updated!!