Giddy as a school girl!

You guys! I think I may actually attend my first ever book signing! How is it possible that I – a voracious reader and fangirl of many, many authors – has never attended a book signing? I have no idea.

Well, for starters, the closest major metro area is more than an hour away so I would really need to be paying attention to when book signings would be happening there. It also happens to be a metro area that does not always get included in some of the major book tours – ie: it’s not New York or Los Angeles.

Thanks to the modern conveniences of social media, I came across a post by Amanda Hocking announcing dates for her book tour after WAKE comes out on Tuesday, Aug. 7. Those dates, times and places are here, if you are interested. Ms. Hocking lives in my home state of Minnesota (woot!) and is starting out her tour here. So several of these places are actually places I can get to.

I’m very excited and hope that, in my book-signing-virgin state, I don’t do anything uncouth and am asked to never attend a book signing ever again.

The description for WAKE – which will apparently be the first in a four-book series – can be found here. I have read her Trylle Trilogy and Hollows Series and enjoyed both so I’m looking forward to WAKE.

And for those of you who do not want to follow the links – check out this cover! Is this not one of the prettiest covers ever?

What book signings have you attended? What advice do you have for a newbie to make the most of the experience?

Motivation Monday

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Like this little guy, who believed in his future outside his safe and sound birdhouse in my backyard. Remember a couple weeks ago when I posted this picture and said that the momma bird wasn’t happy with me because I was getting between her and her babies? The bird in the picture above was one of those babies. They’ve all flown the nest now. And I feel like I’m about to fly the nest, in a way. I found out yesterday that I have been accepted into a group called the MNYA Writers group. I am beyond excited to participate in this group of people whose purpose is encouragement of each other, furthering their craft and cameraderie. It’s another step in the right direction down the path toward improving my writing and publication!

Have a great week everyone – keep believing in the beauty of your dreams.

Doing my homework

This week, I got my manuscript back from the fabulous Kris Atkins who graciously agreed to be my critique partner. I’m pretty sure I’m getting the better end of this deal. I haven’t shared my MS with anyone who isn’t related or a friend. So this was a BIG DEAL.

And it was fantastic.

Kris’ comments were insightful and to the point without being harsh. And unbelievably helpful. Some comments pointed out things I hadn’t thought about. Some confirmed fears that I had about the plot, characters, etc. A few of her comments made me totally face-palm. (Note to self: it’s never a good idea to use the same word three times in three consecutive sentences. You knew that already, didn’t you, self? Yeah, I thought so.)

One of her comments got me thinking I need to do a little more homework on the alien race that I created in this MS. I need to create some cultural quirks and every day rituals or habits – build a little more of their back story. So to help brainstorm some ideas, I tapped into my demographic: my 13-year-old daughter. I didn’t regret that decision immediately. But… eventually.

She bombarded me with questions. “Are they humanoid? Bi-pedal?” (Yes, she actually use the word “bi-pedal.”) “What are their houses made out of? Do they eat meat? How do they hunt? Are men dominant over women? How long do they live? What is their planet like? Do they live in deserts? Forests?”

This went on for about half an hour before she broke the proverbial camel’s back with this question: “How do they do their laundry?”

Pffffttt! How should I know how they do their laundry?! Well, the answer is – I should know how they do their laundry, shouldn’t I? I created the race. And even if I’m not going to work laundry day into the story line, I should have some sense of how that gets accomplished. Otherwise, they’re not believable in my head. And if they’re not believable in my head, why would they be believable in my readers’ heads?

Now I’m feeling that I need to back up and do some major character-and-world building exercises.

Fellow writers: I’m curious. How do you build your worlds and your characters? Do you go above and beyond the details that you will actually weave into your story? Do you build entire backstories for your characters or worlds that you may never use simply for the purpose of getting to know your characters/worlds better? How much time is too much time to put into these kinds of exercises?

Symbolism in your writing

I came across an interesting exchange on Neil Gaiman’s Tumblr site a little while back – interesting to me because it discussed something I had wondered about myself. (Sidenote: Isn’t the internet a wondrous place? Any question I have had or will have or didn’t even know I had will somehow, sooner or later, show up somewhere out on the internet without me ever having to ask it!)

Anyhow – the actual exchange can be found at this link. But since I’m apparently not smart enough to get a screen capture so as to actually place it here in the blog, here is the content:

Q: Mr. Gaiman, when people read the stories I have written, they always ask me what message I’m trying to convey or what symbolism I have in what I’ve written. I’m never sure what to tell them because most of the time I’m not thinking about it, I’m just trying to tell a story that I think people will enjoy. Do you always have a message to convey and symbolism to think about in your stories? Or is it okay to just write something for people to read and enjoy?

A: Don’t tell them anything. Just smile sweetly and write the next story.

Figuring that stuff out is their job. Your job is making things up. And if you’re making things up properly there will themes and symbols and messages aplenty, whether you intentionally put them in or not, because you are human and alive and writing a story.

A writer gets to explode on the page. Critics and readers are the ones get to to gather up the shrapnel and examine the damage and figure out who got hurt.

I love this! You know when you read a really good book and then you read some professional review of it and they talk about all the symbolism and meaning behind all the stuff that you just thought was a really good story? It always makes me wonder if I should be trying to put more symbolism into my stories. But maybe in many of the stories where symbolism has been divined and praised, there wasn’t really meant to be symbolism at all? Maybe the author just wanted to tell a really good story. That’s what I strive for in my writing. And to do just that much and do it well is challenging enough!

How about you? Do you put much thought into the symbolism behind your stories? Or are you just striving to tell a good story?

Just For Fun

I watched Willow with my daughter last night. This is STILL a good movie! I suggest you rent it or pull it up on Netflix tonight. This was back when Val Kilmer was still pretty hot (though, to be fair, I looked better back in 1988 than I do now, too) and before Warwick Davis became Professor Flitwick.

Read and unread: a review and preview

If you are a fan of The Bloggess (aka: Jenny Lawson), have you bought her new book ”Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir”? What are you waiting for? Okay, you maybe already have bought it considering that it debuted at number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller List for Combined Print and E-Book Nonfiction last week.

If you are not a fan of The Bloggess, then you might want to skip it. She is very swear-y.

Personally? I adore her. This is not the kind of book I would normally pick up. I like to get lost in a completely different place when a read a book - like a trip to Narnia or Hogwarts or even District 12 inside of Panem. “Real life” kind of books are not my thing. This book had me laughing (and then crying) and transported in a whole different kind of way.

I think her comments in the dedication sum up the entire book and the importance of it perfectly:

This book is a love letter to my family. It’s about the suprising discovery that the most terribly human moments – the ones we want to pretend never happened – are the very same moments that make us who we are today. I’ve reserved the very best stories of my life for this book … to celebrate the strange, and to give thanks for the bizarre. Because you are defined not by life’s imperfect moments, but by your reaction to them. And because there is joy in embracing – rather than running screaming from – the utter absurdity of life. I thank my family for teaching me that lesson. In spades.

- Jenny Lawson

Some of my other favorite bits of the book:

The entire chapter “Stanley, the Magical Talking Squirrel” had me laughing so hard I had to put the book away because I couldn’t see through the tears.

The bit where she wants her husband to pee all around the house to ward off the “foxen.” But since he refuses to do it she calls to see if her father can come and do it. But since her father is busy, her mother offers to save some of his urine and have it mailed to her but she declines “because that’s a package I never want to sign for.”

Pretty much all the conversations she has with her husband. I would love to meet that guy. He must be very laid back.

So, that’s the book I just wrapped up. Next up: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (this is a book club selection). I am most excited, though, about my pre-order of Insurgent by Veronica Roth due to arrive on May 1 and my pre-order of City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare due to arrive on May 8.

What are you currently reading? What’s next up on your list?

Just for Fun

The folks over at How it Should Have Ended have come up with this gem! Hunger Games: How it Should Have Ended. It’s hilarious!

So many books, so little time! How do YOU prioritize?

George RR Martin has me by the throat. But in a good way. What I mean to say is that I cannot put down A Song of Ice and Fire books. I’m a little over halfway through the second book (A Clash of Kings) and I just don’t see losing interest in this series any time soon. There are five books out currently – two more to come. And the thing about these books is that they are not quick, easy reads. But, oh, so worth it.

And I need to get through The Book Thief in the next week so I do not have to show up to book club hanging my head in shame.

And after seeing The Hunger Games movie twice now, I have a burning desire to re-read all three of those books.

And I have at least three other books waiting for me on my Kindle that I really want to get to.

And then there’s those pesky children of mine who want attention sometimes. Oh, and a job. Grocery shopping, clothes washing, sleeping, showering… all those other irritating daily rituals that I can’t seem to get rid of.

I posted on Facebook a couple weeks ago that I’d like to quit my job to be a full time reader and a friend responded that she’d like quit her job and get paid to shop. I guess whatever your passion, there’s probably never enough time to indulge as much as you’d like.

How do you prioritize which book you will read next? I’m quite certain that most people who have been attracted to this blog (and I to theirs) are the kind of people who have a large stack of books waiting for them. I’m curious to know how you figure out what takes priority?

Just for Fun! 

I’m thinking about making “Just for Fun” a standing item on my blog since I so often come across links or videos that I want to share but have nothing to do with the topic of my blog post.

I came across this link on Wil Wheaton’s Tumblr site and it is, indeed, as Mr. Wheaton touted, pretty cool. This is Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers covering Hall & Oates “I Can’t Go For That.” And it’s an awesome cover version. But the really cool thing is… they are in a moving van. They are making incredible music in a moving van (and they do have their seatbelts on, BTW). There are a whole bunch of their “Van Sessions” videos out on YouTube. Not that I wasted an entire evening watching all of them or anything. Enjoy!

Books you don’t want to read… but should you?

“Read, read, read. Read everything – trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out the window.” – William Faulkner

I’ve seen this sentiment from established writers more than once – read everything you can, even if it’s not in a genre that you want to write or that you enjoy. Or maybe because it’s in a genre you don’t want to write. Every different style, every different genre, every different author has something to teach you as a writer.

It was with that in mind that I re-joined the book club that I had left about a year ago. I left the group just because I was feeling the pinch of too many commitments and not enough time (sound familiar to any of you?). But since I left, not only have I missed the excuse to go out for some much needed girl time each month, I’ve noticed that I read everything in the same genre. I generally stick to YA fantasy or sci-fi. Or adult fantasy. This is what I enjoy reading and what I enjoy writing. So, there’s nothing wrong with reading that genre exclusively, right? Maybe. Maybe not.

The book selection for this month was Heidi by Johanna Spyri. It’s a classic. A CLASSIC. I should have been thrilled to read this right? Oh, lordy, it was painful to get through. But I did! I think it was just because of the style it was written. It was first published in 1880. People spoke a little differently back then, you know.

What wisdom did I take away from this book? It would have been awesome to grow up barefoot and carefree in the Swiss Alps. Can’t say that I picked up anything that will help me in my own writing. Next month’s selection is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak which I am wildly excited to read, based on what I’ve heard about it. But first I’ll have to tear myself away from Clash of Kings.

Do you try to read books outside of your comfort zone just for the experience? To pick up ideas for your own writing style? Or do you tend to always read in the same genre? I’m curious to hear from folks on this!

Love – quotey goodness style

Ah, here I am late to the game again (story o’ my life). YA Highway is having a Valentine’s Day Blog Lovefest and I’ve enjoyed hopping around to others’ blogs reading all their creative entries but everything I’ve thought about writing tonight I’ve then had to tell myself – “Uh, no. Madeleine L’Engle already said that.” Or “Sorry, Mother Theresa beat you to it.” Or “Yep, that was Neil Gaiman.” Then I realized that what I need to do is a post about all the quotes I LOVE ABOUT LOVE! So here are some of my favorites:

“I have found the paradox that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” – Mother Theresa

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh?” he whispered.
“Yes, Piglet?”
“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s hand. “I just wanted to be sure of you.” – AA Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

“If we commit ourselves to one person for life, this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather, it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession but participation.” – Madeleine L’Engle

“It’s giving life that counts. Until you’re ready for it, all the rest is just a big fraud. All the crazy haircuts in the world won’t keep it turning. Life isn’t a love in, it’s the dishes and the orthodontist and the shoe repairman and… ground round instead of roast beef. And I’ll tell you something else: it isn’t going to a bed with a man that proves you’re in love with him; it’s getting up in the morning and facing the drab, miserable, wonderful everyday world with him that counts.” – Cheaper By the Dozen (1968)

“It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.” – Friedrich Nietzche

“Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn’t it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up.” – Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones

“You love me. Real or not real?”
I tell him, “Real.” – Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

And, of course:

“All you need is love.” – John Lennon

Well, that last one is a little mushy for my cynical personality but it’s John Lennon, after all. So, the quote is cool regardless.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Don’t forget to love yourself.

Friday Fives: Author Envy

Hey! This looks like fun! Over at Paper Hangover today they are asking: what five novels do you wish you had written? Which - I think - is another way of asking what five of your favorite novels are. Which is tough to narrow down, of course. But here goes!

1) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. Or anything by her, really. This story was so inventive and really made you think. It seemed like all her books had a philosophical angle to them that really made you step back and realize that right and wrong were not black and white. Good and evil, etc. etc. I would love to write a book that not only entertains but makes you think.

2) The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Seriously, is there any book anywhere ever that is more creative and clever than this book? From the very underlying premise to every single character Milo meets on his journey, the whole thing is amazing, funny, touching, and teaches you something at each turn. Again – not only entertaining but enlightening.

3) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Need I explain?

4) Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. Not only because I thought I’d better pick at least one contemporary novel here, but also because her use of language makes me extremely envious. I wish I could write like that!

5) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I really have an unhealthy addiction to dystopian books and this has got to be one of the best. The premise is great. The characters are likeable, conflicted and strong.

So, that’s my Friday Five. What are your five? Play along!

A couple of book reviews, but no RTW for me :(

I was all psyched to do Road Trip Wednesday (RTW) through YA Highway yesterday but then life got in the way. The “challenge” on RTW this week was to write a scene between two YA characters. The scene that immediately popped into my mind (that I did not have time to write) was between Sean from Scorpio Races and Sansa from Game of Thrones. Which is kind of cheating because Game of Thrones isn’t really YA. But it’s the book I was finishing up this week so it was on my mind. The scene would be something along the lines of Sansa being completely unrealistic about absolutely everything around her (like swooning about how pretty the water horses are and how she’d like to catch one and call it Fluffy or something ridiculous) and Sean telling her what an idiot she is. Well, Sean probably wouldn’t actually tell her since he is a man of few words. But he’d be thinking it.

I have not participated in RTW before, but I’m a big fan! There’s always next week.

Finishing up Game of Thrones was part of what got in the way of me doing RTW this week because it was an e-loan from the library and about to expire so I HAD to finish and finish quick. I have been meaning to start on this epic series by George RR Martin for ages because every time I turn around, someone is saying how great it is. But… they don’t call it epic for nothin’. The books are huge. There are several of them (and a couple more to come, I think). It just seemed like a MAJOR commitment. Especially when there so many other great books out there that I’ve wanted to read and could finish much more quickly.

I finally took the plunge. And am so glad I did. Martin is a master. The thing that boggles my mind about writing something like this is how you keep so many moving parts straight. There are soooo many characters – major and minor. And then there are all the locations (completely fabricated, which also requires a talent for keeping things straight) and all the relationships to keep straight. He does it brilliantly. I was THERE – living in these fabricated castles and keeps with these characters who are brave, cowardly (or craven, as he calls them), brilliant, stupid, honest and deceptive.

So, in short – what I loved about this book were the multiple, intricate story lines told so brilliantly.

What I did not so much care for in this book was some of the more gory stuff that seemed to me to be a little gratuitous. I also wanted to kill Sansa. She has got to be the stupidest character ever. I’m guessing that in the sequels, she wises up and becomes more realistic about the world around her. But she’s Just. So. Dumb. And the thing that really bothered me is that, I didn’t think it was that believable that her character would be that dumb because it obviously isn’t how she has been raised. She isn’t a thing like either of her parents or any of her brothers and sisters. There seems to be no basis for how she became such a moronic dreamer.

Wow. This post got long. So now I have no room to tell you about the other book I finished recently – Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. So, I’ll sum it up in a few words: LOVE. Fantastic book. Highly recommend. It made me want to move to a small island, start mucking out horse stalls and try to tame a horse that could potentially kill me.

What are you reading this week?