October 2009
A little more than we bargained for at story time…
30 September 2009
Yesterday I took McKenna to story time at the library in our neighborhood. We had never been before, and I thought it’d be a fun thing for us to do. McKenna seemed overwhelmed by all the activity in the room, but still followed some of the instructions for clapping her hands or counting. I was quite impressed.
Actually, I was the one who had a tough time paying attention to the actual stories. There was a little girl in the front of the circle, maybe age 4, who kept pulling the skirt of her dress up to her shoulders. It was some kind of quilted material, and so instead of falling back down, it stayed coned around her torso.
But what really distracted me was that her underwear had ridden up and her tooshy was hanging out. And that no one fixed it. To make matters worse, she was one of those kids who kept trotting up to the front for a better look at the pictures in the book.
As another mother and I were (so maturely) giggling over this, the woman behind us gave a sheepish laugh and said, “Sorry, that’s my niece,” as if this meant she had zero control in the situation. Let me tell you, if I had my niece at story time, I’d make sure her bum stayed covered.
Hope everyone enjoys the first day of October!
Book Friday – Finding Stefanie by Susan May Warren
1 October 2009
Finding Stefanie is one of those books that I can’t say enough good things about. The writing is excellent, the plot touching and wonderful, and there’s one of those twists at the end that left me going, “No way! How is that possible?” And then I flipped through the book and discovered that yes, it was quite possible. (Though one caveat I’ll mention is I’m not exactly a tough person to trick. I rarely figure out stuff before the author flat out tells me.)
Even though I have no desire to live the ranching life, I connected with the characters in this book. I even loved the story between our “B” characters, so to speak; the ones who we follow but don’t get mentioned on the back cover copy. Often when an author cuts to those storylines, I internally groan and think, “But I don’t care about them as much.” With Finding Stefanie I sometimes cared even more about those “extra” characters.
Wonderful stuff. The first of many Susan May Warren books I’ll read.
People who fit together
5 October 2009
I always struggle when it comes to posting Monday blogs at my normal time. I’m not a particular fan of Mondays, especially when they follow what felt like a short weekend. We spent Saturday driving to, attending, and driving home from a family wedding. I assumed I would have some humorous anecdote or giant catastrophe to blog about today. I mean, what’s a wedding without one?
But the wedding appeared amazing and flawless. Not because of the decorations or the building, but because of the couple themselves. I’ve been hanging around Ben’s family for 12 years now, so I’ve watched his cousin, Jamie, grow up. When he introduced Heidi to us this summer at a family reunion, I think all of us were like, “Yeah. This is gonna work.” And watching two people get married who just plain “fit” with each other is always an amazing experience. I walk away from those weddings feeling fortunate to have been invited, to witness something as cool as a new life being created.
So while there was nothing funny or catastrophic (no alcohol, as you might guess), there was something better. It sounds sappy, like the basis of some awful love song, but I definitely felt like I was in the presence of true love, like I was watching God’s plan unfold before my eyes. Pretty cool, and definitely worthy of my Saturday.
An Author Who Isn’t Writing
5 October 2009
So here’s a real bummer about being published: I have no time to write.
Okay, that’s not totally true, but I’m in the middle of giving myself a crash course on marketing and all the stuff I apparently should have been doing a year ago. Nothing like reading, “To do this step well, start a year before your book releases,” then glancing at Me, Just Different which has graced my shelf for nearly four beautiful months. And while I’m trying to figure out what marketing style fits me (visits to book stores? Yes. Update my Twitter page a thousand times a day with fascinating quips? Probably not. Oh, and while we’re talking about it, follow me on Twitter. I try to post a couple times a day, and I do my best to be interesting. I’m really selling it, huh?)
And by the time I network with other writers through e-mail, prep presentations for schools, print up postcards for my upcoming signings, and do all the other marketing things I’m trying to squeeze into my time, I find myself with zero time and energy for what I actually love—writing.
I think I’ll have to start declaring one official writing day a week. Most days, I’m able to write for at least 30 minutes or an hour. Recently, I get so frustrated over or nervous about marketing things that I can’t calm my brain down enough to write.
Limiting my coffee intake might help with this as well.
Happy Tuesday everybody. Today, do something you enjoy.
Writing Wednesday—What’s with all the boy/girl stuff?
6 October 2009
So at the wedding on Saturday, I got into a discussion with Ben’s aunt about dating in high school. She has two unbelievably beautiful daughters (a freshman and … a seventh grader, maybe?) so this is a personal and important topic to her. She isn’t against dating in high school, but she was telling me about a book by Chad Eastham. He opens his discussion of high school relationships saying, “It will not work.” Ben’s aunt and her girls have had lots of talks about the basis of this book versus what they’ve seen with me and Ben. (For those who may not know, Ben and I met and started dating our freshman year.)
There aren’t a lot of teen romance books on the Christian bookstore shelves. By definition, none of the Skylar books stand-alone as romances either. (The definition of a romance is: Boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. Gone with the Wind, not a romance. This Lullaby, Finding Stefanie, Jane Eyre, all romances.) But I can practically guarantee there will always be a romance thread in my books.
When I think of high school, my emotion regarding Ben is something I remember clearly. Not every high school relationship is meant to last (I’d venture to say very few high school relationships are meant to last—friendships and romantic alike), but that doesn’t mean those relationships aren’t important. Many of us were shaped—for better or worse—by the people we dated/wanted to date/hoped would notice us back in high school. It’s something I intend to keep talking about, to keep finding fresh angles for.
It’s also something I delve into a bit more in Out with the In Crowd when Skylar is making choices about what she should and shouldn’t give up for Connor. That aspect of the book is something ripped right out of my high school life, when all my instincts said, “I’ve found the guy I’m going to marry,” and the world around me said, “You have lots of growing up to do. It will not work.” I’m excited, and a maybe a bit nervous, to hear the audience response to that come January 1st.
Happy Wednesday everyone!
Honeycrisp apples, pumpkins, and other wonderful fall things
7 October 2009
So yesterday was the last day of flip-flop weather. For me anyway. I know many will press on into the winter, but now that the temps are maxing out in the 50s, I’m retiring my flip-flops ’til next spring.
Closed-toe footwear is about the only thing I dislike when it comes to fall. I think October would still be my favorite month in Kansas City even if it didn’t have my birthday. I love watching the leaves change. I love the dark, rainy mornings like we’re having today. I love Honeycrisp apples. I love putting on a coat for the first time since March and finding random stuff in the pockets.
A couple days ago when I christened my leather jacket for the season, I found two Dum-Dum wrappers. Can’t even remember why we had Dum-Dums. Meeting at the bank? Doctors appointment?
I thought McKenna would be upset by fall, especially now that our tomatoes are mostly bad. But she loves the pumpkins and appears to be making it her mission in life to greet every new leaf littering the ground. Of course today she keeps looking out the rain-streaked window and saying a forlorn, “Outside?” Might be a long winter around here. Lots of trips to the mall or something.
Hope everyone’s enjoying their fall as much as I am!
Book Friday Vacation
8 October 2009
So, I don’t know what the deal is, but recently I’ve had NO reading time. Usually I read at least fifteen or so minutes a day, but I think that’s about all I’ve read in the last two weeks. It’s very frustrating. Especially because it makes Book Fridays a little challenging.
A lot of the other blogs I visit do a thing called Friday 5. I’ve never seen an explanation of Friday 5 but it appears to be whatever 5 random things the writer wants to talk about. I’m giving it a try:
1. McKenna and I ate dinner at Sonic last night. I used to work at Sonic, so when I eat there I’m a more obnoxious customer than I am other places. Like they’d forgotten to put ketchup packets in my bag. At another place, I probably would’ve done without. Since I’ve done my fair share of ketchup packet runs, it didn’t bother me to buzz back in and request some ketchup. The guy brought out about 8 packets. He could barely hold them all. On one hand, thanks for making sure my ketchup needs are taken care of. On the other … I meant like two, maybe three packs. Eight seems excessive.
2. Okay, during The Office I had no idea what YouTube video they were talking about during the wedding scene. So after the show, I went on YouTube. All I had to type in was “Dancing,” and it suggested to me, “Dancing down the aisle.” It had already been viewed 26 million times, so I felt kinda like a loser. In case I still beat you, you can watch it here.
3. After The Office, we saw a promo that Ben Harper and Jack Black were performing on Jay Leno. We both like Ben Harper a lot, and the combination of the two of them was enough to entice us to stick around. The two of them sound good together, but the visual… I mean, Ben Harper is all serious and suave, and Jack Black is about as opposite as they come. I was most entertained by how it looked like Jack was trying to make eye contact with Ben while they were singing together and Ben wasn’t having any of it.
4. After Ben and Jack preformed (okay, Friday 5 is basically turning into a Thursday evening recap), Jay Leno showed these horrible campaign commercials. While I watched them, I thought, “This is one of my worst fears. Getting laughed at in front of a national audience.” Politics are probably not in my future. (I’m not saying “never” though because I’ve learned that more times than not that totally bites me in the butt.)
5. How do people do this? I can’t come up with a fifth thing. Why isn’t it the Friday 4? That also uses alliteration. I guess for my fifth thing, I’ll say this. My dad runs a meeting and event planning company, and they just had their web site revamped. It’s so fun and unique. You can check it out here.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
My Husband Was Right
11 October 2009
I spent the majority of my Saturday in a PLACE seminar at church. It was one of those thingies where you take a couple tests to determine your personality type, spiritual gifts, and abilities. I’ve taken one or two of these type things before, and I always have a blast doing it. (And this time I found out why—“self-centered” was listed under my personality type. Um, ouch.)
What’s interesting to me is that I walked away from there thinking about all the things that I’m not but wish I was. I wish I was the “Inspiring” personality—bubbly, compassionate, vivacious. Instead, I’m “Conscientious” or “Melancholy,” which meant I had to come home and confess to my husband that he’s right—I’m a pessimist. And I wasn’t like some others in the class who were split pretty evenly between a couple types. Oh, no. I was, as my friend Debbie said when I told her my score, “a strong ‘C.’” A few adjectives for me are cheerless, impossible to please, inflexible, and self-torturous. (Some of the nicer ones were creative, dependable, efficient, and quality centered.)
So as I was being my “C” self and torturing myself over all this, I read in the booklet that Moses also had a “C” personality. MOSES. Now, granted, I’ve always been really drawn to the disciple Peter and he’s the “Inspiring” personality, but the Moses thing really touched me and here’s why. In Exodus 4:10, when God has spoken to Moses about everything he’s called him to do, Moses says, “Oh Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” Basically, “God, please don’t make me talk!”
As I’m learning that speaking goes hand-in-hand with book promotion, I find myself saying similar words to God quite often—please don’t make me talk. I’ve also wondered about why He made me the way He did. Why not make me a gifted speaker? Seems like that would glorify Him better. But if He didn’t see fit to wire Moses differently for his big task, I’m guessing He might know what He’s doing with me as well.
So, tomorrow I likely won’t be blogging. I have a speaking engagement that starts at 7:30ish, so the likelihood of me getting up early enough to post is quite slim.
Have a great day everyone!
Career Day at my alma mater
13 October 2009
I have to admit I’d recently been feeling a little guilty over my “College Preparatory” high school education. Seeing as it turns out I never used my expensive prepping. If we lived in an area with so-so schools, it probably wouldn’t have bothered me at all, but the schools here are fabulous. And while I adored my experience at Notre Dame de Sion’s College Preparatory school for girls, I’ve noticed that the more years that pass between me and my graduation year, the more I ask myself, “Did I really need that education?”
Yesterday, I was one of 20ish speakers for Sion’s annual career day. I hadn’t been there since I graduated in 2001, and the changes to the building were astounding. When I went there, the structure had hardly been touched since it was built in the 60s. There was no air conditioning, and when you start school in August and part of your uniform is a wool skirt and wool sweater vest, it gets pretty rank in there. But in the last 8 years, they’ve painted, added on, and sprung for central air.
What hasn’t changed all these years later is the girls. I could tell that almost the instant I walked through the vaguely familiar doors. They still sport the same hair do I did all through high school—the got-out-of-bed-five-minutes-before-I-left-and-through-my-hair-in-a-ponytail style. Complete with the headband to hold back those pesky bangs that require effort. I remember we all used to be stunned by each other at dances. Those were about the only times we saw each other in makeup.
And I’m probably biased, or maybe I received special treatment as an alum, but they were a dream audience. They looked at me during my spiel, they asked questions, they laughed at my attempts at humor. And—here’s the real clincher—every girl who approached me afterward with a question told me THANK YOU FOR COMING. This floored me. And it means I’ll jump at a chance to go back there.
Being at Sion yesterday reminded me of how I ended up there—I love that school. It’s the only school I ever loved, and it’s one of the reasons picking a college felt impossible to me. Because when I visited college campuses, they never “fit” me the way Sion did when I experienced it as an eighth grader. So maybe I haven’t taken full advantage of the “college preparatory” aspect of my education, but Sion shaped me and gave me the life I have now. Knowing what I know now, I would have made the same choice all over again.
Just play music
14 October 2009
Here’s a trend I’ve noticed that’s driving me CRAZY.
I almost always listen to the same radio station. I used to like all kinds of music, but now I only like one kind—good. Okay seriously, I’m into alternative. Muse, Jimmy Eat World, Franz Ferdinand, Death Cab, Jack’s Mannequin, Dashboard, Kings of Leon, and so on. There’s one alternative station in town, and my radio is basically always tuned to it unless the DJs are talking and McKenna’s in the car. Then I cut away to CD or something.
During the day, I seem to always tune in during the SAME STINKIN’ SONG. Usually Nirvana or Pearl Jam (sorry, Justin—they don’t do it for me), or for a while it was always “Cath” by Death Cab.
There are a couple songs I’ve really been wanting to hear. Sometime Around Midnight by The Airborne Toxic Event, whatever that latest one is from Kings of Leon, and Meet me at the Equinox by Death Cab off the New Moon Soundtrack. (I know they play that one a decent amount, I just somehow always miss it.)
This last week I’ve been getting snippets of all these songs—when my husband’s alarm goes off in the morning. I get about 15 seconds of the song, and then Ben hits the snooze. Why are they playing all the good music at 6:50am? It’s because during the day they’re preoccupied with giving me their opinions on health care and the war and whether or not Zack Greinke will stay with the Royals. I could take a little less uneducated chatter and more good music, thank you very much.
Now to start up my Pandora station…
Another Bookless Friday
15 October 2009
This is getting embarrassing.
Okay, the thing is, I actually HAVE been reading this week. I’ve read quite a bit, actually. I just really don’t like the book I’m reading, nor have I finished it, so it seems wrong to talk specifics. Especially because he’s a very well-respected author, and as a person who’s new to this business, I really don’t want to write a blog post blasting someone who started his career back when I was in elementary school.
So I’ll do another Friday Five, and I’ll make it a theme today. Here are five things that I think every good book must have, and five things I feel the book I’m reading lacks.
1. A main character I can root for.
2. A strong opening. If a first chapter is so-so, what’s my motivation to keep reading?
3. Creative, intelligent dialogue. Every sentence doesn’t need to be a zinger, certainly, but I think dialogue makes or breaks a book. Two of my favorite movies for studying dialogue are As Good As It Gets and A Few Good Men. I can’t say, “This is how you write good dialogue,” but I can certainly tell the difference between great and lousy.
4. A pace that reflects the needs of the story and the personality of the narrator. If it’s a novel about a poet, the pacing’s going to be different than if it’s about a homicide detective. I’m cool with that, so long as it fits the story and there’s no info dumping. I really don’t need five pages of intense argument about our public school system. Not when I’m reading a novel, anyway.
5. A specific theme or purpose. And these should be subtle. As a reader, little annoys me more than reading a scene or chapter and then being like, “Okay … that had no point.” The only thing that’s worse is feeling that way at the end of a book.
Any thoughts on these? Did I miss something obvious?
I'm trying to be mature, but I really don't like change
18 October 2009
I don’t often blog on Sunday. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever blogged on Sunday. But tomorrow morning I’ll be getting up bright and early for a school visit and don’t think I’ll be able to squeeze in a post before I go. It’s not the getting up early part that’s hard, it’s having to be showered and out the door by 8. McKenna and I are often in our jammies until 10 or so. It’s a good gig.
So it’s Sunday afternoon, and I’m often napping at this hour. Instead today I’m thinking about my friend Debbie. For over a year now, we’ve been meeting once a week for coffee. The original plan was to meet for an hour and talk about our week and how we can pray for each other. Instead, one of us will notice a Starbucks employee sweeping the floors and go, “Oh? What time is it?” only to discover we’ve been talking for nearly two hours.
Debbie and her husband are moving to South Africa. I’ve been denying this fairly well, but this week her husband heads over to start his new job, which means it’ll only be a couple weeks until Debbie leaves as well. It’s time to admit to myself that our friendship is about to change.
I’ve moved a lot. We lived in Orlando for two-and-a-half years, and that was the longest I’d lived in one spot since eighth grade. (Most those moves were around the Kansas City area.) I’ve said a lot of goodbyes, but I’ve rarely been the person staying behind. Usually I’m the one embarking on the new adventure. I actually haven’t been on this side – the left behind side – since one of my best friends moved in middle school. Both sides suck, it’s never easy to say goodbye to people you love, but I think you notice the void more when you’re the one staying.
I’ve been thinking about all this because this week begins “the lasts.” The last book club meeting Debbie will be at. We have a couple more coffee nights ahead of us, and I’ll still see her smiling face at church for the next few Sundays, but after that things will change. As a writer, I can always console myself with, “I can use this in a book.” (This is how I survive extremely boring conversations.) The other thing I comfort myself with is something Debbie has often said to me: “I like change. It means I’m still alive.”
I’m feeling very alive.
Hope everyone has a wonderful start to their week. Talk to you all on Tuesday.
Oh yes, I definitely love my job.
19 October 2009
So as I mentioned in my Sunday post, I spent yesterday at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. I was particularly interested to visit because Skylar attends a (fictitious) Shawnee Mission school, and I haven’t been inside one since I took my SAT at SM East. Public speaking is so not my thing. Actually, anything that involves dragging me away from writing, reading, or spending time with McKenna usually isn’t my thing. (Meeting friends for coffee at Starbucks is an exception to this.) But even being my hypercritical, insecure self, I feel like yesterday went well.
A lot of this has to do with the students themselves. They were fun, bright, and asked lots of good questions. Here were some of my favorites:
1. “What kind of shampoo do you use? You have cool hair.”
2. “Do you like Twilight?” And when I answered yes, the girl asked, “Are you Camp Edward or Camp Jacob?” When I said “Camp Jacob,” and I was asked why, I said “I think Edward is too perfect.” One guy—who’d asked a lot of questions himself—said, “So you like ’em rough around the edges.” Which made me laugh too hard to respond intelligently. Thank goodness, because I’m not even sure how to respond to that.
3. “Do you see yourself having a trademark literary device, and if so, what is it?” I told him I’d been out of English class far too long to answer that question. The same guy later asked me what themes I saw in my books. I’m guessing this student writes some excellent English essays.
4. “I’m doing NaNoWriMo. Any tips?” I was totally blown away by this question. For those unfamiliar, November is National Novel Writing Month, known as NaNoWriMo. Every November there’s a contest (is that the right word?) where writers commit to writing 50k of a new novel between the first and the thirtieth. If you write 50k, you win. If you don’t, you still made progress. I hear great things about it and keep debating if I want to take the plunge this year. It would be a no-brainer except I’ll be on vacation for about 7 days.
5. “Why is there no swearing in your books?” When I first started writing, I often found it difficult to write around swear words. Especially for characters like Skylar and her friends. But now I’ve been doing it so long that I’d forgotten how unique that is.
I think it’ll be a while before I 100% love school visits. Right now I find them 75% enjoyable and 25% insanely stressful. But they’re incredibly rewarding, and I always walk away thinking, “Yes, I still love teenagers. I still think I have the best job in the whole world.”
Writing Wednesday – My Big Hot Martian Lover
20 October 2009
It’s an intriguing blog title, isn’t it? You’re really curious about where I’m going with this.
First I want to mention that a writing friend of mine, Carole Brown, interviewed me for her blog today. If you want to win a free copy, make sure to leave a comment. Or you shy types can e-mail Carole privately.
Moving on. For Writing Wednesday, I’m talking about titles. It was one of the questions that every class at Shawnee Mission Northwest asked me—how did I come up with the title?
I didn’t.
I read recently that only 50% or so of author titles stick. The theory behind this is that when an author titles a book, they tend to choose something that only makes sense if you’ve read the book. The publishing house is better at picking something that might entice readers.
Titles are really important. I read the YA spy novel I’d Tell You I Love You But Then I’d Have to Kill You because of the fabulous title. Or another book that’s on my reading list is The Earth, My Butt, and other Big Round Things. Some names just stick with us. Like My Big Hot Martian Lover, which is the name of the OPI nail polish my mom is sporting right now. She told me the name of it weeks ago, and it still gives me a chuckle.
I’m also a big fan of one word titles, like Twilight. Which, by the way, New Moon hits theatres in ONE MONTH as of yesterday. I’m super excited and spent an embarrassing amount of time yesterday watching this New Moon Trailer, which is Taylor Lautner, who was fabulously cast as Jacob, talking about the movie.
That’s all I’ve got for today! Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!
Babies aren’t puppies
21 October 2009
Who knew, right?
When I envisioned myself doing the whole writer/stay-at-home mom thing, my child always played happily at my feet while I worked. Kinda like my dog always did. If I was working and KC, our border collie mix, wanted attention, I’d rub on his belly for about 30 seconds, then give him a rawhide chew. Problem solved. And if I wanted to take an afternoon nap, KC would curl up next to me and snooze for however long I wanted. (Unless the UPS guy dared to knock on our door.)
McKenna’s about to turn two, and I can think of a handful of occasions in which she’s actually played while I worked. At 6 weeks old, she fell asleep on her blanket down in my office. Around 16 months, she occupied herself for nearly 20 minutes with my bowl of paperclips. Taking the paperclips out, putting them back in. Carrying two to the staircase, then coming back for two more. Then yesterday, McKenna took notice of the doll house I put in my office nearly a year ago hoping it might buy me some time every once in awhile. Most days it buys me a minute or so. Yesterday she played for 25 minutes and actually insisted that I stay in my desk chair.
This is why when I’m reading Abbie sections of the Skylar Hoyt books, or when I’m talking about Abbie with students, I feel my heart break for her. I’m 25 years old, married, and both my in-laws and parents help out a ton, yet there are still days (weeks, months) that I feel completely overwhelmed by the responsibility God gave me. And on weeks like this, when McKenna’s not acting like her normal ray of sunshine self, I find myself thinking more and more about Abbie and the challenges she faces as a pregnant teen and, should she decide to keep the baby, a teenage mother.
My point is, other than the fact that babies aren’t puppies, I don’t take Abbie’s storyline lightly. Dealing with Abbie was often a bit like motherhood itself—she was my most demanding character, the most draining, but also the most rewarding. Her big moments are some of my favorite scenes in the whole series, same as McKenna’s big accomplishments are usually the high points of my day. I think (I hope) that love comes across in Out with the In Crowd and So Over It.
Hope everyone has a great day!
Book Friday – The Bartered Bride by Erica Vetsch
22 October 2009
“The idea’s preposterous, and I’ll have nothing to do with it.” Jonathan Kennebrae bolted from his chair and stalked across the office. “You won’t manipulate me like this. And I doubt Noah or Eli will go along with the scheme either.”
I knew as soon as I read that opening sentence, I was going to love The Bartered Bride by my friend Erica Vetsch. As a budding writer, one of the things that aggravated me most was hearing editors or agents say they only needed to read the first page of a manuscript to know if they were going to like it. That sometimes they knew from the first sentence. “How can they possibly know?” I used to think. “Gosh, give the writer a little time to build their story.” And now, years later, nothing frustrates me more than a lousy opening. A lousy opening usually leads to a lousy book. I’m now firmly in the camp that a writer shouldn’t open by building their story, that we the readers should be plunked right in the middle of the action.
Erica has done a tremendous job of doing this, as you can tell by that stellar first sentence. We’re in the middle of a conversation that Jonathan is having with his grandfather, who’s manipulating him into marrying to form a business alliance. If he doesn’t, he’ll be written out of the will and lose the business that he’s spent the last eight years building.
I’m about halfway through The Bartered Bride, and it’s taking all my self-control to work today rather than curling up on the couch and finishing it. I’m so proud of my friend for writing such an amazing book, full of vivid descriptions that leave me thinking, “Wonder if Erica will notice if I steal that…?” (Jewels that feel as cold and heavy as the heroine’s heart, yellow ribbons of light on black waters. Really excellent stuff.) Erica’s the first writer friend of mine about whom I can actually say, “I knew her when…” In a couple weeks, Erica will be featured on Writing Wednesday, and she’ll be giving away a copy of The Bartered Bride. If you don’t win it, I definitely recommend spending the $2.49 it costs through ChristianBook.com. (It doesn’t release officially until November 1st – that’s why they don’t have cover art up yet.)
Have a great weekend everybody! I plan to spend mine finishing this book!
This is normal, right?
25 October 2009
We’re fortunate enough to have four huge trees in our yard, and it means this time of year I often spend a chunk of my weekend raking. I actually don’t mind this. I wouldn’t want to do it alone, but with Ben and McKenna out there, it’s a lot of fun. Especially this year when McKenna has her own little rake and likes to “help.” On Saturday, as I organized the gorgeous golden leaves of our Maple tree into neat piles, I found myself wishing that writing could be more like yard work. For one thing, I’d have killer arms.
I’m in the middle of editing a manuscript that’s basically kicking my butt. I think there’s a lot of reasons for this. One is that I rushed to finish the first draft before Me, Just Different released. Another is that I’ve never edited a manuscript while also doing book promotion. I sometimes only get to edit for 20 or so minutes a day, and it’s tough to make good progress. But a lot of it, I think, is that I flat-out adore this story, and I’m afraid of screwing it up. I don’t want my characters to fall flat or my storyline to seem predictable. I want the point to come across clearly. I want the dialogue to sing. Those are tough things to do. They take a lot of time and energy, and frankly those are luxuries these days.
This struggle is normal, right? It’s what I keep telling myself anyway. Just because the words aren’t flowing out of me, just because I spend a decent amount of my editing time staring at my computer thinking, “Is that right? Is this right? This makes sense to me, will it make sense to my readers?” it doesn’t mean that it’s bad. Right??? I think (hope) every writer goes through those moments of, “This is so stinkin’ hard!” And in my case, I look out the window and think, “Maybe I should go rake instead…”
Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!
So Over It is available!
26 October 2009
I’m a dork.
I’m aware of this fact, and I’m at the point in my life where I’m just going to embrace it.
I just noticed that So Over It is AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER. It’s only on Amazon so far, which is funny to me. Like I’m surprised that they have it up and Revell doesn’t, but I’m far from understanding the ins and outs of that aspect of the business. (During my school visit at Shawnee Mission Northwest last week, one student asked me about how distribution works, and my answer was something like, “Uh…”)
Anyway, So Over It, which is the third and final book in The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series, is available for pre-order eight months early. Crazy.
So while I was being obsessive and seeing who else had the book available (no one), I saw a review for Me, Just Different posted on a bookseller site. I’ve seen the review before, but it had been hiding beneath the over-critical, crazy-stressed-out part of my brain.
It’s a glowing review posted by a teenager I don’t know, and every specific compliment coincides with things that I made a huge effort to implement. (For example, she talks about the book not being edgy for edginess sake.) A cooler writer would be like, “Good reviews? Bad reviews? It’s all the same to me. I’m gonna keep writing what I want to write—forget the critics!”
But since I’ve embraced my inner dork, I printed out the review and posted it on the bulletin board by my desk. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy every time I glance over and see it, and that’s something we can all use a little more of.
Happy Tuesday!
Happy Birthday to me
27 October 2009
I love my birthday being October 28th. The trees are always beautiful this time of year, and because it’s just 3 days away from Halloween, there’s always candy in the house on top of whatever birthday ice cream I’ve bought myself. (Last year Phish Food, this year Java Chip Frappuccino or however you spell that.)
I’m 26 today, and I plan on really whooping it up. Story time at the library, lunch with Ben and McKenna, a phone conversation with my publishing house, and a quiet dinner at home. Followed by some reading time, I hope. Yes, I’m quite the party girl.
Actually my party is on Saturday. Low-key, mostly family. The bummer is it’ll still be a few more days before I get my gifts. But I’m in my upper-twenties now. I can be patient.
One final housekeeping note, and then I’m off to do glamorous birthday things like change diapers. I’m now blogging twice a month for Girls, God, and the Good Life, and today’s my first post. If you read this blog semi-regularly, it’s probably all stuff you already know, but just FYI.
And because it’s my birthday, I’m not going to pressure myself with coming up with some snappy ending to this post.
So Over It Cover Released!
28 October 2009
I’m in a slight day-after-birthday funk. I like waking up to presents, going out to lunch, hearing from a gazillion FaceBook friends, and having dinner made for me. Followed by popcorn and ice cream. But time to be an adult and get back to real life. In which I’m now closer to 30 than 20, as my brother-in-law so kindly pointed out. But then he handed me a bag that contained a really nice Patagonia jacket, so I’ll let it slide.
Yesterday, I received notification that the cover for So Over It is now up on the Revell web site. What a nice birthday gift! I saw and approved it a month or two ago, but it’s so much more fun to be able to share it. And I actually talked to Revell yesterday, and they said they should have the first chapter of Out with the In Crowd available for download very soon.
Another exciting announcement is that I’ve started a quarterly(ish) newsletter. While you might think it’s perk enough to be kept in the loop of appearances, new releases, and giveaways, there’s yet another bonus. Every time I have a book release, I’ll draw 5 names from the list of subscribers and give away signed copies. If you’re interested, you can sign up for the newsletter here. And now I’ll end the commercial.
Hope everyone’s having a great Thursday!
Book Friday – Favorite Books
29 October 2009
For today’s Book Friday, I looked through the books on my “Favorites” shelf. At the Morrill house, we like to split out our books as much as we can (general books, Christian non-fiction, Childrens, YA, etc.). Both Ben and I have a shelf that’s only our favorite books. Below is a list of the books currently occupying mine. I split them into categories just to make the viewing a bit easier:
YA Books
Twilight series Stephenie Meyer
The Princess Diaries Meg Cabot
The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants Ann Brashares
The Truth about Forever Sarah Dessen
Keeping the Moon Sarah Dessen
This Lullaby Sarah Dessen
Gossip Girl Cecily Von ZieglerContemporaries
Carolina Moon Nora Roberts
The Pact Jodi Picoult
Little Earthquakes Jennifer Weiner
White Oleander Janet Fitch
The River King Alice Hoffman
The Time Travelers Wife Audrey NiffineggerHistoricals
Pillars of the Earth Ken Follet
The Other Boleyn Girl Phillippa Gregory
The Apothecary’s Daughter Julie Klassen
Magdalene Angela HuntClassics
Emma Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen
Mansfield Park Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
Wuthering Heights Charlotte BronteSomething that really struck me as I compiled this list is that there are only two Christian books on here, Magdalene by Angela Hunt and The Apothecary’s Daughter by Julie Klassen. My guess is a lot of this is because I didn’t start reading Christian fiction until the last couple years, and I read a lot of these books five-plus years ago.
Part of it is also…
Gosh, I hate to even say it because I don’t want it to sound like I’m bashing Christian fiction. But writing for the Christian market can be restrictive. Readers have definite expectations about what will, or more importantly, will not be between the covers. Little Earthquakes, which is a hilarious and accurate portrayal of what pregnancy and new mommyhood looks like, could never have sold to a Christian publisher. And while there are definitely some issues that I don’t mind being left “behind the scenes” (the graphic rapes in Pillars of the Earth come to mind), I appreciate the frankness I find in novels published for the general market.
Okay, this is me ducking for cover.
Have a great weekend everybody.