Some (Cool) Annoucements

I'm afraid to say that this is one of those "pimp yourself" posts that I hate so much.  I've been putting it off for several weeks, but the time for its relevance will soon have passed, and I feel it must be done.  Writers, after all, must do their own PR, no matter how much they loathe the task.

So.

I wanted to give you all, my dear friends on the World Wide Web, a few quick announcements pertaining to the book I recently decided to shove into the proverbial Drawer, titled BEAUTIFUL MONSTER.  The first, and most important one is this:

As if determined to spite me for banishing it to the Drawer, the novel has recently advanced to the semi-finals of Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Contest.  You can visit its page by clicking this link, and if you're really feeling generous, you can read the excerpt and leave me a wee review.

Second, Ana Mardoll, a dear reviewer who unearthed my book in this same contest last year, interviewed me a few weeks ago about BEAUTIFUL on her blog.  You can read that interview by clicking here.

And third, I have recently made BEAUTIFUL available for online download if anyone should wish to read it in full.  You can investigate that possibility here.

Whoosh.  Okay, now I'm done with that stuff.  Time to pimp someone else. 

My dear friends at YARN (The Young Adult Review Network) received some exciting news yesterday.  They have been selected as recipients of the Innovations in Reading Prize, given by the National Book Foundation (yes, the same people who give the National Book Awards), which is a TRULY big deal, and so awesome for a publication as wonderful as they are.  If you've never visited their website, please go now and check out all the great things they're doing.  I can assure you that they are on the brink of a remarkable career.  (Here is their post about winning the award.)

And finally, a question for you that is totally irrelevant: Since April showers bring May flowers (and pilgrims, yeah), and we are at last into May, what is your favorite May flower?  If you could have a bouquet or a pot of one flower right now, what would it be?

This one's mine:

Guess That Character Day Two: Yseult Revealed

Yesterday's Guess That Character Blogfest was wonderful fun.  I posted a snippet from BEAUTIFUL MONSTER, and let my MC Yseult convince you of her appearance through her narration.  And there were some great guesses (and so descriptive), but the closest were from Summer Ross, Steph Sinkhorn (who nailed it), Renae Mercado (who also nailed it), and Amie McCracken (who got it right secretly, because she's read it).

Here are two pictures I feel adequately represent Yseult:

She is tall and willowy, with waist-length dark-brown waves, crystalline blue eyes, and freckles.  Her beauty is her curse, however, so she usually tries to ignore these details about herself in the hope that everyone else will, too.  Because when people judge based on beauty, bad things tend to happen.  Like arranged marriages...  and men turned into monsters.

Thanks for coming to the Blogfest!  I've loved all your excerpts.  Thanks so much, Jen, for hosting!

Guess that Character Blogfest!

Today Jen Daiker (unedited) is hosting a rather clever blogfest.  The idea is this: each participant provides a short snippet from a story they've written--without including any physical description of their character--and then everyone makes guesses at what that character looks like, based solely on voice and action.  Yeah, like I said: clever.  So, I've opted to participate with a snippet from BEAUTIFUL MONSTER.  If you already know what Yseult looks like, just play dumb.  Or guess, and act like you didn't know before. 

*

The fresh night air rushes at me the moment I am through the doors.  I sink onto the grass beneath a tree in the gardens where I am confident I’ll not be seen and lean against its trunk.  The moon is full tonight: a brilliant, glowing orb in the endless sky.  I have read that the night of the full moon is a night of magic.
       

It will take something like magic to save me from the Marquis, I expect.

There is a lilac bush growing beside me, and its heady fragrance makes me lightheaded.  I plunge my face into the blossoms and inhale deeply, wheeling back with eyes closed in a sudden ecstasy of hope. 

“I wish to be free of this,” I whisper as a breeze brushes my cheek with the lightest of kisses. “I wish to be seen for who I am, as a person—not as a decoration.  I wish...”  I open my eyes and look up at the brilliant moon, shimmering with power and enchantment.  Up there, in the vast darkness, it is free.  My hands tingle strangely and I am seized by a wave of grim determination.  I clench my fingernails into my palms until a sharp pain shoots up my arm. 

My voice is low.  I have never been more serious.  “I wish for a way out.”

 *

Okie-doke.  Come back tomorrow, and "find out who is right... and who is dead."*  Er, that is, find out who is right, and who is... not.  And please, pretty-please go check out the other entries, because they are awe-some-poss-um.

*Author's Note: Please be aware that often the writer has virtually no control over the amount of The Princess Bride in her system.  Often quotes will ooze into her life and posts without her approving--or even knowing about--it, and in such cases, it is best simply to let them have their way.

Oh, do come in! Welcome to the Party!

Welcome to the Character Party!  Feel free to mingle with the guests--who include a wide range of folks--and comment on the ones you like.  There is no popularity contest today, but all the same, let these authors know if they've created  a character than grabs you.  And don't forget to visit their blogs!

Cheers!  Let the party begin...

Author's Name: A. Grey
Website: http://greyplaces.blogspot.com/

Book Title and Genre: Evernow, Dystopian YA

Publishing Status:  Looking for representation.
Character

Name: Evernow
Origin: The deep south.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Slow southern drawl which belies her quick temper, dangerous capabilities  and militant stubbornness, auburn hair that grows continually, reaching her knees, metal-splinted fingers and frank honesty about any subject.
Wearing: Moccasins, buckskins, loincloth, and tunic... do weapons count?  Never without a bow and knives.
Beverage of Choice at the Party: Water
Three Favorite Things:  The Wild, the Fey, her own independence. 
Job/Occupation: Staying alive in a post-apocalyptic world where humans and fey are constantly trying to kill each other.
Currently Busy Doing: Struggling for peace between humans, and Fey in the aforementioned post-apocalyptic world, and maybe finding love along the way... 

Author's Name: Amie McCracken
Website: www.iamalivephotos.blogspot.com
Book Title and Genre: Her Daughter, Literature
Publishing Status: Incomplete
Character
Name: Liza
Origin: Caucasian American, New York
Distinguishing Characteristics: Short, quiet, unremarkable for anything and therefore typically not remembered,
Wearing: Baggy jeans and a cute t-shirt covered by a sweatshirt from her college, NYU.
Beverage of Choice at the Party: Coke, she wouldn't touch alcohol unless her parents are around to stress her out.
Three Favorite Things: Reading, Central Park, coffee.
Job/Occupation: Writer.
Currently Busy Doing: School, she usually takes 21 credit hours if not more.

Author's Name: Melissa Gill
Website: http://melissagettingpublished.blogspot.com/
Book Title and Genre: Zombie Rabbit MG Adventure
Publishing Status: Looking for Representation
Character

 
Name: Milo Thimbleberry
Distinguishing Characteristics: One of Milo’s eyeballs is hanging out and he has several large holes on his body. (I hope no one minds a few maggots.)
Wearing: Milo’s a wild rabbit, he’s no Edward Tulane or Peter Cottontail.  He’ll be coming in the all together.
Beverage of Choice at the Party: Dandilion tea would be delightful.
Three Favorite Things: Sleeping, napping, and day dreaming.
Job/Occupation: Milo is a layabout rabbit on a quest to liberate an animal testing lab.
Currently Busy Doing: Just waiting for this party to start. I might need a nap while I’m waiting. It’s been a long day saving the world. 

Author's Name: Nicole
Website: hemingwayheroine.blogspot.com
Book Title and Genre: Anabel & Paul (working)
Publishing Status: Incomplete
Character

Name: Charlie Walsh
Origin: Suburbia Somewhere
Distinguishing Characteristics: Blonde. Short, but well built. Sarcastic and funny, but is too sweet for his own good. Always putting everyone else before himself. The lack of recognition, though, does get to him.
Wearing: Hoodie, torn jeans and converse.
Beverage of Choice at the Party: Beer.
Three Favorite Things: Girls, family, pot.
Job/Occupation: Elementary school teacher; kindergarten.
Currently Busy Doing: Running interference for Ana & Paul. Trying to find his own identity outside of his sister (Ana) & his best friend's (Paul) promising but now doomed relationship that has been a part of his life since they were all kids.
 

Author's Name: A. Grey
Website: http://greyplaces.blogspot.com/

Book Title and Genre: Amarok and the Gone Missing Girl, YA
Publishing Status: First draft finished, transcribing to computer now.

Character

Name: Ansel Eben Whitetree
Origin: Alaskan, Athabaskan Indian
Distinguishing Characteristics:  Most obviously, his albinism, ice blue eyes, hip-length white hair.

Wearing: Comfortable jeans and a flannel.
Beverage of Choice at the Party: Milk.
Three Favorite Things: Restoring books, fairy tales, Catskin, the girl he knows nothing about and loves anyway.
Job/Occupation:  Restoring old books, helping out behind the scenes at his parents' bookstore, Pipe Dream.
Currently Busy Doing:  Trying to help Catskin recover mentally and emotionally from a trauma he doesn't understand because she won't tell him anything about herself, like what happened, where she came from, and what her real name is.
 

Author's Name: Hanna C. Howard
Website: http://lunathetypewriter.blogspot.com/

Book Title and Genre: Beautiful Monster, formerly known as Ephemeral. YA fairy tale.
Publishing Status: Seeking representation.

Character

 
Name: Yseult
Origin: The countryside of 1890s France.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Her waist-length dark ringlets, sapphire-blue eyes, porcelain complexion... in short, her absolute physical perfection, which she would rather people didn't notice.  She'd much rather them notice her wit, or her sarcasm, or her loyalty.  Anything that would make them see her as a living, breathing person---and not a decoration.
Beverage of Choice at the Party: Red wine, from a glass goblet.
Three Favorite Things: Books, gardens, and the enchanted diary a gypsy once gave her.
Job/Occupation:  Trying to keep up the facade to her family that she is dead (while she lives on in a strange utopia with a cursed, beastly-looking young man) so that her ex-betrothed won't come blundering around to find her.
Currently Busy Doing:  Trying to unpuzzle the many enigmatic details of Rene's (the cursed young man) past, while she also attempts to work out the meaning of the strange diary--and simultaneously wrestles with feelings she never intended to have for the persistently mysterious, disfigured Rene.

 

Are You Readable?

Lately I've been thinking a lot about what makes a book readable. And not just readable, but unputdownable. The kind of book you take with you everywhere because the thought of having a spare moment without it at-the-ready is horrifying. The kind of book you hunch over protectively, obsessively, like Gollum over the Ring, desperate to get as close to the words as possible so you can take them in even quicker and more effectively. The kind of book you are ready to re-read the moment your eyes (reluctantly) settle over the words The End on the final page.

The kind of book that might possess you to do a ludicrous thing like this:

This is my brother and I both trying to read The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan at the same time. Probably not an all-time favorite, but still a good book. And clearly, quite readable. (I can only imagine what kind of wrestling match would have ensued had we been reading The Hunger Games or Harry Potter at the same time.)

In less than a month, I am going to the Highlights Foundation's writers conference in Chautauqua, NY. In an effort to make sure I have a printed manuscript on hand while I am there, I have been frantically editing the holy heck out of Ephemeral, my YA fairy tale, trying to make it thoroughly presentable. Trying to make sure it is strong enough to stand up to professional scrutiny. And desperately hoping it is readable.

Which brought me to the point: what makes a thing readable?

Obviously there are certain elements--fluid prose, good character development, engaging plot, etc.--that are staples of the kinds of books that suck readers right in. But the question remains: what nudges acceptable or good writing over into the realm of the Unputdownable? Like so many things in the book world, I think it largely ends up being subjective. Having to do with taste. But I have another theory.

I think it also has something to do with how much fun the author is having.

For example, J.K. Rowling. You know she didn't start Harry Potter (on a train, on a napkin, as a single mom) because she thought it would be wildly successful. She started it because she couldn't help herself. And when you read her writing, you get the distinct impression that she's having just as much fun writing the story as you are reading it. Same with Stephenie Meyer. And Suzanne Collins. Now, granted Suzanne knew the market when she wrote The Hunger Games, so her genius can't necessarily be chalked up to innocent, self-indulgent fun, but it is clear she was enjoying herself enormously while she wrote it.

It's widely established that writers should write what they want, and not what is popular. Toni Morrison famously said, "If there is a book you want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." And we've all heard, "Write what you know." But how about, "Write what brings you alive"?

If we love the books that were written purely out of love, then it follows that we should try and write books with the same motivation. Love. In my last post, I bemoaned a lack of passion born out of an attempt to cater to the needs and wants of publishing professionals. Thank the Muses, I'm back to having fun with my Word Documents. And it's because I'm writing selfishly, out of love for the story I want to read. Sometimes I think that's the best I can do.

Of course, my opinion is subjective. And I'm still a WIP, after all. (*Smile and wink*)

What about you? Do you love what you write? Does your writing bring you alive? What are some books you've found Unputdownable, and what do you think makes them so engaging?

Blogfest, May Day, and Foxes

To begin with, today is Lilah Pierce's Last Lines Blogfest. Check out this link to her post today, and you'll have access to the list of all who are participating. (A gold-mine of last lines--from novels and short stories alike.)

Following these rules...

Sign up below, pull out your favorite ending, and post it to your blog on May 1st. Entries do not have to be last lines only, it is understandable that a build-up may be necessary. I'd say that the previous 25 lines would be a reasonable length. It also does not matter if the last line is for a scene, chapter, or book, just as long as you wrote it. And lastly, don't forget to spread the word! The more people that participate, the more fun the blogfest is!

...I am posting my entry below. These are the last lines from EPHEMERAL, my Beauty & the Beast re-write:


“Yseult!” he cries, incredulous.

“If you can catch me,” I yell over my shoulder, “I’ll marry you whenever you want. But I don’t think you have a chance against me now that you’re human again!”

I am laughing riotously as I fly down the steps toward the open forest. I hear his footsteps behind me, and I remember the first time we raced. It was exhilarating then, just as it is now.

The autumn grass is beneath my feet; slightly brown, crunching as I run. The leaves are falling in the forest, red, orange, and plum. They spin lazily down around me, their pace countering my own light speed. I am smiling so broadly it hurts, but I cannot stop. Behind me, René is laughing like a boy playing chase.

We are young, we are children, but I will let him catch me.

I’ll let him catch me for love, and for change.

When I reach a little clearing in the trees, I turn around to face him, feeling the sunlight on my back like gold. He is running toward me with the light on his face, smiling, radiant with love.

He is running toward me, and a happy tear escapes my eye. I smile at him, my own ephemeral beauty, and skip forward to meet him.


The End.


In other news, it is May Day. Happy May Day! Today is the perfect day to read Corinna's Going A-Maying, by Robert Herrick--one of my favorite springtime poems. (Click here for the pleasure.) Today is also a good day to leave a basket of flowers on someone's doorstep, and then run for it. You might just make their (May) day!

Lastly:

A few moments ago there was a fox at the intersection of my street and the next. He was just sitting there, looking from right to left, as if debating which way to turn. In the end he decided to go left, and continued down Main street at a trot; undoubtedly on his way to some fantastic party. It's nice to see foxes in the city. I always give them a little nod, as if to say: Good. Keep Foxing.



To cap off this May Day morning, there is now a rainbow in the west, where a moment ago there were only angry clouds. Happy Saturday, all! I hope your day is full of beautiful Last Lines, unexpected foxes, and triumphant rainbows.