Sadly, or not, I won't be doing nanowrimo.
For those of us with day jobs, we would pretty much have to give up sleep for an entire month in order to do nanowrimo. I love sleep. A lot. So yeah, that won't be happening. I'll just be happy if I can finish rewriting the last few chapters of the WIP for the THIRD time. Let's hope the third time really is the charm! I've been telling my agent for months, yeah, I'm working on it, I'll have it to you soon. Ack!
Anyway, I was watching Grey's Anatomy last night, as I usually do Friday nights when I'm catching up on my recorded shows, and I thought - hard core surgeons, hard core writers - it's kinda the same!!
They had a really long surgery ahead of them. Like 20+ hours long. So one intern got the idea to put on a diaper. She thought people would make fun of her. Christina called it "hard core."
So there you go. My tip for those of you brave enough (or crazy enough) to be doing nanowrimo! Let me know if you decide to try it.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Trick or treat CONTEST!!
Want some signed CHASING BROOKLYN bookmarks? Release date is just a little over two months away - scary!!
Want a chance to win the highly coveted ARC BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl?
Or perhaps you might like both?
Simply go trick or treating in the comments and let me know what you'd like to be entered for, bookmarks, the ARC, or both.
Ten people will win signed bookmarks for you to pass out to friends, librarians, teachers, your classroom, whatever. If you win, I'll ask you how many you want - you can have anywhere from 5 to 30.
*ONE* of these ten will also get a little something extra from Moonstruck Chocolates - YUM!!!
And another person will win an ARC of this book, not released until December 1, 2009:
Holly Black, NYT bestselling author, has this to say about BEAUTIFUL CREATURES - "A lush Southern gothic whose memorable, eccentric characters draw you into their captivating world."
Winners will be drawn Monday, November 2nd, 9 am PST.
(for some more Halloween fun, make sure you check out Lindsey Leavitt's vlog. It's SPOOKY!!!!
Ready, set, GO - trick or treat!!! (cross posted at livejournal - you can enter here or there)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
On Titles
I was thinking about titles, and how much I LOVE the title for a book I recently started - another verse novel. I love it so much, it makes me want to work hard so the book is as good as the title, if that makes any sense. And really, it's just one word. So it's not that it's anything super creative. But when I think of this word on the cover of a book, it makes me happy. And no, I'm not going to tell you. Not quite yet. Hopefully someday... :)
Titles are funny things. Sometimes a title comes to me right away and it sticks. Other times, like the other WIP I've been working on for awhile, I change the title a bunch of times as I'm writing the book. It's like trying on a sweater with a pair of pants you want to wear, and trying to find the best combination.
Some might argue, why worry so much about the title? Won't it eventually get changed by the publisher anyway?
So far, with my five books, I'm five for five. With each one, the title I came up with has been the one that ended up on the actual book. Here's a break down of my titles and whether they were easy or hard for me to come up with:
BABY CAN'T SLEEP - I think this was the third title I came up with. The others had sheep in the title. But I decided this title really got at the core of the story.
I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME - I tried to think of other titles, and even tried changing it at some point, but I always came back to this one.
FAR FROM YOU - Originally, this book was titled LOST WITHOUT YOU. When my agent had me do some revisions before we submitted it, she made the point that the book shouldn't be too focused on Alice's feelings for her mother, but more on the difficulty of accepting the new family. So I decided a new title was in order. I thought about it and thought about it and then, finally, on a walk one afternoon, a song popped up on my iPod, and I had my title. The song? "From Where You Are" by Lifehouse. It starts out - "So far away from where you are." The song is a song that really goes with the book, so I took that first line, condensed it, and I had a new title.
CHASING BROOKLYN - This was the title from the beginning and never changed. I think it fits the book really well, on a couple of different levels.
IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES - This one was easy. It came to me right away, once I decided this would be the name of the cupcake shop Isabel's mom owns.
So - as far as the other WIP, the one I've been working on for 6+ months, the title I have now is HOPE FOR NIMBUS. I used to have just NIMBUS. But the main character's name is Hope, and I sort of like the play on words.
Will it stick? I guess we'll see. First I have to finish the thing. And oh yeah, see if anyone is interested in publishing it. Just a couple of small hurdles, huh?
Titles are funny things. Sometimes a title comes to me right away and it sticks. Other times, like the other WIP I've been working on for awhile, I change the title a bunch of times as I'm writing the book. It's like trying on a sweater with a pair of pants you want to wear, and trying to find the best combination.
Some might argue, why worry so much about the title? Won't it eventually get changed by the publisher anyway?
So far, with my five books, I'm five for five. With each one, the title I came up with has been the one that ended up on the actual book. Here's a break down of my titles and whether they were easy or hard for me to come up with:
BABY CAN'T SLEEP - I think this was the third title I came up with. The others had sheep in the title. But I decided this title really got at the core of the story.
I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME - I tried to think of other titles, and even tried changing it at some point, but I always came back to this one.
FAR FROM YOU - Originally, this book was titled LOST WITHOUT YOU. When my agent had me do some revisions before we submitted it, she made the point that the book shouldn't be too focused on Alice's feelings for her mother, but more on the difficulty of accepting the new family. So I decided a new title was in order. I thought about it and thought about it and then, finally, on a walk one afternoon, a song popped up on my iPod, and I had my title. The song? "From Where You Are" by Lifehouse. It starts out - "So far away from where you are." The song is a song that really goes with the book, so I took that first line, condensed it, and I had a new title.
CHASING BROOKLYN - This was the title from the beginning and never changed. I think it fits the book really well, on a couple of different levels.
IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES - This one was easy. It came to me right away, once I decided this would be the name of the cupcake shop Isabel's mom owns.
So - as far as the other WIP, the one I've been working on for 6+ months, the title I have now is HOPE FOR NIMBUS. I used to have just NIMBUS. But the main character's name is Hope, and I sort of like the play on words.
Will it stick? I guess we'll see. First I have to finish the thing. And oh yeah, see if anyone is interested in publishing it. Just a couple of small hurdles, huh?
Monday, October 26, 2009
Five things on a Monday
1. What do young adult authors Melissa Walker, Elizabeth Scott, Gayle Forman, Sarah Dessen, Meg Cabot and ME all have in common? We love the TV show Friday Night Lights and are guest blogging over at the Persnickety Snark's blog all week long about why we love the show. You can read my entry here. Although I just discovered I can't watch the new season until SUMMER of 2010. I thought it would be airing in January. Bummer. But those of you with DirecTV, it starts for you this week. Lucky.
2. Some of you may have noticed I made a Countdown Widget for CHASING BROOKLYN. 71 days is not that far away. The really scary thing? That means Christmas is only like 61 days away! Eek!
3. We had such a busy weekend, and I'm tired. Have to work today too. Hope to get Friday off, and then my normal Monday. A 4-day weekend sounds heavenly about now.
4. I may be tired because both Saturday and Sunday, I got up at 5:30 and worked on my latest YA novel WIP. I had an idea for part of the plot that needs fixing Friday night while I was driving home from work. Even though some days I curse the 30 minute commute, I do contemplate book stuff during that drive. I still remember the exact spot where I came up with the idea for the cupcake book.
5. I'm taking guitar lessons and having fun learning how to play. My guitar teacher picks cool songs too, like Viva La Vida and Brown Eyed Girl.
2. Some of you may have noticed I made a Countdown Widget for CHASING BROOKLYN. 71 days is not that far away. The really scary thing? That means Christmas is only like 61 days away! Eek!
3. We had such a busy weekend, and I'm tired. Have to work today too. Hope to get Friday off, and then my normal Monday. A 4-day weekend sounds heavenly about now.
4. I may be tired because both Saturday and Sunday, I got up at 5:30 and worked on my latest YA novel WIP. I had an idea for part of the plot that needs fixing Friday night while I was driving home from work. Even though some days I curse the 30 minute commute, I do contemplate book stuff during that drive. I still remember the exact spot where I came up with the idea for the cupcake book.
5. I'm taking guitar lessons and having fun learning how to play. My guitar teacher picks cool songs too, like Viva La Vida and Brown Eyed Girl.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Third Stop for Chasing Brooklyn
Kelsey has informed me she's picked a winner for the next stop in the Chase Around the USA, so it's time for me to guess where my little ARC is off to next!
I'm going to guess:
the great state of TEXAS!
Congrats to the winner and I hope you enjoy your visit with Chasing Brooklyn!!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Wanna read CHASING BROOKLYN?
Another reader on the Chase Around the USA has posted her picture and is collecting comments from people for the next 24 hours to enter to win a chance to be the next stop on the chase!
All the details can be found here:
http://thebookscout.blogspot.com/2009/10/chasing-brooklyn-chase-across-usa.html
If you are a blogger and would like to enter, comment there, not here, for a chance to read the book + win a gift card to the bookstore of your choice.
Good luck!!!!
All the details can be found here:
http://thebookscout.blogspot.com/2009/10/chasing-brooklyn-chase-across-usa.html
If you are a blogger and would like to enter, comment there, not here, for a chance to read the book + win a gift card to the bookstore of your choice.
Good luck!!!!
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