The Quest for a Literary Agent

Theft

2011-05-16T09:14:00.000Z

Jeeze, you guys. Did you hear about the latest (or maybe it's not so new) Amazon scam? I read from a site I can't link to here because of the +18 content that a person has been lifting whole books and posting them as her own on Amazon. These are mostly self-published books and books published by small e-book companies.

Apparently this "author" has been "publishing" under several different names, but (s)he even has the audacity to use the same blurbs and everything. To steal like this in front of everyone in broad daylight is just unbelievable. I feel so sorry for the real authors. It must be horrible to be so powerless, to see your hard work being treated like this and no one will do anything.

It just plain sucks that people can do this and Amazon refuses to remove it because they say they're not responsible because of some clause they have in their contracts with the authors (saying that the person who is uploading is solely responsible for the content being their own). I personally think that since Amazon is getting a percentage of the sales, they should be held accountable.

You know what? I have only ever ordered online books through Amazon (.com and .co.uk), but I'm not going to buy books from them anymore until they've corrected this injustice. I've found better places to shop at anyway, like Book Depository who ships free internationally. As for Kindle books, well I've learned to convert PDF files to Kindle format through Mobipocket Creator (it's soooo easy, just a few clicks), so I'll be just fine without Amazon for a while.

Woah There Stranger!

2011-04-12T12:57:00.000Z

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I know, I know, it's been aaaaages since I posted, but I've been going through a lot lately. At least school will be out in two weeks, so I should be returning to the blogsphere soon!

I've managed to do some writing and my "Secret File" (haven't chosen a name yet) is almost completed. The goal was 50,000 words and I'm only 48 words away from that goal, but I still have two chapters to write so it'll be a little longer. Maybe 55,000 words, which is fine for a romance novel. What I'm so proud of in this manuscript is that it's packed with voice! I've never written something with so much voice before. Yay for progressing ^.^

But yeah, I'm genre hopping! So far I've been set on YA, but then I finished an MG manuscript, and now I'm into adult romance. I don't know where I land but I suppose there's nothing that forces me to stick to just one genre. There are always pen names ^.^

I was planning on publishing this Secret File on Amazon for $2.99, but my buddy Rachael Harrie has been encouraging me to query. I suppose I have nothing to lose by doing that first.

I've also been stuck by a huge decision: to write in English or Icelandic. I always write much more fluently in English and I'd like to publish my work in English, but the Icelandic market is sooooo much easier to break into. So I've come to the decision to try to publish at least one Icelandic and one English book every year (self-publish via Amazon or through a publisher if I get lucky) and a load has been hurled off my shoulder after that decision.

Of course I'll write a lot more, because writing a first manuscript really doesn't take that long, but I think it's better to be modest to begin with. Besides, not everything I'll write will be publishable (yeah right! No, seriously...).

Anyone else with such robust ambition? ^.^

Say Hello!

2011-02-15T08:12:00.000Z

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My followship (yes, that's a word!) has increased a lot lately and I'm very, very grateful. However, Blogger won't allow me to see everyone's blog page when I click on the little images in the sidebar. So, could the ones I haven't followed back leave a short comment below (just a quick hello) so that I can click your names and repay your kindness!

The Second Crusade!

2011-02-13T14:50:00.000Z

I hope all of you made it onto Rach's list of Crusaders this year (or this part of the year - I think there's another crusade later in the year). Last fall there were 50 Crusaders, but I have it from a reliable source that there are 200 Crusaders this year! Rach sure will have her hands full.

What is the Crusade? It's the "Writer's Platform-Building Crusade", where the purpose is to introduce blogging writers to one another and get them to communicate (and follow each other). There are loads of fun challenges and I made a lot of great buddies in the last Crusade.

Unfortunately the application time has closed (so sorry for being late with this - I'll post earlier next time to give you heads up!), but I just wanted to congratulate Rach on her success and say to the other Crusaders: Can't wait to get to know you all!

Trilogy Contest Winners!

2011-02-07T15:02:00.000Z

Image Credit

Winners, Trilogy Contest

Well, today’s the day to announce the winners of our Trilogy Contest. Thanks to all who entered, we had a great time and met some really awesome peeps.

As a reminder, up for grabs were a total of 12 critiques, 4 each by Marieke, Rach and me:*

(1) query or synopsis (max. 2 pages) critique (winner's choice)

(2) first 300 words critique

(3) first 3 pages critique

AND

(4) first 30 pages critique

I know you can’t wait to find out the winners.

So...*drumroll*... the winners of the critiques by me (as determined by random.org out of a total 505 entries) are:

· query or synopsis (max. 2 pages) critique (winner's choice) - Michelle

· first 300 words critique - Emy Shin

· first 3 pages critique - The Weed

AND

· first 30 pages critique - Elena Solodow

Woot!!!

Congratulations to all the winners. Email me at tessaquin[at]gmail[dot]com to claim your prizes.

But, I see you thinking, there are only 4 winners in this post, where are the others???

Good question, I say. You’ll have to pop over to Marieke’s Musings and Rach Writes to find out the other winners.

Good luck!

*Unfortunately we didn’t quite get to 50 entrants, but we’ll definitely have some books up for grabs in our next contest as well.

(Yeah, the above was totally copy-pasted from Rach's site)

What's Up?

2011-01-20T18:30:00.000Z

Image: http://childcareinaustin.com/programhighlights.html

So, what are you guys doing these days? Working on a manuscript? Trying to get back into gear after Christmas? Just relaxing with a book?

University has started, so I'm spending a lot of time studying, but with it I'm working on getting an Icelandic book published. I kind of feel out of sorts, though, because I feel that I should be writing (and not waiting for the kid-betas to finish reading). It's just that I'm so excited about this project that I find it hard to put it aside and dive back into my YA novel.

It's not like I've been doing nothing in January, though. I did polish the Icelandic MG manuscript, and I have a schedule I'm sticking to. It's a darn good novel, might I add, so I have a good feeling about this one.

Going back to my YA manuscript looks so daunting. I just need to do what Rachael Harrie advised: Take it in sections. Smaller parts are always more manageable.

Is everyone else being super active in their writing?

Oh! And don't forget to enter the Trilogy Contest for some awesome prizes!

Favourite Food Challenge

2011-01-18T10:30:00.000Z

Image: http://doctorbrady.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/

I'm taking English Composition this semester, which is academic writing. Only I'm thrilled to learn that we're supposed to use a bit of showing in our texts. For this week, I'm supposed to write a short, descriptive paragraph of how my favourite food tastes like. I'm not allowed to say what it is.

So! I'm turning this into a challenge. Write a short paragraph to describe HOW your favourite food tastes like, using some or all of your senses.

My favourite food fuses my taste buds with sweet, rich flavour almost before it passes my lips. My mouth waters with the thick, smooth texture as my teeth crunch against the hard surface and my tongue smoothes the shattered fragments, creaming them against the top of my gum.

Okay, so this can be a double-meaning thingy, but I swear it's food. Can you guess what it is?

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

2011-01-14T10:21:00.004Z

Dudes! Did you know about the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award?

*Pokes Rachael and Marieke who have darn good manuscripts ready.*

Here's the excerpt from Amazon's site:

Amazon.com, along with Penguin Group (USA) and CreateSpace, is pleased to announce the fourth annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, the international competition seeking the next popular novel. The competition will once again award two grand prizes: one for General Fiction and one for Young Adult Fiction. Each winner will receive a publishing contract with Penguin, which includes a $15,000 advance.

The Breakthrough Novel Award brings together talented writers, reviewers, and publishing experts to find and develop new voices in fiction. If you're an author with an unpublished or previously self-published novel waiting to be discovered, visit CreateSpace to sign up for regular contest updates. Open submissions for manuscripts will begin on January 24, 2011 and run through February 6, 2011.

Isn't that an amazing opportunity? I'm sure the winners won't have any trouble finding an agent after they have a promise of publication already. You'll need to be fast, though, because they stop accepting pitches after 5,000 entries for each of the two categories (so it'll probably be filled up before the end of January).

Hunger Games Rant

2011-01-12T12:29:00.003Z

WARNING: This post contains spoilers of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games

I finished reading The Hunger Games last Friday, which means roughly 1400 pages read in five days - not bad for a mother of toddler twins! I was hooked from page one up until I had maybe 10% of book three left, those I read those 10% fast, too. Seriously, I lost one and a half kilos, because I wasn't snacking while reading and it helped me get over my chocolate addiction.

I don't know where to begin praising these books. The writing is so perfect, the voice, the tense, the action. There was never a dull moment. The first book will always been my favourite, though the others were great as well. It sort of annoyed me in book two that she kept blaming herself for the deaths of people. It's just that Katniss had been so level- and logical minded throughout that it seems like she should have been able to see that those deaths weren't her fault. It was President Snow who put them in the circle and had them fight it out; it was the man in District 11's choice to salute her, which got him killed; it was Coin's plot to put Katniss in a mockingjay suit and have her be a hero of the people. It wasn't even her fault that people started to feel rebellious when she put those poisoned berries in her mouth at the end of book one, because all she was thinking about at the time was to save Peeta. She even reflects on that later, but still she doesn't recognize the fact that none of those deaths were her fault. All Katniss was ever doing when she did those "rebel acts" was saving others or being sincere (in District 11).

Fan art by http://rohanelf.deviantart.com/

Which brings me to book three. I was captivated, just like with the other two, but it really annoyed me that she kept blaming herself. It also annoyed me to death that she never gave Gale a chance. Yes, I was aboard the Gale/Katniss ship from the first pages, and I hated how Katniss always dismissed him. There were clues, though, in the second and third books that they wouldn't end up together: his lack of responses when he should have been angry when she kissed Peeta in front of him; his lack of being there when she needed him the most; her general lack of interest. But come on, it would have been perfect to have them end up together. Her reaction to seeing him flogged was a promise that he was the one she loved and would end up with! A promise that wasn't fulfilled. They started in the forest and should have ended in the forest. They had history, they cared for one another, they were both responsible, and he even had a cute nickname for her. I'll explain later how I think the series should have ended.

Fan art by Apricotteacup

Peeta. Okay, he's the boy with the bread and "pita" is bread (pronounced the same way). Still, I don't like it as a name. But that's not all. I never cared much for him. That utter self-sacrifice act of his is just too fictional. It's human nature to want to survive, but his attitude was somewhere along time lines "nah, you go ahead and live - I don't really mind dying, even though I have family at home who would miss me." The fact that Katniss had never spoken to him before the reaping makes the fact that he's completely in love with her more than a little iffy. He didn't even know her. He just seemed like a weak character, completely useless in both games and not caring, it seemed, that she hurt him over and over by being dismissive and "choosing" Gale in book two. He was hurt at the end of book one, but that was it. He forgave her for everything, before and after.

Fan art by EmpressFunk

Now, the ending. The way I see it, there was no need for that last scene of battle where Prim was blown up and Katniss dove into mental breakdown. There was no need to kill President Coin. It seems to have been done just to add a gasp-factor and to make the ending bitter-semisweet, making Katniss choose Peeta just because he was there when Gale had (finally) given up on her for her continuous disrespect of him. Still, if Gale had been there at the end, she could have chosen him. I mean, she didn't know if she loved Peeta or not by the end of the war, so why not?

Fan art by ILUVsnake

Collins probably wrote the killing Prim-scene to show that President Coin was no different from President Snow, but I already had that impression. I think it would have been perfect if Katniss had managed to sneak into the mansion, killed Snow, staged an explosion where she and Gale "died", and then run off with Gale to live in the woods. The two of them could make it there, you know. Katniss wouldn't want to show her face to Panem anymore and she wouldn't have to. The bitter-sweet ending would be that now that Coin has taken over, not much has changed. Prim could have voiced her wishes to work in the Capitol's hospital if they won the war, which is how Katniss would have realized that she wouldn't see much of Prim anyway and she wouldn't have to take care of Prim anymore. This is how I thought it would end, and in my mind, this is the perfect ending. It would even make it possible to create a new series based on this one, if the author cared for it.

Fan art by Kara-Lija

And Peeta? Well, wasn't Delly perfect for him? Her taking care of Peeta in District 13 didn't make Katniss jealous (which says a lot - namely that she didn't have those sort of feelings for Peeta), so it seriously looked like that's where that was heading in book three and it looked like the perfect solution to the triangle mess.

Hookay, rant over! Even though those were the disappointing issues with the books, the pluses outweigh the minuses by far. I absolutely loved everything else. The districts, the games, the characters, the living in District 12. These series have been placed amongst the top series in my mind. Definitely the best dystopia series I've read. I wonder how Collins came up with the concept. It's just brilliant. Even though the ending and Peeta leave a bitter taste in my mouth, I still give these series as a whole five stars out of five. I borrowed them at the library, but I'm going to invest in a copy of each, since I'll be reading these books over and over - hopefully until I'm in love with Peeta (yeah, right!).

Oh, and by the way, Finnik dying...what was the point of that?

Hunger Games and a Contest Reminder

2011-01-05T21:22:00.002Z

Phew, I just found the Hunger Games books at the library and I devoured the first one already. And the half of the next one too, actually. Amazing books with amazing writing. I normally don't like present tense prose, but Suzanne Collins does it so well that I don't even notice it. And honestly, I can't imagine these books written in any other way.

I suppose most books are written in either first person, past tense; or third person, past tense (yeah, I also needed to do the maths here when I read over this entry). The first person, present tense is something that's becoming more and more popular. It's good for fast paced, action packed books. It gives the reader the intense feeling that they're right there with the character.

First person with a mix of past and present tense is also something I'm seeing more of. Like Charleine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series. She'll write most of it in past tense, but once in a while there'll be something in present tense, like when Sookie is stating a fact about herself. I kind of like this style.

What's your favourite to read and your favourite to write?

Just a simplified reminder of the Trilogy Contest:

You fill out this form to take part. You can get additional (for additional work) by filling out this form.

The requirements are that you need to follow my blog, Marieke's, and Rach's.

It's international and it's up to you how much work you want to put in the forms - just stating you're a follower to all three is enough to take part, but you can up your chances by blogging, tweeting, etc.

You'll get the chance to win one of the prizes:

3 x query or synopsis (max. 2 pages) critiques (winner's choice)

3 x first 300 words critiques

3 x first 3 pages critiques

3 x first 30 pages critiques

Across the Universe, by Beth Revis (from Rachael)

Mockingbirds, by Daisy Whitney (from Marieke)

Unearthly, by Cynthia Hand (from me)

3 x Amazon gift certificates of $30 each from the ones who reach 300 followers before the contest ends.

Trilogy Contest - Tremendous Prizes!

2011-01-04T21:36:00.003Z

2010 was quite the year for us...

We started blogging
We made character sketches
We attended WriteOnCon
We outlined (or not)
We found each other as critique partners
We wrote and wrote and wrote
We ripped our WIPs to shreds and glued them back together

We blogged more
And we wrote

And we plotted!

You've all seen our teasers, the something that's coming from far away to shake up the blogosphere. Now, at long last, something is here. Something x 3.

We're happy, excited, and thrilled to announce our Trilogy Contest. Your chance to win one of a gigantic stack of amazingly awesome prizes.

And here they are*:

3 x query or synopsis (max. 2 pages) critiques (winner's choice)
3 x first 300 words critiques
3 x first 3 pages critiques
AND
3 x first 30 pages critiques

*For the picture book writers, Rach'll convert any of the above prizes into a picture book critique! And if you win a 30 page critique, she'll critique 3 of your picture book wips instead!!!

Rather have a book? We've thought about that too! If more than 50 people enter the Trilogy Contest, we'll share some of our favorites/dying to reads.

So Marieke will give away a copy of... The Mockingbirds
I will give away a copy of... Unearthly
And Rach will give away a copy of... Across The Universe

To enter, you need to be a follower of each of Marieke, Rach's, and my blogs. You'll also need to fill out this form.

The Trilogy Contest will end on January 31 and winners will be randomly drawn and announced the following week (only one prize per person). We'll be giving extra entries to those who blog, tweet, or otherwise spread the word about the Contest. Just copy your links into the form (Of course, you can pop back anytime and fill out this bonus form to add extra points for additional blogs/tweets etc. But only after you filled in the original form, just so our heads won’t ‘splode with all the extra maths ).

'Cause you guys rock, there'll be an additional +10 entries for everyone who's a follower of all our blogs before January 11, so get in quick and follow along if you haven't already. And spread the word so your friends can have a chance as well.

Bet you thought we were finished. Well, we're not!!! We're throwing in a special bonus. For each of us that gets to 300 followers, we'll donate a $30 Amazon gift card to a random contest entrant who is also a follower of our blog.

Is that fantastic or what! You may have noticed a little Trilogy theme here, more on that later...

For now, let the fun begin...

Interview: Rachael Harrie

2011-01-02T23:48:00.001Z

I'm back from the holidays - a day late, to be exact, but the whole Christmas/New Year celebration is a big deal over here (it doesn't end until next Thursday). Things should go back to normal within the next days...or I hope they will.

I took an interview with the famous Rachael Harrie before Christmas, but decided to make it my first post of the new year! Who's Rachael Harrie? Remember the Platform-Building Crusade? Well, Rach was the mastermind behind it, rounding up a group of fellow writer-bloggers to befriend and get to know each other. There'll be another crusade in 2011!

When I first met Rach, she looked like this:

But then she looked like this:

Not much different, right?

A select few of you would also know her as this:

(Seriously, that bunny is even named :Rach: in our crit forum)

Anyway, I asked ~~Pigmy-Puff~~ Rach some (mostly) writing related questions:

Question 1 - If you had a million dollars, what would you spend it on?
Ooh, that's a tough one. I really, really like choc-coated honeycomb (*chortles*). More seriously, I'd probably buy my dream house somewhere near the beach, take a few really good writing courses, upgrade my computer, and buy a room full of books to read when I wasn't writing. Oh, and I'd need a few people to help me around the house, so I could write full-time. Plus a bit of travel here and there. Research purposes, of course!
(See? We writers always think about writing when we get questions like these. Marieke did too, in my last interview)

Question 2 - What are you working on (genre, age group, main story plot - if it can be revealed)?
My current WIP is a Young Adult Horror novel titled FROM THE OTHER SIDE. The logline is:

When seventeen-year-old Verity is murdered by the boy she loves, she becomes a ghost whose ability to burn her victims seems purpose-made for her mission of vengeance. However, the search for her killer and an increasing body-count stretch Verity’s sanity to the limits, and unless she finds a way to regain control more innocent people will die, including the one person with the power to save her from herself.
(I'm reading this draft and I can tell you, people, it WILL be published some day soon!)

Question 3 - What do you eat/drink while writing?
I try not to eat while I'm writing. I find it distracts me and I also tend to eat too much if I'm not paying attention! I usually make myself a cup of tea when I sit down to write, but other than that I just drink water. A bit boring much?
(Nah, not boring. When I wrote my first draft of BoB, I ate chocolate each day. I even brought out popcorn for the really exciting parts of the story. It didn't do me much good, though having the popcorn might have popped-things up a little . I just drink water today - club soda, mostly)

Is there anything else you'd like to add? Yep, I hear there’s a massive contest and some awesomely amazing giveaways coming soon. If you want a head start check back on Tuesday, January 4 to find out how you can collect your first points ;)

Really? Well that should be interesting!

Thank you, Rachael for this. Marieke interviewed me and put it up on her blog yesterday. Check it out of you're curious about moi, or Marieke, who is awesome as well (as Rachael! You thought I meant me, right?).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2010-12-19T10:31:00.001Z

Image: http://www.crazythemes.com/

80 posts this year! And for only half a year. That's not too bad. A little over a hundred if I include the Bookaways blog, which hasn't been active lately because of my busyness.

Like so many other bloggers, I'm taking the time off until January 1st. 2011. I have two kids to take care of and I'm going to use the spare time for revisions.

My January 1st post will be special. I'll take an interview with Rachael Harrie, and we'll get a little more information on our little secret project, which will be revealed soon after. It's definitely something to stay tuned on.

So I say to you, my dear friends and fellow writers: Merry Christmas and may the year 2011 bring you agents and publishing contracts :D

Finally, Luna is hosting a contest where one can win one of her top ten choices of books from 2010. See more info here.

Image: http://santa-sa.net/ask_santa.php

It's That Time Again

2010-12-14T13:40:00.000Z

Image: http://brc-adidas.blogspot.com/

Yup, revision time! Finally I feel that I have enough time to dive into revisions again. I have a list of things to do before Christmas, but if I don't start revisions NOW, it will continue to nag me until I do, and I hate that internal nagging voice of mine.

So, I've decided to start with my Icelandic project before I rewrite the first chapter of my English one. I have let the Icelandic MG sit undisturbed for two months now, so I should have very fresh eyes when I look at it today.

I have thought about how I'm going to do this. I wondered if I should print it out and read it like that, or if I should just dive straight in and read off my screen, editing as I go. The latter is what I did with my English YA, but I'm going to use the first approach this time (I just re-read Stephen King's On Writing part about revisions). So, I'm just going to read and write comments in a notebook.

What approach do you use when you do your first revision after you've completed a manuscript? Do you let it rest? Do you print it out? Do you have some formula you always follow?

Something is Coming... (part two)

2010-12-12T08:50:00.027Z

Image: http://fbspin.com/post/318675229/a-little-red

Water slushes against the empty docks, inky-black in the dark of night. A lone figure dressed in a trench coat stands near the edge, checking his watch. It's three AM.

He looks up when a pair of heels click toward him. The moon glows gently on the owner -- a tall woman with thick auburn hair, pencil skirt under a thigh-length coat, and red, red lips. She runs her half-hooded eyes over him.

"John Smith?" she asks, her voice sensual and seductive with a slight accent.

His eyes dart over the docks. This isn't Joe Stranders. "Who asks?" He takes a step backwards, ready to flee.

"Cho Sanders. You have something for me," she says with a meaningful look.

Damn. He shouldn't have hired that foreign exchange student for the summer. This wasn't the first time that imbecile mixed up the names. At least he got the location right this time.

"You have the money?" he asks. He reaches for the cream envelope tucked safely in a pocket of his trench coat.

She starts to answer, but the deep rumbling of thunder cuts her off. Purple storm clouds race toward them.

The woman throws herself into into the man's arms with a gasp. "Something is coming!"

"Yes." He breathes deeply, the scent of lavender clouding his brain. His eyes remain fixed on the heights above the small village. "Can you feel it?"

Image: http://www.illustrationsource.com/stock/ (exact link broken)

This was supposed to go up yesterday... I guess I haven't mastered the scheduled posting.

Matched

2010-12-06T13:05:00.000Z

Not an image of my copy...or you'd see a tiny little nibble on the margin.

I only have a hundred pages left of Matched today and I don't want it to end! And yet I can't help but turn the pages. I should be studying, but since I'm ahead of schedule, I'm indulging myself. I read some reviews saying that there was too much focus on the Society, but what I love about that is that I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen next. Two hundred and sixty pages in and I haven't figured out the ending, although I believe I have solved one of the tangles. I haven't been so engrossed in a book since Cynthia Hand's Unearthly, and it was a long time before that when I was so hooked on a book.

I read Forest of Hands an Teeth in between and started on two galleys from Netgalley (but I'm easily distracted from both, only about three chapters in...). Nearing the ending of Forest of Hands and Teeth, I just wanted the main character to jump over the fence and be eaten by the zombies. Sheesh. But I did read the whole thing, so obviously there was something that kept up my curiosity. I'm not going to invest in the next books in the series though.

What is the last book that sucked you in so hard that you couldn't put it down?

Interview: Marieke

2010-12-05T11:28:00.003Z

Marieke, the one who is plotting with the falcon.

I took an interview with the Medieval Mastermind: Marieke (you know, the girl with the whip?). She's a fellow writer with sarcastic humour and lives, according to her, "Somewhere, not far from nowhere."

Anywho, Marieke has been hosting her "How To" on her blog every other Thursday over the past months, taking interviews with impressive figures, like Elana Johnson (How to write an awesome query letter), Jackson Pearce (How to research a historical novel), and Kathleen Ortiz (How to read slush), just to mention a few.

1. If you had a million dollars, what would you spend it on?

So much! *grin* I'd travel around the world, see all the places I've wanted to see, write and write more. I would spend money on my favorite charities too - or at least I hope I would!

Oh, and one thing more? Buy LOADS of books. And then probably a house to, you know, make a library out of it :P

(That's basically what I would do, too. Great masterminds think alike.)

2. What are you working on (genre, age group, main story plot - if it can be revealed)?

I'm currently revising Loving Adeline - now retitled WICK - my literary YA, with a touch of magical realism.

Jaime, my MC, is an aspie. Her world consists of colors and Secret Garden references, but what she really wants is understanding. And to be able to escape the grief that haunts her home after her father died.

Things happen, as they always do. I'm not yet going to share the entire plot, because mystery is a good thing. ;) (Also, I want to finish revisions first, just to keep things in the right order.)

Let's just say it's a story about grief, love, art, imagination, and - in the end - the choice between understanding the world and living in it.

(That sounds wonderful and new. I don't believe I have read such a story. I love the Secret Garden and can't wait to read this one.)

3. What do you eat/drink while writing?

Coffee! Sugar! Especially when I'm writing late at night, but to be honest I don't have special brain food or drinks. Or maybe I should say it depends on whatever I fancy at that moment. Iced lattes is always a safe choice!

(It's what I've been saying! I can't write late at night because I don't drink coffee.)

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Yes. Something is coming...

(Hmmm...)

Thank you, Marieke, for that.

But Marieke isn't the only one being interviewed. Yours truly is being interviewed by cute little Rachael Harrie, who is becoming yet another impressive writer on the blogsphere. It will be later today, but I thought I'd mention it now because I'm crawling through day...oh I've lost the count...of exam studying.

Cover Chomp

2010-12-03T22:27:00.001Z

The good old days when Beena munched on apples...not books.

Beena, my black hamster just took a chunk out of one of my books! That little rat. I'm not even gonna say which book it was...it's just too horrible. I suppose it was my own fault though. You just shouldn't put your hamster anywhere near your favourite books. Especially those books with the lovely covers...

Exam Studying, Day 3

2010-12-02T12:31:00.000Z

Image: http://institutechildrenslit.net/Writers-First-Aid-blog/

I did what I could yesterday. My head was pounding after four hours straight of studying (with one potty-break). But I managed a lot. I'm continuing today, and I was fresh enough this morning to finish listening to and taking extensive notes on the lecture. Now I'm re-writing the notes (hey, I'm a writer - it's what we do, right?), and then I'm done for the day. It was a two-hour lecture, packed with important details...on Socrates, pre-Socratic philosophers, Plato, etc. We're studying them in regard to their importance to today's universities and critical thinking.

It's so funny how I'm fresh in the morning (even with a runny nose) and like a zombie in the afternoon. The problem with yesterday was that I had errands to run and appointments to attend in the morning, so I didn't start reading until 11 AM. It's the same with writing: I produce so much in the morning, and about half as much in the afternoon.

I read about writers who write when the rest of the household has gone to bed. I kind of feel like a traitor to be fast asleep when all the other creative people are hammering at their keyboards. Maybe it's because I don't drink coffee or any other stimulant substances...except eat chocolate, but that doesn't always wake me up.

What time is best for you to write?

Task for the day: Finish re-writing the notes. Eat. And...bake more cookies! The third sort: chocolate chip.

Currently reading: Lost Voices, by Sarah Porter

Exam Studying, Day 2

2010-12-01T11:22:00.000Z

Squeeee! I just got my signed copy of Matched. I can't stop staring at it - it looks sooo pretty. Thank you so, so much, Sarah McClung, for sending it. And for the nifty business card! Do all of you writers have business cards? Is that something I should be getting?

Well, I got through yesterday's reading, AND I baked. I'm baking more later, a different sort. Or I think I am. I feel like I've been dragged through the streets and dumped into the ocean. Yup, I'm sick - and I don't mean in the dude-you're-sick way. I have a terrible head cold, runny nose, soar throat, and the whole deal. I'm still determined to do today's planned reading, even though it will most probably take me longer.

Exam Distractions

2010-11-30T12:57:00.000Z

Image: www.yummy-coffee-and-food.com

Isn't it funny how when you're studying for exams, you suddenly get all interested in writing, housework, blogging, and baking? That's me today!

I started the morning by organizing my reading. I have eight days to study not-so-much material, but very-heavy-to-read material. We're talking John Stuart Mill-heavy. I organized it so that I do such and such per day, no more and no less. That's what works best for me.

Today, I'm reading and taking notes on the least heavy subject. I'm about 3/4th through, but it's soooo difficult to get the last 1/4th done. Maybe because I just took a lunch break and lost that trans-like focus I get. All I can think about now is blogging, critiquing, rewriting my first chapter, and baking Christmas cookies. Which I'm totally doing after I've completed my 1/4th.

It's so hard to get to it, but it's easy going once I'm there. Since I'm a fairly disciplined person, I will get this done today.

When I get like this, I organize myself via time. For example, I will start reading again at one PM, take a break at one thirty and such. Unless I'm in a trans...then I just continue. Okay! Enough procrastination. It's almost one PM!

What distracts you when you're studying for exams/trying to complete a project?

Task for the day: Study about DIY, make easier notes from the easy notes, listen to the online lecture, finish my creative writing portfolio, pick up the kids, and bake!

Something is Coming...

2010-11-28T12:41:00.000Z

Image: http://fireflyforest.net/firefly on 15 April 2007

It is a dark and stormy night. The wind on the moors is wuthering. A dark stirs in the East. Over the horizon, in the distance, something approaches fast.

Can you see it?

Something is coming...

Scariest contract EVER

2010-11-18T20:02:00.000Z

Jeeze, guys. You should check this out:

Ramblings and What Not: Scariest contract EVER: "I saw this over at Glass Cases and had, had to take a look at this. It is a new publication company started by controversial author, James ..."

Brain Fried!

2010-11-17T12:27:00.000Z

Egg image found on so many sites that I don't know which is the original!

November is often the busiest month for people in school, when all the teachers decide to throw all sorts of essays, projects, and exams to freak out the students and kill a few braincells just before finals. This week, I turned in a very thorough essay in a course on how to write essays (so it had to be perfect - not just because I'm a perfectionist); I've been catching up on my syntax course...of which there is an exam next Tuesday; I have to read 10 short stories and have ready reviews on each before Friday's creative writing class; AND the creative writing portfolio was due by the end of next week, but the teacher was kind enough to push it back three days. I'm only taking 20 units instead of 30 units (75% instead of 100%). I'm so glad I didn't continue with the 30 units!

And they host NaNo in November? What are they thinking?? There's Christmas shopping and preparation for people who aren't in school. That's a huge task as well, which people usually have to do after work, meaning less time to write. Is there an online plea somewhere to have NaNo moved to September or October? I really want to take part next year, but I don't see how I can.

Anyway, since I fell behind on the syntax class (that essay really HAD to be perfect - I expect no less than 9 out of 10), I'm watching the online presentations now and taking extensive notes. Which fries my brain like bacon on a barbecue.

So I freaked out a little this morning, but then I took out my organizer and organized what I had to do, and I feel a lot better now. I set myself goals for each day and do nothing more and nothing less. That's how I cope.

How do you cope with November??

Belated Ghost Story

2010-11-14T20:30:00.000Z

Since my computer was declared dead on Halloween, I was unable to post it on my blog. I was fortunate enough to get my data back and a spunky new computer, so I decided to share the story I had already written. This was for Quinn's Boo-Fest.

Have I seen a ghost? My cousin says I have. I hardly remember it, which is kind of freaky.

She and I were staying in Bournemouth, England, and shared a studio room with two beds. I was so freaked out by insects, that I insisted we always kept the windows shut, and we planted b-vitamin pills everywhere + we had a mosquito sound repellant and an electricity thingy to keep them away. What can I say? I‘m from Iceland.

Does that have anything to do with the ghost? Absolutely not, but it made the air stuffy in the room that night. My cousin, Thora (yes, female for “Thor”), told me the morning after that I’d freaked out in the night, and she’s not one to make something like this up. Apparently it went something like this:

The bedcovers lay heavily on my chest as I slept. I dreamt of the wolf in the green hill behind my parents’ house…where there is no actual green hill. Not to mention that there are no wolves in Iceland. Anyway. The wolf just looked at me, as always, and then walked away.

I stirred in my sleep, kicking the covers loose. I turned to the side and my eyes opened a crack. A teenage girl sat on the edge of Thora’s bed. She wore a grey, sleeveless dress; it looked like it was made of wool. Her white shirt underneath shone in the moonlight behind her. She stared straight at me with her moon-like face.

I bolted up in my bed. She just sat there with no particular expression. What was she doing in our room?

“Thora,” I whined. My heart thudded against my chest. It couldn’t be a ghost! I didn’t want to see a ghost! I’d always been so afraid to see one!

“Thora, Thora, Thora!” I called when she didn’t wake up.

Thora jerked awake and raised herself up. “What is it?”

“There’s a girl over there!” I said, pointing at the girl, who just sat and watched me. “Go away!” I whined.

“What are you talking about,” Thora said, turning to see. “There’s no one there.”

I looked at Thora. She didn’t look scared, she just looked tired, her voice all sleepy. I looked back at the end of her bed to prove her wrong, but the girl was gone.

I don’t remember at what point I fell asleep again. When I woke in the morning, I just barely remembered the girl.

I hardly remember her at all today. In fact, I’d forgotten all about her until I saw her again last night.

Okay, I didn’t see her again last night, but you have to end a story with a punch. I’d really forgotten all about her until my cousin mentioned that I’d seen a ghost when we were talking about ghosts (Icelanders do that a lot). And yes, she’s absolutely sure that I was awake and not sleep-seeing/walking.

Freaky? Absolutely!

I just had to add one more thing. I was such a chicken when it came to finding a photo for this. I scrolled down once when I looked up the word "ghost" and then there were pictures of ghosts from horror movies that I never watch. Ugh. Now I can't get this one picture out of my mind. I ended up x-ing the browser and found an innocent picture of Jennifer Love Hewitt. Enjoy.

Interview

2010-11-12T20:43:00.000Z

Guys! My first interview has been posted. It's so exciting. Lovely Michelle Merrill (a mother of twins as well) took the interview last Monday and posted it today. I did reveal a bit of an embarrassing secret I never tell new people I meet. I guess it may not be so bad overseas, but here people would laugh.

Back in Style

2010-11-11T09:38:00.000Z

Alrighty! I'm up and running again with a spiffy new computer. I decided on Asus Eee 1201PN (yeah, those are just letters and numbers to me, too) so that I won't have to travel with a lump of a computer to the university or library. Sure it takes time to get used to the much-smaller keyboard, but I have small fingertips, so I should adjust. But yeah, as a sticker on my little netbook says, now I can "go anywhere in style."

I'm just writing this to let me buddies know I'm back in the game, though I will be busy over the next three weeks (what last three weeks of school aren't?), but I will blog.

Book Review: Unearthed

2010-11-04T12:33:00.000Z

Unearthly, by Cynthia Hand

Official summary:

Clara has known she was part-angel ever since she turned fourteen two years ago. But now she is finally getting visions of what her Purpose-a rite of passage for every part-angel-is to be, and it happens to involve a gorgeous guy. Of course, there is the raging forest fire surrounding them, too. When Clara's Purpose leads her family to Wyoming, Clara finds the boy of her visions, Christian, but complicating her mission are her growing feelings for another guy, Tucker. As the day in her visions draws closer, Clara discovers that her Purpose may play into a larger struggle between angels and Black Wings-fallen angels who spread sadnessand misery wherever they go. But when the fire erupts and both Christian and Tucker are in danger, who will she choose to save?

From debut novelist Cynthia Hand comes a riveting tale full of supernatural powers, forbidden romance, and the choice between fulfilling your destiny or following your heart.

My summary:

Clara Gardner has just learned that she’s part angel who was put on earth to fulfil one specific purpose. She moves with her mother and brother to Jackson Hole in Wyoming, where she has to attend a new school, find friends, and try to get to know her drop-dead gorgeous purpose target, Christian Prescott. None of that is easy with peeled carrot-orange hair.

Clara knows from her visions that she and Christian belong together. Only he has a girlfriend. And she’s in love with another guy.

Learning how to fly, figuring out the vision, and keeping secrets are the least of her problems on the day of her mission.

My review:

I applied for a number of YA books from HerperCollins when they joined NetGalley. I was a little disappointed when the only one they assigned to me was an angel story. Angel stories have always been my least favourite in the paranormal genre. But boy did Cynthia Hand change my mind! I was sceptical during the very short first chapter, curious by the first half of the second chapter, and completely engrossed from there on out. What a ride.

The entire book is written in present tense, which I had to get used to. It is also written in relatively short scenes where the author jumps to the next without linking. It bothered me at first. But I later appreciated it because it made the story, which covers eight months, move so fast that I almost arrived late to my Creative Writing class one morning. In other words, it‘s impossible to put it down.

The story takes place in a small and charming Wyoming mountain town, with snow, greens, and forest fires. . I think what did it for me were the amazing characters the modest (and fun!) descriptions, the fast pace, the continuous guessing, the embarrassing things that Clara had to go through, and of course the amazing love interest, Tucker, from his very introduction (swoon). The characters are deep, funny, and teenage! Language and all.

I thought I had the plot and vision all figured out when I was 65% into the book. I kept thinking about it during my Creative Writing class, and it just came to me. But I only got a part of if right. And yet so totally wrong. I love it when I haven’t figured out the ending until the end.

Cynthia Hand’s writing is fantastic. The book is pact with teenage voice, from conversation to descriptions. Not once did that voice change or switch point of view. I must say that the cover doesn’t do the book a justice. It looks like a book for adults – some cheap romance. I would never have picked that book up at a bookshop. I only read it because it was assigned to me, and I’m ever so grateful because I can’t wait to read the next book. The angel factor is not the biggest factor in the story, although it’s a basic part of the plot. The funny, embarrassing teenage life and romance is where the main focus is.

I read the Kindle version. I hope HarperCollins has it fixed before it hits the market. The letters sometimes ran together, which made it almost impossible to read.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading YA novels. I also encourage other people who don’t enjoy angel books to read this one. I can almost guarantee that you’ll love it.

My stars:

Cover: 2/5

Characters: 5/5

Plot: 5/5

Writing: 5/5

Voice: 5/5

The overall reading experience: 5/5

NaNo or WIP?

2010-11-01T15:11:00.000Z

Image: www.thefamilygroove.com/iokuok.htm

Gha! What to do?

NaNo has just started and I planned to take part in it with a story idea and all, but then I've started rewriting my manuscript after months away from it (from scratch, save a couple of scenes), and I'm really on a roll with that one. Which do I do? I don't have the time to do both since my computer is busted...

Back!

2010-10-27T13:52:00.000Z

Image: www.hotelmorgana.com

I'm back after three days of intensive shopping. We shopped until 3 AM on Saturday (we ended up in Wallmart), so our feet were literally crying by the time we got back to the airplane. Everything was absolutely lovely, from all those polite, easy-going Americans, fabulous stores, and to the amazing food. I'd probably be four times my size if I lived in America! We ate breakfast twice at the Ihop - the first day (Saturday) we ate there at eight o'clock (four strips of bacon, scrambled eggs, hash brown, two pancakes, and a huge glass of orange juice), and we weren't hungry for the rest of the day. I think we ate again around 10 PM or so, some yucky food at Wallmart that I sort of just nibbled at.

So yeah, we started out in the outlets, which may have been a mistake. The day after, we went to Target where the clothes were soooo cheap (I bought, like, 12 pajamas for my sons, each on $5 (pajamas here never go below $25)), and there were these cute little jogging pants for $7 and such. I'd bought some for $10 at the outlets, but that didn't stop me from buying more at Target! I know that the quality is better from Carters and such, but my boys grow so fast that it's pointless to buy expensive clothes for them.

I did shop for myself as well. I bought three Levi's for $100! You can get one pair here in Iceland for no less than $160. So you see how the price difference is and why I literally lost it over there. I also bought four pairs of shoes, two purses, a wallet, loads of shirts and sweaters, belts, underwear, and anything I could get my hands on that's seriously overpriced in Iceland (Mascara for $5! It never goes below $20 in Iceland).

We went to bookshops on the final morning. I didn't get a chance to go to Barnes & Noble (pout), but I did go to Boarders and some half-price bookshop. I bought these at Boarders: The First Five Pages, Writing Dialogue, and The Copyeditor's Handbook, which I'm really excited about. I bought these at the Half-Price Books: Building Believable Characters and Comma Sense (for a dollar). I know that these books are a lot cheaper on Amazon, but since I was only staying for 3 days, I didn't want to chance having them sent to the hotel in case I'd miss them. They're also cheaper the way I bought them, because the tax in Iceland is very high (not to mention the shipping).

Anyway! When I got home, I learned that the my PC had died for no apparent reason! I turn it on and it stays on for like five seconds and then just dies. I took it to the shop that sold it to me and they're having a look. I'm so dead if the data is ruined! All my Creative Writing assignments, and a years worth of pictures of my boys! ...I should call them and make sure they don't swipe the memory clean...

Anyway, I'll blog less until I've gotten my computer back.

Bye!

2010-10-21T16:02:00.000Z

Image: www.alaska-in-pictures.com

I'm going to the USA tomorrow! The plan has changed and I'm going to Seattle. I'm so going to raid Barnes & Noble (if you see headlines in the newspapers - that'll be me!).

I'm not taking my computer with me, so that means that I won't be blogging or reading blogs for a few days. I'll be busy shopping my head off (I wanted to scream when I saw the price difference! Sometimes living in Iceland just sucks). And who knows, maybe I'll see that space thingy in the picture.

Anyway! Have a great weekend, and see you next week!

Tess

(I apologize for the excessive use of exclamation marks - but I'm going to the USA!!!!)

A Joke

2010-10-18T20:28:00.000Z

13 year old kid: My mom thinks LOL means Lots of Love, so I got a text message from her one day saying "Your grandma died this morning, LOL!"

Yeah, okay, I actually laughed more at the picture than at the joke ^.^

Clichés

2010-10-17T21:02:00.000Z

Image: http://www.jeanjullien.com/

You know you've got a cliché when you see the exact same line in another book.

I was reading a free first chapter of A Better Place, by Mark A Roeder, when I came across this sentence: "Every girl wanted to be his girlfriend and every boy wanted to be him." (Roeder, Kindle locations: 54-58). Yeah, I know, I've heard this sentence before, in a movie or somewhere, but it just really shouted at me when I saw it in print. Luckily, I had already cut that sentence from my manuscript.

Have you seen a cliché sentence in a book you've read that you recognized from your own manuscript?

Hillarious Harry Potter Trailer

2010-10-14T12:43:00.000Z

For you Harry Potter fans out there, you have got to watch this!

Write what You Like!

2010-10-13T09:13:00.000Z

Write what you know, is something most of you have already heard. This seems to be a popular saying in the industry. I can understand that if you dive into a new culture and decide to write about it, or from it's PoV, things can get a little askew. But I still think that shouldn't top a person from doing it! Heck, it could shine some light on new and interesting perspectives. And the author would never do it unless he/she's researched it to bits. Any sensible author, that is. The "write what you know" just sounds restrictive and boring.

Write what you like! Heck yeah! There's no point in not writing something because you're afraid to "offend" someone, just because you got a fact or two wrong. So what? Most people read for the sake of a good story. And if you really like what you write, it will shine through.

Write what you read! I both like to write light fantasy and paranormal, because that's what I read. I'm trying to broaden my reading though, because I can well picture myself writing historical one day, dystopia, and even a sweet YA gay (I have an idea for a unique and fantastic one!). I even have an idea for a second contemporary (the gay one would be contemp. too), so I'm going to have to read some contemporary books in each genre to see if I like it enough to write it ;)

So, don't just write what you know - write what you like and write what you read :)

Picture source: http://blog.al.com/breaking/2007/10/pumpkin.jpg

Sold!

2010-10-12T11:28:00.000Z

Mid-term exams are over! I got 9 out of 10 for the one I took today (it was online multiple choice only, which is why I already know the outcome). Not bad for phonetics ^.^

Anyway, I wanted to know if any of you have bought a book for the sake of the cover? I'm seriously considering buying Matched, if I don't win it. I've heard the story itself is so-and-so, but the cover itself is art! I'm even considering buying the hard cover and place it front-out on my book shelf.

I don't think I've ever done this before. The covers of House of Night, Sookie Stackhouse Novels, and Vampire Academy are just...bleh (except for the NEW Sookie novels, which features the cast of True Blood - drooooools over Eric). Eragon I bought for the story, although the covers are nice. The Harry Potter covers are also just bleh, although a little fun, I suppose.

Oh! And I'm going to shamelessy plug Sara's ARCs giveaway, because one of the books being given is a signed Matched! The other one I want is A Tale Dark and Grim. That cover also looks nice, though not nice enough to buy just for the sake of the cover.

So, have you ever bought a book for the sake of the cover, even if you've heard the book is only so-and-so?

NaNo and Award

2010-10-10T15:43:00.000Z

First - Are you taking part in NaNoWriMo this year? I am! I even have an idea of what I'll write about (my first contemporary with zero magic). I'm TessaQuin there if you want to add me as a buddy.

Second - Lovely, amazingly funny Melissa Gill awarded me the Cherry on Top Award a few days ago. Thank you so much, Melissa. I would award this to you if I you hadn't already awarded it to me! The name and image remind me of you because your blogs bring a smile to my face.

There are three things I must do now:

1. Thank the one who awarded it in (check!)

2. Answer a question: If I had the chance to go back and change one thing in my life, would I, and what would it be?

My answer: I would have gotten into writing much, much earlier. Although I believe that my life has shaped and matured me into the woman I am today, I wish I had decided to become a writer back in 2003 when I moved to Denmark. I had time back then, but I used it on computer games! I believe those games have enriched my imagination, and also shaped me, but still, I could have played a lot less and written a lot more.

3. Choose up to 6 people to pass on the award to! This one's going to be tough! There are so many bloggers who deserve this, but here goes:

1. Rachael Harrie! Because she's adorable and a funny little pygmy-puff (you don't have to write these after the names - I just like to).

2. Marieke! Because she's the girl with the whip! And she's on a mission.

3. Lisa Potts! She's fantastic and I love reading her blogs and get insight into American life! Seriously, this has nothing to do with all three of them being in my critique group! But I should probably move on to prove my case.

4. Quinn! Yeah, the first boy to make my list! We're new buddies, but his blog is so fantastic and unique that he deserves this and then some. And this has nothing to do with me winning his contest! Seriously! Just read his one-of-a-kind blog and that'll prove my case ^.^

5. Elana Johnson! *Gasp* Yes, I'm venturing into celebrity land now! But how can I not award her? Her blogs are amongst the first I go to check each morning, and although I'm totally intimidated by her, still - despite all the kind emails she's sent me - she's so nice.

6. Carolina Valdez Miller! Another one with over 1000 followers! Seriously, these people must be super busy! I hardly dare interrupt them with blog awards (not that blog awards are not something worthy of interrupting someone with!). Carol is a super nice, super beautiful woman. I love her blog!

Now, it's completely up to you if you pass these along, stick them on your wall, or do nothing. This is just me saying that I appreciate you, with a cherry on top ;)

So there! Oh...and I probably have to let them know. Add that as nr. 4! Comment on their blogs to let them know they've won a super cool award!

I'm all exclamationed out and need to get back to my exam studies >.<

* Image borrowed from: http://stlucie.ifas.ufl.edu

Riddle

2010-10-08T18:10:00.000Z

I have a little game for you!

Rearrange the letters "New Door" into one word.

Crusader Challenge I

2010-10-07T11:45:00.000Z

I sat down to write the other day and...Veronica Mars called me. She sounded a little nasal when she asked me if I had time to go over some puzzling notes for her new mystery case. You know, the one about the love fountain in Rome. I told her I had to study for next week's exam. Yes. Two exams, two days in a row. She understood, and then she sneezed "quidditch!"

"Bless you," I said, holding my phone between my cheek and shoulder.

She thanked me, and then blew her nose as loudly as an elephant warning its heard of incoming landslide.

"Are you coming down with a cold?" I asked while flipping through my notes on phonetics. Allophones? Fortis and Lenis?

"Yeah- Quidditch!" She blew her nose again. "Sorry, how about I come by on Wednesday?"

"See yah then. It'll give us chance to go over some gossip." I hung up the phone.

Poor girl. Ever since Sylar set her on fire in Heroes, her clever mind just hasn't been the same.

---

Yeah, I know it's LAME. But I don't have time to write a proper story. I still wanted to take part. I seriously AM studying for two exams. One is on Monday, and the other on Tuesday. And then I have to turn in a short story for creative writing tomorrow. Talk about teacher collaboration!

This is the first challenge of the Crusaders (a group of people working towards building an online platform - new members are welcome and should visit Rach's site to sign up: Writers' Platform-Building Crusade).

The bonus words were: Mars, quidditch, and elephant.

The prize this round is an interview with Rach, which will be the first with a Crusader of Rach's Insider Scoop Interviews. Which is, of course, a great way to get online coverage. (She has already interviewed Jody Hedlund and Caitie Flum).

Oh, and of course I know what quidditch is - I just decided to use it this way.

You can't...

2010-10-06T15:32:00.000Z

Image borrowed from: http://thekexperience.okeiweb.com/

You can't smile a sentence...

You can't laugh a sentence...

You can't sneer a sentence...

You can't glare a sentence...

That's what I learned in my creative writing class today. I was like, but...but...but... Yeah, I use "blah blah blah," he smiled/laughed/grinned/[insert anything here] a lot.

I also learned that you can't write "Get out," he hissed. Because there's no s-sound at the end of out! I never even thought of that.

I've finally managed to edit out all my "and's" and adverbs (see how I used an adverb at the beginning of the sentence?). I'm working on my repetitions. Now I'll have to check my dialogs to see if someone's doing something that's not possible.

Anyone else guilty of the above, or some other no-no's?

Giveaways!

2010-10-03T22:43:00.000Z

Because Marieke's Marieke, I'm going to post this here, too! Marieke's How-To Thursdays interview with Kristin Cronn-Mills was posted last Thursday (sorry I'm a little late with this!). She's hosting a giveaway of Kristin's book.

If she reaches 30 followers (only 6 more to go!), she'll draw a second winner for banned-book Annie on My Mind!

And another buddy is hosting a giveaway. Quinn just reached his 100 follower status and is giving away $40 gift card from Amazon and a critique!

Yeah, I know, I'm directing you to my BookAways posts. You'll get easy info on deadlines and such there (plus, I get to promote my blog. I'm not going to deny that!)

Go check out those great bloggers!

To Those I Haven't Followed Back

2010-10-01T22:12:00.000Z

Those whom I haven't followed back - could you leave a comment? Sometimes I don't get a link with the little pop-up window when I click your little icons on the follow list. Your blog comes linked to your name if you leave a comment (you don't even have to write anything, just a dot or something so that I can click the link). There's an ugly, hairy bug in Blogger.

Banned Books Week

2010-10-01T09:19:00.000Z

Everyone and their grandma have been blogging about banned books lately because of the Banned Books Week. I wasn't going to take part in this, because I didn't have time, but then I looked at the list of banned books and my eyes nearly popped out! Instead of doing a review of the books I've read, I'm going to gush my amazement and bewilderment of why these books were banned in the first place! A lot of those are books about changes in the body when growing up. What kid couldn't use this information from a book? We had education on this at school, but I'm sure that not all kids get that very embarrassing privilege (I still remember all the blushing and giggling), and some kids might want to sneak into a library and secretively read more about those changes.

Harry Potter! Come on! I do remember that JK Rowlings books were banned amongst Catholics some years ago. I remember how silly I thought it was. I don't know if others banned the books as well, but I think it's just mean to keep kids away from my favourite series of all time! It's not like people can go to London and find a secret passage to Diagon Alley! It's fiction!

The Earth's Children series!? Honestly? What was offensive in those books? I read them as a teen and I loved them. I seriously can't imagine what made those book be banned. Was it the interspecies mating? The Neanderthals? They existed, you know.

Lord of the Flies? What on earth could have made people want to ban that book? I read it in High School and it was one of the few books that I actually loved. Was it the development from kids being lost on an island to kids building a hierarchy and becoming violent? I'm guessing it's because of Piggy's death, but it's an excellent story of how a society can go wrong.

The Color Purple? I read that as a teen as well. I loved it. I suppose that Uncle Tom's Cabin must have been banned as well in its time. Ignorance. That's what it is. Thi book is amazing.

Breaking the Rules!

2010-09-30T15:27:00.000Z

Chocolate borrowed from: http://marylindsey.wordpress.com/

I'm breaking the rules! I can't stand this anymore. I'm just going to blog when I blog. Ever since I officially stated that I was going to blog every Monday with something writing-related, and every Wednesday with Iceland Reports, I've been soooo discouraged to blog that it's clogging my flow. It sort of took the fun out of popping onto the blog and posting something - anything fun and informative that came to mind.

So I hope you forgive me when I say that I'm going to break the rules of staying consistent, and just blog when I blog.

That said, I might be travelling to the USA in a few weeks! Yay! I'm going to raid the bookstores. And the toy stores. And the shoe stores. And just any store I find. We're probably going to Boston with a direct flight.

The Rach Writes Inaugural Writers’ Platform-Building Crusade

2010-09-27T09:05:00.000Z

: Crusade

That's a mouthful! But brilliant!

I'm cheating today since I won't write a post about writing. Well, I suppose this has to do with getting published in one way or another. I'm introducing my friend's Rachael Harrie's Crusade to help bloggers build their online platform. I joined the Crusade only two days ago and I've already gotten five new followers - some very nice people whom I'm excited to get to know better. Rachael still hasn't compiled the list so that we can go crazy and follow our fellow Crusaders, which means that people are already excited and are following commenters.

Why is it important to gather followers? Even though online presence isn't a requirement to get a fiction published (it is important for non-fiction), numbers are numbers, and if you have thousands of followers, it could tip the scale in your favour when you query an agent with a good story idea and a good story.

Will all those people read your blog? Probably not all of them, but many will, if you're interactive in turn and read their blogs. This is an opportunity to make more friends. There are so many cool people out there, and they all seem to be gathering in the Crusade ;)

I've copied and pasted Rach's requirements to join:

Let’s work it like this:

Follow along with my site if you don’t already (I want to build my online platform too of course) :)
Become a Crusader by leaving a comment to this post (include your blogging name and a link to your blog)
Write about the Crusade on your blog and link back to this post
Encourage your followers to come to Rach Writes… and join up (it will help them too!)
Tweet about the Crusade, including a link to this post (http://bit.ly/9kMySK) and #WPBC1. Encourage re-tweets. I'm @RachaelHarrie if you want to follow me in the Twitterverse too
Pop it on Facebook
Generally, spread the word…

I’ll publish a list of all the Crusaders on Rach Writes..., and I’ll update the list as people join in on future Crusades.

---

That's it! I encourage all my readers to join this project. It's an amazing concept and Rachael is just the person to pull it off.

Goal for the day: Finish writing my MG!!!

Iceland Reports: Ghosts!

2010-09-23T13:00:00.000Z

That's right, ghosts.

Iceland is a dark, cold piece of rock, surrounded by deep, freezing ocean. There is little daylight in the winter. On the darkest days in December, there are max 3 hours of not-so-bright daylight. This is countered in the summer where a month or so is daylight 24 hours. But the summers are short, and the winters are long.

: Turf house

It was only last century when the last person stopped living in "turf" houses. Most stopped living in them around 1900, though. As you can see from the picture, there are not many windows. In the darkest, coldest nights, people would get together and tell stories, since there wasn't much else to do. Many of those stories were ghost stories. People genuinely believed in ghosts, and Icelandic folklore is packed with such stories.

: Icelandic Legends : Collected by Jón Arnason

My favourite is "Djákninn á Myrká" or "The Deacon from Dark-River." The deacon was courting a young woman from another farm. Her name was Gudrun. He had invited her to a Christmas party and was on his way to pick her up when a bridge broke under him and his horse "Faxi". The night after, a man came riding on his horse to pick Gudrun up. Gudrun couldn't see his face because the moon was obscured by clouds. They rode silently until they reached a river. The deacon spoke:

"The moon travels, death rides. Don't you see a white spot on the back of my head, Garun, Garun?" [he couldn't say her name properly, because "Gud" means "God", and ghosts couldn't say "God"]

Gudrun lifted his hat and saw his skull glinting in the brief light from the moon. When they reached Dark-River (Myrka), they dismounted and the deacon said:

"Wait here, Garun, Garun, while I move Faxi, Faxi, into the graveyard, graveyard."

When the deacon took his horse into the cemetery, Gurdun got scared as she watched him open a grave. She ran to ring the church bells, but at the same time, the deacon grabbed her other hand. Before they had left Gudrun's home, she'd only had time to put her coat on one arm, and so the last thing Gudrun saw of the deacon was when he fell into the grave with her coat, and dirt poured over him from all sides.

That wasn't the end, though. The deacon haunted Gudrun for weeks, and she couldn't be left by herself. Her parents hired a sorcerer (yup! A whole bunch of those magic folks here too!). He hid until the deacon came for Gudrun. When the deacon stood over her, the sorcerer jumped forward and exercised him back into the ground. He rolled a big rock over him and told him to rest there forever. It is said that the deacon still rests under that rock.

I love this story for three reasons: It used to scare the hell out of me as a kid; Margit Sandemo, a Norse author, used it in one of her 43 series Isfolket books (Icepeople), and those are my favourite series of all time; and there's a very cool Icelandic song, with very cool lyrics about that ghost story.

: Image borrowed from: http://magnusthor.eyjan.is/2008_03_01_archive.html

There are loads of other stories as well. Places were far between, landscape raw, and weather bad. There were very few roads, and those that were were often narrow paths that got lost in the snow. Travelers would get lost on their way and die. They'd haunt the living that crossed their path. Sorcerers (wizards? It's hard to call them wizards, because I keep picturing guys with pointy hats in starry robes - Discworld, anyone?) conjured them up in cemeteries to do their bidding and such.

The fun thing is that Icelanders generally still believe in ghosts. The tales are so imprinted in our society, that I've only met one Icelander in my entire lifetime who truly doesn't believe in ghosts (he's very scientific-minded). You'll hear some people say that they don't believe, but then they dive into discussions about that one time they thought they heard something, or how their brother went berserk once because he thought he saw a ghost, or how their grandmother can see ghosts all the time. Those people are also likely to have gone to a psychic medium.

: Image borrowed from: http://visindavefur.hi.is/svar.php?id=6624

I believe in ghosts. If I didn't, I'd be calling my grandmother a liar. She's been able to see ghosts ever since she was a child. She used to play with one on the farm she grew up in. I've probably said this before in my blog, but it's amazing when she tells me about these sightings. She walks into a church with only a few people inside. She sits down and looks back to see that the church is packed with people. She also wants her body to be cremated after she dies, because she sees so many ghosts lingering by their graves after they've been buried, but when she goes to the "cremated sites" she doesn't see any ghosts or feel any sort of presence. Oh, and she doesn't really call them "ghosts", more like "dead people." She only talks about this to her family, she's not one of those people who go out and make money out of it.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Marieke's How To Thursdays

2010-09-21T09:09:00.000Z

I just have to blog about this! My good friend Marieke is blogging "How To Thursdays" where she'll take interviews with published authors every two weeks. Her interviewee this week is Leah Cypess, author of Mistwood. She talks about worldbuilding.

Other things to look forwards to: Writing Contemp YA, with Kristin Cronn-Mills, and Queering the World, with Tessa Gratton (Blood Magic).

Every two weeks there'll be contests relating to each of those authors. It can be their book, a critique, or something else exciting. This week, Marieke is giving away Leah's Mistwood novel.

Grammar Hampers Voice

2010-09-20T08:16:00.000Z

: Lips borrowed from: http://www.faqs.org/photo-dict/phrase/637/lips.html

I got my first peer review for my character sketch today (I‘m taking Creative Writing at Uni). My hands shook with excitement as I waited for my internet to download the document. My eyes tuned out and in focus before I started reading. Clear description of character...dialogues are clear...use less emphasis on the narrator...good development...good pacing at the beginning, needs to slow down at the end...tenses kept changing back and forth (Me: What? No way! Of course it‘s past when he‘s thinking back and present when he‘s in the now. The distinction is clear!)...There were some grammatical errors!

Grammatical errors? Okay, so I haven’t learned as much English at the Uni as the other students in this class (it’s a master’s degree class, but I got an exception because of my enthusiasm), but, in my opinion, there was nothing wrong with the grammar. I even posted the character sketch on my crit-group forum and no one said anything.

That leaves me with the question: Should novels be strictly grammatically correct? And (like the debate on TV/videogame violence) is it the author’s responsibility to provide reading material that is grammatically correct?

My answer is no and heck no! Misspellings and non-intended errors should be eliminated, of course, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with flexing grammar a little to provide a good story. The author’s purpose is to provide the reader with entertainment and emotional experience. At least that’s what Randy Ingermanson says, and I hereby take that up as my motto. If that means bending the rules of grammar to better suit the holy purpose, then authors should do that!

I’m also a strong believer in “grammar interferes with Voice” (yes, capital V). Which has more voice in it? “I don’t want to be here!” or “I so don’t want to be here!” I’m gonna say the second and break the grammar in this sentence to inject some voice into my blog. Most people speak with grammatical errors, so why shouldn’t the people whose PoV we’re reading from do so as well? And I’m not just talking about dialogues – internal monologue and overall action as well. Doesn’t that make them more real to us?

I’ll be the first to admit that I read the Twilight series in 10 days and fell in love with it. I didn’t know anything about writing until long after that, and I have read countless books since then. Looking back, I see that the grammatical correctness of Twilight is enough to put an insomniac to sleep, whereas series such as Sookie Stackhouse and House of Night would keep the insomniac entertained during his hours of suffering. There’s a reason those series have the most memorable characters! Those books are packed with grammatical errors – probably all intentional – and I don’t care one bit. I don’t even care much about most of the unnecessary adverbs and the occasional passive tense, even though I try all I can to exclude those in my own writing. The books are entertaining, emotional and fantastic.

If I want to learn “proper English” I’ll read books on English grammar!

Away for a bit

2010-09-14T16:56:00.001Z

I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday, and I'm afraid I won't be able to post tomorrow either. We're going to a funeral the day after.

I'll be back and kicking next Monday.

Iceland Reports: The Funny Mayor

2010-09-08T17:36:00.000Z

Jon Gnarr, Mayor of Reykjavik

That's right. Gnarr.

According to some, Jon Gnarr, originally Jon Gunnar Kristinsson*, is the funniest man in Iceland. He's done stand ups, acted in movies, had a show on the radio, and written and starred in popular TV shows. I have to admit that it took me a while to understand his humor. In fact, I didn't like him one bit at first. His humor is crude, often offensive. But he grew on me, and I now "get" his Gnarrism.

It came as a surprise to the nation when he formed a political party in 2009 for the upcoming Reykjavik elections. Up until the day of the elections, people kept asking him if it was all a big joke. He had campaign promises such as to put a polar bear in the Icelandic Zoo (of farm animals), give stuff to "weaklings", and a drug-free parliament in 2020.

: Jon Gnarr at work

His election campaign was hilarious. He gathered his actor/singer friends, who also signed up for the party, and they wrote and sung lyrics to Tina Turner's Simply the Best. Why? Because his political party is called the Best Party. You can watch the video here.

The members of the Best Party are mostly artist: singers, actors, producers of various sorts. Augusta Eva Erlendsdottir who role-played Silvia Night in Greece 2006 during Eurovision has the 18th place.

: Silvia Night

What came as an even more surprise was that he was actually elected as mayor. Some days later, a stuffed polar bear that usually sits outside a shop in Reykjavik disappeared from it's place and was found in the Icelandic Zoo. I still don't know if Jon Gnarr and the store owner planned that, or if it was the act of someone else who thought it would be funny.

I sometimes can't help laughing when I hear his interviews on the radio. They try their best to ask him all sorts of complicated questions about various issues to try to throw him off. He readily admits that he has no idea where some of those issues stand. He says that there are other people in charge of those things. He also makes a lot of jokes to steer away from topics.

Is it bad to have a comedian in charge of the city? I don't think so. On the contrary, actually. He brightens the heavy atmosphere that suffocated the city after the financial crash. He lets the specialists handle the complex projects while he makes his people smile. Examples? Sure! This is how he showed up on Gay Pride:

: The mayor on Gay Pride

He also addressed his coworkers like this in a video one day, where he suggested they celebrate that particular day yearly as the "'Good Day' Day":

: The "Good Day" Day

The people of Reykjavik like him as their mayor. I think every town should have a copy. Specialists should take care of the real work (you know, people educated in that special area), mayors should be there for the people. I just hope he'll sign up as a candidate for the next parliament elections - we need him there!

I've had the pleasure of meeting Jon Gnarr. A few years back, he and his sons took taekwondo lessons with us for about a month. I even coached one of the training sessions (plus, I was the cashier - I'm always the cashier for some reason -.-). Jon Gnarr may be the funniest man in Iceland, but he is also the most serious man I've ever met.

: Jon Gnarr

---

* If you say Gunnar really fast, it comes out as "Gnarr". I'm pretty confident that that's how he came up with his last name.

On Word Count and Querying

2010-09-06T21:14:00.001Z

: Image borrowed from: www.nurseryeducationonline.com/-c-62.html

Attempt One:

Before I started on my manuscript, I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to write enough words for a full length novel. I tried writing a novel when I was 15, and it ended up being 3,000 words. I did a little better on a fan fiction that ended up in 74,000 words (16 chapters), which I think is quite amazing. It's packed with adverbs and other no-no's, but it's a good story with a good plot and sub plots. I was 26 at the time. Today I find that the more I write, the longer the word count. It is a challenge for me to keep it low enough, because there's just so much to write about. The first attempt at full manuscript ended in 125,000 words. I queried it as such, and got an auto-rejection. It may have been because of the word count, or because the query letter was horrible, or because the writing was terrible and packed with no-no's. Probably all of the above.

Attempt Two:

At the time, I had no idea there was such a thing as "appropriate word count" for young adult fiction (or any other age group, for that matter), I just thought that more words equaled better writer. I compared my manuscript length with Cassandra Clare's City of Bones, and Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, by doing formulaic count of words I was taught while learning to type. I remember the day I learned about appropriate word counts. I sat in the black chair in my office, curtains pulled closed to shield the tiny room from light, desk cluttered with books, print-outs and stationary. The silly little text on my screen said 110,000 max for YA novels. I felt like giving up. How could I possibly cut a single word out of my novel? Every single word was important. But after a lot of research, a reading of a book on how to write, and a second look at the manuscript, I realized that there was quite a bit I could cut out. The revised 125,000 worded manuscript became 111,000 words. Much better, or so I thought.

At WriteOnCon, I discovered that 111,000 is way too much. There was an agent who went over queries live. She began by plucking out all the manuscripts over 90,000 words and tossing them into the bin. She said that the manuscripts with higher word count have to be truly exceptional. She said that 90,000 words +/- 5,000 is max in YA (apparently opinion on this differs, possibly because my novel is Fantasy, which means a little more leeway with some agents). That means I'll have to cut it down to at least 95,000 to avoid such auto-rejections from agents. Before the WriteOnCon, I had submitted queries to a lot of agents. I also received quite a number of rejections. The reason could be because of the word count, or because the revised query letter was terrible, or because the revised writing wasn't quite up to snuff yet. Probably all of the above.

Attempt Three:

I learned from this that you should only query a few agents at a time, because of the learning curve. If I had submitted to all the agents I've now submitted to with my horrible first query - all of them would reject it. If I would submit to all the agents I have yet to query with my terrible second query - all of them would reject it.

In other words, to avoid auto-rejections based on word count, I have to slice my manuscript even further. I'm doing that with the aid of critique partners - something I never had before - something I should have had before. I have also tried to be honest with myself, and cut out pieces that I knew, deep down, were not supposed to be in the story. With the first 6 chapters rewritten/revised, plus a whole chapter later in the manuscript removed, the word count is already down to 104,000 words. After WriteOnCon, I have a formula for a fantastic query, along with amazing critiques from Elana and Casey that I won at the conference, so I'm hoping I'll be able to produce a kick-ass query before I continue my agent querying next year. I also realized, during WriteOnCon, that I have to take a second look at adverbs, and other tics that are frowned upon. The reason I'm not querying until January next year is not only because agents are generally less likely to sign new authors late in the year, but also because I'm taking Creative Writing at university, and I'm learning heaps.

We're reading Sol Stein's Stein on Writing. Chapter two is so inspirational that I had to put down the book and jolt down ideas. He talks about the importance of the first line and first paragraphs in a book. He gives fantastic examples (real examples are so rare in those educational books on how to write!), and I now know that I have to change the beginning of Book of Black. In fact, I've been inspired to change the whole first chapter with a whole new concept to dive the kids into the other world faster. He helped me see how my first chapter is a bit distracting. It's a good chapter, but there's a misleading story that doesn't set the tone for the rest of the book. I see now that this first chapter is material for a different story.

So, with all these new discoveries, and with the aid of the amazing WriteOnCon, that was a revelation to me, I hope that when I start querying again, I won't get auto-rejected because of word count, I will have a catchy query letter, and that I will get a contract because of my new and shiny writing skills.

Blog Awards

2010-09-01T21:16:00.000Z

: Star borrowed from: http://www.advocacysouthwest.org.au/

I have often seen people get blog awards, but I never, ever expected to get one myself. Especially after such a short time of blogging. It has taken time to find my own blogging voice and to figure out what kind of information I wanted to share. I started out in the middle of my querying process, so I wrote tips. My tip-blogs developed into article/subject-blogs over time. I like to stick with blogging about writing - my writing and writing in general, but I'll also throw in other stuff as well. Because of lack of time, I've been forced to reduce my blogging to one day a week. I have now decided that I should blog at least two times a week (I'll probably add to the days as weeks go by - blogging is just too much fun), and...

Ta-daa!

Next Wednesday I will blog little tidbits about Iceland. A lot of you seemed to like my Fun Facts about Iceland, so I thought I'd do something similar. Something short and sweet. I'm calling it "Iceland Reports". It will be anything from fun facts, to odd news casting, to interesting subjects in Iceland - maybe even interesting people. We'll explore phenomenons such as Iceland's Eurovision craze each year and the comedy actor who got elected as the mayor of Reykjavik (and as a joke, he calls himself "Nonni bæjó" - something like "Jonny Meyo"). I will post these Wednesday evenings, which should be around mid-day in USA EST.

Back to the awards! Lovely Lisa Rivero awarded me two awards a couple of days ago! Lisa is an amazing blogger, and I would award her one if she hadn't been the one to award me. Her blogs are very inspirational to me. She has fantastic ideas (like the new habit resolutions!), and she's just genuinely lovely and sweet.

I am going to pass these on to fantastic bloggers. Some of them have already gotten these awards before, but I'll award them anyway.

There are rules! But they make this even more fun.

The Rules for The Versatile Blogger Award:

Thank and link back to the person that gave you the award.
Share seven things about yourself.
Pass the award to fifteen bloggers that you think deserve it.
Lastly, contact all of the bloggers that you’ve picked for the award.

One Lovely Blog Award Rules:

Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Here are the seven things about myself:

Icelandic is my native language, but English and Danish are languages I'm fluent in. I also learned German, but I have to brush up on that a little.
I have two well-known role play characters in World of Warcraft. I don't play anymore to focus on my family, writing, and university.
I lived in Denmark for two and a half years.
I'm an only child. I was content being one until I grew up.
I have three-year-old twin boys whom I love with all my heart. They make me smile every day.
I have visited 12 different countries, some of them several times.
I have a black belt in Taekwondo, plus several gold medals from the USA.

I could go on and on!

Lisa wrote such a lovely peace that I'm going to quote her for the next bit:

"I would like to award both the One Lovely Blogger award and The Versatile Blogger award to these fifteen terrific blogs and bloggers. I love how Kelsey added to the rules for the awards “if you can or have the time” (no wonder I enjoy her blog so much). To all award recipients, please know that I only wish to express my admiration and appreciation for your time and talent, and the last thing I would want is for anyone to feel pressured to do anything that is not comfortable, so please do with the award what you will. All I ask is that you continue to blog!"

Melissa Gill (Amazing person through and through. Her blogs are such a delight and bring a smile on my face every time)
Ted Cross (I know you've had these before! Ted has the most interesting job ever, and he's an excellent writer)
Miles McG (A fellow writer-in-struggling)
Rachael Harrie (She's basically doing the same thing I am: writing tips on getting published. She's also such a fun-loving person)
Krystey Bell (Her blog entries are always amazing)
Cherie Reich (She's the first horror writer I've ever come in contact with! I'm reading her book right now)
El (Overall fantastic and uber blogger/website owner)
Lunaleo (She not only used to have the same blog design I had, but I really enjoy reader her versatile blogs)
Marieke (Snarky, funny, fabulous - a girl who lives "somewhere, not far from nowhere")
Cassandra Jade (She's going on a blog tour! Enough said)
Madameduck (Because she's wonderful and I really love her blogs)
Faith (Because of her awesome self-editing tips)
Aubrie (She has great books out there, and the covers are drool-worthy)
Lisa M Potts (Overall marvelous blogger)
And finally, although he's a super busy agent, I thought he deserved the award for his outstanding, time-consuming, well thought-out blogs: Nathan Bransford! (Agents are people too, you know - and no, I don't have a query waiting in his mailbox, nor will there be one on my current project)
Congrats to the fifteen above. I really enjoy following your blogs, commenting, and lurking.

New Blog

2010-08-31T10:24:00.001Z

Just a quick note: I decided to create a blog and post about contests and giveaways. I named it Contests and Giveaways, because I'm not very creative this morning.

My Life of Crime

2010-08-30T14:12:00.000Z

In the Creative Writing course, we have several assignments. One of them is a memory flashback called "As a child..." I'm supposed to write a memory flashback from my childhood. I immediately decided what to write about when I read the description. Aaaand today I wrote it, although it's not due until September 24th. I understand that I might have to change it as I learn, but this is what I have for now:

My Life of Crime

When I was ten years old, I stole for the first time in my life. I was at a school-buddy’s house and we were playing with her dolls. When she went to the bathroom, I snuck this Lego-sized rubber baby-doll into my pocket and took it home. She later accused me of stealing it, but I denied it. She had no proof, so I got away with it. Needless to say, she didn’t invite me back to her house. She wasn’t my best friend, anyway.

That doll was precious to me. It had a tiny little head, tiny limbs and a teensy body. The hair on its head was also rubber, but it still had a stylish “hairdo”. I made it tiny little clothes to wear, I built it a home out of Lego blocks, and I even gave it a holiday home in one of my ceramic Christmas house that’s supposed to hold a candle inside. I’d wrap up tiny little things before Christmas, and then I’d unwrap them before I went to sleep at Christmas Eve, making my doll jump up and down in excitement. It was always the baby in my doll games, but it could also be an adult in other games. In every game I played, this doll had a major role. Of all the dolls I owned, I loved this one the most.

I did other things considered illegal. I broke into a building with a good friend of mine. It was a construction site with locked doors. There was no glass in the windows, so my friend managed to help me climb inside. We’d play in the seven-story high building for hours. Looking down the gaps next to the stairwell had my stomach in a knot, so I would go down the stairs on my bottom, much to my friend’s amusement. As a boy, he wasn’t afraid of heights.

I also broke into a patched-up hut, built by a kid in my neighbourhood. With the same friend-in-crime, we crawled through a hinged-flap on the roof. There were no doors or windows. There was nothing of interest inside but soggy wood and spiders, so it wasn’t as much fun as my friend had made it out to be.

At school, a different friend of mine and I were sometimes allowed to go to a separate room to study. I’d have my crayons in my backpack. She’d ask me to fish them out, and together we’d go to the furnace and melt the crayons on it. By the end of the year, the furnace was very colourful – a piece of art! One day, I was on my way outside when I heard the teacher discover our little secret project. My friend was still inside. I was scared, so I didn’t go back to confess that I had taken a part in the vandalism. I doubted the teacher would let me leave if I told her that it was all my friend’s idea. My friend had to spend the rest of the afternoon scrubbing the wax off the furnace. I got away scot-free.

The break-ins, and single act of vandalism were initiated and encouraged by my friends. If it hadn’t been for them, I wouldn’t have done any of it. But the doll-theft was my own little act. My own little spontaneous act to obtain something I wanted, no matter the consequences or the hurt feelings of another human being. An act I made to prove to myself that I wasn’t the blonde, longhaired, pink-coated, quiet little girl everyone saw me as. I wasn’t the goody-goody only child, who never caused any trouble. Not really. I was capable of doing bad things just like anyone else! No one needed to know that I had it in me, as long as I knew it.

My life of crime didn’t last. I doubt there’s a straighter arrow two hundred miles away. I have never been stopped by the traffic police, because there’s never been any reason to. I always give back excessive change – even that extra 5000 kr. bill I once got by mistake. I turn in valuable jewellery I find to the lost-and-found desk – even though that pearl ring was absolutely gorgeous. I don’t cut in line. I don’t lie. I don’t cheat. Not even in cards.

But deep down, I know that I once stole a tiny little item, and that memory is precious to me.

---

Now you have something to distribute to the tabloids if I ever get famous :P

Edited to add: Of course I feel guilty about stealing the little doll (today, even though I didn't feel it as a kid - kids do stupid things). I even wish I could go back and undo it, but that's not possible. Instead I just smile at that single act of rebellion of always being thought of as the good girl.

Creative Writing

2010-08-25T23:04:00.000Z

Okay, I know I said I was only going to blog once a week, but I'm just too lazy to do anything else this late evening. The weather has been unusually good in Iceland this summer, and there was another T-shirt weather today. That kind of heat always makes me a little drowsy.

I'm extremely excited about starting school. I've changed my course selection three times already. I think I made the final change today. I decided that since I'm a mature woman now and know what I want, I wasn't going to follow the cookie-cut way of taking classes. I'm only taking two classes with the rest of the first year students, and then I'm taking English Syntax (an optional class for second or third years) and Creative Writing (!!), which is meant for students in the master's program!

I wrote to the teacher, explaining how much I already know about the subject, that I've written a full-length novel, that I've started the second one, that I've researched a lot about genre, styles, voice, rise and fall of tension, that I've read books on writing. I both emailed her and talked to her face-to-face (while buying course material from her for another course) and she sounded genuinely excited to have me join her class. For Creative Writing, we have; Holes, by Louis Sachar; On Writing, by Stephen King (I've heard so much about this one!); and Stein on Writing, by Sol Stein.

I decided to go my own way in course selections because the courses I've chosen will help me with my writing. It's something I would never in a million years consider doing if I was starting uni for the first time at age 18. I realized that if it's possible (and I'm so glad that it is!), I need to get the things I want out of this education, in the sequence that best fits me and my writing. Yay for being older and wiser!

I'm sure that all the courses will help with my writing, in some ways or another, but English Syntax, Creative Writing, How Language Works I (need it to be able to take the useful part II next term), Foundation Course in English for Foreign Languages: Methods (again, part I of II for next term), and English for Practical Purposes (mostly learning to speak well in English - there are a number of presentations throughout various courses during the studies), are the courses I really need to take right now.

The first-year courses I'm saving for Fall 2011 are: The Talking Animal (No, it's not an MG kid-lit), British History and Culture, and Brit. Lit. I. All exciting, but all things that can wait :)

The courses scheduled for Spring 2011 are very exciting. I'm trying to get into a master's class called "Fantasy". Yeah, that's right. We'll read popular fantasy books and discuss. Dreamy-creamy fantasy course *pats course*. But yeah, it's for master's level, so I'm not sure I can get it. I sent the teacher an email today to see if I can get an exception.

I got my delivery from Amazon yesterday. In it were three self-publish books (hey, I had a gift certificate from mileage points) Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual, Self-Publishing for Dummies, and Become a Real Self-Publisher, by Michael N. Marcus , The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan, and The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. The problem is that I have so much to read before the classes start next week, and I need to revise the first five chapters of my manuscript. I have very little time to read my choice of books! I do like to read in bed, before going to sleep. I might do reviews on these once I've finished - you know, just for the fun of it ;)

Derivative and Series

2010-08-22T19:36:00.000Z

: The Harry Potter Series

As many of you know, I'm writing a trilogy. It was supposed to be one book, but I realized early that I would never fit the whole thing into one book. I'm even wondering if I should write four books instead of three. I'm not so overly hung on advances if I'd get a deal, but the one thing I would absolutely insist on would be to keep the rights of all derivative works.

I'm not sure how common it is to negotiate the derivative rights, but according to Morris Rosenthal, it's very common that authors loose those rights. In the section about Grant of Rights, he says:

"Here the author grants the publisher the right to publish the work, as protected by copyright law. For most authors this means the exclusive worldwide rights, including all derivative works, etc. While it's not in the interests of the author to give up anything without negotiation, the publisher is frequently in a better position than the author to exploit these rights (such as publishing translations), which will result in further payments to the author. If the author believes the work is likely to become a smash TV hit or the next big Christmas toy, the derivative rights could be the plum of the book contract."

Now, I'm not really thinking about Myrkvera action-heroes or stuff like that, but I want to be able to write more books in the fantasy land I created, even if the publisher doesn't want to publish more. I want to use the characters, creatures, and towns. I also want to be able to put deleted scenes and such on my website after the series have been published. The thought of someone owning my creation in a way that denies me the right to play with it without the consent of a publishing house just scares me. Cut the advance, cut the marketing budget, but let me keep the rights to the derivative works.

Okay, I sort of lunged into that, but it wasn't what I was going to write at all! This is what sometimes happens when my fingers touch the magical keyboard. I meant to write about standalones in series. The Lord of the Rings are not standalone books. You have to read the first before you read the second. A month ago I thought my series would end up that way. I mean, I have four teenagers trapped in another world, and they don't get home at the end of first book (I'm not really giving away any spoilers by saying this). How can that be a standalone book?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the whole concept of standalone books in a series. The way I understand it, it's like the Harry Potter books. Harry goes to school in each book (except for the last one), follows the plot thread, completes the task at the end, and then goes back to the Dursley's. They all have a solid ending. You don't get the whole details and hints from the first books if you haven't read them, but you generally get the idea if you start by reading The Goblet of Fire.

Then there are books like the House of Night series, where Zoey goes to a school for fledgling vampires. At the start of every single book after the first, Zoey lists up things that have happened in the past books and it irritates me so much. Possibly because I read the first five books in one sitting. Still, it bugged me. Will I have to do that to make my books standalones? I mean, who picks up a book in a middle of a series and reads it before reading book nr. 1?

Michelle Zink, author of Prophecy of the Sisters, wrote an article for WriteOnCon on the subject. She has the same kind of thoughts I've been having about ending each book. She even talks about Lord of the Rings and how her books had to be a continuation of the book before. Exactly like my musings.

She talks about how some readers send her an angry email because of an unsatisfied ending, even though many readers just take it as it is. She says she's come to terms with it and it doesn't bother her so much anymore. That gives me time to prepare and expect the expected, since she ended the article with this:

"And honestly? If I have to choose between giving a reader an ending that makes them go, “ Wow. Cool,” and one that makes them go, “WHAT?!”, I will take the latter every time. I guess you could say that with books – as in life – I will happily choose the mysterious and winding road over the straight and narrow path. Even if it means the occasional angry email."

When I was at the conference, I kind of held my breath while I was reading that article. I thought she'd preach about how you have to have a satisfying ending to each novel in the series. I had no idea how to have such an ending (don't get me wrong: it has an ending, a good one, but at the very end I leave the reader at a bit of a cliffy - nothing huge, but it left my editor wondering if she'd gotten the whole manuscript or if there was a chapter I'd left out). I was so relieved when I read what she wrote.

How cool is it to be able to learn from published authors?

Anyway, in case the future agent/publisher would prefer the House of Night style, I did weave important details from the first book into the first chapter of the second book (Book of White). It didn't turn out too badly. It was fluent. It made sense. I'm going to keep it until I've made a final decision on how to deal with this matter.

One last note, completely unrelated: I pre-ordered a Kindle reader! I'm so excited, but I have no idea when I'll get it. I also bought a leather case - that way it'll be protected and have a booky feel to it when I flip it open to read.

I decided to purchase a Kindle because it costs so much to order a book from Amazon and have it shipped to Iceland. For a normal paperback costing $7, they'll add roughly $8 dollars for shipping and handling. Then there's 10% import tax, and 7% VAT (they're considering raising it to 25% on books to try to get us out of the recession. Hello! Common sense here. Higher VAT = less buying). That makes one measly paperback a little under 18 dollars! If I buy more books in one shipping, I have to pay extra $4 for each book. Compare that to buying the same book for a final price of 5-6 dollars.

I bought a Kindle for $140 + roughly $8 for shipping and handling. 10% tax + 25% VAT (for electronic products) makes $204 the final price. I'm taking English (BA) at uni and there are a lot of old books to read (all of whom are free for Kindle!). This semester alone I have to read Jane Eyre (already read it - looooved it) and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. That's $16 saved :) There are even more old books to read next year.

It'll pay off in no time ;)

Keep Writing!

2010-08-16T18:36:00.000Z

: Image: www.alertdriving.com/newsletter/wordpress/?p=491

As many of you know, I attended the WriteOnCon last week and learned heaps. There was one point that was made in at least two lectures that gave me a kick in the bum: Keep writing.

There were two articles in particular that spoke of this, Give Yourself Permission, by Molly O'Neill, and Keeping Your Chin up in the Face of Rejection, by Crystal Stranaghan. Crystal encourages writers to write their next piece while waiting for replies from queried agents. Molly encourages writers to give themselves permission to "...do what you need to protect yourself as a writer—to turn off the internet, or to stop reading blogs for awhile, or to avoid Twitter—and enable yourself to do that thing which writers must do—TO WRITE."

Woah! Stop right there! I should not follow the writer community on the internet for a while? That got me thinking. Since I started looking for information on how to submit, etc. I've spent every spare moment on the internet to learn, make connections, and build an online platform. We're talking months! But to stop all that and just write? Of course I can do that, and I should! I'm starting university in two weeks and I feel time slipping away. I suddenly realized that I don't have time to hang out on the internet anymore. I don't have to twitter - I don't want to twitter. I love blogging, but it takes so long to think of a topic, write, link, edit, find a good picture, read, re-read, re-re-read, etc. that it's taking away some serious writing time. I want to build an online presence, but I also need to write. How can I balance both?

I didn't follow the WriteOnCon in exact order. In the former part of the days I did, but since each day ended at night here, I usually missed the last two events. So I finally watched the live workshop with Daisy Whitney about Building an Online Presence yesterday, and there I got my answer. She talks about how you don't have to take part in every social media on the internet. If you don't like to tweet - then don't tweet. If you don't like blogging - then don't blog. So I decided that I'm going to blog and follow a few discussion forums, and then build my Facebook account later, since I really like Facebook.

Then there was the question of how often I should blog. It takes up to an hour to put together a blog and try to make it as perfect as I can. Daisy says that it's okay to blog just once a week, as long as you're consistent. That means blogging the same day of the week, every week. That way, the readers know when to expect material from you. The people following you won't stop reading just because you don't blog as often.

So I've decided to blog once a week, at least until I've finished the first draft of the second book. I haven't decided which day that should be, it depends on my uni-schedule, but this will be my entry for this week.

Today alone, I've managed to ignore the internet (until now, but my brain is fried), and I've finished 7,000 words of the first book. Okay, 3,000 of those were already written, so technically that's 4,000 words today. Not bad! I've also finished outlining the book, but after I outlined it, I went back to writing, and I felt a little constricted because of the outline. It was stifling my creativity. So I'm going to use another advice of Molly's: Give yourself permission to stray from your outline.

So I have the outline, but I feel like I need to fill in the blanks, and I can never come up with something if that's what I feel I need to do to prolong the chapter. That's why I'm going to use the outline as points and just write the story as it wants to be written. That's what I did with Book of Black and it turned out awesome.

What am I doing with Book of Black, now that I've started on Book of White? I found critique partners! While they read the manuscript and comment, I use my time to write the second novel. I finally let go of my fears and sent the manuscript to three different people, four if you count a friend of mine who isn't a writer. Can someone steal it, or parts of it? Sure! But I have various versions of the manuscript printed at home, the first five pages and query up on a forum, and on my blog, and I've sent the manuscript to more than one person, so they'd be able to back me up if something gets stolen.

I realized after WriteOnCon that my manuscript isn't nearly ready. I got an auto-rejection from agent Natalie M. Fischer because the manuscript was 110,000 words long (she was commenting on query entries live at WOC), and it taught me that many of the rejections I've gotten might be auto-rejections because of the word count (and because the query synopsis was terrible! I have a new and shiny one ready for the next agent I query - when the manuscript has been revised). Natalie says YA manuscripts should be 90,000 words, +5,000 at the most. Some manuscripts can be longer, but they need to be exceptional, so it's hard to get past the query stage. My critique partners are going to point out things that can be cut/edited.

There are also other things that need to be fixed: Character depth, dialog, and such. I also need to list the tension points and see if they're working as intended. And then I learned that I probably shouldn't have made a universal query letter for all the agents I queried. I should have personalized each one (more than just write the name of said agency). I can send many at a time, as long as they're personalized and don't feel like form-queries. Apparently form-queries are one sure way of getting form-rejections.

The Perfect Query Formula

2010-08-11T09:22:00.000Z

: Jodi Meadows, Author of The Newsoul Trilogy

As many of you know, I'm attending WriteOnCon for the next two days, an online conference for free, packed with lectures, prizes, and critiques. I read Jodi Meadows advice on query writing, and I have to say that most useful material on query writing I've ever seen.

Here is the copied formula:

KNOWING WHAT TO INCLUDE:

If you don’t already know how to format a query letter, get thee to Google. This post isn’t about what font you use. This post is about how to show the extreme awesomeness of your story.

Beginning a query description can be really intimidating! To get started, answer the following questions:

1. Who is the protagonist and what is their goal? (Motivation.)

2. What is keeping the protag from achieving that goal? (Conflict.)

3. How will the protagonist overcome this problem? (Plot.)

4. What happens if the protagonist fails/what choice does the protagonist have to make? (Stakes, and why the reader should care.)

I can’t give you these answers, but I can help you learn how to turn them into a clear, kick-butt query.

So simple, right? You can read the rest of the post here. She also talks about filling in the blanks, what should be in every sentence of the first paragraph, the story world/conflict in second, and choices and more implications in the third.

My latest query, with the aid of WriteOnCon critiques, is not far off. The first paragraph is a little different, though, and I'll look into that. There's also lots more interesting things she reveals about the art of writing query letters.

Amazing Conference!

2010-08-10T14:32:00.000Z

WriteOnCon is just amazing! We managed to crash the server, so it's down for the moment, but I've been smiling all day while reading/watching lectures, meeting people and doing and receiving critiques. I may have possibly found a second person to critique my manuscript, and I'm going to badger a third, too. I'm also taking notes, although the content will probably be up after the conference, but I like having my own notes. There are all sorts of professionals taking part in this, agents, editors, illustrators, published authors. There's a new lecture every hour, and in between I have fun critiquing.

And best of all? It's free! And I can wear my pajamas, although I'm not wearing them now since I had to go out earlier, but I could! If online conferences are this cool, I can't imagine what the real thing is like.

This is the first time this is held, but they're going to do it every year. It's amazing what a few aspiring authors can do when they get together. And I love how the industry people are eager to participate - they can't be getting paid for it since the girls hosting the conference aren't charging. The contest awards are amazing, and I'm getting great critiques on my stuff. Who knows, maybe some professional will critique as well.

Sorry for the gushing, I swear I'm not getting anything free out of it, it's just me being excited. I just didn't realize this was going to be so much fun. I even got my husband to take the kids out after kindergarten so that I can focus on this.

Book of Black

2010-08-08T12:47:00.000Z

: Image by Cindy Eric for the BewitchedMind.net site

I'm finally revealing the title of my book: Book of Black. I've named the series: The Son of Black, but I'm still wondering if I should change that. Maybe The Eva Jones Series(Protagonist), The Ruby Series (hard for me to pronounce the American r, so maybe not), The Mira Fir Series (name of the land), The Myrkvera Series (Featuring race in the book)...

The second book is Book of White and the third book is Book of Grey. I think I might write more books in this story world, but they'd be a different series.

I've also decided to post the first scene of the book. I've already done this in the WriteOnCon conference for critique. Feel free to critique here if you want to. Be as brutal as you like - I can take it.

Book of Black - Chapter 1

“Stand still, Eva!” Laura fussed, trying to pin my brown hair up in an elegant way after tying a yucky mustard-colored satin scarf around my neck. She held three bobby pins between her lips while she talked. “I still can’t believe you’re going on a date with Richard Hark. Did you see the looks on the McKinney’ faces when I told them? And I swear Sarah Forester was jealous. Poor thing. Her ugly daughter will never get a decent date.”

“It’s not a date, Laura, and Jennifer isn’t ugly,” I said and puffed out a breath when she finally stepped back to look at my silly new outfit. The khakis had a zipper on the side and the hips were much too wide, the ketchup colored shirt, and the shiny black shoes with the buckles on the sides were already hurting my heels. To top it off, the bobby pins were pushing painfully against my skull.

“Nonsense. I have never seen worse skin condition, and she’s much too tall and bony to attract men. Sixteen year old girls should be petite, and have curves, like you. That’s much more feminine.” She removed the bobby pins from her mouth and I cringed when she stuck one of them in my hair. “And even if you’re just going to Highfield Park on a school assignment, it could still be a date,” she continued. “I’m sure he would have made more effort to do the project in town if he really didn’t want you at Highfield Manor.”

I shook my head and cast my eyes at the ceiling.

“Sarah Forester’s daughter can’t get a single date while my foster daughter got the date of the year. Just think! In a couple of years you’ll live at his mansion as Mrs. Hark, with your children, and I can have tea with his aunt.”

I huffed and slipped past her, into the living room.

Stephen and Laura Smith’s eleven-year-old real daughter, Ella, had been shouting for her mother’s attention all evening. For once, Laura didn’t give in to her demands; she was too busy fussing over her new favorite foster daughter.

Stephen sat in his recliner. Laura had forced him to wear his finest suit and tie, instead of his usual tank top and boxers. He sighed and turned up the ESPN as I passed him.

“Ohmygod, I still can’t believe you’re getting outa here with dreamy-creamy Richard,” Lucy gushed and grabbed my shoulders. She smelled of cigarettes and I wrinkled my nose at the stench. Her shaved head had Laura in a fit only a week ago. “God, Eva, if you and he start dating for real, I’ll have to kill you.”

“We won’t,” I half growled. Stephen’s football game was so loud that it hurt my ears. “I don’t even like him, so just leave it.”

“He’s here!” Anna, the self-appointed lookout, called from the hallway.

Lucy’s heavy boots thumped loudly as she ran across to the living room window and pulled the curtains wide apart to see.

The news of Richard’s arrival suddenly made it hard to breathe. I rummaged through the shopping bag and grabbed my toothbrush before stumbling through the living room and into the bedroom. Ella stuck her tongue out at me as I passed, but I ignored her. I shoved the toothbrush into the bulging new bag, with all my new non-secondhand clothes, hauled it off my bed, and hurried into the hallway.

I pushed my way through the crowd by the door and knocked Ella, who was now too curious to keep up her attention seeking, to the wall.

“Your school bag!” Lucy called from behind.

I turned and retrieved my brand-new, weighty school bag, nearly tripping over Anna.

“Hey, relax girl!” Anna said and helped me stand up straight, which was uncharacteristic for her. The two other foster daughters in the house, Lucy and Anna, were loud, rowdy and rude. Laura made no attempt to discipline them and Stephen simply didn’t care.

“Eva!” Laura urged with her nasal New Jersey accent, fidgeting by the door in her new outfit. It was, supposedly, a very fancy two-piece set, but I thought it made her look twenty years older. Of course, most of the women Laura dreamed of socializing with were at least twenty years older. Elizabeth Hark, Richard’s aunt and guardian, was the head of the charity committee that Laura had joined and Laura was always eager to impress her.

I pushed onwards and finally reached the door. My throat felt swollen. I was getting lightheaded from the stuffy air and the excitement and noise around me filled my head.

“Wait,” Laura said, putting a hand out in front of her. “It would be more appropriate to let him knock first. You should be ready, but not too ready.”

Yeah, right. She would have encouraged me to have sex with him if she wasn’t afraid of public opinion on teen pregnancy.

Then Laura looked over the crowd in the hallway. “Everybody, go into the living room!” she commanded and dusted everyone away with her fingertips.

I stood alone in the hallway when the knock came. I swallowed loudly and a drop of sweat ran from my neck and under my collar. Not good.

Laura hurried past me to open the door, bumping into me on the way so hard that I dropped my bags. One of them landed on my toes. “Welcome, Mr. Hark,” she said formally, bending one knee behind the other in a deep bow.

I groaned and pushed the throbbing toe against the calf of my other foot.

“Thank you,” Richard said with his British accent, flashing his irresistible smile. He wore the usual black pants and white shirt. He looked past Laura and caught sight of me. I quickly turned and put on my brand-new coat to hide my warm cheeks.

“Would you like to come in for some tea and biscuits?” Laura asked, her voice unnaturally drawled. I was tempted to mention that Laura never drank tea, only coffee in bucket-loads.

Richard looked at me again with his perfect, amber, almond-shaped eyes. I shook my head a little. He smiled and his white teeth and flaxen hair contrasted perfectly with his tanned skin. I actually sighed out loud and could have kicked myself.

“Thank you for the offer, Mrs. Smith,” he said. Laura gasped at the sound of her surname. “But we’re in a bit of a hurry. It’s a long drive from Bernardsville. Perhaps another time?”

Another time? Laura was going to take that literally and tell all of her friends that her foster daughter was having a second date with Mr. Hark. But, for now, she took it with a broad smile and finally stepped out of the way. Before I could reach for my bags, Richard had already stepped in and picked them up for me.

“Yours?” he asked, lifting the bags slightly. He was so tall that I had to look up to see his face.

“Yes,” I said in my tongue-tied stupor. A grin slipped onto my disobedient lips.

He smiled back and led the way outside. As he passed Laura, she put a hand over her heart and sighed.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before following.

As soon as I stepped on the front porch, I heard a rustling behind me. I turned and saw them, all of them, pushing each other in the doorway to get a better view. Even Stephen stuck his head out from the living room to get a look.

After giving my foster family the evil eye, I turned to follow Richard but stopped yet again at the sight of the car. It was a black limousine with silver hubcaps and trim. Across the road I saw the Foresters glancing from behind their curtain, Jennifer’s face covered in green face mask, and Cliff McKinney stood in his driveway with his mouth hanging open.

“A bit over the top, I know,” Richard said as he put the bags into the trunk. “But there are four of us, a driver and a chaperone, so it’s either the train or this. The train doesn’t take us the whole way.”

“Chaperone?”

“Aunt Elizabeth insisted,” he said, as if that would explain everything.

He opened the door for me and I awkwardly made my way into the car. I had only seen the inside of a limousine in movies. As soon as I had looked over the interior (dark wood with silver trim and black seats), my eyes stopped abruptly at the sight of Ian Murphy, spread over the length of one seat, flipping through some game cards, and at the sight of Meg, Richard’s twin sister, quickly turning her head to watch the horrible scene by the Smiths’s doorway, her long, flaxen hair whipping at the movement.

My heart stopped. This was the first time vicious and evil Meg would notice me, and what a way to be noticed. This was too good for her to ignore. Jennifer Forester, the closest thing I had to a friend, was still suffering from Meg’s latest sport. Meg had somehow broken into her locker and filled it with cotton and cheap skin care bottles. The hallway was full of kids when Jennifer opened it and the stuff came pouring out. She couldn’t connect it to Meg, but it was obvious by the evil smirk on Meg’s face that she’d done it. I could almost swear that Jennifer’s face was perma-blushed after that.

I briefly wondered what kind of bullying Meg would come up with for me. A pang of anxiety punched my stomach as my invisibility slipped away. I felt sick.

“Is that your family?” Meg asked, a hint of malice in her voice. Her British accent was more Americanized than Richard’s. She wore tailored blue jeans and a lined pink hoodie, an outfit Ella would die for.

“Foster family,” I answered quietly. I exhaled slowly and covered my face with my hands after I securely buckled myself into the seat. My shaky hands relaxed a little but were replaced by a wave of dizziness when I felt Richard sit beside me.

I risked a glance at him. His eyes swept over the interior of the car, careful not to look outside the window.

I noticed a small woman sitting primly on Richard’s other side. I hadn’t noticed her when I came in. She wore a pressed black suit, and her dark hair was pulled back in a bun. I assumed that was the chaperon.

I cleared my throat and looked back at Richard. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered weakly and fidgeted with my sleeve.

“It’s all right,” Richard said kindly, smiling down at me.

The car finally started moving. I slowly pulled off the uncomfortable, ugly scarf that pressed against my throat and made it hard for me to breathe. Once the scarf was gone, however, I discovered that breathing normally became no less of a challenge.

“I thought we might start on the project now,” Richard said. He scanned my face for a response. When I managed to give him a forced smile, he picked up his laptop from a drawer underneath the seat. “We won’t have all day tomorrow; Aunt Elizabeth wants me to meet friends of hers.”

“All right,” I blurted.

Richard looked down at me, and the heat in my cheeks spread through my body. “Do I make you uncomfortable, Eva?” he asked.

“I’m just embarrassed about my foster family,” I said after a little silence. “Laura, my foster mom, is over the top sometimes.”

“Ah,” Richard said. “Isn’t that the norm, though?” His beautiful lips pulled up at the corners as he arched an eyebrow.

“The norm?” I asked, not following him at all. No other family was like the Smiths, certainly no family that Richard had met.

“Yes, whenever I take a girl out on a date, their families go out of their way to make me feel welcome.”

“Perhaps,” I said slowly, forcing sudden pangs of jealousy out of my heart. “But we’re not going out on a date.”

“No, we’re not,” he chuckled and smiled. It wasn’t a sort of offensive, as-if chuckle, it was a conversational chuckle. I relaxed a bit.

Ian sat up in his seat and looked at Meg, his eyes wide in his bright face. “Should we do that, too, Meg?”

“Date?” Meg asked, looking at Ian as if he was something disgusting stuck under her nice designer sneakers.

“Eh, I mean work on the project,” Ian said, blushing heavy crimson. Ian was one of those unfortunate boys who was constantly bullied at school. He wore his weird combination of polo shirt and baggy pants with countless pockets. He also wore his usual water-combed-to-the-side hairdo. He was only fourteen, but he was too smart for his age and shared classes with my year.

“No,” Meg answered curtly and turned up the volume of the music video playing on TV. The bass thumped rhythmically against my back.

“Megan, please,” Richard said.

Meg sighed heavily before turning the music down a little, giving her brother an “are-you-satisfied” kind of look.

Richard thinned his lips and focused back on the computer.

To compare Richard and Meg with me would be like comparing roses with weeds. I looked as normal as Richard and Meg looked paranormal. My dull, dark brown hair reached just past my shoulders; my skin was pale from a lack of sun; my eyes were a boring shade of blue and I was much too short to make anything I wore look nice. Not pretty, not ugly, just normal.

The positive thing about being so normal was that I didn’t stand out in any way. I blended in with the crowd and flew under Meg’s radar, so she hadn’t given me a hard time in the past.

The not-so-positive thing about being so normal was that I flew right under Richard’s radar as well. Before today, he hadn’t even known my name.

I unzipped my schoolbag to retrieve one of the history books I’d found at the library. As I did, a piece of paper flew out and landed on the floor. On the note were scattered unfamiliar things such as Eva loves Richard and Eva Jones-Hark, colorful hearts and flowers. To my horror, I saw Meg staring at it. I quickly snatched up the note and shoved it back into my schoolbag, feeling the edges of it bend in the process. Fortunately, Richard was ferociously typing and watching the screen, so I let myself hope that he hadn’t seen it.

Meg didn’t say anything, but she kept giving me evil little smirks during the whole trip while I tried to concentrate on the project. Of course, I wasn’t any help at all since I kept waiting for Meg to say something about the stupid note. By the end of the drive, I was sick with nerves.

WriteOnCon

2010-08-07T19:10:00.000Z

Okay, I'm putting my musings about self-publishing on ice for a bit. Yes, I'll study it, but I want to see if I can get trade-published first.

I joined WriteOnCon yesterday. I signed up on the forum, and I'm now an attendee at the free online conference on August 10-12th 2010. There are over 1400 people "attending", and I'll be able to post my query letter, first five pages, and first 250 words, first thing Monday morning. Then I'll possibly get critiques from fellow writers, and possibly publishers/agents/other trade people too. I already have some critiques on my practice critique of first five pages (you need to register on the forum to see it).

I'm also having fun writing critiques for others. I already wrote four yesterday and another four today. I leave the query critiques alone for now, because I don't feel too comfortable advising people on that since I'm not a 100% comfortable with query letter writing. I think the conference will be exciting. I can post questions for professionals, there will be rewards, and I'll meet other writers, and maybe make friendships or find critique buddies there.

I'll also join The Muse Online Writers Conference in October. That's also free, but it lasts a whole week. They have workshops that I'd like to check out. More on that later.