Monday Musings: Location, location, location

Have you ever gone somewhere you’ve been before, but seen it in a completely different way?  This happened with me this weekend.  We went to one of the prettiest spots in Orlando, Leu Gardens and, while I’d been there before (in fact Evie’s gardens are based on the Rose Garden there--see below pic), I saw it in a completely different way.

It was not just a pretty place with beautiful flowers and lakes, it was the setting for a historical novel that’s been sitting in the back of mind for a while.

I could see the “ghosts” of my characters walking through the house that’s on the property.  While the tour guide was spouting historical facts of the house, I was seeing my characters walking through it, stopping to point out several things they thought to be important, and telling me their story.

Then while I was walking over the pathways of the “gardens,” I saw my post-apocalyptic surface world.  Gavin’s world.  Or at least part of it.  It wasn’t the clean, pretty, organized gardens that were really there.  My mind was showing me what it could look like after 50-60 years of neglect.

My favorite was the clock. While it wasn’t in bloom for this trip, can you imagine seeing that in some near future and trying to figure out why it was there? 

It’s really put me in Gavin’s head and I’ll be able to use that when I go back in for revisions.

I can’t wait to go back and do more “research” and see what my mind shows me next.

Dystopian August

I'm excited to announce that Dystopian August is here!  Fellow apocalypsie, Lenore Appelhans, has devoted an entire month to one of my favorite genres, not to mention the one I write in, dystopian. 

She's going to have over 25 dystopian book reviews, interviews with over 20 dystopian authors debuting in 2012 (including one from yours truly), and giveaways, guest posts, and more.

Click here for more information.  Or on the button in my sidebar ==>

The fun has already started with a book reviews of Blood Red Road by Moira Young and The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan.  And interview with killer unicorn writer Diana Peterfreund and an exclusive peek of her dystopian, Darkness Shows the Stars.  What are you waiting for, head on over!

Monday Musings: Author photos

So, while I wait for my editor to read over my latest revisions to RENEGADE, I’ve been putting a lot of thought into other things.  Other things being my website and author photos.

I’ve pretty much decided on the designer for the website, so that’s out of my hands until I get my cover, so she can design an awesome site that matches it.  Which leaves my author photo. 

And I think I’ve chosen the photographer, but that leaves so many other things to think about.  Location, wardrobe, style.  It makes my brain hurt.  LOL.  Not to mention all the things I DON’T know about taking professional photos.

My husband says to be myself, which is sound advice, but then leaves me taking the picture in torn jeans or yoga pants and a ratty t-shirt, with my hair in braids, and no make-up.  Another friend said maybe I should think about dressing up in a fancy dress and all the things that go along with it, like my MC does throughout her story.  Not a bad idea either, but then it’s not really “me” at all. 

So that leaves me with my best bet, which is somewhere in the middle.  And I have no idea where that is.  I want it to be perfect.  I want to look beautiful, but I have no idea how to make that happen.  And a photographer can only do so much.  :P

So, peeps, what say you?  What have you done for yours, if you’re an author? Or what do you like to see in author photos?

Friday News

So this week has been very strange!  I've been down and out with a sinus infection turned ear infection turned ruptured ear drum.  Yep, you read that right.  Somehow during the night, I had so much fluid build up behind my ear drum that it ruptured it.  Not exactly comfortable.  It's also made it difficult to do anything but lay down because my head spins every time I move.  It's kinda like when you were a kid and spun around in circles with your arms out, then fell to the ground and watched the clouds spin.


So, that started off my week, but then I started getting good news!  I found out that one of my newest crit partners has gotten herself an agent!   Isn't that awesome news!  Please go over there and congratulate her.  She really does deserve it.  :)

I also got more good news that I can't talk about quite yet, but as soon as I can, I'll post it.

I've also gotten the go ahead from my editor (I don't think saying that will ever get old.  LOL.)  to start working on Book 2 of the Elysium Chronicles, tentatively titled REBEL.  So as soon as I can spend more than 5 minutes at the computer, I'll start writing it.  So excited to dive back into this world.

However, the best news I've gotten this week, I stumbled upon purely accidentally.  I was looking up something about RT and this post showed up.  Go on and read the whole thing, but pay particular attention to the second paragraph.  Really, go on, I'll wait right here.  (*Smiles like an idiot*)

Did you read it?  Isn't that freakin' awesome!  If you didn't read it, here's the short of it. I ( or more specifically RENEGADE) am on the RT book reviews website and they want to read RENEGADE!

Here's what they said:

Venturing even further into creepy territory is Renegade by Jessica Souders. Her tale is set in an underwater Utopia where a female assassin realizes that she does not control her own mind or body, and that her memories have been altered. The publication date has not yet been announced, but we are anxious to get our hands on this novel for several reasons, not the least of which is to find out why a utopia needs assassins!

This makes me all sorts of happy. 

So...what good news do you have to share? 

Waiting on Wednesday

So I decided to participate in a meme!  I know, I know.  I'm a little late to the party. LOL.  But better late than never.  Anyway, I'm always eagerly awaiting some book, so I thought this was a great one to be a part of.  So, here's the deets:

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My selection for this week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: Fellow Apocalypise Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky!

Blurb from author's website and goodreads:

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—nicknamed The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms eventually will. In this dystopia, even the very air she breathes could kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild, dangerous—a savage. He’s also her only hope.

Perry needs Aria, too. She alone holds the key to his redemption. And their unlikely alliance will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Monday Musings: What I think about crits.

I’ve been neglectful of my little blog lately.  :(  I’m so sorry, guys. I hope to keep it up from here on out, but I don’t think I’ll be doing daily posts.  I’ll try to blog at least twice a week, but they’ll be probably be pretty random on the actual days I post during the week. 

I wanted to talk today about crits and expectations with those crits. I’ve been doing (receiving and giving) them since I started writing and I spend a lot of time on them.  I want the person I’m criting to not only have a great MS, but to learn something in the process. Something they can take with them on their next round of edits and future manuscripts.  Granted I know, especially with beginning writers, that I can’t teach them everything I know (probably not even most) in just one crit, but I do what I can.

I’m also sure that most people who crit are pretty much the same.  We’re not out to make ourselves feel better by tearing your (using the all encompassing you and this is pointing at no one in particular) stuff apart.   We’re not trying to chase you away from writing so we can take your spot.  And we’re definitely not jealous (in the bad way) of you.  We want to help you get better.  We want to help you find that agent or editor and when it is we can say with pride that we’re proud of you and excited for you and that we knew you when.  LOL. 

I’ve also been on the other side where even the tiniest constructive criticism felt like an arrow to the soul.  Where it’s sometimes hard to see past all the red to see the intention behind why a critter has said something.  But, in order to keep going--to keep improving—we need to get passed that.  We need to learn that we are not our writing. The critter isn’t attacking us personally; they’re not even attacking our manuscript.  They’re trying to help us improve. 

Even if all you see is criticism on the page and the critter hasn’t taken the time to tell you what they’ve liked, it’s not because they want to make you feel bad. Take some time to let it sit. A few days, maybe even weeks before you go back and re-read the crit. Try looking at the things they didn’t say anything about.  They more than likely liked the parts that aren’t marked up, and there’s probably more white than red, even if it doesn’t appear so.  Take a look at what they’ve said didn’t work for them.  Then ask yourself these questions.  Do you agree?  Why or why not?  Have others said the same?  Even if you don’t want to change it, what would you do to fix it and would it make the story better? 

Another problem I’ve seen is people taking everyone’s advice.  Someone says do this and they do it, but don’t really think about whether or not they agree.  Whether it works for the story or not.   Whether or not it really should be changed.

Really think about your crits.  People put a lot of time into critting it and you should take as much, if not more, time working with the notes.

One last thing I want to add is make sure the person (or people) you are working with are the right ones for you and your story. Some people crit very harshly, and are very Simon Cowell-ish.  Some just say they love your work and move on.  Personally, I’m a little in-between and that’s how I want to be critted.  And that’s something you have to think about when working with someone new.  How do they crit?  Can you live with it?  Can you handle it? 

There was a person who was doing crits a month or two back as part of their book deal news (UGH! I can’t remember who it was.  If you all remember, please let me know so I can link to it.  Thx.) and I LOVED how they handled this problem.  They set levels for people to choose from.  It was something like you were a peach if you had a relatively thin skin and wanted a gentle critique.  An apple if you can handle a fairly comprehensive crit, but can still be bruised. And a coconut for people who can take a pretty tough critique.  I think all critters should probably ask this before they do critiques and if you are getting a crit and the critter doesn’t ask what style you are, tell them. That way both of you can back off if you don’t think you can work together. 

It’s also probably not a good idea to work with someone who doesn’t write in your genre.  Certain things that aren’t okay in one genre are what make another work and vice versa.  True that certain “rules” carry out through all genres, like grammar and spelling. Punctuation.  However, things like sentence structure and tone, even POV can be completely different.  Especially between adult (where sentences are usually full and complete and the preferred POV is Third) and Young adult (where you can get away with more sentence fragments and first POV is more prevalent.)

Anyway, that’s just my $.02.  Feel free to salt to taste and ignore any advice you don’t agree with.  :D 

BTW, what the heck is up with blogger? Take a few weeks off and everything has changed.  o.O

Writer's Wednesday: Book Review -- Breath Of Angel

Before I get on with the review, I wanted to let you know I'm actually in two other places this morning as well.  The first place is at the Brave New Words blog, which is the blog for the 2012 science fiction YA debuts.  I'm blogging about what other media inspires me to write.  

And I'm at Adventures in Children's Publishing with my awesome agent, talking about my path to publication.   

Please stop by both places and say hi!             

And now onto the review.                                     

Breath of Angel by Karyn Henley

Publisher: Waterbrook Press (June 21, 2011

Paperback: 256 pages

Reading Level: Young Adult

Rating: 4 of 5 feathers

Source: Author’s Publicist

Melaia, a young priestess, witnesses the gruesome murder of an emaciated stranger in the temple courtyard. Just after she discovers wings on the stranger, the murderer enters the temple, and what Melaia has known only through song and story suddenly takes on flesh. Angels and shape-shifters were myths and stories . . . until now.

Melaia finds herself in the middle of a blood feud between two immortal brothers who destroyed the stairway to heaven, stranding angels in the earthly realm.  When the feud turns violent and Melaia becomes a target, she finds refuge with a band of wandering angels attempting to restore the stairway. But the restoration is impossible without the repayment of an ancient debt, the “breath of angel, blood of man,” a payment that involves Melaia’s heart, soul, and destiny. 

*Disclaimer: This book was not something I would have picked for myself.  It’s high fantasy and no matter how hard I’ve tried, I can never get into these types of books.  Therefore, this review is based on the quality of book and whether or not I thought someone who DOES read this genre would enjoy it. 

REVIEW:  This is another angel story in the deluge that’s hitting the market ( : P ), but it’s different as it’s not set in modern times.  It takes place in a high fantasy medieval-type world. And while it’s the typical good vs evil storyline that’s common with angel books, it’s different in the fact that it’s not demons Melaia is “fighting” against.  It’s two brothers who destroyed the stairway to heaven, which caused all the earthbound angels and the souls of people who’ve died to be trapped on Earth.

It starts with a stranger stumbling into a temple where the MC, Melaia, is a priestess training to be high priestess, but is a chantress now.  She’s also a death-prophet, meaning she can see the spirit of someone dying trying to escape.  She has a harp that she uses to help those who are dying to either pass on calmly or to stop them from dying. 

Anyway, the man stumbles into the temple only to be attacked by a giant hawk and killed.

The hawk turns into a man and demands that Melaia tell the story of the two brothers and the stairway to heaven.

I don’t want to go to far into the story, and give too much away, but this was an enjoyable read, even for me, someone who doesn’t like high fantasy. 

I did feel it dragged a bit and I found it hard to get into (this was not due to the story itself, but more to the point that I’ve found all high-fantasy dragging and hard to get into), but, once in the story, I wanted to know what was going to happen next and was driven to keep reading. 

Characters:  Melaia is a very enjoyable and strong heroine.  I loved finding out who she really was and going on her adventures with her.  There were times, however, that I felt she was too naïve for her own good.  Granted, considering she’d been stuck inside a temple the whole of her life, this isn’t very surprising. And while I would have liked to have seen more of her obvious intelligence play a role with who she trusted and/or didn’t trust, I don’t suppose the story would have been the same.  ; )

The other characters are just as well rounded and fascinating as Melaia.  Especially Trevin, who I could never quite figure out.

I think my favorite part of the entire story was actually learning about the angelology.  It was utterly fascinating and I couldn't get enough.

Cover:  I really liked the cover, but I honestly feel a bit deceived by it.  It isn’t the typical cover I’ve come to expect from high fantasy.  However, knowing that, I have to give the marketing department kudos for coming up with a package that made me want to read it, where I probably would have passed.

All in all, I enjoyed reading this story and I’m glad I was able to put my prejudices against high fantasy away long enough to read it.  It makes an excellent addition to my angel book collection.

Find Karyn Henley

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Purchase Breath of Angel

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Born Wicked cover release

Fellow Apocalypsie, Jessica Spotswood, has just revealed her brand spankin' new (and GORGEOUS) cover for her debut book, BORN WICKED. 

Isn't it pretty?! 


She's also giving away some ARCs over there, so go check out her cover in all it's cover goodness and comment to win some books! 

Happy Book Birthday

Congratulations to Myra McEntire on the release of HOURGLASS!  I'm so excited to read this book! It's been on my TBR list since I saw the cover (I missed her deal announcement, darn it. :( ).


In case you haven't heard of it, here's the blurb:

One hour to rewrite the past . . . 

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there; swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back. 

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past. 

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened? 

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

Interested in reading?  You know you are.  You can purchase it at amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, or book depository.  

To find out more about the Myra (or to congratulate her), visit her on her website, twitter, or the book's facebook page.

Oops!

So, I was going to post a contest today, but I decided (at the last minute, of course) to do something COMPLETELY different.

I know, I know. We all love books, so it would have been just fine, but I think I can do better, so I'm going to try.  :D

Of course, I'll be giving away books, too.  So stay tuned!  Hopefully, I'll have more of an idea of what's being offered by the end of this week. 

In the meantime, enjoy the cute kitty pic.  :D