I'M PREGNANT (with a book)! or How book publishing is like expecting a baby.

Okay, so I was teasing a few weeks back on twitter about how me waiting for my book to be out on shelves was like being pregnant.  And I kept coming up with these different comparisions.  Then I started getting comparasions from former L & D nurse and fab crit partner Liz Czukas, and we both decided that I should totally do a blogpost detailing the entire process from writing the draft to book birthday.  So here it is.  I hope you enjoy it, or a least giggle a little.

Querying is like on-line dating.  You put up your best photo and make yourself sound 100 times better than you really are out there—that would be the query letter, minus the photo (don’t send photos of yourselves to agents, peeps.  That’s all kinds of creepy. :P).

You get a nibble and go on that first date.  That’s a partial request.  Sometimes the date is a total failure and you never want to see each other again.  That’s a rejection.  You go back and forth with updating your profile page and going out on first dates.  Of course, that would be revising that query and manuscript until it shines and looks NOTHING like it did in the beginning.

FINALLY you meet someone who’s pretty awesome and you go on more dates and maybe even become exclusive  (Whee!).  That’s a full request!  Yay! (Keep in mind while some agents do ask for exclusives, it is not a good idea for an author to grant it—IMO.  In dating, yeah, might want to consider that exclusive. :P) Sometimes, again, you realize that the person you’re with just isn’t right for you and you break up.  There’s that rejection again.  (BOO!)

But then, the unexpected but completely awesomest thing happens.  He/She asks you to marry him/her!  OMG!  That is, of course, the offer.  You accept and say I do (There’s no engagement period here folks. We’re talking running straight to the courthouse and getting married before that boy/girl can change their mind. :P).  That’s signing the contract.  

Now you get to have fun (I’m not going into details about what I mean here, I’m pretty sure every one can figure this part out by themselves.*Boom, chicka wow wow*)  and you go out on submission.

After possibly a few negative pregnancy tests, you finally get an offer from an editor and accept.  That’s TOTALLY the postive and doctor confirmed pregnancy test. 

Then is the hard work, you revise, revise, and revise.  That’s all those monthly visits to the OB. 

Then, OMG, you get a COVER!  Wow!  That’s the ultrasound.  And like any proud parent you show it off to anyone you can trap for 5 seconds.  All during this time, people are asking when you’re due, and how much longer.  And are you excited? What’s it’s name? 

Then, debut day/labor. Even though you think you’ve been ready for months, you wonder if you haven’t just lost your mind.  You panic and tell people you’ve changed your mind. You don’t really want to be a mom (author) any more, but it’s too late, because before you know you’ve got a beautiful bouncing baby (book) in your hot little hands and you’ve forgotten how much hard work it took you to get there and you can’t wait to do it all again.  Because the book (baby) is perfect, and you love it so much!

Okay, I’m guessing on some of these, because I haven’t gotten that far with my book yet.  I’m still happily at the OB visits and waiting for the happy day I’ll get my sonogram.  LOL.  HOWEVER, I’ve had 2 babies, so I’m pretty sure I know what happens on that side. LOL. 

Waiting on Wednesday: The Other LIfe

Goodness Everyone, I'm doing it again and forgetting my little blog.  I promise to start posting more.  Okay, just so you know, I'm over at the BNW blog today talking about the education system in RENEGADE.  It's short, but hopefully sweet, so won't you please stop on by over there?  Thanks.

Also, don't forget that the Oasis is back in town and we have some nifty stuff over there, including once-a-month crits by all us Oasis ladies, including the new (and totally fab.) Larissa Hardesty.

Okay, okay, here's my WoW post.

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:  THE OTHER LIFE by fellow apocalypsie Susanne Winnacker.

What interested me about this was the awesome cover (remember I told you before I'm shallow when it comes to books :P), but the description had me from the first paragraph and I knew instantly it was a book I'm going to HAVE to get the first day it's out.

Here's the deets from her website and don't forget to add it on goodreads.

Sherry and her family have lived sealed in a bunker in the garden since things went wrong up above. Her grandfather has been in the freezer for the last three months, her parents are at each other’s throats and two minutes ago they ran out of food.

Sherry and her father leave the safety of the bunker and find a devastated and empty LA, smashed to pieces by bombs and haunted by ‘Weepers’ - rabid humans infected with a weaponized rabies virus.

While searching for food in a supermarket, Sherry’s father disappears and Sherry is saved by Joshua, a boy-hunter. He takes her to Safe-haven, a tumble-down vineyard in the hills outside LA, where a handful of other survivors are picking up the pieces of their ‘other lives’. As she falls in love for the first time, Sherry must save her father, stay alive and keep Joshua safe when his desire for vengeance threatens them all.

So...what's your WoW?


 

Tor Tuesday: Anna Dressed in Blood Winner Announced

Hey all!  Sorry I'm a little late this morning with the results. I've been buried under a mountain of laundry and have only just now dug myself out.  :P

And now the results you all have been waiting for.  The winner of ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD is:

                                                   
                                                     DONNAS!


Congratulations!  Email me at j.souders (at) jasouders (dot) com.  Remember you only have 48 hours to claim your prize before I pick another winner.

Again congratulations.

Waiting on Wednesday: Incarnate

Don't forget to enter my ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD giveaway.

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: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows.

There's a lot of talk about ferrets on her website, so that made me curious, then I saw her GORGEOUS cover and that made it a want, then I "met" Jodi through the apocalypsies and she is so awesome that her book is now a must-have. 

Um...ahem...Of course, the book sounds great, too.  :P

Here's the deets from her website and don't forget to add it on goodreads.

NEWSOUL

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL

Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART

Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

So...what's your WoW?

Tor Tuesday: Anna Dressed In Blood Contest

Hi all! I've decided to start something new today.  I'm calling it Tor Tuesday.  It's something that's been simmering in my brain and I finally decided to go for it.  Once a month or so (maybe more depending one when I feel like it :P) I'm going to feature a Tor book I've read and loved (YA or otherwise).  Sometimes there'll be contests--like today--other times author interviews, book spotlights, etc, depending on what I decide to cook up.


Since today is the release day for Kendare Blake's ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD, I'm giving away a copy to one commenter.  All you have to do is comment below and tell me what you're most afraid of (if you can't see the comment box, click on the post title and it'll bring you to the post by itself.  You SHOULD be able to see it then.  If you're STILL having problems, email me and I'll add you manually to the list).

The contest will be open until NEXT Tuesday (Sept 5th at midnight), and the winner will be announced that morning around 10am.

ANNA will be purchased through the book depository, so if they ship to your country you may enter.

To win you must be a blog follower and if you're under 18, you'll need to have parental permission to give me your mailing address.  Also, when I announce, you'll have 48 hours to email me before I find another winner, so make sure to check back next Tuesday.

Here's some information about ANNA from Kendare's website if you don't already know it.

Anna Dressed in Blood

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

Kendare's Bio from her website

Kendare Blake is an import from South Korea who was raised in the United States by caucasian parents. You know, that old chestnut. She received a Bachelor's degree in Business from Ithaca College and a Master's degree in Writing from Middlesex University in London. She brakes for animals, the largest of which was a deer, which sadly didn't make it, and the smallest of which was a mouse, which did, but it took forever. Amongst her likes are Greek Mythology, rare red meat and veganism. She also enjoys girls who can think with the boys like Ayn Rand, and boys who scare the morality into people, like Bret Easton Ellis.

Waiting on Wednesday: Article 5

Hey all,

I'm over at the BNW blog talking about plotting, and Pirates of The Caribean, and Sea Monsters, but mostly plotting.  So please visit me over there.  Thanks.

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: ARTICLE 5.

I'm cheating again, because I'm posting another story I've actually already read thanks to our mutual editor, but I couldn't resist because it is awesome! Also, Kristen is pretty awesome herself (and I can't wait to meet her in September! Don't be jealous. :P)  I'll be buying a few copies to give away when it comes out so make sure to come back here on Valentine's Day 2012 to find details on that.

I love dystopians (obviously), but this was the only one that got my blood boiling a mere 5 pages into the MS. I was at my daughter's pediatrician raving to the doctor about how AWFUL the government in this society is, which sparked a 20-minute conversation about the possibility of it happening to us in real life.  I did not like thinking of that possibility, but that's the point of books, to make it easier to talk about an uncomfortable subject.

Anyway, here's the deets on it (from Kristen's website and goodreads):

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC have been abandoned. The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.
There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials and maybe worse. People who get arrested don’t usually come back.
Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. That life in the United States used to be different.
In the three years since the war ended, Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs—like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes—and how to pass the random home inspections by the Federal Bureau of Reformation. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow. That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And what’s worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

 So what's your WoW?

Waiting on Wednesday.

First, I'm also blogging over at the Brave New Words blog about beginnings and endings, so make sure to stop on by and leave a comment.  Please and thank you!  :D

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: ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD.

Okay, I'm cheating a bit, because I've actually already read it thanks to our mutual editor, but I couldn't resist pimping it because it's SOOO GOOD! I'll be buying a few copies to give away when it comes out so make sure to come back here at the end of the month to find details on that.

If you watch my tweet stream, you'll see a few weeks ago I tweeted that I couldn't sleep due to this book.  It wasn't just because I couldn't put it down, it was because it was just that creepy.  In fact, it was so creepy I not only slept with the lights on, but had my husband secure the attic door shut!  I know, I know. I'm a chicken $%^&, but really it was that creepy.

Anyway, here's the deets on it (from Kendare's website and goodreads):

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

 So what's your WoW?

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?