My work in progress (aka The Circus Book) has developed an odd quirk. When I read it back to myself in my head, I hear Jim Dale doing the narration. The same Jim Dale who so wonderfully reads the US audio book versions of the Harry Potter series. This may be a result of my recent viewing of a half-dozen episodes of Pushing Daisies, which also features Mr. Dale’s narration.
Brains do funny things! Fortunately in this case it seems to be helping me write, so hopefully it will continue!
Thank you so much to everyone who entered in and promoted my ARC contest. I wish I could send you all copies of Fortune’s Folly, but alas I have only one left and it is going to….
livejournal user cosmicdustbella!
For those of you who didn’t win (or didn’t enter) but are curious about the book, I’ve just posted the first chapter on my website, so you take a look over there if you want to check it out. I hope you enjoy it!
The lovely Chandler of the Fumbling with Fiction blog has interviewed me — my very first blog interview! You can check it out here! She’s been interviewing a bunch of debut writers so check out the archives for more!
One of the questions Chandler asked was related to what I hoped I might achieve as a writer. I’ve been thinking about that question a bit more since responding, and also on a related question: what response do I hope my books might provoke in readers?
I am pretty sure there are authors out there who want to write books of staggering literary merit, books that reshape the way people think, or change people’s lives. And there are certainly authors out there writing books that do accomplish those things.
For my part, I have come to realize there are two main things I want my books to have (books I read, and books I write): I want them to have heart, and I want them to entertain me (and hopefully my readers).
Of course that all depends upon definitions: what does make a book entertaining? What is heart? I’m sure other people have different qualities that make a book entertaining, or give it heart.
For me, an entertaining book has a plot that engages (often with an element of mystery) and details that pull me in and make me want to keep reading. And a book with heart, for me, is one that connects me to the characters, or to humanity as a whole, and makes me feel like I understand the universe, and what life is all about, just a little bit better.
There are books that have entertained me without providing what I would consider “heart”. I will admit that I read Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, and despite the things I didn’t like about it (which were many) there was a definite pull that just made me keep reading. For me, it was the equivalent of the sort of popcorn-action-movies that I also love. I watch them, enjoy them while I’m there, and then forget about them.
In contrast, there are books like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which I read with just as much breathless engagement, but which also resonated on a much more emotional level. There was something more there (for me, at least) in Katniss struggling to keep her loved ones safe, in the characters and their connections to one another. It made me feel that glimmery-shifty feeling as if I were on the brink of some better understanding of what it means to be human.
There are probably books out I did not personally find entertaining that do have “heart” — but since I tend to put aside books that don’t engage me, I’m having trouble coming up with any examples!
So to sum up, my aim is to tell a story that makes readers feel connected, to explore and delight in the human experience and the marvel and mystery of the universe. But, first and foremost, I want to tell that story well, and make the reading experience fun.
So how about you folks? What do you look for in a book?
And if you are a writer, what response do you hope your books will provoke in readers?
My amazing friend Saundra put together this wonderful promotional trailer for Fortune’s Folly:
I can’t believe how well the video and music she found fit the book! Thank you Saundra!
Aside from coming up with trailers and all sorts of fun stuff, multi-talented Saundra also has a book coming out February 10th. It’s a beautifully written (I know, since I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy) paranormal mystery called Shadowed Summer. Check it out!
I’ll also take a moment to remind you all that there’s still time to enter my contest to win an advanced copy of Fortune’s Folly. Just comment on this livejournal entry or this blog entry on my website before the 24th. Thanks to everyone who has already entered and/or promoted the contest!
The 2009 Debs (a group of YA and MG writers with first novels coming out this year) are having our first giveaway of the year today!
Every month on the 15th we’ll be giving away a swag bag full of fun stuff. And if you get one with a Tabasco Lollypop inside, you also get a $50 gift card to a bookstore. You don’t need a livejournal, either — just comment on the post with contact info! The only restriction is that you be 13 years or older (you can have your parents enter though), and you can’t be a member of my immediate family.
But the contest ends at midnight EST on the 15th (that’s TODAY) so hurry and enter soon!
My birthday is coming up later this month, and I have decided to celebrate by giving away an ARC (aka bound galley) of my middle grade fantasy novel Fortune’s Folly, which will be coming out in April this year.
Here’s a short blurb: In FORTUNE’S FOLLY a girl who survives by telling fake fortunes must make one of them come true to save her father’s life–to succeed, she’ll have to procure a wicked witch, recover a pair of enchanted slippers, and, worst of all, find a princess to marry the prince she’s falling in love with herself.
If you are interested in winning an advanced copy all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and I will put one entry into the pot for you.
You can get another FOUR entries if you link to the contest in your own journal/blog. Just be sure to comment here and provide a link to wherever you promoted the contest so I know to add the extra entries.
Please, don’t be shy! Friends, family, random people who hear about this contest elsewhere, go right ahead and comment if you would like a chance to win an ARC!
I will draw one winner on January 24th (which happens to be my birthday), so please get your entries in by midnight, January 23rd! Thanks!
And speaking of ARC giveaways, anyone who loves regency era historical fiction should go check out the contest to win an advanced copy of The Season by Sarah MacLean. More details on her blog here.
Edited to add: If for some reason you don’t want to be entered, I still welcome your help in promoting the contest, so feel free to do so. Thanks to those who already have!
Also Edited to add: Just to make it clear, this contest has been posted in my “official” website blog and on my livejournal; comments may be left in either location to enter.
I was driving home from the gym this morning (I hate running on the treadmill, but I would hate running in the dark on the ice even more) feeling sort of sorry for myself, because I don’t have a very thick skin and I am starting to recognize that I really need one if I am going to not go crazy once people start reviewing my books. Because not every book is for every reader. I myself don’t like every book I read, so I can’t expect everyone to loooove my books.
Anyways, I was just cresting the hill to go down to my house when I saw a shooting star, and promptly made a wish. And I thought, “okay, universe, I get the idea. Stop feeling tragic and focus on writing what you love.”
On the other hand, I’ve been thinking more about my own reviewing habits. One of my goals for this year is to put up actual reviews on Goodreads/Amazon/etc for the books I read. On that note, I posted some questions open to discussion on the Debut2009 community. Please consider stopping by and joining the discussion
And, if you join up as a Watcher via livejournal you will have the chance to participate in all sorts of goodness over the coming year:
I just last night sent off my most recent revision of The Mirable Chalice to my editor, my agent, and several generous readers.
That schlumping sound is me collapsing into a puddle of relief.
Something I’ve been learning to recognize in myself, as a writer, is that feeling I get when something just isn’t right. There have been times when I’ve suspected I was coming down with something, only to realize no, it’s just my body reacting to the fact that something in my book is broken.
It’s a useful instinct, even if it can be uncomfortable. For example, when I was working on Fortune’s Folly (coming out this year! Wow! It’s amazing to be able to finally say that!) I had this feeling that something wasn’t quite right with the ending. I didn’t know what was wrong, mind you, but I had this niggling not-right feeling about it. When I was revising for my editor, I was working on it, trying to improve the pacing and to simplify it. I trimmed a bunch, smoothed the rough edges. I had a completed draft, ready to go. But it wasn’t right. For a while I just banged my head on the wall (figuratively). Finally, I realized what the problem was: my main character, who I like to think of as proactive and protaggy elsewhere in the book, just sort of let things happen to her at the end. She wasn’t a complete wet noodle, but she wasn’t driving the plot, the plot was driving her. With that epiphany, I suddenly had a whole new chapter unfold in my mind, one where my main character could take charge and drive the plot. When I finished that new ending I knew it was better. Maybe not perfect (the books are never as perfect on paper as in my initial dreams) but right.
Anyway, I had a similar situation crop up with this most recent revision of The Mirable Chalice. There was a certain pivotal scene that just felt off. I think I revised it about four times in the last month, changing the order of events, trying out different emotional tones. But I still couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t right. When I finally realized what was holding me back I felt somewhat chagrined, because it basically boiled down to two things I should already know. What was wrong was that plot was driving characters, rather than the reverse. And to fix it I needed to implement the oft-quoted advice: Murder your darlings. I had been so busy trying to preserve what was there, reordering scenes and cutting them up and putting them back together again, that I hadn’t been able to see how to actually fix the underlying problem.
When I finally came to my senses I made a copy of the document, chopped out everything that connected to the scene, put it in a separate document, and started from scratch. I typed in a mini-outline of the new scene, then pasted in the parts that I could keep from the old version, and finally went through and wrote all the new bits. And now the weird uncomfortable feeling in my stomach is gone! Whew! Not that it won’t need more revision, but at least, for now, it feels “right”.
So, starting tomorrow it’s back to drafting my brand-new project, which excites me tremendously. The only question now is, do I re-read the first 20K, or just plunge in where I left off?
Happy New Year everyone!
Some of you have already heard about the following, but for those who haven’t:
Comment on this entry for a chance to win a copy of Need by Carrie Jones. I haven’t read Need yet myself but it’s on my to-read list! I’m especially excited because not only is it a faerie book, but it’s set in my home state of Maine!
Enter this contest for a chance to win a copy of the UK version of R. J. Anderson’s Knife (which will be released in the US as Spell Hunter: Faery Rebels). Note the BEAUTIFUL cover art by Brian Froud! I was lucky enough to read an ARC of this book (the US version) and it is wonderful and magical.
Enter here to win a bunch of stuff from author Kurtis Scaletta, author of Mudville. I also had the chance to read an ARC of this book, which was so well-written and engaged me completely even though much of it revolved around something I know and care very little about (baseball).
Go here to learn how to win an advance copy of Mandy Hubbard’s Prada & Prejudice! I haven’t read this yet myself but I’ve heard wonderful things about it!
All contests have a January 8th deadline, so enter soon!
Also, for anyone looking for ways to support authors other than by buying books, author Lisa Schroeder has an excellent list of suggestions here.
And lastly, big congratulations to all the Cybils short-listers! The Cybils are awards given out by the children’s and ya blogger’s community. There are some really excellent books on these lists, and I’ve already added a lot of titles to my to-read list (especially from the Fantasy and Science Fiction category). This is a great resource for anyone looking for some books to purchase with holiday gift cards or just for fun (for yourself or for a younger person of your acquaintance).
