I know one of the frustrating things about submitting a book to agents and editors is the whole, "We want something fresh and different we've never seen before! Except we also want something familiar and easy-to-market."
I was looking at writings from 4-5 years ago, when I was first taking professional writing seriously, and I'd forgotten how much I initially struggled with writing for the market. Throughout my teen years and early twenties, I think I found my writing voice working on various projects. 90% of them were about my fictional world Arestin, and could be best described as "fantasy slice-of-life family saga." If you're thinking it would be hard to market "fantasy slice-of-life family saga" ANYwhere, you are probably correct. It wouldn't have even fit in YA because the characters were all ages, not to mention that "fantasy slice-of-life" itself is hard to pull off. It would be as if J. K. Rowling announced a series about Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermione raising their kids and their relationships with their friends and families in the peaceful years after they leave school. Except, you know, without even being J. K. Rowling.
And the other 10% was semi-historical fantasy rather like Magic Under Glass or Between the Sea and Sky except not nearly as cohesive.
Nevertheless, I don't think anyone would say I didn't have unique ideas, or that I couldn't write, or that my writing itself didn't have commercial appeal... I just couldn't get it all together.
The trouble, for me, was puzzling out a way to tell a unique story in a commercial way. I think that's really what people are asking for. I think everyone has a different path to figuring out how to do it. I had to learn how to give my characters something exciting to do, and a plot that put their magical abilities to use, without sacrificing my love of intimate, quiet moments and the grounding of everyday, relatable life.
There was some major turbulence along the way. I kept trying to write contemporary fantasy, sometimes an Arestin novel and sometimes not. Both were just turning out awful. I found out I can't write first-person present worth a damn, I hate my snarky narrators, and I don't want to write a humorous novel, although I can write a novel with humor IN IT. I was extremely prolific and experimental in '05-'06...and almost ALL of it was crap that makes me cringe worse than things I wrote in '02-'04 when I was just having fun with that fantasy slice-of-life fantasy saga. Some of it was very commercial and fun and who knows, it might have even sold...if I'd cared to finish it. It just. Wasn't. Me.
But I'm glad I took the time for both phases. I think my grasp of what is my OWN voice and how to make a story that is structured in a marketable way are both so much stronger for my years of writing for myself and my years of writing junk to try and fit a mold.
(Also, don't forget, I'm having a giveaway for an ARC of Everlasting! Only a handful of entrants right now, and all you need to do is comment on my last post! Yay!)
Friday, July 30, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Interview with Angie Frazier on character creation + EVERLASTING giveaway!
Some months ago, I was talking to Angie Frazier within some blog comments about writing longterm about characters, and writing outside of the novel in which they appear. Angie told me that she had been writing about Oscar Kildare, the hero/love interest of Everlasting, going on 10 years, and has written side stories about Oscar and Camille outside of the novel.
I LOVE hearing that I'm not the only author who does this. The characters in Magic Under Glass are relatively new and don't "exist" outside the book, but I'm excited to see books on the shelf with some of my longterm characters. But also nervous. VERY nervous. They've been private to me for so many years, it feels like sending your children to college or something...you hope they'll be okay when they leave the nest. I asked Angie if I could interview her about Oscar and Camille and her experience, so here she is.
--How did you first get the idea to write about Oscar and Camille, and how have they changed over the years?
I honestly don’t remember how Oscar and Camille came into my head. I’ve always been drawn to star-crossed love stories, so I am sure I just wanted to create one of my own. What I do remember though, was falling very quickly in love with Camille and Oscar’s story. They were so different from one another—raised differently, lived differently—and yet they fit together so well.
Over the years, Oscar has done the most changing (which I’ll talk about in response to your next question!) but Camille has also done a lot of growing up. I have read a few reviews saying Camille frustrated them with her stubbornness, but that’s actually a quality that I’d worked to layer into her character over the years. I can’t feel sorry for it! I needed to test her mettle in order to develop her and I discovered she could handle a lot more than I originally thought. In the first few drafts I remember her crying way too much, and being much too dependent on Oscar and Ira and “chance.”
I feel like Camille’s character has grown stronger as I’ve worked with her the last decade.
--Is there an aspect of Oscar you didn't get to convey within the book that you wished you could? (Maybe in the future?)
This is the first time I’ve ever talked about this online, but there is an Alter Oscar. The very first Oscar I created had a TOTALLY different history than the Oscar that is in the final version on bookshelves. For one thing, he was much older—about 30 years old. He had been married to a girl in Ireland who had died, and feeling he had nothing left in Ireland, Oscar and his brother had immigrated to Boston. Only, on the way to Boston his brother had died. Oscar arrived in Boston alone, and soon became a thug for an Irish mob boss. When he ended up killing this mob boss (for reasons that would take too long to explain) he set out across the country. He stopped in California where he met Camille and her father, and then the rest took off from there.
I really love this past Oscar. Even though I edited him to be younger and without the dark and stormy past while doing revisions with my agent, this is still the Oscar I live with in my head.
--Ooh. I understand why you had to change it, but I like that Oscar backstory a LOT... Can you give us an idea of some of their side adventures that aren't in Everlasting?
There are some that are like little vignettes and others that could be a whole book if I wanted to take the time to write them. Let’s see…one of the best ones for exploring Oscar’s dedication to Camille and her father, and Camille’s own strength, was the one that involved a mutiny at sea. Who doesn’t like a dangerous mutiny at sea? ☺ Some take place on land, back in San Francisco, and work in Camille’s fiancé, Randall, more than what I was able to write in the first book. (There is a lot of Randall in the second book!) I really like those San Francisco stories, seeing Oscar and Randall at odds and Camille trapped in the middle. Yes, I do love a dramatic love triangle!
I kind of hope one day to have the time to write a few of these “episodic” stories, even if they are just for myself.
--Sounds like good website extras... By reading your guest post at Tempting Persephone, it sounds like you started imagining these side stories as a character development exercise that got out of control (well, or just turned out really awesome). Have you, or do you plan to, use this technique for future stories, or is it sort of special to the characters in Everlasting?
I haven’t used this method for any other story yet. In my middle grade novel out next March, Suzanna Snow is the main character and I clicked and connected with her right away. I didn’t really need to explore her and her relationships this way.
However, with a YA that I wrote last year, and plan to get back to soon and hopefully sell at some point (**crosses fingers**) I can definitely see myself creating side stories for the characters. They are very complex characters with a lot of personal demons. I can tell I’m going to need to handle them with care ☺
--Good luck with your new YA. Who doesn't love characters with lots of personal demons! Do you think getting to know the characters so well and think about them in different situations made revisions easier? Or harder?
I think it definitely made it more difficult to make massive changes, especially to Oscar’s character. By the time I was doing revisions with my agent, these characters were so close to me. They felt like my babies, really, and then needing to change Oscar’s backstory so drastically felt like I was betraying his character a little! But once I settled in with his new story, I was definitely happy with it.
Camille didn’t require a whole lot of change, but she did need to come to life a little more on the page. Hands down, she has been the most difficult character to write. But I also think she’s the most rewarding character for me, too.
Awesome answers, Angie. Thanks so much!
Also, when I asked Angie if she would do this interview months ago, it was in a picture post I'd put up on Livejournal of my own characters. I promised Angie I'd draw Oscar for her, so here it is! Of course, now that I've scanned it, somehow I can see that his head is too big and the lower half of his torso seems to be missing, but I hope she enjoys it anyway. ;)
Finally, I'm doing a giveaway for my Everlasting ARC! I will warn you, all the pages with physical descriptions of Oscar are dogeared for the purpose of doing the above fan art... But if you'd like to win, just comment on this post for an entry, and for an additional entry, follow me (@jackiedolamore) and Angie (@angie_frazier) on Twitter and let me know you did in your comment. Make sure you give me a way to contact you. This giveaway is US/Canada onlyl, I'm so sorry! I've been spending too much money lately. It will end 8/7.
I LOVE hearing that I'm not the only author who does this. The characters in Magic Under Glass are relatively new and don't "exist" outside the book, but I'm excited to see books on the shelf with some of my longterm characters. But also nervous. VERY nervous. They've been private to me for so many years, it feels like sending your children to college or something...you hope they'll be okay when they leave the nest. I asked Angie if I could interview her about Oscar and Camille and her experience, so here she is.
--How did you first get the idea to write about Oscar and Camille, and how have they changed over the years?
I honestly don’t remember how Oscar and Camille came into my head. I’ve always been drawn to star-crossed love stories, so I am sure I just wanted to create one of my own. What I do remember though, was falling very quickly in love with Camille and Oscar’s story. They were so different from one another—raised differently, lived differently—and yet they fit together so well.
Over the years, Oscar has done the most changing (which I’ll talk about in response to your next question!) but Camille has also done a lot of growing up. I have read a few reviews saying Camille frustrated them with her stubbornness, but that’s actually a quality that I’d worked to layer into her character over the years. I can’t feel sorry for it! I needed to test her mettle in order to develop her and I discovered she could handle a lot more than I originally thought. In the first few drafts I remember her crying way too much, and being much too dependent on Oscar and Ira and “chance.”
I feel like Camille’s character has grown stronger as I’ve worked with her the last decade.
--Is there an aspect of Oscar you didn't get to convey within the book that you wished you could? (Maybe in the future?)
This is the first time I’ve ever talked about this online, but there is an Alter Oscar. The very first Oscar I created had a TOTALLY different history than the Oscar that is in the final version on bookshelves. For one thing, he was much older—about 30 years old. He had been married to a girl in Ireland who had died, and feeling he had nothing left in Ireland, Oscar and his brother had immigrated to Boston. Only, on the way to Boston his brother had died. Oscar arrived in Boston alone, and soon became a thug for an Irish mob boss. When he ended up killing this mob boss (for reasons that would take too long to explain) he set out across the country. He stopped in California where he met Camille and her father, and then the rest took off from there.
I really love this past Oscar. Even though I edited him to be younger and without the dark and stormy past while doing revisions with my agent, this is still the Oscar I live with in my head.
--Ooh. I understand why you had to change it, but I like that Oscar backstory a LOT... Can you give us an idea of some of their side adventures that aren't in Everlasting?
There are some that are like little vignettes and others that could be a whole book if I wanted to take the time to write them. Let’s see…one of the best ones for exploring Oscar’s dedication to Camille and her father, and Camille’s own strength, was the one that involved a mutiny at sea. Who doesn’t like a dangerous mutiny at sea? ☺ Some take place on land, back in San Francisco, and work in Camille’s fiancé, Randall, more than what I was able to write in the first book. (There is a lot of Randall in the second book!) I really like those San Francisco stories, seeing Oscar and Randall at odds and Camille trapped in the middle. Yes, I do love a dramatic love triangle!
I kind of hope one day to have the time to write a few of these “episodic” stories, even if they are just for myself.
--Sounds like good website extras... By reading your guest post at Tempting Persephone, it sounds like you started imagining these side stories as a character development exercise that got out of control (well, or just turned out really awesome). Have you, or do you plan to, use this technique for future stories, or is it sort of special to the characters in Everlasting?
I haven’t used this method for any other story yet. In my middle grade novel out next March, Suzanna Snow is the main character and I clicked and connected with her right away. I didn’t really need to explore her and her relationships this way.
However, with a YA that I wrote last year, and plan to get back to soon and hopefully sell at some point (**crosses fingers**) I can definitely see myself creating side stories for the characters. They are very complex characters with a lot of personal demons. I can tell I’m going to need to handle them with care ☺
--Good luck with your new YA. Who doesn't love characters with lots of personal demons! Do you think getting to know the characters so well and think about them in different situations made revisions easier? Or harder?
I think it definitely made it more difficult to make massive changes, especially to Oscar’s character. By the time I was doing revisions with my agent, these characters were so close to me. They felt like my babies, really, and then needing to change Oscar’s backstory so drastically felt like I was betraying his character a little! But once I settled in with his new story, I was definitely happy with it.
Camille didn’t require a whole lot of change, but she did need to come to life a little more on the page. Hands down, she has been the most difficult character to write. But I also think she’s the most rewarding character for me, too.
Awesome answers, Angie. Thanks so much!
Also, when I asked Angie if she would do this interview months ago, it was in a picture post I'd put up on Livejournal of my own characters. I promised Angie I'd draw Oscar for her, so here it is! Of course, now that I've scanned it, somehow I can see that his head is too big and the lower half of his torso seems to be missing, but I hope she enjoys it anyway. ;)
Finally, I'm doing a giveaway for my Everlasting ARC! I will warn you, all the pages with physical descriptions of Oscar are dogeared for the purpose of doing the above fan art... But if you'd like to win, just comment on this post for an entry, and for an additional entry, follow me (@jackiedolamore) and Angie (@angie_frazier) on Twitter and let me know you did in your comment. Make sure you give me a way to contact you. This giveaway is US/Canada onlyl, I'm so sorry! I've been spending too much money lately. It will end 8/7.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Quitting your day job...y/n?
So here's a popular topic. Should a debut author quit their day job? Common sense generally says NO, and yet, I know quite a few debut authors who did. I'm one of them. I have now been a full-time author for 16 months, and I'm not sorry, but I've also made some mistakes, so I thought I'd talk a bit about the lessons I've learned.
Lesson #1: Be prepared for delaaaaaaaaaaaaaays.For one thing, a brief rundown of the past 2 years:
Aug '08: Sold book.
Feb '09: Saw first advance check, 1/2 each of two books in a two book deal.
June '09: Saw second half of Magic Under Glass advance for turning in final edits.
Mar '10: Sold Magic Under Stone.
July '10: Saw first half of Magic Under Stone advance.
Note that I went for over a year with absolutely no new income. And that I still haven't seen the entirety of the advance from my original deal, almost two years later. And that it took six months to get my original advance check. And this is with my books coming out in a timely fashion. Not everyone's do. And I sold another book in a timely fashion. Not everyone does. The hardest part about being a full-time author who does not yet receive royalties is, you have almost no clue when your next check is coming. Your editor might indicate some loose time frame and it will turn out TOTALLY WRONG. It is wise to try and behave as if you'll never get a check again and you need to stretch what you have out as long as possible. But, that's hard sometimes, because...
Lesson #2: If your writing income is a decent improvement over your non-writing income, don't expect to stick to your old budget. When I first got my advance check, I had sensible plans for it. 1/3 would go into savings. I would stretch it out over the next two years. I had spent my entire adult life until that point working part-time in retail and my earnings were pathetic. I was the budgeting QUEEN. So, needless to say, there were a lot of things I couldn't resist buying when I had more money. I spent more in one year than I had in three years updating my TV and couch and going to the dentist and taking vacations and all sorts of things.
Lesson #3: If you're going to quit, have either relatives you can borrow from, a job you can return to, or hopefully both. I had both when I quit. And I did have to borrow from my mom, briefly, before the Magic Under Stone check came, although I still had a little stash of stocks I could cash if I had to.
Lesson #4: It may be hard to get used to working from home. This was my biggest surprise. I was homeschooled. I love being home! Yet, when I first left work, I was accustomed to being at work 3 or 4 days a week, and for some months I wanted to be out in the world a lot. But it was hard to think of things to do for free all the time. So I spent a lot of money being out. Eventually this wore off and I'm content being home a lot again. If you can, commit yourself to social activities sometimes even when you're not in the mood, so you won't end up stir-crazy.
Lesson #5: Don't forget taxes! As soon as I got paid, I went to TurboTax and plugged in my income. It wasn't the right year's TurboTax, and I didn't know what my deductions would be, but it gave me an idea, so I put aside a LARGE chunk of money for taxes. Save your receipts and don't feel bad about indulging in a little writerly travel and some books... (Maybe I should call this "Potential Lesson #5" because thank goodness, I didn't screw this one up.)
That's what I've learned. This year I'm back to a strict budget. (Of course, I also have a new couch now. It doesn't feel as dire.) It's kind of an uncertain place, being a full-time writer. But I'm not one bit sorry I left work. Somehow, when I follow the path of my heart, things manage to work out somehow, cheesy as it may sound.
Of course, everyone who leaves work to write has different considerations and challenges. If other full-time writers, debut or otherwise, want to share what they've learned, comment away!
Lesson #1: Be prepared for delaaaaaaaaaaaaaays.For one thing, a brief rundown of the past 2 years:
Aug '08: Sold book.
Feb '09: Saw first advance check, 1/2 each of two books in a two book deal.
June '09: Saw second half of Magic Under Glass advance for turning in final edits.
Mar '10: Sold Magic Under Stone.
July '10: Saw first half of Magic Under Stone advance.
Note that I went for over a year with absolutely no new income. And that I still haven't seen the entirety of the advance from my original deal, almost two years later. And that it took six months to get my original advance check. And this is with my books coming out in a timely fashion. Not everyone's do. And I sold another book in a timely fashion. Not everyone does. The hardest part about being a full-time author who does not yet receive royalties is, you have almost no clue when your next check is coming. Your editor might indicate some loose time frame and it will turn out TOTALLY WRONG. It is wise to try and behave as if you'll never get a check again and you need to stretch what you have out as long as possible. But, that's hard sometimes, because...
Lesson #2: If your writing income is a decent improvement over your non-writing income, don't expect to stick to your old budget. When I first got my advance check, I had sensible plans for it. 1/3 would go into savings. I would stretch it out over the next two years. I had spent my entire adult life until that point working part-time in retail and my earnings were pathetic. I was the budgeting QUEEN. So, needless to say, there were a lot of things I couldn't resist buying when I had more money. I spent more in one year than I had in three years updating my TV and couch and going to the dentist and taking vacations and all sorts of things.
Lesson #3: If you're going to quit, have either relatives you can borrow from, a job you can return to, or hopefully both. I had both when I quit. And I did have to borrow from my mom, briefly, before the Magic Under Stone check came, although I still had a little stash of stocks I could cash if I had to.
Lesson #4: It may be hard to get used to working from home. This was my biggest surprise. I was homeschooled. I love being home! Yet, when I first left work, I was accustomed to being at work 3 or 4 days a week, and for some months I wanted to be out in the world a lot. But it was hard to think of things to do for free all the time. So I spent a lot of money being out. Eventually this wore off and I'm content being home a lot again. If you can, commit yourself to social activities sometimes even when you're not in the mood, so you won't end up stir-crazy.
Lesson #5: Don't forget taxes! As soon as I got paid, I went to TurboTax and plugged in my income. It wasn't the right year's TurboTax, and I didn't know what my deductions would be, but it gave me an idea, so I put aside a LARGE chunk of money for taxes. Save your receipts and don't feel bad about indulging in a little writerly travel and some books... (Maybe I should call this "Potential Lesson #5" because thank goodness, I didn't screw this one up.)
That's what I've learned. This year I'm back to a strict budget. (Of course, I also have a new couch now. It doesn't feel as dire.) It's kind of an uncertain place, being a full-time writer. But I'm not one bit sorry I left work. Somehow, when I follow the path of my heart, things manage to work out somehow, cheesy as it may sound.
Of course, everyone who leaves work to write has different considerations and challenges. If other full-time writers, debut or otherwise, want to share what they've learned, comment away!
My upcoming projects
This has been a busy summer, as far as writing goes. Which is good! I realized I have not properly updated this blog on Between the Sea and Sky, so I thought I'd do a general Update of Projects.
Between the Sea and Sky is my next book! I feel a little bad for it sometimes because of course everyone wants Magic Under Stone. All in good time! I hope you'll love Between the Sea and Sky anyway. It's a love story, much moreso than Magic Under Glass. A love story between smart people with shared interests and mutual respect. Who also happen to be a mermaid and a winged guy. So if you like that kind of story, hopefully you will enjoy this.
I've been wanting to write about a mermaid since I was a wee thing who loved the movie Splash, and a winged guy almost as long. I first attempted the mermaid/winged guy pair up in a big messy novel I tried writing in my early twenties, against a backdrop of war and a zillion things going on. In Magic Under Glass, mermaids and winged folk are briefly alluded to, so in this book I had a chance to flesh out their culture.
I hope Alan doesn't feel too bad, being a skinny lightweight bat dude among all these winged angel/demon hunks that are coming out. ;)
Anyway, Between the Sea and Sky will be released in April or May 2011.
Then there is my story for Corsets and Clockwork, an anthology which should also be a Spring 2011 release. (I am SO EXCITED for Spring 2011.) I wrote half a story and then found out it needed to be more steampunk-y, so I'm back to the start again, with a story I am currently calling The Airship Gemini. If you're curious what it's about, here's a clue...I've been reading about Violet and Daisy Hilton for research... The Airship Gemini = conjoined twins + magic + love!
Finally, Magic Under Stone is coming right along. It will be released presumably in 2012. If Magic Under Glass was all whirlwind starcrossed lovers, Magic Under Glass is about the emotional repercussions. It's too early to tell exactly what will happen because I might change things and then my editor will suggest other changes, but I do think everyone who felt the villains in Magic Under Glass were underdeveloped and the romance too rushed will be pleased. Unless you just don't really like my writing, in which case, you will not be pleased. ^_~
Between the Sea and Sky is my next book! I feel a little bad for it sometimes because of course everyone wants Magic Under Stone. All in good time! I hope you'll love Between the Sea and Sky anyway. It's a love story, much moreso than Magic Under Glass. A love story between smart people with shared interests and mutual respect. Who also happen to be a mermaid and a winged guy. So if you like that kind of story, hopefully you will enjoy this.
I've been wanting to write about a mermaid since I was a wee thing who loved the movie Splash, and a winged guy almost as long. I first attempted the mermaid/winged guy pair up in a big messy novel I tried writing in my early twenties, against a backdrop of war and a zillion things going on. In Magic Under Glass, mermaids and winged folk are briefly alluded to, so in this book I had a chance to flesh out their culture.
I hope Alan doesn't feel too bad, being a skinny lightweight bat dude among all these winged angel/demon hunks that are coming out. ;)
Anyway, Between the Sea and Sky will be released in April or May 2011.
Then there is my story for Corsets and Clockwork, an anthology which should also be a Spring 2011 release. (I am SO EXCITED for Spring 2011.) I wrote half a story and then found out it needed to be more steampunk-y, so I'm back to the start again, with a story I am currently calling The Airship Gemini. If you're curious what it's about, here's a clue...I've been reading about Violet and Daisy Hilton for research... The Airship Gemini = conjoined twins + magic + love!
Finally, Magic Under Stone is coming right along. It will be released presumably in 2012. If Magic Under Glass was all whirlwind starcrossed lovers, Magic Under Glass is about the emotional repercussions. It's too early to tell exactly what will happen because I might change things and then my editor will suggest other changes, but I do think everyone who felt the villains in Magic Under Glass were underdeveloped and the romance too rushed will be pleased. Unless you just don't really like my writing, in which case, you will not be pleased. ^_~
Monday, July 19, 2010
The winner of Beautiful Darkness is...
Chanelley!
I hope you enjoy!
I thought it was funny how many of you practically ordered me to read Beautiful Creatures! Well, I will, but then I wouldn't be having this giveaway. ;)
I hope you enjoy!
I thought it was funny how many of you practically ordered me to read Beautiful Creatures! Well, I will, but then I wouldn't be having this giveaway. ;)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
My day with R. J. Anderson, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Karen Healey against a backdrop of Harry Potter fans!
I would title this "Infinitus 2010" except I spent virtually no time at the convention, except at my friends' panel. In fact, my most interaction was shelling out $50 to basically not attend. However, nothing against the convention, which seemed like a very lively event with tons going on and most excellent people-watching. I have never seen so many capes, a pleasure to my eyes. I like capes. I myself wore the green dress I obtained in NYC with a peach-colored capelet, black and white striped socks, and green men's 70's shoes which have an 18th century cut to them, heel and all. Well, if I was a witch, that's what I would wear.
I met Rebecca (R.J.), Sarah and Karen up in their hotel room. I must confess that for several minutes I had Sarah and Karen mixed up. I have no idea why because I've seen numerous pictures of Sarah and she looks exactly like said pictures. I think I was thrown by the fact that she didn't have an obvious Irish accent, but then, Karen's accent doesn't sound remotely Irish either, so none of this makes any sense. I blame it on the fact that I only got 3 hours of sleep, and luckily I didn't tell Karen I loved The Demon's Lexicon or anything.
(I will also note, I have twice before thought one writer was actually another writer, and in those cases I didn't realize until I got home. Even more luckily, this mistake has never been revealed. Unless I reveal it on my blog, like now, for your amusement.)
We talked for a bit, and then we had a panel to go to--me to watch the panel, the other three to be on it. The location of the panel had been moved, last minute, and we were led to a small hallway...for a moment I thought perhaps the panel would be held in a restroom, but it turned out to be more like a storage room for extra chairs and tables.
I don't really like to watch other writers be on panels because I WANT TO TALK, but it was a great panel. All three had very entertaining or interesting stories about how they get their ideas, and all three read excellent excerpts from their books, and all were good readers. I've seen some very bad readings, and I am always relieved to see good ones so I don't have to fight to nod off! The audience of ten or so people asked wonderful questions. Then we adjourned to the dealer room to sign, only the signing table was overwhelmed by some other event going on, so it never really happened as planned. I did sign the stock at the Books-A-Million booth and I heard some were sold. I thank you, whoever you are!!
We ate a hilariously small lunch at one of the hotel restaurants. My $5 miso soup had literally ten noodles in it, and about a teaspoon each of tofu and seaweed, with possibly half a cup of broth. Ohhh, Universal Studios.
Sarah, being from Ireland, wanted to get some Florida sunshine, so we went poolside to read. I was wearing the green dress, which I'm beginning to think is cursed, because I wore it on the hellishly hot day of BEA, and now was stuck sweating in it again. I might live in Florida but I'm not at ALL fond of the weather from May to October. Everyone else was reading but I really couldn't focus in the heat. After a little while, Rebecca also lost her tolerance for Florida in July and we went up to the hotel room and had a wonderful conversation about all those deep writerly topics--themes and representation and world-building and blah blah. Heaven!
Sarah wanted to go to the Books-A-Million rumored to be three blocks away, but it turned out to be closed. Forever. But Dade is always up for a bookstore trip and he needed to pick me up anyway, so I called him and procured us a ride to the Barnes & Noble. He's almost an hour away, so we had dinner first at the hotel, where we had more lovely writerly conversation. At one point, costumed Simpsons characters wandered over to our table and loomed over us. Sarah and I waved at them, but they didn't go away. They just STOOD THERE. Homer put his hand on Rebecca's back. All three of us waved, and finally they shuffled off. It was extremely creepy. Let me say it again: Ohhh, Universal Studios.
All in all, despite some ridiculous expenditures on Universal property, it was a lovely day with three wonderful writers, and a great reward for turning Between the Sea and Sky in to my editor on Friday, YAAY!
I met Rebecca (R.J.), Sarah and Karen up in their hotel room. I must confess that for several minutes I had Sarah and Karen mixed up. I have no idea why because I've seen numerous pictures of Sarah and she looks exactly like said pictures. I think I was thrown by the fact that she didn't have an obvious Irish accent, but then, Karen's accent doesn't sound remotely Irish either, so none of this makes any sense. I blame it on the fact that I only got 3 hours of sleep, and luckily I didn't tell Karen I loved The Demon's Lexicon or anything.
(I will also note, I have twice before thought one writer was actually another writer, and in those cases I didn't realize until I got home. Even more luckily, this mistake has never been revealed. Unless I reveal it on my blog, like now, for your amusement.)
We talked for a bit, and then we had a panel to go to--me to watch the panel, the other three to be on it. The location of the panel had been moved, last minute, and we were led to a small hallway...for a moment I thought perhaps the panel would be held in a restroom, but it turned out to be more like a storage room for extra chairs and tables.
I don't really like to watch other writers be on panels because I WANT TO TALK, but it was a great panel. All three had very entertaining or interesting stories about how they get their ideas, and all three read excellent excerpts from their books, and all were good readers. I've seen some very bad readings, and I am always relieved to see good ones so I don't have to fight to nod off! The audience of ten or so people asked wonderful questions. Then we adjourned to the dealer room to sign, only the signing table was overwhelmed by some other event going on, so it never really happened as planned. I did sign the stock at the Books-A-Million booth and I heard some were sold. I thank you, whoever you are!!
We ate a hilariously small lunch at one of the hotel restaurants. My $5 miso soup had literally ten noodles in it, and about a teaspoon each of tofu and seaweed, with possibly half a cup of broth. Ohhh, Universal Studios.
Sarah, being from Ireland, wanted to get some Florida sunshine, so we went poolside to read. I was wearing the green dress, which I'm beginning to think is cursed, because I wore it on the hellishly hot day of BEA, and now was stuck sweating in it again. I might live in Florida but I'm not at ALL fond of the weather from May to October. Everyone else was reading but I really couldn't focus in the heat. After a little while, Rebecca also lost her tolerance for Florida in July and we went up to the hotel room and had a wonderful conversation about all those deep writerly topics--themes and representation and world-building and blah blah. Heaven!
Sarah wanted to go to the Books-A-Million rumored to be three blocks away, but it turned out to be closed. Forever. But Dade is always up for a bookstore trip and he needed to pick me up anyway, so I called him and procured us a ride to the Barnes & Noble. He's almost an hour away, so we had dinner first at the hotel, where we had more lovely writerly conversation. At one point, costumed Simpsons characters wandered over to our table and loomed over us. Sarah and I waved at them, but they didn't go away. They just STOOD THERE. Homer put his hand on Rebecca's back. All three of us waved, and finally they shuffled off. It was extremely creepy. Let me say it again: Ohhh, Universal Studios.
All in all, despite some ridiculous expenditures on Universal property, it was a lovely day with three wonderful writers, and a great reward for turning Between the Sea and Sky in to my editor on Friday, YAAY!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
A Chronology of Geekery
The other day I attended the #geektastic chat on Twitter to celebrate the paperback release of the Geektastic anthology, and it was a great chat--just tons of book people geeking out over geeky stuff together.
One of my tweets was, how many people trace their own life history based on what they were obsessed with at the time? I know I do. The stuff I loved is what shaped me as a writer and a person. (Even when, in hindsight, it's a bit embarrassing.)
So, here, with years approximate, is my life history via geekery.
Age 5-8: Scrooge McDuck. I loved Duck Tales so much because I identified with this wealthy, miserly, entrepreneurial good-at-heart duck. I even spent a huge chunk of my birthday money one year on an expensive collection of Carl Barks comics. Why, you may ask? I can only presume I had some past life as a railroad baron or something, and I wasn't quite over it.
Age 6-7: I actually had two different Scrooge McDuck phases that bookended my obsession with Zoobilee Zoo, particularly Bravo Fox, the arrogant homosexual theatrical fox. Okay, I mean, the show never said he was homosexual, but in hindsight... I was a bossy, hammy child, so it makes a little more sense I would identify with Bravo.
Age 9-10: For a little while I moved on to Back to the Future. In this case (yeah, I never wanted to be girls unless they were mermaids, I always wanted to be strange old men) all my pretend games were Back to the Future, and I was always Doc Brown. This is the obsession I'll admit that I least understand in my adult life.
Age 10-11: I loved the Xanth books by Piers Anthony like crazy, especially Jonathan the Zombie Master, who has an awesome bittersweet romance in Castle Roogna. It still holds up, if you ask me. I totally wrote fan fic about Jonathan, and even sent Piers a letter begging him to put Jonathan in more books. His response seemed a little confused as to why I cared so much.
Age 11-12: The Nightmare Before Christmas. This mingled nicely with my obsession with Jonathan the Zombie Master. At this point, I was mostly beyond fan fic and pretend games of other people's worlds, so I created my very OWN world, with a main character called Jonathan the Dungeon Master, and a skeleton dude who looked exactly like Jack. Because I was just that creative.
Age 11-14: Did I say I was over fan fic? Nevermind! I was still writing Final Fantasy IV fan fic. I also created three Final Fantasy IV board games (because for a while, I couldn't afford the game itself) and a Final Fantasy newspaper, comics, soundtracks taped off the game before I knew they really made them in Japan...I was like a little home-based DIY Final Fantasy industry. I say it left off at 14 because I think that's when the fan fic stopped, but I'll probably love the game to pieces forever.
Age 12-14: I can no longer remember when I first stumbled on Elfquest comics, but I went nuts for them, and abandoned Jonathan the Zombie...I mean, DUNGEON! Master and replaced him with some scantily clad elves with bad dialogue and strong cheekbones. Elfquest was wonderful and creative, but perhaps not the best thing to mimic.
Age 13-15: Elfquest love led me to some general comic book love, especially the X-Men, especially Nightcrawler...surprisingly, I don't think I ever ripped off his character. I mean, really, this is surprising.
Age 14-20: The first time I ever saw Sailor Moon was like, discovering a new religion or something, at the time. It was so different and amazing, and of course, I was soon sucked in to general anime fandom, my favorite series ultimately turning out to be Fushigi Yuugi. There was cosplay, my whole art style changed, I started studying Japanese and still haven't stopped, and I was helping to run Anime Festival Orlando for several years in my early twenties, but the really obsessive part had died down by then, so I won't count it.
Age 18-22: Before I got together with my partner Dade, almost all the music I listened to was video game and anime music. But Electric Light Orchestra turned out to be sort of like a gateway drug. For some reason--maybe because ELO is the music used for the Daicon animation from Japan--a lot of anime fans love ELO, including Dade. I started listening to ELO and Queen but what really turned me into a music geek was my discovery of David Bowie. And listening to Bowie led me to Bowie's contemporaries (Roxy Music!), the people who influenced Bowie (60s British mod groups!) and the people Bowie influenced. BTW, fashion obsession and music obsession went hand in hand.
Bowie and friends, btw, was really my last great obsession. At 23, I started following what became my career, and while I still find new stuff to love, I don't seem to need fandom like I used to. I guess because I've found a place in the world. I don't know if it's like this for everyone, but fandoms really helped me find out who I was, and filled gaps and needs in my life--for friends, for confidence, for permission to be or do certain things in my inner or outer life. It was amazing, fun, and sometimes deliciously painful to love something SO MUCH. I think we learn more from the things we geek out over than we sometimes give ourselves credit for. So...geek on! Or something.
Maybe later I'll post a few fan fic snippets. ;)
What is your geek chronology?
One of my tweets was, how many people trace their own life history based on what they were obsessed with at the time? I know I do. The stuff I loved is what shaped me as a writer and a person. (Even when, in hindsight, it's a bit embarrassing.)
So, here, with years approximate, is my life history via geekery.
Age 5-8: Scrooge McDuck. I loved Duck Tales so much because I identified with this wealthy, miserly, entrepreneurial good-at-heart duck. I even spent a huge chunk of my birthday money one year on an expensive collection of Carl Barks comics. Why, you may ask? I can only presume I had some past life as a railroad baron or something, and I wasn't quite over it.
Age 6-7: I actually had two different Scrooge McDuck phases that bookended my obsession with Zoobilee Zoo, particularly Bravo Fox, the arrogant homosexual theatrical fox. Okay, I mean, the show never said he was homosexual, but in hindsight... I was a bossy, hammy child, so it makes a little more sense I would identify with Bravo.
Age 9-10: For a little while I moved on to Back to the Future. In this case (yeah, I never wanted to be girls unless they were mermaids, I always wanted to be strange old men) all my pretend games were Back to the Future, and I was always Doc Brown. This is the obsession I'll admit that I least understand in my adult life.
Age 10-11: I loved the Xanth books by Piers Anthony like crazy, especially Jonathan the Zombie Master, who has an awesome bittersweet romance in Castle Roogna. It still holds up, if you ask me. I totally wrote fan fic about Jonathan, and even sent Piers a letter begging him to put Jonathan in more books. His response seemed a little confused as to why I cared so much.
Age 11-12: The Nightmare Before Christmas. This mingled nicely with my obsession with Jonathan the Zombie Master. At this point, I was mostly beyond fan fic and pretend games of other people's worlds, so I created my very OWN world, with a main character called Jonathan the Dungeon Master, and a skeleton dude who looked exactly like Jack. Because I was just that creative.
Age 11-14: Did I say I was over fan fic? Nevermind! I was still writing Final Fantasy IV fan fic. I also created three Final Fantasy IV board games (because for a while, I couldn't afford the game itself) and a Final Fantasy newspaper, comics, soundtracks taped off the game before I knew they really made them in Japan...I was like a little home-based DIY Final Fantasy industry. I say it left off at 14 because I think that's when the fan fic stopped, but I'll probably love the game to pieces forever.
Age 12-14: I can no longer remember when I first stumbled on Elfquest comics, but I went nuts for them, and abandoned Jonathan the Zombie...I mean, DUNGEON! Master and replaced him with some scantily clad elves with bad dialogue and strong cheekbones. Elfquest was wonderful and creative, but perhaps not the best thing to mimic.
Age 13-15: Elfquest love led me to some general comic book love, especially the X-Men, especially Nightcrawler...surprisingly, I don't think I ever ripped off his character. I mean, really, this is surprising.
Age 14-20: The first time I ever saw Sailor Moon was like, discovering a new religion or something, at the time. It was so different and amazing, and of course, I was soon sucked in to general anime fandom, my favorite series ultimately turning out to be Fushigi Yuugi. There was cosplay, my whole art style changed, I started studying Japanese and still haven't stopped, and I was helping to run Anime Festival Orlando for several years in my early twenties, but the really obsessive part had died down by then, so I won't count it.
Age 18-22: Before I got together with my partner Dade, almost all the music I listened to was video game and anime music. But Electric Light Orchestra turned out to be sort of like a gateway drug. For some reason--maybe because ELO is the music used for the Daicon animation from Japan--a lot of anime fans love ELO, including Dade. I started listening to ELO and Queen but what really turned me into a music geek was my discovery of David Bowie. And listening to Bowie led me to Bowie's contemporaries (Roxy Music!), the people who influenced Bowie (60s British mod groups!) and the people Bowie influenced. BTW, fashion obsession and music obsession went hand in hand.
Bowie and friends, btw, was really my last great obsession. At 23, I started following what became my career, and while I still find new stuff to love, I don't seem to need fandom like I used to. I guess because I've found a place in the world. I don't know if it's like this for everyone, but fandoms really helped me find out who I was, and filled gaps and needs in my life--for friends, for confidence, for permission to be or do certain things in my inner or outer life. It was amazing, fun, and sometimes deliciously painful to love something SO MUCH. I think we learn more from the things we geek out over than we sometimes give ourselves credit for. So...geek on! Or something.
Maybe later I'll post a few fan fic snippets. ;)
What is your geek chronology?
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