Archive for January, 2010

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Amazon Issues

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Many of you have probably already heard about Amazon.com’s sudden removal of all Macmillan titles (they are still available on the website for sale by third parties, but not from Amazon itself). Macmillan’s CEO had something to say about why this might be.

Since GIVE UP THE GHOST was published by Henry Holt, one of Macmillan’s houses, that means at the moment it can not be bought from Amazon.com.

Which makes this an excellent time to continue to encourage you to support your local independent bookstores! If you had intended to purchase GHOST or any other Macmillan title from Amazon, I recommend instead checking Indiebound to see if any indies in your area carry it. If they don’t, I am a big fan of Powells, which will ship anywhere in the US and has a free shipping offer as well!

And if you have a preference for chain stores for whatever reason, I would point out that Barnes and Noble is still carrying GHOST in several locations as well as online.

After all, just because there’s a bully in the room doesn’t mean you have to pay them any notice. (Though if you would like to express disappointment with Amazon’s actions, that may be helpful in getting this situation resolved quickly!)

Posted in News | 1 Comment »

Five Hotels in Books

Friday, January 29th, 2010

In honor of having recently (finally!) read, and loved, SUITE SCARLETT.

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary – The Mountain View Inn: Where a mouse and a boy form a friendship based on a shared love of a toy motorcycle.

Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe – The Venetian Hotel: Where all the trouble begins, starting with a three-legged cat leaping on our heroine.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan – The Marriott Marquis: Where our couple is caught in a compromising position in the ice room.

Prada and Prejudice – Unnamed five-star hotel in London: Where an embarrassing moment and a surprising encounter provoke Callie to buy a very special pair of heels.

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson – The Hopewell: Where the Martin family makes their home and livelihood, and the means by which Scarlett meets the eccentric woman who will throw her life into a whirlwind.

Posted in Book Rec, Five | No Comments »

All in a day’s work

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Things I looked up on the internet to fill in some of the square brackets in my WIP:

-top performing arts schools in N. America

-illnesses that most often lead to death in N. America (answer: for the most part, cancer, cancer, and more cancer)

-what exactly is a strait?

-dance sequences in movies

Time taken to find all the info I needed: 1.5 hrs

Posted in Writer At Work | No Comments »

Flashback: Thoughts on Love

Monday, January 25th, 2010

December 29, 1995 (Megan is 15)

We watched a movie called THE MAN IN THE MOON tonight. In it, this girl falls in love with a guy who’s 17 (she’s 14) but he and her sister fall in love later (when they meet). [My cousin] and [my other cousin] and X were saying that they hated the older sister, but I don’t see why. Just because she (the younger sister) liked the guy first didn’t mean he belonged to her. And although he did start to like her, it was more as a friend.

How can you say one love is more important than another? The only reason it is right that the older sister and the guy got together is that they both loved each other, whereas it was one-sided, or would have been, with the younger sister. It wouldn’t be fair to the two to give up happiness because her feelings would be hurt, and her feelings would have been hurt anyway, ’cause he didn’t like her in that way any more.

The one thing that is really important to think of is that nobody chooses for someone to love them. You can’t blame a person because the one you love loves them and not you. And you can’t blame the one either. That’s the thing with love–you can’t control it, define it, or restrain it. You can blame it, but it won’t do anyone a lot of good. That’s just the way it is.

–

An Introduction to Flashbacks
The Flashback Cast
The Flashback Timeline

Posted in Flashback | 1 Comment »

Helping out in our writerly way

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

The 2009 Debs have come together to create a fantabulous prize pack of signed books, which The Leaky Cauldron will be offering in their Help Haiti Heal event this Saturday (January 23rd) starting at 2pm EST!

For more information on the event, here’s the announcement.

For a full list of the books to be offered, check out this Debs post.

Please help this great cause by posting/tweeting/spreading the word however you are best able!

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Books in diary format

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Every book brings new challenges, and my current project is no exception. The biggest of them? I’m writing it not just in first person POV (like GHOST), but in the form of the main character’s journal entries.

It’s interesting how much of a difference it makes to how the story gets told. I think there’s at least as much difference between regular first person and diary first person as there is between first person and (limited) third. I have to consider not just the character’s voice, but timing (when during these events will she have time to write?), content (what sorts of things would she bother to mention in her journal? what might she leave out?), and style (she might think something one way, but would she actually phrase it like that when writing it down?). It makes certain aspects harder (can’t have a cliffhanger in the middle of the action!) but other things more satisfying (there’s a reason this is all being written down, from her perspective, not just mine as the author).

How do you all feel about diary format in fiction? Do you enjoy it or avoid it? What things do you like about it, and what can bother you? Examples you think work particularly well (or not well) are welcome!

Posted in Discussion, Writer At Work | 4 Comments »

New story soundtracks

Monday, January 18th, 2010

To give you a taste of what I’ve been working on lately, here’s the song that I’ve had on repeat for the last two weeks:

If I can get that feeling on the page, I will be a very happy writer.

Posted in Writer At Work | 3 Comments »

Free Fiction on a Friday!

Friday, January 15th, 2010

It seems to me it’s about time I shared another of my early short stories. So you can now find “Horns” on the website.

“Horns” was written in 2002 and appeared in BRUTARIAN QUARTERLY magazine in the summer of 2005. It’s one of the few stories I’ve written in the last ten years without an outline or really any preplanning at all. I just sat down with the image of a unicorn in someone’s shabby garage, and the words flowed out, and several hours later I had a story.

Just don’t ask me what it’s all supposed to mean. :)

Read it here.

Hope you enjoy!

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Queries and agents

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

Curious about the query letter that got me representation for GHOST? (Back then it was called IN MEMORY OF.) My agent, Kristin Nelson, is sharing it, along with her comments on what made it successful, over at her blog:

GHOST query letter and commentary

Other than the bit about the “explosive intervention of an angry student,” that summary still accurately describes the book, even several edits down the line. (And there is still an angry student who attempts to intervene, just no explosions.)

Posted in Writer At Work | 2 Comments »

For those of you who wonder where writers get their ideas

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

I got a book idea today from watching Miley Cyrus music videos on YouTube with one of the kids I work with. :)

Will I actually write that book? That will probably not be seen for at least a couple years. (My ideas like a long simmer before they’re ready to be written.) But if I do, at least I’ve got that one frequent interview question figured out!

Question for the writers: What’s the weirdest way you’ve gotten an idea for a story?

Posted in Discussion, Writer At Work | 2 Comments »

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