Writing Compromised and the Liebster Award

Ever have that experience where you’re editing a manuscript and you come across a section that’s horribly written compared to the rest. After some thought you recall that you wrote that section when you were sick with a bad cold, sinus infection, flu or whatever. You make a vow to yourself as you slog through trying to fix it that you will never ever again let yourself write while sick. Only you know, deep down inside, that when that time comes you’ll try not to work and big guilt-wielding fists inside your mind will beat you up over the work that isn’t getting done until you give in and start writing.

I’m at that point now, that sick point. In a valiant effort to mitigate damage, however, I am letting those guilt-wielding fists win in the form of a blog post because I have an easy one in the queue thanks to the fantastic Briana Vedsted who recently nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award. Thanks Briana!

The Rules

1. Accept the award, post the picture of the Liebster Award on the top of post, say who nominated you for the award, and list their blog site (see above).
2. List 11 random facts about me.
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers for the Liebster Award and list their blog sites.
4. Notify the bloggers of their award.
5. Ask the award winners 11 questions to answer when they accept their Liebster Award.
6. Answer the questions left for me by the blogger who gave me the award.

11 Random Facts about Me

1. I love stacking things to the point that if you put a board game in front of me I would almost rather make sculptures out of the dice and game pieces than actually play the game.
2. I love playing board games (Arkham Horror or Dominion anyone?), almost as much as I love stacking the pieces.
3. I also love video games. Single player RPGs mostly, though I can be talked into a good adventure game now and then.
4. I don’t drink beer, but I have discovered a soft spot for good cider.
5. I’m afraid of heights unless I’m in a cave.
6. I love history, especially in the form of historical structures and artifacts. The true stories behind such things give me a world of ideas.
7. I love to prompt conversation then sit back and listen (unless someone asks me about my writing, then I never shut up).
8. My favorite instrument is the violin.
9. I’m addicted to Burt’s Bees lip balm. Seriously. There are 2 by my bed, one in my truck, one in my purse, one on my desk, one by where I sit in the living room, one in my kayak emergency kit,  and a few in a drawer in the kitchen in case I run out.
10. I’m addicted to Science Fiction television to the point of throwing a Firefly screening party and loosing considerable sleep over the occasional Doctor Who marathon.
11. I don’t sing in the shower, but I do sing in my truck (all the time).

My Questions from Briana

1. What is your favorite movie? The Fifth Element maybe, or Howl’s Moving Castle, or How to Train Your Dragon. Too many great movies to choose from really.
2. What is your favorite book? Again, too many to choose from, but I think the Last Herald Mage trilogy would be one of the top picks (yeah, I cheated and picked a trilogy).
3. Do you like sunset or sunrise better? Sunrise. It marks the start of a new day with tons of potential.
4. Are you a cat person, or a dog person? Cats. Nothing against dogs, but I am very much a cat person.
5. Have you ever eaten any wild game? Yes. It has happened.
6. If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be? I would be in less pain all the time I suppose (too many injuries).
7. Do you have someone in your life that is your best friend? Who is it? I’m fortunate to have many people in my life who I would call my best friends for varying reasons. I think different people play different roles in our lives so calling only one person a best friend is really rather misleading in a way. If I had to pick, I imagine my husband and my mom would top the list.
8. Where would you like to go on vacation? Just got back from London (where I finally got to see in person many of the places I wrote about in The Girl and The Clockwork Cat and get ideas for use in books two and three) and Dublin (where I got to see places that may show up in future books). I would like to go to Japan or Malta next.
9. Are you happy or sad when it rains? Depends on the day. Rain can be fun or depressing or indifferent depending on my mood that day.
10. What is your favorite food? Popcorn. That’s a dietary staple, right?
11. Do you have a hobby? What is it? I have many hobbies including kayaking, horseback riding, caving, dancing, iaido, and so on. Too many perhaps.

My Nominees

• Confessions of a Wordslut (http://confessionsofawordslut.com/)
• Kelly’s Eye (http://mrkelly2u.wordpress.com/)
• A Digital Magician (http://pathunstrom.wordpress.com/)
• Jason Alan. Writer, Character. (http://jasonalanwriter.wordpress.com/)
• A Fuzzy Mango With Wings (http://fuzzymango.wordpress.com/)
• DaphneShadows (http://daphneshadows.wordpress.com/)
• Shaven Wookiee (http://shavenwookiee.wordpress.com/)
• Catherine Johnson (http://catherinemjohnson.wordpress.com/)
• Ellen Gregory ~ To beyond and back (http://ellenvgregory.com/)
• Tami Clayton ~ Taking Tea in the Kasbah (http://tamiclayton.wordpress.com/)
• Elizabeth Fais ~ Where the awesome begins... (http://elizabethfais.wordpress.com/)

My Questions to those Nominees

1. What’s one odd quirk or habit you have?
2. Do you have any collections and what are they?
3. When you get free time alone, how do you like to spend it?
4. What’s your favorite season and why?
5. What’s your favorite instrument?
6. Do you prefer drama or comedy and what appeals to you about that preference?
7. Beer or wine (or something else entirely)?
8. What makes a party good?
9. What do you typically do on vacation?
10. Are you a morning person or an evening person?
11. My cat wants to know if you prefer sparkly toys or feather toys and why?

Next week I'll take you with me (virtually of course) on my adventure traveling through many of the areas of London that played prominent roles in my novel The Girl and the Clockwork Cat complete with many photos.

Happy living!

The Writing Group Misnomer

Writing is lonely work. Its long hours spent writing, researching, editing, building craft and questioning yourself. Is the plot good? Can people relate to this character? Did I use that word right? Does this story suck? When the work isn’t going well and the questions start building up in your mind, you can find yourself sinking in a spiral of self-doubt and frustration. It’s a destructive state of mind that can make it impossible to write and getting out of it alone can be challenging. Finding like-minded people to talk to and spend time around can be the key to keeping yourself sane as an author.

But where do you find these like-minded people?

A writing group of course and in these days of social media and endless online resources finding a writing group is the easy part. The problem comes when you realize not all writing groups are created equal. In fact, many writing groups aren’t actually writing groups at all. There are many different types of groups that claim that title.

The Critique Group – Groups that read and give feedback on each other’s work.

PROS: These groups are handy for writers who don’t have their own band of beta readers cultivated. They can also be useful simply to get the input of other writers, which is often a little different from the input you get from readers who don’t write. A good critique group can help you make your story great.

CONS: Can be sabotaged by writers only interested in getting feedback on their own work who don’t really care enough to give good feedback on anyone else’s work. Feedback also needs to be considered carefully. Not all writers in these groups are going to have the same skill level, genre, or understanding of different styles. Those variables need to be taken into account when determining what feedback is and isn’t worthwhile.

The Discussion Group – Groups that gather to discuss the craft of writing.

PROS: These groups can be great for any author looking to develop their skill. Some groups may discuss writing samples and even bring in guest speakers to discuss different aspects of the writing process. This can be a great way to improve your overall writing ability and the quality of your work.

CONS: Like with critique groups, the skill, genre, and styles of the attendees and speakers will vary. It’s important to take everything you learn and apply it only as appropriate to your work. Every author is a little different and that’s part of what makes books interesting.

The Social Group – Groups that simply gather to commiserate and support one another.

PROS: This group isn’t about writing or improving craft, it’s about sanity. We all need support in our writing. Sometimes, even when they support us, our loved ones and friends just don’t completely get what we go through as writers. That’s where a group like this is extremely useful.

CONS: Like with the critique group, self-focused individuals who really aren’t interested in anything but their own struggles can sabotage this well-meaning group. It’s important to find a balanced group that is willing to support one another. This group can also degrade quickly to random social chatter, but that isn’t necessarily bad. It's a social group after all.

The Writing Group – This group gets together to write. Really.

PROS: Writing for a predetermined amount of time outside of your normal environment can be a great way to get the creative juices flowing. There is also something about being around others who are writing that forces you to focus on your work because, at the very least, you feel guilty interrupting them. A good writing group is really a great way to get a lot of writing done.

CONS: Some writers don’t actually feel guilty about interrupting you. It can be hard to focus if some of the people begin to engage in social chatter while you’re trying to write. A disciplined writing group can be hard to find.

Many groups may combine elements. For me, the dedicated writing group is the most useful. I can learn craft on my own time and I’m fortunate to have a great selection of beta readers vetting my work. I get a ton of writing done when I go somewhere else and sit down to work with other dedicated writers doing the same thing. We set an amount of time to work and, when that time is up, we go have our social group at the pub.

The phrase ‘writing group’ can be a big misnomer. The important thing is to figure out what kind of group you need and try out some different ones. Don’t feel guilty about dropping out if a group isn’t meeting your needs. Somewhere there will be one that does and, if you can’t find it, gather some people and build your own. With all the social media, it’s easier than ever to find like-minded folks.

Now back to my crazy awesome work in progress! Happy writing!

Wonderstruck Guest Post

Between my books and several articles I'm working on for an upcoming publication, I haven't had time to blog much, but today I get a free pass thanks to a guest post I did for the wonderful S. M. Hutchins at her blog Live Wonderstruck.

Each Wednesday is Wonderstruck Interview day. Hearing other people’s stories is a great way to see things from a different perspective and perhaps find something new to apply to our own lives.

Today’s interviewee is writer Nikki McCormack.

You can see my Wonderstruck Interview here.

Happy Wednesday all!

Book Review: Sex and Death in the American Novel by Sarah Martinez

While I try to read a lot, I rarely review novels. I don't have the time, what with trying to find time to write and edit my own. I especially try not to commit to reviewing a novel when I've met and liked the author because there is always that chance that I just won't like it. I can say with complete honesty and relief that it is truly a pleasure when a book delights me enough that I can feel good about breaking that rule. Sex and Death in the American Novel by Sarah Martinez isn't my typical fare. I'm a fantasy and science fiction geek. Reading something in literary erotica was a bit of a dive off the deep end for me. I truly expected not to like it and I was very pleasantly proven wrong.

The protagonist in the novel, Vivianna, is a woman who, on the outside, seems to know who she is. She's an erotic fiction author. Her relationship with her mother and brother are convoluted, tense, loving, and relatively typical of many family relationships on the surface, with a clear bit of unsettle history around her deceased, Pulitzer Prize winning father. Viv has some good friends, a successful career, and she's confident about her body and her sexuality in ways that most of us can admire.

On a high level, the story is a romantic, sensual and erotic tale that never slips into the common pitfall of becoming crass and vulgar, but on a deeper level, this is the story of a woman who lives her life crushed in the shadow of a father who, while dead, still rules over her and her family. It's a moving and beautiful tale of one woman's struggle to overcome the destructive need to prove herself to a man who is long gone and the devastating effect that same need has wrought upon her mother and brother. This is her journey to discover that, only by accepting and loving yourself for who you are, can you truly come to accept and love the people around you.

…

At least that is what this tale was for me. Your mileage may vary. Regardless, Sex and Death in the American Novel is a novel I strongly recommend.

Happy reading!

One New Thing: January 2013 - Fire and Melty Things

It’s getting hot in here so… ah, nevermind. Today I want to share a fun new experience I had in January. A good friend invited me to join her for a glass blowing class at Seattle Glassblowing Studio. This was something I’d never done before and as someone who believes strongly in experiencing as much as I can, both for my writing and for my own personal growth, I was happy to accept.

Before I get too far into that, however, I want to talk a little about the surprisingly pleasant experience I had on the Seattle buses. I don’t ride the buses much (perhaps six times in 12 years) and I prefer not to drive around them. As a result, I’m a bit clueless when it comes to bus fares and I failed to consider this before stepping onto the bus with my friend who has a bus pass and therefore doesn’t have to worry about rates. As I stood in the front of the bus and dug through my purse in search of the $2.50 fare the driver gave me a pitying look and asked if I’d ridden the bus before. I gave him my sheepish smile…

and told him I rarely had a need to. He smiled and told me it was my lucky day, I should put my money away and buy myself a coffee later, which was very sweet, although I don’t drink coffee.

At the end of the day, when we got on a bus to leave, I put $3.00 in because I didn’t have any change, but I figured I was still ahead. Although, I told him not to worry about it, the driver hunted down a quarter and sent it back to me with another passenger after I’d taken a seat. Not such bad people, as long as you’re on the bus and not trying to share the road with it.

Anyway, on to the glass shop and glassblowing pictures.

What similar adventures or experiences have you had that you would recommend to others?

Happy adventuring!

The 'Not a Post' Post

This is not really a post. This is me trying to fill in a blank while I busily edit away at the next novel in my lineup. The holidays and life in general put my schedule off something horrible this year. I've finally found my author mojo again. Now I'm editing and trying not to angst over my out of date blog and my broken truck. As an act of charity, you are welcome to send me either a mechanic or someone with a truck who would like to empty my manure trailer. If you would like to engage in a more rewarding act of charity, there's a set of Stormdancer first edition, first printing hardcover, and The Little Stormdancer paperback with bookplate and bookmark signed by the excellent author Jay Kristoff up for bid on eBay (click here). All proceeds go to Worldbuilders in support of Heifer International. The auction ends in less than 4 hours so be quick.

Of course, by mentioning this here, I have guaranteed that my blog will be out of date again by the end of the day.

Ah well. In closing I leave you with a kitteh. Happy writing!

The Next Big Thing and the No Kiss

I was all ready to do my No Kiss Blog Fest entry (due today), then I was tagged by the wicked Tod McCoy (who’s really quite a pleasure to be around when he isn’t signing me up for extra work) for The Next Big Thing Blog Hop (also due today). The most logical thing seemed to be to combine these two into one post. The book I am working on is Clockwork Cat book three, but I’m going to focus on the Clockwork Cat series as a whole for the Next Big Thing and snag the almost kiss from book one of another series. Without further delay, here is my entry for The Next Big Thing Blog Hop followed by the much-anticipated (let me delude myself – I’m happy that way) entry for the No Kiss Blog Fest.

1. What is the working title of your book? Book three has no official title yet, it’s just book three. The first book is The Girl and the Clockwork Cat so Clockwork Cat has naturally become the series title.
2. Where did the idea come from for the book? The series started with an idea I had during a writer’s conference. I’ve gone into that in detail in Writing the Right Book so I’ll let you read that if you want to.
3. What genre does your book fall under?  I call it Young Adult steampunk, though the steampunk elements are not that heavy, especially in book one, which is almost more of a Young Adult alternate history. As the series progresses, the steampunk elements play more of a role.
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?  No clue. They are unique in my head and, at this point, I’d rather keep them that way.
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? I don’t have one that encompasses the series, but this is one of the less horrible versions I came up with for book one: After finding a cat with an unusual clockwork leg, Maeko discovers just how much a London street rat can accomplish when she decides to protect the cat and prove the innocence of a friend’s family by pursuing a murder investigation through the squalid streets of the city.
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? The books are represented by Emily Keyes of L. Perkins Agency.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? The first draft of book one I wrote for NaNoWriMo 2010. Book two I wrote for NaNo in 2012. Book three has taken longer because I set it aside and rehashed some of the plot, which will now require a bit of rewriting before I finish the first draft.
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Honestly, I’m not sure. It sticks more to the lower key alternate history style of steampunk in the nature of The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, but with more of a high-stakes adventure pacing… and a cat.
9. Who or What inspired you to write this book? Again, it was something said at a writer’s conference in conjunction with music from a Steampunk event I’d been to prior to the conference (oh, and a conversation with my mom in which the cat with the clockwork leg came to life and cemented the deal).
10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? The main character, a half-Japanese girl surviving as a pickpocket in the streets of London, is a vibrant and determined individual who really seems to capture my readers. Also, everyone loves the cat.

Now, I shall tag these authors to answer the same questions for next Wednesday:

• DaphneShadows
• Mike Schulenberg - Realms of Perilous Wonder
• Simontall - Science fiction, writing and general musings from a tall Englishman

But that’s not all. Here, for your reading pleasure and for the No Kiss Blog Fest is an “almost” kiss from the first book in my dark fantasy series. It wasn’t easy to find one of these scenes. Apparently, I'm not much for “almost” kissing.

Perhaps it was her insatiable curiosity as a reporter, but she was strangely reluctant to leave him now that safety was so close. “I… I don’t understand.”

“What if I told you I intend to kill you now?”

“I…” she hesitated, torn between instinct and ingrained fear.

“Do not think about your answer. Say what you feel.” His eyes held her captive.

“For some reason, I wouldn’t believe you.”

He smiled and Dark swirled around him, giving a sinister, yet deliciously forbidden allure to the expression.

“I don’t understand,” she repeated. “I thought Dark sovereigns were dangerous. I thought they… tortured people.”

He stepped in close to her. “We are very dangerous,” he whispered, his lips so close to hers that she could feel the breath of his words tickle across them. “Sometimes, we just are not in the mood to play.”

“The dress,” she muttered, looking down at the gown she wore to escape his intense gaze and focus on anything other than the longing now raging through her.

“Wear it when you return.” His hands slid up her arms to her shoulders. “You are trembling again. Are you afraid now?”

“No,” she breathed.

His lips brushed hers, almost more of a caress than a kiss. Then he stepped back, releasing her, and the Dark folded around him. In an instant, she was alone.

Savoring the lingering tingle of his light kiss, she licked her lips and tasted blood on them. It had the familiar coppery tang, but was unusually sweet. She ran her tongue over her lips again, searching for a cut that would explain the blood. Again, she tasted the copper-sweet tang and licked it away, finding no wound beneath. The wound inside her lip from her fall had long since stopped bleeding. This wasn’t from that. Odd.

Swallowing the taste of coppery sweetness, she turned to go inside and stopped mid-step. A chill ran through her. What had Syberis told her?

The cat’s voice whispered through her memory. “We are bound in hisss blood.”

Holiday Madness and Almost Kisses

The holidays this year have been incredibly busy. There's been dancing and iaido as usual, with kendo now added to the mix, but you have to fill in that summer caving, horse riding and kayaking time with something. (Wait! Did I actually have time for those things when the weather was nice?) There's enormous time sunk into holiday parties, visiting family, and planning out unnecessarily complicated gifts for loved ones. Then, just to keep things exciting, you add in a car accident (yeah, I realize now that this wasn't the best idea) some whiplash and all the accompanying insurance hassle, car repairs, and rehab that come with it. Suddenly, you find yourself slipping in five minutes at the computer and wondering where all the writing time went.

Rather than succumb to madness, I've opted to accept that this period of time is going to be chaotic for me. There will be opportunity after the New Year (assuming the world doesn't end because some poor Mayan got sick of working on the calendar) and what better way to kick it off than with a blogfest dedicated to the almost kiss.

The 4th Annual NO KISS Blogfest!

Here are the rules:

No Kiss Blogfest Jan 2, 2013!

Things You Should Do To Prepare For The Ultimate Non-Kissage Festivities!

1. Sometime between now and Jan 2, 2013 write a post about the No Kiss Blogfest to let everyone know you are participating and that they should too. Why? Because it's awesome! (Please link back)
2. Sign up for the No Kiss Blogfest by filling in the Mr. Linky here. Because Mr. Linky is awesome.
3. Tweet about No Kiss Blogfest, using the hash tag: #nokissblogfest because #hashtagsareawesome
4. After you've recovered from New Years Eve, write a blog sharing your Almost Kiss, No Kiss Blogfest entry (either one from your WIP, one you just wrote, one from a book, movie or tv show, or even a really hot almost-kiss picture)and post on January 2, 2013!!! Because reading your posts are awesome! (Don't forget to link back)

Get ready for the steamiest day of 2013! It's going to rule! Join the fun, sign up here!

Don't forget to tune in on my blog for my entry in the No Kiss Blogfest.

Happy Holidays!

The NaNo Novel That Could (or How I Got My Agent)

I started out looking for an agent the way many people do, by cold querying any agent who handled my type of books. I thought I had an amazing book and, honestly, we should think that of our work. If we don’t love it, why the hell did we write it. I just knew someone was going to snatch up this spectacular masterpiece. They didn’t.

I was naïve, but it’s okay to be naïve. The important thing is being able to learn and grow. In the beginning, I only researched agents and editors to make sure they handled my genre. But that’s not enough. Information is everywhere. There’s no excuse for sending something to an inappropriate agent or editor. Just handling your genre doesn’t make them an automatic fit. That’s like assuming a shoe will fit simply because it’s the right color.

When you’re looking for an agent, you want someone who will be as passionate about your book as you are. You want someone who will promote it enthusiastically to publishers. To get that, you need to care enough about your book to find the right person for the job.

How do you do this?

The turning point for me came when I attended my first conference, the 2010 Pacific Northwest Writers Conference.

One of the most important things I got out of the experience was the disappointing but crucial realization that the book I was pitching wasn’t ready.

I wasn’t thrilled about the discovery, but I had learned something that would prove to be a solid stepping-stone to getting where I wanted to go. I learned what I needed to do to make the book ready.

The second thing I learned was that meeting face-to-face and showing people that you’re serious about writing is priceless. I got submission requests from all seven agents/editors I pitched to at the conference.

Wait! Didn’t I just say the book wasn’t ready? Yep. But now I had a leg up on the slush pile. I just needed to fix the book and send it.

Lastly, I learned that ideas are simply floating in the air at a writer’s conference.

A single comment made at one session gave me the idea for the book that landed me my agent (more about that book in Writing the Right Book).

Did I get my agent from that conference?

Nope. I sent the manuscript out and received those dreaded rejection letters, but they were different now. The letters from agents and editors who looked at that book provided feedback, suggestions, and positive encouragement that helped me improve that book and my writing in general. The process also helped me understand that agents and editors really are people like the rest of us, not wicked gatekeepers cackling evilly as they hit send on a thousand form rejections a week. They want your book to be good almost as bad as you do and, if you put forth the effort to show them you’re serious, they’ll sometimes help you get it there.

The following year I attended two more conferences pitching the book I wrote during NaNoWriMo 2010, the one that stemmed from the idea I got at the first conference. I learned more, got many requests for the new book, and made some awesome friends. Every partial submission garnered requests for more and the fantastic feedback helped me polish and tune the book between sets of submissions.

During this time, I also stepped up my research and began searching out other ways to get my work out of the slush pile and in front of agents. Online contests are great opportunities. I got my work in front of several agents through contests like those run by Cupid's Literary Connection.

After communicating with numerous agents, I also began to understand that it was important for them to be someone I wanted to work with.

I started taking time before each submission to read up about agents on their agency website and to read entries from their blog if they had one. This research also gave me material with which to personalize my query letters, resulting in even more requests even from cold queries.

The quest for information led me to still more opportunities. I subscribed to Writer’s Digest online and began attending the occasional webinar, especially if the presenter happened to be an agent or editor I was interested in. I had to be selective because, while there are some free webinars, many of them cost and I haven’t found a way to grow money on trees yet (but I’m willing to learn if anyone has tips).

With all the positive feedback I’d been getting, I felt like I balanced on a fence, ready to fall to one side or the other.

Then it happened, sort of.

I signed up for a Writer’s Digest webinar, “How to Find and Work with an Agent in the 21st Century” being presented on January 19th, 2012 by Lori Perkins and Louise Fury of the L. Perkins Agency. I was interested in the agency and the subject, and a query critique by one of the agents was part of the package.

When the 19th came around, we were in the midst of Snowmageddon 2012, stranded at home with a few trees collapsed on the barn and horse shelter and, as of the time of the webinar, without power.

I plugged a headset into my iPhone, downloaded the meeting app (because there really is an app for everything), and crossed my fingers that my battery would make it through the 90-minute presentation. It did, just barely. I was impressed with both agents, but I directed my query specifically to Louise as the book was more up her ally.

On March 18th, I got e-mail from Louise (who had been out of the country) with a complimentary rejection and a referral to a new agent at L. Perkins Agency, Emily Keyes. Emily brought prior experience from the publishing world into this position and, after reading her blog, I liked the personality that came across. I submitted a personalized query the next day with a mention of the webinar and Louise’s referral.

Of course, I’d been submitting to others during this time as well. On April 27th, the editorial assistant at a larger New York publisher contacted me to let me know that she enjoyed the book and wanted to send it to their editorial director for consideration, to which I agreed enthusiastically. On June 5th, I received e-mail from the smaller local press stating that they wanted to move forward with the book.

I wasn’t sure how to handle the escalating interest. Did I jump to the small press? Did I ask them to wait and risk losing their interest? In an effort to solicit some wisdom, I sent e-mail to Emily Keyes letting her know that the book was garnering interest. She had, by this time, requested the full manuscript, but hadn’t read it yet. She provided me with some guidance and took the weekend to read the book.

When I got the offer of representation on June 10th, I finally understood what it meant to find someone with enthusiasm for your work. Emily was very excited about the book and that’s what ultimately decided me. Here was someone passionate enough about my book to put forth a real effort in finding a home for it. I accepted her offer and put her in charge of communicating with the publishers who had already shown interest.

That book is now making rounds and getting looked at by more publishers. I had the opportunity to meet Emily in person at a writer’s conference I attended in July. She is a delightful person and I am quite happy with her process of submitting the book. She’s managed to get it in front of several editors I never would have gotten attention from on my own. I also just finished making edits on another book (a much improved version of the one I pitched in 2010) per her suggestions and will soon have two books out making rounds.

What do I believe got me this far, aside from writing the best book I could (which I strongly recommend)?

1. Networking and connecting with people.
2. Finding ways to get my work in front of agents and editors outside of the standard cold query, such as conferences, contests and webinars.
3. Recognizing that agents and editors are people and treating them as such by learning about them through blogs and other social media outlets like Twitter.

So, that’s my agent story and the story to date of my 2010 NaNoWriMo novel. Proof that NaNo novels can be good too.

Happy writing!!

November Silence: Head Down in the Steampunk Novel - Revisited

Well, things are really busy this time of year, and I am doing NaNoWriMo again, albeit without the intention to win because I don't need 50,000 words to finish this project. I'm finishing book three of the Clockwork Cat trilogy (book one of which got me my agent and is making rounds with publishers now). In celebration of that book, which was also a NaNo novel, and because I haven't had time to write something new, I am reposting the November blog from the year I wrote the first Clockwork Cat novel. I've also added a few updates and photos at the end just for fun. Enjoy!

As I mentioned in a prior post, I tried a new approach for NaNoWriMo this year.  I actually started with a full plot already worked out. I am happy to say that it worked out beautifully. Not only did I finish the 50,000 words in 22 days, I came out with a finished first draft of a novel that I am very happy with.  However, I cannot claim all the credit. A lot of it goes to my protagonist and her fabulous crew of support characters.

The idea for this novel was triggered by a few events. When I attended the PNWA writers conference this year, there was a lot of talk about steampunk as a new rising genre. Interestingly, I had been to a steampunk festival only a few weekends prior to this event. On my long drive down to the conference on the second day, I sat in my truck pondering how one would go about writing a steampunk novel. This wasn’t with the intent to write one. I had a ton of ideas waiting on the shelf already and had no desire to add to the backlog. It was just genuine curiosity. Having purchased the music from a great local steampunk band I discovered at the festival (Abney Park if you’re interested), I set that to playing and this is what happened.

While the autopilot (the very primitive portion of my brain that wants me to survive my morning drive because it is easier to type without rigor mortis) took the wheel I went on a walk through the corridors of my mind to see what might be lurking within. I wandered down those hallways deftly avoiding the eyes of all the characters waiting there. If you meet their eyes, they will tell you their stories, whether or not you are ready to hear them. When I turned one corner, I saw a youth standing there in tattered boys pants and dirty boys shirt with one sleeve torn partly off at the shoulder. Intrigued, I raised my eyes. The moment they met hers, I was doomed. She charged in and started to tell me all the gritty details of her steampunk London life.

I will admit, I resisted at first, feeling the deep resentment of the hundreds of characters who have eagerly been awaiting their turn. Then I mentioned the idea to some of my most avid fans and they were deeply enthusiastic in such a way that I found the mood infectious. I started to try writing her story, but found that the temper of my long-suffering other characters kept getting in the way.

Frustration forced me to come up with a new plan. I would indulge another character and run with their story while learning what I could about this new steampunk character and her story with the intent of doing that novel as my NaNoWriMo project. To set me off on the right foot, we even had a steampunk Halloween party and left the decorations up. By the time November arrived, this young woman was ready to run. She seized me by the throat and I wrote the fastest novel I have ever written. The great part is, it looks good and I am eagerly diving into the editing process.

The true master of ceremonies at the steampunk Halloween party.

My novel Torment (need to rename it – that is on my to do list – item 675 I think) recently got a very encouraging rejection from a big name publishing house. I plan to take another look at it and see if I can fix the issue they pointed out after the steampunk novel is through its edit and in the hands of my beta readers. Before long, I hope to have the steampunk novel out making the rounds as well. If nothing else, I will try to drown the writing world with my productivity and someone might take notice.

UPDATES:

As I mentioned, The Girl and the Clockwork Cat got me my agent and is searching for a publisher now. Book two is in editing and book three is being finished for NaNoWriMo. I just finished an edit on Torment, now called Dissidents, based on feedback from my agent and am hoping to have it making rounds to publishers before too long. And, lastly, the Steampunk Halloween Party has become something of a tradition since this first year. I've included a few pictures of our costumes from this year's Steampunk Burlesque below.

Happy Writing!!