Medeia Sharif

A ROW80 Update and Giveaway Winners

2012-02-01T05:46:00.003-05:00

It's time for a ROW80 update. The current round of A Round of Words in 80 Days runs from January 2nd to March 22nd. My goal during this round of ROW80 is to a) edit WIP #1 and get it to beta readers and b) write at least half of the first draft for WIP #2 based on the outline I wrote during the previous round. I’m not one to write in detail about my WIPs online, so I’ll use abbreviations of the titles. WIP #1 is TWILAMPH and WIP #2 is EK.

TWILAMPH: Last week I ended at 18 chapters edited, and to date 25 out of 28 chapters have been edited. I really wanted to finish this first round of edits over the weekend, but I was sick three days straight with a cold. Life happens. But with my next update this first round of edits should be done and I will soon start the second round.

EK: I wrote 1 more chapter, so now I'm at 4 chapters completed for this draft, when the outline calls for 24 chapters. As long as I write 1 or 2 chapters a week, I'm on task with this goal.

***

Last week I posted a giveaway for Veronica Roth's DIVERGENT and Michelle Hodkin's THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER. Here are the winners, picked by random.org.

Kelly is the winner of DIVERGENT.
Emily is the winner of THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER.

Congratulations, ladies.

I'll see you all Monday, when I'll be participating in the I'm Hearing Voices Character Blogfest.

Writing on the Go

2012-01-29T06:50:00.004-05:00

Last Monday I had two doctor appointments in the same area. It would have been burdensome to drive back home between them, so I had to stay. I worried that because a good portion of the day was going to be spent waiting for these appointments, I was losing writing time. Sure it was a teacher’s planning day and I had taken the day off, but days off means writing for me. Yet these appointments were a time drain.

So that morning I downloaded the Pages app onto my iPad. I usually look for free apps for my iPad, and this was the first time I paid for an app. The Pages app transfers documents to and from your iPad. So I loaded some Word documents related to my WIPs onto my iPad hoping I’d write a chapter or two during my appointments. Then I stuck the device in my purse.

While I sat in lobbies and waiting rooms, I was able to type out two-thirds of one chapter, but it was not easy at first. I had to get used to the virtual keyboard. I’ve had my iPad for a while, but I was really just using it to read books. Now I was typing on this thing. And I kept accidentally deleting chunks of fresh writing by hitting undo. Because I didn’t know where the redo button was—but later on I found it—I was retyping paragraphs at a time, frustrated that with each step forward I fell one step behind.

I eventually got the hang of the keyboard. I didn’t write as much as I wanted to before and after my appointments because of my initial clumsiness, but I did get something done. At home I found a better way to use the app in conjunction with another device I had. I had my outline open on my iPad while I typed chapters of my draft onto my AlphaSmart. The AlphaSmart’s physical keyboard made writing twice as fast compared to the iPad, while the iPad was handy for having my outline open—with no distracting internet, I was typing like a speed demon. I’ll still use the Pages app since the iPad fits into my purse—while the AlphaSmart does not—and I’m sure I’ll be less clumsy the next time I write on it. I thought about getting a keyboard for my iPad, but according to reviews that makes iPads bulky, and the whole reason I have an iPad in the first place is to avoid the bulk factor.

Overall, I like having these devices because of the portability and their lack of internet. Do you use any writing devices that making writing faster, easier, and/or portable?

***
Contest Reminder

I have two books to give away to blog followers in the U.S. and Canada: Veronica Roth's DIVERGENT and Michelle Hodkin's THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER. The deadline is January 31st, 11:59 p.m. EST. You must be at least 13 years of age to enter and the form is below.

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A ROW80 Update and a Giveaway

2012-01-25T04:26:00.004-05:00

TWILAMPH: Last week I ended at 13 chapters edited, and to date 18 out of 28 chapters have been edited. I wanted to be at 20 chapters, but fell short of my goal. By the end of this month I'd like the first round of edits to be done, so I have to get busy this weekend. February I want to do a second round and March I'd like to do the last round. I'm aiming for three rounds of edits to make my manuscript as polished as possible before I get it into the hands of beta readers.

EK: I wrote 2 more chapters, so now I'm at 3 chapters completed for this draft, when the outline calls for 24 chapters. As long as I write 1 or 2 chapters a week from now on, I'll be on task with this goal.

I hope all the other ROW80'ers are doing well with their writing goals.

***

Weekend Random

2012-01-22T04:12:00.000-05:00

I added some new buttons to my sidebar. There are some exciting releases and blogfests coming up.

First in my sidebar is the blog tour for Julie Duck's A PLACE IN THIS LIFE. To date, there are a few slots available in this tour if you're interested.

Sign ups for The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge will start January 31st. I plan on joining and it will be my first time doing this challenge.

I signed up for the Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest, which will take place February 10th. Participants will blog about their celebrity 80's crushes. Who should I pick? Johnny Depp, Ricky Schroder, Michael J. Fox, Kirk Cameron, Emilio Estevez, any one of The New Kids on the Block...there are so many choices, really.

Alex J. Cavanaugh's CASSAFIRE is being released February 28th. I need to move my copy of CASSASTAR higher up my to-be-read pile so that I can read the sequel after it.

And this is a reminder for The I'm Hearing Voices Blogfest, which runs February 6-10. It involves three posts and coincides with the Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest, but that's okay. On February 10th I'll write both posts.

So that concludes the explanation on the latest buttons in my sidebar. I will now share with you my new favorite song, because I'm always discovering songs for the first time and all of a sudden I have a new favorite. This song isn't that new, but I heard it for the first time recently and it's always on replay while I'm writing.

A ROW80 Update and Some Conference Pictures

2012-01-18T05:50:00.001-05:00

TWILAMPH: Last week I ended at 6 chapters edited, and to date 13 out of 28 chapters have been edited.

EK: I'm still on the first chapter, so there really isn't any progress. I did add some missing details to this beginning chapter, but I didn't write the second chapter like I wanted to. Going to a three-day conference did take away from my writing time, in a good way since I learned a lot about the craft while I was there.

***

These are a few conference pictures I have on hand from the SCBWI Florida annual conference that took place over the weekend. There are a few more floating around that will hopefully get emailed to me. And I was a party pooper since I didn't go to the costume party. I wasn't feeling well, but I heard it was a blast. So, I missed out on that fun.

This was taken shortly before I spoke on the First Books Panel. I'm full of nervous energy, but it's not showing.

Me with the lovely Cynthia Chapman Willis.

Me with agent Marietta Zacker. Her client Hilary Wagner asked me to tackle her, I mean hug her, so I did.

Books Recently Read

2012-01-15T07:11:00.001-05:00

*THE WHOLE STORY OF HALF A GIRL - Veera Hiranandani

Sonia Nadhamuni’s life is going well until her father loses his job and she’s pulled out of the private school she adores. Now in a public school, she feels out of place. Her classmates make her uncomfortable with their questions geared towards her name and looks. With an Indian father and Jewish mother, the kids focus is on who she is, what she is, and what religion she practices. Sonia tries to fit in with new friends and cheerleading tryouts, but this doesn’t mean she’s being true to herself. Meanwhile, at home, things are getting worse with her parents. Her mother, who works longer hours because of the father’s job loss, doesn’t like all the changes in Sonia’s social life and her unemployed father is going through emotional changes that will rock the family. I enjoyed all the elements of family, friendship, and diversity in this middle grade novel.

*CRACKED - K.M. Walton

Victor’s parents either ignore or belittle him, and at school he’s bullied in the worst way by Bull. His caring grandmother is far away. He has no one. When circumstances become unbearable for him, he takes a bottle of his mother’s pills and wakes up in a hospital.

Bull, his tormentor, is cruel for a reason. He has his own bruises, being beaten by his grandfather, with a drunken mother who does nothing to support him. When he finds a gun he decides to defend himself. But instead of shooting his grandfather, he accidentally shoots himself. With people thinking it was a suicide attempt, rather than self-defense, he ends up in the same psychiatric hospital as Victor. They’re roommates!

It was an interesting relationship to have in a book. What goes on in the hospital between Victor and Bull, as well how they interact with the other patients, was fascinating. This novel made me teary-eyed, although the authentic teenage voices, areas of comic relief, and the love and hope the boys find in the hospital add lightness to this otherwise sad story. Kudos to K.M. Walton on this amazing debut.

YELLOW STAR - Jennifer Roy

The author took her aunt Syvia’s Nazi occupation story and turned it into this verse book. Reading about Syvia and how her family survived in a Polish ghetto during her childhood was heart-wrenching. I finished it days ago and I’m still thinking about it. YELLOW STAR is a fast read, but one that leaves a lasting impression.

LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR - Stephanie Perkins

Perkins has created another believable world and another to-die-for couple in her latest novel. I adored ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS and was thinking this would be similar,but LOLA features a different world with brand new characters, although Anna and St. Clair are featured in this book (I loved seeing them again). The characters are quirkier than the ones in ANNA, but I find that Perkins knows how to write quirky without going overboard or becoming unrealistic. For several hours I was involved with Lola, her boyfriend, the boy next door she still has feelings for, her two fathers, and the mother who makes a reappearance after almost fading out of her life. This novel has plenty of conflict, and my favorite part was the romance.

*Counts toward the 2012 Debut Author Challenge

A ROW80 Update

2012-01-11T05:43:00.002-05:00

TWILAMPH: I'm aiming for 2 or 3 rounds of edits before I get the manuscript to beta readers. ROW80 began last week and so far I edited 6 out of 28 chapters.

EK: I wrote the first chapter for this, when the outline calls for 24 chapters. I was aiming for 2 chapters, but I fell short because I was figuring out the best way to open the story. I expect to do better for next week's update now that I've established the flow of this draft.

***

I signed up for the I'm Hearing Voices! Character Blogfest. I will write three character-driven pieces, 250 words or less, from February 6-10. If you'd like to sign up, the post with details is here.

Last week I saw a link on Facebook and Twitter regarding a blogger by the name of Candace and her blog entitled The Misadventures in Candyland. The link was to this post, and it just broke my heart so I provided some assistance. I'm passing along the link the same way others have. If you're able to help out, it would be great.

A Conference We Will Go

2012-01-08T05:58:00.006-05:00

I went to many wonderful conferences last year: SCBWI Florida’s regional conference, ALA’s annual conference, SCBWI’s annual summer conference, and ALAN. Out of those four, I spoke at two since last year was my debut year. Now I’m starting the new year with a conference. Next weekend is SCBWI Florida’s regional conference, which occurs every January. Unlike previous years, I’m going to be up there on stage for the first books panel. As a debut author whose book came out in July, I now have the opportunity to speak on this panel for first-time authors.

Not only have I spoken at conferences, but I’ve also done phone interviews since my book came out, and my nerves did get to me during these events, whether there was a crowd or one person on the other end of a phone. I had that ill-in-the-stomach, green-face look. Hopefully, now that I have those experiences behind me, I won’t feel that way come Friday. Wish me luck.

SCBWI Florida also has a costume ball during their winter conferences. This year’s theme is Alice in Wonderland. My costume is all ready. During the previous conferences I met quite a few bloggers and Twitter folk, so in a few days I look forward to meeting more online friends and seeing their wacky dinner costumes. If you’re going, let me know in your comments.

ROW80 and Music to Write to

2012-01-04T02:30:00.002-05:00

This round just began. Also, yesterday I returned to work after a nice two-weak winter break, so I was scrambling around doing last minute errands before getting back into the swing of things. I have nothing to report on the writing front, but next Wednesday I’ll post a true update. ROW80’ers post updates on Sundays and Wednesdays, but I’ve developed the habit of only posting for ROW80 on Wednesday, which works for me. So in a week I’ll share my progress. Good luck to my fellow ROW80’ers. We can do it.

In the meantime, here’s some music I listened to during my break. I did some light writing, nothing heavy, and these three songs were on constant replay. I love the thrill of finding music to write to, since it motivates me, and hopefully I won’t wear these songs out to the point that I’m sick of them. But that would be hard since they’re great tunes, in my opinion.

NO KISS Blogfest & Giveaway Winners

2012-01-02T02:16:00.000-05:00

Happy 2012!

Before we get to the No Kiss Blogfest, I want to wish everyone a happy New Year. May 2012 bring great books to readers, contract news for writers, and awesome things overall.

The No Kiss blogfest is being hosted by Frankie Diane Mallis. Today participating bloggers are posting scenes of the almost-kiss, with that mounting tension when both characters are about to kiss, but then it doesn't happen. Scenes may be written by the bloggers or found in pictures, books, TV shows, and movies.

My scene is from The X-Files. Granted I haven't watched every episode because when the show was on TV in the 90's and early in the millennium I missed it, but thanks to Netflix and Amazon Prime I've been catching up for a while now. I don't know about you, but I wanted Scully and Mulder to get together since the first episode. The following scene is between Scully and a Mulder impersonator. Even though there's an impersonator, the scene is pretty hot, although I believe Scully should have looked a bit more passionate—I mean, she's with David Duchovny!

Lastly, my giveaway for my Books Read in 2011 ended over the weekend. Three winners get one book of their choosing from what I've read in 2011. The 3 winners, picked from random.org, are

#49 on my contest spreadsheet, Sharon
# 5 Jennifer
# 24 Susan

Congratulations, ladies.

Books Recently Read

2011-12-28T08:58:00.000-05:00

After joining ROW80, participating in blogfests, hosting giveaways, and interviewing authors, I haven't done one of these Books Recently Read posts in a while. I miss doing them, so here goes....

WATCHING WILLOW WATTS - Talli Roland

Willow Watts is a sweet young woman who left London to live with her widowed father in a small England town. When she impersonates Marilyn Monroe and becomes a Youtube hit, people think she's not only an impersonator but the spiritual incarnation of the Hollywood star. The village turns topsy-turvy with the media attention. Then a shady agent hones in on Willow to transform her further into Marilyn, romance her, and swindle her. Willow falls for his lies because she wants to help her father get out of debt. Under her agent’s guidance, her hair is bleached and parts of her body are artificially plumped, and the line between Willow and Marilyn blur. There are other storylines interwoven in the story when Willow experiences longing for an old beau and her father falls for an American Marilyn fan. I loved how everything fell into place for Willow, but I won’t reveal too much. This is a fantastic chick lit book full of humor and heart.

A PLACE IN THIS LIFE - Julie Rieman Duck

Natalie is torn between two boys. Alex is handsome, sweet, and—as she finds out later—rich. Todd is a bad boy who has leukemia. Natalie, who is rather innocent and has never been in a relationship before, has these two boys vying for her attention. She makes her choice, even though heartache is inevitable. This book fully captures the teenage experience. I was inside Natalie’s head as she underwent a tumultuous year of love, and I felt all her highs and lows.

SCARS - Cheryl Rainfield

Kendra was sexually abused as a child and as a teenager she cuts as a mechanism to relieve the emotional pain. Her attacker is out there, sending her threatening messages, and she’s always on edge. Even though she can’t remember his identity, he won’t let her forget what’s happened and he’s doing whatever it takes to make sure his name isn't unleashed. Even though Kendra has strong ties with friends, a new love interest and a caring counselor, what blocks her from happiness are her memories of an attacker who’s currently watching her every move.

Cheryl Rainfield has written a novel that exposes a real problem, giving a face to cutters. To sum it up in one word, this book is raw. SCARS is easy to read in the sense that it’s well-written and the pages seem to fly by because of the riveting story, but at the same time it’s not easy to read because I felt uncomfortable with certain scenes. This debut is powerful, gripping, and suspenseful.

INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN - Thanhha Lai

Hà is a ten-year-old Vietnamese girl who leaves war-torn Saigon unsure of whether her father is alive or not and what it’s going to be like in her new location. She ends up in Alabama. The culture shock is so realistic that I felt like I was with Hà during her struggles, which were confusing, heartbreaking, and finally empowering. I finished this yesterday and I’m still thinking about it. INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN is a book I’m sure I’ll read again. It's a wonderful, historical MG novel written in verse.

DOWN TO THE BONE - Mayra Lazara Dole

I believe this is the first GLBT book I’ve read in a lesbian’s point of view. It’s definitely a POV that’s needed and I can say this novel pulled me into the main character’s world, one that I wasn’t familiar with. I felt sympathetic during Laura’s familial and romantic ups and downs as she experiences hurt feelings, romance, and confusion. The book is also funny and bright—it takes place in colorful Miami. DOWN TO THE BONE is also a multicultural read as it contains Latina characters.

THE SMELL OF OLD LADY PERFUME - Claudia Guadalupe Martinez

Chela Gonzalez's father falls ill, the mean girls at school turn her into a pariah, and she experiences puberty. The title is derived from the smell she associates with the arrival of bad things—the scent of old lady perfume—and Chela does go through many bad things, but she overcomes them. Although Chela is an eleven-year-old in the sixth grade, this novel has the feel of a coming-of-age story. I found so much meaning in this book as I related to Chela’s struggles and triumphs regarding family, friendship, and Mexican-American culture.

THE FUTURE OF US - Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

When Emma installs an AOL CD on her computer and it takes her fifteen years ahead into the world of Facebook, she first thinks it’s a prank created by someone who’s tech-savvy. She brings in her friend Josh, who’s not enthusiastic to assist because he has feelings for her, but she rebuffed him not too long ago. Despite what they feel for each other, they check their Facebook pages on a daily basis on Emma's computer, seeing that what they do in the present affects their statuses in the future. Reading about their futures eventually changes them for the better by the end of the book. It was interesting to see how all the little things they did had a butterfly effect that rippled across time. Also, the novel made me nostalgic for the 90s, so I loved the cultural references of that time period. THE FUTURE OF US is a charming and engaging read.

Are there any good books you've recently read that you'd like to share?

Happy Holidays

2011-12-24T07:30:00.004-05:00

I hope my blogging friends have an awesome holiday weekend. It's been a wonderful year getting to know you all (and to the people I've been following forever, getting to know you better). The humor, sympathy, encouragement, and advice you display in your comments, emails, and blog posts have been amazing. In many ways I feel fortunate that I started blogging years ago.

3rd Annual NO KISS Blogfest

I stumbled on this blogfest hosted by Frankie Diane Mallis yesterday and I'm spreading the word. On January 2nd participating bloggers post a scene of an almost-kiss, with that mounting tension when both characters are about to kiss, but then it doesn't happen. Scenes may be written by the bloggers or found in pictures, books, TV shows, and movies.

Contest Reminder (Because this giveaway ends in a week.)

Last year, towards the end of 2010, I did a giveaway for reaching my goal of 100 books read. I held an international contest and gave 3 people an opportunity to win 1 book of their choice from my 2010 reading list.

This year my goal was 150 books. I did a giveaway when I reached 50 books, one when I reached 100 books and I was supposed to do one not too long ago when I reached 150, but I held off doing it since I did giveaways for THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER, FLYAWAY, THE WHITE ASSASSIN, and PURE RED. Also, I raised my goal to 175. There are a few short stories in the bunch, but I'm still over 150 books read. Now that it's the end of the year and I reached my goal, I'm going to have 3 winners like I did last year.

My giveaway will last all month. Here's an opportunity for 3 people to win 1 book of their choosing from the books I've read in 2011—as long as it's available on The Book Depository as a print book. This is the list of books I've read in 2011. There's also a montage below.

The contest is open internationally to these countries that The Book Depository ships to for free.

You must be a blog follower at least 13 years of age to enter.

The giveaway contest form is here.

The contest closes December 31st at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Medeia's read-in-2011 book montage

Medeia Sharif's favorite books »

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Winter Break and ROW80

2011-12-21T09:05:00.006-05:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Winter Break

Monday was a teacher's workday and I've been off since yesterday for a two-week winter break. I might become busy with writing and home improvement goals, as well as doctor and dental appointments—things I don't have time for when I'm working full-time—but I'm always ecstatic during winter break. I plan on getting a lot done during these two weeks...oh, and I can't forget catching up on sleep. Winter break is one of the perks of being a teacher. Who else is off and enjoying themselves?

ROW80

I finished these two goals and I'm feeling wonderful. Since I'm off, I'll go through my manuscript again one or more times, the same with my outline. The next round of ROW80 starts January 2nd, so for me that'll be a great way to bring in 2012 with new writing goals.

Deja Vu Blogfest

2011-12-16T05:52:00.005-05:00

I'm partaking in the Déjà Vu Blogfest, which is the brainchild of DL Hammons, Katie Mills, Lydia Kang, and Nicole Ducleroir. The whole idea is that as we're following and commenting to the best of our abilities, we miss many important blog posts. I know I've missed blog posts that were revealing, enlightening, and entertaining. For this blogfest participants are re-posting favorite posts or posts they believe should have received more exposure.

My re-post is my first blog post. I had no idea what I was doing when I first got on Blogger. I had two previous blogs, but I was writing them more for me—without an audience in mind—and I didn't have a set schedule, blogging once in a while when the mood hit me. Therefore, my comments were disabled and I posted inconsistently with short, choppy posts.

When I had my first blogiversary, some people stopped by and commented on this first post, but otherwise it wasn't widely received. It's also a personal post in which I reveal a major writerly moment. I have a friend who says the rain is cleansing and symbolic, washing away the bad things and bringing in good things. Several times, during hard, heavy rains, something monumental has happened to me. Or maybe that's just in the imagination of me and my friend since we live in a rainy state. It's called the Sunshine State, but it rains quite a bit. Anyway, here's the post.

***

My Summer, August, 18, 2009

I had a bumpy summer, to say the least. The summer started with a flood. For several hours on June 5th, torrential rain and hail kept falling over Miami Beach. When I looked out the window I was shocked to see the streets immersed in water. I was then alarmed when my car wouldn’t start at first. And a week later my car completely died. I had to replace the computer and several other parts, so I was without my wet, moldy car for a few weeks (it took a long time to dry out). It's not a great feeling to be immobile when you rely on your car. Last Saturday was another rainy day to the extreme, and I worried that it would get just as bad as that June day, but it didn’t. The rain poured in around the same time that good news poured in. I just found out that I have an offer from a publisher. I can’t reveal much more since I don’t know all the details and it hasn’t been negotiated yet. So, the summer started off with a bang and ended well. The rain came and went away, I ended one day job to start another, enemies left and friendships became stronger, uncertainty turned into confidence, and bad things were balanced by the good. Overall, this is a summer that I’ll never forget.

Wednesday Random

2011-12-14T04:14:00.007-05:00

ROW80

Since my last update I revised two chapters of my WIP, so I have 25 out of 28 chapters revised (it used to be 29, but after chopping I was able to combine two short chapters). So I have three more chapters to go. I'm almost there and anticipate crossing the finishing line this weekend. Sure further revisions, edits, crit partners, and beta readers will come into play in the future, but completing any step feels like a milestone. I also tweaked the outline of my shiny new idea, and I'm just about done with that.

Guest Post

I have a Cookie Traditions guest post over at Edi Campbell's blog. The holiday-themed post is here if you want to stop by and say hi. You also get to see one of my grumpy childhood pictures (I was a moody kid).

Contest Reminder

Medeia's read-in-2011 book montage

Medeia Sharif's favorite books »

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2012 Debut Author Challenge

2011-12-11T07:43:00.008-05:00

I was so pleased to see my debut novel on people’s 2011 reading lists. Thinking about it, it is exciting to read someone’s debut. It’s a landmark book in several aspects. It’s the author's entrance into the book world (not the literary world since some writers may have had short pieces published elsewhere). Also, it's the book that grabbed the attention of an agent and acquisitions editor—those two yeses a writer is dying to hear after x number of rejections.

With all that being said, I signed up for the 2012 Debut Author Challenge. I love looking at lists of books and wanting to read them. I tried to make a Goodreads montage for my list, but it doesn't pick up books that have no cover yet when I want my blog readers to see all my choices. Instead, I settled for the following widget. If you also want to sign up, you can find information here on The Story Siren's blog. There's also a Goodreads list you can pick and choose from. By the way, I'll probably add onto my list since I saw many more books I'd love to read.

What 2012 debut books are you excited about?

ROW80 and Why I'm Behind in My Goals

2011-12-07T05:21:00.010-05:00

It's time for a ROW80 update. The current round of A Round of Words in 80 Days runs from October 3rd to December 22nd. My goal during this round of ROW80 is to a) revise one of my WIPs and b) write the outline for a shiny new idea.

Since my last update I revised four chapters of my WIP, so I have 23 out of 29 chapters revised. My favorite part of writing is revising because I get to see the sloppy first draft take shape and become a real novel.

I tweaked the outline for my shiny new idea, but not by much. I'll revisit it soon and tweak some more.

Tiki huts brought Carol Kilgore to mind.

Paradise

I consider myself slightly behind in my writing goals. The main reason for this was being out of town during Thanksgiving week. First I visited the Florida Keys and right after that I went to Chicago for the ALAN conference. I went from one extreme to another, warm to cold. I enjoyed both trips immensely.

I was too chicken to completely step onto
the glass balcony of Skydeck.

I missed quite a bit of the ALAN conference. On day one I arrived late not only because of the timing of my plane ride, but because I played tourist before checking into the conference. I get a kick out of exploring big cities.

On day two I was on the panel Traversing the boundary between insider and outsider: Learning a language and culture and helping shape the future with J.L. Powers and Claudia G. Martinez. It was my first panel discussion. I was both excited and nervous, but it went well. I took numerous pictures of Chicago but failed to take conference pictures (which was bad of me since there were so many awesome authors, librarians, and teachers there). But when my camera isn't out, others are. Here is one picture of me at ALAN someone was nice enough to take.

The windy city...but it wasn't that windy during my stay.

The conference was only two days, so on day three I continued to play tourist. The trip was fantastic, but there were some places I didn't get to visit because of time constraints. The only snag on this trip was the shuttle ride to the airport. I almost missed my plane back to Florida because of a late driver and bad traffic. Fortunately, I made it in time for Thanksgiving.

And since it's the holiday season and I'm in a giving mood, don't miss out on an international book giveaway I posted last week. The details are here.

I did quite a bit of holiday shopping last weekend, but I need to resume soon since I'm not a last minute person. I'm about half-way done, but I haven't tackled cards yet. How's your writing and shopping going along?

Crazy Alternate Reality Blogfest and Giveaway Time

2011-12-03T05:57:00.005-05:00

Shelly over at The Life of a Novice Writer is hosting a Crazy Alternate Reality Blogfest. I had to choose a picture(s) and write a flash fiction piece of no more than a 100 words for it. The blogfest sounded like fun—even though I find flash fiction writing challenging—so I joined. Here's my entry.

Dwayne and Jay have never seen a rotary phone before. The basement is full of dusty junk, but the phone is glaring bright in the darkness, as if it has an internal glow.

Jay picks up a dangling wire. “Duh. Of course it’s not in use,” Dwayne says.

The phone rings and they jump. After the fifth booming ring, Jay reaches for the receiver. The bells cease and he puts the receiver to his ear. Dwayne smushes his head to his brother’s so he can listen in.

“Jay….Dwayne….you shouldn’t be here…now you’ll do as you’re told,” the stranger rasps.

***

Medeia's read-in-2011 book montage

Medeia Sharif's favorite books »

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I Love Dark YA and ROW80

2011-11-30T04:39:00.011-05:00

This is my last and final post for the I LOVE DARK YA blogfest, which ran every Wednesday of November. Today all participants are blogging about a dark YA book they're most looking forward to.

I'm looking foward to K.M. Walton's CRACKED. It will be released in January. Here's the description from Goodreads:

Sometimes there's no easy way out.

Victor hates his life. He has no friends, gets beaten up at school, and his parents are always criticizing him. Tired of feeling miserable, Victor takes a bottle of his mother's sleeping pills—only to wake up in the hospital.

Bull is angry, and takes all of his rage out on Victor. That makes him feel better, at least a little. But it doesn't stop Bull's grandfather from getting drunk and hitting him. So Bull tries to defend himself with a loaded gun.

When Victor and Bull end up as roommates in the same psych ward, there's no way to escape each other or their problems. Which means things are going to get worse—much worse—before they get better….

On a side note, by looking at the author's website and blog, she has a live action trailer contest going on. Prizes include film critiques by top industry professionals, as well as cash. If you're interested, check out the links.

***

Now it's time for a ROW80 update. The current round of A Round of Words in 80 Days runs from October 3rd to December 22nd. My goal during this round of ROW80 is to a) revise one of my WIPs and b) write the outline for a shiny new idea.

Since my last update all I did was finish an outline for my shiny new idea. I did not have a chance to work on my WIP. I was traveling quite a bit last week, and I'll be sharing pictures of my trips soon.

By the way, my giveaway for an ARC of Helen Landalf's FLYAWAY ended days ago. The winner was Christa. Congratulations. I hope you enjoy your prize.

Happy Book Birthday to Tangled Tides!

2011-11-25T02:43:00.000-05:00

Karen Amanda Hooper’s young adult novel, TANGLED TIDES, is officially being released into the world today. I’m joining the celebration by fighting in the war—the underwater web war between the sea creatures!

Karen’s story contains battling merfolk, selkies, sirens and gorgons. She says she loves all of them, but she wants everyone else to choose a side, so…

I CHOOSE Merfolk! Sure I might run (or swim) if I saw one of these creatures, but I think they're beautiful and mysterious. I can't wait to get a copy of TANGLED TIDES so that I can get to know the merfolk characters in Karen's debut.

Wanna learn more or join in on the fun? Go check out the details at Karen’s blog: http://www.KarenAmandaHooper.com.

Karen is giving away a signed copy of her book and some other sea creature themed prizes. To enter, join the underwater web war on Twitter. Tweet which sea creatures you’re rooting for and why. Include the hashtag #TangledTides and you could win.

Happy book birthday, Karen!

Karen will be on Twitter all day celebrating and answering questions, so stop by and say hello. @Karen_Hooper

Summary of the story:

Yara Jones doesn’t believe in sea monsters—until she becomes one.

When a hurricane hits her island home and she wakes up with fins, Yara finds herself tangled up in an underwater world of mysterious merfolk and secretive selkies. Both sides believe Yara can save them by fulfilling a broken promise and opening the sealed gateway to their realm, but they are battling over how it should be done. The selkies want to take her life. The merfolk want something far more precious.

Treygan, the stormy-eyed merman who turned Yara mer, will stop at nothing and sacrifice everything to protect his people—until he falls for Yara. The tides turn as Yara fights to save herself, hundreds of sea creatures, and the merman who has her heart. She could lose her soul in the process—or she might open the gateway to a love that’s deeper than the oceans.

Linkage:
Amazon
Rhemalda Bookstore
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

I Love Dark YA - #YASAVES

2011-11-23T06:13:00.004-05:00

The dark YA book that had a big—or shall I say huge—impact on me is FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC by V.C. Andrews. It was categorized as adult when I was a child, but not too long ago I saw it in the YA section of a bookstore. Anyway, one of my middle school teachers had a shelf of V.C. Andrews novels behind her desk. I kept staring at them and then when I finally asked about them, she told me to go ahead and borrow them one at a time. So, I did.

She had most of the novels in the Dollanganger and Casteel series. I started with FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC, which is dark and disturbing. Even though the content is shocking, I always fell into the Dollanganger world as if it were real. Day turned into night, and I couldn’t pry myself away from that book. FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC was what got me hooked on reading. Before reading that novel, I was a proficient reader in the classroom, but I wasn’t much of a reader at home. After reading FLOWERS and the other books on my teacher’s shelf, I became a bookworm, which altered my life dramatically. I devoured books, couldn’t get enough of them, haunted the flea market for used books, and my favorite place became the library…I also dreamed of writing my own tales. That’s why I believe this book saved me—during a time when I didn’t know what to do with myself, it gave me purpose and led me to a wonderful path of readerly and writerly things.

I read FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC three times during my adolescence. It’s that good. Here’s the description from Goodreads in case you don’t know about it.

It wasn't that she didn't love her children. She did. But there was a fortune at stake--a fortune that would assure their later happiness if she could keep the children a secret from her dying father.

So she and her mother hid her darlings away in an unused attic.

Just for a little while.

But the brutal days swelled into agonizing years. Now Cathy, Chris, and the twins wait in their cramped and helpless world, stirred by adult dreams, adult desires, served a meager sustenance by an angry, superstitious grandmother who knows that the Devil works in dark and devious ways. Sometimes he sends children to do his work--children who--one by one--must be destroyed....

'Way upstairs there are
four secrets hidden.
Blond, beautiful, innocent
struggling to stay alive....

***

There's no ROW80 update this week. This is an auto-post because I'm out of town. Once I return, I can share with you the progress I've made on my wip. I'll catch up with comments soon. Have a great holiday weekend, everyone.

Also, random.org chose Diana as the winner of Ali Cross' BECOME and swag. Congrats, Diana.

Interview: Cynthia Watson, author of WIND

2011-11-19T05:13:00.000-05:00

"I did not know exactly when the war between Dante and Lix began, but I now understand that, like it or not, Kevan and I were their prisoners."

Eighteen-year-old Flynn Flood is a Boston college student whose world falls apart when her beloved father dies of the "Irish Cancer"— alcoholism—and her once-vibrant mother, descends into a paralyzing depression. After a seemingly accidental encounter, help arrives in the form of earthy-looking Dante, an international student from Italy. Dante seems perfect, but when Flynn finds herself descending into a rabbit hole of frightening, inexplicable mystical occurrences, she quickly deduces that Dante is no ordinary boyfriend.

In the meantime, Flynn's sixteen-year-old sister, Kevan, suddenly sheds her sweet, little girl chrysalis, and becomes a dark, brooding butterfly, transforming from Hanna Montana to Marilyn Manson, (with an attitude to match). Flynn soon finds that being a "mom" isn't as easy as it looks. But, when Kevan falls for Dante's "eternal" adversary, Flynn will have to start making choices that weigh her newly found love for the heavenly Dante against her loyalty to her kid sister. Together, Flynn and Dante must ensure that Kevan's first love is not her last!

A coming-of-age tale with humor and unexpected violence, WIND explores the complex bonds of sisterhood, romantic longing, and the possibility of the existence of an unseen world all around us!

I felt sympathetic towards the main character, Flynn. Her alcoholic father passes away, her mother suffers from the depression that goes along with grief, and her sister transforms into a dark, moody Goth. When Flynn meets Dante, a delicious romance ensues amid angel warfare. Dante is not an ordinary young man and Flynn’s sister, Kevan, enters the dark side in more ways than her outer appearance suggests. This was a suspenseful read and my favorite part was the dark, haunting atmosphere.

I'm glad I had a chance to read this. I've been following Cynthia's blog for a while, and she's stopping by today so that I can interview her. Everyone, give her a warm welcome.

Tell us a little about your publishing journey with WIND.

WIND started out as an adult paranormal story, but I've always wanted to write something my children (Matthew 21 and Anne Marie, 17 at the time) would read. When I began writing WIND in 2009, my kids and their friends were heavily emersed in the Twilight saga. I would walk by their rooms, and hear them dissecting it to death. It piqued my curiosity. My daughter suggested I read the first book, so I did, and thought it was great! I loved the voice (I was sure a teenager wrote it, which is, I guess, the whole point!), and the desperate passion of the two main characters. Also, I could totally relate to the confusion of Bella's long-suffering father, Charlie. The dialogue between Bella and Charlie sounded very familiar (and my daughter hasn't even dated a vampire, to my knowledge!).

Anyway, I decided to incorporate more young adult characters into WIND, and ultimately, it totally morphed into a Young Adult Paranormal Romance, narrated by eighteen-year-old Mary Flynn Flood, just called Flynn by her two best friends, the charmingly gay, David, and boy-crazy, Siobhan (an Irish name pronounced "Shivon.") Then I added, Kevan, Flynn's sixteen-year-old sister, and the YA feeling was complete. I loved creating the dynamics between Flynn and Kevan; frustrating, but loving at the same time. Often, they can't stand each other (typical sisters!), but they both eventually learn, the hard way, that blood is thicker than water!

If WIND were to be turned into a movie, who would play Flynn and Dante?

For Flynn, I always think of Evan Rachel Wood (with red hair, of course!). She has an intelligent, sad beauty, and I see an old soul in her eyes, just like Flynn!

Italian actor, Riccardo Scamarcio, was my model for Dante from the inception of WIND. He's absolutely DDG (Drop Dead Gorgeous)! If there is ever a movie version of WIND, it just wouldn't be the same without Riccardo - he IS my Dante!

Great picks, Cynthia! What kind of research did you have to do for this novel?

I conducted a fair amount of research for this novel. Flynn is studying Art History in college, and she has a part-time job at the Museum of Arts in Boston, and so I spent a lot of time on their website. Her favorite painter is John Singer Sargent; I'm pretty familiar with his work now. Also, I did a lot of reading about angels and demons. WIND is the first book of "The Eternal Symmetry Saga," loosely based on Dante Alighieri's epic poem, Dante's Inferno. Needless to say, I'm very well versed (so to speak!) in that poem now.

Without spoiling WIND for those who didn't read it, what's up ahead in the sequel, SAND?

I'm currently writing the second book in the saga, SAND. It begins at the Cape Cod cottage belonging to the Flood family, and without giving too much away, the story will take readers to another country, and allow them to experience another culture. Some of the characters from WIND will reappear, and some won't. The mood is much darker, and the romance really heats up, as Flynn reluctantly embraces her unexpected life. Her journey will continue in the next book, WATER, and finally, FIRE.

Anyone with a first novel out has lessons learned. What are a few things you learned about both writing and publishing with this book?

Writing WIND was an absolute joy! I was shocked when it just poured out; the novel almost wrote itself, as though I had been subconsciously plotting the story line, and thinking about the characters for years! As far as self-publishing goes, I highly recommend it. I've always been a proactive person (okay, so I'm a control freak - LOL), and it felt great doing it all myself. I self-published WIND utilizing Amazon's CreateSpace, and I have to say, it was easy, and the folks there have been absolutely fabulous - they're so service-oriented - they couldn't have been more helpful!

I love it when a story pours out. Thank you for stopping by my blog, Cynthia.

Learn more about Cynthia by visiting her blog and by following her on Twitter. WIND can be found on Amazon.

Win Helen Landalf's FLYAWAY and a ROW80 Update

2011-11-16T00:01:00.001-05:00

I joined the I LOVE DARK YA blogfest. Every Wednesday in November I will be posting about dark YA. The definition of dark YA is subjective, but here's one blog post explaining it. Today all participants are taking a dark YA book and either building a soundtrack for it or casting characters for a movie version. The book I built a soundtrack for is Helen Landalf's FLYAWAY. It's not dark-dark since much hope can be found for the MC, but as you'll see, the main character lives through things no young person should.

Stevie is fifteen-years-old, but she knows how to take care of herself. Her mother is away for days at a time. Mom, an exotic dancer, hangs out with a sleazy man and is hooked on drugs, even stealing money from her own daughter to pay for her addiction. Nevertheless, Stevie loves her unconditionally. When Aunt Mindy steps in, taking Stevie into her home and pushing for rehab for Stevie’s mom, Stevie rebels. But later on she’ll understand what’s best for her and her mom.

There’s also a storyline that parallels Stevie’s life, in which she takes care of injured or abandoned birds. At a bird nursery she gets to know Alan, another troubled teenager whose bad reputation covers something much deeper. This was a beautiful, heartrending story, at times hard to read. It reminded me that there are many young people experiencing Stevie’s situation.

Now for the soundtrack....

I'm giving away the FLYAWAY ARC I have. To enter you must be a blog follower residing in the U.S or Canada. The giveaway ends Sunday, November 27th at 11:59 p.m. EST. The contest form is below. You must be at least thirteen years of age to enter.

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***

Now it's time for a ROW80 update. The current round of A Round of Words in 80 Days runs from October 3rd to December 22nd. My goal during this round of ROW80 is to a) revise one of my WIPs and b) write the outline for a shiny new idea.

Since last week's update I revised four more chapters of my wip, so now 19 out of 29 chapters have been revised. I have two trips coming up soon that may slow down my progress, but I'm known to bring my wips with me to my travel destinations. Over the summer I was able to do quite a bit of writing on my plane rides, so I hope to do the same this month.

Interview and Giveaway: Ali Cross, Author of BECOME

2011-11-11T05:09:00.001-05:00

Today it's my pleasure to be part of Ali Cross' blog tour for her book BECOME. I'm a follower of her blog and adore her style and voice on it, so I look forward to reading my copy of her debut novel, which has been released today. Everyone, give her a warm welcome as I interview her.

It's quite stressful to be a debut novelist. What's the hardest part of the debut process? The easiest?

The hardest part is getting noticed. Or trying to get noticed without seeming like you're trying to get noticed. Also, how do you reach readers, when all you know are writers? These are problems. The easiest? Being excited. :)

I felt the same way a few months ago with BRE. You're not alone. What's your favorite time to write?

The afternoon! That required an exclamation point because I feel pretty passionate about my afternoon writing time. I can sorta do a morning write, but totally cannot write at night. It's all about the afternoon for me.

(Interesting, since I'm a night writer myself.) When people visit your site, they see references to ninjas. Who are these ninjas and what makes you one?

Good question! In my family we are really into the martial arts. We all take it--one of my boys is a black belt, the other is only a couple ranks beneath and my husband and I are about half way. I'm not sure I'll ever earn my black belt because my body is a bit of a challenge for me, but, I can get a black belt in writing! And really, all the things that go into earning your black belt in a martial art, are the same things you need to be successful in your writing career. The writing ninjas and the dojo are a marriage between the two most important interests in my life—writing and martial arts.

I love the analogy. And what kind of research did you have to do for BECOME?

I researched Norse and Celtic mythologies because they are the base of my world in BECOME. Otherwise, life was my tutor.

If this book were to be made into a movie, who would play Desi?

Ah! Wouldn't that be wicked awesome? What a fun question. When I started out I pictured Jessica Alba as she was in Dark Angel. But Desi's more pale than Jessica. Then I thought maybe Selena Gomez—again, too warm-skinned. So, how about Leighton Meester (if she dyed her hair black!)

Now I'm going to picture Leighton when I'm reading BECOME. ;) If you weren't busy writing, what would you do or be instead?

Before I started writing in earnest I was a portrait photographer, and I loved that. Before babies I was an opera singer and I really loved that. I suppose, if I couldn't write anymore, I'd want to revisit those past loves of mine and see if I couldn't work out a way to repurpose them in some way.

Photography, singing, writing, and martial arts...you're one talented lady. What are you working on now?

This month I'm NaNo-ing! I'm writing a middle grade fantasy called LAND MAGIC. Good times!

About BECOME:

Sixteen-year old Desolation Black wants nothing more than to stay in Hell where it’s cold and lonely and totally predictable. Instead, she’s sent back to Earth where she must face the evil she despises and the good she always feared.

When Desi is forced to embrace her inner demon, she assumes her choice has been made—that she has no hope of being anything other than what her father, Lucifer, has created her to be. What she doesn’t count on, is finding a reason to change—from something she’s never had before—a friend.

About the author:

Ali Cross is the sensei of the Writer's Dojo where she holds a black belt in awesome. She lives in Utah with her kickin' husband, two sparring sons, one ninja cat, two sumo dogs and four zen turtles.

Links:

Blog: http://www.alicross.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ali_cross

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authoralicross

Where to find BECOME:

Amazon, paperback

Amazon, Kindle

Barnes and Noble, Nook

Smashwords

There's also a giveaway! Ali has the following for you.

*BECOME ebook

*knotted heart bracelet made by the author

*signed bookmark

*keychain

To enter you must fill out this form and follow these requirements:

*follow my blog

*follow Ali's blog

*comment on this post

The giveaway ends November 18th at 11:59 p.m. EST. You must be at least 13 years of age to enter. Open internationally.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Ali! Congrats on your debut and happy book birthday.

I Love Dark YA and ROW80

2011-11-09T04:01:00.004-05:00

I joined the I LOVE DARK YA blogfest. Every Wednesday in November I will be posting about dark YA. The definition of dark YA is subjective, but here's one blog post explaining it. Today all participants are writing a 500-word or less flash fiction piece inspired by the following picture. I am so not a flash fiction person, but below are my efforts. The piece ballooned up to 650 words, so I whittled it down to follow format.

Reenie hugs herself. She wears a lacy sundress with a sweater draped over it to impress Johnny, but he didn’t show up to school today. Instead, the pervs during lunch stared at her, and one of them had the nerve to caress her hair. She really gave it to the boy, but all he did was guffaw. So she has a reputation that's going to be hard to erase, but she wants to turn over a new leaf with Johnny, who’s sweet and genuine compared to any other boy she’s ever known.

Her plan to get noticed fizzled, but at least she can go home now. She shivers, wondering where her mother is, because she’s rarely late to pick her up. The yard empties out and all the buses have left. She sits on a bench hoping that no one talks to her, and to her relief nobody does.

She stands up when she sees her father. He parks his car at the corner and steps out. This is strange since he’s never picked her up from school before.

“Where’s Mom?” Reenie wonders.

“She couldn’t make it,” he says. His mouth is rigid, a straight dash across his face.

“Where is she?” Reenie asks.

“She’s probably at her sister’s house.”
“Can we take a ferry to see her?”

“We can’t right now.”

“Why not?”

“She packed her bags today….”
He explains that she’s left them. A silent scream forms on her lips. Reenie blames herself. Her mood swings and crying jags perhaps drove her mother away. When Oscar hurt her, it pained Mom so much.

“She left because of me!” she says.

“Don’t be silly,” her father sputters. “Stop blaming yourself for everything. Let’s go home. Everything will be alright.”

Reenie can’t bear the sight of him and his need to comfort her. She bursts into tears and walks away.

“Where are you going? Reenie!”

There’s a park across the street and she rushes toward its entrance, which promises escape and solitude, her sweater flying off her shoulders. Tears blind her and she rubs her eyes. The park is deep with winding paths that span many blocks. Like a light going on suddenly, she’s aware that she’s wandered into unfamiliar terrain. The park is massive. The trees are bare and the sky grows gray with storm clouds.

“Reenie.”

She freezes when she hears that voice.

“Reenie, baby.”

Her tears dry up and a lump constricts her throat. She once thought that the boy facing her was good-looking and charming, but all she sees is limp black hair, pale skin, and knobby limbs. It’s like looking at Death, but worse.

“Oscar?” she murmurs.

“So you remember me?” he says with a leering grin. “You’ve been giving me the cold shoulder, but that’s okay. We can make up for lost time.”

Reenie turns and runs, laughter trailing behind her, but she can’t find the exit. In her panic the park has become a labyrinth, a maze that entraps her.

***

Now it's time for a ROW80 update. The current round of A Round of Words in 80 Days runs from October 3rd to December 22nd. My goal during this round of ROW80 is to a) revise one of my WIPs and b) write the outline for a shiny new idea.

Since last week's update I revised four more chapters of my wip, so now 15 out of 29 chapters have been revised. My outline is still bare bones, so I'll hopefully work on it some more until the next update.

How's your writing coming along?

Interview: Author J.L. Campbell

2011-11-06T07:03:00.000-05:00

I've been following J.L. Campbell's blog, The Character Depot, for a while now. I found her to be an intriguing blogger, so I was curious about her fiction writing. Recently, I had the chance to read not one, but two of her works.

Joy writes both novels and short stories. I read her short story collection DON'T GET MAD, GET EVEN, which was an enjoyable read. As the title promises, each story focuses on a character who’s getting even against someone who didn’t do right by him or her. This is mostly contemporary, but there’s a touch of paranormal in this collection. I also enjoyed the setting of Jamaica and the patois interspersed throughout the book. J.L. Campbell is an author to watch out for. No matter how long each piece was, I was fully involved with the characters’ thoughts and actions.

I also read GIVING UP THE DREAM. Justine is a widow. Shortly after her husband Milton passes away, she spots her former lover Xavier at the funeral. Her heart churns, because she still has feelings for him. The story then goes back in time to when Milton was alive. Justine and Xavier have undeniable chemistry, but she’s tied down with a husband and child. Her husband is insipid, stirring no passion in her, and he can also be cruel. Justine hides her affair, but she’s not the only one keeping secrets.

The characterization was amazing. I felt Justine’s mood swing from guilt to lust to love to wistfulness as she leads an unfulfilling, dishonest life. I connected with the characters and wanted to stay with them. Joy is also a mistress of tension and plot. GIVING UP THE DREAM was just as engrossing as a soap opera, without the cheesy melodrama. This was a page turner that left me wanting more.

Today I have Joy over for an interview. Everyone, give her a warm welcome.

Your work has wonderful layers of character development. Do you keep up with the characters and their actions through pantsing or plotting?

I used to be a pantser, but I spent so much time editing and rewriting my first two novels that I knew there had to be a better way. I made myself plot from that point on and actually enjoy creating quirky characters and unexpected scenarios.

(I also enjoy planning.) Do you listen to music or have a playlist when you write? If so, what are some songs that inspire your writing?

Music is too much of a distraction. However, for special projects, I sometimes compile a playlist. After I listen to the tracks, I turn off the music. Strange as it may seem though, I keep the television tuned to NCIS, Law & Order, Bones or something like that - strictly for company.

Reflecting on my writing, I can think of certain characters I connect with more than others. Which one of your characters are you most fond of and why?

The characters I like best are the complex ones, who are not so likeable at first glance. Adventures and amazing character growth seem to go hand in hand with difficult personalities. Of my published books, I’d put Camille from HARDWARE at the top of the list. HARDWARE will be released by Wild Child Publishing on November 1st.

I look forward to reading HARDWARE. Many writers use social media these days (and I prefer blogging over anything else). What's your favorite way to communicate with your readers?

Like you, I’m all about blogging. I’ve met some wonderful people (present company included) and for me, blogging is still the best way to share information and have some really interesting discussions.

What are you working on now?

I’m in the final stages of editing DISTRACTION, which is a story about three female friends, who make dangerous choices. Two are in extra marital relationships and the other is handicapped by bad taste in men. I’m also editing the stand alone sequel, which needs a few more chapters to complete the book.

Thanks so much for having me, Medeia.

J.L. Campbell lives in sunny Jamaica and is the author of CONTRABAND, DISSOLUTION and DON'T GET MAD...GET EVEN. When she isn’t plotting and researching new projects, she enjoys lollygagging on her blog at http://thecharacterdepot.blogspot.com. Twitter link - @JL_Campbell

I Love Dark YA and ROW80

2011-11-02T03:30:00.001-04:00

I joined the I LOVE DARK YA blogfest. Every Wednesday in November I will be posting about dark YA. The definition of dark YA is subjective, but here's one blog post explaining it. Today all participants are blogging about their favorite dark YA books.

I can ramble on forever about books, so I'm limiting myself to 3 books for this post. None of them are recent reads, so my memory might be a bit foggy. What I do remember is that I loved them and they had a strong emotional impact on me.

The first book is Laurie Halse Anderson's SPEAK. When Melinda Sordino calls the police at a party, thus ruining the festivities, she's ostracized. Melinda lives in a shade of grey as people pull away from her or torment her. When the truth comes out, that something horrible happened to her at the party and she's going to fight back, I cheered for her.

Next is SKINNY by Ibi Kaslik. I read it three or four years ago, but it's stayed with me since. Holly and Giselle are sisters and they alternate telling this story. Holly is watching Giselle waste away with anorexia. They delve into their past, specifically times with their unkind father. I found this in the YA section of a bookstore and many websites also label this is as YA, although Holly is a teen while Giselle is a twenty-something medical student.

With the following book, my memory is especially foggy. I read it back in middle school, but I've been meaning to read it again. GO ASK ALICE is a YA classic from the 70's. Allegedly it's a diary from a real-life teen, but others say it's from the imagination of Beatrice Sparks. It depicts the life of a drug-addicted teen. While I read it, I was both fascinated and saddened by the anonymous teen's life.

Do you have any dark YA titles you'd like to share?

***

Now it's time for a ROW80 update. The current round of A Round of Words in 80 Days runs from October 3rd to December 22nd. My goal during this round of ROW80 is to a) revise one of my WIPs and b) write the outline for a shiny new idea.

Since last week's update I revised four chapters of my wip, so now 11 out of 29 chapters have been revised. I also started the outline for my shiny new idea.

Also, amid the busyness of blogfests, last week I forgot to post the winner of Hilary Wagner's THE WHITE ASSASSIN. Random.org chose Kevan. Congrats, Kevan. Enjoy your prize.

Interview: Anna Staniszewski, Author of MY VERY UNFAIRY TALE LIFE

2011-10-29T09:00:00.122-04:00

"You know all those stories that claim fairies cry sparkle tears and elves travel by rainbow? They're lies. All lies." Twelve-year-old Jenny has spent the last two years as an adventurer helping magical kingdoms around the universe. But it's a thankless job, leaving her no time for school or friends. She'd almost rather take a math test than rescue yet another magical creature! When Jenny is sent on yet another mission, she has a tough choice to make: quit and have her normal life back, or fulfill her promise and go into a battle she doesn't think she can win.

Everyone, please welcome author Anna Staniszewski. She's a fellow Elevensie and I'm excited that she's here today for an interview. I look forward to reading her debut novel, MY VERY UNFAIRY TALE LIFE. Isn't that cover adorable?

What's your favorite fairytale?

When I was young, I was obsessed with "Cinderella." Since I was very shy and awkward as a kid, I loved the idea that a regular girl could transform into a princess. As an adult, I discovered "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" which features a heroine who goes on a quest to rescue her prince. It's a beautiful tale, and I love that it's the prince who's in need of saving. I definitely think I had that story somewhere in the back of my head as I was working on My Very UnFairy Tale Life.

Cinderella is also one of my favorites. And if you could be a magical creature, which one would you be and why?

I've always wanted to be a mermaid. I love the water, and I imagine it would be lovely and peaceful to live in the ocean. Though I'm not sure I'm quite sold on the outfits....

Yes, wardrobe would be an issue! I read the bio from your website and noticed you have a BFA in Theater. Do you tie your knowledge of theatrics into your writing?

The main theatrical influence I see in my fiction is my use of dialogue. I love bringing out characters' thoughts and feelings through what they say (or don't say). You can definitely see this in my early drafts which tend to be very dialogue-heavy; once I have the characters' conversations worked out, then I go back through and flesh out the rest of the story.

What's one piece of advice you'd give to aspiring writers?

Keep working on new projects! I was convinced the first novel I wrote would get me published; it didn't. My second novel got me an agent but no book deal. It was my third finished novel (and trust me, there were a lot of unfinished ones along the way) that finally got me a book contract. You never know which one will be The One.

(I also have some of those drawer manuscripts, even an agented one, that never saw the light of publishing day.) Tell us about what you're working on now.

Right now I'm juggling two projects: a very dark YA about assassins and a funny tween novel with just a touch of magic. I think those two should keep me busy for a while!

I'm intrigued by both projects, especially the one about assassins. Thanks for stopping by, Anna.

Anna lives near Boston, Mass. with her husband and their adorably insane black Lab. She's represented by Ammi-Joan Paquette of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Her debut novel, MY VERY UNFAIRY TALE LIFE, will be published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky in November 2011. You can visit her at www.annastan.com or follower her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/annastanisz.

MonsterFest 2011 and ROW80

2011-10-26T06:11:00.003-04:00

MonsterFest 2011

In the 90’s I was frightened by the idea of aliens, greys to be specific. Several real-life alien shows about sightings and abductions were playing on TV. Also, I was reading Whitley Strieber’s non-fiction books on alien abductions…it was so hard sleeping at night after reading COMMUNION and TRANSFORMATION. I wouldn't look out the window at night because I thought they were out there, hovering above my house or lying in wait in my backyard. To top it off, I had sleep paralysis at the time. So, naturally, when I experienced this I thought the greys were in my bedroom ready to abduct me (but I assure you, this did not happen).

This is my second MonsterFest 2011 post and I decided to blog about these creatures. Greys are not traditional monsters—ghosts, witches, goblins, and the like—but they are scary. There’s something about their big, black eyes that creep me out, not to mention that they abduct people. Below is some information I dug up. Don't open the links if you're more of a scaredy-cat than me.

Physical Attributes

about four feet tall
large head
large, dark, almond-shaped eyes
slender bodies
three or four fingers on each hand

What They Do

paralyze people
remove eggs and sperm
conduct genetic experiments
interbreed between species in said genetic experiments
place implants in abductees so they can telepathically communicate with them
mutilate animals

Links

Various alien species: http://www.maar.us/alien_species.html
Arcturi.com http://arcturi.com/GreyArchives.html (many pages on this one)
Physical description: http://www.crowdedskies.com/grey_alien.htm

***

Now it's time for a ROW80 update. The current round of A Round of Words in 80 Days runs from October 3rd to December 22nd. My goal during this round of ROW80 is to a) revise one of my WIPs and b) write the outline for a shiny new idea.

Since last week's update I only revised half a chapter of my wip, so now 7 out of 29 chapters have been revised. The reason for the half a chapter is due to me going back to delete and rearrange some things. I'm still working steadily on this thing. Also, some of my time was taken up by writing a pitch and synopsis for another project—low word count, but hard work! For my next update I hope to have several more chapters revised.

Do you have anything to share monster- or wip-wise? I'd love to hear about it in the comments section.

Guest Post: DOUBLE CLUTCH Author Liz Reinhardt on Love Triangles (and How She Met Her Husband)

2011-10-22T05:01:00.003-04:00

Visual evidence of why love triangles are fascinating.

My book, Double Clutch, is about a lot of different things; growing up, messing up, finding your passions, dealing with hormones, rebellion, love, first crushes. But its stand-out element is the love triangle. It's an element I loved writing, and the one part of the book that brings up the most real-life curiosity. People often ask if the inspiration for Double Clutch came from real life. Were there ever two delicious, amazing guys who adored me, but I just couldn't choose between them?

Um, sadly, the answer is no.

Sigh!

Well, there wasn't a love triangle involving me and two amazing guys I was head-over-heels in love with. But that didn't mean there wasn't a love triangle of sorts. My love triangle involved a cool guy who I decided wasn't right for really dumb reasons, and the imaginary perfect guy I kept making lists about. (Spoiler alert: I did not end up with an imaginary guy.)

This is a picture of the actual quaint little town I spent many,
many weekends being extremely bored in. Can you see
why I was ready to run, screaming? It would take a
zombie apocalypse to make this place interesting..

When I was in my last year of college I broke up with my long-term boyfriend. We'd been together since I was in high school, and, once we broke it off, I decided I did not want to settle back into another long-term relationship...I wanted to go on tons of dates with lots of amazing guys who were completely mature, college motivated, world traveled and otherwise unlike my high school boyfriend. After five years of going back to my hometown every weekend to eat at the same diners, go see movies at the same theaters, and hang out with the same group of people, I was ready for a huge change. I wanted to go out with different people, experience different things...I wanted a complete 180.

My parents owned a diner where I had to work most weekends, but I was determined to do my waitressing bit, then get back to college and all the crazy-fun experiences waiting for me there.

The problem with having parents who own a restaurant is that you never, ever get out early. You're always the one who has to cover when other people call out sick, don't show up, or can't handle the dinner rush. You're always stuck.

It was spring and we were in the thick of prom season. There were so many fun things going on back at college, but I was stuck filling in for all the high school waitresses who were off in their big, glittery dresses eating rubbery chicken and dancing to "Cotton-Eyed Joe" with boys in too-big rented tuxes. I was definitely not in a good mood, and to top my irritation off, the guy who made the burgers at my parents' place cooked every single burger medium-well, despite my detailed notes about how each customer wanted his/her burger cooked on every ticket.

Hell hath no fury like a waitress with yet
ANOTHER overcooked hamburger complaint.

After the jillionth customer complaint, two milkshakes spilled down my ridiculous poodle skirt, six straight hours on a packed floor with clueless new waitresses, and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" on repeat thanks to a bunch of fourth graders with a huge handful of quarters lined up at the jukebox, I was in rare form, and all of my anger was going to rain down on the hamburger guy's head.

"YOU!" I screamed, marching back to the grill. The hamburger guy glanced up from under his hat and raised an eyebrow. "WHAT'S UP WITH THE BURGERS?! WHY CAN'T YOU COOK THEM LIKE THE TICKET SAYS?! THE LAST TABLE WANTED RARE!! 'RARE' IS NOT THE SAME AS 'MEDIUM-WELL'!!" I was foaming at the mouth, wild-eyed, frustrated, over-worked, tired, and it was all being directed at this hamburger guy (whose name I never learned. Why bother? They quit and got replaced so often, it wasn't worth the effort to ask their names.)

"Why aren't you at college?" he asked in a perfectly calm voice, flipping a burger and pressing down on it with his spatula, exactly the way you're NOT supposed to. It makes them dry.

His question caught me off guard. So did his eyes. Very, very blue with lashes so curly, they were almost feminine. Gorgeous.

"I, uh, have to cover for prom." I reached out and took the spatula before the burger dried out completely. I noticed he had great, strong-looking hands. "Don't press on them like that. It makes them hard and dried out."

He smiled. He had a gap between his front teeth. Adorable. "I'm not really a great burger cook. My brother dragged me here when the last guy quit. So, what do you study? At college?"

"Women's studies." I handed him back the spatula, trying not to stare at his hands. "And art history."

"Cool. What do you do for fun when you're here?" He was about to press down on the burger again, but he looked over at me and tapped his spatula on the side of the grill instead.

My tables were waiting. Particularly the one that was begging for salmonella poisoning with their all-rare order. Usually I was on my A-game when I waitressed. But I made lame excuses in my head and bought another minute with him.

"Just the usual. Going to movies, eating out." Was he fishing for a date?

"Not here, right?" He grinned. "At least not while I'm cooking?"

"You're not that bad. I actually like my burgers medium well," I lied. He chuckled, and I felt the rush of something I couldn't put my finger on in the back of my mind. "There's a new sushi place that looks good." A sushi place in our one-horse town was pretty much the height of restaurant sophistication.

"I know it." He flipped another burger, his eyes on the patties he was cooking to death. "We should go sometime."

No crush I developed in my tiny little town would work!
It would end in disaster! DISASTER!

"You like sushi?" I tried not to act too surprised. Guys who burn hamburgers can like raw fish.

"Never had it. First time for everything, though, right?" And then that smile again!

I realized that I had all the tell-tale signs of a new crush; dry mouth, pattering heart, sweaty palms.

But NO! I could NOT be into the burger guy at my parents' diner! I needed to date lots of people! I needed to go into the city and have wild, amazing adventures! I needed to go back to college!

So I brushed him off, because I was in love with the idea of meeting other guys and going on dates that were exciting...like NYC night club exciting, not small town sushi restaurant exciting.

But it wasn't that easy to brush him off. The guys at college were fun and nice. We went to great restaurants and amazing clubs. We talked about classes, professors, politics, high-brow things that made me feel sophisticated. And kind of bored.

I'm not saying we can't be friends if you don't know the
adorably hilarious characters in this picture...
I'm just saying I might pop in a Storyteller DVD
while we're hanging out and attempt to
indoctrinate you, subtly of course.
You will be a better person for it! Trust me!

I found myself looking forward to my nights at the diner with Hamburger Guy. I wanted to talk about our mutual love for The Jim Henson Hour, Pearl Jam, and movie theater hot dogs. I admired his work ethic, intelligence, and his mouth. You know when you can just tell someone is going to be an amazing kisser? I knew with him from the first time he smiled at me.

I finally gave up on this idea that I had to find the perfect person at college, far away from my hometown. I decided to date Hamburger Guy for the summer. Then I'd go back to my original plan.

So there was a summer full of late night movies, driving around listening to mix CD's, bonfires, talking for hours, and lots of kissing. When fall came and school started again, I went on dates with other guys, but spent most of my time wanting to be with Hamburger Guy.

Finally, slowly, I came to the realization that my original plan was kind of ridiculous. And I stopped going on dates with other people just because I felt like it was what I should do. Hamburger Guy and I spent more time together.

We ate a lot of sushi. Well, I did. He ate anything that didn't have raw fish in it and stopped to get cheeseburgers from McDonald's after he dropped me off, he later confessed. We went to museums and CD stores (back when there were CD stores), Cape Cod and Friendly's. And it was always ridiculously fun.

Awww. The end!

Eventually I forgot that I ever had some weird list of requirements for the person I loved. Why would I have wanted a guy with a college degree when I could have one who shared my love for John Hughes and his film-making genius? And what did it matter if a guy was world traveled when Hamburger Guy made a drive around the county fun? I stopped being so stubborn about what I wanted out of a relationship, and faced the fact that I'd pretty much lost the ability to happily date other people the night he smiled at me over a grill full of over-cooked hamburgers.

Oh, and I also eventually stopped thinking of him as Hamburger Guy, especially since his stint professionally cooking hamburgers ended many years ago. But it was mainly because I really wanted to say yes when he proposed, but didn't want to think of myself as 'Mrs. Hamburger Guy.' And, to this day, he really does still make a fairly crappy hamburger...but I love him anyway.

Where to find Liz:

Where to find her YA novel
DOUBLE CLUTCH:

Amazon Kindle

B&N Nook

Third Campaigner Challenge, ROW80, and We Have a Winner

2011-10-19T18:04:00.001-04:00

From Rachael Harrie's blog:

Write a blog post in 300 words or less, excluding the title. The post can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should show:

that it’s morning,

that a man or a woman (or both) is at the beach

that the MC (main character) is bored

that something stinks behind where he/she is sitting

that something surprising happens.

Just for fun, see if you can involve all five senses AND include these random words: "synbatec," "wastopaneer," and "tacise." (NB. these words are completely made up and are not intended to have any meaning other than the one you give them).

These challenges get harder and harder, I tell you. Here's my entry:

Protecting the Sea

Exhausted, synbatec, free

Seated by the water, sand so rich

My beach, which I found hearing the loud pitch