Book Love: The Raven Boys

First off, Happy Thanksgivings to everyone of you who celebrates it. I hope your day is full of lots of good food and good times with loved ones, as mine will be.

Now onto the main point. Maggie Stiefvater is giving away signed bookplates of The Raven Boys for anyone in the US and Canada who wants them, and oh boy do I do. (Details here.) I LOVED this book so much. I have compared my experience reading it to something akin to the way I felt watching Goonies as a kid, a sense of complete and utter wonderment and a desperate desire to be a part of this world and to share the adventures with this characters. I cannot wait for book 2.

So in order to get my bookplate, I have to present a picture of myself (or a pet) holding my copy of The Raven Boys. I decided to use my pets and quite a few of them volunteered to participate. (And no not all of them are represented.)

(This last cutie technically isn't mine, but my sisters. Still, he wanted to pose.)

***Originally posted at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there***

teamTEENauthor November Theme: So you Wanna Be a Writer?

First of all, if you wanna be a writer, then yah! Congrats! Best. Decision. Ever. Now all you have to do is read a lot, write a lot, and never give up. The old idea that success is 20% talent and 80% tenacity (or whatever the formula) is true!

Beyond that, my only true advice is this: If what you’re doing isn’t working, then try something else.

Sounds simple, right? But it’s not.  So many writers—myself included at one time—possess the determination to keep on writing story after story or novel after novel regardless of failures and near misses, but we fail to make changes between each attempt. And like Albert Einstein once said, the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

So what kind of changes am I talking about? Well, that depends on the writer, of course. For me, the change I needed to make was the way I approached writing the first draft.

Before The Nightmare Affair, I was a complete pantser. I just hit the page running and didn’t look back. The result, naturally, were stories that required a lot of revisions/rewriting afterward. Unless you are Stephen King (and even he admits in his fabulous book On Writing that he doesn’t get it right the first time either) you’re bound to go off track in places. For me as a pantser, this meant going off track in a lot of places. It also meant a lot of self-doubt and discouragement when I started on the second draft.

With the The Nightmare Affair, however, I decided to employ a different tactic. I became a “pantser who stops and asks for directions.” What this means is that I still approached the first draft without an outline or any deliberate plotting, but rather than running along as quickly as I could, I took my time scene-by-scene, chapter-by-chapter, and character motivation by character motivation to think about what was happening, why it was happening, and then what would happen next. Rather than follow my instincts, I questioned those instincts, tested them for viability before putting them down on the paper. Like this:

• Why is character B behaving this way?
• What is his motivation?
• Where am I at in the “story arc?”
• Is this scene serving multiple purposes? Does it advance the story? Provide character development?

The result of this change was exactly what I needed—a first draft in much better shape than any I’d written before. This made revising a heckuva lot easier. I was able to take it through multiple drafts without getting discouraged. And of course, several months later I signed with my agent and then sold the book. It was like magic.

So take a look at what you’ve done in the past that hasn’t worked and then try something new this time around. You just might find your magic, too.

Good luck and happy writing!

And be sure to check in with the rest of the teamTEENauthors:

• Julie Cross
• Adam Leonard
• Pip Harry
• Hilary Weisman Graham
• Janci Patterson
• Jessica Corra
• Kimberly Sabatini
• Laura Ellen
• Suzanne Lazear
• Trish Doller
• E.C. Myers
• Elizabeth Amisu
• Erika O'Rourke

***originally posted at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there.*** 

Nightmare Affair Blog Tour Signup

Good news for any interested bloggers out there. The sign up sheet for The Nightmare Affair blog tour just went live. Thanks so much for Shane Morgan at Itching For Books for hosting. Details here: http://itchingforbooks.blogspot.com/2012/11/blog-tour-sign-upthe-nightmare-affair.html

Happy Friday!

***originally posted at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there***

Giveaway Announcement

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The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

I'm sure most of you have heard about this blog hop by now, and it's my turn! I was tagged by the fabulous Liz Coley.

Here it goes:

1. What is the working title of your current WIP?

It's currently untitled, but I refer to it as FE_Prequel. Real creative right?

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

This is a prequel to my YA sci-fi novel (currently titled Finding Eden but changing soon) that's upcoming from Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins).  

3. What genre does your book fall under?

It's a YA sci-fi, the kind with space ships and guns.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I haven't come across anyone that fits my MC. But in my mind, I picture Jeth as a teenaged version of Malcolm Reynolds, and if you don't know who this is, I'm afraid we can no longer be friends. (Kidding, well sorta.)

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenaged thieves must pull off a dangerous heist for their crime lord boss while training their newest and youngest member--Jeth's little sister, Lizzie.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I'm represented by Suzie Townsend from New Leaf Literary, and this prequel should be coming out as an ebook prior to the release of the novel.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Unknown. I'm still working on it.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

The announcement in PM described the series as Firefly meets White Cat by Holly Black. I'm down with that.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I wanted to explore what happened before the events in the first book.

10. What else about your book might pique your reader's interest?

It's written in 3rd person and from a male point of view. There's lots of action and sci-fi fun.

Now, I'm supposed to tag 5 writers to post next, but so many people have already been tagged for this one. Instead, I've decided to list some of my favorite up-and-coming writers. All of these ladies are super talented, and I hope you'll take the time to check out their stuff and put them on your radar. You won't regret it!

Lori M. Lee

Cat York

Kathy Bradey

Farrah Penn

Victoria Scott

Happy Writing!

***Originally published at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there***

teamTEENauthor DARE DAY and Contest

So not only am I participating in a dare for this month's teamTEENauthor blog, but I've also got a link to a really awesome, really big contest you're going to want to know about. It's also a scavenger hunt. Find out all about it here. 

Now for the dare. This month, the Perfect 10 teen panel came up with 3 options for the authors to choose from for the October 2012 Dare Day:

1. Cover your face with peanut butter and take a picture

2. Write your most embarrassing moment from your teen years, Shakespearean style

3. Post pictures and other links all about your celebrity teen heartthrob crush from middle school/high school. Your own Justin Beiber so to speak.

My choice this month is number 3. And the answer is Tom Hansen from 21 Jump Street as portrayed by the ethereal wonderfulness of Johnny Depp.

And here is video proof of why this was a perfectly valid crush to have: link. Not only did I have a crush on this character, but I had a crush on the entire show. The idea of young undercover cops infiltrating local high schools? Yowza. I think I would like to write a couple of books with that premise even now. So yeah, I still might be carrying this crush a little, all the way from middle school.

(And before you ask, no I haven't seen the movie. This show was craptastically awesome, and I would prefer to keep it that way in my memory)

And check out these dares from the other teamTEENauthors:

• Adam Leonard
• Pip Harry
• Hilary Weisman Graham
• Janci Patterson
• Jessica Corra
• Kimberly Sabatini
• Laura Ellen
• Suzanne Lazear
• Trish Doller
• E.C. Myers
• Elizabeth Amisu
• Erika O'Rourke

 ***Originally posted at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there***

Cover Tweak and Context 25

Yep, you read that title right. The cover for The Nightmare Affair is getting tweaked. Now before anybody panics, the cover is staying mostly the same. The only change will be the girl silhouette aka Dusty. She's getting a makeover to emphasize that the book is a YA and not an MG (if there was any doubt, it is most definitely YA). I've seen the early comps of the change, and they are fabulous. Dusty's getting new clothes, new hairstyle, a brand new and more accurate look. If you liked the cover before, you're going to like it even more when you see the update. I promise!

My other big news of the week is that I'm going to be a panelist at this year's Context 25, a sci-fi/fantasy convention with a literature focus that takes place in Columbus, Ohio. You can find the schedule here. I'll be the blond woman trying her best not to look stupid as I attempt to live up to the title of "entertaining guest." Ha, ha aren't they in for a surprise! Kidding. Well, mostly.

So if you feel like coming out, cheerleaders, hecklers, and SF enthusiasts are all welcome.

***Originally posted at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there***