So, my writing group has what we call, a "Writer's Weekend" where we don't post anything anywhere and we just write like mad. There won't be any new posts this whole weekend and for the first week of June because I'll be on a camping trip. However, I will be writing and editing like mad.
I hope that you all have a wonderful first week of summer! I will be back most likely on Saturday the 7th with some good news.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Starting Anew
So, today, I decided to say a little about my next book, The Shadow of the Moon.
Here's a little summary about it:
Back in her home town after her emotional travel through Florence, Italy; Catherine now has to start working toward finding a loophole through the rules that Antonio placed on the Guardians and Protectors over 600 years ago. This is all in order to be able to be with Carson once and for all without any others breathing down their backs about their relationship with one another. Although, Catherine feels like she has no blood relatives left, she finds out a major secret that her mom and one of the Guardian vampires had never meant to reveal.
I hope that summary was good. I have now started the outline and the first chapter for this story. It's probably one of my favorites so far as well.
Here's a little summary about it:
Back in her home town after her emotional travel through Florence, Italy; Catherine now has to start working toward finding a loophole through the rules that Antonio placed on the Guardians and Protectors over 600 years ago. This is all in order to be able to be with Carson once and for all without any others breathing down their backs about their relationship with one another. Although, Catherine feels like she has no blood relatives left, she finds out a major secret that her mom and one of the Guardian vampires had never meant to reveal.
I hope that summary was good. I have now started the outline and the first chapter for this story. It's probably one of my favorites so far as well.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
IT'S FINISHED!
The Sunset Heir is finished! 1 year ago in June, I got the idea and set my mind to work on writing this story. It has evolved into my little baby and I am so excited that it is finished. 17 chapters + an epilogue, 241 pages long and 73, 295 words. I cannot believe I finished something so big!
Now I must dig out that inner editor/critic and unleash them on my story. I will also be starting the second book to the trilogy. So, if I don't post anything for a while, I may be writing or just plain busy.
I also got a new position at work. I'm now the receptionist in the counseling office. It will be hard work, but a great experience as well.
Ciao!
Now I must dig out that inner editor/critic and unleash them on my story. I will also be starting the second book to the trilogy. So, if I don't post anything for a while, I may be writing or just plain busy.
I also got a new position at work. I'm now the receptionist in the counseling office. It will be hard work, but a great experience as well.
Ciao!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
The Final Question From The Stephenie Meyer Q & A At Thanksgiving Point
Here it is everyone...the final question that is my favorite since I am a writer. I'm really thankful that was able to meet Stephenie Meyer and to just be able to listen to the answer to this question, made me feel more of a writer myself. I'm trying to do some of the things in this answer already in order to make my writing better.
Oh and really quick news on my writing...I am now working on my outline for my story, Lovely Dreams, and the outline for the second book that follows The Sunset Heir which is tentatively called, The Shadow of the Moon. I'm really excited about these new projects and without a doubt excited to go back through The Sunset Heir and get some editing done on it.
So, back to Stephenie Meyer!
15. Just to finish up, I get a lot of questions about being a writer. How do I get my books published? How should I go about this and that? And this is sort of my normal spiel; this is what I tell people who want to write.
Write. Don’t worry about any of that other stuff. Because it really doesn’t matter. If you’re not writing for the experience of writing, the rest of it is not going to be worth it. Because it’s actually, I know some people think it’s kind of glamorous and everything—it’s really not. In fact, we were in Texas and some girls got in trouble with the police because they were hanging out of their car. They had seen this white limo and they figured I was in it. It’s like, No, I don’t roll in limos, sorry. There’s a lot of hard work involved in being a writer and there is a lot of sacrifice and that’s not the good part. The good part is the writing. So if you’re not, if it’s not enough for you to be able to sit down and just write the story for yourself, then maybe that’s not the right way to go. If it is, and you love it and you love those characters and you want to share them with other people, wait until you’re done. Finish the book. Write it for yourself and never second guess and think, “What will someone else think about this? Is it appropriate for this audience? Or should I write for a different audience?” Don’t think about any audience but you. Finish the book and then when you’re all done, get online because there are a million resources out there. Do the research; follow the rules because agents hate it when you get cutesy with your letters. Just send them what they want. There’s a really great website called, Writer’s Market Online and that will give you all kinds of information, but my main advice is wait until you’re done. And enjoy the writing because I would still do this even if nobody here had ever read any one of my books and no one was going to. Because to me, writing the stories is just sure joy that it really doesn’t matter that anybody else enjoys it. But I’m really glad you are here, and have read my books. And it really does make it magic to know that my characters don’t just live in here (Stephenie’s mind) but in everyone else’s heads too. That makes them so real for me, it’s really cool.
Oh and really quick news on my writing...I am now working on my outline for my story, Lovely Dreams, and the outline for the second book that follows The Sunset Heir which is tentatively called, The Shadow of the Moon. I'm really excited about these new projects and without a doubt excited to go back through The Sunset Heir and get some editing done on it.
So, back to Stephenie Meyer!
15. Just to finish up, I get a lot of questions about being a writer. How do I get my books published? How should I go about this and that? And this is sort of my normal spiel; this is what I tell people who want to write.
Write. Don’t worry about any of that other stuff. Because it really doesn’t matter. If you’re not writing for the experience of writing, the rest of it is not going to be worth it. Because it’s actually, I know some people think it’s kind of glamorous and everything—it’s really not. In fact, we were in Texas and some girls got in trouble with the police because they were hanging out of their car. They had seen this white limo and they figured I was in it. It’s like, No, I don’t roll in limos, sorry. There’s a lot of hard work involved in being a writer and there is a lot of sacrifice and that’s not the good part. The good part is the writing. So if you’re not, if it’s not enough for you to be able to sit down and just write the story for yourself, then maybe that’s not the right way to go. If it is, and you love it and you love those characters and you want to share them with other people, wait until you’re done. Finish the book. Write it for yourself and never second guess and think, “What will someone else think about this? Is it appropriate for this audience? Or should I write for a different audience?” Don’t think about any audience but you. Finish the book and then when you’re all done, get online because there are a million resources out there. Do the research; follow the rules because agents hate it when you get cutesy with your letters. Just send them what they want. There’s a really great website called, Writer’s Market Online and that will give you all kinds of information, but my main advice is wait until you’re done. And enjoy the writing because I would still do this even if nobody here had ever read any one of my books and no one was going to. Because to me, writing the stories is just sure joy that it really doesn’t matter that anybody else enjoys it. But I’m really glad you are here, and have read my books. And it really does make it magic to know that my characters don’t just live in here (Stephenie’s mind) but in everyone else’s heads too. That makes them so real for me, it’s really cool.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Yet, More Questions!
Now, after these four questions, there will be one final one from the Stephenie Meyer discussion/signing. I saved the final one for last because it is my favorite answer for me being a writer. I'll post more on it later...enjoy these questions and answers!
11. Due to the success of your career, what is the biggest sacrifice you’ve had to make and is it worth it?
There’s kind of two things, one of them that I think is like the daily sacrifice. I used to read three or four books a week. Every week. Reading is a huge part of who I was, and I can’t do that as much now. And it’s crazy, I feel like—Wow, how many books did I read this year? Ten so far? For me, that’s really weird. I miss reading, but it’s worth the sacrifice there because writing is just way better than reading. It’s amazing, it’s my favorite thing.
The other big sacrifice is time and there are things that aren’t exactly worth it. You know I’m missing some graduations this week. And that’s kind of hard. Being away from my kids is a really big sacrifice for me. I don’t think they mind as much, you know I get home and they’re like, “Oh Mom, you were gone?” So, you know, boys. We’re going to have a big party when I get home. My husband is DVD’ing everything for me and we’re going to eat popcorn and watch Kindergarten graduation and all that good stuff when I get back.
12. What’s it like to be in Time magazine for the “Top 100 Most Influential People”?
I don’t think I even have an answer to that. I don’t know. It’s too weird, it’s surreal, I don’t believe it entirely. I have a couple copies of the magazine, and that’s my picture there right next to Oprah. And I still don’t believe it, but I mean, it’s so cool and I’m so glad this year Time decided to put everyone on the cover. So I can say, “Hey, I was on the cover of Time magazine.” That’s probably my favorite part, but you can see the dedication to my fans. Because last week I was in Kansas City doing an event because it had sold out quite a while earlier and when I could have been in New York in the same room with George Clooney and Robert Downey Jr. You know that I was okay with it when I only knew about Clooney. And then the morning of, I was watching The View in my hotel room and Robert Downey Jr. was on, he was talking about going to the party that night. I’m like, “NO! NO!” I emailed my agent, “How do I get to New York?” So, Robert Downey Jr., I miss that.
13. How do you juggle being a mom and a writer?
It’s a constant balance. Because things change. When I first started writing, I had babies on my lap and so, literally juggling. Now my kids are in school all day and it’s a different thing. And so I have to readjust all the time, but the way I manage is I always keep my office—with the houses and different moves we’ve done—in the middle of the living room pretty much. Because I’ve found as long as I can hear my kids, I’m fine. If I can’t hear them, I start to think, “What are they up to?” So I can’t ever close a door. And then I’m lucky to have these kids that are just well balanced and centered and they’re fun and easy going. And so that makes my job so much easier. And I have my husband who’s willing to be a stay at home dad and take care of my kids. Which is so cool for them to have their Dad around all the time. That’s amazing. Yay for good husbands! That helps, you have to have a lot of help, and we have family that helps out. My mom lives down the street and that’s the best thing ever. You can’t do it alone, absolutely not.
14. Is that your face on the cover of the book? If not, whose is it?
I have no idea. It’s some gorgeous model who gets paid to be in pictures. It’s not my job. I get a lot with the other cover too. The way publishing works is they do a cover and show it to you and say, “Here’s your cover. What do you think?” And if you say, “Wow. I hate it.” They say, “Aw, too bad.” Actually that’s not so much the case with me anymore, and with The Host, it was a great experience. They sent me the picture and said, “What do you think of this?” I said, “I love it!” They said, “So do we.” We said, “Yes, we’ve got it done.” That’s not always the case because people ask me about the Twilight covers—and no, those are not my hands on the front cover of Twilight either. Again, that’s a pretty model. So really quickly what the covers mean—
i. The Host is pretty easy.
ii. Twilight is for me, kind of the idea of choice—the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. Not having taken a bit yet, but contemplating.
iii. New Moon is one of those covers they said, “Here’s your cover, what do you think?” I said, “I hate it.” They said, “Too bad.” So that one actually means nothing to me.
iv. Eclipse is one we were able to find some common ground on. For me, it’s sort of trying to cut ties with your old life. Bella thinks she can do that easily with a nice clean cut but it doesn’t work that way, and there are some threads that are harder than others. So that was my depiction, my metaphor for her to try and leave her human life behind.
11. Due to the success of your career, what is the biggest sacrifice you’ve had to make and is it worth it?
There’s kind of two things, one of them that I think is like the daily sacrifice. I used to read three or four books a week. Every week. Reading is a huge part of who I was, and I can’t do that as much now. And it’s crazy, I feel like—Wow, how many books did I read this year? Ten so far? For me, that’s really weird. I miss reading, but it’s worth the sacrifice there because writing is just way better than reading. It’s amazing, it’s my favorite thing.
The other big sacrifice is time and there are things that aren’t exactly worth it. You know I’m missing some graduations this week. And that’s kind of hard. Being away from my kids is a really big sacrifice for me. I don’t think they mind as much, you know I get home and they’re like, “Oh Mom, you were gone?” So, you know, boys. We’re going to have a big party when I get home. My husband is DVD’ing everything for me and we’re going to eat popcorn and watch Kindergarten graduation and all that good stuff when I get back.
12. What’s it like to be in Time magazine for the “Top 100 Most Influential People”?
I don’t think I even have an answer to that. I don’t know. It’s too weird, it’s surreal, I don’t believe it entirely. I have a couple copies of the magazine, and that’s my picture there right next to Oprah. And I still don’t believe it, but I mean, it’s so cool and I’m so glad this year Time decided to put everyone on the cover. So I can say, “Hey, I was on the cover of Time magazine.” That’s probably my favorite part, but you can see the dedication to my fans. Because last week I was in Kansas City doing an event because it had sold out quite a while earlier and when I could have been in New York in the same room with George Clooney and Robert Downey Jr. You know that I was okay with it when I only knew about Clooney. And then the morning of, I was watching The View in my hotel room and Robert Downey Jr. was on, he was talking about going to the party that night. I’m like, “NO! NO!” I emailed my agent, “How do I get to New York?” So, Robert Downey Jr., I miss that.
13. How do you juggle being a mom and a writer?
It’s a constant balance. Because things change. When I first started writing, I had babies on my lap and so, literally juggling. Now my kids are in school all day and it’s a different thing. And so I have to readjust all the time, but the way I manage is I always keep my office—with the houses and different moves we’ve done—in the middle of the living room pretty much. Because I’ve found as long as I can hear my kids, I’m fine. If I can’t hear them, I start to think, “What are they up to?” So I can’t ever close a door. And then I’m lucky to have these kids that are just well balanced and centered and they’re fun and easy going. And so that makes my job so much easier. And I have my husband who’s willing to be a stay at home dad and take care of my kids. Which is so cool for them to have their Dad around all the time. That’s amazing. Yay for good husbands! That helps, you have to have a lot of help, and we have family that helps out. My mom lives down the street and that’s the best thing ever. You can’t do it alone, absolutely not.
14. Is that your face on the cover of the book? If not, whose is it?
I have no idea. It’s some gorgeous model who gets paid to be in pictures. It’s not my job. I get a lot with the other cover too. The way publishing works is they do a cover and show it to you and say, “Here’s your cover. What do you think?” And if you say, “Wow. I hate it.” They say, “Aw, too bad.” Actually that’s not so much the case with me anymore, and with The Host, it was a great experience. They sent me the picture and said, “What do you think of this?” I said, “I love it!” They said, “So do we.” We said, “Yes, we’ve got it done.” That’s not always the case because people ask me about the Twilight covers—and no, those are not my hands on the front cover of Twilight either. Again, that’s a pretty model. So really quickly what the covers mean—
i. The Host is pretty easy.
ii. Twilight is for me, kind of the idea of choice—the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. Not having taken a bit yet, but contemplating.
iii. New Moon is one of those covers they said, “Here’s your cover, what do you think?” I said, “I hate it.” They said, “Too bad.” So that one actually means nothing to me.
iv. Eclipse is one we were able to find some common ground on. For me, it’s sort of trying to cut ties with your old life. Bella thinks she can do that easily with a nice clean cut but it doesn’t work that way, and there are some threads that are harder than others. So that was my depiction, my metaphor for her to try and leave her human life behind.
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