YA Spring Fling interview with Megan Thomason

Today I'm pleased to present an interview with fellow author Megan Thomason. I think you'll find the peek into this author's mind and process fascinating!

What’s your favourite thing about spring?

I live in San Diego, so we have decent weather year round (defined by the ability to wear flip flops which is very important to me), but by Spring, the nights start to get warmer and lighter. In our yard, the hummingbirds are out, and flowers are blooming. It’s gorgeous! Here’s my view right now on an uncharacteristically hot, 90 degree day:

 

 What’s the best thing about being a writer?

When I started writing, it was my very best escape mechanism. Now, it feels more like a job (deadlines and expectations), but I still love morphing an idea into an elaborate story. And any event from small (a great review or kind comment from a fan) to big (having series optioned for film) can absolutely make my day—or year!

What’s the worst thing about being a writer?

The worst thing for me has been bullying. There are plenty of writers who have had worse experiences than I have had, but my experiences have had a profound impact on me. I’ve had death threats and personal insults. I’ve been accused of horrible things including paying for reviews (the only reviews I have paid for were professional reviews from Kirkus, ForeWord Reviews, and BlueInk) and put on lists that encourage people to post one-star reviews. I’ve had another author (someone I don’t know/doesn’t write in my genre), manipulate one of my Facebook posts to make me look bad and post it on her page, encouraging friends and followers to “put me out of business.” I almost quit writing after that last one. Instead, I decided to ignore the negativity and keep doing what I love doing.

The other hard thing—but not worst thing—is balancing writing with my other responsibilities. I’m married and have five kids. Occasionally, real life interferes with creating fictional ones. Last year, I had to take a long hiatus to attend to my family. It was tough having to let deadlines pass and equally hard to disappoint readers. I’d do it again in a heartbeat to be there for my husband and kids, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

Tell us more about your books.

My daynight series is an award-winning, bestselling series that blends science fiction, dystopia, fantasy, and romance. The series has been optioned and is currently in film development (https://pathbender.media/press/). It has a modern-day, parallel world setting. I got the idea for daynight (and the world of Thera) while hiking the canyons of San Diego on a particularly hot day. I pondered how hot it would have to get before society would be forced to switch days and nights. From there, I contemplated what kind of government would “rule the night” and concocted The Second Chance Institute. 

daynight tells the story about Kira Donovan, Blake Sundry, and Ethan Darcton’s interactions with The Second Chance Institute. The SCI is a benevolent non-profit on Earth and totalitarian dictator on Thera. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance at Life. In reality, the SCI uses those given a “second chance” as subjects in political science experiments like Cleaving—a forced lifetime union between two people who have sex. Punishment for disobeying SCI edicts is Exile or death. Kira is lured into the SCI as a Recruit with the promise she’ll receive a full college scholarship, but finds out she is central to the SCI’s plans. Blake grew up in Exile on Thera and has been trained to infiltrate and destroy the SCI. And Ethan has been groomed since birth to rule the Second Chancers. 

clean slate complex (a daynight series novella) follows the SCI’s happenings on Earth where the SCI’s pushing Project Liberate, a program to woo the poor and downtrodden into their Clean Slate Complexes—where “everything is provided” from jobs to food, shelter, clothing, and education. Unfortunately, as with all things that sound too good to be true, there’s a catch… Alexa Knight gets trapped by the SCI’s promises of free health care for her mother, but quickly finds that behind every promise is a lie.

arbitrate begins a full year after the events of daynight, and the circumstances have changed dramatically for each of the characters. Kira, one of the main characters, has had to deal with the consequences of everything that happened during daynight and over the past year, and she is broken. She makes decisions that end up impacting everyone she cares about. arbitrate is told by Kira, Ethan, and Blake in both the present and near past (filling in what happened over the past year). Whereas daynight centered primarily in Garden City, Thera,arbitrate happens across dozens of cities on both Earth and Thera. The Second Chance Institute has well-developed plans for both Earth and Thera, and those in opposition have more challenges than ever to try to defeat them.

generate completes the daynight series. After decades of plotting and testing, the SCI stands ready to execute their plan on Earth and annihilate anyone who threatens it. They’ll stop at nothing and for no one—not the Deny the SCI movement, nor the Exiler Nation, Arbiters, and Genitors—even if it means war. Kira must persuade the Genitor leaders to stop the atrocities happening at the hand of the SCI—or, if they refuse, she’ll risk everything to do it herself. Ethan embarks on his own agenda, teetering loyalties between the Arbiters, the SCI, and the Deny the SCI movement on Earth. Blake begins an assignment to watch over the Exiler Nation and finds unlikely allies in his crusade to save thousands of innocent lives.

 Coffee or Tea? 

Neither, actually. I’m a diet Coke junkie, and I particularly love dirty diet Cokes (just add coconut creamer). 

Plotter or Pantser? 

The daynight series is plotted. It is way too complicated to just sit down and start writing. For arbitrate, I had to keep a very elaborate timeline (for all three main characters), a map of both Earth and Thera, and detailed story arcs on hand at all times. I knew from the beginning exactly how I wanted it to end and loosely plotted the entire book. I’m in the middle of writing generate, and the process has been similar. The process serves as an excellent starting point and basis of inspiration for me. However, as I get better ideas, I always incorporate them, even if it means rewrites and rethinking. Most days, when I hit the end of a scene or a chapter, I’ll go for a walk to plot the scene/chapter out in more detail (yes, I’m a danger—mostly to myself—as I type notes into my iPhone while walking).

Are there any books involved in the YA Spring Fling that you’re secretly lusting after?

I read 300-500 books a year (made possible by insomnia). So, I’m interested in any book that catches my attention. I always read a sample first (not every book is for everyone, including mine). If I find the characters and plot compelling in the sample, I one-click and read away. I’ll often start a book at 9pm and finish by 11:30pm, then I’ll (unwisely) start another at 11:30pm and finish much, much too late to be a productive member of society the next day.

What was the last YA book you read?

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, a Fault in Our Stars-like (aka bring tissues) novel. I don’t solely read YA. I’ll read everything from YA to contemporary romance to new adult to fantasy to science fiction to mystery/thriller to historical. Some of the recent standouts I’ve read are The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, The Law of Moses by Amy Harmon, Ugly Love and Confess by Colleen Hoover, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, You by Caroline Kepnes, and Black Lies by Alessandra Torres.

Why do you write YA? 

I started writing young adult because I had teenagers with voracious reading appetites. At my daughters’ request, I wrote a YA romantic comedy trilogy. After that great writing practice (not good enough to publish!), I came up with the idea for the daynight series. While the characters span young adult/new adult ages, I categorize the series as YA because, while edgy, the books have no explicit content. Since I still have a house full of teens who insist upon reading everything I write, YA works best for me. Also, I love flawed characters with depth to them who morph, change, and evolve over time. YA characters are perfect for that, as they’re trying to find themselves and figure out what they want out of life. They also readily make mistakes and have to learn and grow from those mistakes. 

What are your top tips for surviving a bad review?

Don’t read them :). No seriously, don’t—or at least have a friend or family member preview the review and pull out any pieces of constructive criticism for you. Constructive criticism is awesome—like nuggets of gold. Writers need these nuggets in order to improve. But, a writer might encounter something nasty, and unless that writer wants to be depressed, anxious, self-doubting, or to endure a few days of writer’s block, it is best to stay blissfully unaware.

What are your top tips for surviving a zombie apocalypse?

There is often a raging debate at our dinner table over this—particularly if we have guests. We have an extensive collection of daggers and swords from around the world that would be employed during a zombie apocalypse. Some of my children think we need to add some automatic weaponry to the collection. I had a couple friends in high school who had friends die from gun accidents, so that’s out as far as I’m concerned. But, a good supply of food and water and a defensible house would be important. I’m not sure my new electric car will do me much good, so I have to plan to be stuck here for the duration :).

What inspires you?

People, music, art, an errant thought—I find there to be inspiration everywhere if I’m looking for it.

Where can readers find your books?

The main books of my daynight series are available as an ebook on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Megan-Thomason/e/B00A6SXUI0), and as paperbacks on Amazon, bn.com, and through the Ingram catalogue. Quite a few libraries have picked up the series, as well as some Indie bookstores. If the movies make it to theaters, I’d expect the distribution to increase :).

Young Adult Spring Fling Giveaway!

Young Adult Spring Fling!

Over 70 authors are taking part in a huge giveaway of young adult and fantasy books! BOUND IN BLUE (you can see me right down there in the bottom corner LOL) is part of this fabulous giveaway.

The giveaway will be live from March 20 to April 3. Until then, you can sign up on the mailing list - all sign ups are guaranteed at least one ebook of choice. Here's the link!

http://eepurl.com/baBpFr

I’ll be interviewing one of the other authors tomorrow, so stay tuned!

10,500 Copies Sold - How I Got Here Part 1

So here's the big announcement - Since June 2014, I've sold over 10,500 copies of Bound In Blue: Book One of the Sword of Elements, the majority being ebooks and the majority of those at full price.

If you've been following my blog and my posts about agents, conferences, and publishers, you will probably be surprised that I created my own publishing company - Two Paths Publishing - and published Bound In Blue myself.

It has been a long journey with surprising twists and turns that I wasn't allowed to talk about at the time - hence the radio silence here. Suffice it to say, that for awhile, it looked like Big Publishing would soon be looking at me in a Big Way. Then it all fell through.

And I'm so glad!

Stay tuned for a more in depth discussion of what happened later this month. Also, I'm serving fair warning here that this blog will be transferring over to my main website soon.

Beta Reading & Copy Editing

It's been a busy few months and I've neglected this blog! I have a lot to catch everyone up on, but will begin that with another post. Today I want to let you know about two new services I've been offering: Beta Reading & Copy Editing and Book Cover Design for Indies.

I'll address cover design in another post, but here is the info on the editing services:

Beta Reading using notes in Word and a 1 to 2 page critique summary: $.001 per word. For example, an 80,000 word manuscript would be $80.

Proof Reading is $.002 per word. Proof reading checks for spelling, punctuation, and basic grammar. It does not focus on content or correct stylistic or deeper issues within the writing or plot.

Copy Editing is $.004 per word. Copy editing addresses corrections as well as deeper elements of style, sentence structure, plot holes or inconsistencies in some cases, word repetition, character issues, etc... While many elements of plot and character may be addressed, a copy edit does not replace a content edit. I do not offer content editing.

While I am generally available for beta reading at almost any time, my availability for fuller editing is much more limited.

If you are interested in any of these services, just contact: Heather Senter - Editing Services

Please describe your project, its length and genre, and what your timeline is.

Please note that I do not accept erotica, erotic romance or steamy romance, or very graphic horror. I do not read these genres and would thus not be a very could choice for your manuscript. Standard horror, thriller, urban fantasy, fantasy, YA, middle grade, clean romance, science fiction, etc are all welcome.

EDITED TO ADD - I WON!!   Sara B. Larson's fantasy debut DEFY comes out January 7th 2014 and she's holding a contest for the best re-imagining of her cover. She already has a great cover, but the winner will receive an ARC. Here's my go at it with all stock from faestock over at deviantart.

For The Love Of Conferences - Part 2

Well, I apologize that it's been a bit since I updated the blog. I was starting to get on a nice roll with it too! It has been for a good cause, but one I can't talk about yet. I have a number of 'irons in the fire' that I'm hoping will 'blossom' soon (check out the mixed metaphors!).

The biggest update in my writing life was the SCBWI conference in Los Angeles. I was able to attend due to the generosity of the wonderful Fairy Godsisters, Ink (Thalia Chaltas, Mary Hershey, Valerie Hobbs, Robin LaFevers, Lee Wardlaw). Each year they help children's writers and illustrators by providing a scholarship to the SCBWI Nationals. This year the scholarship was based on a poetry contest. We were to create a haiku that captured the experience of being a writer. And I won! Here is my entry:

The Haiku Trilogy of the Querying Author ( to be read in a round)

Creative Spark

Struck by Apollo

Lord of the Muses guides me

Blank paper beckons

Depths of Rejection

Flung from the slush pile

Weeks of waiting for nothing

Form letter response

Fresh Edit

Fresh edit is hope

Stripping the story to bones

I begin again



And since I'm in Canada and flights from here to LA cost a wee bit more than they do for US writers, I am also grateful for a grant I received from the Writers' Community of Durham Region, my local and extremely supportive association.

For all of those stuck in querying hell, my love and sympathy - I hope you enjoyed my poems. I'll be back soon to give a report on the conference in Part 3.

For The Love Of Conferences Part 1

I wanted to talk about conferences and how important they can be to a writer's career, at every stage. Almost a year ago, I was sitting with 50,000 words of a YA manuscript and wondering what, or even if I should continue with it. The idea had been percolating for a while, so when I write, I write very quickly, and I knew that I would be able to finish it in the next month or so. But what then? I had thought about going to a big conference in the US, but I just couldn't pull the trigger due to the cost. When I finally decided to go for it at the last minute, the flights had gone up so high in price that it just wasn't possible.

Completely depressed, I began a search online for other upcoming conferences and I discovered something I had never heard about before: SCBWI. And it turns out they were running a conference in Niagara Falls that very same weekend.

Now, unless you've read my previous post about sending my last manuscript to exactly ONE agent, you will be surprised at how clueless I was. SCBWI stands for The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

But you knew that, of course ;).

So I contacted the organizers immediately and found out that the date for registration had passed. Despair.

But they volunteered to put me on a waiting list. Hope.

Then I found out there's a whole critique group component that is unique to this conference. Fear.

Someone dropped out and I got in! Excitement! And then Fear again!

In Part 2, I'm going to talk about what I learned at that conference and others and how they have moved my writing career along. But I wanted to get out the information that there are only 4 SPOTS LEFT for the conference this year May 3-5, 2013. Due to an administrative conflict, this is not a SCBWI conference for this year and there is no illustrators track, but it is still an amazing event. Look at the lineup!:

SUSAN RICH, EDITOR-AT-LARGE - LITTLE, BROWN BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
SUSAN HAWK, AGENT - THE BENT AGENCY
SARA ZARR, Y.A. AUTHOR
ELLEN HOPKINS, Y.A. AUTHOR
KIMBERLEY GRIFFITHS-LITTLE, AUTHOR, M.G, Y.A.
LORIN OBERWEGER, FREELANCE EDITOR - FREE EXPRESSIONS LITERARY
ROMAN WHITE, DIRECTOR, AUTHOR
LAURA BIAGI, AGENT - THE JEAN V. NAGGAR LITERARY AGENCY INC

I hope you caught that there are 2 wonderful agents attending this year! And you have to see the location to believe it - truly unique. If you are in driving distance to Niagara Falls and you are a children's writer, you should be there. I mean it.

Writer Jackie Garlick-Pynaert is the organizer and for more info or to grab those last few spots go to:
www.niagararetreatandconference.com.

Let's Talk Rejection

So, let's talk rejection. I just came across a tweet about Anne of Green Gables being rejected and then shelved for two years before L. M. Montgomery resubmitted and subsequently sold 50 million. This was one of my favorite books as a kid, but I have to admit that I don't know too much about how it was published, so I can only assume that this is true. I also don't know if Montgomery changed and revised the book during those two years. But what struck me was the faith she must have had in her creation to go out there again and bare her soul to the world.

Because that's what it feels like - complete nakedness in front of hostile eyes.

I have to admit that I've had a pretty good week. It would be inappropriate to go into details - and I don't like to tempt fate either - but I've received a lot of positive reinforcement and interest this week. I don't get my hopes up about anything until it's real, but it feels good to think that maybe, just maybe things are moving in the right direction.

And then I received a rejection on something I didn't expect.

There's no point in talking about the what or the who. Suffice it to say that it was a tersely worded two point criticism, one point valid because it was the writer's opinion, and one point so out of left field to me that I wanted to immediately refute it.

Of course, that would be the worst thing to do!

The thing is, it involved something in which I have a great deal of knowledge and am able to make connections within that seem completely obvious to me. I never stopped to think that maybe someone without the same background might only see these as oblique and random, rather than considered and logical.

And at the end of the day, that's my problem, not theirs. It's my job to be an effective communicator. And so, despite all the positive news I received this week, I was thrown into the depths of self-doubt.

Now, I'm no stranger to rejection. I was a working actress before I was married and believe me, writers have it easy! We get to sit at our desks and send out our query letters, our partials and fulls, and when the rejections come - and they do - we can read them when we feel ready. They are faceless and voiceless and we can skim them quickly and then delete or file them away.

But imagine standing alone on a stage after belting your little heart out and feeling the minutes tick by as you watch them argue and deliberate about you before finally saying thank you and then turning away. Find me at a conference some day and I'll tell you about how I came this close to getting the role of Eponine in the original Toronto production. Watching people actually in the process of considering you and then being argued out of it by a colleague is one of the most humiliating things that I have ever experienced.

So, fellow writers, you don't know jack about rejection.

And that's what I reminded myself. I've had a really great week and I'm allowed to feel happy about it. And maybe a little hopeful too. I can file that email, and move on.

I was at book club last night and we were discussing a book that I absolutely hated. I mean, loathed and detested. And yet all of the rest of the group at least liked it, and several loved it. Art is subjective. It has to be. My art will not always be your art and your art might leave me cold, but we all have a right to continue trying to make it.

Agents - What Are They Good For? Part 2

So, I finished Part 1 of this post by coming clean with my desire to be traditionally published. Don't get me wrong, I still think there are a lot of benefits to self-publishing if you have the right skills and mindset. But there's just something visceral about my desire to see my book sitting on the shelves of the local bookstore. Maybe someday that will be more in reach for the self-publishing author and for a few, it may already be possible. But I think that I need the affirmation that a professional - an agent - will give me by believing in my work.

I could go into all the important tasks that an agent takes on when she accepts a new client - editorial feedback, author branding, submission to the 'big guys', contract negotiation, foreign and film rights sales, being the author's cheerleader to some extent - but I'll leave that for future posts.

Today, I'm just thinking about affirmation.

I haven't abandoned my self-publishing goals completely - I'm working on some steampunk novellas that I'm thinking of  publishing through Amazon - but for now I'm slogging through the query trenches. Getting an agent is only the beginning of what I understand is a long and sometimes arduous process, but I accept that I'm in it for the long haul.

Bring it on!

I would love to hear any agent success stories so feel free to comment and share. Or just admire the lovely Rackham illustration below - I picked her because she looks tired, maybe because of all the querying she's been doing. See how she's cradling her tired and broken hand from pounding all those keys on the keyboard? But it's Brunhilde the valkyrie - so you just know that she'll persevere.

Agents - What Are They Good For? Part 1

Quite a lot I've decided!!

This week, an agent I queried a couple of months ago requested my full manuscript - she'd read the first 3 chapters and wanted to read more. I believe the best way to describe my response would be:

SQUEEE!

My manuscript is out there in various agent hands at the moment, but all those requests were based on online contests that I finalized in. I only began querying a little while ago and this is the first request based off one of my queries. So for me, it was a BIG DEAL.

Hey, I've read all the blogs of writers and their tales of the query trenches - I know that it could all fall through and I'll be left where I began. But right now, I feel that at least I'm on the right track as far as this writing thing goes.

But what's funny is that I never intended to go the traditional publishing route at all. For those I've talked to about my journey - and it hasn't been many until now - my intention had always been to self-publish through Amazon. I'm tech savvy, have the digital art and photography skills to create a killer cover, and I'm capable of self marketing. My first manuscript several years ago caught the attention of a high powered, rock star agent - but when it all fell apart, I lost faith in the whole process.

Now, the truth is, that manuscript deserved to die. I may re-visit it some day, but really, does the world need another Sword Of Shannara? Cuz it was definitely in that vein. And even if it did deserve to live, I should have sent it to other agents. But she was the biggest fantasy agent out there at that time and if she didn't want it, why would anyone else??

So, I was set on self-publishing. Until I went to my first writer's conference and actually met published authors, editors, and agents. I listened and learned and finally had to come clean:

Hi, I'm Heather and I want to be traditionally published.

Problem - to be traditionally published, you traditionally need an agent. And turns out, it's about as hard to get an agent as it is to get published once you have one!

Tune in tomorrow for Agents - What Are They Good For? Part 2

Born Wicked

Goodreads Description of Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1) by Jessica Spotswood:

Everybody thinks Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship--or an early grave. Then Cate finds her mother's diary, and uncovers a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra. But if what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe--not even from each other.

This one's been out for over a year, but I only finally got around to reading it just recently.  But since it's just been published in softcover and the sequel is coming out in a few months, I thought it would be a good one to start off my book reviews with.

First, let me say that I love the original cover and I'm not a fan of the new "prettier" one. There's something, well, wicked about the model's pose and clothing and the style is far more gothic and in keeping with the setting of the novel.

The second cover looks like Witch Barbie goes to Salem.

Of course, nothing particularly wicked happens in Born Wicked - in fact, not  a lot happens at all. I've read a few other reviews online and one of the main complaints about the book is how passive and whiny about her own abilities the main character is.

It's a valid complaint, but I found that this book had me hooked in for the long haul (it's a trilogy I believe). The world building is strong, the romance is engaging, and I'm willing to go along for the journey.  I'm sure we will see Cate grow and change and I enjoy a trilogy that pulls me into a character's development rather than being episodic and showing little personal change. 

And the setting - kind of a throwing of the Puritan movement into the future after some vague disaster that clamped down on technology and freedom - is a fresh take on the whole fantasy/dystopian genre. 

So buy it. But try to find the original hardback in the discount section - it will look much prettier on your shelf.

I'm still looking for some star icons that will match the look of the blog, so until then, here's how the rating will go:

1 star: don't bother
2 stars: it was just ok
3 stars: it was good, I enjoyed it
4 stars: it was very good and I recommend it
5 stars: you'd be crazy not to read it!

Born Wicked comes in at 3.5 stars - it would have been 4 except for the new cover!

Pitch Madness, Pitchfest, & Secret Agent

It's been a very busy couple of weeks!!

Sadly, I didn't make it into the final round of Pitch Madness. I wasn't really expecting to since there were a lot of different genres that they were looking for - but still, I was a little bit sad.

And then I received an email that an agent was requesting my work. What?! Turns out, I had made the finals of WriteOnCon's Pitch-Fest and I didn't even know it! Somehow my pitch had been posted under an incorrect title. When I scanned the list of finalists, I was actually quite disappointed. But I never noticed at all how close one title was to mine - it was listed as BOUND IN BLOOD rather than BOUND IN BLUE and I must have been checking for just the word 'blue' as I was looking through the lists.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that when one door closes, another one often opens. I happily wrapped up my work and sent it off to a fabulous agent.

I also made this month's Secret Agent finals over at Miss Snark's First Victim - (I've linked directly to my entry). I got some great feedback from readers and the secret agent and the winner(s) will be announced soon.

Will any of these adventures lead to an agent and a publishing deal? I certainly hope so. But even if they don't, the great contests that I've been part of and the requests I've received from agents have helped build my confidence and skill. If this manuscript doesn't find me an agent, then I'm sure the next one will.

Or the next ;-).

It's Pitch Madness!

UPDATE - I made it through to round 2! One more round to go.

What is Pitch Madness you ask? It's a contest to match pitches with agents run by Brenda Drake and her team of slush zombies, of course. For more info, check out her blog at brenleedrake.blogspot.com.

Here's my pitch and first 250 words:

Title: BOUND IN BLUE

Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy

Word Count: 80,000

Rhi’s color synaesthesia is actually the manifestation of a mysterious power. Which would be great, except for one problem: King Arthur is coming back. And turns out, he’s not as nice as the storybooks say.

Fear is white and thickly veined with sea-green.

I reached over the bed rail and touched Mom’s cheek, but the industrial clock on the wall ticked loudly and I jerked my hand back fast. She was cold. But she was always cool and thin and strange with her pale, pale eyes. Now they were open and staring and I couldn’t bring myself to close them the way they always do in movies.

The only thing Mom was ever afraid of was a man with silver hair. I saw him once when I was little. Mom pulled me tight against her chest and the sound of her heart was a wave crashing against rocks. That fear crept out of her chest, crawled through my ear, and made its way down to my own wildly beating heart to take up permanent residence.

Rhiannon, listen to me, we cannot be seen. Hide in the shadows and be still and silent.

And as she held me, my fear broke apart like ice on a churning ocean and all the colors of my emotions erupted out of it—but the man didn’t see us.

I once tried to tell Mom about the colors I felt, but she just smiled and looked away. I didn’t try again. It would have been nice to talk with someone about it. I’m sure my colors would be pretty interesting to some psychiatrist bored with the usual budding Unabombers.

But fear is white and cold as marble and veined in an ugly sea-green that matches the color of the hospital walls.

Writing Tip - Twitter Pitch Generator

Check out YA author Carissa Taylor's Twitter Pitch Generator over at YA Writers' Toolbox - the name says it all! Try it out and you'll be surprised how close it comes to helping you nail down a succinct Twitter or elevator pitch. I wouldn't recommend generating one and sending it out 'as is', but as a starting point, the suggested pitches are actually quite useful.

Writing Tips - Ambient Sound

I'm still waiting to hear back on fulls and partials that I have out there in agent land, so I thought I would begin posting fun writing tips or aids as I ran across them.

A lot of writers write to music. Many authors post playlists of the songs they listened to while writing their novels. I live in the country and do a lot of driving around by myself. If I have the radio on, I'm listening to that. If I have music on, I'm singing along - I can't help it, I was a singer before I was anything else. Now, there's nothing wrong with any of that, but I've found that some of my most productive 'writing' time has been when I've been driving around, deep in my thoughts, plotting my book. But it's kind of lonely doing that to complete silence, particularly at night. Celtic and New Agey stuff helps - Loreena McKennit, Clannad, etc - but I'm often tempted to sing along with them too.

Home was harder - I couldn't begin writing until everyone else was asleep because the background household noise distracts me and my music distracted everyone else (I've really got to get some stained glass up in those empty transoms!). My writing days were beginning after midnight and going on till the wee hours of the morning. I'm a night owl, but I have children that I have to get up with in the morning.

And then I discovered Simply Rain. The name says it all - rain and random peals of thunder. It puts me in the sort of 'moody' mood that I need to write and masks the sounds outside my office but it doesn't distract. I love it.

Ambient Mixer is another ambient sound generator I stumbled on recently. The cool thing about this site is the sheer variety of sounds available. You can even create your own mixes or alter the mixes you find there.

There's a lot of Mommy/Writers out there - if anyone has stumbled across other online sites that help with concentration, feel free to post in the comments!

© 2013 Heather Senter

Update On The Agent Blind Speed Dating Contest

Yoohoo! My entry received 1 full manuscript request (only 1 full was allowed per entry during the contest) and 2 partials from 3 absolutely amazing agents!

The contest at Cupid's Literary Connection is an wonderful opportunity and I want to publicly thank the anonymous Cupid for all her hard work in putting it together.

Cupid's Literary Connection Blind Speed Dating Contest

Well, it's been quite exciting! I'm in day 2 of the agent round of Cupid's Literary Connection's Blind Speed Dating Contest and I have one partial request already.

It's really quite an amazing contest - and a little complicated to follow. There were a total of 360 entries over a number of weeks and during each submission period only 9 moved forward - and I'm one of the final 56! This week 10 agents will bid anonymously to request either partial manuscripts (100 pages) or full manuscripts on the last day of the contest which is Thursday.

Hey, I'm just happy to have made it to the agent round and to have one partial request. But I admit that I have my fingers crossed for more.

The great thing about contests like this is the feedback in the early rounds and the feeling of validation that comes from having an agent actually wanting to look at something you wrote.

I have a few other irons in the fire that I'm also excited about - not the least of which was winning one of the 2 positions in the last YAlitchat contest which led to one full and one partial request. Writing and querying can be lonely and disheartening so I really appreciate these wonderful bloggers and communities who work so hard to help writers find their dream agents and, hopefully, eventual publication.

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog! For those of you who know me, you are probably aware that I have quite a few blogs floating out there in cyberspace. For anyone interested in my photography and other pursuits, I will be posting the links to those blogs in the menu. But for now, not much works around here yet. I will be filling up my pages, posts and links soon though.

So why a new blog? Well, this blog is dedicated to my goal of being a published YA author. Until that wonderful day, I will be posting my thoughts on all things related to writing: conferences, inspiration, book reviews, etc.

I'll be talking soon about my journey thus far, but for now, I just wanted to say - Welcome!