Manuscript!

Wow, blog updates have been rather scant lately.
But I'm happy to say I finally finished my manuscript! My entire novel went through 3 (a few chapters had 4) drafts. I received an interest in my novel from an agent, but I can't say more than that.

School is crazy as well. Midterms just won't stop coming! The week after Thanksgiving, I have 3 exams, and then two weeks later, I have finals. It's been eating into my writing time, but I do make it a priority to write, especially since I go nuts if I don't have any creative outlet.

Well, here I go! Going into my last round of midterms, finals week, all while going through pesky edits of my manuscript and querying.

October Update--Close to Query-Ready!

Oh my goodness, it's October already?????

*GASP*

The time!

I'm happy to say I'm more than halfway done with my manuscript. In fact, an agent knows that the second half of the novel is not ready yet, but I'm glad that she requested the first 10 pages, and after reading that, she then requested the first 50 pages (You might be wondering why an agent has the 50 pages before my manuscript is ready. Well, long story).

Sure hope I can get this done by the end of the month, if I'm being super optimistic about it. But we'll see!

Meanwhile, much of my blogging has been done for Caliber Magazine. My author archive is here, and I am very happy to say that I will be interviewing Peter Ramsey, the director of Dreamwork's newest upcoming animated film Rise of the Guardians. Stay tuned! :)

Guest Post: Character Interview (Country Life Tour of Hillburn House)

1930
Maisie Lett’s own column:

Dear Readers,
After last month’s hectic schedule, I thought yours truly could put her trotters up for
awhile – famous last thoughts! Went into office the other day only to find a note from
the editor on my desk:

‘Dear Lett,
Next month’s Country Life ‘At Home’ page is looking a little bare – however, all is
not lost as a friend of a friend of a friend has kindly offered to show us around their
delightful country residence – so can you get yourself and camera down there by
Friday? Train ticket enclosed. The name is Marchant; address is attached on card etc
etc’
What a rush! But deadlines and delayed trains nowithstanding, I reached the house in
question on Friday midday in time for lunch, after which Miss Lydia Marchant began
the tour …

Lydia Maydew: And here we have the dining room – the painting over the fireplace
is a Landseer, and the man in the red coat over the sideboard is purported to be by
a student of Gainsborough’s; rather a cheery soul, isn’t he ? We tend not to use this
room overmuch unless there are guests staying – we have quite a crowd here at the
moment – Bertie’s theatre chum Freddy brought his troupe with him …
Maisie Lett: Oh – the men in the ruffs and stockings ? I must say, I thought they were
awfully good – quite authentic.
Lydia M (raising an eyebrow): I didn’t know they were already in costume – but the
dress rehearsal is coming up, so it’s perfectly possible; oh well, that will add a little
colour to the place. Now, this part of the house was actually completed in the late
1700s, which is why, so they tell me, we have those pediments over the doors, and
faux columns along the walls. Quaint, and in need of a lick of paint, but there you
are . . . with bohemian parents like ours, not a lot one can do . . .
Maisie L: Your father is a poet, isn’t he?
Lydia M: Quite so, and writes the odd column here and there; mother on the other
hand does portraits – quite good ones, in between landscapes and the occasional still
life. So we just about manage to muddle through.
Maisie L: And they are touring Europe, I think you mentioned?
Lydia M: They were, they are now cruising the Nile, I believe, and then on to
Switzerland.
Maisie L: So you are holding the fort, so to speak?
Lydia M : Doing what I can. (twitches slightly)
Maisie L: Was that a bird?
Lydia M : It might have been. Shall I show you the garden?
(At this point we were joined by Miss Marchant’s brother, Bertie, together with his
theatre chums who had just returned from the theatre)
Bertie : I say, are you the journalist? Jolly welcome, have you seen the gallery yet?
No? Allow me then (escorts Maisie to the first floor)
(Upstairs):
Bertie : ... and here are some of the old Marchants from 1810 or thereabouts – this one
looks like me, don’t you think?
Maisie: Except for the waistcoat.

Bertie: And over here, our great-great-grandmother, Jemima – somewhat imperious
looking, ain’t she – and now, through this window we have a view of the front garden
– what do you think?
Maisie : Perfectly wonderful – my editor will be thrilled. I’ll just set up the tripod.
Bertie: Brought your camera with you. Excellent stuff …
Maisie L: (rummaging in bag) Oh dear – the lenses – must be in the other bag …
Bertie: Downstairs, is it? Allow me.

Bertie kindly went to fetch the bag I had left downstairs. It took me a little while to set
up the equipment, and while I was adjusting the tripod, I heard a rustling behind me,
of cloth, so I thought – I turned to see who it was, but saw only a shadow at the end of
the gallery, turning off into the older part of the house. Another guest, I imagined.
Come tea-time, I had taken several photographs of the garden, including the fishpond
and the rose garden. Not long after, Bertie’s actor friends returned in one rather large
and noisy car to regale us with accounts of how rehearsals went. None of them were
familiar to me, although I thought I had seen two of them before lunch – and Miss
Maydew recalled my mentioning the fact: -

Lydia M: How is the dress-rehearsal coming along, Freddy?
Freddy: Eh, what ? Dress rehearsal? Hardly.
Lydia M: Oh but Miss Letts met some of you in costume – just before lunch.
Actor 1: Really?
Actor 2: Where?
Actor 1: Here? But my dears, we’ve been at the theatre since ten this morning!
Freddy: Besides which, our costumes aren’t ready yet, so it would be a trifle difficult
– unless you have some hidden on the premises!
Lydia: So none of you have any costumes ?
Actor 2: None of us – yet. Ask Freddy.
(Freddy was the director, and quite able to account for everyone ... Lydia twitched
nervously and rang the bell)
Bertie: (to Maisie L) Could you have imagined it?
Maisie: I think not; quite colourfully dressed they were too, and in something of a
hurry.
Actor 2: I say, don’t tell me the place is haunted! (Roars of laughter, some
small discomfort from Maisie, L, more nervous twitches from Lydia. Enter the
housekeeper)
Lydia M: Ah, Mrs Cranshaw: were there any visitors this morning ? In theatre
costume ?
Mrs Cranshaw: Why no, miss, there’s been nobody today, save for Miss Lett.

And there the matter rested. The Maydews are ,most hospitable, and put me up
in a room for the night – next to where the two actresses are sleeping. All very
comfortable and with a real feel of the past to it; but I am not used to the quiet of
the countryside, so perhaps that is why I couldn’t sleep so well – every twig, every
whistle of wind … and I rather think there might be mice … certainly something
made a curious noise for much of the night, not unlike scissors, snipping, …

My editor approved of the photographs, although he was not as convinced as I about
the two men in costume; I think he thought I had been imaging things; he certainly
edited out all reference to them in my piece . . .)

It is still a puzzle to me, however, how two of Bertie’s actor friends could have had
time to leave the theatre unnoticed and appear at Hillburn in Elizabethan costume –
and indeed, why?

For the curious: Ungentle Sleep is available on Amazon at

http://www.amazon.com/Ungentle-Sleep-ebook/dp/B008VIJFLI

and

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ungentle-Sleep-ebook/dp/B008VIJFLI

Writer of the Week #23: Alisa M. Libby

Name: Alisa M. Libby

Website: www.alisalibby.com/blog

Location: Massachusetts

When did you realize you wanted to be a published author? 
I always loved writing--my first stories were written in crayon on construction paper. Even though I knew I loved writing, it still took a long time to realize my dream of writing (and completing) a novel and getting it published.

Name 5 authors and 5 books *Dracula by Bram Stoker. Everyone should try this one. It may start off a bit slowly (it was written in 1897), but stick with it for genuinely creepy and beautiful writing, and wonderful characters.
*The Autobiography of King Henry VIII by Margaret George. George writes gorgeous historical novels, rich in detail--and this one is my absolute favorite.
*Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn. A strange and unique take on a very old monster tale.
*The Magicians by Lev Grossman. This isn't Harry Potter's magic school (though I am also a huge fan of Rowling's books) but an edgier, more sophisticated version of undergrad students studying magic.
*Emily of New Moon by Lucy Maude Montgomery. Also the author of the Anne of Green Gables books, the Emily trilogy is a bit darker and more mysterious, filled with gorgeous detail.

Where do you get your inspiration from? I look for it everywhere: art museums, music, novels, graphic novels, fairy tales and mythology, history, movies, traveling--I'm always looking for inspiration, details, stories. You can find little nuggets of inspiration anywhere, at any time.

What do you think is the best quality a writer can have? 
Perseverance and patience! You have to sit down and do the work, and it's not always easy.

 Any last words? (Fun facts, comments, something you'd like to share with the world, etc.) 
Stuff that makes me happy: David Bowie, The Dresden Dolls, big puffy ballgowns, sparkly hair pins, unicorns, castles, forests, ice cream, my red Fluevog boots, Beaker from the Muppets, basset hound puppies, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston...and green tea with honey.

Challenge: Write a one-sentence story! 
I've never been good at flash fiction! Or short fiction in general. This is more of a first line than a full story:
We came to the summer house to see a sky full of stars and fields that shimmer with lightning bugs.


Thank you so much for your answers, Alisa!  If anyone is interested in being a writer of the week, please read the instructions here.

A year ago...

Happy Labor Day! I hope everyone is having a lovely 3 day weekend.

Photo from here

I still remember the day I started writing my novel, sans all of the planning I did during summer 2011. It was September 1, 2011, a Thursday. I had gone to Rockridge Library to borrow Catherynne M. Valente's newest middle-grade fantasy novel The Girl Who Had Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. As I was sitting on the bench at the Rockridge BART station, in the shade provided by the train tracks and the highways high above my head, I felt the time was right to start penning the very first words of my novel.

She would keep her secrets lodged in her throat, tucked away behind a silver lock that was one and whole with the fair skin on her smooth neck.

It just felt right to keep on writing and writing. When the 51B came howling into the station to take me back to Berkeley, and everyone packed onto the bus, I sat on the bus, feeling as though I was in a trance on that sunny afternoon. I sat next to an adorable Asian (or half-Asian?) little girl with her mother. The little girl was carrying a teddy bear. I told her that her teddy bear was very adorable, and she went on to tell me her teddy bear's name and that everyone in her class was responsible for taking care of it every week. She was responsible for taking care of her class's teddy bear that week, and said that one time, one of the teddy bears from her class got lost, and everyone was very upset.

Imagine that, instead of "7, Arlington, Kensington," the bus says "51B, U.C. Campus, via College Ave"

Now, one year later, I have three written publications, and I'm now on chapter 13 of draft #3. I'm hoping to have draft #3 completed by 2013.

Continuing on my journey to being a published novelist!

Photo of the 51B bus from here

Fantasy Guest Post from author M.L. Hamilton

As a tour stop for fantasy author M.L. Hamilton's book The Star of Eldon, here are her tips for writing fantasy! Let us see what she says about creating believable fantasy characters, stories, and worlds.

Author M.L. Hamilton. Read on for her advice on writing fantasy!

What makes fantasy characters appealing?
Good question. I think it's the same thing that makes fantasy appealing -- the chance to escape into a new world with different creatures and yet still find that thread of humanity in them that we can identify. If you can see elements of your personality in a creature of mystery and magic, that's pretty amazing. I will never forget being in the theatre and weeping when Dobby from Harry Potter died, then realizing it was a CGI creation, yet I still felt devastated. Another time I felt this was in Avatar when they destroyed the Tree of Souls. I watched that scene with a hand over my mouth and tears in my eyes. When Frodo throws the ring of power into Mount Doom, you fight that struggle with him. He isn't a Hobbit, he's someone you know and love. That is power and the author is holding that bag of emotional magic.

How to make fantasy stories believable?
I try to have a "logical" explanation for everything that happens in my world and I stick to that. If you create laws for that world, first you have to remember what those laws are and you can't just "work around" them as a plot device. I think fantasy becomes unbelievable if you set rigid rules for your world, then ignore them willy nilly just to advance the story. Readers, especially fantasy readers, will immediately pick up on the contradiction. For example, early drafts ofEmerald had the characters drinking coffee. Everyone who read the drafts kept getting hung up on the coffee and feeling it wasn't in keeping with the world I created. In the beginning I was adamant that I had to have my coffee, but I finally gave it up. It was too big a distraction for people and didn't allow them to enjoy the story. It was an inconsistency that they couldn't accept, and boy did they tell me about it.

How to bring a fantasy world to life?
Keep to the basics. I know that sounds strange when one is writing fantasy, but you still have to try to make the people and the environment reasonable. People have to recognize enough in your world to accept it. Then you can bring in fantastical elements, but you have to ground your reader first. Humans are creatures of customs and rituals. No matter how strange the customs and rituals may be in a fantasy world, you have to have them because it's those things that bring our own worlds alive. Most of my fantasy books start slow because I take the time to orient the reader in my world and my customs before I turn it on its ear.


And I suppose you are curious about what her book is about?

The Star of Eldon is the book #3 in the World of Samar series, so lets get to know the 1st two below first:

The First Novel in the World of Samar Series - #1 EmeraldIn one terrible instant, Kai is thrown from his comfortable life and plunged into a conflict that began before he was born. Worse yet, he learns that the one man who can help him is his enemy.

Kiameron is the crown prince of DiNolfol. He is torn between two destinies -- taking the crown upon his father's death or answering the call of his non-Human-like traits, traits associated with the mysterious Stravad.

The decision is made with the destruction of everything he holds dear. Armed with his strange powers and a mysterious talisman he doesn't know how to use, Kai decides to attack Gava, the despot who destroyed his life.

Crippled by self-doubt and fear, he falters in his quest, until he meets a man who forces him to take action. However, his new ally is hiding secrets, secrets that will rob Kai of everything he held sacred.

The Second Novel in the World of Samar Series - #2 The Heirs of Eldon

Tav and Tash might have been born twins, but they both want something different from life. Tav would love to study with the great scholars in Voltarian, while Tash wants to follow in his father’s footsteps, becoming a hero. Neither is prepared for what fate has in store for them.

With Loden once more facing war, an upstart king decides he has the answer. Unite the seven protectorates under one flag. Can he accomplish his dream? Can the sons of Kiameron keep him alive long enough to find out?


Finally the book of our interest-

The Third Novel in the World of Samar Series - #3 The Star of Eldon

The Seven Protectorates have enjoyed years of peace under Tav’s leadership, but a growing worry has surfaced. What about the land beyond Loden’s border? Where once there had been overtures of trade, now there is nothing. Tav decides to send a diplomatic expedition to re-establish contact, but who should go?

Adventure runs in the blood of Tash’s children, especially in his head-strong daughter, Shara. Shara wants nothing more than to be part of the expedition to Nevaisser, but her father will never agree. He fears for her safety, but a rash decision on his part takes the choice out of his hands and sets up a chain of events that will have far reaching consequences.

Nevaisser is a land teeming with conflict and at the heart of it is a mysterious stranger, hiding secrets that will test the alliance of the Seven Protectorates. A journey begun to protect Loden may result in tearing it apart.

Continue the adventure with the third installment in the World of Samar series.

11th Free “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest (Middle Grade Fiction)

I was checking my email last night and found this contest, the 11th free "Dear Lucky Agent" contest! With very positive reviews on the first few chapters of my fantasy middle-grade novel, I thought, "Hey, why not enter?"

The genre is middle-grade fiction too!

The top 3 winners all get...
1) A critique of the first 10 double-spaced pages of your work, by your agent judge, Sara Sciuto of Full Circle Literary Agency.
2) A free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com.

Sara Sciuto of Full Circle Literary Agency.

Well, here I go, promoting the contest on my Twitter and modeling Facebook page too! Wish me luck.