Jen's Blog
Quiet around here…with pumpkins
Yes, I have been a terrible blogger! I’m still trying to get used to the new job, and I’ve been doing a massive amount of reading lately. There have been some amazing fall releases in the YA world. So awesome that I think I need to do a separate post to share the awesomeness.
I also spent a good portion of this past weekend in PUMPKIN LAND. Pumpkin Land is where you get to try all sorts of yummy homemade pumpkin dishes. I’m not sure what came over me, but I had the sudden urge to buy a pumpkin and make things, even though I’ve never been much of a cook or a baker or anything that requires spending more than 30 seconds of prep time. But, because of my insane love of all things pumpkin, I tried making a pumpkin pie this weekend, from a real pumpkin, not the canned stuff. It was actually…fun? And the pie is absolutely delicious. And with the leftovers, I made some pumpkin pancakes. Ohmygoodness, yum! And I also roasted the pumpkin seeds. You would think I’d be sick of pumpkin by now, but I don’t think there is any need to worry about that. There can never be TOO much pumpkin.
I’ve also been getting going on the new manuscript, involving summer, secrets, illusions and sibling rivalry. And, of course, a paranormal creature. This one is of a different sort that I found through hours of wikipedia mythology research. I spent some time this weekend doing more research, planning things out and getting about 2.5k words written. I’m feeling pretty exciting about where this one is going although I am still missing BONE DRY. I’m thinking about writing a short story set in that world, but I don’t know what to do with it. I might just do it for me, as a fun writing exercise.
But right now I think I’m going to eat a slice of pumpkin pie.
Starting Something New…
It’s that time again. I have started writing a new manuscript. I got this idea a few weeks ago, and after sending BONE DRY off to my readers, I did some research to flesh out the very rough idea in my mind. And…I ended up finding some GREAT info for the story which helped me brainstorm plot possibilities. Which got me really excited. I’m throwing two of my loves together for this one, and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun to write.
And once again, I’m learning every book goes differently. With the last one, I dived in for 5k of crazy typing before I took a breath to plot and really plan. For this one, I’ve been doing all the development up front. Research, character info, location, etc. I wrote the first few pages, but ended up scrapping them and starting over from scratch to get the voice right.
It’s always a little daunting at this point. The empty Word doc. The blank page with the blinking cursor. The possibilities. The knowledge that there are sooo many words to write. But it’s also the most exciting. The idea is fresh and new, and there’s still so much to discover about the characters and the world.
So, here I go. Diving in again.
Cool Interview & Illustration
Fellow YA writer, Realm Lovejoy, posted an interview with me here. The really cool thing about Realm’s interview series is that she also creates an illustration of the MC in the writer’s manuscript. So, it was really awesome to see what she came up with and see such a cool visual representation of my MC in MY SO CALLED AFTERLIFE (Cassidy).
Thanks Realm!
Great Week & A Short Teaser
This was a great week for me.
1) I accepted a job offer! I’ll be working for an academic publisher, developing websites and CDs for some of their educational material. I start next week!
2) I finally finished revising and tweaking BONE DRY!
So, for fun, I thought I’d post a couple of my favorite snippets from this manuscript.
Snippet One:
Once the clock snapped to midnight, I pushed myself off the floor and over to my open window. I hopped outside and grabbed my bicycle I’d left leaning against the back of the house. I hadn’t used it in months. I used to sneak out almost every week, but it’d been a long time since I’d done that.
I pedaled my way over to Laura’s house, the night breeze rolling across my bare arms. I shivered. It wouldn’t be long before the leaves would start changing colors, and the ocean would be too chilly for swimming. Summer was fading fast, right along with my hopes that everything would turn out okay.
Snippet Two:
“Here we go. This is an office.” Nathan poked his head out from another door.
I followed him inside and scanned the messy room. Papers were piled on every surface of an old mahogany desk, and boxes of books were stacked in every corner. Envelopes and more papers were tossed on the floor, and I had to work hard to not step on any as I moved over to the desk. A computer monitor sat in the midst of the jumbled papers, its screensaver scrawling images of fish and bubbles across it.
I eased into the chair as quietly as possible. Nathan leaned his face over my shoulder while I brought the screen to life. I tried not to pay attention to how close his cheek was and how I could almost feel his skin brushing mine. If I moved my head just a fraction of an inch to the right, our faces would be smooshed up against each other.
The desktop flashed up in front of me, covered in dozens of icons for folders, files and programs. I let out a long sigh. “This might take awhile.”
This and That
It’s been quiet around here lately because I’ve been working hard on polishing up BONE DRY. I rewrote a new “last scene” last night, and it’s a big improvement on what I had. I always love seeing how the slightest change in a manuscript can really make it better. A little tightening here, a different phrase here and a few words cut there. I love really spending time with the words and making them as shiny as I can.
And then…new book time again. I have a few ideas percolating. I just need to pick one. One is big and dark and will be a stretch for me to write, and I’m thinking it would be good for me to push myself. On the other hand, this other shiny idea is really cool. Oh, there’s also this other one, but I haven’t figured everything out about it. And then…
You see this is going to be a difficult decision.
In the non-writing world, I’ve had a couple of promising job interviews, and Kiki, the cat, is doing so much better! She’s gaining weight, and her hair is all soft and fluffy again. Crossing my fingers this is a permanent improvement.
Revisions Done! (For now…)
Yesterday, I finished up the second draft of BONE DRY. And I’m still feeling really good about this story. Usually after looking at something for so long, I start to get sick of it. But not this time.
|
|
BONE DRY: Second Draft
34 / 34 Chapters (100% Done!)
Of course, I’m not done yet. My manuscript is in the heads of my CP and two beta readers. I have chapters back already so I’ll probably start on the third draft today. Cause I’m crazy. And then once I have all the chapters from them, I’ll plow through to the end.
I celebrated yesterday by going to a Mets game. They lost. All my favorite players are injured. But I did get to see Billy Wagner back for the first time since his surgery last year. Go Billy!
Cat Tales
Get it? Cat Tails…
Okay, pretty lame, I know. Anyway, I don’t usually talk about my cats on my blog because there are already plenty of blogs dedicated to cats without me getting involved. But, lately, my cat, Kiki, has been having some problems.
I adopted Kiki four years ago this month. I was told by the woman I adopted her from that she was eight years old at the time. So, that makes her pretty old now. But, she hasn’t changed much. She still likes climbing inside cardboard boxes, perching on the window sill, sitting on my lap, rolling around in catnip and chomping on kitty treats.
Lately, she’s lost some weight and can’t keep dry cat food down. And then when I gave her a bath the other night because her hair has been a little oily, I noticed just how skinny she is. And I got worried. So, she got to go in her least favorite thing ever–the cat carrier–to the vet yesterday. They did some tests, and it turns out she has an infection.
We have some antibiotics now, and it sounds like this will probably clear up the problem. But, it turns out, that medicine is Kiki’s second least favorite thing in the world. Or at least the dropper is. If I so much as get it within a few inches of her mouth, she tries to run away. And since I have only two hands, this creates a very difficult scenario. Just imagine me doing the cooing baby voice thing with a dropper of milky medicine, taking a single step toward Kiki before she darts away and flies over the couch like a furry bullet.
And this was just the first dose. I have to give her two doses a day until Thursday. I’ve been trying to come up with some alternate solution, but the only idea I keep coming up with is the addition of an extra arm.
Saturday Six
1. This past week was a pretty busy week for me. My parents came into town, and I played tour guide, taking them into Times Square, on ferries and to Ellis Island. It was a great visit, just packed with things to do!
2. I had a promising development in the Day Job Search this week. Hoping to hear more next week. Fingers crossed.
3. I’m still working through revisions on BONE DRY. I’m through chapters 21 out of 34, so I’m getting there. My CP has already read through the first nine chapters and had some excellent comments and suggestions. I can’t wait to go back and start working through those, but I’m forcing myself to finish the second draft before touching the third.
4. Summer has finally started acting like summer. Warm, sunny days. It’s kind of sad to think we’re already into August when I want the weather to stay like this for months and months. I’ll take the heat over the stinging cold any day.
5. This week is SCBWI in LA, and I wish I could be there! It seems like such a fantastic conference for YA and MG writers. There is a NY conference in January, and I’d really like to make it to that one.
6. And huge congrats to fellow AWer, Kody Keplinger, for selling her debut YA novel, THE DUFF!
Birthday Weekend
Sunday was my birthday. Another year older. In the past, I’ve celebrated kind of big. One year I had a fun karaoke party with a private room, the next I spent the day with a group of amazing friends I rarely get to see. This year, I felt like being a little more low-key. I guess it’s because I’m getting older? Anyway, despite it being low-key, I had a really great time walking around and hanging out in the city with Joel.
We went to see Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp which was just okay. I enjoyed it, but it might be my least favorite movie of his. Also, went to Forbidden Planet, Barnes and Noble, The Strand and Rice to Riches. If you’ve never been to Rice to Riches and you’re in the NYC area, go now! Amazingly delicious rice pudding.
I got a nice stack of books and some ARCS this weekend.
- My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
- The Eternal Kiss Anthology
- Lord of Misrule by Rachel Caine
- Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
- Ghost Huntress by Marley Gibson
- Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
- Sea Change by Aimee Friedman
- Give up the Ghost by Megan Crewe
- As You Wish by Jackson Pearce
Needless to say, I have quite a bit of reading ahead of me! I plan on posting reviews of the ARCs I got and maybe do a couple of giveaways.
Anyway, it was a great day. I’m looking forward to the next year and hoping it brings great things!
BONE DRY Revisions
This week I started on the revisions for BONE DRY. I was able to make it two weeks between typing “The End’ on the first draft and starting on the revisions. I’m just so excited to get going on this, I couldn’t wait any longer!
Things are going well so far. Mostly smalls tweaks, a little more here, a little less here. I’ve sent the first few chapters to a couple of early readers. So far I’ve gotten positive feedback. Fingers crossed it stays that way!
What are you working on?
|
|
BONE DRY: Second Draft
4 / 34 Words (11.76%)