It’s That Time Again — #ROW80 Round 3 Goals

AKA: Yeah, I know I failed at this last year, but I have to try again.

See, I have an issue with commitment. I don’t like change–and that’s part of being a writer. I need to learn to cope with it, roll with it. You name it, I need to adapt. Sure, I can write. Sometimes my words are even beautiful, crazy things… But when I’ve spent the last three months letting FEAR get in the way of everything (my blog, my writing, everything…) something’s wrong. I know it’s easy to just ignore the problem and hope it goes away by avoiding it. But it’s not going to get my anywhere.

I didn’t expect to ever be afraid of writing. I don’t know if it’s actual fear of the writing itself, but it’s definitely fear. Of success? Of failure? Both? I’m not sure. All I know is that I’m lingering, hoping something will change, but I’m not doing anything about it. So it’s time to be proactive. I am a writer–I need to write. /end ramble.

Here are my #ROW80 Goals. These will be both writing and promoting related.

1) Post at least twice a week on the blog AND reply to all comments.
I’m horrible at this and I apologize; this is a very scary thing for me. I feel very…socially inept and I like to hide my head in the sand. I’m working on this.

2) Get reintroduced to Twitter and start participating more.
Again, comfort-zone issue. I was the same way with Facebook, but I’m doing better on that, just because I’ve forced myself to log in and piddle every single day! Now I find FB more of an amusement than an annoyance and hopefully I can fall back in love with Twitter again!

3) Buckle down and write 1,200 words MINIMUM a day.
My goal is to write at least a scene a day on my WIP Wolfspirit (which I’ll be blogging about here soon!) and then, at the end of the day, if I pass my minimum, I’ll allow myself some free-writing words on my adult romance project, which is my fun!WIP.

If I find need to change my goals, I’ll re-evaluate and update :) Also, I’ll probably only be checking in once a week, just because…I forget things. I’m so ADD sometimes, lol! But I’m going to set a timer on my phone to remind me :P

Q is for Queer/LBGTQ Themes

I don’t know if this post is proper, or whatever, but when it came to Q, I immediately knew what to blog about. I’ve always been a very open person, probably because my mom was so accepting of everything. I support gay rights/marriage, though I’m not an activist or anything. It’s just something I agree with.

Love is love is love; gender, race, and color shouldn’t matter. Everyone has their opinions and beliefs–and that’s mine.

Some of my favorite books deal with LBGTQ characters/themes: Julie Ann Peters’s books are fantastic, my favorite being Keeping You A Secret with Luna being a close second. Then of course there’s Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan, which is amazing and beautiful and made me laugh out loud and almost cry.

Likewise, I tend to write similar themes in my own novels; it happens during the writing process–the characters decide for themselves and no amount of straining will change their minds. Greyson from Wolfsong burst into that first scene, loud and clear, and there was no doubt he was gay. My upcoming science-fantasy novel, Souljacker, also has LBGTQ side characters. I have a couple of future novellas that star gay and lesbian leads.

The way I see it: I haven’t read or heard of many YA fantasy/paranormal books with gay leads. Every book I’ve read with gay leads has been contemporary YA with coming-out as a plot device. Doesn’t anyone think LBGTQ teens want to read fantasy with characters and couples like them?

The Nightshade trilogy by Andrea Cremer, one of her side-couples is gay and just adorable. I’ve heard that Malinda Lo’s novels, Ash and Huntress, are YA LBGTQ fantasy (though I’ve yet to read them, they’re on my to-read list!).

But yeah :) I understand that my books with queer characters/themes might not be as well-received as my straight novels, but that’s okay. I love them and write them in hopes they’ll reach who they need to reach, gay or straight.

Any favorite YA LBGTQ books? Indie or traditionally published works!

 

P is for Plotter

When it comes to the question: Plotter or Pantser, I’ve always plotted, in a sense. When I was younger, I’d play-act out the scenes of a book before bed, sometimes multiple times in different characters’ eyes, so I got it right. Most of these stories never got written LOL but that’s okay. I feel every story, even unwritten, helped build me into the writer I am today.

Not to say I’ve never pantsed (aka: writing by the seat of my pants, for all you non-writers out there :D ) a novel; I have. Well…somewhat. Most of my NaNoWroMo novels have been pantsed (and failed!). With me, instead of freeing me up? I get anxious when I don’t know what happens next; I bite my nails, I squirm in my seat. I get blocked. I -need- to know what happens at least one scene ahead of where I am. Right. Now.

With Spellbound, I was frustrated and needed something -new- to write. Wylde came to my mind, fiery and free, and she and Kascien took turns painting scenes. I pantsed 20-25k. Panicked. Calmed down. Plotted it out, scene by scene for the next 10 scenes. Ended up giving up at 40k. Picked it back up a year later and decided I was going to finish it!

My saving grace were those plotted scenes, the crucial next steps in the story, because I’d forgotten most of it. Of course, I never plotted the ending, but my previous outline was enough to help me plot the rest of it. And voila! A book was born.

So for me, I guess I prefer to pants the first few scenes, get a feel for the characters, and then plot the rest of it out according to what I’ve learned. The first part of the book is both scary and exhilarating. The second half I have to be dedicated because, I’ll admit, once I know the story, it’s hard for me to want to finish it. xD But I do.

Writers: Are you plotters or pantsers or a little of both? :)

N + O = NO!

AKA I fail again, but since I’ve blogged and had a lot of fun so far doing this A-Z Challenge…I’ll give myself credit and pat myself on the back, even if I’m tired and lazy tonight :) -patpat-

Unfortunately, real life is a pain in the butt and gave me money-and-family drama (NO!) yesterday, I ended up hanging with a family friend and watching episodes of Bob’s Burgers and Family Guy On Demand. LOL And I’m not a TV-person, at all. I’ve fallen behind so far on the few shows I do watch (Fringe? Yum. Way behind, but I own the first two seasons. I need to have a Fringe-marathon! True Blood? Can’t wait for season 4 to come out on DVD. Contemplating buying a couple months of HBO just to see season 5 LOL)

On a good note, however, I am nearly 8k into a new project I started :) Stay tuned for details, because I’m loving it!

Anyway. No O post…because what I came up with for O: Orangutans (Why?) or Ostriches (no thanks…) …or something naughty LOL :P Couldn’t figure out a darn thing for O, but I promise, P will be better :D (…and I promise it’s not naughty! Haha)

But while you’re at it, go over to my pal Val’s place. Her post for O is inspiring and wonderful enough for both of us :)

Spellbound: Finished! Now With More Cover Reveal!

So. I started the beast that is Spellbound as a fun, seat-of-my-pants ride through NaNoWriMo 2010. I made it through 40k and crashed. I thought it was horrible and never wanted to look at it again. Earlier last year, I decided to put it on my Kindle and give it a read-through, to make sure I wasn’t missing something.

And I loved it. Sure, it needed a few fixings, but I quickly went back to work, adding changes and freshening up the prose. I love Wylde’s spunk and Kascien’s stubborn spirit. I was determined to have it done in December…and that got moved to January. And now it’s February. It’s been a long three months…but as of today, February 8th, Spellbound is officially done. Well, first draft, anyway :P 71.6k total. This number will change come edits.

The next month and a half will be filled with read-throughs and critiques. Changes will be made, all for the better (I hope!) to make Spellbound as strong as it can be.

So, what better to celebrate the end of a novel…than to have a cover release? :) I’ve been working on this for the past three months and I’m finally happy with it! If all goes well, I aim to have Spellbound available in e-format by the end of March!

Spellbound:

Wylde Debraux is 16; sassy, fiercely independent—and the Wyvern princess of the desert tribe of Kiir’vanan. When her father demands she choose a suitor within a fortnight to become her mate, Wylde rebels…and finds herself face to face with her enemies.

Born without power, Kascien Trump is a slave to the Magi. He’s as trapped as the bio-engineered dragonhounds he breeds and fights for his master. Then Wylde blazes into his life, offering him the possibility of freedom, and he knows she’s probably his only ticket out of there. Alive, anyway.

But when Wylde’s captured, the spellbound slave and the fiery dragon-shifter have to put aside their differences and work together to outwit the Magi and escape the clutches of Kascien’s corrupt master…or lose themselves trying.

Saturday Snippet: Spellbound #2

Today’s snippet comes from my dragon-shifter WIP, Spellbound:

Wylde sprang away, crouching next to the fallen deer, her wings receding into clawed hands which spread, splay-fingered, on the ground. The doe’s brown eyes were wide, still hanging on. Wylde stroked her fingertips against the velvety nose as nostrils flared and unflared. The doe shuddered and then the last breath left her lungs and she was merely a shell of herself. Her soul ripped free with one final jerk. Wylde, graced, watched as the whisper of a ghost found her legs and took off into the woods, her spectral form blending in to the wisps of mist gathering around them before disappearing.

“Thank you, Free One.” The Wyvern’s voice was thick as she uttered a soft Vanlan prayer and sliced her claws across the doe’s throat. Ribbons of crimson flooded free and Wylde bent down. Heat still pulsed off the corpse, the smell of the blood sickly sweet, making her mouth water.

With both hands, she lifted the deer’s heavy head, bringing it close and licked the blood flowing from the wound. The taste of the doe’s lingering energy made Wylde’s stomach roar, a gargoyle statue brought to life by the pallid light of the moon.

And baring her fangs, she began to feed.

Wolfsong: Now available!

Whoo. Holidays are officially over (for me, anyways. We don’t really celebrate New Years). We had an awesome Christmas, saw a bunch of family, had a couple of great dinners. Despite my holiday-anxiety (which is a reoccurring theme LOL), things went awesomely.

We got a Wii. >3 It is blue and full of amazingness. So I am a happy Kodi!

Speaking of happy: I have an announcement. After multiple edits and revisions and polishes, my debut novel, Wolfsong, is officially available for sale through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. I will be updating Wolfsong’s page as additional distribution venues become available. Also, I hope to have it for sale in paperback by mid-January!

That said…

When his wolf-dog goes from furry to beautiful girl in 2.7 seconds, 17-year-old Kia doesn’t believe it. Arii’s been recruited to bring Kia home, back to her realm, where werewolves are real, the supernatural exists, and tension between the two wolf packs is threatening to erupt into a full-scale war. With his father missing, Kia is the rightful heir and without an Alpha’s power behind them, their pack is defenseless in the face of an oncoming battle.

Kia has spent his entire life being a wallflower—he’s not leader material, but he’s not given a choice. Stolen away from all he knows, he’s thrust into a world where rank is dictated by the color of your eyes and where the light of the full moon transforms you into a powerful beast. All Kia wants is to go home, where his only worry is not flunking calculus.

With the help of his new-found friends, he soon realizes that the only way to return to the real world is to end the war—but not everyone wants Kia to succeed, and as he starts to enjoy his awakening confidence as a leader and he falls deeper in love with Arii, he starts to doubt if he wants to go back at all…

~

So whoo! Much excitedness! :D

You can read the first chapter here.

And it’s available for sale ($2.99) as an e-book here: Amazon, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

I hope everyone enjoys Wolfsong as much as I have <3

Now it’s time to open up Spellbound and work on finishing it. Back into Word I go!

A Little Christmas Spirit

Wow. 6 days and counting ’til Christmas? Really? Jeez, last time I checked it was the first LOL.Time flies when you’re having fun editing a novel! :P

-climbs into Santa’s lap- Okay, big guy. I reallllly want a Wii… I miss playing Metroid Prime…and uh, well. There’s a new Zelda game out? And you know I love Zelda. So…  -puppydogeyes-

Anyway! I want to help spread the Christmas cheer! Just in time for Christmas, anyone who wants to give my YA holiday novella, Christmas Angel, a try, can read it for FREE on Wattpad. It’s also available in multiple formats at Smashwords and for the Kindle on Amazon for .99 cents (and I’m working on getting it up at BN, but PubIt is giving me some trouble. SO. Soon I hope!) for those who want to purchase a copy of their own. And if you loved it, I’d love if you’d review it :)

Ever since his girlfriend died in a car accident on Christmas Eve, 19-year-old Cheshire Morgan has been…well…a Grinch. With a dislike for Christmas and his rent two months late, his only option is to take a job playing Santa for a bunch of whiny kids. Then he meets Savannah. She tells him that his girlfriend’s spirit can’t move on to Heaven until Cheshire stops clinging to the past. He doesn’t believe her, but she’s annoyingly persistent. She makes him a deal–spend the holidays with her, let her try and teach him how to love Christmas again. If she fails, he’ll never have to deal with her again. But can the spunky girl crack the ice around Cheshire’s heart in time for Christmas?

And an excerpt from the novella, one of my favorite parts :P Enjoy! 

She passed his apartment, making him turn around in his seat. “Where are we going?”

“My place. Don’t think you get off the hook with a little shopping! There’s a reason I bought you this coat.”

“Then take it back, please,” he groaned.

Her place was a little ranch just outside of town with tan siding and gold shutters. There were several big, square bushes out front. The gravel crunched under the Toyota’s tires as they pulled in. “Home sweet home,” Savannah smiled, then got out and patted the hood of her rust bucket. “Today, you get Lesson One: How to Decorate a House for the Holidays.”

Alright. Decorating he could handle. He used to be pretty good at it. He and Rae had had a crap-ton of lights and decorations and they were always the brightest and busiest houses on the block.

“Be right back,” sing-songed the girl as she darted inside, leaving Chesh in the garage surrounded by boxes filled to the brim with decorations. Damn. Her dad must’ve been loaded. He scooted the box over to the patchy couch sitting on the left and sat down. He began to pull out and untangle yards of blue icicle lights, his fingers working the knots loose. He didn’t even realize Savannah had come back out until he heard a crackle of static, then a pop version of “Santa Clause is Coming to Town”. The music filled the garage and Savannah plopped down next to him on the couch.

“Do we have to listen to this?” Cheshire asked. “I’m not a big fan.”

“You’re a big Scrooge,” Savannah said, pulling the lights from his grasp and plugging them into the wall behind them. She began to replace the bulbs that were burnt out, humming along to the radio and Cheshire knew he had to suck it up and deal. Together, with just the music playing between them and Savvy’s off-key singing that burned Cheshire’s ears, they got several strands of lights tested.

Savannah hopped to her feet, carrying a bundle, and headed outside. Chesh spotted a ladder in the corner of the garage and hauled it out after her. He held the ladder for her as she climbed up and used little plastic hooks to hang the lights on the house. “How’s it look?”

“Good so far. Keep going.”

They lapsed back into silence. He watched her carefully as she hooked the hooks on the gutter, one by one, and if he let his eyes lose focus just a little, he could pretend that she was Rae. Then Savannah turned towards him, breaking the illusion, and he frowned and softly murmured, “Rae loved hanging lights.”

“She always used to come over and help me with my place after Dad died. I was kinda lost the first Christmas after she…passed.”

So was I, he wanted to say. So much so that he hadn’t bothered to decorate anything since.

“Just think,” she continued, “Next year, you’ll decorate your place and remember this wonderful time we’re spending together!”

He meant to snort at her—really he did—but it came out as a laugh instead. She looked startled by this, nearly falling off the ladder, which made him laugh harder. God, he was going off the deep end… “Get down,” he managed to wheeze out and she hopped to the ground, giggling at him.

“This is good, Chesh,” she said brightly. “You’re healing through laughter!”

After he regained his composure, they finished lighting the house and then did the bushes. Savannah hung a wreath on the front door and they sprayed “snow” on the garage door in a snowflake pattern (though Cheshire thought they looked more like retarded stars). Snow began to fall about halfway through and Savannah danced around in it like a crazy person, dark hair trailing behind her. He merely watched her as she flopped down on the ground and began to make a snow angel, waving her arms and legs for him to join her, but he shook his head and settled for observing instead. She really was pretty—a different kind of pretty than Rae’d been; more delicate, fine-boned and angelic, even though she herself was a demon-child from Hell with what she was putting him through. He thought back to Wal-Mart, to the lingerie, and groaned. And this was just the beginning. He had to endure an entire month with this girl.

“Wake up, Chesh,” Savannah said, suddenly next to him, her face bright pink and her hair covered in snowflakes. He blinked, pulled out of his thoughts, and she tugged on his arm. “Let’s make hot cocoa. I have the best Swiss Mocha recipe and you’re just lucky enough to help me make it!” She bounded off like a hyperactive Golden retriever and he groaned.

Doomed.

Happy reading, and happy holidays :D

Writing Woes…

Argh. I’m having issues, man. I’m not happy with my WIP, Souljacker. I loved the idea. I loved it as I wrote 11k in 7 days. Lucy is wounded and snarky, but cute. Her voice is sharp and witty. I liked it even, for the first 20k. Then it started dragging its feet. I skipped a few days of writing, just avoiding it. I’m now at 35k and each word is like pulling teeth. With rusty pliers. And no laughing gas, even.

I know myself well; I do this pretty much every WIP. Some of them I give up on, are just halted indefinitely at 35k. Some of them I powered through and finished. I just need a moment to say…

Brain: AHLKFHLDSHKASD THE PAINNN! Why do you make me do this?! I hate it, I hate it, nonononononononooo! -flails like a 4-year-old throwing a tantrum because Mommy won’t let her get a Barbie doll-

-cough- Now that that’s over with. I know my solution. I’ve always known my solution. I need to push through it. I need to sit down, figure out where the heck I’m going with it. Outline the rest of the novel, scene-by-scene with Sticky Notes; transfer it over to a Word document. Write 1k or 1 scene a day, even if it sucks major eggs, deleting the Sticky Notes with each scene I check off. By Jan 1st (my goal-date, giving me 35 days at 1k a day = 35k = 70k (which is my usual length) I’ll have a finished book ready to go out for edits. By spring, I’ll have a shiny new story ready to share with the world, which I will more than likely love and forget all about the pain.

If I know this, why am I resisting (and complaining :P ) so much?

-off to wallpaper her screen with Sticky Notes-

A Body In Motion (or: Arghhhh)

A body in motion tends to stay in motion.

While writing Wolfsong back in April, I wrote every single day, sometimes twice a day, because the story wanted OUT. Out of my mind, onto the page (hey, that’s fine with me!) and I had fun with it. I found myself waking up automatically at 7 am (and I’m a wake-at-noon sort of girl :P ) with the next scene fresh in my mind. I’d boot up Seven, write 1500-2000 words in a sitting, then crash til noon. Then depending on what I had going, I might’ve written another 2k before bedtime. I was Turned On.

Then I got tangled up in a hangup that I thought was a Big Deal…and I stopped writing, put the brakes on and skidded to a dead halt. I fretted, stressed, and worried (but ultimately figured out my problem)…but I didn’t write for a week and a half. And it was so. so. so hard to get back into that story. I was no longer a body in motion, but a body at rest. It sucked, but I powered through it and wrote the rest of the story that month (but still, I whined…a lot).

At this point in time, I’m 90% through my rewrite of Spellbound…alllmost to the point where I get to finish the rest of the book with Brand New Words. But I haven’t written in like, ehhh…almost two weeks. And I’ve found myself avoiding all things writerly. Which is Bad, seeing as I need to get “the Trio”  up by Halloween. Blargh. I know it needs to be done. I just would rather slack :P (I know -tases self- BAD WRITER!)

It’s hard, when you don’t want to do it. When you’re making up excuses (“But I need to clean the bathroom!”) BUT I know if I can -just- get myself back into the habit of writing daily, I’ll be back on the Train of Awesome! (And the soap scum in the tub will wait until I finish that story, I assure you!) …guess I’m headed to Seven to finish up the rest of the rewrite part before NaNoWriMo! XD

Anyone else having trouble motivating to do something? Do you have tips to make Jumping Back Into Writing easier? :)