Creating the WRITE Reality (by LG O'Connor)

Let’s go to the Hop! Blog Hop… Posted: 13 Apr 2014 08:58 PM PDT Last week, when my She Writes Press writer pal, Cindy Eastman, asked me to participate in this blog hop, I was thrilled. Meet Cindy… I met Cindy Eastman through my publisher, She Writes Press. Knowing her has been a breath of fresh air during this crazy road to publication. She is a writer and an educator raised in Louisville, Kentucky. She attended undergraduate schools in Austin, Texas and graduate school in Springfield, Massachusetts and holds a Master’s degree in Education. She has taught students from ages 5 to 85 in subjects like poetry, English writing and computer skills. Cindy’s writing is informed by her ability to be an observer as well as a participant in her life. With her dry sense of humor, she is able to address a variety of topical subjects and deliver an insightful analysis that’s both provocative and amusing. Cindy’s first book, a collection of essays entitled, Flip-Flops After 50: And Other Thoughts On Aging I Remembered To Write Down was published by She Writes Press on April 7, 2014. You can find her online at www.cindyeastman.com or follow her on Twitter @CLEastman Thanks, Cindy for asking me to hop with you! Good luck with all your appearances this month in CT! Cindy is spearing next on Wednesday night, the 16th, at Barnes and Noble in Waterbury, Connecticut at a Local Authors Night. As for me, my book, Trinity Stones (The Angelorum Twelve Chronicles #1), launches on April 22nd, and you can catch my Book Event at Barnes & Noble in Livingston, NJ on Saturday, May 3rd from 4 – 6pm. Come see me! …And the now onto the Blog Hop questions:  1)    What am I working on? Besides the obvious crush of my launch date on top of me, I’m in the middle of editing the second novel in The Angelorum Twelve Chronicles, and writing the prequel novella. Fingers crossed, I plan to launch them both before the end of the year. And then there is the new contemporary romance ‘package’. On a wild hare, I entered National Novel Writing Month, and wrote a new book in a new genre between October and November of last year. It’s a May-December romance between an older woman and a younger man. As a teaser, here’s my log line: Two Hearts. One soul-shattering decision. 40s romance writer plagued by loss comes to rescue of troubled 20s male cover model. That book is undergoing some final editing before I submit it an agent who requested the full manuscript during a conference in March. I’m also in the process of writing the two accompanying novelettes that follow the book, and baking a sequel with one of the secondary characters. I guess you could say I have my hands full  2)    How does my work differ from others of its genre? Although The Angelorum Twelve Chronicles is billed as an urban fantasy / paranormal romance, it’s really more of a ‘mainstream romantic paranormal’. It’s kind of a mash-up of Angelopolis (Mainstream Paranormal Fiction) meets Fallen (YA Paranormal Romance) meets the Black Dagger Brotherhood (adult Paranormal Romance). I tried to balance angel lore, science, religion, fantasy, and romance in a plausible story taking place in contemporary New York City. Since this is the first installment in a four-part story, there is a lot of time invested in world-building. That will appeal to some, but not others. I’ve found that the early readers who have enjoyed the book the most are new readers to the genre without expectations of a specific formula. As for my contemporary romance, it’s a May-December romance. I’m a big fan of New Adult, so I chose to write in that ‘raw and immediate’ style by using dual first person point of view. My protagonist is an older woman, and clearly not a NA character, but her male love interest fits snugly into that genre. That said, I’m taking a bit of a chance, but I LOVE this story. My trusty beta team has given the book rave reviews. Still, this will be considered an adult, rather than new adult, book.  3)    Why do I write what I do?  I’ve been an avid reader my whole life, and I write what I want to read. My writing gives me pleasure and drives to me to a place where I am compelled to write. My characters are my children, and I love them all.  4)    How does your writing process work? Hmm. Great question. Three main things: i.        My muses mostly drive a ‘pantsing’ kind of creative process supported by a loose outline. Since I started this adventure by writing an epic paranormal (what was I thinking?), I developed an overall story arc which guides me as far as the beginning and end of each book. It’s the sub-plots and story threads that turn out to be surprises. I let the characters guide me when they are in the mood. Why? Because I need to be surprised as I write to hold my own interest, and more often than not, my characters know more than I do and make it a better story. ii.        Marinating time. For complex plot lines and threads, I need time to think on things rather than rush through them. iii.        Then there is the story of my contemporary romance that dropped into my lap by way of the universe. The idea struck me one morning in early October on a long drive to Pennsylvania. It was based on an experience I had in August after leaving a sick family friend in the hospital and spotting a landscaper who looked like one of the male characters in my A12 series. That became the seed for my opening scene. Three days later I had an outline. What the…? An outline from a pantser? Six weeks later I had a completed 80K word novel, and I’d won National Novel Writing Month with 52K words during November. Huh? Go figure. Regardless, it always takes my twice as long to edit a novel as it does to write it. That’s it for me! So, let me introduce you to three of my lovely writer friends below who will be the stops on this tour next Monday, April 21st: Sharon Trembley   Sharon Trembley and I have been a part of the same critique group for over two years. She is a novelist and native New Jerseyan who has worked in the IT field for years.  She’s been behind the scenes for large mainframe installations, including one that was on the 10 fastest supercomputers list for a few years, and has physically worked in the Bell Labs facility in Murray Hill during her career.  Nowadays, she assists clients with the complexity of software licensing, and has no problem making massive spreadsheets of hardware environments, applying unfathomable contract language, and enjoys examining software vendor audit findings. Sharon also performs animal rescue volunteer work, fostering kittens and cats. Some people are creeped out that she prefers to foster black cats because they are the least likely to be adopted, but her dogs love meeting new cats, especially bottle baby kittens. After her career hit a speed bump years ago, she began writing and discovered National Novel Writing Month in 2011.  Sharon can pound out the words for NaNoWriMo but needs extra editing time to mix in cross-genre elements such as horror, non-traditional romance, and a dash of mystery into her contemporary fantasies.  Her first novel, The End of the World Sucks, is a non-formulaic tale that considers what would be most likely to kill the unskilled protagonist, Vanna – zombies, a vampire, or her fellow man?   A sequel is planned, but a house fire in 2013 has slowed Sharon down. You can find Sharon here  http://sharonscrazycats.blogspot.com/ Kelly Kittel   My fellow She Writes Press author, Kelly Kittel, has spent most of her working life as a fish biologist who writes but has been undergoing metamorphosis to a writer who was formerly a fish biologist. She is married with five living children, her best work beyond compare. She currently lives with her family in Rhode Island but prefers to write in their yurt on the coast of Oregon. She has been published in several magazines and anthologies and her first book, Breathe, will be published on May 14, 2014. Find her at: www.kellykittel.com Rossandra White   Another of my She Writes Press author friends, Rossandra White, will also be participating. A fourth generation South African, Rossandra White is a blogger and author of two YA novels, Monkey’s Wedding and Mine Dances, which are set in Zimbabwe and Zambia. A recipient of many writing awards, White has been published in Writer’s Digest and Interstice, among others. From computer operator to letter carrier, executive secretary to ceramic artist, White has found her passion living in Laguna Beach with her two Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Fergie and Jake, where she writes and blogs about the wild old days of her childhood in Africa as well as the wild new days of her life here in the states. When she’s not writing, she enjoys yoga, Jazzercise, and hiking the hills behind her home in Laguna canyon. You can find her here:  http://rossandrawhite.com/

Added Appearances Calendar

Hey,

I'm working on getting out there to sign books and talk about writing, what to do with a manuscript, querying, and all the stuff that gets something from 'I got an idea' to a book.

I'm a member of the New Jersey Authors Network.  Jon Gibbs and others contact libraries and keep the rest of the group aware of upcoming opportunities to speak about their experience and maybe tell some war stories, but also to offer advice.

When I first tried National Novel Writing Month, I didn't have a project plan all laid out regarding what I actually did.  I thought that step 1 was get an agent or publisher, then changed my mind when I found out more about the length of time between acceptance and 'on the shelf'.  Also, I don't mind edits, changes, or rewrites, yet I don't want the story molded to the formula because the formula worked for Best Seller Girl.  And see, I was ahead of the curve with a New Adult heroine, rather than de-aging Vanna to a teenager.  I could be foaming at the mouth now being asked to age her back up to New Adult today.

While there, I could also learn from my fellow panelists.  Publishing is changing at a rapid pace.

So I'm adding a tab up on the top for a calendar of appearances.

Less than a week till November (National Novel Writing Month)

My head's been in planning mode for November and writing more Vanna and Thanos.

November 1st seems closer than it is because I attended a NaNo kickoff party this week.  It was scheduled on Oct. 23rd by the library because there's some other events next week.

I added a NaNo counter on the site here (<- to the left), but it might not take off quickly because I've already been scheduled to work at the second job on November 1st.  I also worked both jobs last year so I think I'm good, but I shouldn't be staying up late on Oct. 31st to start writing as soon as the clock strikes midnight. 

I've also been doing some tweaking on Neferseshotep before I put him aside for the month, unless I write like the wind, complete a novel in less than 30 days, and then can return to writing super-powered fantasy.

My book signing was nice.  I didn't sell out of books, I didn't sell half my books, but I did get a bump on my Amazon rank over the weekend so was it due to me talking to someone?  I also talked about National Novel Writing Month because I had a six foot table and only one title.  I added a selection of NaNo and Young Writer Program flyers to the front side.

Since I also set-up on Friday for the Pet Adoption Fair, I picked the tablecloth color that went best with my book cover. 

Wednesday Addams

Joining me at the table were two foster cats - Miss Wednesday Addams and Mr. ZuZu.  As you can see, I wasn't kidding around about being queen of black cats.


My other fosters were on the table next to us so I could easily answer any questions regarding their awesomeness, or tell off my mama's boy for sitting around with one eye closed like a furry little drama king.

ZuZu

Update: Pet Adoption Fair Flyer

The flyer for the Pet Adoption Fair - if only I had waited one more day :^)

I'm one of the things not mentioned, but that's OK.  It's about the animals, and maybe the bake sale.

Pet Fair With Book Signing - Oct 20 and 21, Scotch Plains, NJ

I have a book signing planned in a couple weeks at Parker Gardens’ Pet Fair Weekend.  No, I didn’t write a pet book, but my foster cats will be there, and I was asked so once I also knew the other author in the group who actually wrote a children’s book about cats was invited, I said ‘sure’.  I am the chauffer for my ninja cat attack squad (most of my fosters are black cats), or maybe a better description is I drive the getaway car.

Parker Gardens is located at 1325 Terrill Road, Scotch Plains, NJ.  The Pet Fair is 11am – 3pm on October 20 and 21. There will be hay rides, a hay slide, and a maze.  Also, I have been to Parker Gardens before, and they have a huge selection of fall decorations besides plants. For the Pet Fair itself, there’s the cat rescue group I’m involved with on-site both days with cats taking applications for adoptions, and I believe there will be one dog group there on Saturday, and a second one on Sunday.  There are information sessions such as pet CPR, a pet communicator, and ‘Ask the Vet’. There will be a bake sale fundraiser for us too.

My delay in posting this here, since I was asked in September, is I’m trying to get my hands on the flyer.  That would be nice, and the Pet Fair’s not about me signing my book and talking about National Novel Writing Month and the Young Writer’s Program (under 17, can do less than 50,000 words).   The Pet Fair was not ideally timed to get anyone fired up about writing in November – it’s just a happy coincidence. 

There is another event in November with the NJ Greyhound Rescue group at the Westfield Armory (in New Jersey).  I’m not iffy about attending it, but I need coming-home info from my daughter in college, in case I’m driving to pick her up.  That’s 10 hours for one round-trip – in November – during National Novel Writing Month.  Not to lay any guilt on her because if it’s when I would be at a pet adoption event, I can’t say I get much writing done at those either.