I am so thrilled to share that I finished the 1st draft of my manuscript, Glimmer, on Friday! This is book 2 of a trilogy. I shared about completing the first book, Flicker, here. I wrote this book in seven weeks, and am so thrilled with where the story is headed!
I have written more about finishing this novel over on my tumblr, check it out right here!
I have been reading some super good books and wanted to tell you about them so you could snag copies for yourself! I was able to get these at the library, so if you are local put them in your queue asap!
The Madman’s Daughter was enthralling. I read the first three chapters Saturday afternoon while making chicken wings (I have to multi-task if I want to read!) and then sat on the couch Sunday morning obsessed.
“Inspired by H. G. Wells’s classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman’s Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we’ll do anything to know and the truths we’ll go to any lengths to protect.”
This was an out-of-the-ordinary pick for me, I am usually bent on more dystopian YA — but this was sooooo fun. Until the end. Then I was very angry. Then I stalked goodreads for a very.long.time. and realized it was book one of a trilogy, so the story isn’t over, and now I am much less angry. Except the sequel isn’t out for like, a year:(
Starters is a fun read. It wasn’t my favorite, or like OMG YOU MUST READ THIS kinda thing, but still, it was weird and freaky and included all the creepy end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-stuff we all want in a story.
“Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie’s only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.”
Disturbing, right? It gets worse, but also better. It is also book one of a trilogy.
Shadow and Bone was one of those books I could. not. put.down. It was amazing you guys. Like in love amazing.
And also very hard for me to read because the heroine is a Sun Summoner. She has a power involving light in her hands.
“Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?”
Um. Yeah. Have you heard me talk about my manuscript FLICKER???
I was trying not to freak out. (I didn’t do a very good job of that. I had a pretty dang good pity party going on this week.) But the thing is, there is room for so many books out there in the big wide world. And my book is post-apocalyptic America, and Bardugo’s world is fairy-tale Russia. And there are a million other differences. But still— EEEEKKKKK.
So then I was obsessed with goodreads reviews and wanted to read everyone else’s’ take on the book that had some similar concepts to mine. I learned that hard-core Russian historians have some issues with the language and world building. But I am not Russian historian, therefore I loved it.
READ IT AND TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS> PLEASE!! Because I was seriously stressing out. If you are a writer how do you deal with other books having some similarities? If you are a reader, do you think there is a place on the bookshelf for more?
What have you been reading lately?
After I finished my manuscript in January, I cozied up with some good books in February and March while I worked on edits (so. very. close. to .being. done!). I find myself in a pattern where I get sucked into some really great books while I am in the editing process. While I am in my writing-mode, it is hard for my brain to both read and write.
I don’t mind editing, while it would otherwise feel like a bit of a chore, because I get to spend time with characters I really love (especially when reading a sequel!). I have had a great time lately and so I wanted to share some titles with you!
Reached by Ally Condie
I FINALLY read the third installment to the Matched Trilogy. I was #78 at the library and was so happy when my turn was finally up! I am a huge fan of Ally Condie, and this did not disappoint.I love the poetry in this series. I know some people felt it bogged them down — but I am a sucker! Cassia and Ky….swoon worthy:)
The Diviners by Libby Bray
Okay, so I so wanted to be in love with this book. I have the hardcover book for goodness sakes, I was invested people! Just wasn’t my thang.(Eeek. I feel so bad saying that…)
Requiem by Lauren Oliver
Love. Love. Love. I read this book while in line at Magic Kingdom rides at Disney World. Alone. I know. That is another post all in of itself. I love the alternating points of view between Hana and Lena also, because that is how my current WIP is being told. 
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
I know, a little late on this band wagon. For the record, I always want to read the book before I see the movie, which is why I had to read this. And now I still haven’t seen the movie. I had a few issues with the telepathic thing— but I am not a critic. I read for fun. And this delivers.
Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky
Um. Okay. I checked Awaken out at the library on a whim.It was an, I can’t find anything else, I will throw this in my basket type thing.
READ THIS!
I am so happy I did. I can’t believe Goodreads has never recommended it for me. It has my name all over it. I mean it is all about technology taking over our lives, and I have like 12 friends on Facebook. Obviously, I LOVED IT. I couldn’t wait to find the sequel at the library, so I loaded it on my iPad. I only buy books on my iPad if I am desperate to know what happens next. The last time I did that it was for Insurgent. Um. Yeah — that good.
Middle Ground by Katie Kacvinsky
Enclave by Ann Aguirre
I had heard mixed reviews about Enclave and Outpost. I am still confused over the Haters of this book. I mean, I have never read about Zombies before, and at face value flesh-eating-monsters are a turn off, but IT WORKS SO WELL. I don’t get the bad reviews. I was so happy I checked out both of them at library at the same time otherwise we would have had another buy-it-on-the-ipad-type-situation. I cannot wait for the third book!
Outpost by Ann Aguirre
Legend by Marie Lu
Here is another book I had put off for a while. I had read the first chapter at the book store and kinda shrugged my shoulders. THEN I READ IT> OMG> I know. I just OMG’d. I haven’t read the sequel, Prodigy yet — but it is on my must-do list.
Ok. I know. I give the worst reviews ever because, as in this case I was like, giving, 90% 4 **** reviews. I am not a critical reader, I have said that before. I read for fun.
But now I am diving into my current WIP with gusto and know I won’t be reading like this for another few months. So, hopefully the authors of the books I just mentioned will finish their next books in time for me:)
What have you been reading? Please share in the comments!
It is important to know our strengths.
And weaknesses.
I have felt, this past week, very weak. And not just in ‘writing’. I’m talking about life. Like when I spent two hours trying to get my two year-old to eat his flipping cereal (WHICH WERE GORILLA MUNCHIES OR SOMETHING EQUALLY SUAGR-Y). I felt weak. Inadequate. Like, I have been doing this parenting thing for long enough, can’t I get the toddler to just eat his breakfast without a big dramatic clatter of a bowl against the table top, as almond milk pours to the floor?
Apparently not.
And then there were other things too, but not as happy(ish) to read about as toddler antics. Things don’t sound as sweet when we start discussing tantrums thrown by tweens and adults (especially if I’m the tantrum-thrower). Somehow a two year-old being a rebel makes you give a half-smile, sweetly thinking, “This to shall pass.” But with big people, it usually feels more annoying. Or worse.
I was meeting with a fellow writer this week and he was commenting on my split infinitives to which I asked, “What exactly is a split infinitive?” Because when I was in high school I cared a lot more about looking cool in AP English than actually, you know, doing the work. I mentioned how I should go to community college and take a grammar course. He stopped me, and said, in the very kindest way, “Well, that is unnecessary. You need to focus on writing your stories. That is your job. You can hire someone to copy edit. Someone who has a knack for it. You need to focus on your story.”
And I want to. I want to focus on my story. Not just the one on the page, but also the one in my heart. I want see my weaknesses as opportunities for someone else to step up, or step in. And I’m not just talking about copy editing now. I’m talking about the cereal bowl and how even if I haven’t quite mastered the get-the-child-to-eat-in-a-timely-manner, he still finished his bowl. Even if half of it was ground to a mushy pulp on the floor beneath his booster seat.
So yes. I do have weaknesses. Lots of them. But sometimes, in someways. That is okay. In fact, weaknesses are not created equal.
I don’t know the moral to this story. Maybe I wish I could hire a copy editor to clean up the breakfast. Maybe I am the copy editor in this story. Maybe I need to get a ‘knack’ for getting my kid to eat his food.
Maybe it doesn’t really matter. And that is what I think I’m really trying to say. At the end of the day the table will be clean. The split infinitives will work themselves out and we can try to remember why we are actually doing this writing or parenting or life-living thing.
To smile and laugh and cry with the ones who matter most. To tell our story— maybe through a song written and played on the guitar, a sweetly shared good night story to our first born, a good run where we felt our body move as our feet hit the pavement, or a perfectly baked gluten-free muffin made for someone that needs it. Or maybe by being a damn good copy editor.
Tell your story. The rest will work itself out.
I am in a weekly writing group. In this group I submit a few chapters a week, and then we meet up at a local brewery to go over the pages, brainstorm, make new goals, share writing triumphs & failures.
And basically whip one another into shape.
Recently I submitted a larger chunk (20k words) for feedback on the book, Flicker, that I finished writing earlier this month.
Wanna know my response to the edits and suggestions? : Wahhhhhhhhhhhhh.
It is hard to get critical feedback on anything you pour your heart and soul into. It is hard to digest what other people have to say about your craft. It is hard to fix the problems, and move on.
Because it isn’t easy. It isn’t easy to refine, to polish. And then do even more refining and more polishing.
But that is the part where magic happens. When you say, about any area in life— not just writing— where can I improve? Where can I make this better? What is missing here? And then act on those answers.
I really want magic to happen. I do.
So I sat down and started going through the critiqued pages. I sat for two hours and made my way through eight manuscript pages. And you know what? They are so much better than before. I did not have it perfect on my own.
I NEEDED INPUT AND INSIGHT FROM PEOPLE I VALUE.
We all do.
Not completely. Obviously I don’t want (and don’t want you) to glean so much from others that I lose my voice. I want to still be me, on the page and in the world. I want to tell my story. Not just on paper, also in the way I parent or partner with my spouse or decide how I spend my time. I don’t want to so be swayed by the people around me so much that I am no longer hearing my own whisperings.
But still— other people are really quite smart. And I am a terrible speller and using appropriate apostrophes. And also, I am pretty lame about not getting stressed out over a busy schedule and remembering to not yell at my kids and mopping my floor. See. I have lots of places I need other people to say, ‘Anya, you really need to clean up this area’.
So listen. Even if it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.
Then the magic will happen, I promise.
I am thrilled to announce that as of Sunday I completed my current work in progress! And you can see by my weekly goal chart, I did so nearly a month ahead of my self-imposed schedule! I am just over the moon about this! I wrote a 70 thousand word young adult novel in a month! I am pretty jazzed, and so yes, I am doing a happy dance, a toast, and a little bit of a *moan* because now the real work begins!
EDITS!
I am not sick of this story, or the characters, and hope one day when I am a wildly successfully published author you won’t be sick of them either:) This story was totally different than the contemporary fiction I’ve written in the past. But I tell ya, the departure was kinda amazing. Less emotionally-gut-wrentching-teen-pregnancy type thing, and more of a POST-APOCOLYPTIC-CULT-FANTASY. Basically I decided to write the book I wanted to read.
And I love DOOMSDAY
And I love CULTS
And I love UNEXPECTED POWERS.
Okay. Yes I am excited. And the title of this novel is, FLICKER. It is the first of a trilogy!
And so I really apologize for not being a good friend, wife or parent these past weeks. In the midst of this writing we also were all sick and dead to the world for a week, I had an emergency dental visit for a cracked tooth, Moses had an abscess on his tooth (weird, and eww, 2 teeth things. I know), we bought the expansion for Settlers of Catan (now 6 of us can play at once, dangerous I tell you), I began homeschooling my eldest daughter and I went grocery shopping. Twice.
So life just kept on happening, basically.
I will leave you with a tag-line, because I heart you all so much: Sixteen years after a pandemic swept the world, The Light, a dangerous cult, has the power— unless Lucy, with a secret ability to hold light in the palm of her hand, decides to let it Shine.
I was inspired to create this 2×4 collage art canvas by a manuscript I recently finished editing, You Are Lovely. In the novel the heroine, Trixie, makes a piece of art that captures a part of her story. I wanted to bring her to life through interpreting what she would have created.
In the book, she uses lyrics from her favorite song to express the way she is feeling about pieces of her history. This song, Mexico, from the amazingly talented group The Staves, really matches Trixie’s heart.
The girls on the roof top are looking into the night sky. I used paper that complemented their heritage. The blond girl is wearing a dress from a German family tree. The darker haired girl is wearing a dress made from ancient Aztec art. 
On the other side of the collage I created a woman painting on the shore. This woman represents Trixie’s grandmother in Mexico. The waves are pieces of a Spanish dictionary, and then they slowly become pages from an English dictionary as they get closer to the rooftop where the girls are. Above the painter is a map of Mexico printed on a page from the dictionary with the definition of Love. 
I used images of Calavera (Day of the dead skulls) to line to top of the canvas. I spent a really long time bedazzeling them, but glad i put that effort in. I think the jewels really add to the imagery.
I used a canvas for the base, like I said, with paints modge-podge, assorted papers and books, stamps and my own hands and scissors to make this piece. I had such a great time channeling Trixie’s spirit as I worked on it and it was a very fulfilling project. Maybe all my characters need to do collage art so I can have more excuses to spend a week with scraps of paper littering my dining room table, forcing my family to eat around the coffee table:)
Last week I found myself lying in my bed for hours and hours (& hours) as I attempted to kick a cold/head/throat thingy that attempted to displace my happiness for the Thanksgiving holiday. It didn’t work. I was able to read a few books ( Extras, The Raven Boys, Bumped and the sequel Thumped (I recommend The Raven Boys with 2 huge thumbs up, but don’t read it if you don’t like stories with psychic and paranormal elements, they are central to the story and I know everyone isn’t into that kinda thing)). I was able to watch wayyyyy too many episodes of Switched at Birth (please: do. not. judge. me.) I was able to create Amazon wish lists for everyone in my family via my laptop. It wasn’t so bad.
We went to my moms for Thanksgiving, as usual. Post-turkey-day my sister, brother-in-law, and my family all stayed at my parents for a few extra days. It wasn’t the original plan but my mom just kept making hot whisky’s with lemon, and well, who can refuse that sorta hospitality?
It was nice being sick, in a way, because I didn’t feel like I needed to do the day-to-day stuff of life because I was punch-drunk on Theraflu. It was unproductive and delicious and I could get sick more often.
Hope you are feeling well (or not;) ) this holiday season.
xoxo.
Yesterday I was supposed to be meeting some friends in the morning to discuss the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. I had to cancel last-minute because I was getting a new (free!) fridge. So as I was sitting around my house in my four-hour window I finished the book I was reading, and then, rather stupidly started in on the first pages of a new novel.
Now, the problem for me is, I can’t just start a book. I have to like, obsessively read it until I am up too late at night after everyone else is asleep, focusing on blurring words and gasping as I reach the final pages. Basically, I don’t have self-control.
I have been dealing with this a lot lately because I have been reading a lot more than I probably *should*. BTW I hate the relativity of that word, and really *should* delete it from my vocabulary. I am in-between writing projects and just don’t 100% know where I want to go so I have fallen in love with stories already written. In the last few weeks I read Crossed by Ally Condie, Fever by Lauren DeStefano, Uglies and Pretties and Specials by Scott Westerfield, Delirium by Lauren Oliver and then the book I started yesterday when I *should* have chosen to fold laundry or clean toilets or something more domestic.
To be fair I did decide if I wanted to read more of the book I needed to meet my writing goal for the day. I am not formally doing NaNoWriMo, but I do want to try to keep up with the word count each day (approximately 1600w).So I focused on that while in the back of my head I kept thinking I.Must.Get.Back.To.The.Book. I did. And then because I have life stuff I must do besides reading and writing, like you know, changing diapers, making dinner and picking kids up from school, I put my reading on hold.
I was meeting a friend for a margarita so I left the house for a few hours. When I returned the house was dead quiet, everyone was fast asleep. I took full advantage of being wide awake as I read every last page of The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.
Oh goodness.
I was a sobbing mess by the end and I fell asleep with beautiful lines swirling in my sleepy brain. Words like this:
“Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
and
“But it is the nature of stars to cross, and never was Shakespeare more wrong than when he has Cassius note, ‘The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
And I awoke this morning thinking about the beautiful wreck of it all and the story is so perfectly right I insist you go read it right now.
In truth I am glad I disregarded the laundry and the toilets because my heart is full of goodness right now in ways it wasn’t before I opened the pages of TFIOS. And for a moment, after reading the book I thought, man, I will never write as well as Mr. Green. But- the point is not to write as well as Mr. Green. The point is to write as well as Anya Monroe and I can do that. I can do that with inspiration from stories already recorded and by choosing to sit down and work every day.
And these are not just words for people who write words. They are words for everyone to remember to fill life with the things that bring them lasting joy and beauty in ways they didn’t see before and to remember that silly stories are good because they make you smile and sad stories are good because sometimes we need to have a good cry.
“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
It feels good to be alive.
I was gone for the weekend at a writing conference. Ladies from my critique group were going, and although I don’t write romance, I do write fiction, and there were a whole slew of great workshops I was able to attend and I wrote pages and pages of notes and made a few pitches to some agents. A friend came with me, and having someone to compare thoughts with really made the conference great.
Another thing that made the conference great was being able to hear from other writers, like this one, talk about their projects, their passion, their stories. It is powerful to be in a room with 300 people who all have a need to put words onto paper. It is powerful to be in a room of 300 people who have all sacrificed time and money to learn more about their craft. It is powerful to be in a room of 300 people who intrinsically get you, because they do the same thing you do, everyday. Sit down and make stories.
I have new ideas floating around my head and it makes my heart big and full and reminds me that the time I spend working on my stories is important. It is important because it makes me feel alive and whole in ways nothing else does.
It feels good to feel alive. It makes mornings, like this one, where I find myself cleaning up the vomit from my 2 year-old, less crappy. It makes the errands and cooking and the life-living feel less crappy because those things don’t define me and they don’t not-define me either. I am the sum total of all these things. The laundry-ing and the write-ing and the parent-ing and the wife-ing and the vomit-cleaning-up-ing. All the parts are important, because they are all me.
So yes, it feels good to be alive. And it feels good to nurture the parts that stretch me and challenge me because that is what living is about. Not being stagnant. Remembering to do more with my heart and my soul than the mundane. And then, remembering also, that the mundane is important, too. It can stretch me, if I allow room for that.
What makes life feel-alive for you?
