When Did I Become the Litmus Test?

I operate on the fringe of my son's Middle School PTA.  You know, the person you call when you need three dozen cupcakes for a school bake sale tomorrow or a case of Gatorade for the Cross Country Team.   They jokingly refer to me as the go to girl for picking up pieces. 

Yesterday I got charged with the task of reviewing the DJ's playlist for the upcoming Middle School Halloween dance.  Yes . . . I am the one they went to for determination of appropriateness.  I am to filter out all songs with curse words and suggestive themes.  Funny, absolutely hilarious that I am their litmus test considering what I write.

But that is neither here nor there.  The bigger challenge is finding 50 songs, popular songs, that 14 year olds listen to and DO NOT have foul language or suggestive themes. I think it it is nearly impossible!  So right now, I have a list of ten songs, and WHISTLE is not on it  LOL!  Any one out there have any suggestions?

Meeting Your Better Half

I get a lot of co-authoring questions.  You know . . .  Do we argue over plot, or revisions, or character names? (Never, really never!)  Do we have a co-authoring agreement. (Absolutely, that was the first thing we did) Does one of you write and one of you revise? (Nope, total 50-50 relationship here.  Works better than my marriage on some days. Just kidding. Sort of.)  Do you need to have the same agent?  (Nope, and in fact, we do not have the same agent)  I never mind answering these questions as they are all things you should consider before jumping onto that moving train.  There is one that is more difficult to answer . . . How did you two meet? 

Technically, we haven't.  

~We have completed two manuscripts and are currently hacking up a third.

~We have written, revised, re-revised, and queried together.

~We've commiserated when query rejections came in and celebrated when we finally got "the call."

~We've been on submission together (shh . .  we actually just went out with a YA Horror so send all good thoughts this way) and pondered way to many what-if's.

None of that is special or even remotely interesting.  Co-authors aren't an anomaly and many of them have found success.  What makes us a little different is that we've never met.

~We have no shared history.

~We didn't go to college together.

~We have no family relations.

~We don't even have the same friends. (writing community excluded of course!)

~We have different agents

~We live 1000 miles apart from each other

~And work on separate projects in addition to co-authoring. 

Unlike a lot of authoring pairs, we don't have the luxury of meeting at Starbucks to hash out a plot or celebrate with a glass of wine in my kitchen when we pass a major milestone.  Nope, we just have the phone, email, and skype. 

Well, I think it's about time that changed.  So two days ago I bought tickets to go to Chicago.  In ten days, Lindsay and I are going to do all those things that other co-authors do.  We are going argue of what flavor latte to buy, spill wine on her kitchen counter, and actually sit side by side as we hash out edits to our next WIP.

Am I nervous?  Hell yes!  My biggest concern is that I won't recognize her.  That I will walk up to some random brunette in Starbucks and start talking about our rather twisted fictional characters only to have that person deem me crazy on the spot.  Then again, that would make for one funny and humiliating blog post!  So wish me luck, and Lindsay, please wear something easily identifiable.

Nothing Is Worse than the Back of the Bus!

 "One man's vulgarity is another's lyric."
- John Marshall Harlan, Supreme Court justice, 1971

The 30th Anniversary of Banned Book week is here.  Since the launch of Banned Book Week  in 1982, more than 11,300 books have been challenged for reasons spanning language, to racism, to sexually explicit material. I chuckle each time I read the "reasons" why a book is considered inappropriate for our teens to read.  Please, I have teenagers -- very well adjusted, atypical teenagers.  They've heard and seen it all!  Don't believe me, go spend five minutes in any middle or high school cafeteria and I assure you what is being discussed there is ten time more inappropriate and/or controversial then anything, ANYTHING, you will read in these books.  And if that doesn't convince you, sign on as team Mom for one of the high school sports team.  The conversations you will overhear on the bus will make some of these books appear tame by comparison.  Trust me, I done it!

So, to quietly do my part, I have downloaded the ten most challenged books of 2011 to my e-reader.  I'm surprised, okay infuriated is more like it, to see two of my favorite books still on that list.  I am going to work my way through the eight I haven't read and celebrate the creative wisdom these authors possess.

The list is here for all you interested in seeing it.  Now I challenge you to go forth and read them!

The Next Big Thing

The truly talented Becky Wallace tagged me to participate in a WIP related blog-hop called The Next Big Thing.  It is a chance for you to learn a little about what I am writing while I, in turn, learn more about my amazing fellow authors.

 
So, here goes nothing!  Meet my newest YA Contemporary project BURYING MYSELF.  I am midway through writing it, and with every word I put down, every scene that plays out, my love for writing YA Contemporary is rekindled.

 

What is the working title of your book?  

BURYING MYSELF  (and this was the only time I haven’t struggled with finding a title.  In fact, the title was set before the first chapter was even complete.)

Where did the idea come from for this book?

Hmm . . . usually my manuscripts start off as a dream, or more appropriately a nightmare.  I wake up scared shitless and a bit confused, furiously right down what I can remember through the haze of sleep, then drift away, intent on sorting it all out in the morning.  This one, however, was not a dream!

The idea for this story came from a conversation with a new friend, Katie  She had just moved into the area, and I was staring at her (yes staring) because she looked eerily like an old childhood friend of mine.  When she caught me staring, she came over to introduce herself.  I apologized for my rudeness, of course, and explained that she looked EXACTLY like my friend, Tracey.  We started talking, and that’s when things got really weird; not only do they look alike, but they have eerily similar lives.   

That got me thinking, how easy would it be for someone with a similar background and startlingly similar looks to assume someone else’s life?  From that thought and that brief conversation BURYING MYSELF was born.

What genre does your book fall under?
Ahh . . . an easy one. YA Contemporary.  

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Oh . . . crap, I have no idea.  This is a hard one for me for a couple of reasons.  First, I don’t write super glamorous looking characters; my mc's tend to be gritty, emotionally-driven headcases :).  Second, although I do describe the physical attributes of my characters in my manuscripts, I tend to think of them more as fluid characters with personalities, and quirks, and a crapload of history that defines them. 

But I will play along and toss out somebody who may fit the bill for my MC.  Her name is Jennie Abrahamson, who incidentally many of you have probably never heard of, but is one amazing singer/ songwriter.  (One a side-note, her song Why Did I leave Home was the song I had on repeat when I wrote LEAVING EDEN with my YA horror, co-author Lindsay Currie)


What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Maddy Lawton spent her entire life living in the shadows of her sister’s popularity. She always dreamed of having her life, but never once did she actually think it was possible. When a freak accident leaves her sister dead, Maddy assumes her life.  But her sister's life is full of secrets . . . lies that have her kept popularity intact while slowly destroying her from the inside.  With no escape in sight, Maddy is faced with two options – confess her rouse and risk the hatred and betrayal of those around her, or continue down the destructive path her sister’s life has mapped out for her.  

Okay, so that was more then one sentence, but hey, now at least you have the full picture of what the book is about, right?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'm so lucky to be represented by the amazing Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It takes me about four months to hammer out a readable draft, then it is on to critique and revision land.

And now, I shall tag writers for The Next Big Thing!


The crazy talented Mary Waibel
Miranda Hardy who introduced me to the Writer's Dojo 
Laura Marcella the zig-zagging journal queen!