Fangs, Fur, & Fey

First Lines

2009-07-03T23:35:19Z

I've seen this "first lines" meme all over the place and thought it looked fun. The rules are simple: post the first line from any (or all) of your books/works in progress. Play along in the comments with your own first lines, if you like. Here goes mine:

"I stiffened at the red and blue lights flashing behind me, because there was no way I could explain what was in the back of my truck." -- HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE

"I waited outside the large, four-story home in Manhasset that was owned by a Mr. Liam Flannery." -- ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE

"The man smiled and I let my gaze linger over his face." -- AT GRAVE'S END

"If he catches me, I'm dead." -- DESTINED FOR AN EARLY GRAVE

"As soon as Blake saw the men, he knew tonight would end with death." Devil to Pay, FOUR DUKES AND A DEVIL anthology.

"Eric swallowed the last of his beer and then set the empty bottle on the sidewalk." --Reckoning, UNBOUND anthology.

"I think Amber was murdered." -- FIRST DROP OF CRIMSON

"I squinted in the morning sunlight." One For the Money, DEATH'S EXCELLENT VACATION anthology.

"I'd been watching the dark-haired boy for a couple minutes before he disappeared." -- untitled WIP.

And here's a question: as readers or writers, are first lines supposed to be extra special? Should they be punchy, provocative, attention-grabbing, shocking, or it makes no difference, as long as the opening scene is good? Inquiring minds want to know :-).

-Jeaniene Frost

Still Available From June!

2009-07-01T16:21:15Z

The following FFF titles released in June and were showcased on the blog sidebar. They're still out there, so it's not too late to pick up copies for yourself or someone else.

To see the July releases, check out the updated FFF sidebar.

Happy Reading!

S. J. Day

Overheard in Conversation

2009-07-01T14:29:27Z

Last night I was wandering the SF/F section of my local Barnes & Noble, trying to decide the best way to spend my birthday gift card. I had one book in hand (a friend's new release that I'd gone for specifically), but still had money to burn. I was browsing the new release shelves when a trio of guys (I hesitate to use the word "men" because they seemed to epitomize the man-child, I-spend-too-much-time-playing-WII-and-not-enough-time-socializing stereotype of today's modern male SF fan---sad, but true) wandered by.

They ended up browsing within arm's reach of me, so I overheard an...amusing snippet of conversation between two of them.

Dude: Man, look at all this.
Pal: Wha?
Dude: I'm getting so sick of seeing this shit.
Pal: Wha?
Dude: This, and this and this (*pointing to books on shelves I'd have to crane my neck to identify*) and this and this.... All these books with heroines who wanna be the hero and shit.

(At this point, if I'd been drinking a beverage, I'd have spit it out.)

Dude: And vampires, man, quit with the stupid vampires. We need more books like this.

(He picks up the latest video game tie-in.)

Needless to say, I turned the corner before I either laughed in their faces, or said something snarky I'd later regret. But I hate confrontation, so unless I somehow managed to channel my inner-Evy, I doubt I'd have actually spoken to them.

So, Watchers and Members, has this ever happened to you? Have you ever overheard or participated in a conversation that took a harsh swipe at your favorite genre/books? How did you react? Do you try to educate people who seem to have no real clue about the books they are denigrating, or do you just let it roll off your back?

Curious minds.....

July Newsletter

2009-06-30T01:36:53Z

July's newsletter is a little light, but here it is! Authors if you have news or appearances that you'd like to share, please do so in the comments section!

JULY RELEASES

Balog, Cyn -- Fairy Tale
Brennan, Sarah Rees -- The Demon's Lexicon
Day, S.J. -- Eve of Chaos
Frost, Jeaniene -- FOUR DUKES AND A DEVIL (anthology)
McLeod, Suzanne -- The Cold Kiss of Death
Robertson, Linda -- Vicious Circle
Singh, Nalini -- Branded By Fire
Vincent, Rachel -- Prey

APPEARANCES

July 14 -18 RWA National: Kathryn Smith, Jessa Slade
July 23 - 26, 2009 San Diego Comic Con: Jackie Kessler, Sarah Rees Brennan , Marlene Perez

Saturday, July 25, San Diego Comic Con
3:00-4:00 Monster Mash Room 2
Panelists: Amber Benson (DEATH’S DAUGHTER); Alice Henderson (VORACIOUS), Walter Greatshell (XOMBIES: APOCALYPSE BLUES), S.G. Browne (BREATHERS); Marlene Perez (DEAD IS SO LAST YEAR); Rob Thurman (DEATHWISH); and Samantha Sommersby (FORBIDDEN: THE TEMPTATION).
Moderator: Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy

Wednesday, July 15th @ RWA National -- 5:30-7:30 p.m. -- Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington DC -- Literacy Signing.
Many FF&F authors will be on hand to raise money for literacy. Click on the link for a complete list of participating authors.

NEWS

-The new cover art for EMBERS, by Laura Bickle, has been released. The artist is Chris McGrath, who you'll recognize from Jim Butcher's Dresden Files covers. A link to the cover is here: www.salamanderstales.com. EMBERS will be released in April, 2010 from Pocket-Juno Books.

-The Cold Kiss of Death : Spellcrackers.com 2 : Suzanne McLeod releases on the 16th July. To celebrate Suzanne is holding weekly giveaways on her blog - http://suzannemcleod.blogspot.com - for her new book and there will be a special FF&F giveaway for the week of her release ~ Full details to be posted on her blog, so head on over and help her celebrate.

Topic of the Week - With a Little Help from my Friends

2009-06-29T22:20:46Z

Hi, everyone! Thanks for joining us, those of you who are online instead of out enjoying this summer holiday week (happy Canada Day and Independence Day, before I forget).

This week's topic comes from whereistheluv, who asks:

Hi! I'm new here. I would like to know how you found your writing groups or crit partners. I'm new to the writing world, and working on my first YA urban fantasy/paranormal/something like that novel and would love to find some other people to work with. I guess to be clearer, I'd like to know the story behind how you find the people you truly trust to read and critique your work, and also any tips or warnings on what not to do. I'd also like to know when you pass on what you've written for critiquing. Do you share as you go, or wait until after you've completed a first draft. AND (jeez, I thought this was going to be short!) how much do you let what they say affect you and your final product?

I'm curious to hear everyone else's answers, because while I do have CPs/beta readers (and I could not live without them), I knew them all as friends first. So I've never had to seek them out. In fact, I've turned down invitations to join writers' groups because I pretty much only write long fiction and never show it to anyone until a completed second draft. Plus, group dynamics drive me nuts. ;-)

As always, Members and Watchers alike are encouraged to post their responses in the comments section.

Have a great holiday week!

--Jeri Smith-Ready

TotM & a Contest

2009-06-26T21:02:11Z

First...Topic of the Month, research. I have recently tromped all over downtown Cleveland, around University Circle, scouted churches, restaurants and various locales searching for the ones to serve as backdrop for some key scenes in my WIP. Let me say this: not all wait staff are created equal. And the fancy (remaining nameless) restaurant had the worst service. DEPLORABLE.

That aside, the most interesting thing that I can tell you about that I did in the name of research (HAHA!) is this: years ago, I contacted a martial arts guru near my hometown. He specialized in sword fighting. He and his top student, for the humble price of lunch at a local Chinese restaurant, set up their karate classroom with cardboard boxes to represent the masts and railings of a pirate ship, then improvised a scene for me while I videotaped them. I wrote the scene to include some high spots from their battle--and there were COOL things that got added in because of what they did, moves/rolls/weapons switching hands, etc. that I wouldn't have thought of. *that book however will likely never get published...*

Please go over to The League of Reluctant Adults blogsite @: http://reluctantadults.blogspot.com/ Go right now!

Not only are there a bunch of very talented and entertaining writers over there who you should be reading...but Kelly Meding, whose debut book comes out this fall, has been kind enough to do an interview with me, and have a contest in honor of my available-in-like-5-days book, VICIOUS CIRCLE! (Scroll down...there it is!) In the interview I reveal some electrifying events from my rock-n-roll past, heh heh, and you can be entered into a drawing to win a signed copy of VICIOUS CIRCLE by leaving a comment or asking me a question in the comments section. The contest is open all weekend, so--in a moment between the awesome things you're all surely doing this weekend-- stop in and say hi or ask me a question and get yourself in the running for that free copy! Kelly will conduct a random drawing, and I'll mail the book out!

And, when you're done with that, zip over t Kelly's site http://www.kellymeding.com/ and read about THREE DAYS TO DEAD, her novel coming this fall. SOUNDS AWESOME! You'll want to add it to your to-be-read list!

TotM: Research

2009-06-25T08:37:41Z

I still have time! The month isn't over yet! (I, er, was out of town when the Topic of the Month got posted, and it took my brain a little while to wake up and notice that other people were posting about research for a reason.)

So, how far would I go for research?

My answer: I should have gone farther, dammit, but it was raining and I hadn't explicitly asked the guy whether I could climb the ladder, and I had neither the time nor the cardiovascular endurance to go down three-hundred-odd stairs and then back up them again if he said I could stick my head out the trapdoor.

It was a Saturday morning early this month, and I'd been let into the Monument to the Great Fire of London before business hours so I could crawl around its basement chamber for the next Onyx Court book. I hadn't thought to ask the lady from Tower Bridge Authority whether I could also go up past the observation platform; a stupid oversight on my part. But when I mentioned that, the fellow who let me in early promptly handed me a key and told me to close the gate behind me (I think he expected me to be up there longer, i.e. past the opening time, when tourists might start appearing). So I climbed 311 steps to the observation balcony (for the second time that week), wrestled with the gate (which had a very old-fashioned key that didn't want to turn), got it open, closed it behind me, and climbed about thirty steps more, until I was squeezed into the conical room at the top, facing a ladder and a trapdoor above.

And I didn't climb the ladder. Dammit.

I really regret that. Nevermind that it was raining, and I had no idea whether opening that trapdoor would mean soaking the rungs of the ladder I would then have to climb back down. When I got to the bottom, the guy told me he would have let me do it, and if I didn't have a train to catch (and it wasn't three hundred and forty or so steps back up), I would have taken him up on that. As it stands, I'll have to make do with the fact that the relevant scene will probably be written from the pov of the guy standing in the basement, so it's okay that I didn't fully explore the top.

It's okay. Really.

(And if I keep telling myself that, maybe I'll believe it.)

Normally my research, of course, is far more sedate. There's a three-shelf bookcase behind me that's the physical proof of how I write the Onyx Court books, and bibliographies on my site; I spent six years in graduate school, so hitting the library is kind of my first instinct. But I do go to London every year for these novels, to see first-hand some of the sites and objects that date to the appropriate period, which sometimes lands me in such places as the Monument basement, or the Vale of the White Horse, or the roof of Hampton Court Palace.

The best part is, it's all tax-deductible. Kind of sucks to calculate around April, but these are all business expenses, my friends. ^_^ I totally need to write books set in places like, oh, the Caribbean, or Egypt, or all the other destinations I want to visit . . . .

Topic of the Week - The Waiting is the Hardest Part

2009-06-22T23:52:56Z

Last week, kelly_gay put up a wonderful post outlining in detail the timeline from offer to publication. Then she wrote me and said:

After posting my publishing timeline today, I got into a discussion on how long it takes from sale to release. I always thought 12-18 months was kind of average, but I've seen some going to the two year mark as well. Wondering if this would make a good Topic of the Week. Authors weighing on in how long it took from sale to release date on their books.

For my three series it varied from 17 to 21 months from original offer to publication. The longest one was sold on proposal, and when I got the offer I hadn't written beyond the three samples chapters (I didn't want to jinx it--no, seriously, I was afraid to even think about it ;-), so I needed the extra time to finish the first book.

What about you? Feel free to expound on any delays (or rushes) encountered in your journey from offer to publication. Share your thoughts in the comments, and though this is mainly a question for Members, Watchers please feel free to respond.

Have a great week!

--Jeri Smith-Ready

Tropes: What's your weakness?

2009-06-21T23:44:29Z

X-posted from my blog.

One of my favorite procrastination websites is TV Tropes Dot Org, a wiki which catalogues popular tropes used in movies, TV shows, manga, and literature. Talking to a friend the other day, I realized that there are some tropes I love- not because they're always done well so much as because there are some character types and situations that I'm so fond of that any fiction that uses them has an a priori advantage with me as a reader/viewer. And the converse is true, too- there are tropes that I just innately dislike, not because there's anything actually wrong with them, but just because I personally have an aversion to them, and any book that uses them has to overcome that hurdle to win me over as a reader.

Examples of my favorite tropes: slightly crazy, waiflike characters who are more than people give them credit for being (a la River in Firefly or Luna in Harry Potter), stories which contain characters who have an older brother or sister as their legal guardian (ie Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, the Dawn/Buffy storyline in BtVS), characters with strongly literal or stylized speech patterns who don't quite understand human niceties (Anya from Buffy; Simi from the Dark Hunter series), and romances in which characters are drawn to each other based on some bone-deep similarity or flaw that makes them understand each other in ways that other people couldn't.

Some of my least favorite tropes: the best friend character who seems to have a vested interest in the main character losing their virginity (YA) or the state of the MC's sex life more broadly (adult); stories which revolve around an overachieving female learning to loosen up; the surprise werewolf (in which a male character in a known supernatural world is revealed at the very end of the book to be a werewolf).

Like I said before- it's not that I think the tropes I don't like are at all inferior to the tropes I love. I could name books that do tropes I dislike wonderfully well and that, as a result, I have enjoyed, and I could name books that have done my favorite tropes not-so-well (and which... I've still kind of enjoyed, because I just really love the trope).

So what are you guys? Any tropes you love beyond reason for no real rational reason? Any that you dislike, even when they're done well? In accordance with FFF policy, please no bashing of any trope or subgenre beyond simply expressing personal preferences and no finger pointing at specific books you dislike. Self-reflection > flame wars.

-Jennifer Lynn Barnes

TotM: Which comes first, the research or the story?

2009-06-20T17:18:38Z

I keep thinking the short answer to the question "How far would you go for your research?" is, for me, "about 5000 miles," because that's the distance from Tucson to Reykjavík. :-)

The long answer is, maybe some of the most interesting story research begins before the story. That is, if you're already interested in the world and learning and seeing new things as you can, those things can spark stories, so long as you stay on the lookout for them.

Which is what actually happened when we first went to Iceland seven years ago, mostly because, well, we just wanted to. I didn't know that at the end of the trip I'd come back with the opening scene of a story--I maybe hoped I would, because I always sort of hope that, everywhere I go--but that wasn't why we went. We went because we wanted to see a new place with interesting geology and history, and also because I'd never been across the Atlantic and it seemed well past time to do something about that.

Two years ago, when I went back, was another matter--by that trip, I was actively working on Thief Eyes (due out next spring) and had specific research destinations in mind (while still being open to the unexpected). But I also really really wanted to go back, and had been wanting to for five years--because if a place gets hold of you strongly enough that you want to write about it, there's a chance it also gets hold strongly enough that you want to keep visiting.

But I think I'm always doing research, whether I have a specific story in mind when I do or learn something new or not. Sometimes it takes a while for the story that goes with the research to show up--but I figure if I keep looking for new things to learn and experience, that helps prime the story well, and gives me things to can draw on when we need them.

Of course, sometimes it also does work the other way around, and you realize you need to know things only once you start writing. Which is how I met Boris and Natasha, who the folks at Seaworld San Diego generously let me visit with when I explained that there was an arctic fox in my story and asked whether I could possibly visit with theirs and ask some questions. Video of Boris below because, well, all posts are better with arctic foxes. :-)

--Janni Lee Simner

ToTM: The many riches of research

2009-06-20T16:23:13Z

The late great Tony Hillerman talked about "write what you want to know about".

One of my college professors, in a journalism class, taught us to write what we wanted to read. Stories that no one else wrote. Stories that intrigued us. She was talking about non-fiction, feature stories (which is how I began my writing career), but it's definitely applicable to fiction.

A fertile ground for research, n'est-ce pas?

With those pieces of advice in the back of my brain, a story began to form in my head sometime in the middle of 1999. I was working at a company that wrote medical office management software. Our newest product? Funeral home management software. Intrigued by the industry (as many of us are), I began formulating a plot, sparked by the image of a woman, trapped inside an embalming room, the electricity off and a body on one of the tables. The original scene had the body then sit up and ask who she was, but that totally morphed.

As I began to shape my world, my plot, my characters, I drew on everything I knew about the funeral industry (based on my now former job); about the Hill Country of Texas and legends/myths of the supernatural, including vampires. As a natural information junkie and major curiosity cat, I found myself digging through online copies of Mortuary Management magazines; perusing online catalogs of mortuary equipment; trying to figure out how much blood a deer's body held; when hunting season opened in any given year (gun hunting, not bow hunting).

In addition to Internet research, I reached out to various friends and family members who had knowledge. (Thanks be to a fellow Sisters in Crime member, who saved me from a MAJOR gaffe, forcing me to change a huge plot point, but fixed an error regarding an embalming practice).

For subsequent books, I followed much of the same pattern, even traveling to Vancouver to get sights, sounds, scents, the very feel of the atmosphere. Yesterday, I went to B&N and bought a road map of Texas (for BLOOD HEAT research) and one of Wales (for possible storyline in Book 5...should that sell).

There's an embarrassment of riches out there for research - so much so that I have more than a hundred online articles bookmarked as "research" - nothing to do with any existing works in progress, but something that intrigued me for future use. I'm absolutely fascinated by people, social interactions, how different cultures work, patters of daily behavior, etc. Maybe that's why I write fiction. Maybe that's why I love the Internet so much.

Maybe...I should get back to work. ::g::

-- Maria Lima

Publishing Timeline - a look at the past year

2009-06-19T14:27:51Z

Taking a stab at my first FF&F post besides the Intro and comments... I thought this peek into an actual publishing timeline, using my urban fantasy The Better Part of Darkness as an example, would be of interest to some of you watchers out there. (This is x-posted from my blog). I decided to go back 13 months instead of 12, starting with the sale, and covering things like revisions, cover art, copy edits, cover copy, and down to this week. Obviously, not every book follows this timeline, but this might give those interested an idea of how long the process can be. ;-) So here's a look into mine:

2008

May 15 - 30 My agent began the submission process, starting with three of our top choices. Editor from Pocket was first to respond, expressing interest. Wanted another editor to read. Book was then pitched at editorial meeting. According to agent, two more editors were now reading.

June 10 - My eventual editor (Ed Schlesinger) wants to make an offer.

June 13 - Pocket makes a two book deal. Agent calls. I, of course, accept!

June 19 - I get my first 'hello' email from my new editor.

Mid July - FinePrint receives my contract. Must be reviewed, changes requested and then returned to Pocket.

Oct 24 - First actual phone call from Ed. We'd been communicating mostly via email and realized we'd never actually spoke! Great conversation.

Late Oct. - Contract, after having been at Pocket, is once again sent to Fine Print for another read-through.

Mid Nov. - Contract arrives at my doorstep along with tax forms. Let it sink in for a few days and then mailed back.

Mid Dec. - First advance payment arrives at Fine Print.

Dec 18th - received hard copy line edit of the book, along with gifts -- the latest urban fantasies published by Pocket! Read through edits. Didn't have heart failure. All looked doable.

Dec 21 - Had awesome phone call with Ed, just going over the line edits and revision ideas for the book.

2009

Early Jan - My check arrives! (Actually, it came sooner, but there was a small error that needed to be fixed and FinePrint rocked it out with no problems).

Jan 26 - completed revisions on the book! Turned them in with much anxiety.

Same week - Time to come up with author bio, pic, and acknowledgements.

Mar 9 - Hear that revisions looked good, just some small notes to attend to, which I do and then send back. Also, am told firm release date for the book, Nov 24, 2009. Yay! See first draft of cover as well.

Mar 18 - see first draft of the cover copy (the blurb on the back of the book, the front cover tagline, and the small excerpt piece that goes in the very beginning of the book). Made a few minor edits and sent back.

Mar 25 - receive the production schedule of the book, which consists of copy edit and galley dates and printing schedule.

Apr 17 - Copy edits arrive, and must be returned the first week of May.

Apr 20 - see revised cover. Looking awesome.

May 21 - get permission to reveal cover. Not final cover, but close to it.

And this week I should receive the first pass galleys of the book, which I'll read through for typos and any last minute errors and such and then send back to Pocket. Looking forward to getting these! And, I'll make sure to post about it, too . . .

Writers & Self-Confidence (x-post from my LJ)

2009-06-18T16:20:28Z

I know I blog a lot about self-confidence (or at least it feels like I blog a lot about self-confidence), but I’ve been thinking about it a lot since I got back from the Gothic Girls retreat. I've actually been thinking about it so much that the word 'confidence' no longer looks like it's spelled right. For a lot of reasons. For starters, the Gothic Girls were a very self-confident bunch. Also, we talked a lot about ambition and what we would need to accomplish to feel we’ve “arrived” and what we saw ourselves doing in five years. (Me: "Taking my long-awaited position as Queen of America, reinstating That 70s Show, delivering all state of the union speeches in 30 minute claymation television specials involving hedgehogs, and continue making a living writing") All of this while revising LINGER, the sequel to SHIVER (which, as you might guess from my last SHIVER post, inspires NO pressure whatsoever), and generally standing next to incredibly talented and accomplished women.

And so my musings came round to three big points. Which I've made into a list because man oh man I love me my lists.

1) Self-confidence has absolutely nothing to do with your accomplishments. People in the writing world seem to think this more than other people. Part of it, I think, is trying to apply an objective value (getting an agent, landing a book deal, getting a tour, getting a manservant to oil your back and throw cheetos into your mouth) to a subjective pursuit -- writing, which is creative and subjective and difficult to quantify. We all work so hard to validate our time spent writing that we start to think that these milestones make us better people, better writers, whatever.

It’s not true. And it leads to huge let downs if you have poor self-confidence, because guess what? On the other side of that book deal, you’ll still have poor self-confidence. Because there’s always the next thing. The bigger deal, the more popular blog, the private waffle breakfasts with J. K. Rowling. You'll never get to that magical honeypot that makes you feel like a Real Person.

And the Gothic Girls (oh yeah I’m going to tie everything back to this retreat) were a perfect example of this, I thought. I mean, we were all a different spot in our careers -- from having just sold a debut, to having just signed with an agent, to having their debut just come out, to having 25 books under their belt. If self-confidence = what you’ve accomplished, this retreat would have been a certified mess. (Which I would’ve had an absolutely fabulous time photographing and blogging about. Just sayin’.) But every one of these girls had confidence in themselves, some sense of self-worth that existed quite apart from their writing. They were confident as people, and that meant that Tessa and Carrie or me and Dawn or Jackie and Jackson could have endless discussions on important things such as plotting and which bits of interior decorating we could use to play zombies without so much as a single raised hackle or wound licked.

And that’s important.

2. Self-confidence is not the same thing as ego. This is not to say that the two don’t (frequently) dance hand in hand down the street, pushing over old ladies in crosswalks and kicking baby kittens. But they are definitely not the same entity. Ego is thinking you have all the answers. Self-confidence is knowing you don’t have the answers, but being pretty sure that you will be able to find them. Ego is often related to accomplishments: I have a big book deal, look at my peacock feathers, I can barely fit my head through the door stuff. (again, I would have great joy photographing and blogging about this). Self-confidence is unrelated to accomplishments: I don’t have a book deal yet, but it’s a goal and I’m sure I can find the tools to get there in the end. Or: I do have a book deal, but you know, I’m not any different from the person I was before I got that book deal. Ego is also very transitory. It has to be pet and propped up and requires other people to bask in it. (I’m thinking like the king of the lemurs in Madagascar). There were no warring egos at the retreat, something for which I was eternally grateful. Because there was alcohol and small sleeping quarters involved. And I would not like to see Jackson and Carrie go to bat on a sleeper sofa using Spanish moss and Macbooks as weapons.

Okay, I lie. I would totally like to see that. But I didn’t.

3. Self-confidence is a very . . . internal thing. I was not a self-confident girl in college, despite being a successful competitive bagpiper, having a 3.8 GPA, leading a band that toured all over three states, winning writing and art contests, having exceptionally shiny hair, being Future Princess of America, blah blah blah. These were all things I did, but the only thing they really ever bolstered was my ego, which was temporary. While I was thinking about this, I was trying to decide how I made the leap to being a confident person and the weirdest thing is . . . I think I just decided I was going to be one. I’m a big believer in goals and the idea that if you say things out loud, you make them true. And so even though it sounds silly, I think that if you make the decision to be confident, it really makes it happen. Especially if you surround yourself with the trappings of confidence. That room that is just for you and your writing, because you are going to make it your living. The people you surround yourself with: confident, make-it-happen people, because you will always rise to the meet the expectations of the people around you, and you don’t want to be the one-eyed king of the blind.

Okay. So Maggie's Nebulous Thoughts About Confidence, paraphrased.
1. Don’t be bitter about other people getting on Oprah. Success in the book world is not like cheese dip, where one person will get the last dip and then it’s gone. It’s more like pinkeye. The more people who get it, the more there is for everyone else.
2. Don’t be a prick. Nobody likes pricks.
3. Make it happen. Surround yourself with cool people. Live your life as the person you’d like to be, and you’ll become that person.

Now . . . I think . . . I'm done. Anyone have any other thoughts?

-maggie stiefvater

Topic of the Week - Let's do the time warp again

2009-06-16T03:11:28Z

This week's Topic comes from Corinne D., and I think we haven't ever covered it here before (yay!):

How much time usually passes in your novels, and how do you handle this? Do you skip over entire days/weeks/months, and if so, how do you keep the character proactive if nothing appears to happen for so long? If your entire manuscript takes place in just a matter of days, do you feel like it's too busy? Can your character grow and change over such a short period of time?

I once heard a Hollywood producer at a writer's conference say that the "natural" time frame for a mainstream film story is six to eight weeks--long enough to give the character a chance to develop and grow, but not so long that the story loses its urgency and intensity (this is all my own paraphrasing, because the conference was nine years ago). I don't know if the same general rule applies to novels, but my non-epic fantasy novels tend to last about that long (with one exception, which I'll mention in the comments).

What do you think? I'm curious to hear not only writers' reactions, but readers' as well. Members and Watchers, share your thoughts in the comments.

Have a great week! (If a week is your preferred unit of time. ;-)

--Jeri Smith-Ready

ToM: How far would you go for your research? Do you have a cool research story?

2009-06-15T14:45:39Z

I think I'd stop at eating live bugs. Yes, that would probably be my "Not Going There" stopping point.

For research, I traveled to San Francisco a few times, the last on my own, to research for my "Magic" series. I also went to Boston twice for my "Lexi Steele" series, and New York City for my "Night Tracker" series. Each time I walked as much of the city as I could on foot and alone so that I could absorb everything possible.

To research some of my books, I've talked extensively with a US Marshal regarding the Witness Security Program; a nurse in a burn trauma center; worked with a federal agent; visited a courtroom and watched court proceedings; talked with my local councilman; spoken with a Boston detective, a Boston metro police officer, a Texas SWAT officer, a Phoenix police officer; worked with an individual from Russia on language in a book; tracked down a guy from San Francisco on the internet to find out more about a typical layout of a SF home...

One of the most fun research tidbits was when I contacted the publicity office of The Presidio in San Francisco and started telling her I needed to find a place in SF for a epic battle for Dark Magic with demons, witches, fae... After I explained she said, "Well, if I was going to attack San Francisco, I'd come from the North Shore of the Presidio..." I could hear the blush in her voice as she realized what she was saying! LOL. It's a lot of fun sometimes!

I do tend to do a lot of research for my books. I want them to be as real as possible to the reader regardless of whether or not it's paranormal or contemporary.

Cheyenne

Introduction: Brenna Yovanoff

2009-06-13T00:40:51Z

Hi all,

My name is Brenna Yovanoff, and my contemporary YA fantasy Fe recently sold to Razorbill for publication in Fall 2010.

A little bit about my book:

Mackie Doyle seems like everyone else in the perfect little town of Gentry, but he is living with a fatal secret - he is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now the creatures under the hill want him back, and Mackie must decide where he really belongs and what he really wants.

I've been hanging around FFF as a watcher for quite a while now, and I'm really glad that I finally have the opportunity to join this awesome community!

Researching

2009-06-12T15:14:59Z

One of the things that I always think is pretty funny is when someone says something to the effect of: writing fantasy must be so easy. You don't have to do any research--you can just make stuff up. (Keeping in mind that I hang out with a lot of academics who spend a lot of time researching for their work).

But the fact is that fantasy writers frequently do a whole lot of research. Some more than others. Some books require more than others, You really can't get away with just making things up because even made up things require consistency and some basis in reality to be believable. For instance, for The Black Ship, I set the entire book on board a square rigged clipper ship. And I'd never been sailing before. So I ended up doing a whole lot of reading, watching movies set on ships so I could see ships, I went on a short cruise aboard a square rigged ship, and I even watched bad reality television because it was set on a ship and I wanted to see some up close images of the ship.

But my first six books have been epic fantasy, which allowed for a certain amount of making things up in regards to setting that is harder to get away with in UF. Bitter NIght, which is my first foray into UF, I thought would be easier because it's set in the real world and I know the real world. Except that I didn't't know the real world. Not in the depth that I needed. Just getting the setting details right--distances, what's actually there on that street corner? street names and so on--to cars and clothes and guns and so on--was harder than I expected. The details matter and Google Earth is my friend. Those details require a great deal of research. A lot of it you can't prepare for--it's the sort that you stumble upon needing. I'll be in the middle of a scene and realize, uh oh, I don't know how that works. Or what that looks like. In the end, I spent a lot more time researching than I thought I would.

Luckily I love doing the research. I go looking for one thing and frequently find a whole lot more stuff that turns out useful for worldbuilding or plot building. It's all fodder, if not for the book I'm working on, then the next one.

ToM: The Research-Procrastination Vortex

2009-06-11T18:32:54Z

How far would you go for your research? Do you have a cool research story?

Ah, the glorious pursuit of research. From the mildest to the wildest, I've:

Written to Sterno, to ask how early their ignitable cans were available.

Called a sheriff in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, to find out what color the uniforms and cars were, and who might respond to a particular sort of 911 call.

Written to a bowyer, to find out how best to put out someone's eye.

Bothered a funeral director at length about body placement bingo when a crime-related corpse is between jurisdictions.

Rabidly studied maps of Baltimore- and then later, was able to give directions, in Baltimore, on my first visit there.

Spent time in the Coroner's office, witnessing actual autopsies on actual people.

So I think it's safe to say, I like research, but...

Sometimes, "research" is just a synonym for "procrastination." I've taken to working in Write or Die, just to prevent myself from stopping mid-sentence to look up the theoretical indo-european root of a given word that would make theeeeeeeeeeeeeee funniest language pun ever, if only I knew it.

The trick is figuring out what you need to start, and what's getting in the way of the finish. Invariably, the research I do before I start a book is the most useful. Anything I suddenly feel the need to study in-depth while in the middle of my word count for the day can probably wait. But really, my big rule of research is:

1) What can they see out their kitchen window?
2) Do they call it Coke or Pepsi?
3) What did they have for breakfast?

Excluding historical fiction, if I can answer those three questions- I'm actually ready to work on a book. Research exists to make a book authentic, not to write a treatise on the care and feeding of leaf monkeys. No matter how cute leaf monkeys are.

-Saundra Mitchell

TotM: I hate research

2009-06-10T18:20:37Z

I really hate research. I don't do it well; I'm easily led astray into worlds of info I don't need; and when I do find something I was actually looking for, invariably it directly contradicts what I'm trying to accomplish.

When I wrote my first manuscript (which, like most first manuscripts, is locked in an iron-bound chest in the attic lest it escape and wreak havoc upon the world) I vaguely envisioned a Regency romp -- with the heroine in a medieval leather jerkin, riding a steam-powered train, with a kinky reference to elastic that I won't bore you with here. And it wasn't steampunk. I'm not saying research isn't useful -- I'm just saying I try not to do it.

I prefer that old adage "Write what you know or can lie about without blinking." I find it saves time and bandwidth.

Switching from no particular time period historicals to contemporary paranormal eased some of the research requirements because it was easier for me to imagine being possessed by a repentant demon than writing 400 pages knowing the Olde Tyme hero never brushes his teeth. In historicals, a verisimilitude of truth often works better for storytelling than Cold Hard Reality. In the same way, I find that the paranormals and SFs which most strongly capture my imagination are the ones with internal logic unfettered by how the real world functions. Never mind the shapechangers who disobey the conservation of mass energy, the contortions around explanations for faster-than-light travel, the maegyckh bound by no natural rules a'tall -- as long as you make me BELIEVE, I'll never care that twu lurve between a hydrogen flouride breather and a silicon-based lifeform is impossible.

That powerful projection of sincerity is more the mark of a street-side con-man than an ivory tower researcher. So I'd just as soon get down in the gutter as quick as I can.

I did almost have the opportunity to do research once. At a family gathering, a sort-of relative found out I was writing a book about wayward souls. She gestured across the room to her son, who was studying to be a priest, and told me I should talk to him. I squirmed a bit and explained that the story involved demons, and sex, and that the characters rather liked both. Over the gentle chirp of crickets, someone murmured "We'll pray," and that was the end of that.

Posted by Jessa Slade

ToM: Let's get ready to research!

2009-06-09T15:50:38Z

The topic of the month:

How far would you go for your research? Do you have a cool research story?

I love research like a botfly loves human flesh. It's tasty, it's chewy, and I can burrow into it and not come out for weeks. I am never happier than when I am researching. I have attended autopsies, gone out on fishing boats, visited firing ranges, stuck my arm into rattlesnake holes, and examined dead squirrels, all in the name of research. I've also spent uncounted hours in libraries and used bookstores, questing for books about obscure aspects of folklore and mythology, books on alchemy, and books on pandemic disease. Research comes in both field and home editions, and I adore them both, since otherwise, I'd probably go insane.

One of the books I'm currently shopping, Newsflesh, involves a genetically-engineered virus that creates, effectively, zombies, and a lot of political back-and-forth. I started my research by going to the local Half-Price Books for an armload of books on viruses, and then sitting down to read about horrible pathogens while working my way through all seven seasons of The West Wing (the best way to front-load sounding like you know what the hell you're talking about while receiving none of the applicable training). After reading The Hot Zone, Demon in the Freezer, Virus X, Ebola, The Coming Plague, Flu, and Return of the Black Death: the World's Greatest Serial Killer, I began designing a virus that would do what I needed it to do.

Once my virus was complete, I contacted a doctor who wishes to remain nameless, currently employed by the Centers for Disease Control, and asked if he'd be willing to review my fictional virology. He agreed, and made several suggestions about the viral construction, along with several more books I needed to read. It got to the point that I wound up auditing some lectures at UC Berkeley, just so I could understand what the hell the books I was reading were about. (This was, by the way, awesome, and I'm planning to attend this year's entire lecture series, if I can.) I kept working on my virus, and kept watching The West Wing.

After three drafts, Kellis-Amberlee was fully CDC-approved, with a note that if I ever tried to go into genetic engineering, they'd notify Homeland Security. I consider this a victory.

I also spent three months helping to wean and properly socialize orphaned coyote pups as part of the research process for Lycanthropy and Other Personal Issues, which involved fewer pandemics and more puppy poop.

Topic of the Month:

2009-06-08T21:31:08Z

Okay, yet another topic of the month here at FFF. It's different from Topic of the Week because members answer the question in brand new posts rather than in the comments section, which is just for watchers. I was wracking my brain for a topic here in Savannah while I'm at a writers' retreat (GothicGirls on twitter if you're insanely interested)and cedarsong rescued me by telling me what she'd like to ask her favorite author:

How far would you go for your research? Do you have a cool research story?

Members, answer in new posts with ToM in the title so that watchers know what you're talking about. Use lj-cuts for posts with excessive length or numerous visual aids such as photographs of you building snowmen, graphs of secret dinosaur research locations, or videos of you seeing if you can convince your ferret to use the toilet. Watchers, answer in the comments here or on any of the posts that interest you.

Now, go!

- maggie stiefvater

Mindless

2009-06-07T14:57:27Z

Relaxing . . . is there such a thing in this crazy, busy, running, non-stop world? Some of us need to stop and do just that.

What mindless thing do you do to relax, if any? at do I mean by mindless? Certainly not reading, not learning, not having to use your brain for anything but sheer relaxation. Here are some things that I think could fit in that category.

UPDATED 06.08.09.... See under LJ Cut

Coloring books. Seriously. I was told this years ago from someone who attended a life seminar, and recently I had some readers tell me they do exactly this. They get out a box of crayons, coloring books and they color away. Outside the lines, crazy colors, no rules. No thinking about anything, just clearing the brain. Can’t you smell the crayons and the paper the illustrations are on now? Can you see yourself letting go of all of the things pressuring you for twenty minutes? Personally I need to find a Tinkerbelle coloring book and get one of those beautiful new Crayola 64 boxes.

To go along with our conversation, I found some cool fairy coloring pages on the Net! Make your own book! :D

Updated 06.08.09 for Fairy coloring pages.

Gone fishing. What about hanging up a “Gone Fishing” sign then getting out and sitting in a boat on a lake and mindlessly toss your hook into the water? Enjoying the sun on your face, the smell of the water, the breeze over your skin. If it’s raining, enjoy the drizzle on your skin, feeling the cool wetness of it, and loving the sweet, fresh smell of rain.

Hiking. Do you lace up your boots and take to a trail and set your mind free as you concentrate on nothing more than the path ahead of you? Imagine the smell of the forest, the damp loam, the crisp air, and pine trees. Feel the nip in the air and the ruddiness on your cheeks if you’re someplace cool. If you’re hiking Camelback in Phoenix, Arizona feel the sweat on your skin and in the wetness of your hair at your nape, and the slickness of sunblock on your skin. Smell the earth and the desert air as you concentrate on putting your shoes in just the right place so that you don’t slide down the “mountain.” (Phoenix’s version of a local mountain anyway!)

Tubing down the river or behind a boat on a lake. With some good friends, tying a bunch of overinflated tubes together with an ice chest filled with your favorite beverages and sandwiches. Lots of food. That’s important.

Water or snow skiing. Depending on where you are, do your skis flash through the snow, a spray fresh powder arcing up as you slice your way downhill? Or is the sun hot on you while you hold on to the grip and the long cord between you and a speedboat? Is the water cool as the spray mists you?

The spa. Feel strong hands giving you a deep tissue massage as you smell the minty scent of the oil the masseuse is using. Or the more gentle touch of fingers as your face is treated with masks that smell like fresh earth? Maybe a pedicure where you kick back and let the technician take care of you. Lying back and not thinking at all, just feeling and relaxing.

Now that I’ve made myself want to do all of the above, why don’t we look at things that some people think of as mindless, but aren’t really, in my opinion. Some things people think of mindless, but actually make you truly think and not just let go:

Movies. Are you getting ideas? Are you thinking about whodunit? However, there are brainless movies, often including guy humor and real comedy, not to mention some chick flicks that are silly. For me, action/adventure movies are not relaxing because I get so tense and I’m not relaxing. But I’m an action/adventure junkie!

· Museums, etc. You’re actually learning and thinking, and your brain isn’t free like the activities I mentioned above.

· Reading. Sure, it might be relaxing, but you’re using your brain to solve the mysteries, root for the hero and/or heroine. Maybe you’re picking up a few ideas if you’re an author, or find yourself critiquing without meaning to.

· Blogs, Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, GoodReads. Definitely not mindless no matter how much fluff. Some might disagree, but I personally don’t think so. You’re thinking how to make your post just right or you’re following a thread that requires thought. No matter if they’re mindless in some ways, in others you’re learning about the industry or someone’s rant and something ticks you off. If you want to just relax your brain, give yourself a serious break, STAY AWAY from these evil time consumers when you need a mind-relaxing experience. ;-)

· Any form of art. Painting, throwing pots, writing, singing. No, not mindless. You’re thinking how to get whatever you’re doing just right. Or the next step, etc. The whole idea of this is mindless not thinking.

Sure, you think about not killing yourself on a slope or running into a grizzly bear, but you should be doing it with a mind clear of work and everyday hassles.

Do you agree that your brain probably needs these kinds of breaks? Or do you prefer to always be learning? Are you a workaholic like me who thinks I should be doing something brainless and rarely getting to it?

So what do you have to add to my list of mindless relaxation? Also your thoughts on things that might appear as relaxing, but you believe truly aren’t.

Don’t forget to hang your coloring book page on the fridge when you’re finished!

Cheyenne

Web presence...who are we, really and how do people find us?

2009-06-03T15:29:28Z

I've been pondering this a while, as a newish author, but someone who's had a presence on the web for more than 10 years. In my day job as a Web producer, I counsel my clients to buy up as many versions of their domain name as they can afford (.com, .net, .org, etc.) - mostly, so they don't get porn sites or spammers buying up and squatting.

On a personal level (as author Maria), I only have 2 domain names: thelima.com and chickwriter.com. The first goes to my Web site; the latter to my blog. This morning, I received an email ad from Network Solutions, encouraging me to buy marialima.me (the newest sales pitch). I'm considering it. I've also sent a request to the person who holds "marialima.com" - a real person, not a squatter, but someone who's never had an actually site on that domain.

How important is it to you as an author or to you as a reader/fan that the domain name be the author's name? If you don't know the author's URL offhand, how do you find the Web site?

Part of the reason I really want the "marialima.com" domain, is that for me, it's me, my identity. I grew up in various parts of the US (after emigrating here with family at age 3); and never had I encountered another person with my name. So unlike folks with more common names, I never had to share. Now I'm in the DC area, and there are several Maria Limas around, including one in the same apartment complex as I am. It's really odd.

How do you authors that have more common names establish the you? Is that important in your marketing?

Just some random thoughts about identity...

-- Maria Lima

Bright And Shiny Syndrome

2009-06-02T16:55:36Z

Facebook. MySpace. Twitter. Blogging on communities. Blogging on a personal website. With so many terrific avenues available to authors so they can reach out to an ever-broader audience, how is one supposed to promote and network and still have time to write?

No, really?

I have the attention span of a toddler hopped up on Pixie Stix. Whenever I see the latest Bright And Shiny thing, I clap my hands in delight, drop everything, and then go play with it. My latest Bright And Shiny? Twitter. God, that's addictive. And oooh, it's in real time! I can keep! updating! throughout the day! **whee!!!** On top of this, I'm as insecure as the next author and so have to egosurf to see if people are talking about me and my books. I'm glued to my computer. And that doesn't even count AIM and other instant messaging services. Or texting. Hours can go by, and all I've accomplished is a blog post, a number of Tweets, and confirming that no, I haven't hit the NYT list when I wasn't looking. No writing -- that is, no writing that I can hand over to my crit partner, my agent, or my editors.

And that, folks, is what I call suffering from Bright And Shiny Syndrome. You have the best of intentions when you start the writing day -- but thanks to getting caught up with networking and promotion, little (if any) writing actually occurs. So what's an author to do?

1. Set aside a solid hour where you're offline and writing. Yeah, I know, an hour's not much. But hey, it's better than nothing. During this hour, do not squeak in lunch. Do not go online to do "just a little research." Write. Slowly increase this to two hours. And more.

2. Set aside a solid hour where you're online and promoting. This means blogging, responding to writing-related emails, scheduling blog tours and bookstore appearances, and making business-related phone calls.

3. Set aside a solid hour where you're online and networking. Twitter, FB, MySpace, Absolute Write, this site...this is the time when you're reaching out and having fun. And it's not getting in the way of your writing.

Yeah, I know -- it's easy to get distracted. But with more and more Bright and Shiny things distracting us, we have to do what we can to play with the shiny and still be productive.

Excuse me. I have to go back to obsessively checking the Amazon and B&N.com rankings for Black and White. ;)

How do you fight against Bright and Shiny Syndrome? Have any tips?

Jackie Kessler

Topic of the Week - While the Light Bulb Shines

2009-06-02T03:25:06Z

Happy June, everyone! I hope the summer has started well for you. As you can tell, I took last week off from TotW due to the holiday, and today's is getting in just under the wire due to a deadline (met!). So summer is clearly the Season of Slackery for me. And y'all get to benefit from the entertainment potential of my sleep deprivation.

darwinstorm doubts the staying power of their question, not realizing how many responses we had to a question a few months ago about laptops. People love to discuss their devices:

Not sure if it is enough to carry a topic of the week but I was wondering how people deal with ideas that pop up when at places that are not writing places i.e. work, public transport etc. Do many people have electronic devices like fancy phones that they use to note down ideas or is the traditional notebook still the go.

I'm a notebook person myself, with the lack of organization that comes with such organic methods, but I would love to hear others' ideas on this. Do you use phones/PDAs/digital recorders?

Once you get all your bright ideas jotted down, how do you organize them? Does anyone use a specialty software or an online system such as Evernote?

As always, leave your thoughts in the comments, and Members and Watchers alike are encouraged to share.

Have a great week!

--Jeri Smith-Ready