Status Update

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It's been a while, I know. Four days in between posts! I've been cheating on my blog with my EDGES page on Facebook. (And thanks so much to those of you who have joined the fracas with me!) It's been fun -  posting music videos for my characters Luke and Ava and pics of movies filmed in Moab.

And I've been writing, writing, writing.

Ecstatic yesterday to print out my fifth draft of The Land of the Lost and Found, but then strangely sad when I attached it as a PDF and sent if off to my agent today. Strange, but true, because it is out of my hands now. There were a couple of things that I didn't want my characters to do, but there they were doing them, and once you've hit the fifth draft they become real. They speak for themselves. And I struggled with the ending. (I hope it's not too neat. I strive not to have too many loose ends, but nor do I want an ending to be a pretty package, tied up with a bow.)

My agent might not even get to reading it for a couple of months. And publishers are just so darn cagey these days anyway, so I have to let it go and move on to my next project. And write, write, write.

After I sent my manuscript, I had a conference call with marketing. Word on the street is that it's pretty much all on-line now, so I'm in pretty good shape. We'll do a book contest on Goodreads. They'll send ARC's out to a few select bloggers of their choosing and let them know that I'd be available for an interview or a guest blog. (They won't organize a blog tour per se) and that they have launched a website for teens called macteenbooks, where we will "interface". Not much new information, really.

I just want it to be December 7th already!

This I have to let go too. Take positive actions, let go of the results. Let go, or be dragged.

And write, write, write!

Comfort and Inspiration in Banned Books

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Thursday, closing up on Banned Book Week and I am finding  comfort and inspiration from both my "real" friends and "fantasy" friends who write books that make us stop and think.

About how we treat each other and ourselves.

Like Laurie Halse Anderson, Sherman Alexie, Ellen Hopkins, even my grandmother (yes, she was banned) to name a few. Books that can make a difference.

I aspire to that, I do. I practice, I work, I lose myself in other worlds. So it is with both glee and mental fatigue when I tell you that I have finished rewriting The Land of the Lost and Found. No, that does not mean that I am ready to send it back to my agent. I have to step away from it for a few days in order to see the forest through the trees. Does my new ending work? I don't know yet. I have to REVISE my rewrite, and you know how I heart revision! The plot remains in tact, but the structure is completely different, which forced me to rewrite practically every word! But I have been feverish, driven. Hopefully I have improved it.

I would normally be jumping up and down, but I am so sore from taking a class involving kettlebells at the gym yesterday (DON"T ASK!) that I can't.

I have been living and breathing this leading up to and through this Banned Book Week, because the issue of "pregnancy" is at the forefront of this novel. Oh no, you groan. Not another novel about teen pregnancy? And you know, I groaned too when I learned that this was what was coming from my soul. I didn't plan it this way, really! I write the book that wants me to write it. But I promise you that although it has this "issue", it is from two very different perspectives and not, ultimately, what it's "about".

I am watching the wind rage through the trees and the rain pelt the ground. I have to remember this: I have been able to write despite several men stomping around putting holes in walls, ceilings and floors for heating ducts, despite my husband tapping away on his own novel next to me, despite that I have been disappointed by the chains not being willing to stock my book at first and a one star review (with no explanation) on Goodreads.

I have also gotten some rave reviews too, including a very sweet note from the actor, Ryan Gesell who narrated the Luke portion on the audio of EDGES, telling me how much he loved it. And my friend Judy, who I was afraid to loan my ARC to, only because I adored her book, What I Did and Why I Lied soooo much - she loved EDGES too.

I can't be afraid of reviews, because they're coming. My writing will be out there soon for the world to judge. But Banned Book Week gives me comfort, because I know that EDGES most certainly be banned somewhere, and I will have the company of many of my favorite authors. Those who make us think about the human condition, who might make us, yes, feel a little uncomfortable. Or a lot.

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Diving in

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Ahhh! I am diving into a revision of The Land of the Lost and Found and it feels so good! Finally! (And there - I also revealed my working title!) I have been waiting all summer to get back to my manuscript, and now, for the first time in months, the kids are in school all day, all week! The bus will be dropping them off in about half an hour, so I figure that this is the perfect time to blog.

I was intrigued by Natalie Whipple's blog post last week, where she talked about putting the cart before the horse and the temptation of acting like a writer at the expense of being a writer.

So this fall, I will be playing the role of reclusive writer, and not just social networker, mom, wife, house renovator. I have quite a few renovations on this manuscript to do. Yesterday, instead of editing the opening pages, I wrote completely new ones. We're starting with a party folks! (Of course, that could all change.) I have given myself a personal deadline of mid-October, so that means I will be living and breathing my characters. Walking in their footsteps. How would Bruno brush his teeth? How would Willow wash the dishes?

In other news, Barnes and Noble has bought a small amount of EDGES, which is good news, but only in the NYC area, which is not so good news. So that means, I really need your help to spread the word! Word-of-mouth is still evidently, the best way to sell books, and as my friend and the assistant editor on this book Beth Potter believes, "it will be championed by indies and librarians," which is what will give it longevity. Will you be my champions?

Time to meet the school bus!