posts thursday and friday (and I guess wednesday too since this is a post...)

I was hoping to get a post up today, but I'm deep into prepping for NaNo (which we'll discuss on Monday...) so it will have to wait until tomorrow. As I mentioned in last Monday's post, I make a point of keeping in touch with all things YA (or, as many as I can manage) and one of those things is compulsively devouring episodes of Pretty Little Liars. It's one of those teen shows that's a perfect mix of genuinely interesting tv and super guilty pleasure.

Though last night's Halloween episode is the only one we're going to get until January, tomorrow's post is going to be the start of a new segment here on the blog, called Pretty Little Recap, wherein I share my thoughts (most of them entirely unprofessional and silly, despite the fact that I really do adore the show) on our favourite little liars and their ridiculously good-looking boyfriends (or girlfriends in Emily's case). So look for that tomorrow!

friday5 for October 19, 2012

Lots of booky news to discuss this week so let's get to it!

1. In semi-useless since the week is coming to an end news, it's YALSA Teen Read Week! Basically, this week is all about teens reading--reading anything! Because that's what matters. Not the what, but the it. Hmm. Did that make sense? No, but I think you know where I'm going with this. I'm big on recommendations, not restrictions when it comes to teens reading and I'd take a teen reading garbage (literally) over a teen reading nothing. Trust me, as you get older, it's harder to find time to read, so if it's not already a priority in your life, you're less likely to make it one. Get reading at a young age, thank the world later. Trust me. Reading will one day be one of the biggest delights of your week. And you'll actually be okay with that :)

2. In SQUEEEE news, the latest Divergent casting rumor has Shailene Woodley lined up to play Tris. As with all novel-to-film casting rumors, this one appears to be resulting in mixed reactions (as far as I'm concerned, that's a symptom of a devoted fan base, which I'm cool with when it comes to awesome YA reads). Personally, I think she was fantastic in The Descendents and she totally fits the image of Tris that I have in my head (I can't even remember what colour hair Tris is supposed to have, but Shailene is how I've always pictured her). With characters like Tris (or Katniss--not Bella--but Katniss or anyone in the HP universe), it's not about looks, it's about acting ability (with Bella, it was always more about looks, maybe because such a large portion of the story is about her pretty, pretty hair. Kidding.. kinda...). Shailene can definitely pull off the part. I'm officially on Team Woodley.

3. Johnny Depp is set to have his own imprint at Harper Collins. There's not much else to say about this except that Johnny Depp just added about a million more awesome points to his already high awesome point tally. The man is a force of nature. 

4. I suppose I should include a bit of non-book-related news to this week's list so let's talk about Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosting the 2013 Golden Globes. This has potential to be brilliant or boring. Not because Tina or Amy will screw it up, but because awards shows in general tend to screw it up. The hosts rarely have free reign. And yes, I know there are reasons for that. But it puts a damper on some of the amazing comedic talent we could be enjoying. That said, I think Tina and Amy will be able to put on a good show without that censored feeling we're usually subjected to. Their comedy doesn't come from a place of controversy so it should work out well. Either of them would do a fantastic job, but as a pair, I think they'll rock it.

5. Finally, this week's YA book rec is Beta by Rachel Cohn, the first in a new series. For me, the cover is kinda meh, but the plot sounds fantastic!

Feeling a little indigestion-y?

Elysia is created in a laboratory, born as a sixteen-year-old girl, an empty vessel with no life experience to draw from. She is a Beta, an experimental model of a teenage clone. She was replicated from another teenage girl, who had to die in order for Elysia to exist.

Elysia’s purpose is to serve the inhabitants of Demesne, an island paradise for the wealthiest people on earth. Everything about Demesne is bioengineered for perfection. Even the air induces a strange, euphoric high, which only the island’s workers—soulless clones like Elysia—are immune to.

At first, Elysia’s life is idyllic and pampered. But she soon sees that Demesne’s human residents, who should want for nothing, yearn. But for what, exactly? She also comes to realize that beneath the island’s flawless exterior, there is an under­current of discontent among Demesne’s worker clones. She knows she is soulless and cannot feel and should not care—so why are overpowering sensations cloud­ing Elysia’s mind?

If anyone discovers that Elysia isn’t the unfeeling clone she must pretend to be, she will suffer a fate too terrible to imagine. When her one chance at happi­ness is ripped away with breathtaking cruelty, emotions she’s always had but never understood are unleashed. As rage, terror, and desire threaten to overwhelm her, Elysia must find the will to survive.

The first in a dazzlingly original science fiction series from best-selling author Rachel Cohn, Beta is a haunting, unforgettable story of courage and love in a cor­rupted world. (Summary from Goodreads.com)

Cloning seems to be one of "the next big thing"s in YA and this looks to be an interesting take on it.  Paranormal was reigning for a while there, and let's face it, will always have a home, but I'm happy to see more and more quality sci-fi YA reads making the rounds. It's a thrilling genre and I definitely want more devour-able sci-fi YA!

As a final note, I'm headed on a mini-vacation this weekend so there will be no post on Monday. If I get my act together, I may be able to get something up on Tuesday or Wednesday, but if not, I'll be back on Friday with another friday5! See you then, if not sooner!

staying in touch

To start things off today, a little blog news: I can now be found at www.katepawsonstuder.com. That's right! I'm officially a website! Now I just need to remember all the places around the net that need to be updated with the new domain...

Today I want to talk about staying in touch--not the kind of staying in touch that requires you to keep your contact info/blog listing up to date (see what I did there?), but the kind where you are in the loop on what's current.

One of the things I've learned as a new mother is that you're constantly encountering lists of milestones that your baby should be hitting at certain points in their development. I receive these lists through e-newsletters and baby apps on my iphone among other places. Recently, one such milestone that I read about was that the baby should begin to understand that people speak into the mouthpiece of a telephone. This struck me as very odd. Certainly, I've seen babies with toy phones before, adorably mimicking adults and babbling into the phone as they make their imaginary (though often brief) phone calls.

"I think you have the wrong number..." Image by Linh Ngan

But it still struck me as odd. I can't think of a single time my baby has seen me on the phone. I rarely call anyone anymore. I text. I email. But I rarely call. In fact, I make so few phone calls, I usually save them for times when the baby is sleeping (so that I don't have to explain the loud baby screams that often sound like somebody is being murdered in our living room). My baby is more likely to mimic texting on a toy phone than she is to make a call. And as far as milestones go, I suppose I'd consider that equivalent. Should she know to speak into a phone if she's never seen anyone do that? I wouldn't think so, but I would expect her to play with a phone the way I play with mine. And she does. I'm sure future baby milestone lists will have to be modified to reflect this change in the way we communicate.

The reason I bring this up is because things change over time. That's no secret. I can still remember what it was like to be a teenager and that definitely plays a part in my writing, but I also know that the teens of today are experiencing a very different world than the one I lived in over a decade ago, and I need to keep that in mind too. I read and write (and watch) YA not only because I feel a strong connection to that voice (I sometimes need to remind myself that I'm not a sixteen-year-old girl anymore, even though I often feel like one inside), but also because I want to maintain that connection. There's something wonderful and thrilling about the experiences you have at that age and I never want to lose touch with that, even as it changes over time. All writers need to live part of their life in the world they write, both on and off the page. YA is where I feel most at home and I'm lucky that there's such an awesome community of YA authors and readers online to help me stay connected :)

What genres do you feel most at home reading/writing and how do you stay connected?

friday5 for October 12, 2012

1.  Everybody's favourite hilarious girl, Lena Dunham, has signed a book deal. Ridiculous advances celebrities receive to write books aside (it's a platform thing, not an ability to write thing, though clearly Lena can write), I'm ultra-excited about this news. Lena's HBO show, Girls, is fantastic and Lena's a triple-multi-whatever-you-guys-she's-awesome-threat in Hollywood. The girl has serious talent for someone so relatively young. I will definitely be ordering her book when it hits shelves in the not-too-distant future. I hope there's a chapter specifically for the ladies.

2. The new season of Community has been delayed :(  This is sad news for those of us fans who have been waiting for new episodes, even though they bring with them the very real possibility that once this season airs, there will be no more new episodes ever. Which is a tragedy. I've been there before. So many times. Shows that I love have been cancelled despite their brilliance. Thankfully, some of those shows continue on in other forms, or even make their way on to Netflix, but it would be sad to lose Community from network prime time because comedies of that caliber are becoming few and far between. On the other hand, it looks like the delay might be a blessing in disguise if it means a better time slot and more promotion. I guess time will tell. Delays in TV land are rarely a good thing.

3. A Wrinkle in Time has been made into a graphic novel. I tend to only read graphic novels that are original in that format (as in, weren't novels first), but since Madeline L'Engle's classic is an all-time favourite of mine dating back to my read-by-flashlight-under-the-covers days, I might have to pick this one up. The art looks cute and it's been a while since I read this fantastic story.

4. In other blast-from-my-childhood news, it looks like a new line of Jem dolls are being made. This news is truly, truly, truly outrageous. I still have my original Jem dolls packed away in a box somewhere--I even had the Synergy doll, though I have to admit, the new Synergy doll looks a little too diva for my taste. Girl needs to scale back the sass. Rio's style has improved (on the clothes front at least--not really sure what's happening with that hair), but what's with the Jem duffel bag? I know he's her manager, but there's something co-dependent about carrying around a duffel bag with your girlfriend's name on it (plus, what would your other girlfriend think?)

5. Though I said before I wanted to include a recommendation every week (which didn't happen last week), I've decided that moving forward, I want to dedicate the final point in the friday5 specifically to a young adult new release for that week. This week, Mystic City by Theo Lawrence has caught my eye. First off, look at that cover!

I love a good swirly hair cover. There's something so swirly about it. And the plot sounds pretty bad-ass too:

Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City's two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents' sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud—and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths. But Aria doesn't remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can't conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place. Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection—and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city—including herself.  (Summary from Goodreads.com)

Rebellious romance in the face of forced betrothals + memory tampering + magic? Count me in! Nothing like forbidden makeouts to stick it to the parental man! Err, parental man and woman. What new books are you picking up this week?

the writer's arsenal: organized vs. overkill

Every now and then, I plan to do a blog about some aspect of the writing/publishing journey as I assume many of you reading this blog have an interest in those topics. I've learned quite a bit about both sides of the publishing business over the years I've been in it, and what good are tips and advice if you don't pass them on?

I'm calling this series The Writer's Arsenal because publishing can be brutal and every aspiring (and published!) author out there needs the right tools if they want to survive. I'm not just talking about a computer or pen and paper (though those are important too), I'm talking about skills, habits, and mindsets--those things that you can't just stock up on the next time you're at Office Depot. A writer needs a lot of tricks up their sleeve if they want to survive.

To kick things off, I want to talk about getting organized. Whether you're a heavy outliner or not, every writer does something to get organized before delving into a project. Personally, the very first thing I do when an idea hits is try to write the type of short blurb you'd see in a query letter (which we'll discuss in a future post). It's similar to the synopsis on the back cover of a published novel--just a few paragraphs that give you the setup and the hook. If I can nail that, I know I have a decent story on my hands. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it should capture the idea in an exciting way. From there, I'll do a loose chapter-by-chapter outline that is guaranteed to change as I go, but it gives me a basic road map of where I'm starting and where I want to end up, which somewhat helps with writer's block as I go.

Some writers simply write. They think of a great idea and just dive in. I don't think I could ever do that myself, but I see how some people can. On the other side of the spectrum, there are writers who start by taking the time to do heavy outlines, character sketches, maps, etc. If you're writing a novel that requires world building, it's definitely important to keep your facts straight and you should have a story bible where you keep everything handy--continuity is key--but sometimes we get so wrapped up in getting organized for a project that we run out of steam before we even leave the gate.

It's important to never lose sight of what you're trying to accomplish--writing a book. The absolute hardest part of writing a book isn't having a good idea, it's actually finishing the book. I could probably build an empire on the piles of unfinished manuscripts out there.

"I can't start until all of my pencils have been sharpened to a perfect point!"

There is such a thing as being too organized and if you spend more time doodling the exact curvature of your protagonist's wavy auburn hair than you do getting words onto the page, you're spending too much time getting organized. Same goes for writers who need to thoroughly check their email, or their Facebook, or have nine more coffees before they can start. At some point, you need to push past these distractions and start writing. You may be surprised to find that the character you planned out so carefully takes on a completely different personality once you put him into action. Characters can be funny that way. One of the wonderful things about writing is how the story can take on a life of its own and before you know it, you'll just know what needs to happen next, not to mention how every one of your characters will react to it.

But you'll never get to that point if you don't start writing. And keep writing. Another major pitfall is the need to "get organized" before each and every writing session. Unless you're re-plotting or making notes after a major light-bulb moment, don't go back to your outline and revise character sketches or other details. Keep the organization concise. That outline you spent hours perfecting is bound to change as you go so don't let it consume you. It just needs to be enough to get started. Then get to writing. It's the only way to finish your novel.

Have an idea for a writing or publishing related topic you'd like me to cover? Leave it in the comments!

happy thanksgiving

 

Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!

The usual Monday post will go up tomorrow!

friday5 for October 5, 2012

1. Fandoms collide! Danny Strong of all-things-amazing-ever, has been named as the writer for the two-part Mockingjay film extravaganza. I cannot express how completely fangirl excited I am about this news. Danny is phenomenal both behind and in front of the camera. He is hot off his big Emmy win and though I never would have guessed he'd pen the penultimate and final Hunger Games films, I think he is the perfect choice and will do a brilliant job.

2. Banned Books Week. It's such an important week in the publishing world and every year I find myself surprised to see some amazing work of fiction has been banned. Most of the reasons they give for banning a book leave me more than a little wtf guy? The Huffington Post put out a fun little infographic to highlight a sampling of banned books and educate us on ignorant censorship! Celebrate the freedom to read and enjoy one of these banned books today!

3. This. Just. So excited. And happy. And can't wait. Yeah :)

4. It's not my country, but we still keep a close eye on the US Presidential election. Odds are, the outcome will affect us Canadians down the road. I'm not surprised that one of the highlights of this week's debate was Romney's comment about Big Bird. It turned into quite the internet meme as the week progressed so I think it definitely warrants a mention in this week's friday5. Personally, I wouldn't want to piss Big Bird off. As his name suggests, he's a pretty big guy and it would appear he knows a thing or two about coming out swinging.

5. But back to Canada. This weekend we celebrate Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be thankful for this year so I will definitely be thinking about all of those things as I turkey it up over the next few days. Which will be followed by humble pie, and finally, a shame coma. It's an annual tradition! Time to don your finest Thanksgiving pants and celebrate what matters most. Gluttony. Uh, I mean family!

"Well, here's your turkey. Enjoy!"

october sky

 No, not the film starring Jakey Gyllen-hot (though that's nice too).

Since yesterday's post had to be brief, here's another little post to round things out. Now that we're into October, what better time to blog about, well, October!

I love October. It's tied with September for my favourite month (September = birthday month + wedding anniversary month so it gets major points too). Up here in Canada (where we have seasons, not perpetual winter as you've probably been led to believe), we celebrate Thanksgiving in early October. In fact, it's coming up this weekend. Maybe it's because I've lived here my whole life, but I couldn't imagine it any other way. The weather is almost always perfect--sunny, crisp, sweatery. Lovely. Just right for a walk in the leaves and maybe a little pumpkin picking (I also love Halloween, but more on that later in the month). The colours are vibrant and beautiful, and the smell of fallen leaves soaking up the earth is one of the most comforting scents in the world.

Cute sniffy pups are not mine. © Copyright David Crocker and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Yesterday, Emmeline and I went for a little stroll to the mailbox at the end of our street (as we do on the increasingly rare occasions that I have actual paper mail to send) and I found myself stopping along the way just to breathe in the air. I want to experience it while I can because I know that when the season changes again, it will be replaced by the telltale smell of snow.

Autumn isn't the only time of year that I do this. In the summer, I also tend to stop and savour the warmth, and the scent of freshly cut summer grass. In the spring, I love that smell of the earth warming up, working to nourish new life after months of being buried. I always hope that if I try to memorize what it smells like, what it feels like, I'll be able to recall it when the worst part of winter hits (the slushy, icky, dirty snow mixed with a side of seriously-spring-any-day-now part). But I know I'm never able to recall it perfectly because when the spring comes, and then the summer, it hits me with a sensation of, "Ah, yes. This. This is what it's really like." It's almost euphoric.

The smell of fall makes me feel cozy and loved. If it could be fall all year long, I'd take it. But I know fall can't exist without the other seasons so I guess I'm okay with them too :)

What do you love most about fall? The clothes? The comfort food? Or do you just want to roll around in dry leaves and take it all in like I do?

meme-a-licious

Baby E is not cooperating today, but I refuse to not post since it's only week 2 of my new posting schedule! So here is a short, fun, meme post that was going around a while back. I bookmarked it knowing I wanted to post it to the blog one day. (See? Even when I didn't have time to actively blog, I was still thinking about things I'd blog if I was blogging! And now that I am, you get to enjoy this outdated meme! Everybody's a winner...?)

Flickr Mosaic Meme:


INSTRUCTIONS:

-->

1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search (I use the one via Creative Commons)

2. Using only the first page of results, pick one image.

3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into BigHuge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

The questions:

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favourite food? right now?

3. What high school did you go to?

4. What is your favourite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. What is your favourite drink?

7. What is your dream vacation?

8. What is your favourite dessert?

9. What do you want to be when you grow up?

10. What do you love most in life?

11. What is one word that describes you?

12. What is your flickr name?

friday5 for september 28, 2012

Okay, so I know I said I was going to do this whole Monday blog schedule thing (which is still true), but I got to thinking about how there are blog posts (a la today's post, in which I write about writerly things or other things, like how frozen waffles are an excellent food staple to have on hand) and then there are tidbits you kind of want to write about, but they don't necessarily warrant a whole blog post. A lot of blogs that I follow (and I follow a lot--watch your back cause I'm probably following you!) do a weekly round-up of sorts where they get "all topical up in here". So that's what I'm going to try to do in addition to regular Monday blog posts.

I present to you:

1. The Casual Vacancy was released this week and reader be warned, it's so not for kids. I started reading it yesterday, but I'm not compulsively devouring it the way I compulsively devoured HP 1-7. I think Jo is a brilliant writer, but when it comes down to it, I'm a YA girl through and through. Don't get me wrong, I've read and adored many an adult book, but there's something about Jo's voice (as in writing voice, not her actual speaking voice, which is lovely btw) that makes me think outside the real world. There's something, dare I say, magical about it. Whimsical. As I read TCV, I keep expecting something splendidly otherworldly to happen. But there's only dark, gritty reality to be found. So it's not that the book isn't good, it's just that I'm finding myself quite distracted as I read.

2. In other publishing news, this is happening. I honestly don't understand why this is causing so much controversy. A contract is a contract. If an author doesn't deliver the manuscript they were paid to write, they're in breach of contract and should have to pay back their advance. Advances aren't just free money for anyone who can land a book deal. They're an advance. The money is tied to responsibility. I think it's interesting that certain people are making assumptions about non-delivery vs. rejection based on editorial quality. If Penguin rejected any of these manuscripts based on editorial quality, then the authors should be working with their editors to get the manuscripts in shape and no lawsuit is necessary. I think the very fact that they're going after these authors for non-delivery is almost certainly because none of the manuscripts were actually delivered. Does assuming that make me look foolish? Maybe, but I'd rather look foolish for assuming something reasonable than look foolish for insinuating something just to make Penguin look like the bad guy.

3. In TV land, this week's Sons of Anarchy reduced many of the show's tough-guy fans to tears. If you're a fan of the show, you definitely know what I'm talking about. I don't know what else to say on the subject except that I'm a huge Opie fan and watching Tuesday's episode left me feeling extremely ill. As an avid Whedon follower (worshiper?), I'm no stranger to tragedy for the sake of good storytelling (and sickening as it is, it is good storytelling, if for no other reason than because it stirs up such an emotional reaction and that's what art should do), but that doesn't make it any easier. Part of me doesn't want to watch the show anymore (this season has been particularly brutal and it's only three episodes in), but another part knows it's an excellent show with solid writing and pitch-perfect acting. And so, as I did with Boardwalk Empire post-Jimmy (still smarting about that too), I know I'll keep watching. Doesn't hurt that I'm now thirsty for vengeance.

4. New fall shows! I should add a disclaimer here that though I will undoubtedly talk about movies here on occasion, I will probably talk about TV far more often. I'm a big fan of well-scripted TV. It allows for so much more character development than movies (though some movies do a phenomenal job in 120 minutes) and for me, it's almost always about the characters. Anyway, I've only caught a few new fall shows so far, including the first two episodes of the event-drama Revolution. This show has a lot of buzz and the concept is solid, but so far, I'm feeling a little iffy about the writing. I know it takes time for a show to get into its groove so I'm willing to give it a chance (plus, Bella's dad wielding a sword, you guys! Bella's dad! A sword!), but right now, I feel like something is missing.

5. I think my #5 every week will be a recommendation, so this week I recommend you check out This is Not a Test by the AMAZING Courtney Summers. Not only is Courtney a fellow Canadian, but the girl can seriously write. You won't regret picking up any of her books, but This is Not a Test is her latest. I'm reading it right now and it's fantastic. Even if you aren't a fan of zombie books, there is so much more going on in this story and again, the writing alone is enough of a reason.

Have an opinion on any of the above topics? A recommendation of your own you'd like to share? Hit me with 'em in the comments!

where i've been and why posts should be more regular

So my last post summed up a good portion of what kept me so busy for the earlier part of this year (ya know, finishing my novel, revising my novel, polishing my novel, querying my novel, LANDING AN AGENT!!!!! Can you tell I'm still excited?), but there was a second thing that kept me even more busy--motherhood.

In December 2011, I became a mother to this little babe, Emmeline:

I make mom's writing time unpredictable!

Okay, at the time, she looked more like this:

I am only one day old and yet-to-cause time management problems

You get the idea... I won't do the new mom thing where I gush about all the amazing things she does because though she does do amazing things, I know all human babies do amazing things and you've undoubtedly heard it before. She hasn't yet done anything that no baby in the history of ever has never done before (that I know of), but if she does, it'll probably warrant a post at that time. Just a warning that I'm not completely above bragging about my child, but she'll basically have to build a working rocket ship on her own before I'll force the details upon you. Isn't that considerate of me? :)

So there you have it: my two big excuses (I have several smaller excuses as well, but I think the two big ones kind of do the work just fine on their own). Moving forward, I'm going to be making a serious effort to blog on a more regular schedule, starting with once a week and hopefully, eventually, increase that. Mondays seem to be the day I usually spend getting myself organized for the week, which should make it also the best day to blog since I'm getting all topical on myself. That sounded kinda ick after I said it, but whatevs, I'm leaving it as is!

Here's what I've gone and done to make sure this happens:

Because we all know adding a reminder to your phone ensures something gets done, amiright?

Notice I even turned off the option to snooze the reminder. THERE WILL BE NO SNOOZING ON BLOG DAY!

If you have any questions for me about my writing, my query journey, or myself, feel free to send 'em at me in the comments or via the question form on my tumblr (linked to the right via the image of a book featuring a conspicuously large question mark). I'm open to blog topic suggestions if you have any!

Otherwise, see you next Monday!

the news, she's big

So as I said in a previous post, I have some news to share... this post will primarily focus on the recent BIG news, but there will be a follow-up post to explain everything else that's happened during this crazy year called 2012.

I attempted to find an image that accurately expresses my excitement over this news, but then got very distracted when a google image search for "happy" produced this little guy:

Hey Buddies!

Apparently his

name

is Happy, so not exactly the happy

face

I'd been searching for, but hey, for all I know, this

is

this guy's happy face. He appears to be eating something, so odds are good that = happy. Anyway, I dig him, so he shall be my expression of happiness for this post!

But enough of that, onto the big news (and sorry if this ends up being REALLY long):

Like most blogs of aspiring authors, posts about big news usually mean one thing--THE CALL.

And I'm happy to say, I got THE CALL!!!!!! (<- six exclamation marks! <-plus a bonus) Well, the first THE CALL in a potential series of exciting THE CALLs. But the other THE CALLs can't happen without this initial, very important, very exciting THE CALL!

My little YA novel and I are now represented by the stupendous and lovely Marlene Stringer of the

Stringer Literary Agency

. I'm officially an agented author! Wait, let me say that again--I'M AN AGENTED AUTHOR!

That is the most surreal and wonderful sentence an aspiring author can utter. And I'm not just saying it for pretendsies in my head. It's real and true and something I get to say to real people without them wondering why I'm not also wearing a tinfoil hat because I'm clearly delusional.

Like this. Cause it's fancy.

I've read many a blog post about authors getting THE CALL in the past. I think all aspiring authors do. They're addictive--proof that it's not always all about rejection (though there's a lot of that too). Posts about THE CALL are inspirational. At least, that's how I've always tried to see them. I think it's easy to read stories of others' successes and feel jealous, but I'm a firm believer that jealously only makes you feel worse and does NOTHING to the person you're jealous of and seriously, the only person you should ever compete with is yourself. Competing with other people, especially in an industry with SOOO many authors/books, is just a big fat waste of time. Feeling inspired on the other hand, that will get you somewhere. That's an emotion you can work with. It can drive you to work harder and block out thoughts of giving up. So I hope if you're reading this, you feel inspired. Because you should be. Mere weeks ago, I was just like you, chasing a dream and doubting myself and thinking my chance would never come. Until it did.

I started writing my first real novel back in 2005. I'd just graduated from university and I was determined to write something longer than 5000 words. That one didn't make it very far. As in, I didn't even finish it. Then working, life, adulthood (which I'm still mostly in denial about) took over and though I dabbled with a few more ideas, nothing ever really flowed.

In 2008, I landed my current job in publishing. It involves a lot of reading. And you know what reading makes me want to do? Write. Nothing makes me want to write more than reading something amazing. Reading does for your creative mind what exercise does for your body. All that reading got me thinking about writing again and a few ideas started to bounce around in my head. One stuck and by the end of the year, I had finished my first young adult novel. I started querying it in 2009 and received a slew of full and partial requests from agents, but they all ended the same way--close but no cigar. While querying that book, I started to work on another book because I knew the best way to move forward was to keep writing.

Work only got busier. Life only got busier. I got married, bought a house, had a baby. But by July of this year, I'd finally finished, revised and polished young adult novel #2 aka

Unnatural Disaster

. I queried in waves, starting with the agents who'd requested fulls, then partials of my first book, especially the ones who'd specifically asked me to keep them in mind for future projects. I reminded them of who I was and then kept my fingers crossed that this new book would hit the mark. The requests started rolling in (all fulls to boot, which is probably more an indicator of e-reader use than anything) and I started to feel like this time around would be different. I knew this book was so much stronger than my first one and I was pretty happy with it (despite suffering those moments all writers suffer where we're convinced everything we've written is complete crap). But then the rejections started rolling in too. Rejections on full requests stung the most, especially from some of my top choices. It was a lot of praise followed by "not quite what I'm looking for right now". I started to curse myself for querying in the summer, knowing that it's conference season and everybody's busy and their minds are elsewhere, on beaches, on vacation. I was so proud of book #2 and here I thought I'd completely screwed it over by querying at a bad time of year.

Well, it is true that July is a bad time of year to query. Avoid it if you can, but somehow, I was lucky enough to still make an impression. On August 8th, I was putting my eight-month-old daughter down for a nap when I noticed a missed call from Florida. It struck me as strange because a) nobody calls me and b) up here in Canada, I don't get a lot of calls from the US. Then I remembered that one of the agents who had my manuscript had palm trees on her website. Was it possible she was located in Florida? Why hadn't I retained that piece of information in all the research I'd done on my top picks?? I was freaking out a little bit. Another minute later, my email dinged and sure enough, it was her, emailing to say she'd like to discuss working together. I think I read the email 18 times and shook my hands uncontrollably to make sure they were still attached to my body before replying to say that now was a good time to call back. And then she did. And we talked about

Unnatural Disaster

and it was wonderful. I could tell she really got it. She was pointing out things she'd noticed (and loved) in my book that I'd always hoped were apparent, but had never been sure. She got it. She loved it. And after a good talk, she offered representation.

When I got off the phone, I did my version of a quiet happy dance (Baby E was still sleeping) and Oliver, one of my two cats, came into the room and barfed on the carpet. I think he was just excited too. Or he hates me. But I think the first thing is more likely. You can't blame a cat for having an inappropriate reaction to something :)

And then I called my husband and searched the house for celebratory chocolate. Turned out I'd eaten the last bit after my last rejection. Actually, it turned out I really needed to go grocery shopping. All I could find for lunch that day were some hotdogs so I ate one of those, which in a weird way was kind of fitting because hotdogs are my go-to funny food. They deserved a spot in my celebratory day.

The week that followed was full of the necessary follow-ups, more requests, and a lot of inbox-watching (even more than when I was merely querying), all ending in my decision to accept Marlene's offer. More celebration and wine drinking ensued.

And to think my little novel could grow up to be a real book one day!

A few more things before I wrap this up--

I believe when something good happens to you, you shouldn't take it for granted. And when the world sends something wonderful your way, you should find a way to say thank you. My way of saying thank you is by giving to charity. So as a symbol of how grateful I feel, I'm making donations to the following charities. If you're feeling particularly thankful about something, big or small, I suggest you do the same, to a charity you feel strongly about.

World Wildlife Fund

FINCA

LUPUS Canada

Oxfam Canada

And a bit of advice to aspiring authors--if you're getting requests from agents, keep going, even if it means writing another book and another after that. It means you're close to something. I can't think of anything in life that gets worse with practice so keep writing books. Each will be better than the last. The only way you will definitely never be published is if you give up.

And finally, for those who like stats, here are some of mine:

• I started querying on June 25th and received THE CALL on August 8th
• In total, I sent out 76 queries, in increasing waves
• I received 32 rejections and 10 requests for the full ms
• 34 agents either replied with congratulations or did not respond at all

a collection of stars

Just a quick post to share my entry in HarperTeen and Figment.com's Defy the Dark contest. This is quite possibly the best contest ever! I'll take a chance to be published (alongside a slew of my fav YA authors!) over a cash prize any day (and this one actually has both!).

Actual contest aspects of this aside, this short story was just what I needed--something new and different from the book I  just finished, a challenge, a chance to experiement with a male POV and a different tense than I usually write in. I'm very pleased with the end result. It's also my first completed work of sci fi.

Here it is: A Collection of Stars

okay so, yeah, i know...

I know. I know. I know I said I'd update soon and then an entire month went by, but it has been the craziest month for reals. Seriously. And because of said craziness, I will soon have an EVEN CRAZIER post coming soon. And by "crazier", I mean whoa, and possibly that I will require some sort of mascot moving forward who can be my advocate in the "seriously who can blog when their brain's exploding" game.

But since I feel like the worst blogger on the planet, let me give you a taste of my soon-to-be-fleshed-out excuses:

1. A very cute baby was involved
2. A very cranky baby was involved (who may or may not be the same baby mentioned above)
3. A book I'm extremely proud of was involved
4. Some very exciting communication was involved

So yeah, details on that SOON. And by soon, I actually mean SOON. As in before the spendiferous season of fall arrives. But almost definitely sooner. Like maybe next week.

So hang in there and I'll start thinking of mascots. Maybe even a mascot competition?!??

Yeah, that's totally happening.

This guy probably won't make the cut:

Dumpy the Snowman

Who needs a third snowball when you can hobble from your oppressors on two L-shaped legs? Hobble Dumpy the Snowman! Hobble toward freedom!

new post to say, POST!

Just a quick post to say 2011 was INSANE for me (the first half of 2012 too), but I'm hoping to post again SOON with an update, news on the new book, life etc etc etc....

And yes, I am devastated by the news that Taylor Kitsch won't be playing Finnick in Catching Fire :(

You can catch my fire anytime, Taylor... or something like that...