The One Where Jaime Freaks Out A Lot

You know that announcement I had planned to make a few weeks ago? Yeah. Well, it took a bit longer than I'd expected. I'm so sorry! Thank you all for being so patient!

As many of you have noticed, I've been very quiet on the book front. There are a few good reasons for this.

One: my publisher, Momentum, is closing its doors.

This came as a shock, so it took a bit of time to wrap my brain around it...

I'm going to miss my editors. A lot. I'm so grateful for everything they have done for me. They've been very supportive of this series, and I'm very sad to be moving on without them.

What does this mean for the Waiting for April series? That brings us to reason number...

Two: I've been busy trying to figure out what my next step is...

After much deliberation and advice-seeking, I've come to a decision: I'm not going to search for another publisher for this series.

You read that right, George. I was lucky to sell it in the past to a big publisher, because it is a very difficult series to sell; it's not quite young adult, but not completely adult, either. It falls into new adult, but that is still a grey area for a lot of publishers. I don't want to go through the process of waiting again--not when I have readers already waiting for more novels.

And the readers are the ones who matter to me. You've all been SO enthusiastic about this series. I've been overwhelmed by emails from readers who've loved Waiting for April, and that has made all the obstacles I've faced with this series more than worth it. It means so, SO much to me, and I'll never be able to thank you enough.

Really, there's only one way I can think of that shows just how much I appreciate all of you, and that's why...

Three: I'm going to make this series available in e-book and print--paperback and hardcover--and I'll be throwing some novellas in there to expand on other characters' stories, too. 

EXCITING, RIGHT?!!!

I'm still sorting out all the details, and while I appreciate your patience, I have to warn you that book two might take a little longer now due to a new editorial schedule. Hopefully it will be out in around June (instead of May). I'll keep you updated on this.

For those of you who've had your pre-orders cancelled, I'll have Falling from Grace back up again for pre-order ASAP. Keep an eye on my Twitter feed for more details in the near future!

So there you have it! Thank you once again to all the readers out there who love Waiting for April as much as I do!  I do hope you'll continue to follow my characters on their journeys!

Interview with Heather L. Reid, author of PRETTY DARK NOTHING

Today I'm lucky enough to be able to bring you Heather L. Reid, author of PRETTY DARK NOTHING!

Overview
Quinn is a normal teenager, but for 23 days she has not slept for more than a few minutes at a time. Demons have invaded her dreams, stalking her and whispering of her death. The lack of sleep and crippling fear are ruining her life, and energy drinks and caffeine pills don't help. Then Quinn dozes off in the school hallway, and Aaron, an amnesiac with psychic ability, accidentally enters her nightmare. Aaron has a secret locked away in his memory that the demons are determined to keep him from discovering. Together, Quinn and Aaron can banish the darkness back to the underworld for good, but the demons will stop at nothing to drive the two apart.
                                                                                                                                --Barnes and Noble



So, Heather, how did you get into writing?

My love of words started like most writers I know. It started with a story. In this case, the stories came from the imagination of my great-aunt, Delia. She weaved magical tales to send me to sleep. She wasn’t a writer, she never wrote any of her stories on paper, and she read to me too, but I loved her stories best. Neither of us knew she was giving me the greatest gift of all, the love of storytelling.
At the age of four I started dictating stories to my mother who would illustrate them for me. By the age of nine, I was writing plays for friends and binding my own picture books with cardboard and string.  At eleven I tried my hand at a first novel. (No, you can’t read it. It’s buried in a deep dark hole somewhere in the Tasmanian Outback and guarded by a three-headed dingo.) It was then I told my parents I wanted to be published by the age of sixteen. I also told them I wanted to be Wonder Woman, a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, a Broadway star, and an archaeologist. Those dreams faded. I never did get that invisible jet, and I would be a lot older than sixteen before I got a publishing deal, but the dream of being a writer stayed with me. After college I decided to stop dreaming and start getting serious. I joined the Society of Children’s book Writers and Illustrators, joined a writer’s group, read books on writing, went to conferences, workshops, and most importantly, I started writing every day. Some of it was crap. Ok, at first, a lot of it was crap, but writing takes work. After over twelve years of studying and writing, my first young adult novel, Pretty Dark Nothing, sold in a two book deal to Month9Books. It’s been an amazing journey and I’m still learning. I write because I have to. It’s a part of what makes me, me.

What inspired you to write PRETTY DARK NOTHING?

I think the spark of inspiration for Pretty Dark Nothing has been brewing my whole life. As a child, I suffered from night terrors and sleep walking. Although I eventually grew out of the sleep walking, the nightmares never went away. I would dream of faceless entities and demons on a reoccurring basis. I spent my pre-teen years trying to rationalize my fear while I spent my nights huddled under my covers with a book and a flash light afraid to fall asleep for fear of what would greet me in my dreams. I kept this a secret from my friends and afraid of what they would think. The dark torture of my imagination lasted through three years of middle school and finally faded. I still don’t think my mother knows how terrified I was of falling asleep and I have no idea why the nightmares stopped, maybe they were my way of coping with the stress of adolescence. I don’t know. When I reached college, I went through a particularly bad time in my life, suffered from depression, illness and the nightmares returned. I wasn’t frightened like I was when I was young; I recognized them for what they were. We all have inner demons we battle, those voices that tell us we’re not good enough, taunt us, paralyze us with fear. That’s when the idea for a novel started to form. I asked myself what would happen if those negative voices, inner demons weren’t imagined. What would happen if they were real and they started to manifest outside the dream world? What if they influenced things around us and what if you were the only one that could see them? That’s when Quinn and the idea for Pretty Dark Nothing was born. Quinn and I battled the demons that tortured her together and in the process, she taught me how to battle my own.


Can you describe you main protagonist Quinn in less than 140 Characters?

Pretty Dark Nothing is told from duel POV. Both Quinn and Aaron’s perspectives are told in close 3rd.

Quinn: Damaged but not defeated. Stubborn, self-reliant, sometimes selfish. Bit of a perfectionist. Trust issues, especially trusting herself.

Aaron: Loyal. Loves deeply. Keeps his secrets close to his heart. Would do anything for his friends. Guilt issues. Amnesiac with Physic abilities.

Why should we pick up Pretty Dark Nothing?

Pretty Dark Nothing is full of demons, and I don’t mean the hot fallen angel, bad boy types. These demons are the evil, hairy, sulphurous kind, bent on manipulating and destroying Quinn’s life. Throw in some romantic sparks with a psychic amnesic, an ex-boyfriend she can’t quite get over, and suspension from the cheerleading squad for failing grades, all while the demons are pushing her to the brink of madness, and I hope it’s a recipe for something darkly paranormal and not quite typical.

What is your favourite 2012 read and why?

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers. When I read the opening line, I KNEW I had to read this book and I wasn’t disappointed. A historical fantasy about a covenant of female Assassins who serve the God of Death? Heck yeah! Dark gods, court intrigue, murder, assassinations and romance, this book hooked me and didn’t let go until the very end. Can’t wait for the sequel, Dark Triumph.

Pretty Dark Nothing is out now! You can find information on these sites:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6448958.Heather_L_Reid
http://www.heatherlreid.com/
http://hugs-and-chocolate.com/
http://www.month9books.com/

And it is available for purchase from Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Heather! This novel is DEFINITELY going on my TBR pile!!!

The Revision Decision

So I’m in this fantastic situation of revising my manuscript for a couple of unbelievably great agents who loved it, but who want me to turn it into a YA novel because they feel teenagers and adults will eat it up*.

At first I thought this would be really easy. “Sure,” I said. “I’ll get to work on that right away!” After cracking my knuckles, I sat down and opened my manuscript. And then I came down with a case of Complete Brain Spaz, otherwise known as CBS. (What?! It’s not just a network—it’s a thing, I promise!)

See, when I envisioned doing these revisions, I thought I’d just go by the synopsis I’d prepared for a YA version. Easy as pie (which, when you think about it, doesn’t really make sense. Who said pie was easy? Honestly, I’ve never been able to bake a really good … *sigh* Okay, okay, I’ll get back on track.)

My question is, how much of a risk should you take when doing revisions? Changing a novel from adult to YA changes a lot of things, including the dynamics of the characters’ relationships. I could rewrite the start, which would be like writing the prequel and merging it with the current story—but then there’s the chance I’ll be shredding what the agents loved about the novel in the first place! Argh! 

I know you guys can’t answer this for me. There is no simple solution. Part of me is hoping that by putting this post out in the world, the right answer will come and smack me upside the head.

But for those of you who’ve been where I am, how much of a risk did you take?

*Caution: eating novels may cause indigestion.

Love-Hate Relationship.

I’ve been at this manuscript, Waiting for April, for a while now.  As in - over two years.  Of course, in that time I’ve written other things (the sequel), and taken breaks when it has been off with betas or I’ve done beta-reading myself, and when I’ve been off having babies (well, I had a break during the 14 hours of labour, anyway). 

This concept has no intention of letting me go.  I think about it when I’m supposed to be socializing (sorry, guys and gals, but when I’m staring off into space, I’m writing), when I’m watching TV, and well, pretty much every minute of every day.  Right now, though, it feels like I’m clinging to a hot guy who’s been trying to break up with me for a while now.  Not that I really know what that feels like (I married my high school sweetheart), but you know what I’m saying.

Don’t get me wrong – I will finish it.  I will query it.  I will not stop until I’m represented and this book hits the shelves/e-shelves, and it will be the biggest achievement of my life (aside from pushing out two gorgeous kiddies).  Maybe I’m speaking out of lack of sleep.  Maybe I’ve just hit a rough patch in revisions.  Again.  Maybe I’ve just read one too many great manuscripts lately *shakes fist at Sarah Fine and Tracy Buscemi*. 

But I wonder: how many people get this far in, only to trash their novel?  Have you ever been completely in love with a premise, but broken up with it without following through?  How do you overcome these nagging, negative thoughts whilst revising?

Those Two Words that Writers Hate.

So, after being super eager to get my blog up and running, I went and abandoned you all.  My bad!  I promise I’ll try harder to post a regular ... um ... post.  But what has me holed up, you ask?  Two words: Writer’s block. 

Well, it wasn’t writer’s block straight away.  I did some beta-reading (one of my awesome beta partners, Sarah Fine, sent me an un-put-down-able manuscript), I sent her my manuscript, we spoke, we bounced ideas off of one another, we laughed, I cried when it was decided my manuscript needed a complete overhaul – and then I got down to business. 

Everything was running smoothly.  I was adding the necessary chapters in order to have a consistently alternating PoV, instead of a couple of chapters for one character, then one chapter for another, and so on.  I was having fun adding more personality to my characters.  I tweaked, I deleted, I got over my fear of short chapters ... and now I’m stuck again. 

On a short chapter. 

It’s a pivotal moment.  I could add tension, but there’s already a lot of tension.  I could add more secrets, but there are already a lot of those, too.  It’s one night – the night before all hell breaks loose – and I’ve got nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  But I NEED to come up with something in order to maintain that alternating PoV.

So I’m procrastinating.  I’m eating – a lot.  I’m checking Twitter every three seconds, and even scraping the bottom of the barrel by checking Facebook, too.  I’m ready to pounce on any DM, any Gmail Chat window, any comment that would give me a good excuse to minimise my manuscript document.

My question to you is: What do you do when you’ve got writer’s block?  Do you read?  Do you watch TV?  Do you exercise?  Do you sit at the computer and stare at the screen until an idea jumps out at you?

Please answer me.  Checking blog comments will give me something to do. J

Oh, and you can check out Sarah Fine’s blog here.  If you haven’t already, I promise you, you won’t regret it.  It’s coated in awesomesauce. J