The Pipeline

I've been getting some questions about what is coming down the pipeline, so I thought I would spill the beans on this blog before anywhere else :) It is a little weird to know people are interested and care about what will be coming next, so thank you!

Really happy to be able to say that I just sent "book two" (don't know the title yet... anyone who wants to help with that is welcome to offer suggestions!!!) into The Little Things Publishing so that their editor can laugh at all my typos. I think her fingers will have blisters by the time she's done typing her corrections. The new book will have many of the same faces at the first in the series but you'll see a lot more of Torne, Haron and some of the other Valren as well.

Can't wait to get the editing going and definitely excited about new cover art! It was so much fun to see the progression of work from George Patsouras when he tackled the art for the first book.

I'll keep this up to date with how things are moving along - thanks for joining me on this roller coaster ride!

Getting to Know MB

Had a few minutes to chat with fellow TLT author Melissa Buell. Did you love her book? Want to get to know her a little bit better? Now is your chance. You're welcome!

Let's start it off with something easy.... Favorite book? Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is my favorite book. Austen is just…amazing.

The cover of Seventh Blessing really stands out. Can you tell us about the design process? I love the cover! It was done by the super talented Matt Maniscalco. I sent him about a dozen photos of things that I liked/wanted to possibly have incorporated in the cover. I rambled on about how I thought Samantha should look, the way the library looks, the scroll, all of it. He was able to take all of my random thoughts and pictures and made…awesomeness.

I think everyone knows TLT is a supporter of nonprofits. Which nonprofit are you supporting with this book, and what does the organization do? I’m supporting YALSA, which is the Young Adult Library Services Association. YALSA’s mission is to advocate, promote and strengthen library service to teens.

Samantha is a main character of your book. Was she modeled off of anyone in particular? Tell us a little about her. I wanted to make a really strong female MC so I based her off of my favorite people in my own life. J Girls who are adventurous, brave, determined. Throw in a bit of stubbornness and a sharp tongue and you get Samantha. She’s not perfect but I like her because of that.

I've got to say, I love the tag line of your website, "Have Imagination, Will Write" - where did you come up with that? Thanks! Okay, this is going to sound really dorky. But that’s fine because I sound dorky a lot. When I was in seventh grade, the DJ at a school dance had a sign that said, “Have Music, Will Travel.” That stuck with me for a long time. I thought, “Whatever people love and have some of, they can share it with others.” At least, that’s what I thought the DJ meant! J I have LOADS of imagination and the natural outlet (other than spontaneously combusting) is to write. And so I do.

It seems like all the authors I speak to has a different way of writing. Some make outlines, some just wing-it. What's your style? I’m an Outliner. In my “real life” (not just in writing), I’m always making lists so it seems like it’s my natural way to do things. I like knowing what will happen to my characters. Sometimes the outline changes. I try to be flexible.

I am a big believer that everyone has a "quirk". Maybe you are double jointed, can yodel, have 5 kids and manage to stay sane.... what's one of your quirks? I love quirky people and finding out their quirks, too! I can give you lots of random things about me. I read A LOT (2-4 books a week). I love to do adventurous sorts of things but I usually end up getting hurt doing those things. I was in drama in high school and still have lines memorized from plays I was in. I can play the clarinet but I haven’t played in years. I do not own any white socks. All of my socks have some sort of pattern or are colored. This is because I hate to match socks. Having funky socks solves the “is this white sock that same length as that one? No, it’s about 1/4 of an inch too big” conundrum. I discovered something about myself that I didn’t know was a weird thing just recently. I have to have the volume control on the TV or radio set on an even number. Even the temperature gauge in the car. It’s something I’ve always done and I didn’t know it was strange until a guy in one of my classes was talking about psychology and people who have to have things always set to a certain number or they couldn’t function. I don’t have OCD. Just “OC.” It’s not a disorder. Yet. ;)

I know this interview is probably the most fun you've had all year (yes, that is a joke), but if you could be doing one other thing right now, what would it be? This is a great interview! One other thing would be reading a book while eating Milano cookies. Or going to Disneyland. Again with the randomness!

One word wonders:

Spring, or Fall? Spring

Movie or Opera? Movie

Penguin or Iguana? Penguin

Cider or Beer? Cider

Bunk bed or Water bed? Bunk bed (I get seasick) ;)

Fluffy or Silky? Hair? Silky. Pillow? Fluffy.

Oreo or Snickers? Snickers

Snuggie or Blanket? Blanket

Some New Friends

 It's been a crazy week! I was on vacation in Ohio when the pre-orders for Valren arrived at my house to be signed. I was bouncing off the walls all week, wanting to see the finished product for the first time ever. I was a little worried... what if the colors were wrong, or the books were bent during shipping, or were rained on. Ah!

Thankfully, a lovely neighbor picked them up and brought them inside before it rained and, and, and.... the books have landed! THANK YOU so much to everyone who has ordered the book, or just taken a look at the cover online. I really appreciate the support.

While all the drama was happening during vacation, a few other neat things happened that I wanted to share with you. One is an interview with fellow The Little Things author, Melissa Buell. Her website is a blast to go through and she had some funny questions to ask. Check them out: http://www.haveimaginationwillwrite.blogspot.com/

The other neat thing that I just found out is that the cover of Valren is up in a few places online thanks to amazing artist George Patsouras. Here is one of the spots: http://shadowness.com/cgaddict/valren-2

Lastly... I am a dork, and wanted to prove this to you by showing you the copy of my book that I autographed to myself. Yup. Dork. I know. I'm ok with it.

Note to Self

So, I'm putting something up here before I have even told anyone about the site - just to try and figure out how to work it. I kind of feel like I am talking to myself. Always a good time. Here's a little taste of my current conversation:

"Hey, self, how am I doing?"
"Not too shabby actually, how about myself?"
"Pretty damn good."
"Do I sound like I have a big ego if I tell myself I am doing pretty damn good?"
"Maybe. But totally worth it."

Yeah it is. Totally worth it. We should all tell ourselves we're doing pretty damn good sometimes. Go ahead. Do it. I know you want to. Then try and hide your smile while you do it so your friends don't think you're going too crazy.

New Cover

Just finalized the cover art for the first book. Hope you like it! Special thanks to The Little Things Publishing and George for getting this done. Can't wait to see it printed.