For the love of bookstores

Want to see something cool?  You can help build an amazing children's bookstore in Decatur, Georgia with children's book artist R.Gregory Christie.  This project was featured in a Publisher's Weekly story earlier this week.



You know what I love?  Bookstores.  When I saw this project on Kickstarter, I knew I wanted to be a supporter.  Check out the video and if you can, contribute a couple of dollars.  Doesn't it seem doable to find 1,000 people to donate $23 each?  $23 is such a reachable number and there are such a huge number of book lovers and bookstore lovers out there.

Where are you (re)writing?

I tried something completely new over the weekend- I took my computer down to my local library and set up shop. It didn't work out quite the way I had hoped.  My motive for the change of scenery was that while my writing space (my husband let me turn our office into a library/ writing lounge and it's awesome) works for writing, it hasn't been working for revisions.  I don't know why, but I'm not getting the same inspiration as when I create.  So, enter the scene with me at the library.  I had three free hours before I was heading to see The Lorax with my husband (more on that later), and thought even with travel and unpacking time, I would have a solid 2.5 hours of working on my novel (the excruciating change to first person on AN UNEXPECTED KINGDOM).

Here's a little sample of how that went:
10:30:  Arrive at Stoneham Public Library
10:33:  Get caught in weird conversation with circulation desk worker about automatic doors that I can't seem to end
10:40:  Finally get to the upstairs carrels and pick one
10:41-10:50: Set up my stuff and get situated- coat off, scarf off, computer and note cards unpacked, phone silenced, note cards arranged on desk, computer plugged in and turned on
10:5:1  Realize outlet has no power and that battery only has half hour of juice left
10:52-11:00:  Repeat procedure at new carrel
11:01:  Open document
11:02:  Woman asks me where the new YA books are- get into a discussion about why the library needs a separate section for new YA books
11:15:  Get back to document
12:00:  Realize I spent 45 minutes on the prologue, which really didn't need work, and I changed about three words and one comma
Aaaand the experience went downhill from there.  I am still adrift on my revisions and would love to know where other people write and if that same space works for revisions or editing.

Oh, and PS- see The Lorax; it's amazing!  My husband was embarrassed because I cried.  I'm not made out of stone!

First Annual National Critique Partner Appreciation Day

Hey- have you heard about the new holiday coming up this Friday March 2?  No?  That's because I've just invented it.  It's National Critique Partner Appreciation Day!  So send your CPs lots of encouragement, love, and lavish gifts. 
Today I received a package in the mail with a completely unexpected present from my mother-in-law and a card saying she decided to create National Daughter-In-Law Appreciation Day.  LOVED it!  In honor of her awesomeness, I decided to pass it on.
Soo, spread the word and let me know what you decide to gift to your Critique Partner this Friday.  I would have created a logo, but I'm not very artistic even with a computer.  If anyone does create one, send me a link.
Have a great week!

A rut, seriously dirty glasses, late love scenes, and general procrastination

Well, piss!  I have been terribly negligent in my blogging duties and I have no real excuse except that I've been in a rut.  A funk.  A dithering blue period of lazy.  I have not been working on my revisions, I haven't been tweeting or blogging, and I have definately not been going to the gym or clearing our streets of crime.  But my friends, President's Day is upon is and this is as good a time as any to snap myself right on out of this rut.  Hence: this post, which will be an assortment of odds and ends, but beggars can't be choosers and all that.

First:  My husband took this relatively disturbing photo the other day when I asked him to grab my glasses for me.  To be fair, I only wear my glasses once and a while (I usually wear contacts), but still- this is really, really disgusting.  He was laughing so hard I thought he would pass out.  Yes, they are dirty and I don't know how I could see. 

Second:  Recently it was Valentine's Day (hopefully you can cast your memory back to last week and remember) and many lovely people hosted blog hops and contests relating to love scenes or romantic short stories.  I, unfortunately, was in the rut mentioned above and did not participate, so here is my very late contribution.  This is a scene from AN UNEXPECTED KINGDOM that occurs relatively late in the novel and is still from the third person perspective as I'm only on chapter 3 (kill me now) of my revisions.

A soft knock on her door sent her sprinting out of the bathroom back into her bedroom.  She had nearly reached the door when it opened silently.  Eiden stepped through the door and shut it behind him.  They stood a few feet apart and Ava just stared at him, studying the perfection.  He smiled, a shyer look than Ava had ever seen from him.  “Hello, Love,” he said.  Ava forgot to breathe.  Her heart stopped beating every time he said that word.  Her body was alive with electricity.  Tingles were pulsating out from her center.  “We must talk,” Eiden said.

“Later,” she said.  And she moved towards him with warrior speed.  He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him as their lips met.  He was strong enough to only need one arm to support her, the other was tangled in her hair.  Their first kisses were urgent and greedy; all Ava could think was that she needed to be closer to him.  She crushed herself against his chest and clutched him tighter with her arms.  Her entire body felt like it was on fire from the heat of Eiden’s kisses.  He lifted her off him and turned her, so she was standing with her back against the wall.  He looked at her with such intense passion that Ava was afraid her clothes would burst into flame.  He kissed her slowly as he held her face, brushing his thumb along her cheekbone.

Too soon, he stopped and stared at her again.  He smiled, not shy this time, but with a radiance that showed his dimples.  Ava melted.  “I have to leave, Ava.  I wish I did not, but I should not be in here.  I just had to- well, I needed to see you.”

Ava took his hand and kissed his palm slowly.  “I love you, Eiden,” she said softly. 

            Eiden closed his eyes.  “I have been waiting a lifetime to hear you say that,” he whispered.

Finally:  I did work on some revisions today (finally) although I certainly ran through every possible form of procrastination first.  One was going through 900 photos from my sister's wedding and ordering prints.  Here's me making my toast and looking kind of crazy.

And, that's all I've got today.  Hope everyone has a great week!  Oh- I lied!  I have one more thing, a huge THANK YOU to both Rena and Jenny for the awards.  You guys are the best. 

On Prologues and Patriots

While watching (no joke) five hours of Super Bowl pregame coverage today, I have been catching up on blog posts and read this one on prologues from David Powers King.  I liked his take on it- he likes good prologues and raises a great point about many first chapters really being long prologues in disguise.  I am interested in this because AN UNEXPECTED KINGDOM has a prologue and I love it.  I would have an incredibly difficult time cutting it if ever asked to and I think it makes the story so much stronger.  It's not an infodump and it allows me to introduce a really integral background feature, a fairytale written by Ava' grandpa.

And since my game is getting close and I have no time to compose a brilliant, thoughtful, deep, and effortlessly witty post, I am just going to share my prologue.  I hope you find it intriguing.  GO PATS!!

AN UNEXPECTED KINGDOM

Prologue

Arthur Knight read the same very short story to his daughter nearly every night until she was twelve.  Although they both had long committed the words to memory, he always read straight from the pages.  The handwritten prose and drawings were done in his father’s hand and to see them brought on a thousand different memories that Arthur hoped never to forget.  His father had not lived to see his granddaughter but she had grown to love him through this story. 

Arthur found the grey cloth-bound book in a box of his father’s things just before his daughter’s first birthday.  He had not recognized the tiny book, he was certain he had not seen it before, but the identity of the author was immediately clear.  The back of title page was inscribed “For A” in his father’s distinct handwriting and Arthur imagined his father had written it for him, but for one reason or another had never gotten around to sharing it.  His daughter Ava listened to the familiar story and imagined that her grandfather had somehow written it for her.

The Warrior Princess

Long enough ago that time has lost the names of places and folk,

a Kingdom sat high on a mountain before a valley.

Peace had come easily to the Kingdom and lasted long enough

to make the King complacent and forgetful.

Many years earlier, when he was a young Prince,

the King had offended the ruler of a neighboring land.

That ruler had a long memory and he waited,

biding his time for the day he would seek his revenge.

In the passing years, the King had six sons

on whom he doted, making them fat and lazy.

His youngest child was a daughter, but the King had little use for girls,

and the Princess was left to herself.

Unlike her brothers, the Princess thirsted for knowledge

and could never sit idle.

She spent her days learning the long history of her Kingdom

and playing with the palace guards.

When at last the offended neighbor attacked,

war found the Kingdom unprepared.

With no strong leader to rally them,

the palace guard were quickly outmatched.

High in a tower, the King and his sons

looked down upon the slain guards and prayed for salvation.

The people of the Kingdom ran from their burning homes

to the palace crying, “Who will help us?”.

Far below the tower where her father and brothers hid,

 the Princess stood alone holding a sword.

She was very afraid of the invading force,

but she was more frightened of having her people enslaved.

In her strongest voice, which was still quite small,

the Princess proclaimed, “I will”.

Her bravery called to the long ago gods of her people

and they imbued her with their power.

And lo down the mountain she ran, bathed in a fierce violet light,

and headed into battle.

When she reached the valley the enemy lay slain

and her people were free.

So, what do you think about prologues?

Call me unsophisticated, but I LIKE happy endings!

When did stories that end happily become the literary (or cinematic) equivalent of drinking wine from a box?

I really love stories; I am in awe of great storytellers, regardless of the medium, and I respect a storyteller's right to have that story take whatever direction suits his or her fancy.  I count many stories that end sadly among my favorites, but to be perfectly clear, I completely prefer happy endings.  I like the couple to get together, the sick person to recover, the goal to be reached.  Good stories can and do end this way.  So, why is it that stories that don't end in sadness, heartbreak, or confusion (as in "wait, what just happened?") are often dismissed as commercial (although I still don't totally understand what is wrong with appealing to consumers) or worse, as unrealistic?  Nice things DO happen you know.

Here is an example:  I was lucky enough to be able to see an incredible film that just played at Sundance at a special screening (I won't spoil the film in any way by naming it).  Afterwards there was a Q&A session with one of the writers and the director.  An audience member asked if any drafts of the screenplay had the lead characters ending up together and the writer explained that no, the ending was the first scene written and it never changed.  He said he and his co-writer felt that this ending was more realistic.  The other people in the theater loudly applauded.  I was so confused- why were they applauding?  Yes, this was the best ending for these writers, but why were people applauding that the sad ending was more realistic?  The crowd was an artsy one and I could feel the judgment oozing out of our neighbors as my sister and I discussed that we liked the film but still wished the ending had been a happier one (and you should have seen the sneers that question-asker was getting- brutal!).

I don't think all films or all books should have feel-good endings, but I also don't see why stories that end nicely attract so much automatic derision as if they could never be as good as their gloomy counterparts.  Readers, what do you think?

This is so hard

Changing the perspective of my novel from third to first-person POV is so incredibly difficult.  I knew it would be more than a "find and replace" of all "her"s with "I"s, but I had no idea that every single sentence would need a complete rewrite.  I am feeling a bit deflated. 
But, I know in the end it will make AN UNEXPECTED KINGDOM so much better.  I'll keep repeating that.  And chugging Diet Coke.
In the meantime, I am incapable of thinking of anything to post about today so here are the one-sentence reviews for some of the most recent books I've read.  They were all fabulous and I recommend them highly.  (I remain a staunch over-recommender; it's a fault of which I'm well aware.)

The Fault in Our Stars   by John Green
Not one, but two boxes of tissues were necessary to mop up my tears.

Across the Universe   by Beth Revis
Beth Revis makes great use of alternating perspectives and excellent writing to give an almost contemporary feel to this science fiction journey.

Howl's Moving Castle   by Diana Wynne Jones
The word that best describes my mood upon finishing Howl's Moving Castle is blissful- the tone of the story reminds me of the fairytale books I loved most as a child, filled with whimsy, humor, intrigue, and misunderstandings.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns    by Rae Carson
Gorgeous description and a heroine who learns her strength along the way make this beautiful novel unforgettable.

Shatter Me   by Tahereh Mafi
I am insanely jealous of Ms. Mafi's writing- the utter gorgeousness of this book defies description.

Has anyone else ever changed POV after the fact?  How did it go for you?