I've moved on....A dear John letter to blogspot...

...Its not you blogspot...its me..

I require statistics, so that I know immediately which 1.5 people visited my blog this month...
I need multiple pages, so I can expand my narcissism exponentially...
I yearn to copy Michelle's wordpress blog in every way in the hopes that I too will have blog visitors who search for me by typing in 'tiny panties'...

Someday, blogspot, you will meet an online services user who cares for you just the way you are.

In the meantime, I'd still like us to be friends, and as a friend, can you send any of my visitors to wordpress?

--> laurasuniverse.wordpress.com

Apparently I am pro (consensual) incest...

I don't know how this keeps happening but somehow, in every novel, I struggle to keep my main, romantically linked characters from suddenly becoming related. It usually happens because of complex plotting where I'm trying to weave the characters back stories for future plot twists. It is incredibly easy, I assume, which must be why it keeps happening.

Seriously folks. Its not like it accidentally happened once, then I caught the mistake and said, "phew! close call"...

...no it keeps happening, repeatedly, in the same novel.

Michelle says: Incest isn't YA...
Laura says: But my characters are roughly 17...
Michelle says: No, I mean incest isn't a YA theme...you can't do it. What is wrong with you?
Laura says: *shakes head, somewhat ashamed* They could be a little related...
Michelle says: No...they can't...you're done here.

So apparently I need what I am referring to as the "Incest police", a duty Michelle has graciously agreed to perform. She is checking my plot for perverted coupling and possibly setting up an intervention on my behalf...

Disregard.....

.....the fact that the last 3 blog posts refer to drinking heavily...NaNo does NOT drive one to drink...and I'm not being belligerent or defensive about it either!

I suck....and 5 other reasons why I'm gonna lose NaNoWriMo....

I know you've been missing my blog posts. You flip that power switch to your computer in the morning and can't contain the excited anticipation of checking out my blog for my latest post of inspired wisdom and wit. I've left you sorely dissappointed, I know.

Wait, that didn't come out right. You're sad because I haven't been blogging often enough to satisfy your insatiable appetite, right? Not because my blog posts are lame...in any way?

I suck, I know it, I promised 30 fun-filled days of blogging and have delivered....maybe 5? I'm honestly to lazy to scroll through the posts and count. So I'm revising my challenge as follows:

I commit to blogging, one more time in November, maybe two times. In exchange for your understanding, I promise not to drunken blog Thanksgiving night.


Reason 5 why I will lose Nano: The kids are off from school for the next 5 days and the little angels tend to suck the life blood out of me...

Reason 4 why I will lose Nano: I started distracting myself with Christmas decorations...

Reason 3 why I will lose Nano: I can't stop watching episodes of 30 rock from Netflix...

Reason 2 why I will lose Nano: Michelle has finish her NaNovel and so I'm writing alone...and clearly not self motivated...

Reason 1 why I will lose Nano: the last quarter of my plot summary is a single sentence that reads "they rescue him"...

15000 words to go by 11/30. Totally doable.

Don't bother me...I'm blogging...

Or this blog entry's more suitable title "Nano should come with a warning: may cause 5lb weight gain."

Well folks its November 15th and I'm at 26,769 on the old word count. Half way there...damn near on track. To date, I've killed a dozen or so bad-guy characters, vigilante-style (so its ok), there have been numerous unmentionable things occuring in the bedroom, and for some reason I decided to write about a pixie, who lives in a nurse log, with 300 brothers and sisters. Its safe to say that part will get cut once I sober up.

If I were clever, I would say, I write the minimum 1666 words because I am trying to pace myself. But that's not true, I have no such structure, or self control for that matter. No, 1666 words is all I can get on paper on a given day even if I were to handcuff myself to this computer...after 1666 words, I'm effing around on Facebook. Who am I kidding, I do that after 300 words.

But I'm quite proud, and I will NOT reward myself with the truffles lurking in the pantry...the spareribs in the crockpot however, are not safe from danger!

Oh Sh*t, I forgot to blog...

...but I am on schedule with my word count (well at least I will be, by midnight)...

Contrary to the title, this blog entry isn't about how flaky I am when it comes to my voluntary commitments. Rather, this blog entry is about how I need to be voluntarily committed.

Or maybe maybe drinking heavily will suffice.

I forgot to plot book 2 in preparation for Nano, and I knew I didn't have much to finish in the first draft of book 1. I think a small part of me assumed that either a.) I would flake out on Nano -or- b.) I am such a genius that I no longer require the need to plot and outline; fantastic quality stories just come to me instantly, in chronological order, when I sit in front of a laptop.

Well, on day 9, I'm learning that it definitely isn't option b.)

So I rounded the corner to book 2 on day 5 of Nano and well, the story began to get away from me. So tonight, is PLOT night. And Michelle is coming to administer the beatings if I get off task...

...she will be administering the alcohol if I am good...egg nog, with brandy...

I plan on being good.

When in doubt, apply a guilt trip...

I love Jenn and Michelle. Like love, love them. They are very kind to be my followers. But it isn't as fulfilling as one would think, blogging just for them. After all, it is quite possible that they were actually there when the incident in question occurred. I know you're out there, I have like 12,000 hits to this blog.

So if you are lurking, why not follow me? I will love, love you too! (Come on, you know you want to...)

On another note, my 'blog every day in November' challenge is not going well. (I'm sure you've noticed since you are such an avid follower). And today, I'm going to be lame and refer you to a post on Scott Westerfields page that I learned about through The Spiral Path. Scott and Justine are posting writing tips...he is so my kind of writer with the planning, the spreadsheets, the graphs...

Where I write, Part 2...

A few weeks ago I posted where I write 50% of the time, the other 50% is spent here:

Sometimes its quiet, mostly its not...

Nano ADD...

It is no secret that I am about as attention deficient as they come. I cannot function unless completing 5 simultaneous tasks. This does not in any way make me hyper-productive. It's actually quite the opposite. Instead, I do 5 things badly...

So in the rare hours when its just me, a quiet house, the computer and the looming 1600 words, I am always looking for a good distraction. After all, who doesn't need a break after a good 20 minutes of heads down work? When I have earned this reward, this is where I lurk:

http://pubrants.blogspot.com/
http://blog.nathanbransford.com/
http://emergingwriters.us/
http://editorialanonymous.blogspot.com/
http://queryshark.blogspot.com/
http://pimpmynovel.blogspot.com/
http://www.therejectionist.com/

...now back to work!

Nano, Day 1...

Its 4:30pm on Sunday November first. I have written ZERO words today. And I still have 3 kids to put to bed!!

Michelle has written 3400. She is no longer my friend. That may be because I told her she sucked, which wasn't the friendliest thing to do. But I'm green with envy.

I'm on a mission, kids to be at 8pm, 1600 words on paper by 11pm. Its go time.

NaNo midnight write in...party of one...

On the eve of Nano, there are many midnight launch party/write ins around town, the invitations to which, I look at longingly . I will not be going to any of these events.

No, I will be elsewhere...

...brandishing candy...

...and a sour disposition...

It's halloween and being the mother of three kids, I will be up to my neck (the neck I wish to slit), in halloween festivities. The light at the end of the tunnel is the grown up party with many of my friends, a glass of wine and the finger-crossed hope that 2 year old Gavin will come to the party dressed as Jedi Chicken, cause that would pretty much make my night.

So have fun, Nano writers who will be otherwise occupied, getting a jump start on your word count and basking in the delight that is 'adult conversation'. There is a bird with a light saber, calling my name...

Online Critique Groups - My Arch Nemesis....

...Writer's need good, honest and constructive feedback in order to grow. We don't trust our friends. We have convinced ourselves that our friends are either a.) biased or b.) sparing our feelings. We love our friends for this...

We just don't trust their feedback...

So, living in a small town with a university complete with a flourishing MFA program and shockingly NO public writing groups, I naturally turned to the internet.

The internet is great, you can be pretty anonymous and post chapters for critique. I did this for months with my first manuscript and it worked great. Until it did not work great. The quality of critiques waned and then one was down right flippant, which I took really personally until I found out the critter was 13. At that point I stopped completely.

But here I am with a new nearly completed new manuscript, in need of critique. I feel like I'm going back to a bad relationship.

Comment if you know of any writers in the Forest Grove area looking for a writing group (especially if they like urban fantasy)!

To blog or not to blog....

It's mid October...more specifically, its 13 days 'til NaNo 09. I'm in the middle of a novel, about 65K words in, a quarter left to write/edit before Nov 1. Plus, I still have all my outlining to do for my NaNo novel. For those of you who know me, it has been an enormous amount of effort to get this far...kids, husbands, 30 Rock, dishes...but I digress...

Which brings me to the reason for this post.

How the hell do writers find so much time to blog!?!?

For me, every spare second I have is spent writing. I don't have a ton of spare time so I have to be really diligent about what I work on and blogging is never a priority. I never feel like I have anything clever enough anyone would want to read. In truth, what I think I am missing is the fact that people who blog regularly don't have anything clever to say either, they are just blogging about the journey...but still, do you know how long I have been sitting here at this computer thinking of a blog topic? And the most clever thing I could come up with was a blog post complaining about my inability to blog...?

...And reader clicks backspace >here<

SO, because I am under a tight deadline, AND am lamenting about how difficult this is for me, it is, of course, the perfect time to dig myself further into a hole by committing to blogging every day for a month during Nano.

...well, at least every business day...
...unless I'm sick
...but not starting until the first day of the month...

I imagine you all are sick in delighted anticipation of all the witty insights you are about to experience...So am I, so I'm off to read someone else's blog...!!!

*During the course of writing this post, it took me 35 minutes total time, over the course of 36 hours in which time I was interrupted 43 times...I'm exhausted already.

My sisters, a universal dedication for pretty much anything I write in the future...

They are probably the reason I have such a rich imaginary life. AND they want to read my books. Then when the do read them, they tell me how much they love them, and they want to read more.

Which may be sisterly affection that is biased...

But I don't care, I love them for it anyway!!

My sis, Cathy, designed me a jacket cover for a hard bound draft copy of my very first completed manuscript so we can edit it as a hard copy. It is wonderful and I love it!

It's the most wonderful time..of the year!

Back to school!

Which means hours of time to dedicate to finally finishing this manuscript. (See previous post, New Projects Loom...) I'm about 60% done with the 2nd draft and have already got a handful of edits for that 60%. Finger's crossed, I'm finished the 2nd draft end of September, finishing edits end of October! The good news, however, is that I still really love this manuscript.

That alone is an accomplishment.

And I can easily say I have advanced from Faery-lore 'novice/moron' to Faery-lore 'competent'. Which wasn't exactly on my bucket list but still...

In response to Michelle's post on The spiral Path, asking where we write, I have this to say:

50% of the time, I am here:

with 30 Rock or Arrested Development playing on the TV in the background...

The other 50% to follow...

2010 BOOKS!

...I can't believe its fall. Since the publishing industry moves so...friggin'...slow...I am going to start my list of much anticipated, much hyped SEQUELS...even though we won't get to read them for another year!

1. The Dead-Tossed Waves, Carrie Ryan (sequel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth which was brilliant!!)

2. The Demon's Covenant, Sarah Rees Brennen (Sequel to The Demon's Lexicon which was also brilliant!)

...disclaimer: I'm pretty much not going to hype a sequel if I didn't find its predecessors brilliant, I just thought I'd throw that out there...

3. City of Fallen Angels, Cassandra Clare (The City of Bones Series - This series was totally not on my radar but I loved every minute of them and am happy to have another book, even though I'm not the biggest Simon fan on the planet...I will be happy to be proven wrong!)

4. The Clockwork Angel, Cassandra Clare (A new series from her, a mortal instruments prequel - looks delishous)

5. Radiant Shadows, Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovley Series - I'm actually kinda pissed off I have to read this book. I thought I had made a commitment to a trilogy, then I got a bait and switch...BUT I have to find out what happens, I won't rest until I do.)

Michelle...did I miss any good ones??

More Chapters FOR YOU!

I've just added through Chapter 25 of the Birthright. Check it out, I'll be adding the rest throughout the week and putting this baby to bed. I feel good about it as a first effort and learned a lot. Not sure if I'll get around to editing the sequel.

Particularly if no one is reading... ;)

The Demon's Lexicon...

...Is still haunting me. When I finished it late last night, I didn't think it would. The twists and turns spun throughout the narrative was very compelling, and then there was, of course, the ending.

But why its still haunting me is because I'm left in awe of what an amazing undertaking it is to make a technically unlikeable character so likeable. And now that we know the playing field, where will she take us and how can we reconcile ourselves to this protagonist? Or is he even a protagonist after all (I think he is, and the very fact that I ask this question, is how this book raises the bar for YA fantasy)?

YA writers everywhere...the game just got interesting.

And check out the author: http://sarahtales.livejournal.com/

The Forest of Hands and Teeth - better than the hype!!

How often does a book measure up to the hype? Seriously, like, never. Mostly because it is far too easy to find people who are willing to say good things about your book. Even if it's crap. Even if it's crappy crap.

There has been a lot of hype about The Forest of Hands and Teeth on the writers blogs and I have to say, it was beautiful. It fuses the notion that while a biological apocalypse has infected the world there are some who remain uninfected and they try to somehow create a future in a world that seems very nearly extinct. They don't know if there are others who have also survived, or if they are the last of humanity. The main character is flawed, it is her end and her beginning. The world in which she lives is complex and believable.

Now bear in mind, this is a story about a post apocalyptic world in which there is the ever present moan of Zombies and from everywhere in the village, you can see them, eyes glazed over, as they press against the chain link fence hungry for the humans they can sense lie just beyond the perimeter...

Creepy and I totally bought it. All of it. It was perfect.

A tribute to BSG...a Sci-Fi Haiku

I loved you, B.G.

You were always smart and hot!

May you rest in peace.



Frak, now what am I gonna watch?

New projects loom...

Well all, (and by all, I mean my husband, the 2 people who have be kind enough to comment on my posts and my one follower (thanks Jenn *XO*), it is time for an update on my project list!

Following a successful NaNoWriMo experience where I wrote 50K crappy words as a sequel to the Birthright, I promptly, closed said file, never to look at it again. I believe pretty whole-heartedly (albeit conveniently) that I need quite a bit of time away from that story and since I've lived in 'that' world for a few years now, it is time to created a new one.

My favorite faery tale of all time is Sleeping Beauty. While the original fable is quite gruesome, and the disney version is a bit too much with the singing animals and all, my affinity for the story lands somewhere in the middle of the two poles of the spectrum. (I would be referring to the faery spectrum, in case you are wondering) I prefer my princess to error more on the side of sappy true love, and I can do with a great deal less of the Prince pillaging her while she sleeps....see historical versions here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Beauty.

YIKES.

When I decided to rewrite Sleeping Beauty as an Urban fantasy, things became a bit dicey since there are a TON of Faery's in this particular fable, and I an a Faery ignoramous. So I am currently and happily reading modern faery tales and plotting a gerat and epic Mortal/Faery war, complete with a halfing Princess and heir to both thrones and her banished Unseely Faery Prince and true soulmate. Don't worry, there will be quite a bit of killing, an evil twin, a best friend with whom she is also in love, and many many dark secrets, twists and turns.

Thanks to Michelle who is my Faery mentor, there to ensure that I commit NO Faery phopahs. Because THAT would be embarrassing...

Oh and soon, I will post more chapters of the Birthright. They are complete (minus one more edit (and by one more edit, I mean one more edit by me before I can no longer look at it with any sense of objectivitey))!!

2009 Books to be devoured...

I am highly anticipating a few books from emerging authors in 2009 (one from a published author) and I think this might be the first year I've anticipated books much like most, i.e. lay people, i.e. people who 'don't have time to read', anticipate movies...

How sad that must be, to not have time to read. Or worse, to not want to read, not ache to read. But then I confess, I have an unusually rich imaginary life...not something I readily admit at dinner parties, but am apparently happy to admit to the blog-o-sphere...but I digress...

So here it is, the 2009 MUSTS:

1. In the Forest of Hands and Feet, Carrie Ryan
2. The Demon's Lexicon, Sarah Rees Brennan (who is my new best friend, by the way, she just doesn't know it yet) (Into that world Inverted http://sarahtales.livejournal.com/)
3. Fragile Eternity, Melissa Marr
4. Faery Rebels - Spell Hunter, RJ Anderson
5. The Prophecy of Days, Christy Raedeke (this is actually a 2010 release, but this books sounds frickin' cool) (now in truth, this author could write crap and I would buy her books because she is a fellow Oregonian, but she doesn't write crap, she is funny and you should read her blog Juvenescence (http://raedeke.blogspot.com/) (not to put more pressure on you to be clever Christy!)