***
What would you do if technology allowed you to visit the deceased?When my twin sister Jia died, her soul was downloaded into the Elysium Program, a virtual reality world for the dead. Now I can see her, talk to her, hug her whenever I want. It's almost like she never died. Almost.
But the Elysium Program comes with a price, and that price is always rising. It's getting harder and harder for my family to afford the visits. And when you don't pay, souls get deleted.
(PS: That's not a real cover. I was just bored.)
***
Also, this song is absolutely perfect for capturing how Jun, my main character, feels. *ANGST* I love The Devics. One of my all-time favorite bands.
- Current Location:At my desk
- Current Mood:Inspired
- Current Music:Five Seconds to Hold You by The Devics
Not only did I have to buy it in a size smaller (score one for raw green juice!), but it was on sale AND it has pockets! It was like finding a baby unicorn.
Please ignore my dirty hair and the terribly tied bow.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE when dresses and skirts have pockets. I also treated myself to a fun necklace for said dress and some new (purple!) lipstick.
And though I didn't have any where to be yesterday, you better believe I rushed home, showered and played dress up. I was feeling confident and sassy and cute all day long. And yes, I took a good amount of selfies. I wish I could have gotten a full body one (not in the dressing room), but I didn't. Maybe I can get Libby Webber to take one on Monday when we meet up.
But I did get some good ones, and you'll notice I'm particularly happy with them since I changed the profile pics on ALL my social media accounts...
This one is probably my favorite of the bunch. :)
I celebrated cuteness with some Starbucks.
- Current Location:At my desk
- Current Mood:Sassy
- Current Music:Because I'm Happy by Pharrell Williams
We're getting hit by a super typhoon on Tuesday. So if I'm not around online next week, that's why. I fully expect the power to go out, and depending on how long the typhoon lasts, it could be out for a day or it could be out for four days.
Bagpiper and I braved the commissary today to replenish our typhoon supplies -- water, canned food, batteries, candles and matches -- and the line wrapped around the store TWICE. We got there ten minutes after they opened, too. I immediately stood in line while Bagpiper went through the aisles for what we needed.
So, outside things (the grill, Cupcake's little swimming pool and slide) are secured, all the typhoon prep stuff is in one place and I have playdoh, balloons, crayons, coloring books and a new doll to keep Cupcake occupied if/when the battery on the iPad and portable DVD player dies.
In non-typhoon related news, I've been making green juice with my nifty new juicer and it's working out really well. So far, I've only been juicing for breakfast, but that one glass a day is doing WONDERS for my energy level. However, I tried a new recipe this past week and let me tell you: any recipe that calls for a lime needs to burn in every circle of hell. Too tangy for me, even after adding two extra apples to sweeten it. I ended up just making a new batch of juice using a favorite recipe and mixing it with what was left of the lime hell. I can still kind of taste the lime, but it could be a mental thing...still, I might add another apple just because anyway.
Island Goddess
- 12-16 large leaves of kale with stem
- 1 large cucumber
- 2 cups spinach
- 1/2 a pineapple (no skin)
- 2 apples, any kind
- 2 dozen strawberries
- Absolutely no lime
Writing wise, things are moving slower than I'd like, but it's more that I haven't really had time to sit down and write than anything. Last week was busy, this weekend has been even busier and tomorrow I have to take the dog to the vet for her last round of shots and double check that there is absolutely nothing else needed before we get hit by the super typhoon.
I'd love to say that the typhoon will keep me home and give me an opportunity to catch up on writing, but with both Bagpiper and Cupcake home, I'm not holding out a lot of hope.
But I've had some AMAZING brainstorming breakthroughs, and I can't wait to put them down on paper. Especially my now untitled YA cyberpunk -- Chameleon just doesn't fit after the brainstorming ideas I got for it.
OH! And HOW FLIPPIN AWESOME was Sailor Moon Crystal?! I loooooved it. Ahh. So good.
I also watched the pilot for Girl Meets World and it was super adorable.
- Current Location:On the couch
- Current Mood:busy
- Current Music:300 Rise of an Empire (watching)
I had a pretty crazy tarot reading last night.
Not crazy in a bad way, but crazy in the gave-me-goosebumps way.
Basically, I've been feeling a bit at a crossroads with my writing lately. It's been hard to focus on any one project, and the result has been me just flitting from project to project with no real deadlines or goals in mind. And honestly? That needs to change. I need to get my head back in the game and my butt in gear and start giving myself deadlines again.
I need direction and focus, and last night, a tarot reading helped give me a starting point.
For the longest time, I've been separating my two loves: fantasy and young adult. Yes, I know young adult fantasy exists, but in a very unprofessional/bad move on my part, I've been listening to the voices that say young adult high fantasy isn't popular and urban fantasy is a dead genre that no one likes anymore.
But even if those things are true, SO WHAT.
So what if young adult high fantasy isn't as popular as paranormal young adult romance or contemporary young adult?
So what if urban fantasy isn't the current hot-as-shit genre right now the way contemporary romance is?
I enjoy writing fantasy, both high and urban, and I enjoy writing young adult.
I need to go back to writing what I love and stop trying to force other things to happen. I need to stop listening to the negative voices (both mine and those of other writers "looking out for my best interest").
The reading left me very inspired and motivated and just overall happy with what's on plate, writing-wise. I tell you, more and more I am believing in the power of tarot. That insight it just unlike anything I've ever experienced.
So, moving forward, here's what's in the works:
July 2014
- Chameleon - SciFi/Cyberpunk YA short story
- Huntress - Upper YA/NA urban fantasy
- Huntress
- Virtual - follow up short story (or novella) to Chameleon
- Colibri - (tentative title) a young adult high fantasy (NaNoWriMo project)
- Unbreakable (Everwinter 2) - sequel to Untouchable. Yes, I've decided to move ahead with this series, though not quite in the original direction I had imagined. Still, I'm excited about the new direction and new possibilities available.
- Current Location:At my desk
- Current Mood:Inspired
- Current Music:Empire by Shakira
That's been my life lately, and it's showing no signs of slowing down.
Between my husband off-island for gigs most of the summer, potty training and getting things in order for the Big Move (ack! only six weeks to go!), I've been running around nonstop and let me tell you, I am exhausted.
But with only a month and a half before we leave our home in Japan to return to life bak in the states, there's still so much to do. The military requires a lot of signatures and a bunch of other random things (like a five hour brief on moving that was sooo boring and utterly pointless). The good news is that most of this falls under Bagpiper's domain of Things to Do. The bad news is the summer is super busy for the band so he's left with very few days to get things done, but I'm not worried.
Meanwhile, I've been taking the pets to and from vet visits to get their things in order and running around with Bagpiper when I can since we are now down to one car.
I'm squeezing in writing where I can and am currently working on a short story to submit at the end of July.
And because my plate isn't fully enough, I'm signing up for a tarot workshop in early August. I'm still learning, and I'm really looking forward to the workshop. If you're interested, I'm currently offering free three card readings. Just shoot me a comment wherever -- here, twitter, Facebook, email...
It helps me more, I think, if I can test my intuition by reading for others and not just for myself.
Now I have a quiet hour or two before bed, so I'm going to use the time to unwind with some knitting and reading. Currently making my way through the final book of the Mythos Academy series...
- Current Location:On the couch
- Current Mood:Tired
- Current Music:Everything is Awesome by Tegan and Sarah
It seems like every time I stray even an itty bitty bit away from writing high fantasy, I find myself unhappy with my writing (no matter how much I still love the idea/genre I'm working in) before I figure out that it's because I'm not writing high fantasy.
I don't know what it is, but there's just something about creating my own world with it's own races, religions and politics that's just so damn satisfying. It's not that I don't like writing in other genres, I do, but I am realizing that when I write high fantasy things just flow in a way they don't when I write urban fantasy or romance.
And while I am still working on HUNTRESS, I am also laying the ground work for an epic/high fantasy. I've done some -gasp!- plotting, set up the major motivations for my character's POVs and have started working out the intricacies of the different races and their respective religions and political infrastructures.
Overall I'm just in a really good place with my writing right now. Working a little slower than I would normally like, but my pace is very stress-free which is something I need in my life right now since things are getting crazier as we get closer and closer to the Big Move back to the states.
But more than just being happy with writing, I'm just happy with life in general. So many awesome and exciting things happening.
Like potty training. Okay, maybe it's not that awesome or exciting, but the thought of no more diapers, is kind of nice. Overall, it's about as fun as potty training probably always is, which is to say, it's not that fun at all. Cupcake is good at telling us she has to go potty -- after she's already gone. I've successfully seen her go potty once, which is better than zero, but still a headache when she claims she has to go 4-5 times in a 10 minute time span...only to have an accident three minutes later. -_-
It's a lesson in patience for sure!
I've also been getting into making bento boxes. There was a week I had to make lunches for Cupcake to take to school and I've just kept up with it because making cute bentos is just so much fun. You can see some of the ones I've made over on Instagram.
A few days ago I finally managed to convince Bagpiper that what he really wanted for a Father's Day gift was a PS4. The exchange tends to get about 15-20 of them every couple of months and they sell out so fast. Our PS3 has been on its last leg for some time now, and the PS4 is just so sexy and I love it.
I may or may not be addicted to FFXIV.
(I am)
I'm still studying and practicing tarot and I'm hoping that end of July I can attend a seminar class to learn even more. It all depends on when the instructor holds the class. Cause there's a slight chance it might happen AFTER the Big Move. Either way, I'm really enjoying it. Along with tarot, I've been doing some guided meditations, many of which have left me with a very WOW feeling afterward. Others have helped me get deeper sleep, which has helped me work out A LOT of plot problems, since I do my best "plotting" while dreaming. ;)
Oh, and I've also found my knitting mojo. It's mostly coming in the form of little projects like dishcloths and pot holders, but I'm hoping to finally learn socks in a few weeks and maybe even start on some fall knits -- like a sweater! -- cause I'll actually be able to use hand knits living on the east coast...
I see my Ravelry queue growing over the summer.. :D
So yea. That's what's going on with me. Many things, all of them very different, but I am overall very happy. I'm still writing, just not looking to crank out 2-3 novels a year any more (why did I ever think that was something I could do? I'm not one of those types of writers...).
Aaand now it's time to get Cupcake bathed and in bed so Mama can watch the latest GOT episode and maybe do a little knitting or gaming before bed. ;)
Tomorrow's a writing day!
- Current Location:On the couch
- Current Mood:Happy
- Current Music:Because I'm Happy - Pharrell Williams
But to catch up, all you need to know is that I got a bicycle for Mother's Day, and I'm pretty much relearning how to ride and loving it. It's also been raining a whole hell of a lot, which has kept me from riding as much as I would like, but what can ya do? So when it's nice out, I ride. When it rains, I do some extra yoga. I'll actually be starting a yoga challenge next month -- but I'll likely blog about it at Strong Mama Yoga.
Cupcake enjoys biking, too!
Anyway, aside from a new bike and a lot of rain, not much else has been going on. Bagpiper and I are starting to browse town homes in VA because our time in Japan is coming to an end, and the summer will blow by and before you know it, it'll be time for us to go back to the states.
We've already sold one of our cars and Bagpiper, who also got a new bike, is now riding to work everyday.
Last week, Suzan Butler tagged me on a writing process blog chain wherein I'm supposed to talk about my writing process and what I'm working on. I was supposed to update about this on Monday, but I forgot. So I'm doing it now. On Wednesday. Because I'm a rebel like that.
What Am I Working On?
HUNTRESS, the first book in a new adult urban fantasy series. I'm having a lot of fun with it, and the writing process so far has been very low stress/low pressure, which I am enjoying immensely.
How Does My Work Differ From Others In The Genre?
Well, I'm not published in the new adult market, but right now it seems like that genre is overly saturated with contemporary romance. That's the "hot" thing right now in a lot of genres, not just new adult. My story is pretty far from contemporary romance. It's dark and gritty, but a bit humorous at times, too. It's also different in that it features a very diverse cast of characters. In fact, I have yet to introduce a white character. Granted, I've only introduced four major players, but two are Latin@ (one Puerto Rican, the other Brazilian), one is African American and one is Arabic.
Why Do I Write What I Do?
Because the few times I have tried to stray away from writing SFF, it has never worked out very well. My small foray into contemporary romance was too much of a headache. I enjoy reading it from time to time, but my heart has always been in writing fantasy. I love creating rich worlds with diverse peoples and cultures. I also enjoy writing in a romantic thread, but the slow burn kind -- the kind that could take several books to burn bright and hot. There is a time and place for passionate, whirlwind romances, but I'm discovering that in all of my favorite books and series, the romance was very subtle and not the focus. The focus has always been the world that was created or the metamorphosis of the main character into a stronger, smarter, more capable version of themselves. That's what I strive for -- writing memorable characters and rich, fantastical worlds.
How Does My Writing Process Work?
By constantly evolving and changing to suit the needs of whatever I am currently working on. Sometimes that means I can pants the entire story, never once stopping to plot. Other times it means I write out a synopsis or blurb and use that as a guide for the main plot while I pants the rest of the details and subplots (I do this the most, probably). Once or twice it has meant careful planning and plotting, especially when dealing with high/epic fantasies.
Tag. You're It.
I tag
paragraphs, Libby Webber and Ekaterine Xia.- Current Location:On the couch
- Current Mood:calm
- Current Music:Wake Me Up by Avicii (ft. Aloe Blacc)
Since I've been joining various writing communities to find new critique partners, I ended sprucing up my Wattpad account a bit. I even added the first 1K or so words of HUNTRESS to give potential crit partners a feel for my writing style. The opening scene is a bit rough around the edges, but for what I want it serves its purpose.
I may or may not update it as the first chapter is revised and updated. I also may or may not throw up a couple more chapters. Heck, I may even delete it down the line until it's finished and I decide what I want to do with it.Adding samples of my work on Wattpad has me thinking of starting a serial of sorts or maybe adding a couple of free short stories. I recently found an old, old scifi short story that wasn't in too shabby of shape. I may polish it up this week and throw it up for free.
But for now, if you're interested in what I'm working on, the opening scene of HUNTRESS is on Wattpad.
HUNTRESS is a new adult urban fantasy that follows Selene Wilde, the last living descendent of the goddess Artemis and the god Pan. And despite her attempts to steer clear of the hidden supernatural world and all the monsters that inhabit it, a visit from a ghoul, a dead genie and wolfish berserker are making that difficult.
Here's the working blurb:
Selene Wilde has done a pretty good job of avoiding the ever-growing supernatural community of Stag City.
As an outrider she’s able to tell if someone is something other than human. A gift that comes in handy when it comes to steering clear of things that go bump in the night.
She doesn’t stare at witches, she doesn’t hunt genies, she ignores what the ghoul in the graveyard is doing to the corpses and she absolutely does not get involved with berserkers.
She leaves them alone and they leave her alone, and that’s just how she likes it.
But when the ghoul from the graveyard brings her a death vision and warns her of a rogue gang of berserkers looking to kill her, Selene’s problems are only just beginning.
Because now there’s a dead genie in her apartment, a stone that glows when she holds it and a berserker on her doorstep…
Selene’s not sure what’s going on or who she can trust, but one thing’s for certain — there’s no avoiding the monsters anymore.
And because I'm incapable of putting up a writing sample without an image, here's the mock cover I created yesterday. Mock cover. Not real cover. Don't get attached. LOL
Anyway, that's a little sneak peek on what I'm currently working on, and I gotta say, I am having a ton of fun with this project and I am really, really happy with where I am as a writer right now.
- Current Location:On the couch
- Current Mood:productive
- Current Music:The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy
I spent the past week doing a lot of soul searching and really evaluating where I am as a writer now and how I want to grow as a writer in the future. I outlined some long-term and short-term goals for myself and I gave myself a lot of flexibility as far as which projects I want to work on and when I want them done.
Until I land an agent or my writing is bringing in a certain percentage of my household's income, I'm not going to stress about writing certain books by certain times.
I also did some research for HUNTRESS, which is the project I have decided to focus on at the moment. And while actual writing progress is fairly slow, what I do have written I'm extremely proud of and very little will probably need changing later on. A bonus of being a slow writer is that my first draft is usually pretty damn clean.
I'm currently a couple thousand words into the first draft, and I've gotten a really enthusiastic response from one of my critique partners, which is nice. :)
That's the other things I've been doing lately -- branching out and finding new critique partners and writing buddies.
Up until now the vast majority of my writerly friends have been strict romance writers. And while they are absolutely fabulous people who craft amazing stories, I sometimes feel like we're drifting apart because I no longer consider myself a romance writer. I've noticed a change in some of my friendships with romance writers and it's a little bittersweet to realize that we may be drifting apart.
Then again, I could just be imagining things and it could just be a sad product of the great time difference. Downside to living in Japan.
And while my work will probably almost always have a strong thread of romance, I really consider myself more of a fantasy author than a romance author. So it makes sense to me, then, to find more writers and CPs who write high fantasy, urban fantasy and young adult.
Finding writerly friends (especially CPs) is not an easy thing to do, but luckily I'm in no great rush.
( Non-writing related news...Collapse )
So that's my week.
Now it's late so I'm going to do a little reading and head to bed.
- Current Location:In bed
- Current Mood:Sleepy
- Current Music:White noise machine
UNBREAKABLE's progress is slooow. Very slow. And while I anticipated writing a sequel would be difficult, I truly did not realize how difficult it would be. It does not help that two other ideas I've had on the back burner are starting to come to a boil -- a sign that, perhaps, those stories are ready to be written.
But I can't stop working on UBREAKABLE. That's important. That has to be out by the end of the year. Everything else has to wait. The Everwinter series already has a book out there for sale. I have readers. They're waiting for book two. They've emailed me and messaged me on FB to ask about book two. Everwinter is the money maker, making it vastly more important than any of my other ideas.
Ugh. But sequels are so hard.
And often, when words are hard to find for a story, I go into that dark place where I question why I bother writing at all. This results in me not writing, which results in me getting angry with myself for not writing which in turn drags me deeper into that dark place and the cycle continues.
So why then? Why do I write?
Duh. Because I love it. I love telling stories and creating worlds.
Loving to write doesn't necessarily mean I need to be a published author selling books, though. I can totally write for myself -- I did it for years and years before I decided to pursue publication.
Needing a little guidance and perspective, I decided to give myself a reading using oracle cards.
The first card I drew was about perseverance. It was the answer I knew all along, but it was nice to have it out there, slapping me in the face. Sometimes you need that.
I should continue to always write for myself, and worry less about publication and the business side of things. I only need to write. Perseverance pays off, and somewhere in the future I'll have tons of books published. Slow and steady and all that.
With that in mind, I did a second reading, this time questioning if I should stick it out with UNBREAKABLE or work on another project and not worry about UNBREAKABLE being published "on time".
I couldn't help but smile when the card I drew from the deck was "The Ice Queen" [1].
I thought for sure that was a sign that I needed to focus on the Everwinter novels, but I was wrong.
Putting UNBREAKABLE on ice, so to speak, allows it to thaw naturally at a time when the idea is ready to be written. I've been too hasty trying to reach my goal and it's been blocking me creatively. But perhaps it's for the best that I've been blocked here. Two other stories are telling me they are ready to be written, while this one insists it's not. I can't force it and I should really stop trying to, because doing so would only result in a story I am not happy with.
So I'm done forcing words. UNBREAKABLE simply isn't ready, no matter how much I wish it were otherwise.
And I am sorry, truly. To those of you waiting for book two. To all of you who have emailed me or sent me messages on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr...I am sorry. The story will be written, I can promise you that. I just can't promise that it will be this year.
One of the hardest things about being a writer is the constant desire to compare your progress with the next person's. It's hard, because all of our journeys are vastly different. I have a lot of writer friends who are on best selling lists, publishing their 10th book or their second series. I have other friends who aren't published but who manage to write thousands of words a day like nothing.
On some levels it's wonderful to be surrounded by all these different writers. I learn from them and they help me grow into a better writer, but at the end of the day, our paths are different. Nothing wrong with that, I just need to remember it.
Now that UNBREAKABLE is on ice (haha, see what I did there?), the question becomes: which project do I focus on now?
Stay tuned. ;)
[1] The deck I use is "Wisdom of the Hidden Realms". It has gorgeous and stunning artwork.
- Current Location:At my desk
- Current Mood:Peaceful
- Current Music:Remember Your Divine by Supreme Beings of Leisure
