Interview with Author Lisa Gail Green

Lisa Gail Green's debut novel, The Binding Stone, released last week. I'm especially excited about this book, because Lisa is my good friend and writing buddy. I read an early draft of this book, and it was amazing then. But last week I downloaded the published version and wow, it's like reading it for the first time. Right now it's only $.99 so clicky clicky and get your copy!

Don't believe me? This is what Lisa Desrochers, author of Personal Demons, said about The Binding Stone: "Genies like you've never seen them, THE BINDING STONE is a wild ride of treachery and deception. For my first wish, I'd like a sequel, please."

Here's a quick blurb:

Tricked into slavery by the man she loved, the Djinni Leela has an eternity to regret her choices.

Awakened in the prison of her adolescent body, she finds a new master in possession of the opal that binds her. But seventeen-year-old Jered is unlike any she's seen. His kindness makes Leela yearn to trust again, to allow herself a glimmer of hope.

Could Jered be strong enough to free her from the curse of the Binding Stone?

Lisa Green was my first connection through SCBWI, and I'm so thankful we're on this journey together. Today, she opens up about her path to publication.

1. From idea to final product, how did The Binding Stone come to be?

That's about a three-year process! LOL. The idea was born because I had a demon (character!) that wanted to be written, but it had been done. So I started researching monsters on monstropedia that might be similar and that's where I came up with the DJINN. The idea fascinated me and my imagination went wild. 

2. Can you give us a brief summary of your writing process? Plotter? Pantser? Somewhere in between?

I've always been a pantser. I love the excitement of not knowing what happens next until the character does it! But practicality has forced me to do a bit of plotting as I've grown as a writer. I tend to fill out a Blake Snyder Beat Sheet as a short outline. I also like to pre-write a summary (like a query letter) and a pitch. Even if that changes, it helps to have as a reference. 

3. The Binding Stone is published by Fuzzbom Publishing. Can you tell us a bit about your experience with a small publisher?

It's been AMAZING! They are so invested in my book. I get all the privileges of having a publisher like editing, copy editing, and assistance with marketing and layout. But I also got final say on so much and certainly input on everything.

4. Can you offer us any advice about book promotion? What's working for you and what isn't?

I'm just learning myself! But I'm happy to share. I do know from our experience with the Journeys of Wonder anthologies that the key is word of mouth. What you want is to reach your intended audience, but that's hard to do with all the books out there (which is wonderful really). So you work hard to get that first tier of people to read it and hope it's good enough to get them to recommend it to others! The more reviews you can get on Goodreads and Amazon the better. The more people you reach at once, the higher your ranking and visibility. So if you read it, please put up reviews and recommend it if you like it!

5. Is there any writing or publishing advice you'd like to share with us?

Ha! I always feel weird giving advice to others, because we're all in the same boat really. The thing I always say is PERSEVERANCE IS KEY. If you don't try it can't happen. So keep learning, keep reading, and keep writing. Never stop if it's what you love. At least you're blessed enough to be doing something you love.

Perfect writing advice. I couldn't agree more!

If you're published, how did you connect with your publisher? How did you market your book?

If you're pre-published, do you sometimes struggle with perseverance? Please share!

"I dream of Lisa Gail Green! The Binding Stone is magical in so many ways. My Djinn asks for my third wish? The sequel, of course!" -- NYT Bestselling Author Nancy Holder

Writing lessons learned from BRUISED

BREAKING NEWS!! Lisa Gail Green's debut novel, The Binding Stone, released yesterday! She's my writing buddy, and I'm super excited for her. Click here to grab your own copy of this awesome YA book.

And now on to my regular post...

I recently finished reading BRUISED, by Sarah Skilton. Bruised was a great book with an amazing voice and many powerful moments. Sarah is a friend of mine, but this isn't friendship talking--this is a reader praising a worthy book.

From Goodreads:

When Imogen, a sixteen-year-old black belt in Tae Kwon Do, freezes during a holdup at a local diner, the gunman is shot and killed by the police, and she blames herself for his death. Before the shooting, she believed that her black belt made her stronger than everyone else--more responsible, more capable. But now her sense of self has been challenged and she must rebuild her life, a process that includes redefining her relationship with her family and navigating first love with the boy who was at the diner with her during the shootout. With action, romance, and a complex heroine, Bruised introduces a vibrant new voice to the young adult world--full of dark humor and hard truths.

Here are some of the writing lessons I learned from this powerful book:

• Open with a snapshot of the major incident--When the book begins, the shootout had already happened. It didn't give a blow by blow of the shootout, only glimpses from Imogen's broken memory. Details of the shootout are dispersed throughout the book. Then Imogen describes the hard work that went into earning a black belt, ending the chapter with this powerful line: "My black belt represents everything I could've done and everything I didn't do, the only time it really mattered."
• Connect love interest through tragedy--We meet Ricky, the love interest, right away. Like Imogen, he hid under a table while the shootout happened. He understands her fears and her struggle to merge back into real life. Ricky wants to learn how to fight, and Imogen teaches him. This connects them beyond school and family.
• Use humor to lighten a dark subject--The author does a great job of injecting humor in unlikely places. It's not just humor for shock value, it's embedded in the character. There's a line in there about a weed whacker that still cracks me up. This wasn't a funny book, but the character's way of looking at life made me smile.
• Sprinkle in unanswered questions--Some questions are answered right away, but there are questions about the shootout that linger on until later chapters. I'd forget about these missing details until the author strategically reminded me. It kept me wondering what I didn't know yet.
• Forgotten past--When characters suffer a traumatic experience, authors can use this to create more mystery. Imogen thinks she cowered under a table during the entire robbery, but then she wonders, why was there blood all over my clothes? It's a mystery, and the author allows the reader and Imogen to discover the truth together. 

Miranda Kenneally, author of Catching Jordan, said this about Bruised: "Raw and real, Bruised is an important read for all teens, especially those who feel they've lost their way. This beautiful book shows the true power of sports."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Have you read Bruised? What's your opinion of these writing lessons? Have you used them in your own work?

Expanding Our Vision

My sister *waves to Robyn* is having her kitchen remodeled. All along, her plan had been to keep the same basic footprint, but modernize the small space with current materials and appliances. She struggled to see beyond that.

Not that it was any of my business, but I had my own ideas for her kitchen. I didn't see the space as small at all. I saw that she had the perfect space to create the big, open concept kitchen most people dream of.

What was the disparity between our opinions? Vision.

In real life, and in writing, we sometimes need to expand the scope of our vision. How can we do that? Here are some suggestions:

1. Widen the lens--If we look beyond what's already there, whether it's a kitchen footprint or a finished manuscript, the solutions multiply. Kitchens are not set in stone. Neither are words, plot lines, beginnings, and endings. Marinate on the story for as long as it takes. What's the bigger picture? How can it be deeper? Wider? Richer?
2. Seek outside help--My sister was really good about this. She bounced ideas around with friends and family, and kept the margaritas coming while we brainstormed. We writers become so close to our own stories, it's almost impossible to be objective about them. I'm always amazed at how productive a fresh set of eyes can be. But, this leads to my next point...
3. Make your own choices--Ask 100 people about a kitchen design, and you'll receive 100 opinions. Everyone brings different skills and life experiences to the table, and sometimes all the varied opinions become overwhelming. Same with story solutions. At some point, we just have to sift through the ideas, choose what we like best, and apply them. My sister's kitchen is her kitchen, and she makes the final choices. Same with our manuscripts. We make the final call.
4. Go skeletal--Once my sister's kitchen was demolished, and nothing but 2 x 4's and insulation were showing, she finally saw how much room she had to work with. This helped her see the bigger picture. We can mentally strip our stories down to bare bones, or story structure. If we're satisfied with a solid structure, we can then rebuild the rest in (relative) confidence.
5. Read widely--When we read widely, and in different genres, we open our minds to so many possibilities. I was surprised how reading the classic A Lesson Before Dying had such an impact on my current story. And even though they're not in my genre, reading paranormal, historical, or dystopian stories teach me so much.
6. Accept imperfections--My hubby and I built our own home sixteen years ago. Even though it was built the way we wanted it, and we adore our home, there are still things we would do differently. When I read past work, there are always things I want to change. I could do that until I grow gray(er) hair and rock my future grandchildren to sleep. Houses, kitchens, and stories will never, ever be perfect. We must be at peace with that.

When it's finished, my sister's kitchen will be beautiful. It's always been filled with love, laughter, and margaritas, and that will never change.

Our stories can be beautiful, and filled with love, laughter, and drama. Hopefully widening our vision will allow the reader a much richer experience.

Is there anything you'd like to add? Have you struggled with widening your vision, or does a writing partner, agent or editor help you push past that? Please share!

photo credit

Slay The Doubt Monster?

"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt." -- William Shakespeare


Welcome, Insecure Writer's Support Group!

Do you ever doubt your talent?

Me, too.


Recently, I was asked to be a guest judge for a contest over at Adventures in YA & Children's Publishing. (Awesome blog, by the way, in case you haven't visited yet)

I didn't jump at the chance and write the organizers back immediately. Why? Not because I didn't want to offer any help I could to other writers. No, I doubted my ability. I even wrote Martina back saying yes, I'd be happy to help, although I don't consider myself a strong enough writer to offer critiques. After all, I have so much to learn myself.

When I mentioned this to my super supportive hubby, this conversation followed:

Hubby: "Why aren't you qualified?"
Me: "Well, there are a lot of better writers than me."
Hubby: *feins shock* *both hands to his face, Home Alone style* *super sarcastic voice*  "Why are other writers better? Because they have books out?"
Me: *sheepishly* "Yes, but..."
Hubby: *rudely interrupts* "You mean...like Arnold Schwarzenegger? Snooki? The Kardashians? They must all be better writers than you, because they have books out." 

Okay, okay, I got his point.

Something we tend to forget is that even experienced, multi-published writers doubt themselves and their abilities. It's normal. Tennessee Williams once said, "I don't believe anyone ever suspects how completely unsure I am of my work and myself and what tortures and self-doubting the doubt of others has always given me."

Huh.

If we're doubtful, maybe it's partly a good thing. It makes us try harder. As Robert Hughes said, "The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize."

Ouch.

Let's embrace our doubting inner selves and still be creative, shall we?

Tell me, do you doubt your writing abilities on a regular basis? How do you push past it and remain creative?

Writing lessons learned from BEAUTIFUL CREATURES

I have to admit, "Beautiful Creatures," by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, is not a book I'd normally read. However, I did enjoy the story and will definitely watch the movie when it comes out on DVD. Here's a brief blurb from the back cover:

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps, and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Here are some of the writing lessons I learned from this book:

• Introduce the love interest soon: readers first experience Lena in one of Ethan's dreams. Ethan doesn't actually meet her until several pages later, but when it happens, it's natural. I've noticed that catchy love stories put the couple together soon, then throw obstacles in their way.
• Create unexpected scene details: Lena's home, old Ravenwood Manor, is known around town as the haunted house with a crazy shut-in who lives inside. When we first read about it, the exterior is as expected...peeling paint, boards creaking, vines covering the windows. But inside, the interior changes to match the mood of the scene...from light and modern to dark and spooky. The interior of the house almost became like another character to me, and I was interested to see how it looked in each scene.
• Create a unifying symbol or artifact: in this case, a crescent moon. It showed up on a necklace, an important book, and in other areas of the story. It all pointed back to the sixteenth moon, when Lena would be "claimed."
• Assign unique smells to locations and characters: the scents associated with Lena were lemons and rosemary. Those same smells came into play in the neighboring plantation, and tied in with the story. Amma, Ethan's beloved housekeeper/caretaker, loved crosswords. The scents associated with her were pencil lead and Red Hot candies. (For help on adding sensory details, see my post Wise Agent Advice: More Fleas, Please)
• Add a ticking clock: Lena writes numbers on her skin and her walls, and we soon learn this is a countdown to her sixteenth birthday. As the numbers dwindled, the tension increased.
• Ambiguous villains, heroes, and adults with secrets make things interesting: Uncle Macon seems like the creepy uncle no one wants to meet. Amma seems like an innocent caretaker who happens to practice voodoo. The librarian seems like a librarian. Each of these characters hold secrets of their own, and good vs. bad becomes a bit blurry. This kept the story interesting.

Have you used any of these writing tips in your own work? If you read this book, did you pick up other lessons you'd like to share?

How to Create an Author Page on Facebook

I'm technically challenged. When CD players first came out, I waited before I bought one. And waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, one of my good friends bought me two CDs for my birthday, which forced me to buy a player. I'm slow like that.

Fast forward several years. I have a personal Facebook page, but was intimidated about creating an author page. What I needed was Author Pages for Dummies. But I took the plunge and lived to tell about it.

If you'd like to connect and chat on Facebook, check out my new author page here!

If you haven't created an author page yet, I'll share what I learned. And if you already have an author page, feel free to correct me or chime in with your own tips for making a better page.

Author Pages for Dummies, Step #1--Sign Up

If you have a personal page, sign out. Then log on to Facebook.com. At the bottom of the screen, beneath the green "sign up" bar, you'll see "create a page for celebrity, brand or business."

It gives you the following options:

• Local Business or Place
• Company, Organization or Institution
• Brand or Product
• Artist, Band or Public Figure
• Entertainment
• Cause or Community

I chose Artist, Band or Public Figure. Once you click on that tab, you'll need to "choose a category." I chose "writer." 

Then you'll choose a name. I chose "Author Julie Musil" to differentiate from my personal account name. 

Agree to the terms, then click "get started." Type in all the password stuff, then click on "sign up now."

Congratulations, you have a page!

Author Pages for Dummies, Step #2--Customize

• Add your author photo. I used my Twitter photo, which is a couple years old, but it's recognizable. (I really need to learn how to air brush) Anyhoo...
• Add a banner. Some talented people, like Stina Lindenblatt, create their own banners. Like I said, I'm techie challenged, so for now I used a stock photo from MorgueFile. Lots of great images to choose from, and they're free of charge and free of hassle. 
• Upload content. I didn't want to invite people to an empty page, so I uploaded recent blog posts and accompanying images. Trial and error here, too--I learned to uncheck thumbnail if I didn't like the way it looked. I also learned to be sure my personal page was signed off, or it looked like my personal page posted to the author page. Ironically, creating an author page also encouraged me to learn more about Pinterest. I'm still new to this, but one of my fave authors, Jody Hedlund, regularly pins great stuff on her author page.

Author Pages for Dummies, Step #3--Spread the Word

I didn't want anyone to feel pressured about liking my author page. On my personal page, I let my friends and family know I'd created a page, and added the link. Many people ask how things are going with my writing life, and this way they can see on a regular basis.

Next I sent out a couple of tweets with the link.

I also added a Facebook badge to the sidebar on my blog. Facebook offers them here. I don't love what I have up now, so I'll play with it a little until I'm satisfied.

So that's the down and dirty on creating an author page on Facebook. If you've already done this, are there any additional tips you can add? Do you ever connect with authors on Facebook?

Poetry and Fiction--Interview With Author Michele Shaw

Have you ever read someone else's words and thought dang, how does she do that? Me too. I recently read Michele Shaw's full manuscript, and let me tell you, I was amazed. Her analogies are stunning. Her descriptions beautiful. Oh, and the plot was amazing. There's no doubt I'll be buying a hard copy in the near future.

What's her secret? I'm guessing it's because she's also a poet. If you haven't visited her blog yet, please stop by and read her poetry. It's a real treat. She captures an entire story and panoramic view in very few words. She was kind enough to shed some light on the inner workings of Michele Shaw.

1. I've read your poetry on your blog, and I was privileged to read your full manuscript. Your word choices are sparse, yet stunning. How difficult is it to find just the right word, one that conveys the perfect mood? 

Wow, funny you would ask me this question because I agonize over each word. I seriously can spend an entire day on one paragraph (and I have), but then I have to force myself to move on. It isn’t usually one word that conveys something for me, but a series of sentences with carefully chosen words and structure. It’s more about rhythm.

2. Do you consciously add poetic nuances to your works of fiction, or does it flow through you organically? 

It isn’t conscious at all for me, but just how the words flow from my brain. I guess I think in that mode at all times since I write poetry nearly every day.

3. It's obvious that poetry influences your fiction. What influences your poetry? 

I have so many influences from poets who write/wrote in structured verse to those who prefer free verse. I write both. I love Sylvia Plath and the darkness of Poe.

4. Have you always considered yourself a poet? Tell us a bit about your poetic journey. 

I submitted my first poem for a competition when I was in high school. Didn’t win a thing and though I kept writing, I didn’t submit poems anywhere until more recently. Poetry was more of a personal thing, but when I started posting poems on my blog, it got noticed and I am now submitting it and even seeing some of it published! Very exciting.

5. What's a favorite poem you wrote? What's a favorite poem written by someone else? 

A favorite poem of mine is called Skim--a sonnet. It’s a blending of fiction and poetry about a merman who collects mortal women.

Skim

A water walk in moonlit mist began,
her nightdress floating sheer against damp moss.
The search for whispered lovers crossed the span
with stardust moted air bespeaking loss.

One whistled sigh departed with regret;
familiar strangeness overtaking all,
as echoes high pulled currents to beget
wet anklets weaving closer to her fall.

Her steps did quicken, waving tides behind.
Ached yearning grabbed at birdsong to correct
increasing beats amongst the closing bind;
dewed fairies pleaded turning to protect.

Her capture through dank seaweed did supply
his wanted prize, another sweetheart’s cry.

(Unnecessary interruption from Julie Musil...guys, see what I mean?)

There is this white wall, above which the sky creates itself---

Infinite, green, utterly untouchable. Angels swim in it, and the stars, in indifference also.

They are my medium. The sun dissolves on this wall, bleeding its lights. A gray wall now, clawed and bloody.

Is there no way out of the mind? Steps at my back spiral into a well.

There are no trees or birds in this world, There is only sourness. This red wall winces continually : A red fist, opening and closing, Two gray, papery bags---

This is what I am made of, this and a terror

Of being wheeled off under crosses and a rain of pietas. On a black wall, unidentifiable birds Swivel their heads and cry.

There is no talk of immortality among these! Cold blanks approach us : They move in a hurry.

~Sylvia Plath

6. Any tips you'd like to share with aspiring poets? 

Write from the heart and in whatever way you feel comfortable. I believe poets have a writing voice just as authors have a voice.

Friends, she has the rare gift of making blow flies sound creepy yet pretty. Seriously.

Have you ever written poetry? Does poetry influence your work at all?