Jessica Brody's Blog, page 14

November 12, 2014

A Week of Mondays – Week 10 #BehindTheBook

I hope everyone’s having a great NaNoWriMo! I’m busying revising away and trying to fill in the countless blanks in my manuscript. Sheehs, Past Jessica! You really left me some big work!

Here’s a recap of what I did this week!

WEEKLY SUMMARY:

Date: 11/5/14 – 11/12/14

Word Count at the end of Last Week: 70,773

Word Count at the end of This Week: 74,450

Net Change: +3677

Total Pages Revised: 109

I spent another week revising what I already have and filling in holes that I’d left behind when I was “fast drafting” One giant hole that I filled up was a very important climatic scene that repeats itself each day (so I really had to get it right). When I was writing the first draft, I kept skipping this scene, because A) I wasn’t inspired to write it and B) I didn’t have enough information to write it. I knew this scene would be pivotal in each of the seven Mondays. I also knew this scene had to progress as the week went on and build upon the last iteration of it. And so I wanted to wait until I had more of the story ironed before I tackled it.

Earlier on in the week, I tried to write the scene and it came out horribly. I trashed the whole thing. Then I was afraid to try again, afraid that the second attempt would be just as horrible. I called up my very good friend Morgan Matson (who is my plotting buddy) and we talked it through. She offered me some great advice and sparked some amazing ideas. But I was still afraid to write the scene. So I did what I always do when I’m “stuck.” I went and got a massage. I do some of my best brainstorming on the massage table. I’m not sure why. Something about my mind relaxing, I don’t know! But it worked. Like it always does. Something clicked on that table and after the massage, I ran to my car to record the idea into my phone. I attempted to rewrite teh scene the next day and although it wasn’t perfect, I knew it was on the right track. It was a frame work I can work with. So over the next few days I started rewriting the other iterations of that scene and they continued to work. I also filled in a few more blank spots that I’d left along the way, rearranged a few blocks of text that weren’t working where they were, and added to my revision to-do list.

I’m almost caught up to the part where I left off on the first draft (middle of day 5). Once I catch up and I’ve filled all the holes I can, I’ll continue on with day 5 and finish the draft…as in, write “the end.” Then I’ll do another full pass of revision and another read-through before turning it in (hopefully by Thanksgiving!)

In case you missed the first post, I’m live blogging (diary style) the progress of writing my new manuscript, A WEEK OF MONDAYS (which will be released by FSG/Macmillan in Spring 2016), to give fellow writers (and readers) an inside look into my writing process. And maybe give me a little insight as well!

Click here to read the first post or you can follow all the posts by clicking here.

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Published on November 12, 2014 12:38

November 4, 2014

A Week of Mondays – Week 9 #BehindTheBook

This week is going to look a little different as I actually stopped drafting and went back to the beginning to start to revise. So the word count is not building, it’s actually getting smaller as I start to cut things and rearrange. So instead of giving you a day-by-day play-by-play, I’m going to sum up what I did this week in terms of revising the first 3/4 of the book.

WEEKLY SUMMARY:

Date: 10/29/14 – 11/4/14

Total Words Cut: 2,421

Total Words Added: 3,102

Net Change: +681

Total Pages Revised: 177

If you remember last week’s post, I was getting really frustrated and down about the manuscript. I felt like I was losing steam and losing control of some of the threads. This sometimes happens when you fast draft (writing a rough draft without going back to reread or edit as you go.) I love fast drafting (it’s how I’m able to write rough drafts in 2-3 months) but there usually comes a time in every rough draft (at least for me) when I start to feel out of control. Like I don’t know what the book is about anymore. This usually comes about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through the story. Right about the time when things have to start coming together, when loose ends have to start being tied up, etc. And that’s usually when I know I need to stop drafting and start the first revision. That’s when I go back to the beginning and start revising, filling in some of the blanks and placeholders that I left behind in my fast-draft wake. So that’s what I did this week. When I catch up to where I left off in the draft, I’ll then continue to write until the end. But hopefully, this time, I’ll feel a little better about what I’m doing and little more in control because I’ll have reviewed (and revised) a lot of the story leading up to that point.

After I write until the end, I’ll do another revision pass to make sure all the threads tie together and then I’ll probably do one more read-through to tweak and polish before send to my editor, agent, and beta readers for the first round of notes.

Here’s what I did this week:

I rearranged all of day 1 and 2, completing breaking down the structure of the days and putting them back together
I tried to cut down day 1 as much as possible (as it was WAY too long). I managed to get it from 100 pages to 90 pages but it’s still too long. It still need another chopping pass
I wrote the first version of the “break-up” scene (something I’ve skipped until now) but I don’t like it so I’ll have to rewrite it. However, I don’t know what it’s supposed to look like yet. It’s starting to form in my head, but it needs a few more days to brew before I can tackle it again.

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Published on November 04, 2014 11:27

October 28, 2014

A Week of Mondays – Week 6, 7, and 8 #BehindtheBook

Okay, so this is technically week 8, but week 6 and 7 I got absolutely NO writing done because I was on tour. So I’ve combined all three weeks into this one! But really, there’s nothing to report for weeks 6 and 7!

As always, below is my weekly summary (with chart!) and my daily breakdowns in case you’re interested in the more day-to-day process of writing.

Click on chart to see it bigger.

WEEKLY SUMMARY:

Date: 10/22/14 – 10/28/14

Weekly Words Written: 11,745

Total Words to Date: 69,678

Number of Writing Days: 6 (not too shabby!)

Average Daily Words: 1,958

Weekly Pages Written: 58

Total Pages To Date: 311

Average Daily Pages: 10

Weekly Chapters Completed: 12

Total Chapters to Date: 55 (whoa, that’s a lot of frickin’ chapters!)

Average Mood (1-10): 7

DAILY BREAK-DOWNS:

Day 50

DID NOT WRITE

Day 51

Date: 10/23/14

Words Written: 1,491

Pages Written: 7

Chapters Completed: 2

Time Elapsed: 1.5 hours

General Mood (1-10): 7 (not to shabby for first day back after two weeks!)

Coming back after not writing for two weeks is HAAARD. I really struggled to get back into the story and spent about an hour prep time, skimming back through (which I hate to do!) and re-outlining the next few chapters in Scrivener to get my head in the right place. In the end, it wasn’t quite as awful as I thought it would be. This book feels like a quilt right now. A quilt that’s still in a thousand pieces. I have several squares–some look better than others–that need to all fit together in the end but as of right now, they’re very piecemeal and separate. I know it’s going to take some work to get them to layout right and seam together, but for now, I’m still just building the squares. But I’m in this really crazy, scary, exciting places, where I can FEEL the book starting to come together. Or more, like I can feel how it WILL come together. It’s exciting but it’s also terrifying. Like, what if it doesn’t? What if it can’t be pieced together? What if after all this time, all I’m left with is 48 really nice quilt squares but no quilt?

Day 52

Date: 10/24/14

Words Written: 2,599

Pages Written: 12

Chapters Completed: 2.5

Time Elapsed: 2.0 hours

General Mood (1-10): 6

Today was a hit and miss day. I wrote 2.5 chapters (.5 because one chapter is way too short and needs more schtuff–see picture below–but I don’t know what that is yet.) I really like some of the stuff I wrote but other stuff is just meh. I’m feeling like I’m typing a lot of the same thing these days. A lot of looks and shrugs and nods. I need variation! But I’m happy with the dialogue at least. Sometimes I wish I could just insert a movie file into a book and hire actors to read the lines and interpret the actions so I don’t have to write them. Blah.

My spreadsheet tells me I only have 17,000 words to go before I finish this sucker. But I’m starting to have serious doubts about my estimate of 80k words. Yes, yes, I know it’s too long. But this first draft might be closer to 90k! (Don’t look, editor. Just don’t look.)

I took a picture of a manuscript page today and tweeted it. I’m pasting it in below. Sometimes you just have to put placeholders in and move on. I always figure out what will be there later (or sometimes the whole chapter is cut!) but I try not to let myself be too bogged down with stuff like this because it slows my momentum. This is how you avoid writer’s block. You just don’t allow it. You move on.

Day 53

Date: 10/25/14

Words Written: 3.107 (oh YEAH!)

Pages Written: 16

Chapters Completed: 2

Time Elapsed: 3 hours

General Mood (1-10): 8

Awesome day! I wrote another flashback scene. These are starting to become my favorite scenes to write! And it all started as an exercise to figure out one of my characters. Then I loved what came out of it so much, I decided to put a flashback into each Monday. And. AND! I’ve reached day 5!

Day 54

Date: 10/26/14

Words Written: 1,241

Pages Written: 8

Chapters Completed: 1.5

Time Elapsed: 1 hour

General Mood (1-10): 7

Feeling slightly less excited about what I wrote today than yesterday. I started Monday 5 today and usually that’s exciting (because it refreshes my enthusiasm) for the book, but I think I’m slowly reaching burn-out phase about now. I’m losing energy and momentum and enthusiasm by the day.

Day 55

Date: 10/27/14

Words Written: 2,377

Pages Written: 10

Chapters Completed: 2.5

Time Elapsed: 2 hours

General Mood (1-10): 8

Slight rebound today! YAY! I actually really liked what I wrote today. I skipped another scene. But what else is new? Future Jessica is NOT going to be happy about all the work she has cut out for her. But I assume (as I always do) that future Jessica will be much wiser and more creative than past Jessica. See, Future Jessica, I’m complimenting you. You’re a genius! Figure this S&^t out.

Day 56

Date: 10/28/14

Words Written: 930

Pages Written: 5

Chapters Completed: 1

Time Elapsed: 1 hour

General Mood (1-10): 4

Ugh. That’s what I have to say about today. I had a slight rebound yesterday and then came crashing down today. I am really running out of steam. Pulling words out today was like pulling the sword out of the stone (and I’m definitely no King Arthur.) And man were those bad words. Something needs to happen to rejeuvenate me or the rest of this book is not going to be pretty. And I’m SO close to the end! Like less than 20k words. Maybe even 10k! But I’m feeling SO VERY BLAH!

I’m highly considering employing a trick I use on a lot of manuscripts: go back to the beginning and start revising. Then write these last 20k words after I’ve revised the first 3/4 of the manuscript. Sometimes this strategy can be really helpful. When you start nearing the end, so many threads and plots have to come together and get resolved. It’s a very crucial part of the storytelling process and if you don’t have a firm grasp on what the rest of the book is saying, it can be really hard to write at this point. So that might be what I do. Since I really haven’t edited a single word of this MS (besides the prologue) it might be time to do that. Go back and reacquaint myself with the beginning and then write the ending once I’ve done a revision pass on the rest.

But that also means having to deal with all those big blank spaces that I left behind! Oh, Past Jessica. What have you done to me?

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Published on October 28, 2014 10:29

October 8, 2014

Introducing…UNLEASHED! An Unremembered Novella!

I’ve been keeping this secret under wraps for so long, I thought I might burst! I’m so excited to FINALLY announce that yes, there WILL be a second Unremembered novella! And yes, it WILL be from Kaelen’s point of view! HUZZAH!

Introducing…

UNLEASHED (Unremembered #2.5)

This was my first ever experiencing writing from Kaelen’s perspective and OMG, did I love it!!! He was SUCH a fun character to see the world through. I hope you Kaelen (and Zen!) fans will love his story as much as I do.

UNLEASHED will be well, unleashed into the world in January of 2015. So those of you waiting desperately for UNCHANGED on February 24, your wait will be a little less brutal!

This novella tells the story of what happened after Seraphina escaped the Diotech compound. And yes, the fire on the cover has some pretty major significance. Here’s the official description:

Seraphina has escaped the compound.

The president of Diotech has fallen gravely ill.

Now Dr. Alixter rests his last hope on a genetically enhanced soldier.

A boy designed to apprehend Sera. A boy incapable of failure…

Set in the thrilling sci-fi world of Jessica Brody’s Unremembered trilogy, this sinister and suspenseful novella recounts the untold story of what happened on the Diotech compound after the shocking ending of Unremembered. Told from Kaelen’s point of view, Unleashed also includes a special sneak peek of Unchanged, the long-awaited conclusion to the series.

And…I’ve posted a short teaser excerpt (the prologue) here!

I can’t wait to share this novella with all of you! And if you haven’t yet read UNDISCOVERED (Zen’s novella about meeting and falling in love with Seraphina), you can learn more about it here!

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Published on October 08, 2014 07:30

October 7, 2014

A Week of Mondays – Week 5 #BehindtheBook

Wow! Week 5 was a surprisingly good week!

As always, below is my weekly summary (with chart!) and my daily breakdowns in case you’re interested in the more day-to-day process of writing.

Click on chart to see it bigger.

WEEKLY SUMMARY:

Date: 10/1/14 – 10/7/14

Weekly Words Written: 14,356

Total Words to Date: 57,993

Number of Writing Days: 7 (HOORAH!)

Average Daily Words: 2,051 (pretty good for not being on retreat!)

Weekly Pages Written: 62 (Not too shabby)

Total Pages To Date: 253

Average Daily Pages: 9

Weekly Chapters Completed: 11

Total Chapters to Date: 34

Average Mood (1-10): 8 (In act 2!? Something must be terribly wrong!)

Almost to 60k words and I’m still on day 4 of 7. YOWZA this book is too long. But I keep assuring myself that it’s okay. I will cut later. I will cut later. I will cut later. It’s become my mantra. “You are good enough. You are smart enough. And you will cut later.” No but seriously. I have almost 60k words so far and I imagine only 50k (tops!) of them are keepable. The rest are just me meandering around, trying things out, wondering what it looks like over here, nope, not very interesting, back to the plot. Hopefully when I’m all done, I’ll be able to go back through and the things that shouldn’t be in there will jump out at me. “Me! Cut me! I suck!”

Oh, who am I kidding? Unnecessary words never ever do that. In reality, it’s more like, “WHAT?! You want to cut me!? But I’m so cute! And funny! And clever! Look how well I fit the plot. Just LOOK what will happen if you cut me. The whole damn thing will fall apart. I will find ALL the ways that I am worthy of staying and I will shout them from the rooftops! I will haunt you in your sleep!”

Sigh. I will cut later. I will be brutal. *Starts sharpening ax.*

DAILY BREAK-DOWNS:

Day 29

Date: 10/1/14

Words Written: 2,889

Pages Written: 12

Chapters Completed: 2

Time Elapsed: 1 hour

General Mood (1-10): 7

YAY! I found somewhere to put the short story, writing exercise that I did yesterday (see post here) and fell in love with! I think it really fits well and brings the characters to life. I’m so excited! You’ll also notice that this discover extremely helped my mood (which was at a 4 last time I left you.) A very nice bounce back. I also wrote a new chapter which was not anywhere near where I need it to be, but it was better than the delightful crud I wrote last week. BLECH! I shudder at the memory. I’m almost done with day 3 of the Week of Mondays. I know, I know, I’m WAY too far into this MS to only be a day 3. Don’t worry, I’ll hack it up to bits later. For now…onward!

Day 30

Date: 10/2/14

Words Written: 3,081

Pages Written: 14

Chapters Completed: 2

Time Elapsed: 2 hours

General Mood (1-10): 9 (REBOUND!)

Move over crush character, there’s a new crush in town! I just wrote two more chapters starring my new favorite character and I’m officially IN LOVE. Gosh, I’m a fickle, fickle author. But in all honesty, I think this is a good problem to have because I really really want the reader to love both of these characters. For the longest time, the second character was feeling so flat and vanilla to me. But this character came alive today and now we’re rolling! My mood bounced back up to a 9! AND…AND! I may have fixed my prologue! It probably will be total suckage when I go back and re-read it today, but for now, I’m feeling good about it. At least I feel like it’s moving in the right direction. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

Day 31

Date: 10/3/14

Words Written: 2,085

Pages Written: 10

Chapters Completed: 1

Time Elapsed: 1.5 hours

General Mood (1-10): 8

Okay, so I skipped about two chapters that I just really didn’t want to write and picked up on a scene I was excited about. I learned this tricks a few books ago and it works wonders for your overall momentum and general mood (see mood rating!) I know what needs to happen in those chapters (and I added bullet points in the MS so I can go back and flesh it out later) but today, I really needed to continue with my renewed excitement about the story, so I chose to write a scene I knew I’d have fun with. And I did! It’s a big transformation scene that I’ve been excited to write since I first outlined the book. So I continue my roll.

I have to admit, this book is starting to change in ways I didn’t expect. This is the fun, transformative part of writing from an outline, when you realize that what you planned for this book is actually not the entire book. That the story actually goes much deeper. I love this part, but it’s also very terrifying. I like to feel in control when I write. I like to know where I’m going and what I need to say. But this part of the journey is when everything starts to feel messy and hazy. Not in control at all. But it’s also the part where the true spirit of the book starts to show itself.

So I’m in a precarious stage right now. New ideas and themes and focuses are forming in the back of my mind. And they’re not fully fleshed yet. So I have to just let them simmer and hope that soon they’ll be clearer to me. And once they are, I’ll have to go back in my revision and weave them into the story. But for now, until that happens, I will just continue down my carefully manicured, outlined path, while the mess starts to accumulate in my head.

Day 32

Date: 10/4/14

Words Written: 1,993

Pages Written: 8

Chapters Completed: 2

Time Elapsed: 2.5 hours

General Mood (1-10): 8

I’m on day 4 of the seven Mondays! WOO HOO! This is going to be a REALLY fun day to write. I can’t tell you why, because I don’t want to spoil the story, but I’m already loving the first two chapters of the day. And Crush #1 character is back and I’m crushing on him again. Yup, fickle author again!

Nothing really to say about today. 2k words. Good. 8 mood rating. Good. All good!

Day 33

Date: 10/5/14

Words Written: 2,253

Pages Written: 9

Chapters Completed: 2

Time Elapsed: 2 hours

General Mood (1-10): 7

Today, I actually shuffled around my house (IN SLIPPER!) bemoaning, “I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to write today. Don’t make me do it!” Of course, there was no there to hear me, or to tell me I had to sit down and write the words. No one except myself, that is. And the foreboding knowledge that I leave for tour in three days and then my daily word count will pretty much be non-existent. So I took the advice so many writers have given over the years and I put my butt in the chair and the coffee in my cup and I just forced myself to write. The result was not as bad as I thought it would be given my mood and willingness to be there. I actually got out two chapters with a mood rating of 7, so not bad. It could have been much worse. And I also stumbled upon a very endearing little backstory for one of my characters that really helped focus the scene I was working on. My author friend, Lauren Kate, calls those Rabbit Holes. The little holes you fall down as you’re writing that take you to new, unexpected places and where you make new, unexpected discoveries about your character and your world. So today, I had a nice little rabbit hole detour that I think made the effort of forcing myself into the chair well worth it.

Day 34

Date: 10/6/14

Words Written: 1,013

Pages Written: 4

Chapters Completed: 1

Time Elapsed: 45 minutes

General Mood (1-10): 7

Was in a rush to run errands for the upcoming Fierce Reads tour so I didn’t have time to write my full word count. But oh, this chapter. It’s not written especially well (hence the 7 mood rating) but man, was it fun to write! It went in a completely different direction than I planned. And as I was writing it, I kept thinking, “DUH! This is the direction it HAS to go. In order for the end of the book to make more sense. It was like my character new exactly what her arc was supposed to be and was guiding me along it. Thanks, Ellie. I know I’m supposed to be the god of this world and carefully sculpt the character’s arc, but this time, the character was like, “no, no, just trust me. this is where I need to go.” YES! I love it when that happens.

I will have to go back later and clean up the actual writing. I felt like the ENTIRE chapter was “He looks.” “She laughs.” “I smile.” “He shrugs.” BLAH!

Day 35

Date: 10/7/14

Words Written: 1,042

Pages Written: 5

Chapters Completed: 1

Time Elapsed: 30 minutes

General Mood (1-10): 9

Whoa, that chapter just FLEW out of me. And again, it wasn’t anything like I expected it to be. But I loved it. And the character’s voice really took over in this chapter. So I just stepped aside and let her write it, because clearly she did a better job than me (note 9 mood rating!) Even though I’m still feeling like I’m dragging through this act 2, the character (Ellie) has really been coming into her own, taking shape. Sometimes it feels like when you start a book, you have a small indication of what the character is like. So you shape her and color her in and create cute little scenarios for her personality to shine in, and then as you keep going, she comes to life (like Pinocchio! I’m a real boy!) and then just struts off on her own and you, the writer, have to run to keep up with her. Huh, I wonder if that’s how parents feel when their kids start to grow up.

This will probably be my last writing day for a while. Tomorrow I leave for the Fierce Reads tour. And I know better than to try to write while touring. It’s never pretty. But I feel like I ended on a good note and am happy about where I’m at right now. To be continued upon my return!

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Published on October 07, 2014 11:17

October 6, 2014

The Complete Guide to Getting Published!

Look everyone! I’ve released my very first ever non-fiction book!

Introducing…

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO GETTING PUBLISHED!
An author-to-author guide to selling your novel to a major publisher.

Here’s the thing. I love helping other authors. It’s why I teach writing workshops. But the question I get asked the most by authors is this:

How do I get published???

After eleven years in the publishing business, I have a LOT to say about this topic. So much, that I decided to put it all into a book. And now you can download it to any eReader!

Here’s more about the book:

If you dream of selling your novel to a major publisher, then this is the book for you!

Jessica Brody—international bestselling author of more than ten novels—shares her secrets of success in this comprehensive step-by-step guide to writing, pitching, and selling your novel.

In this one-of-a-kind book you will learn:

The four key methods of effectively “pitching” your novel
How to write a query letter that will have agents begging to read your manuscript
The six tools for finding the perfect agent to represent your work
The Magic Query Maximizer—Jessica’s unique proven method for maximizing responses from agents
And everything you need to know about selling your novel!

But this informative author-to-author guide doesn’t stop when you land a book deal. Jessica will also walk you through:

Navigating your first book contract
The journey from signature to publication
The complex and exciting world of foreign and film rights
Understanding advances, royalties, and other book-related income
Marketing your novel like a pro
And so much more!

With ten book contracts to date, eight film options, and over thirty-five foreign rights deals in more than twenty countries, Jessica Brody packs over eleven years of publishing industry experience into one easy-to-follow handbook that is a must-have for every author.

Order your copy today!

Nook and iBookstore coming soon!

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Published on October 06, 2014 09:46

October 2, 2014

YA Scavenger Hunt: Fall 2014 Edition

Welcome to the Fall 2014 YA Scavenger Hunt! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize–one lucky winner will receive one signed book from each author on the hunt in my team! (THE BLUE TEAM!!) But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are six contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the BLUE TEAM– but there is also a red team, an orange team, a gold team, a green team, and an indie team for a chance to win a whole different set of signed books!

If you’d like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt Author List.

If you get stuck or need help, you can check out the How to Hunt page.

Scavenger Hunt Puzzle team red

Directions: Below, you’ll notice that I’ve listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the blue team, and then add them up (don’t worry, you can use a calculator!).

Entry Form: Once you’ve added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian’s permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by October 5th, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

Welcome, Martina Boone!

Today, I am hosting Martina Boone on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt!

Martina Boone was born in Prague and spoke several languages before learning English. She fell in love with words and never stopped delighting in them.

She’s the founder of AdventuresInYAPublishing.com, a Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers site, and YASeriesInsiders.com, a site devoted to encouraging literacy and all things YA Series.

From her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband, children, and Auggie the wonder dog, she enjoys writing contemporary fantasy set in the kinds of magical places she’d love to visit. When she isn’t writing, she’s addicted to travel, horses, skiing, chocolate flavored tea, and anything with Nutella on it.

You can follow Martina on her website, blog, tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, twitter, and YouTube.

About Compulsion

Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse

Hardcover, 10/28/14 ISBN: 1481411225

Three plantations. Two gifts. One ancient curse.

All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lives with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead–a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.

Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who somehow seems to know what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family’s twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.

“Darkly romantic and steeped in Southern Gothic charm, you’ll be compelled to get lost in the Heirs of Watson Island series.” — #1 New York Times Bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout

Pre-order on:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Indiebound

Book Depository

Pre-Order Giveaways Going on Now at www.CompulsionToRead.com.

Exclusive Content

This bonus material is the first of the letters that Barrie’s mother, Lula, wrote to her over the course of her life and never gave to her. Barrie has yet to discover these letters exist.

Dear Barrie,

You are two years old today. I stood by your crib when the clock struck midnight, just watching you sleep the way I do sometimes, the way I used to watch the Fire Carrier setting fire to the river every night from my balcony. I wonder if that’s part of the gift, too, the instinct to stay up at night to watch him perform his ceremony. Do I feel it from clear across the country, do you think? Is that why I can never sleep?

I wonder how you will grow up without all that. No Fire Carrier, no oak-lined drive and plantation house, no maze or fountain or river. No shadowy knee-high pests that make life at Watson’s Landing a hell and a delight, hiding your things, tripping people, getting back at Daddy constantly because they hate him. Oh, how they hate him! And I take satisfaction in that these days, hoping they are heaping misery on him by the bucketful so that he feels some of the pain I feel.

Will you have the migraines, too, and if so, how soon? Maybe they won’t come before I die. I hope not, but I have no idea how the gift really works.

That ignorance seems so strange to admit. But so many things seem strange. How will I ever explain them all to you, and tell you what my choices have done to ruin your life?

I’ve written to Daddy more times than I can count begging to come home, or at least to let you go home. I’ve written to Pru, too, and even though I know by now Daddy won’t give her the letters, I can’t keep from continuing to send them. You’ll understand as you get older. It’s a double pull, the binding to Watson’s Landing and the draw of blood. We aren’t meant to leave the place. Three hundred years of magic binds us there. Duty binds us there. I learned that lesson too late, and now you will pay the price for it.

The world is a much darker place than you can possibly imagine, my sweet baby girl. But the ugliest monsters are the human ones. Always remember that.

*****

Thanks for stopping by my blog, Martina! Don’t forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me (Jessica), and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 11. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the blue team and you’ll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

Continue the Hunt

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author on Danielle Paige’s blog.

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Published on October 02, 2014 09:00

October 1, 2014

A Week of Mondays – Week 4 #BehindtheBook

Week 4 and more than halfway through the rough (emphasis on ROUGH) draft!

As always, below is my weekly summary (with chart!) and my daily breakdowns in case you’re interested in the more day-to-day process of writing. And notice the MASSIVE drop in mood this week! YIKES!

Click on chart to see it bigger.

WEEKLY SUMMARY:

Date: 9/24/14 – 9/30/14

Weekly Words Written: 6,701 (ouch!)

Total Words to Date: 43,577

Number of Writing Days: 2

Average Daily Words: 3,350

Weekly Pages Written: 34 (but only because of retreat and a few chapters that ended at the top of the page!)

Total Pages To Date: 191 (almost to 200!)

Average Daily Pages: 17

Weekly Chapters Completed: 5

Total Chapters to Date: 32

Average Mood (1-10): 5 (yikes!)

I did NOT do well this week. I have to give myself a tiny bit of leniency as I was traveling a ton this week and only managed to get in two days of writing on the manuscript, plus a bonus day (see day 28 for more about this). But of those two days, it was not pretty. Wowza. Here’s to a better week starting tomorrow!

DAILY BREAK-DOWNS:

Day 22

Date: 9/24/14

Words Written: 5,3,24

Pages Written: 28 (deceptive number as there were a few part breaks and chapters ending at the top of a page)

Chapters Completed: 4

Time Elapsed: 6 hours

General Mood (1-10): 6 (slipping!)

The last day of the retreat. I really had to push myself to break through the 5k ceiling and let me tell you, it was not pretty. This muddle of the manuscript is feeling pretty dang messy right now. I feel like all my characters are just talking heads and all my narrative read like this, “She looked. He smiled. We laughed.” UGH! This is the part of the manuscript that I DO NOT LIKE. Even though my word count was high, I was pretty unhappy with most of what I wrote. I kept having to remind myself that I can fix it later. I can delete it ALL later. Future Jessica is a brilliant, all-seeing, rested genius who will save everything. I look to YOU, Future Jessica! Do not disappoint me!

Day 23

DID NOT WRITE

Day 24

DID NOT WRITE

Day 25

DID NOT WRITE

Day 26

DID NOT WRITE

Day 27

Date: 9/29/14

Words Written: 1,377

Pages Written: 6 (whoa, there must have been a LOT of dialogue!)

Chapters Completed: 1

Time Elapsed: 1 hour

General Mood (1-10): 4

UGH. My first day with a mood rating below 5. Yup. I’ve officially reached the middle of the book and it’s officially awful! It’s also my first day writing at home after the magical writing retreat. So it felt like I’d just returned from a light and bright fairy castle to my dark and dingy writing dungeon, looked around, and then threw up. Today I tweeted, “Just wrote 1300 of the crappiest crap words in existence.” And that’s exactly how I feel. It was a struggle sitting down to write today and a HUGE struggle even getting those 1300 words out. I’m now in the place where I hate everything about this book. The plot, the setting, the characters (except my special crush character!), my vocabulary, even my keyboard! It’s just all BLAH! MEH! BLERG!

And of course it doesn’t help that I just finished reading Jandy Nelson’s I’LL GIVE YOU THE SUN which is art in written form and has effectively inspired me and made me feel like a hack at the same time. Impressive! I did, later in the day, have a minibreak through about a character that’s been giving me trouble, so I maybe tomorrow I shall have a bit more inspiration to work with. But right now it feels like I’m scraping the gunk off the bottom of an empty well. YUM!

Day 28

Date: 9/30/14

Words Written: 2,504 (but not on the manuscript, see below.)

Pages Written: 11

Chapters Completed: n/a

Time Elapsed: 1.5 hours

General Mood (1-10): n/a

Okay, after yesterday, I decided to give myself a break on the WIP and try something new. I’ve heard countless writers give the same piece of advice: when you’re stuck, write something else in the same world. So I decided to give that a try today. In order to get to know a character that’s been eluding me since I started this manuscript, I decided to write a short story about the time my main character first met this character. I thought it might help get me out of my slump and back on track. It was really a wonderful exercise! I learned SO much about this elusive character and he’s now so much clearer in my head! I really do hope to include this short story somewhere in the manuscript, maybe in a flashback as I think it will help illuminate this character to the reader as well. But I’ll have to find the right place to do that.

In the meantime, I think this exercise really did the trick. I hope tomorrow I can jump back into the WIP with a renewed enthusiasm!

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Published on October 01, 2014 08:43

September 29, 2014

A Week of Mondays – Week 3 #BehindtheBook

Okay, wow. Week 3 is already complete. Sorry for the delay in posting! I can’t believe I’ve been working on this book for nearly a month! It has FLOWN!

As always, below is my weekly summary (with chart!) and my daily breakdowns in case you’re interested in the more day-to-day process of writing.

Click on chart to see it bigger.

WEEKLY SUMMARY:

Date: 9/17/14 – 9/23/14

Weekly Words Written: 19,729 (includes first three days of retreat!)

Total Words to Date: 36,976

Number of Writing Days: 5

Average Daily Words: 3,945

Weekly Pages Written: 83

Total Pages To Date: 157

Average Daily Pages: 17

Weekly Chapters Completed: 12

Total Chapters to Date: 27

Average Mood (1-10): 7.2 (1.3 lower than last week! GAH! The middle!)

DAILY BREAK-DOWNS:

Day 15

DID NOT WRITE

Day 16

Date: 9/18/14

Words Written: 2,047

Pages Written: 6

Chapters Completed: 2

Time Elapsed: 2 hours

General Mood (1-10): 6

Well, my word count was strong today but I dropped back down to a 6 on the mood scale. I don’t know, I just felt really meh about the words today. They were fine. Just fiiiine. Nothing special. I felt like I was just kind of going through the bullet points of my outline today, checking things off. Nothing about today’s writing felt at all inspired or surprising. It just…was. So I rated it a 6. I’m trying to get to a certain point in the manuscript before I leave for a writing retreat on Saturday, so today felt like a “going through the motions” day. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll bounce back.

Day 17

Date: 9/19/14

Words Written: 3,477

Pages Written: 15

Chapters Completed: 2

Time Elapsed: 2 hours

General Mood (1-10): 8

Wow. I was on a roll today! Almost 3500 words. And, AND! I finally finished day 1! I leave for a writing retreat tomorrow and my goal was to get to day 2 before I left. So mission accomplished! As expected, the first day is WAY TOO LONG and will require some major trimming in the next draft. But I can’t really edit it down until I write the rest of the Mondays so I know what parts turn out to be important.

My mood also bounced back today! I felt pretty good about what I wrote today. It’s rough but it was still better than I expected.

I did skip my first scene today. It’s a pretty important scene and I felt like I needed to be in a different place (time wise and creatively) in order to write it right. So I skipped it. I put a place holder in of what needs to happen there and I jumped to the next scene. This is why I always outline, so that I’m able to do this. So I always know what comes next. Learning to skip scenes and keep the momentum going on the manuscript is one of the most important things I’ve learned in the seven years that I’ve been writing professionally. And today that lesson paid off. I was able to write 15 pages without getting bogged down on a scene I wasn’t yet inspired to write. One day, I will know it’s time to write that scene, and it may not be until the second draft, but all I know is that day wasn’t today.

Day 18

DID NOT WRITE

Day 19

Date: 9/21/14

Words Written: 5,641 (First day of retreat bliss)

Pages Written: 25

Chapters Completed: 4

Time Elapsed: 6 hours

General Mood (1-10): 7

Ah, the first day of my annual writing retreat. It feels like I just vomited 5600 words onto the page. They’re not pretty, but they’re there. I got so much done in the manuscript. Eventually I will have to clean up the vomit (that’s future Jessica’s problem!) but for now, I’m pretty happy with what I have. I gave myself a 7 mood rating for the day. Some chapters were more of a 9 while others were more of a 5, but all in all, 7 feels right.

This is why I do these retreats, so I can spend entire days just writing and force myself to get as many words down as possible in the shortest amount of time. So right now, I’m feeling very productive, even if my brain feels like it’s been lit on fire. Let’s see what tomorrow brings!

Day 20

Date: 9/22/14

Words Written: 6,063

Pages Written: 29 (although some might have been mostly blank part break pages)

Chapters Completed: 4

Time Elapsed: 6 hours

General Mood (1-10): 6

Retreat continues! I notice my word count has stayed up but my mood about what I’m writing is dropping. There’s no doubt these words are total crap. But they’re crap I can eventually fix! When I’m in retreat mode, I just write and write and don’t look back. I try to get as many words down on the page as possible and keep myself from reading back through it. It’s a mess right now but I’m nearing the middle point of the manuscript and that’s exciting!

Day 21

Date: 9/23/14

Words Written: 2,501

Pages Written: 8

Chapters Completed: 1

Time Elapsed: 3 hours

General Mood (1-10): 9

Well, I think I burnt myself out on those first two days of the retreat because today it was like squeezing juice from a rock. I got 2500 words which is still great and still better than my usual word count at home, and my mood about the writing went up (I really loved what I wrote today!) but I just couldn’t bring myself to write anymore. I hope with the mini “break” today, tomorrow I’ll be able to bounce back into the 5k mark!

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Published on September 29, 2014 10:29

September 26, 2014

YA Scavenger Hunt is Coming Soon!

It’s that time again! We have less than one week until the YA Scavenger Hunt begins. I hope you reserved plenty of time for this one because there isn’t just one team or two or even three. This time we have 6, that’s right, I said 6 YASH teams which means more prizes, news, and fun for all you readers out there! So let’s get started!

TEAM RED INCLUDES:

TEAM GOLD INCLUDES:

TEAM GREEN INCLUDES:

TEAM ORANGE INCLUDES:

TEAM INDIE INCLUDES:

TEAM BLUE INCLUDES:

There are so many books here I don’t even know where I would begin. I hope you all are as excited as I am! The YA Scavenger Hunt begins at noon pacific time on Thursday, October 2nd and runs through Sunday, October 5th. That means to get through the entire hunt you’ll need to go through 1.5 teams per day!

Leave a comment below to tell me which team you are the most interested in checking out!