Elizabeth Sharp's Blog, page 16

Natural Selection Interviews - Xander

As we get closer to my release date I was thinking of doing something special to get everybody ready for Natural Selection. I decided to steal a page from Liz Schulte's blog and do character interviews. Only instead of post, these are pre-casting interviews, the ones that got them the role. I will share the ten questions each one was asked and share their answers.

First up is the first character cast in this craziness. You would think that it was Amelia, but honestly, she was the hardest to cast. I still don't think I have her right. So, without further adieu, Alexander Hoffman's casting interview

Hello Alexander, how are you today?
*shrugs* Call me Xander
Xander then. Please have a seat. So today you are auditioning for the part of the older brother, is that correct?
Yes.
OK, well let's right in then. What in your opinion is the most rewarding part about being a big brother?
Knowing someone is looking up to me and counting on me.Makes me feel like I can conquer anything.
What has been your biggest accomplishment so far in life?
I haven't killed anyone yet, that's an accomplishment. *laughs*
When you meet adversity, how do you overcome it?
With a sledgehammer? *grin*
What do you feel is your greatest strength?
My ability to see the joke in everything. And have you seen these guns? *strikes pose*
You don't take much seriously, do you?
What's the point? Life's too funny to be serious.
What do you feel are the most difficult decisions to make?
Whether or not to tell someone something they need to hear but will be hurt by.
Wow, that was deep.
I'm a deep kinda of guy. *grins devilishly*
*eye roll* If you could redo one thing in your past, what would it be?
My third grade pictures. Who's idea was the damn bowl cut anyway?
What challenges do you most look forward to in the role of big brother?
Keeping my little sister safe despite her best efforts to put herself in danger.
What appeals to you most about this role?
I get a lot of chicks? *chuckles* No, I love the closeness of the family. Family is important to me.
What are your goals in the next five years?
Once I finish high school I think I want to wait to go to college. I'm not all that ambitious so I think winning the lottery then lounging by a pool for ten or fifteen years sounds pretty good. *grins and raises eyebrows a couple times*
Ok, last question. What would you like to say to me to get me to consider you for this role?
Dude, I'm awesome. I'd rock it and you know it. *grins then gets up and leaves*


Join us Friday when we interview Sariah Hoffman.

Just call me Mr. Rabbit....

"I'm late, I'm late,
for a very important date
No time to say hello goodbye
I'm late, I'm late, I'm late"

Ugh, 25,000 words in eight days and can I focus. Ppsshh! No. I decided to set the standard at 2,000 words a day for the weekend and 5,000 a day for weekdays. I know I can do it because I did it  several times while writing Natural Selection. What I didn't count on was all my friends suddenly having rare windows in their schedules for things, a sick kitty we can't figure out what's wrong with and a general 'Meh' feeling about things. I feel stressed and tired and a little balky. What am I going to do about it? Plug on, keep going and try to worry about one thing at a time. Kitty is in the vet's hands, friends are satisfied with the time spent with them and I am about to force myself to write whatever it takes. And I DID get around 5,000 words written between Friday and now, so there's that....

The way things are looking schedule wise:
Natural Selection is due back from the editor Saturday. This is why Second Nature has to be done by then. Once I get Natural Selection back, I need to go through the editor's suggestions (which I almost never argue with so far since she really gets what I'm trying to say and is amazing) send it off for a second edit, fix anything she's got, then send it to be formatted and published. While the second edit is being done I need to try and get as much of the content edit done as possible. Once its off to be formatted, the content edit will be finished. Then I will give myself a brief break during the actual publication window to promote my book (so if you're interested in reviewing it for me let me know and I will get an ARC as soon as it's formatted) then back to do a full edit which has to be done and to the editor by September 6, when I will start the conclusion of the trilogy, Better Nature. *pant, pant, pant* But this time I will be going in knowing my time table so I think I will be able to get things done much faster. :D

So yeah, if I'm not around this week, that's why. I will hopefully be doing some lead up to my release after this, but who knows. MAybe I'll sit down and write several in advance and scedule my posts. I've been wanting to switch to that format anyway. I've got some good ones, sharing some of the research and background that went into my story. So for now, I will sign off, until next time.

Drum roll please

I am proud to be part of the re-imagining of MD Christie's upcoming release, The Sight, coming midnight, November 1. The cover design is one of my own, and I'm as happy with it as she is. :D

You are NOT gonna wanna miss this one. I've had the pleasure of reading the first couple chapters and it's a wonderful story, and well written, too. But you don't have to take my word for here. But don't just take my word for it. Here's the blurb:

Ever since the night of her Parents Disappearance eight years ago; 17 year old Ella St. John has known she was different.  

The CREATURE… did he take her parents that night, or was it a delusion?  

FLASHBACKS… Keep her from living her life. 

AUNT SAGE… Keeps secrets, does she know more than she lets on? 

The sudden feeling of BEING WATCHED…. What does it all mean? When Ella St.John Heads home from her shift at the Pink Java Cafe, she hardly expects to be attacked. Much less by the same creature responsible for her parents mysterious disappearance eight years earlier. This is Ella's first encounter with a dark creature of Murumendi; but it certainly won't be her last. Within moments Ella's life as she knows it is ripped away, forcing her to discover who and what she really is. Will she be able to handle the truth? 

The Sight Book One of The Glamour Series will take you on a Fantastical Journey of Love, Loss, and the Battle between Good vs. Evil.

Want more? Well head on over to her website and read her prologue, or her blog. Or you  can catch her on Facebook, Twitter or even Goodreads. Also if you haven't lately, you should check out 4Corners Press. It's had another face lift and it's gorgeous!

Some reflection

So Liz Schulte wrote an amazing blog on platforms and it got me think. I know a lot of you see my page, but many of you actually READ it? And if you do read it, does my endless bitching about word counts, lack of productivity and real life intrusions interest and/or entertain? Or am I rambling away here just to hear myself speak?

I try to strive for balance, to let you in on the "real" me. Since I DO use a pen name, it makes it easy, since i speak of myself as a third party, or a second personality. But the fact is I am always Donna, and I'm always Elizabeth. I see the world around me differently than most people do. Where I don't see a story, I see a painting, photo or other artwork. The sound most people don't notice is locked away for later use. Every sense is processed for whether or not it is something I can use or not. But the question is where do you draw the line?

I am an infrequent poster, I know. And as my book gets closer to publication (it's less than a month, eep) I'm trying to be more conscious and aware, maintaining what I started. Because maybe it slipped a little in the last few months but I genuinely care about all of my followers. I read all your blogs, I just don't comment. I love hearing what's going on in your lives. But it's time for me to put my time where my mouth is and let you all know I'm still here. I will comment, I will converse, I will be there if you need me. Not because I want you to rush out and buy my book (which would be awesome) but because that is important to me. I've always felt the most important thing I can do in life is help others. And maybe, just maybe, the world will be there to help me when I need it.

What does this all mean for me? I haven't a clue really. But I know the kind of personality I want to be and this isn't it. No more excuses, Nut up or shut up. :D So here I go.

PS be on the look out over the next month as I build up to the release of Natural Selection August 12. Hopefully there will be some fun ones in there.

Milestones

It's amazing the milestones that validate us as authors. Finishing Natural Selection felt pretty damn good, but I knew I still had a lot of work to do. I was fifteen thousands words short of my goal and I knew it was going to be a lot of work. When I finally finished the content edit it was fully fleshed out and a whole story. It felt good but still a little hollow since i knew the biggest hardest edit was still to come. Last night i finished that that edit and shipped it off to the editor. And despite all the steps that came before and the fact that I've felt like a "Writer" for months, maybe even years, this is the moment it was reinforced. Last night I had so many emotion going through me I couldn't begin to express them, a hard place for a writer to be. So I took the evening to bask in it. There might have been a happy dance that somewhat resembled the "What a Feeling' dance from Flashdance. :D

But now it's morning and time to focus on the next milestone. By August 12, when Natural Selection will be published (insert scream similar to Home Alone here) I want Second Nature done. And since it's sitting just under thirty thousand words, that is not only achievable but likely. I am working on a project with Liz Schulte which we're still not ready to go into yet since it's still kind of early, but it's going to be epic. So just because one project is drawing to a close doesn't mean I'm done.

I have two stories  in mind for when I am finally done with Lia's story, plus the one I already started. I don't know what order they will all be told or how quickly. But they will all be told... You haven't haerd the last of me.

But it leaves me with a question for all of you. Which of the MANY milestones on the road to publication is the most validating for YOU?

The House That Built Me

Today the line between Elizabeth and Donna is going to get a little blurry. I am a big fan of the show the Voice and just got done watching. Dia Frampton performed "The House that Built Me" with Miranda Lambert. The song sent me on a mental journey to the house that stands out in my mind. Some of you know it, since it is the house I used as inspiration for Lia's in Natural Selection.

Now I don't know why this house stands out the most in my mind. Well, really I do, and I'll get there. It wasn't the happiest I"ve ever been, that is other houses, one of which I probably still know the owners and could walk around if I wanted to. It wasn't the house I lived in the longest, that one is the one I'm in now and the longest before that is an empty field now.

This house stands out as one of the more traumatic places I've lived. This is where many of the things I wrote about in my Musings of a Fragile Mind blog happened. It was a place of pain and trauma. Yet it stand out in my mind as the house of my childhood, the house that built me... There's a story int here, maybe someday I"ll write it...

A day as Elizabeth Sharp

I've screwed around all day and don't feel I've accomplished anything, and I"m ok with that. It means I have a lot to do another day, but it was nice. Now I have no choice but to get to editing since I still have to do five chapters to get done on time...

I want to make a profound entry today, but I'm not feeling profound. I'm feeling tired and weighed down and a little anxious. Probably because I have to work tomorrow since I agreed to finish out my schedule... I have to work three more days, including five hours tomorrow and two 8 hour Saturdays in a row... *blech* But I wanted to blog so I opted for blogging about nothing. And so from my desire to not accomplish anything, I give you a day in the life of Elizabeth Sharp:

9:00 am Though I've been awake for a little while I am only now stumbling out of bed. I collapse, bleary eyed into my computer chair and check all my emails (I have six) and Facebook to see what immediately needs my attention. I deal with those (these tend to be typos in something I've made, a minor tweak in an image, something that needs added or removed from the website, etc...)

10:00 am Due to my issues I have to set a schedule. This is when I am supposed to eat breakfast, take a shower, get dressed, all the taking care of myself things that should be automatic. Normally however, this time placer breezes by without me noticing as I chat on Facebook, look through stock art, check my Twitter, Goodreads, Deviant Art, and generally just surf the web.

10:30 am Realizing I am already behind schedule, I decide I can skip the shower for now and continue working on the computer. I will take time to do all that hygiene stuff this afternoon. Instead I open MS and start writing, Adobe and start manipulating and continue chatting on Facebook and checking my sites. This is not an or thing, I'm doing all of them at once.

11:50 I realize I have been so engrossed in my tasks I haven't eaten yet. However it is too late in the day now, so I will just wait for lunch.

Noonish My husband arrives home for lunch, wrenching me forcefully from the writing i have only just managed to fully submerge myself in. He fixes his lunch and proceeds to repeatedly speak to me despite the fact that I am obviously trying to write. I give up on trying to write with him there and switch to art or Facebook.

1:00pm I realize that though my husband has been gone for over half an hour, I still haven't returned to my art. I also realize about this time I never took anything out for dinner and there's no time to defrost naturally. Oh, ewll, I'll defrost something in the microwave later. Back to writing/arting/facebooking.

3:00 pm: I suddenly have a panic attack thinking it's late and I need get dinner started. I go rifle int he freezer for something that sounds tasty and dig it out. Nothing does but I select something anyway. I then realize that it is too early to start dinner, so I leave the meat sitting to thaw a little before i defrost it. I return to "work"

4:30 pm I realize my husband will be home in hte next hour expecting dinner which I now don't feel like cooking at all. I decide to continue working and pretend I lost track of time. Maybe I can throw those fish sticks in the oven.

5:30 Hubby arrives home, tired and a little cranky cause things are kind of stressful for him at work right now. When he realizes there is nothing cooking he comes into the office where I am typing furiously on my latest chapter, hoping he doesn't notice by the low word count that I spent more time screwing around online than working. I tell him I got lost in my work and lost track of time, and he nods. By now it is an excuse he is used to and honestly valid a lot of the time, just not at dinner time. I may or may not have eaten yet (it's an ongoing issue. I'm working on it) so I could be starving and want food now, no time to cook. We spend time batting around places to go while I pretend to look in the freezer and fridge and cabinets like I'm trying to find an alternative. I deliberately don't see the Hamburger Helper, the fish sticks and the meal in a box that can be ready in half an hour as we decide where to go tonight.

Sixish We arrive home and I plop back in my computer chair where I realize my day slipped by without me actually accomplishing anything so I loose myself in my work, trying to make up for a day spent slacking.

Ninish: Hubby gets bored playing WoW and expects me to entertain him. Depends on my mood and level of productivity whether or not he gets his wish.

10:30 If I watched something with hubby or not, by this point I am back in my chair trying to work. I hear him come into the office and hear the tell-tale signs of him getting in his computer chair, but i know he is not here to play on his computer. Eventually I look over and see him peeking at me over the back of his chair, only his glasses and hair visible over the top. I attempt to ignore him but he makes a nuisance out of himself so eventually i stop to see what ridiculous outfit he has chosen for tonight's "seduction". He has used a sock, "tighty-whities" I bought him that are The Flash, a faux-lather thong some friends bought him as a joke, his Budweiser boxers with a certain part hanging out the open flap... You get the picture... I either look back at my computer and tell him a reason I can't "I already made Liz wait so we could watch true blood" "MD is having a crises and needs me" "If I don't get this written I"m going to forget. Go on in and if you're still awake when I'm done I'll be in" (The last one is my favorite because he never is awake.) If I do give in, it won't take too long until I'm back. Fast doesn't mean a lack of efficiency either. (Now that you know more about my husband than you ever wanted to, read on anyway)

11:00 pm Whether I yielded to "Flash Flea Gordon" as my friends call him or not, I realize the day is almost gone. Suddenly I am charged with energy and ideas and I type furiously or manipulate the crap out of some art.

12:00am I get to a point and realize I need an opinion, and everyone else has gone to bed. Maybe I should to. I go to start closing all the windows I have open, but decide to a few last things in each as I close them.

1:00 am I finally get everything closed and make it to bed, where i pick up my Kindle to read my latest book.

3:00 am I wake up, praying the drool on my Kindle won't ruin it. I check to make sure I didn't turn any pages in my sleep and realize that I only read two paragraphs. Oh, well, there's always tomorrow....

OK folks, I know i'm not a book blogger, but I got anothe...

OK folks, I know i'm not a book blogger, but I got another awesome one for you. Allen Schatz has written an amazing mystery, Game 7: Dead Ball. It's a really good mystery (though I'm not done with it yet) which is a lot coming from an urban fantasy lover like me. I will give a more complete review if your interested when I finish it, but for now the books is available in both ebook and hard cover.

Amazon
CreateSpace
B&N - ebook only.

LiveScribe Echo

I have always written long hand. I got my first computer when I was already old enough to drink, so by that time my writing habits were pretty set. The problem is I hate transcribing. I'm a crappy typist at best. I have taken numerous touch typing courses and I still can't get the hang of it. I spend alot of my time looking at where my fingers are and because of it I'm  not the fastest typist. This gets really hard when you add a third thing, a piece of paper I have to look at.

But writing entirely on my computer creates a different problem all together. There are too many distractions and many of my friends keep in touch with me online. So when I am working on my writing, I have Facebook open in a browser. I tend to try working on multiple projects at once, getting nothing accomplished. There has to be some middle ground, right?

Well yesterday I think I found it. I purchased the LiveScribe pen and so far it's a Godsend. I was able to write 719 words while watching television. But that's just another distraction you say? ah, but it's not a distraction when watching television is what you set out to do and you just happen to write while you're at it. Imagine what I can do with my full mind concentration!

So how's work? There's special notebooks full of special dot paper that the pen recognizes. You write normally. When you're done, you hook the pen up to your computer where it opens in the LiveScribe desktop. To convert your handwriting to typed text, you have to download an app through Livescribe called MyScript. Apps are not cheap, but $30 with the 15% off coupon it comes with isn't unbearable. It would have been nice to know this BEFORE I bought the pen. There was a lot of frustration getting the two to cooperate,  and I honestly don't know how I fixed it, but in the end it worked and that's all I care about. do I recommend this system to other writers? Maybe. IF you prefer to write longhand AND you have some money to play with AND you have patience to copy and paste the text into Word, then yes, this is a good way to do it. If you possess self discipline and can make yourself turn off the social networking and hoe the ground in front of you, save your money. But if you like me, need to completely disconnect to write at times, this could be the solution you've been waiting for.

Wanna know more about LiveScribe? Click here to check out there site, or click the link above to go straight to the pen I bought. Please don't just get it cause I said so. Do your homework and make sure it's the right choice for you....

What's in a name?

Everyone knows that quote from the bard, and most likely the next one about roses. But as a writer, I'm interested in names, because a name can make or break a character, or it can be just a name. I have several different processes in naming my characters, and I thought I'd share today.

1) Some characters come complete with a name. When I created the characters that eventually got cast in Natural Selection, most of them came with a name already attached. Admittedly they all got changed when they moved, but there wasn't conscious thought of "I name you this" at the time it was just part of them.
2) Sometimes I just need a moment to reflect and the perfect name jumps out at me. I ove that ah ha moment, but the more I write, the more characters I create, the harder this gets.
3) 4) 5) My newest method, that works when I have no internet access. I grab a random magazine and open to a random page and use the first appropriate name I find. This happens twice in Second Nature. Bob Dylan and Russell Brand won't mind if I borrow their names, would they? ;)
These are the main ways I name my characters. How about you? How do you name yours?