M.L. LeGette's Blog, page 54

The Unicorn Girl Went to College

I recently traveled to Longwood University in Virginia where I spoke to one of the university's young adult classes. It was a wonderful experience. Dr. Miskec had invited me earlier this year to be a part of her final exam for one of her classes. It turns out, a (marvelous) young lady had read my book and her mother had informed Dr. Miskec how much she had liked it. I immediately jumped on board and I am very happy I did. I've spoken to a handful of classes since being published, but never a college one. To be surrounded by adults who (1) had read the book, (2) seemed to have truly enjoyed the book, and (3) were merrily discussing the aspects of the book were things that I had never experienced before.

Dr. Miskec's class was studying young adult fiction and my novel, The Unicorn Girl, was part of their syllabus. I believe it was the last book they read for the semester and part of their final exam was to discuss the book in course terminology to me.

The questions they asked were truly fabulous and I hope I did some justice in answering them. (I often feel like I'm a blundering fool when answering questions about my novels, but I think I did okay—Dr. Miskec had only wonderful things to say to me afterwards).

One of my favorite points (and there were many) that was discussed was something called ironic narrative. In young adult fiction, it is mostly dominated by the first-person narrative. The odd thing about this is that most authors of young adult fiction are adults, hence the irony. What the students pointed out was that The Unicorn Girl is one of the few exceptions. I wrote a story as a teenager, for teenagers, through the eyes of a teenager. I'm not exactly sure what you would call that, but it makes the novel feel even more special to me than it already is. I'll never be able to write another like it. I've now moved into that ironic narrative category—an adult who writes through the eyes of children.

Thank you, thank you Dr. Miskec! I was honored to be a part of your class. (I hope they wrote some excellent finals).

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Meet Mikael Blomkvist. 40 something journalist. Divorced. Attractive. Career currently in tumultuous waters.

Meet Lisbeth Salander. 24 year old. Pierced. Tattooed. Asocial misfit. Genius computer hacker.

Meet Henrik Vanger. 80 year old. Ultra wealthy company owner. Determined. Obsessed.

What do these three individuals have in common in Larsson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger, niece to the powerful Henrik Vanger, disappeared without a trace. For those forty years, Henrik's desire to find Harriet's body and catch her killer has turned into an obsession. He is determined to find the truth before he dies and hires Mikael Blomkvist to get to the bottom of it once and for all.

As Mikael digs deeper into Harriet's disapperence he begins to realize that he needs help and the odd and fascinating Lisbeth Salander joins the case. What they discover is far darker and frightening than they had ever imagined.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a story about abuse and fear. It's about power and murder. It's about the terribly dysfunctional Vanger family.

I enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It's a thriller and murder mystery that kept me glued, though I admit that it's odd how glued I was in that nothing—nothing—really happens in the first half of the book. The writing is very modern and at times was a bit too sharp and choppy for my liking. The plot is twisting and full of horror, though (to be honest) I was never that concerned about finding the truth about Harriet. It's the characters that shine.

Lisbeth in particular.

I found myself cursing under my breath whenever she didn't start a paragraph. I liked Mikael fine. He's a perfectly good guy—one of the few in the story—though I had issues with his sexual 'whatever' attitude. I mean, really?? It's just that Lisbeth was so much more fascinating. I never really understood her. Not even when I finished reading the last page. After 400 pages, she's still a mystery to me. More human, but still foreign.

I absolutely loved her. And I suspect that her numerous layers will be revealed in books two and three and I'm itching to dive into them.

Was the book fantastic? No. Was it captivating? Utterly. I would definitely recommend it for people who enjoy darker fiction. I don't see myself rereading it, but I certainly don't see myself forgetting it any time soon.

Toes by Norah Jones

The amazing Norah Jones. Her latest album is my favorite, but the melancholy, rain falling, lazy sound of her earlier albums is highly pleasing on the ears.

Book Buzz

I stumbled upon this review of Unicorn Girl last year over Christmas. It made me very, very, very happy.

The Mojito Literary Society: Thursday's Recommended Reading from K. Cat

Cheers to happy readers!!!

Timmy & Chloe Series: Progress Report

For Those Who Already Know about the Timmy & Chloe Series, Shuffle on Down for a FIRST TIME GLANCE at the Artwork!

 

A while back, my editor broached me with the idea of writing an illustrated childrens series focusing on my two bottle-fed lambs: Timmy and Chloe. The idea, she thought, was perfect and would allow me to reach a different audience. Not to mention that the stories were ready for the taking: Timmy and Chloe were quite the experience. But I struggled with the idea. To be blatantly honest, I wasn't very keen on it. Writing a novel, though it requires more words, is something I know how to do—a hammer and nail that I'm comfortable with. Constructing an illustrated childrens book was really throwing me for a loop.

But luckily my editor and Mom are two very determined people. Not to mention the numerous friends who knew all about the really Timmy and Chloe and were ridiculously excited about the prospect. So I agreed.

I'm not sure when the book will be finished. I have my fingers and toes crossed for a  release in 2012, but I'm not pushing my luck. The artwork is a serious load. And about the artwork: Mae is doing a PHENOMENAL job. I'm loving what I'm seeing and I think the book will be downright adorable.

I now unveil, for all your eyes, a drawing that will be in the finished book.

This is Timmy and me during one of our first attempts at bottle-feeding. It took both of us a while to get the hang of it.

Fall Chill

'Fall Chill' by Garden Windows Photography

Fluff those feathers, it's starting to get cold out…

'Fall Chill' note cards are currently available for purchase on GardenWindows.etsy.com.

Book 3 Progress Report

I seem to be in a constant figuring-out-how-I-write phase. Each novel I've worked on so far has seen different methods, different regiments, for I have yet to discover the most efficient way to write a novel. I mean, how do people write a novel (or dare I say it—two novels) a year? HOW?! It's downright sick. That's what it is.

Anyway. Back to my book 3.

It's been giving me a healthy amount of trouble, I'll let you know. At one point I seriously considered pushing it aside and starting afresh on an entirely new idea. I was so serious about this decision that I did something I've never done before: I planned out a trilogy. Yes! A trilogy! But that's a post for a different day.

After my weekend-long brain euphoria I came to the startled realization that I was considering putting 70 pages of book 3 to one side just because I'd had a bad case of writer's block. I mean–WHAT? I was floored.

I think the idea of putting so much work on the bottom of the stack really shook me. I've met a lot of people who've confessed that they'd never been able to finish writing a story; they start off with enthusiasm but once the enthusiasm wanes, so does their perseverance and they're left with unfinished manuscript after unfinished manuscript.

I'd never had that problem. It honestly sounded strange to me. You can't finish the story? I'd think disbelievingly, while nodding in (what I hoped was) concerned understanding.

And here it was happening to me. I had finally reached a level of writer's block or lack of enthusiasm or whatever you want to call it that had me second guessing my ability to write a novel. Hell, I was second guessing everything about the novel: the story, the lack of it, the hugeness of it, the gaping holes, the wonderful characters being wasted. In effect, I was fearing everything about this unwritten book that I hadn't yet written.

But that's what writing a novel is all about. You don't know every tiny detail until you write every tiny detail. Yes, you have big ideas in your head. Yes, you have enough threads to hold some of them together. But so many are still floating about that you start to fear that lassoing them will become impossible.

That's what book 3 felt like. A universe full of floating, literary blobs. The book seemed endless to me. Endless and confusing.

Perhaps it was the impressive and unexpected brain wave I'd had regarding a future trilogy that ignited my own indignity. Whatever it was, I decided to give 3 another shot. And you know what happened? The clouds of confusion dispersed. The mists of fear vanished. And I started writing again. Things suddenly clicked so easily that I'm still pinching myself.

How ever did this happen?

I really have no idea. Except that I've made—yet another—change in my writing system. I now work for two. This is something that I've never done. I have never scheduled or timed myself. The idea always sounded too frightful to attempt. But I've finally found the nerve (and frustration) to try it out.

Bless the heavens that I did. Never before have I felt like I'm getting things done than now. Even in the tiny space of two hours twice a week—yes! Just twice a week (that's pretty much all the time I can give my writing these days)—I am seeing the story more clearly with each passing session. There are still major holes and I fluctuate between wondering if it's too long and too short and how I will ever get it all to run smoothly, but lines that were once invisible to me are revealing themselves and connecting to those floating blobs. I'm not as scared of it as I was.

I do realize that an idea can really end up being a bad idea. An idea that no amount of rewriting and editing and fixing will solve and this, I think, is what's caused my panic. The moment the story became too difficult to grasp, I wanted to run away from it. The plot problems seemed too hard to crack and I was ready to throw in the hatchet.

I sincerely hope I never pen one of those bad ideas. I really hope that I realize it before handing it to my editor. Before I've put in a year or two in writing it out. But there is still that chance … a chance that I will waste time and energy on a mound of mud.

Book 3 isn't one of those bad ideas. It has great potential—I know it! It's just causing me to think a little more than I have in the past. I'm working on getting the first draft finished and I really love what I've written so far. One thing is for sure, no matter what happens in the unforeseen future, I'm going to make it the best that I possibly can.

Boo

'Boo' by Garden Windows Photography

Fall is upon us—thank God. I took this photo a few years ago. The pumpkins used are called baby boo pumpkins. They're really little and really cute, but I believe they are for decoration only. HAPPY FALL!!!

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Phantom Rules For-EVER!

The Phantom of the Opera has been a part of my childhood as long as I can remember. I grew up on the original cast of Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford and the album has a special place on my ipod. I'm so super excited as I'm seeing the rerun of the London production's 25th Anniversary tonight at Beechwood Cinema in Athens. EEEEE!

Phatom Rules For-EVER!

The Phantom of the Opera has been a part of my childhood as long as I can remember. I grew up on the original cast of Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford and the album has a special place on my ipod. I'm so super excited as I'm seeing the rerun of the London production's 25th Anniversary tonight at Beechwood Cinema in Athens. EEEEE!