E.J. Noyes's Blog, page 3
January 28, 2018
Gold medal finish.
It's almost time for the Winter Olympics! Huzzah!
I'm a huge Olympics nerd, but the Winter Olympics takes regular Olympic excitement and doses it with steroids. So many fabulous sports (curling and biathlon anyone?) and all that wonderful snow! As always, by the end of the games I'll be inspired to move somewhere it snows so I can ski whenever I want in winter.
The 2018 games also feel strangely personal because my next novel, Gold features ex-Olympic alpine skier, Aspen Archer. It's also set in the 2017/2018 southern and northern ski seasons, which makes me feel very odd to be occupying the same actual time as my characters for once.
If you watch some the women's alpine ski events (Giant Slalom, Super G and Downhill) you'll have a good feel for who Aspen used to be, and how athletic and badass these women are. Of course, that's who Aspen used to be...before that whole spectacular crash in the 2010 Vancouver games threw a spanner in the works.
You can check out the cover and a blurb for Gold here:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Happy Olympic viewing! Come find me on Twitter so we can talk about moguls and freestyle and random snow sports :)
I'm a huge Olympics nerd, but the Winter Olympics takes regular Olympic excitement and doses it with steroids. So many fabulous sports (curling and biathlon anyone?) and all that wonderful snow! As always, by the end of the games I'll be inspired to move somewhere it snows so I can ski whenever I want in winter.
The 2018 games also feel strangely personal because my next novel, Gold features ex-Olympic alpine skier, Aspen Archer. It's also set in the 2017/2018 southern and northern ski seasons, which makes me feel very odd to be occupying the same actual time as my characters for once.
If you watch some the women's alpine ski events (Giant Slalom, Super G and Downhill) you'll have a good feel for who Aspen used to be, and how athletic and badass these women are. Of course, that's who Aspen used to be...before that whole spectacular crash in the 2010 Vancouver games threw a spanner in the works.
You can check out the cover and a blurb for Gold here:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Happy Olympic viewing! Come find me on Twitter so we can talk about moguls and freestyle and random snow sports :)
December 21, 2017
It's beginning to look a lot like...panic time.
Today is my final work day before Christmas break, and I should be finalising things so Future EJ doesn't hate Present EJ. But instead of doing that, I'm making a final sweep of my newest lesfic, Gold before I send it off. This novel should be out mid 2018.
In Gold we (or rather you because I've been hanging out with her for a while) meet Aspen, an ex-Olympic alpine skier who hides around the world coaching at ski resorts after a career-ending crash. Oh, and I should probably mention Cate, who is visiting Australia for a ski trip with her daughter and friends. Aspen and Cate meet, attraction ensues, along with a whole bunch of other stuff.
This morning I was sent an early draft of the cover (which I adore!) and seeing a swath of pristine snow set off a pang of snow longing so deep I could have cried. I live in the "Sunshine State" of Australia and we're currently sweating it out with some wicked heat and humidity. Skiing sounds really awesome right about now.
In other book news type stuff, I believe the sequel dealio to Ask, Tell will be out late 2018. So that's exciting!
Hope everyone has a grand holiday season!
In Gold we (or rather you because I've been hanging out with her for a while) meet Aspen, an ex-Olympic alpine skier who hides around the world coaching at ski resorts after a career-ending crash. Oh, and I should probably mention Cate, who is visiting Australia for a ski trip with her daughter and friends. Aspen and Cate meet, attraction ensues, along with a whole bunch of other stuff.
This morning I was sent an early draft of the cover (which I adore!) and seeing a swath of pristine snow set off a pang of snow longing so deep I could have cried. I live in the "Sunshine State" of Australia and we're currently sweating it out with some wicked heat and humidity. Skiing sounds really awesome right about now.
In other book news type stuff, I believe the sequel dealio to Ask, Tell will be out late 2018. So that's exciting!
Hope everyone has a grand holiday season!
November 1, 2017
No such thing as a free lunch, but there is such a thing as a free book.
In case you hadn't noticed, I'm running a giveaway for my new lesbian romance, Turbulence.
To enter - head on over to this page. Easy!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
I promise I'll try really hard to write neatly for you.
To enter - head on over to this page. Easy!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
I promise I'll try really hard to write neatly for you.
September 21, 2017
If it's on Goodreads, then it's official right?
Turbulence has a release day! Sort of...
Some time around the 15th of October my latest word child will be released. Maybe it'll be the 14th. Maybe the 17th? Who knows? And that's part of the fun! It's like a book release treasure hunt or something. And more so for me because it's USA time and I'm not on USA time so I have to add and subtract hours.
I freely admit - I'm nervous. And excited. Totally nervocited. Probably why I'm babbling.
Bella has a short excerpt up if you're curious about how our two lovely ladies meet.
https://www.bellabooks.com/9781594935...
Some time around the 15th of October my latest word child will be released. Maybe it'll be the 14th. Maybe the 17th? Who knows? And that's part of the fun! It's like a book release treasure hunt or something. And more so for me because it's USA time and I'm not on USA time so I have to add and subtract hours.
I freely admit - I'm nervous. And excited. Totally nervocited. Probably why I'm babbling.
Bella has a short excerpt up if you're curious about how our two lovely ladies meet.
https://www.bellabooks.com/9781594935...
July 29, 2017
Turbulence and other news.
Yesterday I sent back my final draft of Turbulence ready for proofing/typesetting and all that wonderful stuff that makes it look like a book.
Bella has a link up, along with the blurb and cover (which I love because it's adorably romancey, and it has a plane).
https://www.bellabooks.com/9781594935...
Compared to Ask, Tell, I think Turbulence is more of a "pure" romance. The dynamic is also completely different, because the two main characters, Isabelle and Audrey, start with sex and have to work backwards to finding a relationship.
In other booky news, I'm still plugging away at Ask Me Again (in between those final Turbulence edits). Whenever I come back to Sabine and Bec, I always feel like I've just popped around to a friend's place for a chat. I'm hoping to have the first draft finished in the next few months, but I've got a holiday across the ditch to New Zealand at the end of next month so that might delay things a little bit.
OH and I are having our own little HEA and getting married in Queenstown (hello, quickie registry wedding and then straight to the ski slopes!) Conveniently, it'll also be Gay Ski Week in Queenstown, and I'm hoping that telling everyone who's attending the festivities will net us a lot of free drinks.
On a serious note, we're going overseas to legalise over 11 years of being together because Australia still doesn't have marriage equality. Which is a bummer, and something I could ramble about for hours.
I also decided I want to write a lesbian spy series - determination strengthened by seeing Atomic Blonde this weekend...
Bella has a link up, along with the blurb and cover (which I love because it's adorably romancey, and it has a plane).
https://www.bellabooks.com/9781594935...
Compared to Ask, Tell, I think Turbulence is more of a "pure" romance. The dynamic is also completely different, because the two main characters, Isabelle and Audrey, start with sex and have to work backwards to finding a relationship.
In other booky news, I'm still plugging away at Ask Me Again (in between those final Turbulence edits). Whenever I come back to Sabine and Bec, I always feel like I've just popped around to a friend's place for a chat. I'm hoping to have the first draft finished in the next few months, but I've got a holiday across the ditch to New Zealand at the end of next month so that might delay things a little bit.
OH and I are having our own little HEA and getting married in Queenstown (hello, quickie registry wedding and then straight to the ski slopes!) Conveniently, it'll also be Gay Ski Week in Queenstown, and I'm hoping that telling everyone who's attending the festivities will net us a lot of free drinks.
On a serious note, we're going overseas to legalise over 11 years of being together because Australia still doesn't have marriage equality. Which is a bummer, and something I could ramble about for hours.
I also decided I want to write a lesbian spy series - determination strengthened by seeing Atomic Blonde this weekend...
June 4, 2017
Wonder Woman! No spoilers :)
This is perhaps off-topic, as in it's not about writing but it is about something important to me. I apologise because it's rambling and might not even make a whole lot of sense but I'm still struggling to put form to my thoughts.
Yesterday, my OH and I went to see Wonder Woman. I’ve been ridiculously excited and talking about it for months, and all week my excitement grew, until yesterday morning I was practically levitating (and teasingly being offered a Valium). I chattered inanely in the car the whole way to the cinema, and my OH, bless her, played along as she usually does when I get manic like this.
But this post isn’t about the actual movie (which I found so incredible I can’t even describe it), it's about an encounter I had after that left me feeling so soul-lifted that 24 hours later, I’m still buzzing.
After the movie, we wandered the shopping centre for a while—me clutching the collectible WW cup and unused WW popcorn box I’d bought, and my OH still listening to me just...blurting about the movie. She enjoyed the film, but she’s very much not like me in that:
A. She finds it hard to concentrate during movies and often doesn’t really watch and take in all the nuances.
B. She doesn’t enjoy dissecting movies/shows/books from every angle the way I do.
In that moment, post WW daze, I was desperate to engage with someone and OH was trying her best, but...
So, I messaged everyone I could, telling them how great it was and making plans to see it again and waiting for responses. Still gibbering, still wandering, I spotted a store; you know the ones, that sell Funkos and games and toys and figurines and are basically are a nerd’s paradise. I beelined for the store, cutting off a woman with a pram (sorry!) and started looking around.
What I really wanted was a WW figurine but I couldn’t find any, so I settled on a Funko. Confession – I don’t really like Funkos but it was the best of a bad bunch and it was an “Official WW movie” thing. The fact that there was such a small selection of WW stuff in the store is a whole other thing. When the cashier—a young woman—saw what I was buying, the first thing out of her mouth was, “HAVE YOU SEEN THE MOVIE?!”
When I explained I’d just come from it, her high five started a glorious 15 minute conversation about Wonder Woman while my OH waited patiently near the door for me to finish. The exact details of my conversation with this stranger are hazy, because I was doubly-euphoric post WW and having someone to dissect with, but I do remember a few things we discussed.
After we both confirmed that it was AMAZING she said to me, almost wistfully that when she saw all the Amazons together she cried because it was the first time she’d seen so many women all at once on a screen.
I had to pause before admitting that had made me choke up as well. And that was it, the mutual fangirl was on. We went back and forth about general badassery and plot points and costumes and chemistry and all that. The whole conversation was this wonderful cycle of energy and excitement as we talked about Diana's motivations and how she fights, and how adorable naïve she was, and oh man weren’t there some funny bits and oh my goodness those fight scenes amirite?
It was like being in this perfect insular bubble as we went on to talk about social media influences and how important this movie was to us personally but also just…for the world right now. We talked about the girls dressing up as WW, and I got teary when I told her about the two rows of young girls in front of us (one of whom who loudly informed the cinema "They're going to kiss!") who were seeing someone like WW at a time when they're forming opinions about female role models.
We spoke about the diversity among the Amazons and this stranger grew even more excited when she told me how as a young Islander women, seeing herself represented on screen that way – strong, capable and compassionate made her cry all over again.
When the conversation started to ease (though I think both of us could totally have gone for coffee and talked all afternoon) she shyly apologised for taking up my time, and I had to tell her that it wasn’t like that AT ALL. I told her that the 15 minutes we’d just spent was exactly what I needed right then, to share something so special with someone who’d been as affected as I was. We parted with a fistbump, and finally…I could be silent.
I’m seeing it everywhere right now, just how important Wonder Woman is to us, and it feels like it’s about more than just the representation we’ve been lacking for so long. But I don’t think I could even find the words to pin down exactly WHY it’s so important to me. It just…is. And yeah, I know, it’s a just a movie but it’s wondrous.
Yesterday, my OH and I went to see Wonder Woman. I’ve been ridiculously excited and talking about it for months, and all week my excitement grew, until yesterday morning I was practically levitating (and teasingly being offered a Valium). I chattered inanely in the car the whole way to the cinema, and my OH, bless her, played along as she usually does when I get manic like this.
But this post isn’t about the actual movie (which I found so incredible I can’t even describe it), it's about an encounter I had after that left me feeling so soul-lifted that 24 hours later, I’m still buzzing.
After the movie, we wandered the shopping centre for a while—me clutching the collectible WW cup and unused WW popcorn box I’d bought, and my OH still listening to me just...blurting about the movie. She enjoyed the film, but she’s very much not like me in that:
A. She finds it hard to concentrate during movies and often doesn’t really watch and take in all the nuances.
B. She doesn’t enjoy dissecting movies/shows/books from every angle the way I do.
In that moment, post WW daze, I was desperate to engage with someone and OH was trying her best, but...
So, I messaged everyone I could, telling them how great it was and making plans to see it again and waiting for responses. Still gibbering, still wandering, I spotted a store; you know the ones, that sell Funkos and games and toys and figurines and are basically are a nerd’s paradise. I beelined for the store, cutting off a woman with a pram (sorry!) and started looking around.
What I really wanted was a WW figurine but I couldn’t find any, so I settled on a Funko. Confession – I don’t really like Funkos but it was the best of a bad bunch and it was an “Official WW movie” thing. The fact that there was such a small selection of WW stuff in the store is a whole other thing. When the cashier—a young woman—saw what I was buying, the first thing out of her mouth was, “HAVE YOU SEEN THE MOVIE?!”
When I explained I’d just come from it, her high five started a glorious 15 minute conversation about Wonder Woman while my OH waited patiently near the door for me to finish. The exact details of my conversation with this stranger are hazy, because I was doubly-euphoric post WW and having someone to dissect with, but I do remember a few things we discussed.
After we both confirmed that it was AMAZING she said to me, almost wistfully that when she saw all the Amazons together she cried because it was the first time she’d seen so many women all at once on a screen.
I had to pause before admitting that had made me choke up as well. And that was it, the mutual fangirl was on. We went back and forth about general badassery and plot points and costumes and chemistry and all that. The whole conversation was this wonderful cycle of energy and excitement as we talked about Diana's motivations and how she fights, and how adorable naïve she was, and oh man weren’t there some funny bits and oh my goodness those fight scenes amirite?
It was like being in this perfect insular bubble as we went on to talk about social media influences and how important this movie was to us personally but also just…for the world right now. We talked about the girls dressing up as WW, and I got teary when I told her about the two rows of young girls in front of us (one of whom who loudly informed the cinema "They're going to kiss!") who were seeing someone like WW at a time when they're forming opinions about female role models.
We spoke about the diversity among the Amazons and this stranger grew even more excited when she told me how as a young Islander women, seeing herself represented on screen that way – strong, capable and compassionate made her cry all over again.
When the conversation started to ease (though I think both of us could totally have gone for coffee and talked all afternoon) she shyly apologised for taking up my time, and I had to tell her that it wasn’t like that AT ALL. I told her that the 15 minutes we’d just spent was exactly what I needed right then, to share something so special with someone who’d been as affected as I was. We parted with a fistbump, and finally…I could be silent.
I’m seeing it everywhere right now, just how important Wonder Woman is to us, and it feels like it’s about more than just the representation we’ve been lacking for so long. But I don’t think I could even find the words to pin down exactly WHY it’s so important to me. It just…is. And yeah, I know, it’s a just a movie but it’s wondrous.
May 29, 2017
So many books to write, never enough time.
This could really be another prefabricated blog post that simply says I've been writing. And having a whole bunch of really awesome NEW ideas. Sigh.
Oh...should probably elaborate, right? Well. Late April I received the draft cover for my next Bella Novel Turbulence which will come out sometime this year. The cover is so wonderfully romancey and I absolutely adore it. Turbulence is a little different to Ask, Tell, perhaps more of a romance (good thing the cover is romancey, eh?) Hmmm, what can I say about it? Maybe just...what would you do if you found out your first one-night stand happened to be your newly hired company pilot? Isabelle Rhodes is a about to answer that question after she spends an earth-shattering night with Audrey Graham. I absolutely adore these two characters and can't wait to see them out in the world.
Aside from that, I finished the first draft of Alone which is a novel I really don't know how to describe. Kind of psychological "thriller" but not really a thriller, meets...I don't know...romance-ish, kind of suspensey weirdness? It was one I never thought I'd complete, but I was struck with a sudden bout of inspiration (or other-novel procrastination).
I've also just finished another round of self-edits on Gold about an ex-Olympic medalist alpine skier. Aspen is another main character who I absolutely adore. She's so sweet and earnest, she makes me feel like I should be a better person.
Now, it's back into working on the sequel to Ask, Tell which is tentatively titled Ask Me Again. I'll be honest - I was struggling with a plot I'd almost completely reworked from when I wrote this "sequel" right after finishing Ask, Tell, and couldn't quite wrap my head around the new ideas.
So I did what I usually do - hide and hope it works out by itself. Kidding! Mostly.
Taking some time away is my go-to muse revamp and I'm ready to dive back in and spend some time with Sabine and Bec.
On a side note, it's really lovely to see everyone saying such nice things about Ask, Tell. And also really weird to see people talking about me. Please, feel free to talk to me if you want :)
Oh...should probably elaborate, right? Well. Late April I received the draft cover for my next Bella Novel Turbulence which will come out sometime this year. The cover is so wonderfully romancey and I absolutely adore it. Turbulence is a little different to Ask, Tell, perhaps more of a romance (good thing the cover is romancey, eh?) Hmmm, what can I say about it? Maybe just...what would you do if you found out your first one-night stand happened to be your newly hired company pilot? Isabelle Rhodes is a about to answer that question after she spends an earth-shattering night with Audrey Graham. I absolutely adore these two characters and can't wait to see them out in the world.
Aside from that, I finished the first draft of Alone which is a novel I really don't know how to describe. Kind of psychological "thriller" but not really a thriller, meets...I don't know...romance-ish, kind of suspensey weirdness? It was one I never thought I'd complete, but I was struck with a sudden bout of inspiration (or other-novel procrastination).
I've also just finished another round of self-edits on Gold about an ex-Olympic medalist alpine skier. Aspen is another main character who I absolutely adore. She's so sweet and earnest, she makes me feel like I should be a better person.
Now, it's back into working on the sequel to Ask, Tell which is tentatively titled Ask Me Again. I'll be honest - I was struggling with a plot I'd almost completely reworked from when I wrote this "sequel" right after finishing Ask, Tell, and couldn't quite wrap my head around the new ideas.
So I did what I usually do - hide and hope it works out by itself. Kidding! Mostly.
Taking some time away is my go-to muse revamp and I'm ready to dive back in and spend some time with Sabine and Bec.
On a side note, it's really lovely to see everyone saying such nice things about Ask, Tell. And also really weird to see people talking about me. Please, feel free to talk to me if you want :)
April 6, 2017
See Sabine Run. Run. Run. Run.
Hi everyone, nice to meet you. My name is Emily and I’m allergic to third person.
Wow. That feels better.
I suppose should clarify that I’m only allergic to writing in third. Reading third? Love it. Reading/writing first person? Also love. Past or present tense, and mashups of all these things? Give it to me.
But writing third makes me break out in this cold, sort of dissociated sweat. I envy people who write in third and I beg them to bestow their third person wisdom upon me. I’ve tried, I really have. I’ve got sections of WIPs written in third, abandoned for a time when I learn to stop feeling disconnected from my third person characters. Or maybe those sections are just waiting to be turned to first person stories. Ahem.
So I’m writing the sequel to Ask, Tell as a dual POV in first person. Why? The flippant answer would be that if I wrote in third it would end up as stilted as a Dick and Jane book.
See Sabine and Rebecca.
Sabine loves Rebecca.
Loves. Loves. Loves.
But seriously, I’m doing it because Rebecca needs a voice in this the story, and because I think gaining insight into her part in Ask, Tell is important. And I can’t ditch Sabine because I love her so much. So dual it is. See above for why first person.
I’m loving writing this one because Sabine and Rebecca are so different. I’m loving it because it’s interesting to see how Sabine’s perceptions of herself differ from the way other people view her. I’m loving it because Bec’s calm observances are a really nice change from Sabine’s constant frantic chatter in my ear.
And I’m kind of hoping everyone else loves it as much as I do.
Wow. That feels better.
I suppose should clarify that I’m only allergic to writing in third. Reading third? Love it. Reading/writing first person? Also love. Past or present tense, and mashups of all these things? Give it to me.
But writing third makes me break out in this cold, sort of dissociated sweat. I envy people who write in third and I beg them to bestow their third person wisdom upon me. I’ve tried, I really have. I’ve got sections of WIPs written in third, abandoned for a time when I learn to stop feeling disconnected from my third person characters. Or maybe those sections are just waiting to be turned to first person stories. Ahem.
So I’m writing the sequel to Ask, Tell as a dual POV in first person. Why? The flippant answer would be that if I wrote in third it would end up as stilted as a Dick and Jane book.
See Sabine and Rebecca.
Sabine loves Rebecca.
Loves. Loves. Loves.
But seriously, I’m doing it because Rebecca needs a voice in this the story, and because I think gaining insight into her part in Ask, Tell is important. And I can’t ditch Sabine because I love her so much. So dual it is. See above for why first person.
I’m loving writing this one because Sabine and Rebecca are so different. I’m loving it because it’s interesting to see how Sabine’s perceptions of herself differ from the way other people view her. I’m loving it because Bec’s calm observances are a really nice change from Sabine’s constant frantic chatter in my ear.
And I’m kind of hoping everyone else loves it as much as I do.
March 6, 2017
eBooks and WIPs and edits, oh my!
Blog posts are weird. I feel like I could just write 50 of them saying "Nothing new happening, still just writing and stuff" and dish them out at intervals.
In a slight variation on that theme - 'Ask, Tell' has just been released on Kindle through Amazon and also iBooks for all your eDevice pleasure. Links through all the usual places.
When I finished writing this book, I had a major sad about leaving the characters behind. I felt like I'd moved overseas and left all my friends behind. Lame, I know. I started a sequel-of-sorts that rapidly turned into a Sabine/Bec separation sadfest, which wasn't helping, so I set it aside as something to work on once the trillion other ideas in my head were gone.
Some people (including my sister, but she's contractually obliged to show interest) seem curious about what's next so I've picked up the sequel, dusted it off and given it a massive revamp. And a title that's not 'Sequel Dealio'.
I'm hoping to have it completed in the next few months, in between other projects like upcoming edits for 'Turbulence' which is due out later this year.
In a slight variation on that theme - 'Ask, Tell' has just been released on Kindle through Amazon and also iBooks for all your eDevice pleasure. Links through all the usual places.
When I finished writing this book, I had a major sad about leaving the characters behind. I felt like I'd moved overseas and left all my friends behind. Lame, I know. I started a sequel-of-sorts that rapidly turned into a Sabine/Bec separation sadfest, which wasn't helping, so I set it aside as something to work on once the trillion other ideas in my head were gone.
Some people (including my sister, but she's contractually obliged to show interest) seem curious about what's next so I've picked up the sequel, dusted it off and given it a massive revamp. And a title that's not 'Sequel Dealio'.
I'm hoping to have it completed in the next few months, in between other projects like upcoming edits for 'Turbulence' which is due out later this year.
February 15, 2017
Busy busy, need a clone.
Holiday over...back to the daily grind. I didn't finish my first draft of 'Lena' as I'd hoped (stupid fantastic weather and gorgeous beaches), but it's getting very close. It's currently sitting at just under 101,000 words and showing signs of wanting another 5,000 or so. *cringe*
'Lena' has a lot of really hard historical and emotional elements in it and I'm taking a little mental health break to work on the many other WIPs I have going at the moment. Because I have hundreds of thoughts all at once, I'm flitting back and forth between a couple of them as snippets of inspiration hit. Why make things easy by writing only one book, when I can write six at once? Thanks, overactive brain.
I'm also drafting a jacket copy for 'Turbulence' which is due out with Bella later this year, trying to read some novels and research materials, and reworking a previously abandoned 70k draft due to new ideas and inspiration.
If anyone knows anything about how to make a clone of myself (in a not-weird Orphan Black way), or how to shove an extra ten hours into every day - please come see me.
Edit 18th Feb - No willpower. First draft of 'Lena' is finished.
'Lena' has a lot of really hard historical and emotional elements in it and I'm taking a little mental health break to work on the many other WIPs I have going at the moment. Because I have hundreds of thoughts all at once, I'm flitting back and forth between a couple of them as snippets of inspiration hit. Why make things easy by writing only one book, when I can write six at once? Thanks, overactive brain.
I'm also drafting a jacket copy for 'Turbulence' which is due out with Bella later this year, trying to read some novels and research materials, and reworking a previously abandoned 70k draft due to new ideas and inspiration.
If anyone knows anything about how to make a clone of myself (in a not-weird Orphan Black way), or how to shove an extra ten hours into every day - please come see me.
Edit 18th Feb - No willpower. First draft of 'Lena' is finished.
