Liane Shaw's Blog, page 5

Blog Hopping courtesy of Linda Hutsell-Manning!

Fellow Second Story Press author, Linda Hutsell-Manning,  invited me to participate in the “My Next Big Thing” blog hop in which I am asked to answer the ten questions below.

1. What is the title of your book or project?

The Color of Silence

2. Where did the idea come from for the book or project?

When I was in university, I volunteered at a local institution for children with severe physical and mental challenges.  I met a young girl there with severe CP, leaving her with no means of communication.  She was a lovely young girl who seemed to have so much locked away behind her big blue eyes.  I spent a lot of time with her and never forgot her.  She died very young.  20 years later, my daughter started working at our local hospital with a young girl who couldn’t communicate.  She had the same feelings that I had so long ago, believing that a whole world was locked away inside.  This little girl also died very young.  I wanted to write a story that would give us a look at the inside world of these fragile and lovely young women that would also explore some issues surrounding death and dying.  Joanie is a composite of the two young girls.  The second character, Alex, comes from a real life event that happened to a friend of my daughter…a party gone wrong with a tragic outcome.  She seemed to be a good contrast for Joanie and the idea of two girls silent for different reasons seemed interesting to me.

3. What genre does it come under, if any?

Young Adult

4. If applicable, who would you choose to play your characters in a movie?

I honestly couldn’t imagine a movie treatment of a book that represents the silent worlds of two different girls….

5. What is the one sentence synopsis of your book or project?

The silent lives of two young girls intersect in ways neither of them could have imagined.

6. Will your book or story be self-published or represented by an agency?

My novel The Color of Silence has been published by Second Story Press, Toronto, ON.  www.secondstorypress.ca

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Yikes, that’s quite a question.  I’ve written so many different versions of it that I can’t even answer…I started Joanie’s story ten years ago and only found a way to bring it out in the open two years ago.

8. What other book or stories would you compare this story to within the genre?

Honestly, I don’t know.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book or story?

I suppose I already answered that in my rather lengthy answer to question 2…the two young ladies who make up the character of Joanie and the young lady who inspired Alex are all real people.   Alex’s issues with trauma and selective mutism were also inspired by several students with whom I have worked over the years.

10. What else about the book or story might peak the reader’s interest?

I think that Alex is a young girl with whom teen readers can identify.  She’s a music lover who dreams of being a singer one day.  She has best friend who she loves one day and wants to strangle the next.  When disaster strikes, she doesn’t know how to deal with it.

Joanie is someone very dear to me and I hope that readers find her internal life interesting.  I also hope the novel challenges readers to reflect on the value of individual lives as well as the ways in which each of us deals with losing someone we care for.

Thanks to Linda Hutsell-Manning for suggesting this to me.  You can read her blog post at  http://www.lindahutsellmanning.ca/Blo...

 

A New Cover and a finished book!

   It’s finally done.   A lovely illustrated cover by the artist Annick Gaudreault.

http://www.illustrationquebec.com/en/illustrateur/AnnickGaudreault.

Now the novel is officially at the printer and should be in my hands in a few short weeks.

Yay!

Finished…..and waiting…..

After a long conversation on the phone with my wonderful senior editor, Carolyn Jackson, my part in the creation of The Color of Silence is done.  Now it ‘s completely in the hands of the ladies at Second Story Press who will finish off the proofreading and then send it off to be printed.   And then I just wait until I receive my copies and wait until I start to hear how it is being received by the readers.  Oh, wait a minute, there is one more thing.   I don’t know for sure if the new cover design has arrived yet….I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover but I might be judged just a little if my book arrives on the shelves without one!

Waiting, waiting, waiting….

Well, it’s waiting time again.  There is a surprising amount of it in the book business.  While the end result is certainly worth the wait, patience is definitely a must!  And I have to admit that I am not the world’s most patient person.  Far from it!  I am anxiously waiting for the final draft of Color of Silence to come back to me so I can read it one last time before it goes to print.  I’m a mixed up mess of excitement and nerves as I  prepare to let go of the manuscript.  It’s a strange feeling to realize that I can’t change any more words after this last read through.   I’ve rewritten it so many times that I’ve truly lost count.   I should have it tomorrow to reread for the umpteenth time and then I’ll have to send it off and then…..just wait……

Open Book Ontario

I’ve been asked to provide a piece for the site “Open Book Ontario”, a web site that  ”celebrates Ontario’s vibrant literary scene”.   I’ve been asked to describe my writing “desk” in 1000 words or less….which shouldn’t be hard because I don’t have a desk!  I’m a laptop writer, sitting comfortably on my couch.  However, I do have an interesting writing room that might take a few words to describe.  I’ve done a practice run in my writer’s journal on this site.  Take a look and let me know what you think!

Find out more about the site at http://www.openbookontario.com/

 

 

I’m Back!

I haven’t been here writing for a while.    Life has been on hold while I have been dealing with  my husband’s recovery from a serious illness.  He’s finally on the mend, and so I have a bit of time for some updating.   The Color of Silence is fast approaching completion, with only copy-editing and proof reading left.  Allison Kooistra did her usual fabulous job of the substantive edit and we’re both really happy with the end result.  I’m extremely curious to see what kind of cover the production team will come up with….Seeing the cover for the first time is almost like finding out whether you’re having a boy or a girl….almost!

 

Past Wisdom

Almost Done

This round of editing for The Color of Silence is almost done.  I always feel nervous when we’re getting closer to completion date.  I don’t want to let go and have the book move on and out of my hands!  It’s hard to ever feel like I’m finished…in a strange way it’s a little like having a child leave home for the first time…you want to grab her back and finish the job before letting her go…

The Color of Silence

Editing for The Color of Silence has begun.  I’m very excited to have Allison Kooistra back as my substantive editor.   Writing a novel is so much more of a collaboration than I ever imagined and a good editor is so incredibly important.   This is my favourite part of the process and I can’t wait until my meeting at Second Story Press later this month to hear everyone’s first impressions…although I have to admit that I’ve been working on this manuscript, or different versions of it, for so many years that I almost feel a little bit nervous at the same time!

Signed, Sealed and Delivered!

I am very excited to announce that my contract for novel #3 has been signed and sent back to Second Story press!  I'm not sure when it's coming out just yet, but I am greatly looking forward to starting the editing process.  Publishing a book is a multi-step, team effort and I'll keep you posted along the way to give a sense of what's involved.  So far it's been: 1. write it, 2 . edit it over and over and over again, 3. send it, 4 . wait anxiously to see if they want it, 5. breathe a huge sigh of relief and joy and

6. sign the contract……