Catherine Knutsson's Blog, page 8

New Post up at Brave New Words

Had a little issue with a story last night ("little" meaning "huge") and lived to tell the tale. And lo, wrote a post about it for the Brave New Words blog.

Lemonade out of lemons….amazing, that.

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Snow Day!

Today's the perfect sort of day to be inside, writing, or, if you're a black cat, to gaze out at the snow while the human writes:

But if you're a bird, the backyard was where the party was at:

(Juncoes, pine siskins, varied thrushes, and a sparrow or two…)

And this little Anna's hummingbird sat and watched it all go down:

(In other news, I'm busy working on a bunch of things – a middle grade something and a YA fantasy something – as well as prepping for an upcoming California trip. I haven't been on a plane in eons, and, well, I'm a bit nervous (bit meaning a lot)…think safe flying thoughts for me!)

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Character Interview and Giveaway!

A big day! It's the first time someone's giving away an advanced review copy of SHADOWS BY STARS, and the first time someone's interviewed the main character, Cass, and it's all happening over on the Fragments of Life blog as part of the Dystopian Domination event.

While you're over there, check out some of the other giveaways too – lots of great books and swag to be won! And many thank to Precious for including SHADOWS and Cass in this event – so glad to be part of Dystopian Domination!

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New Year's Day, 2012

Out at Jack Point, looking towards the Nanaimo Estuary and the Beaufort Range….

Filed under: Photography

Books of 2011

So, I didn't read as much as I had hoped this year. I'm not sure why that is, exactly, but my writing did suffer because of it, because, for me, reading=lots of writing.

The three fiction standouts from my list were NOTHING, by Janne Teller, which is a terrible and difficult and incredible book. Apparently, YA fiction in Denmark is a whole 'nother kettle of fish. Standout #2 was PLAIN KATE by Erin Bow – oh gosh, I loved this book – this is the sort of fantasy that warms my heart and makes me want to be a better writer. Standout #3 was CRACKED by K.W. Walton, which will be released on January 3 (I read an ARC) – poignant, funny, sad, bittersweet – all the things I love in good YA fiction.

And, an honourable mention: SLAMMERKIN by Emma Donoghue. I admire any writer who breaks rules and doesn't apologize for it. That is my writing motto for this year: don't apologize. (It'll be interesting to see how that pans out, being Canadian and all….)

What I am pleased about is that I read a lot more non-fiction this year. This was the year I discovered Elizabeth Lesser's BROKEN OPEN, and what a tremendous help this book has been! Every creative person (and really, that means everyone) needs tools to swim through the murk, because there will be murk, and it's murky (really, this sentence just an excuse to use the word "murk" repeatedly because murk is a fantastic word!). And, the other: THE FOREST FOR THE TREES, by Betsy Lerner, which, I think, is required reading for any writer. Like a writerly friend said, I spent a lot of time wondering how Betsy Lerner could have crawled into my brain – she KNOWS what the murk is like, and she gets it, and then, she hands out anti-murk tools. Betsy Lerner and Elizabeth Lesser, I am so grateful for your books. I hope I get to tell you so in person one day.

This year I hope to read more writing craft books (a stack of them is staring at me right now!), more riding books, and more adult literary fiction. But mainly, I'd like to make a dent in my TBR pile (which has morphed from a pile into several shelves) – the more I read, the more room I'll have for new books!

So, with that, here's the rest of the list:

NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL – Siobhan Vivian

NOTHING – Janne Teller

PLAIN KATE – Erin Bow

SLAMMERKIN – Emma Donoghue

GETTING IN TTOUCH WITH YOUR HORSE – Linda Tellington-Jones

ARMAGGEDON'S CHILDREN – Terry Brooks

THE GIVER – Lois Lowry

LANGUAGE OF EMOTIONS – Karla McLaren

HUSH HUSH – Becca Fitzpatrick

INSIDE OUT – Maria V. Snyder

INNER GOLD – Robert Johnson

EPITAPH ROAD – David Patneaude

GAME OF THRONES – George R.R. Martin

A CLASH OF KINGS – George R.R. Martin

A STORM OF SWORDS – George R.R. Martin

DIVERGENT – Veronica Roth

XVI – Julia Karr

BROKEN OPEN – Elizabeth Lesser

THE REVENANT – Sonia Gessler

A FEAST FOR CROWNS – George R.R. Martin

SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS – Browne & King

ROOM – Emma Donoghue

BEYOND THE DANCE – Chan Hon Goh

BLACKBRINGER – Laini Taylor

ROSE SEES RED – Cecil Castellucci

BLOOD RED ROAD – Moira Young

ILLYRIA – ELizabeth Hand

GRACE – Elizabeth Scott

WILD MIND – Natalie Goldberg

THE FOLKKEEPER – Franny Billingsley

TOXIC CRITICISM – Eric Maisel

DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE – Laini Taylor

A DANCE WITH DRAGONS – George R.R. Martin

CRACKED – K.W. Walton

THE FIRE IN FICTION – Donald Maass

WOMEN'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO RUNNING – Jeff & Barbara Galloway

PRETTY CROOKED – Elisa Ludwig

MARIETTE IN ECSTASY – Ron Hansen

BRAVE BATTALION – Mark Zuelke

THE LOST GARDEN – Helen Humphreys

MERLIN'S HARP – Anne Eliot Crompton

THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS – N.K. Jemisin

THE RED MARKET – Scott Carney

THE REVISIONIST – Thomas Mullen

SHE-WOLVES – Helen Castor

THE FOREST FOR THE TREES – Betsy Lerner

THE BODY NEVER LIES – Alice Miller

BANEWREAKER – Jacqueline Carey

Filed under: Reading Lists, Writing Craft

Over on the Brave New Words blog….

I've got a post up on the Brave New Words blog, where I get to rub shoulders with some excellent folks who also have spec fic YA novels debuting next year. Please wander over there, if you should desire, and do check out the other authors – 2012 promises to be a very good year in the spec fic world!

And, on a slightly different note, a photo from today's walk at Englishman River Falls – all the rain here on the west coast made for some seriously raging river-action!

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SHADOWS CAST BY STARS now available for pre-order!

Oh my giddy aunt! I just learned that SHADOWS CAST BY STARS is now available for pre-order on Amazon and Chapters.

I guess that means….I IS A REAL AUTHOR!

*dances around throwing confetti*

And so, here are the linkies:

Amazon in Canada

Amazon in the US

And, Chapters

Wow. And eek. And wow. Eeek! Wow! (And also, a little nail biting – I've had several dreams where no one bought my book, so please, someone, buy my nice little book! Please! Ack! Eek!)

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Briefly, Briefly

The end of October draws near….where did the rest of the month go? How can it be almost November already?

Maybe the days have flown by because I've been so busy – lots of written getting done (hurrah!), lots of horse riding happening (also hurrah!), lots of running (hurrah, hurrah, hurrah), and from the looks of things, November's going to be even busier. That's not a bad thing, though. I tend to get more work done when I'm busy.

But, it does mean that posts here on this blog will be few and far between. Maybe that's just the way it's meant to be – I'm not a faithful blogger, and most days, I have no idea what to write. Honestly, my life isn't all that interesting to anyone but me, and in the realm of writing things, well, I'm still figuring stuff out, so writing writing-related posts just doesn't make sense at this point because I'm hardly a font of knowledge.

But, a little bird has whispered that ARCs (advanced reader copies) of SHADOWS may be appearing in the not-too-distant future, and that will hearken in all sorts of other good things…like, actual people that I don't know reading my book. Um, just the thought of that makes me want to gnaw my fingernails. But (deep breath), that's what I signed up for, so…bring it!

In the meantime, it's back to work for me. The super-secret project is almost ready to leave my hands, and I'm getting ready to revisit my djinn project and my bug project and a couple of contemporary YA projects that have been stewing. Words, may you flow unimpeded!

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October Update

So, autumn is here, and I'm busying in my hobbit-hole, working away – hence the lack of updates in these parts. Copyedits for SHADOWS CAST BY STARS are done, so it's on to first pass pages, which should arrive in November. The secret project is coming together, slowly but surely, and I've got a couple of other things cooking on the back-burner. And, as for things unrelated to writing, I'm riding, attending yoga classes, running, and taking care of what needs taking-care-of.

In other words, there's lots going on behind the scenes, which seems to be how autumn works for me.

Also, brussel sprouts! The return of brussel sprouts makes me very happy, indeed….

Filed under: Updates Tagged: updates

Revisiting Old Lessons

Back in my music school days, I used to worry about the strangest things (OMG, what fach am I? Why can't I sing a high F? Do I have nodes? Should I drink milk?), and, if I was ever struck down by a cold or a sore throat or the plague, well, surely, the world was about to end.

And, like most singing students, I'd arrive at my lesson, moaning and groaning about my voice, my voice, oh woe, my voice!

And, my very patient and long-suffering teacher would inevitably deliver the following advice: You're sick? Then, today, you will learn to sing when you're sick.

And then, that's what we'd do.

So, today, when I received news that I would suddenly be under a very tight deadline, I found myself in the kitchen, wondering if I should freak out or not. And, lo and behold, Karen's voice wandered into my head: Today, you will learn how to write under a very tight deadline.

So, that's what I'm gonna do.

And, Karen, since I don't know where you are in the world these days, should you ever read this: thank you!

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