Scott Tracey's Blog, page 11

Tuesday Truths About Music

I'm a huge proponent for listening to music while writing.  I've probably blogged about this a few times, but I figured THIS TIME I would do it with examples.  Fun, right?  When I'm drafting, I have to have lyrics, something I can tune out while I write.  For revising, I like instrumentals.  Movie scores have been FANTASTIC for this.  Lately, I've used the Inception OST, Tron, and definitely The Social Network.

For my first novel, the one that was trunked and then cobbled for parts for Witch Eyes, the music of choice was Within Temptation.  If you don't know who they are, think of them as a more ethereal Evanescence.

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Then there was Witch Eyes, which has a pretty eclectic mix of songs, almost all of them ended up coming from TV or movie soundtracks (almost entirely accidentally, I can assure you).  Song of choice being Unbreakable by Fireflight. (I keep trying to call them Firelight, as in the Sophie Jordan novel).  Most of the other songs on this playlist, in my head, would make great songs to use for the commercials (if the show were ever made into a movie or series).

Seriously, I think about it every time I dust off that playlist.  "Wow, that song would be great in the trailer."  And then reality sets in, and I go clean my room.

After that came my six week novel.  The one I don't even really remember writing, but I definitely remember throwing myself at the computer every day and wresting out lots of words.  This one was all about The Birthday Massacre, who I'd found at almost the same time. Like seriously, 75% of the playlists for this one were all TBM songs.  Love them!

And now we're up to the present, and the current project on deck.  The one that struggles to be titled, and shall henceforth be known as Hackysack.  And I'm not entirely proud of the song selection on this one.  But at least it's better than Katy Perry.  (Oh wait, there's one of those on deck, too).  Lots of pop music and remixes on this one – Britney, Ke$ha, Katy, Gaga.

Don't judge me too harshly.

Year of the Witch

I swear it started out as a joke.  Awhile back, a few of us authors on Twitter started talking about how many witch books were coming out in 2011.  And then we started noticing more and more.  And then someone called 2011 The Year of the Witch.  And it totally is.  Here's why.

First, let's look at the year itself.  2011.  And do you know what 2+0+11 equals?  That's right.  Lucky number 13.  Perfect size for a witch's coven.

Next, let's look at some of the books we've got coming out.  Each of them unique in their own way.

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.
 
When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.
 
Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
This page-turning debut novel will entice fans who like their paranormal romances dark and disturbing. It's a natural next-read for fans of Stephenie Meyer, Carrie Jones, and Becca Fitzpatrick. But instead of mythical creatures, blood magic has everything to do with primal human desires like power, wealth, and immortality.
 
Everywhere Silla Kennicott turns she sees blood. She can't stop thinking about her parents alleged murder-suicide. She is consumed by a book filled with spells that arrives mysteriously in the mail. The spells share one common ingredient: blood, and Silla is more than willing to cast a few. What's a little spilled blood if she can uncover the truth? And then there's Nick—the new guy at school who makes her pulse race. He has a few secrets of his own and is all too familiar with the lure of blood magic. Drawn together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick must find out who else in their small Missouri town knows their secret and will do anything to take the book and magic from Silla.
 
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children. If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.  And there are no strangers in the town of Near.
These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life. But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.
 
The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.
 
As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi's need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.
 
Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab's debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won't soon forget.
 
Witch Eyes by some nerd
Braden was born with witch eyes: the ability to see the world as it truly is: a blinding explosion of memories, darkness, and magic. The power enables Braden to see through spells and lies, but at the cost of horrible pain.
 
After a terrifying vision reveals imminent danger for the uncle who raised and instructed him, Braden retreats to Belle Dam, an old city divided by two feuding witch dynasties. As rival family heads Catherine Lansing and Jason Thorpe desperately try to use Braden's powers to unlock Belle Dam's secrets, Braden vows never to become their sacrificial pawn. But everything changes when Braden learns that Jason is his father–and Trey, the enigmatic guy he's falling for, is Catherine's son.
 
To stop an insidious dark magic from consuming the town, Braden must master his gift—and risk losing the one he loves.
 
 

Then True Blood, a show which has focused on serial killers and maenads and vampires before, releases a promo and reveals that season 4 is going to be "the season of the witch."  Again, we've got witches.  Lots of witches.  And you know if they're on True Blood, they're going to want to do bad things with you.  (Sorry, I had t0).

And then there's Kevin Williamson.  Sure, he does a little show about vampires, but now it turns out that he's attached to another project, also based on novels written by L.J. Smith. Books about witches.  Yeah, that's right, there might be ANOTHER show about witches coming this fall.  Not since Charmed first aired have I been so excited for a TV show, no lie.

If you haven't read the Secret Circles books (and why would you ever admit that in public, let alone on this blog), here's a fan-made trailer from Youtube.  Note: this isn't footage of the Secret Circle show – assuming that gets picked up, we won't see any of that until sometime in the summer.

Now that is a LOT of witches, and that's probably just scratching the surface!  What do you think?  Is there something particularly witchy that you're waiting for this year?  Anything I missed?

Bookanista Thursday: Red Glove by Holly Black

The Summary: Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth—he's the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything—or anyone—into something else.

That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she's human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila's been cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion worker mom. And if Lila's love is as phony as Cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does.

When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue—crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too—they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can't trust anyone—least of all, himself?

Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose.

My Thoughts:

This series, to me, is worldbuilding gold.  If you're a writer and want to see how different elements of the real and the fantastical can be woven together, White Cat and Red Glove are hands down my first example.  It shows a world where magic takes the forms of curses spread through touch, and how the world would be affected by that.  There are elements of Prohibition, pop culture, legislation, historical influences (such as workers being organized into camps such as the Japanese internment camps following Pearl Harbor), and more all woven together seamlessly.

The rules of the magic are also fairly intuitive, once the groundwork is laid.  We learn a little bit more this time around, but all the groundwork is already there.  The rules are solid, and continue to make sense throughout.

Second up, the plotting is extremely tight.  Red Glove continues Cassel's story, now catching him between the world of the mobs, and the world of the Feds.  Cassel is one of my favorite protagonists in a long time – he's a con man at heart, but he's still a teenager too.  His feelings for Lila, the conflict in his family, his friendships – all of these things pull him in so many directions, but we get it.  This is the first series I'd think of if someone asked me for a "boy book."

Check out what the other Bookanistas are talking about this week!

Kirsten Hubbard fawns over Family – with giveaway

LiLa Roecker adores Alice-Miranda at School

Christine Fonseca caws about Scrawl

Shannon Messenger gets passionate about Possession

Shelli Johannes-Wells takes a shine to Shimmer

Carolina Valdez Miller interviews Invincible Summer author Hannah Moskowitz

Jessi Kirby feels The Pull of Gravity

Shana Silver delights in The Day Before

Carrie Harris takes The Goddess Test – with giveaway

Corrine Jackson swoons for Starcrossed

Stasia Ward Kehoe is outspoken about Addie on the Inside

Sarah Frances Hardy celebrates The Best Birthday Party Ever

Thoughts on Moving

One thing about moving is that you have to pack everything you own, and sometimes you find things you didn't even know you had.

Like our kitchen, which is currently four hundred thousand odds and ends.  Three people moving in together, of course you'd have a lot of stuff, right?  Well, except that we moved into a house that already had a bunch of kitchen stuff.  So in addition to everything else we had to move, the 47 wine glasses of various shapes and sizes needed to be wrapped and packed, someone had to do something with the four different strainers (one metal, three plastic), enough Tupperware containers that we could build ourselves a plastic pyramid in the back yard, and dishes like you wouldn't believe.

Although that has nothing on the four (and counting) ironing boards we own (note: NOT ONE of us ever uses even one of those ironing boards), or the three vacuum cleaners.  Five televisions.  Six geese-a-laying.

You get the picture.

Moving is fun.  Or something.  But at least now I have fun stories about ironing boards.  And internet.  Blessed internet.

Happy Friday!

Movers Monday

It's Monday! It's April! Uhm, yay?  Just no more snow, okay?

The roommates and I are in the process of moving – again (in my case).  Luckily, I never really unpacked all my stuff LAST time, so most of my stuff was easy to move over to the new house.  The new house is a little bigger, it's a lot nicer, and the back yard is swanky.  Hopefully this will translate into lots of books being written there.

In other news, there's a Facebook page for Witch Eyes and the sequel now.  You should check it out – I'll post any interesting news, contests, etc there.

And last but not least, after an extended hiatus here's my latest vlog for the YA Rebels.  Check it out!

Wednesday Randomness

Five things that I figured I'd share with you, to somehow brighten your otherwise dreary hump day.  (Let's be honest – you know it's dreary).

All of Lady Gaga's tattoos are on her left side.
Gretchen is currently doing a giveaway , with lots of prizes, but in particular an ARC of POSSESS.  Trust me, you want this one.  Creepy doll scenes FTW.
I spent the last week watching the first three seasons of Merlin.  My new life goal is to spend some time in Wales.
A benny was slang for an overcoat at one point.
Someday I want to live here.  I don't even know where 'here' is, but I want one:

That's all I've got.  What's interesting in your life?

On the Care and Feeding of Blurbs

I've had a couple people ask me about blurbs lately (like I'm some sort of expert – here's a hint: I'm not), and figured I might as well blog about it.  For anyone who doesn't know, blurbs are those quotes on the covers of books that say things like:

"This book cured my phobia of leprechauns!" – Smitty Van Helsing, Author of THE LEPRECHAUN MAFIA AND THE APPROACHING ARMAGEDDON.

So what's the purpose of blurbs?  I've heard everything from "there isn't any purpose" to "it makes the book more attractive to book buyers."  Both of which are true.  And both of which are false.  Blurbs can make your book more appealing if the blurbs catch someone's attention.  And a certain blurb CAN feasibly make your book look more attractive to a book buyer.  But at the same time, you can't point to a blurb and say with any certainty "That blurb sold me fifty-five thousand copies.  Thanks, Smitty!"  I mean, unless the blurb comes from Stephen King or J.K. Rowling, which is a whole other situation altogether.  I don't think I've ever heard of someone buying a book because Smitty Van Helsing blurbed it.  Most people probably won't even realize he did.

For the most part, blurbs are kind of like glowing recommendations from your fellow employees at work.  When it comes time for your review, those recommendations aren't going to help you out all that much, but they're nice to have either way.

So how do you get them?

The getting of blurbs is weird, and depends on your own house's preference.  There are two (well actually three, but we'll get there) avenues to blurb-getting.  In one, the publisher handles it all.  They extend the offer to established authors or their agents, and the author who wrote the book in question never really deals with any of it.  Plus side, this eliminates a lot of your stress.

Then there's the other option, in which the author goes in search of their own blurbs.  This is usually with some level of editorial input (some houses are more particular about who they would want blurbing books than others, from what I've heard).  You write up emails, approach the author through the appropriate channels (some authors make it clear that blurb requests need to go through their agents, for example).  Sometimes it helps if you already have a friendship/relationship with the author.  That's not always a guarantee, though.

Then there's the third way to get blurbs, which is serendipity.  An author reads your book (either in ARC or final copy) and loves it so much they offer to blurb.  You didn't seek it out, your editor didn't seek it out, it just happens.  I think these are the best kinds of blurbs, personally.  I love when writer friends tell me that Random Author just offered to blurb their book.

So how do you ask?

First, find out how your publishing house wants to handle it.  Will they send ARCs?  Bound manuscripts?  Or would they prefer you send it in a Word file?  These things are important.

If you've checked the writer's website and it says to just email her, then do that.  DO NOT send the book first.  Think of it a little like a query.  Introduce yourself, and then ask them if they would be interested in looking at an advanced copy of the book.  Some authors might not have time, or they might be swamped.  The bigger the author, also, the more requests like this they get.  Just like with querying, rejection IS a part of the game.

Make sure you tell them what your book is about, in case they don't know already.  Also, find out from your editor what the deadline should be – when's the absolute latest the author could send in a blurb to make it on the final copy of the book.  Let the author know when you'd need to hear by.  If the author doesn't get back to you in time, all's not lost.  A late blurb can always go on your website, on a later version of the book, in promo materials, etc.  And then ask them what they would prefer, from among the options above.  Word document, bound manuscript, ARC.

Then wait.  If they request it, great.  Do yourself a favor, and then decide to forget about it.  Just like being on submission, worrying about blurbs will only drive you insane.  I decided the whole thing was over once the book was out of my hands.  If people agreed to read, I let them read, but I don't think about it.  I don't expect blurbs, but if I get some, it's like a Christmas bonus you didn't expect.  It also helped that I picked up another project the minute I was done.

Blurbs are just another thing in publishing you can't control.  And for some reason, they're treated like they're more important than they really are sometimes.  I've heard of authors getting seriously upset because their books didn't have any, and then the book comes out and still does perfectly fine.  It's really not worth the stress that many people put into it.

"I don't have to explain my love to you, Warren."

First, props to whoever gets that.  Second, a nod to Leah Clifford, since it's an oft-repeated quote in our household.

Jessica Verday just posted this on her blog.  You should go check it out immediately and leave her a comment.  I have to admit, I definitely had A Moment reading her blog post, and seeing her stand up for her beliefs.

I actually hate talking about gay issues on my blog normally.  I'd rather ramble, or unleash some sarcasm, or talk about craft.  Most of the time, people far more knowledgeable and coherent can talk about these things and make their points better than I ever could.  But I also think it's important to stand up on occasion and support the people supporting you.

The truth is that publishing is a business.  And in looking at it like a business, it's easy to quantify heterosexuality in lieu of homosexuality.   If a book has a straight romance, it's perfectly targeted for the teen/twentysomething female market.  Which is ideal, since they're the ones buying YA.  If the book has a gay romance, it's perfectly targeted for…the gay kids?  That's the theory, at least.

There's always going to be someone there who wants to whitewash the product in front of them.  Whether it's a literal whitewashing, in terms of race.  Or gender.  Sexuality.  Religion. People who like Glee better when it only focuses on the straight kids.  I mean, it happens.  Even in publishing.  And I'm sure that there are lots of times where issues like this crop up, and the general public don't hear about it, because the author stood their ground.  Gay characters remained gay, Asian characters remained Asian, etc.

But I think that's why it's important to take a moment and acknowledge those moments when someone stands up for their beliefs, and their opinion, and won't compromise their message.

Awesome job, Jess!  Thank you!

 

 

 

Contest Winner and News!

First off, the real reason you're reading this blog post: Contest Winners!

The winner of a signed copy of both The Liar Society and A Touch Mortal  is Sasha Switz whose motto was "Have character, don't be one." Congrats, Sasha! I'll be emailing you privately soon.

Things have been quiet on the blog lately.  Aka, Scott's been lazy.  Things that are new and/or interesting:

The official release date for WITCH EYES is September 8th! 6 months!
It is also available for pre-order on Amazon.com!
Designing bookmarks is hard.  I've been trying to work up something for the past couple of days, and I have the utmost esteem for anyone who does design work professionally.
I'm going to New York in May! I've never been! Leah's going too!  We might take the train! I've never ridden on a train before!  I'm abusing exclamation points!
The roommates and I are moving!!! (okay, NOW I'm abusing them).   And the house we're moving into?  Is five minutes down the road from where I USED to live.  Crazy.
Sequel book is turned in.  New book is back with the agent.  Which means I'm free to start back up on the book I started around the end of last year.  And it also means it's time to start researching for a new idea.  Shiny New Idea is totally different than anything else I've done before, and requires massive amounts of research.  I'm excited.

The Bookanistas: The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker

What Goodreads says:

Kate Lowry didn't think dead best friends could send e-mails. But when she gets an e-mail from Grace, she's not so sure.

To: KateLowry@pemberlybrown.edu

Sent: Sun 9/14 11:59 PM

From: GraceLee@pemberlybrown.edu

Subject: (no subject)

Kate,

I'm here…

sort of.

Find Cameron.

He knows.

I shouldn't be writing.

Don't tell.

They'll hurt you.

Now Kate has no choice but to prove once and for all that Grace's death was more than just a tragic accident. But secrets haunt the halls of her elite private school. Secrets people will do anything to protect. Even if it means getting rid of the girl trying to solve a murder…

What I say: I love this book.  I'm a huge fan of murder mysteries and mysteries in general.  So even though I had to bully my way into being Lisa's friend in order to read a copy of their book, it was totally worth it.  Pemberly Brown is quite possibly one of my favorite fictional high schools ever.  The school is such a hotbed of customs and superstitions that I adore it.  Scattered throughout the school are the Stations, each with it's own crest and Latin phrase.  Even the school's motto plays it's part in the novel: Veritas Vos Liberabit – the truth shall make you free.

The Contest - I have a signed copy of LIAR SOCIETY to give away, inscribed with one of the many Latin phrases that appears in the book.  So here's what the contest entails.  Think about what YOUR personal motto would be. This can be serious, funny, deep, introspective.  It doesn't have to be in Latin, but bonus points if you do.

THEN – Tweet about the contest, Facebook it, blog about it.  Leave your motto in a comment along with your email address, and tell me where/how you spread the word about the contest. You can also follow me on Twitter if you like here, but that's not a requirement to win.

Winner will receive: a signed final copy of THE LIAR SOCIETY, a signed copy of A TOUCH MORTAL, and a random smorgasboard of bookmarks and swag-like things that I've collected over the months.

The contest is open until Monday, April 14th at Noon, EST.

Sorry, US and Canada only.