Judith Graves's Blog, page 17

Visit to Okotoks and RISE Network

I'll be presenting a session, YA Fiction To DIE For, at the Okotoks Public Library this Saturday, January 8th, from 1-2pm. It's intended to be an overview of my road to publication (alas there are many ways to skin the publishing cat and my take is but one), a backstage look at the life of a YA author and to provide as much insight as I can on the writing process, query letters, etc.

I'm looking forward to meeting readers and writer-ish folk. I'm also very interested in the technology that will be present at the session. The event will be available live via videoconferencing provided by the RISE Network. "The RISE Network is an innovative project that helps southern Albertans access the information they need, right from their local library. By equipping 78 libraries with videoconference equipment, people in 89 municipalities can gain new knowledge and skills through a wide-range of library-based programs and information sessions."

What an amazing resource this is for rural Albertans (of which I am included, though I live in the North). I'm keen to see how glitchy or smooth the technology will be integrated and will be talking up the experience to my library friends when I return. I'd love for more communities to have access to RISE, there's such potential.

Writer Resolutions

Well, the new year is upon us as is the age old I-must-get-fit frenzy. Time to renew the old gym membership or drag the dirty clothes off the treadmill and get buff (perhaps while watching Buffy or Doctor Who). Besides my skinny jeans goal – I have loads of writerly resolutions as well. I know I'm not alone. I know there are people out there right now wanting to take their writing more seriously, wishing they could find time to expand on an idea or simply pick up a pen and scrawl their first sentence on a blank page.

I want this to be our year, people! 2011 is it. This is our time to focus, to stop making excuses, to believe in ourselves and our potential. You can write. I can write. In a few months we'll both be in our skinny jeans and revising a new work in progress. How are we going to get there? With resolutions, of course – hello, it's January.  I asked a few writer friends, and fellow Class of 2k10 members, to share their writer resolutions with us, so we don't feel so alone:

Jennifer Hubbard, author of The Secret Year, suggests: "Write what seems like fun, what you can't wait to write about, instead of trying to second-guess the market and write what you think you "should" write. Happy New Year!"

Thanks Jenn – and OMG – that cover is amazing.

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Leah Cypess, author of Mistwood, offers this plan of attack: "I write in longhand, so this may not work for everyone; but the resolution that has always worked best for me (and that I plan to increase this year) is to turn off the computer for a set amount of time each day. I don't force myself to write during that time, but I always open a notebook and give myself the space to write – and the computer stays off whether I'm writing or not. No checking email on my blackberry, either! Happy New Year!"

Thanks Leah, can't wait for Nightspell, the companion to Mistwood.

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Janet Fox, author of Faithful, kindly presents her resolution: "I have a couple of projects on the back burner that are way outside my comfort zone – maybe more fun to write but also more difficult – so I'm going to try and set aside one writing day each week to work on those projects, rather than just stick with the 'tried and true'. xoxo – and happy new year!!"

Janet – Faithful was an epic tale. I'm sure anything you write will be captivating.

 

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And here's my suggestion for those about to start writing: Get a cool coil notebook and keep it with you at all times. Fill it your own words – with newspaper clippings – with anything you see, hear, taste, touch, smell, or dream that inspires a story idea or makes a character come to life.

Good luck with any resolutions you make. Happy 2011!

Top 2010 Moments to DIE for…

Tis the season for top 10 lists – best/worst moments of the year, craziest Lady Gaga outfit, most horrendous remix of a classic 80s tune, etc. That's right, it's the days before the new year and we're looking back at how far we've come. Personally, 2010 has been a wild ride, being my debut novel year, and after much deliberation - I've created with a wee list of my own moments to DIE for:

Top 2010 Moments to DIE for… 

1. Realizing I've gained 20 lbs, lost it and gained it back again, died my hair about 15 times, had it long – cut it short and am growing it out again, and will likely go through as many changes in 2011. But that's okay, it's what I do.

 2. The UMS book launch party in my home town with friends and family helping me celebrate. THANKS GUYS!

 3. Touring NYC with The Class of 2k10 and meeting my author buddies IN PERSON, and being so grateful that my sister joined me for the journey.

 4. Saying goodbye to Vegas, the last of our wonderful cats and furbaby extraordinaire. Tragic moment. Definitely to DIE for.

 5. Any and all author visits where I was able to share my knowledge (such as it is) about writing and talk books with likeminded souls. (If I didn't stumble over words or spit up on myself.)

 6. Watching the final version of the Second Skin trailer for the first time. WHOOT!

 7. Answering all those blogger questions and how my brain hurt after and the experience made me understand my character's motivations on different levels. They're tricky little buggers.

 8. Visiting my mom every few weeks due to Edmonton events and getting to hang with her more than in previous years – and we're both still alive…lol… Said road trips were only bearable thanks to my husband and my two crazy labs – there's nothing like the stink of man and dog crammed in an SUV for 7 hours…it's like home to me now.

 9. The hours spent at my laptop or writing in notebooks – I may not have seen as many movies as I would have liked, but damn, I was productive.

 10.  Discovering the new Doctor Who series and watching all 5 seasons, plus the Christmas specials, and now the long wait for season 6 to begin. Brilliant!

 And on to 2011…

 Happy New Year, guys!

My Version of a Storyboard

I use many different techniques to tap into the worlds I create – to make sense of the chaos that is a work in progress. I use visuals – searching the Net for images that have the feel of my settings, clothing my characters might wear. I hunt down tunage (obscure/classic rock/indie – anything but country) that helps to set the mood of certain scenes/character emotions as I write. I use stickie notes, index cards and scraps of paper to test plotlines and unexpected twists.

A writer friend of mine, Tess (thanks!!), started me on the concept. She creates detailed / visual character sheets – with photos, dialogue, essential info and bits of trivia about the character that would never be worked into the novel, but help to form their personalities. Great reference tools to have posted around your desk. You can just glance up and pull some inspiration from one of the sheets.

I decided to take this a step further and create a storyboard (of sorts) that represents the overall plot / characters / setting / mood and themes. For Second Skin, the next novel in the Skinned series, I created a storyboard using a large bulletin board (mounted to one of my office walls), gothic scrapbook paper, images I clipped from magazines, bookmarks, real items – a few crosses, etc – and I also added the bare "bones" of the plot. To do this I cut index cards in half and jotted down the main points of action in each chapter.

This way I can pace around my office, stop and stare at the storyboard, mull over the plot, shift the index cards around and then write to fill in any gaps. It's not a perfect system. But it keeps me focused and adds a bit of drama to my already GOREgeous office.

Writers Guild of Alberta Christmas Sale

The first annual Book Lovers Christmas Sale offered by the Writers Guild of Alberta was a seriously good time. Not only were there great Alberta books, artwork, readings, etc…there were tons of networking opportunities. Being a small town author (who doesn't often get to chat with others of my ilk) this was the true gold to be sifted from the event. Can't wait until next year! Below we have Mary Woodbury, Judith Graves (that'd be me…lol…), Jeananne Kathol Kirwin, Jan Markley and Karen Bass:

 

I physically met Jan Markley, Karen Bass, Alexis Kienlen (A fellow Buffy fan!), Jeananne Kathol Kirwin, and Joan Marie Galat (my buddy a la Skype author visits) for the first time although some of us have been in "virtual" contact. I caught up with one of my idols, Mary Woodbury and was delighted to finally match wits with Rita Espeschit, program director for the guild. Here's Marty Chan and Joan Marie Galat showing off their books:

I encourage any Alberta writer to consider joining WGA. There's a Facebook page if you want to lurk around the group first. The guild is always developing ways to unite writers by virtual and/or physical means – to provide exposure to artists, awards, grants, and offer professional development. Let's face it, we're an expansive, wintry province and us creative types need to huddle together to keep warm/sane.

SECOND SKIN trailer revealed!

Whoopa! Madison at M2 Productions has outdone herself this time. Seriously. I asked for a kind of True Blood opening credits montage feel and I LOVE the final product Madison dreamed up. (No wonder the kid is in film school.)

If you look closely you'll see a few pics of old Victorian dolls amongst the other atmospheric images – that's right – Eryn battles my worst fear in Second Skin – DOLLS! Well, lots of other beasties too, but the rotten little things almost did me in….lol….

Here's the blurb:

With FIENDS Like Eryn…

Eryn struggles to resist the beast clawing at her soul as darkness settles over her like a second skin. She's made a deal, and she can't let a dead man down. Not unless she wants her friends and family to relocate – six feet under.

When Eryn and her crew each face their own demons, loyalties are tested and temptations abound. Can she share a future with the brooding, noble, human Alec – the hunter after her heart? Or will she succumb to her enemy's son, Wade, a seductive predator as bloodthirsty as she is?

What happens when you're both the beauty and the beast?

And the trailer:

The Book Lovers Christmas Sale!

 Saturday, Decmeber 4th from 12 noon to 5pm, join me, and about 40 Alberta authors, as well as artisans with wares (or should that be WERES…wink, wink…) that will amaze you! It's the first annual Book Lovers Christmas Sale offered by the Writers Guild of Alberta. We'll be doing readings, signings, wandering around and chatting up folks – I'll be shopping for notebooks and funky bookmarks I know I won't find ANYWHERE else….cause they're handmade gems – GEMS, I tell you. LOCATION: Stanley A. Milner Library – aka the downtown branch in Edmonton, Alberta.

Anyway – here are the details – I'll be at the sale pretty much all day until they kick me out:

 Program of events: 

12 noon—2 pm: Territory of the Young

12 noon—Award-winning, multi-genre author Marty Chan reads from his brand-new kids' book "The Mystery of the Cyber Bully". A treat not to be missed!
12:30 pm—Drop in for some hands-on fun and make really cool bookmarks using the ancient art of origami. All materials provided.
1 pm—Time for more mystery, now with Calgary author Jan Markley , who'll give us the scoop on "Dead Bird through the Cat Door", the second book in her Megabyte Mystery series.
1:30 pm—Bring a clove of garlic for protection, and come to listen as author Judith Graves reads from her Young Adult vampire-ish title "Under my Skin". Note: the WGA shall not be deemed responsible for fang marks on anyone's neck.

 2—3:30 pm: Poetreats

2 pm—On the screen, Edmonton will be looking beautiful as ever through the delicate prints by the late Dr. W.B. Stallworthy. At the microphone, his son Bob Stallworthy adds stanzas to the scene, as he reads some of the poems in which his father's presence is still very much alive.
2:30 pm—Three new books, three poets on stage. Laurie MacFayden brings us her gravelly poet's voice as she reads from her debut collection "White Shirt"; Edmonton's own Alice Major (once laureate, always laureate…) gifts us some verses from "Memory's Daughter"; and Peter Midgley goes bilingual as he reads from "perhaps i should/miskien moet ek".
3 pm—Very Vocal poetry ladies for your ears' delight! Spoken word artists Kathy Fisher and Kath MacLean, both with CDs for grabs at our Christmas Sale, will perform a few of the poems included in "think of me naked" (Kathy) and "Seed Bone & Hammer" (Kath).

 3:30—5 pm: Proudly Prose

3:30 pm—Back from a long research journey on higher Canadian latitudes, Linda Goyette shares some stories from "Northern Kids", a collection focused on the young people from the Yukon , Northwest Territories , and other northern communities. She is joined on stage by Conni Massing, a playwright turned travel writer after the adventures you'll read in "Road Tripping—On the Move with the Buffalo Gals". Bonus: you get to see on screen photos of gals and northern kids that were not included in the books.
4 pm—First it was the movie. Now, writer and filmmaker Geo Takach brings us "Will the Real Alberta Please Stand Up?", the book: a mix of essay, interview, and colourful observation spotlighting the cultural complexity of our province. Come along for a chat with Geo—and a bit of movie time too!

 Signing schedule

 12 noon—2 pm

Ardith Trudzik, Diane Linden, Jan Markley, Jeananne Kathol Kirwin, Joan Marie Galat, Judith Graves , Karen Bass, Marty Chan *, Mary Woodbury , Pearl Murray, Shane Gauthier, Tyler Enfield

2—3:30 pm

Aaron A. Lehman, Alexis Kienlen , Alice Major , Bob Stallworthy , Clair Woodbury, Dianne Tchir, Kath MacLean, Kathy Fisher, Laurie MacFayden , Marion Brooker, Peter Midgley , Shelley A. Leedahl, Tololwa Mollel, Victoria Middleton

3:30—5 pm

Billie Milholland, Caterina Edwards , Conni Massing, Diane Robitelle, Eileen Bell, Geo Takach, Graham Clews, Jean Crozier, Linda Goyette, Margaret Macpherson, Marianne Stamm, Monika Igali, Pauline Holyoak , Roberta Laurie, Roxanne Felix, Sheree Zielke, Therezinha Kennedy, Uzoma Uponi, Vivian Mayne

* From 12 to 12:30 pm only

Random Tunage and Authorganza

This is what happens when I should be writing fiction. A random tune takes over, drowning out my characters and their woes. I have no choice but to seek my guitar, jot down the chords, and hunt for my trusty mini-cassette tape recorder.  But what if my chocolate lab has chewed the thing to bits?!

Have no fear, cell phone apps are here.

Gone are the days where I have to call myself at home, wait for the voice mail to kick in and then sing / hum a little ditty that is haunting me. No more will my husband have to sift through those messages, shaking his head and muttering about his deranged wife. Now I just record the rotten tune with an app…any kind of voice note / voice recorder will do. (Tip: download one that saves files in WAV format if you want to share your recordings online. If you have one that saves to GP3 format, you could also download a free GP3 converter.)

Here's the tune that refused to let me get any writing done tonight: badadada tune  Yeah, it needs lyrics, a bridge, and loads of other stuff, but at least it's out of my head. Whoot!

AUTHORGANZA TIME

And now for something completely different. I had a blast at the Strathcona Chapters Authorganza event, featuring a bunch of Alberta authors each Sunday in November – dans la store, signing books. I had a grand time hanging out with the authors on the second floor, Erika Knudsen with her vampire/witchy tales(www.erispublishing.com) and Nadine Gordon, a dreamwalker and psychic medium (www.nurturingenergy.com). Not only were these ladies right up my paranormal obsession alley, they were masters at table displays and had signage to DIE for.

Here's a pic of Erika's setup:

Certainly put my table to shame:

Beyond the sign envy, I also met, Jim Yih and Patricia French – two business types with a series of financial planning books (www.jimyih.com).

I joked with Jim about re-marketing their material with a Grim Reaper mascot and a whole gothic, death and taxes motif. I'm hoping he jumps on the idea. I even have a slogan for the Financial Reaper – Reap your rewards…..or Invest now – cause you can't take it with you. The puns spring eternal.

Strathcona Chapters: Authorganza

I'll be hanging out at the Chapters on Whyte Ave (in Edmonton, AB) today for their Authorganza event. Each Sunday in November the Strathcona Chapters features different Alberta authors and/or musicians. It's a very cool thing. There will be three of us today, here are the deets:

Join 14 of your local authors and musicians for thrill-filled weekends in November!
AUTHORGANZA

CHAPTERS STRATHCONA

10504 ~ 82 Ave

Nov 13, 20, 21, 27, 28

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NOVEMBER 28th

Judith Graves

Under My Skin

11 am to 3 pm

This new speculative/paranormal/urban fantasy novel for teens  introduces 16-year-old Eryn McCain who relocates to the "small, super-duper normal" not so normal town of Redgrave in Northern Alberta.

http://judithgraves.com/

Ronald Kurt

Little Acts of Creation

1 pm to 3 pm

Edmonton poet Ronald Kurt presents his latest acts of creation in a new collection that ponders the male midlife crisis.

Erika Knudsen

Awakened

12 pm to 4 pm

Mackenzie Sinclair has been haunted by visions of the dead.  After the shocking death of his parents, he is taken in by a group who secretly research, study and record the paranormal.

http://www.erispublishing.com

Cool Calgary Event

I so wish I could make this event, but since I can't – you guys in or around Calgary have to go! We're talking authors doing readings, musicians performing for da masses, a silent auction…and what's it all for? Well, only the coolest thing – funds raised go to WordsWorth, the teen writers camp organized by The Young Alberta Book Society.

Moola to help kids develop their writing chops and a great evening of arts and culture. Please attend if you can!