Inara Scott's Blog, page 9

You've Gotta Want It

I'm a goal-setter. I set them annually, monthly, and whenever I need a kick in the pants. I set daily word count goals and deadlines for finishing drafts of novels. I love a good physical goal (one year the goal was to run a triathlon — check that one off the list!). My husband and I even set couple's goals for each New Year. These goals look like, "go out to dinner once a month," or "go camping as a family four times." Luckily, I ended up with a partner as obsessive and goal-oriented as I am.

I don't always reach my goals. Sometimes I stop and reassess, and decide the goal wasn't right for me. The book I was working on gets finished earlier than I had planned, or I decide I no longer want to try to write three books a year. I don't think my husband and I ever came close to that monthly "go out to dinner" goal. What can I say? We have two kids. And despite repeated goals to meditate daily, I've never done more than a few days at a time before I fall off the wagon…er…pillow.

I'm okay with my less than perfect success rate, but I don't disregard my goals thoughtlessly. If they change, there had better be a good reason.

So at the beginning of this summer, I set a goal of kicking up into a handstand. I practice yoga at home, and occasionally, in a studio, and I get green with envy when I watch the more advanced students effortlessly glide gracefully upside down. I can do a headstand, but it hurts my neck, so I don't do it often, and I can do a pose where you rest on your forearms and kick up onto the wall, so I figured I should be able to do the handstand. But whenever I'd tried at home, I wasn't even coming close.

Thus the goal. My time had come. I knew there was something mental about the handstand, and I needed to break through the barrier. I figured setting the goal would help.

I started with a little direct instruction. I met with a yoga instructor who I'd taken classes with in the past. He put me through a workout and tried to get me up onto my hands. Didn't work. He scratched his head, said I had the strength, so there must have been a mental barrier.

Well, yeah! I was terrified to kick up. Not sure exactly why — was I scared of falling? Of collapsing onto my head? I don't know. It wasn't that conscious. Still, the fear had me trapped and firmly on the ground.

All summer long, I practiced. I practiced on the wall at home. I practiced out in our backyard with my daughter the gymnast. I got close, but wasn't there.

I was still scared.

Then, Saturday night, it occurred to me that the summer was almost over, and I hadn't busted through my mental barrier. I was letting the fear win. Now, I'll be honest, it's been a bit of a rough summer. I won't go into details, but let's just say I'm not feeling uber-confident in my ability to conquer the world.

But I'm not a quitter. And I needed this one. I really did.

So I got up to the wall. I told my son to get the camera. If I do this, I told him, you've got to get a picture.

I flailed around. Fell down. Fell sideways. Gave up. Almost quit. But I kept that mantra in my head: YOU CAN DO THIS.

And then, you know what? I did. I tightened everything I had. Threw every bit of strength I had at it. Used my breath. Risked. Told myself I wanted it bad enough, and I was going to do it.

And I did.

Radiant Desire WINNER!

Thanks for being patient with me, folks! I spent the week pouring over copyedits to Radiant Desire, and it's even MORE perfect now than it was before.

 

(HA!!!!)

 

But now that I'm recovered and breathing, it's time to announce the winner of a copy of Radiant Desire! Remember, I don't have copies yet, but as soon as I do I will send the winner one. Electronic or hard copy, your choice.

 

Ready?

 

No, I mean, seriously — ARE YOU READY?

 

Here it is….

 

 

JESSIE HARRELL!!!

 

 

Please contact me with your address and let me know if you want a print or e-copy.

 

Thank you so much to everyone who entered — I will have another giveaway closer to the release date!

 

YA Scavenger Hunt Winners!

YA Scavenger Hunt Winners

All right folks — some of the authors took down material at 12 midnight EST, some are up until 12 midnight PCT. I already took down Jeri's piece and it's now part of the internet ether, but if you're still trying to complete the puzzle, the word for Jeri's piece was ENTHRALLED, and the next person after me in the hunt was www.angcorbett.blogspot.com

 

Hope that helps!!

 

Meanwhile, I did promise some prizes, and I was totally blown away by the number of entries (you guys were having so much fun, it was awesome to watch!). I consulted the random number generator, and it told me to award two Delcroix Academy Prize Packs to:

 

CAROLINE (the first Caroline that commented)

 

and

 

SHANNON!!

 

You are the winners of BOTH The Candidates AND The Watchers!!

 

But wait — there's more!

 

I really appreciated all the notes and comments (wish I had time to respond to everyone!) especially from those fans who've read The Candidates and are eagerly awaiting The Watchers/The Marked.

 

So I've decided to send out a few more ARCS of The Watchers to:

 

NOELLE WALKER

 

AVERY

 

JAN ROBERTSON

 

and

 

EMMA LUECKLER

 

Send your snail mail addresses to me at inara.scott@gmail.com and I'll get your books out in the mail this week!

 

Love and Kisses,

Inara

YA Scavenger Hunt is here!

Welcome to the YA Scavenger Hunt!

On this hunt you will be able to gain access to exclusive bonus material, sign up for giveaways, and get an all access pass to top secret insider information. This fabulous sneak peek into what's coming up in YA literature is for one day only!

As an extra bonus we've put together a puzzle with one keyword found on each website. Complete it and you will be eligible for a fantastic GRAND PRIZE which will include signed editions of books, signed bookmarks, jewelry, and many more exclusive gifts with at least one from EVERY AUTHOR!

Scavenger Hunt Puzzle

Directions: Copy and paste the puzzle below onto a document or blank email page and fill it out as you proceed through the Scavenger Hunt. Search for keywords, one on each website that will be highlighted in RED, and insert them into the puzzle, then fill out the Google form here.

Rules: To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit this filled in puzzle before midnight on August 1st Pacific Time. All the keywords must be in the correct place, and you must include your full name and address. Entries sent in without name and address will not be considered!

Welcome fans of young adult literature! Don't forget to _______ up in time to join our special event! In ____________ you roll the dice and, like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. Our scavenger hunt is very similar. Surprises wait around every corner. Turn one page and you're chasing a _________ through a _________ _____________. Turn another and you are being ________ by a _______ which leaves your heart ________. YA ________s are full of ___________ heroes who must ___________ themselves for the greater good. Some of the characters travel through ______ or have a _________ __________. If there is one thing YA books have taught us, it's that if you leave your ___________ keep an eye out for a patrolling ________. They're very dangerous. Maybe not so frightening as a ____________, but still you should be careful. Also beware lest you become __________ by vampires. ______________ one is a different story. Just remember that bite has ___________ ramifications and that afterwards the sun can ______ you unless you get bitten by a glittering type. Whether you like dark, paranormal, romance, fantasy, ___________, Sci-Fi, or a combination of those, we've got something for you.

We think that each fan is a __________ and we love you all!

Submitted by

Name ________________________________

Address_______________________________

City_________________________________

State________________________________

Zip__________________________________

Email________________________________

Now….I am very pleased to welcome the incredible, amazing, and okay, awe-inspiring Jeri Smith-Ready! I first met Jeri in 2010 at BEA and was blown away by her kindness to an unknown debut author (that would be me!). Then I had the pleasure of reading her YA novel SHADE, and I was instantly enthralled. I fell in love with her lush, emotional writing and sensual storytelling. When I am looking for inspiration and examples of beautiful characters that draw you into a story and hold you there, captive to the strength of their voice, Jeri is the one I read (and re-read).



Jeri's latest release is SHIFT, the second in the YA ghost trilogy that began last year with SHADE (now out in paperback). This incredible series will take your breath away — if you haven't read it yet, you've got a great time waiting for you!

Jeri loves to hear from readers, so please visit her at www.jerismithready.com, or better yet, on Facebook (www.facebook.com/jerismithready) or Twitter (@jsmithready), where she spends far too much time.

Now, here's that exclusive content you've all been waiting for!! For an introduction, I will officially pass the mic to Jeri…

In an earlier draft of SHIFT, the main character Aura's best friend Megan and her boyfriend Mickey broke up two days after prom. By the final draft, I decided to let them stay together. As Mickey began to heal from the death of his young brother Logan (Aura's boyfriend, now a ghost), Megan was able to hold on to him.

But for how much longer? You'll have to read SHINE next year to find out. Hee.

(And if you want to see how Mickey and Logan found their peace, check out Logan's short story "Bridge" in the ENTHRALLED anthology, edited by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong, coming September 20.)

This deleted scene, like all in the trilogy, is from Aura's point-of-view. Imagine it following that one scene at Dylan's house. You know, THAT scene. In the original version, Aura saw Mickey there, and he told her about the breakup and why it happened.

*****

I expected to find Megan in tears.

But when I wandered into the parlor of her family's funeral home and found her lying in the room's most expensive display casket, her eyes were dry. Her hair was splayed on the silk pillow's plastic cover, hands folded on her stomach, just like Mickey's had been. She could have been a corpse, except that her eyes were open and staring at the ceiling, and for the fact that no one would let their loved one be buried in purple leopard-print capris.

I ran my hand along the dark polished edge of the deluxe coffin, which was labeled Imperial. "This is a nice one."

"It's made from rainforest trees." Her voice was dull and flat—again, just like Mickey's. "When I own this place, we're never using old-growth wood again. I'll offer a recycled model."

"That should go over big with your target market." I put my hand on her folded ones. "Do you want to come out of there?"

"Not really." She drew in a breath, so deep I wondered if it would bust her lungs. "Are you hungry?"

"I had a snack at Dylan's."

Her eyes squeezed shut. "Did you see him? How was he?"

I knew she wasn't talking about Dylan. "Does it matter how Mickey is? You're the one hurt most."

"No, not even now. It's still all about him and his everlasting pain." She sighed again. "He can't see past it. It's like trying to see around the sky, he says. It only goes away when he closes his eyes or turns to the ground. Meaning, when he just shuts off."

"I know."

She looked straight at me for the first time since I'd arrived. "Do you? Is it so bad to lose Logan that life has to stop? It's like we're all back in the neighborhood playing freeze tag, and Logan's It. Everyone he touches has to stop living until we're all frozen." She returned her gaze to the ceiling. "I wonder if I'm the last one. Am I 'It' now?"

"I hope not." I pulled up a chair and sat beside the coffin, setting the shopping bag with a pint of ice cream on the floor. We fell quiet, listening to the Muzak version of the Beatles "Blackbird."

"Are you hooking up with Dylan?" she said. "I won't judge."

"We're just friends. For real now." I told her what had happened, even the contents of Logan's notebook, which I seemed to have memorized even though I'd only read it once.

"Do you think in a world without Logan," she said, "you and Dylan would be a thing?"

"He's funnier and cuter than he thinks he is, which is a nice change from Logan and Zachary. And he's not even a virgin."

There was a long silence. "What?"

"I knew that would distract you." I explained what Dylan had told me about the sympathy sex from the girls at his school.

"I believe it," she said. "I was never more in lust with Mickey than when he was mourning. But he wouldn't even look at me." Her voice started to rise. "You know what he told me once? He said he didn't want to do anything Logan couldn't do anymore. He said it wasn't fair. But he still ate and slept and went to school, which Logan couldn't do." She covered her face, all but her mouth. "Sometimes I think it was never about Logan. Sometimes I think that Mickey never really loved me. Not ever." A long, rising moan like a fire siren came out of her mouth.

I leaned over and hugged her, my own body halfway into the coffin. She clung to me with hands that felt like claws. I remembered holding on to her this way when Logan died, and wondered if her eyes were like mine had been, wildly staring at the ceiling, willing the one we'd lost to appear right there, as if closing our eyes would be a betrayal, like giving up.

Finally her sobs receded, and she started to squirm, so I loosened my hold. She pulled away and put her hands on my shoulders. "Help me out of this thing. I'm so pathetic, it's…pathetic."

I steadied her as she stepped/rolled out of the coffin. She clutched my arm as we walked across the showroom floor, then lurched to a stop and held her stomach. "I feel motion sick." She looked down at me, her eyes full of agony. "You think maybe the earth is turning too fast?"

I shook my head and helped her walk out of the room of death. "Not fast enough."

*****

AHH! Wasn't that amazing? Yes, this is a big fan-girl swoon from Inara. And now that you've read Jeri's exclusive excerpt, why not spend a moment on my website and look around? While you're here, you can enter to win a Delcroix Academy prize pack! Check out my blog and leave a comment on the SCAVENGER HUNT PRIZE PACK post to be entered to win a copy of Delcroix Academy: The Candidates, AND an advance reader copy of the second book in my series, The Watchers (AKA, The Marked).

For your next step in the scavenger hunt, go check out Angela Corbett's blog (www.angcorbett.blogspot.com). Have fun!!

Car Camping

So my husband, kids and I are on our massive summer road trip from Oregon to Colorado. We decided to camp along the way, because that's how we roll. Naturally, massive disasters ensued the moment we left home. We have been on the road three days, and thus far we have experienced:

-Road closure outside home that routed us along a scenic highway, adding an hour to the day's drive.

-After much driving around on windy roads we couldn't find our campsite deep in the Idaho wilderness, so we stayed at a hotel instead.

-Daughter took massive spill on steep gravel trail, scraping knees, feet, and backside.

-Second campsite was beside highway, and massively noisy. Son's thermarest pad wouldn't inflate.

Despite the disasters (or perhpas because of them) we are having a fantastic time. So how's your summer going? Any disasters to share?

Cover Love and Contest

Hi all! I will keep taking comments until August 1 on the cover blog. Everyone who comments is entered to win a copy of the book!!!

 

Thanks so much for all your support and excitement over my gorgeous cover! I can't wait to share the book with you all.

 

 

COVER REVEAL! Radiant Desire is here…

There are few things that an author loves more than the first glimpse of a cover. I think for me, the the cover is a window into the way my book appears (or will appear) inside someone's head. Sounds strange, I know, but my craft is one of words, not pictures. I'm not a photographer or filmmaker. I don't know how to craft images on screens. I hope to try to create them in the minds of my readers, but I never know if I've succeeded until…I see a cover. And then, I have a glimpse of what pops in YOUR head, when you read MY book.

Just to be clear, this is an adult novel, not a YA. Please, kids, don't buy this. Let your parents buy it, should they be so inclined. It's got content that's rated "adult." I promise I'll come out with a new YA (actually, book 2 of the Delcroix/Talents series will be out in April 2012!). But romance novels and happily ever after are the bedrock of my writing. They're where it all started and where it all comes together. Which is why I was particularly thrilled to see the cover for my first adult romance. And what a cover!!

This is a cover to sing songs about. This is a cover to weep with joy over. This is the cover for Radiant Desire, my adult faerie romance due out from Entangled Publishing in October 2011.

Are you ready?

I know. I bow before the cover gods. (Actually, it's a cover goddess, and her name is Heather Howland.) I am thrilled beyond measure. And now I'm just going to count the days until October, when I can share the rest of the book with the world!

Now, because I'm giddy with joy, I'm going to make a promise: I'll select one commenter to win a print (or electronic, your choice) copy of the book. You'll have to wait a little bit, because I don't have copies yet, but when I do, I will get you one. This is kind of a big deal, folks, because they don't have print ARCs available, so I'm not doing tons of giveaways. THIS MAY BE YOUR ONLY CHANCE!

(I mean, yanno, you'll have plenty of opportunities to BUY a copy. But this may be your only chance to win one.)

So…please. Tell me you love it. Heap praise upon Heather Howland and Entangled Publishing. And then keep an eye on this site for the ordering information! (Actually, it will be available all over the place. But while you're on the Entangled site, why not look around? )

YA Scavenger Huntl!

Ready for fun? How about a YA Scavenger Hunt? On Aug 1, join me and authors Josephine Angelini, Angela Corbett, Kady Cross, Heather Davis, Bree Despain, Marley Gibson, Abbi Glines, Colleen Houck, Tara Hudson, Elana Johnson, Alexandra Monir, Lisa Nowak, Gregg Olsen, Amy Plum, Beth Revis, Lisa and Laura Roecker, Sophie Jordan, Lani Woodland for a YA Scavenger hunt. And of course, fearless leader and the mastermind behind the whole thing: COLLEEN HOUCK.

We will be sharing exclusive access to bonus chapters, news on upcoming books, cover reveals, and much more. Your special all access pass is good for one day only. All the bonus material heads back into the vault on Aug 2nd so circle the date on your calendars and join us as we celebrate what's new in YA fiction.

Good News Tuesday!

I'm not so good at all that suspense stuff so I'm just going to say it — I've got a new book coming out!

WHEEEEE!!!

Here's the cool thing — actually, there are many cool things, but here's one:

It's not YA.

As some of you may know, I started out writing adult romance, not YA. My first two (unpublished) books were adult romance (Regency historical, actually). Romance got me reading as a kid, and romance is still the reason I open the cover of a book. I want love, I want a good conflict, and I want happily ever after.

Which means, of course, I'm a romance addict.

After I sold the Delcroix Academy series, I knew I had some time on my hands before it came out (three years, as things worked out). I knew I needed to keep writing. I knew I wanted to tell a story that had faeries, romance, and a little happily ever after.

The result was WINGS.

You want to hear more about it? Well, fantastic!! Here it is:

The object of every man's fantasy has just lost her wings…

Kaia Verde is one of the four Faerie Handmaids of Zafira, Queen of the Fey. To redress an ancient wrong done to Zafira by a human king, the Handmaids make sport of mortal men, seducing and humiliating them. When Kaia sets out to seduce Garrett Jameson, but ends up being the one surrendering to pleasure, Zafira is furious. Kaia's punishment is simple: she must make Garrett fall in love with her, and then break his heart, or she will be banished forever from Faeria. To make the task harder, Zafira tells Kaia she cannot use her faerie magic or charm to lure Garrett into her bed.

…and now she's losing her heart…

Kaia thinks her task will be relatively easy — as a faerie, she understands lust, and can love be much different? But once she is living among the humans, Kaia discovers the race she once disparaged is far more complex and beautiful than she had ever imagined. She learns that before she can break Garrett's heart, she must find a way to heal it. And eventually, she discovers that losing her wings may be a far easier price to pay than losing her heart.

Ah…happy sigh. Can I just say that I love this book?

And here's cool thing number two: it's coming THIS FALL from Entangled Publishing! Have you heard of Entangled? They are a fantastic, creative new publisher that I am so excited to work with. Check out their blog for more information. After punishingly long publication schedules for my YA series (three years for book 1, a year and a half before book 2), and a growing fascination with the world of e-publishing and independent publishers, I knew this time I wanted to try something different. I will tell you all a little more about Entangled in a subsequent blog — but for now, let me just do this one more time –

SQUEEE!!!

Guess What? Parenting is Hard

The latest storm in the YA world is a Wall Street Journal article decrying the so-called trend toward dark and disturbing stories. You can read it here. And better yet, read the response of Cheryl Rainfield; she's the author of one of the books slammed by the article.

Many YA writers and readers have responded to the original WSJ article with eloquent and beautiful blog and Twitter posts about how YA books changed their lives. (Search for these on Twitter with the hashtag #YAsaves). I wanted to respond from a slightly different perspective. And from this perspective, I have to admit I read the WSJ article with a conflicted heart. Now, don't get me wrong, it's a terrible article, written by someone who clearly doesn't read young adult fiction. The author doesn't make any attempt to distinguish between books full of gratuitous abuse, sex, and violence, and books with abuse, sex and violence that's necessary and important to telling a story.

The problem is that I'm a parent, with an eight year-old daughter and a ten year-old son. And the truth is, I worry about my kids delving into the world of what is sometimes dark, violent, and sexual young adult literature. I worry about the bookshelves that are full of a mix of important books and awful books; I wonder how to tell apart the great, important, difficult books, and the terrible, meaningless, damaging books. I can imagine the panicked feeling of that mom at the B&N, struggling to find a book for her impressionable 11 year-old daughter.

But guess what? My whole world as a parent is like this. Difficult. Conflicted. Scary. I have a problem with gratuitous violence. I don't let my son play first-person shooter video games. I don't let my kids watch R-rated movies. I worry about them being exposed to news about war, rape, violence, and killing. Hell, I worry about them getting strep throat. I worry because I'm a parent, and I love my kids, and I want to protect them. I want to shelter them and keep them innocent as long as I can, and then slowly, when they're ready, introduce them to the real world. I want to teach them about evil on my terms, not on the terms dictated by a world that I believe glorifies violence, particularly violence against women.

When my son was eight, he wanted to read the fourth book in the Harry Potter series. I hemmed and hawed. I worried about the violence. I didn't think he was ready, but I didn't want to censor. Luckily, I hemmed and hawed long enough for him to lose interest. He didn't pick it up again for a year or so. When he did, I was able to let him read with a much lighter heart.

My daughter is an amazing, happy person who loves her body, feels strong and powerful, and wouldn't dream of letting a boy hurt her physically or emotionally. A few days ago, she heard a story I was listening to on NPR about women in Saudi Arabia not being allowed to drive. She was astonished. Why would people think women shouldn't drive? She doesn't have a base from which to understand sexism. I had to explain to her that people throughout history, in most cultures, have treated women differently. But why? she asked. I found her utter confusion comforting, even while I struggled to explain why people treat women as less competent, capable, and intelligent as men.

My children are incredibly lucky to have a stable home, parents who love them, enough money for food and rent, and a great school. But the world they live in isn't all rainbows and ponies. The world is filled with sickness, violence, abuse, depression, and war. My kids will have to learn about it (though I will do my best to ensure they don't learn it first-hand). My daughter will learn about sexism, violence against women, and body image disorders. My son will start playing violent video games. Someday, God help me, my children will want to have sex.

(I'm going to start panicking about that now, BTW.)

And that brings me back to those violent, sexual, dark young adult books. Someday, my kids might choose to read them. They might not. As a parent, I think my job will be to figure out when they are ready to read them, and then walk through the experience with them, hand in hand. Banning books is not the answer. Parenting is. And it's hard. I'm going to have to read a lot of books to know what they're reading. I'm going to have to talk to librarians and book bloggers and booksellers to have an idea of what I think they might enjoy and be ready to read. I might not be able to walk into Barnes and Noble and instantly find what I want for my eleven year-old daughter on the "new paranormal romance" shelf.

Someday, I'm going to have to let go of the reins and know that I don't have control. They're going to choose their own books, and I'm going to have to hope they trust me enough to ask questions about what they're reading.

I'm going to be conflicted. I'm going to be incredibly glad that books like Scars are there for kids who need them, even while I'm terrified by the thought of my kids stumbling across them before they're ready. I'm going to be worried about my daughter having sex before she's ready. I'm going to worry that she'll read books that make it sound like every sixteen year-old girl has sex. I'm going to worry that she'll read books that make it sound like if a boy loves you a lot, he's going to want to hurt you, bite you in the neck, and kill you. I'm going to worry a lot.

That's what I do. I'm a parent. And in parenting, like in life, there are no easy answers. You love them, teach them as best you can, and then trust them to make their own decisions. And you wake up every day grateful to be living in a world where they get to make those decisions.