Megan Bostic's Blog, page 12

Road rage and other horror stories

Yes, I was the victim of road rage yesterday. I was driving home from the *gasp* mall. God, I loathe the mall. Anyway, I was on the highway and it was pretty well packed as it was rush hour I have 5 million cars in front of me and a white van behind me following very close. The cars in front of me brake, so of course I break because, duh, I'm not an idiot, forcing the guy behind me to slam his brakes on because, as I said, he's following very close.

Apparently he did not like this. Oh no. He continues to follow behind me.  As soon as the HOV lane opens up to my left, that's High Occupancy Vehicle for those who are acronymically challenged, he speeds over, though I notice he does not have a passenger, tsk, tsk, and as soon as he passes me, gets back in front of me and slams on his brakes.

Wow, mature much.

I flip him off.

Wow, mature much.

He then moves into the right lane allowing me to pass then gets behind me. Then when I get into the right lane, because eventually I have to exit, he gets behind me. So now the King of Douchebagastan is following me.

You see, I'm not an idiot 1 of 5 things could happen here.

He could actually continue to follow me, so of course I'm not going home, I'm going to the police station which is approximately .5 miles from my house.He could rear end me, which would be really stupid as I'm the daughter of one of the best personal injury attorneys in the state and I also work for him. He would unwittingly be totally screwed.He could shoot me dead. Then I would be totally screwed, but he probably would too because the intersection I'm stopping at is a busy one and he'd get caught. He could do serious harm to me, but let me live. See # 3.He could take his empty threats and kiss my ass because he's nothing more than a bully being a douchebag. He chose 5. When I got to my exit, I got into the exit lane and he followed behind me. As soon as the exit lane separated from the rest of the highway, he jerked his van back onto the highway. Ooooh, scary man in a work van.

I am sorry that guy was having such a bad day that he felt the need to tailgate me in the first place, then be a complete ass when I had to put my brakes on. I mean, his day must have been from hell. Either that, or he's just a douche. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope it's the former.

I recently read a quote I like.

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be nice.

I'm going to try to remember than when I meet up with people like my road rage guy.

Happy Tuesday.

My writing process blog tour!

I’ve been invited to participate in a blog tour about the writing process, started by Maya Rock.  Maya used to be a literary agent at Writer's House. I know this because I queried her a couple times because she seemed totally cool and like someone I'd like to work with, but we all now how the query process is and, well, that didn't pan out. Now she's an editor and writer and the one who started this blog hop. Go check out her website. Her first YA novel comes out next year. Yay Maya!!

So this blog hop is an ongoing opportunity to get to know something about how writers see their processes (um, processes? are there such things as processes?) It's kind of like playing tag. Today I'm it. I was chosen by Facebook friend and fellow YA author, Stephanie Feuer (see how her name is a link? click on that and go check her out). You will see who I've tagged and will be posting a week from today at the end of this post.


Let's get started shall we. I'm supposed to answer four questions. Let's see...where did those damn questions get too...(pushes side sticky notes, grabs legal pads with scribbles on them) oh yes. Here we go...

1. What am I working on?

 Oh I just this very second tweeted about this. Would you like to read my tweet?

When you tell your kids the plot of the MS you're writing & they say, "What's wrong with you?" & "You're sick" #yalit #contemporaryfiction

 Yes. Contemporary YA. For some reason I'm drawn to it. The plot is this: A teenage boy, who is quite the douchebag (womanizer, homophobe, racist, treats his mother, his girlfriend, pretty much everyone like shit), finds tornado debris in his front yard. His mom makes him help clean it up much to his dismay. Among the debris is a notebook, a journal if you will. He begins to read it and finds the words of a troubled teenage girl. A girl whose mom is an alcoholic, whose stepfather is abusive, who is bullied at school, basically whose life is a miserable mess.

Because he's such a douche, he thinks it's funny at first. But the more he reads into this girl's life, the more he starts to feel for her. He also starts to see parallels into his own life and his own faults are coming to the surface. When it comes down to the end of the journal, and the girl wanting nothing more than to die, he sets out to find her and stop her before that happens, to show her that at least there is one person out there that cares about her. But will he be too late? It's currently titled, A Tattered Life, but I'm not sold on the title.  

You can read an excerpt here.

I'm also working on revising a novel I want to put out this fall titled Girl in Motion . So there's that to contend with. Also still trying to market Dissected. Not too good at the multi-tasking stuffs. Oy. Working on it though.

That seemed like a really long drawn out answer.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Tough one.  I think I take risks other authors aren't willing to take. I write about hard things other authors won't write about and some people, yeah, they won't publish it. I write about the ugly truths, the not-so-happily-ever-afters.  The fact is that the good people don't always survive, and the boy doesn't always get the girl in the end, and some people don't always want to read about how perfect life is because it's not.

Sometimes life is hard and dark and painful. Sometimes we need THOSE characters to relate to. Sometimes we need to read about people who hurt like us and feel like us and not just the people who lead exciting existences and get what they want and you know in the end everything is going to be all right.

And I may not always end on the happily-ever-after, but I do end on the everthing-will-be-okay. I always end on a ray of hope. I don't write beautiful stories, but I think I write stories that need to be told. I don't know who said it, but there's a quote that really resonates with me, and I write it in my book, Dissected when I sign it.

"But without the dark, we'd never see the stars."

3. Why do I write what I do?

I think I sort of answered this above. The hard stories, the dark stories, for some reason I am just drawn to them. I think they're important and need to be written and that I'm one of the writers that needs to write them. 

I suppose it's because of my experiences too. I've seen a lot and suffered through some and that makes it easier to write this contemporary fiction that is so emotionally raw like an exposed nerve. It also makes it easier to put myself in my characters shoes and bring out their most inner feelings, fears and dreams.

I do want to write other things. I have different stories in different genres started, but I keep getting drawn back here to this place. Too many stories, too little time...


4. How does your writing process work?

And here is the hardest question to answer. I'm not sure what I do is a "process" per se. 

As far as the when and where...time seems to be fleeting these days. I write whenever I can. I have a day job, so I try to write in the afternoon. If I get up early enough, I write before work. I sit at my kitchen table in front of my sliding glass door, it's the place in my house where the most sunlight comes in. 

I also write in many notebooks whenever I'm out and about. I have notebooks scattered all over. At times I gather them all up in a central location and find where I've written everything. I counted the last time I did it, there are about 20 notebooks around my house, car and in various bags laying around.

As far as the how, I sit down, I write. That's what I do. While I'm writing, I research. Probably to a fault. I think I get a little overzealous when it comes to authenticity.

Anyway, so I write and I research and I get a 1st draft down and it's crap and way too short (when I write the first draft is always way too short and always way too crappy)

So I do a next draft and flesh it out. I add details about people, places, make the prose prettier. Sometimes I have to add characters, pets. I usually find after a first draft that everyone is an only child, has one dead parent, and no one has pets.

I do a next draft, get Beta readers to give me feedback, give it to a couple editors, do another  _________rewrites (changes with every novel). Then I worry about how horrible it is for the rest of its days, no matter its future, published or sucked into the abyss of a word file for the rest of its existence.

So, for next week, here are the next three contestants...
Hart Johnson, Angel Young, and S.D. Skye. They will be posting on April 14.

First up, Hart Johnson...

Hart Johnson writes books from her bathtub. A social scientist by day, Hart spends her evenings plotting grand conspiracies and murdering people on paper. She is author via pen name (Alyse Carlson) of the Garden Society Mysteries and is serially publishing an apocalyptic flu conspiracy tale called A Shot in the Light.
  


 For her post next week, visit her blog, Confessions of a Watery Tart 

You can buy her books here. (they didn't tell us to do that, but I'm awesome like that)


Next, Angel Young...

[image error] Angel Young is a bit eccentric by nature. She's a writer, photographer, artist, dreamer, and all around weirdo. She cut teeth on vampire movies and carried around a beloved Wolfman doll as a child (appropriately named 'Wolfy'), pretended she was the Caped Crusader, and waited for her letter to Hogwarts. Not much has changed. She's a 23 year old girl battling an autoimmune disease, Sjogrens, with a lot of dreams, adventures, and a firm belief in nurturing her inner child. While her creative outlets are always being added to, writing will always be her favorite passion. To sum it up: A Batman-addicted weirdo covered in tattoos, almost always in Converse, running around in her own La-La Land.

Visit Angel's blog, Misadventures of a Misfit on Monday. (see what I did there?)


[image error] S.D. Skye, author of the J.J. McCall series, is an award-winning author and former FBI counterintelligence analyst. She's a native Washingtonian (D.C.) and professed nerd-girl who loves all things Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Big Bang Theory. She's a member of Romance Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, the Maryland Writers Association, and Sisters in Crime and lives to write novels, especially those involving 3-letter agencies and Beltway intrigue. She's hard at work on the next installment of the series. 

You'll find Ms. Skye's blog, here. 

Until next time...

Book Review: The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner

The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Francesca “Beans” Schnell’s world has been falling apart ever since her little brother drowned. Her father seems to be hiding something, her mother can’t look her in the eye, her best friend is dating the boy of her dreams and worst of all, she hates herself as she feels she’s to blame for her brother’s death.

While trailing her father trying to get to the bottom of his odd behavior, Francesca happens to meet Frankie Sky, a boy who bears an eerie resemblance to her dead brother. But it’s more than that, there are also inexplicable coincidences that lead Beans to believe her brother’s soul might be living in Frankie Sky.

Gae Polisner’s prose is like poetry. It reads as if every word of every sentence is handpicked with precision creating a perfect flow like ocean waves. This book was so evocative, I smiled, I cheered, I cried. Francesca’s story is haunting, yet hopeful and every time a new twist of fate occurred, my heart stopped, waiting to see what it might mean. I loved learning about Saint Florian, Christmas Island crabs, and sand dollars. I loved seeing how throughout the book Francesca grew stronger and further away from that place in her past, and closer to letting go.

I fell in love with the characters in this book. So many readers will be able to relate to those characters with that air of sadness about them — when you feel so heavy inside, like you’re drowning, but have to continue to move and stay afloat on the outside — the Schnell’s, Mrs. Schyler, Mrs. Merrill. Lisette is a perfect best friend, and lovely, and I love that she doesn’t act like she’s beautiful even though she clearly is. I adore Bradley's, quirkiness and even Peter’s peculiarity.

Then there is Frankie Sky. Gae has written him so well…I picture him in my head perfectly. His voice is adorable and I’m sure will stick with me for a long time. I wonder if Gae spent a lot of time around 4 year olds while writing this because it seems so spot on. And I love his spirit, the spirit of a young boy, full of energy and adventure who believes himself invincible.

I read Gae’s first book, The Pull of Gravity, and her writing is even better than before (and it was beautiful before) — This storey even more beautiful and heartfelt. If this is what we should expect from Ms. Polisner in the future, I'm in.

This book will resonate with me for weeks, I can tell. It will make me take a closer look at the world, at chance occurrences, coincidences and karma. I try not to live in the past and to live life profoundly and passionately like Frankie Sky, but sometimes I still need reminders, as I’m sure we all do, and this book as given me one.

Do yourself a favor and buy this book. You won’t regret it.

View all my reviews

#HighSchoolTaughtMe

This hashtag is trending on Twitter today.  I like to scroll through and read what people write under the trending hashtags, sometimes I like to participate. As I read through #HighSchoolTaughtMe, I grew very sad about our youth's perspective on high school, and their lives in general.

Little do they know that when they respond to these hashtags, they are giving us a  glimpse into their view of the world. And though it's only 140 characters, it says a lot.

This is what some of them said about #HighSchoolTaughtMe:

that many teachers do more of the parenting than some actual parents do.to cheat in exams.that even the ones you look out for the most could turn their back on you.it's okay if you're unhappy and completely miserable, so long as you have good grades.that people will like you only if you're hot & popular.some people are only going to be nice when they need you.that most teachers don't care, they're just there to get paid.that if you dont have stunning looks or you're not good in a sport than you're a nobody.that I don't have a right to my opinion.that sophomores post nudes.how to hate people.This is sad, yes? It seems to me that as adults we've gone wrong somewhere to make our children feel this way.  Behave this way. Perceive their world in this way.

Don't get me wrong, They weren't all negative, there were a few positives, like these:
that we should be happy,we need to be happy, we deserve to be happy .that no one's opinion but your own is important in the end.to be responsible and free at the same time. How to have fun yet how to not fail my parents.Um, yeah, the positives were hard to find.

I can't say I blame these kids. In many ways, our public education system is struggling.

Teenagers deal with crap at school every day - drama, peer pressure, violence, bullying. Top that off with those that have the added pressures of sports, music or other activities, then homework on top of that. It can be stressful. Think how you felt at that age, how all your problems seemed like the end of the world. I know from personal experience that the school systems don't know how to handle some of today's teen problems.

In some ways, schools feel like prisons, with on sight cops, drug testing, drug sniffing dogs,  students wearing badges or picture IDs, random sweeps for drug paraphernalia, security cams. I'm not saying these are bad ideas. I'm sure in some areas security like this is necessary and I'd much rather have my kids be safe than me be sorry. But I can understand how a child could feel like an inmate in a school that takes those times of security measures.

Then we have the state of the facilities themselves. 44% of public school principals reported that problems with the school buildings themselves interfered with student's education. Heating and air condition, which I can attest to. I remember when I used to volunteer in the elementary school, the rooms were either freezing or like a sauna, no happy medium.  Size and configuration of the rooms also appeared to be a problem. And then there are the portables. These seem to be a major problem, from noise control to air quality to their overall physical condition, these seem to be a major interference in the education process.

I'm not going to blame the teachers here. I believe teaching is one of the most unappreciated professions on the face of the planet. Yes, there are bad ones. Yes, some don't know their subjects. I read that less than 15% of Math, English and Science teachers have neither majored in nor received a certification in those subjects. However, more than half have a master's degree or higher.  Not bad. Pupil teacher ratios are also good. Luckily we have more teachers in the country, so we have about 16 students per teacher. YAY!

Getting back to these unhappy children...especially the one who stated teachers act more like parents than parents...sigh...there are the kids that deal with shit at home. I know kids with parents who are addicts, who live with other family members. Kids from broken homes, which as mainstream as it is these days, still affects them profoundly. You don't know what else goes on behind closed doors, they could be dealing with abuse, whether it be verbal, emotional or worse.

We need to protect all these kids -  these kids who have it bad at home, these kids who have it bad at school, who hate the learning process for one reason or another. We have to let them know that it's not that bad. 


There are over 3 million high school dropouts annually. That number has gone down in the last few years, but still, 3 MILLION!?! 

 These kids won't go to college. Many will be teenage moms. Half the people on Welfare are dropouts. These are also our future criminals! 75% of crimes are committed by high school dropouts.

This is our responsibility as a society isn't it? To make sure these kids graduate? The signs are all there. These are the kids who skip school, who  do poorly in class, who get in trouble, who have obvious trouble at home.

What can we do? According to the Parents Association we can do this:
Arrange for help making up missed work, tutoring, placement in a special program or another school.Help with personal problems and/or arrange for professional help.Help them schedule work and family obligations so there is also time for school.Help them understand the choices they make - marriage, parenting, failing, behavior, suspension, expulsion - and how those things can disrupt their ability to finish school.If a student becomes pregnant, help them find school and social programs to help meet their needs.If all else fails, help them find a GED program and encourage them to stick with it until they finish.But here's where I started.

‏@MeganBostic 
# HighSchoolTaughtMe Never live in fear of failure, true friends are the ones that are there when things suck, and nothing lasts forever.

Just how difficult is it to write a book?

This was posed to me last night, and a totally legit question. I know that many non writers often wonder, because maybe  they'd like to try their hand at it because they have an idea that's been nagging at their brain for some time. If they have that much, that's good because of course a book has to start with an idea.

An idea can come from anywhere. They have come to me from big events in my life and fleeting moments, newspaper articles and simple phrases. Sometimes the ideas are big and sometimes all I have is an opening line, a character or a title and I have to work from there.

Once you have your idea, you can either outline it or just start writing. I tend to do the latter. I just write until I can't write anymore. I"m called a "panster" because I write by the seat of my pants. This is the first draft of my novel.

By this point, many people who start writing a book have already given up. You have to be determined, motivated, and diligent to stick with writing a book from beginning to end. It's not easy. Things will get in your way -- job, kids, time, life in general. If you really want it, and really think you have a story to tell, stick with it.

In the second draft I deal with the sticky parts. Usually the sticky parts for me are the details, developing characters and places, figuring out the storyline in what us writers call the "murky middle" and well, *cough* the plot. I have to make sure I actually have one. I've had to at this point add characters into the book, cut thousands of words and add 10s of thousands of words.

Then there are usually a couple more drafts.

For me, editing comes next. I have a couple friends who I think are great editors. their work (editors can be wrong too you know, plus, they're all proper and shit and sometimes you don't want to be proper and shit).

Much better than me (though I see they don't know their lay, lie, lying, laying either). So I have them go through the manuscript and find my mistakes.  I am doing all my corrections hard copy now. I've proven to myself that if I just have them track changes on Word, I get lazy and don't really check them. Having them correct on a hard copy actually makes me read the entire manuscript again and even check

Next step is to get Beta Readers. These are a group of people to read your manuscript and give feedback. I like to choose a variety of people. My editor friends give me feedback as well, so they kind of count. I gather up a couple writer friends who can usually give me an idea about the plot, storyline and character development. Then I grab a couple people who are strictly readers who give me a blanket idea of how the book worked. Did they like the story? The characters? Were there any problems? If so, what were they? Were there any questions left unanswered?

I do another rewrite based on the information I've gathered from my Betas. Now, keep in mind, your Betas are giving you opinion and you may not agree. Change what you feel needs changing and toss the rest away. However, if they're all saying the same thing, you should probably listen. When I had Betas read my last book, Dissected, none of them liked my protagonist. So in my rewrite I had to make her more sympathetic and likeable.

After the rewrite I'll give it back to at least one editor for copy editing again. With all those new words in there, there are bound to be grammatical and punctuation errors.

I may give it a couple more reads for good measure, just to make sure it's as publishable as can be. The voila! You have a book with which you can either start querying agents or indie publish.

This is just the basics. You should also brush up on writing tips, like don't use too many adverbs, exclamation points or ellipses...crap like that. There are a ton of great books on writing out there and of course, the almighty Google.

What is your process? Do you have any questions or comments? Feel free to leave them. I try to respond to every one.

Setting deadlines and other authorly stuff

I've decided if I'm ever going to complete this book, A Tattered Life (still not sold on the title), I have to set a deadline for myself. A couple weeks ago I realized I had not finished writing a book for two years when I completed Dissected. I've started many projects, none of which have come to fruition.

I have approximately 26k in on this novel. I'm figuring most of my young adult books hit at about 50k, so I'm about half way there. I've set myself a deadline of June 30th. That gives me 3 months, which I think is realistic.

However, I'm also redesigning my website, which I want to launch soon, and that is taking up part of my time. I'm about half way done with that as well. I have a goal of launching it on my birthday, which is April 11th. For now, that is the plan. It may not happen that fast, so I'm not making huge announcements about it. It will be a completely different design and brand than I've been using. It's time for Megan to grow up.

Last thing, I was interviewed by Ethan Pariseau for his podcast, Xposing Me. He talks to people about experiences they feel have changed their lives. Give it a listen at here. 

The publishing path is kind of like the road to Terminus

Yeah, so you're a writer working your way to this great unknown, but you know it's supposed to be wonderful. Terminus! *cough* I mean, publication. Yeah, and you're among others trying to reach the same goal. Some of them falter along the way. They get eaten up by metaphorical zombies in the form of self doubt, rejection, time and lack of motivation.

Zombies are the devourers of motivation.

The path is long and hard. Sometimes you have to kill Zombies on the way. It's not easy.

Sometimes you have to kill metaphorical "bad people"  that get in your way like plot holes, bad story lines, and flat characters.

Then what happens when you get to Terminus *cough* I mean publication? You really have no idea what you're getting yourself into. You feel relief, yet, something is still amiss. Yes, your publisher is really just a cannibal who will eat your soul.

I'm kidding. It's not that bad. Now there are people out there willing to prey on those who have given up on traditional publishing. They are the cannibals. Do your research before going indie. It doesn't cost all that much to self publish these days.

So, I reserve cannibal for the real predators out there, but the publishing industry can be a brutal reality, not unlike living in the zombie apocalypse, but you can do things to make the best of it.

These are things I've learned.
Most publishers do NO marketing for you after sending the book out to media unless you are already a name or you've written a series and they can see dollar signs in their future. I was very proactive in my own marketing, so mine did a wee bit more, but not very much. Be proactive and give them ideas, they may jump on board. If they don't, do research as to how to best get your book into people's hands without breaking the bank. Information is out there, you just have to find it.Some editors are not very communicative.If you are waiting for answers on your contracted book, bug them. If you are waiting for answers on an uncontracted book, give them their alloted time (if it's an option) check in and see what they thought. If they don't respond, move on. You don't have time to waste, because... The process is painstakingly slow. Once you sign your contract, expect your book to come out 18 months to 2 years later.There is nothing you can do about this. You must learn patience. If you have to stay all night in the trunk of a car while a herd of zombies passes by, you do it, no questions asked.Don't think that having a great working relationship with your editor means you will work with them again. Sad, but true.You love your editor, I know, but sometimes their house gets absorbed, sometimes they don't want your second book, sometimes shit happens and you don't get to work with them again. Keep their contact information though. I think it's perfectly acceptable (at least I hope so and if not someone should correct me) to contact and ask them if they'd like to see some future work.It's okay to fire your agent. Sometimes these relationships aren't symbiotic. I know authors on their 2nd or 3rd agent. Find someone you click with. I know it's hard not to jump on the first person who takes you and if you feel you need to go ahead. But if you feel like they aren't doing your work justice, talk to them. If that doesn't work, you are perfectly in your right to terminate the relationship. Getting a first book published doesn't automatically mean getting a second book published.Yeah, the second book is the hardest from what I hear. I was agentless and didn't want to wait 2 years for my next book, so I went rogue. That may not be the answer for everyone. Do what is right for you.
Good luck on your journey to Terminus, I mean publication. I hope your experience is a rewarding one, as I truly believe mine was, and not full of metaphorical zombies, bad people, and worse yet, cannibals.

The publishing path is kind of the road to Terminus

Yeah, so you're a writer working your way to this great unknown, but you know it's supposed to be wonderful. Terminus! *cough* I mean, publication. Yeah, and you're among others trying to reach the same goal. Some of them falter along the way. They get eaten up by metaphorical zombies in the form of self doubt, rejection, time and lack of motivation.

Zombies are the devourers of motivation.

The path is long and hard. Sometimes you have to kill Zombies on the way. It's not easy.

Sometimes you have to kill metaphorical "bad people"  that get in your way like plot holes, bad story lines, and flat characters.

Then what happens when you get to Terminus *cough* I mean publication? You really have no idea what you're getting yourself into. You feel relief, yet, something is still amiss. Yes, your publisher is really just a cannibal who will eat your soul.

I'm kidding. It's not that bad. Now there are people out there willing to prey on those who have given up on traditional publishing. They are the cannibals. Do your research before going indie. It doesn't cost all that much to self publish these days.

So, I reserve cannibal for the real predators out there, but the publishing industry can be a brutal reality, not unlike living in the zombie apocalypse, but you can do things to make the best of it.

These are things I've learned.
Most publishers do NO marketing for you after sending the book out to media unless you are already a name or you've written a series and they can see dollar signs in their future. I was very proactive in my own marketing, so mine did a wee bit more, but not very much. Be proactive and give them ideas, they may jump on board. If they don't, do research as to how to best get your book into people's hands without breaking the bank. Information is out there, you just have to find it.Some editors are not very communicative.If you are waiting for answers on your contracted book, bug them. If you are waiting for answers on an uncontracted book, give them their alloted time (if it's an option) check in and see what they thought. If they don't respond, move on. You don't have time to waste, because... The process is painstakingly slow. Once you sign your contract, expect your book to come out 18 months to 2 years later.There is nothing you can do about this. You must learn patience. If you have to stay all night in the truck of a car while a herd of zombies passes by, you do it, no questions asked.Don't think that having a great working relationship with your editor means you will work with them again. Sad, but true.You love your editor, I know, but sometimes their house gets absorbed, sometimes they don't want your second book, sometimes shit happens and you don't get to work with them again. Keep their contact information though. I think it's perfectly acceptable (at least I hope so and if not someone should correct me) to contact and ask them if they'd like to see some future work.It's okay to fire your agent. Sometimes these relationships aren't symbiotic. I know authors on their 2nd or 3rd agent. Find someone you click with. I know it's hard not to jump on the first person who takes you and if you feel you need to go ahead. But if you feel like they aren't doing your work justice, talk to them. If that doesn't work, you are perfectly in your right to terminate the relationship. Getting a first book published doesn't automatically mean getting a second book published.Yeah, the second book is the hardest from what I hear. I was agentless and didn't want to wait 2 years for my next book, so I went rogue. That may not be the answer for everyone. Do what is right for you.
Good luck on your journey to Terminus, I mean publication. I hope your experience is a rewarding one, as I truly believe mine was, and not full of metaphorical zombies, bad people, and worse yet, cannibals.

Book Review: Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

All the best books are about everything. You know what I mean?

Grasshopper Jungle is no exception. This book is about smoking cigarettes with your best friend, finding condoms and bibles in dresser drawers, grimacing lemur masks, plastic pink flamingos, shrinking balls, little blue kayaks, unstoppable corn, horny teenage boys, giant praying mantises and the end of the world.

And they all cross under our feet.

What this book is really about is connections. How the things we do and the decisions we make have an impact. How history tends to repeat itself no matter what. About how we keep doing the same sh*t over and over and why? Well, because we're human and that's what humans do because there are stupid among us. Because we don't look closely enough at those connections. We don't study the past to see where we went wrong and fix it. That's why.

Austin Szerba is your typical teenage boy. Sort of. He likes recording history, skateboarding and smoking cigarettes with his best friend Robby Brees. He's in love with his girlfriend Shann Collins. He's got both his parents, a brother fighting in Afghanistan, and a dog Ingrid, who lost her vocal cords when she was just a puppy. He's horny for Shann, but he also wonders if he might be gay for Robby and sh*t like that. He's not sure what to do about it.

Through a series of seemingly unconnected events, Unstoppable Soldiers, in the form of giant praying mantises, are unleashed on the unsuspecting town of Ealing, Iowa. All they want to do are eat and screw (not unlike teenage boys) and impregnate the female which will lead to the world being taken over by these Unstoppable Soldiers and the eventual end of the human race.

By digging through history, Austin connects the dots and finds that only he and Robby can stop the giant bugs and save the world. And nobody knows anything about it.

Grasshopper Jungle is weird, inappropriate, disgusting and one of the best books I've read in a long time. Its innovative, fresh and fun. Austin's voice is one of the most original I have read in YA, ever. Period.

Perfect book for boys, although, the appeal of this book is far reaching. Of course, I caution, not for those looking for a "clean" read. This book, like I said, talks about horny teens, masturbation, sex, etc. Typical teen stuff. If that's not your thing, stay away.

This is the truth. Andrew Smith has just become one of my favorite YA authors and I cannot wait to read more of his work.

Big thumbs up on this one. You know what I mean?

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Fifteen authors, happily ever afters and the ugly truth.

I got tagged by my friend Ian Healy in one of those things that get sent around the Facebooksphere. You know what I'm talking about, right? Usually it's a list of some sort, then you tag people whose answers you'd like to see?

This time it was fifteen authors who have influenced me. You're not supposed to think about it very long, just write down the first people that pop into your head.  I sat down and thought and comprised the list below. It's kind of a mish mash of people...

Judy BlumeStephen King Margaret Atwood Jay Asher Elizabeth Scott Sylvia Plath Dennis Lehane Gae Polisner SE Hinton Hans Christian Andersen The Grimm Brothers Chris Crutcher JK Rowling William Shakespeare Wally Lamb


As you see there are writers of fairy tales, tragedies, mysteries, contemporary and juvenile fiction. They range centuries from Shakespeare, born in the 16th century to very contemporary writers, some of which are still among us.

Even though they seem very different, I think there are some common threads, and that is the reason I believe they have been such a great influence on me.


These are writers who, no matter what world they write in, fantasy or reality, they understand that life isn't always pretty.  Even though you may get a message, a moral, or a ray of home in the end, there is not always a happily ever after. 

When you do get the happily ever after, sometimes the path leading there can be horrific and ugly and difficult and not easy to navigate. And sometimes they didn't all live happily ever after, but they simply lived and that was enough for them. 

I think that is why these writers came to mind. Because when I write I don't write what's easy. I write about the evil step-sisters, the Black Forests, the dark wizards of real life. In my books you don't always get to keep your fins, get the girl, get out of the cold, and sometimes just surviving is your "happily ever after."

Why? I don't know. I'm just drawn to it. Will I always right about that stuff? Who knows? I do know that every writer I mentioned above has a hand in making me the writer I am now. 

 Maybe in a not so distant future, when these lists are passed through Facebook, or whatever the social media de jour is at the time, my name will be on someone's as a writer of influence and I can give back what the authors above have given to me.

BTW, the first episode of my new video series is up. Here ya go.