Megan Bostic's Blog, page 44

Release Party!!

So, some crazy things happened. Things that were out of my control.

Snow. Yes we got snow, it was clearing, but then the forecast was for a huge snow storm, the biggest we'd had in a long time. It was supposed to hit Tuesday night, just in time for my release party. Luckily, it held off.


Two days before the party the guy from the library told me he'd talked to the bookseller and that he was out of town. We had apparently had a miscommunication about who was setting this up. I thought it was him, he thought it was me. Oops. He was able to get the sellers cashbox and credit card supplies, but we didn't have anyone to sell the books. My mom, cousin, and a friend stepped up.


Because of the snow, half the books didn't show up. I had to bring two boxes of my own books to sell at the party. We still ran out and a few people were left disappointed (which I'll hopefully be able to make up for soon)

Also because of the impending storm, we moved the book talk and signing up about an hour as we knew people would leave early to avoid icy roads. Unfortunately, this angered a few people, but I would have rather had people leave earlier then get into accidents on their way home.


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That said, the party was awesome. We had a great turnout despite the weather. It was amazing to see my family and friends, and TOTAL STRANGERS there to buy my books and get them signed.

We had yummy food and cookies. Food was by Viafore's Deli and cookies by Corina Bakery.

We had actors set to d o a reading from my book. The boy actor fell through because of the weather, but the library guy, Dave, stepped in and did the part. After all he was a teacher at School of the Arts and an actor himself. I think they did a great job.



I think most everyone had a good time. I know I did! And here's what I woke up to this morning.


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Today is my birthday!!!

...book birthday, that is.

and it's snowing...

and I have no book seller for my party...

and I may have freaked out a little bit...

but I'm good. It's all good.

If I only get 5 people at my party...

if I don't sell any books...

I'm okay with that.

Today is my book birthday, and NOTHING can ruin it.

Unless I die. That would really suck.

Enjoy your day. I'm going to party!

Monkey Madness Monday: One More Day

Tomorrow is the day and I'm pretty sure I'm still in a state of freaking out.

I couldn't fall asleep last night as I ran through my head the people that need to be thanked and what I'm going to say at the release party tomorrow.

What am I going to wear?

It snowed, will I be able to get out to get any last minute things done? I have books to pick up. And cookies.

Will people not show up because of the snow? If not, I guess I have 150 cookies to eat myself.

And then there's another party and out of town guests. And I have to clean my house. I have to get my kids to clean their rooms, I have to clean out my car (which I should really make the kids do since most that garbage and crap is theirs).

No, I'm not pretty sure I'm freaking out, I KNOW I'm freaking out. But, no matter what happens - I've nothing to wear, no one shows up, my house doesn't get spotless, it is what it is. Some things are just out of our control. I'm fallible, maybe I'll forget someone. Maybe I'll drop the cookies on my way into the library. Maybe I'll forget my camera, or my talk in 3 x 5 cards.

Maybe I'll forget to breathe. Thank god our breath doesn't forget us and forces it's way out when we've held it too long.

*takes deep breath*

F³A: Tired, can't think

I'm spent. I've been working at promoting this book, I'm revising another, and yet I've started another.

I'm tired.

I can't wake up in the morning.

I'm excited beyond belief, but there is part of me that longs for the hype to be over.

Because I'm tired. Did I mention that?

Wanted to share a couple articles that came out in my local weekly and daily papers.

Tacoma News Tribune
The Volcano

I know I've already done this, but I want to thank you all for your support. This was a really long, long journey, and I don't know if you know how much your friendship and support means to me.

This experience is not one to be gone through alone. It's exciting yes, but it's frustrating, depressing, and annoying at times. You need people celebrating with you, commiserating with you, lifting you up when you fall down. That's you. Whether you're a fellow writer, a reader, blogger, family member or friend, you mean so much to me.

Thank you I would not have made it through without you. (I'm seriously getting choked up right now. Damn you!)

Friday Scribbles:

Random Pandora song: Somewhere Only We Know by Keane (why can't I put youtube videos on here anymore?) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oextk-...

Book of the Week: You would not believe how many books are coming out this month. I'm going to go with all my fellow Apocalypsie debuts for this month:
January 1, 2012
THE BOY PROEJCT (NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS OF KARA McALLISTER) by Kami Kinard (Scholastic)
LIVING VIOLET: THE CAMBION CHRONICLES by Jaime Reed (Dafina)
LOVE AND LEFTOVERS, by Sarah Tregay (Katherine Tegan Books/HarperCollins)

January 3, 2012
CINDER by Marissa Meyer (Feiwel & Friends)
THE CABINET OF EARTHS by Anne Nesbet (HarperCollins)
UNDER THE NEVER SKY by V. Rossi (HarperCollins)
CRACKED by K.M. Walton (Simon Pulse)

January 5, 2012
LITTLE DOG LOST by Mônica Carnesi (Nancy Paulsen Books)

January 10, 2012
THE GATHERING STORM by Robin Bridges (Delacorte)
DITCHED by Robin Mellom (Disney-Hyperion)
MAY B by Caroline Rose (Schwartz and Wade)
DESTINY'S FIRE by Trisha Wolfe (Omnific)

January 17, 2012
FRACTURE by Megan Miranda (Walker/Bloomsbury)
THE BOOK OF WONDERS by Jasmine Richards (HarperCollins)

January 24, 2012
EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton (Balzer + Bray)

January 31, 2012
INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows (Katherine Tegen Books)
ARTICLE 5 by Kristen Simmons (Tor Teen)

Movie of the week: Bridesmaids. It makes me laugh so hard, especially the bridal shop and airplane scenes. "You're more beautiful than Cinderella, you smell like pine needles and your face is like sunshine."

Quote of the week: "I've seen and met angels wearing the disguise of ordinary people living ordinary lives." ~Tracy Chapman

Wednesday Weigh In

So, we started this biggest loser contest at work, and if you've been reading me, you know I've been wanting to lose weight for my release next week (NEXT WEEK!!! sorry, I digress). Well, I've been eating fairly good, with a couple days of taking myself out on my weekend of seclusion.

But mostly I'm eating fruits and veggies, soups, greek yogurt and oatmeal. A nice rounded diet. I've not been eating too much meat, but I haven't cut it completely.

I've been exercising once to twice a day every day, which has included Jillian Michaels torture DVD's, the elliptical (which I just fixed AGAIN after one of Thing One's other friends, her cousin, my niece once again broke it. I mean, what are these kids doing, jumping on it?), and pilates ( I <3 pilates, you want fast body toning results, do it).

Anyhoo, I lost 4 pounds this week. I know that's not typical and it will taper off in the coming weeks. I've been working hard though and I'm psyched. I had no idea. I haven't been weighing myself regularly through this (I'm usually obsessive about getting on the scale every day).

That puts me ahead in the bigger loser contest and closer to my goals. And I'm back in the habit of exercising, which is so easy to get out of and so hard to get back into.

So, yay me!

Do you have any weight loss or health and nutrition goals for the year? What are they and what are you doing to reach them?

Oh, and don't forget the contest to win a marked up ARC of Never Eighteen. Details are on my Facebook author page.

One Week

OMG! It's one week until my book release. Am I excited? Of course. I'm I terrifed? Definitely. Am I freaking out? Undoubtedly.

In honor of my one week left, I've decided to do another giveaway. Yep. I'm going to give away a marked up ARC and swag. For those of you who don't know what a marked up ARC is. It's a review copy that has notes written by me in the margins, telling you all the secrets I didn't get to reveal in the book or background story about the people and places I wrote about.

You want?

Visit my Facebook Fan Page in the Notes section, answer one simple question, and leave your email address. It's that easy.

Winner will be chosen at random to be announced on my book birthday, January 17th, 2012!!

I also want to wish a happy book birthday to Robin Bridges (The Gathering Storm), Caroline Starr Rose (May B.) and Robin Mellom (Ditched). Check out their books!!!

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Sleep! Why hath you forsaken me?

I go th rough these bouts of sleeplessness, which isn't good for me because I always have too much to do. Plus, I'm trying to exercise consistently because we have a biggest lose contest going on at work, and I'd like to drop a few pounds before my release (which is 8 days away. gasp!).

I've been up since 2:30 this morning. Believe me, I laid there and tried to go back to sleep, but my mind, it wanders. I thought about all the things I have to do before my release. I thought about my manuscript and changes I'd still like to make before submitting to my agent. I thought about getting my house spotless before my out of town guests arrive.

Needless to say, I didn't fall back to sleep. So I got up, did pilates, vacuumed, showered, and now here I am blogging with still three hours before I have to leave for work. I suppose I can be even more productive this morning, but I'd rather be sleeping.

What do you do to help you sleep?

Who's in the house? Ian Healy's in the house!

Ian T. Healy and I bonded four years ago over superheroes. We had entered the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest, both having submitted superhero stories. Ian's latest novel, Just Cause, has recently been released by New Babel Books and he's been gracious enough to stop by my blog to tell us a little bit about himself, his writing, and Just Cause. Below his interview you'll find my review of his novel and links where you can find Ian and his book online.

1.How long have you been writing and what's your background?

I've been writing as long as I can remember. When I was really young, maybe six or seven, I made a thumbprint comic book about a little group called the Happy Days Gang (with a bunny, a cat, a piglet, a dog, and a bug). Skipping ahead to junior high school, I went to a young writer's workshop at Denver University, and that led to me writing my first "novel." It was a hackneyed, clichéd space opera that has thankfully been lost to the ravages of time and pre-digital formats. My first "serious" effort at a novel came in 2003 when I wrote a Star Wars fanfic. That one, obviously, couldn't be published. The second books after that, written in 2004, was Just Cause, and that's the first one I sold to a publisher, in April of 2011.

2.Your series, Just Cause, it about what you call Parahumans, which in essence are people with super human powers. Is this a genre in which you prefer to write? Or do you branch out to other genres?

I love writing superheroes. They say you never forget your first love, and they have been my first writing love. At one point, I even wanted to go into the comic book industry as an artist. The only problem is that I can't draw them, but at least I can write them. When it comes to genre, I'm afraid I suffer from the wandering eye. I've written cyberpunk, urban fantasy, epic fantasy, westerns, post-apocalyptic, space opera, contemporary YA, and even nonfiction. My superheroes understand my fickleness, and they wait patiently for me to return to them. And I always do.

3.Do you find it more fun to write the heroes or the villains and why?

I'm a hero at heart. I'm Dudley Doright taking down Black Bart and rescuing the pretty cowgirl who he tied to the tracks. Some people enjoy the bad guys, and I don't deny that a good villain can be a lot of fun to write, but even more than that, I like to throw my heroes against insurmountable odds and problems far larger than they could hope to resolve, and challenge them to do it.

4.Who was your favorite superhero growing up and why?

Batman, because I wanted to be him. All I needed was a few billion dollars, a savvy butler, to be trained by the best and brightest in the world, and oh yeah, to have my parents brutally gunned down in an alleyway. Well, maybe being Batman wouldn't be quite as cool, reflecting on it now...

5.Where did you get your inspiration for your main character, Mustang Sally?

I've always been fascinated with super-speed characters, which is funny because I haven't read much in the way of The Flash until recently. Mustang Sally was always part of a speed dynasty in my mind, beginning with her grandmother (Colt) in World War II and followed by her mother (Pony Girl) in the '60s and '70s. Both of those characters make guest appearances in Just Cause and will be featured in subsequent books in the series. I'm pretty sure that I came up with Mustang Sally after watching The Commitments, where the song "Mustang Sally" is one of their best tunes.

6.At the beginning of the book, Sally works with a group called the Lucky Seven, which of those characters do you identify with most and why?

I spent a lot of time developing the character of The Spark, who is the leader of the Lucky Seven, to the point that I have a plan to write a novel about him and his protegé. He's one of the closest characters to Batman that I've developed, although if anything, he's a lot more like the Ted Kord version of Blue Beetle. I'm sorry, I'm comic-book-geeking out here now.

7.The novel is packed with action. What do you think is the most difficult part about writing an action scene?

I don't actually think writing action scenes is difficult. They come to me naturally in a lot of ways. In fact, I've been complimented on them enough and had people approach me to help them with theirs that I sat down and wrote out a "how-to" ebook for others to use as a resource. It's called Action! Writing Better Action Using Cinematic Techniques and is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all the ebook retailers. That being said, I think the hardest action scene to write is a large-scale battle, with lots of characters on both sides of the conflict.

8.I know you've self-published some titles before the Just Cause series was picked up. What are the main differences you see between self-publishing and traditional publishing?

Oh, the speed. Just Cause was picked up by New Babel Books in April of 2011 and released at the end of November of 2011. That's a ridiculously fast turnaround for a publishing company (although not so much for a small publisher like NBB). Even so, when I decide to self-publish a finished, edited, and revised work, it takes me maybe a day or two to prepare the manuscript and cover and upload it to the retailers. I think I self-published twelve or fourteen pieces during the seven months it took NBB to release Just Cause.

9. What are the two most important pieces of advice you can give to someone considering self-publishing?

One: you need an editor. Maybe it's a trusted beta reader or critique group, but you should never assume that your work is of sufficient quality to release untouched. If you'll forgive me being crass, your words are not diamonds falling out of your ass.

Two: the glowing numbers being bandied about by other authors, who are making millions of dollars with their 99-cent downloads, are the exception, not the rule. You are not going to get rich quick self-publishing. You are not going to get rich slowly either. You're not going to get rich. But if you produce quality work at a reasonably fast pace, you will slowly build up a base readership, and they will keep coming back and clamoring for more work, and with good word of mouth, that readership will grow.

10. Are you currently working on something else?

At the moment, I am working on finishing my 2011 NaNoWriMo book, a humorous space opera called Starf*cker. I have my 2010 NaNo book, a superhero urban fantasy called Rooftops, in revision. I'm coauthoring a steampunk novel with my dear friend Allison Dickson that we've titled The Oilman's Daughter. Besides that, I have a couple of ebook short story collections that will come out during the first quarter of this year. I have more or less planned out my next twelve to fifteen months' writing, which is my typical lead time. And with my free hand, I Facebook.

Summary:

Some superheroes can fly, or lift great weights, or shoot lightning bolts.

Mustang Sally runs.

A third-generation superhero, Sally's life changes forever when she fights and loses to the notorious villain Destroyer, who killed her father just before she was born. She dedicates herself to tracking him down so she can even the score.

When all you can do is run, you'd better be fast, but can even the fastest girl in the world run quick enough to save her teammates' lives from Destroyer and his growing parahuman army?

Review:

Just Cause starts out with a bang, as the Lucky Seven, along with 18-year-old main character, Salena Thompson, better known as Mustang Sally, are summoned by the police commissioner to stop a giant robot from destroying the Science and Technology Expo.

The Lucky Seven are decimated in the fight and Sally discovers the man inside the robot is Destroyer, the villain who killed her dad before she was born. She sets out on a mission of revenge with the help of her new team, Just Cause, to destroy the man behind the machine. However he has tricks of his own up his sleeve including partnering with a Hitler like villain by the name of Kaiser.

Though he's introduced many characters early on, Ian describes them in great detail, each standing out by their unique abilities and costumes, making it easy to keep track of who's who.

Mustang Sally is especially well drawn. She's a tiny blonde thing, who wears a red and yellow costume, and probably the fastest parahuman on the face of the planet. She comes from a long line of speedsters on her mom's side and is destined to follow in their footsteps.

Though she's confident in her abilities as a speedster, when it comes to love she's apprehensive. She'd concentrated so hard on her training, she never took the time to date. Then she meets, Jason, a Brick, better known as Mastiff, a boy two years older than she—huge, muscly, and incredibly hot.

Ian writes their relationship well, both are timid and bashful at first, but we get to watch their relationship bloom into a full on love story. It's very sweet with a side of spice.

He also doesn't forget that although the two lovebirds are parahumans, they're still real teenagers doing real teenage things like having crushes, playing in rock bands, and driving crappy cars.

I like the way Ian has written all the heroes, super yes, but still with human qualities, they have relationships, drink coffee, laugh, celebrate, grieve. They're fallible, vulnerable. They get beat up, break bones, and sadly but expectedly, some die.

Healy is also a master at action scenes. It almost feels like you're watching a movie instead of reading a book when the superheroes are battling the villains. There's shooting and hand to hand combat, and bodies flying everywhere. What I've found so difficult to write, Ian makes seem effortless.

Another thing I liked about the book was that Ian mixed historical fact with fiction. The beginning of every chapter starts with a quote. Some are quotes from real historical figures, like Ghandi, others are quotes from made up superheroes appearing on Oprah. Ian writes about how the parahumans helped out in the wars, and how they partook in the party culture of the seventies.

All in all I thought this was a great book. Though it has the superhero element, it's not for kids. There is some foul language and sex. I think older teens and adults who are fans of superheroes, graphic novels, and action and adventure will really enjoy Just Cause. This is just the first in a series, so be on the lookout for the next book. I know I will.

Here's where you can find Ian around the net:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorianthomashealy

Twitter: @ianthealy

Website: www.ianthealy.com

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002BLRH1Q

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ianthealy

Here's where to find Just Cause online:

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/ian-healy?keyword=ian+healy&store=allproducts

New Babel Books: http://newbabelbooks.com/

Feeling like a rock star

Thing have really been falling into place with the the book release. Parties are pretty much planned. I've got a signing scheduled February 4th at our local military bases. I've got group events with Helen Landalf (Flyaway), Kendare Blake (Anna Dressed in Blood), Kiki Hamilton (The Faerie Ring), Carole Estby Dagg (The Year We Were Famous), Alexa Martin (Girl Wonder), and Kathy McCullough (Don't Expect Magic) scheduled for March.

I'm trying to plan another event at Garfield books, and want to get some more signings and in the Western Washington area with my Apocalypsie PNWers, Danny Marks (Velveteen, Fall 2012), J Anderson Coats (The Wicked and the Just, April 2012), Jennifer Wolf (Breaking Beautiful, April 2012), Marissa Meyer (Cinder, just released), and Marissa Burt (Storybound, April, 2012).

Yesterday I was interviewed by my local daily paper and will be in their entertainment section next Friday and also was interviewed by my friend Kristin for a weekly local paper.

My Project Pass It On is going well. I had many willing participants and their stories are beginning to roll in.

It's been a fun, frustrating, terrifying ride and my release is finally arriving. I want to thank all of you who've supported me these last few years in all this craziness. You all mean the world to me.

Cinder Release Party

Last night was Marissa Meyer's release party for her sci-fi twisted retelling of Cinderella, Cinder. If you've not heard of it, um, you may want to come out from under your rock. Marissa is from MY home town which makes her extra cool to me. She's also an Apocalypsie, so I got to meet her prior to her release (there are about six Apocalypsies in this area alone which is very cool and we try to meet once a month).

She had a grassroots campaign for the ladies to sport red heels (or other red shoes, I wore wedges, my friend Kristin wore red tennis shoes). Many came out to support her and her book, including my publicist (which was awesome) J Anderson Coats (The Wicked and the Just, April 2012, Harcourt Children's Books), Jennifer Wolf (Breaking Beautiful, April 2012, Walker Books for Young Readers), and Danny Marks (Velveteen, Fall 2012, Delacorte).
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Marissa's Publicist from NY came all the way for the party!!

Marissa talked a little about her journey (she gave my release party a shout out which was SO sweet of her), had a friend do a reading from the book, then did a signing (the line was soooo long Danny went through three pieces of cake, I had to take off my death shoes, and we were all delirious by the time we reached the head of the line, but it was well worth the wait).

And, um, they gave away wicked swag.
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And today? Marissa is on a nationwide tour to promote her book!!!! Here are the dates. If you're in these areas you should check it out.

January 4: Cincinnati, OH
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
7:00 p.m.

January 6: Chapel Hill, NC
Flyleaf Books
7:00 p.m.

January 8: Lynnwood, WA
Barnes & Noble
2:00 p.m.

January 9: Twitter and Facebook!!
Virtual Cinder Launch Party, being hosted with Figment Fiction
More info to come.

January 11: Salt Lake City, UT
The King's English Bookshop
7:00 p.m.

January 12: Provo, UT
Provo City Library
7:00 p.m.

January 23: Naperville, IL
Anderson's Bookshop
7:00 p.m.
Note: Megan Miranda, author of FRACTURE, will also be at this event!

January 24: Petaluma, CA
Copperfield's Books
3:00 p.m.

January 26: San Francisco, cA
Books Inc. "Not Your Mother's Book Club" at Opera Plaza
7:00 p.m.
Note: Megan Miranda (FRACTURE) and Daisy Whitney (THE RIVALS) will also be at this event!

January 27: Portland, OR
Powell's Books
7:00 p.m.
Note: Megan Miranda, author of FRACTURE, will also be at this event!

February 10-14: Vancouver and Victoria, BC, Canada
Details TBD

February 25: Long Beach, CA
Passion and Prose Convention
http://www.passionandprose.org/


April 14: Houston, TX
TeenBookCon
http://www.teenbookcon.org
(Other Texas events TBD)

I want to congratulate Marissa who's awesome and sweet and adorable. If you missed her release party and would like to meet her, you may catch a glimpse of her at my party January 17 at the Tacoma Library Wheelock branch.