Michelle McLean's Blog, page 33

IT'S POSSESSION TIME!!!

It's finally here!!! Let me join in the fangirl shrieks everywhere and let out a huge SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! for a very sweet friend of mine. Today is the official book birthday of the absolutely fabulous Elana Johnson's debut novel, POSSESSION. I love this book...LOVE it. And am very excited to help spread the love around a little :D

Here is the blurb and gorgeous cover for those of you who haven't seen it yet :)

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn…and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them….starting by brainwashed Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous: everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

*happy sigh* To celebrate, IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!

I will, of course, be giving away a copy of this awesome book. BUT this is just too big and too exciting so I have to throw in a little something else. One lucky winner will get not only their very own, shiny copy of POSSESSION, but will also get a "POSSESSION" necklace. (Please forgive me as my camera is on the fritz...I will post a pic as soon as I can) This adorable necklace has a Zen pendant, Violet beads, two silver butterflies, and comes with a "Jag"ged surprise :) (no, unfortunately, not hottie Jag himself) ;-)

To enter, just leave a comment. I'll take entries until Sunday at midnight and will announce the winner on Monday morning. There are more giveaways and POSSESSION awesomeness happening all over the place today! Check out Elana's blog and Christine Fonseca's blog for some good links and if you find any others, feel free to post them here and share them everywhere!

Good luck and CONGRATS ELANA!!!!

Blog Chain - Breakin' the Rulz

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Today's my day on the Blog Chain and for this round, the lovely Abby asked:

There are SO many writing rules, but sometimes we have to break one or two, just to keep things interesting. Is there a writing rule you've broken on purpose? Why did you choose to break it? And if you want to post a snippet of your writing as an example, even better!

Ahhh...those rule-breakers :D I think I break them all every now and then :) But, like a few of my other blog chain buddies, I am sort of fond of sentence fragments. They just add a good sense of urgency, and extra oomph to the scene. As with everything, overusing them cuts their powers, so I try not to use them too much. But I think they can be very effective when used right.

And...something of mine to illustrate, hmm? Okay - here is a snippet of my current book, Treasured Lies :)

Her heart thumped in painful lurches. She tried to calm down. It was probably just a really big mouse. Or one of the cats? Perhaps the old place really was haunted.

She jumped as a muffled thud reverberated across the rafters. The faint sound of breaking glass had Min running for the exit.There was no visible handle on the outside so Min grabbed the edge of the door and pulled it closed behind her. She was careful to straighten the tapestry that hid the entrance. Backing away, she made sure there was no evidence of the room.

Footsteps.

Min froze in alarm.

Nearer…nearer…

It was probably just another student. Though that could prove problematic since Min wasn't supposed to be out of bed. If she were honest with herself, she might admit that all the tales of ghostly lights and noises of late had her a little spooked.The footsteps echoed through the hall.

Min held her breath. She blew out her candle and pressed herself into the wall near the window across from the tapestry-covered alcove, half burying herself in the curtains.

The footsteps grew louder and stronger until at last they stopped a few feet from where she hid. An invisible hand reached out and yanked the draperies aside, letting the strong moonlight spill into the corridor. Min could make out the large, dark shadow of a man. She tried to keep silent. Her breath came faster, her heart beating in desperate time to her panic.

The shadow lunged.

~~~

:) Be sure to stop by Michelle Hickman's blog to see what rules she likes to break and check out Eric's tomorrow to see his rule breaking awesomeness :)

Friday Funnies

My mom recently got me a book called You Know You're a Writer When... by Adair Lara, that is filled with hilarious one-liners that just soooo describe me (and most other writers I know) :D Today's funny quotes are taken from that book :)

You know you're a writer when...Every surface in your house has morphed into a desk: the kitchen island, the bed, the dining room table, the top of your antiquated television.



You know you're a writer when...You spot an office supply store and have to force yourself to keep driving.



You know you're a writer when...Your cat walks on your keyboard; you yell and butt your head at him but don't stop typing.

Evolution of a Rhyming Picture Book

I just finished the manuscript for the picture book I'm working on with my amazing friend Lisa Amowitz, so I thought I'd share how I go about doing one of these babies.

First off, almost all of my picture books start out rhyming. I don't know why. I just like them that way LOL They don't always stay rhyming, but if they do, this is how I swing things.

1. I need an idea. I get most of these from watching my kids. But other things inspire me too. For this particular project, Lisa had the outline and a couple pictures and she asked me to write the manuscript. I was thrilled to agree :D

2. I sit down and write. Sometimes by hand, sometimes by key :D I'm not very structured when it comes to picture books. But for this one, since Lisa already had the outline, I tried to be very organized. I numbered all of the images we discussed and tried to write a line or two for each. I had a very difficult time. I finally just read through the outline, sat down, and wrote, referring back to it every now and then when needed. And I was able to finish. Lesson learned. When it comes to picture books I am anti-organized :D

3. Revision time. I go through and clean up the rhymes, the repeats, and anything else that needs to go (or get added). I send it to my sister and another crit partner or two and I read it to my kids and get their input.

4. Once I have a fairly clean manuscript, the real work begins. It's time to clean up the rhythm and meter. Rhyming picture books are a hard sell. They have to be as perfect as possible. So...I print it out and mark it up. I count the syllables in each stanza and line. It looks like this:



Then I mark the stressed and unstressed syllables. And then I change words and lines so it matches up as perfectly as possible with the meter I want to use. I do try to stick to the form I've chosen as closely as possible while writing, but I make mistakes, and sometimes I just use a filler word or two so I can move on. When revision time rolls around, I take a notebook and keep track of the syllable stress patterns while I read/rewrite. It ends up looking like this:


 And when I'm done, I have a rhyming picture book with a nice flowing rhythm and meter as perfect as I can get it. :D


Does anyone else out there write rhyming books or poetry? What is your process?

You Tell Me...About Creativity

In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo de Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock. — Orson Welles 
I found this quote both interesting and kind of amusing. You always hear of the angst of writers/artists. 
Do you think it's necessary, or at least helpful, for creativity to have a drama or angst-filled setting in which to cultivate? [image error]

Twelve Word Tuesday :)

There are worse crimes than burning books. One...is not reading them. — Joseph Brodsky 

Happy Memorial Day

To Our Soldiers, past and present...Thank You.
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Happy Memorial Day.

Friday Funnies

"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray 


Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money. — Jules Renard 


The things that you know more about than you want to know are very useful. — Robert Stone

Over on the OA Today!

Come on over! :D

There it is...Again...

I had a movie night with my kids last night. We watched Gnomeo and Juliet. It was sooo cute :D It got me thinking (as the little gnome states at the beginning) - it is a story that has been told...a lot. And there are a lot of stories that have been told...a lot.

Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, Beauty and the Beast...

How do you feel about retakes on classic tales? Do you cringe away, thinking "Ugh, not another one!" or are you excited to see what new spin might appear? What does it take to perk your interest in a story that's been told a million times? And what are your favorite retellings?