Erica O'Rourke's Blog, page 9

WIP Friday: In Need of Summer Songs

So, I've probably mentioned this, but BOUND comes out on Tuesday. TUESDAY! The mind, it boggles. TORN came out almost exactly a year ago. I sold the series almost exactly TWO years ago. The fact that it all wraps up in four more days is a little startling.

(Feel free to order it from Amazon or B&N or the Independent Bookstore of Your Choice, by the way.)

Meanwhile, I am whacking my way through the to-do list, getting everything prepped and ready for the launch: the playlist, maps, contests, maybe even a little extra content. And it strikes me that while I certainly have a soundtrack for the book, which you'll see next week, I don't have a soundtrack for this summer. I love a good summer soundtrack -- something with a mix of styles and artists and moods, for lazy mornings and brilliant sweaty days and nights out with friends and stargazing. It's a tall order, as you can see.

Right now, the list is comprised almost entirely of The Lumineers, and while I feel strongly that I could listen to their album nonstop for the next ten weeks and never get tired of it, not everyone in my house feels the same way.

 

Help a girl out -- what are YOU listening to this summer?

FAQ Contest: Covers, Names, and How I Got Here.

More questions! More answers!

What's your favorite book cover of your own book?

Of my American covers, I like BOUND's the best -- the model looks more like Mo than the other two covers,  (although the same girl is also on TANGLED). She looks a little more natural and less magical. And the green foil on the finished cover looks fantastic.

Of my German covers, I don't think I can choose. They're both so gorgeous, and complement each other so well...it would be like picking a favorite child.

What's your favorite book?

I must sound terribly indecisive, but again, choosing only one is impossible! Some of my favorites are:

Neil Gaiman's NEVERWHERE
Libba Bray's A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY
Philip Pullman's THE GOLDEN COMPASS,
Madeleine L'Engle's A WRINKLE IN TIME
Margaret Mahy's THE CHANGEOVER.

These are the books I read over and over, finding something new each time.

How do you like to celebrate each new book?

Hmnn...when TORN came out, I went to a movie with my agent. When TANGLED came out, I cleaned the bathrooms. I haven't given much thought to how I'll celebrate BOUND -- maybe I'll sleep late and demand sushi for dinner. That seems like a good plan. In truth, it's the finishing of a draft that I'm more inclined to celebrate, since that's the hardest part of the process, and the one that requires the most patience and sacrifice from my family.

What was your publishing journey like?

Unexpected! The short version is that I wrote TORN, queried some agents, and entered RWA's Golden Heart contest. One of the final round judges liked the manuscript and offered to buy it. One of the agents I'd queried had requested the partial, so I contacted her, and she immediately read the full, then offered representation. I ended up interviewing three agents, and the one I'd originally queried was definitely the best fit. She took over negotiations, and almost a year to the day that I recieved the offer, TORN was on shelves! Here's a couple of the posts that explain more about it:

When I won the Golden Heart
When I announced the sale

How did TORN come about?

TORN came about because I was reading a lot of books where the heroine discovered she was a prophesied "chosen one" who was destined to save the world. I LOVED those books, but I was also curious -- what if the Chosen One died, and her sidekick had to take her place? What if Harry Potter died, and Ron Weasley had to stop Voldemort, or Buffy died and Xander had to defeat the season's Big Bad? And what kind of person would be willing to take on that role, knowing that, since they weren't chosen and didn't have magical powers, they were likely to die? The answer was someone like Mo -- who was accustomed to people keeping secrets, who didn't resent the Chosen One for her specialness, who loved her friend so much she was willing to risk her own life for the sake of vengeance. The idea actually came to me in the shower, and by the time I got out and started drying off, I had Mo's story almost completely plotted out.

How did you make time to write when you were still teaching full-time?

I...didn't. Even though I wrote a lot in college, I didn't really make time for writing while I was teaching. It sucked up the bulk of my attention, and when I wasn't teaching or coaching, I was reading. It wasn't until well after my second child was born that I really started to write again -- to take the stories drifting around my head and commit them to paper. And it wasn't until I took my writing seriously that I made progress toward getting published.

How did you pick your character's names?

For this series, the names of the major characters came pretty easily.  In Mo's case, I wanted something that sounded Irish, and could be both really pretty (Maura) and really humble (Mo). And somewhere along the line, Luc started calling her Mouse, at which point it was impossible to think of her with any other name.

Colin was easy, happily, because I knew I wanted another Irish-sounding name, and something that felt very solid, just like him. Luc's first name was easy, too, but his last name gave me fits, because I wanted something that tied into his element. Fire -- feu -- seemed a little too obvious, but foudre means lightning in French, so I figured that might work. Of course, translated, his name comes out to be Light of Lightning, which seems a little excessive, and exactly the sort of obnoxiously showy thing Dominic would insist on. But Luc hates being called Lucien, so it's a non-issue for him.

Verity's name came to me immediately -- it means "truth," and her last name -- Grey -- was meant to contradict it. Mo starts out the series believing that everything is black and white, true or false, right or wrong. And by the end of the series, she understands that there are shades and nuances and degrees to everything. I also liked the idea that every woman in her family had a "virtue" name: Constance, Patience, Evangeline (which is not strictly a virtue, but it fit, and she definitely wanted to convert people to her beliefs).

Billy, of course, got his name because I liked the idea of a mobster named "Charming" Billy Grady, after the nursery rhyme.

You were a teacher and a cheerleading coach: what made you decide to become a writer?

For starters, I was the world's WORST cheerleading coach. I knew nothing about cheerleading. I knew nothing about basketball, the sport we were cheering for. I was perfectly happy in my ignorance, so I told the girls they could do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't bleed and didn't go onto the court when they weren't supposed to. It was not an ideal match, is what I am saying.

I didn't decide to pursue writing until I'd been out of teaching for nearly five years. I was staying home with my kids, and frankly, one can only play "Fisher Price Little People Go On A Field Trip to the Farm" so many times before one's mind wanders and you start imagining a torrid backstory for Farmer Jed. I'd always written, and constructing stories in my head kept me sane. Eventually, it got to a point where I wanted to see them on paper, too.

 

FAQ Contest: Answers, part deux.

The kitties are home! I was planning on posting pictures of Maya in her lion cut, but it turns out that Maya with a lion cut is actually really upsetting to, because she's such a skinny, stressed out little thing. She's a big ruff of furface and then a scrawny little rat body. It's awful, and while I generally have no problem mocking my cats on the internet, it's just not sporting this time around.

Anyway, let's hit the next round of answers, shall we?

Jaime asked, "Do you use any certain music to set the tone while you are writing, as kind of a soundtrack to the books?"

I do! Each book has a soundtrack, though because TORN is a trilogy, some of the songs carry over from book to book. You can see the soundtrack for TORN here, and TANGLED here, and I'll be posting BOUND's soundtrack sometime next week. Here's one song I was particularly fond of, though.

 

Music is crucial to my writing process because it allows me to immediately slip into the story or a character, especially if I'm not writing at home. When I'm revising, it's a little different -- I tend to listen to scores from TV shows or movies. It's likely because I'm looking at the words on the page so closely that lyrics would interfere with my concentration, and I'd read more into the story than actually exists. My favorite score for revising, of course, is from Doctor Who.

Kim, who knows me very well, asked, "Besides being able to work in pajama pants, what is the best thing about being a writer of YA?"

The readers. Hands-down, the readers. I love talking with teens -- not just about my book, but books in general, and all of the other facets of their lives. Teenagers are smart, observant, funny as hell, and incredibly authentic, and getting to interact with them, whether through email or social media or classroom visits is the best part of my job.

Jess asked, "What's next for you? Any more books on the horizon? WIP's? I hope we see more!"

Thanks, Jess! I've got some projects percolating, but the bulk of my attention at the moment is focused on BOUND's release. And getting the backyard under control. It's still pretty bad. As soon as the current heatwave breaks, I'm going to learn how to use the weedwhacker.

Mont_4A asked, "What was the hardest part about writing your query letter? Is there a certain way it should be done?"

To which I say, "GAAAAAAAHHHHH QUERY LETTERS." I hate 'em. But they're a necessary part of the business, and so when it came time to query TORN, I posted a note above my computer that said, "Suck it up, Buttercup," and did precisely that. Here's what I think every query letter should have:

genre
word count
brief, hooky description of your story
RELEVANT professional credentials (ie, previously published work, membership in professional writing organizations, a career in publishing or the field your book is set in.)
impeccable spelling/grammar/professional attitude

That being said, every agent has different requirements about what they like/don't like to see in a query. So you have to research EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Yes, it's a pain. But remember: when you send an agent a query, they have to take time away from their current clients to read it -- following their directions shows you value their time, and increases your chances of getting a request.

The most valuable website I've seen about general query-writing is Kristin Nelson's Pub Rants. Read her entries on queries, google the bejeezus out of the agents you're most interested in, and be brave! It's hard to send your work out into the world, but if you want to be published, you might as well get accustomed to the feeling.

BN100 asked, "Who would you cast in a movie of your books?"

Oooh. This is really hard! Bookittyblog made a trailer for the series, and I thought she did a great job. I tend not to think of specific actors as I'm writing, because I'm afraid of letting their other roles influence my character too much. I think if I was going to cast a movie version, I'd want to find actors who were relatively unknown, at least for Mo, Colin, and Luc. And in Mo's case, I'd want someone who looked more "interesting" than "pretty," since she's convinced of her own unremarkableness. There's a ton of actresses I've seen that are conventionally pretty, but very few that don't seem like they'd already know it.

I'll answer more questions tomorrow, but I promised I'd announce the winner today, and it is...

BN100, who asked which cover was my favorite -- and I'll tell you that tomorrow! If you're BN, email me your snail mail address at erica at ericaorourke dot com, and I'll pop your book in the mail ASAP!

 

 

FAQ Contest: Answers!

I am waiting for the vet to call and tell me that the Bad Kitties have made it through their surgery-ish things safely. (Per has a bump that's grody, so she is having actual surgery. Maya's just getting a haircut, but since she's a furry little stressball, they have to knock her out.) This means my concentration has been shot all day, and I've wandered around the house eating brownies and kettlecorn and coffee, assuming the worst.

I have quite a knack for assuming the worst.

Needless to say, I didn't get to all of your questions, because those brownies weren't going to stress-eat themselves, you know. I'll answer as many as I can today, and hit the rest of them tomorrow, when I'll also announce the winner. The contest closed at noon, however -- you can ask more questions, but they won't be eligible for the giveaway.

Sarah (from Australia! I am jealous jealous jealous!) asked, "What book or series do you wish you had written?"

The books and series I admire the most are not the ones I wish I had written, strangely enough.  In my mind, they're perfect, and it's a bad idea to mess with perfection. For example, I desperately wish that I could write a book as brilliant as Neil Gaiman's NEVERWHERE or Libba Bray's A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY, but that's not the same as wishing I could write those books. 

In my mind, wishing you could write something implies you feel you could improve upon it -- and I am too polite to say in public which books I think I could do a better job on than the author. But I will say that I recently watched the reboot of CLUE, and...I really, really, REALLY wish I could have written that script.

Ginger asked, "Did you have your entire trilogy plotted from the get go, even loosely? Did you already know much of your plot for Tangled and Bound back when you were writing Torn?"

The short answer is yes. I knew, in the very loosest terms, how I wanted the series to end. But I also knew TORN had to stand on its own, so I was careful to make sure that Mo's initial journey was complete by the end of that book. I tried not to get terribly wedded to the events of TANGLED and BOUND, but there were a few elements -- Colin and Luc's backstories, Mo's father returning from prison, and Jenny Kowalski, to name a few, that I knew were essential to seed into TORN if I wanted them to pay off later. (This question really deserves its own, longer post, so I'm filing that away. Thanks, Ginger, for the blogfodder!) 

Claire asked, "How do you stay focused on writing? Is there a type of food or activity that keeps you motivated to write?"

Well, coffee is essential to my writing process. And I often reward myself with treats of a chocolate-based nature, like this:

Most of the time, I find my motivation/discipline (which are really flip sides of the same coin) hinge on two things: deadlines and rewards. Deadlines are pretty sacred to me. If I promise that my book will be finished by a certain date, I make it happen, even if it means giving up sleep and regular meals and basic personal hygiene. Writers' block is a luxury, and when I am on deadline, I can't afford it. People are depending on me to get my work done, so I get it done.

The rewards can be tangible -- I bought myself an iPad when I finished writing the Torn Trilogy, for example, and you've already seen what has to happen for me to write a synopsis. But there's also just a sense of satisfaction when I meet my daily word count -- Scrivener has a little progress bar that shifts from red to green the closer you get to your target, and watching the bar turn green is addictive. And nothing beats the feeling I get when I finish a book. Even if I know it needs tons of revision, making it to the end is a rush. I've heard this happnes to people who run marathons, but I'm just going to take their word for it.

And then there's this lady:

That's my agent, Joanna. She works incredibly hard on my behalf. She answers emails in the dead of night, she answers phone calls on the weekend, national holidays, her birthday, and vacation. I never like disappointing people, but especially not when they've put so much faith in me. Also, she's a native New Yorker. And you know what they're like when they're angry.

And...now it's time to go get my kids and my cats, in that order. More tomorrow, including the winner!

 

 

 

BOUND ARC Giveaway: FAQ Edition

I was all set to do a blog post about one of my favorite YA books -- one of my favorite books, period, actually -- and then I realized I couldn't find it. One of my felonious little offspring has taken it, no doubt, and it might be a while before it turns up again. So instead of hearing all about Laura Chant and Sorensen Carlisle and why I think they might be my favorite couple in all of YA, I find myself at a loss for topics, with fifteen minutes until I have to leave and an ARC of BOUND to give away.

So let's do this instead: Hit the comments and ask me a question -- about the Torn Trilogy, about me, about author stuff or publishing or whatever. (Requests for BOUND spoilers do not count as questions, of course.)  I'll draw a name on Monday afternoon for the ARC, and announce the winner/answer the questions all in one post. I'd do it as they come in, but I'm traveling this weekend.

Contest is, as always, open internationally.
Contest ends at noon Central time on Monday, June 14th.
You can enter multiple times, but ask decent questions, okay?

Contest Winner!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Cartography Contest! The winner is:

Jackson Bakse!

(Jackson wisely entered a bunch of times, but the comment random.org picked was: Shady Acres, in TANGLED. Which is perfect, considering what happens in BOUND. Well played, Jackson!)

I would post more but I am recovering from sunburn and a day of extremes: the Soccer Tournament from Hell which went about as well as you can imagine, and the delight that is the Printers' Row Lit Fest in Chicago, where I got to talk with some a bunch of very cool authors about what it means to write YA without writing "down", and then ate dinner at Sepia, where I had the most delicious scallops I've ever encountered in my life and discovered that Julie Cross's husband is as cool as she is, which is no mean feat.

(Side note: Parents of school-aged children. Please chill the hell out. It's a soccer game filled with nine and ten year old girls, not the World Cup. THEY'RE NINE. Nobody's scholarship is riding on the outcome of this game. Our nation's honor is not at stake. You're sucking the fun out of summer. QUIT. IT.)

Here are the authors from the Printers' Row panel, by the way. They were all articulate and funny and insightful -- I could have chatted with them for ages, and you should absolutely check them out!

KAT FALLS

ADAM  SELZER

JULIE CROSS

JOELLE CHARBONNEAU

And now I am going to put some more aloe on my shoulders and get back to work. I'll have another ARC contest later this week, so be sure to check back.

 

Weekend Adventure: Madison, WI

First off, if you haven't entered the Map-Making Contest, what are you waiting for? You can win an ARC of BOUND!!! Go!

All entered?

We're trying to have more family adventures this summer, aso over the weekend, we visited my younger sister up in Madison. It might possibly be the best way to spend a summer weekend in the entire world: relatively short, scenic drive (if you like looking at old barns and gently rolling farmland, which I do), warm-but-not sweltering weather, activities that appeal to a variety of ages. (Our group ranged from "post-my-age-on-the-internet-and-you're-out-of-the-will" to three.)

For reference, here's a picture of my gorgeous, stylish, adventure-loving, hard-working, gourmet-cooking sister. (Though not from this weekend.)

If you can make it to Madison, you should. Here's a list of ten things to get you started once you're there.

1. Dane County Farmer's Market, Capitol Square (Saturdays)
Admittedly, the crowds here are daunting, but load yourself up with some reusable grocery bags and try it anyway: squeaky cheese curds, ginger-rhubarb jam, tiny ruby-colored strawberries, hot & spicy cheese bread, the sweetest sugar snap peas you've ever had, and whatever else is growing. You can also get free-range meat and a zillion types of cheese, but make sure you have access to a fridge. Small fries who don't appreciate the hunt for the perfect tomato can play on the capitol lawn.

We recently joined a CSA, and were able to meet two of the farmers on this visit. Kurt "probably guaranteed" strawberries in this week's box (which is as good of a guarantee as one gets in farming). My kids loved meeting the people who work so hard to bring us amazing produce each week.

2. Madison Children's Museum:

Small, but packed with activities, including the coolest art studio imaginable: we painted on a glass wall, made a pirate ship out of nature materials, played with something that looked like a TARDIS, ran in a giant gerbil wheel, and petted chickens and mice. There's even a five-and-under area for Big Marshmallow and her compatriots.

I kind of want a chicken now.

3. Sardine

We didn't visit Sardine this time around, but it's a family favorite: delicious food that's interesting without being confusing and a gorgeous lake food. Yes, that's my sister in their website's banner. I told you it was one of our favorites.

4. El Dorado Grill

This is my absolute favorite restaurant, perhaps in the entire world. Delicious, interesting southwestern food and the most incredible margaritas I've ever had. Get there early or prepare to wait. And make sure to order the Texas Tornadoes.

5. Graze

Fancy locavore food at reasonable prices in a beautiful location. Also, they have crawfish beignets. Again, arrive early. It's one of the trendiest places in town, but don't let that deter you.

 

6. Victory Coffee

My sister's favorite coffeeshop, and I am inclined to agree. It's a tiny, friendly neighborhood place, and the coffee is strong and delicious.

7. Williamson Street

Madison has something of a reputation for...granola-ness, and a walk down Willy Street will show you why. It's a funky, eclectic mix of houses, shops, and restaurants. Give yourself time to wander and browse.

8. Hardware Store Coffee

Every time we go to Madison, I force my husband to stop at this old-fashioned Ace Hardware. It has the dusty, oily, wood-shaving smell of a real hardware store, aisles crammed together with the usual supplies (and some surprises). Most of all, it has its own blend of coffee: Just Coffee's Tradesmen Blend.

9. Henry Vilas Zoo

Oh, my children love the Madison Zoo. We love it as well, because 1.) cute animals and 2.) like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, it's not too big and not too small. You can manage it in an afternoon and still have time for other adventures.

10. Boring, but necessary: Courtyard by Mariott

Yes, it's a chain hotel in a town whose spirit is decidely indie. Yes, it's on the far east side of the city. Yes, my child did say to me upon waking, "If you're looking for a breathtaking view, look somewhere else." But here's the deal: the cool hotels in downtown, near the Capitol? Expensive. The B&Bs are quaint but tiny. The Courtyard has spacious suites, a pool for the kids, a great lobby/work area with a bar, decent food, and a Starbucks. It's clean and affordable and the staff is insanely nice. It's a bit of a drive into downtown, so I recommend leaving the car in a parking garage and walking as much as possible. We've tried other hotels in the area, but this is the best we've found for families.

WIP Friday: Cartography Edition + Giveaway

So, one of the things I am currently working on is a map for the Torn Trilogy. Mostly because I love maps -- all the place names, and tiny overlooked streets, and possibilities -- I am a geek, is what I am saying, and there's no hiding it, so why not just let my cartography-loving flag fly?

But I kind of have a lot on my plate right now, and I'm looking for help. And as a thank you...I've got a little something for you:

That's right. BOUND ARCs. (I smile every time I say that. Of course they're bound. That's kind of the point of ARCs, is that they're bound instead of loose MS pages. I am easily amused by this sort of wordplay.)

However, I have exceedingly limited quantities of ARCs to give away. Like, three.

Now, you should know that my approach to giveaways is that they should require as little effort on your part as possible. I don't do elaborate point systems, I don't require photographic proof. I don't require you to retweet it or post it on Facebook or whatever. If I ask you to like my FB page and you tell me you do, I trust you. I don't even have one of those awful word verification things in the comments, because they're a pain.

But this time, to be eligible to win the ARC, you have to work for it.

The biggest part of the map project is compiling a list of locations in TORN and TANGLED. Some of them are made up, obviously -- St. Brigid's is fictional, but in my head I know exactly where it is. Ditto for Mo's house and The Slice/Morgan's. But there are plenty of locations in both Chicago and New Orleans that are real. And that's what I need help with.

To be eligible for the giveaway, find a location mentioned in the book, and leave the following information in the comments:

Location
Which book you found it in
Page number

Furthermore, you need to be the first person to mention a location. I'll keep a running list at the bottom of this post, so you don't have to go through the comments, but it seems like the only way to keep it fair. For example, if you were going to submit St. Brigid's chapel, your comment would look something like this:

St. Brigid's Chapel; Torn; page 278

Easy, right?  The only places NOT eligible are the ones I mentioned earlier: Mo's house, St. Brigid's, The Slice/Morgan's. Everything else is fair game.

Other details:

You can enter as many locations as you want, and each one will count as an entry in the drawing -- but enter each AS A SEPARATE COMMENT. Otherwise you will confound me and random.org.
The contest closes at 9am CST on June 11th.
As always, the contest is open internationally.
The prize is an autographed ARC of BOUND, and a sneak peek of the map before it goes live.
You don't have to retweet or FB or post about the contest, but I'm always very grateful when people spread the word.

Happy Friday, guys -- and thanks for your help!

Bacon Jam and Summer Plans

Today is my sister's birthday, and to celebrate (Happy birthday, sister-mine!) we are heading up to Madison, WI for the weekend. It's one of my favorite places in the whole world. I'll try to post some pictures over on my twitter feed so you can see our regular haunts.

Today is also cold and rainy -- it was 95 last weekend and now it's 55, and my natural reaction to this sort of temperature drop is to make something consoling and indulgent. I like cold, rainy, gray days, because nobody tries to make me feel guilty about staying inside where there are books and the internet and coffee and my bed, instead of going out into nature, where there are weeds and bugs. To celebrate the fact that I don't have to do battle with the weeds, I am making Bacon Jam.

Yes, bacon jam. This recipe really appeals to me, because the only thing better than sweet/salty food is sweet/salty/spicy food, but I have a long to-do list today and kids who don't appreciate spiciness the way I do, so I'm going with this version, which has the benefit of cooking unattended while I Accomplish All The Things. I'll keep you posted.

But the REAL point of this post is to give you a quick-and-dirty update about where I'll be this summer. (Other than Madison, which is not an official trip but an "eat lots of delicious things" trip.) The list isn't inclusive -- we've got a few more events in the works, but for now, this is where you can find me:

Printers Row Lit Fest
Chicago, IL
2:45 pm Sunday, June 10 (subject to change -- check schedule)
Panel Discussion: Writing Young Adult Isn't Writing Down

Lake Villa Library
2-4 pm, Sunday, June 17
Workshop: What's the Point of POV? (registration required; designed for teens)

Grayslake Library
Writer's Bloc: Camp NaNoWriMo Kickoff
July 26 and August 30 (Registration required; grades 2-6)

Midwest Writers Workshop
Muncie, IN
July 27-29
I'm teaching multiple classes on YA, and the entire faculty is outstanding -- especially this brilliant agent.

The other thing we have going this summer, of course, is the launch of BOUND! I'll have giveaways starting this weekend, and other fun things planned, so stay tuned. And now I'm off to check on my bacon jam.

 

Three Guesses Where We're Going Today? (UPDATED)

...and the first two don't count.

 

(Your first hint.)

 

(This ain't my first time at the rodeo.)

 

(Rare footage of the elusive Kitty Maya.)

(We are not amused, says Per.)

 

Looks like fun, right? I envision the afternoon going much like this book, which is a favorite of ours.  The current plan is to bait the carriers with oodles of treats, since they're lazy, greedy little beasts. Other tips/tricks/advice are welcome.

 

Update: Mrs. Silverstein's advice (see comments) was spot-on! We lured Per in with treats, and she totally fell for it. Maya does not like treats, so we suited up, lowered her in, and trundled off to the vet. The verdict: generally healthy kitties, though we're going in again next month. I haven't broken the news to them just yet. I'm sure they're already plotting their revenge.