L.J. Smith's Blog, page 3

L. J. Smith’s new Vampires Diaries series

I’m very pleased to finally be able to make this announcement. I apologize for having kept all of you waiting so long, but getting everything finalized took longer than I initially thought it would. As some of you probably know, Amazon has launched a new area called Kindle Worlds. This is a place where people can write fan fictions based on certain books, movies, shows, games, and music. The Vampire Diaries is one of the series that Amazon has obtained the license to include in their Worlds. This means that I can continue to write my version of The Vampire Diaries. (Remember, these books are written as fan fiction and are not part of the official series.

See below for the book “covers” and descriptions of the novels.

The Evensong arc will pick up more or less where Midnight left off and takes place in an alternate world from the official books that follow Midnight. The three books in this arc are Paradise Lost, The War of Roses, and Into the Wood. The first novel, Paradise Lost, and the first part of the second novel, The War of Roses, will be available

January 23, 2014.

See the countdown clock on the home page of my website for how long until the books are launched!

Also available on January 23, 2014 is my new bibliography/booklist, which is much easier to I understand (I think; most of the actual work was done by the invaluable Christina Crowley) than the old versions.

I’m dedicating these new Kindle Worlds books to my readers, worldwide. Thank you, friends, for your many messages of kindness and appreciation. I would also like to thank Amazon for all its enthusiasm and consideration in publicizing this new series. Amazon, you rock!

Before anyone asks the burning question, I’ll answer it: no, this is not the end of The Vampire Diaries series, but if all goes well and my readers wish it, I will continue writing fan fiction books in this series to the endgame. That’s what I have planned.

Please do let me know what you think of this new fan fiction trilogy!

Email | Twitter | Facebook | Website 

 
 
Evensong: Paradise Lost

This fanfic is based on The Vampire Diaries book series and takes place after the volume Midnight.

Damon is back and enjoying his vampire existence to its fullest. Elena, Bonnie and their friends are in their third week at Dalcrest College, ordinary students aware of an extraordinary world that verges on their own campus.

Stefan is scarcely aware that he is living in a fragile paradise with Elena as his devoted girl . . . until one night it all shatters. He wakes from a dream to find Elena limp and white in his arms and rushes her to the hospital for a massive transfusion,

Elena survives, but Stefan decides that there is only way that she will ever truly be safe is without him. To make his exit complete, Stefan removes himself from the memories of Elena, her friends, and all of Fell’s Church.

Can true love ever really be forgotten? Will Damon finally have Elena by his side as his Princess of Darkness? The story begins in Evensong: Paradise Lost.

 

 
 
 
 
Evensong: The War of Roses: Part 1

Elena and her friends now have no conscious memories of Stefan—but each is having a difficult time adapting to a world without him. Damon can scarcely put out fires fast enough.

Bonnie feels as if she’s going insane. Her latest oddity is sleepwalking across the Dalcrest campus with only a golden-eyed white “dog” as a companion. This behavior terrifies the others, especially given the recent attacks in neighboring towns that leave girls drained of blood.

More, Bonnie finds herself caught up in her own love triangle with Matt’s shy new roommate, Bastian, and Damon. She realizes that Damon should be completely off limits, but she can’t help feeling there is someone else who is Elena’s perfect partner somewhere.

No one knows much about Bastian, who has white-blond hair and golden eyes, but he doesn’t seem to like Damon. Is Bastian just jealous of Damon’s affection for Bonnie or does he have some darker secret?

Meanwhile, both red roses and black are mysteriously appearing for Bonnie and Elena. Who are they from, and why do they seem so important? The War of Roses has just begun. . . .

 
 
Look for L. J. Smith’s new Vampire Diaries books!

New Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/ljsmithauthor...

I have a brand-new Facebook Page, just now published, which has a lot of content on it. There are notes from me, interviews, new pictures,a Forum for discussion that you don't need to join, but can just jump in and post to, and lots of other things. I would like to invite all my readers to check it out. Thank you!

Lisa

A vital announcement from L. J. Smith

For all the fans of The Vampire Diaries books 1-7 (The Awakening to Midnight) that I personally wrote, I will soon have some important and exciting news. Countdown to newsbreak . . . (unknown, but a matter of days). Follow me on Twitter or like my Facebook page to receive up-to-the-minute changes in status. That’s it for now.

 ~ Lisa

A WORD ABOUT THE FAN ART CONTEST

Just a word about the prizes to be given in the Fan Art Contest.  I originally had in mind only five winners, but the excellence of so many artists who contributed their works to the contest made me think that ten would be more reasonable. 
 
Then, however, there were a number of ties in the actual voting on Forum, so more or less by force, we now have (I believe) thirteen artists vying for the prizes to be had in the contest.
 


I know that at the beginning the First Place Prize was to include an Art Kit, but these kits would be of no use to many of the contest’s artists, who use computer graphics of other means of creating their works.  Thus, now the prizes will all include Certificates and only Certificates.
Let me explain in more detail.  Each winner will be given a Certificate to be spent at The Crystal Realm, which is where the list of possible prizes comes from.  The Certificates are beautifully designed by Mr. Usok Choe, the Site Administrator—please see the sample on the left.
 
Winners will be given in the following amounts:

    •    First Place Winner – $1,000.00
    •    Second Place Winner – $750.00
    •    Third Place Winner – $500.00
    •    Honorable Mention – $200.00 (there will be 10 of these)
 
The winners may shop as they please by sending an email to Mandira at The Crystal Realm, who will have a list of each of the winner’s names and the amounts that they can spend.  Dollars left over after the winner has bought enough merchandise to approach the amount of their Certificate will go toward shipping costs.  The one thing a winner cannot do is to buy something at The Crystal Realm and then get cash in return.  These prizes are not cash prizes, and I’ve worked quite hard to make sure that The Crystal Realm has something for every budget.  I will pay for any shipping costs that are left over after a winner has chosen her or his prizes.  So the idea is: shop till you drop and try to make the most of your Certificate!
 
Thank you for voting in the poll to choose the final winners in the Fan Art Contest.
 
Good luck to all the artists involved!
 
~ Lisa

Emails; I Get Emails

Just thought I might share some emails I’ve gotten recently—or emails that I felt were special—and my (sometimes horribly long-winded) answers to them.  Please do write to me at info@ljanesmith.net; I read all my email and enjoy them tremendously. BTW, I still do not have a pub date for Strange Fate (sorry, sorry).
 

Subject: Dear L. J. Smith Please reply to me as soon as possible !
 
Hi L.J Smith! I can't believe I am contacting you ! This is just such an honor to me !
 
I had to contact you after I watched all the episodes of the first season of : "The Secret Circle" ! I am a very BIG fan of you and that series especially !
 
When I FINALLY found it online after I did the impossible to find it so I can watch it, I found a problem ! I REALLY wanna watch a second season of it !! And I wanted to ask you if you can write a second season And I personally wanna watch it not read the book ! And to be honest I am NOT the only one who wants that ! On that website I watched it on , Everybody wanted a second season ! So if you made a second season , Everybody is gonna watch it !
 
Hi (sagira?)
 
I’m so sorry; you’re writing to the wrong person.  I do not create the TV episodes.  You might try to write to Warner Brothers to petition them if you want more episodes of The Secret Circle.  I only wrote the first trilogy of the books, and I am not allowed to say anything about the series except that I no longer am able to write it due to a contract I signed twenty years ago.
 
Cheers,
 
Lisa

 
Subject: A fan in México in Distress.
 
I don't know if you might read this, but I will send it with the hope that you might do.

 
Hello

 
My name is Luis, I am from Mexico and I'm 19 years Old.
I am a huge fan of yours, and I love your way of writing.
 
I want to study literature, and creative writing, but my parents think that I won't make it.
I love writing, and I do it every moment I can, and I also love reading.
and I would love to ask you two things; First of all, should I follow my dream even if my family disapproves ?
And second how can I concentrate in just one project at a time?, you see I have a problem when I'm writing and it is that my mind is always getting new ideas about things to write of and when I am writing in one of my projects, I start getting ideas, stories, etc.

 
And I am working in like 5 projects at a time. ( I wouldn't like to call them books because I am not a professional yet)
 
For your attention and your amazing books which have inspired me.
Thank you.
 
Forever yours, Luis☽❍☾. (A guy!  Wow!--Lisa)
 
Hi Luis—
 
Thank you very much for writing to me.  I am so pleased that you enjoy my writing, especially since you're an older teen.
 
I love to hear from my readers in Mexico, because my mother was a Spanish teacher and I was an exchange student to Mexico City for a summer when I was very young (back when dinosaurs ruled the earth). :-)
 
I completely understand your dilemma about whether to try to be a writer and hope to make a living at that, but having parents who think you should do something more practical.  I had exactly the same problem with my parents when I went to college.  
 
It's very difficult to tell you what to do, but I do know that there is a worldwide economic recession.  That has implications for all writers, including me.  Still, I would never have been happy if I hadn't become a full-time writer and it is my greatest joy.
 
All in all, I would advise you to perhaps take both creative writing/literature classes and some other kind of classes that can help you get a "transitioning" job, so that you can earn a living while writing your first books.  Is there any other subject that interests you besides writing?  I chose to get graduate degrees in teaching and in psychology, and I worked as a teacher of special education students for three years before turning to writing full time.
 
I hope this is of some help.  As for concentrating on one story at a time; well, that is just one of the challenges of being a pro writer.  You have to discipline yourself to keep returning to the same story.  The more you make yourself do it, the easier it becomes.  Good Luck!
 
Cheers,
 
Lisa
 
Subject: Burning question
 
Hello Miss Smith,
 
I'm a fan of the vampire diaries (books, can't stand the show). So thank you for writing wonderful books that fuse a little bit of everything into one. My question is short and sweet. Do you feel that the ghost writers that have written on in the series have done a fair job? Or do you think they could of done a tad bit better. It's sad when I can tell writing styles apart from two authors. That means I'm REALLY! paying attention.
 
All the best,
Your fan,
Jonathan Jones
 
P.S. Do a book signing in South Alabama! Itching to get your signature on one of my books!
 
Hello Mr. Jones,
 
I’m so sorry, but I can't answer your simple question, as I have never read a word of the ghostwriter's work.  I have heard many other people's opinions of it, but it really wouldn't be fair for me to judge something with which I have no direct experience.  
 
Thank you, sir, for your kind words and for writing to me.  I hope soon to institute a process by which I can offer signed bookplates (and attractive ones) to any who want them.
 
Cheers,
 
Lisa
 

Subject: Your books
 
Dear L.J Smith. I wanted to tell you how much I love all your books! ALL of them! It's pretty rare to like ALL of an author's books, but believe me- I practically worship your stories. You are an amazing writer. I love the characters you create, especially the guy characters like Quinn ("The Chosen") and Gabriel ("Dark Visions"). I hate that "The Forbidden Game" ended so sad, I really loved Julian, but at least your stories have a variety of endings, some sad, some happy.
 
I wanted to ask, where do you get your inspiration from? Most of your books are about vampires or paranormal. Are you a believer? :)
 
-Katie Jaydee.
 
Hi Katie—
 
Am I a believer?  Well, let’s say I keep an open mind. :-)  It certainly would be wonderful if magic could be true, and I searched for it diligently throughout my childhood, but I’m a bit like Mary-Lynnette the astronomer from the Night World book/story Daughters of Darkness, who finds a lot of magic in the real world.  Did you know that there are suns quite close by that are a thousand times bigger than our sun?  Can you imagine that?  Wow.
 
I have had a couple of spooky things happen to me: my name whispered at night in a parking lot where there was no one to speak; my apocryphal stalking of a pure white stag at dusk . . . but on the whole, I tend to believe in experimentation.
 
Thank you so much for writing me with kind words about my books.  That’s the fuel that keeps authors running, you know?
 
Cheers,
 
Lisa, who hopes something magical happens to you!
  
Subject: From A Devoted Fan
 
Greetings,
 
I send many emails to you, even though with your hectic schedule I bet you don't have time to read mine, but pressing the send button is a huuugeee step!
Here In England, internet is probably a life saver, and while doing my daily search of release dates, I found a letter from you to a girl.
 
I know it was a while ago, and if i'm opening up old wounds, please don't carry on, but it's about The Vampire Diaries. Here’s the link to what I saw [link to article about my eviction from The Vampire Diaries].
 
This email seemed so, so sad, and i'm writing today, not to plead for release dates and extra info, but to just say, sorry. I can't believe anyone could do this and you don't deserve it. I couldn't believe they did this, and just to let you know, me and many others, have refused to buy any more TVD unless written and confirmed personally by your hand.
 
I can see this must be difficult, and so sorry for the length, but I hope you are okay and know that you’re a truly brilliant writer. I've laughed, cried and gasped at your books, I don't want it to stop now.
 
From, Lucy.
 
P.S Sometimes we have to get back up when you've been knocked down. After all, Damon wouldn't ever leave his little redbird, would he? :)
 
Hi Lucy—
 
It’s true that I usually don’t have time to answer emails, much less do so immediately—but some emails I just can’t let go without a personal acknowledgment.  Yours was one of the latter.
 
I thank you so much for your kindness, sympathy, and loyalty.  You are the sort of reader I envision when I am writing.  It’s you I want to please.  And I think you’ll be a good luck charm (I’m a shameless Anglophile, and after all you bear the name of the heroine of C. S. Lewis’s Narnia Chronicles: Lucy.)
 
So far both the majority of readers and the book industry have been quite kind to me.  I have finished (even, yes, as I work on Strange Fate) a book called The Last Lullaby which was picked up by all sorts of different countries before a final draft was delivered, and that includes England.  It’s my debut “serious writer” book, but I’ve put all the love I feel about writing into it and I’m hoping that my readers will enjoy it.  So far, it is scheduled to come out in 2014, which is a long time to wait, but perhaps Strange Fate will beat it.
 
Thank you again, Lucy, for writing me an email I couldn’t pass up, and for making me smile when I needed to.  I hope that you will stop by www.ljanesmith.net and maybe even join the Forum there.  Everyone would be thrilled to meet you.
(Don’t think I didn’t catch the Bamon reference, either.  Believe me, in my world—as opposed to the ghostwriter’s—there is definitely still a romantic connection between Bonnie and Damon.  Bonnie has as much chance as anyone for Damon’s hand.) :-)
 
Cheers,
 
Lisa
 
 
Subject: [NONE]
 
Dear Lisa !
 
It's again me, Julia. I wrote to you a few months ago. I've got a question . If you could write The Vampire Diaries ,  who would Elena choose? Stefan or Damon ? ;)
 
Best regards from Poland !
--
Julia Bieniek
 
 
Hi Julia—
 
Bet you never expected to get an answer this late.  I'm as sorry as I can be that I'm so swamped with emails.
 
Your question, though, is one that many people ask of me, and you asked it so succinctly that I want to answer.
 
I'm sorry, though, that the answer is a null.  I can't tell you who Stefan or Damon or Elena or Bonnie or Meredith end up with.  I know, but it would make for a long and complicated novel, and it's a secret.
 
So sorry that I can't let the secret out yet.  But thank you for writing to me all the way from Poland.  I'd love to visit there--I have some Polish ancestry on my mom's side.
 
Cheers,
 
Lisa
 
Subject: Devoted fan!
 
hi there! My name is Kenya Red and I'm a high school senior in a small town in Oklahoma. I just wanted to let you know exactly How much of a gift your writing is to not only me, but countless other fans out there. I have read your novels throughout my school career and they are a cherished part of my childhood. I devour literally every book of yours that I have access to. You have such talent, I'm both in awe and envious of your literary genius. You are without a doubt my favorite author. your works make me laugh, cry and sit on the edge of my seat. Please keep doing what you're doing, exactly the way you have been. you don't know how much strength I Drew from your heroines; I wouldn't have survived the awkward years, bullying and heartbreak without your books. Thank you.  
 
Always your biggest fan,
 
Kenya Red
 
PS I always wanted to tell you how for two years I signed my name as Kenya Redfern, that's how insane I was and still am over your work. Haha:)
 
Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android
 
 
Hi Kenya—
 
Your kind words and very sweet message impressed and touched me deeply.  I am so sorry for the brutality of young adulthood—I guess that is one reason I write books aimed at a YA audience.  Bullies should be boiled in oil—or brimstone.  I am delighted to know that my books provided you pleasure and perhaps a bit of escape at times.  You are the kind of reader that I love to write for.  Intelligent, literate, and undoubtedly born to do great things in the future.  Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story with me.  I will cherish it.  And . . . please believe me when I say I am trying to get Strange Fate out as fast as I can, as well as my other new book, The Last Lullaby, which has a pub date of 2014.  I am hoping Strange Fate may come out even earlier than that, but cannot promise anything.  But I will write some short stories for my website (www.ljanesmith.net) and perhaps for another place that is a secret for now. :-)
 
All best wishes to you,
 
Lisa  
 
   
Subject: A thank you note
 
Hi!:) I'm a really big fan of yours!:) I live all of the books you have written! I first read "Dark Visions" and I instantly fell in love with it and then I read "Forbidden game" it was an awesome book! I also read "The Vampire Diaries" and it was hands down amazing!:) My most favorite is the trilogy "Night World"! :)) I love the soul-mate principle!!! This book made my heart melt! I am a really big fan of your books! I actually started being a book worm because of your books!:) you made me see things in a entirely different way!:) i want to thank you for giving me such an experience to read your books! Thank you for letting me see things and learn things!:) your books helped me through my teens! Thank you so much!! I hope you will write more books in the future!
 
God bless! And I hope your life will be full if joy!:)
 
Your biggest fan
- Anna:)
 
P.S It would really mean so much to me  if i would get a reply back from you!:) please!:))
 
 
Hi Anna--
 
Thank you for a truly lovely and touching message to me.  I deeply appreciate your kind words about my books.  Also, I'm just delighted that you have enjoyed all my books, and that you like Night World and the concept of soulmates so much.  As you may know, I'm working on the very last of the Night World books, Strange Fate, and people keep asking when it will be done, but it is already 750+ pages long and there is much more to the story!  I'm going to try to get my publishers to print it in two volumes.
 
You made me so happy by saying that my books helped you become a bookworm!  This is what every author wants to hear.  Honestly, tears came to my eyes as I read your email, and I wish you every kind of joy and blessing on earth. I hope that you will find your soulmate (or perhaps you have already found him?) and live happily ever after!  And may you always love reading!
 
Cheers,
 
Lisa
L. J. Smith

A plea, a pic, a wish, and a letter

First of all, if anyone who reads this can draw, pain, sculpt, or weld together something that could be contributed to the art contest, then I beseech you to enter it.  I am really, really serious about this.  Please, please submit.  Even if you feel shy about sharing—remember that Vincent Van Gogh sold exactly one painting during his lifetime, and that now he is considered by many as the most fabulous  painter of all time.  Even if you know you’re not Van Gogh . . . soon the Administrator will put up a link on this page to all the art that’s been submitted so far.
 
[image error] Second, here is a new Victor pic that you might not have seen.  This is Chloe , Victor’s true love, on top of the bench, giving him a gentle pat on the head and saying “good boy.”
 
 Third, I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July, whether you barbequed or swirled sparklers or simply watched a big fireworks display live or on TV.  Fireworks are illegal where I live, which means that I only heard two or three go off every minute from dusk onwards.  (Thank God there were no fires set, as the hills are crisp as tinder in almost every direction around me.)
 
Fourth, is the real point of this entry.  The letter below was featured on the Internet and struck a real chord inside me, especially since it was (supposedly) written by a man.  Few men could express what this guy does so clearly, although I wish he’d deleted the “Cutie-Pie” and the bit about the girl scrunching her nose up.  We’re trying to move away from regarding women as children until they become “hags.”  Anyway, here’s the letter that impressed me.
___________________________________________________________________________________
 
Dear Cutie-Pie,
 
Recently, your mother and I were searching for an answer on Google. Halfway through entering the question, Google returned a list of the most popular searches in the world. Perched at the top of the list was ‘How to keep him interested’.
 
It startled me. I scanned several of the countless articles about how to be sexy and sexual, when to bring him a beer versus a sandwich, and the ways to make him feel smart and superior.
 
And I got angry.
 
Little One, it is not, has never been, and never will be your job to ‘keep him interested’.
 
Little One, your only task is to know deeply in your soul — in that unshakeable place that isn’t rattled by rejection and loss and ego — that you are worthy of interest. (If you can remember that everyone else is worthy of interest also, the battle of your life will be mostly won. But that is a letter for another day.)
 
If you can trust your worth in this way, you will be attractive in the most important sense of the word: you will attract a boy who is both capable of interest and who wants to spend his one life investing all of his interest in you.
 
Little One, I want to tell you about the boy who doesn’t need to be kept interested, because he knows you are interesting:
 



I don’t care if he puts his elbows on the dinner table — as long as he puts his eyes on the way your nose scrunches when you smile. And then can’t stop looking.






I don’t care if he can’t play a bit of golf with me — as long as he can play with the children you give him and revel in all the glorious and frustrating ways they are just like you.






I don’t care if he doesn’t follow his wallet — as long as he follows his heart and it always leads him back to you.






I don’t care if he is strong — as long as he gives you the space to exercise the strength that is in your heart.






I couldn’t care less how he votes — as long as he wakes up every morning and daily elects you to a place of honor in your home and a place of reverence in his heart.






I don’t care about the color of his skin — as long as he paints the canvas of your lives with brushstrokes of patience, and sacrifice, and vulnerability, and tenderness.






I don’t care if he was raised in this religion or that religion or no religion — as long as he was raised to value the sacred and to know every moment of life, and every moment of life with you, is deeply sacred.



In the end, Little One, if you stumble across a man like that and he and I have nothing else in common, we will have the most important thing in common:
 
You.
 
Because in the end, Little One, the only thing you should have to do to ‘keep him interested’ is to be you.
 
Your eternally interested guy,
 
Daddy

Poll for Circle Daybreak Symbol Contest Prize

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UPDATE:  TUESDAY, 2013.3.12

THIS CONTEST PRIZE POLL IS NOW CLOSED.
THE ACTUAL CONTEST PAGE IS BEING CREATED RIGHT NOW.
EXPECT TO SEE THAT PAGE IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

~ADMIN~

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Everything is ready for a new contest—except that YOU have to pick the prize.  That’s right: through a poll you can pick which of three lovely prizes from Tiffany & Co mistress of design Paloma Picasso that could each be the symbol of the Night Word series’ Circle Daybreak as a whole! [This poll is located just to the right  below "Drop me a line" button---->>]
 
As discussed recently on the Forum, one symbol for Circle Daybreak and for each Circle Daybreak enclave is a flower or plant, which can be white or colored to differentiate it from the black flowers Night People use to designate clubs or clans.

Other symbols are of celestial objects, like a moon and a sun together, or a rising sun.  And when I saw the latest Stella necklaces by my favorite Tiffany designer, Ms. Paloma Picasso, I knew that one of these lovely sun-stars would be a great symbol that any Daybreaker would be proud to wear.
 
Below are the three choices currently available from Tiffany.  All three are the same price: $1,950 each.  All three are 18k gold pendants on 16-inch chains.  All three have the same amount of diamonds in them: .08 carat of round brilliant diamonds.  All three have eight-pointed sun-stars on them, which nicely symbolizes the break of day.
 
Note: All these necklaces are dainty, which is a nice way of saying that they’re small.  These are close-ups so you can see the detail.  
Now, please vote on which of them you like best—and, frankly, you might as well just vote for your favorite, even if another one seems the best symbol for Circle Daybreak, because the necklace with the most votes will become the prize in the next contest (God and Tiffany’s in-stock merchandise willing).
 
~ Lisa
 









Pendant #1










Pendant #2










Pendant #3













 The Stella Blue Enamel and
Diamonds Pendant Necklace
(yes, those are diamonds
inside the sun-star)


 The Stella Diamond Rim
Pendant Necklace
 
 


The Stella Center Diamonds
Pendant Necklace
 
 

Full Interview for Sherry Soule

Are you a plotter or a pantser (a seat-of-your-pants-writer)?

I’m a bit of both.  Since I’m doing a little preview of my newest book on my site, I can show you just about exactly how much I plot (please see my original Chapter 1 outline in all its brief glory) and how much I “take dictation” from my characters once they get together (please see the actual Chapter 1, complete with name changes and expanded dialogue, action, and descriptions, all done just as quickly as I could write them.)

Why do you prefer one to the other?

I don’t.  I just plot and brainstorm and then when I get a couple of characters talking to each other my brain explodes and story comes flowing out like goo. (Yuk.)

Do you think the pantser can exist without the plotter?

Not in my case.  I need to do research, to think hard inside my own head, and—this is really important to me—to talk to friends who are now used to me saying, “Okay, so there’s this story, all right, with this guy who’s from this other world, and he’s in love with this girl, okay, but their love is forbidden for some reason—just help me a little here—I need it to be a reason strong enough that he’s put spells around his heart that contract and bust his heart to pieces if he ever admits his love—but the reason is—the reason could be, um . . . what do you think? No, wait!  What if the reason is . . .”

Without gentle, patient friends to nurture me through this process, the difficult bits of my book would never be plotted, and the pantser would never get a chance to go crazy.

Can you describe your outlining process?

Absolutely—in fact, plea*se see it in Exhibit A, my plot outline for the first chapter of Strange Fate.  

This is a relatively new outline, since I took out all the heroine’s (Sarah Strange’s) nightmares out when they overwhelmed the first version of the book and simply became a book of their own, now called The Last Lullaby, and sold to Farrar, Strauss and Giroux in the USA, and Hachette in the U.K. and France, as well as Newton Compton in Italy and publishers in Germany and Portugal, to my great delight.

So this is an outline from 2011 for the first chapter of Strange Fate, which is the epic ending to the Night World series, of which there are nine books collected in three omnibus editions.  When I removed Sarah’s dreams of a desolate other world, I knew I was substituting chapters in which Ash Redfern, a recurring character in the Night World series, would be helping various soulmated couples who have already appeared in that series, each in their own book.  

Thus there was no need to brainstorm Ash’s character or description; I knew it already.  And since Ash is so well-known to all who enjoy the series, I decided to start the book with Sarah’s dream about his first encounter with one of the supremely evil creatures who have come to cover the world in blood and darkness.

I also needed a pawn to be cannon-fodder.  Who?  Some girl with a temper—might as well make her a redhead—and a sophisticated name—Madelyn in the outline; Madison in the book.  Some girl who would play straight-woman to Ash’s ingenuous blend of selflessness and self-service.  Make her a girl he’s dated and bitten and subsequently dropped.  Okay—lights, camera, dialogue!

From the screenplay-like brevity of the outline I can tell that I was really inspired—I was “taking dictation” already, as fast as I could type each character’s lines.  Just looking at the “plot” makes me Ouch!  Thank God I have an ergonomic keyboard.

What is the benefit of outlining your plot?

So that you can go even faster while you’re flying by the seat of your pants.  I absolutely must know my destination and be headed for it at a gallop or else I just stare at a blank page and wonder what new spam is in my email. (And I don’t mean fan letters by that—I mean I wonder about the emails from foreign princes who really, really want to merge their bank accounts with mine.)

If I don’t have an outline, at least in my head, I freeze up entirely, or just chatter inanely, about the way I am now, about spam and stuff.

Can writers be both a plotter and a pantser?

You bet!  I’m proof!

Do you consider yourself a Linear or Non-linear writer? And why?

Uh . . . once again I have to say both.  I’m non-linear enough that if a chapter isn’t going well, I can skip on and write on a different chapter that I know and like better.  I did all of Ash’s Adventures—or at least all in the first half of the book—pretty much one after another and then inserted them into the places where Sarah has her nightmares in SF.

But I’m linear enough that I prefer to do the entire book in order if I can, even if I’m skipping from POV to POV in alternate chapters or sections in chapters.  (I do this to build up tension in the middle of Lullaby.

What do you consider a downside of plot outlining?

Well, sometimes I tend to take the first idea I have—the first solution, the first description, and then fly with it.  Like my description of Sarah in the outline doesn’t include the dimples that become her trademark in the book—not until I saw the adorable dimples twinkling on the cheeks of Samantha Barks (Eponine in the movie version of Les Miserables and the only part of the movie that was actually better than the play—Bark’s performance, I mean, not just her dimples, although they are quite fetching.)

So, if I had just stuck to my outline I could never have been flexible enough to rewrite all Sarah’s descriptions.  And if a friend hadn’t questioned it, I would never have figured out the reason that Sarah, a human girl, could end up with two soulmates.

Do you do some “pantsing” for certain scenes and “plot” outlines for others?

Yep!  Sure do!  I never ever plot out love scenes.  Either they flow into my brain and out my fingers or those characters should back away from each other fast!

How much time and research do you do while outlining, before you start the actual writing of the novel?

Oh, lots.  Like for Strange Fate I read everything I could about the two kinds of animals that are going to be especially important in it—I already had studied about a third for a previous book in the series and still had my notes for it.

But, for example, in the book Daughters of Darkness, in which Ash Redfern is introduced, I studied extensively about the flora and fauna of Oregon, both day and nighttime, the care and feeding of domestic goats, the ghost towns after the silver mines in Oregon, Bigfoot legends, werewolf legends, the care of asthma, and endless, endless astronomy, which Ash’s soulmate, Mary-Lynnette Carter, is enamored of.  Fortunately I love astronomy, too, and ended up getting binoculars and attending a lecture about telescopes—as well as reading countless telescope-lover’s magazines.  I also did a family tree for Ash . . . which in time became the monster family tree for Redferns and Harmans on my site (www.ljanesmith.net, > Author > Just For Fun)

Nowadays, I have a luxury I didn’t back then (remember, the Night World series was written in the 1990s)—the Internet.  I can research in depth by the seat of my pants!  Also I have a wonderful assistant who turns out Guides for me, with facts from the Internet that she knows are what I’ll need, and references to bountiful sites I need to see with my own eyes.  I even got a 3-D software map of caves that helped me write about the caverns in Lullaby.  Ask me if I love my computer!  I do! Except every other day when it does something I hate!  Go, technology

Do you fill out character Bios/interviews for your main characters before writing their story?

No.  That’s elementary brainstorming inside my head and with my friends’ job.  I used to do a hair and eye color chart, but now have so many characters that there are bound to be repeats.

Where during the writing process do you find your “voice” for that particular novel's main character(s)?

If I don’t have it while outlining Chapter 1 I don’t do the book yet.  I don’t know the character well enough to start a book if I can’t already hear the protagonist’s voice.

While you might start with an issue or theme in mind, themes will also develop or emerge as you write, so how important do you think “theme” is to your writing process?

I’m not sure whether I always have the same theme or never have one.  I guess I always have the same ones: strong female role models, unique male role-models (like receptionist in Strange Fate.  Unnamed male pawn #8 is a smiling receptionist and has one line); co-operation between many small individuals will lead to victory over impossible odds, such as actually changing the world, and good will always triumph over evil, although it may take the sacrifice of a number of main characters to achieve (sorry, sorry, sorry about Julian and the folks in Strange Fate).  And did I mention lots of strong female role models and quite often the end of patriarchy altogether?

Last question: do you think most endings should elucidate any lingering unanswered questions, or can they be left ambiguous without much clarification or resolution?

I think that ideally every loose plot end should be neatly tied.  Every i dotted, every t crossed.  But I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this, in my work or anyone else’s.  I mean, not even in the Bible, right?  So I think it’s okay.

Fun Bonus Questions

What book are you currently reading?

Feet of Clay (again) by Terry Pratchett.  A MUST-READ!

What’s your favorite movie or TV show?

Favorite movie: Seven Samurai.  Um, tied with Avatar. (Go, Neytiri!)  

Favorite color?  

Um, um, aquamarine!  (Today.)

How would you describe yourself in three words?

Contradictory writing fool!

Laptop or desktop?  

Both! (Don’t you know me by now?)

Who is your fictional character crush? (Movie, TV show, literary)

Samuel Vimes pretending to be John Keel, from Night Watch from the Discworld series by the immortal best writer in the world (Washington Post: “Modern Chaucer”) Terry Pratchett!  A MUST-BEFORE-YOU-DIE-AND-YOU-MIGHT-BE-RUN-OVER-BY-AN-18-WHEELER-TOMORROW-READ-IT-RIGHT-NOW-OR-REGRET-IT-FOREVER BOOK!

Where can readers stalk you online?

Official Website: www.ljanesmith.net

Email: info@ljanesmith.net (not sure how this got to be my fan-mail address but it is.)

Twitter: @drujienna

Brief writing credentials:

Booklist:

The Night of the Solstice
Heart of Valor
The Vampire Diaries series
The Secret Circle series
The Forbidden Game trilogy
Dark Visions trilogy
Night World series
 
To Come:

The Last Lullaby
Strange Fate

Strange Fate Chapter 1 Outline with Ch. 1 Download

Strange Fate Ch 1 Outline :

Ash and redhead:
Ash: I’m trying to make amends for the harm that I did to you.
Madelyn: At two o’clock in the morning in a cemetery?  Are you crazy?  First you stalk me and hide out in my closet so you can come out once I’m asleep in bed—”
“I didn’t stalk you.  I don’t need to stalk you.  I just used a little magic to come in your bedroom window—”
“And now you’re telling me all kinds of impossible lies—“
“They’re not lies.  I don’t lie anymore—well, not much anymore, and if you’d just give me a chance—“
“If you think this is the way to win a girl’s heart, then I have a hot news flash for you—”
“But it is the way to win a girl’s heart.  Um . . . not your heart, is sort of the point.  Someone else’s . . .”
“You brought me out here to talk about some other girl?”
Madelyn hits him.
Ash explains:

Who he is
What he is
What the Night World is
What he’s trying to do for his soulmate
Who Mary-Lynnette is 

Ash is divided into boredom of going through rote explanations (Madelyn is Lightly Bitten Girl #97) and an uncanny sense that something is around.  That something is stalking him.

Eventually he turns around, sees nothing, looks higher …  and higher … and higher … and sees evil red eyes staring down at him.    His mind reels.  He sees a flash of purple, shouts, “Look out” to Madelyn and dives for her.  She dodges, spraying him with pepper spray.  He staggers back; there is a black (violet-edged) flame like a burst from a flame-thrower and then there is only Ash, and a white silhouette of a woman on a charcoal-black wall.  Dreamily, Ash goes and scrapes a little of the charcoaled blackness off the wall outside the shadow when he once again feels something behind him.  He whirls and finds himself staring at Sarah: description (aquamarine eyes, ordinary face, mouse-brown hair).

Sarah wakes up, tosses mouse-brown hair off her face, and realizes she is late for school.

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DOWNLOAD >> STRANGE FATE, CHAPTER 1: ASH (PDF, 146KB)

Sarah Strange of Strange Fate

I'm not really sure if this is the right place to post this, but I did do an avatar for Sarah Strange. As I work toward what I hope is the end of this book, really how extraordinarily fond I am of her, although she does not have outstanding brains and beauty. Sarah's qualities are more internal, and though she may have an ordinary face and ordinary brown hair, she has a deep, fierce love for all creatures flawed or fallen, or helpless, or striving. She loves forests and sees trees as dryads. She loves animals. She may be a little flat-chested, a little clumsy, a little naive, and a lot shy, but she never stops trying, or loving, or doing her best to understand.

Here she is, with brown hair that is always a bit disheveled and falling in her face, and with the Avatar version of her best feature:  aquamarine eyes that always look as if they are full of unshed tears.

~ Lisa