R.L. Naquin's Blog, page 12

Subplotting My Own Demise at the Cafe

While I’m busy writing guest blog  posts and answering interview questions for other websites, my own poor blog is left as neglected as a dad on Mother’s Day.

So here I am, begging you to be patient while I sort through the release month madness and Do All the Things required to keep Monster in My Closet from going unnoticed on the day of its birth. Tough month for my own blog, guys. I’m sorry. The rest of the world will probably forget about me in a few weeks, and things will be back to normal.

I’m still over at the Confabulator Cafe today, though, so some things don’t change.

This week, the buzz is all about the importance of subplots. Last week was a little weird with the Writer’s Block Showdown. But this week is about something a little less hot-button and a little more helpful for people learning about writing.

So, if you’re interested, head on over and get your brain filled with all things subplot. You can start with mine here: Subplots Make the Skeleton Dance.

Thanks for your patience and support. You guys are awesome.

See you real soon!

Updates, Dreams, and Fisticuffs at the Cafe

First off, happy 4th of July to all my fellow Americans! It landed on a Wednesday, which means my normal “I’m over at the Cafe” post didn’t happen. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t over there, though.

So. This week at the Confabulator Cafe we were asked if we believe writer’s block exists. It’s been an interesting week, and the opinions have been divided.

Myself, I’ve always been a middle-of-the-road kind of girl. I much prefer to watch people duke it out than to break a nail over something that, really, comes down to semantics.

Go. Read the varied opinions. If you don’t have one of your own, you can sit with me in the bleachers and watch. Here’s my voyeuristic post: Fisticuffs at Dawn! The Writer’s Block Duel.

Other than that, there’s not a lot to report. Line edits for Pooka in My Pantry come next week, and then I’m pretty much done with it. The copy edits don’t take a lot of my time so I don’t count them.

Fairies in My Fireplace is coming along slowly, but that’s the way the first two worked out. I started chapter two yesterday, stressing over my slow start until I realized this is how beginnings are for me. This is only my third time doing this, so it’s not enough yet for me to recognize patterns in my process until I freak out and then think it through.

And finally, Monster in My Closet is about three weeks away from release now. We’re almost there. The reviews are trickling in on Goodreads, and I suspect closer to the date, they’ll increase exponentially. I know the bigger sites tend to wait until a week or two before the book is released before they’ll post their reviews. Once it’s released, that’s when the Amazon reviews will kick in. That scares me a little.

That brings us up to date for the moment. In summary: Happy birthday America, writer’s block at the Cafe, edits on Pooka, chapter  two on Fairies, reviews on Monster.

Yep. I’m keeping busy. Because this was my dream, and now it’s real.

What have you done today to make your dreams come true? If you haven’t done anything yet, do it. Whatever it is, it’s totally worth it.

Monster on the Radio

Thanks to the magic of technology, we managed to record my interview on the radio a few days ago. I wasn’t going to listen to it myself, for fear I sounded like Bea Arthur with a head cold. I also expected some sort of cackling/snorting laugh which would cause me to be so horrified at how I sound, I’d never laugh again.

But I listened. And I didn’t sound too bad. I didn’t horrify myself. So, if you missed it on Saturday and would like to listen, we’ve got it up and running for you here:

KLWN Interview with Kim Murphree – June 30, 2012 (Opens in new window)

There were pictures, but unlike the recording, they didn’t turn out fit for public consumption. Honestly, my face isn’t even showing much because I’m up on a stool, facing away from the camera, and with my hair covering me up. Not much point in posting that.

We’ve ordered some gorgeous (I hope) bookmarks which should be here in time for giveaways in a few weeks. Blog interviews are coming very soon, too, as well as some guest blogging. Also, my new business cards should be here in the next day or so. That should help every time somebody asks me what I do, followed by asking what the book is called. In the long run, it’ll save a lot of little scraps of paper from people writing down the information.

Fairies in my Fireplace is crawling along at a snail’s pace, but I shouldn’t have expected anything faster. There’s a lot of work going into the promotion of Monster in My Closet, and Pooka in My Pantry is coming back to me this week for line edits.

I think I’m still on schedule, though. It’s cool.

I think that’s about all I’ve got for you today. I’ll be back Wednesday.

See you real soon!

Here Be Magic: The Persuasion Edition

I’m a little late checking in today. Not really here, though. I’m over at Here Be Magic pimping myself out.

If you’re still on the fence about whether or not to buy Monster in My Closet, please head on over there so I can pitch it to you with 10 Reasons to Buy Monster in My Closet.

That’s all I’ve got for you today. I have to get back to work and being a hermit. You know, like this guy:

Campfire Stories and Talk Radio

Not only is today Confabulator Wednesday, but it’s that time of the month when the Confabulators whip up stories for you in 1000 words or less. This time around, to celebrate summer and pay homage to Camp NaNoWriMo (at which I have failed miserably), the theme is campfire stories.

Grab some marshmallows and head on over for some spooky stories. Mine went up today. You can find it here: Bobo’s Haunted Circus. That’s right. I went there. Nothing scarier than a pissed off clown, am I right?

We’re getting close to the one-month mark for the countdown to release. Very soon you’ll start seeing me pop up all over the place. Stay tuned for where to go for giveaways, guest blog posts, and interviews with me and with some of my characters. It’ll be epic. Or exhausting. I’m not really sure which.

And speaking of interviews–if you happen to be up on Saturday morning, I’ll be on the radio  at KLWN talking to Kim Murphree about Monster in My Closet. This is a little scary, folks. I’m not gonna lie.

It’s happening at 8:05 am Central time on June 30th. If you’re not in the area but you still want to listen to me sound like a big dork, it’ll also be playing live on their website here: KLWN.

I’ll be back to check in on you Friday. Be good. Be brave. And don’t stray far from the light of the campfire.

Crazy-pants for Realsies

Seriously. I want these. Even if I didn’t have cats, I would want these.

It’s been two years since I started this blog in an attempt to shame myself into getting off my butt and actually doing something about that pesky “I want to be a published author when I grow up” dream.

So. Here we are. If you’ll cast your eyes to the right, you’ll see a new progress bar. It’s tiny, as of yet, but we have lift off. I have broken the seal on the first few scenes for the next book.

And this, to me, is crazy-pants. I honesty don’t remember much about writing the first two books. How can I already be on book three? How can I have contracts already on the first two books? They can’t possibly be finished.

Except, you know, the first one comes out next month, so I must have finished it.

I think the problem here is that my imagination is a little too strong. I spent such a huge chunk of my inner-life imagining all this, that when it really happened, I kept going along as if I’d made it up. At some point, I have to come out from my own head and look around. This happened. For realsies.

And so, book three begins with my poor, put-upon Zoey squatting on top of her house, trying to talk a harpy into giving back her car keys and coming down off the roof. Because I like to start in the middle of things, and the more preposterous the situation, the better.

Book three is not the end, as I’d supposed it would be. Okay, I’ll admit, I figured there might be more stories for Zoey down the line, but I didn’t have anything planned. But the big story–the story lurking within the pages of the first three books–hasn’t even happened yet. My super-awesome editor helped me chip it out and find the subtle foreshadowing I didn’t even realize I’d put in there. So, book three is not the end, as it turns out. It’s the halfway mark.

But. After this book, Fairies in My Fireplace, Zoey’s going to take a short break. Not too long, mind you, but I’ve been pushing back my djinn story for a year now, and she’s getting restless. If all goes well, I’ll be writing one Zoey book and one djinn book a year for the next two and a half years. Zoey gets the spring/summer shift, and the djinn gets the fall/winter one.

It’s good to have a plan, yes?

So, keep an eye on the progress bar. My starts are usually a little slow, but it’ll take off soon.

And then maybe I’ll remember writing the first two.

Glowing Pterodactyls Trump Mermaids

My fantasy-laden heart dreams of real dragons flying over my house, unicorns frolicking in my backyard, and mermaids smiling at me from the surf as I walk along a flawless beach. Okay, I’ll admit, that last one also has me young, thin, and sucking a fruity rum drink through a straw.

But I know those aren’t likely to be real. Fine. Yes, I still hope. But I know the odds are pretty low.

Now, pterodactyls–there’s something a little more substantial. Slightly more possible.

No, I’m not crazy. Well, maybe. But people have seen them! They’re as real as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, so hush. You don’t know. Nobody knows. It could totally be a real thing.

There have been reported sightings all over the world. Yes, even in America. And the best part?

Sometimes they glow. Seriously. How awesome would that be?

There you are, camping out with your family. Dad’s roasting weenies. (Not hot dogs, because when you’re camping, you should always say weenies. It’s funnier.) Mom’s running back and forth trying to find the mosquito repellent. You’re brother is hunting for lizards to put in your sleeping bag. He’s hilarious like that.

It’s twilight, and you squint to watch the sun dip below the horizon. And there it is. A strange bird. Except, its head is all wrong. The back of the head makes a sharp point, jutting out over the bird’s back. It gets closer, and you realize it’s glowing blue with bio-luminescence.

Well, that can’t be right. Can it? It gets closer, flying over the campsite. Where are its feathers? Its wings are bald and leathery like a bat’s. And dear God, it’s the size of a freakin’ horse.

Maybe you cry out to your family in time for them to see it. Maybe you’re too stunned. It’s all over pretty quickly before the thing, whatever is, disappears behind the treeline.

Did you get a picture? Hell no. And even if you did, it wouldn’t have shown much. Not enough to prove what you saw.

I believe you. You’ve never lied to me. If you say you saw a pterosaur, I’ll listen to your story. I won’t judge. I won’t accuse you of lying or hallucinating.

Just do me the same courtesy when I tell you my drunken story of mermaids.

Domination at the Cafe

No. Not domination. Submission. Yes. The question this week over at the Confabulator Cafe is whether we’ve ever submitted our work before.

If you’re reading this, you already kind of know my answer on that one. My post is more about how I got there than if I got there.

So, head on over to the Cafe, if you are so inclined, for my post Submission Secrets of a Rookie Pro.

And as always, be sure to check out the posts from the other Confabulators. I’m fascinated by the range of answers on this one. It’s turned into an interesting debate.

See you real soon!

Fear and Loathing at the Release Party

My birthday is next month. I don’t tell you this so you’ll know when to send me presents (I want a pony), but so I can explain to you a phobia I seem to have. I never paid much attention to it before, but it came to a head yesterday.

We spent part of the weekend talking about promotions for the July release of Monster in My Closet. Press releases, review requests, interviews, swag for giveaways and contests — that all went pretty smoothly. Then the question I’d been avoiding finally came up.

“What do you want to do for a release party?”

I’m not much on public speaking. Still, this is my book. I will do whatever it takes. If I have to do readings or silly videos for YouTube or give a talk to new writers or high school students, I’ll do it.

But holy hell. Please don’t make me plan a big party.

When you grow up with a July birthday, your parties tend to be a little on the skimpy side. Invite your whole class. Go ahead. Nobody’s home. They’re all on freakin’ vacation. Sure, there will be a few people hanging around, but the majority are not going to make it. Sorry I missed it. Sounds like a great time. We’ll get together after school starts back up.

Now that I’m a grownup, summer doesn’t send all my friends scuttling off to faraway places. And my writer buddies are awesome, supportive people. A night out at the bar, maybe with a cake to celebrate the release? No problem.

But we started talking about it being an official event, maybe at the library, inviting the media, announcing the local author thing, maybe doing a reading and handing out swag.

What if nobody comes? What if they do come and I have no idea what to say to them? What if what if what if. My eyes filled with tears and my chest tightened up. Not at the idea of having to do an event. It was the idea of having to plan it.

Because if I plan such a monstrous thing, it will fail. I will be awkward with the handful of people who wander down the hall into the library conference room, curious about what’s going on. Some guy from the local newspaper (if they bothered to send anyone) will eat a piece of cake and talk about the bike marathon he’s training for, since nothing worth writing about it going on.

I will go home with the messy, 3/4 remains of a sheet cake that feeds 120 people, having garnered no attention for my book, but plenty of pity from my friends and family who were able to make it. All six of them.

So. Let’s keep this low key so I don’t fall apart. We’re going to pick a date, time, and location, probably a restaurant/bar. I’ll post the info here when we decide on everything. Come have cake and a few drinks. We’ll all chat, be silly, and pretend it’s not all about me.

It’ll be epic.

In a low-key sort of way.

Experiences at the Cafe

Is that a gorilla?

Oh. Hello, Wednesday!

If it’s the middle of the week, it must be Confabulator day. And look! It is!

This week at the Confabulator Cafe, we’re talking about what we do to gain new experiences for the sake of our writing. Myself, I’m kind of the stalkery type.

Head on over, if you’re so inclined, and read my post Eavesdropping for Fun and Profit.

And while you’re there, feel free to wander through the cafe, see what the other confabulators are saying, and maybe join in on a conversation or two.

See you real soon!