Hart Johnson's Blog, page 51

So You Think You're JK Rowling

Seven book series came to me fully formed on the train this morning.





Okay. It might have been in bed.

And the original seeds of the series might have been hovering on the horizon for about two years.



But the Pirate ship is a good addition.

As is overlaying a GRAND seven-book mystery on top of the self-contained books dealing with real teen issues.

And making the teen issues each a mystery of their own.



So all in all it was a good wake-sleep state progression of ideas.





And I officially have my NaNoWriMo project now. So that's a bonus.





And a potential publisher! On Facebook Jenny Milchman alerted me to a publisher seeking YA Mysteries: The Poisoned Pencil—stand-alone or series. I need to check them out more completely, as with small publishers there is a bit of 'buyer beware' but they look pretty good. I have a couple other works I can consider them for with stand-alones, though none quite clean, but I love the idea of a YA Mystery Series. Not Nancy Drew... More Veronica Mars... Only geekier. My kids aren't the shunned 'used-to-be-cools' but the 'so not cool they are resorting to fantasy to cope with high school'. (that would be the pirate ship part—well Space Pirate... called The Pleides—home of the seven sisters, all that.)



And that is why you get a rare Saturday blog... I was inspired.

Great Event and Giveaway Announcement

So Aunt Agatha's Anniversary event Wednesday went really well! People were SO NICE. I got to meet a bunch of established authors and they were WONDERFUL. This pic is of the 4-5 slot authors:







Sarah Zettel (far left) writes paranormal cozies (though appears to wear a few other faces, too, including sci-fi, fantasy and romance), which is just hot. It is a culinary vampire theme she was sharing at the anniversary, as that is her mystery line. Loren Estleman was the rock star of our quartet. He had abour 15 books FEATURED. I guess he has about four mystery series, plus some other crime fiction, and he writes westerns on top of it. He was such a nice man. You recognize me, probably... a little thicker than I like to be, but there you have it. Note that I chose the less flattering picture of me because the one that was good of my cut Sarah in half, so hopefully I've earned some karma there... And then to my left (your right) is Sharon Fiffer who I had a GREAT time talking to. She has an antique dealer cozy series—all the titles end in 'stuff'--she was featuring #7 and 8 in the series and they are hard cover, so she seems to be doing well with them.



I also met Libby Fischer Hellmann and Julia Spencer-Fleming, though that only covers about half of the authors there. There was REALLY a good turnout and I signed a bunch of books... erm... by a bunch, I mean a bunch for me--maybe 10--FOR people, plus a couple left at the store for stock.  Everyone was SO gracious--authors and readers alike. There really wasn't a reason for me to be so intimidated.





Giveaway



Then I also want to give a big shoutout and thank you to Kathy Matthews who is doing a giveaway of The Azalea Assault and Elizabeth Spann Craig's Quilt or Innocence—go over to Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy and leave a comment for a chance to win! She has a great blog, too. She lives in central Oregon, which is beautiful country, and posts a lot of gorgeous shots of her adventures. (Plus she's super nice—you'll love her)







I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Poser is Posering

I'm feeling like a bit of a fraud at the moment. And that seems a really apt theme for the Insecure Writers Support Group, so I am going with that.



First... since I haven't said it in a long time... if you aren't FAMILIAR with the Insecure Writers Support Group... you are WELCOME to join! As people committed to writing, we ALL get insecure. And we can ALL feel alone. But while the details may differ from person to person, there is amazing overlap in what we all go through. And if we all support each other—sharing both good and bad to encourage and commiserate as needed, then THAT is good for all of us. It is the first Wednesday of every month (today).





Now... On to being a Big Giant Poser.



So today I have my third BOOK EVENT. It is the second one that is not all about me... The last one was a book fair and went well, though I felt like a poser THERE, too... see all the other authors had several books and I felt silly there with my ONE. I think this afternoon I am even on a panel... I know I have a TIME. It is for the 20th Anniversary of Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookstore and I'm excited, but NERVOUS... being the one-book poser and all...





But the other reason I feel like a poser of late...



See, I've always envisioned 'just keep writing' and eventually the sales will snowball and I will BE THERE. And I'm not doing badly. I've written 13 books... I have one book out of a three book contract... but the books are coming out almost a year apart...



And... now here is the hard part... I have FRIENDS... Great friends who I am THRILLED FOR... who have caught this snowball phase... friends with three or four books a YEAR coming out now. And I am SO HAPPY FOR THEM. Seriously. How could I NOT be? I'm proud. I know how hard they have worked. But I'm feeling left behind. Like I'm doing something WRONG.



I know part of it is working a full-time day job. At least two or three more works would be ready to shop by now if I didn't have that. So there is some Sugar Daddy envy... not that being the at home parent is just sitting around. But neither is it being gone 10 hours a day. It has some flexibility in there, at least if kids are in school. And I really shouldn't pout on this front, because at least two of my snowballing friends work a lot, too. It's just me pouting... being a baby... trying to make myself feel more like it is circumstantial and less like I'm just a giant POSER.





Anybody else get feeling down by these upward comparisons? I think I will lend you a stanza from a Cheryl Crow song that I try to keep in mind when I get that way.





And you should know... even posers can rock it...

From Soak Up The Sun



I don't have digital

I don't have diddly squat

It's not having what you want

It's wanting what you've got



[CHORUS:]

I'm gonna soak up the sun

Gonna tell everyone

To lighten up (I'm gonna tell 'em that)

I've got no one to blame

For every time I feel lame

I'm looking up





We need to enjoy the experience we ARE having, have fun, and quit comparing ourselves. Every time I feel lame I'm looking up.

The Emotional Road Metaphor

First, a brief apology for being largely absent this week. I always feel guilty, but I am under dayjob crunch, so there you have it. I will get around as I can.





Pretty, but treacherous, this one...

And now the blog...



So it's like people are roads, right? And life is the car, driving along us. I know that sounds backward, but hear me out. Because honestly, I think that the PERSON is the less changing of the two and LIFE speeds up, slows down, changes gears, breaks down... and each of us sort of has a road style of how we are as life zooms over us.





This realization came upon me this weekend as I interacted with someone and realized they were a road with about an inch of standing water... life is ALWAYS a little harder, but if life gets too fast, then this person gets dangerous. (S)he needs to figure out a way to SLOW LIFE so the wheels can solidly rest again or that lack of connection to reality is going to cause a whole BUNCH of lives to crash all over him/her.







This is me. Not DULL, but not challenging, either.

Me? I am a nice four-lane through country that is enjoyable—so life isn't tempted to just speed through too fast, but I don't have a lot of ups and downs or twists and turns. Life can set cruise control and I'm not going to fell a log across the road or something. I'm probably a bit freaky in my evenness. One of my neighbors called me Job not long ago. (Job from the Bible, not to be confused with Steve Jobs which would make me happier—better uber creative than patient, but hey, you work with what you have)







Try to avoid being this... Though I have known people...

I know people who are gravel, always keeping life a little uncertain... people who are city streets, full of rules and predictability and order. I know a round-about or two. Most people are probably closer to two lane highways—good most of the time, but with occasional steep climbs that hold life back or twisting turns that make them slow down.



I'd even say some of my artist friends are more like canals—far more enjoyable on a nice day, but throw in a storm and HO-BOY!





So what kind of road are you? Your primary characters? Am I making sense?

Civility in Debate

This was probably politically inspired, but I have seen a number of writing debates that end up hot and disagreeable, too, so I thought I'd lay out my views... not on the issues, but on DISCUSSING the issues.



FOR PETE'S SAKE! WE CAN DO THIS NICELY!



And I am not yelling at ANY of you. I haven't seen it in the blog-o-sphere for a while and have managed to even avoid it on my Writing Facebook profile (I've had a little better discipline about just hiding posts that offend me—I'm not going to change anybody's mind)





A Little History



My first delve into online discussions included some strangely controversial conversations, considering we were trying to predict where the Harry Potter books would go in Half Blood Prince and the 'as yet unnamed book seven'. I was timid to be involved online—a little nervous of people knowing who I was or sharing much about myself. It was 2005. So this Harry Potter forum (HPANA) was the first place with strong enough pull... and what I thought of as light enough content that I couldn't get into too much trouble. But people are very fond of their pet theories. .



Fortunately, though, the forum I jumped into, called the Wizard War thread and focused really on EVERYTHING about the books, had a couple rules. Every time a new person entered the forum, they were to be greeted by a regular who was present—acknowledged and welcomed. And debate had to remain NICE—disagree, yes, but no bashing, idiot calling—it was ALL to be kept fun.





And I've Carried that With Me.



If we could be civil about whether Harry WAS or WAS NOT a horcrux, then politics ought to be a cinch! But see, not everybody received my superior training and sometimes I just run into bad behavior. So here are some guidelines.





Recognize we all come by our beliefs through natural means. We tend to believe what we grow up with and are exposed to. Yes, views change some with new experiences. Especially working around or studying certain issues can cause us to better understand and change how we see things. But NOBODY (or nearly nobody) thinks 'I am going to adopt this belief system to be an asshole'. Give people more credit than that. Trust that they are sincere.





Recognize that though we may never all agree, if we can engage in civil dialog, we CAN all understand each other (and possibly the issues) better. The PROBLEM is people unwilling to talk about it and think about the other side.





Call people on their name calling—even if they are on YOUR SIDE of an issue. If we all make an effort to enforce good behavior, maybe the tone of the debate will improve.





This all goes for writing issues, too. The one I most often see turn nasty is the self-publishing versus traditional publishing. For PETE'S SAKE—there are rational reasons to choose each side. We just need to respect each other enough to assume our friends have weighed the strengths and weaknesses as they apply to them.

Next Big Thing Blogfest

So this little blogfest, The Next Big Thing, is for writers to share our current WIP, whether we are writing it, editing it or promoting it: Your choice.



We are meant to tag five people, and then answer a set of questions, so let me start with Thanking the two people who tagged me: Ia Uaro  (who has a book release technically tomorrow, but as it's Australia, that is almost today)  and Megan Bostic.







And now... the QUESTIONS!



What is the working title of your book?



The one I'm editing right now is called Medium Wrong .



Where did the idea come from for the book?



Um... With the idea of a brother and sister taking off on a road trip to run a (series of) cons. The MC and narrator is in high school and her brother gets thrown out for flunking out of college, but she doesn't want to stay home without him.



What genre does your book fall under?



Paranormal YA, I guess. Paranormal mystery? I do sort of a funny waffle where other people want to call it paranormal, but I see it as possible, but never mind... there are dead people communicating.



Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?



See, I'm horrible at this. I am not particularly visual, but I suppose Amanda looks something like this:





Erin Chambers--young like this



She is older now and wouldn't work, but this is sort of the look I have in mind—a longish, lean 'cute' strawberry blonde.



And Asher (her BROTHER, not a love interest... though he GETS a lot of love interest, ifyouknowwhatImean) looks something like this:





Ryan Kwanten from True Blood



He's ALSO older now, but this look that can do both bad boy and sweet innocent is perfect for the brain behind the con.



What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?



It's two sentences, but the second is really short...



Amanda and Asher have watched their dad run cons their whole lives, so when Asher gets thrown out for flunking out of college, they decide to go on the road pretending to bring bereaved messages from the dead. It all works well until the dead start really talking.



Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?



I will try for traditional, I think. A little though, depends on the fate of Kahlotus Disposal Site which I keep meaning to query again... This one has a first stop at the Amazon contest in January.



How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?



About six weeks. I do fast first drafts, then it takes about triple that for first rewrite and my version that is ready to SHARE is numbered about 5 (publishable is in the teens).





What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?



I haven't seen anything in YA like it, but the set-up is a little like what Whoopee Goldberg experiences in Ghost... the fraud that suddenly starts having real dead people show up. Only it gets more personal.



Who or What inspired you to write this book?



You know... I don't actually remember. I was in the ABNA contest with Kahlotus at the time and that has a ghost narrator, though, so some variation on what I was thinking about there.



What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?



It's a real twist on the road trip book. And there is a mystery about a parent... all that angsty abusive upbringing stuff... And I think the sibling story is a pretty fresh angle—I don't see a lot of THAT as the main relationship in YA. I like the sibling relationship because it runs the full range: moments of intense love to intense hate without having to delve into romantic stereotypes.





And now for my tags. Hopefully I've tagged people not previously tagged. I also tried to choose friends with books they are promoting so they can add a line at the end:



What are you currently PROMOTING?



For me, it is still The Azalea Assault , though I notice The Begonia Bribe is now up for pre-order and to mark as 'to-read' at Goodreads...



For the tags!



Leigh T. Moore

Roland Yeomans

Cherie Reich

RaShelle Workman

Ciara Knight

New Boob Fare...

And by boob fare, I mean shows for the boob-tube... Oh, yeah... TV season starts this week for many of my favorite shows...



Now I don't watch much TV... in fact I watch NO TV while the shows are ON TV... but I run a fair bit via Hulu, Netflix, abc.go, Nbc online, CW.... yeah... actually I've probably got 10 or 12 shows I watch on any given week...



I mean my summer wasn't awful without new stuff. I watched all the recent generation of Doctor Who and Torchwood ... Crossing Jordan , too... all in all, not a bad trio of serieses (seri?) But there are some shows I've been waiting for and about half of them are back this week, perhaps because I lean toward ABC.







Castle



This is especially hot now that I am watching more carefully for Firefly references. I mean I got the costume one—that one was pretty obvious. But having it confirmed the writers and Fillion like to stick 'em in there... I'm also curious to see whether they can maintain the chemistry now that Castle and Beckett have officially hooked up [<--spoiler warning—highlight if you want to see].



I am also a huge fan of whodunnits, though, and I love the pattern of one suspect seems obvious, alibi comes through but gives another clue... I mean in a book you wouldn't want it so linear, but I think this is a good show for me on the mystery writing front... suspects related not just to the victim, but often each other... motives coming from different angles. I just really enjoy it.







Revenge



Man, I can't WAIT to see this one. Of the seriesesi I follow in real time, this is probably my favorite. I normally don't care about the woes of rich people, but I LOVE this pseudo-Count of Monte Cristo plot—the father framed and young daughter sent to juvy... daughter finally given her share by a young billionaire the father believed in—she uses her wealth to plot the ultimate slow revenge--and by plot... I mean PLOT... taking the time to become a sharpshooter and martial arts specialist... learn languages... get degrees... this girl has DONE IT, and as she sets herself up to do it, gets raveled in the twisted plot herself... it's good stuff.







Once Upon a Time



This one sometimes lives up to its potential and sometimes not so much, but I love some of the characters and when they get it, they get it really good. I like the Rumplestiltskin strand best. That and the parallel stories in Storybook with the fairytales. I wish I could invest a little more in Snow White, but I don't think they invested quite enough in making Charming seem tricked into marrying his wife, so it makes Charming and Snow seem a little rotten. I like Emma and Henry, though, and the Wicked Queen is done well.





There are other shows... Grimm already started its season... the CW shows I watch start in a few weeks... and the REALLY painful waits: Downton Abbey won't start again until January in the US and Game of Thrones 2nd season isn't on DVD yet (we don't have HBO).





You hooked on any TV that is starting up again?

Our New Baby

So historically we are people who don't buy a car until the situation is desperate and we then scramble for the thing we hope will last longest of the used cars in our price range, right? We've had family help out. We've bought on credit. We just have never had enough income to save for a car. And until about a month ago, the only car we had was a fourteen year old Toyota Sienna Minivan—a very good car at one point, but one we bought with 75,000 miles on it. As of Friday, it had 168,391. It was a good car. It served us well. But in August we put in $500 work and it needed another $800...



This is coupled with the recent passing of my aunt and some money coming my way. Not a lot. But more than we've ever had come to us in a lump sum... so HWMNBOTI and I started talking... Since we so rarely have extra money, we wanted something we were SURE would last a long time. We talked a little about newISH cars... a newer model Toyota or Honda... but Hyundai kept coming up... and the NEW Hyundai's 100,000 warranty... I mean... if we rarely have money for a purchase this size, talk about something that would give us piece of mind!



HWMNBMOTI did most of the shopping and checking out, but each night reported to me what he'd seen... how much... what was included... and finally I went with him to the Hyundai dealership... we wandered and both kept gravitating to the same car, so we test drove it...



And then I came home and signed up for Carwoo to see if we could find the same car in the area for cheaper... looked online a little... We bickered some about what exactly a person needs to collect information-wise to negotiate (having neither one of us been very successful in that domain, historically)...



Then Thursday, when we felt like we had a solid feel for what we MIGHT be able to get away with... we went in and made an offer. And it worked... Oh, not EXACTLY... but a lot closer than we thought it would...



So we are now the thrilled new owners of a 2012 Hyundai Elantra Touring... Titanium Gray... HAWT... it had 57 miles on it when we drove it off the lot... Isn't it gorgeous!?



Anyone else have that much excitement this weekend, or do I win?



*smooches*

Mumbling Strangers

I'm not sure if this happens to everyone, or if it's just me. Maybe I look friendly and approachable. Maybe it's my habit of eye contact, or the slight smile I generally wear. Maybe people look at me and see a kindred spirit... and by kindred, I mean 'nut like me'. But strangers talk to me fairly often. Not the strangers in acceptable situations—like when you are sharing a four hour plane ride... but people walking on the sidewalk near me. Or who see me standing somewhere...



They range from single comment-makers to people trying to engage in full-on conversation. And inevitably, most of what they say is mumbling.



And when they mumble, you are put in the very odd conundrum of deciding between the following options:



1) Ignoring them. (I think I am incapable of doing this.)

2) Agreeing with them to be agreeable.

3) Or asking for clarification about what they just said.





And see that choice between the latter two, because the first seems out of my grasp, causes great difficulties. The FORMER leads to risks like the infamous Seinfeld episode where Jerry agreed to wear the ridiculous shirt because Kramer's girlfriend was a 'quiet talker' and Jerry agreed without knowing...





But the LATTER requires a deeper level engagement—by asking clarification you have expressed INTEREST in knowing what they said... you are now OBLIGATED to listen... and what if they say something really BIZARRE—what do you DO? (or worse, what if you STILL don't understand them and now have to ALSO agree to something you didn't catch?





My two examples this week come in the form of two men.



Example ONE: Walking toward me on the sidewalk. I was editing and walking. This, for me, is not unusual, but when I see movement peripherally, I look up, He said something like:



“...you didn't see that bicycle coming...”



I smiled and agreed and kept going, but... There was no bicycle that I could see. The last one I'd passed, this man couldn't have possibly seen me pass—it was a block back... had it nearly run over HIM, so he was just conjecturing? Had he seen me another day when I nearly had to leap out of the way (this happens now and then) or when a bicycle rides into the grass to avoid me as I don't see them coming? (This happens too—I am an Oregonian who believes bikes belong in the road following road rules, but in Michigan, that is a good way for a cyclist to DIE since cars don't look for them even a little—but bikes come too fast for the attention I am giving the sidewalk). Whatever the case... at least my agreement didn't form any commitment...





Example TWO is Slim... On Wednesday, walking home, I got hit on. I think Slim has hit on me before, but I can't be sure, as last time the guy was missing several front teeth... so either two men look similar or Slim has had some dental work. Anyway... I was walking home, minding my own business and a man asks if he can walk with me. That was clear enough.



Hating to be rude, but not wanting to encourage him, I said, it's a public sidewalk, he could walk by me if he wanted to. He proceeds to make suggestions that I THINK were related to my husband's ability to satisfy me... that perhaps he could help out if I wasn't happy... I am not sure enough of what he said to scold him, but I definitely don't want to encourage this. I said I was happily married. He suggested maybe marriages didn't stay happy and I told him you had to stick through the tough stuff or it wasn't a marriage. He suggested--mumbly again... maybe he could be my friend and said something to the effect of 'that's how it starts'...





I got on the bus. I normally walk home, but I didn't really want him to see my route and there was a bus going to the high school which is close to home, but also has enough connectors that I thought it was vague where I was headed. He doesn't scare me—I believe him to be harmless, but I HATE being in a position where the only option left on the table is rudeness... Especially when I'm not REALLY sure what he said...





Any of you get roped into anything through a mumbler? Had suggestions you weren't sure were suggestions?  Any nut magnets?



And just a teaser—I have exciting personal news for Monday (not publishing news and not HUGE, just fun)





Ih!  And Have a nice Autumnal Equinox!!!

Ahoy Mateys!

Be there anything more titillating than pirates? They be charming an naughty an perhaps a bit ROUGH. But they be rogue an they live by a CODE an it's a code fer RULEBREAKERS! Aye! I could be a pirate.



So fer the honor o' Talk Like a Pirate Day, I thought I'd share a thought er two on a few o' me favorite pirates...







Jack Be Nimble



and bendy in all exactly the right ways.... Then I never could resist a man in eyeliner. You know... Jack is dead sexy, but I really love him even more when he is insanely ridiculous—running from cannibals or doing bizarre escape moves.













To Be or Not to Be



Captain Shakespeare has such a hard decision to make... he has the Heart of a Pirate but he feels so PRETTY!!! Neil Gaiman's brainchild, BRILLIANTLY executed by De Niro in Stardust. People who've known me for a while know my soft spot for cross-dressers... especially rulebreaking cross-dressers who are now acting heroic. This character just makes me really happy.









Space Pirates R Us



Oh, Captain Mal... Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of the Serenity. Actually, the whole CAST of Firefly totally rocks, but I love Nathan Fillion and his self-deprecating charm. I've said it before and I will say it again. I could watch Fillion fold socks and be happy, but of all his roles, Mal is the best. (though when he's singing about his penis in Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog, that rocks, too) but no... Mal wins, hands down. I actually like his relationship with Kaylee best—it feels sibling like—no sexual tension but the full range of love to annoyance.





So those are me favorite pirates—Be sure to throw in a lot of Arrrrrrrs and Ahoys today!!!



Do you have any favorite pirates?



(Oh, and Happy Birthday, Hermione--we love you!)