Heather Demetrios's Blog, page 17
August 12, 2014
Some Days Are Hard
When you’re a writer, you’re an army of one, fighting like hell for your work, your characters’ stories, and your place in the canon. And sometimes you have backup and sometimes you don’t. It can be hard not to have an enemies on all sides mentality. It can be hard not to take things personally because artists don’t get “it’s just business.” It can…
August 6, 2014
Revision As Whittling
I’ll Meet You There. Don’t forget, these are two sentences I wrote and re-wrote for two years as I worked on the book and STILL it wasn’t ready. On my last revision, I sat laboring over this sentence for several minutes. This after two years of thinking I’d revised it to perfection. After my editor, her assistant, the copyeditor, and countless beta readers had a go at the ms. I could have let it go—it was good enough, wasn’t it? No. It stuck out. I had a niggling feeling that I couldn’t ignore. This is what happened at my desk:
Original #1:
As I worked, the world around me ceased to exist. All I thought about was the feel of the paper under my fingers and the creature straining to burst from the collage.
First attempt:
As I worked, the world around me fell away, my world whittled down to the feel of the paper under my fingers and the creature straining to burst from the collage.
Final:
As I worked, the lobby fell away, my world whittled down to the feel of the paper under my fingers…
July 29, 2014
Kirkus Starred Review for EXQUISITE CAPTIVE!
I was crazy thrilled to see that EXQUISITE got a starred review fromKirkus!
You can read the review here. This is my favorite part:
The story unfolds at a swift, even pace, and the worldbuilding is superb; the jinn inhabit an intoxicating, richly realized realm of magic, politics, spirituality and history. Readers will wish they had a jinni to grant them the next book in the series.
Armed and Dangerous
A little over a week ago I received my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. A little over two years ago, I was about to embark on that journey. I’d just gotten my first book deal and the most common reaction to me getting an MFA was: “Why? You already have a book deal!” I get what those people meant, but they didn’t get it. Why? Because I wanted to be better. I wanted to be able to help other writers be better. I wanted to be able to speak on behalf of my genre, armed with a legit degree for any haters who wouldn’t take me seriously. But, really, because I wanted to be better.
VCFA made me better. Not just a better writer: a better person.
I got lucky, choosing Vermont College of Fine Arts. It’s hard to believe there could be any finer institution to grow in one’s craft. From the format of low-residency to the excellent faculty to the talented students and wonderful location, it would be hard to find its equal. VCFA became a home away from home and the class I graduated with became my second family. We call ourselves the Allies in Wonderland and allies we are and there is no doubt we were in a wonderland. But VCFA is about so much more than writing. It’s about building a lifelong community for its students. I never knew what…
VCFA made me better. Not just a better writer: a better person.
I got lucky, choosing Vermont College of Fine Arts. It’s hard to believe there could be any finer institution to grow in one’s craft. From the format of low-residency to the excellent faculty to the talented students and wonderful location, it would be hard to find its equal. VCFA became a home away from home and the class I graduated with became my second family. We call ourselves the Allies in Wonderland and allies we are and there is no doubt we were in a wonderland. But VCFA is about so much more than writing. It’s about building a lifelong community for its students. I never knew what…
July 5, 2014
No love, No awesome: My Summer Challenge
Anna Staniszewski, had a rule like this in her writing class. You weren’t allowed to say you “loved” a piece of writing. It forced us to really articulate what we liked…
June 30, 2014
Giveaways Galore!
Right now, there are two giveaways happening and I hope you enter both!
sun, summer, and Something Real
Enter below or here to get one of THREE summer reading packages which include a Fierce Reads tote, a signed hardcover of Something Real, and a cute pair of sunglasses for your beach reading pleasure!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I'll meet you there cover reveal ARC giveaway
Last week, the cover for my next YA contemporary novel, I'll Meet You There, was revealed on Xpresso Reads. Go here to check out the interview and enter to win one of FIVE ARCs of the novel. This is the book of my heart - I hope you love it!
sun, summer, and Something Real
Enter below or here to get one of THREE summer reading packages which include a Fierce Reads tote, a signed hardcover of Something Real, and a cute pair of sunglasses for your beach reading pleasure!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I'll meet you there cover reveal ARC giveaway
Last week, the cover for my next YA contemporary novel, I'll Meet You There, was revealed on Xpresso Reads. Go here to check out the interview and enter to win one of FIVE ARCs of the novel. This is the book of my heart - I hope you love it!
June 24, 2014
On Graduating From High School...and a Summer Giveaway for Something Real
Hey, all!
So...when I said I was writing Part Two of my Coming out of the YA Closet series....I lied. I'll write it soon. It's freaking me out. I'm currenlty hiding in the back of the closet.
In the meantime, you can check out this post I wrote for the Macmillan Teen / Fierce Reads blog. It's about graduation - mine and Chloe's from Something Real - and it also features a kickass summer giveaway.
Enter to win one of three summer prize packs, which all include: a signed hardcover of Something Real, a Fierce Reads tote, and a pair of sunglasses for optimum beach reading. It's easy to enter. See below or enter here.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
So...when I said I was writing Part Two of my Coming out of the YA Closet series....I lied. I'll write it soon. It's freaking me out. I'm currenlty hiding in the back of the closet.
In the meantime, you can check out this post I wrote for the Macmillan Teen / Fierce Reads blog. It's about graduation - mine and Chloe's from Something Real - and it also features a kickass summer giveaway.
Enter to win one of three summer prize packs, which all include: a signed hardcover of Something Real, a Fierce Reads tote, and a pair of sunglasses for optimum beach reading. It's easy to enter. See below or enter here.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
June 15, 2014
Coming Out of the YA Closet: Part One
With all the shenanigans surrounding the Slate article that majorly dissed YA lit and YA readers (no, I’m not linking to it), I decided it was time to come out of the YA closet. This is the first of two posts about things we in the YA community either don’t talk about or feel like we can’t talk about and why I feel like this hurts us as a community and in the eyes of the larger reading world.
First: I LOVE THE YA COMMUNITY. I love my readers, my fellow writers, the bloggers, and everyone who works tirelessly to spread the love of YA, whether they’re passionate editors or the stars of #TeaTime. But as I get closer to officially receiving my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults in just a few short weeks, I’ve decided it’s time to reflect, to wax philosophical. Who am I kidding? I’ve decided to get on my soapbox.
Today I’m talking about Twilight.
You see, I’m always going on and on about how no one talks about all the great YA lit out there—Patrick Ness’ Chaos Walking trilogy, Jandy Nelson’s The Sky Is Everywhere, and dozens of other gorgeous titles that are deserving of articles upon articles written about them. There is excellent YA lit out there. Lots of it. I won’t pretend to like all of it—there are some shitty books out there. But there are some shitty adult books too, and you don’t…
First: I LOVE THE YA COMMUNITY. I love my readers, my fellow writers, the bloggers, and everyone who works tirelessly to spread the love of YA, whether they’re passionate editors or the stars of #TeaTime. But as I get closer to officially receiving my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults in just a few short weeks, I’ve decided it’s time to reflect, to wax philosophical. Who am I kidding? I’ve decided to get on my soapbox.
Today I’m talking about Twilight.
You see, I’m always going on and on about how no one talks about all the great YA lit out there—Patrick Ness’ Chaos Walking trilogy, Jandy Nelson’s The Sky Is Everywhere, and dozens of other gorgeous titles that are deserving of articles upon articles written about them. There is excellent YA lit out there. Lots of it. I won’t pretend to like all of it—there are some shitty books out there. But there are some shitty adult books too, and you don’t…
