Elizabeth Lim's Blog, page 2

First Pass Pages are Here!

Got this beauty in the mail recently, and I can’t remember the last time I was so eager to get down to work! Diving into my first pass pages today SPIN THE DAWN with a nice hot cup of cinnamon tea. I can’t wait for you all to read Maia’s story!

SPIN THE DAWN aesthetic board series

Can you believe it's almost fall? The weather certainly isn't cooling down here, but I'm starting to notice more varieties of apples of squashes turn up at my local grocery stores, mmm mmm! On the writing front, I'm turning in my first draft of THE BLOOD OF STARS Book II to my agent today (!!) and taking a short hiatus from work to prep for a pretty big life change. But I promise I'll be back with an update on SPIN THE DAWN next month! For now, here's an aesthetic I made to kick-off some exci...

A New Title for BoS1: SPIN THE DAWN!

It's been a while since I've posted anything here, but Book 1 of my duology, The Blood of Stars, just got a new title! It's now SPIN THE DAWN. See my official Twitter announcement here, along with the fabulous gif made by GifGrrl!

My 2-book deal for THE BLOOD OF STARS!

I have news!! I'm thrilled to finally announce my two-book deal with Knopf Books for Young Readers!! My Chinese-inspired YA fantasy, THE BLOOD OF STARS, will be coming out in May 2019!!The advice to write something you want to read has always stuck with me, and THE BLOOD OF STARS is not only the book of my heart, but something I wish I could have read as a teenager hungry for fantasy, fairy tales, and magic. I'm so excited to share it with the world!! More soon.Here's the official announcemen...

Cover reveal for REFLECTION!

Guys, I'm sooo happy to finally share the cover of REFLECTION ❤❤❤When my editor first sent it to me, I screamed!! Isn't it gorgeous and fierce and epic? Mulan is my favorite Disney heroine and I absolutely cannot wait until everyone gets to read her Twisted Tale into the Underworld next March!!

Finding the Heart of Your Story

Hey, it's been a while. I just got back from another fantastic workshop with Patti Lee Gauch at Highlights, one I've been looking forward to all year, and we delved into the personal/close third-person POV. As always, time with Patti workshop really helped me hone in on my voice, and re-introduced me to how powerful and close writing in third person can be. We looked at examples from Elizabeth Strout's OLIVE KITTERIDGE, and Maggie Stiefvater's THE RAVEN BOYS, and George Saunder's short story,...

REFLECTION is available for Pre-Order!

As of today, REFLECTION: A Twisted Tale is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble(no IndieBound yet, but soon) for pre-order!! I didn't think I would be sooo excited to see my name listed on Amazon and GoodReads as an author, but I just overestimated my nerves. Nearly screamed when I saw REFLECTION's on Amazon, with a page count and a real ISBN and everything!   I guess this is my first step as an author. Looking forward to more steps in the future, and hoping there will be many more books :)...

The year I became a "Plotter"

So I used to be one of those horrible, horrible people who likes to read movie spoilers, and who reads the ending of a book first. Terrible, I know. Shun! Thankfully, I've mended my ways. But there was a method to my madness, and it's one that I've started applying to my process of writing a novel. After all, I noticed, as I was reading novel/film spoilers, that often, knowing the ending actually made me pay closer attention to the plot! It was like working backwards, because I could piece t...

Writing & Rhythm

I'm almost done reading Haruki Murakami's latest book, Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa, and as a writer/composer, I found one particular discussion fascinating. It's regarding the relationship between writing fiction and listening to music: after years of listening to music, Murakami professes that one cannot write well if one doesn't have an ear for music-- "listening to music improves your style; by improving your style, you improve your ability to listen to music." This...

Moss Wood Retreats

I'm enjoying my second day at the Moss Wood Retreat, headed by Patricia McMahon along with this year's mentor, Gregory Maguire. Given it's the retreat's first year, I had no idea what to expect, so I went with the simple hopes of making new friends, writing in the serene countryside, and learning more about my craft. First off, what a beautiful, beautiful place. The view from the kitchen window alone is worth coming for, and I'm already so inspired by being out of the city and surrounded by n...