Erin Ashley Tanner's Blog, page 9

THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE DIARY OF AN UGLY STEPSISTER&nb...

THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE DIARY OF AN UGLY STEPSISTER  
Picture by RyouGirl on Deviant Art     I guess now you could say that I am a writer. Maybe. I have completed 2 novels: Goddess of Legend and Siren’s Choice. A few months ago I was in what I call Writer’s Hell. To me Writer’s Hell is the dreaded time after you’ve sent off your synopsis and sample chapters to agents and publishers and you wait as best you can to see if someone else will love your work as much as you do. After a few weeks I decided that it was nice that I had finished my second novel but it was time to get busy writing again. I needed to do something to distract myself from Writer’s Hell.  
  I thought about what did I want to write next. My first two novels were strictly  urban fantasy romance, happily ever after types. Did I want to write the same kind of novel again? After all I had already planned to make my first and second novel into 2 different 3 book series, but didn’t I need a break? I decided I did so I picked up some of my other WIPs that had been pushed to the side while I worked on my first two novels. One of my WIPs already has 17 chapters done but it was a contemporary romance with a mafia twist. “Erin, you have to think about doing something different”, I told myself. You need to continue to grow as a writer. I put my story down and rummaged through more of my journals looking at other WIPs.
  
    Finally I had an epiphany. A few weeks later I turned off the TV and laid down on the couch. I was going to take a nap but it never happened. After about 3 minutes of having my eyes closed I sat up and frantically began writing. The idea for my 3rd novel was born just like that. In about 5 minutes I’d written down a few bullet points of what I thought the story might be about. I was amazed. I couldn’t believe I’d come up with something that fast. I had no idea what the title was going to be at the time, but I knew I was going to completely flip the Cinderella story on its head and write from the perspective of one of the ugly stepsisters and that Cinderella would be the villain.

     I was pleased with my idea but then something in my mind nagged at me. Hadn’t someone else already done this? I scoured the Internet and sure enough I came across Gregory Maguire’s Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. For a minute I was crushed. Then I read through what the novel was about and decided the points I’d written down for my novel were nothing like his. I could continue on with my idea and not be compared to him at all. But still I hesitated. Should I start this brand new idea or go back and finish another WIP? I decided to ask one of my Twitter followers whom I nicknamed Mama Muse @kseniaanske. This wonderful lady said work on the idea that is fresh in your mind. You can always go back to the other one.
 
    I decided to take her advice. I started writing THE DIARY OF AN UGLY STEPSISTER on June 8th and I have completed 18 chapters. (I write by hand). Working on this novel which is completely different from anything I’ve ever written and is not in my usual style has lead me to the realization that my growth as a writer has been influenced so much by two wonderful ladies, Editor Leanne Sypes @PentoPaperCom and @Kseniaanske.
    
      Leanne is the type of wonderful person who you just want to hang around to bask in her wonderful positive energy. She is also supremely talented at what she does. Leanne and I had been working together on my first manuscript Goddess of Legend. Already I could see how she was taking my raw and unpolished idea and turning it into the blockbuster I know it could be. Leanne always tells me to push myself and delve deep. Don’t be afraid to share what you feel. Slowly but surely I have started taking her advice and not being so cut and dry with my writing, but infusing emotion into the situation. I am Leanne’s Number #1 fan and as we continue or friendship I know she will continue to push me in ways I can only imagine.

    I don’t know if Ksenia followed me first or if I followed her first, all I know is that this lady is absolutely brilliant! Her tweets will inspire you to stop procrastinating and start that novel. Her tweets will inspire you to dig deeper and share your darkest secrets. That has been what her influence has done for me. Some of the things I am writing about in THE DIARY OF AN UGLY STEPSISTER, I would have never even thought to even attempt to write about if it had not been for her constant message, “Share everything. Bleed onto the page.” 
 
   I have taken her words to heart and I am writing a much darker story than what I am used to. I am also not plotting out this novel. Now granted I have a few questions I will answer somewhere throughout the book and I have a few scenes I know I will include, but other than that this novel is a pantser. I look forward to writing everyday because I have no idea what will happen. I’m not forced to simply describe an outline. My heroine, Kataniya is troubled in ways I could never imagine. The pain she feels is real and for the first time in my writing career I believe my heroine will not get her happy ending.
 
  I don't know whether anyone but me will appreciate my new and controversial take on the Cinderella fairytale. I don't know if I will find an agent to represent me or a publisher willing to take the risk on a story that is pretty out there. All I do know is I have a fresh idea that excites me about writing everyday and I have the inspiration of two wonderful ladies that keeps me going everyday. Writing is all I need to think about. The rest will work itself out.


CREATING GODDESS OF LEGEND

    I wrote my first novel Goddess of Legend from February 2012 until December 2012. My inspiration for this novel came from the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, as well as the amazing Goddess Test series by the fantastic Aimee Carter. I have always been a fan of Greek mythology. (I also am a fan of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and The Heroes of Olympus series.) I always thought that Hades has gotten a bad rap so I decided to spin Greek mythology on its head and make a modern day sequel to the story.
   
    I had already started writing quite a few other novels when the idea for Goddess of Legend came to me but I was so excited about this idea, I set my other work to the side. The heroine of the novel, Cameryn Kane, is a Spiritist, which is someone who can located dead bodies and free wandering spirits. Cameryn is a biracial private investigator who has been adopted into a wealthy family. Though she loves her older sister very much, Cameryn suffers with feeling inferior to her sister. Meanwhile, despite being betrayed by Persephone, Hades is ready to open his heart to love again and he waits patiently for the chance to woo Cameryn.
  
     Goddess of Legend is my pride and joy. I love this book so much because I poured so much of myself into it. I am Cameryn Kane, the woman who always felt like I was different from everyone else and that I would never fit in. Like her I too am longing for that one person who will love me unconditionally regardless of all my eccentricities. Hades is my dream guy. Tall, dark, handsome, mysterious with a heart of gold. Hades represents the man out there who I hope someday will find me and be instantly smitten.
   
    When I finished Goddess of Legend I was proud of myself for writing a 73,304 word novel, but I was also a bit sad. This was happily ever after for Cameryn and Hades. There was no story nesting in my mind to bring them back in a future novel. It was time to dive into one of the many other works in progress that I’d started and put to the side. It was also time to start working on the dreaded synopsis and preparing for submissions.
   
    Writing a synopsis is the absolute worst thing in the world! It seems almost impossible at times to make an interesting summation about what your novel is about. After going through more drafts than I dare to admit and preparing my query letter, I pulled out my handy 2013 Writer’s Market and started looking up agents. Why agents instead of publishers you ask? Well I’ve spoken to a few well known published authors by Twitter and email and they have all said try agents first because many times they open doors that you would not otherwise be able to. So I took their advice and sent off about 6 submissions.
  
   I received 2 rejections in about 2 days from the day I submitted. I was absolutely crushed. I’d been certain that with some of the authors these agents represented were somewhat similar to my work. Both agents told me the same thing, “Your work does not fit with what we currently represent.” I couldn’t understand. I looked back again and again at the submissions criteria and then it hit me, no one really knew how to classify Goddess of Legend.
   
     I have always envisioned my novel as an urban fantasy romance. A few trusted readers have told me that they see it as either an urban fantasy erotic romance or a paranormal romance. I have never thought about my novel being paranormal. When I think of paranormal, I think of werewolves, vampires, ect. I’ve been leaning towards Goddess of Legend being an urban fantasy romance because you have a kick ass heroine living in a modern day world, but the main point of the story is the romance, not the adventure around the heroine. I’m not quite sure I would say my novel is erotic either. I just think it’s good sex, but others could see it differently.

 I have received a total of 3 agent rejections and 2 rejections from publishers for Goddess of Legend. On August 9, 2013 Evernight Publishing sent me the email I had been waiting for. They wanted to publish Goddess of Legend. I could hardly believe what I was reading. Finally, someone believed I my story just as much as I did. They offered me a contract less than a week later. Now my book is scheduled to be published sometime in September 2013. I can only hope that the world will love this book as much as I do.

THE WRITER'S LIFE

 THE WRITER'S LIFE


      When I tell people that I am a writer, sometimes they ask, “What’s it like?” I admit that sometimes the question has left me a bit baffled myself. What is it like to be a writer? Is it any different from the other things that people do? After pondering things over, I came to realize that being a writer is a unique experience that only other writers can appreciate.
  
        A writer’s mind is constantly spinning with character ideas, plots, and fantastic endings. A writer’s mind never really rests.Even if you are not chained to your desk working on your novel, you are always thinking about it and how it could be better.
 
      At the same time, every writer is different. Many will not write a single word until every detail has been meticulously plotted. While others are “pantsers.” They sit down to write and allow the characters to dictate how the story goes. They never know what their story is going to shape up to be from one day until the next.
 
       Every writer is different, but many of us share the same experiences along the way. The excitement of diving into a new novel because you know the idea is stellar. The frustration of having writer’s block and having no idea what to write next. The joy of finishing your first novel. The realization that the work is not done and your masterpiece needs to be revised. The fear of waiting for responses from agents and publishers you’ve queried. The quiet sadness of having your idea  rejected, and ultimately the realization that you have a gift that needs to be shared with the world.
 
       So when someone asks me what it’s like to be a writer I can tell them, “It’s exciting. Terrifying. Frustrating. Rewarding. Enlightening. Most of all I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

WHY DO I WRITE?

                                                              
                        WHY DO I WRITE?



          I guess this is a question that authors ask themselves a lot. As I mature I have found myself wondering the same thing. Growing up I always loved to read. Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley High were my series of choice as a youngster. I always did well in English in school and even received top honors in my 8th grade English class. I don’t think it was until about tenth grade when I got a perfect score on the writing part of the FCAT that I started to consider that I might have a gift. It was around that time that the voices started.

          No, I don’t mean I was having a mental breakdown. I mean that I started to hear stories in my head as if the character was speaking to me. I ignored the voices. After all I had to finish high school, do the college thing and continue on my way to my ultimate goal…law school. So for years I ignored the voices, shushing them with noise of the world of responsibility.

           It was only when I entered law school that the voices decided they’d had enough. I was soon waking up in the middle of the night with ideas for a novel that I would have to frantically scribble down so I wouldn’t forget. This seemed to never stop. It got to the point that I would be in class and an idea for a scene would come to me and I would start to write. By this time I didn’t have to rush. The words were in my head and I knew what to write as soon as my pen touched the paper.

           Years later I have realized that I have no desire to be a lawyer. I want to write. I want to write for a living. I want to write because it makes me happy. I want to write because the voices are telling me I must. I have recently completed my first novel, a modern day Greek mythology romance Goddess of Legend. There are journals lying around my home for the next 27 novels that the voices have told me to write.

          Some might say that I am wasting my time. The world of publication is hard to get into. I know that but I believe I have a gift. The voices continue to speak for a reason and I have no choice but to listen to them. So when people ask why do you write, I can honestly say it’s because the voices will not let me do anything else.