Andrea Stewart's Blog, page 3

On Beginnings...

I have a guest blog post up on the amazing Alex Shvartsman's blog (oh, you know, writer of a gajillion awesome stories, super-slinger of Magic cards, and editor of the uber-fun UFO series)! He runs a seriesentitled "The Hook," where authors write about why they chose the beginning they did, and what they intended to accomplish.

I've written about my urban fantasy, Loose Changeling, which is out today!

Check out the post here.

If you have the chance, mosey on over to the rest of the series, and t...

Writing Process Blog Hop

I've been tagged by Bob over at The Doors to Everywhere! Bob is a YA author and is a member of my in-person (*gasp*) writing group, Stonehenge. He writes sci-fi adventure, wherein the kids don't just save the universe--they save one another.

1. What are you currently working on?

I’ve got a dark fantasy novel, Windrider, which I’m currently in the process of revising and cleaning up. I’ve been describing it to people as The Other Boleyn Girl meets Breaking Bad, with dragons. I’ve got an urban fa...

Food, Identity, and Culture

This past weekend, I got together with my family. My sister and her boyfriend have finally moved back to the states from China, and I’m ecstatic. We all shot emails back and forth regarding our Saturday night dinner, figuring out who was making what dish and what would blend well together. There were eight of us: my mom and dad, my brother and his girlfriend, me and my husband, and my sister and her boyfriend.
I grew up in a family where food was an Important Thing. The kitchen is where everyo...

The Day I was Accidentally Sexist

Update: Two of my friends have written follow-on posts. The Day I was Accidentally Racist by Tina Gower and The Day I was Accidentally Religiously Offensive by Rebecca Birch. Read on for further mortification. May we never be accidental bigots again!
I was terribly shy when I was younger. I had a phone phobia, was convinced I was the most awkward person in the history of the world, and blushed when people I didn’t know spoke to me.

I took Spanish in high school. I remember my teacher, Mrs. Piga...

The Virtues of Playing the Long Game (or Wherein Writing is a Lot Like Gardening)

Five and half years ago, my husband and I bought our house. The inside was nice, yes, but it was the backyard we were excited about. We had big plans, HUGE.

We were going to start a garden.

It would be the awesomest, most beautiful garden ever, producing large, ripe fruits and vegetables, humming with bees. People were going to pin pictures of our garden all over pinterest. We were going to have so much food we’d fill our pantry with canned goods. Our neighbors would all look upon our yard and...

Publications!

I'll be adding a bibliography section to my website soon. In addition to my story, "Dreameater," in Writers of the Future Volume 29, I have another story out and a couple more forthcoming. And I always have stories in the submission pipelines.
I have "A Spray of Bittersweet" out in the e-book and print versions of the When the Hero Comes Home 2 anthology. I've been reading the book myself, and it's a lovely collection.The theme is wonderful, and it’s explored in a number of different ways. Min...

WOTF Workshop Week

I know I'm a little behind (okay, a lot!) in posting this, but there's something about the workshop that makes you just want to come home and write like mad. So I did.

I can talk about my winning story now! It's called Dreameater, and is a contemporary fantasy about a girl, Alexis, whose mother craves and devours dreams. At its core, it's the story of a girl and her dysfunctional parent. You can watch me blab about it on Good Day Sacramento here:

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y76NSf......

YOU GUYS, I have an agent!

Like most things in my life, it happened rather awkwardly. I like to think that perhaps I’m charming-awkward, but I’m fairly certain I fall into the it’s-a-little-embarrassing-to-watch-you category of awkward.
In total, I sent out 34 queries. I had some partial and full requests, but no bites. And yes, I’m a real slowpoke when it comes to querying.

And then I heard from Laura Lam (author of Pantomime) that her agent, Juliet Mushens, was looking for epic fantasy. Everything I’d read about Juliet...

The Post of a Thousand Plugs!

I’ve been very fortunate, over the years, to make the acquaintance of some wonderful authors.Their successes have astounded and inspired me, and lately they seem to be happening all at once. These are all the books that are out and those with release dates. I haven’t wanted to spam my facebook friends-list with post after post, so here they all are in one place, in no particular order, for your perusal! I am so excited for all of them! If any of these sound interesting, I encourage you to pic...

Guest Post on Laura Lam's Blog

I have a guest blog post up on Laura Lam's blog about the process of short story submissions.
Find it here.

I encourage you to also visit her general blog. Her book, Pantomime, will be out February 5 through Strange Chemistry. It's a YA fantasy. Her first three chapters are available on her website and Strange Chemistry's website right now - so you can get a head start on the book! Check out the amazing cover, the fantastic preliminary reviews, and the blurb. It's going to be awesome!