Gabe Cole Novoa's Blog, page 47

Never-Ending Editing Syndrome Part Two: Publishing Edition

Photo credit: stanjourdan on FlickrSo way back in June 2011 (as in, a month after I started blogging), I wrote this really hyper post on Never-Ending Editing Syndrome, which basically describes that ever-present feeling of never really being done with editing when working on a book. (You can read it if you want, but you’ve been warned—it’s hyper, as many of my 2011 posts were.)

One of you lovely readers happened upon that very old post, and asked about my take on it now, close to five years later with my debut on the way. The question specifically was: “How did you find the NEES when agents and editors tell you to change things?”

As I have, as of this morning, submitted (probably) final edits for Beyond the Red, I figured now was as good a time as any to answer.

I have, at this point, read through Beyond the Red a lot. A LOT. Like, I’m honestly not sure how many editing rounds I’ve done, but I’ve read those words more than I care to think about. A from the first round of edits, I already knew which round I was dreading the most: the final round. Where the edits are in and no more changes can be made.

There’s a safety net in knowing that you can always make changes later if you need to (and for that reason, I never really worried when working on revisions with my agent). Every time I hit “send” with the new round of edits to my editor, I reminded myself it’s okay, I can change something next round if I want to.

Except now I know I probably can’t. Not really. Not with anything significant, at this point anyway.

In a way, reading it over and over again helped, because by the time I got to that final round I was feeling pretty good—like in all likelihood I’d already made the changes I wanted. And I did, and sometimes reminding myself of some of those changes was reassuring, because I knew okay, but I fixed x.

The other part of me knows that once I get the final “no more changes at all” copy from my editor, I probably won’t read it. Partially because I’ve read those words so many freaking times but also because I’m afraid I’ll inevitably find a typo or a word choice I decide I don’t like and I won’t be able to do anything about it. And you know, ignorance is bliss and all that.

At this point, I’m keeping some truths locked away to keep in mind when I inevitably start worrying about not being able to change something:
I wrote and edited to the very best of my ability—and then some. A stray typo or eh word choice isn’t going to break the book. Or me. I’ll always continue to learn and improve, so I can write and edit better next time around. So that’s where I’m at right now. It’s an exciting and nerve-wracking time, but overall, I’m proud of myself and of my book. And in less than two months, I’ll be able to share it with all of you. :)

Do you struggle with never-ending editing syndrome?

Twitter-sized bite:

Author @Ava_Jae talks dealing with Never Ending Editing Syndrome during her debut's the pre-publication days. (Click to tweet)

Book Review: SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo

Photo credit: GoodreadsThere are so many things I loved about this book.

Six of Crows  has been on my TBR list pretty much since the moment it was announced because a) more Grisha and b) Leigh Bardugo, and this book totally lived up to my expectations. But before I go on about how amazing it is, here's the Goodreads summary:

"Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone... 

A convict with a thirst for revenge. 

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager. 

A runaway with a privileged past. 

A spy known as the Wraith. 

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Kaz's crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first."

Right, so first and foremost, the question I've seen most about this book is whether or not it can be read without having read the Grisha trilogy. The answer is yes—pretty much everything is explained, and the only downside is you'll come across a few spoilers. But if you don't mind, Six of Crows is definitely understandable without previous Grisha universe knowledge.

I'll admit the first couple chapters were a little slower than I tend to like, pace-wise, but the story drew me in very quickly after that. I totally loved the vibrant Ketterdam and Fjerda setting, and I thought it was really cool that we got to see parts of the Grishaverse only mentioned in the previous books. The cast of characters are super diverse and I found that each POV (Kaz, Jesper, Inej, Matthias) were really interesting and drew me in for separate reasons, which was great because frequently in multi-POV novels, some POVs are more interesting than others, but I thought these were equally balanced.

Then the plot! The whole heist narrative was so ridiculously fun to read—it was incredibly smart and clever and I loved all the twists and wrenches in the plan. It reminded me very much of the Artemis Fowl series, in that the heist plot was super elaborate was unlikely odds and high stakes and the mastermind behind the plan (Kaz) repeatedly impressed me with his ability to think his way out of many problems.

And so many ships! I loved all the pairings in Six of Crows and was cheering for every single ship with equal fervor (which, when you have six mains/major characters, is impressive since again, I didn't find myself massively favoring one character or POV over another).

And finally, the thing I loved most—hello disabled protagonist in genre fiction! I actually didn't realize Kaz was disabled until after I bought the book, which was a really nice surprise. His disabilities (PTSD and chronic pain that causes a limp and necessitates the use of a cane) were very much part of the story and he didn't require a miracle cure to get around them—Kaz dealt with his disabilities in very real ways and I totally loved how he leveraged his cane to his advantage in various circumstances.

All in all, this book hit a home run. If you like fantasy and heist books or just really enjoyed the Grisha trilogy, I couldn't recommend this one more.

Now to wait impatiently for September when the second (and final) book, Crooked Kingdom , releases...

Diversity note: Kaz, one of the main protagonists, has chronic pain and a limp from an old injury and uses a cane to help him get around. He also deals with sometimes-debilitating PTSD. Another POV character, Jesper, is black and (slight spoiler) bisexual and (slight spoiler) Wylan also seems to like boys. 
Format note: I'm sure this book is equally excellent in e-book, but if you're able to get the print hardback, I do recommend it. It's one of the most beautifully designed books I own.

What have you been reading? 
Twitter-sized bites:

.@Ava_Jae gives 5/5 stars to SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo. Is this clever fantasy heist book on your TBR list? (Click to tweet) 

Looking for a smart YA Fantasy w/ a disabled MC? Check out SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: On Writer Resolutions

It's a new year! Which means, among other things, many people are solidifying their 2016 resolutions. So today I'm talking about making healthy writing-related resolutions.


RELATED LINKS: 

When Writing, Take Your TimeTime is On Your Side
What writing-related resolutions have you made for 2016?
Twitter-sized bites:

Do your writer resolutions rely on external factors? @Ava_Jae vlogs about why this isn't the best option. (Click to tweet)  

Finalizing your 2016 writer resolutions? @Ava_Jae vlogs about choosing resolutions you can control. #writetip (Click to tweet)

How I Dive Into New WIPs

Photo credit: Justin Ornellas on FlickrSo I’ve written a post about my plotting process and also vlogged about how I plot, but I haven’t actually talked about the step between drafting and plotting, where I start putting down the words. And the truth is, those first couple thousand words of a manuscript are super volatile for me.

Even though I’m a plotter, when I start writing, I don’t really know everything about the MS. My characters are, perhaps, the most vague of the information I start with—I generally know what they look like, their names, how they are marginalized (if at all), and while I’m plotting I usually start to get a sense for their personalities. But the most important element to me—the voice—is still very much out there and I don’t usually know much of anything about it until I start writing.

Which, for me, is the dangerous part. Because I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve started and abandoned because the voice just didn’t click with me. But for me, discovering the voice is very much a sink or swim experience—it either works or it doesn’t, and I usually know a couple thousand words in. Sometimes, if a voice is especially strong, I’ll know after a page or two that it’s going to stick. Many times I stop two or three or five or seven thousand words in because it just didn’t manifest into something that’s clicking with me.

This is why I tend to be so secretive about my WIP ideas before I start drafting—I don’t tell anyone, not my CPs, not my agent about those initial ideas until I’ve written at least 10,000 words and decided that the story is definitely going to get completely written. Once I get into the Safe Zone, so to speak, then I start being a little more open about what I’m working on. But before that, talking about it feels too risky, since my rate of abandoning projects early on is probably around 50%.

So starting a new WIP for me tends to be a scary thing. I mean, the blank page is always somewhat intimidating to me, but knowing especially at first that whatever I’m working on might not make it past 5,000 words feels a bit like walking along the crumbling edge of a cliff.

Last year I was too busy revising trunked manuscripts to start anything new, but this year I intend to write a new project. I don’t know what it’ll be, not yet, but I know I’ll be walking along some cliff sides and hoping for the best.

How about you?

Twitter-sized bites:

How do you start writing a new WIP? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)  

Author @Ava_Jae talks voice, character development & more when it comes to starting the first draft. (Click to tweet)

End of Year Countdown: 5 Top Fives of 2015

Photo credit: derekskey on FlickrIt's 2016! Except I ran out of post days to post this annual tradition, so I'm squeezing it in here, on the first day of the new year. YAY 2016!

So here we go! My top fives of 2015. :)

Top 5 Most Popular Posts (On Writability)
As per usual, these are calculated with blogger’s page view counts. Like last year, the list is the same as the year before, with a little rearranging.
Why Write Blog Posts Consistently? Do You Listen to Music While Writing?Tumblr for WritersWriters: Start Acting Like ProfessionalsPirating Books: It's Not a Harmless DownloadHow to Write Awesome Kiss Scenes* *Technically this is more than five but it was close-ish so I added a bonus post. Because kissing.


Top 5 Most Active Commenters
As explained every year, I use Disqus’s very nice widget on my sidebar to keep track of how many comments every lovely commenter makes. The system isn’t perfect and only keeps track of accounts, so if you comment on multiple accounts, it thinks you’re more than one person, but regardless, these five fabulous readers are the most active commenters of the Writability community—thank you!

Note: Those with two asterisks have been on the top five list for two years, and those with three asterisks were on the top five list the year before that! All the thank yous!Robin Red**RoweMatthew***HeatherJen Donohue**Daniel Swensen***
Top 5 Favorite (Writerly) Tumblr Blogs of the Year

Over time, tumblr has become one of my favorite social media sites. I’ve learned a ridiculous amount from the incredible finds posted there, and I’ve also really enjoyed the nerdy randomness that frequently appears on my feed.

These are my top five favorite writerly/bookish tumblr blogs, as calculated by tumblr based off which blogs get the most reblogs and likes from me.Corinne DuyvisBibliogatoYA HighwayEnglish Major HumorVESchwab, LBardugo, It's a Writer Thing & Nimble's Notebooks (4-way tie) 
Top 5 Favorite Books of the Year

So in previous years, this used to be favorite blogs, but I really haven't been keeping up with my blogs this year, so I decided to do books instead. Not-so coincidentally I reviewed all of these or in the case of the 2016 books, I have reviews on the way. :) So! Here are my favorite reads of the year, in no particular order:

Focus on Me  by Megan Erickson (Review) I'll Give You the Sun  by Jandy Nelson (Review)  Half Wild  by Sally Green (Review) Burning Glass  by Kathryn Purdie The Girl from Everywhere  by Heidi Heilig
Top 5 Favorite Twitter Accounts

Twitter remains my favorite favorite. And these Twitter peoples are amazing, uplifting, and insightful in topics like writing, marginalizations, publishing and more. (Again, in no particular order):@HeidiHeilig@MissDahlELama@Leah Raeder@gildedspine@DisabilityInLit
So those are my top fives of 2015—do you have any favorites of the year you’d like to share?

Also, Happy New Year, everyone!

Writer @Ava_Jae shares her top fives of 2015—what are some of your favorite writing resources of last year? (Click to tweet)

2015 Year in Review

Photo credit: grand Yann on FlickrSo last year I started this year in review thing, which I thought was really fun and I’d like to make it an annual thing here. So! 2015 in review, here we go.

January and February was a sub-zero blur where I walked outside around my campus more than I care to think about with blistering winds and a wind chill of -20 to -30 degrees (and that’s not an exaggeration). I also took 18 credits that semester and the work load was…um…fun…sure.
February I also officially declared my major (English!) so that was a cool thing.
March through June was pretty uneventful. I worked hard on revisions for other WIPs, finished my semester at school, and started getting glimpses of Beyond the Red's cover, which was pretty cool. May also marked the beginning of my last summer break, which was kind of bittersweet. 
In July I was able to finally reveal Beyond the Red's cover to the world, on YA Books Central! It was so amazing, and fun, and exciting and the whole author thing slowly started feeling more real. 
August I had my author photos taken, which was simultaneously nerve-wracking, surreal, and exciting. And in the same month I also went to Chicago for the first time and attended Chapter One Young Writer's Conference as an author/speaker and had my first (swag) signing and hung out with Kat Zhang, Karen Bao, Kaye M and a bunch of young writers and wow. I wrote about that day here. It was absolutely incredible.
That same month I also met two of my CPs in person, which was so fun! August was an unusually social month for me. It was awesome. 
September and October was back to school time and I started my second to last semester of college. It was busy and really tiring at times but I powered through school, Beyond the Red edits and revisions on my YA Fantasy WIP. 
Then November came around and I really wanted to do NaNo, but decided I needed a break. And good thing too, because I had a major fatigue flare for basically the first half of November and had little to no energy for two weeks. But then a really cool thing happened, namely Beyond the Red became a book-shaped (ARC) thing and I held my book in my hands for the first time. :D
December I finished up this semester and dropped most of my dietary restrictions on a trial basis except for sugar, to see if all those foods I'd been restricting affected my health as much as everyone said they would. Results have been inconclusive so far, which means probably not, but we'll see. Now I'm trying to relax a little before starting over again in January. Because 2016 is nearly here, which means a ton of author awesomeness, and also graduation, and also hopefully other book things. 
2015 has been a year of transition. 2016 will be the start of a whole new chapter in my life, and as scary as it sometimes is, I'm here to welcome it. 
How did 2015 treat you?
Twitter-sized bite:

.@Ava_Jae shares her 2015 year in review. Did you make any big changes in 2015? (Click to tweet)

Fixing the First Page Feature #18

Photo credit: mac.rj on FlickrChristmas has come and gone, there are four days until 2016 and the next Fixing the First Page critique is here! Woohoo!

As per usual, I'll start by posting the full first 250 excerpt, after which I'll share my overall thoughts, then my redline critique. I encourage you guys to share your own thoughts and critiques in the comments (because I'm one person with one opinion!), as long as it's polite, thoughtful, and constructive. Any rude or mean comments will be unceremoniously deleted.

Here we go!

Title: COUNTERPOINT

Genre: New Adult Contemporary

First 250:

The snow drifted softly down on the frozen grass, the grey sky swallowing the openness of the world. I stood, staring down hard at the tombstone at my feet. My body was calm, my pulse steady, my mind churning slowly. The violin case weighed my arm down, as if it had a magnetic attraction to my Mom who was beneath my feet, in the ground. Dead. 

I set the case down, kneeling; I touched the headstone, tracing her name: “Amy Duple: Wife, Mother. 1972-2017.” No “devoted wife,” no “loving mother.” Just “wife.” Just “mother.” Keeping it simple, keeping it all about image. God-forbid someone see you as weak, as nurturing. I opened my mouth and sucked in some cool crisp air. Last time I’d been here, it’d been raining. I missed the rain. I missed the moisture up in Oregon too. Down here it was all cracked and chapped and broken. Like our family. 

“I have some things to say,” I said to the grave, tracing the letters of my mother’s name with my hand. “Things are a mess. They’re a mess and I’m so angry. Noah left me; Violet is… like you; Dad’s too optimistic to realize anything is wrong; I didn’t get in to tour and Emma and Noah did and Violet tried to fix it and it’s all just… you’re dead.” I pelted the words at the slab of stone. Just a hug, just a genuine smile, a reassuring hand. Was that too much to hope for from you, Mom?

Okay! So, firstly, I'm wondering if we've started in the right spot here. I've mentioned before that openings should take place right before the inciting incident, and should be hinting at the incident right from the first page (subtly, of course, but still there should be some echoes of conflict, preferably conflict that links to the inciting incident). You also want to make sure that you start with a strong hook of some kind, and to me, this hook isn't quite there and I'm not convinced this is where the story really begins.

I'm also thinking our protagonist's voice doesn't quite fit NA—voice is something that's really hard to pin down (best way to learn voice for a category or genre is to read a lot of the category/genre), and to me this reads as a little more YA than NA, I think, probably, at least partially because we're focused on the protagonist missing their mother. Not to say that NA leads can't (or don't) miss passed away parents, but because this is our opening and the first impression of the protagonist that we have, it made them sound younger to me. 

Now for the line-edits:

The snow drifted softly down onto the frozen grass, the grey sky swallowing the openness of the world I like the idea and imagery associated with the sky swallowing something, but I'm not sure I understand what you're going for with "the openness of the world". I stood, staring down hard at the tombstone at my feet. My body was calm, my pulse steady, my mind churning slowly. I feel like you might be focusing on the wrong emotional tells here? If your protag's visiting his mother in a graveyard, I wouldn't expect his pulse to be affected or his thoughts to be racing—I'd expect them to be sad (and depending on the circumstances, maybe a little angry) and be dealing with those emotional reactions. The violin case weighed my arm down, as if it had a magnetic attraction to my Mom who was beneath my feet, in the ground. I get that the violin case is there probably to tell us something about your protagonist, but logically, why would your protagonist bring their violin to a graveyard? Dead. You don't need this. We understand your protagonist is visiting their mother at a graveyard, and if we didn't, we'd get it in the next paragraph. 

I set the case down, kneeling; I touched the headstone, tracing her name: “Amy Duple: Wife, Mother. 1972-2017.” No “devoted wife,” no “loving mother.” Just “wife.” Just “mother.” Is this supposed to be your protagonist's thought? The frequent switch between italics and non-italicized words threw me off here. Keeping it simple, keeping it all about image. God-forbid someone see you as weak, as nurturing. I am fortunately not versed in how words are chosen for tombstones, but isn't that something the family chooses, after their loved one has passed? If so, wouldn't that be more of a statement on the family that chose the words, rather than the protagonist's mother? I opened my mouth and sucked in some cool, crisp air. Last time I’d been here, it’d been raining. I missed the rain. I missed the moisture up in Oregon too. Down here it was all cracked and chapped and broken. This makes it sound like your protagonist is in a desert/super dry area, but you say last time they'd been there, it was raining, so I'm not sure. Is the area undergoing a drought? Like our family. 

“I have some things to say,” I said to the grave aloud, tracing the letters of my mother’s name with my hand. “Things are a mess. They’re a mess and I’m so angry. Noah left me; Violet is… like you; Dad’s too optimistic to realize anything is wrong; I didn’t get in to tour and Emma and Noah did and Violet tried to fix it and it’s all just… you’re dead.” Okay, so this monologue, to me, reads as you, the author, trying to tell the reader background information, which makes me wonder if this whole scene is only here to give background info. If so, I definitely recommend cutting this scene and starting wherever the story really starts and giving us this information through action, observations, dialogue that isn't a monologue, etc.. I pelted the words at the slab of stone. Just a hug, just a genuine smile, a reassuring hand. I found this sentence confusing at first. I get that maybe your protagonist wishes their mother did these things while she was alive, but in this context, it almost seems like your protag wants those things now which is confusing given that they are in a graveyard, alone. Was that too much to hope for from you, Mom?

Right, so, after reading this twice, I'm even more convinced that this is probably not starting in the right spot for your story, though that's impossible to say for sure without looking at your full plot. I definitely recommend, however, going back to your plot and thinking about where the story really starts and what the inciting incident is (this is a super common struggle with openings though, so don't worry!). As is, if I saw this in the slush, I would pass.

I hope that helps! Thanks for sharing your first 250 with us, Luke!

Would you like to be featured in a Fixing the First Page Feature? Keep an eye out for the first first 250 crit giveaway of 2016 (ahh!) next month!

Twitter-sized bite:

.@Ava_Jae talks inciting incidents and starting in the right place in the 18th Fixing the First Page critique. (Click to tweet)

'Twas the Night Before Christmas (For Writers)

A fun yearly (re-)post for Christmas, with apologies to Clement C. Moore, written by yours truly.

Photo credit: Joe Buckingham on Flickr
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the night
Not a writer was writing, not word was in sight.
Blank pages were scattered on desks and on floors,
In hopes that the manuscripts would leap from their drawers.

The radio was humming a song of good cheer,
Yet I, tortured writer, wished a muse would appear.
And I with my coffee and family asleep
Did stare at the page trying hard not to weep.

When out in the snow there came such a noise,
I fell from my chair, disregarding all poise.
I ran to the door, my heart in my throat,
And did throw it open, forgetting my coat.

And Christmas lights glowing on glittering snow
Seemed just for a moment to put on a show.
When to my astonishment—I’ll admit I did shout,
Came a sleigh from the sky led by reindeers on route.

A driver with eyes spilling over with laughter,
His face I did know I’d remember thereafter.
With a beard so white and his cheeks set aglow,
He waved and he smiled, “It’s me, don’t you know!”

I gaped for a moment and stuttered and said,
“This cannot be real—it’s all in my head!”
But Santa, he snickered and said with delight,
“I hear, my dear child, that you love to write.”

“It’s true,” I said, looking down at my feet,
“But a writer I’m not—I’ve admitted defeat.”
And Santa, he frowned—looked me straight in the eye,
And he said, “You’re a writer, don’t let your dream die.”

So I told him my troubles, how the words wouldn’t come,
And he said, “It’s a gift—it won’t always be fun.
It won’t always be easy or simple or kind,
But for writing, my girl, is what you were designed.”

And he lifted my chin with his finger and said,
“These troubles you’re having—they’re all in your head!
So go back inside and rest for the night,
But know that tomorrow, you’ll write at first light!”

He climbed back on his sleigh and took off in the air,
The reindeers—they trampled the stars with their flair.
So inside I went and turned off the TV,
And sat by the fire with a hot cup of tea.

Asleep, there I fell, and I dreamt of the page
And when I awoke—my mind a golden age!
I rushed to my computer and typed until dawn,
His words, I soon realized—they were right all along!

In hindsight I suppose, I shouldn’t have been surprised,
For that day it was Christmas, true and undisguised.
And that man that I saw, whether he was Santa or not,
He brought to my mind things that I had forgot.

A writer’s a writer every day of the week,
On good days, on bad days, on nights that seem bleak.
But I do what I can and what I can is to write,
As Santa reminded me to my delight.

So next time your writing refuses to flow,
Remember what Santa said to me and know,
You’re a writer tonight and always will be,
For writing is truly what makes you feel free.
Merry Christmas everyone! 

Twitter-sized bites: 

"‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the night/ Not a writer was writing, not word..." (Click to tweet)  

Writer @Ava_Jae shares a special version of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" for writers. Enjoy! (Click to tweet) 

Book Review: THE ABYSS SURROUNDS US by Emily Skrutskie

Photo credit: GoodreadsProbably my favorite part of 2015 coming to a close is it means I finally get to start sharing reviews for 2016 releases I’ve had the pleasure to read. And because of the books I’ve decided to review, The Abyss Surrounds Us is releasing first (February 8th!), I’m starting with this package of epicness. 
(Full disclosure: I temporarily received an ARC to read, which I didn't have to review, but I wanted to. So.)
Before I tell you all about why you need to be pre-ordering and adding this book to your TBR immediately, here is the Goodreads summary:

“For Cassandra Leung, bossing around sea monsters is just the family business. She’s been a Reckoner trainer-in-training ever since she could walk, raising the genetically-engineered beasts to defend ships as they cross the pirate-infested NeoPacific. But when the pirate queen Santa Elena swoops in on Cas’s first solo mission and snatches her from the bloodstained decks, Cas’s dream of being a full-time trainer seems dead in the water. 

There’s no time to mourn. Waiting for her on the pirate ship is an unhatched Reckoner pup. Santa Elena wants to take back the seas with a monster of her own, and she needs a proper trainer to do it. She orders Cas to raise the pup, make sure he imprints on her ship, and, when the time comes, teach him to fight for the pirates. If Cas fails, her blood will be the next to paint the sea. 

But Cas has fought pirates her entire life. And she's not about to stop.”

Okay. So I was already super intrigued by this one because there isn’t a whole lot of genre f/f out there, and also I really like pirates, and also Emily is a very nice person. So you can imagine I was pretty darn pleased when I started reading and very quickly realized this book was going to blow my expectations out of the water (pun sorta intended).

The Abyss Surrounds Us is EPIC. Imagine Pacific Rim, except the monsters are on the protag’s side, and also it’s super girl-centric. Cas is such a badass, and her dynamic with Swift was fantastic. I loved the futuristic pirate element—which is something I’ve never read before (and it was awesome)—plus monsters, and emotions, and girls being awesome, and yeah. Basically, you need to read it.

Not to mention that it gave me really early book feels, and I loved the sea monster element way more than I expected—which was kind of like Pokémon, except kaiju-sized—and The Abyss Surrounds Us is so so different from anything I’ve read before in the best way possible.

So in short, if you’re looking for genre f/f (especially f/f that is not of the coming out variety), and you like pirates, and sci-fi, and sea monster battles sounds like something that might be your thing, The Abyss Surrounds Us is so totally for you. And I can’t wait to read the sequel.

Diversity note: Cas and the love interest Swift are both lesbians, and Cas is Chinese American.

What have you been reading? 

.@Ava_Jae gives 5/5 stars to THE ABYSS SURROUNDS US by Emily Skrutskie. Is this f/f YA SF on your TBR list? (Click to tweet)   

Looking for an epic f/f YA SF w/ pirates and sea monsters? Check out THE ABYSS SURROUNDS US by Emily Skrutskie. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: On Dealing with Rejection

Rejection is a tough, but inevitable part of being a writer. Today I'm talking the different stages of rejection and how to deal with them.



RELATED LINKS: 

On Dealing with RejectionRejection Doesn't StopHope: The Best Remedy for RejectionWhy I'm Grateful for (Nearly) Seven Years of RejectionI Was That Teenage WriterHow to Survive the Query WarsOn Querying (vlog playlist)
How do you deal with various forms of rejection? 
Twitter-sized bites: 

"The truth is, when you're a writer, rejection is inevitable." #vlog (Click to tweet) 

Nervous about or struggling to handle rejections? @Ava_Jae vlogs about this inevitable part of being a writer. (Click to tweet)