*A post in which I try to make up for not posting...in case anyone cares...*
So, yeah. I've been home from the Storymakers conference for a week now and still no witty and/or insightful posts on the subject. No need to feel cheated, though, it's everywhere. Truly everyone is talking about it.
Highlights...
--a class presented by Anita Stansfield--author of 47 novels.
47.
I don't believe I've read a single one, but the point is she wrote 47 novels while being a wife and mother. It gave me hope for my measly novel of 1 that I'd like to see published. (Who am I kidding...I'd like to even just see it finished--my current assessment [read "lie"] that I tell myself is that I only have three more chapters, then its done.) (And the truth is I've got way more than 1 novel idea gathering dust bunnies in my brain. This is what compels me onward--the other stories want their turn.) (It's a curse, I tell you.)
Wait, was I talking about something else...Anita. Yes. Probably the best thing she taught us was to place our families first and make sure they know that they are (that's key) and she taught us about prioritizing and having messy houses, etc.
--a boot camp assignment at Elana Johnson's table. In two words: She's good. (And she doesn't like italics where the author tries to tell the reader that they need to read a particular word or phrase with emphasis, so I purposefully italicized the words describing her!) I learned from every critique she offered, whether for my work or another's in the group. And she didn't totally tear my chapter apart--she said I was clever and it was overwritten in places. I loved that because I can totally go back and underwrite something. I can.
--literary agent Laura Rennert's class covering everything from query letters, creating a pitch, and key ingredients for successful fiction. She gave actual practical tips for succeeding in the quest for an agent. She boiled down the essential elements needed in a query--answer the questions WHO, WHAT, WHERE, AND WHY SHOULD I CARE? That's all an agent needs to know about your story. To come away from a class presented by a national market agent and not be terribly discouraged about my chances was also nothing short of amazing.
--Stacy Anderson's (She's an ANWA member) presentation on marketing and publishing. Again, actual useable information. That's what I longed for in some (many?) of the classes I attended, so hers was very refreshing. She had an excellent handout that she would probably share with you if you asked.
--hanging with friends/meeting new people/seeing famous people that I didn't take pictures of or with.
Regrets
-I wish someone would have told me how amazing Dave Wolverton was going to be and I would have signed up for his two-part presentation.
-Plus I missed out on Elana Johnson's query workshop which I knew would be awesome and afterward heard that it was. I just didn't sign up in time.
-feeling physically so tired and sickish the whole time. I was ibuprofen-popping everyday and that is so not like me. (Why can't we stay up late giggling and chiding Peggy for wearing an Edward shirt to bed (and talking shop) and then get up early for boot camp and attend classes aaaall-daaaay-loooong and feel just wonderful??!! It's not fair.)
There's more...so much more...plus I do have some pictures. There's always tomorrow...
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
[LDS Storymakers] Conference Weekend
Yesterday my sister asked if I was getting excited for my planned weekend to the LDS Storymakers Conference. "I'm getting nervous" was my reply and I launched into the varied reasons why writers conferences are so different than other seemingly similar venues.
Most conferences you attend, you choose your classes, sit in anonymity in each one scribbling notes on pads of paper, and then go away having gleaned copious amounts of information.
There's a whole other side to a writers conference.
There's the networking, the connections to be made (okay, that's redundant), the "see and be seen" factor (okay, kind of redundant, again). Generally we all have a finished work or work in progress that we want to "be seen," and, of course, we want to "see" all those writers who have crossed the line into the magical world of being called authors.
This is why I am nervous.
I will see authors.
People who have published actual books.
Fortunately, name tags will be employed, but still, if I come face to face with one (of them) don't I need to be able to match the name with their published work so as not to appear totally off the literary/Amazon/DB planet? I should have been cramming the entire last week with flash cards--okay, James Dashner-The Maze Runner-MC:Thomas, Josi Kilpack-Devil's Food Cake-MC:Sadie, Heather Moore-Alma-MC:Alma, Joyce DiPastena-Illuminations of the Heart-MC:Suri...oh, wait I know her! Whew! And bonus, I have actually read her book.
[Note to self: Stand near Joyce as much as she'll allow.]
In addition to authors, there will be a myriad of people there who I know only through their blog or through our online writing associations. So, see, I know their names and quite a bit about them, but have never spoken face to face. How do I approach them? "Oh, my gosh, it's you "Queen of the Clan" blogger ...um...um... thanks for that comment you left on my blog last February...um..." Of course, half the bloggers are also authors, so I need to remember their blog and published work.
Again, thank goodness for name tags because (and I'm not referring to anyone real or fictional) there's often a "lost in translation" moment when you go from knowing someone just by their little bloggy photo and then meeting them in person.
Just saying.
So that's the "see" aspect of writer's conferences.
Now as far as being seen and your work being seen, that ups the nervousness factor considerably.
There will be editors in attendance.
Actual people who make decisions about whether writers cross the line into the magical world of being called authors.
I daresay I don't need to elaborate, except to say if you come face to face with one (of them) WHAT WILL YOU SAY? It must be something half way intelligent and if it could be half way intelligent about your own manuscript, then all the better. You've gotta have a well-rehearsed pitch--one that's short and non-rambling. [See elanajohnson.blogspot.com today for her post on this very subject.] Even if you don't get to talk to an editor (or don't force yourself upon an editor) a thousand other people will ask you about your novel just in casual conversation.
Must. Be. Prepared.
By now you are beginning to wonder--why subject ourselves to the frenzy that is LDS Storymakers?
Because it's the most fun frenzy ever!
Imagine an entire Grand Ballroom of crazy people who get it.
They get writing and writers.
And anything anyone says about writing, no matter what it is, you have a whole ballroom-sized group of people nodding like bobble-heads in agreement. And because it's sponsored by a group with "LDS" as their first name, you also have a ballroom of people who are kind and so amazingly supportive of each other [and have standards] and can become your friends and critique partners and help you navigate your road to publication.
And if that's not all enough, then there is the choosing of classes, sitting and scribbling notes on pads of paper, and coming away with copious amounts of information.
I love that part.
Most conferences you attend, you choose your classes, sit in anonymity in each one scribbling notes on pads of paper, and then go away having gleaned copious amounts of information.
There's a whole other side to a writers conference.
There's the networking, the connections to be made (okay, that's redundant), the "see and be seen" factor (okay, kind of redundant, again). Generally we all have a finished work or work in progress that we want to "be seen," and, of course, we want to "see" all those writers who have crossed the line into the magical world of being called authors.
This is why I am nervous.
I will see authors.
People who have published actual books.
Fortunately, name tags will be employed, but still, if I come face to face with one (of them) don't I need to be able to match the name with their published work so as not to appear totally off the literary/Amazon/DB planet? I should have been cramming the entire last week with flash cards--okay, James Dashner-The Maze Runner-MC:Thomas, Josi Kilpack-Devil's Food Cake-MC:Sadie, Heather Moore-Alma-MC:Alma, Joyce DiPastena-Illuminations of the Heart-MC:Suri...oh, wait I know her! Whew! And bonus, I have actually read her book.
[Note to self: Stand near Joyce as much as she'll allow.]
In addition to authors, there will be a myriad of people there who I know only through their blog or through our online writing associations. So, see, I know their names and quite a bit about them, but have never spoken face to face. How do I approach them? "Oh, my gosh, it's you "Queen of the Clan" blogger ...um...um... thanks for that comment you left on my blog last February...um..." Of course, half the bloggers are also authors, so I need to remember their blog and published work.
Again, thank goodness for name tags because (and I'm not referring to anyone real or fictional) there's often a "lost in translation" moment when you go from knowing someone just by their little bloggy photo and then meeting them in person.
Just saying.
So that's the "see" aspect of writer's conferences.
Now as far as being seen and your work being seen, that ups the nervousness factor considerably.
There will be editors in attendance.
Actual people who make decisions about whether writers cross the line into the magical world of being called authors.
I daresay I don't need to elaborate, except to say if you come face to face with one (of them) WHAT WILL YOU SAY? It must be something half way intelligent and if it could be half way intelligent about your own manuscript, then all the better. You've gotta have a well-rehearsed pitch--one that's short and non-rambling. [See elanajohnson.blogspot.com today for her post on this very subject.] Even if you don't get to talk to an editor (or don't force yourself upon an editor) a thousand other people will ask you about your novel just in casual conversation.
Must. Be. Prepared.
By now you are beginning to wonder--why subject ourselves to the frenzy that is LDS Storymakers?
Because it's the most fun frenzy ever!
Imagine an entire Grand Ballroom of crazy people who get it.
They get writing and writers.
And anything anyone says about writing, no matter what it is, you have a whole ballroom-sized group of people nodding like bobble-heads in agreement. And because it's sponsored by a group with "LDS" as their first name, you also have a ballroom of people who are kind and so amazingly supportive of each other [and have standards] and can become your friends and critique partners and help you navigate your road to publication.
And if that's not all enough, then there is the choosing of classes, sitting and scribbling notes on pads of paper, and coming away with copious amounts of information.
I love that part.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Wednesday Waaaa-nt...
Rhymes with raaaant...
So I came home a week or two ago from a lovely Spain vacation refreshed, renewed, rejuvenated.
Well, in theory, anyway.
I complained to my sister about trying to get back into the swing of things after my trip. I said "When you don't cook and clean for 12 days..." and she finished with, "...it changes you."
That's it. In a nutshell.
Now can I rant (to myself) a moment about my novel and its lack of being finished? Yeah, that novel. The one that should have been sitting on an editor's desk yesterday (of last year) because I keep hearing stories in the news that match the subject of my book and yet its not done. Last night, my husband and I were watching CNN (the horrific bullying story that has hit the fan) and he said, "You would be interviewed on CNN if your book was published."
(Basically, as of right now, the blurb on my book would read It's a lot of words all together in a row.)
I think I just need a good dose of cooking and cleaning and I'll be back to normal.
As for the novel... I'm on a strict no sleeping, no eating, no breathing, no reading (that last one will be difficult) till it is DONE! No exercising either because, well, that's been consuming so much of my time of late. (J/K ;D)
[Other actual rants have been edited out of this blog. It was theraputic to express them, but I'm better now.]
So I came home a week or two ago from a lovely Spain vacation refreshed, renewed, rejuvenated.
Well, in theory, anyway.
I complained to my sister about trying to get back into the swing of things after my trip. I said "When you don't cook and clean for 12 days..." and she finished with, "...it changes you."
That's it. In a nutshell.
Now can I rant (to myself) a moment about my novel and its lack of being finished? Yeah, that novel. The one that should have been sitting on an editor's desk yesterday (of last year) because I keep hearing stories in the news that match the subject of my book and yet its not done. Last night, my husband and I were watching CNN (the horrific bullying story that has hit the fan) and he said, "You would be interviewed on CNN if your book was published."
(Basically, as of right now, the blurb on my book would read It's a lot of words all together in a row.)
I think I just need a good dose of cooking and cleaning and I'll be back to normal.
As for the novel... I'm on a strict no sleeping, no eating, no breathing, no reading (that last one will be difficult) till it is DONE! No exercising either because, well, that's been consuming so much of my time of late. (J/K ;D)
[Other actual rants have been edited out of this blog. It was theraputic to express them, but I'm better now.]
Monday, March 29, 2010
Illuminations of the Heart by Joyce Dipastena
WARNING: THIS BLOG IS A BLATANT RERUN! This week a group of bloggers are all buzzing about Joyce's book, so easy enough for me to run my review and interview from last fall. Read it again for the very first time!
Okay, so it's the exact same blog post title as the last one, but since today is the day I am presenting my review and author interview of Illuminations, I feel the title fits. (Now I don't know if author Joyce calls her book by its nickname, but after reading 145,000+ words of it, I feel the book and I have become fairly comfortable with each other.)
First, can I say, Joyce DiPastena knows her medieval stuff. She majored in it in college no less, receiving a degree from the University of Arizona. She is true to the time frame throughout her story, introducing the reader to terms like "crenellated," "portcullis," and "primogeniture." You may have thought "mail" was something that showed up in a box outside your home or on your computer, as in You've got it but no, it's "a flexible armor made of small, overlapping metal rings." (I got that from a glossary in the back of the book.)
Illuminations of the Heart, a historical romance set in the late 12th century, tells the story of Siriol de Calendri who is directed by her deceased brother's will to travel to France where a friend will oversee her marriage to a proper suitor. The friend is Triston de Brielle. "Ah, Triston," you say, because you have read Joyce's first book, Loyalty's Web. Yes, it's that Triston. His story continues, but with major emotional conflict on his part because Siri looks just like his former wife Clothilde. Remember how beautiful she was? Well, Siri has the same "curse" and it forces the castle and French countryside into a frenzy as only beauty can. If you haven't read Loyalty's Web, then why?
I highly recommend it...I would loan you my copy, but my daughter in Utah has it. The two books have much in common, but you do not have to read the first before the second. Illuminations is more of a spin-off than a sequel. It takes the character Triston and brings him a new story. In fact, I asked the author about this.
Lowly blog poster, Me: Which came first, Siri and the idea for her story or Triston and the need to create something new for him?
Amazing author, Joyce: Triston came first. I knew and had grown to love him from Loyalty's Web, and wanted to find a way to give him a happier ending than I had at the end of that book. And I knew that to do that, he needed a woman who would be the very opposite of his first wife. Thus Siri was born. Why I chose to make his first wife's "total opposite" look exactly like his first wife is one of those little quirks of being a writer that I really can't explain. I don't know what made me do it. Maybe I thought poor Triston hadn't been tortured enough in Loyalty's Web and wanted to torture him a little more? The bitterer the beginning, the sweeter the ending? Something like that? [Sounds good to me, Joyce.]
I personally have not read a lot of medieval romances, I'm busy trying to keep up with my own real-life, modern-day romance (with my husband, not my novel), but the writing in the book is so well-done and there's a lot of twisty-turny events that kept me turning the pages. There are questions to be answered...why would Siri agree to marry that one guy (I won't reveal...) and why is Triston's son so afraid of him? How will the politics discussed in the story be resolved? Why can't these medieval characters be more careful around stairs? And above all, why are the moat waters "roiling?" (Page 17 of the book.) Just kidding about that. All the moat waters I've seen have been roiling, it's just what they do.
Here's more of my Q & A with Joyce...
>What’s the best part of being a published author?
The most current "best thing" was being re-discovered by an old college roommate after 30 years of silence between us. She just wandered into a Deseret Book last week and discovered my books on the shelf, found my email address in my bio, and shot me an email. Now mind you, this wasn't just any roommate. This was the all time BEST roommate I ever had in college! So that was definitely a treat, and we might never have re-found each other if I hadn't written and published a book. But ask me again in a week or so, and I might have a brand new answer for you.
>What did you do to celebrate the new book being published?
It all seemed to happen in a bit of a rush. My book got pushed two months UP in the schedule, so we were really scrambling all of a sudden to get it to press. Then it took nearly another month to actually start appearing in the bookstores, and quite frankly, since my family and close friends all live pretty far away, my celebration was pretty low key. I did hold a "book release party" on my blog earlier this month, where I gave away a prize an hour, 8 prizes in all, all tied somehow to the theme of "Illuminations." [Oh, so she does call it by its nickname] So I guess you could say I celebrated with some online friends, and I don't know about them, but I, personally, had a really great time! *See note below for info on how you can still get in on some prize action.
>How can such great, well-written stories come out of Kearny, AZ? (Joyce is from Kearny, the story is not set there) Okay, that one’s rhetorical. Does anyone really know where Kearny is when you tell them where you are from? You don’t have to answer that either.
I don't mind answering. LOL! Yes, actually, there are people who know where Kearny is when I tell them where I'm from. Not a lot, but more than I expect. I don't know how great my stories are, but this is a good, loving little town. I was richly blessed by growing up here, and am still blessed by the wonderful, hardworking, compassionate people I still associate with here every day. And if I can give something back to this town that has given me so much by having "Kearny" attached to my name as an author, then I feel humbled and honored to do so. [Good answer...now I'm wondering if I can say that about Amarillo, Texas when my book is published.]
>What’s your secret to being a finisher…writing a novel through to the end?
What's the answer to finishing anything? Just keep plugging away. Even on those days when you don't feel like plugging. ESPECIALLY on those days when you don't feel like plugging. I'm a very slow writer, but it eventually adds up. My favorite "writing scripture" is, "Out of small things proceeds that which is great." (D&C 64:33) It's another version of "bird by bird" (see my--as in me, the blogger--post here for an explanation of this reference) or "word by word." That's how stories are constructed, one little word at a time. I know if I just keep typing those little words long enough, eventually I'll wind up with another novel-length book.
>Give me one random sentence from your book, no context.
"You'll wear yourself out first, dancing away as you are doing." [Note from me, blog poster: Funny, my husband says that to me all the time!]
Well, I'm priviliged to know Joyce personally, but still it has been fun to interview her. THANKS, Joyce! Since this is my first review I haven't established any sort of star rating system, but you are a star in my book!
Here are all the links you need to read more about the book or the author and to purchase a copy of Illuminations:
The publisher: http://walnutspringspress.blogspot.com
Joyce's blog http://jdp-news.blogspot.com
amazon.com or deseretbook.com
And with that my first review is done. I had fun. Hope you did too!
Okay, so it's the exact same blog post title as the last one, but since today is the day I am presenting my review and author interview of Illuminations, I feel the title fits. (Now I don't know if author Joyce calls her book by its nickname, but after reading 145,000+ words of it, I feel the book and I have become fairly comfortable with each other.)
First, can I say, Joyce DiPastena knows her medieval stuff. She majored in it in college no less, receiving a degree from the University of Arizona. She is true to the time frame throughout her story, introducing the reader to terms like "crenellated," "portcullis," and "primogeniture." You may have thought "mail" was something that showed up in a box outside your home or on your computer, as in You've got it but no, it's "a flexible armor made of small, overlapping metal rings." (I got that from a glossary in the back of the book.)
Illuminations of the Heart, a historical romance set in the late 12th century, tells the story of Siriol de Calendri who is directed by her deceased brother's will to travel to France where a friend will oversee her marriage to a proper suitor. The friend is Triston de Brielle. "Ah, Triston," you say, because you have read Joyce's first book, Loyalty's Web. Yes, it's that Triston. His story continues, but with major emotional conflict on his part because Siri looks just like his former wife Clothilde. Remember how beautiful she was? Well, Siri has the same "curse" and it forces the castle and French countryside into a frenzy as only beauty can. If you haven't read Loyalty's Web, then why?
I highly recommend it...I would loan you my copy, but my daughter in Utah has it. The two books have much in common, but you do not have to read the first before the second. Illuminations is more of a spin-off than a sequel. It takes the character Triston and brings him a new story. In fact, I asked the author about this.
Lowly blog poster, Me: Which came first, Siri and the idea for her story or Triston and the need to create something new for him?
Amazing author, Joyce: Triston came first. I knew and had grown to love him from Loyalty's Web, and wanted to find a way to give him a happier ending than I had at the end of that book. And I knew that to do that, he needed a woman who would be the very opposite of his first wife. Thus Siri was born. Why I chose to make his first wife's "total opposite" look exactly like his first wife is one of those little quirks of being a writer that I really can't explain. I don't know what made me do it. Maybe I thought poor Triston hadn't been tortured enough in Loyalty's Web and wanted to torture him a little more? The bitterer the beginning, the sweeter the ending? Something like that? [Sounds good to me, Joyce.]
I personally have not read a lot of medieval romances, I'm busy trying to keep up with my own real-life, modern-day romance (with my husband, not my novel), but the writing in the book is so well-done and there's a lot of twisty-turny events that kept me turning the pages. There are questions to be answered...why would Siri agree to marry that one guy (I won't reveal...) and why is Triston's son so afraid of him? How will the politics discussed in the story be resolved? Why can't these medieval characters be more careful around stairs? And above all, why are the moat waters "roiling?" (Page 17 of the book.) Just kidding about that. All the moat waters I've seen have been roiling, it's just what they do.
Here's more of my Q & A with Joyce...
>What’s the best part of being a published author?
The most current "best thing" was being re-discovered by an old college roommate after 30 years of silence between us. She just wandered into a Deseret Book last week and discovered my books on the shelf, found my email address in my bio, and shot me an email. Now mind you, this wasn't just any roommate. This was the all time BEST roommate I ever had in college! So that was definitely a treat, and we might never have re-found each other if I hadn't written and published a book. But ask me again in a week or so, and I might have a brand new answer for you.
>What did you do to celebrate the new book being published?
It all seemed to happen in a bit of a rush. My book got pushed two months UP in the schedule, so we were really scrambling all of a sudden to get it to press. Then it took nearly another month to actually start appearing in the bookstores, and quite frankly, since my family and close friends all live pretty far away, my celebration was pretty low key. I did hold a "book release party" on my blog earlier this month, where I gave away a prize an hour, 8 prizes in all, all tied somehow to the theme of "Illuminations." [Oh, so she does call it by its nickname] So I guess you could say I celebrated with some online friends, and I don't know about them, but I, personally, had a really great time! *See note below for info on how you can still get in on some prize action.
>How can such great, well-written stories come out of Kearny, AZ? (Joyce is from Kearny, the story is not set there) Okay, that one’s rhetorical. Does anyone really know where Kearny is when you tell them where you are from? You don’t have to answer that either.
I don't mind answering. LOL! Yes, actually, there are people who know where Kearny is when I tell them where I'm from. Not a lot, but more than I expect. I don't know how great my stories are, but this is a good, loving little town. I was richly blessed by growing up here, and am still blessed by the wonderful, hardworking, compassionate people I still associate with here every day. And if I can give something back to this town that has given me so much by having "Kearny" attached to my name as an author, then I feel humbled and honored to do so. [Good answer...now I'm wondering if I can say that about Amarillo, Texas when my book is published.]
>What’s your secret to being a finisher…writing a novel through to the end?
What's the answer to finishing anything? Just keep plugging away. Even on those days when you don't feel like plugging. ESPECIALLY on those days when you don't feel like plugging. I'm a very slow writer, but it eventually adds up. My favorite "writing scripture" is, "Out of small things proceeds that which is great." (D&C 64:33) It's another version of "bird by bird" (see my--as in me, the blogger--post here for an explanation of this reference) or "word by word." That's how stories are constructed, one little word at a time. I know if I just keep typing those little words long enough, eventually I'll wind up with another novel-length book.
>Give me one random sentence from your book, no context.
"You'll wear yourself out first, dancing away as you are doing." [Note from me, blog poster: Funny, my husband says that to me all the time!]
Well, I'm priviliged to know Joyce personally, but still it has been fun to interview her. THANKS, Joyce! Since this is my first review I haven't established any sort of star rating system, but you are a star in my book!
Here are all the links you need to read more about the book or the author and to purchase a copy of Illuminations:
The publisher: http://walnutspringspress.blogspot.com
Joyce's blog http://jdp-news.blogspot.com
amazon.com or deseretbook.com
And with that my first review is done. I had fun. Hope you did too!
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