Recap: Daddy's Girls' Weekend 2013

Another year... another Daddy's Girl Weekend. For those unfamiliar with the antics of the Peas' university writing mentor, known troublemaker Carolyn Haines, and her esteemed cohort, Sarah Bewley, each year (for the last three) these ladies have hosted a writer and reader conference in or near the Mobile, AL area. DGWE always proves to be great craft and business advice paired with an unforgettable time. This year was no exception.

 Chris Grabenstien author of iFunny, Dean James AKA Miranda James author of The Cat in the Stack Series, Ben LeRoy of Tyrus Books, Scholastic Editor Mallory Kass, Muse Literary Agent Debbie Carter, friend Ron O'Gorman (whose book Fatal Rythmn with be available from Tuscany Press, Marilyn Johnston, Kimberly Daniels, Robert Warren, Alice Jackson, John Hafner, and Dewitt Lebrano were all in attendance as faculty and panelists this year, offering a wide array of perspectives of craft and business.

This is always a fun event and I've yet to miss a year. Plus, it's always good to get back to your roots. In many ways, Carolyn's classes is what really started this crazy endeavor anyway.

Follow the Con via Facebook at: D. g. Weekend

They are already gearing up for registration and accommodations for 2014. You won't want to miss it (even if just to watch the antics of Carolyn's posse.  ;-)

~M

Olde City New Blood: February Recap... Eesh!

This is so, so late...

Olde City New Blood

A recap on a conference that happened months ago seems...
Well, I just should've done one sooner.

But it was such an amazing group of organizers, authors, bloggers, and readers--I feel like the Peas owed all of them a little shout out.

Holla! You were terrific!

This was one of the most fun cons for me. Not only did all in attendance have their fingers in some facet of the genre/sub-genres/categories I love, but the attendees and faculty were so accessible. I got to hang with one of my heros (Janice Hardy) and meet a slew of other authors and new faces that were just amazingly generous with their time and willingness to share: Alex Hughes, James R. Tuck, Jenna Bennett AKA Jenny Bentley, Karina Cooper, Delilah S. Dawson, Lexi George, Lea Nolan, C J Ellison, just to name a few that were particularly awesome to me and gave me great advice. Since, I have read a lot of their books since, I am even more glad I got to be in the company of their talented selves. (So if you are looking for a summer reading list and some new authors to explore, start with the links above).

I also met an incredibly talented lady forging her way through this jungle of the publishing world, Cat York. A talented illustrator and writer. And now a friend and comrade for the future.

For news on the next incarnation of this conference... check out Coastal Magic
This is a Con worth following. Give them some love--great things are happening here.

~M

Today's Lost Chance to Hollywood It

Today marks a day of professional growth disappointment. The screenwriting workshop I had signed up for at the local university did not make and therefore was cancelled. I had high hopes of learning the secrets of screenwriting in a two-week long course that would, per chance, enable me to channel Joss Whedon as I approach my next story concept. What's more, to have an affordable way to explore the craft of movie and television writing, right here in my own backyard. Well, to even have the opportunity is a rarity. Imagine my excitement paired with my disappointment as the course was squelched (for reasonable reasons, I'm sure).

Alas, that dream has faded. Today is just another Monday.

Not that I fancy myself a reborn (new born?) screenwriter. I enjoy the wordy exposition of the book format too much. I understand how different the formats of screenwriting versus novel writing are, but that's not to say I don't recognize the similarities as well. After all, a good story is a good story.

I'm a bit of a cinematic writer anyway. I tend to view the scenes in my head that I write much like I'm viewing them through a camera lens. This isn't a method exclusive to me. A lot of writers do it. We (meaning writer folk of the last several decades) have grown up in a society where television and film saturate our perspectives. But there is something innately comfortable with this method of storytelling--lenses, scenes, etc.--probably explained away in some philosophical psychology of the observer in relation the observed that dates back prior to the birth of moving pictures. However, the chicken-or-the-egg argument is not what I mean to highlight. What I mean to highlight is, as novelists, writers of any kind, ie: storytellers, we can learn a lot from experiencing the screenwriting process (I imagine, I had hoped, I still hope). I also think we can do the same by taking time to closely examine films that convey really good story.

This isn't anything new. It's not rocket science either. It's just something I'm pondering today--directly related to the mourning of my lost opportunity.

One thought brambling about up there...
Our film market is inundated (and always has been) with book to film adaptations. What is interesting to me is what works in both, what works exclusively with the confines of each format, and why we are so quick to judge these formats against one another (I loved the book but hated the movie, we often say).

I imagine this inevitable relation is as simple as: they are both ways to tell a story.

As a struggle through finishing my books and then making them really good stories (which I think the finishing is one thing and the latter comes with rewriting and editing) I look onward in awe at those filmmakers and screenwriters that tell really good stories. Until the next screenwriting opportunity shows itself, I'll satisfy myself with rereading Syd Feild's The Screenwriter's Workbook and keep replaying and scrutinizing Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams series' and films'.
Maybe I can teach myself to Hollywood It? But I'm open to suggestions.

~M

Cumberbatching My Way Back to the Job

I spend an awful lot of time lately lamenting how much or how little time I spend honing my craft and producing pages versus being human and remembering to eat, sleep, and clean out litter boxes so my feline companions and my husband don't walk out on me. I think every writer trying to find their feet does this at various stages, whether they are considered a success (whatever that means) or not. Especially those writers with careers, families, and responsibilities not centered around their creative endeavors. It's part and parcel to the game (I think). Some handle it better than others. I, however, find it all very anxiety-ridden.

I have a lot of idols, writers and other creative types (artists, actors, directors, etc.), that I look up to and I think, "Wow, you've got it so together. What the f*@k is wrong with me?" It's in those moments that I begin to think about all the things I should be doing, but don't do well. Things that are supposed to help bolster my career as a writer (whatever that means): the Twitter, the Facebook, the Blogging, my website upkeep, networking, pitching, querying, and the list goes on. You know the list, it's the one you start to compile when you go to writers' conferences and workshops and every writer tells you what they do, every editor and agent tells you what they want, and you just start to assimilate all of it rather than picking and choosing what actually might work best for you (because you don't have any sense at all. Well, YOU might have sense, but I don't). And it's in those moments that I begin my desent. My downward spiral. It's then that the doubt and the fear and the disillusionment begins. Call it insecurity, call it the artist's lament, either way, if I allow it to get a hold of me, it can take quite a long time for me to dig myself out of it.

So, last night, I was doing what I often do when I'm not writing and worrying about how I'm not writing whilst realizing that the worrying about not writing is just not writing and I'd be better off writing but I don't write because I'm a hot mess and I decide to wallow in my writer's lament...

I googled Benedict Cumberbatch.
(I don't always google Benedict, sometimes it's Joss Whedon, sometimes it's J.J. Abrams or James Hance or J.K Rowling or someone else on that long list of creative people I idolize.)
Last night it was Benedict Cumberbatch.

Anyway, I adore The Cumberbatch. He's one of those amazing creative types (a British actor, if you are unaware) who, I think, will be considered The Actor of my generation. And I mean that quite literally. His birthday is only three months before mine. Why is this important? Well, it goes back to what I said before--Benedict is one of those creative types I idolize and I often think, "Wow! You've got it together. What the sh*t is my problem?" 36-years-old, like me, Ben's part of the successful, well-loved BBC Series Sherlock, and in the last few years he's been a part of some amazing projects: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, War Horse, Atonement, The Hobbit, and Star Trek (just to name a few). Not only is his career exploding, but I believe he genuinely deserves the attention. He's an amazing actor and he's intelligent, charismatic, and possesses unearthly cheekbones.

Ultimately, in this moment of the downward spiral, thinking of Benedict Cumberbatch makes me feel crappy about myself and my lack of success (again... whatever that word means). We're the same age, he and I, and I look at him and I think (because I have engaged in that desent), "I am a waste of air and space. What the sh*t have I been doing the last 36 years?"

I know, I know. I know what you are going to say. "It's not Ben's fault!"
Of course it's not Benedict's fault. I know that! I'm not totally unaware of my accountability in all this. I'm also very aware that the comparison is ridiculous. For one, I'm not British. Secondly, I'm not an actor. I'm definitely not a dude. And even if I lost 60 lbs, I am never going to have cheekbones like his. Ever.

Nevertheless, thinking of him in this way makes me feel totally inadequate as I stare at the mess of a manuscript in my lap and the six other (once promising) novel projects that haven't quite made it off the ground. It's an anxiety-ridden despair that makes me wonder, why the hell am I doing any of this anyway?

But, keep in mind, I've been googling Benedict Cumberbatch throughout this whole desent process.

This is what I stumble upon:

Screenshot from a USA Today Article by Brian Truitt

God love you Benedict and your f*ck!ng amazing cheekbones.

In the last several years of trying so hard to write a publishable manuscript and pave a way to break into the market, I had forgotten this simple fact: I love writing. I cannot imagine an existence without me doing it. And when I'm in it, doing it with passion and without distraction, I really enjoy my job.

Do I want an audience? Absolutely. But not at the detriment of my love for the job which I so enjoy doing. It's so easy to get caught up in all the extraneous things that have to do with writing for an audience, but that doesn't preclude that the first and foremost focus should ever stop being the writing. Without the writing, the rest of it is for naught. That I do know and I often forget that the work is the work.

~M

Books are like Bananas? Where is this post going? Srsly.

*pokes head around corner* Um, hi. Alexis here. It's been a while. *grins sheepishly* Sorry 'bout that.

Life has been... well... life. Which has kept me from writing. Which in turn has kept me from posting because, hey, what could I say? "Oh, hey guys! Still not writing. Too busy trying to round up the marbles of my life which I've dropped all over the hardwood floor. Sorry I'm not inspiring! See y'all later!" Not really gonna cut it.

But just because I haven't written lately doesn't mean I haven't been creative. So I guess that's a stupid excuse. In fact, I've amped up my creativity quite a lot, especially in the last few months.

Tucker being ridiculously adorable.

I'm still doing my book "reviews" over at Witty Title Here. {With the new year came a new photo look and process, but of course I still get my feathery helpers to join in when they can}.  [RIGHT]

But you may not know that I've also started an Etsy store with my latest endeavor: hand-lettered typography. Most days, I spend my lunch hours sketching, and my evenings inking the sketches onto nice paper. [BELOW]

*FOR MORE INFO SEE BOTTOM OF POST

Lately, my evenings have been given over to finally, finally decorating and organizing my house and to refinishing the desk I finally bought for my office. Srsly y'all, you have no idea how long I've suffered without a desk and just how much chaos it has created in my home.   

The "cleanest" part of my office.

In my office alone, none of the art is hung. [RIGHT] Boxes flood the floor {because I have no storage}, all my art supplies and gadgets and computer and monitor are littering other parts of my house where I can use them since my office is pretty much just a storage shed/library. My books are only so organized on my shelves because they are sharing space with random objects and picture frames that have nowhere else to sit. It's driving me insane.

So, right now, my priorities have shifted to finishing the desk, getting it out of the garage -- where my husband can then move all his shit that clutters the house {it's a vicious cycle}-- and the house can maybe not be such a source of clutter in my mind.

Which is an exciting prospect. Because when my surroundings are in chaos, my mind is, too.  {Spent an entire Sat. sanding all of this, btw}.



Needless to say, with all that going on, I haven't really been focused on the writing aspect of my life. I haven't forgotten or abandoned it... just... haven't focused my energies there. I think it was much needed. In truth, things had been a little depressing for me in the fall/winter. I stopped sending out queries/synopses/etc in August, but got a continuous trickle of rejections through about November.

To be fair, there were many positive rejections. {One in particular, which came out of the blue a couple months after I'd stopped expecting to get any more responses, actually ended up meaning a lot to me because I was having a really rough week when I got it. And even though it was a rejection, it made me feel a little better}. [RIGHT]





But when something you truly believe in continues to give you almost nothing of real encouragement/positivity in return for years of devotion and effort, no matter how hard you try to change things, the veil of hope begins to wear thin. Especially when so many agents found it promising but, ultimately, not fresh enough. I'm convinced that this is the worst possible feedback you can get on a manuscript. How? How do you fix that? Srsly. It's very disheartening.

...And yet, I'm just the most stubborn person ever, usually clinging to optimism against my better judgement. {But that often pays off, so of course, it reinforces my desire to do so}. So even when I don't work on it for months, or give it really any shelf space in my daily thoughts, I continue to think of ways to fix it. Most are written off before they've completely formed. Other ideas swirl in my head for weeks before I voice them, and then realize how unhelpful they are. Yet I carry on. Why? Because my greatest flaw is my stubborn refusal to give up hope. Yes. Flaw. This flaw has got me in any number of situations where I suffer far more than I ought, and where most people would just give up. But oh, no. Not me. No, I'd rather spend seven years on the same book because I know it's worth not giving up on. And it's not like I'm being unreasonable. It's not a bad book. It's actually really good. People love the characters, they love the world, they enjoy the writing and the story... it's just not... Well, okay, it's like this:

You've got a bunch of bananas. They're ripe and bright and yellow and delightful. They are the best things you've ever tasted. But by the end of the week they aren't quite as bright. A little brown is creeping in. They're the same bananas you wanted on Monday, but by Friday, you've gotten used to the taste. You know these will be just as good, but it's not like you haven't had several like it before. Like, all week. You can actually taste them by memory without opening one up, and you decide to pass. You want a fresher one. So, at this point. my manuscript is sortof, to agents, like the bananas on Friday. Is it just the newest freshest plot ever? No. Is it still satisfying? I'd like to think so. But here's where my stubborn determination to not give up kicks in:

Not my photo. Totally grabbed this off the internet.

Wait another week and those bananas have finally reached the perfect ripeness for just the most fantastic banana bread ever. Yes, the bananas are mushy. No, they don't seem like something you wanna snatch off the shelf and devour. But add a few ingredients and give it some time... and you've got something devourable after all.


So I guess what I'm saying is: to me, my manuscript isn't bananas on Friday. My manuscript is banana bread. I just have to find the right ingredients and then give it some time. It will be fresh when the time is right. Maybe not in the same way as a ripe banana, but still devourable... still leaving you wanting more.

Anyway, that's the short version of where I've been and what I've been up to. I hope, if nothing else, you were entertained, and that maybe your life will seem easier and calmer in comparison to mine ;)

*Profits from ATYPeICAL are used to pay for the desk, art supplies, writing supplies, and books. Basically, if you buy my stuff, you're helping to sustain my creativity... and my sanity. So... please decorate your home and keep me sane!

Doing Nothing is Untrue

Is has been three months since my last lead on.

That's right. I'm fully aware that as a Pea, as a blogger, and as a speaker to our imaginary friends, I have been leading you on for months. I'd say it's because I've been doing nothing writerly since before Christmas 2012, but that'd be untrue.

It's an out and out lie actually.

Just since 2013's arrival, I registered for the national RWA Con (among others), I went to the Olde City New Blood Con in St. Augustine, I joined a local critique group, I met another amazing critique partner (who lives in Tennessee), I wrote my first worth-a-damn synopsis since I started this charade of being a writer, and I attended an event with Fairhope author Sonny Brewer (just this past weekend). Sha! It's true. I been doing stuffs! I even have another writer's conference scheduled for the first week of April. Why the hell didn't/haven't/wouldn't/willn't I blog about any of that?
Cause I have peas for brains!

(Clearly, I'm still in the anger/manic phase of this multi-staged return to pea blogging...)

And don't think the Peas haven't met semi-regularly either. Cause we have! J and I even concocted a slightly stalkery, INCREDIBLY fantastic, Princess/Sherlock/Benedict Cumberbatch themed birthday party for A (which was kind of for all of us really--let's face it). We even rallied together to get me through that worth-a-damn synopsis which scared me as much as a vat full of slugs and snails--which is a lot! (It seems my turret's word for this blog is: which.)

Heck! the group-text-dream-journal-entries the Peas trade daily... especially the one where Ziva from NCIS and I jump away from an erupting volcano, swim to Genoa, Italy, and sell all my parents belongings in a yard sale from a tent... those dream texts are proof positive that these peas have not lost the will to create. Our sub-consciousnesses demand it!

So if you're thinking that blue-masked Pea never blogs like she promised she would because she ain't been doing nothing...

Doing nothing is untrue.

I'm going to spend the next few blog posts groveling and getting you all caught up. (Yep... UP). First, the Olde City New Blood Con. It was awesome! You'll love it. See you back here soon for the skinny on the DL. (I have no idea what I'm typing. We'll just chalk it up to being out of practice.)

Peas and love.
M

Something Clever

I've wanted so badly to write something clever.

I read so many great blogs and I always wonder how do those writers keep it fresh, keep it going? How do YOU amazing bloggers keep all the contributors engaged and productive? Most impressively, how dost thou keep a single contributor going, going, going... especially when that individual is wholly aware that one's readers are imaginary friends?

It's no secret the luster and excitement behind the Inside the Pod posts has waned, dulled, dare I say... come to a screaming halt. I accept responsibility. I'm at least one third culpable. By that measure, I should at the very least post once every three weeks, right? I just haven't had any idea what to write. I wanted to make my fellow peas proud of the work I would do in their absence. And it's not very fun doing Game Pods alone. It just makes me sad that no one can come out to play. 

Then I was struck with a five part heart-squeezing realization...
A) My twenty year high school reunion is next year... which means time is passing at an alarming rate
B) A waiter told me I had a Thai-shaped head on my 16th wedding anniversary
C) I had a mind-blowing dream revelation that what my broken WIP needs is DRUGS as a plot line
D) I was mistaken for a man at the grocery store and will have a long conversation with my therapist Monday morning.
 ...Then Finally
E) I have logged text message conversations with A and J this week that include discussions of both French Toast Warfare and Tuna High Fevers.

No blog posts? No excuses.

When those three silly and ambitious writer girls set out to begin the Ninja Pea Blog, they never for a minute took themselves seriously. The whole point was random writerly related posts. The pod is information sharing, having fun with our writer friends and supporting them, and having a silly time. If someone got a laugh or a morsel or two of useful information...lagniappe. To quote THE Joker... Why so serious?

Somehow as the Peas got busy and I had this notion to continue alone, I felt I had to hone and forge amazing and clever words with eternal meaning.

What the hell was I thinking?

For goodness sake! There are three anthropomorphized peas in ninja masks on the banner of this blog. I've been taking myself way too seriously.

So that's where I am today. I'm inspired to get back in touch with the random-slightly-writerly-mostly-silly-and-misdirected-author-supportive-everything-we-love-blog that Inside the Pod was meant to be. And maybe... just maybe... if I can keep this thing on life support, the Peas will unsprout and return. Bare with me. This might get bumpy. But I hope I can lure a few readers back. I might even think of something clever.

Peas, Love, and Randomness
M

These Unquiet Bones

Kicking off 2013 Inside the Pod I have dear friend and respected fellow writer, Dean Harrison, here to talk a little bit about his debut novel. I asked him to answer a few basic questions to introduce all of you, our imaginary readers, to him and  THESE UNQUIET BONES. 

Make him feel at home.
(Horror and Southern Gothic fans, on the dark side, this is just up your alley.)

Release Date: January 28, 2013

M: You have your debut novel book coming out January 28th, 2013. THESE UNQUIET BONES. Tell readers a little about it.

Dean: It is about a teenage girl named Amy Snow. Trying to get behind the truth of her mother's death, she unleashes the skeletons lurking in the dark of her father's closet and learns a terrible and twisted truth about her family tree. Meanwhile, a man named Adam is on a mission to restore Paradise to its former glory. To accomplish this, he must find "The Lost One," a girl he calls Eve, and sacrifice her to the god she betrayed the day a talking serpent slithered into the Garden of Eden.

I like to think of it as a Southern Gothic and not just horror. It contains all sorts of elements: supernatural and psychological horror, suspense, mystery, romance, and drama.

M: What inspired this project and how did it come to fruition?

Dean: Inspiration came from a constant nagging desire to write a novel that I wanted to read. The themes and characters have been with me since I started writing fiction in high school but I never reached a stable storyline or plot until three years ago, which was when I decided it was time to finally get serious about my dreams.

However, the story and plot went through many changes before I made to the final draft. Minor characters became major characters and vise versa. Plot points were taken out and replaced by new and better ones. Some settings were different, some scenes were taken out and I went through three different titles.

The first title was THE CAPTURED GODDESS but I decided that sounded too much like dark fantasy. The second title was SUFFERING OVERDUE but I quickly decided it wouldn’t fit the story because it sounded too much like splatter-punk, which wasn’t what I was writing. THESE UNQUIET BONES was the third and final title, and the one that fit the story best. I hope others agree.

M: What kinds of readers will respond to this story?

Dean: Adults—and even young adults, since the protagonist and other key characters are teenagers—who enjoy drama, suspense, and supernatural horror in fiction; and who don’t mind being a little disturbed because there is dark and disturbing subject matter within THESE UNQUIET BONES.

Dean Harrison

M: Who are some of the writers that inspire you and what do you like to read when you aren't writing?

Dean: Douglas Clegg, Robert R. McCammon and Dean Koontz were my earliest influences. This was followed by Peter Straub, Thomas Harris and Thomas Hardy—I mostly read horror, suspense thrillers, and classic literature.

John Farris, Tom Piccirilli, Stephen King and William Faulkner were major influences for me while I was working on THESE UNQUIET BONES. T.M. Wright and H.P. Lovecraft also have a big influence on my writing, especially my current work.

Right now I'm reading a novel by Charles L. Grant, one of the masters of quiet horror. I’ve also been delving into the work of Graham Masterton and Arthur Machen, and plan to introduce myself to the writings of Dan Simmons, Richard Matheson, F. Paul Wilson and others.

M: Who is publishing the book?  Where can we find it?

Dean: Odium Media is publishing THESE UNQUIET BONES. You will be able to find it on the publisher’s website, odiumedia.com, or on such sites as Amazon.com.

M: What is next for you?

Dean: I'm currently working on a new novella inspired by Celtic mythology and the writings of horror masters T.M. Wright and Arthur Machen. I also have another novella, inspired by Lovecraft and alternative rock band Smashing Pumpkins, on the backburner. And though I am not a big fan of short stories, I have a ton of short story ideas set aside for a rainy day.

M: For the writers out here, what's the best writing advice you've ever been given?

Dean: Just write and don’t worry about getting it perfect in the first sitting. As Hemingway once said, the first draft of anything is always shit.

Dean Harrison is a longtime fan of horror fiction. Though he has spent some time out in the “real world”   working as a shoe salesman, a security guard, an investigator, a loss prevention detective, and a journalist, he has consistently returned to what he loves doing most–writing horror stories. His published work can be found in the horror anthologies FEM-FANGS, FELL BEASTS, TWISTED TALES FROM THE TORCHLIGHT INN, RELICS & REMAINS, and CHRISTMAS IN HELL. More is to come. Dean lives with his family in his hometown of Mobile, AL; a city rich in ghost stories.

You can learn more about Dean Harrison and THESE UNQUIET BONES, which drops January 28th, by visiting his website: deanmharrison.wordpress.com
Like him on Facebook and drop him a line.

What's In Store?

Hello, lovely imaginary readers. It's 2013! Did you notice a whole new year is upon us? I can't believe it's been a month since we saw each other last. Santa came. The ball dropped. It's been a whirlwind of a 2012 wrap-up, which barreled right into 2013. Where did the time go? It's already mid-month. Somewhere during all that, we lost touch. Apologies. We'll try not to lose you again. No fear... we're back! And we're going to get back on track. Pinky promise. For reals this time.

In the midst of all the New Year planning, there'll be an Instagram revamping.

As is the nature of the pod, we've got a lot of random planned. But I want to fill you in on what's up with the Peas since we last chatted.

A is book blogging at Witty Title Here and you must check out her typography, photos, and graphic design forays on Pinterest and Instagram. She's pretty easy to find everywhere, doodling quotes and creating art to her hearts content. She's easily distracted (ooh, shiny) but she'll never neglect the pod.

J shared sad news about her Alex Sabian books. Since she has been playing with new creative ideas and vegetables. It's quite exciting -- the creative vegetable things. There's other super secret stuff she's doing (cause J is sneaky that way) and some not so super secret stuff. So... really... not much has changed. Yay for normalcy!

Me? Dr. Buttons has a big year ahead of her. A new rewrite of the same manuscript. And a new draft of a new project. Plus... I have 7,930 Days of books to read and the pile is growing. Lots of conferences--six total (Sha! I know! What am I thinking?) A few trips (Vegas, a Cruise, a super secret spring something). But I endeavor not to lose track of you, even when I'm out of town. I will learn to use the laptop effectively. This is part of my New Year's resolution... so... yeah, I gotta. It's in writing.

Heads up! This week I have writer pal, Dean Harrison, dropping by the pod to talk about his debut horror novel, These Unquiet Bones. After that, I have some mad ramblings planned until J and A ease back into the pod as their schedules settle. Hope you are ready for 2013! The Peas certainly are.

Much love and peas, always.

 

Blog Hop

 I'm participating in a blog hop. Sort of a fun way to link authors and readers.
First off... check out these Next Big Thing writer pals.
Sarah Bewley
Dean Harrison


How did I answer the Next Big Thing Blog Hop questions? See below:

What is the working title of your book?
The Resurrection -- but I've been told by industry-types more than once the title will have to change because it's too common. So... I'm not married to it.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
I had a pretty graphic dream about being tortured. I guess you would call it a nightmare. A scene I wrote came from that dream, but it's evolved well past that. Most of my book idea come from an image or scene that I begin to ask a lot of questions about. This started like that.

What genre does your book fall under?
Definitely closer to an Urban Fantasy then anything else.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I hate casting in my head, because the actors that look most like the characters may not be the right age and kind of actor for the part. But if Taylor Kitsch could pull off a pretty great Americanized Dublin accent and would wear the face makeup required, he'd be my Callum Gallagher.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Jane wakes after a violent procedure with no memory and must figure out why a government sanctioned agency and an enigmatic man known as Raven is trying to capture her.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'm still seeking representation. Maybe by next year, I'll have a better idea on the answer to this question. Keep checking back... or drop by my website: www.michelleladner.com 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? One year. But it's being redrafted and has been for a few months.

 What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? I've pitched it as a female Jason Bourne meets Xmen--so it's sort of like that.

Who or What inspired you to write this book? This question answers like the second one above. So I'll refer you to that.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? I'm told by readers that it's dark and very character driven. Not for the reader that wants a quick light read. There's a lot of characters and all of them have a story, so if you like authors who build a world of various people that you'll want to know more about with some action thrown it, it'll probably be the book for you.