Heading for NYC

Younger Daughter and I are headed to New York City.

We're going to Book Expo America (BEA), the largest book trade fair in the United States.   I plan to wander around, find out about great books, and pick up as many as I can carry.

But the main reason to go is that I'll be signing copies (i.e. uncorrected proofs¹) of my debut novel Whisper Falls.   I cannot wait to see and hold a copy of my book.

If you're going to be at BEA on Friday, drop by the Spencer Hill booth and get a book!

• Friday, May 31
  • Book-signing at Book Expo America (BEA)
    11:00 am, Booth 2567
    Jake Javits Center - New York City

¹ Uncorrected proof - an uncorrected proof is a bound copy of the book. It is just like a real book, except the possibility exists that it might have a typo or two. An uncorrected proof is not available for sale, but it is the book in its entirety. Generally, publishing professionals (such as book store owners, librarians, and book reviewers)receive uncorrected proofs or ARCs (advanced reading copy) so that they can review the book in advance of its publication date.

Body language

My best friend and I were sitting at lunch the other day, and a hot guy walked by. So I said, "That guy is hot." (I'm eloquent that way.)

"Would you say that in front of your husband?" she asked.

"Sure would. And he doesn't mind."

She expressed some disbelief on his behalf, but it's the truth. It has to be.  It is my job to notice people.

I'm an author. I write stories where I must describe things. Human beings are the main things I describe.  Mostly, a story is about what my characters think and how they act. But their appearance (either the one they're born with or the one they create) can have a powerful impact on their thoughts, their actions, how other characters react to them, and--ultimately--how the reader responds.

Authors must be good manipulators of body language.

I know a dozen ways to say "blond."  If I call a girl "overweight", the reader has a different mental image than if I call her "curvy." I might give a minor character light brown eyes, but the hero's eyes are amber.

I pay attention to details. What is the shape of a person's face? Is it symmetric? Do they have scars? Facial hair? Does their hairstyle flatter or detract? How about their hands? Do they have long, elegant fingers? Is the skin supple, rough, or wrinkled? Are the nails long? Manicured? Dirty? Bitten? 

I might say that I find a guy attractive, but I could also write you a five-hundred word description to tell you exactly why. And it is likely that elements of that description will wind up in a book of mine one day.

Authors have careers that require understanding from spouses, but we're not the only ones. Actors kiss people who aren't their partners. Health care providers see and touch bare body parts as part of their daily routine.  The lady at the lingerie store knows precisely what bra size I wear just by looking.

My husband understands. He knows that a lot of what I say is simply exercising the tools of my trade.

Really. If I say you're hot, it's professional, not personal. Most of the time.

Jitters that did not come from coffee

To borrow a phrase from my agent, we are on submission.

Writers are in a golden age, I think. We are no longer limited to one channel for selling our work. Ten years ago, if we wrote a great book, we had to find a publishing house (PH) willing to take a risk on us.  The book had to be different enough to be fresh and unique, but similar enough for the PH to understand how to promote it and where to shelve it in bookstores. So, yeah—fresh, unique, and the same as everything else. Quite the trick.

Today, if no PH will buy our great book because it's too risky, authors have two choices: 1) try self-publishing or 2) hope the market changes so that we can try again later.  There are pros and cons to both.

I'm sticking with the second option for now. Its pros are more compelling for me than its cons. I like having professional help with editing, distributing, and promoting my books—and those qualities tend to be the strengths of publishing houses.

Several years ago, I wrote a book called I WISH. It finaled in an international writing contest known as the Golden Heart®. It caught the eye of my literary agent, who signed me because of I WISH.

We tried for months to sell IW.  We came really close a couple of times.  Even though the responses was positive, the answer was the same. This book is too different. Too risky. We don't know how to market it.

Fine. Whatever. I archived IW and started something new.  After that something new sold, I pulled I WISH out of archive and took another look.  The world had changed enough in the interim that I thought this book still held promise.

First, I have changed. I am a better author now. I've practiced hard, taken classes, and improved my skills at processing feedback. Secondly, technology has changed. The characters have new computers, devices, and information available to them. Thirdly, the market has changed. E-books have expanded the possibilities. Young Adult fiction, with its willingness to experiment with "formulas," has pushed the market along new and exciting terrain.

Given all of those changes, I took my much-loved I WISH apart and put it back together.  I worked hard. I hired a freelance editor and 2 teen beta readers. I listened to them and applied their suggestions. And together, we've made IW even better than before.

My agent has sent the book out there into the publishing world. It could be weeks or months before we know anything.  Until then, I wait for good news, with the jitters in full force.

Juggling all these stories

I have an author-friend who has contracts with five different publishers (three are Big Six and two are mid-size).  She has to produce books for all of these publishers sometime in the next twelve months.

That would be a nice problem to have, although I'm not sure how good I would be at juggling that many. But I guess I'm finding out in April. I've been working on five books this month.

Three of them are in the Whisper Falls trilogy, which hasn't been too bad since they're all so strongly related. I'm making progress on the first draft of Book 3.  My editor is sending me some edits for Book 2.  And I may have to read, for the final time, Book 1 before it gets printed.  (Yes, indeed, the kind of printing that happens with ink and paper and binding.)

I have a YA contemporary manuscript that I wrote a while back.  I love the characters in that book, sort of Romeo&Juliet-ish (without the suicides.) It was the first novel-length manuscript that I ever wrote. Unfortunately, my story-telling skills were immature, so I put R&J-ish aside and studied writing craft.  It took a few years, but I think I'm ready to pick that book back up and unleash the main characters.

Finally, there is my "genie" book. It is the book that intrigued my agent enough to offer representation. Neither one of us have ever given up on I WISH. So I've been tweaking it too, making sure that I'm not standing in the way of Grant and Lacey to get their stories out.  And there might be a sequel or two lurking in there somewhere.

Yeah, contracts to write more books would be a great problem to have.

The moratorium is over

I promised my family that I would take the month of March off, and I did.  It was not fun.

For one thing, it was arbitrary. Why a month?  I did need a break after spending eight months working on Book 2. My husband and daughters deserved my attention. But, as it turned out, they didn't want as much attention as I had available.

The first week was the worst. I had all of these ideas for Book 3 that I wanted to get recorded, but I couldn't. 'Cause I promised.

I created a clean-the-cabinets project.  That died after five cabinets.

I started hunting through book review sites, looking for new things to read.  And I discovered the New Adult genre. Yes, I forgot about Book 3 and all my ideas and the cleaning projects to submerge myself in NA books.  I can never write them myself, but I am sold!

It is April 2nd. I started Book 3 yesterday.  And I'm never taking a month off again. I need to write. 

Buying the book

I'm often asked if Whisper Falls will release in paperback or digital.

The answer is: both.

You can pre-order the paperback on Amazon right now, and I'll update as more retailers include it.

Eventually, you'll be able to pre-order the digital version, but that likely won't happen until September.¹  Trust me, I'll make that information available as soon as I get it.

Thanks for being interested!


¹ The e-book will be available from Amazon, B&N, Kobo, and iBookstore. 

Happy birthday to my hero

It's my hero's birthday.  My real hero.

That would be my husband. If it weren't for him, I'm not sure if I would be a writer.

Being a writer is a horribly difficult career.  Only masochists should apply. Like any artform, it requires talent, hard work, lessons, practice, and practice. You do your best, display your talent to the world, and wait for.... rejection.

Yes, indeed, rejection is what writers get most of the time. I've been rejected by editors, by agents, by contest judges—and many were cruel. Once my books release, I'll be rejected by critics and readers—and many will be cruel. Let me assure you, even the most secure person gets their soul chipped away from all of that rejection.

That is why a writing career is a terrible choice for the writer's family. With all of the hard work, practice, and rejection it includes, things get neglected, like chores. Meals. Basic civilities. People.

Without the support and encouragement of my husband, I couldn't have done it.  He has waited patiently for more than a dozen years for my writing career to take off. He ignored the messy house (most of the time), pushed me to attend conferences, drove me on research trips, shrugged at the receipts for my expenses, and took the kids away on daddy-daughter trips so that Mom could write. He listened to my insecurities and then did what he could to leave me feeling ever-more-secure. He created the environment in which I could be my best. If my books do well, it's his success too.

Thank you, sweetheart. And happy birthday!