Monday, January 11, 2010
Books, books, books
Well, it's only the one book really. Rachel K. Vincent's My Soul To Take (from Amazon because I ran off and left my copy at home):
She doesn't see dead people, but…
She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.
Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next…
I've been meaning to buy a copy of this since I found Rachel's blog, and I just found one for cheap at my local Walden Books (which will sadly soon be closed). I'm so glad I bought it. I read the whole thing that night and stayed up past 1AM to finish it.
My Soul to Take is about Kaylee, a girl with "panic attacks" that are actually death omens in the form of uncontrollable urges to scream. Kaylee is a bean sidhe (banshee), and she doesn't even know it. On top of wailing at inopportune times, Nash, the hottest guy in school, has taken an interest in Kaylee for some unknown reason. And as if things couldn't get worse, she has a "panic attack" in front of him, effectively ruining what little social standing she had, or so she thinks. Suddenly pretty, popular girls start dropping dead, and Kaylee blames herself for not being able to warn them because of her screams.
MSTT is fantastic. I couldn't put it down. Kaylee is a compelling narrator and her interactions with Nash made my heart pound as much as it did hers. I felt her fear and heartbreak when her life started falling apart and girls started dying. But bean sidhes aren't the only things running around in MSTT; there are grim reapers too, and one of them, Tod, is as much of a hotty as Nash is, only he's got the bad boy thing working for him too.
The lore was incredibly iteresting. I'd never heard much about bean sidhes, but Rachel describes everything without preaching or shoving information down your throat. In fact, I'm completely taken with bean sidhes now, and can't wait to get my hands on the next one to find out what's new with Kaylee and Nash and to learn even more about them.
MSTT is a hauntingly beautiful YA novel with unique descriptions and characters who resonate. If you can't get the book or aren't sure if you'll like Kaylee, I recommend checking out the prequel to the series My Soul to Lose. If you've read the book and didn't know about the prequel, that's ok, it isn't necessary to understand the rest of the books. But it is a good, short read that introduces you to Kaylee and her... condition.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Grad School vs Work
I'm torn between Texas Tech (they have a cool Book History program that would go with publishing) and Purdue (it's Purdue...I mean it's pretty awesome) for grad school but I wouldn't be able to work at a lit agency until after I was finished with school.
So, do I wait another 2 years (after graduation in May 2011) or do I move off and become an intern and work my way up or try to get a job with only a BA in English? Anyone know any agents who might have advice? I follow a lot on twitter and on here but I don't know if they'd mind these types of questions. *sigh*
On a writing note, SNI keeps trying to tempt me when I'm trying to go to bed at night. I don't think I'll be able to stay away until I'm finished with edits...
Thursday, January 7, 2010
I like books. <3
Teaser (from the very beginning so all you've missed is familial interactions and now he's on a diving board on a yacht):
Tom peeled off his shirt and dropped it on the wooden floor at the foot of the diving board. He let his eyes roam over the dark water and watched the breeze move through the branches of the nearby trees and across the surface of the lake. It was gorgeous. Tom climbed the few small steps to the small diving board and closed his eyes. The light breeze swept over his bare chest and through his short hair and eased the tension out of his muscles. He breathed in the fresh air and bounced lightly a few times to get a feel for the board. For an instant he froze. Tom had always been terrified of drowning, and staring at water that was so deep he couldn’t see the bottom momentarily took control of his nerves. He took a deep breath to steady them, bounced a little higher on the board, and dove.
There was a flash of bright red light as he flew through the air, and Tom automatically threw his arms up to shield his eyes. He kept his eyes closed tight against the harsh light and took a deep breath, bracing himself for the sharp pain of a belly flop that never came. Tom would have been shocked to find a hard floor beneath him instead of the lake if he had seen it coming. His head hit the ground with a sickening crack, and he rolled onto his back automatically. Tears welled in his blue-gray eyes, and he gasped in shock and pain.
The air was cold and thin; the floor was like ice against his bare skin, making it feel as if his skin was tearing away from his bones with every move he made. Tom had difficulty breathing. His lungs felt tight; he choked trying to breathe in, but the air filling his lungs was not the oxygen that his body needed. His lungs were on fire, his head felt like it was splitting apart, and his entire body ached from the impact of his landing and the frigid temperature of the room. He shifted onto his side and tried to ignore the sharp pain in his head, while his lungs screamed for air. Tom clutched at his chest and opened and closed his mouth repeatedly like a fish out of water. He twitched and shook uncontrollably. He held himself tight and curled into a ball in an attempt to reclaim some semblance of control over his own body. He could feel the pressure rising in his head and eyes, and he slipped on to his back once more, gasping for air that would never come. Within seconds he was unconscious. His body was tense for another moment, and then he relaxed. The struggle to breathe was over. Tom had lost.
Alrighty, now then, a WiP update: I am working on editing chapter 2 now and almost finished (I think). Chapter one was 31 pages but I went back and cut it around pg 24 and tagged the rest onto the beginning of chap 2 (obviously). Now my chapters are all going to be out of whack so I have to keep an eye out for new chapter breaks as I go.
Also, did I mention this draft is basically a rewrite? The 1st draft is in 1st person but it wasn't working so now the whole thing is changing to 3rd. Woo! Fun stuff this writing business. :)
In other news, I will be moving back to school on Sunday and resuming classes the very next day. Luckily I don't start working in the library until Tuesday (I am such a nerd haha). This semester is gonna be good. I can feel it... honestly, it just really needs to not suck.
Hopefully (because I have fewer and easier classes), I will not be taking another 3 month blogging hiatus. AND, if all goes well, I might start doing reviews, because I just bought 4 new books and I plan on buying more. :)
Today's book purchases were: Dune, Ender's Game, Wicked, and Stray. I. Cannot. Wait.
That's all for tonight/today/whatever. So what about you, buy any new books lately?
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Why I write.
Now, these friends actually know that I write, and that I want to be published. Naturally, one of them started to ask me about writing, and he had one major question: Do you care more about the language or the plot?
A good question for any writer, I think. The problem was, he didn't want to accept my answer of "both," he believes that one has to be more dominate than the other. He may or may not be right. Honestly it's not something I think about quite like that. He wanted to break things down into the typical Literature/literature way, and frankly that bothers me. I don't want to write something that looks or sounds beautiful or will be studied for symbolism later on in a classroom -though I wouldn't mind any of those- I want to write a book that will suck someone in and keep them reading. I want to write that book that you have a hard time putting down. So, I guess I focus on plot.
But honestly, I want to write a story that people can go back to over and over again and maybe learn something new about themselves or the characters or life. I want to write a story that people care about. I want to write something that will impact at least one person, even if that's just making someone's day better because they read my story.
I don't know if I've answered his question. I don't know if I ever truly will (I told him plot when I was having a hard time articulating myself). But you know what? I know what I want to do as a writer, and I don't know if I'm any good at it, but I sure as hell try.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Hello, New Year!
Life isn't always a walk in the park. In fact, in my experience every day can provide you with more obstacles. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying life is all pain and heartbreak, but I do think it can seem that way. We have a tendency to look back on our lives and remember all of the bad things, all of the things that went horribly wrong, or the things we wish we would have done differently. I've made it a personal goal of mine to look on the bright side of life. To try and see the good things in spite of the bad.
This has become increasingly difficult, but getting to spend time with the people I love has helped me the last couple of weeks. After high school, we all went our separate ways, and now we hardly ever see each other. I got to college and I thought it would be so much better than high school, but it's worse. The people are more immature and even more vicious. I lost all of my friends after the first semester and had to make entirely new ones. Recently, nearly everyone who was there for me after that first rough patch has deserted me. But I've made new and better friends, and just like those select few friends I've managed to keep since high school, they're there for me. And I can't imagine how things would have turned out if I hadn't met any of them.
On a writing note, last night was a big one for me: I finished editing the first chapter of Rise of the Phoenix, and I couldn't be more excited. It still worries me though; I think I might have to split it, but I'm not sure yet. It grew, a lot. The 1st person version is 18 pgs; the new 3rd person rewrite and edit is 31 pgs and 8,200 words. =)
It's a new year, and a new decade. I've never been one for resolutions, but I'm a fan of goals. I mentioned before (a couple of times actually) that I want to be query ready by graduation, May 2011. I want to move it up. By January of 2011, I want to be finished with edits, and have a query and synopsis ready. I want to write more often and on a regular basis. And I want to start playing with my Shiny Idea.
I'm determined to have a fantastic year. So, here's to 2010. May it be filled with happiness and success for everyone.
I've given you my goals. Now, what're yours? Do you want to find the perfect agent? Finish that story you've been writing? Meet new people? Let's hear it!
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