Why novels are like children (aka: good-bye to Luc, Frannie and Gabe)

So, I have officially (and probably unofficially) read Last Rite for the very last time. I finished reading through first pass pages (if you don't know what those are, you can find out here) this weekend and mailed back my last few corrections to my editor on Monday. But also, I just finished the first draft of a new project yesterday. I have two projects on totally different ends of the publishing spectrum and it made me think.

The Personal Demons trilogy started like any other project, as just an idea. Or, really just a character. (Hi Luc *waves* :p) So...that would be like an egg, if you're following my analogy here... And from that idea, grows the first draft of a whole novel, with a beginning, a middle and an end. (Think ten fingers and ten toes.)

But that novel is just a fledgling. It needs some guidance (critique input) and support (revisions) to grow into a book that can stand on its own. (This would be your toddler.)
As it starts to take its first steps into the world, we continue to support (revise) it and it slowly grows into the book we knew it could be. So, we send it into the world (high school...or, um...agents) knowing that not everyone will like it, but hoping it makes some friends.
Some may think it's not refined enough. Others won't connect with it on a personal level. It may feel misunderstood and lonely. But it will find a best friend (editor) who will encourage it to be even better (editorial feedback) and support it (revisions) so it can be strong and independent. But once it's out there (on shelves) it's subject to scrutiny (reviews) and it needs to stand on its own. And, as the author/parent, we need to stand back and let it go.

Which is what I'm doing with Frannie, Luc and Gabe. I'm at the place where my heart is still with them, and I still worry about them, but they're independent and strong and I have to find it inside myself to move on and let them have their life. It's hard, and a little sad, but it's part of the cycle.

But, I've got a toddler in my brand new project that needs nurturing, and I've got a few high schoolers who are on or ready for submission, and I've got a few eggs lying around. None of them will ever take the place of Personal Demons, but just like my kids, I love them all the same.

wOOt to NaNoers everywhere!

Did you do NaNoWriMo?? Once again, I sort of accidentally did. I by accident wrote 57K words on the WIP, which just took a turn into the #toohotforYA realm last night. So...I'm thinking I will need to be revising some parts of this thing...cuz there's also the torture part... Yeah. Revision. A writer's best friend.

So, did you NaNoWriMo? How did you do? Cupcakes all around for everyone who hit their goal! My daughter's creative writing class did it as part of the Young Writers group and she passed her goal with over 30K words! Yay! But remember my NaNoWriMo advice at the beginning of the month!

Congrats and happy revising! =)

Achtung Baby!

Since this just posted on German Amazon, I'm deciding it's okay to share it here.

Here is the German cover of Original Sin, or as they're titling it, Im Bann der Dunkelheit, which translates into The Curse of Darkness.

What do you think? In case you forgot, here's the German cover of Between Heaven and Hell, or Personal Demons.

I think they'll look really nice side by side on my bookshelf =)

Hope all you American readers had a happy Thanksgiving! Things here are settling down so I'll be around more. I've missed you! I think I have to give away more books to let you know how much. And, if you're still waiting on a book, I promise I'll get to the post office this week. =)

Lookie! Lookie!

Guess what just posted on Barnes & Noble and Amazon! Yup!

This:


Now you can pre-order the VERY LAST of Frannie, Luc and Gabe. And, for you Team Gabe fans, yes, he gets a POV in this one. In fact, he nearly broke my heart. I loved writing from my boys' POVs, and I hope you love reading them. May's not too far away =)

Six months and counting...

backwards, that is. I'm counting backwards, down to zero. Cuz that's the day Last Rite, the last of my Personal Demons babies, will be on shelves. I just found out the official release date is May 8th! It's not yet up for pre-order on B&N or Amazon, but I'm assured it will be soon, so keep checking.

I'm dying for it to be out in the world. So many of you have written really nice notes wanting to know how Frannie, Luc and Gabe's story wraps up, and you'll be able to find out on May 8th. It actually feels a little strange to me that it's not out there yet. I wrote it so long ago and I've written two and a half books since. But it's also a little sad too. I love my Personal Demons characters so much, and I miss writing them.

So, mark your calendars for May 8th, the day the Personal Demons trilogy ends. And thank you all for your support! <3 you guys. =)

Hold your NaNoWriMo horses!

Today is the kickoff of NaNoWriMo! It's the actual birthday of many novels, some of which will sell to publishers and be on the shelves in another few years. I can almost feel all the creative juices flowing through the universe today, and I'm very excited that my daughter's high school creative writing class is participating!

I personally have never officially participated in NaNoWriMo, but unofficially, I've done it twice. The second time was two years ago when my agent was on submission with Personal Demons to editors. I wrote the sequel, Original Sin. But the first time was three years ago, just after I first started writing. I wrote a novel that is still one of my favorites called Dusty Lane. And then I did what many of you will do. I made the mistake of querying it on December 1st.

I queried a handful of agents and got five manuscript requests. I was in HEAVEN! My novel was the BEST and it was going to sell at auction to a fabulous publisher. But, here's the thing.

It didn't.

When you've written an actual novel, with a beginning, a middle, and an end, and it holds together and makes sense, there's this HUGE sense of accomplishment. You are (rightly) so proud of what you've done that you want to share it with the world. Like I said, I LOVED Dusty. I still hope that someday I might see it in a shiny cover on a shelf with other books. But, the day after I finished the first draft was really not the time to be sending it out into the world. Your novel is going to need some nurturing, some TLC, to become the novel it's capable of being.

As you might expect, the five agents who requested Dusty ended up passing. But the next novel I wrote did end up selling at auction because I gave it time to grow into the best novel it could be before querying it. So, here's my NaNoWriMo advice. Think of your pudgy pink baby novel at the end of NaNoWriMo as 250 pages of POTENTIAL. Give it the love and nurturing it needs to flourish and mature. When it's all grown up, then and only then, consider sending it out into the world.

Best of luck to all you brave souls participating!

Enter Uber-agent Suzie Townsend's Query Contest!

You all remember a few weeks ago when my truly fabulous agent, Suzie Townsend, offered up a query or first chapter critique here as part of my two year signing anniversary with her? Well...she's doing it again! This time the contest is on her blog and it's to celebrate her move to the house of fabulocity that is Nancy Coffey Literary and Media Representation! This coming Tuesday, November 1st, everyone who queries Suzie between 9 and 10 am (EDT) will get a query critique! You can find complete details on how to enter here. Mark your calendars and spend you weekend sharpening your query! You DON'T want to miss this amazing opportunity!