Since I'm sick and my edits will be hindered anyway, I figured it's a good time to do another all day Q&A! It has been over a month, shame on me.
So please keep me company on my sick day—you can ask me anything you want about anything, there is no limit on questions, and I will answer anything asked on all my social media profiles (blog, FB page, twitter) TODAY before midnight Mountain Time.
*lies in bed* *sniffles* *waits*
Will Blindsided be published in the US since your UK publisher bought it?
ReplyDeleteAlso feel better. :(
You know what, nevermind. I reread your post and I missed that the part that said it would be. I'll think of another question. P.S. loved your WriteOnCon Video.
DeleteLaboyden, BLINDSIDED will be published in the US! My UK publisher has purchased what they call "World English Rights," which means that they can publish the book in English in all the countries:)
DeleteCan I trade places today?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure you really want to be sick and exhausted while having to take care of 3 kids and also still edit on a deadline—and I'm not sure I'm capable of switching because I can't lift and move boxes. I can't barely stand without dizziness. Sorry, mom:(
DeleteI do hope you feel better soon and wish that I could be there to help you with the kids!! It no fun being sick and it's not so much fun packing and moving either. Here's hoping you get better and the moving ends soon. We both need a vacation!!! Hugs!
DeleteVacation sounds *awesome.* Let's do that.
DeleteWe should!!! Where would you like to go???
DeleteHow do Fiona and Jo compare as heroines? How were they to work with for you, the writer? (Asked because some of my protagonists are being jerks at the moment.) :)
ReplyDeleteSarah, that's a great question! I think people will be surprised at how different Fiona and Jo are.
DeleteFiona is very guarded, especially in the beginning of TRANSPARENT. But who can blame her? She's been controlled by her father and forced to be a criminal. It's hard for her to open up and trust, and it's also hard for her to have confidence in herself. She doesn't really know what she wants or who she is at the beginning of the book—she has a lot to figure out in that respect. And so of course, I as the writer had to figure that out with her, and we both made a lot of missteps.
Jo, on the other hand, is an extremely confident girl. She's a witch, first of all, and in her witching culture she's been taught since she was a child that she is powerful and strong and pretty much awesome. She knows what she wants. She's a positive thinker. She's proactive. But she does tend to think she can do things all by herself, which gets her into trouble. And she also has unresolved grief that sometimes skews her perspective. For me, she was fun to write, but also difficult because there was no controlling her—I had to trust her voice and follow the story almost blind in the first draft.
Overall, I think Fiona was harder to write. She is invisible, after all, and that is difficult in itself to conceptualize and then explain in words. But Jo came with challenges because she is SO not like me—I probably identify more with Fiona, whereas Jo is more the kind of girl I wish I could be, if that makes sense.
(Also, how the heck do you put an emoticon in parentheses?) (:)) ( :) ) (AAAARGH.)
ReplyDeleteI have NO IDEA! But I can tell you that I've run into this issue many times:)
Delete:D
Delete>_<
>_>
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Do you need a nurse cat to help you get better? My twelve year old tabby and white is volunteering.
ReplyDeleteThat would be lovely, Debby! Actually, in HOUSE OF IVY & SORROW there *are* talking cats, hehe. They are the witches' best friends.
DeleteOkay, I'm sending her through the teleporter now ...
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The nurse cat jumps out of the teleporter and goes up to her patient. "Meow! Mew! Trill!!
This might just be me, but sometimes when I sit down to read, I keep putting the book aside to write down an idea or inspiration that came to me for my own writing. Does this ever happen to you? If so, what books do you find most inspirational?
ReplyDeleteGet better soon!
Toni, I always get ideas when I'm reading. Or even watching TV or movies! I think it's natural for storytellers to be inspired by other peoples' stories, so I embrace that and enjoy it.
DeleteAs for books I find most inspirational, hmm, there's just so many! I'm actually a huge contemporary YA reader—I probably read more of that than anything else. So authors like Sara Zarr, Steph Perkins, Julie Halpern, Sarah Dessen, Gayle Forman, Kasie West, Lindsey Leavitt, LK Madigan are all authors I love. Ally Carter and Holly Black are also two of my big time favorites.
My writer friends also constantly inspire me: Jenn Johansson, Sara Raasch, Renee Collins, Michelle Argyle, Kasie West, Kiersten White, Sara Larson. I learn so much from reading their work and seeing how they approach writing.
When she's in the desrt, Fiona worries the dust will stick to her skin and make her visible. Does that mean she can wear makeup? Dust and powder are about the same thing.
ReplyDeleteEliza, this is an interesting question:) Fiona *can* wear makeup, but much like the sunscreen she puts on it eventually absorbs (as would the dust in the scene you're referring to, given time). There is actually a scene in BLINDSIDED that features her putting on makeup and explains why she doesn't do it more often (this explanation was originally in TRANSPARENT, but cut in edits, funnily enough).
DeleteBasically, it's a far from perfect solution. It doesn't last, and her eyes and hair still aren't visible so she looks pretty creepy and ghostlike as it starts to fade. For Fiona, it's almost literally painting on a face, and not a true representation of her because still all she can see is the makeup.
Terrifying.
DeleteHow did you find your critique partners?
ReplyDeleteYou know those diving stones in Stardust? Yeah, I'm a master at them.
DeleteWhat's your favorite local Korean restaurant? And where do you find recipes? Is there a cookbook or website that you prefer?
ReplyDeleteHope you feel better!
Feel better soon! Drink tea.
ReplyDeleteI hope you feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteWhat was the hardest part about writing a sequel? Did you come up with the idea for the sequel while you were writing Transparent or did you have some ideas but flesh it out once you were asked to write it?
Crystal, the hardest part of writing the sequel was allowing myself to do it! I'd trained myself not to write one for so long that I felt like I was breaking a rule when I did, ha. It was also hard not to feel like I was being self-indulgent and writing my own fan fiction.
DeleteBLINDSIDED came from a lot of places. Actually, many of the threads came from the original version of TRANSPARENT. Since I rewrote the whole first book, a ton changed—I realized I had the story backwards and that much of what I put in may work for a sequel.
I would think about the sequel a lot, kind of as something self-indulgent. I knew I'd likely never get a chance to write it, but I did have more story in mind for Fiona from the beginning. So I'm glad I get to finish the story off they way I imagined it:)
Aw, being sick is no fun. :( I hope you feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteDo you read a lot of YA books? How do you balance writing and reading time? (I have this problem!)
Do you ever worry that what you read might change what you're writing? Change your true "voice", and such?
Cait, honestly, I don't read as much as I'd like right now. I do read mostly YA, but lately with all my deadlines and a small baby in the house it's just been one of the many things I've had to put aside until a bit later.
DeleteAs for worrying about what I read and if it'll change my writing, nope! In fact, I WANT it to change my writing. Good books will only make me a better writer, because art informs art and when I learn and absorb stories I feel like my own voice gets stronger. You can't create if you don't have a deep well of inspiration to pull from, right?
I just abandoned my first project since I published my first book. Not only that, it was the first one I'd worked on (well, second if you count the novella which I'm clearly not) since quitting my day job last month. Right now I have ALL THE ANGSTY STRESSY FEELINGS.
ReplyDeleteThis is normal though, right? Not every project works out? And we always learn something from the ones that don't, so it wasn't a waste of time?
Nancy, it IS totally normal! I've had like three projects rejected since I first sold TRANSPARENT for one reason or another, and that pressure of "what's next?" is very real and scary. I honestly have struggled with a lot of dark emotions this summer, all surrounding what I'm supposed to do next, now that all my contracts are almost completed.
DeleteNow what?
It's a short and yet complex question, for sure. And no one has prepared me to answer it, really. I'm still feeling my way around the answer, so I suppose all I can offer is sympathy. I so get what you're going through, and I hope you and I both figure it out:)
What was your favorite part about writing Blindsided?
ReplyDeleteDiana, finishing! Haha, no. Okay, that's kinda true. But I think one of my favorite things about writing BLINDSIDED was getting to introduce Spud in person. She's always been one of my favorite characters, and I've been surprised by how many people love her in TRANSPARENT though she's never actually on the page.
DeleteMy other favorite thing would be a major spoiler, so I will have to keep that to myself for now:)
You mentioned that Transparent had to be totally rewritten from the first draft. Can you share any goodies or plot points that never made the cut?
ReplyDeleteChristine, it was so long ago that I rewrote it—2010!—that I honestly have issues remembering the original draft, ha. But there are some big things I remember:
Delete1. The first is that the "villain" was different. In the original TRANSPARENT the reader never met Fiona's father, Jonas. Now he is the main villain. Interesting fact: The villain of that original draft is one of the antagonists in BLINDSIDED!
2. The pools played a much bigger role in the plot, and were introduced much earlier. I had this whole "Lost City Of Eldorado" thing planned...yeah it was really stupid. All of that changed.
3. Fiona and Seth didn't fight as much, and certain elements of their romance came out earlier than now. Too early, which is why it changed.
4. There were like five different endings to the book before the one that's now there. They involved Fiona being kidnapped by the different bad guy. Graham doing mean things. And I can't even remember, but Fiona's father played no role in any of them, heh. Nor did Miles! I really struggled finding the right ending for the book.
5. Oh! And one last one—Fiona actually confessed her crush to Brady in the original story, and it got pretty sticky and awkward, heh.
Wow, so hard to imagine the book without her father as the villain! The Eldorado idea sounds like it was pretty well-developed before you cut it. I admire you for that. When I'm rewrite scenes or take out large plot-points, it's like trying to rewrite a memory, you know? It's like I have to convince myself that my second-grade teacher was not Mrs Cooper, but Mrs Vine. My whole brain resists it and wants to say, "but that's not what happened!" And then of course I get to put my book in a half-nelson and grind "NOTHING HAPPENED. YOU'RE NOT REAL. I AM WRITING YOOOOOOUUUU," into it's head like a noogie.
DeleteI really loved the interaction between Seth and Fiona, so your changes must have been for the better. I'm glad we didn't have to spend too much time tangled up in misunderstandings about Brady.
Five different endings! That must have been so hard to choose between them. I'm so glad Miles became such a key player. I really like him.
Thanks for answering my question with so many awesome and interesting answers!
Ha, Christine, that's exactly how it was! It was like rewriting memories and at first was extremely difficult to remember which was the old and which was the new and did any of it even make sense anymore? Now it's a lot easier, but man it was like writing an alternate reality or something.
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