Story the Swept the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards

This story, "Paper Menagerie," by Ken Liu swept all three major fantasy/science fiction awards: the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards. It's simple and well-written, but filled with heart. Although it brought tears to my eyes,  it's also getting some harsh criticism. Interesting how different people reading the same story will have totally different reactions. What do you think?

The Magical Part of the Process

This has been a month of major deadlines--a YA historical due to the editor mid-month, 60 articles on children's and YA authors due today, and a 3-sample-chapter request from a book packager. Plus NaNo--which got a bit sidelined with all the traveling for the holidays. (Although part of that travel meant I got to spend time with my fav CPs from PA!!)

Now I've met all my deadlines and I'm ready to start on a new project. It's temporarily under wraps, but I've started some research and hope to get a lot done on it over the next month or two. I'm working with a great collaborator (it's actually her idea that we're working on). It's exciting to work with someone so enthusiastic and supportive!! Can't wait to see what we produce together. And thank heavens for the Internet and cell phones as we live on opposite sides of the country.

Right now I'm in the fun stage of the project--the preparation. It always reminds me of getting ready for the first day of school. The blank pages of new notebooks and smell of sharpened pencils and pointiness of unused crayons. The anticipation.. The adrenaline surge when everything is fresh and new, and anything can happen.

So much of writing is just showing up to the page, churning out word counts, ignoring carpal tunnel syndrome and stiff necks. So before the newness wears off and the dull dailiness sets in, I'm taking time to revel in the broad expanse where anything can happen and usually does. This is when magic happens.

What part of the writing process do you find magical?

Bonus: I've shared some wisdom about rejection letters and bad reviews on the Downtown YA blog. If you're feeling discouraged, you might want to pop over there for a little encouragement.

I love writing at Starbucks. The drinks are a wonderful bonus, of course, but it's not just about the chai. It's about the focus.

At home, there are a million things clamoring for my attention. Okay, maybe not a million, but I can certainly find plenty of things to do when the writing isn't flowing. Even when I'm determined to focus on my writing, clutter and household chores send little jabs of guilt my way, distracting me from the task at hand, interfering with the writing and kicking the distractibility cycle into gear.

Going to Starbucks is like going to the office. There are rules. They're self-imposed, but when I physically leave the house in order to write, I feel obligated to follow them and just write. No Facebook or Words With Friends until the job is done. These things are "breaks," allowed only when I've reached a certain productivity point. Ditto emails, and as for phone calls, the hubbub around me rules out all but the most necessary: work-related and calls from home.

It's odd, actually, that someone who needs quiet to write at home can function in the constant undercurrent of noise that is the atmosphere at Starbucks, but since none of the noise is directed at me personally, I have learned to tune it out. And, if the lyrics to the music from the sound system begin to integrate themselves into my brain waves, I can always pull out my earbuds and change the tune, or simply block it out.

But mostly, the writing comes when I'm at Starbucks simply out of habit. I've been doing this long enough that I have almost a Pavlovian reaction. Order drink, sit down, open laptop and write. Repeat as necessary.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have an ebook to write.

WriMo

For those of you familiar with NaNoWriMo, no, I didn't leave two syllables out. I discovered today there's another WriMo in town. It's EBookWriMo!

I discovered this in a blog that hit my inbox a couple of days ago, and its follow-up cousin which arrived late this afternoon. Inspired my NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and an excellent post by Ali Luke,  Copyblogger is launching EBookWriMo - the, ahem - opportunity - to write an e-book in the 30 days that comprise the month of November.

I've tried NaNoWriMo, and I have friends who're taking the challenge again this year, but I'm not at a place in my writing where NaNoWriMo is a good fit for me. This e-book challenge? Intriguing.

So, as I continue to struggle with the procrastination that surrounds necessary revisions, I've decided to give this a shot. I'm hoping it will nurture my revisions and vice versa. I have 30 days to find out.

To all you writers out there, whether you're WriMo-ing or not in November, I wish you luck. Daily, in every month, we eke out time to put words on a page. May your November be fun, productive and perhaps even profitable.

Peer Pressure

This. Is. It. This is the week that I will finally tackle those looming revisions. The ones I've been putting off for over a month. The ones my agent asked me for two weeks ago.

Oh, sure, I've had good reason to put off this daunting task. Recently retired, I've been working on finding the balance and routine that come with this new stage of life. In addition, I have family responsibilities, classes to prepare for and teach...lots of good reasons to procrastinate.

The best one, perhaps, is that the last chunk of pages that I revised mysteriously disappeared. One afternoon when we were at the beach, I sat by the pool and powered through several chapters. Then, I brought them home, and set them aside. I finally uncovered them a couple of weeks ago, and I was delighted to see them...despite the fact that my last excuse for not revising disappeared when they reappeared.

So, I'm taking drastic measures. I'm going public. I am telling you all that this is the week I'm doing it. I will have pages to submit to my group in two days, even if they're only the pages I revised at the beach.

So, if you're reading this, please help me out. Leave a comment or come find me on Facebook and ask me how many pages I've revised. If I'm still procrastinating (no matter how productively), I won't like reading your message, but in the end, I will thank you.

If you're feeling really supportive, perhaps you'll join me by tackling something you've been putting off.  And if you do, please leave me a comment or find me on Facebook. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Spooktacular fun all month!

Do you love all things Halloween?

Then you'll want to visit my blog at http://catemasters.blogspot.com every day this month. Every weekday, a new guest will share ghoulishly good recipes and spine-tingling stories.

One of my interview questions is: Have you ever had an unusual experience you couldn't explain? How many have answered yes? Come find out! And find out what happened when Annie Marshall took this photo of a cemetery in St. Augustine!

Banned books? In 2012?

It's hard to believe, isn't it? Books are still under attack, and face the threat of censorship. Luckily, Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read.

Come to my Banned Books Week blog post at http://catemasters.blogspot.com/2012/09/banned-books-week.html and share your opinion for a chance to win a $10 gift card to Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

911: A Day Worth Remembering

I remember that day. I was gathering items
of clothing, placing them in a bag to take to goodwill. My daughter was with me, so little then, her fairy tale eyes saw no evil in the world. It was all about princesses and
dress-up and barbie dolls. Dragon Tales was the episode of the morning.  Then I called
my mother.
        "Are you watching the news?"
        I never watched the news that time of
the day, but I switched channels and there it was: A burning tower. Shocked and unable
to grasp what was happening, I became glued to the set, and to my friend and neighbor up
the street whose husband was at that very
time a pilot for USAir, on his way somewhere.
I never witnessed such silence, stillness in the air.
        "Mommy, when are we leaving? Can we go to the park?"
        You know the rest of the story. My friend's plane landed, and he returned safely home a few days later. And we all went back to work, a little more fearfully.
         I knew in my heart that day that my children's world would never be the same. They continued to play as they always did not noticing the changes around them, or understanding the evilness behind the event.  And something sparked inside of me.
An idea, a thought.
         It's not what people look like that defines a nation, it is how they live.
         It wasn't until a trip to Yellowstone National Park that I put that thought to
words, and "The Yellow Stone" is the result. First published in 2006, "The Yellow Stone" is one of my many previously published short stories included in my
anthology, SPECULATIVE JOURNEYS.
         To honor 911, I am having a FREE Kindle giveaway today and tomorrow.
You may read "The Yellow Stone," as well as eleven other short stories there.
   
         This is a great nation we live in, and will continue to be.
 
         Get your FREE Kindle version of SPECULATIVE JOURNEYS by clicking on
the title.

Visit my blog to read more about my writing here.http://tinacrone.blogspot.com

Illuminating the Past

Sometimes when you visit a certain place, its history confronts you on every street. Though it might be thriving today, the past is layered behind its present, inviting you to explore.

That's what happened when I visited Key West. The bustling little island is a popular tourist spot, but several of the attractions captivated my imagination. All centered around the wreckers - men who salvaged the tall ships after they wrecked on the reefs surrounding the island. During a visit to a wrecker museum, a story flashed through my head. I had to know more.  

So I visited yet another museum, the historic home of a local wrecker captain. So fascinating, I bought a few books but still wanted more, so I spent the next two days in the library. It felt like finding hidden treasure when I found the old letters and documents stored there.

Before I even left the island, I knew I had to write that story that flashed through my head. It took years, but the result was Angels, Sinners and Madmen, first published by Freya's Bower. By the time the rights reverted to me this summer, I'd already spent many more months revising the original story - strengthening the plot line and the heroine.

Of the original version, reviewers called it “enchanting,” adding “I loved it and applaud Cate for creating a time in the past that seems so real in this book.” Another said: “You will fall in love these two characters along with the rest of Sam's wrecker friends. Laughter, tragedy and heroism abound, so make sure you have plenty of time when you start reading Angels, Sinners and Madmen, because you will not want to put this gripping story down until you have read every single word of it.”

Today begins its free run on Amazon, lasting from Sept. 7 through 9. I hope you'll pick up a copy of this novel, and learn more about the wreckers and their fascinating history through the eyes of wrecker Sam Langhorne and aspiring writer Livvie Collins.

Marketing with Influencers

So many writers dream of getting published, but then once they do, they hard work begins -- marketing their book. I watch in awe as some of my published friends come up with great ideas to get their books into the hands of the public and spread the word. One of my friends who's a whiz at marketing is Jill Williamson. She has a new book coming out in September from Marcher Lord Press.

Jill has awesome book trailers (see one below) and a large cadre of influencers. What are influencers? They're people who agree to spread the word about your book in exchange for a free copy.

One of the best ways to start a buzz for your soon-to-be-published book is to get people talking about it--on Amazon, Goodreads, and social media. That's what influencers can do for you. Influencers are bloggers and people connected to the writing community --and even more importantly, they're connected to the reading community. Look for librarians, teachers, or special interest groups that love what you write about. Then contact them to see what they can do spread the word about you're upcoming book.

Can you guess I'm one of Jill's influencers? I love talking about her books and can't wait to read this one. As a YA editor and reader (yeah, I never grew up!), I always enjoy thrillers with strong leads and lots of conflict, and this certainly sounds as if it will have both.

Here's the blurb:

The New Recruit is a young adult supernatural/suspense novel about a guy who gets recruited into a spy organization that fights the supernatural. It’s book one in the four-book Mission League series.

Here is a little info about the story:

Forced to choose between military school and a Christian spy organization, skeptic Spencer Garmond signs on with the Bible geeks. But before he even boards the plane for Moscow, Spencer realizes this is no Bible club.

These guys mean business.

Stumbling onto a case involving a gang of homeless boys, a chilling tattoo, and the always beautiful Anya Vseveloda, Spencer struggles to find the faith needed to save the Mission League from enemy infiltration.




If it looks like something that would interest your teens (or you), here's a link to learn more about Jill and her books.And be sure to check out Jill's resources for writers, particularly if you're a teen looking to publish your work.