How it works....sometimes

GOOOOD MORNING Faithful Followers.

I really wish I had sufficient PC skills to attach Robin Williams voice to that sentence, ala Good Morning Vietnam...

Yes, I know. It's shocking, it's 6 o'clock in the morning and I'm vertical, semi-dressed and almost in a good mood. Please, enjoy it while it lasts - it's like a cloud on a hot, dry day: it can disappear at any moment.

But while it's here, let me tell you that this week has been exceptional. Ex-Cep-Shun-All! A bit like...

Hmmm - senese a theme going on here? Might have been the gaggle of Marines that were hanging out in front of my office yesterday. Yes, God gifted me with Marines. Ooodles of them. They were scrumptious, yummy even! Tasty, like savory cupcakes without too much sweet frosting. MMMM, mmm, mmm. 

Aw, there I go digressing again. 

So, you ask, why was last week all "Good Morning, Vietnam," besides the fact it's one of my favorite movies of all time? Well, because it was a bit of good and bad, bitter and sweet. 

First, work was tough. Really tough. I can't go into specifics cuz I need to keep my job until I sell millions of books and become rich, but it just was. Stupid problems that should never have occurred, abject failure to follow policy and a lot of whining and complaining. And that was just on the government side - let's not even get into the contractors!

But, writing was good. My muse, the Valkyrie, must have swallowed mushrooms or got laid or something. She was soaring all week, higher and higher, bringing back the good stardust and sprinkling on my head and hands. She was generous and effusive and before I knew it I had 26 pages of a new novel safely tucked away, another 13 pages on the almost new story, 40 pages of the first novel revised and a 4,000 word short story completed.  

"Wait," you ask, "What do you mean a 'New Novel'? Weren't you already working on a new novel? And what's this 'almost new story'?"

Well, that's why I'm going all Adrian Cronauer on you... Let me try to explain.

1)  Book One: I finished it around the first of the year, shopped it around, got some nibbles, got a request for full, got turned down, sent it to my friend and author Justine and got four pages of tiny, tiny font feedback so I could go fix it. Which is what I'm doing now and I'm about a third of the way.

2) Then came Book Two: I finished it a couple months ago, didn't shop it around, was working on revisions to it with my critique partner CP, stupidly entered PitMad on Twitter, got a request for partial, got a request for full, made CP madly finish her critique, dashed off all the corrections and sent it in. And am waiting for results. And went ahead and submitted to a few other folks cuz why the hell not, I'm a writer, that's what we do.

3)  Short Story One: dashed off after dashing around the block with the dog one day. Submitted to about a dozen magazines, turned down by all but three, those three still pending. If they decline, I promise to publish here. 

4)  New story one, or "almost new story" was an idea I wanted to explore in a voice I hadn't used before. Girl after my own heart with much tequila, surfing, sex and general fun.  The Pro-tag cusses like a sailor (gee, go figure) and eats like a teenage boy. She's smart, stubborn, OCD and will make you snort coffee out your nose. Yup. She's me - back in the day. Story was coming nicely and I new where it was going to go as well. Probably about 10% written.

5)  Short Story Two: I'd been turning this around in my head since March, unsure how to actually get it started, but it finally found it's way out and I've sub'd to a small handful of magazine's to see if they are interested. It's pretty weird, which means it's pretty authentically me. It's not all snergly and there's almost no cussing, but it's still pretty "me."

Then along came New Story. THE story. It started with a single, completely out of context line as I was laying in bed the other night. I mean, the sentence could have gone anywhere, or nowhere. But between thinking it as I dozed off and waking up the next morning, the story had formed and was just dying to escape. I wrote the first chapter during lunch at work that day. And it kept coming. It's still clamoring at the tips of my fingers, begging to get out. It's AMAZING too! ROAR!

I can't wait to sub it out, 'cuz I have confidence this one is going places. And it's so damn fun to write - I even get to make up words and lot's of other cool things. I can't tell you much, but it's a mash-up of genres and the feedback so far is GOOD!  This is the one that had me crawling out of bed three times last night to add a line here, a paragraph there. I finally decided to just leave the damn computer on so I wouldn't have to wait for it, thereby risking the precious WERDS that were trying to make it out of my head. 

So, there you go. That's the sort of week it takes to make me feel this way. Not so hard to understand, right? I think, with that, I'm gonna take The Terrorist for a walk, so I can get back to writing.

Peace out, Ya'll! Here's your Saturday Tunes - make it a good one!

Why I read YA (Young Adult), and you should too!

So, a couple months ago I was tooling around on Amazon, looking for some new books to read. I don't limit myself to a single genre - my tastes are wildly divergent and eclectic, but I do look for a good read that draws me in and connects me with the main character immediately.

I found two books right away: Angelfall by Susan Ee and Sanctum by Sarah Fine. Both are amazing, dystopian fantasies (yeah, I had to look that up too) and both books captivated me from the first page. I didn't realize they were YA. I'd never thought of YA as a subset of the larger literary spectrum. 

I have to tell you, they are both awesome reads! Believable, realistic characters with a plot that keeps you turning the pages and impatient for the sequel. Angelfall kept me up way too late, and parts were truly frightening. Susan writes in a style that makes the most horrific event real and visceral, curling you into a ball around your kindle and reaching to turn the lights on before you go any further.

Sanctum hooked me hard. I read it four times on my kindle and then ordered the hard copy. I was so swept away by the story and the craft with which Sarah Fine depicts the events, location, emotions and conflict - how can this not be total mind-candy for anyone who loves a good fantasy that isn't too far set from our own world?

I started following both authors web-sites, which led me to the next great discovery: Boy Toy by Barry Lyga. Sarah has links and reviews of a number of amazing books, most of which I have read or am reading, but this was the first. And it was not an easy read. I don't mean that the writing wasn't easy to read. Barry's gifted, the words flowing and providing setting, scene and dialogue that plays like a well-produced movie through your mind. The subject matter is difficult, but dealt with so tactfully and poetically, you can't put it down. I literally read Boy Toy in just over 24 hours. It's that good. The story is that well paced. I'm a Lyga Liker from here on out.

So, here's the deal: I'm not young. Some would argue I'm not an adult. But a good read is just that: a good read. Regardless of genre. Regardless of age. How many of you have re-read books from your childhood, finding them just as fresh and pleasing as when you were young? I have, many times. So, why limit yourself?

Take a chance on something outside your norm. You just might find something fascinating.