Taking the Plunge

I’ve been hemming and hawing over a dilemma for months now. Well, nearly a year, if I’m honest. I’ve had the idea for my next novel, which as previously mentioned, will be more of a high fantasy. Not that I don’t love my YA or anything, but I’ve had a character who desperately deserves her own story for far too long. I’ve been working on this character’s book for a couple of months and am over halfway through getting the story on paper. But it’s still a long ways to go before it will be even close to gearing it for publication.

So I made a big decision. After making several (and I mean SEVERAL) queries to agents, I’ve decided to self-publish my standalone young adult fantasy to give readers something to satisfy them until my high fantasy is complete. My standalone young adult is already finished and somewhat polished, thanks to a couple of beta readers.

Basically, once I have an editor do a final go-through (and I’ve already contacted one for pricing), I’ll just need to hire a cover designer and it will be ready to be formatted for publishing.

To be realistic, my adult fantasy will likely not be out until next year at the soonest. The first draft isn’t completed yet, and it will have several stages to go through before it’s even close to being “publish-ready.” The sequel to Prince of Light is in even earlier stages than that.

As much as I would have loved to see this standalone young adult go through an actual publisher, I believe it’s a story that is worth getting out there. It’s been sitting in my computer for years. I’ll be honest, it’s a little scary. But it’s also exciting.

So all that to say, stay tuned for updates!

Dark Energy

Dark Energy by Robison Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Parental guide: Minor swearing, some violence, nothing explicit.

Holy moly, this book was SO GOOD. It’s a fairly quickly read, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Alice is one of the best protagonists that I’ve read about in a loooong time, and I felt that the author did a fantastic job of writing from a female perspective. Also? I loved the fact that she had such a great relationship with her father. I feel like too many times in YA literature, the parents are either absent for one reason or another, or they’re portrayed as idiots. All parents were teenagers at one point in time or another, so it’s not entirely unreasonable to assume that some of them remember what it’s like. Alice’s father was a good mixture of protective and supportive, which made their interactions that much more fun.

Anyway, if you’re in the mood for a quick sci-fi, give this one a chance. I’m off to go check out some of the author’s other books now, don’t mind me.

The Importance of Query Letters

For those of us involved in an art form, be it writing, drawing, painting, photography, music, etc., we are always perfecting our craft. I think that’s part of what entices us about these arts in the first place. We are always learning and always growing. There’s really no limitations to what we can achieve if we practice and work hard.

As an author, I can already see how much my writing style has changed over the years. I’ve made wonderful connections and good friends since I first published Prince of Light. Back then, I thought getting an agent and a publisher would be a snap. (Yes, I was that naive.) After getting nothing but rejections on all of my query letters for PoL, I felt pretty discouraged. That’s something I think we’ve all experienced: the rejection pile.

It’s a long, hard road to traditional publishing. While some small presses will allow for unsolicited queries to be sent, the major publishing houses (i.e. Random House, Scholastic, Penguin, etc.) require all of their “pitches” to come straight from a literary agent. So once you’ve written that super special awesome book and polished it to the best of your ability, you need to write and even more super special awesome query letter.

I’m pretty sure that the query letter is harder to write than the book itself. There are several amazing resources available to give you an idea of what agents are looking for in a query. Two of my favorite sites are Query Shark (written by an actual agent) and Agent Query Connect. Query Shark is a blog with multiple examples of both good and not-so-good queries. I found it extremely helpful in giving a lot of examples of what agents are looking for.

Agent Query Connect allows you to talk directly with other authors to get their feedback on your query, synopsis, first 250 words, etc. There are both published and non-published writers there, so you really get a broad spectrum of opinions. I had some great feedback when I was finishing up the query for my current standalone YA story. (Just a side note, AQC’s primary site, Agent Query, is a pretty good database of agents and publishers. You can search by genre to see which agents are interested in your specific story.)

The other day I went through a bunch of my original emails to agents, when I first tried to query Prince of Light. For some of them I literally wanted to crawl in a hole and die of embarrassment. For others, I just shook my head.

So just for fun, I decided to post one of my (not quite as humiliating) early query letters and critique it myself, based on what I’ve learned over the years. Not only can I give you a bit of a laugh, but hopefully this will give you a little inspiration and confidence in your own projects. At the time I couldn’t understand why no agent was interested. Now, I certainly do.

Here’s the original query I sent, italicized for better readability:

Dear Agent,

Celestyn: Master of every weapon he touches. Heir to the throne of the elven kingdom. Destroyer of any who dare get in his way. Alone for all eternity.

Seventeen-year-old Evanthe finds herself held prisoner in an unknown castle after an attack on her village renders her homeless. When the first living thing she meets is an imposing half-dragon, half-man beast, her only thoughts are how she can stay alive long enough to find her family. Strange and often frightening creatures seem to be around every corner (which actually makes having a dragon-man beast for a bodyguard come in rather handy). She is befriended by the handsome young mage, Delanor, knowing only that he is keeping her hidden from a dark presence that is shadowing her every movement. When she catches a glimpse of the man that is supposed to be so deadly to her, however, she finds her heart is full of conflict, for she is being sought after by the rogue elfin prince, Celestyn.

And he is by far the most beautiful being that she has ever laid eyes on.

Though she is frightened by his cold cruelty, Evanthe finds it very difficult to resist the ethereal, god-like prince. She will eventually have to choose between the two men that she has come to love and, even worse, between the few fellow humans that have also crossed into the land and the newly-made friends she has grown to care for.

PRINCE OF LIGHT is every fangirl’s dream book, containing everything from a hot elf and shapeshifters of every kind to battle scenes that would send even Percy Jackson into hiding. (Not to mention a love triangle worthy of any Twilight fan.) This medieval fantasy is complete at approximately 89,000 words in length.

While I have never had any of my works formally published, my short story entitled “Range of Vision” won an honorable mention at the 2009 Nature of Words Writing Competition and is included in their anthology. I also worked at a public library for six years, primarily with teens, which allowed me to be immersed in young adult literary fiction. I feel that PRINCE OF LIGHT would be a great addition to any young adult publisher based on the feedback that I’ve already received from both teens and adults alike.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Yup. That was it. Now allow me to critique my own work, based on what I’ve since learned about the industry. My comments are in red:

Dear Agent,
(Just as a side note, always personalize your query letter. This is just an example, so I didn’t put an actual name, but in a real letter definitely use an agent’s name and make sure you spell it right. Also? Only send one letter per agent. Don’t group send several agents at once; they really don’t like that.)

Celestyn: Master of every weapon he touches. Heir to the throne of the elven kingdom. Destroyer of any who dare get in his way. Alone for all eternity.
Ooooookay, problems right from the get-go. This doesn’t really work as a hook for several reasons. For one, it’s super generic and a little cliché. Secondly, the story isn’t even written from Celestyn’s point of view, so none of this matters. Always start your query letter with a good hook, usually just one or two sentences, that will immediately grab the agent’s attention.

Seventeen-year-old Evanthe finds herself held prisoner in an unknown castle after an attack on her village renders her homeless. When the first living thing she meets is an imposing half-dragon, half-man beast, her only thoughts are how she can stay alive long enough to find her family. Strange and often frightening creatures seem to be around every corner (which actually makes having a dragon-man beast for a bodyguard come in rather handy). She is befriended by the handsome young mage, Delanor, knowing only that he is keeping her hidden from a dark presence that is shadowing her every movement. When she catches a glimpse of the man that is supposed to be so deadly to her, however, she finds her heart is full of conflict, for she is being sought after by the rogue elfin prince, Celestyn.
This is character soup. Only main characters need to be introduced, and even then it should be kept to a minimum. Who is the main character? What are her goals? What stands in her way? None of that is really answered with this paragraph. The voice isn’t necessarily horrible, but it’s certainly not as strong as it could be.

And he is by far the most beautiful being that she has ever laid eyes on.
While perhaps an interesting factoid, this doesn’t actually bring about a conflict, so it’s kind of pointless.

Though she is frightened by his cold cruelty, Evanthe finds it very difficult to resist the ethereal, god-like (Ugh, why so many adjectives?) prince. She will eventually have to choose between the two men that she has come to love and, even worse, between the few fellow humans that have also crossed into the land and the newly-made friends she has grown to care for.
Too much description, not enough plot. And again, there isn’t any conflict until it’s mentioned that there are other humans in this world.

PRINCE OF LIGHT is every fangirl’s dream book, containing everything from a hot elf and shapeshifters of every kind to battle scenes that would send even Percy Jackson into hiding. No. Just…no. (Not to mention a love triangle worthy of any Twilight fan.) SWEET BABYBACK RIBS, NO. I am truly ashamed that I sent this to agents. And that I thought it was good. This medieval fantasy is complete at approximately 89,000 words in length.
All the final line should say is “PRINCE OF LIGHT is a young adult medieval fantasy complete at 89,000.” If you have some comp titles, that’s fine, but it’s not a requirement. Also, always round up or down your word count when writing a query, and do capitalize the title for this part of the letter. At least I got that part…

While I have never had any of my works formally published, my short story entitled “Range of Vision” won an honorable mention at the 2009 Nature of Words Writing Competition and is included in their anthology. I also worked at a public library for six years, primarily with teens, which allowed me to be immersed in young adult literary fiction. I feel that PRINCE OF LIGHT would be a great addition to any young adult publisher based on the feedback that I’ve already received from both teens and adults alike.
Honestly, I didn’t include any of this information when I sent out the queries for my newest project because none of it matters. Unless you have a previously published work, and sorry, most self-published books don’t count, just leave out any credentials. (I’ve been told the exception to self-published books is if you’ve sold 100,000 copies or more. But that’s SOLD, not just downloads.) If you have a lot of short stories published or the like, that seems to be semi-okay to send along, but in that case it seems to depend on the agent and their personal preferences.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
I think this is pretty much the only line that I got halfway right.

So there you have it. And as I mentioned, this is my so-called “improved” version. It’s just so…bad. Not because the writing is bad, because structurally it’s pretty sound, but because I didn’t know the business. Agents receive literally hundreds of query letters a day, so it is absolutely vital that you make your story stand out from the slush pile.

It’s helped to see how far I’ve come, which is why I sometimes go back and view my earlier writings. As I continue to work on book two in the Prince of Light series, I already have an idea for the description, which is light years ahead of where I was when I finished book one. (And yes, that book really will get finished at some point. I promise.)

To my fellow writers, I have to encourage you to NEVER GIVE UP. Your first book may never get published, traditionally or indie. That’s okay. Keep writing and keep reading. If this is your passion and it’s what you know you want to do, learn all that you can and just keep going. You will improve.

Best of luck!

10 Books That Stayed With Me

Just a tad bit past nearly forever ago, a friend of mine tagged me on Facebook with a fun meme. I thought it sounded great and started it…and then I became distracted and only recently discovered the half-finished product. Whatever the case, I have since completed my answers and thought it might make for an interesting blog post. These are the authors and books that inspired my own writing.

10 Books That Stayed With Me:

1.) The Bible – It may not be obvious to all, but this book has been the number one thing that has changed my life and my perspective over the years. I have indeed read it cover to cover and various translations, and every time that I read its passages I get something new from it.

2.) Beverly Cleary series – I’m kind fudging on this one, because it’s way too hard to narrow down which specific Cleary books spoke to me most. I grew up reading about Beezus and Ramona, Ralph S. Mouse and all the rest. They were instrumental in cultivating my passion for the written word, even in grade school.

3.) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain – One of my best memories is the year that my mother read the story of Tom Sawyer to me while I ate breakfast every morning. I’ll confess that I was really hesitant to this at first, but Mom insisted and I am very glad she did. I got so caught up in the story that I quickly forgot why I hadn’t wanted to hear it in the first place.

4.) The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien – I read this one while I was in high school for a book report. Basically I just needed to choose something from the list that the teacher gave us. I picked it at random, thinking that the title sounded interesting, and discovered an amazing world. This story was part of what really piqued my interest in the fantasy genre as a whole. It opened up a whole different set of doors, as far as reading went.

5.) The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis – Probably not much surprise here either, but this is another series that I’ve always adored. I read The Silver Chair in high school (another book report project that turned out very well for me). While The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has probably remained my favorite of the series, The Silver Chair and The Last Battle are right up there.

6.) Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer – This still remains one of my all-time favorite YA series. I loved Colfer’s twist to both modern and ancient fairy tales, and the storyline, while not always what I expected, was fantastic. Great character development, great villains…in fact it’s been long enough that I’m probably due for a re-read.

7.) Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson – Sanderson is a semi-new author to me, but so far I have loved each book that I’ve tried. This was the first story that I read of his, which also happened to be his first attempt at YA, and it’s difficult to pinpoint just why it stuck with me so much. I tend to be very character driven when it comes to movies and books, so all I can figure is that I loved the character of Steelheart so much it wedged in my brain and wouldn’t let go. Whatever the case, this was one of my favorite books of the year. And so far, the rest of the series hasn’t disappointed either.

8.) The Oath by Frank Peretti – It’s been a looooong time since I last read this one, but it was another book that always stuck with me. I originally read it in high school and loved it. This was the first book of Peretti’s that I had read, and while it was a little slow in the middle, the primary storyline kept a quick pace and kept my attention through it all. Not your typical dragon story, but still a well-crafted plot for an author of his particular genre. As a “Christian author,” he pushed boundaries with this book and might have even made people a little uncomfortable. Not necessarily a bad thing, in this case.

9.) The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson – Yes, he gets to be on my list twice because he’s just that amazing. I won’t lie, The Way of Kings is definitely a commitment at nearly 400,000 words, but I can’t recommend it highly enough for those who love epic fantasy. The worldbuilding, the characters…all of it is just too amazing for words. It has become one of my all-time favorite stories ever. (It was one of the few books where I literally read the last sentence and wanted to go right back to the beginning and read it again because I loved it so much.) And Words of Radiance, the sequel, is just as fantastic as the first.

10.) The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis – This was the first non-fiction work of Lewis that I read, again while in high school, but it’s always stuck with me. Lewis really stepped outside the box of his time by writing this book, and it made you really think about your prayer life and the spiritual battles that continuously rage on everywhere. While definitely an older book, I can still recommend it. (Actually, it’s another one I need to re-read…)

So there you have it. This is a basic glimpse of my all-time favorite books and authors, and though many others have made impressions with me, these are the ones that I will never forget.

What are your top ten faves?

Crafting Good Character Devlopment

It’s amazing how much good character development can change a storyline, whether it’s in a book or a TV series/movie. The problem is that good character development is often extremely difficult to write. I speak specifically regarding authors on this, though I’m sure the same can be said for television series.

I’ve been recently re-watching one of my favorite series of all time, Downton Abbey. I absolutely love this show, and I’d forgotten just how good the storyline was. I remember talking to my parents when I watched it through the first time, and describing how much I absolutely despised Thomas’s character. I had just finished season 1 and was secretly rooting for him to die horribly in season 2. My parents (having both seen up to season 3 by that point) cried out at the same time, “Not Thomas!”

I couldn’t understand what on earth they were talking about – until I finally caught up to them and got through season 3 as well. Now, as we all impatiently wait for season 6 to arrive, I have to admit that they were right. Thomas is one of my absolute favorite characters. Naturally there are characters that I’ve simply loved since the first moment they showed up one screen (Anna and Mr. Bates! OMG!). But the events that have happened throughout the series have affected everyone, from the highest lord to the lowliest servant, and that’s part of what makes it such a phenomenal hit. The other part, I’m convinced, is because of the incredible character development. Every character has a background and a reason for being who they are. It’s beautifully written and wonderfully executed by the actors.

Characters can make or break a good book just as easily. Too many times I’ve seen series fizzle out after a couple of books because either the storyline has become mundane or the characters are flat. Your characters have to be real. They have to feel emotions and be relatable to the people reading about them. There has to be a reason for their actions and behaviors.

One of the best writing exercises that I’ve found for myself is to create a “meme” for my characters and give them profiles. (I’ve posted a few here on my blog, just for fun.) I have questions ranging from their favorite color to whether or not they have any family still living. What were their previous occupations? Do they have any fears/phobias? I’ve seen authors who have even made it look like the characters wrote the answers themselves.

Even if none of that information ever makes it into the book, it helps me to craft believable, three-dimensional characters. Yeah, sometimes it’s daunting to keep track of everything, particularly when you have multiple series, but keeping notes and creating these kinds of exercises helps create worlds and characters that readers can understand.

What are some of your strategies as a writer? How do you remember all of your characters and their histories?

Seraphina

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of those books where I was kicking myself for not reading this thing sooner. Seriously, why did I wait all this time? Holy crap. This book is AMAZING. As someone who adores dragons anyway, I loved how this spun a new take on them and told the story of a girl who loved music, cared for her family, and just so happened to be half-dragon.

I was immediately spellbound by the world Rachel Hartman created. Seraphina as a character is not without her flaws, but she is so relatable. She has genuine struggles, as she feels compassion for both species, and I loved how the dragons were depicted. Oh, and there was music! For me, Seraphina was the character that I had hoped Kvothe from The Kingkiller Chronicles would be, and she did not disappoint on that end. I just adore it when I can have two of my passions woven together like this. So wonderful.

I lurve Orma and the relationship he had with Seraphina. He’s related to her by blood, yet as a dragon should not show any emotion. Some of the struggles he faced were so real, so difficult, just like Seraphina’s own dilemmas. You knew that he wanted to love her, but he couldn’t. Just as she could not help but feel love for Kiggs, though she knew it was futile and against her dragon nature. I kept wanting to yell, “JUST TELL HIM ALREADY! OMG!”

Oh, the feels. I just can’t praise this book highly enough. It is beautiful, heart-breaking and perfect in every way, shape and form.

Seriously, go read it now.

#PitMad

This year I was finally able to take the plunge and participate in the Twitter Pitch Party called #PitMad. Basically, it’s a one-day opportunity for authors to pitch their books to agents who follow the thread. If the agent is interested, they’ll favorite your tweet and request further material.

I had heard of this event and saw others who were involved, but this was the first year that I finally had a complete manuscript to work with. So I decided to take part, because I had already been mulling over a few pitches in my head, and I figured this was a good way to see if an agent really would be interested in my standalone novel. I have to say, it was a really fun experience!

These are just a handful of the things I learned, plus some basic guidelines:

– Make sure that your book is finished. I know that seems redundant, but treat this like you would a query letter to an agent. Don’t pitch an unfinished project.

– Think about what you want to say ahead of time. Again, just like with a query letter, you want this to be polished to the best of your abilities. There’s a lot of competition out there, and the internet is forever, you know.

– Look at the Twitter feeds of your favorite agents. They have really great advice and will often state exactly what they’re looking for in their next project.

– Be professional. Don’t feel bad if no one favorites or retweets your posts, because the writing world is very subjective. Just because no one looked at this time around doesn’t mean that no one ever will.

– Be courteous. There are rules in place for a reason, so don’t tweet your pitch every five minutes. It will only make everyone (and I do mean EVERYone) hate you. They generally suggest one tweet per hour, or six total, depending.

– Make time in your day for this. Think of it as an online conference, if you will. Agents are taking time out of their busy schedules to check this out, so take time out of yours as well. Doesn’t have to be all day long, but be prepared to spend some time there.

Overall, I would highly recommend participating in something like #PitMad if you enjoy social media and are in the market for an agent. Honestly, even if no one shows interested in your project, it’s HUGELY helpful and eye-opening to see what other authors are writing and what agents are looking for specifically. I saw so many amazing pitches it nearly made my head spin. There is so much talent out there just waiting to be had! Plus I made some great connections with fellow writers and garnered a few more followers. People were so encouraging.

If I had to do it all over again, I would take my own advice and set aside a full day off of work for this. I thought I was pretty well prepared for it, but there were minor things that made me realize that I could have done better. Now I know.

Best of luck to the authors who did participate this year, and I hope someone walks away with a book deal! If you’re interested in participating in the future, the next PitMad is going to be on June 4th, 2015. See Brenda Drake’s post for even more information on it.

I’m looking forward to seeing who will show up next time!

Author Interview – T.J. Loveless

It is my great pleasure to present my first ever author interview, yay! *throws confetti* Today I am interviewing the incredibly talented T.J. Loveless, who you might remember from a few months ago when she graciously hosted me on her blog. Well, she’s getting ready to release her own book, Lucky Number Six, and after reading the first chapter, I am super excited to read it! T.J. has a killer sense of humor, and it shows in her writing. Here’s what Lucky Number Six is all about:

In New Orleans, Louisiana, something with a weird sense of humor is stranding myth in a nonmagical world. Dr. Tiffany Crews is a renowned psychiatrist, a klutz, Arkansas hillbilly born and bred with her feet firmly rooted in reality. Her two best friends, Janet and Mark, keep life interesting. Add in a duck with Houdini tendencies, and Tiffany leads a wonderfully laughter filled life.

One morning, they find a unicorn in the communal courtyard of their townhouse and life takes a surreal twist. It leads to burning the bacon, along with the kitchen, yet they nevertheless refuse to leave the animal in a possibly bad situation. Until they learn it talks, anything veggie causes rancid flatulence in the form of rainbows, and its grumpy attitude can only be helped by indulging his carnivorous tendencies with Shrimp Po’ Boys.

Drop in Flying Granny, sporting dragonfly wings and really flies, who calls herself The Fairy Godmother, and believes she was summoned to help find their soul mates. Reality takes another twist nobody is prepped for.

The three friends are on the prowl during New Orleans’ infamous Mardi Gras to find where the two myths truly belong. Every attempt to find the truth leads to hijinks and compromising situations for the three friends, and a true appreciation for the unknown. Tiffany needs to find a way for the two myths to fit into reality, and keep her sanity in one piece.

If only it was that easy.

 

Sounds fantastic, right? To give us the inside scoop, T.J. lets us take a peek at her muses and what inspires her writing. Enjoy!

 

– Where did you get the idea for your story? What was your inspiration?

Lucky Number Six was the result of four conversations and personal experience. No, really!

Last summer, I was having a conversation over on Falling For Fiction with an author who writes short stories/novellas. She made a comment that hit me pretty hard, to paraphrase, “People are looking for novellas as something to read on their phones or tablet while commuting.” I asked a few more questions, and it ended there.

Not long after, I was talking to an old friend in Arkansas, whose job is to save stroke victims, and she made the comment, “Every book out these days is so dark. What happened to the humor in Urban Fantasy?”

Early fall, I came down with the flu and had a conversation I barely remember with my stepmother about places magic could possibly happen (it’s her fav conversation to date) and, finally, I was asking questions of an author-ly friend, and all around funny gal, Carey Torgesen.

That was all last fall, and I was hard at work writing Going Thru Hell. Spring came around, and I was talking to my sister about two ducks I had as a teenager. She went on about my niece’s obsession with unicorns and the Fairy Godmother from Disney films.

Voila! I had The Fortune Cookie Diaries come into my head and refuse to leave.

– Are there any books/authors that have influenced your writing style?

Stephen King’s On Writing, okay, a lot of Stephen King. He’s more tactile than I am in his writing, but I love his ability to keep me turning the pages. Rudyard Kipling, Madeleine L’Engle, Judy Blume, Walter Farley, Denise Grover Swank, Lynn Stevie, Edgar Allan Poe, J.R. Ward (Rhage & Visious – oh yummy!), Kresley Cole, Kim Harrison, and Karen Marie Moning. I could add at least forty others, but there is a limit here, LOL! They have each taught me something, and I love the “voice” of their work. It’s what keeps me coming back, time and time again.

– It’s scary to jump into the world of self-publishing. (Trust me, I know!) What made you decide to take this route?

Scary? Scary?! Try Diaper Wearing Terrified!

The idea of highlighting self published authors on my own blog kind of pushed the idea. I resisted a bit, after all Going Thru Hell is still in the query trenches. But research showed that novellas don’t sell well traditionally, are notoriously hard to find a publisher. And I wanted to give a few laughs. I researched, and researched, and researched. I pushed hard, asked tons of questions, read more about self publishing than I ever did for my senior research paper in college.

I finally pulled up my Depends, and said, “I can do this. I think. Maybe. Yeah, yeah I can. No, what am I thinking? Stop that! Of course I can! Look, it’s funny!”

But after working for a publishing company as a copy/content editor for the past several months, I also knew what the expectations were, how to prep it, and what I had to beat in order to compete. So I flipped off Murphy and his bloody Laws, and took the plunge.

– What’s your favorite part of writing?

Getting lost in the writing. Forgetting where I am, the time, the day, even my own name. I love the creation, watching that movie in my head appear in the document. I love the ongoing, and constantly changing, challenges of writing. I love letting the MS sit for a month, then come back and see where my imagination took me. Sometimes in the wrong direction, but it is good for laughs.

– When did you first realize that you wanted to become a writer?

At the ripe old age of 29. I’d been writing little things since fourth grade. The first story I wrote was an assignment by Mrs. Hunter, one of my fav teachers of all time. I don’t remember exactly what I wrote, but I do remember her giving me a sheet of paper with a HUGE “A” and refusing to give the story back. I talked to her a few years ago – she still has that story (written 31 yrs ago) framed and on her wall.

Not long after my 29th birthday (11 yrs ago – where does the time go?!?) I had a story rattle around. I knew nothing. Nothing, about writing. But life has a way of taking you onto other paths (Come on, sing “The Yellow Brick Road” with me). I’d finished three full length, badly written, overly plotted, too complicated, every mistake in the book, novels. And in 2012, we moved to Wyoming and I was given the opportunity to learn the mechanics of writing, had the time to throw myself into it.

Editor Kitty says, “Get back to work!”

I landed a job as a Copy/Content Editor, joined Agent Query Connect, and I learned. I found out the writing community, for the most part, is full of cheerleaders and people more than willing to pass on what they’ve learned.

I am now, officially, *whisper* an author.

– Who designed your book cover?

The wonderful Calista Taylor. OMG – we had emails fly back and forth, about the book, the premise, what I was looking for. And I love love love the two covers she’s made so far. And she didn’t send me to the poorhouse either.

How cute are these guys?

– What do you absolutely HAVE to have while you’re writing?

Music. Drink. Phone. Either one of the Muses (my two chihuahuas) or Editor Kitty. Lately, my trifocals. Something snacky. The Hubby and Filly remembering, “Don’t mind when Writer Mommy is on the floor, in rather compromising positions, talking to herself.”

Just for fun (because I’m odd like that):
– Coffee or tea?

Start out with Sludge, aka Coffee, then move to Iced Tea – southern style. As the comedian Reverend Nutt once said, “Tea so sweet, you put a lemon in it and that slice will roll over and die. Nothing that sour should die so sweet a death. A southern woman will heat the tea the next morning, put it on your pancakes and you’ll never know the difference.”

– What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Explore Wild Horse Loop and take pictures of mustangs, explore history/natural museums, read, ride, swimming if I can manage it, go and visit my parents, take pictures, cook, annoy Filly because I only have five years left of making her go, “Mooom! Really?!” And reminding Hubby he married me because of my rather quirky sense of humor.

– What are you currently reading?

I’m rereading Lynn Stevie’s Angel’s Kiss, and an MS I recently edited that I adored, a Science Fiction Fantasy called Without Bloodshed by Matthew Graybosch, and should be published by the end of summer.

– When is your book going to be released?

Lucky Number Six is due to be published via Amazon.com on June 15th, and will be free. That’s right, I’m not charging for the first book of the series. Book #2 – Odd Number Five, will be released by July 1st.

 

See what I mean about T.J. being hilarious and made of awesome? June 15th is right around the corner, so keep an eye out. Personally, I can’t wait!

About the author:

T.J. Loveless has been reading and writing stories since the fourth grade. She writes predominantly in the Spec Fic genres, with a novella series to be self-published the summer of 2013, and one MS currently in the query trenches. She is also a copy/content editor at Curiosity Quills Press and freelances over at Cliffhanger Editing.

She lives with one Editor Kitty, two Muses, a Hubby who prefers her mood when writing and a teenager who loves to tells stories of her mother on the floor trying to visualize “legs all akimbo” and how Writing Momma has long, often yelling, conversations with the computer screen.

You can find T.J. on:

Facebook
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The Padded Room