Fort Hood Tragedy

Usually on Fridays, I write a quotation commentary.  But today, I'm pausing, instead, in a moment of silence for the victims of Fort Hood. 

What happened was senseless and tragic... cowardly more than anything and I hope the shooter rots in hell when it's his turn to leave this Earth. 

My heart goes out to the families of the victims and for the victims themselves.  I pray for speedy recoveries for those left with life and community healing.  It's bad enough when we lose the brave men and women who fight for justice, and for freedom, overseas.  But to have one sick, deranged, jackass of a man take their lives while here on what should be safe American soil?  I'm heartbroken and appalled.

My soapboxing, insofar as this blog is concerned, will usually stick to subjects like Twilight.  But I just want to say this one thing:

People who think that violence is the answer to their personal problems, or believe that their "gods" call for violence, or who think "so what? I got a little drunk and hit her, she'll be fine", or anyone along those lines, deserve to be castrated (so they produce no others with their own twisted beliefs) and left to rot on an island with others of their kind.

Got Query Queries?

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I did too, but not anymore!  Because...

I participated in a totally awesome Query Letter training workshop today!!  It was given by Jane Friedman of Writer's Digest, and I learned SO much. (There are several other webinars coming up and if the quality matches up to the one I took today - I suggest you check them out.)

I now feel completely prepared to query.  (Except for the teensy tiny fact, of course, that my manuscript isn't yet complete.) 

Participants were allowed to e-mail drafts of their queries beforehand.  During the workshop Jane critiqued each one and gave a wealth of information about the things that make query letters successful.  Right now, I'm kind of on cloud 9 because guess what - SHE LIKED MY QUERY!!  She even said I had a "killer" final line.  (And before you think it, no, that didn't make me biased about the quality of the presentation.  Even if she'd marked through every line of my text, I still would be raving about the workshop.)

Here are some of the things I took away from the workshop about queries:

• Keep your query tight - BRIEF IS BETTER
• Only highlight the very key points of your manuscript
• It's okay to leave an agent guessing - you want to leave them wanting more
• Don't tell the entire story - or what happens in the end - the agent should want to ask for more information, not be told everything up front
• If you're a part of an association, or writing group, tell the agent in your credentials - it shows that you're putting time and effort into your writing career

And the hook is the most crucial aspect to the query.  Here are some things I took away about the hook:

• The hook should introduce the agent to your protagonist, by name.  It also needs to tell the agent what the protagonist's challenge is, (be it change or conflict).
• The hook should be kept to the point - conciseness is really important.
• Think about reading a movie summary on a Netflix envelope... that's how short the hook should be.
• Ideally, the hook should be 1 paragraph - no more than 150 words, and
• it should comprise of at least 75% of the query.

Can you break the rules?  Of course, every rule can be broken - as long as the letter is crafted with enough skill to be worth the rule break :)

Obviously, I'm no expert on the matter - as I have yet to send any queries out.  There are tons of other, great resources out there.  But I still wanted to share some of what I learned!  (There was a lot more, but I don't want to give away Jane's material - you should DEFINITELY take her workshop if/when it's offered again!)

PS I'll totally show you my query draft if you want to see it - it's just that I recently downloaded Paint.Net and am having SO much fun playing with all of the effects :) 

♥ me

Why Did Snoop Dogg Need an Umbrella?

Yep, that's right.  All I'm writing today is a joke.  For 2 and a half reasons:

1. I still think you should check out Alexandra Shostak's guest post from Monday about steampunk! 
   
   
2. I wanted to give you a chance to check out the blogs I gave the Kreativ Blogger Award to :)  They're all awesome!

    2.5  Because it's FUNNY.

If you want to know the punchline to the joke, just check the comments section! 

Why did Snoop Dogg need an umbrella?

PS.  Feel free to leave your own silly joke in the comments :)

♥ me

Kreativ Blogger Award

W.M.Morrell (aka Quillfeather, whom I affectionately call Q) left a comment for me, which said, "I've left you a little something on my blog. Check it out :)" 

And what had she left for me at her blog?  The KREATIV BLOGGER AWARD!!  I was so surprised and completely flattered!! 

Now that I've received the Kreativ Blogger, I will pass the award on to 7 of my favorite bloggers (who must follow the following instructions).

1. Copy and paste the pretty picture in which you see on the top left corner onto your own blog. 
2. Thank the person who gave you the award and post a link to their blog.
3. Write 7 things about yourself we do not know.
4. Choose 7 other bloggers to award.
5. Link to those 7 other bloggers.
6. Notify your 7 bloggers.
7. Do a little dance because you just won the KREATIV BLOGGER award! (I added this rule because it's what I did and it was FUN)

Let me just start by saying THANK YOU to Q :)  Her own blog, W.M.Morrell can be found and followed here: http://quillfeather-blog.blogspot.com/.  If she hadn't already received the award, you can bet she'd be the first person to receive it from me now!  Q is a children's author who loves cheese, wine, dogs, and life... How could you NOT want to follow her?  (Plus, her posts are thought provoking and fun to read.)  AND if you're interested in what she's working on - check it here: http://www.wix.com/quillfeather/Book-of-Shadows.

Now... Here are 7 things that you probably don't know about me:

1. I've been skydiving and LOVED it!  I really want to go again, but somehow in the 7 years since my first experience, I've developed this weird fear of heights...
2. I was part of an Olympic training group as a gymnast when I was younger (thankfully I realized that the life was being sucked out of me and quit while I was ahead)
3. I've never had a favorite color.  I can't ever just pick one!  Right now I'm really diggin' crimson reds and deep purples.
4. In the past year, I've gotten two tattoos.  An ensō on my wrist (I blogged about it a while ago) and a thick outline of an island flower on my foot.  They're both in black ink, and I am infatuated with them!
5. I hate being sick, but I secretly like when my voice is raspy.
6. I am obsessed with boots.  I claim to be a "summer" girl - in that I absolutely love and live for warm weather... but I love, love, love winter boots and therefor could never give up on cold weather completely.  I have about a million and a half pairs.
7. I cannot stand when two different textured things rub against each other - for example: a marker across a pillow case, or a cloth texture between someone's teeth (my husband bit his collar the other day just to make me gag)... To me, it's equivalent to people scratching their nails down chalkboards.

Okay, that's enough about me!   Now I get to give the Kreative Blogger Award to 7 amazing bloggers!  (List is alphabetized by name.)

1. Alexandra Shostak of
   http://lazy-iris.livejournal.com/.  You may recognize the name, as she wrote a fabulous guestpost for me yesterday about steampunk.  Alexandra is an extremely talented writer and, I've recently discovered, a photoshop wizard.  She also lives in a haunted town.  Super cool. 
   Oh, and one more thing - she's also a part of a new group of writing bloggers on http://letthewordsflow.wordpress.com/. 
   
   
2. Carolina Valdez Miller of
   http://carol-in-print.blogspot.com/. Carolina is a fellow Young Adult (YA) fantasy writer.  I love her blog!  She's also very active with me in the new #amwritingparty twitter group.  She's full of inspiring words for other writers - you'd be silly not to follow her!
   
   
3. Georgia McBride of http://georgiamcbridebooks.wordpress.com/  Georgia is pretty much amazing.  It's the only way I know how to describe her :)  Her first book, PRAEFATIO, is out on submission and Georgia's hard at work on the second in the series.  (I got to read the first two chapters of PRAEFATIO and it is definitely something to look forward to!)
   
   
4. Hot Blonde of http://hotblondeinthekitchen.blogspot.com/ HB is my oldest friend.  She was in the same training group that I was back in the gymnastics days.  She's writing a cookbook and posts really phenomenal recipes on her blog!  Complete with step-by-step instructions for those of us (ahem, ME) who aren't culinary geniuses.
   
   
5. Jenni Bailey of http://jennibailey.com/.
   Jenni is writing a young adult novel and her blog is fun to follow :)  Although, whether reading her blog, or twittering with Jenni, I always endup craving cupcakes... I wonder why? ;-)
   
   
6. Karen Hooper of http://karenamandahooper.blogspot.com/  I just recently started following Karen's blog, but I already love it!  She's finished one book, The Kindrily, and is working on more in the series.  I can't wait for it to get published - I'm already hooked!
   
   
7. Kristin Miller of Long Distance Drive
   Her posts are insightful and I always look forward to seeing something new.  Kristin has an agent and her first novel is out on submission.  She's also a part of http://yahighway.blogspot.com/, another blog I frequently visit.

An Introduction to STEAMPUNK! (Guest Post)

This post was written by Miss Alexandra Shostak.  (Click her name to be directed to her blog.)  Alexandra is a really fantastic writer, soon to be agented, and has introduced me to the world of steampunk.  Now she'll do the same for you!  And please, even if you're not interested in steampunk (which I'm telling you, you should be), you know one look at her smokin' picture made you interested in whatever she has to say :-P

Steampunk. Doubtless you’ve heard something about this genre of music, fashion, and literature in the past few months. It’s said by many to be the “up and coming” trend in books, and it’s already making headway in other areas of life (if you’ve ever seen someone checking a pocket watch or walking around with a parasol, likely they’re dressed steampunk). But though a lot of people have heard this word floating around, many people still want to know: what exactly is steampunk? So, I’m going to do my best to impart to you the knowledge I’ve accumulated both in reading and writing steampunk.

Most simply, steampunk is a genre of speculative fiction—it’s most commonly set in Victorian London, which means it has many historical elements, but it focuses on technology that doesn’t exist. Steam power is generally the driving force of this technology, which features things like (but not limited to) trains, airships, and automobiles. This is where science fiction enters into the equation. In many of these alternate histories, the technology also centers around engines, like difference engines or analytical engines—extending the technology farther than it ever went in real life.

However, steampunk doesn’t have to be historical, and it doesn’t have to be science fiction, either. Sometimes the world in which the book is set is made up—a fantasy world. Many times magic also comes into play in these stories, blending the science fiction aspect of steam-powered technology with mythological creatures, sorcery, and really excellent world-building. Like any genre, steampunk weaves in and out of other genres, and it doesn’t have to have every single one of these elements to make it steampunk. But the defining characteristic is the presence of steam power, and technology based on that power.

There are actually several examples of steampunk in pop-culture that people didn’t know were steampunk until recently. Most notably is THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN. I recommend checking out both the Alan Moore comic, and the film. Also, if you’ve seen the Disney movie “Atlantis” that’s also an example of steampunk—and it’s just a really good movie in general :)

There are more and more steampunk books showing up—several people have told me they’ve seen a steampunk display at Barnes & Noble. But I’m going to recommend a few that I think really capture what the genre is. They aren’t the only ones out there, and I’m constantly looking for new ones (so if you find one I didn’t list, let me know!)

1. THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling – Even though steampunk seems to be a new genre, given the amount of press it’s getting lately, it’s actually been around for several decades. THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE falls in the category of historical and science fiction steampunk, and it is one of the books that first defined the genre.
   
2. PERDIDO STREET STATION by China Mieville – Many of Mieville’s books fall into the steampunk category, but this is probably his most popular. This one isn’t historical; it’s set in a fantasy steampunk world, and blends fantasy and science fiction together.
   
3. WICKED GENTLEMEN by Ginn Hale – This example of steampunk is mostly fantasy. It’s also set in a fantasy world, but Hale’s world is based pretty directly on a Victorian city. This book (actually two novellas following the same characters) follows the relationships between the characters more closely than it does the speculative technology.
   
4. LEVIATHAN by Scott Westerfeld – I haven’t read this one yet, because it just came out a few weeks ago. This YA novel is historical, and it takes elements of fantasy and science fiction to create a very unique world. It’s set a little later in time than most Victorian steampunks; it happens on the eve of World War I. Also, it has illustrations. I’m really excited about the illustrations—I can’t wait to read it.
   
5. CLOCKWORK HEART by Dru Pagliassotti – Another fantasy steampunk, with a really well-imagined world, and a really great romantic sub-plot. This one is especially cool, because the main character has metal wings that she uses to fly over the city.

These are just a few examples of steampunk books that I think really stick out, but there are of course many more, and my “to-read” list is always getting longer. Also, Cassandra Clare (known for her YA series MORTAL INSTRUMENTS) is coming out with a steampunk series. The first installment, THE CLOCKWORK ANGEL, is set to be released in 2010.

Tor.com had “steampunk month” last month—and their blog was a wealth of information about anything and everything steampunk. It was really informative, interesting, and just fun. There was some really great stuff, including awesome pictures and videos. I definitely recommend checking it out.

I suppose now is the time that I tell you something about me, then. Well, I write fantasy, and the most recent novel I completed is a steampunk called MEMENTO MORI. It’s more on the fantasy side of steampunk than the science fiction side, though there is a lot of clockwork—clockwork taxis, clockwork mages, clockwork corpses… you get the idea ;) I really loved writing it, since steampunk has been one of my favorite genres for several years now, and I definitely plan to continue writing steampunk.

That’s it! Thank you Sara, for letting me guest blog—you’re awesome :) And I hope my post was informative, and made at least one person want to go out and buy a steampunk novel.


No, Alexandra - thank YOU!