Category Archives: The Dream War Saga

When secret things are happening.

One of the things that takes some getting used to in the publishing industry is the amount of time you spend keeping secrets. From everyone. Big ones or little ones, you’re almost always not telling someone something.

The problem is, the more secrets I’m carrying, the quieter I get. Right now there are a couple of things happening that I would LOVE to talk about, but I can’t yet. In one case because nothing has really happened yet and in the other because it hasn’t been finalized. When I come to post here, though, all I want to do is talk about THOSE THINGS. And I can’t. So I don’t post anything.

Makes sense, right?

What I CAN tell you is that I’m going to see Neal Gaiman this weekend! One of his tour stops is less than an hour away from where I live, so I’m packing myself into my car and dragging a friend along for the ride to go down and see him. Even though I just saw him talk at BEA. ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH. Obviously. And since this is being billed as his last US book tour, it may quite literally be my last chance. I’ll be there rain or shine… though I really hope it doesn’t rain. Books don’t do well in the rain.

In news I can share, I should be getting my next round of edits on Sing Sweet Nightingale any day! This is both scary and exciting. I want to shine this book until it sparkles like a really pretty amethyst. Despite that desire, there’s also this little fear-demon living in the back of my head whispering that I’m going to mess it up. Or not live up to my own standards.

Faith that my agent and my editors won’t let me screw anything up helps tamp down the first worry, but the second…

The second is kind of an occupational hazard of being human, so I’m not sure there’s much that can be done. All you can do is work as hard as you can, pour as much of yourself into the project as you can, and hope for the best.

So… That’s what’s going on in my life. How are you? 🙂

More from BEA. This time with video evidence!

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So many people weren’t able to come to see my cover reveal because New York is expensive and far away, but with technology, that doesn’t matter! I can bring my cover reveal to you!

This video is thanks to my lovely publishing-sister Joanne Rock. And, seriously, THANK YOU, JOANNE! I never think about recording moments like this until they’re long gone and then I wish for years that I had pictures or, better yet, video. Only thanks to my friends and family at Spencer Hill did I come away from this rather momentous day with anything to remember it by (other than a really cool poster!).

And now, unfortunately, back to the grind. My life is not nearly as glamorous as it looks in that video. 😉

Looking back at BEA2013

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It’s been a week since I came back from New York, but my head and my heart are still wandering around Manhattan and jumping on the 3 to Brooklyn. I have an intense love for that city, so I hate leaving as much as I love visiting. Last week I posted about the two covers I now have and the pre-order information for the anthology containing your first peek into the world of The Dream War Saga, but I couldn’t bring myself to post about BEA. Thinking about it just reminded me that it was over. And that is sad. I told myself that I was waiting on a video of the reading portion of my cover reveal, but that’s a lie. Well, half lie. I am waiting on that, but it’s not like I can’t post without it. So I will. Now.

It wasn’t until 8 am the morning of my cover reveal that my editresses decided I would read. Seriously. They called me just before 8 that morning and said, “We thought it would be a good idea for you to read your first chapter.”

CUE THE BEGINNING OF MY FREAK OUT.

The next five hours were a slow descent into the kind of trembling, twitching nervousness I haven’t felt in years. My friends Asja and Alex literally had to drag me away from the Spencer Hill booth the half an hour before my reveal to try to distract me. Alex tried the biceps of the Ellora’s Cave models and Asja tried books, glitter, and bubbles, but nothing worked. Somehow, I made it back to the booth in time to wait for the actual countdown to begin.

It wasn’t all bad, though. I got to meet some of the other SHP authors like the Rock sisters! They’re so sweet! My wonderful NY-roommates Sarah Guillory and Megan Whitmer were both there to support me as well as so many other awesome, amazing people! Like my glorious editresses Danielle and Patricia. The presence of actual people waiting to see my cover and hear me read was… well, daunting comes to mind!

But I didn’t pass out! Instead, these things happened:

My editresses introduced me and my cover designer Jeremy West

Jeremy and I drew the curtain back to reveal SSN!

We took pictures with the cover model, Kit, and the SHP group behind SSN

And then I started reading the first chapter of Sing Sweet Nightingale. Like, out loud. To PEOPLE! Well, it was really only the first seven pages because the first chapter is kind of intense and also intensely long, but they’re INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT PAGES. Things happen. Things that, apparently, make people cry during author readings.

Yes, you read that right. More than one tear was seen during my reading and it made me want to cry happy tears of my own!

When you write something, it becomes important to you. The characters and the moments in their lives matter. Will that translate to a reader when they pick up the book? Did you pick the right words to get the emotion across? The happiness, the sadness, the pain, the joy, the whatever they’re feeling at the time–did it work? Seeing their reaction first hand made all my shaky nerves worth it. The failure nerves before the reading began and the OMG I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT HAPPENED nerves from after.

I did it, though. I didn’t pass out and my words were intelligible and I didn’t cry while I was reading (which I actually worried I would, considering the section I was reading) and people liked what I read and the cover we showed them and I just… It’s so hard to describe. I’m still in the middle of edits, so the reality of other people seeing and reading and understanding my obsession with The Dream War Saga universe feels so far away and impossible. But it’s not! It’s already happening!

I met so many wonderful bloggers while waiting in line to grab books and even, while I was at a really amazing City of Bones event, met a fantastically sweet book buyer and blogger from Austin and her twin sister who KNEW WHO I WAS! Talk about surreal. They even asked me to autograph my business cards! Which I gladly did. My first ever autograph! I was so lucky to be standing in line next to them so I got to give them hugs and realize that there are people in other parts of the world talking about my book!

The rest of the time I spent in NY, though, was just for the hell of it. I got to spend time with some friends I don’t get to see nearly as often as I would like and was able to spend Memorial Day eating yummy food, phenomenal ice cream, and laying in the sun at Prospect Park with Asja. And I can’t wait to go back!

Asja and I at Prospect Park in Brooklyn

Whatever It Takes

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My short story Whatever It Takes is in this anthology. The story is set within the world of The Dream War Saga, but only tangentially connects to the series itself. A good peek into the Dream War universe, Whatever It Takes is available for pre-order now!

Everyone wishes they could get an extra hour in the day. But what if you could?

What if you had a special device that gave you an extra day every week? You could use it to get ahead at work… unless your boss had it too.

What if you knew a spell that gave you an extra hour every day? You could use it to correct a mistake… or make a new one.

What if you could just stop time? You could accomplish a myriad of wonders… if you only knew how to get time started again.

Time loops and time travel, time apps and time outs, time machines, time merchants, and more can be found passing through these doorways into worlds where time can be spent like money… or where extra time can only be bought at a terrible price.

With stories and poetry by Jody Lynne Nye, Walter Hunt, Erica Cameron, Martin Feekins, Anthony Francis, L.M. Graham, R.E. Gofstein, Melina Gunnett, Betsy Miller, Susan Mittman, Brenda Monguez, Jenny More, Ira Nayman, Errick A. Nunnally, Kate Saturday, Gayle Schultz, Rich Storrs, Keshia Swaim, Aimee Weinstein, and Trisha J. Wooldridge, Doorways to Extra Time presents twenty twists on the idea that if we only had a little extra time…

We’d have to deal with the consequences.

Edited by Trisha J. Wooldridge and Anthony Francis

Buy it from:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | IndieBound

My first book shaped baby has a face!

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No matter how many times I stare at this cover, I cannot get over how much I love it. Jeremy West did a fabulous job and I’m so thrilled that I can now share the beautiful face of Sing Sweet Nightingale with the world!!!

Also, ALSO, I can finally share more information about the story! That tiny bit of the story doesn’t tell you anything, but now I have an amazing back cover copy to show off!

Mariella Teagen hasn’t spoken a word in four years.

She pledged her voice to Orane, the man she loves—someone she only sees in her dreams. Each night, she escapes to Paradise, the world Orane created for her, and she sings for him. Mariella never believed she could stay in Paradise longer than a night, but two weeks before her eighteenth birthday, Orane hints that she may be able to stay forever.

Hudson Vincent made a pledge to never fight again.

Celease, the creature who created his dream world, swore that giving up violence would protect Hudson. But when his vow causes the death of his little brother, Hudson turned his grief on Celease and destroyed the dream world. The battle left him with new abilities and disturbing visions of a silent girl in grave danger—Mariella.

Now, Hudson is fighting to save Mariella’s life while she fights to give it away. And he must find a way to show her Orane’s true intentions before she is lost to Paradise forever.

AND, as if that wasn’t enough, my cover designer Jeremy and his videographer brother Jeffrey put together a great video interview during our visit to NYC! Watch below and find out more about the design process, the book, and us!

Did you hear? My cover is coming next week!

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Yeah, okay, I may have already posted about this, but I’M SO EXCITED! I leave for New York on Friday, but next week, this happens:

Jeremy West did SUCH a fabulous job designing this book and I am so thrilled that his work will be gracing the face of my books. You guys, it’s coming soon! SO SOON! We can actually count down the days now! There are only ten of them left! EEK!

Okay, I need to go back to work before I hyperventilate. O.O

ONLINE COUNTDOWNS

Covers and BEA!

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Just in case you haven’t heard yet, the cover reveal for Sing Sweet Nightingale is coming soon. In fact, it’s coming so soon that counting down to that date doesn’t involve three-digit numbers anymore!

There are only 15 days until I get to share my cover with the world! And, to make this already exciting event even more awesome, the first people to see the cover are going to be with me at BEA in New York! We have a lot of really cool things planned, so mark your calendars for May 29th, 2013. My book will get a face and I may or may not have (okay, fine. I will definitely have) something pretty to give away to commemorate the occasion.

Check back here for more details as soon as I’m cleared to share them. I hope you love the cover as much as I do!

Sending your words into the world.

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The first edit of SSN, printed out.

So you wrote a draft. An entire book! Good for you! You’re officially a more accomplished writer than 95% of the people who attempt to write a book. But… now what?

Now is the time to send it out into the world. Not to agents and editors and contests, but to other writers and trusted friends and family. You send it out with the hope that they’ll be able to show you some of the plot holes you never noticed, catch the character discrepancies you accidentally threw in there, and help make this book ready to face the gauntlet of the publication process.

That’s where I am right now.

Last night I finished my last-check read-through of TDWS Book 2 and sent the file off to a few people, most of whom haven’t read book 1. That may seem like a strange thing to do, but one thing I want to check is, can you understand what’s happening in book 2 without reading the first one? If you happened to pick this book up first, would everything make sense?

Now that the book is out in the world, I have to wait. And hope. Hope the people I sent it to love it, hope I didn’t miss anything that would cause the entire plot to collapse, and hope all my kind volunteers have the time to read it before I need notes back at the end of the month. But that’s a lot of what publishing is. Waiting. I’ve never been the most patient person, but I’m getting better at playing this game as time goes on. It helps that I’m also really good at keeping myself busier than I need to be. While my wonderful agent and my beautiful volunteers read book 2, I will be immersing myself in a different world and trying as hard as I can to finish this fantasy project of mine.

*takes a deep breath and disappears*

What do you do when you’re finished?

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Mountain Lake Sunset (c) mwingine

I’ve had a day to decompress a little from finishing the draft of the book that shall not be named right now and I still feel a little too brain-dead to function. It was REALLY bad yesterday, though. I got absolutely nothing useful done. I couldn’t focus long enough to bother. So I didn’t.

One thing I’m learning the hard way is that you have to take breaks and let your brain regroup or your mind is going to burn out and you’ll end up useless for a long while. I’ve been writing on overdrive speed for a long while now and so taking a few days to read things I didn’t write, make some new jewelry, and watch some awesome TV sounds like a really good plan.

One great thing I did do yesterday was read a book by new friend and agent sister Tristina Wright. People, you better hope this book gets picked up. You want to read it. I promise you.

The hardest part of this “taking a break” is that part of my brain is yelling at me to get to work on my next project. I have more than one book I’ve been dying to finish writing. I just… can’t. So I’m telling that side of my head to shut up for now. This weekend, I’m doing nothing but making pretty things and watching Dr. Who. I’m really looking forward to it! 😀