Well, this is a normal run of the mill blog hop. I answer three questions about my writing and then tag three writers to keep the blog hop... hopping. (super lame pun, I know!!!) I picked three SUPERB writers that I am SURE you will enjoy getting to know more about: Jeanie Moon, Michele Shaw and Janet Frongillo. They will be posting their very own blog hop-a-long on Monday, June 2nd, so keep your eyes peeled for it. It'll be good!
Now, on to the questions...
1.) What am I working on/writing?
Well, uh... that is an interesting question, Watson. My current project is already complete. About nine months ago I got my laptop lashed to my ankles and was shoved off a bridge to swim with the fishies. Not kidding. That's exactly what it felt like with this story. I was on vacation, camping in the boonies at the base of an active volcano when I got the idea. Weird, I know. I bounced the idea off my writing partner, Ami (who hyperventilated) and then had to wait until school started (TORTURE!!) so I could have enough quiet time to write on it.
I am not currently working on any writing projects due to a long running health issue. I hate not being able to write. However, now that I am getting better, I will be back to typing away like a mad woman very soon. Besides, I have a gaggle of 10-12 year old beta readers who will hunt me down and strangle me if I don't complete books two and three of the series. To my young friend/fans... book two is on the cusp of being finished VERY soon. (My son just sighed long-sufferingly and muttered in his perfect pre-teen way: "It's about time, mom!")
Ian Quicksilver: The Warrior's Return is in the querying/begging agents phase. It is the first book of a trilogy that I am hoping to expand into a long running series, should the first three ever get published. Ian is my main man currently dealing with a sadistic gym teacher with glowing eyes, a magician impersonating a school superintendent who wants to kill him, and a princess with a sketchy memory he must find to break a curse. If that weren't bad enough, Ian just found out he is betrothed to said forgetful princess and he's not too thrilled about it. Especially since he'd better hook up with her or his planet will be destroyed. Cool, eh? (Ian doesn't think so)
2.) How does my work/writing differ from others in its genre?
I write humor. I have read a lot of Urban Fantasy and High Fantasy for both young adult and adult audiences and rarely do I find one that reads like a mixture of Dave Barry and Janet Evanovich (which is how I write). I'd like to say that my novel takes a fairy-tale approach, but in a superbly attitudinal way. In my book, love does not bloom, it doesn't even form a bud. It's slaughtered, atomic bombed, and on a deadline. My prince's betrothal comes with a nasty, curse-ridden hitch. It's do or die... literally. The galaxy hangs in the balance, teetering on the success of Ian scoring a date with a girl who doesn't know who she is.
As for the other elements of the story: I took a few pages from medieval knights, crusades and science fiction. I begin by flushing Ian down an intergalactic cosmic toilet for starters, sending him from his home planet to Earth. The rest is a riot as he finds his sword, his horse and the girl. And, of course, all while avoiding getting killed by the maniacal magician.
Seriously, any questions about how much I love my dear sweet Ian? It should be obvious by now.
4.) How does my writing process work?
Furiously. Hehehe. All kidding aside, I do write furiously fast. When I have an idea, it takes me roughly two to three months to write it. It probably reads like gibberish, but it makes sense to me. Each chapter is a place setting in the book and takes the book in the direction I want it to go. Then I spend another three months fleshing it out into the full bodied book that I want it to be.
I'd say I edit as I go, but I'd bet good money my editors, Ami and Amy, would snort coffee out their noses seeing as they know better. (FYI: I currently know seven Amy's and they are all awesome. It is no stretch that I'd have two editors with the same name) I stink at editing. I write like I talk, which is full of run-on and fragmented sentences. My grammar isn't so great either, but my darling Amy's douse my manuscripts in red ink and set me straight.
Around the six to seven month mark I have a book that is semi intelligible. ::cue fanfare:: And then I go through a who-knows-how-long dry spell until the next brilliant idea hits me. And brilliance never comes from a predicable place, like in the shower. The story line for Ian Quicksilver: Book Two smacked me upside the head while sitting in the dentist chair with my mouth wide open and the lovely dental assistant shaving gunk off my teeth with a chainsaw. Honestly, I never know when the next idea strikes!!!
Now, on to the good stuff...
JEANIE MOON (fantastic romance writer extraordinaire). Jeanie writes mostly contemporary romance, but don't let the modern genre fool you. This woman can write some serious HEAT into her novels. You can find her latest book The Wedding Secret at Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook OR just pop on over to her website Jeaniemoon.com to get all the info on how to buy her books.
Warning!! Make sure you have a fan handy when you read her novels. Trust me, you'll need it!
JANET FRONGILLO (Fellow humorist and All Around Awseomesauce). Janet hails from Boston and she has the attitude to go with it. The woman is freaking hilarious and her posts on her blog are worth reading and re-reading. Her book Mommy Mixology is rip-roaringly funny (can be found to purchase on Amazon). You can find Janet over at MuffinTop Mommy where the posts are worth the tears and sore gut.
Warning!! DO NOT drink water, eat any variety of sustenance, have a beverage in hand or have foreign objects in or around your mouth. TRUST ME, I have snorted yogurt out my nose after reading her posts and it wasn't pleasant or pretty. Just sayin'.
MICHELE SHAW (Poet to Perfection and Chills Inducing Author). Michele is the type of writer that will whisk you away with the first sentence and never let you go until The End. She is a very suspenseful writer and her prose is lyrical and exceptionally beautiful. Her novel, Scatter, is coming out Fall 2014, so keep your eyes peeled for it. You can find Michele's breathtaking poetry over at Michele Shaw Blog.
Warning!!! Once you start reading her book, you can't stop. Prepare with food, a blanket and night time reading light. It's mandatory!
And that is the hop of blog thing in a nutshell! Thanks for stopping by and DON'T FORGET to check out these fantastic ladies on Monday, June 2nd.
FOooosa! What a great post! Yay, you! You say the *nicest* things. ~blush~ (And thanks for agreeing to hop like a blogger. I don't feel one bit guilty that I dragged you into this.) Here's hoping the whole world gets a chance to meet Ian... SOON!
ReplyDeleteI know you don't feel guilty!! But I love you anyway. Under all the grumbling, it was jolly fun!
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