Exciting News and the Subsequent Screaming

Hi guys! 

I break this hiatus to bring you exciting news—I signed with an agent! 

The Story: 

I believe I mentioned early this year that I pitched my Alice in Wonderland spinoff, The Queens Three, on Twitter during #FaithPitch. I got two requests from agents, so sent out my query letters to them. About that same time, another agent turned down Blood and Dust, but invited me to query her with a different project, since she liked my writing. So I sent her a query also. 

Within a week of #FaithPitch, both agents responded. One passed on the project, but let me know that she had passed it along to another agent she thought might like it—which was awesome of her. The second asked for a full. 

Fast forward a while, and I get an email from Kenzi Nevins, of Cyle Young Literary Elite (C.Y.L.E) asking to see the full. She had been passed my query from the original agent and was really intrigued. So I sent it to her and waited. 

Last week I got another email from her. Apparently her emails to me had been bouncing (horror of all horrors) but she was trying again because SHE WANTED TO REPRESENT ME AND MY BOOK. 

Cue the screaming. 

My mom wouldn’t answer the phone, and Jarod was excited but not exactly sure what I was talking about, but luckily I have some excellent writing friends to scream with (you gals are the best). 

After a good bit of screaming and some heart palpitations, we set up a time for a phone call, and had a lovely chat. I was terrified for the first 45 seconds, and then things calmed down and I felt really good by the end of the conversation. Kenzi is super easy to talk to, which is great. 

After the phone call I spoke with one of Kenzi’s other clients about what it’s like working with her, then emailed the two other agents to let them know I had an offer, which I’m told is standard query etiquette. 

The next day I heard back from both of them. Both had some very nice and helpful things to say about the book. One passed due to lack of time, and the other made her own offer of representation. 

Cue more screaming and heart palpitations. 

So I scoured the internet looking at agency websites, and recent books, and all that good stuff. I talked to some of my writing friends, my family, and prayed on it. 

After a few days of stewing on it, I emailed Kenzi to let her know I accepted her offer. 

*Happy Scream* 

She sent over the contract, I asked a few questions, and then ladies and gentlemen

 I SIGNED IT. 

I am THRILLED to be working with Kenzi, and so excited to start taking steps to bringing this (and hopefully many more) books to life. 

The Queens Three Snippets

Hi guys!

 

I finished my second draft of The Queens Three a couple days ago.

I'm super happy with how the story is turning out. The extra POVs really seem to enhance the story, and I boosted the word count by ten thousand.

It's not done yet. I've got a few little details to weave in that I figured out as I was writing, so I need to go to the beginning and make sure everything fits together smoothly.

And I'm told I need a kiss scene.

*sigh*

I'll see what I can do.

 

Today I thought it would be fun to share some snippets with you. I know I've shared some scenes from Molly in the past, so I'm hoping these aren't duplicates. The scenes from Avian and Bunny are completely new.

 

(On a side note, Molly is the main character, a human disaster who runs a small town diner. Avian is a the conniving usurper queen of the fae realm, and the story's main villain, and Bunny is the displaced heir to the throne.)

 

Pinterest

Molly

The little bell on the door announces an incoming customer. I turn to look and nearly drop the stack of dishes. What the heck is he wearing? The man who walks in is a stranger. Blakely Nebraska only boasts a population of two hundred and I know them all. None of them dress like that.

He wears a ratty grayish jacket covered in more buttons and zippers than it merits, and perched on his shaggy brown hair is an honest to goodness top hat that could have belonged to Abe Lincoln.

**

 

“Here you go. Can I get you anything else?”

Not right now.” He pulls the first burger to him, the other hand holding his book open.

I glance at it again. It looks like it’s about to disintegrate all over the table. Doesn’t he know they print new ones? “I’m actually related to him,” I say. “The author. Carroll isn’t his real name though.”

“Dodgson,” he says around a mouthful of food. “Charles Dodgson.”

“Yeah.” I nod. “My mom figured out our family tree a couple years ago and we’re related. Well, sort of. She traced the line back to one of his brothers. So I’m like his great great niece or something.”

The guy’s eyes flit to mine over the pages and he smirks. “Something like dat.”

**

 

I round the corner and nearly collide with a tree. Well, a person dressed as a tree, walking down the sidewalk. I stagger back and stare. The makeup work is crazy. Like some of the face paint videos I’ve seen online. The woman’s skin actually looks like brown tree bark. Bits of twigs and leaves cling to her green hair and dress. “Sorry,” I stammer. “Nice costume.”

The woman just stares with unblinking eyes.

My throat constricts and I look down. “Sorry,” I mumble again, feeling totally awkward, and hurry past.

What is someone doing in full costume first thing in the morning on a Wednesday in September? People are getting weirder and weirder. Even out in the Nebraska sticks.

**

The man before me smiles. “They only hear and see what I want them to. They’re not going to think you’re crazy. There’s no need to worry your head off. Messy business that, worrying one’s head off. Don’t try it at home, that’s for sure.”

“Just stop.” I shake my head. “I’m going to call the police for public intoxication. This is insane.”

“I am insane,” he says gravely. “It comes with the territory I suppose, but I’ll admit, I’m quite fond of it. But I dare say you thinking you can sick your authorities on me is even more insane. What are they going to do? Catch me?” He vanishes before my eyes.

 

Pinterest

 

Bunny

“C’mon, Bunny. Aren’t you even a little glad to see me?” Malechi pushes his hands into his pockets, but his casual stance and ridiculous new appearance can’t hide the sorrow in his deep eyes.

I did not think I would ever see him again. A knot swells in my throat but I wrestle my voice past it. “Everything is a disaster."

**

“Did you miss the part where Avian is trying to steal all your magic and kill you?” Malechi jumps to his feet, slamming his obnoxiously tall hat to the dirty floor. “Believe me when I say dying isn’t at all pleasant, and you don’t want to do it.”

**

 

If Malechi waits a moment longer to transfigure me back, I will execute him myself, and this time I’ll get the job done.

 

Pinterest

 

Avian

“She can’t have gone far!” I rake a hand through my hair, caressing the sleek black feathers of a raven with the other. “Bunny is weak. Her power is taxed. She has to be close.”

The looking bowl is dim, the smooth water inside showing faint glimpses of trees and pixie glens. Where could she have run? All of Bunny’s friends are dead.

An image of gallows flashes in my mind’s eye, but I push it down, keeping my attention fixed solely on the looking bowl. He deserved it. They all did.

**

 

“There must be someone in this realm who understands the workings of humans.” I straighten from the table and pace the space in front of my throne.

“The magician, Malechi—”

“Yes, he knew,” I shoot a glare at the buffoon. “Considering I had him executed I didn’t think he would be of much help.”

___________

Pinterest

Malec. The real star of the story.

 

 

There you have it! This story has been full of surprises and first for me, but it is rapidly becoming one of my favorites.

If anyone is wanting to read it, its now available for beta readers.

It is approximately 65k, and I would rate it PG. No language or sexual content, but there is magic and some talk about drug abuse.

You can leave a comment or shoot me an email if you like.
For some extra fun, here is the Pinterest inspiration board and the Spotify playlist for the project.

 

What is your favorite fairytale retelling or spinoff?

 

 

The State of the Realms

Hello everyone! 

Still no baby, just in case you’re one of the people who keeps asking me. I promise, I will announce when she is born. I will not be waiting weeks to mention it. 

In a random burst of inspiration (nesting hormones?) I’ve been madly revising The Mad Hatter. 

I’m actually pretty much certain it’s the nesting hormones driving this effort. Which is a double edged sword. On the one hand, its spurred me to add multiple new chapters and beef up the word count, working my way to the halfway point in about five days. 

On the flip side of that though, there have been multiple times where I was just about to dive into a new scene when suddenly I was struck by an inescapable need to wash all of the baby clothes and fold and put them all away. Now. 

It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. 

Things are progressing nicely though. In the most exciting news, it received a new title. The Mad Hatter is now The Queens Three. 

Which brings me to the next notable change: Bunny and the Queen of Ravens now each have their own points of view in the story. 

It’s been super fun and super difficult to dive into each of their personalities and give them distinct voices and reveal more of what makes them tick. It’s not perfect, but I’ve gotten some good feedback and can’t wait to flesh them out even more. 

It’s really fun getting to spend more time in the fae realm (which needs a real name) through them. 

Molly’s boyfriend, Matt, got a new name. He’s currently Brett. There were too many M names running around the place. I’m not sure Brett is the winner though, so it might change again before I’m through. 

The word count is creeping up. Not quite where I want it, but it’s definitely improving. 

One thing that’s been a relief (and worrisome) is I haven’t found any major plot holes or useless threads. A few clarifications and tweaks yes. But gigantic glaring issues? No. It’s rather strange. 

But then again, it comes with the territory. 

One Baby To Rule Them All

Hey guys! 

Do you ever get into one of those ruts where you want to accomplish SO MUCH that you actually don’t accomplish much at all?

That’s kind of my life right now. I just have this weird feeling of urgency. Like I need to get everything done right this instant. But in the last week or so my body has also decided it’s actually pregnant. I’m kind of at baby girl’s mercy, and I just have zero energy. 

Basically, all I want to accomplish is edit Mad Hatter perfectly in one fell swoop, slap out the entire draft of Viking, read like eighteen books, clean the house, make all the decor,  listen to my music, get some sleep, and eat all the snacks. 

What I’ve actually done is not read a single book in months (except a smidge of beta reading, which was very fun), not touched the Viking document at all, ate a few snacks and then puked them back up, listened to Barney sing the same stinking song over and over, and have a Hobbit and Lord of the Rings marathon, thereby ruining any chance of sleep. 

Can we talk for a second about the awesomeness of Viggo Mortensen? The man is a phenomenal actor, that’s all there is to it. 

One thing I did manage to accomplish though is reaching the halfway point—maybe a smidge over—of my Mad Hatter edits, in three days. Which is kind of terrifying me, because it feels way too easy, and I’m liking how it’s turning out, so I’m absolutely convinced that I missed something horrifically obvious. Probably due to lack of sleep. 

Really kinda sorta ready for baby girl to arrive. Not that it will help much in the sleep department. But I should be able to move a bit better.

Sorry for the ramble. One does not simply blog while pregnant and sleep deprived. 

Hello October

Hello everyone! 

I can’t believe it’s already October. I thought I was so ready for fall, but it’s 48° outside. Two days ago it was 90°. I can’t handle changes that drastic. Especially when I have nothing to wear! 

I’m not a sweatpants kind of person. I think I own one pair. But I’m also in a weird stage where maternity jeans don’t fit well enough to stay up, and my regular jeans are too tight to wear. 

I think I’m going to start a petition to make all maternity jeans have belt loops. I’ll wear a belt low on my waist if it means I don’t have to hike my jeans up every thirty seconds. Also, they need pockets. 

Anyway, enough of wardrobe lamentations. On to the actual blog post. 

We found out we are having a girl! Beyond excited about that. Everything has been checking out good and healthy, and we’re neck deep in the struggle of choosing a name. Apparently I’m a modern gal who married an old soul. Our name tastes are so different. He’s also got to deal with my writer side, and endure all the weird literary names I come up with. 

Canning. Lots of canning. Tomatoes, apples, you name it. My house has been a sticky, delicious smelling dungeon all month. They’re talking we might have record snows this year. Gotta stock up on salsa and jelly if we’re going to survive. 

We chopped silage and Henry and I got to be the cook crew. Casseroles and cookies and Gatorade, oh my! 

It’s one of my favorite and most stressful times of the year. 

Henry has been loving having a friend over every day to play. I love it too, except for the weekends when Henry asks where Lige is every ten minutes. 

My sisters, Henry, and I went Junk Jaunting, which is like state wide garage sales. Henry made out like a bandit, with new tractors and a spring horse, and I found a few treasures for the house we’ll be moving into sometime this winter. (The bear did not come home with us.)

We watched lots of Husker football. We laughed, we cried. It was intense. 

October started off raining. And it hasn’t stopped yet. I so want to get outside and hang Halloween decorations, because as fun as Christmas is, I firmly believe the other holidays should be enjoyed first—looking at you, Hobby Lobby. 

We did start on decorating inside the house. I’ll save the really insane decor for closer to the week of Halloween. My mother in law will be staying with us during that time, so she’ll get to appreciate the full extent of my weirdness. 

Weather permitting, there should be more harvesting and cooking this month. Cooking for the harvesters is a little more low key than for choppers, since they eat in the tractor to harvest. Sandwiches and chips are a staple, though I try to mix it up with runzas and sliders. 

I’ll be hitting the third trimester, which is exciting and horrifying. It seems like this pregnancy has gone so fast. I don’t have anything ready. 

I got a bunch of awesome books last month and I’m hoping to read some of them. 

Last month I revised Blood and Dust like crazy, and I’m currently forty pages away from the end. That number will fluctuate as I cut and add scenes, but I’m getting close. I plan to have it done this month, and rewrite the synopsis, etc, to start querying and pitching in November. 

Speaking of November, October may or may not be a prep month for nanowrimo. Though I’ll for sure be a nano rebel if I do participate and work on editing Bad Boy or Mad Hatter instead of writing a whole new draft. I’m not super inspired on any of my new ideas currently, so I need to get those old ones done before they go too long and stagnate in the swamp of unfinished stories. 

How is your fall going? Do you love fall? Hate it? Love it but need a slower transition into the cold weather? I’d love to hear. 

A Writing Update

Hi guys!

Up until it started raining, we were enjoying some very nice (very hot) weather. The rain was good though. Get the crops coming up. So no complaints from me.

With the downpour came the ability to stay in the house and do some writing, so since I don't have a lot else to talk about, that's what I'm going to update you on today.

Blood and Dust

I believe I mentioned that Kara Swanson and I have been going over Blood and Dust with a fine tooth comb and tweaking it a bit. It's going very well, I think.

I'm keeping a lot of aspects of the western gunslinger type world, but we both agree that it basically reads just like a western with the title dystopia slapped over the top. So we're adding some ground work to really draw out the futuristic aspect, and I'll be changing the villain's motives quite a bit. Cole is getting a bit of a makeover too, though he's still my baby and I won't destroy him (I promise), and new characters are being added that I think you all will really love.

Kara is more of a plotter than I am, so things are going a bit slower as we really nail down some concepts about character motive and the climax, etc. Which is super cool, really, because I feel like she's stepping in and pointing out some of the stuff pantser me missed that will really help enhance the story and bring it into something very unique.

I can't wait for you guys to see it.

Bad Boy

Lately I've just been trying to think of a title for this one. To no avail, obviously. I thought about just calling it Brass Talan, but that's just not resonating with me.

I opened the doc up the other day, along with comments from my first two beta readers.

I have a third beta reader who really wants to read it and needed a bit more time to get school finished up, so I'm waiting before I do any major changes till I hear her thoughts. Which is perfectly fine. I've got enough to keep me busy for awhile.

One of my beta readers suggested some political aspects, and a few deeper twists with Brass that I think will be really fun to explore and try to bring to the surface.

After staring at the doc yesterday for half an hour though I decided my mind really isn't on that story, so there's no point staring at it. I think getting the comments from the last beta reader will be exactly the motivation I'll need to dive back into it fresh.

Mad Hatter

This one is still out to beta readers, but I had some awesome feedback from the first beta reader to finish up so I've been really contemplating that.

She really saw the magic I was trying to convey but missing, and gave me some great ideas on how to flesh out the skeleton I have written right now.

I've been doing a lot of character questionnaires and worksheets for this one, which is super unusual for me, but has been very helpful, since I struggled to connect with these characters.

It's really been fun to see where the characters share the same goals, and where they differ completely in their motivations. Oh, and backstory. Backstory, guys. Malec's gonna make me cry if it's the last thing he does. I love it.

Viking

Go Teen Writers is hosting their 100 for 100 challenge, and I absolutely love it because it's easy but helps me be consistent. But since I'm mostly plotting and editing on my other three projects I didn't have anything to write.

So I broke down and started Vikings. I don't know if it's silly of me to have so many projects open at once. I feel like they're all in different stages, so I'm not just jumping from new idea to new idea.

I guess it's my form of letting myself relax. Editing is work, and I kind of treat it like that. I'll sit down and I'll develop a concept or rewrite a chapter. Then working on drafting gets to be my fun, just for me, time.

So anyway, I started Vikings. It's only about 300 words long, as I'm only required to write 100 words a day, but I think it's going to be fun. I'm trying to figure out Ailith's voice, as she's somehow floundering between medieval tones and modern. I've never written for this type of setting, and haven't read a whole lot either, so I'm trying to figure out what this speech pattern looks like.

I've got a Pinterest board  for it that I'm absolutely in love with, and some songs on Spotify that really set the mood. I'm being super careful not to copy Adrienne Young with Sky in the Deep, although my plot and characters are totally different, so I think I'm safe except for the Viking aspect of it.

I've got the vaguest outline for this one. Normally I would take much longer to flesh the idea out in my head before writing it, but I wanted a 100 for 100 project, so here I am winging it. I do know some of the essentials, so I think there will be enough that I can at least muddle out 100 words a day until I can find some solid story footing.

We shall see.

So that's what I've been up to. A lot more plotting and planning than I'm used to, but I'm really enjoying exploring that aspect of writing. I don't think I'll ever be a true plotter, but it's definitely helpful when I'm feeling stuck on something.

 What about you? Are you a plotter or pantser? Has spring weather arrived where you live?