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. 

To Be Continued

Hi guys!

As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t been around here much (at all). Sorry about that.

Rather than keep you waiting, this is my official announcement that I’m going on a blogging hiatus. My brain just isn’t doing well right now, and rather than write complete garbage blog posts, I’d rather just pause and come back with fresh energy later. 

You can still keep up with my updates on social media, and I’ll see you guys soon. 

The ABCs of Pandemic Survival

Hello good folks. 

I’m coming to you today with a comprehensive list of how to survive a worldwide pandemic. Having made it this far, I’m basically an expert. Especially considering I was doing most of these long before social distancing started. 

A) Be a hermit.

It’s cool, really. Bilbo was a hermit and he’s loved worldwide. Don’t go outside, and if you do make sure it’s just to the boundary of your own garden. 

B) Be antisocial. 

Again, Bilbo perfected this, and he’s loved worldwide. It served him very well too. You’ll notice that when Bilbo broke his routine of antisocial hermit-hood, he was very nearly eaten by a dragon and thrown from the parapets by a gold deranged dwarf king. Avoid any such unpleasantness and all other people as well. 

C) Stock up on the essentials. 

Since you’ll be at home speaking to no one, you’re going to need a few things. I’m going out on a limb here and assuming you’re part of the population who didn’t make it to the store before the army of crazies descended and stole all the toilet paper. If that’s the case, may I suggest Imodium? A toilet paper pandemic is not the time to get the flu. Also, coffee. It prevents insanity, depression, and homicidal tendencies. (Results may vary) 

D) Binge watch

There’s never been a better time to watch your favorite shows. But, might I suggest taking into account the people you are isolated with? You’re already mentally taxed at this point. You really don’t want to have The Zombie Talk with a three year old. 

E) Binge cook 

All the recipes. Main dishes, side dishes, desserts and every dish in between. Remember though that trips to the grocery store are limited, ingredients are scarce, and there is no toilet paper anywhere. Binge cooking also tends to lead to binge eating, which could mean your pants won’t fit by the time this is all over. Binge with caution. 

F) Spring Clean. 

Use this time at home to tackle all the neglected cupboards and closets in the house. 

Actually, don’t. No one needs that kind of negativity. 

G) Video chat with friends and family. 

Just make sure you never actually enter the camera screen. I know we’d all like to think we’re rocking a cool apocalypse outfit, but we’re mostly rocking the look of death by anxiety and sleep deprivation, with an unhealthy dose of caffeine and sugar high. 

H) Home and yard improvement. 

Beautify your space! Just remember, social distancing applies to the hardware store also, and your bank account is empty because you bought all the groceries for binge cooking. 

I) Embrace the opportunities 

Never before has it been socially acceptable to cosplay on a daily basis in public. Are you just gonna let that slip by? Why stop at a basic face mask when you can dress like the worlds best supervillain. And I, I will be on my couch, laughing hysterically at the memes people make of you. 

J) Cruise Baby.

Talk your town into putting on a cruise night. Wave and honk at people like you actually like them. Pretend it’s the golden days and play oldies. Wear sneakers and poodle skirts if you want. Hype of the fact that your dad and husband are gonna tear up the town like they did as youngsters. Then stare in awe and shock as your little sisters get pulled over instead. 

K) Get a creative outlet. 

Now is the perfect time to start up a new novel or other art form. It’s also a great time to scream into the sky that you hate it. 

L) Procrastinate. 

Now is our time procrastinators. We can put off today what can be done tomorrow. Know why? Because we’ll still be stuck in the stupid house tomorrow. 

M) Internet shop. 

We’ve already spent most of our life savings. Why stop at most? 

N) memes. 

Memes are the answer to everything. They will get us through. 

O) Let it out. 

Yell. Scream. Cry. Whatever. 

P) social media. 

There’s some cool stuff going on with everyone trapped inside going insane. And no one can pick on you for staring at your phone because they’re all doing the exact same thing. Your move, boomer. 

Q) Don’t rule out zombies. 

Just because they haven’t arrived yet, doesn’t mean they won’t start. Also, vampires. We’ve all been locked inside away from sunlight for awhile. 

R) Read.

Old books, new books. Read them all. 

S) Garden.

Unless you live in Nebraska. 

T) Sled.

If you live in Nebraska this is your alternative to gardening.

I bet you thought I was going to go through the whole alphabet with tips huh? Or even that I would match the first letter of the tip to the corresponding letter of the alphabet. But no. Just because I have the time to do it doesn’t mean I’m going to waste my time doing it. 

It’s not like you can come over here and stop me. 

How are you getting by through this weird time? Are you still clinging to your sanity, or have you embraced the madness? 

DISCLAIMER: This is in no way meant to belittle or make light of the people who are struggling with this illness or are suffering job loss because of it. My heart absolutely goes out to them and I’ve been praying every day this will end soon. This post is strictly me trying to find a little humor in the insane times we find ourselves in. 

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. 

Hello New Year

Happy 2020!

I wanted to have a prolific post for the new year. Or even a lighthearted one full story of Roaring 20s references. 

But the sad fact of the matter is I’ve hardly slept since before Christmas, I feel like a half dead dog who’s been run over by a semi truck and run through a meat grinder (twice) and I just don’t have that poetic and witty post in me. 

I just read through last year’s first post and it could almost exactly be used for this year as well. 

We’ve got 15” of snow, we’ve had the usual Christmas gatherings. 

But some things are totally new. We’re in a new house and I’m loving it. Our new baby will be joining us in just a few weeks. Life is good. 

Yes, there’s been stress, but there had also been growth. It’s been a wild ride of a year. I’m excited to see what this new year brings. 

I’ve got a few goals, but I don’t know that I’d call them resolutions. I haven’t been writing this past month, and I want to get back to it. Blood and Dust is out on query again, and I’m hoping to revise Mad Hatter and Bad Boy in the meantime. If I’m really ambitious maybe I’ll even draft the Viking story, but we’ll see. 

I want to get some more things set up and decorated with the house, and I want to enjoy this new season of motherhood. 

I want to learn (again, because it never seems to stick) to be happy and content. To give the reins to God and not be so determined to fight my own battles. Or create them. 

So here’s to 2020. Let’s do it. 

Hello December

Hi guys! 

Wow, it’s already December, and boy am I excited for it. November was nice. A bit cold. A mite stressful. But nice. 

What went on:

My dad, and middle sister both had birthdays, which we ended up celebrating on Thanksgiving. 

For Thanksgiving we went to my parents’ house, along with my grandma. The food was great, and it was really relaxing. My sister used to be an avid farm toy collector when she was little, so we let He to get some of the toys out...Im not sure who was more excited about it. 

My dad and I attempted to go pick up my oven, but when we got there the store had closed. Which was a real bummer, but what do ya do? 

It snowed somewhere above ten inches. The first day it was easy to measure, but after that it alternated snowing and raining so the snow technically melted, but then turned to ice. So yesterday was the first time since before thanksgiving that my car has been able to leave the garage. 

We attempted to do a little deer hunting, but didn’t get anything. Hardly even saw anything, actually. 

I set up my Christmas tree. Because I can. It was technically after Thanksgiving though. 

Henry spent the entire month sledding and playing with legos. My living room is a bit of a minefield. Watch your step. 

I got 90% of my Christmas shopping done on Black Friday. Online. Because going out on Black Friday is ridiculous. I only need to get a couple little things for some gift exchanges. I’ve never been done this early and I’m not sure what to do with myself. So I just check the package tracking way too often. 

What’s coming up: 

This weekend my church is having their ladies Christmas party. That’s usually pretty fun. 

Next weekend my mom, sisters, and I are taking a girls trip (plus one Henry) to go see Pioneer Woman in Oklahoma. 

We’re moving!! Things are falling into place with the house we’ve been working on, so hopefully we’ll be moved in within the next couple weeks. Cue the panic as I look at all the stuff I need to pack. I’m really excited though. More space, nicer house that’s going to be way better for my allergies, etc. I can’t wait to get it all set up and decorated. Although that’ll probably be after Christmas. 

Christmas! Obviously, can’t miss that. I think we’ll probably be at my parents’ house for that too. Although we’ll also have extended family get togethers with my mom’s side, dad’s side, and Jarod’s side of the family. 

Baby prep. I’m told it’s time to start packing a hospital bag, and things like that. Which is absolutely crazy. Can’t wait for baby girl to get here. Also can’t wait to decide on a name for baby girl. 

How was your November? Do you have anything fun coming up in December? 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Merry Christmas!

I mean...Happy Thanksgiving!

We got snow last night. Lots of it. And the forecast is calling for more over the next three days. 

Henry thinks it’s about the best thing ever ... oh to be young and innocent. I guess I’d think it’s great too if my only interaction with snow was sledding and making it into ice cream. 

The store got my oven in yesterday, so I’m really hoping we can get to town to bring it home. I really want my oven guys. Crock pots are great, and electric griddled are pleasant, but your girl needs some baked goods. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving after all. 

I hope you all have a great holiday. Or just a great day—looking at you, Canadians ;) Weather permitting, I’ll be stuffing myself with food at my parents’ house. 

Do you have any fun holiday plans? 

Say Cheese!

Hi guys!

I love pictures. It’s just a fact. 

Which is weird, because I also hate pictures. Also fact. 

How you say?

Let me explain. 

I love milestone pictures. Engagement, maternity, newborn. I gobble those up, and love finding time to have our own done. 

But I detest those pictures that happen at family reunions when six different people line your family up and all take pictures at the same time. Then we get these “cute” pictures where each member of the family is looking a different direction because everyone was saying “look over here! Smile.” It’s a mess. 

PSA: If you’re at an event and see a professional photographer taking pictures, back away. Do not jump in there with your phone and say “here, let me grab one too.” You want a picture? Wait until the photographer is done. Better yet, wait for them to make the images available later and download your own. I can’t tell you how many wedding pictures I have where half the wedding party is looking somewhere other than the photographer because of people snapping their own pics. Just don’t do it. 

Anyway. End rant. 

This past Saturday was 70°. It was beautiful out. So we arranged to have family/maternity pictures taken Sunday evening. 

Cue the 30° weather. 

I’m pretty sure my whole family was mad at me. No, you cannot wear big winter coats for family pictures. Layer up underneath your nice clothes and smile. 

It’s becoming a family tradition that someone goes without sleep right before picture day. For our engagement pictures, Jarod accidentally locked himself out of his house and ended up sleeping in the barn. This time, Henry was up all night with growing pains. So we were sort of zombies, and Henry wasn’t very smiley. 

However, the photographer was awesome and captured great shots despite the cold grouches before her. 

Here’s a couple of the preview pictures she uploaded last night. 

I just love them so much, and I can’t wait to see the rest. 

Phot credit goes to Morgan Curlo of 56 County Line Photography. 

What about you? Do you love taking pictures? Do you find yourself reaching for a camera to document every major moment in your life? Or are you more of a Sherlock Holmes? 

Another Month Bites the Dust

So....it’s November already. I’m kind of in shock. 

Have things gone according to plan? Absolutely not. Has everything under the sun happened in the space of three hours? No, but it feels like it. 

What went on:

October brought two trips to the pumpkin patch, which was super fun. My sisters took a bunch of pictures of me that I’m assured were super cute, but they haven’t actually sent any of them. So just know, I looked stunning. 

Harvest was completed! It was a little rough. Things weren’t great due to some of the weather mishaps that struck early this year, but they could have certainly been worse, and we’re all glad to have the corn in the bin instead of buried in a snow bank. 

It did snow. Only a skiff of it, that melted in a day, but Henry was thrilled with it. 

My mother in law came for a week and we worked on painting the ranch house we plan to move into. There’s still a ton to do, but I’m so thankful for all of her help, and I’m hopeful we will be moving in the near future. 

I was supposed to finish my line edits of Blood and Dust in October, but alas, I did not. I’m close though. Should be finished this week and I can put together the new and improved synopsis and proposal. 

Karen was here for Halloween, so she got to enjoy trick or treating with Henry. We only made it to about ten houses before the grumpy little pirate got cold, but that was more than enough candy for me and him to share. 

My oven, can opener, hot water heater, and bathroom fan all quit at the same time. I was thinking I should write a survival manual or something, but my secrets aren’t that great. Call the electrician. Buy a manual can opener. And make sure you have all the extra kitchen appliances. Electric griddle, toaster oven, crock pot, instant pot—get it all. Can’t go wrong with microwaveable food either. Well you can, but you know. Survivalists can’t be picky. 

My sisters came over for a Halloween sleepover. We watched Shutter Island and The Woman In Black. Both excellent, edge of your seat movies, with terrible, throw up your hands and scream into the void endings. 

I don’t even know. It feels like everything came crashing down in October and now everything is hanging in limbo November, waiting to see what happens next. 

I’m not doing NaNoWriMo. I had planned to work on Mad Hatter for it, but like I said—things didn’t go according to plan. 

I’m ready for Thanksgiving. I don’t even know why, I just know I’m ready for it. Comfort food. 

I also want to sleep for a week, but no one can seem to accommodate that. 

Oh well. Such is life, I guess. 

My dad and sister both have birthdays coming up this month, and I’m trying to find birthday presents, but apparently what I want to get doesn’t exist, oh and by the way, Christmas shopping is coming up too and I’ve got no time and money so if someone could just put me out of my misery, please and thanks. 

Current Mood: 

A Guide to Major Book Revisions

Hi guys! 

I am thrilled to announce that I finished the major revisions on Blood and Dust. 

I’m now working through and doing a line edit, checking for areas where I pasted something together and got a stray word in there, and for minor inconsistencies with the new storyline. My goal is to have it polished enough for #faithpitch, #pitmad, and querying in general. 

I’m actually pretty thrilled with myself, as I’ve never done major revisions—or book surgery, as the gals at Go Teen Writers like to call it. Editing, yes. I’ve gone through a novel and tightened up prose and fixed major plot holes. But never have I taken the bare bones of a story and taken it in a totally new direction. Quite frankly, the idea was absolutely terrifying up until last week when I finished it. 

I learned a couple things along the way that made it easier for me, and might be of value to you guys with your own writing. 

I’m no master, obviously. I’ve only accomplished this with one novel, and the jury is still out on beta readers how successful I was. But finishing that first round is the first step. So if you’re terrified to take the first step, like I was, these tips might be just the boost you need. 

1. Get feedback. It’s hard to know what to revise in a full length novel—especially a messy one—if you don’t have some outside eyes on it. Over the course of Blood and Dust’s life, it has been through several rounds of beta readers, I hired two editors to go through my first couple chapters, as well as hiring Kara Swanson to do some coaching sessions where we tore my plot apart. Due to my pregnancy causing exhaustion and lack of funds, I wasn’t able to continue those sessions as long as I would have liked, but the time spent with Kara was invaluable. She was such a help to this story, and in general a sweet soul all the way around. If you are in need of some one on one help with your writing, I would highly suggest her coaching services. I also entered the first two chapters of Blood and Dust in a contest, not because I thought it would win, but because I knew all entries got extensive feedback from multiple judges. I also had some feedback from an agent I had queried. 
2. Assemble and prioritize the feedback. Now that you’ve got all the feedback, start going through it. I wrote my list out on paper, but you could do it on the computer too. Any issues that came up from more than one person I paid special attention to and set as a priority to resolve. Things that came up occasionally but were valid points got jotted down to try and resolve as well, and some critiques that just didn’t fit got discarded. Having the revisions prioritized gave me a clear vision of what needed to be done, on a full story scale or simply clarifying one scene. 
3. Brainstorm and outline. I’m not a major plotter for first drafts, but Kara helped me realize that it’s kind of necessary for major revisions. We’ve got these major problems that need logical and exciting solutions. It takes some forethought. Kara and I brainstormed a whole bunch of ideas. I bounced them off of what I knew about my characters, as well as some of my beta readers that had read the full story and knew it well, then decided which ones I’d like to pursue. One thing I did that was super helpful was write a basic chapter by chapter outline of what happened in the current story. Then write a chapter by chapter outline of what I wanted to happen, noting old scenes that should be kept or discarded. Seeing what I had to work with helped me come up with good alternatives that stayed in character. It also helped me see unnecessary subplots and scenes, since one major issue agents had with the story was the length (123k). 
4. Save the darlings. Before starting out slashing the story, I created a duplicate version of Blood and Dust and named it Revisions. I’ve got the full original in case there is a scene that got cut that I decide I want back. I also created a scrap file for scenes I was cutting out of their current place, but knew for sure I could use in a different place. That way they were all right there and I wouldn’t have to dig through the original story to find them. 
5. Kill the darlings. Start writing. Or chopping. Whatever it takes. I kept my list of critiques handy, as well as my two outlines, and tried to weave in the new themes and plot lines string from the beginning. There were a lot of scenes and plot lines that I was fond of, but  that just honestly didn’t benefit the story. So I cried, said a few words, and hit delete. And told myself I still had the original version safe and sound. 
6. Don’t worry. I set out to trim the story down and in the first few chapters it gained 25k words. That frightened me and I was hesitant to write the new material that needed to be included. But trust me. I’d you’re really honest about each scene, you’ll be able to chop it down to proper size as the story progresses. Currently Blood and Dust is sitting at just over 90K—over a 30k drop. Whatever issue you might be worried about, don’t. You’ve got yourself covered. You saved the original. No change is permanent. You can go over it again. Just keep writing. 
7. Make notes. A couple times later in the story I realized there were some things I forgot to foreshadow earlier, so I made myself a note to go back and do so. Or to check the description of a character who is present in the beginning, but then doesn’t return until the end, to make sure I’m consistent. I won’t remember. You probably won’t either. Make the note. 
8. Talk to people. I sent chunks of the revised story out every so often so the people I knew liked the original story could give me feedback on if this was staying true to the heart but improving the issues. You don’t have to send out chapters yet, but keep open dialogue with writer friends you trust to give solid advice as you encounter issues with plot and character. 
9. Ta-da! That’s it! That’s what I did. Like I said, it’s not done, I’m still going through minor tweaks, but the major word chopping revisions are done, and I’m so happy. 

What about you? Have you undergone major book revisions? Any great tips that helped you through? (Coffee. Coffee helped me through.)