Video Q & A with Author Suzanne Johnson

This video features excerpts from author Suzanne Johnson's Q&A at the July 2012 Southern Magic meeting.  She starts off with a tough question - what is the difference between urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Enjoy!

Theme Music - Part One

In a very entertaining (wicked is probably a more apt adjective) Twitter chat with M.V. Freeman and Katherine Bone the subject of theme music for our WIPs came up.  The one song that runs throughout mine is Uprising by Muse, so I thought I'd share:

I'll be back over the weekend to post my playlist.  In the meantime, I'd love to know what one song or songs would be the theme for your latest work.  Baby needs to load up her iPod!  Post a comment (with your email address), and I'll select one winner for a $10 iTunes gift card.  I'll announce the winner in the comment thread by Sunday morning.

The Pitch Is Back: How to Pitch Your Book to an Agent or Editor

Published authors Lexi George and Carla Swafford took pity on lowly unpublished me and included me in a workshop on how to pitch an agent or editor.  Not to toot our horn (TOOT TOOT), but the workshop was great!  Here are some of the highlights:

Queries

I am revising and finalizing my query letter.  In the last month, I attended two outstanding programs on queries.  Both convinced me my letter needed a major overhaul.  It is almost there. I can feel it. I have resolved to let it sit for a week before giving it a final review then loosing it on the world.

In the meantime, I wanted to share highlights of one of the programs I attended.  Here are some highlights of young adult author Lisa Dunick's query presentation at the Birmingham RWA chapter's meeting.

Lexi George: My Road to Publication and What I Wish Someone Had Told Me

Web Resources for Showing Emotion in Your Writing

Last week I blogged about bruises on my forehead resulting from my frustration over how to show the emotions of my characters.  In response, I received several emails suggesting great resources, and I wanted to share those here:

• Samantha Grace had a fantastic blog post on the LadyScribes blog on techniques to show emotion
• The Nonverbal Dictionary
• The Emotion Thesaurus
• Body Language Cues to Emotion

Do you have any great sites or blog posts I should add to this list?

Also, for anyone within driving distance of Birmingham, Alabama who has an interest in working on showing emotion in their writing, Margie Lawson will be conducting a one day workshop sponsored by the Southern Magic RWA chapter at the Homewood Public Library on July 23. For more information, go to Southern Magic's website.

The Winchester Mystery House

Sarah Winchester built a home that was never finished:  The Winchester Mystery House.  From beyond the grave, her late husband communicated to her, "You can never stop building the house. If you continue building, you will live. Stop and you will die."


The last few weeks, I've been working on revisions and edits to (what I thought was) my completed manuscript. I am starting to worry Sarah and I are kindred spirits. When do you say when?  How do you know when you are done?  I'm waiting for the soft music to swell or balloons to fall from the ceiling, but neither has happened yet.  Maybe a little more construction is necessary . . .  

Chasing Rainbows

Weekends are a bit like rainbows; they look good from a distance but disappear when you get up close to them.  ~John Shirley


It is Saturday. I have a lot to do. I need to write at least 3,000 words on my WIP, do a final pass to catch any lurking type-os that have escaped me during the last thousand proofs of my completed manuscript, wash underwear, scoop cat litter, and begin working on two briefs for work.  


So what am I doing? I'll give you a hint. It isn't any of the things I just mentioned.  However, I can assure you, all is well on Facebook and Twitter, and I'm up to date on returning emails.


This is the weekend. A no excuses zone. Here I go. My molecules are starting to move. Lets hope I can remain in motion. Maybe I can catch that rainbow. 

The Promise of a Long Weekend

Labor Day weekend, hello old friend.

I love the freedom of looking ahead three days and not seeing any appointments, depositions, or office hours. I've been on the road and in depositions a lot lately. A LOT.  Too much, in all candor.  I am relishing the idea of staying put in one place for more than a day.

Then the guilt hits.  Yep.  I feel it starting to nag me.  Right now it is whispering.  Somewhere around halftime of the Alabama game tomorrow, it will be yelling.  "Why aren't you making the most of this time?" "Do you really need to be on the internet?  Facebook will be there tomorrow." "Hasn't it been a while since you mopped?'  Buzz off guilt, it's my long weekend.

The promise of this long block of time is amazing.  I can finally get the things done that are on my "to do" list, and have been there since likely March.  Fall starts on Tuesday, as far as I am concerned.  That is the busiest time of year for my practice.  If I want to get any writing done, this is my last shot until November (NaNoWriMo you will not beat me this year!).

So here I go . . .  Scrivener is open . . . Hands are on the keyboard . . . Butt is in the chair . . . Time to write.

World Building Wednesday

One of the first computer games I bought (showing my age) was SimCity. I loved building the city from the ground up.  I branched out into the other simulations games, becoming more and more engrossed in creating new worlds. 

When I started writing fiction (I say with a sage voice implying that this was long, long ago at a desk far, far away - in reality, it was in the last few years), I enjoyed the world building component the most (almost too much).  I spent months researching details to include in my world, creating the mythology, and developing my setting.  Some might call it procrastination, but I prefer to call it “work.”

So I found myself with this really cool world in which to set my story.  Now, transporting the reader to that world was a horse of a different color.  Building the world was fun. Having my characters live in that world wasn’t a problem. Educating the reader on the world without an info dump? Brutal.

Hence, World Building Wednesdays where I document my world building efforts.  Each week I will try to blog about world building issues and questions.  Please comment below if there is a topic you want me to cover.

Less is More

(This interview was done for the Romance Magicians'  blog for the Southern Magic Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. Southern Magic has graciously allowed it to be posted contemporaneously here.  Please leave any comments for this post at theRomance Magician's  blog)  

Speechless. That is the best word to describe how I felt when New York Times bestselling author, archaeologist, and tea expert, Gail Carriger, agreed to an interview. After reading her debut novel, Soulless, she quickly joined the list of my  favorite authors. Her website best describes her novels. The “Parasol Protectorate Series books are comedies of manners set in Victorian London: full of vampires, dirigibles, and tea.” Whether you like romances, urban fantasies, comedies, mysteries, or alternative histories, you are sure to find yourself swept away in a delightful time once you open her books.

Ms. Carriger's obligatory biography reads: Ms. Carriger began writing in order to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon. She escaped small town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in Higher Learning. Ms. Carriger then traveled the historic cities of Europe, subsisting entirely on biscuits secreted in her handbag. She now resides in the Colonies, surrounded by fantastic shoes, where she insists on tea imported directly from London. She is fond of teeny tiny hats and tropical fruit. The Parasol Protectorate books are: Soulless (Oct. 2009), Changeless (March 2010), and Blameless (September 2010). Soulless won the ALA's Alex Award.

I cannot express my gratitude to Ms. Carriger for agreeing to this interview. Please be sure to leave a comment at http://romancemagicians.blogspot.com/ for a chance to win a copy of Soulless or Changeless along with some Twinings Tea!

 1.    Who is your heroine, Alexia Tarabotti?

Alexia is a soulless parasol-wielding spinster with a head for trouble, a gay vampire best friend, and a werewolf problem.

2.    Who is Lord Conall Maccon, Earl of Woolsey?

Alexia's werewolf problem. The head of BUR (Queen Victoria's Bureau of Unnatural Registry), alpha of the London werewolf pack, and big fuzzy tempest in the teapot of Alexia's quiet well-ordered life (so to speak).

3.    What problems does Alexia face in Soulless, the first book in the Parasol Protectorate Series?

Alexia accidentally kills an unexpected vampire and gets embroiled in London politics, local scientific societies, and some very suspicious octopuses .

4.    Changeless, the second book in the series, was just recently released and takes Alexia to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats. What sort of creatures and challenges does she find there?

Aside from the waistcoats? Well there is a good deal of ghostly interaction, some very bad weather, more octopuses, and an unanticipated love of haggis.

5.    When is Blameless going to come out, and can you give us a hint at where Alexia's adventures may take her?

Blameless is out September 1 and Alexia is off in pursuit of Important Stuff traveling through Europe and into the company of a Frenchman with a very large beard, a German with a very small dog, and Italians wearing embroidered nightgowns.

6.    What is steampunk, and what attracted you to writing in this genre?

Steampunk is the love child of a BBC costume drama and Hot Topic. What attracted me? Isn't that self explanatory? (Seriously though, if you're super interested visit the steampunk page on my website ~ it's far more exciting and in-depth. http://www.gailcarriger.com/steampunk.php )

7.    What is your writing process?

Generally speaking it involves sitting down in a chair, raising my hands to a keyboard, and pressing down on one key after another in succession. There is also usually a large quantity of tea involved, a few notebooks, and some general attempts at procrastination involving podcasts, blogging, and (erm) interviews.

8.    What is your favorite part of the writing process?

Editing! Especially the first "red pen" pass when I really get to eviscerate everything I've just written. It's immensely satisfying much in the same way as weeding.

9.    Would you share any writing advice you received that you found to be completely worthless or just flat-out wrong?

"Write what you know." Pah. Seriously, for fiction? If you don't know it, just make it up, it's probably more exciting that way. Still not happy? There's always actual non-fiction books or, horror of horrors, wikipedia.

10.    What advice do you have for pre-published authors?

Sit down, write the book, the whole book. Send it out. Forget about it. Then sit your arse back down and write something completely different.

11.    What is your favorite tea?

 Twinings English Breakfast gold label from England (not the red box found in the US)

You can friend or follow Gail on Twitter, Facebook, Livejournal, or Blogspot. Or join The Parasol Protectorate Facebook Group and take over the world one sip of tea at a time. You can also play the Alexia paper-doll dress up game.

Thank you, again, to the ever gracious Gail Carriger - I've already pre-ordered Blameless.  Until September, I will have to be content re-reading my copies of Soulless and Changeless. 

 All comments through Friday, May 14 at 7:00 PM (it's my birthday - I have to have cake and ice cream sometime!) will be entered to win a copy of Soulless an or Changeless accompanied with Twinings English Breakfast tea (unfortunately, it will be the red box found in the U.S.).

 

Perpetually Thursday

I am not complaining, but it always feels like it is Thursday.  The beginning of the week if frenzied in terms of my day job, so there is no time for writing Monday - Wednesday.  Thursdays are when my life slows down a little - I don't have evening commitments and work tends to ease up a bit.  I starting getting psyched about writing on Thursdays, and try to put my energy to use Friday - Sunday.  I guess there are worse days that you could be perpetually stuck in!

The Calm Before the Storm

Listening to the news this morning, it sounds like I either need to get ready to visit some Munchkins or start building an Ark.  It's hard to believe with the beautiful blue sky overhead that thunderstorms of Biblical proportions are supposed to hit the area tomorrow (I also love that the majority of the weather coverage is focusing on the effects at the Talladega Motor Speedway - you have to have priorities, right?).

Tomorrow is the day I look forward to all month, though.  There is a writing club which meets in the morning at one local library, and my RWA chapter meets later in the day at another library.  This is usually the best day of the entire month.  I spend the entire day in libraries talking about writing.  And it looks like stinking rain, wind, hail and weather baddies are going to keep me at home.

So what am I doing during the calm before the storm?  Charging up the battery on my laptop (because you know I will  lose power tomorrow; I always lose power), printing everything I might need off of the internet today, and trying to find the silver lining by rejoicing that I will have nothing to do but write tomorrow. 

Oh yes, it is going to rain tomorrow.  Rain words!!!

Planning to Plan

I woke up this morning determined to get things done.  I'm doing okay at the moment.  My stack of "work" papers is manageable and has dwindled to the point I am contemplating calling it a day so I can focus on writing. This is where I always get myself in trouble.

I look forward at the rest of the day and weekend savoring the hours I can fill with productive writing.  The delicious anticipation allows me to sneak a peek at Facebook or Twitter or my email, or heck, why not all of them?  I have the time.  That is how it always begins.

How does it end? Somewhere around 5:00 on Sunday when I've done very little and decide to throw in the towel for the weekend and plan to do better next week.  Trust me, you don't have to sing this song twice. I know the words.

Maybe I need a better plan.  I am contemplating making myself prepare a schedule for tomorrow and Sunday, posting the sucker everywhere I can see it, and giving my husband the ability to punish me by depriving me of my remote control rights if he finds that I am not sticking to the schedule. 

Then again, I did miss Vampire Diaries and V last night.  I could watch them on the internet and then put together my schedule.  After all, I do have time.  And so it begins . . .  

Rabbit Rabbit!

I loved to read Trixie Belden books when I was in elementary school.  I still remember the first chapter of "The Mystery of the Emeralds" where Trixie woke up on the first day of the new month, yelled "Rabbit Rabbit" and bounded out of bed. When her brothers reacted in a way that expressed they thought she had lost her mind, she explained her behavior.  If you say "Rabbit Rabbit" and make a wish just before going to sleep on the last night of the month, and say it again in the morning before you've said another word, your wish should come true.

I read that book when I was eight.  I have tried to remember to say "Rabbit Rabbit" before going to bed and when I woke up ever since.  I haven't been able to do it yet, and quite a few years have passed since I was eight.  But I still keep trying.  The promise of my wish coming true drives me to keep trying.

The same is true of my writing.  I keep trying to write a good story.  I'm not sure I've gotten it, but I keep trying because one day, it will happen and my wish will come true.

Today is the last day of the month.  I think I am going to take a trick out of Trixie's book and tape a sign at the foot of the bed to remind me to make a wish and say the magic words.  You think that you know what they will be?  I'll give you a hint - "Sleep is for wimps - get your fanny out of bed and start writing."

Rabbit Rabbit - may your wish come true.

Inspiration from International Women’s Day

    Annually on March 8, the world celebrates the economic, political and social achievements of women. When I found out that my first blog post for Romance Magicians fell on International Women’s Day, I was elated.  I just knew that I would write an inspiring piece about the contributions of great women in literature, and the accolades would flow like a keg at a frat party. All I needed to put my plan in motion was a little research.

    Research, sweet research. As a lawyer, research is the life’s blood of my profession. I have to research the facts of a case, the applicable law, opposing counsel and the judge - and that is just the beginning!  High school and college debate taught me how to research efficiently and effectively. I’m like a mole; I can find anything.   My head (and ego) swell with the praise I’ve received about my ability to research a legal issue and crank out a well-reasoned and precise argument quickly. I thought those skills would transfer well to my non-legal writing efforts.

    Starting early last week, I began planning this post. My first post had to great.  No, it had to be better than great.  People were actually going to read what I wrote. I needed to create Pulitzer quality material.  Did I start writing and revising to get myself to that goal?  Heck no! I needed to research!  And what has that research accomplished?  My blog post is due, and I have a huge folder busting with articles and notes about the history of International Women’s Day and countless women whose achievements deserve recognition.  The word count?  Oh, that is precious.  The word count, you ask again? Um, well, how would you like to talk about something else.

    I am going to let you in on a dirty little secret - research is my greatest procrastination tool This experience highlighted what I already knew about myself, but wanted to deny.  I use research to delay writing.  Several years ago, I realized that it was time to tinkle or get off the pot with respect to my aspirations to write.  Laptop in hand, I used a week’s vacation at the beach to try to live the dream.  I wrote a little, but nothing significant.  Something hindered my progress.  I knew what it was! My problem was that I hadn’t educated myself enough on how to write. That was easy enough to fix.  Surely I could find a good book or two on writing.

    I used to joke when I was in law school that if you could lose weight and get in shape by owning exercise videos, I would be an Olympic contender.  The same goes for books on writing.  I’m ashamed to admit that I spent the better part of a year reading book after book on how to write.  Repeatedly, I told myself I wasn’t ready to start writing.  I just needed to finish the book on plotting.  I couldn’t be expected to write until I’d read enough on how to develop my characters.  Somewhere around the time that the books I’d bought on how to write were equaling the books I’d bought to read for pleasure, I realized that instead of researching how to write, I needed to write.

    Phase two of the procrastination process wasn’t much better.  The notebook of story ideas on my desk demanded that I engage in substantive research.  Oh internet, you are a seductive tool ready to steal minutes, hours, days and weeks from me.  A few notebooks (and months) of research later, I realized that my obsession with substantive research was, once again, keeping me from doing what I needed to do - write.  I vowed that I would have to be satisfied with a level of incompleteness in my research and start writing. 

    Good fortune should come to the person who designed the button on my laptop that lets me disable the internet.  Feeling empowered, I hit that button and started my outline (how outlining is a procrastination tool is a post for another day).  From there, I moved on to writing.  But wait! I needed more research - I needed to find the perfect name for a character and the precise word for description.  Convinced I had my addiction under control, I hit the internet button.  I would only take a few minutes.  A little necessary research won’t hurt.  I think we all know how that turned out.

    Hello, my name is Heather, and I am a researchaholic.  To combat my addiction, I’ve developed the following steps:

1. Write what you know.  This keeps the temptation to research at a minimum.  It is probably best that I not write a book about an astrophysicist.  I’m not even sure I can spell astrophysicist without a little research, let alone write a story about one.    
2.  Make a list of what you need and do your research in your down time.  I keep a notebook and a chart next to my writing desk.  The notebook contains a list of substantive research which I need to complete (history of a building, mythology, pictures of a location, etc.).  The notebook also contains “lemon drop” research.  (I was once in a deposition where periodically, opposing counsel would say “lemon drop.”   I thought he had confectioner’s tourettes.  When I asked him about it, he shared that it was his way of marking the transcript.  If there was something he knew he needed to research after the deposition, he would use the index of the transcript to find all of the “lemon drop” moments.)  Similarly, in my writing when I need to find a better name or word than what I have used, I insert “lemon drop” before whatever I will want to replace so I can use “find and replace” to locate the spot in the manuscript easier.  I keep my notebook in my purse when I’m not writing.  When I find myself with down time when I can’t write, I try to use that time to finish my research.  
3.  Research as part of your revision process.  This isn’t really a step which I developed, but a strategy I hope to employ.  A friend who has published three books shared with me that she does some big picture research that would relate to plot points before she writes, but that she saves most of her detail oriented research for the revision process.  I haven’t tried this, but it makes sense.  She explained that this method allows her to focus on the story through the first draft.  After she constructs the skeleton of her novel, she bulks up the muscle and tissue with research.  I’m seriously contemplating using this method for my next book because I want to write the darn thing, not just research what goes into it.

    And so I return to the writing of this blog post. I wish I’d been able to provide you with the dissertation on great women in history, but I think I need to do a little more research.  The women whose accomplishments are honored on International Women’s Day didn’t simply research the world around them.  They were women of action. So, in that spirit, I need to take action.  No more research.  It is time to write.

The Best Laid Plans

Robert Burns wrote the "best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."  I am finding this to be true with respect to my writing.  Specifically, I am referring to the futile efforts to adhere to my outline.

My outline.  My dear outline, painstakingly crafted over several weekends. I think its best use at this point may be toilet paper.  I read books upon books all advising that when writing a story with mystery elements, an outline is essential.  I had a long outline, a short outline, a fluid outline, and an outline of the outline.  Worthless, all of them.

When I sit at my keyboard, eager to write the scene I carefully outlined, I find myself trying to force things that don't feel natural.  The scene felt natural when I outlined it.  Now that I am writing, the story I outlined won't work. The scenes, plot and dialogue all seem stilted and awkward.  My fingers fly typing strange remarks and actions which I had not anticipated.  I'm getting pretty scared.

An aside - I don't hear my characters talking to me.  Conference after conference I have heard authors say that their characters talk to them and whisper (or shout), "no, that is not what I would do."  Not so much as a peep from any of my characters.  Their voices are not what is derailing my outline.

The problem with my outline is that I feel that story has been written.  Now, my short attention span and flying thoughts are taking the story to places I hadn't anticipated.  I am terrified.  What if, by abandoning my outline, I write myself into a corner.

I am a planner.  I love plans, lists and organization (pipe down anyone who has seen my house).  Writing by the seat of my pants is terrifying.  Horrifying.  Mortifying.  Yet, I think I have to fly blind for a little while.  Hopefully, the time spent in the outline will not go to waste.  At least I have a lot of extra scratch paper on my desk!

Trials and Tribulations

It's that time again.  I have trial.  Why is it that every time I get seriously deep into my writing, a trial pops up demanding that I keep unconscionable hours at the office?  Are the writing muses testing my patience by throwing these obsticles in my way?  Are the legal gods telling me to hang up my pen and paper because my only talent is being a royal pain in the patoot?

I need at least forty-eight hours in a day to get done everything on my "to do" list.  Laundry calls (or I could just go buy new underwear), floors need to be mopped (then again, there are throw rugs), calls beckon to be returned (if they really want to speak with me, they will call back, right?), and I have the glaring word count to be met each day.  Oh, and I think I need to eat a meal or two (worry not - if you have seen me, you know I can find my way to food).

I know the adage that if you want something done, give it to a busy person.  Well, I am the busy person.  Please, don't give me anymore.  My plate is full.  Seriously.  It looks like I hit a workload buffet. I am good.  I don't need another serving.  Really.  

So, as the clock ticks closer to midnight, I contemplate the need to write while working.  I love to write.  It is fun. The escape is  far more enjoyable, for me, than going out to a movie where I am limited to someone else's imagination. But work keeps the lights on and food on the table. Why do I write?  Is it because of the trials and tribulations at work, or despite of them?  You tell me.

So It Shall Be Written, So It Shall Be Done

I love making lists. When I sit down, pen in hand (because a list can only be properly made with a pen in one hand and notepad in the other), the rush and excitement of the list take me away. Actually following the lists is a horse of a different color. Once the list is made, it loses its luster. Rather than being the certification of my ambition and responsibility, it taunts me and acts as an albatross hanging on my refrigerator.

For this reason, I have vowed that any lists from this point will consist of short term, attainable goals. The biggies won't make it into writing, at least not yet. I need the rush that comes with marking things off the list. Am I settling for mediocrity to have the highest goals on my list be "write 100 words each day" and "do two loads of laundry a week?" If so, at least the list won't wind up in a crumpled ball sometime around March.

So, in the spirit of setting attainable goals, this is my "to do" list for 2010:

1. Write 100 words a day for 100 days

2. Do 2 loads of laundry a week

3. Keep a list of everything I eat

4. Read at least one book a month

5. Post on this blog at least once a month.

It is now written. Will it be done?

Having the Stones to Write

I normally don't have much time to write. It really stinks, actually. I have a demanding day job that I WISH could be nine to five. It is more like nine to midnight, if I am lucky. I made a promise to myself to shlog through November and finish my two works in progress. I had a plan. It was a good plan. Somewhere around 3:10 a.m last Thursday, the plan went to hell.

I woke with a pain in my central rib cage and shortness of breath. After a hearty meal at the Cheesecake Factory (what could be healthier), my first thought was that I had heartburn. A few Tums later, nothing changed. I woke my husband and made him drive me to the hospital. I felt like a total hypochondriac in the ER admitting area (although, I must say, the lack of a sense of urgency with the triage nurse perturbed me to no end).

I know I need to eat better and exercise, but I love gooey, cheesy, flavorful foods and sitting on my big fat keister. Simple pleasures - when you find them you have to savor them. However, fearfully I gave my me eculpa to the ER doc, promised to put myself on the straight and narrow, and begged him to make the blasted pain go away.

Several hours later, after an ultrasound, x-ray and blood work, I got the verdict. Gall stones. I had gall stones. I am only 36. This guy must be kidding me. And his delivery, oh it was priceless.

"You have gall stones. Your gall bladder needs to come out. Here is a list of two surgeons. Do you want us to call one for you, or do you have your own?" Like I keep a surgeon on speed dial.

I find myself now trying to rearrange a work schedule, sneak in the much needed house repairs in the next two weeks, and schedule a surgery. My poor plan was the first casualty. I had a color coded calendar and everything.

The question remains, during my downtime following surgery when I am confined to my bed, will I have the stones to write?