I'm Going to See a NASA LAUNCH!!! Also: ponies.

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this one: I'm going to see a NASA launch!

Next week I'll be a guest at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, in time to see an Antares rocket blast off to the International Space Station!

Date: September 17, 11:16 a.m. EDT
Mission: Orbital Sciences Demonstration Flight
Launch Vehicle: Antares
Launch Site: Wallops Flight Facility, Va.
Launch Pad: Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A
Description: Orbital Sciences will launch a demonstration mission to the International Space Station, testing out the Cygnus cargo vehicle as part of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program.

I AM SO EXCITE I CANNOT EVEN ALL THE FEELS I AM VIBRATING WITH HAPPY

The NASA Wallops Flight Facility was recently in the news for the successful launch of the LADEE rocket to the moon. LADEE is testing the atmosphere and dust on the moon, for no other reason (in my head) than to start work on a lunar colony which zomg cool (note: it's not about a lunar colony, this is just my own wishful thinking...or IS IT? ...it is. BUT STILL).

Here's how the LADEE launch went last week:



And next week I get to see a launch again! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't worry---I'll be taking LOTS of pictures and videos and all sorts of things. That's actually the reason I get to go--NASA took application for people to come and record the launch, sharing it with their social media contacts (with a special shout-out to Megan Shepherd, who told me about the program)!

And I'll be with author friend Jodi Meadows, which is gonna be extra fun! AND we're going to be on an island WITH PONIES. Wallops Island is super close to Chincoteague Island, where the beaches are home to a native breed of wild ponies.

That's right people. ROCKETS AND PONIES.

ROCKETS.

AND.

PONIES.

I See You: Representation Matters

I've had a few emails and tumblr messages from redheads lately that have surprised me a little.

It surprised me because I tend to see redheads a lot in books--although I might be biased because of my Weasley boy love. And it surprised me because it never occurred to me that making Amy a redhead was significant. I didn't intend to write a redhead so much as I was trying to write someone who was the opposite of Elder.

The very first fan letter I got was an extraordinarily personal letter from a young girl from Greece. While I don't want to be too specific and violate her privacy, a large part of the letter was devoted to the girl telling me about her sister, who had red hair in a culture where that was very rare, who was always told by her peers that her hair was ugly. And then she read about Amy, and Elder who loved her, and Elder who loved, specifically, her hair. And for one of the first times in her life, she didn't see ugly in the mirror.

Just thinking about the letter brings tears to my eyes--I never in a million years thought that something as minor (to me) as making a character's hair red or not would be so important to someone else.

But I've been thinking a lot lately about representation. I confess this isn't something that I thought of when writing the Across the Universe series, although there were other issues in terms of race and prejudice that I attempted to show through the work instead.

By M. Steffens, Brazilian Designer & Illustrator

But it's something I'm thinking about now. Perhaps inspired by a quote I saw on tumblr about a month ago, one that has really stuck with me:

“Well, when I was nine years old, Star Trek came on, I looked at it and I went screaming through the house, ‘Come here, mum, everybody, come quick, come quick, there’s a black lady on television and she ain’t no maid!’ I knew right then and there I could be anything I wanted to be.”  — Whoopi Goldberg

Growing up--a white, middle-class girl--this never really occurred to me, that there were people who didn't see themselves on television. I was blissful in my ignorance.

But I'm also very grateful that I'm not as ignorant as I once was. Maybe it's been the years of seeing movies that don't pass the Bechdel Test, or maybe it's just because I've grown up some. Maybe it's because on every single Breathless Reads book tour I've been on, at least one man has asked us why we write books for girls and not boys, why won't anyone think of the underrepresented boys, and asking the person who asks this to just look outside isn't considered answer enough. I know part of the reason why I'm more aware of the world around me, its diversity and its prejudice, is because of my friends, the ones I've made in the past few years, the ones who are more different from me, who helped me see the world through their eyes, or at least see the world with them in it. 

I don't claim to have eradicated all my ignorance, but I'm glad I'm more aware of the world around me, more aware of what I can do to help make it a better place--because you can't really do good without seeing the bad that exists. 

Calvin and Hobbes

Words are powerful things. They can start--or end--wars. People believe in words. They are the fundamental expression of ourselves, the division between human and not, the means by which we learn. And while people use words to teach, to express art, to proclaim truths, at the most basic level, people use words to simply say:

I am here. 

Take, for example, graffiti. The history of graffiti is fascinating, and some of the oldest examples of graffiti is the simple, common phrase: I was here. Don't believe me? There are six known, recorded examples of "_______ was here" in graffiti in Pompeii. Satura, Floronius, Daphnus, Staphylus, Aufidius, and Gaius Pumidius Dipilus all carved into stone that they were there, in Pompeii, and their statement is still visible, more than two-thousand years later. There's a sort of immortality in their proclamation. 

Graffiti from Pompeii

And this basic, fundamental need to exist--and be recognized for existing--is a simple, simple thing. It's the reason why someone smiling at you on the street can make your day, the first step to falling in love, our desperate desire for tombstones and graveyards. We all want to make our mark on the world. We all want to be recognized for existing. 

That is why representation matters. 

Zen Pencils recently had a comic based on a Marc Maron quote that illustrates this idea of our desperate need for simple acknowledgement of our existence. In it, he likens the idea of having people acknowledge our existence to the relief a druggie gets after a hit. It's a powerful, disturbing image. 

And, in a very real way, it's also true. 

Zen Pencils

But keep in mind: actions speak louder than words. And that is why representation matters so very much in books--in all forms of media, actually. This is about more than diversity--it's about humanity. It's about honesty. The world is not the narrow, limited view the media commonly expresses. There is so much more beyond what you can see from your doorstep. To paraphrase Inception: You mustn't be afraid to see a little further, darling. 

See a community that's not all white. See a love that's not all normative. See a book setting that's not all American. See a family that's not all middle class or rich. See a world that's not all yours.

I believe in the goodness of humanity, and I believe we're on the cusp of change. But I also know that, sadly, articles like this one by author Cindy Pon are still necessary. Websites like Diversity in YA are still necessary. Publishers like Tu Books are still necessary. Books like those of Cindy Pon, Malinda Lo, David Levithan, Kwame Alexander, Phoebe North, the Diverse Energies anthology, the upcoming works of Christy Farley and Alexandra Duncan--these are necessary and important.

Representation is important. At its most basic level it says: I see you. And in this world of bright lights and hollow dreams, of statistics and caricatures that turn people invisible, that is important.

I see you. 

Live Your Life

One of the most common questions I get at events is, "What advice do you have for aspiring writers?"

And typically, I say, "When given the choice between staying in your room and writing, and going out and experiencing something completely new, do the new thing."

This surprises some people. And don't get me wrong: practice makes perfect, and if you want to be a writer, you have to write. It's basically the most fundamental step of the process.

But you have to live, too.

And you have to live a wide variety of experiences. One of my favorite quotes is by Eleanor Roosevelt: "Do one thing every day that scares you." The more you experience--especially the things that seem scary or impossible or crazy--the better writer you are. Even if you're not writing a horror novel, you need to be able to describe the feeling of fear. Even if you're not writing a romance, you need to describe love.

And you never know where your experiences will take you. For example, one of the first videos I ever uploaded to YouTube is this one:



When I posted it--all the way back in 2010!--I was just sharing something cool I'd seen while traveling to Venice, Italy, with my class. It was a new experience, and one that I thought was amazing.

Three years later, glass and glass-making became an integral part to the development of Centauri-Earth in Shades of Earth.

I didn't go to the glass-making demonstration thinking I'd research my novel. I didn't even have the idea for the novel yet--and wouldn't for years to come! I was just experiencing life.

That is why life experiences are so important. If you feel writer's block, or are just bored with your writing, or even if you're not--don't put on blinders so big that you forget to experience new things. Discover the world around you so you can make up more worlds of your own.

Recently, I was at the beach with some of my family. While there, I went swimming alone, thinking about the new book series I'm working on. Before I knew it, I'd sketched out the entire opening of the second book. That was what I call "intentional inspiration." I was looking for inspiration, and focused on what I needed to do, and the story came to me.

But on the last day, we saw a lightning storm. A very HUGE, dramatic lightning storm, the likes of which I'd honestly never really seen before. I was in awe of it the entire time, shocked at the beauty and danger of nature.



And the storm found its way into the story, too. It wasn't intentional inspiration. It was life, seeping into the words of my novels. And that is often the very best inspiration there is.

Upcoming Events: September!

I've been taking the summer a bit off--between finishing up a new book (have you noticed the addition to this website yet?), relaxing with family, working on a reddit forum for authors, and finishing some other projects...well, I was supposed to be taking the summer a bit off :)

Anyway, back into the saddle! This fall I've got some events coming up that I hope I'll be able to see you at!

DRAGON*CON

I adore this con, and am so happy to be back again this year! I've got a busy schedule, and I hope to see you there:

Title: Princess, Fairies, and Pirates
Time: Fri 10:00 am Location: A708 - Marriott (Length: 1)
Description: A discussion of favorite Disney characters: Snow White to Merida, Prince Charming to Captain Jack Sparrow.

Title: Secondary Characters in The Hunger Games
Time: Fri 02:30 pm Location: Hanover C - E - Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: From other tributes to Capitol dwellers, even the minor characters are well-drawn enough to inspire strong feelings.

Title: YA Short Fiction
Time: Fri 05:30 pm Location: A707 - Marriott (Length: 1)
Description: Authors discuss how they craft bite-size tales that can fill the gaps between novels or offer new character insights.

Title: iSpin-off from iCarly
Time: Fri 07:00 pm Location: A708 - Marriott (Length: 1)
Description: Don't be sad about iCarly coming to an end. Celebrate the new spin-offs and movies with other fans.

Title: Autograph Sessions 
Time: Sat 01:00 pm Location: International Hall South - Marriott (Length: 1)

Title: From Page to Screen
Time: Sun 01:00 pm Location: A707 - Marriott (Length: 1)
Description: A discussion of how favorite YA books translate to the screen in recent and upcoming adaptations.

For More Information on Dragon*Con, click here.

Carolina Mountains Literary Festival

This is another one I'm very excited to be a part of again! Carolina Mountains Lit Fest in Burnsville is wonderfully organized, and this year I have the honor of presenting alongside Myra McEntire in a presentation on structure in workshop open and free to the public. 

Friday morning, September 13
10-10:45 Town Center Legacy Room BETH REVIS & MYRA MCENTIRE Story Structure and Plot Devices (Part One) Discussion of various ways to plot and structure novels. Examples come from their own experiences and from other authors such as Blake Snyder, Christopher Vogler, John Truby, and others.

Friday afternoon, September 13
2-2:45 Town Center Legacy Room BETH REVIS & MYRA MCENTIRE Story Structure and Plot Devices (Part Two) Discussion of various ways to plot and structure novels. Examples come from their own experiences and from other authors such as Blake Snyder, Christopher Vogler, John Truby, and others.

For more Information on the CMLF, click here. Books will be available for purchase from Malaprops, and we'd both be happy to sign!

Online Events

• Every Monday, we have "Ask Me Anything" events, and every Thursday we have focused discussions and critiques on the YA Writers Reddit Forum. We have upcoming a trauma nurse talking about wounds in fiction, author talk about book trailers and street teams, etc.--so join the fun!
• The YA Scavenger Hunt is gearing up--if you're an author, make sure you sign up soon to participate! 
• ...and you should keep your eyes out for a certain announcement coming from me really soon...

For the Observant...

You might notice a little something different about this website. A little something extra. Maybe a hint of something to come...

bzzzzzz....

Events, Chats, and More!

Sorry I've been so scarce lately. I've been deep in edits, which is a fancy way of saying that I don't remember the last time I brushed my hair, and all I do is stare at the wall chart and try to pull together the strings of this book before it kills me.

A before picture. It's now half-way filled in.

So anyway, that's my life! Poor personal hygiene choices and staring at walls. However! I do plan to take at least one shower this week, and that shower is being taken in honor of APRILYNNE PIKE and the awesome event I'm doing with her and CARRIE RYAN in CHARLOTTE this FRIDAY.

I hope you join me. I'll (probably) even brush my hair for this shindig.

THIS FRIDAY

Birkdale Barnes & Noble

Book talk and signing with

Aprilynne Pike and Carrie Ryan 

FULL DETAILS HERE

Although I'll be in the writing cave for a bit longer--through August, probably--I do have some more fall events coming up that I've not mentioned before. I'll be announcing those soonish. 

And, meanwhile, when I need a break from editing, I've been hanging out on Twitter and Reddit. If you're on Twitter, please distract me so I can pretend to be working but really be looking at animated pictures of kittens. If you're an author, too (published or not), feel free to come to Reddit to discuss books. I'm kind of sporadic on both fronts at the moment, but hopefully that time-turner I ordered will get here soon. Shipping from Hogwarts is slow, yo.

Anyway, hope y'all are having an awesome summer filled with watermelon, fun, and no edits! :)

The Sound of Silence...or, better yet, Lots of Noise!

One of the most frequently asked questions I get as a writer is, what kind of music do I listen to as I write? I've always found this question to be difficult because I actually listen to music in an effort to, um, not listen. My goal is to have sound that fades into the background. If I'm actually listening to the music, then something's wrong and I'm not working as well as I need to be.

Because of that, I tend to listen to one song on repeat over and over and over again. I don't think people believe me on this, but it's true:

I typically get about 3-5 songs, and just listen to them over and over and over and over again. It drives everyone around me crazy, so I've invested in good headphones. Because, seriously. If you do the math (and I hope I've done it right; I don't math well), then I listened to "Everything is Ending," the top song in my playlist, for nearly 54 straight hours. That's equivalent to listening to one song for more than two days straight with no break at all.

I've not changed up this method in years. The above five songs got me through writing 4 and a half books (with a few others--all with around 400 plays--sprinkled in for good mix). 

My goal is to forget about the music. So I get a good song that sits in my subconscious and doesn't cause trouble. But recently I've found a few other things that make the sound perfect while writing. 

Perfect Thing 1: Rainy Cafe

This website provides free, constant, streaming ambient noise. And not just any ambient noise. It makes the sound of a busy coffee shop--chairs scooting, an undercurrent of indiscernible talk--and mixes it with a rainy, thundery day. It's seriously awesome. It's enough noise to break the silence, but not enough to distract you. Give it a try!

Perfect Thing 2: Noisy Typer

This is an app you have to download--it only works for a Mac, but it's free. And what it does is magic. It makes your keyboard sound like a noisy typewriter. Every time you push a letter, it clacks. When you hit enter, it dings. It sounds exactly like a typewriter, and it's perfectly synced to your writing. I've been using it for a few days straight, and I'm already hooked. Seriously, this is amazing. It's made me want to type, and more, it's made me keep typing--when I hear the silence and no clickety-clack of the typewriter, I know I'm not working. 

Give these two things a whirl--they're really great, and they really keep me motivated to write! 

High Concept

Sorry for the recent spottiness of posting, y'all! Summer's been a time of extremes for me this year--extreme play mixed with extreme work--so I expect the break will continue for at least a little while longer. Meanwhile, I've been doing a lot of posting in other mediums--including the YA Writers subreddit I've mentioned several times here. The community is growing pretty constantly, and so I thought I'd pillage one of the posts I did there for here, so my regular readers can get a glimpse of what we're talking about. 

Recently, we had a discussion on what "high concept" is. To see the full discussion, just click here. But my definition of what "high concept" is, and why it's important, is below. Hope it helps!

--------
What is High Concept?

First, what high concept is not: it’s not “high.” This is the thing that throws people off the most. Most people think that “high concept” means something that’s very literary, artistic, and not commercial—and the exact opposite is true.

High concept is something that has immediate commercial appeal.

Typically, the way this is explained is that:

• You can sum up a high concept idea in a sentence or two
• It has obvious appeal to the masses—it’s a concept that most people can get with just a sentence
• It’s a story that you can immediately see what it would be like just from a short description

High concept is hugely important because it’s easy to sell. If you’re querying, a high concept pitch is arguably one of the best things you can have to make your query stand out. If you’re published, a high concept pitch is the hook you use to advertise your book, the way you describe it to hand-sell it, the sentence you use on your swag. If you want to commercially sell your work, having a high concept pitch is one of the best things you can use.

Examples of high concept:

• A boarding school with wizards
• An arena where children and teens have to fight to the death
• A vampire that falls in love with a mortal

Obvious, yeah? High concept sells. If you can sum up your book in one simple phrase or sentence, one that has appeal to a lot of people, then you’re gold. People tend to like the familiar, and they like the concepts they can easily grasp, the stories they know will appeal to them.

The examples above are obvious, but here’s some that aren’t as obvious:

• A murder mystery in space (My own novel, Across the Universe)
• A teen who can time travel, stuck in the wrong time (Julie Cross’s Tempest)
• A world where everyone gets a letter 24 hours before they die (Shaun Hutchinson’s The Deathday Letter)

When summing up high concept, you’re looking to *give the familiar, then give the twist. “A vampire”—a familiar concept many people know and like. “Falls in love with a mortal”—a twist to the story. The typical reader can take the familiar they already know, see the twist that will flesh it into a whole story, and that makes them want to read it.

July Updates, Links, and More

Hey all!

Man, summer's great for being lazy, no? I feel like I've been too lazy, though, and not doing a good enough job of keeping everyone informed of everything.

One reason is because of Reddit. I mentioned before that I'm now a mod of the YA Writers subreddit but I wanted to re-issue the invitation for everyone to join in. We're now more than 400 members strong, and a healthy mix of people at various stages of their careers. If you ever want to discuss, question, or rave about writing for a YA audience, stop by! As a point of interest, July 3rd we're discussing "high concept," and we'll be doing pitch critiques, critique partner match-ups, and more in the future.

Next, I have some winners to announce! For the Defy the Dark prize pack, the winner is: Amanda R! Winners for the All the Nomz cookbook have also been selected. They are Alicia K., Maura T., and Amber P. All the winners have been contacted--thanks to everyone who played along!

Also, have you been to Kickstarter later? You know, that place where people help other people make awesome stuff? Well, Rachel Caine, author of the brilliant Morganville Vampire books, is currently hosting a Kickstarter to get her books turned into a movie! You can support the project here--and you'll see a video featuring me, talking about upcoming projects and more! They're halfway there, with only a week to go.

All the Nomz: Great Recipes + A Great Charity

I was recently invited to join in a super fun project, and I'm happy to say that it's now available for everyone! All the Nomz! is a recipe book by and for geeks. Basically, geeks from all walks of life--authors, actors, artists, gamers, and more--submitted recipes for this very special cookbook. I'm honored to have a recipe alongside Tara Platt, Sandeep Parikh, Nathan Sawaya, and so many others. I'm seriously pinching myself that I was able to sub a recipe!

The recipes in this cookbook cover everything from snacks to main courses, and they show a wide variety of skills, ingredients, and more. My recipe is what I call "healthy writer's fuel"--when I eat it, I feel like I can write all day! And lest you think it's too healthy, my "writer's fuel" is the perfect vehicle for both cheese and bacon, so feel free to take out the healthy adjective whenever you like.

And the awesome part of All the Nomz! is that every penny from every purchase of the book goes directly to an amazing charity, Child's Play. A charity since 2003, Child's Play is "a game industry charity dedicated to improving the lives of children with toys and games in our network of over 70 hospitals worldwide" (source). There are children all around the world who have to face situations no child should face, and Child's Play brings a little joy and sunlight back to those children in the form of games, entertainment, and fun.

I've long been a fan of Child's Play, and I'm so happy that I was able to make a small contribution to the organization in the form of a recipe. If you're with me and want to help out, you can buy All the Nomz! You'll get:

• an awesome cookbook that's nearly 80 pages long that features such amazing recipes as writer's fuel, R2-D2 cupcakes, and One Bread to Rule them All
• the satisfaction that you helped bring a smile to a sick child's face, since 100% of funds raised go straight to Child's Play
• a virtual high-five from me

To find out more, just go here. The recommended donation is just $5. And to sweeten the deal and help spread the word, I'm going to give away THREE copies of All the Nomz! Just spread the word about this charity-driven recipe book, fill out the Rafflecopter below, and you're entered to win! (Open internationally.)

  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Defy the Dark & Win Prizes!

Yesterday I talked all about the awesome debut authors found through the contest Saundra held for Defy the Dark. They are, simply, brilliant--as are all the stories in the anthology! There are 17 other short stories in the antho, each one better than the next. 

And to help make sure everyone check the antho out, we're having a contest!

Prizes! One lucky winner will get a hardcover copy of DEFY THE DARK and also my most recent title, SHADES OF EARTH, plus some awesome DEFY THE DARK swag (glow-in-the-dark bracelets! shiny bookmarks!) courtesy of Saundra Mitchell!

How to Enter: Enter using the Rafflecopter below. You have two ways to enter: tweet about the contest and/or let me know which story you're most excited to read. (Personally, I'd prefer that you let me know through a blog comment so that the authors can see the excitement, but because Google seems to be doing screwy things to the commenting system, you can also just leave your answer inside the Rafflecopter.) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want another chance to win Defy the Dark? Come to my Charlotte signing, August 2nd, at the Huntersville Barnes and Noble, to see me, Carrie Ryan, and Aprilynne Pike. I'll be giving away one copy there--and all three of us will sign it for you! More details here.

Defy the Dark Short Stories

Today we're celebrating short stories--specifically those found in the Defy the Dark anthology edited by Saundra Mitchell.

I've mentioned before how honored I was to be invited to participate in this antho, and how awesome it is to work with Saundra. But one of the things that made this antho even more spectacular was that Saundra did something I've never seen before in an anthology.

She solicited manuscripts from never-before-published author to be included in the anthology.

The contest, understandably, had more than a thousand entries--and nearly three and a half million words and Saundra read them all. And gave feedback. So when we say Saundra is awesome, we mean it.

In the end, there could be only three winners--one to be published in the anthology, and two more to be published online at defythedark.com.

The Sunflower Murders
by Kate Espey
Read the full story in Defy the Dark

This short story is the grand prize winner, the one published in the anthology. And, as fate would have it, it's also the story published directly after my own, which makes me feel all sorts of awesome about it.

I can absolutely see why Kate won the contest and a spot in the antho. "The Sunflower Murders" is beautifully written, a vignette about life and death and the inconsequentiality and vast importance of both. There are lines in the story that just stun me with their deftness. Lines like:

She had unspeakable things done to her that everyone spoke about anyway...

and

Something was ending. Like a story coming to a close and there would be no epilogue, no To Be Continued.

Beautiful, no?  Kate perfectly grasped the horror of death and placed it beside the normalcy of it, something that is no easy feat. This amazingly talented highschooler definitely has a bright future ahead of her!

After Illume
by Emily Skrutskie
Read the full story online

Guys. Guys. It's a short story about space. You know I love that shizz! This sci fi short had me from the opening line (seriously, go read it). It starts with a serious bang--the modules of the Illume have broken apart due to a chunk of ice striking it, and the narrator is stuck inside one, with only the limited air, food, and water she has with her. 

The narrator is fine with being alone--she was hired for the job because she could handle solitude in a space station--but she now faces a slow, lonely death in the dark void of space. 

Or...not so alone. Because there is Samara. A voice sent from "the other side" to comfort the dying. But there's more to it than that. 

Of course there is. 

This story is smart. It touches on both the future and history, with a main character who's clever. And there's some whip-smart narration, too:

According to this wacky old psychology that some fart named Maslow came up with, I’m not actually allowed to need a nonessential like coffee more than human companionship, but the bastard’s wrong.

Go. Read it. 

Bogwater

by Taure Shimp

Read the full story online

You know how some how-to-write books throw around phrases like "unique voice" and "atmosphere?" Well, this short story has both of those in spades--a totally fresh, unique voice plus a setting that's as vivid as the characters.

You'd think a story about swamp witches and were-gators and bogwater would be, well, gross, but it's not. It's a different story wrapped up in a totally different world and sprinkled liberally with flashes of brilliant lines--like this one:

The other truth is that there are worse things in the swamp besides boys who are
sometimes gators and sometimes not.

And trust me--seriously, trust me on this--you absolutely don't want to miss the ending of this one. It's quite the twist.

___

You can read the two runners-up stories online for free right now, and the grand-prize winner is published in the anthology, available now. But check back tomorrow, because I'll be hosting a contest so that you can win your very own copy of DEFY THE DARK--and more!

Failure is not the Enemy

I write this post with the clear understanding that it is much easier for me to say these things on this side of the fence. Ten-years-ago-me would have punched present-me in the face for what I'm about to say.

Failure is not the enemy.

Failure is, in fact, a good thing.

Failure is when you strive for a goal and don't achieve it. For me, my biggest life goal was publication, and then being able to be a full-time writer. For a decade, I failed at this.

While I was in the middle of that decade of failure, well, failure sucked. I was pretty miserable. Sure, I had a happy face on, but there was this niggling knowledge that I had yet to achieve something I wanted. It was a hollow place inside me that was perpetually unfilled, a gaping wound no one but me could see.

I recently read this article on failure, and followed closely be reading an article on reddit in which a writer bemoaned that she had failed to have something published (having just gotten a rejection), and many in the community were quick to say it wasn't a failure, that she won just by having written it, and that she could always self-publish, that no words were wasted, etc., etc., etc.

Which is true.

But it's also not true. Because her goal had been traditional publication, and she failed to reach it in that moment.

The thing is--it's not about having failed or not. There's a clear answer there. She had failed. Just as I had failed for a decade. Recognizing that it was a failure is as clear as recognizing that the sky is blue, that grass is green. There's no point in calling something other than what it is; lying to yourself in this way is a band-aid on a broken arm.

What's not as easy to see is that failure is not a bad thing. It's just a thing.

Like I said, it's easy for me to say this now, with my life dream realized. But it is one of the few things I wish I could go back in time and tell myself.

Failure isn't the enemy. In fact, failure has been as sure a mentor to me as nearly anything else in my life.

Failure taught me:

Failure is inevitable. I will fail. We all will. And having failed, and gotten back up, and failed again, taught me that I can survive failure. This is a downfall in most modern stories: the hero always wins. Because while this story is inspiring, it's also false. In reality, not everyone wins. It's 100% true that no one wills all the time, and we expect that--every hero must fall at least once. But it's also 100% true that some people never win at all, and that's the thing we try so hard to ignore behind the pretty stories. I could spend the rest of my life trying to be a prima ballerina, and it would not happen. I would fail at that for the rest of my life.

Failure teaches us who we are. Because even though I know I would fail forever at being a prima ballerina, I also know that I am not someone who should be a prima ballerina. It's not who I am, it's not what I want. Of course I would fail at it. And that failure may hurt--it would be nice to be a ballerina, yes--but it would also teach me that it isn't the thing I want more than anything else. The thing I want more than anything else is to be a writer; so when I failed (for a decade) at being a writer, it wasn't something that I gave up on. My failure taught me how much I wanted to be a writer. I had tried other things in life--careers, hobbies. I played piano for a decade; I know how to sew and design clothes. But when I messed up Beethoven at the talent show, it stung--I was embarrassed--but it held none of the soul-crushing defeat of a rejection on a manuscript. And while I could play the piano--and I could play it technically well--I never had the passion within me to make it anything more than a hobby. My failures taught me who I am: failing at being a pianist was fine, because it wasn't who I was. Failing at writing was not, because it was.

Failure makes the success worth it. Even if it's something we love, when it comes easy, we don't appreciate it. I am grateful for every second of my life I get to say I'm an author, because for so long I was not. I am grateful for every aspect of the writing life, even the hard bits, because it's a part of the whole.

Failure makes us fearless. This is the thing that I think is perhaps the most important lesson of failure. I don't mean to harp on it, and I feel like I've said it a million times, but that decade before being published--it really shaped who I am. I spent ten years as a failure. I have over a thousand rejections. This isn't a hyperbole; it's not a lie. I have over a thousand rejections to my writing. More than a thousand times, someone told me I had failed to reach my goal.

Now, I've reached my goal. But I still carry around the rejection. Because...well, I know I will fail again. I'm published now, and I will be published for the next three years, as long as everything goes as planned and the contracts hold, etc. But after those three years? I want to be published more--but I have no guarantee. I have no way of knowing that everything else I write will not be rejected. It might be.

But, that's the gift of failure. I've had it before. I know I will have it again. I have already had other book proposals and samples rejected. I've already heard "no" again.

There's something about being tempered in fire, though, that makes the steel stronger.

Failure is not the enemy. Failure shapes us into who and what we are. Failure shows us what we are willing to fight for, and it gives us the backbone to fight for it. We need it to knock us around and be the roadblock so that we know if we should turn around and find a different path, or if it's worth it to make our own path.

If your goal is publication, accept nothing less than that. Know that you will fail, but know also that failure is not the enemy. Because the last thing I want to say is:

Don't settle for failure. Even though failure is not the enemy, it shouldn't be your friend. Set your goal, and settle for no less. Ask yourself what you really want.

• I want this single book published. Then do what it takes to make that single book as perfect as possible, and then either send it out to agents for traditional publication, or self-publish it.
• I want to have a book I wrote be traditionally published. Write a book. Revise. Edit. Submit to agents. Accept their rejection. If that book doesn't sell, write another book. Repeat. Recognize that even if your book is not accepted--that you failed--the actual goal is to be published, not for that book to be published, therefore you've only failed to meet your goal yet. Writer another book, a better book. Work up until you write something that's worth publication.
• I want to have a book I wrote be self published. Write a book. Revise. Edit. Publish. Recognize that even if the book flops in sales, you achieved your goal of self-publication. Write another book, a better book with more marketing. Revise. Edit. Publish.
• I want a career as an author. Write a book. Revise. Edit. Learn everything you can about the craft of writing, marketing, publishing (both traditional and self). Focus you attention on the market--not so that you chase trends, but so that you're aware of the state of the market. Join professional organizations. Create the best possible work you can. Write it. Write more of it. Experiment. Edit. Revise. Publish. Repeat.

LOVE MINUS EIGHTY Review

It takes a lot for a book to totally engross me the way Love Minus Eighty by Will McIntosh did.

Book Info | Author Info 

I first heard about this book through io9, which featured a free first chapter read. I rarely bother with first chapter reads, but this one snagged my attention. Then, when I tried to order this one, I saw it wasn't out yet and only available for pre-order. I rarely bother with preordering books from authors I don't know, but something made me buy this one anyway.

And I am so, so, so glad I did.

This book has kept me reading for hours into each night. The concept itself is pretty straight-forward: in the future, if you're hot enough and female and young and...dead...you are selected for the "bridesicle" program: rather than truly dying, you're stuck into a cryogenic program where you will be revived for paid "dates" with men, and then, if one likes you enough, the man will pay for your entire revivification. In return for your life back, you become his wife. Which, in this situation, means you become his property.



But guys. This book. I just couldn't put it down.

I've spent the past ten minutes trying to put my finger on the exact thing that made this book such a great read, and I've come to the conclusion that it's not one single thing. It's all of them put together. The characters, who are each complex and unique, with realistic motivations, reactions, goals. The plot, which, while straight-forward enough, always kept me guessing. The philosophical questions raised by the program, which the author leaves to the reader to truly answer.

I particularly loved that the story is about many different characters, none of whom seem connected. Ostensibly, Love Minus Eighty is a love story. After a crushing break-up, Rob, a generally good guy, isn't paying attention while driving in the city and strikes and kills a beautiful young woman, Winter. Winter is put into the Minus Eighty bridesicle program, and Rob, wracked with guilt, works to earn enough money to visit her and apologize. What follows is the unlikeliest love story ever. Meanwhile, Veronika, a love coach, hides a crush from Nathan, her best friend, and, coincidentally, the ex-boyfriend of Winter. And then there's Lycan, the brilliant man who tried to kill himself. And Sunali, the former bridesicle stuck in a horrible family situation that includes Lorelei, a girl who's turned her life into a drama-filled money-spinner. Throughout the book, there's also Mira, the longest-frozen bride in the program. Her stories in particular seem to be disconnected from everyone else.

But in the end, much like a tapestry woven together by many seemingly unmatching threads, the author pulls all the characters together into one glorious story. Don't be afraid by the size of the cast--it's easy to keep up with, and every character plays an important role.

I think, though, that one of my favorite things about this book is the ambiguous philosophy. Will McIntosh raises some very important questions in the story, and he doesn't provide any answers--not really. The bridesicle program, for example, is horrid--the women selected for revivification are essentially slaves to the men who buy them...but the alternative is death.

But it was the implications of what love really is that has kept this book so present in my mind. I think the most lasting impression I have of the book is when Rob's father tells Rob about how his love with his wife isn't the ideal fairy-tale Rob seems to think it is...and how he's okay with that. This was something that particularly played through my mind with Veronika's character, and how she finally ends up. Love is not always the blinding passion and burning flame the songs tell us it is. Even with the example of True Love in the book, the two characters have been forced into a situation where, without it, that love might not exist, despite their compatibility together.

In the end, I guess I can only say this: this book is a combination of the best things in sci fi--an engrossing story told by fascinating characters in the future that raises questions for the reader now. It has the best bits of a Philip K. Dick novel and a Twilight Zone episode, and I couldn't put it down.

***

For my YA-preferring readers, this novel is classified as adult, and the language in particular may offend some readers, as well as some of the deeper contextual issues touched on. However, in terms of writing pace, style, and content, I think many YA readers will love this novel as much as I did. For general appeal, I think readers who felt like Ready Player One was a cross-over novel between adult and YA will feel the same way about Love Minus Eighty.

Star Cursed Blog Tour!

Welcome to the STAR CURSED blog tour! 

With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate's friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.

Cate doesn't want to be a weapon, and she doesn't want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood's schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she'll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory. Even if it means sacrifices. Even if it means overthrowing Cate. Even if it means all-out war.

In the highly anticipated sequel to BORN WICKED, the Cahill Witch Chronicles continue Cate, Maura and Tess's quest to find love, protect family, and explore their magic against all odds in an alternate history of New England.

As part of the blog tour, each day Jess is revealing an annotated snippet from STAR CURSED. 

If you add up the page number from each stop during the tour, you can enter to win a one-of-a-kind annotated ARC plus a star trio necklace! Find the other stops below, and on June 21, enter the Rafflecopter here:

Mon, 6/3:  Good Books & Good Wine

Tues, 6/4:  Ex Libris Kate 

Wed, 6/5:  Mundie Moms 

Thurs, 6/6:  Presenting Lenore

Fri, 6/7:  Hobbitsies

Mon, 6/10:  Green Bean Teen Queen 

Tues, 6/11:  I Read Banned Books

Wed, 6/12:  Two Chicks on Books

Thurs, 6/13:  Forever Young Adult

Fri, 6/14:  The Story Siren

Mon, 6/17:  YA Bibliophile

Tues, 6/18:  Marie Lu 

Wed, 6/19:  Beth Revis

Thurs, 6/20:  Veronica Rossi

Fri, 6/21:  Marissa Meyer

STAR CURSED releases on June 18. You can read the first chapter here. 

Pre-order links: Indiebound | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

Find Jess online: blog | Twitter | Facebook | Cahill Witch Inspiration pinboard

A Day of Many Great Launches!

There are a ton of good books coming out today, but there are three special ones I'd like to take the opportunity to highlight.

 Star Cursed
By Jessica Spotswood
Author Website
More info

I adore Jess--she's one of my favorite people. AND she writes wonderful books. This is the second in the Cahill Witch Chronicles, an alt-history trilogy where 1800s New England is a world of witches and brotherhoods. The best part about these books isn't the magic, though, it's the complex world that touches on themes of identity, love, morality, sexism, and more.

Bonus! Tomorrow, there's a guest post by Jess as part of her brilliant blog tour, so don't miss it!

 Solstice

By PJ Hoover

Author Website

More Info

Tricia Hoover is a fantastic person, and I'm so happy for her release of Solstice.  I was lucky enough to read this early on as a manuscript, and loved it then. I can't wait to see what it's become since then. 

Solstice is a world of myth and dystopian--two traits you don't see often, but it totally works. And dude. The romance. HOT. 

Bonus! Tricia is giving away forty-two books in celebration of the book's launch! Check it out here.

Defy the Dark
Edited by Saundra Mitchell
Author Website
More Info

I was so honored to be invited to contribute to this anthology! Saundra is an awesome person, and the idea behind this antho--all the stories take place at night--is equally awesome.

My story is called "Night Swimming" and is about Kayleigh, told from the point of view of a narrator. Who's the narrator? Well, it's someone who loves Kayleigh. But it's not Harley. Figuring out the rest is up to you...

This antho also features a story by a debut author--Saundra ran a contest for unpublished authors, and one lucky winner is included!

Bonus! Next week, I'll be featuring Defy the Dark in a special contest!

As you can see, there are a lot of awesome books coming out today! Get thee to a bookstore or library and check them out!

On Tragedy & Comedy

The saddest (fictional) thing I've ever seen was in a cartoon.

Futurama is funny and sardonic and typically makes me laugh. It's famous for catch-phrases and hilarious characters and funny one-liners, and unique characters, and well-written plot lines.

And for the saddest fictional story line in the history of ever.

"Jurassic Bark" has all the things that make up a classic episode of Futurama: there's the science fiction bits (time travel and a futuristic world), there's the funny stuff, and...

Well. There's a tragedy. That's not typical of Futurama. This is a show that's quick to poke fun of society, people, and the world in general, but it keeps the tragic on the low end.

But this episode.

Man. This episode.

The tragedy comes out of freaking no where. No one--well, at least not me--expected it. I was blind-sided by what happened--and by my emotional response to it. Even now, if I see this episode playing, I shut off the television and run to the other room.

Something similar happened last year when I was watching Adventure Time, my current obsession. Adventure Time is just carefree fun--there are people made of candy, there's silly plot lines, it's just pretty much hilarious fun.

Until...

The Ice King is annoying, stupid, insipid, and just plain weird. Always the (bumbling) villain, never the hero. No one likes him--not even he likes himself. 

But then there was this episode, "I Remember You." And it gave just a tiny hint of his backstory, a visceral example of why and how he became the pathetic thing he was in the show. 

Seeing this episode gutted me. And it got me thinking: why was my emotional response to these two episodes so strong? Just hearing the music from "I Remember You" or the opening scene of "Jurassic Bark" makes me tear up--in shows that typically make me laugh.

And that, I realized, is the key. Futurama and Adventure Time are both really light-hearted comedies. They're cartoons for Pete's sake! Which means when I see the really, truly, tragic side of the worlds in these shows, I'm blindsided.

A tragic story can't be tragic all the time. The power behind the punches in "Jurassic Bark" and "I Remember You" comes in part because they're not expected. Light, funny, amusing stories and then bam! something tragic. That's the sort of emotional blind-siding that will last in a reader.

The same is true, by the way, of comedy. JK Rowling was particularly brilliant at this. The overall plot of the Harry Potter books is actually quite drama-filled: a boy must sacrifice himself and others in an effort to take down evil. But she liberally sprinkles the world with bursts of funny--a line of dialog there, a fun bit of magic here. And, of course, the coup de gras:

Of course there are ways to make a tragic--or comic--story in other ways. But for me, I've personally found the most meaningful, most resonating, and most emotional stories come from books where you don't expect the emotion. If you want to make a lasting impression on the reader, couch your tragic story in a comedy; put something comic within the tragedy.

AMA--Ask Me Anything on Reddit, today at noon!

Today at noon, I'll be doing an AMA on Reddit with author Julie Cross, who writes the Tempest trilogy and recently announced a self-publishing venture with her new contemporary novel, Letters to Nowhere.

I've had several people ask me what Reddit and AMAs are, so here's my (much abbreviated) explanation of the community:

If you've never heard of Reddit before, you should definitely consider joining the community! Reddit is called the "front page of the Internet" for a reason--everything is there. Basically, Reddit gathers together "subreddits," which are focused places for people to discuss things they like. For example, there are subreddits for fandoms like Doctor Who and Firefly; there are ones that are instructional and informational, like Writing and Travel; and there are ones where you can ask questions, such as AskHistorians and IAMA.

IAMA is short for the phrase "I am a..." and AMA is short for "ask me anything." So people who have a unique experience or interesting job or what-have-you, will go to the IAMA subreddit and offer for people to "ask me anything." This is what I'm doing today with Julie Cross--it's essentially a forum for people to ask us anything.

If you're still on the fence about joining Reddit, I also want to point out two very awesome subreddits. YALit is a place where people go to discuss YA books and literature, and YAWriters is a place specifically for those who want to write YA, or are interested in YA publication. I'm actually one of the mods of YAWriters. We recently did query critiques for all the members, and we have a full schedule of events, including future AMAs with authors, agents, and more; pitch and sample critiques, scheduled discussions, etc. So if you're interested in writing for a YA audience, consider joining us!

And meanwhile, feel free to ask us anything! (Our AMA link won't go live until noon, EST, and we'll be taking questions all day and answering as many as possible.)