Plugging away!

I've been sending out a bunch of queries over the last month, in addition to working on my new novel. I've gotten several rejections--which is to be expected--but still haven't heard back from the vast majority of them. In general, I'm keeping pretty positive about the whole thing, with little spikes of excitement and dips of depression. It's funny how incredibly normal the process has been, or maybe I should say it's been standard. Writing and querying don't have much about them that's normal.

I'm looking forward to becoming a little more active on Twitter and the blog once more, so make sure to stop by.

Trying to manage time.

I think I may be overestimating how much time I have in a day. That, or I'm foolishly hoping I'll gain some hither-to-undiscovered sense of self control. Right now, I'm engaged in the following: a part time job, part time novel writing, playing Minecraft with my buddy, and now I've also re-subscribed to World of Warcraft (eep). Plus, I've just started watching Downton Abbey season 2, started working on puzzles with Becky, begun reading Double Dead: Bad Blood by Chuck Wendig, and tried out the whole steampunk cosplay accessory thing (which you can read about here).

Ah, Minecraft, you are the Legos for my adult heart.

I've never been very good at managing my time and prioritizing. I usually end up playing World of Warcraft for hours because it's easy on the brain, which makes me depressed because I'm ignoring my writing, which then leads to more World of Warcraft (it's sort of like chocolate cake).

Curse you World of Warcraft!

But not this time! I've set up parental controls (yes, you read that right) on World of Warcraft, essentially banning myself from playing during my writing hours. Becky has the secret password, which I hope she keeps, well... secret. If I can just keep each activity within its normal hours I should be fine, though it feels like trying to police the border between North and South Korea. Sometimes I just gotta say, "Look Minecraft, you had your 45 minutes, now its Downton Abbey's turn. No, stop crying! Ack! World of Warcraft, put that down before you break it!"

Anyway, I realize that having so many enjoyable hobbies (and an enjoyable future career in writing *crosses fingers*) is probably one of the best problems a person can have, so I won't complain except to say I wish I was born with a bigger and more responsible brain.

So that's what I'm up to right now. What are your vices?

The end of yet another book.

It seems almost... mundane news to be finishing another book. I've been at this whole writing thing for years now, and it seems like just another day. Almost. Don't get me wrong, I'm not some writing veteran, but when you do something for so long, it starts to become the norm.

On the other hand, five years ago I never thought I'd write one novel, let alone multiple books. All things being equal, I'm pretty excited.


Only Gingers Can Be Witches was completed last week, and is ready to take its long nap while I begin editing The Sometimes Sword. It's been a weird ride, I can tell you that. I've experienced some of the highest highs and the lowest lows while writing this book, and I'm glad to see it's finally paid off. I've dropped it off to multiple beta readers, and I hope they enjoy, and don't rip me to shreds. *Chuckles nervously* Hopefully I'll be able to make it back to the book by this Fall, and then querying by Winter.


So now I embark on the strange and frustrating journey of editing, a journey I don't yet have much experience in. Wish me luck!

The Salem Witch Trials.

No, this is not going to be some intelligent study of the events that took place way back when. (See right there?  I don't even know the dates.) I just find the whole thing really interesting, so I thought I'd talk about it a little bit. Over the last week I've been writing a new book while I let The Sometimes Sword rest, and it includes a young witch character. So I thought, hey, I'll do some research on witches and witchcraft, just for kicks you know? I even went to the library with Becky. Let me tell you, I never thought I would find myself looking up witchcraft in a public place using the Dewey Decimal System. But you live and learn right?

Anyway, I found some great books, some a little more.... technically informative than I preferred (let me just stress, I am NOT a witch, you people with torches and pitch forks), but overall there was some good stuff. A lot of the books focused on presenting thoughts and evidence on two sides of the whole witchcraft issue; for, or against. I'll just say this: the Christian pastor who tried to represent Harry Potter as evil in his arguments came off looking quite a bit worse than the self proclaimed Wicca did in her arguments. But that's beside the point.

A quick update.

I've been really busy lately, which is a good thing. Sometimes I think back to two years ago when I worked full time and didn't go to college; and I wonder what I did with my time. True, that job was incredibly stressful and I usually worked over time (almost 60 hours a week around the holidays), but other than that, I didn't have much else to do. I'll admit to spending hours and hours playing World of Warcraft, mostly just to unwind after work.

Now however, I work a (relatively) low stress part time job (if my boss can keep the company afloat that is), attend school part time, and write. It's a pretty nice set up, and I know I'm lucky to have it. I was able to finish my rewrite of The Sometimes Sword just a couple of weeks ago, and it's currently in the hands of my beta readers. In a month or so I'll be starting up my web comic Kestrel with my brother Travis, and as of this last Monday, I've officially started my fourth novel. My brain is swimming in fiction and it's awesome!

It seems as time goes on I find myself wanting to write for younger and younger audiences. And I'm cool with that. I know it won't always be that way (I like to write violence and dark stuff too much to never return to adult fiction), but for now it's what's floating my boat. Here's how it goes: my first book ever was written for adults; the second, for the older end of YA; the third (which was a rewrite of the second) lowered that age by two years; and now I have this new book, written most likely for kids ages ten and up. Perhaps I'm just regressing, losing some of my ability to write mature material. Who knows.

Anyway, it's my first attempt at a diverse fantasy, and I'm really excited about it. It's about a young girl living in a smallish town in late 1996 (heck yeah, I'm way excited for a period piece). One day, another girl moves in down the street, and she just so happens to be a real, self taught witch, complete with pointed hat and striped stockings. They get into shenanigans and a mystery unfolds. Should be fun.

So that's what I'm doing so far! What about you?

Interview with Isaac Stewart, the man behind the maps of Mistborn and The Way of Kings! Also, a free t-shirt contest! Yay!

"Save the puppies."

Permit me a nerd-like "squeee!" before I start this one. I'm not ashamed. Okay, now that's taken care of, let me tell you what the big deal is all about today. As you can see in the post title, this month's interview is with Isaac Stewart, hence my excitement. He's just the guy who created the maps, symbols, and chapter headings for Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series and The Way of Kings, in addition to a ton of other cool stuff. But I'll let the interview detail the rest of that. There's some seriously good info in here boys and girls, so make sure to pay attention.

WANT TO WIN A FREE T-SHIRT? 

The other big thing is this: by coming to my blog and checking out this super-sweet interview, you have taken the first steps toward the possibility, nay, the opportunity to win a free t-shirt of your choice from InkWing.com, the merch site for everything Brandon Sanderson (which is run by, guess who, Isaac Stewart). How does one win such a prize, you ask? By leaving a comment of course! Each unique visitor's comment will be assigned a number, which will then be pulled from a hat (you'll have to trust me that I'm actually using a hat, and not a coffee can or something). Please make sure you leave a way for me to contact you if you are the winner! (That's important.) Multiple comments by the same person will be considered as only ONE submission. The contest will close on April 15th, 2012, and the winner will be announced on this blog on April 16th, 2012.

UPDATE: Due to the volume of awesome people commenting (like you!), Ink Wing Arts would like to throw a second shirt into the contest! Meaning you no longer have to sharpen your swords to fight for just one shirt, but two! (Still only one shirt per winner; your chances simply went up.) Keep em coming!

UPDATE UPDATE: The contest has officially closed. Winners have been announced, check out the latest post for more info! Thanks everyone for your support!

My World's Map. By Your's Truly.

I made this after attending a panel on mapmaking by Isaac Stewart at LTUE. Thought it might be fun to post. If you haven't realized, it's also my background.

Writing Is Uncertainty.

DISCLAIMER: I am not half as depressed as this makes me sound. Just keep that in mind.

I've been thinking lately about how I compare to other writers out there. I can't help but feel like I'm somehow different, broken, wrong. I always hear authors talk about how they doubted themselves back when they were writing their first five novels, but learned to get past it for the manuscript's sake. Kinda like a paralyzed dude triumphantly standing up from his wheelchair at the end of an inspirational movie. But then they leave it at that.

Well, I'm sorry to say, I'm not satisfied with that. I feel like I need to know more. I need to know if their pain (wow that's dramatic) is anything like mine, if their doubt is as soul-consuming. Do they struggle to understand their own writing's worth, like me? I'd like to someday see one of the authors I respect write about their issues, to really see if I'm so different and destined for failure.

Who knows if I'll ever get that wish. I guess they have a reputation to maintain, and such things would hurt it. Well, I don't have a reputation, so for what it's worth, here's my little list of things that I struggle with. If anything resonates with you, or you feel the same way, let me know, please.

I have no idea if I can write worth a crap.

When I write, the sentences often make me cringe.

I often hate my own imagination.

There are times when I look back at my day's writing, and feel a pit form in my stomach; I know I'll have to throw it all away.

I don't know who my characters are. I just hope to god someone else will. We talk all the time about building a strong personality with flaws and quirks, but at the end of the day, it means nothing to my brain.

As far as my own plot goes, it's all over my head, no matter how much I outline. I fly by the seat of my pants, praying I'll end up somewhere safe.

The concept of pacing completely eludes me.

I have no idea if my book is even the slightest bit original.

I don't know if my potential readers will get even the smallest bit of excitement from my action scenes.

When I try to write emotions, I feel they come off as corny and contrived.

When I post about writing, I feel like everyone is laughing at me. "Look at that idiot, he thinks he's an author!"

I don't know a damn about making people laugh.

I will never be a part of the "published author" community.

I don't have what it takes to get an agent or editor to like my books.

No one will ever want to read what I write.

Only spambots visit my blog.

When I look at all the people around me selling books, I know I'll never be as good as them. There are thousands of people writing, right now. I have no chance.

I'm wasting my life, doing this whole writing thing.

Everyone will lie to me when they read my book, tell me it's good. They most likely never read all the way through it.

I often feel like my family, of all people, care less than the strangers.

It's easy to end this by telling all of you to not let these things get you down. To keep going, and all that. I wish I could tell myself the same, and believe it. I won't stop writing any time soon, but I shudder to think that it will always be this way. Am I ready for a life of uncertainty?

Sprucing up a character.

I'm doing this right now. Hopefully some of my ramblings will make sense, possibly even be helpful if you're having the same problems as me. As most of you know, I'm in the middle of a second version of my book The Sometimes Sword. One of the main things I wanted to do this time around was inject more personality into everyone. I feel like so far I've been doing well. Most every aspect is a hundred times better than the first version: plot, descriptions, character voice, action, creepiness, etc. I can do even better though. I'm about halfway through with 61k words complete, but before I go any further, I want to go through and spruce up my main character Astrid.

She's always been the weak link. I've always been so focused on making her likable and relate-able. As I've been reading other books lately, I've been struck by how directly related character personality is linked to their foibles. They walk hand in hand. Therefore, it stands to reason that if Astrid lacks the proper amount of flaws, she also lacks an equal amount of personality. So I'm taking her back to the drawing board, re-evaluating her, and adding in some crap. We'll see how it goes.

Saladin Ahmed's THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON.

Saladin Ahmed's first published novel just came out on February 7th of this year, and I have to say that I was very excited for it. Saladin had been featured on the Writing Excuses podcast sometime last year, so I was somewhat familiar with what he hoped to accomplish with this book, and have been following him on Twitter ever since. Quite some time later, I heard that the novel was finally close to coming out, and began looking into it further. I read several pre-release reviews and a synopsis, and found myself eager to dive in. I even somehow managed to mistake the release date for the last day of January, and found myself disappointed once I rushed over to the Apple Bookstore. After waiting a whole week, I was finally able to purchase and download the ebook. Here's what I thought:

My unofficial rating.

This is the sort of book that stands out from a crowd. When you first see the cover, it strikes you with the back of it's hand and tells you to pay attention. The image is thick with color and the clean lines of a comic book, its subjects captured in an explosion of motion, Marvel Comics style. Unconventional clothing and weapon styles instantly tell you that this is no European-style fantasy, something that really excited me. Don't get me wrong, I love the traditional sword and sorcery stuff that's been coming out for decades, but just like eating too much ice-cream, it can sometimes leave you feeling unsatisfied.

Saladin's book smacks of many different cultures, from Egyptian to the classical Arabic turban-and-camel-riding nomadic tribes we see in movies. I'm no expert, and I probably just offended someone there, but Saladin pulls everything together in a truly unique world that I've never seen in Fantasy. He doesn't just dress the traditional S&S in a turban and hand it a scimitar, he works his way up from a solid foundation of unique culture, infusing every aspect of the book with the traditions of his world. The food they eat, the tea they drink, even their curse words and oaths are steeped in their culture. The characters themselves have their very personalities and self-identities shaped by the specific views on religion and family present in this blend of pseudo-Arabic cultures (once again, if I'm using the wrong terms, please forgive me). Also, I want to use the word "culture" one more time. Culture.

Beyond the unusual setting, Saladin brings some other great aspects into play. Unlike many books of the same genre, Throne's main protagonist is a 60 year-old man named Adoulla, a ghul hunter who just wants to retire and get married. (The point of view is shared by several people over the course of the book.) It's pretty amusing to be inside this semi-crusty old man's head as he watches youth wasted on the young, even forgetting the author himself isn't exactly what you would call old. If I had my way, more time would be spent on The Doctor's point of view, he's really a great character.

The story is easily followed, with plot points popping out to say "hi", not trying particularly hard to stay hidden. In my mind, this was a good thing. Most of the events take place in a huge, shining city, forgoing the normal hero-on-a-quest format. The action is short and to the point, with a few gruesome bits thrown in for good measure, which I like. The book features some pretty cool magic, and a seriously bad-ass bad guy. Creepy stuff.

Finally, I have two complaints about this book, and they are small:

First off, it's short. For an adult fantasy novel, it tops out at an unusual 288 pages, leaving me wanting more. Before you get all up in arms, let me clarify: I don't believe that every fantasy needs to be a 240k word behemoth, nor do I think Saladin was lacking in proper story-telling technique. Everything wraps up satisfactorily, and his descriptions are more than adequate. The experience was simply over too soon. I wanted to keep reading, because this unique world and characters felt like they had more to give me. Hopefully there are more books to come.

Next, and this is my only major issue, I felt like two of the younger characters were underdeveloped, not individually, but in relation to each other. SPOILER ALERT! I think it comes as no surprise that there is a "B" story in this book, centered around the budding romance (if it can be called that) between a young zealot and a teenage tribeswoman. By the end of the book, the word "love" is used, and I honestly didn't see the proper build up to it. It almost seemed like they fell in love because they were supposed to. Did it ruin the story? No. Is it the reason I gave the book four stars instead of five? Yes. Combined with the fact that I only give five stars to books that totally blow my mind away (which is hard to do). That being said, four stars is stellar, and I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good fantasy adventure. Go buy it here!

I've been interviewed! Also a bit about why I haven't posted in a while.

Hey all, it's been a lean couple of weeks post-wise, so sorry about that. I wanted to touch base real quick, and let you know that I'm still alive! First off, Leigh Covington interviewed me on her blog, which you can visit here. So click that link! It's worth it.

Also, the reason I haven't been doing much on the blog is because I've been writing. Yeah I know, right? I've actually been picking up the pace, and aside from the last three days (LTUE), I've been getting at least 1k words knocked out per day. On Wednesday I actually hit 3k in one day, so yeah, I figure I can forgive myself.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to get a good post up here soon!

Local Writer Interview: Ali Cross

This month's interview is a little different, since Ali is not simply an aspiring writer, but also a self-published one. We met across the Internet machines through Melanie Fowler, another of my interviewees. Ali is very, VERY active in the writing community, and I'm excited to get to know her a little better. As you all know, I like to just jump right in, so here goes!

If it's not too much to ask, how old are you?

LOL, I’m in my 40’s. But I never really aged past 23. I’m eternally youthful. (Ha!)

Are you married? Kids?

Heck yeah! I have a rockin’ husband who’s a computer genius who slashes computer code and cuts hackers off at the knees. My two boys both eleven, are evil geniuses who take after their dad (thank goodness. One of them is a black belt and the other is close on his heels. At our house it’s all awesome, all the time.

Where in our lovely area do you live?

I live in West Jordan, Utah, but I’m not even an American. I’m a Canadian who’s followed her man (who followed a job) to the States and has been trying to get back home every since. (It’s been twenty years. I haven’t been too successful yet, obviously.)

How long ago did you start writing seriously?

I started writing seriously nine years ago. I know the precise date because my family and I were driving into the mountains for a weekend in the autumn leaves. On our way out popped from my mouth: “I want to write a book.” I swear I did not think those words before I said them, but as soon as I did, I knew it was true. My hubby and I chatted about the idea (I’d always wanted to write a story about my favorite Dungeons & Dragons character—hey, don’t laugh) and it wasn’t long before he admitted that he, too, would like to write a book.

We stopped at a Podunk gas station convenient store, happily discovered they stocked the basic materials with which to begin a book (notebooks, pens, index cards and tape!), brainstormed and outlined our books over our long weekend and … the rest is history! (And to follow-up, we both wrote our books, and finished them together, New Year’s Eve 2003!)

What project are you currently working on?

Right at this very second I’m finishing up the first draft of a middle grade fantasy called LAND MAGIC. Meanwhile, another MG fantasy THE SWIFT, is resting between revisions, and DESOLATION (book two of Desolation, my young adult urban fantasy series) is resting before revisions begin. Exciting stuff!

How long have you been working on Land Magic?

LAND MAGIC was conceived a couple years ago, but I didn’t have to work on it at that time. I did a quick and dirty outline and left it alone. I started drafting it during NaNo ’11, but couldn’t finish because of the release of BECOME (the first in the Desolation series). Time to finish this baby up!

Tell us a little about it.

Here’s my working blurb: 


In a world where land magic has fallen into disuse and land comes together and breaks apart like clouds in the sky, one boy must rediscover the ways of the old magic in order to reunite his family and save mankind.

Wow, that sounds kinda lame. I promise it’s a lot more fun and awesome than it sounds. J

What are your goals for it?

I self-published BECOME, and I love, love, loved the experience. I’d like for LAND MAGIC to reach middle grade readers which (I believe) there’s no doubt traditional publishing methods are (so far) better suited for, but . . . I honestly can’t imagine publishing in the traditional sense.

Have you sent out any queries? How many have you gotten responses to?

Oh yeah. I queried BECOME to 103 agents. Twenty-eight agents read the full manuscript. One agent read three full versions of the novel, and still rejected it. Another agent made an offer, but ended up being a flake and left me hanging for four months before I finally got wise and moved on. Crazy, right?

Have you published anything previously?

Nope! BECOME was my maiden voyage!

Do you have any special sales you'd like me to highlight?

YES! Through February 4^th (the day of NiNoCon, woot!) BECOME is on sale at Amazon here and Smashwords here for only $.99!

Anything else you'd like to tell us about works you've previously published/put on sale?

BECOME is an awesome, dark young adult novel—if you’re a Buffy fan, or a Lilith St. Crow fan, or a Melissa Marr fan . . . I think you’d like my book, too!

What is your favorite book or author? Why?

My favorite book(s) belong to THE FIONAVAR TAPESTRY by Guy Gavriel Kay. I’m not a fan of all of his books, but this trilogy is the one that inspired me to write (because I wanted to write something as amazing as those books—to reach people the way these books reached me). THE FIONAVAR TAPESTRY, is rich and beautiful, heartbreaking and fulfilling—it’s everything I think a truly great book should be. And I think it would nowadays fall into “new adult” fantasy, but back when I first read it it was just regular old fantasy. J

What has been the hardest part about writing your current work? About writing in general?

I’m not sure. I haven’t struggled with the craft in the same way that I know other people struggle. For me, the hardest part is believing in myself when no one else does.

What has been the best or most rewarding aspect of writing?

Without a doubt the most rewarding part are all the friendships I have formed through writing and blogging. Who knew that such a solitary art could give me such an amazing sense of belonging?

Do you have any "technical" suggestions for new writers?

A couple tools that have really helped me. Buy the book SAVE THE CAT by Blake Snyder. It’s funny, quick and easy to read. It’s a script-writing guide, but it absolutely relates to writing. I swear you will not regret it. Next to that, get thee a crit group! I think that should be in the writer’s ten commandments.

Do you have any sage advice for new writers?

LOL, no. Just, if you have a dream? Don’t let it stay in dreamland forever. Live your dream—because you CAN.

Is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers?

Come to NiNoCon this Saturday (February 4^th!). It’s a free online writer’s conference taking place at www.ninjaswrite.com. It’ll be fun! There’ll be lots of great info! And PRIZES!!

Give us some links to any blogs, websites, or other online media you run.

You betcha! Thanks for letting me plug, Trevor!

ali cross (blog) www.alicross.com

the writer’s dojo www.ninjaswrite.com

the indelibles (a group of 25 self-or-indie-published authors) http://indeliblewriters.blogspot.com

There you go people, go check out her blog and all the goodies she has for you, and read her book Become dang it!

Save the Cat. A book I've never read, but I'll discuss it anyway.

This semester, I took a class called Intro to Film. It was basically just a filler credit to get my Fine Arts requirement, but I'm happy to say that it has become more than that. It seems that I fell into a wildly beneficial learning experience without even realizing it. How's that for good luck? I'm only three weeks in, but so far we've discussed a variety of subjects, each one either directly, or at least feasibly, relating to novel writing. The format of the class runs like this: we have an hour lecture, a two hour movie, and an hour discussion. I've already gone into this in a previous post, so I'll be brief. In the hour lecture, the professor teaches us something about narrative structure, themes and motifs, character development, set dressing, lighting, or music, etc. Some of it is amazingly helpful in my own writing, and even the other stuff, such as set dressing and lighting can still be taken for what its worth.

Let me explain. There is a term in the film business, mise en scene, which basically means the style of what you see. The Director and Production Designer of a movie try their best to keep this consistent, and it's what gives the film its "feel". It can include furniture, set design, color palette, lighting, makeup, costuming etc. Think of films like Moulin Rouge, 300, or any Tim Burton production. These have a very strong mise en scene. The same goes for an author writing a book. While reading a book isn't a strictly visual medium, the visuals are still important, if you know what I mean. The author acts as the Production Designer, creating a world through description, not images. A good, or shall we say, successful writer, can plant a literary mise en scene right in the reader's mind. By keeping descriptions of objects, clothing, and buildings consistent, a writer can maintain a distinct style that persists in the reader's mind throughout the story. Not only that, but the way in which a writer forms their sentences or uses pronouns and adverbs can give the actual words a recognizable style. Harry Potter, The Wheel of Time, and the Codex Alera books all accomplished this in my opinion.

So I guess what I'm saying is that I've come to appreciate movies as a learning experience for my own writing. This leads me to the subject of this post. In class last week, we discussed narrative structure. I've done a lot of my own self-learning about this, listening to podcasts, attending panels, etc., but I've always been a little hazy on how to properly structure my stories. My professor told us about an old Hollywood staple, taken from a book called Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder. It's intended to be a help for screenwriters, but it applies just as well to novelists. In it, the author outlines a series of "beats" that every successful story should touch on. It's not a formula per se, simply an outline of what will keep an audience/reader interested in the story. Since you can find it on the web in a million places or in any film class, I'll outline it really quick here:


Opening Image (where we see the character, and get a basic idea of who they are):
Theme Stated (the viewer/reader gets to see what the movie/story will eventually tell them):
Setup (Characters living life):
Catalyst (the big "thing" that happens):
Debate (where we see the characters trying to sort out their options, figure out what to do):
Break Into Act Two (this is where they take their first step toward and attempt to resolve the problem):
"B" Story (a different, but associated character's story, many times this is a romance):
Fun and Games (think training montages, newly dating couple having shenanigans, etc.):
Midpoint (disaster that commits character to their path, halfway through the story):
Bad Guys Close In (this is where stuff begins to escalate, become more serious):
All Is Lost (low point, everything bottoms out and the worst has happened):
Dark Night of the Soul (kinda self-explanatory, characters question everything, superhero hangs up his cape in despair, oh crap):
Break Into Act Three (Where things begin to turn around, characters begin to fight back in earnest):
Finale (the big finish, sword fight, dog fight, Luke cuts off Vader's hand, and the Emperor is thrown down the ventilation shaft):
Final Image (new life, we see the aftermath, people are reunited, usually a happy ending, but not always):


I may have misconstrued some of those points, and if I did, let me know. But the general idea is there. A successful screenplay hits all of these beats at some point, and so does a novel (in my opinion). Today I went through, and applied my own book to these beats. I was surprised to find that most everything was represented, though the order was a little out of whack. I'm not saying this will work for every novelist, or even every genre. As for me, it's been a big help. Take a look at it, try to assign your favorite movie or book to these beats. I guarantee you'll be able to. Then maybe try your own book. Story and character are the most important thing in any novel, so take some time and give them some love.

Aspiring Writer Interview: Laura Mclain Madsen

Laura Madsen

This week's interview is with Laura Madsen, a member of the writing group I pretend to be in (I have only attended two or three meetings because of scheduling issues). She's a veterinarian with who just turned the big four-oh. She's married with two daughters, one dog, a cat, and lives here in the Salt Lake Valley. I've actually read her current book titled Ophelia's Flowers, and thoroughly enjoyed it (despite my initial misgivings stemming from the issue of me not being a teenage girl). It's an unapologetic story about the (sometimes) brutal nature of teenage relationships, and I hope you all can one day read it. I had a chance to ask her some questions for my Aspiring Writer Interview series, and she agreed to help me out. Lets jump in.


How long ago did you start writing?

If you count school-related writing, I've been writing nonfiction forever. My first nonfiction piece published was a short description of a veterinary case (a hedgehog), published in Veterinary Forum in 2001. Since then I've written many nonfiction articles, including a couple when I was bored out of my mind on maternity leave. I only started writing fiction about four years ago.

What's the project you're currently working on?

I've written two novels: a middle-grade urban fantasy and a contemporary YA (young adult). After the holidays I plan to start querying the YA novel, Ophelia's Flowers. I also have a nonfiction children's article coming up in April in the magazine AppleSeeds, about the evolution of dogs from wolves.

Have many works have you published total?

About twenty nonfiction articles, but no fiction yet.

How long have you been working on Ophelia's Flowers?

I wrote most of Ophelia a few years ago, but got sick of it and put it aside. Then I wrote the fantasy, sent out a bunch of queries, and received a bunch of rejections. After that I decided to go back to Ophelia, revising, rearranging and editing.

Tell us a little about it.

Teenage angst. The basic plot is: girl meets boy, boy turns out to be a manipulative jerk, bad things happen.

Ophelia's Flowers is full of some, frankly, gritty teenage stuff. Where did you find the inspiration for that?

I've been in a manipulative relationship and started writing Ophelia in the hope of helping some other girl who might find herself in a similar situation. Most of the plot is completely fictional, but there are little kernels inspired by real life.

What are your goals for Ophelia's Flowers?

Hopefully traditional publishing.

Have you sent out any queries? How many have you gotten responses to?

I haven't queried for Ophelia yet, but sent out roughly forty for the middle-grade fantasy. One agent requested the full manuscript but declined to pick up the project. I've got my fingers crossed.

What is your favorite book or author, and why?

Too hard of a question! I love love love the Harry Potter series, and fantasy in general, but will read pretty much anything. I just finished reading The Magician King by Lev Grossman, and started A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I also have a fascination with children's picture books and love David Wiesner's work.

What has been the hardest part about writing your current work? About writing in general?

For me, writing isn't hard in itself, but the hard part is making time for it and making myself do it. I know some writers who get up at 5 AM to write before they take the kids to school or go to work, but I'm not that energetic. I tend to go in phases when I write a lot, but then won't write again for a month or two.

What has been the best or most rewarding aspect of writing?

I guess I'm just compelled to write, to get my thoughts on paper (or on the screen). Even when I'm not doing "official" writing, i.e., writing that might eventually make some money, I also blog and write book reviews.

Do you have any "technical" suggestions for new writers?

Getting into a writing critique group is important. You need people to say, "This part doesn't work," or, "You used the wrong word here," instead of just saying, "It was good."

Do you have any sage advice for new writers?

Don't take rejections personally. After about fifty rejections you sort of become immune to them.

Do you have any online media my readers can check out?

I have two blogs, one on writing and books at laurambooks.blogspot.com, and the other on veterinary medicine and my personal life at veterinarymom.blogspot.com. I'm also a frequent contributor to a book review blog, www.bookshoptalk.com.

There you have it folks, stop by and check out her blog and say "hi". If you haven't already, check out my other interviews with aspiring writer Melanie Fowler and author Peter Orullian, who's hardcover The Unremembered is on sale now for just $7 on Amazon.com.