Regards from the House Elf, who is relaying a message from Marjorie:

I have fixed the blog, but the address is totally different from what I posted yesterday. If you'd like to keep updated on what's going on, you can visit: http://web.mac.com/marjorieliu

Thanks!

In the interest of the few children who read this blog, fill in the blank as you will. Be creative. Because the person I just overheard saying that sentence most certainly was.

And, in case you're wondering, I'm sitting at O'Hare, in the lounge, on my way to China.

I've got an ARC of Lynn Kurland's upcoming book with me (With Every Breath - second time reading it, and so, so, good), plus the new Amazon Kindle stuffed full of my comfort reads: Neil Gaiman, Mercedes Lackey, and about thirty more novels. My first experiment in e-readers. I hope it's a good one, or else it's going to be a long fourteen hours.

I'm pretty certain I'll be blogging while in Shanghai. Same deal as last time. Although, that was a rough experiment. When I blogged via iWeb, I crashed browsers. In fact, my website still seems to be locking up computers, but it’s a testy bugger and will be fixed by a trained and wonderful professional. That’s still some time away, though, so hold your breath and keep your fingers crossed -- I promise to keep this travel blog photo light. Maybe.

Keep checking this link for an update on the blog. No site yet -- still working on it -- but I should have it up in a day or two.

Stay safe, everyone!

Forgive me while I regress for a moment. I'm starting a new book, taking notes, beginning research -- all of which is a great deal of fun -- but I stumbled across some...old memories...on Youtube, and now feel compelled to share all the goodness of 80's and early 90's cartoon themes. Noticeably absent are She-Ra, He-Man, Exosquad, and Biker Mice from Mars (as well as a few other from the Golden Age of Saturday morning cartoons), but that's only because of space issues. Anyone who knows me or who reads this blog for two seconds will also likely be disturbed by the absence of anything related to Transformers, but as my love for those big metal robots is renowned, I see no reason to hammer it over anyone's head...again. Michael Bay, you better do my Autobots right.












And for a real blast from the past:

Most people, after one success, are so cringingly afraid of doing less well that they rub all the edge off their subsequent work. ~ Beatrix Potter

PBW has a list of story vows at her blog, which I should probably print out and keep in front of me as I work: I will not avoid you, even when I'm tired and you're being difficult. I will remember what a privilege it is to spend time with you.

Here's a lovely interview with Robin Mckinley: But as I grow older, and especially after having discovered a whole second novel-length Beauty and the Beast waiting for me to write it, I realise that being responsible for yourself is not the only critical element for me. It's also something about the particular quality of love and faith and loyalty between Beauty and the Beast--there are no Black Knights by the ford, there are no glass mountains, there are no topless towers in this story, there is only patiently getting to know each other. And the dangerous climax in Rose is brought on by love and faith, not tricky cleverness or superiority in arms.

Here, too, is an interview with Sian Reynolds, professor and translator, who makes some interesting distinctions about the difficulty of using the right language when dealing with crime fiction: But there is a much more important example in the same book, which I can’t reveal: a clue is left on a car and the wordplay in French is ambiguous, with an effect on the plot. I thought a lot before coming up with my version which I think works OK and doesn’t give the game away too soon, while respecting the original.

I ran into this difficulty in college when studying the Chinese epic, Dream of the Red Chamber, as we had to translate certain sections of it and were reminded the hard way that - as with any language - it's not just the words, but what's around the words, the context of everything that shapes a particular meaning, and story. That, and you need to be familiar with a particular culture to pick up certain cues that might otherwise be lost - and that are probably lost, anyway, to some degree. As a translator, all you can do is get as close as you can to the original linguistic and cultural nuances.

Anyway. It's a beautiful morning. Working on NYX today. Big trouble for the kids.

“When the monster stops growing, it dies. It can’t stay one size.”

John Steinbeck was talking about banks and industry and capitalism, but taken out of context, the line rings true for people, as well. We live by our imaginations. Our monsters. And what we create for ourselves is defined by how wild and complex those monsters grow. Minds aren't meant to stay one size (so to speak). But once they stop growing...well, what's left?

Via www.fundsforwriters.com

YOUNG AUTHORS AND ARTISTS COMPETITION
http://www.ndcs.org.uk/whats_on/ndcs_events/yaa_2008.html
---
Young Authors and Artists is an annual competition organized by the National Deaf Children's Society in Northern Ireland as part of our fantastic arts programme. We are asking deaf children and young people in Northern Ireland to think about the following question,

"If you could invent one thing, what would it be and why?"

All deaf children and young people aged 4 to 18-years-old in Northern Ireland can apply. The NDCS uses the term 'deaf' to mean all types of deafness, including temporary deafness such as glue ear. There are three age categories: 4 to 8-year-olds, 9 to 13-year-olds and 14 to 18-year-olds. Deadline May 9, 2008.

===

FREEDOM IN EXPRESS CONTEST
http://www.nyclu.org/contest
---
JUSTICE IN AMERICA:
In Our SCHOOLS, on the STREETS, in our SOCIETY
The NYCLU's 2008 Freedom in Expression Contest

Have an opinion about social justice in America - in the schools, on the streets or in our society? The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is accepting submissions for its Freedom in Expression Contest. You can win up to $1,000.Submission deadline: May 19, 2008. An essay of up to 750 words. A poem or spoken word piece up to 3 pages or 5 minutes long, submitted in writing, on CD/DVD or as an electronic audio file. Even a song. The contest is open to all New York City youth younger than 20-years-old.

===

ASIA SOCIETY AND GOLDMAN SACHS FOUNDATION
Youth Prizes for Excellence in International Education
http://www.internationaled.org/prizes/
---
The Asia Society and the Goldman Sachs Foundation award high school students who demonstrate an in-depth understanding of key issues in international affairs and the global economy.You can submit in the essay (1,500 words of less) or multimedia (a video of six minutes or less) categories. Up to five contestants will win up to $10,000 in scholarships! Submission Deadline: June 12, 2008.

===

GREAT LAKES FILM ASSOCIATION FINAL FRONTIER CONTEST
http://thefinalfrontierconfest.com/index.html
---
ENTRY FEE $10-$50
The Great Lakes Film Association officially opens its
call for entries internationally for the 2008 Star Trek
contest. The stories are their own creations. The filmmakers
produce them on their own. These films range from live
action to animation (whether drawn or computer animated) to
stop action. There will be no limit as to how long or short
a film can be as long as it has a story and some sort of
characters involved.

Submission Categories
Short Film - Live Action
Short Film - Stop Action
Short Film - Animation
Feature Length -Live Action
Feature Length -Stop Action
Feature Length - Animation
Episode - Live Action
Episode - Stop Action
Episode - Animation

One Grand Prize Winner will receive a cash award of $200 and the winning film will be forwarded to agents and industry professionals for consideration. Top 10 finalists will be given exposure with film studios and Hollywood producers. Feature Length Entries should be more than 31 minutes. Short Length Entries should be 30 minutes or less. Final deadline September 6, 2008.

Actually, I don't outline. But I am asking myself some basic questions, which lead to answers that require more questions, and so on. Ask and answer enough of those and you're bound to make progress. Maybe later I'll post some of the questions I'm currently asking myself, though honestly, I don't know how helpful that will be. Books are like people: individual, stubborn, occasionally cranky and hard to deal with, but also fun to be around. Figuring out the story of each one will require a different set of questions, a unique set of resonance points for the author. And by resonance points, I mean that some questions will resonate and inspire better than others.

Welcome to the mother lode, my friends. PBW has organized all her Q&A sessions into one magical place that I promise will provide hours of information that you, as writer or reader, will find incredibly useful. PBW (otherwise known as Lynn Viehl) is an incredible writer, and extremely generous with her time and knowledge. Take advantage of it.

Also, a great blog post on the Edicott Studio site, containing some little interview snippets with Alice Hoffman, Charles De Lint, and Joanne Harris (and links to more and more):

Kim to Alice Hoffman: Like many fairy tales, your stories often begin with catastrophe. Terrible things happen to your characters and to the people around them. Is it difficult to be a witness to these tragedies, as the writer? Is this emotionally draining for you as you are writing it? Or is it cathartic? Or neither?

Alice: It's cathartic to take straw and make it into gold, or as close to gold as you can get it. Also to transfigure reality and expand it. Terrible things happen in all fairy tales -- why not? They are the most honest of all literature.

Finally, Petula -- Book Cat!

I have a lot of material coming out this summer: THE IRON HUNT (Hunter Kiss, June 24), HOTTER THAN HELL (anthology, June 24), THE WILD ROAD (Dirk & Steele #8, late July), not to mention my stint with Marvel Comics -- NYX Volume 2, which hits shelves in August. Heck, it's officially May 1st. Time flies. But in the best possible way.

So, I posted a brief excerpt from THE IRON HUNT the other day. Here's a clip from THE WILD ROAD, which is a sequel to A Dream of Stone and Shadows (and one or two other Dirk & Steele stories):

( Read more... )

But soon I will begin writing a new book! Which always creates a strange sort of anticipation. Craziness, really. Because I know what's coming, and I still throw myself into the whole mess -- wholeheartedly, with affection and excitement. Which is part of the adventure, I guess.

You know how it works: Stage One will be fantastic, glowing, full of that lovely thrill that comes from exploring a new, wild, and woolly land -- and then I'll hit the equivalent of Death Valley, low on water, absolutely no food, the sun scorching my brain with hallucinations (Stage Two by the way) -- and I'll think, "Oh...darn."

And then there's Stage Three. I believe you all know what that is.





Right. Off I go.

Note to self: When the phone rings in the middle of the night, squeezing your fist and speaking into your hand is not the same thing as answering the call. No matter how much your poor brain wants it to be.

Although, I had a fairly good conversation before I actually woke up.

I received some galleys for The Iron Hunt today. Looks pretty. Nice to hold in my hands. Actually, who am I kidding? Feels great. Anyway, I should probably start thinking about promoting this book. How about I start with the first paragraph of Chapter One?

( Read more... )

Longer excerpt coming soon. I promise.

"Let the soul be assured that somewhere in the universe it should rejoin its friend,
and it would be content and cheerful alone for a thousand years."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841, Essays, VI. Friendship

Quick update on this lovely Monday morning, which consists of this blog post from Kate Elliot:

"You novelists out there? You fiction writers? Don’t bore me. That’s it. Just don’t bore me. I considered making this a positive commandment rather than a negative one, but “entertain me” didn’t quite mean the same thing. If a book bores me, I will stop reading. As it happens, I’m not as patient as I used to be. And unfortunately I don’t have as much time to invest before I disengage."

We've got a winner! Congrats to ladyvampire2u! You can contact Gena at genashowalter@cox.net with your mailing address.

***

I've said before that we have friends amongst the Amish, and yesterday my mom and I took a nice drive out to Odon to visit them. Harvey will be building a house for my parents, and he needed to see the plans. What a beautiful family, and about the nicest people you will ever meet. Funny thing, though. We're sitting in the living room, and all of the sudden, the conversation turns to the price of gas. Which, according to Harvey, is totally outrageous. As are rising food prices.

Now, think about this. When the Amish start worrying about gas and food, you know things are getting bad.

An immortal warrior cursed to die every night, only to awaken the next morning knowing he has to die again. A mortal woman with a power beyond imagining...

So describes Gena Showalter's latest book, THE DARKEST NIGHT, which is the beginning of her new LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD series. I first heard about these books a couple years ago when the concept was nothing but a sparkling, sexy, ghost on the horizon -- and man, oh man, look at them now: Pandora's box, demons, immortal warriors just looking for a lil' bit o' love...

Gena is a wonderful person and a fabulous writer (with a slight addiction to spanking), and you can see more of her at Author Talk. Check out the Kresley Cole interview for some interpretive dancing. But before you do that, leave your name in the comments! Gena will be giving away a signed copy of THE DARKEST NIGHT, and we'll pick the lucky person tomorrow night.

***

What is so satisfying to you about writing? And how do you organize your day to balance work and family?

There is such an amazing sense of accomplishment when I type “The End.” While staring at that first blank page, 450 pages seems like too big a mountain to climb and I think, “Can I do this? What if the last novel was a fluke? What if I’m tapped out and there’s nothing left?” So when I finally reach the top, I’m utterly and delightfully amazed. Even better is holding the final product in my hands. There are my characters, my words, my ideas, the fruition of a dream.

Used to, I would write constantly. Seven days a week, all hours of the day and night. My family missed me. Now – on average -- I write eight hours, five days a week. Finding that balance was hard, though, as I’m obsessive and once I begin a project it’s difficult to walk away, even for a little while.

Do you have any concept of the success that you've come to, or does it still feel too new?

I think, in the back of my mind, there’s always the thought that this could all be taken away in a single instant. And that’s a terrible thing to feel because it taints the joy I should be experiencing. I mean, my books are out there, my name on their covers, and that’s the very thing I desired when I sat down to write my first novel. I’m really working on letting go and just enjoying the moment.

What setbacks or detours have you had along the way and how have you dealt with them and learned from them? Self-doubts, fear of failure?

Self-doubts and fears are constant. I never want to let my readers down, yet at the same time I know I can’t please everyone. Well, I know that now. In the beginning, I would write the books with a single thought in mind: What will readers like most? Oh, man, talk about torture! I second guessed myself at every opportunity. I learned that it’s best to write a book the way I love it, the way it’s demanding to be written.

What personal characteristics do you think are most important for achievement, for success?

Determination, definitely. Perseverance. Writing is not always fun. Sometimes the rejections will stack up and you’ll wonder if you’ve chosen an impossible dream. Sometimes there’s no inspiration to be found and you have to force the words to come. Sometimes a slew of negative reviews will hit your box and you have to write when you’re doubting everything you’ve ever produced. But you do it, anyway, or the days will pass and you’ll have nothing to show for it.

What do you think you know now about achievement that you didn't know when you were younger?

That accomplishment is a never-ending ladder. Once you reach one plateau, you discover there’s another step to climb. So it’s best to strap on your big girl boots, wear knee and elbow pads and keep moving up, even after you fall.

When we were on the Levy Bus Tour together, I remember looking around at all of us writers, and I felt this sense of wonder that we were here, together, creating stories for a living. I felt so grateful. So I ask, what does the American Dream mean to you? And do you think that you would have become a storyteller, no matter the circumstances of your life -- or was it a fine balance of place and time and people that led you to where you are now?

To me, the American Dream is being able to do something you love. And I think I would have reached this point in my life no matter the circumstances. I was a restless child – and that restlessness was even worse when I reached adulthood (though some will tell you I have hit to become an adult, but whatever), my head filled with stories and dreams. Writing was the only thing that soothed me. I just can’t imagine doing anything else.

You have a new series launching May, June and July of this year. Tell us a little about it.

My pleasure! This Lords of the Underworld series is my new favorite topic. I’ve taken the myth of Pandora and her box and completely, well, rewritten it. I claim the gods entrusted Pandora, the greatest warrior of her time, to guard the box. But a group of immortal warriors, her peers, fought and won it, opened it, and unleashed the horde of demons locked inside -- demons so vile even hell had been unable to contain them (Violence, Death, Pain, Disease, Misery, Doubt, Defeat, Lies. . . ). Because of this, the gods punish each warrior to house a demon inside his own body. So the warriors become the box, so to speak. It’s not an easy pairing, either.

What inspired you to write the Lords of the Underworld books?

I needed to write Twice As Hot (the sequel to Playing With Fire) or The Vampire’s Bride (the next Atlantis book). But neither of those stories would come to me so I decided to go a different route. I had a list of ideas I’d been playing with -- one involved Pandora’s box, one involved cursed immortals who lived together in an exotic location, and one involved the grim reaper. On their own, none of the ideas seemed quite big enough. It was as I began to combine them that the magic happened for me.

Can you tell us a little about the first three books? The heroes and their women?

Maddox, the hero of The Darkest Night, is keeper of Violence. I tried to stay true to his character and show his fierce struggle with the demon. Sometimes, he does not win that struggle and the demon overtakes him. His heroine, Ashlyn, is able to stand in one location and hear every conversation that’s ever taken place there. Lucien, the hero of The Darkest Kiss, is keeper of Death. He’s been ordered to escort the goddess of Anarchy’s soul to the hereafter. The tempestuous and fun-loving Anya views his attempts as a game. Reyes, the hero of The Darkest Pleasure, is keeper of Pain. He’s forbidden to know pleasure. Actually pain is his pleasure. Danika, his heroine, is being chased by his best friend, the demon of Wrath, for reasons the warriors do not yet know. Writing Reyes’s book was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I had to tap into an emotional well I hadn’t known I possessed but I’m so happy with the result.

Oh, and I can’t end the interview there. I have learned that it’s best to end an interview with this phrase: Jill Monroe is amazing.

To read an excerpt from THE DARKEST NIGHT, check this out...

Reminder: tomorrow I'm posting an interview with Gena Showalter about her upcoming book, The Darkest Night. Expect prizes!

Also, I saw this at SBTB, and it's too cute:

Probably the only way to accurately blog about RT is to blog while the convention is going on, which I totally did not do. And now a week has passed, and the hotel renovations and crazy cover models are nothing but a distant memory, and all I can think about at the moment is the good weather, the next book, and the cats piling on top of me.

Here are some pictures, though. Now, there's a story behind this shot of Adrian Paul and me, which would not have been taken without Barbara Vey. Not just because she was the one who snapped the photo, but because -- as with my friend, Nina, and Fabio -- there was no way I would have had the nerve to go up to the man without her around. And Barbara was such a professional. Man, she was cool. She had Adrian Paul eating out of her hand -- in the nicest way possible. You can see some more of her photos at her blog and Flickr account.


The rest of my pictures, for now, are from the book signing itself, which was a huge amount of fun. Below, a shot of Camille Anthony, who is always a burst of light and kindness. She is also a wonderful writer.


I have the best readers ever. Below, you can find Mitch and me. And in the second photo, Renee!




Last, but not least (for now), the wonderful and irrepressible -- and dazzlingly talented -- Gennita Low!


More pictures coming soon, but I've got a couple more kinks to work out on this upcoming book.

I'm finally home, the lilacs have begun to bloom in my absence, and the birds are singing. Life is good.

I have a lot of pictures to post from RT, and this is the first of them, taken at the cover model reunion dinner. Fabio was in attendance, and he gave a very heartfelt and lovely speech about patriotism and supporting the troops. My friend, Nina, took this picture near the end of the function. I'm not sure I would have been courageous enough to go up to Fabio if I hadn't seen Nina near him already.

Anyway, he was very sweet. And I love this picture.

I love New York. I'm currently sitting in the hotel lounge, which overlooks Central Park and Columbus Circle, and enjoying a really lovely cup of hot chocolate. What a nice way to unwind.

Yesterday, business meetings -- and today, I went over to the Marvel offices and finally met my editor, John Barber, and NYX's brilliant artist, Kalman Andrasofszky. Good times were had. Marvel is a cool, cool, place -- and the people are great. Speaking of which, here's another article/interview about NYX.

Hopped a plane to another city, where I'll be running around for a couple of days. Meetings and sightseeing (hopefully). But today, revisions!

RT was a huge amount of fun. I took a lot of photos, and I'm going to try and download some of them tonight, though I don't know if that will be possible. In the meantime, here are some "drive-by" videos taken from Barbara Vey's blog. Some back story: Barbara and I (along with my friend, Nina, and others) went to the Cover Model Reunion dinner, with special guests, Adrian Paul and Fabio, who were there to raise money for PEACE, as well as fundraise for our troops.

I'm not a person who is easily impressed, but both men were extremely gracious, and endured the mob of ladies (myself included) who wanted to get a picture with them. Admittedly, if it hadn't been for Barbara, I probably wouldn't have had the guts to go up to Adrian Paul, but she dragged me along like the pro she is, and not only managed to score pictures, but the following video:



HA! Isn't that cool? Barbara has more videos at her blog, and if you like them, be sure to leave her a note. As for the video below, this is something she took just before the cover model contest began:



Okay, back to work!