Are we there yet? No. Are we there yet? No. Are we there yet?
There are some days when I wake up and March 10 feels like it's right around the corner. There are other days when it feels like forever away. Today is one of those when I'm kinda glad it feels like a hazy event off in the distance because I feel like there's so much I need to do between now and then. I'm not really sure *what* I need to do... just stuff.
But now, thanks to the fantabulous The Compulsive Reader, I shall know at all times how much longer the wait shall be! Behold:
If you ever wonder what I'm doing all day now that I'm writing full time, odds are likely I'm staring at this wonderful widget. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, The Compulsive Reader for making it!! You totally rock!!!!
As with any job, my new job has its own set of inter-office politics. My boss (aka, my cat Sam) gets cranky if I don't let him strut around my desk and my co-worker (aka, my dog Jake) likes to antagonize the boss. This has caused quite a few fights but so far they seem to be working things out. Usually with my boss retreating to his cubicle (aka, a shoebox) and glaring at everyone.
The mail-clerk/runner (aka, JP's cat) tends to steer clear of office politics. I thinks she's just shy and likes to work on her own time. She'll sometimes have lunch with the rest of us, but she's not the type to stop by in the afternoon for a chat. That's probably because she and the boss really don't get along (there are rumors that there have been late-night cuddling sessions between the two over the years, but as of yet no proof).
The other day I was working diligently when I heard a shuffle behind me, like the sound of paper settling. I looked around -- my boss was in his shoebox, my co-worker was sleeping (as usual) but I figured it was the mail-clerk/runner skulking about somewhere. Once or twice in the afternoon I heard the noise, but waived it off as the humm-drum of any busy office.
As I was working late that night, I heard it again. I turned back and scanned the office -- everyone else had gone for the day (slackers). And I thought, really, how much could paper shift and settle during the day? Then I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, a leaf twitched in the wreath on the door. Usually, the wreath is outside on the front door, but with the Halloween decorations up, I'd relocated it to my office. It twitched again with another shuffle.
I walked over to the door and peered closer. I could see little tiny feet curled around the leaf and then, out of nowhere, a little green head! No one had told me we were hiring an intern! I ran outside to the porch where JP was reading and quickly explained that because of the boss's rather blatant species-ism, we would have to re-think the lizard intern. Unfortunately, it took a lot of prodding and convincing, but eventually the little guy was let go. Hopefully he's found better (and safer) employment elsewhere.
Apparently, no one bothered to tell me that someone, somewhere decided that we desperately needed an intern! And I guess figuring that lizards were a no-go, they decided to hire a mouse that wandered in looking for temp work. Unfortunately, I didn't learn this until too late and my boss rather violently terminated him. I was the one who had to clean out his desk.
Hopefully, the higher-ups have learned their lessons and will not be making any new hires. And as JP pointed out, I'm VERY glad I'm not in middle management. Things can get vicious!
I recently found out that Listening Library will be doing an audiobook version of The Forest of Hands and Teeth! I'm so excited -- I think it will be fun and strange to hear Mary's voice. I know a lot of authors can see their characters in their heads and can even pinpoint which actors and actresses they'd choose to play their characters if the book were ever made into a movie. For me, I'm never able to see them, but I can hear them. Maybe not exactly what their voice sounds like, but I can definitely hear the rhythm of their words and the way they speak. I really can't wait to hear what they come up with for Mary!!
Over the past week I've watched the trees outside my office burst into color and now they're fading. It's been one of those amazingly perfect fall weeks. The kind that forces you outside to stroll around kicking fallen leaves. I was even motivated to finally take down the Halloween decorations and clean up some of the flower beds in front of the house.
And of course the burst in gardening motivation was in NO way related to the fact that I recently received my revision letter from my wonderful editor. I'm just trying to enjoy this last gasp of fall before the world becomes too chilly to take advantage of the outside world :) Besides, I always get my best thinking done while I'm occupied with something else. In fact, it might be time to take the dog for a walk...
Exciting news! The Forest of Hands and Teeth was one of three books used for the Teen Book Video Awards! This is a really cool program run by Kirkus and sponsored by Random House Children's Books where they send books out to film students and ask them to create a book trailer. I was so so excited to hear that TFHT was one of the books! When I was up in NYC at the RHCB offices I got to see a few of the finalists and it was just amazing to see different visions for the book -- it was like getting to see what it would be like as a movie!
So, without further ado, the book trailer for The Forest of Hands and Teeth created by Jessica Pilkes (the sound is low so you might want to turn up the volume!)
If that link doesn't work, you can also view the trailer here and here. Thanks Jessica for a fantastic trailer! I love it!!
In other news, I've started to settle into a routine a little more. I've got the office mostly set up (except we're in dire need of more bookcases which I think will just be our lot in life -- can never have enough bookcases!) Here's a pic of where things stand now:
You can see one of my co-workers outside the window. Jake enjoys jumping up on the bench outside and checking in (and yes, just over the big monitor you can see his "jaunty" curly tail -- it's a very ridiculous tail!). In the corner is the blow up of the FHT cover that was at the dinner in NYC -- the folks at RHCB sent it to me! How cool is that!? I get so excited every time I glance at it! Also, it might be hard to see in this photo, but shambling along the windowsill is a glow in the dark zombie army (care of Saundra Mitchell).
And then there's the boss man. I was out running errands yesterday and came home to this. Clearly the look on his face is "And where have you been young lady? I believe the work day is not yet over!"
Hopefully when I sneak out early this afternoon to meet up with Sarah Prineas (yay!!) the boss will be too busy napping to notice...
And yes, having an iPhone makes it SO much easier to take and send pics so you will continue to get lots and lots of co-worker pics :)
In The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Mary (the protagonist) is told her entire life that her village is the only place left in the world. She grows up in this village surrounded by a fence and beyond the fence is the endless Forest filled with Unconsecrated. There is nothing else beyond the Forest, they are told.
Except Mary wonders if there is something more. But the question is, how do you stand up against what you've always known? Especially when really all you have to go on is faith?
When I was on the pre-pub tour, I had the chance to talk to a lot of students who'd read TFHT (which was just an amazing experience all around). One of the girls I spoke with (a senior with what I thought was incredible insight) mentioned her surprise that Mary just didn't charge into the Forest to see what/if there was anything else out there. I asked her, "if you've been told something your whole life, how do you know you can stand against it?"
We talked about the first women who said "I have a right to vote" when everyone else told them they didn't. We talked about slaves saying "I have a right to be free" when everyone told them they were nothing more than property. We talked about the Milgram Experiment and the lengths people will go to in order to obey authority. All of these people who were told a "truth" their entire lives but decided to question that truth and stand up against it.
To a certain extent, it was really cool to see a young woman so willing to say "I'd question authority if I thought it was wrong" and who found it hard to understand someone who might not. On the one hand, maybe that makes it hard to understand just how difficult it has been in the past for people to speak out, but on the other hand, I wonder if all those people who did speak out were hoping for a day when such action would be considered common. After all, that's what they were fighting for: for us to not second guess things like a woman's right to vote and the equality of all people.
As I mentioned, yesterday I worked for Election Protection. I was partnered with another lawyer in town -- a black man in his mid-40's who grew up in South Carolina. Thankfully, in our area there were no voting issues so we essentially spent 5 hours driving around to the polls, checking in, and chatting. Naturally, we talked about the election. At one point, he told me about how when he was a kid his mother would take him to stores to try on clothes and how that was a big deal. I think I looked at him with a "huh?" look on my face because he told me about how his older sisters had never been able to try on clothes as kids, and certainly hadn't tried on shoes.
I asked him why not. He paused for a moment and told me it was because they couldn't try on clothes and not buy them. They couldn't leave the clothes in the dressing room because other people would refuse to wear them. It really was a moment that left me stunned.
Last night, just before Obama's speech, there was a shot of Jesse Jackson standing in the crowd crying. He was just standing there with tears flowing down his cheeks. I thought about his life, about what he has fought for his entire life, and what it must have been like to stand there in that moment. At the end of his speech, Obama talked about a woman who was 106 years old -- he talked about what she'd seen in her life and he wondered what his children would see in their lives.
It would never occur to me to even notice the color of someone's skin in the dressing room or to even wonder who'd tried on clothes before me. And yet, someone somewhere had been told "you're not allowed to try on clothes" because of the color of their skin and he or she did it anyway. Regardless of your politics and beliefs, we are where we are today because of people standing up against what they've always been told and fighting for equality and freedom. And hopefully we'll all be willing to continue to stand up for our beliefs and for our truths.
This isn't a partisan post, just a friendly reminder that tomorrow is election day and you all should go out and vote (if you haven't already)!! I love the feeling of voting -- of knowing that I've made my voice heard about our government and the world around us. There are a lot of rumors and he-said-she-said arguments out there and I'm a big fan of trying to look past all of that in order to find the facts. There are lots of great sites out there to check in order to get unbiased information about candidates -- one that I like is factcheck.org.
If you do run into issues voting, there are a lot of partisan and non-partisan groups available to you. First, you should be able to talk to the people manning the polling station. If that doesn't work, it's likely that both campaigns will have people staffed at polling places and you can go to one of them. You can also call Election Protection at 1-866-OUR-VOTE and you'll be automatically directed to a non-partisan attorney who will help you out. If they can't help over the phone, they'll usually dispatch someone to the area to help directly. So if you're unable to vote for some reason, have questions about your registration, if the voting machines aren't working, if the polling place is closed when it shouldn't be or if there are other issues -- please consider calling 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
And according to Bracken, just for voting and wearing your "I voted" sticker you can get:
1. Kripy Kreme -- A free Red, White and Blue star-shaped doughnut 2. Starbucks -- A free coffee 3. Books-A-Million -- A free coffee 4. Ben and Jerry's -- Free scoop of ice cream 5. California Tortilla -- Free taco (DE, MD, DC, PA, VA, WV)
As you can imagine, I love this time of year! JP and I pull out the decorations -- Heckle and Jeckle our wisecracking bats. The ghost pirate. Marcus the carcus (he glows!). The bloody handprints, the lit up skeleton arms around tombstones (and of course we were growing that huge weed patch in the front flower bed for the ambiance of the graveyard look...). I've bought more candy than kids we could ever hope to expect. I have plans to clear a path through the swaths of mail blocking the front door and light a fire (not light the mail on fire, though that would certainly clean tings up a bit).
That it's Friday makes it even better -- JP will hopefully be home from work in time to help answer the door. We can stay up late watching Halloween appropriate movies. Plus, it's just a gorgeous day here! That perfect crisp fall weather than makes you want to breathe deep and full.
This weekend I have big plans to set up my home office (let's hope the motivation sustains me). If there's one thing I've realized over the past week, it's that I need to create some space specifically for work -- a place I can walk into and switch on the "I'm working" mindset. I'm also looking forward to organizing so much stuff that's scattered around the house... finding a spot to put business cards, chocolate bars, the huge blow up of my book cover (squee!).
And of course, with all the extra Halloween candy I expect to pretty much enjoy a lovely sugar high for the next few days... all hail Halloween (and zombies)!!
I was super excited to see The Forest of Hands and Teeth in GalleyCat! And I really loved the article - yay :) One of the things mentioned is that I started writing The Forest of Hands and Teeth during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2006. Well... it's that time of year again! I've already signed up... have you??
In other news, Diana Peterfreund has posted the GORGEOUS cover of her YA Rampant. This is the book about killer unicorns that is coming out in the summer and I CAN'T WAIT! Diana also worked on this book during NaNo 2006 and in fact, that's around the time we started as critique partners since we were both branching out into fantasy YA. It's crazy to think that what we both started as NaNo projects in 2006 will be coming out in 2008!
YAY! My website is up! www.carrieryan.com! I love love love it! What do y'all think?
So, a year ago, right after I'd sold The Forest of Hands and Teeth, I knew that I wanted to have a website and that I probably wouldn't have the time (or skills) to set it up myself. I started looking around at various sites to get a feel for different looks and designers. Usually, I would love a large chunk of a designer's portfolio, but there would be a few sites that I was more "meh" about. Until I started looking at Xuni's sites. Her designs are exactly what I always wanted: clean, clear, dynamic (without being overwhelming) and just gorgeous. I love the look of all of them!
I was thrilled beyond belief that she had space to take me on as a client! But I had a terrible time coming up with images of what I wanted. And then one day I was up in the mountains with JP's family and his brother had a fancy new camera. It was a misty, foggy fall morning and I asked if he'd be willing to take a few forest shots and he agreed! They were (and still are) perfect and those are the shots that Xuni used as the placeholder page (which I also LOVED). They're also the shots that make up a good chunk of the header for the site. So that makes my website even more special to me that my fiance's brother is the one who took the forest pictures!
Xuni has been a total dream to work with! She took my barest hint of ideas and turned them into an amazing site that is exactly what I wanted. At every step she's gone above and beyond and I can't thank, or recommend her, enough!!
So stop by, take a look, and tell me what you think! And if you have thoughts or FAQs, send them my way!
I got back on Friday from my pre-pub tour to NYC, Chicago, San Fran and Seattle and I'm still speechless. I've been trying all weekend to figure out how to encapsulate it all but to no avail. So it might take me a few blog posts to get through it all -- it was a busy and amazing week!
First, I have to thank Kelly and Jessica who put everything together -- they were on top of every detail at every step. And also a huge thanks to Elisabeth Irwin High School, Washington Irving High School, Jefferson Junior High School, Naperville Central, Santa Clara High School, The Girls' Middle School and the Shoreline Library for their hospitality and to all the students who took the time to meet with me -- it was a TOTAL blast! I also loved talking with all the booksellers, librarians, teachers and book lovers who took the time to have dinner and chat about my favorite topic - books!!
And a huge YAY that I got to meet my editor, Krista, and agent, Jim in person!! It was totally awesome! I only wish I'd had more time with them both!
I'll admit I was nervous going into the week. Even though I'd once taught some classes, I just wasn't sure what to expect. What if the students didn't ask questions? What if it was just endless silence as I stared at them and they stared at me? Thankfully, the ever fantastic fellow Delacorte Press debut author Saundra Mitchell designed a wrapper for some Hershey's bars for me and I went to the schools armed with chocolate. Turns out, chocolate is an excellent motivator :)
For real, talking to students was about the most fun I've had in ages. I think I may have gotten addicted to it! They asked amazing questions and had insights into the book that were just mind-boggling. I really really hope I get the chance to do more school and library events in the future! Here's a pic of me with students at Naperville Central in Chicago (and they have such a cool class!!).
I so wish I'd taken more pictures, but thankfully Kelly took a few shots of the table decorations in NYC. I told you -- the details were awesome!
More to come! Monday starts my first day at home as a full-time writer -- so exciting!!
It's my last day of work! I feel like I have so much I want to blog about but at the same time, I feel a little scattered trying to finish up things at the day-job and prepare for the pre-pub tour. So please pardon the rambling :)
It's funny, I've known this day was coming for a while but it's still a little sad. I still don't really feel totally ready for it. I'm going to miss JP dropping me off for work in the mornings, I'm going to miss the view (the sunset is amazing). For the last year I've spent my days on the 46th floor looking out towards the mountains. I'm going to miss the zing of the high speed elevator, the quasi-free Uptown parking. I'm going to miss the people, meandering by offices to catch up, chatting with my secretary about her son and non-existent wedding plans. I'm going to miss the buzz of it all.
I remember when JP and I were talking about this possibility -- me quitting my day job to write full time. I remember him saying "you're going to miss your superwoman identity -- the woman who can work as a lawyer at one of the big firms in town and be an almost published author." He's right. And it was really interesting to think about how we define ourselves. I really do/did love being a lawyer and thinking of myself as one. But the reality is, I couldn't do both.
There's a part of me that finds it ironic that I'm still going to be paying off my student loans to Duke Law School even when I'm no longer practicing law. There's a small part of me that wonders "was it worth it to go to law school?" Unequivocally yes. Not only because I loved it and because I love talking and thinking about the law, but also because that's where I met JP.
And I wouldn't be where I am today without him. It's funny how life works out that way.
Just over a year ago I wrote a post about quitting my day job. At that time I was just moving from one firm to another (and moving from litigation to "wealth transfer" or trusts & estates).
This time I'm quitting my day job for real. Yep, I'm taking the plunge into being a full-time writer. I handed in my notice on Monday and my last day is a week from tomorrow. Then I leave for the pre-pub tour and when I come back... I'll officially be a full-time writer!
It's totally crazy! I alternate between thinking "is this for real?" and "OMG, what am I doing?!" And honestly, it still all feels so unexpected. But I had to face the reality that I just couldn't keep doing both jobs and giving both everything. Something had to give.
It's kind of ironic -- the law job I have now is my dream job. It's high end and challenging work at a fantastic firm. And only one thing really could make me want to leave it: lucking into my ultimate dream job of writing. It's also a little ironic that I started at this firm exactly a week before my fantastic agent offered me representation. Talk about a crazy year.
And I'm so thankful to JP who's supporting me 100%+ (though he has promised me that come hell or high water I will be out of the bed and starting my day by the time he leaves for work :) Also, I'm so used to having a hyper-structured day where every 6-minute increment is accounted for -- I think it's going to take some work to transition away from that and find a writing schedule that works (and if anyone has advice on this -- please share it!)
But hopefully having more time means I can blog more, I can finally get my website up, I can write more and read more. It's a total dream come true and I couldn't be more excited!!
Exciting news! At the end of October I'm heading out on a pre-publication tour for The Forest of Hands and Teeth!! I am SO excited about this!! Ever since I got the news a while back I've been pinching myself like crazy :) I think they're still finalizing the details, but right now I'll be spending the week of October 19th in NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle.
It's just going to be so strange to talk to people who've read FHT. And it's going to be super cool to talk to people who love books, especially YA books. I've never really talked to a lot of booksellers, librarians and teachers so I can't wait to get their take on things (and get some good recommendations!).
My other fun news is that yesterday I turned in Book 2! It does have a working title but I'm superstitious so for the time being I'll keep referring to it as Book 2 :) Now it's back to waiting to see what my editor thinks. I didn't have to turn in a synopsis or outline so she really has no idea what she's getting (thankfully my agent and beta readers liked it!).
A while back Steph, Reviewer X, asked about the Sophomore Slump and it's a good question. I wanted to wait until the book was turned in (didn't want to jinx myself) before I tackled it so I'll be blogging about that soon. I just have to gather my thoughts a bit :)
This week is Banned Books Week. I'm sure many of you have noticed -- there have been a lot of us blogging about it and I wanted to throw my thoughts out there as well.
This morning during a report on NPR about The Grapes of Wrath and the Politics of Book Burning, I heard a quote that I think really hammers home how I feel about book banning. A local librarian, in an effort to overturn the ban against The Grapes of Wrath in her county (Kern County where much of the book was set) wrote a letter to the county supervisors saying:
It's such a vicious and dangerous thing to begin. Besides, banning books is so utterly hopeless and futile. Ideas don't die because a book is forbidden reading.
And that's really so much of what is behind book banning -- fear of ideas.
At my graduation from high school, the bishop of our Diocese (I went to an Episcopal school) told us that as we went forward in life we should always question our faith. He said that if we questioned our faith and continued to believe then our faith would only be stronger. If we questioned and did not believe, then our faith was not strong enough to begin with.
Honestly, this blew my mind. It seems so simple now, but it was the first time that someone -- especially someone in a position of authority and power -- told us to question and really test ourselves. It was an incredible lesson to learn and one that I try to apply to all aspects of my life beyond just religion and faith.
To me, this is what books do: they cause us to think. To question. If reading a book causes us to think harder about what we believe, that is a good thing. We should always think hard about what we believe.
We should never hold tight to an idea, belief or thought from a position of ignorance. And this is what book banning promotes. It is nothing but fear.
Seems like recently the news is all about economic woes, election, war, etc etc etc. And then this morning as I've been reading the news, I saw that the top story on CNN isn't about any of those things. It's about how mathematicians at UCLA have found a new prime number. For some reason this just tickles me -- I think it's awesome. A prime number with 13 million digits!! They used 25 computers to find it!
And it's the top news story which totally rocks.
I guess that gives me some hope. Not just that people are there are working on things like finding a new prime number (I had no idea that we didn't already know all the prime numbers!) but also that others recognize this as such a cool story. It's like how a few weeks ago it seemed everyone was abuzz with the news of the supercollider. These are such cool things -- people with a passion for science and math stretching the limits of what we know and don't know. And I just love that this ignites something in all of us, even those of us who understand next to nothing about it :)
So yay for a new prime number. Yay for people recognizing it as worthy of being a top news story.
Of course, I can't help but admit that the former SAT prep teacher in me is wondering how I could work a 13 million digit prime number into the test...
First, Amazon sent me a little update to let me know that The Forest of Hands and Teeth will be shipping on March 10! I scrambled over and checked the Random House Children's Books webpage and yep, it says FHT is coming out March 10 as well. I'm sure these things can still change, but still -- it could be coming out two weeks earlier than planned!
Second, I've said before and I'm sure I'll keep saying it over and over again but it's very surreal and crazy to have people read FHT and tell me their thoughts. It's even more surreal when those people are authors who you have admired and been fan-girly about for years. Even crazier - when they blurb your book! I've posted before about Melissa Marr's blurb, but now I'm very honored and excited to share a few more blurbs:
"A post-apocalypse romance of the first order, elegantly written from title to last line." -Scott Westerfeld
"Dark and sexy and scary. Only one of the Unconsecrated could put this book down." -Justine Larbalestier
"Intelligent, dark and bewitching, Forest of Hands and Teeth transitions effortlessly between horror and beauty. Mary's world is one that readers will not soon forget." -Cassandra Clare
Big time SQUEE!!
Third, today is the day I send Book 2 out to a few beta readers and my agent. I was thinking about this last night and the analogy that seemed to fit was this: imagine that you're told that in February you're going to be in a competition wearing nothing but a bikini. And they'll take pics or video of you in that competition to immortalize it forever and those pics and videos will be distributed to people who will then grade you, critique you, talk about you etc. Great -- that's over 5 months away and you can spend those 5 months working out, toning up, finding the right bikini, etc.
But what if right now, way before the competition, you had to stand on stage in that bikini for a few friends and let them tell you EXACTLY what you look like now and what you need to do to be ready in 5 months. They may poke at your saddle bags, glare at the wobble under your arms etc etc etc. You'd want their critiques -- you welcome them because what really matters is that competition in 5 months.
But you're also a little afraid because some of those people have ONLY seen you when you've been in competition shape before. You don't know what they'll say when the see how you've let yourself go over the past year. Others have seen you look way worse of course and they'll be able to say "you may have let yourself go, but man, you want to know what you looked like TWO years ago? Yikes!"
So... yeah. That's how I feel. The final draft of the book isn't due until February so there's lots and lots of time to get it in shape and tone it up. Right now is the time to start poking at its flaws and weaknesses and start the long regime to get it in order. I'm excited about the process, I love the process -- taking what I have now and (hopefully) transforming it into something great. But still.... must take the deep breath, throw on that bikini and strut across the stage :)
Ok, confession. You want to know the real reason I end up posting on my LJ more than here? Aside from the fact that it's easier to respond personally and all of that jazz. The real reason is that I'm lazy. Deeply lazy. Back in the day when I created this blog, I didn't want to use my personal gmail account mostly because I didn't want people at work finding my blog (thus didn't want my real name on it) and so I created another one. Hence the carrie-me. And generally, I keep my computer logged into my personal account all day. Which means that to post on this blog I have to log out of my other account and log into this one.
Really doesn't sound like a lot of trouble or effort does it? But I can't tell you the number of times I've thought "hey! I should blog" and then haven't wanted to go through the trouble of logging out and back in. Of course, mostly that's because I'm chatting in my other account and don't want to interrupt the chat just to go post. So yes, there have been a few times (like this week) that I've just blogged on LJ and not bothered to cross post here.
Lame, I know. I wish there were a way to toggle easily between accounts but... alas. Just thought I'd let y'all know about this since recently I've blogged over on LJ and not cross posted here.
In other news, fall has... erm.... fallen here rather quickly. At least weather wise. A few days ago I was sweating it out in shorts and t-shirts and today has that wonderful crisp fall air that makes everything feel so clean and sharp. I love it. I'm sitting here with the window open, the cat on the dog bed and the dog on the couch. Everyone's enjoying the fresh air!
Many moons ago I used to post weekend goals. Essentially I did it to hold myself accountable and to put my intentions in writing. I haven't done that as much recently because I've been holding me writing process closer to my chest. But, as I round into the home stretch towards my second book being due, I thought it would be fun to get back into the weekend goal habit. So this weekends goal: read Book 2. And then revise it.
I'm not one of those people who reads as she writes -- I try to not look back. I open the document, glance at where I left off and then start writing. If something in the plot needs to change, I put a comment in saying "make this change" and then I keep pushing along. When I'm done, I go back through and write a list of all those comments and then I start reading.
Usually I like to do the first read on paper. But it takes me DAYS to enter in the comments and corrections I make and I just don't feel like taking that time. Not with work being as hectic as it's been recently. So today my plan is to read the draft, make notes (on the document and on a pad of paper) of things I like and don't like and what needs to change. Tomorrow I'll dive in and make all those changes. And then it's off to beta readers - hurrah!
So, you may have noticed we're in election season. You may not have noticed that I haven't talked about politics or the election and let me assure you that I'm not going to start now :) While I have very strong thoughts and views and I'm an utter political junkie, I also decided way back when I started this blog that I wouldn't express those views here. So no worries on that front for those of you who are tired of such things. However, I did want to bring up a few thoughts tangential to the election in a non-partisan way.
First, for those of you who aren't registered to vote, now is the time to register. There are a lot of people who have said it much better than me, but the bottom line is that voting is important and we should all do it. Plus, it's totally fun and cool :)
Second, if you've moved since you last registered to vote or if your information has changed, make sure your voter registration is up to date. This is really simple to do -- a lot of states have their voter registration online and you can look yourself up and make sure everything is right. You don't want to cast your vote only to realize that it might not count cause you information was out of date.
Third, inform yourself. Don't just believe what you hear, but take a little time to check the facts. There are plenty of non-partisan groups out there that try to get the bottom of claims, rumors, etc. One of them is factcheck.org and another is (believe it or not because I had no idea) snopes.com (if you know of others, leave them in the comments). Just because a candidate or a newscaster or a friend says something doesn't make it true. Be the cool one who can say "Actually, I looked this up and the truth is...."
Fourth, challenge yourself. Even though we all love to be proven right, play the devil's advocate to yourself. When I was in law school I challenged myself to read newspapers that held a bias opposite of my own. These days I read liberal slanted papers and conservative slanted papers and everything in between. And I know this sounds like it can take time, but it doesn't have to. Try getting your news from a variety of outlets to make sure you're getting many different angles. If your beliefs or feelings are so shallow that they can't be challenged by reading or watching news that might contradict what you think, know or hear, then you need to rethink those beliefs. To me, the strongest convictions are born from evaluating the facts of both sides and then deciding where you stand; that's why it's important to know the facts and to try to understand the other side's point of view (even if you later reject it).
Firth, remember that there are local elections too! There's nothing worse than walking into the voting booth with a long and well-reasoned list of reasons to vote for Candidate A for President and then knowing nothing about the senators, city counsel members, judges, etc. that will also have a big impact on your day to day life!
Sixth, play nice. Elections can be emotional, they can stir people up. Remember that other people hold their convictions as tightly as your hold yours. And if you try to change other people's convictions, be willing to change your own. And also, don't belive something just because your parents or your friends or your spouse tells you to :)
Finally, enjoy it. There's a lot to talk about these days! It's exciting and fun!
Hello all! Confession: I have become an obsessive self-googler. Yes, it is so bad that at times I have resorted to self-googling even though I have a google alert set up (I was rewarded once for doing this which has only hurt my efforts to reduce said self-googling). But one thing that I've realized in this madness is that I haven't posted the most recent version of my cover!! Granted, there aren't HUGE differences between the first cover I posted and the most recent, but enough that I cringe just a little when I see the old one and feel remiss about not posting the new one :)
So, without further ado, the final (I hope) cover of The Forest of Hands and Teeth (which is scheduled to come out March 24, 2009, btw if I haven't mentioned already :).
I used to be a lawyer who measured my time by 6 minute increments. For a few years, I was able to devote one or two of those increments to this blog a few times a week. In October 2007 sold my debut novel, THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, to Delacorte Press (it came out March 10, 2009 and hit the New York Times bestselling list in 2010). In October 2008 I quit my lawyer job and now I'm a full-time writer.
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