I'm being interviewed by Carrie Harris

Hey Everybody - I'm being interviewed by Carrie Harris on her The Wonder That is my Blog today.

I am in a crit group with Carrie as well as sisters with her in the Kate Schafer Testerman / ktliterary gang of super-cool authors.  Carrie has written NO PAIN, NO BRAIN, a HILARIOUS book about science nerd Kate Grable (actually Carrie in a clever disguise) and zombies, which will be published be Delacorte in Summer 2011.

Check it out!

Guest Blogging on Ask Daphne!

Hey - I'm the guest blogger on Ask Daphne, my agent, Kate Schafer Testerman's blog.

I'm talking (and joking) about the editorial revision process.

Go here to check it out!

Blame it on revisions....

Did I mention I was starting my editorial revisions?

It's a busy busy time right now. I've been working on PULSE, my YA contemporary sort of-paranormal WIP in between receiving chapters from my editor with revision suggestions for THE FAERIE RING. I just received another bunch on Friday so I'm going to shift gears and dive back into London 1871. So far, the editorial revision process has been a great learning experience for me. I'm going to be guest blogging over on Ask Daphne, my sparkly agent's blog (Kate Schafer Testerman) next week about the process, so you'll have to check it out.

PULSE, which is a total re-write of something I wrote last spring, is going great and I hope to have my first draft complete by the end of the month, ready to send out to beta readers.

I also just started a class with the fantastic and enthusiastic and incredibly knowledgeable Sarah Aronson over at Writers.com and already after just a week I love being back in class. There's always so much to learn and we have a really great group of writers in there this time.

Plus, a bit of brainstorming with some other 2011 debut authors about publicity, marketing, covers etc. has kept the email box FULL.

So, those are my excuses - how about you? What are you working on?

Setting the Hook - How do you start your story?

One of the most important steps in writing a story, any story, is your beginning. The opening sentence, the beginning paragraph, the first page - That's your chance to hook your reader into turning the page and being so intrigued that they are compelled to buy the book.

Sounds easy, right?

Not as easy as you'd think. One of the mistakes new writers tend to make is to start the story in the wrong place, or opening with an action that isn't exciting, like waking up in the morning. Many of those in the know suggest starting in media res, that is to start in the middle of the action.

Out of curiosity I decided to pull a couple of my favorite books and see how they started:

From the book I'm currently reading: THE RED NECKLACE by Sally Gardner: "This is Paris; here the winds of change are blowing, whispering their discontent into the very hearts of her citizens."

From GRACELING by Kristin Cashore: "In these dungeons the darkness was complete, but Katsa had a map in her mind."

From HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins: "When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold."

From TWILIGHT by Stephenie Meyer: "I'd never given much thought to how I would die - though I'd had reason enough in the last few months - but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this."

From HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE: "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."

What do you think of those opening lines? Which one is your favorite?

My agent, Kate Schafer Testerman and another agent, Kristin Nelson, held a first pages panel in Denver recently and Kristin blogged about their thoughts on how to best start your story. You can read the entire post here. I can tell you this much: They would have requested to read one (1!) out of the 20 first pages that they read.

There's another good article on setting the hook from editor Alan Rinzler which you can read here.

Here's the opening line of my current WIP:

From PULSE by Kiki Hamilton: "The day they found the first dead girl on campus started out like any other day."

What's the first line of your current WIP? Post it here and let's share!!

Miscellaneous Monday

One of the deterrents to me blogging on a more regular basis is trying to figure out what to write about so, since I'm committed to blogging more often this year it's going to be a smorgasbord of topics. Bear with me....

The above picture is of the Suzallo Library on the University of Washington campus here in Seattle, which is where my current WIP, a YA contemporary entitled PULSE, is set. (I put my steampunk novel, ENIGMA on hold while I re-write this one - in case you're keeping track.) Isn't this a fantastic building? Finished in 1926 the architectural design is called Collegiate Gothic, inspired by some of the cathedrals of learning on the campuses of Oxford and Cambridge. It is as awe-inspiring in person too.

Random stuff - there's a great discussion over at The Enchanted Inkpot about morally ambiguous characters that you might want to check out.

Also, my superstar agent, Kate Schafer Testerman, of ktliterary posted some stats for 2009 on her blog last week that are pretty impressive for a gal who just hung her shingle out in 2008. It also gives some perspective to the depth of writing talent out there when only 2% of queries result in requested partials. It makes me grateful all over again that I'm lucky enough to work with her.

And finally, a writing friend of mine, Supriya Savkoor, just launched a new group writer's blog with several other writers with the tantalizing name of Wicked Writers and she tells her story of how she became a writer and where she's at in the process. Go check it out!

A couple more shots of Suzallo from the outside to close out. Fantastic, yes?

Agent Appreciation Day

It's Hug Your Agent Day also known as Agent Appreciation Day - Yay for Agents and all the wonderful things you do!

My fantastic agent is slightly shoe-obsessed superagent Kate Schafer Testerman and her alter ego Daphne Unfeasible of ktliterary.

When I started my agent search last year I sent out a few queries to people I'd heard of or read about and promptly received a few rejections as well as some positive interest but no offers of representation. Then I went to the SCBWI Western Washington Conference and heard Kate speak on a first pages panel with Arthur Levine. She was witty, clearly knowledgeable, honest about what she liked and didn't and gracious in her comments. It was clear to me that she knew what she was doing and business-like in her approach. I remember sitting in the back of the room thinking 'she would be the perfect agent for me.'

Of course, being the basically gutless person I am, I didn't have the nerve to introduce myself and so we never actually 'met.' But about a month after the conference I did query Kate and received a request for a partial, then a full, then a revision and in the meantime I had written another YA novel, so when I completed my revision she said she'd read both. In the end, she took both books and sold my debut, THE FAERIE RING, to Susan Chang of Tor Books last August.



In the year that we've worked together, Kate has always responded promptly (usually within 24 hours - which I love!) to any questions I've had. If I've deluged her with too many questions we talk on the phone, which is occasionally a nice way to communicate! She's been a fantastic agent for me and I'm grateful to have the chance to work with her. If you want to query Kate you can read her submission guidelines here. She's also on Facebook, Twitter and blogs daily at Daphne Unfeasible.

For a list to other super agents there are multiple links here at Lisa-Laura.blogspot.com and thank you to Kody Keplinger for thinking up the idea!

So here's to all of our agents who work so hard for us - we love you!!

Who's your favorite agent and why?

THE FAERIE RING to be published!

I've got FANTASTIC news to share! My awesome agent, Kate Schafer Testerman, has sold my debut novel, THE FAERIE RING, to Susan Chang of TOR Books! Here is a short blurb about the story:

London, 1871

Orphaned and living in an abandoned clockmaker’s shop adjoining Charing Cross railway station, sixteen year old Tiki picks the pockets of passing travelers to survive. Her efforts support not only herself, but her ‘family’ of orphans, including fragile five year old Clara.

When Tiki steals the Queen’s ring, she thinks she’s solved their problems. That is, until Rieker, a tough from the north end, shows up in Charing Cross and informs her that the ring is really a reservoir that holds an age-old truce between the world of faerie and man. Unless guarded, faeries will search for the ring and destroy it, as well as anyone who has knowledge of the ring’s location...

I am SO excited and can't wait to work with Susan on this book! Stay tuned for more details of my road to publication!