Interview, 2011 Covers and my WIP: Pulse

I had the privilege of interviewing the funny and fabulous Rachel Hawkins, author of the YA fantasy HEX HALL, over on THE ENCHANTED INKPOT today.  Go check it out (after you read and comment on the rest of this post - of course!)

I also have a few more covers to share from my fellow 2011 debut authors.  Look and Love!

 Across The Universe - Beth Revis

Between Shades of Grey - Ruta Septys

Dogsled Dreams - Terry Lynn Johnson

It is the first day of school in many areas here in Western Washington and I am excited to be back in my office on a regular schedule today.  My current WIP is a YA contemporary entitled PULSE. I'm planning to finish up a final revision in the next week or two before I send it off to my crit partners to read.

Now that school has started - what are YOU working on??

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?

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?