Writer's Digest article, Maya Bohnhoff interview

Above: My webzine article in the Jan/Feb issue of Writer's Digest magazine. Speaking of writing, do check out my interview with Maya Bohnhoff for Inkygirl. Maya and her husband Jeff will be GoHs at Consonance this March. So hey, why not buy her newest book and get it autographed at the convention?

:-)

Had a great Urban Tapestry practice last night with Allison and Jodi. We went over some of our newer songs, including "Hey J.K.," "Sing With Me," "Come Down To GAFilk," and "Paper Boats" (a song by Eva Van Daele-Hunt of Summer and Fall). The pre-registration period for GAfilk ends November 30th, by the way, so don't forget to send in your membership before prices increase. You can find out more about the convention at the GAfilk Web site.



Our spiral staircase is gone. The renovators took it out yesterday; friends of ours in Alberta will be using it in their house. Meanwhile, the floor has been closed off and we have two new rooms to use, yay! Drywalling continues today; Jeff put up plastic sheeting everywhere in hopes of containing the dust.

Finished I, Coriander by Sally Gardner last night. Very satisfying read. The story blends fairy tale fantasy and Commonwealth-era English history.

Interview with Maya Bohnhoff: Maya talks about writing and co-writing, Mr. Twilight, and advice for those thinking about quitting their day jobs to become writers.

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Book news!

Well, I didn't end up making that Ginger-Mint Chicken Stir-fry after all.

This afternoon, my agent forwarded a long and detailed e-mail from a publisher where the associate editor liked my book manuscript (which started as a NaNoWriMo novel) enough to pass it up the chain to the head of the imprint, whose name evokes my fangirl sigh because of books he's edited that I've adored.

Well, apparently they both like my book enough that the associate editor is interested in working with me on revisions.



Again, it's not an acceptance, but it's a big step closer; Jeff and I went to Fukui to celebrate with sushi. :-)

I am very, VERY excited at the idea of working with this particular editor and this particular publisher. Not surprisingly, the project is going to the top of my priority list. My Blatherings may be somewhat sporadic over the next while, as might any non-urgent projects.

I SO want this.

Wish me luck.

Speaking of NaNoWriMo novels, Will Write For Chocolate has been updated. I've reformatted it for possible use on the NaNoWriMo site, so I'm posting this version below because the text is easier to read.



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birthdays and mortal Mesozoic mice

Happy birthday to my friend, Allison! Today is the final official day of the virtual birthday party for Allison and Jodi, though stragglers are welcome. Please feel free to drop by and say hello. Attendees so far: pbristow, tibicina, eviltofu, kitanzi, janeg, thette, mdlbear, braider, filkertom, zencuppa, unkbar, patoadam, tnatj, thatcrazycajun, djbp, msminir, blueeyedtigress, vixyish, sdorn, filkergem, barkerland, trystel & Luis), pwi1, it_aint_easy, andpuff, damedini, mvt, faxpaladin, poltr1, frstythesnowman, sposter, unclechristo, sexybass, scs_11, Dave Clement (via sexybass), sal_utations, Erin, beige_alert, peteralway, Bill Roper, missquirt, ldwheeler, fireskin, and starmalachite. It's been fun seeing old and new friends drop by, though I know quite a few are still at or on the way home from Filkcontinental in Germany. Party ends at midnight. :-)

I'm submerged in my novel writing these days. I have a few illustration and writing assignments between now and Christmas, but I've basically decided to focus on my novel(s) until then. Right now I'm doing a lot of cutting and toning. Sort of sounds like a painful cosmetic procedure, doesn't it? I'm being ruthless and cutting out anything in my book which doesn't contribute to the story, no matter how happy I am with the writing. It's hard; I don't think I could have done this right after finishing the book...a good reason for setting aside a story for a while before trying to self-edit.

Cutcutcut. Owowow. But through the pain, I can see a leaner, stronger story emerging, and I'm very happy with the improvements in the story and also in my overall writing; anything that makes me a better writer is a good thing.

Speaking of pain...my favourite Mesozoic mice have finally kicked the bucket in the latest Parry and Carney. Alas, poor Ferd and Dan. I knew thee too briefly.



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Why writers aren't normal

Above: a graphic I created to replace the current placeholder on the NaNoWriMo site; it will be shrunk down, of course. As I mentioned before, I will re-tooling many of my Inkygirl comics for NaNoWriMo this year, but also coming up with a few custom-made for the event. Registration and forums for NaNoWriMo are officially open, for those interested.

My own NaNoWriMo novel is still out there. RECAP: The original version was rejected by an editor at Publisher #1 but she said she'd be delighted to reread it if I made certain revisions.

Meanwhile, my agent had sent the original version to another publisher, where the associate editor liked my mss enough to pass up the chain to the head of the imprint. I'm still waiting to hear back from Publisher #2, and am keeping my fingers and toes and knees crossed. If you have any spare body parts you'd be willing to cross for me, I'd be most grateful.

If Publisher #2 offers me a contract, I will jump up and down. I will run outside and scream and then jump up and down again and embarrass myself in front of the neighbours, who are very likely to call the police. Meanwhile, however, I'm going to keep working on revisions in case Publisher #2 turns down to original version; I feel that the revisions have made my mss that much stronger. When I've finished those revisions and sent it out again, then I'll be able to go back to my next book project.

One of the hardest aspects of freelance writing, I find, is the waiting. Waiting for an acceptance, waiting for a rejection, waiting for edits. Part of you is mad with hope that a particular editor will want to buy your book, but another part is bracing for rejection (and having to tell your friends and family you were Rejected Again). It's enough to drive any normal person batty, which is why most writers aren't really normal, of course.

:-)

I cope by focusing on the writing; the writing keeps me sane. When I'm writing, I forget about everything else. The rest of the world fades, and I can pour myself into what I love doing best. It's why I keep a daily writing notebook...that way, even if I'm swamped in administrivia or waitingstress or other necessary but not favourite parts of freelance writing, I know I can always WRITE SOMETHING EVERY DAY; it reminds me of why I go through all the stuff I'm not so crazy about.

Speaking of which, I should do some writing now...

(Cross-posted to Inkygirl)

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Dragonfly summer

Above: The world's smallest pancake, made by Jeff for one of our nieces.

I can't believe it's already halfway through August. Holy cow. Seems like the summer just whizzed by. Remember when we were kids and the summer seemed to last forever? At least until late August, when the looming shadow of school accelerated those last couple of weeks, of course.

I've enjoyed our trips and cottage visits, but I'm very happy to be getting back to a regular schedule for a while. These days I'm working on the Writer's Digest article, a middle reader novel, an online professional site for my writing and illustration (finally), a new illustration project. Spent most of today on the portfolio site.

Here are some of the navigation icons I came up with:







The personal icon is temporary (I'm not sure what it is, either...perhaps a pig-bear?) until I think of something more interesting, possibly chocolate-related. I'm also open to suggestions. What object do YOU think I should use as my personal icon?

Seanan McGuire's "Dorothy" track arrived on CD by snailmail yesterday; I'm hoping to add flute to it and send it back to her for possible use on her recording project. What a wonderful song; I've been listening to it over and over today. As an experiment, I moved to the file to a new track in Garageband and TA-DAAAH! It worked...all I need to do now is record my flute in a separate track.

As I mentioned in an earlier Blathering, however, I can't use my microphone until Audio-M updates its USB drivers to be compatible with Intel machines. :-( Supposedly this will happen within the next six months. Because I need a microphone to start recording GAfilk prep stuff for Urban Tapestry (we're guests of honour in January!) and the built-in microphone in my MacBook sucks, I've decided to start researching USB microphones...at least that way I'll have some way of recording music until Audio-M updates its drivers. Plus it'll be handy to be able to just stick the mike and my laptop in my bag for Urban Tapestry practices without extra cords, pre-amps, etc.

I have no idea if the USB microphone will be good enough to record flute for a CD, but I figure it's at least worth a shot. Meanwhile, I'll cross my fingers and toes and hair that Audio-M will come through.



And finally, some more cottage pics...

Jeff takes our nieces sailing:



A dragonfly emerges from its larval form:



I'm a huge fan of dragonflies. Not only because they eat mosquitoes, but also because they always seem so other-worldly to me. During our cottage visit, a dragonfly landed on me as I floated in the lake and I tried very hard to stay still so it wouldn't fly away. It's good luck to have a dragonfly land on you, y'know.

Ok, I just made that up, but doesn't it sound like it should be true?

Now if only the world had more dragonflies and less squirrels...

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