Writer's interview

I was tagged by Tamara Hart Heiner today! It's a short interview, but always lots of fun. She's an up and coming author and adorable! Check out her blog.

1. What's the last thing you wrote? What's the first thing you wrote that you still have? The last thing I wrote isn't finished. It's the sequel to The Eye of Tanub. It's called The Celestine Sword. Very fun. You'll love it! The first thing I wrote is called The Gatekeeper. I'd have to re-vamp it to make it sell-able.

2. Write poetry? Sometimes. Mostly as songs. My Gram and Mother were the true poets.

3. Angsty poetry? Sometimes.

4. Favorite genre of writing? fantasy, paranormal, adventure.

5. Most annoying character you've ever created? Lauren, from The Eye of Tanub. She's Zach's snotty, spoiled sister. LOVE her!

6. Best Plot you've ever created? That would be the same as above. The Eye of Tanub. I'm a beginner. Remember?

7. How often do you get writer's block? Never have . . . yet.

8. Write fan fiction? Nope. I'm my own fan! lol

9. Do you type or write by hand? Type.

10. Do you save everything you write? Yes.

11. What's everyone else's favorite story that you've written? Hello? I'm barely getting my first book published! It better be this one!

12. Ever written romance or angsty teen drama? Tried to. Just don't have the romance writing ability unless someone dies! And there's plenty of teen drama in The Eye of Tanub.

13. How many writing projects are you working on right now? Two

14. Have you ever won an award for your writing? Yes, yes, yes! As a matter of fact, YES!

15. What character have you created that is most like yourself? Probably Lauren, sad to say. he he

16. Do you favor happy endings? Yes, please!

17. Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write? Nope. Isn't that why someone invented spell check?

18. Does music help you write? Yes! Absolutely. Depending on my mood, I'll listen to Nickelback or new age. But then there are times when I need it quiet.

19. Do your dreams inspire your writing? Yes, sometimes. I get great ideas from my dreams. They are like going to free movies every night! lol


20. Quote something you've written. Whatever pops into your head.

I had something from my new book typed here, but then got worried about posting it. I'm under contract and don't want to get in trouble! You'll just have to by the book!

Do you "get" me?

I have to laugh. I admit it. There a few things I do that are trademarks to my writing. And not good trademarks, mind you. Today, I burst out laughing when Kristine, my editor, wrote, "Please, no more mouths hanging open!"

I have noticed (because she marks them all) that everyone in my story has a jaw dropping moment at one time or another. Once would probably be fine, but I'm seeing how I use it too often. I never noticed it before. I try not to feel embarrassed.

Isn't that how life is? We get comfortable doing something and want to continue on, not realizing how irritating it is to others. I'm not just talking about writing here, but life in general. It makes me wonder what else I do repetitively that just isn't working in my life.

I also love how often she marks whole paragraphs as "wordy and awkward." I really do think it's funny. I laugh out loud. This one makes total sense though. So often I say something that someone else takes wrong because I assume they "get" me. I don't think I'm that different from other people, so it's no wonder there's so much confusion in the world.

Anyway, it has been a pleasure working with Kristine. She's honest, witty and forthright. I love her ideas and suggestions. I use most of them. At least 95% of the time.

On with another week. On with more revisions and more laughing as I sit here. What a fun job.

Getting to work. Anyone have a bandaid?

So . . . my editor has finished her first edits on my manuscript. I have to say, I love her bluntness, her direct manner. She doesn't pull any punches. It's refreshing. Of course, it stops me for a second while I check myself for wounds and bleeding, but then I get to work knowing deep down she's right.

She told me I tend to be too wordy. Too wordy? She must not understand how long it took me to developed that talent! It takes dedication and effort to fit that many words into one sentence. So then I wondered if she would notice if I took those long sentences and just chopped them up into two or three smaller ones. That way I could keep all my beautiful words. I figured she was too smart to be buffaloed on that one so I have started going through my book to see where I am too long winded. Yeah, okay. So there are a few. Dang! She's right again.

I can't wait to get my manuscript back to see which lines she marked that I've fixed already. She also told me to go slow. What do I detect with that statement? Hmm. I do have a reputation for hurrying, for driving too fast, for taking food out of the oven too soon, for being impatient. Maybe some of that has filtered down into my writing.

Commonly, my critique group tells me they want more. That I'm hurrying through the good stuff to get to the good stuff. Yeah, that's me. It reminds me of the song. "I'm in a hurry to get things done. I rush and rush until life's no fun. All I really want to do is live and die, but I'm in a hurry and don't know why." I think I'll change my tune to, "Easy like Sunday Mornin'."

Anyway, I do want to give a shout out to Kristine. She puts up with my many questions and weird personality. Not many people are up to that task. Only a special few survive and Kristine, if you read this, it will only get worse. Maybe. lol

To judge or not to judge

I was talking to a friend of mine this morning about Stephanie Meyer's books since the movie, New Moon, is coming out this weekend. She told me how disappointed she was in Stephani, who's LDS, that she would write books that were, in her opinion, "inappropriate" for teens.

Now, I'm not going to get into whether I agree with that or not. The thing it made me think about is that I'm a Mormon who writes for the world at large and not just for my church, and what will people think of my stories?

How much romance is too much for tweens and teens? How graphic is too graphic? Everyone's opinion is different. I have a lady in my church who wouldn't even let her kids read Harry Potter because it "glorified" magic. Uggg. My books are filled with magic. How will I be talked about? Do I really care what people think of me? Of course. We all do to some degree. Does it stop me from writing my stories? No, but it also makes me wonder how I'll be judged.

Everyone has a different degree to how far they'll go when they write. Some people push the envelope. Is that wrong? In most ways, I don't think so, but my husband thinks I'm a left wing liberal anyway. *snort*

This is what I think. Read the books your kids want to read first. See the movies they want to see first. You are the parent and if you think the book or movie is inappropriate, don't let them read or see it until they're adults. Don't complain that your kids are reading "bad" books. Because as parents, YOU are in charge and are the only one to blame if you allow your kids to read things you don't approve of. Now I'll get off my soap box.

Happy reading!

The Celestine Sword

In my last post I said I was going to work on other stuff while I waited to hear back from my editor. I lied, kind of.

I'm not actually working on The Eye of Tanub, but I am working on the sequel, The Celestine Sword! I can't resist it! Is it terrible to say I'm totally in love with these characters? I tried, for a week to work on an older story I'd started a while ago, but I just couldn't get in to it. So, back to Zach, Lauren, Dardanos and Flitwicket!

I've already written almost seventy pages. What a ride! I have to say, I love my job! Never have I worked for something so satisfying, so rewarding. I've always had a gut feeling I'd be published, but honestly, I didn't expect the stars to align this soon. Maybe it's good karma, maybe luck, maybe the gods are smiling down on me. What ever the reason, I'm eternally grateful! And thank you so much to Wido Publishing for taking a chance on me, a nobody, at this point. You won't regret your decision. We're going to make each other rich! hee hee

So off I go, to write another exciting scene. Oooh, the suspense is killing me!

One down, millions to go!

At this very moment, I am sitting here at my computer, listening to the hypnotic hum of my printer as it prints my latest revisions! Yeah! I will mail it off to my editor today! How good that feels.

You know, when I first sent the manuscript in, I couldn't imagine how it could be any better. What a surprise to learn how much better a book can get with a little TLC. Kristine told me to beef up the figtht scenes and add more to certain characters, which I hope I did well, and to send it back. She hasn't even take a pen to it yet.

I'm so excited to see what she thinks and to find out how many red marks I have! lol Anyway, this whole adventure has been very gratifying. I even asked for a certain artist who works with them because I really like his flavor and felt his style matched my story best. I hope he says yes.

Now I get a little break from The Eye of Tanub, which I need and will work on other things until I hear back. I am loving the life of a writer!

More, more, more!

So, did you know that most teenaged boys will not read a book by a female author? What's up with that? (except for JK Rowling, that is) So my publisher suggested we use the name M. J. Cunningham as my name on the book since the targeted demographic is mainly boys. (maybe that's why JK Rowling did it too.)

Girls will read anything by anyone and don't care whether is seems "male" or "female." That's good. So, if you happen to walk past a book store and see a book with the name M. J. Cunningham on it, pick that dang thing up and give it a read!

My editor also told me with as fast as I seem to be able to write and edit, that maybe we can move up the publish date! How cool would that be? I've been beefing up the fight scenes and adding more meat and I like the story so much better. Most editors tell their authors to cut, cut, cut! With me, they're constantly saying, "More, more, more!" I have to laugh. What a fun journey though. I LOVE it! Thanks to everyone for your support!