Erin Bowman takes the truth

Today, I'll be tackling a truth submitted by Alyssa S:

Today, especially with the ebook market, readers want authors to write faster. One a year is suddenly too long. While I have no problem waiting one year or four (Hello! Bitterblue!), what is your stance on this? As an author, what kind of pressure does this put you under?

This is such a great question. I have certainly noticed an increase in "extra content" being released between books (novellas, alternate/deleted scenes, etc) to hold readers over between installments in series. And I know how painful it is to wait between books as a reader (Bitterblue, indeed!).

BUT.

But.

As a writer, I can't imagine a case where I would want less than the standard year between contracted books.

Why, you ask? Let's take a look at my process:

My sweet spot for drafting a novel (and I'm talking the "shitty first draft" version as coined by Anne Lamott, not the "critique partner ready" version) is about 2-3 months. For TAKEN2, the first book I wrote under contract, I had five months to write and submit the draft to my editor. This worked out perfectly for me. I wrote my "shitty first draft" in about three months. I revised on my own for a month, then send to my crit partner. Revised again and sent it to my agent two weeks before the deadline. Revised one last time, and turned it in.

What follows that first draft is 6-9 months of revisions, line edits, and copy edits. (And I'm not actively "writing" for all that time. There are periods where my editor has to read, digest, compile feedback, etc). Then the book gets typeset. I'll see pass pages. ARCs will be made. (etc, etc...you know the rest.) In short, the book is often worked on behind-the-scenes for longer than a year, but because of how schedules sync up, the reader usually only has a twelve month wait.

Knowing how much time my story spends on my editor's desk as much as mine, I can confidently say that if release dates were tighter between books, my stories would suffer. Greatly.

Writing is a weird thing. Some days the words flow and I can't type fast enough. Others my muse decides to go out sight-seeing while I sit at the computer, struggling and lost without her. The unproductive days are stressful but they are still work. I'm picking away at my to-do list. I'm getting closer to The End Goal, and so I'm doing the right thing.

But I think that less time between book releases (read: tighter deadlines) would only add more stress and worry to the already emotionally draining process of writing under contract. Not to mention the fact that it is layer upon layer of revision that allows me to turn out a polished, strong manuscript. And those layers take time.

Look at Bitterblue, which Alyssa mentioned in her original question! A prime example of a book that the author had to write and scrap and rewrite (and revise and revise and revise) before it became The Story. (Kristin Cashore's post about this is fascinating if you haven't seen it.) I, for one, am so glad she took the time to write the story as it needed to be written. The wait was worth it. If she'd plowed ahead, blinding sticking to that year standard, I might have been disappointed with BITTERBLUE. Instead I was impressed beyond measure.

Particularly for last books-in-a-series, it seems that authors often step back and ask for a bit more time. (Veronica Roth and the final DIVERGENT book, for example.) It's hard work to conclude an epic tale, to wrap up all those loose ends. Authors want to put the strongest, best version of the work in front of their readers. A few extra months to polish and fine-tune can make all the difference.

So yes, the standard year wait can seem long. Painfully long. We writers feel bad making readers wait, but we know it's worth it. We can only hope, that when you finally get your hands on the end product, you agree.

---

Erin Bowman is a YA writer, letterpress lover, and Harry Potter enthusiast living in New Hampshire. Her debut novel, TAKEN, comes out from HarperTeen in April 16, 2013. You can visit her blog (updated occasionally) or find her on twitter (updated obsessively).

Elsie Chapman Commissions Some Cover Art

Even though I'm up for a Truth or Dare this week, I decided to do something a little bit different. Because it's my last post before 2013 and our debut year (!!!), I thought it would be interesting to do a year-end wrap up post of some sort. Cue a preteen desperate to work for extra clothes money my daughter who's always loved drawing and the idea of having her artwork officially commissioned and then put on display.

I think Gillian did a fantastic job! Each cover is clickable for a closer look. Comments are awesome and will be passed on to her. And while it would have been fantastic if she could have drawn all thirteen Thirteener covers, we'll just have to suffer along with the rest of you and wait for them to be revealed!

Up next week is Erin, so please feel free to send her some truths or dares!

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Elsie grew up in Prince George, BC, before graduating from the University of British Columbia with a BA in English Literature. She currently lives in Vancouver with her husband and two kids, where she writes to either movies on a loop or music turned up way too loud (and sometimes both at the same time). She's repped by The Chudney Agency, and her debut novel, DUALED, will be published by Random House in February, 2013. A sequel, DIVIDED, will be published February, 2014. Find her online at at her Website elsiechapman.com, her author Tumblr at elsiechapmanauthor.tumblr.com, or on Twitter!

Kelsey Sutton Takes the Truth

We'd like to welcome to the blog today our guest, Kelsey Sutton. Her book, Some Quiet Place, comes out  in the Summer of 2013. It's summary is below and it sounds amazing (Plus, I adore the cover). But first, check out Kelsey taking on a truth about talking to a crush. This story made me laugh. It almost felt like it could've been taken straight from the pages of a YA novel. I loved it. Thanks for the fun real life experience, Kelsey. We can't wait to read your book.

Elizabeth Caldwell has perfected the art of pretending to feel emotion, but it’s always a lie. After a near-fatal car accident when she was a small child, Elizabeth lost the ability to feel any emotion, but along with that loss she gained bizarre abilities: she can see the personified Emotions she cannot feel. Fury, Resentment, Longing—they’ve all given up on her, because she doesn't succumb to their touch. All, that is, save one. Fear. He’s consumed by the mystery of Elizabeth’s past, consumed by her.

And then there are Elizabeth's cryptic, recurring dreams, in which there’s always love, and there’s always death. Haunted by these dreams, Elizabeth paints them, knowing that they somehow hold the key to the mystery of her past.

 But a shadowy menace is stalking Elizabeth. Her survival depends on uncovering the truth about herself. And when it matters most, she won’t be able to rely on Fear to save her.

 


Kelsey Sutton has done everything from training dogs, making cheeseburgers, selling yellow page ads, and cleaning hotel rooms. Now she divides her time between her full-time college classes and her writing, though she can also sometimes be found pounding out horrible renditions of Beethoven on the piano and trying bizarre drinks at her local coffee shop. Kelsey lives in northern Minnesota with her dog and cat, Lewis and Clark. Visit her on her blog at www.kelseysutton.blogspot.com.

Ellen Has a Moment of Truth

It is hard to believe that we are near the end of 2012 and that in less than one month, my book will be coming out. January 2nd, 2013. The countdown widget on my blog tells me that it is only 25 days away.  And yet I don't think it really felt real until yesterday. Why yesterday? Because I got a box of something incredibly special in the mail. I got a box of my very first book - in hardcover.

The excitement that you feel when you get your ARCs can't be compared to the moment that you see the real deal. The final product. The book that you spent years working on. That is the moment that it hits you. "I am a published author. I have a book that a person can walk into a store and buy. People are going to read my book." And after you regain consciousness from fainting in fright, you pick up the first of your books and you open it with slightly trembling fingers and you immediately turn to the dedication page and the acknowledgements. You run your finger over the glossy cover and flip through the chapters. Some tears might be shed. Some piggy like squealing might be heard. And you say:

"My book! My book!"

That was the tweet I sent out with a copy of the picture shown above. I couldn't really do anything more. It's been a crazy time lately and I've hardly had a moment to myself, but this stopped me dead in my tracks. This made me sit and think about all I've gone through to realize a life long dream. I know that there are so many other things an author has to worry about - bad reviews, sales, returns, recoupment, next books, etc. But I'm not going to think about any of those things right now. I'm going to savor this moment. I'm going to cherish this moment. No matter what comes,  no matter what happens, no one can take away this precious moment. The moment that I first laid eyes on my book and felt my heart swell with pride and happiness.

The moment I became a published author.

Robin Talley takes a Dare!

We are so pleased to introduce Robin Talley, who's amazing book, Lies We Tell Ourselves, comes out Spring 2014! Congratulations Robin! We are all so happy for you! And Robin is an extremely talented writer, as you will see when you read her dare - Write a letter to your middle-school crush. So let's give the blog over to Robin today!

Bio: Robin Talley’s first novel, Lies We Tell Ourselves, set in 1959 Virginia at the height of the school desegregation movement, will be released in Spring 2014 by Harlequin Teen. Robin lives with her girlfriend and cat in Washington, D.C., and spends her days working for a progressive nonprofit organization. She then spends her nights and weekends writing, obsessing about writing, and reading. Unfortunately this doesn’t leave much time for the aforementioned girlfriend and cat, but they’re both good sports that way. (Well, not so much the cat, actually.) You can reach Robin on Twitter at @robin_talley or on her blog at http://www.robintalley.com. 

It’s Not You, It’s Your Penis: A Letter to My Middle-School Crush

Dear Danny,

First of all, let’s be honest. We both know your name isn’t really Danny. I’m not going to use your real name in this, or any real names, for that matter. After all, you and I are still friends on Facebook. I just hit “like” on the picture of your wife and new baby being all adorable in the hospital. So I’m going to keep this letter generic, for all our sakes.

As you are well aware, I had a fervent crush on you for most of middle school. Except for some weeks, when I’d decide to have a crush on your friend James instead. And also there were days when I had a crush on Oliver, the other guy in our advanced math class, who had been home-schooled for years and came out of it with an eerily strong grip on the principles of Algebra II. Also, there were Sundays, when I’d go to church and remember that there were other boys at other schools who had kind-of-cute smiles too, and I’d develop a crush on one of the boys in my Sunday School class. Those would last until I got back to school on Monday morning and remembered that there were way more boys my age there.

But most of the time, it was you, Danny. I’m still not sure exactly why. Was it your still-developing-but-already-pretty-impressive sense of snark? Your Geometry prowess? Your early forays into ‘90s grunge fashion?

Honestly, I think it’s that you were smart, and funny, and, well, you seemed non-threatening. You were in all the nerdy advanced classes with me, and you had a disarmingly abashed smile, which was usually directed down into your notebook rather than toward me. You were probably terrified of me, as you had every right to be, given just how scary a 13-year-old girl with a crush can be.

Our math teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson, had been teaching middle school for decades and was always keenly aware of all the crushes in her midst. And you once told me, many years after all this was over, that you were pretty sure Mrs. Wilkinson had been kind of unhealthily obsessed with the idea of you and me making babies someday. I never actually picked up on this at the time, but now I suspect you were right. Regardless, though, I think Mrs. Wilkinson would be really pretty happy with the way we both turned out.

You and I both know the irony of all this, of course ― my rotating series of boy fixations, Mrs. Wilkinson’s hopes and dreams, those painfully awkward math classes ― which is that a few short years after the fervency of my crush on you had faded, I got it into my head that it was actually maybe OK to have a crush on a girl every now and then. And once that idea had gotten hold of me, it held on hard.

That’s why, since we’re being honest here, I never understand it when someone (and usually it’s men who do this) tells me they’ve “always known” they were gay. I don’t doubt that that’s true for plenty of people. But even though I nod and accept such statements without question, deep down I can’t help thinking, “Really? You never had a Danny? An opposite-sex crush that came about partly out of a sense of obligation but also maybe because there was a kid who had a nice smile and a talent for Geometry and an appealing sense of comic timing, and you didn’t know any better yet?”

Because, yes. Part of the reason I had crushes on boys (and later a couple of actual, honest-to-God boyfriends, none of whom were you, Danny, although do you remember that time junior year when you made out with my best friend Jonie in the parking lot across the street from the movie theater and I pestered you with questions about it for months afterward? Good times, good times) was that I thought I was supposed to. Having crushes on boys was what you did, if you were a girl.

But that wasn’t all there was to it. There were also all those cute smiles I kept seeing on the boys around me. Because being 14 is confusing, and hormones are confusing, and it’s hard to know who you actually like, like, when the truth is, you kind of don’t like anyone. Because most 14-year-olds are kind of annoying and immature, so what’s to like, really? So you find yourself desperately grasping for some kind of meaningful human connection because you’re just so dang lonely sitting over here having all these Feelings all by yourself.

You and I haven’t talked about this part, Danny, but even after I figured all that stuff out, about the having crushes on girls ― and I’m talking BIG crushes, way bigger than the one I’d had on you (please don’t take offense; as we now know, it wasn’t you, it was your penis) ― it still took me a couple of years to actually admit to myself that I didn’t particularly like boys. And part of that was because I was trying to reconcile all those Feelings I was having about girls with the part of myself that had crushed on you so hard. You, and James, and Oliver, and the various boys from Sunday School, and that one guy at camp, and the boy with the corduroy pants at the 9th grade St. Patrick’s Day Dance. And all the other places where I’d put all my focus onto the people around me, and on trying to get those boys to like me. I know now that really, I was trying to make sense of myself, and I thought the way to do that was through other people. But as it turned out, the only way to make sense of myself was to spend a lot of time ― like, years ― talking stuff through in my head. The truth is, Danny, if you’d ever given me any indication that you liked me back ― which, to your credit, you never did ― it probably only would’ve confused me further.

Anyway, I wanted to say that I’m sorry for being scary in 8th grade, and I’m sorry for harping on you for so long about that time you made out with Jonie (though looking back on it I think we probably agree that that whole episode was pretty funny).

Also, I’m sorry I didn’t clarify the lesbian thing sooner. I’m not sure when you found out about that, but I strongly suspect that when you did, you breathed a big sigh of relief. Though you were too classy to tell me about that. Again, to your credit.

Congratulations on the start of your new family. You all look really happy, and I’m sure you’re going to be an awesome dad.

Just please don’t make your kid take Advanced Geometry in 8th grade. That stuff is a killer.

Hugs, Robin

Brandy Colbert Takes the Truth

Digging through our options for Truth, I came across this question:

How did you reveal to your friends/family that you were an aspiring author?

I like this question because it’s strange to think how much has changed and how much has stayed exactly the same since I started writing for publication six (!) years ago.

I’ve always been a writer, but for most of my adulthood (I use this term very loosely) I’ve only been comfortable talking about the writing I did at a desk, Monday through Friday. I’ve worked as an editor at a few magazines and I never hesitated to tell people what I was editing or ideas of my own that I’d pitched at editorial meetings. It didn’t seem like a big deal; I was putting my writing out there, but it was journalism. I’d gone to school for it and I was getting paid for it.

Creative writing is different. Everyone knew I’d always written for fun, on the side, but to me, telling people I was pursuing publication was a Big Deal. I was very hesitant to show anyone my writing—even the people I’d asked to critique my work!—because I kept worrying someone would call me out. Tell me to give up because I wasn’t talented or because it’s incredibly difficult to get published or that agents don’t actually obtain clients from slush pile submissions, etc., etc., etc.

When I started querying my first novel, I told my family and a few friends who I knew would wonder why I was obsessively checking my email and receiving mysterious SASEs in the mail. But I never talked about it much because what if it never happened? I didn’t want to explain to everyone how I’d failed. It was easier to keep the disappointment to myself.

The more I improved as a writer, the more personal the rejections became and I could tell I was getting close. I still wasn’t quite there, but the more positive notes I received from agents, the more comfortable I was talking to my close, non-writer friends about the process and you know what? They were really supportive. Most of them had lots of questions, but it was generally about the inner workings of the publishing industry and they were amazed that I’d figured out everything from agent and author blogs and writer-centric message boards.

Several years later, it’s still not easy for me to talk about my writing. Even now, with an agent and a book under contract, I feel like a hack when people ask what I do and I say I write books. I’m so awkwardly bad at describing my book that I had to look up the (very succinct) blurb on Goodreads to describe it to someone the other day. The novel I wrote. True story. Maybe it’s because I know how incredibly lucky I am to do this or maybe it’s because it still doesn’t feel real. I don’t embarrass easily but a good way to get me stumbling over my words and answering questions with vague, stilted responses is to ask me about my book in a crowd of people.

Despite my utter lack of poise when it comes to discussing my writing with others, there were a few people I was especially ecstatic to tell that my book was going to be published—my childhood friends. They’d read some of my earliest writing (we’re talking elementary school here, guys), when I wasn’t so private about my unpublished work, when I was just writing for fun and wanted to share those stories with the people close to me. Their [happy] responses varied, but for the most part, the sentiment was, “Dude! Your dream totally came true.”

Dude. It totally did.

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-->Brandy Colbert lives in Los Angeles. Her debut novel, A Point So Delicate, is forthcoming from G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers/Penguin. She’d love to connect with you on Twitter, her blog, or Goodreads.

                                          

  

Ryan Graudin Takes the Truth

We'd like to welcome guest Ryan Graudin to the blog today! Her book, ALL THAT GLOWS, comes out with HarperTeen in 2013. Check out the summary:

 Faery Emrys Leoflic has been guarding the British Royal Family for hundreds of years, protecting them from Green Women, Banshees and any other creatures that might want to prey on them for the special blood magic they carry in their veins. But something about Prince Richard is different from all of the others she’s protected, which forces her to make an impossible choice amidst a backdrop of a mysterious palace murder and paparazzi mayhem. 

Doesn't that sound great? And Ryan is pretty great herself (and adorable, I might add). She was brave enough to take on a truth. The truth was sent in by Kathryn (thanks, Kathryn).




See what I meant about adorable? I want her hair! :)

Thanks for playing, Ryan! Next up on the blog, our own, Brandy. So send her some truth or dares to choose from here.
__________________________________________________________________________

When she’s not writing and drifting around the globe, Ryan Graudin enjoys hunting through thrift stores and taking pictures of her native Charleston, SC. Her novel ALL THAT GLOWS, the story of a Faery who falls in love with the prince she’s forced to guard, is due out with HarperTeen in Winter 2014. You can learn about all of these things and more at http://ryangraudin.blogspot.com. You can also follow her on Twitter at @ryangraudin 

MADMAN'S DAUGHTER book trailer reveal on EW.com

Today, Entertainment Weekly's Shelf Life blog is hosting the exclusive reveal of our own Megan Shepherd's THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER. Here's what Entertainment Weekly has to say about it:

At EW, we’re always on the lookout for the next hot YA title and I can say without a doubt that Megan Shepherd’s gothic horror The Madman’s Daughter is one of the most promising offerings for 2013. That’s why we’re offering up an exclusive trailer to whet your appetite!

Are you dying to watch it, like we Thirteeners are? Click here to go to the EW.com article and watch the trailer!

Giveaway!

To celebrate the trailer release, Megan is giving away a prize pack including an ARC of THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER, bookmarks, postcards, and a tin of "sweet madness" tea designed specifically for the book. To enter, all  you have to do is comment on the EW.com trailer release. Visit Megan's blog for details.

INSOMNIA cover reveal

We are thrilled to share our latest Thirteener cover, INSOMNIA by J. R. Johansson!

Is that cover just killer? It gives us goosebumps just looking at it. We Thirteeners love the shattered eye and the blood-red lettering. It captures the exact way we feel when we've been up three nights straight revising and haven't had coffee yet...okay, maybe not quite the same :)

Here's the book description:

It’s been four years since I slept, and I suspect it is killing me.

Instead of sleeping, Parker Chipp enters the dream of the last person he’s had eye contact with. He spends his nights crushed by other people’s fear and pain, by their disturbing secrets—and Parker can never have dreams of his own. The severe exhaustion is crippling him. If nothing changes, Parker could soon be facing psychosis and even death.

Then he meets Mia. Her dreams, calm and beautifully uncomplicated, allow him blissful rest that is utterly addictive. Parker starts going to bizarre lengths to catch Mia’s eye every day. Everyone at school thinks he’s gone over the edge, even his best friend. And when Mia is threatened by a true stalker, everyone thinks it’s Parker.

Suffering blackouts, Parker begins to wonder if he is turning into someone dangerous. What if the monster stalking Mia is him after all?

J.R. is doing a giveaway of an ARC & Prize Pack over on YA Books Central. Click here to go enter!


And a little more about J.R.:

J.R. JOHANSSON has a B.S. degree in public relations and a background in marketing. She credits her abnormal psychology minor with inspiring many of her characters. When she's not writing, she loves reading, playing board games, and sitting in her hot tub. Her dream is that someday she can do all three at the same time. She has two young sons and a wonderful husband. In fact, other than her cat, Cleo, she's nearly drowning in testosterone. J.R. lives in a valley between majestic mountains and a beautiful lake where the sun shines over 300 days per year. If you want to know more about J.R., you can follow her on Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, or check out her website.

April Tucholke Takes the Dare

Okay, so Robin Weeks dared me to: Compose an open letter to the author(s) who wrote the books you are comparing or have compared your own book to. Talk about what you loved about his/her/their book(s) that inspired you to such blatant *ahem* emulation.
 
I'm going to take a twist on this dare. When I lived in Scotland, I wrote a series of letters to certain tourism offices in Britain, concerning authors/books/film adaptations that I love and that have inspired my writing. Below I've posted two. This is a longer post. Stick with it.

Letter 1:
 
November 24, 2009
Welcome to Yorkshire
Dry Sand Foundry Foundry Square Holbeck

Leeds, LS11 5WH 



Dear Office,

When I was offered the post of governess at an estate located in West Yorkshire, I was overjoyed. Having read certain works of classic literature set in your lovely moors, I had reasonably high expectations of what my new life would be like. Alas, nothing has fallen into place. My charge, rather than a misbegotten daughter of a French opera singer, was instead a very legitimate British girl of four whose favorite occupation was not dressing in fine clothes and singing lewd songs but playing boyishly out of doors (!) in pragmatic, waterproof attire. 



Then there is the matter of my employer. His name was Edward, but I always referred to him as Sir -- something I knew I would cease to do as soon as, after much Gothic confusion and struggle, we became engaged. But that's just it! I was prepared for him to already be married, of course, a predicament which would surface on the day of own wedding -- the rascal! But his wife was supposed to be mad, and locked away, not traipsing about with perfect sanity, planning vacations with Edward to the south of France, and scolding me for looking dreamy and not being about my work! 



Last, but not least, was the lack, the utter lack, of mystery about the manor 
where I worked. Were there labyrinth hallways? Yes. Were there dark chambers and ill-lit stairways? Yes. But there was no lunatic laughing in the middle of the night, no unexplainable fires, no bitten strangers, and not ONE mad woman locked in an attic. 



Not one. 



Please address my concerns.

Sincerely,  
Ms. A. Genevieve Tucholke
Spinster of St. Stephen’s Parish
 

Response: None, the humorless bastards.

Letter 2:

August 21, 2009 
Hampshire Office of Tourism 
Mottisfont Court High Street Wincester, Hampshire

Dear Office,
 
I have enjoyed your travel video series on BBC hosted by one Miss Marple. She aptly demonstrates both her sleuthing and traveling abilities as she solves murder cases throughout rural England, primarily, I am led to believe, in Hampshire. She serves as something of an inspiration to the rest of us spinsters. Her tip on catching the 4:50 from Paddington has been nothing short of life-altering.

On a recent motoring trip through England, however, I must admit to a great disappointment. While the villages of Hampshire were just as quaint and lovely as depicted in the travel video series, not a single murder occurred during my travels. For several weeks I motored through rural England, spending nights at village inns and listening closely to local gossip...but not once did I encounter dark family secrets or criminal plotting. And the greatest disappointment of all: I never encountered a single murder. Not one.

Now, much as I enjoyed your travel video series, I must inform you that it was misleading. (Please refer to the episodes “Murder at the Vicarage” or “The Moving Finger” for examples of what was reasonably expected). I shall not visit England again for several years. In the meantime, however, please consider expanding such attractions as poisoning, mistaken shotgun blasts, and vengeful stabbings to various villages as depicted in the non-fiction travel video series.

Sincerely, 
Ms. A. Genevieve Tucholke 
Spinster of St. Stephen’s Parish

Response: They totally sent me a letter. It was witty and dry and British and awesome, detailing their distress at the lack of murders and crime and corpses during my travels. They "completely sympathised with my disappointment about the lack of murders" but they wanted to focus their attention on "promoting Hampshire as a safe destination where visitors can relax...without fear of loss of life." 

I kept it on the fridge for months.


Questions:

1. Any wild guesses as to the fictional inspirations for either letter?
2. What tourist office would you choose to annoy with your letters?

 
April Genevieve Tucholke is a full-time writer who digs classic movies, red-headed villains, big kitchens, and discussing murder at the dinner table.  
 
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea will be published August 15, 2013 by Penguin/Dial
 

Liz Fichera Takes the Dare!

We are very excited to have author Liz Fichera as our guest blogger today! Liz's debut novel HOOKED will be be published by Harlequin Teen on January 31st, 2013.

Here's a teaser blurb!

Sparks fly when a Native American girl with a killer golf swing joins the all boys’ golf team at her high school and takes on the boy with the killer smile.  It’s Perfect Chemistry meets Catching Jordan with a dash of West Side Story.

HOOKED sounds fantastic, and we're looking forward to seeing it hit the shelves. Today, Liz is tackling a dare via vlog--she's going to read out loud some prose she'd written as a kid. Thanks for signing up to play truth or dare, Liz!

HOOKED is currently available for pre-order at any bookstore.  However, anyone who purchases through her hometown bookstore, The Poisoned Pen, will receive an autographed copy.  The Poisoned Pen ships worldwide.  Additionally, there is a huge pre-order promotional contest beginning on November 1 that includes giveaways and prizes.  Check Liz’s web site for the details.

Come back to visit us on Friday because Alexa's up! Send her a Truth or Dare here! 

____________________________________________
Liz Fichera is an American author who writes stories about ordinary teens who do extraordinary things.  Originally from Park Ridge, Illinois, she moved to the American Southwest after college never expecting to live more than one year among cactus and people who’d never seen snow. She was wrong.  To learn more, visit LizFichera.com 

Kristin Bailey Takes the Truth

Today we have a great guest truth from author Kristin Bailey, whose book Legacy of the Clockwork Key releases in March from Simon Pulse as the first in a steampunk-inspired trilogy. Our clockwork hearts are beating harder already!

Here's more about Legacy of the Clockwork Key:

When a fire consumes Meg's home, killing her parents and destroying both her fortune and her future, all she has left is the tarnished pocket watch she rescued from the ashes. But this is no ordinary timepiece. The clock turns out to be a mechanical key—a key only Meg can use— that unlocks a series of deadly secrets and intricate clues that Meg has no choice but to follow. She has uncovered evidence of an elite secret society and a dangerous invention that some will stop at nothing to protect, and that Meg alone can destroy. Together with the handsome stable hand she barely knows but hopes she can trust, Meg will be swept into a hidden world of deception, betrayal, and revenge. The clockwork key has unlocked her destiny.

Kristin took this question, submitted by Elodie: How did you reveal to your friends/family that you were an aspiring author?

I always loved the game Truth or Dare, but I will confess to being a bit of a chicken while playing, so I was usually a “Truth” girl.  In all fairness, this had a direct correlation to the nasty imaginations of some of my friends and their talent for thinking up truly humiliating dares.

So, how did I confess to my family that I was an aspiring writer?

The truth is, I didn’t.

I was outed.

To fully appreciate the delicacy of my dirty little writing secret and the furor that ensued, we need to travel back in time, oh, I won’t confess how many years exactly, but it was that weird and terrifying time in my life known as the day I graduated from college.

Suddenly, the pressure was on. I figured I’d get my teaching credential, settle down as a middle school Language Arts teacher and call it a life. But the further I went along that path, the more dangerously depressed I became. Eventually my roommate at the time, who happened to be writing a book, blithely suggested I should write a book, too.

I will never forget it, because in that moment I remember feeling this pull deep in my chest, like some cosmic strand of the universe had just threaded itself through my soul. That may be a little over the top, but sometimes it pays to listen to these sorts of things. So I followed that voice in my head that said “Yes! DO IT!!!” and I wrote a four hundred page novel.

Dear God, it was awful.

But I had accomplished something wonderful and for the first time in my life, I felt like I had a calling. So what did I do about it? I kept it my deepest most treasured secret. I had no intention of telling anyone, especially my Mom.

Now here is where I feel I need to interrupt our story for a little disclaimer in defense of my mother, whom I love very much. She had a rough time growing up due to her father falling deathly ill as a child. Consequently, my mom is a little bit of a personal financial security freak, and frankly, I can’t blame her. Unfortunately, my whimsical soul never followed her line of logic.  I wanted to be an animator for Disney! She talked me out of it. I wanted to be a veterinarian for a zoo! She talked me out of it. It didn’t matter what childhood dream I had, the first thing out of my mother’s mouth was always, “That’s great honey, but there are very few people who ever make it in that profession. You need a secure job that pays enough so you can support yourself.”  To this day, I’m not exactly sure what my Mom was trying to say to me, but I can tell you how my brain twisted it around (if those were even really her words). What I heard in a constant refrain from the youngest age of my childhood was, “That’s a nice dream, honey, but you’re not going to make it. I don’t want to see you fail, and that’s what’s going to happen. So, why don’t you just drop it before you get hurt and do something safe, like teaching.”

Once again, and louder this time.  Mom, if you are Googling me and this comes up. I know you didn’t mean it that way and I love you with my whole heart. You’ve been my biggest cheerleader, and I couldn’t have gotten to this point without your support. Thank you, Mom! Love you!

Okay, back to our story.

So, with my new found passion for writing, I decided I would be an author, and I knew exactly what I would hear if I told my Mom about it. Writing as a profession is not exactly known for its high success rate and steady paycheck. I decided that writing meant too much to me to let anyone, even people that I love, take it away from me by feeding my self-doubt. I needed to believe in myself, so for the first time in my life, I asserted my independence by keeping my dreams with the only person who could make them or break them, me.

Naturally, this didn’t last too long. Writing a book is exciting and I had to tell someone, so I told my future sister-in-law. Feel free to insert your own little strain of ominous music right here.

Sure enough, one evening, my Mom was lamenting to the rest of my family that I seemed so lost and I didn’t have passion for anything or any sort of direction for my life. That’s when my sis-in-law chimed in. “Well, she’s written a book.”

“I think I heard the “WHAT?” from my apartment ninety miles away.

The next morning, I answered the phone and found myself in the middle of one of the angriest phone calls I think I’ve ever received. It went something like this. (My memory might be slightly fuzzy, but you get the idea.)

Mom (angry voice): Your sister was over for dinner last night. She said you wrote a book!

Me (calm, but inside hearing the Scooby-Doo ‘Ruh-Oh, in my head): Yeah, I have.

Mom: And you’re going to send it publishers?

Me: That’s the idea.

Mom: WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME!!!!!

Me (after a sigh and a pause where I gathered more courage than I’ve ever had to muster in my life.): Because I knew what you were going to say, Mom, and I didn’t want to hear it.

That is the moment where I became an adult. Very few people are lucky enough to know the exact moment they turned in their ticket to Neverland, but I do. With those words, I knew in my heart that I was responsible for my own successes and my own failures, and I wouldn’t be afraid of either. I knew in that moment I could choose the path of my own life and I could decide what I wanted to do with it even if that path was difficult and frightening. In that moment, I stood up to someone I loved and respected and told myself that I loved and respected my own wishes even more. That was the moment that my future became my own, and it was amazing.

My Mom was stunned into silence. I’m afraid I may have gut punched her. She confessed later that she was very afraid I would cut her out of my life, and that was the line in the sand. She decided to be supportive of my writing career and keep her fears to herself no matter what, so long as I was safe and happy. She’s been true to that promise ever since. That book never sold, (I told you it was awful) and my mother was right along with me through all of that frustration, but then she was just as big a part of the joy when I did sell, and now she couldn’t be more proud

So what’s the moral of this story? I don’t really know, but I’m pretty sure I’ll lose points with all my fellow Moms out there if I say it is, “Don’t listen to your mother.”  So, instead I’ll say this. Don’t listen to any voice that would doubt you. You are the only one who can decide what your fate will be and your own determination, persistence, and strength in the face of adversity is what will get you there. People can stand on the sidelines all they want and say, “You’ll never make it.” You are the only one who will determine if that is true or not.

The game is only over the moment we stop playing.

So, good luck in whatever your dreams may be.

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Kristin Bailey likes adventure and pumpkin pie. She has also confessed to a weakness for Jelly Bellies. When she’s not writing, she stays busy as a military wife and mother of two young children. She also has a tendency to spoil her pets.  Her debut young adult novel, Legacy of the Clockwork Key will arrive on bookshelves on March 5, 2013. 

You can learn more about Kristin and her book on her website, Facebook and Twitter.