This Writer’s Space: Stacey Nash
Posted: May 21, 2014 Filed under: On writing | Tags: inspiration, sci-fi, this writer's space, young adult 2 Comments
Today on This Writer’s Space, we have one of my very favourite sci-fi, young adult and Aussie writers — ALL ROLLED INTO ONE PERSON! It’s Stacey Nash!
Where I Write
When you’re a writer, you need easy and fast access to your writing space and when you’re a mother it means you need to be all-seeing. So… my writing space is at the kitchen table. My laptop is set up on a corner where I can see through the bulk of the house and watch the kids when I’m not playing with them. It’s also nice and accessible for when a burning idea strikes me mid-jigsaw puzzle or Lightening McQueen reenactment.
Where I’m Inspired
I could give any number of photos for places where I find my inspiration, because I draw inspiration from all around me. Plot points and story ideas come to me in shower, when I’m driving, when I’m sleeping / dreaming, and even when I’m pegging the washing out. It seems nowhere is safe from the onslaught of plot bunnies. But I’ve decided to go with a photo of the view from my backyard, because really… it’s the beauty around me that I find most inspiring. There are snippets of scenery in all of my books from places I’ve seen, or lived or visited. This is where I call home, The Hunter Valley.
To Be Read
No one photograph is big enough to contain my to be read pile, so I’ve made you a pretty collage. This year I’ve vowed not to buy books until I’m ready to read them. So my Goodreads ‘to read’ list is the most accurate of the order I intend to read. But then there’s the unread folder on my kindle app, and the one on my iBooks app, oh and lets not forget the physical TBR. Enjoy my collage. 🙂
About Stacey
Stacey Nash writes adventure-filled stories for Young Adults in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. She calls the state of New South Wales in Australia home. Her debut novel, Forget Me Not, re-releases in August 2014 from HarperCollins Impulse and its sequel Remember Me release October 2014.
This Writer’s Space: Dahlia Adler
Posted: May 14, 2014 Filed under: On writing | Tags: inspiration, this writer's space, writing 2 Comments
This week on This Writer’s Space I’m thrilled to have one of my favourite bloggers, Dahlia Adler. If you follow my Blog Post for Writers board on Pinterest, you’ll know that it’s basically pins from either Dahlia or the equally fantastic Chuck Wendig. I dream that one day they will co-write a post and then the awesome will EXPLODE ALL OVER THE INTERNET.
No, wait, that sounds wrong. *shuffles feet* Um, over to you, Dahlia!
Where I Write
This is where I write. Originally, I wanted to wait until I’d sufficiently cleaned up before submitting this picture, but you know what? That’s not reality; this is. What you’re looking at is my computer and printer, obviously, but also a mug, from my very necessary Sunday morning coffee; cookies, because snacks are important; my ARCs, bookplates, and postcards, because being a professional author isn’t just about writing; an anthology of The Elder Scrolls, purchased for me by super talented author friend Leah Raeder, because every writer has both absurd distractions and terrible enablers; a menorah for no good reason; Advil for plenty of good reasons, and assorted other delights, like planners, books to give away, and Post-It Notes outlining things like upcoming blog posts.
Where I’m Inspired
These are also where I write, but I’m using them as “Where I get inspired,” because they’re where I write when I get inspired. As in, I’m on the subway and I just cannot wait to write down this scene, versus when I sit down at my desk and it’s an “Okay, I have to write 2K tonight” situation, whether I’m feeling it or not. I use different notebooks for different things, so, for example, the cherry-printed one (which is scented!) is my notebook for my June 2015 release, Under the Lights, while the pink cupcakes (also scented!) was strictly for Last Will and Testament, my NA standalone. The bird notebook is for B&N round-up post ideas, the white one with the cupcakes is going to be for my NaNo ms, and the little one was a gift from my wonderful CP Marieke Nijkamp, and is sort of an all-other-purpose (particularly beta notes).
To Be Read
This is a bit of an old picture because I’ve since rearranged my bookshelves, but I have a pretty intense TBR at all times. Because I do a lot of themed round-up posts for B&N, I tend to organize my reading that way, so books often jump the line, and ARCs very regularly take a backseat since I can’t blog about books until after they’re published anyway. Plus I have a revolving door of ARCs coming in from OneFourKidLit (my debut group). But this is a general idea of the volume at all times, though some are far more “urgent” than others!
About Dahlia
This Writer’s Space: Jessie Devine
Posted: May 7, 2014 Filed under: On writing | Tags: inspiration, this writer's space 2 Comments
Today’s This Writer’s Space awesomeness is brought to you by Jessie Devine, one of the most fabulous people on Twitter.
Where I Write
This is my writing chair. It’s older than I am, and it’s right by the heater. My buddy there is Diego. He’s always in the chair, whether I’m in it or not. He’s a good conspirator because he sits on me and doesn’t let me get up and get distracted. You can also see my coffee cup and notebook full of mad scribblings from this morning. My rainbow-unicorn-stickered laptop is usually in the picture too, but I’m on that currently.
Where I Am Inspired
I don’t really have one place where inspiration happens. I’m usually inspired by interactions with people, or by concepts (recently, for example, I got a brilliant idea from an article I read about an immortal jellyfish discovered in Japan). However, there’s something I do when I get stuck, and that’s walk my cat. This is Dexter. He loves walking on a leash around the backstreets, so whenever I’m all blocked over a plot point, we go walking and work it out. I think my brain is always trying to do too many things at once, so if I distract it by walking, I can think clearly about the problem.
To Be Read
This is a fraction of my TBR. I also have a big list on my Nook, and more actual books I couldn’t fit in the picture. I know, I know, there are some big names in there I haven’t gotten around to reading yet, including Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Book Thief, and Divergent. I tried Divergent at one point, but I couldn’t get into it. I’m gonna give it another shot eventually. I get nervous about books with lots of hype because I don’t want to be disappointed. But anyway, I love having a big TBR! And having such a diverse list is nice so I have something to read for every mood.
About Jessie
I write YA and NA fiction that pushes limits. I like my stories to be dark and real, even if they’re fantastical. You can always find queer characters in my pages. I’m also genderqueer and a martial artist, an amateur chef and a student. I live in Missoula, MT with my fiance and a million cats.
Stats and trends — NestPitch 2014
Posted: April 29, 2014 Filed under: On writing | Tags: NestPitch, pitches Leave a commentIf you guys like stats, or just like to get a closer look at agent request trends and that sort of thing, check out this very informative post by Nik over at NestPitch on how the numbers shook out during that pitching contest.
Hello All,
As we round up to the end of the month, it’s time to share some stats with you all. (everyone loves stats as much as me right?It’s OK, I’ve done all the work for you.
**Note:I will be sending out Scorecards to the 10-reserves & posting the results of those scorecards in two days. I decided to split the scorecards and stats when I realised how much space the stats would need.
So down to the Fun Facts & Figures.
We had around 220 submissions, of which almost 200 were accepted. (Several did not meet the guidelines, remember people Submission 101- follow the guidelines). The final submissions were made up of:
24 % = Picture Books / 11 % = MG / 33% = YA / 8 % = NA / 24% = Adult
Of those submitted the following % were selected by the…
View original post 974 more words
This Writer’s Space: Pippa Jay
Posted: April 23, 2014 Filed under: On writing | Tags: this writer's space 2 Comments
Today on This Writer’s Space I have Pippa Jay, sci-fi romance queen!
Where I Write
Since our home computer died back in July last year, my desk in an alcove of the dining room has largely become redundant, except as a bit of a dumping ground for all my paperwork. With Wi-Fi finally installed, I’ve spent most of the winter curled up on my sofa with my laptop.
My writing space in its former glory
But hopefully, this summer my writing spot will be here, in our summerhouse, painted a glorious TARDIS blue for good measure. While it might not dematerialize and travel the universe, I guess I’ll just have to imagine it does and explore new worlds inside my head and on my computer.
My planned writing space now
Where I’m Inspired
I’m lucky to live in the historical town of Colchester in the UK. Walk ten minutes one way and you’re out in the countryside.
Nearby Friday Woods
Half an hour the other way, and you’re in the town, with its medieval buildings and a Norman castle built on the burned remains of a Roman temple. The remaining Roman walls still carry the scars of a siege by Cromwell during the civil war.
Colchester Castle and the surrounding park
Half an hour drive, and you’re on the East Anglia coast, where you can choose between wide sandy beaches, mud flats rich in wildlife, or gravel beaches where dedicated hunters can find ancient sharks teeth and other fossils. Plenty of inspiration to be found!
Frinton-on-Sea
When the surroundings fail, trawling for images on stock photo sites, copious amounts of coffee, and a constant stream of music on my mp3 keep the ideas going. Most stories have a playlist that has inspired the general feel, if not actual details throughout the tale.
To Be Read
At the last count, my TBR pile on my Kindle alone totalled a rather scary 248 titles (I know it only says 70 in the picture, but that’s because the rest are archived from my old Kindle). And don’t get me started adding the paperbacks, Kobo books, and PDFs still sitting on my computer! Mostly scifi romance, but you’ll find all levels of scifi with a smattering of fantasy, paranormal, and the odd humorous title.
Part of the Kindle list. And yes, my Kindle is called Idris. Whovians should know that one.
About Pippa
A stay-at-home mum of three who spent twelve years working as an Analytical Chemist in a Metals and Minerals laboratory, Pippa Jay bases her stories on a lifetime addiction to science-fiction books and films. Somewhere along the line a touch of romance crept into her work and refused to leave. In between torturing her plethora of characters, she spends the odd free moments trying to learn guitar, indulging in freestyle street dance and drinking high-caffeine coffee. Although happily settled in historical Colchester in the UK with her husband of 20 years, she continues to roam the rest of the Universe in her head.
Pippa Jay is a dedicated member of the SFR Brigade, a community of science fiction romance authors and publishing professionals committed to writing and promoting the very best in the genre.
Blog | Twitter | Amazon | Goodreads
Easter NestPitch Hunt is now on
Posted: April 18, 2014 Filed under: On writing | Tags: NestPitch, pitches Leave a commentNestPitch’s agent round is now on!
The Slush Bilbies (including yours truly) have sorted through the entries to help the Nest Bloggers whittle down the entries. The top seventy-two entries have made it through and are waiting for agents to hop on by to make requests.
Now that the finalists have been revealed, I thought it’d be fun to flag which of them I consider to be part of Team Cass — the ones I put forward to the Nest Bloggers. They are in order by age bracket.
1. Who Do You Love the Most? (Picture book)
2. The Discarded (YA sci-fi)
3. The Theory of Everything (YA fantasy/steampunk)
4. Coveted (YA urban fantasy)
5. Reverse Cascade (YA contemporary)
6. Helica (NA sci-fi)
7. Captain (Adult historical)
8. Hair of the Dog (Adult urban fantasy)
9. Why Knot? (Adult women’s fiction)
10. Circle of Fur (Adult women’s fiction)
Excitingly, I see a few requests in there already too!
If you know anything about me, you’ll know I don’t read women’s fiction and rarely read historical or contempoary. But I know good writing when I see it. 😉
Please remember that until the agents have finished making their selections, comments are for agents only. If you want to cheer on your favourite prior to then, you can do it in the comments of the main post on each Nest Blogger’s blog, not the individual entry posts. Or, you know, here.
To find out more about the Nest Pitch Easter Pitch Hunt go here, and the Rules and Conditions here. You can find the full schedule here and the participating agents here.
Good luck to everyone who has made it this far. May your nest be filled with lots of chocolatey requests.
This Writer’s Space: Kendra Leighton
Posted: April 16, 2014 Filed under: On writing | Tags: this writer's space 2 Comments
Today on This Writer’s Space I have Kendra Leighton, who I’m very, very jealous of. Read the below and you’ll see why! 😉
Where I Write
I’m very lucky to live in an unusual house in the middle of nowhere (no distractions!). It’s a converted chapel and used to belong to a book collector, meaning huge windows for daydreaming out of, and more bookshelves than I could ever fill. (The floor-to-ceiling shelves you can see in the picture cover literally every section of wall that doesn’t have a window!)
I can write pretty much anywhere. Favourite places are the sofa and the kitchen table, though the kitchen can be dangerous — too much temptation to distract myself with food when I hit a tricky scene! I’ve probably written everywhere in my house it’s possible to sit down.
Where I’m Inspired
My best ideas often come when I’m not in front of my laptop. I planned most of my debut novel, Glimpse, on long walks with only a dog and some music for company. Those walks were so very inspirational, that the countryside I walked through features strongly in my novel — and I named one of Glimpse’s characters after the dog! (Susie, in case you’re wondering.)
To Be Read
I’m a big fan of audio books, since I can listen to them while I work (I’m a chocolatier, and work from home most days). However, I always have a small TBR pile of ‘real’ books as well: books I couldn’t get on audio, picked up at events, or just wanted to own. For me, nothing beats the experience of reading a physical book.
Currently on my bedside table are Banished by Liz de Jager, Fractured by Teri Terry, Geek Girl by Holly Smale, and Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Fantasy, dystopia, and contemporary; funny and gritty: as long as it’s YA, I’ll read it!
About the Author
Kendra Leighton is a YA author from the UK. Glimpse, her debut novel, was inspired by Alfred Noyes’ poem ‘The Highwayman’. It will be published in June by Much-in-Little, an imprint of Constable & Robinson.
Website: http://www.kendraleighton.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KendraLeighton
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18042063-glimpse
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KendraLeighton
Thoughts from the NestPitch slush
Posted: April 11, 2014 Filed under: On writing | Tags: contests, NestPitch, pitches 2 Comments
I was recently a slush reader for the NestPitch contest. My part is done now, although the contest is ongoing, with the nest bloggers choosing their final picks from the slushies’ shortlist for final agent consideration.
Because the contest isn’t done, I’m going to keep this slush feedback general. But hopefully it will give people an idea of the things I noticed as a common theme in the slush, and the main reasons I said no. Reading slush for a contest like this or Pitcharama really gives you a unique insight into what it must be like to be an agent or editor.
Length: too long, too short, just right
Hearing your manuscript is far too long or too short is hard, and—unlike with the next two pieces of advice—there is no easy fix if you want to be traditionally published.
This post is a great guide to length, and is the one I referred to when I had doubts about the average length of a genre. For example, of all the genres being pitched, I don’t currently read middle grade (although I no doubt will as my son gets older—we’re still reading picture books and chapter books). So I looked it up.
If your book falls outside the “safe” range for your genre, you’re much more likely to get passed over by an agent. Publishers aren’t interested in 200k-word epics or skinny novellas by debut novelists, so neither are agents – because as well as loving your book, they need to believe they can sell it before they’ll make you an offer.
One book in my slush pile was all wrong for its genre. It was a picture book that was thousands (many thousands) of words over the recommended length. It was long enough I was left wondering whether the writer had meant to classify it as middle grade and had somehow mistyped.
I read all of every submission in my slush pile (something not all agents will do), but books that were well outside the range already had a strike against them before I started. Some got the tick despite their length. Most didn’t.
Age bracket: square peg in a round hole
I tweeted a few days ago about how it’s particularly vital that kidlit writers (anyone writing anything from picture books to NA) make it clear in their pitch or opening paragraphs how old the protagonist is.
This was prompted by me reading a pitch for a book whose length was on the low end of middle grade but that featured a protagonist who appeared, based on their actions, to be at least seventeen. My take-home impression was that it was a YA novella that the author had optimistically called middle grade based on its length.
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe the character was really twelve and was doing things no twelve year old should be, as part of the story. But that wasn’t clear.
Proofreading and spell check are your friends
Some books had writing that needed a lot of love, and I passed on them because taking a non-query-ready manuscript to an agent does none of us any favours: the author, the agent or the NestPitch team.
But some were beautifully written…except for a single typo or incorrect word.
There were two in particular that caused me heartache, because I loved them but the first 300 words had these types of errors. One of the two had a misspelled word that a spellcheck would have picked up; the other had one word in place of another—something spellcheck wouldn’t detect but a proofread would.
I ended up giving both manuscripts the tick but whether the bloggers will choose them at the next round I’m not sure. If they love one of these pitches and another without errors, and they only have one space left on their list, they’re going to choose the one without errors.
Final thoughts
Pitching or querying a manuscript takes an enormous act of courage. That document that you’ve slaved over for months or years, that you’ve only shown to those you know and trust, is out there, before the eyes of strangers. I admire and respect everyone that entered NestPitch, regardless of my final decision regarding each manuscript on my pile. I hope that my guidance above help anyone that ultimately gets told “no” see whether there are problems with their manuscript.
And I’ll be cheering for the thirteen members of Team Cass (even if they don’t know they are on Team Cass) at the blogger and agent rounds. Good luck, folks! 🙂
This Writer’s Space: Tess Grant
Posted: April 9, 2014 Filed under: On writing | Tags: inspiration, this writer's space, Turquoise Morning Press, writing 8 Comments
Today’s This Writer’s Space features Tess Grant, my fellow Turquoise Morning Press author and author of the The Kitty Irish Trilogy, about a pair of werewolf hunters. I’m really looking forward to reading this one, you guys.
Where I Write
I affectionately call my home The Farmette. It’s a little old farmhouse/big red barn combo with about ten acres of pasture/cornfield. I love the land and the space. I love my farmhouse too, although as is often the case with older houses, its layout is a little bit funky. No closets to speak of, a long skinny living room, and two huge bedrooms upstairs. Plenty of room for an office but there isn’t one included anywhere. Some day I’d dearly love to have a nook to call my own, but right now, my writing is right out there in the middle of life.
That’s it. The dining room table (decluttered specifically for this picture).
Since the dining room is in the little addition connected to the original house, it’s quite chilly in the winter, especially when a west wind blows (which is about 90% of the time). That’s when I retreat to The Chair with my lap desk. It’s tucked in the very east corner of the original house and is quite cozy.
Where I’m Inspired
These are two of my big inspirations…caffeine and tunes.
I like the first black, flavored, and leaning toward lukewarm. And I like the second minus earbuds. Those stupid things always pop out of my ears; I know one of my ears is slightly higher than the other, but is that any reason to harsh my groove?
I make a playlist for each book. I find after a few times of listening and writing that I drop into the writing groove as soon as the music comes on. There’s a lot of overlap between lists usually, and it varies wildly…from movie soundtracks to current stuff.
My other inspiration comes from my little dirt road. It’s got deep dark woods, an abandoned farmhouse, and lots of vultures (no kidding!) and is just the right length for a quick walk to get the creative juices flowing.
To Be Read
Like other authors, my TBR pile is huge! So, I’ve only included my most immediate reads on this list.
I love Maggie Stiefvater, so I’m in the process of rereading The Raven Boys so that I can dig into my Christmas present from my daughter, The Dream Thieves. After that comes my autographed copy of We Hear the Dead by Dianne Salerni (have you read The Caged Graves yet? You should!) and Quest for the Swords of Healing by Trista Vaporblade (who just happens to be my niece!). After that I hope to dig into some Wiley Cash and Jenny Trout.
About Tess
After nearly ten years as a forensic anthropologist, Tess semi-retired to a farmette in the backwoods of Michigan to raise organic veggies, free-range children, and novels. She writes YA suspense.
Blog | Twitter | Amazon | Goodreads
This Writer’s Space: Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
Posted: April 2, 2014 Filed under: On writing | Tags: inspiration, this writer's space, writing 9 Comments
First of all, thank you Cassandra for having me on your blog! I remember our Thursday’s Children blog hops very fondly and am so happy we’ve stayed in touch.
Where I Write
Last summer we moved from the northeast corner of the US (Maine) to North Carolina, about a thousand miles south. The sights, sounds, and smells of northern New England permeate my writing and probably always will. Not only was I born and raised there, but my ancestors first settled in the Salem area around 1630. No matter where I go, that will always be my spiritual home.
Knowing I’d miss coastal Maine, I planned to recreate it in my new writing space. My husband painted the walls a grayish blue*, we hung up seascapes, etc., but in the words of Thomas Wolfe, “You can’t go home again.” If anything, being surrounded by pictures of beaches made me dwell on what I’d lost.
On to Plan B, in which I gave free rein to my love of things weird and sparkly, flowers, quirky art, shabby velvet, and rich (non-beachy) colors. Here’s my Pinterest Reinventing the Office board for a closer look at some of my actual choices. Shells, seaglass, and sand dollars share space in my “cabinet of curiosities” with an animal skull I found by the side of the road, my crystal ball, lichen-covered twigs and so on. The room isn’t quite finished, but I’m very pleased with the Boho/Bloomsbury vibe. A writer reinvents herself with each book she writes, so why shouldn’t she reinvent her writing space once in a while?
*p.s. My patient, thoughtful, and creative husband was actively involved in bringing my decorative vision to life, as well as painting the room (twice) and installing my new light fixture. It’s not that I can’t paint walls. He’s a Virgo, so…yeah. I should probably give him a backrub.
Where I’m Inspired
I get my best ideas from Nature and all things gothic. Since our move, the Neuse River and abandoned farmhouses have replaced the beach and old cemeteries as my favorite haunts.
To Be Read
At the moment I’m reading SPLINTERED by A.G. Howard. For Christmas I got my first e-reader and currently in the queue are RAVEN BOYS (Maggie Stiefvater), UNTEACHABLE (Leah Raeder), and THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE (Neil Gaiman). I also spend quite a lot of time reading things my CPs send me.
About Rhiann
Rhiann Wynn-Nolet is a YA/NA Fiction writer. Her book TENDRIL is represented by Stefanie Lieberman of Janklow & Nesbit.
As a reader, she longs for unforgettable characters whose stories are filled with family dysfunction, true love, and complex emotion. She adores symbolism and beautiful prose. By “beautiful” she doesn’t mean “purple”, even though she’s in love with her purple office walls. She tries to write the kind of books she wants to read.
Rhiann co-hosts the annual Like A Virgin Writing Contest (#LV14) and #CriTiki Lounge (a pitch feedback forum). When she’s not writing, reading, walking her Jack Russell Terriers, or struggling with her sixth grader’s math homework, she can be found here: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
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