Writer Love.  Featuring writers I adore and who deserve to be in the spotlight, even if it’s my tiny little blog of a spotlight.

My fourth feature is focusing on J. Koyanagi, another writer that I met through Twitter.  She’s unbelievably cool and gorgeous, too! (No, really. Even her eyes would make you stare. )  J. Koyanagi is the type of writer who genuinely cares about her fellow writing colleagues while being modest in her own amazing talent.  You will see her books in stores one day.  Yep.  Pretty much, she’s all-around awesome.

Let’s see what it looks like from J’s point of view when writing…

Now for some get to know you questions…

What genre of writing do you focus on?

Adult science fiction.

Tell us about your current writing project.

I tend toward not giving out much information about my novels until they’re at the query stage, mainly because anything can change until the final (pre-representation) draft is complete. I’ll share a little, though.

My current WIP’s working title is Omphalos, and takes place on a semi-distant future Earth in the only remaining human city. The world outside is a wasteland that breeds rusted, hollow demons who scratch at the city’s shield. Citizens of Omphalos are protected by incarnate gods, as well as the “divine sparks” that prevent injury, aging, or unintentional death, and turn human flesh into living art. Beauty and pleasure are devotional concepts; in Omphalos, anything else, any other way of being, would equate to apostasy.

As for the plot, the novel opens with the main character, Ember, confronting her grandfather’s reincarnated murderer. Given the nature of life in Omphalos, the mysterious circumstances of his death have haunted Ember all her life; now that she’s identified his killer, she’s looking for answers. Of course, the truth takes her to places she never could have anticipated.

I realize I’m being a bit vague; sorry about that! I hope to have an actual teaser summary available on my website in the next month or two, when I’m ready to query. I also realize my description makes it sound more like fantasy than science fiction, but that’s because it’s an immersive story. Perspective is everything. Citizens of Omphalos don’t realize their luxuries are the product of technology (for the most part, anyway).

What is your biggest writing related goal?

Right now, I’m focusing on securing representation and publication through a major imprint.

More idealistically, I want my stories to mean something to the people who read them. If only a handful of my readers walk away questioning something vital to them, something uncomfortable and real, then I’ll have done my job.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned since focusing on your writing?

Superlative questions are always tough for me! Let’s see. Probably that the stories with the most potential for greatness will lacerate you on their way out. They take you to raw and vulnerable places and force you to trust your instincts. You fight for them because they deny you the luxury of self-conscious restraint.

If you could have chosen your own name, other than the one you go by now, what would it be?

I loved Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, and it was the first novel to come to mind when I read this question. My given name is fine– I really don’t mind it– but if I had to choose another name, I’d want it to be unusual and androgynous. I’ll go with Oryx.

If you were to get a tattoo for your first published work, what would the tattoo be?

I actually do plan to get a half-sleeve comprised of imagery from my first published novel, whenever it happens. All of my tattoos are hallmarks of accomplishments or major milestones in my life. I’m hoping that debut novel is Omphalos, but I guess we’ll see!

If I saw you at a Halloween party, what would you most likely be dressed as?

If money is no object (and in daydreams, that’s how it should be), you’d find me dressed as one of the Fremen from Frank Herbert’sDune– luminescent eyes and all, a Khepri from China Miéville’s Perdido Street Station, or Lily in her black gown from the film Legend.

Song dedication of the day for J is: She Blinded Me with Science by Thomas Dolby Why?  Because she’s a hot nerd, of course!

*And Lily from Legend? Oh, my. This is why we are friends. Great answer. *

Writer Love. I’ll feature some writers that I adore and who deserve to be in the spotlight, even if it’s my tiny little blog of a spotlight. This is a new series for me, but one I’ve been planning for a while.

My third feature is focusing on Miranda Kenneally, a writer that I met through Twitter.  She’s got to be one of the most fun and interesting people I’ve had the chance to know online.  I had the pleasure of passing new pages back and forth with her and I can tell you that this chick knows her stuff!  And she’s on her way to being published. (An agent was already smart enough to snag her.)

Let’s see what it looks like from Miranda’s point of view when writing…

Now for some get to know you questions…

What genre of writing do you focus on?

YOUNG ADULT

Tell us about your current writing project.

CONTEMPORARY YA ROMANTIC COMEDY.

What is your biggest writing related goal?

PUBLICATION, AND BEING AT PEACE WITH MY WRITING STYLE.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned since focusing on your writing?

IT’S A LOT HARDER THAN IT LOOKS, AND IT TAKES A LOT OF HARD WORK.

If you could have chosen your own name, other than the one you go by now, what would it be?

LEIGH GLENWOOD

If you were to get a tattoo for your first published work, what would the tattoo be?

THE STAR TREK INSIGNIA

If I saw you at a Halloween party, what would you most likely be dressed as?

COMMANDER DATA? or LORD VOLDEMORT?

Song dedication of the day for Miranda: Vader’s Theme…(Imperial March) cause, yeah…it’s Miranda.

Writer Love. I’ll feature some writers that I adore and who deserve to be in the spotlight, even if it’s my tiny little blog of a spotlight. This is a new series for me, but one I’ve been planning for a while.

My second feature is focusing on Erica Chapman, a lovely writer that gave me the privilege of beta-ing her novel.  Not only is she a great writer, but she is one of the sweetest people I’ve met.  You should all be lucky to find a friend like her.

Let’s see what it looks like from Erica’s point of view when writing…

Now for some get to know you questions…

What genre of writing do you focus on?

Mostly YA. I love the stories I’ve been able to come up within that genre. I’m not opposed to writing an adult one though ;o)

Tell us about your current writing project.

I have a YA paranormal. I’ll give you the current synopsis ;o)

When Snow Stansbury’s sister died seven years ago in front of her, Snow’s belief shattered. She’s tested again when her best friend Liv is murdered. She meets Vaughn, an amnesiac soul fresh out of Purgatory with a final task to solve Liv’s murder. With only two weeks and threat of being sent to Hell, Vaughn seeks the help of the closest person to Liv, Snow. She soon finds out that even though Vaughn’s past is a mystery, someone or something is determined to make him remember.

Purgatory’s Hell.

Still working on it ;o)

What is your biggest writing related goal?

To be successfully published, movie deals, book tours… hey you asked the biggest one!! Always Dream big ;o)

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned since focusing on your writing?

It takes a lot of diligence and hard work to complete a novel. And first drafts are just ideas on paper, the real writing comes in the second one. At least for me ;o)

If you could have chosen your own name, other than the one you go by now, what would it be?

Hmm I’ve always wanted a name like Ava or Ellie. I like Ella too. I guess I like them beginning with vowels!

If you were to get a tattoo for your first published work, what would the tattoo be?

Not sure, probably a snowflake. or the name of the book (it won’t be the current one, I’m coming up with new ones every day!), or an idea from the book a symbol of something.

If I saw you at a Halloween party, what would you most likely be dressed as?

Great question!

Rocker chick! Gotta represent ;o) or Alice from Alice in Wonderland. Or the Cheshire Cat. Not sure I can pull the cat off though…

Thanks, Regan!  This was fun ;o)

Song dedication of the day for Erica: Snow Patrol – Somewhere A Clock is Ticking (Get it? Her main character’s name is Snow. )

Writer Love.  I’ll feature some writers that I adore and who deserve to be in the spotlight, even if it’s my tiny little blog of a spotlight. This is a new series for me, but one I’ve been planning for a while.

My first feature is focusing on Madeleine Rex, one of the most amazing and talented young writers I know.  (She’s 14 years old and destined for a best seller. I’m not even joking. I’m reading the first draft of her first book right now. )  She also runs an awesome blog.

Let’s see what it looks like from Maddie’s point of view when writing…

Twilight poster! Caught you!

Now for some get to know you questions…

What genre of writing do you focus on?

YA, mostly because that’s what I know. What I’m going through. Though being human and human problems are the same at any age, our ways of viewing them differ as we get older. I can relate to adults, but there’s some sort of connection I feel to people closer to my own age.

Tell us about your current writing project.

It’s titled The Lemonites and is out with my betas. Roughly, it’s about a boy named after Pepto Bismol who goes to a summer camp for emotionally-traumatized kids with his friends after their buddy commits suicide. The camp just happens to be a lemon farm (Hope’s Lemons), where they earn their stay by picking the lemons. The kids call themselves Lemonites. While they’re there… uh, a lot happens. ;D Trust me – even I don’t have a clear description in my head. Writing it down for you is nearly impossible.

What is your biggest writing related goal?

To be published by the time I’m 18 (preferably 16). Beyond that – well, there’s a lot beyond that. So much that thinking about it gives me a minor headache.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned since focusing on your writing?

That it involves an incredible amount of work and diligence. When you’re writing a book, you can only be truly successful if you develop a strong, nearly unshakable work ethic. For me, that meant sitting down and writing at least 2,000 words every day. Now, it means keeping my head on straight and avoiding a mental break-down when thinking about all the editing I have to do.

If you could have chosen your own name, other than the one you go by now, what would it be?

I love my name. Particularly my last name. My parents were going to name me Erica Morgan Rex, which I love as well, so I suppose it would be Erica Morgan.

If you were to get a tattoo for your first published work, what would the tattoo be?

Can it be a tattoo with face-paints? Yes? Then it would probably be something that spoke of the novel (obviously). As I don’t know what my first published book will be, I can’t really say. If it’s The Lemonites, it would probably be a lemon (surprise!). A, um, fancy-looking lemon.

If I saw you at a Halloween party, what would you most likely be dressed as?

Hermione Granger. Honestly, with hair like mine, I’d be an idiot not to dress as her. (Actually, I already have. I’ve got a cloak and Gryffindor scarf.)

And, yes, I might have spent my eleventh birthday waiting for a certain letter with the Hogwarts seal in the mail…

Song dedication of the day for Maddie: Go On, Say It by Blind Pilot. Because the band and Maddie are from the west coast.  And they both make me smile.

So I’ve been trying to edit today.  It’s been hard.  Dropping what was essentially a 7th draft WIP in order to take care of real life for a few months…yeah, not easy to jump back in.  Sigh.  I decided that I’d start posting excerpts of Mallory’s Story as I read back through it for my own motivation to keep going.  This first novel originally started at 500 pages.  :D  I’ve come a long way, but as you’ll see, I still need to work on it. *This is pre-beta help version, btw.*

The set up: Mallory is a ghost, newly dead by a few months, and she’s been following a guy named Evan.  (That she never met in real life, but is falling for in death.  And he has no idea she exists.)  She’s been trying to find a way to communicate with him and the morning before this scene she figures out that she can write in the steam on the bathroom mirror.  The space is limited and she doesn’t have a chance to say much at all.

On to the next scene…

I’m literally bouncing in the living room that evening, still overjoyed at our miraculous morning, when Evan hops up from his place on the couch.  He’s been reading, his long legs stretched out and his posture relaxed, so his sudden and determined lurch is unexpected.  It makes me falter in my dance.

Evan heads for the foyer, his stride faster than normal.  He seizes the large hideous fish mirror from the wall, a gift from his mother, and jogs up the stairs to the second floor.  Intrigued, I burst up the stairs, passing him, and stand at the top as he rounds the corner.  Evan walks into the bathroom, props the mirror against the wall by the tub, and then sprints back out of the room.  He barges into the bedroom and plucks the mirror hung by the dresser.  Not missing a beat, he spins to collect the one hanging on the inside of his closet too.  I follow Evan back down the hall.  He props those two mirrors beside the first one.

He’s aiming for the door again, when he turns to jerk the shower curtain open, twisting the knob for the hot water.  Evan goes back out the door and closes it behind him.  I buckle to my knees in the center of the room.

He wants to talk.  He’s gathering mirrors for me.

My mind goes blank and my non-existent heart swells with life.  Evan slides back in the door, holding another mirror from the spare room.  He leans it against the cabinet door and turns on the hot tap in the sink.

Evan eyes are hopeful, with a smile of anticipation.  He sits down on the tile floor and waits.  I move to sit an inch from him so I can examine his face.  Evan’s not only less afraid, but he actually wants to learn more about me.  It’s been my desire from day one of our odd little arrangement and now I have my chance.

“You’re amazing, my pretty boy,”  I murmur in his ear.

The mirrors have begun to steam, so I start to plot the best way to do this.  Should I wait to answer questions from him or ask my own questions?  I don’t know the rules to this whole beyond-the-grave chatting thing.  Hell, I don’t even know if I have a grave.

Should I use texting lingo to save space?  He might think I’m a teenager.  Well, my handwriting already looks like I’m five.  What should I ask?  One huge question has plagued me all day.  Yes, I need to ask about that for sure.

“I hope you’re here right now,”  Evan says skeptically, glancing around the room as if he might like to see me appear.  Oh, how I wished that were possible for me.

The mist in the room is enough that I’m able to reach out and write on the mirror against the cabinet.  I’m giddy and I impulsively write “boo” rather than the standard “yes” he might be expecting.  I am smarter this time, keeping the letters small from the start.

Evan stops breathing for a second before giving a strangled laugh at the “boo.”  He nods his head in acceptance.  I made him laugh.  His smile is broader, but he doesn’t say anything else, so I choose to ask my question first.

Whether you like my trailers will determine if you want to take my book trailer advice, right? So, first of all, let me show you two book trailers I’ve done.

Here is the trailer I made for my first novel, Mallory’s Story. It was made while her story was being edited.

Here is a trailer I did for my dear writer friend, Cole. His book is currently out on submission to publishing houses.

If you think I have a general good idea about trailers, carry on to my advice…

By the way, I use iMovie to make my videos. Because I have a Mac. Because Mac’s are cool. (I’m hearing the Old Spice guy’s voice in my head right now. )  Do you need a Mac to do all this?  No.  But please don’t waste a load of money on buying a program solely to use for creating book trailers.  It’s. Not. Worth. It.  (I won’t go into technical details in this post. Purely style and content suggestions.)

Things to consider first:

• What tone do you want for your video? You can probably see that Mallory’s trailer is more tension filled and supposed to have more suspense.  The Bear trailer is meant to be more melancholy and a tiny bit haunting, but quirky as far as the characters and images go.
• Depending on your intended “tone”, you then need to decide if you want music.  For me, ALWAYS music.  Why?  It carries the images and words in a way that silence can’t.  Music helps trigger emotions, especially when you have 3 minutes or under to convey your point.  And yes, 3 minutes or under is recommended.  You want people to watch the whole thing, right?  The point is to leave them wanting more, right?  Then don’t bore them or waste their time.
• Voice overs?  Rarely. Very rarely, please.  Unless you have someone that knows how to speak without sounding scripted or you have a GREAT, not good, concept of how to mix and even out audio…DON’T GO THERE. Just don’t.  The potential for it sounding amateur is huge.  Stick to music or carefully placed silences.  You’re a writer, so make the words leave the impression. (Not cousin Sue’s carefully pronounced voice over.)
• If you know how to cut and edit audio, great.  Use that. You know that the song doesn’t have to go in order and that you can even loop a 10 sec bit without ever using the vocals, only changing the small portion of music that you sample. (Example, Mallory’s trailer.  I only used one line of vocals out of a very vocal heavy song.)  With the Bear trailer, I used the whole thing because it fit with my idea.  If you can’t edit audio, or do it decently, then don’t do it at all.  Make sure your song is 100% what you want and let it play through out.
• So you have your tone and audio ideas picked out.  Now go find pictures. Look for copyrighted free or purchase some if you have the extra income and prefer those.  Take your own pictures if you need to get exactly what you want.  Bu again, if you’re a person that sticks your thumb in the frame or every pic usually turns out blurry?  Come on, people.  Work with me here. The point is to not exceed your abilities and if you must, practice and practice until you have it right.
• Video footage, you ask?  Well, it depends.  I’m a fan of images because they don’t look like forced amateur video.  (As much. )  Again, I’m no big pro.  I just try to work within my limits and not exceed them in an obvious way.  If you aren’t trying to get too complicated with the footage, then go for it.  See how you like it.  But be sure to avoid shaky, nausea inducing shots.  Oh, and go for abstract images.  If I recognize an actor from a movie?  Yeah, you kind of lost me when it comes to YOUR story.
• Blending.  With the exception of your title cards or last slide, try and keep all your fonts the same.  There’s nothing more confusing than a string of different fonts and colors.  It distracts the eye and keeps you from actually taking in the content of the words.  If half your pics are black and white, make the rest the same.  Again, flipping back and forth is distracting and unprofessional looking.  Pick where you want emphasis and make that the one or two places you change things up.
• Transitions. Pick one and go with it.  Don’t flip a slide, then dissolve it, then split it, etc… It makes it look pieced together and leaves me dizzy.  :D
• Narrow down your words.  Don’t paste in your entire synopsis.  It will be too much, make your video too long and leave it very boring.  The video is to focus in on the basics and a hook.  No more than that is needed.  Maybe try sprinkling in some quoted dialogue from your book.  But the rule DEFINITELY remains that less is more.
• Play your video for other people.  The kind of people that know how to be mean. See what kind of feedback you get and take advice that you hear repeated.
• If YOU think it sucks?  Don’t use it.  Start again. If you dislike it, do you want it to be the reason someone gets turned off from your book?  Yes, I am a firm believer that book trailers aren’t incredibly important, however crazy fun, but a bad trailer can cause the opposite reaction from what you were going for. Just sayin’.
• Um.  I think that’s all.

Do you have a book trailer?  Paste the link in a comment here so others can give you feedback!
Song of the Day:  Videotape by Radiohead