Research When You Least Expect It

This past weekend, we went to a fun annual convention/concert here in San Diego called Tiki Oasis. It's the third year we've gone and we have a great time each one. It's basically what it sounds, a tiki themed convention with surf/tiki bands, symposiums, vendors and of course, tiki drinks (because what is a tiki convention without Mai Tais?)

This isn't Tiki Oasis, but it is our kitchen, displaying a few of my husband's tiki mugs from his collection.

Despite writing a book based in Hawaii and Hawaiian mythology, I didn't really think that I would be buying anything at Tiki Oasis for research purposes. Last year, I didn't see anything that would even inspire me, so this year was a surprise. Don't you love when that happens?
Since starting my current WIP, I've been collecting books on Hawaii and Hawaiian mythology. You never know which book will come in handy, so why not buy the ones that are out there just in case? To my shock, and elated surprise, I found a book that I had yet to see or even hear about that is perfect research for my story.

The Hawaiian Mythology book I bought at Tiki Oasis

After reading a little of the book, I can't believe that I missed it for so long. It will really help me as it gives first hand encounters with Hawaiian spirits/gods from the natives. Very awesome.

I also bought these little tikis below. Aren't they awesome??? Hey crit partners, doesn't the one on the left remind you of a certain mortician? I will glance at these statues for inspiration, but hopefully won't look too long, or they will curse me!

Don't look into their eyes!

You just never know when research will fall in your lap. Of course, I was at a Hawaiian tiki convention, so I guess it's not too far fetched!

Writer Tresses to DIE for

Unruly. Longwinded. Twisted. Gnarled. Short. Blunt. Straight. Kinky. Cropped. Flowing. Untamed.

Are these words that describe my current WIP? Probably. But I’m referring to my love / hate relationship with…my hair. I grow it. Colour it. Perm it (okay – only once and NEVER again). Curl it. Straighten it. Crimp it. Pin it. Updo it and let it all hang down. I’ve even propped it up with pencils and decorated it with little hair bling jewellery things.

But my biggest offence is that I cut my hair myself. Yup, I do. With dull kitchen scissors that saw jagged chunks instead of clean lines, I somehow manage to pull off the shaggy bob style I’ve had for years (in various lengths depending on how much I let it grow out before grabbing those scissors again).

I liken my self-induced hair cutting adventures to writing a first draft of a novel. Sure some pieces may stick out funny, there might be gaps, sections may be longer than they should be, but if you look at the overall beast from a distance – it almost works.

This is where your critique partners and eventually a good editor come in – like a salon stylist brandishing their sharpy sharp, Edward Scissorhands high – saving the day (and the do) with keen eyes and mad reading skills. In no time they’ll hack and slash your unruly writer’s locks into tresses to die for.

Why the hair analogy? Well, yesterday was one of those times where I had to slink off to the salon for a back-to-school fixerupper. I love the finished product. I’m quite put together. But I know I’ll get a creative spark and reach for the kitchen shears in the future, just as I have many more stories to tell. Thank goodness I have my crit partners, a stoic editor and of course, a salon on speed dial.

What I've Been Reading: The Iron Fey Series

I've been doing a lot of reading lately, especially since I've been sick for the past few days. I just completed the second book in the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa, and thought I would share my thoughts on the first two books.

The Iron King: (sysnopsis from bn.com) Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

Until recently, I didn't read a lot of fantasy, but for some reason I seem to be on a solid run of them. I've picked up several in a row including this series and the Graceling books (Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore) and it gives me a perspective when reading a lot of them so close together. I have to be honest, the cover of The Iron King intrigued me, one reason I picked it up. I started the book and was instantly pulled in. I have to admit, the concept and even the world the concept is built in isn't the most original, but I loved it anyway. I loved the characters. Meghan is a strong woman (girl?) who makes her own decisions and follows her own path. You can sympathize with her. Despite the book being based around Midsummer Night's Dream with characters and the Summer and Winter Courts, it still felt original in the little details that Kagawa weaved in. As soon as I finished, I knew that I would have to pick up The Iron Daughter.

The Iron Daughter: (synopsis from bn.com) Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.

Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of The Iron Daughter from Netgalley about a week before the book came out. I started it as soon as I finished The Iron King, which was really refreshing because normally you have to wait so long between books that it takes awhile to get back into the story. I didn't have any trouble at all, and The Iron Daughter picks up right where The Iron King ends. I thought this was the perfect sequel, building off the world that Kagawa took the time to really develop in The Iron King, yet she was able to expand on it and open the readers onto new things. I don't want to give too much away about the sequel if you haven't read the first one, but the romantic triangle that starts in the first book, only grows stronger. Meghan has to decide which guy is best for her, even if the answer is neither. We learn more about each court and the fey that live within the world of NeverNever. There is a great pace to The Iron Daughter that will keep you reading late into the night.

I would highly recommend both books in the series. The writing is beautiful and the characters are endearing, even when they are not always up for the challenge. Meghan is a strong main character who you will laugh and cry with, as if she were a good friend you're watching take the tough journey she is on. I can't wait for the third book to the series, The Iron Queen.

Back to School

And just like that, my summer is over. I start back to work on Monday (I'm a school library technician). I had a productive summer, thanks to our YA Edge 1k-A-Day writing challenge, but it wasn't AS productive as I'd hoped. I'd intending on working on all three of my WIPs, and ended up sticking with revisions of Second Skin. (Granted, that's the one with the deadline...lol...)

I'll miss the trips to the lake to throw sticks for the dogs, the afternoon snoozes and binge movie watching. Willow, my yellow lab, won't always have me around to play "kill the yellow basketball, again". But I'm also (gasp!) ready to get out into the real world again. There's drama. Laughter. Conversations. Gossip. Danger (yes, library work is dangerous - books might fall on me or something, ya never know...lol...). Love. Pain. Old grudges. Envy. Hope. Greed.

The "real" world is where the stories are and without it, I'd have little to spark my creativity. Though the ultimate would be working part time so I'd have lots of opportunity to write and travel for authorly stuff, for now I'll enjoy the chaos of balancing writing and the day job. So bring on the alarm clock and bag lunches! Happy rest of the summer...I'm off to buy some coil notebooks and other fun school supplies.

To Live the First Time Again

In our teen years, a lot of firsts come into our lives. Our first kiss, the first time we drive, a lot of times the first time we move away from family, first major peer pressure, the first real job and usually the first broken heart. These things aren't easy to go through, and at times felt as if my world was crashing down. I started to remininse about all of these things I lived through as a teen the other day. It made me realize as an adult we don't have very many firsts in our lives. It's hard to keep things fresh and that much easier to get into a rut.

What does this have to do with writing or reading? After I had fun walking down memory lane, I thought of the amazing feeling I get when I read a really good book for the first time. There's nothing like discovering new characters and counting the minutes until you can pick it up again to complete their journey. It's always heartbreaking getting to the last page, especially in a long series that you've invested so much time with, you feel as if the characters are your friends. You could always go back and read the book(s) again, yet it's not the same as the first time you read them.

If you could go back and read any book(s) again for the first time, what would they be? It can be a book you love, or one that changed you for some reason.


Here's my list:

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger- I've professed my love of this book a few times here on the blog, and I'm going to do it again. Catcher in the Rye was the first, if not the only book I LOVED that was assigned reading for school. I usually dreaded said assignments, but once I cracked open Catcher for the first time and met Holden Caulfield, I couldn't put it down. I finished it well before I was supposed to at school and thought about it for weeks if not months afterward. It made me trust some of the great classics out there that I wouldn't have read otherwise. I read (and blogged) about this book recently, but it didn't have the same magic as the first time. Not because I didn't like it as much, but I knew what to expect. It was like visiting with an old friend instead of discovering someone knew you have a ton in common with.



Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling- I can't explain my love for these books. It goes beyond words, but I'm going to try and explain it a little here. I wasn't one of the first HP adopters (sadly), but I was early enough in the series to get into it before the HP market completely exploded. When I first picked up HPatSS, book 3 was about to come out. The hype was big, but it wasn't in your face. I was curious to understand what people were talking about. The cover intrigued me. I wasn't a huge fan of fantasy back then, so I'll admit i had a little trepidation when I started. After reading the first few pages of book 1, I was hooked. I couldn't put it down and knew that I would be a Harry Potter fan for life. I blazed through the first three books and waited anxiously for the 4th to come out. I saw each movie opening night (well, except for the 5th movie. I was in the hospital with pneumonia), went to midnight releases for the final three books and own quite a bit of HP merchandise. Despite being a little older (I was 21, about to turn 22 when book 3 came out), I couldn't get enough and at 30 yrs old, almost 31 my love for HP is as strong as it was almost 10 years ago. I wish I could rewind time and go back to the days I just discovered the Harry Potter cast of characters. Heck, I wish I could go back a few years to feel the excitement of being handed HP7 shortly after midnight and staying up to read the beginning. I don't think I have (or ever will) feel such excitement for a book as I have when holding a new HP book and wondering what is inside.


Looking for Alaska by John Green- I loved Looking for Alaska, but it really isn't so much the book to me as what it means. I remember browsing the mystery section (I used to read any mystery/thriller I could get my hands on...Harlan Coben FTW) and remembering a book I saw everyone talking about on the internet. The cover stuck in my mind, the smoke billowing from a blown out candle against a dark background. At this point in my life, I hadn't read many YA/Teen books (except when I was a teen), but for some reason, Looking for Alaska spoke to me from the shelves. I went in search for it and found it on the end cap of the teen aisle (at that point, the YA/Teen aisle in my local B&N wasn't very big. Now it's the biggest section in the whole store, minus the general Fiction area). I didn't really know what to expect. I had read a little bit about John Green, including his blog and I must say, he intrigued me. He was around my age, so I was curious to see what the book was about. I started writing around that time (you guessed it, I wrote mysteries and thrillers) and let me tell you, I was NOT very good. I got home and instantly started reading LfA and half way through, I knew I needed to write teen fiction. So, I guess you can say, I can thank LfA and John Green for my life today. I may not be a published YA author (yet), but my life is immersed in the teen fiction world every day. It's what I write, who I am and what I spend my time reading. To feel that light bulb go off again, knowing I had to write YA fiction, I would give anything.

Write On Con

While writing is a solitary task, it doesn’t always have to be. Along the way authors find loyal critique partners, beta readers, and other author who act as mentors or ones to mentee (is that a word?). However, being from a small town, my (almost daily) interactions with these fabulous people (like our own, Tami) are ”virtual”. We live in different countries, but we work together online….if you told me I’d be collaborating with authors like this, say 10 years ago, I’d have asked if you were feeling alright.

Thankfully, we have the Internet. It’s difficult for me to get to conferences, writer retreats and professional development opportunities – but with the Net, it’s getting easier. This week, for example, I’m at a children’s writers conference. Yup, me and my cup of coffee and my jammies and slippers. I can even sneak in a nap in the afternoon if my brain gets overloaded – because the conference is completely online.

The first (of many, I hope) Write On Con (WOC) is now playing at a URL near you: www.writeoncon.com. Founded by seven children’s authors, WOC is brilliantly put together. Bestselling and debut authors, agents and editors alike share writing and industry tips in both print and vlog formats. There’s a whole community of publishing types on the WOC Forums, offering query, 1st pages and 1st 250 word critiques, as well as informal chats and general publishing discussions.

Wowza, that’s all I can say. If you have time, check it out, it’s well worth the few seconds it takes to register. That’s right – the conference is FREE.

1k-a-day Grand Prize Winner!

Sorry for the delay in posting this, but Blogger didn't like me yesterday morning and I had a concert in the evening an hour and a half away from where I live. Needless to say, I was a little frazzled.

Before I announce the winner, I wanted to thank everyone for participating in 1k-a-day. Tracy and I had a great time (as always) and I hope you did too. Please leave comments (or you can email us) anything that you can think of to make 1k-a-day even better next time. We try to hold it at least once a year (sometimes twice) and would appreciate any feedback you may have.

Here again is a breakdown of items included in the prize packs:


















From Tracy:

- signed copy of UMS
- Class of 2k10 bookmark
- UMS postcard
- UMS character card
- UMS ribbon and cross bookmark - based on Eryn's necklace






















From Tami:

-Beautiful Darkness bracelet
-Twilight-themed playing cards
-A Dexter (the TV Show) pin and lanyard
- Losing Faith by Denise Jaden bookmark
-How it ends by Laura Wiess
-The China Garden by Liz Berry
-Tattoo by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
-An amigurumi crochet cupcake (not shown. Winner can pick the color of "icing" if you want since I will have to specially make this item.)


I wrote down each person that participated in 1k-a-day and then numbered them going down the list from 1-7. I then used a random number generator to selected the winner, which came up #4.

And the winner is.....


MISS TAMMY!!!

Congrats! Please mail your address to YAedge AT yahoo DOT com, as well as what color icing you'd like for your cupcake amigurumi (I pretty much have every color yarn)! Remember, your package will be coming in two parts, one from me and one from Tracy.

Thanks again to everyone. I hope you join us for the next 1k-a-day challenge.

YAedge will begin our regularly scheduled blogging starting next week. Please come back and join us as we talk about writing, reading and great YA books!