All In Good Time

Today's blog post is about time. Specifically about time in the publishing world, which is...

sssss

llllllll

oooo

www.

Butthensometimes(likewhenyou'reunderdeadline)itcangoreallyfasttoo.

Of course, if you know anything about publishing, you already know this.

I knew this.

But knowing it and experiencing it are two different things. Being prepared to wait is not the same as being in the midst of waiting and having to bite your tongue to keep yourself from coming across as a little kid in the backseat of the car during a very long road trip who asks "are we there yet?" every five minutes.

So, I am not there yet. There, in this case, being Summer 2013 when ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE will be published by HarperTeen. At times there feels very far away, and that's when I need to remind myself of the progress I've made so far in this incredible journey.

Here is a quick recap.

June 2011 - Started sending out queries for ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE.

July 2011 - Joined forces with the amazing Alexandra Machinist of Janklow and Nesbit.

August 2011 - After a week on submission (this was one of those times when publishing went fast and I am sooo grateful for that) my book sold to HarperTeen.

November 2011 - Received first editorial letter and began my first set of revisions. I am one of those people who really enjoy revising (while first drafting, on the other hand, is like pulling teeth) so this was super happy times.

December 2011 - Friends and family ask for the bazillionth time - but now with an increasingly concerned tone - if I have gotten my contract/any money yet. I tell them "No, not yet, these things take time." They don't say it out loud, but I can tell that they are wondering if I have hallucinated this whole 'being published' thing.

January 2012 - I turn in my first revision - two whole days before my deadline!

January 2012 - My contract arrives! I call all my friends and family to let them know that it is now legal and legit - my book is really being published! I also make my husband take pictures of me signing the contract.

That's me actually signing my name to a legal and binding document.

That's me, sorta smiling, after being instructed by my husband to look happy.

January 2012 - Received my first check! Once again called friends and family to reassure them that this was really truly officially official.

February 2012 - Got word that marketing was starting to think about covers for Summer 2013 books - including mine!

February 2012 - Received second revision letter, along with my printed out MS full of wonderful purple inked comments.

March 2012 - Working on my revisions.

March 2012 - Joined Lucky 13s, an amazing group of 2013 debut YA and children's authors.

March 2012 - Joined Y2K13 - another awesome group of 2013 debut YA and children's authors.

And that brings us to now. Still working on my latest round of revisions - I have only two weeks until they are due! I'm also plotting out my next book, which I am about 10K words into and very excited about. Other than that, the journey continues. Sometimes with teeny tiny baby steps and at other times great leaps. Sometimes it's thrilling. Sometimes it's nerve-racking. Sometimes it's coma inducing.

I'm not there yet, but bit by bit - I will get there eventually.

Chillin Like A Villain

Okay, the reason for the title of this post will become clear very soon, but first I wanted to go off on a tangent about, well about the title of this post. So I have heard the phrase "chillin like a villain" many times, but I didn't actually know what it meant until just moments ago when I thought "Hmm, maybe before I put that phrase on my blog I should Google it and make sure it doesn't mean something dirty or bad that I totally don't intend at all."

And this is what I found on Urban Dictionary from a helpful poster, "Anyway, as said before, it's SPELT "chillin like a villAIN" not "chillin like a villain". It means you are really relaxed et cetera. like a head of a rich criminal organization."

And from another helpful poster at the same site, "It first appeared on the saturday morning cartoon Batman, where Batman approaches Freeze and Mr. Freeze says im chillin like a villan, hence why he was chillin (literal definition).

Batman: Freeze what are you doing?
Mr. Freeze: chillin like a villan"

So the next time someone asks me how I am doing, I could totally answer that I am, "chillin like a villAIN. I won't though because:

A. It would be embarrassing for all involved to hear those words coming out of my mouth.

B. If I was a villain I would not be chillin at all. I would be freaking out that I was going to get caught or that the other villains were going to kill me, or that my latest evil plot would blow up in my face (if this plot involved explosive devices then this worry would be literal). Of course, I could twist the phrase and respond, "I am chillin in a way not at all resembling the way I would feel were I a villain" but that is clunky, ruins the rhyme completely, and doesn't at all alleviate the problem of point A.

For now let's leave chillin like a villain as the title of this blog post, and speaking of this blog post Amparo from the blog chain has brought us a wonderful topic dealing with... villains.

Since Valentine's Day is around the corner, I think it's only appropriate to pay homage to those we love. But instead of our better halves, family members, and friends, this blog chain will be all about loving the haters: write a love letter to your favorite literary villain/villain-ish character. It can be short, long, serious, funny. You can use song lyrics or poems instead. Choice is totally yours :)

Okay, my villain isn't literary, but I really truly love him - and I think that's the important thing here. So no more pantsing around - here it is:

My Dearest Spike,

In pictures and in your own words, here is why I love you.

Your ability to communicate without words.

Your awesome British cussing.

Your part in the musical episode. 'Nuff said.

"Do you know what I found worked real good with Slayers? Killing them."
Season 2

Your villainy. Yeah, you were a truly bad, bad guy. That changed in later seasons, but in the first few - you were no good. And in later seasons it was so much fun watching you becoming a better man... even though you were kicking and screaming the whole way.

"You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other until it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood -- blood screaming inside you to work its will. I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it"
Season 3

Cause you told it the way you saw it - bullshit free.

"Dracula? Poncy bugger owes me 11 pounds, for one thing"
Season 5

Cause you know Dracula... and Dracula owes you 11 pounds. Hee.

"You listen to me. [Kneels in front of her] I've been alive a bit longer than you, and dead a lot longer than that. I've seen things you couldn't imagine, and done things I prefer you didn't. I don't exactly have a reputation for being a thinker. I follow my blood, which doesn't exactly rush in the direction of my brain. So I make a lot of mistakes, a lot of wrong bloody calls. A hundred plus years, and there's only one thing I've ever been sure of: you. [Buffy looks away; he reaches toward her face] Hey, look at me. I'm not asking you for anything. When I say, "I love you," it's not because I want you or because I can't have you. It has nothing to do with me. I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you. And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy."
Season 7

And mostly because you can make one hell of a passionate speech.

I love ya, Spike. Happy Valentine's Day!

That's it from me - keep following along with this blog chain to find more villainous love notes, and if you have a minute leave a comment telling me who your favorite villain is.

One Way or Another

 

Today it is my turn to get the blog chain rolling with a new topic. My topic is inspired by the million awesome Tumblr blogs that I keep coming across during my internet explorations.

Post pictures, songs, movie clips, poems, or novel excerpts that make you feel. Feel what, you ask? Feel anything. Happy. Sad. Angry. Nostalgic. Hopeful. Hopeless. Jealous. Joyful. 

I have read in several different places that YA novelist John Green said of his latest novel, The Fault In Our Stars that he wants to make his readers "Feel All The Things." I would love that someone could go through this blog chain and through what we all choose to post have that same Feel All The Things feeling.

So here's mine:

Hello from ant1mat3rie on Vimeo.

Sea Fever

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

by: John Masefield 
(I wrote a paper on this poem in high school. After turning a poem inside out so that you can write a five page paper on it you will either love it or hate it when you are done. I loved it.)

*(Personal Note: French words are the WORST!)

Athlete Aimee Mullins
“Born without fibulae in both legs, Aimee’s medical prognosis was discouraging; she was told she would never walk, and would likely spend the rest of her life using a wheelchair. In an attempt for an outside chance at independent mobility, doctors amputated both her legs below the knee on her first birthday. The decision paid off. By age two, she had learned to walk on prosthetic legs, and spent her childhood doing the usual athletic activities of her peers: swimming, biking, softball, soccer, and skiing, always alongside “able-bodies” kids.”

 

" The man had killed the thing he loved, and so he had to die
Yet each man kills the thing he loves, by each let this be heard
Some do it with a bitter look, some with a flattering word
The coward does it with a kiss, the brave man with a sword
Some kill their love when they are young, and some when they are old
Some strangle with the hands of lust, some with the hands of gold
The kindest use a knife, because the dead so soon grow cold
Some love too little, some too long, some sell, and others buy
Some do the deed with many tears, and some without a sigh
For each man kills the thing he loves, yet each man does not die

— from The Ballad of Reading Goal by Oscar Wilde

"Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that. You forget some things, dont you? Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget." — Cormac McCarthy

And that about sums it about for me. Please keep following this blog chain to see what everyone else posts - next up is Cole.