Twitter and Vimeo

Tweet, tweet, tweet.

Go ahead, guess what that is.

A bird?

You're close.

A bird-brain?

Oooh, so close you're burning up.

@katekaryusquinn on Twitter?

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

Yes, after years of foolish resistance I have finally joined the Twitterverse, the Twitternation, or as I prefer to be called - the Twits.

It's an ongoing experiment, I am still not one hundred percent certain exactly what I am supposed to do with it, but so far I am having fun figuring it all out. If you want to follow, I have oh so conveniently added a little follow button to my side bar. Considerate of me, isn't it? And if I should be following you, leave your @name in the comments and I will gladly become a follower.

In other news, my husband and I have been working a little side project for several months now called Piscean Cinema. Our first finished film is from a wonderful wedding that we shot in May. What we made is a cross between a music video and a preview for a new movie. I am beyond thrilled with how it turned out, so if you have a few minutes - check it out!

Brenda and Steven - Wedding Trailer from Piscean Cinema on Vimeo.

For those that are interested in the technical details. My husband and I shot this on two Panasonic GH2's with a variety of four-thirds, micro four-thirds, and legacy Minolta lenses. My brilliant husband, Andy Quinn, edited it using Final Cut.

Wonderful and Exciting News

Last Friday I accepted an offer of representation with Alexandra Machinist of Janklow and Nesbit Associates.

That is all.

Oh, what's that? You want details?

Okay, here's what I can tell you.

I got "the call" almost two weeks ago from a different wonderful agent. And while I wanted to yell into the phone, "Yes, yes, yes!" I knew that wasn't the right way to do things when I had a dozen other full/partials out there with other agents. Somehow I stumbled through the conversation, and ended it with only a promise to speak with the wonderful agent again.

Then there was a flurry of emailing. Some agents asked for more time to read, some said they were too busy and opted out, and some wanted to give me a call.

In the end I received four offers altogether and each was was wonderful... and also kinda awful. I really did not want to say no to anyone who told me that they loved my book. I wanted to say yes and thank you and I love you for loving my book.

Of course, I could only accept representation with one agent and in the end I knew that person had to be Alexandra.

And now I am looking forward to the next step in this writing journey - that of going out on submission. It is wonderful and scary and amazing, and I am so very grateful to be on this journey and to be able to share it with all of you!

Pots 'n Pens

I am involved in new blogging adventure with a bunch of other writers/food lovers called Pots 'n Pens. My introductory post is up today along with a great recipe for hot chocolate on a stick.

That sounds good, doesn't it?

Well, what are you waiting for? Come on over and check it out!

It's In the Details

It is blog chain time once more, and this time Michelle has started things off.

There are so many things we have to include in our storyworlds...characters, world details, settings, etc. No matter what genre you write, your stories are full of tiny details that help create your storyworld. I know that for me, at least, finding or creating all these details can sometimes be a bit tough.

Where do you go for help? And what types of things are you more likely to research/search for as opposed to making up on your own? Do you have any favorite resource sites? Share links if you have them!!

I honestly don't have any favorite research sites... unless you count Google. When I am stuck for exactly how to describe something or don't have a clear enough vision of it in my head, then I use Google images. If I want to make sure that I am spelling the name of an actual person (like Arnold Schwarzenegger) correctly, then I Google. Sometimes if I am trying to figure out where something is or how long it would take my character to get somewhere then I'll use Google maps.

So yeah, Google. I really really really like Google. But so this post doesn't seem like a paid advertisement for Google, I usually try to write without clicking over to Google and the greater World Wide Web it is a part of, because then there is a whole world of distractions. And since I write stories that take place in contemporary settings, luckily I don't need a lot research, but can instead pull from my own life and observations and then from there let my characters dictate all the little details that go into a story.

For an example of how I usually write details into a story here is a tiny excerpt from my YA novel that I am currently querying.

I slipped out of bed and down the stairs. For pajamas I’d taken to sleeping in the hospital gown that I had kept on beneath the clothes the mom and the dad had brought for me, wearing it the whole drive home, feeling then, as I do now, that it was the only thing that truly belongs to me. Reaching into the closet by the front door, I pulled out the first thing my fingers grabbed hold of – a gigantic puffy parka that covered me down to mid-thigh. Even though it wasn’t that cold out, I pulled the fur-lined hood up over my head, figuring it would counter-balance my bare feet.

For the puffy parka, I was actually remembering similar ones that my younger sisters wore a few years ago when the fur-lined hoods were a very big thing. And from two stays in the hospital after having both of my children via c-section, I am very familiar with hospital gowns. Both of those clothing items came together, and I liked the juxtaposition between the two - the flimsy gown and gigantic coat.

So, that's how I research - what about you?

And to continue following this chain, make sure to check out Sandra's post before mine and Cole's immediately after.

Curses Wrap Up

In my last post I put a curse on my fellow blog chain members... and then waited to see how they would deal with it. They all grappled with the problem in different ways. I highly recomment that you read each of their individual responses by clicking the links below.

Michelle McLean
Margie Gelbwasser
Abby Annis
Sandra Ulbrich Almazan
Christine Fonseca

And now that they've all answered, I think it is time to lift the curse.

*POOF*


And my own curse, of having trouble finding an idea for my next novel, has been slowly lifting as well. No, I haven't put any words on paper yet, but the ideas are swirling around in my head, and I am starting to get that excited itch that makes me want to put some words on paper. And that, my friends, is progress.

So that finishes out this round of the blog chain, and until the next one I'd love to know - what do you do when you are stuck for that next great idea?

I Put A Spell On You

It's my turn to get the blog chain ball rolling this time, and I have to admit I was having a hard time coming up with something.

Lots of stuff and lots of life adjustments have been happening lately. I made a big move, started a full time job after several years of being home all day with the kids (switching places with my husband who is now looking for a job), after staying with my parents for a few weeks we found a house to rent and have spent the last few weeks unpacking and settling in, and trying to get our very confused children back into some sort of normal routine again. And on top of all that, I am also working on revisions of my latest book so that I can start sending queries out ASAP.

And and and, somewhere beyond all that I know that I should be starting on the next next book, which I have some scattered ideas for, but nothing solid. The thing is - my brain is sputtering. Instead of plotting the lives of my new characters, it's going, "Ooooh, why did I move to a different state? Why do I have to visit the DMV? And get a new license with a probably terrible picture? And register my car? Ooooh, why?"

The whole being unable to focus on writing feels like a curse. Or an evil spell. And that's when I had my idea. No, not for the new novel, but for this blog chain.


Curses, you've been cursed! You can write no longer. The story well has run dry, and you can't even remember how to type. Now what do you do? Where do you channel your creative energies? And to what lengths would you go to break the curse?


Now, I'm gonna cheat a little bit on this chain, and not answer the questions myself until the end of the chain. So head on over to Michelle's blog to see how she handles the curse.

Accentuate the Positive

It's been a horrible wet and gloomy spring for me, and for many other people in the South and Midwest it has been even worse with all the terrible tornadoes that keep coming. Sometimes it's easy to forgot that there is any good left, which is why I think Michelle's question for this round of the blog chain is so great.

The question: Be positive! Name some of the positive aspects of your writing --- be it a compliment from a mentor, friend or crit partner to anything special you learned concerning your writing skills.

When it is easy to focus on what isn't working and what isn't going your way, I think it's great to sometimes focus on the positives in all aspects of life, and in our writing journeys especially.

Hand in hand with accentuating the positive is also remembering that we need to toot our own horns sometimes. Maybe we haven't gotten an agent yet or made the bestseller list, or whatever the next goal down the line is, but as long as we stick with it we will continue to move forward, even if it is sometimes measured in inches instead of the giant leaps we want to be making.

So, without further ado, here are two big POSITIVES in my current writing life.

1. I had another story published in Woman's World this past month. It is my third story that I've submitted and they've accepted. There is nothing like the validation of seeing your words in print AND getting paid for them too. As a bonus, Kate Willoughby, who runs a blog about writing for Woman's World gave my story a great review.

2. I just finished my third novel and am getting ready to query once more. It's easy to see this as a negative. Two novels that I was unable to find an agent with. But I won't look at it that way (not today at least). The first novel got a few nibbles, but nothing serious. The second novel I got a lot closer with a rewrite/resubmit request and even a telephone call with the agent. It didn't end with an offer of representation, but I knew I was that much closer. Now as I prepare to start the query process all over again, I feel more hope than trepidation.

And as a little bonus I have a third positive that really doesn't have much to do with writing, but more with my personal life. After wanting to return to hometown of Buffalo, NY for many years, my husband and I finally found a way to make it a reality. At the beginning of May we packed up our house in Knoxville and headed North. We are still getting settled and a lot of our lives are still up in the air, but it feels good to be here, near my family again and at the place that through years of moving around California and Tennessee - I never could stop thinking of it as "home".

To follow along with this blog chain please read Sandra's post from yesterday, and then tomorrow head over to Cole's where she will finish things up.