Headdesk

Oh the Silly Fears We Have

2012-01-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, there was a little girl, and she was afraid.Of movies. Of sleep. Of thunderstorms. Of the river in winter, swollen, waiting to suck little children beneath the ice.She got older.Her fears grew more complex. She began to doubt she would ever have friends; she realized people could change, and she couldn’t stop them; she feared depression, loneliness, inadequacy. She wondered if

Date a Girl Who Reads

2012-01-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

"Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece: Featured Book Trailer

2012-01-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

Saw this trailer today, and loved it. I think it's a great example of how simple trailers can be--although it had film and actors, the sets were everyday, and there wasn't a single special effect. What really caught my attention was the twist at the end. Nobody points it out, but you can't miss it; the inherent conflict leaps out at you.See what I mean? Gorgeous conflict. The book's Goodreads

Murdered Darling Monday #1

2012-01-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

Murdered Darling Mondays is a Teaser-Tuesday spinoff that I'll be hosting once or twice a month. Interested in the concept behind this feature? Check out my introductory post.Today's teaser is from MIRRORPASS, draft 1, chapter 3.Cut in draft 2. * * *It was better if she looked down, or better yet, kept her eyes closed. As long as Aria kept her focus inside – didn’t look out where the sky

Protecting the dream, part 2: When You're Ready

2012-01-04T10:00:00.002-08:00

Publishing is a very mysterious world to people. I know, because when I was a teenager interested in publication for the very first time, it was a mystery I couldn't seem to solve. No one had a clue how it worked. All anyone could tell me was: Writers are people with books in bookstores who get paid money to keep writing.The problem with this is, it doesn't account for all the people who aren't

A Wealth of New: 2012 Resolutions

2012-01-02T12:17:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!I know yesterday was technically the first, and therefore, the day to post resolutions, but I was trapped in the car and had to wait. But trust me. I have resolutions. Good ones.My lovely mother keeps cautioning me not to over-plan, not to get ahead of God, and I understand her concern—given the fact that I have an idea of what I want to do this spring, this summer, and all this

Protecting the dream, part 1: The Caveat

2011-12-28T13:55:00.000-08:00

Before I even begin this post, I should tell you I am a recovering perfectionist. There's guilt in perfectionism. Your sense of worth is stored in whether you got it perfect or not. You always doubt other people's compliments. It's absolutely nutty, and you know it's nutty, but you just. can't. help it. After a while I made a compromise with myself. I hoped I could learn to achieve the quality

Holiday Wiplash

2011-12-08T11:28:00.000-08:00

Christmas comes but once a yearNow it's here, now it's here!Christmas comes but once a yearFa la la la la!I was just watching a commercial for Target, where the instant a woman says goodbye to her family after Thanksgiving dinner and closes the door, her house explodes with all things Christmasy.That has been me.I expected to blog less during November (since I was supposed to be doing Mandywrimo-

Mandywrimo Update - Waffling, but not for the typical reason.

2011-11-14T11:20:00.000-08:00

It's day 14 of Mandywrimo/Nanowrimo, and I am definitely avoiding my story. This is unusual for me. I tend to set challenges for myself, and push like crazy to get them done. Then if I stumble somewhere along the way, I step back and reevaluate--only to set brand new goals, and push like crazy to get those done. I tend to self-evaluate endlessly. So realizing that I've been avoiding this hasn't

MandyWrimo - Taking the (Modified) Plunge

2011-11-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

Ahh. NanoWrimo. Indecision. In my experience, they go together.Me and NanoWrimo are a bit like Anne Lamott and gardening. In Bird By Bird Lamottt describes how terrible she is at gardening, how it doesn't work for her, how every plant she has dies. And yet she loves the idea of a garden and the metaphor of gardens.I love the idea of Nano.I love the concept of writing your butt off for a whole

Creativity: An Intentional, Unpredictable Process

2011-10-27T15:17:00.000-07:00

Creativity is such a weird thing. It is looking at what already exists around us, seeing the patterns, the cliches, the original ideas, the core elements that comprise it, and then based on all these things, coming up with something new.It is not a lightbulb moment in the middle of the night. It is more like spontaneous combustion, like a haystack sitting for months and months in a field, just

The Importance of Being Observant

2011-10-20T07:46:00.000-07:00

(Okay, first, did anyone get my pun? It has to do with the movie. Of course if you never watched the movie, it might not make much sense...Um. Yeah. Nevermind.) Moving is like cleaning. Except ten times worse. Recently I had to go through all my junk and figure out what I wanted to take with me, as a transfer student with a small apartment, to College By the Sea. Parts of it are fun, though. It’s

Interview with an Intern: the Bookmuncher Speaks

2011-10-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

Today's interview is a bit different. (Every once and a while I like to do that. Just, you know, shake things up a bit.) What has been on my mind, lately, are internships. Seems everyone but me went and got interned somewhere in the publishing industry this summer. There's a lot people say about these internships--we hear stories about reading the slushpile, getting free books, learning the

Introducing Murdered Darling Mondays

2011-10-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

Murdered Darling Mondays? Since when? It's a new feature that you'll be seeing once or twice a month. The reason I'm introducing the feature is because--1) I love teasers. It's one of my favorite features on other blogs.Plus--2) I think teasers are a great way to create a fan base. If I like someone's teasers, I have a huge drive to follow their publication progress and read their book when it

Winners

2011-10-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

If you love booksParticularly, these kinds of booksAnd your dreams look something like thisAnd you heartily agreeThen you would probably love to win a signed copy of Karen Duvall's new Young Adult novel, KNIGHT'S CURSE.And if your name is Claire L. Fishback...Then you won!Yay!Claire, I'll be emailing the details of how to receive your prize. Thanks everyone for participating!Truly and always,-

Why We Need Betas

2011-10-03T06:42:00.000-07:00

MIRRORPASS is out with betas at the moment. Not line-edit betas, mind you, but full-draft betas who are reading the thing in entirety and won't give me feedback for weeks.It’s agonizing. I am in the painful position of knowing there are mistakes in my novel, but needing feedback before I know how to fix them. MIRRORPASS is no longer an early draft. Gone are the days when I could explain that,

Guest Post and Giveaway With Karen Duvall

2011-09-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED TO ENTRIESWinners to be announced this weekend.Last week I announced that Karen Duvall would be joining us today to share the tale of her publication journey, and give away a signed copy of her newly released Urban Fantasy, KNIGHT'S CURSE. (See contest details at the bottom of this post.)I've known Karen for a while, and read excerpts of KNIGHT'S CURSE way before it was

Coming Next Week: Guest Post and Giveaway!

2011-09-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

Take a long look at that pretty, pretty cover. It belongs to KNIGHT'S CURSE, the brand new Urban Fantasy novel by my long-time friend and fellow Graphic/Web Designer, Karen Duvall. I interviewed her about KNIGHT'S CURSE in 2009. Now that it's out, I'm excited to get to introduce it to you!Here's the blurb:A skilled knife fighter since the age of nine, Chalice knows what it’s like to live life on

The Naming Trend

2011-09-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

Names are one of the beautiful parts about fiction. We can name our characters, our worlds, our technology, the abilities our characters have, the subcultures they interact with, our books themselves--and names are not just a title, but an inherent meaning. They're suggestive. They're a teeny tiny hook.For some writers (not me) the perfect name is crucial: a story cannot be written without the

Every Novel is Different

2011-09-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking, lately, about the writing process. We writers talk about this like it’s an absolute thing. We are outliners, or pantsers; we are first-person writers, or third-person. It’s how we write and who we are. Like our personalities, it develops and changes slowly over the course of time. Or so it seems. Because of this, I’ve written off working in first

Don't Scare Me Like That

2011-08-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

Dear blog readers. You may have noticed a disturbing new aesthetic on Headdesk that looks like a copied mockery of the original. Well, yeah, it pretty much is a copied mockery--but no fears. This is simply the first step in Project Redesign, and will not last. Once I getter a better handle on Blogger's customizable templates I can make real steps to the nice, pretty redesign that I think we all

Exaggerating for Fun and Profit

2011-08-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

All my life I've been surrounded by enigmatic people. When I was growing up, family gatherings involved wandering from one room to the next and listening--just listening--for hours and hours. Everyone shared their stories. Nothing special, just things from their childhood, their job, things their friends did. But they way the stories were told made them captivating. It

A Headdesk Moment

2011-08-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

..."But it still didn't change the fact that he hit 'send' with the wrong draft attached."Happy thursday!-Creative APS. Writing a tagline for that is addicting. How about this one? "Nothing erased the image of typos from his mind." Or, "And then Blogger didn't save her draft." Or, "All I asked him was if he'd write a novel for me, since it's so easy."Too much fun!

The Art of Extrapolation.

2011-07-31T16:57:00.000-07:00

One question people ask writers, one big mystery of the universe, is "where do you get your ideas?" And writers answer that in a ton of different ways that range from discussions about creativity, imagination, or the practicalities of beginning with a blank page. But I always end up talking about premises. Before I have a premise, I have nothing--maybe a nugget or two, little story concepts that

Facing the Changes

2011-07-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

For the most part, I've kept pretty quiet on this blog about my personal identity. One reason for that is I know a lot about computers and how the web works--it's enough to make the most casual person a bit paranoid. The other reason was, I wanted to focus on creating a blog about the craft of writing, not me. But a lot of things are changing. I am:-Getting ready to pursue a writing career-Better

After the 6-AM Editing Challenge

2011-07-16T16:58:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure when it ended. A month ago, maybe. Two months? When I started the challenge, remember, I wanted to try and make it through my final semester and make dramatic progress editing Mirrorpass. Which I accomplished. It took a scattering of unproductive weeks in between, but after semester ended, edits were still going strong; in fact, I abandoned my "challenge" schedule and began editing

She's a guest, again

2011-07-01T05:47:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! So I'm back on Chandler Craig's blog, Fumbling with Fiction, for my second guest post about the the writing career, and why being the apprentice Worked For Me. Come check it out! Chandler has a list of the whole 4-part series we did, so if you missed any, they're now available in entirety. Truly and always,-Creative A

Chandler Craig on the Writing Career: Why it Worked

2011-06-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

Last week I (Chandler) talked about “Jumpstarting” my writing career and how doing so prevented me from taking the time to see if I really liked writing at all. I’ve dived into every possible opportunity head first and, of course, that philosophy came with its drawbacks. But that isn’t to say that my approach has been all negative. Knowing myself, I think I needed that

Filter Words? Since When?

2011-06-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

Let me take you back to the days when you were a new writer. Remember the first time someone told you that ly-adverbs were unacceptable? It was like being blindsided. First, came the confusion. How could ly-adverbs be bad? Your dialogue would fall flat without "laughingly," "softly," and "excitedly." Then came the denial. This critiquer didn't know what they were talking about. Your writing was

She's a Guest

2011-06-23T05:49:00.000-07:00

...over on Fumbling With Fiction. I'm doing a guest post on Chan's blog about my writing career, and why I decided to take it slow. My experience was so different from Chans. How about yours? Were you the "jumpstarter" or "the apprentice"?Check it out, and let us know.Truly and always,-Creative A

Chandler Craig on The Writing Career: How it (Jump)started

2011-06-22T05:52:00.000-07:00

Last week Mandy approached me about doing a set of posts together. I’ve kept in touch with Mandy over the last couple years—wow, has it been years?—and I’ve been so fortunate to count her as one of my wonderful writing friends. Something we’ve continue to marvel at is how different our writing roads have been. I’ve always admired her patience and diligence in nurturing her

Beautiful YA Book Covers, pt 3

2011-06-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Today I wanted to showcase some of the lesser-known but still gorgeous covers. Many of these, like Darkfall by Janice Hardy, are on my favorite covers list--yet I never see them around. Perhaps as we get closer to their release dates, these will pop up more?WatchedColor. Light. Font. Textures. I'm a bit of a color freak, so covers like this draw my eye right away. I love it on that basis alone.

Two Projects, One Writer - is it for you?

2011-06-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I talked about multiple vs. single projects. Today, I'm talking about identifying traits that make each method successful. I have a huge amount of respect for writers who stick to one novel, because I know how rough it is. I deeply admire and wish I could be like writers who juggle multiple novels, because I’d never dedicate enough time to each novel if I tried. My

Beautiful YA Book Covers pt2

2011-06-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

Oh, you didn't think my last post was it, did you? Please. There's so many more.Hourglass This is one of my favorites. Its visually attractive, at first, with a curious kind of design that makes you take a closer look. And once you do, suddenly you realize there's so much going on--it's unique, it has a self-contained mystery. Plus I love the contrast within the girl herself: blond hair, black

Two Projects, One Writer - pros and cons

2011-06-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

Imagine, for a second, that you could work on two novels at the same time. Imagine doubling your productivity. When shiny new ideas come flitting into your mind, imagine being able to switch to the new project at once, while it's still sparkly fresh.Imagine finishing a novel. Where your folder of twenty half-started novels resides, imagine having a project you could show people. Imagine sending

Beautiful YA Book Covers

2011-06-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

I'm a really visual person in the sense that I absolutely judge a book by it's cover. A stunning cover will keep drawing me back to a book, seducing it's way onto my to be read pile, even if I'm really not that interested in the premise. If the cover is bad? I can barely make myself pick up the book. Even if the premise rocks. Even if the story is right up my alley.I love a good cover.Perhaps

Inspiration on the Rocks

2011-05-19T15:02:00.000-07:00

Lots of people talk about their writing methods. New writers ask, “Where do you get your ideas? Do you outline, or write on the fly?” And one of the biggest questions asked is, “is your book character driven, or plot driven?” It’s a trick question. The politically correct answer is “character driven,” as explained by this quote here: “Many of the best novels…are

The Writing Cave

2011-01-06T13:39:00.000-08:00

Us bloggers are super aware of our blogger positions, I think. Countless times I've read other people's apologetic posts on how they haven't been blogging for a while and how they're really sorry because they had all these plans but real life got in the way...and I read thinking, I can empathize, but I hadn't even noticed. Not until they apologized anyway. Another super-sensitive habit of

Working Around the Wordcount Ultimatum

2010-12-20T10:02:00.000-08:00

*In honor of nearing my last final and the end of a semester, I thought I'd take a break and post something I wrote recently. I'm hoping that during this break I can put up a lot more stuff over the semester, including Part 3 of "So You're a Writer, Do You Need a Website?" Of late, I've been staring at my novel MIRRORPASS with a rather critical eye. (Summary at the bottom of this post.) If

Muse Cooped Up

2010-11-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

This is kind of a "random inspiration" post. I have part three of the "so you're a writer, do you need a website?" series in the works (see p1 and p2 here), but I thought it would be nice to take a break from that and just talk about the writing life. Today's post is inspired by Anna Stanizsweski's blog which I was reading the other day. She was talking about how, after almost a year of revisions

You're a writer, so do you need a website? Part 2

2010-10-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

Based on the responses to part 1 of this series it seems that, for the most part, you guys all think that having a website is an important part of being a writer today. I think that's pretty positive. A web presence of some kind is important if you intend to get published, because it will create opportunities for you further down the road, and you’ll also learn about the

You're a writer, so do you need a website? Part 1

2010-10-13T21:45:00.001-07:00

Oh wow. Okay. It’s seriously dusty here. I rather scared myself looking at how long it’s been since I’ve last blogged…not my last post, because that was prescheduled, but my last actual post. Too long. I hate to say stuff like “I’m back!!! ”Let me give you just a teensy update before I get on with the actual meat of things... When I last touched base, I was not feeling very interested in writing

Plain Kate: 10 Questions with Erin Bow

2010-09-01T09:00:00.001-07:00

Today's interview is with Erin Bow, who's debut YA novel Plain Kate hits American shelves September 1st. Here's a little bit about Plain Kate: The drizzle had broken into patches as they walked. As Drina scooped up the pale sand, Kate found herself standing in the smudge of shadow cast by the deadfall. She had never before noticed the way shadows gave things weight, made them look heavy and real

Editing emotions to death

2010-07-28T16:49:00.000-07:00

Surprise! I have a post for you all. First off, after my rather declarative but vague previous post about how I wasn't currently writing and was a-okay with that, I decided no, I wasn't really a-okay. I've been taking this summer as it comes because I don't have anything in particular to occupy myself with. I had been applying for jobs and keeping my plate cleared "in case." However, I realized

Addressing the Radio Silence

2010-07-03T07:28:00.000-07:00

I've been putting this post off for as long as I could, hoping I would get my mojo back and find something worthwhile to blog about. I don't want to sit here and make excuses as to why I haven't been blogging or promises that I will blog, if I don't know I can keep them. But the thing is that I miss writing on here. People have been commenting just to let me know they're still here reading, and I

Interview with Cyn Balog

2010-06-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

Today's interview is with Cyn Balog, about her newest novel for young adults, Sleepless.About Sleepless:Eron DeMarchelle isn't supposed to feel this connection. He is a Sandman, a supernatural being whose purpose is to seduce his human charges to sleep. Though he can communicate with his charges in their dreams, he isn't encouraged to do so. After all, becoming too involved in one human's life

Interview with Author Heidi R. Kling

2010-06-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

Today's interview is with Heidi R. Kling, about her debut novel for young adults, Sea, available from Amazon.comHaunted by recurring nightmares since her mother's accidental disappearance over the Indian ocean three years before, fifteen year old California girl Sienna "Sea" Jones reluctantly travels with her father's volunteer team to six months post-tsunami Indonesia. During her stay at the

Interview with Angela Fraizer

2010-06-04T09:01:00.000-07:00

Today's interview is with Angela Frazier, author of the YA adventure debut, Everlasting. Sailing aboard her father’s trade ship is all seventeen-year-old Camille Rowen has ever wanted. But as a girl of society in 1855 San Francisco, her future is set: marry a man she doesn’t love, or condemn herself and her father to poverty. On her final voyage before the wedding, the stormy arms of the

Tension of Opposites: Interview with Kristina McBride

2010-06-01T02:34:00.000-07:00

Today's author interview is with Kristina McBride, whose book The Tension Of Opposites debuted May 25th. It’s been two years since Noelle disappeared. Two years since her bike was discovered, sprawled on a sidewalk. Two years of silence, of worry, of fear.For those two long years, her best friend Tessa has waited, living her own life in a state of

Forgive my Fins: Interview with Tera Lynn Childs

2010-05-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today's interview is with Tera Lynn Childs, here to talk about her third novel, Forgive My Fins which launches today.Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it’s not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but when you’re half human, half mermaid like Lily, there’s no such

Interview with Joelle Anthony

2010-05-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's interview is with Joelle Anthony, debut author of Restoring Harmony. The year is 2041, and for sixteen year old Molly McClure, her life now is pretty much the same as it’s always been. She was only six when The Collapse of ’31 happened, ending life as the world’s population had known it. Sporadic electricity, bicycles, horses, solar powered tractors, sewing, cooking and farm work are

Query Creation Methods For the Truly Desperate

2010-05-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't been doing a lot of editing, lately, because I've felt pretty uncreative and preoccupied in general. This and upcoming finals are my excuse for lack of blog posts. I do feel pretty bad about it all and am trying to pull things together. However, in the meantime when I wasn't doing all the stuff I should, I was working on my query. I've been working on this same query for at least

Interview with Leah Cypess: Mistwood

2010-04-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's interview is with Leah Cypess, debut author of Mistwood, which launches today (April 27th). Everyone tells Isabel that she is the Shifter – the ancient shape-shifting creature who has protected the kings of Samorna for centuries. They need her to be the Shifter. Prince Rokan risked everything when he rode into the Mistwood to summon her to his side; Ven, the

The Owl Keeper Winner!

2010-04-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

So is it just me, or is this contest over? Hmm. Date looks right. The ultra-happy girl in the photo looks about right. I have everyone's entries. What else is missing? Oh yeah. Winners! Better get to that...here goes. Ahem.I'm proud to announce, the winner of an The Owl Keeper ARC by Chris Brodien-Jones, plus swag, plus the general awesomeness of being a winner is...Lena! Congratulations! Do a

Last Chance Contest Entry!

2010-04-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Today's the last chance for you to enter my The Owl Keeper ARC and swag giveaway. Just as a reminder, here's the rules: To enter the contest: comment here (under the original contest post) with at least a name and email address. Those are required. You won't be entered without them.For extra entries: Pump this contest somewhere on the web, and link back to it if possible.+2 entries for blog posts

Thoughts on Famous Writing Quotes

2010-04-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

I was going through the Goodreads quotes on writing, and it got me thinking about what it mean to be a writer, and what books are, and what fiction is. People say a lot of stuff about writing. Some of it, even the famous stuff, I simply don't believe. Take the statement that fiction is a lie. One lady, Jincy Willet, put it this way, "Fiction writers lie their heads off. It's their job. They

The Owl Keeper: Giveaway and Interview!

2010-04-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's interview is with Christine Brodien-Jones about her newest YA novel, The Owl Keeper. Commenters on this post could win an ARC of The Owl Keeper and a great pack of Owl Keeper swag. Contest details are below. The Owl Keeper summary: Maxwell Unger has always loved the night. He used to do brave things like go tramping through the forest with his gran after dark. He loved the stories she

There’s More Than One Way to Test a Character

2010-04-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

I was taking a break the other day from my computer, when I started rifling through “Writing The Breakout Novel” by Donald Maass, and found this quote: “We admire principled people…To put a principled person at risk is to raise the stakes in your story to a higher degree. Better still is to test that individual’s principles to the utmost.”

Book review of "The Secret Year"

2010-04-04T17:35:00.000-07:00

As promised, here's the second review from my recent trip to Barnes&Noble. (Read the first review.) I'd been hoping to find a particular debut title I'm dying to read, and was surprised to find Barnes&Noble wouldn't be stocking it. So this weekend, I ventured out again, except this time I went to Borders. I noticed that they have less chairs than B&N. Walking through their YA section, though, was

Mid-week Writer Blues

2010-03-31T19:06:00.000-07:00

I have some fun blogging stuff planned for later this week, such as my second book review from that recent Barnes&Noble trip, and also a post revolving around a Donald Maass quote that I think is really interesting. Problem is that I've got a momentary case of the mid-week blues. I haven't been motivated to do much editing, which is okay because I need to brainstorm anyway, but I always feel a

Book review of Out of My Mind

2010-03-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Last week on break, I took the opportunity of driving to my local Barnes & Noble to pick up some new debut books. What I like about this is that somehow, I never end up reading what I planned. Magic things happen. Random new covers catch my eye. Or I end up flipping open the covers to books I'd decided I didn't like--and then, not being able to put them down. So while I planned to read Before I

Events of March

2010-03-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

I'm wondering if this is going to become a new *Headdesk* feature. Seems like so much has been happening lately on the blog that I need a whole post to announce it all. Got to admit I'm a little behind on some of this. Lets see how much cool we can pack into today's post! First off in announcements, I've arranged for four more seriously interview-worthy authors to come talk about their debut

Brightly Woven: Interview with Alexandra Bracken

2010-03-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today's interview is with Alexandra Bracken, about her debut novel, Brightly Woven.Sydelle Mirabil is living proof that, with a single drop of rain, a life can be changed forever. Tucked away in the farthest reaches of the kingdom, her dusty village has suffered under the weight of a strangely persistent drought. That is, of course, until a wizard wanders into town and brings the rain with him.In

Some Q&A About Me and My Writing

2010-03-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

WriterKristy over at A Romantic Enters the World did this survey, and I loved her answers so much, I thought I’d do one of my own. So here’s a little about me and my writing history. 1) What’s the last thing you wrote? What’s the first thing you wrote that you still have? I just finished MIRRORPASS about a month ago, but I

Interview with Kimberly Derting

2010-03-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today's interview is with Kimberly Derting, debut author of the young adult novel, The Body Finder.About The Body Finder:Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have

Emergence, in Honor of Writers Everywhere

2010-03-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time, she thinks to herself, a long time. She flexes a moment. Runs a finger across those fresh, new voices. They have so much to say. So much for her to absorb. Seeing them now, she remembers how difficult it was to pull away before, how much she's missed them since. She feels older and wiser, and simultaneously, outdated and frumpy.Does she really belong with this crowd?

ARC Contest Winners!

2010-03-13T11:39:00.000-08:00

The contests are closed, entries are tallied, and the winners have been randomly chosen. I have here (on two very official slips of paper) the names of those two winners. You ready? Here they are. The winner of a shiny new ARC of Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall is... Christina Farely! Yay Christina! Lauren Oliver will be contacting you soon about how to receive your prize. And now our second winner

Last Chance Contest Entry!

2010-03-09T17:05:00.000-08:00

Today is your last chance to enter for an ARC of Lauren Oliver's "Before I Fall". Hurry up, people! Go go go!However, the good news is that you still have two hole days to enter Teri Hall's contest, and win a shiny, brank-spanking new ARC of her debut, "The Line." Winners for both contests will be announced on March 13.Here are a few more incredible contests you should check out:DUAL CONTEST:

Beginning Mirrorpass Edits

2010-03-06T15:57:00.000-08:00

First off, a bit of a landmark: MIRRORPASS has been a complete first draft for two whole months now. Which is kind of awesome to me. The first whole month, I was in one of those post-ending modes where you feel crummy about yourself for no reason at all, and your novel haunts you, and so you feel all cranky and conflicted because suddenly, there's nothing left to do, but it won't leave you alone

Interview with Teri Hall

2010-03-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

Today's interview is with Teri Hall about her debut novel, The Line.Rachel lives with her mother on The Property. The good thing about living there is that it’s far from the city where the oppressive government is most active. The bad thing, at least to most people, is that it’s close to the Line—an uncrossable section of the National Border Defense System, an invisible barrier that encloses the

Interview with Lauren Oliver: "Before I Fall"

2010-03-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

Today's interview is with Lauren Oliver, debut author of Before I Fall.What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?Samantha Kingston has it all—looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12th should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it’s her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the

Blog Tour with Amy Brecount White

2010-02-28T06:28:00.000-08:00

Today's interview is with Amy Brecount White, debut author of Forget-Her-Nots, as part of her Spread the Flower Love blog tour and contest! Forget-Her-Nots debuts March 2cnd. How the contest works: Each blog on the tour will offer readers a single virtual flower which they can collect into a bouquet. At the end of each week, readers can submit their bouquet on Amy's site to enter themselves into

ARC Giveaways!

2010-02-26T11:19:00.000-08:00

I have some awesome news. In roughly one week, Lauren Oliver will appear here on Headdesk to talk about her debut novel, Before I Fall. Two days later, Teri Hall will answer some questions about her debut, The Line. Both of these awesome ladies have agreed to give away one ARC of their books here--on Headdesk! The rules for both contests are the same:1: It's a random draw. 2: To enter, you must

Internal Dialogue

2010-02-23T16:44:00.000-08:00

One of the things I really struggled with in Mirrorpass was how to create tension and to characterize without dialogue. A good writer knows the value of dialogue. It keeps the story moving, it shows what characters are thinking, and it’s basically a great way to subtly reveal hidden conflicts and tension. Dialogue can often be a big turning point in the plot. According to

Events of February

2010-02-10T12:12:00.000-08:00

February has been a quiet month on here, hasn't it? I would have posted sooner--last weekend, actually--but homework got in the way of blogging. I've been doing the antsy-dance all week because I have so many cool things to announce. First off, interviews! Three more amazing authors have agreed to answer some questions here on Headdesk.We've got Amy Brecount-White, a 2010 debut who will be

2010 Author Interview List

2010-02-10T11:42:00.000-08:00

I realized this blog needs an official list of who I'm interviewing and who I plan to interview, so here it is. This is the place I'll be updating whenever I get a new interviewee, so check it out as time goes on to see who's coming up soon! Also, I'll keep old interviews up with links so you can see who's already been interviewed. In January:Read my interview with Lisa Schroeder about her newest

Mirrorpass Recap

2010-02-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

I have no idea why this post is so difficult to write, but it is, so I have to apologize. I finished Mirrorpass over three weeks ago. It took eleven months to write, and finished at 95,000 thousand words. But that's not why I couldn't post. I've been excited about Mirrorpass ever since the beginning, and my readers have, too. They loved it. They raved. I have never been so giddy about a story in

The Mark: Interview with Jen Nadol

2010-01-23T08:38:00.000-08:00

One quick note: due to formatting issues in the original post, this interview has been reposted. Thanks to everyone who commented on the issue, and I apologize at the loss of your comments.Today’s interview is with Jen Nadol, debut author of The Mark. Sixteen-year old Cassie Renfield has seen the mark since forever: a glow around certain people as if a candle were held

Book Review: The Night I Disappeared

2010-01-23T07:34:00.000-08:00

When Jamie goes to California with her lawyer mother for an important trial, leaving her best friend Webb behind, Jamie finds herself having vivid daydreams about Webb. At first she thinks that it's just because she misses him. Even though she's made an awesome new friend in California, Jamie feels so lost without Webb.But when the daydreams start making her blackout, Jamie can't deny that

Book Review: Catching Fire

2010-01-12T19:20:00.000-08:00

After surviving the Games, Katniss was disturbed to find that the life she dreamed about at home didn't exist anymore--her relationship with Gale won't mend, and President Snow is furious at her for saving Peeta with the poisonous berries because of an unrest it initiated among the districts. If Katniss can't prove the berries were an act of undying love rather than rebellion, her own family and

Interview with author Lisa Schroeder

2010-01-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

Yay! First interview of 2010!Today's interview is with Lisa Schroeder, about her newest YA novel in verse, Chasing Brooklyn.Brooklyn can't sleep. Her boyfriend, Lucca, died only a year ago, and now her friend Gabe has just died of an overdose. Every time she closes her eyes, Gabe's ghost is there waiting for her. She has no idea what he wants or why it isn't Lucca visiting her dreams.Nico can't

Big Brave Makeovers

2010-01-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

As some of you already noticed, I did some serious restyling to Headdesk. *Spins slowly* What does everyone think? I know it’s a menagerie of colors and textures, but I think they work well together. This is kind of a brave step for me because A) I designed the whole thing myself with the help of this tutorial B) I spent a lot of time modifying the code to make it work,