Showing posts with label YA novels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA novels. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 4, 2010

WIP Wednesday and a Little Poetry

    Well, now that the non-fiction is safely in the hands of my editor, I've been focusing on my fiction life. Apparently, I've been spending too much time on the non-fiction, because once I opened that fiction door, a whole mess of chaos flooded through.

    I am currently working on two new novels, one a YA historical and one a YA fantasy (I think...it starts in the past, ends up in the present, but contains some magic, which is usually the deciding factor for me when it comes to paranormal vs fantasy).

    I am also revising my last novel, finally. And just for kicks, have been working here and there on a novel in verse (written entirely in sestinas and villanelles). And believe it or not, I'm actually managing to make good progress on all four projects.

    I have no doubt about my abilities to keep this up - I'm going to have to focus on just one (maybe two) projects at some point. But for the moment, I'm having a fiction blast.

    I thought I'd post one of the sestinas from the verse novel. (A sestina is a 39 line poem that repeats the same six ending words in a particular pattern. You'll notice every line in this poem ends with the words: hands, touch, blood, breathe, his, you - in a specific order. The last three lines each contain two of the six words).

    For those of you who have been with me a while, this novel is based on the sestina I posted a long while ago about the group of men who are wolves during the day and men at night. This is a continuation of that story. (Click HERE to read the first poem)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    He holds my face so tenderly, in hands
    that had just killed. For me. Fingers gently touch
    my cheeks. His lips kiss away my tears, my blood.
    “Breathe,” his whispers. His lips brush mine. “Just breathe.”
    I shudder, my breath escaping at his
    command. “For you,” I sigh, “only for you.”

    Howls fill the night air. “They can’t find you
    with me. Go!” He freezes, his eyes on our hands,
    clasped between pounding hearts. The horror on his
    face mirrors that on my own. One last touch,
    A quick caress. He wavers. “Go,” I breathe.
    He steps back, back, raised hand stained with dark blood.

    Mine, his, theirs. His pained howl rips through my blood,
    burning his image on my soul. “For you,”
    I whisper again, unwilling to breathe,
    unable to stop. They’ll come for me, hands
    grasping, to return me to our master’s hands.
    “Go!” I plead. One last look and he runs, his

    tortured fury echoing through me, his
    pain my own. They come, see me bathed in blood.
    “Who did this?” they ask. I shrink from their touch.
    Gently they lift me, murmuring “Let us help you.”
    I swallow my protests, settle into their furred hands.
    They don’t suspect. He’s gone…and I can’t breathe.

    They carry me through dark forests. I breathe,
    praying they are distracted and miss his
    scent on me. We reach the entrance. Their hands
    quickly roll aside the stone door. My blood
    drips, drips to the floor. “What happened to you?”
    they ask again. I wince with every touch.

    I bite my lip, wanting only his touch.
    Cleaned up, many wounds left open to breathe,
    they wait for answers. “Who did this to you?”
    Impatiently now. Then they turn and his
    face comes into view, already healed, blood
    gone. “Jarek,” they say, bowing. Jaw clenched, hands

    fisted, hands aching like mine for one touch.
    “Who spills your blood?” he growls. I don’t dare breathe.
    Face cold, closed, his anger burns. I say, “You.”

Post Title

WIP Wednesday and a Little Poetry


Post URL

https://shortemohaircuts2011.blogspot.com/2010/08/wip-wednesday-and-little-poetry.html


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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Ten Word Tuesday

    "Write for children [like] you write for adults, only better."

    Maxim Gorky




Post Title

Ten Word Tuesday


Post URL

https://shortemohaircuts2011.blogspot.com/2010/07/ten-word-tuesday.html


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Monday, June 14, 2010

Interview with the Lovely Lisa Amowitz

    Welcome to our June's Author Spotlight Week! This week, I am very excited to introduce everyone to my very sweet friend, Lisa Amowitz. I met her several years ago, in the wee-hours of Querytracker's beginnings, and have been truly privileged to have her as a part of my life. Along with being an amazing writer, Lisa runs the Why A? blog where she reviews and highlights YA awesomeness and interviews the unbelievable authors who pen them. Lisa was kind enough to join us this week to tell us a little more about herself and her work. 

    MM: Tell us about yourself 
    LA: I am a mom of one high-schooler and one college student, married for—yeesh—just let’s say before the invention of the CD. I teach graphic design at a community college and this is a day job I would never give up as teaching breathes life into me. My students are an inspiration and a joy. I’m also an artist and hope to complete my very first picture book in the next year. I’ve always loved to write, but never actually pursued it seriously until about five years ago when the bug bit me. It’s had its teeth in me ever since.

    MM: What inspired you to write your first book? 
    LA: I started with the hopes of doing a picture book (hey—I’ve come full circle) and realized my story idea was too long for that. I filled up piles of index cards and then a bazillion notebooks. I distinctly remember sitting on the porch of our summer rental staring into the woods when my main character walked out and plopped himself into my life. That book was awful, but the mc, Will MacGregory, still holds a dear spot in my heart.

    MM: What book are you reading now?
    LA: Three books to be precise—The Boneshaker, by Kate Milford, my good friend and critique-mate, Claire de Lune by my other critique-mate and good friend, Christine Johnson AND Ballad, by Maggie Stiefvater, whom I don’t know at all, but who’s writing steals my breath away.

    MM: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest? 
    LA: Kate Milford and Christine Johnson—(shameless plug, here.) But seriously. They are GOOD.

    MM: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work? 
    LA: Hands down, my very favorite author is Suzanne Collins who wrote the Hunger Games. To me, Hunger Games is a perfect book—gorgeous language, gripping plot, unique premise, romance, great characters and a righteous cause. I simply must read those books in one sitting. I dragged out Catching Fire to a day and a half, but it was torture. I kept staring at it, able to think of nothing else. I would sell my soul to be able to write a book like that and it would be worth it.

    (Totally agree with Lisa here :D I DEVOUR Suzanne's books)

    MM: What do you do to keep yourself motivated when the writing business and all that it involves gets overwhelming?
    LA: I ask myself if I would enjoy not writing. Then I answer myself: No, idiot, you wouldn’t. Write for the joy of it, I remind myself. Throw a ton of spaghetti at the wall. Eventually something’s going to stick.

    (HA! Love this analogy)

    MM: Can you give us any tantalizing hints about what is coming up on your blog? 
    LA: I guess your posts about MOI seem the natural choice, no? Right now I am knee-deep in querying my lates MS, so I’ve been pretty absorbed. I just completed a month of interviews, so I guess after I catch my breath I’ll interview some more folks with books coming out. You and I know quite a few, (including yourself) don’t we?

    MM: Yes we do (and thanks for the plug) ;-D It is so exciting seeing everyone's work coming out! :)

    Thanks so much for being with us this week, Lisa!

    Coming up, Lisa is hosting our 10 Word Tuesday and 30 Word Thursday and will be treating us to a guest pot on Wednesday. So come on back tomorrow for more of the awesome Ms. Amowitz!

    Links!!! Be sure to head to Lisa's blog and give her a follow and you can find her on Twitter HERE.

Post Title

Interview with the Lovely Lisa Amowitz


Post URL

https://shortemohaircuts2011.blogspot.com/2010/06/interview-with-lovely-lisa-amowitz.html


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