Resource Thursdays: Suzanne Young

I’m the first to admit, sometimes I’m a blog stalker.  This only happens when the blog I’m reading is super entertaining/informative and lots of fun.  Case in point: YA author Suzanne Young’s blog.  Suzanne is a true blogging success story – through her web presence she attracted her current agent and, oh yeah, landed a four book deal from Razorbill/Penguin.  Holy cow!

Suzanne’s blog covers everything from how she gets her drafts completed to the funny things her children say.  In the blog, her hilarious life and upbeat writing style come across.  She also features Going Green, a story blog that appears every so often.  I love reading her blog because it shows one person’s path to publication (super inspirational) and it shows that using the right resources can get you where you want to go.  Check it out, but be prepared to stay awhile – you’ll want to keep reading.

Amazon.com is my friend

Woohoo!  I just found out that my Amazon order for Perfect Fifths, the final book in Megan McCafferty’s Jessica Darling series shipped!  I saw Megan speak a few years ago at UCLA and soon jumped on her book bandwagon.  Prior to that, I had heard the buzz about her books but never given them much thought.  But then I saw Megan read an excerpt of the book and I thought anyone with a sense of humor and eye for detail like hers could write a great story.  Right I was!

I read the first book and quickly fell in love with Megan’s writing and Jessica’s voice.  My awesome husband even scored some bonus points by buying me books 2 through 4 for Christmas last year.  (He knows the way to my heart!)  I’m excited to read the last chapter of the story, but sad to see it end.  Check back here for a review of the book (homework, shmomework) and if you pick up the book, check inside for my initials in the acknowledgements!  Read on!

Home is where the warm bodies are

We’re in a bigger place now, though it’s mildly colder due to the size.  Despite all the room, the dog and cat still cuddle together on the couch.  I’m not sure if this is because they get chilly at night, or because they actually like each other.  We may never know…

All moved in

Woohoo!  Ian and I are officially all moved in to our new place!  After three days of hard labor (2 days moving, 1 day cleaning the old place), my body aches.  As I write this, I can barely feel my fingers from the huge volume of cleaning that occurred on Sunday.  Seriously, you know you’re working hard when your fingernails hurt.  It’s a worthwhile soreness, though, because the new place is awesome.  It’s still a mess, but it will turn out to be a really pretty home.

And, I’m super excited because on Saturday during a much needed moving break, Ian and I went couch shopping.  This is a huge deal, since we have been living with hand-me-down couches that were at the end of their lives three years ago when we got them.  Add in a cat and a teething puppy (so glad that phase is over), and the couches were on their way out.  There is literally a bite mark in the cushion of one of the couches.  This weekend we ended up finding a really pretty couch and chaise, so we can officially get rid of the old couches.  They won’t be delivered until May, so I’ll have to pine for them until they arrive.  Buying them made me feel very grown up.

The remaining conundrum is what to do with the rest of the living room.  Until we figure out where our bookshelves will go, there’s no point putting away the mass of books we have collected over the years.  So for now, the books sit in piles on my living room floor.  I can’t wait to organize them.  Yes, I am a book nerd to the core.

Moving on up

This entry is going to be short and sweet because I’m exhausted from lifting and packing books.  That’s right – we’re moving.  This change came about because Ian and I were walking to his car on Tuesday when we passed a sign in the vacant two-bedroom in our complex.  The sign showed the price of the place and we did a double-take – it had come down a few hundred dollars since we had checked on it last year.  A little negotiating brought the price down even more and behold – we are now the happy renters of a two-bedroom apartment!

Now we have an actual office instead of desks in our kitchen!  Now Sam (the cat) has even more windows to lounge in.  Now Riley dog can run all over the place (though he will probably still be underfoot) and Bunny can do as many back flips as she wants.  And we get a dishwasher!  And an ice maker in the fridge!  We are living the high life, I tell you.  Now we just have to move…by Monday.  And those books sure are heavy.

Resource Thursdays: Guide to Literary Agents

Time and again I’ve heard that one of the keys to success in the publishing industry is really learning the business of it.  When a writer approaches an agent or editor with a firm understanding of the market and how they can add to it, it shows the writer is engaged in making writing a career.  One of my favorite sites for navigating the waters of publishing is the Guide to Literary Agents Editor’s Blog by editor Chuck Sambuchino.  This blog has a wealth of information, from market happenings to agent interviews, from agent advice and happenings to pitches and queries.  By checking in frequently you can keep up with what’s happening in publishing and really learn the business.  The site has been a great tool for me as I’ve looked into potential agencies.  Even if you’re not at the point where you’re ready to submit your work, it’s nice to hear different market experts weigh in.  Visiting the site is also a great way to prepare for upcoming conferences.  SCBWI Summer Conference, anyone?

When bad emails happen to good people

Wanna know what happens when you don’t check your junk email account for three weeks?  Do ya?  Do ya?

606 brand new spam emails!

Woohoo!  This is a new record for me – really quite an accomplishment.  This also proves why it’s my junk email account.  Don’t worry – all the good stuff (writing life, photography, etc.) comes to a different email address.  Sadly, it may be time to retire the junk email account, but it was my very first email account ever.  I don’t like parting with things that make me nostalgic – I am a pack rat to the core.  I mean, I guess there’s a difference between an email address and say, my middle school journals (hilarious, by the way).  But still. What to do, what to do?

Salinas – the Freshmaker

Speaking of Monterey, one of the towns that we always pass on our road trips is Salinas.  Though the town itself is not super exciting, the surrounding area provides much amusement on long travel days.  Known as the “Salad Bowl of the World” all around Salinas are fields of produce, complete with twenty foot tall signs announcing which type of vegetable is growing.  It’s a fun game to guess what plants you’re looking at, and then have your guess confirmed.  Broccoli!  Romaine lettuce!  Carrots!  There’s even a whole building devoted just to asparagus.  Imagine!

Usually one truck or another has lost some produce along the way, so as you drive you often need to avoid tomatoes, oranges, even cauliflower as they fall off of moving vehicles.  It’s pretty cool to see where your vegetables come from, considering most of the produce from California comes from off those fields.

So with all this freshness abounding, why, might I ask, was the salad in my lettuce at Denny’s wilted?  It was literally twenty feet from the field to my plate.  Inconceivable, I tell you.  A total sham.

Road trip to Monterey/Carmel/Pacific Grove

This weekend Ian and I made the trek up north to visit Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove.  This area, on the Monterey Peninsula, is one of our favorite places and holds a lot of special significance for us.  Last August, Ian and I got married in Point Lobos State Reserve and had our wedding reception in Pacific Grove.  The whole thing was beautiful, and this weekend we got to share it with one of our wedding clients as we shot their engagement session.  After we finished with their photos, Ian and I took some sunset pictures around the park.  The area cleared out as tourists finished sightseeing for the day, and the quiet dusk was so peaceful.  Apparently, the calm was also good for bringing out the animals – we got up close views of lizards, blue jays, rabbits, deer, and even a mother seal cuddling with her baby.  The last part was the sweetest thing on earth – just like any other mother, the momma seal nuzzled and hugged her baby.  Melt.

After we finished photos we headed to Fandango (no, not the movie ticket company), the restaurant where we had our wedding dinner.  We had an absolutely amazing meal and then went back to the super cute hotel Ian found for us.  The rooms overlooked a little river and frogs sang their songs all night.  All in all, a wonderful weekend.  The area is definitely on our list of places we’d like to move, so maybe one day we can work it out.  The good news is, there’s a SCBWI chapter in the area.  Gorgeous location and writers to boot – what more could a girl ask for?

The day my character showed up at Baja Fresh

A few months ago at the SCBWI Westside Schmooze we talked all things character.  You can read a recap of the topics we covered on the Schmooze blog, but one of the biggest things I took away was trying to visualize your character.  Some people build models for their character, some create collages, memory boxes, etc.  Well, this past weekend I one-upped them all and hit the jackpot – I saw the character in my current middle grade novel.  Ian and I stopped for lunch at Baja Fresh and in she walked with her mom and younger brother.

This girl fit my character’s description to a T – face, hair, height, build, clothing style.  Oh my gosh.  It was awesome.  Seeing a real live person who could have walked out of my pages was fantastic – not only did it super inspire me to keep writing, it gave me a fresh lens to view an otherwise 2-dimensional character (because she is on paper – not because she’s flat).

I tried hard not to stare.  In most cases staring is socially unacceptable – especially when  you’re looking at a preteen who’d rather no one look at her, family, friends, and strangers included.  The good news is, I’m not the only author who’s gained a boost from real life subjects.

A year or so ago I saw Brian Selznik, writer and illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, talk about his book and his writing and illustrating process.  Brian wrote his story and then waited until he found two children who looked like the main characters in his book.  He approached their parents, convinced them he was not a stalker but rather a legitimate writer trying to get published, and then used the kids as models for his book.  Pretty cool, huh?  You can read more about his process here.  (By the way, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a wonderful book that moves quickly due to an abundance of illustrations.  I would definitely recommend it, especially for reluctant readers.)

Either way, Baja Fresh is my new favorite place.