Friday Loves: THE LUNAR CHRONICLES

I probably shouldn't talk about books on Friday when I'm going to turn around and do it again on Monday. But I can't help but proclaim my love for THE LUNAR CHRONICLES by Marissa Meyer.

In case you don't know what I'm talking about:

I'm not much of a sci-fi girl. I don't mind it, but it's not my favorite. I'll read them if they come highly recommended, or if the premise is super intriguing, or both. Usually both. That's what happened with CINDER. There was a lot of positive talk around it, and it's a Cinderella retelling, so I was willing to give it a try.

I'M SO GLAD I DID. These books are crazy good. I have mildly less love for SCARLET (book 2) but I'm starting to wonder if I was going through a book slump when I read it because both CRESS and WINTER (books 3 and 4) are AMAZING.

Some of the things I love: how each sort of focuses on a different character/fairytale retelling but still also focuses on the whole. (In case you don't know, SCARLET is Red Riding Hood, CRESS is Rapunzel, and WINTER is Snow White.) Meyer did this especially well in the last book. There was so much going on, and it was a long book, but it never felt like a long book, or drug out, or unnecessary. Everything that happened was important and exciting. I love how each female character had their strengths and their weaknesses. I love how each female character had their hero- also with strenghts and weaknesses, but how they complimented each other well, played off each other. The relationships are just SO GOOD. And of course the world-building. The story-telling. The dialogue. Augh, I could gush about these books forever.

And let's not forget my personal favorite: Thorne. If I was Cress, I'd be daydreaming about him too. Someone, please make a movie of these books. But DO THEM JUSTICE if you're going to.

If you haven't picked up these books, DO. NOW. GO.

Monday Reads: OF NEPTUNE

I pretty much asked for books this past Christmas. One of them was OF NEPTUNE by Anna Banks, the last in her OF POSEIDON trilogy. It had been a really long time since I read both OF POSEIDON and OF TRITON, so I didn't quite remember everything that I needed to. But I quickly caught on to the important stuff. Here's the blurb:

Emma, who is half human and half Syrena, and her Syrena love, Galen, need time together. Alone. Away from the kingdoms of Poseidon and Triton. Emma’s grandfather, the Poseidon king, suggests the two visit a small town called Neptune.

Neptune is home to both Syrena and Half-Breeds alike. But Emma and Galen didn’t sign up to be peacemakers between the ocean-living Syrena and the land-dwelling, freshwater counterparts. They didn’t bargain for meeting a charming Half-Breed named Reed, who can barely disguise his feelings for Emma. And they especially didn’t expect to find themselves in the middle of a power struggle that threatens not only their love, but their ocean kingdoms.
This trilogy, in the loosest sense, are mermaid books. But they're a lot more than that. The best part about them to me, is the romance. The relationship between Galen and Emma is what really gets me through all three books. The books are told in first person POV for Emma, and third person for Galen. The switch-up was a little weird to me sometimes, but I loved Emma's voice because it was fun and engaging. The book had a little bit of a repetitive feel within this last book (I can't say why without giving spoilers), but in all, I was satisfied with the end of the trilogy. They're definitely books I'm going to recommend to my daughter next.

What did you read this week?

Friday Loves: Chill-Out Songs

I did a radio interview this past week. Leading up to it, I found it easiest to just not think about it. Because when I did: FREAK OUT.

(This is me right now with my book launch/signing coming up this Saturday.) 

I was worried about so many things. Saying something stupid. Saying "um" and "like" and "yeah" a lot. (I tend to end my sentences with, "so yeah.") Not knowing the answer to the question. Saying something that's just plain wrong. Forgetting my own name or the title of the book. Barfing. Okay, not that last one, but I did feel slightly sick to my stomach on the drive there.

My cure: a chill-out song. The entire drive to the radio station (which was about twenty minutes) I had this song on loop:

This song relaxes me. As soon as it comes on, I'm singing along, my shoulders swaying, and all the stress and anxiety magically melts away. Of course, as soon as I parked and turned it off, BAM. Anxiety-city. But that's okay because the interview went well and now I know I can do it (yay me!). But I'm thankful for chill-out songs like BUDAPEST that help take the worries away, at least for a little while.

Wednesday Writes: THINKING and DOUBTING

Ever get notes back from a CP, or maybe even your agent or editor, and think HOW DO I FIX THIS? They tell you what's not working, which is GREAT because that's exactly what you want. But then you wrack your brain trying to figure out how to make it work.

That was me last week. I knew my MS needed work. (They always do.) And all my CP's comments made perfect sense. But for a couple of days I was completely blank on how to fix the problems. Said blankness led to frustration, then despair, a lot of in-my-head sobbing, denial, the feeling of being the worst writer in the world... and then once I got through all that, it was: okay Melanie. THINK. And I did. I ran questions through my mind, I looked at different angles, I went back to the basics and figured out what each of my characters wanted and then tried to figure out what they would DO to get it.

Seems obvious, but this is pretty much the process I go through every time I get critique back. I finally got started on the actual revisions, and I have a vision of how to fix the problem, which is good. The bad thing is there's still that niggling voice of doubt in the back of my mind that's saying: maybe this isn't helping at all. Maybe you're not really doing anything. Or maybe you're fixing one problem only to be causing another.

Isn't being a writer GRAND?

Monday Reads: THEN COMES WINTER

I had a slow reading week, only one book and it was an anthology. Yep, I finally got around to reading THEN COMES WINTER- the anthology that has a story by yours truly in it.

THEN COMES WINTER is a book of holiday romance stories, a lot of them Austenesque. Some are modern (like mine) and some are regency. Five of six of Austen's novels are represented- PRIDE & PREJUDICE, SENSE & SENSIBILITY, PERSUASION, NORTHANGER ABBEY, and MANSFIELD PARK. P&P was the most represented, no surprise.

If you're a Jane Austen fan, definitely pick this one up. Or if you just want some stories to cozy up with this winter, also a good pick. It was interesting to see the different directions that each of the authors chose to take the theme. My fave (which maybe I shouldn't admit, and no, it's not mine) was DELIVERY BOY by Suzan Lauder. I couldn't even tell you why it's my favorite, I just found myself smiling through every page.The whole book was a fun read and made me want to do a Jane Austen marathon as soon as I finished.

Friday Loves: Alan Rickman

We lost a great actor yesterday and this makes me extremely sad. It was wonderful to see all the tributes and tweets and shares about him all over the internet- showcasing his different and beloved roles in pictures, gifs, and articles.

I first saw Alan Rickman in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. How I loved to hate him!

"I'll cut your heart out with a spoon!"

Then came Sense & Sensibility. His voice is so lovely as he reads the poem to Marianne near the end.

"And all the better for her."

And of course, my favorite of all- Professor Snape in Harry Potter. So hateful, yet when we find out his tragic backstory, we just want to love him. Or at least feel sorry for him.

"After all this time?" "Always."

Alan Rickman, you'll be missed.

Wednesday Writes: Getting Lost in Marketing

I've heard from countless authors before me about how they reached a point where they realized the whole writing aspect of writing had gotten lost. They were too busy promoting themselves, answering emails, checking sales numbers, doing guest blog posts, and maybe even appearances.

Suddenly, I'm starting to understand this. Not that I didn't get it before, but I'm living it now. Over the holidays, I had time off from writing while my latest manuscript was with my CPs, so I didn't feel guilty about taking the time to organize SWAY's blog tour, write guest posts, read a lot, and figure out my next steps marketing steps. But last weekend I got notes back from two out of three CPs and planned to start my revision on Monday. I have a deadline after all. A DEADLINE. But both Monday and Tuesday I did NOTHING.

Nothing for revisions, I mean. I had errands to run, a house to clean, exercising to do (I'm trying to get back into it). I went to Writer's Group, did an over-the-phone interview, wrote up another guest post, did a lot of social media-ing. It was a list of a bunch of tiny things that ended up taking ALL my time. I realize now how easy (scary easy) it is to get distracted from the ACTUAL WRITING with everything else.

I think the really scary part is that all of this extra stuff is necessary. I wasn't wasting time. I guess I don't have to promote my book, but I HAVE to promote my book. Otherwise why get published at all? But I know that I need to start managing my time better, otherwise I will never get my revisions done by my deadline, and the thought of that isn't scary- it's HORRIFYING.

I don't have any advice because I'm so new to this all. Anyone out there come up with a plan on how to manage both writing and marketing at the same time? I'd love to hear your thoughts.