Wow, I can’t believe 2013 is here, and 2012 is over. How did this happen? Where did all the time go? 2012 was a strange mix of hurry up and wait for me, and try as I might, I really can’t believe that my debut is right around the corner. I guess maybe I’ll start believing it once it’s here. Then again, maybe not.

Anyway, 2012 was an awesome year, full of some awesome things. I got to do my first 3-day Event (just a Starter, but still awesome, and yes I’m talking about horses here). I sold my YA sci-fi to Balzer & Bray (HarperCollins), the newly dubbed Avalon. I got to see and reveal the gorgeous cover for The Nightmare Affair twice! Not to mention the arrival of real, hold-them-in-my-hands ARCs. And I made a bunch of new writerly friends. It was definitely a year to be thankful for.

I don’t really have any resolutions or goals for 2013. All I want to do is survive all the coming crazy and the busy, insane schedule. Oh, and to have some fun along the way.

So have a happy New Year! I hope your 2013 is full of good friends, good times, and most especially good stories!

Merry Christmas to those of you that celebrate, and Happy Holidays all around.

If you don’t believe in this sort of thing, I can only say that I hope you at least believe in the power of story. Because this one is the ultimate hero stories when you really think about it. Frodo saved all the peoples of Middle Earth. Harry Potter saved all his friends and companions. But Jesus saved all the world and all the people in it throughout all time. And that’s pretty freakin’ amazing.

So again, Merry Christmas and happy writing!

First up, the updated cover for The Nightmare Affair has been revealed over on JeanBookNerd.com. Check it out here and enter to win a signed ARC of the book! And let me know what you think. Personally, I think it rocks!

In other news, my little sci-fi thriller formerly known as Finding Eden has been rechristened. And the new title is….

AVALON

What do you think? Personally, I think it rocks pretty hard. In other words, I’m totally in love with it.

The book is officially available on Goodreads thanks to awesome-sauce Inky over at http://bookhavenextraordinaire.blogspot.com, and there’s a slightly updated blurb about it, too:

17-year-old Jeth Seagrave, leader of a group of talented spaceship thieves, finds his life on the line when he takes on a high risk job for his crime lord employer in order to earn a way out of the life for him and his sister. Pitched as Firefly meets White Cat.

And here’s the link if you want to add it.

Oh, and one last final tidbit, in case you’re wondering. Avalon is the name of a very special, very important spaceship. She’s really a character all by herself, almost. I can’t wait for you to meet her, and Jeth and the rest of the crew.

First off, Happy Thanksgivings to everyone of you who celebrates it. I hope your day is full of lots of good food and good times with loved ones, as mine will be.

Now onto the main point. Maggie Stiefvater is giving away signed bookplates of The Raven Boys for anyone in the US and Canada who wants them, and oh boy do I do. (Details here.) I LOVED this book so much. I have compared my experience reading it to something akin to the way I felt watching Goonies as a kid, a sense of complete and utter wonderment and a desperate desire to be a part of this world and to share the adventures with this characters. I cannot wait for book 2.

So in order to get my bookplate, I have to present a picture of myself (or a pet) holding my copy of The Raven Boys. I decided to use my pets and quite a few of them volunteered to participate. (And no not all of them are represented.)

(This last cutie technically isn’t mine, but my sisters. Still, he wanted to pose.)

First of all, if you wanna be a writer, then yah! Congrats! Best. Decision. Ever. Now all you have to do is read a lot, write a lot, and never give up. The old idea that success is 20% talent and 80% tenacity (or whatever the formula) is true!

Beyond that, my only true advice is this: If what you’re doing isn’t working, then try something else.

Sounds simple, right? But it’s not.  So many writers—myself included at one time—possess the determination to keep on writing story after story or novel after novel regardless of failures and near misses, but we fail to make changes between each attempt. And like Albert Einstein once said, the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

So what kind of changes am I talking about? Well, that depends on the writer, of course. For me, the change I needed to make was the way I approached writing the first draft.

Before The Nightmare Affair, I was a complete pantser. I just hit the page running and didn’t look back. The result, naturally, were stories that required a lot of revisions/rewriting afterward. Unless you are Stephen King (and even he admits in his fabulous book On Writing that he doesn’t get it right the first time either) you’re bound to go off track in places. For me as a pantser, this meant going off track in a lot of places. It also meant a lot of self-doubt and discouragement when I started on the second draft.

With the The Nightmare Affair, however, I decided to employ a different tactic. I became a “pantser who stops and asks for directions.” What this means is that I still approached the first draft without an outline or any deliberate plotting, but rather than running along as quickly as I could, I took my time scene-by-scene, chapter-by-chapter, and character motivation by character motivation to think about what was happening, why it was happening, and then what would happen next. Rather than follow my instincts, I questioned those instincts, tested them for viability before putting them down on the paper. Like this:

• Why is character B behaving this way?
• What is his motivation?
• Where am I at in the “story arc?”
• Is this scene serving multiple purposes? Does it advance the story? Provide character development?

The result of this change was exactly what I needed—a first draft in much better shape than any I’d written before. This made revising a heckuva lot easier. I was able to take it through multiple drafts without getting discouraged. And of course, several months later I signed with my agent and then sold the book. It was like magic.

So take a look at what you’ve done in the past that hasn’t worked and then try something new this time around. You just might find your magic, too.

Good luck and happy writing!

And be sure to check in with the rest of the teamTEENauthors:

• Julie Cross
• Adam Leonard
• Pip Harry
• Hilary Weisman Graham
• Janci Patterson
• Jessica Corra
• Kimberly Sabatini
• Laura Ellen
• Suzanne Lazear
• Trish Doller
• E.C. Myers
• Elizabeth Amisu
• Erika O’Rourke

Okay, the first big giveaway for The Nightmare Affair has arrived! The lovely people at Heroes and Heartbreakers.com are hosting it. You can win an ARC Nightmare as well as a copy of the fantastically awesome Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Find all the details here.

Good luck!

I’m sure most of you have heard about this blog hop by now, and it’s my turn! I was tagged by the fabulous Liz Coley.

Here it goes:

1. What is the working title of your current WIP?

It’s currently untitled, but I refer to it as FE_Prequel. Real creative right?

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

This is a prequel to my YA sci-fi novel (currently titled Finding Eden but changing soon) that’s upcoming from Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins).

3. What genre does your book fall under?

It’s a YA sci-fi, the kind with space ships and guns.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I haven’t come across anyone that fits my MC. But in my mind, I picture Jeth as a teenaged version of Malcolm Reynolds, and if you don’t know who this is, I’m afraid we can no longer be friends. (Kidding, well sorta.)

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenaged thieves must pull off a dangerous heist for their crime lord boss while training their newest and youngest member–Jeth’s little sister, Lizzie.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’m represented by Suzie Townsend from New Leaf Literary, and this prequel should be coming out as an ebook prior to the release of the novel. This is a question a lot of people ask me, as self-publishing is becoming increasingly popular. For anyone who is unsure which path to take, I recommend you take a look at this self publishing vs traditional article for lots of information and a direct comparison between the two methods.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Unknown. I’m still working on it.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

The announcement in PM described the series as Firefly meets White Cat by Holly Black. I’m down with that.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I wanted to explore what happened before the events in the first book.

10. What else about your book might pique your reader’s interest?

It’s written in 3rd person and from a male point of view. There’s lots of action and sci-fi fun.

Now, I’m supposed to tag 5 writers to post next, but so many people have already been tagged for this one. Instead, I’ve decided to list some of my favorite up-and-coming writers. All of these ladies are super talented, and I hope you’ll take the time to check out their stuff and put them on your radar. You won’t regret it!

Lori M. Lee

Cat York

Kathy Bradey

Farrah Penn

Victoria Scott

Happy Writing!