Upcoming Events: Author Visit and Winning Nanowrimo

I'm excited to announce a couple of upcoming events I'll be participating in. These are free, so if you have any interest in them and happen to be in the neighborhood, be sure to check them out. 

Author Talk: Rebecca Lang and Michelle Knowlden

What: Fantasy writer Rebecca Lang (The Changelings) and mystery author Michelle Knowlden (Sinking Ships) discuss "Putting the Mystery in Fantasy and the Fantasy in Mystery." Free event. Signing, snacks, Q and A

Where: Brea Library

When: Saturday, August 22nd, 11AM

Michelle Knowlden is one of my dearest writer friends. I've actually had the pleasure of Beta reading (reading an advance copy of a manuscript to check for mistakes) her novella Sinking Ships, as well as the other books in her Abishag mystery quartet. So I'm very honored to be able to do this author talk alongside her.

Although she writes primarily in the genre of mystery, Michelle does have experience in speculative fiction, writing with author Neal Shusterman on Unstrung, an e-novella set in the Unwind series. As we talked about how to present together, Michelle mentioned that Sinking Ships does have a fantasy element to it, while my epic fantasy novel, The Changelings, has aspects of mystery. And so our topic was born.

We've been working very hard on our speech, but we should have plenty of time for questions afterwards, and maybe even a reading of our books. We'll see. As local and independent authors, we rely on community support and appreciate any chance we have to talk about our writing.Hopefully it will be a fun and enlightening event.

* * *

Strategies for Winning Nanowrimo

What: For those curious about National Novel Writing Month, or Nanowrimo, Rebecca Lang will be presenting a special Writer's Corner on ways for first-timers to approach Nanowrimo, to maximize the chance of success.

Where: Brea Library Writer's Group September Meeting at the Brea Library

When: Saturday, September 5, 1:30 PM

The first time I heard about National Novel Writing Month, I was convinced that I could never write 50,000 words (200 pages) in 30 short days. It took me years to wrap my head around the concept. When I finally mustered the courage to give it a shot, I realized that it was a great way to give my writing a boost. 

Winning at Nanowrimo is like climbing a mountain for the first time. It helps to prepare yourself for the challenge and have a guide to help you out. In the September meeting, I'll share my strategies I've used for getting through a month of furious writing.

Depending on how much interest I have, I may form a support group to help people with this challenge, throughout October and November. I may also post materials and resources on my blog, so even if you can't make the meeting, you can check in on what you missed.

Weekly Update: I'm Back!

Two months without a post. I've guess I've got some explaining to do.

I'm in trouble now.

I didn't actually intend to abandon the blog. It's more like it got pushed out of the way. After all the stress of publishing and launching my first book gave way, I just sort of collapsed. Mentally, not physically. I needed a break... and it just ended up being longer than I intended.

Plus, I was busy with other things.

You may scoff, You're a substitute, you don't work over the summer, how could you possibly be busy?

Let me reassure you, I find ways.

What I've Been Doing This Summer

Launch Party

You have no idea how stressed I was about this party.

School had pretty much ended the week before the launch, but I spent every single day either rehearsing my speech or figuring logistics or trying to get people to come. I was so nervous. Speaking in public isn't frightening to me (I'm a sub, I talk to strangers everyday), but I don't like having to talk about myself. Worse still, I was going to read a chapter of my book, which made me feel insanely vulnerable.

Reading doesn't usually terrify me, but in this case...

Fortunately, I had tons of support from family and friends. Before I even got to the library, members of the Brea Library Writer's Club had set up tables with beautiful book centerpieces, flowers, and balloons. They helped me as I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to greet people and put food on the table. Eventually, though it was time to begin.

A light, funny trivia game helped break the ice and then I gave a speech about why I had chosen to write this book and some of the obstacles I faced while writing it. Then, it was time to read. My heart pounded, but my voice--which had practiced reading for the last few days--came out smooth. I could hear everyone listening and that gave me confidence.

They applauded after I finished. That means they liked it, right?

After the reading, I signed books and we had a raffle. It was a little surreal, sitting at the author's table and trying to wrap my head around the fact that... well, I was, am, an author.

How funny. You'd think I'd be more prepared for that moment.

Thanks to Helen McCarthy and Kaleo Welborn, who helped plan and set up the event, Rita Haney and Ned Rodriguez for manning the sales tables, Sean Krinik for taking pictures, my cousin Kevin Ishizu for mc-ing, and the many, many people who chipped in for snacks and refreshments and who helped set up and clean up. Thanks, too, to Brea Library, for graciously agreeing to host my event. I really could not have done it without you!

Thanks to Sean Krinik's awesome photos, I look like a real writer.

For those who missed it, I have an Author Talk coming up on Saturday, August 22nd at the Brea Library 11AM.

Critique Partners

I already have, not one but two, critique groups: The Brea Library Writer's Club and the OC Inklings. But I wanted to try something new, just for the summer. Instead of having a large group, I wanted to work more intensely with a few individuals and get a deeper level of feedback. So I teamed up with Rita and Carmen from the Brea Library Writer's Club, and we began to meet every Sunday at Panera.

What critique partners turned into

It wasn't exactly what I expected. For one thing, we soon ended up spending an average of 6 hours, from lunch to dinner, going over our work. We began to move from the usual critique to brainstorming to helping each other plan out chapters to setting goals together and asking each other for encouragement and accountability. It's been an interesting journey, but so far, lots of fun.

Summer Reading

When you get bitten by the bookworm, there's no stopping you. And when your library offers a raffle for reading 10 books by August 1st, well that's practically daring you to drop everything and read.
 

 Here's my list:

Believe it or not, I finished 4 of these books in a single day.

• The Underland Chronicles, Books 1-5 by Suzanne Collins
• Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
• The Red Bikini and Ten Good Reasons by Lauren Christopher
• The Five Languages of Apology by Gary Chapman and Jennifer Thomas
• The Five Love Languages of Teenagers by Gary Chapman 
• I Thought We'd Never Speak Again by Laura Davis
• Mom Still Likes You Best by Jane Isay
• What Money Can't Buy by Michael J Sandel
• Knowing Where the Fountains Are by Kevin Cwayna
• The Faith Club by Suzanne Oliver, Ranya Idliby, and Priscilla Warner

Some of the books I bought, some I found lying on my bookshelf, some I borrowed from the library on a whim, some I found on my dad's bookshelf and read them to avoid actually doing work. It's an eclectic bunch of books, but I enjoyed most of them. They are now going to the compost heap that is my brain.

You want to know the saddest thing. This isn't even half the books on my reading list.
 
Organization

Gah! This was tedious and boring!

It took this many folders to contain my work.

Basically, this was the monumental task of shuffling through all my writing and trying to fit it into a new system of organization. This means various drafts of various manuscripts, agent information, articles on writing and publishing, financial records, formatting information, contracts... argghh! It was a mess.
 
Moving on.

Plays 

So, unfortunately, no summer vacation for me. Boo hoo. But to make up for it, I went to various plays over the summer, and since they were free, it gave my wallet a feeling of relief.

One of my two favorite plays was the Phantom of the Opera, which took place at the Pantages Theater in LA. It was free only due to a technicality: my aunt got tickets for her birthday and brought me along. I shudder to think how much it actually cost.

Special effects like this cost money!

The Pantages was absolutely stunning--gilded to the ceiling and a perfect fit for Phantom. Apparently, the production had more special effects than ever before, like steps that moved out of the side of the building, creating a staircase where before was only brick wall. I thought the singing was beautiful and swept me up in the story.

After the play, I promptly purchased a soundtrack and began bursting into song at random intervals. My aunt probably regrets taking me.

 My other favorite play was Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, put on by the Independent Shakespeare Co at Griffith Park, and this really was free, although they do ask for donations. My cousins and I spread out a blanket to save a spot, wasted an hour exploring the graffiti-painted ruins of the old LA zoo, and then dove into our picnic baskets of spam musubi, cold KFC, mandarin oranges, pretzels, and popcorn.

Unlike the traditional version, this is set at the end of WWII

I really cannot say enough how much fun this was. The performance was so funny you forgot it was cultural. One of the favorite parts was when the reluctant lovebirds Benedick and Beatrice, in order to better eavesdrop on their friends conversation, went into the audience and attempted to blend in with the crowds. Performances are still going on until Labor Day, so if you have a free weekend, go see it.

I also saw the musical play of Mary Poppins presented by the Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival, which was great, except that we came late and got really, really bad seats, and The Tempest put on by Shakespeare by the Sea, which was more traditional Shakespeare. The Tempest was good, but I saw it right after Much Ado About Nothing, and the Griffith Park play emerged victorious.

But again, free plays, summer outdoor fun, cultural experience. Have a picnic, get entertained, feel smarter. How can you lose?

Writing

Of course, writing.

I didn't want to work on the tale I'm currently calling Isra and the Grim Fish, a story about a girl forced into a cave for a crime she didn't commit, where the only source of water is a pool full of skeletal grim fish, which will snatch her into the depths if she so much as touches her--or would, if Isra weren't prepared with magic of her own.

In my imagination, the cave looks something like this.

I didn't want to work on it, and I didn't want it to be so long--some 30,000 words, at this point, almost the size of a novel. But the story wanted to be told and my critique partners yelled at me to bring them more, so I write, and hopefully, I'll be finished with it soon.

I did want to work on Three Floating Coffins, the fairy-tale-like story of three princess caught in a web of family secrets, magic, and betrayal. It took a little while to get going, but I have the prologue done and I've been working on revising 6 middle chapters, so it's a good start.

The graffiti represents the inner workings of my brain.

For the first time, I actually completed Nanowrimo in July. Now I have 50,000 words added to Draft Two of The Originals, the sequel to The Changelings.

Travelogue: Cerritos Library

Location: Cerritos, CA

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2015

Company: Brea Library Writer's Group (Kaleo, Ned, Christy, Rita, Carol, Patty, Emily)

No matter how beautiful the library's architecture, no matter how exquisite the furnishings, the art, and the displays, in the end, it's the books that get you. As I walked through the Cerritos Library, my mouth dropped open at the grand designs and costly technology, but after a few minutes, my eyes were drawn to the shelves, devouring the titles. Art shouts for attention, but books have more sticking power, for they hold the promise of knowledge, of adventure, of long lost childhood days...

* * *

The first thing that actually caught my attention, after stepping out of the parking lot, was the gnarled trunk of an oak, stooped onto the ground, practically begging me to climb it. So I obliged.

The Cerritos Library was an imposing white structure embellished by titanium sheets stacked like gold brick. This contrasted to library's the soft curves--a theme which, I later learned, would be continued inside. Statues and fountains gathered at its feet. One glance, and we all knew the splendor of the Cerritos Library ground our tiny city library into the dust. 

Then again, the Brea Library didn't come with a $41 million dollar price tag. Nor do we charge $100 a year for non-residence to obtain a library card.

The neighborhood around the library included a sculpture garden, a high school, and Heritage Park, where I used to play as a child. (Heritage Park is an absolutely amazing place. Playground equipment is integrated into historical buildings. I highly recommend it to anyone with kids.) We didn't have time to enjoy the park, but we did stroll through the sculpture garden, which was just across the parking lot.

It took us a half hour, but finally, finally, we stepped into the library. We were greeted by a photography display called "Symphony of the Universe" by Larry Kim. Stark desert boulders stood out amid starry cerulean skies. 

The colors perfectly complimented the full, wall-sized aquarium that heralded the children's section.

"Whoa," I said.

"That was the reaction I was looking for," Kaleo said.

Kaleo and his wife Patty had been here before and would act as our group's guide throughout the day. They began by pointing out palm trees that sprouted around the entrance way. They were real trees but no longer living. They had been dehydrated.

The Cerritos Friends of the Library were having a "sidewalk sale" inside (due to the faint possibility of a drizzle) and had set up long, plastic tables stacked with old books. These tables were about the only cheap furnishing the library had. I was pleased to see their used book selection wasn't much better than ours. Christy cracked up over a book titled Don't Die Broke.

Next to the sale was the Reading Room, a very brown place whose old-fashioned sensibilities deliberately contrasted with the modern look of the rest of the library. The grandfather clock and the newsstand look of the magazine section made me think of the Victorian era. But a second glance had me sensing a subtle Asian theme. The exposed, crossed beams of the magazine stand's roof echoed the structure of a shinto shrine. Jade green lanterns embellished the wood.

After browsing through the used books, we decided to continue our tour by entering the Young Adult section. Although it had been decorated in steel and Art Deco, it strangely reminded me of a 50s diner. The technology room was inspired by succulents, because nothing says teens like ugly potted plants.

Three touch screen computers, each as big as a flat screen TV, were embedded in the succulent wall. There were also apple computers and a table that turned out to be a giant tablet. The tabletop tablet only seemed to have three programs, but we had fun playing around with the 360 astronomy app and indulging in a game of group trivia.

All this was still on the first floor. We had two more stories to go. 

The second floor belonged to the adults. Swoops of glass gave it a vaguely oceanic feel, and plenty of windows made it feel bright and open. For the most part, though, the room was strictly business. It had shelves and computers--so many computers. Research rooms were made entirely of glass and had SciFi names: H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, Aldous Huxley, and, for some reason, Nikola Telsa.

Little corners of beauty met us at the staircase and elevator. Artwork here, a ming vase there, a covered piano. The slitted windows teased us with the view. We made it to the third floor, where they kept the stage for lectures, presentations, and movie nights. Currently, it was home to an orchid show and Hawaiian dance presentations. We stuck our noses in and watched the show. Older women in flowered dresses swayed together and clicked shells in rhythm of the music. We watched for a while and stuck our noses back out.

We climbed down to the first floor, and, completing the circle, entered the Children's Section. (Let's face it--that was the one place we were all dying to see.) Giant books made up the entrance--you had to pass through them to gain entry. But if you stopped midway through the gate, you'd see a bench and a monitor. An invisible camera sent you on a green screen adventure through space, the sea, and an earth ruled by dinosaurs, foreshadowing what was to come. 

Constellations lit up ceiling; a rocket ship waited for lift off.  If you went inside a candy cane striped light house, you could sit and read or stare out the portholes at the fish in the aquarium. A T-Rex skeleton gazed hungrily at the lighthouse. We had to go up and put our hands to the rock its feet were embedded into, and that's where we found sliding square puzzles of various fossils. There would come a time when three of us adults would pore over those puzzles, refusing to give up until they were solved. Proving, I supposed, that you never really grow up.

And that would be the end of the story, except that one member of our group, Rita, was late to arrive. We met her at Chipotle for lunch and then took her back to the library to give her the tour all over again. But this time, when we came to the third floor, the Hawaiian ladies were gone. We stepped inside, drinking in the heady scent of orchids. The door to the balcony was propped open.

Should we go outside?

Tentatively, we peeped out. There were chairs and tables and heat lamps--and another person admiring the view. We took that as a good sign and walked out. The air was slightly chill but clear--clear enough to see the white mountains in the distance. Bushy-headed trees played peek-a-boo with skyscrapers. No telephone poles. Cerritos had installed an expensive underground cable system, so their denizen's wouldn't have their view blocked. Rich people.

Sunlight glinted off the titanium paneling. I followed it around the corner and stared into the library's courtyard. The fountains and statue below were small enough to be a pendant on my necklace. My eyes drifted to a mosaic statue of an open book, pages fanned. I smiled.

When all's said and done, isn't that the reason for the library?