Weekly Update: 5-29-16 Potato Salad

Kitchen clean at last.

On sparkling counter, I mix

Potato salad.

Life Update: After letting my house go to pot for a month, I finally had the time to attend to my chores. I spent the week scrubbing, polishing and mopping the kitchen into an acceptable level of shine. Just in time, too; my cousin Mitchell was hosting a barbecue on Saturday. I whipped together my own concoction of warm potatoes, vinegarette, light mayo, fresh parsley, perfectly hard-boiled eggs, and the secret ingredient--raw, chopped apples soaked in cider vinegar and apple juice that gave it that surprise pop. It was the first time I'd been able to experiment with cooking for several months. Having spare time, I feel like I am discovering the simple pleasures of life once again.

Writing Update: Last week, I realized that Camp Nanowrimo, in July, was rapidly approaching, and if I didn't want to end up flustered and frustrated, I needed to start brainstorming now. In April, I wrote the first 50 pages of the second draft of Counterfeit Diamond, a trickster story of a girl with a diamond ring that can change her appearance. For July, I want to write the next 50 pages. As I brainstormed, I was amazed that the story practically plotted itself. I hardly had to do more than nudge it along. Also, for July, I want to type up a third draft of certain chapters of The Originals, the sequel to The Changelings. I'm currently hand-writing these chapters in my notebook. This week, one of my characters get into a battle of wits with the main antagonist. I spent Friday night re-writing said battle of wits 5 times before it looked remotely serviceable. To me, that's the definition of a fun Friday night.

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.

Now in Paperback: The Changelings

My first novel, The Changelings, debuts today in paperback on Createspace. To celebrate, I've decided to give away the Kindle version for FREE from today, until Saturday, June 6, 2015. Read on to learn more about this epic fantasy novel.

Summary

What would you do if, one day, you learned you weren't who you thought? That, despite all your attempts to blend in, there was something in you that wasn't quite human? That's the reality that confronts Sylvie when her best friend Matthew tells her she's a Changeling--one of five creatures given human form and planted in her home town.

But why was Sylvie made into a Changeling? And who are the others? All Sylvie really knows is that her existence is linked to a mysterious prophecy Matthew had as a child. A prophecy that means life and death for civilizations. A prophecy pushing them closer to the truth. A prophecy where Sylvie stands to lose everything she loves...

Excerpt 

from Chapter 1: Summer Sickness

Sylvie was chopping the onions when he came up. A fly buzzed around her hair; she tossed her head to shoo it. That’s when she saw him. He was walking with his hands in his pockets, wearing a loose gray shirt that billowed with the wind.

“Hello Sylvie.”

“Hello Matthew.”

He smiled, just a curl of his lips, a brief thing. It made Sylvie want to smile too, and her chest rose painfully. He seemed different. His eyes were heavy, and that quick, darting energy had left him. Was it because he was sick? Or had being married made him steadier?

“What are you doing here?” she said after a while. “You know Gayle doesn’t like you visiting me. You should go home.”

“I missed you too.”

He knew her too well.

But she wasn’t going to acknowledge that to him. Sylvie turned back to her onions. Chop, chop, chop. The scent stung her eyes. Matthew took a chair and sat down next to her. He was very pale, pale to the lips, and his black hair was soaked with sweat.

“Gayle said you were sick,” she said.

“I am.”

“Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“Probably,” Matthew said. “But I have something important I need to tell you.”

“If it’s important, perhaps you should tell my father.” Sylvie wiped her hands on her apron. “I can wake him—”

“No. This is something he wouldn’t understand.” He leaned down on the table as if bracing himself. “I don’t know if you’ll understand, but I still have to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Soon,” he said, “I’m going to die.”

How The Story Came to Be

Way back in elementary school, I was paging through a book on fantasy creatures when I noticed an entry on Changelings.

While Changelings are the product of many legends, the basic tale goes like this: faeries (or elves or trolls), attracted by an earthly child's beauty, steals it away and replaces it with one of their own creatures. Sometimes this replacement is ugly and deformed, sometimes it's passably human. Once the parents discovered they have a false child, they endeavor to get their real child back by either beating the Changeling cruelly or playing a trick to get it to reveal its true identity. Once the Changeling exposed, the real child is returned.

You can read more about Changelings in this essay by Professor D. L. Ashliman.

Back then, a Changeling was just one of many fascinating creatures. But a short while later, I picked up The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw, a personal, moving tale about a changeling and her struggle to fit in with the human world. Something about the story stuck in my head. One day, the summer I was fifteen, I was at a family vacation in Florida and the image of five Changelings popped in my head. I sketched them.

I didn't pick it up again and start writing it until college. By then, other ideas had gotten tangled up in the plot, making for a complex story. I guess you could say it took me ten years to come up with the idea and another ten to write it.

 

How to Get It

Right now, the Kindle version is free. It will continue to be free until Saturday, June 6th, after which it reverts to its normal price of $2.99. 

You can get it here: http://www.amazon.com/Changelings-Matthews-Prophecy-Book-ebook/dp/B00RORNZJU/

If you aren't familiar with Kindle, it's a digital reader from Amazon that can be downloaded for free on most smart phones and tablets. (Nooks excluded.) Just go to the App Store or your device's equivalent to the App store. Look up Kindle and download. Then go to the Amazon link and "purchase" the free book. It will pop up on the shelf when you open the Kindle App.

Currently, I only offer the digital version of the book on Kindle.

If you prefer a hard version of the book, I have just released a good quality paperback.

You can get it for $21.99 on Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/5213822
...And on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Changelings-Matthews-Prophecy-Volume/dp/0986315613/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

You can also purchase a copy at my launch party on Saturday, June 20th from 2:00-3:30 at the Brea Library in the City of Brea, CA. (Note: This was originally posted as Canyon Hills Library; the venue has been changed due to unexpected circumstances.) Come for free refreshment, a reading, Q and A, and a raffle.

Reviews

I really need reviews, so if you could post one, I'd be very happy.

Myself, I only know how to post reviews on Amazon, which is fairly easy, if you have a basic account. Just go to the product's page, scroll down until you see "Customer Reviews." There's a button that says "Write a Review." Click it and write one. You don't need to have bought the product on Amazon to review it on Amazon.

You can post reviews on other sites, like Good Reads, for example. Any word of mouth would help.  :)

Weekly Update: The End of May

Whew. This month went by in a whirl.

Last weekend, as I mentioned in my previous post, I went to Lightning in a Bottle. It was a crazy, fun New Age art and music festival, and I will spill all the details ad naseum starting next Saturday. But I'll give you a sneak peak. Try and guess what's going on in the photo below.

Monday evening I dropped off my dusty bags stuffed with laundry. The house was a mess, and my mind was a bit spaced out. I'd lost all my previous efficiency and had trouble getting back into my routine. I didn't want to empty dishwashers, fold clothes, make dinners, and get up early in the morning. I wanted to dance. And color. And dream.

Unfortunately, I had no time to recover. My hard copy of The Changelings, my first novel, is scheduled to come out on Tuesday, which means I had this one weekend to get all the tedious-yet-necessary details finished. Details like adding in the edits to my Kindle version, getting in my Certificate of Resale to Createspace (so I wouldn't have to deal with double sales tax), making sure my Library of Congress Number was up-to-date, and other equally boring stuff publishers have to deal with.

Plus the dusty laundry piled in my room!

When I decided to come out with a hard copy of The Changelings, I thought that 6 months would plenty of time to do a good job. But, man, has it gone by quickly. Between getting a full cover from my editor, figuring out how to format the text to Createspace, waiting for the proofs to arrive, getting copies into Beta Readers' hands, re-reading it for the umpteenth time, putting in the final edits, re-formatting for Createspace, putting the changes into Amazon, getting my Sales Permit and Resale Certificate, getting a PO box, getting a Library of Congress Control Number, etc., etc., the time just flew. And now, here I am with days left, praying it all comes together.

I guess we'll know on Tuesday.

Wish me luck!

Weekly Update: 5-10-15 Book Burning and Mother's Day

Last week, I was clearly in a bad mood. But I spoke to my mother and cried it all out, and this week I felt much better. I worked five jobs this week, Monday through Friday, including two days in a row teaching language arts at Yorba Linda High School.

The sophmores were reading Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury's Dystopian Science Fiction where firemen are paid to burn books. I'd read it once in junior high, and thought it was all right. Re-reading parts of it for class was actually an enlightening experience, because in the two decades or so that's passed, the world has changed and I've changed, too. The setting Bradbury describes, with multiple screens taking over the house, technology taking over social relationships, and lowered attention spans seems frighteningly close to today's world.

Yet I also found it heartening, because Fahrenheit 451 is, beyond all else, a treatsie on why books really matter, why it's important to read and to think. As a writer, one of the things I constantly struggle with is the idea that my writing doesn't matter, that nothing I write means anything, that I'm not really contributing anything to the world. So imaging a world without books really put things into perspective for me. I think I may have to go back and re-read the whole book all over again.

* * *

A few announcements.

The Changelings, my first novel, should be coming out into a very nice paperback copy on June 2, 2015. The listed price is $21.99 (due to distribution costs), but I'm hoping to offer discounts as soon as I figure out how to do it. It's currently available on Kindle for $2.99, but I'm planning a special promotion to make the Kindle version free around June 2nd, so if you can't afford a hard copy, at least you can pick up a digital copy.

To celebrate the publication of my first book, I will be throwing a launch party on June 20, 2015 at Canyon Hills Library in Anaheim from 2:00-4:00. There will be books for sale, snacks, a reading by me, and opportunities to win prizes. I'm still working out the details, but I'll let you know when I know more.

If you can't make it to my launch party (or even if you can), I will be doing an event at the Brea Library with my friend, mystery-writer Michelle Knowlden, on Saturday August 22nd, 11AM. More details to come.

* * *

Today is Mother's Day. Myself, I'm not a mother and may never be one, but for all those people who are, I'm very much in awe of what you do. Once you become one, you never can stop. To my own mother, who is a fountain of love, support, and constant encouragement, I just want to say, I am so proud of you and grateful to have you in my life. I'd never be the person I am now, without you, Mom. I'd never have the strength to take these risks, if I didn't have you in my corner, rooting me on. So thank you, tons and tons.

Weekly Update: 2-6-15 Interview and Disney Costumes

The big news of the week is that I got my first author interview from Michelle Knowlden. In her monthly segment, "Friday Breakfast with an Author,"she asked me about my novel, my writing process, and my upcoming projects. You can read all about it in the link below:

https://mlknowlden.wordpress.com/2015/02/05/february-2015-first-friday-breakfast-with-an-author/

Michelle has interviewed many authors far more established than me, so it was a real honor to be part of the club. I have to admit that it still hasn't quite clicked that I'm an author yet. I feel like a writer... but with a book now available to the public. Maybe it will start to sink in during the launch party.

* * *

In other news...

This Friday was Senior Dress Up Day at Brea Olinda High, where I was subbing for the third day this week. (Yay for jobs!) The theme seemed to be Disney. Now high school students are too old for the sanctified princess gowns sold at the Disney Store and not yet rich enough to drop loads of money on a custom outfit. This leaves them with whatever they can scrounge up from the closet and their imaginations. I was impressed and bemused by the costumes that some of them came up with.

Disney Costume #1

White pants
+
White sweatshirt stuffed with pillow
+
White swim camp
+
Paper mask
=

Baymax from Big Hero 6

Disney Costume # 2

Red tunic with gold trim
+
Yellow baseball cap with lid facing up
+
Yellow foam cut into a semi-circle and stapled on lid
+
Sandals
=

Kuzco from The Emperor's New Groove

 Disney Costume #3

Wife beater
+
Hawaiian shorts
+
Sunglasses
+
Ice cream cone with no ice cream
=

Ice Cream Guy from Lilo and Stitch

It's amazing what you can create with a odds and ends and a little imagination.

My First Novel Published

My first novel, THE CHANGELINGS, was published on January 2, 2015 exclusively on Kindle for Amazon. You can get a copy for $2.99 today.  For those of you who prefer physical books to digital ones, a hard copy will be coming out on June 2, 2015.

First-time author Rebecca Lang takes us into a war-torn world steeped in political intrigue, shifting alliances, and breath-taking civilizations in the first volume of Matthew’s Prophecy, an exciting new fantasy saga.

For as long as she can remember, 21-year old Sylvie has embraced her role as the priest's daughter, content to marry her fiancé and lead a quiet, normal life. But between droughts, food shortages, and the slow invasion of her desert homeland, even those modest dreams seem out of reach.

Then one sweltering summer day, her best friend Matthew reveals a devastating secret. Sylvie is a Changeling: a fantastical creature given human form and switched with the priest's real daughter 17 years ago. And she's not the only one. Four other Changelings remain hidden in the desert—including Matthew himself.

Once a child prophet, Matthew foretold a world-wide catastrophe that only the Changelings can prevent. But when an unexpected cost brings heartache to Sylvie, she begins to wonder: Should she follow the prophecy’s instructions like the obedient girl she thought she was? Or does being a Changeling mean a different side of her is about to come out?

Click here for sample chapters: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RORNZJU

* * *

I have to say, I was actually terrified to have my novel up for sale. It's ten years of toil and a good chunk of my heart and soul up for display. But I felt it was time to put aside my fears and release the story to the world.

I wrote the story I love epic fantasies with three-dimensional characters, plot twists, and complicated world-building, so I tried my best to incorporate those elements in THE CHANGELINGS. I want the reader to think they know where they're going and suddenly be surprised.

 Did I do my job well? Please let me know. I appreciate any reviews you leave. The more you write, the better chance new readers will give my book a shot.