get cupid

Writing Update

It’s been a while since I gave you all one of these, so I thought (since I’m off to Bangor again today) this might be an opportune moment to catch you all up to date. For the last few months I’ve been steadily making my way through OUR LADY, working on the second draft. I haven’t been focused on too many fine details at this point–I do my drafts in passes, usually. What I mean by that is that I’ll do each revision with a few goals in mind. The first draft is all about getting the thought down on

A Report Back on Harry Potter

A few weeks ago, I asked you all for insights on what made Harry Potter work for you. I’m in the middle of prepping for a substantial revision to my latest work in progress, a prequel of sorts to GET CUPID that takes place at a school for magical delinquents. After reading through my first draft, I decided that I was doing a pretty good job getting the criminal aspects of the book right, but I was failing spectacularly at getting the “school” bit down. It just felt like too much to handle easily–have all the school bits and the

What Made Harry Potter Tick for You?

As you might know, the current book I’m working on is something I’ve been describing as “Harry Potter meets Ocean’s Eleven.” I finished the first draft, but the way I draft (at the moment), I end up with a very rough version of the story by the end of that first draft. (I’ve tried plotting. I’ve tried not plotting. These days, I’m resigned to the fact that it feels like I relearn how to write a book with each new book. Different stories call for different approaches. I do think I’m getting better at it as a whole, but it

You Gotta Know When to Fold ‘Em

I finished the read through of GET CUPID earlier this week. There are parts of that book that are flat out awesome. The characters are lots of fun, the tone and voice are jumping and funny. The magic is intriguing. And the plot is a train wreck. That’s perhaps being a tad harsh. It’s not a train wreck. It’s more of a long journey with some fun friends who have no clue where they’re going and aren’t in any real rush to arrive. Some friends who make random stops along the way. Which is fun for a while, but when

Writing Update

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, so allow me to enlighten you all. As most of you know, I’m now up to four projects in various stages of completion that are all post-VODNIK. First is TARNHELM, a YA noir fantasy which has been out on the desks of editors for over 18 months now. We’ve heard back from around 40% of them. You heard that right. 40%. I’ve asked my agents if that’s par for the course–if some editors just never get back to you at all, agented or not. And it sounds like the bitter