Okay, you probably didn’t really notice I’d gone, what with the whole lack-of-blogging-thing becoming something of a habit. However. I am going to try to get back to more regular posts, even if they’re short ones. Or, you know, boring This-Is-What-I-Did-Today sort of posts.

I have a longer blog post about vampires and why I love them so much in the works, but I’m not sure when I’ll actually finish that. *makes a note to get on that ASAP*

Finally handed in The Stone Demon rewrite last week, and I’m already getting some feedback from Editor B. Thankfully, it seems we can work with this version and I didn’t mess it up quite as badly as I feared. Phew! I’m still pretty exhausted, but at the same time I found the love for the book which was such a relief. I think I was so terrified of ending a trilogy – and how to actually go about doing that – that I froze for a while and then wrote all the wrong things. At least amid all that angst and flailing around I found the right story, so now it’s just a matter of getting it fleshed out and polished during the next round of revisions/edits. Hopefully I’ll finish that before I leave for BEA.

In the meantime, I’m working on a middle-grade (MG) proposal for my agent, alongside the second Moth book – which doesn’t have a title yet! I hate writing something that doesn’t have a title… I need to figure one out, fast. Beautiful Ghosts was the original name I came up with for Book 1 of course, but everyone at Random House UK liked Falling to Ash better – and it fitted better, too, in the end – so that’s what we went with. I could use Beautiful Ghosts for the second novel, but I’m not sure it really fits that one, either.

Well, there’s time yet. It just feel strange to me, working on something called ‘Moth #2′…

The Revision Cave

No, I’m not on some kind of action-adventure holiday. Mine is only a metaphorical cave (of the Revision variety), in case you were wondering why it’s been extra quiet around here. Almost finished this new draft of The Stone Demon. Can’t wait to come up for air tomorrow! Hopefully, I’ll have recovered enough to post more at the weekend.

Kaz

p.s. In case you didn’t see it, I put a non-spoilery snippet up at the Deadline Dames on Monday.

Thanks to my crazy awesome US publisher, Flux, I will me making my first ever appearance at BEA (Book Expo America) next month. NEXT MONTH!! Look out, New York City! Look out US readers! I can’t wait to meet everyone. As soon as I know my full schedule I’ll post it here. Um… and here.

So, the first thing on my agenda will be to attend the newly named BEA Bloggers Conference on Monday, June 4, and then all three days of BEA itself on Tues June 5th, Wed June 6th & Thursday, June 7th. There will definitely be a signing at the Flux booth, but hopefully I’ll be doing other stuff too.

It’s going to be a busy time, but it’ll be my first ever visit to New York so I’ll have to squeeze in a bit of sightseeing before or after the Expo. I also intend to make sure I visit this magical place:

Luckily for me, my good friend Ana (one half of The Book Smugglers) will be attending BEA for her… third (?) time. I am hoping that she and Thea (yay! I’ll meet Thea!) will show me around a bit. And of course my amazing agent, Miriam Kriss, is based in NYC, too, so I’ll have plenty of lovely people around to make sure I don’t get too lost. Which, knowing me, is highly likely.

Yay!!!

How did you get on? Did you reach your goals? Did you have to change your goals – and did you then reach those new goals?

Even if you didn’t hit the target you set, are you HAPPY with what progress you did make? That’s one of the most important things.

And if you’re unhappy with what you got done – for any reason – it’s important to remember that you tried, and that is the most important thing of all.

For me, I had to change my goal early on when I got editorial notes for my big overhaul of The Stone Demon. I hoped to finish the whole thing in three weeks, but just about ran out of time. I know I’ll be finished on Sunday, though, and am handing this baby in to Editor B. on Monday. I probably got to almost 90% of the way through the manuscript, which I’m considering a WIN.

What about you?

Oh, and thank you for joining me! We’ll do something else like this again, I’m sure.

2. I finally met up with my good friend Tricia Sullivan (awesome SF author!) on Monday. Seeing her always makes me feel inspired and creative, and we talked about so many things. I had a whole bunch of Trish Wisdom to take away with me this time, but I am especially going to force myself to remember the part about how it’s OKAY to take time to read and watch TV (football!) and do other things, occasionally. I don’t have to work ALL THE TIME, which is something I seem to have convinced myself of. I think this starts to happen to you when you write full-time. I get a sort of ‘Writer Guilt’ and feel that I have to be working every minute of every day, to prove that I’m ‘worthy’ of it… Which is probably very silly of me, but also probably quite human. So, yeah. I have to try not to beat myself up so much if I want to read for a couple of hours, or (*gasp!*) switch off my computer before 10pm.

Anyway, Trish rocks. I adore her and wish we lived closer – although it is kind of a fun adventure getting on a train for a few hours and meeting halfway between our respective UK homes. Oh! And here’s a Very Bad photo I took of us and stuck on Twitter for over 4,000 people to feast their eyes on. Heh.

3. I can’t believe I haven’t managed to see The Hunger Games movie yet, and now The Avengers (or, Avengers Assemble, as it is stupidly called in the UK) is already upon us. Gah! I want to see both SO BADLY, but I’m probably going to end up missing THG and waiting for the DVD. I can’t (and won’t!) miss The Avengers, though. How can I possibly miss this?

Yum!

(Click to embiggen – RECOMMENDED.)

Um… How did Chris Hemsworth end up there? Of course, I meant that I’m totally looking forward to seeing ScarJo kick ass and take names as Black Widow. (*cough*Thor*cough*)

Go, ScarJo!

4. Anyway. *shifty eyes* I have been reading on my Kindle whenever I travel anywhere on buses or trains (which is a lot, let me tell you). I’ve read a partial that one of my other writer friends is working on. OMG, it’s sooo good! I wish I could talk more about it, but Steph would probably beat me up. Last week I also managed to read REVISION AND SELF-EDITING by James Scott Bell which was excellent. I still read ‘writing craft’ books, but I’m much more picky than I used to be. And I’m almost finished GETTING INTO CHARACTER: SEVEN SECRETS A NOVELIST CAN LEARN FROM ACTORS by Brandilyn Collins, which is pretty interesting (and also has a very long title). It’s basically the Stanislavski Technique applied to fiction-writing.

I’m finding myself less able to read novels while I’m writing, these days. I used to have no problem at all with this, but now I have to be careful not to throw myself off. Especially when I’m revising/rewriting. Maybe I’m just getting old or something, but I seem to need more Total!Immersion while I am trying to rework a tricky manuscript. But reading craft books is okay – maybe even constructive. We’ll see…

5. Finally, why is this book not coming out until December? DECEMBER?! That’s just way too long. I’m in love with the cover:

Knowing the talented Adrienne Kress, the actual story will more than live up to that gorgeous cover. It makes me think of YA Steampunk Charlie’s Angels. What’s not to love?

But I had a busy day yesterday, and finally ran out of time last night. Hopefully people will still check-in for #SpringKazNo either today or early next week. How have you been getting on?

I only have one quote for you this time, but it’s one of my favourites (and applies to revisions/edits as much as it does to first drafts):

Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft.
- Anne Lamott

I am a little behind where I want to be with my revisions, but I had to backtrack and write a couple of new chapters. I’m making progress again now, so am hoping to push through to the end over the next week or so.

See you in the comments!

1) Amazingly enough I have been a productive Kaz this past week. First of all, I’ve sent out pretty much all the books I’ve owed people for weeks (*cough*months*cough*). The Post Office hates me and I’m broke, but you should look out for a parcel during the next week. Huzzah!

2) For those who have asked me about bookplates, you’ll notice that I took that link off my website for now because I got so behind. I did catch up and send out a batch, but then ran out of bookplates and my usual place stopped doing them. *sigh* I’ve been looking for a replacement that doesn’t cost a fortune (but I believe in sending out quality stuff and only want to produce personalised/Iron Witch bookplates), so I’m not sure what to do now… I do have some brand new stickers – gorgeous ones! – so maybe I’ll send some of those to the people who have already asked me for bookplates. Sadly I don’t think I can sign the stickers, but they are pretty cool. Or maybe I can sign them… It’s just that it will cover up the awesome image.

Hmm… I’ll have to think about this some more, but I promise I haven’t forgotten you all. I won’t be taking any more requests for bookplates or stickers for a while, though. At least, not until I’ve got everything sorted out and up-to-date. Thanks for understanding! I’ll put the link back up when I can.

3) As I said on Twitter re. last night’s episode of The Vampire Diaries: HOLY HOTNESS, BATMAN!

I promise not to put spoilers here – so please don’t write them in comments because I’ll have to (sob!) delete them. But we can talk in vague terms, right? I think that TVD’s return after yet another hiatus (why so many this season?) was totally worth the wait. I enjoyed all the storylines in this one and there are a couple of scenes I might have watched twice… or three times… *shifty eyes*

4) I’m still plugging away on The Stone Demon rewrite and should be handing it in the week after next. Then, it’s straight onto writing Moth’s second book. I’ve written notes and some bits and pieces, but I need to put all that together and crank out another 50K or so. There will also be copy-edits on Falling to Ash in May, so I continue to be as busy as usual. Which, as I keep saying, I am grateful for! Sometimes, when I’m working on a Saturday night (*woe*) or writing/editing while at my mum’s, supposedly visiting, but really just taking my work along with me wherever I go, I admit that I get a little tired. But I took on a lot of work for 2012, and that work is allowing me to write full-time, so there is nothing to do but to get on with it. Which I am.

5) I have some news to share but am waiting for the go-ahead before I open my mouth. I can’t wait to tell you! It’s not selling a book or anything like that. (When would I have had the time to write another one?!) But it’s still cool. Hopefully I can share soon!

See you at the end of the day tomorrow for the next #SpringKazNo check-in. I actually replied to everybody who commented last week. If you felt in need of a pep talk, hopefully you’ll find it there in the comments.

I’m still having trouble keeping up with things, but I’m determined to improve on that next week. Sorry I’ve not been more present for KazNo this year, but I promise that I am supporting each and every one of you and would love you to continue writing toward your goals alongside me. Don’t let anything hold you back. Not even the big things… like fear:

“Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember one rule of thumb: the more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.”
― Steven Pressfield

I’m only on chapter 8 out of 22, so have a long way to go! But I know I’ll get there. I have to. Even with the migraine I had that wiped out all of yesterday. Even with the many, many things we all have to do that pull us away from our writing on a daily basis.

Here’s what the wonderful Natalie Goldberg says when people tell her they want to write but they have no time, or they have debts to pay, or they have five children and an elderly mother to care for:

“There is no excuse. If you want to write, write. This is your life. You are responsible for it. You will not live forever. Don’t wait. Make the time now, even if it is ten minutes once a week.”
― Natalie Goldberg

Ten minutes, once a week? Okay. So be it. Let’s keep on going down the track, see where we can end up by the the end of the month.

So, how did you do with #SpringKazNo this week? What are you hoping to achieve in the coming week?

Next check-in will be on Saturday, April 21st. I need to be up to Chapter 15 by then…

Busy times over here. I’m usually much better at keeping up with this blog. Even if I only post a couple of times a week, at least it used to be regular.

Anyway. I will now stop rambling and give you a look at five forthcoming ‘dark’ YA books I’m looking forward to getting my grubby hands on (click on all covers to embiggen):

1. VELVETEEN by Daniel Marks

Check out that cover. Go on, take another look. I’ll wait.

Isn’t it gorgeous? I love it. Now read the synopsis:

Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem. The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It’ll be brutal . . . and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker. Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules . . . or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.

You like? I’m definitely buying this when it comes out in October.

2. DARK STAR by Bethany Frenette

Audrey Whitticomb has nothing to fear. Her mother is the superhero Morning Star, the most deadly crime-fighter in the Twin Cities, so it’s hard for Audrey not to feel safe. That is, until she’s lured into the sweet night air by something human and not human—something with talons and teeth, and a wide, scarlet smile.

Now Audrey knows the truth: her mom doesn’t fight crime at night. She fights Harrowers—livid, merciless beings who were trapped Beneath eons ago. Yet some have managed to escape. And they want Audrey dead, just because of who she is: one of the Kin.

To survive, Audrey will need to sharpen the powers she has always had. When she gets close to someone, dark corners of the person’s memories become her own, and she sometimes even glimpses the future. If Audrey could only get close to Patrick Tigue, a powerful Harrower masquerading as human, she could use her Knowing to discover the Harrowers’ next move. But Leon, her mother’s bossy, infuriatingly attractive sidekick, has other ideas. Lately, he won’t let Audrey out of his sight.

When an unthinkable betrayal puts Minneapolis in terrible danger, Audrey discovers a wild, untamed power within herself. It may be the key to saving her herself, her family, and her city. Or it may be the force that destroys everything—and everyone—she loves.

This one’s also out in October 2012. I love the cover, but I love the premise even more: superheroes!

3. DARK KISS by Michelle Rowen

I don’t do dangerous.

Smart, über-careful, ordinary Samantha-that’s me. But I just couldn’t pass up a surprise kiss from my number-one unattainable crush. A kiss that did something to me…something strange. Now I feel hungry all the time, but not for food. It’s like part of me is missing-and I don’t know if I can get it back.

Then there’s Bishop. At first I thought he was just a street kid, but the secrets he’s keeping are as intense as his unearthly blue eyes. If he’s what I think he is, he may be the only one who can help me. But something terrifying is closing in, and the one chance Bishop and I have to stop it means losing everything I ever wanted and embracing the darkness inside me…

I fell in love with the Rebel-Without-A-Cause-kinda cover the minute I first saw it, but now I’ve read the synopsis it sounds very cool. Definitely worth checking out and published next month, so not long to wait!

4. FALLING KINGDOMS by Morgan Rhodes

Sixteen-year-old Cleo has grown up in luxury, the royal heiress to a prosperous kingdom. But beneath her nation’s seemingly peaceful surface lies dangerous unrest. Whispers of war are growing ever louder–intensified by a murderous incident for which Cleo’s betrothed, Aron, is accused.

Amidst the ongoing intrigue, Cleo has a more desperate mission. She defies her father’s orders and sets off on a secret and perilous journey into a neighboring country, seeking a magic long thought to be mythical. If it’s real, it could be the cure that heals her ailing sister. If it’s only legend, Cleo will be stranded in a kingdom that has just declared war on her own.

This is being talked about as Game of Thrones for teens. I want to read it!! Also, I’ll tell you a secret about it: Morgan Rhodes is actually Michelle Rowen.* I know, right?! Two YA books by the talented Ms. Rowen that I’m looking forward to this year. Not due until December 2012, so I’ll have to be patient…

*It’s not really a secret.

5. TWO AND TWENTY DARK TALES edited by Georgia McBride & Michelle Zink

Nursery rhymes sung sweetly can take us back to childhood. But deep inside many of those childhood favorites is… a hint of something dark. TWO AND TWENTY DARK TALES: Dark Retellings of Mother Goose Rhymes imagines dark and sinister things amuck in Mother Goose-land. From familiar rhymes, to some of the more obscure, TWO AND TWENTY DARK TALES is a must read for anyone who enjoyed Mother Goose rhymes as a child, but has come to love the darkest of tales.

How did that one slip in here? This is the charity anthology that I have a story in (‘One for Sorrow’), and there are so many great authors taking part. I’m very proud to be involved in the project. More info can be found at The Story Siren’s blog post where she did the official ‘cover reveal’ – and there’s a swag giveaway still going on. Publication is set for October.

What YA books are you looking forward to in the second half of 2012?

And… I’ll be back tomorrow with the second #SpringKazNo check-in!

Okay, brave KazNoWriMo participants, here we all are.

No matter what your writing goals are for the month of April, I hope you’re getting on brilliantly. Even if you’re getting on… less than brilliantly, I hope you’re not beating yourself up over it. We can only do our best, given our current circumstances. Right?

This week, try to be free in your writing. Try to let the words flow without second-guessing everything you want to say.

Be kind to yourself, no matter how tough you’re finding it to write. Ten minutes a day is better than no minutes at all.

“Be wild; that is how to clear the river. The river does not flow in polluted, we manage that. The river does not dry up, we block it. If we want to allow it its freedom, we have to allow our ideational lives to be let loose, to stream, letting anything come, initially censoring nothing. That is creative life. It is made up of divine paradox. To create one must be willing to be stone stupid, to sit upon a throne on top of a jackass and spill rubies from one’s mouth. Then the river will flow, then we can stand in the stream of it raining down.”
- Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Let us know how you’re doing in the comments, and I’ll do my best to reply to everybody before we check-in again on Wednesday.

Happy Easter, to those who celebrate!