WARRIOR WEDNESDAY: New WIP

As I'm sure y'all know by now, I've been writing YA for the past year and a half-ish. Three books so far, all with female lead characters. (And all the while, I've been itching to write one from a guy's POV.) Well, my son and his friends had no interest in reading girly stuff. When I said I might write a 'guy' book, the requests/suggestions for scenes/plot elements came pouring out. Car chases, car explosions, building explosions, hand-to-hand fight scenes, weapons, smoking hot babes...

Little did they know, I'm aiming for a bit different audience. I'm thinking more along the lines of Beautiful Creatures, The Replacement, even I Am Number Four--basically guy's POV, but still some romance.

Of course, I plan on working those suggestions in. Sounds like a damn good time to me!! Then while those ideas were stewing around, I watched a Twitter Pitch Fest held by a few agents. It got me thinking, so I boiled the concept down to a single, 140 character pitch, and I was off and running.

So, I sat down and roughed out the first chapter of a guy's POV with a concept I've also been dying to play with. I cleaned it, honed it, teased out a thread to follow, then tested it on a couple YA guys. 17 and 18 respectively, and they both said they want to read more. (I know what you're thinking, "two isn't a good representation," but they are big readers and would've told me if it didn't read right for them as a guy character.) So... Woot! Their thumbs-up was a great encouragement to keep on with the story. My new CPs are busy, and I'm not sure they'll want to look at a partial, so I'm flying blind for a while.

And having hug fun getting in touch with my masculine side. *snort*

Um... WOW.

Right now, I'm LOVING January. RESONANCE is in the hands of editors, a few of them at dream publishers (squee!) and there's movement on the FORESIGHT front in a way I never dreamed possible. Okay, scratch that. Yes, I did--kinda. Those who've read my writing now I'm a vivid image writer, I like to make readers SEE... I'm not talking the "big screen" kind of SEE with this, though. And, nothing's certain. And, I'm sure there's a crapton of stiff competition. But um... WOW. Just to think FORESIGHT is where it is, being considered for what it is is fricking AWESOME!

Man I can ramble, can't I? I really should be writing. Dystopian? Boys' POV para? hmmm Time for the WIP Roulette!

*spins imaginary dial* Alrighty, peeps, time to be productive.

FIRST LINES

Yesterday was a carnival ride. I was strapped in, helmet on, and totally missed the fun of the YA Highway and their Favorite Lines Road Trip. So, I'm grabbing for the straws dangling off the end of that wagon and posting some of my first lines...

From RESONANCE (out on subs):
I sat in the shadows of the auditorium wishing I could throttle Shaina Weston.

From A SLIGHT CASE OF DEATH (Work In Progress):
Death is not how I planned to end my night.

From DRENCHED (in revisions):
If Purgatory is between Heaven and Hell, my seat in Advanced Chem was Purgatory Central.

And from TRANFERENCE (Work In Progress):
(set up to favorite line)

Alarm sirens wail above the ration line in the town square. The breathy shriek pierces my ears and a shudder slides down my spine. The peal pitches higher, and my fight-or-flight instincts dump adrenaline in my veins. I should stay in my place. I should act like the rest of these Commoner puppets.

Doing what I should will be the death of me. (favorite line)

Now I really should do something productive. Yesterday was a total wash in the productivity department after some news from my agent. It still boggles my mind, but I think I've calmed down enough I may be able to write!

Monday's Muse

This week I'll be spending some quality time with with a hot late-teens blond--in my dystopian WIP! Thanks to my friend Heather Howland I have this inspiration pic of the romantic hero in what's tentatively titled TRANSFERENCE. His name is Aaron Auchul, and he's a SEER, an Official in the government police force gifted with the psychic ability to see where people are and what they are doing.

Aaron's sarcasm is honed to as sharp a point as government-issued knife. His lean, likes to think he's mean, but Aaron has a small problem. Seventeen year-old Isilen Temple, criminal by birth and Aaron's next target, is the one person he cannot see with his mind and she refuses to be silenced without a fight.

The chemistry between the characters is rife with all kinds of tension, and has been damn fun to write. so once the housework is done, I'm opening a file and going to get lost!

Because DH says I'm a split personality...

The silly little school girl in my is dying of want for this:

While the big fat meanie in me is dying of giggles over this:

WARRIOR WEDNESDAY

Well, things have been interesting. A few little emails from my agent have been hitting my inbox. Not only is RESONANCE out there in query stage, some editors are asking to read it! *cue the butt dancing in the typing chair*

Some OMG-ing and a ridiculous amount of pacing has ensued. I'm trying to be calm. Really I am.

Thankfully, my teen beta had dropped by the other day to start hashing out the sequel (tentatively titled DISSONANCE). Which is also the reason for today's blog post title, WARRIOR WEDNESDAY. It is my goal to turn my chicken scratch notes and gobblety-gook to the left into something cohesive and followable. The storyline is shifting darker, some secondaries are shifting into more major rolls, some minor plot elments figured out, couple major plot elements not.

Pour the coffee and back away slowly. This could get ugly.

I'm not sure how other writers do this part. Mine has varied story to story. The dystopian idea came out like Athena fully-formed. The original idea for RESONANCE was a little tinkering. This one looks like its going to be a tinkerer too.

And that's all the time I have, Hubby is home with vension to package up.
Tootles!

THIS AND THAT

First, let me say...

HAPPY AND BLESSED NEW YEAR TO ALL WHO VISIT HERE!

The holidays are over. While the gatherings with family and friends are always nice, I'm kinda glad to see it finished. No more running around. No more sewing--unless I want to. No more cooking for parties and such.

I've critted two books for my Savvy CP's: LEAVE ME BROKEN by Heather Howland and WHERE POPPIES BLOOM by Katy Upperman. Both are amazing in their own way: LMB is a gut-wrenching emotional rollercoaster ride that leaves you aching. WPB is sweet and spooky, and the prose is so engaging I might just read it again. Then, there's Jus Accardo's GATEKEEPER and Oasis girls' stories to read, too. Plus, there's books to write and books to revise. Busy, busy, busy.

AND RESONANCE IS OUT ON SUBMISSION!

Squee!! (queue the stalking of my inbox for news) The book is different from anything I've written, or read and can't wait to see if editors love it as much as beta readers and CPs have. And with that I'm going to succumb to the headache pounding inside my skull and turn this computer off. Much love!