Rev-is-ion

Revisions.

One little word provides HOURS, months of work.

We take our first draft jumble of words, hack them to pieces, rewrite, cut words, add words, tighten sentences, reorder scenes, show not tell, and generally make our story sparkle like a Cullen.

Everyone has their own ways of revising. I'm always curious to see the revision process another writer follows. Why we add, cut, change what we do to tell the best story we can. So when Maggie Stiefvater posted a dissection of a rough chapter of The Scorpio Races, with a description of why she made the changes, I headed over to see what I could learn to help hone my own revision skills.

And now ten other amazing authors have (like Kimberly Derting, Saundra Mitchell, Kiersten White, and Brenna Yovanoff)  have done the same. Head on over HERE to check out the links to the posts.

What about you? Any revision tips/tricks to share?

P.S. Don't forget to get those pitches ready for Feb 1st. We have another fabulous Mystery Agent lined up waiting. Details will be posted soon.

And The Golden Globe Book Contest WINNER Is...

Rebecca Little!!!!

CONGRATS, Rebecca! You just won a preorder of your most anticipated read of 2012:

Please email us your address to operationawesome6@gmail.com!!

And to those who didn't win--don't fret! We've got lots more contests on the way, including our February Mystery Agent!!! Stay tuned for ze details :)

Happy Monday!

Writing Exercise: Status update story starters

Something occurred to me on facebook yesterday as I was posting a strange experience I'd had at the phlebotomist's office that morning. Facebook status updates (or twitter updates) can be great story starters. Maybe not for that amazing book I'm going to write someday, but definitely as a writing exercise!

Here's how it happened. I posted this little story:

Before the guy drew my blood this morning, he palpated the vein a few times and then muttered, "It's harder to find with gloves on." Just the thing you want to hear from the foreign-sounding phlebotomist before he sticks a needle in your arm.

People I know responded with a mixture of humor and horror at this tidbit, and then it hit me. That wonderful "what if." It wasn't a story IDEA, but just a plain old idea. What if I made that the first sentence in a story? Would it work to draw people in? It had been compelling enough to attract comments on facebook, which is at least some kind of barometer for compelling-ness. :) I decided with a few tweaks, it would be a fun first sentence. It could launch me into a story about a woman getting a routine blood test drawn or a teenager with a chronic illness who spends an inordinate time getting needles stabbed in her arm. Voila. Writing exercise!

Try it with twitter:

"Don't even think of sneaking in that sausage!"

Is it Mom scolding your little brother for trying to feed the dogs at the pound? Actually, the link goes to a news blip about customs agents with adorable beagles putting the smackdown on people trying to smuggle illicit foodstuffs into the U.S. Hee hee. Something about 'illicit foodstuffs' just makes me giggle. The fun thing about this writing exercise it that you can bend the first line into any story you want. That's what makes it a creative exercise.

Go ahead, look at the cinnamon rolls. Mmmm... 

"I got up this morning and made cinnamon rolls because I couldn't think of a reason why not to." 

What I love about this tweet is the way it shows Claudia's personality. Starting with a voicey statement is always great. As a reader, I'm immediately intrigued. (Remember, if you are borrowing your first line from another writer's status update (I follow a lot of writers at varying stages of their journeys), make sure it just helps you START your writing exercise or story. If you want to get it published, you'll need it to be all your own work, so that first line will have to be changed. (See fabulous writer movie Finding Forrester for the consequences of plagiarism)

Something you might find fun is going through your old status updates to see which, if any, would work as first lines. Since we're writers, we naturally put care into those brief snippet stories we tell our friends through facebook and twitter. You might find that some of your best work has already been started by you. It just needs a little (okay, a LOT of) TLC to blossom into something else. 

I can't be the only person who enjoys taking things out of context! 

Here are some more of my own facebook status updates, sometimes tweaked a little to be story starters (feel free to use any of them):

There is one girl on Sam's basketball team.

I've had better days.

Heating pad, you are my only friend.

Mmmm, baby likes honey. She's moving around like crazy in my belly.

I had the absolute worst, vivid nightmare last night. Maybe I should lay off the California rolls before bed.

Okay, that's enough of my strange life. Now look at your own facebook and twitter pages and see if you can't find something that could inspire a story. This writing exercise could turn into your next book. Or it could just get you out of a writing funk. Either way, it's a win.

Happy writing!!

And for funsies, in the comments, post your favorite status update, either by you or someone else (give credit where it's due, please). 

AWESOME ENDINGS

We all know how important it is to get the beginning of our books just right. You need to hook the reader. We have to grab them enough to want to read on.

We know the middle shouldn't be saggy. That you need to keep the action moving. 

Then there is the end. If you've kept them with your MC for pages then the ending needs to be one that keeps them turning the page. 

Here is an awesome tip from author K.M.Weiland to help keep your ending exciting: 

What about you? How do you make your endings thrilling? 

The Golden Globe Awards... For BOOKS! And A CONTEST!

So. I love movies. And award shows. 

And, of course, books.

Since the Golden Globes were celebrated last night, I figured I'd have a mini-celebration today! 

Here's the deal: I'm going to share the category name on this post, and you lovely people will write your nominees in the comments. Easy, right?

The point of this is, well, so I can steal your nominees for my To-Read pile. Shameless, I know. 

*sighs*

But alas! A twist! One lucky commenter will win a preorder of their nominated book! All I ask is that you: 

1) be a follower

2) share your nominee on this post

3) live on Planet Earth (contest is international)

Okay. Here's the Golden Globe For Books Category:

Most Anticipated Read of 2012

You have until this Sunday, January 22nd to enter. The winner will be announced next Monday, January 23rd! Best of luck to all who enter!

Shannon Messenger's Epic October Surprise!

Cruising along facebook this morning, I found this...

http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/2012/01/behold-shiny-cover.html

Which led me straight to THIS:

Written by the fabulous author, Shannon Messenger!

The goodreads blurb:

Twelve-year-old Sophie has always been different -- she's years ahead of the other kids in school and can read minds. She's always assumed there's some kind of logical explanation for her talents, but when she meets an adorable and mysterious boy, she finds out the shocking truth. She's never felt at home because she, well, ... isn't. 

There are secrets buried deep in her memory, secrets about her true identity and why she was hidden among humans, that others desperately want and would even kill for. And she must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first.

Sounds epic, right? Hence the title of this post. This exciting new book comes out October 2, 2012. That's this year! (for those of you who, like me, still write 2011 on their checks)

*happy sigh*

I love it when super nice, hard-working people get their due, and Shannon is both super nice AND hard-working. If you haven't checked out her super-helpful writing blog, I highly recommend it, especially the Shannon Style series.

Now that I'm done fangirling, I want to know what books of 2012 excite you the most!

I'll get you started...

Endlessly (last of the Paranormalcy trilogy by Kiersten White) on July 24, 2012
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger on October 2, 2012
Deadwood by Operation Awesome's own Kelly Andrews in September 2012
Amarok by Operation Awesome's own Angela Townsend on November 20, 2012

What have you been waiting for in 2012?

We Read. We Write. We Read.

We all know, as writers, that it's important for us to read. Read within our genre. Read outside our genre. Read the back of that cereal box before you put the groceries away. (You never know what inspiration may strike from a box of Cornflakes. Aliens attack and the only weapon strong enough to defeat them is their intolerance to cereal products. It could happen, right? *grins*) 

"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot."

Stephen King 

But there's something about reading that stirs something inside a writer. Whether it be the fantastic craft book you read that helps you solve that plot problem. The wonderful YA book that you connect with. The book that makes you strive to write something that makes others feel what you just experienced in that moment. The book with beautiful, lyrical writing. The imagery. Even the book you couldn't seem to finish can help with your own WIP. What made you stop? How can you avoid that in your own story? 

And then there is reading for the pleasure of it. The book that sucks us in, makes us forget about the craft  and enjoy the story. 

All writers read. We read to learn. We read for pleasure. We read to help us write. We write what we'd like to read. We read. 

What are you reading at the moment? 

Open Thread: Authors vs. Their Work

So. I've been thinking a lot about authors and their online platforms these past couple of days. Specifically, the kind of reputation an author has with those who follow their blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr accounts (whether they're hilarious/informative/inspirational/etc). In some cases, we might even buy an author's book because we like their online platform, even if the author writes in a genre we don't typically read (confession: I am SUPER guilty of this and am in no way ashamed of it).

But I'm curious about something else: what happens when things go south? Let's say you discover an author through the blogosphere/Internet, like their perspective on writing/life, and fall head over heels  for their books. What if the author does something that disappoints you? Not as a reader, but as a person (i.e. their attitude toward something you take seriously isn't respectful or tactful). 

This leads to today's open thread question: does an author's reputation come into play when you're choosing between reading their work or not? Or does content trump reputation?

I'm really looking forward to your thoughts!

Sing your own song

It's a brand spanking new year!!

I LOVED reading Lindsay's post, The Year to Believe! I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Not just about believing in the process of writing, querying, and finally making it, but also believing in your own voice as a writer.

I've written about this before. It's something I struggle with that, despite my six manuscripts, continues to make me feel like a beginning writer. I obsess over 'getting my voice right' rather than going with my gut. A few members of my family have read my rougher drafts and then later drafts and been disappointed. "Why did you take this out? Why did you add in all these mucky details?" They liked the way it came out at first, raw and flowing. My little sister tells me repeatedly, "Write for yourself."

Write for yourself.

But I'm writing for publication. But I'm writing for a specific market. But I'm trying to get published here!

Write for yourself.

Some of the fun goes out of writing when we try to bend too much to the world. I think of the rule-breakers that have made a mark on the literary world: C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia sure aren't written the way you'd expect middle grade to be written. Nor is Where the Red Fern Grows, which starts out with an old man reminiscing on his childhood. Sure, the rules were different in other decades, but how different really?

Today, the rule-breakers are trend-setters, especially in YA. Twilight didn't follow any rules of plot that I'm familiar with, and yet it reached me on an emotional level from the beginning. I wouldn't call The Hunger Games a rule-follower, either. It set the bar for dystopian societies very high by being its own kind of book.

Agents say, "Write the best story you can."

That is the only rule.

Sometimes when they say that, I hear: "Write a better story than you possibly can," and I get a little depressed. Past rejection has a way of lingering way past its expiration date like little silver ghosts that float around my head and remind me, "not right for my list," "too similar to something else," "no place for this in the market."

It's so hard some days to write with those horrible little poltergeists swarming me from all sides. I wish I had a Patronus spell to cast them back a mile or two, just so I can...

Write for myself.

Expecto Patronum!


Did it work?

Ah, it did work.

The Year to Believe requires that we put our past failures in the past and not allow them to muck up the future we have planned for ourselves and our characters.

Write for yourself.

Believe in your voice.

Happy 2012!

The Year To Believe

It's 2012. I know that's obvious (since we're four days into it), but the last few days have felt like someone snatched the end of 2011 away like the last cookie from the pack. *sniff*

But it's time to wave goodbye 2011. Time to smile. To focus on a new year of challenges.

I don't go in for resolutions. I used to, but resolutions feel like a huge ball of chaos and expectations that will explode on me at any second. And I usually forget about them by February.

But I'm not going into battle with the year unarmed. I've decided to focus on a word.

This year is the year to believe. Not just for anything I'd like to achieve, but for all of us.

I believe that you'll finish those first drafts. Those revisions.
I believe that you'll have another story idea.
I believe that good things are just around the corner.

Believe in yourself.

Because you are amazing.

And I believe in you.

What are you going to believe in this year?

In Which I Tell You To Bleed On The Page

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! 

*throws confetti in your face*

*dances*

Okay, okay. Enough with the partying. Let's get serious.

*blinks*

Uh... yeah... I don't do serious very well...

So. Let's get sort of serious, shall we?

2012 is going to rock. Because I say so. Because you say so. Our wills are powerful beasts, my friends. This is true whether you've made new year's resolutions or not--either way, there are things you're going to go after this year. There were things you went after last year, right? And there are things you'll go after the year after this one. It never ends. So. With that in mind, I have a proposition for y'all. In 2012, and all the years to follow, I want you to do something: bleed on the page.

This might sound disgusting/gory/justplainwrong to some of you. I apologize for the mental picture. BUT it's not what it sounds like. When I say I want you to bleed on the page, what I mean is, whatever you write (short story/poem/novel), please write it from a place that makes you feel. It can hurt, make you laugh till you cry, or both. Doesn't matter. I want you to sit down and write something that costs you. Something that stirs the deepest parts of your core and never. Lets. Go. Most importantly, I want you to write something that forces you to pour everything that makes you you on that page. 

I'm not asking you to seek publication, or to write something suitable for publication. I'm not asking you to follow trends, or write something you think will be a trend in the coming months. 

I'm asking you to write for yourself. 

Because if you do, I might send this special surprise as a reward:

And you know what they say: NOBODY says "no" to The Skarsgard!!

Okay, okay. I made that up.

See what I mean about not doing serious very well? 

*sigh* 

Now tell me: do you have any projects ready to be bled on? Or will you start new projects this year?

Bring on 2012!

It's January 1, 2012, and the new year finds me feeling strangely optimistic. Strange, because this is ME talking, and I'm not known for wearing rose-colored glasses.

Better things are ahead -- for the world, I most urgently hope. When I read year-end news wrap-ups, it's clear that for many worldwide 2011 was a grim year, full of political upheavals and dislocations, economic hardship, and natural disasters. May last year's unrest yield a happier, more peaceful, prosperous year ahead.

And for me, better things are ahead, I think. DEADWOOD, my debut MG novel, is due out from a small press in September, and on Tuesday I start a new job, which may last only a few months but in the meantime will pay a few bills. My family continues to be healthy and happy. I think more good things are coming and I can't wait to see what they'll be.

I'm glad and grateful to have survived 2011, and I'm looking forward to 2012. What are you looking forward to?

You Tell Us....

What was your favorite book of 2011? Or books...because heaven knows I can't pick just one :D

What to get a writer...

Wondering what to get that writer on your Christmas list? Here are a few links that might help you out :)

A Writer's Christmas (my own wish list)
Stina Lindenblatt's 12 Days of Christmas for Writers
Dorothy Love's All I Want for Christmas: A Writer's Wish List
Creepy Query Girl's 12 Days of a Writer's Christmas
The Happy Freelancer's A Writer's Christmas List(what to get a writer and what NOT to get a writer)
FrootBat31's A Writer's Wish List

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!!!

Happy Holidays!

Just a short post today, but I wanted to say a huge Happy Holidays to everyone.

Here is a little festive message from the BBC that always makes me smile when I watch it. Enjoy: 

P.S. I think my favourite bits are these:

Something about the Twister playing/dancing Cyberman that makes me laugh. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Are you ready for the festivities?

Your WIP = Zombies. For reals.

So. There's this show I'm obsessed with. Actually, I'm obsessed with a lot of shows. But this post only works with this one:

AMC's The Walking Dead

Many people (writers included) suggest aspiring authors not to watch TV. The quality's terrible. It's filled with cliches/stereotypes/bad dialogue and plotting. As an avid TV watcher, I can safely say that yes, some shows are like that. But guess what? The opposite is also true. It's important to soak in as many stories as you can, especially if you're a writer. Even author Janice Hardy backs me up on this. And since she's a lot wiser and awesome-er than me, you should totally believe her.

Which leads me to The Walking Dead.

Sure, it's got zombies and blood and all that jazz. But the show, and the graphic novels it's based on, are about a group of people who're struggling to find hope in a dying world. They're also struggling to survive. Part of that survival is learning how to leave things behind. More importantly, leaving those we love behind. 

What the heck does that have to do with your WIP?

If you won NaNoWriMo, or if you didn't participate but are currently revising a manuscript, you have to think like the characters from The Walking Dead. 

Here's a timeline:

Stage One

Before loved one gets infected = Reaching THE END on your first draft = You are so happy it hurts and life is awesomesauce.

Stage Two

Loved one gets infected = You reread your first draft = O_O HOW DO I FIX THIS NOW????????

Stage Three

Loved one turns into a zombie + You don't want to kill them = Edits are going to be daunting + You don't want to start them = *does nothing*

Stage Four 

Loved one wants to eat you for dinner + Loved one is no longer the same person after infection, and is lost forever = First draft can't be queried/sent to editors because it will eat your career for dinner + First draft won't be the same after edits, but it will be so much better = Survival instincts kick in.

Stage Five

You off your loved one = You revise your first draft.

My point? In order to go from aspiring to the real deal, you have to know when to follow your heart, and when to follow your head. Revisions are a bit of both. It's up to you to figure out how to proceed from there. 

And remember, this is what your first draft looks like to you:

And this is what it really looks like:

Nuff said.

Now tell me: what's the infection/post-drafting experience like for you? Good? Bad? A bit of both?

My middle-grade novel has found a home!

So finally I have some good news to report here on Operation Awesome!

I sold my MG novel, DEADWOOD PARK, to Pugalicious Press, a new small publisher specializing in MG/YA fantasy and adventure. My book should be out September 2012! I'm so excited to have found the right home for DEADWOOD PARK, and I couldn't have done it without the women of Operation Awesome.

Truthfully, I don't think I would have finished the novel without them. I had written my first novel without any other readers except my husband until I got my agent. When that book didn't sell, I was devastated. Now I know how common that is, how many manuscripts many writers craft before finding one that hits all its marks to reach an agent, editor, and readers, but then, the last thing I felt like doing was finishing the draft of another book when the first one hadn't sold. But I knew I had to keep writing. While on submission, I had a lot of wonderful writer friends, but I was intimidated. I needed something new to find a way to push through.

Despite my reluctance to share work, I joined the talented women of Operation Awesome. I showed them my very raw first pages, and they encouraged me to keep going. It felt worthwhile and achievable, and at the very least, I had to write enough to have something to turn in when my time was up for critiques.

I'm very proud of DEADWOOD PARK, and I'm so happy to have found Pugalicious Press so I can share this story with readers.

So thank you to Operation Awesome and to all the awesome writers, agents, and readers who have supported us. Thanks to all my writer friends on the magical interwebs because now it all starts again as I try to write my next book.

Here's the story:

Twelve-year-old Army brat Martin Cruz hates his rotten new town. He counts the days until his mom returns from Afghanistan to rescue him from his controlling aunt, who barely feeds him and won’t let him play his favorite multiplayer online role-playing game. Then two things change everything. His aunt forces him to join Junior Junior Executives of Tomorrow. And he gets a text message from a tree telling him it’s cursed — and so is he.

It’s not just any tree. It’s the Spirit Tree, the ancient beech the high school football team carves each year to commemorate the home opener. Every year they lose. And Junior Junior Executives of Tomorrow isn’t just any club. If he can find the connection between the two, he can heal the cursed tree and reverse the town's crappy luck. But first the curse turns more sinister. If Martin can’t save the town he despises, he’ll be stuck in Deadwood Park at the mercy of the psycho who cursed it.

We'll Start At The Very Beginning

"It is the truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Did I get your attention? Then I'll begin.

They say the opening is the most important. It's the one that grabs the reader. The one that makes us want to spend 300+ pages with the hero/heroine. It's also the one that can have us staring at the blank page tearing our hair out.

But how do you get that opening just right? How do you go from an so-so opening to a great one? You know the one I'm talking about, right? The one that makes agents excited enough to read on. That makes them see the potential in you/your MS baby and request your full and then offer representation. The opening that - once published - makes readers buy your book and set up those fan pages dedicated to great quotes.

Sorry, I got a bit carried away there. Back to reality.

His Dark Materials author Phillip Pullman was asked how he wrote great books. His reply was that it's easy; all you have to do is write a brilliant first page. And then a brilliant second page. And then a brilliant third page... And well, you get the idea.

My first line trick? Get the darn first draft out of the way. Once the whole thing is done, I can then go back to focus on the first line during edits. It may be that killer opening line is a sentence or paragraph further down. Time and re-reading (and amazing CP's) can help pull it to the surface.

 I wish I had a magic formula to share. If they're are any hard and fast rules then I'm still looking, but there are a few other things that can help:

Choose a few books off your shelf. Read the first lines. See what grabbed you as a reader.

You can also check out these links:

http://writing-novels.suite101.com/article.cfm/more_great_first_lines

Stina Lindenblatt has a few posts on awesome first lines here.

So over to you. Do you have a favourite opening of a novel? How do you work on yours to make it great?

New YA Publisher: Strange Chemistry

A while back, I wrote about my submission to the publisher, Angry Robot. They had an open door month a while back, and I was able to climb my way up the slushy ranks to the editors desk. Well, 9+ months later, I am STILL waiting. Just think, if I were pregnant, I could have already scheduled a C-section and gotten the dang thing over with. But since the birth of a book takes a lot longer than the creation of of a human....I just have to deal and wait.

So it goes a lot of times in publishing. Waiting. We've blogged about it a lot. I'm sure you've all experienced the excruciating pain of waiting for an answer. If not with a publisher, with an agent. If not with an agent, waiting in line at the store. IT. NEVER. ENDS!

Ah, hem.

Anyhow, during all of this waiting, I've learned a few things. If you haven't heard by now, Angry Robot is opening a new imprint for YA. It's called Strange Chemistry. You can learn more about them here.

So while you wait for an answer, you can write. Or, if you are feeling petrified to write, at least find something to do besides click on your email refresh. It isn't healthy. I know. Really. I KNOW.

So for your enjoyment, I took it upon myself to put some creativity to use. I browsed the Angry Robot website and instead of lamenting about an answer, I looked over the cover artwork to see what would inspire me to paint. (I'm a face painter, in case any of you don't know that about me.) Using the cover of Andy Remic's book, Vampire Warlords, I came up with a face paint inspired design.

Here is the cover:

Here is my replication. Enjoy. :o)

Magan Vernon's HOW TO DATE AN ALIEN: Book Review/Interview!!

High school senior Alex Bianchi's estranged father gets her an internship at Circe Operations Center to pad her college applications. But Circe isn't your typical military base. It's an alien-run operation center and not all of the aliens are friendly, especially the one that tries to kill Alex on her first day. When Ace, a dark-eyed Caltian, enters and saves the day, she can't help but be drawn to him. Can these star-crossed lovers survive when they're on the brink of intergalactic war?

I've been following YA author Magan Vernon's blog for quite a while now, and let me just say: she sure can entertain. That's why it's no surprise I freakin' l-o-v-e-d her debut novel, How To Date An Alien. Alex Bianchi is not only a fun narrator, but a relatable one. She's self-conscious yet confident. Kind yet badass when the situation calls for it. I particularly love how she reacts to the whole aliens-and-humans policy inside Circe--aliens are forbidden to date humans, and some members of the latter believe themselves to be superior than the former. The novel's tone is light and fun, but scenes where this bias was explored really spoke to me. How mean can people be to those they don't understand? To those they feel threatened by? Alex certainly had a few low points in regards to learning how to deal with this, but as the story goes on, she manages to handle herself like a pro (an awesome moment inside a cafeteria will forever be my favorite scene). 

And my other fave part about this book? Ace. A-c-e. He's probably one of the most complicated love interests in YA, and that's why I love him. At times, I was like, "Ooooh, I SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING THERE, ACE." Then I was like, "Umm... WHAT?" But I never stopped rooting for him. As a victim of prejudice and petty jokes, Ace is guarded. He's dedicated to his work (monitoring blogs/websites to make sure aliens aren't revealing their true identities to humans), and he treats Alex with respect, but at a distance. Their chemistry is undeniable, though, which grows even stronger as the story moves along. And I LOVED how they weren't afraid to tell it like it is to each other (a conversation about guyliner comes to mind...). By the end, I understood why they'd fallen in love, and why they'd done everything they did in order to protect that love.

If you like your scifi with a buttload of laughs, How To Date An Alien is for you, folks. 

And now I have a special treat for y'all: an interview with ze author herself, Magan Vernon!!

Check it out:

On the book

1) Tell us about How To Date An Alien's inception. How did this story come to you?

Oh geeze, good question. About two years ago I started really focusing on writing. I wrote a contemporary new adult novel that didn’t get anywhere when I started actually looking at trends. The market was so saturated by vampires at the time that I thought, “You know, I think we need to throw some aliens in the paranormal mix.” Slowly but surely the idea of an alien operations center and a kick-butt heroine came into play and the seed of How to Date an Alien was planted.

2) Your novel is described as a YA sci-fi. What is it about science fiction that appeals to you?

 Truth be told, I’m deathly afraid of aliens. I think that is probably why I’m so attracted to the idea. Aliens may frighten me, but they also intrigue me at the same time. I can’t help but get sucked into all of those alien specials on the History channel even though they give me nightmares.

3) You recently blogged about why you went with an indie publisher for How To Date An Alien. What have you enjoyed most about going indie? What's the hardest thing about it?

The thing I love the most would have to be DarkSide publishing. The girls are so supportive and I love how they’ve given me suggestions that have made my story even better than I ever imagined. I also love the freedom. I was able to pick out my own book cover and I had the final say on changes. The hardest thing is the fact that Indie publishers don’t exactly get the same respect as traditionally published. Somehow we got a bad reputation and people will try to knock us down just because we aren’t with a big publisher. But I’m a fighter and I know that fans of this story will agree.

4) Is How To Date An Alien a standalone, or does it have sequels on the way? 

There are two sequels (I’m not giving away the titles yet) and then two shorties that will go along with the series. The first one is Ace’s story, which is titled ‘A Very Alien Beginning.’ That should be out in Spring of 2012 and the second book in the series should be out by Summer/Fall of 2012.

On writing

1) Are you a pantser or a plotter? 

Pantser, all the way. I actually had no idea where How to Date an Alien was going the entire time and just let the characters tell me.

2) Revisions. Love them or hate them?

I used to hate them, but now that I’m working with DarkSide I actually enjoy them. GP Ching, Karly Kirpatrick, Megg Jensen, and Angela Carlie give the best suggestions and I look forward to my revisions when I get their notes back.

3) How much of How To Date An Alien's first draft made it into the final version?

Funny you should ask. The first chapter was written and re-written at least five different times. Alex’s name actually started out as Sofie White (shortly after she became Italian and Bianchi means white in Italian.) There were a lot of changes along the way and I didn’t even have a name for Ace until Stacey Kade came up with it. About the only thing that made it into the final version from that original draft was an alien operations center and a girl with glasses.

4) What's your #1 piece of advice for aspiring authors?

Never stop loving what you do. If you stop loving the story, then it’s time to move on.

On randomness

1) Favorite TV show/movie: Roswell the TV series and Dogma the movie

2) Favorite candy: Reese’s

3) You're stranded on an island by yourself. Which book would you read over and over again? Ugh this is a hard one!  I would probably go with the Bible. Not only for the religious aspect, but there are so many different stories to choose from with so many different interpretations.

4) If you weren't a writer, you would be: I currently work as Claim’s professional for a   major insurance company by day and I actually love my job. It’s kind of like people watching on the  phone.

Thanks so much to Magan for letting OA be a part of her blog tour!!! Make sure you go follow her blog, her Twitter, and buy your copy of How To Date An Alien over at Amazon!