Shadow of the Mark cover reveal and contest!

Former YAtopia Leigh Fallon has a new book on the way. SQUEE!! And here's her gorgeous new cover for Shadow of the Mark!


Leigh Fallon on the new cover: I know, there's no mistaking it. This is definitely a Carrier Series cover, but that was the intention. After the amazing reception to the cover of Carrier of the Mark, HarperCollins wanted Shadow's cover to be instantly recognizable. And it is, but the new darker color palette reflects the darker tone that this installment brings, and the pink and purple really make it pop. I love it and think HarperCollins have done another amazing job. I hope you like it too.

Shadow of the Mark

Life for Megan Rosenberg just got a lot more complicated. While she evoked the air element, and her feelings for Adam intensified, a web of lies, deceit, and betrayal has been spun around her. With the Order tightening its hold, and the reinstatement of the Mark Knights, Megan has more questions than answers as the Marked Ones grow in strength. New people arouse suspicion, the DeRises start behaving strangely, and Megan begins to unravel a destiny shrouded in mystery. It's a destiny the Order has struggled to hide, and a destiny someone from the past, far in the past, has already laid claim to. Alliances will be made, and friends will be lost, as the Order's dark secrets are revealed by the very thing they sought to destroy.

Like what you've read? You can pre-order Shadow of the Mark right now.

Leigh is also hosting a giveaway! Books and swag are up for grabs.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Two and Twenty Dark Tales & Giveaway

Hi guys!

I don't know if you heard, but I've an anthology coming out in October! It's called Two and Twenty Dark Tales. A fantastic group of YA authors got together to do dark retellings of the Mother Goose nursery rhymes in aid of various charities, and what we came up with was twenty two tales of creeptastic fun. Here's a list of the contributors.

Nina Berry
Sarwat Chadda
Shannon Delany
Max Scialdone
Leigh Fallon
Angie Frazier
Jessie Harrell
Nancy Holder
Heidi R. Kling
Suzanne Lazear
Karen Mahoney
Lisa Mantchev
Georgia McBride
C. Lee McKenzie
Gretchen McNeil
Francisco X. Stork
Pamela van Hylckama Vlieg
K.M. Walton
Suzanne Young
Michelle Zink
Edited by Georgia McBride & Michelle Zink.

Two and Twenty Dark Tales is being published by Month 9 Books and will be out on the 16th October. 

I've got some beautiful bookmark and postcard swag to giveaway.  If you'd like to get your hands on the signed swag, just leave a comment with some contact info, and follow the YAtopia blog. If you'd rather not leave contact info that's no problem, just watch out for the winner announcement on Friday and if you win, you can email me. Good luck!

All the best and talk soon.

Leigh

Just Write

I've struggled off and on for the past few months with books and projects. I've set stuff aside, multiple times. I've wracked my brain on plotting and characterization and word choice on certain books--over thinking and over thinking, which for me leads to frustration, minimizing the screen and firing up Twitter. I've been in and heard of people being in writing funks before and they're brutal on you. So hard and stressful and if you're like me, you feel like you're doing nothing, if you're not writing. I also have a friend who has a great story idea and wants to try her hand at writing, but hasn't yet. I wonder if the solution can be really simple for us all... If you're a new writer or a writer in a funk or whatever the situation is, for me, the only way out of it is to-- JUST WRITE. I have a friend who is an editor and she's told me before, crap can be fixed. Just write. I think that's awesome advice. Of course everyone is different so you have to do what works for you, but for me? I need to just write. Can you write yourself out of a funk or do you need to separate yourself from writing to get back in the grove? If you're not a writer, this can go with other aspects of your life too. Are you the type to keep going until you push through or do you need to stop and regroup?

Life is too short...

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

Love the people who treat you right.

Forget about the ones who don’t.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy. They just promised it would be worth it.

You've probably seen these quotes before. Each sentence is so true, and they become my mantra when I'm trying to reset my life.  Every now and again I need a reminder that there is a whole other world going on outside of my writer's bubble.

When my head is firmly wedged up my butt as a result of too much time spent on the internet, working social media, frantically following and emulating those more successful than me in the attempt of achieving unrealistic goals set in over enthusiastic moments, my world becomes insular. I lose track of things that are important. I'm never good enough for myself. Things and people who aren't important, become pivotal. 

I continue, blinkered, until something happens. Something small like one of my daughters saying something poignant, or a big squishy hug from one of my boys. Then the old cliched sayings start to filter into my self imposed prison. I remind myself of all the things I really hold dear, that all the other stuff really doesn't matter. In the overall scheme of things, it's all garbage, and the only person keeping me imprisoned in the superficial world I've created, is me. Then the walls come crumbling down and life becomes simpler. More pleasant. Enjoyable. 

Until... I start to build my walls again, which is inevitable, I'm a writer after all. It's what we do...we build worlds, worlds to  set new goals in, raise our standards, expect more from ourselves, and beat ourselves up for mistakes, crappy stats, and missed opportunities. But that's okay, because there's always our friends and family to bring us back and reel us in.  I think all of us creative types need our lifelines to pull us back from the brink of self destruction. 

If you're caught up in the cycle, read the quotes above, and press reset. Remember, you are fabulous, most of what you think is important, is not, and you're not alone. It's onward and upward from here guys. I wish you a pleasant journey.

Leigh

World Read Aloud Day

World Read Aloud Day is a way to celebrate literacy and draw attention to the 793 MILLION Earth citizens who cannot read or write. It's "about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people."

To celebrate World Read Aloud Day, Sharon, Leigh and Sarah read short excerpts for you!

Three accents. Three awesome book excerpts. One great cause!



Here's the link if this doesn't embed for you.

Happy Valentine's Day

Just wanted to pop in to say...

Check out Valentine's Day posts from YAtopians:

• Leigh celebrates her snogoversary
• It's getting a little hot over at Kelley V's
• Sarah says V-Day is what you make it
• Wendy's romantic tension guest post & teaser

Did you write a post about this day? Leave your link in the comments so we can spread the love!

Twaddle for the 8th - The Sweet Sound of Inspiration

When I’m first drafting there are a few things I need.

1.     A baby sitter.

2.     An endless supply of coffee.

3.     Access to the Internet.

4.     Pen and paper.

5.     And most importantly…MUSIC!

For me, music is the single most important must have for the all-consuming inspiration that is needed for the first draft.  And I don’t find music to go along with a scene. I do it the other way around. I listen to random music until the music gives me the scene. You see, I know what I want the scene to do, but the music shows me the way it plays out.

Once the piece of music speaks to me, it becomes part of my manuscript. I’ll play it over and over until the scene is complete.  Then I’ll listen to that song for weeks afterwards, reliving the emotion of the scene it inspired and keeping my head firmly rooted in the story while I move onto the next section and the next song.  By the end of a book, I’ll have approximately one song per chapter, which are so ingrained in me that sometimes, listening to the music leaves me bawling crying or laughing out loud as I relive each word.

The side effect of this dependency is that I play the songs so frequently that a) my husband ends up despising my playlist and turns it off in favor of SAD FM as soon as he sits into my car, and b) my kids (including my four year old twins) will end up with word perfect renditions of songs that you’d never imagine coming out of a small child’s mouth. It makes this momma proud.

I’m always on the look out for new music, but for my last two books my old faithfuls have been:

Elbow, Electric President, Moby, Coldplay, Radiohead, Dido, Lisa Mitchel, Radical Face, and Vast.

Have a listen to these. Both of these songs inspired scenes in Carrier 2. Close your eyes and see the music instead of listening to the music...if you know what I mean. We'd both see very different things, but I'm sure the tone and mood would be similar.

You’ve heard two songs that have really spoken to me, now I’d like to hear of the songs that really inspired you. If you have links please post them. I’d love to have a listen.

All the very best and talk soon.

Leigh

When life throws you pomegranates

Huh? Pomegranates?  Yip, pomegranates.  You see, on those days when the lemons hit the fan, and the blades slicing through the peel are spewing bitter juice into broken skin and sensitive eyes, the first thing to cross your mind is, I guess it’s time to make lemonade.  Well actually, that’s not true. The first thing to cross your mind will be, OUCH!, followed closely by, Who the hell did that? But before you start squeezing the crap out of sour lemons and adding tones of sugar in an attempt to make them palatable, take a closer look.  Sometimes the lemons are in fact pomegranates. 

Pomegranates are quite big, so they really hurt when they’re pelted at you.  They’re an odd fruit.  I find the seeds exceptionally irritating and the pith leaves a disgusting aftertaste, but if you scoop away the flesh from the bitter pith, and juice it to remove the horrible seeds, you are left with the sweetest and most uniquely beautiful, rich elixir  There’s no need to add sugar, it’s sweet enough on it’s own.  It’s also a fantastic antioxidant.  Yup, it will help rid your body of all those nasty toxins that get under your skin and fester. What might surprise you is the amount of goodness these pomegranates can hold, and the pleasant effect they can have on your general wellbeing. The pith and seeds will be rotting in the composter while the benefits of the sweet bits are still working their magic.

So remember the next time the world throws you lemons, pause and take a closer look.  With any luck, that fruit that just smashed off your head and hurt like hell,  might actually be a pomegranate.

I hope 2012 is treating you well.

All the best and talk soon.

Leigh

Tuesday Twaddle - Hijacked...again.

Yep, you've guessed it.  I've hijacked the Tuesday Twaddle this week for a few announcements. 

Firstly, did you see the gorgeous cover of Wendy Higgins's, Sweet Evil?  I mean... holy hotness. Check this baby out.

Kai has got the smolder down. NOM NOM.  Now that you've drooled over the smolder, go check out Wendy's blog for more info on this beauty.

And speaking of covers I got my Hardback Italian edition of Carrier of the Mark yesterday.  It's so pretty, it needs some blog time. So here it is.

Carrier of the Mark came out in first edition Trade Paperback in the US. I have to admit, I was happy with that decision.  As a debut, you expose yourself to a much larger audience by having your book come out in Trade Paper, as it's more affordable, people will take a chance on the unknown author. But (and you know how I love a good but) seeing Carrier in Hardback, and how gosh darn beautiful it is, makes me a little sad that you guys in the US won't get such prettiness. *sigh* I didn't expect to feel this way about a hardcover...it's hard to explain.  It's like a coming of age thing...a realization that your book is out there, forever, on shelves, in different languages, and it feels good.

Anyhow, enough of blubbering.  *wipes eyes*

Talk to you in two weeks for an actual Tuesday Twaddle.

All the best and talk soon.

Leigh

Carrier of the Mark is OUT NOW!

Oh precious blog followers...

Guess what is officially in stores as of Tuesday???

That's right.

CARRIER OF THE MARK!

You guys have to go get it. Seriously. It's made of win. Check out my own review of it here and it's Goodreads page here.

Now, what are you waiting for? Go get it!

Oh and when you read it, come back here and let us know what you think :D

Tuesday Twaddle - The Blue Edition

Nope we're not talking naughtiness, we are talking Carrier. You'll have to forgive my little blue indulgence, but you see, there's all sorts of awesome stuff happening for me at the moment, and I just can't help myself going on about it, and writing incredibly long run on sentences...it's the nature of the beast.

You'll also have to forgive the late posting of this.  That's a big fat oopsie right there. I nearly forgot that it was was my day because...well because it's blue indulgence day.

I got my finished books today! Yes a whole big box of them, and they are gorgeous.  I also got a big box of beautiful bookmarks. *sigh* so much prettiness.  I must make sure some of you guys get your paws on them.

And following the Carrier blue theme of this post, my book trailer was released yesterday to lots of oohing and aahing over it's...blueness and it's dramatic awesomeness.  So I'll allow you absorb the blue beauty of this post.



Thank you for allowing my moment of blue indulgence, and talk to you in two weeks when... dun dun dun, you can do blue, with your very own copy of Carrier. Aghh!
. 

Tuesday Twaddle been stolen by Leigh Fallon's Blog

I'm kind of pushing my Tuesday Twaddle to the side today in favor of an epic comp I'm running on my blog, celebrating the four week countdown to the release of Carrier of the Mark. Well... Yatopians deserve a chance to win too.  Here are all the details.  You can click this link to go directly to the comp page. Good luck!

 

Pre-Order Carrier Comp! Win a Kindle!

Well good golly gosh, here we are on the 6^th of September and exactly four weeks to the release of CARRIER OF THE MARK. Repeat after me…

AGHHHHHHHHHHH!

I am freaking out right now.  There is so much going to be happening this month. There will be blog tours, character chats, photos, photos, and more photos, announcements, giveaways, and lots and lots of prizes.  Yay!

My first announcement is… It’s epic comp! Win a Kindle. Yes. I’m giving one away and loads other seriously cool stuff.  Check it out.

To win the Kindle:

1. Pre-order / buy Carrier of the Mark anywhere. (There's a list below to help you).

2. Send your proof of purchase, a copy/photo of your receipt or confirmation email, to COTMKindlecomp@hotmail.com

Winner will be picked at random and notified on the 7th of October via email.  All books and E-Books eligible.  Open to US & CA Only. (Don't worry Europe, I'll have one for you guys too and Internationally if you guys scream loud enough)

Due incessant screaming this comp is now opening INTERNATIONALLY!

BONUS!!

If you tweet this comp link, include the hashtag #COTMKindlecomp, and I'll enter you in to win a Carrier of the Mark Swag Bag full of awesome loot. There will be one winner every Friday for 4 weeks!. The more you tweet, the more you enter. Woot!

Oh and I'll accept Facebook links too for Swagbag entries, just be sure message the CarrieroftheMark FB page so I can enter you.  Good luck!

You can have access to the comp details at any time by clicking the comp button over in the side bar on the right.

Go, have fun, and most of all...Good luck!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Book Depository

Indie Bound

Books-A-Million

Profanity (Yikes! I mean cursing) in YA

Firstly, Ugh! I just hate that word ‘profanity’ it has a horrible ring to it.  It offends me just to type it here.  It conjures up images of old ladies with corkscrew permed, blue rinsed hair, banging on about how society is wronging the youth of today.

But I encountered the use of this word in a review regarding a few minor curse words used in my book, Carrier of the Mark.  Now I’m not talking the F bomb here, I’m talking the occasional (and I hope I don’t offend anyone reading this blog with these words, I personally don’t find them offensive, so apologies in advance to those of you who do) ‘Jesus Christ’, ‘shite’, and the one that really got up this reviewers nose, ‘god damn’.

In my view, there is a fine line we YA authors thread.  It is our job to write a true representation of YA’s in the world we live in.  In Carrier I'm representing real Irish people, who speak with Irish accents and Irish slang.  People might not like that fact that cursing is part of our lives, but it is, and there is no getting away from it. 

The reviewer loved Carrier and gave it a glowing review saying it was the best book she'd reviewed since she started reviewing, but she had issues with the ‘cussing’ so downgraded her review from a 5 star review to a 3 star review because of one use of ‘god damn’ and several uses of ‘shite’ .  Now I think everyone is entitled to their opinion, and this reviewer is a really nice girl with very strong religious beliefs, which I respect her for. 

So here’s the question I put to you.  Do you believe that books should be penalized for use of elements that you don’t agree with even though the accurately portray the world you're writing about, should reviewers take a broader view?  Or, do you think YA books should be kept clean of any use of cursing and cushion the YA reader from the realities that some might find a little harsh?  I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.  Please give us your insight, as this is a topic I’m fascinated by.

Have yourselves a good one!

Leigh

The Tuesday Twaddle - Vlogs!

I hate cameras and tend to run in the opposite direction when one is pointed at me, but in a world ruled by visual media, they are becoming harder and harder to avoid.  When I first set out on my publishing journey, I tried my hand at vlogging, and it was fun.  But the problem was they were just so darn time consuming to put together.

Two minutes of vlogging fun = four hours of screaming at windows movie maker, thirty outtakes, one hour in hair and makeup, and about thirty minutes of fighting with yourself trying to convince yourself not to post it to YouTube. *sigh*

So you see, it's really not that easy.  That said, it really is a fun way to connect with your audience.  And when you see an author in a vlog, more often than not your surprised by how they look, sound, and act, because it shows a completely different side to the one they present on Twitter or Facebook. 

Yatopia have been blogging a while know, and I wonder do you really know the crazies behind blog.

So here's the bit that's going to make my fellow Yatopia bloggers squirm and be suddenly hit by the urge to pelt me with rotten tomatoes, but I was thinking it might be fun to do a Vlog fortnight, one where we do a short vlog instead of our usual posts.

So what do you think Yatopians? Would you like to see us vlogging?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.  I'm not saying we will be vlogging, I'll probably be still wedged into the stocks covered in tomato juice for the next few weeks anyway, but would it be something that you'd like to see us do?

Let us know!

Talk soon my lovelies.

Leigh

Tuesday Twaddle - RWA and GIVEAWAY

Kimberly, Me, & Amy

My Tuesday Twaddle this week is a catch up on what I've been up to.  Indeed, my own blog is a catch up too, but I've been so busy over the past week I just have to get it out there.  You probably know I was in New York for the RWA (Romance Writers of America) conference. I've been doing book signings and attending parties and perusing New York.

I met some amazing authors, including Kimberly Derting, Sophie Jordan, Amy Garvey, and Tera Lynn Childs.  We partied the night away at the Avon cocktail party at the Boat House in Central Park, sipping cocktails and having a good old fashioned girlie giggle.

The next day I was signing ARCs of Carrier of the Mark at the Avon signing.  It was such a highly charged estrogen charged experience! Indeed, there were enough romance writers in one spot to get the most stone cold nonromantic hearts all a flutter.  My signing table was just across from Meg Cabot, which was super cool, and I managed to snag some copies of her books.  In fact, I snagged lots of books, gorgeous books… lucky me!  And lucky you too, you see, that's where you come in.  I'm giving away RWA stuff today.  I've an ARC of Amy Garvey's Cold Kiss (An amazing read) and a copy Kimberly Derting's, The Body Finder... and I might even chuck in an ARC of Carrier of the Mark! You likey??

To win, all you need to do is be a follower of the Yatopia blog, leave a comment below with your contact information, and tweet this competition, or Facebook it if you don't have Twitter. And if you have neither Twitter or Facebook send me some good Karma and we'll call it even. Ooh and I'd love if you check out my blog too, I LOVE new followers. So get entering and good luck!

Competition is open until my next Tuesday Twaddle in two weeks.  I'll announce the winner on my post. Winner will be picked by my tried and tested Twitter Method *patent pending* And unfortunately due to the number of books in the giveaway and the cost of postage, it's only open to the US, sorry guys.  Giveaways on my blog are always open international so keep posted (There will be a giveaway in the next few days!! It's going to be a doozy!).

Leigh

This book is AWESOME! This book SUCKS!

Ahh yes.  I’m at that time in my writing career where I’m sitting back biting my nails and waiting for the first trickle of reviews to come in on debut novel.  There isn’t much that could compare to the terror, other than perhaps going to collect your High School / Secondary School final exams results.  Results that ultimate set you on your path to your future, or swipe it all away from you before you take your first unsure step.

I’ve never really put much thought into reviews before.  I was always a pleasure reader, either I liked a book or I didn’t.  But now that people’s thoughts of my book can make or break my fledgling career, reviews suddenly have a whole new meaning.

The problem with reviews is that every reader is so different.  One person delight is another person’s poison.  The more I read into reviews, and the people that do them, the more I realize that there are very few bad books out there.  There are only books that we think are bad, but in actual fact, thousands of others will love. 

Goodreads is a perfect place to go to see this love/hate dynamic in action.  If you look at the lists for the BEST book ever written, there holding number one spot is Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer.  Now look at the next list, The WORST book ever written, and do my eyes deceive me? What is number one on the list? You’ve guessed it… Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer.

I find this both funny and stomach settling.  The way I see it a bad review isn’t exactly a reflection on my book, it’s a reflection of that reviewer’s taste and just a simple case of my book falling into the wrong hands… actually, not so much wrong, but more like, not the perfect hands.  I think as authors the best we can hope for is that the people destined to love our book get their mitts on it so that the good review can tip the balance in the right direction. 

The other thing to remember is that a good review isn’t always the best thing and a bad review isn’t always the worst thing.  There are some book reviewers out there who’s taste in books I wouldn't be too hot on.  They’ve read, reviewed, and loved books that I’ve read and really disliked, so when they LOVE a book it can in fact turn me off it.  It’s a funny old world this book reviewing business.

People have told me over and over again, DO NOT READ YOUR BAD REVIEWS.  I of course ignore this bit of advice.  As soul crushing as negative words can be about your beloved book, there are pearls of advice in each and every review, something to be learned, even if it’s just to ensure your next book doesn’t get into the reviewer’s claws. *WINK*

Have a good day my friends.

Leigh

Oh My Gosh, You Guys! Guess What???

I’m getting published! For real, for real! As of Thursday, I can finally say that. Do you know what it’s like to keep exciting news to yourself for nearly a year? Let me tell you. It’s hard.

Ten months ago I was contacted by an editor at HarperCollins Publishing about my book, Sweet Evil (titled Angel Prophecy at the time). The editor had read my manuscript after making it to the top five on inkpop.com, a website run by HarperCollins, geared toward readers and writers of Young Adult Literature.

When I was contacted, nobody told me not to say anything. My first instinct was to sprint to the inkpop forums and cyber-scream, “OhMyGoshYouGuys!GuessWhat???” but something told me I better not. Possibly the fact that there was no contract offered at that point…and how embarrassing would that have been? I told a couple of very close writer friends who’d beta read my story at several stages, and I knew I could trust them with my secret. When the offer did come, it came with the request to keep quiet until they decided on an opportune time to announce, and I respected that. But in the meantime, something funny happened. I met Leigh Fallon.

I was invited by Kelley Vitollo to start a group blog, our own YAtopia. While brainstorming other possible contributors, we knew Sharon Johnston and Leigh Fallon were active on their own personal blogs, and they both agreed to join. We did the cursory get-to-know you questions, and I noticed Leigh’s statements about her status in the publication process were very vague. We knew she’d had an agent for some time, and she claimed to have “promising prospects,” *wink, wink*, which was exactly what I was telling people. I knew from buzz on inkpop, and an offhand comment from my editor, that there was an inkpop book acquisitioned before mine. So, naturally, I became suspicious and put on my hound dog nose to snoop.

After some back and forth emails, without ever mentioning inkpop or HarperCollins, Leigh Fallon and I totally figured one another out! We were like giddy school girls at that point. Finally, we weren’t alone! We had someone who could truly understand how it felt to be in that silent debut author place. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but agents and editors simply don’t have time to coddle new authors and give us constant updates and reassurances. Leigh came along at the exact time when I really needed a big sister to hold my hand and walk with me. Because, as strange as it might sound, achieving such a far-fetched dream is a scary place to be. And earning publication through a non-traditional means makes it even more frightening.

I had not expected my insecurities as a writer to increase after getting a contract. There are so many things I didn’t anticipate about the publishing world. Maybe someday I’ll expand, but for now I just want to thank Leigh for graciously answering countless questions, making me laugh, and being a strong sounding board these past six months. I would say it was a crazy coincidence that she and I met through this blog while we were both under a gag-order, but after so many “coincidences” in my life, I’ve stopped believing in them. J

(My apologies if I don't respond to your comments until late in the day. I'm traveling from Texas to Virginia today.)

Edits, Editing, & Editors - Tuesday Twaddle with Leigh

I'm in the throes of editing the second book in The Carrier series.  I have to admit, I'd forgotten how painful the first flush of editing can be - seeing all those scribbles covering your beloved manuscript, lines drawn through some of your favorite lines, deleted with a simple strike of a pen.  I've been here before, so I know the pain is short lived.  As soon as you actually get beyond the haze of offending scribbles you realise that the changes work and your manuscript is the better for them. 

I enjoy the editing process.  The stage I'm at now is with my agent, just getting my manuscript prepped for my editor in the hopes of impressing her enough to want it.  It's critical I get it right, and if I do, I'll be starting all over again with her edits and suggestions, complete with smiley faces and winks. If I don't, I'll have to sign up for an origami class to deal with all the wasted paper.

It really amazes me every time, but editors are critical to a good story.  We as writers get so wrapped up in the world we are describing and the characters that we love, or love to hate, that we can lose our critical eye, you know, the one we reserve for our critique partners and beta reads.  The fresh eye of an editor with their finger on the YA pulse is essential for making your story a page turner that sells.

Erica Sussman

On Wednesday 8th of June, I'm doing a live chat on inkpop, Harperteen's website for aspiring authors.  I'll be joined by my editor, Erica Sussman, editor to New York Times bestselling titles like Paranormalcy, by Kiersten White, The Wings Series, by Aprilynne Pike and The Warriors Series, by Erin Hunter.  We will be doing the live chat for one hour.  If you have any questions about the editing process, or what a top editor in a major publishing house is looking for, well here's your chance.  Make time in your calendar for this amazing opportunity.

If you're not going to be around for the live chat, you can always post your question on the chat forum and we'll see that your question is answered.  Check out the forum here.

Good luck with your editing guys, and hopefully we'll talk on Wednesday.

Now, back to my editing.

A Very Tardy Tuesday Twaddle

Oh to hell with it, let's just call it the Thursday Twaddle.  I'm so sorry I've been semi-absent.  I've been working on the sequel to The Carrier of the Mark.  I've had my head so deep in edits; I've barely eaten, let alone take time out for blog posts.

Now, on top of all my editing woes, I've got BEA to contend with.  To the uninitiated, BEA is Book Expo America.  It's the biggest book conference in North America.  And little old yours truly is going.  Not only am I going, but my book THE CARRIER OF THE MARK has been picked as a buzz book and will be discussed at this year’s YA Buzz panel.  It's so gosh darn exciting, I hardly know what to do with myself.

So now I have to peel back all the layers of editing grime, take my hair out of its don't-even-look-at-me-I'm-writing-ponytail, and get myself to a day spa for some much needed highlights and a manipedi (what? I'm doing a book signing too... I so deserve it!).

The other beautiful thing about BEA is that you get loads of freebies!! Books, goodies, book swag.  They give it all away like there is no tomorrow.  So I'm going to stock on as much as I can get my grubby yet to be manicured hands on.  Then YATOPIA will have goodies for giveaways.  Hands up who loves giveaways???

So, again, sorry for the tardiness, but I do hope my goodies will make up for it.

Until next time my lovelies, have an AMAZING one... I know I will.

Leigh

The DREADED sequel - Tuesday Twaddle

Writing a book is fun, exciting, and above all gives you such a sense of accomplishment that only one can really feel when they've done it.  Getting an agent... WOW.  Getting a publishing contract... FREAK OUT!!

Then comes... dun dun dun... the sequel or the next book.

I've just passed the 'dun dun dun' stage and I'm in the throes of writing the second book in the Carrier series.  Writing a sequel is NOTHING like writing your first book.  I admit, I was gasping to get back into the lives of my characters and take their story to the next level, but with writing a sequel there are handcuffs tying you to certain elements.  You have to try and kick off a story which ended on a humdinger in the last book and build it up again, all the while re-capping on the shenanigans that happened in the last one to either a) remind people, or b) surmise the first books story for those who haven't read it.  And you must do all this with similar pacing while really kicking the story into gear so as not bore people.

Striking the balance is surprisingly tough.  There's a natural arc to a story and I'm trying to be careful not to interrupt with this ARC while giving the story a firm footing.  Some days I want to park the sequel and indulge in writing a standalone novel, one that is free of such constraints, and the sickener  is, I have just that, and that book calls to me night a day, but I'm forcing myself to park it so I can face the complexities of the sequel full on. No distractions, except for perhaps coffee, and chocolate, oh and Divergent that I just bought yesterday, oh and look at the pretty dragonfly...

Where was I? Oh yeah distractions.  Absolutely no distractions.  Now I'm off to finish that sequel.

What are your thoughts on sequels?  Like them, loathe them? Do you like a little reminder of the first book, or do you just want the story to pick up where it left off and plough ahead? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and while you do that, I'll make myself a coffee and read a few chapters of Divergent.  What? I'm not getting distracted... its emmm research. Yes that's it... research.

Talk later my lovelies.

Leigh