Operation Chest Hair Part II: Grief

Spoiler warning: Major spoilers for The Sword Edged Blonde by Alex Bledsoe, The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons, Rain Fall by Barry Eisler, Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce, Plain Kate by Erin Bow, and The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson.

Wow, time flies. It's been over six months since the last installment of Operation Chest Hair.

Operation Chest Hair started when I had a story idea with a male point-of-view (POV) character. And not just any any old guy -- a manly man. The rugged, tough type that wrestles grizzly bears and uses undiluted tabasco sauce for mouthwash. A far cry from my teenage girls I usually write. To train my voice to write such a paragon of masculinity, I’ve been studying books with manly characters.

My previous article focused on how these man characters respond to the introduction of a love interest. In this article, I want to look at how they deal with grief, and how their reaction to loss compares to YA heroines in similar situations.

My Top Five Book Picks for 2012

Happy new year everyone! I hope you're all having a restful holiday season. I usually don't review books on this blog, but every New Year's I like to recommend my five favorite books from the  year before (I read these books in 2012, but these books were not necessarily published in the past year). You can see my five picks from 2011 here.

And these are my five picks for this year, in the order that I read them.

What Makes A Quote Memorable?

Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya.
You had me at hello.
Life is like a box of chocolates.
Luke, I am your father.

Every year, a handful of movie quotes become integrated into popular culture. What is it about them that makes them so memorable? Is it just that they bring up fond memories of the movie, or is there  something about their structure that make them more likely to be remembered and passed on? A recent study from computer scientists at Cornell sheds some light on this.

Why I Signed With a Traditional Publisher

In April 2011, I had a conversation with my dad about changes in the publishing industry and what to do with my manuscript MIDNIGHT THIEF. By the end of our discussion, I’d decided to self publish.

My writer’s group was supportive, but suggested I query a few agents to keep my options open. Sounded reasonable, so I mailed some queries while I sent the manuscript to one last round of beta readers, figuring I wouldn’t lose time this way. Seventeen days later, I had five offers of representation and a lot of thinking to do.

As most of you know, I did end up signing with an agent and selling my book to Disney-Hyperion. Since I hang out a lot with indie authors, people have asked me why I went traditional. So I thought I'd outline my reasons here.

Bid on a Group Critique from Me and Other 2014 Debut Authors to Benefit Hurricane Sandy Victims

It's been a crazy week, with Hurricane Sandy.  I hope this blog post finds you all well and safe.  In an effort to help with the relief efforts, Jennifer Malone is organizing an auction of reading and writing related items to benefit the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. A group of 2014 Debut Authors (including me!) have teamed together to donate a group critique package.

If you win the package:
Two authors will critique your query
Three authors will critique your first 10 pages. (I'll be one of them)
Plus, a 20 minute Skype chat with three authors about publishing, writing, anything else.

The auction runs from now until Wednesday, November 7. Check it out if you want more details on the authors involved (They are fabulous!), and also look through the other very cool items offered!

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On Kissing (I Think Deeply About Making Out so You Don’t Have To!)

My first round revisions for MIDNIGHT THIEF involved ramping up a romance arc. Specifically, this required MOAR KISSING.

And it was kind of difficult.

Okay, okay, I know this is hard to believe, given the hot and heavy action MIT neuroscientists get on a daily basis, but really truly, it was. Maybe it says something about me that I wrote five unique fight scenes in my novel, but by my second kiss scene, things were already starting to feel repetitive.

(Those tempted to explain in the comments section exactly what that says about me, do so at your own risk. Did I mention that I write a lot of murder scenes? :-P)

I'm Back! And in LA!

Hi everyone,

Long time no see! A lot has happened since my last blog entry. I defended my dissertation in mid-September, and after that, promptly jumped into a car with my husband for a cross-country drive to our new home in Los Angeles. So now we're settling down -- him at his new job, and me in my new life as a freelance science writer/novelist. In the next few weeks, I'll be working on getting the blog back up to speed. In the meantime, how are you? And for those of you familiar with the Los Angeles area/writing community, any tips for things to do, places to see?

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