Happenings in Victorialand.

In between tennis matches (edits), and this is what's on my plate:

-Planning my next vlog for the YA Rebels, in which I actually have to talk about something :p Really excited though! Our 2nd week is going to be so much fun (for us at least, we hope you have fun, too!)

-Working on the website. Yes, the one I mentioned MONTHS ago. It will be done. One day.

-Working on trailer. This too will be done. One day.

-I'm taking a southern lit course!

-Obsessively checking Goodreads, Twitter, FB, etc. It's a problem, but I like to call it a "fascination" because it sounds less like obsession and more like curiosity.

-TV show: Chuck. Hey, that show is actually REALLY addictive.

-TV comes back this week! This makes me happy because it's the only way I know what day it is. Consequently all through the holidays I thought it was Saturday. Please don't feel the need to tell me how pathetic this is :p

-I've come to the realization that I need things in my life that are deliberately NOT writing. Because writing isn't such a great break from writing, and so much of writing is waiting, and it's too easy for me to drive myself crazy either waiting or trying to write while waiting on other writing and you see how this can all go on and on until you feel slightly dizzy.

-To end on a positive writing note: I finally feel like I understand my characters. You might be saying, "But V, shouldn't you have gotten to that point many ages ago?" And the answer is no. I *tried* to understand them, and got to the point of auras and shadows and vague notions of their wants and motives, but have really struggled to GET them, to answer the fundamental questions of what it is they want, in life, in the story, etc. I finally feel like I understand, and if I could put into words the HOPE that this understanding fills me with, I would.

The YA Rebels - It's Wednesday, my turn!

Hey all. So I've mentioned the YARebels once or twice, but it's a vlogging group I'm a part of, along with six other lovely writers, and we kick off this week. Each week we cover a different topic, and we each post on a separate day. I'm Wednesday, and so today's my first video!

I'd REALLY love it if you'd take a look, come by, say hi, whatever you have time to do! Look, I even put it right here, so all you have to do is click the play button!






And did I mention that wonderful author Daisy Whitney AND the incredible Catt, from The Dreamer Reader blog (this one goes up later) BOTH did video responses? Did I mention how much that makes my day/night/week?? Because it DOES.


The YARebels can be found:
on Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/YARebels
on Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/YARebels
on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/yarebels

Some Girls Are!

It's finally out!!!

You guys. This book. is. AMAZING.



You should know I'm a hard sell when it comes to realism. I like escapism, I like fantastical elements, I like magical realism and mystery and dreamlike worlds.

But wow. This book. Go get it. Here, I'll even give you a link:

BUY THIS BOOK ON AMAZON.

Here's my review:

Some Girls Are, like Courtney Summers' first, but to an even greater degree, was brimming with awesome. But what makes it so special, such an incredible, can't-put-down book, is the intense contradiction woven throughout. It's at once brutal and uncomfortable and captivating and addictive and impeccably written. I was never comfortable or at ease while reading, because the whole time I cared so deeply about the balance, or lack of it, in the characters' lives. Summers' characters walk tight ropes as...more This book, like Courtney Summers' first, but to an even greater degree, was brimming with awesome. But what makes it so special, such an incredible, can't-put-down book, is the intense contradiction woven throughout. It's at once brutal and uncomfortable and captivating and addictive and impeccably written. I was never comfortable or at ease while reading, because the whole time I cared so deeply about the balance, or lack of it, in the characters' lives. Summers' characters walk tight ropes as she balances their lives so precariously, and then does everything in her power to shake the ropes beneath their feet. I held my breath for most of this book.


Courtney Summers has being getting some fabulous nods from her first book, Cracked Up to Be, and the reviews for Some Girls Are have been wonderful, too. This really is an author to read, to get to know, because she's going to be around a long time. At 23, she's already leaving an indelible impression on YA realism.

Happy Book Birthday, Courtney. You earned every star and every word of praise and every ~*~.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! EDITS ---> TENNIS

Some might remember, from long, long ago, when I was searching for an agent, and then an editor, that I decided to change REJECTION to MUNCHKIN. Because it amused me, and made me feel better, and it was fun to say. It dulled the pain.

Well.

I'm here to make a formal declaration.

EDITS are no longer EDITS.



EDITS have officially been renamed TENNIS.



That's right. EDIT is no longer a word to me. It is dead to me. TENNIS, that's okay.

Why?

Because if you ask me "How was the TENNIS today?" then it 1. doesn't sound as depressing, and 2. makes me sound quite athletic, because I get asked this question A LOT.

So, you heard it here. Feel free to use TENNIS as well, if you like. But if you come to me and ask me about EDITS, then I am afraid I will have no idea what you're talking about.

It's almost like she's real!

This AWESOME picture is one of three done for me as a gift by the incredible Vania, (the others will find their way into future posts) and it's Lexi from The Near Witch!! And oh my, it is PERFECT. It's hard to see but she's wearing leather boots under her skirt, and those are soo perfect, too.

What a way to kick off the new year, and certainly give me a great much-needed edit boost.

So, it is indeed a new year. Let's usher it in right.

Before I forget, The Elevensies would like to wish everyone a wonderful New Year!

Personally, this year I want to be more present. I want to find balance, I want to be productive, driven. Sure I've got some concrete goals (finish two more novels, read 75 books, either go to grad school or move to NYC, etc) but most of all I just want be as present as possible. I want to live each day with my eyes open.

Whatever your goals, I hope that 2010 brings with it many wonderful surprises.

Looking Forward

So, as we’re nearing the end of a year (and a decade, how did that happen??) I decided to take a look back at last year’s posts, to see where I was.

Last year, my first book, TSM, was about to go back on submission after a round of revision. I was exhausted from my major, and hadn’t even begun the senior book design seminar. I was distracted, and divided, as evidenced by a teaser post in which I posted three snippets from three different projects, citing an inability to focus.

The Near Witch hadn’t even been conceived, let alone written.

My goals for 2009 were:
-to find the right home for TSM (not yet)
-to graduate WashU (accomplished!)
-to take martial arts classes (not yet)
-to finish two more books (I did that!)
-to take the GREs (bombed bc it was the day after my book deal)
-to apply for graduate school (finished!).

I feel like such a different person looking ahead to 2010, like I’ve got a new set of eyes. I never thought I’d be where I am. When we write our stories, not our books, but OUR stories, we can rarely account for things unwritten, unplanned. I’m so thrilled to have a book deal (!!) while at the same time, surprised that it’s not for TSM. I’m amazed that I wrote two more books. I’m surprised that in some ways I feel more lost than ever when it comes to life (grad school, work, etc) and more focused than ever when it comes to books.

In 2008, I signed with my agent. I experienced the roller coaster of submissions, heartbreak, challenge, and frustration.
In 2009, I got to meet my agent, I graduated, I got on and off several roller coasters, I wrote two books, one of which now has a very happy home (and hopefully the other will too).

What will 2010 bring?

I don’t dare predict. Instead I’ll do my best to embrace whatever comes my way, to open myself up to surprises as much as expected joys and challenges.

There will always be challenges and road blocks and potholes. There will always be fire swamps. That said, I wish you all a wonderful holiday, and a brilliant New Year's. I hope this year and the next have brought and will bring you all surprises of the best kind.

Thank you for sticking with me through this year.
Best,
Victoria

Editor Love Day!

It's Editor Love Day! (in the vein of Agent Love Day last week)

Because editors need love too. Even if you don't have one, chances are many of you have had some interactions with them, business or casual. I've had interactions with several editors, and the coolest thing I've learned: THEY'RE PEOPLE. I know, crazy right?! Yes, for writers they are people with immense power, gatekeepers for one of the last doors an author has to get through. But they're actually kind of cool. They like certain music, they do things in what little spare time they have, etc.

Anyway, onto my editor: The Incredible Abby Ranger, of Disney-Hyperion. Or as I often call her, the second member of my A-Team (since Abby and Amy both start with A).

Now, I'm writing this post from an interesting place, inside the belly of the beast of edits. This isn't one of those situations where I can look back on it and glorify the experience. I'm IN it. Edits are hard.

My editor is hard. my editor is intense. She is an Editrix, and she has earned the term. But guys, let it be known, let me shout this even in my time of distress:

My editor is Brilliant (that's right I capitalized the B because that's how brilliant she is).

If I could show you my edits, they would be an exercise in red, and yet somehow I have NOT lost hope, and I've only spent a minimal amount of time in the fetal position on my office floor. Why is that? Because my editor has the strange power to make me think that *gasp* I can do this. She just gives me a call, talks through it with me, and suddenly my fears seem kind of small, suddenly the solution seems within my grasp (now the time after I've hung up when I turn back to my word doc might be a different story). Abby makes me feel like I can do this.

And even if Editor Abby is still busily nibbling on small (and not so small) bits of my soul, even during that, I still stop now and then and mutter to myself, "Damn she's good." I still can't believe I HAVE an editor, let alone one as incredible as Abby. The things she sees! The way she sees!

Edits are HARD. My editor is HARD. But she is also BRILLIANT (oh now I've gone and capitalize the whole thing!) and WONDERFUL, and SUPPORTIVE, and FRIENDLY. And she wants to help make NEAR WITCH the absolute best it can be :) She BELIEVES in me, and in this book, and that is an amazing feeling.

I have an editor. She might still scare the s*** out of me, but mostly I just adore her, and I adore what my book is becoming with her help.

Now, I'd better get back to my edits!