Meep!

I'm speaking at the Oklahoma Writing Project Spring Celebration for Students and Teachers tomorrow. On Friday it's the Oklahoma Library Association Annual Conference, and on Saturday I'll be hanging out with all the fine folks at the Society for Children's Writers and Illustrators OK region conference. I have a school visit next Tuesday and a revision due to my editor around the same time.

MADNESS!

And thus the radio silence. See you when things calm down!

P.S. I did post about great mystery reads at Book End Babes today.

Getting on with it

Last week when I was searching Livejournal for a photo I'd posted long ago, I came across an old "WOE IS ME" post. Reading it again nearly three years later, I had to laugh. I was whining pathetically in this post, but I also was spot on with my predictions:

All right, so my book is on submission right now and it is pure torture to wait for news. I am getting crazier each day and this morning it struck me that I'm verging into a mild depression.

And you know what? Even if the planets align, God smiles down from heaven, and miracle of miracles my book actually sells (*knocks on wood*) -- this worrying WILL NEVER END! Because I will worry about edits. And I will worry about cover art. And I will worry about publicity. And then when it's out I will worry about bad reviews and my friends hating it and whether or not it's even on bookstore shelves, and whether or not it's selling at all.

So I just need to GET A GRIP. This is me telling myself to GET OVER IT. This submission thing is out of my hands right now. What I need to do is buckle down and get my outline hammered out for the next story. That much is in my control. This maudlin crap has GOT TO STOP!

Yeah.

(By the way, that book didn't sell, so it's a good thing I DID hammer out the next story. Desperation is a great motivator.)

My muse has been quiet lately. Perhaps it's been drowned out by all the doubting, worrying voices in my head. Thank goodness for writing conferences because I really needed some inspiration to kick me in the butt. This past weekend I attended the NC/NE Texas SCBWI conference in Dallas. It was a fabulous gathering of writerly people! Great presenters and charming, passionate attendees. The energy in the conference rooms really perked up my mojo.

Spent some quality time with my agent Jennifer Laughran AND stalked her during her presentations.

Saw the fabulous Tammi Sauer give her keynote speech, "Just Do It! Channeling Your Inner Scarlett O'Hara." (Hooray for Okie writers!)

And I took pages and pages of notes during Bruce Coville's talk, "At the Corner of Plot and Character."

(If only I could tuck these three in my pocket for whenever I needed them!)

Ultimately, what I took away from the presenters and attendees is that I just need to work harder. Write more. Write BETTER. I've been in a lull, partly because I've been doing promotion but also because I've been waiting for edits. Time to snap out of that. Time to stop spinning my wheels, to stop being scared, and just do the thing I love to do: WRITE.

And I will! But first I have to drive to TN, see family, and speak at the Southern Festival of Books. I'm appearing with Victoria Schwab on Saturday, 4:30 pm in Room 29. Come see us, y'all!

Wednesday randoms

Two giveaways to tell you about:
-- At Confessions of a Bookaholic I talk about my "haunted childhood" and you get a chance to win one of four copies of The Revenant, kindly provided by Random House. Wahoo!

-- My Oklahoma friend Jenna Klein interviews me at Fans of Fiction and offers up a signed copy of The Revenant. Yay!

Also:
-- My pal Brandi Barnett has alerted me to the existence of Out of Print clothing and goodies. Check out their mission. I purchased the Pride & Prejudice sweatshirt and the Brave New World t-shirt and felt smug on many levels. (A nice sort of smug, though, right? Is there such a thing?)

-- Tomorrow I drive down to Dallas for some shopping the NE/NC Texas SCBWI fall conference. I plan to get INSPIRED! And hopefully meet some new people, if I can crawl out of my shell.

-- I was also hoping to see Dream House this weekend, but sounds like it's pretty lame. In better news, American Horror Story starts tonight, and though I missed the premiere I will get caught up with Bedlam very soon. Maybe October won't be a total loss for creeptastic viewing?

Hello Monday!

I know yesterday was tough for many people. I wondered how to honor the day without giving in to gloom. Mostly, I thought about human strength and resilience. I contemplated how to be a more compassionate citizen (and less of a mole in a hole). I avoided TV as much as possible.

I also thought good thoughts about kidlit writers. :) You see, on Saturday I attended The SCBWI Oklahoma fall conference. Such a great group of people! I always leave these events cheerful and inspired.

It was a special honor to see Kathi Appelt speak. Her presentation on emotion was so unique and engaging -- I'm still thinking about the songs and images she shared. She's a wonderful lady, warm and generous, and I owe her thanks for the use of her projector during my own presentation. (She helped me get set up and everything!)

It also was an honor to sign a copy of The Revenant for her. I mean, WOW! That was a nice feeling.

There was a bad feeling, too, because I'd forgotten to bring my copy of The Underneath for her to sign. In all the craziness of packing up my stuff, it somehow didn't make it in my bag. I thought about explaining this to her, but it sounded lame --as if I hadn't bought it yet and was just making excuses.

But I DO have it, Kathi! See:

However, I have another confession about this book. I am TERRIFIED to read it. You know how it's so hard to read a book or watch a film in which children are in peril? Well, for me, stories of animals in peril are 1000 times harder. But I'll be brave and read it. I just have to work up my courage. (Dude, it's a Newbery Honor book and National Book Award finalist.)

One thing that Kathi talked about on Saturday was the power of endowed objects -- personal items that have a special power or emotional resonance. (Not necessarily a magical object -- the power is more related to memory.) She suggested that, in fiction, it was effective to express emotion through these objects. On Wednesday I'm going to talk a little more about endowed objects. And I'm going to do a GIVEAWAY.

Stay tuned!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

Friday Favorite -- writing buddies

This weekend is the OWFI conference, and the best thing about this is getting to spend time with my writing buddies!


Martha, Dee Dee, me, Brandi and Lisa. Just missing Kelly and Shel here -- I do believe we need a new group photo!

I owe a lot to these ladies -- I certainly would not have sold a book without their input and unfailing support. *sniffle*

In other news, next Tuesday will mark the SIX WEEK point until THE REVENANT is released. Look for a special blog post and giveaway on Monday!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

NECWRA!

No TV Tuesday yesterday, partly because I'm behind on my shows, but mostly because I'm gearing up for a trip to Salem, Masschusetts!

Early tomorrow I fly to Boston, where I will meet up with fellow Elevensie Kim Harrington. From there we drive to Salem for the 17th Annusal Conference of the New England Chapter of the Romance Writers of America, where we will join Maurissa Guibord for writerly hijinks. I'm so EXCITED to be attending my first Romance Writers conference -- I know I will learn so much.

Exciting bonus: I finally get to meet LJ buddies Ellen and Pam. Yay!


Oh, and I'll be staying in a haunted hotel. Rest assured I will vlog any paranormal activity. (Or maybe I'll just have a heart attack instead.)

Stay tuned for a full report early next week!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

Happy things for a Monday (+ 1 sad thing)

Had a great time at the SCBWI OK conference this weekend. All the presenters were top notch and extremely generous with their advice, but I bonded particularly with Kate Jacobs (Roaring Brook Press) over a shared devotion to Omar from The Wire (hee!), and my socks were completely knocked off by Nicholas Eliopulos of Scholastic, who gave a very inspiring talk about genre fiction. (If you have an MG or YA boy book, please consider adding him to your submission list -- I bet he would be lovely to work with! Here's an interview with him if you'd like to know more.)

Best part of all was spending time with my crit partners Brandi and Lisa.


Here we are after having just stuffed ourselves at Abuelos. Mmmm . . .

In other news, I finished South Riding yesterday. Sometimes I feel like I should force myself to take a break from my YA addiction, and this was just the ticket. I agree with Andrew Davies that this novel, originally published in 1936, is "as bold and ambitious as Middlemarch by George Eliot," and Sarah Waters is spot-on in calling it "a twentieth-century classic." I won't bore you with my ill-explained summary of the story. Instead, I offer the trailer of the BBC adaptation as a teaser:



I can't wait until this mini-series comes to the U.S.! If you know me at all, you know the story of a girls' school headmistress taking a post in the English countryside is TOTALLY my thing. And the cast is spectacular, don't you think? I love the idea of Anna Maxwell Martin as Sarah Burton.

P.S. I know many are mourning the loss of Diana Wynne Jones. My condolences to her fans.

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

Friday favorites

Two things today:

1. I'm going to the SCBWI Oklahoma conference this Saturday! Yes, I am a conference junkie, but there are always so many lovely people at the Oklahoma regional events, and I get to hang out with Brandi Barnett and Lisa Marotta. Yay!

2. Duran Duran is on Ellen DeGeneres today. Set your DVRs!

Did you know Ellen was featured in the "Rio" video? Check it out:





Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy your weekend. :)

DFWCon and more

This past weekend, basically one day after returning from Paris, I joined my crit buddies on a road trip to Texas for the DFW Writers' Conference.


Our "paparazzi" photo -- Brandi, Lisa and me. There's a hero journey photo on Lisa's camera, but I wasn't patient enough to wait for it before posting this recap!

Conference highlights:

-- Colleen Lindsay explaining high concept (& saying yay or nay to the audience examples -- very helpful)

-- Rusty Shelton sharing tips on building our digital platform

-- Candy Havens heroically stepping in for Rosemary Clement-Moore (hope you're all better now, Rosemary!) to tell us about the YA hero journey.

-- Kristen Lamb giving us a wakeup call about blogging your brand.

-- Meeting Jim McCarthy of Dystel and Goderich. I'd heard from Jessica Spotswood, Saundra Mitchell, and Carrie Ryan how wonderful he is, and I must agree that he is a total charmer. I just wish I could find his theater blog because I want to follow it!

-- Meeting other YA authors -- so many cool people!

-- Hanging out with my writing buddies, Brandi Barnett and Lisa Marotta, laughing, brainstorming, and experiencing various revelations. I am very inspired to get back to work after all my travels.

Now, looking ahead . . .

Coming up this week on the blog: recap of my girly trip to Paris. There will be TEA and FRENCH SOLDIERS, plus much more.

Next week on the blog: a giveaway of my only remaining ARC for The Revenant + other amazing books and fantastic swag.

Stay tuned!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

NY SCBWI

SNOW DAY!

Everything is shut down. Husband and cat are sleeping in. Seems the perfect opportunity to ramble on about my weekend at NY SCBWI.

Despite the earlier snow storm in NYC, our Friday flights were all on time and we made it to the hotel quickly enough, but there were no cabs available once I'd freshened up. So I had a 25 minute walk through the slush (& the craziness of Broadway) to see my editor. It's always a bit mind-boggling to walk into the Random House building. (I wish I'd had the guts to take a photo, but I'm so afraid of getting yelled at.) Anyway, I chatted with Michelle and lots of cool people in the Knopf office AND snagged an ARC of the The Penderwicks at Point Mouette (Eeeee!). After that, Michelle and I went for tea and a snack. Lovely!

That night I met up with Agent Jenn and two more clients, Tiffany Trent and Margie Gelbwasser, for dinner at Metrazur in Grand Central Station. There was so much gabbing and laughing that I forgot to take photos. Good times! Later we went to Kidlit Drinks night, where I got to catch up a bit with the wonderful Shana Silver.


On Saturday it was so nice to hang out with Tiffany Trent, Kathleen Foucart, and Jessica Spotswood -- they are such charming and lovely ladies!


Not sure why this photo turned out so red, but this is Mary Kole, Sara Zarr, and me. I am such a fangirl for National Book Award finalist and generally awesome Sara Zarr! Really, I was quivering with glee to meet her (and this was before her amazing keynote speech.) As I was standing next to her for the photo I said "You are so tiny!" Now, in Southern girl speech, this means "you are so slim and fit!" but I realize she might have interpreted it as "you are a little gnome!" or "you are too skinny!" She is a petite woman, but not miniscule by any means. I really wish I could control my blurts. :(


JC Geiger, Bryan Bliss and Mary Kole before the Saturday luncheon. RL Stine was the keynote speaker and he had us howling!


Saturday night was date night with Steve. Here we are looking over the Rockefeller Center Ice Rink. Love to see the pairs holding hands.


Me, sprinkled with snow. I got several fat flakes right in the eye that night.


Tea at The Morgan Library on Sunday. We saw Jane Austen's letters last year, and this year I had to go again to see the Diary Exhibit -- in particular, this portion from one of Charlotte Bronte's journals. As it turned out, my favorite piece within the exhibit was a page from Kingsley Amis's journal in which he 1) writes a poem, 2) comes back later and rants about how terrible the poem is, 3) adds a later note in which he's glad he doesn't feel so negative anymore, and 4) if I remember correctly, yet another note about how he quite likes the poem now. It was charming.

Okay, so that's about it! It was a great trip, I must say.

Now to breakfast . . .

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

Off we go!

Hey all! I'm heading out to NYC tomorrow (in the wee wee hours of the morning) to attend the SCBWI Winter Conference. Maybe I'll see you there? Hope so! (If I don't see you at the conference, maybe we can have a drink at Kidlit Drink Night?)

I'll definitely post some photos upon my return.

I also wanted to direct your attention to a giveaway the Elevensies are really excited about. Click the poster for more information:



Have a great weekend, everyone!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

Sonia does her best to be late for 1st conference gig

This past Saturday, I was the first speaker at the SCBWI OK Fall Conference. The presentation went just fine, but getting there was a comedy of errors.

First of all, I didn't sleep well the night before -- partly because I was nervous about speaking, but mostly because I continued to obsess about the disturbing bits in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (which we'd just watched, and which I'm starting to think was better than the book) long into the wee hours.

So I woke puffy-eyed and exhausted, dragging around until I was fifteen minutes late leaving, but I still had plenty of time to make it to Chandler, Oklahoma. Except -- my gas tank was nearly empty! So I lost more time filling it. Then I remembered that I didn't have a cent on me for the turnpike. So I got cash. But a twenty dollar bill was no good, so I had to break it at Starbucks. Finally, I'm on the road again and, now that the sun has crossed the horizon, it occurs to me that I don't have my sunglasses. ARGH! (My photosensitivity has reached nearly vampiric levels, so I've GOTTA have sunglasses. Even when it's cloudy.) Fortunately, I had a spare pair in the glove box, but they were crappy and uncomfortable. Still, I'm finally on the interstate and moving in the right direction.

My GPS is telling me what to do, because I don't even trust myself with Mapquest anymore. I'm driving along, la la la, and all of a sudden I realize I'm passing the turnpike. The GPS forgot to tell me to take it! But I keep driving, thinking maybe it knows a better way to access the turnpike. Instead, it takes me to Route 66 -- yes, that famous TWO-lane highway -- and tells me to take that to Chandler. DOUBLE ARGH! (It occurred to me later that I'd adjusted the GPS settings to avoid toll roads. Well done, Sonia.)

As it turned out, Route 66 was pretty cool. And because I didn't get stuck behind a grandpa on a tractor, I still made it with 15 minutes to spare.

And then my computer would not cooperate with the LCD projector. *sigh*

But we got that sorted (thanks to Tammi Sauer's thumbdrive and Darlene Bailey Beard's netbook), and I was able to start my presentation on time. Everyone was wonderfully polite and cooperative, and I had a great time. My thanks go out once again to the Elevensies who offered their successful queries for my presentation. *hugs*

The rest of the conference was brilliant. Pati Hailey led us through some relaxation exercises before asking us to do some writing. I ended up brainstorming character motivation details that I'd been ignoring for too long. And then Joni Sensel's fabulous Fantasy intensive helped me to write two scenes and brainstorm a different character's motivations. Such a productive day. Thank you Anna Myers, Pati Hailey and all the staff and speakers at Oklahoma SCBWI for a great day!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]