Edit: After titling this, I realized that apparently I don't really know the meaning of a "quickie." Hm...
First thing's first: Sara at The Babbling Flow of a Fledgling Scribbler is having a pretty cool contest. You should sign up! You should also follow her blog, because it is awesome. (And if you do follow her blog, and it's because I said it was awesome, then please let her know that I sent you, because I really want to win The Dark Divine. Like, really. And I could always use some more books on craft (especially since I'm currently editing my first draft...eek!)
Speaking of that whole editing thing....it is very time-consuming, this book editing. I have hardly any chance to read the pile of library books I have, not to mention the nine 25-page manuscripts I have to read by January 18 for my conference. But I'm plugging away, and things are going...OK I guess. This is the first time I've done this, so I have no benchmark to say if this is easier or harder than the first novel I edited. Plus the MC for my next novel just won't get out of my head. (LEAVE ME ALONE, JULIE ALONSO/HERNANDEZ/OROPESA. I HAVEN'T EVEN SETTLED ON A LAST NAME FOR YOU YET, CLEARLY IT'S NOT YOUR TURN, AND IF THINGS GO WELL FOR KAIA YOU MIGHT HAVE TO WAIT SEVERAL YEARS, SO STFU.) But it's fun. The aforementioned Sara inspired me to start keeping all of my deleted scenes in a separate "deleted scenes" file, so now I'm doing that. It's going to be depressing at the end to see how much ends up on the cutting room floor, but ultimately I might get a kick out of it.
Since I can't actually read a novel that isn't for my workshop/crit, I've been listening to Shiver on audio on my way to and from work (literally a 10 minute commute. I also ate lunch in my car yesterday, but I parked by the water so I didn't feel too lame.) I'm still on the fence about it. The writing is beautiful, if occasionally overflowery, and I love the alternating narrative (and my narrators are AMAZING). The author definitely handles that well. But Grace and Sam haven't pulled me in as characters yet, and their story isn't exciting yet. I'm only about halfway through, though, so we'll see.
In other news, my amazingly talented graphic artist friend (who is probably reading this right now and blushing/laughing that I'm even mentioning this) has agreed to take time out of her busy winter vacation from school to design me a new blog layout! Hooray! I'm very excited for this, and you should be too. Having talented friends is amazing, and when she gets married maybe I'll awkwardly read a weird poem about love or something.*
And finally, I realize that I live in Florida and have no right to complain, but our heat doesn't work and it's 50* inside my house. Considering that we normally keep it around 78*...Typing hurts my fingers. If anyone buys me these, I will be your BFF. Kthanksbye.
#BacktoeditingIgo**
*I'll take random Sex and the City reference for $500, Alex.
**Because, of course, #hashtagsareawesome
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Shiver is worth it...I remember it didn't really grip me when I read it. I liked it but was kind of indifferent. But then...it stayed with me and I had to read it again and again..and I don't know...it's one of those stories, quiet, but grabs a hold of you.
ReplyDelete"I HAVEN'T EVEN SETTLED ON A LAST NAME FOR YOU YET, CLEARLY IT'S NOT YOUR TURN, AND IF THINGS GO WELL FOR KAIA YOU MIGHT HAVE TO WAIT SEVERAL YEARS, SO STFU." --- hahahha you're hilarious when you get feisty.
ReplyDeleteAnd ditto with Frankie's comment!
And yes, NO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN. My car told me it was 21 degrees outside yesterday morning. Although... that's darn cold for inside a house. I take it back. Complain away!
You have to let us know what you think of Shiver once you've finished. It's on my pile, though who knows when I will get to it. : )
ReplyDeleteFrankie, good to know Shiver is worth it! I think it just picked up a little so I'm feeling a little better about it now. There are still some things I don't love, though, but I reserve judgment until the end.
ReplyDeleteDonna, thanks for finding me hilarious and for allowing me to complain! (My fingers are still freezing, by the way. It's up to 55 in my house today, though.)
Kimberly, since I've already mentioned it, I think I will be posting a full review once I'm done with Shiver :)