Same Time, Different Story

Most of you know I'm not all that committed to the law school thing. LOL. I mean, I'm getting by, but what I really want is to write for a living. I don't need fame, I don't need glory... I just need a steady (or semi-steady) income that will allow me to put "Storyteller" on my resume. Bear with me, it's late. (g)

Anywho, I have a paper due in precisely 7 hours. It's not finished. Oh, I'll get it done... probably by the skin of my teeth, but that's me. As I usually do, I decided to catch a few winks to charge up my battery and then planned to push on until I finished. Be that two hours before class, or two minutes. (g) More likely the latter.

So, I go to bed... guess what hits me hardcore? Yup. If you know me, you've guessed it by now. My mind would not shutdown, but instead decided to work out the kinks in my short story. It was a lovely hour and a half of inspiration...then a miserable half hour as my body finally gave up, only to be awoken just as I fell asleep. I don't feel one bit refreshed.

What I have to show for my "nap" is a great deal of insight into how I'm going to weave my short story together. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it won't go quite as smoothly as I'm imagining... but I now have a firm idea of how I'm going to layout the story, in what I hope is a coherent fashion.

It's a bit tricky. I'm telling the story all from one POV (what else is there?), but in three distinct sections that will be interlaced together. One is sort of my MC narrating from the present... The second is my MC in real time in a scene from the past, and the third is my MC narrating/experiencing another series of scenes.... all leading up to a point where they all three meld together for the big "Aha" moment. OH man, doesn't that sound wonderful? Yeah, the actual writing of it will probably drive me insane...but I can hope for the best. (g)

I had to take a few minutes to write this post, because dang it... this is what it's like being me, the writer. (g) I swear to the heavens, I could SO be that tortured artist in the barren room, a single bald lightbulb swinging from the ceiling... haven't showered for days...slouched over the computer, just typing my little fingers down to the nub. I tell ya, I'm one heartbeat away. (g)

Does this happen to you?? Gah, tell me I'm not alone in this. :)

Short

After a lot of hemming and hawing, I finally came up with a way to start my short story. I knew the basic set-up I wanted to begin with, but I didn't know HOW to do it... So, yeah... I officially have the first sentence. :) I'd share, but it completely gives away the premise of the story. Maybe soon -- after I get a ways in. All I know is that I got the shivers when I reread it. It packs quite a punch.

This post topic has a double meaning. I apologize if my last post was a tad snippy. We had another scare with Ruby Luebe today (Thank GOD, she's fine), and it put me a bit on edge. Add a couple of things that annoyed me to no end...and that's what you get. Sorry! (toothy smile)

That said, I didn't get my outline finished as I hoped to. Working on it today wasn't exactly an option. And tomorrow I'm heading to my grandparents, so fat chance I'll get anything done... I'll try, but I'm driving alone with _both_ dogs. LOL. That will be interesting and I'm sure I'll be exhausted by time I get back home. I actually wasn't planning on going because my sister will be here next weekend and that's our first stop. But with the scare today, I just wanna see my grandma.

BUMMER on not finishing that dang thing, tho. I will by...let's say Tuesday. (g) Yeah, that adds on the two days I lost this weekend. Wednesday at the latest...yeah. Whatever day it is, it WILL go in the mail this week. (email)

Spunky vs. Whiny-Ass, Annoying Characters

Okay, talk about setting myself up for ridicule here, but I just had to do a post on this subject. (g) I've noticed a trend lately (no book names will be mentioned -- and no, it's not any of the books I've reviewed and/or talked about on this blog). As of late, I've seen a lot of characters described as "spunky" "stubborn" "rebellious", etc... but when you read them, they just come across as total spoiled brats...and I not only want to throw the book at the wall, but would love to personally slap the fictional character upside the head. LOL.

I'll be the first to admit that my characters are a little...whiny at times. Or as D.A. put it... complete grumps. (g) But thankfully, people have really taken to them. I got to thinking on the subject... why is it people like these characters and don't want to personally throttle them? Okay, so maybe you do, but other than my sister, no one has mentioned the overwhelming urge to off one of my girls. And she's the biggest grump I know...so there ya go. lol.

So... what is it?? It's one for the stars, but I'm gonna give it a shot. (g)

Let me list some of the things that annoy me. Maybe you can come up with a list of your own for future reference.

- any character that stomps their feet when they're angry or impassioned. It reminds me of a two year old throwing a tantrum on the kitchen floor.

- any character who acts belligerently for NO reason whatsoever...and never really apologizes for being a complete pain in the ass. This is of course usually in front of the love interest and the guy ALWAYS thinks it's cute. Yeah.. that just bugs. At least my male MC's seek revenge for those moments. LOL. It's especially bad when the character's actions could put the other characters in danger.

- anyone who complains _constantly_. Gah, you characters know who you are! I mean, goodness... suck it up. You're usually not the only one suffering, but hell if you aren't the loudest voice...usually the only voice...complaining. If you're going to complain, at least 'fess up to being a pain in the rear.

- any character who doesn't know when it's time to be serious and think of others before themselves.

- okay, this is a personal pet peeve -- male characters who roll their eyes. Talk about wussy. But that's just me. I know I'm in a huge minority on this one.

- any character who can't save themselves from time to time. Okay, sometimes female characters get into legitimate trouble and need help -- but there needs be times when she's able to stand on her own and THINK on her feet. A damsel who's always in distress is just annoying.

- any character who doesn't have some serious flaws -- that's one big ole' flaw in and of itself, imho. Let's take Madison from Faking It. Flaws: Mouth like a truck driver, one serious addiction to gambling, her way of "coping" is to drink, and she, well... she really likes sex. LOL. (Hmm, that's not really a flaw, but it adds an interesting element to the book.)

- MARY SUE'S!!!!! OMG. If you're living out your fantasy life through your characters... STOP, DROP, and ROLL. If I see another character who has the perfect singing voice, is drop-dead gorgeous without trying, is always playing the martyr to those around her, I'm gonna gag. That goes for any character who has all the money in the world but is constantly boo-hooing how tough their life is. Not that I'm saying money solves all of your problems, but heyzeus, your life isn't anywhere near as tough as someone who has to work hard to make ends meet AND deal with all the crap life dishes you.

Okay, I'll leave it there for now... feel free to add to the list. (g)

So, how do you overcome these annoying characteristics? I mean, all of your characters will probably display one (or most) of them at one time or another. One of the things I do is to try and offset these moments with things that really ground or humanize my characters -- show them in a vulnerable/exposed situation.

One example -- In CHILD OF THE MIST, there's the famous brank scene. Not to give too much away, but my character was being a _complete_ idiot in that scene. She created such an uproar, she put both her life and my male Mc's life in danger. But despite this, I still had people siding with her in the end when I put her through a horrific ordeal... I'm still shocked over what I did to her. LOL. But dang it, people forgave her for everything she did to bring the situation upon them.

In FAKING IT, Madison is such a grouch. LOL. She bitches about a lot of stuff... is constantly complaining about her job... wants nothing more than to GET OUT of undercover work, etc. One thing I try to do with her is to show her conflicting emotions over doing undercover drug work. At times she's so high on finally getting her guy... and next she's lower than low when she busts someone whom she knows will lose custody of his kids once the hammer comes down... She goes from a near smackdown with a group of elderly women to envying a couple who have been married for a good 50 plus years. She also knows when to admit defeat and the fact that she's behaving like a jerk...

So, what are your pet peeves? What traits in characters annoy you to no end? And what things do you do in order to make your audience side with your flawed MC's (I hope they're flawed, anyway)? (g)

And...this is just a random thought... Do you think your female MC's are a reflection of YOU?

For me, YES...but amplified.

Dreams

I've said it once, I'll probably say it a million times. Dreams are wonderful sources of inspiration. Last night's dream session goes to prove the point again. (g)

I have this wip that's been simmering for a long time -- it's a...hrm, prolly a suspense/mystery centering around a cult.(g) I won't go into great length about what inspired it, but think Hollywood...big actor...vitamins. LOL. Anyway, last night I had a dream that will work _so well_ as an opening for the book.

No, I'm not starting another project. I'm going to scribble out all I can remember and call it good for now. I have much too much going on right now to even consider another book.

But I think it's important to remember that you need to save these ideas that occur to you over time. After all, you wouldn't want to be known as a one hit wonder, now would you? I swear, I probably have enough ideas _now_ for a lifetime of writing -- and there will be more to come. The hard part is knowing what to focus on at any given time. (g)

Man, is there anything better than telling stories?

Aaargh! (g)

Well, I think I'm finally coming out of my post-finals exhaustion. Wow. Talk about wiped out. I've barely been able to get moving and have spent a good part of the past couple of days watching the LOTR trilogy. Sad...truly.

At any rate, my brain seems to be coming out of the fog -- tonight I spent a good amount of time thinking about revisions to FI and BTPM. First, BTPM. I think I've slowly realized that I still have a lot of story to tell with this one. I don't know that it will end at two books -- it's more likely there's _at least_ a third. That's what I'm going with at any rate. And with the brainstorming, I had a little lightbulb moment that will somewhat change the ending I have in place for book 1. It's all good -- just setting up the second book anticipation a little more. (g) Oh man, I hope I don't get crucified for my ending. LOL.

As for FI -- I'm getting there. I've got notecards all made up -- I plan on hitting the revisions hardcore in the next week or so. I've finally come to the conclusion that I can cut stuff. Yeah, I can do it. My big plan is to pull out everything that isn't 100% necessary...which will hurt...and work forward. If I can work some of it in, great... If I can't... maybe I can use the stuff in another book. The main thing is that I need to pull that stuff out for now. Trying to work around it will be too frustrating and I think it would be that much harder to let the scenes go if I'm constantly tripping over them. Does that make sense?

At any rate, I have big plans for what I'm going to do. It's really going to change a lot of things...but it WILL retain the same tone and Maddy style. (g) Can't lose that...WON'T lose that. Hopefully, I can put together an outline to send off to D.A. I'm going to shoot for it at any rate.

And of course (with my luck), tomorrow I'm super busy and won't have a single minute to write. Then I'm going out of town Saturday and Sunday. Oh yay -- finally in the mood and I won't have any time. Oh well, I'll take pen and paper and try to work during the drive. My biggest problem will be surviving without the internet. LOL. When I start getting the shakes, I might have to find a coffee house with wireless. :) The worst part -- my grandparents (I'm going for my grandmother's 80th birthday party) don't even have electric plugs in their guest rooms. No laptop!! *cries*

Speaking of which! I'm having a laptop nightmare. My power cord has gone kaput -- actually, it went blotto about a week and a half ago. It freaked me the heck out because I _needed_ my laptop for finals. At any rate, I've been sharing my uncle's power cord. Two of us trying to use it is slowly becoming a nightmare, though. He's not feeling nearly as generous with it now that finals are over -- which is understandable but a big problem. (g)

At any rate, I have a warranty on my computer...but guess what? Yep, can't find the receipt, which is CRAZY. So, I call the store tonight and they said if I brought in my credit card statement with my ID, that would be fine. Guess what? Yep..no credit card statement. *pulls hair out* An entire year's worth of statements is GONE. I have no clue where they are. It's truly the weirdest thing because I'm really careful with such things. My biggest fear is that I accidentally shredded the wrong pile or something. *bangs head on desk*

So, I narrowed down my purchasing card to two possibilities. I phoned the CC company tonight and they're sending my missing statements. 7-10 working days. Gah. The other is my bank, which is actually the more likely candidate. I'm going to phone them in the morning. Cross your fingers that I bought it with my debit card -- or that I find the missing year of statements somewhere. LOL. Gah, I can't believe this. At any rate -- it will work out in the end. I just don't know how long it will take to get there. (g)

Wow -- this is a long post. Guess I'll stop rambling. (g)

Slight Panic Attack

Last night, in yet another attempt to put off that flippin' research paper, I allowed myself some time to think about the revisions to Faking It. So, with DA's recommendations in hand, I went through my chapters -- tried to view each scene with the mindset of whether it will move the main plot along... what can/should be cut, what could be merged with other scenes -- etc. etc. All I'm left with is wondering why he even likes this book to begin with. And so begins a full-fledged panic attack--leaving me wondering if I'll need to completely rework most of this book. It's not that I'm resistant to change -- it's just the thought of losing so many of my lovely little scenes--ones I worked so hard on--is a tough thing to face.

I'm blaming this reaction to the amount of stress I'm under, BTW. LOL. I'm tired, I'm worried about finals, etc. I know this will probably pass and I'll be able to look at the process more favorably. Right now, it seems like an insurmountable task. Instead of trying to rework this book, I'm wondering if it would be easier to pluck my characters out of this version and start over. But no, that's silly -- and my brain knows it. LOL. I just have to figure out a way of letting go of some these scenes. I also need to realize that I can come up with new ones--better ones. Yeah.

Okay, I'm taking a deep breath now. (g) I'm heading out to buy a lot of caffeine and sugary foods so I can work on my paper nonstop for the next two and a half days. I guess it's good -- inspiration always comes to me during stressful times -- maybe I'll come up with a solution to this dilemma.

What Inspires You?

With the bubbling up of my latest book idea, I got to thinking about that crazy thing called inspiration. I always find it interesting to hear people say they would love to write a book but that they can't come up with a good idea. For me, the idea formulation part of the process is the _easy_ part. I mean, I can come up with a million ideas just going to the mall and observing the nutjobs I run in to. (G) So, anyway -- I got to thinking about what inspired me to write my various wip's.

Child of the Mist was obviously inspired by the Outlander series. And NO, it's not fanfiction. LOL. I actually made a very concerted effort to distinguish it from DG's books. Whether I succeeded is another thing. (g) I read it now and I do a DOUBLE GAK at my poor attempts at dialect -- depending on when I wrote it, of course. LOL. It may be that first book that remains under the bed my entire life. But you never know - I do love my story and characters. It needs a major overhaul, though. Several friends are demanding I finish it _someday_ -- we'll see.

FAKING IT was obviously inspired by my own experiences with investigative work. My friends and family loved to hear my stories from UC and well, they always encouraged me to write a book. I actually thought maybe I'd write a nonfic book at some point, but heck, I'm not sure anyone would want to read that. Honestly, my experiences, while extraordinary to most people, would pale in comparison to most UC agents. So, fiction has allowed me the freedom to make things more interesting and HELLA funny. (g)

BY THE PALE MOONLIGHT is actually my first attempt to write according to market demands. I've always wanted to try YA -- mostly because I was a huge fan of Christopher Pike, etc. when I was younger. I read on an agents blog that werewolves were super hot, so I sort of melded an idea from when I was younger with a werewolves motif. Despite it's strange origin, it's become quite the book -- LOVE it.

Then I have my dream inspired wip's -- THE BRAEDEN and SHADOW WALKER. Both are straight from dreams -- with some elaboration on my part. Dreams are such a great source -- a dream also helped me flesh out COTM. My characters appeared and shed light on a gaping plot hole and introduced an entirely new character.

Then the latest idea from last night. Not ready to go into it yet, but I will say it was inspired by the Virginia Tech tragedy.

So -- what inspired you to write your particular genre/book, etc?

Inspiration

Inspiration truly comes at the strangest times. An idea for another book has bubbled up -- this one is a _whoa_ kind of story. The possibilities of where I can take it are simply amazing -- and I KNOW this book needs to be written. I hate to be a tease, but I need to keep this one close to the vest for a while. Mull it over. It's pretty much a departure from anything I've written before. I'm not sure if you'd term it a romance, but it definitely has those elements. Heck, it could be *gulp* literary. HEH.

Anyway, I've jotted down some notes about it -- even wrote the first couple of lines. It'll have to wait though... dang finals. WHY?? Why do ideas always bubble up when I need to hit the books?? My mind is a regular pro at the ole' procrastination thing. LOL. Even so, the inspiration that hits me during these times is fantastic. Without it, I wouldn't have BTPM under my belt...or FAKING IT for that matter. Yeah, I guess law school is good for some things. (g) If only I could bottle the stress at the end of a semester -- that stuff works!

Brainstorming

I haven't had much time to write -- or rather, I should say I haven't been in the right frame of mind. With everything that's going on, I'm finding myself slightly overwhelmed, which only causes me to shutdown on all fronts. But I have done a lot of thinking the past couple of days and mulling over the changes I'm thinking of making to FI. I'm actually warming up to the prospect the more and more thought I put into it.

It's a strange process. I haven't put anything to paper yet -- mostly just me thinking: okay, if I move this scene to the front of the book, it will help bring out this element and give it more punch. But then I have this gap in the back -- OH, but I could do this instead and then that stuff will work with a few minor tweaks, etc. It's pretty insane. LOL. But I've vowed to get a rough outline/sketch of everything to D.A. (dream agent) within 2-3 weeks. That way, once school is out I can hopefully have the changes nailed down and basically be left to the actual revisions/writing.

At any rate, that's where I'm at. Right now I'm switching into full school mode. Finals begin a week from Monday. (blech!) Oh, and I have some HORRIBLE news. I've signed up for two summer school classes. *cries* LOL. Well, hopefully it will work out okay. It's only 2 hours a day for 10 weeks (HEH) -- and with one class at a time, it shouldn't be too bad as far as homework goes. I should have plenty of time to write, etc. My only concern is whether I'll have to work throughout. That could pose a problem for time. But you know me, I'll work it out somehow. Hopefully, I'll get financial aid and it won't be too bad.

The Clarity That Follows

I've given a lot of thought to the suggestions The Agent made. I've talked to some writers in the know -- mulled it all over a great deal. I think I've come to an initial decision. I'm basically going to let my queries ride as they are now -- see if anyone pops up. However, I'm going to go forward with revisions. (with several saved copies of the original MS, of course. (g))

Yesterday, I was very overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things he wanted me to address. But with a little time, I've come to realize that I'm the one ultimately in control of the book. It's my job to stay true to what _I want_ and if suggestions can't be tweaked to fit the vision/tone I have for the book -- then that's something I'll have to deal with later. All I can do is address the things I think will work -- try to push others I'm a little more resistant towards and see if they work, etc. I'm very hopeful as I go forward. It's a huge undertaking, but hopefully in the end I'll have one killer book. I just need to remember that he loves my character -- so anything that would be unnatural to her, won't work in the end. Just have to walk the line and give it my Madison flair. (g)

Anyway -- thanks to everyone who jumped in to offer advice. I really appreciate it more than I can say. It's so wonderful to have your support. :)

Wait For It...Wait For It

I'm not quite finished. If you've been following my word count meter for BTPM, you'll see that I'm less than 800 words from my goal. HEH. Yeah, I'm gonna go over. I still have a couple of chapters to pull together, and the ending to write. I hope I can keep it down to only a couple of thousand over, but I'm not holding my breath. Oh well, hopefully when I go back through to tighten these chaps up, that count will fall some.

Anyway -- I pretty much wasted most of the day. It was so nice here and the outdoors wouldn't leave me alone. (g) I had to go play with the pup and just sit and enjoy the temp. So, that meant a _very_ late start on work. Oh well, I wrote about 2200 new words today. Considering I had no idea (really) of what I would write, I'm happy with the solutions I came up with. Honestly, it should go pretty fast from here on out. I have to finish one small scene...and then it's pretty much a straight shot to the end.

Here's hoping tomorrow is the day! (g)

Getting Close!

I'm almost finished with BTPM. After sort of dragging my feet these past couple of days, I finally seem to be on a roll with it. I basically have the last 12K to pull into chapters -- filling in any small gaps that might still be there. In that, I need to write a little over 4K...so not bad (most of that is the ending). I'm going to keep pushing tonight to see how far I get. If I can get within a day's worth of work, I'll be doing good. (g) Then perhaps I can knock out the rest tomorrow.

I've been getting very positive feedback at the kidcrit forum--and that's all I could really hope for. The great thing is that they're really helping me to tighten these chaps. Plus I have one critter demanding chapters as fast as I can put them up. (g) I love that it's caught her attention that way. My only problem is keeping up with the crits at this point. I feel like I've crit everything in sight already. (g)

Anyway, when I finish this book, I will be shouting from the hilltops! (g) I don't know why the last few thousand words are the hardest for me. Maybe I'm just not ready to let go of this one. It has been SO much fun to write -- gah, I love it more than I can say. It will be a joyous/sad occasion when I lay it to bed. I guess there's always book 2 to concentrate on -- boy is that one going to be a challenge. I will say that NOW. (g)

My biggest decision will probably be whether to work on book 2, or Narc 2. Oh..did I share this? I think I have a tentative title for book 2 (the BTPM series) -- WALKING IN SHADOW. (Close to Shadow Walker, eh? Well, I'm not changing this one -- it will be this, or some other variation. Shadow Walker will have to change if it becomes an issue. Simple as that. (g))

Anyway -- that's where I'm at. Back to work, I go.

What To Do?

The new wip, working title THE BRAEDEN, is coming along very quickly. I just topped 10,500 words...in five days. Yeah, you could say I'm slightly obsessed with working on this book. The problem is that I also want to finish the first book of BTPM by the end of March. Granted, I know any writing is good, but I don't want to focus on so many wips that none of them really near completion. I've seen far too many writers fall into the neverending cycle of starting a new wip when one drys up or stops speaking to them for a short time. Oh, the dilemma!

Heh -- yeah, even I realize there are far worse things that can happen to a writer than having numerous wips fighting for his/her attention. Take me a couple of weeks ago, just for one instance. (g) I'll take too many voices opposed to none.

I've always found that I'm never able to _really_ work on two projects simultaneously. I tend to get going with one and my full attention is consumed by it. Hence the reason COTM has sat on the back burner for a good 9 months now. I've been too tied up with NARC and now these new projects.

Anyone dealing with this problem? If so, do you find you can manage to work on both in the same day...alternate days...weeks maybe? Or do you just go with the flow with whichever is barking the loudest? I've never been one to try and force a schedule upon myself, but like anything, I have to try and reign in my tangents so I get something accomplished.

Jump in if you have any advice. (g)

So Much For My Resolve

I chucked out all the things I said to myself earlier, and worked on this new idea. I managed 3K today. Goodness. Let me just say for the record, I've never read fantasy. I know nothing about fantasy. I know even less about writing fantasy. Yet, I'm doing it. Yeah.

ALL of that aside, I find this wip very fascinating. I've never had to build a world before -- not in the literal sense, anyway. It's a strange and rather exciting thing to do. After all, I'm in control and there are no rules. Why the heck didn't I try this genre sooner? (g) I can't say _exactly_ what this world is, but it seems to have a Celtic origin. I suppose it's my work on COTM bleeding over into it, and that's okay. The world itself is fairly primitive, with some leeway with the language. I'm trying not to go too over the top with specified lingo, just so readers won't have a hard time following along...and to, you know...keep from bumbling it in my own head.

The MC, Maelyn (Yup, you know I had to stay true to my M pattern) is a lot different from any of my other MC's... she's a bit docile..LOL. I bet you never expected that out of me. She does have a bit of a rebellious streak in her, but for once, she's not a modern character. So, I find she's coming across a lot more....grounded and less likely to (a) have internal rants (b) talk to the reader (c) tell the men in her life to step off, or any of the other weird things my MC's have been known to do. She's not really funny either -- at least not yet. She definitely has a lot of heavy issues to deal with and there are seriously a lot of trials in her future.

My male MC, Keir (I think that's his name), hasn't shown up yet -- well, not in full. So, I don't know a lot about him yet... but I'm looking forward to the moment the two of them "meet" meet. You'll see what I mean someday. The plot line is a tad confusing, and I hope it's something I can pull off well. We will see. It's from a dream, so it may be a bit "out there." (g) As with Shadow Walker, it may be something that's been done a million times -- I don't know for sure because I don't read the genre. Yes, I truly write what I hear -- whether I have the available tools and/or knowledge to do it. As one of my friends put it, sometimes it's probably easier to go forward without knowing the rules. I feel like I did when I wrote Narc 1...the unflagging freedom of going forward completely clueless. I really hope that feeling sticks.

I don't have a name for this book yet -- I'll be thinking on it, hardcore. I still have to come up with the name of the different groups of people...where they live, etc. I found a lot of great names for the characters by using a Celtic guide...so I'm sure the names of all these other things will find their origin somewhere in there.

I really feel good about this wip. Heavens -- which to work on first.

Oh Man

Another wip has bubbled up. This one is from a dream I had _years_ ago, and for some reason, demanded my attention this morning. I've scribbled it all down in my journal, and hopefully I'll get to it some day. What's up with this? You wouldn't believe the genre, either... LOL. I think you'd probably term this either Sci-Fi or Fantasy. I _never_ thought either of those terms would ever be connected with my name. Just goes to show -- Never say never.

This all reminds me of how I've heard a lot of new writers ask established ones what to write. Give me a story idea, and I'll write it! Goodness. Ideas are never at a shortage -- at least not for this girl.

A New WIP Brewing

One thing I love about writing is that there never seems to be a shortage of ideas -- the places you can draw them from are so varied and abundant. Recently, I had a dream that's going to be the basis for a new YA urban fantasy. I'm very excited, because it's something I've never heard of before -- seemingly original. Whether or not that's true, I can completely build my world - set the parameters, etc. without any kind of outside influence.

Right now I'm shaping the idea in my head -- it's still sort of nebulous, with a few things coming into focus slowly. It's a very exciting stage for me. I love the birth of an idea and watching it take form as you mull it over and pound it out. I've shared it with a couple of people -- everyone has agreed it sounds like an interesting, fun read. Now I have to translate it into words.

I don't know when work will begin on this, but hopefully my dreams will continue to shed light on what it should be.