Guess what? From now until the end of the month, I’m going to be giving away one free copy of the DOGGIRL audio book every day! That’s ten free audio books. I know! I mean it!
To enter to win, just send me a note here on my contact page telling me one quick story about you and your love for animals. It can be a childhood memory, a quick story about a favorite pet of yours, or just an overall description of why animals make our lives so much better. Keep it short (I do have other work to do), but tell me.
That’s it! I’ll pick one winner every day and send you the secret code to download the book from Audible.com.
Sound easy? Of course it is. So go for it!
Lyra McKen launches a new blog tour with us today. She has a little something to say about her chosen craft. It is a good message for any writer!
But, I'm a Writer
I have made this the title of one of my boards on Pinterest, which is totally addictive by the way, because I think it adds up to the struggle writers have on a daily basis. That struggle is just believing in yourself.
I have a mild panic attack when I upload to Amazon. I briefly think to myself that it isn’t good enough, it needs ten more beta reads, or a fourth edit, but I just have to let go…
I have that struggle to believe in myself daily when I write a new chapter, or someone reads my book. I feel like I am just pretending to be good at writing and they are going to hate it. That nagging little voice in the back of my head says, "But, I'm a writer." This is when I snap out of it. I am a writer because I write. It's the same thing that happens when an editor sends me my work back covered in comments and corrections. "But, I'm a writer." I know they make it better, and my editors do an amazing job, but it still gives you that momentary what am I doing feeling.
Putting yourself out there and being vulnerable is hard, your work is your baby and you are metaphorically feeding it to the wolves. I have learned a lot about the writing process over the year I have been working on it and I am beyond thrilled to have great friends and publishers that have helped me along the whole way.
So when you find yourself knee deep in edits or someone gives you a two star review and you say, “But I’m a writer,” remember that we all struggle with the same feelings of inadequacy. You just have to suck it up and take out the ‘but.’ Declare it loud and believe in yourself.
“I am a writer!”
Lyra McKen (aka, Emily Walker) resides in the mountains of North Carolina. She lives on top of a mountain quite literally with her other half of nine years and her fur baby, Rebel. After a couple of jobs ghost writing for other successful authors she embarked on her own journey to write a novel.
LYRA MCKEN’S LINKS:
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Last weekend I, like many of you, saturated myself with all things Harry Potter. Even after seeing the amazing, wonderful,…
In The Visconti House by Elsbeth Edgar, two young teenagers solve a mystery and learn to feel more comfortable with who they are. Laura Horton feels awkward and out of place at school. Her parents both work from home; her father is a writer; her mother, an artist and sculptor and the Hortons live in an old rambling, crumbling mansion up on a hill. Two things make her life bearable; her quest to find out about her house's original owner, Carlo Visconti, and an acquaintance/friendship with another "outcast" at school, Leon Murphy.
Leon and Laura try to solve the secrets behind this beautiful old home with it's huge ballroom, a lovely room painted with garden murals and the tangled plantings in the garden. They learn of a possible unhappy romance. They unearth a hidden cellar and in the process, they become fast friends and learn to be less worried about what their classmates might say to or about them.
I had trouble getting into this mystery because I had a hard time determining just how old the main characters were. Laura seems younger than her probable 13/14 years. And she seems to give up unless answers are handed to her. As I read further, I remembered my own shyness at that age and my own inability to talk to my classmates if they weren't people I was completely comfortable with. And I saw how important Laura's friendship with Leon was to uncovering the story of Carlo Visconti and the home he built for a woman who never lived in it.
The story behind the house and the man who built is really a framework for Edgar to write about the process of giving other people a chance instead of hiding behind uncertainty and shyness. Laura and Leon are transformed by their search and what they find.
Hmmmm... my 48 Hour Challenge training weekend did not exactly go down as planned. I blame the Oxygen network for showing What a Girl Wants (horrible movie that I love) followed immediately by Bend It Like Beckham. If I didn't have that party to go to, I don't think I ever would have gotten off the couch.
But, I did get some reading done:
What Happened to Cass McBride? Gail Giles
Cass is the horrible, awful, perfect, resume-packer "it" girl of her high school. David Kirby (loser) asked her out. Cass wrote a bitchy note to her best friend. David Kirby read it and hung himself.
David's brother Kyle wants Cass to suffer for what she did. He wants Cass to pay for all the pain she caused David and others. Kyle wants Cass to pay. So he drugs her, kidnaps her, and buries her alive.
Told in multiple perspectives-- Cass, Kyle, and a third person narrative of the lead detective trying to find her, Giles has written an engrossing psychological study--both of Kyle and of Cass. It's suspense and will keep you turning the pages. Make sure you finish it well before bedtime.
Now, lots of manga. (This is a series-- later reviews will have minor spoilers for earlier titles. You've been warned)
Death Note, Volume 1: Boredom Tsugumi Ohba
Shinigami (death gods) have notebooks in which they write down people's names. Once in the book, the person dies. Ryuk (a Shinigami) is bored and drops his notebook. Once a human picks it up, it belongs to the human. Light Yagami picks it up and starts killing off criminals, one by one, making a safer and better world.
L is an unseen super-detective brought in to solve the case. What L doesn't know is that Light's father is in charge of the case. Knowing the moves of the police allows Light to always stay one move ahead, but for how long?
A really fun read. I checked out the rest that my library had right away.
Death Note, Volume 2: Confluence Tsugumi Ohba
Light knows Ray's name. But how to get the names of the other FBI agents? Meanwhile, L is working much more closely with the police. In person, in fact.
L suspects Light and Light knows it. It's a battle of wits and will. Who will come out ahead?
I love the way L and Light second guess each other's intentions. A great look into to genius minds.
Death Note, Volume 3: Hard Run Tsugumi Ohba
So, L has placed 64 microphones and cameras in Light's room. They're tricky to work around, but nothing Light can't handle is Ryuk can lay off the apples for awhile.
Meanwhile, L has approached Light at school and started to forge a friendship. Light knows L suspects him and is constantly aware of being watched and scrutinized.
Then, Light's father has a heart attack. Light knows it's not Kira, but it also seems there's a new Kira in town-- one that threatens to blow everything out of the water.
Death Note, Volume 4: LoveThe new Kira has tracked Light down and fallen madly in love with him, much to Light's chagrin. But, the new Kira has Shinigami eyes, so she may be helpful after all.
Meanwhile, L has asked Light to join the taskforce, but still highly suspects him, which Light knows.
Things are getting good here, but I have to say, Misa Misa annoys me. She's so annoyingly girly. The only good thing is I think she annoys Light as well.
Death Note, Vol. 5: WhiteoutMisa Misa and Light have both given up their Deathnotes. They no longer have any memories of anything, or of being Kira.
Too bad that as soon as Light went into lockup, all the killings stopped so L suspects him more than ever. To compensate, L has handcuffed himself to Light at all times.
But a new crime wave has hit. Not only are criminals dying, but so are strategic businessmen. It all leads to a group of 8 young men at the Yotsuba corporation.
Misa and Light have no idea how Kira's working, but the investigation is heating up.
Light's given up the deathnote, which means no more Ryuk, which is too bad. I liked him. I hope we get more in the future.
Death Note, Volume 6: Give-And-TakeL has Misa infiltrate the Yotsuba group to see which one of them is Kira. The new Kira has Rem's notebook. Rem respected what Misa did with the book but is sick at how the new guy is treating it. Rem touches her with the notebook, so she (Rem's a she!) can talk to Misa again.
Rem tells Misa everything. Rem wants Light to succeed, and tells Misa to follow Light's plans exactly. But Misa doesn't listen.
Light still doesn't know he's Kira, but L suspects him more than ever.
When a writer makes the decision to become an author, something happens inside them, I know, it happened to me. When I made the took the plunge to seek publication for my writing, I had all kinds of grandiose ideas. I would be driven to my book signings in a limo, or a nice town car at worst. I would wear beautiful designer clothes, and everywhere I went, I would be stopped to sign the copies of my books that everyone in the world just happened to be reading.
Then reality set in. I was fortunate enough to get a new car in 2005. My husband purchased me a lovely little Toyota Corolla. By the same date two years later, I had managed to put 50,000 miles on the poor thing and (it seems like) as much money in routine maintenance and oil changes. Why? Because the darn limo hasn't shown! Did they lose my address?
I had very optimistic goals and plans for my career as a best selling author. So what happened? Self-confidence or lack thereof. I realized very early in the game that I had a serious lack of it. No kidding, if I spent a fraction of the time writing that I spend second-guessing my talent, my skill, my motivation or any of those required tools for success, I would have written ten more books than I have. As it turns out my most productive practice is wondering why any sane person would give a flying rat's rump what I wrote.
So how does this work for you? I am not a shy person by nature, I don't really care for public speaking, but I am making it work for me. I have had to buck up and roll with it. I tend to get incredibly nauseous just before I have to address a group. After it is all done, people say I did great, but I can't help but fear they are giving me what I refer to as "pity pep."
Self-confidence is one of those things that you don't really give much thought to. You do what you have to do, and try not to dwell on it. How do you handle this in other aspects of your life?
I wonder even more if a lack of self confidence, no matter how well camouflaged, has a direct impact on your ability to sell books or to even appear approachable to potential readers or fans. I spend a great deal of time listening to motivational audios, I find them considerably more stimulating than reading the material, as I think the sound of a voice telling you something that is of tremendous importance has a much stronger impact on the subconscious mind.
I'd be curious to learn what other authors and creative type people do to overcome or compensate for a lack of self-confidence.
About the Author:
Karen Syed is the proud owner of Echelon Press, LLC . Every day is a new success story for her as she continues to grow herself and her business. She has seen seven novels published, along with numerous articles and short stories. As a former bookstore owner, she garnered a nomination from Publishers Weekly for their Bookseller of the Year award. You can learn more about Karen Syed at www.hartofthematter.com.
© Karen Syed 2007
This YA, published in 2002 and written by Gail Giles was a book I had to stay up to finish. I pulled it off the shelf because the title and cover, I thought, implied a car crash. In my YA, a teen dies in a car crash. I'm thinking I should see how this author handles it. I was so wrong. And before you ask, no, I did not read the jacket copy. Although, if I had, I still would have checked it out.
Ms. Giles reels her lure slowly, keeping us interested, until somewhere along the line, the reader realizes they are hooked. We race to the end and turn the last page...gasping for air. Really. The book just ends. With finality. We knew it was coming. There had been so many hints along the way. We just didn't know how it would end. She didn't wrap it up in a pretty bow. It's not a "feel good" ending. It's a feels "right" ending.
This is a story of a regular guy in a regular school with all the regular clicks. Young Steward's world is rocking along just fine. Until Rob moves to his school and becomes the alpha male. Until Rob decides to transform the school geek into the school favorite. Once Young discovers Rob's secret he feels obligated to help no matter what it may cost him. The lives of the friends become so tightly interwoven that it's hard to tell what's right and what's wrong anymore, who's leading and who's following. Events spiral out of control till one of them is left dead.
Ms. Giles does a fabulous job of giving the plot away in small bites. She teases us at the beginning of each chapter with comments made by various participants as much as five years after the incident. They help build the tension. With each comment the reader knows a teeny bit more about what might happen, yet is still surprised with the swiftness and chaotic violence of the end. This is a well crafted novel and will give you the willies when you stop and think about peer dynamics in high school. Excellent read.
Hers is truly a story for the ages. It’s stuck with me for ten years of my life, and for some people it’s taken them even farther. There are many stories that do that. I appreciate what you’ve said here and how you’ve put what I’ve recognized in Rowling into words. I’m glad you liked the movie! I was spellbound and sobbing and laughing. It was truly fitting. I am grateful to all writers for the worlds and people they make so real to us! I literally don’t know what I’d do without all of you.
Kelley, I agree with you about the movie–sobbing and laughing, yes! (Not at the same time, of course.) And I agree with you totally about being grateful to writers like her who builds these worlds and these characters for us to enjoy. It sounds schmaltzy, but I really do feel like she has enriched my life this past decade! I’m happy for every success she has. She totally deserves it.