L.E. DeLano's Blog, page 6

Oh, Imposter Syndrome. You are a ravenous bitch who constantly gnaws at my soul. I don’t know a writer in the history of ever who hasn’t been plagued by it at one time or another. John Steinbeck had it. Stephen King has had it. Colleen Hoover admits struggling with it. Neil Gaiman – NEIL FRIGGING GAIMAN – gets it. Why do we do this to ourselves?

When I landed my first book deal – with a big five publisher, no less – I reached out to several agents, looking for representation. My email subject line was “Debut author with two book contract offer seeks representation” (it’s crazy how agents will actually answer your emails with that as an opener).

As I was interviewing them all, I explained that I had entered a YA novel contest with Macmillan and was lucky enough to be one of the five books chosen for publication. I remember one very smart, no-nonsense agent (who I will forever kick myself for not choosing) stopped me at the word lucky.

“Hold on,” she said. “Why are you saying that word? It sounds to me like you had a story that you wrote, and rewrote and edited and polished, then submitted to a big five publisher, and an editor read it and offered you a two-book deal. Where’s the luck in that? It sounds to me like you’re a writer who worked hard for what she got.”

I had a story, and I wrote it. That made me a writer. I put the work in, persevered through rejections and being utterly ignored, and triumphed over a lot of personally challenging stuff while I did it all. And now I’m a traditionally published author. I’ve also been an independently published author. The point is, I accomplished it all because I’m a writer. I’ve been one since I wrote that first word. I shouldn’t be wasting time convincing myself of that.

And neither should you.

My letter “D” pick for the A to Z book Challenge was DEFIANT (Skyward Book Four) by Brandon Sanderson. This is the final (?) book in the Skyward series – the question mark is there because Sanderson has said in interviews that he may write more about Skyward flight at a later date. This book is the conclusion to the adventures of Spensa Nightshade, Skyward Flight, and the Defiant Defense Force as they battle the galactic Superiority and their stranglehold on the member planets of the Federation, and also fight for their own survival against not only the Superiority, but a race of super-powered dimension-traveling beings known as Delvers, who are also bent on human destruction.

As a wrap-up to the series, it did tie up the loose ends, gave our main characters their happily-ever-after, and gut punched us with a major loss and the impairment of two main characters. It had Sanderson’s usual snarky dialogue and humor, as well as a good mix of peril and triumphant moments. Best of all we get more of Spensa’s hilarious AI-run ship, M-Bot (in my opinion the best character of the series). My only gripe was that the true villain of the story ended up being rather one-dimensional. I had been hoping for a redemption arc for this character, and she ended up going out with a whimper instead of a bang. So it’s four stars out of five on this solid, almost-satisfying conclusion to a great series.

My letter “C” pick for this year’s A to Z reading challenge was CREATIVITY: A SHORT AND CHEERFUL GUIDE by John Cleese.

I adore John Cleese. He’s hilarious. He’s innovative. Most of all, he’s utterly brilliant. This book is short but not a page is wasted. Through personal anecdotes (and a bit of research from psychologists), John shows us that yes, you can indeed teach someone how to be creative, or as John puts it, “You can teach people how to create circumstances in which they will become creative.“

John gives great tips for putting you in that creative space, battling writer’s block, putting something, anything down on paper just to get the ball rolling, and realizing that creativity is more than what you’re thinking about in the moment. John firmly believes that your subconscious plays a big part in creativity. He likens it to having a meal, then going about your day while your stomach is still busily digesting it without any conscious thought. His biggest advice for writer’s block is to put it out of your mind entirely and you’ll be surprised when a creative idea flits in while you’re thinking of something else.

I’m giving this four stars out of five. It would have been a five star read, but John did keep referring to one psychologist and his research again and again, almost to the point where it read like a biography of the guy. Still a good read, though.

My letter “B” pick for this year’s A to Z challenge was BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST by Travis Baldree. Fresh off last year’s success with LEGENDS & LATTES (my Book of the Year for last year’s challenge), Baldree once again delights and enchants with another installment of a genre he seems to have invented: cozy fantasy.

In this prequel to LEGENDS & LATTES, we once again meet Viv, but this time our favorite orc is in her younger days, running with a mercenary group known as Rackham’s Ravens. In the course of their hunting down an evil necromancer, Viv is injured and is forced to convalesce in the tiny port town of Murk until Rackham and his group can swing back around and join up with her again. Used to battle and adventures, Viv gets stir-crazy pretty quickly and roams the town only to find a run-down bookshop and its rattkin owner who has a knack for choosing just the right book for each customer.

Viv ends up – to her surprise and ours – becoming an avid reader, and taking an interest in the renovation of the shop and the attracting of new customers. All of this occurs in a town straight out of a tabletop role playing game, with a colorful, quirky cast of characters, loads of humor and charm, and a touch of danger with the necromancer. The ending was warm and heartfelt, and once again, I felt like I’d just been hugged and given a cup of hot cocoa with extra marshmallows when it was over.

This book was an easy, cozy five stars.

I’m kicking off a new year of the A to Z Challenge with A SOUL OF ASH AND BLOOD by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This almost feels like a cheat, as I’ve read this story before in FROM BLOOD AND ASH, but this iteration gives us Casteel’s point of view. Armentrout turns the story into a unique new book flush with additional scenes about Cas and Kieran’s time in Masadonia (and all the details about the vengeance Cas visited upon the Duke), and of course, all of Cas’s heartfelt and often very naughty thoughts.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one, but that’s a common occurrence when I read this author. The FROM BLOOD AND ASH series is one of my absolute favorites, and if you’re a lover of spicy Romantasy and adore authors like Sarah J. Maas, you need to dive into these. It’s a rare author who can take a cop-out of a premise like retelling the exact same story from another point of view and make you feel like you just read a fresh installment of the series from all you learned in the retelling. On top of that, Armentrout adds a very, VERY surprising twist of an ending that will leave you gasping and re-reading in a “hell yeah!” sort of shock. Five solid stars for another great installment to this series.

Just a quick look at the book launches and events I have set for 2024 (so far). I’ve got the re-release of TRAVELER & DREAMER out near the end of this month, once all the interior and ebook formatting to reflect the new publisher is complete. Then I have IN THE DARK OF A DREAM launching in April. Along with that I’ll be attending several book festivals (and adding more as they come), and I’m happy to announce that I’ll be presenting a workshop at this year’s annual Pennwriters conference. It’s going to be one fun and busy year and I’m excited for all of it!

Another year is in the rearview mirror and it was a really good one. It started with an outstanding author event at Towne Book Center in Collegeville, PA. They’ve always been great at partnering with local authors, and this time was no exception. Next came a romance author event in February (under my other pen name) that was a resounding success. March saw me flirt with the idea of doing something that had been requested of me more than a few times – writing a book about writing. I’ve mentored various writing groups across the years, and facilitated several workshops, and I’ve been asked if I had a book about the craft. I decided to go ahead and get it done.

In April I spent a wonderful weekend at The Highlights Foundation attending the Eastern PA SCBWI Pocono Remix and thoroughly enjoyed keynote speaker Leah Henderson. I also joined some of my fellow SCBWI authors at Aaron’s Books in Lititz, PA for a book signing. Then in May I attended the Pennwriters conference in Pittsburgh where I met a lot of talented authors, took in some great workshops, and got to dress like a faerie.

June saw me attending the IABX Children’s Book Festival. This was an inaugural event and it was very well organized and attended. In July I was a signing author at two more romance book festivals under the alternate moniker, and August saw me writing and prepping for the height of book fest season.

September came and I had a blast at two different book festivals: Books, Books, Books in Lancaster, PA and the Festival of Books in the Alleghenies at Ebensburg, PA. I met a lot of wonderful readers and sold a lot of books.

October sent me to the Collingswood Book Festival in Collingswood, NJ and The Write Women Book Festival in Bowie, MD – both outstanding events that yielded new author friends and even more book sales. Then it was release day for BLOW YOUR MIND, WRITE YOUR BOOK. Now I have a writing book to refer people to when they ask me. Go me!

November was spent with NaNoWriMo, and my newest work in progress, a fantasy YA story about Anya, one of the seven daughters of death. Together with the ghost of a long-dead bard, she’s going to save her world from the dark force that is slowly destroying it. I also spent a fun afternoon at the Lititz Public Library for their local author event. Turnout was great and as usual, I met many wonderful readers and authors. I also announced that I’ve re-acquired the rights to TRAVELER and DREAMER and I’m exploring the continuation of the series. I ended the month with the cover reveal of my next YA novel, IN THE DARK OF A DREAM – coming in April 2024. This one is about a girl with chronic night terrors who finds herself sucked into a virtual reality experiment that’s gone horribly wrong.

December started with a bang at The Festival of Words in Middletown, Delaware. This was a new event for me, and I had a blast with all the local high school students and took part in a panel discussion with a few of my YA author friends. And that brings us to the end of this busy and beautiful year. I am beyond grateful for all the great events I attended and all the terrific people I met. Here’s to 2024!

Here it is – my 2023 A to Z Reading Challenge Read of the Year! This book was cozy and quirky, with rich world building, humor and heart. If you haven’t read it yet, you’re really missing out.

The A to Z Reading Challenge Year in Review – here they are, with ratings. I really enjoyed this challenge and fully plan to do it again next year so give me your book recommendations, please. All genre suggestions are welcome.

Stay tuned for my Read of the Year!