Sue A. Maynard's Blog, page 4

Wow...a lot has been happening lately!  Or, maybe I should say, a lot has come up, and will happen later.  Because I still feel as though I'm not moving in any direction at all...just kind of standing and preparing to move.

If that makes any sense!

I can't decide where to begin, so I'll just ramble off some of the stuff that's been going on since my last post.
First of all, the other writers in this year's ABNA competition are some of the most wonderful and talented people I've ever had the good fortune to find myself in the midst of (how's THAT for a crappy sentence?!).  There were some rough times after the 2nd round announcements, of course, but things have settled down and everyone is back to hanging out and finding some worthwhile ways to spend time.

Okay, and some not so worthwhile, but ALL FUN, and that is the main thing!  I am learning so much.  It makes my head spin sometimes.

I have edited Carving The Light even more now, and am slowly starting to write the synopsis so that I can hopefully start querying soon.  I'm having a much harder time of writing this thing than I'd anticipated, but I've started taking the first steps, and those are often the hardest.  Hoping to get much more done with it tomorrow when I have a day off.

Ryerson's Chang School is also in my awesome column of life!  I went in the other day to pick up the posters they'd set aside for me, and finally got to meet Ms. Marilou Cruz in person, after having only spoken on email for so long.  I was presented with a matted print of my ad, as well, and a thank you card for my participation in their winter ad campaign.

The GREAT news is that I believe they will also be using my ad in their SPRING ad campaign, as well!  I'm so excited.  It will have a different colour scheme, but essentially be the same ad.  This will mean another Spot The Ad contest will soon be underway, with even more crappy prizes to be won!  I'm so thrilled - watch for more details to be posted as soon as they become available!

In addition, I am hoping to use the Spot The Ad contest this time to promote the pending release of my NEXT book, Ebon Black and the Seven Dryads.  This new twist on a classic tale is getting closer and closer to being ready for publication, and I am hoping to get it out later in the summer!  My goal right now is to have it available in time for the start of the new school year, as well as Wordstock Collingwood and Word on the Street Toronto.  We shall see!


In the meantime, the days slowly tick by to the announcement of the 500 quarterfinalists who will be moving to the next round of the ABNA competition.  I don't hold out much hope, if any.  I wanted to make it to this round so I could get more feedback and exposure for my book, but I am not confident that my excerpt is strong enough to carry me through to the quarterfinals.  It might be, but it really depends on who reads it, and how they feel about it.  I'd love for more people to meet and fall in love with the Collins sisters, of course, but - I just don't know.  I'm not stressing about it, though.  Whatever will be will be, and in the meantime, I have querying to do, Ebon to perfect, and Browncoat magnet sets to make.

Also, you may have noticed a new widget on my blog page for StickerYou.  I'm working on creating a sticker store with them so that people can create and buy their own stickers, or use the ones I am creating to get the word out about my books and such, in the form of awesome vinyl stickers that can be used pretty much anywhere!  I have some of my own, and am looking forward to streamlining the process a little more, so that the rest of you can play, too!  :)

So there you have it!  I'm sure there are other things I'm forgetting, but that's the gist of it.  Spring is coming, and so are several new projects from yours truly.

Stay tuned, and keep safe!

Until soon,

SAM


PS  Oh, and I am also updating the Kindle/e-book version of Carving The Light.  Check it out!  And be sure to agree with the tags whenever possible.  It helps.  :)

I just found out that I made it through the first round (Pitch) and into the second (Excerpt) of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award!

I think I might still be in shock.
I have been on such a rollercoaster about it all - "no way will I make it through...only 1 in 5...80% get cut in this first round" to "well, why NOT me?  i could maybe make it through, maybe..."

I had so much help and feedback with my pitch - my first pitch.  And never having written one before, I really had no idea whether mine was even on the right track, or not.  So scrolling through and finding my name on this list was - incredible and surreal.  I'd been trying to make sense of it - predict it - for so long, that I had to stare at my screen for awhile just for the information to sink in.

In many ways, it hasn't yet!

I'd even just spoken with someone not two hours' prior to seeing that the list was posted, and I'd told her all the reasons why I was okay with the outcome, regardless of what it was.  The friends I've made, the incredible wealth of talent and humour and information that I've found in these people, my fellow entrants - I honestly feel like the experience I've had thus far has been MORE than worth it.  And it's at least as cool as seeing my name on that list today.  Still exciting, but I think I really had piece either way.  I think.  ;)

So, for now, my heartfelt congratulations go to those who made it through to Round Two...and my equally heartfelt condolences to those who did not.  Regardless, ALL of us need to keep writing, and keep putting it out there!

As far as I'm concerned, we're all pretty winner-y, just for being brave enough to click that submit button!

Until soon,

S.A.M.

I'd made CTL available on Kindle after I originally published it last year.  But this morning, I uploaded a better, stronger, faster version that I'm hoping will fare better.  It has fewer mistakes, anyway!  :)

Enjoy!

S.A.M.

What if Carving The Light was made into a movie?  Who would you cast? 

That's the question posed on the ABNA message boards and, coincidentally, a subject which has come up a few times between some of my friends/readers and I since the book was first published.

There have been MANY suggestions, some of which I agree with, and some of which I do not.  And, truth be told, I had very specific and completely different people in mind while I was writing it.  But let's face it, even if it ever were to be brought to life as a film, I would have NO say as to who got approached to star in it, so this is really my only chance to make my wishes heard.

So here it is, take it or leave it.  What follows is my first choices for who I think should play the main roles in the big screen adaptation of my book, Carving The Light.
Emily Collins:  I would love to see her portrayed by one of "the Laura's" - either Laura Linney, or Laura Dern




Regardless, for the flashback scenes involving Young Emily, I'd totally love to see spunky Magda Apanowicz kick some ass:



Julie Collins should absolutely be played by Carrie Anne Moss.  I actually wish it could be a movie just so I could watch her take on this part, and show the world what she can do with it!




Samantha Collins was a tough one for me to cast.  There were several suggestions, from Rose Byrne to Missy Peregrym.  But I think if I had my first choice, I'd go with Ashley Scott:



Likewise, the role of Sarah was another hard one for me.  I'm good with the Elizabeth Moss suggestion, but honestly, I'd rather the raw energy and natural beauty of a Laura Prepon or Michelle Williams.  Both look amazing no matter what they are doing, and both can demonstrate the emotional range that Sarah has to display throughout the story.



Ryan was a weird one for me to cast, because I named him for a character in a show I used to watch.  But had another actor in mind physically when I wrote about him.  Mark Ruffalo and Dermot Mulroney are both really excellent choices and, in a way, sort of go with the feel I was trying to get for Ryan.

But in my heart of hearts, he was always supposed to be played by Chris Bruno:



Finally, our Big Bad, Duncan Rolston.  I actually never had anyone in mind for Duncan.  In fact, when I first wrote the book, he didn't even exist as a character, except in one quick scene as he pulls away in a car.  He was more talked about and made reference to - not so much seen.  He didn't even have a name.

But then I decided to tell part of the story from Duncan's point of view, and he became so interesting to me that I couldn't stop talking about him for awhile.  He became important. 

He's sort of flipped with Emily, in a way.  Emily is seen mostly in the present, and a very little bit in flashback.  Duncan, however, is glimpsed very briefly in the present, and his whole big raison d'etre is shown in flashback scenes.  There were some varied but very interesting suggestions for such a man, from Jeremy Renner and Paul Bettany as Present Day Duncan, to Kyle Gallner as Flashback Young Duncan.

But for me (and this just hit me today, actually), I think a brilliant pairing would be Karl Urban and Thomas Dekker.  It would actually make me want to write more for Karl Urban to do, were he playing the part!




So there you have it!  For better or for worse - possibly for changing - and definitely for fun...my casting call for the movie version of Carving The Light.  Enjoy, and feel free to weigh in!

You can read the preview excerpt here.  But if you don't like downloads, I can put up a different, slightly shorter preview, too.  Just let me know!  :)

When young Ebon Black turns 21 years of age, he will inherit his deceased father's fortune, which would make him The Richest Of Them All. The current holder of that title, Malachite Vert, is determined that Ebon should not live to see his 21st birthday, and hatches a plan to get rid of him. He also happens to be Ebon's stepfather.




Ebon survives the attempt on his life, but loses his memory in the process. He awakens to find that he's been rescued by seven young women known as Dryads, the Keepers of the Trees. They are Joc, Weepy, Cranky, Sleazy, Nerdy, Needy and Pam.



In this new twist on a classic tale, it's a race against the clock as Ebon and the seven Dryads must work together to gain Ebon his memory back, find out if he can woo Pam, and return him home in time to claim his rightful place in society.



EBON BLACK AND THE SEVEN DRYADS is suitable for readers young and less-young; introducing them to an unforgettable cast of characters, some unexpected turns, and a moral for a modern age. The manuscript is complete at 20000 words.

At least, that's how it seems sometimes.  I only have a few minutes to write this post (I'm at work), so I'll make it quick!

I got my ABNA entry in, easy peasy.  I finished editing the manuscript around 11:25pm, then poured a well-earned rum & coke to celebrate.  I'd fully anticipated that there would be a huge backlog of people all trying to upload their entries at the bell, and I was completely prepared for that.

What I wasn't prepared for was having no trouble whatsoever, and being done within the first 20 minutes.  I mean, I'd barely touched whatever number rum & coke I was on at that point!  But everything loaded smoothly, except my author photo, which I took the time to resize to make it fit the entry form.  Even with that, I was done quickly, and had some time to kill.  So naturally I went to the contest message boards, and updated Twitter and Facebook.

I'd been putting off a couple of other projects while I got my entry ready, so the next morning, I began to turn my attention back to them.  Browncoat magnet sets.  Ebon Black editing (and some huge waffling on how long it should end up being). 

And I got another idea for a book, this time a Young Adult fantasy-ish tale; the subject of which, to my knowledge, has never really been done before.  So I am excited about that, too.

Oh, and I finally got prizes drawn for the Spot The Ad contest I ran while my Ryerson Chang School ad was up.  I'm started handing them out to the winners, and am actually having fun doing so - I'm so glad I ran that wee contest!  :)

OK, that's it for my lunch break - back to the day job!

Until soon,

S.A.M.

So here I am, one day and...a bunch of hours...to the time when the ABNA submission window will finally be open for 2011.  I am nervous, excited, overwhelmed, fired up and tired.  I've never entered before but, more importantly, this is my first practice stab at querying, and it's really all about the feedback and the experience, at this point!

I'm still not entirely sure what exactly I want to write about, with respect to the contest, but I am feeling the need to sort of chronicle the experience, both for myself, and for anyone else who may be considering entering themselves.

That being said, there is a very strong chance that I won't make it past the first round, which I thought would probably render all of my musings sort of moot.  However, as I keep reminding myself, it truly is about the experience, and as with most things, even failure can be something to learn from.

Sometimes you can even learn more.
As I mentioned at the start, the submissions portal does not even open for another day and a half, or so, which gives me plenty of time to finish getting my entry ready for midnight tomorrow.  Yes, I know it'll take longer than a few hours to reach the maximum 5000 entries in the General Fiction category, but I am a sucker for a countdown, and paranoid about missing my chance.  I suppose I also just enjoy feeling like a part of the community from time to time, as well.  So I will be up until the wee hours, doing my part to bottleneck the server while I upload my precious entry documents in the opening moments of the submission deadline.  That's just how I roll.

I think I worked harder on my pitch than I did on anything else.  The first round is dependent solely on the pitch, and if I hope to get any feedback on my actual book at all out of this contest, I need to make it through that first round.  Plus, if I make it through, I might just use that same pitch for querying, as well.  Now, I know that making it to Round 2 is really based mostly on luck and the mood of the person reading the pitch.  Which means my pitch could be great, and not make it through - or terrible, yet squeak by somehow.  I know not to base my whole opinion of my entry on the results of this process.

Still - getting through would be a big boost.

I've been getting feedback on my pitch both from people who know me (and who have read the novel), as well as the very helpful folks over on the massive Amazon Pitch Thread.  I've been learning a lot on the ABNA forums, both at Amazon.com and CreateSpace.com.  There's a true cross-section of participants from around the globe, with varying levels of experience and knowledge of both the contest and the publishing world at large.  I've kept copies of most of my pitch revisions, from my first attempt through to the mostly ready-ish version that I will be submitting tomorrow night, and it's crazy how much it's changed along the way.  Many thanks to everyone who's been helping me out with THAT...pitches are HARD!

Also helpful, in a way, has been the thread of winning pitches from 2010.  It still feels like a crap-shoot, of course, but at least I'm not panicking as much about making it through as I was.  At first, I was trying to make my pitch somehow perfect - which is impossible, really.  I was caught up in how, out of 5000 entries, only 1000 will go through to Round 2.  And I was worrying because - why me?  Now, however, I am feeling a bit better; a bit stronger.  Now I am trying to take the approach of - why NOT me?

I've got my pitch.  I have an excerpt which is - okay.  Not great.  My first chapter is too long to fit in entirely, so I found an okay-ish place to cut it off within the 5000 word limit.  It's not fantastic, but maybe the Collins girls will surprise me once again, and capture the imagination of whichever reviewers get to read the excerpt (in Round 2), and they will pass us on through to the Quarter Finals.  I am not so confident about that stage, but you never know.  And, if all else fails, I will at least get some feedback on the excerpt if I make it to Round 2, so that's good.  Even if the feedback isn't great.  *shrugs*

I did a quick skimming edit of the excerpt, just in case, and then had to make the manuscript match.  Like cutting your own hair, or picking at a scab, I couldn't stop there.  Now I am in the final stage of applying that same quick skimming edit to the entire manuscript.  I had to re-format it for the contest submission, anyway, so this is really just a slightly longer version of that process.  ;)

I will finish editing tomorrow.  Everything - including the optional author bio, book description and author photo - will be formatted and saved in an ABNA folder on my desktop, ready to go.  I'll be ready to start the submission process by 12:01am on the 24th, and will head to bed once I'm satisfied that everything has gone through.

And then I'll wait.  And pray.  And drink.  And check the forums obsessively.  And wait some more.

For the start of Round 2.  For better or for worse. 

Because it is, after all, about the experience.

Right?  ;)

Until soon,

S.A.M.

Whew!

It seems that every time I take a breather and then go back to my pitch, I find more ways to tinker with it!  I even have visions of myself doing some last-minute tinkering at 11:59pm on the 23rd!  lol

Good grief.

At any rate, have a look ahead to see where my pitch is at today.

The Collins sisters have secrets.




Haunted by the loss of their parents in a tragic car crash years before, three women now harbour dark secrets from one another - secrets which threaten to tear the remains of their family apart.



Samantha, afraid that letting her older sisters know about her same-sex relationship would mean losing them altogether, fights the specter of something deeper she buried long ago, which has now begun to push its way to the surface. Julie, attempting to conceal her renewed battle with cancer, worries that her sisters will learn the truth that ended her marriage. And Emily, a gifted student who dropped out of college to raise her younger siblings, wrestles with perhaps the biggest secret of all. She knows what really happened the night their parents died.



As the sisters gather for Thanksgiving, and the twenty-fifth anniversary of that horrible night looms, long-hidden secrets threaten to spill out into the open. The women must face their fears and learn that their greatest strength lies in their love for one another, even as tragedy lurks nearby, waiting to strike a second time.



CARVING THE LIGHT is a story about love, loss, and the redemptive power of forgiveness. This work of women's fiction depicts the strength, humour, and heartache of characters who are fully realized, while demonstrating the lengths to which some people will go to protect the ones they love from a difficult truth.

I have no idea how to write a pitch for a novel.  I've never had to write one before, but now am struggling (and determined) to create one for Carving The Light.  One which will hopefully get me through the first round of the Amazon  Breakthrough Novel Award this year.

I have no illusions of winning, nor even of making it past the second round.  But if I can get TO that coveted second round, I will be one very happy first-time author!

The hurdle I must face, really, is the Pitch.  The first round is all about the Pitch.  If the judges feel they want to read more, based on what the Pitch reveals about the novel, then on to Round Two I will go.  If it fails to grab them, however, I'll sit back with the other 4000-odd entries that won't make it through.

And I do not care for that.  lol

So I have to grab them.  I have to find a way to lure perfect strangers into the world of the Collins sisters enough that they will want to read more about them.  And they are good girls.  They deserve to be read about!
I've been getting some fantastic advice from other perfect strangers on the Pitch Thread, and as such, my first pitch has seen several revisions thus far.  I just posted the latest revision, and am about to make some changes to it, as well, based on the responses I've gotten.  I'm getting closer, I can feel it.  But I am not there yet.  And I have until January 24th to have my inaugural Pitch buffed and polished to a shine.

Here's roughly where I started out:


The Collins sisters have secrets.


When a tragic accident claimed the lives of their parents while the girls were still young, they had to battle to remain together with what was left of their family. Now, well into adulthood, all three women harbour individual secrets from one another which could threaten to tear them apart all over again.

Youngest sister, Samantha, bounces from college to college, and program to program, in an effort to find something she is passionate about, without disappointing her older sisters, who'd given up everything to look after her when they were younger. Finally finding an falling in love with Sarah brings Sam a happiness she'd never known - and yet another area of life in which she felt her sisters would also be disappointed. If they didn't disown her all together, of course. So long as no one ever discovered that she, herself, was the reason why her parents were killed.

Middle sister, Julie, grew up being the peacekeeper of the family and, as such, never wanted to burden her sisters with her own problems, including the real reason she'd finally left her abusive ex-husband. Now that her cancer is out of remission, however, Julie finds it more and more impossible to keep her secrets from anyone, least of all the women who know her the best - the ones she will need on her side in this battle above all else.

Oldest sister, Emily, gave up a promising post-secondary education to help raise her youngest sister and keep the 3 girls together after their parents were killed. She got used to being the one in charge, the one who had to make everything work, and the one who was responsible for everything. Through it all, she kept a wall around herself, and played her cards as close to the vest as possible. Including the fact that she, along with the man who'd actually committed the crime, were the only two living souls left who knew exactly what had transpired on that terrible night so long ago, which had irrevocably changed all of their lives forever.

Carving The Light is a story about love, loss, and the redemptive power of forgiveness. Complete at roughly 65000 words, what sets this women's fiction novel apart is the strength and realism of the characters, from the Collins family themselves, through to the other people (and the dog) that inhabit their lives.
 
 
 
And here is where I am currently sitting, prior to the revisions I am about to make to it now:
 
 
The Collins sisters have secrets.


Haunted by the loss of their parents in a tragic car crash one Halloween when they were young, all three women now harbour dark secrets from one another - secrets which threaten to tear their family apart.

Emily, a gifted student who dropped out of college to raise her younger sisters after their parents were killed, struggles to conceal her knowledge of what actually transpired on that terrible night. Julie, attempting to cover up her renewed battle with cancer, also fears revealing the true reason she'd finally left her ex-husband. Samantha, worried that sharing her new relationship with her older sisters would mean to risk losing them all together, long ago buried her certainty that she was responsible for the death of their parents.

As the sisters gather together for Thanksgiving weekend, and the anniversary of their Halloween tragedy looms, long-hidden secrets threaten to spill out into the open. Each woman must now face her demons while tragedy lurks nearby, waiting to strike a second time.

Carving The Light is a story about love, loss, and the redemptive power of forgiveness. What sets this women's fiction novel apart is the strength, humour, and realism of its characters, from the Collins family themselves, to the people (and the dog) that inhabit their lives.

Just wanted to post a quick mention that Carving The Light has been reviewed favourably over at Living In The Kitchen With Puppies, which makes me feel better about how it's being received by people who don't know me!  ;)

Additionally, I have more crappy prizes coming in for the Spot The Ad contest - some of which actually involve a copy of the ad as the main image, so watch for photos and updates on that soon, as well!

Hope everyone is having a happy holiday thus far.  Bring on 2011!