So I dreamed I wrote a blog post. And, unlike many of my writing dreams, where I come up with a “brilliant” solution to whatever problem I’m having with my manuscript in my sleep, only to wake up and realize that, beyond the limits of dream-logic, the solution doesn’t make any sense, this blog post actually rocks a fair bit. But I don’t have time to write it right now.
Thank you, everyone who dropped by yesterday to congratulate me on my sale. And all the lurkers, too. I got over 600 hits on my blog yesterday, which I think must be some kind of record.
To answer a few questions that were raised yesterday:
HelenKay wonders: “…Are these already written?” No. I sold them on the basis of a proposal. I’m very excited to dive in, however!
Caesar’s Ghost asks: “If they were de-virginized, would they still be able to hunt the unicorn?” That’s a “read the book” question. But, as I said yesterday, why do you think “her birthright is seriously messing up her social life?”
First of all, nice cover, on your blog, Patrick! Secondly, I don’t know. Ask Justine. Or maybe another reader of this blog who shall remain anonymous. There is no current plan to write about zombies around here.
Speaking of Justine, I do believe it’s time to publicly come out in favor of her anti-unicorn stance, though against her anti-unicorn-book stance. Because, obviously, I’m big into unicorn books. However, unicorns are dangerous, dangerous creatures in need of constant monitoring and culling by the proper personnel. I mean, just look at these monsters:
Bill Clark asks: “Query: Are *all* your older mss and story ideas going to find publishers now that you have street cred?”
Do I have street cred now that I didn’t before? Cool! Also, this isn’t an “older” story idea in the sense that I dreamed it up/began working on it AFTER I sold Secret Society Girl. I have no current plans to revive any of the stories I worked on before 2005. Regarding the various inquiries into my finances…
No, I never posted my net worth on my blog. I think you’re thinking about Scalzi. I am not him. I live in DC, not Ohio, have never worked for AOL, do not have a wife or a daughter, and my hair is quite a bit longer, to boot. I have no plans to post my net worth or income on my blog. In addition, attempts to deduce such information based on industry trade announcements isn’t going to get you very far. I appreciate your concern, but I’m good to go. ___________
Moving on, some cool news for other folks:
Barry Lyga’s debut, The Astonishing Adventures of Fan Boy and Goth Girl was just optioned for film!
TJ Brown just sold her first book, a YA, to Simon Pulse! Go, TJ!
This announcement has been a long time coming, but then again, I’ve been working on my “secret project” for a few years now. I’ve imagined this post so many times. Finally getting to make it is a dream come true.
Forget everything you ever knew about unicorns…
From the Publisher’s Marketplace Announcement:
Children’s: Young Adult Author of SECRET SOCIETY GIRL Diana Peterfreund’s RAMPANT, about killer unicorns that can only be defeated by virgin descendants of Alexander the Great, and the teenage huntress whose birthright is seriously messing up her social life, to Kristin Daly at Harper Children’s, in a good deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, by Deidre Knight of The Knight Agency (NA). Film: Matt Snyder at CAA.
Yes, you read that right. Killer unicorns and the virgins who hunt them.
I have been giddy with excitement all weekend. I’ve sold my fifth and sixth books! Now I not only get to write the Secret Society Girl series for Bantam Dell, but I also get to write young adult urban fantasy for Harper Collins! Seriously, pinch me! And because the book is set in Rome, I smell a research trip coming on… um, as long as I can fit it into my schedule.
I owe so much to my friends and first readers who helped me shape the book, but even more, I owe it to Sailor Boy, who is an even bigger fan of this story than I am, and kept pushing me to make it better. How lucky am I? (Hands off, ladies.) He has, of course, graciously volunteered his services as a research assistant and official gelato taster.
The family emergency and recent travels of May mean that I missed a lot of the latest blogging brou-ha-has. Lucky me, right? On the upside, I’ve read some really great posts that developed as a result of the discussions. For instance, Jaci Burton’s love letter to her editors, Lilith Saintcrow’s rant about the myth of “selling out,” and author/publicist Theresa Meyer’s guide to professionalism. And I am late to the announcement that Shanna Swendson’s adorable Enchanted Inc. series might end (prematurely) after book four, since her publisher has passed on book five. Damsel Under Stress (#3) is currently in my TBR pile. If you’re a fan of the series, go out and buy a copy — or buy a copy for a new reader. (Harry Potter fans are a good choice.) If your bookstore isn’t carrying, order it from them, or from Amazon.
As an audience member, it makes me sad when series end prematurely. As a writer of a series, I feel for someone else faced with the prospect of wrapping things up (or not even getting the chance to!) before its time.
Series are a difficult trick for a writer to pull off, because of the triple constraints of story, reader expectation, and market. I’m a big believer that each book in a series should have its own complete story arc. But it wouldn’t be a series* if there wasn’t an overarching story to carry through all of the books. The problem is, how do you satisfy readers that are following said overarching story while at the same time keeping in mind that the continuation of the series may be beyond your control?
Joss Whedon once said that he wrote every season finale of Buffy as if the show wouldn’t be renewed the following fall (except, I think, for season four, b/c they knew they’d get picked up for S5?). But I have a hard time believing that he would have ended the show on the downer that was the season two finale. Still, season five’s finale wasn’t all sunshine and light, either, so maybe it could have ended like that — world saved, but bad stuff went down for it to happen.
With SSG, I want each book to be able to stand alone as well as to fit into the big picture I have for the series. But it’s definitely a challenge to do both. It has helped me to think in terms of “escape hatches” — a story arc may seem closed, only to crop up in a different way farther down the line. A good example of this, to go back to the Buffyverse, is how The First Evil was introduced and then “defeated” (temporarily) in the Christmas episode in season three, then brought back as a Big Bad for season seven.
Hugs, Shanna!
On to brighter topics. Another thing I missed was the release of this music video, starring Paul McCartney, Mackenzie Crook (Pirates of the Caribbean, British “The Office”), and Natalie Portman:
* By which I mean close-ended series. Secret Society Girl is a close-ended series — four books. I know there are also series out there without a major storyline or definitive ending, such as Stephanie Plum.
I had a mind-blowing week, and it only seems appropriate to cap it off with an out of this world weekend. Thus it is that Sailor Boy and I are even now enjoying the charms of a gorgeous B&B. The rooms are spectacular (I needed a ladder to climb into my bed last night). The food knocked my socks off. And there’s a giant hot tub in my bathroom.
I’d never been to a B&B before, but I’m having a great time at this one — even more so because my whole family is here, and between birthdays, weddings, surviving family emergencies, outrageous weeks, and the like, we’ve all got a lot to celebrate. Good things we’re fans of champagne.
Later we’re visiting my mom’s side of the family in her hometown, which I’m really looking forward to, since I haven’t seen them since March, and there will be another party on Sunday… a bridal shower.
Robin tagged me as a “thinking blogger” and I promised to respond to her this week, but then she posted something that made me think, so I’m putting it off in order to respond to that post.
Robin, I have long known through her blog, is someone who is always seeking to improve herself — her lifestyle, her way of thinking, her knowledge. It’s extremely cool, and I admire that a great deal. She recently attended a conference where she talked to a sleep expert and has resolved upon getting more sleep. I am a sleep FAN, so three cheers for that! In her post on the subject, the comments section turned into a great big list of things people had given up in their life. Many posts took the form of: “I gave up this, and I gave up this and I gave up this too but I’m not giving up this and I don’t know how I’m going to manage when I give up this as well.”
Half-jokingly, I said: “I’m trying to understand the asceticism I’m seeing around here. Why is everyone so determined to give up things they enjoy? Everything in moderation and don’t worry about it.”
Today, she posted a more detailed response to her position, but I wanted to clarify. I never said she was weird, or even thought it. I just said I didn’t understand. And I wasn’t even necessarily talking about Robin. I asked Robin once why she gave up chocolate, and she told me. Her post was all about why she’s resolved to get more sleep. I can certainly understand self-denial in pursuit of a better existence.
But in the comments, there didn’t seem to be any logic behind the giving up of things. Or at least, not that I saw. If someone tells me they’ve given up cigarettes, I know intrinsically why, and don’t expect an explanation. But often, we weren’t talking about things that I had any idea were “bad for you.” It wasn’t, “Well, I know coffee is bad for my heart or chocolate is bad for my waistline” or even “I’m treating my life like a science experiment” — it was just: “I have a burning need to stop doing the things I’m doing, just for the sake of denial.” i.e., asceticism.
I don’t think the commenters would necessarily classify themselves as ascetics. For all I know, they have a great reason for their self-denial that they didn’t feel like sharing with the entire internet. Which I surely understand. Or maybe they are into the whole “purity through self-denial” thing.
Which is cool, y’know? To each his own. A friend of mine was raised in a Buddhist monastery and had that whole thing down pat for a while before he decided to chuck it. (and then, my lord, his *clothes*. Fabulous.)
It’s just not MY theory. What can I say? I’m Italian. Our monks make liqueurs.
The only thing I’ve ever “given up” was television (which was easy — I just moved to a new place and failed to get cable installed), and alcoholic shots, because I had a very bad experience with them and I realized that any happiness I derived from the activity was far outweighed by unhappiness. It’s been five years since I’ve taken any classical philosophy but I think that may fall somewhere near the epicurian camp.
I’m much more likely to look at something I enjoy which may be doing me ill and try to figure out how I can continue to enjoy it without the ill effects. Lactose intolerant? Take the pills then have a slice of lasagna. Like television shows but spend too much time watching crap? Thank goodness ABC and NBC puts their shows online. Thank goodness for Netflix.
I also experiment with my life — more subtly than Robin, but definitely working to make changes to improve my existence. I did a few years ago, made resolutions to read more books, or floss more often, or etc., and stuck with them. I also made resolutions that I didn’t always stick with. It happens.
I think of myself as a very passionate person, and always considered that such personalities come with a tendency towards extremes, but now I’m thinking that it’s a different kind of “extremes” than Robin talks about. I am very enthusiastic about my opinions, and have very strong emotions, but I don’t have an addictive personality. I don’t *need* a cup of tea, or to play a video game, or to eat an entire pizza, or to exercise X hours a day. (I wish I could get addicted to that last one.) I love meat and vegetables. When I drink alcohol, I have a glass or two of wine. When I eat junk food, I’ll have a bowl of popcorn, but no cake. You’re as likely to see me drinking milk with dinner as soda.
My one real addiction (and the one that Sailor Boy teases me about the most) is email. I’m completely addicted to email. Maybe I should be working on that? And yet, we come back to the “denial for denial’s sake” problem that I can’t wrap my brain around. I won’t feel the need to divorce myself from my email until it starts reducing my happiness quotient.
What do you think?
PS: I’m on the road all day today, so if I’m not around to participate, that’s why.
Views #1:Veronica Mars rocked last night. It was everything I could have possibly wanted out of the series finale, with the possible exception of a LoVe reunion. But we got our old Veronica back. She was smart, capable, ass kicking. And we got to see the old gang — the Kanes, Clarence, Mac being Mac, Weevil being awesome. There was even a VMVO. I’m so happy.
And, Rob Thomas, I think I love you. I know that the whole “Castle” plotline was really a shout out to me, wasn’t it? Secret societies on Veronica Mars! Woo hoo! (And so much cooler than The Tritons, too…)
News #2:Miss Snark has retired. I loved Miss Snark. I didn’t always agree with her, but I think she’s one of the best things to happen to aspiring writers on the internet in years. She set a lot of people straight on a lot of issues, and her archives are there forever. Bless you, Miss Snark, wherever you are.
Views #2: Now we have to find out who we will replace her with on our daily industry reads. I’ve long been a fan of Kristin Nelson’s blog, PubRants, but I’m a growing fan of the BookEnds Lit Agency blog, as well as the blog of Dystel & Goderich.
News #3: Speaking of blogs, MG writer Barrie Summy has announced her first sale, a “very nice” deal with Wendy Loggia from Delacorte, for her chick-mystery series. The first book, I So Don’t Do Mysteries, was a 2004 Stiletto Contest finalist. This was a contest I coordinated. Her now-agent, Rachel Vater (who has a fine blog of her own), comments on the process to bring this book to sale here. Interesting stuff. Rachel was a finalist judge for this contest way back when, but not in Barrie’s category. Anyway, congratulations, Barrie!
News #4: Great article about YA fiction by Australian author Vanessa Barneveld here. Check it out!
News #5: The winners of the Neptune Noir Giveaways are Emily and Jennifer Estep. Please send your mailing address to the email address listed in the “about me” column on the top right of this blog to receive your prizes.
In 2004, I was working on a hurricane clean up crew in south Florida. One night, after my shift, I caught a television program unlike anything I’d ever seen. It was hip, dark, smart, funny, complex, fascinating. It was about a teenager in California whose life had fallen apart between one year and the next: her boyfriend stopped speaking to her, her best friend was murdered, her father, the small-town sheriff, blamed the best friend’s father for the murder and subsequently lost his job, her mother left them, her friends all stopped speaking to her because of the bungled murder investigation, and to top off a fabulous year, she was drugged and raped at a party. This all happens in the pilot. But did she crawl into a hole? No. She got tough. She got even.
This girl’s name was Veronica Mars.
Because of my work, I was unable to watch the show as it aired, but when the DVD of the first season came out, I caught up. The show blew my mind. They’d created a fan for life. Veronica Mars is Heathers meets Chinatown. It’s dark, it’s twisted, it’s funny, it’s brilliant. The characters are amazing, the plots well crafted. When the killer is revealed (at the end of season one) Sailor Boy had to pause the DVD because of my gasping and exclamations of disbelief. It’s the only television show I’ve ever seen that could supplant Buffy the Vampire Slayer as my favorite.
It’s the television show that made me love mysteries.
Tonight is the last episode of Veronica Mars. It had a three-season run. the second season was pretty good (though it couldn’t supplant season one), and the third season is having difficulty finding its footing with the triple bugbears of “main characters move to college,” “change in season-long mystery format,” and move to fledgling network the CW. I’m looking forward to the cliffhanger two-hour season (now series) finale tonight, but though I mourn the show’s passing, I don’t know how it could ever again become the show that so entranced me during the first season. For me, the show is about how Veronica soldiered on after her world fell apart and made everything right. I applaud Rob Thomas for not dragging out the mysteries past the end of the first season (cough cough, X-Files, cough cough) but at the same time, it made VM a better candidate for a 26 episode miniseries than an ongoing show.
That being said, I love this show, and in honor of the finale, today, I’m giving away two copies of NEPTUNE NOIR, Unauthorized Investigations Into Veronica Mars, which is the latest title in the Benbella Books’ Smart Pop line.* Neptune Noir is edited by none of than Rob Thomas, the creator of Veronica Mars, and he opens each critical essay with editorial notes that help give inside information into what the writers and producers were thinking (or not) when they included that element. I was so excited when I got a chance to review an advanced copy.
I LOVED THIS BOOK.
It’s an absolute must read for fans of Veronica Mars, but more than that, it’s a must-read for fans of storytelling. Contributors include novelists like Evelyn Vaughan and Lani Diane Rich, literary and film critics like Pulitzer Prize finalist Joyce Millman and Heather Havrilesky, psychologist Misty Hook, professors Amanda Ann Klein and Lynne Edwards, and Television Without Pity recapper John Ramos. The tone ranges from tongue in cheek rankings of VM’s noir factor to camp factor (Rich’s essay) to an in-depth analysis of the show’s take on class and race relations (Edwards’s), but each is insightful, mind-expanding and delicious. I devoured them all, as a fan of the show and also as a professional storyteller.
My favorites were Geoff Klock’s breakdown of story structure in the season one finale (I disagree with him on one of the acts, but still a fascinating read, especially if you’re a structure geek like me), Evelyn Vaughn on the power of narrative, and Joyce Millman on Veronica’s amazing and complex relationship with her father (which, IMO, kicks the Gilmore Girls’ asses when it comes to portraying the parent/child bond, and it isn’t event eh main focus of the show!) and how this relationship affects her romantic interests. I don’t know what Keith Mars would think about his similarities to Logan. (Cute picture, huh? Ah, LoVe.)
Inside the pages of Neptune Noir, you’ll find: * Inside info into the casting choices * The truth about the “plans” for Logan’s character * A celebration of everything that so scandalously fabulous about the Casablancases. * Buffy vs. Veronica * Is Veronica the voice of a generation? How about of a time in American history? * Why does Veronica appeal to conservatives? * The role of the father — ALL the fathers.
And much much more. It’s the book equivalent of a dinner party with fellow fans and storytellers. I had so much fun reading it, and now I’m really pumped for the finale. The book will be released on May 28th, but you can win a copy here, today, by telling me in the comments section what your favorite episode of Veronica Mars was.
Farewell, Veronica, Keith, Logan, Wallace, Dick, Mac, Deputy Leo, Weevil (where have you been?), and all our dear departeds: Lamb, Cassidy, Aaron, Kendall, Abel Koontz, and of course, my favorite, Lilly.
I’ll remember you when.
PS: You don’t need exact episode titles. It’s enough to say: “the one where blankety blank happened.” You know what? Even favorite scenes will do.
UPDATE: Please see Wednesday’s post for winners.
_________________________________________ * Full disclosure: I am currently under contract with BenBella books to write an essay f or an upcoming anthology.
A thread to discuss all things Secret Society Girl related, reserved for people who have read the book. White text not required. No censorship of spoilers or plot twists or anything else. Discuss what you will.
(Note: those of you who have read advanced copies of Under the Rose, wait your turn. Under the Rose spoiler thread to come in June.)
Naturally, if you haven’t read the novel, peruse the comments section at your peril.
I’ve gotten a bunch of emails in the last few days asking me what I thought of the finale for Gilmore Girls and of the fact that they are canceling Veronica Mars.
Okay, confession time: I don’t watch Gilmore Girls. Well, that’s not entirely true. Last fall, my friend Marathon Girl, who is a huge GG fan, thrust the Season One DVD set in my hands and said, “Just watch it.” So I did. I’ve also seen the second season by now. Oh, and I’ve seen one episode from a later season where Rory is at Yale and Paris is dating Jonathan from Buffy.
I know this may sound shocking to GG fans who wonder how I can be writing a Yale-set book without watching a television show set at Yale, but there it is. No, I haven’t seen the series finale of the show. In my world of Gilmore Girls, Rory is a high-schooler flirting with Peter Petrelli. That is probably my favorite part of the show, except for that Lauren Graham is an astounding talent who I hope EXPLODES on the scene now that she’s on the open market. I also like some of the funny townspeople, like Kirk and Michel (Michele? Michael?).
(In passing, why the hell did Rory have to get her “Harvard application” in the mail? Last I checked, Harvard used the Common Application, and she can download it from the internet.)
Okay, moving on. One of my college roommates emailed me yesterday to give me the news about V. Mars. This woman has exquisite taste in in television shows, by the way. She was the one who introduced me to Buffy. The year I graduated from college, and we lived down the street from each other in Astoria, we used to throw Buffy watching parties in our apartments on Tuesday nights. (It was sixth season, and the musical episode party was a really wild one.) Yeah, I know, most people at that time were throwing Sex and the City watching parties. We were watching Buffy. Says so much, doesn’t it?
I digress (remember my fried brain). So Veronica Mars is canceled. My friend is bereft. I am…untroubled. I think one of the commenters, piekid, put it best on the above article when he/she commented:
All they did was put a dying animal out of its misery. VM hasn’t been the same since the first season. Hell, it hasn’t been the same since the second season. It isn’t half the “smart show” it used to be. I’ve been a die-hard fan since day one and I say thank you for cancelling my show before I became ashamed of it. I’d rather it go out with a bang than go out with a shrug.
True ‘dat, piekid. Look, no one loves this show more than I do. I’m totally obsessed. Remember my love letters to Logan? I watch the DVDs for this show far more often than I have watched DVDs for any show I own DVDs for — Buffy, The West Wing, etc. — and I’ll tell anyone who stands still long enough that the first season of Veronica Mars is the best season of television I’ve ever seen.
The third season has been a big let-down. All of the things I loved so much about the show, Veronica’s bottomless can of kickass and capability, her unstoppable wit, the fact that she outsmarts EVERYONE, ALWAYS… gone. I mean, we’re talking about a girl who, post head injury-creating car accident in season one, had the wherewithal to hide the tapes WHILE on the run from the homicidal maniac… this girl has in sesason three morphed into a past roofie victim who, on a campus where a serial rapist has run amok, does not keep an eye on her drinks. We’re talking about a highly sketchy and morally corrupt love interest whose only foray into lovable psychotic jackass land this season was his (admittedly awesome) attack on an innocent and empty police cruiser. A rich cast of uber-talented secondary characters whose stories were all intricately intertwined with Veronica’s mysteries as well as the main season arc has been reduced to flat sidekicks who get sent on group scavenger hunts to get them out of the way. And the biggie: this was a show that wasn’t afraid to make people complicated, unlikeable, difficult. They’ve gotten scared, they’ve gotten simple. It’s just not the same.
The only thing I hope is that the finale is worthy of a series finale, or is somehow retrofitted to become so. I haven’t seen the finale of Angel, but my old college roommate tells me that they didn’t think it was to have been a series finale until the last moment and so were not prepared to wrap up all the storylines. In this case, I think the Veronica Mars people have already filmed the finale, so there probably won’t be any wrap up at all. Shame.
Speaking of Veronica Mars, I have a special, Neptune-related surprise for you guys next week. You’ll love it!
On the upside, I’ve read some really great posts that developed as a result of the discussions. For instance, Jaci Burton’s 
