And now for something completely different. You may have noticed a few changes over there on the sidebar (if you aren’t reading this on a feed, and thus not enjoying my lovely blog design and lovingly maintained sidebar). Yes, those are progress meters for three secret projects, along with a badge proclaiming my membership in the 1,000 words a day project.
I’m attempting to create new and better habits at the office. Now, 1,000 words a day can be very different from 1,000 usable words a day. This has been a very hard lesson for me to learn the past few months when it has turned out that entire weeks of work were in fact, not usable. And every time I realized that all the forward motion I’d been making was down the wrong path, and I’d have to double back and start all over again (this is why I seriously don’t get people who think that just because I’ve plotted my books out in advance that I somehow know what’s going to happen — my synopsis still resembles my manuscript in the vast majority of respects, but I’ve got as much, if not more, stuff in the cut file than in the completed draft) — every time I realized that, I got depressed, and stopped writing. Maybe for a few days. Maybe for a week. It was so hard to turn around, to cut those pages or chapters or vast swaths of darlings, and to try to move the book in the improved, if unwritten, direction.
It’s been rough. It’s been rough on me, on my health and anxiety levels; on Sailor Boy, whose had to fly solo for just about every social event of the summer while I stayed home and fretted/wrote/rewrote; on my editor, who might suspect that the phrase “one more week” should be programmed into my email as an auto-response; and on Rio, who missed more than a few morning walks because Mommy was stressed out about making her deadline.
I need to be able to teach myself to write in a way where I don’t get upset when I realize I’ve messed up the manuscript. Some writers are okay with “writing crap” then going back and cleaning it up. I have a really hard — nearly impossible — time doing that. The “crap” (or, as I like to think about it, the “wrong thing”) nags and nags and I can’t get it out of my mind, it infuses every aspect of what follows. It’s still there, still affecting it, still wrong, and it’s making everything that comes after it wrong too. This is the way my brain works. After ten completed books, I’ve come to accept that, as I have come to accept that I need to write my synopses first, so I have a road map of my story, and how I need to write in order, otherwise I won’t know what has happened and where my character’s heads are at in any given scene. (I’m aware that these two issues are interrelated.)
But what I also need is to not spend a week not writing a word because I have to fix this scene before I can go anywhere with my book, and I don’t know how to fix this scene. Sailor Boy came up with a good solution to this problem: two projects. He said I was much happier and more productive when I was writing two books at once, which I was the vast majority of time between 2005-2008. If I got stuck on one, I wrote on the other until things fell into place. That hasn’t been the case this year.
I hadn’t really thought of that.
And, this is the perfect time to begin pursuing my new goal, since I am now officially out of contract for the first time in over four years. Oh, I’ve got a few anthologies in the works (I’m very excited about them) but no new books. (Please note: there is a second killer unicorn book. It will be released in fall of 2010. I contracted for it in 2007, and am working on the revision/production process now. In writer terms, you are out of contract when you, the author, have fulfilled all your contracted duties, like turning in the manuscript you contracted to write.)
It’s very freeing, and yet very scary all at once. I know what I want to write next (again, see sidebar). Indeed, working on this book this year has done more to spark ideas for completely different projects in my head than all the brainstorming I’ve done since 2005.
Yes, my first book ideas since 2005 have all come to me in the last 12 months. They were not lying when they said that necessity was the mother of invention.
Nor were they lying when they went on about 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Lots of truisms lying around.
I have friends who prefer this out of contract state. They say it helps their creative juices. I know one very successful author who only sells one book deals. She’s had bad experiences trying to write the second book of a two book deal. I know another author who only sells completed books. She prefers delivering a fully conceived-of project to a publisher, that way there are no mistakes about what the book will be, and no chance that she will find herself under deadline and having written 40k of a bad book. (Again, something learned from experience.) I’m intrigued by these methods. I’ve only ever sold on proposal, and only two book deals. I’ve also only sold series books, which include the added stress of knowing that you might start a series that is never completed.
It would be nice to try something different. Write a stand-alone, do a one-book deal, finish a book before trying to sell it. And I know only one of those is visible from the consumer side of things — a standalone novel. I think it’s funny that I’ve become known as a series writer, given that Secret Society Girl was my first ever attempt at writing something in a series. I don’t actually think of myself that way. I have told a few friends about one of these projects, and they were surprised that it wasn’t a series idea, because of course, that’s “what I do.” Except it’s not. Maybe it’s what I’ve done, but even with five books on the shelves, I still think of myself as in the beginning of my career.
If I do sell these projects, I’ll give them names. I’m superstitious about that. But, in the meantime, I shall be working on them, and steadily, too. (that is, when I’m not working on revisions for my current contracted book.) So probably 1k of new writing or unspecified-k of revisions.
Would you like one of these amazing, super awesome RAMPANT bookmarks?
Are you a bookseller or librarian (or teacher or blogger or reading tutor or archery coach or hunting enthusiast or wildlife conservation camp counselor or other party interested in distributing them to people)?
If so, please contact me. When you do, it would helpful if you included your address. If you don’t include your address, I can’t send you bookmarks. The P.O. is so strict about having, like, addresses to send things to.
Also, tell me an approximate number you’d like. Say, a dozen, or 25, or 50. I can’t promise you’ll get all of them (there are limited quantities), but it does help me put together the packages.
My launch signing for RAMPANT is at 2 PM Today! Everyone come see me in Maryland! It’s metro-accessible! It’s close to DC! I’ll have treats! It’s gonna be fun!
I’ve chosen the winners for the HarperTeen release giveaways. The winner of AS YOU WISH by Jackson Pearce is Kate from the Neverending Shelf. The winner of THE BLONDE OF THE JOKE by Bennett Madison is Sarah Beth Durst. Please contact me with your addresses to receive your prizes.
Another fantastic review of RAMPANT, this one from Cassandra Yorgey at the Examiner.com, who, apparently, has been following the blog for quite some time. (Hi, Cassandra!)A few notable quotes:
“The world-building is brilliant and is born out of mythology and actual history but is woven together with lots of imagination. The scope of the novel is large with much of it set as history, but those bits are equally as compelling as the modern story line. The gaps and misinterpretations in current unicorn representation are explained creatively and with a real anchor in historical facts that makes suspension of disbelief fairly easy.
“Despite all it’s fantastical elements, Rampant also addresses serious issues like power struggles, independence, virginity, environmentalism, brutality, choice, and throughout it all there is a beautiful exploration of gender – both past and present views on what it means to be a woman. It’s also got romance and blood, lots of blood. Dear Diana is there blood. But just when it was about to be too much blood or too much romance the tone would be lightened with humor. Peterfreund is good at the one-liners and uses them well.”
Nice, huh? I know I’m preaching to the choir here, that after a week of non-stop hawking of RAMPANT you’d like me to just shut up about the book already, because you probably already own it, or have absolutely no intent to buy it whatsoever despite my cheerleading, or are still mad at me for writing a book that isn’t about Amy — and hey, I can’t say I don’t see your point (except for that last bit — guys, Amy’s done. She’s got her happy ending and I have no intention of screwing that up for her).
But on my side of the computer, I have a book that I have loved and cultivated and researched and fought for — yes, fought for, like no other book I have ever written — for four years, finallyfinallyfinally on the shelves. I first starting writing RAMPANT at the same time as SECRET SOCIETY GIRL, a book that has been out for over three years already. Elephants have nothing on the gestation time of this book. So indulge me my excitement. And…go buy it!
And please, do not pirate it. I cannot believe that I had to spend time this morning communicating with one of those pirating book sites because they are already posting a download of Rampant by Diana Peterfreund. A book that has been out less than a week, and they are already putting up an illegal free download of Rampant by Diana Peterfreund. I know I have talked at length about how damaging it is to read a pirated copy of my book, and how the end result of downloading free online copy of Rampant by Diana Peterfreund is that there will be no more copies of my books, and no more books. But I feel it should be said again, because I know that a whole host of you just landed on this blog post by searching those terms. Cut it out, guys. Not cool. If you can’t afford my book, request it from your local library. The NYPL, for instance, currently has 44 copies of Rampant in their system. If your library will not order the book due to budget or other constraints, contact me.
Now, so as not to end on a sour note, I thought I’d show off some pictures of my awesome new bookmarks! I luuuuuuuurve them. They are so silky and sparkly and gorgeous and represent a ton of self-teaching in the world of graphic design and vectors. And, it wouldn’t have been possible without a ton of help from Courtney Milan and Saundra Mitchell, who helped me with the vectors and CMYK conversion and all kinds of stuff. Thank you so much, gals!
And this is the result:
Why, yes, that is foil on the title and spot gloss on the sword, and it’s all very gorgeous! The pictures don’t do them justice, honestly.
Are you a bookseller or librarian who would like a few of these? Contact me. I’d love to give them to you!
And, I will have them at the signing today in Maryland, so if you want them then….all you have to do is show up at the Borders at 2!
Hello! Welcome! For any newcomers to the site, it’s traditional for me to post a spoiler thread for readers to discuss/debate/argue/or ask questions about elements in the novel. From time to time, I might drop by and comment as well. So here’s one for RAMPANT.
Here you go. Comment here to your heart’s content about how weird it was when that Pegasus showed up in chapter 12*, to share your surprise that unicorns were actually an alien life form sent to Earth by the despotic sentient octupi rulers of Alpha Centauri,** or debate over the various merits of killing unicorns with jellybeans or ranch dressing.***
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* Because he thought a book without winged horses was kinda lame.
** And here you thought you were reading fantasy, not sci-fi!
*** It’s snackicide!
an interview with the BookKids Blog of the Texas indie bookseller BookPeople, talking about strong female characters, the social ramifications of virginity, and what YA books I’m loving right now.
Did you know that there currently exists on this planet not a single, solitary signed finished copy of RAMPANT? Short of attending my signing in Rockville this Saturday (which I highly encourage you all to do), would you like to find out how to own one of the first? Then enter this giveaway on Carrie Ryan’s blog, where you might have a chance of winning one of two free, signed copies of RAMPANT!
Speaking of giveaways, the contest is still open over at Angieville. Come on guys, four measely more entries to break 100. Three free books. That’s like a 1/30 chance!
Thing the Third, Part Deux:
More Giveaways! Why? Because Harper Teen is having a BANNER week, that’s why. So there’s me and RAMPANT, in all our sword wielding, bowhunting, killer-unicorn-slaying glory, and then there’s Bennett Madison’s madcap mall thievery adventure of THE BLONDE OF THE JOKE, and then, there’s the debut of Jackson Pearce, and her djinn novel AS YOU WISH, which you can win right now by leaving a comment below!
(Note: AS YOU WISH was edited by my own fabulous editor Kristin Daly.)
Ever since Viola’s boyfriend broke up with her, she has spent her days silently wishing—to have someone love her again and, more importantly, to belong again—until one day she inadvertently summons a young genie out of his world and into her own. He will remain until she makes three wishes.
Jinn is anxious to return home, but Viola is terrified of wishing, afraid she will not wish for the right thing, the thing that will make her truly happy. As the two spend time together, the lines between master and servant begin to blur, and soon Jinn can’t deny that he’s falling for Viola. But it’s only after Viola makes her first wish that she realizes she’s in love with Jinn as well . . . and that if she wishes twice more, he will disappear from her life—and her world—forever.
Jackson Pearce spins a magical tale about star-crossed lovers, what it means to belong . . . and how important it is to be careful what you wish for.
No, not really all. For instance, here is an awesome interview with me at Angieville. An interview in which readers have a chance to win one of THREE free copies of Rampant. How exciting is that? Three. What I want to know is what kind of dirt Angie has on the Harper Teen publicity department to score so much loot. I don’t have three free copies of RAMPANT, and I wrote the darn thing.
I’m going to go a bit fangirly here now. OMG! Bonegrinder (the house zhi for the cloisters) is soooo cute. I was like OMGGGGGGGGGG!!!!~~~ She reminded me of a little goat that’s so sweet. Too bad she’s ferocious to nonvirgins. She’s so white and fluffy and I’m like awwwwww~~~
And from the BookKids blog, from the fabulous indie BookPeople in Austin, TX:
Rampant is an absurd thrill-ride and a perfect escape from every other fantasy out there. Killer unicorns? Come on – there have been enough vampires, zombies, and werewolves to keep us sated for years to come. But Peterfreund’s YA debut is fresh, new, and ready to help you end your summer vacation with a bang. Or an “alicorn” to the chest, if you like.
I was caught up in this book from the first few pages. Astrid’s adventure starts in chapter one and the roller coaster continues all the way to the last page.
LLL, a middle-school librarian, recommends the book for grades 7 and up.
And finally, I’m posting today on Romancing the Blog about Release Day superstitions and my plan to sideswipe them. Check it out!
And believe me, guys. This is all just the tip of the iceberg. There are a ton of guest posts and other goodies coming up soon! In the meantime, please go BUY A COPY OF RAMPANT TODAY!
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How about a giveaway? Something to mark this very, very special occasion. Okay, twist my arm. Today, I am giving away a copy of my coffee shop writing companion, release-day at Harper Teen twin, totally awesome friend Bennet Madison’s brand new novel, THE BLONDE OF THE JOKE.
School LIbrary Journal: Val, friendless and adrift, finds Francie and adopts her religious devotion to slutty ensembles and shoplifting. Off-kilter humor, moody narration, and twisted psychology make this sardonic exploration of suburbia thrilling—like pocketing lip gloss and walking right out of the store. In Madison’s hands, tacky becomes fabulous and wrong weirdly morphs into holy. The girls rock conservative Sandra Dee High with gold lamé hot pants, big boobs, bigger hair, and heavy eyeliner. They travel daily to the glimmering Montgomery Shoppingtowne Mall to perfect the black art of stealing. Val and Francie zealously try to strip the place to its cement foundation. Contempt for false edifice and for the superficial frameworks behind home, school, and the mall fuel their obsessive devotion to thievery.
Maureen Johnson: “The Blonde of the Joke turns a dull suburban landscape into a mythical place, full of treasure, inner demons, and transformations. Bennett Madison is one of the best YA writers around and this is his sharpest book to date.”
COME AND GET IT. Leave a comment to win. And stay tuned. More giveaways forthcoming.
Next week, my fifth book will be in stores. I’m going to repeat that. My. Fifth. Book. And even after five books, it still feels completely unreal. It feels unbelievable that the little girl scribbling stories in spiral-bound notebooks became me. It feels inconceivable that the girl with some fanfic and half a dozen first chapters of romance novels on her hard drive in her college dorm room became me (especially because that girl was dating some loser at the time who — in all seriousness — told her that writing romance novels would be injurious to his political aspirations). It feels impossible that the young woman with dozens of rejection letters to her name, with mean writing contest scoresheets telling her that she’d never make it, with well-meaning family and friends wondering if maybe she shouldn’t think about a real career became me.
And then again, maybe it isn’t. Because I did write all those stories. Because I didn’t give a damn about some dude’s political aspirations (as far as I know, he never did go into politics), found a much better guy to date — a guy, who, I might add, actually sent me to my first RWA conference as a birthday present one year, which was one of the most special, most romantic birthday presents EVER — and finished an entire manuscript. Because I finished that one and several more, and sent them out, and racked up all those rejection letters, and shrugged off all those scoresheets, and kept on trucking. When I started in this business, I didn’t know a single solitary writer in the entire world, except for my one college creative writing professor (who I wasn’t a big fan of, since he hated “genre”). I didn’t have anyone to point my well-meaning family and friends to and say “look, this is totally a career plan.” But I soldiered on, anyway.
[Edited to Add: Actually, my family was very supportive (even if a few of them were skeptical). My mother sobbed over my first rejection letter. I had to comfort her. My very awesome brother bought me a COMPUTER so I could write. They are and have always been tres cool.]
And I sold a book! Actually, two! (Not any of those romance novels, but oh well.) And then I sold two more. And two more. I’ve been living off my writing for more than three years now. I have a whole series out. Next week marks the launch of a new one. Wow.
I kinda wish I could go back in time and whisper in all those younger mes’ ears: Keep going. You’ll make it.
But who knows? Maybe I did. After all, I’m here now.
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So next week, to celebrate the launch of RAMPANT, I’m going to be blogging all over the place. In fact, it’s started already. Here I am being interviewed over at Presenting Lenore. She asked some really interesting questions. Check it out.
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the leaked video. And, as it happens, I do know some of the people responsible for getting it out there. They risked life and limb, sacrificed their professional reputations (or at least their Saturday), and, most dangerously of all, dared to approach a live unicorn.
All in the name of telling the world about killer unicorns!*
So, spread the word. Do not let their noble efforts (and hilarious deaths) be in vain.
Sorry I’ve been such a bad blogger of late, guys. I’ve been super busy preparing for the release of RAMPANT (next week!!!!) as well as trying to finish up the second book in the killer unicorn series. Now, while the research for the first book took me all the way to Rome, for the second, I’ve been staying markedly closer to home, though it’s been no less intense.
For example, recently I visited the NUCA headquarters` — that was one eye-opening experience, let me tell you! I’d thought I was an expert on the subject. Turns out I hadn’t even scratched the surface. I think this is going to turn out to be a much bigger problem than anyone realized. I might even have to write more stories on it.
If you’re at all interested in the topic, it would behoove you to check out their website. (No pun intended.)
(Hi, Cassandra!)A few notable quotes:
She’s so white and fluffy and I’m like awwwwww~~~
