Wednesday Reads: Leviathan

"Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.
Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She’s a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.
With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn’s paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever." (details here)

(I must interrupt myself for just a moment to marvel at Steampunk covers.  Just walk through a bookstore (I did last week) and see how many you can pick out.  Hint, it's easy.  They really do set themselves apart.)

Scott Westerfeld creates a beautiful YA novel: a boy has just lost both his parents, is on the run, and must come to terms with becoming a man much to fast and having the weight of an entire world war on his shoulders; a girl out of place in society and not allowed to fly... as a girl, enlists the help of her brother, and fools an entire airship of men into believing she is a boy.

But, more than that, it's Steampunk.  (I delved into this fantastical world two days ago in my blog post here.)  This was the first Steampunk novel I've ever read, and it was a great start (five more are on hold at the library).  Beautifully crafted, the imagery is vivid, the pictures (which I haven't seen in a book I've read in more than ten years) helped my imagination piece together the mechanics.

What I love about this one, is that it isn't purely heavy duty machines marching around.  Pitting Clankers (the German side of the war) against the Darwinists (everyone else), we have machines versus fabricated beast-ships.

Time to apply what I've learned makes a great book:

First line: "The Austrian horses glinted in the moonlight, their riders standing tall in the saddle, swords raised."   Nice imagery, but not a line that can be taken on its own.  The first page though, helps set up the character of Alek (we see him playing with some toys, which shows not tells us that he still acts like a boy).

Beefs: none.  I legitimately have no problems with this book.  I want to read the next one.  It was a great coming of age story, a stand alone in a series, and conforms to the idea of steampunk while being completely unique.  I also have Westerfeld's non-steampunk novels on hold at the library (Uglies, which I'm very excited to read).

Ending: satisfying.  Ties up enough loose ends to make it a stand alone, yet leaves you wanting more (the point of a series, right?).

The next in the series, Behemoth, comes out October 5th.  Check out Scott Westerfeld's site here.  I highly recommend you pick up Leviathan, because, whether or not you are into Steampunk, it's a great YA.  And, if you aren't into YA, it's a great Steampunk.  Win-win, I think.  Happy reading!

Defining Steampunk

A year ago, a member in my book club was raving about this very interesting novel and talking about how cool it was that it was set in the past with advanced mechanics.  I sorta cocked my head at it, went "cool", made a mental note (those tally up to their own version of a slush pile in my head) to read it, and forgot about it.  Until fellow intern Sarah started raving about Steampunk.  At first I just nodded along, pretending (as I usually do) that I knew what she was talking about.  Finally, she defined it for me and told me more about it.  A light bulb went on in my head.  I thought, "Wait, that's what that guy in book club was talking about!"  While he never actually used the term "Steampunk," it was apparently a pretty bright and large sized sticky note in my brain for it to stick out that much.  The novel was Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, which is now reserved at the library for me to read (review here).

My first Steampunk novel was Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.  I'll be reviewing Leviathan this week in my Wednesday Reads.  In an excellent interview with him (here), he defines Steampunk in his own words. 

Steampunk is sort of like nostalgia for Victorian science fiction, and futures that never were. It's a weird mix of the future, like a spaceship, but at the same time it has a very Victorian or Edwardian design. Just those weird juxtapositions of the past and future. Most steampunk is set in the 1800s.--Scott Westerfeld

Looking for a film equivalent of Steampunk?  As of yet, there are not enough to actually consitute a genre.  However, I did find a list here (which I'm not convinced of completely, however, I'm sure they are all very good).  But, for quick reference, if you remember Will Smith in Wild Wild West, the machines were definitely Steampunk.

Steampunk began in the 1980s and '90s, but its beginnings can be traced to Jules Verne and HG Wells (neither of which I have read--bad English major, bad!). 

The coolest thing about Steampunk (to me)?  The sub-culture it has spawned.  I spent the better part of the morning bouncing from one website to another, using Twitter and Google to help me fish out the blogs, magazines, and websites.  Not only is there fashion, but also music, books (duh), comics, and cons. 

A few sites I found interesting:

Seattle is hosting its second annual SteamCon this November.
http://www.steamcon.org/index.php

Writing Steampunk?  Get inspired with the typewriter computer.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/usbtypewriter

Or with this Steampunk inspired laptop!
http://www.datamancer.net/steampunklaptop/steampunklaptop.htm

The jewelry can go from rather wacky, to absolute beauty.  Best site I found?
http://www.steampunkjewelry.ffxoh.com/steampunk-necklaces

Buy Steampunk clothes.  Personally, I'm in love with the boots.  Sadly, I have no money.
http://clockworkcouture.com/

Learn how to dress Steampunk and create your own unique looks.  Basically put together something rustic or renaissance and add goggles.
http://www.squidoo.com/dressingsteampunk

Steampunk has officially been added to the Oxford English Dictionary.  Go Steampunk!  ("bromance" and "defriend" get recognized as well, though my spell check is having a fit)
Time Magazine

Magazine dedicated to everything Steampunk.
http://www.steampunkmagazine.com/

Last but not least (attention, look here in case you are skimming!), the music.  Just as Harry Potter spawned Wizard Wrock (yes, I'm a fan), Steampunk has its own musical following.  I'm listening to last.fm radio on the Steampunk channel.  I find it strangely soothing to listen to.  A little odd, but appeals to my easily excited brain.
http://www.last.fm/tag/steampunk

So there it is!  A brief overview in Steampunk!  I'm going to continue surfing around, learning more about it, listening to more of it, and reading more of it (maybe one day selling it?).  As of now, I'm the one that's sold. 

Corbin Lewars on Persistence

Yesterday, at Just Write on Whidbey Island, our guest speaker was Corbin Lewars, local writing mentor and author of Creating A Life.  It took Corbin five years to see her book published, after rewrites, a fired agent, and a lot of stress, she finally went the route of small publishing.  She shared one stress saving secret though: keep yourself busy.  Corbin started a zine before she was published, which shared common themes with her memoir and helped build a platform.  The zine, Reality Mom, is in its eighth year of publication.  It started small, she shopped it around to local bookstores, but slowly the demand grew.

Corbin shared a few other words of wisdom with us:

• Don't follow the market.  By the time you finish a novel to suit the market, it will have moved on already.
• Research each agent you are going to query and make sure you make her list.  Look up agents in your favorite books (acknowledgments page), and research them.  Corbin hired a friend great with researching to help with her agent list.
• To get blurbs for your book start networking with local writing groups, other authors, and mentors.
• Non-fiction, memoirs especially, tend to be only 60,000 words--this is due to publishing costs.
• Make sure you can get out of your agent contract if you want to.  Don't let them trap you in for a year or two years if they aren't going to fulfill their end of the bargain.  If you negotiate a publishing contract agent-free, hire a publishing lawyer or freelance agent (they help negotiate contracts, contract free, for a small sum).
• When you are out to find an agent, don't grab up the first one you come across simply because they want to represent you.  You are out to interview that agent as well.  If you can't get along with them professionally, working together isn't going to be a lot of fun.

When asked about her preference between small and large publishing houses, Corbin replied that she was glad she went with the small publishing house for her first book.  It afforded a lot more hand holding than the large ones would have.  The down side to small presses is that they have little to no budget for marketing, so you will be nearly solo on that.  However, in today's present economy, large publishing houses may give first time authors little to no budget anyways.  Either way, look forward to a lot of self marketing.

Check out Corbin's website here, and support authors by buying her book!  All in all, I greatly enjoyed meeting Corbin.  She is a down to earth woman, absolutely gorgeous, and a great speaker.  Her parting words of wisdom on how to stay motivated: get support through a writing group or mentor, make writing a priority, nurture yourself with a walk or a latte, and remember the key to being a writer is to keep writing.

Friday Realizations

The wind blew me a little off course this week.  I had a deadline in no way relating to my training/interning, and, therefore, I'm incredibly behind.  I finished my Indexing course today (whew, finally!), and can return to the Slush Mountain of queries and partials.  The wind is blowing steady now, and I can get back to work.

And in case you are wondering, "Navigating" comes from my love of sailing, hence the (not terribly creative) wind metaphors today.  Writers translate their hobbies into their writing, all I could do with mine was come up with a snazzy title.

What I've learned this week in publishing (things you have to learn by doing, not reading blog posts or news articles):

1.  I'm suddenly a huge fan of the acknowledgments page in novels.  I used to ignore them; they never made any sense to me.  But now, I know some of the names of the agents and editors.  The ones I don't know, I go look up.  Besides that, this little page can tell you a lot about an author.  My favorite authors based solely on their acknowledgments pages: John Green, Libba Bray.  Green uses tiny, tiny print.  Bray acknowledges everyone under the sun (four four and a half pages) and I can only guess at the meanings in more than half of them.  Good insight into the craziness that lives in the most creative minds.

2.  Twitter makes me feel really popular.  It's like walking down the hallway in high school.  The more people you know, the cooler you are.  At this point, my follower count indicates that I'm still the awkward introvert who is determined to be Prom Queen.  Slowly but surely.  I see the shiny crown on the horizon.

3.  I guess number three is going to be something I wanted to learn this week, but didn't.  Perhaps you (my reader) can help me out here.  How do I get my readers (you) more involved with my blog?  I'm not some big publishing giant, I'm not unapproachable, I don't have vast stores of wisdom.  I'd like my blog to be a "safe place" for questions and answers: a conversation.  So tell me, what would you (the reader, still with me?) like to see in future blog posts?

Happy writing! (and enjoy the long weekend!)

Wednesday Reads: Vampires

When do we know when we have gone one vampire too many?  I cannot answer that (not without revealing my bitter and cynical true self), but the last time I was at Barnes and Noble, I took a look.  One vampire, two vampire, three vampire, snore!!!

Today's post is everything VAMPIRE.  Well, at least to the extent of my knowledge, which, thankfully, isn't all that extensive.  Let's start with my favorite vampire novels.  I'll give a brief description and go through the basics: first line, first paragraph, if it reads strong throughout, if it has a satisfying ending, and why I love/hate them.

Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward starts with Dark Lover.  These lean towards the Romantic genre, but are all in all a really good read.  Plus you get some zombie-like creatures that the vampire-assassin group has to kill to protect the rest of their kind.  If you need a book to study on how to create a unique vampire world without getting too crazy, I highly recommend it.  First line: "Darius looked around the club, taking in the teeming, half-naked bodies on the dance floor."  Intriguing, but not to the extent it stands out in a line up of first lines.  It's the second line that really sets the mood and tone of the whole book: "Screamer's was packed tonight, full of women wearing leather and men who looked like they had advance degrees in violent crime."  Each book in the series follows a different "brother", and not one disappoints.  Endings of course are satisfying (they are romance after all).

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, one of my favorite books of all time).  Didn't think you'd see this one on my list?  I do think people have gotten a little overboard with the paranormal-classic twist, but Smith delivers every time he puts pen to page.  Perhaps it isn't the best book in the entire world, but I have a strange fascination with President Lincoln and the idea that he was a Vampire Hunter had me laughing from page one.  Written with conviction, if you aren't careful you could believing that this president actually was a vampire hunter.  First line: "I was still bleeding... my hands shaking."  From axes to Confederates to Edgar Allan Poe, this one is a laugh out loud thrill ride you won't want to put down.

Dead Until Dark, a Sookie Stackhouse novel by Charlaine Harris.  I have not watched True Blood.  That said, I'll concentrate on the first book in the series without outside influence.  First line: "I'd been waiting for the vampire for years when he walked into the bar."  Intriguing.  Harris has a funny voice and we learn who the main character is straight off.  She dives right into the story head first.  It was a fun read, but not filling and super satisfying.  Like cotton candy.  The ending is satisfying enough but leaves it open for book two (and three and four).

Twilight by Stephanie Meyers.  Groaning?  Rolling your eyes?  Sorry, I have to.  I'll keep it brief; this topic has been beaten like a dead horse all ready.  At the PNWA conference, Andrea Hurst held a seminar on "Crafting Fiction that Sells in Today's Marketplace."  She read an anonymous first line and nearly every person in the room (over 100) agreed that they would keep reading from that line alone.  First line: "I'd never given much thought to how I would die--though I'd had reason enough in the last few months--but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this."  Well?  Good first line?  I had read the book, professed to hating it, but I didn't recognize the line when Andrea read it, and said I would keep reading.  I groaned aloud.  It is an excellent first line.  And the entire book keeps the tension (sexual tension, life and death tension, new tenuous friendship tension), and is extremely satisfying at the end.  Those elements alone ensure something good.  Meyer also had great timing and a lot of luck.

I'd like to back track for a moment though.  One mortal girl finds herself amidst vampires.  Add in a werewolf and telepathy.  What do you get?  Actually, you get both Harris and Meyer's books.  So what makes them so different?  And why did Meyer's hit off better than Harris's book alone (not counting the TV series), which, in fact, was published many years before Meyer's?

I'd like to know your input on the Vampire phenomenon.  Has it played itself out yet?  How can you, as a writer, capitalize on it?  Is there any way to write another vampire book while keeping it fresh and orignial?  What is going to be the next big fad?

Happy writing (and reading!) everyone.