Has anyone ever seen that Stephen King movie, “Dreamcatcher”? The main character has a memory vault in his head… I’ve always loved that idea! I have something similar though mine is strictly for stories and fragments of stories—ideas and perhaps future works of fiction. Mine is a combination of memory, and a small filing cabinet where each folder is labeled according to the working titles of each piece. I call this little imaginative zone “the Vault.”
I won’t exaggerate and say that there are thousands of stories in my vault, it’s not quite that big, so I guess I could tell you that there are just less than thousands of stories in my vault! I know right; that’s a lot!
The fragments in the vault are varied and range in genre, age group, completions, etc. They can be as small as a few paragraphs of dialog between two people discussing how one can extend their lifespan by not clenching when using the restroom, to thirty+ pages of notes on a story about a girl who falls in love with death!—by the way, I’m actually turning that one into a novel!
Over the last practically eight years I haven’t done much with my vault except add to it, since I’ve been working almost solely on The Unusuals books. My vault has grown sad and lonely… so now it’s screaming at me to select some new material to work on!
I’ve contemplated doing an anthology called “If Only Hollywood Would Hire Me,” but now I’m thinking I might go down a different path… With the third installment of the Unusuals Trilogy coming to a close, I’ve been opening my vault and have selected six pieces to focus on next. I think I might tackle each one consecutively according to popularity ranking, and then I’m going to put together that anthology… Only this time I’m going to empty my vault!
Everything I’ve written over the last—well, HALF my life—will be smashed together in one big chronicle, fragmented and not! I don’t know if I’ll publish it, or simply follow my process to printing and binding a few paperback copies for my closest friends and relations. Either way, I think it will be fun, and it will allow me to get reacquainted with the writer I once was, and compare her to what I am now. I think my writing has aged, or matured if you will, over the last five years especially, and it will be fun to see some more of the adolescent pieces I’ve done!
Until the time that “The Vault” anthology comes out, I’ll be pulling some samples up and posting them on my blog. I would love to hear what you all think! I live for constructive criticism and praise!
The day before yesterday one of my friends called me to let me talk to his young daughter who had just finished reading the first two books in the Unusuals trilogy. She wanted to tell me just how much she loved them and thought it was really awesome that I wrote them! Her dad even suggested a possible visit from me to his daughters writing class, as a guest speaker! The combination of the two of these wonderful people just made my day! I love to talk about my stories, and I love it even more when other people talk about them too!
Well, that’s it for right now, but like I said I’ll be pulling up pieces from the vault to show you soon! Over the next three weeks I’m trying to get those six other pieces put together and finish writing The War of Hope (WOH). The six include the young adult paranormal romance “Johnny Darkling,” the adult romance “The Two Hearts of Jane,” paranormal romance “Reaper,” the science-fiction/fantasy “Kiss of the Phoenix,” the post-apocalyptic zombie thriller “The Dead Half,” and the more-adult bonus Unusuals book, “The Keeper of Time.” I’m very excited about all of these works, and I can’t wait to get them to you in their proper novel form! Wish me fun!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Hi, hi, hi, Beautiful Sunday!
You know those days where everything hits you all at once? Not necessarily in a bad way, but it seems like one good thing happens after another, after another? I'm definitely having one of those moments! I've been walking on air this week, and I'm feeling a tad bit light headed!
My contract just arrived today, so all I have to do is sign it, and I'm on my way up in the ranks of published authors! It's been a dream of mine since I could pick up a pen. I can't believe it's finally happening!
There are few things in this world that I'd want more than sharing my stories with everyone. So few in fact, that they can be counted on one hand. One of those things happened today. I was nervous and anxious, but now it's happened and I feel so much better!
I can't believe my good fortune! On top of everything above, it snowed today, and it was soooooo beautiful! I think I took a little more than a handful of pictures of what it looked like just outside my work :) I usually don't like when it snows, only because I have to drive in it, and people are stupid on the ice. However, this was the great kind of snow for my fifty + miles I have to drive to get back and forth from work, because it covered the ground, then melted, then covered the ground, then melted, and left plenty along the landscaping for me to look out on my way home!
Ah! Thank you, beautiful Sunday, for bringing such joy and happiness to my life!
My contract just arrived today, so all I have to do is sign it, and I'm on my way up in the ranks of published authors! It's been a dream of mine since I could pick up a pen. I can't believe it's finally happening!
There are few things in this world that I'd want more than sharing my stories with everyone. So few in fact, that they can be counted on one hand. One of those things happened today. I was nervous and anxious, but now it's happened and I feel so much better!
I can't believe my good fortune! On top of everything above, it snowed today, and it was soooooo beautiful! I think I took a little more than a handful of pictures of what it looked like just outside my work :) I usually don't like when it snows, only because I have to drive in it, and people are stupid on the ice. However, this was the great kind of snow for my fifty + miles I have to drive to get back and forth from work, because it covered the ground, then melted, then covered the ground, then melted, and left plenty along the landscaping for me to look out on my way home!
Ah! Thank you, beautiful Sunday, for bringing such joy and happiness to my life!
Friday, January 13, 2012
You had me at "We're Interested..."!
So here's the scoop!
Wednesday I got an email from the publishing company, Firefly and Wisp, saying that they are interested in publishing The Heroes of Edenville! A couple months ago I submitted the first few chapters to Firefly, and they responded a few weeks later, requesting the rest of my manuscript. Back when I received that email I was sooooooooo excited, I submitted my story and waited somewhat "patiently" until I received THE email.
I received the notification I had always dreamed of on Wednesday. My phone went off, and my first impression was that it was my sister or someone texting me. I looked at my phone and saw that it was a reply to my query, and I swear that my heart stopped beating. Then my blood began to race, and I felt heat boil up in my cheeks in anticipation. I opened the letter and it said that Firefly in Wisp are interested in publishing my book, and if I was still interested in finding a publisher, they would like to have me! It went into minute detail about royalties, but I honestly didn't care about the percentages right then and there. I stood up screaming and yelling, tears of happiness blurring my vision, and I couldn't help but feel like I'd died and gone to heaven!
I immediately called my parents to let them know that someone was interested, and Heroes was finally going places! I emailed the publisher back explaining my continuing interest and asked what to do next? I then proceeded to call everyone I thought would be interested, and then started texting when I realized my breath was getting shorter, and there were WAY too many people left to tell!
After a couple of short emails to the publisher, Danielle, Firefly and Wisp had their hands on my contact information, and I sat in gruelling anticipation on the edge of my seat, anxious for their reply. I bit all the skin off my lips, and did the whole nine yards with tiring myself out from unconsciously pacing. It has always been my ultimate dream of mine to have my stories distributed to eager readers! I've wanted my name known, and the names of those fictitious characters of mine in the backs of the minds of everyone world wide! My own little world on Edenville Island in particular, drove me to want my paradise to become a public place, and so nearly eight years after the pen started moving in an Unusual direction I find myself at the beginning of the carpet... it's not quite RED in color yet, but the new texture under my feet is quite euphoric!
The next day Danielle called me, bright and early in the morning, not realizing I was on a different time zone (LOL), and since I didn't answer, she left a voice message. When I heard it, the adrenaline started flowing once more... A couple hours later I received the call I was waiting for. I was so excited when I talked to her, I think I might have laughed too much! LOL.
We went over the details of what Firefly and Wisp could do for my Heroes, and what I could do for the company in return. I got more and more excited as the time went on, talking to this humorous and friendly woman. I knew some things would have to change in my book, as it's edited, and of course a new cover will be designed, but the one thing that I was always worried about was my Nessa.
Vanessa and have been best friends, and co-workers of sorts for a few years. She has drawn half of the illustrations for book one, and ALL of them for book two, not to mention the ones she's drawn for book three already! In my extensive research over the last few years I noticed that almost all publishers don't want to accept artwork from sources outside their own company, so Vanessa and I were preparing ourselves for the worst since then. What would I do if they wouldn't let me take Nessa with me? If her pictures were prohibited from my stories? Her illustrations have been a major part of the Unusuals since 2009! I was so scared... I mean, how do you choose something like that? Your best friends' artwork that is as much a part of you as the book is, or to simply get the story published? It's always been a constant worry of mine, staying in the back of my head, haunting my dreams...
Well, I asked Danielle about the drawings, and she said that as long as they don't look like a kid drew them, she has no problem putting Vanessa's illustrations in my book! She wanted to see the pictures and approve them first and agreed to try and work with any issues she might have with them. That's better than I have ever hoped to have, as far as luck goes!
I was so happy, I refused to post anything on facebook, or blog anything about it until I spoke directly to Nessa and tell her what the deal is!
So, now I'm simply waiting for my contract to arrive so that Firefly and Wisp can publish The Heroes of Edenville! I don't have a three book deal, because I guess the contracts are for individual books, but I was told that the company likes series! I consider that practically a three book deal, wouldn't you?
I have a friend that's going to help me build my very own website, and another friend who's going to take really nice, professional pictures of me for my authors bio over the next couple of days. I got back into book three, and I'm excited to finish the trilogy, and even more excited that I get to stay paired with my best friend/artist in the whole world! Danielle has been sent the book synopsis so that she can start working on the cover of book one, and the release date will be no later than November of this year!!!
There's so much to do, and so much to be thankful for and excited about! I've been given the opportunity of my lifetime, and I am seizing my moment! I can't wait to hear from new fans!
Of course this means that I'm going to have to find a way to balance my time more towards my writing... I've been wanted to anyway! I'm a writer! It's what I was born to do, and what I intend to die doing! So here it comes, World! Get ready because Athena Song's Unusuals are the next big thing!!!
Wednesday I got an email from the publishing company, Firefly and Wisp, saying that they are interested in publishing The Heroes of Edenville! A couple months ago I submitted the first few chapters to Firefly, and they responded a few weeks later, requesting the rest of my manuscript. Back when I received that email I was sooooooooo excited, I submitted my story and waited somewhat "patiently" until I received THE email.
I received the notification I had always dreamed of on Wednesday. My phone went off, and my first impression was that it was my sister or someone texting me. I looked at my phone and saw that it was a reply to my query, and I swear that my heart stopped beating. Then my blood began to race, and I felt heat boil up in my cheeks in anticipation. I opened the letter and it said that Firefly in Wisp are interested in publishing my book, and if I was still interested in finding a publisher, they would like to have me! It went into minute detail about royalties, but I honestly didn't care about the percentages right then and there. I stood up screaming and yelling, tears of happiness blurring my vision, and I couldn't help but feel like I'd died and gone to heaven!
I immediately called my parents to let them know that someone was interested, and Heroes was finally going places! I emailed the publisher back explaining my continuing interest and asked what to do next? I then proceeded to call everyone I thought would be interested, and then started texting when I realized my breath was getting shorter, and there were WAY too many people left to tell!
After a couple of short emails to the publisher, Danielle, Firefly and Wisp had their hands on my contact information, and I sat in gruelling anticipation on the edge of my seat, anxious for their reply. I bit all the skin off my lips, and did the whole nine yards with tiring myself out from unconsciously pacing. It has always been my ultimate dream of mine to have my stories distributed to eager readers! I've wanted my name known, and the names of those fictitious characters of mine in the backs of the minds of everyone world wide! My own little world on Edenville Island in particular, drove me to want my paradise to become a public place, and so nearly eight years after the pen started moving in an Unusual direction I find myself at the beginning of the carpet... it's not quite RED in color yet, but the new texture under my feet is quite euphoric!
The next day Danielle called me, bright and early in the morning, not realizing I was on a different time zone (LOL), and since I didn't answer, she left a voice message. When I heard it, the adrenaline started flowing once more... A couple hours later I received the call I was waiting for. I was so excited when I talked to her, I think I might have laughed too much! LOL.
We went over the details of what Firefly and Wisp could do for my Heroes, and what I could do for the company in return. I got more and more excited as the time went on, talking to this humorous and friendly woman. I knew some things would have to change in my book, as it's edited, and of course a new cover will be designed, but the one thing that I was always worried about was my Nessa.
Vanessa and have been best friends, and co-workers of sorts for a few years. She has drawn half of the illustrations for book one, and ALL of them for book two, not to mention the ones she's drawn for book three already! In my extensive research over the last few years I noticed that almost all publishers don't want to accept artwork from sources outside their own company, so Vanessa and I were preparing ourselves for the worst since then. What would I do if they wouldn't let me take Nessa with me? If her pictures were prohibited from my stories? Her illustrations have been a major part of the Unusuals since 2009! I was so scared... I mean, how do you choose something like that? Your best friends' artwork that is as much a part of you as the book is, or to simply get the story published? It's always been a constant worry of mine, staying in the back of my head, haunting my dreams...
Well, I asked Danielle about the drawings, and she said that as long as they don't look like a kid drew them, she has no problem putting Vanessa's illustrations in my book! She wanted to see the pictures and approve them first and agreed to try and work with any issues she might have with them. That's better than I have ever hoped to have, as far as luck goes!
I was so happy, I refused to post anything on facebook, or blog anything about it until I spoke directly to Nessa and tell her what the deal is!
So, now I'm simply waiting for my contract to arrive so that Firefly and Wisp can publish The Heroes of Edenville! I don't have a three book deal, because I guess the contracts are for individual books, but I was told that the company likes series! I consider that practically a three book deal, wouldn't you?
I have a friend that's going to help me build my very own website, and another friend who's going to take really nice, professional pictures of me for my authors bio over the next couple of days. I got back into book three, and I'm excited to finish the trilogy, and even more excited that I get to stay paired with my best friend/artist in the whole world! Danielle has been sent the book synopsis so that she can start working on the cover of book one, and the release date will be no later than November of this year!!!
There's so much to do, and so much to be thankful for and excited about! I've been given the opportunity of my lifetime, and I am seizing my moment! I can't wait to hear from new fans!
Of course this means that I'm going to have to find a way to balance my time more towards my writing... I've been wanted to anyway! I'm a writer! It's what I was born to do, and what I intend to die doing! So here it comes, World! Get ready because Athena Song's Unusuals are the next big thing!!!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Getting Published?!!
Well, here it is, the moment we've all been waiting for... I got an email this morning from a publishing company by the name of Firefly and Wisp, and they are interested in publishing The Heroes of Edenville!!! I can't believe it! I already wrote back voicing my interest and excitment, and then received a reply asking for my contact info so that we can get started! I'm so very ecstatic right now!!! Getting professionally published will definitely get my name out there, not to mention my heroes!!! I ultimately want to share my stories with everyone, so this is a dream come true! (Of course, it would greatly help if I were making a living off of it, so that I can afford to focus more on my writing)!
So, I'm about to go out to Outback or Black Angus, courtesy of someone very special in my life (thanks mom!), and I'll definitely be keeping you posted! Wish me luck everyone! Hopefully I'll hear back from them tomorrow!!!
Peace, love and chicken grease!
So, I'm about to go out to Outback or Black Angus, courtesy of someone very special in my life (thanks mom!), and I'll definitely be keeping you posted! Wish me luck everyone! Hopefully I'll hear back from them tomorrow!!!
Peace, love and chicken grease!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
RIP Dillon
Those of you who know me, or have at least read some of my writing can draw the fairly clear conclusion that I am infact, quite weird... It might be odd to start a blog entry that way, however I thought that pointing out that fact would perhaps bring to light some depth of my character. My reasoning for wanting that is so that you might understand the special relationship I've had with a creature named Dillon.
Dillon was my printer... True, I have six printers, however Dillon has been my faithful companion since high school, and my partner in literary crime since then. He's been my preference, or "authors pet" among my printers, but over the last few months he has been displaying a particularly dismaying error message. I've tried to fix him... tried and failed...
I have been utterly distraught since Dillon's death, and have tried in vain to find a way to reanimate him. It's taken me this long but now I have realized that he's never coming back...
Dillon's particular species is ancient and hard to find, but I did manage to find one on ebay, and I'm hoping to have won the auction... I'll find out tomorrow morning. The new printer cannot actually replace Dillon, but I should be able to continue printing my handmade paperbacks with the new one.
I cannot begin to convey just how much Dillon has meant to me, so I feel I must dedicate this entry to my dear friend. You will be missed...
Dillon is a Canon printer, and has a character named after him in my Unusuals Trilogy; Dillon Canon.
June 2003 - October 2011
RIP
I love you, Dillon!
Dillon was my printer... True, I have six printers, however Dillon has been my faithful companion since high school, and my partner in literary crime since then. He's been my preference, or "authors pet" among my printers, but over the last few months he has been displaying a particularly dismaying error message. I've tried to fix him... tried and failed...
I have been utterly distraught since Dillon's death, and have tried in vain to find a way to reanimate him. It's taken me this long but now I have realized that he's never coming back...
Dillon's particular species is ancient and hard to find, but I did manage to find one on ebay, and I'm hoping to have won the auction... I'll find out tomorrow morning. The new printer cannot actually replace Dillon, but I should be able to continue printing my handmade paperbacks with the new one.
I cannot begin to convey just how much Dillon has meant to me, so I feel I must dedicate this entry to my dear friend. You will be missed...
Dillon is a Canon printer, and has a character named after him in my Unusuals Trilogy; Dillon Canon.
June 2003 - October 2011
RIP
I love you, Dillon!
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