Quarantine Update

Whew! What a crazy year, am I right? I know I'm not the only one who didn't expect it to turn out this way. Like with many others, 2020 has managed to mess with all my carefully laid plans.

First, the release of the third book in my trilogy, WARREN THE 13TH AND THE THIRTEEN-YEAR CURSE. The book's publication had already been delayed due to production issues, so I was so excited for it to finally come out on March 24th! I was also looking forward to going on another 3 week book tour with illustrator Will Staehle to promote it.

Here I am at the beginning of the year with all my book-babies, together at last! So guileless. So happy. I had no idea what was coming.

As you probably recall, March is when all the Covid-19 stuff began ramping up and Stay-at-Home orders were announced. Almost overnight all our planned events were cancelled. Bookstores and schools were shut down. 

Not only that, but my husband lost an entire year's worth of work as a touring sound engineer too! Talk about stress. 

Granted, it's been a struggle for everyone, especially those who have actually dealt with the virus and illness firsthand. Thankfully my loved ones and I have managed to stay healthy through all this, knock on wood.

But on a purely professional level I have to say it really sucks to release a new book at the start of an unprecedented quarantine. I tried my best to rally and I took part in a lot of virtual promo events and zoom panels and such. But...it just wasn't the same. More events were cancelled, including the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, where I was supposed to be a panelist. That one stung - it's always been one of my favorite events, and to take part was an honor I was really looking forward to.

Oh, yeah. And during this time we also learned that a major studio that had been developing a Warren TV series decided to not renew the option. Absolutely heartbreaking, especially after getting a glimpse of what was in the works.

Soooo....I fell into a bit of a funk for a while.  But the quarantine turned out to be a bit of a blessing in disguise. During the initial lockdown when I wasn't able to go to my day job, I found myself with a lot more time on my hands than usual. Which meant I got to write more. (And play World of Warcraft, but we won't talk about that.)

I even joined a few zoom writing sessions, which was so motivating, even though I was just quietly tapping away on my computer alongside other people quietly-tapping on theirs. Before I knew it, I was making great progress on my WIP, a Latinx middle grade fantasy novel that I've been struggling with for the past five years or so.

After writing and scrapping and re-writing several drafts over the years, I finally hit the draft I was aiming for. The synopsis snapped into place. The words flowed. It was glorious! And before I knew it, I was typing "The End"!

Of course, that didn't mean I was done. I did another fairly extensive revision and sent it out to a couple trusted readers. Then I revised some more and sent it out to more people, including some of my Spooky Middle Grade colleagues who were so kind to read and give me additional notes and suggestions. 

And now, after even more tinkering and revising, I think it's finally ready to query! 

Just to dip my toe into the water, I decided to take part in #PitMad earlier this week, just to see if I got any interest. I really set my expectations low. I know a lot of people who have participated without much success, so I wasn't getting my hopes up at all. If anything, it was just a way to practice my elevator pitch and put myself out there after being in writer-recluse mode for so long. 

Here's my pitch:

I was stunned when, by the end of the day, my pitch had received 200 retweets and 82 likes, 20 or so of which were interested agents! 

Holy cow! I can't tell you how much my heart is bursting over this. I just feel so incredibly grateful for all the kind and supportive tweets I've received, and for all the boosts. Now my Labor Day weekend will be spent looking into these agents and sending out my first round of queries - I can't think of a better way to spend it!

This book is the book my heart. That's why it was so hard to find the right way to write it. I wrote it for my 10 year old self who craved a story with Latina heroines, magical animals, sparkling snow, golden pyramids, mouth-watering food, and ride-or-die friendships. Now I have hope that it's a story other people will want to read as well.

Of course I know the road ahead is long. Just because an agent liked my tweet doesn't mean they'll like my book. Rejection is part of the game, and it will likely be years before my story ever hits shelves, if at all. But right now, I'm just hanging onto the glowy feelings. They come so rarely! I just hope my little book finds a home one day!

Title Reveal and Synopsis!!!

Woo hoo! I can finally reveal the title of the book I've written for Quirk, as well as the synopsis! I've been bursting at the seams for what feels like forever to share this - especially since Will Staehle and I first conceived of this project over 10 years ago!

Without further ado...

The title is...

WARREN THE 13TH and The All-Seeing Eye

Meet Warren the 13th, a cursed 12-year-old Victorian bellhop who’s terribly unlucky . . . yet perpetually optimistic, hard-working, and curious. Orphan Warren’s pride and joy is his family’s hotel, but he’s been miserable ever since his evil Aunt Anaconda took over the management. Anaconda believes a mysterious treasure known as the All-Seeing Eye is hidden somewhere on the grounds, and she’ll do anything to find it. If Warren wants to preserve his family’s legacy, he’ll need to find the treasure first—if the hotel’s many strange and wacky guests don’t beat him to it! This middle-grade adventure features gorgeous two-color illustrations on every page and a lavish two-column Victorian design that will pull young readers into a spooky and delightful mystery.

The final cover is still being designed and illustrated by Will, but it's looking awesome so far and I look forward to sharing that as soon as I can! Oh, and mark your calendars because the book is set to be released on November 24th! 

Quirk Book Update

I realize it's been a while since I've posted. Time flies when you're busy! I've been itching to give an update on my middle grade novel for Quirk Books, but it's a little tricky as the project is still under wraps at the moment. I can't wait to reveal the title, which I believe will happen very soon!

Buuuuut here's a little hint in the meantime ;) :

As I mentioned previously, I'm collaborating with illustrator and designer, Will Staehle, and we have a phone meeting set up with Quirk's marketing team next week. I'm looking forward to this because it means we're going to start the process of book-promotion before long! Woo!

The manuscript is just about done and ready to go to - after cranking out the first draft during NaNoWriMo, I've been spending the last few months doing revisions. The downside of rushing to complete an entire novel in the span of a month means that it isn't going to be perfect. It also means MANY revisions/tweaks are needed to transform it from a first-draft to a polished manuscript fit for publication.

I've going back and forth with Quirk publisher/editor/man-of-many-hats, Jason Rekulak, to make the story as tight as possible. This has been my first time working with an editor who is so hands on, and it's been a wonderful learning experience. Jason is a writer and author as well, so his insights have been really valuable. It actually reminds me of being in a writing group, which I was until recently (sadly, it disbanded because, life).

There's still been the pressure of a time crunch because Will is going to need as much time as possible to do his portion of the book if we want this to be released on schedule. You see, it won't just be a novel with a few spot illustrations - this is going to be a really cool looking book with a unique interior design and lots of art! If you look through some of Will's other design projects, you'll have some idea of what he's capable of! But Will can't get fully started on his art and design duties until the text is 100% complete - and we're very, very close! The final manuscript should be wrapped up within the next week or so!

Watch this space, because once we get going with marketing and promotion I'll be able to post a lot more! I can't wait to share more of this project with you guys! :D

NaNoWriMo

That's right. This year I'll be taking part in NaNoWriMo to work on my first full draft of my project for Quirk! It works out well because my project is pitched at 50k words and the manuscript is due by the end of the year.

I've always been attracted to the idea of NaNoWriMo. Mostly, I love the camaraderie and support between all the different people all over the world all striving towards one goal. I love the celebratory air and the nonstop cheerleading and motivation. I love how even though not everyone "wins", there's no shaming involved. So many people bounce back, year after year, determined to try and again and succeed.

I'm one of those people. I signed up to do it for the past couple years but never actually ended up writing anything. I guess you could say I got cold feet. It's one thing to write when you're simply writing for yourself and there's no pressure, and another when you put your progress out there for the world to see. Taking part in NaNoWriMo means holding yourself accountable. And, while I've always been pretty good about meeting deadlines in my professional writing, my personal projects tend to get extremely drawn out over time. (It took me almost 5 years to write and revise my YA paranormal novel, Winter Wilder, and even that's not fully revised to my satisfaction yet.)

The fact that this Quirk book is a professional project gives me more motivation to finish it on time, and it helps knowing that the 50k goal at the end of November isn't just an aspiration... it's a requirement. In other words, I have to win.

But that doesn't mean I won't be sweating over my daily word count and it doesn't mean I won't need the support and encouragement from the rest of the wrimos out there. I'm looking forward to taking part in group writing sessions in Los Angeles and getting to know other people jumping into this crazy month of writing.

If you're taking part, be my writing buddy, and we can fight our way to the finish line together!

Quirk Publishing Deal!

I'm super excited to announce that I have signed on to write two middle grade books for one of my favorite publishers, Quirk Books, with the talented and award-winning designer Will Staehle illustrating. This pretty much sums up how I feel about it:

I'm afraid I can't say much more about the project at this point, but I wanted to share the good news! As soon as I'm able to share more, I'll be doing so on this blog, so keep checking back.

In the meantime, this will be me: