2016 Wrap-Up

2016 Wrap-Up

Well, we’ve made it to the end of 2016.

Maybe not quite in the same shape as when we started the year, but if you’re reading this, you’ve survived.

As we put 2016 to bed, I thought I’d share some of the things that were good in my world this year.

1.  I sold a second book!  It was a dream come true to see one book become real, but to be given the chance to do it again is overwhelming.
2.  I went to Las Vegas for the first time and celebrated 10 years of marriage.
3.  I retreated with some inspiring authors in the fall.

4.  I gave my first professional (not writing related) conference presentation.
5.  I held my words in my hands–it’s almost a real book!

I was also very entertained by the following books:

1.  Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard
2.  My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier
3.  Great Small Things by Jodi Picoult
4.  Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
5.  Exit, Pursued By A Bear by E.K. Johnston
6.  Wild Swans by Jessica Spotswood
7.  Defending Taylor by Miranda Kenneally
8.  Frannie & Tru by Karen Hattrup
9.  Liars And Losers Like Us by Ami Allen-Vath
10.  Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell

2017 debuts to look forward to (these are the ones I’ve been privileged to read already):

1.  Kissing Max Holden by Katy Upperman
2.  It’s Not Like It’s A Secret by Misa Suguira
3.  The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich
4.  The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
5.  After The Fall by Kate Hart
6.  How To Break A Boy by Laurie Devore
7.  In 27 Days by Alison Gervais
8.  Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
9.  The Girl With The Red Balloon by Katherine Locke

I’ll share more 2017 debuts as I make my way through them.

Favorite movies this year:  Moana, Ghostbusters, Sing Street, Love & Friendship, The Edge of Seventeen, How To Be Single, and Rogue One.

Things to look forward to in 2017:

1.  I feel like this goes without saying, but May 9, 2017 is going to be a pretty momentous day.  My debut novel IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE will officially be published and available for public consumption.
2.  My launch party will be May 13, 2017 at One More Page in Arlington, VA–I’d love to see you there!
3.  I’m signing copies of my ARC at the American Library Association’ Midwinter Conference AND I’m on a panel with some fabulous authors.

4.  I’m appearing at YABBAFest in Warrenton, VA in October.
5.  I’ve got a few more signings/readings ideas in the works, so stay tuned.

Whether you’re celebrating this time of year or not, I hope you’re ushering in the new year with loved ones and doing something that brings you joy.

Interested in preordering my book?  Here’s all the info.  AND!  There’s a bonus chapter in it for you.

Feel like asking your library to add my book to their collection?  Here’s how.

This post was originally sent to my newsletter subscribers.  Miss a previous newsletter?  Catch up HERE.

Preordering IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE

Preordering IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE

Did you know you can preorder IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE and have it delivered right to your mailbox on release day?  Scroll down and find out how.

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On sale at bookstores everywhere 5-9-17

Preorder Here:

One More Page Books (signed copy!)

Barnes & Noble

Target

Walmart

Amazon

Kobo

Book Depository

Indigo

Book Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night (which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client). When Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way.

A modern play on the Cinderella story arc, Christina June’s IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE shows us that sometimes going after what you want means breaking the rules.

Check out the book on Goodreads.

Anyone who is so kind to preorder can send me a picture of your receipt and I’ll add you to my super secret list to receive bonus content.  Hit me up here:  Contact

Other fun stuff coming down the road:

  • a graphic design contest!  Want to be like Tatum and create a band poster?  Blink is generously hosting a a little competition and I can’t wait to see what you come up with.  Watch this space for more info.
  • a playlist of the songs Tatum listens to in the book, as well as what I listened to while writing ISWG.
  • a local launch party!  I’m already starting to think about what kind of cupcakes we’ll have, so if you’re in the DC metro area (or feel like taking a road trip), stay tuned for the details.

For more information, visit BlinkYABooks.com.

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In a Year….

In a Year….

….my book will be available.  In a year, the words I have worked on since December 2013 will be released for public consumption.  Sometimes people say that once a book is published, it no longer belongs to the author, but instead to the reader.  That is, of course, the goal, but it doesn’t make it any less terrifying.

My editor and I are starting to have conversations about promotion and book events, about my launch party (!!!) and bonus content.  We’re discussing preorders and buy links and all the things that happen as a publisher prepares to turn that word document into a book you can buy and hold in your hand.

A lot can happen in a year

Looking back on where I was a year ago, a lot has definitely changed.  I was on submission and was feeling like this book just wasn’t going to find a home.  I was working on a new book I loved and trying to convince myself that second books have a better track record with sales….no idea if that’s true, but it sounded good at the time.

And then, the book sold!  After a really long time, the very wise “it only takes one” came true.

With one year to prepare and make sure everything is just right, I know there will be many more things to learn.  More changes are coming.  But I’m ready.   I think.

Only 365 days to go!

What’s Been Happening

What’s Been Happening

Long time, no blog.  I’m quickly learning that working on a contracted book plus day-jobbing plus parenting plus adulting plus having any kind of down time is hard.

That said, it’s been a really great, productive couple of months!

Where are you with IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE?

Well, I’ve just turned in the second round of developmental edits (plot and character changes) and the next step will hopefully be copy edits.

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Me and the esteemed Lisa Maxwell, working hard.

Have you seen your cover yet?

YES!  And it is beautiful, gorgeous, perfect, etc etc etc.  The designers at Blink REALLY paid attention to my preferences and those of my editor, while also finding a way to work in some key elements from the story.  It is a thousand times better than I ever imagined it could be and I’m so very grateful for it.

Well, when can we see it??

My cover reveal will be June 14 on YA Highway, so set your calendar!

Will there be ARCs?

Sometime over the summer!  My editor is working on getting endorsements right now, which is both awesome and terrifying.

In fact, you can win a signed ARC if you make a donation to #YARunsA5k.

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What are you working on now?

A bunch of things.  BUT I’ve found that when I’m making revisions, it is very very difficult for me to get in the head space of another character, so writing new words has been sporadic.  I’ve definitely been doing some plotting though.

What else have you been up to?

I’ve done a pitiful amount of reading in the last few months.  This is in part due to revision brain and part because my husband and I binge-watched all 6 seasons of THE WALKING DEAD.  I was pretty dead set against watching, even though he’s been a fan for a long time, but then we went to a panel with the show runners, plus also Andrew Lincoln, and I decided it was time to give it a try.

TWD

It was a solid life choice, except that now I have to wait months to find out who got Lucille’d.

I went to the Walter Award Ceremony at the Library of Congress with We Need Diverse Books.

I’ve done some fun beta reading for Heather Van Fleet and Kelly DeVos.

I read WILD SWANS by Jessica Spotswood, DEFENDING TAYLOR by Miranda Kenneally, ME BEFORE YOU by Jojo Moyes, and THE SERPENT KING by Jeff Zentner.

I listened to the audio of SOMEDAY, SOMEDAY MAYBE by Lauren Graham, BITTERSWEET by Sarah Ockler, and finally, FINALLY, I cracked and listened to PRIDE & PREJUDICE by Jane Austen.

I’ve also been vacation planning.  My husband and I are celebrating our 10 anniversary this summer and we’re going to Las Vegas, the first trip for both of us.  (Any and all tips and recommendations are appreciated)

 

Annnnnnd, that’s about it for now.  Hopefully I’ll have things to share before another 3 months passes!

 

2015 Was…

2015 Was…

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….. a pretty great year!  There were a lot of firsts for me and a lot of interesting milestones and happenings.  This was the year that:

  • I sold my first book! This is definitely top of the list of exciting things.  The road to traditional publication is something I’ve been dreaming about for the last almost four years, and really my whole life in abstract, so to have made it to the starting line is monumental in my book.  I’m so grateful to everyone who has supported me along the way.  2016 is now the year I get to say “my book comes out next year!”
  • I sent my baby to kindergarten.  Everyday I’m amazed at how fast she’s learning and growing up.
  • I took on more responsibility in my day job.  Some of it has involved defending for things I believe in, occasionally loudly, which really isn’t in my nature, so I’m proud of myself for being able to speak up.
  • I got to meet my lovely agent in person, which was completely delightful.  I’m blessed to have such a caring advocate in my corner.
  • I went to New York 4 times, in three different seasons.  It remains one of my favorite places in the whole world.
  • I started listening to audiobooks.  It seems small but having a little bit of time to myself on my commute to add in “bonus” books has been really fun.
  • I joined RWA and my local chapter, WRW.  Both organizations have been helpful and also rejuvenating.  I look forward to their newsletters in my inbox and to attending monthly meetings to learn about craft.  Plus, the fellowship is excellent.
  • I completed a new book, start to finish, that is shiny and fun and I love it.  I hope it gets it’s chance to go out into the world.
  • I entered said book in a handful of contests (and finaled in one!) and have found the kind feedback of experienced authors to be very enlightening.
  • I won NaNoWriMo for the fourth time.  That book hasn’t been touched since Nov. 30, but I plan to finish it up soon.
  • I generated a number of new ideas and plan to try something totally new for me with my next project, which is exciting and scary.
  • I read 61 new books.  That’s half my total from the previous year, but it makes sense, given everything else that’s been going on with my time.  I’ll aim for a similar number for 2016.
  • I made new and continued ongoing friendships with wonderful writing community friends.  This is most definitely not a solitary endeavor and I love having so many hands to hold as we walk along this road together.

2016 is going to be full of even more accomplishments and surprises and gifts.  Cheers to a new year and thank you to everyone who made 2015 amazing!

NaNoWriMo 2015 Wrap-Up

NaNoWriMo 2015 Wrap-Up

NaNoWriMo #4 is in the bag.  I’m thrilled to report that I won, continuing my streak.

In the past, when I’ve started something new, typically a character shows up with a tiny plot seed.  I think about the character, who they are, and the conflict tends to present itself when I know how the character will handle it.  I like to marinate on all these things for a while, jotting down notes, until I have the big picture and the voice figured out.  Sometimes it takes a few days, if I’m lucky, and sometimes a few weeks.

This year, in an effort to come up with stories with bigger hooks, I came up with a ton of hooks, shared them with my agent and writer friends and they unanimously chose one over the others.  So I had a great, compelling hook–but no idea who the characters were.  I did some preliminary research on a few things I had no clue about (cryobanks anyone?) and came up with some major plot points, but the characters just wouldn’t come.  As I marinated, small details finally began to present themselves, but I waffled for so long on big important things like gender and settings.

Eventually, a few days before November 1, it seemed to click.  I settled on a story with 2 sisters because it made for better tension and set them on the road between Virginia and Chicago.  It felt like the Red Sea parting and the little paranoid voice became quieter.

The last 3 years, I’ve had the opportunity to really front load my manuscript due to a few days off work and/or an amazing writing retreat totally off the grid.  Didn’t happen this year, so I was really nervous about not winning, even though I knew I was really only competing with myself.  But somehow, I managed to discipline myself and write my 1700ish words daily and a few days before the deadline, I won!

The book is currently several scenes from being complete and it is a literal mess–scenes are all out of order and overwritten and things are missing or forgotten.  But I won and that’s the important part.  With a few more days of drafting, it will be done done and I’ll put it away for a while and think about other things.  I don’t know if this book is meant to become shiny and beautiful or not yet, but I know it needs to sit for a bit.

And, it’s worth mentioning that the book I write AFTER NaNo tends to be a thing I love.  I do have a new idea (there’s always an idea…), so here’s hoping.

I always learn something with each book and this one showed me more clearly what my personal process is.  Every book is different of course, but this solidified for me that I NEED to know who my characters are in order to move forward.  Otherwise, I just don’t care enough to put in the work.

The verdict?  Another great November spent generating a fun and interesting story–regardless of what happens next, that’s always worth it for me.

Sold!

Sold!

I’m beyond thrilled to announce that my YA contemporary novel VALEDICTIONS will be published by Blink/HaperCollins in May 2017.   I can’t wait to share Tatum’s story with you!

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Thank you SO much to everyone who has supported me on this journey.  I am incredibly grateful.

The Season For Writing

The Season For Writing

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Now that the leaves are slowly beginning to change color and the nights are getting cooler and darker, I’m feeling the itch I’ve felt for the last four years now:  the need to make words.  I always feel the need to write, but it is a thousand percent stronger when autumn rolls in.

True story–I always wanted to write a book but never had the guts to do it.  One year my work load was a little lighter than usual in the fall and the evenings normally spent writing recommendation letters were miraculously free.  So of course I decided to write a full length novel instead of binge watching TV like normal people.  I signed up for NaNoWriMo, labored for that month, and won.  And now every fall, those same feelings of needing to be creative when there’s a chill in the air come back to me with a vengeance.  I love it.

Here are a few of my favorite fall/writing things:

  1. Flavored coffee:  I wasn’t a coffee drinker before I started writing.  Like, at all.  And somehow it’s become a necessity.  I associate Panera’s hazelnut coffee with fall and writing, but I also enjoy a pumpkin spice latte every once in a while.
  2. Scented candles:  I love candles in any season but especially in the fall and especially fall scents.  Pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, leaves, etc.  I made my annual pilgrimage to buy my stockpile last weekend and I also replenished my wall air freshener thingy replacements in fall flavors for my office.  It must smell correct to put me in the creative mood.
  3. Pumpkin Spice Rooibos:  I found this at Trader Joe’s after one of my CP’s was raving about it.  We drank buckets of it on November retreats and I can’t even smell it without feeling like I need to write.      
  4. Wrist warmers:  I tried these last year for the first time and after writing 75 recommendation letters following immediately by a 78K word book, they were lifesavers at relieving the wrist pain.
  5. Retreats:  I’ve been on two fantastic retreats in the last few years with my lovely writer friends where we were almost completely off the grid.  Beautiful scenery, cool air, fuzzy boots and big sweaters, a roaring fire, fellowship and lots and lots of words.IMG_8871
  6. NaNoWriMo:  I love NaNo more than I can say.  It was the experience that taught me I can do anything I put my mind to and I’m gearing up for my fourth year.  I even sponsor the NaNo club at my school.  I’m gleefully plotting in October for a book I already love, so bring it on!

Fall is also my birthday season but I am MUCH more excited about writing than getting another year older.

I know I’m not the only writer who gets jazzed by fall – what other fall things make you want to create?

RSW Wrap-Up

RSW Wrap-Up

I’m working my way through Ready, Set Write! this summer 🙂    

ANDDDDDD it’s over!  I can’t believe we started this 12 weeks ago and those weeks are gone.  The summer flew by so quickly.  I’m back at work and already counting the days till next summer so we can do this all over again.

 

Here are my original goals l set back in June and how I did on them:

 

1.  Finish drafting current WIP.  It’s a little more than half done, so I’m shooting for being done with the first draft by mid-July.  I did finish my draft!  It was July 30 I believe, but I got it done.

2.  Revise and polish said WIP until it’s just right.  Almost.  I was about a day or two away from being done and ready to send to readers when I changed directions.  I added in a little twist and am only a few days away now from finishing that up.

3.  Revise and polish an older draft.  Bust.  I didn’t do this, but I DID send it to a new reader and hope to make this my pre-NaNoWriMo project.

4.  Write 35 college recommendation letters.  I wrote 12.  This is actually okay.  I’m pretty fast at writing them at work and 23 isn’t that many in the grand scheme of things.  Doable.

5.  Make healthy choices.  End of July I started the 21 Day Fix, which I enjoyed and saw some results from.  I’ve taken a few weeks off since finishing and plan to start round 2 next week.  It’s good for me as it preaches portion size, eating the right amount of calories (more than I’m used to), and uses daily workouts with weights.  This should be easier once I’m in my new routine.

 

All in all, a positive and productive summer.  Something I didn’t anticipate was prepping my WIP for contests.  I’ve entered one and will enter another next week.  This is an exciting new adventure for me and I’m interested to see how it all turns out,

 

A big thank you to all the hosts–this was really fun and so good for accountability.  Can’t wait for next summer!!

 

RSW Week 12

RSW Week 12

I’m working my way through Ready, Set Write! this summer 🙂    

This update is coming to you from my office at work.  Summer is gone gone gone.  

Week 12 Update:

1.  How I did on last week’s goals:  Well, that was a bust.  I wrote exactly one rec letter, so not the 5 I wanted.  I’m at 11 total, 25 or so to go before they need to start being mailed out, but it’s very manageable now that I’m back at school.

I DID begin to revise my manuscript, wrote some new backstory on the hook I decided to go with, and revised 3 chapters with the hook added in.  I think it’s going to be more work than I originally anticipated but I believe it’s the right thing to do.

2.  My goal(s) for this week:  5 letters done.  Shouldn’t be hard, now that my butt is back in my desk chair.

Revise more of WIP.  Spoke with my agent this week about next steps and we’re not going to sub it, but I’m going to ready it for contests.  There’s one with a deadline of less than 2 weeks from now, so that’ll be my goal.

Marinate on the next book.  Agent and I agreed on the next 3 (!!!!) books to move forward with and while I’ve got the hooks, I don’t have the characters or much of the plots, so I’ve got to think on those.  Once I figure out the first book’s details, I’ll write a synopsis and hopefully work on it for NaNoWriMo.

3.  A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.

New words!  This is my female MC, in a flashback, meeting with a fortune teller.

Freya smiled with one eyebrow up and put her other hand over top of mine. “I will tell you everything I see for you, okay?” I smiled nervously at her and nodded. There was something kind in her pale blue eyes and in the sum total of thirty seconds she’d been holding my hand, I felt like I could trust her. “There is a theme to your life, Phoebe.” I shivered when she said my name, even though it was sweltering hot outside. “You are meant to make others happy. You like to put pieces together and make something that is bigger than the pieces.” Freya eyed me and cocked her head to the side. “You’re close with your family, yes?”

“Yes,” I squeaked out.

“You are also like them, in mind and heart. That won’t change.” I smile. I couldn’t imagine being unlike my family.

4.  The biggest challenge I faced this week (ex. finding time to write):  Psyching myself up for going back to work put a damper on productivity.  I’m finding that giving myself small deadlines–the end of the week, a couple of days, etc.–is helpful.  I work better under pressure.

5.  Something I love about my WiP:   I love my new hook.  I think it really grounds my female MC and gives her a purpose she didn’t have before.

How did YOU do?