I've forgotten how many posts I've given this title, but I'm pretty sure it's more than one. Oh well, my brain is a bit mushy right now, so you're stuck with it ;).
I haven't really accomplished much this week, writing-wise, as the Engineer got rushed into A&E on Monday after an accident at work and I've spent my free time this week driving him to and from work, and generally making sure he's okay. He managed to slash his wrist on a piece of machinery, but luckily it didn't hit anything major and he's doing fine :). He can drive again now, but he just needs to be careful not to twist his wrist too much!
So after all that, all I've really managed to do is note down any ideas that have come to me regarding Synthetica's sequel, and thinking them over. I've already managed to stump myself regarding one character's backstory, and I'm struggling with how to make him seem more relatable. Hopefully this week I'll be able to work on it a bit more on paper, and get a few more coherent ideas down.
This weekend I was also going to write a few more A to Z posts, but that hasn't happened yet. Maybe I'll get a few more done today.
Yesterday me and the Engineer went into Norwich - we met up with his sister for lunch, and it was lovely to see her and have a proper catch up. We then went clothes shopping for the both of us, and although we're probably going to be living on tinned beans for the rest of the month, it was so worth it. I've never been one of those girls who loves to go out shopping - I hate crowds, and I generally hold the view that if it hasn't got holes in it (or sometimes, even if it has got holes in it), why replace it? But after the week we've had, who knew retail therapy could actually be enjoyable?! I'm really pleased with what I bought; one of the things was an impulse buy - a bright yellow raincoat/mac - but it looks gorgeous and it makes me happy just looking at it! So if England doesn't get any sunshine this summer, at least I know I have something in my wardrobe that'll make me happy!
Hope you're all having a good weekend! And, for those of you who also work in a school, there's only ONE WEEK LEFT TIL EASTER!! WE CAN DO THIS!!
Happy Sunday!
Sunday, 22 March 2015
Wednesday, 18 March 2015
Synthetica - Cover Reveal!!
So the day is finally here...I can finally get rid of that horrible greyish/green box on my Goodreads page and jazz up my soon-to-be 'Books' page on my blog. Why? Because today is the day I CAN FINALLY REVEAL THE COVER FOR SYNTHETICA!!
I'm so so excited!! I really, really hope you guys like it!
Before I get down to it, I just wanted to share with you a little story behind the cover, and why it means so much to me.
Basically, back in January this year, I was slogging through my rewrites of Synthetica, still dreaming about getting published one day but not really doing much about it and going through one of the worst bouts of anxiety I've had in a long long time. I couldn't seem to pull myself out of it. Everything just seemed dull and pointless.
But then, one night, the Engineer started asking me questions about my book. The conversation went a little like this:
Engineer (out of the blue): "What kind of mask does your villain wear?"
Me: "Think about the guy from Captain America: The Winter Solider, and you've got your man. Why?"
Engineer (super sly): "No reason..."
Me: "TELL ME!"
Engineer: "No." *clams up and refuses to speak to me about it again*
That conversation hasn't been stylised at all. Well, maybe a little, but still - he did ask me out of the blue about my villain's mask and when I pressed him, he did refuse to tell me.
A week or so later, while he was in China on a business trip, the Engineer sent me an email. Attached was a mock-up of a cover for Synthetica. Without me knowing, he'd got a designer he works with to design a cover for me. I was in shock and so thrilled at the same time - when I asked him why he'd done it, you know what the Engineer said to me? He said he wanted me to have something to look forward to. He did it to pull me out of myself and back into the real world. I still can't believe that I've managed to find someone that selfless, who knew I was going through a rough time and decided to help me out of it by encouraging me to never give up on my dreams. I wouldn't be self-publishing my book today, if it wasn't for him.
If I'm 100% honest, that first cover wasn't what I was imagining when I thought about it in my endless daydreams, but I think that's a good thing. I think that together, me and my designer have come up with an even stronger design than the one I originally envisioned.
It's not pretty like the other YA book covers you tend to see. But y'know what? I don't care. I'm not a frilly, pretty pink person. Neither is my book. Both me and my book are dark and straight to the point. And in this context, I think the cover for Synthetica couldn't have been any better.
It's bold. It's simple. It's striking. It's everything I wanted.
And here it is:
Synthetica...it's coming. 1st April 2015.
I'm so so excited!! I really, really hope you guys like it!
Before I get down to it, I just wanted to share with you a little story behind the cover, and why it means so much to me.
Basically, back in January this year, I was slogging through my rewrites of Synthetica, still dreaming about getting published one day but not really doing much about it and going through one of the worst bouts of anxiety I've had in a long long time. I couldn't seem to pull myself out of it. Everything just seemed dull and pointless.
But then, one night, the Engineer started asking me questions about my book. The conversation went a little like this:
Engineer (out of the blue): "What kind of mask does your villain wear?"
Me: "Think about the guy from Captain America: The Winter Solider, and you've got your man. Why?"
Engineer (super sly): "No reason..."
Me: "TELL ME!"
Engineer: "No." *clams up and refuses to speak to me about it again*
That conversation hasn't been stylised at all. Well, maybe a little, but still - he did ask me out of the blue about my villain's mask and when I pressed him, he did refuse to tell me.
A week or so later, while he was in China on a business trip, the Engineer sent me an email. Attached was a mock-up of a cover for Synthetica. Without me knowing, he'd got a designer he works with to design a cover for me. I was in shock and so thrilled at the same time - when I asked him why he'd done it, you know what the Engineer said to me? He said he wanted me to have something to look forward to. He did it to pull me out of myself and back into the real world. I still can't believe that I've managed to find someone that selfless, who knew I was going through a rough time and decided to help me out of it by encouraging me to never give up on my dreams. I wouldn't be self-publishing my book today, if it wasn't for him.
If I'm 100% honest, that first cover wasn't what I was imagining when I thought about it in my endless daydreams, but I think that's a good thing. I think that together, me and my designer have come up with an even stronger design than the one I originally envisioned.
It's not pretty like the other YA book covers you tend to see. But y'know what? I don't care. I'm not a frilly, pretty pink person. Neither is my book. Both me and my book are dark and straight to the point. And in this context, I think the cover for Synthetica couldn't have been any better.
It's bold. It's simple. It's striking. It's everything I wanted.
And here it is:
Synthetica...it's coming. 1st April 2015.
Monday, 16 March 2015
The backbone of the story...
Today, I'm going to be talking a little bit about the background to Synthetica.
There are a lot of dystopian/sci-fi/apocalyptic YA books out there which seem to have one central theme: all of the protagonists are fighting to overthrow some kind of government regime. I know that not all YA books within these genres contain this theme - there are some that don't, and then there are some which do, but they deal with it a lot better than others.
For whatever reason, the main character is often 'chosen' in some way to lead the resistance against this oppressive power. Which they often manage to do against impossible odds, without getting all sweaty and falling in love with a cookie cutter, I mean, handsome, devil-may-care male lead in the process.
I have no problem with this. The Hunger Games and Divergent count among my favourite YA books of all time (if I'm completely honest, I think Divergent may actually be my favourite, full stop). I love to read (and write) YA, simply because it allows me to escape reality into these fantastic worlds, where the protagonists fight against all odds to do what they believe to be right. It's great, and I love, love, love it.
But...
I can't lie. My patience is starting to wear slightly. I can deal with oddly constructed love triangles. I can deal with whiny heroines/heros. What I can't deal with any more is the flimsy premise that some of these main characters have for miraculously meeting the head of this so-called totalitarian government and then either a) being forced to work for them or b) being recruited to work against them.
When I read, I want to be sucked into the character's world and feel what they're feeling, and see what they're seeing. The world can be as fantastical as you like - talking dragons? Shape shifting puppies? Twenty feet tall cupcake monsters? - I genuinely don't care, so long as the author can draw me into this crazy world and make me believe it could be true.
But readers can tell when something is so obviously done for convenience - such as the MC randomly meeting the President, or the King or Queen, or whoever, just so they can fight them later down the line. It jars. It takes you out of the novel's world, and makes you think, 'hang on, what just happened??' Once this thought happens, it's very hard (for me at least) to get back into the story, because I finally myself gradually getting more and more annoyed at the characters, and the ease at which they overcome obstacles or manage to overthrow an entire government.
So I knew from the start that Synthetica was never going to be about bringing down a government regime.
There is a reason why I love Lord of the Rings. And Harry Potter. And Batman. And any Marvel comic/film. Each and every one of the character's battles was personal. The reader could connect with what the character was doing, and why. We get to see their inner turmoil, see what makes them tick, see them agonise over their choices, and - ultimately - defeat a villain.
And that, right there, is why I wrote Synthetica the way I did. I wanted Anais' battles to be personal. I want readers to love her when she gets it right, and hate her when she gets it wrong. I want people to like her and dislike her in equal measure. Sometimes, I dislike her and the choices she makes, but ultimately, I still want her to succeed against her own enemy - the Hacker. The reason I loved writing Synthetica so much is because I felt I had so much more scope with the story by making Anais' enemy a real person. Firstly, how do they even become enemies? How does the Hacker make his plans personal to her? Why does she need to stop him? How will this obsession (on both their parts) affect their relationships with other people?
I haven't answered all of these questions in this book. But I definitely kept them in mind while writing Synthetica; and the second book in the series is going to focus on that final question in particular.
I just hope you all enjoy reading about Anais' world as much as I enjoyed writing it :).
There are a lot of dystopian/sci-fi/apocalyptic YA books out there which seem to have one central theme: all of the protagonists are fighting to overthrow some kind of government regime. I know that not all YA books within these genres contain this theme - there are some that don't, and then there are some which do, but they deal with it a lot better than others.
For whatever reason, the main character is often 'chosen' in some way to lead the resistance against this oppressive power. Which they often manage to do against impossible odds, without getting all sweaty and falling in love with a
I have no problem with this. The Hunger Games and Divergent count among my favourite YA books of all time (if I'm completely honest, I think Divergent may actually be my favourite, full stop). I love to read (and write) YA, simply because it allows me to escape reality into these fantastic worlds, where the protagonists fight against all odds to do what they believe to be right. It's great, and I love, love, love it.
But...
I can't lie. My patience is starting to wear slightly. I can deal with oddly constructed love triangles. I can deal with whiny heroines/heros. What I can't deal with any more is the flimsy premise that some of these main characters have for miraculously meeting the head of this so-called totalitarian government and then either a) being forced to work for them or b) being recruited to work against them.
When I read, I want to be sucked into the character's world and feel what they're feeling, and see what they're seeing. The world can be as fantastical as you like - talking dragons? Shape shifting puppies? Twenty feet tall cupcake monsters? - I genuinely don't care, so long as the author can draw me into this crazy world and make me believe it could be true.
But readers can tell when something is so obviously done for convenience - such as the MC randomly meeting the President, or the King or Queen, or whoever, just so they can fight them later down the line. It jars. It takes you out of the novel's world, and makes you think, 'hang on, what just happened??' Once this thought happens, it's very hard (for me at least) to get back into the story, because I finally myself gradually getting more and more annoyed at the characters, and the ease at which they overcome obstacles or manage to overthrow an entire government.
So I knew from the start that Synthetica was never going to be about bringing down a government regime.
There is a reason why I love Lord of the Rings. And Harry Potter. And Batman. And any Marvel comic/film. Each and every one of the character's battles was personal. The reader could connect with what the character was doing, and why. We get to see their inner turmoil, see what makes them tick, see them agonise over their choices, and - ultimately - defeat a villain.
And that, right there, is why I wrote Synthetica the way I did. I wanted Anais' battles to be personal. I want readers to love her when she gets it right, and hate her when she gets it wrong. I want people to like her and dislike her in equal measure. Sometimes, I dislike her and the choices she makes, but ultimately, I still want her to succeed against her own enemy - the Hacker. The reason I loved writing Synthetica so much is because I felt I had so much more scope with the story by making Anais' enemy a real person. Firstly, how do they even become enemies? How does the Hacker make his plans personal to her? Why does she need to stop him? How will this obsession (on both their parts) affect their relationships with other people?
I haven't answered all of these questions in this book. But I definitely kept them in mind while writing Synthetica; and the second book in the series is going to focus on that final question in particular.
I just hope you all enjoy reading about Anais' world as much as I enjoyed writing it :).
Thursday, 12 March 2015
Cover reveal! Nexis by A.L. Davroe
Nexis
by A.L. Davroe
Release
Date: 12/01/15
Entangled
Teen
Summary
from Goodreads:
In the domed
city of Evanescence, appearance is everything. A Natural Born amongst
genetically-altered Aristocrats, all Ella ever wanted was to be like
everyone else. Augmented, sparkling, and perfect. Then...the crash. Devastated
by her father's death and struggling with her new physical limitations, Ella is
terrified to learn she is not just alone, but little more than a prisoner.
Her only escape
is to lose herself in Nexis, the hugely popular virtual reality game her father
created. In Nexis she meets Guster, a senior player who guides Ella through the
strange and compelling new world she now inhabits. He offers Ella guidance,
friendship...and something more. Something that allows her to forget about the
“real” world, and makes her feel whole again.
But Nexis isn't
quite the game everyone thinks it is.
And it's been waiting for Ella.
And it's been waiting for Ella.
About
the Author
I
write both YA and adult speculative fiction. I prefer revisionist tales in paranormal,
romance, Steampunk, and fantasy. I'm the author of Salvation Station (adult
psych horror), The City Steam Collection (adult psych
horror), For
Your Heart (YA Paranormal Romance) and my YA Sci-Fi novel, Nexis</
i>,
is coming out with Entangled Publishing in 2015!
By day, I live in Connecticut with my two feline hench-creatures. I'm a terrible blusher, have a weak spot for cuddly animals, love Laffy Taffy and Cadbury MiniEggs, and I'm a huge advocate of alternative healing methods. I also wear Vibram five-finger toe shoes and corsets...Though not always in the same ensemble. I'm a Capricorn, a Hufflepuff, and a few nuggets short of a Happy Meal. I also suffer from Resting Bitchface Syndrome (RBS), so even though I might look like I'll tie you in a knot if you come near me, I'm more afraid of you than you are of me (see blushing problem above).
Author Links:
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a> 
Wednesday, 11 March 2015
Inspiration Station...
In honour of Synthetica being released next month (three weeks to go, people...I think I'm going to throw up from nerves...), I thought I'd share with you all the inspiration behind the novel.
Originally when I thought of this post, I remembered a few bits and pieces from conversations I'd had with the Engineer, and the original scene from the Matrix that inspired me to jot down the idea for Synthetica. But then one day last week, I was looking back through the folder I have on my laptop which contains all of my work for the book. It has pages of random notes, a spreadsheet containing the rough layout of the book's scenes, a detailed synopsis, random photos of my beat sheet and cake I posted on Twitter, first drafts, second drafts (all saved in different formats, depending on the computer I was using at the time) and another subfolder for my final drafts.
I decided to have a nosy at my original 'Ideas and Notes' file, just to see what I'd come up with and to see if I could work any of it into this blog post - and I was genuinely shocked.
Whenever I hear about other writers saying that their novel went on a 'journey' and it didn't end up how they imagined etc etc, there is always a part of me that is a tiny bit sceptical. 'But surely,' I cry, 'your book can't have been THAT much of a learning curve? You had the idea for it, surely it's still the same book??'
My god, have I been wrong.
You want to see a snippet of my original notes and ideas for Synthetica? Here it is:
Originally when I thought of this post, I remembered a few bits and pieces from conversations I'd had with the Engineer, and the original scene from the Matrix that inspired me to jot down the idea for Synthetica. But then one day last week, I was looking back through the folder I have on my laptop which contains all of my work for the book. It has pages of random notes, a spreadsheet containing the rough layout of the book's scenes, a detailed synopsis, random photos of my beat sheet and cake I posted on Twitter, first drafts, second drafts (all saved in different formats, depending on the computer I was using at the time) and another subfolder for my final drafts.
I decided to have a nosy at my original 'Ideas and Notes' file, just to see what I'd come up with and to see if I could work any of it into this blog post - and I was genuinely shocked.
Whenever I hear about other writers saying that their novel went on a 'journey' and it didn't end up how they imagined etc etc, there is always a part of me that is a tiny bit sceptical. 'But surely,' I cry, 'your book can't have been THAT much of a learning curve? You had the idea for it, surely it's still the same book??'
My god, have I been wrong.
You want to see a snippet of my original notes and ideas for Synthetica? Here it is:
(The original document is six pages long by the way, this isn't everything)
It's only looking back over these notes now, that I can fully appreciate how far my novel has come. I've even cringed slightly reading them back - in them, I can see snippets I've 'borrowed' from other YA books that I'd recently read, or themes in other YA books which I thought I had to have in mine in order for it to be a success.
I am so grateful that my novel outgrew these notes, and turned into something totally different. I can remember having one conversation with the Engineer while we were out walking in the Lake District - I was telling him my ideas for this novel, and we were throwing around ideas of the rich buying programs they could download directly into their brains, and thinking what the less well-off citizens of the city think/do in this situation. What if the rich kept the programs from the poor? Why would they do this? What would the poor do to retaliate?
But even back then, when I got home and wrote up those notes from our walk, I wasn't really feeling it. I don't mind reading books about characters who overthrow oppressive regimes, but let's face it - it's been done to death in YA. I knew what I didn't want from my book - I only had to figure out what I did want.
I don't remember exactly where the idea for the Hacker came from, but I have a feeling it was while I was watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Wherever the idea came from, as soon as I thought about him, that's when I knew - my book wasn't going to be about an evil government, or a regime - Synthetica was going to be about the fight between Anais and the Hacker, and the consequences of both their actions. To me, having an actual villain in a novel or a film makes the whole story more...relatable. It's a strange concept, I know, but I'll be explaining more about my thoughts on this in an upcoming blog post.
Anyway, so that's a small snapshot into the inspiration that Synthetica came from. I guess it just goes to show that you can find inspiration from anywhere and everywhere, if you're willing to look for it.
Until next time! Happy Wednesday, everyone!
