Our Princess is in Another Castle

Writing is hard, but is it "Nintendo hard"?

The 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System (1985–1995) is notorious for offering some of the most challenging video games ever made, games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Battletoads that would make many of today's Xbox and Playstation gamers weep with anger and frustration. Although you could often find cheat codes to get extra lives, pore over player's guides, and even call an official hotline for tips, in the end, games of that generation all relied on skill and reflexes. You also needed one more very important thing:

Persistence.

To complete a difficult game like Mega Man, Castlevania, or Ninja Gaiden, you needed to play through each level over and over and over again, memorizing the patterns of enemy movements, finding power-ups, and avoiding traps (usually after getting caught in them a few times first). This takes a tremendous amount of patience and persistence, which are essential qualities for the hopeful writer submitting work to agents and editors. While I was playing all those NES games as a kid, repeating the same levels for hours (no save games! limited continues!), I was also unknowingly rewiring my brain for a career as a published author.

Consider: How different is "Thanks, this is a solid novel but it just isn't for me" from "Thank you, but our princess is in another castle"? It's disappointing to slog through four treacherous levels in the Mushroom Kingdom, sneak past pitfalls, and triumph over a fire-breathing dragon only to discover that you have to do it all over again somewhere else. So it is with writing and revising and querying and waiting for weeks or months only to find out that you've ultimately sent it to the wrong agent.

Getting a rejection letter can feel like hitting a brick wall, but it isn't game over. You have to get back on that speed bike, telling yourself that next time you'll make it. I came so close this time! I just need to give it one more try. Come on, five more minutes, Mom!

The act of playing a video game is all about not only learning how to play that game, but putting in the time to practice and master it completely, no matter how many times you have to press Continue. And if that isn't bad enough, sometimes you have to blow on the cartridge to even get the game to start in the first place.

But as you pick up the rules, get better at writing, and persist in sending those queries out, you'll hone your instincts. Maybe along the way you'll find some warp zones and things that will shorten your journey or improve your chances of success. And one day, probably after numerous setbacks, you'll find the agent you've been looking for.

Cover Reveal: WINGS (A Black City Novel)

We're super excited to reveal the cover for WINGS (A Black City Novel), the third and final installment in the Black City trilogy by Elizabeth Richards! Isn't it gorgeous?

What Liz thinks

I'm absolutely in awe of this cover. I love the blue theme, not only because it matches Natalie's eyes but because it's also the color of the rebels' flag. Plus, butterflies are a key motif in the book, so it ties in the themes really well. So much love! It's definitely my favorite of the three covers. *hugs cover*

Giveaway

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See Lissa and Genn at Comic Con International 2013!

Hi Leaguers! Gennifer Albin and Lissa Price will soon be at the craziness that is Comic-Con to talk about YA novels. Signings will take place immediately after the talks, in the autograph area in the Sails Pavilion on this same upper level. Mysterious Galaxy will be handling book sales right there at the signing tables and they will have the new Starters paperback with the exclusive 25p short story, “Portrait of a Spore,” before it will be available for everyone else on July 23rd.

Lissa will also give out brand new postcards, sign with unique artwork and do a special giveaway for people in her signing line.

Gennifer will be signing at the Macmillan booth (1220) at 11 am on Sunday.  The first 20 people in line will receive ARCs of ALTERED.

Saturday, July 20 • 11:00am - 12:00pm

When Grrls Fall in Love

From The Hunger Games' Katniss to Divergent's Tris, no one knows how to give a solid ass-kicking like a YA novel heroine. But when these young ladies aren't saving the world, overthrowing powerful regimes, or slaying everything from zombies to dragons, they still find time for romance. Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments), Ally Condie (Matched), Veronica Roth (Divergent), Holly Black (The Coldest Girl in Coldtown), Marissa Meyer (Scarlet), Lissa Price (Starters), and Veronica Wolff (The Watchers) discuss the delicate balance between killing and kissing, and what it takes to properly woo a YA heroine. Moderated by Sherri Smith (Orleans).

Saturday July 20, 2013 11:00am - 12:00pm

Room 23ABC

  1: Programs, Horror and Suspense, Mysteries & Crime Dramas, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Writers & Writing

Sunday, July 21 • 2:30pm - 3:30pm

Safety Not Guaranteed

Dystopian societies, postapocalyptic scenarios, enhanced (and deadly) abilities, and mysterious government branches make the future a not-so-safe place to be. Moderator Anna Jarzab (Tandem) joins authors Marie Lu (the Legend series), Genn Albin (Crewel), Brandon Sanderson (Steelheart), Margaret Stohl (Icons), Amy Tintera (Reboot), and Michael Johnston (Frozen) as they discuss what it takes to survive in the future worlds they've created.

Sunday July 21, 2013 2:30pm - 3:30pm

Room 23ABC

  1: Programs, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Writers & Writing

Glowing Bunnies (AKA not-so-fictional science fiction)

Writing sci-fi is fun. You get to imagine all sorts of crazy, bizarre concepts and characters and worlds. But you've got to be careful!

Make sure your fiction is actually, er, fiction. 

For example, wouldn't it be fun to have your character own a supersoft pet whose fur, I don't know, maybe glowed? And was adorable and smooshable and was vegan?

Well, that's not fiction.

In 2000, artist Eduardo Kac had an idea. With the help of geneticist Louis-Marie Houdebine, the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene from the jellyfish Aequoria victoria was inserted into the genome of a plain white bunny.

So take some of this:

(wikipedia)

Add some white bunny cells.

Guess what they got?

Alba, the glowing bunny! Click here for an actual photo. 

Remember this was in the year 2000!  Quite a while ago. So when you're writing your futuristic sci-fi novel, remember that science today may already be way ahead of what's going on in your creative mind. 

In other words,  Google "glowing bunny" before you write it down as pure fiction! 

The Feels and Science Fiction

Since today is my birthday, I've reserved the right to talk about two of my favorite things this year: Doctor Who and the way Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine look in tight uniforms the relationship between Kirk and Spock.

It's because of important, writerly reasons, I promise.

What I love about both of these things is how surprisingly emotional they are.  When I started watching Doctor Who, I thought I was signing up for campy, spacey fun, not hours of blinking tearfully at the screen, sad-babbling to my husband as I watched the Tenth Doctor regenerate.  Same with Star Trek: Into Darkness.  I thoroughly enjoyed the first installment (I typically enjoy all things J.J. Abrams) but I was not prepared for the EMOTIONS I had this time around.  Bromance emotions.

Sigh.

So how do they do it?  I don't have a definitive answer for this, and if I did, I'd open up a school called ALL THE ANSWERS FOR WRITING SCHOOL and rake in the cash.  But my theory is this: that both the show and the film take the time to focus on the characters.  What's fantastic about sci-fi is that you don't even realize that it's happening, because these important moments are generally happening while characters are doing things, running away from aliens and so forth.  Elements of backstory (that the Doctor once had a family or that Spock is still aching from the loss of his planet) happen while other plot elements are going on.  And our character's true motivations, their true capacities for fear/bravery/compassion/humor are revealed by the choices they make when in difficult situations.  By taking the time--seconds in screen time--to give us glimpses of character, they plant the seeds for a huge emotional payoff.  (Side note: Firefly and Lost are other examples of this being amazingly well-done.)

This is something that I'm not always able to put my finger on when it's lacking in books I read or movies I watch, and it's certainly not something I find easy to do in my own books.  It's easy to get sucked into writing about the laser-guns and forget to write about the people holding the laser-guns.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have some Doctor Who gifs to reblog on tumblr.

Virtual tour of Harry Potter movie locations

It's no secret I'm 'nuttier than squirrel poo' about Harry Potter. So when I recently got the chance to see the real boy wizard, Daniel Radcliffe, in a play on the West End, my equally obsessed friend and I decided to have a Harry Potter themed day in London, where we visited a bunch of the movie locations (and did a lot of stalking outside the Noel Coward theatre's backstage door).

Of course, London is a loooong way for many of you to travel, but thanks to a little bit of magic (okay, Google maps) you too can follow the tour! So grab your brooms, put on your wizard robes, and step into the wonderful world of Harry Potter...

LOCATION 1: PLATFORM 9 3/4

Photo credit: Elizabeth Richards

The adventure starts at King's Cross St Pancras at Platform 9 3/4, where Harry and Co. famously boarded the Hogwarts Express. There's now a permanent display at the station, where you can get your photograph taken with a luggage trolley (complete with Hedwig's cage!). It's located to the right of the ticket barriers leading to platforms 9 and 10. Unsurprisingly, it's a very popular tourist spot and there can be sizable crowds, but it's worth waiting around for a few minutes to get your photo taken. If you're bored, you can always pop into the new Harry Potter shop next to it, and pick up a Time Turner or wand!  

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LOCATION 2: DIAGON ALLEY

Photo credit: Elizabeth Richards

Once at King's Cross, hop on the Northern Line to Bank. It's then just an 8 minute walk to Leadenhall Market, where they filmed many of the exterior Diagon Alley scenes in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

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DIAGON ALLEY MOVIE SET

You can now virtually visit the Warner Bros London Studio Tour set of Diagon Alley using Google Maps! Check out the famous locations, such as Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and Ollivander's wand shop!


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LOCATION 3: LEAKY CAULDRON

Photo credit: Elizabeth Richards

While at Leadenhall Market, go to Lime Street Passage where you'll find the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, as seen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Unfortunately, they don't serve Butterbeer *sad face*

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LOCATION 4: GRINGOTTS BANK

Finally, head to Australia House on the Strand, where the interior shots for Gringotts were filmed. You might get lucky and even see some goblins!
  

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Good News Everyone! LANDRY PARK Has a Cover!

I have to admit something: publishing can be a little dull sometimes.  I am saying this fully grateful for the (mostly due to luck) gift of being published, and I am saying this fully cognizant of eighteen-months-ago Bethany, who was so desperate to get published that she would probably stab me in the face for saying that it isn't all foot massages and beer tastings.

But truth?  It's not.  It's validating and wonderful and yes, I get the greatest gift of all, which is getting paid for making things up in my brain and being able to use the word "tintinnabulation" correctly in a sentence.  But there are long periods of waiting in publishing.  You sell your book and then you wait for an edit letter.  You turn in the edited book and wait for the next edit letter.  You turn that in and wait for line edits...you get the picture.

But getting your cover?  That's one of the highs that makes up for all the lows, all the weeks with no word and wondering if maybe getting published was an elaborate hallucination that I'd crafted in my head.

And this cover?  It especially makes up for everything.

I love so many things about it.  I love the graphic, sci-fi feel.  I love the blue light--which is a central element in the story.  I love the estate and the girl--I love it all.  And I definitely love the feeling of knowing that my book has a cover, a real cover, and that means it is finally a real book that real people might read someday.

And THAT is the best feeling of all.