Cole Alpaugh

I was tagged by Cole Alpaugh in the Meet My Character Blog Tour. I met Cole through our mutual friend and his writing partner, Regan Leigh. Regan was helping Cole get the word out about his first book, The Bear In a Muddy Tutu and asked whether I’d consider reading it to review. How could I resist such a title??? And once I read the book, I instantly became a fan of Cole and his writing. If you haven’t heard of Cole and his work, definitely check him out.

Baby Golden Lion Tamarin

At the beginning of this year, Italia Gandolfo contacted me and asked me to take a look at a project she had. To date, all my writing work had been in the Young Adult and Middle Grade age categories, but this was a chapter book, intended for 5-8 year olds. While not my normal area for writing, I’m always willing to take on new things as a writer and stretch myself, and I liked the concept, so then co-authored the chapter book with Luke Matthews. And I’d like for you to meet the main character from the book. So let’s get down to the questions:

1. What is the name of your character? Is he fictional or a historic person?
Timmy Hawkins is an eight-year-old fictional boy. By the way, the cute little critter pictured is Rin, a Golden Lion Tamarin, Timmy’s best friend in the WHOLE world.
2. When and where is the story set?
• The story is set in current day, small town America. Timmy lives in a house where there is an empty barn and a lake not too far from home where he can go fishing.
3. What should we know about him?
• Timmy is a smart eight-year-old with a sweet nature trying to cope with a recent move to a new town. He’s shy and has been having trouble making new friends at his new school.
4. What is the main conflict? What messes up his life?
• For Timmy, it’s not a what that messes up his life, it’s a who. Zeke McGee. Zeke is the third-grade bully who terrorizes Timmy every day. No one else will befriend Timmy because they are afraid of drawing Zeke’s attention. No one wants to be bullied.
5. What is the personal goal of the character?
• Timmy’s goal is to be able to go to school without fear of being bullied. And if he made a friend or two in the process, that’d be cool, too.
6. Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it? When can we expect the book to be published?
• The title of the book is Timmy and the Golden Lion Tamarin and it will be coming out from True North Publishing in spring of 2015. To keep up with release and other information, you can subscribe to my newsletter or check out my Facebook Page.

Keep up with more characters as the Meet My Character blog tour continues on 8/25/14. I have tagged the following authors.

Elizabeth Isaacs Author of The Kailmeyra Chronicles Series elizabethisaacs.com	J. S. d’Raven Author of The Envoy’s Interlude www.jsdraven.com	Monica Enderle Pierce Author of Girl Under Glass and Famine stalkingfiction.com

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Thank you for stopping by for this week’s Writing Process Blog Tour!

This is a travelling blog tour that pops up every Monday for writers to share a little about what, how and why they write. If you’re a writer, I hope it cheers you on on your journey — and if you’re not, hopefully it will give you some little insight into the lives of the people who create the stories you love.

Thanks so much to the wonderful Anna Tan for inviting me to participate. Anna and I met in the wilds of Twitter when it was still shiny and new. She’s incredibly supportive of the writing community and with each passing year, I admire this woman more. She dabbles in a broad spectrum of writing, including poems, scripts, novels, and flash fiction. I am always in awe of anyone who tackles flash fiction and short stories — mainly because I’ve never written a short story that didn’t want to stretch into a novel. I encourage you to drop by her blog and check out her writing process.

Now on to the questions.

What am I working on?

Right at the moment I’m working on editing some projects for mates at Gandolfo Helin Literary. It has been a great learning experience and has helped me to get to know some of my agency mates better in a short period of time. I can’t really talk about what the projects are, only that once they’re out, you’re going to love them.

In addition to the edits, I’m prepping to work on my next novel, which will be a stand-alone, upper YA, that goes darker places than my current works. The idea came to me in 2010 as I was driving to work. The sun was shining on the palm trees as I drove down the backside of Disneyland, and I was enjoying the cool of the morning, when BAM! I had this idea in my head so strongly I nearly pulled over to catch my breath. So I’ve been living with this idea for four years, mulling over aspects of it while working on other things, getting flashes of scenes here and there, and I’m beyond excited to know I will finally have a chance to test my mettle as a writer and get this one down on the page. My goal is to start drafting sometime in June.

How does my work differ from others in its genre?

I primarily write for the younger side of YA and the older side of Middle Grade, (the new book I just mentioned being an exception to this), while the bulk of YA is targeted at slightly older readers, so that is one difference. I also have a distinctive writing style, which makes it easy for readers to “see” what’s going on in the story, and helps them connect on an emotional level to the characters.

I’ll hear writers talk about their works in progress and whether they are plotters (making sure they have an outline to work from, character sketches, etc.) or pansters (start writing and see where the story takes them) they will mention something about making their character(s) do something. I can’t make my characters do anything. If we argue about it, I lose. Every. Time. You see, the characters come to me and tell me their story, and while sometimes I have to pull it out of them, I don’t “make” them do anything. My role is that of scribe. I listen to what they say, and my job is to transcribe everything and get it all cleaned up to show their story in the truest form I possibly can.

Why do I write what I do?

This question made me smile because I can recall having a conversation on Twitter where a friend pushed me to say why I write. We had been discussing reasons why certain books grabbed readers attention and I mentioned that I just wrote the stories that came to me. As the author, I’m way too close to the story and have a difficult time seeing the outward reaching value of my work. The work is so intensely personal to me, and when anything is personal, I dive inward. But when pushed on it, I went off on a rant at 140 characters at a time to say exactly why I write what I do. The stories come to me for a reason. Of that I am certain. They are meant to reach kids (and adults) and have them connect with my characters. The circumstances may not be the same, but the readers can connect to the emotions and feelings of my characters and realize they are not alone in this crazy, mixed-up world. I write for the age group I do, because they are trying to figure out who they are, who they want to be, and are faced with having to leave childhood behind and begin stepping into adulthood. It’s a time when most kids have confusion, feel unloved, like they are so incredibly different and not normal, and they so desperately want to fit in, to be one of the group. Even those who are at the center of the “group” have doubts, insecurities, and overwhelming emotions. My books are written to say – “Hey, you’re not alone.” And sometimes, that’s all they need to know. That someone else has experienced the same feelings they have … and made it through. I write because my characters need a voice. I write because I have to.

How does my writing process work?

Different. Every. Time. With each and every book my writing process has been different. Up until writing the fourth book in a series, I could say that if nothing else, I started at the beginning wrote to the end, then stopped. However, writing the fourth book, I started with scenes that are at the end of the book, as well as one scene that has been pushed into book five, and I wrote significant chunks out of order. I used to say I always write with a loose outline — which I normally do, but then hit a Middle Grade where I didn’t use one — couldn’t use one.

The characters come to me, tell me their story. I generally jot down some notes, figure out how the timeline runs, and then start writing. Even when I outline prior to starting, the outline is then tucked away, and I let the story take its course with the characters leading me the entire way. My job is to crawl inside the heads of my characters and share their experience on the page. In essence, my writing process is sitting my butt in a chair and keeping it there until I’m done. Then I put the manuscript away for a few weeks while working on other things (I always have other projects to work on.) Then I take it out, read it through and see what kind of book I have. I tend to be a bare bones drafter, getting down only the essentials, and then afterward go back and add some of the descriptive passages, giving setting, making the story more full-flavored. Then the fun begins.

Once I’m through massaging some of the passages and building up sections that need it, I run my manuscript through an editing software and create a spreadsheet to edit by. I call it the evil spreadsheet because it points out everything — evil. But because it helps me to see things I otherwise would not, I love it as well. I also highlight all known repetitive words because the highlights help me see where I need to restructure sentences. Once I get through the “technical” edits, I read the story aloud for pace and flow. (If you don’t do this, it is probably my number one suggestion to help you catch things that need fixing.) After that round, I start from the back and read it backwards paragraph by paragraph. It helps you focus on the sentence level out of context, so your familiarity with the story hinders you less. And finally, I put it on my Kindle and have the robotic voice read it to me. I’m always amazed at what I catch this way. Then the manuscript is ready to be sent to a trusted critique partner for her to slash it up for me, and then beta readers for feedback. Then after dealing with the feedback, I feel like I have accomplished the goal of writing a book.

Thanks so much for stopping by, it’s been fun. Don’t forget to stop by these two good friends of mine next week, to hear about their writing process.

Eisley Jacobs and I met on Twitter, and then I had the lovely privilege of meeting her in person at Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (RMFW) Colorado Gold Conference in Denver, and have managed to see her smiling face a few times since then – whenever we can get together. The first thing I think about when thinking about Eisley is her tremendous spirit. She has a passion and enthusiasm for projects which amazes me. She conceives of the idea and then she’s doing it. I remember her tweeting about her heart being drawn to Ethiopia, and a couple months later she was on a plane with a mission group to help the Ethiopian people. She has a tremendous heart, and in her writing you find the same passion, enthusiasm, and heart.

Monica Enderle Pierce and I met on Twitter via the #wipfire hashtag, which has sadly faded away. We used it to post lines from our current projects and critique each others work — the writing community coming together to help one another. It was truly a wonderful thing. I became captivated by Monica’s writing ability through the snippets posted during our wipfire sessions, and we since then have become very good friends. A few years ago, I took a driving vacation and hunted Monica down to spend a wonderful weekend chatting, wandering around taking in nature, and writing, of course. And have been back to see her when I was in town for the Story Chairs opening. Blessed with a sharp wit, and an incredible writing talent, Monica weaves a story to keep readers turning the pages.

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May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the crotch of the person who screws up your day and may their arms be too short to scratch…

This saying reminds me of how Monica looks at life. She is a take-no-prisoners, no-holds-barred kind of person. Her mind is sharp, intuitive, and she possesses one of the most wicked talents in writing I have ever run across and she has the wicked wit to match. I met Monica online through the #wipfire hashtag and I promptly fell in love with the writing. Watch this one because she is a rising star, which as soon as she reaches the launchpad is going to take off like a rocket. She has a way of asking a question (especially when I’m unbalanced) and all of a sudden, perspective is gained, and I am able to continue on with the writing with greater clarity. She has amazing knowledge and I want to soak up as much from her as I can.

Linda on the other hand is one of the few online friends met outside of Twitter. She and I met through an independent book review I review for. She posted her book Along Came a Demon and requested a review, and I read, reviewed, and LOVED it, and a friendship was born. Linda and I support one another through all of the trials of putting our books out in the best shape possible. We have laughed, cried, and screamed together, cajoled one another through the rough patches, celebrated in the good times, and mourned in sorrow. (By the way, in the pic, I’m the pup not paying attention to what’s going on with my tongue lolling out.) I have enjoyed watching Linda grow as a writer and was perhaps even more excited than she was when she was approached by an agent wanting to rep her Whisperings series. We are definitely in this thing called the writing game together.

So when the time came for me to plan vacation for 2010 and the original plan included a trip to Washington, I kept looking at the map and decided that Utah where Linda lives wasn’t too far out of the way, I’d make sure I stopped by to meet her in person. Then, as my friendship with Monica grew, I knew fitting her in to the vacation would be a simple thing because she lives in the town where my dad grew up, and I would be visiting relatives in the area. We had a wonderful weekend hanging out together, talking about writing, wandering around soaking in inspiration, and actually doing some writing (Monica insisted). The memories will be cherished – and I thought my cheeks might break from laughing and smiling so much. After the weekend with Monica, I drove to visit Linda and loved wandering around the town on which she has based her fictional town for her paranormal mystery series. Of course, Linda may have panicked a bit when she almost got a house guest for a longer period of time than expected when I fell on her deck and twisted my ankle. Well, twisted is probably being nice… I ripped the ligaments to shreds. But I was able to ice and had some ace bandages with me to wrap the ankle with, so I moved on as planned.

I could go on and on (but I hear their groans about the length already). Both of these women mean more to me than words can say. They enrich my life, and I don’t know how I would have survived the past year without them.

The post The People of 2010 – Part VIII appeared first on Be the Cat.

Then, after having such a wonderful day brightener, it got even better. Denise’s 12-year-old daughter (pictured to the left – isn’t she a doll?), who also read Misfit McCabe posted a comment on the family blog, which she gave me permission to post below:

The best part of this for me was not that she loved the book, which is still fabulous, but how she expressed the connection she made to the words and the surprise that a book could cause that level of emotion. I think Jewelz and I must be much alike when I was her age, in that I could not cry in front of others about anything that had to do with me. My tears were private and emotion was buried as far as I could get it. Except when reading or watching a movie, which then allowed me to vicariously let go of the emotions I had been harboring inside. One of the comments I hear frequently about Misfit McCabe is you made me cry hurled like an accusation. I am delighted to hear it because it means I have effectively done my job and struck a chord within the reader. (Sorry guys, not going to say sorry for making anyone cry.)

I was recently challenged by another Twitter friend, Monica Pearce (@MonicaEPierce) and had to tell her why I feel my books are important because she called me out when I called them simple stories. Jewelz encapsulated it perfectly in the surprise that a book could cause that level of emotion. I write stories so readers like Jewelz can connect with my characters and know that they are not the only ones who feel that way and make mistakes and it’s okay to feel the emotions. In this complicated world, the task of growing up is filled with pitfalls and uncertainty and by reading about characters who experience similar issues to their own, it helps the path to feel a little firmer under foot. Or, at least, it did for me and this is what I hope to pass on to my readers and why I write.

Thanks to Jewelz for her comments – she has truly made my day & probably my week.

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