Potent Potables

Several things contributed to my not getting as much reading done in February as I might have liked, but here is a short round-up of the books I did get to read:

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting--While I think the concept of a girl who can see a strange aura around those people (and animals) who have been murdered, as well as a matching imprint on the killer, is a great idea in concept, I'm not sure it was executed particularly well. I did like the MC Violet (after I decided to try to ignore all the mooning over her male bf), and I loved that she was strong and willful, and had such great friends and family. But the way the third person POV was written kept me from really connecting with her. The dialogue also didn't feel very teenagery (yeah, I think I made that word up). Final thought: the last word in the book is "perfect," which should just never be allowed.

Fallen by Lauren Kate--Another great concept (fallen angels), but the author added a nice twist by putting the MC, Luce, in a reform school, which makes for a fun cast of secondary characters. This was also written in third person POV, but it was so much better executed than in TBF, mostly because Luce's voice was very believable, so I got a good sense of her feelings and motivations. I honestly was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, and I think it's because I've been disappointed with a lot of YA paranormal romance lately. Only complaint: there are very few answers in this book. So I'm looking forward to the next one in this series (due out in the fall).

Gone by Lisa McMann--The third (and final) book in the Wake trilogy, I'd been looking forward to this one. I definitely wasn't disappointed, but Fade is by far my favorite of the three. Gone is a much quieter book, if that makes sense. Less action, more internal musing, but still a good ending to the series. I'll miss Janie and Cabe, for sure.

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville-- I owe a big thanks to my pal Ellen for getting me to pick this book up because it's so much fun. Very Neil Gaiman-esque, but even smarter, if you can believe it. The best part about it is the hilarious cast of wacky characters, including: a discarded milk carton pet named Curdle, garbage cans (or "bins") that are ninjas/security guards called Binjas, creatures that come to life at the uttering of a word called Utterlings...I could go on, but you should discover the amazing wordplay for yourself.

Up next: Meridian by Amber Kizer.

Aprilynne Pike, author of the adorable book WINGS, posted yesterday about ideas--and how very few are actually all that original.

This ties nicely into the post I wrote recently about the book that comes out soon that sounded so very similar to my WIP, Scar Tissue. Luckily, that book turned out to be quite different, but I think Pike makes some very good points. So do read her post.

And I'm going to repost the video that Aprilynne did because it's kind of awesome:



But, also, check out this one, which makes me laugh every time:

Admission of the day: I'm a total LOST geek (I wish I had a better name for that. LOSTophile? LOSTaholic?). Anyway, I got sucked in early on and stayed hooked through various schedule changes, sneaky tricks of time travel, Nikki and Paolo (ugh), and general confusion over what the heck was happening most of the time.

But one of my favorite parts about the show (aside from Michael Emerson, who's just amazing) isn't even the show itself. It's the community of people who come together once a week to pore over the tiniest minutia of each episode because it's something they feel passionate about and because it makes them think. Not to mention, with all the literary references, it gets people reading! And how can you not love a show that does that?

In his column two weeks ago, Doc Jensen of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "[Lost is] about how fantasy redeems reality. Like last week's literary reference Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Lost is telling us a story about the redemptive value of storytelling itself. Haroun asks, What's the use of stories that aren't even true? Lost answers, They teach us how to make the real world a better place."

And that, friends, is why I write. Because in telling a story--no matter how ludicrous (I mean, we're talking smoke monsters and electromagnetic fields and a whole flotilla of weird crap)--one gets the opportunity to both create a mess and fix it. Even without a happy ending, telling a good story is about exploring the qualities of human nature, both redemptive and repulsive. And the writers of LOST are amazing at telling both of those types of stories.

But a good story, for me, has always been made better by sharing it with others. And this is why LOST is such a fantastic outlet for me. Because it keeps me thinking and interacting with others to share our theories. And, with six seasons, it's lasted longer than even the thickest book ever written (unless, of course, you're a very slow reader).

So, any other LOST fans out there? Wanna share theories?

Today over at Laurel's Leaves, it's the Whoops! Blog Fest! Now's your chance to share favorite clumsy, awkward, embarrassing moments suffered by a character in a WIP, or post links to laughable gaffes from film, YouTube or Fail Blog.

Here's a scene from a failed WIP that will probably never see the light of day again. To set it up, rumors are starting to spread about 16-year-old Maggie ever since she dared to stand up to the Queen Bee, Colleen.

***

As I made my way to first period, I spotted Caleb several steps ahead of me on the staircase and paused to put a few more people between us. I didn’t know how to act around him after the previous night and I knew I’d start stammering and blushing if I tried to talk to him.

But my plan backfired. As he rounded the staircase to head up to the third floor, we were suddenly facing each other, one story apart. His eyes lit up when he saw me and he did a one-eighty, eliciting yelps of disapproval from the people behind him.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said to them, pushing his way toward the corner where he could wait for me. I smiled despite my terrible mood.

“Hey, partner in crime,” I said, a horrifying blush rising hot in my cheeks as people glanced at us and snickered.

“You two-timing snake!” He said, shaking his finger at me with a laugh. I could tell he was trying to show people that he didn’t believe what Colleen had said, so neither should they. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be doing anything but eliciting more whispers.

I shook my head apologetically. “I’m so sorry you got dragged into this.”

“It’s not your fault.” He shrugged one shoulder casually, but his eyes were searching my face intently. “Are you ok? Is anyone being rude to you?”

“They haven’t really had time yet, you know?”

“Well, if they do, just let me know.”

“What are you going to do? Pull your Vulcan death grip on everyone at St. Mary’s? It doesn’t seem to have stopped Mitch.” I regretted saying it before the words even left my mouth. He glanced away with a hurt look on his face. “Shit. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I really do appreciate your help last night,” I said, inwardly cursing my big fat mouth.

He shrugged again, but his eyes were focused on something over my shoulder. He suddenly smiled widely. “I guess if there’s nothing we can do about it, we might as well give people something real to talk about, right?”

I was in the middle of pursing my lips to say, “What do you mean?” when he leaned toward me and wrapped his long, thin arm around my waist, pulling me against his side.

“Colleen’s right behind you,” Caleb whispered and I realized he was trying to make it seem as if he and I were a couple and, therefore, a team.

Suddenly, it was as if a flip was switched inside of me and, without even thinking about what I was doing, I planted my lips on his. I felt him tense with surprise at first, his arm slipping from around my waist for a second before he tightened his grip and breathed in deeply, pushing his mouth harder against mine.

If the other people streaming by us on the staircase said or did anything, I’ll never know, because in that moment, Caleb was the only thing I felt, heard, smelled, and thought about. It was as if all my aggression toward Colleen was being channeled into this kiss. I pressed myself against him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, entangling my fingers in the curls at the back of his neck.

And then a hand gripped the back of my shirt and yanked me away from the warmth of Caleb’s lips. The expression on his face was one of equal parts shock and ecstasy and I laughed at him before turning around to see who had interrupted us. The stern face of Sister Mary Louise stared back at me.

I suddenly remembered where I was. “Oh, Sister, I’m so sorry,” I stammered, looking around at the crowd of people who were all staring at my bright red face.

“There is no excuse for that kind of behavior, Miss Castle. And it will not be permitted!” Sister pointed her crooked, arthritic finger at me and Caleb. “You both have detention after school today. Now, get to class!”

I gave Caleb one last fleeting look before following Sister down the hall to my Calculus classroom. He waved and then disappeared into the crowd of onlookers who’d slowly started to disperse. Colleen Flannery stood to one side of the hallway; she and the Twits laughed loudly as I walked past.

***

Now go read everyone else's scenes!

Obvious admission: I've been a slacker about blogging here lately, but I'm not completely letting things slide! Check out my guest post on publicity today over at the QT blog!

And, just in case you were curious, I'm up to 43,000 words in my WIP. Woot! My goal is to finish this book by mid-March. I feel like if I put that in writing it might actually happen. :)

This totally makes me want to run out and recover all my books:




























I found this at this fabulously entertaining blog: http://reflectionof.me/

Do stop by to check it out if you've got, like, hours to kill. You'll be sucked in, so don't say I didn't warn you.

So two weeks ago I started a new novel that I was/am super excited about. I've got 22,000 words written so far and plan to keep on truckin'.

BUT, today I read about a book that is eerily similar in theme to mine. Not so much in the specifics, but in a few major plot points there's a definite deja-vu feeling. Um, so now what?

Luckily, I have a dear friend who works for the publisher and has promised to send me an ARC today so I can read it and be sure that I'm not recreating the same story that's coming out in a few months. But damn. What a bummer. Here I was thinking I'm all original and stuff. Sigh.

Mind you, I'm feeling a little touchy these days because the book I'm querying is about fairies and, no matter how original my take on the subject is, there are still a crap load of fairy stories out there. And so I'm getting a lot of "This is great, but not fresh enough."

So what's your feeling on originality? How much research do you do into other books that might be similar before you start writing? Do you even worry about whether the story you're working so hard to write has already been told or do you just forge ahead?