How Do You Define "Favorite?"

Here's a question I get asked all the time online (okay, mostly Goodreads). But still!

"What's your favorite book?"

Guys. This question is practically IMPOSSIBLE for me to answer. Distilling all the thousands of books I've read over the years into one or two favorites? How in the world do I choose? How do I decide what's my favorite?

Okay, I am a little indecisive. But it's not even about that. It's about the way I categorize books.


"Favorite" is a tough categorization. Basically, if I LOVE LOVE LOVE a book, then it falls into one of three categories in my head, which handily come down to ABC.

This first category encompasses many books that I'd label as favorites...

3. Cake Books

Cake is delicious and I love to eat it. In fact, when I get cake, I usually gobble it up right away. I stuff my face. I practically INHALE it. Cake books are the same. I probably stayed up late into the night reading each one. I probably giggled, gasped, or squealed at least once while reading them, and I've probably spent some time daydreaming about them since. There's no "literary requirement" here--a cake book can be serious or fun, deep and literary or light and fluffy. But either way, I was glued to the page, starving for more, unable to stop reading. And the experience of reading was delicious.

Examples of Cake Books:

The Hunger Games, Cross My Heart, Scarlett Fever, Legend, Divergent, etc.

2. Breathtaking Books

Breathtaking Books are the kind of books that opened up my mind, challenged me, or, well...took my breath away. Breathtaking Books are often classics, or Pulitzer Prize-winners, or literary tomes filled with poetic prose. I don't ever forget Breathtaking Books...in fact, I may find myself changed by them, remembering them often, or taking bits of them into my soul or my own writing.

Are these my favorite books?

I don't know. In a way, yes, as I adored them. But I don't always want to re-read a Breathtaking Book, even if I loved it, and sometimes I don't even recommend them to other people. There's something personal about them, something raw and honest and sometimes frightening. A lot of books in the Breathtaking Book category were hard to read, too...maybe they scared me, or challenged me, or exhausted me. They are experiences I'm glad I had, but I'm not sure if I want to relive them. They definitely spring to mind when people ask for favorites, but at the same time a part of me wonders if I'm being HONEST when I call them favorites. But they certainly deserve a mention all the same. I more than liked them, and I even more than loved them. I was touched by them, changed by them, challenged by them.

The Life of Pi was a Breathtaking Book for me. So were The Poisonwood Bible, The Blind Assassin, The Lovely Bones, Looking for Alaska, The Fault in Our Stars, and The Bridge of San Luis Rey.

Of course, some books are both Breathtaking and Cake:


Teach Me, Delirium, and Pandemonium, for example. I read them furiously but also felt humbled and moved by the prose and the stories themselves in a way that will stick with me for a long time. The Fault in Our Stars was maybe a cake book, but it's hard for a book about cancer to be a cake book. But still.

But then there's a third category...

1. Amnesia Books

I call these books Amnesia Books because I love them so much and I found the experience of reading them for the first time so enjoyable that I wish I could take a pill that would give me selective amnesia so I could read them all over again and enjoy them "fresh," not knowing what will happen.

For example, anything by Megan Whalen Turner is definitely an Amnesia Book. A lot of beloved books of mine by Maria V Snyder, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, and Robin McKinley are as well.

I can't decide if Harry Potter is an Amnesia Book or not. MAYBE. Truthfully, there's so many books in the series, and the latter ones are so long and chock-full of stuff, that I easily forget half of what has happened in between readings and so I don't really need an amnesia pill. But you get the idea. :)

Of course, Cake Books are often Amnesia Books, although I've found that Breathtaking Books usually aren't. I'm usually glad I had the experience of reading a Breathtaking Book, but it's often a taxing one that I don't necessarily want to repeat. Sometimes, though... Every favorite book is different.

I am most likely to cite an Amnesia Book when someone asks for my favorite. But that isn't the whole story, because all these categories encompass my favorites, just in different ways.


Readers--do you have a particular way of categorizing your favorites, or do you simply have one category--favorites?

~Some ebook news~

THE CURSE GIRL

THE CURSE GIRL is currently on sale for just $0.99 at Amazon, and probably only will be that price for another few days. Get it while it's cheap!!! It's also being featured today on Kindle Books for a Buck, check it out!!

FROST

FROST is also being featured as indie pick of the week at The Cheap Reader.

I'm also in the middle of the first draft of THORNS. Hopefully I've have more news on that in a few weeks, maybe a cover to reveal...? :)

Shut Up and Read has just posted an interview with me, check it out! SU&R has been so sweet to me on Goodreads, inviting me to join their group and then hosting my book in their review program. It's been a joy to collaborate with them, and I enjoyed doing this interview. :-)

In other news...sorry for the radio silence lately, ya'll. I was on a bit of an emotional walkabout last week, plus I've been chipping away at the first draft of Thorns (and also working on the cover design, which is coming together NICELY). I've also been dealing with a muscle injury for the last few months, and April was kind of a "I'm in pain so I don't want to do anything, let alone write" kind of month. But thankfully physical therapy has been working and I seem to be getting better, finally.

Back to the grindstone it is. :-)

Hope everyone is having a good start to their month.

ELEMENTAL Release Day + Interview With Emily White!!

Emily White

Hi guys! Today I am featuring my friend Emily White!! She's here to talk a bit about her brand-new release, ELEMENTAL, available today for purchase!!

I first met Emily here on Blogger, and her cheerfulness and friendly spirit immediately made me feel at ease. She reviewed my first book, The Curse Girl, and she hosted me on her blog for an interview. Later, we both became members of the same critique group. And now her debut novel is here!!!

So I asked her some questions about Elemental...

*clears throat, acts professional*

Here is the "scrawled" version of Emily.

1.    Welcome, Emily! Tell us a little bit about Elemental. I’ve read the teaser description, but can you summarize the story in a few of your own words? What kind of readers will like this book?

Elemental is sci-fi (specifically, space opera) with big explosions, danger at every turn, war, a little bit of kissing, bad choices, and fairies. That's right. Fairies.

I think people who love sci-fi, or anyone who's looking for something a little different from most YA books coming out these days, will like Elemental.

2.    Sounds really unique! I love the idea of mixing fantasy and sci fi. In fact, I've been working on a "science fantasy" story myself, so this is really cool. And I love the title of the book, too! It’s very simple and yet very evocative and distinct. What was part of your thought process when choosing it?

Most of my thinking gets done in the shower (and during those times, that's when I usually put body wash in my hair instead of shampoo, but I digress! :P). This was no exception (to both points). I'd been struggling with renaming my book AND the MC. Both were just too complicated and not very memorable. Suddenly, I thought to myself, "Hey! What if everyone in the MC's family line has a name that starts with "El." (I'd already had at least one character from her family that had this). And that's when I came up with Ella. Well, it took only moments for me to then think, "Ella...is crazy...Ella mental. Elemental!!" It also worked perfectly because Ella is (obviously, since she can control an element) an elemental. So yay! There's the story, and you got to see a little deeper into my mind. It's a very scary place. ;)

3.    Tell me a little about the journey you had when writing Elemental—how long did it take you to write it? Did any of your original plans or ideas for the book drastically change in the course of drafting and revising the story?

It took about 2 years to have it all completed. It went through some MAJOR changes during those 2 years, though. I started off trying to write Adult Sci-fi in the Omniscient POV. It was going okay, but it was never more than "eh." Unfortunately, at the time I had no idea I was naturally suited to writing YA. I just didn't understand why I couldn't get the story to work.  Then I read my first YA and everything changed. I completely rewrote the story into first person and let Ella's voice really shine through.

4.    I love that. The YA style really works for me, too, so I totally understand. Now, who is your favorite character in Elemental (excluding the main character)?

That is such a tough choice! It's either Meir or Cailen. Meir is so wonderful and selfless. He makes the ultimate father figure. But Cailen IS gorgeous (hehehehe!). Actually, there's a lot more to Cailen than that. He THINKS he's being helpful and selfless, so I sympathize with him. Also, he's gorgeous. :P

5.    Your good friend Vic (and my friend, too!) designed the beautiful cover. Can you tell us a little more about that?

Oh but of course! :) Back when I was going to self-publish this baby (before SHP approached me with an offer), I realized I knew three absolutely wonderful people who could help me with the cover! The first was Kelly of Glimpses of You Photography, the second was a family member who I knew would work perfectly as Ella, and the third was Miss Victoria (my brilliant artist friend)!  Kelly very graciously offered to do the photos of my family member  and once I had a few poses I liked, I sent the pictures over to Vic to come up with my beautiful cover!

 It was a pretty long process because I change my mind a LOT. But Vic was patient and eventually I said, "Hey! What about a nebula in the background??" Well, it may sound easy after that, but it's not! This very talented Miss Victoria took my abstract thinking and put all the lovely pieces together to make a perfectly seamless cover. And, AND! She created that beautiful font. She really is a genius.

6.    What a great story. It makes the cover that much more special when it's designed by a friend! I understand you’ve been working on the sequel, Fae. How is that coming along? Is this going to be a series or trilogy?

This will be a trilogy. Yay! Right now I'm working on revisions of Fae for my editor. They are going very well, but they are taking a LOT of time to do. I'm one of those annoying authors who writes very light for the first and second draft. So right now, I'm working on filling in the details, strengthening motivations and characterization, and basically getting this baby up to standard YA novel size.

7.    What is your favorite piece of writing advice?

Kill your darlings. I always think of that Seinfeld episode when the gang goes to their friends' house to see the baby. Well, the baby ain't so pretty and Kramer does his standard falling against the wall or onto the floor when he sees the ugly little thing. But the parents just couldn't see the hideousness these four friends very obviously detected.

I think that's very often true of writers. We get attached to our WIPs and actually see them as our babies. When a group of beta readers (or an editor) says, "Eek! Hideous! I don't like this one part at all. It doesn't flow with the rest of your story," we tend to get defensive and tell ourselves they're all wrong. Well, the thing is, they're probably right. We just can't see it because we're looking at our WIPs with rose colored glasses, marveling at the simple (or way too complex) beauty of our babies.

8.    Very true. What is your least-favorite part of writing a book?

Writing the first chapter. Out of everything, I feel like this is the part that should start out perfect. It's the foundation for the whole book! But boy does it change. A lot. And that frustrates me more than anything.

9.    Yeah...first chapters are tough. There's a lot of pressure in those initial pages! 

Tell me a bit about yourself...what is one interesting fact about you that most people wouldn’t know?

Hmmm...interesting...I am an AMAZING cook. 'tis true. I don't normally toot my own horn, but I do have to say, I know how to make delicious food. And I love cooking from scratch. I've even been known to make my own butter. :)

10.    Okay, now I'm hungry! :D

Can you tell us where we can find out more about you, and where we can go to order our copies of Elemental!

You can visit me at my blog, facebook,
fanpage, goodreads, twitter, and pinterest!

AND!

You can order Elemental at Amazon and B&N.

11.    Awesome! One final question. Do you have any other books in the works besides Elemental and its sequels?

I'm always working on other things. In fact, if anyone wants to see my other projects, they should check out my pinterest account. I have a several boards dedicated to the crazy ideas brewing in my mind. :)

Thanks, Katie!!!

Writing Is Hard

It's funny to me how I sometimes flat-out forget things sometimes.

Like the fact that writing is HARD.

I am currently working on what will be my fourth published book, and there's this part of me that thinks, subconsciously perhaps, that by now I should have it all together. By now I should be able to sit down, stick my fingers on the keyboard, and produce something perfect the first time I try.

Ha!

Such a thing is never gonna happen.

But still, when it inevitably doesn't, I end up getting discouraged.

So I read two posts recently that slapped me upside the head (in a good way). I think everybody, writers or not, should read them:

Embrace That You Are Doing Something Hard (Natalie Whipple)

My Lack of Pixie Dust (Amanda Hocking)


WRITING IS HARD.

Don't get me wrong--there are high points where the words flow like music and the glowing reviews pour in and I'm busy in that way that makes me feel energetic instead of tired. And then there are times when every sentence is lifeless and the characters just glare at me, tapping their feet and waiting for better dialogue, and I want to tear my hair out and the clock on the wall ticks too loud and there's so much blank SPACE...on the page and in my head.

At times this journey is thankless, exhausting, and emotionally draining. I often wonder if I'm nuts for pursuing this dream, especially given the fact that I have a mental disorder that makes the whole independent author thing feel completely impossible sometimes. But I keep doing it, feeling like a failure the whole while because "success" is about as easy as swimming through wet cement.

HELLO. Writing is hard. Finishing a novel, even a crappy one, is an accomplishment. Heck, writing a decent essay or short story is an accomplishment.

I think I need to give myself more freedom to struggle...and more freedom to not feel bad or lesser or incompetent because I'm struggling.

And this could be applied to any area of life, not just writing. If you are struggling, remember that life is hard. Good things worth doing rarely come easily. Difficulty doesn't make you a failure. If anything, you're proving that you have the strength and bravery to keep going in the face of struggle. And that's really awesome.

...or the zombicorns will eat you. Just kidding. Kind of.

Don't give up!!

Writing Sequels: Guest Post and Giveaway with GP Ching!

Hi, everybody!

Today we welcome GP Ching, author of The Soulkeepers Series, as part of her blog tour for her newest release Return to Eden! Since Return to Eden is the third book in a series, and we talk about writing on this blog sometimes, I asked her about to chat a little about writing sequels.

Hi, Genevieve!

Thanks for hosting me today on The Southern Scrawl for today's Return to Eden blog tour stop and, Kate, for your question about writing sequels. I think many authors struggle with sequels. It sounds like a great idea. You build a world in book one and then the rest is downhill, right? Wrong! Writing book two and beyond is in many ways more difficult than book one

There are three areas I think authors struggle with the most:

1. How much backstory to include
2. Maintaining consistency
3. Where to break the story arc


Backstory

If you are an indie author and writing your series close together (publishing a new book ever 2-4 month for example) it's less important to include all of the backstory because your readers likely will remember the first books. However, even then, you will want to review plot strings or important character details that are important to the current work. Those publishing 6-12 months after the last release will want to pay particular attention to bringing the reader along who may have forgotten important information from book one.

Including a glossary at the front of the book that defines key words is a great way to start, as is working information into scenes and dialogue where characters reflect on what happened in the past as it relates to what is happening now. What writer's will want to avoid is pages and pages of flashbacks, blocks of prose, or telling that pulls the reader out of the narrative. Critique partners who have read the previous books will be valuable tools in finding the right balance.

Maintaining Consistency

Take notes and write a synopsis even if you hate them. I keep a notebook with details on character eye and hair color, traits, history, family, etc. My only caveat is that characters can and do change. In The Soulkeepers series, Malini changes significantly in book 2. I had to make sure that change followed her into book 3 and became even more pronounced because of her increased experience level.

As far as plot goes, it truly does help to sketch out the series before you start book one. However, even Rowling had some plot holes and inconsistencies sneak through into the HP books, so don't be too hard on yourself if you have to bend the rules of your world. Again, critique partners are invaluable for spotting inconsistencies that matter.

Where to break the story arc

You have it all in your head. Seven books, 60,000 words each. You know how the story goes. You know your characters. But you find yourself 80,000 words into book three. Are really writing part of book four?

Each book in your series must have a beginning, middle, and end. i.e. its own story arc. It is okay to have a cliffhanger but something about that man hanging off of that cliff must provide a satisfying ending for your readers.

A very high-level story arc of Weaving Destiny would look like this (beginning-middle-end):
Malini questions who she is and if her relationship with Jacob is fated. Malini finds her power and breaks up with Jacob when he kisses another girl because she takes it as a sign that they are not destined to be together. Malini and Jacob get back together not because of fate but because of choice.

However, Weaving Destiny has a cliffhanger. Dane is taken by Lucifer. Mara is taken by Death. While questions are left unanswered, those questions are not part of the primary story arc of Weaving Destiny. I think where authors alienate their readers is by ending a story in the middle of a primary story arc.

I hope this helps all of you contemplating your first series. Thank you for having me today and don't forget to enter to win this week!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest posts and reviews

Hi guys!

Today I have a guest post up on Tiger Holland's blog, All-Consuming Media. You can check it out here!

Frost also has a new review over on Doodle's Book Blog.

Hope you're having a great Monday. The weather is absolute perfection here in Georgia today.


~Katie~