The Writers Blog Tour: I’m Up!

Carrianne Leung, author of the Toronto Book Award nominated, The Wondrous Woo, has tapped me and Lisa de Nikolits to take part in the next stop of the ongoing Writers Blog Tour. 

I must say that I’m grateful to Carrianne for giving me this much-needed kick in the keyboard, as it’s been an unduly long time since I last updated this blog. I promise my subsequent update won’t be after quite such a long interlude. Hey, I've even half-written my next post. Honest! 

 So, without further ado, here are my four Writers Blog Tour questions and answers.

What am I working on?

I’m currently creating a young adult novel (working title - Overshadowed) that’s essentially a parody of Twilight and other popular YA fantasy books. The novel’s protagonist is a snarky 15-year-old science nerd named Veronica, whose mother just happens to be the author of an internationally popular fantasy series for teens. Veronica HATES her mother’s books, which feature helpless female characters and teenagers who transform into zombies and werewolves for daring to engage in sexual activity. Things get wacky when it appears that Veronica is falling for a pale and brooding transfer student named Theo, and Veronica begins to wonder if she is somehow recreating the story line out of one of her mother’s books. 

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Hmm, interesting question as everyone's work differs in some way. For this project, I would say that the writing is mainstream YA fiction meets feminist literary fiction meets the fantasy genre, so I guess that’s a bit different. The book aims to be funny (I hope) and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Veronica makes for a somewhat prickly protagonist rather than a straight up heroine, but she does kick butt in her own special way.

Why do I write what I do?

I’m not sure I really know the answer to this question. I write what I write about because “something” is compelling me to do so. Sometimes, this is a particularly clear and strong urge but often it is not. At times, I write what I write because the project makes me happy, and at other times, it’s because I have something I feel I MUST say. In the case of my Overshadowed project, I’m writing it because, as a feminist, I’m somewhat horrified by the popularity of the Twilight books, what with the series’ regressive politics and all. But mostly, I'm working on the book because I find it fun and it makes me laugh.

 How does my writing process work?

It depends. My “process” is all over the place, depending on what else is going on in my life or how I feel about the particular project I’m working on. I tend to write a lot of “semi-comprehensible” notes about my ongoing writing projects, but rarely work from detailed outlines. I write best in the mornings, but I also work well with actual looming deadlines, because I don’t think ever quite got over my “finish homework only at the last minute” syndrome. I do have a terrible tendency to want to polish and edit my work at too early a stage, rather than just ploughing through the early drafts. I’m trying to correct this tendency because I think it will improve my process over the long haul, but it "ain't easy" as they say. My favourite parts of the process are those “aha” times when I’m not “over-trying” and ideas and characters and plot points just seem to organically emerge from me. I just wish those eureka moments happened more often! But hey, the ebb and flow of creativity are a writer's lot in life.

Richard Scarsbrook is up next on the tour, so watch his blog for updates. Please also check out Mary Lou Dickinson's Blog Tour post. Lisa and I both tagged her on the tour, but Lisa got there first!

THE NEXT BIG THING!

I was asked by my friend and fellow scribe Richard Scarsbrook to participate in "The Next Big Thing" project. TNBT is a way for wordsmiths to promote upcoming work. Basically, a writer answers ten questions about a new work and then get other writers to do the same. It's sort a online literary chain letter, only way cooler. Or something like that ;) So without further ado, here are my Next Big Thing Q & A's:

What is your working title of your book?


Women’s Hours

Where did the idea come from for the book?


I was going through some of my various short stories and realized that many were about women and their various relationships, so I thought I should write more pieces that fit into that general theme and voila... a short story collection!

What genre does your book fall under?

Literary short fiction


Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?


Since it’s a collection of short stories, I would imagine that any film would be made up of four or five vignettes. For one of the 20-something break-up vignettes, I’d choose Lena Dunham to play the female protagonist.

And I'd choose Robert Pattinson to play the jerky boyfriend who deserves to be dumped.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Women's Hours is a short story collection, which explores the various relationships of female protagonists.


Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Don’t know yet. I need to finish it first!


How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?


Well, as I’m still writing it, the answer is complicated. Several of the stories were written as stand-alones over five years ago. I only started to think of them as a collection a few months ago. I’m guessing it will take me about year to write the additional stories. Or maybe less, if a book contract suddenly appears on the horizon.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I’m lightyears away from Alice Munro’s stratosphere of talent and skill. However, if I were to put on my marketing and puffery hat, the work could be considered in the vein of a youthful urban-oriented Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage.


Who or what inspired you to write this book?


I’m also working on a young adult novel, which is a long, long, long way from being finished. When I was writing my first novel, Fortune Cookie, I wrote short stories when I wasn’t getting anymore on the book. I thought that working on a short collection at the same time would help me feel less frustrated with my slowish progress on the new YA book.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Most of the stories are very short, so they can be read on transit, on a coffee breaks or in the bathroom. Several of them are funny. Or at least, I think so.

And now check out The Next Big Things of these wonderful writers.

Danila Botha

Sonia Di Placido

Kristyn Dunnion

Kathryn Mockler

Carolina Smart