To start I want to talk about my book that's already out there, Happenstance. This book came out of nowhere and very often I think of it like a lovechild - unexpected, but still something I adore very much. It tells the story of Lawrence Habberdash. He lives in Spokepsie. It was once a small town but grew into a metropolis when the Oot Fruit industry became popular. The Oot Fruits were discovered by Lawrence's great-great-great grandfather and had stayed in the family business until Lawrence's father accidentally signed it away to a business group called the Big Wigs, headed by one Percival C. Undermire.
Lawrence started out as a simple doodle. I kept it around because I thought it was cute. In November of 2010, I found out about the fascinating program called National Novel Writing Month. (www.nanowrimo.org) I was currently working on Zone-E (We'll talk about this later) but wanted to start my 50,000 word goal with something fresh. That was when I looked over at that doodle and thought, "I'll write it about Lawrence!" One month later I had a novel. I published it with an amazing self-publishing company called CreateSpace (www.createspace.com) and have enjoyed selling some copies and sharing my words with family and friends. It's not that I don't care about making money selling books, but the most important thing to me is that the words get read, even if just by a few people. I have to say, just holding that book in my hands felt pretty awesome too.
Another awesome thing, was realizing that Happenstance had potential for a sequel. Once I get Zone-E in print, that will be my next job! (Once I start working on marketing my books better of course ;D) I already have the first few chapters done and some new characters mapped out. I'm quite excited.
Now I'm going to take the chance to explain my next book, a huge change from Happenstance. If Happenstance is my love-child, then Zone-E is the baby that I always planned on and wanted (Not that I didn't want Happenstance). The idea for Zone-E came years before Happenstance. It was just an idea - a group of characters looking for a treasure in an icy tundra in a dystopian world. I never had enough of a plot to really write it though, so I left it on the back-burner. Then, about a year before Happenstance, I was on a site, doing a writing contest just for fun. The prompt was to write a short story where characters used their own kind of slang, set anywhere we wanted. I found that old idea, and suddenly my main character, Lyza, came to life. When I finished writing the short story, I realized it had such potential. The story became the Prologue and the first chapter. They both have changed a bit by now but the idea remains.
I had come to a stand still by the time Happenstance came around. I was halfway through and had no idea where it was going. A year later, it still wasn't coming about. Another NaNoWriMo had come and gone (This time without a book coming from it) and I was feeling rather sad. Then in the Spring I moved down with my grandparents to get some new scenery and experiences in. Slowly, some words came. Then I took an amazing class, and extension class at a local community college. It was taught by Bobbie Christensen. It was all about a book she had written called Writing, Publishing and Marketing Your 1st Book (or 7th) - If you're a writer, I highly suggest reading it! www.booksamerica.com. It gave me a whole new perspective. I did as she suggested, mapping out the book scene by scene. Once I knew the end, things were suddenly easier. Before I knew it, Zone-E was done. It was a huge relief. Sure, I haven't followed the editing portion of her method exactly (since I'm still editing it and all) but its still so much farther than it would have been! I am proud to say that I'll be published for the second time this Fall. Also, I am planning on entering this one in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest that happens in January. Its a great way to get publicity and I look forward to having Zone-E ready for it! Now that that's all said and done, I sign off on my first post here!
More links before you go:
Follow Happenstance on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HappenstanceBook
Follow Zone-E on Facebook: www.facebook.com/enterzonee
Oh, and here's a look at the cover that I will be using for Zone-E, designed by my amazing friend, Erica Robinson!
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