The Write Perspective

If you'd told me when I started on this Road to Publication that it would take me five years to sign with an agent, that I would lose that agent and have to start all over again, that I would write six novels before getting a contract ... I wonder if I would have begun.

But, since hindsight is 20/20, I'm here to offer a bit of perspective.

Am I ever glad for those six-and-a-half years of practice! I needed every 2,372nd day of them. I needed to learn to revise. I needed to write and rewrite and rip apart and start all over again with six books several times each. I needed to feel that ultimate pain of complete rejection when I split with my first agent so that I could understand exactly what I wanted. I needed to find validation that came separately from anyone else's opinion of me. I needed all of this to feel confident* at this point in the journey.

So, don't feel bad if you haven't hit that golden target yet. Your day is coming.



And you'll be prepared.

*okay, maybe not completely confident, but confidentER :)

Photo credit: earl53 from morguefile.com

In Which I Finally Make a Decision

Thank you for all the feedback regarding my author pictures (in this post)!

My internet conveniently went out directly after I posted the pictures and it took our provider five freakin' days to get someone out to our house to fix it. So, I'm sorry I didn't respond to everyone's comments, but I'm very thankful for the input. It's a really hard decision because Julie did such a great job, but I think, for RED BUTTERFLY, at least, I'm going to go with picture #4, in the Chinese top, because that's what I really envisioned for this book. I think my overall fave is #1, so that will go up as my avatar shortly and if there's ever a need to choose another author picture (and I'm not too much older and grayer at that point) I'll use that one....

Thanks again for taking the time to give me feedback! I was blown away by the number of responses here on my blog and on facebook. Since I couldn't get on internet at home, whenever I had a chance to log on for a minute I was bowled over with LOVE (which was AMAZING).

Thanks again to Julie for her artistic eye, her friendship, AND, most importantly, her airbrushing and eyelash-adding skills.

As a post script -- my eye is still not healed. Unfortunately I may need surgery to get it back to normal, but I'm giving it a few more weeks to see if it will behave itself. Just one of those many ups-and-downs of life, I suppose!

((Hugs)) to all!

Help! Picture Alert!

My good friend Julie DeGuia (whom I first met randomly at Barnes & Noble and then again even more randomly at a SCBWI conference in Seattle) offered to take my author photo. Since I had already seen some of Julie's work and knew how amazingly talented she was, of course I answered, "YES!"

Julie probably didn't realize how much work taking my picture would turn out to be. A few days before our photo shoot date, I developed a sty in my eye that got infected and then turned into a CYST. (You may all barf at the disgustingness of this now. Go ahead, get it out of the way.)

I put on lots of makeup in an attempt to cover it up, but it was still pretty bad.

Julie, however, was undaunted and made me look PERFECTLY NORMAL in the pictures. I think she even painted in extra eyelashes. She's amazing, I tell you.

So, here are a few of the shots. Will you help me choose which to use in my upcoming MG novel, RED BUTTERFLY? I'm having a hard time picking a favorite.

#1

 #2

 #3

 #4

 & #5

 Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks again, Julie!!

Guest Post: Mining the Miraculous

Today I'm delighted to have my beautiful-hearted friend, Wendy Paine Miller, visiting my blog. Her novella, THE DISAPPEARING KEY, comes out next month. I've loved Wendy since I first stumbled across her blog several years ago. Wendy asks hard questions, thinks deeply, and always has something amazing to share from her personal journey. Congratulations, Wendy, on the release of your book!

How would you define the word miracle? What shape would you give it? How would you explain the meaning of miracle while speaking to someone who knew very little about our culture?

I’m asking because I explore the phenomenon of miracles in my debut novella, THE DISAPPEARING KEY.

I wasn’t sure that was exactly what would come out of this work. Often writing a novel (or novella in this case) is like opening a well-wrapped Christmas gift. As I peel off layer upon layer I begin to understand what it is I’m holding.

And at the core of THE DISAPPEARING KEY I’m beginning to see how there’s an undeniable mining of the miraculous.

Apparently, I’m curious about miracles. That’s what my writing does—it points me to those things that deeply intrigue me.

I broach numerous miracle-related questions in my novella. Things like can we create our own miracles? Can something that is once deemed a miracle diminish—lose its marvel? And how does the way we understand miracles influence whether we’re able to identify them as such? 

One of the main characters, fourteen-year-old, Oriana Bivane confesses toward the end of the novella:

“Because isn’t that what makes a miracle a miracle? The lack of explanation.” 

Have you ever experienced a miracle in your life? Back to my earlier question, how would explain what a miracle is to someone?

Here are a few more miracle-related quotes that caught my attention:

“Miracles are like meatballs, because nobody can exactly agree on what they are made of, where they come from, or how often they should appear.” ~ Lemony Snicket, The Carnivorous  Carnival

 

“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” ~ C.S. Lewis
 

“Slowly, very slowly, he sat up, and as he did so he felt more alive, and more aware of his own living body than ever before. Why had he never appreciated what a miracle he was, brain and nerve and bounding heart? It would all be gone...or at least, he would be gone from it. His breath came slow and deep, and his mouth and throat were completely dry, but so were his eyes.” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Time Flies When You're ... Busy?

IT CANNOT BE THE END OF AUGUST ALREADY!

We're wrapping up summer around here. My two biggest kids head back to school tomorrow.

Guys, I'll admit, I'm terrified of this school year. My oldest daughter is heading to MIDDLE SCHOOL, for one thing. For another, I'm home schooling one of my kids (never home schooled before) so she can keep up her rigorous gymnastics practice schedule. My second-youngest is off to preschool. And my littlest will be in daycare a couple hours a day.

So many changes! And logistics!

I hope I still have hair by the end of the semester.

There's been some highlights of this month, though, that I haven't posted about yet. 

Signing my contract!

Editorial letter arrived!

Made dinner! ... oh wait, that's not a highlight.

Anything to celebrate or stress about? We can party/have group therapy in the comments!

Janet's EPIC Visit

First of all, I have to say a huge thank you to all of you for all your congratulations when I announced my book deal. You all are WAY too nice to me!!! XOXOXOXO

And now, let the embarrassment begin....

Some of you may remember that Janet "The Bomb" Johnston was going to visit me a few weeks ago on her way to the Oregon Coast. Well, she did. She was actually HERE! I got to meet her cute kids (and her parents and her sister) and we had a great big SLEEPOVER (well, sort of, though not with her parents and her sister ... they went elsewhere). 

Of course, we had to make a video of the two of us together because of the Hacky Sack Club. And of course it had to be a ridiculous video or it would not be worthy of the Hacky Sack name. 

So, here we are. And this pretty much sums up our awesome visit, I think: 

Janet, I love you and I miss you and I hope you make another drive to Oregon Coast from Kansas City NEXT WEEK so you can stop by again. Or you could just move in with us permanently. Even better! I promise to always have Ben & Jerry's in the freezer for you.

Guys, this is why blogging is awesome. Because if I hadn't blogged I wouldn't have met Janet. And if I hadn't met Janet then the Hacky Sack Club would never have happened, and Janet would have driven to the Oregon Coast and straight past Prosser without thinking twice.

HUZZAH FOR BLOGGY FRIENDS!

My HUGE Announcement: S&S Bought My Book!

I’ve been such a sporadic blogger lately, for lots of reasons: a little gymnast who needs daily transportation; a new book idea (a middle grade!) that popped out of nowhere and has taken over my writing life; friends and family visiting from far away; a zany summer schedule with all my crew at home. But one of the main reasons for my radio silence is that I’ve been keeping a big, distracting secret that makes it almost impossible to focus.

And now I can finally tell you about it!

Guys, I have a book deal for my middle grade verse novel, RED BUTTERFLY, with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 

!!!

My sweet little protagonist, Kara, is going to be in a real book! She will have a pretty cover and she will be edited and people will walk into a book store and hopefully pick her up and look at her and maybe choose to read her … this is mind boggling!

Here’s the official announcement:

Christian Trimmer at Simon & Schuster has bought world English rights to Red Butterfly by debut author A.L. Sonnichsen. The middle-grade novel in verse tells of a Chinese girl raised in solitude by her American mother, who must navigate China's strict adoption system when she is torn away from the only family she has ever known. Publication is set for winter 2015; Kate Schafer Testerman of kt literary was the agent.

I have so much to be thankful for. SO MUCH. The funny thing is, I’ve had many of these blessings all along this journey—a God who planted in me this desire to write and who has given me the strength to pursue this dream; a family who loves and supports me; friends who have been my cheerleaders, critique partners, beta readers and information specialists (I’m afraid if I’m more specific, this will become more of an Oscar acceptance speech than a blog post). Also, I’m hugely grateful to Kate Testerman, my amazing agent, whose faith in this book renewed my hope. And to Christian Trimmer, my new editor (eek!), whom I adore already.

As many of you know, the journey to this point hasn’t been a skip through the park. But I’m very, very thankful I had the encouragement from others to help me persevere. THANK YOU ALL!!

Bloggy Friends: Up Close and Personal

I've been a hopeless blogger this summer. Sorry! Between gymnastics and summer activities, I'm having a hard time keeping up.

But I did want to stop in to tell you something so fun: I get to see Janet Johnson tomorrow!

She's stopping by my house and staying with us on her way to the Oregon Coast with her family. I even get to meet her kids.

And when Janet and I get together, you better believe there's going to be some hacky sack action going on, since we're co-founders of the Hacky Sack Club. Stay tuned for the craziness!!

I'm so excited. I've met a few of my bloggy friends in person, but most of you I only know online.

Have you ever met any of your bloggy friends or critique partners in person? Was it a good experience? 

FitG Update: The Giver

I'd seen THE GIVER by Lois Lowry on so many favorite-book lists over the years, and what with it being a Newbery Medal winner, I couldn't resist adding it to my Fill-in-the-Gaps list (which I have neglected for much too long, by the way).

I can see why THE GIVER received such accolades. What a fascinating concept and world! And it was a page-turner, too. I was so curious to find out what would happen to Jonas (who was precious!).

I think what makes this book so sticky (in a good way, in that it STICKS in your head) is that the world was so haunting and brilliantly (and patiently) unraveled. As a writer, I received a good lesson in what it looks like to show-don't-tell.

Have you read THE GIVER?

Next up in my Fill-in-the-Gaps reading challenge:

I'm only on the second chapter, but the voice in this book is freakin' amazing. I'm enjoying it so much! 

What are you reading?

Summer Schedule

My parents are visiting this week from Hong Kong AND I received very helpful feedback from my critique partner, Melodie, on my work-in-progress YA novel, so I haven't had time to write short stories lately. I still have a few people's inspirational words left, so my goal is to write about one story a week until I catch up.

Just wanted to explain the delay.

If you're in the northern hemisphere, enjoy your summer. We've had some hot, beautiful weather over here!

Two of my kiddos enjoying time at the park with my mom.

I've also been spending lots of time with my seven year old at the gym -- she's third from the left.

Happy summer! How have you been keeping busy?

Short Story 9: Perfume

Sheri could still smell Grandmere’s eau de cologne from when they’d embraced. It lingered all day, bringing back the jagged memory of the old woman’s crannied face bending close to whisper, “Murder.”

Grandmere had lived half her life isolato, handing her husband a pink slip the day she turned forty that read: I’m leaving you and the children, finding my own way.

She’d lived for years now on her own desert island, which was really only in Palm Springs, but might as well have been off the coast of Iran for as much as anyone came close to her.

If Sheri had believed in karma, she would have relished this moment: Grandmere’s brain addled from her solitude, from the brabble of her vindictive imaginings.

But Sheri couldn’t bring herself to feel anything but cold.

She viewed the day in disjointed memories, as if detached from it.

There was the casket with Grandpa Jack inside.

(They’d buried him with his hunting rifle and the dead rabbit he’d shot the morning of the heart attack.)

There was also Grandmere’s dyed-pink hair in a floaty poof.

There was the embrace, the halitosis and perfume intermingling.

And there was the dread that locked around her throat, the dread she had carried from childhood but had never named.

Oh yes, it was all there.

And there, of course, was the word Grandmere had murmured.

“Murder.”

Her pink hair bobbing like she knew. She knew.

Sheri stepped into the shower, scalding hot against paper-thin skin, to wash all the smells away.

Thank you to Sheri (a.k.a. S.A. Larsen) for her inspirational words: karma, brabble and isolato. If you're wondering why I'm writing shorts, click here.