Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, my blogger friends! Anyone dressing up today? Going to a party?

Friendly Friday

So last Friday, I talked about dinosaurs and how I wanted to be a palentologist. (And now I have several awesome plot bunnies about dinosaurs and a really cool shifter story). I thought I would share in this post what I actually worked as before I quit working to be a full time mom and writer.

Credit for picture

I went to college with my original major as law and society. I wanted to be a lawyer - a prosecutor. But that didn't last long. I ended up switching my major before the first day of classes when I learned that they were starting a new track with the sciences to add a forensic track alongside chemistry or biology. So I became a chemistry major. Ended up with a BS in chemistry with a concentration in forensic science and a minor in biology.

Credit for picture

For the most part, I didn't mind my science courses, but I loved my cj courses and my psych courses. I was one course short of a psych minor. My absolute favorite course was called Crime Lab. Best course evah. I also took Forensics and Criminal Investigation, Forensic Psychology, and Dangerous Minds: The Psychology of Antisocial Behavior.

Credit for picture

I followed this course of studies because I wanted to work in a crime lab and be a crime scene investigator. But once I graduated and started looking for a job, there weren't any avilable.

I was devasted.

Well, that's not exactly treue. There were some openings. In California.

I live in Pennsylvania. And was engaged at this point in time so there was no way I was moving across the country.

So I ended up taking the first job I was offered - as an organic analyst in an environmental laboratory. Not what I had in mind but it paid the bills.

So you might be wondering why I write fantasy with my background. For one thing, I love to create whole new worlds. And I love magic. And mystical creatures.

But I would love to write mysteries someday, to use my forensic background and incoproate it into stories. But to write mysteries, you have to be a plotter. I'm a pantser. So that is going to take a lot of time and effort on my part to write a mystery. So it probably won't be for years until I try that.

But I also love all of the psych courses I took in college and plan to use them in stories too. I have an idea for several mind thrillers, stories about people and the mental cages that they build for themselves. It's gonna be interesting to write those stories, very interesting.

So if you have any questions about science or forensics or psychology when writing your stories, feel free to ask me. I might know the answer, I might not, but I'm more than willing to help a fellow author out.

Gearing Up for Nano

It's almost November. I can't wait for Nano. In a way it's sad that I'm waiting until November 1st to get back to serious writing but I am always so inspired by Nano that November is always my most productive month by far.

Between Nano and PiBo, I am going to be really busy next month. As a result, I probably won't be visiting as many blogs as I normally do. I apologize in advance for that. I also will not promise long blog posts, although I will try to continue to blog every M-F. We'll see how that goes though, so I make no promises about that either.

I also want to make a writer's pledge. Starting November 1st, I am going to make writing and my writing career a higher priority in my life. I want to be an author, to have my books for sale at Barnes and Noble. I know I can make my dream a reality. It's about time that I do everything in my power to make it actually happen. So I am not going to make excuses. I'm not going to waste time playing fb games. I will work on furthering my career. That is my goal, my aim, my mission. Writing has been such a large part of my life, it's about time that I take the next step.

I will write/edit/polish Champion of Valor and finish it before the end of the year.

I will rewrite Alexia's Pen and start querying before the end of the year.

I will send out queries for Hidden in Shadows.

I will find an agent.

And I will get published with an NYC publisher.

Anyone else want to make a writer's pledge?

Contest Today on the QueryTracker Blog

Agent Joan Paquette from the Erin Murphy Literary Agency will judge the QT contest that opens today, Wednesday October 27th at 9:00am Eastern time and ends 24 hours later at 9:00am Eastern time on Thursday, October 28th. 

EMLA represents children's literature only, so no adult projects in this contest, please.

Ms. Paquette wants to see a one-line pitch and the FIRST 100 words (plus or minus 1/2 sentence--don't just cut it off mid sentence) of completed children's picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, or young adult novels.

Because Ms. Paquette does not accept unsolicited queries, this is a great way to get your work in front of her.

Is anyone going to enter? I am! I'm going to enter my PB story. It's the first time I'm sending this story out into the big scary world of submissions. *bites nails*

Author Interview with Lisa Rusczyk

Lisa was one of the winners from my 100 followers contest and here is her interview as her prize.

So, Lisa, could you please share with us your latest news.

My book, Chasing the Dark, has been released by Passionate Writer Publishing.

That's wonderful! When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I got a job at Demand Studios writing articles for eHow and earned my first paycheck from writing.

Ah, Demand Studios. I write for them too. Sadly I make more money from them than my fiction writing, which is my first true love. Hopefully that'll change soon. Anyhow, what inspired you to write Chasing the Dark?

I saw an ambulance pass one day and wondered if there were people who followed them to see the gore.

Oh, now that's interesting. Love the concept. Do you have a specific writing style?

I change it up for each book I write. It depends on the genre and story.

How did you come up with the title, Chasing the Dark? I love the title!

It had another name originally, but my editor said we should rename it. She gave some suggestions and I took the one I liked best.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Not really. I just hope people enjoy it.

That's all any writer can want. What books have most influenced your life most?

Watership Down, John Steinbeck books, Stephen King books, Pillars of the Earth... I could go on and on.

Spoken like a true reader! lol I'm the same way. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

My brother.

Aw, that's so sweet. What book are you reading now?

A Bitch Named Karma. A fellow blogger wrote it and I am reading it to review on Raven and the Writing Desk, a blog I do with a couple of other writers, Cherie Reich and Aubrie Dionne.

Oh, I love Steph! She's awesome. (Steph Haefner is the author of A Bitch Named Karma) Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

There are a ton of new writers I'm being exposed to through my job. They are all really good and I love reading new things.

So many good books to read, so little time.... What are your current projects?

I have three that I'm working on right now. One is middle grade, about cats. The second is a scifi. The third is a thriller.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Motivation. I have a hard time sitting down to do it. Once I spend some time with writing, I get into the groove, but getting started is always hard.

Mine is finding the time, but motivation is up there too. Sometimes I just feel like there is so many other things I could do and writing gets shove aside. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

That's too tough to nail down. The authors I like the most make everything exciting, even when I'm not reading the book.

What a great answer. What was the hardest part of writing your book?

The first draft was really rough. It took a long time to fix my errors and make the book more cohesive. I wrote it in six days and that first draft showed it.

You wrote a book in 6 days?! Wow, that's incredible! Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Check out Hazard Cat, the blog I edit for cat fiction, poetry and art. 

Does it normally only take you a week to write a book?

This one took a week, but usually it takes a year or more. The Blue Pen took five years.

Oh, ok. At first I thought you were a crazy superspeedy writer. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I try to write 2000 words in every sitting, so usually 2000 words a day when I'm at it.

That's not shabby at all! What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I usually read everything I've written on a story before starting each time I write, unless I'm pretty far into it. Then I will read about 20 pages back to the starting point for the day.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Lisa, and wishing you many sales!