I don’t know if there is anything more difficult than standing in front of a group of strangers and talking about yourself. “Go on. Introduce yourself. You go first.” No, thank you. But saying as much and sitting down would be extremely awkward for all. Usually not an option. How am I’m supposed to condense …
“Are you a bird person?” “What?” “Are you a bird person?” My fellow AP calculus student asked me eons ago. “What’s a bird person?” I asked. I was homeschooled for a good chunk of my MG years and (finally) by my senior year of high school, was aware that I’d missed a valuable part of …
It is rose season in my little desert town. Tonight I got out for a walk at sunset. And like Beauty’s papa from the fairy tale, I was sorely tempted to steal roses. This rose especially.
It smelled so good. Nothing like an heirloom rose. I could take it and say it was an accident. I was just reaching up to smell it, and I accidentally snapped it off. I don’t know my own strength. I am so sorry. I promise to give it a wonderful home on my table. It will be very happy in my prettiest bud vase.
I almost took it with me.
But bad things happen in fairy tales when roses are taken without asking. So I didn’t take it. I breathed in deep. I took a picture. I walked on and thought about a favorite story from a new (botanical) angle.
Walking never fails to inspire me. I love clearing my head with a quiet stroll. Also love how plots untangle and scenes build themselves into place when I go for a walk. What do you do to push past a block or get the words going?
Last March I went to London and Paris for the first time ever. When I landed in Heathrow, I was actually reading my auntie’s feedback on my first novel. Yes, that was me shuffling through customs, trying to make sense of her critique and not burst into tears. Jet-lag is a beast, y’all. So is …
Hi there! So glad you stopped by. I’m Amelia. I wrote SMOKE, STEEL, & IVY. It’s a steampunk, fairy tale, myth, YA, fantasy, romance, and I am swimming through the deep waters of revision as we speak… Or, erm, read. I hope I get to share my revision in time for #AMM. Cheering me on …
Last night I was thinking about golden apples. You see, I’ve finished my first draft of my steampunk fairy tale. And it might be eight drafts later before I can query, or it might be two. Hard to know. But I was reflecting on how this collection of roughly 70,000 words took shape. It is …
I’ve got a title. I’ve got 60,000 words on my rough draft. And I’ve got an aesthetic. I couldn’t be more excited! I’ve got more words and so. much. editing. ahead of me. BUT. This is happening. I’m writing my second book, y’all.
Do you want to know a secret? I started with the hardest part first. That’s right. The synopsis is already done.
Smoke, Steel, & Ivy by ME!!! Coming to literary agents’ inboxes everywhere in 2018.
I found my images on Pinterest. You can check out all my steampunk fairy tale pins here.
I know for a fact that writers love gifts. And while some gifts (representation, publishing, abundant 5 star reviews) are beyond my abilities, a resource center of well tested goodies for writerly improvement is not. Last month, I asked some of my writing friends to recommend writing resources for the aspiring/querying writer. They had some …
Y’all, I just went out to my little vegetable patch and discovered a colony of grey aphids on my broccoli. What?! No! I googled my way to a recipe of 1 quart water, 1 tsp dishwasher soap, and a pinch of cayenne pepper (which I didn’t have so I used chili powder) to organically free …
Hi, friends! Happy Holidays! I hope you have been enjoying the tantrums sights and tears sounds of the season. To get into the holiday spirit, we went to the Holiday Sing-Along at the Walt Disney Concert Hall last weekend. We thought it would be just right for the little music patrons in our family, and it proved to …