“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 …
Y’all, Christmas came early to my inbox. (No. This is not a how-I-got-my-agent story. No. I have no news about a book deal.) This morning I had mail from the lovely and talented illustrator, Alisa Coburn. My logotype was finished! And I love it! Illustrators are amazing people, amazing storytellers, and masters of details. I …