Imposter Syndrome, Anyone?

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A Post By Jonathan

While I was on Facebook yesterday, avoiding writing this blog post for lack of a decent topic, a decent topic popped up right there in my news feed. I guess procrastination isn't always a bad thing!

Someone posted an article about Imposter Syndrome and, never having heard of it before, I clicked. Moments later, I found a name for a truth I have been living for much of my adult life:

Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon or fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a concept describing individuals who are marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a "fraud". The term was coined in 1978 by clinical psychologists Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes. Despite external evidence of their competence, those exhibiting the syndrome remain convinced that they are frauds and do not deserve the success they have achieved. Proof of success is dismissed as luck, timing, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent and competent than they believe themselves to be. Wikipedia

I can find countless examples of when I've felt this way, especially when it comes to my writing. I've won and placed highly in a couple of writing contests, but no matter the successes I've had I always seem to make excuses for it. The contest was too small or the prize wasn't a money prize so it wasn't as competitive/legitimate or it was just dumb luck. I always thought it was low self-esteem, but Imposter Syndrome seems to be more than that.

It's when there is an actual example of success that is outright dismissed by the individual who has achieved said success. It's an inability to recognize your own accomplishments. So you do achieve, but you refuse to accept the results as anything but a deception, a ruse. And sometime, very, very soon, you will be found out and the gig will be up.

I know why I feel this way. I was a horrible student in high school. More jock than academic. I didn't read my first real book until I was 18 years old. Most authors I hear about have been reading and writing stories since they were kids. But somewhere along the way, despite all my best efforts, I learned to write. Or maybe it's just a natural thing, I don't know.

Hopefully, soon I'll be able to feel like I'm not fooling everyone and just get on with my writing. Thoughts and feelings like this --the psychology of the craft-- tend to hold me back so often. and I know I'm not alone. Apparently 70% of people feel like frauds at some point in their lives.

I leave you with a related story by Neil Gaiman and a little bit of inspiration:

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So do you feel like a fraud too? If so, leave your comments below!

Do you NaNo?

Another quality post brought to you by Steve!

Hey all!  Hope you're recovering well from Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the weekend.  Today is Cyber Monday, the semi-secret holiday when everyone tries to slip by their boss that they're getting all of their online shopping done at work.

I was not at work today Cyber Mondaying.  That's because this weekend I was at Chessiecon, a delightful little sci-fi convention in the Baltimore, MD area that has become something of a holiday tradition for me and fellow Boarder Mary Fan.  I got to judge the Turkey Awards, as I have every year since Chessiecon's inception.  It's a delightful little writing-related tradition when aspiring (and not-so-aspiring) authors do their best to write their very worst first paragraph, "Eye of Argon"- style.

So what's with all this tradition talk?  Well, I can hardly believe that we've made it this far into November with scarcely a mention from our fine bloggers about NaNoWriMo, the biggest annual writer's tradition of them all.

For those who don't know, NaNoWriMo (or NaNo for even shorter) is short for National Novel Writing Month, and it takes place every November.  I presume it's because November has a solid 30 days rather than 31, and is pretty well packed with holidays between Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving, which many people take a few days off work for.  And in those 30 scant days participants attempt to bang out 50,000 words, the number which is often used as the bare-bones bottom-end definition of a novel.  So many people will complete a full novel this month.  Many more will fail.  And there's no shame in failing, or, for that matter, not trying.  I'd say the only real shame, as in anything in life, is in berating those who do participate, but perhaps that's a subject for another blogpost.  In short, my feeling is if you enjoy or get something out of NaNo, then bully for you, and if you don't, well, also bully for you but don't feel obligated to degrade those who do.

Now I've participated in NaNo (and won!) every year since 2009.  Of my novels, BRAINEATER JONES, THE GHOUL ARCHIPELAGO, BILLY AND THE CLONEASAURUS, HUNTER OF THE DEAD, and SLASHVIVOR! were all NaNo babies, at least in part.  So you see I get a lot of writing done during this event each year.  (And for the newbies out there: not a one of those was "finished" on December 1 - I spent solid years in some cases editing each.)

This year I was up to some real hijinks.  I'm working on a haunted house collaboration with Wile E. Young that will hopefully blow all of your socks off when it comes out, and my own piece about secret police in a near-future semi-dystopian America.  So how did things go for me this year?  Well, let's take a look:

These are my stats as of today, the 27th, so they're a bit off.  I wrote about 2500 words a day up until the 17th.  The 17th I absolutely crapped out and wrote about 400 words.  Then I didn't improve much on the 18th, only adding 1400 words or so.  The 20th was similarly crummy.  Then I got my groove back and completed 50,000 words on the 22nd.

So, of the 22 days I wrote I averaged 2280 words per day.  I can't say this is usual - I often have more ups and downs.  This is one of the least wacky NaNos I've ever done, having in the past made up for writing a hundred words one day by writing 5000 the next.  Slow and steady wins the race, though, I suppose.  This is pretty much exactly what I'd like my NaNo chart to look like each year (barring the three fall-down-on-my-face days, but everybody has those now and then, I suppose.)  Ideally, I'd always like to be done by Chessiecon so it doesn't hang over my head that weekend.

The greatest thing about NaNo is, (for me, at least) that it's over.  I can go back to writing on my own schedule, and not leaving my girlfriend an effective novel widow.  But there are still four solid writing days left for NaNo participants.  So I'd like to know: how are you looking this year?  Did you participate?  Will you finish on time?  

What are your thoughts on the process?  Do you enjoy it?  Hate it but do it anyway to be one of the cool kids?  What do your stats look like?  What have been your wackiest stats over the years?  Let me know in the comments below!

Grateful Harvest

By Cheryl Oreglia

It's hard to imagine the first Thanksgiving was a harvest celebration held by the pilgrims of Plymouth colony in the 17th century. Clearly Americans like to eat and perpetuating foodie traditions is especially popular. As you know the early pilgrims had a lot to celebrate, 53 out of 102 survived the Mayflower crossing, only to encounter raw land in need of cultivating, disease, extreme weather, and the Native Americans. It was a tenuous beginning at best. I'm sure they were flabbergasted when members of the Wampanoag tribe generously supplied them with food for the cold winter. A kind and neighborly gesture that sort of backfired a century later.

The first harvest celebration went on for several days. Can you imagine? Ninety members of the Wampanoag tribe showed up with five dead deer in need of roasting. This is diversity at its best. Edward Winslow wrote about the celebration in his diary. 

“Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the company almost a week, at which time amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.” 

Eventually the United States established a date for these yearly harvest celebrations, which of course made travel a nightmare, but at least you know why the grocery stores are inundated with turkeys, cranberries, and sweet potatoes. In accordance with tradition, families and friends gather to enjoy an array of foods, express gratitude, and watch football while gorging on pumpkin pie. The traditional meal was choreographed in the 60's when an article appeared in Better Homes and Gardens describing the perfect, "Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner: Hot Tomato Starter, Roast Turkey, Herb Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce, Orange-glazed Sweet Potatoes, buttered Green Beans, Apple-Pinapple Slaw, Hot Biscuits, Butter, Pumpkin Pie, Hot Coffee." They outed the deer and corn for a more appealing meat and seasonal vegetable. Who knew?

Mail isn't delivered, schools are on holiday, and most businesses are closed, except for Walmart of course. This is my experience of Thanksgiving, but I wanted to explore some of the more unusual expressions of this holiday, and this is what I found. 

1. How about a traditional food fight at the end of the meal? Started by a crazy aunt, slightly inebriated, but becomes a cherished family tradition. I have to admit this one worries me.
2. I learned about a crafty host who provides a white tablecloth for guests to leave painted handprints, made to look like turkeys, dated, and signed. They add new hands to the cloth each year. Now there's a way to occupy the guests while the turkey cooks.
3. A few people I know host an open table Thanksgiving, this is where you might land if you are estranged from family, or far away from home. It is a generous and kind practice for those who would otherwise spend Thanksgiving alone. Open hearts, open doors. I am ever so thankful for the tables that are open to my children that are not with me this year.
4. The turkey dance is one of the more unusual traditions I came across. This requires the cook to dance with the turkey prior to being stuffed? I will assume this requires soft music, romantic lighting, and good wine. Bon Appetit!  
5. The Twitter family asks everyone to send out a gratitude tweet right before grace and then all phones all go into a turkey shaped cookie jar until the end of the evening. Tweet, tweet, gobble, gobble.
6. Instead of pie this family plays hide and seek after dinner with their cars. Teams are constructed, boundaries decided, the "it" car gives a fifteen minute grace period for teams to hide, and then drives around until all the cars are found. Makes you wonder what you would say to the police officer who discovers five people sitting in a dark car, on Thanksgiving, behind a bush in a neighbors yard?
7. Friends-giving is a popular tradition for many who gather in celebration of friendship. These events are often celebrated at an earlier date leaving the holiday open for family events. My daughter hosts a friends-giving up at the lake every year, and other than an Instagram of the table setting, I know nothing about the intricacies of this event. Beer and ping pong balls might be involved? 
8. I read about a grandma who bakes "thankful rolls" with pillsbury dough. The family writes down what they are thankful for on tiny slips of paper as they arrive and these notes are actually baked into the rolls, like a fortune cookie, only with butter. What would you write?
9. The Turkey Trotter is a stuffed turkey that travels with family members that are away for Thanksgiving. They are required to take regular updates of their travels with pictures of these turkeys positioned in funny locations. I just sent turkeys to Australia and Utah (most likely they'll arrive late, remember it's the thought that counts, but I expect pictorial updates nonetheless). 
10. One family has a Twister competition after dinner with several mats and rounds going at the same time. Right hand, blue circle, left hand, yellow circle. This could be an interesting intergenerational activity if no one gets seriously hurt. 
11. Instead of sitting around after dinner you could go on a scavenger hunt searching for specific scenes; like pumpkins on the doorstep, piles of leaves, people walking pets, live turkey's milling around, someone jogging (really), or early Christmas decorations. See what team returns with the most finds substantiated with photos of course. I admit, this one's a keeper.
12. The famous butter shapers, comes from an odd family skill, passed down through the generations of sculpting the butter into turkeys. The kids then fight over who gets to cut off the heads. A little violent but aesthetically pleasing I suppose.
13. Then of course there is the family weigh-in prior to gorging on the traditional meal, it's actually a competition to see who can gain the most. Why? 
14. And my personal favorite. After the dinner is consumed the ladies leave and go shopping at Walmart for comfy PJ's and silly socks while the men clean up the kitchen. Oh I can not express how much I love this tradition. 

Wishing you all a wonderful and gracious Thanksgiving! Sharing a table with those you love is a sacred act. This year listen to the music of the table, the voices, the laughter, the clink of the spoon against the gravy bowl, the scraping of chairs on the hardwood, the litany of silverware dinging the plates, the movement, the grace of being elbow to elbow, worshiping the flavors of life. "For this and all we are about to receive, make us truly grateful..."  

Drink and be thankful to the host! What seems insignificant when you have it, is important when you need it. Franz Grillparzer

Notes - The term cold-turkey means suddenly, without preparation. Talk turkey means to speak without preparation. A turkey shoot is a fight or contest where one side is so much stronger that the weaker side has no chance of winning. Bird for thought...

What are some of your favorite traditions? 

I'm Living in the Gap, drop in anytime.

Rumpus Room Cigarette Break - The July 1974 issue of "Woman's Day"

     A few weeks ago I flew up to Philly/Jersey to meet my new nephew Chester (first time aunt you guys!).  As is the custom when our family gets together up in the northeast, we all went to my grandma's house for some Chinese takeout (not that she doesn't cook!).  I went down to rummage around in the basement and found this vintage gem on top of a bunch of Golden Book Encyclopedias of American History from 1963, pre-Kennedy assassination because there's a little foreword from him in each book.  Perhaps I shall explore those another time.  Today, though, grab your smokes, pop a Miltown or a Quaalude, and let's get domestically groovy.  Mostly through ads.

"No woman wants the world to see her at LESS THAN HER BEST - even for the BRIEFEST MOMENT!"  Poor Moira here.  Between the gas shortage and all that Nixon ugliness earlier in the year, not to mention the fact that Harvey keeps working longer and longer hours and Moira could SWEAR she smelled Love's Baby Soft on his jacket last week, Moira's got a lot to give her a migraine.  But mustn't let the pain show!  Mustn't let the world see anything but the shiniest female facade at all times!  

This mother of the bride chose Quaaludes, as did my own parents at their seventies nuptials.

Weird, apparently Woman's Day used to have a direct line to Yahweh.  Couldn't see this flying in a secular mag today, not with the "Twenty New Ways to Make Him Orgasm Using Only Hand Signals!" and such being the typical headlines.

BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO FIX YOUR FACE DON'T FORGET THAT!  Actually, this promotion sounds sort of like a subtle, secret way to signal your lesbianism in a day and age when coming out of the closet wasn't an option for most.  Invite your intended paramour over, leave out the tool box with the "You Don't Need A Man To Fix It Book" leaning on it, and tip her a wink as you light her Virginia Slim, because you've come a long way, baby, but you could both come a little more if you know what I'm sayin'.

Well, IS there?

I use the term "douche nozzle" as an insult all the time, but "douche powder" seems to have a classier, more refined feel.  And Massengill Douche Powder is triple-refined, now available in floral.

You know how pop culture phenomena have so many ripoffs and spinoffs that get lost in time?  This was the only puppet-based Manson Family murder cult ripoff, and now that Charlie is dead, let the world rediscover the wonders of the Mann Clan and Company!  Also, look how sweet the 409 packaging used to be, in ozone-decimating aerosol!

If you see this man, you need to put the cap back on the bleach and ventilate the area immediately.

Every women's magazine before 1980 had to include at least one recipe for a Jello mold.  It was the law.

Guess who's got more kidney?  I hope it wasn't the Jello mold.  They had meat ones too, ya know.  Sounds like kidney was the trendy pet food ingredient of the time, like lamb and rice in the 90s.

Barbara here is definitely taking Linda here back to her place after this to check out her new Virginia Slims toolbox, which may contain other unexpected pleasures.

You say "good candy," I say grandma candy.  Fun fact - most of the candies purchased with these coupons are still in your grandma's candy dish to this day!

"Gimme a baby prince valiant" said no woman ever, I hope.  Soft and feathery maybe, but who wants to look like an infantilized version of the least read comic in the history of comics?

This one - this one is an emotional journey.  This took me through the mountains and the valleys.  Read the whole thing.

Smoke menthols and you'll be a wholesome un-aging German sex vampire, just like Heidi Klum!

High fashion couture of the day.  The hat trick is good for pulling over your face when you realize you're wearing a massive bath robe in public.

The question mark necklace stands for why am I wearing the afghan off my aunt's couch as a skirt?

Omg what is this what is this what even is this?  Ten year old bombshell?  "Ma, He's Making Eyes At Me" is her big hit?!  Oh Jesus, I just looked this girl up and it's as bad as you'd think: she became anorexic at 13 when puberty made her stop fitting into her costumes, got depressed, got destitute and into some bad marriages, got shock treatments, then died at 35 after having "pioneering psychosurgical operation" and getting pneumonia as a complication.  Christ.

Knick knacks will cheer you up!  Just vacuum clean the sad off your face!  From the age before drunken Amazon purchases, a woman had to hand-address an envelope to a PO Box number and write a check to buy a weird crappy overpriced ceramic poodle after hitting the cooking sherry a little too hard.

Ohhh, I get it, cuz the hair will be mysteriously gone like the aviatrix herself.

Okay for real though this is Kim Basinger on the back cover.  Hairstyling contest for high school seniors is how she got her big break?  If only I'd entered that Herbal Essence Top Scrunchie Look contest back in my high school days, I too could have had a child by Alec Baldwin by now!

How essential is your writing life?

I'm taking a class this month, WRITE BETTER FASTER, taught by Becca Syme on www.margielawson.com. So far, it focuses on the psychology of what keeps you from meeting your writing goals and helps to identify your distractions and the key ways to keep them from derailing you. It's a month-long class and this is only week 2, but yesterday's exercise really resonated with me and I have a feeling it's going to be an a-ha moment for you, too.

Becca has asked us this week to keep a notebook, detailing how we spend our time. She's broken it up into:
1) Essentials; 2) Priorities; 3) Desires; 4) Nonessentials. Basically, Essentials are things we have to do -- like day job, feed the dog, wash the dishes. Priorities are things we don't have to do, but probably should -- vacuuming up the dog hair, talking to our spouse/kid/mother, etc. Desires are things we love and want to do, like social obligations, coffee with friends. And Nonessentials are things we may or may not want to do, and the world won't end if we don't do them. Like Facebook and watching Netflix.

So, revelation. On day 1 of doing this. Aside from getting The Boy out the door to school (which is Essential), my entire morning today was taken up with Priority items -- running, dog walking, showering, vacuuming up dog hair. By the time I sat down to write, which I consider Essential, as it's my JOB, it was 11:45. I *could* argue that dog walking is essential -- and running, too, for that matter because it makes a massive difference to my mental and physical health -- but is it really? If I were reporting to work in an office, would 11:45 be an acceptable time to show up? Um, probably not.

So why is it acceptable when I'm working for myself, making my own hours? Add to that an inadvertent software update (Essential, but I didn't mean to click to start it when I did) and going to see The Boy play football/soccer for his school team (Priority. They won in a sudden death penalty shoot out. It was crazy intense.), my hours spent on my actual job today are about...3. And that's generous.

Again, would this be acceptable if I were working for someone else in an office? Definitely not. Would it be acceptable if I were the boss and my employee was only giving me 3 good hours/day? I'm lenient, but not that lenient. Part of my motivation for writing full-time is flexibility, but managing my time well within that flexibility needs some serious work.

I'm going to continue to track my time for the next week, at least, to see if I can identify a pattern. I suspect it won't be that different from what I've noted today, which means I need to work on making those writing hours count or making more writing hours in the day. Or maybe even both?

How would your day look if you were to break it down the same way? And where does your writing fall on the scale from Essential to Nonessential in your daily life? Writing it all down is an interesting exercise, especially if you struggle with productivity, because the reason becomes glaringly clear. And proves that the struggle, although real, is sometimes mostly with ourselves.

INTERVIEW: Karissa Laurel (author of the Stormbourne Chronicles)

Hi everyone! Mary here, and I today, I’m interviewing Karissa Laurel. She’s the author of the 

A post by Mary Fan

Stormbourne Chronicles, a YA steampunk fantasy trilogy about Evelyn “Evie” Stormbourne, a princess with powers over thunder who’s forced to go on the run after dark forces take over her kingdom. The first book, Heir of Thunder, was released last fall from Evolved Publishing. The sequel, Quest of Thunder, is releasing on December 4. I’ve read both (I got an advance copy of Quest of Thunder), and they’re fantastic! Adventures across a fantasyland inspired by 19th century Europe, magic powers and steampunk wonders… all narrated by an amazing protagonist who grows from damsel-in-distress to kickass heroine over the course of the books.

Karissa, welcome to Across the Board! What inspired you to write the Stormbourne Chronicles?

Hi Mary. Thanks for having me. So, the Stormbourne Chronicles were inspired by a song. When Coldplay's “Viva la Vida” came out years ago, I loved it right away. It gave me instant ideas about a character who once had a kingdom, but lost it. I asked myself: Who is this character and what could have happened to make her loose her kingdom? And what is she doing about it, now? Those questions eventually evolved into Heir of Thunder.

Evie is a fantastic protagonist who gets to develop significantly over the course of her journey. What inspired her character?

It was almost always my intent, from the start, to write a coming-of-age story. The goal was to create a young woman who has the capacity to be strong and independent, but she would have to grow and change a lot to get there. I think the teenage years are all about leaving behind childish things and discovering the kind of person you want to be as an adult, and that's one of the main themes throughout the trilogy and in Evie's character development.

The Stormbourne Chronicles takes the reader on a vast international journey along with Evie. How did you tackle the world-building?

Sort of like the multiverse theory, I've always imagined Evie's world is one that started out the same as ours, but somewhere along the way, reality branched off into a new dimension--one allowing for Magic. So, her world has many similarities to ours, including languages, technology, and geographical locations. I debated whether to make up languages or use ones that existed in our world. Ultimately, I decided that, at the point where Evie's world would have branched off from ours, that many of the same languages already existed. Over time, place names might have evolved as they often do in the real world (Is it St. Petersburg or Leningrad? Is it Istanbul or Constantinople?) or they'd be different based on where you come from (Is it Deutschland or Germany? Japan or Nippon?) So, what would the map of a one-off world evolve into? Something different, yes, but not that much different.

Let’s talk about boys. What can you tell us about Evie’s love interest, Gideon? How does he contrast the other boy in her life, Jackie? Were either inspired by the guys in your life?

Gideon and Jackie were not inspired by any guys in my real life, although, when I look back on my
dating history, it appears I tended to lean toward guys who embodied a pretty standard idea of masculinity. They've been soldiers or blue-collar workers and outdoors-men who like hunting and fishing and such. Maybe that was because my dad was a "man's man": A Vietnam vet, a police officer, and a backpacker who retired into the mountains of Virginia to get closer to nature. Gideon is definitely that kind of guy. But he's also a bit secretive and mysterious and he hates personal questions. Jackie, on the other hand, is a bit more cultured. He's got money, and he's careful about the way he dresses. His manners are elegant and refined. He's charming and chatty. He's almost too charming, if you know what I mean. Gideon needed a foil, and Jackie is his opposite in many ways. But to be clear, this story does not have a love triangle. It doesn't take Evie long to figure out which guy has her best interests at heart.

Steampunk is an interesting category, in that it’s more of an aesthetic than a true genre. You can have steampunk fantasies, steampunk sci-fi, steampunk mystery… What does steampunk mean to you, and how did you tackle incorporating it into the Stormbourne Chronicles?

To me, steampunk is what happens when magic and technology combine. Evie's world is just starting to explore those possibilities, so in the first book, the steampunk element is more like seasoning rather than the meat in the story--it hovers in the periphery with elements like the Fantazike's airships. However, that element increases throughout the series and becomes more prominent by the end of the trilogy. For example, book 2 includes some alchemy (magic combined with chemistry), which I tend to think goes hand-in-hand with steampunk, and there's also a mechanical circus. Why did I choose to include the steampunk? Mainly because I think the steampunk aesthetic just looks really, really cool. I also wanted to do something other than "medieval" which tends to be the standard default in epic fantasy stories.

What was it like narrating the story from the point of view of a teenager?

I often have a hard time remembering how old I am, and maybe I still have some teen living inside me. I also have a teen in my household, too, so I have a lot of reference points to work with. One thing that helped was that Evie is young, but not contemporary so I could put aside worrying about things like current fashion or fads and focus on things that are universal with teens (and with all people), such as friendship, love, a need for independence, and discovering one's passions and purpose in life.

You’re also the author of the Norse Chronicles, an urban fantasy trilogy. How is it different writing young adult versus grown-up fiction?

To be fair, the main character in the Norse Chronicles, Solina, is barely an adult herself. She's still on that path of self-discovery that most YA characters are travelling. She's lived a sheltered, naive life similar to Evie's. The biggest difference is that Evie is usually surrounded by other young people while Solina has to try to hold her own among a group of ancient demi-gods. In truth, the more I try to find differences between Evie and Solina, the more I realize they're a lot alike.

What’s your writing process like? Does it differ depending on which project you’re working on?

You and I have teased each other lots of times about our panting versus outlining differences. I tend to be a pantser. I don't like knowing too much before going into a story because I like the wonder of discovering the plots and characters as I work. However, I think this tends to make me a slower writer because often I hit walls where I have to stop and figure out what happens next. Yet, I still prefer to work that way. Too much fore-planning means risking that I'll lose interest in a project. I also write a lot of short stories and the process isn't much different for that. Generally, I start a story with a big idea-- a "What if?" question. I also like to have idea about what the main conflict will be, who the main character is, and I'll probably try to figure out the ending, but I don't try to hard to plot much more than that before I begin.

What’s it like working with Evolved Publishing?

My first book series (the Norse Chronicles) was published by a full-service small press, which means I gave them the book and they did the rest. Evolved Publishing is a slightly different model in that the publisher requires a little more involvement, investment, and input from it's authors. We work more as a collective than a standard full-service press. Even thought he business model differs, it's a professional publisher with a really strong support team. I've been able to grow and learn from other EP authors who've been doing this a lot longer than me and are great about sharing experience and advice.

What was your favorite scene to write in the Stormbourne Chronicles? What was the most challenging part?

I wrote the first Stormbourne book a long time ago, relatively speaking, before I wrote my adult urban fantasy series. I think it was easier then because I didn't know what I was doing. I just charged ahead, not worrying about rules or style or marketability. The second book, Quest of Thunder, I wrote last year, and it was much harder because I was a lot more self aware as a writer. I think it's a better book because of it, but I was more critical and careful, writing with less free-wheeling abandon, if that makes any sense. As far as a favorite scene goes,I knew book 2 was going to have a circus with some mechanical animals. I thought they would be background, world-building wallpaper, mostly. Then my cover artist came up with the cover design that prominently featured a big, mechanical lion, and I knew it would have to become a more integral character. So, I don't necessarily have a favorite scene, but anytime Sher-sah (the mechanical lion) shows up in the book, you know I was having fun writing him. He's my favorite part of Quest of Thunder.

Anything else you’d like to tell us, either about yourself or about the Stormbourne Chronicles?

I'm working on Book 3 right now, called Crown of Thunder. It's scheduled to come out next year some time, probably late in 2018. That book will conclude the series and hopefully see Evie living happily ever after because, to be honest, those are the kinds of stories I like to write. Will she be queen or won't she: that will be the question answered in Book 3.

ABOUT KARISSA LAUREL

Karissa lives in North Carolina with her kid, her husband, the occasional in-law, and a very hairy husky. Some of her favorite things are coffee, chocolate, and super heroes. She can quote Princess Bride verbatim. She loves to read and has a sweet tooth for fantasy, sci-fi, and anything in between. Sometimes her husband convinces her to put down the books and take the motorcycles out for a spin. When it snows, you'll find her on the slopes.

Find her online: http://www.karissalaurel.com/

ABOUT HEIR OF THUNDER (THE STORMBOURNE CHRONICLES, #1)


The Lord of Thunder has passed, leaving daughter Evelyn Stormbourne to overcome her kingdom’s greatest enemies, but first she must embrace her dominion over the sky.

The Lord of Thunder’s sudden death leaves his daughter, Evelyn Stormbourne, unprepared to rule Inselgrau in his place. Weeks before Evie’s ascension to the throne, revolutionaries attack and destroy her home. She conceals her identity and escapes under the protection of her father’s young horse master, Gideon Faust. Together they flee Inselgrau and set sail for the Continent, but they’re separated when a brutal storm washes Evie overboard.

In her efforts to reunite with her protector and reach allies on the Continent, Evie befriends a band of nomads who roam the world in airships fueled by lightning. She also confronts a cabal of dark Magicians plotting to use her powers to create a new divine being, and she clashes with an ancient family who insists her birthright belongs to them.

If she’s to prevail and defeat her enemies, Evie must claim her heritage, embrace her dominion over the sky, and define what it means to be Heir of Thunder.
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ABOUT QUEST OF THUNDER (THE STORMBOURNE CHRONICLES, #2)



Evie must restore her divine abilities, or be enslaved by her enemy’s dark Magic.

Evelyn Stormbourne has overcome revolutionaries, pirates, devious relatives, and powerful Magicians to claim her birthright as Lady of Thunder, but before she can embrace her dominion over the skies, her powers falter, leaving her impotent and adrift. Under the protection of her stalwart companion, Gideon Faust, Evie hides in anonymity and searches for news of the Fantazikes who had once promised to help her master her divine abilities.

Without her capacity to control the storms, Evie wonders how she’ll ever reclaim her throne—a legacy she’s not convinced she deserves. But when a fearsome nemesis from her past reemerges, she embarks on desperate quest to find the Fantazikes and restore her powers. If she fails, her enemy’s dark Magic will enslave her, forcing her to destroy everything and everyone she loves.
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What's Your Writing Intensity Level?

A Post By Jonathan

I know it's NaNoWriMo and a lot of writing motivation has been flung around the internet lately, but I wanted to add a little more with a video I found on YouTube recently. It definitely gave me a shot in the arm, and helped me write for the first time in a while. Especially the "running after your destiny" part. I challenge you not to write a sentence or two after that, or get out of your desk chair and run a mile or two...

But after I was done writing, and thought about it for a little while, I wondered if something this intense would be needed for every writer out there, or is it just for those of us with low self esteem and bad writing habits...

I guess depending on where you are in your writing journey determines the intensity with which you approach the craft. I've been out of practice for a while, so it seems to take an act of God to get me to sit down and write a hundred words. But when I was pre-kid, pre-move, pre-new-job and writing on a weekly basis, I was banging out 1,000 words a night Monday through Thursday, then taking the weekends off unless I found some spare time. At that point in time, I don't remember feeling like I needed to go all Rocky Balboa on my writing sessions to get them started/finished. It was habit, so I didn't need a mountain of motivation. Now it seems like the longer I'm away from writing, the further my destiny is running away from me.

So now my writing intensity level is at an 11 on a one to ten scale (or a zero when I'm not writing at all...). But I imagine a lot of seasoned writers out there like to keep the intensity level around a 5 to 7. You don't want to turn it down too low because you're probably not getting much done, but you also don't want to be too high and start hanging on every sentence as make or break. And maybe you NaNoites out there are somewhere between 8 and 10? Gotta get those words in!

I'm hoping to bring the word count up and the intensity level down at some point, but it comes and goes I guess. So what is your writing intensity level set at lately, dear reader? Would love to hear from you in the comments.

Google Search: Which town has?....

I swear I spend the majority of my life Googling how old celebrities are just so I can either feel really good about myself or wallow in abject misery that I am biologically old enough to be Shawn Mendes's mother. So, yeah. Depends on the day. Anyway, I thought it would be funsies (I should never use that word again) to ask this question:

 

Being a Jersey girl myself, I am curious about that first question. The reason I no longer live in the Garden State is because the taxes are so freaking high. Apparently, according to this article on NJ.com, the answer to this question is: Camden. Camden is one of the poorest, and most violent, cities in the country. And requires a thoughtful examination about poverty and institutional racism that I am not qualified to address. 

Next up, the smallest population: According to Roadside America, the answer is Buford, Wyoming. Population: 1.

I'm skipping a few of these and moving onto 'temple of the tooth' because I have no idea what the hell that is. Apparently, it's a Buddhist Temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Thanks, Wikipedia.

Which town has the area code 01392? Why that's Exeter and its surrounding areas in the United Kingdom. How charming. I love the UK. And its surrounding areas.

Keeping with the Great in Great Britain, which town has the most pubs? Why I'm quoting this delightful response from Rob Lines of Streatham on this Guardian website:  

"Two hundred years ago Gosport, the victualling town for Portsmouth ships of the line, was also the drinking and whoring base for visiting sailors. It boasted 123 pubs in one square mile."

And lastly, which town has the most Greggs? This raises two questions -- is Gregg a surname or a consonant-y first name? Nope, wait. I'm being a dumbass American. Greggs is a some kind of British Panera. Well, alright then. Apparently, the answer is Newcastle (which I say in a Mrs. Bennet Pride and Prejudice voice).

Well, this blog post certainly turned into a woman about the globe type thing, didn't it? I think my next book will be titled, 'Whoring Base for Visiting Sailors.' Really catchy.

Back Jacket Hack-Job #23 - The 5th Wave

And we’re back for another installment of our Back Jacket Hack-Job! Today I bring you . . .

THE 5TH WAVE by Rick Yancey

Aliens invade the earth with a five-wave plan. Humanity realizes its best chance of survival lies in the hands of children. Why? Because the aliens made one fatal mistake when they took away the thing that mattered most to children across the world.

Wave 1 destroyed technology. Fear ensues.

Wave 2 took out most of the coastal populations. With no access to technology, the Midwest survivors are left with nothing but the sight of endless cornfields. Fear turns to irritation.

Wave 3 killed a large part of the survivors with a strange virus. Kids learned that real zombies weren’t as cool as what they saw on TV. Irritation turned to anger.

Wave 4 separated the kids from the adults. They were reminded of how the Others took away their homes. Their families. Their PHONES. Anger turned to hatred.

Wave 5 is a mystery. But one thing is clear—it’s do or die time, mother-f*ckers.