Been stuck here with the flu (I think--but isn't that the purpose of a flu shot?) so sorry for the delay, but here we go . . .
I've been tagged by Wade White to answer the following questions for the Liebster Award/blog hop.
1. Is the book you landed an agent with the first book you ever wrote?
Alas, it is not. It is not even the first completed book I wrote. When I began seriously writing a YA a few years ago, I would read "How I found my agent" posts and see that, most of the time, the successful writer reported the book that landed the agent was not the first book. I'd scoff at those people. Scoff! Because of course MY first book would be different. It'd be awesome, and I'd get an agent once it was done. Uh, not so much. I think it does take one under the belt to understand not only the writing, pacing, etc. process, but also the query process.
2. Favourite type of pie (you must answer this even if you don’t like pie)?
Easy. My sister makes a triple berry pie for my birthday and for Thanksgiving -- raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. Yum!
3. Was there any aspect of querying agents that turned out differently than what you anticipated? If so, what is it?
I don't think so, but I joined Query Tracker early on, so I could see what other people were doing, what worked, what to do/not do, etc.
4. Name one book or author that has had a significant impact on your own writing and why.
Stephen King. I loved his books when I was in high school, especially the short story books--Night Shift was a particular favorite. His On Writing is one of the best books on writing there is. I also loved Crichton and the way he brought science into mainstream fiction. His nonfiction book, Travels, is one of my favorites, and I will still go back and read it, along with stories in Night Shift.
5. Where do you do most of your writing?
My basement. And I know that sounds creepy, but I remodeled my basement, and it's comfy without distractions.
6. The genre(s) you tend to read the most versus the genre(s) you tend to read the least.
Hmm. I do read a lot of YA and MG, simply because that is what I write, and it helps with developing voice. Those are more contemporary or fantasy. In the adult realm, I'm all over the map, from King to Patterson to George Martin, Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, Crichton, and one of my recently discovered favorites is Chris Kusneski. I've also read Patrick O'Brian, whose more literary. Oh, and John Sandford's Prey books! Really all over the map in adult, except women's fiction.
7. Best piece of general advice you’ve received from a critique partner?
Try and make chapter endings have a hook. I try to do this, but he emphasized it.
8. Do you prefer to read the book first or see the movie first? And with or without popcorn?
Read the book, and then complain the movie didn't hold up! Doesn't everybody? Not a big popcorn eater, so I'll sit and sip my Diet Coke.
9. What is your favourite part of the writing process (first draft, editing, revising, submitting, etc.)?
I LOVE editing. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. To me, the best part is getting a good first draft done, so I can print it on crisp white paper, take it to McDonald's, where I again am sipping a Diet Coke, and read it through with a red pen, making edits, revisions, etc. This obsession spills over into my job as a lawyer too, where I am always volunteering to read other people's motions/briefs, and edit them.
10. The one bit of advice you wished you had discovered before you started querying.
I don't think there's any advice I wished I had discovered. I think I pretty much exhausted the query process before I started. Now, there's parts I should have listened to more, like making sure word count makes sense with genre, etc., but I don't hink anything caught me off guard.
AND, there we go. Now, I hereby tag Samantha Joyce with the following questions:
1. When did you first decide you wanted to write a book, and how long after that did you start your first real attempt?
2. Is there a particular book or author that made you want to write a book?
3. Did you pattern any of your characters after people you know? Use any names of people you know as characters in your book?
4. Do you watch TV, listen to music, or do anything while you write?
5. What is your favorite movie from a book and why?
6. While writing your book, did you think of actors/actresses who would play your characters when they make your book into a moive?
7. What part of the writing/editing/revising process do you like the most? The least?
8. Do you outline before you write? How much of the plot/character development do you have mapped out before you begin?
9. If you had to do it over again, from first writing your book, to the querying process, to the phone call with agents process over, is there anything you would do differently?
10. Now that you have an agent, have you started the next book?
