Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I had very good reasons.
One of my flatmates needed a computer and since writing can be done (and is best done) without the distractions of the internet, I was more than happy to lend her my laptop for the day. She'll need it again so maybe there will be another late night post or an early morning brouhaha, but I wanted to post to prove how dedicated I am to this blogging every day thing, and this project I'm about to do, and this project I am SO close to finishing.
That being said, PW got it's first official rejection today. And it was so lovely, I wish I could share it with you. But for now, I want to keep it close to my heart. To remind me that agents, at their core, are human beings. That no matter how many form rejections are sent, there are sometimes the ones that are personalized, to prove those aren't the only ones out there. And to remind me to keep pushing, because one day, an agent just like the one who sent that rejection letter, is going to send me a kindly worded response that has a "yes" attached. So I'm keeping it to myself for now, but I wanted you guys to know how amazing I thought it was.
Good night you guys! I mean... good morning.
Love,
Deserae
P.S. This is Due's song of the day. Enjoy! Oh and Sonal... Thank you kindly. :)
Because I got awesome feedback from Aria and Maya on my query, I wanted to post a treat for you guys. I've been working really hard on making PW the best it can be and so I've been working with people, getting feedback, and revising like crazy. So here are some fun facts about PW and, also, a short excerpt from the first chapter.
Fact #1: I got the idea to write this story from a friend of mine named Sahara Blank. The great thing about Sahara is that she is ALWAYS fun to talk to and she's always been a hilarious gal to be around. But one day, as we were waiting for a bus, she was telling me about her day and that she got to meet a vampire. I asked her if she was serious and she told me she was. She recounted, in full, the conversation she had with Omar and I couldn't help but chime in. "Omar, the Vampire?" I asked disbelievingly. "Oh, yeah," she assured me, and we must've laughed SO hard... She told him, "Well I'm a werewolf!" and he got a little defensive. But she continued on with her joke saying, "Yeah 'cause sometimes I don't shave in the morning and I get SUPER hairy..."
He didn't think it was funny.
But on the bus ride home, I couldn't stop thinking about how serious he was about being this vampire person. I was really impressed and a little terrified and I couldn't help but thinking how weird their entire conversation was... And thus, PLANET WEIRD was born. Titles and characters tend to come first and then the rest comes in later.
Fact #2: I never wanted Omar to be the star, though. I wanted to expose him for the phony he had to be. So I kept thinking of ways to have an interesting premise, but keep his character in there. The line, "The kids are weird, too," came to me immediately and then I realized "Oh snap! This is a book about aliens on Earth!" So I had to find a hero, but she ended up being a heroine when a girl named Drew walked into my Journalism class. I couldn't believe how perfect the name was. Drew. That was my heroine! I started writing almost immediately.
Fact #3: The first line has always been, "Planet Jr. High is weird; there're no ifs, ands, or buts about it."
Fact #4: The word "weird" is in the first line of every chapter. And a message is currently hidden in my book for my readers, but I won't go into detail about that just in case things change. The message, though, hints to the characters involved in the next installment. I'm more excited about the second book than this one sometimes.
Fact #5: The plot of this story was figured out shortly after I plotted the second story. The title to this story was figured out immediately, but the second book is still unnamed. This is one of the easiest books I've ever written because I enjoy the world so much, but it was one of the hardest to get right plot-wise. But I'm grateful for it because now I know how to do three things: show when needed, tell when needed, and create plots that focus both internally AND externally.
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! Click here to see a short scene from PW Ch. 1: Earthbound.
And that's it for me today! Although PW is NOT the story I'll be writing for my WriMo, I'm going to continue to work on it and I hope to be done with it soon.
Oh, and one more treat for you guys! The song below is one that I listened to a lot while writing and editing PW. If you read the query, you'll probably understand the connection.
Wow! I asked and you guys responded. Did you see Maya's comments in Part I? I did, and I was SO thankful. And did you know Arianna emailed me immediately with feedback? Well she did and I showered her with thanks then and some more, well, now. Not to mention, there were two people who responded on Kate's post and both Krista V. and Lenna were really nice so I'm thankful to them, as well. And then there's Kate, herself, who took the time to read and critique and boy, am I grateful to her, too. I rewrote the query and... Well, I hope it's better. I want to know what you guys think. There's more words in this one but it's more descriptive and less destiny heavy ALTHOUGH I had to slip some of it in at the end because it's important. I think.
When
Drazoral steps out of a portal known as the Beyond, she is no longer the bronzed, long-legged warrior
from Andromeda. She is Drew Ophelia Vardaman, the short, pale-skinned thirteen
year old who has hopes of becoming an Earth citizen. While Drew learns to adjust
to Earth food, emotions, and all of the weird kids who make up Planet Jr. High,
she starts to understand what it means to be human. But when a parasitic shadow
starts possessing her classmates, she’s forced to confront the part of her that
is anything but normal.
Drew
presses her guardians, Wyatt and Windsor, for answers about the darkness that
haunts her dreams. But they’re not the only ones reluctant to dredge up the past.
Drew has kept the real reason for her sudden flight to Earth a secret in fear
of being sent home, but when mayhem strikes, she is asked to return to Andromeda
in order to absorb the source of her power. It is only then that she’ll be able
to use her gift without fatal consequence, and it is only then that she’ll be
able to help defeat the shadow.
But
while the part of her that is Drazoral wants to fight, the part of her that is
Drew wants to live on in peace. It is
no longer her duty to serve or to protect the universe. She realizes that
playing it safe isn’t always the right thing to do, but she sees that putting
herself in harm’s way is giving into the destiny she was pre-ordained. In
PLANET WEIRD, a 47,000 word work of middle grade science fiction, there is no
wrong or right in one’s decision to fly or fight, but Drew has to make a choice
before it’s too late to save either her classmates or herself.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope
to hear from you, soon.
So?... Any takers?... Here's a song while you read. Thanks you guys! I honestly do look forward to hearing what you think.
