Book Club: Leah reads Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

The cover: My copy was the other one, but when I saw this UK cover on Goodreads, I gotta say, I like this one way better. It fits the story perfectly.

From Goodreads: R is a young man with an existential crisis--he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains. He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse. Just dreams. 

After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a burst of vibrant color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that R lives in. His decision to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.

Initial thoughts: Before reading this, I hadn't heard much about it. I knew it was popular and that the movie was coming out soon, but that's about it. I hadn't even seen the movie trailer. I knew it was a "zombie love story" which, in all honesty, didn't really appeal to me, because EW!

My thoughts now: What were you thinking, Initial Thoughts Leah?! I was hooked after the first paragraph! After the first few pages, I knew I wasn't putting this sucker down until I turned the last page. And that's exactly what happened. Marion's writing is phenomenal! You know how everyone in the publishing industry talks about voice this and voice that? Well, this book is a study in unique voice. So, if you're confused about what critique partners or agents mean when they say, "I need more voice in your writing" then go buy this book and devour it today!

What Meyer says in her blurb there on the cover is spot on. I never thought I could actually care this much about zombies. Not only was I rooting for R the whole way, I was also really concerned for the other zombies in the hive. Plus, I found the relationship between R and Julie to be very real (or as real as a relationship can be that involves a zombie).

I could go on and on about this book, but I really don't want to spoil anything. This book speaks for itself.

Quick Quote: This quote is not representative of the vibe of the book. It's really not as sad as all that, but when I read it, all I could think was, "Damn, I wish I'd written that!"

"I don't want to hear music, I don't want the sunrise to be pink. The world is a liar. Its ugliness is overwhelming: the scraps of beauty make it worse."

Extra Stuff: After finishing the book, I immediately watched the trailer, of course, and the first 4 minutes which were released on YouTube. I also told my husband (who I only recommend the best of the best to) to just read the first paragraph and tell me what he thought. He didn't stop until page 31 and that was only because he had to get up early for work.

Have ya'll read WARM BODIES? What did you think? Do you have any recommendations for us?

Congratulations, Stefanie Gaither!

Here at SLOW we're trying to give insight into what it's like after you've conquered the slushpile. We want to talk about the hardships along with the triumphs. And boy, do we have a triumph to share with you today. I have summoned you here today so we can all take a moment... AND FREAK THE !@#$ OUT FOR STEFANIE GAITHER!

That's right! As you might've heard yesterday, it was announced that Stef (and let's not forget her amazing agent, Sara Megibow) has landed a deal with Simon & Schuster for her book, FALLS THE SHADOW! And let me just say that this book is awesome! It's full of clones and thrills and hotties and mystery. Gaaaah, it's going to be so awesome to see it on the shelves!

It'll be two years in March that I've known Stef. We've chatted pretty much every day since meeting so I'm confident in saying that this girl has worked her ass off to get to this point. Seriously, I can't think of anyone else (myself included) who's worked so hard to write amazing words. Also, I can't think of anyone more deserving. So, in honor of this momentous occasion, I've done something I never do. Because I know Stefanie loves poetry, I've written a poem.

(Disclaimer: I'm horrible at poetry. I had to Wiki rhyming schemes for goodness sake. I decided to go with the scheme from The Raven because... well, I don't know. I just did. Just imagine me as an artsy beatnik chick and it might sound better.)

So there you have it. It can be done, folks. It happens all the time.

CONGRATS, STEF!!!

Check out Stef's own freak-out blog post here :)

To Stop Being Being Downright Awful to Myself: Andrea Hannah's 2013 Resolution + How to Keep Yours This Year

Confession time, lovelies.

Ready? Because it's about to get real up in here. 

I have been nothing but sick for the past month. I'm sick of being sick. I'm miserable to the point of being heartbroken, because I know I did this to myself. 

I thought it started during the three-day revision marathon from hell that I put myself through before Christmas (30+ hours of revising in 2.5 days). I swear, I got the flu within an hour of sending my newest manuscript to my agent. But if I'm being honest with myself, it really started back in August. 

This is me, dying. Only with less fur.

See, August was a turning point for me as a writer. I went back to work after four months off with my new baby. I spent the entirety of that four months sicker than a dog: a crazy emergency birth, multiple trips to the hospital to treat infections, on top of caring for a preemie and my first child. I obviously did not write a single word from April until August. 

But at the end of the summer, I went back to work, life started to normalize a bit and I was struck with this enormous urgency to actually complete something. All of my writer friends who were on submission with one novel had already finished another or were close to finishing. They had a back-up plan incase the first didn't sell. They were actually being professionals.

And I realized this: If I'm going to be a professional writer, I actually have to write things. I didn't cut myself any slack for my illnesses or my new role as a parent. Nope. I was a hardass. And I'm freaking paying for it. 

It's January now, and yes, I have completed another manuscript, revised it, gotten feedback, revised it again, and have sent it off to my agent. I'd be lying if that didn't feel pretty spectacular. But, at what cost? 

I'll tell you at what cost: I was struck with a massive flu, followed by an infection, followed by a list of ridiculous things that haven't happened to me since I was, like, ten (Hives?! Really??). I'm still paying for the months of intense pressure I put on myself. 

So, I only have one resolution this year and it looks a little bit like this:

To honor myself. To include fun and rest as an important part of my life. To treat myself with the same respect that I tell others to do for themselves.

This includes basic functions like sleeping, eating and peeing (instead of telling myself things like "I'm only allowed to pee after I finish writing this scene"). But it also includes snowboarding with my family, going on runs with my sister-in-law, allowing myself to nap in bed with the baby, watching actual TV shows, reading actual books, being an actual freaking human. And you know what? If it takes me a few months longer to finish this draft, or if I miss a blog post this week, then so be it. It's not the end of the world. 

(takes deep breath) It's not the end of the world. 

But, while I'm over here trying to chill out, I know a lot of you out there have big, big plans for your writing and your lives this year, which is excellent! I also know that some of you are worried that you'll give up on your resolutions pretty quickly, or that you're not sure where to start on achieving something that huge, like snagging agent or finishing x amount of books, etc. So I'm going to share with you a few tools that have really helped me out in the past. 

1) The 2013 Goal Planner: I'm not just talking about a regular ol' planner, although those are helpful too. I'm talking about a planner that's specifically set up to help you envision your entire year, asks you to explore what you really want, and then helps you break apart those goals into smaller chunks. And then helps you to plug those chunks into your calendar. Before you know it, you're already there. I've used Leonie Dawson's art journal before, which I love. You can check that out here. But if you're not into the whole artsy thing, there's another great one over on Amazon here. 

2) The Manifestation Journal: This often has a kind of New Age, spiritual connotation to it, but it doesn't have to be all about The Secret and blah blah blah. What I'm talking about is just a plain journal. I keep a notebook, and I make a list of everything I want for myself in the coming year, even if some of them seem unrealistic. Then I go back through the journal throughout the year and "check my progress." I spend a little time with each thing, see how I'm doing with them all. It's funny because sometimes I write things in there that I forget about and then when I go back through them at the end of the year, I'm surprised by what has popped up in my life. If anything, the journal is just a good reminder of your goals, and it's also really cool to look back at all you've accomplished in a year, or what you've at least gotten closer to. 

Okay, that's all for now! We're going to take a break from our regularly scheduled program tomorrow to give you the deets on our very own Stefanie's BOOK DEAL, right here on the blog!!

Until then, happy goal planning! 

xo.


Andrea Hannah is a YA writer represented by Victoria Marini of Gelfman Schneider. She writes stories about criminals, crazy people, and creatures that may or may not exist. When she's not writing, Andrea teaches special education, runs, spends time with her family, and tries to figure out a way to prevent her pug from opening the refrigerator (still unsuccessful). Oh, and she tweets a bajillion times a day, mostly about inappropriate things.

You can find her on Twitter @: http://twitter.com/andeehannah
Drop her an email @: andeehannah@gmail.com
And visit her website @: http://www.andreahannah.com/

To Keep My Eye on the Ball: 2013 Resolutions by Leah Rae Miller

Good Monday, everyone! So, resolutions... I'm going to be honest and tell you that I have absolutely no will power. It's easy for me to say, "Oh, just one more chocolate," or "I'll make up the words I didn't get down this weekend when I have time." For a writer, this is a baaaad habit. So, getting my focus and discipline on is a big part of my resolutions this year.

1. I will finish 2 books this year. I accomplished this in 2011, which was great, but now that this is practically my job, it's extremely important. It's all about quality AND quantity when it comes to being an author. Or that's my belief, at least. Maybe one day I'll be able to release 1 book every 3 years and people will still gobble it up, but until then, it's going to be work, work, work. Now, in order to accomplish this, it will take that discipline I was talking about. Some of that good 'ol B.I.C.H.O.K (butt in chair, hands on keys). I'm not going to tell myself that one will be good enough because that'll turn into an excuse, a reason for me to watch Once Upon a Time instead of getting my word count for the day. 

My Desktop wallpaper for the year.

2. I will try very hard not to think every word I put on the page is crap. Here's a tough one. There are those days when I actually like what I've written. Those days are wonderful and fulfilling, but sometimes I feel like I have more days full of doubt. We've all felt it. That stupid feeling of, "What am I doing? This is horrible. No one will want to read this. I suck. What am I dooooooing?" But this year, I want to take that feeling and lock it away... At least until the first round of revisions. Because, like they always say, you can't edit words you haven't written yet. So, this year, when I feel a bout of the "I sucks" coming on, I'm just going to get up, take a dance break, and get back to it.

Those are the two biggies. And they both have to do with being focused and disciplined. Which is tough for writers, at least for this writer. There are so many distractions out there that sometimes I feel like the world is conspiring against me. But it's not the world, it's me. I'm the one who puts things off and lets the doubt fill my head. And that behavior needs to take a hike. Because with writing, you're pretty much your own boss. Sure, you might have a deadline and an agent or editor that you need to check in with and show progress to sometimes, but there's no one checking to see if you're at your computer everyday. There's no heinous boss saying, "Ummm, yeeeeah, I need that chapter on my desk by Friday."

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's up to us, people. We are the only ones who can write whatever it is we write. I realize that's kind of a "DUH!" statement, but sometimes I need to really let that sink in.

Now, let's get this year rolling! *HIGH FIVE*

What are your writing resolutions? Leave them in the comments because you know if you publicly say them you have to stick to them... Right?

To Keep Smiling: A 2013 New Year's Resolution by Heather Marie

A lot of amazing things happened last year––from getting married to signing with an agent. Everything was going so well and nothing could get me down. But as the days and months went on, more and more challenges came my way and I found myself in a rut.

I've always been the type of person that could pick herself up when she's down, but certain things have a way of piling on top of you until you start to feel suffocated. And this, my friends, is where my resolution comes in.

The year has started out a little rough, which is why I've decided that I'm not going to let last year's woes infect the good that could come of a new year. So far, the husband and I have decided to start fresh and get a new apartment that we both love. And with that, so many opportunities have opened by just that one thing. Even though there are things that can get a little dicey with this move, I'm still so excited about the first place we're getting together, and nothing can change that.

I have to remind myself that it doesn't matter what bumps I hit along the way, because I have someone who loves me and reminds me every day that he's there for me. That alone is hard to accept. I've been on my own for a really long time, and it's strange to forget that independent part of me and rely on someone else when I'm struggling. But it's important to remember those people, and to tell yourself that it's okay to ask for help.

In the end, I want to promise myself that no matter what happens––with writing, jobs and life––that I'll always look on the bright side. Because if there's one thing I know: Things always get better. It might not happen right away, but deep down I will remind myself that it will. This last year, I've learned the value of patience, and that has helped me realize that the world will go at its own pace. Even though I may be dying a little inside because the things I want, I want them so badly, but just because they're not happening now doesn't mean they never will.

So I'm going to take that patience with me into 2013, and I'm going to allow myself to just... breathe. To stop and enjoy the little things. To relax and stop over thinking. To keep calm and let things go. And most of all, I'm going to remember to smile. Because as long as I stay true to myself, and to those I love, everything else will fall into place.

Heather Marie is a YA writer represented by Michelle Witte from Mansion Street Literary. She enjoys writing horror/supernatural stories that make you question that feeling of someone watching over your shoulder. Heather spends most of her days reading and writing and plotting her next idea. When she's not in her writing cave, she enjoys watching creepy TV shows with her husband and picking apart plot holes in movies.

You can find her on Twitter @: http://twitter.com/xheatherxmariex

And visit her website @: http://heatherxmarie.blogspot.com/

To Keep Growing: A 2013 New Year's Resolution by Kelsey Sutton

Every year since I can remember I've made the same New Year's resolution. I think it's one 6.1 million women make along with me: lose weight. Sigh. But this time I've made a change! I'm tired of focusing on the external. 

2013 will be all about internal... kind of. 

It's one thing to make a New Year's resolution like, "I solemnly swear to myself that I will be successful!" It's another thing entirely to want to change and evolve and grow as, specifically, a writer. Another kind of success, which is my official resolution for 2013. (I'll work on being a better person next year. Is that selfish? Sigh. See, I have a lot of work to do.) Yes, I want to be able to keep writing professionally. But I also want to write stories that reach new levels of quality. Depth, voice, plot, etc. 

So how do I plan to accomplish this? It's simple. I bet you're way ahead of me. Wait for it... I'm going to write. Gasp! I know. I'm not going for a daily word count. I'm just going for sitting down at the computer and putting something down that has meaning. Simple, right? 

So, 2013. I want to grow. (And God, if you're reading this, I mean metaphorically, not literally. Please help me resist cheese.)

(I admit, that GIF is only semi-relevant to the post. I just thought it was too cute not to use.)

What's your New Year's resolution?

Kelsey Sutton has done everything from training dogs, making cheeseburgers, selling yellow page ads, and cleaning hotel rooms. Now she divides her time between her full-time college classes and her writing, though she can also sometimes be found pounding out horrible renditions of Beethoven on the piano and trying bizarre drinks at her local coffee shop. Kelsey lives in northern Minnesota with her dog and cat, Lewis and Clark. She is represented by Beth Miller of Writer's House, and her debut YA novel SOME QUIET PLACE is forthcoming from Flux in 2013. You can add it on Goodreads here!

You can also find her on Twitter @: https://twitter.com/KelseyJSutton
Drop her an email @: kelseyjsutton@gmail.com
And visit her on her blog at www.kelseysutton.blogspot.com

To Keep Aiming High: A 2013 New Year's Resolution by Stefanie Gaither

Hello lovelies! I'm so excited to be back to rambling on this blog--I've missed you all these past few weeks. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season, and that you're all ready for the awesomeness that 2013 is going to be!

Speaking of the New Year: did anyone make any resolutions?

Ba-dum-tisss.

There was a hashtag going around on twitter on New Year's Eve that was something like #writingresolutions, which I thought was really cool, and it got me thinking: what better way to kick off the new year than by talking goals and resolutions in writing? Because maybe the single most important thing (to me) that sets actual writers apart from the bajillions of people out there who "have always wanted to write a book" is this: writers actually write--and I mean complete them, not just plan them-- books. Let me say that again:

Writers. Write. Books. (or short stories, poems, or whatever)

I know. I just blew your mind, didn't I? 

In other words, they set out to write a book, and they don't just want to follow through with it-- they actually do. Since everyone who reads this blog is brilliant (obviously), you probably already knew that. But how does it happen? How do you get from "Once upon a time..." all the way to "The End"?

I don't know about the rest of you, but for me, I have to set tangible goals. Whenever I'm embarking on a new project, I sit down, map it out, try to get a general idea of what the wordcount is going to be. Then I factor in life stuff that's coming up (because I don't, in fact, live in a cave where I do nothing but write all day, despite what my husband may accuse me of), and I have an honest conversation with myself about how many words I'm going to be able to get written during X amount of time. And I'm not easy on myself. If my first thought is "the next few months shouldn't be too crazy, I should be able to do 500 words a day, easy peasy" then by the end of this conversation with myself I've usually committed to write at least 1000 words a day. 

And now you're probably (I hope) picturing me having an actual conversation with myself that involves me speaking in several different accents and personalities, or maybe arguing with myself a la Gollum/Smeagol. And yeah, it's sort of like that. 

Why does this picture even exist?

So, why go for 1000 words (and risk possible insanity) when 500 words a day will still get me a finished book in the end? Mostly it's because of this quote I love: 

"The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we hit it." -Michelangelo 

This one, simple quote has carried me for as long as I've been writing towards publication. I've always aimed high. From the beginning, I told myself that, however long it took to get there, I would eventually have a great agent (check), a great publisher (coming soon, I can feel it), and that I would be able to walk into a Barnes and Noble, or any bookstore, anywhere in the country, and see a book with my name on it on the shelves (also coming soon).

It was harder to believe all this in the beginning, of course, because anyone who's spent more than an hour really researching publishing knows that the odds are pretty much always against you in this industry. But in a way, knowing those odds has also made it easier to keep fighting toward this goal. Because as the quote essentially says, so what if we aim to beat the high odds, and miss? Nowhere in the rule book of life does it say you can't make mistakes. But I'm pretty sure it does say something about being an apathetic underachiever in there. Pretty sure it says you're not allowed to be that (yes, I totally have this book, no, I'm not making this up, and no, you can't borrow the book. It looks too pretty on my shelf.).

And I've had plenty of misses, and more than my share of the even-more-heartbreaking "near-misses". I've stumbled. Tripped. Fallen. Broke a couple of teeth. Severed a few limbs. Endured massive cranial bleeding. Of course I have. But taken my eyes off the goal? Never for more than a moment. Even when it was hard to look at--impossible to see how the publishing dream could ever come true for me-- that goal I committed to was still there to see, once the dust cleared from whatever black moment I was having. But you have to set that goal first, if you want it to be there for you during said low moments.

Granted, there's something to be said for being happy with where you are now, and how far you've come since yesterday. So definitely don't forget that, either. I guess the gist of what I'm saying is that I hope you are all wildly successful already, but even if you are, don't forget to have plenty of goals in front, and not all of them behind. And don't sell yourself short when setting those goals. 'Cause chances are you're better than you think you are at...well, at pretty much everything, I'd be willing to bet (unless you're one of those weird wildly self-confident types, in which case--are you sure you're a writer? Because I was under the impression that we were all the angsty, oh-man-i-suck-at-words type, at least part of the time. And if that's not true, please don't shatter my illusion, kthanks).

So, my main, tangible, measurable goal for 2013 is to write at least two books (of 80kish each). How about you guys? Let me hear it in the comments. Whatever it is-- whatever you think is the best you can do, whether it has to do with querying, or self-publishing, or finishing your epic saga about flesh-eating cows who rule a distant galaxy--anything writing-related that YOU can control (i.e. "I will be querying my book by April, and will submit to at least X number of agents", not "I will get twenty-five offers of representation for my book about flesh-eating cows and if I don't then I'm a failure, obvs").

And here's to a happy, successful year of writing for us all!

Me too grumpy cat, me too.

Stefanie Gaither writes YA novels about killer clones and spaceships, with the occasional romp with dragons and magic-users thrown in for good measure. Said writing is generally fueled by an obscene amount of coffee and chocolate, as well as the occasional tennis and/or soccer break. She's represented by Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary. 

You can find her on Twitter @: https://twitter.com/stefaniegaither

Or drop her an email at: stefanie.gaither@gmail.com

And also visit her website @: www.stefaniegaither.com