Bronze! Podium Finish Debuted at Number 3!

Hi all,

Thank you so much to all those who have purchased Podium Finish and all those who have sent warm wishes my way.

Here's the tweet I woke up to today:

And here's the screen shot from Amazon:

-Beth

Happy Book Birthday to Me!

It's here! Isn't the cover awesome? Podium Finish is finally here, available for purchase at Barnes and Noble and Amazon Kindle. It will be listed on goodreads soon, so please don't forget to mark it as "to read" once it's up and also to post a review on goodreads and amazon.com if you can.

There will be a print run, but not for a little while, so if you don't have a kindle e-reader, you can download the Kindle for PC or Kindle for iPhone apps and start reading from there!

I feel like I should blast "La Bamba" now. (If you read the book, you'll understand the reference.)

Happy reading!

Interview with Aimee L. Salter and Breakable Review

If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?

When seventeen-year-old Stacy looks in the mirror she can see and talk to her future self. “Older Me” has been Stacy's secret support through the ongoing battle with their neurotic mother, relentless bullying at school, and dealing with her hopeless love for her best friend, Mark.

Then Stacy discovers Older Me is a liar.

Still reeling from that betrayal, Stacy is targeted again by her most persistent tormentor. Only this time, he's used her own artwork to humiliate her - and threaten her last chance with Mark.

She’s reached breaking point.

Literally.

"Original. Authentic. Heart-breaking. BREAKABLE has officially become one of my favorites!" -New York Times Bestselling Author of Losing It, Cora Carmack

My Review

Powerfully written, Aimee L. Salter's debut novel, Breakable, is a must-read Indie book that rivals traditionally published young adult novels.

Seventeen-year-old artist Stacy regularly sees an older version of herself, dubbed Older Me, in the mirror. Sounds cool, right? And helpful? Well...maybe not. Stacy's future self is full of warnings--don't go to that party, don't trust that person etc.-- but not so willing to give Stacy answers. Despite the warnings, Stacy makes her own choices and not all of them turn out well. Already the victim of some terrible bullying, not listening to Older Me, proves to make things worse for Stacy.

I can't say too much more without giving away any spoilers, so I'll stop there, but I will say this: I don't often read books twice, but Breakable is a book I could definitely see myself picking up again. The writing is lovely and well-paced, and Stacy is a character you can't help but root for. And as a quick, final note, the cover, a self-portrait of Stacy, fits the book perfectly. Check out Breakable. You won't be sorry.

My rating? (For those who've read my other reviews, you know I tend to use martial arts belts and not stars) Black belt! (AKA 4.5-5 stars)

* * *

And now without further ado, my interview with the super sweet Aimee L. Salter! 

1. I read that you got the idea for Breakable from the Dear Teen Me Series. Is there one thing you wish you could tell your teen self?

Oh, gosh. So many things! I think if I could tell her one thing, it would be to trust her instincts and to use them when she's making decisions.

Also, not to wear the blue mascara to that 9th grade school photo day...

2. What is your writing process like? Are you a planner or a pantser?

The very first book I wrote I pantsed and I lost so much time to going back and rewriting where I'd gotten sidetracked or off point, that I swore I'd never do it again. Since then I've outlined every manuscript I've started, even the ones I haven't finished. And I love it that way.

That said, I tend to “pants” scenes quite a bit. I usually know going into the scene what I need it to achieve, but I don’t generally know how I’m going to do get the characters from A to B. So I enjoy the ride, from that perspective.

3. Could you talk a little bit about the journey your book has taken from first draft to now? Why did you choose to self-publish?

Wow, it sure has been a journey! I started writing Breakable (then called Listen to Me) in February 2011 with no intention of trying to get it published.

But since then I’ve had two agents (for two different books). I’ve been on submission to Big Six editors twice, and both times had great responses to the manuscript, followed by consistent feedback for revisions. And in both cases, while we were in the middle of those revisions, both agents had to leave our contract for personal reasons (and no, that isn’t a euphemism). Lucky for me, the second agent (Brittany Howard – aka NYT and international bestselling author, Cora Carmack) believed in Breakable so much, she offered to do anything she could to help me “get it out there”.

She would have helped me find another agent. But I think I was discouraged by the idea of trying that entire process again, with no guarantee that, even if I could find one, we wouldn’t have yet another year of revisions ahead of us before we got a contract.

On top of that, Brittany/Cora’s career started with a self-published novel. She knew what was involved. She knew what I would need to do to give my book any chance of success. And she was in a position to help (she’s blurbed my book for me and helped me promote it, which is REALLY generous of her).

So, after about three weeks of vacillating, I decided to take the plunge. And honestly, I haven’t regretted it for a second since. Don’t get me wrong – there’s a lot of nerves involved in this process. I’m terrified of fading into obscurity like so many other debut, self-published authors. But at the same time, I’ve had the chance to put the book out exactly how I want to. I don’t answer to anyone. All the decisions have been mine. All the design aspects were approved by me. I did the formatting myself, and I wrote all the promotional material.

Of course, that means that if Breakable isn’t a commercial success, there’s no one to blame but me! But honestly, even if it doesn’t sell a ton of copies, I’ll be honest: I feel like I’ve achieved what I always wanted to achieve with this book. And I did it myself. It’s a great feeling. Even knowing the risks, I don’t regret it a bit.

4. What is the most important thing authors should know before deciding to self-publish?

No one is kidding when they say it’s a TON of work. No one. Not kidding. A TON.

Not afraid of hard work?  Me either. But bear with me for one more point:

The author who enters self-publishing because of impatience, or an unwillingness to let others speak into their work is likely to get hurt.

If you decide to do this, make sure you’re making what is it at least an arguably valid business decision. Don’t spend more than you can afford to lose, don’t expect the internet to overload Amazon looking for you just because you’re there, and don’t step forward before you’ve learned how to gird your loins.

When you’re the brain behind (almost) every idea, the hand behind every keystroke, and the inspiration behind the vehicle, inevitably you’re travelling alone. No matter how many people support you, love you, and love your book, in the end, it’s all up to you. That can be a very isolating feeling. And if something fails, it can be foundation-shaking.

I think you have to be a very strong person (or perhaps a stupid one? Ask me in a year) to self-publish. You have to be able to get up when you’ve been knocked down, stand up when someone tells you you’re wrong, and keep going when it feels like every force in nature (or on the internet) is working against you. You have to be happy with your own company. And you have to be willing to fail.

In fact, forget about the rest. If you’re considering self-publishing, don’t do it until you’re absolutely prepared to fall flat on your face. Because honestly? Chances are good… *Gulp*

5. What do you see as the benefits to self-publishing?

Two words:

1.     Control

2.     Speed.

‘Nuff said.

6. Was there a part of your book, maybe a particular scene that was your favorite to write? Why?

Hmmm…yes. The first time Stacy got kissed by Mark. I lived that moment with her. It was awesome. And, forgive me, a little bit hot.

Scenes like that are fun to revise too, but there’s nothing like the first time you inhabit that moment and find the words to describe it. It’s one of the best parts of being a writer.

7. I've read your blog posts about writing. They're great! Could you select a couple of your best tips/tricks of the trade to help aspiring writers?

Thank you! It’s so cool to hear from people who’ve read my blog and found it useful.

Tip #1

You can’t grow as a writer if you won’t let other people in to read your work and criticize it. Yes, it’s hard, but it’s a necessary part of maturing your skill. And there’s a really healthy by-product I hadn’t identified until recently: Having people critique your work and tell you what’s wrong with it prepares you for the process of being reviewed. Because it’s impossible to write the book everyone wants to read. So negative feedback and reviews are inevitable, no matter how your book is published. Learning to deal with that in a healthy way is really helpful when it comes time to facing the masses.

Tip #2

Whether you’re a Planner or a Pantser, I really think understanding and being able to anticipate the key turning points of plot and structure makes you a better writer. I’ve a got a plot development series on my blog [link: http://www.aimeelsalter.com/p/plot-development-tips.html] that touches on some of the key elements, but there’s SO MUCH material out there from better, more experienced writers than me. Learn the craft. I can’t stress that strongly enough. Learn from others and see what a difference it makes. (If you’re not sure, start with Dwight V. Swain’s Techniques of the Selling Writer. It’s 40 years old and written differently than we expect these days, but that book is GOLD for the writer who wants to truly understand how fiction works and how to make a story work for you).

8. Lastly, what's up next? Are you working on a sophomore novel?

I’m working on about five! (Nope. Not joking). Because I struggle to know which one should get my full attention, I’m offering readers a chance to win a character named after them. All they have to do is read three brief book descriptions, then tick the box on how much each concept appeals / doesn’t appeal.

I call it my reader survey, and if you’re interested, you can enter here:  http://aimeelsalterbooks.blogspot.com/p/reader-survey_28.html

Thanks for having me, Beth! Your support is awesome. And this has been a fun interview!

Aimee L. Salter is a Pacific North-Westerner who spent much of her young (and not-so-young) life in New Zealand. After picking up a Kiwi husband and son, she’s recently returned to Oregon.

She writes novels for teens and the occasional adult who, like herself, are still in touch with their inner-high schooler.

Aimee is the author behind Seeking the Write Life, a popular blog for writers at www.aimeelsalter.com. You can also find her on Twitter (www.twitter.com/@AimeeLSalter) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/AimeeLSalter).

Aimee’s debut novel, Breakable, releases November 4^th for Kindle, Nook and in paperback. You can add Breakable to your to-read list on Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18377058-breakable

 

Book Review: My Sister's Reaper

I must say there has been a fair amount of hype about My Sister's Reaper in the past few months. I'm not normally a fantasy/paranormal reader, but after reading the synopsis, my interest was piqued.

 

Sixteen-year-old Zadie's first mistake was telling the boy she liked she could bring her dead sister back to life. Her second mistake was actually doing it.

When Zadie accidentally messes with the Reaper's Rite that should have claimed her sister Mara, things go horribly wrong. Mara isn't the same anymore--Zadie isn't even sure she's completely human, and to top it off, a Reaper is determined to collect Mara's soul no matter what. Now Zadie must figure out how to defeat her sister's Reaper, or let Mara die...this time for good.

See what I mean? Interesting, right?

So what worked? First of all, I love the cover. Slam dunk on that front. Also, the book was very well paced. We dive right into the action without all the boring buildup. Mara's in a coma, and Zadie uses her powers to make her wake up. However, Mara doesn't act the way she used to, and Zadie doesn't really understand her own abilities. Add it all together and throw in some strange townspeople who may or may not have the answers Zadie's looking for and consider the spook factor met. 

As for what didn't work, for me, the narrative voice didn't feel authentic. Zadie's your average teen. She's got good friends, a working father, and an older, more popular sister, but she didn't jump off the page in my opinion. There were some great moments of prose, but overall, the narrative voice fell flat; so, while I loved the premise, I was disappointed in its execution.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. If you're looking for a quick paranormal read, definitely check out Dorothy Dreyer's My Sister's Reaper, available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Publishing News!

Confession: I'm terrible at keeping secrets. Terrible. So I'm surprised that I've been able to sit on this news since May. Technically, if you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed that I added this to my profile awhile ago, and I did have some cryptic facebook status updates about editing, but I haven't come right out and said anything until now so here goes...

I'm going to be published!

My novel, Podium Finish, was picked up by a Astraea Press, a small e-book publisher. I had a few agents who were interested, but not ready to offer representation due to the climate of the current literary market, and as I know from previous experience, just because you have an agent, it doesn't mean said agent will be able to sell your book to a publisher. (And should they sell it, it takes 1-2 years before the book hits shelves.) Given how long I've been working on this book and the publication timeline AP offered, I thought this was the best thing. PF is scheduled to be released in mid-November in both print and e-book form (just in time for the Sochi Olympics and Christmas, so make sure you ask Santa for it!) I'll post more info about purchasing it closer to the release date.

I starting writing this book back in February 2006 after being inspired by the Torino Olympic Games. It's been through countless drafts over the years, so much so that the finished product is pretty much unrecognizable in comparison to the early versions, and which, trust me, is a good thing because it shows how much I've grown as a writer. Some of those early drafts make me cringe, but without them, I wouldn't be the writer I am today. Besides, if there's one positive thing I can gleam from reading my early writing, it's that young Beth had good, yet under-developed ideas, but she was ambitious. I wrote, and I wrote often because I loved to write. I wrote the stories I wanted to read, and now it is slowly starting to pay off. Fingers crossed other people like my stories too. The other good thing about this is that when I first started writing PF, I did it because there were very few books about girls who played sports out there. That has definitely changed since I was 16, and now I'm pleased to be able to add my own work to the mix.

So what's it about?

I was given the green light to post a quick blurb and excerpt. Enjoy!

With six months until the Olympic Games, seventeen-year-old Harper's life is pretty much perfect. She's fighting for the starting spot on Team USA Women's Hockey, and for the first time ever, she has a crush on a guy who likes her back. She feels like the luckiest girl in the world, until she runs a risky play at practice and breaks her knee, thereby sentencing herself to six weeks in a cast and possibly ending her Olympic dream before it even starts.

For seventeen-year-old Alex, being anything less than the best is unacceptable. That's why, after a miserable debut season at the senior level, the former junior national singles champion switches to ice dance. Her skating partner, Ace, is an "all skating all the time" type of guy, which would be fine, if he'd stop keeping secrets about the real reason he and his former partner broke up. Now is not the time for second thoughts, but how can Alex skate her best if she can’t trust her partner…or herself?
 

As the pressure to make the Olympic team builds, the girls must rely on each other, because if there’s one thing they both know, it's that the only thing harder than skating to the top is staying there.

  

Here's a teeny tiny sampling from one of Harper's chapters just so you can get a hint of H and A together, followed by a selection of a scene from one of Harper's practices.

Alex is waiting for me at our usual table in the cafeteria. She rakes her fingers through her not-quite-shoulder-length blonde hair and pulls it back into a ponytail. The front strands fall loose as soon as she leans forward to eat a bite of salad. I would never be brave enough to pull off short hair like that, but Alex does it well. She pulls a bobby pin from her bag and twists her bangs back. Bobby pins. That and lip gloss are two things Alex never leaves the dorm without.

"Hey, do anything exciting today?" I ask.

"I defied gravity."

"Wearing a push-up bra is not defying gravity."

"I was talking about the new dance hold we're learning, but my new bra is amazing, isn't it?" She's sitting with perfect posture and waves her hand in front of her chest like one of the models revealing a prize on a TV game show.

                                                                    *** 

"Kavanaugh there and Jess here." He motions to opposite sides of the rink then dumps out the bag of pucks. "On the line."

I skate to the far side of the rink where Coach pointed, and as I do, he readies the pucks.

 "When I say go, get to the goal as fast as you can," he says. "Go!" He shoots the puck, and it hits the net before either one of us gets close. "Again." Jess and I skate back to our lines. "Go!" Coach calls. He shoots, and again, he scores before either one of us can get to the goal. When we skate back to our respective lines, my tired legs protest. It's been a long practice, and I know I've only got three or four more sprints in me. He wants to show us neither one of us can get to the net before the puck, but I want to prove him wrong. I want to beat Jess and the puck.

"Go!" Coach calls a third time. I thunder forward, spraying chips of ice with each stroke of my skate. The puck skids across the ice, and I lunge for it, sprawling on my stomach and extending my stick. I knock the puck, but I'm not fast enough. The puck slows down, but it knocks the post and goes into the goal. Damn.

I stand up and join Jess, who is already standing by Coach. A thin smile etches across his face. "What did you learn?" he asks.

"You have a good shot, and Kav should take up Slip 'N Slide competitively."

She's totally missing the point. "Individually, we're not faster than the puck," I say.

"I knew it was a good idea to recruit a straight-A student," Coach says, and Jess' face twitches in anger. "I have one starting center position and two very talented players. Learn to pass to each other. You can't win a game unless you can score, and you can't score if you don't have each other's backs. Pass."

 

And here's a quick snippet from one of Alex's chapters.

Ace and I join hands and push away from each other while doing an arabesque. He pulls me in close to him, and I can feel the warmth of his hand on my back as we skate along the curve of the rink.

"Good," Philip says. "But I want the arabesques higher, and I need you to make me believe the magic. Try it again."

Philip wouldn't believe the magic if one of J.K. Rowling's creations were standing right in front of him. I like that he's hard to please though. He pushes us to do better, to be the best, and that's what we need right now.

 

In other news, come back tomorrow for my interview with YA author Laurie Boyle Crompton! 

I have one more month left in South Africa, so in addition to more book updates, I'll be posting more teaching reflections in the next few weeks.

- Beth