What’s Up Wednesday
It’s Wednesday, and there’s no snow on the ground! In fact, the high today here is supposed to be in the mid-70s F. I bet some of you out there wish we could share the warmth. I wish we could too. Anyway, to the business of updating you with my life–that’s what What’s Up Wednesday‘s all about, after all…
What I’m Reading
THE STAND by Stephen King. Still. But I’m more than half-way through! Don’t take the speed with which I’m reading as any indication of how good the book is. I’m busy with writing projects too, and I don’t want to rush the book. I’ll be finished with it when I’m finished with it, and I’ll post a review.
What I’m Writing
Followers of the #WriterRecharge meme will already know. Indeed, you can jump back to Monday’s blog article for details (see the link on the side under “Recent Posts”). I do want to give a shout-out to my First Readers who have been very helpful. Wifey is great at spotting typos, inconsistencies, sentences that are missing a period*, and so on. FirstBorn has pointed out some boring bits, some confusing bits, and also underlined some parts that she says I should not change under any circumstances. Bless her cotton socks! And both have given good feedback on plot points to emphasize and things that could do with tweaking. After these edits, I’ll feel better about sending this out to Beta Readers.
What Inspires Me Right Now
My First Readers. Their feedback has been both helpful and encouraging. Thanks guys!
What Else I’ve Been Up To
I’ve been trying to be more active on Twitter, but I’m really trying not to let it distract me at the moment while I focus on getting this novel ready for Beta Readers. I’ve had some people contact me indicating an interest in Beta Reading (you know who you are), and I’m thrilled about that. I’m certain this novel will be Beta-ready very soon, so if you are interested in being a Beta Reader for me, please email me. Some people have indicated an interest in blog comments, but I lose track of those. I have a folder in Outlook for Beta Readers, so if you send me an email, I’ll put your message in that folder and you will hear from me. I posted the query for the novel on Monday, but to save you the mouse click, here it is again:
Pearl, a sixteen-year-old girl from the planet Maralan, is an Earthophile: she loves all things to do with the tech-savvy occupants of planet Earth. So when she gets the opportunity to visit anywhere, any time, she decides on London in 1978, a year when fashions were wild, and her favorite Earth band, ABBA, were still making music.
But a miscalculation ends up transporting her to London in the year 1879. She needs electricity to recharge her travel device, but Edison’s only just invented the light bulb. Stumbling into the home of the 14th Earl of Chiswick, a man of means and connections, seems like a step in the right direction. However, keeping her alien identity a secret from his inquisitive household, and his sharp-tongued, sharp-eyed 16-year-old daughter, while finding a way back to Maralan, might prove harder than she thought.
A TEENAGE ALIEN IN VICTORIAN LONDON is a 78,000 word YA Sci-Fi/Historical novel. Douglas Adams meets the big-house atmosphere of “Downton Abbey.”
Sound like something you might want to read? Let me know!
How’s your week been? What’s Up Wednesday came into the world at the hands of Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk. You can find details about how to join in, and the linky list of participants, at their blogs.
* My brain immediately took to calling these “pregnant sentences.” I need to take a break from Stephen King, evidently. That’s something he would write…
Sometimes it’s nice to take your time with a book ^_^ I remember The Stand. It is huge. I have no idea where my copy’s gone. One day, I’ll try reading it again.
Your query sounds great. I hope it all goes really well for you 😀
Did you read the original version? I understand that was still quite long, but the version I’m reading is the “complete and uncut” version, which has a whole novel’s worth of added stuff. I’m considering hunting down a copy of the pre-1990 version to read at a later date. I’m curious how much of the new stuff really enhances the story. More about that when I review it… 🙂
Thanks for the encouragement, Cole! 🙂
Glad things are going well. 🙂 I still need to read The Stand! One day, maybe, when the TBR pile is less of a mountain.
Thanks, Emma! My TBR pile has grown beyond a mountain. I think it has become it’s own range, and will be appearing on maps in the the near future. There’s probably a reading room set aside for me in heaven so I have a chance to get to the books on my TBR I didn’t get to while I was alive… and I can’t honestly say that conflicts with what my idea of heaven would be… 😉
Glad you’re having a good week! I need to read The Stand at some point, but I’d like to read something shorter when I finish The Way of Kings!
Thank you, Emma! Something shorter than THE WAY OF KINGS? Based on our Twitter conversation, I’d say you’re looking at something like WAR AND PEACE? Maybe BLEAK HOUSE…? 😉
Your novel has such a cool concept! I love that it blends sci-fi and historical fiction.
Thank you, Rebecca! I don’t know this is a genre I would naturally gravitate toward, but I found the concept so irresistible, I had to write it. Hopefully, you’ll get to read it some day… 🙂
Yay for first readers! Mine always inspire me too. Perfect mix of thoughtful feedback and tough love. 🙂 Best of luck getting through THE STAND, Colin. I’m going to read a Stephen King novel one of these days, but I have decided which one yet. You’ll have to let me know if you recommend THE STAND. Have a great week, sir!
Thanks, Katy. THE STAND is an interesting book, though I don’t know if I’d recommend it to someone who doesn’t usually read this kind of thing (horror/suspense). So far, the best “introduction to Stephen King” book I’ve read is NIGHT SHIFT, his first collection of short stories. You get a good taste of the man’s range (and it’s broader than you might think) and ability. I recall THE DEAD ZONE being a good thriller, but I’ll have to re-read it before I give it a hearty endorsement.
Hooray for Alpha readers!! (We can call them Alphas, right?! I figure if they come before Betas…) Also, I have to agree with the other comments that the premise of your MS is fantastic!!! So original!
Hope you have an amazing week!!
Yes, I suppose you can call them Alpha Readers–makes sense. Though Alpha Reader sounds like that town an hour north of Atlanta, GA, where they have the huge farmer’s market (cool place to visit, btw). 🙂
And thank you! I hope its originality doesn’t hurt me in that I can’t find comp titles. I’ve been struggling with that, and the Douglas Adams/Downton Abbey comparison is about the best I can do. Hopefully my Betas will help me think of something more precise. 🙂
Now that I’ve read your query, I’ve learned that the teenage alien voice you’ve been toying with for the past year+ is in a very different story than I thought. It sounds like a great premise. Good luck with it as you move into the Beta stage.
Have a great week!
Thanks, Kate. Yeah… this teenage alien voice I have been toying.. struggling… doing battle with… I had to write the novel because I found the premise irresistible… but describing Victorian London from the POV of an alien girl? I should have attempted climbing Mount Everest in dress shoes–it might have been easier! 🙂
Your query is fantastic, Colin! I definitely think it will grab agent attention. Not to mention the Douglas Adams meets Downton comp will no doubt result in grabby hands. So great that you’re receiving such good feedback from your wife and daughter. I like that your daughter, in particular, is forthright with what to tweak and what to keep. Sounds like you are well on your way to getting this out there!
Thank you, Jaime! I have to say, I’m quite pleased with the query, too, which is good. One less thing to worry about. I just have to write a killer synopsis… oh, and make sure the novel’s as attention-grabbing as the query. No pressure. 🙂
Stephen King is definitely not an author to rush through! I need to read another Stephen King book this year. I have quite a few of his books on my TBR pile.
Glad you’ve got the feedback you need to get it ready for betas. Here’s to being one step closer!
I’ve had mixed thoughts about whether to read 11/22/63 (his new-ish JFK/time travel novel) owing to some mixed reviews. I think I’m intrigued enough to see handles it, though, given it’s a bit of a departure from his usual style (i.e., more on the historical novel side than the thriller side). That one’ll be on my TBR soon, I daresay. 🙂
Thanks, Robin. Hopefully Betas will have it very soon… 🙂
Colin, happy your gearing up for Beta readers. Very exciting time. It can also be really nerve-wracking to send your work out to anyone, good friends, wives/husbands, and so on, but I find really good Betas to be quite possibly the most vital step in this process. We can get so close to our own work that we can’t revise it properly without others input.
Good luck with everything!
Thanks, Rebekah! I agree, Beta review is such a critical step. We get very close to our work, and end up with either an overly optimistic view of how good it is, or a devastatingly pessimistic view of how bad it is. Betas bring balance. Mmm… that should be on a t-shirt. 🙂
I’ve never read The Stand but I did read a Stephen King book a long time ago and I don’t even remember the title. I think it had something to do with dragons… (which I know doesn’t sound like a SK book at all!).
From what I’ve read of Stephen King, I wouldn’t be surprised. This is the guy who also wrote THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, as well as CARRIE and CUJO. He’s known for horror/suspense, but he has become his own genre. 🙂
Glad your first readers are inspiring you so much with their helpful, keen eyes. It’s exciting to see how close you’re getting for Beta Readers! Good luck!
Thanks, Prerna. It’s quite an incentive to get on with it, to be this close to Beta ready. Seriously. How long have I been working on this thing??! 🙂
Your query sounds great, Colin! Very concise and polished! I recently had to give mine yet another overhaul to trim it down. Honestly, I think that’s worse than drafting and revising an entire novel. I hope you have lots of luck with it when the time comes to start sending it off to agents! (Also, I hope this comment only posts once, because I was having some technical difficulties lol, but if it posts twice, just take it as double the encouragement!)
Thank you, Erin! I’ve mentioned somewhere before that I actually wrote the first draft of the query before I had finished the book. I then tweaked it after I’d finished the first draft to account for plot changes that happened along the way. I really think that helped both the writing of the query, and the writing of the novel. I’ll definitely try that again with the next one.
Go go go on your revisions! I’m glad your family can provide such good feedback. It’s so nice to have that. My brother, his wife, and my little sister have been priceless with all of their help.
Good luck!!
Thanks, Kris! Wifey and FirstBorn have been really helpful. 🙂
Wow, a scifi Downton?! That sounds awesome. And about that twitter, I always say to heck with it! Jk 🙂
“Sci-fi Downton” maybe a bit of a stretch… think more Downton through alien eyes. 🙂 As for Twitter, I’ve actually had some fun with it these past few days. 🙂
Wow your book sounds awesome. Sci-fi/historical is very different. I should use twitter more, but yeah. It falls off the radar to often.
Thanks, Angel! I didn’t pick the genre–that’s just how the story came out, though it’s probably more historical than sci-fi. Ish. 🙂
Great query! It sounds like a fun book, and it’s great that your family is helping you out in the early stages. Good luck with your beta readers!
And yay for no more snow! 🙂
Thank you, Alice! My family have been great about giving me feedback. I feel much better prepared for Betas now.
Yes–hopefully we’re done with snow for this season. 🙂
The premise of your novel looks wonderful! I know what you mean about wanting to be more active on Twitter but not become distracted. It’s very difficult to pull that off! I’m happy that you are seeing no more snow… while up here in the frozen wasteland of the north we are under a blizzard watch again tonight. I’ve just decided to believe that it will never stop snowing and blowing so then when it actually does, it’ll be a pleasant surprise! 🙂
Thanks, Kitty! Wow: a “Blizzard Watch”? That makes our “Winter Storm Warnings” look extremely lame! I hope you stay warm… spring will come, eventually. If I could, I’d blow some of the 70 degree (F) temps we’ve had today your way. 🙂
Sounds like your First Readers are the best kind of readers! I’m so glad you’re getting good feedback. How awesome does that feel?! My husband started reading a super rough draft of my NaNoWriMo project a couple of months ago. Even though the story was (is? ha) a mess, just having someone read it meant the world to me.
Have a great week, Colin!
First Readers are the best. I don’t know if I ever would’ve finished SHARDS without it. And it’s super helpful having them prod me for more chapters while I rewrite FIRE, that’s for sure 🙂
The Downton comparison has me sold. I’ll go ahead and shoot you an email 😀