Guess who's stopping by today? The author Artist Arthur! (Don't you love alliteration?) Manifest comes out tomorrow, after all, so she's stopping by here to answer a question a lot of people seem to ask her.
I'm super excited for it to come out - I've had a copy sitting on my shelf for some time now, and though I haven't had a chance to read it yet, I'm sure it's fantastic. After all, it's HarlequinTeen, and we know they rock!
What is Manifest about, you ask?
When fifteen-year-old Krystal Bentley moves to Lincoln, Connecticut, her mom's hometown, she assumes her biggest drama will be adjusting to the burbs after living in New York City.
But Lincoln is nothing like Krystal imagined. The weirdness begins when Ricky Watson starts confiding in her. He's cute, funny, a good listener—and everything she'd ever want—except that he was killed nearly a year ago. Krystal's ghost-whispering talents soon lead other "freaks" to her door—Sasha, a rich girl who can literally disappear, and Jake, who moves objects with his mind. All three share a distinctive birthmark in the shape of an M and, fittingly, call themselves the Mystyx. They set out to learn what really happened to Ricky, only to realize that they aren't the only ones with mysterious powers. But if Krystal succeeds in finding out the truth about Ricky's death, will she lose him for good?
The same drill as always - click read more to read the full post! And don't forget to buy Manifest tomorrow!
Getting In The Mood
A question I’m often asked is how I get into the mood to write.
First, and it may seem really clichéd, but I’m always thinking about writing. Note I said “thinking” about it. While I’m at work (the day job) or if I’m riding in the car, even walking in the mall, I think about plots or characters in a story I’m currently working on. My mind is usually on writing eighty-five percent of the time. There’s just something about being in a world I’ve created that’s highly addictive.
But I’m not actually writing then now am I? And some would say all that “think” time isn’t productive. Yet, I think it is. I’m entitled to make whatever excuses I want for daydreaming.
Eventually the time does come when I actually have to plant my butt in the chair and start hitting the keys. There are a couple of things I like to do first—be prepared it involves me thinking again. LOL I think of what drink and snack I’m going to have while working. In the morning, the early, early morning, which is my favorite and most productive writing time, I like to have hot green tea with lots of sugar and maybe fruit or crackers. I rarely write in the evenings, saving that time for revisions and edits and other writing duties. Once the snack is decided I need to know what movie I’m going to watch or what DVD I’m going to listen to while working. Yes, I write to music and television. I can write in the quiet as well, but I think I’m more creative when there’s something going on in the background, sort of like verbal inspiration.
While writing Manifest I watched a lot of weather related shows and movies. Twister with Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton was a favorite. I also watched a lot of Charmed. We have the whole series on DVD so some days I’d have them on for hours. Now, I’ve seen all these shows and movies a hundred times so I don’t just sit and watch, I usually just hear what’s going on as I work and it gets the creative juices going. The background noise really sets the mood.
Now that I’m preparing to write the third book in the Mystyx series, titled Mayhem and due to hit the shelves in August 2011, I’ve been tuned in to my weather updates that I get via email daily. I’ve also been watching Angel while I’m doing research and outlining for the book. Oh, did I forget to mention that I have this bad habit of not getting into a series until it’s in syndication? That’s because I don’t really stay up late at night so I have to catch them when they come back on during the day. So anyway, Angel’s been really interesting. And Harry Potter, I’ve watched that a lot lately. So I’m sure Mayhem’s going to have a dark mystical feel to it.
Why do I do all this? Because the mood I’m in is imperative to the story I write. I want to give readers the best story I possibly can, so to do that I have to feel like my mind is one hundred percent in the moment of writing. Background noise from my favorite movies and music helps set my mood. Once that’s all settled I’m ready to roll!